Volume 80 Edition 153 ©SS 2021 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Bennett runningaway with startingQB job for GeorgiaPage 24
MILITARY
Iranian navy heloflies within 25yards of USS EssexPage 3
FACES
Krauss-Plantalbum, Will Smithfilm new this weekPage 18
DOD affirms Austin’s power to order shots for National Guard ›› Page 6
The Navy will give sailors who receive no
exemption to the coronavirus vaccine man-
date five days to start receiving their shots
before facing separation from the service,
according to official guidance to command-
ers Monday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Au-
gust ordered that all service members be
vaccinated against the coronavirus but left
the timeframe up to individual services.
Last month, the Navy said it would dis-
charge sailors who refuse the vaccine un-
less they are given an exemption after the
Nov. 28 deadline.
“In order to ensure a fully vaccinated
force, it is U.S. Navy policy to separate all
Navy service members who refuse the law-
ful order to receive the COVID-19 vaccina-
tion,” Vice Adm. John Nowell Jr., the chief
of naval personnel, said in a news release
Monday.
“The least favorable characterization of
Warning
SHOTSailors denied a vaccineexemption face dischargeafter five days, Navy says
BY WYATT OLSON
Stars and Stripes
EMILY BENNETT/U.S. Navy
Sailors assigned to Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson man the rails on the flight deck in August. About 95% of the Navy’sactive-duty force is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
RELATED
US bases in Japan roll out vaccines forkids ages 5-11Page 6
SEE VACCINE ON PAGE 3
STUTTGART, Germany — The
German tax collectors wanted to
know it all: commissary expendi-
tures, on-base gasoline purchases,
visits to a Ramstein Air Base fit-
ness center and discounted airline
flights to the United States.
And special agent Dirk Roess-
ling, a German employee of the
U.S. Air Force’s Office of Special
Investigations at Ramstein,
obliged in a five-page report that
ended up being used against a U.S.
military-affiliated family in tax
court.
The report shows a U.S. military
agency collaborating with Ger-
man authorities to collect German
income tax penalties on U.S. mil-
itary paychecks — a practice the
State Department considers a vio-
lation of a multinational treaty.
“It felt like there was a mole on
the inside,” said the American,
who worked as a military civilian
at Ramstein under the NATO Sta-
tus of Forces Agreement before
moving to the U.S. in 2020.
Added his German wife: “They
knew everything. I feel like they
are Stasi people working there,” a
reference to the secret police of
communist East Germany during
the Cold War.
The couple, who spoke on condi-
tion of anonymity for fear of being
retargeted by collectors, are
among an untold number of
Americans connected to the mili-
tary in Germany who have been fi-
nancially ruined by local tax offic-
es.
The amount they paid, much of
it related to penalties connected to
so-called base “privileges,” was
248,452.99 euros, or roughly
USAF employee handed over couple’s purchase records, leading to $300K tax bill from GermansBY JOHN VANDIVER
Stars and Stripes
SEE RECORDS ON PAGE 5
VIRUS OUTBREAK
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
BUSINESS/WEATHER
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s
largest public employee pension
fund has sued Facebook — now
known as Meta — alleging that it
broke federal securities law by
purposely misleading the public
about the negative effects of its
social platforms and the algo-
rithms that run them.
The lawsuit by the Ohio Pub-
lic Employees Retirement Sys-
tem specifically claims that
Facebook buried inconvenient
findings about how the company
has managed those algorithms,
as well as the steps it said it was
taking to protect the public.
The suit also contends claims
that Facebook knew that its plat-
form facilitated dissention, ille-
gal activity and violent extre-
mism, but refused to correct it.
“Facebook said it was looking
out for our children and weed-
ing out online trolls, but in real-
ity was creating misery and di-
visiveness for profit,” Ohio At-
torney General Dave Yost said
in a statement. “We are not peo-
ple to Mark Zuckerberg, we are
the product and we are being
used against each other out of
greed.”
The lawsuit, filed last week in
federal court in California, says
market losses resulting from
publicity over Facebook’s ac-
tions caused investors — includ-
ing OPERS — to lose more than
$100 billion.
A Facebook spokesperson
called the lawsuit without merit
and said the company would
fight it.
Retirement fund sues Facebook over lossesAssociated Press
Bahrain79/75
Baghdad74/56
Doha84/66
Kuwait City77/62
Riyadh79/62
Kandahar72/36
Kabul59/33
Djibouti87/70
WEDNESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Mildenhall/Lakenheath
52/39
Ramstein43/39
Stuttgart42/39
Lajes,Azores67/64
Rota67/50
Morón68/39 Sigonella
62/50
Naples65/56
Aviano/Vicenza54/47
Pápa43/39
Souda Bay61/58
Brussels49/41
Zagan42/37
DrawskoPomorskie
42/38
WEDNESDAY IN EUROPE
Misawa52/40
Guam85/82
Tokyo53/44
Okinawa76/73
Sasebo62/53
Iwakuni62/56
Seoul57/43
Osan63/38
Busan58/50
The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,
2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
THURSDAY IN THE PACIFIC
WEATHER OUTLOOK
TODAYIN STRIPES
American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 18Opinion ........................ 14Sports .................... 19-24
Military rates
Euro costs (Nov. 17) $1.11Dollar buys (Nov. 17) 0.8573British pound (Nov. 17) $1.31Japanese yen (Nov. 17) 111.00South Korean won (Nov. 17) 1,151.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain (Dinar) .3770Britain (Pound) 1.3426Canada (Dollar) 1.2549China (Yuan) 6.3958Denmark (Krone) 6.5551Egypt (Pound) 15.7101Euro .8815Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7884Hungary (Forint) 320.82Israel (Shekel) 3.0948Japan (Yen) 114.61Kuwait (Dinar) .3024
Norway (Krone) 8.7292
Philippines (Peso) 50.36Poland (Zloty) 4.10Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7508Singapore (Dollar) 1.3563
South Korea (Won) 1,184.13Switzerland (Franc) .9286Thailand (Baht) 32.76Turkey (New Lira) 10.2737
(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger-many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur-chasing British pounds in Germany), check withyour local military banking facility. Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for referencewhen buying currency. All figures are foreigncurrencies to one dollar, except for the Britishpound, which is represented in dollars-to-pound, and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.)
INTEREST RATES
Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75Federal funds market rate 0.093-month bill 0.0530-year bond 2.01
EXCHANGE RATES
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
service for Navy service members
refusing the vaccine, without ex-
tenuating circumstances, will be
GENERAL (under honorable con-
ditions),” Nowell said.
The guidance suggested that ex-
tenuating circumstances could
lead to a more favorable level of
separation but did not elaborate
on the details.
The Navy is reviewing requests
by sailors for medical and reli-
gious exceptions to the COVID-19
vaccination.
“Sailors requesting these ex-
emptions will not be processed for
separation or be subject to admin-
istrative consequences for refusal
while their request is being adju-
dicated,” the news release said.
The service has not announced
how many sailors have requested
or received exemptions.
About 95% of the Navy’s active-
duty force is fully vaccinated, with
more than 99% having received at
least one shot of a two-shot series,
according to the release. The Navy
has roughly 350,000 active-duty
sailors.
If a sailor fails to start vaccina-
tions five days after being denied
an exemption, commanders are
directed to begin processing the
discharge.
“Decisions on whether to sus-
pend or go ahead with separation
after that deadline will be made by
the Navy’s Consolidated Disposi-
tion Authority,” the news release
said.
Commanders have the option of
temporarily reassigning sailors
with pending exemption requests
— based on readiness and mission
requirements — but must first get
approval from the first flag officer
in their chain of command, ac-
cording to the release.
Sailors receiving a general dis-
charge could lose eligibility for
some benefits from the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs, such as
the GI Bill, the news release said.
Sailors separated for refusing
the vaccine would not be eligible
to reenlist, and any pending agree-
ments for reenlistment would be
canceled, the news release said.
Sailors could also be on the hook
to repay costs of education and
specialized training.
“If in doubt as to how to adjudi-
cate issues related to a Navy ser-
vice member refusing the vac-
cine, seek guidance from your
chain of command, your staff
judge advocate, or the [Consoli-
dated Disposition Authority] be-
fore acting,” Nowell said in the
news release. “In all cases, you are
accountable to ensure the health
and safety of your command while
treating every Navy service mem-
ber with dignity and respect.”
Vaccine: Commanders can reassign sailors with pending exemption requestsFROM PAGE 1
[email protected]: @WyattWOlson
MILITARY
SAN DIEGO — A preliminary
hearing for the sailor charged with
starting a fire that destroyed a $1
billion Navy warship in San Diego
last year has been postponed until
December, the Navy said Monday.
It is the second time the military
hearing, originally scheduled for
October then pushed to November,
has been delayed.
Seaman Apprentice Ryan Mays,
20, was charged with aggravated
arson and hazarding a vessel in
connection with the July 2020
blaze on the amphibious assault
ship Bonhomme Richard. Court
documents suggest Mays was
identified by other sailors on board
as being in the vicinity of the ship’s
lower vehicle storage area, where
Navy investigators say the fire
started.
The hearing, called an Article
32, functions as a type of grand jury
in the military, although evidence
is weighed by a single hearing offi-
cer as opposed to the group of peo-
ple serving on civilian grand ju-
ries. The hearing officer will then
make recommendations to a Navy
admiral, in this case commander of
the San Diego-based 3rd Fleet,
whether there is enough evidence
to proceed with a criminal trial.
While one junior sailor is
charged with starting the blaze,
two recent Navy investigations list
a series of leadership and training
failures on the San Diego water-
front as contributing to the ship’s
vulnerability to fire at the time.
Thirty-six Navy leaders and civil-
ian Navy officials were found by
the service to bear some culpabil-
ity in the fire.
A Pacific Fleet-led consolidated
disposition authority is evaluating
those officials and will dole out
whatever punishments — if any —
that are warranted, Navy leaders
have said.
Mays’ hearing is tentatively
scheduled for the week of Dec. 13,
although no specific date has been
set, said Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a
3rd Fleet spokesperson.
2nd delay of hearing forsailor who is charged inBonhomme Richard fire
BY ANDREW DYER
The San Diego Union-Tribune
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Flor-
ida-based U.S. Navy flight officer
has been convicted of buying guns
for a Chinese businessman who was
later convicted of export crimes.
Lt. Fan Yang, 36, also lied about
his relationship with the business-
man on security forms, authorities
said.
Yang was found guilty Friday in
Jacksonville federal court of con-
spiring to violate U.S. firearms laws,
making false written statements to
federally licensed firearms dealers
during the purchase of two firearms
and making false written state-
ments as part of a security clearance
background investigation, accord-
ing to court records. The Chinese-
born American citizen faces up to 30
years in prison at a sentencing hear-
ing scheduled for March 16.
Before becoming a commis-
sioned naval officer, Yang formed a
relationship online with Ge Songtao,
a citizen of the People’s Republic of
China, according to an indictment.
They eventually met in person in
2013, while Yang was in Navy flight
training in Pensacola, prosecutors
said.In 2017 and again in 2018, Yang
purchased two handguns for Ge
Songtao, who later reimbursed the
naval officer. In both cases, investi-
gators said Yang completed a Fire-
arms Transactions Record where
he falsely represented that he was
purchasing the firearm for himself,
rather than for Ge Songtao.
Navy officer guilty of hidingties to Chinese businessman
Bloomberg
WASHINGTON — An Iranian
navy helicopter on Thursday flew
within 25 yards of the USS Essex,
which was cruising through inter-
national waters in the Gulf of
Oman, chief Pentagon spokesman
John Kirby said Monday.
The state-owned helicopter
flew close to the ship’s port side
and, at one point, “as low as about
10 feet off the surface of the
ocean,” Kirby said.
The helicopter circled the 820-
foot-long ship three times before
leaving. The Essex is a Wasp-class
amphibious assault ship.
“Without getting into specifics,
the crew of the Essex took the ap-
propriate force protection mea-
sures that they felt they needed to
and they acted in accordance with
international law,” Kirby said.
“There was no impact ultimately
to the Essex’s transit or its oper-
ations but that doesn’t mean that
this wasn’t an unsafe and unpro-
fessional act.”
Kirby also called the incident
“dangerous” because U.S. ship
commanders “have the right of
self-defense.”
“When you have another armed
force — in this case, the Iranian
navy — that flies like this, you defi-
nitely run the risk of some sort of
escalation and a miscalculation on
either side here, and that’s not
helpful,” he said. “This one ended
peacefully, but it doesn’t mean it
was safe and professional. It abso-
lutely wasn’t.”
Tensions between the U.S. and
Iran are longstanding and inci-
dents like Thursday’s are not un-
common. In April and May, the
U.S. fired warning shots to warn
off Iranian Revolutionary Guard
vessels that approached Navy and
Coast Guard ships at high speeds.
Iranian officials have not said
why the helicopter flew so close to
the Essex.
FRANCISCO DIAZ/U.S. Marine Corps
The USS Essex, a Waspclass amphibious assault ship, is pictured underway in the Pacific Ocean in 2018.An Iranian navy helicopter on Thursday flew within 25 yards of the Essex in the Gulf of Oman, chiefPentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday.
Iranian helo flies within25 yards of USS Essex
BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @CaitlinDoornbos
PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
MILITARY
The Army has begun a new
program to take a closer look at
command sergeants major eligi-
ble to lead brigades in an effort to
weed out potentially toxic lead-
ers.
“It wasn’t that the old system
was bad. It’s just how do we pick a
better leader?” Sgt. Maj. of the
Army Michael Grinston told re-
porters Monday. “We want to
move into the 21st century with
really good talent management
and assess and ensure that we
have the absolute best leaders for
our soldiers. Our soldiers deserve
the best we can give them.”
The program mirrors one re-
cently launched for senior offi-
cers that has shown to give sol-
diers more fit and capable com-
manders, according to the Army
Talent Management Task Force.
About 490 noncommissioned
officers will pass through Fort
Knox, Ky., this month to conduct
the in-person assessment, said
Grinston, who traveled to the
base to observe the increased
screening process. Previously, a
board reviewed an NCO’s past
evaluations and records to assign
leaders into these roles. These
command sergeants major advise
brigade commanders on leading
up to 5,000 troops.
“You get one more look at a
leader, and it’s a completely holi-
stic view,” Grinston said.
The Sergeant Major Assess-
ment Program evaluates some of
the Army’s most senior NCOs us-
ing cognitive and noncognitive
evaluations, tests on written and
verbal communication, peer and
subordinate feedback and a phys-
ical fitness test, according to the
Army Talent Management Task
Force. Candidates also interview
with a psychologist and participa-
te in an in-person panel review in
which reviewers cannot physical-
ly see the candidate.
About 65 of the Army’s oper-
ational psychologists are on site to
conduct the interviews, which are
meant to be an extra layer to de-
termine whether someone has the
potential for toxic or counterpro-
ductive behavior. The Army has
primarily used these types of in-
terviews in the past when selec-
ting candidates for special-mis-
sion units, Grinston said.
The new program matches one
launched in January 2020 for
lieutenant colonels looking to take
battalion command. Known as
the Command Assessment Pro-
gram, it expanded to include colo-
nels taking brigade commands
about a year ago.
Data from those officer assess-
ments show the process pro-
duced, on average, commanders
who were “more physically fit,
more cognitively capable, better
written communicators, better
verbal communicators, more self-
aware, and less likely to display
counterproductive leader behav-
iors,” said Maj. Joseph Payton,
spokesman for the Army Talent
Management Task Force.
The Army completed a pilot
program of the new NCO assess-
ment last year with 28 graduates
of the Army Sergeants Major A-
cademy, but this will be the first
iteration to produce binding re-
sults for the candidates.
The new review also removed
an old barrier that blocked NCOs
with 30 years of service from con-
tinuing in the Army and attempt-
ing to take on a brigade leader-
ship role. Removing that variable
allows those who still feel phys-
ically able and qualified to contin-
ue to compete for jobs in the Ar-
my and does not discount the ser-
vice on the chance to place a qual-
ified candidate, Grinston said.
So far, about 166 command ser-
geants major have been through
the assessment at Fort Knox,
Grinston said. As he watches can-
didates vie for positions, he said
he’s seeing where some people
have struggled to meet writing
standards and the physical fitness
requirements.
“This is the first time a lot of
NCOs have gone … to a board
where you had to physically go
and stand in front of someone and
I think that is unnerving in itself,”
Grinston said.
For some soldiers, the last time
they stood before a board was a
staff sergeant, he said.
Once completed, candidates
will be labeled as ready or not yet
ready for brigade command.
For those who don’t make the
cut, they will receive feedback,
and the NCO can request a coach
through an Army coaching pro-
gram to help them improve for fu-
ture evaluations.
Army expands reviews of brigade leadersBY ROSE L. THAYER
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @Rose_Lori
WHITE BEACH NAVAL FA-
CILITY, Okinawa — The Cana-
dian frigate HMCS Winnipeg
pulled into this U.S. Navy port on
Okinawa on Monday, three
months into its annual fall patrol
of the Indo-Pacific region.
The Royal Canadian Navy in
2018 started sending a frigate and
a P-3 Orion reconnaissance plane
into the region for several
months, Canadian defense atta-
ché to Japan Capt. Hugues Ca-
nuel said at a news conference
Monday morning.
“In terms of the fairly small
Canadian armed forces, this is
quite a commitment,” he said.
“This is reflective of the commit-
ment of the Canadian govern-
ment to contribute to peace and
security in the region and rein-
force the bilateral relationships
between Canada and Japan.”
The Winnipeg’s silhouette took
shape on the horizon off White
Beach just after sunrise. As it ar-
rived, its crew of 220 male and 35
female sailors pulled and coiled
thick ropes on deck while others
manned the rails clad in their
blue coveralls.
The Canadians have regularly
sent forces to the region since fall
2017, after North Korea in a two-
month span fired two ballistic
missiles over Japan and tested a
nuclear weapon, Canuel said.
Canada was among the first to
send units to enforce sanctions on
oil imports and textiles exports
imposed on North Korea by the
U.N. Security Council in re-
sponse to those weapons tests.
Since September, the Winni-
peg has trained alongside the
U.K. Carrier Strike Group and
the Japan Maritime Self-Defense
Force, patrolled the South and
East China seas, transited the
Taiwan Strait and monitored ille-
gal fuel transfers to North Korea.
Winnipeg skipper Cmdr. Doug
Layton said he had sent evidence
of potential illegal North Korean
fuel transfers to the U.N.
The deployment “shows our
commitment to our responsibili-
ties to the United Nations,” Lay-
ton said. “It also demonstrates
our commitment to regional al-
lies and partners and increases
our own skills to make sure that
we’re able to do this in a time of
increasing tensions.”
It’s been a good deployment,
despite not being allowed liberty
at most port stops due to CO-
VID-19, Royal Canadian Air
Force pilot Capt. Cory Proulx
said standing next to his CH-148
Cyclone helicopter.
“We’ve been getting a fair bit of
experience doing things we nev-
er would have, for instance,
working with four [aircraft] car-
riers,” he said. “That’s pretty un-
heard of for the Canadian mili-
tary.”
Operations with partner na-
tions pose challenges in terms of
differing communication sys-
tems, training methods and mil-
itary equipment, Proulx said, so
working together before a crisis
arises is beneficial.
The Winnipeg sailors will have
three days’ rest and relaxation on
Okinawa, Layton said. They are
not permitted to leave the U.S.
base, and will participate in a 10-
day exercise with the Japan Self-
Defense Forces and U.S. Navy
before heading back to Canada in
time for Christmas.
“Canada will remain commit-
ted to conducting these kinds of
operations and deployments to
the region for the long-term,” Ca-
nuel said.
Canadian frigate’s crewtakes break on Okinawaduring Indo-Pacific patrol
BY MATTHEW M. BURKE
Stars and Stripes
PHOTOS BY MATTHEW M. BURKE/Stars and Stripes
Above:: The Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Winnipeg docks Monday at White Beach Naval Facility,Okinawa. Below: The crew of a Royal Canadian Air Force CH148 Cyclone helicopter pose aboard theHMCS Winnipeg.
[email protected] Twitter: @MatthewMBurke1
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
there are new questions about
how much cooperation U.S. mili-
tary investigators should give
when German authorities pursue
these tax cases.
The dispute centers on how to
interpret the NATO treaty, which
puts the pay and benefits of those
with military visas off-limits to lo-
cal tax collectors.
No other country with large con-
centrations of U.S. forces, includ-
ing Italy, the United Kingdom, Ja-
pan and South Korea, has tried to
collect income tax on military pay-
checks, which are already taxed
by the U.S. government.
But some German authorities
say the treaty leaves the door open
to taxing Americans who have
personal reasons for being in Ger-
many.
Being married to a German,
sending children to local schools
or having lengthy tours of duty are
some of the factors considered in
tax liability cases.
Certain groups of military civil-
ians, such as teachers, are espe-
cially at risk because their posi-
tions don’t come with tour length
restrictions, and they can spend
their whole careers abroad.
For American personnel, get-
ting into a tax battle with the Ger-
$300,000, the couple said.
The cooperation of the Air
Force’s OSI branch at Ramstein
came to light after Stars and
Stripes was provided a copy of the
purchase records covering four
years that Roessling sent the
Neustadt finance department in
2018.
The Neustadt office is where
Rheinland-Pfalz tax dispute cases
are litigated.
The couple lost their case in tax
court in Neustadt in 2020. The
court determined that the Ameri-
can wasn’t in Germany “solely”
for his job and that he had no in-
tention of returning to the U.S.,
where he now lives, the family
said.
Mike Goff, a retired Air Force
senior master sergeant who
serves as an advocate for the af-
fected military community in Ger-
many, said he was “astonished”
that any U.S. military office hand-
ed over information about on-base
purchases by a SOFA-protected
American “to share with a foreign
country’s most feared agency.”
U.S. Air Forces in Europe said
in a statement that the Air Force
Office of Special Investigations
“does not comment on pending le-
gal matters.”
Roessling, the special agent
who sent the report to the tax au-
thorities, did not respond to a re-
quest for comment.
More than one year after the
U.S. government lodged a diplo-
matic complaint that German fi-
nance offices are misinterpreting
the SOFA in their attempts to tax
military personnel, there is still no
end in sight to what has become a
revenue stream for some German
garrison towns.
“At this time, we cannot get into
specific discussions,” a U.S. State
Department spokesman told Stars
and Stripes in a statement. “How-
ever, we can assure you that the
U.S. government has expressed at
very high levels our eagerness to
see the long-standing issue resolv-
ed. We will continue to engage
with our German partners on this
matter.”
In September, Secretary of
State Antony Blinken told report-
ers during a visit to Ramstein Air
Base that he was unaware of the
matter but that he would look into
it. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
raised his concerns with his Ger-
man counterpart during a Penta-
gon meeting in June.
While diplomatic talks drag on,
mans involves more than just pay.
Finance offices use base ameni-
ties to inflate bills.
Things like access to discounted
gas, Defense Department schools
for children, tax-free shopping
and free gyms are among the priv-
ileges that get factored in.
“This is what the [German fi-
nance offices] use to tack on up-
wards of 15,000 euros (or $16,996)
to our fellow Americans’ income
to squeeze more illegal money out
of them,” Goff said.
Both USAFE and U.S. Army Eu-
rope and Africa said they are un-
aware of requests by local tax of-
fices for purchase records from
base authorities for use in tax as-
sessments against personnel.
That raises the question of
whether German tax officials are
approaching U.S. military investi-
gators with felony allegations of
tax fraud as a means of accessing
the records, which can then be re-
directed to noncriminal tax dis-
pute cases at issue in the SOFA
dispute.
Under the SOFA, the military
must provide relevant informa-
tion in certain cases, such as when
goods are being sold on the black
market.
The SOFA provisions also apply
when a person or business is al-
ready subject to German taxation.
For example, the military would
have to provide records pertain-
ing to on-base concessionaires
who are accused of not reporting
income and purchases to German
authorities.
Yet Ramstein’s OSI office ap-
pears to have gone a step further,
sending information on a military-
affiliated family that it acknowl-
edged in its letter to German fi-
nance officials had “full entitle-
ment” to privileges.
The Landstuhl-Kusel finance
office, which oversees matters in
the Ramstein area, defended its
methods.
In a statement, it said it seeks in-
formation for tax cases “based ex-
clusively” on what is “permitted
under procedural law” and provi-
sions in the SOFA.
German authorities haven’t re-
vealed how much money they’ve
collected from American person-
nel over the years or how many
people have been targeted in all,
but in the Ramstein Air Base area
alone, there were roughly 400
cases as of last year.
Records: No end in sight to tax issues for some German garrison towns
[email protected]: @john_vandiver
FROM PAGE 1
MILITARY
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germa-
ny — Americans affiliated with
the U.S. military who are waiting
for COVID-19 booster shots to
open to everyone 18 and older may
be able to get the additional dose
sooner off-base in Germany.
In the state of Rheinland-Pfalz,
which includes Kaiserslautern
and numerous U.S. military in-
stallations, roving vaccination
buses are providing free CO-
VID-19 inoculations, including
boosters.
Officials from the German Red
Cross, which runs the service,
have said no appointments are
necessary, although wait times
can vary.
“Anyone 18 and older can re-
ceive a booster shot six months af-
ter the second coronavirus shot,”
said a post Monday on Rheinland-
Pfalz’s official Facebook page.
Vaccination drives for the U.S.
general public at military bases in
Europe began ramping up in May,
so many Americans are just now
reaching the six-month mark
since their last dose.
A German Red Cross spokes-
man at the Hoppstaedten-Weiers-
bach bus location near Birkenfeld
said Tuesday that Americans are
welcome.
“All will be vaccinated,” said
Manuel Borgmann, a spokesman
for the agency in Rheinland-Pfalz.
“A reported address in Germany
is not required, nor is German
health insurance.”
Some of the stops this week are
in places near U.S. installations,
including Mainz, Weilerbach,
Trier and Baumholder.
An ID is necessary to ensure
that proof of vaccination is given
to the right person, Borgmann
said. It should include a name,
date of birth and address. Also,
proof of vaccination is necessary
to receive a booster, he said.
Rheinland-Pfalz has dispatched
six buses around the state since
August to supermarket parking
lots, city centers, sports clubs,
schools and leisure facilities. The
buses have administered more
60,000 doses so far.
They offer the Johnson & John-
son and Pfizer vaccines. Anyone
18 and older who had the one-dose
J&J vaccine at least four months
ago may get a booster shot.
It was unclear whether the bus-
es will give a Pfizer booster shot to
someone who has received two
doses of Moderna, which is what
many on bases have received. U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention guidelines do allow for
receiving a different brand of
booster.
Vaccinations are available to
children ages 12 to 15 who are ac-
companied by a legal guardian.
Written consent from a parent or
guardian is acceptable for chil-
dren ages 16 and 17.
The bus schedule is posted
weekly at www.corona.rlp.de/fil-
eadmin/corona/KW46.pdf.
On U.S. military bases in Eu-
rope, booster shots six months af-
ter the second dose are restricted
to people in certain categories.
They include seniors age 65 and
older and anyone 18 and up who
has an underlying medical condi-
tion or works in a job that puts
them at higher risk of contracting
the virus. Health care workers,
teachers, child care providers and
people preparing to deploy are
among those in the latter category.
Anyone 18 and older who re-
ceived the Johnson & Johnson
vaccine is eligible for a booster
shot two months afterward on mil-
itary bases.
Guidance from the CDC has yet
to expand booster shot eligibility
to everyone 18 and older.
Air Force officials at Ramstein
Air Base said Tuesday that CDC-
approved vaccinations received
from German facilities will be rec-
ognized by military health offi-
cials.
The Army advised people who
normally receive military medical
care to get vaccinated on base to
ensure that the local population
has as much access to the shots as
possible.
But people who obtain a vacci-
nation or booster from a host-na-
tion medical source should take
their documentation to their base
medical clinic so it can be put in
their records, said Kirk Frady, a
spokesman for Regional Health
Command Europe.
Other communities in Germany
are also providing the vaccine to
Americans affiliated with the U.S.
military.
In Weiden, near U.S. installa-
tions in Bavaria, Americans can
get vaccinated at the city’s vac-
cine center, said Sebastian Seib-
ert, head of administration for the
center.
Avaccine bus in Stuttgart also is
open for Americans, said Niklas
Junkermann, a city spokesman. A
schedule is available in German
at: www.stuttgart.de/leben/ge-
sundheit/infektionsschutz/coro-
na-impfung/offenes-impfen.php.
German vaccine buses let Americans get boostersBY JENNIFER H. SVAN
AND MARCUS KLOECKNER
Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes reporter Alexander W. Riedelcontributed to this [email protected]: @[email protected]
ALEXANDER W. RIEDEL/Stars and Stripes
Seyed Hossein Riazimand, a German Red Cross team leader, checksvaccination paperwork in HoppstaedtenWeiersbach, Germany, onTuesday.
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
VIRUS OUTBREAK
itary spouse Jennifer Lee of San
Diego with daughter Ana, 7. “We
didn’t feel comfortable going back
to the States until she could be vac-
cinated. So we’re just overall more
comfortable.”
The Food and Drug Administra-
tion on Oct. 29 approved the Pfizer
vaccine for emergency use for
children ages 5 to 11 in two doses,
three weeks apart. Their 10-micro-
gram dose is half that for children
ages 12 and older, according to the
FDA.
Yokosuka, where the number of
confirmed new and active cases
has shrunk to zero this month,
moved into health protection con-
dition Alpha at 1 p.m. Monday.
Condition Alpha means the virus
may be spreading, but only basic
precautions are required, such as
keeping surfaces clean and disin-
fected, maintaining good hygiene
and getting vaccinated, among
other measures.
All public health measures at
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Ja-
pan — Two U.S. military bases
near Japan’s capital city are the
first in the country to offer corona-
virus vaccines to the young chil-
dren of military parents.
Yokosuka Naval Base, home-
port of the 7th Fleet 35 miles south
of Tokyo, started vaccinating chil-
dren ages 5 to 11 on Tuesday, with
further shots available by appoint-
ment through Friday.
“I’ve been waiting for the vac-
cine for kids to come out, and it’s fi-
nally here,” said Michael Perez, a
civilian Defense Department em-
ployee from Guam and father to
Luke, 5, and Adriana, 10. “I’m very
relieved.”
Yokosuka had 300 doses availa-
ble Tuesday and 2,000 for the
week, according to Lt. Cmdr. Ja-
mal Phillips, Yokosuka’s CO-
VID-19 vaccine task force coordi-
nator.
“I’m excited to get these kids
taken care of and get them one step
closer to ‘normal,’” he told Stars
and Stripes during Tuesday’s shot
clinic.
Yokota Air Base, home of U.S.
Forces Japan in western Tokyo,
has scheduled an appointment-on-
ly shot line for Thursday, with a
promise of more to come.
Neither base has any confirmed
active cases of COVID-19, the cor-
onavirus respiratory disease.
At Yokosuka, shots of the Pfizer
BioNTech pediatric vaccine were
scheduled at The Sullivans Ele-
mentary from 2-7 p.m. Wednesday
and Thursday and at Ikego Ele-
mentary School from 2-6 p.m. Fri-
day. Vaccines are not mandated
for children in U.S. military fam-
ilies as they are for service mem-
bers.
“I think it’s definitely going to
change our decision to go back to
the States when we can,” said mil-
Yokosuka remain in place, howev-
er, including mandatory mask
wear while inside schools, health
care facilities, while interacting
with Japanese personnel, and at all
times while off the base, according
to the Naval Forces Japan mask
policy published in August.
The move from condition Bravo
to Alpha represents a significant
milestone on the return to normal,
base commander Capt. Rich Jar-
rett told Stars and Stripes via email
Tuesday. But the pandemic is not
over.
“We do expect a winter outbreak
of COVID-19 and will need contin-
ued efforts from the community to
ensure that we are able to maintain
our current health protection con-
dition,” Jarrett said. “With a high
immunization rate and some sim-
ple community health protection
measures, maintaining HPCON
ALPHA is an achievable goal.”
Yokosuka confirmed 65 new
coronavirus cases in September
and 119 in August, during the most
extreme phase of the pandemic in
Japan thus far. The base reported
293 cases in January, more than it
publicly acknowledged in all of
2020, though like many installa-
tions in Japan, the naval base with-
held case numbers in spring and
summer that year.
At Yokota, which moved to con-
dition Alpha in early October, the
medical group scheduled an ap-
pointment-only shot line for eligi-
ble children from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday at the dental clinic. In-
formation about Yokota’s upcom-
ing shot lines will be posted on the
374th Medical Group Facebook
page, according to an announce-
ment online from the group.
Links for appointment sites are
available on the official Facebook
pages for both bases.
Vaccines for kids ages 5-11 roll out at US bases in JapanBY JOSEPH DITZLER
AND ALEX WILSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @[email protected]: @AlexMNWilson
WASHINGTON — Defense
Secretary Lloyd Austin has the au-
thority to order National Guard
troops to receive the coronavirus
vaccine even while they are on
state duty, chief Pentagon spokes-
man John Kirby said Monday.
Kirby’s comments follow a me-
mo issued Thursday by newly ap-
pointed Oklahoma Adjutant Gen-
eral Thomas Mancino that told
Oklahoma National Guard troops
that they are no longer required to
receive the vaccine despite a fed-
eral policy mandating the shots
for all service members.
Mancino’s memo included “no
negative administrative or legal
action will be taken” against
Guard members who decline the
coronavirus vaccine, The Oklaho-
man reported Friday.
In August, Austin issued a De-
fense Department memo requir-
ing all service members to get the
vaccine or face being kicked out of
the military for failing to obey a
lawful order.
“These vaccines are safe and ef-
fective, and National Guardsmen
are required to take them under
the authorities that the secretary
has, including when they’re Title
32 status,” Kirby told reporters at
the Pentagon, referring to the sec-
tion in the U.S. Code under which
Guard troops operate on state mis-
sions.
Title 10 of the U.S. Code gives
the National Guard Bureau au-
thority to issue its mandate for
Guard troops activated for federal
missions, while Title 32 gives indi-
vidual states the power to issue in-
structions when Guard troops are
operating under the state’s au-
thority.
The National Guard’s vaccina-
tion deadline is June 30, 2022 —
the latest of all the military com-
ponents. But the Air Force vaccine
deadline was Nov. 2 and the Ar-
my’s deadline is Dec. 15, which is
more than six months before the
bureau’s deadline. Both services
require Guard troops to be vacci-
nated to be mobilized on federal
orders.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on
Nov. 2 wrote to Austin requesting
the defense secretary suspend the
mandate for Oklahoma Guard
members. Stitt noted in the letter
that about 800 Oklahoma Guard
troops — or about 10% of its force
— “have not and do not plan on re-
ceiving” the shot.
Austin has received the letter
but has not yet replied to Stitt, Kir-
by said Monday.
Kirby said the Oklahoma Guard
troops are still required to receive
the vaccine, though he declined to
say how the Pentagon would en-
force the mandate if the adjutant
general continues to assert there
is no vaccine requirement for
Guard members in his state.
“I’m not going to speculate to-
day about what actions we might
or might not take,” he said. “Hope-
fully it won’t come to that.”
Pentagon: National Guardmust obey Austin shot order
BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @CaitlinDoornbos
ANDREW LAMOREAUX/U.S. Air National Guard
Tech. Sgt. Rachel Clark, an aerospace medical technician with the137th Special Operations Medical Group, administers a coronavirusvaccine to an Oklahoma National Guard soldier at the Armed ForcesReserve Center in Norman, Okla., in January.
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South
Korea — Thirteen people, includ-
ing nearly a dozen children, link-
ed to an on-base children’s center
recently tested positive for the
coronavirus respiratory disease,
an official at the center said Tues-
day.
At least 11 children and two staff
members from the Capt. Jennifer
M. Moreno School Age Center on
Humphreys tested positive within
the past week, center coordinator
Tiffany Harris told Stars and
Stripes by phone. Around 178 chil-
dren in grades one through five
are enrolled in the center, which
employs 24 people.
The center, which provides
children with after-school pro-
grams, was closed Friday for
cleaning and sanitizing; it reo-
pened Monday.
Many of the children who tested
positive were sent home after ex-
hibiting COVID-19 symptoms,
Harris said. Anyone who enters
the center has their temperature
checked and is screened with a se-
ries of questions, such as whether
they have a headache or a runny
nose.
Harris said not all the positive
cases originated within the cen-
ter.
“It was not just from the school-
age center,” she said. “A lot of
them were already sick when they
came to us, and we sent them
home.”
Harris said contact tracing was
still underway on Monday and one
of the elementary schools con-
ducted mass COVID-19 testing on
Friday. As of Tuesday morning,
no faculty members at the center
had tested positive.
Contact tracing and sanitation
on the base is scrupulous at edu-
cation facilities on Humphreys,
Harris said. At the school-age cen-
ter, over 20 cameras record in and
around the building, while school
lockers, bathrooms and play areas
are cleaned every two hours, she
said.
Humphreys’ commander, Ar-
my Col. Seth Graves, confirmed
Tuesday that a number of cases
among children prompted the
school-age center to close. He said
health officials believe “we con-
tained the spread well enough”
for the center to reopen Monday.
“The safety and well-being of
our community members and
staff is our No. 1 priority,” Graves
told Stars and Stripes by phone.
“We’ll continue to work as hard as
possible to ensure a safe environ-
ment for all.”
Graves said he encourages par-
ents not to send children who are
feeling ill to their school or the
center.
Children’s center at US base in S. Korea confirms 13 new casesBY DAVID CHOI
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @choibboy
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
VIRUS OUTBREAK
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Federal
workplace safety regulators an-
nounced Monday that they have
reached an agreement with Smith-
field Foods to settle a contested ci-
tation of the company’s coronavi-
rus safety measures during a mas-
sive outbreak last year at a South
Dakota pork processing plant.
Under the agreement, Virginia-
based Smithfield Foods will devel-
op a plan to prevent infectious dis-
eases at meatpacking plants na-
tionwide and pay a $13,500 fine.
Smithfield’s Sioux Falls plant
was one the nation’s worst CO-
VID-19 hotspots during the early
days of the pandemic. By June 16,
2020, four workers were dead and
nearly 1,300 had tested positive for
the virus, according to the Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Adminis-
tration. After an investigation, the
federal agency said Smithfield did
not do enough to space workers out
or provide other safety measures
such as face coverings or physical
barriers.
The company contested that as-
sessment, however, and defended
its actions at a time when safety
precautions against COVID-19
were not clear. Smithfield’s
spokesman, Jim Monroe, said the
company admitted no wrongdoing
and called OSHA’s allegations
“baseless.”
STEPHEN GROVES/AP
Employees of two departments at the Smithfield pork processingplant in Sioux Falls, S.D., report to work on May 4, 2020, as the plantmoved to reopen after a coronavirus outbreak infected workers.
OSHA and S.D. porkplant settle complaint
Associated Press
Pfizer Inc. reached a licensing
agreement that will allow gener-
ic-drug manufacturers to pro-
duce inexpensive versions of its
COVID-19 pill for 95 low- and
middle-income countries, follow-
ing a similar move by Merck &
Co.
In a statement on Tuesday,
Pfizer said it signed an agree-
ment with the United Nations-
backed Medicines Patent Pool to
license the experimental pill,
once it is authorized by regula-
tors, to generic companies that
can supply it to countries that ac-
count for roughly 53% of the
world population. The shares fell
1% in pre-market U.S. trading.
Pfizer won’t receive royalties
from sales in low-income coun-
tries, and it won’t get royalties
from sales to middle-income
countries covered by the pact as
long as COVID-19 is classified as
a public health emergency, ac-
cording to the statement.
The widely awaited deal could
help bolster access to a potent
new virus-fighting tool. Unlike
the exotic mRNA technology in
Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot, the
chemical techniques used to
manufacture pills are mature and
long-established, and numerous
generic companies can cheaply
produce them. Pfizer has been
under considerable pressure to li-
cense the technology ever since it
announced promising clinical-
trial results earlier this month.
Highly effective pills that can
be taken at the first sign of in-
fection are seen as crucial for get-
ting the pandemic under control.
Pfizer’s drug reduced hospitaliza-
tions and deaths by 89% in a large
study of high-risk patients, the
company said this month. It is ap-
plying for emergency authoriza-
tion in the United States and has
said it plans to seek authoriza-
tions in other countries soon.
Pfizer moves to allow cheapversions of encouraging pill
Bloomberg News
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.
— A Florida teacher hospitalized
with COVID-19 has died after her
husband unsuccessfully sued to
force doctors to treat her with iver-
mectin, a drug popular among
some skeptics of accepted corona-
virus treatments despite a lack of
studies proving its effectiveness.
Tamara Drock died Friday, 12
weeks after being admitted to
Palm Beach Gardens Medical
Center, Ryan Drock told the Palm
Beach Post.
He sued the hospital last month
in an attempt to require doctors to
administer ivermectin, a drug
used to treat conditions caused by
parasitic worms. The U.S. Food
and Drug Administration has not
approved the drug to treat CO-
VID-19, saying it hasn’t proved ef-
fective in preclinical trials.
Palm Beach County Circuit
Judge James Nutt rejected
Drock’s lawsuit last month, saying
allowing judges to countermand
doctor’s decisions could set a dan-
gerous precedent.
Ryan Drock, who also was in-
fected but recovered from COVID,
told the Post he’s not giving up.
Woman who sued for ivermectin dies of COVIDAssociated Press
PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
NATION
WASHINGTON — President Joe
Biden and China’s Xi Jinping’s
more than three-hour virtual talk
concluded with the leaders of the
superpowers agreeing they need to
tread carefully as their nations find
themselves in an increasingly
fraught competition.
Facing domestic pressures at
home, both Biden and Xi seemed
determined to lower the temper-
ature in what for both sides is their
most significant — and frequently
turbulent — relationship on the
global stage.
“As I’ve said before, it seems to
me our responsibility as leaders of
China and the United States is to en-
sure that the competition between
our countries does not veer into
conflict, whether intended or unin-
tended,” Biden told Xi at the start of
their virtual meeting Monday.
“Just simple, straightforward com-
petition.”
The White House set low expec-
tations for the meeting, and no ma-
jor announcements or even a joint
statement were delivered. Still,
White House officials said the two
leaders had a substantive ex-
change.
Xi greeted the U.S. president as
his “old friend” and echoed Biden’s
cordial tone in his own opening re-
marks, saying, “China and the Unit-
ed States need to increase commu-
nication and cooperation.”
The relationship has had no
shortage of tension since Biden
strode into the White House in Ja-
nuary and quickly criticized Beijing
for human rights abuses against
Uyghurs in northwest China, sup-
pression of democratic protests in
Hong Kong, military aggression
against the self-ruled island of Tai-
wan and more. Xi’s deputies, mean-
while, have lashed out against the
Biden White House for interfering
tions.”
The White House said Biden reit-
erated the U.S. will abide by the
long-standing U.S. “One China”
policy, which recognizes Beijing
but allows informal relations and
defense ties with Taipei.
But Biden also made clear the
U.S. “strongly opposes unilateral
efforts to change the status quo or
undermine peace and stability
across the Taiwan Strait,” the White
House said.
With Beijing set to host the Win-
ter Olympics in February and Xi
expected to be approved by Com-
munist Party leaders to serve as
party leader next year and then a
third term as president in 2023 —
unprecedented in recent Chinese
history — the Chinese leader may
be looking to stabilize the relation-
ship in the near term.
“China and the United States
should respect each other, coexist
in peace, and pursue win-win coop-
eration,” Xi said.
meet Xi in person, but the Chinese
leader has not left his country since
the start of the coronavirus pan-
demic. The White House floated the
idea of a virtual meeting as the next
best thing to allow for the two lead-
ers to have a candid conversation
about a wide range of strains in the
relationship.
Chinese officials said in advance
that Taiwan would be their top issue
for the talks. Tensions have height-
ened as the Chinese military has
dispatched an increasing number
of fighter jets near Taiwan, which
Beijing considers part of its territo-
ry. Chinese military forces held ex-
ercises last week near Taiwan in re-
sponse to a visit by a U.S. congres-
sional delegation to the island.
“The Taiwan issue concerns Chi-
na’s sovereignty and territorial in-
tegrity, as well as China’s core inter-
est,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spo-
kesperson Zhao Lijian said Mon-
day. “It is the most important and
sensitive issue in China-U.S. rela-
gy shortages, and a looming hous-
ing crisis that Biden officials worry
could cause tremors in the global
market.
“Right now, both China and the
United States are at critical stages
of development, and humanity lives
in a global village, and we face mul-
tiple challenges together,” Xi said.
The U.S. president was joined in
the Roosevelt Room for the video
call by Secretary of State Antony
Blinken and a handful of aides. Xi,
for his part, was accompanied in the
East Hall of the Great Hall of the
People by communist party direc-
tor Ding Xuexiang and a number of
advisers.
The high-level diplomacy had a
touch of pandemic Zoom meeting
informality as the two leaders
waved to each other once they saw
one another on the screen, with Xi
telling Biden, “It’s the first time for
us to meet virtually, although it’s not
as good as a face-to-face meeting.”
Biden would have preferred to
in what they see as internal Chinese
matters.
The White House in a statement
said that Biden again raised con-
cerns about China’s human rights
practices, and made clear that he
sought to “protect American work-
ers and industries from the PRC’s
unfair trade and economic practic-
es.” The two also spoke about key
regional challenges, including
North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran.
As the U.S.-China tensions have
mounted, both leaders also have
found themselves under the weight
of increased challenges in their own
backyards.
Biden, who has watched his poll
numbers diminish amid concerns
about the lingering coronavirus
pandemic, inflation and supply
chain problems, was looking to find
a measure of equilibrium on the
most consequential foreign policy
matter he faces.
Xi, meanwhile, is facing a CO-
VID-19 resurgence, rampant ener-
Biden, Xi talk, try to tamp down tensionBY AAMER MADHANI
AND COLLEEN LONG
Associated Press
YUE YUEWEI, XINHUA/AP
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and President Joe Biden appear on a screen as they hold a meeting via video link, in Beijing, on Tuesday.Biden said the goal of the two leaders should be to ensure that competition between the two superpowers “does not veer into conflict.”
BEIJING — No breakthroughs
were delivered during talks be-
tween Chinese leader Xi Jinping
and President Joe Biden, but the
cordial tone of the virtual meeting is
an indication that relations between
the sides may be turning a corner —
even if that means for now merely
walking back from the heated ex-
changes of earlier this year.
Here is a look at what is driving
tensions between the world’s two
biggest economies and the main
takeaways from the Xi-Biden talks.
From worse to bad: Relations
went into sharp decline after then-
President Donald Trump imposed
sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods in
retaliation for what he said were
Beijing’s unfair trading practices.
The U.S. had for years been com-
plaining of the theft or forced trans-
fer of American technology and was
campaigning to keep Chinese com-
munications giants, most notably
Huawei, out of the U.S. and other
markets. The Trump administra-
tion also sharply criticized China on
human rights issues.
Relations remained frosty after
Biden took office. At a meeting in
Alaska in March, senior Chinese
foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi
berated Secretary of State Antony
Blinken and national security advis-
er Jake Sullivan, accusing the U.S. of
failing to deal with its own human
rights problems and taking issue
with what he said was American hy-
pocrisy.
Cautious optimism:Relations ap-
peared to bottom out when Sullivan
and Yang met again in Switzerland
last month, in a follow-up to a phone
call between Xi and Biden. Sullivan
made clear that the U.S. sought bet-
ter engagement at a senior level “to
ensure responsible competition,”
according to the White House.
The meeting laid the groundwork
for the virtual meeting Tuesday be-
tween Xi and Biden.
Causes of tension:The sides are at
odds over everything from trade
and technology to human rights,
self-governing Taiwan and the
South China Sea.
In some of his most pointed com-
ments, Xi said “Taiwanese inde-
pendence forces” and those in the
U.S. who would use them to contain
China were the key sources of ten-
sion over the island that China
claims as its own territory. “We have
patience and are willing to show ut-
most sincerity and exert the greatest
efforts to obtain peaceful unifica-
tion,” Xi said, according to China’s
official Xinhua News Agency.
“However, if the Taiwan independ-
ence separatist forces provoke and
force our hand, we will be required
to take drastic measures.”
Alongside “human rights more
broadly,” Biden raised concerns
about China’s practices in Tibet, the
crackdown in Hong Kong, and the
Uyghur homeland of Xinjiang
where more than a million have
been detained in political re-educa-
tion camps, according to the U.S.
Where do they go from here?:
The softened rhetoric marks a ma-
jor improvement. What benefits ac-
crue depends on whether the two
countries can find areas of coopera-
tion and come up with agreements,
work-arounds or other ways of ma-
naging their disputes.
“This is an important relation-
ship, perhaps the most consequen-
tial bilateral relationship in the
world, the two largest economies,
two largest militaries, two largest
greenhouse gas emitters,” said Paul
Haenle of the Carnegie Endowment
for World Peace. “So the fact that the
two leaders are meeting, in my view,
is a good thing. But we need, I think,
to be realistic.”
It is “very important for the lead-
ers of the two countries to define the
relationship and steer the direc-
tion,” said Yu Wanli, a professor of
international relations at Beijing
Language and Cultural University.
China will be looking for Biden to
take action but recognizes the politi-
cal constraints he faces, Yu said.
Will US-China ties improve after leaders’ discussions?Associated Press
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9
NATION
WASHINGTON — A coalition
of organizations working to evac-
uate people who could be targeted
by the Taliban rulers in Afghanis-
tan appealed Monday for more as-
sistance from the U.S. govern-
ment and other nations as condi-
tions deteriorate in the country.
Members of the AfghanEvac
Coalition met in a video call with
Secretary of State Antony Blinken
to press the case for additional re-
sources to help tens of thousands
of people get out of Afghanistan,
now faced with a deepening eco-
nomic and humanitarian crisis in
addition to a precarious security
situation following the U.S. with-
drawal.
Participants said afterward
they were grateful for what the
State Department has done so far,
including helping to arrange a se-
ries of evacuation flights for U.S.
citizens and residents since the
withdrawal, but more will be
needed in the months ahead.
“The State Department doing
enough isn’t enough. We need
whole of government solutions,
we need the international commu-
nity to step up and we need it
quickly,” said Peter Lucier, a for-
mer Marine who served in Af-
ghanistan who works with coali-
tion-member Team America.
“Winter is coming. There is a fam-
ine already. ”
Private groups, particularly
with ties to the veteran communi-
ty, have played an important role
in the evacuation and resettle-
ment of tens of thousands of Af-
ghans since the United States end-
ed its longest war and the govern-
ment fell to the Taliban. Members
of the coalition, which includes
about 100 organizations, have
been working to help people get on
the scarce flights out of the coun-
try and helping them get settled in
communities once they reach the
U.S.
State Department spokesman
Ned Price said the call included
discussion of what he called “our
collective efforts” to aid visa hold-
ers and applicants and to “facili-
tate the departure of these individ-
uals who are at a stage where it is
appropriate to do so.”
About 82,000 people have come
to the U.S. so far under what the
Biden administration calls Oper-
ation Allies Welcome. The De-
partment of Homeland Security
said 10% were American citizens
or permanent residents.
The rest were a combination of
people who had obtained special
immigrant visas, for those who
had worked for the U.S. govern-
ment as interpreters or in some
other capacity; people applying
for one of the visas but who hadn’t
yet received it; or other Afghans
who might be vulnerable under
the Taliban, such as journalists or
government officials, and quali-
fied to come as refugees. Nearly
half were children.
As of Monday, DHS said about
46,000 are still being housed at do-
mestic U.S. military bases until
they can be resettled by private
refugee organizations around the
country. Another 2,600 remain at
overseas transit points, dubbed
“lily pads,” as they undergo secu-
rity vetting and health screening
before coming to the U.S.
ACHMAD IBRAHIM/AP
Afghan women and children refugees living in Indonesia hold posters during a rally outside a building thathouses UNHCR representative office in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday.
US urged to help more refugeesescape Taliban-led Afghanistan
BY BEN FOX
Associated Press
DETROIT — Take a step back
from the picked-over store
shelves, the stalled container ships
and the empty auto showrooms,
and you’ll find a root cause of the
shortages of just about everything.
Even as the pandemic has
dragged on, U.S. households flush
with cash from stimulus checks,
booming stock markets and en-
larged home equity have felt like
spending freely again — a lot. And
since consumer demand drives
much of the U.S. and global econo-
mies, high demand has brought
goods shortages to the United
States and much of the world.
Add the fact that companies are
ordering — and hoarding — more
goods and parts than they need so
they don’t run out, and you end up
with an almost unquenchable de-
mand that is magnifying the sup-
ply shortages.
That’s where a big problem
comes in: Suppliers were caught
so flat-footed by how fast pent-up
spending surged out of the reces-
sion that they won’t likely be able
to catch up as long as demand re-
mains so robust. That’s especially
so because Americans, still hun-
kered down at home more than
they did before the pandemic, con-
tinue to spend more on goods —
electronics, furniture, appliances,
sporting goods — than on services
like hotels, meals out and movie
tickets. All that demand for goods,
in turn, is helping to accelerate
U.S. inflation.
Unless spending snaps sharply
back to services — or something
else leads people to stop buying so
much — it could take deep into
2022 or even 2023 before global
supply chains regain some sem-
blance of normalcy.
“Demand is completely
skewed,” said Bindiya Vakil, CEO
of Resilinc, a consulting firm that
helps companies manage supply
chains. “This has now become
more and more painful by the
day.”
One reason people may eventu-
ally stop spending so much is that
everything simply costs more
now. Consumer prices in the U.S.
skyrocketed 6.2% over the past
year as food, gasoline, autos and
housing catapulted inflation to its
highest pace since 1990. The laws
of gravity suggest that the cumula-
tive effect of so much inflation will
eventually exert a brake on spend-
ing.
For now, though, manufactur-
ers foresee no end to heavy de-
mand — and no end to beleaguered
supply chains or spiking inflation
pressures. A chronic lack of com-
puter chips has forced Ford Motor
Co., for instance, to revamp its sys-
tem of ordering parts that require
long periods from order to deliv-
ery to try to address shortages.
“It’s highlighted that the “just-
in-time” operating model that’s
been prevalent in autos may not be
the right operating model,” Hau
Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief oper-
ations and product officer, told
analysts.
Key reason for supply shortages: Americans keep spending Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President
Joe Biden signed his hard-fought
$1 trillion infrastructure deal into
law Monday before a bipartisan,
celebratory crowd on the White
House lawn, declaring that the
new infusion of cash for roads,
bridges, ports and more is going to
make life “change for the better”
for the American people.
But prospects are tougher for
further bipartisanship ahead of
the 2022 midterm elections as Bi-
den pivots back to more difficult
negotiations over his broader
$1.85 trillion social spending pack-
age.
The president hopes to use the
infrastructure law to build back
his popularity, which has taken a
hit amid rising inflation and the in-
ability to fully shake the public
health and economic risks from
COVID-19.
“My message to the American
people is this: America is moving
again and your life is going to
change for the better,” he said.
With the bipartisan deal, the
president had to choose between
his promise of fostering national
unity and a commitment to trans-
formative change. The final mea-
sure whittled down much of his ini-
tial vision for infrastructure. Yet
the administration hopes to sell the
new law as a success that bridged
partisan divides and will elevate
the country with clean drinking
water, high-speed internet and a
shift away from fossil fuels.
“Folks, too often in Washington,
the reason we didn’t get things
done is because we insisted on get-
ting everything we want. Every-
thing,” Biden said. “With this law,
we focused on getting things done.
I ran for president because the on-
ly way to move our country for-
ward in my view was through com-
promise and consensus.”
Biden will get outside Washing-
ton to sell the plan more broadly in
coming days.
He traveled to New Hampshire
on Tuesday to visit a bridge on the
state’s “red list” for repair, and he
will go to Detroit on Wednesday
for a stop at General Motors’ elec-
tric vehicle assembly plant, while
other officials also fan out across
the country. The president went to
the Port of Baltimore last week to
highlight how the supply chain in-
vestments from the law could limit
inflation and strengthen supply
chains, a key concern of voters
who are dealing with higher pric-
es.
“We see this as is an opportunity
because we know that the presi-
dent’s agenda is quite popular,”
White House press secretary Jen
Psaki said Monday before the
signing. The outreach to voters can
move “beyond the legislative proc-
ess to talk about how this is going to
help them. And we’re hoping that’s
going to have an impact.”
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Re-
publican who helped negotiate the
package, celebrated Biden’s wil-
lingness to jettison much of his ini-
tial proposal to help bring GOP
lawmakers on board. Portman
even credited former President
Donald Trump for raising aware-
ness about infrastructure, even
though the loser of the 2020 elec-
tion voiced intense opposition to
the ultimate agreement.
“This bipartisan support for this
bill comes because it makes sense
for our constituents, but the ap-
proach from the center out should
be the norm, not the exception,”
Portman said.
$1T infrastructuredeal signed withbipartisan crowd
Associated Press
PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
NATION
WASHINGTON — Steve Ban-
non’s indictment on contempt of
Congress charges is the nation’s
first since 1983, and his appear-
ance in federal court provides a
rare glimpse into one of U.S. law-
makers’ politically messiest and
least-used powers.
The last successful prosecution
reaches all the way back to Wa-
tergate and its aftermath when G.
Gordon Liddy and Richard
Kleindienst were convicted and
pleaded guilty, respectively, for
refusing to answer congressional
questions.
Bannon appeared in federal
court Monday to face charges for
refusing a House subpoena to tell
Congress what he knows about
the lead-up to the Jan. 6 Capitol
attack to interrupt certification of
Democrat Joe Biden’s election
victory over President Donald
Trump.
The last indictment almost four
decades ago was less historic: A
federal environmental official
under President Ronald Reagan
failed to heed a House subpoena.
The official, Rita M. Lavelle, who
headed the Superfund, would go
on to be acquitted of the contempt
charge but later was convicted of
lying to Congress. She was sen-
tenced to six months in prison
and fined $10,000.
Defendant Lavelle was a mem-
ber of the Republican adminis-
tration, while Democrats con-
trolled the House. And the Jus-
tice Department has been wary of
prosecuting such cases when the
White House and the House of
Representatives are controlled
by opposing political parties.
“While the (contempt) law
doesn’t differentiate in any way
between a Republican or a Dem-
ocratic president or Congress, it
tends to break down along those
lines,” said Stan Brand, who
served as former House counsel
when lawmakers referred the
then-EPA chief to the U.S. Jus-
tice Department for criminal
charges.
At present, Democrats control
the House and White House as
lawmakers are probing the worst
attack on the U.S. Capitol in two
centuries, which occurred with
Republican Trump at the White
House calling for protests.
Bannon indictment defies history of Congress’ power of contemptAssociated Press
A national leader of the Proud
Boys, a far-right group with a his-
tory of violence, asked a judge on
Monday to release him from a
Washington, D.C., jail and place
him on home confinement, citing
what he described as inhumane
conditions in the facility.
Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, who
has served 70 days of a five-month
jail term, pleaded guilty in August
to two crimes, including setting
fire to a stolen Black Lives Matter
banner during a tumultuous dem-
onstration in Washington after the
election defeat of former Presi-
dent Donald Trump.
Appearing in D.C. Superior
Court via video, Tarrio, 37, and his
attorney said Tarrio has endured
abuse from staff members, unsan-
itary conditions, poor food and a
lack of medical care. The com-
plaints echoed the findings of a
surprise inspection of the facility
last month by the U.S. Marshals
Service, which listed numerous
“systemic failures” at the 45-year-
old jail in Southeast Washington.
“I’ve been in jail before, but
what I’ve seen here, I’ve never
seen before,” Tarrio told Judge
Jonathan Pittman. “It’s insane. It’s
a gulag.”
At Monday’s hearing, a lawyer
for the D.C. Department of Cor-
rections disputed many of Tarrio’s
assertions, and Assistant U.S. At-
torney Paul Courtney argued that
Tarrio’s emergency motion for re-
lease, filed Nov. 9, was legally im-
proper. Courtney said the correct
course would be for Tarrio to file a
lawsuit, which is a more protract-
ed process.
Pittman said he would issue a
ruling later this week, but on the
bench Monday, he seemed to side
with the government.
“It’s obviously distressing to
hear of these conditions,” he said
of the Marshals Service’s findings
and Tarrio’s complaints. But the
poor conditions are not unique to
Tarrio, the judge noted. “What
makes Mr. Tarrio different from
all the other prisoners?” If he were
allow to finish his sentence on
home confinement, “why isn’t ev-
erybody else?”
In the Nov. 9 motion, Tarrio’s
lawyer Lucas Dansie said his cli-
ent’s cell was flooded with foul toi-
let water that overflowed from an
adjacent cell, while the water in
Tarrio’s cell “remains shut off ... as
retribution for some unknown act
that [Tarrio] never committed.”
He said Tarrio’s “meals are lit-
erally thrown in his cell, cold and
frequently inedible,” and his “re-
quests for medical treatment have
been completely ignored.”
Among other instances of mis-
treatment, the lawyer said, “a cor-
rectional officer slammed Mr.
Tarrio against the wall for no ap-
parent reason, telling him that
‘you shouldn’t have done what you
did,’ presumably referring to” the
BLM banner burning.
The surprise inspection by the
Marshals Service, conducted Oct.
18 to Oct. 22, found that water in
some parts of the facility “had
been shut off for days” as puni-
shment, creating an “overpower-
ing” stench from “standing hu-
man sewage,” according to La-
mont Ruffin, the acting marshal
for U.S. District Court in Washing-
ton.
The Marshals Service and the
D.C. government signed a legal
document Nov. 9 in which they
agreed to work together to im-
prove conditions at the jail.
ALLISON DINNER/AP
Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys during a rally in Portland,Ore., on Sept. 26, 2020. Tarrio asked a judge Monday for early release from a D.C. jail.
Proud Boys leader seeks release fromDC jail, alleging inhumane conditions
BY PAUL DUGGAN
The Washington Post
A Connecticut judge found Info-
wars host Alex Jones liable by de-
fault Monday in a defamation law-
suit brought by parents of children
killed in the Sandy Hook Elemen-
tary School shooting over the con-
spiracy theorist’s claims that the
massacre was a hoax.
The ruling by the judge, who cit-
ed Jones’ refusal to abide by court
rulings or turn over evidence,
means a jury will determine how
much in damages Jones should pay
to the families.
Shortly after the judge’s decision,
Jones went on his show and said
he’d been deprived of a fair trial.
“These individuals, again, are not
allowing me to have a jury trial be-
cause they know the things they
said I supposedly did didn’t hap-
pen,” he said. “They know they
don’t have a case for damages. And
so the judge is saying you are guilty
of damages, now a jury decides how
guilty you are. It’s not guilty until
proven guilty.”
Judge Barbara Bellis took the
rare step of issuing a default judg-
ment in the case because she said
Jones and his companies, Infowars
and Free Speech Systems, had
failed to turn over documents in-
cluding records that might have
showed how, and if, they had profit-
ed from spreading misinformation
about the school shooting and other
mass killings.
Norman Pattis, a lawyer for
Jones, said an appeal of Bellis’ de-
fault ruling is planned.
“The ruling is founded neither in
law or fact,” Pattis said in an email.
“We remain confident that, in the
end, the Sandy Hook families can-
not prove either liability or damag-
es. We think their lawyers know
this; hence, the desperate effort to
obtain a default.”
His lawyers have asked that Bel-
lis be removed from the case, alleg-
ing she has not been impartial.
The ruling has the same outcome
as a jury determining the case in fa-
vor of the families. A jury will now
determine the damages.
Twenty first-graders and six
educators were killed in the De-
cember 2012 shooting. The gun-
man, 20-year-old Adam Lanza,
killed his mother at their Newtown
home before the shooting, and
killed himself at the school as police
arrived, officials said.
The shooting was portrayed on
Jones’ Infowars show as a hoax in-
volving actors aimed at increasing
gun control. Jones has since ac-
knowledged the school shooting did
occur.
Families of the victims said they
have been subjected to harassment
and death threats from Jones’ fol-
lowers because of the hoax conspir-
acy pushed on Infowars. They sued
Jones and his companies for defa-
mation and infliction of emotional
distress. The hearing on damages
before a jury is expected to be held
next year.
“What’s clear from Judge Bellis’
ruling is that Alex Jones and the
Jones defendants have engaged in a
long, continuous course of miscon-
duct in this case designed to pre-
vent the plaintiffs from getting evi-
dence about Mr. Jones’ business
and about his motives for publish-
ing lies about them and their fam-
ilies,” said Christopher Mattei, a
lawyer for relatives of eight of the
victims who sued Jones in Connec-
ticut.
A Texas judge recently issued
similar rulings against Jones in
three defamation lawsuits brought
by Sandy Hook families in that
state, finding Jones liable for dam-
ages after defaulting him and his
companies for not turning over doc-
uments. Hearings on damages also
were ordered.
Alex Jones liablefor defamation inSandy Hook case
BY DAVE COLLINS
Associated Press
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11
AMERICAN ROUNDUP
Juveniles arrested for carchase, attempted assault
NC KINSTON — Two ju-
veniles are facing
criminal charges after one of them
tried to back a vehicle over a po-
lice officer and led others on a
chase before they were captured,
authorities said.
The Kinston Police Department
said in a news release that officers
checked out what was described
as a suspicious vehicle. When the
officers tried to find out why they
were there, the driver tried to
back over one of the officers, who
was able to get out of the way and
avoid injury, police said.
Officers attempted to stop the
vehicle as it went through several
parking lots, police said, After the
chase reached speeds of 120 mph,
the supervisor called it off.
Craven County sheriff’s depu-
ties located the vehicle and stop-
ped it approximately 35 miles
away in New Bern when the driver
lost control, the news release said.
The juveniles face charges in-
cluding assault with a deadly
weapon, felony flee to elude and a
number of motor vehicle viola-
tions.
Father, daughter surviveplane crash in woods
PA BEAR CREEK TOWN-
SHIP — Personal elec-
tronic devices helped lead res-
cuers to a father and daughter who
survived a plane crash in Pennsyl-
vania, authorities said.
According to state police, the
aircraft had taken off from the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Interna-
tional Airport when it went down
in a wooded area of Luzerne Coun-
ty.
Authorities asked the U.S. Air
Force to help with the search and
they pinged the 58-year-old dad’s
cellphone and 13-year-old daugh-
ter’s iPad to locate them.
It took hours before state troop-
ers found them huddled together
suffering from hypothermia.
Emergency responders called it
a miracle.
Authorities were investigating
what caused their plane to crash.
Woman charged for over$700K worth of drugs
ME AUGUSTA — A med-
ical emergency in-
volving a child led to the discovery
of fentanyl and other drugs valued
at $700,000, police said.
Ashley Malloy, 21, of Oakland,
dialed 911 to report that her 14-
month-old child was unrespon-
sive. The youngster later died at a
hospital.
State police detectives then
searched the home and found
nearly 6 pounds of fentanyl, more
than 3 pounds of methampheta-
mine, more than a pound of crack
cocaine and more than $2,000 in
cash.
Malloy was charged with aggra-
vated drug trafficking.
The state medical examiner’s
office has not released the cause of
the child’s death.
2 charged with theft ofNative American art
KS LAWRENCE — Two
University of Kansas
students have been charged with
stealing part of a Native American
art exhibit that also was vandal-
ized while displayed outside a
campus museum.
The Lawrence Journal-World
reported that Samuel McKnight
and John Wichlenski were
charged in Douglas County Dis-
trict Court with theft of property
of a value of at least $1,500 but less
than $25,000.
The exhibit, titled “Native
Hosts,” by artist Hock E Aye Vi
Edgar Heap of Birds, is installed
outside the Spencer Museum of
Art.
It consists of five aluminum
signs that name Native tribes who
historically or currently inhabit
the region now called Kansas. On
each sign, the colonial name is
printed backward while the name
of the land’s original occupants is
printed forward.
Train derails, spills coalinto Mississippi River
IA MONTROSE — A train
struck a barge in south-
east Iowa, knocking several cars
off the tracks and spilling coal into
the Mississippi River.
BNSF railroad officials told the
Burlington Hawk Eye that two
coal cars landed in the river and
three others were partially in the
water after the collision near Mon-
trose, Iowa, that also knocked over
two locomotives. One other car
that left the tracks remained up-
right.
The Iowa Department of Natu-
ral Resources said several
hundred gallons of diesel fuel also
spilled out of the locomotives.
No injuries were reported, said
Jason Dinwiddie, director of Lee
County Emergency Management.
The railroad said it will work to
remove any coal that ended up in
the river.
City cancels turkey shootas price of birds doubles
FL SEVILLE — A small
Florida town is cancel-
ing its decadeslong annual turkey
shoot to help feed needy families,
saying the price of birds has more
than doubled.
For nearly 70 years, residents of
Seville fired shotguns at targets
hoping to win a frozen turkey. But
nonprofit organizers said they
simply can’t afford the expensive
gobblers, which usually cost be-
tween 50 to 70 cents per pound.
But this year, the turkeys were
around $1.19 a pound. And it’s also
gotten harder to find smaller
birds, with many turkeys averag-
ing 15 to 17-pounds.
The nonprofit usually buys 60
turkeys to give away leading up to
Thanksgiving, but told The Dayto-
na Beach News-Journal it couldn’t
even afford 30 birds.
“It’s terrible,” said 89-year-old
Seville resident Pasco Cade, who
has been attending the event since
he was a teenager. “But I am not
surprised. Everything is going sky
high. And it doesn’t look like
things are going to get better.”
Man suspected of 10 robberies arrested
AZ TUCSON — A man sus-
pected of 10 robberies
in Tucson, including at six banks,
has been arrested, according to
police.
James Siehien, 52, is accused of
robbing two of the six banks twice
and also robbing a convenience
store and a fast-food restaurant,
they said.
The robberies all occurred be-
tween Oct. 4 and Nov. 5, when po-
lice said Siehien was arrested
without incident following a hold-
up.
A criminal complaint said Sie-
hien would pass demand notes to
bank tellers and sometimes
threaten them with weapons like a
machete or an ax.
Authorities said nobody was
physically injured in any of the
robberies.
Sequoia National Parkpartially reopens after fire
CA SEQUOIA NATIONAL
PARK — Fire-scarred
Sequoia National Park will par-
tially reopen, the park announced.
The reopening will be limited to
day-use only in part of the Foot-
hills area, including the Foothills
Visitor Center, Tunnel rock and
some trails.
Access to Giant Forest, Lodge-
pole and the General Sherman
Tree will remain closed.
Sequoia National Park was
closed after lightning ignited two
fires that merged. The KNP Com-
plex scorched nearly 138 square
miles of forest. Work to make the
park safe, including removal of
hazard trees, is continuing.
Adjacent Kings Canyon Nation-
al Park is largely open, including
the Grant Grove of giant sequoias.
THOMAS SLUSSER, THE (JOHNSTOWN, PA.) TRIBUNEDEMOCRAT/AP
A statue is reflected off The TribuneDemocrat building in downtown Johnstown, Pa., on Sunday.
Seeing double
THE CENSUS
34M The amount in dollars a chemical company has agreed topay to compensate residents of a Vermont town for chemical
contamination in groundwater and soil. The ChemFab plant in Bennington,owned by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, used industrial chemicals thatspread throughout the town and into the groundwater supply, The BenningtonBanner reported. Saint-Gobain will also provide up to $6 million for continuedmedical monitoring for those who have higher-than-usual background levels ofPFOA in their blood.
From The Associated Press
PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
NATION
KENOSHA, Wis. — The jury be-
gan deliberating Tuesday at the
murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse
after listening to dueling portrayals
of him as a “wannabe soldier” who
went looking for the trouble, or a
concerned citizen who came under
attack while trying to protect prop-
erty.
The case went to the anonymous,
12-member jury after Rittenhouse
himself, in an unusual move, was
allowed by the judge to draw the
slips of paper from a raffle drum
that determined which of the 18
people who sat in judgment during
the trial would decide his fate and
which ones would be dismissed as
alternates. That task is usually done
by a courtroom clerk, not the de-
fendant.
Rittenhouse, 18, faces life in pris-
on if convicted as charged for using
a AR-style semi-automatic rifle to
kill two men and wound a third dur-
ing a night of protests against racial
injustice in Kenosha in the summer
of 2020. The former police youth ca-
det is white, as were those he shot.
The resulting jury appeared to be
overwhelmingly white.
Rittenhouse testified he acted in
self-defense after coming under at-
tack, while prosecutors argued he
instigated the bloodshed. The case
has become a flashpoint in the U.S.
debate over guns, protests, vigilan-
tism and law and order.
With a verdict near, Gov. Tony
Evers said that 500 National Guard
members would stand ready for du-
ty in Kenosha if needed.
During closing arguments Mon-
day, prosecutor Thomas Binger ar-
gued that Rittenhouse set the dead-
ly chain of events in motion by
bringing a semi-automatic rifle to a
protest and menacing others, then
walked off like a “hero in a West-
ern.”
But Rittenhouse lawyer Mark
Richards countered that Ritten-
house was ambushed by a “crazy
person” he feared would wrest
away his gun and use it to kill him.
Rittenhouse, then 17, had gone to
Kenosha from his home in Antioch,
Ill., in what he said was an effort to
protect property from rioters in the
days after a Black man, Jacob
Blake, was shot by a white Kenosha
police officer.
Binger said Rittenhouse was
“looking for trouble that night,” and
he repeatedly showed the jury
drone video that he said depicted
Rittenhouse pointing the AR-style
weapon at demonstrators.
“This is the provocation. This is
what starts this incident,” the pros-
ecutor declared. He added: “You
lose the right to self-defense when
you’re the one who brought the gun,
when you are the one creating the
danger, when you’re the one pro-
voking other people.”
Rittenhouse shot and killed Jo-
seph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony
Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige
Grosskreutz, now 28.
In making his case for self-de-
fense on the witness stand, Ritten-
house said that Rosenbaum chased
him down and made a grab for his
rifle — testimony largely corrobo-
rated by video and some of the pros-
ecution’s own witnesses.
As for Huber, he was gunned
down after he was seen on video hit-
ting Rittenhouse with a skateboard.
And Grosskreutz admitted he had
his own gun pointed at Rittenhouse
when he was shot.
In his instructions to the jury,
Circuit Judge Bruce Schroder said
that to accept Rittenhouse’s claim
of self-defense, the jurors must find
that he believed there was an un-
lawful threat to him and that the
amount of force he used was rea-
sonable and necessary.
Rittenhouse jury begins its deliberationsAssociated Press
SEAN KRAJACIC, THE KENOSHA (WIS.) NEWS /AP
Kyle Rittenhouse pulls numbers of jurors out of a tumbler during his trial in Kenosha, Wis., on Tuesday.The jurors selected through this process will not participate in deliberations.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Ahmaud
Arbery’s autopsy photos were
shown to jurors on Tuesday at the
murder trial of three white men
who chased the Black man down
before he was fatally shot in their
neighborhood last year.
Prosecutors called as a witness
Dr. Edmund Donoghue, who ex-
amined Arbery’s body on Feb. 24,
2020 — the day after he was slain
— at the Georgia Bureau of Inves-
tigation’s crime lab in coastal Ge-
orgia.
“His cause of death was multiple
shotgun wounds,” Donoghue said
as the questioning began.
The photos showed shotgun
wounds that left a gaping hole in
the center of Arbery’s chest.
The testimony followed the
judge’s refusal to declare a mistrial
over defense claims that jurors
were tainted when Arbery’s moth-
er wept over evidence photos, call-
ing attention to the presence of the
Rev. Jesse Jackson, sitting beside
her in the courtroom’s public gal-
lery.
Rejecting a defense lawyer’s
complaints about Black pastors at
the trial as “reprehensible,” Supe-
rior Court Judge Timothy Walm-
sley said no
group would be
excluded from
his courtroom.
Father and son
Greg and Travis
McMichael
armed them-
selves and pur-
sued the 25-year-
old in a pickup truck after spotting
him running in their neighborhood
on Feb. 23, 2020. Their neighbor
William “Roddie” Bryan joined
the chase and took cellphone video
of Travis McMichael shooting Ar-
bery three times with a shotgun.
Their defenders say the men had
a right to make a citizen’s arrest of
someone they suspected of steal-
ing from the neighborhood, and
that the younger McMichael fired
the gun in self-defense after Ar-
bery tried to take it from him.
They also say that the presence
of civil rights icons at the trial will
unfairly influence the jury, all but
one of whom are white. Jackson ac-
knowledged Monday that Arbery’s
mother wept “very quietly” in the
courtroom after prosecutors
showed a photo of her son to a wit-
ness.
“As the judge said, it was my
constitutional right to be there,”
Jackson said lat-
er outside the
courthouse. “It’s
my moral obliga-
tion to be there.”
The Rev. Al
Sharpton sat last
week with the
victim’s parents,
Wanda Cooper-
Jones and Marcus Arbery Sr., in-
side the Glynn County courtroom.
He pledged to return to the cour-
thouse, and activists said 100 Black
pastors will join him.
Bryan and the McMichaels are
charged with murder and other
crimes. Prosecutors say they
chased Arbery for five minutes to
keep him from exiting the Satilla
Shores subdivision outside the port
city of Brunswick. The chase end-
ed when Arbery, trailed by Bryan’s
truck, tried to run around the
McMichaels’ truck as it idled in the
road ahead. The video shows Tra-
vis McMichael confronting Arbery
and then shooting him as he throws
punches and grapples for the gun.
The McMichaels told police they
suspected Arbery was a burglar af-
ter security cameras recorded him
several times inside a home under
construction, five houses away.
Arbery autopsy photos shown tojurors; mistrial request refused
BY RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press
TravisMcMichael
GregMcMichael
NEW YORK — American jour-
nalist Danny Fenster, who was
freed after nearly six months in jail
in military-ruled Myanmar, arrived
Tuesday in the United States for an
emotional reunion with his family.
Fenster, who was sentenced last
week to 11 years of hard labor, was
handed over Monday to former U.S.
diplomat Bill Richardson, who
helped negotiate the release. He is
one of more than 100 journalists,
media officials or publishers who
have been detained since the mili-
tary ousted the elected government
of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
in February.
It’s been a “long time coming, a
moment I had been imagining so in-
tensely for so long,” a bearded and
shaggy-haired Fenster said after
landing in New York. “Surpasses
everything I had imagined.”
As he exited a car outside an air-
port hotel, Fenster’s mother rushed
over to hug him, as did his brother
and father.
Late Monday, as Fenster transit-
ed through Qatar, he told reporters
that he was physically OK and had
not been starved or beaten while in
custody. While jailed, he had told his
lawyer that he believed he had CO-
VID-19, though prison authorities
denied that.
Fenster, the managing editor of
online magazine Frontier Myan-
mar, was convicted Friday of
spreading false or inflammatory in-
formation, contacting illegal organi-
zations and violating visa regula-
tions. Days before his conviction, he
learned he had been charged with
additional violations that put him at
risk of a life sentence.
It “feels great to get Danny back
home. It’s worth the effort, worth ev-
erything we did,” said Richardson, a
former governor of New Mexico
and past ambassador to the United
Nations who helped negotiate the
release through his foundation.
Fenster has been in detention
since he was arrested at Yangon In-
ternational Airport on May 24.
The exact allegations against him
were never clear, but much of the
prosecution’s case appeared to
hinge on proving that he was em-
ployed by another online news site
that was ordered closed this year
during the crackdown on the media
that followed the military takeover.
Fensterleft that job last year.
His brother, Bryan, has said he
was particularly interested in the
plight of people from the Muslim
Rohingya minority, hundreds of
thousands of whom fled Myanmar
during a brutal counterinsurgency
campaign by the army in 2017.
US journalist held for monthsin Myanmar lands in NYC
Associated Press
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13
WORLD
VANCOUVER, British Colum-
bia — Nearly 300 people trapped
overnight in their vehicles by mud-
slides on a highway in British Co-
lumbia were being flown to safety
by helicopters Monday while au-
thorities sought to determine if
anyone was swept up in the flow of
debris set off by torrential rain.
A yellow Cormorant chopper
dropped people off near the com-
munity center in the town of Agas-
siz before taking off for another
rescue trip.
“Trapped between two slides
are approximately 275 additional
people, including 50 children, who
were advised to shelter in place
overnight as debris was unstable
and unsafe to cross,” the City of
Vancouver and Canada Task
Force 1 said in a joint release.
Multiple highways in British Co-
lumbia were closed due to the
downpour.
Melanie Forsythe said her drive
home from Vancouver to Hope,
British Columbia, had her making
at least five detours as rain washed
out a bridge, closed roads and
trapped her overnight between
two mudslides before a helicopter
landed on the highway and carried
her to Agassiz.
Forsythe, who was with her boy-
friend, Shawn Ramsay, and a
friend, made it to the town about 18
hours after they were forced to
stop on Highway 7 with nearly 300
other travelers.
“All three of us were kind of hyp-
ing each other up, saying it’s going
to be good, we’re going to get out of
here. But then we all had moments
like, ‘Is this it? Is this the last time
we’re going to see our kids?’ We
were talking to our parents and our
families, but it was just a scary sit-
uation,” she said.
Forsythe said everyone in her
vehicle joined about two dozen
people on the flight to Agassiz,
where nearly 80 others from the
highway had already arrived.
Helos rescuetravelers whowere trappedby mudslides
Associated Press
JONATHAN HAYWARD, THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP
Search and rescue personnel help flood evacuees disembark from ahelicopter in Agassiz, British Columbia, on Monday.
WARSAW, Poland — Polish
forces at the border with Belarus
used a water cannon Tuesday
against stone-throwing migrants,
as Warsaw accused Belarusian au-
thorities of giving smoke grenades
and other weapons to those trying
to cross the frontier.
The events marked an escala-
tion in the tense crisis on the Eu-
ropean Union’s eastern border,
where the West has accused Presi-
dent Alexander Lukashenko of us-
ing the migrants as pawns to desta-
bilize the 27-nation bloc in retalia-
tion for its sanctions on his author-
itarian regime. Belarus denies
orchestrating the crisis.
The Poland Border Guard agen-
cy posted video on Twitter show-
ing a water cannon being directed
across the border at a group of mi-
grants who appeared to be throw-
ing objects. Polish authorities said
nine of its forces were injured —
seven policemen, one soldier and a
female border guard.
Some 2,000 migrants were at the
frontier in makeshift camps in the
freezing weather, but only about
100 were believed to be involved in
attacking the Polish forces at the
crossing near Kuznica, said Bor-
der Guard spokeswoman Anna
Michalska. The crossing has been
closed to all traffic since last week.
The Belarus State Border Guard
Committee and the Belarusian
Foreign Ministry both said they
would investigate Poland’s ac-
tions.
Some of the migrants have chil-
dren with them at the border in
their desperate bid to reach the
EU.
Events at the border have been
difficult to verify independently.
Poland has imposed a state of
emergency, which bars reporters
and human rights workers from
the area. In Belarus, journalists
face severe restrictions on their
ability to report.
Poland uses watercannon on migrants
Associated Press
PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher
Lt. Col. Marci Hoffman, Europe commander
John Rodriguez, Europe chief of staff
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Michael Ryan, Pacific chief of staff
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(+1)(202)886-0033
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OPINION
AU.S. delegation led by President
Joe Biden’s Iran envoy, Robert
Malley, is in the middle of a 10-day,
four-country visit to consult with
key Middle Eastern allies. The trip comes just
ahead of the next round of talks in Vienna,
scheduled for Nov. 29, to revive the 2015 nu-
clear accord between the regime in Iran and
world powers.
The tour and its timing indicate how con-
cerned the Biden administration is about the
upcoming talks — and the grim possibilities it
faces if a new deal isn’t reached soon.
But in some quarters that eagerness to
break the impasse is being conflated with ex-
aggerated claims about the menace Iran ac-
tually poses. A senior official told me the most
likely alternative to an accord is a war. This is
something the United States doesn’t want but
that Iranian intransigence and Israeli alar-
mism are inching us closer toward.
While the administration is eager to push
for a diplomatic solution, Israel says it’s pre-
paring for a fight. Last week, Israeli army
chief of staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi said that his
country’s forces were “speeding up the oper-
ational plans and readiness for dealing with
Iran and the nuclear military threat.” A threat,
it must be said, that does not currently exist.
In response, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, com-
mander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps Aerospace Force, said Israel “may be
able to start a battle, but it is the Islamic Re-
public that will end it.” The only way that
would happen, though, would be with Iranian
forces waving a white flag.
Iran cannot mount a credible defense
against the U.S. or its allies, even if it were to
reach the so-called nuclear breakout capabil-
ity. And though the assertion is repeated often,
Israel does not consider the Iranian regime a
real threat to its existence. With its conven-
tional military might, a large yet undeclared
nuclear weapons arsenal, technological supe-
riority over all other regional countries and
the backing of the United States, how could it?
In fact, Israel is already engaged in a covert
war against Iran that it has been escalating,
with little response, for years. A string of as-
sassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists dat-
ing back to 2010, culminating with a highly so-
phisticated ambush of the program’s chief,
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, demonstrated Israel’s
seriousness — and Tehran’s inability to mount
ameaningful retaliation.
Cyberattacks on Iranian nuclear facilities
and a major Persian Gulf port — and most re-
cently, a disruption of Iran’s gas stations wide-
ly believed to be carried out by Israel — dem-
onstrate Israel’s superior mastery of technol-
ogy. Iran, meanwhile, is unable to pull off may-
hem on that scale, settling for targeted
extraterritorial abductions and assassina-
tions and occasional drone attacks against its
adversaries.
The real threat of the Iranian regime re-
mains aimed, as it has always been, at the peo-
ple of Iran and its closest neighbors. The
schisms between the Iranian public and the
state, and between Tehran and regional allies,
are expanding. The Iranian leadership’s in-
ability to defend against attacks and satisfy the
country’s population can’t be ignored. In fact,
this should be at the heart of any new deal.
Viewed through that lens, the maximalist
demands set forth by Iranian officials — Iran’s
lead nuclear negotiator claimed last week that
the new talks will focus solely on removing
sanctions on the country’s battered economy
—should not be mistaken as a sign of a streng-
thened position. And Iran’s continued flouting
of international norms further undermines its
case to be taken seriously by the international
community.
The hyperbole on both sides muddies the
reality that Iran is a minor-league power at
best. To be sure, it has destructive potential,
but its hold on power both within its own bor-
ders and regionally is tenuous and on the de-
cline.
Israeli and Iranian officials have engaged in
this sort of back-and-forth for years, yet the re-
surgence of this kind of unchecked bombast,
especially from Iranian authorities, is worri-
some. The relative pragmatism by Iranian of-
ficials that led to the original nuclear deal is
gone, and Tehran’s rhetoric and actions have
reverted to the obstinate stances of the past.
The 2015 deal didn’t change the fundamen-
tal nature of Iran’s political system, but it
struck a blow to the worldview of the regime’s
most insular forces. Now, the myth that Iran
would somehow become more powerful
through being sanctioned by gaining self-suf-
ficiency has been resurrected by ideological
purists in the regime who have been re-em-
boldened since Ebrahim Raisi was elected
president in June. If the regime continues
down a path of belligerence, an Israeli attack
will become even more likely.
Former diplomat Dennis Ross recently as-
serted in Foreign Policy magazine that the Bi-
den administration must reestablish fear in
Iran’s leaders that a U.S. military threat is
credible if the regime continues to grow its nu-
clear program.
I would argue instead that the U.S. should
let go of its fear of Iran, a country whose mil-
itary capabilities and overall resources are so
far behind those of America and its allies that
it is laughable. In the upcoming talks, the U.S.
should negotiate from that position of
strength.
The US shouldn’t fear the Iranian menaceBY JASON REZAIAN
The Washington Post
Jason Rezaian is a writer for Global Opinions. He served as TheWashington Post’s correspondent in Tehran from 2012 to 2016.He spent 544 days unjustly imprisoned by Iranian authoritiesuntil his release in January 2016.
The FDA recently made two impor-
tant decisions — one bad, one good
—that will affect people with cogni-
tive decline.
The approval of Aduhelm (aducanumab),
an expensive and controversial treatment for
Alzheimer’s disease, has been roundly and de-
servedly criticized, and the manufacturer’s
close relationship with the FDA questioned.
The approval of the sale of over-the-counter
hearing aids, on the other hand, should be ap-
plauded by anyone who cares about dementia
and cognitive decline.
Friends and family may confuse a person’s
loss of hearing with cognitive decline; certain-
ly, difficulty hearing conversation can cause
miscommunications, impair social interac-
tions, and contribute to anxiety and frustra-
tion.
It turns out, though, that hearing loss can ac-
tually cause a decrease in cognitive ability.
And while most causes of cognitive decline
are not reversible, this one is: Evidence indi-
cates that hearing aids protect people against
further cognitive decline.
Currently, hearing aids are prohibitively
expensive and require multiple visits to a spe-
cialist. A lost or broken hearing aid can cause a
substantial financial hit. The FDA decision to
allow over-the-counter sales of hearing aids
will lower cost barriers and increase availabil-
ity for a community in need.
Oddly, no Alzheimer’s group has publicly
advocated for hearing aids, nor has any group
heralded the FDA’s recent decision. In con-
trast, the Alzheimer’s Association, which re-
ceives money from Biogen and many other
pharmaceutical companies, actively cam-
paigned to get Aduhelm approved, even her-
alding its approval on their website.
Harry Johns, president of Alzheimer’s As-
sociation, said, “This approval is a victory for
people living with Alzheimer’s and their fam-
ilies,” and called Aduhelm “the first FDA-ap-
proved drug that delays decline due to Alz-
heimer’s disease.” The treatments section of
the Alzheimer’s Organization lists Aduhelm
first and never mentions hearing aids.
It’s hard not to connect large donations from
Biogen and other pharmaceutical companies
to the laserlike focus that Alzheimer’s groups
have on drug-based approaches. Research on
Alzheimer’s disease has focused on expensive
drugs aimed at amyloid plaque, a biomarker
of uncertain importance. The presence of
plaque in a brain does not correlate with de-
mentia symptoms, and half of elders with no
cognitive deficits have evidence of plaque and
other signs of Alzheimer’s on autopsy.
Also, no drug that reduces plaque, including
Aduhelm, has reversed dementia. The pre-
dominant industry emphasis on amyloid
plaque as the cause of Alzheimer’s disease has
restricted research on any theories or ther-
apies that do not focus on amyloid.
A set of hearing aids would cost less than a
tenth of what one year of Aduhelm would cost.
Perhaps research funding could be redirected
toward improving hearing aids, enhancing ef-
ficacy, comfort, durability, affordability and
ways to keep them from being lost.
Hearing aids enhance communication, so-
cial interaction and cognitive stimulation.
They improve the quality of life for many se-
niors and even more so for patients struggling
with cognitive decline or dementia. The FDA
decision to allow hearing aids to be sold over
the counter will lower cost barriers and great-
ly expand the hearing aid market, encourag-
ing further research and development to im-
prove effectiveness and usability of these de-
vices.
Improving the lives of patients depends on
treating risk factors, modifying the environ-
ment, maintaining meaningful social connec-
tions and utilizing hearing aids.
A public education campaign is needed to
encourage testing for and treatment of hear-
ing loss in anyone with cognitive decline. If on-
ly Alzheimer’s groups would drive this cam-
paign as they did the Aduhelm approval. Des-
peration for progress on an elusive cure may
explain Alzheimer’s groups’ infatuation with
Aduhelm but pushing false hope does not help
patients.
Cover hearing aids, not a questionable Alzheimer’s drugBY DAVID STANKE
AND ADRIANE FUGH-BERMAN
Special to the Chicago Tribune
Adriane Fugh-Berman is a professor in the department ofpharmacology and physiology at Georgetown University MedicalCenter. Dave Stanke is a research associate at PharmedOut.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15
PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
ACROSS 1 Minor quibbles
5 Soon-to-be grads
8 Champagne
brand
12 In — (shortly)
13 Shaft of light
14 Always
15 Minimize
17 Plane-related
18 Like seawater
19 “The Prince of
Tides” author
21 Lettuce unit
24 Nile reptile
25 Hoodwink
28 Take five
30 Trail the pack
33 Internet address
34 Ear parts
35 Ginger —
36 Actress
Vardalos
37 Concerning
38 Ballyhoo
39 Cen. parts
41 Italian wine
region
43 Spud
46 Shelled out
50 “— you not!”
51 Act out
54 Peru’s
capital
55 PC key
56 Lena of
“Chocolat”
57 Ogler’s look
58 Homer’s
neighbor
59 Red-tag event
DOWN 1 Siestas
2 Actress Fisher
3 Pond duck
4 Reaping tool
5 “No seats”
6 Cold and damp
7 Harmonization
8 Stands for
9 Exaggerate
10 Architect
Saarinen
11 “Iliad” setting
16 Coloring agent
20 Feedbag fill
22 “East of
Eden” son
23 Messing
on TV
25 Press for
payment
26 Swiss canton
27 Grade school
break
29 Beholds
31 Jungfrau, e.g.
32 “Gosh!”
34 Roster
38 Safari
heavyweights
40 Doppler device
42 Mao — -tung
43 Tablet
44 Tom Joad,
for one
45 Algerian port
47 First lady of scat
48 Hammer target
49 Daly of “Judging
Amy”
52 Flamenco cry
53 Old Ford model
Answer to Previous Puzzle
Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra
zz
Dilbert
Pearls B
efo
re S
win
eN
on S
equitur
Candorv
ille
Beetle B
ailey
Biz
arr
oCarp
e D
iem
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17
“Procession,” Greene gathers a
group of six now-adult survivors of
childhood sexual abuse by Mid-
west priests. Seeking some sense
of closure, they write, direct and
perform their stories in a ther-
apeutic exercise of filmmaking.
Greene ultimately shares author-
ship of “Procession,” a collabora-
tive effort of catharsis, with the
film’s subjects. It debuts Friday on
Netflix.
Lin-Manuel Miranda makes
his feature film directorial debut
with “Tick, Tick... Boom!,” an ad-
aptation of Jonathan Larson’s mu-
sical about writing a musical. Lar-
son, played by Andrew Garfield,
was the playwright of the Broad-
way smash “Rent.” Before that
production made Larson a suc-
cess, he struggled to get produced a futuristic rock musical
called “Superbia.” Larson turned that experience into an
autobiographical show about the pressures of achieving
something as an artist before he turned 30. Miranda’s film,
on Netflix on Friday, is an affectionate ode to Larson, musi-
cal theater and Broadway dreams.
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
Television
Carole Baskin is getting a second act on discovery+. In
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ en-
tertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming
services and music platforms this week.
Music
The wait is nearly over. Adele releases “30” on Friday,
and we’re ready with the tissues. Since the “Rolling in the
Deep” singer’s last album, “25,” Adele has gone through di-
vorce and depression, and her albums have always cap-
tured specific times in her life. What’s clear is there is pent-
up demand for her voice: The first single from the new col-
lection, “Easy on Me,” became the artist’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1
and first since “Hello” ruled for 10 weeks in 2015-16. The
song’s video has been seen more than 152 million times and
the holiday charts are hers for the taking.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are hoping for a re-
peat. Fourteen years after their surprise hit, “Raising
Sand,” the unlikely duo are back with another album of cov-
ers, “Raise the Roof,” out Friday from Rounder Records. It
follows the blueprint of the first, including many of the
same musicians and the production of T Bone Burnett.
Something special happens when these singers tackle deep
cuts from the likes of Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The
Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch
and Betty Harris.
Sting tackles a year of uneasy upheaval in “The
Bridge,” a new album out Friday that showcases the bas-
sist-songwriter’s chops. Press materials say “the new col-
lection finds him ruminating on personal loss, separation,
disruption, lockdown and extraordinary social and political
turmoil.” Among the 10 tracks are “Rushing Water,” which
finds him funky, and “If It’s Love,” which is unabashedly
upbeat and Broadway-ish. There also are brooding charac-
ters and mists, cold gods and references to the Bible.
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
Movies
Tennis anyone? In “King Richard,” Will Smith plays
Richard Williams, father and tennis guru to Venus and Se-
rena Williams. The film, directed by Reinaldo Marcus
Green, is an authorized dramatization (the Williams family
was heavily involved) of the long-odds origin story of two of
tennis’ greatest stars. “King Richard,” which Warner Bros.
will release Friday in theaters and on HBO Max, is a por-
trait of their father coach as he steers them in their youth on
the court and off. Often portrayed as a brash self-promoter,
“King Richard” — featuring one of Smith’s most sensitive
and acclaimed performances — captures Richard Williams
as a trailblazing and inspiring parent whose vision for his
daughters led them from Compton, Calif., to a global stage.
In Robert Greene’s unconventional documentary
Netflix’s hit “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,”
she was the nemesis and would-be victim of Joe Exotic, who
was sentenced to prison in 2020 after being convicted in a
failed murder-for-hire plot targeting Baskin. In the two-
part documentary “Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight,” debuting
Saturday, the animal activist and her husband, Howard, in-
vestigate the treatment of big cats at what’s characterized
by discovery+ as personal risk. “Tiger King” is roaring
back as well, with season two out Wednesday on Netflix.
A flash of nudity during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime
show is the focus of “Malfunction: The Dressing Down of
Janet Jackson,” a documentary debuting stateside at 10
p.m. EST Friday, on FX and Hulu. The moment that Justin
Timberlake briefly exposed Jackson’s breast took a toll on
her career and became a cultural and racial flashpoint, one
reconstructed in the film and discussed by cultural critics,
music industry insiders and members of the Jackson fam-
ily. Part of “The New York Times Presents” series, the doc-
umentary takes its title from what was then labeled a “war-
drobe malfunction.”
Attention, fans of jazz and creatively daring artists: Es-
peranza Spalding, the Grammy-winning bassist and singer,
performs Wayne Shorter’s “Gaia” in “Great Performances:
San Francisco Symphony Reopening Night.” Jazz great
Shorter intended the piece to showcase Spalding, who’s
joined by a trio of guest musicians. Also part of the evening
with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen: Silvestre Revueltas’
“Noche de Encantamiento” from his film score to “La
Noche de los Mayas.” The PBS program airs Friday, and is
available at online and on the PBS Video app.
— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber
New this week:Krauss-Plantreunion, Adele
Associated Press
Will Smith stars in“King Richard,”about the father oftennis stars Venusand Serena Williams.The film is intheaters andstreaming on HBOMax on Friday.
David McClister
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, who collaborated on the hit album “Raising Sand” in 2007, are back with many of thesame musicians and producer T Bone Burnett on “Raise the Roof.” The album will be released Friday.
PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
FACES
Morgan Wallen is hitting the road again
after hurtling over a career speed bump this
past year.
On Monday, the country musician an-
nounced plans to resume touring after can-
celing shows this summer to work on him-
self after being largely cast out by the coun-
try music industry for using a racial slur.
The “Whiskey Glasses” and “7 Sum-
mers” crooner will launch the 46-city Dan-
gerous Tour in the new year, kicking off
Feb. 3 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.,
and wrapping in Los Angeles at Staples
Center on Sept. 24.
The tour marks Wal-
len’s continued attempt at
a comeback after the Feb-
ruary fallout, which began
when the once fast-rising
singer was caught on a
neighbor’s security cam-
era using the N-word.
In less than 24 hours,
Wallen’s music was pulled from rotation by
radio conglomerates, his record contract
with Big Loud was suspended and his ap-
pearances were removed from country mu-
sic-focused cable TV networks. The artist
was also effectively banned from awards
shows despite being nominated at a few.
Though his actions prompted apologies
and a reckoning in country music, many
continued to embrace Wallen, 28. He re-
turned to the stage in September to assist
with Tennessee flood relief efforts and sold
out a three-night engagement at the Rupp
Arena in Kentucky. Last Friday, he sold out
a 31,000-person show in Mobile, Ala.
Sesame Street set to introduce
Asian American character
The sunny days of Sesame Street will now
shine over the series’ first Asian American
character, who will debut during an upcom-
ing special.
Ji-Young, a 7-year-old Korean American
muppet performed by Sesame Workshop
puppeteer Kathleen Kim, will debut in “See
Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Spe-
cial,” a Thanksgiving show celebrating di-
versity among the Asian and Pacific Islan-
der communities.
The show comes after nearly two years of
increased violence toward the Asian and
Pacific Island community following the on-
set of the coronavirus pandemic, which
reignited conversations and activism sur-
rounding anti-Asian hate.
After fallout from racial slur, Morgan Wallen ready to tour againFrom wire reports
Wallen
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19
SCOREBOARD/COLLEGE BASKETBALL
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
FCS Coaches Poll
Record Pts Pvs
1. Sam Houston (27) 9-0 698 1
2. James Madison 9-1 665 2
3. Montana State (1) 9-1 644 3
4. North Dakota St. 9-1 575 6
5. Kennesaw St. 9-1 563 5
6. Eastern Washington 8-2 559 8
7. Montana 8-2 510 9
8. UT Martin 9-1 486 10
9. Villanova 8-2 465 11
10. East Tennessee St. 9-1 444 12
11. UC Davis 8-2 413 4
12. SE Louisiana 8-2 381 13
13. South Dakota St. 7-3 352 7
14. Missouri St. 7-3 326 14
15. Southern Illinois 7-3 294 16
16. South Dakota 7-3 278 17
17. Jackson St. 9-1 277 15
18. Sacramento State 8-2 246 18
19. UIW 8-2 187 21
20. Princeton 8-1 147 22
21. Dartmouth 8-1 136 23
22. Stephen F Austin 7-3 99 NR
23. Mercer 7-2 88 NR
24. Monmouth (N.J.) 7-3 86 NR
25. Florida A&M 8-2 53 NR
Dropped out: Chattanooga (19), VMI(20), Northern Iowa (24), Eastern Kentucky(25)
Others receiving votes: Holy Cross, 35;Rhode Island, 33; Chattanooga, 18; EasternKentucky, 17; Northern Iowa, 5; VMI, 4;Weber St., 4; Central Arkansas, 3; William& Mary, 3; Jacksonville St., 2; Maine, 2; Har-vard, 1; Sacred Heart, 1.
AP Top 25 scheduleFriday
No. 17 Houston vs. MemphisNo. 23 San Diego St. at UNLV
SaturdayNo. 1 Georgia vs. Charleston Southern No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 21 ArkansasNo. 3 Cincinnati, vs. SMU No. 4 Oregon at No. 24 UtahNo. 5 Ohio St. vs. No. 7 Michigan St. No. 6 Notre Dame vs. Georgia TechNo. 8 Michigan at Maryland No. 9 Oklahoma St. at Texas TechNo. 10 Mississippi vs. VanderbiltNo. 11 Baylor at Kansas St.No. 12 Oklahoma vs. Iowa St. No. 13 Wake Forest at Clemson No. 14 BYU at Georgia SouthernNo. 15 UTSA vs. UAB No. 16 Texas A&M vs. Prairie View No. 18 Iowa vs. IllinoisNo. 19 Wisconsin vs. NebraskaNo. 20 Pittsburgh vs. Virginia No. 22 Louisiana-Lafayette at LibertyNo. 25 NC State vs. Syracuse
NCAA Division II playoffsFirst Round
Saturday’s gamesBentley at New Haven Findlay at Shepherd Slippery Rock at Notre Dame (Ohio) West Georgia at Albany St. (Ga.)Lenoir-Rhyne at Bowie St. Newberry at West FloridaLindenwood at Grand Valley St. Washburn at Harding Cent. Washington at NW Missouri St.Bemidji St. at Augustana (SD) Minn. Duluth at Angelo St.Nebraska-Kearney at Western St. (Col.)
Second RoundSaturday, Nov. 27
Bentley-New Haven winner at KutztownFindlay-Shepherd vs. Slippery Rock-
Notre Dame (Ohio) winnerWest Georgia-Albany St. (Ga.) at Valdos-
ta St.Lenoir-Rhyne-Bowie St. winner vs. New-
berry-West Florida winner Lindenwood-Grand Valley St. winner at
Ferris St.Washburn-Harding winner vs. Cent.
Washington-NW Missouri St. winnerBemidji St.-Augustana (SD) winner at
Colorado MinesMinn. Duluth-Angelo St. winner vs. Ne-
braska-Kearney-Western St. (Col.) winner
NCAA Division III playoffsFirst Round
Saturday’s gamesLake Forest at Saint John’s (Minn.)Redlands at LinfieldTrinity (Texas) at Mary Hardin-Baylor Huntington at BirminghamGreenville at Wis.-Whitwater Rose-Hulman at DePauw Bethel (Minn.) at Central (Iowa)Aurora at Wheaton (Ill.) Carnegie Mellon at North Central Wis.-LaCrosse at Albion Springfield at SUNY-Cortland Rensselaer at Endicott Washington & Lee at Mount Union Johns Hopkins at Salisbury Anna Maria at Delaware Valley Framingham at Muhlenberg
NAIA playoffsFirst Round
Saturday’s gamesMontana Western at Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)Ottawa at Morningside (Iowa) Dickinson State (N.D.) at Grand View (Io-
wa) Central Methodist (Mo.) at Northwest-
ern (Iowa) Kansas Wesleyan at Indiana WesleyanKeiser (Fla.) at Reinhardt (Ga.) Southwestern (Kan.) at Marian (Ind.) St. Xavier (Ill.) at Concordia (Mich.)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Monday’s men’s scoresEAST
Fordham 84, St. Thomas (Minn.) 78 Marshall 80, Milligan 58 Quinnipiac 76, Holy Cross 68 St. Francis (Pa.) 100, Franciscan 54 UMBC 85, PSY 47 UMass 81, Penn St. 56 Weber St. 63, Duquesne 59
SOUTHAppalachian St. 98, William Peace 49 Belmont 95, Furman 89, OT Clemson 93, Bryant 70 Florida A&M 95, LeMoyne-Owen 70 Georgia Tech 75, Lamar 66 Kennesaw St. 117, Carver 58 LSU 74, Liberty 58 Louisville 77, Navy 60 McNeese St. 116, Champion Christian 66 Old Dominion 79, Manhattan 58 Presbyterian 74, The Citadel 70, 2OT SC-Upstate 96, St. Andrews 43 South Florida 56, NC A&T 54 UNC-Greensboro 55, Coppin St. 48 Virginia Tech 65, Radford 39 Wofford 98, Erskine 41
MIDWESTCent. Michigan 62, E. Illinois 61 Marquette 67, Illinois 66 North Dakota 79, Montana 77 Ohio 85, Robert Morris 71 Ohio St. 89, Bowling Green 58 Providence 63, Wisconsin 58 SIU-Edwardsville 75, Knox 37 UMKC 80, Missouri 66
SOUTHWESTArkansas St. 90, Central Baptist 63 Baylor 89, Nicholls 60 Buffalo 69, North Texas 66 SMU 95, Northwestern St. 48 TCU 83, Southern Miss. 51 Texas A&M Commerce 65, UTSA 62 Texas Tech 84, Prairie View 49 Tulsa 64, Oregon St. 58
FAR WESTArizona St. 72, North Florida 63 California 75, San Diego 70 Colorado 90, Maine 46 Denver 63, IUPUI 47 E. Washington 111, Walla Walla 71 Fresno St. 69, Idaho 62 Gonzaga 84, Alcorn St. 57 N. Arizona 97, Benedictine Mesa 48 N. Colorado 93, Colorado 53 New Mexico 86, Grambling St. 61 Sacramento St. 58, Cal Poly 57 Saint Mary’s (Cal.) 70, S. Utah 51 San Francisco 77, Samford 55 Stanford 76, San Jose St. 62 UCLA 100, Long Beach St. 79 UNLV 64, N. Dakota St. 62 Utah 86, Bethune-Cookman 55 Utah Valley St. 86, Pepperdine 74, OT Washington 72, Texas Southern 65 Washington St. 73, UC Santa Barbara 65
Monday’s women’s scoresEAST
Delaware 83, Maine 60 SOUTH
East Carolina 81, Gardner-Webb 52 Elon 60, Howard 44 FIU 67, Kennesaw St. 57 Florida 61, Wofford 47 Georgia 78, Furman 41 Jacksonville 69, Edward Waters 64 Mercer 75, Troy 66 Middle Tennessee 55, Vanderbilt 46 Murray St. 94, University of the Cumber-
lands 56 NC State 100, Towson 52 SE Louisiana 74, LSU-Shreveport 35 South Alabama 70, Auburn-Montgom-
ery 49 Tennessee 52, South Florida 49 UNC-Asheville 71, Mars Hill 38
MIDWESTBradley 83, Upper Iowa 53 Iowa St. 75, S. Dakota St. 56 Kansas St. 73, NC A&T 49 Marquette 65, Southern U. 40 South Dakota 61, Drake 46 UT Martin 63, W. Kentucky 47 Youngstown St. 57, Akron 55
SOUTHWESTArkansas St. 96, McNeese St. 72 Baylor 78, New Orleans 39 Stephen F. Austin 83, SE Missouri 59 Texas A&M 95, DePaul 75 Tulsa 64, Sam Houston St. 48
FAR WESTArizona 93, Texas Southern 38 Boise St. 83, Oregon Tech 48 CS Northridge 72, Cal State Dominguez
Hills 67 Colorado St. 71, Oral Roberts 56 Wichita St. 76, Denver 61
DEALS
Monday’s transactionsBASEBALL
Major League BaseballAmerican League
NEW YORK YANKEES — Named Luis Ro-jas third base coach.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Promoted JarretDeHart to hitting coach and director of hit-ting strategy. Named Tony Arnerich hit-ting coach. Named Andy McKay majorleague Coach and Sr. director of baseballdevelopment. Named Kristopher Negronfirst base coach.
National LeagueATLANTA BRAVES — Signed C Manny Pi-
na to a two-year contract.CHICAGO CUBS — Named Daniel Moskos
assistant pitching coach.ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Named Jared
“Skip” Schumaker bench coach and Turn-er Ward assistant hitting coach.
BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association
NBA — Fined Minnesota $250,000 for vio-lating league rules that prohibit teamsfrom arranging or paying for offseasonpractice or group workout sessions fortheir players outside a team’s home mar-ket.
FOOTBALLNational Football League
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Released RB Ta-vien Feaster from the active roster and DLMatt Dickerson and WR Darrius Shepherdfrom the practice squad.
BUFFALO BILLS — Reinstated QB MitchTrubisky from the reserve/COVID-19 list.Released WR Austin Proehl from the prac-tice squad.
CINCINNATI BENGALS — Signed S Mi-chael J. Thomas from the practice squadto the active roster and LB Austin Calitroto the practice squad.
GREEN BAY PACKERS — Reinstated QBKurt Benkert from the practice squad re-serve/COVID-19 list. Released QB BlakeBortles from the practice squad.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Signed CBMichael Jacquet to the practice squad.Placed CB Lorenzo Burns on the practicesquad injured reserve.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS — Signed FB SuttonSmith to the practice squad. Released WRGary Jennings.
LOS ANGELES RAMS — Promoted DLMarquise Copeland and DB Jake Gervasefrom the practice squad to the active ros-ter.
NEW YORK GIANTS — Reinstated RB Ga-ry Brightwell from the reserve/COVID-19list.
NEW YORK JETS — Reinstated CB JasonPinnock from the reserve/COVID-19 list.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Signed QBJames Morgan to the practice squad.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Promoted STony Jefferson II from the practice squadto the active roster. Placed WR MohamedSanu Sr. and Tavon Wilson on injured re-serve.
TENNESSEE TITANS — Waived T BobbyHart and DL Amani Bledsoe from the ac-tive roster.
HOCKEYNational Hockey League
ARIZONA COYOTES — Called up RWsHudson Fasching, Jan Jenik and LW BenMcCartney from Tuscon (AHL).
CAROLINA HURRICANES — Sent RW JoshLeivo to Chicago (AHL).
DETROIT RED WINGS — Called up C JoeVeleno from Grand Rapids (AHL).
NEW YORK RANGERS — Sent C GregMcKegg to Hartford (AHL).
ST. LOUIS BLUES — Called up D Scott Pe-runovich from Springfield (AHL). Sent DCalle Rosen, G Joel Hofer and C DakotaJoshua to Springfield (AHL). Waived LWKyle Clifford.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS — Reinstated DTucker Poolman from suspension. Sent DMadison Bowey to Abbotsford (AHL).Called up D Travis Hamonic from Abbots-ford (AHL).
WASHINGTON CAPITALS — Called up CGarrett Pilon from Hershey (AHL).
SOCCERMajor League Soccer
ATLANTA UNITED — Signed Carlos Boca-negra to a multiyear contract extension.
COLLEGE SOCCER
NCAA Women’s TournamentSecond RoundFriday, Nov. 19
Florida St. vs. SMUNC State vs. PepperdineTennessee vs. Washington St.Wake Forest vs. MichiganArkansas vs. Virginia TechPurdue vs. Notre DameTCU vs. PrincetonSaint Louis vs. RutgersDuke vs. MemphisBrown vs. SamfordGeorgetown vs. Santa ClaraWisconsin vs. UC IrvineSouth Carolina vs. HofstraPenn St. vs. Southern CalBYU vs. AlabamaMilwaukee vs. Virginia
PRO SOCCER
MLS playoffsFirst Round
Eastern ConferenceSaturday’s game
No. 2 Philadelphia vs. No. 7 NY Red Bulls Sunday, Nov. 21
No. 4 New York City FC vs. No. 5 AtlantaTuesday, Nov. 23
No. 3 Nashville SC vs. No. 6 Orlando CityWestern Conference
Saturday’s gameNo. 3 Sporting Kansas City vs. No. 6 Van-
couverSunday, Nov. 21
No. 4 Portland vs. No. 5 Minnesota UnitedTuesday, Nov. 23
No. 2 Seattle vs. No. 7 Real Salt Lake
NWSL playoffsSaturday, Nov. 20
ChampionshipAt Louisville
Washington vs. Chicago
AP SPORTLIGHT
Nov. 17
1959 — Syracuse’s Connie Dierking be-comes the first player to foul out of a gamein the first quarter, as the Nationals beatCincinnati 121-116 at New York.
1975 — Ken Anderson of the CincinnatiBengals passes for 447 yards and twotouchdowns in a 35-24 victory over theBuffalo Bills.
1981 — Bill Cartwright of the New YorkKnicks ties a 20-year-old NBA record byhitting 19 of 19 free throws in a 124-110 lossto the Kansas City Kings.
MILWAUKEE — Tyler Kolek
converted a steal into a go-ahead
layup with 18 seconds left and
Marquette forced 26 turnovers for
a 67-66 comeback victory over No.
10 Illinois on Monday night.
The Golden Eagles (3-0) came
back from a 12-point deficit in the
second half to give new coach Sha-
ka Smart his first signature win,
despite going 3-for-9 from the foul
line down the stretch.
The Illini (2-1) were clinging to a
66-65 lead when Kolek stole the
ball from Trent Frazier at mid-
court, maintained his balance and
made a layup despite getting
fouled. Kolek missed the ensuing
free throw, but Kur Kuath stole
the ball from Illinois guard Andre
Curbelo with three seconds left to
thwart the Illini.
Darryl Morsell scored 21 points,
Justin Lewis had 17 and Kolek
added 12 points.
For Illinois, Frazier had 23
points, including 6 of 10 three-
pointers, while Coleman Hawkins
scored 13 points and Jacob Gran-
dison 10.
No. 1 Gonzaga 84, Alcorn State
57: Julian Strawther scored 18
points in the Bulldogs’ dominating
win over the Braves, extending
the nation’s longest home-winning
streak to 54 games.
Freshman Hunter Sallis added
16 points for Gonzaga (3-0), which
was coming off a decisive win over
then-No. 5 Texas on Saturday.
Keondre Montgomery scored
13 points for Alcorn State (0-4),
which was no match for the taller
Bulldogs. Justin Thomas added 10.
Gonzaga has been ranked No. 1
for 19 consecutive weeks.
No. 2 UCLA 100, Long Beach
State 79: Johnny Juzang scored
25 points and the host Bruins
pulled away in a dominant second
half to beat the 49ers.
Jules Bernard added 22 points
— one off his career high — and a
career-high seven assists for
UCLA (3-0). The senior was 8-
for-11 from the floor, 4-for-5 from
three-point range, made both his
free throws and had five re-
bounds.
Colin Slater had career highs of
27 points and five three-pointers
for Long Beach State (1-1).
No. 9 Baylor 89, Nicholls State
60:LJ Cryer had a career-high 20
points to lead five players scoring
in double figures for the host
Bears, who overwhelmed the Col-
onels in a rare midday game.
Freshman Kendall Brown had
13 points and 10 assists for Baylor
(2-0), which had 33 assists on its 37
made baskets. Jeremy Sochan, an-
other freshman, had 14 points,
while returning guards Adam Fla-
gler and Matthew Mayer had 12
each.
Cryer finished 7-for-9 shooting
and made five of Baylor’s 13 three-
pointers.
Ty Gordon had 20 points for de-
fending Southland Conference
champion Nicholls State (3-1). La-
trell Jones had 11 points.
No. 19 Ohio State 89, Bowling
Green 58: Five players scored in
double figures for the host Buck-
eyes in their victory over the Fal-
cons.
Ohio State (3-0) started pouring
it on early and never allowed the
Mid-American Conference squad
to get close.
E.J. Liddell and Meechie John-
son each scored 13 points. Zed Key
had 12 points and nine rebounds,
and Eugene Brown III had a ca-
reer-high 12.
Chandler Turner led Bowling
Green (1-2) with 12 points, and Sa-
mari Curtis and Joe Reese each
had 11 points.
AARON GASH/AP
Marquette’s Tyler Kolek, right, drives to the basket against Illinois’Trent Frazier during the first half of Monday’s game in Milwaukee.
TOP 25 ROUNDUP
Marquette stuns10th-ranked Illini
Associated Press
PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
NBA
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
W L Pct GB
Brooklyn 10 4 .714 —
New York 8 6 .571 2
Philadelphia 8 6 .571 2
Boston 7 7 .500 3
Toronto 7 8 .467 3½
Southeast Division
W L Pct GB
Washington 10 3 .769 —
Miami 9 5 .643 1½
Charlotte 8 7 .533 3
Atlanta 6 9 .400 5
Orlando 3 11 .214 7½
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Chicago 10 4 .714 —
Cleveland 9 6 .600 1½
Milwaukee 6 8 .429 4
Indiana 6 9 .400 4½
Detroit 3 10 .231 6½
Western Conference
Southwest Division
W L Pct GB
Dallas 9 4 .692 —
Memphis 7 7 .500 2½
San Antonio 4 9 .308 5
New Orleans 2 13 .133 8
Houston 1 13 .071 8½
Northwest Division
W L Pct GB
Denver 9 5 .643 —
Utah 8 5 .615 ½
Portland 7 8 .467 2½
Oklahoma City 5 8 .385 3½
Minnesota 4 9 .308 4½
Pacific Division
W L Pct GB
Golden State 11 2 .846 —
Phoenix 10 3 .769 1
L.A. Clippers 8 5 .615 3
L.A. Lakers 8 7 .533 4
Sacramento 6 8 .429 5½
Monday’s games
Sacramento 129, Detroit 107 Boston 98, Cleveland 92 Washington 105, New Orleans 100 New York 92, Indiana 84 Atlanta 129, Orlando 111 Memphis 136, Houston 102 Miami 103, Oklahoma City 90 Dallas 111, Denver 101 Phoenix 99, Minnesota 96 Portland 118, Toronto 113 Chicago 121, L.A. Lakers 103
Tuesday’s games
Golden State at Brooklyn Philadelphia at Utah San Antonio at L.A. Clippers
Wednesday’s games
Indiana at Detroit Washington at Charlotte Boston at Atlanta Cleveland at Brooklyn L.A. Lakers at Milwaukee New Orleans at Miami Orlando at New York Houston at Oklahoma City Sacramento at Minnesota Chicago at Portland Dallas at Phoenix
Thursday’s games
Golden State at Cleveland Washington at Miami L.A. Clippers at Memphis San Antonio at Minnesota Philadelphia at Denver Toronto at Utah
Leaders
Through Wednesday
Scoring
G FG FT PTS AVG
Durant, BKN 14 154 79 415 29.6
Curry, GS 13 117 64 365 28.1
George, LAC 13 127 50 344 26.5
Rebounds
G OFF DEF TOT AVG
Gobert, UTA 13 42 157 199 15.3
Jokic, DEN 13 37 143 180 13.8
Valanciunas, NO 15 50 148 198 13.2
Assists
G AST AVG
Paul, PHO 13 133 10.2
Harden, BKN 14 130 9.3
Young, ATL 15 136 9.1
Scoreboard
Kristaps Porzingis had 29
points and 11 rebounds, Tim Har-
daway Jr. scored 13 of his 19 points
in the fourth quarter and the Dal-
las Mavericks rallied past the
Denver Nuggets 111-101 on Mon-
day night.
Dallas opened the fourth period
on a 17-6 run that included three-
pointers by Hardaway, Luka Don-
cic, Dorian Finney-Smith and
Reggie Bullock to go ahead 98-88
with six minutes left, its largest
lead to that point.
Doncic had 23 points and 11 as-
sists and Jalen Brunson scored 17
off the bench for the Mavericks,
who have won five of six.
Nikola Jokic scored a season-
high 35 points and grabbed 16 re-
bounds for Denver, which fin-
ished a back-to-back and had its
five-game winning streak
snapped.
Doncic limped off the court, fa-
voring his left ankle, with 44 sec-
onds remaining after Nuggets
guard Austin Rivers fell on his leg
from behind after Doncic tried to
block Rivers’ layup attempt.
Doncic has a history of ankle in-
juries, including missing 11 games
during the 2019-20 regular season
because of right ankle sprains and
dealing with a left ankle sprain
during the 2020 playoffs in the
NBA bubble.
Bulls 121, Lakers 103: DeMar
DeRozan scored a season-high 38
points and Zach LaVine had added
26 in Chicago’s win at Los Angeles.
Lonzo Ball had a season-high 27
points, eight assists and seven re-
bounds against his former team as
the promising Bulls rolled to their
fourth win in five games, following
up their win over the Clippers on
Sunday night by sweeping back-
to-back games at Staples Center.
Chicago also snapped an eight-
game skid against the Lakers dat-
ing to November 2016.
DeRozan and Los Angeles flirt-
ed with each other in free agency
during the summer, but the Lak-
ers eventually went with Russell
Westbrook over DeRozan, his fel-
low Los Angeles-area native.
Anthony Davis had 20 points
and six rebounds before getting
ejected by referee Scott Wall with
2:20 left in the third quarter.
Trail Blazers 118, Raptors
113: CJ McCollum had 29 points
and Damian Lillard added 24 to
lead host Portland to a victory over
Toronto.
The Blazers, who were playing
the second of a back-to-back, im-
proved to 6-1 at home.
OG Anunoby had 27 points for
the Raptors, who have lost five of
six. Pascal Siakam added 20.
Larry Nance Jr.’s alley-oop
dunk gave Portland a 99-89 lead in
the final quarter. McCollum’s
three-pointer pushed it to 105-92.
Toronto rallied with a 9-0 run,
pulling to 105-101 on Fred VanV-
leet’s three-pointer with 5:34 left.
The Blazers didn’t let the Raptors
get any closer, and Lillard’s three
stretched Portland’s lead to 110-
101.
Suns 99, Timberwolves 96:
Chris Paul scored 19 of his 21
points in the fourth quarter, Devin
Booker had 29 and Phoenix won at
Minnesota for its ninth straight
win.
Deandre Ayton had 22 points
and 12 rebounds in his return to
the Suns after missing five games
with a right lower leg contusion.
Phoenix won a day after a 115-89
victory in Houston.
Grizzlies 136, Rockets 102:Ja
Morant had 22 points, six re-
bounds and six assists, Jaren
Jackson Jr. added 18 points and
host Memphis sent Houston to its
12th straight loss.
Dillon Brooks finished with 16
points, and Kyle Anderson added
15 as the Grizzlies snapped a
three-game losing streak. The 136
points was a season-high for the
team.
Wizards 105, Pelicans 100:
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 of
his 27 points in the second half,
and host Washington erased a 19-
point deficit for its fifth consecu-
tive victory.
The Wizards, at 10-3, are off to
the franchise’s best start in 47
years when the Bullets opened the
1974-75 season 11-2. Washington
played without All-Star guard
Bradley Beal, who missed a sec-
ond consecutive game mourning
the death of his grandmother.
Knicks 92, Pacers 84: Imma-
nuel Quickley came off the bench
to score 16 points, and host New
York limited Indiana to two bas-
kets in the fourth quarter to rally
for the win.
Kemba Walker also had 16
points for the Knicks, but he didn’t
play in the fourth when the re-
serves and especially the defense
won it for New York. Derrick
Rose, Walker’s backup, added 14
points.
Hawks 129, Magic 111: Trae
Young and John Collins each
scored 23 points and host Atlanta
beat Orlando for its second
straight win.
Clint Capela finished with 20
points and 16 rebounds and Bog-
dan Bogdanovich added 20 points
for the Hawks, who snapped a six-
game skid with a 20-point win over
defending NBA champion Mil-
waukee on Sunday.
Celtics 98, Cavaliers 92: Jay-
son Tatum scored 23 points and
Dennis Schroder had six points in
the final 76 seconds as Boston won
at Cleveland.
Al Horford had 17 points and
nine rebounds, and Schroder and
Marcus Smart each scored 14 as
the Celtics (7-7) won for the third
time in four games. Tatum also
had eight rebounds, five assists
and two blocks.
Kings 129, Pistons 107: Bud-
dy Hield scored 22 points and Ty-
rese Haliburton added 17 points
and 10 assists as visiting Sacra-
mento routed Detroit.
The Kings ended a four-game
losing streak, taking control with a
26-2 run for a 33-12 lead early in
the second quarter.
Heat 103, Thunder 90: Tyler
Herro scored 26 points and short-
handed Miami won at Oklahoma
City.
Duncan Robinson scored 21
points and Kyle Lowry added 11
points and 11 assists for the Heat.
Porzingis leads Mavs past NuggetsDallas’ Doncic has 23points, 11 assists butleaves game with injury
Associated Press
TONY GUTIERREZ/AP
Dallas Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis, left, works against Denver Nuggets center Bol Bol for a shot.Porzingis had 29 points and 11 rebounds in his team’s 111101 win Monday in Dallas.
MARK J. TERRILL/AP
Bulls guard Zach LaVine, left, shoots as Lakers guard Malik Monkdefends during the Bulls’ 121103 road win Monday.
ROUNDUP
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21
MLB/SPORTS BRIEFS
It didn’t feel like Randy Aroza-
rena was a rookie this season.
Tampa Bay’s speedy and power-
ful outfielder certainly didn’t play
like one, either.
Arozarena won AL Rookie of the
Year honors with a superb follow-
up to his 2020 postseason heroics
while Cincinnati Reds second
baseman Jonathan India earned
NL Rookie of the Year on Monday
night.
The standout years for Arozare-
na and India highlight the chang-
ing profile of a good MLB leadoff
hitter. Both players have speed
and a good eye, but also consider-
able power. It’s the first time since
1953 that the rookie of the year win-
ners were both primarily leadoff
hitters. That season, Detroit’s Har-
vey Kuenn and Brooklyn’s Jim
Gilliam won.
If it didn’t seem like this wasn’t
Arozarena’s first year, there’s a
reason. The 26-year-old Cuban
provided a stunning lift for the
Rays during the 2020 postseason
with 10 homers in 18 games during
their run to the World Series.
But Arozarena didn’t play
enough during the 2020 regular
season to lose his rookie status so
he was eligible for the award this
year. He followed up his postsea-
son breakout with an excellent
season in 2021, finishing with a
.274 average, 32 doubles, 20 home-
rs, 20 stolen bases and 69 RBIs
while adding excellent defense,
helping the Rays return to the post-
season.
“I know I was favored to be the
rookie of the year,” Arozarena said
through a translator. “But for me,
my mind wasn’t set on the award or
winning the award. My mind and
my goal was to have another good
season and continue what I had
done the year before.”
Arozarena earned 22 of 30 first-
place votes in balloting by mem-
bers of the Baseball Writers’ Asso-
ciation of America, beating out
Houston right-hander Luis Garcia
and Tampa Bay infielder Wander
Franco.
India won the NL award eight
months after earning the team’s
second base job during spring
training and never letting it go dur-
ing a stellar first season.
The 24-year-old India received
29 of 30 first-place votes, beating
out Miami left-handed pitcher
Trevor Rogers and St. Louis out-
fielder Dylan Carlson. Rogers got
one first-place vote. India said it’s
been an amazing journey from
spring training, where he was a
longshot to even make the regular-
season roster.
“I didn’t really have a role on the
team, I was just there to fill in for
some guys who weren’t playing,”
India said. “I kind of took it person-
al. I just wanted to be a big leaguer
this season and I made it a point to
put my head down and grind.”
India was the No. 5 overall pick
in the 2018 draft and played third
base in college at Florida, but he’s
found a home at second base in the
big leagues and become a corner-
stone for the Reds’ future.
The 6-foot, 200-pound India was
an all-around threat — particular-
ly during the second half of the sea-
son — often batting leadoff and fin-
ishing with a .269 average, 34 dou-
bles, 21 homers, 69 RBIs and 12 sto-
len bases. He also showed good
discipline in the batter’s box, coax-
ing 71 walks to finish with a .376 on-
base percentage, and scored 98
runs.
DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena won the AL Rookie of the Year award. He hit .274 with 20homers, 20 stolen bases and 69 RBIs.
Rays’ Arozarena, Reds’India earn rookie honors
BY DAVID BRANDT
Associated Press
JEFF DEAN/AP
Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India hit .269 with 21homers and 69 RBIs and won NL Rookie of the Year honors.
Virginia Tech and football
coach Justin Fuente have mutual-
ly agreed to part ways with two
games left in his sixth season with
the Hokies.
In a statement released Tues-
day morning, athletic director
Whit Babcock said co-defensive
line coach and recruiting coordi-
nator J.C. Price will lead the Ho-
kies through their final two regu-
lar-season games.
Fuente was 43-31 at the Blacks-
burg, Va., school. The Hokies (5-5)
travel to Miami on Saturday and
close the season at Virginia.
“While it is never easy to make a
change, I believe in order for our
football program to attain the type
of sustained success that is ex-
pected at Virginia Tech, the time
was right for new leadership of
our football program,” Babcock
said.
He said the program “is one of
the most attractive football jobs in
America” and “I’m extremely
confident that we’ll be able to
identify and hire a new head coach
who can build on our rich history
and winning tradition.”
Fuente was heralded as a cre-
ative offensive coach who special-
ized in developing quarterbacks
when he was hired away from
Memphis.
He led the Hokies to a 10-4 re-
cord and the Atlantic Coast Con-
ference Coastal Division title in
his first season and was named the
ACC’s coach of the year. But that
proved to be the high point of his
tenure.
The program has been hurt by a
rash of player transfers, and the
Hokies were 6-7 in 2018, their first
losing season since 1992, and 5-6
last season when they were among
the teams hardest hit by the CO-
VID-19 pandemic.
Per his contract, Fuente is due a
$10 million buyout.
Indians settle lawsuit
with roller derby teamCLEVELAND — The Cleveland
Indians have resolved a lawsuit
filed by a local roller derby team
over rights to the name Guardi-
ans, the final hurdle for the Major
League Baseball team to continue
its changeover.
The sides jointly announced an
“amicable resolution” on Tues-
day, saying both organizations
will continue to use Guardians. No
other terms of the agreement
were disclosed.
The legal scuffle had delayed
the Indians’ transition to Guardi-
ans, which will soon become offi-
cial. The American League fran-
chise has been known as the Indi-
ans since 1915.
In other baseball news:
The Toronto Blue Jays have
reached an agreement with pitch-
er Jose Berríos on a seven-year,
$131 million deal, pending a phys-
ical, a person familiar with the
matter told The Associated Press
on Tuesday.
The Blue Jays acquired the 27-
year-old right-hander at the July
trade deadline from the Minneso-
ta Twins.
The World Series champion
Atlanta Braves added depth at
catcher by signing Manny Piña to
a two-year, $8 million contract
Monday.
The New York Yankees hired
former Mets manager Luis Rojas
as their third-base coach, a month
after he lost his job with the cross-
town rivals.
Emmert says reform
efforts not fear drivenThe NCAA’s move to restruc-
ture college sports is not being dri-
ven by fear, but rather a desire to
seize an opportunity to tackle is-
sues that have been building for
decades, NCAA president Mark
Emmert said Monday,
“There’s few things that are be-
ing discussed right now that have
been discussed off and on at least
for the 10 years that I’ve been in-
volved in the NCAA,” Emmert
said during a brief news confer-
ence. “But yet at the same time,
we’ve never had a moment where
we had state legislators, congres-
sional actors, the courts, the eco-
nomic dynamics, and even the
pandemic, all providing a very im-
portant catalyst for change.”
NBA will play preseason
games in Abu DhabiThe NBA is bringing two pre-
season games to Abu Dhabi next
season, marking the first time the
league will play in the Arabian
Gulf.
The games will be in October
2022. The exact dates and the
teams involved have not been an-
nounced.
Fuente out after 6 seasonsas Virginia Tech FB coach
MICHAEL DWYER/AP
Virginia Tech and football coachJustin Fuente, above, havemutually agreed to part ways withtwo games left in his sixth seasonwith the Hokies.
Associated Press
BRIEFLY
PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
NHL/COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Florida 15 10 2 3 23 56 41
Tampa Bay 15 9 3 3 21 47 41
Toronto 16 10 5 1 21 43 42
Detroit 17 8 7 2 18 49 55
Boston 13 8 5 0 16 41 37
Buffalo 14 6 6 2 14 43 43
Montreal 17 4 11 2 10 36 58
Ottawa 15 4 10 1 9 36 52
Metropolitan Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Carolina 13 11 2 0 22 45 25
Washington 15 9 2 4 22 54 36
N.Y. Rangers 15 9 3 3 21 42 43
New Jersey 14 7 4 3 17 42 42
Philadelphia 13 7 4 2 16 36 34
Columbus 13 8 5 0 16 43 40
Pittsburgh 14 5 5 4 14 42 49
N.Y. Islanders 13 5 6 2 12 29 37
Western Conference
Central Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Minnesota 14 10 4 0 20 48 43
Winnipeg 14 8 3 3 19 46 38
Nashville 15 9 5 1 19 44 39
St. Louis 14 8 4 2 18 49 39
Colorado 12 6 5 1 13 43 39
Dallas 13 5 6 2 12 32 41
Chicago 15 4 9 2 10 33 51
Arizona 15 1 13 1 3 23 60
Pacific Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Edmonton 14 11 3 0 22 59 42
Anaheim 16 9 4 3 21 57 44
Calgary 15 8 3 4 20 48 32
Vegas 15 9 6 0 18 47 46
Los Angeles 15 8 5 2 18 42 37
San Jose 14 7 6 1 15 39 41
Vancouver 16 5 9 2 12 41 55
Seattle 15 4 10 1 9 42 55
Monday’s games
Columbus 5, Detroit 3Tampa Bay 4, N.Y. Islanders 1
Tuesday’s games
Buffalo at PittsburghCalgary at PhiladelphiaMontreal at N.Y. RangersN.Y. Islanders at FloridaNashville at TorontoOttawa at New Jersey, ppdArizona at St. LouisEdmonton at WinnipegSan Jose at MinnesotaDetroit at DallasCarolina at VegasWashington at Anaheim
Wednesday’s games
Colorado at VancouverChicago at SeattleWashington at Los Angeles
Thursday’s games
Calgary at BuffaloN.Y. Rangers at TorontoNashville at Ottawa, ppdNew Jersey at FloridaPittsburgh at MontrealTampa Bay at PhiladelphiaDallas at MinnesotaSan Jose at St. LouisColumbus at ArizonaWinnipeg at EdmontonCarolina at AnaheimDetroit at Vegas
NHL scoreboard
Bennett has rushed for 233 yards this sea-
son.
“Honestly, my dad has tried to get me to
run more because I’ve always been pretty
fast,” Bennett said.
Smart said Bennett’s runs are “a new dy-
namic that our offense needs.”
Still, because Daniels opened the season
as the starter, there was an ongoing expec-
tation he would eventually overtake Ben-
nett.
Even as Georgia has only two regular-
season games remaining, the quarterback
questions continued on Monday.
Smart smiled when asked if Daniels will
play against Charleston Southern.
“Our goal is to go out there and get the
best quarterback ready to play and go out
and play with best guy,” Smart said. “If that
presents itself, absolutely. Straight up, I
hope everybody gets to play. I really do. I
hope everybody gets to play, but I don’t con-
trol that.”
Only two weeks ago, it appeared Georgia
might be on the verge of another round of its
quarterback derby.
After missing four games with a lat inju-
ry, Daniels returned to play a significant
role in the Bulldogs’ 43-6 win over Missouri.
Bennett started but Daniels completed 7 of
11 passes for 82 yards with one touchdown
and one interception.
The Missouri game could have been the
first step to a quarterback rotation or a bid
by Daniels to reclaim the starting job.
Instead, Daniels did not play against Ten-
nessee.
As Bennett has solidified his role as the
starter, Daniels has been working with the
second-team offense.
“He goes out to practice and takes really
quality reps,” Smart said of Daniels. “He
takes ownership in those, and he watches
Stetson’s reps and goes over what he saw on
defense.”
Smart said Daniels has “done a really
good job handling that and continuing to
work to get better. ... Both those guys are
playing well, to me, right now.”
Bennett has 15 touchdown passes, includ-
ing five in a 56-7 win over UAB, with only
four interceptions. He has completed 65.1%
of his passes for 1,625 yards, helping to keep
Georgia’s offense balanced.
In four games, including three starts, Da-
niels has completed 74.4% of his passes for
649 yards with six touchdowns and three in-
terceptions.
Bennett has given Smart and his staff a
role model for any walk-on who has been
told he won’t have a chance against more
highly recruited players.
“I’m so proud of what he’s been through,”
Smart said. “For a young man that was a 3
coming out of spring, a 3 going into fall
camp, a 3 coming out of fall camp. What
does it say about his character that he stuck
around and he kept working to get better?
That’s what you’re supposed to do in life,
overcome hurdles and obstacles, and he’s
done that.”
Top: Bennett’s running ability adds new dimension to Georgia’s offenseFROM PAGE 24
TAMPA, Fla. — Andrei Vasilev-
skiy made 25 saves, Anthony Cirelli
had a tiebreaking goal and a fight,
and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat
the New York Islanders 4-1 on
Monday night.
Tampa Bay also got goals from
Mathieu Joseph, Brayden Point
and Steven Stamkos. The defend-
ing Stanley Cup champions are 6-
0-2 in their past eight games, allow-
ing two goals or fewer in seven of
them.
“We’re defending,” Lightning
coach Jon Cooper said. “You’re giv-
ing yourself a chance to get points.”
Mathew Barzal scored for the Is-
landers, who have lost three in a
row. Semyon Varlamov stopped 24
shots. New York has been out-
scored 13-3 during the current skid.
“We’re working for those chanc-
es, they’re not going in right now,”
Islanders left wing Anders Lee
said. “It’s one of those stretches
where that can lead to some frus-
tration. I think right now we’ve just
got to find a way to stick together,
stick to it and eliminate some of the
mistakes on the other end.”
It was the the team’s 12th of 13
games during a season-opening
road trip. New York will play its
home opener at the new UBS Arena
on Saturday night against Calgary.
The teams met for the first time
since Tampa Bay beat the Islan-
ders 1-0 in Game 7 of the Stanley
Cup semifinals last June.
New York defenseman Zdeno
Chara and Lightning forward Pat
Maroon fought right after the open-
ing puck drop. Chara was given a
high-sticking minor and 10-minute
misconduct, and Tampa Bay roo-
kie Boris Katchouk received a 10-
minute misconduct following a
scrum late in the third.
Blue Jackets 5, Red Wings 3:
Zach Werenski scored the go-
ahead goal with 1:19 remaining af-
ter Yegor Chinakhov tied it with his
first NHL goal, and host Columbus
snapped a two-game skid by beat-
ing Detroit.
Boone Jenner added a goal and
an assist, and Adam Boqvist and
Alexandre Texier also scored for
the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzilikins
had 24 saves.
Dylan Larkin, Michael Rasmus-
sen and Lucas Raymond scored for
the Red Wings. Thomas Greiss
stopped 33 shots.
Columbus trailed 2-0 in the sec-
ond period and 3-2 in the third, but
Chinakhov pulled the Blue Jackets
even with 4:18 left. Jakub Voracek’s
assist was his team-leading 12th
and extended his point streak to six
games.
MIKE CARLSON/AP
The Lightning’s Anthony Cirelli, center, looks for a rebound from New York Islanders goaltender SemyonVarlamov as he’s defended by Ryan Pulock during the second period of Monday’s game in Tampa, Fla.
NHL ROUNDUP
Lightning shut down IslesAssociated Press
The NHL postponed three Otta-
wa Senators games on Monday
amid a COVID-19 outbreak on the
team, the first time any North
American major professional
sports league has been hit by res-
cheduling this fall because of the
coronavirus.
Games scheduled for Tuesday at
New Jersey, at home Thursday
against Nashville and at home Sat-
urday against the New York Rang-
ers were postponed. Ten Senators
players are currently in the NHL’s
COVID-19 protocol.
While Ottawa played shorthand-
ed Sunday in a 4-0 loss to Calgary,
the depth of the outbreak led to the
decision to postpone games, which
the league said was made in light of
evidence of continued spread in re-
cent days. The Senators are shut
down through at least Saturday,
with their training facilities closed
to players until then as a precaution.
“The Senators organization has,
and will continue to follow, all rec-
ommended guidelines aimed at
protecting the health and safety of
its players, staff and community at
large as set by the NHL, local, pro-
vincial and national agencies,” the
league said in a statement.
Neither the NFL nor the NBA has
had to postpone a game so far this
fall. Major League Baseball had
nine virus-related postponements
among 2,430 scheduled games,
down from 45 in last year’s short-
ened 900-game schedule.
The NHL postponed 51 games for
virus reasons during its last regular
season.
A handful of other NHL teams
have been hit by COVID-19 this sea-
son, including Pittsburgh and San
Jose.
Senatorssufferingoutbreak
BY STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press
AP baseball writer Ron Blum and The Canadian
Press contributed.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23
NFL
American ConferenceEast
W L T Pct PF PA
Buffalo 6 3 0 .667 280 135
New England 6 4 0 .600 275 177
Miami 3 7 0 .300 177 252
N.Y. Jets 2 7 0 .222 161 296
South
W L T Pct PF PA
Tennessee 8 2 0 .800 278 232
Indianapolis 5 5 0 .500 268 230
Jacksonville 2 7 0 .222 149 232
Houston 1 8 0 .111 128 258
North
W L T Pct PF PA
Baltimore 6 3 0 .667 231 217
Pittsburgh 5 3 1 .611 177 185
Cincinnati 5 4 0 .556 236 203
Cleveland 5 5 0 .500 231 241
West
W L T Pct PF PA
Kansas City 6 4 0 .600 262 241
L.A. Chargers 5 4 0 .556 219 228
Las Vegas 5 4 0 .556 210 230
Denver 5 5 0 .500 200 183
National ConferenceEast
W L T Pct PF PA
Dallas 7 2 0 .778 284 195
Philadelphia 4 6 0 .400 257 231
N.Y. Giants 3 6 0 .333 179 216
Washington 3 6 0 .333 185 246
South
W L T Pct PF PA
Tampa Bay 6 3 0 .667 279 212
New Orleans 5 4 0 .556 222 178
Carolina 5 5 0 .500 205 193
Atlanta 4 5 0 .444 178 263
North
W L T Pct PF PA
Green Bay 8 2 0 .800 216 180
Minnesota 4 5 0 .444 221 211
Chicago 3 6 0 .333 150 224
Detroit 0 8 1 .056 150 260
West
W L T Pct PF PA
Arizona 8 2 0 .800 287 189
L.A. Rams 7 3 0 .700 271 227
San Francisco 4 5 0 .444 216 212
Seattle 3 6 0 .333 181 186
Thursday, Nov. 11
Miami 22, Baltimore 10
Sunday’s games
Buffalo 45, N.Y. Jets 17Dallas 43, Atlanta 3Detroit 16, Pittsburgh 16, OTIndianapolis 23, Jacksonville 17New England 45, Cleveland 7Tennessee 23, New Orleans 21Washington 29, Tampa Bay 19Carolina 34, Arizona 10Minnesota 27, L.A. Chargers 20Green Bay 17, Seattle 0Philadelphia 30, Denver 13Kansas City 41, Las Vegas 14Open: Cincinnati, Houston, Chicago, N.Y.
Giants
Monday’s game
San Francisco 31, L.A. Rams 10
Thursday’s game
New England at Atlanta
Sunday, Nov. 21
Baltimore at ChicagoDetroit at ClevelandGreen Bay at MinnesotaHouston at TennesseeIndianapolis at BuffaloMiami at N.Y. JetsNew Orleans at PhiladelphiaSan Francisco at JacksonvilleWashington at CarolinaCincinnati at Las VegasArizona at SeattleDallas at Kansas CityPittsburgh at L.A. ChargersOpen: Denver, L.A. Rams
Monday, Nov. 22
N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay
Calendar2022
Jan. 22-23 — Wild card playoff gamesJan. 22-23 — Divisional playoff gamesJan. 30 — AFC and NFC championship
gamesFeb. 6 — NFL Pro Bowl, Allegiant Stadi-
um, Las Vegas.Feb. 13 — Super Bowl LVI, SoFi Stadium,
Inglewood, Calif.
Scoreboard
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After a nearly two-
month stretch that featured one win and far too
many disappointments, the San Francisco 49ers
were running out of time to establish an identity
this season.
An opening 18-play touchdown drive against
the rival Los Angeles Rams was a pretty good
start.
Jimmy Garoppolo capped that long drive with
the first of his two touchdown passes, Jimmie
Ward returned one of his two first-quarter inter-
ceptions for another score and the 49ers beat the
Rams 31-10 on Monday night for their first home
win in more than a year.
“It got us into a rhythm for sure,” Garoppolo
said. “That’s the way we want to do it. Just run-
ning the ball, converting on third down and then
score at the end. I don’t want to say it took their
soul away but it definitely did something.”
The Niners (4-5) had lost four of five games
and were in danger of falling out of the playoff
race before putting together a complete per-
formance in their fifth straight win against the
Rams (7-3).
Garoppolo threw TD passes to George Kittle
and Deebo Samuel, Samuel also ran for a score
and Ward delivered the big plays defensively to
give San Francisco its second home win in the
past two seasons. The other also came against
the Rams on Oct. 18, 2020.
It all started on the ground, where coach Kyle
Shanahan had set an audacious goal of 40 car-
ries that the Niners exceeded with 44 runs for
156 yards.
“I almost regretted it because it’s tough to do,”
Shanahan said. “I’m glad I set it. We came
through with it. It’s a huge team goal.”
San Francisco had its most rushes in a regu-
lar-season game in nine years.
Last week, San Francisco had 11 carries for 39
yards in a 31-17 loss to Arizona.
“If you want to establish any type of dom-
inance, especially in the trenches, I think that is
necessary,” left tackle Trent Williams said.
“You got to run the ball and got to make your op-
ponents respect it.”
The Niners sealed the game when Garoppolo
connected on a 40-yard TD to Samuel on fourth-
and-6 early in the fourth quarter that made it
31-7.
Garoppolo finished 15-for-19 for 182 yards
and the two TDs.
The Rams lost for the second straight week
with Matthew Stafford once again throwing two
interceptions, including one returned for a
touchdown.
Los Angeles struggled to get into any rhythm
offensively in the first game after receiver Rob-
ert Woods went down with a season-ending knee
injury last week in practice.
“This was a humbling night for us as a team,
and a great opportunity for us to be able to take a
deep breath, step away, look at the things that we
need to correct, particularly offensively over the
last couple of weeks,” coach Sean McVay said.
Odell Beckham Jr. made his Los Angeles de-
but after signing last week but had only two
catches for 18 yards.
Recently acquired edge rusher Von Miller al-
so played for the first time with the Rams and
had three tackles but didn’t put pressure on Ga-
roppolo.
Stafford went 26-for-41 for 243 yards with one
TD, two interceptions and a third that was wiped
off by a penalty.
Take it awayWard intercepted Stafford on Los Angeles’
first two drives of the game after coming into the
night with two INTs in 85 games and none since
2016.
The first came on a deep heave by Stafford to
Beckham that went right to Ward. The next
came on a quick throw that tight end Tyler Hig-
bee bobbled right into Ward’s hands, leading to a
27-yard TD return.
Ward became the seventh player since 2000
with two interceptions, including a pick-6, in the
first quarter.
Keep it awayThe Niners did a good job keeping the ball
away from Stafford in the first half. They had an
18-play, 93-yard drive that took 11:03 off the
clock after Ward’s first interception. It was
capped by an 8-yard TD pass from Garoppolo to
Kittle.
San Francisco then had an 11-play, 91-yard
drive on its second possession capped by Sa-
muel’s 8-yard run to take a 21-7 lead.
49ers run their way past RamsBY JOSH DUBOW
Associated Press
JED JACOBSOHN/AP
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel runs past Los Angeles Rams safety JordanFuller to score during the second half in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday.
Chase Young will not play the
rest of this season after injuring his
right leg and is scheduled to under-
go surgery.
Washington coach Ron Rivera
confirmed the prognosis for
Young on Monday in the wake of
the reigning Defensive Rookie of
the Year going down during the
first half of an upset of defending
Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay.
Rivera did not reveal whether
Young tore the ACL in his right
knee and did not specify what the
surgery is for. Washington said
Sunday that Young left the game
with a knee injury, and Rivera said
it was possibly an ACL tear.
The 2020 No. 2 pick finishes his
second NFL season with 1 ½ sacks.
Rookie Shaka Toney is among the
pass rushers who will fill in for
Young, starting at Carolina.
“We’re going to rely on some
young guys to step up and get op-
portunities,” Rivera said.
Young got hurt Sunday while
trying to get past left tackle Dono-
van Smith in order to pressure
Buccaneers quarterback Tom
Brady. He ended up on the grass,
wincing and writhing around on
the ground for a bit, all the while
keeping his right leg straight.
After Young was checked by
team trainers, a cart was driven
out onto the field. But Young de-
clined to get on and be driven off,
instead motioning for teammate
Brandon Scherff to give him a
hand to help stand up.
Young then headed toward the
locker room, draping his arms on
the shoulders of two people for
support while he limped off. He
gave teammates a speech of en-
couragement at halftime and re-
turned to the sideline on crutches
later.
Washington DE Young out for the season
NICK WASS/AP
Washington defensive end ChaseYoung is tended to after beinginjured on Sunday.
BY STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press
PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, November 17, 2021
SPORTSRookies of the year
Rays’ Arozarena, Reds’ Indiaclaim honors ›› MLB, Page 21
Marquette knocks off No. 10 Illinois ›› College basketball, Page 19
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ATHENS, Ga.
Against all odds, Stetson Bennett is run-
ning away with No. 1 Georgia’s quarter-
back job.
No better than third string on Geor-
gia’s depth chart entering the season,
Bennett took advantage of an injury to JT Daniels to
grab the job. His legs are a big reason he has kept the
job.
Bennett, a former walk-on, has avoided mistakes
when passing the ball and has taken advantage of his
running ability to help the Bulldogs (10-0, 8-0 South-
eastern Conference) remain atop the AP Top 25 and
earn a spot in the SEC championship game on Dec. 4.
Georgia plays Charleston Southern on Saturday in
its final home game of the season.
Some observers believe Daniels would provide the
team’s best hope for winning the SEC and national
championships. Coach Kirby Smart is basing his faith
in Bennett on what he has seen in practice and in
games.
Following the win over Tennessee, Smart said “I’m
not going to overthink it with Stetson. We’re trying to
go game by game to get him better.”
Bennett has been solid, if not spectacular, as a pas-
ser. His edge is his running ability.
“His legs have played a big part in his success,”
Smart said after Bennett ran for 40 yards and a touch-
down in last week’s 41-17 win at Tennessee. Bennett
completed 17 of 29 passes for 213 yards with a touch-
down.
Taking overthe top jobBennett making caseto remain Georgia QB
BY CHARLES ODUM
Associated Press
Stetson Bennett, a walkon at Georgia, stepped in forinjured starter JT Daniels and has helped guide theBulldogs to a 100 record and the No. 1 spot in both theAssociated Press Top 25 and the CFP rankings.
BUTCH DILL/AP
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