MILITARY MILITARY FACES Navy transits Some bases in Japan Zellweger Taiwan Strait for offering free COVID-19 surprised by record 13th time screenings to troops Grammy nod Page 3 Page 5 Page 18 Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Notre Dame in CFP ›› College football, Page 24 stripes.com Volume 79 Edition 176 ©SS 2020 MONDAY,DECEMBER 21, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas Violence in Kabul continues with blast BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN Stars and Stripes KABUL, Afghanistan — A large car bomb exploded in the Afghan capital Sunday, killing at least nine people and wounding 20 oth- ers, the country’s Interior Minis- ter said. The blast adds to the near daily attacks seen in Kabul since the Ta- liban and government started peace talks in September, and comes as the U.S. remains on course to reduce the number of American troops in the country to the lowest level since the begin- ning of the war. The Sunday morning attack oc- curred in a western neighborhood of the city and appeared to target parliamentarian Khan Moham- mad Wardak, Interior Minister Massoud Andarabi told reporters. Wardak was wounded, but in PHOTOS BY PAUL SANCYA/AP “good condition,” Andarabi said. Above: A worker gives a thumbs up while transporting boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to the loading dock for shipping at the Children and elderly people McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Miss., Sunday. Below right: Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. were among the victims, and homes near the blast site were se- verely damaged, the Interior Min- istry said in a separate statement. No group immediately claimed 2nd US vaccine shipping out responsibility for the blast, which came a day after five rockets were fired onto Bagram Airfield, the Moderna-developed shots expected to be available Monday largest U.S. base in Afghanistan. The U.S. military said no casual- Associated Press were boxing up the vaccine developed by Mod- ties or damage resulted from that OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. — Workers on Sun- erna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health. attack. day began packaging shipments of the second The much-needed shots are expected to be giv- The Taliban have vowed to re- COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S., a en starting Monday, just three days after the frain from attacking international desperately needed boost to efforts to bring the Food and Drug Administration authorized forces and Afghan cities as part of coronavirus pandemic under control. a U.S.-Taliban deal signed in Feb- Employees at a factory in the Memphis area SEE SHIPPING ON PAGE 7 ruary, and the local Islamic State affiliate has claimed most large at- INSIDE tacks in recent months. But smaller attacks, such as General sorry for ‘miscommunication’ over shipments Sunday’s targeting high-profile Page 7 SEE BLAST ON PAGE 6 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Monday, December 21, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER States halt virus supply deals with businesses EXCHANGE RATES Military rates So. Korea (Won) 1,099.51 Associated Press of orders this spring, sometimes chases by states this spring for Switzerland (Franc) 0.8839 Euro costs (Dec. 21) $1.20 Thailand (Baht) 29.85 The call went out from states: sticking businesses with huge personal protective equipment Dollar buys (Dec. 21) 0.7951 Turkey (New Lira) 7.6354 British pound (Dec. 21) $1.32 Masks, gowns, gloves and other costs they can’t recoup, according and high-demand medical de- Japanese yen (Dec. 21) 101.00 (Military exchange rates are those available personal protective equipment to an Associated Press analysis of vices, such as ventilators and in- South Korean won (Dec. 21) 1,070.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger­ were needed fast in the battle states’ purchasing data. frared thermometers. many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain (Dinar) 0.3770 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ against the coronavirus. “It was a nightmare, it was an The AP did not request details Britain (Pound) 1.3507 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2788 your local military banking facility. Commercial Many businesses that jumped in absolute nightmare,” said Chris- on canceled contracts, but one- China (Yuan) 6.5370 rates are interbank rates provided for reference Denmark (Krone) 6.0763 to help this spring soon found tian Weber, CEO of Advanced third of the states voluntarily pro- Egypt (Pound) 15.7101 when buying currency. All figures are foreign themselves facing delays from Shelter Systems Inc., which saw vided data totaling more than $3 Euro 0.8169 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7521 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ suppliers and, in some cases, hav- Texas cancel a contract to supply billion in canceled orders. Respi- Hungary (Forint) 292.18 pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­euro.) Israel (Shekel) 3.2371 ing orders canceled by states too millions of KN95 masks, similar to rator masks like N95s were among Japan (Yen) 103.31 INTEREST RATES impatient to wait. the N95 that filters out particles. the hardest-to-find items and the Kuwait (Dinar) 0.3042 Norway (Krone) 8.5956 Prime rate 3.25 States looking to acquire per- Based on data obtained through most frequently canceled, ac- Philippines (Peso) 48.07 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.25 Poland (Zloty) 3.65 Federal funds market rate 0.09 sonal protective equipment ended open-records requests, the AP tal- counting for about one-third of all Saudi Arab (Riyal) 3.7519 3­month bill 0.08 up halting billions of dollars worth lied more than $7 billion in pur- halted orders in those states. Singapore (Dollar) 1.3280 30­year bond 1.70 WEATHER OUTLOOK MONDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST MONDAY IN EUROPE TUESDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 41/28 Kabul Seoul 48/31 44/26 Baghdad 68/48 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar Mildenhall/ 45/27 50/30 59/30 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 40/37 53/38 50/32 Iwakuni Kuwait City 54/32 Bahrain Brussels Zagan Sasebo Guam 70/50 72/64 Ramstein 40/36 54/39 52/45 43/35 86/80 Riyadh Lajes, 69/45 Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 63/59 50/46 76/64 Aviano/ 42/31 Vicenza 44/32 Naples 58/46 Okinawa Morón 70/61 60/46 Sigonella Rota 56/43 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 61/51 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 84/77 64/58 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 11 Classified .................... 13 Comics .........................16 Crossword ................... 16 Faces .......................... 18 Opinion ........................ 14 Sports ................... 20-24 Monday, December 21, 2020 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY Navy breaks yearly record of transits via Taiwan Strait BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS made nine such trips last year, Stars and Stripes three in 2018 and five in 2017. Be- YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Ja- fore Saturday, the Navy’s most re- pan — The Navy on Saturday broke cent sail through the strait hap- KRISTAN CAMPBELL/U.S. Air Force its record for the number of times it pened Nov. 22 by the guided-mis- A U.S. Marine based in Okinawa helped save the life of a local woman after she was bitten by a habu snake.has sent a warship through the Tai- sile destroyer USS Barry. wan Strait in a single year, accord- The number of Navy trips ing to the Yokosuka-based 7th through the strait has increased Fleet. along with tensions between the Marine credited for saving The guided-missile destroyer United States and China in the USS Mustin steamed through the South and East China seas. Strain contested waterway separating with China over Taiwan has grown Okinawan with snakebite Taiwan from mainland China on after the U.S. this month approved Saturday “in accordance with in- a$280 million sale of advanced mil- BY MATTHEW M. BURKE what was wrong until she started the habu, Hime habu, Sakishima ternational law,” 7th Fleet spokes- itary communications equipment Stars and Stripes screaming out ‘habu, habu.’” habu and Taiwan habu — accord- man Lt. Joe Keiley said by email. to Taiwan. CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A James, of Dubois, Neb., did not ing to the Okinawa prefectural Navy passes through the 110- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Marine on Okinawa was credited hesitate, the statement said. He government website. mile-wide strait typically provoke Zheng Zeguang said the sale “seri- Thursday with saving the life of a found the bitemarks and quickly Up to 50 people on Okinawa — condemnation from Beijing, which ously violated the basic norms of in- local woman after she was bitten fastened a tourniquet two inches most often farmers or farmwork- sees Taiwan as a breakaway prov- ternational relations, seriously in- by a venomous habu snake. above the wound, using a friend’s ers — are bitten each year. Habu ince and the waterway its territory. terfered in China’s domestic poli- Sgt. John James, a motor vehi- belt. venom is hemotoxic, destroying The U.S. regards the strait as in- tics, seriously damaged China-U.S. cle operator While the bar owner called blood cells and tissues, according ternational waters and acknowl- relations, are arrogant, unreasona- from Combat emergency services, James con- to the Okinawa Institute of Sci- edges China’s claim to Taiwan un- ble and vile,” according to a Dec. 8 Logistics Bat- tacted a corpsman friend to see ence and Technology Graduate der its “One China” policy but report by The Associated Press. talion 31, was what else he could do, the state- University’s website.