Homecoming Crisis Worsening and Emergency Relief About to Expire
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FACES MILITARY HIGH SCHOOL Producer Dr. Luke Army surpasses DODEA Pacific enjoying return to 7,0 0 0 c a s e s shelves football top of pop charts of coronavirus amid pandemic Page 15 Page 7 Back page Trump considers sending federal agents to some big cities » Page 10 stripes.com Volume 79, No. 68 ©SS 2020 WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas VIRUS OUTBREAK Trump and Congress at odds over aid package BY LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump acknowledged a “big flareup” of COVID-19 cases, but divisions between the White House and Senate Republicans and differences with Democrats posed fresh challenges for a new federal aid package with the U.S. Homecoming crisis worsening and emergency relief about to expire. Trump convened GOP leaders at the White House on Monday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prepared to roll out his $1 trillion package in days. But the administration criticized PUSH the legislation’s money for more virus testing and insisted on a full payroll tax repeal that could com- HENRY VILLARAMA/U.S. Army plicate quick passage. The time- A U.S. Army paratrooper accounts for his troops during an exercise at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, in August . line appeared to quickly shift. “We’ve made a lot of progress,” Trump said, but added, “Unfor- tunately, this is something that’s Trump is determined to bring home US troops from somewhere very tough.“ Lawmakers returned to a Capitol still off-limits to tour- BY KAREN DEYOUNG iban deal signed early this year, he ists, another sign of the nation’s AND MISSY RYAN questioned whether U.S. forces in difficulty containing the coro- The Washington Post Syria could be decreased. navirus. Rather than easing, the Not advisable, Trump was told of pandemic’s devastating cycle hen President Donald the approximately 800 troops there, is churning again, leaving Con- Trump spoke with Pen- most still engaged ANALYSIS gress little choice but to engineer tagon leaders early last in fighting the Is- another costly rescue. Businesses Wmonth about U.S. troop lamic State and are shutting down again, many levels in Afghanistan, he was anx- keeping Russia, Iran and Turkey schools will not fully reopen and ious for a hefty reduction by Elec- from expanding their reach. jobs are disappearing, all while tion Day in November, according “I am sure they’re going to stay in federal aid will expire in days. to U.S. officials familiar with the [Syria] until the end of the year, be- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, discussion. yond the election, regardless of who D-Calif., said any attempt by the Reminded that withdrawals wins,” a senior U.S. official said in White House to block money for below the current level of approxi- the wake of the meeting. U.S. and testing “goes beyond ignorance.” mately 8,600 — about the same foreign officials spoke on the con- The political stakes are high for PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP as when Trump first took office dition of anonymity to discuss the both parties before the November — were contingent upon still-unmet sensitive troop withdrawal issue. President Donald Trump visits Walter Reed National election, and even more so for the conditions outlined in the U.S.-Tal- SEE HOMECOMING ON PAGE 6 Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., on July 11. nation, which now has registered more coronavirus infections and a higher death count — 140,800 Esper says no decision made on withdrawing troops from South Korea Page 6 — than any other country. SEE AID ON PAGE 8 PAGE 2 F3HIJKLM •STARS AND STRIPES• Wednesday, July 22, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Bezos adds record $13B in 1 day to his fortune Military rates Switzerland (Franc)............................0.9382 Euro costs (July 22) .............................. $1.12 Thailand (Baht) ..................................... 31.61 Dollar buys (July 22) .........................€0.8514 Turkey (Lira) .........................................6.8441 British pound (July 22) ........................ $1.24 (Military exchange rates are those BY JACK PITCHER person, has seen his fortune swell people forced to stay home and Japanese yen (July 22) ......................105.00 available to customers at military banking South Korean won (July 22) .......... 1,167.00 facilities in the country of issuance Bloomberg to $189.3 billion, despite the U.S. helped by the boost given to mar- Commercial rates for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3770 entering its worst economic down- kets by unprecedented stimu- Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For British pound .....................................$1.2714 Jeff Bezos added $13 billion to turn since the Great Depression. lus efforts by governments and nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3450 purchasing British pounds in Germany), his net worth Monday, the largest He’s now personally worth more central bankers. Seven of the 10 China (Yuan) ........................................6.9850 check with your local military banking single-day jump for an individual Denmark (Krone) ................................6.4962 than the market valuation of gi- richest people on the planet owe facility. Commercial rates are interbank since the Bloomberg Billionaires Egypt (Pound) ...................................15.9898 ants such as Exxon Mobil, Nike their wealth to the sector, includ- Euro .........................................$1.1457/0.8728 rates provided for reference when buying Index was created in 2012. Hong Kong (Dollar) ..............................7.7514 currency. All figures are foreign currencies and McDonald’s. ing Elon Musk, whose fortune has to one dollar, except for the British pound, Amazon shares surged 7.9%, Hungary (Forint) .................................306.09 Mackenzie Bezos, the ex-wife soared $47 billion so far in 2020. Israel (Shekel) .....................................3.4224 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, the most since December 2018, of the Washington Post owner, Facebook chief executive Mark Japan (Yen) ........................................... 107.01 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) on rising optimism about web gained $4.6 billion Monday and Zuckerberg has added almost $15 Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3073 INTEREST RATES Norway (Krone) ...................................9.1441 shopping trends, and are up 73% is now the 13th-richest person in billion to his net worth this year, Philippines (Peso).................................49.34 Prime rate ................................................3.25 this year. the world. even as the company deals with Poland (Zloty) ..........................................3.87 Discount rate ..........................................0.25 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...........................3.7502 Federal funds market rate ................... 0.03 Bezos, Amazon’s 56-year-old Other tech titans are also en- brands boycotting ads on the so- Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.3879 3-month bill ............................................. 0.11 founder and the world’s richest joying a surge driven partly by cial network. South Korea (Won) ..........................1,195.27 30-year bond ...........................................1.31 WEATHER OUTLOOK WEDNESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST WEDNESDAY IN EUROPE THURSDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 69/66 Kabul 90/71 Seoul 77/70 Baghdad 112/81 Kandahar Osan 104/78 Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 74/69 74/71 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 68/54 61/51 72/69 Iwakuni 77/74 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 99/92 Brussels 66/53 Guam 104/85 67/49 Ramstein 78/75 83/79 Lajes, 73/53 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 110/86 106/88 69/66 74/55 80/65 Aviano/ Vicenza 81/65 Naples 88/69 Okinawa Morón 83/80 96/69 Sigonella Rota 91/65 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 101/85 78/69 79/75 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 14 Classified .................. 13 Comics ...................... 18 Crossword ................. 18 Faces ........................ 15 Opinion .................16-17 Sports .................. 19-24 Wednesday, July 22, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• F3HIJKLM PAGE 3 MIDEAST Aviano airmen stand down for talk on racism BY NORMAN LLAMAS cussed the racial disparities Afri- Stars and Stripes can Americans and other people of color face in the Air Force and AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy in U.S. society as a whole. — Staff Sgt. Kourtney L. Rollins The day was a first step in what tried to talk to her co-workers will be an ongoing effort to eradi- about their inappropriate racial cate discrimination in the Air comments, but nothing changed. Force and at Aviano, said Brig. After two years, she said she Gen. Jason Bailey, the wing’s took it up with her chain of com- newly arrived commander. mand at her previous workplace “I sat in on some of the discus- — and again, nothing changed. sion groups and I can tell you “The work environment contin- firsthand that the participants /Stars and Stripes ued to be a toxic one, where racial were raw with sharing their ex- PHOTOS BY NORMAN LLAMAS comments were an acceptable periences and feelings,” Bailey Airmen from the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy, discuss racial inequities at an event form of speech,” said Rollins, a said. “It takes a lot of courage and organized by the wing’s equal opportunity office on Friday . special victims paralegal for the I deeply respect the bravery and