SPORTS: COVID aftershocks MUSIC are still being felt Page 48 Dua Lipa, nominated for 6 Grammys, is GAMES: Mario takes an icon in the making an exciting turn Page 18 Page 16 AP predictions, Page 15 BOOKS: How the US lost the Pech Valley Page 27

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Volume 79 Edition 233 ©SS 2021 FRIDAY,MARCH 12, 2021 $1.00

VIRUS OUTBREAK Vaccinations are delayed for Army in Europe as cases rise

BY JENNIFER H. SVAN Stars and Stripes KAISERSLAUTERN, Germa- ny — The largest U.S. military hospital overseas might have to cancel coronavirus vaccinations as of next week, as supplies dwin- dle and new deliveries are de- layed, it said. Most appointments to get a fol- low-up shot at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center near Ramstein Air Base could be canceled start- ing Tuesday morning and patients will be “rescheduled as soon as we are resupplied,” LRMC said in a LESS post on its Facebook page Wednesday. New supplies of the vaccine might not arrive for several weeks, it said. Only second doses are available for now, LRMC said. The delay contrasts with com- LUSTER mands in the U.S., the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East, sever- al of whom have recently received large vaccine shipments. PAOLO BOVO/U.S. Army The Landstuhl holdup could put U.S. Army paratroopers participate in an Eagle Sokol 21 exercise at Pocek Range in Postonja, Slovenia, on Tuesday. The Ronald Reagan some patients who have already Institute’s “National Defense Survey” showed declining trust in the military in the past three years. had the first dose of the Moderna vaccine outside the recommended BY SARAH CAMMARATA The institute started its “Nation- four-week time frame for a second Stars and Stripes Trust in the military is declining, al Defense Survey” in 2018 to bet- dose. WASHINGTON — The number ter understand how the public While military health leaders of Americans who have trust and views defense, foreign policy and are “working hard to find a way” confidence in the U.S. military has although its reputation remains national security topics, accord- to avoid having to cancel second- declined by 14% in the last three ing to the organization’s website. dose appointments, anyone who years, according to a new survey high, according to new survey It’s designed to inform elected of- does fall outside the window for released this week by the Ronald ficials and policymakers. Reagan Institute. fidence in the military is part of an The latest survey also found SEE EUROPE ON PAGE 7 Yet, the armed forces still top overall downturn in attitudes 56% confidence in law enforcement the list of the most respected insti- among the American people, it’s similarly dropped from 50% in tutions in the nation, the survey particularly alarming as a leading 2018 to 39% in 2021. RELATED Percentage of Americans who said DOD pushes more found. indicator of a diminishing national they had a “great deal of trust and However, “the military remains People who said they have a spirit,” said Rachel Hoff, policy conficence” in the military, according the most trusted institution by a vaccines to CENTCOM “great deal of trust and confi- director at the Ronald Reagan In- to a poll released by the Ronald large margin,” the report’s au- dence” in the military dropped stitute, a nonprofit organization Reagan Institute. The figure was 70% thors wrote in a summary of the after rise in virus cases from 70% in 2018 to 56% in 2021. dedicated to promoting Ronald in 2018. The armed forces topped the Page 7 “While declining trust and con- Reagan’s legacy. list of most trusted institutions. SEE LUSTER ON PAGE 6 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER

EUROPE GAS PRICES EXCHANGE RATES

Country Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel  Military rates South Korea (Won) 1133.79 Germany $3.046 $3.425 $3.685 $3.418 Azores .. .. $3.585 .. Switzerland (Franc) .9266 Euro costs (March 12) $1.17 Change in price +6.0 cents +6.6 cents +6.6 cents +7.1 cents Change in price .. .. +6.6 cents .. Thailand (Baht) 30.63 Dollar buys (March 12) 0.8149 Turkey (NewLira) 7.5244 Netherlands .. $3.847 $4.143 $3.928 Belgium .. $2.721 $2.952 $2.906 British pound (March 12) $1.36 Japanese yen (March 12) 106.00 Change in price .. +1.4 cents +0.9 cents ­2.8 cents Change in price .. No change No change No change (Military exchange rates are those available South Korean won (March 12) 1111.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the U.K. .. $3.324 $3.584 $3.317 Turkey .. .. $3.470 $3.871* Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger­ Change in price .. +6.6 cents +6.6 cents +7.1 cents Change in price .. .. +6.6 cents +18.6 cents many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain(Dinar) .3768 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ Britain (Pound) 1.3952 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.7921 your local military banking facility. Commercial China(Yuan) 6.4937 rates are interbank rates provided for reference PACIFIC GAS PRICES Denmark (Krone) 6.2301 Egypt (Pound) 15.7050 when buying currency. All figures are foreign Country Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel  Euro .8378 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Japan .. $3.479 .. $3.209 South Korea $2.849 .. $3.489 $3.219 Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7598 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­euro.) Change in price .. +7.0 cents .. +7.0 cents Change in price +6.0 cents .. +7.0 cents +7.0 cents  Hungary (Forint) 305.58 Israel (Shekel) 3.3066 Okinawa $2.839 .. .. $3.209 Guam $2.849  $3.229 $3.489 .. Japan (Yen) 108.62 INTEREST RATES Kuwait(Dinar) .3024 Change in price +6.0 cents .. .. +7.0 cents Change in price +6.0 cents  +7.0 cents  +7.0 cents .. Norway (Krone) 8.4581 Prime rate 3.25 Philippines (Peso) 48.49 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 *DieselEFD **Midgrade Poland (Zloty) 3.84 Federal funds market rate 0.04 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7506 3­month bill 0.04 For the week of March 12­18 Singapore (Dollar) 1.3421 30­year bond 2.24 WEATHER OUTLOOK FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FRIDAY IN EUROPE SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC

Misawa 42/33

Kabul Seoul 50/42 53/38 Baghdad 64/60 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar Mildenhall/ 53/39 49/44 77/43 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 43/39 54/46 48/37 Iwakuni Kuwait City Bahrain 54/50 Brussels Zagan Sasebo Guam 78/71 83/70 Ramstein 47/40 55/51 48/39 47/37 84/80 Riyadh Lajes, 95/72 Doha Azores Stuttgart 98/68 59/54 47/39 Pápa Aviano/ 52/41 Vicenza 51/38

Naples 57/49 Okinawa Morón 66/62 66/44 Sigonella Rota 61/41 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 62/46 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 84/75 54/50 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 36 Classified ...... 37 Comics ...... 38-39 Crossword ...... 38-39 Faces ...... 35 Opinion ...... 40 Sports ...... 41-48 Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 PACIFIC Navy sails Taiwan Strait; command talks China plans BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS gic ambiguity has helped keep Stars and Stripes Taiwan in its current status,” he YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, said. “But you know, these things Japan — The Navy sent its third should be reconsidered routinely. warship in a little over a month I’d look forward to the conversa- through the Taiwan Strait on tion.” Wednesday, just a day after Indo- Some lawmakers have called Pacific Command’s leader for closer relations with Taiwan. warned legislators of China’s in- Late in 2020, Sen. Marco Rubio, tent on overtaking Taiwan. R-Fla., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D- The guided-missile destroyer Ore., introduced the Taiwan Rela- USS John Finn steamed through tions Reinforcement Act to “up- the 110-mile-wide strait that sep- date U.S. policy toward Taiwan to arates China from Taiwan to better reflect the realities on the “demonstrate the U.S. commit- ground,” Rubio’s office said in a ment to a free and open Indo-Pa- statement Oct. 20. JACKIE SANDERS/U.S. Air Force cific,” 7th Fleet spokesman Lt. In a press conference Thurs- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks with reporters aboard the USS Nimitz off the California coast last Mark Langford said in a state- day, Pentagon spokesman John month. He begins his first overseas trip Saturday with visits to key allies and partners in the Indo­Pacific. ment Thursday morning. Kirby said Defense Secretary “The United States military Lloyd Austin “believes it’s in no will continue to fly, sail and oper- one’s interest” for conflict to oc- Austin chooses Indo-Pacific region for ate anywhere international law cur over Taiwan. allows,” he said, employing a “There’s no reason for that to phrase often used by Navy offi- happen,” Kirby said. “We take 1st overseas trip as defense secretary cials following such operations. our responsibilities to Taiwan se- BY WYATT OLSON interested in aggression,” he Eui-yong and Minister of De- Beijing considers reunification riously, as has administrations bi- Stars and Stripes said. fense Suh Wook. with Taiwan a top priority and partisan and legislators biparti- Defense Secretary Lloyd Aus- Austin will first stop in Ha- The meeting is intended to regularly protests Taiwan Strait san for many, many years.” tin begins his first overseas trip waii, which is headquarters for underscore America’s “iron- transits, claiming foreign vessels Still, Kirby said Austin is Saturday with visits to key allies Indo-Pacific Command, Pacific clad commitment” to the secu- must first ask permission before “treating China as the pacing and partners in the Indo-Pacif- Fleet, Marine Forces Pacific, rity of South Korea and empha- passing through. challenge … and that means hav- ic, with meetings planned with Pacific Air Forces, U.S. Army size the alliance as “a linchpin” Guided-missile destroyers USS ing the right operational concepts counterparts in Japan, South Pacific and Special Operations of security in Northeast Asia, John S. McCain and USS Curtis in place; making sure that we are Korea and India, the Pentagon Command Pacific. the Pentagon said. Wilbur steamed through the strait properly resourced in the Indo- said Wednesday. He will meet with troops and Austin will then head to India without asking permission on Pacific; and that we are develop- The choice of Asia for Aus- senior commanders while to meet with Rajnath Singh, the Feb. 4 and Feb. 25, respectively. ing the proper capabilities to tin’s inaugural trip underscores there, the Pentagon said. minister of defense, and other After the Feb. 4 transit, Chinese make sure that we can meet that the growing importance of the He will then fly to Japan to senior national security lead- Foreign Ministry spokesman challenge from a military per- region in both the Pentagon’s join Secretary of State Antony ers. Wang Wenbin called U.S. strait spective.” strategic planning and Ameri- Blinken for the U.S.-Japan Se- They will discuss ways to fur- transits “provocations” that “Clearly China is behaving in ca’s economic interdependence curity Consultative Committee, ther advance cooperation made threaten China’s “national sover- ways that are not in keeping with with the Pacific. informally called 2+2. That is possible in 2016 when the U.S. eignty and territorial integrity,” an international rules-based or- “I’ll meet with my counter- being hosted by Japan’s Minis- designated India as a Major De- according to a translated tran- der and as the secretary of state parts and other officials to dis- ter for Foreign Affairs Toshi- fense Partner. script. has said, they seek to not only cuss the importance of our alli- mitsu Motegi and Minister of Mutual disdain over China’s The transit Wednesday came a challenge that order but to sup- ances and partnerships, and to- Defense Nobuo Kishi, the Pen- desire to dominate the region day after the head of Indo-Pacific plant it,” Kirby added. gether we'll reinforce the U.S. tagon said. has deepened defense ties be- Command, Adm. Philip David- The latest transit came the commitment to a free and open The meeting, scheduled Mon- tween the U.S. and India, partic- son, told the Senate Armed Ser- same day Austin on Twitter an- Indo-Pacific region,” Austin day through Wednesday, is in- ularly over the past year. vices Committee he believed Chi- nounced plans to tour the Indo- said in a tweet Wednesday. tended to emphasize “that the Last summer, Indian and Chi- na could overtake Taiwan and Pacific beginning Saturday. He He has been in the job since U.S.-Japan Alliance has never nese troops clashed in hand-to- force reunification “in the next will visit Indo-Pacific Command Jan. 22. been more resolute and resil- hand combat on the disputed six years.” headquarters in Hawaii before The Pentagon’s national de- ient — the cornerstone of peace border between the two coun- “I worry that [China is] accel- making stops in Japan, South Ko- fense strategy has, in recent and security in a free and open tries, leaving at least 20 Indian erating their ambitions to sup- rea and India. years, pivoted away from em- Indo-Pacific in the face of long- soldiers dead in the Galwan plant the United States and our “I’ll meet with my counterparts phasizing counterinsurgency term competition with China,” Valley. While the border has leadership role in the rules-based and other officials to discuss the and the Middle East toward the Pentagon said. long been a point of contention international order,” Davidson importance of our alliances and greater focus on so-called Tensions have risen this year between the countries, the skir- said Tuesday. “They’ve long said partnerships, and together we’ll “great power” competition with between Japan and China over mish was the first time that that they want to do that by 2050. reinforce the U.S. commitment to China and Russia. the disputed Senkaku islands. shots were fired since the two I’m worried about them moving a free and open Indo-Pacific re- Testifying before the Senate China in February gave its sides entered into a no-fire that target closer.” gion,” Austin said in his tweet. Armed Services Committee this coast guard authority to fire at agreement in 1996. He further suggested the U.S. It will be his first overseas trip week, Adm. Philip Davidson, boats entering waters claimed Former Defense Secretary review its policy regarding rela- since taking over as defense sec- head of Indo-Pacific Command, by China, to which Japan re- Mark Esper and former Secre- tions with Taiwan. For four dec- retary in January with the Biden said the United States needs to sponded by permitting its coast tary of State Mike Pompeo met ades, the U.S. has considered Tai- administration. In another tweet invest more in troops, missile guard crews to fire on foreign with top leaders in India in Oc- wan’s status unsettled but ac- on Wednesday, Austin said the In- detection and weapons in the ships attempting to reach the tober and signed an agreement knowledges that China asserts do-Pacific remains “a priority region in response to China’s Senkakus. to increase sharing of military sovereignty over Taiwan with the theater” for the department. growing military capabilities. Both U.S. Cabinet members satellite information. “One China” policy. “I see [China] developing sys- then travel to South Korea to at-

“I would submit that we’ve got [email protected] tems, capabilities and a posture tend a meeting hosted by South [email protected] more than 40 years of the strate- Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos that would indicate that they’re Korean Foreign Minister Chung Twitter: @WyattWOlson PAGE 4 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 PACIFIC General downplays N. Korea missile display BY SETH ROBSON Korea’s claims aren’t evidence of but also a platform capable of emy in Seoul, said in an email North Korea continues to de- Stars and Stripes a viable nuclear weapon. successfully delivering it, Thursday. velop nuclear and advanced mis- The top U.S. general on the Ko- “Projecting a capability in a pa- Abrams said. “So, [North Korea’s] real capa- sile systems, cyber capabilities, rean Peninsula has poured cold rade, while an effective commu- However, he added: This “new, bility of launching a SLBM is not and conventional and asymmetric water on the North’s claim of pos- nication strategy, does not neces- possibly larger” intercontinental ready yet,” he said. military technology, Abrams told sessing the “world’s most power- sarily equal the ability to deliver ballistic missile that can be The North also lacks the tech- the committee by video link from ful weapon.” it,” he said. “In fact, there has launched by submarine may be nology to build a nuclear-power- a bunker in an undisclosed loca- Pyongyang showed off its new been no reporting to indicate that an “intermediate step” toward ed submarine, Kim added. tion on the peninsula Wednesday. submarine-launched interconti- North Korea has exhibited a plat- obtaining solid-propellant Pyongyang tested a nuclear However, he added: “There re- nental ballistic missile during a form capable of delivering the ICBMs. weapon and an ICBM in 2017 but mains a palpable reduction in ten- parade in January. weapons we were shown.” North Korea test-fired its new hasn’t repeated the experiments sions that originated in 2018 after However, U.S. Forces Korea There remains a “significant missile in October 2019. Howev- in recent years as leader Kim a very dangerous and provocative commander Army Gen. Robert gap” between asserting North Ko- er, it has yet to launch it from a Jong Un and former President 2017.” Abrams, in written testimony to rea possesses the “most powerful real submarine, Kim Hyun-wook, Donald Trump held summit the House Armed Services Com- weapon” and certifying they pos- an American studies professor at meetings and U.S. forces scaled [email protected] mittee on Wednesday, said North sess not only the actual weapons Korea National Diplomatic Acad- back training on the peninsula. Twitter: @SethRobson1 US bases mark decade since quake BY SETH ROBSON President Joe Biden and Japa- ment to devastated areas, he said. Stars and Stripes nese Prime Minister Yoshihide After the ceremony, Lt. Col. YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Suga, in a joint statement Thurs- Ryan Wong, who flew nine A bell rang out 11 times at the day, praised those involved in the C-130H sorties after the disaster, home of U.S. Forces Japan in response known as Operation To- recalled seeing the battering that western Tokyo at 2:46 p.m. Thurs- modachi. towns along the coast took from day, marking a decade since the “Our joint efforts hold a special the wave. Great East Japan Earthquake place in the hearts and memories “It was shocking to see it, but we shook the country. of both our peoples — a testament were trained for humanitarian as- Marine Corps bases on Okina- to the special bond and the un- sistance and disaster relief,” he wa sounded tsunami warning si- shakable friendship that is the Ja- said. rens while airmen gathered at pan-US alliance,” the pair said. Master Sgt. Joshua Brown, who Misawa Air Base in northeastern Standing in front of the 374th flew eight sorties during Oper- Japan for a moment of silence. Airlift Wing headquarters and ation Tomodachi as a C-130H AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes The tributes marked the mo- backed by a UH-1 Huey helicopter flight crew chief, remembered Master Sgt. Joshua Brown attends a ceremony at Yokota Air Base, ment the magnitude-9.0 earth- and a red fire engine, wing com- banking over the northeastern Japan, on Thursday marking 10 years since the Great East Japan quake — the biggest ever record- mander Col. Andrew Campbell city of Sendai and seeing the dam- Earthquake. Brown flew eight sorties during Operation Tomodachi. ed in Japan — shook the country. recalled how the Yokota commu- age. It created a massive tsunami that nity provided food and shelter to “It was so much devastation,” Takeda helped deliver a fire en- hiro Shinozaki, from Yokota’s inundated the northeastern coast, passengers of 11 jumbo jets divert- he said. gine to Fukushima so that it could Mission Support Group, was killing more than 19,000 and caus- ed there from commercial air- The helicopter displayed at the be used to battle the reactor fires. charged with monitoring the radi- ing a meltdown at the Fukushima ports after the quake damaged Yokota ceremony was one of those After Thursday’s ceremony, he ation exposure of personnel dur- Daiichi nuclear power plant. their runways. that had flown over 100 missions recalled his concern about radi- ing Operation Tomodachi. The memorials were also a re- In all, the wing deployed more during the disaster, Campbell ation as he approached the power Radiation levels in Tokyo were minder that more than 20,000 than 1,000 personnel and flew said. plant. never dangerous but some of the American troops worked along- more than 600 missions during “Our Huey crews put them- “I saw so many Japanese emer- exterior panels on aircraft that side their Japanese allies to re- Operation Tomodachi, delivering selves in harm’s way,” he said. gency vehicles,” he said. had flown through radiation were spond to the disaster. personnel, supplies and equip- Yokota firefighter Nobohito Another at the ceremony, Masa- changed as a precaution, he said. Marines Corps’ sunset tweet above Okinawa draws fire

BY MATTHEW M. BURKE in Ginowan city after a training point of view to post a photo and misleading ones. He said he AND HANA KUSUMOTO mission, wing spokesman Maj. showing guns.” took the tweet down because he Stars and Stripes Ken Kunze said in an email Kunze maintains the wing’s could not respond to all the neg- CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Thursday to Stars and Stripes. Twitter account and posted the ative and misleading remarks, The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing “The weapon in the lower left tweet Sunday, he said during a not because he believed the removed a tweet Monday of an of the photo that is pointing follow-up phone call Thursday tweet was inappropriate. Okinawa sunset photographed away from any populated area with Stars and Stripes. Typical- “The post was taken down be- from a helicopter in flight after below was locked in the up posi- ly, the wing’s posts get about cause inappropriate and mis- it provoked a sizeable negative tion for travel and no Marine 10,000 impressions, he said. leading comments were being response. was manning it when the photo This tweet went from about made,” Kunze said in his email. The sunset wasn’t the prob- was taken,” he wrote. 10,000 to about 90,000 in 24 “Some of the comments were lem, according to local media Nonetheless, The Okinawa hours’ time. vulgar and it was suspected that reports, but the view included Times, for one, reported the “The focus of the photo was some of the responses and re- the barrel of a .50-caliber ma- tweet as insensitive for depict- the sunset and the weapon in tweets were being promoted by chine gun and the caption: “Oki ing weaponry being flown over the foreground was incidental,” individuals outside of Japan in views! A view down the barrel Okinawa cities. Kunze said. “Our aircraft fly an attempt to spread the mis- with HMH-465 ‘Warhorse’ on a “Ordinary residents get star- around Okinawa frequently leading information.” recent flight in Okinawa!!” The tled when they see guns,” even with weapons mounted while Okinawa Prefectural Offi- caption included the hashtags though they often see service transiting to training areas … cials declined to comment #FightNow and #FreeAndOpe- members carrying them, Ta- Weapons are always locked in Thursday. Ginowan city offi- nIndoPacific. kashi Kishimoto, director of an elevated position while in cials did not respond to re- The photo showed two CH-53 Okinawa Heiwa Undo Center, transit and Marines are not quests seeking comment. Twitter Super Stallion helicopters from or Okinawa Peace Movement manning them.” The Marine Corps said this tweet Marine Heavy Helicopter Center, told Stars and Stripes Kunze said the photograph [email protected] was removed Monday after it Twitter: @MatthewMBurke1 drew many vulgar and misleading Squadron 465 returning to Ma- by phone Thursday. “It is un- drew many positive comments [email protected] rine Corps Air Station Futenma thinkable from the residents’ but also attracted many vulgar Twitter: @HanaKusumoto comments. Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 5 MILITARY The leaked US plan to end the Afghanistan War

BY SUSANNAH GEORGE largely been shrouded in secrecy. The Washington Post Under the Trump administration, ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A only a four-page summary was re- leaked State Department docu- leased after the U.S. and the Tali- ment presents the clearest picture ban reached a peace deal in Feb- yet of a political settlement to the ruary 2020. RAHMAT GUL/AP Afghan conflict that would satisfy In contrast, sections of the draft Security personnel inspect the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday. The bomb attached the Biden administration and pave peace agreement go into detail, es- to a minibus exploded Sunday in Afghanistan's capital, killing several people and wounding several others. the way for the complete with- pecially in the suggested structure drawal of U.S. troops from the of Afghanistan’s future govern- has repeatedly refused to step government’s appeal for the coun- of the U.S.-Taliban agreement, but country. ment. In some instances, the num- down despite the Taliban’s unwil- try to be governed democratically. this move would be “permanent The United States delivered the ber of people on powerful councils lingness to negotiate with him or The U.S. proposal calls for elec- and comprehensive.” document to the Taliban and Af- and commissions is specified. his administration. tions to be held after the formation The U.S. and the international ghan government last week as Overall, the document calls for And while Ghani’s government of an interim government. While it community for months have frustration grows in Washington Afghanistan’s current govern- has expressed openness to amend- does not specify when, this could called for violence levels to be re- over long-stalled talks between ment to be replaced with tempora- ing the Afghan constitution, it op- be viewed as a compromise to the duced. Afghanistan remains the the two Afghan sides and as vio- ry leaders, a new constitution to be poses rewriting it. Language in the leaders in Kabul because the Tali- most violent conflict in the world, lence rises across the country. It drafted and a cease-fire to be bro- U.S. proposal does set parameters ban has described elections as a with the Taliban and Afghan comes as the Biden administra- kered. Within those proposals are for how the constitution can poten- red line in the past, deeming them forces clashing across the country tion is conducting a review of U.S. elements both sides have de- tially be rewritten, stating that Af- a Western-imposed construct. as the militants look to expand Afghanistan policy and the agree- scribed as nonnegotiable, so the ghanistan’s “2004 constitution will Islam also plays a prominent their territory. ment between the U.S. and the Ta- plan is unlikely to be implemented be the initial template.” role in the draft peace plan. Ac- The U.S. draft also calls on the liban, which calls for the full with- in its current form. Afghan government officials cording to the document, a “High Taliban to “remove their military drawal of U.S. troops by May 1 if Below are some of the most im- and supporters of democratic Council for Islamic Jurispru- structures and offices from neigh- the militants met specific condi- portant issues raised by the pro- structures fear that a new consti- dence” would provide guidance boring countries,” a reference to tions. posal. tution could pave the way for the and advice “to all national and lo- Pakistan. The Washington Post obtained ■ Who will govern Afghanis- Taliban to secure significant pow- cal government structures.” But The Taliban deny the existence the eight-page proposal and veri- tan er in a future government. Such in cases where the council dis- of such sanctuaries outside of Af- fied its authenticity with two se- One of the key stumbling blocks authority could give the militants agrees with the country’s judici- ghanistan and would probably re- nior Afghan officials, who spoke in talks between the Afghan gov- the ability to roll back women’s ary, the position of the country’s fuse to agree to a document calling on the condition of anonymity to ernment and the Taliban is the rights, curb civil liberties such as Supreme Court would be “final for their elimination. But reports comment on a sensitive policy pro- militant group’s claim that Presi- freedom of speech and craft an ar- and binding.” including from the Pentagon posal. The State Department did dent Ashraf Ghani’s government chaic justice system. ■ How to end the fighting claim Pakistan has long hosted Ta- not immediately respond to a re- is illegitimate — an issue that is ■ The role of Islam and the The proposal calls for a cease- liban leaders and their families, quest for comment on the docu- addressed in the latest U.S. peace question of elections fire to begin within hours of the and provided medical treatment ment. proposal with the establishment of The draft agreement appears to deal signing. The end of hostilities to the movement’s fighters. The The yearslong U.S. diplomatic an interim government. attempt to balance the Taliban’s is described as similar to the suc- longtime relationship would be strategy behind the push to end After eking out a slim election demand that Afghanistan be ruled cessful temporary reduction in vi- complicated to untangle. Pakistan the conflict in Afghanistan has victory for a second term, Ghani by Islamic law and the Afghan olence that preceded the signing denies supporting the Taliban.

Lawmakers say they still hear reports of ‘horror stories’ in post housing

BY COREY DICKSTEIN “We have heard and seen first- the four largest companies that and its readiness subpanel includ- ganizations since the 2020 Nation- Stars and Stripes hand horror stories in these run privatized on-post housing ed executives from Balfour Beat- al Defense Authorization Act Lawmakers continue to hear of houses, from mold, to water leaks told House Armed Services Com- ty Communities, Lendlease mandated a series of private mil- unacceptable living conditions in to incorrect lead abatement that mittee members on Wednesday Americas and the Corvias Group itary housing reforms following privately run, on-base military has directly affected the health that they were making progress in LLC. news reports that revealed wide- housing more than one year after and safety of these families,” said improving housing conditions and The executives said the compa- spread subpar conditions in on- passing major reforms meant to Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., customer service at hundreds of nies believe they are on the right post residences on dozens of address those issues, they told ex- chairwoman of the House Armed locations that they run across the track — improving communica- bases. ecutives running some of the Services Committee’s subpanel United States. Those testifying tion with their residents, respon- largest companies in charge of on military personnel. before a joint session of the House ding to problems quicker and un- [email protected] maintaining the residences. Top representatives for three of committee’s personnel subpanel dergoing internal company reor- Twitter: @CDicksteinDC PAGE 6 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 MILITARY Top Army leader rebukes Carlson talk on women BY KARIN ZEITVOGEL itary,” he added, going on to com- Stars and Stripes pare America’s armed forces to Women in the military deliver China’s, which he said were “be- more than babies, senior military coming more masculine” as they TWITTER leaders said after Fox News host assembled the world’s largest na- A screenshot from Tucker Carlson's Fox News broadcast Wednesday. Tucker Carlson said on his show vy. that pregnant women “are going Carlson showed a photo during “thousands of women (who) serve cellence, posted a video of himself her first deployment in Afghanis- to fight our wars” and make a his broadcast of an Air Force offi- honorably every day around the conducting a reenlistment cere- tan in 2005, when she was a pla- mockery of the U.S. military. cer wearing an artificial pregnan- globe.” U.S. female service mem- mony “for one of the tens of thou- toon leader with the 846th Engi- “Women lead our most lethal cy bump while modeling a mater- bers are “beacons of freedom” sands of women who serve in our neer Battalion, she told Stars and units with character. They will nity flight suit still in develop- who prove Carlson wrong, he said Army.” Stripes. She deployed three more dominate ANY future battlefield ment. The Air Force has changed on Twitter. “Just a reminder that @Tucker- times during nearly 18 years of we’re called to fight on,” Sgt. Maj. some of its rules to allow pregnant Lt. Gen. Ted Martin, deputy Carlson couldn’t be more wrong,” service. of the Army Michael Grinston said service members to fly nonfighter commanding general and chief of he said on Twitter. A National Guardsman who on Twitter on Thursday, adding aircraft through their second tri- staff of the Army Training and Female service members were tweets as @SilverBeaty shared an that Carlson’s comments hours mester without a waiver. Doctrine Command, posted a pic- also quick to respond to Carlson, image taken during her 3 a.m. shift earlier were divisive and “don’t The changes were initiated dur- ture of his daughter in fatigues posting pictures of themselves guarding the U.S. Capitol building. reflect Army values. ing the Trump administration. with the comment: “Contrary to during deployments. “Just trying to make sure I un- Carlson said in a roughly 30- At least three generals also re- what you may be hearing this “Is this what mockery looks derstand the line between being second clip on his show Wednes- sponded to Carlson’s comments, WOMAN & 1000’s of WOMEN like like?” asked the host of the Parent- part of the Nation’s defense and day, “So we’ve got new hairstyles, calling them ill-informed and her are NOT ‘making a mockery of ing in Uniform podcast in a tweet part of the feminization of the mil- maternity flight suits. Pregnant wrong-footed. our military.’ ” above a picture of her manning a itary,” she wrote. women are going to fight our Gen. Paul E. Funk II, command- Maj. Gen. Pat Donahoe, com- .50-caliber machine gun on a wars.” er of the Army Training and Doc- mander of Fort Benning, Ga., and Humvee. [email protected] “It’s a mockery of the U.S. mil- trine Command, praised the the Army Maneuver Center of Ex- The picture was taken during Twitter: @StripesZeit Luster: Confidence in military drops to Man accused in slayings 56% as several hot-botton issues debated turns himself in to police BY MARCUS KLOECKNER Kaiserslautern District Court politicization of the military, sion that would investigate the AND JENNIFER H. SVAN judge Thursday and exercised his FROM PAGE 1 growing awareness surrounding problem and gave the panel 90 Stars and Stripes right to remain silent before being survey’s findings. the issue of sexual assault, or re- days to review Defense Depart- KAISERSLAUTERN, Germa- returned to jail, prosecutors said. Ten percent of individuals sur- cent headlines about extremism ment policies and processes that ny — A German man who prose- The court upheld a warrant issued veyed had a “great deal” of confi- in the ranks” as potential drivers. address sexual assault in the mil- cutors say killed his mother and Wednesday related to the killings dence in Congress, 30% in the The survey’s results come as the itary. her partner turned himself in to and Mentel’s escape. presidency, and 39% in law en- Pentagon is grappling with how to During the summer, the use of police Thursday, ending a search An investigation is ongoing and forcement in 2021 — all far behind address a number of hot-button is- armed forces by former President for him in the villages near Ram- motive remains unclear, prosecu- the level of faith the public puts in sues such as rooting out extre- Donald Trump to contain social stein Air Base. tors said. the military. mism in the ranks and preventing justice protests also sparked pub- Daniel Mentel, 38, is accused of Mentel is also being accused of The Pentagon’s press secretary sexual assault and harassment. lic outcry. killing his mother, 60, and a man, arson for setting fire to a carport on Wednesday shrugged off the Following the deadly Jan. 6 in- Police and National Guard 65, whose bodies were found and a barn in Mackenbach on Sun- survey results, but emphasized surrection at the U.S. Capitol, troops cleared out demonstrators Tuesday around noon in a build- day around 10 p.m., and hours lat- the department takes the issue se- news reports have linked several in Washington in June, using tear ing where they all lived together in er setting a garage in Erzenhau- riously. active-duty service members and gas to allow for a photo-op of Weilerbach, the Kaiserslautern sen on fire, the prosecutor’s state- “Even though the numbers in veterans to the riot. An NPR anal- Trump outside a church. The inci- district prosecutor’s office said in ment said. this survey seem to show a drop in ysis last month found about 14% of dent prompted criticism and a statement Thursday. Men who had business ties to this particular survey, it’s clear the people charged in connection sparked debate over civilian con- Mentel turned himself in at a Mentel lived in the apartment that the American people still sup- with storming the Capitol have trol of the military. Kaiserslautern police station at buildings connected to the burned port and trust the men and women ties to the military. The survey by the Ronald Re- 1:55 p.m., the statement said, end- properties, the statement said. in the military,” Pentagon chief Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin agan Institute was conducted ing a search that began Tuesday in A window and construction spokesman John Kirby told re- pledged to Congress during his from Feb. 4 through Feb. 14 and an area that is home to many U.S. business, Fensterbau Mentel, is porters. confirmation hearing that he had 2,527 respondents. Telephone military personnel and their fam- registered to the address where Seventy-four percent of those would work to combat extremism interviewers accounted for 1,011 ilies. Mentel lived with his mother and polled support increasing military in the military. In early February, responses and another 1,516 re- Prosecutors have accused Men- her partner. spending, but funding for the mil- he directed all Defense Depart- sponses were gathered online. tel of killing his mother and her Anyone with information on the itary is a “top priority” for only ment commanders and supervi- The results were weighted by nu- partner either Monday or on Tues- case can still call the Westpfalz po- 11%, trailing behind other issues sors to lead a one-day stand-down merous factors such as age, race day morning. lice at 0631-369-2999. such as health care and education, within the next 60 days. and region that were drawn from Police showed up at the Weiler- Preliminary autopsy results the poll found. The problem of sexual assault the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 bach residence Tuesday after get- found “that the death of the two The survey also found 63% of and harassment in the military American Community Survey to ting a worried call from the moth- victims was caused by violence — people asked support maintaining has continued to garner increased ensure the results accurately re- er’s workplace. but not by gunshot wounds,” military bases overseas, rather attention in recent years. Austin flect the demographics of the Mentel opened the door to the Rheinland-Pfalz police said in a than reducing the U.S. military’s also told Congress that he will con- country, according to a summary police and said that his mother statement Wednesday. footprint overseas. sider making sweeping changes in of the poll’s results. had left, prosecutors said. He fled While Hoff pointed out findings how those crimes are prosecuted. before police discovered the bod- [email protected] do not explain what’s behind the The defense secretary recently [email protected] ies, the statement said. [email protected] diminishing trust, she offered “the announced a civilian-led commis- Twitter: @sarahjcamm The accused appeared before a Twitter: @stripesktown Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 7 VIRUS OUTBREAK USFK administering J&J’s one-shot vaccine BY JOSEPH DITZLER to Peters and USFK command surgeon Col. service members and a contractor arrived Stars and Stripes Douglas Lougee. Feb. 23, March 4 and 5 at Incheon Interna- The U.S. military in South Korea said it “I’m excited to talk about vaccines any- tional Airport. received 7,900 doses of Johnson & John- time,” Lougee said on the program. “This is Six tested positive upon arrival and be- son’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccine on Tues- the time to hit back at this virus that’s de- fore entering quarantine; three came up day and started to administer it immediate- stroyed our lives this past year.” positive on the test required to exit the man- ly. He said the vaccine is safe and effective datory 14-day quarantine, according to Twenty percent of the 58,000 people in and encouraged everyone to get inoculated, USFK. the U.S. Forces Korea community were al- although pregnant women should first con- U.S. military bases in Japan reported two ready inoculated when the new doses ar- sult with their doctors. new coronavirus cases Thursday. rived, command spokesman Col. Lee Peters Lougee said the Johnson & Johnson shot At Naval Air Facility Atsugi, southeast of said Thursday on American Forces Net- provides its full protection 28 days after in- Tokyo, one person tested positive prior to work Radio. oculation. Afterward, he said, “your chance exiting the restricted movement period re- On Friday, inoculations will come to the of getting COVID is less than getting hit by quired of new arrivals to Japan and return- next group of individuals in the Defense De- MATTHEW KEELER/Stars and Stripes lightning.” ing travelers, base spokesman Sam Samuel- partment priority list at Camp Humphreys: A 51st Fighter Wing airman receives the USFK on Thursday reported that nine son told Stars and Stripes by phone. DOD faculty and staff, Army and Air Force Johnson & Johnson COVID­19 vaccine at new cases of COVID-19, all among new ar- The Marine Corps had one person at Exchange Service and commissary work- Osan Air Base, South Korea, on Thursday. rivals to the peninsula, were discovered be- Camp Foster on Okinawa test positive ers, bus drivers and other customer-facing tween Feb. 22 and Monday. Wednesday, according to a base Facebook employees, Peters said. Vaccines should proved for emergency use Feb. 27 by the Four service members arrived Feb. 22 post. come to Osan Air Base and Daegu Garrison Food and Drug Administration, is a game- and 24 and Monday at Osan Air Base aboard next week. changer in the fight against COVID-19, the the Patriot Express, a government-con- [email protected] The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, ap- coronavirus respiratory disease, according tracted passenger service. Another four Twitter: @JosephDitzler Europe: Vaccine delay comes as infections climb in Germany

FROM PAGE 1 — and the head of the public In South Korea this week, the But neither Japan nor South Ko- one can brag about us in their state the second dose will receive it “as health agency, the Robert Koch U.S. military received nearly rea are typically considered aus- vaccination stats. We are or- soon as we are resupplied,” LRMC Institute, said the third wave of the 8,000 doses of the single-dose tere by the military. phaned,” a commenter said on said. They will not have to go back virus was beginning in the coun- Johnson & Johnson vaccine, While the military in Europe LRMC’s Facebook page this week. to square one and have the first try. which recently received emergen- can order the one-shot vaccine, the “I just wish we were a priority,” dose again, it said. U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden cy use authorization from the Food Defense Logistics Agency, which said another. The Moderna vaccine is around warned on its Facebook page this and Drug Administration. distributes the vaccine, “has not Army health clinics in Europe 94% effective at preventing the week that its vaccine supplies Air Force Central Command, received any orders from the Mil- submit the number of beneficiar- disease caused by the coronavirus were also limited “and shots are whose area of responsibility itary Services to ship the Johnson ies they have in each DOD vaccine if two doses are administered not guaranteed.” stretches from Egypt to Kazakh- & Johnson vaccine to bases in Eu- priority group to the Department about 28 days apart, according to The delay comes a week after stan, received the Johnson & John- rope at this time,” spokeswoman of the Army, said Gino Mattorano, the U.S. Centers for Disease Con- Army Lt. Gen. Robert Place, head son vaccine this week, command Michelle McCaskill said. spokesman for Regional Health trol and Prevention. But the sec- of the Defense Health Agency, officials told Stars and Stripes. Na- There are no vaccine shipping Command Europe. ond dose can be given as many as told a virtual town hall that a “sig- vy officials in Japan have said they delays or backlogs to any loca- The Army uses that information six weeks after the first with little nificant number” of DOD loca- expect to receive it soon. tions, McCaskill said. to help determine vaccine alloca- impact on the vaccine’s efficacy, tions would begin vaccinating the The Defense Department has Meanwhile, military personnel tions, he said, noting that “supply the CDC has said. general population, including ci- prioritized distribution and is “ini- and family members in Europe constraints and Army priorities The delays were announced as vilians, next month. tially focusing on distributing dos- are growing frustrated at the slow limit how much vaccine is sent to new infections climbed in Germa- President Joe Biden has said es” of the Johnson & Johnson vac- pace of the vaccination campaign each location.” ny — from a weekly average 65.4 there will be enough vaccine for cine “to forces deployed to austere where they live. new cases per 100,000 people to every American adult in the U.S. locations,” LRMC said on Face- “It feels like troops overseas are [email protected] 69.1 from Wednesday to Thursday to be inoculated by the end of May. book. being de-prioritized because no Twitter: @stripesktown DOD pushes more vaccines to CENTCOM after increase in cases

BY CHAD GARLAND Central spokeswoman Capt. Car- two-shot Moderna vaccine and the and muscle aches. Base in the United Arab Emirates Stars and Stripes rie Volpe in Qatar told Stars and single-dose Johnson & Johnson Some 166,000 service members this week, said Maj. Gigi Rey, Officials are urging “continued Stripes there were less than five one, Volpe said via email this have tested positive for the virus. 380th Expeditionary Medical vigilance” as troops deployed to active cases in AFCENT as of week. The command is following Among those, over 1,400 have Group chief of medical staff. the Middle East await coronavirus Thursday. DOD’s tiered distribution plan. been hospitalized and 24 have “We’re standing by, ready to vaccine shipments following what “It’s not uncommon for us to see Troops in theater have been giv- died. push that out,” Rey said Wednes- one doctor said was an uptick in fluctuations in the number of CO- en a higher priority for vaccina- DOD has administered over 1.3 day on the base’s Facebook page. infections last month. VID-19 cases here (due to rota- tion after initial rollout plans had million vaccine doses, the Centers Not only is the new vaccine a There had been a “large in- tions),” she said. placed them below those prepar- for Disease Control and Preven- “one-shot deal,” she said, it only crease in COVID-19 cases, both in Though there are fewer cases ing to deploy, Kirby said at a press tion’s online tracker data shows. requires refrigeration, rather host nations, as well as on U.S. mil- among deployed troops than in the briefing. Early on, some com- None of the vaccines are man- than freezing like the Moderna itary installations” in the region, population back home, officials manders had been concerned that datory for military personnel be- and Pfizer immunizations, mak- said Air Force Dr. Daniel Hatch- were working to get more CO- the second shot of the two-dose cause the Food and Drug Admin- ing it easier to ship and distribute er, a colonel who commands the VID-19 vaccine doses to forward- vaccine might make deployed istration has only approved them in downrange environments. 378th Expeditionary Medical deployed forces, Pentagon troops ill. for emergency use. Military offi- “The arrival of this COVID-19 Squadron at Prince Sultan Air spokesman John Kirby said. “The vaccines have proven cials have urged troops to get vac- vaccine really harkens, in my Base in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, the base’s med- themselves very safe and effec- cinated after some in Congress ex- opinion, the beginning of the end The country was seeing “a con- ical personnel and first respon- tive, so there’s an increased de- pressed concerns over data show- of this pandemic,” Rey said. “I cerning rise” in cases, he said in a ders recently received the first mand,” Kirby said. ing that large numbers had de- think it is in all of our best interest video posted online Wednesday. round of the shots, Hatcher said. Serious adverse reactions have clined or delayed getting the shot. to get as many people vaccinated There may have been a slight More vaccine would arrive and be been rare, though as with many A “large batch” of the J&J vac- as quickly as possible.” increase when the video was re- provided “to all personnel who de- vaccines some patients have re- cine, which was approved for corded in late February, officials sire it,” he said. ported side effects such as a sore emergency use in late February, [email protected] have said, but U.S. Air Forces AFCENT has received both the arm at the site of the shot, fever was expected at Al Dhafra Air Twitter: @chadgarland PAGE 8 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 VIRUS OUTBREAK Congress OKs $1.9T relief; Biden to sign Friday

BY ALAN FRAM ed at increasingly robust rates, Associated Press though that is tempered by coro- WASHINGTON — A Congress navirus variants and people’s riven along party lines has ap- growing impatience with curbing proved the landmark $1.9 trillion social activities. The economy cre- COVID-19 relief bill, as President ated an unexpectedly strong Joe Biden and Democrats claimed 379,000 jobs last month, but there a major triumph on legislation remain 9.5 million fewer than be- marshaling the government’s fore the pandemic struck. spending might against twin pan- Republicans said the country demic and economic crises that will pay a price for the extra have upended a nation. spending. The House gave final congres- “It’s certainly good politics to sional approval Wednesday to the say, ‘Hey, we’re going to hand you sweeping package by a near party a check for $1,400,’ ” said Rep. line 220-211 vote precisely seven Tom Rice, R-S.C. “But what they weeks after Biden entered the don’t talk about is what this bill White House and four days after costs.” the Senate passed the bill. Repub- An Associated Press-NORC licans in both chambers opposed Center for Public Affairs Re- the legislation unanimously, char- search poll found last week that acterizing it as bloated, crammed 70% of Americans back Biden’s with liberal policies and heedless response to the virus, including a of signs the crises are easing. hefty 44% of Republicans. Accord- “Help is here,” Biden tweeted ing to a CNN poll released moments after the roll call, which ALEX BRANDON/AP Wednesday, the relief bill is ended with applause from Demo- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D­Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D­N.Y., sign the $1.9 backed by 61% of Americans, in- cratic lawmakers. Biden said he’d trillion COVID­19 relief bill during an enrollment ceremony Wednesday on Capitol Hill. cluding nearly all Democrats, 58% sign the measure Friday. of independents and 26% of Re- Most noticeable to many Amer- crats’ priorities that several rank it this bill. But for the American peo- for COVID-19 vaccines and treat- publicans. icans are provisions providing up with the top achievements of their ple, it means serious problems im- ments, state and local govern- Yet until November 2022, when to $1,400 direct payments this year careers, and despite their slender mediately on the horizon,” said ments, schools and ailing industri- control of the Senate and House to most people and extending $300 congressional majorities, there House Minority Leader Kevin es from airlines to concert halls. will be at stake, it will be uncertain weekly emergency unemploy- was never real suspense over its McCarthy, R-Calif., referring to There is aid for farmers of color, whether voters will reward Demo- ment benefits into early Septem- fate. the added federal borrowing the pension systems and student bor- crats, punish them or make deci- ber. But the legislation goes far be- They were also empowered by measure will force. rowers, and subsidies for consum- sions on unforeseen issues. yond that. three dynamics: their unfettered Even so, Sen. Roger Wicker, R- ers buying health insurance and The bill’s pathway has under- The measure addresses Demo- control of the White House and Miss., touted the bill’s $29 billion states expanding Medicaid cover- scored Democrats’ challenges as crats’ campaign promises and Bi- Congress, polls showing robust for the ailing restaurant industry, age for lower earners. they seek to build a legislative re- den’s top initial priority of easing a support for Biden’s approach and tweeting it would help them “sur- “Who’s going to help? Do we say cord to appeal to voters. one-two punch that first hit the a moment when most voters care vive the pandemic” without men- this is all survival of the fittest? Democrats control the Senate, country a year ago. Since then, little that the national debt is soar- tioning he had voted against the No,” said House Budget Commit- split 50-50, only because Vice many Americans have been rele- ing toward a stratospheric $22 tril- legislation. Democrats predicted tee Chairman John Yarmuth, D- President Kamala Harris gives gated to hermit-like lifestyles in lion. Neither party seems much this week that Republicans would Ky. “We rise to the occasion. We them the winning vote in tied roll their homes to avoid a disease troubled by surging red ink, ei- do that, with Pelosi saying, “It’s deliver.” calls. They have just a 10-vote ad- that’s killed more than 529,000 ther, except when the other is us- typical that they will vote no and The legislation would reduce vantage in the House. people — about the population of ing it to finance its priorities, be take the dough.” the number of people living in pov- That’s almost no wiggle room Wichita, Kan. — and plunged the they Democratic spending or GOP Wicker told reporters, “I’m not erty this year by around one-third, for a party that ranges from West economy to its deepest depths tax cuts. going to vote for $1.9 trillion just from 44 million down to 28 million, Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on the since the Great Depression. Republicans noted that they’ve because it has a couple of good the liberal-leaning Urban Insti- conservative side to progressives “Today we have a decision to overwhelmingly supported five provisions.” tute estimated Wednesday. The like New York Rep. Alexandria make of tremendous conse- previous relief bills that Congress A dominant feature of the 628- poverty rate for children would be Ocasio-Cortez. quence,” said House Speaker has approved since the pandemic page bill is initiatives making it reduced by over half, said the in- On the relief bill, progressives Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., “a decision struck a year ago, when divided one of the biggest federal efforts in stitute, which examined the im- had to swallow big concessions to that will make a difference for mil- government under then-President years to assist lower- and middle- pact of the measure’s stimulus solidify moderate support. lions of Americans, saving lives Donald Trump forced the parties income families. Included are ex- checks, jobless benefits, food The most painful was eliminat- and livelihoods.” to negotiate. They said this one panded tax credits over the next stamps and tax credits for chil- ing the House-approved federal For Biden and Democrats, the solely reflected Democratic goals year for children, child care and dren. minimum-wage increase to $15 bill is essentially a canvas on by setting aside money for family family leave — some of them cred- Rep. Jared Golden, of Maine, hourly by 2025. Moderates also which they’ve painted their core planning programs and federal its that Democrats have signaled was the only Democrat to oppose succeeded in trimming the emer- beliefs — that government pro- workers who take leave to cope they’d like to make permanent — the measure. He said some of the gency jobless benefits, which in an grams can be a benefit, not a bane, with COVID-19 and failing to re- plus spending for renters, feeding bill’s spending wasn’t urgent. earlier version were $400 weekly, to millions of people and that quire that shuttered schools ac- programs and people’s utility bills. The measure was approved and phasing out the $1,400 stimu- spending huge sums on such ef- cepting aid reopen their doors. Besides the direct payments amid promising though mixed lus checks completely for earners forts can be a cure, not a curse. The “If you’re a member of the and jobless-benefit extension, the signs of recovery. at lower levels than originally pro- measure so closely tracks Demo- swamp, you do pretty well under measure has hundreds of billions Americans are getting vaccinat- posed. US jobless claims fall to 712,000 as pace of layoffs eases Associated Press improving economy. lost to the pandemic that flat- tions. Thursday’s figure, though All told, 4.1 million Americans WASHINGTON — The num- The Labor Department said tened the economy 12 months the lowest weekly figure in four are receiving traditional state ber of Americans seeking unem- Thursday that applications for ago. months, showed that weekly ap- unemployment benefits. Count- ployment benefits fell last week unemployment aid dropped by In February, U.S. employers plications for jobless benefits ing supplemental federal unem- to 712,000, the lowest total since 42,000 from 754,000 the week be- added a robust 379,000 jobs, the still remain high by historical ployment programs that were es- early November, evidence that fore. Though the job market has most since October, reflecting an standards: Before the viral out- tablished to soften the economic fewer employers are cutting jobs been slowly strengthening, many economy in which consumers are break, they had never topped damage from the virus, an esti- amid a decline in confirmed cor- businesses remain under pres- spending more and states and ci- 700,000, even during the Great mated 20.1 million people are col- onavirus cases and signs of an sure, and 9.6 million jobs remain ties are easing business restric- Recession. lecting some form of jobless aid. Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 9 NATION 3rd-degree murder charge is OK’d for ex-cop in Floyd death Associated Press in the unrelated killing of an Aus- attorneys and the judge, who has MINNEAPOLIS — A judge on tralian woman. The appeals court set aside at least three weeks to fill Thursday granted prosecutors’ recently affirmed Mohamed the panel. request to add a third-degree mur- Noor’s third-degree murder con- Attorneys have given consider- der charge against the former viction in the 2017 shooting death able attention to the jury pool’s at- Minneapolis police officer of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, and titudes toward police in the first charged in George Floyd’s death. the state used that affirmation to two days of questioning, trying to Hennepin County Judge Peter argue that it established new justi- determine whether they’re more Cahill reinstated the charge after fication for the charge in Chau- inclined to believe testimony from the former officer, Derek Chau- vin’s case. law enforcement over evidence MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/AP vin, failed to get appellate courts to Cahill agreed that the precedent from other witnesses to the fatal A resident eats in front of a row of tiny homes for the homeless, last block it. Cahill had earlier rejected has now been established. confrontation. month in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles. the charge as not warranted by the “I feel bound by that and I feel it A questionnaire explores poten- circumstances of Floyd’s death, would be an abuse of discretion tial jurors’ familiarity with the but an appellate court ruling in an not to grant the motion,” he said. case and their own contacts with unrelated case established new Floyd was declared dead on police. Their written answers LA opens first tiny grounds for it. May 25 after Chauvin, who is have not been made public, and Chauvin already faced second- white, pressed his knee against the the jurors’ identities are being degree murder and manslaughter Black man’s neck for about nine kept secret. Their racial back- home village to charges. Legal experts say the ad- minutes. Floyd’s death sparked grounds often aren’t disclosed in ditional charge helps prosecutors sometimes violent protests in open court. by giving jurors one more option to Minneapolis and beyond, leading Chauvin and three other offi- ease homelessness convict Chauvin of murder. to a nationwide reckoning on race. cers were fired. The others face an The dispute over the third-de- The ruling came ahead of re- August trial on aiding and abetting Associated Press in Seattle, Minneapolis, and Des gree murder charge revolved sumption of jury selection Thurs- charges. The defense hasn’t said LOS ANGELES — Amy Skin- Moines, Iowa. around the conviction of another day. Five jurors had been seated whether Chauvin will testify in his ner took notice when brightly Chandler Street village was former Minneapolis police officer after just two days of screening by own defense. colored structures started taking developed and funded by Los An- shape earlier this year on a drab geles as part of an emergency re- patch of asphalt across from a sponse to the worsening home- Los Angeles park where she oc- lessness crisis. A 2020 tally casionally slept outdoors. found there were 66,400 home- Skinner, who’s been homeless less people in Los Angeles Coun- for three years, watched as work- ty — up more than 12% from the ers built a fence with a security previous year. gate and transformed the city- More than 150,000 people are owned property into LA’s first ti- homeless statewide. Gov. Gavin ny home village offering interim Newsom said Tuesday during his housing and services for people State of the State address that he who lack shelter. plans to commit $2 billion this Then in early February, Skin- year to create more housing for ner was handed the keys to one of those without shelter, while si- the 39 prefab units at the one- multaneously addressing mental acre plot in a North Hollywood health and substance abuse is- neighborhood. She and her part- sues. ner, John Golka, moved into the The pandemic has forced even 64-square-foot space with their more residents onto the streets, little dog, Smalls. as congregant shelters cut capac- It’s cramped but comfortable ity to maintain social distancing. inside their temporary home — Meanwhile, a 2016 Los Angeles with four windows, two beds, ballot measure meant to fund as shelving and an A/C unit. The in- many as 10,000 supportive hous- scription on the welcome mat at ing units took too long to ramp up the front door captures their new and advocates for the homeless mood: “This is our happy place.” demanded officials act immedi- “Being able to lock the door ately. The city and county began and have a place to sleep is looking for creative, affordable huge,” Skinner, 48, said after a solutions to get people out of the morning smoke with other new tents that line sidewalks near residents in the community’s downtown and under freeway shared outdoor space. Bright red overpasses in suburban areas. picnic tables stood nearby and a City Councilman Paul Kerkor- “hygiene trailer” with toilets and ian, whose district includes showers was just steps away. North Hollywood, said officials “Just being able to fall asleep! zeroed in on the abandoned, awk- That’s so hard to do when you’re wardly shaped slice of land on the streets,” she said. across from the park. Tiny homes have been promot- “It was ideally suited for this ed as the solution to all kinds of use and not much else,” Kerkor- housing needs — an affordable ian said. option in expensive big cities and The tiny home village had to simplicity for people who want to overcome some “not-in-my- declutter their lives. They are in- backyard” reactions from near- creasingly used as shelter for by residents who needed to be homeless people in other Califor- convinced it’s a safe, clean op- nia cities, including San Jose and portunity for shelter, Kerkorian Sacramento, as well as nationally said. PAGE 10 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 NATION Report: Cuomo groped female aide at home

Associated Press cellphone, the newspaper report- ALBANY, N.Y. — An aide to ed. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo “I have never done anything says he groped her in the gover- like this,” Cuomo said through a nor’s residence, a newspaper re- spokesperson Wednesday eve- ported Wednesday, in the most se- ning. MARY ALTAFFER/AP rious allegation made yet by a se- “The details of this report are Activists with VOCAL­NY block traffic in Manhattan on 3rd Avenue outside New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's ries of women against the embat- gut-wrenching,” Cuomo said, add- office, Wednesday, in New York. Cuomo faces harassment allegations from several women. tled Democrat. ing that he would not speak to the The Times Union of Albany re- specifics of this or any other alle- eral other women and increasing- zález-Rojas, a Democrat who had of sexual harassment claims made ported that the woman, who it did gation, given an ongoing investi- ly urgent calls for his resignation previously pushed for his resigna- in late February. not name, was alone with Cuomo gation overseen by the state attor- or impeachment from at least tion. In it, he denied ever touching a late last year when he closed the ney general. some fellow Democrats. Cuomo The woman whose account was woman inappropriately. The aide door, reached under her shirt and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan has repeatedly said he won’t re- reported by the Times Union said subsequently became emotional, fondled her. The newspaper’s re- said in a statement Wednesday sign. Cuomo had touched her and made and told a female supervisor who porting is based on an unidentified night that no criminal complaint “He’s openly said he will not re- flirtatious comments on multiple approached her about her encoun- source with direct knowledge of had been filed by the alleged vic- sign. And with further mounting occasions. According to the news- ters with the governor. At least the woman’s accusation. The gov- tim to the Albany Police Depart- allegations that are deeply credi- paper, her allegations came to one supervisor reported the alle- ernor had summoned her to the ment. ble, we are in a position now where light as Cuomo staffers watched gation to an attorney in the gover- Executive Mansion in Albany, The three-term governor faces I think we should impeach,” said the governor’s March 3 news con- nor’s office Monday, the newspa- saying he needed help with his harassment allegations from sev- Assembly member Jessica Gon- ference, his first after a new round per reported. Hawaii’s downpour, Miss. limits flooding cited as part transgender athletes of climate change Associated Press Associated Press cently been kept empty as its own- JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi HONOLULU — Heavy rains ers prepare to dismantle it this Republican Gov. Tate Reeves are part of the winter wet season summer. So much water accumu- signed a bill Thursday to ban in the Hawaiian Islands. But the lated it started overflowing from transgender athletes from com- downpours triggering flooding the 57-foot high structure at one peting on girls or women’s sports that destroyed homes and bridges point Monday, and county offi- teams. and set off mass evacuations on cials ordered people downstream Mississippi is the first state this multiple islands this week are also to evacuate amid fears the earthen year to enact such a ban, after a an example of the more intense dam could breach. Ultimately, the federal court blocked an Idaho rainstorms officials and climate reservoir didn’t fail, and water law last year. The bill is set to be- scientists say are occurring more levels dropped as the rain let up. come law July 1, although a legal frequently as the planet warms. The National Weather Service challenge is possible. JAMM AQUINO, HONOLULU STAR­ADVERTISER/AP Two key ingredients came to- reported 13.2 inches fell over eight More than 20 states are propos- gether in Hawaii in recent days to hours in the vicinity of the dam in People stand at the edge of floodwaters along Haleiwa Road on ing restrictions on athletics or deliver the rain: an upper-level Tuesday, in Haleiwa, Hawaii. gender-confirming health care for Haiku on Maui’s north coast. disturbance and extra moisture in transgender minors this year. “This is really an example of cli- the lower layers of the atmo- Honolulu firefighters on Tues- corded in a 24-hour period when Conservative lawmakers are re- mate change in the present day,” sphere. The downpours first af- day rescued a 27-year-old man af- 49.69 inches fell from April 14 to sponding to an executive order by Suzanne Case, the head of the fected Maui, moved northward up ter his truck was swept down a April 15. The same storm set off Democratic President Joe Biden state agency that regulates the the island chain to Oahu and stream. They found him standing landslides and blocked the only that bans discrimination based on dam, the Department of Land and Kauai, then circled around and hit on the truck’s roof. On Wednes- highway connecting small Kauai gender identity in school sports Natural Resources, said in a state- the southernmost part of the Big day, they suspended another north shore towns to the rest of the and elsewhere. Biden signed it Island. ment. “We have a flood emergen- search for an individual a witness island. Jan. 20, the day he took office. Meteorologists on Wednesday cy because of the heavy rain saw in a stream in Pearl City. The frequency of intense rains Reeves has three daughters extended a flash flood watch for bomb. And we’re seeing these Pao-Shin Chu, a University of like that one and this week’s are an who play sports and he said March the entire state through Friday be- more and more across the island Hawaii professor and the state’s indication people should be pre- 4 on Twitter that Mississippi’s bill cause of the potential for more chain — more frequent and more climatologist, said theoretical pared for such events more often, would “protect young girls from rain and because the ground was extreme events.” studies suggest that for every one- Chu said. being forced to compete with bio- already saturated. On Oahu, flooding covered degree Celsius increase in sea sur- “Don’t think that this is like a logical males for athletic opportu- The onslaught destroyed and roads and yards in towns on the face temperatures, there is likely once-in-a-hundred-years event nities.” heavily damaged two Maui eastern coast. Rising waters in the to be a 7% increase in atmospheric that you’ll only see once in your “It’s crazy we have to address it, bridges, along with at least six Opaelua Stream, which carries moisture. lifetime. It is changing,” Chu said. but the Biden E.O. forced the is- homes on the island. waters from the mountains down Hawaii is experiencing some of Less time is lapsing between sue,” Reeves tweeted that day. The rain filled a 138-year-old to the ocean, set off an evacuation this increased moisture already. them, he said. “So it could be once “Adults? That’s on them. But the reservoir once used to irrigate order for the small town of Halei- In 2018, Kauai set a national re- every 30 years. Who knows?” Chu push for kids to adopt transgende- sugar plantation fields that has re- wa, a mecca for big-wave surfers. cord for the amount of rain re- said. rism is just wrong.” Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 11 NATION House OKs stricter gun background checks

Associated Press tougher gun control laws since WASHINGTON — Embold- the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook ened by their majorities in the Elementary School in Connecti- House and Senate, Democrats cut that killed 20 children and six are making a new push to enact educators. While enhanced back- the first major new gun control ground checks are generally pop- laws in more than two decades — ular with the American public, starting with stricter background even with some conservatives, checks. Congress has so far not been able The House passed legislation to find compromise on the issue. on Thursday to require back- It is unclear whether Senate ground checks on all firearms Democrats could find deep sales and transfers. The chamber enough support among Republi- was also voting on, and expected cans to pass new gun control leg- to pass, a bill to allow an expand- islation in a 50-50 Senate, as they ed 10-day review for gun pur- would need 60 votes to do so. chases. Similar bills were passed Still, the bills are part of an ef- by the House in 2019, shortly af- fort by Democrats to move on ter Democrats won the majority, several major legislative priori- but languished in the GOP-con- ties while they hold both cham- trolled Senate for the next two bers of Congress and the White years. House. Senate Majority Leader Democrats now hold the Sen- Chuck Schumer said Thursday ate, as well, giving the party hope that the Republican “legislative that the legislation will at least be graveyard is over” and that the considered. But the bills would legislation to require back- need significant bipartisan sup- ground checks on all firearms port to pass. sales will have a vote in the Sen- The renewed push is the latest ate. effort by Democrats — and some “A vote is what we need,” Republicans — who have repeat- Schumer said, and they will see edly tried, and failed, to pass where Republicans stand. PAGE 12 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 13 WEEKEND

Selecting in solitude Two AP music writers think Taylor Swift will again win album of the year, but they are less sure of other picks from a year in which enjoying music became a solo act.

Grammy predictions, Page 15

/ ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN MOORES/Stars and Stripes; iStock, Universal Music Group photos

Games — 18-19 Travel & Food — 20-25 Movies — 28-29 Health — 32 Crossword — 34 PAGE 14 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: GADGETS & TECHNOLOGY Live panoramic picture, sound How a mannequin head revolutionizes how music can reach audiences

BY MICHAEL ANDOR BRODEUR BENQ/TNS The Washington Post The portable BenQ GS2 projector can be look up and behold the ornately connected to almost any device. ornamented ceiling of Detroit’s Orchestra Hall, a place I’ve never Iactually been. I look down and my Projector streams legs have vanished, replaced by a single black pole terminating into a tripod. I look from your device all around and find every other seat in the hall empty, though I’m told that at least 10 BY GREGG ELLMAN of us are in attendance. And onstage in Tribune News Service front of me, I see the 19 socially distanced The BenQ GS2 projector is not only por- members of the Detroit Symphony Or- table but truly lives up to its claim of “has- chestra tuning their instruments in com- sle-free wireless setup.” Going into it skep- plete silence — that is, until I pop in my tically, I was pleasantly surprised to have earbuds. SARAH SMARCH/The Washington Post the BenQ GS2 streaming from my iPhone Such are the dissonances that attend The Detroit Symphony Orchestra uses Ted, a mannequin head outfitted with binaural within minutes of unboxing it. settling into one’s figurative seat at Or- microphones and hi­def cameras, which “hears” and then transmits live­sounding Just minutes after I unpacked it, I had chestra Hall to experience the DSO immersive audio and video to people who cannot be physically present. the projected image on my homemade through virtual reality. plywood outdoor screen. The image and I’m “here” to virtually attend a rehears- and clarity is convincingly transportive — resolution were crisp and sharp, edge to al of “Stride,” a stirring newer work from and richer than most of any live-stream- edge, with vivid, accurate colors. The im- the British composer Anna Clyne. And ing audio I’ve experienced — just “live” age was clear when viewed from from side Clyne is “here” with me as well, watching enough to detach you from the living angles as well as straight. along through the eyes and ears of Ted — room. For the most part, any flat, sturdy sur- a standard-issue mannequin head, pur- It’s exciting to think what improved face will work. Merely attach it with the chased off the internet and outfitted with video could add to the experience. There bottom-sided thread to a tripod or some- a 360-degree camera and an array of are plenty of consumer-level 360-degree thing similar. The BenQ GS2 has a built-in microphones by creator, audio engineer cameras on the market, but most can snap keystone adjustment of 1D, Vertical ± 40 and Clyne’s husband, Jody Elff. only panoramic stills or record video. degrees, making it easy to get a level image. Ted offers a live panoramic view of the Cameras designed for HD live-streaming Once the BenQ GS2 is powered up, fo- hall and a crisp stereo audio signal, and, of 360 content can cost tens of thousands cused and centered in your screen, choose most important, allows Clyne to connect ANNA CLYNE AND JODY ELFF/The Washington Post of dollars — a smidgen more than Elff or the Wi-Fi network and your device (iOS, with the musicians playing her music in a Composer Anna Clyne and her engineer Clyne were seeking to spend for a system MacOS or Android) and connect them. It way that the pandemic has rendered next husband, Jody Elff, with Ted. that now maxes out at 10 users. was seamless connecting an iPhone, iPad to impossible. The couple imagine Ted iterations fea- and MacBook Pro. Ten years ago, Elff launched a small nature of her practice. But they also se- turing audio tracking, which would allow The content you stream varies by your company to provide underfunded arts vered an essential connection — with the the sound to change in accordance with device and is dependent on access, as organizations with robustly featured and musicians themselves. the position of the listener’s head. stated on the BenQ website: “Please be lower-cost live-streaming capabilities. The first run of a new work requires an At one point in the DSO rehearsal, guest informed that watching online streaming With this infrastructure in place, it wasn’t enhanced level of listening. Clyne uses conductor John Storgårds paused the media content, like Netflix, Amazon Prime long before Elff began imagining how to these preliminary rehearsals to make orchestra and pivoted on the podium. I Video, or Disney+, from mobile devices enhance the streaming experience he’d nuanced adjustments in dynamics or shifted uncomfortably in my seat as I with a BenQ projector is not currently a built, such as adding binaural (i.e., left/ tempos, and to do so with a sense of the realized he was looking directly at me. He viable option at this moment. This is due to right) audio or 360-degree video. acoustical space that will shape the sound. hollered a question about the rhythms of a their subscription-based business model “There’s always going to be somebody Travel bans and spiking case numbers certain measure into the hall, and, after a with license and copyright concern.” that wants to see a show but can’t get in have disrupted that process indefinitely, slight pause, from somewhere behind me, Hopefully someday soon the copyright for some reason,” he says. and the audio quality of most videoconfer- a woman’s voice responded. I turned and gods will give our iPhones streaming per- The Grammy-winning engineer thinks encing software proved untenable as a saw nothing but vacant rows. mission with Netflix and other services to his homemade prototype could set an stopgap measure, let alone as a long-term It was Clyne — her voice piped into the all devices. example for the role virtual reality could substitute. hall through a speaker but her attention An on-screen menu takes you through play in expanding the audience for classi- Clyne had streaming premieres sched- somewhere inside Ted’s head, swirling focusing, connecting to Wi-Fi and whatever cal music well past the pandemic. Ted uled through the fall and winter with the around with my own. At this point in the device you are using to stream (iOS, Mac takes up only one seat, but could one day Orlando Philharmonic (where she is com- pandemic, I honestly thought we’d ex- OS, Android). Specific directions are dis- serve as a proxy for thousands of listen- poser-in-residence), the River Oaks hausted our options for bizarre, techno- played depending on your choice. ers. Chamber Orchestra and the DSO, but no logically enabled social interactions, but Going the iPhone route, connecting was “I love the idea that for the cost of a $6 way to hear what they truly sounded like. sharing a mannequin head with a compos- easy. Aside from the streaming services cardboard viewer, you could actually “Suddenly,” she says of Ted, “this idea er in a faraway concert hall is definitely a that couldn’t be played, I was able to get jump into another space elsewhere in the that’s been sort of bubbling away is a new one for me. directly onto specific TV apps for local world and have something like a presence really viable option to be present, and to But while the great temptation of vir- stations and CNN. experience,” Elff says. “You can sell out nurture this relationship with the musi- tual reality is to go wild, dissolve all the The BenQ GS2 is built with durable con- your 2,000 seats in the hall, but now let’s cians and conductors and organizations in boundaries of old media and treat free- struction, unibody structure and a soft go sell 10,000 more to virtual viewers.” a way that wouldn’t be possible without dom itself as a medium (and, inevitably, rubber exterior, enabling it to withstand a Elff’s early vision for Ted was driven by the technology.” an excuse), the real strength of a head 1.6-foot drop. It is also IPX2 splash resist- the idea’s big implications, but it was only I can confirm that despite Ted’s rough like Ted is its singular focus. He’s there to ant. Even knowing this, play it safe. Don’t when the pandemic and its practical de- DIY edges, he delivered something closer fill a very specific gap — your seat in drop it and don’t set it up next to your pool mands set in that things came to a head. to an escape from my couch than just front of an orchestra. or sauna. The power adapter connects For composer Clyne — who just re- about anything else I’ve experienced from And after just a few minutes of “Stride” magnetically, disconnecting instantly in leased the fantastic “Mythologies,” a dec- my couch. taking full, soaring flight seemingly right the event of a foot getting tangled, letting it ade’s worth of her orchestral work — the The sound in Orchestra Hall washes before my ears, the virtual sure felt a lot separate from the projector and keeping constrictions of the crisis actually felt over his mic array and reaches you in a like the actual. I was no longer negotiating everything intact. strangely compatible with the solitary rich, spatial stereo wash. The separation with audio. I was listening to music. Online: benq.com; $599 Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 15 WEEKEND: MUSIC Social dissonance AP writers predict Grammy winners – and sometimes even agree – in an unpredictable year

BY MESFIN FEKADU AND KRISTIN M. HALL HALL: Three words, “Classy, bougie, ratchet,” pro- Billie Eilish; “Don’t Start Now,” Dua Lipa; “Watermel- Associated Press pelled Megan Thee Stallion to viral fame with an in- on Sugar,” Harry Styles; “cardigan,” Taylor Swift. utting out music in a pandemic, sanely catchy song while her FEKADU: Let’s start with who won’t win here: sorry without the ability to connect direct- fellow Houston native added fire Biebs, Tay and Doja. I’m split between Billie, Dua and ly with fans through touring, felt to the remix. Rap songs don’t Harry, but I’m going with “Watermelon Sugar” for two often win in these top categories sweet reasons: The song was irresistible, and the win Psort of like a tree falling in the forest and with Beyoncé and DaBaby will make up for Harry’s snubs in the big three cate- with no one around to hear it. also competing for votes, I pre- gories. Experiencing music in 2020 became a solo dict one of the most popular HALL: I appreciated the subtle (go Google it) sexiness experience, for good and for bad, and music songs of the year probably isn’t that Styles plays with on “Watermelon Sugar,” for sure. that was able to transcend the physical bub- going to win here. Dua Lipa put T-Swift has been nominated in this category multiple the dance club in our bedrooms times without a win, which is a bit surprising, but I bles we put around ourselves felt rare and this year with “Don’t Start Now” Lipa think voters are going to be drawn to the whisper queen special. In some ways, the Grammy nominees and she’ll walk away a winner. Eilish. represented that difference with albums and FEKADU: That’s a smart choice, Kristin! Normally I BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE: “Shameika,” Fiona music meant for self-exploration or dancing would think Dua Lipa — who is this decade’s Katy Per- Apple; “Not,” Big Thief; “Kyoto,” Phoebe Bridgers; like no one was watching. Sometimes the ry (no Grammy wins) — “The Steps,” HAIM; “Stay High,” Brittany Howard; omissions speak volumes. wouldn’t have a chance here. “Daylight,” Grace Potter. But then I remembered that Dua HALL: I don’t want to date myself, but seeing all these Associated Press Music Writers Mesfin won best new artist over H.E.R. female rock artist names together makes me long for Fekadu and Kristin M. Hall dissect the best and Luke Combs, and also the late ’90s Lilith Fair concerts where I felt among a of an extremely unpredictable year in music. picked up best dance recording like-minded community. Fiona Apple’s return after The Grammys will be presented Sunday that year, which proves voters several long years was personal and unconventional, night, and air live on AFN-Atlantic. Check really like her. Still, “Don’t Start intimate and experimental, and her exploration in “Sha- Now” won’t win now. My mind meika” of feeling recognized, even in a small way, by local listings. tells me Beyoncé will win her another young girl just zeroed in on all my millennial ALBUM OF THE YEAR:“Chilombo,” Jhené Aiko; first record of the year honor, Eilish feelings. “Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition),” Black Pumas; “Ev- but my body says Billie will win FEKADU: The apple of my eye (and this award): eryday Life,” Coldplay; “Djesse Vol. 3,” Jacob Collier; her second. Fiona and “Shameika.” “Women In Music Pt. III,” HAIM; “Future Nostalgia,” SONG OF THE YEAR (songwriter’s award):“Black BEST R&B SONG:“Better Than I Imagined,” Robert Dua Lipa; “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” Post Malone; “folk- Parade,” Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Derek Dixie, Denisia An- Glasper, H.E.R. and Meshell Ndegeocello; “Black Pa- lore,” Taylor Swift. drews, Stephen Bray, Brittany Coney, Akil King, Kim rade,” Beyoncé; “Collide,” Tiana Major9 and EARTH- FEKADU: Congratulations Taylor Swift, you will “Kaydence” Krysiuk and Rickie “Caso” Tice; “The GANG; “Do It,” Chloe x Halle; “Slow Down,” Skip Mar- make history and become the first female artist to have Box,” Roddy Ricch, Samuel Gloade, Larrance Dopson, ley and H.E.R. three albums win album of the year at the Grammy Adarius Moragne, Eric Sloan and Khirye Anthony Tyl- FEKADU: As a card-carrying member of the Beyhive Awards. Though “folklore” is the best of this bunch in er; “cardigan,” Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner; “Cir- — with platinum status — I’m marching in Beyoncé’s my opinion — with Jhené Aiko a close second — the cles,” Post Malone, Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan “Black Parade.” issue here is that the Recording Academy has designed Gunesberk and Billy Walsh; “Don’t Start Now,” Dua HALL: I, too, stan the Queen, but I have fallen in love a swift win for Tay Tay. The Lipa, Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick and Emily War- with “Slow Down” featuring these two young stars. The Grammys didn’t nominate ren; “Everything I Wanted,” Billie Eilish and Finneas; mixture of their distinct voices and the blending reggae Swift’s last two albums for this “I Can’t Breathe,” H.E.R., Dernst Emile II and Tiara and R&B on a sweet love song is just beautiful. Grammy honor, and they are making up Thomas; “If the World Was Ending,” Julia Michaels voters have already crowned H.E.R as the genre’s next for it this year with easy compe- and JP Saxe. big star who has been collaborating all over the place, tition. While Dua Lipa and Post FEKADU: Just rename this award “The Eilish Family while Marley, the grandson of reggae legend Bob Mar- Malone had multiple hits, that Prize.” ley, has shown the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. won’t be enough for them to win HALL: I am not really feeling a Grammys 2020 redux BEST RAP SONG:“The Bigger Picture,” Lil Baby; this. No shade, and as much as I this year. And where is “Blinding Lights”? Neverthe- “The Box,” Roddy Ricch; “Laugh Now Cry Later,” love HAIM, Black Pumas and less, “Black Parade” is a well-crafted cinematic cele- Drake and Lil Durk; “Rockstar,” DaBaby and Roddy Jhené, do you really think they Swift bration that evokes the history of Black music. Even Ricch; “Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé. have a chance of winning here? without releasing an album last year, Beyoncé is still HALL: Megan and Beyoncé will not be denied. No. And who even remembered that Coldplay dropped dominating the Grammys and I think she has a resonat- FEKADU: I don’t want no smoke with B, but there’s an album? There’s a small chance that the uber-talented ing and timely message. another rap hit that dominated the year more than Jacob Collier — if you don’t know him LOOK HIM UP! BEST NEW ARTIST:Ingrid Andress; Phoebe Bridge- “Savage,” and that’s “The Box.” The Grammys love — could win, but it’s not likely. If the academy wanted rs; Chika; Noah Cyrus; D Smoke; Doja Cat; Kaytranada; Roddy — he was a newbie and won his first Grammy to really challenge Swift and “folklore,” they would Megan Thee Stallion. last year — and “The Box” is also nominated for song of have nominated critically acclaimed albums from Fiona HALL: While the records from Andress and Bridgers the year and “Savage” isn’t. Plus, “The Box” offers one Apple, Brittany Howard, Tame Impala or even The were an emotional salve during a tough year, Megan’s of the best lines, especially necessary during the pan- Weeknd — acts who have a real shot at winning. momentum is unstoppable. She demic era: “Don’t wear no shoes in my house!” HALL: I’m sending you a virtual fist-bump, Mesfin. built up to her debut full-length BEST COUNTRY DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE: When I look at this list, I think more about the albums I record, “Good News,” with “All Night,” Brothers Osborne; “10,000 Hours,” Dan + loved that weren’t nominated. While Swift’s introspec- back-to-back hits and huge col- Shay and Justin Bieber; “Ocean,” Lady A; “Sugar tive pandemic album definitely deserves to be in this laborations on songs like “Hot Coat,” Little Big Town; “Some People Do,” Old Domin- category, “folklore” feels like a safe, obvious choice for Girl Summer” with Nicki Minaj ion. voters. We’ve seen artists (cough cough, Fiona, cough and backing up Cardi B on FEKADU: Dan + Shay have won this honor the last cough, Run the Jewels) take great creative leaps and “WAP.” She’s also used her two years, and their Bieber-assisted track was a huge bounds and yet we’re served up a pre-packaged win. platform in the past year to pop hit, but I don’t think “10,000 Hours” will win here. That being said, there are sometimes under-the-radar speak about violence against This year marks Brothers Osborne’s sixth nod in this wins in this category, so I think HAIM’s complex and Black women. This stallion has Megan Thee Stallion category, but they’ll fall short to Old Dominion’s “Some intriguing album has a chance (however slight) to win. already won the race. People Do,” a touching tune that’s also nominated for RECORD OF THE YEAR:“Black Parade,” Beyoncé; FEKADU: Let’s not forget she got shot in the foot and best country song. “Colors,” Black Pumas; “Rockstar,” DaBaby and Roddy didn’t deserve that! So there will be extra sympathy HALL: With big hit after hit, I would bet $10,000 on Ricch; “Say So,” Doja Cat; “Everything I Wanted,” votes for the rap princess, who deserves this honor Dan + Shay winning the trifecta in this category. Shay Billie Eilish; “Don’t Start Now,” Dua Lipa; “Circles,” more than any other artist. Mooney’s vocals are among the best in the genre, while Post Malone; “Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion and BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE: “Yummy,” Jus- Dan Smyers is a studio whiz. Welcome to Bieber coun- Beyoncé. tin Bieber; “Say So,” Doja Cat; “Everything I Wanted,” try. PAGE 16 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: MUSIC

CHRISTINA HOUSE/Los Angeles Times

magazine put Lipa on its Next 100 list of young influencers. “Massive icon,” Lipa says, returning the favor, of Mi- nogue. “For her to even know who I am is mad.” Now Lipa, named best new artist at the Grammy Awards in 2019, is among the most- nominated acts at this month’s 63rd Grammys ceremony, where she’s up for six prizes, including album, record and Dua Lipa is pop’s new superstar. song of the year. (Only Beyonce has more nods.) Says Tom Corson, cochair- She’s also a bit of a mystery. Grammys GAF man of Lipa’s label, Warner Records: “What we’re seeing Now Lipa, named best new is the dawning of a new super- BY MIKAEL WOOD artist at the Grammy Awards star.” Los Angeles Times in 2019, is among the most- According to Grammy odd- nominated acts at this month’s smakers, “Future Nostalgia” hen Dua Lipa was 15 years old, she left her parents and 63rd Grammys ceremony, where she’s up for six prizes, trails Taylor Swift’s rootsy two younger siblings behind in the family’s native Ko- including album, record and “Folklore” for the highly cov- sovo and moved more or less on her own to London. song of the year. eted album award, which The plan, at least as understood by her mom and dad Swift has won twice since 2010. Yet academy members (who’d only agreed to it because she’d be rooming with A decade after she set out have demonstrated a soft spot Wthe older daughter of a family friend), was to finish high school and from home, it’s tempting to for the kind of crafty, intri- then enter university. By the time Lipa graduated, though, she’d turned think she was right. Last year, cate, hand-played dance mu- Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” — a sic that Lipa’s disc represents: her focus to music, posting covers online and recording hooky originals sophomore LP full of sticky In 2014, Daft Punk upset ex- she co-wrote while supporting herself as a hostess at a Mexican joint in vocal melodies, shimmering pectations when the French London’s Soho neighborhood. guitar licks and crazy-funky duo beat their highly favored “I kept telling my parents, if I take a gap year, then I don’t have to pay bass lines — topped the U.K. competitors (including Swift’s album chart and was certified blockbuster “Red”) to take off my university debt,” the singer says today with a laugh. gold in the U.S. “Don’t Start album of the year with “Ran- Asked how long she was willing to stretch that gap year — how long Now,” the project’s disco- dom Access Memories.” she was prepared to grind in the hopes of becoming a pop star — she throwback lead single, has Lipa says the beautifully smiles as though amused by the misconception that she’d been strug- been streamed nearly 2 billion rendered “Future Nostalgia” times on Spotify and You- is meant to evoke memories of gling. Tube. music by swank ’70s and ’80s “That was a great life — I was working in a restaurant, I was partying In November, more than 5 acts like Blondie and Chic — all night, then I’d wake up in the morning and go to the studio,” she million people tuned into an the latter of whose Nile Rodg- elaborate, Studio 54-inspired ers featured prominently on says. “I had so much fun.” livestream that featured ca- “Random Access Memories” But also: A struggle suggests she might have accepted anything less meos by Elton John, Bad Bun- — and to put across a more than success. ny and Kylie Minogue, the last unified vibe than her grab bag “I’ve always been persistent, and I’ve always fought for the things that of whom praised Lipa’s “clev- of a self-titled 2017 debut. er songwriting” and “instantly Lipa’s first album spawned I’ve wanted,” Lipa, now 25, says in her crisp English accent. “So as recognizable voice” in a trib- much as this was my passion, I feel like it was also my destiny.” ute she wrote when Time SEE MYSTERY ON PAGE 17 Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 17 WEEKEND: MUSIC

“The feeling of going down the street and they’re trying to catch you in this very awkward picture — it can be anxiety-inducing, honestly,” she says. “And Brit- ney’s time was pre-Instagram when everything was purely about the tabloids, and there were no laws in place about what paparazzi were allowed to do. She was being harassed — that’s exactly what it was.” Though paparazzi shots can “still circle the internet — you looking nuts after you’ve just woken up trying to get to the gym,” as Lipa puts it with a shud- der — Instagram has funda- mentally changed the way we see pop stars. Yet curating her pre- sentation hasn’t prevented her from being called out online by fans who’ve questioned her need to travel to so many exotic loca- tions during a pandemic. “There are a lot of eyeballs on my social media,” she says, somewhat philosophically, of being judged on occasion by some of her 61 million followers. “But I’m very much the same person onstage as I am at home.” Her point seems to be that she AP photos never puts on the persona of a Dua Lipa, left, and St. Vincent perform a medley at the 61st annual Grammy Awards Feb. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles. In the three years since jet-setting glamazon; the reality winning that night for best new artist, Lipa has become an in­demand collaborator across a wide range of genres. can seem more like she never takes it off. Indeed, there’s a let-them-eat- Mystery cake quality to her stream of : Lipa’s album became relief from pandemic carefully styled photos that, along with her aversion to over- FROM PAGE 16 darkening reality. What’s more, go of “Drivers License” fame — cussed documentary about the sharing, registers as another a couple of monster streaming “Don’t Start Now” touched off a Lipa’s songs resist a closely per- teen pop star’s treatment in the difference between Lipa and her hits in “IDGAF,” a tart kiss-off plague-times disco revival that sonal read. It’s not that they’re tabloid economy of the mid-’00s, ostensibly relatable American with marching-band drums, and yielded pleasure-obsessed hits by unfeeling; bangers such as “Lev- and says she can relate to a sense counterparts. The singer’s Eu- “New Rules,” which layers her the likes of Lady Gaga, Harry itating” and “Hallucinate” com- of being violated by paparazzi. ropean-ness — more Posh Spice low, husky singing over a sleek, Styles and Doja Cat, whose “Say bine whooshing grooves with than Amy Winehouse — feels EDM-ish beat. But “the only So” is nominated against “Don’t words about bodies in motion to essential to her identity, which thing that connected each song Start Now” for record of the year. create something downright hasn’t been true of a breakout was my voice,” as Lipa puts it in “Something this pandemic has ecstatic. female act in this country for a video call from her place in taught us, I think, is to live in the But the music tends proudly ages. L.A. moment,” Lipa says. toward abstraction; it’s seeking to “There are a lot Lipa was born in London but A reliably glamorous presence If space got crowded under the embody the emotional experi- of eyeballs on my moved to Kosovo at 11 when her on magazine covers and in music glitter ball, Lipa still stands out. ence of love or sex or adventure, parents, who’d emigrated during videos, the singer is low-key this For starters, there’s the excep- rather than inviting you to pon- social media,” the Balkan conflicts, deemed it morning in a baggy tie-dyed top tionally wide range of her appeal, der any given episode between safe to come back. In Pristina, and purple beanie as her dog, a which in recent months has led to her and Hadid. And because Lipa says, “But the country’s capital, she black Lab mix named Dexter, both a collaboration with the she’s such an expressive singer, I’m very much “learned about my roots,” she clambers onto the couch beside hip-hop boy band Brockhampton with loads of texture in her voice, says, played basketball at school her. Lipa, who lives with her and a country-fied cover of she pulls it off. the same person (she stands a willowy 5-foot-8) boyfriend of nearly two years, “Don’t Start Now” by Nashville’s “Dua brings a real star quality and perfected her Albanian, model Anwar Hadid (younger Ingrid Andress. (Among Lipa’s to her songs,” says Sarah Hud- onstage as I am which she still uses daily with brother of fashionistas Bella and other duet partners of late are son, a veteran songwriter who’s her family and in text messages Gigi), gladly splits her time be- Miley Cyrus, J Balvin, DaBaby worked with Katy Perry and at home.” Her point with her old friends. tween here and London. and Andrea Bocelli.) Camila Cabello and who wrote seems to be that Returning to London as a teen- Producer Stephen “Koz” Koz- “Dua is super-cool,” says “Levitating” with Lipa, Koz and ager was a product of her need to meniuk, who helped build both of Brockhampton’s Kevin Abstract, Clarence Coffee Jr. “But she’s she never puts on “be in a place where everything Lipa’s albums from the ground a hero to Supreme-clad kids slightly mysterious. At the same was happening,” she says, in- up, says the singer wanted “Fu- more attuned to Camp Flog time, she’s so genuine that you the persona of cluding the club culture she soon ture Nostalgia” to reflect her Gnaw than to the Hot 100. What feel close to the music.” Hudson discovered. “Future Nostalgia” buoyant mood. “She was happy, did his fans make of Lipa’s ap- is right: You feel close to the a jet-setting showcases Lipa’s earnest em- feeling good — like, ‘I just wanna pearance on a remix of Brock- music, if not necessarily to Dua glamazon; the brace of dance music and its rich dance,’” Koz says. “It was also a hampton’s song “Sugar”? “They Lipa herself. history; she even released a com- bit of a reaction to the fact that were probably like, ‘Whoa, I Polished but forthright in con- reality can seem panion remix album, “Club Fu- all the other music in the world didn’t expect this — but why versation, Lipa cops to a certain ture Nostalgia,” with new ver- was quite down at the time — the does it kind of work?’” Abstract self-protective instinct after a more like she never sions of the songs by house and Billie Eilishes and all the trap says. few years in the limelight. “I’ve takes it off. techno O.G.s such as Moody- stuff.” There’s also Lipa’s unique grown to be more private be- mann, Larry Heard and Masters Lipa, of course, didn’t know handling of her celebrity. At a cause so much of my life is pub- at Work. that COVID-19 was looming as moment when music by many lic, and I probably censor myself “Her investment is totally she completed her big feel-good female pop stars is scrutinized more than I used to,” she says. “I legit,” says the Blessed Madonna, statement in early 2020. But for insight into their private lives also don’t love the idea of making the respected DJ and producer when it came out last March, the — be they established A-listers music for headlines or for contro- who oversaw the remix set. “To album ended up offering a wel- like Swift and Ariana Grande or versy.” She’s seen “Framing me Dua is the pop girl who really come escape from a quickly up-and-comers like Olivia Rodri- Britney Spears,” the much-dis- gets it.” PAGE 18 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: VIDEO GAMES

he Wii U feels like the gener- 3D World also features the seeds of ation that time forgot. The con- what later became Captain Toad: Trea- sole’s popularity wasn’t as explo- sure Tracker. His side levels let players Tsive as its predecessor, and fans Flexible fury control the hero as he collects Green Stars. overlooked several great games that came He has no jump button and can only sprint and went. With the success of the Ninten- across stages, but the limitation creates do Switch, Nintendo has re-released Wii U Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury hints some of the more inventive parts of the titles on its current machine. campaign. His puzzlelike stages are a joy Players who missed out on Pikmin 3 at a new direction for Nintendo franchise to complete. have another chance to check out the The other part of this Mario double deluxe version. The criminally underrated BY GIESON CACHO feature is Bowser’s Fury, which comes off The Wonderful 101 was remastered for the The Mercury News as another experimental curiosity. It’s system as well. For the 35th anniversary couched in the language of 3D World. of Super Mario Bros., Nintendo has Players will recognize the same power- launched Super Mario 3D World + Bows- ups and characters such as Plessie, a sea- er’s Fury. It’s an enhanced release with a faring dinosaur, but the big difference big bonus. here lies in the open nature of the short The core game is a remarkable oddity campaign. that came out between the stellar Super Mario is on an archipelago in Lake Lap- Mario Galaxy 2 and the clever Super Ma- cat, and he has to help out Bowser Jr., rio Odyssey. It’s a whose father has turned into an enormous title that lets Mario rage monster. Players have to use the roam in three di- power of the Giga Bells to turn the mus- mensions but has a tachioed hero into an enormous cat with camera angle with glowing fur reminiscent of Dragon Ball Z’s little wiggle room. Goku. He then battles Bowser in a God- It stays mostly zilla-inspired brawl until the boss gets fixed to players as knocked out for a short time. they traverse eight Over the course of the campaign, play- worlds trying to ers must collect Cat Shines to erase the rescue the Sprixie muck coating the Lake Lapcat lighthouses Princesses from and the water. Players are free to explore Bowser’s clutches. any islands they can reach, and each lo- It’s an iteration cale has its own set of quests. Some are of the franchise distinct, such as fighting Koopa kids in a that’s sandwiched between the traditional NINTENDO/TNS photos tiny arena, while others are repeat mis- 2D games and the forward-thinking 3D Above: Mario powers up to an enormous size using the Giga Bell in Bowser’s Fury, an sions, such as collecting blue coins, but set adventures. Surprisingly enough, it’s a addition to the classic title Super Mario 3D World. in a different space. game that fits closest to the Super Mario The notable part about Bowser’s Fury is Bros. 3 mold as Nintendo’s mascot grabs how it essentially creates the foundation several power-ups that lets him skate on for an open-world Mario game. Instead of ice, throw boomerangs and scamper levels, players have islands that they trav- through levels as a cat. el to and explore. Power-ups are stored It’s a title that carries the ethos of the and can be accessed at almost any time. NES-era level design and brings it to a 3D Players don’t have to worry about lives, environment. Each timed level has a dis- but they must be concerned about the tinct beginning and end as players venture number of coins, which goes down with through obstacles, uncovering secrets each death. such as Green Stars and collectible Taken together, it’s a fascinating look at stamps, which they can add to screenshots a possible future Super Mario Bros. series. in the photo mode. The Green Stars are It’s almost like Mario done in the style of important because they unlock certain The Legend Zelda: The Wind Waker, with stages. There are also warp zones that let Plessie being the boat that ferries the hero players skip levels, though it means they along to locales. won’t save all the Sprixie Princesses, and As players collect more Cat Shines and that’s reflected in the ending. explore Lake Lapcat, they open up more Although it’s chock-full of content, the islands. At the same time, they also have hybrid 3D game’s camera has more draw- to deal with the furious Bowser, which backs than advantages. The fixed angle attacks Mario at timed intervals. makes jumping and avoiding enemies The fixed camera creates interesting level design opportunities, but it also makes some The campaign’s goal is to grab as many onerous. It’s tough to judge the distance parts of Super Mario 3D World more difficult. Cat Shines as possible and unlock the from a platform, and that also makes it power of Giga Bells so that Mario can hard to stomp on foes. It can be particular- eventually cleanse the bad juju infesting ly frustrating in narrow spaces. Bowser. With that said, 3D World does use the The one issue facing Bowser’s Fury is fixed camera in smart ways. In one level, that it does push the Nintendo Switch to its it goes overhead and creates a Zelda-like limits. The game is noticeably worse in the perspective that helps Mario as he lights mobile mode while it plays better docked. braziers so he can find his way through a Players experience slow-downs and other scenario. In other stages, Nintendo plays hiccups either way, but it makes this part with shadows and reflections to hide items of the package feel like a rough draft of and secret passages. something bigger. In addition, the update features online Whatever the case, it’s a worthwhile and offline multiplayer modes, which can experience for Mario fans or those in- get chaotic as four players try to beat a terested in the open-world genre. Bows- level without getting in each other’s way. er’s Fury makes a persuasive case that the One of the more interesting aspects of 3D franchise should explore this genre be- World is that players can also choose cause it opens up new opportunities for among four characters — Mario, Luigi, play. Much like 3D World, Bowser’s Fury Princess Peach and Toad. Each character pushes the franchise in a new frontier and has its own traits: Luigi has a higher jump. direction that holds plenty of promise. Peach floats a little more when leaping. Platform: Nintendo Switch Toad is the fastest but may not jump the Seafaring dinosaur Plessie can ferry Mario to different islands in Bowser’s Fury. Many Online: supermario3dworld.nintendo. highest. Mario is average at everything. power­ups and characters will be familiar, but the open nature of the campaign is new. com Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 19 WEEKEND: VIDEO GAMES

MISTWALKER/TNS Game designer Hironobu Sakaguchi meshes animation and photographed dioramas for games like Fantasian. A game made with 150 dioramas Creator of Final Fantasy says a look back at FFVI offers reminders, lessons for modern game development

BY TODD MARTENS “To be able to get that feeling from the other side of a point it will become repetitive, too symmetrical. When Los Angeles Times glass screen was almost a poetic experience,” he says. making something with your hands, it warps the visual in efore Hironobu Sakaguchi began work on his Sakaguchi isn’t kidding. When he speaks of the intricate a very unique way that can’t be replicated.” latest role-playing game — he’s championed dioramas for the game, he talks not only of a renewed The game, about three years in the making and with no and explored the RPG genre throughout his appreciation for game design but also life itself. current plans to be made available outside of the Apple Bcareer — the creator of the famed Final Fanta- “A big surprise for me — there’s a mountain-scape Arcade ecosystem, is nearing completion, with Apple sy series looked back before setting his sights forward. stage — and in the dioramas, there’s a little bit of green beginning a promotional push this month by touting the Sakaguchi not too long ago replayed Final Fantasy VI, and flowers littered about the pathway,” he says. “I’m exclusive, without a specific release date, in its App Store. the 1994 entry in the franchise that is still considered sure it was just a small decoration, but as we photo- And although Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker studio has worked among the series’ best. Having turned his attention to graphed it for transitioning it into a 3D-mesh and bring- in the mobile space before, with Fantasian he says he mobile game development — with his next, Fantasian, ing it into the digital world, I would zoom into these flow- wanted no direct concessions to the smartphone and tab- launching as an exclusive to Apple Arcade, the tech gi- ers and — my goodness — it was amazing how strong let-focused medium, saying it is his job, and goal, to cre- ant’s subscription service — Sakaguchi says Final Fanta- their presence was inside of these scenes.” ate a game worthy of ignoring text message notifications. sy VI offered a number of reminders and lessons for And although the game could have been made entirely “On a technical level, there have been some learnings modern game development. from recent projects Mistwalker has undertaken,” Saka- “Back in the day, everything was done in tiles,” says guchi says. “But Fantasian is a full-blown console RPG Sakaguchi, speaking last week via a translator. “Your Video game engines today experience. I drew upon that experience. I want to re- character would move one tile at a time. That introduces create that feel and touch for Fantasian.” puzzle-like elements, in which you might see a treasure are capable of powerful, The game starts with players in control of a protagonist tile that you can’t access. But if you walk around the named Leo, a character on a quest for his missing father. building and go through the back door, you might be able cinema-ready graphics, but In relatively standard video game fashion, however, Leo’s to reach that chest. memory is wiped, and he travels from a machine-driven “When the player,” continues Sakaguchi, “reaches the with Fantasian, video game world to the more rustic one represented by the diora- ending, it feels like they have seen everything this world mas. Sakaguchi says this simply scratches the surface, has to offer. That desire — that craving that humans have creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and memories of in-game characters are presented as — we’re trying to re-create.” mini fairy-tale-like novels. For Fantasian, Sakaguchi wanted to present players has created a mobile game In Fantasian, you will read. with an overview of a game world, offering them a uni- “The novels are a system in the game that progresses verse that invites curiosity via what is shown rather than that feels tactile — a world between scenes,” says Sakaguchi. “Humans, when you what is hidden. And yet the renowned Japanese game read something, it really jogs the imagination in ways that designer didn’t want to create a retro game. we want to touch. being fed audiovisual cues does not seem to do. We’re Fantasian, however, is a bit old school, at least in how it talking about dioramas and, now, novels, which are a very places century-old storytelling techniques at its forefront with computer graphics — rather than by building diora- old-world, old-school medium, if you will, and as you go — in this case, about 150 hand-built dioramas. mas, taking hundreds of photographs of them and then through and read these stories, it gets the player to shift Fantasian, then, is the rare video game that will not just scanning them — Sakaguchi says he wasn’t interested in their mindset and use different parts of their brain as utilize physical environments but also celebrate them. that potential “shortcut,” although he stressed that devel- they go through this interactive experience.” Those environments add a feeling of fragility and a opment time would have been about the same. None of this should be a surprise to fans of Sakaguchi’s lived-in, aged look to the game. Digital characters tra- In part, he simply wanted a role-playing game that work. Over his more than three-decade career, Sakaguchi verse landscapes that are heavily stylized, living pho- looked strikingly different from anything else on the mar- has steadfastly focused on the RPG genre. What brings tographs. A tiny bed looks like a cloud made of porcelain, ket. Also, after decades of working in the RPG space, the him back, he says, is the way RPG stories are told. towns and buildings emerge from hand-sculpted caverns, 58-year-old wanted a challenge. A good one, Sakaguchi says, should make the player and the very real rocks have a foreboding presence when “It’s possible to create something that is diorama-esque feel like a tourist. they clash with the game’s animation. in the 3D, CG space, but I think there’s a unique hand- “The idea of exploring a completely new world is akin Video game engines today are capable of powerful, made touch that cannot be replicated,” Sakaguchi says. to traveling to a country we’ve never experienced be- cinema-ready graphics, but with Fantasian, Sakaguchi “For instance, if you’re creating a vast forest in CG, re- fore,” he says. “You’re walking down the street and dis- has created a mobile game that feels tactile — a world we gardless of whether you put in diorama-esque fixtures or cover this really cute cafe or boutique. There is a sense of want to touch. give it that shading to give it a handmade feel, at some discovery and wonder that comes with the RPG genre.” PAGE 20 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: TRAVEL Fine living at a Parisian market As we’ve had to postpone our florist’s new grandchild, relax travels because of the pandemic, over un café, and kiss the cheeks I believe a weekly dose of travel of friends. dreaming can be good medicine. The neighborhood produce Here’s a reminder of the fun that shop wraps awaits us in Europe at the other around the corner end of this crisis. with an enticing rainbow of fruits grew up thinking cheese and vegetables on was no big deal. It was display. Next door, orange and the shape of the the fishmonger Ibread: slap, fwomp ... sells the freshest cheese sandwich. Rick fish, which are DOMINIC ARIZONA BONUCCELLI/Rick Steves' Europe Even though I’m still far from Steves brought in daily Rue Cler’s stores, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, make picnic shopping fun in Paris. a gourmet eater, my time in Paris from ports on the — specifically shopping at the English Channel, 100 miles away. traiteur) sells mouthwatering generations, this has been the bread and pastry. At cooking Rue Cler street market with my At the boucherie, Marie shows deli food to go. place where people go for butter, school, they major in one or the restaurateur friend Marie — has me things I might have otherwise The smell of cheese heralds eggs, and cheese. He takes us other. But here on Rue Cler, the substantially bumped up my avoided on her menu: rognons the fromagerie. It’s a festival of into the back room for a peek at baker bucks the trend. Marie appreciation of good cuisine. (kidneys), foie (liver), coeur de mold, with wedges, cylinders, les meules — the big, 170-pound explains that this baker makes In the skinny shadow of the boeuf (heart of beef). She hoists a balls and miniature hockey pucks wheels (250 gallons of milk go good bread (I get a baguette for Eiffel Tower, Rue Cler still feels duck to check the feet; they all powdered white, gray and into each). Explaining that the my sandwich) and delicious like village Paris. Lined with should be rough and callused, an burnt marshmallow. Browsing “hard” cheeses are cut from pastries. Voilà, dessert! shops that spill out into the indication that they weren’t stuck with me through a world of dif- these, he warns me, “Don’t eat By now, I’ve assembled the street, it’s also bustling with in an industrial kennel but ran ferent types of cheese, Marie the skin of these big ones ... they ingredients for the perfect picnic. shoppers. Marie explains that free on a farm. She explains, explains, “Ooh la la means you’re roll them on the floor. But the Marie heads off to her restau- Parisians shop almost daily for “While Americans prefer beef, impressed. If you like cheese, skin on most smaller cheeses — rant, while I head for a park three good reasons: their tiny pork, and chicken, we French eat show greater excitement with the Brie, the Camembert — that bench, settle in, and enjoy my kitchens have tiny refrigerators, just as much rabbit (lapin), quail more las. Ooh la la la la.” is part of the taste.” Rue Cler feast. A passerby wish- fresh produce makes for a good (caille), lamb (agneau), and duck The white-smocked cheese- And what’s cheese without es me a cheery “Bon appétit!” meal, and they like shopping. It’s (canard). The head of a calf is a monger points out the old photo bread? The bakery is our final Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes Europe- an important social event: a delight for its many tasty bits.” on the wall from when his father stop. Locals debate the merits of an guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. You can chance to hear about the butch- Farther down Rue Cler, the ran the shop. It was labeled BOF rival boulangeries. It’s said that a email Rick at [email protected] and follow his er’s vacation, see photos of the picnic-friendly charcuterie (or for beurre, oeuf, fromage. For baker cannot be good at both blog on Facebook. Establishing a foothold to enjoy Europe’s marvelous sights Admiring architecture, sampling street foods and remains of a stadium in which chariot races were once watching street artists perform are just a few of the many staged. Another highlight is the tomb of Cecilia Metella, a activities that naturally combine with taking in the sights rotunda festooned with bulls’ heads. As basalt stones of a new town. Those who look at running not as a fleeting scarred by centuries of carriage traffic don’t offer the fancy but rather a way of life have at their disposal anoth- safest of footing, the dirt paths flanking the route make er means of conquering new horizons. Let’s lace up our for a safer option. The Archeobus, departing hourly from running shoes to tour these special corners of Europe. the Termini main railway station, offers convenient ac- cess the area and makes several stops within the park Epic waterfronts itself. Online: tinyurl.com/pc4fvjy4 Discover Hamburg, Germany’s largest port city, by A run along the left bank of the UNESCO-listed Upper means of a route running alongside the Elbe River, one of Middle Rhine Valley leads through an area so littered Central Europe’s major waterways. A run along the 11- with castles and romantic ruins it inspired countless art- mile stretch between the Elbphilharmonie/ ists and poets. By starting a run at the confluence of the Baumwall U-bahn stop in Hamburg and Rhine and the Nahe river by Bingen and heading north the western suburb of Wedel provides a for some 10 miles along the Rheinradweg cycling path, glimpse of the constant comings and goings you’ll view such iconic landmarks as the Niederwald of vast container ships. The tour passes by iStock Monument commemorating the formation of the German the famous St. Pauli Fish Market and The oceanside Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, is Empire; the Mouse Tower, prettily perched on an island; through the upscale Altona neighborhood. a beautiful four­mile stretch — as long as you remain on Burg Rheinstein, a 13th-century toll castle; and the Stahl- The view from the park high upon a bluff, the lookout for others enjoying it also. berg, a castle-turned-hostel. From Bacharach, board a Karen known as the balcony, reveals cranes, gas regional train for a quick ride back to your starting point. Bradbury tanks and endless stacks of shipping con- center, runners can board tram line number 2 out to the tainers. From there, the scenery gives way airport terminal and run back along the promenade. Guided runs to elegant old sea-captains’ homes, a harbor filled with Guided running tours taking advantage of knowledge- historical sailing vessels, and the Blankenese neighbor- Runs through time able and fit local guides are widely available throughout hood, an area of winding alleys and hidden staircases. If The ancient Appian Way, whose construction began in Europe. Go Running Tours is just one such company your timing’s right, you might be able to return to the city 312 B.C., once linked up Rome with Brindisi, an important specializing in this type of outing. The company’s six-mile aboard the Liinsand catamaran; otherwise the S1 commu- port city on southeast Italy’s Adriatic Sea. A 16-mile cir- “In Fair Verona” tour harks to the opening lines of a ter train will whisk you back to the city center in no time. cular route proposed in Runner’s World magazine re- Shakespeare play and develops the theme by passing The Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, is a four- moves runners far from the snarl of traffic and toxic Romeo’s house and Juliet’s famous balcony. Other sights mile stretch of coast lapped by the crystal waters of the fumes that can mar a jog through the Eternal City. The encompassing 2,000 years of history include a perfectly- Côte d’Azur. Along the palm-studded, multi-purpose trail, run commences in front of the Appian Way Park Author- preserved amphitheater, gothic monuments, hills planted runners are treated to views of pebbly beaches and yacht- ity info point, just steps away from the Domine Quo Vadis with olive and cypress trees and the mighty Adige River. filled harbors. As the space is shared with skateboarders, church. The route passes the catacombs of San Callisto, A private tour costs between 66 and 33 euros per person, Segway-riders and pedestrians in no particular hurry, which hold the remains of 16 popes, and those of San depending on the number of participants. Online: gorun- tackling the route early is a wise strategy. From the city Sebastiano, named for a Roman martyr, as well as the ningtours.com/run/in-fair-verona-10k Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 21 WEEKEND: FOOD & DINING

Bicol Express Location: Depends on the week; check the Bicol Express Facebook page. Cost: 3.50 to 11.50 euros per dish; menu varies. Hours: Times vary by location, check their Face- book page. Information: Online: facebook.com/bicolexpress- ramstein Brian Ferguson

The pork and chicken adobo with rice, lumpia and a fried egg from Bicol Express.

PHOTOS BY BRIAN FERGUSON/Stars and Stripes Customers wait to order at Bicol Express during its stop March 3 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center gas station. The truck The pork siomai, or steamed dumplings moves to a different location weekly, including Ramstein Air Base, Baumholder, Kleber Kaserne, Sembach and others. with chili garlic on top, from Bicol Express. Rolling past the social media storm Catch up with the Bicol Express food truck around Kaiserslautern for lip-smacking lumpia

BY BRIAN FERGUSON Stars and Stripes AFTER ’ve been craving lumpia ever since I saw a post on a Facebook military HOURS spouses page that got people hotter GERMANY than a backcountry Philippine barbecue. IThe Ramstein-area post asked whether moves weekly, serving Ramstein Air Base, a neighbor should be paying German Baumholder, Kleber Kaserne and Sem- taxes for selling lumpia out of her home, bach, to name a few. without the original commenter really I knew I wanted lumpia, but what else? knowing the circumstances. Most of the Pictures displayed in the truck window hundreds of community responses helped me figure it out. amounted to “mind your own business,” I bought two orders of lumpia, chicken putting it mildly. adobo, pork adobo with fried egg and pork Judging by the lines outside the Bicol siomai. The bag was heavy and smelled Express food truck, which is one of the delicious. few places to get Philippine food in the Since I had a 20-minute drive home, I Kaiserslautern Military Community, I’m hoped the lumpia would stay crispy and probably not the only one made hungry by flaky, and to my pleasant surprise, they a little social media controversy. did. The order also came with three small Before finding out about Bicol Express, cups of sweet chili sauce for dipping. In I’d started out with a quick internet my opinion, the sauce makes the lumpia, search, which didn’t find any brick-and- and it did not disappoint. mortar Philippine restaurants in the area. Both the chicken and pork were tender It seemed the only way for me to satisfy and juicy, and the meat slipped right off my craving was going to be to make the the bones. The pork siomai, a steamed food myself or pay someone on the spous- dumpling with chili garlic on top, was not es’ page to make it for me. Since I don’t what I expected, but it did have a spicy Bicol Express, a Filipino food truck that operates on U.S. military bases in Germany, know how to make lumpia and I don’t kick. might be the only one of its kind in the Kaiserslautern area that sells fresh lumpia. want to anger anyone’s neighbor, I decid- Besides the flavorful food, Bicol Ex- ed to keep searching. press impressed me with their service. This isn’t the only lumpia I’ve had in ulations. If you don’t want to wait, find the I caught up with Bicol Express, which The staff is pleasant and genuinely help- Germany, but it is the only lumpia I have truck and you won’t be disappointed. operates on several U.S. military bases, ful, and it only took about five minutes to ordered from a restaurant locally. So, if during a stop at the Landstuhl Regional get my order, even as customers lined the you have a friend, neighbor or relative [email protected] Medical Center gas station. The truck parking lot. who can make lumpia for you, congrat- Twitter: @BrianFerg57 PAGE 22 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: QUICK TRIPS A park that Bliss built Brandon Country Park near Lakenheath features a variety of trails, maybe a ghost

BY KYLE ALVAREZ leonic Wars, which lasted from Stars and Stripes May 1803 until November 1815. 15-minute drive from When demand for flint fell Lakenheath and slight- after the end of the wars, Bran- ly longer from Milden- don’s economy went south. But Ahall lies a 30-acre Bliss stepped in and gave jobs to oasis from the daily grind. the town’s unemployed, paying Brandon Country Park offers them to plant trees on a vast visitors miles of heathland and stretch of heathland that he’d forests, fresh air, hiking and bought with the money he made biking trails, glimpses of unique off the flint. wildlife, trees you don’t expect Millions of trees were planted, to see in England, a walled gar- creating Thetford Forest and, den, historic buildings — even a within it, Brandon Country Park. PHOTOS BY KYLE ALVAREZ/Stars and Stripes rumored ghost. In other words, these two havens Three­year­old Penelope Alvarez stands in front of a pond in Brandon Country Park, near the town of It has strong ties to the mil- of tranquility are the products of Brandon, England. The mansion in the background was originally built as a home for the family of the itary, not just through its prox- more than a decade of conflict in park’s founder, Edward Bliss, but now serves as a luxury care home. imity to the two U.S. air bases at Europe. Mildenhall and Lakenheath, but Many of the trees in the park the Bliss family, there are trees going back to its inception in the are not native to England. I like Himalayan birches and the On the QT 19th century. know this, not because I’m an handkerchief tree, which has Brandon, the town that gives arborist but because of the many heart-shaped leaves and takes 50 Location: Brandon Country Park, Bury Road, Brandon, IP27 0SU. The park the park its name, once pro- signs in front of them. The giant years to fully grow. is five minutes from the A11. duced most of the flint used by redwood, for example, from Irish yew trees surround the Hours: The park is open every day of the year from dawn to dusk. Costs: Entry to the park is free but parking costs 1 pound for up to two hours the army of the British empire. northern California, was in- Gothic mausoleum built by Bliss on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., or 2 pounds for the day. On weekends Local businessman Edward Bliss troduced to the area in 1853. as the final resting place for and British holidays, the cost goes up to 1.50 pounds for up to two hours made his fortune selling gunflint In the park’s walled garden, himself and his wife. It’s here during the week, and 3 pounds for the entire day. Annual parking permits to the army during the Napo- once planted with vegetables for that the ghost of Bliss’ nephew, are available for 30 pounds. Cash or the RingGo app accepted. Baron Boretto, is said to roam, Food: When it’s open, the Copper Beech Tearoom serves breakfast, starting dressed in knee breeches and a at 10 a.m., through to afternoon tea. From April to October it closes at 4:30 deerstalker hunting cap like p.m., from November to March at 3:30 p.m., with last orders for hot food Sherlock Holmes used to wear, about an hour before. It has vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. and carrying a lantern shaped For more Information: call +44 (0)1284 757088; send an email to like a human skull with a lit [email protected], or message them on Facebook at facebook.com/ BrandonCountryPark; Website: westsuffolk.gov.uk/leisure/Parks/brandon- candle in it. countrypark.cfm The mausoleum is also home to tiny pipistrelle bats. They are Kyle Alvarez said to each eat some 3,000 in- sects every night. If ghosts and bats aren’t your thing, the park has hiking and biking trails of varying distanc- es, most of which are color- coded. The 1-mile red trail, which my family and I took, goes through the park’s arbore- tum and is easy enough for a 3-year-old to do. Other trails are longer — up to 5.75 miles for the cycling trail — and go into Thet- ford Forest. There are also two play areas with climbing frames, assault courses, swings and slides, a tearoom (because this is En- gland), and conference rooms available for rent. The indoor facilities, including the tearoom, were closed when we went be- cause of coronavirus restric- tions. Dogs are welcome everywhere in the park except for the walled garden and, when it’s open, the tearoom. The mausoleum on the grounds of the Brandon Country Park was A mile­long trail in Brandon Country Park near Brandon, England, built by Edward Bliss in the 1800s as the resting place for him and his goes through the arboretum and is easy enough for a 3­year­old. [email protected] wife. The ghost of Bliss’ nephew is said to wander the grounds. Twitter: @Kalv2931 Other trails are longer and go into Thetford Forest. Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 23 WEEKEND: TRAVEL Putting travel savings to good use Would-be travelers swapping vacations for big-ticket toys

BY AMANDA LOUDIN Special to The Washington Post t was supposed to be a dream wedding and honey- moon. First up, the nuptials in scenic Banff, British Columbia, surrounded by their children from previ- Ious marriages. After spending a few days there, Lisa Fichman and her fiance, Mike Zampi, were headed to Switzerland for a hiking trip in the Alps, and a few days at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Then came the pandemic, and Fichman, a retiree from Columbia, Md., found herself on the phone, postponing their June 2020 plans. Like everyone at this time last year, the couple could not have imagined that a pandemic would be raging a year later. “We figured we would be delayed for a while,” Fichman says. “Then we decided maybe we should reschedule for the summer of 2021. Now, we don’t really see it happening anytime soon, if at all.” As that reality sank in over the past few months, Fich- man and her fiance started thinking about how they might pivot and use the money they had slated to their big wedding and honeymoon. “We decided to channel our time and money into something fun and safe,” she says. Fichman and Zampi are creative and crafty, so the result became an unexpected passion project: They bought a cargo trailer, and with Fichman serving as de- sign consultant, Zampi has set to work converting it into a customized RV. “We’ve been tricking it out with solar panels for electric and air conditioning, installed a Mur- TREVOR BORYCKI/The Washington Post phy bed, added skylights, a table, and wired it for sound,” Carrie Lyons bought a trailer so she could comfortably take their kids to nearby outdoor sites. As the pandemic enters she explains. “Mike made the table himself and is going its second year, more people are spending unused travel funds on big­ticket recreation toys instead. to add cedar planking to the exterior. We think of it as a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired tiny house on wheels.” this is a good trade-off to vacation spending, however. While the camper was a big investment, it’s compara- “The entry point is high, but after that it’s just gas,” he ble to the money the couple would have spent on their says. “I have three kids and we’ll be able to water-ski and far-flung wedding and honeymoon. In swapping one for tube and see so much on a boat, for years to come.” the other, Fichman and Zampi joined a pandemic trend: According to the National Marine Manufacturers Asso- using vacation dollars for a pandemic alternative. ciation, sales of boats, marine products and services hit It’s hard to name an industry that has been hit harder $47 billion in 2020, up 9% from 2019. President Frank by the pandemic than the travel industry. According to Hugelmeyer sees no sign of that trend slowing in 2021. U.S. Travel Association data, total travel spending by U.S. “This segment of outdoor recreation is on fire,” he says. residents in 2019 topped $1.1 trillion dollars. In 2020, that “Instead of using disposable income on international number plummeted to $680 billion. It projects 2021 travel, cruise ships or eco-tourism, people are choosing spending to rebound marginally, to $760 billion. outdoor recreation. Our campaign this year has been ‘the While vaccinations are helping some feel more confi- water is open,’ and all sales metrics support that line of dent about travel, for many would-be vacationers, this thinking.” summer remains a time of caution. Instead of hopping The boating industry is just one facet of outdoor recre- onto planes to reach destinations far away, they are turn- ation that is enjoying robust growth because of the pan- LISA FICHMAN/The Washington Post ing their sights to fun ways to demic. According to the Lisa Fichman and her fiance, Mike Zampi, used money recreate closer to home. NPD Group’s retail set aside for a wedding and honeymoon abroad for a Boats, RVs, skis, high-end tracking data, five out- cargo trailer that they turned into a customized RV. bikes — all experienced re- “Instead of using disposable door recreation cate- cord high sales in 2020 and gories saw explosive fortably take our kids to some of the nearby sites,” she show no signs of slowing down income on international growth last year: bike says. “This summer, we’re adding two stand-up paddle- as the calendar turns toward sales by 63%, paddle boards to the mix. We can travel an hour away to a beau- summer 2021. travel, cruise ships or sports by 56%, golf sales tiful lake and still have a great time.” New Hampshire-based real by 51%, camping equip- Lyons says the trailer cost about $32,000, and the pad- estate developer Michael eco-tourism, people are ment by 31%, and binoc- dleboards about $800 each. “We figure we get a lifetime Farris recently put in an order ular sales by 22%. The of memories and adventures with the trailer,” she says. with Malibu Boats for just this choosing outdoor recreation.” Outdoor Industry Asso- “We’ve also saved a lot of money this year by not going to reason. “In the current sit- ciation, which will soon restaurants, paying for child care, kids’ sports and other uation, this was a no-brainer,” Frank Hugelmeyer issue a report on its activities. It was an easy swap for us — it’s just a different he says. “We’re not planning President of National Marine Manufacturers Association participation expecta- way of spending vacation dollars.” any vacations right now, so tions for 2021, reported While Lyons and Fichman are satisfied with the new with a boat, we can go to different lakes nearby and have that the jump in outdoor recreation participation this past ways they’re spending their vacation dollars, both admit a great day.” year amounts to “the largest annual increase we’ve seen to mixed emotions. “I was crestfallen at first,” Fichman Farris also considers a boat a safe way to spend time since we began tracking the numbers.” says. “But you make adjustments and figure out a differ- with friends who have similar coronavirus-avoidance Carrie Lyons, a teacher in Alberta, has always prized ent plan. It’s disappointing, but we recognize our fortune behaviors. “When you travel, you’re interacting with all her travel, often spending time in the U.S. Rockies each to be in this position, and everything will be OK.” kinds of people in restaurants, elevators, hotels, and you summer and running trail races, among other trips. She Lyons concurs. “We haven’t lost anyone to COVID, we don’t know how they approach COVID. On a boat, you can and her husband had plans for an anniversary trip to still have jobs, and we’re fortunate to have a stable life,” be outside and socially distance with people you trust.” Panama this year, but as the pandemic heads into Year 2, she says. “I remind myself that we can still have amazing Powerboats do not come cheap. One like Farris pur- they have pivoted to buying new recreation toys. adventures close to home. Still, right now, when it’s freez- chased can range from $20,000 to $200,000-plus. He says “Last year, we bought a trailer so that we could com- ing outside, I’d give anything to escape to a warm beach.” PAGE 24 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: QUICK TRIPS Hipster hotel in a small space Tiny Inn in Fussa brings taste of Portland’s tiny home trend to Japan

BY ERICA EARL Stars and Stripes fter a trip to Portland in 2017, a businessman and artist in Japan felt inspired by the food carts and tiny home trends there and decided to bring a Atouch of the American Pacific Northwest back to bustling Tokyo. “I want it to be a place where people from the United States or who have visited will experience that culture as much as possible,” said Ryuma Sato, creator and owner of the Tiny Inn. Sato opened The Tiny Inn, a two-room retro-style trail- er, in Fussa, last fall in hopes of attracting service mem- bers at nearby Yokota Air Base as well as Tokyoites look- ing to escape from the city while travel was limited due to the coronavirus. Fussa, a small suburban area in western Tokyo, is quiet in comparison to the Japanese capital’s city center. Part of its tourist appeal is the American flavor the air base pres- ence lends the shops and cafes along four-lane Route 16. The Tiny Inn truly is tiny, built to accommodate a maxi- PHOTOS BY ERICA EARL/Stars and Stripes mum of two people. I am only 5 feet, 2 inches tall and still Ryuma Sato is the creator and owner of the Tiny Inn, a two­room retro­style mobile hotel near Yokota Air Base. The managed to bump my head on the doorframe walking into trailer was built by Sato out of parts he found or bought secondhand. the bedroom. Its minimalist design features a wooden deck, a semi-double bed and a bathroom with a toilet and On the QT shower. Weekday stays cost 3,500 yen, or $33 per night, and Directions: From Yokota Air Base’s main gate, turn right onto weekend and holiday stays cost 15,000 yen, or $141, per Route 16, then left at the Shorin-dori intersection. You will see night. Delta East with its food carts, banners and hanging lights on the right just before the railroad crossing. Limited parking is available. During high season, March through September, week- Google Plus code: P8XP+5M Fussa, Tokyo day stays cost 5,500 yen, or $51 per night and weekend and Times: Open year-round holiday stays cost 20,000 yen, or $188 per night. Costs: $33 per night weeknights and $141 per night weekends Billed on its website as a “mobile hotel,” the Tiny Inn and holidays. March-September; $51 per night weeknights and doesn’t actually move, but Sato said he hopes to eventually $188 per night weekend and holidays also have an Airstream or similar model on property that Food: Food carts just steps away feature pizza, Vietnamese bahn guests can rent and drive around to explore Japan’s nat- mi, chicken and rice dishes, coffee and craft beer. ural beauty “in the style of the American road trip.” Information: tinyinn.jp Sato and his business partners spent four months build- Erica Earl ing the trailer from parts he either found or bought sec- The Tiny Inn near Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo truly ondhand. is tiny, built to accommodate a maximum of two people. The Tiny Inn is situated on a former storage lot right next to another one of Sato’s projects, Delta East, a food “I want to see a bunch of cool, tattooed kids working cart park that opened in 2019. Sato helped found Delta East here bringing local flavor from where they’re from,” Sato as the creative director of the nonprofit organization Flag, said. which helps entrepreneurs develop their project ideas. Delta East was originally going to be a spot where peo- Delta East hosts a variety of food carts serving New ple could rent vintage cars of different styles, but Sato York-style pizza, Vietnamese bahn mi, coffee, craft beer figured food trucks would be a simpler business model and and more. attract more people. Sato said he has long been intrigued by American pop Sato said he hopes to continue to revamp both Delta East culture, being raised by a “hippie dad” who Sato said had and the Tiny Inn by adding more food carts and attrac- long hair like John Lennon. He said he envisions the park tions, but does not know when that will be because of the being a “hipster haven” for artists, military members and ongoing pandemic. youth in the community to come together, eat and skate in the small, empty pool that serves as Delta East’s center- [email protected] The Tiny Inn in Fussa, Japan, is situated right next to piece. Twitter: @ThisEarlGirl Delta East, a food cart park that opened in 2019. Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 25 WEEKEND: FOOD & DINING Specializing in medium rare The burgers at Under the Cascade in Tachikawa have the perfect bit of pink

BY CHRISSY YATES Stars and Stripes AFTER f you’re near Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo and HOURS looking for an easy place to JAPAN Idrive or take the train to, as well as some good burgers, look no further than Under the Cas- $12) and the classic burger (88 cade in nearby Tachikawa. yen for the single patty). I prefer This American-style restau- the latter as the smoky cara- CHRISSY YATES/Stars and Stripes rant is in Green Springs, a retail melized onions combined with The baked apple burger from Under the Cascade in Tachikawa, Japan, comes with fries, coleslaw and a and recreation complex that the perfect dollop of mustard on cup of onion soup. The restaurant specializes in American fare with burgers with the perfect hint of pink. features an event hall, shops, top of the patty were delicious. restaurants and a hotel. There’s Each burger comes with fries with multiple plates and drinks better, but not the brunchy Under the Cascade plenty of green space like the that are the right mix of crunchy stacked on top. knockout we were expecting. name suggests. It’s a great place on the outside and chewy in the Sadly, my creme brulee pan- A simple and affordable kid’s Location: 3-1 Midoricho, Tachikawa to walk around to get some fresh middle, a little cup of onion soup cakes (1,180 yen) did not live up menu offers pancakes, a burger City, Tokyo air, window-shop and people- and a tiny serving of coleslaw in to the enticing menu picture. or curry for 500 yen. Hours: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (last order at 7 p.m.) watch. a little ramekin. They were thinner: not quite a While most of the menu is in Prices: Lunch will run you between The burgers at Under the Cas- On my most recent trip to pancake, not quite a crepe, and a English and the rest translates $9.50 and $14, and between $23.50 cade are stacked high and served Cascade, I dined al fresco with a bit too eggy. The brulee topping easily enough using a phone and $28 for dinner with the perfect bit of pink in the friend, and we were determined was ice cold in places and the translation app, there is a daily Dress: Casual middle. The menu lists salads, a to try the pancakes. We were sugar was not melted or burned special grill plate and a steak Directions: A 25-minute drive from poke bowl and pancakes as well provided blankets as it was a all the way through. The end salad plate listed only in hand- Yokota Air Base or a 5-minute walk as a variety of alcoholic and non- chilly day and we sipped on per- result was a gritty texture in- written Japanese. Every time I from JR Tachikawa Station alcoholic drinks, which makes it fectly creamy coconut lattes stead of that fun crackle you chip went, the choice was between Information: 042-519-3077; a decent weekend brunch spot. while we waited. However, din- at with a spoon. My friend’s tira- chicken or beef. greensprings.jp/shop/under_the_ cascade (in Japanese) So far, I have tried the baked ing outside involves bistro tables misu pancakes (1,180 yen), a [email protected] apple burger (1,280 yen, or about that seem a bit flimsy, especially special, limited-time item, were Twitter: @Chrissy_Stripes Christina Yates Dressed-up chicken salad

BY GRETCHEN MCKAY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Light but still satisfying, chick- en salad is the ultimate girls’ lunch menu item. But it also can be dressed up with fruits and spices to create a quick and easy weeknight meal. I serve the chicken salad on fresh baby salad greens, but it also can be scooped on top of a thick piece of crusty bread for an GRETCHEN MCKAY/TNS open-faced sandwich, or stuffed Crunchy Curried Chicken Salad is into a roll or between two slices light, but satisfying. of bread. Crunchy Curried 4 thick slices crusty bread for an open-face sandwich, or 8 Chicken Salad slices for a regular sandwich Ingredients Directions ¼ cup mayonnaise In a medium bowl, stir togeth- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt er the mayonnaise, yogurt and 2 teaspoons curry powder, or curry powder. Then add a gener- more to taste ous pinch of salt and a good grind Kosher salt and freshly ground of black pepper. Taste and adjust black pepper seasonings. 1½ heaping cups cubed or Add cooked chicken, scallions shredded rotisserie chicken and apple and stir until well 3 scallions, white and green combined. Fold in raisins and parts, chopped toasted almonds. Stir to combine ½ large green apple, such as well. Granny Smith, diced Serve chicken salad tucked 1 /3 cup raisins, soaked in hot between two slices of bread as a water to soften sandwich or spooned on top of ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds fresh mixed greens as a salad. Handful of fresh, leafy lettuce Serves 4. PAGE 26 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: BOOKS Murder, mystery and mayhem, but no gore Readers have been turning to ‘cozy’ whodunit mysteries for escape from the realities of pandemic life

BY TAMARA LUSH bookshop with the protagonist, smiling as it will be after.” be a whole lot of blood and guts and vio- Associated Press along with the banter as she and friends Kelly Vaiman, a longtime cozy fan, has lence,” she says, laughing. “It’s contradic- book,” author Neil Gai- figure out whodunit. It is escapist perfec- tried to avoid thinking about real life this tory. A murder mystery with no violence. man may or may not have tion.” past year. First she was wary of going But I can pick up a cozy, and can figure out said, “is a dream you hold In television form, the cozy can be seen places due to the pandemic, then her elder- clues and try to figure out whodunit, but I “A in your hand.” And right in popular shows such as “Murder, She ly mother’s health declined while in a don’t have to live in all of the horror associ- now, in an era of pandemic and polar- Wrote,” “Midsomer Murders” and “Miss Pennsylvania nursing home. Vaiman ated with true crime or a noir.” ization, Americans have — and need — a Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.” Cozies claim couldn’t travel to say goodbye, and her Unlike big blockbuster stories that re- lot of dreams. roots in early 20th-century British myster- mother died. volve around one near-superhuman char- We dream of unfettered travel, of a ies by such writers as Agatha Christie and “After her passing, during the mourning acter (who is usually a man), cozy series world free of face masks and hand sanitiz- Dorothy L. Sayers. But with the advent of period, I just couldn’t handle the grief,” cultivate an amateur sleuth (usually a er, of days that are exciting and new and the e-book, authors are setting their gentle Vaiman says. “So I’d pick up a cozy mys- woman) and a cast of quirky secondary not the grinding tedium of spending hour crime scenes in RV campgrounds in the tery to take my mind off everything.” characters. after hour staring, horrified, at the TV American South, tourist towns in the Pacif- She estimates that she reads 120 books a Readers become attached to the entire news. We dream of going back to school. ic Northwest and in neighborhoods in year. They’re not all cozies, but those are ensemble, says author Bree Baker, and Of eating a meal with family. Of hugs. Brooklyn, to name a few. what she turns to when she needs a com- consider them old friends. That’s why And some of us — well, some of us The genre’s parameters are few: no forting read. readers love series that stretch to multiple dream of murder. Small-town murder. swearing, no sex, and little to no gore. Just Valerie Burns writes gentle murder books. Gentle murder. Quiet murder. what the pandemic-era doctor ordered. mysteries under the pen name of V.M. “I think we all need a place to belong, at For those who find their dreams in “The cozy mystery is a familiar way to Burns, and her “Mystery Bookshop” series the core of everything. We need to have books, there’s a group of readers who are encounter the two seemingly unreconcil- is now six stories long. Since the pandemic our people,” Baker says. hungrily consuming a particular style of able realities of death and country peace at began in early 2020, she’s noticed that And at a time when we can’t see our own narrative to escape from the past year’s the same time,” says Sarah Allison, an more readers are taking the time to email people in real life, fictional stand-ins will reality: “cozy” mysteries. associate professor of English at Loyola her about her work, seeking that human have to do. Solving a murder in one’s mind, In an unfathomably complex year, a New Orleans who is working on a book connection that’s sorely missing. dreaming of the day when we can languid- gently told tale of murder and mayhem about “escape reading.” Burns, who lives in Chattanooga, Tenn., ly enjoy a coffee and conversation with whittles the sharp edges of reality to a “The restoration of order at the end of is an avid cozy reader as well as a writer of friends, knowing that what’s right will manageable, smooth surface. the novel might be less significant than the them. She acknowledges the unusual na- prevail in the end — those are the reasons “Murder is definitely dark, but in a cozy way this genre makes beautiful scenery ture of cozies — that they revolve around a people turn to cozies. And, not coinci- the reader is with the protagonist every and grisly details feel like they go together murder, yet are also soothing to read. But, dentally, they overlap with the ways peo- step of the way as each clue is revealed,” naturally,” she said in an email. Such mys- she adds, trying to solve a mystery gives a ple are coping at this moment in history. says Michelle Vega, executive editor of teries, she says, promise a messy murder feeling of accomplishment when so much “We have enough horror in our day-to- Berkley, who works with several cozy and a tidy resolution, “a welcome contrast of life seems stalled. day lives,” Burns says. “Right now, that’s authors. “You can enjoy the perfect cup of to the way we’ve all been suspended be- “It’s basically a puzzle, but there’s that all I want to do is escape. Escape into a tea and pretend you’re sitting in that comfy tween life as it was before COVID and life safety net in knowing there’s not going to world where justice prevails.”

WILFREDO LEE/AP Kelly Vaiman poses for a photo Feb. 19 in her living room where she sometimes likes to sit and read in Boynton Beach, Fla. Vaiman is an avid cozy mystery reader. Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 27 WEEKEND: BOOKS Driven to ‘acts of desperate heroism’

Wesley Morgan A 101st Airborne Division soldier patrols northeastern Afghanistan's Pech Valley in in 2010. The book “The Hardest Place” explores how the valley became Taliban territory. Military journalist explores the mistakes that led to the US losing the Pech Valley in northeastern Afghanistan

BY J.P. LAWRENCE um of failures by U.S. military complicated air assault oper- Morgan adds additional con- The target, who escaped, was Stars and Stripes officers in the Pech, leading to ations, which left a lot of mil- text to Luttrell’s narrative, which not connected to Bin Laden, but a merica’s deadliest broken soldiers, dead civilians itants dead but seldom captured has been criticized for its in- local thug whose reach barely infantry battle of the and a valley lost to the Taliban. anyone important. Each oper- accuracies. extended outside his home prov- Afghan war began in He interviewed hundreds of U.S. ation also invariably killed civil- The SEALs had most likely ince. Athe early hours of July troops and local Afghans to go ians, Morgan wrote. been discovered immediately, as The operation’s failure was the 13, 2008. Taliban fighters un- beyond not just the “who” and Seemingly every village had they were placed in the backyard result of poor planning, over- leashed a torrent of machine gun “how” of each battle, but the stories about how the Americans of the enemy by a helicopter that confidence and leaders unwilling fire and rocket-propelled gre- often-hazy question of “why?” killed someone dear to them. U.S. villagers said they could hear to communicate, Morgan con- nades at a newly built American For example, why had intelli- troops apologized each time. from miles away. tends. “But there was no reckon- base in the town of Want in gence of a large, imminent attack Eventually the apologies fell on The lightly armed SEALs were ing with what had gone wrong northeastern Afghanistan. been ignored? Why hadn’t there deaf ears. killed by fighters numbering during Red Wings,” he wrote. The base, located in an area been a drone overhead? Whose The book is infuriating in its closer to the few dozen Luttrell One SEAL who visited the that had turned against the fault was it that those nine sol- repetitiveness. This is not the described in his mission debrief- battle site after Red Wings said, Americans, was nearly overrun. diers died? fault of the author, but of the U.S. ing, not the 140 he had in his “There’s a deep pain among the Just under 50 U.S. troops fought A military investigation after military officers who kept repeat- book, Morgan wrote. survivors, when you take a ver- waves of enemies, mere feet the battle recommended two U.S. ing their predecessors’ mistakes, Morgan says the fight most sion of their story and just tell the away from them. officers be criminally charged and who come off as allergic to likely did not last as long as Lut- parts that allow it to be a legend- The battle ended with nine for “insufficient oversight,” Mor- learning. trell described, based on how few ary epic about flawless heroism. Americans dead and 27 wound- gan writes, but the decision was An example of this amnesia shell casings Rangers at the When you uphold only the hero ed. The U.S. overturned later. occurred after the infamous scene found. image, you deny those same withdrew This lack of accountability Operation Red Wings, where Other units who were sup- heroes the ability to commit from Want, repeats throughout the book, in three Navy SEALs died, and one posed to rescue the SEALs were mistakes ... [creating] a distorted sometimes which the U.S. seems ever eager would almost be captured. In the delayed. Another team of Navy reality.” written as to highlight the heroism of its movie “Lone Survivor,” based on SEALs rushed there without Morgan’s book does not shy Wanat, shortly fighters, while ignoring the mis- a book by one of the SEALs, coordinating with a different away from these mistakes. It’s a after. takes of the officers who put Marcus Luttrell, four operators rescue force, and without waiting sober telling that might help The soldiers them in harm’s way. infiltrate an isolated Afghan for attack helicopters to clear the future military leaders who wish displayed “When soldiers on the ground valley in search of a close associ- landing site. Their helicopter to avoid the kinds of failures that courage under are put into positions where they ate of Osama Bin Laden, leading would be shot down by an RPG, lost the Pech Valley.

fire, but why commit acts of desperate hero- to an intense firefight with more leading to the deaths of all 16 [email protected] had they been in such a desper- ism, something has gone wrong,” than 100 fighters. aboard. Twitter: @jplawrence3 ate situation in the first place? Morgan wrote. That question lies at the heart of Today, the Taliban controls “The Hardest Place: The Amer- much of the Pech. But when U.S. ican Military Adrift in Afghan- forces entered the valley almost istan’s Pech Valley,” a new book two decades ago in search of by military affairs reporter Wes- al-Qaida operatives, locals wel- ley Morgan on the failed U.S. comed them. When one of the counterinsurgency campaign in Green Berets shot and killed a rugged northeastern Afghan- villager, the others understood istan. that it was an accident and ac- The book focuses on the Pech cepted their apologies. River Valley, and its tributaries, But as U.S. troops stayed in the the Korengal and the Waygal. Pech, their mission expanded Known for some of the fiercest from killing al-Qaida to finding fighting of the war, the region anyone connected to them, to was the setting of the documen- killing Taliban, to building roads, taries “Restrepo” and “Koren- to allying with corrupt politicians gal” by filmmaker Sebastian and unwittingly taking sides in Junger. local timber rivalries. Morgan’s book is a compendi- U.S. troops began launching PAGE 28 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: MOVIES ‘Cherry’ is a bomb that misses the mark BY MARK KENNEDY connected all the various parts of Associated Press a life into a coherent profile. In- Tom Holland has bravely stead, the directors opted for stripped off his Spider-Man cos- look-at-me filmmaking. They tume to play a gritty, heroin- turned a book into a comic. addicted veteran in the new mo- It’s not even overly clear what vie “Cherry,” looking in no way this movie is saying. Is it about the like a superhero. Unfortunately, long-term costs of deploying our no one told the filmmakers. military? The depravity of addic- “Cherry” has an identity prob- tion? The redemptive power of lem, and that may be because love? An indictment of the Amer- directing duties have been hand- ican penal system? Or late-stage ed to Anthony and Joe Russo, best capitalism? Or lack of veteran known for directing films in the medical care? Maybe just pick Marvel Cinematic Universe, your friends with caution? Say including two Captain America something, anything. films as well as “Avengers: Infin- Holland’s character — he is ity War” and “Avengers: End- unnamed throughout, but is told game.” at one point in Iraq that “you got APPLE TV+/AP That means the brothers who your cherry popped today” so Spider­Man actor Tom Holland goes dark as an opioid­addicted veteran in his new film, “Cherry.” gave us such universe-changing becomes Cherry — goes through events as the Thanos snap are several chapters in the film and telling one Cleveland man’s story his relationship with Emily (a of heartbreak, aimlessness, sol- supremely excellent Ciara Bravo) diering, addiction, robbery and emerges as the spine. They meet, incarceration. And yet they fall in love, fight, get separated Unmasking a superhero haven’t changed the way they while he goes to Iraq and fall into make films. addiction when he returns. It Overly long, bombastic and likely will not end well: “Some- Tom Holland embraces ‘darker role’ of drug poorly focused, “Cherry” is based times I feel like I’ve already seen on a semi-autobiographical 2018 everything that’s going to happen. novel by Nico Walker, a decorated And it’s a nightmare,” Cherry addict veteran turned bank robber in ‘Cherry’ U.S. Army veteran who served says. time in prison for turning to bank Part Three — in Iraq — plays to BY PETER SBLENDORIO ly, root for him.” robbery to feed his addiction. the filmmakers’ strengths. As New York Daily News To illustrate the toll drugs can take, Holland lost Holland should get credit for anyone who has seen them direct here’s much more to Tom Holland behind about 30 pounds for the role, sticking to a diet of giving his all in a harrowing role, an Avengers movie, the Russos the mask. 500 calories a day. He quickly put the weight back complete with navigating the know violence, and the chaotic The actor, who rose to fame playing on to shoot different scenes, then dropped it again terrors of war, PTSD afterward, war scenes of dusty explosions, TSpider-Man, embraced an entirely differ- toward the end of production. drug-addled semi-consciousness, fiery vehicles and the whistle of ent type of character in the addiction drama “Cher- “I knew what heroin was and I knew the effects it lesions on his haggard face due to bullets are first-rate. Fellow sol- ry,” which reunited him with “Avengers” directors had on people, but I didn’t know quite how sub- heroin and bank-robbing swag- diers are callous and sadistic. Joe and Anthony Russo. stantial this problem was,” Holland said. ger. “Everything there was about “Playing a much darker role was very freeing, “I was unaware that the support system for veter- But it’s largely wasted as the dying,” Cherry says. because there were no boundaries,” Holland told ans was so poor. They train these civilians to be Russo brothers add gimmick The epilogue is perhaps the the Daily News. killers, but they don’t train the killers to be civilians after gimmick — slo-mo, writing best part of the film — a wordless “The sky was the limit. I was definitely nervous. again. It was really interesting to hear people’s “AARGHH” in red letters, mag- montage covering Cherry’s 14 I’ve never played a character like this before, and a different stories. They’d all been through a very, ical realism, aerial pan shots, years in prison, a seemingly end- lot of the emotions that I had to go through are very similar process, which was so sad to hear. I stolen techniques from Martin less loop that echoes the rhythm emotions I’ve never experienced, and emotions I really hope that this film will shed the light on a Scorsese and Wes Anderson, the of the years he spent in the Army. hope to never experience in my personal life. It was problem that is invisible.” use of classical music or opera to When he emerges, will Emily be very daunting, but I love a challenge.” Holland describes Cherry as a person who “tries goose the drama level, saturated there? Is she even alive? And, The film, now available on Apple TV+ and cur- colors, breaking the fourth wall more importantly, is there anyone his best and can’t seem to catch a break” and finds rently playing in select theaters, stars Holland as a by having Cherry talk directly to out there still watching? purpose through his relationship with Emily. wayward Army veteran named Cherry who devel- the camera and inconsistent em- “It’s important to remember that these charac- ops a PTSD-fueled opioid addiction and resorts to brace of the ridiculous. “Cherry” is rated R for graphic drug abuse, ters are very young,” Bravo, 23, told The News. robbing banks to afford drugs for himself and his This story really needed an disturbing and violent images, pervasive language “They’re being backed into a corner and forced to and sexual content. Running time: 141 minutes. wife, Emily, played by Ciara Bravo. unflashy, unflinching hand that Now streaming on Apple TV+. make these very adult decisions before being given The British actor, 24, immersed himself in the a chance to really learn about the world.” role by meeting with veterans and people who had The film begins with Cherry in college, follows suffered from addiction and PTSD. “When you’re telling a story that represents mil- him during his tour of duty in Iraq after 9/11, and lions of people around the world, you have a certain shows his struggles after returning home to Ohio. level of responsibility to do justice to those people The release of “Cherry” comes during a busy and those characters,” Holland said. “For me, it all year for Holland, who has the sci-fi thriller “Chaos boiled down to doing as much research as pos- Walking” now in theaters and “Spider-Man: No sible.” Way Home” out this December. The Russo Brothers were finishing up 2019’s He’s excited for audiences to see a different side “Avengers: Endgame” — their third Marvel movie of him. with Holland — when they were introduced to the “It’s something I’ve been trying to do for a long semi-autobiographical novel by Nico Walker that time. Even since I’ve been Spider-Man, I’ve been inspired the new film. working with different directors, people that I real- Holland was their choice to star in “Cherry” ly look up to, playing characters where I think because of his “incredible range” and “commit- they’re big departures from myself,” Holland said. ment,” Joe Russo explained. “‘Cherry’ would be the first time that it’s had a lot “He has a charisma that you can’t create, you of coverage, with the Russos, and it’s a story about can’t coach into somebody, you can’t direct,” Joe an American veteran, so lots of people are going to APPLE TV+/AP Russo told The News. “He just has this energy that be interested in that. It’s the first time I’ve really Tom Holland plays a opioid­addicted veteran in a scene from makes you want to follow him, and more important- done it on the big stage.” “Cherry,” now streaming on Apple TV+. Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 29 WEEKEND: MOVIE REVIEWS Saying ‘no’ not allowed Parents give into kids’ wishes for 24 hours in the predictable, family-friendly ‘Yes Day’

BY JAKE COYLE projects suggest a dictatorship in Associated Press need of a coup. One makes a ike an innocuous kid video comparing her to Stalin version of “The Purge,” and Mussolini. Miguel Arteta’s “Yes When a guidance counselor LDay” imagines an an- (Nat Faxon) suggests “Yes Day” nual 24-hour holiday of lawless- as a remedy, Allison goes along, ness. with a few stipulations. You can’t NETFLIX/AP photos The concept comes from Amy break laws, and you’ve got to stay Everly Carganilla and Julian Lerner play two of the lucky children in “Yes Day,” in which the kids request, Krouse Rosenthal’s 2009 picture within 20 miles of home. This among other things, that their parents take them through a car wash, car windows rolled down. book, which suggested a day leads to a day of wall-to-wall fun, when parents — regularly such with bed-jumping, ice-cream lake. On their own, they’re plenty fonts of “No!” — have to answer feasts, a car wash trip with the capable of making their own in the positive to their children’s windows down and a surprise tents and adventures.) demands. For some, the idea had theme-park visit. The day tests “Yes Day” isn’t nearly so real appeal, not just for giving both Allison’s helicopter parent- sweet. Arteta (“The Good Girl,” kids a shot at decision-making ing impulses and the kids’ own “Cedar Rapids”) has an under- freedom but for momentarily desire for independence. That’s rated ability at crafting comic, relieving parents of the burden of especially true for 14-year-old humanistic movies out of com- constant disapproval. Katie (Jenna Ortega, an impres- mercial concepts. But “Yes Day” One parent, in particular, took sively poised young actor), who slides too often into contrived, to “Yes Day”: Jennifer Garner. wants to attend a concert without loudly scored montages of “fun” The actress has previously spo- her mom. that don’t transfer to those of us ken on social media about hold- It’s all lightly predictable as watching. And while Garner and ing the holiday with her three the family works out a level of Ramirez are both very fine ac- children. And she’s a producer of comfort that isn’t all yes or en- tors, neither of them is funny. the film, which is now available tirely no. There’s something to be Not to be negative on “Yes Day,” Julian Lerner, left, and Jenna Ortega in a scene from “Yes Day.” on Netflix. said for lower-stakes family but it would be a lot better if, say, “No is part of the job,” narrates films, a genre that has increas- Will Ferrell and Maya Rudolph actor who makes every scene kids, naturally, loved the idea Allison Torres (Garner) in the ingly aped the world-ending played the parents. (Though he’s in better. Here he plays a and will probably take me to task film’s opening scenes. But so scale of superhero films. (One what movie wouldn’t be im- hapless and needy police officer. for saying anything but “Yes” to stern is Allison — the bad cop pandemic discovery for my fam- proved with that casting?) The Of course, after a pandemic “Yes Day.” next to her more easygoing hus- ily was 1974’s “Swallows and film’s best moments come cour- year that has ruled out so much “Yes Day” is rated PG for some rude and suggesti- band Carlos (Edgar Ramirez) — Amazons,” a charming British tesy of Faxon and the very funny for kids, “Yes Day” may be a ve material, and brief language. Running time: 86 that her three children’s school film about kids just playing on a Arturo Castro, the “Broad City” welcome reprieve for them. My minutes. Now streaming on Netflix. Like a dream, lo-fi ‘Come True’ hard to resist

BY LINDSEY BAHR which in this case has pros and cons. The film is a striking Associated Press exercise in tone and builds to a few terrific crescendos The murky and illogical territory of dreams and night- that will surely leave viewers with some goosebumps. mares has always provided fertile ground for filmmakers. Burns is not an impatient filmmaker, and the steady Not only can your imagination run wild on screen, but hand pays off. Burns has an affinity for deserted hallways, there’s even less of an expectation that it make any sense nighttime vistas and distorted video screens. Stone, too, is in the end. How could a creative soul resist? excellent in a difficult and taxing role. She fills the frame In “Come True,” a lo-fi indie from director Anthony with nervous and vulnerable energy. Scott Burns, the nightmare is always the same for a run- The story itself and the dialogue leave something to be away teen, Sarah (Julia Sarah Stone), who sleeps on a desired, however. It’s a smart film, certainly, but maybe playground slide and guzzles coffee to stay awake as long not as smart as it wants to be. And there are a couple of as she can. When you see the muscular, shadowy figure clunkers that bring the mostly meditative experience to a with the glowing eyes that looms in her dreams, you’ll halt. start to understand why she has a perpetually haunted Then there’s a subplot with a researcher (Landon Liboi- and twitchy demeanor. Sleep is not peace for Sarah, and ron) who develops a crush on his teenage subject that just she’s starting to crack. feels far too icky for a modern movie. That she is tech- So when she spots a flyer at the local coffee shop for a IFC FILMS/AP nically 18 does not make it better. The end, too, is oddly university sleep study that pays, she heads right there. It Julia Sarah Stone appears in a scene from “Come True,” specific and gimmicky for a film that has thus far basked seems like business as usual, with a peppy research as- a film by Anthony Scott Burns about a young woman in its own vagueness. And it might leave you incredulous- sistant and a few repeat subjects coming back for more (Stone) who participates in a sleep study with the hope of ly asking “What?” a la Oprah during last weekend’s monitored sleep. But she soon discovers that it’s a little getting relief from her recurrent nightmares. But the Meghan and Harry interview. researchers aren’t just studying her sleep. more experimental than she thought and possibly even But for as frustrating as it sometimes is, “Come True” sinister. They’re not just studying sleep. They’re mapping The cast is scarcely recognizable, and the film was made is hard to resist, not unlike a dream itself. the dreams. Cue the “Inception” music. with a slim crew. Burns not only wrote and directed, but

With David Cronenberg overtones, “Come True” is a also shot the film and helped compose the moody, synth-y “Come True” has not been rated. It contains disturbing images. Running time: 105 slow-burn experience that also feels very independent. score. It’s why it feels so much like a singular vision, minutes. In theaters and on demand. PAGE 30 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: LIFESTYLE Marking time in a memorable way COVID-19 has changed the way life’s milestone events are celebrated, leaving many wondering whether those changes will have lasting impact BY LEANNE ITALIE Milestones, rituals and tradi- Associated Press tions help set the rhythm of our edding anniversar- lives, from the annuals like birth- ies for Elizabeth days and anniversaries to the O’Connor Cole and one-timers like births and deaths, Wher husband, Mi- extending beyond those bounda- chael, usually involve a dinner ries to more casual events like reservation for two at a fancy opening day (choose your sport), restaurant. Not this time around. drinks out after work with col- As the pandemic raged last leagues and that first swim of May, the Chicago mom of four summer. unearthed her boxed wedding Jennifer Talarico, a psychology gown from 19 years ago, got it professor at Lafayette College in zipped with help from one of her Pennsylvania who studies memo- daughters and surprised her ry and personal experience, says spouse. certain events shape lives differ- PHOTOS FROM ELIZABETH COLE AND JESSICA TAMPAS PHOTOGRAPHY/AP Cole re-created their reception ently — and have been reshaped Left, Elizabeth Cole wears her wedding gown May 26, 2020, with her dog Holly at her home in Lake menu — a shrimp appetizer and just as differently during the Geneva, Wis. At right, Cole dons the same gown with her dog McGee on her wedding day, May 26, 2001. beef tenderloin — and pulled out pandemic. Perhaps most devas- To celebrate her anniversary, Cole surprised her spouse by putting on her wedding gown from 19 years her wedding china and silver tatingly impacted, she says, are ago, re­created their reception menu and enlisted one of her four kids to DJ their first­dance song. And the after enlisting another of her kids death and dying, sitting at bed- priest who married them offered a special blessing on Zoom with friends and family joining in. to DJ their first-dance song, “At sides to comfort and attending Last,” for a romantic turn around funerals to mourn as the coro- Regina’s favorite prayer, the Hail they connect us with other people “Weekend get-togethers are the living room. And the priest navirus has killed more than 2.3 Mary, and asked loved ones to and things that are larger than now in sneakers with dogs sitting who married them offered a million people around the world. recite it on her behalf. They filled ourselves,” he says. on grass and picnic rugs rather special blessing on Zoom with “That’s being felt the hardest pages with photos through the Sometimes left behind in a than on stools in fancy restau- friends and family joining in. because it’s the hardest to re- years, from a portrait of young swirl of celebration is the core rants,” she says. And Field is just “Spontaneous and a bit chaot- place,” Talarico says. “That’s Regina in a fine red dress (lip- significance of something just as fine with that. ic,” O’Connor Cole pronounced probably going to have the most stick to match, gold pendant important — the events them- Marking time has changed the celebration. “Still, it was lasting impact.” around her neck) to more casual selves. Students who missed out during the pandemic. There’s the probably the most meaningful Renee Fry knows the feeling shots with grandchildren. on the walk across the stage at ticking off of months based on and fun anniversary we’ve had.” well. Her grandmother, Regina The sisters — Renee in Quincy, their graduations remain gradu- trips to the hair salon and the As the pandemic enters its Connelly, died Dec. 6 of COVID- Mass., and Julie in Port Matilda, ates. Couples forced to elope or length of pandemic beards. second year, there’s a pent-up 19 at her nursing home in Holli- Pa. — wrote the story of how give up their dreams of weddings There’s Zoom creativity and longing for the recent past, espe- daysburg, Pa. She had just turn- Regina met her husband on a for 200 for smaller affairs still socially distanced trips outdoors. cially when it comes to life’s ed 98. There was no dropping blind date, then lost him when he have their marriages to experi- Re-creating celebrations of the milestones. When the crisis final- everything to be at her bedside. died in 2010 after 64 years of ence. past for major, time-marking ly resolves, will our new ways of There was no large church cele- marriage. They wrote of how she While some predict a Roaring events has been difficult as time marking births and deaths, wed- bration of her life followed by spent most of her teen years ’20s renaissance once the crisis blurred and safety restrictions dings and anniversaries have any dinner for all. caring for her two brothers after has ended, “there are going to be took over. lasting impact? Or will freshly “We had to rely on video con- their mother died suddenly when a number of people who are “We have all of this cultural felt sentiments born of pandemic ferencing,” Fry says. she was 13. They included ros- changed,” Van Tongeren says. baggage, in a good way, around invention be fleeting? But they also did something aries with each of the 32 booklets “They’re going to say, ‘I’m going those events,” Talarico says. “It’s Some predict their pandemic else. She and her sister, Julie they mailed. to emerge from this pandemic a reinforcing cycle of events that celebrations have set a new Fry, put together a “memory Judging from the response — a with a new set of values and I’m we expect to be memorable.” course. Others still mourn the book” shared with far-flung fam- second cousin called to say thank going to live my life according to Memorable has been hard to way their traditions used to be. ily and friends. They included you, and a caregiver for Regina new priorities.’” achieve. But the rethink has been wrote a two-page letter offering Last year, Shivaune Field cele- important for many, and its ef- thanks as well — it made an brated her 40th birthday on Jan. fects may ripple long after the impact. 11 with a group of friends at a virus has ebbed. “It was incredibly meaning- downtown restaurant in Los “For those wanting to reminis- ful,” Renee says. Angeles, where she lives. It was ce years later about important Such a booklet will be created just weeks before the coronavi- events that happened during the when the family faces death once rus made its way to the U.S. This pandemic, there will likely be again. The pandemic, Fry says, year, when she turned 41, the nostalgia mixed with more than a has proven that distance no long- adjunct professor in business at tinge of trauma,” says Wilfred er denies lasting meaning. Pepperdine University simply van Gorp, a past president of the Daryl Van Tongeren, an asso- took to the beach with her pals. American Academy of Clinical ciate professor of psychology at “It felt much more authentic; a Neuropsychology. Hope College in Michigan, stud- nicer way to connect without all “It may remind us of the lone- ies meaning in life, religion and the bells and whistles,” she says. liness and isolation brought virtues. Rituals, symbols and “I think it’s really nice to get about by the pandemic, our fear milestones help provide struc- back to that. It reminds me of of catching the virus, fear of ture to our worlds, he says, de- childhood.” dying, fear of losing loved ones marcating the passage of time or Field grew up in Melbourne, and loss of any we knew who GERALD W BRUNSKILL/AP a significant accomplishment but Australia, where she says her may have died from COVID-19,” Last January, Shivaune Field celebrated her birthday with a small more importantly lending mean- parents kept birthdays rooted in he says. “And recollections of group of friends at a downtown restaurant in Los Angeles. This ing to life itself. family outings to the beach or what we didn’t have, what we January, when she turned 41, she (center) went to Carbon Beach in “One of the things that these bike rides followed by a treat of missed, and the experiences we Malibu, Calif., with her pals. milestones and these rituals do is ice cream. couldn’t share together.” Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 31 WEEKEND: TELEVISION NEW ON DVD

“Promising Young Woman”: Carey Mulligan gives a memora- ble performance in this daring rape-revenge fantasy, the direc- torial debut from Emerald Fen- nell, an English actress and showrunner on “Killing Eve’s” second season. Mulligan is Cassie, a medical school dropout turned coffee shop clerk who spends her nights in bars looking for men to take her home. In smeared makeup and too-tall heels, with a convinc- ing head loll, she seems drunk and helpless, going along with their coercions before dropping the act and enacting her revenge, Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh wrote in her review. “Fennell’s film isn’t all that gory, but it has the attitude and tone of a horror movie, rendered in cupcake colors. Cassie utilizes her ultra-feminine presentation of long blonde locks, florals and garish makeup as armor, a dis- guise, and as a weapon in her war,” she wrote. “It’s a reflection of the film’s CW photos internal logic that nothing is what Tyler Hoechlin stars as Superman in “Superman & Lois,” a series that focuses on the couple as they try to save the world while raising kids. it seems: The script is built on constant reveals that walk the viewer down one path before ripping the rug out.” Also available on DVD: “Brothers by Blood”: Set in the Parents first, heroes second City of Brotherly Love, this crime drama depicts the violent world In a new CW series, Clark Kent and Lois Lane realize they need to prioritize their teens of Philadelphia organized crime. Stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Joel BY KATE FELDMAN who just bought the Daily Planet, Kinnaman and Maika Monroe. New York Daily News has promised to rebuild the town “Des”: David Tennant portrays hat do two teenage and bring in hundreds of jobs. Scottish serial killer Dennis Nil- boys call the Lois isn’t so sure. sen, arrested in 1983, in this world’s greatest “She initially assumes every- three-part TV miniseries. Whero and the one is going to see her side of “Don’t Tell a Soul”: Fionn world’s greatest journalist? things, but they view her as an Whitehead and Jack Dylan Graz- Mom and Dad. outsider who doesn’t understand er are teen brothers who steal The CW’s newest superhero their struggles,” Tulloch told The money to help their ill mother, show, “Superman & Lois,” which News. “They say, ‘we just need played by Mena Suvari, while airs Sundays on AFN-Spectrum, work. We need to put food on the engaging with Rainn Wilson’s asks just how much parenthood table. We don’t care if the person security guard character. has changed the Metropolis cou- is corrupt or evil.’” “Money Plane”: This heist ple, if at all. Figuring out how to relate to thriller finds a debt-ridden thief For Elizabeth Tulloch, Lois Smallville is part of Lois’ learn- needing to do one final job, com- Lane to Tyler Hoechlin’s Super- ing curve — because even when man, the failures are often more she faces opposition, she knows plete with a team of the world’s interesting than the successes. she’s right. most dangerous criminals. Stars “Part of what makes them “This is Lois Lane. She wants Adam Copeland, Kelsey Gram- interesting is we’ve seen a lot of Alexander Garfin, left, stars as Jordan Kent and Jordan Elsass as to save the world with words,” mer, Thomas Jane. versions of them where they’re Jonathan Kent — the twin sons of Superman and Lois Lane (Bitsie Tulloch said. “What could be “PG: Psycho Goreman”: Nita- perfect,” the 40-year-old actress Tulloch, right) — in “Superman & Lois.” more hopeful than believing that Josee Hanna and Owen Myre are told the Daily News. “Now you’re all the world needs to change is siblings who find a gem that lets seeing them failing and strug- dan’s therapy or Jonathan’s new love. They have now settled to hear the truth?” them control an ancient monster, gling and messing up.” game. It becomes untenable. into patterns, and superpowers That’s the point of “Superman attracting all sorts of unwanted Lois and Clark are far from the “What’s setting our show apart are painted as a fun fact for the & Lois”: hope. Not just the crest attention to their small town. perfect parents of twin boys that is there’s so much emphasis on couple rather than the basis for a on Superman’s chest, but the “Sheep and Wolves: Pig Deal”: they would like to be. One twin, the family and the foursome,” relationship. idea that things can get better if The sheep and wolves enjoy a Jonathan (Jordan Elsass), has Tulloch told The News. “They’re At home, it’s Clark and Lois. people try to make them better. peaceful existence in this Rus- grown into a jock who relent- hiding their secrets from the “Even though Superman is “People need hope and they sian-language animated film, that lessly picks on his anxiety-rid- boys, then the boys have to hide Superman, she is his equal,” need Superman, but they need to is until two unexpected guests dled brother Jordan (Alexander their secret from other people. Tulloch said. “They’re built on a be able to relate to him a bit come along. Garfin). While Jonathan has We’re not just focusing on the foundation of mutual respect and more. Superman does the right “Songbird”: Inspired by the risen to high school fame and romance of Lois and Clark. They admiration.” thing because it’s the right thing. health crisis of the past year, this glory, Jordan has receded in the know they need to prioritize their “Superman & Lois” — and the He could use his powers for evil, Michael Bay-produced film set in shadows as a bystander. sons.” Kents — move to Smallville, a and he’s choosing not to. If he 2024 follows a handful of charac- Thinking they were protecting The show, the seventh series to once-idyllic hometown that has wasn’t Superman, if he was just ters amid a global pandemic. their children, Lois and Clark join the CW’s Arrowverse, pro- crumbled under a growing meth Clark Kent, he would still be Stars K.J. Apa, Sofia Carson and have chosen not to reveal Dad’s pels Lois and Clark into their problem and disappearing facto- good,” Tulloch told The News. Craig Robinson. night job — reaching for an ever- futures, past the awkward flirta- ry work. Morgan Edge, the “You don’t need to have powers — Tribune News Service ready lie when he misses Jor- tions in the newsroom and joy of union-busting hedge fund owner or be crazy strong to be good.” PAGE 32 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: HEALTH & FITNESS Quelling the green-eyed vaccine monster The wait to get vaccinated for COVID-19 is long for some, but these strategies can help ward off vaccine envy BY ANGELA HAUPT ‘I feel angry that I can’t get the The Washington Post vaccine. I can’t stand it. It’s so he coronavirus vaccine unfair, I hate it, I hate it, I hate rollout has been chaotic it,’” Mellin suggested. and confusing in many Then, move on to expressing Tplaces, leaving some other feelings, such as what elderly residents and front-line you’re sad about and what you workers unprotected, while those fear. further down the priority list Finally, give voice to a couple have been able to obtain shots. of positive emotions. For exam- That’s leading to a new affliction: ple: “I feel grateful that I’m alive, vaccine envy. I feel happy there’s a vaccine, “Somebody’s got to be the first and I feel secure that someday to say it,” said Aaron Foley, 36, a I’ll get it,” Mellin said. writer in New York. He grew up Repeating this process can in Detroit, where he says the help quash envious feelings, rollout is going well, and every making room for more positive time he opens Facebook, he sees ones, such as gratitude that vac- another vaccine selfie from fam- cines were developed so quickly. ily and friends still there. Get informed “There’s starting to be a lot of Do research online or talk with people in my orbit, one by one, your doctor to better understand who are getting their first dose,” when it might be your turn to get Foley said. “I think the envy vaccinated. As Nadkarni points might come from everybody out, it’s easier to cope with an takes the picture of them either unknown when there’s a specific getting the shot or posting the time frame to focus on, even if little vaccine card” on social it’s far off. media sites. “It’s getting to be more and more of an endurance Spring into action race. The frustrating part is It takes 7½minutes for Zill- we’re so close, yet so far away.” mer’s water to start boiling on Michele Parisi, 52, who works the stove. He knows because he in health care communications in counted as the minutes crept by. the San Francisco Bay area, “It’s the longest 7½ minutes if I likens the wait to standing in line just watch it,” he said, and that for concert tickets: “And you’re iStock holds true for most things we’re like, OK, it’s a two-hour line, but anticipating. Everyone is anxious to get one of the few COVID­19 vaccines currently available. I’m happy to wait, as long as it’s Instead of sitting and stewing orderly and we’re going in turn. while you await your turn to get hog Day’ — and an inability to isn’t helpful, she said. The only think, ‘Oh, the vaccine is here! I But when I see people jumping vaccinated, use the time produc- have a sense of freedom or con- way to fight envy is to be emo- can throw all these behaviors the line, I start getting really tively: Sign up for waiting lists at trol over their lives. Now, it tionally honest with yourself away.’” anxious and upset. And that’s hospitals or pharmacies, or help seems like a panacea is available about what you’re feeling and Acknowledging that the vac- how I’m starting to feel about older friends and family mem- to all of us, and I think a lot of why. cine is not a pass to engage in all vaccines.” bers get in line. people feel a great deal of urgen- the activities you miss can help Who gets vaccinated first va- Reframe the situation “That way, you’re not really cy around obtaining that. They keep envy in check. ries from state to state, but in waiting. You’re trying to solve a finally see an opportunity to Envy causes a certain blind- most parts of the country, health problem,” Zillmer said. “You’re regain a sense of control.” ness, Zillmer said. Practice mudita, a form officials are still focused on vac- also flipping the script. You’re Wanting something that others Instead of focusing on how the cinating front-line essential of Buddhist meditation not a victim; you’re initiating.” have is “one of the most painful rollout affects you, consider the workers, those in long-term care feelings of the human psyche,” bigger picture: “If everybody This is about learning to relish Reflect on what will make facilities and people ages 75 and said Eric Zillmer, a neuropsy- gets vaccinated, it actually helps other people’s well-being, Nad- over, as well as those with certain you proud in the future chology professor at Drexel Uni- us, right? We forget about that; karni said. preexisting conditions. A poten- versity. “We all want the vaccine, we’re just thinking about our- “The idea is to cultivate an Parisi, the San Francisco mom tially long wait — paired with and it seems accessible; it’s not selves. But this entire process of appreciative joy at the success struggling to stave off vaccine news stories about real and per- like a villa in Beverly Hills. But vaccination only works if every- and fortune of others,” she said. envy, said her mind has darted to ceived inequities in delivery — envy is like a weed. It starts body gets vaccinated,” he said, “Joy isn’t zero-sum. Because uncomfortable scenarios: Is there has spawned armies of green- growing, and if you don’t prune referencing herd immunity, the somebody else’s joy goes up a back-alley way to secure vacci- eyed monsters. Debates about it, it will cover the entire tree.” concept that a disease is less doesn’t mean yours should go nations for her family? What if vaccine access are dripping with Here are strategies that can likely to spread when enough of down. It’s more that there’s a she got a call from a hospital tension: Former basketball star help stave off vaccine envy — or the population has become im- sense of infinite joy that could be saying it had an extra dose of a Charles Barkley, for example, at least make living with it more mune to it through previous available to everybody, regard- vaccine; would she take it, even if recently said NBA players “de- tolerable. infection or vaccination. “So, the less of the circumstances.” she knew someone else might serve some preferential treat- fact that people are getting nee- need it more? ment” in getting vaccinated be- Be honest with yourself dles into their arms means it’s Try emotional Her family’s ethos throughout cause they pay high taxes. “Don’t pretend you don’t feel going to be a healthier place for brain training the pandemic has been to do It’s not surprising that vaccine this,” said Susan Whitbourne, a us to be around.” what they consider the right envy is rising, said Ash Nadkarni, professor emeritus of psycholog- Laurel Mellin, a health psy- thing: not spending the holidays an associate psychiatrist and an ical and brain sciences at the Focus on your own health chologist at the University of with relatives, for example, to instructor at Harvard Medical University of Massachusetts at If waiting to get vaccinated California at San Francisco, attri- keep socially distant. School. The pandemic has fueled Amherst. “And don’t get mad at makes you anxious, channel that butes vaccine envy to “stress “In two years, hopefully this anxiety, depression, loneliness yourself for feeling this way. anxiety into staying healthy. That overload.” One way to ease that will be behind us, and I won’t and uncertainty, all of which can People say, ‘I’m a terrible person. includes eating well, exercising, stress and break free of unhelp- look back and go: ‘Oh, God, I’m feed into envy. I resent the fact that Grandma wearing a mask and practicing ful thoughts, she said, is a meth- kind of ashamed of how I be- “The fear early on was expan- got vaccinated.’ You’re not a social distancing. od she developed called emotion- haved,’” she said. “I want to look sive,” she said. “For a lot of peo- terrible person.” “Because ultimately, we’re still al brain training. back and say: ‘I’m really proud of ple, that settled into the doldrums Brushing off envy, or burying going to need those,” Whitbourne The first step is to let loose and the way our family did what we of every day being like ‘Ground- it instead of acknowledging it, said. “The problem is if people unleash negative emotions: “Say, should have done.’” Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 33 WEEKEND: FAMILY

Never too busy for milspouse bonding One would think that military spouses are busy enough, managing homes, children, jobs, pets, in-laws, bills, school, and other endless details, often while their active-duty part- ners are away. In fact, it would make sense if they turned away from added pressures, withdrew from obligations and isolated themselves altogether to maintain control. However, no matter how many plates military spouses spin in the air, they’re always game to add one more. iStock One weeknight about 27 years ago, I was a new Navy wife, Organizing a virtual club for arts and crafts, foreign languages or another subject could be a good way for friends living in Army housing on Fort Ord in California. Although missing out on extracurricular activities to spend time together. our military marriage was simple without kids, a mortgage, sea duty or complicated taxes, I kept myself busy working as a research attorney for a local law firm. But, when my friend Karen suggested that we go to her neighbor’s Tupperware party on post, did I decline? Choosing instead to relax at Less talking, more doing home after a long day at work? Hell no. I jumped at the chance like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Parent shares ideas for virtual activities friends can do together while apart Now, mind you, I wasn’t the Tupperware Party type. I BY KRISTEN CHASE it’s reaching untenable,” she says. talk about, all while getting a break remembered my mother bringing home burping bowls from For The Washington Post She has seen kids go from working from their phones. one such party in the 1970s. I never pictured myself, a young few weeks ago, I realized at desks and tables to lying in bed litigation attorney, seeking that kind of entertainment. that it had been a while and hiding in their cinched-up hoo- Create a daily podcast But there I was, crammed with a dozen other military since I dodged my 12- dies. Kids are really missing all those wives in cramped Army quarters, nibbling deviled eggs and Ayear-old daughter’s regu- We all know that socializing in small social moments, such as cheese dip, watching our host demonstrate Micro Steamers lar routine of walking through my person would make kids a lot hap- greeting each other in the hallway and Modular Mates. The wide-eyed, goofy grin on my face bedroom while on FaceTime with pier, which is what Joyner is seeing, or hanging out in front of their lock- was clear indication that, despite not being “the Tupperware her best friends. After a year of this, in small doses, as her students and ers. You can help them re-create a party type,” I was happier than a pigeon with a french fry to they probably all think I live in my teenage son transition from a fully bit of that with Cappuccino, an app be with my fellow milspouses. bathrobe. online schedule to a hybrid model. that lets them create a group pod- Captivated by one wife’s riveting testimonial about her When I asked her how her friends For children who don’t have that cast that gets sent to all the contrib- “timeless” Meat Marinator, I was hooked. I ordered a Freez- were doing, she shrugged and told option, she believes that “giving utors the following morning at 7 er Mates starter set (which I still use) and won a door prize me the words I thought I’d never kids truly social time on screens can a.m. It’s like group chats, but with- — a yellow plastic corn cob butterer with a built-in salt shak- hear: “I’m kinda tired of talking to be a close second.” out the 40,000 distracting noti- er (which we eventually gave to Salvation Army, unused). them,” she mumbled, moping back With that in mind, I decided that fications. Plus, they get to hear their During the tours of duty that followed, I had more babies up to her room to read yet another instead of popping my daughter’s friends’ voices. and got much busier, but I always sought out fellow military Harry Potter fan fiction. weight in microwave popcorn and During the day, kids can share spouses, even if it meant buying products I didn’t need, play- I started to chase after her, wor- cueing up a very adorable Zac audio clips on the app, which then ing ridiculous games, taking on tedious volunteer responsib- ried that she needed some sort of Efron circa 2006, I’d offer some get mixed together with back- ilities or adopting hobbies in which I had no interest. intervention involving ice cream creative ways that she could safely ground music and turned into a Even after our 3-year-old son was diagnosed with devel- and a High School Musical mara- see her friends on screens — be- “podcast.” It’s such a clever way for opmental delays — requiring me to do daily home therapy thon, when I realized she might not yond their omnipresence in my kids to keep up with their friends and attend multiple weekly speech and occupational therapy actually be tired of talking to them. house while on FaceTime. and share parts of their day without appointments while caring for our infant daughter — I need- Rather, she might just be tired of the constant pinging of chat noti- ed the company of other spouses even more. During deploy- talking to them ... on screens. Stream a movie together fications. ments, I learned that the best way to keep myself together Sheryl Ziegler, psychologist and Watching a show or movie togeth- was to meet up with military wives as often as possible. author of the book “Mommy Bur- er is a wonderful shared experience Host a virtual club Despite my sausage fingers and medieval hand stitch, I nout,” says it makes sense:“It’s not that will give kids plenty to process Although a club definitely has a took up quilting with Army wives. While overseas, I went on really until you’re an adult that the and talk about well after it’s over. more formal ring to it than calling a countless military spouse shopping trips for antiques, Polish center point of your social relation- Your kids may already be watching friend to video chat, a scheduled pottery, French linens, Italian leather, Belgian antiques, ships is just talking. Kids play and movies with friends in different meeting for kids who have lost out Czech crystal, Swiss Army blanket bags, Bavarian carved engage in activities together, then homes by video chatting and start- on many of their previous extracur- wood, cheese, wine, beer, chocolate — you name it, we used laugh and talk about what they did. ing the same movie at the same riculars might not be such a bad it as an excuse to go shopping together and buy it. I volun- These days, they don’t have those time, then hitting mute on their idea, especially for high school teered to be Parliamentarian of the Spouses’ Club, just so I shared experiences, so it’s impor- phones. students who might need activities wouldn’t be left out of Crystal Bingo. I committed to three … tant to create those opportunities But several streaming services on their college applications. or was it four? … Bunco groups, joined book clubs, took sail- for them when possible.” have created their own watch-party You could do something more ing lessons on base, competed in a wives’ base bowling For many kids, after being home features, making the experience formal, such as a foreign language league, golfed on military courses, hung out at the base dog from school for almost a full year, way more fun — and more like an or science club, or go the dance park, and attended every home sales party. the combination of both learning actual movie night. Teleparty, for- party or crafts route. This is also a No matter how busy we are, military spouses will always and socializing online is causing merly Netflix Party, syncs the play- chance to tap into the services of create excuses to get together. Why? Companionship? Under- fatigue. Breshaun Joyner, an back for shows or movies on Hulu, dancers, artists and other perform- standing? Fun? Distraction? Avoidance? Therapy? eighth-grade English teacher at Netflix and HBO, as well as Dis- ers who may be looking for paid The reasons may be complicated, but being in the pres- Santa Fe Preparatory School in ney+ (though it has GroupWatch, opportunities, given the bleakness ence of fellow spouses reveals one simple, but sometimes New Mexico and the mom of a its own version of this feature), so of their industries right now. hidden, truth about why we volunteer for this crazy military 16-year-old son, agrees. everyone gets to watch at the same Whatever you decide, try to make life in the first place: “At first, online school was novel, time. Then, they can start a private it a regular occurrence, so your kids Because you are never alone. and therefore, in some ways, more chat room to gab about what’s play- have something to look forward to Read more at themeatandpotatoesoflife.com, and in Lisa’s book, The Meat and Potatoes of tolerable. Then it got old, and now, ing or anything else they’d like to every week. Life: My True Lit Com. Email: [email protected] PAGE 34 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 WEEKEND: CROSSWORD AND COMICS

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

CROSSWORD BUFF 123456 78910 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 BY BRAD WIEGMANN / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ 221202 Brad Wiegmann is a national security lawyer for the Department of Justice in Washington. About a year and a half ago, while solving some crosswords during a vacation, he wondered aloud if he could make one himself. It took several tries, but . . . 524232 voilà! You’ll want to put on your silly-puns hat before you begin. — W.S. 0392827262 ACROSS 55 Place for a throne 96 Sensitive subject 15 Cleanup grp. 1 Man who had all the 56 New members of the 99 Mimic 16 Conference with 73635343332313 answers? nudist club? five University of 100 ‘‘Cómo ____?’’ 5444342414049383 7 Some baggage 59 Pans for potstickers 103 Strong desire California schools 17 ’60s TV kid 14 Fillet, say 60 Time’s Person of the 104 Not a joke, say 94847464 Century 18 Child, in Chile 20 William Howard Taft 108 How people returned 4535251505 or William McKinley 62 Lit into from a week at the 19 Part of the U.K.: Abbr. nudist club? 21 ‘‘It’s just me’’ 63 Two are named after 25 ‘‘What’s more . . . ’’ 9585756555 Douglas and Fraser 113 Mountaineer’s tool 28 Poetry night? 22 First-aid item for 64 Big name in tennis 115 2006 World Cup 36261606 allergy sufferers 32 Humbugs? balls champion, to native 33 A negative has a 8676665646 23 Shared with, for a fans 65 Weigh in reverse one while 116 Popping up 67 School with a 34 Acid container 6757473727170796 24 Leadership style 15th-century chapel 117 Follower of high or 36 Joneses 1808978777 of the nudist-club 69 It comes straight dry 37 Baseball Hall-of- president? from the horse’s 118 Goal of some Famer Slaughter 58483828 26 Like a senior year mouth workouts 38 Element of Freddy 71 ‘‘Raspberry ____’’ 119 Break between 190998887868 27 Dates Krueger’s glove (Prince hit) workouts 29 Steamboat Springs 39 Hawaiian house 493929 73 Liquor with a double- 120 Symbolic gestures alternative feature headed eagle logo 40 Recipe direction 89796959 30 Pint-size 77 Polo course? DOWN 42 ‘‘Hey, man!’’ 31 Like Ahab’s pursuit of 78 What happens in the 1 Travel expense 70160150140130120110100199 43 Balrog’s home in Moby Dick stand-up show at the 2 Largest South ‘‘The Lord of the 411311211111011901801 35 Winter driving hazard nudist club? American bird Rings’’ 81 Robert who played 3 A quarter of vier 711611511 38 Ascribe to, as fault 44 Techies and Trekkies, A. J. Soprano 4 Where the nudist-club 41 When the nudist club 82 Pro wrestler Flair stereotypically 021911811 was founded? orchestra plays its 83 John for whom concerts? 45 Elevator innovator 46 They hit the sauce the Voting Rights 5 Graze 47 You might skip it if a lot you’re in trouble 75 Fighter’s fake 90 Punk cousin 105 Minimal effort Advancement Act 6 Site of the Minotaur’s 65 Question that 47 ‘‘There’s another good was named Labyrinth 48 Self starter? introduces doubt 76 Releases 91 Supercilious sort 106 Neural transmitter point’’ 84 Slangy contraction 7 Feelings in the room, 51 L.G.B.T. symbol 66 Muscle above an ab 77 The lake in ‘‘lake 93 Syngman ____, 107 Common 49 ‘‘Hold on!’’ 85 Rock genre informally 53 Statistic in football or 68 ‘‘____ So Sweet to effect’’ snow first South Korean prescription item basketball Trust in Jesus’’ 78 Whale constellation 50 Home to the world’s 86 Soon 8 Build up president 108 In shape 56 Kylo ____, ‘‘Star (hymn) 79 Not as unruly three highest capital 88 Taco Bell slogan 9 Choreographer 94 Sin’s counterpart 109 Dark side cities 91 Its size may be Lubovitch Wars’’ villain 69 Big name in 80 Small inlet 97 First name on the 110 Criticize constantly, measured in liters 10 Mont-Saint-Michel, 57 Signed i.o.u.’s windshield wipers 83 Vanderpump 51 Nicolas who directed Supreme Court with ‘‘on’’ ‘‘The Man Who Fell 92 Hours spent by the e.g. 58 Published 70 Need for a jailbreak of Bravo’s 98 Like babies’ legs, to Earth’’ pool at the nudist 11 Not in debt 59 Victory in the annual 72 Nellie’s love in ‘‘South ‘‘Vanderpump 111 Is, in ancient Rome Rules’’ often 52 Puffs club? 12 One-named Irish nudist-club 1K? Pacific’’ 112 Divest 85 Privy to 99 Thermostat setting 54 Graduation wear for a 94 Popular hiding spots singer 61 Face card’s value in 73 Behaves badly 114 Many a golden- University of Hawaii in hide-and-seek 13 Final Four game, e.g. blackjack 74 Many a goody, they 87 Tenor Andrea 101 Permanent marker? parachute recipient, student 95 Virtual currency 14 Thieves’ hide-out 63 Supporting say 89 In relation to 102 High-tailed it in brief

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N E P I P E E N O L A M I N A O I H O E N O B E D S E S I L A V K E B E R T Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 35 FACES ‘It’s always special’ Dolly Parton honored with 50th Grammy nod

BY MESFIN FEKADU Grammys for the massive hit “9 to 5” and Associated Press another for “Trio,” her first collaborative t’s been 51 years since Dolly Parton album with Emmylou Harris and Linda earned her first Grammy nomina- Ronstadt. An updated version of “Jolene” tion, and this year the national trea- won Parton and a cappella group Pentato- Isure who has won nine Grammys nix a trophy. At the 1983 show, the legend throughout her career is competing for her scored a nomination for a re-recording of “I 50th honor. Will Always Love You,” which she wrote Parton’s first Grammy nomination was and originally released in 1974, and a col- at the 1970 show for “Just Someone I Used laborative performance of the song with to Know,” a duet with Porter Wagoner. Vince Gill earned a nomination at the 1996 Nine years later she won her first gramo- show — two years after Whitney Houston’s phone for “Here You Come Again,” her famous rendition of the song won two 19th solo album and first to go platinum. Grammys, including record of the year. This year she’s nominated for best con- The 2021 Grammys will air on March 14. temporary Christian music performance/ Parton said this year’s nomination for song for “There Was Jesus,” her collabora- “There Was Jesus” is extra-special be- tion with Christian rock singer Zach Wil- cause it is a deep track that sits close to her liams. Parton won in the same category last heart. year for her guest appearance on the remix “That particular song ... was more re- of “God Only Knows” by Christian duo for warding to me than winning an award,” she KING & COUNTRY. said. “I felt very blessed to be a part of such “It’s always special. You always love to a wonderful song. be acknowledged,” Parton said of achiev- “But of course, since I grew up in the ing her 50th nod, though she quickly added: church and I’m a person of faith, a song like “Like I’ve always said, ‘I don’t work for that would mean more to me than a lot of awards and rewards.’” the others, I have to admit.” Parton is the second-most nominated In addition to the Grammys, Parton’s bu- woman in Grammy history, only behind sy year includes turning 75 and getting her Beyoncé, who has 79 nods and 24 wins. The coronavirus vaccine, months after she do- country icon earned the Grammy Lifetime nated $1 million to Nashville’s Vanderbilt AP Achievement Award a decade ago. University Medical Center for coronavirus Dolly Parton, shown performing in 2015 in Nashville, is competing for a Grammy Award Among her wins, Parton picked up two research. for the 50th time on Sunday. The beloved singer has won nine Grammys.

LA filming gets boost host. Immediately after each epi- ‘The Equalizer’ renewed for second season sode ends, Grace will discuss it on as virus threat recedes the Fox Nation streaming service BY KARU F. DANIELS Filming in the Los Angeles re- on a new show, “America’s Most New York Daily News gion saw a huge boost in activity Wanted Overtime.” There’s much more royalty in last month, as the threat of the CO- Joint custody, no spousal store for CBS. VID-19 pandemic began to recede After only four episodes on air, and officials allowed productions support in Adele divorce “The Equalizer” — starring to restart. Adele will share custody of her Queen Latifah — has been renew- February saw 777 film permit 8-year-old son and won’t be pay- ed for a second season. applications, up 43% from the pre- ing child support to her now-ex- On Tuesday, the network an- vious month, FilmLA said in a re- husband Simon Konecki, accord- nounced that the new action series port published Wednesday. The ing to divorce documents obtained will get to kick some more ass next permits are for productions film- Wednesday by The Associated year. ing on location or outside of a cer- Press. “‘The Equalizer’ has proven tified soundstage or studio backlot The couple separated in August more than equal to the task of en- in the Los Angeles area. of 2019, and Adele filed for divorce gaging viewers and racking up The surge in production made the following month. A Los An- wins on Sunday night,” CBS En- February the third-busiest month geles judge finalized the divorce tertainment chief Kelly Kahl said. for the industry since the pandem- last week. “We’re extremely proud to see ic shut down location filming a According to the documents, this outstanding broadcast drama, BARBARA NITKE, CBS/TNS year ago, according to FilmLA, the the 32-year-old Adele and the 46- led by Queen Latifah, punch Queen Latifah, left, stars as ex­CIA agent Robyn McCall, and Chris nonprofit group that handles film year-old Konecki used mediation through the competitive land- Noth is William Bishop, Robyn’s former boss, in “The Equalizer.” permits for the city and the coun- to amicably reach the terms of the scape and return for a second sea- ty. split. Both waived the right to seek son.” The premiere episode also by Edward Woodard in the late Among the shows that started or spousal support and agreed to The Debra Martin Chase-pro- scored the best viewer and demo- 1980s CBS TV series, and most re- restarted filming included FX joint legal and physical custody of son Angelo, who was born in 2012. duced drama is television’s No. 1 graphic numbers for any enter- cently portrayed by two-time A- Networks’ “American Crime Im- scripted series in the key demo- tainment program since the 2020 cademy Award winner Denzel peachment” and HBO’s comedy Other news graphics, averaging 14.6 million Academy Awards. Washington in two Antoine Fu- “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” ■ Roger Mudd, the longtime viewers, CBS said. “The Equalizer,” which was qua-directed blockbuster films in Nancy Grace to host political correspondent and an- Its Super Bowl Sunday pre- filmed in parts of Jersey City, N.J., 2014 and 2018. chor for NBC and CBS who once miere was the most-watched de- last fall, follows ex-CIA agent and Chris Noth (of “Sex and the new crime series on Fox stumped Sen. Edward Kennedy but of the 2020-2021 season, deliv- single mother Robyn McCall — City”) plays McCall’s former CIA Veteran news anchor Nancy by simply asking why he wanted ering 23.8 million viewers. The portrayed by the hip-hop and Hol- boss, and “Orange Is the New Grace will host a weekly program to be president, has died. He was prime placement marked only the lywood trailblazer born Dana Black” scene-stealer Lorraine on Fox Nation tied to the return of 93. CBS News says Mudd died third time a scripted series landed Elaine Owens — who uses her ex- Toussaint plays her aunt. “America’s Most Wanted.” Tuesday of complications of kid- in the post-game berth for CBS. tensive skills to help those with no- Although currently on a brief The long-running crime series ney failure at his home in McLean, The other two were “Elementary” where else to turn. hiatus until March 28, new epi- starts a new season on the Fox Va. in 2012 and “Criminal Minds” in It’s been described as a “new sodes of “The Equalizer” air Sun- broadcasting network next Mon- 2006. take” on the character first played day nights. day, with Elizabeth Vargas as From wire reports PAGE 36 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Remains of Cold War-era Russian sub catch fire PROVIDENCE — The re- RI mains of a Cold War-era Russian submarine once seen in a movie starring Harrison Ford caught fire in Providence on Tues- day morning as workers were using a blowtorch to cut it up for scrap, fire officials said. The fire at a waterfront scrap yard sent a plume of black smoke over the city at about 9:30 a.m. but was quickly extinguished. No one was hurt. The hull is sheathed in a 3- to 4- inch layer of rubber and that’s what caught fire as workers cut into it with a torch, Providence Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Steve Capra- cotta said. After the Cold War, the subma- rine known as Juliett 484 was sold and used as a restaurant and vodka bar in Helsinki, Finland, and as a set for the 2002 Ford movie “K-19: The Widowmaker.” Skater gets timely rescue after falling through ice SOMERSWORTH — A NH man who fell through the ice while skating on a river said firefighters arrived to save him just in time. William Rogers was skating on JULIO CORTEZ/AP the Salmon Falls River on Sunday. WMUR-TV reported he was alone and unable to get himself out, but he Overboard used his Apple watch to call 911. A skater loses his board while attempting a trick near graffiti asking for "No Violence" at Skatepark of Baltimore at Roosevelt Park on Monday. “First thing I did was try to wal- rus up on the ice knowing that I in Dodge County. THE CENSUS according to federal prosecutors in needed to get out of the water as A deputy tried stopping the driv- Alabama. Authorities alleged he quickly as possible and the ice just er for speeding in Fond du Lac The amount Seattle ticketing company Brown Paper Tick- sold items with forged signatures, kept breaking underneath me,” County about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, ac- $9M ets has agreed to pay in restitution to an estimated 45,000 including sports collectibles and Rogers said. cording to sheriff’s officials. The customers. The Seattle Times reported the payments will go to ticket buyers movie posters, over a nine-year pe- Somersworth firefighters res- male suspect failed to stop and dep- owed refunds and event organizers owed box-office revenue largely because of riod on three fake websites. cued him. uties began a pursuit that continued problems that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Washington State Duren was also accused of im- into Fond du Lac and then proceed- Office of the Attorney General filed a consent decree in King County Superior personating advertising agency ed south on rural highways. Court on Monday after filing a lawsuit on behalf of customers. Some customers employees, promising to pay sever- 2 students charged with were ticket-buyers who wanted their money back or wanted to donate the cost The driver attempted to strike a al television stations in Birming- stealing from university of their tickets for canceled events, many of which were fundraisers. sheriff’s squad car before a deputy ham and Madison County up to MURFREESBORO — used a pursuit intervention tech- $75,000 to advertise the websites, TN Two students have been nique to force the vehicle into a The sermon was roundly panned as day by the Office of the State Audi- AL.com reported. charged with stealing $114,000 from ditch, authorities said. sexist and counter to Christian tor and presented with a $29,818 de- Middle Tennessee State University, According to officials, the driver teachings. mand letter, news outlets reported. Bill to lift smoking age authorities said. then armed himself with a large In the video, Clark berated wives The amount includes interest and from 18 to 21 advances The students were indicted Tues- butcher knife and he and a female who gained weight after marriage investigative expenses. day by a Rutherford County grand passenger remained in the vehicle. and admonished that they should The auditor’s office said Gruno BOISE — A House panel jury, the Tennessee Bureau of In- A short time later, a baby was re- look good for their husbands, add- embezzled about $14,000 in public ID on Tuesday approved leg- vestigation said in a statement. moved from a rear car seat and the ing, “it’s important that he thinks money from Mississippi Veterans islation banning anyone under 21 The charges stem from an inves- man held the child in front of him you’re hot! Affairs between January 2016 and from buying cigarettes or electron- tigation by the bureau and the Ten- while still armed with the knife. “I’m not saying every woman can January 2019. ic smoking products. nessee Comptroller of the school’s Sheriff’s negotiators continued to be the epic — the epic — trophy wife State Auditor Shad White said The House Health and Welfare Somali Student Association and talk to the man for several hours and of all time like Melania Trump,” Gruno was accused of using a credit Committee on Tuesday approved Muslim Student Association. Inves- about 10:15 p.m. he agreed to get out Clark said, as a photo of the former card and a fuel card to embezzle the the measure that will bring Idaho in tigators found evidence that two of the vehicle and was arrested. first lady appeared behind him on a funds. Gruno used the credit card to line with the federal smoking age. leaders of the student groups fraud- screen. “Most women can’t be tro- buy items such as barbecue suppli- Then-President Donald Trump ulently obtained more than $114,000 Pastor on leave after phy wives, but you know ... maybe es, toys and luggage, White said. signed a law last year that bars to- in student activity fees over a three- ‘trophy wife’ sermon you’re a participation trophy.” bacco sales to anyone under 21. year period, the bureau said. The church’s website said Clark Man charged with selling Supporters said Idaho stores are Mohamed Gure and Mohamed MALDEN — A south- began his leave on March 2 and is fake autographed gear already abiding by federal law, but Osman, who are both 22, were MO eastern Missouri seeking professional counseling. state law needs to be changed to charged with with theft, forgery, preacher went on leave from his BIRMINGHAM — A avoid confusion and confrontations and criminal simulation, officials church and is seeking professional Ex-director of veterans AL Maryland man has been in stores. said. counseling after giving a sermon cemetery arrested charged with selling fake auto- Opponents said young people age that chastised married women who graphed memorabilia and defraud- 18 to 20 and who can legally do such Man armed with knife “let themselves go” and held up for- NEWTON — The for- ing Alabama TV stations out of things as join the military or buy a holds baby amid standoff mer first lady Melania Trump as the MS mer director of the thousands in advertising costs for house should be able to buy ciga- pinnacle of feminine beauty. Mississippi Veterans Memorial fraudulent websites, according to rettes or vaping products. FOND DU LAC — A long A video widely circulated on so- Cemetery was arrested and ac- federal court records. The bill lifting the age to 21 has al- WI standoff with a driver cial media shows Pastor Stewart- cused of embezzling money from Douglas Edward Duren agreed ready passed the Senate. who held a baby while armed with a Allen Clark’s sermon before the 1st the office, authorities said. this month to plead guilty to wire butcher knife ended without injury General Baptist Church in Malden. Henry Gruno was arrested Mon- fraud and aggravated identity theft, From wire reports Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 37 PAGE 38 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 Eugene Sheffer Crossword Frazz Dilbert

ACROSS 55 Scepter 21 Pampering, 1 Barrels 56 Atlas page for short 6 Ann Patchett’s 57 “— uphill battle” 22 Debtor’s letters “— Canto” 24 Sawbuck

Pearls Before Swine Pearls Before 9 Nipper’s co. DOWN 26 Crepe’s cousin 12 St. Teresa’s city 1 Taxi 28 The “V” of IVF 13 Brit. record label 2 “Hail, Caesar!” 30 Curved letter 14 Solo of “Star 3 Extremely 32 Agitated states Wars” hot day 33 Exploit 15 Watch crystal 4 Swiss artist Paul 34 Crib holder 5 Leafy lunch 36 Catch 16 Effervescing 6 Prior to 38 Ruth — Ginsburg 18 Fanatic 7 Send forth 39 Acid type 20 Hydroxyl Non Sequitur 8 Actress Taylor 40 Tore down compound 9 Horned beast 42 Suspect’s excuse 21 Up to 10 Church law 45 Antitoxins 23 German article 11 Protractor 46 Jog 24 Steak choice measure 48 Co. that created 25 Leopold’s 17 Striped equines Watson co-defendant 19 Tennis legend 50 Madrid Mrs. 27 “When pigs fly!” Ivan 51 QVC alternative 29 Used hair rollers Answer to Previous Puzzle 31 Place for Candorville three men 35 Archipelago part 37 Spanish ayes 38 Rural buildings 41 New Deal agcy. 43 Buddhist sect 44 Latin 101 word 45 “Mask” actor Eric 47 More lightheaded

Carpe Diem 49 From Limerick 52 Away from WSW 53 Bikini half 54 1899 fighters Beetle Bailey Bizarro Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 39 Eugene Sheffer Crossword Frazz Dilbert

ACROSS DOWN 25 Lucy of 1 Troop member 1 Gawked “Elementary” 6 Burn with steam 2 Close-knit groups 27 Long. crosser 11 Collar stiffener 3 O’Hare’s air- 29 Wall street Pearls Before Swine Pearls Before 12 Consecrate port code workers 31 Frost works 14 Table ten- 4 Bruins’ sch. 32 In cahoots nis need 5 “Ta-da!” 15 Brain-teaser 33 Refused 6 Frozen 16 Bruins legend 34 Prefix with gram desserts 17 Riyadh residents or center 7 NFL analyst 19 Vegas opener 36 Disagreeing Collinsworth 20 Stagger 37 “Airplane!” 8 Do sums 22 — out a living actor Nielsen Non Sequitur 9 Soup servers 23 Joan of rock 38 Trusty horse 10 Widen 24 ’50s Ford 41 Puccini opera 26 Country stores? 11 Fern seed 44 Oodles 28 In shape 13 Egg holders 45 Swedish auto 30 Muppet eagle 18 Alias letters 48 Broadband 31 Meadow 21 Southpaw letters 35 Diving ducks 23 Blues singer Etta 50 “CSI” find 39 Skin care brand Answer to Previous Puzzle Candorville 40 Suitable 42 Editor’s “keep it” 43 Peyton’s brother 44 Jose’s farewell 46 Sugar suffix 47 Core 49 Bicycle seat 51 Motion detec-

Carpe Diem tor, e.g. 52 Truthful 53 Nitwits 54 Humiliate Beetle Bailey Bizarro PAGE 40 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 OPINION

Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher Lt. Col. Marci Hoffman, Europe commander Lt. Col. Richard McClintic, Pacific commander Trump has a point about the RNC’s ads Caroline E. Miller, Europe Business Operations BY NOAH FELDMAN The reason that Trump’s argument against isn’t, then he doesn’t want it to have his endor- Bloomberg Opinion the RNC feels different is because, in some sement. Implying otherwise is deceptive and ormer Republican President Do- sense, the RNC is seeking to financially gain a lie. EDITORIAL nald Trump is trying to block the from Trump’s image and name — to imply an You can fill in here your objection that Terry Leonard, Editor Republican National Committee endorsement where there is none. Trump, king of the big lie in American poli- [email protected] Ffrom using his image in their fun- Imagine if a for-profit company were trying tics, lacks the standing to object that the RNC draising efforts. He has no legal case: Trump to use Trump’s image to sell its product. Then is misleading people. I hear you. Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editor is a public figure and can’t stop anyone from the legal landscape would change. Because Nevertheless, good principles should apply [email protected] using his image in the course of political celebrities count as public figures, paparazzi even to repugnant people. And the truth is that Tina Croley, Managing Editor for Content speech. But if you think of it in terms of U.S. can take their pictures for publication by there is something troubling about a system [email protected] campaign finance customs rather than in “news” outlets. But even if someone is a pub- that allows political parties to mislead donors terms of free speech, Trump has a point. And lic figure, the law protects him from having about who is endorsing their requests for Sean Moores, Managing Editor for Presentation [email protected] that is very rare indeed. his image used to sell Coke or Pepsi. That’s money. First Amendment principles are clear: why celebrities have to be paid for endorse- That leads to a final and more serious prob- Joe Gromelski, Managing Editor for Digital Public figures really are different when it ments. lem: that political fundraising is generally cat- [email protected] comes to image control. It’s one thing for an The RNC is not a for-profit entity, but it is in egorized as a form of political speech and ordinary person to be able to control the use of a loose sense using Trump’s image and name therefore is exempt from the laws that would BUREAU STAFF her image. That makes both legal and eco- for product endorsement of its candidates. ordinarily apply in the context of false adver- nomic sense, because as a private person you Trump, who built much of his real estate pseu- tising. The reason for that is the Supreme Europe/Mideast should be able to choose who gets to display do-empire on the deployment of the name Court’s embrace of the idea that in politics, the Erik Slavin, Europe & Mideast Bureau Chief [email protected] and make a profit from what you look like. But “Trump” as a brand, feels instinctively that expenditure of money counts as a form of free +49(0)631.3615.9350; DSN (314)583.9350 when you have run for president and won and this is wrong. If I owned a hotel, I couldn’t just speech. This theory has had a profoundly dis- Pacific dominated the political conversation for the rename it the Trump Plaza — because Trump torting effect on U.S. politics and limited the Aaron Kidd, Pacific Bureau Chief last five years, you should not be able to con- rightly owns that hotel brand. (We will leave country’s ability to regulate election financ- [email protected] trol the use of your image in a political context. for another day the question of whether I ing. Almost no other country in the world +81.42.552.2511 ext. 88380; DSN (315)227.7380 Such censorship would detract too much from could do that if I were making a satirical politi- agrees. But here we are. Washington the valuable exchange of political ideas. cal comment — like if I put the name Trump If the RNC were using Trump’s image to Joseph Cacchioli, Washington Bureau Chief Imagine if the Democratic National Com- on a roach motel.) sell soap, the former president would have a [email protected] (+1)(202)886-0033 mittee, not the RNC, were using Trump’s im- And that’s where Trump is on to something. legal case. But selling candidates is a different Brian Bowers, Assistant Managing Editor, News age to convince voters to donate money to dis- The RNC is using Trump’s name and image matter. Under existing law, Trump can’t do [email protected] courage Trump from returning to politics. We differently from the way the DNC would be. anything about it. Maybe that should help us would all have the instinct that this should The RNC is implying to potential donors that realize that we need an overhaul of how we CIRCULATION count as protected political speech. It would Trump is endorsing its messages and the can- think of money in politics. Mideast be bizarre if Trump could use his own image didates it will support. And from Trump’s per- Robert Reismann, Mideast Circulation Manager to promote his own candidacy but the other spective, that’s just plain deceptive. He only Bloomberg Opinion columnist Noah Feldman hosts the podcast [email protected] side couldn’t use his image to take the oppo- wants the RNC to be able to use his name and “Deep Background.” He is a Harvard University professor of law [email protected] site position. image if the RNC is doing his bidding. If it and was a clerk to Supreme Court Justice David Souter. DSN (314)583-9111 Europe Karen Lewis, Community Engagement Manager [email protected] [email protected] Dems’ pro-union bill would only hurt US workers +49(0)631.3615.9090; DSN (314)583.9090 BY HENRY OLSEN doesn’t like this idea, it’s surely some- workers belong to a union, roughly one- Pacific Special to The Washington Post thing most of the country wouldn’t like ei- sixth what it was at its height. Many work- Mari Mori, [email protected] +81-3 6385.3171; DSN (315)227.7333 ouse Democrats rammed ther. ers surely know that union “protections” through the union-backed The measure would also deliver a blow would simply drive their jobs overseas. CONTACT US Protecting the Right to Orga- to fair union elections. Labor law since Only a comprehensive economic re- Hnize Act on Tuesday night on the National Labor Relations Act passed form can seriously address the decline in Washington a mostly party-line vote. It’s said to be in 1935 has allowed employers to require earning power among less-skilled work- tel: (+1)202.886.0003 dead on arrival in the Senate, which is a elections with secret ballots to show that ers in the United States. That approach 633 3rd St. NW, Suite 116, Washington, DC 20001-3050 good thing for American workers. employees truly want to be represented would require creating tight labor mar- Reader letters The bill’s name shows its pro-union bi- by a union. The PRO Act reduces this pro- kets at home by restricting illegal immi- [email protected] as. It would largely gut “right-to-work” tection by forbidding employers from gration and instituting a skills-based legal Additional contacts laws, which permit workers to opt out of a calling meetings at which they can pre- immigration program. It would also ree- stripes.com/contactus union and not pay union dues if they so sent their views on unionization, and by valuate global free trade and assess choose. This right was enshrined in the allowing ballots to be cast off of company whether the gains to U.S. consumers are OMBUDSMAN 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which gave states property. It’s not hard to see where this worth the loss for U.S.-based workers. An Ernie Gates the ability to enact such laws. Twenty- leads: Union organizers put the muscle on imaginative approach to trade could, for seven states now have them, and workers wavering employees not to attend em- example, impose tariffs on goods from The Stars and Stripes ombudsman protects the free flow of news and information, reporting any attempts by the in those states have the freedom to object ployer meetings — and to vote “the right countries whose labor standards or wage military or other authorities to undermine the newspaper’s to coercive unions in the most powerful way” at union-staffed, off-site locations. rates are so much lower than our own that independence. The ombudsman also responds to concerns and questions from readers, and monitors coverage for way possible: the right to leave. The PRO The bill is primarily a 1930s solution to they place unfair pressure on U.S.-based fairness, accuracy, timeliness and balance. The ombudsman Act would allow unions to collect dues a 21st-century problem. Less-skilled employers. It could also levy an “exit tax” welcomes comments from readers, and can be contacted by email at [email protected], or by phone at from these men and women regardless of workers have no doubt experienced stag- on companies that shift U.S.-based em- 202.886.0003. whether they formally join the union. nating or declining wages for decades. ployment to countries with similarly low This would be a serious infringement on But unlike in the 1930s, when workers standards. Stars and Stripes (USPS 0417900) is published week- days (except Dec. 25 and Jan. 1) for 50 cents Monday personal liberty, and it would remove an won the right to unionize and force their Without measures to limit immigration through Thursday and for $1 on Friday by Pacific Stars and important check on abusive union lead- employers to bargain, the problem is not and global trade, the PRO Act would like- Stripes, Unit 45002, APO AP 96301-5002. Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco, CA, Postmaster: Send ers. primarily one of employer greed. ly shift jobs elsewhere, or encourage address changes to Pacific Stars and Stripes, Unit 45002, The bill infringes on individual liberty Global free trade means U.S.-based firms to replace U.S.-born workers with APO AP 96301-5002. This newspaper is authorized by the Department of Defense for members of the military services in other ways as well. It would redefine companies have to compete against firms immigrants who would find nonunion overseas. However, the contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial, and are not to be considered as the official views when independent contractors can be la- from other countries for consumers’ dol- wages quite attractive. of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government. As a DOD newspa- beled as employees, potentially reclassi- lars. Unions often demand staffing rules New times require new ideas. Demo- per, Stars and Stripes may be distributed through official channels and use appropriated funds for distribution to fying millions of workers in the gig econo- and wage packages that effectively un- crats have shown, both with the PRO Act remote locations where overseas DOD personnel are located. my. Union leaders say this would give dercut those firms’ ability to compete. and their spendthrift COVID-19 relief The appearance of advertising in this publication does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense or these people, especially drivers for app- This simple fact is one of the major rea- bill, that their minds are still stuck in the Stars and Stripes of the products or services advertised. based ride hailing or delivery services, sons unionization rates at U.S. companies 1930s. Art deco and telegrams are things Products or services advertised shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, the right to organize — but companies say have declined so much in recent decades. of the past; so too should be the Demo- religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of it would destroy their business model. A Private-sector unionization rates were at crats’ economic policies. the purchaser, user or patron. similar law in California was repealed via their highest in the mid-1950s, when the

© Stars and Stripes 2021 a referendum in November by a 59%- United States dominated the global econ- Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow stripes.com to-41% margin. If deep-blue California omy. Today, only 6.3% of private-sector at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 41 SCOREBOARD/AUTO RACING

COLLEGE BASKETBALL COLLEGE FOOTBALL COLLEGE HOCKEY TENNIS Wednesday’s men’s scores Saturday’s games Men's conference tournaments Dubai Duty Free Championships EAST EAST x-if necessary Wednesday Harvick Colgate 105, Bucknell 75 Stony Brook (0-1) at Delaware (1-0) ATLANTIC HOCKEY ASSOCIATION At Aviation Club Tennis Centre DePaul 70, Providence 62 Monmouth (NJ) at Robert Morris (0-1), First Round Dubai, United Arab Emirates Fairfield 79, Monmouth (NJ) 60 ppd. (Campus sites, single elimination) Purse: $1,835,490 Georgetown 68, Marquette 49 Albany (NY) (1-0) at Maine (0-1) Sunday, March 7 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Iona 55, Siena 52 Holy Cross at Lehigh Sacred Heart def. Holy Cross, forfeit Women’s Singles Loyola (Md.) 67, Army 63 Rhode Island at Villanova (1-0) Monday, March 8 Round of 16 Penn St. 72, Nebraska 66 Fordham at Bucknell, ppd. Niagara 3, Mercyhurst 2 Jessica Pegula, United States, def. Karo- Rice 72, Marshall 68 Colgate at Lafayette Tuesday, March 9 lina Pliskova (2), Czech Republic, 6-0, 6-2. Syracuse 89, NC State 68 SOUTH remains Barbora Krejcikova, Czech Republic, def. SOUTH Bentley 7, Air Force 3 Morehead St. (0-1) at Presbyterian (0-1) Quarterfinals Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 6-3, 6-2. Duke 70, Louisville 56 Furman (2-1) at ETSU (1-0) Aryna Sabalenka (3), Belarus, def. Anett FAU 76, UTEP 70 Davidson (0-1) at Stetson (Best-of-three) Friday, March 12 Kontaveit (15), Estonia, 6-3, 6-2. Jackson St. 74, Ark.-Pine Bluff 62 Charleston Southern at Kennesaw St. Anastasia Potapova, Russia, def. Belin- Miami 67, Clemson 64 (1-0) American International vs. Bentley da Bencic (6), Switzerland, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5. New Orleans 80, SE Louisiana 63 Lamar (0-2) at McNeese St. (1-2) Army vs. Sacred Heart Elise Mertens (10), Belgium, def. Car- North Carolina 101, Notre Dame 59 Richmond (1-0) at Elon (1-2) Robert Morris vs. Niagara oline Garcia, France, 6-4, 6-2. Vanderbilt 79, Texas A&M 68 Wofford (1-1) at Samford (1-2) Canisius vs. RIT Coco Gauff, United States, def. Tereza in a rut MIDWEST The Citadel (0-6) at W. Carolina (0-6) Saturday, March 13 Martincova, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-2. Butler 70, Xavier 69, OT Delaware St. (1-0) at SC State (0-1) American International vs. Bentley Garbine Muguruza (9), Spain, def. Iga Minnesota 51, Northwestern 46 Mercer (1-4) at VMI (2-0) Army vs. Sacred Heart Swiatek (8), Poland, 6-0, 6-4. BY ALEX ANDREJEV SOUTHWEST William & Mary (0-1) at James Madison Robert Morris vs. Niagara Jil Teichmann, Switzerland, def. Ons Ja- Kansas St. 71, TCU 50 (3-0), ppd. Canisius vs. RIT beur, Tunisia, 6-3, 6-3. The Charlotte Observer Lamar 62, Houston Baptist 52 Northwestern St. (0-1) at SE Louisiana Sunday, March 15 North Texas 76, Middle Tennessee 56 (1-1) x-American International vs. Bentley Guadalajara Open Lest you forget Kevin Harvick’s Oklahoma 79, Iowa St. 73 MIDWEST x-Army vs. Sacred Heart Wednesday Prairie View 91, MVSU 64 Valparaiso at Butler x-Robert Morris vs. Niagara dominance in 2020, the NASCAR UTSA 72, Charlotte 62 North Dakota (3-0) at W. Illinois (0-2) At Panamerican Tennis Center FAR WEST x-Canisius vs. RIT driver sat poised on Zoom on N. Iowa (2-1) at S. Illinois (3-1) Semifinals Guadalajara, Mexico Arizona St. 64, Washington St. 59 San Diego at Drake Friday, March 19 Purse: $235,238 Tuesday between two of the nine California 76, Stanford 58 Missouri St. (1-4) at South Dakota (1-1) Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Fresno St. 85, New Mexico 77 Youngstown St. (0-3) at S. Dakota St. Highest-remaining east seed vs. lowest- Women’s Singles trophies he won last year, a re- Montana 69, Idaho 64 (2-1) remaining west seed Round of 16 Highest-remaining west seed vs. low- minder that one bad finish at Las N. Arizona 77, Portland St. 66 Illinois St. (0-2) at N. Dakota St. (3-1) Marie Bouzkova (2), Czech Republic, def. N. Colorado 90, Sacramento St. 83 SOUTHWEST est-remaining east seed Mihaela Buzarnescu, Romania, 6-3, 6-2. Vegas this week UNLV 80, Air Force 52 Nicholls (3-0) at Sam Houston St. (1-0) Championship Saturday, March 20 Lauren Davis, United States, def. Danka Utah 98, Washington 95 Grambling St. (0-1) vs. Prairie View (1-0) Kovinic (6), Montenegro, 6-2, 6-2. can’t take away Wyoming 111, San Jose St. 80 at Arlington, Texas Semifinal winners Sara Sorribes Tormo (4), Spain, def. Leo- his 58 career Wednesday’s women’s games Tarleton St. (2-2) at Dixie State (1-1) BIG TEN CONFERENCE nie Kung, Switzerland, 6-3, 6-3. FAR WEST At Notre Dame Eugenie Bouchard, Canada, def. Kaja Ju- Cup wins. EAST UC Davis (1-0) at Weber St. (1-0) First Round van (8), Slovenia, 6-4, 6-3. Buffalo 73, Kent St. 66 Idaho (1-1) at N. Arizona (1-1), ppd. Sunday, March 14 Astra Sharma, Australia, def. Leylah An- Harvick spoke Marist 63, Siena 55 S. Utah (0-2) at Cal Poly Notre Dame vs. Penn St. nie Fernandez (7), Canada, 6-4, 6-4. with reporters Mount St. Mary’s 77, Fairleigh Dickinson E. Washington (1-1) at Idaho St. (1-1) Minnesota vs. Michigan St. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Italy, def. Nadia 62 Michigan vs. Ohio St. Podoroska (1), Argentina, 7-5, 7-5. ahead of Sun- Rider 62, Quinnipiac 50 Sunday’s games Semifinals Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova, Slovakia, Wagner 70, St. Francis (Pa.) 57 Monday, March 15 def. Renata Zarazua, Mexico, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1. day’s Cup race at SOUTH Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame—Penn St. Caty McNally, United States, def. Tama- EAST ra Zidansek, Slovenia, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4. Phoenix, where Alabama St. 85, Texas Southern 69 Duquesne (1-0) at Wagner winner Davidson 69, St. Bonaventure 61 Minnesota—Michigan St. winner vs. Mi- he’s led nearly Harvick FAU 72, UAB 66 LIU (1-0) at Sacred Heart (0-1) Chile Open Bryant (0-1) at Merrimack College chigan—Ohio St. winner 15% of the series FIU 85, Southern Miss. 75 SOUTH Tuesday, March 16 Wednesday George Washington 62, George Mason E. Illinois (0-2) at Tennessee St. (0-2) Semifinal winners At Club Deportivo Universidad Catolica laps he’s run at the one-mile do- 56 HOCKEY EAST Jackson St. 70, MVSU 47 Jacksonville St. (5-1) at UT Martin (1-1) Santiago, Chile Murray St. (2-0) at Tennessee Tech (1-1) Opening Round Purse: $325,270 gleg oval — his highest percentage Jacksonville 55, Kennesaw St. 52 Wednesday, March 10 Louisiana Tech 50, Marshall 48 MVSU at Jackson St. (2-0) Surface: Red clay of Cup laps led at a single track. South Florida 51, Tulane 47 MIDWEST No. 7 UMass Lowell 5, No. 11 Vermont 3 Men’s Singles UCF 61, Houston 39 Austin Peay (1-4) at SE Missouri (1-2) No.10 New Hampshire 7, No.8 Maine 2 Round of 16 Despite the 20th-place finish after UNC-Wilmington 60, Coll. of Charleston Laslo Djere (4), Serbia, def. Pedro Sousa, starting on the pole last weekend, 47 AP SPORTLIGHT PRO BASEBALL Portugal, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. MIDWEST Facundo Bagnis, Argentina, def. Frances the driver is ready to move on to Bowling Green 63, E. Michigan 47 Spring training Tiafoe (5), United States, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2). Cent. Michigan 83, N. Illinois 69 March 12 Federico Delbonis (8), Argentina, def. better performances. Iowa 83, Purdue 72 1937 — The first National Association of Tuesday’s games Andrej Martin, Slovakia, 6-0, 6-3. “Most of my races are over by Michigan St. 75, Penn St. 66 Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) men’s Tampa Bay 11, Boston 3 Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, Denmark, Nebraska 72, Minnesota 61 basketball tournament is won by Central Minnesota 1, Baltimore 0 def. Benoit Paire (2), France, 6-2, 6-3. Monday whether we’ve won or Northwestern 67, Illinois 42 Missouri State. Central Missouri wins the Pittsburgh 10, Atlanta 1 lost,” Harvick said, adding that Ohio 61, Ball St. 59 eight-team, single-elimination tourna- Detroit 6, N.Y. Yankees 5 Open 13 SOUTHWEST ment by defeating Morningside College Toronto 4, Philadelphia 1 Wednesday “angry takes too much time.” Abilene Christian 81, Incarnate Word 70 (Iowa) 35-24. N.Y. Mets 5, St. Louis 3 Houston Baptist 74, McNeese St. 60 1966 — In the last race of his 40-year ca- At Palais des Sports Chicago Cubs 9, Oakland 8 Marseille, France The No. 4 Ford team was the Old Dominion 71, North Texas 66 reer, John Longden wins the San Juan Ca- Cleveland 9, Texas 2 FAR WEST pistrano Handicap at Santa Anita, aboard Purse: Euro 334,240 highest finisher of the four-car San Diego 4, Chicago White Sox 2 Surface: Hardcourt indoor Cal Poly 61, Long Beach St. 60 George Royal. He retires with a then-re- Seattle 6, Kansas City 3 Grand Canyon 67, Rio Grande 54 cord number of victories, 6,032. Men’s Singles Stewart-Haas organization Sun- Milwaukee 13, San Francisco 7 Round of 32 Hawaii 81, CS Bakersfield 67 1984 — Jayne Torvill and Christopher Colorado 11, Arizona 4 day, and Harvick acknowledged Idaho 80, Montana St. 64 Dean of Britain become the first ice danc- Washington 4, Houston 4 Egor Gerasimov, Belarus, def. Yannick Idaho St. 65, N. Colorado 55 ing team to record nine perfect marks of L.A. Dodgers 5, Cincinnati 3 Hanfmann, Germany, 6-2, 6-0. that they “just missed it on all lev- New Mexico St. 56, Seattle 46 6.0 during the world championships. Cameron Norrie, Britain, def. Constant UC Davis 61, Cal St.-Fullerton 54 1985 — Larry Bird scores 60 points, in- Wednesday’s games Lestienne, France, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3. els.” But he didn’t seem fazed by UC Irvine 92, UC Santa Barbara 90 cluding Boston’s last 16, to set a Celtics re- Washington 3, St. Louis 2 Men’s Singles his team’s recent finish due to the Utah Valley 61, Chicago St. 43 cord and lead them to a 126-115 victory Baltimore 4, Toronto 3 Round of 16 Wyoming 59, Fresno St. 56 over Atlanta. Minnesota 6, Tampa Bay 2 Matthew Ebden, Australia, def. Emil Ru- particular challenges of Las Vegas Philadelphia 6, Detroit 4 usuvuori, Finland, 6-2, 6-2. DEALS Boston 5, Atlanta 3 Karen Khachanov (3), Russia, def. Mack- and that it’s still early in the sea- L.A. Angels 4, Cleveland 2 enzie McDonald, United States, 7-6 (4), 6-4. son. NASCAR has run four races Kansas City 9, Cincinnati 3 Jannik Sinner (5), Italy, def. Hugo Gas- Wednesday’s transactions J.J. Jansen. San Francisco 7, Chicago Cubs 6 ton, France, 6-4, 6-1. so far on three different styles of CINCINNATI BENGALS — Re-signed QB Oakland 9, Milwaukee 1 BASEBALL Brandon Allen to a one-year contract. Texas 17, Seattle 5 Qatar Open tracks. Major League Baseball DALLAS COWBOYS — Released FB Ja- Colorado 7, San Diego 5 American League mize Olawale. Houston 4, Miami 4 Wednesday Harvick noted that this week- LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Optioned LHP MIAMI DOLPHINS — Released LB Kyle N.Y. Yankees 6, Pittsburgh 5 At Khalifa International Tennis and end’s Phoenix track is drastically Hector Yan to Salt Lake (Triple-A West). Van Noy. L.A. Dodgers 3, Arizona 2 Squash Complex TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Sent RHP Jacob MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Released LT Ri- Thursday’s games Doha, Qatar different than last weekend’s 1.5- Waguespack outright to Buffalo (Triple-A ley Reiff. Purse: $787,930 East). NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Released LB Washington vs. Miami at Jupiter, Fla. Surface: Hardcourt outdoor mile speedway in Las Vegas. The National League Kwon Alexander and WR Emmanuel Sand- Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Men’s Singles racing will probably look differ- — Placed 1B Joey Vot- ers. Re-signed RB Dwayne Washington. Fla. Round of 16 CINCINNATI REDS Boston vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla. to on the 10-dayinjured list. NEW YORK GIANTS — Released RG Kevin Andrey Rublev, Russia, def. Richard Gas- ent, too, with different aero and Zeitler. Tampa Bay vs. Atlanta at North Port, Fla. MIAMI MARLINS — Optioned RHP Ed- N.Y. Yankees vs. Philadelphia at Clear- quet, France, walkover. engine packages being used be- ward Cabrera to Triple-A. Reassigned Cs PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Re-signed WR Roberto Bautista Agut (5), Spain, def. Ray-Ray McCloud. water, Fla. Cameron Barstad and Santiago Chavez, Detroit vs. Toronto at Dunedin, Fla. Alexander Bublik, Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-3. tween the two speedways. OFs Peyton Burdick, Victor Victor Mesa, TENNESSEE TITANS — Released CB Mal- Denis Shapovalov (4), Canada, def. Va- colm Butler and S Kenny Vaccaro. Oakland vs. Texas at Surprise, Ariz. After a No. 4 winless streak Brian Miller, Kameron Misner and Connor Cleveland vs. San Diego at Peoria, Ariz. sek Pospisil, Canada, 7-5, 6-4. Scott, LHPs Jake Eder, Zach King, Dylan WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM — Ten- Dominic Thiem (1), Austria, def. Aslan dered QB Kyle Allen. Kansas City vs. Milwaukee at Phoenix that’s carried through 11 races Lee and Will Stewart, RHPs Tommy Eveld, Chicago Cubs vs. Colorado at Scotts- Karatsev, Russia, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2. HOCKEY Nikoloz Basilashvili, Georgia, def. Malek Zach McCambley, Kyle Nicolas, Max National Hockey League dale, Ariz. starting at the end of last season Meyer and Josh Roberson. Jaziri, Tunisia, 6-2, 6-2. NHL — Suspended Nashville Predators D San Francisco vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, NEW YORK METS — Agreed to terms with Ariz. Taylor Fritz, United States, def. David (Harvick’s most recent winless INF Luis Guillorme, OF Khalil Lee, Cs Pa- Dante Fabbro two games for elbowing. Goffin (6), Belgium, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (9). ANAHEIM DUCKS — Recalled RW Vinni N.Y. Mets vs. Houston at West Palm streak that lasted longer was the trick Mazeika and Tomas Nido, RHPs Beach, Fla. Roger Federer (2), Switzerland, def. Da- Yennsy Diaz, Franklyn Kilome, Sean Reid- from minor league taxi squad. Assigned D niel Evans, Britain, 7-6 (8), 3-6, 7-5. Kodie Curran to taxi squad. Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati at beginning of 2019), Sunday’s fin- Foley, Drew Smith and Jordan Yamamoto Goodyear, Ariz. Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, def. Lloyd COLORADO AVALANCHE — Recalled D Harris, South Africa, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2. ish and Stewart-Haas teammates and LHPs Joey Lucchesi, David Peterson, Greg Pateryn and RW Logan O'Conner Seattle vs. L.A. Dodgers at Glendale, Thomas Szapucki, Stephen Tarpley and from minor league taxi squad. Ariz. GOLF all finishing out of the top 10 in the Daniel Zamora. Renewed contracts with MINNESOTA WILD — Recalled RW Kyle Friday’s games INFs Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeill. first four races this year, it’s fair to BASKETBALL Rau from minors taxi squad. Tampa Bay vs. Boston at Fort Myers, Fla. LPGA money leaders NASHVILLE PREDATORS — Designated C Toronto vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Fla. wonder whether there’s concern National Basketball Association Rem Pitlick, Mathieu Olivier and Alex- — Released G Ma- Philadelphia vs. Baltimore at Sarasota, HOUSTON ROCKETS andre Carrier for assignment. Fla. Through March 7 among the team over an emerging son Jones. NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Assigned F Mike WNBA Atlanta vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla. pattern. Harvick, however, McLeod to taxi squad. Reassigned D Con- N.Y. Yankees vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla. Trn Money WASHINGTON MYSTICS — Signed G Na- nor Carrick and F Brett Seney to Bingham- Miami vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lucie, Fla. seemed unconcerned. tasha Cloud to multiyear contract. ton (AHL). Recalled D Josh Jacobs and F L.A. Dodgers vs. Cleveland at Goodyear, 1. Jin Young Ko 4 $1,667,925 FOOTBALL Nick Merkley from Binghamton to taxi Ariz. 2. Sei Young Kim 9 $1,416,993 He said his advice to his young- National Football League squad. Chicago White Sox vs. Texas at Surprise, 3. Inbee Park 13 $1,377,799 ARIZONA CARDINALS — Released CB VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS — Recalled D Ariz. er teammates, Chase Briscoe and Robert Alford. Re-signed LB Tanner Valle- Dylan Coghlan from minors taxi squad. As- Milwaukee vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, 4. Danielle Kang 13 $897,872 Cole Custer, about overcoming jo. signd C Sent LW Tyrell Goulbourne, G Rob- Ariz. 5. Nasa Hataoka 12 $854,024 BALTIMORE RAVENS — Tendered RB Gus in Lehner and G Oscar Dansk to Henderson San Diego vs. Oakland at Mesa, Ariz. their early struggles this year Edwards, C Trystan Colon-Castillo and LB (AHL). Colorado vs. San Francisco at Scotts- 6. Austin Ernst 17 $771,092 Kristian Welch. SOCCER dale, Ariz. 7. Amy Olson 16 $763,832 would be to maintain the perspec- BUFFALO BILLS — Released WR John Major League Soccer Arizona vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, Ariz. 8. Minjee Lee 16 $724,273 tive of, “It’s a one-week-at-a-time Brown and DL Quinton Jefferson. PORTLAND TIMBERS — Terminated MF Houston vs. St. Louis at Jupiter, Fla. CAROLINA PANTHERS — Re-signed LS Tomas Conechny's contract. Cincinnati vs. Seattle at Peoria, Ariz. 9. Lydia Ko 13 $677,545 grind.” PAGE 42 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 NHL

AROUND THE LEAGUE Scoreboard

East Division GP WLOT Pts GF GA N.Y. Islanders 26 16 6 4 36 75 57 Secondary scoring proves pivotal Washington 25 15 6 4 34 84 80 Pittsburgh 25 15 9 1 31 81 77 Boston 23 13 6 4 30 66 56 Philadelphia 23 13 7 3 29 76 73 N.Y. Rangers 24 10 11 3 23 68 67 Top teams all New Jersey 22 8 11 3 19 55 71 Buffalo 24 6 14 4 16 56 80 have good scoring Central Division GP WLOT Pts GF GA beyond top lines Tampa Bay 24 18 4 2 38 87 51 Carolina 25 18 6 1 37 88 66 BY LARRY LAGE Florida 25 16 5 4 36 84 72 Associated Press Chicago 27 13 9 5 31 83 86 he Tampa Bay Light- Columbus 27 10 12 5 25 71 89 Nashville 26 11 14 1 23 63 85 ning hoisted the Stanley Dallas 21 8 8 5 21 62 55 Cup last year, leaning on Detroit 27 7 16 4 18 57 91 Ttheir top line of Brayden West Division Point, Nikita Kucherov and On- GP WLOT Pts GF GA drej Palat to produce nearly 40% Vegas 23 16 6 1 33 73 51 of their points during the postsea- St. Louis 26 14 8 4 32 83 82 son run. Minnesota 24 15 8 1 31 75 63 Tampa Bay is now winning a Colorado 24 14 8 2 30 72 59 different way, nearing the mid- Los Angeles 25 11 8 6 28 78 72 Arizona 26 12 10 4 28 69 77 way point of the 56-game, pan- Anaheim 27 8 13 6 22 62 86 demic-shortened season. San Jose 23 9 11 3 21 66 88 The defending champions are North Division off to the best start in franchise GP WLOT Pts GF GA history because they have so Toronto 27 18 7 2 38 93 67 much more balance on offense Edmonton 28 17 11 0 34 93 83 even with Kucherov, their leading Winnipeg 25 16 8 1 33 83 72 scorer the previous five seasons, Montreal 25 12 6 7 31 84 69 out for the season after having hip Vancouver 30 12 16 2 26 84 99 Calgary 26 11 12 3 25 71 80 surgery. NATHAN DENETTE / AP Ottawa 29 9 19 1 19 77 115 “The secondary scoring on this Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Zach Hyman, second from left, scores past Winnipeg Jets goaltender team has been a big part of our Connor Hellebuyck as Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo (2) watches. The Maple Leafs share the NHL’s top Wednesday’s games Minnesota 4, Vegas 3 success,” Lightning coach John record with Tampa Bay and share the league lead in scoring with Edmonton, thanks to a balanced effort. Edmonton 7, Ottawa 1 Colorado 2, Arizona 1, OT Cooper said Tuesday. “But in the Los Angeles 5, Anaheim 1 end, your best players have to be to postponements. All-Star center Montreal 5, Vancouver 1 your best players.” Tyler Seguin and goaltender Ben Thursday’s games NHL coaches try to match their Bishop are also recovering from Florida at Columbus N.Y. Rangers at Boston No. 1 lines against the top trio of offseason surgeries. Nashville at Carolina New Jersey at N.Y. Islanders forwards and those stars push one After routing Chicago 6-1, Dal- Pittsburgh at Buffalo another at both ends of the ice. The las has now won two of three by a Washington at Philadelphia Winnipeg at Toronto best teams keep up the pressure combined 11-1 after dropping four Tampa Bay at Detroit Chicago at Dallas by rolling multiple lines that can straight games. Stars coach Rick Montreal at Calgary score and by having offensive- Bowness insisted he likes his Friday’s games minded defensemen who can set team’s chances to bounce back, Arizona at Minnesota up goals or light the lamp them- especially if they can play more 5- Vegas at St. Louis Los Angeles at Colorado selves. on-5 hockey by avoiding penalties. Ottawa at Edmonton Tampa Bay, the New York Is- “I’m happy with our team game San Jose at Anaheim landers, Vegas and Toronto led even though the record doesn’t re- Saturday’s games N.Y. Rangers at Boston their divisions at the beginning of flect that,” Bowness said. Dallas at Columbus the week, in part because their Chicago at Florida Montreal at Calgary secondary scoring is a strength. Flame out N.Y. Islanders at New Jersey Nashville at Tampa Bay Carolina, Florida, Washington, Calgary, coming off consecutive Pittsburgh at Buffalo Minnesota, Edmonton and Winni- postseason appearances for the Washington at Philadelphia Winnipeg at Toronto peg are among the teams that have first time in a decade, became the Vegas at St. Louis Edmonton at Vancouver been successful so far because second NHL team to fire a coach San Jose at Anaheim they rely on more than their No. 1 this season. The Flames fired Sunday’s games / AP line to produce points. DAVID BANKS coach Geoff Ward last week and Arizona at Minnesota Carolina at Detroit The Oilers have had 20 players Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Kevin Lankinen, left, makes a save replaced him with Darryl Sutter, N.Y. Islanders at New Jersey score, giving teams more than just against Tampa Bay Lightning center Blake Coleman. One reason the who is leading the team for the Dallas at Columbus Los Angeles at Colorado Connor McDavid and Leon Drai- Lightning lead their division is their scoring beyond their top line. second time. Toronto at Ottawa Monday's games saitl to worry about. “We want to get out of this funk Nashville at Tampa Bay “We know that Connor and Le- out,” New York coach Barry Trotz Stanley Cup title for the first time we’re in and push to get back in the Washington at Buffalo Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers on are going to drive some offense, said. “It’s what the rest of the li- since 1967. playoffs,” forward Johnny Gau- Chicago at Florida Boston at Pittsburgh but to be a good team we need to neup does, and the rest of the li- “Having great depth is some- dreau said. Vancouver at Ottawa have that throughout our lineup neup can make a difference.” thing championship teams have Montreal at Winnipeg Edmonton at Calgary and not just chipping in but we Maple Leaf stars Auston Mat- and being able to provide scoring Pandemic play San Jose at Vegas need consistency in that part,” Ed- thews and Mitch Marner are throughout the lineup,” Hyman The NHL’s COVID-19 protocols St. Louis at Los Angeles monton coach Dave Tippett said. among the NHL’s scoring leaders, said. “It also helps with team mo- kept just three players off the ice Scoring leaders The Islanders were the first but their team didn’t start the rale and chemistry when every- Tuesday night: Edmonton’s Kyle team in the league this season to week leading the league in points one feels like they’re contributing. Turris, Nashville’s Erik Haula and Through Wednesday have five players, including the because of just the dynamic duo. It’s always fun to score.” San Jose’s Marcus Sorensen. GP GAPTS four that center each line, score at With the luxury of having a star Connor McDavid, EDM 27 15 30 45 least nine times. They also have a such as John Tavares playing on Still shining Game of the week Patrick Kane, CHI 27 11 27 38 trio of defensemen with at least 10 the second line and third-line wing The Western Conference- Vegas visits St. Louis for back- Leon Draisaitl, EDM 27 11 26 37 Mitchell Marner, TOR 27 10 25 35 points. Zach Hyman capable of scoring champion Dallas Stars got off to a to-back games Friday and Satur- Mark Scheifele, WPG 25 11 23 34 “Sometimes in this league, the and setting up goals, Toronto may rough start this season that started day in a clash of the top two teams Auston Matthews, TOR 24 20 13 33 top lines sort of nullify each other finally get to celebrate winning a with a COVID-19 outbreak that led in the West Division. Anze Kopitar, LA 24 6 24 30 Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 43 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Duke pulls out of ACC Tournament Season is over after positive test, need to quarantine Associated Press handling everything like the out- GREENSBORO, N.C.— Duke standing young men they are,” has pulled out of the Atlantic Krzyzewski said. “I feel deeply Coast Conference Tournament for our players, who have done a and ended its season after a posi- terrific job all season in taking tive coronavirus test and the re- care of each other and the team. sulting quarantining and contact “I am extremely proud of their tracing. collective attitudes and effort, The ACC announced that the which could not have been stron- Blue Devils’ quarterfinal game ger.” with Florida State scheduled for Blue Devils athletic director Thursday night has been can- Kevin White said someone within celed. Duke had won its first two the program tested positive after tournament games, but finished Wednesday’s game. He said the ORLIN WAGNER / AP just 13-11 overall and 9-9 in ACC men’s basketball players and Oklahoma forward Brady Manek, left, goes up for a rebound next to Iowa State forward George Conditt IVgames. coaching staff had not had a posi- during the Sooners’ 79­73 first round win in the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday. Athletic director Kevin White tive test the rest of the season. said that Duke’s season is over, White said the players are be- ending the Blue Devils’ streak of ing quarantined. 24 consecutive NCAA Tourna- “Since last March when the Sooners hold on for key win ment appearances. pandemic started, we have lis- The team entered the week tened to our medical experts and BY DAVE SKRETTA said afterward, “you have to get their 2019 title when last year’s knowing that it likely needed to always put safety at the forefront Associated Press that feeling of winning again. I’m event was canceled by the pan- win the ACC Tournament to ex- of any determinations regarding KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Even proud of the guys to get that one in demic. tend an NCAA tournament streak competition,” White said. “As a when Oklahoma built a 19-point the win column.” Iowa State, which hadn’t won dating back to 1996. result, this will end our 2020-21 second-half lead on slumping Io- De’Vion Harmon added 18 since beating Jacksonville State Duke failed to live up to its al- season. We wish every team still wa State, the Sooners probably points and Elijah Harkless had 12 on Dec. 20, hung tough until Okla- ways lofty expectations, but playing college basketball good should have known the Cyclones for the No. 7 seeded Sooners homa began building a lead out of coach Mike Krzyzewski said he health and the very best during would at least make the game in- (15-9), who had lost four straight halftime. The Sooners took advan- loved this young team and was the next few weeks.” teresting in the closing minutes and were on a shaky NCAA Tour- tage of three straight turnovers to honored to coach it. The Seminoles advanced to the Wednesday night. nament bubble heading into the begin their charge with Harkless “We have not asked more of ACC Tournament semifinals to This is the Big 12 Tournament, weekend. But with a win over Io- providing a spinning layup in any team in our history, and they play the winner of the North Car- after all. wa State, they are likely a lock for transition and Kur Kuath a re- deserve enormous credit for olina-Virginia Tech game. So with their first-round game the field of 68 — and certainly verse ally-oop dunk. slipping away, the No. 25 Sooners would be with a win over the Jay- Oklahoma at one point was turned to Austin Reaves for an an- hawks on Thursday night. ranked in the top 10, but a late-sea- swer. Their standout guard re- “This is a big one,” Harmon son slide left the Sooners needing Teams will need just 5 sponded by scoring 11 of his 21 said. “Every team is good. We at least a win Wednesday night to points in the closing minutes, al- know the Big 12. It’s postseason feel better about their NCAA to continue in NCAAs lowing Oklahoma to hold on for a time. It’s win or go home.” Tournament hopes. Now, they can nervy 79-73 win that sent coach The Cyclones (2-22) had won nearly lock up a berth with a win BY EDDIE PELLS will descend on Indianapolis next Lon Kruger’s team into a quarter- four of the past six Big 12 Tourna- over short-handed Kansas, which Associated Press week, and all games over 19 days final matchup with No. 11 Kansas. ments, always playing their best will be missing David McCor- All a team needs to play in this will be played in and around the “When you drop a few in a row in Kansas City, and were the de- mack and Tristan Enaruna due to year’s NCAA Tournament is five city. that go down to the wire,” Kruger fending champions by virtue of COVID-19 protocols. healthy players. How about a Players and coaches will be sub- coach? The NCAA will get back to ject to frequent virus testing and you on that. contact tracing. Orange make case to be off bubble The fluid nature of a March Two weeks ago, the NCAA re- Madness played amid the corona- leased its policy about how and BY AARON BEARD The Orange entered Wednesday rant 1 game. virus pandemic was spelled out when teams that make the tourna- Associated Press at No. 49 in NET and viewed just Wednesday, hours before the se- ment might be replaced if they’re Jim Boeheim figures his Syra- outside the 68-team field. Hopes fading lection committee began meeting struck by the virus. The bracket cuse team has done enough to earn Syracuse lacks a headline win Marshall: The Thundering Herd to hash out a 68-team bracket that comes out during the usual reveal, a bid to the NCAA Tournament. and is 1-6 record in Quadrant 1 (15-7) had won six of seven but could remain in flux up until the on Sunday evening. After 6 p.m. The Orange beat North Carolina games — the top category based on likely saw their chances evaporate games tip off next week. Tuesday, teams that make the State on Wednesday in the Atlantic an opponent’s NET ranking — with Wednesday’s loss to Rice in In explaining a number of con- field cannot be replaced if they get Coast Conference Tournament, a though Boeheim noted all seven the Conference USA Tournament. tingencies that could come into sick, and their scheduled oppo- matchup of the league’s two teams games were played on the road. N.C. State: The Syracuse loss es- play if teams are exposed to CO- nents would simply move on in the facing bubble uncertainty. That He also pointed to the team’s 4-1 sentially eliminated the Wolfpack VID-19, NCAA senior VP of bas- bracket. certainly helped Syracuse (16-8) as record against Quadrant 2 teams, (13-10), with coach Kevin Keatts ketball Dan Gavitt said that as But Gavitt acknowledged that it hovers around the cut line in with the win against the Wolfpack being asked whether his team long as a team has five healthy as long as a team has five players, many projections. — coming off five straight wins — would accept a bid to a downsized players, it’s good to go. And if that it can stick around for as long as it Buddy Boeheim scored 27 likely joining that category. 16-team NIT. “I hate to think about team’s coaching staff gets deci- keeps winning. points with a season-high six of Sy- that,” he said, “but certainly that’s mated by the coronavirus? “We decided if they had five racuse’s 14 three-pointers. On the rise a good question to ask.” “Honestly, it’s probably some- players eligible and healthy,” they “I think when you look at the Colgate: The Raiders (13-1) like- Xavier: The Musketeers (13-8) thing we should talk about as a could play, he said. “We wrestled profile overall, I think we’ve got a ly need to win the Patriot League blew a 19-point lead in Wednes- committee,” he said. with contingencies, and thought it lot of good wins against good Tournament to earn the bid., but day’s overtime loss to Butler in the For months, the NCAA has been was fairest for a team that earned teams,” Boeheim said, adding: “I they have a curiously high NET of first round of the Big East Tourna- laying out protocols to ensure the its way, that even if it was compro- think we did what we needed to do No. 8 (sandwiched between No. 6 ment. Xavier has to hope wins tournament will go off in some- mised, they should have the op- this year, but we’ll see what hap- Alabama and ninth-ranked Ohio against No. 17 Creighton and No. 25 what normal-looking fashion. The portunity to play rather than be re- pens.” State) despite not playing a Quad- Oklahoma are enough. biggest change is that all 68 teams placed.” PAGE 44 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 NBA

10 THINGS TO KNOW Scoreboard

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division WLPct GB What to watch as play returns Philadelphia 24 12 .667 — Brooklyn 24 13 .649 ½ Boston 19 17 .528 5 New York 19 18 .514 5½ Storylines abound around league as second half gets underway Toronto 17 19 .472 7 Southeast Division BY TIM REYNOLDS WLPct GB Associated Press Miami 18 18 .500 — he All-Star break, such Charlotte 17 18 .486 ½ as it was, is over. Atlanta 16 20 .444 2 Washington 14 21 .400 3½ The NBA returned Orlando 13 23 .361 5 Wednesday with a pair T Central Division of games: Washington at Memphis WLPct GB and San Antonio at Dallas. Anoth- er 21 teams start their second-half Milwaukee 22 14 .611 — Chicago 16 18 .471 5 slates on Thursday, and the five Indiana 16 19 .457 5½ remaining teams get back on the Cleveland 14 22 .389 8 court Friday. Detroit 10 26 .278 12 Here’s 10 things to know about Western Conference what’s happening, what might Southwest Division happen and what to watch the rest WLPct GB of the way: San Antonio 18 15 .545 — Dallas 19 16 .543 — No more advantage Memphis 17 16 .515 1 Home teams have gone 285-248 New Orleans 15 21 .417 4½ this season, a .535 winning percent- Houston 11 23 .324 7½ age. It’s on pace to be the lowest in NBA Northwest Division history. WLPct GB The record in that department is Utah 27 9 .750 — .551, set last season — and it was Portland 21 14 .600 5½ Denver 21 15 .583 6 MARK J. TERRILL / AP trending that way even before the pan- Oklahoma City 15 21 .417 12 demic. The bubble and playing the final Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, center, passes the ball as Lakers forward Jared Dudley, left, and guard Minnesota 7 29 .194 20 88 regular-season games without fans Alex Caruso defend on March 2 in Los Angeles. Paul is 47 assists away from 10,000 for his career. Pacific Division had nothing to do with that change; in WLPct GB fact, “home” teams in the bubble won league would have 547 games over 68 11 with him in the lineup this season. East beasts Phoenix 24 11 .686 — 56% of their games at Walt Disney days in the second half, or an average of All five of Paul’s teams over those Washington’s Bradley Beal leads the L.A. Lakers 24 13 .649 1 World. just more than eight games per day. past 14 seasons — the Hornets, the Los L.A. Clippers 24 14 .632 1½ NBA in scoring at 32.7 points per game, But this year, teams believe the lack Angeles Clippers, Houston, Oklahoma Golden State 19 18 .514 6 and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid is sec- Rising Suns of fans factors into home-court advan- City and now Phoenix — have at least a Sacramento 14 22 .389 10½ ond at 30.2 per contest. tage not meaning much. Plus, road Phoenix hit the All-Star break with .600 winning percentage in his regular- Wednesday’s games The Eastern Conference having the the league’s second-best record at 24- Memphis 127, Washington 112 teams are getting more rest than usual season appearances. Combined, his Dallas 115, San Antonio 104 leaders in this category is a new twist. 11. — they’re often in one city for multiple teams over those 14 years have won Thursday’s games No player from an East team has won It is a major turnaround. days to play a pair of games and typical- 66.4% of their games when he plays. Detroit at Charlotte a scoring title since Carmelo Anthony The Suns’ records at the last five All- Atlanta at Toronto ly can’t leave their hotels for anything Boston at Brooklyn did for New York in 2012-13. And the Star breaks were awful: 22-33 last sea- other than basketball. Worst best Minnesota at New Orleans last time the East had the league’s two son, preceded by a league-worst 11-48 New York at Milwaukee It’s not an easy season for any team, Orlando at Miami leading scorers for a full season was in 2018-19, 18-41 (tied for worst in the Philadelphia at Chicago Heavy crown with the games coming very quickly, not Dallas at Oklahoma City 2008-09 — when Miami’s Dwyane league) in 2017-18, 18-39 (29th out of Golden State at L.A. Clippers Utah has the best record at the All- a lot of practice time and rosters tending Wade won the title, and Cleveland’s Le- 30 teams) in 2016-17 and 14-40 (tied Houston at Sacramento Star break, which obviously suggests to be in flux because of virus-related Phoenix at Portland Bron James was second. for third-worst) in 2015-16. the Jazz are a title contender. matters. Friday’s games The last time the Suns were over Cleveland at New Orleans Recent history says otherwise. Second-half Spurs Perhaps that’s why no team has .500 at the break had been 2014-15, Denver at Memphis In the previous 11 seasons, nine There are four teams with active some sort of super-gaudy record at the Philadelphia at Washington when they were 29-25. And the last Miami at Chicago teams that had the best record at the streaks of at least five consecutive sea- break. Orlando at San Antonio time they were this good by the break Houston at Utah break didn’t win the championship. The sons with winning records after the All- Utah’s 27-9 mark after the first half is Indiana at L.A. Lakers was 2007-08, when they were 37-16 only exceptions: Miami in 2012 (the Star break. the league’s “worst best” mark since Saturday’s games — with current Brooklyn assistant Mike Heat were tied with NBA Finals runner- Toronto has five, Portland seven and Sacramento was 37-13 to lead the New York at Oklahoma City D’Antoni coaching, current Golden Detroit at Brooklyn up Oklahoma City that season at 27-7 Houston eight. And they’re all light years league going into the 2004 All-Star Milwaukee at Washington State coach Steve Kerr running the front during the break), and Golden State in away from San Antonio. Game. Toronto at Charlotte office and current Nets head coach Sacramento at Atlanta both 2015 and 2017. The Spurs have a winning post-All- Portland at Minnesota Steve Nash playing point guard. Dallas at Denver Star record in 22 consecutive seasons Jimmy's art Indiana at Phoenix Threes still wild — a streak so long that it predates the CP3 nears 10,000 Miami’s Jimmy Butler is one of the Sunday’s games last time the league didn’t have an All- Memphis at Oklahoma City Even with shortened schedules — Another note on Phoenix: Chris Paul league’s few players who thrive in the Star Game. The Spurs went 22-12 after Utah at Golden State teams playing 72 games instead of the remains elite. mid-range game. San Antonio at Philadelphia the break in 1997-98, there was no Miami at Orlando usual 82 — there is a chance the record He’s 47 assists away from 10,000 in That includes the unguarded 15-foot- Cleveland at Atlanta game because of the shortened season Boston at Houston for three-pointers made leaguewide in a his career, a milestone only five other er. in 1998-99, and the San Antonio streak Portland at Minnesota season gets broken. players — John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Butler might do something the league L.A. Clippers at New Orleans has kept going every year since. Toronto at Chicago NBA teams are on pace to make Steve Nash, Mark Jackson and Magic hasn’t seen in 12 years. The last time The Spurs are 449-192 in the last 22 Scoring leaders 27,731 three-pointers this season. That Johnson — have reached. someone averaged at least 20 points post-All-Star stretches, a 70% winning Through March 10 would be just 224 shy of the record, This is Paul’s 16th season. The New per game and got at least 35% of those clip. which is 27,955 set in 2018-19. Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets had a points at the foul line was 2008-09 GFG FT PTS AVG Teams are averaging 12.8 made Hectic time losing record in the games that he when Sacramento’s Kevin Martin did it Beal, WAS 33 374 2511074 32.5 threes per game, so the league is on — averaging 24.6 points, getting Embiid, PHI 30 285 298 905 30.2 The first half was hectic. There were played over his first two seasons, a diffi- Lillard, POR 34 315 2371013 29.8 pace to break that record for the ninth 533 games in the season’s first 72 days cult time for that franchise following the 36.4% of them at the stripe. Curry, GS 35 343 1841039 29.7 consecutive season. They’re also ave- (excluding Christmas Eve, always an off relocation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Butler is averaging 20.5 points this Antetokounmpo, MIL 35 368 2401015 29.0 raging 34.9 attempts from three-point day for the NBA), for an average of 7.4 His teams have done nothing but win season, 35% of that from free throws. LaVine, CHI 34 350 156 976 28.7 range per game, which will be a record games per day. big since. Last season, Butler came close, with Doncic, DAL 33 328 195 938 28.4 Irving, BKN 26 269 94 708 27.2 for a 10th consecutive season — and The second half could be busier. This will be the 14th consecutive sea- 37.9% of his points from the foul line. Jokic, DEN 36 379 163 977 27.1 nearly double the rate from a decade If every remaining game gets played son in which Paul’s team has a winning But he averaged 19.9 points, only three Leonard, LAC 30 287 165 799 26.6 ago. — in fairness, that’s a very big ‘if’ — the record when he plays; the Suns are 23- points shy of averaging exactly 20.0. Young, ATL 34 262 288 897 26.4 Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 45 NBA Embiid emerges as MVP front-runner for 76ers

BY DAN GELSTON 17-board game on Feb. 17 against the Bulls. Associated Press Embiid was the first 76er to score 50 since PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid sank a Allen Iverson in 2005. step-back jumper in the final minute of the He is trying to become the first Sixer to best game of his NBA career, ran back with win NBA MVP — the fans call it an MVBiid his arms raised high over his head as piped- campaign — since Iverson in 2001. Moses in “M-V-P!” “M-V-P!” chants blared Malone (1982-83), Julius Erving (1980-81) through the arena and beckoned with his and Wilt Chamberlain (who won three hands for imaginary fans — for sure, the straight from 1965-1968) all won the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers’ fanatics watching at top honor. home — to get loud. ■ Embiid’s 13 career 40-10 games tie him Embiid plays with as much fun as any with Charles Barkley for second-most in MVP front-runner, and on the February team history, behind Chamberlain (31). night he dropped 50 points on the Chicago ■ He leads the NBA in total free throws Bulls, he sent a sign to the fans they are with made (298), free throws made per game him in spirit. (9.9) and free-throw attempts per game “The fans are always there for me when I (11.6). play,” Embiid said. “I play for the fans, I ■ Embiid, Barkley and Chamberlain are play for the city. All my goals when I play the only three 76ers with at least 900 points basketball are related to the city of Philadel- and 300 rebounds within their first 30 phia. I feel like they’re here for us even games of a season. when they’re not. I always feel their pres- Embiid said he cared more this season ence.” about winning defensive player of the year Guess what, Joel: Sixers fans are allowed — though he may have to fight off Simmons back in the building on Sunday, and if they — than taking any other individual award. are among the lucky 3,100 to snag a ticket — “When I came in the league, I never lower-center tickets can be found on Stub- thought I would be that good offensively,” Hub for up to $1,250 a pop — they’ll surely he said. “I always focused on the defensive show the love worthy of 20,000 back to Em- side. That’s been my goal, to win it.” biid. Leading the 76ers to their first NBA Fi- At 26, Embiid has not only led the Sixers nals trip since 2001 could bolster his cre- (24-12) to the best record in the Eastern dentials for individual awards. The Sixers Conference, he’s at last blossomed into the previously bottomed out in the standings durable, mature and downright dominant for a shot at landing a franchise player like force the Sixers expected when they made Embiid. They did have back-to-back 50-win him the No. 3 pick of the 2014 draft. seasons and consecutive trips to the East “I just want to destroy everything in my semis with Embiid but were swept out of the path,” Embiid said. first round last season. Let’s not raise a “Mission Accomplished” “Without winning, you’re not part of banner quite yet in the Wells Fargo Center those conversations when it comes to defen- rafters. sive player of the year and MVP and all that But what Embiid has done through the stuff,” Embiid said. “That’s the first thing. I All-Star break has made him the betting want to win. That’s all I care about.” +200 MVP favorite (Los Angeles Lakers Brett Brown was fired after the Sixers forward LeBron James is next at +225) and were swept and Doc Rivers, a respected turned — along with fellow All-Star Ben coach who won the 2008 NBA title with Bos- Simmons and Tobias Harris — the Sixers ton, was brought in to round Embiid and into perhaps the only team that can give Simmons into championship form. Daryl Brooklyn a run out of the East. The Sixers Morey, the former Houston Rockets exec- have not won the NBA championship since MATT SLOCUM/AP utive, was tasked with running Philadel- 1983. The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid is having the best season for a 76ers big man sincephia’s basketball operations and helped “It’s nice to have a big guy in the MVP Moses Malone and he has his team atop the Eastern Conference standings heading into change the narrative that the two franchise talk,” Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal told the second half of the season. stars could coexist on, and even off, the The Associated Press. “You have to take a court. high-percentage shot and take advantage of been his first two seasons because of inju- ton’s Bradley Beal and about 2 ½ points “One of the things I heard coming in here your opponent. He’s finally playing like ries, still put up strong numbers in his first higher than his previous career best. Embi- was that they don’t fit,” Rivers said. “My that. This is how you play. You want to be four. But he always left hints there was so id has five games of 40-plus points and 10- eyes kept telling me they do fit. They fit very good, you want to be great or you want to be much untapped potential in his about 7-foot plus rebounds in 30 games — the rest of the well because of their skill sets. I think now the greatest? You decide.” frame. NBA players combined hit that mark only they see that. I think that gives them confi- Embiid, who missed what would have His 30.2 points are behind only Washing- four times — highlighted by that 50-point, dence.” Celtics get defensive boost as Smart is cleared

BY KYLE HIGHTOWER ing and attend- all season Thursday, but Romeo think they are clearly the team how good of a defensive team we Associated Press ing the game to- Langford, who hasn’t played this that is going to be very difficult for can be — that we are,” Smart said. BOSTON — Celtics guard Mar- morrow,” he season following wrist surgery, teams to beat,” he said. “And for me, being a defensive cus Smart expects to be back on said. has been placed in the league’s Smart has been the engine of the guy, it is tough. But being over the floor for the first time in more Coach Brad health and safety protocol and Celtics’ defense for most of his there I have to look at it from a dif- than a month when Boston opens Stevens said won’t travel with the team to seven seasons in Boston and the ferent perspective. When every- the second half of its schedule at Smart’s return Brooklyn. team struggled on that end of the body else is looking at the negativ- Brooklyn on Thursday night. should provide Stevens said Langford has been floor without him, going 9-9 and es about it I’m looking at the posi- Smart Smart said he felt good after an instant lift. cleared to resume playing and allowing opponents to shoot 46.5% tives.” practicing with the team Wednes- “He’s a guy that knows how to would have been available if he and average 112.5 points over that What he sees are things that can day and that he has been cleared play, plays both ends of the court hadn’t been placed in the protocol. stretch. be fixed and that the Celtics can to return for the Celtics’ matchup and makes us better on both ends Still, Stevens said he’s looking for- He said it’s been frustrating to control with their effort. with the Nets after missing the of the court,” Stevens said. ward to playing the Nets. watch that decline from the side- “And what I have to do to bring past 18 games with a torn left calf. Boston would have had its full “It will be a great litmus test to line with no ability to affect it. back the defensive energy for us,” “As of right now I will be play- roster available for the first time see where we stand, because I “Especially when you know Smart said. PAGE 46 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 GOLF

COMMENTARY Anniversary marks progress of pandemic, not the finish BY DOUG FERGUSON virus at any one tournament. players, proud of all the caddies, ev- Associated Press Memories are still fresh from last erybody that has worked so hard to PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — year. Players received a text late at get us back to this point in time. And The backdrop was a navy blue night after the first round saying candidly, to do so in a really inspir- board filled with 33 logos of The that The Players Championship ing way. Players Championship. Sitting next was canceled and there would be no “I think this is an important week CHRIS O'MEARA / AP to PGA Tour Commissioner Jay tournaments for at least a month (it for us every single year,” he said, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan reacts to a question during a Monahan was the gold trophy as he turned into three months). Bernd “but particularly so this year.” news conference at The Players Championship on March 13, 2020 in spoke about scrapping the tour’s Wiesberger caught the last flight He won’t be the only one watch- Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The tournament was canceled. premier event last year and how home to Austria. Kevin Na found a ing. The Players Championship is golf made it through the COVID-19 banana in one of the pockets of his allowing 20% of capacity for specta- you think, ‘OK, we hopefully will be back.” pandemic. golf bag, which otherwise would not tors, which will be somewhere short done now.’ The vaccine is rolling out And that’s why Monahan, while At least there wasn’t a “Mission have been discovered for months. of 10,000 people (no one knows ex- and there’s light at the end of the pleased with how far golf has come, Accomplished” banner. Monahan remembers missing actly what “capacity” means on a tunnel,” Rory McIlroy said. remains guarded. It’s tempting to think that way. the opening tee shot for the first golf course). The tickets sold out one McIlroy read about Texas doing “We’ve seen surges. We’ve seen Monahan mentioned the phrase time since he joined the PGA Tour hour after they went on sale last away with its mask mandate and he the unpredictable, the uncertain na- “light at the end of the tunnel” on as executive director of The Players month. was OK with it, because part of him ture of this pandemic and this vi- three occasions during his news Championship. He had been in a Instead of players sharing the $15 likes the idea of people having the rus,” Monahan said. …“While we conference Tuesday, which typical- boardroom at the TPC Sawgrass million purse like they did last year freedom to choose. But then he see light at the end of the tunnel and ly is more of a “State of the Tour.” clubhouse with the rest of the exec- —a generous gesture by the tour for would walk into a bustling restau- the progress we’re making and the This was a state of the pandemic. utive staff for a meeting that lasted players who went an entire year rant in Florida and pause. hope that’s in front of us … you still The news felt mostly positive. more than 12 hours and ended with without purses being cut — the win- “The idea is great and the idea have to remind yourself that you’ve The tour has played 36 out of the the decision to stop playing. ner gets $2.7 million. you’re comfortable with, but then got to focus on your plan and your 39 weeks since it returned, stopping “I will be there on Thursday. I Back to normal? when you actually start to live it, it’s protocols and make sure we’re do- only because of holidays, not an out- look forward to it,” he said. “Just Not quite, because golf isn’t like, ‘Whoa, maybe this is a little too ing everything we can to keep break. It never had more than three proud, most importantly, to be back ready. No one is. soon,’ ” McIlroy said. “You are cer- health and safety as our No. 1 prior- players test positive for the corona- here a year later — proud of our “It’s funny, because a year into it tainly going to have that coming ity.” Friday, March 12, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 47 MLB/VIRUS OUTBREAK COVID-19: One year later, sports world still grappling with how to manage virus Some of what was lost, or stop- FROM PAGE 48 ped, has come back over the ensu- So, when two NBA basketball ing 12 months, with the rapid de- teams were hastily sent back to velopment of a vaccine and a their locker rooms, not to return, sometimes-begrudging accept- after pregame introductions on ance of mask-wearing and social March 11, 2020, and, then, a day distancing becoming norms that later, when two college basketball are now being relaxed in certain teams walked off the floor at half- parts of the U.S. In many cases, time and also didn’t come back — lessons learned in sports have “Game Ppd, pandemic” — it was a been applied to society in general, shock to the system. and helped make things better. It was one thing for the still-nas- The NFL, for instance, offered a cent collection of COVID-19 num- veritable manual for bringing bers, the interviews with lawmak- large groups back into the work- ers and the warnings from Dr. An- place — if you have the resources. thony Fauci to overtake CNN, Fox But life at all these levels does News and MSNBC. Quite another not look the same, and some of it for all those updates to find their might never look “normal” again. way onto ESPN. “Urinals, water fountains and It was a sign that the steadily hot dog stands where someone LM OTERO/AP streaming loop of games we play, hands you food directly; buying Oversized rocking chairs sit ready for fans on the patio at the Texas Rangers’ home baseball stadium, and watch — games that have game programs and taking ticket Globe Life Field, in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers could have a full house for their home opener next been played amid crisis, in the af- stubs home; athletes signing auto- month after debuting their new 40,518­seat stadium without fans in the stands last season. termath of catastrophe and that graphs and passing a pen back to even resumed less than a week af- you,” said sports marketing guru ter the 9/11 terrorist attacks — Joe Favorito, spelling out just a could no longer be taken for grant- short list on how the fan experi- ed. For the first time in memory, ence has changed for good. Rangers first in line for sports were as much at the mercy Said media expert Dennis Den- of an uncontrolled, unpredictable inger: “We will never return to the and ever-changing health crisis as old model of sending commenta- any other segment of life. tors, analysts and producers to ev- return to capacity crowds A year after the worldwide cor- ery game that is going to be broad- onavirus pandemic stopped all the cast.” It will save money but come games in their tracks, the after- at a cost, he said: “The broadcast BY STEPHEN HAWKINS Even with his order, Abbott has is in place. The Rangers are in- shocks are still being felt across product cannot help but be dimin- Associated Press encouraged the public to continue stalling plexiglass barriers on top every sector. ished if those who we as fans count The Texas Rangers are on track practicing social distancing mea- of the dugouts and along the back It’s true in the pros and colleges, on to be our eyes and ears at an to become the first team in Major sures and wearing masks, though and sides of the bullpens. where leagues and conferences event are not there.” League Baseball or any major they are no longer mandated. All concession and merchandis- found themselves scrambling to Indeed, we as sports journalists U.S.-based sports league to have a The Rangers will require fans to ing transactions this season will be figure out how to resume in bub- have become comfortable forgo- full-capacity crowd since the coro- wear masks for games, unless they cashless, tickets will be digital and bles, pods and cohorts. Once jam- ing the locker rooms for inter- navirus pandemic started altering are actively eating and drinking at the roof will remain open during packed, stadiums are now being views via Zoom. The whole con- the sports landscape a year ago. their seats, as was the case for the games when weather permits. The used as mass vaccination venues cept of “access” will generate de- On the same day Texas Gov. postseason major league games team will enforce social distanc- or, in cases where they’ve reo- bate for what’s left of the media Greg Abbott’s order took effect al- played at their $1.2 billion stadium ing for fans entering and exiting pened their gates to significant when the world regains its health lowing businesses in the state to in Arlington, Texas, in October. the ballpark, as well as when in numbers of fans, scapegoated as and discovers its new normal. operate at 100% capacity, Rangers After the Rangers played all 30 lines for concessions or merchan- potential superspreader sites. The The prospect of sports without CEO Neil Leibman said Wednes- of their home games during the dise. No tailgating will be allowed goal of it all is a return to some- reporters or fans in the stands day that the team hopes to be at pandemic-shortened 2020 season outside the stadium. thing resembling “normal,” to get went from a far-flung germ of an that for the April 5 opener against without fans, MLB allowed about Rob Matwick, the team’s exec- back to providing the masses with idea to an everyday reality. I the Toronto Blue Jays. 28% capacity at the retractable- utive vice president, stressed the the programming they sorely mis- worked on a story a year ago this “We’re very confident we won’t roof stadium for the National need for fans to voluntarily com- sed while still accounting for the week that never saw the light of be a super-spreader event,” said League Championship Series and ply with any requirements, but high risk the players take for the day. Topic: What would the NCAA Leibman, who is also the team’s World Series that were played said they will be enforced when sake of our round-the-clock enter- Tournament look like without president of business operations. there exclusively. Abbott was on necessary. tainment (and, yes, their millions fans? There was no NCAA Tourna- “With all the protocols that we’re hand for the World Series opener, “We will need fan cooperation, in salaries and profit). ment. There will be one this year, following, we’ll be extremely re- where he got to deliver the “Play there’s no doubt. The good news is It’s also true at the grassroots, albeit in front of 25% capacity sponsible and provide a very com- Ball!” message before a crowd of the numbers are trending down,” where little leagues, swim teams, crowds and with the entire three fortable environment for some- 11,388. Matwick said. “Can we drop our gymnastics camps and running weeks’ worth of games packed in- body to enjoy the game without The Houston Astros announced vigilance? No. We need their coop- clubs all went dark, leaving the ve- to one city, Indianapolis. worrying we’re going to be a in January that they would allow eration.” ry existence of their businesses, to One takeaway that is as relevant spreader event.” fans to attend games at 25% capac- The Rangers plan to create “dis- say nothing of the sports they forti- today as it was a year ago came The pandemic could still alter ity this season, which would allow tanced seating” sections in certain fy from the ground all the way to from the esteemed media com- the team’s intent to host a capacity about 10,300 fans. It’s unclear if locations of the stadium, with the elite levels, up in the air. mentator Bob Thompson of Syra- crowd at the 40,518-seat Globe they will change that plan in the more space between occupied And at the outdoor playgrounds cuse: A big part of the show IS the Life Field, which the Rangers wake of Abbott’s order. A team seats for all games after the home and courts and courses, which fans — the crying flute players, opened last year without fans in spokesman said it was “still being opener. were shuttered, roped off and pad- the painted chests, the cheerlead- the stands. worked on” when asked about ca- Texas has been allowing some locked for weeks, sometimes ers. Without all that, he said, Local officials are still able to pacity on Wednesday. fans at sporting events, from high months, before slowly gaining ca- sports wouldn’t feel quite the impose “mitigation strategies,” Leibman, who is part of the schools all the way through the top chet as a new, somewhat safer same, the TV program wouldn’t be such as reduced capacity, if virus Rangers’ ownership group, said professional leagues, since last haven for millions of restless citi- as fun, maybe the popcorn hospitalizations exceed 15% of all MLB allows teams to operate un- summer and most teams and zens shut in by government man- wouldn’t taste as good, even if the hospital capacity in their region der local capacity policy, as long leagues have kept attendance at date, or fear, or concern, or some games did go on as planned. over certain periods. as adequate protection for players sharply reduced levels. combination of the three. How right he was. PAGE 48 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, March 12, 2021 Stuck in a rut SPORTS Harvick still looking for dominant 2020 form ›› Auto racing, Page 41

VIRUS OUTBREAK

The long game COVID-19 changed the way we play, watch, and cheer sports

BY EDDIE PELLS down of nets and hoisting of trophies, the Associated Press pregame hype and postgame deconstruc- t’s the predictable rhythm of sports tions, the trade talk and injury crises that that draws us in. envelop each passing year with the regu- Not so much the results of the larity of an atomic clock. games themselves as the steady ca- Idence of the seasons — the cutting SEE COVID­19 ON PAGE 47

ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN VENABLES Stars and Stripes

Duke’s season, NCAA tournament streak end ›› Page 43