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Volume 79 Edition 258 ©SS 2021 FRIDAY,APRIL 16, 2021 $1.00

Best Sniper AFGHANISTAN competitors relish chance to improve

BY COREY DICKSTEIN Stars and Stripes FORT BENNING, Ga. — It wasn’t easy to leave Germany with its tightened coronavirus re- strictions to travel to the United States, but the chance to earn the Army’s Best Sniper title made navigating the red tape worth- while. For Army Sgts. Gerald Vistayan and John Visco, toting their sniper rifles to the U.S. added more diffi- culty, but the 2nd Cavalry Re- giment infantrymen said they were determined to make it to Fort Benning this week for the 2021 Best Sniper competition. Af- ter completing the first three events of the four-day competi- tion, Visco said he was certain the bureaucracy-induced headaches would prove worthwhile. “It was a lot of work to get here,” he said. “But it’s incredible. The competition is no joke. It’s tough. AP They’re throwing some really Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Quinnones is pictured after a gunbattle as part of an operation to clear the area of insurgents near Musa Qala, in tough stuff at us, but it’s a lot of northern Helmand province, Afghanistan, on July 23, 2010. President Joe Biden plans to remove all troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11. fun, and we can definitely learn a whole lot from it.” Win or lose, the 2nd Cavalry Re- giment soldiers said the opportu- nity to rub shoulders and talk SEE SNIPER ON PAGE 4 Assessing their service As US prepares to end the Afghan War, veterans agonize over sacrifices BY DAN LAMOTHE AND ALEX HORTON provised bomb hidden beneath it exploded, RELATED The Washington Post said Peter Lucier, another Marine in Kaipat’s As the U.S. military shut down scores of re- unit. NATO forces also will leave COREY DICKSTEIN/Stars and Stripes mote outposts and patrol bases across southern For Lucier, the incident, more than any oth- An Army sniper competes in the country after Biden decision Afghanistan 10 years ago, the Taliban planted a er event in his seven-month tour, captured the Best Sniper competition at Fort Page 6 Benning in Georgia on Monday. white flag on a former U.S. position that had bloody futility of the war. Kaipat, 22, died on The four-day competition tests been bulldozed, claiming the turf as its own April 11, 2012, standing on ground that U.S. Lawmakers pledge to seek U.S. military sniper teams from and taunting the withdrawing Americans. commanders were no longer interested in the Army, Marine Corps and Marine Lance Cpl. Ramon Kaipat removed ways to keep Taliban in check Coast Guard on a variety of skills. the flag and was killed instantly when an im- SEE SERVICE ON PAGE 7 Page 7 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER

EUROPE GAS PRICES EXCHANGE RATES

Country Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel  Military rates South Korea (Won) 1116.69 Germany $3.124 $3.534 $3.785 $3.404 Azores .. .. $3.685 .. Switzerland (Franc) .9219 Euro costs (April 16) $1.17 Change in price ­0.8 cents No change ­0.1 cents ­1.5 cents Change in price .. .. ­0.1 cents .. Thailand (Baht) 31.16 Dollar buys (April 16) 0.8142 Turkey (NewLira) 8.0965 Netherlands .. $3.967 $4.264 $3.940 Belgium .. $2.989 $3.258 $3.011 British pound (April 16) $1.34 Japanese yen (April 16) 106.00 Change in price .. +2.4 cents +2.6 cents +2.4 cents Change in price .. No change No change No change (Military exchange rates are those available South Korean won (April 16) 1090.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the U.K. .. $3.433 $3.684 $3.303 Turkey .. .. $3.570 $4.026* Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger­ Change in price .. No change ­0.1 cents ­1.5 cents Change in price .. .. ­0.1 cents +0.1 cents many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain(Dinar) .3770 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ Britain (Pound) 1.3785 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2515 your local military banking facility. Commercial China(Yuan) 6.5256 rates are interbank rates provided for reference PACIFIC GAS PRICES Denmark (Krone) 6.2103 Egypt (Pound) 15.6795 when buying currency. All figures are foreign Country Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel  Euro .8350 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Japan .. $3.579 .. $3.199 South Korea $2.929 .. $3.589 $3.209  Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7681 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­euro.) Change in price .. No change .. ­1.0 cents Change in price ­1.0 cents  .. No change ­1.0 cents Hungary (Forint) 299.85 Israel (Shekel) 3.2809 Okinawa $2.919 .. .. $3.199 Guam $2.929  $2.339 $3.589 .. Japan (Yen) 108.73 INTEREST RATES Kuwait(Dinar) .3015 Change in price No change  .. .. ­1.0 cents Change in price No change No change No change .. Norway (Krone) 8.3853 Prime rate 3.25 Philippines (Peso) 48.44 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 *DieselEFD **Midgrade Poland (Zloty) 3.80 Federal funds market rate 0.07 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7505 3­month bill 0.02 For the week of April 16­22 Singapore (Dollar) 1.3347 30­year bond 2.32 WEATHER OUTLOOK FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FRIDAY IN EUROPE SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC

Misawa 55/48

Kabul Seoul 70/47 58/43 Baghdad 91/62 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar Mildenhall/ 58/43 62/56 83/57 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 54/34 67/47 53/29 Iwakuni Kuwait City Bahrain 64/52 Brussels Zagan Sasebo Guam 92/73 83/74 Ramstein 44/39 68/55 52/36 48/32 88/79 Riyadh Lajes, 90/68 Doha Azores Stuttgart 89/72 67/61 47/28 Pápa Aviano/ 51/34 Vicenza 59/38

Naples 61/50 Okinawa Morón 75/70 70/52 Sigonella Rota 57/51 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 66/55 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 89/80 67/57 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 36 Classified ...... 12 Comics ...... 38-39 Crossword ...... 38-39 Faces ...... 35 Opinion ...... 40 Sports ...... 41-48 Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY Top leaders push to address flux of migrants at border

BY SARAH CAMMARATA istration is on a good track.” Stars and Stripes Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R- WASHINGTON — The com- Tenn., pressed VanHerck to an- manders of U.S. Northern and swer a question on whether Southern Commands testified strong enforcement of existing Wednesday that the United immigration laws would serve as States must approach the influx a deterrent to illegal immigra- of Central American migrants at tion. the U.S.-Mexico border as a na- “Our border security is nation- tional security issue and address al security and the laws that we the problem holistically. have on the books would be part “We have a national security of contributing to overarching imperative right now on our national security when en- southern border that we need to forced,” the general responded. deal with,” said Air Force Gen. One Democrat, Rep. Joe Court- Glen VanHerck, who leads U.S. ney of Connecticut, applauded ALEX MILLAR, U.S. NAVY/AP Northern Command and North Faller’s description of the exter- Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Three, and Capt. G. S. Thoroman, American Aerospace Defense nal forces — including the pan- commanding officer, amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, salute the ensign for colors during Command. demic, natural disasters and po- a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego on Wednesday. VanHerck and Adm. Craig litical violence — driving large Faller, who leads U.S. Southern numbers of people from their Command, told lawmakers on homes in Central America and the House Armed Services Com- toward the U.S. southern border. Navy decommissions ship mittee that multiple factors have “Thank you for that testimony come together to create an envi- today because I frankly think ronment that has driven more coming from you, it’s a really im- destroyed in dockyard fire than 350,000 migrants to attempt portant message that people to cross the U.S.-Mexico border should really think about as we Associated Press San Diego was not open to the pub- with extensive structural, electri- in the first three months of 2021. try to deal with the problems at SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Navy lic, with the Navy citing concerns cal and mechanical damage. A Na- Their comments came at a full the border,” he said. on Wednesday decommissioned over the spread of the coronavi- vy official said arson was believed committee hearing about nation- Robert Salesses, the Defense the USS Bonhomme Richard rus. to be the cause. al security challenges and mili- Department’s acting secretary docked off San Diego nine months The amphibious assault ship is The Navy estimated that repair- tary activity in North and South for homeland defense and global after flames engulfed it in one of expected to be towed to a shipyard ing the ship would run more than America. A rising number of mi- security, also said he recognizes the worst U.S. warship fires out- in Texas for dismantling. $2.5 billion. Dismantling the ship grants, including unaccompa- the importance of a “whole of na- side of combat in recent memory. The ship that ignited July 12 is expected to cost about $30 mil- nied children, are arriving at the tion” approach. The ceremony at Naval Base burned for four days and was left lion. U.S.-Mexico border, many to “The Defense Department cer- seek asylum. tainly can play a role in helping, “I believe it’s a confluence of but it also takes the diplomatic, multiple things that are drawing the economic, the information, Pacific Fleet’s deputy commander tapped folks to our border, from transna- the law enforcement, all of that, tional criminal organizations to and our partners in the South to lead 3rd Fleet based out of San Diego [coronavirus] to multiple natural working together too to rethink disasters,” Faller said. this, and I think that approach BY WYATT OLSON cial biography. He is also a grad- The military officials urged can be very successful,” Salesses Stars and Stripes uate of the Joint Staff College and lawmakers to look at migration said. A naval aviator with experi- the Navy Nuclear Power Pro- as a “national security impera- Throughout the hearing, offi- ence in Iraq spanning from Oper- gram. tive,” and the U.S. must come up cials voiced concern over the ation Desert Storm in 1990-91 to He has commanded the am- with a whole of government ap- continuous threat that transna- the more recent Inherent Resolve phibious assault ship USS Bataan, proach to secure U.S. borders. tional criminal networks and il- has been nominated to command the aircraft carrier USS Dwight “The challenge is creating an licit trafficking pose to the U.S. the San Diego-based 3rd Fleet, D. Eisenhower and Carrier Strike environment where these folks “They traffic in arms, humans, the Defense Department an- Group Nine. can succeed, so they don’t have to drugs, and claim tens of thou- nounced Wednesday. During operational tours, he feel like they migrate. And that sands of lives here in the United If the Senate approves, Rear supported the operations Desert takes a whole of nation approach States each year,” Faller said in Adm. Stephen Koehler, currently Storm, Southern Watch, Iraqi to get after transnational crimi- his opening statement. the deputy commander of U.S. Freedom, Inherent Resolve and nal organizations,” VanHerck The organizations drive illegal Pacific Fleet in Hawaii, will be Freedom’s Sentinel in support of said in response to a question migration because people look to promoted to vice admiral as com- contingency operations in the from Rep. Lisa McClain, R- find safety elsewhere and it also mander of 3rd Fleet, which is re- Middle East. Mich., about the impact of Presi- allows bad actors to gain influen- sponsible for about 50 million He has logged over 3,900 hours U.S. Navy dent Joe Biden’s immigration ce, such as China, he added. square miles of the eastern and in the F-14 Tomcat and the F-18 Rear Adm. Stephen Koehler, policies. Salesses said the Pentagon northern Pacific Ocean. E/F Super Hornet fighter jets, ac- currently serving as deputy McClain, along with some oth- should apply some of the lessons Its current commander, Vice cording to his bio. commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet er Republicans, pushed witness- that the Defense Department has Adm. Scott Conn, has held the po- He served ashore as an instruc- in Hawaii, has been chosen to es to comment on whether Bi- learned through developing sition since September 2019. tor pilot with Strike Fighter lead 3rd Fleet. den’s actions to reopen the south- counterterrorism mechanisms to Koehler, a San Diego native, Squadron 101, known as the Grim ern border and “encourage mi- address the issue, because the fo- was commissioned in March 1989 Reapers, and later as the squad- He became deputy commander grants to illegally cross” into the cus on interdiction has not been and holds a master’s degree in ron’s executive officer. He has al- of Pacific Fleet in October. U.S. makes the country less safe. successful. national security and strategic so served as chief of staff to Joint VanHerck did not directly comment on specific Biden poli- studies from the Naval War Col- Task Force Horn of Africa in Dji- [email protected] [email protected] lege, according to the Navy’s offi- bouti. Twitter: @WyattWOlson cies, though he said “the admin- Twitter: @sarahjcamm PAGE 4 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 MILITARY Sniper: Competition challenges more than just shooting skills

FROM PAGE 1 shooting with some of the mili- tary’s most accomplished snipers was worth the extra paperwork, the coronavirus tests and the trek to southwest Georgia, where the sun blazed down on competitors Monday afternoon as temper- atures neared 90 degrees. Fort Benning officials said they pressed Army leaders to OK the Best Sniper and Best Ranger events to be held there this week during its annual Infantry Week because they are important op- portunities for elite-skilled people to share tactics and training prac- tices. The events were canceled last year because of the coronavi- rus pandemic. While some travel restrictions have remained in place for the military, the Army has continued to move large units of troops PHOTOS BY COREY DICKSTEIN/Stars and Stripes around the globe for training and Above: Army Sniper School cadre look on as snipers compete in the heartbreaker event during the Best Sniper competition at Fort Benning in other operations. The ability to Georgia on Monday. Below: Army snipers eye targets down range during the heartbreaker event. safely move troops persuaded Ar- my officials to move forward with One qualified team did not make a scaled-back version of Infantry the trip to Fort Benning after a Week, with competitors coming to positive test for the coronavirus, Fort Benning from assignments Williams said. around the world. The Sniper Course cadre The Army gave the go-ahead in planned the 2021 event with the late January, said Lt. Col. Nate potential fight against a near-peer Williams, who commands Fort rival in mind. Taking cues from Benning’s 1st Battalion, 29th In- the Pentagon — which has shifted fantry Regiment. William’s unit its primary focus from counterter- oversees the Army Sniper Course, rorism to full-scale operations to which plans and holds the Best fight rival powers like China and Sniper competition. Russia — instructors designed the “We felt we needed to be able to 2021 contest to resemble an oper- show people that we can begin to ation against an Army with simi- open back up again as an Army,” lar capabilities to the U.S. mili- Williams said Monday. tary. Chance to learn ‘Reality check’ The competitions also give sol- The first surprise for sniper diers invaluable opportunities to competitors came early in the advance their skills and learn competition, said Sgt. 1st Class Za- from each other. chary Small, the noncommis- “It’s demonstrating the exper- sioned officer in charge of the con- tise that we have within our test. Competitors in the very first ranks,” Williams said. “Making a stage, which kicked off at 4 a.m. very competitive environment is Monday, had to maneuver a land healthy for the Army, and it’s im- navigation course as patrols of have to demonstrate other critical ations units including the 75th vices, including more experi- portant considering the environ- simulated enemies and small battlefield skills, including Ranger Regiment and Green Be- enced snipers who have served in ment we think we’re moving to- drones searched for them. stealth, reconnaissance, fitness rets. Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. ward — large scale combat oper- This competition challenges and the ability to adjust under “You’ve got guys in this compe- Coast Guardsmen assigned to ations.” snipers’ mental and physical abil- pressure. tition that are inexperienced, the Maritime Security Response The competition this week in- ities, Small said. It is not just a “We like to try and start off with brand new right out of the Sniper Team in Chesapeake, Va., said af- cludes 26 teams of sniper duos. shooting competition; snipers a reality check,” Small said. “So course who are coming into this ter only three competitions by here we’re taking an approach to with the institutional knowledge Monday afternoon, they had this competition as what you could of the latest information from the picked up new ideas for training. see in that next fight — that near- school, and guys who are very ex- “For us, we’re kind of limited a peer threat fight. That challenges perienced operators, who’ve been lot of times to the maritime envi- the competitors to think outside out in a combat operational envi- ronment, so here rubbing shoul- the box and creates realism in the ronment a ton over the last 10 ders with guys that were in Syria scenario in the best way that we years or more,” Small said. “You and stuff, it’s cool to get those ex- could without having an actual get these guys together, and that’s periences,” Wuerffel said. “We enemy for searching for them.” how you keep the [sniper] com- want to come to these things Small said the competitors munity growing; that’s how you knowing we’re going to learn new would have other surprises before create and advance [tactics, tech- things to train on when we go a team was to be crowned Best niques and procedures]. This is back.” Sniper on Friday. where a whole lot of knowledge is Winning the competition would After having the competition passed on and shared.” also be welcome, Robinson said. canceled last year, Small said he For Coast Guard snipers Petty “It would mean the world to was pleased to see so many teams Officer 2nd Class Randy Robin- win,” he said. “We want to win this travel to Fort Benning this year. son and Nathan Wuerffel, the Ar- thing for sure.” The Army sent teams from dozens my-led competition has offered

Competitors use their partners as a base for shooting during the of units, including National Guard them the opportunity to talk shop [email protected] four­day contest that began Monday. and teams from elite special oper- with snipers from the other ser- Twitter: @CDicksteinDC Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 5 PACIFIC American toilet paper taxes plumbing at Yokota

BY ERICA EARL toilet.” Stars and Stripes Jenkins, who said she got used to Residents of at least one Ameri- buying family-sized packages of can military installation in Japan American toilet paper after the cor- may have to purchase Japanese toi- onavirus pandemic spurred a let paper to keep their plumbing shortage last year, intends to give working properly, according to the Japanese brands a try. housing maintenance office. “It would have just been nice to American multi-ply toilet paper know when I first got here,” she brands are to blame for frequently said. “I do a lot of shopping off base clogged pipes on Yokota Air Base, anyway, so I really don’t mind. I just Amy Moses, operator of the tower wish I didn’t have to find out this maintenance department on Yoko- way.” ta, told Stars and Stripes in a phone Moses said the tower mainte- call Monday. Yokota, in western To- nance office is planning to address kyo, is the headquarters for U.S. the toilet paper issue at newcomers’ Forces Japan, 5th Air Force and the orientations in the future. 374th Airlift Wing. At Kadena Air Base on Okinawa “We aren’t trying to take busi- and Yokosuka Naval Base south of ness away from the exchange or ERICA EARL/Stars and Stripes Tokyo, American-brand toilet pa- commissary,” she said. “But it American multi­ply toilet paper brands are to blame for clogged pipes on Yokota Air Base, Japan. per is not an issue, sources there saves a lot of work and frustration said. for everyone in the long run if you ing flushable wipes and putting toi- Moses said she gets as many as volunteer Tammy Jenkins said she “It is not a requirement here to don’t use that toilet paper.” let cleaning tabs in the tank, she eight calls per day about clogged has firsthand experience with a use Japanese toilet paper,” Yokosu- Over time, thick toilet paper said. plumbing, often repeat calls from flooded toilet. After the third time ka spokesman Randall Baucom brands can back up in the septic Moses said anyone unwilling to the same residents. her bathroom flooded since Febru- told Stars and Stripes by phone system and lead to flooding and surrender their favorite brands of “If people want to keep using the ary 2020, tower maintenance told Wednesday. “However, residents clogged drains that affect the bath- creature comfort should be stingy American brand they like, that’s her American toilet paper was the should stop using disposable wipes, tub and sink, Moses said. She said with the amount of tissue they em- fine, but eventually they’re going to problem. or put them in the trash can rather Japanese brands are designed to ploy and flush the toilet twice after have issues,” she said. “It gets really “At first I thought they were jok- than flushing them.” dissolve faster than American using it. That will use more water, bad and even floods people’s mas- ing,” she said. “But it’s worth going brands. which is a good reason to reconsider ter bedrooms.” off base for Japanese brands if it [email protected] Residents should also avoid us- your choice in toilet paper, she said. Yokota resident and post office means not having an overflowing Twitter: @ThisEarlGirl PAGE 6 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WAR ON TERRORISM Blinken in Afghanistan to sell US troop withdrawal

Associated Press “I wanted to demonstrate with we’re writing together.” KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. my visit the ongoing commitment “We are grateful to your people, Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the United States to the Islamic your country, your administra- made an unannounced visit to Af- Republic and the people of Af- tion,” Abdullah said. ghanistan on Thursday to sell Af- ghanistan,” Blinken told Afghan Blinken arrived in the Afghan ghan leaders and a wary public on President Ashraf Ghani as they capital from Brussels, where he President Joe Biden’s decision to met at the presidential palace in and Defense Secretary Lloyd Aus- AP withdraw all American troops Kabul. “The partnership is chang- tin briefed NATO officials on the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, talks with Afghanistan’s from the country and end Ameri- ing, but the partnership itself is en- U.S. decision and won quick ap- Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar outside the presidential ca’s longest war. during.” proval from the allies to end their palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday. Blinken sought to assure senior “We respect the decision and are Resolute Support mission in Af- Afghan politicians that the United adjusting our priorities,” Ghani ghanistan. of terrorist elements that could use late 2001. States remains committed to the told Blinken, expressing gratitude Biden, Blinken and Austin have Afghan soil to plot similar strikes. “My views are very pessimis- country despite Biden’s announ- for the sacrifices of U.S. troops. all tried to put a brave face on the However, that argument has tic,” Naheed Farid, a member of cement a day earlier that the 2,500 Later, in a meeting with Abdul- pullout, maintaining that the U.S.- faced pushback from some U.S. parliament, told reporters when U.S. soldiers remaining in the lah Abdullah, who heads the Na- and NATO-led missions to Afghan- lawmakers and human rights ad- asked her thoughts about the fu- country would be coming home by tional Reconciliation Council, istan had achieved their goal of vocates, who say the withdrawal ture of her country. Farid was one the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 Blinken repeated his message, decimating Osama bin Laden’s al- will result in the loss of freedoms of a half-dozen, mostly women, civ- terrorist attacks that led to the U.S. saying that “we have a new chap- Qaida network that launched the 9/ that Afghans enjoyed after the Ta- ic leaders who met with Blinken at invasion in 2001. ter, but it is a new chapter that 11 attacks and clearing the country liban was ousted from power in the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. NATO forces to leave Afghanistan after Biden’s decision BY JOHN VANDIVER Western-led military solution to the Wednesday by President Joe Biden to hold off the Taliban without inter- ban insurgents, who often seized the Stars and Stripes challenges Afghanistan faces. that the U.S. will pull all of its troops national military backing. Blinken initiative despite lacking the superi- STUTTGART, Germany — The “We will leave Afghanistan to- out of Afghanistan before the 20th acknowledged even with U.S. mili- or armaments and air power pro- NATO alliance, which rushed to gether and bring our troops home,” anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, tary backing, Afghan forces remain vided by Western forces. join the United States in Afghanis- Blinken said. “After years of saying which sparked the longest Ameri- locked in a stalemate. The NATO-led combat force in tan in the aftermath of the 9/11 ter- we will leave at some point, that can war in history. Austin said the U.S. will continue Afghanistan peaked at 140,000 rorist attacks, will depart the war- time has come.” The Afghanistan War marked the to lend financial support to Afghan- troops in about 2010, but by 2014 torn country alongside American Blinken also said the original pur- first time in history that NATO allies istan and its security forces. that number had dropped down to forces in the months ahead, allies pose of the war, eliminating the invoked Article V, an alliance bed- The U.S. is expected to reposition 13,000 troops as allies transitioned announced Wednesday. threat to the U.S. homeland posed rock principle that an attack on one counterterrorism forces in the re- to its training effort. The numbers “Standing shoulder to shoulder, by al-Qaida in Afghanistan, has member is met with a response gion to be able to respond to threats gradually declined with the passing we have paid a high price, both in been achieved. from all. For nearly 20 years, U.S. should they emerge in Afghanistan. years. blood and treasure,” NATO Secre- The war, which killed and commanders and political leaders Austin declined to say what possible In all, more about 3,500 coalition tary-General Jens Stoltenberg said maimed thousands of U.S. troops, have said the end of the war in Af- locations could be for such a force. troops — mostly American — were from NATO headquarters in Brus- ultimately reduced the ability of ghanistan would be conditions In 2014, NATO ended its formal killed in the nearly 20-year cam- sels, where he was flanked by De- militants to launch attacks on the based. But in announcing an end to combat role in Afghanistan as it paign and more than 30,000 were fense Secretary Lloyd Austin and United States, Austin concurred. U.S. military involvement, Biden shifted to training and advisory mis- injured. The U.S. also spent hun- Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Our troops have accomplished said the time has come to pull out re- sion. But that didn’t spell the end to dreds of billions of dollars on the The NATO drawdown of its the mission they were sent to Af- gardless of security conditions on the fighting, though most of the war that started as a mission to elim- 10,000 troops will begin by May 1 ghanistan to accomplish,” he said. the ground. combat was left to U.S. forces in inate al-Qaida fighters after the 9/11 and will be “orderly, coordinated, Allies will respond forcefully, The withdrawal of roughly 2,500 subsequent years. attacks, but then morphed into a and deliberate.” The drawdown al- Austin said, if the Taliban launches U.S. troops in Afghanistan and thou- During that time, Afghan forces sprawling nation-building cam- so will be completed within a few attacks on coalition forces as they sands more NATO forces will be were officially in the lead on the bat- paign that critics of the war said ulti- months, Stoltenberg said. draw down. wrapped up before September. tlefield, but received massive logis- mately proved to be wasteful. “This is not an easy decision and it NATO’s decision, reached during The decision to depart is not with- tics and advisory support from the entails risks,” the NATO chief said. a high-level meeting at alliance out risk given the weakness of the U.S.-led coalition. The Afghan mil-

However, after two decades, he headquarters, was almost inevita- Afghan government and doubts itary has taken heavy casualties [email protected] said it’s become clear there is no ble following an announcement about the Afghan military’s ability over the years at the hands of Tali- Twitter: @john_vandiver Australia to withdraw from Afghanistan

Associated Press “The decision represents a sig- between 2002 and 2014. He said CANBERRA, Australia — Aus- nificant milestone in Australia’s the Afghanistan campaign was tralia would complete its troop military history,” he added. worth the sacrifice. withdrawal from Afghanistan in President Joe Biden plans to “Freedom’s always worth it. September in line with the United withdraw the last 2,500 U.S. Australians have always believed States and other allies, the prime troops from Afghanistan before that. That’s why Australians who minister said Thursday. the 20th anniversary of the Sept. have serviced in our defense Australia’s contribution to the 11 terrorist attacks on the United forces have always pulled on that NATO-led mission had once ex- States that triggered the cam- uniform,” Morrison said. ceeded 15,000 personnel, but only paign. “Pulling on that uniform and 80 remain. More than 39,000 Australian serving under that flag, defending “In line with the United States military personnel have served in our values and standing up for and other allies and partners, the Afghanistan since 2001, and 41 them is what Australians do and last remaining Australian troops have been killed there. those 41 brave men have exhibit- DAN PELED/AP will depart Afghanistan in Sep- Morrison became emotional ed that more than any other Aus- Australian Defense Forces personnel take part in a parade in tember,” Prime Minister Scott when reading the names of the tralian can ever hope to,” he add- Brisbane, Australia, before deploying to Afghanistan in 2015. Morrison said. Australian soldiers who had died ed. Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 7 WAR ON TERRORISM Lawmakers plan diplomatic moves on Taliban BY SARAH CAMMARATA presence there, and we’ll con- certain regions of Afghanistan. Republican on the Senate the Afghan National Security Stars and Stripes tinue to invest in Afghanistan And so, to the best of our ability, Armed Services Committee, and Defense Forces are not yet WASHINGTON — A group of stability, infrastructure and na- we’ll be supporting the gains voiced concern that the Taliban capable of standing on their Democratic House lawmakers tional defense,” Rep. Mikie we’ve made, and ensuring that could quickly regain a foothold own,” the congressman said. said Thursday that they will at- Sherrill of New Jersey said dur- they continue,” said Sherrill, a in key locations in Afghanistan Aguilar, who serves on the tempt to limit the Taliban’s abil- ing a call with reporters about co-chairperson of the House after the U.S. military leaves. House Appropriations Commit- ity to regain power in Afghan- Biden’s planned withdrawal of Democratic Caucus task force The country could return to tee subpanel on defense, said istan by continuing to have a ro- troops from Afghanistan. on national security. “a breeding ground for interna- the U.S. must now assess the as- bust diplomatic presence there Sherrill, a member of the Other leaders of the group on tional terrorists,” Inhofe said sistance package to the Afghan- and provide economic support House Armed Services Com- the call included Rep. Pete Wednesday after Biden’s istan government and security on the heels of President Joe Bi- mittee who served in the Navy Aguilar of California, the vice speech about withdrawing the forces, and examine what logis- den’s announcement to remove for nearly a decade, said the chairman of the House Demo- troops. tical support the U.S. can still all remaining U.S. troops from United States will continue to cratic Caucus, Rep. Jason Crow Aguilar acknowledged the provide without combat troops the country. ensure al-Qaida is unable to re- of Colorado and Rep. Andy Kim U.S. is taking a risk that the Ta- there. “We’re withdrawing combat build its training bases and ter- of New Jersey, both co-chair- liban could gain ground and The U.S. must also look at troops, but we’re not ending our rorist networks in Afghanistan. persons of the task force. take over more territories. how to conduct the counterter- relationship with Afghanistan. “We’ve been there 20 years, The comments came as some “We’ll be keeping a close eye rorism mission and assist the lo- We’ll continue to have a robust and there are certain gains that top Republicans, including Sen. on what’s happening, because cal government in the long diplomatic and humanitarian I think will be entrenched in Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the top most folks will recognize that term, he said. Service: Vets reflect on Afghan tours

FROM PAGE 1 the establishment of good govern- served three deployments in Af- holding. ance seem as distant as ever. So ghanistan as a mortuary affairs Lucier recalled Kaipat’s death does the end of violence. soldier. Her tasks included receiv- as he heard the news that Presi- “I think for the people who ing the remains of the war dead, dent Joe Biden intends to remove fought on D-Day, it was probably and she prepared hundreds of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan nice for those who survived to go bodies for the last trip home. by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of on vacation in France 30 years lat- Chase, who is pursuing a nurs- terrorist attacks that launched the er and see what they were looking ing degree, received Biden’s an- United States into combat in that at,” said Loren Crowe, who de- nouncement with some bitterness. country. Lucier, now a law student ployed to Afghanistan twice as an “It makes every life we lost over in St. Louis, has long advocated for Army infantry officer. “We’re not there pointless,” Chase said. withdrawal, but the decision left going to get that, and that’s fine. Tyler Burdick was on a moun- him with no sense of satisfaction. That doesn’t make it a meaning- tain in Utah training to compete in “I thought I’d be happy. It less experience. But it also doesn’t snowboarding in next year’s Win- doesn’t feel like a win,” he said. do very much to justify the cost ter Paralympics when he heard “It’s just really empty.” that we paid.” about the Biden administration’s DAVID GUTTENFELDER/AP More than 800,000 people Crowe, of Cambridge, Mass., plans. Burdick lost both legs be- Marines Capt. J.R. Farris, left, and Cpl. M.A. Madding return Taliban served in Afghanistan in the U.S. earned a Silver Star for valor in low the knee after surviving an ex- fire from behind a primary school wall in Afghanistan in 2009. military, and many of them are re- 2008 in eastern Konar province plosion in Marjah, Helmand prov- flecting anew on what the war and was shot there in 2012. He said ince, in 2010. He was injured in the able to accomplish as much as we rounding operations he witnessed achieved and the meaning of their he couldn’t see how the U.S. mil- back of an armored vehicle just set out to do,” Burdick said, citing in eastern Afghanistan’s Korengal individual parts in it. itary could stay but is concerned days before he was to return Marjah’s return to Taliban control Valley, where missions often were About 2,300 U.S. service mem- about what withdrawal means for home. after the Marines withdrew. “It launched without any under- bers died in the conflict, the long- Afghan civilians, especially if the Burdick, who provided medical means a lot of guys got hurt and a standing of the people who were est in American history, and Taliban returns to power and treatment to Marines as a Navy lot of guys got killed, and it was all there and what previous Ameri- 20,000 more were wounded in ac- rules with the brutality it exhibit- hospital corpsman, said he ap- for nothing — and that’s hard. can units had or had not done. tion. Nearly 30,000 U.S. troops de- ed in the 1990s. proved amputation four years lat- That’s something that I have to “It was sort of headlong rushing ployed to Afghanistan at least five “There are 40 million people in er, as the hardware implanted to live with and deal with. We all do.” into, I don’t want to say failure, but times, according to data released that country,” Crowe said. stabilize his legs began to fail and Ronald Moeller, who served as from one mistake to another,” he by the Pentagon. Tens of thou- “They’re going to bear all the costs his pain increased. He had a civilian intelligence officer in said. sands of Afghan civilians also of this decision.” planned to pursue a career as a Afghanistan on 12 tours, said he No U.S. service member has were killed, and the United States Crowe said he began to have Navy SEAL before he was injured. “really doesn’t like” the Biden ad- been killed in combat in Afghan- spent more than $2 trillion prose- doubts about U.S. policy as he was Burdick, 40, said he thinks it is ministration but agrees with the istan since February 2020, but cuting the war. serving in Afghanistan. Having “long overdue” that the United president’s decision to withdraw. Moeller is concerned that that The planned departure has less and less sense of what the States withdraw and that “we’ve But he’s also concerned that U.S. could come to an end. The Taliban evoked a range of emotions among United States was trying to outstayed our usefulness there — history in Afghanistan will quickly has largely held fire since Presi- veterans of the conflict. Some felt achieve, he said, he began focus- if we even had any to begin with.” be forgotten and that necessary dent Donald Trump signed an withdrawal was inevitable, the ing his tour, to the extent that he But he remains proud of those lessons from how the war was agreement last year to withdraw frustrating result of repeated mis- could, on protecting the soldiers with whom he served and stays in fought will not be learned. U.S. troops by this May, but it is takes and missed opportunities. under his command. touch with them. Moeller, who lives in South Da- not assured that the militants will The rebuilding of Afghanistan and Amber Chase, of El Paso, Texas, “It’s frustrating that we weren’t kota, cited the confusion sur- continue to do so, Moeller said. PAGE 8 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 MILITARY ‘Magic mushroom’ could work better against depression

BY KARIN ZEITVOGEL Nutt, principal investigator on the Stars and Stripes study and the Edmond J. Safra Chair The active ingredient in psyche- in Neuropsychopharmacology at Im- delic mushrooms may be more effec- perial College London. tive at treating depression than a Earlier this month, Army veteran leading antidepressant, a study has Jose Martinez urged California law- found, potentially opening up new makers to advance a bill that would avenues of treatment for troops who decriminalize psychedelic drugs like suffer from the debilitating condi- magic mushrooms and LSD. tion. Martinez said he believes psilocy- The severity of depressive symp- bin mushrooms helped save his life toms dropped by at least half in 70% when he felt depressed, after losing of people who were given psilocybin both legs and an arm to an impro- BRIAN FERGUSON/Stars and Stripes in clinical trials conducted last year vised explosive device in Afghanis- People walk past open shops in the pedestrian zone of Kaiserslautern, Germany, last month. at Imperial College London, the tan. Opponents of the bill said decri- study published Thursday in the minalization could lead to more New England Journal of Medicine deaths by poisoning. Rheinland-Pfalz survey aims to help said. Only 48% of a group that took A study published in Military the common antidepressant escitalo- Medicine in 2012 estimated that 12% pram saw a similar decrease. of deployed, 13% of previously de- Americans navigate life in Germany Thirty of 59 patients were given ployed and just under 6% of never two separate doses of 25 milligrams deployed military personnel have BY JENNIFER H. SVAN “We’re looking to gather data on cling system, cultural differences of psilocybin at three-week intervals, clinical depression. AND MARCUS KLOECKNER what American families strive to do and finding information, Con- and took a daily placebo for six In military personnel, clinical de- Stars and Stripes during their time in Germany as stance said. weeks. The others received two pression impedes readiness and of- KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany well as their wishes and needs,” he Respondents don’t have to pro- much smaller doses of psilocybin — 1 ten leads to poor health outcomes, a —U.S. personnel and their families said. vide their name or street address, mg — three weeks apart and took es- separate study published last year in living in Rheinland-Pfalz can par- Respondents are asked to “tell us but they can opt to list their city or citalopram, which is marketed under Military Medicine said. ticipate this month in a state-fund- what they need in a ‘normal set- village so participation can be brand names like Cipralex and Lex- The Imperial College researchers ed survey intended to help Ameri- ting,’” Constance said, disregard- gauged and specific issues can be apro, daily for six weeks. are calling for a larger study to be cans adjust to life in Germany. ing temporary lockdown restric- identified, Constance said. All the patients had long-term, conducted into the effects of psilocy- Americans on or off base may tions, so the project can offer ser- Rheinland-Pfalz has the largest moderate to severe clinical depres- bin on mental health. participate in the U.S. military-ap- vices once the pandemic is over. U.S. presence of Germany’s 16 fed- sion and received psychological “We look forward to further trials, proved, anonymous online ques- The survey contains 21 questions eral states, with tens of thousands counseling throughout the study. which if positive should lead to psilo- tionnaire through April 25, said and takes a few minutes to com- of service members and their fam- In addition to showing larger re- cybin becoming a licensed medi- John Constance, manager of “Wel- plete. One question asks what re- ilies at Ramstein Air Base, U.S. Ar- ductions in depressive symptoms, cine,” Nutt said. come to Rheinland-Pfalz! Our spondents are interested in doing in my Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, the psilocybin group reported grea- Until then, however, the research- neighbors from the USA.” Germany, and includes multiple- Spangdahlem Air Base and other ter improvements in their ability to ers are advising against self-medica- The welcome project was choice answers such as improving installations. cry or feel compassion, intense emo- tion with magic mushrooms to treat formed in 2014 to connect Ameri- German language skills, attending There are 37 municipalities par- tion and pleasure, the study said. depression. cans and Germans. events, volunteering and interact- ticipating in the initiative. They list They also said they felt less drowsy Taking mushrooms found while The pandemic has “put a strain ing with locals. information in English on the pro- than those who took escitalopram. foraging in the woods “might not on everybody,” Constance said, Some questions seek a written gram’s website, welcome-to- “These findings provide further have a positive outcome,” they said, and has made it difficult for Amer- response, such as one that asks rlp.org/home, where a link to the support for the growing evidence stressing that the study was conduct- icans to feel like part of their com- what services or events would have survey is available. base that shows that in people with ed under strict clinical guidelines. munities. That’s especially true for made it easier to settle into local depression, psilocybin offers an al- recent arrivals who haven’t been to life. [email protected] ternative treatment to traditional an- [email protected] a festival or participated in typical Common challenges Americans [email protected] tidepressants,” said professor David Twitter: @StripesZeit German experiences. face in Germany include the recy- Twitter: @stripesktown Rota to gain 2 destroyers by middle of decade, EUCOM chief says

BY JOHN VANDIVER Force’s new F-35 fighter jets, scheduled to Sixth Fleet warships also have upped Stars and Stripes be based in the United Kingdom later this their presence in the Black Sea in 2021, not STUTTGART, Germany — Two more Na- year, will add both firepower and intelli- far from where Moscow maintains its Black vy destroyers are expected to be based out of gence reach to EUCOM’s capabilities, Wol- Sea Fleet. The destroyers “are the work- Rota, Spain, within the next few years, a ters said. horses of deterrence,” Wolters said. move that will help U.S. European Com- U.S. military officials have repeatedly When Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Cri- mand keep closer tabs on Russian subma- raised concerns about increased Russian mean Peninsula in 2014, Russia gained a rines, the top U.S. officer on the Continent submarine activity stretching from the stronger foothold in the Black Sea region. said Thursday. North Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The Wolters said Russia has made a “concerted The destroyers, which have been sought Russians have been especially busy in a stra- effort” to build up there. by EUCOM for at least five years, could be in tegic waterway near Greenland over the The Black Sea “is an area of increased pol- Spain by 2025 or 2026, Gen. Tod Wolters said past three years, Wolters said. icy focus” for the Pentagon, said Laura K. during testimony before the House Armed The additional destroyers are “absolute- Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of de- Services Committee. ly, positively critical,” Wolters said. fense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, who KRIS LINDSTROM/U.S. Navy The ships would join four other destroyers The destroyers based at Rota have played also testified Thursday. The destroyer USS Arleigh Burke gets based at Rota and will improve EUCOM’s a large role in countering Russia. Last year, underway from Norfolk, Va., en route to its new homeport in Rota, Spain, on ability to “see under sea,” Wolters said. they patrolled as far north as the Barents [email protected] A larger naval presence and the Air Sea, a first since the Cold War. Twitter: @john_vandiver March 26. Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 9 VIRUS OUTBREAK Jobless claims in US lowest since outbreak

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Associated Press “We feel like WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unem- we’re at a place ployment benefits tumbled last week to 576,000, a post-COVID where the low and a hopeful sign that layoffs are easing as the economy recov- economy’s about ers from the pandemic recession. The Labor Department said to start growing Thursday that applications plum- CHRISTOPHE ENA/AP meted by 193,000 from a revised much more A medical staffer works in the ICU unit at Charles Nicolle public hospital, Thursday, in Rouen, Normandy. 769,000 a week earlier. Jobless The World Health Organization said Thursday that Europe has surpassed 1 million deaths from COVID­19. claims are now down sharply from quickly.” a peak of 900,000 in early January. Jerome Powell For the week ending March 27, 16.9 million people were contin- Federal Reserve chairman WHO: Europe passes 1M deaths uing to collect jobless benefits, Associated Press Europe. The United States, Brazil new infections and COVID-19 down from 18.2 million in the pre- Still, not all unemployment ap- GENEVA — A top official from and Mexico have reported the deaths drop dramatically since vious week. Those figures make plications are approved. The gov- the World Health Organization highest number of deaths, collec- January, due to a successful vacci- clear that even as the economy has ernment reports each week on says Europe has surpassed 1 mil- tively at more than 1.1 million. nation program and a prolonged strengthened in recent weeks, how many people have applied for lion deaths from COVID-19 and Speaking to reporters during a national lockdown that is only be- millions are facing a loss of a job or aid — but not how many have ac- the situation remains “serious,” visit to Greece, Kluge did point to ing reversed in stages. income and have been struggling tually received it. Claims are re- with about 1.6 million new cases “early signs that transmission Addressing recent concerns to pay bills or rent. jected if the applicants hadn’t reported each week in the region. may be slowing across several about vaccines, Kluge also said The drop in claims comes after earned enough money to qualify The comments by Dr. Hans countries” in WHO’s 53-country the risk of people suffering blood employers adding 916,000 jobs in or had been fired or quit their jobs. Kluge on Thursday aimed to em- European region, which stretches clots is far higher for people with March, the most since August, in a Unemployment aid is intended for phasize that Europe must keep up into Central Asia —and cited “de- COVID-19 than for people who re- sign that a sustained recovery is people who have been laid off its guard with social distancing clining incidence” among the ol- ceive AstraZeneca’s coronavirus taking hold as vaccinations accel- through no fault of their own. and speed up vaccinations as virus dest people. vaccine. erate, pandemic business restric- Most analysts have grown bul- variants drive new infections to He said the proportion of CO- “Let there be no doubt about it, tions are lifted in many states and lish about the economy’s prospec- record levels in some nations. VID-19 deaths among people over the AstraZeneca vaccine is effec- Americans appear increasingly ts for the coming months. They in- Overall, a tally by Johns Hop- 80, who have been prioritized for tive in reducing COVID-19 hospi- willing to travel, shop, eat out and clude Federal Reserve Chairman kins University shows nearly 3 vaccines, had dropped to nearly talization and preventing deaths,” otherwise spend again. The unem- Jerome Powell, who expressed his million deaths have been linked to 30% — the lowest level in the pan- he said, adding that WHO recom- ployment rate fell to 6%, from belief in an appearance last Sun- COVID-19 worldwide — with the demic. mends its use for all eligible 6.2%, less than half the pandemic day on “60 Minutes” that the econ- Americas hardest hit, followed by Britain in particular has seen adults. peak of nearly 15%. omy is at “an inflection point” and The nation’s unemployment appears poised for a boom. rate has declined steadily, from a “We feel like we’re at a place high of 14.8% a year ago to 6%. The where the economy’s about to USFK reports 3 service members, last time the jobless rate was this start growing much more quickly low, weekly claims were around and job creation coming in much 350,000, still well below their cur- more quickly,” Powell said. “This one dependent to COVID-19 count rent level. growth that we’re expecting in the Economists point to a range of second half of this year is going to BY JOSEPH DITZLER Airport aboard commercial potential explanations for the dis- be very strong. And job creation, I Stars and Stripes flights. crepancy. For one thing, many would expect to be very strong.” U.S. Forces Korea had four Three of the new cases tested states are still struggling to clear Many economists, in fact, are people come up positive for CO- positive on their first mandatory backlogs of applications from pre- concerned more about a potential VID-19, the coronavirus respira- test before entering quarantine, vious weeks. As a result, jobless burst of inflation stemming from tory disease, after arriving in and one came up positive on the claims being reported now may the unleashing of pent-up con- South Korea between March 31 test required to exit quarantine, stem from layoffs that occurred sumer demand. Prices for lumber, and April 8, according to a news according to the release. All were weeks ago. Some states are also copper, oil and other raw materi- release Thursday. quarantined at either Osan or facing what they suspect is a siz- als have already risen as demand No other U.S. installations in farther to the south at the U.S. Ar- able number of fraudulent claims for gas, homes and electronic South Korea or Japan had report- my’s Camp Humphreys. for unemployment aid. equipment has jumped. ed new COVID-19 patients as of 5 In Japan, Tokyo reported 729 Another possible factor is that Consumer prices rose 0.6% in p.m. Thursday. people newly infected with the under President Joe Biden’s $1.9 March, the most since 2012, the Two of USFK’s new patients coronavirus, its highest one-day trillion rescue package, the feder- government reported Tuesday, are service members who ar- total since 734 cases on Feb. 4, ac- al government is now supplement- and are up 2.6% in the past year. rived at Osan Air Base during cording to public broadcaster ing weekly jobless benefits by Powell has said that while infla- that period aboard the Patriot NHK. Parts of the city are under $300 a week — on top of the aver- tion will likely pick up in the com- Express, a government-contract- an emergency order that re- age state unemployment payment ing months, the price increases ed passenger service, the release quests bars and restaurants to of about $340 — through Septem- will probably ease as the pandem- said. The others are a service close between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes ber. That extra money may be en- ic-induced disruptions in many in- member and a dependent who People wearing masks to guard couraging more people to request dustries’ supply chains are arrived between March 31 and [email protected] against the coronavirus stroll unemployment aid. worked out. April 5 at Incheon International Twitter: @JosephDitzler  through Tokyo on Tuesday. PAGE 10 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 NATION US imposes new sanctions, expels Russian diplomats

BY ERIC TUCKER intelligence services, the White AND AAMER MADHANI House said. Associated Press The White House also said Biden WASHINGTON — The Biden was using diplomatic, military and administration on Thursday an- intelligence channels to respond to nounced the expulsion of 10 Rus- reports that Russia encouraged the sian diplomats and sanctions Taliban to attack U.S. and allied against nearly three dozen people troops in Afghanistan based on the and companies as it moved to hold “best assessments” of the intelli- the Kremlin accountable for inter- gence community. Reports of al- ference in last year’s presidential leged “bounties” surfaced last year, U.S. Coast Guard election and the hacking of federal with the Trump administration Crew members of the Coast Guard cutter Glenn Harris pull a person from the water Tuesday after the agencies. coming under fire for not raising Seacor Power, a 175­foot commercial lift boat, capsized 8 miles south of Grand Isle, La. The actions, foreshadowed for the issue directly with Russia. The weeks by the administration, repre- White House did not publicly con- sent the first retaliatory measures firm the reports. “The safety and announced against the Kremlin for well-being of U.S. military person- 12 missing, 1 dead, 6 rescued the hack, familiarly known as the nel, and that of our allies and part- SolarWinds breach. In that intru- ners, is an absolute priority of the sion, Russian hackers are believed United States,” the White House from capsized ship off La. to have infected widely used soft- said Thursday. ware with malicious code, enabling The sanctions, presumably in- Associated Press mph and waves rose 7 to 9 feet high to owner Seacor Marine was not im- them to access the networks of at tended to send a clear retributive PORT FOURCHON, La. — Coast when the lift boat overturned. mediately clear. The boat, capable least nine agencies in what U.S. offi- message to Russia and to deter sim- Guard boats and aircraft have cov- “That’s challenging under any of working in up to 195 feet of water, cials believe was an intelligence- ilar acts in the future, are certain to ered an area larger than the state of circumstance,” Watson said. “We can carry a crew of 12, two “special gathering operation aimed at exacerbate an already tense rela- Rhode Island to search for 12 people don’t know the degree to which that personnel” and 36 passengers, ac- mining government secrets. tionship between the U.S. and Rus- still missing Wednesday off the contributed to what happened, but cording to the company website. Besides that hack, U.S. officials sia. Louisiana coast after their offshore we do know those are challenging “We are deeply saddened by the last month alleged that Russian In a television interview last oilfield vessel capsized in hurri- conditions.” news of the vessel capsizing and are President Vladimir Putin autho- month, President Joe Biden replied cane-force winds. The bulky vessel, also called a working closely with the U.S. Coast rized influence operations to help “I do” when asked if he thought Pu- One worker’s body was reco- jackup rig because it has three long Guard and local authorities to sup- Donald Trump in his unsuccessful tin was a “killer.” He said the days vered Wednesday and six people legs it can lower to the sea floor to lift port all efforts to locate our valued bid for reelection as president, of the U.S. “rolling over” to Putin were rescued Tuesday after the the boat out of the water as an off- team members and partners,” the though there’s no evidence Russia were done. Putin later recalled his Seacor Power overturned Tuesday shore platform, flipped over Tues- Houston-based company said in a or anyone else changed votes or ma- ambassador to the U.S. and pointed afternoon in the Gulf of Mexico, the day afternoon south of Port Four- statement. nipulated the outcome. at the U.S. history of slavery and Coast Guard said. chon, a major base for the U.S. oil The vessel left Port Fourchon at The measures announced Thurs- slaughtering Native Americans and The search, interrupted by dark- and gas industry. 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, bound for Main day include sanctions on six Rus- the atomic bombing of Japan in ness and bad weather, has totaled One worker was found dead on Pass off the southeast Louisiana sian companies that support the World War II. nearly 40 hours and more than 1,440 the surface of the water, Watson said coast, Watson said.The Coast Guard country’s cyber activities, in addi- U.S. officials are still grappling square miles of Gulf waters by at a news conference Wednesday. received a distress message from a tion to sanctions on 32 individuals with the aftereffects of the Solar- Wednesday afternoon, according to Divers were heading to the local good Samaritan at 4:30 p.m. and is- and entities accused of attempting Winds intrusion, which affected anews release. The hunt for the mis- area Wednesday afternoon, Coast sued an urgent marine broadcast to interfere in last year’s presiden- agencies including the Treasury, sing continued into the evening, said Guard spokesman Petty Officer that prompted multiple private ves- tial election, including by spreading Justice, Energy and Homeland Se- Petty Officer Carlos Galarza. John Micheli said. Numerous other sels to respond, saving four people, disinformation. curity departments, and are still as- Coast Guard Capt. Will Watson agencies helped with the search. the agency said. Coast Guard crews The 10 diplomats being expelled sessing what information may have said earlier that winds were 80 to 90 The relationship of those on board rescued another two people. include representatives of Russian been stolen. Soldier charged after video of confrontation with Black man Associated Press that a Black man city’s limits. The video does not You better start walking right its Twitter accounts, base officials COLUMBIA, S.C. — A white Ar- leave the neigh- show what started the conflict. now.” also said that U.S. Department of my noncommissioned officer de- borhood before Johnson did not immediately re- At the end of the video, a woman Justice authorities were investi- picted in a viral video accosting threatening him spond to a message from The Asso- who Pentland identifies as his wife gating as well. and shoving a Black man in a South with physical vi- ciated Press seeking further de- can be heard telling the other man According to social media ac- Carolina neighborhood has been olence. tails. that he had picked a fight with counts connected to Pentland, he charged with third-degree assault. “You’re in the The recording begins with Pen- “some random young lady” in the has been stationed at Fort Jackson Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Pen- wrong neighbor- tland asking the Black man what neighborhood, a claim the Black since 2019 and has worked as a drill Pentland tland, 42, was charged Wednesday hood,” Pentland, he’s doing in the area. The Black man then denies. sergeant at the garrison. and listed as detained in the Ri- standing on the sidewalk, can be man says he was simply walking Johnson said authorities arrived During a news conference, Ri- chland County jail and issued a heard saying to the other man be- and not bothering anyone. at the scene and only gave Pen- chland County Sheriff Leon Lott personal recognizance bond, ac- fore using an expletive. “I ain’t Throughout the three-minute tland a citation for malicious inju- said the other man in the video was cording to online jail records, playing with you. ... I’m about to video, Pentland continuously de- ry to property for slapping the not a juvenile but declined to re- which did not show him as having show you what I can do.” mands that the other man leave the man’s phone out of his hand and lease his name. Lott said that man an attorney. According to Shirell Johnson, neighborhood, getting in his face cracking it. had been involved in other inci- The video, posted Monday by a who posted the video, the incident and, at one point, pushing the man, Officials at Fort Jackson, the dents in the neighborhood in the woman on Facebook and shared happened in a subdivision of The who almost falls to the ground. U.S. Army’s largest basic training days leading up to the video but thousands of times, shows a man, Summit, which has a Columbia ad- “Let’s go, walk away,” he said. facility, said Wednesday they were said that “none of them justified identified as Pentland, demanding dress but is technically outside the “I’m about to do something to you. looking into the incident. On one of the assault that occurred.” Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 11 NATION Defense rests case in Chauvin trial

Associated Press The prosecution briefly re- starting Monday, and said: “If I Fowler also testified that he MINNEAPOLIS — The defense called a lung and critical care ex- were you, I would plan for long would classify the manner of at the murder trial of former Offi- pert to knock down a defense wit- and hope for short.” death “undetermined,” rather cer Derek Chauvin in the death of ness’ theory that carbon monoxide The question of whether Chau- than homicide, as the county’s George Floyd rested its case poisoning from a squad car’s ex- vin would testify was the subject chief medical examiner ruled. Thursday without putting Chau- haust might have contributed to of weeks of speculation. He said Floyd’s death had too vin on the stand, presenting a total Floyd’s death. The decision not to testify was many conflicting factors, some of of two days of testimony to the Dr. Martin Tobin noted hospital announced a day after a forensic which could be ruled homicide prosecution’s two weeks. tests that showed Floyd’s level pathologist testifying for the de- and some that could be considered Closing arguments are set to be- was at most 2%, within the normal fense said that Floyd died of a sud- accidental. gin Monday morning, after which range. den heart rhythm disturbance as a Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell the jury will get the case. And with that, both sides fin- result of his heart disease. launched an aggressive cross-ex- Before the jury was brought into ished presenting their cases. That contradicted prosecution amination, attacking Fowler’s the courtroom, Chauvin, his CO- After closing arguments, the ra- experts who said Floyd suc- findings down the line. VID-19 mask removed in a rare cially diverse jury will begin de- cumbed to a lack of oxygen from He got Fowler to acknowledge courtroom moment, informed the liberating at the barbed-wire- the way he was pinned down. that even someone who dies from judge that he would not testify, ringed courthouse, with Minnea- The defense witness, Dr. David being deprived of oxygen ulti- saying he would invoke his Fifth polis on edge against a repeat of Fowler, said Wednesday that the mately dies of an arrhythmia. COURT TV/AP Amendment right not to take the the protests and violence that fentanyl and methamphetamine Chauvin, 45, is charged with Dr. David Fowler, a retired stand. broke out last spring over Floyd’s in Floyd’s system, and possibly murder and manslaughter in forensic pathologist and former It would have been the first time death. carbon monoxide poisoning, were Floyd’s death after his arrest on chief medical examiner for the Chauvin publicly told his side of Judge Peter Cahill reminded contributing factors in the 46- suspicion of passing a counterfeit state of Maryland, testifies the story. the jurors they will be sequestered year-old Black man’s death. $20 at a neighborhood market. Wednesday in Minneapolis. Wright family wants tougher charges against ex-cop Associated Press Officer Kim Potter was charged However, protesters and Advocates for Wright point to the tenced to 12½ years in prison. Pot- BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — with second-degree manslaughter Wright’s family members say 2017 case of Mohamed Noor. The ter’s charge carries a maximum 10- Black community leaders and fam- in Sunday’s shooting of Wright, a 20- there’s no excuse for the shooting Black former Minneapolis police of- year prison sentence. ily members of Daunte Wright were year-old Black man, during a traffic and want prosecutors to file more ficer fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Noor testified that he fired to pro- calling for more serious charges stop. The former police chief in serious charges. Damond, a white woman who was a tect his partner’s life after hearing a against a white police officer in Brooklyn Center, a majority non- “The family is glad she got dual citizen of the U.S. and Austra- loud bang on the squad car and see- Wright’s death, comparing her case white suburb, said Potter mistaken- charged but they do hope and pray lia, in the alley behind her home af- ing a woman at his partner’s window to the murder charge brought ly fired her handgun when she for a day where they get equal jus- ter she called 911 to report what she raising her arm. But prosecutors against a Black officer who killed a meant to use her Taser. Both the tice,” Wright family attorney Ben thought was a woman being assault- criticized Noor for shooting without white woman in nearby Minneapo- chief and Potter resigned Tuesday. Crump said Wednesday. “Why ed. Noor was convicted of third-de- seeing a weapon or Damond’s lis. Potter was due for her initial court should we always get a fragment of gree murder in addition to second- hands, and disputed whether either Former Brooklyn Center police appearance Thursday. justice?” degree manslaughter and sen- of them really heard a bang. Panel advances bill on slavery reparations Associated Press by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., WASHINGTON — A House in 1989. The 40 refers to the failed panel advanced a decadeslong ef- government effort to provide 40 fort to pay reparations to the de- acres of land to newly freed slaves scendants of slaves by approving as the Civil War drew to a close. legislation Wednesday that would “This legislation is long over- create a commission to study the due,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, issue. the Democratic chairman of the It’s the first time the House Ju- committee. “H.R. 40 is intended diciary Committee has acted on to begin a national conversation the legislation. Still, prospects for about how to confront the brutal final passage remain poor in such mistreatment of African Ameri- a closely divided Congress. The cans during chattel slavery, Jim vote to advance the measure to Crow segregation and the endur- the full House passed 25-17 after a ing structural racism that re- lengthy and often passionate de- mains endemic to our society to- bate that stretched late into the day.” night. The momentum supporters The legislation would establish have been able to generate for the a commission to examine slavery bill this Congress follows the big- and discrimination in the United gest reckoning on racism in a gen- States from 1619 to the present. eration in the wake of George The commission would then rec- Floyd’s death while in police cus- ommend ways to educate Amer- tody. icans about its findings and ap- Still, the House bill has no Re- propriate remedies, including publicans among its 176 co-spon- how the government would offer sors and would need 60 votes in a formal apology and what form the evenly divided Senate, 50-50, of compensation should be to overcome a filibuster. Repub- awarded. licans on the Judiciary Commit- The bill, commonly referred to tee were unanimous in voting as H.R. 40, was first introduced against the measure. PAGE 12 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WORLD Macron visits Notre Dame 2 years after devastating fire Associated Press project. He offered the pandemic- the COVID-19 pandemic for hav- PARIS — Two years after a fire weary French public hope that a ing slowed down the pace of re- tore through Paris’ most famous completion date will arrive one construction. The blaze also dis- cathedral and shocked the world, day, if not in the near future. tributed vast amounts of toxic lead French President Emmanuel Ma- “We’re seeing here how, in two onto Notre Dame and the sur- cron on Thursday visited the years, a huge job has been accom- rounding area, complicating the building site that Notre Dame has plished,” Macron said, recalling clean-up work that came before become to show that French heri- the “emotion” throughout France restoration efforts could even be- tage has not been forgotten de- at the images of flames devouring gin. spite the pandemic. Notre Dame on April 15, 2019. “We The French president offered a Flanked by ministers, archi- also see what remains to be done.” “huge thank you” and a message tects and the retired French army Macron has promised that the of determination to all the workers general who is overseeing the res- cathedral would be rebuilt by mobilized to rebuild Notre Dame. toration of the 12th-century monu- 2024, yet officials acknowledge “We will need to meet our BENOIT TESSIER/AP ment, Macron viewed the pro- the work won’t be fully completed goals” set for three years from French President Emmanuel Macron, center, talks to workers at the gress of the ambitious rebuilding by then. They cite factors such as now, Macron said. reconstruction site of the Notre Dame Cathedral on Thursday in Paris. Sydney man finds snake in lettuce bought at supermarket Associated Press a snake because worms don’t have supply chain likely lulled the cold- They also noticed the plastic to him: “If you get bitten, you’ve got CANBERRA, Australia — Alex tongues,” White said on Thursday. blooded juvenile into a stupor until wrapping was torn and that the to go to hospital really quickly.” White thought he was watching a “I definitely kind of panicked a White bought the lettuce at an in- snake could escape, so they quick- ALDI is investigating how a huge worm writhing in plastic- bit,” he added. ner-city ALDI supermarket on ly stuffed the reptile with the let- snake could have found its way into wrapped lettuce he’d just brought It was a venomous pale-headed Monday evening and rode his bicy- tuce into a plastic food storage con- a supermarket. home from a Sydney supermarket snake that authorities say made an cle home with salad and snake in tainer. “We’ve worked with the custom- — until a snake tongue flicked. 540-mile journey to Sydney from a his backpack. White phoned the WIRES res- er and the team at WIRES to identi- “I kind of completely freaked packing plant in the Australian city White and his partner, Amelia cue organization, and a snake han- fy the snake’s natural habitat, out when I saw this little tongue of Toowoomba wrapped in plastic Neate, spotted the snake moving as dler took the snake away that night. which is certainly not an ALDI come out of its mouth and start with two heads of cos lettuce. soon as the lettuce was unpacked Before the handler arrived, store!” the German-based super- flicking around and realized it was The refrigerated supermarket onto the kitchen table. White said WIRES had explained market chain said in a statement. Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 13 ■ Bravely Default II shows WEEKEND JRPGs can still surprise Video games, Page 15

Taylor Swift begins reclaiming her back catalog by revisiting ‘Fearless,’ the album that put her on the path to superstardom Music, Page 28

STARS AND STRIPES ILLUSTRATION/Universal Music Group photos

Movies — 16-18 Travel & Food — 19-25 Television — 31 Health — 32 Crossword — 34 PAGE 14 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: GADGETS & TECHNOLOGY

GADGETS

VIOFO/TNS Viofo A139 3 Channel Dash Cam has front­facing, interior infrared and rear­facing cameras, so everything you need is recorded. Dash cam captures video PHOTOS BY JOSE A. IGLESIAS/TNS from front, back and inside A delivery robot runs along the road on March 30 in Section 9, located in the Brickell area of Miami, among restaurants operated by REEF. The robots will deliver from REEF’s Miami­area restaurant partners. BY GREGG ELLMAN on a microSD memory card, Tribune News Service class 10 up to 256GB. When you look at the specs for The interior camera has a Viofo A139 triple channel dash 6-element infrared LED lamp cam, it’s easy for non-tech heads system, which translates to com- to be intimidated and stay away plete coverage of the interior for Tips not required from it. But don’t. Dash cameras day or night. are a technology gadget you Other features include parking think you don’t need until you do, mode, time-lapse, GPS with route Miami’s REEF brings robot dinner delivery to downtown which is often too late. data and vehicle speed, dual- If you are ever in an accident, band WiFi built-in with 2.4GHz BY BOB WILE there’s no better evidence than and 5GHz for transferring con- Miami Herald video. tent, and audio recording. An he future is here — and it is rolling Yes, the Viofo A139 does a lot, external microphone can be through the Brickell neighborhood deliv- but once you see the high-quality added to capture audio in specif- ering dinner. image it produces and records ic locations. T Miami-based REEF has officially (MP4 and JPG), it’s easy to see Online: viofo.com; $269.99 launched a robot delivery service, using Miami’s why this is almost a must-have. urban core to test bringing food orders from its The triple cameras include a Just in time for grilling season, network of delivery-only kitchens, also called ghost front-facing, interior infrared, Cave Tools has launched the kitchens. REEF is partnering with Mountain View, and rear window camera, so Chicken and Turkey Roasting Calif.-based robot designers Cartken on the rollout. everything is recorded without Rack to produce dinners cooked Anyone within a ¾-mile radius of Brickell and having to sacrifice a view. Along to perfection. After using it on a downtown Miami could be on the receiving end of a A large SUV steers around a delivery robot running with the cameras, quick-release chicken, I’ll confirm that it per- robotic courier. along the road March 30 in the Brickell area of mounting equipment, easy in- formed and produced as it’s For now, customers can’t choose whether they Miami, among restaurants operated by REEF. stallation cables, car char- promoted, with a smokier, get a robot. But consumers who order from a REEF ger adapter and crispier and juicier partner brand like Postmates, UberEats, DoorDash The bots will deliver orders from REEF’S Miami instructions are all result. or GrubHub may find themselves prompted with partner brands, including Della Bowls, Krispy included. It does The patented the option for one. Rice, Genuine Burger, Fuku, Mamma Parmigiana, take a little self-basting and For those who do get droid delivery, here’s how it BurgerFi, Michy B’s, Van Leeuwen and Sam’s time for in- non-stick stain- works: When the bot arrives at their house or apart- Crispy Chicken. stallation, less steel ment building, it waits outside and sends a text REEF, founded in 2013 as ParkJockey by en- but it’s noth- frame makes it message alerting them that the delivery has ar- trepreneurs Ari Ojalvo and Umut Tekin, became a ing to shy simple for rived. While it makes its delivery, the robot’s com- billion-dollar “unicorn” in Dec. 2018 when it raised away from cooking on a partment is locked so that no one but the recipient an undisclosed sum from a syndicate led by tech doing on your grill or in an can access the food. The robots’ sensors and cam- conglomerate SoftBank; that company’s COO, Mia- own. oven. It holds up eras help them navigate through busy sidewalks mi-based Marcelo Claure, recently talked up REEF Each camera to 20 pounds of and street crosswalks as well as over steps and as an example of Miami’s potential as a tech hub. In has a Sony sen- poultry at a unique curbs. November, REEF raised an additional investment sor, which records 20-degree angle. The The cost and time to receive the order is the same round of $1 billion from SoftBank, Emirates-based in full HD. You’ll really frame holds the poultry as if you were ordering from a plain old human Mubadala Capital, and Oaktree Capital Manage- see the effect of sitting with the worker — now in short supply due to the pandemic. ment. the Sony sensors CAVE TOOLS/TNS legs facing down “Delivery continues to be the driving force be- While other U.S. communities already enjoy after recording Cave Tools Roast Rack holds on the outside of hind supporting many of our beloved restaurants robot catering, REEF could end up ushering in the night vision, which up to 20 pounds of poultry at the roasting while staying safe during this pandemic,” said Matt first mass rollout of the technology. The company provides incred- a 20­degree angle. rack, while keep- Lindenberger, Chief Technology Officer at REEF, says it plans to deploy in other locations in the com- ible detail. The ing the wingtips in a statement. “However, the rising demand for ing weeks; it currently lists more than 1,000 open front has a 140-degree wide- tucked in. delivery has created a bottleneck during peak din- job roles nationwide on its website. angle view; the inside and rear This allows drippings to pool ing hours that slows efficiency. We’re looking at our “We’re proud to be ground zero for this type of are 170 degrees. The front has a above the breast, keeping it robot delivery service as a long-term solution that exciting and forward-thinking innovation that will nearly 300-degree rotation to moist. Keeping the poultry off the can advance the delivery ecosystem by offering help reduce congestion and carbon emissions — not ensure the necessary angle. grilling surface also speeds cook- speed, quality and scale while reducing congestion just in Miami, but cities around the world,” said All three cameras can record ing time by about 20 minutes. and carbon emission.” City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez in a statement. simultaneously. Content is stored Online: cavetools.com; $19.99 Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 15 WEEKEND: VIDEO GAMES

Newest PVZ title a game-changer

BY EBENEZER SAMUEL New York Daily News Plants vs. Zombies was never supposed to be a shooter. Nearly a decade ago, this was a tower defense game, and a wildly fun one at that. The premise was simple (if a bit weird): In a backfield battleground, a bunch of plants had to prevent a group of zombies from reaching a house. And never mind why or how: Arranging Pea Shooters and giant potatoes to block the oncoming hordes of rockstar zombies and zombies with random cones on their heads was fun. Then it all changed. EA acquired Plants Vs. Zombies, and the franchise has gradu- ally morphed into something else: a horde- mode-style multiplayer shooter. It’s now hitting the Nintendo Switch in its latest form, Plants Vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition. And while this definitely isn’t the PvZ I origi- nally fell in love with, it is a game that offers solid fun. NINTENDO/TNS Neighborville originally came out two Bravely Default II’s new cast — a nameable male character, as well as Gloria, Elvis and Adelle — is sent to gather stolen crystals. years ago, but the Complete Edition that hits the Switch is the best version you can get. It’s free of the microtransactions that have wrecked so many titles (including earlier versions of Neighborville), and thus you can focus on the shooting that Bravely Default II: Impressive much more. And Neighborville’s shooting is plenty competent. The strength of Plants vs. Zombies as a franchise is the wide scope of creature options; there are a host of flexibility within a rigid genre different plants and too many zombies to count. You’ll get to play as all of these BY GIESON CACHO In traditional JRPG style, the squad The beauty in the system lies in finding (after unlocking them, of course), and The Mercury News travels to each kingdom and solves prob- the best combinations of each. Bravely you’ll gradually upgrade them, too. That nnovation is hard to come by with lems there while also uncovering the back Default II gives players who love to theo- means everything from pirate zombies to Japanese role-playing games. It’s a story behind each of the heroes. Despite rycraft plenty to work with. The game Chomper plants, all with little endearing genre that remains stubbornly fixed its cutesy character design and bright creates engrossing opportunities to create traits that make them feel distinct. Iwith its turn-based battles and class colors, Bravely Default II is a dark tale. parties that synergize the different abil- The gameplay itself works in all the systems. Developers have tried to add Players will come across piles of dead ities, and players can test them out against classic shooter ways you expect. It doesn’t action elements to gameplay or introduced bodies, religious fanaticism and political rare bosses or tougher foes. quite compare with the likes of Overwatch new progression systems with mixed suc- murder. It’s a strange contrast for a game With the characters being equal blank as a multiplayer shooter, but on a Ninten- cess. that looks like it stars living Precious Mo- slates, it’s up to the players to figure out do Switch that isn’t exactly teeming with So when a studio comes across a wrinkle ments figurines. the roles for each member of the party. shooter options, it’s still fun enough. You’ll that nudges the genre forward, it becomes As far as structure goes, the first three With 20 jobs to choose from, players have pick it all up swiftly, too, especially if you a feature to celebrate. With the Bravely chapters are linear and episodic, but plenty of combinations to experiment with play through the single-player campaign. Default series, the innovation was so im- Bravely Default II opens up in the later and master. Bravely Default II will test As is typical with EA, this campaign is portant that it’s in the title. The series chapters as the Gloria’s Heroes of Light players’ mastery and knowledge of these essentially an extended tutorial for the came up with the Brave and Default sys- crew have to hop around helping other vocations, because the final bosses are multiplayer madness ahead. tems, which is a gambit mechanic for kingdoms and fighting a bigger threat. tough. You get several fun game modes. Turf turn-based combat. Players can be Players also have extra content with side The only problem is that the game Takeover is a 16-player mode with various “brave” and use up future actions to front- quests and party chats that offer more forces players to do a fair amount of grind- objectives, and there’s a Weekly Event load an attack or they can “default,” which depth to the narrative and characters. The ing to reach these lofty goals. The party mode too. My favorite mode is Garden and allows them to defend and bank a turn for only issue is that many of the tasks are can sometimes enter a conflict underpow- Graveyard Ops, a horde-mode-style title later. mundane fetch quests or jobs to eliminate ered, and players will have to level up and that has you and a team facing ever-tough- The concept was a hit and it did so well certain monsters. boost their jobs to take on the adversaries. er waves of enemies. This is the highlight that Square Enix turned it into a series. Although that part of the game can be Elsewhere, some job skills are key to fight- of the game overall, and it’s a blast if you Bravely Default II helmed by Claytech- disappointing, the combat and character ing the difficult battles, and players will get the right team together. works carries over the hallmark battle progression are top-notch. Bravely De- need to level them up to stand a chance. It’s that “right team” part that might system but introduces a new cast and fault II is JRPG that revels in the flexibil- Claytechworks tries to mitigate this with hold Neighborville back in the end. Right story. It mostly takes place on a continent ity of its systems. The ability to use up to an online-compatible system where play- now, the audience for the game is thin. with five kingdoms — Halcyonia, Savalon, four actions or save them creates a fasci- ers use a ship to gather valuable items It’s all a far cry from the roots of Plants Wiswald, Rimedhal and Holograd. A sixth nating dynamic where players can go all when they aren’t playing. It’s a slow proc- vs. Zombies as a tower defense title, and in kingdom called Musa was destroyed and in to eliminate foes or save turns in order ess and it can be a slog, but Bravely De- some ways, yes, I do miss that. This was, its elemental crystals were stolen. to rescue a party from being wiped out. fault 2 is rewarding for those who figure to me, the ideal tower defense game, and I The story so far ... Layered on top of this is a job system out its intricacies. would have played many many sequels of The campaign focuses on Musa’s Prin- built upon the concepts of artifacts called It’s a 60-plus-hour JRPG that requires it to great enjoyment. Neighborville does cess Gloria, who is trying to recover the Asterisks. Over the course of the cam- more strategy than its peers and one that make the shooter transition solidly and lost treasures. She meets the male lead, paign, players will defeat foes and gain manages to keep players engaged with its competently, however, joining the sea of whom players can name, and two others: these relics that open up jobs. Players then darker story. It also shows that the genre shooter games out there. Adelle and Elvis. Together the foursome have to level up these jobs to gain more still has ways to surprise players when it And that’s not bad, even if you can’t help embark on an adventure to gather the powerful spells, abilities or attacks. Play- offers systems of effortless depth and wondering what might have been. Wind, Water, Earth and Fire Crystals, ers can choose two jobs and up to five appealing complexity. Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One which are at the heart of internal conflicts passive abilities from ones they have lev- Platform: Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch inside several kingdoms. eled up. Online: tinyurl.com/2udsr897 Online: tinyurl.com/5f49y9bb PAGE 16 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: MOVIES

he new Netflix documentary “Operation Varsity Blues: The Col- lege Admissions Scandal” carries an unorthodox tagline for a nonfiction film: “Starring Matthew Modine.” T The award-winning actor, best known for his fictional roles in “Full Metal Jacket,” “Vision Quest” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” plays William “Rick” Singer, whose academic-coaching business was a front for an elaborate cheating and bribery scheme to get the children of wealthy parents into universities that included Harvard, Georgetown and Stanford. Although “Operation Varsity Blues” has plenty of talking-head interviews with real-life witnesses and participants in the scam, most of the players were not available for filming. standing in “Operation Varsity Blues” director Chris Smith, best known for the docu- mentary “Fyre,” about the misbegotten music festival, wasn’t particularly interested in making a film about the Singer episode unless he could find a unique way into the story. FOR THE SAKE OF His screenwriter, Jon Karmen, made a bold proposal: Why not use the public record — hundreds of pages of affidavits and FBI wiretap transcripts — as fodder for a screenplay, and have actors play Singer and his clients? (The team also reached out to interview key players in the scandal, most of whom were unavailable or unwilling to be filmed. Singer’s most high- profile clients included actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, both of whom received short jail sentences after they admitted participating in the scheme.) the story “I’m not one of those filmmakers looking for an opportunity to do some- thing in the narrative space,” Smith explains in a recent telephone con- versation. “It was just a consequence of, how do you tell this story? We didn’t have access to the parents, and we didn’t have access to Rick Singer. The next best thing were the transcripts of these conversations Actors used to be taboo in documentaries. between Rick and some of the people he was working with. For me, it was the closest thing we had to a window on that world.” Now they’re doing the heavy lifting as Blurring the lines between fact and fiction is nothing new for Smith: He made his filmmaking debut in 1996 with “American Job,” a fictional movie directors seek new ways to narrate. about a young man working a minimum-wage job that was so convincing, many viewers assumed it was a documentary. His sophomore effort, “American Movie” (1999), chronicled the real-life exploits of low-budget BY ANN HORNADAY filmmaker Mark Borchardt; the documentary was so funny and full of The Washington Post you’ve-gotta-be-kidding-me moments that several audiences assumed it was fiction. Now, with “Operation Varsity Blues,” Smith says, “it finally made sense to put them together.” SEE ACTORS ON PAGE 17

Skyler Gisondo plays Ben in “The Social Dilemma,” a documentary about the malignant effects of social media that relies heavily on dramatizations to make its point. Netflix Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 17 WEEKEND: MOVIES Actors: Just another storytelling tool

FROM PAGE 16 ing to the fabric of the story showing the filmmakers’ re- “Operation Varsity Blues” is when it makes sense and sup- search and editing process. part of a trend in documentary ports the filmmaker’s vision.” “Are we telling you 100 per- filmmaking, a discipline that has She adds that “every story is cent Darbyshire was filmed? No,” historically frowned upon de- different. We have documentar- Amirani says. “(But) there’s not a vices like re-enactments, drama- ies that use traditional tech- shadow of a doubt that he said tizations and other conceits bor- niques, like ‘Crip Camp’ and ‘My these things.” What’s more, he rowed from narrative fiction. As Octopus Teacher,’ where there adds, having Fiennes channel far back as Robert Flaherty’s are no re-enactments and the Darbyshire’s words gives them seminal 1922 film “Nanook of the filmmakers had access to rich considerably more emotional North” — billed as a candid por- archives and a plethora of visual weight and meaning than if they trait of the life of an Inuit family material. There are, however, had merely been read as voice- in the Arctic Circle and revealed instances where materials are over narration, a la Ken Burns in later to contain scenes that were limited and a story calls for his 1990 documentary miniseries, scripted and staged — purity has bringing additional devices to “The Civil War.” been used as both an aspirational already established and highly On a broader level, “there’s no ideal and a cudgel. In 2005, con- effective techniques — be it ve- such thing as complete objective troversy erupted when Robert rite or archive.” truth in documentary,” Amirani Houston’s short documentary Used with ingenuity and trans- says. “I actually cut my teeth in “Mighty Times: The Children’s parency, such conceits are valid television doing observational March” won an Oscar, despite means to the end of good story- documentaries, using a handheld containing undisclosed re-enact- telling, insists Taghi Amirani, camera and following every- ed sequences. Years before, whose 2020 documentary “Coup thing.” That jittery verite style, Errol Morris’ 1988 documentary 53,” about the plot conceived by he notes, has often been used to “The Thin Blue Line” failed to British and U.S. intelligence to telegraph truth when even the receive an Oscar nomination, remove Iranian Prime Minister most spontaneous, fly-on-the- despite its groundbreaking use of Mohammad Mossadegh from wall film has been shaped by the narrative techniques such as office, includes sequences star- person behind the camera. re-enactments; stylized, slow- ring Ralph Fiennes as real-life “What you choose for your sub- motion insert shots; a moody MI6 operative Norman Dar- ject, whether you shot in the ADAM ROSE/Netflix Philip Glass score; and a noir- byshire. morning or the afternoon, when Matthew Modine stars in “Operation Varsity Blues: The College esque, whodunit structure. In Like Smith, Amirani and his you cut, when you say, ‘action,’ Admissions Scandal” as William “Rick” Singer, an integral figure. fact, it was just those flourishes editor and co-writer, Walter what lens you use, what ques- — seen as revolutionary at the Murch, had access to Darbysh- tions you ask — you’re editoria- time — that reportedly turned off ire’s words — in this case, the lizing from the very beginning to old-school members of the Acad- transcript of an interview con- the end, including ... the cutting emy of Motion Picture Arts and ducted by the producers of the room.” Sciences’ documentary branch. 1985 Granada Television series In many ways, films like “Coup Today, such tut-tutting seems “End of Empire.” Initially, Ami- 53” and “Operation Varsity as dated as the cheesy, ripped- rani and Murch thought Fiennes Blues” are simply continuing a from-the-headlines TV movies could read portions of the tran- dialogue that has always existed that gave the term “docudrama” script in a conventional voice- between fiction and nonfiction a bad name. over, or they could film him films, wherein directors like Paul Morris used the actor Peter reading in the sound studio with Greengrass and Kathryn Bigelow Sarsgaard in his 2017 documen- headphones on. Eventually, Ami- inject authenticity into their tary series “Wormwood,” about rani hit on the idea of shooting movies with verite “shaky-cam” the CIA’s history of secret exper- Fiennes as if he were being in- techniques and Chloe Zhao casts iments with LSD; in 2010, Alex terviewed for “End of Empire,” Frances McDormand and David Gibney enlisted the actress in a chintz-covered chair at Lon- Strathairn alongside nonprofes- Wrenn Schmidt to portray a sex don’s Savoy Hotel, much like the sionals in her Oscar-nominated Ali Amirani worker in “Client 9: The Rise and series’ original participants. drama “Nomadland.” Ralph Fiennes, left, played real­life MI6 operative Norman Darbyshire Fall of Eliot Spitzer.” In “The That choice resulted in some of Heidi Ewing, who makes non- in the documentary “Coup 53,” directed by Taghi Amirani, right. Arbor” (2010) and “Notes on the most absorbing and memora- fiction verite films with her fre- Blindness” (2016), actors lip- ble moments in “Coup 53,” in quent directing partner Rachel eos, commercials, narratives, eration Varsity Blues,” Smith synced to tapes made of real-life which Fiennes delivers a crafty, Grady, will release her first nar- Ron Howard is doing documen- uses snippets of YouTube videos, subjects. The 2018 series “Wa- utterly mesmerizing perform- rative feature in May: “I Carry taries, Martin Scorsese. People television news reports, Google tergate,” directed by Charles ance (“That’s Norman,” Amirani You With Me” tells the true story are going in both directions and searches and social media posts. Ferguson, mixed straightforward recalls Darbyshire’s widow say- of two Mexican American im- bring with them what they per- The aim, he says, was to ac- interviews with scenes of actors ing after she saw the film). It also migrants using many of the spon- ceive as cinema.” knowledge how “the way we performing taped conversations resulted in vociferous pushback taneous and observational tech- Murch, best known for his consume media has evolved, between President Richard Nix- from the “End of Empire” team, niques Ewing developed over the editing and sound design work (where) you’ll be watching a film on and his advisers. In Netflix’s who maintained that they never course of her career, as well as with Francis Ford Coppola on and have your computer or 2020 documentary “The Social filmed Darbyshire and have more straightforward documen- “Apocalypse Now” and other phone on and you’ll be Googling Dilemma,” about the malign criticized “Coup 53” for allegedly tary elements. films, sees the expanded bounda- things the whole time.” effects of social media, film- distorting the details of Dar- What was a hard-and-fast line ries between fact and fiction as a The ultimate question, of maker Jeff Orlowski illustrated byshire’s involvement in their when she first started, Ewing function of technology. When course, concerns the filmmaker’s the observations of several exec- film. (The “End of Empire” team says, “has become more porous. cinema verite was the gold stan- unspoken contract with the audi- utives, activists and academics does not dispute the authenticity People have become freed up to dard in the 1960s, 1970s and ence: When we see a documen- by way of travails experienced of the Darbyshire transcript or give the story what it needs.” She 1980s, he says, independent film- tary, we assume that it will tell by a fictional suburban family, the fact that they recorded his connects that development to makers couldn’t afford the bells us, if not the truth, then at least a played by an ensemble featuring interview.) more visibility for documentar- and whistles of narrative film. version of the truth that the film- Kara Hayward, best known from Amirani regrets nothing. For ies, which are finding bigger “In those days, any kind of maker has been honest about the Wes Anderson movie “Moon- one thing, he says, the way he audiences on cable and stream- fancy stuff was aesthetically shaping. rise Kingdom.” staged Fiennes’ scenes — where ing outlets. “With popularity frowned upon, but also expen- For Amirani, the acid test is Lisa Nishimura, vice president the audience can see him prepar- comes less adherence to the sive,” he says. “And that’s all whether he can go home and say, of original documentary and ing amid lights and cables, and dusty or more stuffy rules of the changed now.” “I have not misled anyone in this independent films at Netflix, talking over last-minute notes medium that were in place for 50 For Smith, the elastic nature of scene or this cut or this entire welcomes the innovations, em- with Amirani — signals its spec- years,” she says. “Also, the type his film’s visual language was film, (and) I’ve used the entire phasizing that they’re “not about ulative nature. In fact, it’s one of of filmmaker making documen- designed to meet the viewers’ cinematic toolbox to keep them blurring the lines between fiction several instances where “Coup taries has changed. Now you own experience. In addition to interested and lead them through and reality, but really about add- 53” breaks the fourth wall by have people who do music vid- the dramatized sections of “Op- the story.” PAGE 18 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: MOVIE REVIEWS Nothing super about these heroes McCarthy, Spencer are weak in ‘Thunder Force’

BY ADAM GRAHAM become a top-level scientist who dedi- The Detroit News cated her life to avenging the death of t’s impossible to take “Thunder her parents, who were killed by Mis- Force” seriously because “Thunder creants, a race of supervillains created by Force” doesn’t take itself seriously. a freak radioactive occurrence. Emily has I Not that this superhero comedy is come up with a secret formula to turn meant to be taken as a straightforward everyday humans into superheroes to exercise in good vs. evil. It’s a comedy, combat the baddies. and the joke is that two middle-aged Welp, it isn’t long before the bumbling women — played by Melissa McCarthy Lydia accidentally injects herself with and Octavia Spencer — are the ones with Emily’s formula and is on her way to the superpowers. OK, fine. The issue becoming a crime fighter with super here is the inherent laziness of the story- strength. Emily reluctantly joins her, telling, the humor and the entire en- taking pills to gain the power of invisibil- terprise. There’s never a feeling that ity. And once fully trained, they set off to anything is at stake, and it makes it im- take on the Miscreants, led by a politician possible to invest any emotions into it. who calls himself the King (Bobby Can- In short, there’s no rumble in this navale) and a half-crab, half-man with a “Thunder.” droll sense of humor (Jason Bateman). Blame writer-director Ben Falcone, in These plot elements are presented in Netflix his fifth directorial teaming with McCar- extremely lackadaisical scenarios and Melissa McCarthy (Lydia) and Octavia Spencer (Emily) star as two middle­aged women thy, his wife. Their partnerships have within a structure where jokes are told, who suddenly gain superpowers in the comedy“Thunder Force.” yielded McCarthy’s least rewarding film then repeated, then explained and told efforts to date, from 2014’s “Tammy” again, a detached form of humor decon- the idea of telling a joke. It’s the same laughs. Maybe just tell a joke and let it through to last year’s dreary “Super- struction that begs the question, if some- thing with “Thunder Force” as a whole: stand on its own? intelligence.” It’s clear they’re comfort- thing isn’t funny the first time, is it funny It’s like it doesn’t believe in telling a And so it goes. There’s a premise here able working together, and good for the fourth? In one scene, Lydia compares superhero story, it would rather make that could work, but the execution is them, the world could use more work- Emily’s daughter, Tracy (Taylor Mosby) fun of the idea of telling a superhero botched by Falcone’s inability to truly place happiness. But that comfort is a to “Family Matters’” Steve Urkel, and story. invest in what he’s doing. (It permeates crutch, and it isn’t pushing either party in when Tracy doesn’t understand the refer- Lydia and Emily don’t have a theme everything, even down to Bateman’s cos- positive creative directions. ence, Emily goes on to impersonate Urkel song, but they listen to Glenn Frey’s tume, and you can clearly see the rubber McCarthy plays Lydia, a blue-collar and repeats the “did I do that?” line five “Smuggler’s Blues” (and later, Frey’s that makes up his character’s claws.) worker in Chicago who wears Slayer times. And what doesn’t work once does “You Belong to the City”) and joke about “Thunder Force” isn’t here to save us, it’s T-shirts more than she doesn’t. (McCar- not magically work on the fifth go-round. how it doesn’t make a good theme song, the one that needs saving from itself. thy doesn’t make for a very convincing “Thunder Force” is full of these types until they wind up embracing it as their Slayer fan, but that’s another story.) Ly- of situations and joke breakdowns, as if theme song exactly because it’s not a “Thunder Force” is rated PG-13 for some action/violence, dia’s estranged childhood best friend, Falcone isn’t confident enough to actually particularly effective theme song. It’s a language and mild suggestive material. Running time: 107 Emily (Oscar-winner Spencer) went on to tell a joke, but would rather make fun of lot of work to go through for not a lot of minutes. Now streaming on Netflix. Pandemic adds extra layer of threat to folk thriller ‘In the Earth’

BY KATIE WALSH tale deterred adults too. As the bells blending with the atmo- Tribune News Service doctor (Mark Monero) mentions spheric, often punishing, sound There is a plague in England to Martin, “people get a bit funny design. Every cinematic element — the plague that we happen to in the woods sometimes.” And is designed to unnerve the view- be living through, as writer/ how. er. Some choices, like Wheatley’s director Ben Wheatley started Plunging ever deeper into the unique approach to film editing, writing the script for “In the green, the pair are met with making rapid little cuts when Earth,” early in the 2020 lock- violence at the hands of a dis- you least expect them, are more down. As such, it’s a quarantine turbed hermit, Zach (Reece successful than others, such as film that actually captures the Shearsmith). He purports to talk the abstrusely hallucinatory world we’re living in, of surgical to nature itself, making offerings montages. masks and nasal swabs and so- of his art with the unwilling Wheatley crafts a plague film cial distancing. participation of the few pas- that isn’t necessarily about a The extreme caution and dan- sersby. The arrival of Dr. Wen- plague, but that captures the ger that the plague dictates adds dle seems a relief, until they anxiety and fear of invisible an extra layer of threat to “In the Neon realize that she, too, talks to the forces beyond our control impell- Earth,” a film that draws from a Joel Fry, top, and Ellora Torchia in a scene from “In the Earth.” forest, through her own scien- ing us, unknowingly, into danger. deep well of horror references, tific, yet inherently pagan, sys- Fry is the perfect modern-day from “Frankenstein” to “The indeed, it is. Unless it’s just us. the forest, but the journey is too tem. The woods have become version of Sergeant Howie from Wicker Man.” Wheatley has Joel Fry stars as Martin, a arduous, and he’s too vague her own monstrous creation, an “The Wicker Man,” a well-mean- dabbled in folk horror before, nice, nerdy, socially awkward about their relationship for this eerie hybrid of nature and tech- ing volunteer who traipses into a notably in “Kill List” and “A scientist who arrives at a desert- to be a mere errand, and Alma nology that keens and croaks and peril he could never understand. Field in England,” but the sub- ed lodge that’s been converted to knows it. seemingly traps whomever But Wheatley doesn’t offer any genre, which grapples with the a forest management way sta- Just before they depart, Mar- comes near. explanations, pat or otherwise, clash of the ancient and the mod- tion. He sets out on a long hike tin spots an ominous piece of Wheatley’s film works on a instead letting us sit with the ern, is especially suited to a story into the woods, guided by a artwork at the lodge, depicting a purely elemental level; like na- uneasiness that we might never like “In the Earth,” troubled by sharp and intuitive ranger, Alma dark figure overseeing a ritual. ture itself, the film is a sensory fully comprehend the natural mysterious rhythms of the earth, (Ellora Torchia). He intends to Alma informs him that this is event, the narrative often sub- world and its energies, malevo- and their affect on the human deliver some equipment to a Parnag Fegg, a witch of local sumed by the aural and visual lent or benevolent. body and mind. Just when it former colleague, Dr. Olivia folklore who has become a cau- experience. Clint Mansell’s bril- “In the Earth" is rated R for strong violent seems like nature is out to get us, Wendle (Hayley Squires), who tionary tale to warn children liant score vibrates and rever- content, grisly images, and language. Running Ben Wheatley reminds us that, has been running experiments in away from the forest. If only the berates through time, synths and time: 100 minutes. Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 19 WEEKEND: TRAVEL Ticket to ride Seniors eager to travel see the vaccine as their freedom pass; now they’re planning accordingly

BY HANNAH SAMPSON The Washington Post iz and J.B. Wright have been busy during the past year in Virginia: puzzles, curbside pickup, painting rooms at home, video chatting with Lfamily, watching after one of their grandchil- dren. But all the action was close to home, and three of their four grandkids were growing up in other states. Then the couple got their first dose of the vaccine in January, and they could begin thinking about traveling again. “We started planning the day we got our first shot,” said Liz Wright, 68. “We were like, ‘Oh my God, we can go.’” All over the country, people 65 and older — those at highest risk of illness and death of COVID-19, and early in line for the vaccine — are starting to browse trips, actively plan and even hit the road. As of April 5, nearly 76% of Americans 65 and up had received at least one iStock dose of the vaccine, and more than 56% were fully vacci- As of April 5, nearly 76% of Americans 65 and over have had at least the first dose of the COVID­19 vaccine. Viewed nated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and by some as a freedom pass, they are eager to resume planning trips that had to be put off in 2020. Prevention. “The vaccine for them is a freedom pass — not to go vaccinated, and 99% planned to get the vaccine. witz said. She said she does not have more plans, but she crazy, but to do things,” said Rabia Shahenshah, a travel “It’s no understatement to say the phone is ringing off would make the same trip again. adviser with Tzell Travel Group. “It was definitely a the hook,” Road Scholar spokesman Chris Heppner said “I feel safe,” she said. “I would go anywhere. I would game-changer.” in an email. “We are seeing a huge shift in people’s eager- be happy to go.” The Wrights have two journeys ness to get something planned.” Angie Licea, president of Global Travel Collection, said planned: a road trip to Mas- Some customers, he said, her group is seeing faster growth with travelers 65 and sachusetts this month and a flight were celebrating their vaccina- older than other segments. In that age group, advisers are to California in May, both to see “We started planning tions by enrolling in a trip. The finding their clients interested in high-end resorts, pri- their children and their grand- company planned to resume vate islands, future cruises and local, quick getaways. children. While Liz Wright hopes the day we got our first some programs in July. “Once people got vaccinated, they were like, ‘Wait a to get back to Europe and Turks Squaremouth, a travel insur- minute, it’s safe,’” she said. “‘I can go see my grandchil- and Caicos in the future, she has shot. We were like, ‘Oh ance comparison site, said it dren. I can go to Florida and hang out. I can go to re- already told her friends that was seeing a “slow rebound” in sorts.’” those trips will have to wait. my God, we can go.’” older travelers booking trips, But, unlike younger travelers, older clients are serious “I was like, ‘Listen, we are based on travel insurance sales about how their destination is dealing with the threat of completely off until at least Liz Wright, 68 through the site. Marketing COVID-19, Licea said. 2022,’” she said. “Every trip I manager Steven Benna said in “They’re traveling, but they want to ensure that the take is going to be to see my kids.” an email that as the vaccines have rolled out, the percent- protocol is very solid and it’s safe and it’s regimented,” Loretta Carson, a travel adviser at Protravel Interna- age of travelers in every age group over 60 has risen. she said. tional, said most of her clients are going to see their chil- Joe Corcoran, 84, and his wife, Loretta, 72, were re- Mickey Belosi, 73, and her husband, Jim Brady, 74, of dren or grandchildren now. When she talks to them, the cently in the process of planning their next big trip — a Auburn, N.Y., epitomize that mind-set. Although they are conversations inevitably turn to vaccines. river cruise through Amsterdam and Budapest in June preparing to get back out in the world again, they remain “It’s constant,” she said. “It’s the first thing we talk 2022. slightly wary. about.” Joe, a retired chemical engineer who lives in Penn- “We’ve been so used to being careful and staying away Carson is fully vaccinated, too, but she has not done any sylvania, said the couple thought about what they would from people,” said Belosi, a retired nutrition educator. travel of her own because she has had so much work. do when they could travel again, but they could not start “Even if we’re safe, we may not emotionally be ready to “I’m just happy to see the rebound and see the people making solid plans until the vaccines were a certainty. get around a lot of people.” dreaming and planning,” she said. “It’s like starting a They bounced ideas off Carson, their travel adviser, and They missed out on three trips they had planned for new era almost.” settled on the cruise. spring 2020 and are planning to take one of them, a res- Travel companies say they see that hope reflected in “Part of the joy of travel is the anticipation of the travel cheduled European river cruise, in September. their bookings. itself,” Joe Corcoran said. “This is the start of our enjoy- “Hopefully by September of this year it’ll be safe,” she In a February call with investors, Royal Caribbean ment of our trip in 2022, because now we have a place to said. Both got their second shot at the end of March. Group said it had seen a strong relationship to booking go and plans to make, and this is part of the fun as well.” In the meantime, they have booked a boat to take along volumes and vaccines, including a proportional increase In early January, Ruth Berkowitz, 92, and other resi- the Erie Canal, starting on Memorial Day, with their son, in the number of customers who were 65 and older. dents of her retirement community in Bridgeport, Conn., who will also be fully vaccinated by then. “Our belief is that as 65-plus are getting vaccinated, received their first vaccine dose, then the next one three Brady, a retired social worker, said the couple would then they’re obviously becoming more comfortable with weeks later. “You felt you could do anything,” Berkowitz like to take their trip to Europe in the fall, travel for booking, and we’re seeing that very much in our bookings said. “Not anything, but you could move a little.” Thanksgiving and see family in San Francisco for Christ- from about January forward,” Royal Caribbean CEO She flew with her daughter to Florida, where she has a mas. Richard Fain said on the call. home in Boca Raton, in late February for two weeks of “I think we’re still hesitant about flying because so Educational travel organization Road Scholar, which sunshine, boat-watching and visiting. It was a big change many people are not vaccinated and so many people are caters to “lifelong learners,” was seeing a huge jump in from the past year, when she kept “very, very close to just careless, and there are some people who are non- enrollments by mid-March. At that point, according to home.” believers and just won’t,” he said. “I think we’re still surveys of the company’s participants, 67% had been “I got down there and enjoyed it very much,” Berko- pretty cautious.” PAGE 20 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: TRAVEL Appreciating Milan, an underrated city

Here’s a reminder of the fun city, the square and, on clear that awaits us in Europe at the days, the Italian Alps. But it’s the other end of this crisis. architectural details that grab my attention. Marveling at countless hey say that for every ornaments carved more than five church in Rome, there’s centuries ago in marble — each a bank in Milan. In- flower, each gar- Tdeed, the economic goyle, each saint’s success of postwar Italy can be face different — I attributed, at least in part, to this realize the public second city of bankers, publicists was never in- and pasta power-lunchers. While tended to see this overshadowed by Venice, Flo- art. An expensive rence and Rome in the minds of labor of love, it travelers, Milan still has plenty to Rick was meant for offer anyone who visits. Steves God’s eyes only. The importance of Milan is The cathedral nothing new. Ancient Romans sits on Piazza del Duomo, Milan’s called this place Mediolanum, or main square. It’s a classic Eu- “the central place.” By the fourth ropean scene. Professionals scur- century AD, it was the capital of ry, fashionista kids loiter and the western half of the Roman young thieves peruse. Empire. By the time the Renais- The grand glass-domed arcade sance hit, Leonardo had moved on the square marks the here and the city was called “the late-19th-century mall, Galleria CAMERON HEWITT/Rick Steves’ Europe New Athens.” Vittorio Emanuele. Built around Milan’s main square and cathedral are a central hub where locals and tourists mingle. Milan’s cathedral, the city’s 1870, during the heady days of centerpiece, is the third largest Italian unification, it was the first prestigious opera house: La Sca- Grazie. Leonardo was hired to as possible, the humidity in the church in Europe. It’s massive: building in town with electric la. Like other great opera houses decorate the monks’ dining room, room is carefully regulated — 480 feet long and 280 feet wide, lighting. Its art is joyful propa- in Europe, La Scala makes sure and this was an appropriate only 30 people are allowed in forested with 52 huge pillars and ganda, celebrating the establish- that impoverished music lovers scene. Suffering from Leonardo’s every 15 minutes. populated by 2,000 statues. The ment of Italy as an independent can get standing-room tickets or experimental use of oil, the mas- When my 15 minutes of view- place can seat 10,000 worship- country. Its stylish boutiques, nosebleed seats that go on sale terpiece began deteriorating ing are up, I emerge with renew- pers. Climbing the tight spiral restaurants and cafés reflect the day of the performance. within six years of its completion. ed appreciation for Milan: Italy’s stairs designed for the laborers Milan’s status as Italy’s fashion The next morning is the high- The church was bombed in most underrated city. who built the church, I emerge capital. light of many Milan visits: Leo- World War II, but the wall hold- Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes Europe- onto the rooftop in a forest of In the evening, I see people in nardo’s The Last Supper, painted ing The Last Supper remained an guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. You can stony spires. Crowds pack the formal wear on their way to what right onto the refectory wall of standing. email Rick at [email protected] and follow his rooftop for great views of the is quite possibly the world’s most the Church of Santa Maria delle Today, to preserve it as much blog on Facebook. Theme parks dreaming up ways to delight future visitors Although most theme parks across Europe remain cated entirely to Marvel art. The property will feature a shuttered at present, the hive of behind-the-scenes activ- lobby done up in massive black-and-white comic book- ity needed to keep such facilities fresh, unique and ap- style art; the Manhattan Restaurant with a large ceiling pealing to visitors continues. Thrill seekers and families sculpture evocative of the fictional realm of Asgard; and in search of all-ages fun can whet their appetites for ad- the Skyline Bar, with the Avengers Tower featuring in its venture with a peek at these coming attractions. panoramic views. Online: tinyurl.com/4uzedf39 Belgium Germany Walibi Belgium, Wavre: Kondaa is a Movie Park Studios, Bottrop: Movie Park Germany name of a steel coaster that, when complet- celebrates its 25th anniversary with the unveiling of a ed, will be the highest and fastest coaster roller coaster based on a visit to a Hollywood movie set. in the Benelux. The mega-coaster will The Multi Dimension Coaster, ready to ride in the spring stand 164 feet tall, reach top speeds of 70 of 2021, will be Europe’s first double-launch indoor roller mph and offer 15 airtime experiences. It coaster and its first to accelerate backwards. As visitors will also feature the world’s first non-in- wait to board, a themed show immerses them in the glam- verting cobra roll element. The serpent- Alton Towers Resort orous world of Hollywood. The ride reaches speeds of 37 Karen inspired ride is the showpiece of a new A Gangsta Granny­inspired ride is coming soon to Alton mph and passes through 12 scenes based on famous films. Bradbury Africa-themed section of the park. Online: Towers Resort in Stoke­on­Trent, England. The attraction is geared to all ages and features a 360- walibi.be/en degree rotating platform, multimedia elements and spe- France cial effects. Online: tinyurl.com/2yssynum England Disneyland Paris: Walt Disney Studios Park is present- Europa-Park, Rust: Europe's second-most visited Alton Towers, Alton, Stoke-on-Trent: the children’s ly fine tuning its “Cars”-themed attraction, The Cars theme park after Disneyland Park continues to expand its book Gangsta Granny inspired a comedy TV film of the Road Trip. Fans of Lightning McQueen and his friends Rulantica Water World offerings. Last autumn saw the same name; now, other scenarios and characters from the can discover quirky roadside attractions, natural wonders opening of the Hyggedal sauna and relaxation zone, a pen of the book’s author David Walliams serve as the and characters from the hit film. Online: tinyurl.com/ vast, Nordic-themed oasis featuring saunas and an out- inspiration for a new themed area of the Alton Towers zcpwnmwn door terrace. Other attractions in the works include the Resort. The centerpiece is Gangsta Granny: The Ride!, a The Disney Junior Dream Factory will offer young Snorri Snorkeling VR experience in which visitors 360-degree special effects-laden ride simulating a mad visitors the chance to see their favorite characters sing equipped with VR diving goggles and a snorkel can ex- dash through sewers in an attempt to break into a vault and dance in an interactive, 20-minute musical show plore underwater realms in the company of Rulantica’s containing the crown jewels and get away before being staged in a brand new theater. The production features cheery octopus mascot. In early summer, Svalgurok will caught by the Feds. The area’s other attractions include both timeless classic characters including Mickey Mouse become Germany’s largest outdoor water playground, the Royal Carousel and Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp. Die- and Minnie Mouse and rising stars such as Fancy Nancy with more than 100 different options for play and a gigan- hard fans of the book can even book a Gangsta Granny- and Vampirina. Online: tinyurl.com/5sj86bzb tic slide tower featuring a wave slide and tipping bucket. themed room at the Alton Towers Hotel. Online: tiny- Overnight visitors can enjoy a stay at the resort’s “Ho- Snorri Strand will offer splashy slides and water fun for url.com/36uyn3dw tel New York – The Art of Marvel,” the first hotel dedi- the smallest visitors. Online: europapark.de/en/rulantica Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 21 WEEKEND: FOOD

Il Ceppo has been a go­to takeout spot for those with discerning tastes all through Italy’s pandemic lockdowns. Il Ceppo Address: Corso Andrea Palladio, 196, 36100 Vicenza VI Hours: 8 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays. Prices: Moderate to expensive Clientele: Mostly Italians; some Germans and Americans Menu: English is available. Phone: +39 (0)444 544414 Nancy Montgomery

PHOTOS BY NANCY MONTGOMERY/Stars and Stripes Among Il Ceppo’s many offerings are cooked and cured hams, a variety of salami and other cured meats. The Vicenza store, already primed for the pandemic lockdowns with a thriving takeout business, has actually seen its business increase. Add some gourmet to your day Il Ceppo has a wine cellar that also serves as its restaurant. It’s closed because of COVID restrictions, but theh proprietors Il Ceppo deli in Vicenza makes lockdowns more bearable hope to reopen in the next few weeks. BY NANCY MONTGOMERY Stars and Stripes AFTER svaldo Boscolo started out in bacala, the Veneto region’s HOURS celebrated salt cod. ITALY O Fifty years later, he still sells it by the ton. But he sells a lot of other ready-to-eat foods, too, in his family’s gour- met deli and restaurant. restaurant for which dishes are made to There are lamb chops, lasagna, crepes, order is located, is closed as Italy endures steamed vegetables, fried fish, broiled fish, its third or fourth COVID-19 pandemic shrimp salad, octopus salad, eggplant lockdown. parmigiana, tripe and roast chicken. “We hope it can open in April or May,” Parma hams hang from the ceiling, just said Maria Giovanna Boscolo, one of Os- one kind of nine or 10 other hams waiting valdo’s daughters. to be cut razor-thin for customers. Scores That’s when they hope they can also of cheeses from Italy, France and else- restart their wine and food tastings. I at- where are on offer. Ready-made sauces — tended one where the wines were way out duck ragu, meat or seafood in tomato sauce of my league but delicious. My sommelier, — sit next to fresh pastas to be cooked at Eva, later steered me to an 11-euro bottle of home. regional red that drinks like it costs far Il Ceppo stocks all sorts of cheeses, primarily from Italy and France, and will compose There are rows and rows of jams, canned more. cheese and meat selections for customers, including a fruity mustard they make on site. vegetables and sauces, oils, vinegars, quail The Il Ceppo staff are friendly like that. eggs and more. You can even pick up sta- Most of them speak some English too. ples — a dozen regular eggs, milk, tortillas, Lockdowns have been good for Il Cep- caviar — from the refrigerator. po’s balance sheets. Maria Giovanna said Il Ceppo deals in quality products and business is up around 20%. prices them accordingly. I’ve sometimes Already primed with a thriving takeout chided myself that I spent $4 on something business, they never missed a day of busi- like potato puree, but such thoughts dis- ness from morning to evening, six days a appear at the first creamy bite. week. When everything was forced to close Recently I got three little lamb chops for on Sundays last year, they opened up Mon- 11 euros (about $13). Adding the potato days, the one day of the week they had puree, cooked peas, grilled vegetables and been closed. They even added a delivery a piece of quiche for the next day’s break- service. fast, the bill came to 22.35 euros. I did have Il Ceppo offers a selection of fish, meat With vegetables, sauces, vinegars, oils and poultry main dishes, along with pasta, and truffle salt, Il Ceppo in Vicenza, Italy, leftover peas and vegetables. [email protected] The wine cellar, where the elegant eat-in Twitter: @montgomerynance potato and vegetable sides. is a cornucopia of tasty delights. PAGE 22 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: QUICK TRIPS

DAVID EDGE/Stars and Stripes One of the specialty food stands at the Wiesbaden farmers market on March 3 sells a wide selection of olives.

DAVID EDGE/Stars and Stripes People adhere to coronavirus social DAVID EDGE/Stars and Stripes distancing rules March 3 at a flower stand Fresh vegetables on sale March 3 at the Wiesbaden, Germany, farmers market. The market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. at Wiesbaden’s farmers market. Going to market German farmers markets have a long tradition of offering fresh, homemade, local products

BY DAVID EDGE, meals with instructions, and wine at IMMANUEL JOHNSON wholesale prices to take home and enjoy AND KARIN ZEITVOGEL while coronavirus restrictions are in force. Stars and Stripes Where and when: By the Marktkirche he bright colors of fruits, vegeta- and Rathaus, Wednesdays and Saturdays KARIN ZEITVOGEL/Stars and Stripes bles and fresh-cut flowers in from 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. The egg stand in the outdoor market in Kaiserslautern, Germany, sells, from left to German farmers markets are an More information: An online, inter- right, “bodenhaltung” eggs laid by chickens kept indoors, and “freilandhaltung” eggs Telixir for eyes that are tired of active map of the market (tinyurl.com/ from free­range chickens. “Bio,” or organic eggs, are also available. looking at four walls during coronavirus vkx6ewmv) allows you to click on a stall lockdowns. by number and check out what it offers “bio,” and some bodenhaltung. You can Most towns and cities have a market, before you go. Parkhaus Markt is right on buy a single egg or a dozen. where shoppers can buy everything from the square and costs 3 euros for the first They had the longest line in the market. fresh local and imported produce, to hour. Where and when: Stiftsplatz, Tuesdays baked goods, wine, spices and honey. At and Saturdays, 7 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. the three markets we visited, in Kaiser- Kaiserslautern More information: Kaiserslautern has a slautern, Weiden and Wiesbaden, we also Farmers have been selling their wares smaller market on Thursdays on Koenig- found a stand with foods for the allergic, in Kaiserslautern’s Stiftsplatz since the strasse. The markets are about 20 minutes one that sells nothing but eggs, and a food 19th century. from Ramstein Air Base and an easy walk truck that offers a culinary trip around the Today, more than half of the stalls at the from most places in the city. Parking at world. market sell fruit and vegetables or special- the underground lot at the Stiftsplatz is 2 Outdoor markets in Germany usually ty foods. Kirbas, a delicatessen that has euros for the first hour. Street parking is take place twice a week. They have been been coming to the Stiftsplatz from Karls- also available. IMMANUEL JOHNSON/Stars and Stripes open throughout the pandemic and are ruhe for 31 years, sells olives, peppers, People wait in a socially distanced line to enforcing strict coronavirus rules, in- sheep’s milk cheeses, other Mediterrane- Weiden buy cheese from a stall April 7 in the cluding a requirement to wear a medical- an specialties and seafood. Weiden has hosted a market off and on outdoor market in Weiden, Germany. grade mask and stand back from the next Other stalls sell flowers, local wine, since 1331, with interruptions for events customer. cheese, meat, spices and condiments, and, like the plague and wars. quesadillas, and a pork belly and kimchi on Saturdays only, honey and beeswax Today, around 15 stalls sell vegetables bowl served with rice, salad, onion jam, Wiesbaden products. German and American fast food, and fruit, bread, eggs, cheese and meat hummus and aioli — a global food trip In early spring, Wiesbaden’s farmers like the ubiquitous bratwurst in a roll or a products, as well as freshly made pasta, in during coronavirus times that takes in market had Italian grapes and plums, burger, is available from food trucks at the the town’s market, which is about 30 min- Germany, Korea, southern France, the Spanish and Greek olives, Dutch tulips, Saks Hotel end of the market. utes away from Grafenwoehr and Vilseck. Middle East, Mexico via Texas, and French cheeses and wines, locally grown The stand that stood out on a quiet, Locals are especially proud of the many Mom’s kitchen. strawberries and other regional products. snowy Tuesday in April was Borg’s, on the potato varieties available and will explain Where and when: Wednesdays and There were four butchers’ trucks, a fish same side of the square as the church. which ones are better for mashing, baking Saturdays, 7 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. monger and, a rare find, the Noglla stall, They sell eggs. Only eggs. in the skin or roasting. More information: The Allee parking which sells gluten- and lactose-free cakes, They have brown and white eggs from The sole food truck at the market in garage is a four-minute walk away at cookies and breads, as well as homemade free-range (freilandhaltung) and coop- early April was run by Nina & Velja’s Buergermeister-Prechtl-Strasse 26. It spreads, prepared meals and sauces. raised (bodenhaltung) chickens, and from Kitchen, which also has a restaurant in charges around 1 euro for the first hour. There are many dining options nearby organically fed hens. The eye-catching Weiden. [email protected]; Twitter: @DavidEdge96798393 including the Lumen restaurant, which multicolored eggs are hard-boiled and They were offering what they call “wan- [email protected]; Twitter: @Manny_Stripes was offering vacuum-sealed, chef-made ready to eat, some of them organic, or derlust cooking,” including brownies, [email protected]; Twitter: @StripesZeit Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 23 WEEKEND: TRAVEL Tiptoe through the tulips Keukenhof garden opens its gates for visitors in Dutch virus test

BY MIKE CORDER Associated Press inally, after bleak winter months of a coro- navirus lockdown, springtime shoots of hope emerged April 9 as restrictions were relaxed at a Dutch flower garden and other public venues. FUnder a government-approved pilot scheme, the world-famous Keukenhof garden opened its gates to let a few thousand people tiptoe through the 7 million tu- lips, hyacinths, daffodils and myriad other flowers me- ticulously hand-planted throughout its manicured lawns by a small army of gardeners. A maximum of 5,000 visitors were allowed into the garden, nestled amid the pancake-flat bulb fields be- tween Amsterdam and The Hague, if they could show proof that they had just tested negative for COVID-19. Minke Kleinen, who visited the central city of Arn- hem with her friend Ilse van Egten, said it felt like their “first legal day out.” The friends took rapid tests before setting off and got their negative results by email as they drove. “It feels strange that we can stand next to one anoth- er,” said Van Egten, giving Kleinen a quick hug. “It’s nice!” Keukenhof lost an entire season last year to the pan- demic as the first deadly wave of infections swept over the Netherlands. Its scheduled March 20 opening this year never happened because of the country’s strict virus lockdown. The limited opening — six days spread over two PHOTOS BY PETER DEJONG/AP weeks in April — is welcome to the 40 gardeners who Visitors wander the grounds of the world­famous Keukenhof garden April 9 in Lisse, Netherlands. To enter the garden, spend months preparing for the annual spring season. they must present proof of a negative COVID­19 test, and visitation is limited to 5,000 people per day. In a normal year, the garden the size of 50 soccer fields can accommodate 10 times as many visitors each day. Park director Bart Siemerink had mixed feelings. “Of course, happy today. It’s the first day of Keuken- hof 2021,” he said, but added that the park still felt different with such a relatively small number of vis- itors. “So it’s a good feeling that we can open, but this is not Keukenhof as it’s supposed to be,” he said. In pre-pandemic years, Keukenhof’s paths, park benches and cafes are crowded with visitors from around the world taking photos and selfies with one of the Netherlands’ most iconic products — the tulip. On April 9, small groups of visitors were scattered around the lawns. You could get a plate of poffertjes — a Dutch treat of tiny pancakes covered in icing sugar — without having to wait in a long line. The pathways through Keukenhof garden, normally As the Netherlands test the waters to ease coronavirus The Dutch government announced last week that crowded with people, are crowd free, allowing visitors restrictions, the world­famous Keukenhof garden in hundreds of public venues would be allowed to reopen clear views of the 7 million tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and Lisse, opened its gates April 9 to a limited number of under strict conditions to evaluate whether rapid testing other flowers planted by a team of 40 gardeners. visitors who tested negative for COVID­19. can safely help the country ease coronavirus restric- tions amid rising levels of vaccinations and warmer weather. Under the scheme, visitors to Keukenhof — as well as museums, zoos and other venues — are allowed entry if they order a ticket online and get a negative virus test within 40 hours of their visit. All virus tests are free and a result is emailed within an hour to the tested person. That code, in turn, can be scanned at venues. The tests come against a backdrop of stubbornly high infections that have begun edging lower in the past week after months of lockdown. Health Minister Hugo de Jonge sees the limited openings as a way of easing back toward normal life as vaccinations reach more and more people. Visiting Keukenhof felt like a privilege for those who got in. “This is a gift,” said blogger Berry de Nijs. “It feels great today. It is beautiful weather anyway ... but to A couple take pictures as they enter the world­famous Two women take advantage of the limited visitor numbers walk through the tulips is fantastic!” Keukenhof garden April 9 in Lisse, Netherlands. to pictures of the tulips April 9 at Keukenhof garden. PAGE 24 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: FOOD & DINING

POSADA DEL SOL Location: 2-30-23 Sakaecho, Higashimuraya- ma, Tokyo 189-0013 Directions: A two-minute walk from Kumegawa Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line. Google Plus code PFXC+82 Higashimurayama, Tokyo Hours: Open 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch and 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. for dinner. Hours may differ due to coronavirus restrictions. Prices: Between $6 for appetizers and $18 for meals Dress: Casual Posado del Sol makes its creamy, slightly Information: 042-398-4710 sweet guacamole fresh to order. Theron Godbold

PHOTOS BY THERON GODBOLD/Stars and Stripes Posado del Sol serves up satisfying The chicken enchiladas from Posado del Sol, a Mexican eatery near Yokota Air Base, The tacos from Posado del Sol are simple Mexican fare just a short trip from Yokota Japan, boast a delicious sauce with zing and the perfect amount of cheese. but flavorful. Air Base in western Tokyo. Quest for flavors of home When searching for authentic Mexican fare in Tokyo, Posada del Sol comes close BY THERON GODBOLD ing lot just a two-minute walk from the The beef tacos, about $8 for two, tasted Stars and Stripes AFTER restaurant. amazing but were smaller even than street osas, Tres Amigos and Los The dining area has room for 15 and is tacos you’ll find back in the States. How- Comales. These are restaurants HOURS decorated with sombreros, pictures of ever, the meat was flavorful, the salsa was that those who hail from Texas, JAPAN caballeros and other Mexican memor- mild and the tortillas fresh and fluffy. Rlike me, will recognize as places abilia. Classic Norteño, the mix of Mex- The chicken enchiladas, about $12, were to get satisfying Mexican food. ican and German music that sounds like near perfect. The sauce was great with a But finding similar spots can be hard in base in Higashimurayama. polka, plays in the background. slight zing and just the right amount of Japan. Like a wrangler on the West Texas “My family and I tried Posada del Sol I rate my Mexican restaurants on a cheese on top. Using the homemade tortil- plains, you must always keep one eye open today by recommendation and ohhhhhh scale of three: guacamole, enchilada and las to mop up the sauce makes for a fan- for authentic tacos, tortillas and enchila- mannnnn! It did not disappoint!” Erica tacos. That’s where I started at Posada del tastic finishing treat. das. Hatch wrote on Sept. 5. Sol. All in all, Posada del Sol made for a One day, while browsing through the Her description of homemade tortillas The guacamole, which cost the equiv- great stop, but I won’t quit looking for that Yokota Eats and Travels! group on Face- and a friendly staff made me wonder if my alent of about $6, was made fresh to order. definitive throwback to memories of Tex- book, I stumbled across a post about Posa- search for good Mexican food in Japan It was creamy and a little sweet, but as. da del Sol, a Mexican eatery about 45 was over. lacked salt and the tang of lime I am used [email protected] minutes away from the western Tokyo air After an easy drive, I found a pay park- to. Twitter @GodboldTheron Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 25 WEEKEND: FOOD Make it snappy How to get perfectly crisp bacon

BY AARON HUTCHERSON The Washington Post love bacon. While I agree that it shouldn’t go on everything, I welcome the moments when I get to enjoy it in all of its crisp, smoky glory, such as in Imy colleague G. Daniela Galarza’s winter BLT from her Eat Voraciously newsletter or on a breakfast plate alongside hash browns and a pair of picture-perfect sunny-side up eggs. For me, the epitome of this cured pork product is audi- ble crispiness. You might be a fan of some chew or ten- derness, which is fine by me because that’s your busi- ness, but I want there to be a snap and a crunch each PHOTOS BY SCOTT SUCHMAN/The Washington Post time a strip passes my lips. For those of the same mind- Cooking bacon slowly in a skillet can yield bacon with that perfect snap and crunch. set, here are two methods to produce just that. mends 425 degrees, which he od. There are several ways to go, Stove top easily and don’t want to stand says takes 20 minutes for crispy and that’s completely up to you. near the stove, there’s risk of the bacon, but he doesn’t recom- Regardless of the method you Tried and true, this is the way I pork belly going from beautiful to mend going much higher than choose, the one rule that you learned to cook bacon: Lay the burned in no time at all. That’s that. “Cooking at 475 left me with must abide by is to always save strips in a cold skillet, place over where the oven comes in. bacon that was threatening to the fat. That liquid gold is full of medium-low to medium heat, flip burn in spots and still under- flavor and it’s great for cooking and fry until you reach your Oven cooked in others after just 15 vegetables, making vinaigrettes, desired doneness and then trans- Plain and simple, this is the minutes,” López-Alt wrote. (Pro frying chicken and even baking fer to a plate lined with paper best way to cook bacon for a tip: There’s no need to preheat breads and desserts. Just pour towels to drain. The key is to crowd — or just any time you the oven.) the bacon grease into a metal or slowly render the fat to achieve want to take a more hands-off Both methods lead to incred- glass jar, pop it in the fridge (it bacon’s character-defining crisp- approach. Lay the bacon on a ibly crisp bacon, and the choice should last for at least three ness. Unless you walk away from rimmed baking sheet and place it of which to use mostly comes months) or freezer (where it the stove while cooking — which in the oven until it’s cooked to down to how much you want to keeps indefinitely) and grab it you should not do outside of a your specifications. There’s isn’t make. If your ideal bacon is more whenever you want to add a Cooking bacon on a sheet pan in handful of situations anyway — even any need to flip it. limber or has a bit more chew, boost of bacony flavor to whatev- the oven is the best way to make this method produces superior I first encountered this method you may prefer a different meth- er it is you’re cooking. enough to feed a crowd. results every time. as a line cook, when we would When it comes to skillet choice, make trays upon trays of bacon nonstick or cast iron are my each brunch service. I have me- recommendations. I prefer a mories of placing a layer of good nonstick skillet for more parchment on each rimmed even heating and thus cooking, baking sheet, on top of which but some love the nostalgia of freshly cut strips of bacon were bacon frying in a cast-iron skillet, shingled just a bit (to fit more which is also a great way to sea- onto each pan) in the wee hours son it from time to time. (And of the morning before the first just a reminder about one of the diners arrived. The parchment myths of cast iron: While it is paper is solely for easier cleanup, great at heat retention, it is a and I’ve used it when baking poor conductor, meaning that it bacon ever since. (Daniela is a will heat unevenly, leading to hot fan of foil for the same reason.) If spots and varied textures in the there’s sufficient overhang, ei- bacon.) ther can leave a perfectly unsoil- You may have heard of the ed pan underneath, but if you water method, and you may be don’t mind putting in some work wondering about its merits. For and would rather not create more those not in the know, the editors waste, cooking the bacon directly at Cook’s Illustrated recommend on the sheet pan is an option. adding enough water to cover the Considering a baking rack? I bacon in the skillet at the start, say don’t. Cooking it on a rack which leads to a “crispy and leads to meaty instead of crispy tender bite.” While it does pro- bacon, which is not what we’re duce a slightly less shatteringly after here. Plus, then you have crisp end result, I didn’t notice the task of cleaning it, which I enough of a difference to cham- often find to be a real pain. pion this method over cooking it As for the oven temperature, it naked. mostly comes down to how long The main downside to the you’re willing to wait. The pack- stove-top method is the quantity age currently sitting in my fridge of bacon that you can cook. Un- instructs a 375 degree oven, less you have a large griddle that which yielded my ideal of per- fits across multiple burners, a fectly crisp, regular-cut bacon skillet can only hold enough after about 25 minutes. I’ve gone strips to feed two, maybe three, as low as 350, but any lower than bacon-loving humans. Plus, if that and the wait becomes too you are prone to get distracted long. J. Kenji López-Alt recom- PAGE 26 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: LIFESTYLE Plan more, juggle less

BY NICOLE ANZIA sending kids back to school, question- Special to The Washington Post As pre-pandemic activities resume, here are some naires before doctors’ appointments. To am a planner — perhaps not surpris- keep track of tasks, I’ve been flagging ingly, given my occupation. So, tips for keeping life from spiraling out of control emails that require action and setting when it became clear in early Feb- daily — and sometimes hourly — remind- Iruary that my family was going to ers on my phone. Additionally, after not take a safe, socially distanced road trip for keeping a to-do list for the past year, be- spring break, I relished the idea of having cause there wasn’t much going on, I’ve something to plan and look forward to started making detailed lists that I update after not vacationing for a year. A rela- daily. tively easy task, right? Not exactly. It’s also time to reinstate systems you As it turned out, my pandemic used before the pandemic, such as making brain found planning and orga- school lunches the night before, running nizing the trip to be a challenge. the dishwasher every evening or prepar- Like a lot of people, I’ve been ing a shopping list each Sunday. Institut- primarily focused on routine daily ing routines and schedules will help keep and short-term decisions for the past 12 everyone on track as the pace of our lives months. Changing my thought process to picks up. And if you’ve plan for something more gotten caught up on an complex, and with ongoing project, such different consid- as organizing your erations than I’ve digital photos or up- recently had to dating your files, in- contend with, clude those tasks on was difficult. your calendar, so you The experi- can maintain that ence taught me that progress. our minds have changed after a year of mostly staying at home. Delegate and automate Our lives are about to get busy again, and Pandemic life helped us streamline many of us are looking forward to that. some aspects of our lives. I started or- But ramping back up will require some dering groceries online and will contin- planning. Here are some ways to do ue doing that, because it saves so much that. time. If you felt more relaxed over the Set priorities past year because you weren’t driving In some ways, it seems as if resuming your kids to daily activities, consider our pre-pandemic lives should not be starting a carpool to school or practices. that problematic. But it’s not as simple And if dinner has been less stressful as just picking up where we left off. As because you started ordering fully pre- places start to reopen and we return to pared meals, maintain that practice. doing “normal” activities, how we ap- Automate as many deliveries as you proach them will probably take some can, including pet food, medications and relearning, extra mental energy and household essentials. Or consider sub- potentially extra time. Making some scribing to a service or product that will intentional decisions now can help help you take better care of yourself, prevent things from spiraling out of enjoy a hobby or ease your workload. control later. There are options for just about every- Talk to your family about the activ- thing, including subscriptions for puz- ities they’re looking forward to resum- zles, spices, skin care and cleaning kits. ing and the ones that no longer interest them. Perhaps you started habits or Give yourself a break practices during the pandemic that Everyone has experienced a higher you would like to continue. Write those level of stress than normal in the past down. Do you want to keep baking, year. Routine tasks such as keeping time taking daily walks, eating together as and thoughts organized have taken a a family or doing virtual exercise back seat as we focused on getting classes? Maybe you’ve enjoyed work- through each week — or even day. Some ing from home and cherish the time things may take much longer than they you’ve gained without a commute. used to, or you might feel overwhelmed. You might consider approaching That’s okay; cut yourself some slack. your employer and negotiating a Give yourself plenty of time to com- partial work-from-home sched- plete your list, and celebrate small victo- ule if that’s an option. ries. The ongoing stress and anxiety is Once you have your list of going to mean that mistakes will happen priorities, understand that and tasks will be forgotten. It’s more there may need to be important to be flexible than to adhere to sacrifices in other parts rigid standards. of your schedule to Although we’re all look- make those hap- iStock ing forward to moving pen. past the pandemic, it’s Schedules not going to happen paper planner, but I didn’t write every- mer), I found that writing everything on overnight. Don’t expect that you’re going and systems thing down; a lot of things were on autopi- my calendar was essential. to go right back to the way it was without After you’ve done some critical thinking lot. But this past winter, as I struggled to There are new protocols that often re- sufficient sleep, time and self-care. As about how you would like to structure focus and keep track of all the changes quire several preliminary steps: forms to with all organizing tasks, the road leading your time, grab your calendar, whether that were already happening (not to men- be filled out before sending a child to back to our normal lives requires consis- it’s on paper or an app. I’ve always used a tion the ones for later this spring and sum- baseball practice, daily checklists for tency, patience and work. Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 27 WEEKEND: BOOKS American dreams with a dash of magic Young man navigates cultural, societal expectations of being a second-generation Indian American in ‘Gold Diggers’

BY RON CHARLES brown adults in a largely white ingest the dreams and plans thetically, uses his alienated The Washington Post subdivision” — “create a sim- invested in that shiny bling. perspective to capture the plight anjena Sathian’s “Gold ulacrum of India in a reliably red As a metaphor of the thirst for of “conceptual orphans” Diggers” is a work of Georgia county.” success, this domestic sorcery is launched into the United States 24-karat genius. This Sathian creates that cul-de-sac pure gold. But the real miracle by eager immigrant parents. Sremarkable debut novel with a wry and loving eye — a here is the way Sathian melds “In the space between us and — already chosen by Mindy kind of South Asian version of that ancient magic to the con- the rest of adulthood lay a great Kaling for an upcoming TV se- “The Wonder Years,” with Neil’s tours of her otherwise natural expanse of the unknown,” Neil ries — melts down striving im- awkward antics narrated by his story of contemporary life. She’s says. “We had not grown up migrant tales, Old West mytholo- older self. This is a world in working in a liminal realm imbibing stories that implicitly gy and even madcap thrillers to which children act as a fulcrum where the laws of science aren’t conveyed answers to the basic produce an invaluable new alloy for their parents’ ambition. Neil suspended so much as stretched. questions of being: What did it of American literature. is admonished to study harder “There are some mysteries a feel like to fall in love in Amer- Charting the route that gener- and longer, while Anita and his person needs to accept,” Neil ica, to take oneself for granted in ations of Indian immigrants have sister throw themselves into the says, which is good advice for America? Starved as we were for taken to these shores, Sathian Miss Teen India pageant. Every anyone entering this novel. clues about how to live, we would locates the precarious nexus of aced quiz, every spelling bee In a dazzling demonstration of grip like mad on to anything that pride and anxiety where so many prize, every science fair trophy is Sathian’s range, the book’s sec- lent a possible way of being.” newcomers reside. She follows confirmation that the decision to ond half jumps a decade later, As Sathian mines that vein of the children who straddle two leave India was correct, while beyond the tragedy of Neil’s desperation, the term “gold dig- cultures, forced again and again temptations, he dutifully heeds failure of any kind throws the adolescence to the smoldering ger” keeps turning, catching the to answer the question, “What his “mother’s warnings that family’s entire sacrifice into wreckage of his adulthood. It’s a light in strikingly different ways. does it mean to be both Indian engaging in nonsense could abort doubt. jarring transition — and meant It’s a slur hurled at women pur- and American?” And in the proc- all you were supposed to be- “There was no room to imag- to be. Moving from Atlanta to the suing wealthy men; it’s a de- ess, she plumbs the universal come, could in fact abort the ine multiple sorts of futures,” Bay Area, the novel also shifts scription of this country’s inex- challenge of satisfying the hun- very American dream we were Neil says, “We’d put all our from anxious teen drama to haustible craving. And while ger for more — more money, duty-bound to live out.” brainpower toward conjuring up more astringent satire of second- everyone Neil knows rushes more prestige, more time — an But then there is Anita. a single one: Harvard.” generation Americans whose toward the future, he burrows obsession that would make any Anita Dayal is literally the girl It’s around this point that Sath- ambitions have pooled in Silicon through 19th-century California of us strangers to ourselves. next door, but she’s also Neil’s ian’s effervescent social satire Valley. history looking for an Indian gold The narrator of “Gold Dig- Cleopatra and Daisy Buchanan. breaks the bonds of ordinary As a poor grad student in his- digger who may offer him “a gers” is an endearing young man A friend since childhood, she’s reality and rises to another level. tory, Neil finds himself out of legible American ancestor to named Neil Narayan, an Indian infinitely cooler than Neil and In a moment of crazed teenage sync with the moneyed internet provide guidance on how to American living in Atlanta. bound to achieve the glittery despair, Neil discovers that right culture around him. make a life.” “When I was younger,” Neil success he won’t. And yet Anita next door, Anita and her mother “Sometimes,” he laments, “I With Neil’s struggle to find a says, “I consisted of little but my and Neil remain yoked together are practicing alchemy. Using an can’t imagine ever feeling at usable past and a viable future, parents’ ambitions for who I was by proximity and culture and ancient recipe, they’re melting home anywhere in the world, or Sathian has created a funny, to become.” eventually by disaster. Anita’s down stolen jewelry and creating with anyone at all.” Sathian, who compassionate, tragic novel of Despite the usual high school parents and his own — “the four a tart liquid that Anita drinks to inhabits Neil’s despair so sympa- astonishing cultural richness. ‘Speak, Okinawa’ author bonds with mother over shared heritage

BY AKEMI JOHNSON had turned Okinawa into a weapons depot alternately ignored her and mocked her; she she must say yes to anything boys and men Special to The Washington Post and rest-and-relaxation destination, with cut up her dresses and kimonos for scraps. asked of her. When they found her attrac- When she was a young child, Elizabeth tens of thousands of American troops stop- As an adult, Brina contended with her tive, she didn’t know “how to channel this Miki Brina lived in her mother’s homeland ping over on the island. own challenges with drinking and relation- attraction toward respect, toward care, of Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefec- At the club, Brina’s mother met an Amer- ships, and began to empathize with her toward love.” The memoir becomes a testa- ture. She rode on her grandmother’s back, ican soldier from Manhattan, a college mother’s pain. Visiting her parents one ment to the importance of their lives as played under the subtropical sun, heard the graduate from a wealthy white family. Bri- weekend at age 26, she engaged in her “typ- Asian women, as mother and daughter, and roar of military jets and spoke Japanese. na imagines their meet- ical rant-exchange” over politics with her an apology for all the years Brina thought Then, her parents moved her to the Unit- ing: He is “Elvis hand- father during dinner, the two of them shout- otherwise. ed States, and she didn’t think about Okina- some” and seems “like ing different views and ignoring her mother, “Speak, Okinawa” is strongest when wa for three decades. As she grew up, she a way out.” “She is who drank two bottles of wine and then Brina is recounting, with piercing candid- spoke only English, knowing nothing of her beautiful, exotic … too crawled under the table. When her mother ness and clarity, the almost claustrophobic mother’s history. vulnerable to resist.” started screaming and kicking, knocking world of an only child and her parents — “Which is to say,” Brina writes, “that I They married and over glasses, Brina joined her on the floor, their shifting allegiances, the wounds they grew up not knowing my mother or myself.” eventually settled in the curling their bodies together. In earlier inflict on each other and their rocky path Brina’s poignant memoir, “Speak, Okina- suburbs of Rochester, days, Brina might have run away, but in that toward acceptance, apology and forgive- wa,” is the story of her discovery of Okina- N.Y., where Brina grew instant she saw that “her trauma is my ness. The memoir is also a portrait of the wa as an adult — and discoveries about her up in a 99%-white com- trauma, that our pain comes from the same devastating effects of imperialism and rac- mother and herself. Brina also explores munity. In her eyes, her father was her source.” ism on a person’s identity, self-worth and Okinawa as an overlooked piece of the hero, the one with all the answers, who Brina’s curiosity grew, and at age 34, she relationships and offers a perspective on American story in need of hard scrutiny. navigated their world with confidence and traveled to Okinawa and began to delve into how a person can combat these legacies. Brina’s mother was born three years after power. its history of war, colonialism and survival. In the book’s early pages, Brina observes World War II. Like many Okinawans, her “He knew what to say, and he said it so In her mother, she began to see strength that she is “too American.” By the end, she family survived the U.S. occupation by well,” Brina writes. “His pronunciation was instead of weakness, the weight of history writes that her story is both American and working for the U.S. military — building perfect.” instead of personal failing. She detected Okinawan. She claims her Okinawan identi- bases, serving cafeteria food, cleaning bar- Meanwhile, her mother struggled to learn traces of Okinawa’s subjugation in both her ty in part by taking a stand against the in- racks. They lived in poverty, eating sweet English and seemed “never entirely wel- own life and her mother’s, in the way they justices inflicted on Okinawa over the years. potatoes for every meal, as military in- come” in their town, “never [able to] fully were “fighting to be acknowledged and She points to the many crimes committed stallations took over their island. Brina’s participate.” Her mother coped by drinking, understood. Fighting to matter.” by U.S. servicemen since World War II, mother dropped out of school in the eighth sometimes once a month, sometimes once a This battle was most evident in their including sexual assault, murder and rob- grade to work in a factory and later became week, until she passed out. Brina, internaliz- relationships with men. Brina’s father treat- bery, and opposes a new American base a waitress in a nightclub. By then the Viet- ing the racism of her peers, idolized her ed her mother “more like a daughter than a being built on the main island today. “Free nam War was raging, and the U.S. military father and was “cruel” to her mother. She wife.” As a teenager, Brina began believing Okinawa!” Brina writes. PAGE 28 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: MUSIC

REVIEW Swift takes a principled stand, and it’s a bonanza for her fans Rerecorded ‘Fearless’ includes 14 of singer’s ‘vault’ tracks

BY MIKAEL WOOD Well, maybe. Los Angeles Times In the decade and change since her soph- On Jan. 31, 2010, Taylor Swift stood on- omore LP, “Fearless,” took the Grammys’ stage at the Grammy Awards and promised most prestigious award, Swift has won al- that the story of that night — the night “in bum of the year two additional times — 2010 that we got to win album of the year at including just last month, when the singer’s the Grammys,” as she put it — would be the victory with the platinum-certified “folk- one she’d tell her grandkids over and over Taylor Swift again when she was 80. SEE SWIFT ON PAGE 29 Fearless: Taylor’s Version (Republic)

Taylor Swift has returned to her 2008 album “Fearless” as the first installment in her much­discussed plan to rerecord her six earliest studio LPs following the 2019 purchase of her former label, Big Machine, by Scooter Braun, above left.

STARS AND STRIPES ILLUSTRATION/Universal Music Group, AP, iStock photos Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 29 WEEKEND: MUSIC

APPRECIATION DMX rapped, and lived, with unmatched ferocity

BY AUGUST BROWN pital with his family wanna die / All I know is pain, all I feel is New York rap at its most distilled: brash Los Angeles Times by his side after rain / How can I maintain with that s— on deliveries, a hard-bitten worldview and n a November interview with being placed on life my brain?” productions rooted in soulful, confident Talib Kweli, rapper DMX was support for the past DMX prowled the stage with tendons horn samples. His sprawling Ruff Ryders searingly candid about his drug few days. Earl was a rippling, eyes aflame, a physical manifes- crew (alongside future stars Eve, Ja Rule use and the trauma that drove it. warrior who fought tation of the storms in his head. But he hit and in-house producer Swizz Beatz) kept “I learned that I had to deal with till the very end. He more ruminative and tender notes as hits coming from all directions. Ithe things that hurt me,” he said. “I didn’t loved his family with well, as on “How It’s Goin’ Down” with The next albums of his Billboard 200 DMX really have anybody to talk to … talking all of his heart and R&B singer Faith Evans. “It’s Dark and streak lost a little of that momentum, about your problems is viewed as a sign we cherish the times we spent with him. Hell Is Hot” was an instant classic, and it even with occasional standout singles like of weakness when actually it’s one of the Earl’s music inspired countless fans made him an immediate but troubled 2001’s “Who We Be” that drew lines bravest things you can do. One of the across the world and his iconic legacy superstar. among the societal failures of prison, bravest things you can do is put it on the will live on forever.” With his follow-up later in 1998, “Flesh drugs and isolation that broke Black com- table, chop it up, and just let it out.” DMX’s life and career were contradic- of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood,” DMX munities (its video, with black-and-white He recounted how, as a 14-year-old, tions from the start. He was devoutly was already wrestling with the demons of protest footage from the ’60s, felt like an he’d unwittingly smoked a crack-infused religious yet accrued a lengthy list of drug abuse. “Slippin” used a Grover antecedent to Lil Baby’s “The Bigger blunt, which introduced him to drugs and arrests and incarcerations — most re- Washington Jr. sample to moving effect, Picture” clip). began a stormy, lifelong relationship with cently, in 2018, he went to prison for tax while DMX laid out how a childhood 2003’s “X Gon’ Give It to Ya,” a bigger- self-medication to heal his pain. “Drugs fraud. He possessed one of rap’s most laced with uncaring institutions, absent than-life anthem from the soundtrack of were never a problem, drugs were a distinctive, combative vocal tones, with family and drug use bent his sense of self. the action movie “Cradle 2 the Grave,” symptom of a bigger problem,” he said. gut-spilling lyrics churning through his His third album, 1999’s “… And Then became his final signature hit, eventually “There were things I went through in my difficult youth in 1980s New York, yet he There Was X,” was a juggernaut on the serving as mixed martial arts walk-out childhood where I just blocked it out. You was also a staggeringly popular artist, charts, going six times platinum on the music, the backdrop for a killing spree in never know when the things you stored topping the Billboard 200 with each of his strength of “Party Up (Up in Here),” the 2016 film “Deadpool” and as the mu- away are going to come out and just fall first five albums, starting with 1998’s which retooled his tense paranoia into a sical bed for a “Rick and Morty” montage all over the place.” landmark “It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot” on monster hit that would echo at clubs and that became an ever-present reaction The interview seemed an encouraging Ruff Ryders/Def Jam. All told, he had 15 sports arenas for years to come. “What’s meme. In 2016, Bernie Sanders even used sign that the rapper, born Earl Simmons, Hot 100 singles. He also was a charismat- My Name” and “What These Bitches DMX’s “Where the Hood At?” as walk-on was finally rounding a bend on his diffi- ic film star in critical and commercial Want” took a darker, tenser flip on that music to a rally, sending rap fans and culties with substance abuse, after can- successes like “Belly” and “Romeo Must template, but now, DMX wasn’t just a leftists alike into unlikely glee. celing a tour and checking into rehab in Die.” growling, compellingly paranoid entry to While DMX had devoted much of his 2019. But the 50-year-old rapper suc- From the opening salvo of his first the New York canon — he was a super- late career to preaching in his Christian cumbed to that longtime struggle. DMX major-label single, “Get at Me Dog,” to star. faith, he’d reportedly re-signed with Def died on April 8 after suffering a heart “Stop Being Greedy” and “Ruff Ryders He also defined a transitional era in Jam. In an era with so much nostalgia for attack on April 2, following an overdose Anthem,” the ultimate get-ready-to-rum- hip-hop, as it moved from the bicoastal the era of rap and pop he helped epito- at his home in White Plains, N.Y. ble rap track that helped made producer wars and gang conflicts of the late Noto- mize, this could have been the beginning A statement from his family read, in Swizz Beats’ career, DMX possessed a rious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur into a new, of a much-deserved comeback. So many part: “We are deeply saddened to an- voice like no other. His delivery was dominant form of popular music. After young rappers have fallen victim to drugs nounce today that our loved one, DMX, deep, frantic and hoarse, yet with a coiled Biggie, Jay-Z may have become the King and violence of late; it’s only compound- birth name of Earl Simmons, passed intensity that made his songs feel like hits of New York, and Wu-Tang Clan made ing to watch older ones struggle so deeply away at 50 years old at White Plains Hos- even as he rapped: ‘N— wonder why N— the city a mythic realm. But DMX was with the same things. Swift: Redo of breakout album makes creative, business sense FROM PAGE 28 ketplace with a product she owns. In the less” era from what Swift calls her vault, that of course has gotten deeper, huskier lore” made her the first woman to three- future, when a filmmaker or ad agency complete with interest-piquing contribu- and more flexible since the late ’00s. But peat in Grammys history. wants to use one of her songs in a movie or tions from Maren Morris and Keith Ur- she only really takes advantage of that But if her treasured memories have TV commercial, or when a fan streams it ban. shift a couple of times — in “Fifteen,” gotten more crowded than she might’ve on Spotify, she’s betting they’ll turn to One of the vault selections, “Mr. Per- which now carries some of the disappoint- anticipated, “Fearless” still looms large in these renditions instead of those in which fectly Fine,” caused a hubbub online when ment her fresh-faced narrator had yet to the Taylor Swift mythology. Released in Braun reportedly retains a financial in- fans deduced that Swift had written the face, and “The Best Day,” an earnest trib- 2008, when she was 18, the record cap- terest. sharply witty song in the aftermath of ute to her parents that skirted corniness a tures her arrival at true superstardom; it Yet the rerecording project makes being dumped by Joe Jonas. (Among her decade ago but now feels lined with an sold more than 10 million copies and spun unique creative sense for an artist suffi- better epithets in a tune full of them: “Mr. adult understanding of childhood. (That off her first Top 10 pop hit in the Romeo ciently obsessed with time and aging and never told me why / Mr. never had to see Swift’s mother has since battled cancer and Juliet-themed “Love Story.” nostalgia that she spent her big Grammys me cry / Mr. insincere apology so he repeatedly makes the song only more Now Swift, 31 and on her fourth full- speech as a teenager imagining herself in doesn’t look like the bad guy.”) poignant.) length in less than two years, has returned senior citizen-hood. For most acts, this So how does the “Fearless” redo com- As for the lightweight bonus material, to the album as the first installment in her whole enterprise would seem crassly pare to the old album? It would take a which she cut in the studio with her “folk- much-discussed plan to rerecord her six commercial; for Swift, it presents a chance deeply devoted Swiftologist — of which lore” and “Evermore” collaborators Aaron earliest studio LPs following Scooter to live out a key lyric from one of “Fear- there are millions, each eagerly armed Dessner and Jack Antonoff, none of it Braun’s 2019 purchase of her former label, less’” emotional highlights: the strummy, with a fine-toothed comb — to suss out the argues that it deserved a place on “Fear- Big Machine. (The music exec, known impossibly yearning “Fifteen,” about minute differences, so thoroughly has the less,” though “Mr. Perfectly Fine” comes among other things for his onetime work wishing “you could go back and tell your- singer re-created her original arrange- close. Lots of mid-tempo acoustic strum- with Swift’s nemesis Kanye West, last self what you know now.” ments. Accompanying her are many of the ming; lots of lyrics missing the trademark year sold Big Machine — and with it the Which isn’t to say she’s not seizing an folks who played on “Fearless” and on specificity that defines Swift’s A-game. singer’s master recordings — to an in- opportunity to ring up more business. tour with Swift around the same time, with Still, for an artist who would appear to vestment fund for more than $300 mil- Beyond the 13 songs on the original “Fear- the conspicuous exception of her former have earned a hiatus — “Lover,” though it lion.) less” — its other hits include “You Belong co-producer Nathan Chapman, who, judg- seems an eternity ago, came out in the Swift has been open about her motive With Me” and “White Horse” — “Taylor’s ing by his recent work with other Big pre-pandemic summer of 2019 — Swift for making “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” Version” features 14 bonus tracks, a half- Machine acts, perhaps elected not to rock has put a remarkable amount of energy as she’s calling the new set released April dozen of which have never been heard a professional boat. into this would-be practical exercise. 8: She’s looking to devalue those masters before; they’re newly recorded produc- The most significant change is in Swift’s Only she could make bare-knuckled by essentially replacing them in the mar- tions of tunes written during the “Fear- singing voice, a once-brittle instrument capitalism feel like a moral act. PAGE 30 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: LIFESTYLE A trip down memory lane Movie buff’s basement-turned replica rental store goes viral on social media with more than 500K likes, 55K shares BY TOMMY BIRCH was feeling down as his business Des Moines Register took a hit during the COVID-19 s Brian Hogan walks to pandemic. To lift his spirits, he a back area of his base- went to work on the project, getting ment, he passes by a help from some friends and family Acollection of DVDs that members. are carefully lined up on old rental “He’s always been like, ‘I always store shelves. The movies are wanted to work in a video store’ categorized by different themes and as you see video stores closing like action, comedy, horror, drama and really no future for those to and sci-fi. Hogan, who has John re-open, this was another way for Carpenter’s “Lost Themes III: him to kind of live that out vicari- Alive After Death” vinyl playing, ously,” Erin said. looks around the room as he turns down the volume. Kimmel, DeGeneres notice “It’s ludicrous,” Hogan says of Erin wasn’t sure what to expect his room. when she grabbed her phone and It’s actually a trip down memory started giving a tour of the replica lane. To a time when you had to go store, which takes up about a third to a local rental store to grab your of the couple’s 1,669-square-foot favorite movies. It was a time be- basement. fore Netflix and online streaming. She then uploaded it to TikTok It’s a time that Hogan, a 38-year- and watched it go viral, with more old barber, wants to feel a part of BRIAN POWERS/Des Moines Register than 500,000 likes and 55,000 whenever he comes down to the Seven thousand movies and accompanying promo materials line the walls and ceiling of Brian and Erin shares. Erin, who used the name basement of his Urbandale, Iowa Hogan’s basement March 11 in Urbandale, Iowa. Brian transformed the space into a replica rental store. @thevideobunker, was over- home after a day of work to relax whelmed by the attention it got. and reflect. fellas” when he was 8 years old. “I’d always be like, ‘Oh, I want to outside of the main room with a “I think for a lot of people, it’s “It just feels nice being here,” Their family would head to the watch that movie, it’s terrible’ and I window he got from the Habitat for nostalgia and connecting to nostal- Hogan said. “I don’t think you’ll see local movie rental store after couldn’t find it but I always knew I Humanity Restore. Hogan pur- gia,” Erin said. “We got a lot of video stores opening up anymore. I school on Friday and pick out could get a copy at Goodwill for chased a red “Open” sign at Sam’s comments like, ‘Does it smell like a don’t think they’re sustainable, movies for the weekend. like two dollars,” Hogan said. Club and a door off Facebook Mar- Blockbuster?’ People equate that unfortunately.” “He never censored me,” Brian The movies range from “Speed” ketplace for $20. with different times, happier times. So Hogan has done the next best said. “He would just say, ‘Pick out to “Shallow Hal” and “In the Line The door leads into the main And it does for us, too.” thing. He’s transformed part of his whatever you want.’ So I was prob- of Fire” to “Old School.” And the room, which splits into a back The video has even caught the basement into a replica rental store ably watching stuff I shouldn’t collection got so big that there room full of cassettes, two chairs attention of Jimmy Kimmel and that houses more than 6,000 DVDs have. But he didn’t seem to care.” would be stacks of them every- and multiple television sets to Ellen DeGeneres, whose pro- and at least another 1,000 videos. Brian’s love of movies grew. His where in the house. Hogan would watch movies on. Hogan picked up ducers have reached out to the Each video is lined up in alphabet- first job was working behind the pile up movies on the kitchen table, a clip rack that holds bags of Dori- Hogans about possibly including ical order. It’s just like a rental counter at a local Hy-Vee’s movie the counter, the bedroom and even tos on the end of one of the shelves them on their show. The New York store of yesteryear, with movie rental center when he was 14. The the bathroom. Finding a specific as if they’re ready for purchase. A Post did a story on the videos, too. posters hanging on the walls and biggest perk of the job: The promo- movie was chaotic. replica E.T. doll sits in the corner. The basement rental store may collectibles displayed throughout. tional movie posters he was able to As rental stores across Des On a window ledge is a replica look like a finished product, but Hogan even has a cash register. collect. Even after the job, Hogan Moines started shutting down and Wilson volleyball from the movie Brian said it’s far from done. He “It is a man cave that looks like a kept collecting replica props, his daughter moved away for col- “Cast Away.” Hogan has a replica fixing a popcorn machine and video rental store,” his wife Erin DVDs and tapes. Hogan, like his lege, Hogan got an idea about how Slimer (from “Ghostbusters”) adding a bell to the door. The hope said. dad, took his kids to the video store to organize his movies and collec- sitting on some movies. He’s filled is to eventually turn the remainder That’s always been the goal. to celebrate the start of the week- tibles. out the rest of the area with other of the basement into a movie thea- Brian, a longtime lover of movies, end. trinkets, a mini fridge and an old ter with a marquee. Brian is still needed a place to store all of his He bought DVDs and cassettes Basement transformed movie rental sleeve that’s dis- grabbing what he can from Video DVDs and tapes. So when his wherever he could. He’d rummage The idea of transforming his played on one of the walls. Warehouse while it’s still open and daughter moved away for college, through boxes at garage and estate basement really began to take “I was coming home one week- hopes to be the business’s final he converted her room into his own sales. He’d purchase cheap movies shape when a pair of local rental end from college and I was going customer. Jon Fridley, the store’s makeshift rental store. The spot is at Goodwill or the Salvation Army, stores announced they were clos- downstairs and I opened up my general manager, said he’s happy so well done, so perfectly crafted getting what he thought were steals ing. The two, Family Video and bedroom door and I just saw that to see some of his things keeping and already so popular that it has on used cassettes or DVDs. One Video Warehouse, were places there was a bunch of shelves in my the movie store experience alive. made Hogan a social media star. tape he picked up had three movies Hogan frequently visited. When room and there were a bunch of “It’s kind of cool to be able to Now he and his rental store — er, recorded on it: “Rocky,” “Grease” the two started getting rid of mo- DVDs,” said his daughter Bickley provide him with some of the sup- basement — are catching the atten- and “Steel Magnolias.” The owner vies and materials, Hogan grabbed Riley. “I was shocked but I wasn’t plies and fixtures,” Fridley said. tion of celebrities like Jimmy Kim- had printed the synopsis from the some of the shelving. too entirely shocked. I knew he was In the meantime, Brian plans to mel and Ellen DeGeneres. television guide and taped it on the He brought them down to a going to do something ridiculous keep tinkering with the project. video. Hogan ended up with five couple of rooms in his basement with it.” Now that he’s got his replica video Hogan’s passion for flicks copies of “The Rundown,” starring and used them as his own displays Hogan started on the project in store, he said he hasn’t given up on Hogan’s love of movies came The Rock and Seann William Scott, in two rooms, creating aisles to September of 2020. Finding a place his dream of eventually owning a from his father Jeff Hogan. Jeff because he kept purchasing the walk through and scan through to store things wasn’t his only real one. took Brian to movies at an early movie over and over when it would movies. He hung up posters and ambition. Hogan, who owns Fran- “Fingers crossed,” he said with a age, including a showing of “Good- get lost in his collection. put up faux brick paneling on the klin Barber Shop in Beaverdale, smile. “I think for a lot of people, it’s nostalgia and connecting to nostalgia. We got a lot of comments like, ‘Does it smell like a Blockbuster?’ People equate that with different times, happier times. And it does for us, too.” Erin Hogan Brian Hogan’s wife Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 31 WEEKEND: TELEVISION

PBS photos Ernest Hemingway sits at his typewriter at his home in Cuba. Uncovering the real Hemingway Ken Burns psychologically separates the man from the myths in a new documentary BY CHUCK BARNEY So riddled with foibles was The Mercury News Hemingway that Novick went he image many of us into the project with a discernible have of Ernest Heming- dislike for the author known for way is pretty simplistic: classic books like “The Old Man TAn iconic writer who and the Sea,” “For Whom the Bell favored stripped-down prose, Tolls” and “The Sun Also Rises.” and, in public, epitomized hyper- “I wasn’t sure how I would feel masculinity to an almost cartoon- spending six hours with him as a ish degree. viewer,” she recalls. “He was The image filmmaker Ken really unkind and hurtful to peo- Burns uncovered while working ple, and self-centered… And he on his latest PBS documentary had a talent for becoming alien- epic is, thankfully, much more ated from people who cared complex. about him.” “We were drawn to trying to But as she, Burns and writer get at a real Hemingway,” Burns Geoffrey C. Ward further ponder- said. “I think the persona of the ed the burden of Hemingway’s wild man, the drunk, the bar guy, “struggles and demons,” Novick the big-game hunter, the big-sea developed more compassion for Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn en route to China, 1941. fisherman is sort of what we him. inherit — the baggage we carry. “For me, it was like a full cir- sister in pants so they could be member? They’ll remember a not going to be bold enough to say But we lost everything the second cle, actually, to appreciate his alike. Maybe it is born of some woman dying in childbirth.” that this is the one thing that did it we began this project. All of our humanity,” she says. other thing. But he has a curiosity Burns says he and his team — that pulled the trigger, literally baggage is somewhere else.” The film rigorously explores about role changes.” weren’t interested in chasing and figuratively — but that it is a In its place is “Hemingway,” a the different sides of the man And whether the dynamics of headlines. After all, many of the whole complex set of things.” three-part, six hour film that called “Papa” — and the contra- that role-playing had anything to film’s talking points have sur- While “Hemingway” apparent- divides its time between dis- dictions. with it or not, it is clear that He- faced to varying degrees in the ly leaves no flaw unexposed as it secting the influential work of a For example, though Heming- mingway exhibited an acute numerous biographies and crit- delves deeply into the man’s literary giant and delivering a way clearly relished his rugged ability to see things from a female ical studies devoted to Heming- personal life, it keeps coming psychological examination of a man’s-man persona, he experi- perspective in his writing. Irish way. But among its startling back to the books and short sto- man whose tumultuous life ended mented with gender fluidity in author Edna O’Brien, one of revelations are details about the ries, which, for the most part, at the age of 61 when he put a both his writing and marriages. many literary experts inter- multiple concussions and trau- continue to be held in high es- shotgun to his head. His wives were asked to cut their viewed in the film, points to He- matic brain injuries the writer teem by the authors, fans and With actor Jeff Daniels voicing hair short to look like boys, while mingway’s fabled World War I suffered, and the cumulative experts who appear in the series. the title subject, Burns and co- he grew his long and took on the novel “A Farewell to Arms” as effect they might have had on his “The writing only increased in director Lynn Novick level a name of “Katherine” as they evidence. mental state. its power and glory and majesty,” critical eye at Hemingway, who reversed roles in their sex life. Parts of that book, she says, “This is a man whose life ends Burns says. “As I confronted all had four wives and occasionally “What we need is a more nu- “could have been written by a very tragically by his own hand,” of this negative stuff, it became could be violently abusive toward anced sense of his sexuality — his woman (and) I regard that as a Burns says. “And people have important that the art transcend- them. He also hated his mother very complicated and evolving compliment.” She adds that He- expounded on all sorts of differ- ed it and basically didn’t excuse and became estranged from two sexuality,” Burns says. “… May- mingway nailed all “the boy’s ent rays: the genetics, the mad- it.” of his sons. Some of his writing be it was born when (Heming- stuff, the man’s stuff, the horror ness that existed in his family, his The first episode of “Heming- and letters revealed racist lean- way’s) mother twinned him, of war. But when people put the own father’s suicide, the ideation way” premieres Sunday on AFN- ings. putting him in dresses and his book down, what will they re- that produced in him … We are Prime. PAGE 32 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: HEALTH & FITNESS Skin deep Dermatologists urge caution when following the exfoliation advice of ‘skinfluencers’ and say the step isn’t necessary for healthy skin

BY JANNA MANDELL foliation is nothing new. Queen Special to The Washington Post Cleopatra bathed in sour milk to f you follow the advice of reap the benefits of naturally oc- magazines such as Vogue curring lactic acid, an alpha hy- and Harper’s Bazaar, social droxy acid, and the Romans and Imedia “skinfluencers,” or Greeks were known to use corro- your favorite skin-care brands, you sive agents such as limestone as a may have read that exfoliating — manual exfoliant. the process of detaching dead skin But now, the shelves of beauty cells — is a vital step in achieving retailers and drugstores are healthy skin. According to these stocked full of exfoliating options: sources, exfoliation can amplify exfoliating facial cleansers and the results of topical products such toners, exfoliating facial scrubs as serums, masks and moisturiz- made with ingredients such as ers, boosting the skin’s “glow” and rice-based enzyme powder, and “radiance,” as well as cutting body scrubs that contain salt or down on acne and signs of sun sugar granules. (Body exfoliants damage. also come in chemical, manual iStock But if you ask dermatologists, and/or a combination of both kinds Some dermatologists say they prefer patients come to their offices for exfoliation treatments because it is they’ll tell you that not only is of exfoliants.) easy to over­exfoliate at home, leading to tightness, shininess, stinging, redness and increased sensitivity. exfoliation usually an unnecessary There are more than 1 million step, many people overdo it. #exfoliate posts on Instagram, with something too abrasive,” she that people new to facial exfolia- ogists prefer in-office treatments, “Our skin cells naturally ex- while #exfoliate videos have been said. tion “start low” with a low-percent- seeing the latter as a controlled foliate on their own,” said Chicago- viewed nearly 220 million times on Clay added that she prefers age exfoliant, “start gentle” with burn compared with a wildfire. based dermatologist Caroline TikTok. chemical exfoliants over manual less irritating ingredients, and “go New York-based dermatologist Robinson. The skin cells migrate In 2020, facial exfoliant sales exfoliants for the face, because slow” by beginning with one night Macrene Alexiades said in an from the deepest layers to most were up 9% year-over-year, Laris- chemical options give more con- a week and then gradually adding email that she recommends ex- superficial layers, and slough off sa Jensen, vice president of beauty trol: “When it comes to manual more only if your skin tolerates it. foliation as an option for people roughly every 28 days, she added, at the NPD Group, a market re- exfoliation, it’s all about pressure.” One of Hirsch’s favorite at-home with oily skin, large pores and, in although the process can take search firm, said in an email. If you’re grinding a manual or exfoliants is Josh Rosebrook Daily some cases, wrinkles. longer as we get older. “Products “In fact, it [facial exfoliants] was physical exfoliant into your skin, Acid Toner, which she said is “Specifically, with respect to sun and tools that help us exfoliate are the only segment to gain among you can create microtears in the gentle enough for sensitive skin — damage and wrinkles, I use ex- designed to encourage a healthy the larger facial skincare category, skin and disrupt its barrier, she even if you use retinoids. For ac- foliation [in-office] as an artist tool behavior our skin does naturally.” which includes cleansers, face said. neic skin, Hirsch likes Paula’s to resurface the skin and induce Exfoliants are either chemical creams, and face serums,” she Just because a product label Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA new collagen,” she said. or manual (or physical), or a com- said. tells you to exfoliate twice a day Liquid Exfoliant. She and Robinson both recom- bination of both. Chemical ex- “We are living in a society of doesn’t mean you should, said While, again, exfoliating your mend in-office chemical peels — foliants usually use hydroxy acids over-exfoliators,” said Joshua Ranella Hirsch, a dermatologist body isn’t necessary, Hirsh said which use one or more exfoliating to dissolve the bond between skin Zeichner, a New York-based der- based in Cambridge, Mass. that hands, feet and sometimes chemicals to create an injury of a cells, loosening dead skin for re- matologist and director of cosmet- “If you blindly exfoliate, you risk arms and legs can benefit from specific skin depth with the goal of moval. ic and clinical research in derma- tearing apart your barrier, which regular exfoliation. You don’t have stimulating new skin growth and There are also enzyme exfo- tology at Mount Sinai Hospital. is made up of functional skin cells to show the same caution with improving surface texture and liants, which come from fruits Consumers have unrealistic ex- that tightly regulate what comes those body parts as you do with appearance. such as papaya, pineapple and pectations, according to Zeichner: into the body,” she said. your face, neck and chest, she said. “When I administer a medical pumpkin. These tend to be to be “People try and achieve the ‘radi- One of the most problematic Clay recommends being careful peel in-office, I get a full thickness gentler than hydroxy acids and ance and glow’ from exfoliation exfoliating myths, according to with certain foot treatments: resurfacing of the skin, and then may have anti-inflammatory prop- that they see in images and videos Hirsch, is that you should exfoliate “Some people with very thick we allow the skin to rejuvenate erties. on social media, and unfortunately dry, flaky skin. layers of skin on their feet may itself over a 28-day cycle,” Alex- Manual exfoliation uses a prod- we do not have an objective way of She likes to use the analogy of need a jump-start with a pedicure iades said. uct such as a face scrub or a tool measuring these terms.” bricks and mortar to explain why or at-home chemical foot peel. “Chemical peels are one of my such as a mechanical face brush to Atlanta-based dermatologist that’s not the case. Flaking skin These should be done in moder- favorite in-office procedures be- “scrub” and loosen the dead skin Tiffany Clay said she has seen an usually happens because the mor- ation because although the soles of cause they are so simple to in- cells. Microdermabrasion and increase in facial over-exfoliation tar holding the layers of skin cells the feet may seem very thick, too tegrate and I can use them on all dermaplaning are manual ex- in her patients over the past year. together (made up of lipids and much exfoliation may cause the skin types,” Robinson said. They foliation treatments performed Patients who follow these “skin- fats) is low, and the bricks (ker- skin to become too thin, leading to also can speed up your product in-office. fluencers” come into my office atinocytes) are falling off. tears, cuts and infections.” results, she added. “Sometimes if Terms like hydroxy acids and with compromised skin barriers “When we exfoliate, we use After exfoliating your face or our skin cells are not turning over microdermabrasion aside, ex- due to exfoliating too often and hydroxy acids and enzymes to body, it’s important to always as quickly as they would naturally break the bonds that hold the cells follow up with a moisturizer, said — then our skin-care products are together, which is what we don’t Zeichner, who usually pairs ex- not penetrating where they need “If you blindly exfoliate, you risk want,” she said. “When you have foliating products with moisturiz- to.” flaky, dry skin you need to mois- ers that have skin-repairing in- Finally, Zeichner emphasized tearing apart your barrier, which is turize, not exfoliate.” gredients such as niacinamide, patience when it comes to seeing Damage from over-exfoliation ceramides and/or oatmeal. He the benefits of exfoliation. made up of functional skin cells can present in many ways, in- recommended moisturizers from “To see an improvement in cluding tightness, shininess, sting- CeraVe, La Roche-Posay and texture, tone, hyperpigmentation that tightly regulate what comes ing, redness and increased sensi- Aveeno. or lines could take several weeks tivity, Hirsch said. And, the experts said you should to months of regular use,” he said. into the body.” “We tend to grossly overesti- always apply sun protection when He concluded, however, that Ranella Hirsch mate what our skin can handle,” using exfoliants. there is only one way to achieve she said. Because it’s easy to over-ex- perfect skin: using a good social dermatologist based in Cambridge, Mass. That’s why she recommends foliate at home, some dermatol- media filter. Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 33 WEEKEND: FAMILY

Old, useless recipes and why I keep them Fueled by a rare rush of spring cleaning adrenaline, I fetched the bloated behemoth from my crowded shelf of cookbooks, careful to catch the loose clippings stuffed hap- hazardly between her cracked covers. The 30-year-old bind- er full of collected recipes needed thinning. She was full of so many yellowing newspaper scraps, hand-written index cards, jagged-edged items clandestinely ripped from magazines in dentists’ waiting rooms, photocop- ied pages of cookbooks and hole-punched computer print- outs, she was literally bursting at the seams. Her bulging faux leather cover had split along its binding. The pages hanging precariously on the rings were a messy Rebecca Roberts combination of baseball card collector sheets containing Noah and Rosalie, seen above in March at almost 6 months old, are twins, but Rosalie was conceived later than small clippings, ancient magnetic photo pages plastered with her brother in a rare care of superfetation. cutouts and hole-punched sheets of paper. Something had to be done. Gripping a pair of scissors and a trash bag, I plunked down on our couch with the slovenly old gal, envisioning her slim- mer version sitting neatly on my shelf within the hour. With her weight in my lap, I lifted the top cover, mindful of ‘It just doesn’t happen’ the splitting spine, and allowed loose recipes from recent years to fall out. I’d deal with them later. I was more in- terested in tossing the old recipes I never used anymore. British twins conceived at different times in rare case of superfetation The metal rings of the dog-eared Betty Crocker Cook Book BY SYDNEY PAGE That was not the case for Roberts. I’d received as a bridal shower gift creaked open like the Special to The Washington Post “Instead of stopping ovulation, she released another doors of a pharaoh’s tomb. ebecca Roberts and her partner struggled with egg about three or four weeks after the first one, and the “Ah,” I breathed, and prepared myself to purge. But soon, infertility for more than a year, so when they egg somehow miraculously managed to fertilize and memories crept into my consciousness. got a positive result with an at-home preg- implant in her uterus,” Walker said. “Turkey Divan” on lined notebook paper brought me back Rnancy test, they were overjoyed. Although Roberts was taking a fertility drug to stim- to the early years of our marriage, when I was trying so But the news did not feel real until the first ultrasound ulate ovulation, Walker said he’s “not convinced” that the hard. I’d stopped making this dish a long time ago, but the appointment, when the couple saw their baby on a so- medication — which can increase the chances of having warm feeling of nostalgia prompted me to turn the page. nogram screen and listened to the calming cadence of a multiples — is what caused the superfetation. “A classic!” I thought, spying “Karen’s Chicken Stew.” steady heartbeat. “She didn’t release two eggs at the same time, which is Stationed together in the ’90s, Karen was my first close Navy On Roberts’ medical chart, her obstetrician wrote: what the medication normally does,” Walker said. “But wife friend. She had married a few years before me, so she singleton. we have no way of proving it one way or another.” was my role model in those early years. She’d made her stew “I remember walking away from the very first scan so Given the rarity of the condition, coupled with Roberts’ recipe for me when my newborn son was hospitalized with happy,” said Roberts, 39, who lives in Wiltshire, England. age and the common risks associated with carrying twins, meningitis. It required only condensed soups and basic in- But her excitement abruptly shifted to shock five weeks the pregnancy brought some challenges, particularly gredients thrown into a Crock-Pot, but to me it epitomized later at the 12-week ultrasound appointment, when the during the third trimester. The couple were told that the comfort. For many tours of duty, I made Karen’s recipe for sonographer spotted something astonishing: It appeared younger baby might not survive. military spouses or friends in need. Hell would freeze over as though Roberts was suddenly carrying two babies — “Anything that can go wrong with a pregnancy is more before I’d throw out Karen’s Chicken Stew Recipe. one of which was considerably less-developed than the common with twin pregnancies,” Walker said. “But with I got lost in succeeding pages, unable to part with the rec- other. The room fell silent. a three-week difference, you don’t want to compromise ollections they inspired. Pepperoni Cheese Bread from my “I thought something awful had happened,” Roberts the smaller twin by delivering too early. You have to keep Virginia Beach neighbor conjured afternoons when the kids said. “The sonographer looked at me and was like, ‘Do a really close eye. The delivery was crucial in this case.” played in our cul-de-sac. Summer Squash Tart — the fun you know you’re expecting twins?’” Roberts knew preterm labor was probable, so ensuring night I hosted Bunco. Oriental Snack Mix — that hilarious But this was not a typical set of twins, Roberts learned. that the smaller baby was far along enough before birth military wives’ Polish pottery-shopping road trip. Pumpkin Her pregnancy was diagnosed as superfetation, a rare “was a really massive worry for us,” she said. Soup with Maultaschen — my military spouse writers’ group condition in which a woman who is already pregnant At just over 33 weeks into the pregnancy, the smaller in Stuttgart. Hot Crab Dip — a staple when my best friend conceives another baby. fetus’ umbilical cord was not functioning normally, which since ninth grade and I get together. Kalua Pig — my son’s Roberts’s pregnancy is one of few superfetation cases started to affect the baby’s growth. Doctors decided it was Webelos Troop crossover ceremony. recorded in medical literature, said her obstetrician, time to deliver. Those recipes were definitely worth revisiting, but others David Walker. Although Roberts’ children had different due dates, she would never be referenced again. “Erin’s Beef Dish” pro- Superfetation is so uncommon that Walker struggled to had a Caesarean section and gave birth to both babies on duced a bland glop of tough meat and mushy vegetables diagnose it. In his 25 years as an obstetrician, it was some- Sept. 17. Noah came first, weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces. swimming in grayish gravy. But it was given to me by a Ma- thing he had never seen before. Two minutes later, his younger sister, Rosalie, arrived, rine wife who was one of the funniest people I’d ever known. “It just doesn’t happen,” Walker said, adding that it took weighing 2 pounds, 7 ounces. “Spinach Rolls” were too labor-intensive to ever attempt several scans before he could confidently diagnose the “We got to see both of them as soon as they were born,” again, but the dish reminded me of an ego boost that came at condition. “We were concerned because the second twin Roberts said. “It was absolutely beautiful.” a much-needed moment in my life. I’d never made “Sue’s was much smaller. It was only by regularly scanning and The family’s initial bonding time was short-lived, as Brownie Recipe” but, strangely, it was written on the back of seeing that the rate of growth was consistently three both babies were whisked away to the neonatal intensive a copy of my deceased father-in-law’s will. weeks behind that we realized it was superfetation.” care unit. Noah remained in the hospital for just over Bent over the heavy book in my lap, I turned the pages, The true number of superfetation cases is not known, three weeks, while Rosalie stayed for 95 days. one after the other. I realized that these scraps and scribbles but according to a report published in 2008 in the Europe- The couple drove to the hospital every day to visit their were moments frozen in time, blended with my psyche, an Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive children until just before Christmas, when they were baked into my subconsciousness. This was no recipe book — Biology, fewer than 10 instances of the phenomenon had given the go-ahead to bring Rosalie home. it was a treasured scrapbook. been recorded at the time. “We could finally get on and start our lives. It felt like And it’s a keeper.

Ordinarily, hormonal and physical changes during we were on hold having them in the hospital,” said Ro- Read more at themeatandpotatoesoflife.com, and in Lisa’s book, The Meat and Potatoes of pregnancy prevent another conception from occurring. berts, who designs children’s clothing. Life: My True Lit Com. Email: [email protected]  PAGE 34 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 WEEKEND: CROSSWORD AND COMICS NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

GAME CHANGERS 12345 678910 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 BY ANGELA OLSON HALSTED AND DOUG PETERSON / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ 221202 Angela Olson Halsted is a legal secretary in Washington, D.C., and the mother of two college students. Doug Peterson is a professional crossword constructor in Pasadena, Calif. The two met at a crossword tournament in 2007 and have been friends 524232 ever since. Both are baseball fans (Nationals for Angela, Yankees for Doug), and they have attended at least one M.L.B. game together every year (not counting last year) since 2011. — W.S. 0392827262

ACROSS 57 Cancels 117 Trouble, 19 Places to play cards, 635343332313 1 Chow down on 60 Alacrity metaphorically often 938373 6 ‘‘Exactly like this’’ 61 Afternoon socials 120 Ballgame extenders 24 The Daily ____ . . . and what can (online news site) 12 Word with mild or 63 Where dreams are 94847464544434241404 made literally be found in 29 ____ culpa well the answers to the 65 *Overenthusiastic 32 It plays a role in arm- 35251505 20 Character often found asterisked clues description of a twisting in children’s books 124 Beekeeper 06958575655545 routine base hit? 33 ‘‘Venerable’’ saint 21 Emotionally process, 125 ____ to go 68 Stand-in for Middle 34 Manual readers 76665646362616 in modern lingo America 126 Run-D.M.C. and the 35 Air France hub 22 Repeated cry in 1931’s 71 Pair of socks? Jonas Brothers, for 17079686 ‘‘Frankenstein’’ example 36 It brought Hope to 72 *Umpire’s aid in the world 2818089787776757473727 23 *Perfect curveball? judging foul balls? 127 Bands’ performance sheets 38 When doubled, a 78 GPS approximation 887868584838 25 Ivy League city 128 Unruffled Nabokov protagonist 79 Sgt. and cpl., e.g. 26 Jam 129 ____ Domingo 40 Pre-bar challenge, 59493929190998 83 Airer of ‘‘Nancy briefly 27 Crucial Drew’’ 41 ‘‘Je t’____’’ 00199897969 84 Old salt DOWN 28 White coat? 42 Org. with Fire and 86 Fury 1 Bird that can spend up 301201101 30 Course standards to 10 months in the Sparks 88 State where M.L.K. air without landing 43 It was first won by 211111011901801701601501401 31 Emergency-room marched: Abbr. concern 2 Absolute bottom the N.Y. Mets in 1969 89 Some fins 611511411311 3 Digital assistant 44 Snowblower brand 33 *Batting coach’s 92 King James on a court instruction to a 4 Food packaging abbr., 45 Word on some Oreo 321221121021911811711 lackadaisical hitter? 94 Do as Henry VI did once packages 96 Letters on some 621521421 37 Habitual drinkers 5 What’s heard at many 47 Nothing special foundations a coffeehouse 39 Opposed (to) 48 Tina Turner, 921821721 97 Jumpy sorts, in brief 6 Group sometimes said voicewise 99 *Long hours of 40 *Apprentice to be ‘‘out’’ 49 Goldenrod, e.g. groundskeepers? fielding practice? 7 French article 53 Append 70 Outstanding pitcher 81 Speedskater Johann 95 Butterlike spread 110 Land between Togo 46 Singer/songwriter 101 ____ only 8 Pampering place 56 Instrument with a ____ Koss, winner of and Nigeria Parks with the 2021 103 Tilting 72 Former Ford models 98 French West Indies 9 In use flared end four Olympic golds resort island, 111 Insider’s vocabulary album ‘‘Collapsed in 104 *Imperceptible 73 Seller of Belgian Sunbeams’’ 10 Candle choice 58 Chinese steamed bun waffles and French 82 One-named Nigerian familiarly 112 Catch with a throw fastball movement? Grammy winner 11 Gumbo pods toast (fittingly, 100 Keep from flying, 113 Alternative to Chuck 47 It might get pulled in 109 All over the place 59 Ratio of an angle’s 12 Goddess with a sacred opposite side to the considering the ‘‘I’’ 85 Pained sound maybe 115 Wistful sound both directions 113 Jimmy ____ (luxury owl hypotenuse in its name) 87 In the Renaissance, 101 Profession 118 Man’s name that’s 50 New York’s Mount shoe brand) they were known 13 Designers’ studios 62 Blueprint details 74 Super Soaker 102 Camera inits. 123-Down reversed ____ Hospital 114 Scientist buried in as ‘‘mala insana’’ 119 Stanza contraction 14 Its capital is Sydney: 64 Runs out of juice Soakzooka brand 104 ‘‘With any luck . . . ’’ 51 Dark wine grape Westminster Abbey (‘‘mad apples’’) Abbr. 75 Like some orders 105 Tag line? 121 Home of the world’s 115 Pop artist who sings 66 Eye cream ingredient 90 Baseball’s Gehrig and largest carnival 52 Part of a heartbeat 15 ‘‘Uh-uh’’ 76 Ancient halls 106 Fancy pourers ‘‘Satisfied’’ on ‘‘The 67 Symbol on Captain Piniella 122 Word with red or 54 Diplomatic official: Hamilton Mixtape’’ 16 Go by America’s shield 77 Eldest Stark son on 91 Most reliable 107 Paper route hour, army Abbr. 116 New ____ (cap 17 Compete with 69 Villainous English ‘‘Game of Thrones’’ 93 Russian city on the maybe 123 Man’s name that’s 55 Corn core brand) 18 Part of EGBDF king in ‘‘Braveheart’’ 80 G.I.’s garb, at times Ural River 108 Headliner’s cue 118-Down reversed

GUNSTON STREET RESULTS FOR ABOVE PUZZLE

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“Gunston Street” is drawn by Basil Zaviski. Email him at [email protected], and online at gunstonstreet.com. E S R E V A S E H S U L

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E V I L A S T I K C A P N U O D L A W D E R E N N A M O S T S U J F R A N S Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 35 FACES Digging into the mystery Notorious B.I.G.’s murder gets the human touch in ‘City of Lies’

BY DAN DELUCA Sullivan, depicts a corrupt Los An- The Philadelphia Inquirer geles Police Department that, af- ho killed the Noto- ter nearly a quarter century, has rious B.I.G.? never officially solved the mys- Brad Furman has tery. Wa strong suspicion, “A murder like that only goes and he’s ready with a three-word unsolved,” Depp says as the Poole response to people’s questions character, “if the police don’t want about the 1997 murder of rapper to solve it.” Christopher Wallace, who was Furman made the movie with SUZANNE TENNER/TNS shot to death in Los Angeles just full cooperation of Voletta Wal- six months after Tupac Shakur lace, the mother of the rapper, Forest Whitaker, left, and Johnny Depp in a scene from Brad Furman’s “City of Lies,” a police procedural about the investigation into the death of Christopher Wallace, aka the Notorious B.I.G. met the same fate in Las Vegas. who plays herself in the film, now “Watch the movie,” says the out on video-on-demand after a when he heard the news of Shak- who permitted use of her son’s a ored him and Tupac.” Philadelphia-born movie director, three-year delay from its original ur’s death on the radio. cappella vocals, which are fea- The movie, he says, “is about a speaking of “City of Lies,” his new 2018 release date. Wallace and Shakur’s stories tured to haunting effect. In the failure of institutions. We invest in crime procedural — based on a “City of Lies” is Furman’s fol- have been thoroughly explored in movie, no actor actually “plays” the police to protect and serve and true story, but with fictional ele- low-up to “The Infiltrator,” his popular culture, from Nick the rapper: Except in a few shots think that these individuals are go- ments — that stars Johnny Depp 2016 film starring Bryan Cran- Broomfield’s 2002 “Biggie and in silhouette or profile, the images ing to do their job honorably, and and Forest Whitaker. ston. That drug-world thriller fea- Tupac” to the USA Network’s 2018 of B.I.G. and Shakur shown are of when they don’t, there’s a lot of Depp’s character is based on tured a screenplay by Furman’s dramatic series “Unsolved” to the the late rappers themselves. dirty secrets that have to be hid- the late LAPD detective Russell mother, Ellen Brown Furman, a 2019 National Public Radio pod- When Furman first suggested den.” Poole and his efforts to get to the lawyer who hammered out the cast “Slow Burn.” Wallace play herself, “she But he’s also thrilled to finally bottom of the case. Whitaker’s script at the family beach house.. “City of Lies” comes at things laughed me off the phone and told tell the story of the rapper from a character is a made-up journalist The director had his biggest via Sullivan’s “LAbyrinth” book, me to go call Angela Bassett,” he human perspective. loosely based on a real author. commercial success with “The with its mouthful of a subtitle: “A says. “With the iconography of star- “City of Lies” concerns the dec- Lincoln Lawyer,” starring Mat- Detective Investigates the Mur- “But we built a beautiful and dom, we forget these people are adeslong investigation of the thew McConaughey, in 2011. ders of Tupac Shakur and Noto- trusting relationship. ... Miss Wal- human,” Furman says. death of Wallace, also known as His Biggie and Tupac passion rious B.I.G., the Implication of lace is an incredibly inspiring “This was a young man, a young Biggie Smalls, the New York rap- goes back to seeing Wallace in a Death Row Records’ Suge Knight, woman. Having her in the movie Black man who lost his life, who per beloved for such enduring hits club in New York while he was a and the Origins of the Los Angeles was crucial for me. I didn’t want to was murdered. ... This is a real life as “Juicy” and “Hypnotize.” The film student at New York Univer- Police Scandal.” make a movie that exploited the we’re dealing with, and there’s a movie, based on the 2003 nonfic- sity. He remembers pulling his The director developed a close murder of Christopher Wallace. I responsibility I felt I had to hon- tion book “LAbyrinth” by Randall car over to the side of the road relationship with Voletta Wallace, wanted to make a movie that hon- or.” Rhimes responds to uproar over Page’s departure from ‘Bridgerton’

BY CHRISTIE D’ZURILLA has hosted “Saturday Night Live,” been mentioned as a Los Angeles Times leading candidate to play the next James Bond and nabbed “Like, we didn’t kill him. He’s still alive!” a leading role in the Hasbro-Paramount adaptation of That’s what Shonda Rhimes told Vanity Fair recently, re- “Dungeons & Dragons,” along with Chris Pine, Michelle acting to the uproar over news that fan favorite Rege-Jean Rodriguez and Justice Smith. Page would not return as Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, Plus he has a pre-”Bridgerton” résumé that includes in the second season of Netflix’s hit series “Bridgerton.” roles in the 2016 remake of “Roots,” the 2018 movie “Mortal Rhimes, an executive producer on the series set in Re- Engines” and two seasons on ABC’s “For the People.” gency-era England, said she was “really shocked, because “Pleasure and a privilege!,” the London-born actor usually that happens when I’ve killed off somebody that’s tweeted in response to Netflix’s April 2 announcement that been around for a while” — like the McDreamy (Patrick he would not be back. “An honour to be a member of the Dempsey) and McSteamy (Eric Dane) characters on family — on and off screen, cast, crew and incredible fans “Grey’s Anatomy.” — the love is real and will just keep growing.” In the case of “Bridgerton,” Page’s disappearance is Season two, based on “The Viscount Who Loved Me,” will mostly to do with the structure of the source material, eight focus on the romantic adventures of Anthony Bridgerton books by Julia Quinn that detail each of the eight Bridge- (Jonathan Bailey), the fictional family’s eldest son, and rton siblings’ love lives. Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), the Kate Sharma (“Sex Education” star Simone Ashley). rakish duke’s eventual one-and-only, had her story told in book one (“The Duke and I”) and in season one. And now that’s done. ‘Bridgerton’ gets third and fourth seasons Page, Rhimes said, “is a powerful, amazing actor and that The wildly popular period drama has been renewed for meant we did our job — every season, our job is finding the third and fourth seasons, Netflix announced Tuesday. NETFLIX/TNS right people and putting together this incredible, world- A second season following Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton and Rege­Jean “quest for love” is currently in production, Netflix said. shifting romance. I don’t know that I expected this much of Page as Simon Basset in a scene from “Bridgerton.” an explosion, given that every book [in the Bridgerton se- Rhimes is excited to continue working on “Bridgerton” ries] is a different romance. ter! And now we have this next couple coming. And so yeah, after the third and fourth seasons were picked up. “What would be the ever-after of this combo? I mean, re- I was like, whoa!” “This two-season pickup is a strong vote of confidence in ally: What would Rege-Jean do, you know what I mean?,” Since making a splash (and nabbing a SAG Award nomi- our work and I feel incredibly grateful to have partners as she told Vanity Fair. “We gave them their happily ever af- nation) as the dashing duke in Netflix’s popular series, Page collaborative and creative as Netflix.” PAGE 36 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Man fleeing police crashes Maserati SUV OAKLAND — A man CA fleeing the California Highway Patrol totaled his girlf- riend’s Maserati SUV after he ca- reened up an embankment and slammed into the underside of an overpass, wedging the vehicle un- der a freeway in Oakland, author- ities said. “The driver is lucky to be alive. The owner of the Maserati … not so lucky,” the CHP said in a social media post that included photos of the mangled luxury vehicle. Police said the 32-year-old man was speeding on a highway when a CHP officer tried to stop him. He accelerated to over 100 mph and then exited the freeway, veering over a curve, up the embankment and ending up just beneath the freeway, said Officer David Arias, a spokesman for the CHP in Oak- land. Cannabis-themed license plates to be auctioned DENVER — Canna- CO bis-themed license plates in Colorado are being auc- tioned off to the highest bidder in a fundraiser for the Colorado Dis- ability Funding Committee. The state is selling the rights to 14 plates with cannabis-themed phrases, including “BONG,” “GANJA,” “TEGRIDY” and “HASH,” KUSA-TV reported. BIANCA MOORMAN, THE MERIDIAN (MISS.) STAR/AP A license plate with “ISIT420,” a reference to slang for smoking pot, has so far garnered bids of Promoting awareness more than $6,500, making it the Key Field Air National Guard Chaplain Maj. Shane Moore signs a banner to honor victims of sexual assault and child abuse at the Mississippi highest in demand. Bids are being Arts + Entertainment Experience in Meridian, Miss. Key Field and Wesley House partnered to promote awareness about child abuse and collected until 4:20 p.m. on April sexual assault during April. 20, a day considered the unofficial “pot holiday.” torical Society, said Bobby Living- THE CENSUS The statue dubbed Tuska, by Winning bidders will be able to ston, executive vice president at English artist Terry Matthews, is use the configuration of letters RR Auction. The approximate number of Florida Keys customers who lost 19 feet, 1 inch from the base to the and numbers they chose on a nov- 30K power when a sailboat got stuck in transmission lines, offi- tip of its trunk. elty plate of their choosing but Truck, stolen trailer cials said earlier this week. Keys Energy Services said in a Facebook post that A gift from former athletic di- must pay registration fees, per- crash into vehicles crews were working to restore power. A similar incident involving a sailboat rector Bill Battle and his wife, Ma- sonalized plate protection fees hitting transmission lines next to the Seven Mile Bridge happened in October ry, helped the school move Tuska, and the costs for potential design- INDIANAPOLIS — Sev- 2018, the Miami Herald reported. That incident also knocked out power to The Montgomery Advertiser er backgrounds. IN eral people were injured about 30,000 homes. reported. after the driver of a truck with a Postcard from Titanic’s stolen trailer crashed into a num- Office said in a news release that annual Joe’s Pond Ice Out Contest. Statehouse break-in, radio operator to be sold ber of vehicles in downtown Indi- the deputy noticed paper covering This year, the block went vandalism investigated anapolis. part of the window and instructed through the ice disconnecting a BOSTON — A post- Police tried to stop the truck but the inmate to remove it so he could clock at 4:57 p.m. on April 10. COLUMBUS — A man MA card written by the called off the pursuit when the examine the window. He found Over 10,000 tickets were sold OH broke into the Ohio Titanic’s senior radio operator driver fled east in the westbound damage to the window about six but the winner has not yet been an- Statehouse, used a fire extinguish- just weeks before the ocean liner lanes of Interstate 70, police said. inches in diameter. nounced. er to spray chemicals on the his- sank in the North Atlantic in 1912 At least two other vehicles were The inmate had broken the first According to the Joe’s Pond As- toric building’s Rotunda floor, and was put up for auction. sideswiped by the truck before it several layers of glass, but had not sociation, the contest was started then called 911 seeking medical The card was written by Jack exited the freeway, ran a red light yet broken through to the outside in the 1980s due to cabin fever. help, according to the State High- Phillips to his sister, Elsie Phillips, and struck other vehicles. of the building. way Patrol. in March 1912 while awaiting the The driver of the truck and a A hole of this size would have Life-sized elephant statue Columbus police responding to ship’s first sea trials, according to passenger ran from the crash site provided an access point to intro- installed at stadium the call found the man outside on RR Auction in Boston. but were arrested nearby, police duce contraband into the facility, the west lawn of the downtown “Very busy working late. Hope said. the sheriff’s office said. TUSCALOOSA — A building near the monument to to leave on Monday & arrive Soton AL life-sized statue of an former Ohio governor and presi- Wednesday afternoon. Hope you Inmate found breaking Spring arrives: Block falls elephant was moved to a street dent William McKinley. quite OK. Heard from Ethel yes- hole in window at jail through ice in contest corner outside the University of The man appeared to be under terday,” he wrote. It’s signed Alabama’s football stadium after the influence of drugs, said Lt. “Love Jack.” WICHITA — A deten- DANVILLE — Spring 20 years at a country club. Craig Cvetan, a patrol spokesman. It is postmarked Belfast, where KS tion deputy doing his VT has arrived in a north- The 7-ton bronze statue now The man broke a window to get the Titanic was built, and has a regular early morning rounds dis- eastern Vermont community stands on a tall pedestal outside inside, broke a second window canceled halfpenny stamp. covered an inmate trying to break where a cinder block fell through Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tusca- once inside the building, and broke The postcard is being sold by a hole to an outer cell window at the ice at Joe’s Pond in West Dan- loosa, news outlets reported. Al- a third to escape, Cvetan said. the estate of Vera and John Gilles- the county jail in Wichita, author- ville. though the university’s sports pie, longtime members of the ities said. Each year people buy tickets to nickname is the Crimson Tide, its Massachusetts-based Titanic His- The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s guess when that will happen in the mascot is an elephant. From The Associated Press Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 37 PAGE 38 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 Eugene Sheffer Crossword Frazz Dilbert

ACROSS 54 Scratched (out) 25 Take it easy 1 “Pygmalion” 55 Klutz 26 Cushions monogram 27 Geometric 4 Hot tubs DOWN calculation 8 Short cuts 1 “Mercy Mercy 28 Detail Pearls Before Swine Pearls Before 12 100% Me” singer 29 Bagel topper 13 Highly-rated Marvin 32 River to Lake 14 Spoken 2 Online journal Ontario 15 “Just be 3 Insult 33 Pizzazz patient” 4 Dips for chips 35 Singer Rawls 17 — Martin 5 Sheriff’s group 36 Took a bite (cognac) 6 Hydrocarbon 38 Bo Peep’s 18 Exit suffix charges 19 Links org. 7 Ignore, as 39 “Us” director 21 Scot’s denial one’s faults Jordan

Non Sequitur 22 Flower part 8 Sacha Baron 42 Puerto — 26 Partner of aches Cohen role 43 Bygone Peruvian 29 Baton Rouge 9 Raw rock 44 Pre-weekend yell sch. 10 “Kapow!” 45 Some coll. 30 Salt Lake athlete 11 Devious degrees 31 Bohemian 16 Comedian Bruce 46 Scooted 32 Obtained 20 Wildebeest 47 Palindromic 33 Early automaker 23 Luau dance constellation 34 Actor Billy — 24 LAX postings 49 Caribou kin Williams Answer to Previous Puzzle

Candorville 35 Superman foe Luthor 36 BLT bread 37 Biblical strong fellow 39 Shriver of tennis 40 Coloration 41 — de corps 45 Scottish slope 48 Furious 50 Swiss river Carpe Diem 51 “Legally Blonde” role 52 201, in old Rome 53 Cinch Beetle Bailey Bizarro Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 39 Eugene Sheffer Crossword Frazz Dilbert

ACROSS DOWN 25 Churchill 1 Use elbow 1 Faux pas gesture grease on 2 “Growing Pains” 26 Forever 6 Parking pros singer Alessia 28 Belgrade

Pearls Before Swine Pearls Before 12 Pass by 3 Verdi work residents 13 “That’s cool” 4 GI entertainers 30 Actress Hagen 14 Grow bored with 5 Alluded (to) 31 Tiara sparkler 15 Serenaded 6 Travel permit 33 Reggae relative 16 Mast 7 All in — work 34 Dietician’s stat 17 Online 8 — -Manuel 39 A-bomb trial auction site Miranda 41 Plaintive poem 19 Soak (up) 9 Sandwich filler 42 Weight 20 Start of a spell 10 Bandleader 43 Margarine 22 “Chandelier” Puente 45 Fed. workplace Non Sequitur singer 11 Halt monitor 24 “Hail!” 12 Roswell visitors 47 Comic strip 27 Web addresses 18 Inflated possum 29 Punch party prop 48 Hidden valley 49 Annex 32 “This calls for 21 Tampa Bay 51 God, in Roma champagne!” NFLer 53 Mountain 35 Quick look 23 Leb. neighbor pass 36 Campus digs 24 Jungfrau, e.g. Answer to Previous Puzzle 37 River blocker Candorville 38 Scooted 40 Theater award 42 Sweetie 44 “Sula” author Morrison 46 Women’s links org. 50 Skips over 52 Ancient

Carpe Diem 54 Fixation 55 Kvetched 56 Corolla or Camry 57 Secretly watch Beetle Bailey Bizarro PAGE 40 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 OPINION

Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher Lt. Col. Marci Hoffman, Europe commander Lt. Col. Richard McClintic, Pacific commander Biden made the tough, correct call on Afghanistan BY HENRY OLSEN ernment we have supported in Kabul. U.S.-led global order that would severely tax Special to The Washington Post This situation creates a clear strategic U.S. power. Signs of that are already appear- EDITORIAL resident Joe Biden’s announce- quandary for Washington. Is it worth spend- ing. Russia is currently building forces on the Terry Leonard, Editor ment that the United States will un- ing billions of dollars a year, and committing Ukrainian border at the same time Iran is [email protected] conditionally withdraw its military thousands of troops and their equipment, in- ramping up its uranium enrichment activ- forces from Afghanistan by Sept. definitely to keep the Taliban out of power? ities, and China is increasing its military Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editor P 11 reflects a regrettable reality, but it is the Viewed as an isolated question, the answer is presence in the South China Sea and close to [email protected] right decision. clearly yes. It is in U.S. interest to prevent a Taiwan. U.S. forces would already find it dif- Tina Croley, Managing Editor for Content The United States invaded Afghanistan on potentially hostile power from again con- ficult to support our allies in all three regions [email protected] Oct. 7, 2001, because the Taliban govern- trolling a hard-to-attack nation from which at the same time. Imagine if we also had to Sean Moores, Managing Editor for Presentation ment had allowed its territory to be used by anti-U.S. terrorism groups can freely oper- maintain or increase our presence to support [email protected] the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaida to ate. But viewed against the broader strategic the Afghan government in the face of a fero- launch the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and challenges the United States faces, the an- cious Taliban offensive — and do so to pro- Joe Gromelski, Managing Editor for Digital Washington. That response was right: The swer is clearly no. tect the lives of thousands of American sol- [email protected] United States had to bring the war home to Today’s global environment is far differ- diers and citizens now in harm’s way. The po- the attackers. Along with our NATO allies, ent from what it was 20 years ago. In 2001, litical pressure to make the wrong decision BUREAU STAFF we were able to cripple al-Qaida and show China and Russia were much weaker enti- — to support our troops in the peripheral Af- other nations that if they connived with ter- ties. Their economies were vastly smaller ghan theater at the expense of other, more Europe/Mideast rorists, the United States would not tolerate than they are today, and their military forces important, engagements — would be im- Erik Slavin, Europe & Mideast Bureau Chief [email protected] their covert encouragement of our open ene- were incapable of posing even a regional mense. +49(0)631.3615.9350; DSN (314)583.9350 mies. threat to U.S. allies in Asia or Europe. We It is regrettable that our withdrawal could Pacific Twenty years later, the Taliban no longer could afford to concentrate our considerable easily lead to a Taliban victory. We should Aaron Kidd, Pacific Bureau Chief control the government, but the United power on fighting terrorism. continue to support the elected Afghan gov- [email protected] States is still at war with the Taliban. We have Today, those two countries pose very seri- ernment with arms and nonlethal aid. We +81.42.552.2511 ext. 88380; DSN (315)227.7380 tried a variety of strategies, including a surge ous threats to NATO allies in Europe and the should declare that we reserve the right to Washington of military forces in 2009 that was supposed free nations in Asia. U.S. interests would be launch missiles and airstrikes against any Joseph Cacchioli, Washington Bureau Chief to stop Taliban fighters operating from bases much more threatened by the loss of Taiwan terrorist bases that reemerge in Taliban- [email protected] in neighboring Pakistan. None have worked. to Chinese invasion or the subversion of Es- controlled territory. We should also liberally (+1)(202)886-0033 Brian Bowers, Assistant Managing Editor, News The Taliban remain a persistent power, tonia by Russian-backed forces than they apply economic sanctions against a Taliban [email protected] drawing succor from their core support would be by a terrorist resurgence. Com- government should it resume support for an- group, ethnic Pashtuns in Afghanistan and pared with those threats, it makes more ti-U.S. groups. But we should not reconsider CIRCULATION Pakistan. Moreover, they have consistently sense for the United States to withdraw its as- our decision to strategically withdraw from held the strategic initiative because the U.S. sets from Afghanistan and concentrate them an untenable position. Mideast forces cannot — or will not — cross the Pakis- in the regions more important to our national The hard fact is that losing Afghanistan Robert Reismann, Mideast Circulation Manager [email protected] tani border to eliminate the bases the insur- security. does not pose an essential threat to U.S. secu- [email protected] gents retreat to. They thus control the war’s If Biden chose to stay in Afghanistan, on rity, but losing a conflict against one of our DSN (314)583-9111 flow, ramping up attacks or lowering them the other hand, the situation could be dire. three main enemies would. Kudos to Presi- Europe according to their designs. The United States Russia, China and Iran have an informal an- dent Biden for making the tough, correct call. Karen Lewis, Community Engagement Manager cannot win under those conditions; it can on- ti-Western alliance with increasingly close [email protected] ly create a stalemate preventing the Taliban military cooperation. This raises the specter [email protected] Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow +49(0)631.3615.9090; DSN (314)583.9090 from toppling the weak Afghan central gov- of simultaneous, coordinated assaults on the at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Pacific Mari Mori, [email protected] +81-3 6385.3171; DSN (315)227.7333 Biden offers false hope to sell his plan of surrender

CONTACT US BY ELI LAKE ment that has spent most of the Afghanistan ticipate in most aspects of public life. Girls Washington Bloomberg Opinion War harboring and funding the Taliban. will not be allowed to attend schools. Vio- tel: (+1)202.886.0003 resident Joe Biden has chosen to This is the same government that imprison- lators of these dictates will risk prison or 633 3rd St. NW, Suite 116, Washington, DC 20001-3050 finish what his predecessor start- ed the brave doctor who assisted the CIA in worse. The Biden administration knows Reader letters ed in Afghanistan and surrender locating Osama bin Laden in 2011. this. The senior official who briefed report- [email protected] Pto the Taliban. Unlike former Another problem with this strategy is that ers said that in the last 20 years, the number President Donald Trump, however, Biden the U.S. will lose the human assets neces- of children in school has gone from fewer Additional contacts may not even have the so-called peace proc- sary to track al-Qaida and other jihadis in than 900,000 in 2001, almost all of them stripes.com/contactus ess in Afghanistan to point to as an excuse Afghanistan. What chances are there that boys, to 9.2 million today, 3.7 million of OMBUDSMAN for abandoning an elected Afghan govern- Afghans who oppose al-Qaida will risk their them girls. ment made possible by American blood and own lives to aid a superpower that has left Unfortunately the Biden administra- Ernie Gates treasure. the country to fend for itself against the Ta- tion’s plan to protect those gains relies on The Stars and Stripes ombudsman protects the free flow A day before word of Biden’s decision to liban? Fred Kagan, a senior fellow at the sanctions and censure. For example, the of news and information, reporting any attempts by the withdraw by Sept. 11 leaked to the press, the American Enterprise Institute, who has U.S. will withhold diplomatic recognition of military or other authorities to undermine the newspaper’s independence. The ombudsman also responds to concerns Taliban announced they will not participate conducted numerous in-depth military the Taliban government if it chooses to rule and questions from readers, and monitors coverage for in peace talks in Turkey. That means the studies of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan Afghanistan the way it runs its shadow fairness, accuracy, timeliness and balance. The ombudsman welcomes comments from readers, and can be contacted by U.S. will be leaving Afghanistan’s govern- since the 2000s, told me: “The U.S. cannot state. It will continue to apply sanctions on email at [email protected], or by phone at ment to fend for itself in the midst of a civil conduct meaningful counterterrorism op- Taliban officials that abuse human rights. 202.886.0003. war. erations from hundreds of miles away over That might work against an adversary that This is an ideal opportunity for a hobbled the sovereign territory of Pakistan against cared about international recognition or ec- Stars and Stripes (USPS 0417900) is published week- days (except Dec. 25 and Jan. 1) for 50 cents Monday al-Qaida to rebuild. The Biden administra- al-Qaida groups.” onomic growth. But the Taliban is a violent through Thursday and for $1 on Friday by Pacific Stars and Stripes, Unit 45002, APO AP 96301-5002. Periodicals tion doesn’t see it that way. Speaking to re- The happy talk about being able to coun- cult that cares only about imposing Islamic postage paid at San Francisco, CA, Postmaster: Send porters on Tuesday, a senior administration ter al-Qaida once the U.S. leaves is not the rule at any cost. address changes to Pacific Stars and Stripes, Unit 45002, APO AP 96301-5002. This newspaper is authorized by the official said the U.S. will still fight al-Qaida only reality-challenged promise Biden will For more than a decade, the U.S. has Department of Defense for members of the military services even after its forces have left Afghanistan. make to sell his Afghanistan surrender. faced a terrible choice in Afghanistan: con- overseas. However, the contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial, and are not to be considered as the official views “We believe that we retain substantial mil- There is also the fate of Afghan women. A tinue to fight the Taliban to a stalemate, or of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government. As a DOD newspa- itary and intelligence capabilities to disrupt recent virtual conference on women in Af- leave and watch the collapse of the elected per, Stars and Stripes may be distributed through official channels and use appropriated funds for distribution to the broader capacity of al-Qaida to success- ghanistan featured some of the activists in- government in Kabul. Trump tried to end remote locations where overseas DOD personnel are located. fully reconstitute the sustained homeland cluded in the Kabul government’s negotia- the Afghanistan War but never did. The on- The appearance of advertising in this publication does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense or threat to the United States,” the official said. tion team. They warned that a withdrawal ly question for Biden is whether he under- Stars and Stripes of the products or services advertised. In practice, that means the Biden admin- now would risk two decades of gains for Af- stands that his decision amounts to surren- Products or services advertised shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, istration expects to base an arsenal of ghan women. der. religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical drones, sensors and counterterrorism per- It’s easy to see why. If the Taliban take handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. sonnel in Pakistan, from where it can over the rest of the country, they will turn Bloomberg Opinion columnist Eli Lake covers national security © Stars and Stripes 2021 launch strikes on al-Qaida in Afghanistan. back the clock to the time before the U.S. and foreign policy. This column does not necessarily reflect the This plan depends on a Pakistani govern- invasion. Women will not be allowed to par- opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. stripes.com Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 41 SCOREBOARD/COLLEGE FOOTBALL

COLLEGE FOOTBALL TENNIS Saturday’s schedule Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters EAST Thursday Delaware (4-0) at Villanova (2-1) At Monte Carlo Country Club Holy Cross (2-0) at Bucknell (2-1) Monte Carlo, Monaco SC State (2-1) at Delaware St. (2-2) Purse: Euro 2,082,960 SOUTH Surface: Red clay Gardner-Webb (2-1) at Charleston Men’s Singles Southern (1-2) Round of 16 Stetson (0-4) at Davidson (4-2) Stefanos Tsitsipas (4), Greece, def. Cris- Mercer (5-5) at Samford (3-3) tian Garin (16), Chile, 6-3, 6-4. The Citadel (2-9) at VMI (5-1) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Spain, def. Richmond (3-0) at James Madison (4-0) Lucas Pouille, France, 6-2, 7-6 (2). Southern U. (3-1) vs. Grambling St. (0-3) Men’s Doubles at Shreveport, La. Round of 16 Butler (0-5) at Morehead St. (3-3) Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal Alabama A&M (2-0) vs. Alabama St. (2-2) (1), Colombia, def. Hubert Hurkacz, Po- at Birmingham, Ala. land, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, Canada, MIDWEST 6-0, 6-2. North Dakota (4-1) at Youngstown St. MUSC Health Women’s Open (1-6) SE Louisiana (4-2) at S. Illinois (4-3) Wednesday San Diego (4-1) at Valparaiso (3-2) At Family Circle Tennis Center Presbyterian (3-3) at Drake (2-2) Charleston, S.C. S. Dakota St. (4-1) at N. Dakota St. (6-1) Purse: $235,238 SOUTHWEST Surface: Red clay Sam Houston St. (5-0) at Incarnate Word Women’s Singles (3-2) Round of 16 MVSU (0-3) at Texas Southern (0-2) Danka Kovinic, Montenegro, def. Lauren Prairie View (2-0) at Ark.-Pine Bluff (3-0) Davis, United States, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. FAR WEST Shelby Rogers, United States, def. Claire Liu, United States, 6-2, 6-2. Portland St. at Montana (1-0) Clara Tauson, Denmark, def. Ajla Toml- Idaho (2-3) at N. Arizona (2-2) janovic, Australia, 6-1, 6-4. Nao Hibino, Japan, def. Francesca Di Lo- AP SPORTLIGHT renzo, United States, 6-4, 6-3. Women’s Doubles April 16 Round of 16 Jamie Loeb, United States, and Erin 1940 — Bob Feller of Cleveland defeats Routliffe, New Zealand, def. Arina Rodio- the White Sox 1-0 in the only opening day nova, Australia, and Rosalie van Der Hoek no-hitter in major-league history, at Chi- (4), Netherlands, 6-1, 4-0, ret. cago. Naomi Broady, Britain, and Astra Shar- 1949 — The Toronto Maple Leafs, with a ma, Australia, def. Tereza Martincova and MARK HUMPHREY / AP 3-1 victory, sweep the Detroit Red Wings Linda Fruhvirtova, Czech Republic, walk- for the second straight year in the Stanley over. Southeast Missouri State defenders Lawrence Johnson, left, and Shabari Davis, right, break up a pass Cup finals. Julia Wachaczyk, Germany, and Renata intended for Tennessee State wide receiver Zaire Thornton during Sunday’s game in Nashville, Tenn. 1954 — The Detroit Red Wings edge the Zarazua, Mexico, def. Tara Moore, Britain, Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in the seventh and Emina Bektas, United States, 6-4, 6-1. game to win the Stanley Cup. Elixane Lechemia, France, and Ingrid 1957 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Neel, United States, def. Maria Sanchez Boston Bruins 5-1 to take the Stanley Cup and Quinn Gleason, United States, 6-7 (4), in five games. 7-5, 10-8. 1961 — The Chicago Black Hawks win the Caty McNally and Hailey Baptiste, Unit- Stanley Cup in six games with a 5-1 tri- ed States, def. Sophie Chang and Emma umph over the Detroit Red Wings. Navarro, United States, 6-2, 6-4. Pandemic-driven spring DEALS

Wednesday’s transactions OF Steven Duggar from the alternate train- ing site. BASEBALL SAN DIEGO PADRES — Optioned RHP Na- Major League Baseball bil Crismatt to the alternate training site. American League Reinstated RHPs Pierce Johnson and Dan BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Optioned RHP Altivilla from 10-day IL. Placed RHP Taylor football fuels creativity Travis Lakins Sr. to the alternate training Williams on the 10-day IL. site. Recalled RHP Travis Lakins Sr. from BASKETBALL National Basketball Association the alternate training site. Placed RHP BY TERESA M. WALKER Mac Sceroler on the 10-day IL. retroactive MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES — Signed G Tim to April 13. Frazier to a 10-day contract. Associated Press “It’s been a glorified spring ball, BOSTON RED SOX — Recalled RHP WASHINGTON WIZARDS — Signed C Jor- Eduard Bazardo from the alternate train- dan Bell to a 10-day contract. NASHVILLE, Tenn. — William ing site. FOOTBALL CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Placed RHP Dy- National Football League and Felicia Mosley found the per- especially with COVID and injuries lan Chase on 10-day IL. Recalled RHP Zack CAROLINA PANTHERS — Signed DE fect way for them to make the Burdi from the alternate training site. Frank Herron, FB Mikey and DL P.J. John- HOUSTON ASTROS — Placed DH Jordan son. most of the four-hour drive from and stuff like that. You really Alvarez, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B/SS Alex Breg- CLEVELAND BROWNS — Signed DE Jade- man, INF Robel Garcia and C Martin Malda- von Clowney. Re-signed DT Sheldon Day their Montgomery, Ala., home to nado on the 10-day IL. Recalled INF Taylor and TE Stephen Carlson. haven’t been able to put your best Jones, C Garrett Stubbs and INF Abraham DALLAS COWBOYS — Signed LB Keanu cheer on their son at Tennessee Toro from the alternate training site. Se- Neal. State. lected INF Alex De Goti and OF Ronnie HOUSTON TEXANS — Signed TE Antony Dawson from the alternate training site. Auclair. They turned on Zoom and at- team on the field all year long.” KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Activated RHP MIAMI DOLPHINS — Re-signed LB Calvin Josh Staumont from the 10-day IL. Desig- Munson and DB Jamal Perry to one-year tended church services. Rod Reid nated CF Nick Heath for assignment. Op- exclusive rights contracts for 2021 season. Juggling church and football is tioned RHP Carlos Hernandez to the alter- MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Promoted Andre nate training site. Patterson to assistant head coach and a typical Sunday for NFL fans. Tennessee State coach, whose contract wasn’t renewed after a 2-5 season MINNESOTA TWINS — Placed SS Andrel- named Robert Steeples assistant special ton Simmons on the COVID-19 IL. Selected teams’ coach and Marquis Johnson assist- Thanks to the coronavirus pan- the contract of INF J.T. Riddle from the al- ant strength and conditioning coach. ternate training site. Recalled RF Alex Ki- NEW YORK GIANTS — Waived CB Ryan demic, it became the norm for col- Said TSU fan Doris Thomas played. rilloff from the alternate training site. Re- Lewis. lege fans like the Mosleys as most said: “You get up cheering for the “Sunday was the window that instated 3B Josh Donaldson from 10-day IL PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Signed LB Eric and optioned LHP Brandon Waddell to the Wilson. Football Championship Subdivi- Lord, and you come in here and we thought we could balance out alternate training site. PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Re-signed QB NEW YORK YANKEES — Optioned RHP Al- Josh Hobbs and LB Vince Williams. sion leagues moved their sched- cheer for the team.” all the staffing responsibilities and bert Abreu to the alternate training site. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Waived TE ules to the spring. Schools still With kickoffs ranging from 1 again, still give that requisite SEATTLE MARINERS — Reassigned INF Chase Howell. Re-signed ERFA OL Daniel Donovan Walton to the taxi squad. Brunskill. faced some of the same issues that p.m. to 2:30 p.m., TSU athletic di- space, a standalone space for foot- TAMPA BAY RAYS — Recalled LHP Josh SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Signed Chuck Fleming from the alternate training site. Arnold to a contract extension to remain colleges dealt with during the fall rector Mikki Allen said it made ball that fans and families could Optioned 3B Kevin Padlo to the alternate president of Seattle Seahawks First and and winter — canceled games, perfect timing for going from one also come and attend and be a part training site. Goal through 2027. TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Placed RHP Ju- TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Signed RB limited practices, sidelined play- church to another, and he hears of it ...,” DeBauche said. “It really lian Merryweather on the 10-day IL. Re- Giovani Bernard. Re-signed DT Steve called RHP Anthony Castro. McLendon. ers. from fans who enjoyed a great has turned out to be a good deci- National League HOCKEY But Sundays were more of a church service first. sion for the league.” ATLANTA BRAVES — Recalled OF Guiller- National Hockey League mo Heredia and LHP Tucker Davidson COLORADO AVALANCHE — Recalled D spring thing. “In the Southeast, football is a Some FCS teams played a few from the alternate training site. Placed OF Conor Timmins, G Jonas Johansson and D Christian Pache and LHP Max Fried on the Dan Renouff from the minor league taxi The Ohio Valley Conference religion as well,” Allen said. games last fall. Jacksonville State 10-day IL. squad. CHICAGO CUBS — Activated C Austin Ro- DALLAS STARS — Signed D Joel Hanley to and Northeast Conference decid- “There’s a lot of avid football fans, played four last fall and then won mine from the 10-day IL. and RHP Jason a two-year contract extension. ed to play on Sundays to help obviously, in Middle Tennessee, the OVC regular-season title this Adam from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Se- DETROIT RED WINGS — Reassigned LW lected RHP Shelby Miller from the alter- Taro Hirose and G Kaden Fulchere to schools staff all the sports in this in the Nashville area. So they’re spring. The Gamecocks will be nate training site. Designated C Tony Wol- Grand Rapids (AHL) from their taxi squad. ters for assignment. Optioned RHP Adbert MINNESOTA WILD — Recalled LW Nico chaotic spring. coming right after church service, part of the FCS playoff bracket of Alsolay and LHP Brad Wieck to the alter- Sturm from the minor league taxi squad. The Mosleys worshipped vir- whether they’re having church 16 teams, down from the usual 24, nate training site. MONTREAL CANADIENS — Recalled G CINCINNATI REDS — Claimed LHP Phillip Cayden Primeau from minor the league tually through their own church service by Zoom or in person, and announced Sunday. Diehl off waivers from Colorado and op- taxi squad. tioned to the alternate training site. Trans- NASHVILLE PREDATORS — Reinstated C service, then joined her brother’s they get an opportunity to come to But there was no escaping the ferred RHP Michael Lorenzen from the 10- Michael McCarron from suspension. service in St. Louis, Mo., before ar- the legendary William Jasper impact of COVID-19. day IL to the 60-day IL. NEW YORK ISLANDERS — Agreed to MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Placed CF Lo- terms with F Collin Adams on a two-year, riving in Nashville in time to cheer Hale Stadium.” “It’s been a glorified spring ball, renzo Cain on the 10-day IL. Recalled CF two-way contract. Tyrone Taylor from the alternate training PHILADELPHIA FLYERS — Placed C Jack- their son Kaleb, Tennessee State’s The OVC was one of the last con- especially with COVID and inju- site. son Cates on IR COVID-19 protocol. NEW YORK METS — Optioned LHP Ste- WASHINGTON CAPITALS — Re-signed F punter and kicker. ferences to decide to postpone the ries and stuff like that,” said TSU phen Tarpley to the alternate training site. Conor Sheary to a two-year contract. “It’s worked out great for us be- season to spring. Commissioner coach Rod Reed, whose contract PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Placed CF SOCCER Adam Haseley on the restricted list. Re- Major League Soccer cause usually we’re traveling ... so Beth DeBauche said playing on was not renewed Monday after a called CF Mickey Moniak from the alter- D.C. UNITED — Promoted Dave Kasper to nate training site. Optioned RHP Spencer president of soccer operations and sport- we get to listen in the car while Sunday was an easy decision with 2-5 season. “You really haven’t Howard to the alternate training site. ing director. Named Lucy Rushton general we’re driving,” William Mosley member schools needing flexibil- been able to put your best team on SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Placed OF La- manager and head of technical recruit- Monte Wade Jr. on the 10-day IL. Recalled ment and analysis. explained. ity to staff all the sports being the field all year long.” PAGE 42 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 NBA/NFL Aldridge NBA scoreboard retires due Eastern Conference Atlantic Division WLPct GB to heart Philadelphia 38 17 .691 — Brooklyn 37 18 .673 1 Boston 29 26 .527 9 New York 29 27 .518 9½ condition Toronto 22 34 .393 16½ Southeast Division BY BRIAN MAHONEY WLPct GB Associated Press Atlanta 30 25 .545 — NEW YORK — LaMarcus Al- Miami 28 27 .509 2 dridge retired from the NBA on Charlotte 27 27 .500 2½ Thursday after saying he experi- Washington 21 33 .389 8½ enced an irregular heartbeat dur- Orlando 18 37 .327 12 ing his final game with the Brook- Central Division lyn Nets. WLPct GB Aldridge, 35, posted a statement Milwaukee 34 20 .630 — on social media saying the heart Indiana 26 28 .481 8 MORRY GASH / AP concerns he had during and after Chicago 22 32 .407 12 Cleveland 20 34 .370 14 Offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz runs at Wisconsin Whitewater’s pro day on March 9. It was one of only Brooklyn’s loss to the Los Angeles Detroit 16 39 .291 18½ four pro days hosted by non FBS teams and was held only because Meinerz was a Senior Bowl standout. Lakers on Saturday was one of the Western Conference “scariest things” he’s experi- enced. Southwest Division Aldridge, who was diagnosed WLPct GB with Wolff-Parkinson-White syn- Pandemic limits chances to Dallas 30 24 .556 — drome — an abnormality that can Memphis 27 26 .509 2½ cause a rapid heartbeat — as a roo- San Antonio 26 27 .491 3½ kie in 2007, said he feels better now New Orleans 25 30 .455 5½ after getting it checked out but de- Houston 14 41 .255 16½ Northwest Division spot diamonds in the rough cided to end his 15-year career. “For 15 years I’ve put basketball WLPct GB BY ERIC OLSON ened, and smaller school players draft prospects or undrafted free first, and now, it is time to put my Utah 41 14 .745 — Associated Press with established profiles were di- agents. health and my family first,” Al- Denver 35 20 .636 6 Those diamonds in the rough se- rected to the nearest big school pro Kansas City Chiefs defensive dridge wrote. Portland 31 23 .574 9½ lected in the late rounds of NFL days. end Tershawn Wharton out of Di- Oklahoma City 20 35 .364 21 The seven-time All-Star signed Minnesota 14 42 .250 27½ drafts or signed as undrafted free Another pandemic-related rea- vision II Missouri-Rolla was one of with the Nets on March 28 and he Pacific Division agents are more like hidden gems son for fewer pro days was that those undrafted free agents who had become their starting center. this year. many non-FBS schools that typi- was discovered in the 2020 Shrine WLPct GB He missed the last two games with Fewer schools outside the Foot- cally host them did not this year be- game. what the team had called a non- Phoenix 39 15 .722 — ball Bowl Subdivision hosted pro cause their teams are playing this “These guys pop off the screen L.A. Clippers 39 18 .684 1½ COVID-19 illness. L.A. Lakers 34 21 .618 5½ days this year, meaning college spring after having their fall sea- and they make you go back and Nets general manager Sean Golden State 27 28 .491 12½ players from smaller schools with sons postponed. look at their tape and you’re kind of Marks said the team fully support- Sacramento 22 33 .400 17½ NFL hopes didn't get the same ex- The only FCS pro days this year anxious for their pro day to come ed Aldridge’s decision. Wednesday’s games posure they would have otherwise were at Central Arkansas, North and see what they run and jump,” “We know this was not an easy Milwaukee 130, Minnesota 105 from campus workouts in front of Dakota State and South Dakota Chiefs general manager Brett Cleveland 103, Charlotte 90 decision for him, but after careful Philadelphia 123, Brooklyn 117 scouts. State, according to NFL.com. Only Veach said. “That will be the chal- Toronto 117, San Antonio 112 consideration and consultation New York 116, New Orleans 106 Only three Football Champion- two players worked out at Central lenge." Orlando 115, Chicago 106 with numerous medical experts, L.A. Clippers 100, Detroit 98 ship Subdivision schools and one in Arkansas and SDSU and three at Wharton would have been at he made the best decision for him, Golden State 147, Oklahoma City 109 Division III had pro days sched- NDSU, down from normal years at Missouri Western's pro day last Indiana 132, Houston 124 his family and for his life after bas- Dallas 114, Memphis 113 uled compared with 48 in the FCS all three schools. SDSU and NDSU year if it had not been canceled, so Denver 123, Miami 106 ketball,” Marks said. Washington 123, Sacramento 111 and nine in Division II in 2019, the are playing this spring. his invitation to an all-star game Aldridge joined the Nets after Thursday’s games last year with a draft leadup unaf- “Is this maybe a year some of proved especially valuable. reaching a buyout agreement with Milwaukee at Atlanta fected by COVID-19. those later rounds there are less Horn said Missouri Western's Golden State at Cleveland the San Antonio Spurs and provid- Boston at L.A. Lakers “Every year we’ve had a guy diamond-in-the rough picks? Po- pro day traditionally draws 25-30 ed his new team with an inside post Sacramento at Phoenix shock us in the 40, a guy shock us in tentially,” said Wisconsin-White- players from Missouri’s FCS and presence that was one of the few Friday’s games the 225 bench press, shock us in the water tight ends coach and direc- Division II teams, and almost ev- Indiana at Utah things it was missing. The 6-foot-11 L.A. Clippers at Philadelphia broad jump. You won’t get to see tor of operations Tim Shields, a for- ery year three or four are invited to Aldridge had the best of his five New Orleans at Washington that this year,” said Scorpio Horn, mer player agent. a rookie minicamp. Oklahoma City at Detroit games with the Nets in the one be- Charlotte at Brooklyn the Missouri Western defensive “If you’re choosing between “I hope we get it back next year,” Orlando at Toronto fore his heart trouble, scoring 22 Denver at Houston coordinator who's the liaison to the someone at Missouri Western who Horn said, “and kids can get the op- Memphis at Chicago points in a victory over New Or- Miami at Minnesota NFL for the Division II school in St. you were only able to see once ver- portunity to play at the next level.” leans on April 7. Portland at San Antonio Joseph, Missouri. sus three of your scouts at North- New York Giants general man- New York at Dallas The No. 2 pick in the 2006 draft “The only guys from small western seeing someone work out, ager Dave Gettleman said even Saturday’s games was long one of the best at his posi- Utah at L.A. Lakers schools that will get that opportuni- maybe this is the time you take the though the pandemic caused many tion, averaging 19.4 points in a ca- Cleveland at Chicago ty are the dominant guys that are Northwestern kid because you pro days to be canceled last year, Detroit at Washington reer that began with nine seasons Golden State at Boston first-day or next-day guys. Every- have a more complete evaluation as it did this year, the task of eval- Memphis at Milwaukee in Portland. San Antonio at Phoenix body knows who they are. Those on the Northwestern kid.” uating 2021 prospects is more diffi- He went on to play 5 ½ with the Sunday's games guys get an opportunity and the Division III Wisconsin-White- cult. Spurs and was a five-time All-NBA Indiana at Atlanta scouts see them, but it’s that one water held a pro day that drew rep- “Last year, despite the fact the New Orleans at New York selection. Brooklyn at Miami diamond in the rough that we’ll al- resentatives of all 32 teams but on- world essentially closed down mid- Aldridge thanked all three orga- Houston at Orlando low to come.” ly because its Senior Bowl revela- March, we had already had Indy, Oklahoma City at Toronto nizations in his post, saying Por- Portland at Charlotte There were 112 pro days this tion, offensive lineman Quinn we had the all-star games and obvi- Sacramento at Dallas tland gave him some “unforgetta- Minnesota at L.A. Clippers year, according to NFL.com. That Meinerz, warranted a closer look ously had a full college season with ble years” after drafting a “skinny, Calendar compares with 171 in 2019, 196 in after Whitewater did not play in full normal access,” Gettleman Texas kid.” 2018 and 230 in 2017. the fall. said. May 16 — End of regular season He praised the Nets for allowing May 18­21 — Play­In Tournament For the second straight year, About 230 players lost opportu- At pro days this year, teams May 22 — July 22:2021 NBA Playoffs him to play his type of game. May 30 — Deadline for an early entry NFL teams cut back on travel for nities for exposure with the cance- were limited to having three peo- “You wanted me for me,” Al- player to apply for this year’s Draft (11:59 scouts and personnel people as a lation of two all-star games, the ple attend, scouts often had to p.m. ET) dridge said. “In a game that’s June 21­27 — NBA Draft Combine precaution against COVID-19. East-West Shrine Bowl and watch from the stands instead of on June 22 — NBA Draft Lottery changing so much you asked me to July 19 — Deadline for an early entry With the February scouting com- NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. The the field and face-to-face conversa- come and just do what I do which player to withdraw from the NBA Draft (5 bine in Indianapolis canceled, the NFLPA and Shrine games attract a tions with players usually weren't p.m. ET) was good to hear.” July 29 — 2021 NBA Draft importance of pro days was height- bountiful number of third-day allowed. Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 43 AUTO RACING Johnson ditching plain label

BY JENNA FRYER Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jimmie Johnson, with wisps of gray in his beard, is a 45-year- old rookie in the IndyCar Series ready to re- introduce himself. He’s a windbag, a craft-o-maniac, a guy who goes, is really into eggs and keeps things fresh. Those are just some of the labels Carvana has tagged Johnson with in a series of seven spots highlighting the online car dealer’s first partnership with a professional ath- lete. The seven-time NASCAR champion begins his official transition to IndyCar this weekend with Sunday’s season opening race at Barber Motorsports Park in Alaba- ma with three ads debuting during the NBC broadcast. This won’t be the vanilla version of John- son fans became accustomed to during 19 Cup Series seasons driving for buttoned-up Hendrick Motorsports. Those who know MICHAEL CONROY / AP Johnson away from his day job have always NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, left, and Indycar driver Scott Dixon, right, talk during practice for the Indianapolis 500 on May 16, decried his image, insisting he’s actually a 2019. The IndyCar season begins with three new drivers, including seven­time NASCAR champion Johnson. hard-partying daredevil who never shies away from a bad idea. Carvana, which is new to motorsports with its Johnson sponsorship and has a light sports marketing portfolio, decided to use Johnson’s true personality in making its ad campaign for the IndyCar season. It hired New faces in IndyCar The Malloy Brothers for the spots and John- son already knew both Brendan Malloy and Emmett Malloy through other connections. He was comfortable when the Malloys Series set to open with three rookies chasing Dixon came to him about using a laxative to dem- BY JENNA FRYER Mears and Johnny Rutherford. onstrate how quickly Carvana can complete Associated Press “I didn’t think I’d be racing Jimmie John- a car sale, or eating seven hard-boiled eggs immie Johnson, Scott McLaughlin son and Romain Grosjean. It’s crazy. Very for the seven-day test it out policy. Johnson and Romain Grosjean, oh my! exciting,” McLaughlin said. “It just shows even bedazzled a pair of jeans to demon- That’s quite the rookie class for In- what IndyCar is all about right now. I hope strate personalized financing options. JdyCar, which opens the season Sun- the fans relish it.” So who is this loose and easy-going John- day at Barber Motorsports Park in Alaba- McLaughlin should easily take top rookie son? Same guy he always was. ma stacked with storylines throughout the honors because he’s running the full sched- “You know, this is just what I’ve figured grid. ule, but he’s got his sights set on winning in my own head and I’ve got nothing to back Johnson brings seven NASCAR cham- races and even competing for the cham- it up, but I’ve given people a reason to hate pionships to Chip Ganassi Racing for a ca- pionship. But the competition is fierce, me for so many years, right?” Johnson said reer reset at 45 years old. starting at the top with six-time champion in an interview with The Associated Press. Although he always want- ERIC GAY / AP Scott Dixon and within Team Penske. “I was Jeff Gordon’s hand-picked guy ed to be an IndyCar driv- Rookie IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin, Dixon will be trying to tie A.J. Foyt’s re- and there was a crowd I was never going to er, his opportunities came right, jokes with his crew and visitors cord seven championships while leading an win over. Then in my final year, people in stock cars until Johnson during IndyCar Series testing in Austin, expanded Ganassi organization. The team were like ‘OK, it’s his last year, he’s been was able to call his own Texas on Feb. 11, 2020. will field four cars this season with only here a long time, we’re not going to cheer shots. Marcus Ericsson returning for a second him but we’ll give him some credit.’ Now The transition will be Grosjean comes to IndyCar from Formu- year. Dixon will be acclimating to new that I am not there, I wonder if there’s a fan incredibly difficult. The la One, where he’d grown frustrated at team teammates Johnson and second-year Indy- base that has finally decided, ‘Alright, he’s Grosjean opening practice Satur- disparity that prevented him from winning Car driver Alex Palou. cool. He’s served his time. I respect him for day on the road course will be the first for in nine seasons. His F1 career came to an Dixon in 20 seasons has never won back- doing something different.’ I don’t know, Johnson, who will be doing nearly every- abrupt halt after a fiery November crash in to-back titles but his current streak of two in but there’s some kind of shift going on and thing for the first time this weekend. Bahrain; and instead of taking a ride with the last three years is the best of his career. people are finally starting to lighten up “If there’s a rocky day, am I going to be another team not capable of winning, the He turns 41 this July but noted Tom Brady about me.” surprised? Probably not,” team owner Ga- Frenchman signed with Dale Coyne Rac- recently won a sixth Super Bowl at 43. The road ahead won’t be easy for Johnson nassi said Wednesday. “He’s a damn hard ing. “I don’t think you can ever really put a as he unlearns two decades of driving a worker. He sets the bar at a new level for Like Johnson, Grosjean does not plan to time scale on it or an age or anything like heavy stock car and adapts to a nimble, the amount of work a driver puts in. He’s race the four ovals on IndyCar’s 17-race that,” Dixon said. “I think we’ve seen the open-wheel machine against drivers half always in the simulator, on the computer, schedule. longevity, not just in our sport but across his age. Johnson is slated to drive just the 13 on the phone, making calls, asking ques- McLaughlin is the three-time defending sports in general, there’s so many different road and street course events on the Indy- tions, working out, talking to sponsors, talk- Australian V8 SuperCars champion who ways, whether it’s the mental game or train- Car schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing with ing to the team. moved to the United States to drive the full ing or anything like that.” Tony Kanaan picking up the four oval races “I mean, the guy doesn’t slow down. I had season for Team Penske and will resurrect Penske has three IndyCar champions on in the No. 48. no idea what I was up against when racing the iconic “Yellow Submarine” paint its roster: Josef Newgarden has two titles, His barometers have so far only been in against him in NASCAR, and now I’ve got a scheme in the Indianapolis 500 driven by while Simon Pagenaud and Will Power testing with his first true action this week- little feel for it.” Penske winners Helio Castroneves, Rick each have one. end at Barber. PAGE 44 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 MLB/COLLEGE ATHLETICS 2020 rookies debut again, with fans in stands

BY JAKE SEINER Associated Press NEW YORK — Trevor Rogers’ major league debut was only about half what he expected. “A lot of jitters,” the Miami Marlins left- hander recalled. “And a lot of cardboard cutouts.” Rogers, like the other 211 players who made their big league debuts in 2020, got an unusual introduction to baseball’s top level — a pandemic-shortened season when fans were almost entirely banned from the ball- park. Now, many of those players are back in the majors, and all those cutouts have been replaced by limited-capacity crowds that are still some of the biggest those roo- kies have seen. “It has been amazing,” said fellow Mar- lins youngster Jazz Chisholm Jr. “I feel like every day is a new opening day for me be- cause I’ve never had the chance to play with fans in the big leagues.” Chisholm and Rogers both broke in with Miami last season, part of an up-and-com- ing club that overcame a season-stalling coronavirus outbreak to end a 16-year play- off drought. Rogers admits the fans momentarily threw him off his game. The 23-year-old AP photos made his first start this season against St. Above: A limited number of fans stand for the National Anthem before a game last week Louis on April 5 and trailed 3-0 after his first between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Left: Miami inning on the mound. Mechanical issues Marlins starting pitcher Trevor Rogers throws during the first inning of a game against were part of the problem, but he also ac- the New York Mets on Saturday in New York. knowledged having those debut jitters all over again with 4,605 fans at Marlins Park. first four major league starts, no less. all a little bittersweet because his family “I was overeager, for sure,” he said. The 28-year-old has seemingly cemented couldn’t come see him in person. He’s been “Hearing the noise of the crowd, the talking, himself as a fan favorite in less than two with his wife since high school, meaning the chit-chatting, the cheering and booing weeks. He’s been greeted by huge cheers she’s been with him through his entire ca- and all that good stuff, it was something I when he comes to bat, and he posed for pho- reer. But she — like the rest of his family — had to get used to again. It definitely got the tos near Chicago’s dugout last week with a had to watch from afar. heart rate going a little faster.” fan wearing a custom No. 73 jersey with He made sure to collect mementos, in- A first-round draft pick in 2017, Rogers “Yerminator” stitched on the back. cluding at least a half-dozen balls from his adjusted just fine in his next turn — a Sun- “They love me right now,” Mercedes debut and more from his first victory a cou- day matchup against two-time Cy Young said, adding: “I’m feeling comfortable, I’m ple of weeks later. He distributed those to Award winner Jacob deGrom in New York. feeling great, because I know I have people family, friends and influential others, in- He outpitched the Mets’ ace in a 3-0 victory, behind me.” cluding Rockies assistant director of player aided by a stunning homer from Chisholm Those crowds are easy motivation for development Chris Forbes, who scouted off deGrom’s 100 mph fastball at the letters. players trying to work their way back to the and drafted him. With his bright blue hair and extravagant board likenesses of fans last year, teams bigs, too, like Colorado Rockies right-hand- Castellani is working out at Colorado’s al- jewelry, Chisholm’s eagerness to perform have begun allowing limited fan access, er Ryan Castellani. The 25-year-old was ternate training site, waiting for his next big for an audience isn’t much of a surprise. with an average crowd of roughly 10,000 per called up off the taxi squad for his first ma- league chance. He’s grateful to have had “I love having fans out there,” the infiel- game. For players coming from the minors, jor league start last Aug. 8 and delivered something of a soft open last year — “it was der said. “I love hearing them talk their those crowds are already about as big as four no-hit innings against Seattle. just baseball, there wasn’t any distrac- trash, I love the compliments, I love every- they’ve seen — Triple-A parks generally av- “From a selfish perspective, it was awe- tions,” he said — but he expects it to feel dif- thing the fans bring to the game, the energy. erage 5,000-9,000 patrons per game. some,” he told The Associated Press. “I ferent the next time he toes a major league It does it all for me. It gives me goose bumps For some, the return has been well-timed. mean, I love getting called up pitching, it mound. getting ready to go out there and play a Yermín Mercedes has been a breakout was a great game. But from a family per- “That first game in front of, like a huge game.” star with the Chicago White Sox, becoming spective and all that, I would say it was a lit- crowd, huge ballpark, having family in the Business isn’t quite as usual in the big the first player since at least 1900 to open a tle bit of a disappointment.” stands, that’ll be, I feel like, just as good, leagues. After filling stadiums with card- season with eight straight hits — over his Castellani ended up pitching in 10 games, maybe even better, than my debut,” he said. NCAA votes to make major change to transfer rule

Associated Press edge of the council’s decision and play immediately. Athletes athletes will be operating under The council also voted to let Starting next season, major told The Associated Press. in football, men’s and women’s the same rules: Transfers will the current dead period in college football and basketball The people spoke on condi- basketball, men’s ice hockey be allowed to play right away. recruiting in all sports expire players will be permitted to tion of anonymity because the and baseball have not had that Those in fall and winter June 1. A ban on in-person transfer one time before grad- two-day meeting was still in ses- available to them without ask- sports must notify their schools recruiting has been in place for uating without being required sion and the council’s decisions ing the NCAA for a special waiv- they intend to transfer by May 1; more than a year because of the to sit out a year of competition. would not become official until er and claiming a hardship in spring sports, the notification pandemic. Coaches will again The NCAA Division I Council it ended Thursday. The Athletic caused the need for a transfer. date will be July 1. The notifica- be permitted to visit recruits off voted Wednesday to changed first reported the council’s vote. Athletes who have graduated tion dates begin in 2022. campus, hold camps on campus the long-standing rule that has The so-called one-time excep- have also been permitted to For this year, athletes in all and welcome prospective stu- often deterred players in high- tion has been available to ath- transfer without sitting out, but sports will be required to notify dent-athletes on official recruit- profile sports from switching letes in other NCAA sports for not undergraduates. their schools about their intent ing visits. schools, two people with knowl- years, allowing them to transfer Starting this fall semester, all to transfer by July 1. Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 45 MLB

Scoreboard Mound American League East Division experiment WLPct GB Boston 9 3 .750 _ will begin Toronto 6 6 .500 3 Baltimore 5 6 .455 3½ New York 5 7 .417 4 Tampa Bay 5 7 .417 4 in minors Central Division BY RONALD BLUM WLPct GB Associated Press Kansas City 6 4 .600 _ NEW YORK — Major League Cleveland 6 5 .545 ½ Chicago 6 6 .500 1 Baseball wants to see if moving Detroit 6 6 .500 1 back the pitcher’s mound will in- Minnesota 5 7 .417 2 crease offense. West Division MLB will experiment with a 12- WLPct GB inch greater distance between the Los Angeles 7 5 .583 _ mound and home plate during a Seattle 6 5 .545 ½ portion of the Atlantic League sea- Houston 6 6 .500 1 son in an effort to decrease strike- Oakland 5 7 .417 2 Texas 5 7 .417 2 outs and increase offense. National League The pitching rubber will be East Division moved back to 61 feet, 6 inches starting Aug. 3 during the second WLPct GB half of the independent minor New York 5 3 .625 _ league’s season. Philadelphia 6 6 .500 1 / AP Miami 5 6 .455 1½ DAVID BANKS “It’s a direct response to the es- Washington 3 6 .333 2½ Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Carlos Rodón, center, celebrates his no­hitter against the Cleveland calating strikeout rate, where Atlanta 4 8 .333 3 Indians after his team’s 8­0 win Wednesday in Chicago. you’re giving the hitter approxi- Central Division mately one one-hundreth of a sec- WLPct GB ond of additional time to decide Cincinnati 7 5 .583 _ whether to swing at a pitch, which Milwaukee 7 5 .583 _ has the effect just in terms of reac- St. Louis 6 6 .500 1 tion time of reducing the effective Chicago 5 7 .417 2 Nearly perfect: HBP means Pittsburgh 5 7 .417 2 velocity of a pitch by roughly 1.5 West Division mph,” said Morgan Sword, MLB’s WLPct GB executive vice president of base- Los Angeles 10 2 .833 _ ball operations. “The purpose of Rodón settles for no-hitter the test and hope is giving hitters San Francisco 8 4 .667 2 San Diego 8 5 .615 2½ White Sox pitcher throws MLB’s 2nd no-no of season even that tiny additional piece of Arizona 4 8 .333 6 time will allow them to make more Colorado 3 9 .250 7 BY JAY COHEN as Pérez made his way to first, ask- contact and reduce the strikeout Wednesday’s games Associated Press Toronto 5, N.Y. Yankees 4 ing the veteran catcher if the ball rate.” Boston 3, Minnesota 2, 7 innings, 1st CHICAGO — Carlos Rodón actually hit him. In 2019, the last full season, game Kansas City 6, L.A. Angels 1 jumped around near the mound, Rodón regained his composure strikeouts set a record for the 12th Boston 7, Minnesota 1, 7 innings, 2nd surrounded by exuberant team- in time to strike out Yu Chang consecutive year at 42,823, up 33% game Texas 5, Tampa Bay 1 mates. All the injuries, all the un- looking and retire Jordan Luplow from 32,189 in 2007. Strikeouts ex- Chicago White Sox 8, Cleveland 0 Detroit 6, Houston 4 certainty, it seemed like a lifetime on a sharp grounder to third base- ceeded hits the last three seasons Seattle at Baltimore, ppd. ago. man Yoán Moncada, starting a after never occurring before in ma- Washington 6, St. Louis 0 Milwaukee 7, Chicago Cubs 0 From no roster spot to no-hitter joyous celebration. Rodón held jor league history. San Francisco 3, Cincinnati 0 — Rodón had arrived at his mo- out his arms as Moncada jumped MLB calculated the average N.Y. Mets 5, Philadelphia 1 Pittsburgh 5, San Diego 1 ment. toward him and backup catcher fastball velocity last year at 93.3 Miami 6, Atlanta 5, 10 innings L.A. Dodgers 4, Colorado 2 The left-hander threw the sec- Zack Collins joined the impromp- mph and estimated the increased  ond no-hitter of the young base- tu party. distance would decrease the equiv- Thursday’s games ball season Wednesday night, los- “That was the most incredible alent to 91.6 mph. Seattle at Baltimore Boston at Minnesota ing his bid for a perfect game on a thing that I’ve ever been a part of The mound has been at its cur- Cleveland at Chicago White Sox hit batter with one out in the ninth behind the plate,” the 26-year-old rent distance since 1893, when the Seattle at Baltimore Texas at Tampa Bay inning, and the Chicago White Sox Collins said. National League moved the rubber Toronto at Kansas City DAVID BANKS / AP Detroit at Oakland cruised to an 8-0 victory over the Sidelined by a string of injuries back 5 feet. Strikeouts declined Philadelphia at N.Y. Mets Cleveland Indians. throughout his career, Rodón was Rodón reacts after striking out from 8.5% in 1892 to 5.2% in 1893 Miami at Atlanta San Diego at Pittsburgh “It just feels good to finally sit out of a job for a while last winter. Cleveland Indians batter Amed and the batting average increased Arizona at Washington here and tell you I dominated to- Back in December, the White Sox Rosario to end the eighth inning. from .245 in 1892 to .280. Colorado at L.A. Dodgers  day, and it felt good,” Rodón said. declined to offer him a 2021 con- Chicago Cubs president of base- Friday’s games “I’ve never really done that. I’ve tract. The No. 3 pick in the 2014 the Dodgers (23). ball operations Jed Hoyer com- Tampa Bay (Wacha 0­1) at N.Y. Yankees (TBD) never done that on this level at amateur draft re-signed with the Pérez made two hard outs earli- pared these changes to the lower- Chicago White Sox (Cease 0­0) at Boston least, and it feels good to say I did team as a free agent, agreeing to a er in the game and said when he ing of the pitcher’s mound from 15 (Pivetta 2­0) Cleveland (Allen 1­1) at Cincinnati (Hoff­ it.” one-year deal for $3 million on came up in the ninth, he was un- inches to 10 for the 1969 season. man 1­1) Baltimore (López 0­2) at Texas (Folty­ The 28-year-old pitcher got Feb. 1. aware Rodón had not permitted a “We’ve got to do something to get newicz 0­2) some help from AL MVP José Looks like a pretty good call at baserunner. more offense in the game, whether Toronto (Matz 2­0) at Kansas City (Minor 1­0) Abreu, who picked up Josh Nay- the moment. Rodón (2-0) won a “To be honest, I didn’t really you want to talk about the mound Minnesota (Shoemaker 1­0) at L.A. An­ lor’s slow bouncer leading off the spot in the rotation in spring train- think he had a perfect game until I being moved back a foot, whether gels (Heaney 1­1) Detroit (Ureña 0­2) at Oakland (Montas ninth and got his toe on first base ing and pitched five scoreless in- got hit,” Pérez said. “I thought he you want to talk about different 1­1) Houston (Urquidy 0­1) at Seattle (Kiku­ in the nick of time. The pandemic- nings in his first start of the sea- had a no-hitter going on but I real- ways of getting rid of the shift, chi 0­0) limited crowd of 7,148, bundled up son. He was supposed to pitch ly didn’t think he had a perfect whether you want to talk about sub- Atlanta (Smyly 0­0) at Chicago Cubs (Da­ vies 1­1) on a cool, crisp night, had to en- Monday against Cleveland, but game. It’s hard, man. I’m not going stances on the ball,” Hoyer said. Arizona (Widener 1­0) at Washington dure a quick replay review when was scratched because of an upset to stand there and get hit, especial- “We need to make adjustments. (Scherzer 0­1) St. Louis (Martínez 0­2) at Philadelphia the Indians challenged, but the stomach. ly on a night like tonight when it The DH originally came of these (Moore 0­0) San Francisco (DeSclafani 1­0) at Miami call was upheld. It was the first no-hitter for the was cold. But that’s just part of the adjustments. The mound being (TBD) Rodón then plunked Roberto White Sox since Lucas Giolito game.” lowered came from these adjust- Pittsburgh (Brubaker 1­0) at Milwaukee (Houser 1­1) Pérez on the back foot with an 0-2 pitched one Aug. 25 last year Rodón’s gem came only five ments. And I personally am of the N.Y. Mets (Lucchesi 0­0) at Colorado slider — the only runner he al- against Pittsburgh and No. 20 in days after Joe Musgrove threw a mind of — obviously, I love base- (González 1­0) L.A. Dodgers (Buehler 1­0) at San Diego lowed. An incredulous Rodón franchise history, second-most no-hitter for his hometown Padres ball, but I don’t believe the rules are (TBD) looked on almost in bewilderment among major league teams behind at Texas. written on stone tablets.” PAGE 46 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 NHL Sakic, Avalanche in win-now mode BY PAT GRAHAM Associated Press Scoreboard DENVER — Deep down, this is precisely the sort of depth Colora- East Division do Avalanche general manager GP WLOT Pts GF GA Joe Sakic always pictured. Washington 43 28 11 4 60 152 127 Two goaltenders to back up one N.Y. Islan- 42 27 11 4 58 125 98 of the best in the league. Three ders balanced lines to complement a Pittsburgh 42 27 13 2 56 146 118 Boston 40 22 12 6 50 112 106 top one that's an- N.Y. Rangers 42 20 16 6 46 136 112 chored by Nath- Philadelphia 42 19 17 6 44 123 154 an MacKinnon. New Jersey 41 14 21 6 34 103 135 A blue line filled Buffalo 42 10 25 7 27 100 147 Central Division with the perfect mix of young and GP WLOT Pts GF GA veteran defense- Carolina 41 27 10 4 58 133 102 men. Tampa Bay 42 28 12 2 58 143 108 Only one thing Florida 43 27 12 4 58 136 117 Sakic Nashville 44 24 19 1 49 119 123 may stop the Chicago 43 20 18 5 45 122 135 Avalanche going forward: the sal- Dallas 41 15 14 12 42 113 107 TED S. WARREN / AP ary cap. Columbus 44 15 20 9 39 112 145 Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis kept an eye on the deals that were made at the trade Not this season, of course, but Detroit 44 15 23 6 36 99 140 deadline, with an eye on which players might be available in July for the NHL Expansion Draft. next. That's why Sakic chose to West Division make a strong push at the trade GP WLOT Pts GF GA AROUND THE LEAGUE deadline with several deals to bol- Colorado 43 30 9 4 64 154 101 ster his NHL-leading team. Vegas 42 29 11 2 60 138 96 “This is as deep of team as we’re Minnesota 41 25 13 3 53 124 111 St. Louis 42 19 17 6 44 122 132 going to have here,” Sakic said. Arizona 44 19 20 5 43 118 139 “We’re going to have to get cheap- San Jose 42 18 20 4 40 114 141 er starting next year at some of Los Angeles 42 16 20 6 38 114 127 Deal the Kraken? those positions.” Anaheim 44 14 23 7 35 101 138 That's due to looming contract North Division decisions with three big pieces of GP WLOT Pts GF GA the team: goaltender Philipp Gru- Toronto 43 28 11 4 60 143 112 Francis can’t make official trades — yet bauer and captain Gabriel Lan- Winnipeg 43 26 14 3 55 139 115 deskog, who are both free agents Edmonton 42 25 15 2 52 134 120 BY STEPHEN WHYNO sey) and forward Scott Laughton (re- handful of teams vying for the rest. Montreal 40 18 13 9 45 123 114 after this season, along with de- Associated Press signed with Philadelphia), but there That helped separate the buyers and Calgary 43 19 21 3 41 115 127 fenseman Cale Makar, a restrict- Vancouver 37 16 18 3 35 100 120 ust because the NHL can’t re- was nothing earthshattering. sellers at the deadline, though many ed free agent. Ottawa 44 14 26 4 32 118 164 lease the Kraken until Octo- Maybe that’s because executives in the race stood pat. At the moment, Sakic is locked Wednesday’s games ber doesn’t mean Seattle learned some lessons from the 2017 Armstrong’s Blues were quiet, in on the playoffs, not contract Minnesota 5, Arizona 2 wasn’t in the mix at the trade expansion draft for Vegas. St. Louis thanks in large part to a three-game Winnipeg 3, Ottawa 2 J talks. The last Avalanche team to Calgary 4, Montreal 1 deadline. general manager Doug Armstrong winning streak that put them in a Colorado 4, St. Louis 3 hoist the Cup was the 2000-01 ver- Vegas 6, Los Angeles 2 General manager Ron Francis said teams are less likely to let Fran- playoff position in the West Division. sion that included a forward Anaheim 4, San Jose 1 can’t finalize any transactions until cis be the “puppet master” manipu- Had they lost those three games, named Sakic. Thursday’s games ownership makes its final expansion lating the league like McPhee did. Armstrong could’ve been a seller. Buffalo at Washington “Everybody is focused on trying Florida at Tampa Bay payment to the league, but there is “I think everyone was a little more “When we were thinking about be- N.Y. Islanders at Boston to win a Stanley Cup here,” Sakic Nashville at Carolina precedent for making a handshake conscious of what was coming up at ing a seller, we had a vision of, if we’re said. “We’ll get to all those guys New Jersey at N.Y. Rangers deal or two. That’s what George the expansion draft,” Armstrong said. going to do something, what we want- Philadelphia at Pittsburgh when we get to them. I don’t really Winnipeg at Toronto McPhee did at the deadline four years “When you’re looking as if you’re go- ed in return,” he said. Chicago at Detroit have any information on that. I Columbus at Dallas ago with Pittsburgh, setting the table ing to protect three defensemen, sev- Instead, St. Louis is jockeying with think we’re just focused on hockey Friday’s games for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to en forwards, OK, if I acquire this Arizona for a playoff berth. With the right now.” Calgary at Montreal be the face of the Vegas Golden player, what’s the acquisition price, top four pretty much set in the East N.Y. Islanders at Boston In order to boost his team, Sakic San Jose at Minnesota Knights franchise. and then am I going to be able to pro- and North, the only other drama is be- Edmonton at Vancouver surrendered some draft picks and Los Angeles at Colorado If Francis made an arrangement tect him and what’s it costing me on tween Nashville, Chicago and Dallas young players in trade swaps. Be- Vegas at Anaheim with another team, he’s not saying, the other side?’” in the Central. cause as they've learned through Saturday’s games though Seattle kept close tabs on all The Flyers were willing to risk that New Jersey at N.Y. Rangers Season over past experiences with injuries, Washington at Philadelphia the moves — and the rest of the league with Laughton, so perhaps big for- Pittsburgh at Buffalo there's no such thing as too much Ottawa at Montreal certainly had the Kraken in mind ward James van Riemsdyk and his Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel depth. St. Louis at Arizona with the expansion draft coming up in sizable contract are on the board for (neck) and Dallas Stars winger Alex- Chicago at Detroit To acquire veteran defenseman Florida at Tampa Bay July. Seattle. Vegas took on very few high- ander Radulov (core muscle injury) Nashville at Carolina Patrik Nemeth from Detroit, Sakic Toronto at Vancouver “You always have the capability of dollar, long-term contracts in 2017, were ruled out for the rest of the sea- sent a 2022 fourth-round pick to Columbus at Dallas having those discussions and reac- but Francis won’t share his philoso- son. The Stars said Radulov will have San Jose at Minnesota the Red Wings. Edmonton at Winnipeg hing those agreements if both sides phy. surgery and also confirmed goalten- To pick up backup goaltender agree to it,” Francis said Tuesday, a He knows his colleagues have a der Ben Bishop, who hasn’t played Devan Dubnyk from San Jose, day after the deadline. “We’re like ev- longer runway to this expansion draft since the 2020 playoff bubble, won’t Sakic included a 2021 fifth-round he picked up Nemeth and Soder- erybody else on that trade deadline than they did last time, more time to return until training camp. pick in addition to defenseman berg, who both have been around day: We’re watching it, we’re analyz- figure out how to minimize the talent Greg Pateryn. the organization. ing things. When trades happen, available. The wrinkle is the salary Leaders And to get veteran forward Carl Nemeth was actually one of Ma- we’re updating our list and seeing cap, which remains flat at $81.5 mil- Goals: Auston Matthews (Toronto), Soderberg from Chicago, Sakic kar's first defensive partners. The how that affects (how) we were think- lion for multiple seasons because of 32; Assists: Connor McDavid (Ed- packaged a pair of young forwards 29-year-old Nemeth spent two ing on certain teams.” pandemic-related revenue losses. monton), 46; Points: McDavid: 69; Ice in Ryder Rolston and Josh Dickin- seasons in Colorado from 2017-19. Francis said nothing at the deadline The Kraken could seize any opportu- time: Drew Doughty (Los Angeles), son. Nemeth is also an insurance pol- surprised him, and little directly af- nities. 26:57; Wins: Andrei Vasilevskiy “We’ve got a lot of prospects we icy for Erik Johnson, who won't re- fected Seattle because so few players (Tampa Bay) and Philipp Grubauer feel,” Sakic said. “We feel this is turn for the regular season due to signed beyond this season were trad- Small bubble (Colorado), 25 each; Goals-against the right time to do that.” an undisclosed injury but could ed. Maybe scratch off the available With roughly a month left in the average: Petr Mrazek (Carolina), One thing Sakic didn't want to possibly be available if the Avs list defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler regular season, 12 of the 16 playoff 1.47; Save percentage: Filip Gustavs- do was disrupt team chemistry. So make a deep playoff run. (traded from Washington to New Jer- spots are all but wrapped up, with a son (Ottawa), .946. Friday, April 16, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 47 OLYMPICS Officials: Olympic cancellation, no fans still options Associated Press TOKYO — Two officials in Ja- pan’s ruling LDP party on Thurs- day said changes could be coming to the Tokyo Olympics. One sug- gested they still could be can- celed, and the other said even if they proceed, it might be without any fans. Toshihiro Nikai, the No. 2 and secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, men- tioned the cancellation only a day EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP after Tokyo reached the 100-days- A woman wearing a protective mask walks in front of he Olympic Rings on Tuesday in Tokyo. As cases to-go mark on Wednesday. surge, various polls suggest up to 80% of Japanese want the Olympics canceled or postponed. He made his comments in a show recorded by Japan’s TBS KOJI SASAHARA / AP TV. Japanese Vaccine Minister Taro Price: Tokyo’s ‘safe hands’ often shaky “If it seems impossible to go on Kono said on Thursday that even with the games, they must be defi- if the Olympics do go on, it’s FROM PAGE 48 Shinzo Abe seven months ago. nitely canceled,” Nikai said. “If probable events will have to held views Japan,” Dr. Gill Steel, who Despite being billed as the “Re- there is a surge in infections be- in empty venues, particularly as $15.4B cases surge across the country. teaches political science at Dosh- covery Olympics,” the northeast- cause of the Olympics, there will isha University in Kyoto, wrote in ern area of Japan is still hurting a Official price tag of the 2020 Olympic be no meaning to having the an email. “Canceling the Olym- Summer Games in Tokyo, though decade later. Many blame the Olympics.” visit the area. pics would have been seen, at several government audits have in- Olympics for the slow recovery Asked if a cancellation was still Taro Kono, the government some level, as a public failure on dicated the true costs could be twice and siphoning off resources. an option, Nikai said: “Of course.” minister in charge of Japan’s vac- the international stage.” that amount. All but $6.7 billion is “Suga’s fate is sealed,” Tonami But he also added: “It is impor- cine rollout, said even if the Olym- The price will be steep when the coming from public funds. said. “I think he knows his tenure tant for Japan to have a successful pics go on, there may be no fans of Olympics open on July 23. SOURCE: Associated Press as a PM will not be a long one, so Olympics. It is a big opportunity. I any kind in the venues. He said it’s The official cost is $15.4 billion. even though it would be nice for want to make it a success. We will likely that the Olympics will have Olympic spending is tough to Japan’s vaccine rollout has him personally to pull it off, it have many issues to resolve and to be held in empty venues, partic- track, but several government au- been almost nonexistent, few will probably doesn’t change the polit- prepare, and it is important to take ularly as cases surge across the dits suggest it might be twice that get shots before the Olympics ical conditions around him.” care of them one by one.” country. much, and all but $6.7 billion is open, and Tokyo has raised its Steel was more optimistic. Prime Minister Toshihide Suga That means only television public money. “alert level” with another wave “His government has a higher said in a statement there was “no cameras and still cameras will be The Switzerland-based IOC predicted about the time of the chance of surviving, even thriv- change to the government posi- around to record the action, joined generates 91% of its income from opening ceremony. About 9,500 ing, if they can pull off a successful tion to do everything to achieve by some reporters, judges and selling broadcast rights and spon- deaths in Japan have been attri- Olympics — risky strategy, obvi- safe and secure Olympics.” match officials. sorship. This amounts to at least buted to COVID-19, good by global ously, if it is a disaster.” Tokyo organizers said they, the The delayed Tokyo Olympics $5 billion in a four-year cycle, but measures but poor by standards in But the “safe pair of hands” IOC and the International Para- are to open in just over three the revenue flow from networks Asia. have often been shaky. lympic Committee “are fully fo- months on July 23, and the Para- like American-based NBC has And what’s the impact of 15,400 Tokyo’s initial logo was cused on hosting the games this lympics follow on Aug. 24. Fans been stalled by the postponement. Olympic and Paralympic athletes scrapped after claims it was pla- summer.” They said Suga “has re- from abroad have already been What does Tokyo get out of the from more than 200 countries and giarized, the original stadium con- peatedly expressed the govern- banned. Now even Japanese spec- 17-day sports circus? territories entering Japan, joined cept was dropped when costs ment’s commitment” to holding tators could be kept away. Fans from abroad are banned, by tens of thousands of officials, soared past $2 billion, and orga- the Olympics. “I think the question is how to do tourism is out, and there’ll be no judges, media, and broadcasters? nizing committee president Yosh- COVID-19 cases have been ris- the Olympics in a way that is pos- room for neighborhood partying. “The risks are high in Japan. Ja- iro Mori — a former prime minis- ing across Japan. On Thursday, sible in this situation,” Kono said Athletes are being told to arrive pan is dangerous, not a safe place ter — stepped down two months Japan’s second-largest metropoli- Thursday on a television talk late, leave early and maneuver at all,” Sugaya said. ago after making derogatory com- tan area of Osaka recorded 1,208 show. “That may mean there will around a moving maze of rules. The IOC and Japanese politic- ments about women. Artistic di- new cases. It was the third straight probably be no spectators.” There are also reputational ians decided a year ago to post- rector Hiroshi Sasaki left a few day that new cases surpassed Kono did not suggest the Olym- costs for Japan and the Interna- pone but not cancel the Olympics, weeks later, essentially for the 1,000. Tokyo hit 729, its highest to- pics would not go ahead, but he tional Olympic Committee: a brib- driven by inertia and the clout of same reason. tal in more than two months. Ja- said they could be held under only ery scandal, botched planning, Japanese ad giant Dentsu Inc., On top of it all, French prosecu- pan has attributed 9,500 deaths to “certain conditions.” and repeated misogyny in the To- which has lined up a record of $3.5 tors believe Tokyo landed the COVID-19, good by world stan- “The way these Olympics will kyo Olympic leadership. billion in local sponsorship — Olympics by channeling bribes to dards but poor by results in Asia. be held will be very different from The IOC is betting Tokyo will be probably three times more than IOC voters. Rio de Janeiro appar- Tokyo and Osaka have been un- past ones,” he said. a distraction — “the light at the any previous Olympics. ently landed the 2016 Olympics der an alert status since earlier Tokyo organizers have said they end of the pandemic tunnel”— “I think the government knows the same way, prosecutors allege. this month, but officials are con- expect to announce a decision this but various polls suggest up to full well the Japanese public “It’s so easy to make money off cerned there is little sense of ur- month on the number of fans al- 80% of Japanese want the Olym- doesn’t want the Olympics as of the system,” said Dr. Lisa Kihl, gency. Experts on a Tokyo metro- lowed into each venue. pics canceled or postponed. And now,” Dr. Aki Tonami, who teach- who studies sports governance at politan government taskforce Organizers had expected to re- many scientists are opposed. es political science at the Univer- the University of Minnesota. “No- warned that the new variant could ceive about $800 million from “It is best to not hold the Olym- sity of Tsukuba, wrote in an email body is going to rock the boat be- replace the conventional virus ticket sales, their third-largest pics given the considerable risks,” to AP. “But no one wants to be the cause everybody is benefitting and trigger explosive infections source of income. Any shortfall Dr. Norio Sugaya, an infectious one to pull the plug.” from it. ...Until sports internation- by early May. Tokyo Governor will have to be made up by Japa- diseases expert at Keiyu Hospital The Olympics may also deter- ally are governed like financial in- Yuriko Koike urged residents to nese government entities, which in Yokohama, told The Associated mine the fate of Prime Minister stitutions, it’s not going to take maximum protection and are already footing most of the Press. Yoshihide Suga, who replaced change.” asked non-Tokyo residents not to bills. PAGE 48 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 16, 2021 Flirting with perfection SPORTS White Sox’s Rodón settles for no-no after HBP in ninth inning ›› Page 45

Tokyo pitched itself as “a safe pair of hands” when 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS it was awarded the Olympics 7 ½ years ago. Now, nothing is certain as Tokyo’s postponed Olympics hit the 100­days­to­go mark on Wednesday.

KIM KYUNG­HOON/AP

Willing to pay the price Olympic organizers, IOC push on with Tokyo Games despite public opposition, surging cases BY STEPHEN WADE and the IOC are pushing on. “The government is very conscious Associated Press Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics celebrated Japan’s rapid recov- okyo pitched itself as “a safe pair of hands” when ery from defeat in World War II. These Olympics will be of how ‘the world’ views Japan. it was awarded the Olympics 7 ½ years ago. marked by footnotes and asterisks. The athletes will aim “The certainty was a crucial factor,” Craig high, of course, but the goals elsewhere will be modest: get Canceling the Olympics would have TReedie, an IOC vice president at the time, said af- through it, avoid becoming a super-spreader event, and been seen, at some level, as a public ter the 2013 vote in Buenos Aires. stoke some national pride knowing few other countries Now, nothing is certain as Tokyo’s postponed Olympics could have pulled this off. failure on the international stage.” hit the 100-days-to-go mark on Wednesday. Despite surging “The government is very conscious of how ‘the world’ cases of COVID-19, myriad scandals and overwhelming Dr. Gill Steel public opposition in Japan to holding the Games, organizers SEE PRICE ON PAGE 47 Political science teacher at Doshisha University in Kyoto

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