WAR/MILITARY FACES Watchdog: Violence Delayed US exit Need films to stream? by Taliban threatens causes frustration 7 of Morgan Freeman’s Afghan peace deal for some Germans outstanding movie roles Page 3 Page 3 Page 15 Clemson looking to stop defensive lapses » Back page Volume 79, No. 145 ©SS 2020 CONTINGENCY EDITION FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2020 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas 2020 ELECTION Counting continues Biden pushes closer to victory as Trump presses legal moves BY JONATHAN LEMIRE, ZEKE MILLER, JILL COLVIN AND ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press WASHINGTON — Democrat Joe Biden pushed closer Thursday to the 270 Electoral College votes he needed to win the White House, securing victories in the “blue wall” battle- grounds of Wisconsin and Michigan and narrowing Presi- dent Donald Trump’s path to reelection. With a handful of states up for grabs, Trump tried to press his case in court in some key swing states. In spite of the ag- gressive Republican move, the flurry of court action did not seem obviously destined to impact the election’s outcome. Two days after Election Day, neither candidate had the votes needed to win the White House. But Biden’s victories in the Great Lakes states left him at 264, meaning he was one battleground state away — any would do — from becoming president-elect. Trump, with 214 electoral votes, faced a much higher hurdle. To reach 270, he needed to claim all four remaining battlegrounds: Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada. SEE COUNTING ON PAGE 9 An election worker examines a ballot as counting continued at State Farm Arena on Wednesday in Atlanta. BRYNN ANDERSON/AP US reaches another record high for confirmed coronavirus cases amid election battle BY LINDSEY TANNER challenge that either President Donald Trump than 232,000, and total confirmed U.S. cases RELATED Associated Press or former Vice President Joe Biden will face in have surpassed 9 million. Those are the high- the coming months. est totals in the world, and new infections are New confirmed cases of the coronavirus Unemployment Daily new confirmed coronavirus cases in increasing in nearly every state. in the U.S. have climbed to an all-time high the U.S. have surged 45% over the past two Several states on Wednesday reported claims fall slightly, of more than 86,000 per day on average, in a grim numbers that are fueling the national glimpse of the worsening crisis that lies ahead weeks, to a record 7-day average of 86,352, but numbers according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins trends. Texas reported 9,048 new cases and for the winner of the presidential election. 126 deaths, and the number of coronavirus Cases and hospitalizations are setting re- University. Deaths are also on the rise, up 15% remain grim patients in Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma cords all around the country just as the holi- to an average of 846 deaths every day. days and winter approach, demonstrating the The total U.S. death toll is already more SEE CASES ON PAGE 7 Page 8 PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Friday, November 6, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Chinese finance firm debut halted due to concerns Military rates Switzerland (Franc)............................0.9061 Euro costs (Nov. 6) ............................... $1.15 Thailand (Baht) .....................................30.83 Dollar buys (Nov. 6) ..........................€0.8246 Turkey (Lira) .........................................8.4545 Associated Press of the capital market” and pro- symbolized China’s rebound and British pound (Nov. 6) ..........................$1.28 (Military exchange rates are those Japanese yen (Nov. 6) ........................102.00 available to customers at military banking tect investors, a foreign minis- added to a string of smaller of- South Korean won (Nov. 6) ............1,103.00 BEIJING — The world’s big- Commercial rates facilities in the country of issuance try spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said ferings by biotech and other new for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the gest online finance company Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3770 Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For Wednesday. companies. In an unusual move, British pound .....................................$1.3090 was racing toward a stock mar- nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., Zhao gave no details, but fi- Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3042 it was due to trade in both Shang- purchasing British pounds in Germany), ket debut when it was derailed China (Yuan) ........................................6.6078 nance experts said the ruling check with your local military banking hai for mainland investors and Denmark (Krone) ................................6.2950 by Beijing’s anxiety about risks Communist Party is worried the facility. Commercial rates are interbank in Hong Kong for international Egypt (Pound) ....................................15.6701 in the fledgling industry, jarring company might be unable to man- Euro ........................................$1.1830/0.8453 rates provided for reference when buying global investors and deepening buyers. Hong Kong (Dollar) .............................7.7555 currency. All figures are foreign currencies age financial risks leaders want to to one dollar, except for the British pound, uncertainty about China’s finan- A brief official announcement Hungary (Forint) .................................303.58 contain as China tries to get eco- Israel (Shekel) .....................................3.3728 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, cial markets. nomic growth back on track after Tuesday cited regulatory chang- Japan (Yen) ...........................................103.67 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) Regulators suspended Ant the coronavirus pandemic. es. It gave no details, but authori- Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3057 INTEREST RATES ties have tightened controls on Norway (Krone) ...................................9.1823 Group’s record-setting $34.5 bil- The planned market launch Philippines (Peso).................................48.31 Prime rate ................................................3.25 lion stock offering two days be- of Ant, spun off from Alibaba lending by online finance plat- Poland (Zloty) ..........................................3.82 Discount rate ..........................................0.25 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...........................3.7503 Federal funds market rate ...................0.09 fore trading was due to start in Group, the world’s biggest e-com- forms and raised the amount of Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.3516 3-month bill ............................................. 0.10 order to “maintain the stability merce company by sales volume, capital they must have. South Korea (Won) ..........................1,122.96 30-year bond ...........................................1.55 WEATHER OUTLOOK FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FRIDAY IN EUROPE SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 64/48 Kabul 73/32 Seoul 64/42 Baghdad 87/66 Kandahar 78/41 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 65/46 68/48 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 52/34 52/46 72/48 Iwakuni 70/59 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 87/74 Brussels 51/42 Guam 91/65 53/32 Ramstein 73/64 86/80 Lajes, 49/39 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 89/59 88/73 64/56 53/36 54/33 Aviano/ Vicenza 64/45 Naples 72/54 Okinawa Morón 82/73 77/56 Sigonella Rota 72/54 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 88/76 75/62 66/60 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup .. 14 Comics ................. 18 Crossword ............ 18 Faces ................... 15 Opinion ............ 16-17 Sports ............. 19-24 Friday, November 6, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 WAR/MILITARY Watchdog: Attacks risk Afghan peace deal BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN U.S. troop reductions in Afghanistan are Stars and Stripes conditional on whether the Taliban fulfill commitments they made under the deal. KABUL, Afghanistan — Attacks by Failing to do so “could impact whether enemy forces in Afghanistan were up by the United States executes the planned half in the three months ending in Sep- full withdrawal of U.S. forces” and affect tember compared to the previous quarter, the amount of financial assistance the U.S. a report by a U.S. government watchdog provides to a future Afghan government agency said Thursday. that includes the Taliban, the report said. The spike in Taliban violence was “not The number of U.S. troops in Afghani- consistent with” a deal reached by the stan is expected to be reduced to 5,000 insurgents and the U.S. in February that by the end of this month, with a complete spells out conditions the Taliban have to withdraw still possible by May, it said. meet if U.S. troops are to fully withdraw No U.S. troops have been killed by hostile from the country by May 2021, the head of action since the February deal but casual- U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott ties among Afghan civilians and security Miller, was quoted as saying in the report forces were up last quarter, as were U.S. by the Special Investigator General for Af- airstrikes and ground operations by Af- ghanistan Reconstruction. ghan special forces, which reached levels Among those conditions is an obligation not seen in over a year, SIGAR said. on the part of the Taliban to not threaten Afghan Defense Ministry Under the deal, the Americans and the security of the United States and its Taliban agreed not to attack each other, allies, including an unwritten agreement 215th Corps