MILITARY WAR ON TERRORISM FACES US military’s hotel US Embassy, NATO Backstreet Boys’ McLane in Germany closing sewage dumped thinks experience gives amid virus outbreak into Kabul River him edge on ‘DWTS’ Page 4 Page 7 Page 15 Sun Belt scores upsets, Big Ten ponders comeback » College football, Page 23 stripes.com Volume 79, No. 106 ©SS 2020 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas ‘‘What’sWhat’WILDFIRESs next?’next?’ Tens of thousands displaced by infernos in Oregon, California and Washington Page 10 A group of inmate firefighters watch as a hillside burns near homes in Mountain Home Village, Calif., last week. KYLE GRILLOT / The Washington Post US calls in ‘big guns’ to resolve taxation dispute with Germany BY JOHN VANDIVER The U.S. Embassy and military com- reach a resolution,” Giordono-Scholz said, Stars and Stripes SIX-FIGURE FINES mands “are aware of this long-standing giving the first indication that the issue is issue and working closely in concert to being tackled at a higher level than mili- STUTTGART, Germany — Germany The involvement of senior U.S. officials address what we believe to be a misinter- tary commands in Germany, which have is violating an international treaty when it comes after Stars and Stripes earlier this year pretation of the NATO Status of Forces been unable to resolve it after years of asks U.S. military personnel to pay taxes spotlighted how Germany has threatened to Agreement,” embassy spokesman Joseph trying. in the country, the U.S. Embassy in Berlin impose hefty tax penalties — some in six Giordono-Scholz said in a statement last State and Defense Department lawyers said as it jumped into a long-running fiscal figures — on troops and civilians who it says week. are hashing out the details of a plan that dispute that has affected hundreds of U.S. have special ties to the country. “The Department of Defense and De- troops and civilians. partment of State are engaged to try and SEE DISPUTE ON PAGE 3 PAGE 2 F3HIJKLM •STARS AND STRIPES• Monday, September 14, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Military rates Switzerland (Franc)........................... 0.9096 US budget deficit hits record $3T in 11 months Euro costs (Sept. 14) ............................$1.16 Thailand (Baht) ..................................... 31.25 Dollar buys (Sept. 14) ....................... €0.8229 Turkey (Lira) .........................................7.4740 British pound (Sept. 14) ......................$1.25 (Military exchange rates are those Associated Press double the previous 11-month re- an economist at Oxford Econo- Japanese yen (Sept. 14) ....................103.00 available to customers at military banking cord of $1.37 trillion set in 2009. mist, predicted the September South Korean won (Sept. 14) ........1,159.00 facilities in the country of issuance WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commercial rates for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the At that time the government was deficit would hit $200 billion, giv- Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3771 Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For budget deficit hit an all-time high spending large sums to get out of ing the country a deficit for this British pound .....................................$1.2790 nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., of $3 trillion for the first 11 months Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3193 purchasing British pounds in Germany), the Great Recession triggered by budget year of $3.2 trillion. China (Yuan) ........................................6.8344 check with your local military banking of this budget year, the Treasury the 2008 financial crisis. That would be well above last Denmark (Krone) ................................6.2884 facility. Commercial rates are interbank Egypt (Pound) ....................................15.7603 rates provided for reference when buying Department said Friday. currency. All figures are foreign currencies With one month to go in the 2020 year’s imbalance of $984 billion. Euro ........................................ $1.1831/0.8453 The ocean of red ink is a prod- to one dollar, except for the British pound, budget year, which ends Sept. 30, The CBO is forecasting that by Hong Kong (Dollar) .............................7.7503 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, uct of the government’s massive Hungary (Forint) ................................ 302.39 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) the deficit could go even higher. the end of this year, the amount of Israel (Shekel) .....................................3.4593 spending to try to cushion the The Congressional Budget Office government debt will equal 98% Japan (Yen) ........................................... 106.11 impact of a coronavirus-fueled is forecasting the deficit this year of the total economy and then Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3060 INTEREST RATES Norway (Krone) .................................. 9.0540 recession that has cost millions will hit a record $3.3 trillion. next year it will exceed 100% of Philippines (Peso).................................48.57 Prime rate ................................................3.25 of jobs. While the government has gross domestic product, the econ- Poland (Zloty) ..........................................3.76 Discount rate ..........................................0.25 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...........................3.7510 Federal funds market rate ...................0.08 The deficit from October sometimes run surpluses in Sep- omy’s total output of goods and Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.3684 3-month bill .............................................0.09 through August is more than tember, Nancy Vanden Houten, services. South Korea (Won) ...........................1187.77 30-year bond ...........................................1.42 WEATHER OUTLOOK MONDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST MONDAY IN EUROPE TUESDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 70/63 Kabul 90/57 Seoul 81/66 Baghdad 115/82 Kandahar 94/59 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 76/66 81/68 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 82/57 78/57 78/69 Iwakuni 84/66 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 95/89 Brussels 85/54 Guam 111/82 88/63 Ramstein 84/70 84/81 Lajes, 83/66 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 105/77 101/82 72/62 85/69 86/65 Aviano/ Vicenza 87/62 Naples 86/76 Okinawa Morón 86/77 92/74 Sigonella Rota 82/69 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 102/89 83/67 84/69 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 14 Classified .................. 13 Comics ...................... 16 Crossword ................. 16 Faces ........................ 15 Opinion ..................... 17 Sports .................. 18-24 Monday, September 14, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• F3HIJKLM PAGE 3 MILITARY Marine leaves Philippines after pardon for slaying BY JIM GOMEZ lawyer, Rowena Garcia-Flores. China and Russia. Associated Press Virginia Suarez, the Laude Duterte’s pardon was con- family’s lawyer, said in a state- demned by left-wing and LGBTQ MANILA, Philippines — A ment that she wishes Pemberton groups. U.S. Marine convicted of killing “peace of mind,” and hopes that Debate has brewed over wheth- a Filipina transgender woman he has learned “the value of life er the Marine, whose detention was deported Sunday after a and dignity regardless of gender was arranged under the treaty al- presidential pardon cut short his and nationality.” lies’ Visiting Forces Agreement, detention in a case that renewed Philippine immigration officers or VFA, can be covered by a Phil- outrage over a pact governing and American personnel escorted ippine law that grants shorter jail American military presence in Pemberton, who was in handcuffs terms to ordinary prisoners for the Philippines. and wearing a face mask, from good conduct. Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pem- his cell in the main military camp The Regional Trial Court in berton said in a farewell message in Manila to the airport, where Olongapo city, which handled that he was “extremely grateful” he boarded a military aircraft. Pemberton’s case, ruled that PHILIPPINES’ BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION/AP to President Rodrigo Duterte for He was put on an immigration the law covers Pemberton and pardoning him and expressed his blacklist and will be banned from ordered authorities Sept. 1 to U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton has his handcuffs “most sincere sympathy” to the returning to the country, said im- release him early for good con- taken off before leaving Camp Aguinaldo on his way to the airport in family of Jennifer Laude, whom migration spokesperson Dana duct. But Laude’s family and the Quezon city, Philippines, on Sunday . he was convicted of killing in 2014 Sandoval. Department of Justice separately after finding out that she was a The U.S. Embassy said that appealed, blocking his early re- sile operator from New Bedford, motel room, where witnesses said transgender woman in a motel “all legal proceedings in the case lease from a maximum prison Mass ., was one of thousands of she and Pemberton had checked outside the former U.S. Subic Bay took place under Philippine juris- term of up to 10 years. American and Philippine mili- in. A witness told investigators naval base west of Manila. diction and law,” and that “Pem- The court order rekindled tary personnel who participated that Pemberton said he choked In his nearly six years of con- berton fulfilled his sentence as perceptions that American mili- in joint exercises in the Philip- Laude after discovering she was finement,