PACIFIC VIRUS OUTBREAK FACES North disinterested Unvaccinated Siwa set to be part as joint US, S. Korea troops at Yokota of first same-sex exercises conclude confined to base duo on ‘Dancing’ Page 3 Page 8 Page 18 ‘Coach Prime’ ready to take Jackson St., HBCUs to next level ›› Page 24 stripes.com Volume 80 Edition 96 ©SS 2021 MONDAY,AUGUST 30, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas AFGHANISTAN US drone kills multiple suicide bombers Officials: Vehicle transporting ISIS-K extremists was blown up before strike against Kabul airport could be executed Associated Press INSIDE The strike came just two days before the as well as NATO and the European Union, KABUL, Afghanistan — A U.S. drone United States is set to conclude a massive saying they had received “assurances” strike blew up a vehicle carrying “multiple Biden meets privately airlift of tens of thousands of Afghan and from the Taliban that people with travel suicide bombers” from Afghanistan’s Is- foreign civilians and withdraw the last of its documents would still be able to leave the lamic State affiliate on Sunday before they with families of soldiers troops, ending America’s longest war with country freely. The Taliban have said they could attack the ongoing military evacua- the Taliban back in power. will allow normal travel after the U.S. with- tion at Kabul’s international airport, Amer- killed in suicide attack The U.S. State Department released a ican officials said. Page 5 statement signed by around 100 countries, SEE BOMBERS ON PAGE 4 Hurricane Ida hits Louisiana on Katrina’s anniversary BY KEVIN MCGILL AND JAY REEVES Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Ida blasted ashore along the Loui- siana coast on Sunday, with the eye of one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S. arriving near the barrier island of Grand Isle. The powerful Category 4 storm made landfall on the same date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Loui- siana and Mississippi 16 years ear- lier, about 40 miles west of where Category 3 Katrina first struck land. Arriving with a barometric pressure of 930 millibars, Ida pre- liminarily goes down as tied for the fifth strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States based on wind speed. Based on central pressure it is tied for 9th strongest U.S. landfall. Ida rapidly intensified over- night as it moved through some of the warmest ocean water in the world in the northern Gulf of Mex- GERALD HERBERT/AP A man takes pictures of high waves along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as Hurricane Ida approaches landfall, Sunday, in New Orleans. SEE ANNIVERSARY ON PAGE 10 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Monday, August 30, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER US projects $3.12T deficit for 2021, down $555B EXCHANGE RATES Military rates South Korea (Won) 1,162.79 Associated Press And for the next decade, the ad- lion in spending on traditional in- Switzerland (Franc) .9115 Euro costs (Aug. 30) $1.15 Thailand (Baht) 32.53 WASHINGTON — The Biden ad- ministration never sees the annual frastructure projects such as roads Dollar buys (Aug. 30) 0.8288 Turkey (New Lira) 8.3485 British pound (Aug. 30) $1.34 ministration is forecasting that this deficits falling below $1 trillion. For and bridges and a $3.5 trillion mea- Japanese yen (Aug. 30) 107.00 (Military exchange rates are those available year’s budget deficit will be $555 bil- the 2022 budget year, which begins sure backed only by Democrats to South Korean won (Aug. 30) 1,142.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger­ lion lower than it estimated back in Oct. 1, the administration is project- offer preschool and junior college many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain (Dinar) .3771 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ May, helped by an economy that is ing a deficit of $1.54 trillion. education, expanded health care Britain (Pound) 1.3768 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2619 your local military banking facility. Commercial rebounding more quickly than had The non-partisan Congressional and climate change initiatives. China (Yuan) 6.4718 rates are interbank rates provided for reference Denmark (Krone) 6.3053 been expected. Budget Office forecasts a lower def- Even with the added infrastruc- Egypt (Pound) 15.6988 when buying currency. All figures are foreign But even with the improvement, icit of $1.15 trillion next year. ture and social spending, the Biden Euro .8479 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7874 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ the administration said Friday that The CBO forecasts are based on administration said Friday that it Hungary (Forint) 296.30 pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­euro.) Israel (Shekel) 3.2198 it is forecasting a deficit of $3.12 tril- current law, however, and do not sees the deficits over the next dec- Japan (Yen) 109.84 INTEREST RATES lion for the budget year ending Sept. take into account what the impact ade coming in $684 billion below its Kuwait (Dinar) .3009 Norway (Krone) 8.7190 Prime rate 3.25 30. That would be the second-largest will be of two massive spending bills earlier forecast. That improvement Philippines (Peso) 49.82 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 Poland (Zloty) 3.88 Federal funds market rate 0.09 deficit in history, exceeded slightly that have yet to pass Congress, a bi- would still leave deficits over the Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7504 3­month bill 0.05 by last year’s $3.13 trillion deficit. partisan measure of around $1 tril- next decade totaling $12.49 trillion. Singapore (Dollar) 1.3454 30­year bond 1.92 WEATHER OUTLOOK MONDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST MONDAY IN EUROPE TUESDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 74/67 Kabul 84/65 Seoul 75/68 Baghdad 112/80 Osan Tokyo Kandahar Drawsko 74/69 80/75 101/71 Mildenhall/ Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 61/57 78/75 64/57 Iwakuni Kuwait City Bahrain 80/76 107/84 Zagan Sasebo 97/92 Brussels Ramstein 62/54 82/75 Guam 68/60 68/54 84/81 Riyadh Lajes, 107/75 Doha Azores Stuttgart 105/91 73/70 61/55 Pápa Aviano/ 69/53 Vicenza 66/58 Naples 80/64 Okinawa Morón 84/81 90/62 Sigonella Rota 86/69 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 78/68 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 98/87 82/75 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 11 Classified .................... 13 Comics .........................16 Crossword ................... 16 Faces .......................... 18 Opinion ........................ 14 Sports .................... 19-24 Monday, August 30, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 PACIFIC US Forces Japan gets new commander BY THERON GODBOLD country, and supports INDOPA- AND JOSEPH DITZLER COM, the combat command in the Stars and Stripes region. YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — As head of 5th Air Force, Rupp Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider called also leads about 15,000 airmen at out China, North Korea and Rus- three U.S. air bases in Japan: Mis- sia as threats to regional security awa, Yokota and Kadena. Fifth Air as he handed the reins of U.S. Force provides a deterrent to Forces Japan to fellow Air Force would-be adversaries as well as officer Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp. airlift, combat and other aviation “Stakes are higher today than capabilities for the U.S. and Japa- they were in February of 2019 nese militaries. when I came into this job,” he said Rupp is a graduate of Southwest during a Friday ceremony that Texas State University and Em- drew top brass and diplomats as bry-Riddle Aeronautical Univer- guests. “Authoritarian regimes in sity. He comes to Tokyo from Joint Beijing, Pyongyang and Moscow Base Andrews, Md., where he continue to work to undermine commanded the Air Force Dis- peace and disrupt the security trict of Washington and the 320th that has enabled economies to Air Expeditionary Wing. flourish.” In his remarks, Rupp praised Schneider’s tenure was marked Schneider’s hard work benefiting by heightened tensions with China his commands, the Indo-Pacific in the western Pacific and a con- region and the world. Schneider, tinuing coronavirus pandemic he said, pushed the U.S.-Japan al- that began 18 months ago. He was liance to stay ahead of growing re- in charge at USFJ headquarters at gional threats while coping with Yokota in western Tokyo less than JUAN KING/Stars and Stripes the pandemic. a year when the virus appeared in Adm. John Aquilino, the head of Indo­Pacific Command, passes the guidon to the new commander of U.S. Rupp can look forward to an in- China. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force, Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, at Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Friday. creased tempo of maritime and During 2020, it played havoc aviation challenges from the Chi- with U.S. military bases in Japan, as “the most critical, the most con- including Adm. John Aquilino, rent, ready to respond at a mo- nese military and coast guard, prompting sporadic, temporary sequential and the most important commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific ment’s notice to any threat, crisis whose ships and planes add mus- lockdowns and restrictions on ev- alliance we have,” not just be- Command, and Gen. Kenneth or humanitarian disaster,” Rupp cle to its territorial claims in the erything from travel to shopping cause it benefits two nations, but Wilsbach, commander of Pacific said during his speech. region and challenge those of Ja- and dining.