Volume 80 Edition 189 ©SS 2022 THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas

stripes.com

NBA

Mired in slump,Brooklyn looks toIrving for a sparkPage 24

NATION

Jan. 6 riot promptsyear of change forUS Capitol PolicePage 10

FACES

Glass Animals rideslow-burning singleto Grammy AwardsPage 18

Rocket attacks strike bases with US troops in Syria and Iraq ›› Page 3

WASHINGTON — President

Joe Biden urged concern but not

alarm as the United States set re-

cords for daily reported COVID-19

cases and his administration strug-

gled to ease concerns about testing

shortages, school closures and oth-

er disruptions caused by the omi-

cron variant.

In remarks Tuesday before a

meeting with his COVID-19 re-

sponse team at the White House,

Biden aimed to convey his adminis-

tration’s urgency in addressing

omicron and convince wary Amer-

icans that the current situation

bears little resemblance to the on-

set of the pandemic or last year’s

deadly winter. The president em-

phasized that vaccines, booster

ANDREW HARNIK/AP

President Joe Biden removes his face mask as he arrives to meet with the White House COVID-19 Response Team on the latest developmentsrelated to the omicron variant in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Tuesday.

Addressing omicronBiden urges concern but not alarm in US as cases rise, citing vaccines and therapeutics

BY ZEKE MILLER

Associated Press RELATED

Familiar restrictionsfor virus return toUS bases in Japan Page 6

VIRUS OUTBREAK

SEE OMICRON ON PAGE 7

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South

Korea — North Korea apparently

fired a single ballistic missile to-

ward its eastern coast at 8:10 a.m.

Wednesday, South Korea’s mili-

tary announced after the launch.

South Korean and U.S. intelli-

gence agencies are analyzing the

launch, the South’s Joint Chiefs of

Staff said in a text message to re-

porters.

“Our troops are maintaining

their readiness posture and close-

ly monitoring the move of the

North Korean troops now,” the

message said.

In Japan, Defense Minister No-

buo Kishi on Wednesday said the

military was analyzing the launch

and that initial estimates show the

projectile flew about 310 miles and

fell into the sea outside of Japan’s

exclusive economic zone.

Japanese Prime Minister Fu-

mio Kishida described the launch

to reporters as “extremely regret-

table” and vowed to “strengthen

vigilance and surveillance.”

“Including the repeated launch-

es of ballistic missiles, North Ko-

rea’s series of actions are a threat

to the peace and security of Japan

and the region,” Japanese Chief

Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Mat-

suno said during a press confer-

ence. “It is a serious issue not only

for Japan, but for the entire inter-

national community.”

The latest launch is the North’s

first since the ruling party an-

nounced Saturday via state-run

media it would “pursue the build-

up of the nation’s defense capabil-

ity with more strength without

having to slow down even for a

moment.”

South Korean President Moon

North Koreaappears to fireits first ballisticmissile of 2022

BY DAVID CHOI

Stars and Stripes

SEE MISSILE ON PAGE 5

DETROIT — U.S. new vehicle

sales rebounded slightly last year

from 2020’s dismal numbers, but

were still about 2 million below the

years before the coronavirus pan-

demic.

The reason? Although there are

plenty of customers who want to buy

new vehicles at hefty prices, there

still aren’t enough computer chips

for the industry to fully crank up its

factories. So supplies are short, pric-

es are high and many customers

can’t get what they want.

Sales hit just over 15 million vehi-

cles in 2021, up 3.4% from 2020, the

year the pandemic took hold in the

United States. But over the five

years before the pandemic, sales av-

eraged 17.3 million.

“Demand is not off at all,” said Mi-

chelle Krebs, executive analyst for

Cox Automotive. “What is off is

sales, because the inventory doesn’t

exist.”

Among the hardest hit by the chip

shortage was General Motors,

which was unseated by Toyota last

year as the nation’s top-selling auto-

maker for the first time.

GM on Tuesday reported that last

year’s U.S. sales fell 13% from 2020

levels to just over 2.2 million. Toyo-

ta, on the other hand, saw its sales

rise 10.4% to just over 2.3 million.

Like other automakers, GM was

forced to temporarily close factories

during the year as it struggled to get

semiconductors, especially early in

the year. Krebs said she isn’t sure if

GM will be able to dislodge Toyota

this year because Toyota has man-

aged the chip shortage better and

has a faster distribution.

Bahrain64/61

Baghdad62/42

Doha65/51

Kuwait City59/48

Riyadh61/44

Kandahar55/40

Kabul36/28

Djibouti80/76

THURSDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Mildenhall/Lakenheath

39/27

Ramstein39/32

Stuttgart37/34

Lajes,Azores59/56

Rota57/50

Morón56/46 Sigonella

56/39

Naples54/49

Aviano/Vicenza41/33

Pápa42/36

Souda Bay59/55

Brussels40/35

Zagan33/30

DrawskoPomorskie

32/29

THURSDAY IN EUROPE

Misawa32/25

Guam82/79

Tokyo42/26

Okinawa65/62

Sasebo52/42

Iwakuni47/42

Seoul32/19

Osan34/20

Busan45/31

The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,

2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

FRIDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 18Opinion ........................ 14Sports .................... 19-24

BUSINESS/WEATHER

Military rates

Euro costs (Jan. 6) $1.10Dollar buys (Jan. 6) 0.8613British pound (Jan. 6) $1.32Japanese yen (Jan. 6) 113.00South Korean won (Jan. 6) 1,168.00

Commercial rates

Bahrain (Dinar) .3770Britain (Pound) 1.3548Canada (Dollar) 1.2704China (Yuan) 6.3552Denmark (Krone) 6.5614Egypt (Pound) 15.7162Euro .8821Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7959Hungary (Forint) 318.98Israel (Shekel) 3.0944Japan (Yen) 115.74Kuwait (Dinar) .3026

Norway (Krone) 8.7941

Philippines (Peso) 50.99Poland (Zloty) 4.03Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7558Singapore (Dollar) 1.3542

South Korea (Won) 1,196.17Switzerland (Franc) .9152Thailand (Baht) 33.14Turkey (New Lira) 13.5624

(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger-many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur-chasing British pounds in Germany), check withyour local military banking facility. Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for referencewhen buying currency. All figures are foreigncurrencies to one dollar, except for the Britishpound, which is represented in dollars-to-pound, and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.)

INTEREST RATES

Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75Federal funds market rate 0.093-month bill 0.0830-year bond 2.08

EXCHANGE RATESAuto sales up, but long way until full recoveryAssociated Press

PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

U.S. and partner forces were

targeted by rocket fire at their

base in northeastern Syria early

Wednesday, the American-led

coalition Operation Inherent Re-

solve said in a statement that

blamed Iran-backed militia

groups for the attack.

In addition, a Katyusha rocket

struck an Iraqi military base host-

ing U.S. troops at Baghdad’s inter-

national airport Wednesday, the

Iraqi militaries reported.

No damage or casualties were

reported from the Iraq attack, the

third in as many days. The attacks

started on Monday, the anniver-

sary of a U.S. airstrike that killed

top Iranian general Qassem Solei-

mani in Baghdad two years ago.

In Syria, troops at the base

known as Green Village reported

no injuries in the attack that in-

cluded eight rounds that struck in

and near the outpost, causing “mi-

nor damage,” according to the

statement from the anti-Islamic

State coalition. The attack come

just one day after U.S. and coali-

tion forces attacked several sus-

pected rocket-launch sites near

Green Village believed to pose an

“imminent threat” to troops at the

base, officials said.

After the attack Wednesday

morning, coalition forces — which

are officially in Syria to stamp out

the remnants of ISIS alongside

Syrian Democratic Forces — re-

turned fire with six artillery

rounds, striking the area from

where the enemy rockets were

launched, according to the coali-

tion.

Army Maj. Gen. John W. Bren-

nan Jr., the commander of Oper-

ation Inherent Resolve, said the

attacks were launched by Iran

proxy forces from civilian infras-

tructure near Mayadin, Syria, and

endangered civilians there and

near Green Village.

“The coalition reserves the

right to defend itself and partner

forces against any threat, and will

continue to do everything within

its power to protect those forces,”

Brennan said. “Our coalition con-

tinues to see threats against our

forces in Iraq and Syria by militia

groups that are backed by Iran.

These attacks are a dangerous dis-

traction from our coalition’s

shared mission to advise, assist,

and enable partner forces to main-

tain the enduring defeat of [ISIS].”

Green Village sits just east of

the Euphrates River in northeast-

ern Syria adjacent to major oil

fields. It is run by SDF forces but

also houses several hundred

American and coalition partner

troops who advise their Syrian

partners there, defense officials

have said.

The latest attacks come amid a

recent uptick in violence aimed at

bases in Iraq and Syria housing

American forces.

In Iraq, at least four armed

drones were shot down in two sep-

arate attempts to attack Iraqi

bases housing American forces on

Monday and Tuesday, U.S. and

Iraqi officials said.

The coalition statement

Wednesday was the first time that

U.S. officials specifically fingered

Iran-supported militias for at-

tacks in recent days. John Kirby,

the Pentagon’s chief spokesman,

told reporters Tuesday such Ira-

nian proxy forces were likely re-

sponsible for the attacks, but he al-

so said he could not conclusively

say who was responsible.

Rockets hit bases with US troops in Syria, IraqBY COREY DICKSTEIN

Stars and Stripes

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

utility draws from the same aquif-

er as the Navy, and Hawaii offi-

cials are concerned leaks will con-

taminate its water too.

The Red Hill facility holds 20 gi-

ant underground tanks built into

the side of a mountain during

World War II. Each tank is rough-

ly the height of a 25-story building.

HONOLULU — U.S. public

health officials on Tuesday began

investigating how civilians have

been affected by the leakage of

petroleum into Pearl Harbor’s tap

water from a Navy fuel storage fa-

cility.

The Hawaii state Department of

Health said it asked the Centers

for Disease Control and Preven-

tion and the Agency for Toxic Sub-

stances and Disease Registry to

conduct the study.

The department said the offi-

cials will survey civilians living in

homes served by the Joint Base

Pearl Harbor-Hickam water dis-

tribution system. They will also

try to reach people who may have

been exposed to contaminated wa-

ter at work or school.

The Navy’s water system serves

some 93,000 people in residential

homes, offices, elementary

schools and businesses in and

around Pearl Harbor.

Starting in late November,

about 1,000 people complained

that their tap water smelled like

fuel or reported physical ailments

like nausea and rashes after in-

gesting it. Shortly after the Navy

said it detected petroleum in a

drinking well that serves its water

system. Navy officials say they be-

lieve leaks from its Red Hill tank

farm near Pearl Harbor polluted

the well.

Dr. Diana Felton, the state tox-

icologist, said it’s vital that author-

ities track how the incident affect-

ed all Hawaii residents.

Meanwhile, Hawaii’s congres-

sional delegation urged the Navy

to comply with a Monday order

from the Hawaii Department of

Health to drain fuel from the tanks

to protect Oahu’s drinking water.

“Defueling safely will require a

coordinated effort, and the delega-

tion will do everything possible to

support this effort,” they said in a

statement. “Clean drinking water

is essential to our health and safe-

ty, and our future — we all agree

this cannot be compromised for

anything.”

The delegation consists of four

members, all Democrats: U.S.

Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hi-

rono and U.S. Reps. Ed Case and

Kaiali‘i Kahele.

So far only the Navy’s water sys-

tem has been affected by the con-

tamination. But Honolulu’s water

Collectively, they can hold up to

250 million gallons of fuel, though

two of the tanks are now empty.

The tank farm sits just 100 feet

above the aquifer shared by the

Navy and the Honolulu Board of

Water Supply. It supplies petro-

leum to all branches of the mili-

tary.

US agencies probeNavy fuel leak’seffect on civilians

BY AUDREY MCAVOY

Associated Press

SHANNON HANEY/AP

A tunnel inside the Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage Facility is seen in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 2018.

tape and providing more flexibility

to securely search for career-en-

hancing active-duty opportunities

is going to help our soldiers,” Sen.

Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said last week

in the statement.

Joining Rosen in the statement

were Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Rep.

Chris Jacobs, R-N.Y.; and Rep. Tim

Ryan, D-Ohio.

The Tour of Duty online job

board already offers deployments

and short-term active duty orders.

But since 2017, it has required ac-

National Guardsmen and Army

Reservists soon may be able to

search a government database for

short-term work on their smart-

phones, thanks to a provision in the

recently passed annual defense

spending bill.

The change will make it easier for

the Army to retain talent, the four

members of Congress who pushed

for it said in a statement last week.

“Removing unnecessary red

cess to a government network, fre-

quently necessitating a trip to an ar-

mory for those who don’t have a mil-

itary device at home.

This year’s National Defense Au-

thorization Act directs the Army to

ensure that members of its reserve

component can access the Tour of

Duty system using a “personal in-

ternet-enabled device.”

The new law says the Army must

ensure security as it opens up ac-

cess to the site from personal de-

vices.

Without good cybersecurity, ad-

versaries might be able to see what

vacancies and shortfalls the Army

has, said Staff Sgt. Steven Smith,

who has used Tour of Duty to find

orders during his 12 years in the

New York National Guard.

“We’ve already given weapons

and supplies galore to the enemy.

Let’s not give them intel as well,”

Smith told Stars and Stripes.

The Army will release more in-

formation over the next few weeks

about how it will institute a pilot

program allowing soldiers to bring

their own devices to work, spokes-

man Bruce Anderson said in an

email.

“Upon successful test and valida-

tion of the access, the Army expects

the system to be made available to

all Guard and Reserve personnel as

quickly as possible in accordance

with the NDAA requirements,” An-

derson said.

Law grants Army Guard, Reserve access to job board on phonesBY J.P. LAWRENCE

Stars and Stripes

lawrence.jp@stripes.com Twitter: @jplawrence3

MILITARY

PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa —

The Japanese government last

week turned aside another move

by Okinawa’s prefectural gover-

nor to halt work on an airfield

fixed as the new home of Marine

Corps aviation on the island.

Genjiro Kaneko, Japan’s minis-

ter of agriculture, forestry and

fisheries, on Dec. 28 overruled

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki,

who in July revoked a permit to re-

locate endangered coral colonies

at the construction site in Oura

Bay at Henoko.

Kaneko’s notice to Okinawa

called Tamaki’s revoking the per-

mit from the Okinawa Defense

Bureau “inappropriate,” though

the minister stopped short of a

comprehensive explanation, a

spokesman for the prefectural

Fisheries Division told Stars and

Stripes by phone Tuesday.

A spokesman for the ministry,

however, said the prefecture’s

claim that permit conditions were

violated did not stand up.

“Okinawa prefecture claimed

that the Okinawa Defense Bureau

violated the conditions for trans-

planting the corals by implement-

ing it in summer, but we came to

the decision that the conditions

were not violated,” the spokesman

said by phone Tuesday. “Okinawa

prefecture did not go through the

administrative process that was

required to withdraw the approv-

al, so that made the prefecture’s

decision illegal.”

Kaneko, stating the work had al-

ready been completed, also dis-

missed a Defense Bureau request

to review Tamaki’s canceling a

second permit to move another

830 coral colonies, the spokesman

said.

The prefecture is weighing its

options, including a lawsuit, a pre-

fectural spokesman said, “but we

haven’t decided what we are going

to do.”

Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi

acknowledged Kaneko’s ruling in

comments to reporters Dec. 28.

He said the ministry would follow

expert opinion while continuing to

transplant endangered coral colo-

nies at the site.

“We will continue to do it prop-

erly,” he said. He said they would

monitor water temperature to en-

sure the coral has the greatest

chance for survival.

The coral project began in 2019

with a request from the Defense

Bureau, which represents Japan’s

Ministry of Defense on the island,

to move 40,000 coral colonies from

the construction site north to the

opposite side of the bay, according

to a copy of the plan on the bu-

reau’s website.

The coral includes numerous

types of endangered species, in-

cluding porites okinawensis,

which is on Japan’s Red List of

threatened species.

The prefecture denied the

transplant permit but also filed a

lawsuit against the central gov-

ernment, alleging the bureau had

killed five of nine endangered col-

onies transplanted the previous

year.

Japan’s Supreme Court dismis-

sed the prefecture’s suit last sum-

mer and Tamaki reluctantly ap-

proved permitting on July 28.

Work at the site was halted two

days later after Tamaki said the

bureau had violated the prefec-

ture’s conditions.

Tamaki requested that work

proceed slowly, and not take place

during the typhoon or breeding

seasons or during periods of high

sea temperatures.

Japan’s Defense Ministry then

asked Kaneko for administrative

review.

The July 30 permit revocation

was the latest attempt by Tamaki

to halt the relocation of Marine air

operations on Okinawa from Ma-

rine Corps Air Station Futenma,

which is in a densely packed ur-

ban area in Ginowan, to the Ma-

rines’ remote northern base Camp

Schwab.

The runway being built into Ou-

ra Bay was designed so Marine

aircraft no longer have to fly over

residential areas to approach or

depart the base. MCAS Futenma

would be closed and returned to

local authorities.

Since his election in late 2018,

Tamaki has made several tries at

stopping the project. He rescind-

ed construction permits that year

after the seabed in parts of the

construction zone was found to be

soft and potentially unstable.

After Japan’s Ministry of Land,

Infrastructure and Transporta-

tion reinstated the permits, Tama-

ki sued.

The prefecture on Dec. 28 ap-

pealed to Japan’s Supreme Court

a lower court’s dismissal of Tama-

ki’s suit, according to the prefectu-

ral website. No court date has

been set, a spokesman for the Su-

preme Court told Stars and Stripes

by phone on Tuesday.

Japanese official blocks effort to stop relocation of Futenma on OkinawaBY MATTHEW M. BURKE

AND MARI HIGA

Stars and Stripes

burke.matt@stripes.comTwitter: @MatthewMBurke1higa.mari@stripes.comTwitter: @marihiga21

CARLOS M. VAZQUEZ II/Stars and Stripes

Landfill work for the construction of a Marine Corps runway at CampSchwab, Okinawa, is seen in January 2020. 

your peers a bit,” Harrison said.

“It gives a great overall appear-

ance and enhances the detail of

your name identification badges

on various styles of military uni-

forms.”

Kempisty said he licensed his

patent to Vanguard and receives

royalties for the invention. Over

the past three years, the project

has cost him about $5,000, includ-

ing research and development.

Kempisty said his drive to build

abetter nametag taught him many

lessons.

“To get this on the shelves

Navy Lt. Mitchell Kempisty, a

surface warfare officer aboard the

patrol ship USS Monsoon in 2018,

was bothered by the untidy ap-

pearance his nametag made on his

coveralls.

It kept wrinkling and curling, he

said, and looked totally “unsat” on

his otherwise neat Navy working

uniform.

“I was annoyed with the name-

tags and just wanted to make

something for myself and my ship

that would protect the nametags

from getting beat up,” Kempisty

told Stars and Stripes by phone

Monday.

Three years after his tour on the

Monsoon, Kempisty’s improved

nametag protector is available for

purchase across the Navy. A main-

stay maker of military insignia,

Vanguard, is marketing his de-

sign, dubbed The Enforcer, online

at Vanguardmil.com with plans to

get it on shelves at Navy Ex-

changes.

“We saw his idea and thought it

had great merit,” Michael Harri-

son, chief operating officer of Van-

guard, told Stars and Stripes by

phone Monday. “We have a distri-

bution network that the lieutenant

does not have, so it is beneficial for

all parties.”

Kempisty said he saw a learning

opportunity in the path from an

idea to a patented product.

A native of Laurel, Md., and a

Naval Academy graduate, Kem-

pisty bought a basic 3D printer,

learned computer-aided design

and cranked out a prototype of the

nametag protector.

His invention is a backing board

attached to the nametag, with a

hook and loop fastener that attach-

es the board to the uniform, keep-

ing the nametag neat and straight.

The board keeps the nametag stiff,

so there are no more wrinkles or

curls. It keeps nametags neat not

just on coveralls but on flight suits

and other uniforms, too.

Kempisty’s prototype proved

resilient, standing up to repeated

wear and being constantly pulled

from the uniform by its hook and

loop fastener.

Next, he patented his invention,

a process that took 1½ years from

submitting a proposal to approval

by the U.S. Patent and Trademark

Office. After that, he worked with a

manufacturer to produce them in

quantity under the name uGuard.

Kempisty’s big break came

when Vanguard approached him

in May after the Navy Times re-

ported on Kempisty’s invention.

Vanguard renamed the inven-

tion and started to manufacture it.

“This product is important if

you just want to stand out from

taught me that I can take any

‘shower thought’ and turn it into an

invention with only drive and ef-

fort,” he said. “I had a lot of things

working against me over the

years, and a lot to learn from

scratch about modeling, 3D print-

ing, patents, manufacturing and li-

censing. I did not know any of that

stuff when I started. I spent my

personal time just figuring it out

and working with the right people

to help.”

Officer’s nametagidea fix goes fromNavy ship to sales

BY KELLY AGEE

Stars and Stripes

agee.kelly@stripes.com Twitter: @KellyA_Stripes

JAVIER CHAGOYA

Navy Lt. Mitchell Kempisty shows off his nametag, which is attached to his invention, a backing boarddubbed The Enforcer that keeps the nametag stiff, aboard the patrol ship USS Monsoon. 

MILITARY

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5

Jae-in briefly addressed the

launch and insisted “we must not

give up dialogue with North Ko-

rea,” during a railway construc-

tion ceremony in Gangwon prov-

ince on Wednesday.

The launch comes amid ongo-

ing discussions to formally end the

1950-53 Korean War, which ended

with an armistice agreement over

a peace treaty. Moon, whose term

ends in May, has prioritized the

goal of ending the decadeslong

conflict and said it would normal-

ize relations with Pyongyang.

South Korean Foreign Minister

Chung Eui-yong at a news confer-

ence last month said the United

Statesand South Korea “effective-

ly have agreed” on a draft declara-

tion of a formal end to the Korean

War.

“Our government views that an

end-of-war declaration provides a

very useful opportunity to resume

dialogue in a current deadlock in

talks with North Korea,” Chung

said.

North Korea last fired what ap-

peared to be a submarine-

launched ballistic missile in Octo-

ber, according to the Joint Chiefs

of Staff. In the weeks prior to that,

it launched an anti-aircraft mis-

sile, along with a hypersonic

short-range missile.

South Korea’s Ministry of Uni-

fication on Wednesday afternoon

urged North Korea to “respond to

our endeavors to make peace and

cooperation through dialogue,”

according to a ministry statement.

“South and North Korea should

work together without giving up

dialogue between them in order to

overcome concern, which is being

caused by this launch, by the

roots,” the ministry said.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command,

which controls all U.S. forces in

the Pacific, said in a Wednesday

statement it was “aware” of the

ballistic missile launch and that it

“does not pose an immediate

threat to U.S. personnel or territo-

ry, or to our allies.”

State Department spokesman

Ned Price reiterated at a press

briefing Tuesday that the U.S. has

“no hostile intent toward” North

Korea.

“We are prepared to meet with-

out preconditions,” he said. “We

hope [North Korea] will respond

positively to our outreach, but all

the while, we’re continuing to con-

sult closely with our allies and

partners.”

North Korea’s state-run media

had not released information on

the launch by Wednesday after-

noon. The regime’s Foreign Min-

istry, however, did release a state-

ment saying the U.S. is in an “a-

nachronistic paranoia of world su-

premacy” and has been

“recklessly infringing upon the

world peace and international or-

der.”

LEE JIN­MAN/AP

People stand near a TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea’s missile with filefootage at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday.

Missile: Japan calls launch ‘regrettable,’S. Korea still wants a dialogue with North

Stars and Stripes reporters Yoo Kyong Chang andMari Higa contributed to this report.choi.david@stripes.comTwitter: @choibboy

FROM PAGE 1

MILITARY

WASHINGTON — The United

States and Germany said Wednes-

day that Russia’s military buildup

near Ukraine’s border poses an

“immediate and urgent chal-

lenge” to European security and

that any intervention will draw se-

vere consequences.

Secretary of State Antony Blin-

ken and German Foreign Minister

Annalena Baerbock presented a

unified front on Russia after a

meeting in Washington. The se-

verity of any response to a Russian

invasion of Ukraine hinges largely

on Germany, Europe’s biggest

economy and a diplomatic heavy-

weight within the 27-nation Eu-

ropean Union.

“Both Germany and the United

States see Russia’s actions toward

Ukraine as an immediate and ur-

gent challenge to peace and stabil-

ity in Europe,” Blinken said.

“We condemn Russia’s military

buildup on Ukraine’s borders, as

well as Russia’s increasingly

harsh rhetoric as it continues to

push the false narrative that Uk-

raine seeks to provoke (Russia),”

he said. “That’s a little bit like the

fox saying it had no choice but to

attack the henhouse because

somehow the hens presented a

threat.”

Baerbock agreed. “We jointly

reiterated that Russian actions

and activities come with a clear

price tag, and a renewed violation

of Ukrainian sovereignty by Rus-

sia would have severe conse-

quences,” she said.

The Blinken-Baerbock meeting

followed a telephone call last week

between President Joe Biden and

Russian President Vladimir Putin,

a conversation Sunday between

Biden and Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a

group discussion Tuesday among

Biden’s national security adviser

Jake Sullivan and his counterparts

from the five Nordic nations.

It also preceded a flurry of meet-

ings involving NATO foreign min-

isters, senior U.S. and Russian of-

ficials, the NATO-Russia Council

and the Organization for Security

and Cooperation in Europe set for

next week.

Western officials have hinted at

any number of economically crip-

pling sanctions that could be im-

posed should Russia act. Those in-

clude near total cutoff from the in-

ternational financial system and

steps toward greater NATO inte-

gration with non-allied European

nations.

As the Biden administration

moves to build international con-

sensus around a set of possible pu-

nitive measures, Germany is

clearly the linchpin. Securing its

support will be key to both mess-

aging and implementation of

whatever is decided.

Baerbock is the top diplomat in

the first German government in 16

years not headed by Angela Mer-

kel. She has struck a tougher tone

on Russia than her predecessor.

But Germany has adopted a less

confrontational stance toward

Russia compared with many other

European nations.

Germany’s business ties with

Russia could provide leverage, but

they could also prove a hindrance

to forging a united front . Chancel-

lor Olaf Scholz hasn’t shown wil-

lingness to block natural gas deliv-

eries through a new pipeline link-

ing Russia and Germany — a move

that would hurt both countries.

US, Germany sayRussia threatenspeace, security

Associated Press

mander of Air Force Materiel Com-

mand, decided last April that the

case will proceed to court-martial.

“After a comprehensive review of

all of the evidence from the investi-

gation and the Article 32 prelimina-

ry hearing, I’ve informed Maj. Gen.

Cooley of my decision to move his

case to general court-martial,”

Bunch said last year. “I can assure

you this was not a decision made

lightly, but I believe it was the right

decision.”

Both AFRL and AFMC are head-

quartered at Wright-Patterson.

Aspokesman for AFMC declined

an interview on the subject, but con-

HAMILTON, Ohio — The first

court-martial of a general officer on

asex assault charge in the history of

the Air Force is scheduled to begin

Monday at Wright-Patterson Air

Force Base.

Ex-Air Force Research Laborato-

ry commander Maj. Gen. William

Cooley is charged under Article 120,

which concerns sexual assault.

The two-star general is charged

with kissing and touching a woman

without her consent in Albuquer-

que, N.M., in August 2018, according

to the Air Force charge.

Cooley has de-

nied the allega-

tions. A military

attorney for Coo-

ley told the Day-

ton Daily News

last year there

was no unwanted

touching and the

case should not go to trial.

An Article 32 preliminary hear-

ing was convened at Wright-Patter-

son last February in which a senior

military judge reviewed the charge

against Cooley.

After reviewing that judge’s as-

sessment, Gen. Arnold Bunch, com-

firmed that the general court-mar-

tial convening authority has select-

ed court members (jurors) from a

list of eligible general officers.

The Uniform Code of Military

Justice dictates jurors must be a

higher grade or at an equivalent

grade with an earlier date of rank

than the accused. They have been

notified in advance of the proceed-

ings to enable ample time to clear

their schedules to serve as mem-

bers, a spokesman said.

Under the UCMJ, the accused al-

so has the right to elect trial by mil-

itary judge alone.

Since his removal from com-

mand, Cooley has served as special

assistant to Bunch, with duties fo-

cused on advancing the command’s

digital campaign, the Air Force has

said.

Don Christensen, a former chief

prosecutor for the Air Force and the

president of the group Protect Our

Defenders, told the Dayton Daily

News in 2020 that if the Cooley case

went to court-martial, he will be the

first general officer in Air Force his-

tory to face such a proceeding.

“An Air Force general has never

been court-martialed,” Christensen

said at the time. “It’s a big deal that

they’re doing this.”

Court-martial of former USAF Research Laboratory commander setBY THOMAS GNAU

(Hamilton, Ohio) Journal-News

Cooley

PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

TOKYO — The overall U.S.

military authority in Japan is con-

sidering a return to stricter

health protection measures as

U.S. bases reported another 338

COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

Those new numbers include in-

fections from a week ago; howev-

er, the bulk of new cases, 182,

popped up Tuesday at Marine

Corps Air Station Iwakuni, ac-

cording to a Wednesday news re-

lease by the base.

U.S. Forces Japan may raise

the health protection condition to

Bravo, which signals an in-

creased community transmission

of the coronavirus and brings

heightened restrictions, USFJ

spokesman Air Force Maj. Tho-

mas Barger told Stars and Stripes

by phone Wednesday.

COVID-19 is roaring back into

U.S. military communities in Ja-

pan where it was barely a memo-

ry in recent months. With it

comes familiar rituals: masks,

limited group sizes and, in ex-

treme cases, no more free time in

the surrounding Japanese com-

munities.

Some commanders attribute

the viral surge to people return-

ing to Japan after spending the

holidays in the United States or

arriving to take up new duty sta-

tions. The upside, according to

commanders who have publi-

cized their situations, is that the

COVID-19 symptoms this time

are less severe for most people

who catch it.

At Yokosuka Naval Base, the

7th Fleet’s homeport south of To-

kyo, commander Capt. Rich Jar-

rett on Wednesday imposed con-

dition Bravo measures without

declaring Bravo. Wearing masks

indoors is mandatory for every-

one, regardless of vaccination

status; the movements of individ-

uals in quarantine are further re-

stricted; and gatherings are limit-

ed to 10 people.

The base is experiencing a sig-

nificant rise in COVID-19, but is

waiting on USFJ to declare condi-

tion Bravo, base spokesman Ran-

dall Baucom told Stars and

Stripes by email Wednesday. He

said the base would announce its

coronavirus caseload in its Fri-

day summary.

Likewise, MCAS Iwakuni com-

mander Col. Lance Lewis on

Tuesday ordered a tough set of

restrictions without raising the

health protection condition.

The military has confirmed 422

people with COVID-19 at the air

base 25 miles south of Hiroshima

since Dec. 24. The cluster there

started with eight people testing

positive over Christmas week-

end.

“There is no easy way to put

this,” Lewis wrote on the base’s

official Facebook page, “so here it

is: due to a significant increase in

positive cases, we are going to

‘turtle up’ for a week to arrest the

spread of COVID on base.”

Overnight liberty is curtailed

until midnight Jan. 13. “When you

go to sleep at night, it’ll be in your

own bed,” Lewis wrote.

Recalling the pandemic’s most

extreme stages, base residents

may visit “essential services on-

ly” outside the installation, mean-

ing medical appointments, veter-

inary visits, trips to grocery

stores and post offices. Restau-

rant dining is off-limits for the

week, but takeout orders are OK.

The base Facebook page lists all

the new restrictions.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,

not allowing liberty, not allowing

people to go out and travel,” said

Caroline Kamacho, a Marine

spouse from St. Louis, at MCAS

Iwakuni on Wednesday. “Be-

cause I think a lot of people are

catching it going out into town

and to Osaka and Tokyo. It sucks,

but we got to nip it in the bud

somehow.”

At Combined Arms Training

Center Camp Fuji, a Marine

Corps base 65 miles southwest of

Tokyo that’s already in condition

Bravo, the command on Wednes-

day clamped down on most off-

base activities except outdoor

dining, grocery shopping and out-

door recreation, according to a

post on its Facebook page. Forty-

one people have contracted the

virus there since late December.

At Yokota Air Base in western

Tokyo, the headquarters of USFJ,

the number of people infected

with the coronavirus grew to 64

with the addition of 57 on

Wednesday, according to a base

news release.

Naval Air Facility Atsugi, about

25 miles northwest of Yokosuka,

on Wednesday reported 69 cases,

according to a post on its Face-

book page.

U.S. Army Japan, headquar-

tered at Camp Zama 26 miles

southwest of Tokyo, confirmed 14

of its people tested positive be-

tween Dec. 29 and Wednesday,

according to a news release.

At Sasebo Naval Base in Ky-

ushu prefecture, 16 people tested

positive since Dec. 28 for a total of

17 active cases there, according to

a post on its official Facebook

page Wednesday.

On Okinawa, the Marine Corps

and Air Force were quiet

Wednesday, but the prefectural

Department of Public Health and

Medical Care reported another

623 people with the disease.

The department reported six

new cases at U.S. military bases:

two at Kadena Air Base, one at the

Marines’ Camp Foster and three

at unspecified locations.

At MCAS Iwakuni, Lewis ral-

lied his command with the memo-

ry of the late Betty White, the

treasured actress who died Dec.

31 at age 99.

“Think about what Betty would

do; she’d be resilient, she’d help

her neighbors, and she’d do it

with strong wit and a Golden Girl

smile on her face,” he wrote. “If

you want to know about real

toughness, read up on how Betty

White helped win WWII. Now

THAT is tough.”

Restrictions return to US bases in Japan BY JOSEPH DITZLER,

ALEX WILSON

AND JONATHAN SNYDER

Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes reporter Mari Higa contributedto this report.ditzler.joseph@stripes.comTwitter: @JosephDitzler

JONATHAN SNYDER/Stars and Stripes

A Marine leaves the exchange Wednesday at Marine Corps Air StationIwakuni, Japan, where all patrons are required to wear a mask.

filed a lawsuit over the mandate,

but a federal judge ruled last week

against the state’s request for a

preliminary injunction on the

mandate, citing federal law allows

for it. In his ruling, U.S. District

Judge Stephen Friot noted the De-

fense Department mandates nine

other vaccines for all service

members.

Pentagon officials and Defense

Secretary Lloyd Austin have said

repeatedly that Austin has the au-

thority to set medical readiness re-

quirements.

Texas Attorney General Ken

Paxton did not immediately re-

spond to questions about how the

Texas lawsuit is different from

Stitt’s suit, but the court docu-

ments quote a federal judge’s deci-

sion released one day earlier that

ruled in favor of sailors opposed to

the vaccine mandate.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Con-

nor in Texas ruled the Navy cannot

discipline 35 sailors involved in a

lawsuit challenging the Penta-

gon’s coronavirus vaccine man-

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott filed a

lawsuit Tuesday against the feder-

al government over the Defense

Department’s mandate that all

troops, including the National

Guard, receive the coronavirus

vaccine or face discharge from

military service.

Abbott, along with fellow Re-

publican governors of six other

states, has said President Joe Bi-

den and the Pentagon cannot or-

der troops to be vaccinated unless

they are deployed by the federal

government. Otherwise, the

troops are under the command of

the governor.

“The federal courts have the

power to decide whether Presi-

dent Biden violates the U.S. Con-

stitution’s Second Militia Clause

by undermining my commander-

in-chief power, instead of federa-

lizing Texas’s guardsmen to use

his own commander-in-chief pow-

er,” Abbott wrote Tuesday in a let-

ter to the state’s top general, Maj.

Gen. Tracy R. Norris.

The case is not about “a position

of pro- or anti-vaccine,” according

the lawsuit. “Instead, this case

seeks protection from the federal

government’s unconstitutional ac-

tion to force Texas, through its

governor, to submit to federal or-

ders and impose federally dictated

disciplinary action on its National

Guardsmen,” according to the

court documents filed in U.S. Dis-

trict Court for the Eastern District

of Texas, Tyler Division.

The Texas Military Department

includes about 18,160 members of

the Army National Guard and

about 3,170 members of the Air

National Guard, according to a

2018 staff report.

The Air Force set a Dec. 2 dead-

line for all airmen to receive the

vaccine. In Texas, about 90% of Air

National Guard troops are fully

vaccinated, according to the Texas

Military Department. The re-

maining airmen are going through

the exemption process.

The department could not pro-

vide data on Army National Guard

troops because the deadline for

them to receive the vaccine isn’t

until June. However, the lawsuit

states about 40%

of soldiers and

220 airmen are

refusing the vac-

cine for religious

accommoda-

tions or other

reasons.

The Texas

lawsuit states the

military’s vaccine mandate will

“eliminate a substantial number of

Air and Army National Guard-

smen from the state’s military

forces.” This loss will harm Tex-

ans during natural disasters when

the Guard is frequently called up-

on to help, according to the law-

suit.

The lawsuit requests the court

declare the mandate violates the

U.S. Constitution and federal law

and halt its enforcement on troops

not deployed on federal orders.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt also

date. He said the Navy’s blanket

denial of all religious waivers was

a violation of sailors’ rights under

the First Amendment and the Reli-

gious Freedom Restoration Act.

Meanwhile, the Marine Corps

and Army have begun to discipline

or discharge troops for refusing

the vaccine.

In Texas, there are about 10,000

Guard troops deployed on state or-

ders for a mission along the border

with Mexico. Guard members de-

ployed to the border have access to

receive vaccines for the coronavi-

rus and the flu through their unit,

according to a statement from the

Texas Military Department.

“The decision whether or not to

receive a vaccination is a personal

matter each service member must

weigh. The Texas Military De-

partment provides the resources

necessary for each member to

make informed decisions,” ac-

cording to the statement.

Texas governor files lawsuit over mandate for Guard troopsBY ROSE L. THAYER

Stars and Stripes

thayer.rose@stripes.com Twitter: @Rose_Lori

Abbott

VIRUS OUTBREAK

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7

shots and therapeutic drugs have

lessened the danger for the over-

whelming majority of Americans

who are fully vaccinated.

“You can still get COVID, but it’s

highly unlikely, very unlikely, that

you’ll become seriously ill,” Biden

said of vaccinated people.

“There’s no excuse, there’s no

excuse for anyone being unvacci-

nated,” he added. “This continues

to be a pandemic of the unvaccinat-

ed.” He also encouraged Ameri-

cans, including newly eligible teen-

agers 12 to 15, to get a booster dose

of the vaccines for maximum pro-

tection.

Compared with last year, more

Americans are employed, most

kids are in classrooms, and instanc-

es of death and serious illness are

down — precipitously so among the

vaccinated.

“We’re in a very different place

than we were a year ago,” said

White House press secretary Jen

Psaki when asked if the country

had lost control of the virus.

Still, over the past several weeks

Americans have seen dire warn-

ings about hospitals reaching ca-

pacity amid staffing shortages,

thousands of holiday flight cancel-

lations in part because crews were

ill or in quarantine, and intermit-

tent reports of school closures be-

cause of the more-transmissible

variant.

On a conference call with gover-

nors, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s

top COVID-19 science adviser, said

Americans “should not be compla-

cent” even though initial data

shows the omicron variant to pro-

duce less severe disease than earli-

er strains. But, he said, the number

of people getting infected by omi-

cron “might overwhelm the posi-

tive impact of reduced severity”

and “severely stress our hospitals.”

While most schools across the

country remain open, Biden took

aim at those that have closed, say-

ing he believes they have the mon-

ey for testing and other safety mea-

sures. “I believe schools should re-

main open,” he said.

The president also announced

that the U.S. is doubling its order

for an anti-viral pill produced by

Pfizer that was recently authorized

by the FDA to prevent serious ill-

ness and death from COVID-19.

That means 20 million doses, with

the first 10 million pills to be deliv-

ered by June.

A senior administration official

said that combined with other ther-

apies, such as monoclonal antibod-

ies and convalescent plasma, 4 mil-

lion treatments that are effective

against the omicron variant would

be available by the end of January.

The pills are “a game changer

and have the potential to dramat-

ically alter the impact of CO-

VID-19, the impact it’s had on this

country and our people,” Biden

said.

Biden is under pressure to ease a

nationwide shortage of tests that

people are using to determine

whether they or their family mem-

bers are infected. Long lines and

chaotic scenes over the holidays

marred the administration’s image

as having the pandemic in hand.

“On testing, I know this remains

frustrating. Believe me it’s frus-

trating to me, but we’re making im-

provements,” Biden said.

In a reversal, the White House

announced last month that it would

make 500 million rapid antigen

tests available free to requesting

Americans, but it will be weeks, if

not months, before those tests are

widely available. The administra-

tion notes those tests are on top of

existing supply of rapid tests and

that even a small increase will help

ease some of the shortages. Addi-

tionally, private insurers will be re-

quired to cover the cost of at-home

tests starting later this month.

Test manufacturers had until

Tuesday night to respond to the

government’s contract request,

and the first awards are expected to

be made this week, Psaki said. The

administration is still developing a

system for Americans to order the

tests as well as a means to ship

them to people’s homes.

Pressed when the first tests

would reach Americans, Psaki

said, “I don’t have an update on that

at this point in time.”

In a letter Monday, GOP Sens.

Richard Burr and Roy Blunt, the

top Republicans on the Senate

Health, Education, Labor and Pen-

sions Committee and a Senate Ap-

propriations subcommittee on

health, respectively, pressed the

Department of Health and Human

Services for answers on how the

administration was working to ad-

dress nationwide testing shortages.

“With over $82.6 billion specifi-

cally appropriated for testing, and

flexibility within the department to

allocate additional funds from CO-

VID-19 supplemental bills or an-

nual appropriations if necessary, it

is unclear to us why we are facing

such dire circumstances now,”

they wrote. “It does not appear to

be because of lack of funding, but a

more fundamental lack of strategy

and a failure to anticipate future

testing needs by the administra-

tion.”

White House officials have noted

that the spike in testing demand is

driven not just by omicron, but by

people seeking to travel safely dur-

ing the holidays and return to

school after, and that the shortages

are global in nature.

“Turns out, Omicron is driving a

spike in demand for testing ... ev-

erywhere,” tweeted Ben Wakana,

the deputy director of strategic

communications & engagement for

the White House’s COVID-19 re-

sponse team, highlighting similar

shortages in the United Kingdom,

Canada and Australia.

Omicron: Biden under pressure to ease nationwide shortage of testsFROM PAGE 1

JAE C. HONG/AP

Registered nurse Emily Yu talks to Paul Altamirano, a 50­year­old COVID­19 patient, at Providence HolyCross Medical Center in Los Angeles on Monday. President Joe Biden said Tuesday the U.S. is doublingits order for an anti­viral pill that has been authorized to prevent serious illness and death from COVID­19.

VIRUS OUTBREAK

CHICAGO — Leaders of Chicago

Public Schools canceled classes

Wednesday after the teachers union

voted to switch to remote learning

due to the surge in COVID-19 cases,

the latest development in an escalat-

ing battle over pandemic safety pro-

tocols in the nation's third-largest

school district.

Chicago has rejected a district-

wide return to remote instruction,

saying it was disastrous for chil-

dren’s learning and mental health.

But the union argued the district’s

safety protocols are lacking and

both teachers and students are vul-

nerable. Students had returned to

class Monday in Chicago after a

two-week winter break with CO-

VID-19 infections and hospitaliza-

tions fueled by the omicron variant

at record levels. School districts na-

tionwide have grappled with the

same issue, with most opting to stay

open while ramping up virus test-

ing, tweaking protocols and making

other real-time adjustments in re-

sponse to the shifting pandemic.

The Chicago Teachers Union’s

action, approved by 73% of mem-

bers, called for remote instruction

until “cases substantially subside”

or union leaders approve an agree-

ment for safety protocols with the

district. Union members were in-

structed to try and log into teaching

systems Wednesday, even though

the district said there would be no

instruction and didn't distribute de-

vices to students ahead of the union

votes, which were announced just

before 11 p.m. Tuesday.

“This decision was made with a

heavy heart and a singular focus on

student and community safety,” the

union said in a statement.

However, district officials

blamed the union for the late cancel-

lation, saying despite safety mea-

sures, including a high teacher vac-

cination rate, “our teachers are not

willing to report to work.”

“We are deeply concerned about

this decision but even more con-

cerned about its impact on the

health, safety, and well-being of our

students and families," the district

said in a statement.

The status of instruction going

forward remained in limbo, while

district leaders said a plan to “con-

tinue student learning” would come

Wednesday. School officials

deemed the union action a “work

stoppage” and said those who did

not report would not be compensat-

ed. Last year during a similar de-

bate, the district punished teachers

who did not come to schools.

Chicago cancels classes after union backs remote learningAssociated Press

PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

NATION

ALBANY, N.Y. — Former New

York Gov. Andrew Cuomo won’t

face criminal prosecution over an

allegation that he fondled an aide,

after a prosecutor said Tuesday

that he couldn’t prove the case.

Three days before the Demo-

cratic ex-governor was due to an-

swer the misdemeanor charge in

court, Albany County District At-

torney David Soares asked a

judge to dismiss a criminal com-

plaint the county sheriff filed in

October.

“While we found the complai-

nant in this case

cooperative and

credible, after

review of all the

available evi-

dence, we have

concluded that

we cannot meet

our burden at

trial,” Soares said in a statement,

adding he was “deeply troubled”

by the allegation.

Soares, a Democrat, didn’t de-

tail why he felt it would be tough

to win a conviction.

In a letter to the judge, he said

“statutory elements of New York

law make this case impossible to

prove.” He added that multiple

government inquiries into Cuo-

mo’s conduct had created “tech-

nical and procedural hurdles” re-

garding prosecutors’ obligations

to disclose evidence to the de-

fense.

Soares said his office consid-

ered other potential criminal

charges, but none fit the allega-

tions.

Cuomo, who has vehemently

denied the allegation, had no im-

mediate comment on the develop-

ment, first reported by The

Times-Union of Albany.

The charges against Cuomo

were based on allegations by Brit-

tany Commisso, one of the gover-

nor’s executive assistants before

he resigned amid sexual miscon-

duct allegations in August.

Commisso said Cuomo slid his

hand up her blouse and grabbed

her breast when they were alone

in an office at the governor’s man-

sion in Albany in late 2020.

Her lawyer, Brian Premo, said

in a statement Tuesday that she

“had no control over the filing or

prosecution of criminal charges.

She had no authority or voice in

those decisions.

“The only thing she has any

power over is her resolution to

continue to speak the truth and

seek justice in an appropriate civ-

il action, which she will do in due

course,” he said.

In a statement to the Times-

Union, Commisso said her “disap-

pointing experience of re-victimi-

zation with the failure to prose-

cute” was “just another example

of where our criminal justice sys-

tem needs to do better.”

Prosecutor drops groping charge against former NY governorAssociated Press

Cuomo 

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia of-

ficials defending their response to

a blizzard that stranded hundreds

of motorists along a major inter-

state highway said conditions for

the gridlock were caused by a

combination of unusually heavy

snowfall, plunging temperatures

and a rainy start that kept them

from pretreating the roads.

There were no reported deaths

or injuries from the calamity on

Interstate 95, one of the nation’s

busiest highways, but plenty of

outrage from motorists, some of

whom were stranded overnight

Monday into Tuesday, posting

pleas for help on social media.

“We all need to be clear that this

was an incredibly unusual event,”

Gov. Ralph Northam said at a

news conference, adding that he

could understand drivers’ “frus-

tration and fear.”

Problems began Monday morn-

ing, when a truck jackknifed on In-

terstate 95 between Richmond

and Washington, triggering a

chain reaction as other vehicles

lost control, state police said.

They mounted throughout the

day as snow fell at a rate of up to 2

inches an hour, said Marcie Park-

er, a Virginia Department of

Transportation engineer leading

the effort to clear the interstate.

“That was entirely too much for

us to keep up with,” she told re-

porters. “Consequently, with the

amount of traffic that we had on

the interstate, the trucks and the

cars couldn’t make it up and down

the hills because we had too much

snow and ice out there.”

Northam defended his decision

not to activate the Virginia Nation-

al Guard or declare a state of

emergency.

He said the issue facing state

crews was not a lack of manpower,

but the difficulty of getting work-

ers and equipment through the

snow and ice. And he said a state of

emergency, which would typical-

ly be declared hours or days be-

fore an event to create extra flex-

ibility in responding, would have

done no good.

Up to 11 inchesof snow fell in the

area during Monday’s blizzard,

according to the National Weather

Service, and state police had

warned people to avoid driving

unless absolutely necessary.

Because the storm began with

rain, crews could not pretreat the

roads because the salt or chem-

icals would have washed away, of-

ficials said. Some traffic cameras

were also knocked out by power

outages. Parker said the inter-

state’s express lanes were not of

much use to clear the logjams, giv-

en the location of the backups.

Crews worked throughout the

day to clear the roadway, and traf-

fic spilled out onto secondary

roads, causing additional delays.

It took until around 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday for the Virginia Depart-

ment of Transportation to an-

nounce it had reopened the inter-

state after its crews ensured all

stranded motorists made it off the

highway and then cleared aban-

doned vehicles and plowed the

stretch.

Officials never provided an esti-

mate of the number of vehicles

that tied up in the jam. Photos

showed they numbered in the

hundreds, if not thousands.

Kelly Hannon, a spokeswoman

for the transportation depart-

ment, apologized to motorists for

the I-95 logjam and said the de-

partment would take an “exhaus-

tive look” at the incident.

PETER CIHELKA, THE (FREDERICKSBURG, VA.) FREE LANCE­STAR/AP

A tow truck pulls a semi­tractor off of southbound I­95 and onto Route 234 in Dumfries, Va., on Tuesday.

Va. officials defend response tosnowy traffic gridlock on I-95

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe

Manchin sounded a skeptical note

Tuesday about the prospects of

easing the Senate’s filibuster

rules, raising doubts about wheth-

er he will provide crucial support

to the Democrats’ renewed push

for voting legislation they say is

needed to protect democracy.

Manchin told reporters it was

his “absolute preference” that Re-

publicans support any changes

and he described acting on a pure-

ly partisan basis as a “heavy lift.”

Still, he did not slam the door com-

pletely shut, saying he was explor-

ing “the options we have open.”

“I think that for us to go it alone,

no matter what side does, it ends

up coming back at you pretty

hard,” Manchin said.

Manchin’s skepticism comes

just one day after Majority Leader

Chuck Schumer announced the

Senate will vote soon on easing the

filibuster rules.

In a letter Monday to col-

leagues, Schumer, D-N.Y., said

the Senate “must evolve” and will

“debate and consider” the rule

changes by Jan. 17, Martin Luther

King Jr. Day, as the Democrats

seek to overcome Republican op-

position to their elections law

package.

The election and voting rights

package has been stalled in the

evenly split 50-50 Senate, blocked

by a Republican-led filibuster

with Democrats unable to mount

the 60 votes needed to advance it

toward passage.

So far, Democrats have been

unable to agree among them-

selves over potential changes to

the Senate rules to reduce the 60-

vote hurdle, despite months of pri-

vate negotiations.

Two holdout Democrats, Man-

chin of West Virginia and Kyrsten

Sinema of Arizona, have tried to

warn their party off changes to the

Senate rules, arguing that if and

when Republicans take majority

control of the chamber, they

would use the lower voting thresh-

old to advance bills Democrats

strongly oppose.

How the Senate filibuster rules

would be changed remains under

discussion.

It seems certain that a full-scale

end of the filibuster is out of reach

for Democrats. Changing the

rules would need all 50 votes, and

Manchin and Sinema have made it

clear they are unwilling to go that

far.

Schumer said he has had sever-

al discussions with Manchin, and

that Manchin was “entertaining”

various proposals.

“I don’t want to give people the

illusion that he said he would be

for any of them at this point. It’s a

long, hard struggle,” Schumer

said.

But despite their reluctance on

major filibuster changes, Man-

chin and Sinema both support the

election legislation.

In fact, Manchin helped craft

the latest package in an unsuc-

cessful effort to win Republican

support.

Now the two Democrats’ col-

leagues are working on ways to

change the filibuster so at least

this legislation could pass.

Ideas include forcing senators

to hold the floor for extended peri-

ods, rather than simply raise their

filibuster objections — a scene

that would have echoes of the

1950s and 1960s when Southern

segregationists filibustered civil

rights legislation.

Manchin wary ofrules change topass voting bill

Associated Press

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9

NATION

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Pacif-

ic Gas & Electric power lines

sparked last summer’s Dixie Fire

in Northern California that swept

through five counties and burned

more than 1,300 homes and other

buildings, state fire officials said

Tuesday.

The blaze was caused by a tree

hitting electrical distribution lines

west of a dam in the Sierra Neva-

da, where the blaze began on July

13, according to investigators with

the California Department of For-

estry and Fire Protection.

Cal Fire said its investigative re-

port was sent to the Butte County

district attorney’s office, which

will determine whether criminal

charges should be filed.

The finding was no surprise.

PG&E already had indicated its

equipment may have been in-

volved in the Dixie Fire, which

burned nearly 1 million acres in

Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta,

and Tehama counties.

It was the second-largest fire in

state history.

“This tree was one of more than

8 million trees within strike dis-

tance to PG&E lines,” PG&E said

in a statement.

“Regardless of today’s finding,

we will continue to be tenacious in

our efforts to stop fire ignitions

from our equipment and to ensure

that everyone and everything is al-

ways safe.”

The company said it has com-

mitted to burying 10,000 miles of

power lines and taking other mea-

sures to help prevent wildfires.

Those have included shutting

off power to thousands — and in

one case, millions — of customers

during periods of hot, dry weather

coupled with high winds that can

knock down trees or hurl branch-

es into power lines.

A historic drought and recent

heat waves tied to climate change

have made wildfires fiercer and

harder to fight in the West.

PG&E blamed for last year’s massive wildfire across Northern Calif.Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For

the second time in a decade, Cali-

fornians will face mandatory re-

strictions governing their outdoor

water use as the state endures an-

other drought and voluntary con-

servation efforts have fallen short.

The rules adopted Tuesday by

the State Water Resources Con-

trol Board are fairly mild — no wa-

tering lawns for 48 hours after a

rainstorm or letting sprinklers run

onto the sidewalk— and could take

effect as soon as the end of the

month. Violators could face $500

daily fines, though regulators said

they expect such fines will be rare,

as they were in the last drought.

The action comes as Califor-

nians have failed to meet Gov. Ga-

vin Newsom’s call for a voluntary

15% reduction in water use com-

pared to last year.

Between July and November,

the state’s water usage went down

just 6%.

The new restrictions follow an

extremely wet December that

state officials warned may not

continue during the winter

months that normally are the

state’s wettest. Weather patterns

have become more unpredictable

due to climate change, and state

climatologist Michael Anderson

said forecasts show January, Feb-

ruary and March could be drier

than average.

Earlier forecasts didn’t predict

such a wet December, which saw

record amounts of rain and snow

in many areas. In mid-December,

about 80% of the state was in ex-

treme or exceptional drought con-

ditions. By the end of the month,

only about a third was experienc-

ing those conditions, according to

the U.S. Drought Monitor that tab-

ulates conditions. Meanwhile, the

state Department of Water Re-

sources announced Tuesday that

recent storms will allow the re-

sumption of hydropower genera-

tion at the Oroville Dam, which

was halted in early August due to

historically low lake levels.

Despite the rain, significant

parts of the state’s water system

are still under stress from the ex-

tremely dry conditions earlier in

2021 that dropped many of Cali-

fornia’s largest reservoirs to re-

cord and near-record lows.

“Conserving water and reduc-

ing water waste are critical and

necessary habits for everyone to

adopt as we adjust to these uncer-

tainties and we build resilience to

climate change, so adopting emer-

gency regulations now just makes

sense,” said Eric Oppenheimer,

chief deputy director for the state

water board. “We need to be pre-

pared for continued drought.”

Calif. adopts water restrictions as drought drags onAssociated Press

DENVER — A late-season wild-

fire pushed by hurricane-force

winds tore through two densely

populated Denver suburbs and

seemed destined to leave a trail of

deaths. Yet only two people are un-

accounted for out of some 35,000

forced from their homes.

It’s a remarkably low number of

possible casualties, according to

disaster experts and authorities,

all the more so because a public

alert system did not reach every-

one and the wintertime blaze

caught many people off-guard.

Several factors broke in favor of

the evacuees: The blaze came dur-

ing daylight and over the holidays

when many were at home, in most-

ly affluent neighborhoods where

most people have easy access to

vehicles.

It also might have helped that

the area has seasoned emergency

management personnel who have

worked other recent wildfires, ma-

jor floods in 2013 and a supermar-

ket mass shooting last March.

“In terms of the big picture it’s a

really miraculous evacuation,”

said Thomas Cova, a University of

Utah professor who researches

emergency management and

wildfire evacuations. “So close to

populated areas ... spot fires every-

where and 100-mile-per-hour

winds — I think it’s incredible

that’s there’s only two people mis-

sing.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said

the fire that destroyed almost 1,000

homes and damaged hundreds

more stands as a warning: “When

you get a pre-evac or evacuation

notice, hop to it.”

Officials have not said exactly

how many people were contacted

through the emergency system,

which sends a recorded alert or

text to phones. The alert undoubt-

edly saved lives, but some resi-

dents affected by the fire com-

plained in the aftermath that they

never received it.

Neil Noble, who fled his Louis-

ville home Thursday, said the first

he heard of the fire was from a Fe-

dEx delivery driver who knocked

on his door to drop off a package.

After setting out for an errand and

seeing gridlocked traffic as the

smoke plume grew, he decided to

leave with his three teenage chil-

dren.

“I’ve talked to dozens of people,

even those whose houses burned

down, and nobody seems to have

received any kind of notification,”

he said.

Alerts went out to people with

landlines because their numbers

are automatically enrolled in the

system and those with cellphones

and VoIP phones who enrolled on-

line, Boulder County Sheriff Joe

Pelle said. He also noted that peo-

ple with landlines might not have

received the evacuation order be-

cause those very lines had been

burned by the fire.

According to Everbridge, the

company that created the notifica-

tion system, more than half of

households in the country rely en-

tirely on cellphones and don’t have

landlines.

Noble, who does not have a lan-

dline and didn’t know he had to

sign up for the alerts on his cell-

phone, said it would be an uphill

battle to get tens of thousands of

people to manually sign up for the

service, causing unnecessary risk.

“We were fortunate enough it

happened in the daytime, you

know. You could see the plume get-

ting worse and worse,” he said. “At

night, this would have been deadly

with this lack of communication.”

Past fires have shown that wild-

fire alert system subscription

rates can be as low as 30% to 40%,

Cova said. But not every household

needs to receive an emergency

alert for it to be effective, since

people will quickly share the news

with their neighbors and friends,

he said.

The Boulder County fire ignited

shortly after 11 a.m. on Dec. 30,

when schools were closed and

many people were either home

from work or working from home

due to the pandemic.

That avoided a scenario in

which anxious parents scrambled

to find their children rather than

flee immediately, said Lori Peek,

director of the Natural Hazards

Center at the University of Colora-

do Boulder.

Most people in the suburban

neighborhoods that burned likely

had access to vehicles, a contrast

with other disasters such as Hurri-

cane Katrina, where a quarter of

New Orleans’ population had no

personal transportation, said

Peek, who lives and works just

miles from the burned area.

And while the emergency notifi-

cation system didn’t reach every-

one, Boulder-area residents have

seen enough fires along the Front

Range communities at the foot of

the Rocky Mountains to react

quickly when smoke appears on

the horizon, she said.

Fire’s timing, location likely helped evacueesAssociated Press

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP

Members of the Stephens family sift through the remains of their home destroyed by wildfires Tuesday inSuperior, Colo.

PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

NATION

WASHINGTON — A year after

thousands of violent pro-Donald

Trump rioters overwhelmed police

officers at the U.S. Capitol — se-

verely injuring dozens in the proc-

ess — the force dedicated to protect-

ing the premier symbol of Ameri-

can democracy has transformed.

The leaders who were in charge

of the U.S. Capitol Police on Jan. 6

were ousted following criticism for

intelligence and other failures that

left the legislative branch vulnera-

ble to the stunning attack. And more

broadly, the agency that was once

little-known outside of Washington

now has an elevated profile, leading

to a roughly 15% increase in funding

and a greater awareness of its role in

the patchwork of groups that pro-

tect the region.

With the nation’s political divide

running deep and an unpreceden-

ted number of threats against law-

makers, there is still concern about

the readiness of the Capitol Police to

thwart another attack. But experts

say the shock of the insurrection has

prompted needed changes, includ-

ing better communication among

the Capitol Police, other law en-

forcement agencies and the public.

“It’s a sea change between this

year and last year in terms of how

the Capitol Police are thinking, and

operating,” said Chuck Wexler, the

head of the Police Executive Re-

search Forum, an organization that

focuses on professionalism in polic-

ing. “They’re going to be over-pre-

pared, and willing to be criticized

for being over-prepared.”

As the temporary public face of

the department, then-acting Police

Chief Yogananda Pittman conced-

ed to Congress in February that

multiple levels of failures allowed

rioters to storm the building. But

she disputed the notion that law en-

forcement had failed to take the

threat seriously, noting how Capitol

Police several days before the riot

had distributed an internal docu-

ment warning that extremists were

poised for violence.

The police department had com-

piled numerous intelligence docu-

ments suggesting the crowd could

turn violent and even target Con-

gress. The intelligence documents,

obtained by The Associated Press,

warned that crowds could number

in the tens of thousands and include

members of extremist groups like

the Proud Boys.

The Capitol Police Board has

oversight of the force and is com-

prised of the House and Senate ser-

geants-at-arms and the architect of

the Capitol, who oversees the build-

ing. It passed over Pittman in its

search for a permanent chief and, in

July, selected J. Thomas Manger,

the former chief of the police de-

partments in Fairfax County, Va.,

and Montgomery County, Md.

Manger has focused on making

major changes to the agency, which

includes 1,800 sworn police officers

and nearly 400 civilian employees.

He’s ordered new equipment for

front-line officers and officers as-

signed to the civil disturbance unit

while expanding training sessions

with the National Guard and other

agencies. He’s also pushed for

stronger peer support and mental

health services for officers.

“I think that the damage that was

done on Jan. 6 was not just the phys-

ical damage to the Capitol itself. It

was not just the harm, the injuries,

the deaths that occurred to the men

and women of the Capitol Police De-

partment, to the demonstrators, to

the folks that were on the Capitol

grounds that day,” Manger said in

an interview with the AP in Septem-

ber. “The damage went beyond

that. It went to where it damaged, I

think, the confidence of the Ameri-

can public that the Capitol could be

adequately protected.”

In the last year, Capitol Police say

they have also improved the way

that investigators gather, analyze

and disseminate intelligence and

have brought on someone dedicated

to planning major events to focus on

intelligence and coordination. The

agency has also started conducting

planning sessions and exercises

ahead of major events and is brief-

ing officers in person.

But even with a new chief and ma-

jor changes to operations, questions

still remain about whether the Capi-

tol is adequately protected.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who

chairs the Senate Intelligence Com-

mittee, said he had been calling the

FBI for days leading up to the attack

and had been assured officials were

prepared. But as he made his way to

the Senate floor for the certification

of Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral

votes, he saw the crowd of protes-

ters coming up the hill through the

Capitol windows.

“I’ve been here a long time and

lived in Washington for years, and

never before had I seen protesters

appearing to be that close to the

building, and there was a lot of

them,” Warner told the AP last

month. What happened next, he

says, could only be described as

chaotic, “ad hoc,” and an embar-

rassment of a response.

The Capitol Police watchdog has

said only a small number of the rec-

ommendations he made to make the

Capitol complex “safe and secure”

have been adopted. And he says

there were clear systemic issues

identified after the insurrection.

“The Department still lacks an

overall training infrastructure to

meet the needs of the department,

the level of intelligence gathering

and expertise needed, and an over-

all cultural change needed to move

the department into a protective

agency as opposed to a traditional

police department,” Inspector Gen-

eral Michael Bolton told lawmakers

on the Senate Rules Committee last

month.

Police say they have been focused

on “completing the recommenda-

tions that could help prevent anoth-

er attack” and have detailed plans in

place to address the dozens of rec-

ommendations from the inspector

general.

Still, the most pressing issue the

force faces is staffing shortages.

Manger plans to hire about 400 new

officers and officials plan to bring on

about 280 sworn officers this year.

“The United States Capitol Police

is stronger than it was before Janu-

ary 6,” the agency said in a state-

ment.

“We are incredibly proud of the

work our dedicated employees

have done during this challenging

year.”

Riot prompts year of change for Capitol PoliceBY MICHAEL BALSAMO

AND FARNOUSH AMIRI

Associated Press

ANDREW HARNIK/AP

Capitol Police hold rioters at gunpoint near the House Chamber inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A ru-

ral Alaska man who threatened to

kill the state’s two U.S. senators in

a series of profanity-laced voice

messages left at their offices in

Washington has pleaded guilty to

making the threats in exchange for

having other charges dropped.

Jay Allen Johnson, 65, entered

his guilty pleas Monday in federal

court in Fairbanks to two counts of

threatening to kill a U.S. official.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Beis-

tline accepted Johnson’s pleas and

set sentencing for April 8.

Johnson, who has been in custo-

dy since his arrest Oct. 4, has asked

for an earlier sentencing.

He faces up 10 years in jail on

each charge and will be under a

protective order for three years

not to contact Sens. Lisa Murkow-

ski and Dan Sullivan, any of their

family members or staff.

He also must forfeit two pistols,

three revolvers, a shotgun and a ri-

fle found at his home in the small

community of Delta Junction. He’s

not legally able to own handguns

because he’s a felon for repeated

drunken driving convictions.

In exchange for his guilty plea to

the two counts, the government

agreed to drop four other charges

against Johnson, including mak-

ing interstate threats and threat-

ening to damage property by fire

or explosives.

“Threatening public officials in

an attempt to interfere with the

performance of their duties is anti-

thetical to our democratic system

of governance,” John E. Kuhn Jr.,

the U.S. attorney for the District of

Alaska, said in a statement. “To

protect the functions of our gov-

ernment institutions and our pub-

lic officials themselves, the De-

partment of Justice will work to

ensure our elected officials can

serve without fear of harm.”

Johnson was charged after leav-

ing 17 threatening voicemail mess-

ages between April and Septem-

ber, as outlined in both Johnson’s

indictment and in the plea agree-

ment.

In one message left Sept. 2 for

Murkowski, he said, “You, my

dear, are not welcomed in the state

of Alaska,” and vowed to shut her

down.

“I will find out all your proper-

ties, and I will burn everything you

hope to have, and I will burn every-

thing you hope to own,” the mess-

age said.

He then claimed he could tap his

skills as a “veteran,” using a .50

caliber shell.

“You ever seen what that does to

a human head?” he said.

Prosecutors said they found no

evidence that Johnson served in

the U.S. military, confirming what

the services earlier told The Asso-

ciated Press, that they could find

no record for him.

Later that month, he left another

voicemail for Murkowski, claim-

ing he would hire an assassin for

$5,000 to kill her. “Just resign or

get the f—- gone,” he said.

Catherine Pousson-Johnson tes-

tified during her husband’s deten-

tion hearing in October that he was

recovering from recent surgeries.

“He’s in pain right now. My hus-

band is an old man, and he gets ve-

ry angry listening to politics on the

news,” she said.

Man who threatened to kill Alaska’s US senators pleads guiltyAssociated Press

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP

An Alaska man pleaded guiltyMonday to threatening to killAlaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski andDan Sullivan, above.

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11

AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Dad drove fast, but baby was faster

LA PINEVILLE — Her fa-

ther was driving his

work truck at 70 mph to a hospital,

but a Louisiana New Year’s baby

was faster.

Isabella Grace Bordelon was

born at 12:15 a.m. Jan. 1 on Loui-

siana Highway 28 in Pineville,

news outlets reported. The hospi-

tal found her healthy, 7 pounds

and 11 ounces and 19.75 inches

long.

Amy Bordelon told The Town

Talk that her contractions started

as she, her husband, Josh, and

their two older daughters were

getting ready for bed on New

Year’s Eve.

Their home in Manifest is about

50 miles from the hospital in Alex-

andria. It was quicker to drive

than to call an ambulance.

Their truck hit a deer. They

didn’t stop.

They had just arrived in Pine-

ville, across the Red River from

Alexandria, when the baby made

its entrance.

Feds: Cocaine shippedinside old television

RI PROVIDENCE — A

Rhode Island man ac-

cused of taking possession of more

than a kilogram of cocaine that

had been shipped from Colombia

inside an old television was de-

tained by federal authorities, fed-

eral prosecutors said.

Jomar Cruz-Aponte, 25, of Paw-

tucket, is charged with conspiracy

to possess 500 grams or more of

cocaine with intent to distribute,

according to a statement from the

U.S. attorney’s office in Providen-

ce.

U.S. Customs and Border Pro-

tection intercepted a package

shipped from Colombia on Dec. 22

that, according to shipping docu-

ments, contained an “old TV with-

out commercial value,” prosecu-

tors said. But the tube-model TV

was found to contain more than 1

kilogram of cocaine, prosecutors

said.

Authorities removed the co-

caine and delivered the package to

a Pawtucket doorstep. Cruz-

Aponte was seen by police taking

the package and then leaving the

area in a car, prosecutors allege.

Falling New Year’s bullethit boy, broke 2 teeth

LA NEW ORLEANS — Po-

lice were investigating

after a 10-year-old boy was hit in

the face by a bullet that was fired

during New Year’s Eve celebra-

tions and fell from the sky.

The bullet went in Fabian Riv-

era’s cheek and out his throat. It

broke two of his teeth, he told

WWL-TV.

He was on a swing set in the

backyard of a home in New Or-

leans when the bullet fell, WWL-

TV reported.

Fabian was taken to a hospital,

and is now recovering at home.

Dad buying chocolatemilk for kids wins $1M

VA CHESTERFIELD — A

Virginia man who stop-

ped by a convenience store to buy

his kids chocolate milk also

bought a $1 million scratch-off lot-

tery ticket.

WRIC reported that Dennis

Willoughby of Chesterfield Coun-

ty bought the ticket at a 7-Eleven

right before Christmas. He decid-

ed to buy the ticket while he was in

the store.

The Virginia Lottery said he

chose to receive a one-time cash

payout instead of annual pay-

ments over 30 years. That makes

the north Chesterfield County dad

$640,205 richer.

Firefighters rescueloon on frozen pond

ME MONMOUTH — A

fire department came

to the rescue of a loon on a frozen

pond in Maine.

The problem for the birds at this

time of the year is that ice can

leave them without enough open

water they need to take off.

Because of the ice, the loon

couldn’t take flight from Tacoma

Lake.

It took firefighters about two

hours to get the bird, which was

about a quarter-mile from shore,

the Kennebec Journal reported.

Avian Haven, a rehabilitation

center for wild birds, reached out

to the Monmouth Fire Depart-

ment for help after keeping an eye

on the iced-in loon on Tacoma

Pond.

Loons normally depart frozen

lakes and spend the winter off-

shore, but sometimes they wait too

late to depart, said Diane Winn,

Avian’s executive director.

Fire chief accused of taking snowplow

VT BRATTLEBORO — A

Vermont fire depart-

ment chief was accused of remov-

ing a snowplow from a housing

cooperative without authority.

Police said Rusty Sage, chief of

the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Com-

pany, was arrested and charged

with grand larceny in Brattleboro,

the Brattleboro Reformer

reported.

Brian Emerson, the president of

the Tri-Park Cooperative Housing

Cooperation, said he learned the

plow was missing on Dec. 14.

Emerson said Sage, who lives

near the housing cooperative, was

an on-call employee for it and was

contacted on occasion for help

plowing its roads.

Woman rescued aftertruck goes off cliff

WA KALAMA — Author-

ities said a woman

was rescued after her pickup

truck went off a cliff and into the

river near Kalama.

KOIN reported that the Cowlitz

County Fire District 5 received a

report a vehicle went over an em-

bankment.

Cowlitz Fire Chief Victor Leat-

zow said crews found a woman

about 40-50 feet down the cliff,

and the truck was another 10 to 30

feet below her.

The woman reportedly freed

herself from the vehicle. Clark

County’s Regional Tech Rescue

used ropes to help get the woman

out.

Man who saved girl frombay receives medal

MD BERLIN — A Mary-

land man who jump-

ed into a bay from a bridge to res-

cue a drowning toddler was

awarded the Carnegie Medal, a

national honor that recognizes ci-

vilians who put themselves in dan-

gerous situations to save others.

Jonathan Bauer of Berlin was

among the 17 medal recipients

that the Carnegie Hero Fund

Commission announced last

month. He will also receive a fi-

nancial grant.

The 51-year-old leapt into the

Assawoman Bay in Ocean City on

May 2 to save a girl who was eject-

ed from her family’s pickup truck

during a five-vehicle crash on the

Route 90 bridge.

Bauer was on the bridge, and he

got out of his vehicle to check on

the truck that teetered over the

guardrail.

After noticing an empty car seat

and the toddler in the bay, he

jumped 30 feet into the water.

JIM SLOSIAREK, THE GAZETTE (CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA)/AP

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, city worker Tom Turner shoots snow over a flood wall into the Cedar River next to the Veterans Memorial Building in CedarRapids. A winter storm dropped up to 7 inches of snow in parts of Iowa over the weekend.

Clearing the way

THE CENSUS

21 The number of years a man was sentenced to serve for robbingor trying to rob 21 Trader Joe’s grocery stores throughout

Southern California. Gregory Johnson, 44, of Huntington Park was sentenced forthe holdups that were committed between Aug. 28 and Dec. 4 of 2020 and theattempted robberies of two stores, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Johnson andhis son, Gregory Eric Johnson, 20, were arrested after a witness provided a de-cription of the car and its license plate. Johnson pleaded guilty in May to robberyand brandishing a firearm during a violent crime. His son pleaded guilty in Marchto robbing several stores and was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

From The Associated Press

PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

NATION

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadel-

phia man was freed from prison

Tuesday after 37 years in a case

marred by detectives who allegedly

offered a witness sex and drugs at

police headquarters in 1983 in ex-

change for false testimony.

The trial witness was charged

with perjury just days after Willie

Stokes was convicted of murder in

1984. But Stokes didn’t learn about

that perjury plea until 2015, decades

into a life sentence.

Stokes, 61, walked out of a state

prison near Philadelphia eager to

get a hug from his mother and a

corned beef hoagie. His mother was

too nervous to come after several

earlier disappointments, so he

greeted other family members in-

stead.

“Today is a tremendous day.

We’re all very thankful,” said his

lawyer, Michael Diamondstein.

“However, it’s also a sad day, be-

cause it reminds us of how lawless,

unfair and unjust Philadelphia law

enforcement was for so long.”

Both detectives who allegedly of-

fered witness Franklin Lee a sex-

for-lies deal to help them close a

1980 murder case are now de-

ceased. Lee was in custody on unre-

lated rape and murder charges at

the time, and said he was also prom-

ised a light sentence.

“I fell weak and went along with

the offer,” Lee told a federal judge in

November, recalling his testimony

at a May 1984 preliminary hearing

when he claimed Stokes, a neigh-

borhood friend, had confessed to

killing a man during a dice game

named Leslie Campbell.

Lee recanted the story at Stokes’

murder trial in August 1984, but

Stokes was nonetheless convicted

and sent to prison for life. Days later,

Philadelphia prosecutors charged

Lee with perjury — not over his trial

testimony, but over the initial testi-

mony he’d given at the preliminary

hearing. Lee pleaded guilty, admit-

ting he’d made up the confession,

and was sentenced to a maximum

seven-year prison term.

“The homicide prosecutors that

used Franklin Lee’s testimony to

convict Willie Stokes then prosecut-

ed Franklin Lee for lying on Willie

Stokes. And they never told Willie

Stokes,” Diamondstein argued at

the November hearing in federal

court.

Stokes’ mother, now elderly, has

been planning for his homecoming

as his appeals gained traction, only

to face repeated setbacks, she told

The Philadelphia Inquirer, which

first reported on the case.

But Lee’s mother also played a

role early on.

In federal court testimony last

November, Lee said his girlfriend —

who detectives summoned to have

sex with him at police headquarters

back in 1983 and who was allowed to

bring marijuana and a few dozen

opioid pills — told his mother about

the deal he’d struck.

His mother told the woman not to

go down to the station again. In-

stead, police secured him a sex

worker the next time, Lee said.

“Once I talked to my mother, she

told me, ‘I didn’t raise you like that,

to lie on a man because you got your-

self in a jam,’ ” Lee testified, accord-

ing to the transcript. “She said, ‘I

couldn’t care if they give you 1,000

years. Go in there and tell the truth.’

And that’s what I did.”

Philadelphia police offered no

immediate comment on the case.

The U.S. magistrate who heard

the appeal called the omission an

“egregious violation of (Stokes’)

constitutional rights,” and a U.S.

district judge agreed, overturning

the conviction last week.

Lee served 35 years on the rape,

murder and perjury charges. He got

out of prison two years ago and

works as an assembly line supervi-

sor. He apologized to Stokes in court

“for the problem I caused.”

MATT ROURKE/AP

Willie Stokes walks from a state prison in Chester, Pa., on Tuesday,after his 1984 murder conviction was overturned because of perjuredwitness testimony. 

Pa. man free after 37years due to ‘sex forlies’ false witness

BY MARYCLAIRE DALE

Associated Press

ATLANTA — Facing an unusual

challenge from fellow Republi-

cans in his bid for a second term,

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said

Wednesday he will push for a new

state law that would loosen re-

quirements to carry a handgun in

public.

Kemp made the announcement

at a gun shop outside Atlanta that

bills itself as the “world’s largest

gun store,” where he was joined by

members of the National Rifle As-

sociation and state lawmakers.

Kemp did not lay out specific

changes he was seeking but ex-

pressed support for what gun

rights advocates call “constitu-

tional carry.” Multiple bills pur-

porting to advance that idea in the

state Legislature would do away

with the need for a license to carry

ahandgun in public — either open-

ly or concealed on one’s body.

“Building a safer, stronger Ge-

orgia starts with hardworking Ge-

orgians having the ability to pro-

tect themselves and their fam-

ilies,” Kemp said. “In the face of

rising violent crime across the

country, law-abiding citizens

should have their constitutional

rights protected.”

The move drew condemnation

from gun safety advocates and the

campaign of Kemp’s likely Demo-

cratic opponent in this year’s gov-

ernor’s race, Stacey Abrams.

Kemp emphasized his support

for the 2nd Amendment during his

first campaign for governor, ap-

pearing in multiple ads with shot-

guns, including one in which he

brandished a shotgun at an actor

playing a suitor

of one of his

daughters.

“The same guy

who pointed a

gun at a teenager

on TV now pan-

ders with reck-

less proposals

threatening Georgia lives,”

Abrams’ campaign manager, Lau-

ren Groh-Wargo, said in a tweet.

“As her opponents run to danger-

ous extremes and fight desperate-

ly to salvage their political careers,

@staceyabrams is fighting for Ge-

orgians and their safety.”

More than 20 other states allow

concealed weapons in public with-

out a permit, according to State-

line, an initiative of the Pew Char-

itable Trusts.

The Georgia chapter of Moms

Demand Action said the laws “sig-

nificantly hinder law enforce-

ment’s ability to prevent people

with dangerous histories — in-

cluding extremists and white su-

premacists with criminal histories

—to carry firearms, putting public

safety in jeopardy.”

Kemp endorsed “constitutional

carry” during his first campaign,

but has been less vocal about the

policy since taking office. He

failed to mention the issue in his

2019, 2020 or 2021 State of the State

speeches, when governors urge

their top priorities on lawmakers.

He said Wednesday he has been

fulfilling campaign promises

while also dealing with the pan-

demic and needed the Legislature

to pass a constitutional carry bill

before he could sign it. Georgia

House Speaker David Ralston has

indicated he is open to some form

of permitless carry legislation this

year after setting aside a gun-re-

lated bill in the closing hours of the

regular session last year, saying it

was too soon after the shooting

deaths of eight people at massage

businesses in metro Atlanta.

But one of Kemp’s Republican

challengers, former U.S. Sen. Da-

vid Perdue, has identified “consti-

tutional carry” as a top issue and

slammed Kemp for failing to deliv-

er it. With support from former

President Donald Trump, Perdue

announced in December that he

was entering the governor’s race.

Perdue lost his Senate seat to Dem-

ocrat Jon Ossoff in a January 2021

runoff.

Georgia currently requires peo-

ple to obtain a license to carry a

loaded handgun outside their own

home, business, or car, although

people can carry rifles and shot-

guns in many places without a per-

mit and carry unloaded guns in

cases.

To obtain a weapons license,

state residents must submit an ap-

plication and fee and undergo fin-

gerprinting and a background

check. Convicted felons and peo-

ple who have been hospitalized for

mental health problems or re-

ceived treatment for drugs or alco-

hol in the years preceding the ap-

plication are not eligible.

One key question, if licenses are

abolished, is what the state would

do, if anything, to try to prevent

convicted felons and people with

mental illness from carrying

handguns outside.

Ga. governor aims to loosenrules for carrying handguns

Associated Press

Kemp

NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana’s

governor posthumously pardoned

Homer Plessy on Wednesday,

more than a century after the Black

man was arrested in an unsuccess-

ful attempt to overthrow a Jim

Crow law creating “whites-only”

train cars.

The Plessy vs. Ferguson case

went to the U.S. Supreme Court,

which ushered in a half-century of

laws calling for “separate but

equal” accommodations that kept

Black people in segregated schools,

housing, theaters and other venues.

Gov. John Bel Edwards held the

pardon ceremony near the spot

near where Plessy was arrested in

1892 for breaking a Louisiana law

requiring Black people to ride in

cars that the law described as

“equal but separate” from those for

white customers. The date is close

to the 125th anniversary of Plessy’s

guilty plea in New Orleans.

The purpose “is not to erase what

happened 125 years ago but to ac-

knowledge the wrong that was

done,” Phoebe Ferguson, the great-

great-granddaughter of the county

judge who imposed Plessy’s puni-

shment, said during the ceremony.

It spotlights New Orleans as the

cradle of the civil rights movement,

said Keith Plessy, whose great-

great-grandfather was Plessy’s

cousin — Homer Plessy had no

children.

The state Board of Pardons rec-

ommended the pardon on Nov. 12

for Plessy, who was a 30-year-old

shoemaker when he boarded the

train car as a member of a small civ-

il rights group hoping to overturn

the law. Instead, the 1896 ruling so-

lidified whites-only spaces in pub-

lic accommodations until a later

Supreme Court unanimously over-

turned it in Brown vs. Board of

Education in 1954. Both cases ar-

gued that segregation laws violated

the 14th Amendment’s right to

equal protection.

In Plessy, Justice Henry Billings

Brown wrote for the 7-1 majority:

“Legislation is powerless to eradi-

cate racial instincts or to abolish

distinctions based upon physical

differences.”

Justice John Harlan, the dissent-

er, wrote that he believed the ruling

“will, in time, prove to be quite as

pernicious as the decision made by

this tribunal in the Dred Scott

Case.”

That 1857 decision said no Black

person who had been enslaved or

was descended from a slave could

become a U.S. citizen. It was over-

turned by the 13th and 14th Amend-

ments, passed in 1865 and 1866.

La. governor pardons Plessy more thancentury after ‘separate but equal’ ruling

Associated Press

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13

emerged: Klyushin was not only an accused

insider trader, but a Kremlin insider. He ran

an information technology company that

works with the Russian government’s top

echelons. Just 18 months earlier, Klyushin re-

ceived a medal of honor from Russian Presi-

dent Vladimir Putin. The United Stateshad, in

its custody, the highest-level Kremlin insider

handed to U.S. law enforcement in recent

memory.

Klyushin’s cybersecurity work and Krem-

MOSCOW — In the days before Christmas,

U.S. officials in Boston unveiled insider trad-

ing charges against a Russian tech tycoon they

had been pursuing for months. They accused

Vladislav Klyushin, who’d been extradited

from Switzerland on Dec. 18, of illegally mak-

ing tens of millions of dollars trading on

hacked corporate-earnings information.

Yet as authorities laid out their securities

fraud case, a striking portrait of the detainee

lin ties could make him a useful source of in-

formation for U.S. officials, according to sev-

eral people familiar with Russian intelligence

matters. Most critically, these people said, if

he chooses to cooperate, he could provide

Americans with their closest view yet of 2016

election manipulation.

According to people in Moscow who are

close to the Kremlin and security services,

Russian intelligence has concluded that Kly-

ushin, 41, has access to documents relating to a

Russian campaign to hack Democratic Party

servers during the 2016 U.S. election. These

documents, they said, establish that the hack-

ing was led by a team in Russia’s GRU mili-

tary intelligence which U.S. cybersecurity

companies have dubbed “Fancy Bear” or

APT28.

Such a cache would provide the U.S. with

detailed documentary evidence for the first

time of the alleged Russian efforts to influence

the election, according to these people.

US catches Kremlin insider who may have secrets of 2016 hackBloomberg News

WORLD

MOSCOW — Protesters in Ka-

zakhstan’s largest city stormed

the presidential residence and the

mayor’s office on Wednesday and

set both buildings on fire, accord-

ing to new reports, as demonstra-

tions sparked by a rise in fuel pric-

es in the Central Asian nation es-

calated sharply.

Police fired on some protesters

at the presidential palace before

fleeing. They have clashed repeat-

edly with demonstrators in recent

days, deploying water cannons in

the freezing weather, tear gas and

concussion grenades.

The government resigned in re-

sponse to the unrest and the presi-

dent vowed to take harsh mea-

sures to quell it. In possibly the

first of those efforts, Kazakh news

sites became inaccessible late in

the day, and the global watchdog

organization Netblocks said the

country was experiencing a per-

vasive internet blackout.

Although the protests began

over a near-doubling of prices for

a type of liquefied gas that is wide-

ly used as vehicle fuel, the size and

rapid spread of the unrest suggest

they reflect wider discontent in

the country

Hours after thousands of dem-

onstrators gathered outside the

presidential residence in Almaty,

Russia’s Tass news agency report-

ed that it was on fire and that dem-

onstrators, some wielding fire-

arms, were trying to break into it.

The protests that began Sunday

in Zhanaozen appear to have no

identifiable leader or demands.

Report: Kazakh president’s homeset on fire as protests escalate

Associated Press

VLADIMIR TRETYAKOV/AP

Riot police walk to block demonstrators during a protest Wednesdayin Almaty, Kazakhstan.

PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher

Lt. Col. Marci Hoffman, Europe commander

John Rodriguez, Europe chief of staff

Lt. Col. Michael Kerschbaum, Pacific commander

Michael Ryan, Pacific chief of staff

EDITORIAL

Terry Leonard, Editorleonard.terry@stripes.com

Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editorreid.robert@stripes.com

Sean Moores, Managing Editor for Presentationmoores.sean@stripes.com

BUREAU STAFF

Europe/MideastErik Slavin, Europe & Mideast Bureau Chiefslavin.erik@stripes.com

+49(0)631.3615.9350; DSN (314)583.9350

PacificAaron Kidd, Pacific Bureau Chiefkidd.aaron@stripes.com

+81.42.552.2511 ext. 88380; DSN (315)227.7380

WashingtonJoseph Cacchioli, Washington Bureau Chiefcacchioli.joseph@stripes.com

(+1)(202)886-0033

Brian Bowers, Assistant Managing Editor, Newsbowers.brian@stripes.com

CIRCULATION

MideastDavid Schultz, District Managerschultz.david@stripes.comxsscirculation@stripes.com+49(0)152.5672.5036; DSN (314)583-9111

EuropeKaren Lewis, Community Engagement Managerlewis.karen@stripes.commemberservices@stripes.com

+49(0)631.3615.9090; DSN (314)583.9090

PacificMari Mori, customerhelp@stripes.com +81-3 6385.3171; DSN (315)227.7333

CONTACT US

Washingtontel: (+1)202.886.0003

633 3rd St. NW, Suite 116, Washington, DC 20001-3050

Reader lettersletters@stripes.com

Additional contactsstripes.com/contactus

OMBUDSMAN

Ernie GatesThe Stars and Stripes ombudsman protects the free flowof news and information, reporting any attempts by the

military or other authorities to undermine the newspaper’sindependence. The ombudsman also responds to concerns

and questions from readers, and monitors coverage forfairness, accuracy, timeliness and balance. The ombudsmanwelcomes comments from readers, and can be contacted by

email at ombudsman@stripes.com, or by phone at202.886.0003.

Stars and Stripes (USPS 0417900) is published week-days (except Dec. 25 and Jan. 1) for 50 cents Mondaythrough Thursday and for $1 on Friday by Pacific Stars andStripes, Unit 45002, APO AP 96301-5002. Periodicalspostage paid at San Francisco, CA, Postmaster: Sendaddress changes to Pacific Stars and Stripes, Unit 45002,APO AP 96301-5002. This newspaper is authorized by theDepartment of Defense for members of the military servicesoverseas. However, the contents of Stars and Stripes areunofficial, and are not to be considered as the official viewsof, or endorsed by, the U.S. government. As a DOD newspa-per, Stars and Stripes may be distributed through officialchannels and use appropriated funds for distribution toremote locations where overseas DOD personnel are located.

The appearance of advertising in this publication doesnot constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense orStars and Stripes of the products or services advertised.Products or services advertised shall be made available forpurchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color,religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physicalhandicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor ofthe purchaser, user or patron.

© Stars and Stripes 2022

stripes.com

OPINION

As the anniversary of the Jan. 6

storming of the U.S. Capitol ap-

proaches, there’s an overriding

question for Americans who sup-

port the rule of law: Has this extremist insur-

rection been contained, or is it spreading?

The searing answer is that we don’t know.

To many, democracy seems under threat

more than ever. Donald Trump’s lies about a

stolen 2020 election are supported by a ma-

jority of his party, a survey this month shows.

A recent Washington Post-University of Ma-

ryland poll found that 1 in 3 Americans be-

lieve violence against the government can

sometimes be justified.

But the fight to save our democracy is gath-

ering strength — and some of the most impor-

tant combatants are largely invisible. For the

past year, the Justice Department and FBI

have been conducting a nationwide cam-

paign to identify and prosecute the extre-

mists who invaded the Capitol. It doesn’t get

the headlines it should, but this law enforce-

ment effort is unprecedented — and it’s the

country’s best hope for restoring the rule of

law peacefully.

Some statistics have been well-publicized:

725 people have been arrested for crimes as-

sociated with the Jan. 6 insurrection, and 165

have pleaded guilty to federal charges. More

important, investigations of extremists link-

ed to Jan. 6 are underway in all 56 FBI field

offices around the country, and prosecutions

are being prepared by nearly every U.S. at-

torney’s office. Justice Department officials

say there has never been a dragnet of this

scope — not against the Mafia, international

terrorism or any other threat.

Attorney General Merrick Garland will

describe this countrywide effort in a speech

Wednesday, and the FBI will urge Ameri-

cans to help find 350 suspects who were pho-

tographed on Jan. 6 but haven’t yet been ar-

rested, including 250 who are believed to

have assaulted police officers. Garland and

other officials will provide telephone num-

bers and websites where people can share

tips.

Take a look at the FBI’s online photo cata-

logue of suspects, and you can see the faces of

this insurgency. Virtually all appear to be

white, and nearly all are men (I found just

four women among several hundred photos).

They look like a rowdy crowd at a football

game, wearing MAGA hats and ski caps,

many sporting beards and goatees, some

cloaked by wraparound shades or masks. In

nearly every face, you can see a glint of anger.

Restoring order is a slow, painful process

in countries where violent extremists have

challenged the state. Look at the drug cartels

that took control of Colombia, Mexico and

other nations. Police and military forces

struggled to maintain the rule of law, though

not always successfully. Criminal gangs in

Russia are so powerful that even President

Vladimir Putin can’t fully control them. In-

surgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan couldn’t

be quelled by all of the U.S. military might.

When we think about the Justice Depart-

ment’s battle in that way — as a counterinsur-

gency — we realize the dangers of overly

zealous tactics. The federal government

shouldn’t be so aggressive in its pursuit that it

creates more insurgents than it arrests.

That’s the fine line that Garland and the FBI

are trying to walk in combating domestic ex-

tremism in a country that’s so sharply split on

political issues.

Garland was asked in October by The New

Yorker’s Jane Mayer whether his investiga-

tion was targeting “foot soldiers” rather than

those who organized the insurrection. His an-

swer defined the constitutional middle

ground where Garland wants law enforce-

ment to operate: “I am quite aware that there

are people who are criticizing us for not pros-

ecuting sufficiently, and others who are com-

plaining that we are prosecuting too harshly.

This is … part of the territory for any prosecu-

tor in any case.”

America has faced domestic threats be-

fore. What seems to work best is the slow,

steady application of the state’s unique pow-

ers. The Justice Department disclosed last

year that it had used facial recognition tech-

nology to identify at least one target; the FBI

is also using other aggressive tools that are le-

gally available, including informants, cell-

phone records and social media information.

These techniques, though intrusive, effec-

tively disrupt their targets. Muslim extre-

mists in the United States were crippled by

FBI stings, telephone intercepts and inform-

ants. Mafia dons began to fear that every

phone call might be overheard and every

contact photographed. Over time, the bal-

ance of intimidation shifted, and the threats

were controlled.

Let’s go back to those 250 FBI photographs

of unidentified suspects who allegedly at-

tacked police. Americans should mark the

grim anniversary of Jan. 6 by taking a close

look at that mug book and, if they feel a jolt of

recognition, asking themselves if they’re

comfortable sheltering people who attack

cops.

A year after the appalling violence at the

Capitol, too many perpetrators are still walk-

ing free — and most of the top organizers

haven’t been touched. Now this investigation

needs to move into a higher gear, and bring

everyone who attacked our democracy to jus-

tice.

The gears of justice can help prevent another Jan. 6BY DAVID IGNATIUS

Washington Post Writers Group

Where were you when the Capitol

was attacked? My answer:

glued to the television, with

eyes wide and mouth open.

How could this possibly be happening in our

country, I asked myself as I watched horrified

and dumbfounded. I’m sure millions of others

were asking the same question. The idea that a

sitting president would deny his opponent’s

election victory and encourage supporters to

stop the vote-certification process was beyond

imagining, except to those ramming the doors,

assaulting the cops, breaking the windows and

running down hallways, taunting lawmakers

and staff with threats of violence.

They looked — and acted — like animals.

Who were these beasts — and how dare they?

To the list of infamous days, from Pearl Har-

bor to 9/11, we now have Jan. 6 — or J6, as right-

wing activists have dubbed the insurrection.

Turns out the majority of those arrested and

charged were what might be called regular

folks, who weren’t part of an organized wing-

nut cult. Some of those groups, such as the

Proud Boys and neo-Nazis, were represented

to be sure. But studies have shown that most of

those charged or arrested were plain-old, un-

affiliated, random Americans from big cities,

often blue states, who came to support Donald

Trump. Many were business owners; a nota-

ble portion had financial trouble. There was an

Olympic gold medalist among them.

And look what happened. And what might

have happened if the really bad guys had

shown up? My guess is there are some pro-

Trump, anti-government folks out there who

are sorry they missed the events that day. FO-

MO — fear of missing out — is not limited to the

younger generation. That another uprising

could occur thus seems not beyond the realm

of possibilities. And though the Capitol Police

Department says it’s prepared this time, it also

reports threat levels that are “exponentially

higher” than last year.

Needless to say, Trump had for a time

planned to insert himself into the anniversary.

But this week he canceled his Jan. 6 news con-

ference in Palm Beach, Fla., and said he would

instead hold a rally in Arizona on Jan. 15.

We’ve recently learned more about what he

was doing during the rioting. Throughout, he

was riveted to the TV screen, watching his

most glorious moment and ignoring pleas

from, among others, his daughter Ivanka and

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to

stop the violence. Why would Trump want to

interrupt his dreamscape of loyalists taking

over the government to reverse his defeat?

The guy who has only ever cared about win-

ning wasn’t about to end that show.

We all know enough about mobs and com-

bustible crowds to understand that it takes on-

ly one impatient troublemaker to turn a nor-

mal customer waiting line into a stampede or a

peaceful gathering into a mob. Once contagion

catches, there’s almost no turning back. At a

certain point, even the angry become afraid,

stimulating their fight or flight response and

flooding all systems with adrenaline. Five peo-

ple died as a result of Jan. 6, not counting the

four officers who subsequently died by sui-

cide. I think we all know we were lucky the

number wasn’t higher.

I say it again: The president of the United

States watched with delight what the rest of

the nation watched with horror. And, still, they

want him back?

Not so long ago, Americans shared a com-

mon understanding of how things should be.

We understood — no, we believed as a first

principle — that our problems could be fixed

with elections. Yet today, 68% of Republicans

think the 2020 election was rigged. We cele-

brated our democratic traditions and the

peaceful transfer of power. Now, a third of

Americans think violence against the govern-

ment is sometimes justified.

Something has happened to us, and we need

to figure it out — now.

Authoritarian leaders rarely do their own

dirty work. They get other people to do that for

them. Walk down the street to the Capitol,

Trump said, and off the mob went. Trump

went back to the White House to watch how his

minions fared.

With luck and justice, Trump will be held

accountable for failing to honor his presiden-

tial vow to protect the U.S. Constitution. He

didn’t, and he should pay for that. At the very

least, he should never be allowed to hold pub-

lic office again. Then, maybe the rest of us

could get back to work pursuing and fulfilling

the dream we once shared.

We were lucky more people weren’t killed on Jan. 6BY KATHLEEN PARKER

Washington Post Writers Group

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15

PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

ACROSS 1 TV schedule

abbr.

4 Rotate

8 Exerciser’s

target

12 Slithery fish

13 Layered cookie

14 Greek vowel

15 Selflessness

17 Seize

18 Chapeau

19 Slogan

21 Garden figurines

24 Use henna

25 Post-op area

26 Apply cream

28 College study

32 Close by

34 “Gee, ya think?”

36 Golfer’s cry

37 Campfire

leftovers

39 Clothing

protector

41 Sandwich meat

42 “— been real”

44 By and large

46 Opposite of

candor

50 Eggy quaff

51 Bern’s river

52 Halite

56 Egyptian deity

57 Shrek, for one

58 Half of CIV

59 Society newbies

60 French perfume

brand

61 Prom rental

DOWN 1 Afternoon

get-together

2 Ann Patchett’s

“— Canto”

3 However

4 Praised loudly

5 Mentalist

Geller

6 Take it easy

7 Wanderer

8 Biblical

cover-up?

9 Petty of

“Tank Girl”

10 — impasse

11 Innocent one

16 Ewe’s mate

20 Workout venue

21 Actress Gershon

22 Mark Harmon

TV series

23 Melancholy

27 Fella

29 “Atlas Shrugged”

hero

30 Exam format

31 “Ratatouille” rat

33 Patty Hearst,

for one

35 “Tell —”

(Streisand/

Dion song)

38 Fr. holy woman

40 Monopoly job

43 Seafood

selection

45 Cyclades island

46 Stated

47 Lighten

48 Baby’s bed

49 Boo-Boo’s

buddy

53 — -Magnon

54 Lucy of

“Elementary”

55 Box office

buys, slangily

Answer to Previous Puzzle

Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra

zz

Dilbert

Pearls B

efo

re S

win

eN

on S

equitur

Candorv

ille

Beetle B

ailey

Biz

arr

oCarp

e D

iem

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17

PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

FACES

about COVID-19, but it was born in period of personal

turbulence for Dave and the band — in the wake of

Joe’s accident,” says Glass Animals manager Amy

Morgan. “‘Heat Waves,’ for example, is a very per-

sonal love song about loss, but it connected because I

think it captures a very universal sense of loss —

which is at the forefront of all of our hearts at the mo-

ment, sadly.”

Glass Animals also snagged a Grammy nomination

for best new artist, even if that’s a little curious for a

band whose debut album came out in 2014. Later this

month, they’ll compete against the likes of Olivia Ro-

drigo, Saweetie, Finneas, Japanese Breakfast, The

Kid Laroi and Arlo Parks. The band has also bagged

two Brit Award nominations.

Bayley believes some of the

album’s success is due to the

pandemic. Finding the future

bleak, many listeners looked

for comfort in the past — like he

had done in the hospital.

When the band finished the

album, the pandemic had

wiped out its tour plans.

“We had to completely re-

think everything. And in a way,

it kind of made us really open-

minded,” says Bayley. “No one

during the Spanish flu left a

handbook of how to release an

album in a pandemic.”

With the blessing of their la-

bel, Glass Animals started giv-

ing the album away — literally.

They launched an open-source website where fans

could download songs and artwork. They invited re-

mixes and saw their music adopted for TikTok videos

and by Minecrafters. Fan fiction and art submissions

inspired by “Dreamland” poured in.

“I would wake up every morning and be excited to

look at what was coming in. That was my petrol,” says

Bayley. “I was kind of like, ‘We don’t know what to do.

This is helping me. Maybe it’ll help some other peo-

ple.’”

Hospitals aren’t usually incubators of

great music, but in the case of English in-

die-pop band Glass Animals, one mem-

ber’s medical emergency led to a break-

out album and a Grammy nomination.

Drummer Joe Seaward was struck by a truck in

2018 while riding his bike in Dublin, leaving him

fighting for his life. Dave Bayley, the quartet’s song-

writer, singer and producer, spent long hours next to

his friend in the hospital, the future uncertain under

the harsh fluorescent lights.

“Hospitals are weird places, and I think because of

that, they make you feel very

nostalgic. You’re looking for

comfort in the past. So that was

the kind of beginnings of the al-

bum,” Bayley says. “I started

writing down these memories

and searching for more memo-

ries, and some of them were

great. Some of them are really

uncomfortable.”

The album that emerged was

the deeply personal “Dream-

land,” rooted in Bailey’s past.

There are playfully references

to Scooby-Doo, Froot Loops,

Pepsi Blue and Mr. Miyagi, but

also a song about domestic

abuse (“Domestic Bliss”) and a

tune about an old friend who

planned but never pulled off a

school shooting (“Space Ghost Coast to Coast”).

The standout single is “Heat Waves,” a hypnotic,

hazy tune that honors a departed friend whose birth-

day brings grief each passing June. It was a slow-

moving hit, reaching the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100

after 42 weeks on the chart, the longest climb to the

top 10 in U.S. chart history. The song has earned over

1billion streams on Spotify, landing it in the company

of “Levitating” by Dua Lipa and “Dynamite” by BTS.

“’Dreamland’ was made before we ever knew

AMY HARRIS, INVISION/AP

Dave Bayley of Glass Animals performs with the band at the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Franciscoon Oct. 29. The British indie­pop band is nominated for a Grammy Award for best new artist. 

Glass Animals ride slow burnof ‘Heat Waves’ to Grammys

BY MARK KENNEDY

Associated Press

“We had to completelyrethink everything. Andin a way, it kind of madeus really open-minded.No one during theSpanish flu left ahandbook of how to release an album in a pandemic.”

Dave Bayley

Glass Animals singer and songwriter

A lawsuit accusing Nirvana of

child pornography over the band’s

“Nevermind” album cover, which

features a nude baby, has been

dismissed.

Lawyers for Spencer Elden,

who was featured as a baby on the

1991 album’s cover, missed a

deadline last week to respond to a

filing by Nirvana, leading to the

dismissal in a California court, ac-

cording to SPIN magazine.

Elden’s legal team can file an-

other complaint by Jan. 13, as the

lawsuit was dismissed “with leave

to amend.”

The lawsuit was originally filed

in August, claiming the “broad

distribution of Spencer’s child

pornography has caused him se-

vere harm, including physical,

emotional, reputational and finan-

cial harm.”

It also claims Elden, who is now

30, and his guardians never

“signed a release authorizing the

use of any images of Spencer or of

his likeness.”

Nirvana’s legal team then asked

for the lawsuit’s dismissal in No-

vember.

“(Elden) has re-enacted the

photograph in exchange for a fee,

many times; he has had the album

title... tattooed across his chest; he

has appeared on a talk show wear-

ing a self-parodying, nude-colored

onesie; he has autographed copies

of the album cover for sale on

eBay; and he has used the connec-

tion to try to pick up women,” the

band’s filing asserts, according to

the BBC.

Elden’s lawyers had until last

Thursday to respond to that filing.

Their failure to do so resulted in

the dismissal.

“Nevermind” was the second

studio album released by Nirvana,

an influential grunge band that

featured late singer and guitarist

Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novo-

selic and drummer Dave Grohl.

Headlined by hits including

“Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come

as You Are” and “In Bloom,” the

album is preserved by the Library

of Congress in its National Re-

cording Registry.

“Nevermind,” the landmark1991 album by Nirvana.

‘Nevermind’

cover lawsuit

is dismissedBY PETER SBLENDORIO

New York Daily News

Reigning “Jeopardy!” cham-

pion Amy Schneider was robbed

at gunpoint over New Year’s

weekend in Oakland, Calif.

Schneider, an Oakland resident,

tweeted about the robbery to her

52,000 followers,

saying she was

shaken up but

otherwise OK.

“Hi all! So first

off: I’m fine. But

I got robbed yes-

terday, lost my

ID, credit cards

and phone. I then

couldn’t really

sleep last night, and have been

dragging myself around all day

trying to replace everything,”

Schneider said in her post.

Oakland police said in a state-

ment they were investigating the

armed robbery that occurred Sun-

day afternoon and had not made

any arrests.

Schneider, the first transgender

contestant to qualify for the Tour-

nament of Champions, won again

on Tuesday’s show, bringing her

impressive winning streak to 25

consecutive victories, earning her

$897,600 in winnings so far.

NBC’s Meyers, Fallon

test positive for COVIDNBC’s late-night TV hosts, Jim-

my Fallon and Seth Meyers, have

tested positive for COVID-19 as

the omicron variant continues to

spread across New York.

On Monday, Fallon announced

via Instagram that he tested posi-

tive for the coronavirus “on the

first day of our holiday break.”

The next day, Meyers confirmed

that he, too, had contracted the re-

spiratory illness. “The Tonight

Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and

“Late Night with Seth Meyers” are

both taped at New York City’s 30

Rockefeller Plaza.

According to his latest Insta-

gram post, Fallon appears to have

recovered from his bout with CO-

VID. The comedian said he expe-

rienced “mild symptoms” after

receiving his COVID vaccine and

booster shot.

Meyers seems to have been

more recently diagnosed and has

canceled “Late Night” for the rest

of the week while he recovers.

Other newsPop and R&B entertainer Ja-

son Derulo was involved in a scuf-

fle with two people early Tuesday

at a Las Vegas Strip resort, but the

singer, dancer and TikTok star

was not arrested or given a sum-

mons, police said. Las Vegas po-

lice said in a statement that an al-

tercation was reported after 2 a.m.

at a night club at the Aria resort

and that Derulo “committed a bat-

tery against two individuals.” No

injuries were reported by police.

‘Jeopardy!’ champSchneider robbed

From wire reports

Schneider

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19

SCOREBOARD

Adelaide InternationalWednesday

Adelaide, AustraliaPurse: $782,900

Surface: Hardcourt outdoorWomen’s Singles

Round of 16Kaja Juvan, Slovenia, def. Aryna Saba-

lenka (2), Belarus, 7-6 (6), 6-1. Elena Rybakina (7), Kazakhstan, def.

Marie Bouzkova, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4. Shelby Rogers, United States, def. Maria

Sakkari (3), Greece, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4. Ashleigh Barty (1), Australia, def. Coco

Gauff, United States, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.Women’s Doubles

Round of 16Ulrikke Eikeri, Norway, and Anna Blinko-

va, Russia, def. Nicole Melichar and SofiaKenin, United States, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7.

Erin Routliffe, New Zealand, and LeylahAnnie Fernandez, Canada, def. Xu Yifanand Zhaoxuan Yang, China, 7-6 (4), 4-6,10-7.

Andreja Klepac, Slovenia, and Darija Ju-rak (3), Croatia, def. Kateryna Bondarenkoand Lyudmyla Kichenok, Ukraine, 7-5, 6-3.

Lucie Hradecka and Marie Bouzkova,Czech Republic, def. Tamara Zidansek andKaja Juvan, Slovenia, 1-6, 6-3 (15), 10-7.

Yarra Valley Classic

WednesdayMelbourne, Australia

Purse: $442,020Surface: Hardcourt outdoor

Women’s SinglesRound of 32

Veronika Kudermetova (3), Russia, def.Viktoria Kuzmova, Slovakia, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).

Qinwen Zheng, China, def. Mai Honta-ma, Japan, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Anastasia Potapova, Russia, def. LizetteCabrera, Australia, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

Clara Burel, France, def. Zhang Shuai,China, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, Nether-lands, def. Seone Mendez, Australia, 6-3,6-4.

Anna Bondar, Hungary, def. Katerina Si-niakova (8), Czech Republic, 7-5, 7-6 (8).

Madison Brengle, United States, def.Nao Hibino, Japan, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4).

Simona Halep (2), Romania, def. Desta-nee Aiava, Australia, 6-4, 6-2.

Women’s DoublesRound of 16

Lidziya Marozava, Belarus, and KaitlynChristian, United States, def. Sabrina San-tamaria, United States, and Miyu Kato (5),Japan, 4-6, 6-3, 11-9.

Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, Italy,def. Olivia Tjandramulia and Gabriella DaSilva Fick, Australia, 6-4, 6-2.

Asia Muhammad and Jessica Pegula (2),United States, def. Alison van Uytvanck,Belgium, and Clara Tauson, Denmark, 6-3,6-2.

Liudmila Samsonova and Daria Kasatki-na, Russia, def. Vivian Heisen, Germany,and Ingrid Neel, United States, 6-4, 6-2.

Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium, and Sara Sor-ribes Tormo, Spain, def. Christina McHaleand Desirae Krawczyk, United States, 6-7(5), 7-6 (6), 10-3.

Vera Zvonareva, Russia, and ViktoriaKuzmova (3), Slovakia, def. Anastasija Se-vastova, Latvia, and Aliaksandra Sasnov-ich, Belarus, 6-7 (12), 6-2, 10-6.

Gippsland Trophy

WednesdayMelbourne, Australia

Purse: $442,020Surface: Hardcourt outdoor

Women’s SinglesRound of 32

Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Spain, def. Ellen Pe-rez, Australia, 6-0, 6-3.

Madison Keys, United States, def. Har-riet Dart, Britain, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Daria Kasatkina (3), Russia, def. AnnaKalinskaya, Russia, 6-1, 3-0, ret.

Rebecca Peterson, Sweden, def. AstraSharma, Australia, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

Zhu Lin, China, def. Sam Stosur, Austra-lia, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5).

Claire Liu, United States, def. Marta Kos-

tyuk (8), Ukraine, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Belarus, def. Xi-

nyu Wang, China, 6-4, 6-2. Women’s Doubles

Round of 16Katarzyna Kawa, Poland, and Aliona Bol-

sova Zadoinov, Spain, def. Alexandra Os-borne and Taylah Preston, Australia, 6-2,6-2.

Tereza Martincova, Czech Republic, andMayar Sherif, Egypt, def. Makoto Ninomi-ya and Eri Hozumi (4), Japan, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.

Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania, and NinaStojanovic (3), Serbia, def. Nuria ParrizasDiaz, Spain, and Beatriz Haddad Maia, Bra-zil, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Murray River Open

WednesdayMelbourne, Australia

Purse: $521,000Surface: Hardcourt outdoor

Men’s SinglesRound of 16

Laslo Djere (7), Serbia, def. CorentinMoutet, France, 4-6, 7-5.

Marin Cilic (3), Croatia, def. Thiago Mon-teiro, Brazil, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Men’s DoublesRound of 16

Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico, and Tomis-lav Brkic (4), Bosnia-Herzegovina, def. Fre-derik Nielsen, Denmark, and Treat ConradHuey, Philippines, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10-8.

Steve Johnson, United States, and Yosh-ihito Nishioka, Japan, def. Jonathan Erlich,Israel, and Andre Goransson (6), Sweden,6-0, 7-6 (4).

Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, and TommyPaul, United States, def. Matthew Ebdenand John-Patrick Smith (5), Australia, 3-6,6-4, 10-7.

Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Rama-nathan, India, def. Nathaniel Lammonsand Jackson Withrow (8), United States,6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 10-4.

Aleksandar Vukic and Edward Winter,Australia, def. Harri Heliovaara, Finland,and Lloyd Glasspool (7), Britain, 6-3, 4-6,10-6.

Great Ocean Road Open

WednesdayMelbourne, Australia

Purse: $521,000Surface: Hardcourt outdoor

Men’s SinglesRound of 32

Ricardas Berankis, Lithuania, def. Mar-cos Giron, United States, 7-5, 6-4.

Jordan Thompson, Australia, def. Chris-topher O’Connell, Australia, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Emil Ruusuvuori, Finland, def. SebastianBaez, Argentina, 7-6 (2), 6-1.

Henri Laaksonen, Switzerland, def. Be-noit Paire (5), France, 4-6, 6-3, 5-2, ret.

Maxime Cressy, United States, def. Rin-ky Hijikata, Australia, 6-3, 6-0.

Alex Molcan, Slovakia, def. Andreas Sep-pi, Italy, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3.

Alexei Popyrin, Australia, def. StefanoTravaglia, Italy, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Jaume Munar, Spain, def. Kevin Ander-son, South Africa, 6-4, 6-4.

Men’s DoublesRound of 32

Denis Kudla, United States, and MarcusDaniell, New Zealand, def. MackenzieMcDonald and Reilly Opelka, UnitedStates, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Andrea Vavassori, Italy, and TallonGriekspoor, Netherlands, def. MichaelVenus, New Zealand, and Yuki Bhambri,India, 6-4, 6-4.

Denys Molchanov, Ukraine, and Ricar-das Berankis, Lithuania, def. Facundo Bag-nis, Argentina, and Bernabe Zapata Mi-ralles, Spain, 6-3, 6-4.

Marcos Giron, United States, and Domin-ik Koepfer, Germany, def. Sergiy Stakhov-sky, Ukraine, and Jozef Kovalik, Slovakia,6-3, 6-3.

Altug Celikbilek, Turkey, and YannickMaden, Germany, def. Christopher O’Con-nell and Rinky Hijikata, Australia, 3-6, 6-3,10-4.

Stefano Travaglia, Italy, and Hans HachVerdugo, Mexico, def. Norbert Gombosand Alex Molcan, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-4.

TENNIS

bert Huggins on the reserve/COVID-19 list.Reinstated WR Kevin White and TE EthanWolf from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

NEW YORK GIANTS — Waived TE ChrisMyarick. Released T Isaiah Wilson fromthe practice squad.

NEW YORK JETS — Placed OL GeorgeFant and DE Bryce Huff on injured reserve.Placed TE Dan Brown on the practicesquad injured reserve.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Reinstated CBCraig James and WR John Hightower fromthe practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS — ReinstatedWRs Anthony Miller, Steven Sims and Tyl-er Vaughns from the practice squad re-serve/COVID-19 list. Released P CameronNizialek and K Sam Sloman from the prac-tice squad.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Signed CB Dar-queze Dennard to the practice squad.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Placed RB AlexCollins on injured reserve. Promoted RBJosh Johnson to the active roster. Rein-stated CB Bless Austin from reserve/CO-VID-19 list. Placed DB Gavin Heslop on thereserve/COVID-19 list.

TENNESSEE TITANS — Waived CB ChrisJones and LB Joe Jones. Released DBs Shy-heim Carter and Rodney Clemons and WRGolden Tate. Placed LB Monty Rice on thereserve/COVID-19 list.

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM — Rein-stated P Tress Way and QB Kyle Shurmurfrom the reserve/COVID-19 list. Signed WRAntonio Gandy-Golden to the practicesquad. Released QB Kyle Shurmur and PRyan Winslow from the practice squad.

HOCKEYNational Hockey League

BUFFALO SABRES — Placed Fs AndersBjork, Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch in theCOVID-19 protocol.

DALLAS STARS — Sent G Adam Scheel, CRhett Gardner and RW Ty Dellandrea toTexas (AHL).

FLORIDA PANTHERS — Recalled G Spen-cer Knight from the taxi squad.

MINNESOTA WILD — Signed G ZaneMcIntyre to a two-way contract for the re-mainder of the season. Waived C VictorRask. Designated C Marco Rossi and LWMatt Boldy for assignment to the taxisquad.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Sent LW Ga-briel Fortier to Syracuse (AHL).

WASHINGTON CAPITALS — Recalled CAliaksei Protas from Hershey (AHL). Reas-signed F Michael Sgarbossa, G PheonixCopley and Ds Lucas Johansen and Alex-ander Alexeyev to Hershey.

SOCCERMajor League Soccer

D.C. UNITED — Signed C Brendan Hines-Ike to a two-year contract.

FC DALLAS — Signed D Ema Twumasi toa three-year contract. Named Marco Fer-ruzzi director of methodology.

INTER MIAMI CF — Acquired M BryceDuke from LAFC and signed him as ahomegrown player in exchange for$100,000 in 2022 general allocation money(GAM), and potential additional futureGAM if performance-based conditions aremet. Loaned M Rodolfo Pizarro to LIGA MXclub C.F Monterrey for 2022 with an optionto purchase.

NASHVILLE SC — Signed M Sean Davis toa three-year contract.

Tuesday’s TransactionsBASKETBALL

National Basketball AssociationMEMPHIS GRIZZLIES — Signed G Tyrell

Terry to a two-way contract.PHOENIX SUNS — Signed F Justin Jack-

son to a 10-day contract. Waived F Chan-dler Hutchison.

FOOTBALLNational Football League

ARIZONA CARDINALS — Reinstated CBBreon Borders, LBs Devon Kennard andMarkus Golden and OL D.J. Humphriesfrom the reserve/COVID-19 list. Signed CBBashaud Breeland to the practice squad.Released CB Isaiah Johnson from the prac-tice squad.

ATLANTA FALCONS — Reinstated DLMarlon Davidson, S Jaylinn Hawkins, TEHayden Hurst, OLB James Vaughters, WRTajae Sharpe and OL Willie Beavers fromthe reserve/COVID-19 list. Waived QB MattBarkley. Signed TE Parker Hesses to theactive roster.

BUFFALO BILLS — Signed RB Antonio Wil-liams to the practice squad. Released WRAustin Proehl from the practice squad.

CINCINNATI BENGALS — Placed S VonnBell, LB Akeem Davis-Gaither, DE Trey Hen-drickson, C Trey Hopkins and G QuintonSpain on the reserve/COVID-19 list. SignedK Elliott Fry to the practice squad. PlacedTE Mason Schreck on the practice squad/injured list.

CLEVELAND BROWNS — Reinstated LBElijah Lee from the reserve/COVID-19 list.Placed RB D’Ernest Johnson on the re-serve/COVID-19 list. Waived QB Kyle Lau-letta. Waived T Alex Taylor from the re-serve/COVID-19 list. Signed TE Nick Gug-gemos to the practive squad. ReinstatedQB Nick Mullens and S Tedric Thompsonfrom the practice squad reserve/CO-VID-19 list. Placed S Jovante Moffatt on thepractice squad reserve/COVID-19 list.

DALLAS COWBOYS — Designated TEBlake Jarwin to return from injured re-serve. Reinstated DT Quinton Bohannafrom the reserve/COVID-19 list. Placed WRMichael Gallup on injured reserve. PlacedOL Josh Ball on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

GREEN BAY PACKERS — Reinstated DLKingsley Keke, OT Dennis Kelly, WR AmariRodgers and S Darnell Savage from the re-serve/COVID-19 list. Placed OT Billy Turn-er on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Rein-stated CB Jayson Stanley to the practicesquad from the practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list. Released OL Jon Dietzenfrom the practice squad.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Waived LB Ma-lik Jefferson.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS — Designated DTKhlaen Saunders and DB Chris Lammonsto return from injured reserve. Signed TEMatt Bushman to the practice squad.

LOS ANGELES RAMS — Signed WR War-ren Jackson to the practice squad. Re-leased K Ryan Santoso and LS Carson Tin-ker from the practice squad. Waived WRJ.J. Koski.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Signed C ColeBanwart to the practice squad. Placed TEChris Herndon on the reserve/COVID-19list. Placed CB Parry Nickerson on thepractice squad reserve/COVID-19 list. Re-instated LB Nick Vigil from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Placed DT Al-

DEALS

Tuesday’s men’s scores

EAST

Army 96, Bucknell 89 Bard 81, Paul Smiths Bobcat 61 Cortland 90, Ithaca 58 Juniata 72, Penn College 55 Lancaster Bible 98, Elizabethtown 91 Lehigh 85, Colgate 81 Loyola (Md.) 79, Holy Cross 70 Navy 83, Boston U. 71 Nazareth 74, Houghton 50 Nichols 91, Suffolk 86 Rutgers 75, Michigan 67 St. John Fisher 97, Alfred 73 Susquehanna 93, Haverford 86 Washington & Jefferson 82, Thiel 66 Westminster (Pa.) 91, Franciscan 79

SOUTH

Ala.-Huntsville 95, West Florida 74 Auburn 81, South Carolina 66 Cent. Arkansas 79, E. Kentucky 72 Duke 69, Georgia Tech 57 LSU 65, Kentucky 60 Liberty 75, Stetson 59 Lipscomb 84, North Alabama 74 Memphis 67, Tulsa 64 Mount Olive 79, King (Tenn.) 68 NC State 68, Virginia Tech 63 North Greenville 82, Toccoa Falls 60 Texas A&M 81, Georgia 79 UNC-Pembroke 99, Chowan 79 Virginia 75, Clemson 65

Wake Forest 76, Florida St. 54 MIDWEST

E. Michigan 85, W. Michigan 79 Illinois 76, Minnesota 53 Indianapolis 63, McKendree 56 Kent St. 66, Ball St. 65 Lake Forest 65, Knox 63 Marquette 88, Providence 56 Missouri-St. Louis 76, Maryville (Mo.) 62 Ohio 69, Akron 63 Principia 128, Greenville 119 Ripon 81, Grinnell 70 Rockford 81, Aurora 54 S.D. Mines 94, Fort Lewis 78 Texas 70, Kansas St. 57 Toledo 82, Cent. Michigan 54 Truman St. 73, Quincy 72

SOUTHWEST

Baylor 84, Oklahoma 74 Kansas 74, Oklahoma St. 63 Vanderbilt 75, Arkansas 74

FAR WEST

CSU-Pueblo 85, Adams St. 84 Colorado St. 67, Air Force 59

Tuesday’s women’s scores

SOUTH

Hampton 66, Presbyterian 43 MIDWEST

Dayton 90, St. Bonaventure 43 Nebraska 79, Michigan 58

COLLEGE BASKETBALLPRO FOOTBALL

NFL

AMERICAN CONFERENCE

East

W L T Pct PF PA

x-Buffalo 10 6 0 .625 456 279

x-New En-gland

10 6 0 .625 438 270

e-Miami 8 8 0 .500 308 349

e-N.Y. Jets 4 12 0 .250 300 477

South

W L T Pct PF PA

y-Tennessee 11 5 0 .688 391 329

Indianapolis 9 7 0 .563 440 339

e-Houston 4 12 0 .250 255 424

e-Jacksonville 2 14 0 .125 227 446

North

W L T Pct PF PA

y-Cincinnati 10 6 0 .625 444 355

Pittsburgh 8 7 1 .531 327 385

Baltimore 8 8 0 .500 374 376

e-Cleveland 7 9 0 .438 328 355

West

W L T Pct PF PA

y-Kansas City 11 5 0 .688 452 340

L.A. Chargers 9 7 0 .563 442 424

Las Vegas 9 7 0 .563 339 407

e-Denver 7 9 0 .438 311 294

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

East

W L T Pct PF PA

y-Dallas 11 5 0 .688 479 332

Philadelphia 9 7 0 .563 418 334

e-Washington 6 10 0 .375 313 427

e-N.Y. Giants 4 12 0 .250 251 394

South

W L T Pct PF PA

y-Tampa Bay 12 4 0 .750 470 336

New Orleans 8 8 0 .500 334 315

e-Atlanta 7 9 0 .438 293 429

e-Carolina 5 11 0 .313 287 363

North

W L T Pct PF PA

*-Green Bay 13 3 0 .813 420 334

e-Minnesota 7 9 0 .438 394 409

e-Chicago 6 10 0 .375 294 376

e-Detroit 2 13 1 .156 288 437

West

W L T Pct PF PA

x-L.A. Rams 12 4 0 .750 436 345

x-Arizona 11 5 0 .688 419 328

San Francisco 9 7 0 .563 400 341

e-Seattle 6 10 0 .375 357 336

*-clinched division and homefield ad-vantage in the playoffs

y-clinched divisionx-clinched playoff spote-eliminated from playoffs

Sunday, Jan. 2

Buffalo 29, Atlanta 15Chicago 29, N.Y. Giants 3Cincinnati 34, Kansas City 31L.A. Rams 20, Baltimore 19Las Vegas 23, Indianapolis 20New England 50, Jacksonville 10Philadelphia 20, Washington 16Tampa Bay 28, N.Y. Jets 24Tennessee 34, Miami 3L.A. Chargers 34, Denver 13San Francisco 23, Houston 7Arizona 25, Dallas 22New Orleans 18, Carolina 10Seattle 51, Detroit 29Green Bay 37, Minnesota 10

Monday’s game

Pittsburgh 26, Cleveland 14

Saturday’s games

Kansas City at DenverDallas at Philadelphia

Sunday’s games

Chicago at MinnesotaCincinnati at ClevelandGreen Bay at DetroitIndianapolis at JacksonvillePittsburgh at BaltimoreTennessee at HoustonWashington at N.Y. GiantsCarolina at Tampa BayN.Y. Jets at BuffaloNew England at MiamiNew Orleans at AtlantaSan Francisco at L.A. RamsSeattle at ArizonaL.A. Chargers at Las Vegas

NFL calendarJan. 15-16 — Wild-card playoff games.Jan. 17 — Deadline for college under-

classmen to apply for special entry intothe NFL Draft.

Jan. 22-23 — Divisional playoff games.Jan. 28 — HBCU combine, Mobile, Ala.Jan. 30 — AFC and NFC championships.Feb. 13 — Super Bowl LVI, Inglewood,

Calif.

Bowl GlanceSaturday, Dec. 25

Camellia BowlMontgomery, Ala.

Georgia St. 51, Ball St. 20Monday, Dec. 27Quick Lane Bowl

DetroitW. Michigan 52, Nevada 24

Military BowlAnnapolis, Md.

Boston College (6-6) vs. East Carolina(7-5), canceled

Tuesday, Dec. 28Birmingham BowlBirmingham, Ala.

No. 21 Houston 17, Auburn 13SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

DallasAir Force 31, Louisville 28

Liberty BowlMemphis, Tenn.

Texas Tech 34, Mississippi St. 7Holiday Bowl

San DiegoUCLA (8-4) vs. No. 18 NC State (9-3), can-

celedGuaranteed Rate Bowl

PhoenixMinnesota 18, West Virginia 6

Wednesday, Dec. 29Fenway Bowl

BostonVirginia (6-6) vs. SMU (8-4), canceled

Pinstripe BowlNew York

Maryland 54, Virginia Tech 10Cheez-It BowlOrlando, Fla.

No. 19 Clemson 20, Iowa St. 13Alamo BowlSan Antonio

No. 14 Oklahoma 47, No. 15 Oregon 32Thursday, Dec. 30Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Charlotte, N.C.South Carolina 38, North Carolina 21

Music City BowlNashville

Purdue 48, Tennessee 45, OTPeach Bowl

AtlantaNo. 11 Michigan St. 31, No. 13 Pittsburgh

21

Las Vegas BowlLas Vegas

Wisconsin 20, Arizona St. 13Friday, Dec. 31

College Football Playoff SemifinalCotton Bowl Classic

Arlington, Texas

No. 1 Alabama 27, No. 4 Cincinnati 6

College Football Playoff SemifinalOrange Bowl

Miami Gardens, Fla.No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11

Gator BowlJacksonville, Fla.

No. 20 Wake Forest 38, Rutgers 10Sun Bowl

El Paso, TexasCent. Michigan 24, Washington St. 21

Arizona BowlTucson, Ariz.

Cent. Michigan (8-4) vs. Boise St. (7-5),canceled

Saturday, Jan. 1Outback Bowl

Tampa, Fla.No. 22 Arkansas 24, Penn St. 10

Citrus BowlOrlando, Fla.

No. 25 Kentucky 20, No. 17 Iowa 17Fiesta Bowl

Glendale, Ariz.No. 9 Oklahoma St. 37, No. 5 Notre Dame

35Rose Bowl

Pasadena, Calif.No. 7 Ohio St. 48, No. 10 Utah 45

Sugar BowlNew Orleans

No. 6 Baylor 21, No. 8 Mississippi 7Tuesday’s game

Texas BowlHouston

Kansas State 42, LSU 20

Monday, Jan. 10College Football Championship

Indianapolis

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 3 Georgia

FCS Championship

Saturday

North Dakota St. vs. Montana St.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

NHL/TENNIS

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Tampa Bay 35 22 8 5 49 116 103

Florida 33 22 7 4 48 128 97

Toronto 31 21 8 2 44 104 76

Boston 29 17 10 2 36 85 76

Detroit 34 16 15 3 35 96 114

Buffalo 33 10 17 6 26 89 116

Ottawa 29 9 18 2 20 79 107

Montreal 34 7 23 4 18 73 123

Metropolitan Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

N.Y. Rangers 34 22 8 4 48 101 85

Washington 34 20 6 8 48 119 89

Carolina 31 23 7 1 47 106 66

Pittsburgh 31 18 8 5 41 99 81

Philadelphia 33 13 14 6 32 86 110

Columbus 31 15 15 1 31 101 112

New Jersey 34 13 16 5 31 99 121

N.Y. Islanders 28 10 12 6 26 64 80

Western Conference

Central Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Nashville 34 21 11 2 44 104 91

St. Louis 33 19 9 5 43 116 91

Colorado 29 19 8 2 40 123 96

Minnesota 31 19 10 2 40 116 98

Winnipeg 32 16 11 5 37 98 92

Dallas 29 15 12 2 32 82 85

Chicago 33 11 17 5 27 77 112

Arizona 31 6 22 3 15 64 120

Pacific Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Vegas 36 22 13 1 45 129 110

Anaheim 36 18 11 7 43 111 99

Calgary 31 17 8 6 40 100 73

Edmonton 33 18 13 2 38 111 107

Los Angeles 33 16 12 5 37 91 89

San Jose 34 17 16 1 35 96 108

Vancouver 34 16 15 3 35 89 95

Seattle 33 10 19 4 24 92 122

Monday’s games

N.Y. Rangers 4, Edmonton 1Carolina at Toronto, ppdMinnesota at Ottawa, ppd

Tuesday’s games

Tampa Bay 7, Columbus 2Florida 6, Calgary 2Boston 5, New Jersey 3Detroit 6, San Jose 2Colorado 4, Chicago 3, OTWinnipeg 3, Arizona 1Anaheim 4, Philadelphia 1Nashville 3, Vegas 2Washington at Montreal, ppdN.Y. Islanders at Seattle, ppd

Wednesday’s games

Edmonton at TorontoSt. Louis at PittsburghN.Y. Islanders at Vancouver, ppd

Thursday’s games

Calgary at Tampa BayColumbus at New JerseyMinnesota at BostonPittsburgh at PhiladelphiaSan Jose at BuffaloToronto at Montreal, ppdFlorida at DallasChicago at ArizonaWinnipeg at ColoradoDetroit at AnaheimN.Y. Rangers at VegasOttawa at Seattle, ppdNashville at Los Angeles

Friday’s games

Calgary at CarolinaWashington at St. Louis

Saturday’s games

Pittsburgh at DallasBoston at Tampa BayBuffalo at Montreal, ppdFlorida at CarolinaNew Jersey at ColumbusSan Jose at PhiladelphiaSeattle at Winnipeg, ppdToronto at ColoradoNashville at ArizonaWashington at MinnesotaChicago at VegasN.Y. Islanders at Edmonton, ppdN.Y. Rangers at AnaheimOttawa at VancouverDetroit at Los Angeles

Calendar

Feb. 4-5: NHL All-Star Weekend at T-Mo-bile Arena in Las Vegas

March 21: Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET)April 29: Regular season endsMay 2: Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.June 30: Last possible day of Stanley Cup

Final

NHL scoreboard

SUNRISE, Fla. — Patric Horn-

qvist scored twice, Sergei Bobrov-

sky stopped a season-high 47 shots

and the Florida Panthers pushed

their winning streak to four games

by topping the Calgary Flames 6-2

on Tuesday night.

Joe Thornton got a history-mak-

ing go-ahead goal late in the first

period for Florida, which im-

proved to 18-3-0 on home ice. An-

thony Duclair, Ryan Lomberg and

Lucas Carlsson also scored for the

Panthers, and Brandon Montour

had the second three-assist game

of his career.

The 42-year-old Thornton has

now scored in 26 consecutive

years.

Carter Verhaeghe had two as-

sists for Florida, which is now 19-

0-0 when scoring at least four goals

this season.

“It’s still early in the season,”

Panthers interim coach Andrew

Brunette said. “There’s a long way

to go. But anybody that turns on a

hockey game and watches the

Florida Panthers play right now is

going to be entertained. ... When

we get wave after wave and get ev-

erybody rolling, we’re a pretty

dangerous hockey team.”

Johnny Gaudreau got his 14th

goal of the season for Calgary, and

Blake Coleman also scored. Jacob

Markstrom stopped 39 shots for

the Flames.

Lightning 7, Blue Jackets 2:On-

drej Palat had two goals and an as-

sist as visiting Tampa Bay snapped

a three-game skid by routing Co-

lumbus.

Brayden Point added a goal and

two assists for the Lightning, who

scored three power-play goals.

Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasi-

levskiy stopped 20 shots in his 17th

win, tying Frederik Andersen of

Carolina for the NHL lead.

Gus Nyquist had a goal and an

assist for an illness-ravaged Co-

lumbus team.

Avalanche  4,  Blackhawks  3

(OT): Cale Makar scored his 14th

goal of the season 2:38 into over-

time, and surging Colorado dealt

host Chicago its fifth straight loss.

Defenseman Erik Johnson had

two goals as the Avalanche won for

the seventh time in eight games.

Alex DeBrincat scored two pow-

er-play goals on consecutive shots,

and Jonathan Toews scored in the

second period for the Blackhawks.

Bruins 5, Devils 3:David Pastr-

nak scored the tiebreaking goal

with 5:49 left in the third period

and host Boston beat New Jersey.

Curtis Lazar had a goal and an

assist, Oskar Steen scored his first

career goal and the Bruins won

their third straight since returning

after they had six consecutive

games postponed because of CO-

VID-19.

Trent Frederic also scored for

Boston, and Brandon Carlo sealed

it on a goal with 23 seconds to play.

Red Wings 6, Sharks 2: Tyler

Bertuzzi and Pius Suter each

scored twice, including short-

handed goals on the same penalty,

and host Detroit topped San Jose.

After Red Wings forward Gio-

vanni Smith was penalized five

minutes for boarding and given a

game misconduct after a hit

against defenseman Jacob Mid-

dleton late in the first period, Suter

scored on a breakaway and Ber-

tuzzi added a goal off a feed from

Carter Rowney in the second peri-

od, during the extended power

play. Detroit hadn’t scored two

short-handed goals on the same

penalty kill since Dec. 17, 1999,

against Colorado.

Jets 3, Coyotes 1: Connor Hel-

lebuyck stopped 26 shots and visit-

ing Winnipeg beat Arizona for its

third straight win.

Evgeny Svechnikov, Pierre Luc-

Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers scored

for the Jets.

Ducks 4, Flyers 1: Troy Terry

scored his first NHL hat trick and

host Anaheim defeated Philadel-

phia, giving coach Dallas Eakins

his 100th NHL coaching win.

The right wing is third in the

league with 21 goals, including 11

that have tied the game or given

the Ducks a lead. He had a pair of

goals in the first period and com-

pleted the first hat trick of his five-

year career with an empty-net goal

with 49 seconds remaining.

Predators 3, Golden Knights 2:

Filip Forsberg scored twice, Juuse

Saros made 41 saves and visiting

Nashville beat Vegas.

Yakov Trenin also scored for the

Predators, who moved past St.

Louis into first place in the Central

Division with 44 points.

The Golden Knights, on a 10-3-1

run, lost their second straight at

home but still lead the Pacific Divi-

sion — and Western Conference —

with 45 points.

LYNNE SLADKY/AP

Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stops a shot as Flames center Mikael Backlund looks on during thesecond period on Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla. Florida won its fourth­straight game.

NHL ROUNDUP

Panthers handle Flames,push winning streak to 4

Associated Press

BRISBANE, Australia — Novak

Djokovic is being held in a room

with police out front after landing

in Melbourne for the Australian

Open, his father said Wednesday

amid reports that a visa mix-up

could jeopardize the top-ranked

Serb’s entry into the country.

Djokovic received a medical ex-

emption to play at the first Grand

Slam tennis tournament of the

season, where he is a nine-time

winner and the defending cham-

pion. The exemption allows him to

play regardless of his vaccination

status for COVID-19, something

he has not disclosed, but he also

needs to meet strict border regu-

lations to enter the country.

“Novak is currently in a room

which no one can enter,” Djokov-

ic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, told

the B92 internet portal. “In front

of the room are two policemen.”

Djokovic’s revelation on social

media that he was heading to Aus-

tralia seeking a record 21st major

title sparked some debate and

plenty of headlines on Wednes-

day, with critics questioning what

grounds he could have for the ex-

emption and backers arguing he

has a right to privacy and freedom

of choice.

Australian Open tournament

director Craig Tiley defended the

“completely legitimate applica-

tion and process” and insisted

there was no special treatment for

Djokovic.

The Victoria state government-

mandated that only fully vaccinat-

ed players, staff, fans and officials

could enter Melbourne Park

when the tournament starts on

Jan. 17.

Only 26 people connected with

the tournament applied for a med-

ical exemption and, Tiley said, on-

ly a “handful” were granted.

The names, ages and national-

ities of applicants were redacted

for privacy reasons before each

application for a vaccine exemp-

tion was assessed by two inde-

pendent panels of experts, and Ti-

ley noted Djokovic is under no

obligation to reveal his reason for

seeking one.

But, he suggested, it would be

“helpful” if Djokovic chose to ex-

plain it to a Melbourne public still

getting over months of lockdowns

and severe travel restrictions im-

posed at the height of the pandem-

ic.

“I would encourage him to talk

to the community about it,” Tiley

said. “We have been through a ve-

ry tough period over the last two

years.”

DjokovicdetainedenteringAustralia

BY JOHN PYE

Associated Press

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21

NBA

Even though he just recently started practic-

ing for the first time since training camp, the

Nets are confident Irving’s entrance can only

be a positive.

“I mean, have you watched him play? He’s a

master,” Kevin Durant said. “He can score 60

percent, 70 percent of his shots if you don’t

guard him, and he’s a high IQ player.”

Irving’s talent is undeniable. He averaged a

career-best 26.9 points last season, becoming

the ninth player in NBA history to shoot at least

50% from the field, 40% from three-point range

and 90% from the free throw line.

There’s still matters of chemistry and conti-

nuity that championship clubs crave, and

Brooklyn will try to establish it with essentially

two teams: one on the road with Irving, one at

home without him.

The Nets are banking that Irving’s close rela-

tionship with Durant, along with a roster of vet-

erans such as Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge and

Blake Griffin who are missing a championship

to go with otherwise Hall of Fame-worthy ré-

sumés, will smooth what could normally be a

bumpy transition.

“I think that they have a mature enough

group, an experienced enough group to kind of

understand the dynamics of the business of

basketball, along with the rules that are in

place that made the situation what it is,” Clip-

pers assistant coach Brian Shaw said. “So,

they’ll make the most of it.”

That’s what Brooklyn was counting on when

it reversed its decision last month and an-

nounced Irving would join the team for prac-

tices and road games. The team was criticized,

but general manager Sean Marks pointed out

that the organization’s top priority is to win.

They couldn’t do that without Irving last sea-

son, falling to Milwaukee in the Eastern Con-

ference semifinals after he sprained his ankle

in Game 4. It’s unclear if they can win with Irv-

ing, who has a history of injuries and took a

leave of absence from the team for personal

reasons last season.

He’s spent this one collecting a portion of his

$35 million salary not to play, forfeiting checks

for the games he made himself ineligible for,

but with the Nets paying him for the road

games they barred him from. He’s popped up

occasionally on his social media platforms or

as a spectator at Seton Hall games, but hasn’t

been playing against NBA competition.

There hasn’t been time to get as much work

as hoped when he came back, as he went into

health and safety protocols Dec. 18, the day af-

ter his return was announced. But on a team

that’s showing flaws, whatever Irving can pro-

vide — whenever he can provide it — should

solve some problems.

“Obviously we love to have Kyrie back. He’s

a special, special talent,” Harden said. “But

there’s things that we need to correct internal-

ly and individually that can help us, and then

adding Kyrie back is going to be more special.”

Jolt: Nets confident adding Irving will be positiveFROM PAGE 24

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

W L Pct GB

Brooklyn 23 12 .657 —

Philadelphia 20 16 .556 3½

Toronto 17 17 .500 5½

Boston 18 19 .486 6

New York 18 20 .474 6½

Southeast Division

W L Pct GB

Miami 23 15 .605 —

Washington 19 18 .514 3½

Charlotte 19 19 .500 4

Atlanta 16 20 .444 6

Orlando 7 31 .184 16

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Chicago 25 10 .714 —

Milwaukee 25 14 .641 2

Cleveland 21 17 .553 5½

Indiana 14 24 .368 12½

Detroit 7 28 .200 18

Western Conference

Southwest Division

W L Pct GB

Memphis 25 14 .641 —

Dallas 19 18 .514 5

San Antonio 14 22 .389 9½

New Orleans 13 25 .342 11½

Houston 10 28 .263 14½

Northwest Division

W L Pct GB

Utah 27 10 .730 —

Denver 18 17 .514 8

Minnesota 17 20 .459 10

Portland 14 22 .389 12½

Oklahoma City 13 23 .361 13½

Pacific Division

W L Pct GB

Golden State 29 7 .806 —

Phoenix 29 8 .784 ½

L.A. Lakers 20 19 .513 10½

L.A. Clippers 19 19 .500 11

Sacramento 16 23 .410 14½

Monday’s games

Philadelphia 133, Houston 113 Washington 124, Charlotte 121 Memphis 118, Brooklyn 104 Detroit 115, Milwaukee 106 Chicago 102, Orlando 98 Utah 115, New Orleans 104 Dallas 103, Denver 89 Golden State 115, Miami 108 Portland 136, Atlanta 131 Minnesota 122, L.A. Clippers 104

Tuesday’s games

Toronto 129, San Antonio 104 Memphis 110, Cleveland 106 New York 104, Indiana 94 Phoenix 123, New Orleans 110 L.A. Lakers 122, Sacramento 114

Wednesday’s games

Detroit at Charlotte Houston at Washington Philadelphia at Orlando Brooklyn at Indiana Golden State at Dallas San Antonio at Boston Oklahoma City at Minnesota Toronto at Milwaukee Atlanta at Sacramento Miami at Portland Utah at Denver

Thursday’s games

Boston at New York Detroit at Memphis Golden State at New Orleans L.A. Clippers at Phoenix

Friday’s games

San Antonio at Philadelphia Milwaukee at Brooklyn Utah at Toronto Dallas at Houston Minnesota at Oklahoma City Washington at Chicago Sacramento at Denver Atlanta at L.A. Lakers Cleveland at Portland

Leaders

Through TuesdayScoring

G FG FT PTS AVG

Durant, BKN 30 323 187 890 29.7

Young, ATL 33 321 202 937 28.4

Rebounds

G OFF DEF TOT AVG

Gobert, UTA 37 130 427 557 15.1

Jokic, DEN 30 79 340 419 14.0

Assists

G AST AVG

Paul, PHO 37 373 10.1

Harden, BKN 31 306 9.9

Scoreboard

CLEVELAND — Ja Morant

scored six of his 26 points in the fi-

nal 30 seconds, including the go-

ahead basket, allowing the Mem-

phis Grizzlies to extend their win-

ning streak to six with a 110-106 vic-

tory over the Cleveland Cavaliers

on Tuesday night.

Morant gave Memphis a 106-104

lead with a double-pump short

jumper, then stripped the ball from

Brandon Goodwin and scored on

Cleveland’s subsequent possession

with 22 seconds remaining.

After Lauri Markkanen’s layup

pulled the Cavaliers within 108-

106, Morant made a pair of free

throws to lock up the Grizzlies’ 10th

road victory in their past 11 games.

They won 118-104 at Brooklyn one

night earlier.

Darius Garland had 27 points

and 10 assists in his return to Cleve-

land’s lineup after missing four

games in the NBA’s health and

safety protocols, while Jarrett Al-

len had 22 points and 12 rebounds.

The Cavaliers have dropped four of

five.

Lakers 122, Kings 114:LeBron

James scored 14 of his 31 points in

the fourth quarter, Malik Monk

added 11 of his 24 in the final seven

minutes, and host Los Angeles beat

Sacramento for its fourth win in

five games.

Talen Horton-Tucker scored 19

points for the Lakers, who rallied

from a late seven-point deficit with

one big basket after another from

Monk and James. Monk hit six

three-pointers in yet another im-

pressive offensive game, and Rus-

sell Westbrook added 19 points and

drew a key late charge as Los An-

geles climbed back above .500.

Westbrook played 34 minutes in

his first turnover-free game since

March 14, 2016.

De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points

and Buddy Hield added 26 with

seven three-pointers for the Kings,

who scored 11 consecutive points

early in the fourth quarter before

wilting down the stretch. Harrison

Barnes had 14 points for Sacra-

mento.

Suns 123, Pelicans 110: Devin

Booker scored 33 points, Chris

Paul added 11 points and 15 assists,

and Phoenix won at New Orleans.

Mikal Bridges added 23 points

for the Suns, who picked up their

seventh win over the Pelicans in

the last nine games. Bridges and

Cameron Johnson (18 points) both

made five three-pointers, while

veteran center Bismack Biyombo

shot 6-for-6 and scored 16.

Phoenix led by as many as 16

points in the first quarter but was

up just 101-99 after Devonte’ Gra-

ham made his third three-pointer

of the fourth quarter with 6:21 left.

But Booker, with 11 fourth-quarter

points, sparked a 22-11 run by the

Suns to put away the game.

Knicks 104, Pacers 94:RJ Bar-

rett scored 24 of his 32 points in the

first half, Julius Randle had 30

points and 16 rebounds in his first

game after coming off the CO-

VID-19 health and safety protocols

list, and host New York beat Indi-

ana.

Alec Burks added 14 points for

the Knicks (18-20), who snapped a

two-game losing streak. Immanuel

Quickley chipped in with 11.

Kiefer Skyes scored 22 points in

the Pacers’ fifth straight loss.

Duane Washington Jr. added 17.

Domantas Sabonis and Torrey

Craig each contributed 15.

Raptors 129, Spurs 104: Fred

VanVleet scored 33 points, Pascal

Siakam had 18 points and 12 re-

bounds, and host Toronto extended

its winning streak to three by beat-

ing San Antonio.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 21 points

as the Raptors evened their record

at 17-17, reaching the .500 mark for

the first time since they were 7-7 af-

ter a Nov. 13 home loss to Detroit.

Toronto has won eight of its past

10 at home.

Morant’s strong finish lifts GrizzliesMemphis guard scores 6points in last 30 secondsto hold off Cleveland

Associated Press

TONY DEJAK/AP

The Memphis Grizzlies’ Jarrett Culver drives against the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley. The Grizzliesdefeated the Cavaliers 110­106 on Tuesday in Cleveland for their sixth victory in a row.

ROUNDUP

PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

COLLEGE BASKETBALL/COLLEGE FOOTBALL

HOUSTON — Deuce Vaughn

and the Kansas State Wildcats fin-

ished a streaky season on a posi-

tive note Tuesday night with a

dominant 42-20 win over short-

handed LSU in the Texas Bowl.

Vaughn, a sophomore running

back and first-team All-American

as an all-purpose player, rushed

for 146 yards on 21 carries. He

scored four touchdowns — three

rushing and one receiving.

“The aggressiveness of our play

calling opened up the running

game,” Vaughn said. “Everybody

was making plays, and our O-line

stayed committed to the fight

against a really good defense.”

Kansas State (8-5) also got a

strong performance from quarter-

back Skylar Thompson, who re-

turned to make his final collegiate

start after missing the regular-

season finale with an ankle injury.

Thompson completed 21 of 28

passes for 259 yards and three

touchdowns and was chosen Tex-

as Bowl MVP. Malik Knowles had

two touchdown catches and 42

yards receiving.

While the Tigers (6-7) had a

tough time slowing Vaughn and

Thompson, they had another up-

hill battle on offense.

With starting quarterback Max

Johnson having transferred to

Texas A&M, backup Myles Bren-

nan recovering from surgery and

a third-string freshman that

would have had to burn his red-

shirt to play, LSU entered the

game with a big question mark un-

der center.

The Tigers turned to senior re-

ceiver Jontre Kirklin, who hadn’t

played quarterback since high

school in 2016.

LSU didn’t get a first down until

late in the second quarter. By that

time, the Wildcats already had 12

first downs and a 21-0 lead.

Kansas St.dominatesLSU inTexas Bowl

Associated Press

MICHAEL WYKE/AP

Deuce Vaughn ran for 146 yardsand three touchdowns and had aTD catch to lead Kansas Statepast LSU in the Texas Bowl.

WACO, Texas — James Akinjo

matched his career high with 27

points, Adam Flagler scored 22

and top-ranked Baylor stretched

its national-best winning streak to

20 games with an 84-74 win over

Oklahoma on Tuesday night.

Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua

added 12 points for the Bears (14-0,

2-0 Big 12), whose winning streak

began with their six wins in last

season’s NCAA Tournament on

their way to their first national

championship.

After the Sooners (11-3, 1-1) got

within 77-72 in the final minute on

a fast-break layup by Umoja Gib-

son, LJ Cryer had a backcourt

turnover.

No. 2 Duke 69, Georgia Tech

57: Freshman Paolo Banchero

had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and

the host Blue Devils beat the Yel-

low Jackets in Duke’s return from

a COVID-19 outbreak that led to a

pair of postponements.

The Blue Devils (12-1, 2-0 Atlan-

tic Coast Conference) had a rough

night on offense and shot a season-

low 37.3%. But their defense made

things even tougher on Georgia

Tech.

No. 6 Kansas 74, Oklahoma

State 63: David McCormack had

17 points and a career-high 15 re-

bounds, Ochai Agbaji scored 16

points, and the visiting Jayhawks

overcame a scoreless streak of

more than 9½ minutes to beat the

Cowboys in the delayed Big 12

Conference opener for both teams.

Kansas (12-1) missed 19 straight

shots to end the first half, allowing

Oklahoma State(7-5) to pull even

at 29-29 by halftime, but the Jay-

hawks made seven straight shots

during a 20-8 run early in the sec-

ond half that put them back ahead

by double digits.

No.  9  Auburn  81,  South

Carolina 66: Wendell Green Jr.

scored a season-high 22 points and

the visiting Tigers beat the Game-

cocks for their 10th straight win.

Walker Kessler finished with 12

points, 10 rebounds and four

blocks for Auburn (13-1, 2-0 South-

eastern Conference), whose win-

ning streak is its longest since it

won 12 in a row in 2018-19.

No. 14 Texas 70, Kansas State

57:Marcus Carr scored 19 points,

Timmy Allen had 17 and the visit-

ing Longhorns rallied in the sec-

ond half to beat the Wildcats.

Courtney Ramey added 14

points and Dylan Disu had 10 for

Texas (12-2, 2-0 Big 12), which has

won six in a row.

Marquette  88,  No.  16

Providence 56:Justin Lewis had a

career-high 23 points and 11 re-

bounds as the host Golden Eagles

broke out of their slump and ended

the Friars’ eight-game winning

streak.

Marquette (9-6, 1-3 Big East)

emphatically ended its four-game

skid by scoring 20 straight points

late in the first half. The Golden

Eagles’ lead never dropped below

20 throughout the second half.

No. 20 Colorado State 67, Air

Force 59: Isaiah Stevens scored

15 points as the host Rams

shrugged off some rust following a

nearly monthlong layoff due to

COVID-19 concerns and held off

the short-handed Falcons .

Ethan Taylor led Air Force (8-5,

1-1) with 19 points.

No.  21  LSU  65,  No.  16

Kentucky 50: Tari Eason capped

his 13-point performance with a

dunk following a Wildcats turn-

over with 13 seconds left, and the

host Tigers held on for the win.

Xavier Pinson added 11 points

for LSU (13-1, 1-1 Southeastern

Conference).

No. 24 Seton Hall 71, Butler

56: Jared Rhoden scored 17

points, Alexis Yetna had 14 points

and 10 rebounds, and the Pirates

beat the host Bulldogs.

Bryce Aiken added 12 points and

seven assists for Seton Hall (10-3,

1-2 Big East), .

Army 96, Bucknell 89: Jalen

Rucker scored 21 points and Aaron

Duhart scored 20 and the Black

Knights earned a road win.

Josh Caldwell had 16 points and

Charlie Peterson added 13 for Ar-

my (8-6, 2-0 Patriot League).

Navy 83, Boston University 71:

John Carter Jr. scored a season-

high 23 points as the host Midship-

men defeated the Terriers. Tyler

Nelson added 20 points for Navy.

Daniel Deaver had 18 points and

nine rebounds for the Midshipmen

(9-4, 2-0 Patriot League).

No. 1 Baylor topsOklahoma, runswin streak to 20

Associated Press

JERRY LARSON/AP

Baylor guard Adam Flagler shoots a three­pointer over Oklahomaguard Elijah Harkless. Flager had 22 points to lead the top­rankedBears to a 84­74 win Tuesday in Waco, Texas.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

LOS ANGELES — After a near-

ly two-week shutdown because of

COVID-19, UCLA is back. At least

the fifth-ranked Bruins are trying

to be.

And they finally have an oppo-

nent to play.

The team returned to practice a

week ago, with everyone from

coach Mick Cronin to several

players having recovered after

being laid low by the coronavirus.

Just three scholarship players did

not test positive.

UCLA will host Long Beach

State on Thursday. Only family

members will be allowed to attend

because of rising COVID-19 cases.

The Beach is making its second

visit to Pauley

Pavilion this sea-

son, having lost

100-79 on Nov.

15.

The Bruins

(8-1) haven’t

played since

Dec. 11, when

they won at Mar-

quette. Four

days later, Cronin woke up “feel-

ing terrible,” tested positive and

immediately went into quaran-

tine. The Bruins’ game that night

against Alabama State was can-

celed an hour before tipoff.

“It was a wild ride,” Cronin said.

“I feel better now. Being in the

bedroom for 10 days was no fun at

all.”

Games against North Carolina

in Las Vegas and Cal Poly at home

were canceled. After winning

their Pac-12 opener on Dec. 1

against Colorado, UCLA had four

other league games postponed.

The Bruins thought they would

be hosting Arizona State on

Wednesday, but then the Sun Dev-

ils came down with COVID-19 is-

sues. It’s up to the Pac-12 office to

schedule league games; UCLA

can line up any nonconference

games itself.

Everyone on the staff is furious-

ly working the phones to see who’s

got game. Cronin said he would

talk to the league office about al-

lowing schools to play an opponent

three times, something it did last

season, just to fill in the pock-

marked schedule.

Rival Southern California may

get a phone call. After all, the sev-

enth-ranked Trojans (12-0) are

just 12 miles across town and

they’ve been idle since beating

Georgia Teach on Dec. 18.

The Trojans, who had CO-

VID-19 issues of their own, are far-

ing slightly better with their

schedule. Road games this week

at California and Stanford were

still on as of Tuesday.

No. 5 UCLA ready to play 1st game in weeksBY BETH HARRIS

Associated Press

Cronin

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23

NFL

The NFL worked around CO-

VID-19 with pauses and postpone-

ments during a 2020 season that fig-

ured to be the worst in dealing with

the virus.

Now the league — and its teams,

coaches and players — are just

working through coronavirus con-

cerns in 2021, even with positive

tests skyrocketing compared to late

in the season a year ago.

Las Vegas and the Los Angeles

Chargers are set for a playoffs-or-

bust finale to the first 17-game regu-

lar season on Sunday. Masks and

large meeting rooms — even virtual

position-group gatherings — are as

much a part of game plans as Xs and

Os for those and other teams on the

playoff bubble. Same for the teams

already in.

“I’m worried about COVID just

like the rest of the league is,” said

Dallas coach Mike McCarthy,

whose team clinched the NFC East

in Week 16. “It’s just another varia-

ble in our league to be successful.

The experience from last year is

definitely beneficial. We’ll do the

best we can with it.”

The Philadelphia Eagles are re-

lieved they wrapped up a postsea-

son berth over the weekend be-

cause 12 more players landed on the

COVID-19 reserve list Monday, in-

cluding defensive tackle Fletcher

Cox and tight end Dallas Goedert.

The league and players’ union

agreed to ease return-to-play guide-

lines as the focus shifted from iso-

lating infected players to encourag-

ing vaccine booster shots as the best

way to deal with the highly conta-

gious omicron variant.

There were nearly 600 con-

firmed positive COVID-19 cases

among players and league person-

nel from Dec. 12 to 25 compared to

about 100 from almost the same

timeframe in 2020, according to

NFL figures.

But the league has only post-

poned three games, all in Week 15,

when two games were moved to

Tuesday.

One of the postponements in-

volved Cleveland after Baker May-

field tested positive as part of an

outbreak for the Browns, and the

frustrated quarterback lashed out

on Twitter as the league was nego-

tiating possible changes to testing

protocols.

The game was pushed back two

days, and the Browns lost to Las Ve-

gas 16-14. They were eliminated

from the playoffs before losing at

Pittsburgh on Monday night.

As the numbers escalated, the 10-

day quarantine was reduced to five

for players who test positive but

aren’t showing symptoms. The fed-

eral Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention adopted similar

guidelines about the same time.

“We wanted to go where the sci-

ence was going, and I will say that

that five-day period sort of mirrors

the data we have been seeing in our

own NFL testing data throughout

the year,” Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s

chief medical officer, told the NFL

Network. “So, it really wasn’t about

player availability or roster num-

bers. It was, ‘What is the science

telling us?’ ”

The changes helped the unvacci-

nated Carson Wentz of Indianapolis

avoid becoming the latest starting

quarterback to miss a game. The

Colts lost to the Raiders anyway,

and need a Week 18 victory over

two-win Jacksonville to make the

playoffs.

Kirk Cousins, also unvaccinated,

and Minnesota weren’t so lucky. He

was out against Green Bay on Sun-

day, and the Vikings never had

much of a chance in a last-gasp ef-

fort to keep their postseason hopes

alive, losing 37-10.

Baltimore needs a victory over

Pittsburgh this week to reach the

playoffs, and the Steelers can stay

alive with a win. New Orleans lost to

Miami two weeks ago after a CO-

VID-19 outbreak decimated the ros-

ter. Still, the Saints can advance if

they beat Atlanta and San Francisco

loses to the Los Angeles Rams.

PHOTOS BY SETH WENIG/AP

Above: Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter (64), the Players Association president, said he tested positivefor COVID­19 on Dec. 23. Below: Allen Sills, the chief medical officer for the NFL, has defended the re­duction from the 10­day quarantine to five for players who test positive but aren’t showing symptoms.

NFL’s 2nd season of COVIDmaybe more trying than 1st

BY SCHUYLER DIXON

Associated Press

The Las Vegas Raiders have

dealt with an email scandal that

forced coach Jon Gruden out after

five games, and a fatal drunken

driving crash that led to the re-

lease of star receiver Henry

Ruggs III.

Yet they still find themselves in

position to make the playoffs for

the second time in 19 seasons.

Now as they prepare for a sea-

son-ending showdown against the

Los Angeles Chargers, rookie cor-

nerback Nate Hobbs has been ar-

rested on a misdemeanor DUI

charge.

“As distractions go away, we’ve

kind of learned to deal with dis-

tractions around here,” interim

coach Rich Bisaccia said Monday.

Bisaccia had no more details on

Hobbs’ status as the Las Vegas'

main focus is on the Chargers fol-

lowing Sunday’s come-from-be-

hind 23-20 win at Indianapolis that

set the stage for the big finale.

With a win at home Sunday

night against Los Angeles, the

Raiders (9-7) will make the play-

offs for just the second time in the

past 19 seasons. Las Vegas also

can get in with one loss by Pitts-

burgh and a Colts loss to the Jag-

uars on Sunday.

The Raiders have done a good

job to get into this position by win-

ning the past three weeks by a to-

tal of nine points. A struggling of-

fense has made just enough plays

in key spots, the defense has held

firm and kicker Daniel Carlson

has made two walk-off field goals.

“We’ve had to win the last three

weeks to even make this one mean

something,” quarterback Derek

Carr said. “I think just keeping the

mindset and keeping the main

thing the main thing. ... I think ev-

ery game for the last month, real-

ly, has been a playoff game for us

and I don’t think anything changes

this week.”

What’s working“Red Zone Renfrow.” Las Ve-

gas has had issues scoring TDs in

the red zone this season but the

one reliable option has been slot

receiver Hunter Renfrow, who

has caught seven of Carr’s 15 TD

passes in the red zone. That’s the

most in a season for any Raiders

player since at least 2000 and is

tied for the sixth most of any wide

receiver this season.

“He makes big plays in big sit-

uations, and he’s done it his whole

career,” Bisaccia said. “He did it

at Clemson and now he’s doing it

at the National Football League. I

can’t say enough about the chem-

istry between him and Derek and

his ability to understand the field

or get himself in open positions.”

What needs helpTakeaways. The Raiders’ de-

fense has come up with some big

plays during this win streak but

hasn’t gotten a single takeaway.

Las Vegas is the fifth team in the

past 60 years to win three straight

games without a takeaway and it

ranks second to last in the NFL

with 13 on the season.

Stock upZay Jones had eight catches for

120 yards for his most prolific

game in two-plus seasons with the

Raiders. The eight catches tied a

career high set in 2018 with the

Bills.

Stock downAlex Leatherwood. The rookie

guard committed a key false start

that thwarted a red-zone drive.

Leatherwood has been called for

14 penalties this season, tied for

the second most in the NFL.

AJ MAST/AP

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow has caught seven ofDerek Carr’s 15 red zone touchdown passes.

Raiders dealing withoff-field issue headinginto crucial matchup

BY JOSH DUBOW

Associated Press Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) at Las Vegas Raiders (9-7)

AFN-Sports2:20 a.m. Monday CET10:20 a.m. Monday JKT

Kyrie Irving might be just the jolt the Brooklyn Nets need

to escape a midseason slump.

After refusing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus,

Irving has been unable to play at home and for much of the

season was unwelcome on the road. The Nets didn’t want a

part-time player, so they sent him away during the presea-

son.

Things changed. Brooklyn decided it needed whatever it

could get from Irving and was expected to put him on the

court for the first time this season Wednesday night at Indi-

ana.

“It definitely gives us a spark,” All-Star guard James Har-

den said. “Obviously we’re on a three-game skid right now.”

Those losses all came at home, and there’s nothing Irving

can do about the Nets’ struggles in Brooklyn if he remains

unvaccinated. The vaccine is mandated for New York City

athletes playing in public venues. He has said refusing it

was what’s best for him and that he was aware there would

be consequences.

But he can play in road games in the cities where there is

no mandate, including all the upcoming ones during a

stretch that has the Nets away for seven of their next 11

games.

Coach Steve Nash did not say Iriving would definitely de-

but Wednesday, but the guard was not listed on the injury

report for the first time this season.

Kyrie Irving watches a game between Villanova and SetonHall on Saturday in Newark, N.J. The Brooklyn Nets guardhas refused the coronavirus vaccine, which means he can’tplay in the team’s home games because of New York’svaccine mandate. The Nets can, however, use him in roadgames if those cities don’t require vaccinations.

ADAM HUNGER/AP

No jab, but Netsneed joltMired in slump, Brooklyn readyto see if Irving can bring spark

BY BRIAN MAHONEY

Associated Press

NBA

SEE JOLT ON PAGE 21

PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, January 6, 2022

SPORTS Struggling against the spread

Second season of COVID might bemore trying than first ›› NFL, Page 23

No. 1 Baylor wins 20th straight game ›› College basketball, Page 22