EPTEMBER US military: Kabul strike was ‘tragic mistake’

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Ten civilians, including seven

children, were killed in the Aug. 29

drone strike in Kabul that military

leaders had said destroyed a car

filled with explosives driven by an

Islamic State terrorist, the top U.S.

general in the Middle East said

Friday.

“The strike was a tragic mis-

take,” said Marine Gen. Frank

McKenzie, commander of U.S.

Central Command.

McKenzie said it is unlikely any

ISIS terrorists were killed in the

strike and they are considering

reparations for the families of the

victims.

CENTCOM recently opened a

high-level command investigation

and a civilian casualty assessment

into that strike after The New York

Times reported the strike conduct-

ed in the waning days of U.S. invol-

vement in the Afghanistan war ac-

tually killed a local worker for a

U.S.-based aid company and up to

10 nearby civilians.

The Reaper drone strike was the

US military: Kabul strike was ‘tragic mistake’BY ROSE L. THAYER

Stars and Stripes RELATED

Afghan strikesurvivors: Sorry ‘is not enough’Page 4SEE STRIKE ON PAGE 4

THREE RIVERS, Calif. — Crews were

watching the weather this weekend as they

battled California wildfires that have

burned into some groves of gigantic ancient

sequoias as they try to protect the world’s

largest tree.

The National Weather Service issued a

weather watch for critical fire conditions in

the Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Ne-

vada, where the Colony Fire was burning

about a mile from Giant Forest, a grove of

2,000 giant sequoias.

Firefighters have wrapped the base of the

General Sherman Tree in fire-resistant alu-

minum of the type used in wildland fire-

GeneralSherman Treeis seen with its

base wrapped ina fire-resistant

blanket atSequoia

National Forestin California.

AP

Crews watchweather aswildfire burnsnear sequoias

Associated Press

NOAH BERGER/AP

A helicopter drops water on the KNPComplex Fire in Sequoia National Park,Calif., on Wednesday.

SEE SEQUOIAS ON PAGE 9

• S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Sunday, September 19, 2021

BUSINESS/WEATHER

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Fed-

eral officials said Friday they will

investigate a fiery Tesla crash that

left two people dead in South Flor-

ida.

Three investigators with the Na-

tional Transportation Safety

Board will travel this week to Cor-

al Gables, where a Tesla Model 3

left the roadway and collided with

a tree Monday, the agency an-

nounced on Twitter.

“We always look especially

closely at newer technology,”

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson

said.

The NTSB investigation will fo-

cus on the operation of the vehicle

and the post-crash fire that con-

sumed the car, officials said.

Tesla vehicles don’t use gaso-

line that could raise the risk of a

big fire after a crash, but the com-

pany’s guidance to first respon-

ders includes a warning about bat-

tery fires. Tesla representatives

have said that high-speed colli-

sions can result in a fire for any

kind of car. The Coral Gables

crash occurred near a residential

intersection, and it wasn’t imme-

diately known whether speed was

a factor.

It was also unclear whether the

car’s partially automated driving

system was activated at the time of

the crash. The government is scru-

tinizing Tesla’s system. In the past

five years, the National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration has

sent investigators to 31 crashes in-

volving vehicles with partially au-

tomated driver-assist systems, in-

cluding 25 involving Teslas.

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Military rates

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Sunday, September 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

AFGHANISTAN

Afghans who earned American visas af-

ter working for the U.S. military had their

passports destroyed or lost at the U.S. Em-

bassy in Kabul before it was evacuated,

leaving them with no clear path out of the

country.

U.S. military officers who advocated for

Massih, their translator on deployment,

were excited when they learned he had

been issued his long-awaited Special Immi-

grant Visa. But after his Afghan passport

went missing from the embassy, he seems

farther away from his goal than when he

started, they say.

“It’s beyond me how he has the SIV ap-

proved, all the hard work is done, and the

system totally failed him,” said Roger Cart-

wright, a retired military lawyer who

worked with Massih.

Evacuating people such as Massih may

require the U.S. to get permission from the

new Taliban government and to provide fi-

nancial aid to neighboring countries in ex-

change for opening their borders to people

without passports, lawyers and advocates

told Stars and Stripes.

Massih believes that his family’s pass-

ports were destroyed sometime after he left

them at the U.S. Embassy on Aug. 4 to re-

ceive their SIVs.

He received notice on Aug. 14 that his vi-

sas had been issued and would soon be

available for pickup along with his pass-

ports, documentation shared with Stars and

Stripes showed. But by then, most of the em-

bassy had been evacuated. Kabul fell to the

Taliban a day later.

The family hasn’t been allowed to leave

Afghanistan without passports, said Mas-

sih, who asked that his real name not be

used out of fear of Taliban retribution.

The Taliban blocked every attempt Mas-

sih made to get to the airport during the U.S.

evacuation, said an active-duty military of-

ficer who worked with him. The officer was

not authorized to speak to the media and

asked not to be identified.

Besides Massih, many other SIV recip-

ients are also in dire straits after leaving

their passports at the U.S. Embassy.

“Without a passport, how will I go to an-

other country?” said Zabiullah, who asked

not to be identified by his real name.

Ellen Smith, the director of the advocacy

group Keeping Our Promise, is working on

behalf of Zabiullah and his family.

“They are stuck in no-man’s land, compli-

ments of our government,” Smith said.

In response to questions about SIV recip-

ients who had been deprived of their pass-

ports, the State Department said it had fol-

lowed procedures in closing the embassy in

Kabul.

“It is standard operating procedure dur-

ing a drawdown to minimize our footprint

and reduce the amount of sensitive material

remaining,” a statement said.

A State Department spokesman declined

to answer follow-up questions.

Former embassy staffers told Stars and

Stripes that they recalled destroying sensi-

tive items before their hasty withdrawal.

One contractor said he received numerous

calls from Afghans asking what had hap-

pened to their passports.

While more than 124,000 people were

evacuated before the U.S. completed its

withdrawal on Aug. 31, most who applied

for visas after working with American

troops remain stuck under Taliban rule, a

State Department official told NBC News

earlier this month.

The advocacy group No One Left Behind

is tracking at least 400 Afghans who com-

pleted the arduous process to receive SIVs

but cannot leave, said James Miervaldis,

the organization’s chairman.

Many people flew out of Afghanistan on

U.S. evacuation planes without any paper-

work, said Kimberly Motley, a human

rights lawyer who has worked in Afghanis-

tan for 13 years.

But now that the U.S. military has left, it

will be difficult to legally evacuate people

without proper documents, even if the State

Department has their information on file,

Motley said.

“Unfortunately, at this point it appears

that anyone who flies out of Afghanistan

will have to inform and/or negotiate with

the Taliban for safe passage,” said Motley in

an email.

The U.S. should consider issuing docu-

mentation similar to Nansen passports,

which were issued from 1922 to 1938 by the

League of Nations to stateless refugees,

Motley said. These passports could be dis-

tributed by organizations still in Afghanis-

tan, such as the United Nations, she said.

Another option is to pursue agreements

with countries such as Uzbekistan and Taji-

kistan, said Betsy Fisher, director of strate-

gy at the International Refugee Assistance

Project.

Western countries have started negotia-

tions with these neighboring countries to

accept Afghans, Voice of America reported

in early September.

Fisher, like other advocates, noted a

Catch-22: those in Afghanistan without

passports can’t leave, but to get the neces-

sary documentation they may have to get to

a U.S. embassy or consulate.

Adam Bates, IRAP’s policy counsel, said

the U.S. could offer Afghans without pass-

ports a legal option known as parole, which

allows U.S. entry to pursue legal status

without conferring formal rights to stay

permanently. That option would still re-

quire Taliban approval for the applicants to

leave.

“Nobody should be punished or have

their life put in danger because their docu-

ments were destroyed in the chaos of the

fall of Kabul,” Bates said.

Afghans stuck after hasty embassy exitBY J.P. LAWRENCE

Stars and Stripes

[email protected]: @jplawrence3

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan-

istan’s new Taliban rulers set up a

ministry for the “propagation of vir-

tue and the prevention of vice” in

the building that once housed the

Women’s Affairs Ministry, escort-

ing out World Bank staffers Satur-

day as part of the forced move.

It’s the latest troubling sign that

the Taliban are restricting women’s

rights as they settle into govern-

ment, just a month since they over-

ran the capital of Kabul. In their

first period of rule in the 1990s, the

Taliban had denied girls and wom-

en the right to education and barred

them from public life.

Separately, three explosions tar-

geted Taliban vehicles in the east-

ern provincial capital of Jalalabad

on Saturday, killing three people

and wounding 20, witnesses said.

There was no immediate claim of

responsibility, but Islamic State

militants, headquartered in the ar-

ea, are enemies of the Taliban.

The Taliban are facing major eco-

nomic and security problems as

they attempt to govern, and a grow-

ing challenge by ISIS insurgents

would further stretch their re-

sources.

In Kabul, a new sign was up out-

side the women’s affairs ministry,

announcing it was now the “Minis-

try for Preaching and Guidance and

the Propagation of Virtue and the

Prevention of Vice.”

Staff of the World Bank’s $100

million Women’s Economic Empo-

werment and Rural Development

Program, which was run out of the

Women’s Affairs Ministry, were es-

corted off the grounds Saturday,

said program member Sharif Ak-

htar, who was among those being

removed.

Mabouba Suraj, who heads the

Afghan Women’s Network, said she

was astounded by the flurry of or-

ders released by the Taliban-run

government restricting women and

girls.

Meanwhile, the Taliban-run edu-

cation ministry asked boys from

grades 7-12 back to school Saturday

along with their male teachers but

there was no mention of girls in

those grades returning to school.

Previously, the Taliban’s minister

of higher education minister, had

said girls would be given equal ac-

cess to education.

“It is becoming really, really trou-

blesome. ... Is this the stage where

the girls are going to be forgotten?”

Suraj said. “I know they don’t be-

lieve in giving explanations, but ex-

planations are very important.”

Suraj speculated that the contra-

dictory statements perhaps reflect

divisions within the Taliban as they

seek to consolidate their power,

with the more pragmatic within the

movement losing out to hard-liners

among them, at least for now.

Statements from the Taliban

leadership often reflect a willing-

ness to engage with the world, open

public spaces to women and girls

and protect Afghanistan’s minori-

ties. But orders to its rank and file on

the ground are contradictory. In-

stead restrictions, particularly on

women, have been implemented.

Suraj, an Afghan American who

returned to Afghanistan in 2003 to

promote women’s rights and educa-

tion, said many of her fellow activ-

ists have left the country.

She said she stayed in an effort to

engage with the Taliban and find a

middle ground, but until now has

not been able to get the Taliban

leadership to meet with activists

who have remained in the country

to talk with women about the way

forward.

Taliban set up newministry for womenrestricting them

BY KATHY GANNON

Associated Press

BERNAT ARMANGUE/AP

An Afghan man walks past the former Women’s Affairs Ministry building in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday.Taliban rulers have set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice” in the building.


AFGHANISTAN

KABUL, Afghanistan — Sorry

is not enough for the Afghan sur-

vivors of an errant U.S. drone

strike that killed 10 members of

their family, including seven chil-

dren.

Emal Ahmadi, whose 3-year-

old daughter Malika was killed on

Aug. 29, when the U.S. hellfire

missile struck his elder brother’s

car, told The Associated Press on

Saturday that the family demands

Washington investigate who fired

the drone and punish the military

personnel responsible for the

strike.

“That is not enough for us to say

sorry,” Ahmadi said. “The U.S.A.

should find the person who did

this.”

Ahmadi said the family is also

seeking financial compensation

for their losses and demanded

that several members of the fam-

ily be relocated to a third country,

without specifying which country.

The AP and other news organi-

zations in Kabul reported after

the strike that the driver of the

targeted vehicle, Zemerai Ahma-

di, was a longtime employee at an

American humanitarian organi-

zation and cited an absence of evi-

dence to support the Pentagon’s

assertion that the vehicle con-

tained explosives.

The missile struck as the car

was pulling into the family’s dri-

veway and the children ran to

greet Zemerai.

On Friday, U.S. Marine Gen.

Frank McKenzie, head of U.S.

Central Command, called the

strike a “tragic mistake,” and af-

ter weeks of denials, said that in-

nocent civilians were indeed

killed in the attack and not an Is-

lamic State extremist as was an-

nounced earlier.

The drone strike followed a

devastating suicide bombing by

ISIS — a rival of the Taliban —

that killed 169 Afghans and 13 U.S.

military personnel at one of the

gates to the Kabul airport. For

days, desperate Afghans had

swarmed the checkpoints outside

the airport, trying to leave the

country amid the chaotic U.S. and

NATO troops pullout, fearing for

their future under the Taliban.

McKenzie apologized for the

error and said the United States is

considering making reparation

payments to the family of the vic-

tims.

Emal Ahmadi, who said he

heard of the apology from friends

in America, insisted that it won’t

bring back members of his family

and while he expressed relief for

the U.S. apology and recognition

that his family were innocent vic-

tims, he said he was frustrated

that it took weeks of pleading with

Washington to at least make a call

to the family.

Even as evidence mounted to

the contrary, Pentagon officials

asserted that the strike had been

conducted correctly, to protect

the U.S. troops remaining at Ka-

bul’s airport ahead of the final

pullout the following day, on Aug.

30.

Looking exhausted, sitting in

front of the charred ruins of Zem-

arai’s car, Ahmadi said he wanted

more than an apology form the

United States — he wanted jus-

tice, including an investigation in-

to who carried out the strike “and

I want him punished by the

U.S.A.”

In the days before the Penta-

gon’s apology, accounts from the

family, documents from col-

leagues seen by The AP and the

scene at the family home — where

Zemerai’s car was struck by the

missile — all sharply contradicted

the accounts by the U.S. military.

Instead, they painted the picture

of a family that had worked for

Americans and were trying to

gain visas to the U.S., fearing for

their lives under the Taliban.

Zemerai was the family’s

breadwinner and had looked after

his three brothers, including

Emal, and their children.

“Now I am then one who is re-

sponsible for all my family and I

am jobless,” Emal Ahmadi said.

The situation “is not good,” said

Ahmadi of life under the Taliban.

International aid groups and the

United Nations have warned of a

looming humanitarian crisis that

could drive most Afghans below

the poverty level.

McKenzie said the decision to

strike a white Toyota Corolla se-

dan, after having tracked it for

about eight hours, was made in an

“earnest belief” — based on a

standard of “reasonable certain-

ty” — that it posed an imminent

threat to American forces at the

Kabul airport. The car was be-

lieved to have been carrying ex-

plosives in its trunk, he said.

But Ahmadi wondered how the

his family’s home could have

been mistaken for an ISIS hide-

out.

“The U.S.A. can see from ev-

erywhere,” he said of U.S. drone

capabilities. “They can see that

there were innocent children near

the car and in the car. Whoever

did this should be punished.”

“It isn’t right,” he added.

Afghan strike survivors: Sorry ‘is not enough’BY KATHY GANNON

Associated Press

BERNAT ARMANGUE/AP

The Ahmadi family gather to pray on Monday next to the graves of family members killed by a U.S. dronestrike Aug. 29, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Emal Ahmadi’s daughter Malika, 3, was among the 10 killed.

last known airstrike launched by

American forces in Afghanistan

before the final U.S. troops pulled

out of Kabul just before midnight

Aug. 31. Defense officials in an-

nouncing the strike Aug. 29 said it

had disrupted an imminent sui-

cide attack against Hamid Karzai

International Airport. The U.S.

military used the Kabul airfield to

lead an about two-week effort to

evacuate Americans and their al-

lies, including Afghans, from the

country after the Taliban takeover

Aug. 15.

“I offer my profound condolenc-

es to the family and friends of those

who are killed,” McKenzie said.

“This strike was taken in earnest

belief that it would prevent an im-

minent threat to our forces and the

evacuees at the airport, but it was a

mistake. And I offer my sincere

apology. As the combatant com-

mander, I am fully responsible for

this strike in this tragic outcome.”

The drone strike came just days

after a suicide bomber with ISIS-

Khorasan — Afghanistan’s ISIS af-

filiate known as ISIS-K — blew

himself up just outside the airport,

killing 13 American service mem-

bers, wounding nearly two dozen

more and killing and maiming

hundreds of Afghans crowded

around the airfield’s gates. U.S. of-

ficials at that time were on high

alert about the potential for anoth-

er terrorist attack on the airport

and warned publicly such an as-

sault was likely imminent.

“We now know that there was no

connection between [the local

worker] and ISIS-Khorasan, that

his activities on that day were com-

pletely harmless and not at all re-

lated to the imminent threat we be-

lieved we faced,” Defense Secreta-

ry Lloyd Austin said in a prepared

statement. “We apologize, and we

will endeavor to learn from this

horrible mistake.”

Austin announced he has direct-

ed a review of the investigation

completed by CENTCOM.

“I have asked for this review to

consider the degree to which the

investigation considered all avail-

able context and information, the

degree to which accountability

measures need be taken and at

what level, and the degree to which

strike authorities, procedures and

processes need to be altered in the

future,” he said.

A CENTCOM statement just af-

ter the strike claimed it caused sec-

ondary explosions, indicating ex-

plosives were inside the car. How-

ever, the investigation found the

secondary explosion was caused

by a propane tank located behind

the white Toyota Corolla that was

hit with a missile at about 4:51 p.m.

on Aug. 29, McKenzie said.

“Clearly our intelligence was

wrong on this particular white

Toyota Corolla,” he said.

Intelligence gathered by U.S.

personnel led the military to a ve-

hicle of that make and model as a

key element of the next attack, and

this particular Corolla was at a lo-

cation of interest, the general said.

It’s now known that the compound

included offices of Nutrition and

Education International, a non-

profit based in California that

works to fight malnutrition in plac-

es such as Afghanistan.

Without forces on the ground,

the military used drones to track

the vehicle for about eight hours,

watching while the car moved

throughout Kabul. As many as four

men came and went from the car

with bags and jugs.

Once it stopped about 1.8 miles

from the airport, the strike was au-

thorized. At that time, one man was

inside the vehicle and another out-

side in the vicinity of the car. A re-

view of footage following reports of

civilian casualties showed other

forms could be seen moving

throughout the compound.

“This led to my initiation of an in-

vestigation within 24 hours of the

strike. A comprehensive review of

all the available footage, and re-

porting on the matter, led us to a fi-

nal conclusion it as many as 10 ci-

vilians were killed in the strike, in-

cluding up to seven children,”

McKenzie said.

The general said he regretted

the strike, but he noted the intense

self-defense posture that decision-

makers faced. Just 24 hours later,

rockets were launched from a sim-

ilar location to the Kabul airport

where American troops continued

to try to get as many Americans

and Afghans as possible out of the

country.

“Let me be clear, this was a self-

defense strike, taken under self-

defense rules of engagement,

based on an imminent threat to at-

tack us,” McKenzie said.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chair-

man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

who had previously described the

operation as a “righteous” strike

that killed at least one ISIS-K “fa-

cilitate,” said Friday that it was a

“horrible tragedy of war,” accord-

ing to The Associated Press.

Milley also made a commitment

to transparency on the incident.

Strike: Austin says he’s directed a review of CENTCOM’s investigation FROM PAGE 1

[email protected] Twitter: @Rose_Lori


AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY

KABUL, Afghanistan — A Qa-

tar Airways flight on Friday took

more Americans out of Afghan-

istan, according to Washington’s

peace envoy, the third such air-

lift by the Mideast carrier since

the Taliban takeover and the

frantic U.S. troop pullout from

the country.

The development came amid

rising concerns over the future

of Afghanistan under the Tali-

ban. The country’s new Islamic

rulers on Friday ordered that

boys but not girls from grades

six to 12, and male teachers but

no women teachers return to

school and resume classes, start-

ing Saturday.

The statement, posted on the

Facebook page of the now Tali-

ban-run education ministry, un-

derscored fears that the Taliban

might again impose restrictions

on girls and women. Since taking

power, the Taliban had allowed

girls in grades one to six to re-

sume classes. When they ruled

Afghanistan previously in the

late 1990s, the Taliban banned

girls and women from attending

school and work.

U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad

tweeted he was “grateful that

more Americans were able to

leave on a Qatar Airways flight.”

There was no immediate infor-

mation on how many Americans

were on the flight.

An Afghan official said more

than 150 passengers were on the

flight, though it was not immedi-

ately clear how many were

Americans. In the past week,

more than 300 foreign nationals

as well as U.S. green card hold-

ers and Afghans with special vi-

sas have left Afghanistan. The

official spoke on condition of

anonymity because he was not

authorized to speak to the media.

He said more flights were ex-

pected on Saturday, including

another Qatar Airways flight.

It’s unclear how many American

nationals are still in Afghanis-

tan, but Khalilzad tweeted “we

remain committed to get them

out if they want to come home.”

U.S. State Department spokes-

woman Jalina Porter confirmed

that the plane departed Kabul on

Friday and told reporters that

officials were still trying to de-

termine how many Americans,

green card holders or holders of

special immigrant visas for Af-

ghans were on the flight heading

to Doha, the Qatari capital.

Qatar Airways’ first flight out

of Kabul with the cooperation of

the Taliban was on Sept. 9, the

first such large-scale departure

since the U.S. forces withdrew

on Aug. 30. There have been sev-

eral chartered flights since, in-

cluding by Pakistan Internation-

al Airlines, to airlift foreigners

and Afghans desperate to leave

and fearing the Taliban, and a

few commercial flights out of

Kabul International Airport.

Porter said that in all, “be-

tween the charter flights and

overland crossings, a total of 36

U.S. citizens” have left Afghan-

istan since the U.S. troop pull-

out.

The Taliban order for the boys

and male teachers to return to

junior high and high schools

went against earlier promises by

Afghanistan’s new rulers to

guarantee girls equal access to

education and harkened back to

their past harsh rule. Since tak-

ing over, the Taliban have only

allowed women back to work in

the health sector and as teachers

in grades one through five.

At a news conference last

week, the Taliban minister for

higher education, Abdul Baqi

Haqqani, had said classes would

be gender segregated but that

girls would have the same ac-

cess to education as boys.

Earlier this month, the Tali-

ban declared their interim, all-

male government — devoid of

any women or members of the

country’s minorities. The 33-

member Cabinet is stacked with

veterans of the Taliban’s hard-

line rule from the 1990s and the

20-year battle against the U.S.-

led coalition.

BERNAT ARMANGUE/AP

Afghans sort secondhand clothes at the ChamaneHozari Park in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Friday.

US envoy: Qatar planebrings more Americans

BY KATHY GANNON

Associated Press “We remain committed to get themout if they want to come home.”

U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad

in a tweet

ATHENS, Greece — Against

the backdrop of the troop with-

drawal from Afghanistan, the top

U.S. military officer is meeting in

Greece with NATO counterparts

this weekend, hoping to forge

more basing, intelligence sharing

and other agreements to prevent

terrorist groups from regrouping

and threatening America and the

region.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chair-

man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

said the meeting of NATO defense

chiefs will focus in part on the way

ahead now that all alliance troops

have pulled out of Afghanistan

and the Taliban are in control.

Milley, U.S. Defense Secretary

Lloyd Austin and American intel-

ligence officials have warned that

al-Qaida or the Islamic State

group could regenerate in Af-

ghanistan and pose a threat to the

United States in one year to two

years.

The U.S. military has said it can

conduct counterterrorism sur-

veillance and, if necessary, strikes

in Afghanistan from “over the ho-

rizon” — meaning from assets

based in other countries. But they

have made it clear that surveil-

lance flights from bases in the Per-

sian Gulf are long and provide lim-

ited time in the air over Afghanis-

tan. So they have talked about

seeking basing agreements, over-

flight rights and increased intelli-

gence-sharing with nations closer

to Afghanistan, including some

neighbors.

In recent months, however, U.S.

officials have reported little pro-

gress in any negotiations on any

basing agreements.

Milly said he will be talking to

his military counterparts “to see

what the possibilities are and then

bring them back” to U.S. defense

and diplomatic leaders for addi-

tional discussions. Then, he said,

officials will see what they can

turn into a reality.

“We are going to talk about over

the horizon capabilities and where

allies think appropriate that they

can make a contribution, we’re

certainly open to that,” Milley told

reporters traveling with him to

Greece. “There are opportunities

where alliance members may

choose to work closely with us on

these over the horizon capabili-

ties.”

He said allies are concerned

about counterterrorism and how

to ensure an effective defense

against terrorists.

At the opening of the morning

session Saturday, NATO military

leaders made it clear that avoiding

a resurgence of terrorism in Af-

ghanistan is a key goal for the alli-

ance.

Greece’s defense minister, Ni-

kolaos Panagiotopoulos, told the

group that allies must ensure the

safety and security of at-risk Af-

ghans who remain in the country

and must prevent a humanitarian

crisis.

More than 120,000 Americans,

Afghans and others were flown

out of Afghanistan during the

chaotic and massive airlift oper-

ation in the days after Kabul, the

capital, fell to the Taliban. But

thousands more were left behind,

with many fleeing to the borders

and seeking help from aid agen-

cies and ad hoc groups struggling

to find ways out of the country.

“We are going through a period

of significant challenges in Af-

ghanistan,” said Panagiotopoulos,

adding that a key risk is the migra-

tion flow toward Europe. He said

allies need to “provide support to

those countries in the immediate

neighborhood and must avoid a

migration crisis at our borders.

After Afghan exit,US seeks NATObasing, intel pacts

BY LOLITA C. BALDOR

Associated Press

BERNAT ARMANGUE/AP

Taliban fighters patrol a market in Kabul's Old City, Afghanistan, onTuesday.


MILITARY

WASHINGTON — New revela-

tions showing how Gen. Mark A.

Milley, the nation’s top military

officer, quietly maneuvered to

check President Donald Trump

reveal the lengths that top offi-

cials went to prevent potentially

rash action, but the disclosures

also threaten to thrust the mili-

tary deeper into the partisan fray,

former officials said.

A series of dramatic inside-the-

room accounts, including one in

which the chairman of the Joint

Chiefs promised to alert China’s

top officer if Trump was prepar-

ing to launch an attack, provides

new insight into military leaders’

response to the previous adminis-

tration’s fraught final period.

But Kori Schake, a scholar at

the American Enterprise Insti-

tute, said the revelations that Mil-

ley covertly acted to counter his

commander in chief are “bad for

the military as an institution.”

“It encourages people to do

what Americans are already do-

ing, which is viewing the military

as they view the Supreme Court:

apolitical when they agree with

them, partisan when they don’t,”

she said.

The latest exposé comes in a

book by Washington Post journal-

ists Bob Woodward and Robert

Costa, who write that Milley,

alarmed by the possibility Trump

might strike China as he tried to

stay in power, reached out to

Gen. Li Zuocheng in the months

surrounding the 2020 election to

dismiss any Chinese fears of a

preemptive American attack,

they said.

That followed other dramatic

accounts involving Milley, in-

cluding in a book by Washington

Post journalists Carol D. Leonnig

and Philip Rucker, which said the

general likened the circumstanc-

es around the election to those of

Nazi-era Germany.

“This is a Reichstag moment,”

Milley told others, referring to

the 1933 attack on the German

parliament, the book reported.

“The gospel of the Führer.”

Supporters of the general, a

stocky, blunt-talking infantry-

man, credit him with successfully

sheltering the military from

Trump’s most problematic im-

pulses, then pivoting to serving a

president who is different from

his predecessor in almost every

respect.

“He has been asked to do the

most difficult Olympic dive of

any of the chairman since Gold-

water-Nichols,” a 1986 congres-

sional act that cemented the pow-

er of the top officer, said Peter

Feaver, a scholar on civil-military

relations at Duke University. “So

when you’re evaluating the qual-

ity of the dive and evaluating him,

you have to recognize that,” he

said.

Milley “did what he had to do

to fulfill his oath to the Constitu-

tion and to protect this country,”

a senior military official said,

speaking on the condition of ano-

nymity because he was not autho-

rized to speak on the record.

But critics say that Milley’s un-

usually prominent role in the na-

tion’s charged political discourse

has the potential to exacerbate

the erosion of the military’s non-

partisan status that occurred un-

der Trump. Chairmen, who usu-

ally keep their military advice to

the president confidential, typi-

cally keep a low profile and are

little known outside government

circles.

Trump flouted norms concern-

ing the military, intervening in

military justice cases, treating

troop events like campaign rallies

and referring to the top brass as

“my generals.”

“Whatever one thinks of the re-

ports on General Milley’s actions,

it’s of great concern that the

chairman of the joint chiefs of

staff has become a regular topic

of political debate, commentary

and intrigues,” John Gans, a for-

mer Pentagon speechwriter, said

on Twitter. “This won’t end well.”

Milley has attracted more at-

tention than many of his prede-

cessors since even before he be-

came chairman. In December

2018, Trump announced his deci-

sion to nominate Milley, who was

then serving as Army chief of

staff, disregarding the recom-

mendation of another candidate

by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

A former senior official said

Trump was fascinated by Mil-

ley’s medals and “tough guy”

swagger. Trump later said he

picked Milley to spite Mattis, who

has since criticized his former

boss.

Perhaps the most searing mo-

ment of Milley’s tenure occurred

in June 2020, as Trump mounted

an aggressive response to pro-

tests over the police killing of Ge-

orge Floyd. Milley, dressed in fa-

tigues, joined the president as he

walked across Lafayette Square

outside the White House, which

authorities had forcibly cleared

of protesters moments before, for

a photo op. Pictures of that event

appeared to suggest Milley was a

willing supporter of Trump’s

heavy-handed approach.

People who know Milley said

he was deeply affected by the

barrage of criticism he received

from respected former senior of-

ficers, and considered resigning.

Days later, he issued a rare pub-

lic apology.

In the months after, Milley ap-

peared to be attempting to atone

for what happened at Lafayette

Square.

He has issued instructions to

the military ranks to remain loyal

to the Constitution rather than

any individual. After President

Joe Biden chose to withdraw

troops from Afghanistan despite

Milley’s impassioned arguments

against doing so, the general

sought to display his deference to

the president’s decision.

A former senior defense offi-

cial said the recent disclosures

appeared to reflect the attempt

by Milley, starting with the La-

fayette Square incident, to shake

free of the toll his affiliation with

Trump may have on his legacy.

“He’s trying to recalibrate and

show his bona fides for the new

administration,” the former offi-

cial said. “It’s not ideal, but it’s

not unexpected.”

SUSAN WALSH/AP

New revelations in a book by Washington Post journalists BobWoodward and Robert Costa have caused some to question theactions of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley during the fraughtfinal period of the Trump administration.

Milley’s attempt to check Trumpcould further politicize military

BY MISSY RYAN

The Washington Post

ANALYSIS

PARIS — America’s oldest ally,

France, recalled its ambassador to

the United States on Friday in an

unprecedented show of anger that

dwarfed decades of previous rifts.

The relationship conceived in

18th-century revolutions ap-

peared at a tipping point after the

U.S., Australia and Britain

shunned France in creating a new

Indo-Pacific security arrange-

ment.

It was the first time ever France

has recalled its ambassador to the

U.S., according to the French for-

eign ministry. Paris also recalled

its envoy to Australia.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le

Drian said in a written statement

that the French decision, on re-

quest from President Emmanuel

Macron, “is justified by the excep-

tional seriousness of the announ-

cements” made by Australia and

the United States.

He said Australia’s decision to

scrap a big French conventional

submarine purchase in favor of

nuclear subs built with U.S. tech-

nology is “unacceptable behavior

between allies and partners.”

Ambassador Philippe Etienne

tweeted the announcements are

“directly affecting the vision we

have of our alliances, of our part-

nerships and of the importance of

the Indo-Pacific for Europe.”

The Biden administration has

been in close contact with French

officials about the decision to re-

call Etienne to Paris, National Se-

curity Council spokesperson Emi-

ly Horne said.

“We understand their position

and will continue to be engaged in

the coming days to resolve our dif-

ferences, as we have done at other

points over the course of our long

alliance,” she said in a statement.

“France is our oldest ally and one

of our strongest partners, and we

share a long history of shared

democratic values and a commit-

ment to working together to ad-

dress global challenges.”

State Department spokesman

Ned Price also stressed the value

the U.S. places on its relationship

with France and expressed hope

that talks between the two sides

will continue in the coming days,

including at the United Nations

General Assembly next week.

Macron, however, for the first

time since he came into office in

2017, won’t be making a speech to

the annual meeting of world lead-

ers. Le Drian will instead deliver

the French address.

The Australian government

said it regretted France’s decision

to recall its ambassador to that na-

tion.

“Australia understands Franc-

e’s deep disappointment with our

decision, which was taken in ac-

cordance with our clear and com-

municated national security inter-

ests,” Foreign Minister Marise

Payne’s office said in a statement.

It added that Australia valued its

relationship with France and

looked forward to future engage-

ments together.

The decision to recall the am-

bassador represents a shocking

turnaround for France under Ma-

cron, who — after an increasingly

bitter relationship with former

President Donald Trump —

warmly clasped hands with Biden

at a G-7 summit in June and con-

firmed that “America is back.”

Macron has not yet commented

on the issue. The recall is his bol-

dest foreign policy move yet in a

four-year presidency in which he

has sought to strengthen France’s

diplomatic footprint and role in

European policy-making, and to

rally France’s neighbors around

his vision for a Europe less de-

pendent on the U.S. military um-

brella.

France has pushed for several

years for a European strategy for

boosting economic, political and

defense ties in the region stretch-

ing from India and China to Japan

and New Zealand. The EU this

week unveiled its plan for the In-

do-Pacific.

AP

In this image made from video, recalled French Ambassador toAustralia JeanPierre Thebault speaks during a TV interview inCanberra, Australia, on Friday.

France recalls ambassadorsto US, Australia over sub deal

BY SYLVIE CORBET

Associated Press


VIRUS OUTBREAK

WASHINGTON — Just one

month ago, President Joe Biden

and his health advisers announced

big plans to soon deliver a booster

shot of the coronavirus vaccine to

all Americans. But after cam-

paigning for the White House on a

pledge to “follow the science,” Bi-

den found himself uncharacteris-

tically ahead of it with that lofty

pronouncement.

Some of nation’s top medical ad-

visers on Friday delivered a sting-

ing rebuke of the idea, in essence

telling the White House: not so

fast.

A key government advisory

panel overwhelmingly rejected

Biden’s plan to give COVID-19

booster shots across the board and

instead recommended the extra

vaccine dose only for those who

are age 65 or older or who run a

high risk of severe disease.

Biden’s Aug. 18 announcement

that the federal government was

preparing to shore up nearly all

Americans’ protection had been

made with great fanfare. It was

meant to calm the nerves of mil-

lions of Americans fearful of a

new, more transmissible strain of

the coronavirus.

“The plan is for every adult to

get a booster shot eight months af-

ter you got your second shot,” Bi-

den said, noting that his adminis-

tration would be ready to begin the

program on Sept. 20.

Biden added the qualification

that third doses would require the

signoff of health officials at the

Food and Drug Administration

and the Centers for Disease Con-

trol and Prevention, but his public

message glossed over the nuance.

“Just remember,” he said, “as a

simple rule: Eight months after

your second shot, get a booster

shot.”

Biden’s plan drew immediate

outrage from global health groups

that encouraged the United States

and other well-off nations to re-

frain from administering boosters

until poorer countries could pro-

vide first doses to their most vul-

nerable citizens.

“Viewed from a global perspec-

tive, this is a squandering of a

scarce global resource, as a conse-

quence of which people will die,”

said Dr. Peter Lurie, president of

the Center for Science in the Pub-

lic Interest. “I feel completely

comfortable saying this,” he add-

ed, acknowledging that domestic

political considerations weigh dif-

ferently on presidents.

The Biden plan was criticized,

too, by medical professionals, who

cited a lack of safety data on extra

doses and raised doubts about the

value of mass boosters, rather than

ones targeted to specific groups.

“It created enormous pressure

on the agency to go along with

what the White House wanted,”

said Lurie, who characterized the

FDA panel’s decision as a “re-

buke” of Biden’s efforts to circum-

vent standard procedures. “That’s

what we’re trying to get beyond af-

ter the Trump era.”

“Following them has served

FDA very well when they’ve done

that,” he added. He contrasted the

expeditious authorization of the

vaccines to the agency’s brief flir-

tation with unproven COVID-19

treatments such as the malaria

drug hydroxychloroquine during

the Trump administration. “When

they’ve strayed from it, they’ve got

in trouble.”

The nonbinding recommenda-

tion from the outside experts who

advise the FDA is not the last

word. The FDA will consider the

group’s advice and make its own

decision, probably within days.

The CDC is set to weigh in next

week.

One of the FDA’s advisers, Dr.

Paul Offit of Children’s Hospital of

Philadelphia, told reporters after

the meeting that while the Biden

administration had planned for

boosters for the general popula-

tion, “that’s not this. This is, ‘We’re

going to test the water one foot at a

time.’ ’’

The committee “parked all of

that stuff and did their job,” said

Norman Baylor, former director of

the FDA’s office of vaccine review.

“I’ll be very frank here: I think this

meeting was rushed. I would say it

should have happened later,” so

that the FDA had more data to

make the decision.

White House allies defended the

administration’s aggressive prep-

aration for the boosters, which has

included regular messaging from

doctors about their necessity and

bolstering the federal stockpile of

doses.

They argue that the American

people elect a president, not a sci-

entist, to act in their best interests.

They reason that the alternative —

holding off on preparing for boost-

ers until federal health officials

give the green light — could have

cost lives.

Top doctors pan Biden’s booster shot planBY ZEKE MILLER

Assciated Press

PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP

President Joe Biden steps off Air Force One on Friday at Dover AirForce Base, Del.

WASHINGTON — Federal em-

ployees can be fired for refusing to

be vaccinated against the corona-

virus, but as their disciplinary

cases wind through the system,

they will report to work alongside

vaccinated colleagues, according

to Biden administration guidance

issued this week.

The new guidance to implement

a vaccine mandate for the govern-

ment, which President Joe Biden

announced last week, represents a

reversal of the strategy the White

House coronavirus task force

pushed in August for those em-

ployees without shots who refused

under an earlier plan to get regular

testing for covid-19.

Then, agencies were told they

could place employees on admin-

istrative leave, a paid suspension

used widely for short-term ab-

sences but also when a manager

proposes removing an employee.

“They seem like they decided to

go with a harder approach,” said

Jeff Friday, general counsel for

the National Federation of Federal

Employees, which has about

100,000 members at the Defense

Department, U.S. Forest Service

and other agencies.

“You’re still going to have to

work until you’re let go,” Friday

said. “Paid leave is certainly a dis-

incentive to getting vaccinated.”

The rules on how to enforce the

mandate were among several new

details of what will be a complex,

potentially messy process that will

likely stretch deep into winter if

not longer, given the government’s

sprawling size and presence in ev-

ery state. The details will leave

multiple groups of people follow-

ing different rules in the same

workplace.

In most agencies, for example,

civil servants work side-by-side

with employees who work for fed-

eral contractors. But under the

policy announced by the president

last week, contractors who are not

vaccinated must provide proof of a

negative coronavirus test taken

within three days before entering a

federal facility — or enroll in a reg-

ular testing program.

Contractors, federal workers

and visitors who show they are

vaccinated are required to wear

masks indoors in federal buildings

located in areas of high or substan-

tial viral transmission, but not in

areas where transmission is lower.

Visitors must attest to their sta-

tus before entering a federal build-

ing — although not if they are com-

ing to receive benefits. Unvacci-

nated visitors or those who decline

to provide their status also must

provide proof of a negative test tak-

en three days or sooner before

coming into the building.

Most of the 2.1 million federal

employees must receive their last

dose of their vaccine no later than

Nov. 8 to meet a Nov. 22 deadline to

be fully vaccinated. The timing be-

tween the first and second shots

will depend on which vaccine they

take.

Teleworking employees must

get shots, too, and proof of vaccina-

tion can be transmitted electroni-

cally, according to the new rules.

Those who are not fully vaccinated

or decline to tell their bosses their

status must wear masks in the of-

fice, physically distance from col-

leagues and comply with restric-

tions for work travel.

New hires who are scheduled to

start work after Nov. 22 must be

fully vaccinated, except in “limit-

ed circumstances” where the gov-

ernment must make a reasonable

accommodation to exempt them,

the guidance says. Exceptions can

be made for “urgent, mission-crit-

ical” hires, but those employees

must be vaccinated within 60 days.

Federal agenciesreceive new guidanceon vaccine mandate

BY LISA REIN

AND ERIC YODER

The Washington Post

MATT ROURKE/AP

A health worker administers a dose of a Pfizer COVID19 vaccineduring a clinic in Reading, Pa., on Tuesday.

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RI-

CHARDSON, Alaska — Military

leaders on Joint Base Elmendorf-Ri-

chardson have declared a public

health emergency and encouraged all

personnel to avoid places that do not

require masks or social distancing in

response to increasing COVID-19

cases in Alaska, officials said.

“We’ve all seen COVID-19 cases

continue to spread rapidly across our

nation, the state of Alaska and in our

local community,” U.S. Air Force Col.

Kirsten Aguilar, 673d Air Base Wing

and JBER commander, said in a

statement Friday.

“After close consultation with

JBER mission commanders, I have

decided to declare a Public Health

Emergency.”

Aguilar said the declaration will re-

main in effect for 30 days, but could

be shortened or extended based on

cases and community transmission of

COVID-19.

The base has also transitioned to

Health Protection Condition Bravo,

which means Aguilar will be able to

implement additional measures to

protect against the spread of the coro-

navirus.

Alaska basedeclarespublic healthemergency

Associated Press


NATION

DEL RIO, Texas — The Biden adminis-

tration worked Saturday on plans to send

many of the thousands of Haitian immi-

grants who have gathered in a Texas border

city back to their Caribbean homeland, in a

swift response to the huge influx of people

who suddenly crossed the border from Mex-

ico and congregated under and around a

bridge.

Details were yet to be finalized but would

likely involve five to eight flights per day,

which were expected to begin Sunday, ac-

cording to an official with direct knowledge

of the plans who was not authorized to dis-

cuss the matter publicly and spoke to The

Associated Press on the condition of ano-

nymity. San Antonio, the nearest major city

to Del Rio, where the migrants have gath-

ered, could be among the departure cities.

The official said Friday that operational

capacity and Haiti’s willingness would de-

termine the number of flights, but that “good

progress” was being made.

Another administration official who

spoke on the condition of anonymity expect-

ed two flights per day, at most, and said all

migrants would be tested for COVID-19.

U.S. authorities closed traffic to vehicles

and pedestrians in both directions Friday at

the only border crossing in Del Rio after the

chaotic influx of migrants presented the ad-

ministration with a new and immediate

challenge as it tries to manage large num-

bers of asylum-seekers who have been reac-

hing U.S. soil.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said

it was closing the border crossing with Ciu-

dad Acuna, Mexico, “to respond to urgent

safety and security needs.” Travelers were

being directed to a crossing in Eagle Pass, 57

miles away.

The vast majority of the migrants at the

bridge on Friday were Haitian, said Val

Verde County Judge Lewis Owens, who is

the county’s top elected official and whose

jurisdiction includes Del Rio. Some families

had been under the bridge for as long as six

days.

The county’s sheriff, Frank Joe Martinez,

estimated the crowd to be 13,700 and said

more Haitians were traveling through Mex-

ico by bus.

The flight plan, while potentially massive

in scale, hinges on how Haitians respond.

They might have to decide whether to stay

put at the risk of being sent back to an impov-

erished homeland wracked by poverty and

political instability or return to Mexico. Un-

accompanied children are exempt from

fast-track expulsions.

About 500 Haitians were ordered off bus-

es by Mexican immigration authorities in

the state of Tamaulipas, about 120 miles

south of the Texas border, the state govern-

ment said in a news release Friday. They

continued toward the border on foot.

Haitians have been migrating to the U.S.

in large numbers from South America for

several years, many having left their Carib-

bean nation after a devastating earthquake

in 2010. After jobs dried up from the 2016

Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, many

made the dangerous trek by foot, bus and car

to the U.S. border, including through the in-

famous Darien Gap, a Panamanian jungle.

It is unclear how such a large number

amassed so quickly, though many Haitians

have been assembling in camps on the Mex-

ican side of the border, including in Tijuana,

across from San Diego, to wait while decid-

ing whether to attempt to enter the United

States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Secu-

rity did not respond to a request for com-

ment.

“We will address it accordingly,” Home-

land Security Secretary Alejandro Mayor-

kas said Friday on MSNBC.

An official in President Joe Biden’s ad-

ministration who wasn’t authorized to ad-

dress the matter publicly and spoke on the

condition of anonymity said the action is not

targeting Haitians specifically and does not

reflect a policy shift, just a continuation of

normal practices.

Official: US to expelHaitians from border

BY ERIC GAY

AND ELLIOT SPAGAT

Associated Press

ERIC GAY/AP

Haitian migrants use a dam to cross into the U.S. from Mexico, Friday, in Del Rio, Texas.

WASHINGTON — Revamp the

tax code and important federal

health care and environment pro-

grams. Spend $3.5 trillion over 10

years, but maybe a lot less. Ensure

that no more than three Democrats

in all of Congress vote “no” be-

cause Republicans will be unani-

mously opposed.

Try to finish within the next cou-

ple of weeks. And oh yes: Failure

means President Joe Biden’s own

party will have repudiated him on

the cornerstone of his domestic

agenda.

That’s what congressional Dem-

ocrats face as they try writing a fi-

nal version of a massive bill bol-

stering the social safety net and

strengthening efforts to tame cli-

mate change. Here’s a guide to

some pivotal differences they must

resolve:

Price tagThe White House and top Demo-

crats compromised on a $3.5 tril-

lion, 10-year cost for the bill. That’s

ahuge sum, though a fraction of the

$61 trillion in federal spending al-

ready slated over that period.

Moderates led by Sens. Joe Man-

chin of West Virginia and Kyrsten

Sinema of Arizona have said $3.5

trillion is too expensive, and votes

from every Democrat in the 50-50

Senate are mandatory for success.

Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelo-

si, D-Calif., and Senate Majority

Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,

have recently acknowledged what

seems inevitable: The final cost

may have to drop.

Manchin has suggested limiting

the total to $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion,

which progressives reject as pal-

try. Led by Senate Budget Commit-

tee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-

Vt., they initially said at least $6

trillion was needed for serious ef-

forts to help families and curb glob-

al warming.

Eventually a compromise will be

reached, with some expecting it in

the $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion range.

But since House committees just

finished crafting a $3.5 trillion ver-

sion of the package, a smaller price

tag means some priorities would

have to be trimmed.

TaxesTo pay for much of the bill, the

House Ways and Means Commit-

tee approved $2.1 trillion in tax

boosts, mostly on the rich and cor-

porations. Some details and num-

bers seem likely to change.

Biden, who’s promised to not in-

crease taxes on people earning un-

der $400,000, will probably get his

proposal to raise the top individual

income tax rate on the richest

Americans to 39.6%. That would be

up from 37% approved under for-

mer President Donald Trump.

But Democrats also want to raise

other levies on the wealthiest. It’s

unclear which proposals will sur-

vive and in what form.

For example, Senate Finance

Committee Chairman Ron Wyden,

D-Ore., has expressed interest in

boosting taxes on the value of some

large estates that heirs inherit.

Ways and Means Chairman Ri-

chard Neal, D-Mass., omitted that

from his panel’s plan.

Democrats want to provide tax

credits for children, health care

and child care costs and low-in-

come workers. If the bill’s size

shrinks, Democrats might save

money by delaying, gradually

phasing in or out or limiting some

of those breaks. Some moderates

say a proposed tax credit for buy-

ing electric vehicles shouldn’t go to

higher-earning people.

Biden wants to raise the 21% cor-

porate tax rate to 28% but may have

to settle for around 25%. Demo-

crats face other differences over

taxes on corporate foreign income

and stock buybacks.

MedicareThree moderate Democrats

blocked a House committee from

approving a top priority for Biden

and progressives: saving hundreds

of billions by letting Medicare ne-

gotiate lower prices for the phar-

maceuticals it buys. Another com-

mittee approved the language, so

it’s not dead.

Still, the plan is opposed by drug

manufacturers and some moder-

ates want to water it down.

Democrats planned to use the

savings to pay for another progres-

sive goal: new dental, vision and

hearing Medicare coverage. If the

drug-pricing language is diluted

and produces less savings, it’s un-

clear how the Medicare expansion

would be financed.

SALT and IRS In a town that loves acronyms,

SALT, shorthand for state and local

taxes, is on the table.

Democrats from high-tax coast-

al communities are demanding an

increase in the current $10,000 lim-

it on deductions taxpayers can

claim for the state and local taxes

they pay.

With Pelosi unable to afford los-

ing more than three Democratic

votes, many think that deduction

ceiling will be increased. To make

up for the lost revenue, the IRS

could be given extra money or

banks might be required to report

more financial transaction infor-

mation to the IRS, ideas aimed at

bolstering tax collections.

Other priorities The House has proposed grants

for power companies that move to-

ward renewable fuels and fines on

those that don’t, a pillar of the

chamber’s climate change agenda.

Manchin, chairman of the Senate

energy committee and a fierce de-

fender of his state’s coal industry,

has told colleagues he opposes that.

The House has proposed a plan

for mandatory family leave that’s

significantly costlier than what

Senate Democrats envision. And

lawmakers await a decision from

the Senate parliamentarian on

whether language helping millions

of immigrants remain in the U.S.

violates budget rules and must be

omitted.

TimingLast month, Pelosi told moder-

ates that the House would consider

their top priority, a separate $1 tril-

lion bill financing road and other

infrastructure projects, by Sept.

27.

In what seems a mutual political

suicide pact, progressives have

threatened to vote against that bill

unless unenthusiastic moderates

support the $3.5 trillion package.

Ideally, Democratic leaders would

love for both bills to be voted on to-

gether.

With so many loose ends, it

seems highly unlikely the $3.5 tril-

lion measure will be finished then.

That’s raised questions about how

Pelosi will keep her party’s antag-

onistic wings supportive of each

other’s priority bills and how she

will shepherd both to passage.

Final version of $3.5T bill dependent on resolution of flash pointsBY ALAN FRAM

Associated Press


NATION

fighter emergency shelters and to

protect historic wooden buildings,

fire spokeswoman Rebecca Pater-

son said.

The General Sherman Tree is

the largest in the world by volume,

at 52,508 cubic feet , according to

the National Park Service. It tow-

ers 275 feet high and has a circum-

ference of 103 feet at ground level.

The Colony Fire is one of two

lightning-caused blazes, known

together as the KNP Complex,

that have burned about 18 square

miles of forest land.

The fires forced the evacuation

of the park this week, and parts of

Three Rivers, a foothill communi-

ty of about 2,500 people outside

the park’s main entrance. Crews

have been bulldozing a line be-

tween the fire and the community.

Cooler, calmer weather and

morning low-hanging smoke that

choked off air limited the fire’s

growth in recent days but the Na-

tional Weather Service said a low-

pressure system will bring some

gusty winds and lower humidity

through Sunday in the fire area.

However, fire officials weren’t

expecting the kinds of explosive

wind-driven growth that in recent

months turned Sierra Nevada

blazes into monsters that de-

voured hundreds of homes.

“There isn’t a lot of extreme

weather predicted for the next few

days, which is good news, there’s

not a lot of big wind shifts predict-

ed. However, there’s also no rain

predicted,” fire information spo-

keswoman Rebecca Paterson

said. “So we’re anticipating that

the fires are going to continue to

grow. Hopefully they’re not going

to grow too fast.”

Giant sequoias are adapted to

fire, which can help them thrive

by releasing seeds from their

cones and creating clearings that

allow young sequoias to grow. But

the extraordinary intensity of

fires — fueled by climate change

— can overwhelm the trees.

The fires already have burned

into several groves containing

trees as tall as 200 feet feet tall and

2,000 years old. They include

Oriole Lake Grove in the national

park and Peyrone North and

South groves in the neighboring

Sequoia National Forest.

The fire also had reached Long

Meadow Grove in the national for-

est, where two decades ago then-

President Clinton signed a procla-

mation establishing a national

monument.

“These groves are just as im-

pressive and just as ecologically

important to the forest,” Tim Bor-

den, who is sequoia restoration

and stewardship manager for the

Save the Redwoods League, told

the Bay Area News Group. “They

just aren’t as well known. My

heart sinks when I think about it.”

To the south, the Windy Fire

grew to nearly 11 square miles on

the Tule River Indian Reservation

and in Giant Sequoia National

Monument, where it has burned

into one grove of sequoias and

threatens others.

Fire officials haven’t yet been

able to determine how much dam-

age was done to the groves, which

are in remote and hard-to-reach

areas.

Last year, the Castle Fire killed

an estimated 7,500 to 10,600 large

sequoias, according to the Nation-

al Park Service. That was an esti-

mated 10% to 14% of all the sequ-

oias in the world.

The current fires are eating

through tinder-dry timber, grass

and brush.

Historic drought tied to climate

change is making wildfires harder

to fight. It has killed millions of

trees in California alone. Scien-

tists say climate change has made

the West much warmer and drier

in the past 30 years and will con-

tinue to make weather more ex-

treme and wildfires more fre-

quent and destructive.

More than 7,000 wildfires in

California this year have damaged

or destroyed more than 3,000

homes and other buildings and

torched well over 3000 square

miles of land, according to the Cal-

ifornia Department of Forestry

and Fire Protection.

Sequoias: Officials hopeful calm winds will mitigate spread of fireFROM PAGE 1

NOAH BERGER/AP

Members of the media walk among sequoia trees in Lost Grove as theKNP Complex Fire burns about 15 miles away Friday, in SequoiaNational Park, Calif.

WASHINGTON — In the shadow of a

fortified Capitol, a few hundred demon-

strators turned up Saturday for a rally to

support those charged in January's riot,

but were vastly outnumbered by the media

and a heavy police presence.

U.S. Capitol Police were taking no

chances, with hundreds of officers brought

into Washington in an effort to avoid a re-

peat of the pre-inauguration attack. The

fence around the Capitol was put back up,

the city police force was fully activated

and Capitol Police requested assistance

from the National Guard.

There were a few scuffles as the rally

started, but no major incidents reported

early on. Still, law enforcement officials re-

mained on edge, concerned about the pos-

sibility of violent protesters and counter-

protesters. Police were also preparing for

the possibility that some demonstrators

may arrive with weapons, though back-

packs were allowed into the area and there

were no checkpoints.

The rally was ringed by heavy dump

trucks and took place in fields far from the

Capitol building. Law enforcement officers

geared up at staging areas and metal barri-

cades were placed around the streets. In-

side the Capitol, police riot shields were

placed near doors and windows, a stark

difference from January, when officers in-

side were left without riot equipment and

quickly overwhelmed as the crowd storm-

ed inside.

Persistent attempts to rewrite the narra-

tive of the violence and panic of Jan. 6, and

the increasing volatility behind the lie that

the 2020 election was stolen, have made it

impossible to predict what may happen

this weekend. After all, law enforcement

was only expecting a free speech protest

the day Trump supporters stormed the

Capitol in an effort to disrupt the certifica-

tion of Joe Biden’s victory.

Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said at

a news conference Friday it was difficult to

say whether threats of violence at the

event were credible, but “chatter” online

and elsewhere has been similar to intelli-

gence that was missed in January.

The rally, organized by former Trump

campaign staffer Matt Braynard, is aimed

at supporting people who were detained

after the Jan. 6 insurrection — about 63

people held behind bars out of the more

than 600 charged in the deadly riot. It's just

the latest attempt to downplay and deny

the January violence. In an MSNBC inter-

view, he downplayed the low numbers in

attendance, saying instead the media cov-

erage of the event helped get the message

out.

Intelligence collected before the rally

suggested that extremist groups such as

the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers will turn

up. But some prominent members of the

groups have sworn they aren’t going and

have told others not to attend. Far-right

online chatter has been generally tame,

and Republican lawmakers are downplay-

ing the event.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ap-

proved a request for about 100 members of

the D.C. National Guard to be stationed at

a city armory near the Capitol, to be called

if needed as backup. They'll be without

firearms, but will be equipped with batons

and protective vests for self-defense.

Congress is out of session and no law-

makers were expected to be in the building

Saturday. Biden was in Delaware for the

weekend.

Many commenters on online platforms

like Telegram that are popular with the

far-right disavowed the rally, saying they

believed law enforcement was promoting

the event to entrap Trump supporters.

Some urged their followers not to attend an

event they said was secretly organized by

the FBI.

At the same time, however, some com-

menters continued to promote rallies

planned in cities and state capitals across

the country.

NATHAN HOWARD / AP

Police stand at a security fence ahead of a rally near the U.S. Capitol in Washington onSaturday. The rally was planned by allies of former President Donald Trump and aimedat supporting the socalled “political prisoners” of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

DC rally protestors outnumbered by police, mediaAssociated Press

ALEX BRANDON / AP

Media gather around a person talking asthey attend Saturday’s rally.


WORLD

SEOUL, South Korea — Recent

satellite images show North Ko-

rea is expanding a uranium en-

richment plant at its main Yong-

byon nuclear complex, a sign that

it’s intent on boosting the produc-

tion of bomb materials, experts

say.

The assessment comes after

North Korea recently raised ten-

sions with its first missile tests in

six months amid long-dormant

nuclear disarmament negotia-

tions with the United States.

“The expansion of the enrich-

ment plant probably indicates

that North Korea plans to increase

its production of weapons-grade

uranium at the Yongbyon site by

as much as 25%,” Jeffrey Lewis

and two other experts at Middle-

bury Institute of International

Studies at Monterey said in a re-

port.

The report said the photos taken

by satellite imagery company

Maxar showed construction in an

area adjoining the uranium en-

richment plant at Yongbyon.

It said a satellite image taken on

Sept. 1 showed North Korea clear-

ed trees and prepared the ground

for construction, and that a con-

struction excavator was also visi-

ble. The report said a second im-

age taken on Sept. 14 showed a

wall erected to enclose the area,

work on a foundation and panels

removed from the side of the en-

richment building to provide ac-

cess to the newly enclosed area.

The new area is approximately

10,760 square feet, enough space

to house 1,000 additional centri-

fuges, which would increase the

plant’s capacity to produce highly

enriched uranium by 25%, the re-

port said.

Nuclear weapons can be built

using either highly enriched ura-

nium or plutonium, and North Ko-

rea has facilities to produce both

at Yongbyon. Last month, earlier

satellite photos of Yongbyon

showed signs that North Korea

was resuming the operation of

other facilities to produce weap-

ons-grade plutonium.

North Korea calls the Yongbyon

complex “the heart” of its nuclear

program. During a summit with

then-President Donald Trump in

early 2019, North Korean leader

Kim Jong Un offered to dismantle

the entire complex if he was given

major sanctions relief. But the

Americans rejected Kim’s pro-

posal because they viewed it as a

limited denuclearization step.

Some U.S. and South Korean

experts speculate North Korea is

covertly running at least one addi-

tional uranium-enrichment plant.

In 2018, a top South Korean offi-

cial told parliament that North

Korea was estimated to have al-

ready manufactured up to 60 nu-

clear weapons as well.

Estimates on how many nuclear

weapons North Korea can add ev-

ery year vary, ranging from six to

as many as 18 bombs.

In the past week, North Korea

launched both ballistic and cruise

missiles toward the sea in tests

seen as an effort to diversity its

missile forces and strengthen its

attack capability on South Korea

and Japan, where a total of 80,000

American troops are based. Ex-

perts say both types of missiles

could be armed with nuclear war-

heads.

Photos revealnew N. Koreauranium plant

BY HYUNG-JIN KIM

Associated Press

PLANET LABS INC./AP

A uranium enrichment plant is seen at North Korea's main Yongbyon nuclear complex Saturday.

BERLIN — A new report shows the

world is on a “catastrophic pathway” to-

ward a hotter future unless governments

make more ambitious pledges to cut green-

house gas emissions, the head of the United

Nations said Friday.

The U.N. report, reviewing all the nation-

al commitments submitted by signatories

of the Paris climate accord until July 30,

found that they would result in emissions

rising nearly 16% by 2030, compared with

2010 levels.

Scientists say the world must start to

sharply curb emissions soon, and add no

more to the atmosphere by 2050 than can

be absorbed, if it is to meet the most ambi-

tious goal of the Paris accord — capping

global temperature rise at 2.7 Fahrenheit

by 2100.

The planet has already warmed by 1.1 C

since pre-industrial times, experts said

“We need a 45% cut in emissions by 2030

to reach carbon neutrality by mid-centu-

ry,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gu-

terres told a virtual meeting of leaders

from major economies hosted by U.S. Pres-

ident Joe Biden.

“The world is on a catastrophic pathway

to 2.7 degrees of heating,” he added.

Some 113 countries including the United

States and the European Union submitted

updates to their emissions targets, also

known as nationally determined contribu-

tions or NDCs, by the end of July. Their

pledges would result in a 12% drop in emis-

sions for those countries by the end of the

decade — a figure that could more than

double if some governments’ conditional

pledges and assurances about aiming for

carbon neutrality by 2050 are translated in-

to action.

“That’s the positive side of the picture,”

said U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa,

whose office compiled the latest report.

“The other one is more sobering.”

Dozens of countries, including major

emitters such as China and India — the

world’s No. 1 and No. 3 emitters respective-

ly — failed to submit new pledges in time

for the report.

Espinosa called for leaders at next

week’s annual U.N. gathering in New York

to put forward stronger commitments in

time for the global body’s upcoming cli-

mate summit in Glasgow.

“Leaders must engage in a frank discus-

sion driven not just by the very legitimate

desire to protect national interest, but also

by the equally commanding goal of contrib-

uting to the welfare of humanity,” she said.

“We simply have no more time to spare,

and people throughout the world expect

nothing less.”

Espinosa added that some public pledg-

es, such as China’s aim to be carbon neutral

by 2060, haven’t yet been formally submit-

ted to the U.N. and so weren’t taken into ac-

count for the report. An update, which

would include any further commitments

submitted by then, will be issued shortly

before the Glasgow summit, she said.

Still, environmental campaigners and

representatives of some vulnerable nations

expressed their disappointment at the find-

ings.

“We must ask what it will take for some

major emitters to heed the scientific find-

ings and deliver our world from a point of

no return,” said Aubrey Webson of Antigua

and Barbuda, who chairs the Association of

Small Island States. “The findings are clear

— if we are to avoid amplification of our al-

ready devastating climate impacts, we

need major emitters and all G20 countries

to implement and stick to more ambitious

NDCs and make strong commitments to

net-zero emissions by 2050.”

Jennifer Morgan, the executive director

of Greenpeace International, said meeting

the Paris goal would only be possible with

“courageous leadership and bold deci-

sions.”

“Governments are letting vested inter-

ests call the climate shots, rather than serv-

ing the global community,” she said. “Pass-

ing the buck to future generations has got to

stop — we are living in the climate emer-

gency now.”

UN: More pledges needed to avoid ‘catastrophic’ climate pathBY FRANK JORDANS

Associated Press

MARTIN MEISSNER/AP

A ThyssenKrupp coking plant steams around the clock for the nearby steel mill inDuisburg, Germany, on Jan. 30, 2020.


AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Man who died in custodyafter running nude ID’d

AZ PHOENIX — A man

who was running

through Phoenix streets naked be-

fore being restrained by police

and then dying while in custody

has been identified, authorities

said.

Officers responding to reports

of a man without clothes running

north of downtown said they found

Jessee Rickman, 28, acting errat-

ically and making nonsensical

statements.

Police said Rickman didn’t

comply with officers’ attempts to

get him out of the road and addi-

tional help was requested.

Rickman began to kick and spit

as officers tried to contain him on

the ground, prompting them to put

him in handcuffs and apply a leg

restraint as well as a spit mask

over his head, police said.

As paramedics were rendering

aid, police said Rickman became

nonverbal and unresponsive. The

restraints were removed and

Rickman was taken to the hospital

where he was later pronounced

dead. Police said the cause of his

death has not yet been deter-

mined.

Man pleads guilty aftergirlfriend buys him gun

NC ASHEVILLE — A man

who was prohibited

from buying a gun because of a

prior conviction pleaded guilty to

getting his girlfriend to buy one

for him, a federal prosecutor in

North Carolina said.

Travis Shaqwann Fair, 31, of

Asheville went to a gun dealer in

June 2019 and discussed buying a

cheap gun with a store worker,

Acting U.S. Attorney William T.

Stetzer said in a news release.

Kourtney Nichelle Shivers, 29, of

Asheville went to the same store to

buy the gun for Fair, Stetzer said.

According to Stetzer, Shivers

falsely certified on required forms

that she was the buyer when she

actually was buying it at Fair’s re-

quest for him to use.

Fair pleaded guilty to illegal

possession of a firearm. Shivers

pleaded guilty to making a false

statement in connection with pur-

chasing a firearm.

City to get 1st femalemayor of color in century

MA BOSTON —For the

first time in 200 years,

Boston voters have narrowed the

field of mayoral candidates to two

women of color who will face off

against each other in November.

City Councilors Michelle Wu

and Annissa Essaibi George

topped the five-person race in the

preliminary runoff. They bested

acting Mayor Kim Janey, City

Councilor Andrea Campbell and

John Barros, the city’s former eco-

nomic development chief. All five

were candidates of color — a ma-

jor shift away from two centuries

of Boston politics dominated by

white men.

Wu’s parents immigrated to the

U.S. from Taiwan. Essaibi George

describes herself as a first gener-

ation Arab Polish-American.

Whoever wins on Nov. 2 will

make history in a city that has nev-

er elected a woman or Asian

American mayor. For the past 200

years, the office has been held ex-

clusively by white men.

Sheriff: Lawmaker in jailhad hidden handcuff key

MI HOWELL — A Michi-

gan lawmaker ordered

to jail in a drunken driving case is

accused of taping a handcuff key

to his foot.

The key was discovered when

state Rep. Jewell Jones, a Detroit-

area Democrat, was placed in jail

for violating bond conditions, au-

thorities said.

“He truly believes that he

doesn’t have to follow the judge’s

orders, doesn’t have to follow

rules,” said Livingston County

Sheriff Michael Murphy, who

runs the jail. “He’s the reason that

politicians and elected officials

get the bad rap.”

Jones, 26, faces new charges

over the key.

Court: Billboard taxviolates First Amendment

OH COLUMBUS — A tax

levied by the city of

Cincinnati on billboard compa-

nies in an effort to close a budget

shortfall is unconstitutional of

First Amendment rights to free

speech, the Ohio Supreme Court

ruled.

Justice Sharon Kennedy, writ-

ing the court’s unanimous opinion,

said the companies, as publishers

of speech, can’t be singled out for

engaging in protected expression.

She also noted that because of var-

ious exceptions, the tax applied

mainly to two companies.

Those businesses, Lamar Ad-

vertising and Norton Outdoor Ad-

vertising, indicated the tax would

require them to remove less prof-

itable billboards, which has the ef-

fect of limiting protected speech,

Kennedy said.

State puts $180M inwelfare pilot program

TN NASHVILLE — Ten-

nessee officials said

they are offering $180 million in

grants through 2025 for public-

private partnerships to develop

welfare programs focused on

helping low-income families be-

come self-sufficient.

The Tennessee Department of

Human Services says nonprofits,

local economic planning organiza-

tions, local government agencies

and certain human resources

agencies will be eligible for $5 mil-

lion in planning grants up to

$500,000 each and $175 million in

implementation grants up to $25

million apiece.

The deadline for planning grant

applications in the Tennessee Op-

portunity Pilot Initiative is Oct. 15.

Organizers reject bid tocancel state’s Bridge Day

WV CHARLESTON —

Organizers of West

Virginia’s largest outdoor festival

have rejected a move to cancel the

event for the second straight year

after Gov. Jim Justice encouraged

it to continue.

The Bridge Day Commission

rejected 4-2 a proposal from one of

its members to call off the Oct. 16

event over concerns about the cor-

onavirus pandemic.

The governor said events such

as college football games were

moving forward as planned, so

Bridge Day should, too.

Tens of thousands of people typ-

ically show up on the third Satur-

day of October to watch parachut-

ists, zip liners and rappellers on

the 3,000-foot-long, 876-foot-high

New River Gorge Bridge, the na-

tion’s third-highest.

Bridge Day is the only day of the

year that the bridge is open to pe-

destrian traffic.

Prosecutors: Professorsent equipment to Iran

FL MIAMI — A former

University of Miami

professor, his wife and his sister

are facing federal charges related

to purchasing genetic sequencing

equipment from U.S. manufactur-

ers and illegally shipping it to

Iran, prosecutors said.

Mohammad Faghihi, 52, his

wife Farzeneh Modarresi, 53, and

his sister Faezeh Faghihi, 50, are

charged with conspiring to com-

mit an offense against the United

States and conspiring to commit

money laundering, as well as sev-

eral other charges.

The family operated a Florida

company called Express Gene.

According to a criminal com-

plaint, Express Gene received nu-

merous wire transfers from ac-

counts in Malaysia, the People’s

Republic of China, Singapore,

Turkey and the United Arab

Emirates totaling almost $3.5 mil-

lion between October 2016 and

November 2020. Some of that

money was used to purchase ge-

netic sequencing equipment from

U.S. manufacturers to ship it to

Iran without a license, despite

sanctions on Iran, investigators

said.

ELI HARTMAN, ODESSA (TEXAS) AMERICA/AP

Folklorico Dancers of the group Viva Mexico perform during the Hispanic Heritage of Odessa’s El Grito De Delores Celebration in Odessa,Texas. The Grito De Delores celebration marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month in Odessa.

Celebrating Hispanic heritage

THE CENSUS

11M The approximate number of turnpike rides, out of a total ofabout 170 million, that generated no revenue for the Penn-

sylvania Turnpike in the year that ended May 31 as the agency fully convertedto all-electronic tolling, according to an internal turnpike report issued in Julyand obtained by the Associated Press through a Right-to-Know Law request.The toll revenue “leakage” — uncollected tolls — resulted in a loss of more than$104 million for the agency.

From The Associated Press


MUSIC

Kacey Musgraves’ wedding video is still online.

Posted (at least for the moment) in the digital portfolio of

the woman who shot it, the six-minute mini-movie set to the

Weepies’ “Gotta Have You” lovingly depicts Musgraves’

2017 nuptials in all their artisanal farmhouse glory: Here’s the ac-

claimed country singer in her white gown as she nuzzles a horse fes-

tooned with flowers; here’s her husband-to-be, fellow musician Ruston

Kelly, pecking out his vows on a vintage typewriter.

It’s all very sweet and festive, though now — barely a year after

Musgraves ended the marriage that inspired her Grammy-winning

2018 album, “Golden Hour” — the video is laced with the phantom

sorrow of what’s to come.

Country music history is full of juicy

divorce records: Willie Nelson’s “Phases

and Stages,” Tammy Wynette’s “D-I-V-

O-R-C-E,” Miranda Lambert’s “The

Weight of These Wings.” But Mus-

graves’ frustrating new LP, “star-cross-

ed,” catches the 33-year-old at a transi-

tional point — less a plain-talking coun-

try act than a slippery pop star in wait-

ing. So “star-crossed,” which tracks the

dissolution of her and Kelly’s relation-

ship, invites a different type of scrutiny;

it’s the kind of album a self-renewing

artist makes to pull focus from the evi-

dence of who she used to be.

“There is a light inside of me,” she

sings near the end of the record, which

is organized into three acts: falling in

love, falling out of it, moving on. “There

was a shadow of a doubt / But, baby, it’s

never going out.”

Musgraves, who grew up in small-

town Texas, has been voicing her doubts

about tradition — and about the pre-

scribed roles women are expected to fill

in life and in art — since she broke out

of Nashville nearly a decade ago. With

its mellow disco grooves and its lightly

psychedelic textures, though, the gor-

geous and moving “Golden Hour” effec-

tively reframed Musgraves’ career;

soon she was playing Coachella, touring

Paramount+

Kacey Musgraves is pictured in a scene from “starcrossed: the film,” a companion piece to her new album, “starcrossed.” The LP documents the dissolution of Musgraves’marriage to fellow musician Ruston Kelly — the relationship that inspired her Grammywinning 2018 album, “Golden Hour.”

Sorrow and silver linings

On Kacey Musgraves’ divorce album, a pop star-in-waiting seeks wellness more than revengeBY MIKAEL WOOD

Los Angeles Times

Kacey Musgravesstar-crossed

(Interscope Records/UMG Nashville)

REVIEW

SEE SORROW ON PAGE 13


Imagine a giant all-you-can-eat buffet — row

after row of hot, steaming offerings. The thing is,

there are only 12 items on the menu, like seven

trays of meatballs each cooked by a different

chef.

That’s what you get with “The Metallica

Blacklist,” a 53-song orgy of covers of Metal-

lica’s self-titled 1991 album better known as

“The Black Album.” Because there are so many

different artists contributing, there’s a ton of

repetition here; no fewer than 12 artists cover

“Nothing Else Matters.” The most attention-

grabbing collaboration is by Miley Cyrus with

instrumentation from Elton John and Yo-Yo Ma.

Ghost drenches “Enter Sandman” with as

much piano as guitar, while Weezer offers a

nearly note-for-note replication of the original.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit take the pound-

ing “Sad But True” and turn it into a country-

fried romp that could be

the backing track for a

hundred movie pickup

truck chase scenes.

There is punk, pop,

classical, jazz, rap,

electronica, a Mongol-

ian folk-metal band and

more here. But here’s

something else that’s

sad but true: If you’re

old enough to have

bought this album when

it first came out, you’ll

probably have no idea

who more than half these artists are.

In the end, this box set is a lot like a musical

buffet: It has some real gems; some reassuring

comfort food; some unexpectedly tasty items;

and some you spit right back out into your nap-

kin.

An all-you-can-eat buffet of ‘Black Album’ covers

BY WAYNE PARRY

Associated Press

Metallica, from left: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo.

Ross Halfin

MUSIC

with Harry Styles, cutting duets

with Lana Del Rey and Troye

Sivan.

She extends that sonic experi-

mentation on the tender, trippy

“star-crossed,” for which she

re-teamed with “Golden Hour”

producers Ian Fitchuk and Da-

niel Tashian, and which arrives

as a joint release from UMG

Nashville and Interscope. The

songs blend acoustic guitars and

glassy synths; “Breadwinner”

has a late-’90s TLC/Destiny’s

Child beat; “There Is a Light”

climaxes with a jazzy flute solo.

And she’s clearly following a

pop playbook in terms of rollout,

with an accompanying short film

(a la Beyonce’s “Lemonade”) and

a performance at the MTV Video

Music Awards. On social media,

Musgraves is leaning into the

idea that her breakup album is

perfect for crying your eyes out

— a millennial’s version, let’s

say, of Olivia Rodrigo’s cathartic

Gen Z melodrama.

Yet “star-crossed” is a less

emotional experience than the

blissed-out “Golden Hour,”

which practically vibrated with

feeling. Perhaps that’s because,

in another break from the coun-

try norm, her marriage died

quietly rather than with anybody

drunkenly riding a lawnmower

into town. In interviews, she has

suggested that she and Kelly

drifted apart — that their “season

changed,” as she told Rolling

Stone. Sometimes she catches

that small-scale heartbreak, as

on “Camera Roll,” about resist-

ing the urge to scroll through the

photos she can’t bring herself to

delete, and the exquisite “Hook-

up Scene,” in which she de-

scribes how hard it is to replace

an intimate connection.

The latter might be the most

stripped-down number on an

album full of colorful production

touches — all the better to savor

Musgraves’ curiously affectless

singing voice, which, with the

right lyric, can take on an almost

philosophical bent. (“Bread-

winner” is the one track where

she gets heated as she counsels a

friend to stay away from a guy

who “wants your shimmer to

make him feel bigger.”)

More often than not, though,

Musgraves’ writing on “star-

crossed” is squishier and more

prone to cliche than on “Golden

Hour” or her earlier albums; she

fears she’s “going off the deep

end” on “Simple Times” and

recounts her trip “to hell and

back” on “What Doesn’t Kill

Me.” On “If This Was a Movie,”

she sings about all the ways in

which art fails to capture the

complexity of real life — but

maybe that’s a point she’s al-

ready made with songs about a

light at the end of the tunnel and

a daddy telling his daughter to

keep her feet on the ground.

You can hear these soft landing

spots as part of the interest in

wellness culture the singer has

been talking about lately; only a

churl would begrudge her what-

ever comfortable space she

needs to heal from her divorce.

Or maybe it turns out Musgraves

is the rare songwriter more ef-

fective in happy mode than sad

— the clearest sign yet that she’s

left country music behind.

Sorrow: Album rolloutfollowing pop playbookFROM PAGE 12

Various Artists

The Metallica Blacklist

(Rhino/Blackened

Recordings)

Madi Diaz

History of a Feeling (ANTI-)

Singer-songwriter Madi Diaz is simply stun-

ning on “History of a Feeling,” her debut al-

bum with her new label ANTI-.

Rage, despair, love and loss are all evocative-

ly explored with Diaz’s voice carrying the day

as the best instrument in the studio.

On “Nervous,” over a bed of muted guitar, Diaz displays so much

natural control over her voice it’s as though she is playing it like a

flute. Through speed variations and pitch changes, she shines on this

track about coming to terms with false feelings.

The songwriting on “History of a Feeling” is undeniably strong

throughout. “Crying in Public” is both lovely and heartbreaking, and

Diaz allows us on the journey with her. It’s also one Zedd remix away

from being an EDM hit, but I digress.

The best track, easily, is “Man in Me.” It’s a scorching examination

of love and passion, the things we wish we could take back (while

knowing it’s too late), and if any song in 2021 will make you reach

faster for a box of tissues and double-churned ice cream, this might

be it. “I’m not proud of kicking in your bathroom door / Or screaming

at you I don’t know you anymore,” are the kind of lyrics you run from

and to at the same time.

Madi Diaz has been on a steady build for the past decade. “History

of a Feeling” is a shining release and proves her best is here and

ahead.

— Ron Harris

Associated Press


BOOKS

Because I did not attend

college and spent all

but one year of high

school at home with

arthritis following rheumatic

fever, I had the good fortune to

discover Shakespeare on my

own. The first Shakespearean

phrase I underlined during this

period was “skirmish of wit,”

about the raillery between Bea-

trice and Benedick, which in-

spired a lifelong expectation that

romance must include snark.

I volunteer this personal histo-

ry because Robert McCrum’s

magnificent new book, “Shak-

espearean,” is about, in part,

Shakespeare’s ability to speak to

many kinds of people in many

different ways. McCrum also

found a new personal connection

to Shakespeare through illness.

In 1995, at 42, he suffered a mas-

sive stroke.

“During convalescence,” he

writes, “the ‘Complete Works’

became my book of life. Almost

the only words that made sense

were snatches of Shakespeare,

and next — as I began to recover

— longer passages from King

Lear, The Winter’s Tale, and

especially Hamlet, the play that

rarely fails to supply a kind of

running commentary to the in-

ner dialogue of the self.” (He

wrote about this experience

more fully in 1999’s “My Year

Off.”)

So now we know that Shak-

espeare can heal the sick and

possibly raise the dead. I have

always thought that if the old boy

can wake a Tennessee bumpkin

to literature and history, to irony

and rhetoric, he can do anything.

No wonder he is writing’s am-

bassador. As a consequence of

his status, of course, Shakes-

peare is also written English’s

most recognizable cliché, from

middle-school skit to mouse pad.

His image — the hippie locks

and earring, that scruffy El-

izabethan beard — is the Mona

Lisa meme of literature. So why

do we still read him, and why do

so many people still flock to his

plays, despite their archaisms

lichened with footnotes and, to

citizens of our ironic century, his

easily parodied apostrophizing?

Why do we still care?

McCrum addresses how Shak-

espeare moves us (from dread to

laughter), how his fearless cre-

ativity grew out of his tumultu-

ous era and personal history and

how these aspects were not at

odds with meeting professional

commitments.

Clearly, McCrum is also en-

gaged with his own era. In a

discussion of Shakespeare’s

humor, he quotes from and ana-

lyzes a BBC interview with

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator of

“Fleabag,” about how comedy

works. He cites Snoop Dogg as

one who incorporates vernacular

speech into his work a la Shak-

espeare.

In McCrum’s thoughtful explo-

rations of modern Shakespea-

rean tragedy, Donald Trump

naturally comes up. Trump’s

own long-running American

drama managed to remain as

tragic as it was comic, inspiring

comparisons to “Macbeth,” “Ri-

chard III” and even “Titus An-

dronicus.”

McCrum recounts an event

you may recall: the 2017 New

York “Shakespeare in the Park”

production of “Julius Caesar,” in

which the actor playing Caesar

wore a MAGA cap and a long red

tie. As always, the wannabe

emperor died at the hands of his

own cohort and rivals. Fox News

claimed to consider this costum-

ing a liberal attack on the presi-

dent and in outrage suffered an

inflamed chyron. McCrum at-

tended this production a few

days later and says it was the

inspiration for this book.

He portrays Shakespeare as a

man “who hungrily ingested the

enthralling variety of the world

around him. Shakespeare’s curi-

osity about everything under the

sun makes him uniquely seduc-

tive: omnivorous, witty, sophisti-

cated, wise and — from page to

page — the most wonderful com-

pany.”

Samuel Johnson would have

agreed. “His descriptions have

always some peculiarities,”

Johnson wrote in his famous

Preface, “gathered by contem-

plating things as they really

exist.” He seems to have under-

stood everything from varieties

of sword to species of misgiving.

In his enthusiasm, McCrum

doesn’t flinch from expressing

broad-brush opinions, but he

does it so well, it doesn’t matter

if occasionally he dresses opin-

ion as fact. In talking about

“Love’s Labour’s Lost,” for ex-

ample, he nicely defines one of

Shakespeare’s distinctive vir-

tues: “What matters to these

principals and their hangers-on,

a motley crew of loquacious

reprobates, is the quality that

Shakespeare and the Elizabeth-

ans prized above all else — to

wit: wit, the most reliable means

of keeping oblivion at bay.”

Speaking as someone who has

reduced gloom through doses of

“Much Ado About Nothing” for

40 years, I have to agree.

McCrum says he often thought

of the Four Horsemen while

following the apocalyptic

Trump-era news and writing

“Shakespearean.”

“Only when my text was with

the copy editor in the first weeks

of 2020,” he adds, “did the pale

horseman of plague and pesti-

lence irrupt into my narrative in

the shape of COVID-19, the

greatest global disruption of our

time.”

He then segues to 1564. Plague

is ravaging the little town of

Stratford-on-Avon. John and

Mary Shakespeare have already

lost two children to previous

outbreaks — but miraculously,

this new pestilence does not take

their newborn baby, William.

“He would grow up to survive

many kinds of extraordinary

late-medieval emergency,”

McCrum writes, “some of which

now seem closer to us than we

can ever have imagined.”

Timelessness of ShakespeareNew book explores why people still read the bard’s works and what keeps them relevant

BY MICHAEL SIMS

Special to The Washington Post

I first realized there was more to O.

Henry than surprise endings when, a few

years ago, I picked up a Penguin edition of

the writer’s selected stories edited by Guy

Davenport. In his introduction, Davenport

— an essayist of the

most sophisticated

literary intelligence

— noted that O. Hen-

ry’s reputation has

long stood extremely

high in Europe. Yev-

geny Zamyatin, au-

thor of the chilling

1924 dystopia “We,”

found in his work

“the art of brevity

and speed proper to America,” while the

Italian novelist Cesare Pavese praised the

writer for the strange beauty with which

he imbued city life, transforming turn-of-

the-century New York into “Baghdad-on-

the-Hudson.”

To most American readers, though, O.

Henry is known mainly for two anthology

standards, “The Ransom of Red Chief,” in

which two naive rogues kidnap an insuf-

ferable little boy, and “The Gift of the

Magi,” the tale of the impoverished young

couple who find just the right Christmas

presents for each other. Both of these

mini-classics are perfectly executed, but

as this new Library of America volume,

“O. Henry: 101 Stories,” edited by Ben

Yagoda, demonstrates again and again,

there are many others just as good. Let me

share one of my favorites.

“A Retrieved Reformation” opens with

the ace safecracker Jimmy Valentine

working in a prison shoe shop. After serv-

ing 10 months, he is paroled and makes his

way to a room over a small-town cafe.

There he slides open a secret compart-

ment containing an old suitcase, inside of

which is “the finest set of burglar’s tools in

the East ... Over nine hundred dollars they

had cost him to have made.”

Before long, bank safes are being ex-

pertly burgled all around the Midwest.

Recognizing that the robberies bear “Dan-

dy Jim Valentine’s autograph,” the gov-

ernment agent Ben Price vows to hunt

him down. At that moment in Elmore,

Ark., Jimmy is casually strolling from the

train station to the town’s hotel when “a

young lady crossed the street, passed him

at the corner and entered a door over

which was the sign ‘The Elmore Bank.’

Jimmy Valentine looked into her eyes,

forgot what he was, and became another

man.”

In the course of the next year, he re-

names himself Ralph Spencer, opens a

successful shoe store and wins the hand of

pretty Annabel Adams, the banker’s

daughter. But, finally, Ben Price shows up

in Elmore.

That very day Jimmy had arranged to

sell his tools to an old friend, so he is car-

rying his battered suitcase during a visit to

the Elmore Bank. There, Annabel’s father

proudly shows off its new state-of-the-art

safe, equipped with a special time lock.

Suddenly, there is a scream. Annabel’s

niece, 9, has accidentally shut her sister, 5,

inside the vault.

Hysteria ensues. Old Mr. Adams cries

out in a shaky voice, “There isn’t a man

nearer than Little Rock who can open that

door.”

A minute passes and another, the little

girl’s air slowly running out. At this point,

Ralph Spencer, turning to the woman he

loves, “looked at her with a queer, soft

smile on his lips.”

“‘Annabel,’ he says, ‘give me that rose

you are wearing, will you?’” After Ralph

slips the flower into his vest pocket, it is

Jimmy Valentine who lifts his suitcase

onto a table, opens it out flat and picks up

his favorite drill. Whistling softly to him-

self, he sets to work. “In ten minutes —

breaking his own burglarious record — he

threw back the bolts and opened the

door.”

As Jimmy then starts to leave the bank,

he finds Ben Price waiting near its en-

trance. “Hello, Ben!” he says with his

strange smile. “‘Well, let’s go. I don’t know

that it makes much difference, now.’”

To which Price answers. “‘Guess you’re

mistaken, Mr. Spencer. Don’t believe I

recognize you.’” And walks away.

Besides clever plotting that Agatha

Christie would envy, O. Henry’s work can

be touching, humorous, tragic, frightening

or all of them by turns. For example, “The

Man Higher Up” is a comic tour de force

about con men being conned, “A Munici-

pal Report” movingly depicts a decayed

Southern gentlewoman and her loyal

Black retainer, and “The Last of the Trou-

badours” evokes, like a mournful ballad,

the beauty and pathos of the Old West.

Given that Ben Yagoda’s excellent se-

lection — emphasizing stories set in New

York — reprints only two-fifths of O. Hen-

ry’s total work, it’s not surprising that

some famous stories have been left out.

These include the coincident-packed tear-

jerker “The Church With an Overshot-

Wheel”; “A Blackjack Bargainer,” in

which a drunkard literally sells the rights

to an old family feud, with grim conse-

quences; and “One Dollar’s Worth,” a very

neatly done tale about a counterfeit silver

coin that saves the happiness of two young

couples, one American, the other Mexican.

Still, the absence of this trio from the

Library of America volume isn’t grievous,

but is simply an encouragement to acquire

one or two additional O. Henry collections.

Happily, these are readily available, both

new and secondhand.

‘O. Henry: 101 Stories’ proves there is more to writer than school textsBY MICHAEL DIRDA

The Washington Post


CROSSWORD AND COMICS

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

GO UP IN SMOKE BY GRANT THACKRAY / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

ACROSS 55 Food packaging reassurance

56 Good ‘‘Wheel of Fortune’’ buy for REVERSE ENGINEER

57 Sold (for)

59 Toward the back

60 Where dominoes were invented

62 Rule

64 Jazz guitarist Montgomery

66 Some U.N. officers, for short

67 Super Bowl LV champ

68 Took a swing, say

70 Basketball box score column

74 Addiction-treatment locale

76 Leadoff selections?

77 Something to file

78 French article

79 Sweet pea

81 Volkswagen model inits.

82 Give wrong information

83 Boring tool

85 Emmy-winning journalist Finch

87 Website with a Seller Handbook

91 ‘‘How ____ . . . ’’

92 Encrypted URL component

94 Red-handed, say

96 Make haste

97 See 50-Across

99 Brand that stylizes its name with a lowercase second letter

100 What a button on an armrest may control

104 Serenade

105 ‘‘____ Pal,’’ early episode of ‘‘The Jetsons’’

108 Shrinks

109 1980 event in Washington

111 Be completely candid

114 Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw

117 It may be taken in by a traveler

119 Half of sei

120 Treat thought to be stamped with symbols of the Knights Templar

121 ‘‘We ____ please’’

123 Within arm’s reach

128 Something commonly left in an operating room

129 Going by

130 Where the Volta River flows

131 Tea go-with

132 Pull down

133 Those opposite the center and guards, in N.F.L. lingo

134 More teed off

135 Scattered

DOWN

1 Sounds at a sauna

2 Limit

3 20-20, e.g.

4 Hit TV show created by Donald Glover

5 Something close to a colonel’s heart?

6 ‘‘Today’’ competitor, for short

7 —

8 Those against

9 Come back again (again . . . again . . . )

10 Harp-shaped constellation

11 Got ready to ride, with ‘‘up’’

12 Vacuum tube type

13 ‘‘Hi’’ follower

14 Rack up, as charges

15 No-hassle

16 Countless

17 —

18 Slips

19 Holder of merit badges on a scout uniform

25 Jon of ‘‘Two and a Half Men’’

30 —

32 Gone-but-not-forgotten

33 L.L. Bean competitor

34 Plant family that jasmine and lilac are part of

35 Safe space

36 Announcement maker of yore

38 In early 2001, one of its executives notoriously said, ‘‘From an accounting standpoint, this will be our easiest year ever’’

41 ____ Minella (Muppet)

43 Pot grower’s remark?

44 What snakes grow as they age

45 Corrects, as text

47 They used to be a ‘‘thing’’

48 Floor coverings that feel good on the feet

51 Politician’s concern

54 Detective Lupin

55 Present-day saint?

58 Surprise ending

59 Sparkling-wine variety

61 Scolded, as in a library

63 Big name in nail polish

65 —

69 Drive

70 Sets aside

71 Popped in for just a moment, perhaps

72 The Ikea logo shares the colors of its flag

73 Lead-in to ‘‘of mind’’

or ‘‘of war’’

75 Advocate for the

better treatment

of elves, in Harry

Potter

80 Determination from

Santa

84 Big tournament news

86 Bare

88 —

89 Spots for window

boxes

90 Verbal cringe

93 The St. Lawrence River’s misnamed ____ Islands

95 Far from friendly

98 Fatigued over time

99 Set of rules popularized by ‘‘How I Met Your Mother’’

101 Doctor’s orders, maybe

102 Best ____

103 Shaving brand

106 ‘‘Let me get this out . . . ’’

107 Lead-in to -scope

110 Small lab bottle

112 Loud, as a stadium

113 Former second lady Cheney

114 It often has its kinks

115 Sight from a Seattle ferry

116 Bike ride setting

118 Rides

122 Millennium start

124 See 126-Down

125 Take a ____

126 With 124-Down, feature of van Gogh

127 Get hitched to

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

32221202

72625242

2313039282

837363534333

54443424140493

150594847464

6555453525

36261606958575

968676665646

67574737271707

1808978777

099888786858483828

695949392919

301201101001998979

801701601501401

311211111011901

911811711611511411

721621521421321221121021

131031921821

531431331231

Grant Thackray (rhymes with ‘‘daiquiri’’) recently moved to Los Angeles from Oregon, “hopefully to find a job in animation — either storyboarding or character design.’’ He started constructing crosswords after seeing the 2006 documentary ‘‘Wordplay’’ and thinking, I could do that. The idea for this one came while he was stocking wood for a campfire. It’s Grant’s ninth Times puzzle and third Sunday. — W.S.

1 Impersonate

6 Bump on a log

11 Get into one’s birthday suit

16 Fruit drinks

20 Home of the isle of Tortuga

21 ‘‘____ often costs too much’’: Emerson

22 Word before rock or football

23 Song word repeated after ‘‘Que’’

24 Charming sort?

26 Olympics projectiles

27 People in charge: Abbr.

28 ____ Lingus

29 Lucy’s last name on ‘‘I Love Lucy’’

31 Like gasoline nowadays

33 30-year host of late-night TV

37 Legal field concerned with long-term care

39 Commotion

40 Televangelist Joel

42 Prima ballerina

46 Some team competitions

49 The ‘‘e’’ in Genoa?

50 With 97-Across, emerge reborn . . . or what the ends of five Across answers in this puzzle do?

52 ‘‘Gangsta Lovin’’’ rapper, 2002

53 Yoga-class instruction

GUNSTON STREET

“Gunston Street” is drawn by Basil Zaviski. Email him at [email protected], and online at gunstonstreet.com.

RESULTS FOR ABOVE PUZZLE

ACTASGNARLSTRIPADES

HAITIMONEYARENASERA

SPELLCASTERDISCILDRS

AERRICARDOUNLEASH

JOHNNYCASHELDERLAW

CLATTEROSTEENETOILE

RIVALRIESANDRISEFROM

EVEEXHALENOMSGANE

WENTAREARCHINAREIGN

WESSGSBUCGUESSED

ASSISTSREHASHERASERS

LAWSUITUNEHONGTI

LIETOAUGERELISEETSY

ODDHTTPSMIDACTHIE

THEASHESBICSEATANGLE

SINGTOELROYSRECOILS

ERUPTIONTALKSTRASH

HOGWASHSCENERYTRE

OREOAIMTOATONESELBOW

SCARNAMEDGHANASCONE

EARNDLINESORERSOWED


GADGETS & TECHNOLOGY

Joan MacDonald’s health was in shambles at

age 71. She was overweight and on numer-

ous medications with high cholesterol, ris-

ing blood pressure and kidney trouble.

Her daughter, a fitness coach, warned that she’d

wind up an invalid if she didn’t turn things around.

She did, hitting the gym for the first time and learn-

ing to balance her diet with the help of a new tool,

an iPhone.

Now 75, MacDonald is a hype beast for health

with a bodybuilder’s physique and 1.4 million loyal

followers on Instagram.

She’s among a growing number of “grandflu-

encers,” folks 70 and up who have amassed sub-

stantial followings on social media with the help of

decades-younger fans.

“It’s so rare to find someone her age being able to

do all these things,” said one of her admirers, 18-

year-old Marianne Zapata of Larchmont, N.Y. “It’s

just such a positive thing to even think about.”

Both aspirational and inspirational, older influen-

cers are turning their digital platforms into gold.

MacDonald has paid partnerships with the

sportswear and supplement brand Women’s Best,

and the stress-busting device Sensate. And she just

launched her own health and fitness app not so

many years after learning how to use digital tech-

nology herself.

On TikTok, four friends who go by @oldgays —

the youngest is 65 — have 2.2 million followers,

including Rihanna, and delight fans with their clue-

less answers to pop culture questions.

Others focus on beauty and style, setting up Ama-

zon closets with their go-to looks and putting on

makeup tutorials live.

Just 37% of those 70 and older used social media

daily in 2019, the research showed. Since coro-

navirus struck, older creators have expanded their

horizons beyond mainstay Facebook, often driven

by the growing number of feeds by people their

own age, said Alison Bryant, senior vice president

for AARP.

In the California desert town of Cathedral City,

Jessay Martin is the second youngest of the Old

Gays at 68.

“I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life

relaxing pretty much, and I do, but this is picking

up more for us. I had a very structured week where

Monday I worked the food bank at the senior cen-

ter, Tuesday and Friday I did yoga for an hour and

a half, Wednesday I was on the front desk at the

senior center. I was just sort of floating by, not

being social, not putting myself out there in the gay

community. And boy, has the Old Gays changed

that,” Martin said.

Like MacDonald, they do a lot of myth busting

about what’s possible in life’s sixth, seventh and

eighth decades.

“They’re showing that anybody can do these

things, that you don’t have to be afraid of aging. The

20 and 30 somethings don’t often think about that,”

Bryant said. “The authenticity that we’re seeing in

some of these older influencers is really refreshing.

That’s part of the complexity of their narratives.

They’re bringing other parts of their lives to it.

They’re grandparents and great-grandparents and

spouses. They’re more comfortable in their own

skins.”

Sandra Sallin, a blogger and artist, has slowly

built her following to 25,300 on Instagram. Her

reach recently extended to the British Olympic

gold-medal diver Tom Daley, who raved about her

mother’s cheesecake recipe after his coach spotted

it online and made it for her athletes and staff.

Sallin, a lover of lipstick who focuses on cooking

and beauty, also shares photos from her past and

other adventures, like her turn last year in a vin-

tage Spitfire high above the Cliffs of Dover.

At 69, Toby Bloomberg in Atlanta is a Sallin sup-

porter. She discovered Sallin after watching her

compete on the short-lived Food Network show

“Clash of the Grandmas.”

“She talks a lot about aging. That’s quite an un-

usual phenomenon on social media, which is obvi-

ously dominated by people far younger than we

are,” Bloomberg said.

Aging, in fact, is what drew Sallin to social media.

“I wanted to expand my world. I felt that I was

older; that my world was shrinking. People were

moving; people were ill,” she said. “So I started my

blog because I wanted to reach out. After that, I

heard about this thing called Instagram.

“I really stumbled my way in. I’m shocked be-

cause most people who follow me are 30 and 40

years younger.

“But there are people who are older, who have

kind of given up and say, ‘You know, I’m going to

start wearing lipstick.’”

CHRIS PIZZELLO/AP

Senior influencer Sandra Sallin, 80, poses for a portrait at home Aug. 20 in Los Angeles. Sallin is among agrowing number of seniors making names for themselves on social media.

Influence at any ageSocial media’s 70-and-up ‘grandfluencers’ debunk aging myths

BY LEANNE ITALIE

Associated Press

As far as home Wi-Fi and in-

ternet, there’s probably only one

thing worse than a bad signal and

dead zones, and that’s having no

service at all. And we have all

been there without an easy fix.

The German-made Devolo

Magic 2 plug-and-play power

outlet adapter turns AC power

outlets into a Wi-Fi access point

and a source to transmit the data

for internet access points around

the house, eliminating dead

zones and solving many other

Wi-Fi problems. Once it’s up and

running, the internet is sent

around the house through the

existing electrical wiring. Large

offices and small houses can all

have this issue, which can be

caused by thick walls or other

features that obstruct the wire-

less signal.

Devolo rates the Magic 2 Wi-Fi

to reach transmission speeds up

to 2000 Mbps, but that can vary

depending on the internet service

brought into the structure and

other factors such as the age and

condition of the power outlets

and power lines connecting

them. Devolo states accurately

on their site, “Network conditions

and environmental factors, in-

cluding volume of network traf-

fic, building material and con-

struction, and network overhead,

result in lower actual data

throughput rate.”

The range of the Magic 2 Wi-Fi

with future-proofed G.hn Wave 2

standard is up to 1,600 feet, and it

has connections with 2.4 GHz + 5

GHz with standards of Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/k/r/v/.

The Magic 2 Wi-Fi starts with

a single Gigabit LAN port (5.12-

by-2.6-1.57 inches), which is

connected to your existing rou-

ter. The other piece in the kit

(you can add more if needed) of

The Magic 2 is a 5.98-by-2.99-

by-1.57-inches two Gigabit LAN

port, which plugs directly into

any household AC power outlet.

Setting it up is simple, but

make sure to follow the instruc-

tions for pushing the buttons in

the right order to make the con-

nection. The buttons on the Mag-

ic 2 include WLAN for Wi-Fi

on/off, a home button for the

power line connection, and a

reset to reboot and reset the

settings. The built-in gigabit

ports can be used for direct

wired connections to compatible

devices.

Once the setup is complete

with the built-in Access Point

Steering, regardless of what

room you’re in, you’ll be connect-

ed to the strongest signal avail-

able.

It’s easy to read speed tests

and report numbers. But when I

tell people those numbers, often

it means nothing. Most people at

home just want to know their

streaming is working and not

buffering, which to me is the

perfect test. So with everything

connected, I connected to my

original Wi-Fi with my iPad

streaming YouTubeTV. Once I

got to a distance where buffering

was an issue, I set up a Magic 2

directly in the middle. To make

sure I was on the proper access

point, I deleted the original home

network from my choices, mak-

ing it easy to select the right one.

Once I was connected to the

newer Magic 2 access point, my

connection didn’t buffer, bring-

ing an instant solution to my

backyard Wi-Fi needs.

The Magic 2 system has other

customizable features such as

Guest Wi-Fi, parent controls,

setting schedules and airtime

fairness. The Devolo Home Net-

work App (Apple and Android)

works well for setting up, con-

trolling your network and the

customized features. Each piece

is built with a passthrough power

outlet to replace the one the Mag-

ic 2 is taking up in the wall.

The Magic 2 is available as a

starter kit ($184.99) with single

port for router connection and a

two Gigabit LAN port to extend

the Wi-Fi range. The whole home

kit ($299.99) adds another two

Gigabit LAN port for additional

coverage. If additional plug-in

ports are needed, the Magic 2

triple ($84.99) has three ports for

a direct plug-in internet connec-

tion.

Online: devolo.com

GADGETS

Stretch your Wi-Fi signalBY GREGG ELLMAN

Tribune News Service

DEVOLO/TNS

The Devolo Magic 2 is a power adapter that plugs into your electricoutlet to extend the range of your existing signal up to 1,600 feet.


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

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© Stars and Stripes 2021

stripes.com

OPINION

The heart-wrenching fall of Afghan-

istan into Taliban hands has been

an embarrassment for the Biden

administration’s efforts to salvage

U.S. credibility in a post-Trump world. But it

might prove to be a boon for several U.S. allies

who are now offering to serve as intermedi-

aries to the Taliban — namely Pakistan, Qatar

and Turkey.

After the withdrawal of U.S. troops, the

United States needs regional partners that can

engage with the Taliban, keep the Kabul air-

port open and help prevent a state collapse un-

der a zealous Taliban regime — or at least

stave off unpleasant headlines long enough

for the Western public opinion to forget the de-

bacle.

Pakistan’s security services have long sup-

ported the Taliban and no doubt view the rap-

id fall of Afghanistan as a strategic gain of sorts

—one that increases Pakistan’s influence as a

security partner for Washington. For Qatar,

which has hosted talks with Taliban leader-

ship and has offered help to operate the Kabul

airport, it is a chance to increase visibility on

the world stage.

But the most curious in the list of Taliban-

whisperers is Turkey, with its long secular

history and NATO status. Afghanistan itself

has little strategic value for Turkey, which sits

on the edge of Europe and the Middle East and

is already buried deep in conflicts in Syria and

Libya. But as early as May, Turkey’s govern-

ment offered to send Turkish troops to protect

Kabul airport after the U.S. withdrawal. That

deal is now dead, due to the Taliban’s speedy

takeover of the country, but Turks have been

instrumental with evacuations and are pro-

viding technical assistance to operate the Ka-

bul airport, alongside Qatar.

Unlike other NATO countries, Turkey has

also kept its embassy open, and that provides

an important link to the Taliban regime. Turk-

ish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been

sending conciliatory messages to the Taliban

leadership, even offering to meet them. Not

surprisingly, Turkey was one of the six coun-

tries, alongside Russia and China, invited to

the announcement ceremony for the new Ta-

liban government.

But what’s in it for Turkey?

Turkey’s interest in Afghanistan has noth-

ing to do with that country and everything to

do with Erdogan’s desire to repair ties with the

West. Relations with the United States and

NATO allies have been on ice for some time

due to Turkey’s authoritarian turn, rap-

prochement with Russia, and assertive moves

in eastern Mediterranean, Syria and the Cau-

casus.

Finding his country regionally isolated and

economically broken, Erdogan is now seeking

acourse correction of sorts. With his popular-

ity in decline in polls, the Turkish leader

knows that unless he can fix the economy —

which will involve fixing Turkey’s toxic inter-

national image — he may not be re-elected in

2023. Over the past several months, he has re-

ached out to regional rivals such as Israel,

Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi

Arabia, and is now striving for better relations

with Washington and Europe.

By jumping into the foray in Afghanistan,

Ankara seems to have calculated that Turkey

could mend ties with the Biden administration

and remind NATO of its geopolitical signifi-

cance in an age of great power competition.

This gambit is paying off. Early in the new

administration, Turkey was an undesired

partner, with Washington signaling that it no

longer regarded Erdogan’s Turkey as a lynch-

pin of U.S. foreign policy toward the region.

President Joe Biden refused for months to talk

to the Turkish leader and did what no previous

president dared, declaring the mass killings of

Armenians in 1915 a genocide. The adminis-

tration’s tough love was coupled with a string

of official statements that criticized Turkey’s

human rights record.

All that seems to have changed. Amid nego-

tiations to send Turkish peacekeepers to Ka-

bul airport in mid-June, Biden met with Erdo-

gan in Brussels. By all accounts, the meeting

went well, with no real U.S. pressure on hu-

man rights and Russian missiles.

But what Turkish and U.S. policymakers

miss is that Turkey could offer so much more

than just being a security provider in regional

conflicts. The country’s real richness is its di-

verse and vibrant society, not its security bu-

reaucracy. It would have been much easier for

Erdogan to reestablish Turkey’s global pres-

tige by taking steps to meet the demands of

Turkish people internally — steps such as

loosening his tight grip on politics, engaging

with civil society and bringing back some

semblance of the rule of law. The country’s au-

thoritarian turn has made Ankara a symbol of

democracy’s global retreat — and Erdogan its

poster child. Instead of engaging with the Tali-

ban in a dubious political gambit, he should re-

store democracy at home.

Recently, Erdogan penned a book, “A Fair-

er World is Possible,” arguing that the global

system is unjust and requires amendments.

But surely the real adjustment should start in

Turkey. Ankara could end up improving ties

with the Biden administration by engaging

with the Taliban — but that won’t fix Turkey’s

problems. Nor will it satisfy millions of voters

who want to see a return to democracy.

Biden’s failure could end up as Erdogan’s winBY ASLI AYDINTASBAS

Special to The Washington Post

Asli Aydintasbas is a senior fellow at the European Council onForeign Relations.

The campaign against economic in-

equality has put a bull’s-eye on ci-

ties. Local governments are en-

couraged to raise minimum wages,

change their zoning laws and build more hous-

ing, particularly in affluent communities that

are squeezing out the lower class.

But what if you shifted that focus to a differ-

ent kind of community? Consider these burge-

oning new places strung along the highways

leading away from urban cores, populated by

warehouses and fulfillment centers that are

being built to serve the needs of e-commerce

customers. Let’s call them “factory towns.”

These are places where working-class jobs

are being created in large numbers and where

wages already are rising. They’re not much in

the spotlight yet, but making these modern-

day company towns more livable for the work-

ing class might be a better approach to solving

inequality — with a higher likelihood of suc-

cess — than continuing to fight against en-

trenched interests in coastal cities and high-

cost parts of metro areas.

It used to be that when you were driving out

of a metro area on a highway you’d note the

change in scenery as it went from urban to ru-

ral. Today what’s most noteworthy is the tran-

sition to humongous warehouses and distribu-

tion centers, both currently in use and many

more being built. Retail and e-commerce go-

liaths Amazon.com and Walmart have distri-

bution facilities everywhere, and while they

may have the biggest footprint, companies

that make building materials have their fair

share, as do other e-commerce players like

pets-supplies company Chewy.

Economic realities dictate where these fa-

cilities get built. The need for speedy deliver-

ies makes it important to be close to large con-

centrations of customers, but because the fa-

cilities require so much land, hundreds of

thousands of square feet or more, they tend to

be on the outskirts of cities where land is abun-

dant and cheap. Highway proximity is a must

so that trucks can quickly get in and out.

These warehouses also provide jobs to large

numbers of people; an 800,000-square-foot

Amazon building employs between 1,000 and

1,500 full-time workers. So when you have

multiple warehouses operated by different

companies along both sides of the highway in

close proximity, you can be talking about a

cluster with many thousands of workers.

Now consider Amazon’s announcement

that it’s making another big hiring push at its

fulfillment centers with jobs paying an aver-

age starting wage of $18 an hour. Thinking

about the growth of fulfillment and distribu-

tion centers in general, maybe these highway

warehouse communities with jobs that pay in-

creasingly respectable wages are what the fu-

ture of the working class looks like. And

doesn’t it make sense, then, to think about how

we can make these communities better for the

people who will live and work there?

It starts with making the jobs as high-paying

and safe as possible. If these sorts of jobs get to

an average wage of $20 an hour then a house-

hold with 1.5 full-time workers in it would

make $60,000 a year with benefits. People can

argue about what constitutes a reasonable

working class lifestyle, but that would seem to

offer the prospect for a much better existence

than service workers had a decade ago.

People can live close to work with shorter

commutes — plus the possibility of employer-

provided shuttle buses — when their jobs are

in a cheaper, less-crowded part of a metro ar-

ea. If there’s a push to increase density by

building affordable apartments or town-

homes for workers, there’s less likely to be

wealthy homeowners mobilizing to stop it,

since those sorts of homeowners probably will

live closer to the city core. As wages rise and

more jobs are created at warehouses and dis-

tributions hubs, you’ll get a secondary in-

crease in economic activity as amenities like

retail and dining are built close by.

These new factory towns will presumably

have new issues that need addressing, such as

adequate amounts of housing, schools and

health care facilities. But the point is that we

need to be thinking about what sorts of com-

munities are being created by the growth of

U.S. e-commerce infrastructure, and what

they’ll need to thrive. It’s these types of new

communities that are going to be the future of a

large segment of the working class.

New ‘factory towns’ will lift America’s working classBY CONOR SEN

Bloomberg Opinion

Conor Sen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and the founder ofPeachtree Creek Investments. He’s been a contributor to theAtlantic and Business Insider and resides in Atlanta.


SCOREBOARD

PRO SOCCER

MLS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

W L T Pts GF GA

New England 17 4 4 55 47 29

Nashville 10 2 11 41 38 21

Orlando City 10 6 8 38 35 33

NYCFC 10 8 5 35 41 27

D.C. United 10 10 4 34 39 33

CF Montréal 9 8 7 34 34 30

Atlanta 8 7 9 33 32 28

Inter Miami CF 9 10 5 32 24 35

Philadelphia 8 7 8 32 28 24

Columbus 8 11 6 30 29 34

New York 7 11 5 26 29 28

Chicago 6 13 5 23 24 38

Cincinnati 4 11 8 20 23 42

Toronto FC 3 15 6 15 26 50

WESTERN CONFERENCE

W L T Pts GF GA

Sporting KC 13 5 7 46 43 26

Seattle 13 4 6 45 36 19

Colorado 12 4 7 43 34 23

LA Galaxy 11 8 5 38 37 37

Portland 10 10 4 34 34 41

Real Salt Lake 9 9 6 33 40 35

LAFC 9 9 6 33 37 34

Minnesota 8 8 7 31 24 29

Vancouver 7 8 8 29 29 33

FC Dallas 6 10 9 27 36 40

San Jose 6 9 9 27 28 35

Houston 4 10 11 23 28 37

Austin FC 5 15 4 19 22 36

Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.

Wednesday, Sept. 15

Atlanta 4, Cincinnati 0 CF Montréal 4, Orlando City 2 D.C. United 3, Chicago 0 Sporting Kansas City 4, Minnesota 0 Los Angeles FC 2, Austin FC 1 Colorado 2, Portland 2, tie Houston 1, LA Galaxy 1, tie Real Salt Lake 4, San Jose 3

Friday’s game

New York 4, Miami 0 Saturday’s games

D.C. United at Atlanta Columbus at New England Nashville at Toronto FC New York City FC at Cincinnati LA Galaxy at Minnesota San Jose at Austin FC FC Dallas at Houston Seattle at Real Salt Lake

Sunday’s games

Chicago at CF Montréal Orlando City at Philadelphia Los Angeles FC at Portland Vancouver at Colorado

Wednesday’s games

Nashville at Miami New York City FC at New York New England at Chicago

Saturday, Sept. 25

Atlanta at Philadelphia Orlando City at New England Cincinnati at D.C. United CF Montréal at Columbus New York at New York City FC Houston at Minnesota Toronto FC at Colorado FC Dallas at Vancouver Los Angeles FC at San Jose Real Salt Lake at Portland

Sunday, Sept. 26

Nashville at Chicago Seattle at Sporting Kansas City LA Galaxy at Austin FC

NWSL

W L T Pts GF GA

Portland 11 4 2 35 25 11

Reign FC 10 7 2 32 27 19

North Carolina 8 5 5 29 22 10

Orlando 7 5 7 28 24 21

Chicago 7 7 5 26 20 23

Washington 6 6 5 23 19 21

Houston 6 7 5 23 20 23

Gotham FC 5 5 7 22 17 15

Louisville 4 9 5 17 15 27

Kansas City 2 11 5 11 9 28

Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.

Saturday, Sept. 25

North Carolina at Gotham FC Portland at Chicago

Sunday, Sept. 26

Houston at LouisvilleKansas City at WashingtonOrlando at Reign FC

NFL

AMERICAN CONFERENCE

East

W L T Pct PF PA

Miami 1 0 0 1.000 17 16

Buffalo 0 1 0 .000 16 23

N.Y. Jets 0 1 0 .000 14 19

New England 0 1 0 .000 16 17

South

W L T Pct PF PA

Houston 1 0 0 1.000 37 21

Indianapolis 0 1 0 .000 16 28

Jacksonville 0 1 0 .000 21 37

Tennessee 0 1 0 .000 13 38

North

W L T Pct PF PA

Cincinnati 1 0 0 1.000 27 24

Pittsburgh 1 0 0 1.000 23 16

Baltimore 0 1 0 .000 27 33

Cleveland 0 1 0 .000 29 33

West

W L T Pct PF PA

Denver 1 0 0 1.000 27 13

Kansas City 1 0 0 1.000 33 29

L.A. Chargers 1 0 0 1.000 20 16

Las Vegas 1 0 0 1.000 33 27

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

East

W L T Pct PF PA

Philadelphia 1 0 0 1.000 32 6

Washington 1 1 0 .500 46 49

Dallas 0 1 0 .000 29 31

N.Y. Giants 0 2 0 .000 42 57

South

W L T Pct PF PA

Carolina 1 0 0 1.000 19 14

New Orleans 1 0 0 1.000 38 3

Tampa Bay 1 0 0 1.000 31 29

Atlanta 0 1 0 .000 6 32

North

W L T Pct PF PA

Chicago 0 1 0 .000 14 34

Detroit 0 1 0 .000 33 41

Green Bay 0 1 0 .000 3 38

Minnesota 0 1 0 .000 24 27

West

W L T Pct PF PA

Arizona 1 0 0 1.000 38 13

L.A. Rams 1 0 0 1.000 34 14

San Francisco 1 0 0 1.000 41 33

Seattle 1 0 0 1.000 28 16

Thursday’s game

Washington 30, N.Y. Giants 29

Sunday’s games

Buffalo at Miami Cincinnati at Chicago Denver at Jacksonville Houston at Cleveland L.A. Rams at Indianapolis Las Vegas at Pittsburgh New England at N.Y. Jets New Orleans at Carolina San Francisco at Philadelphia

Atlanta at Tampa Bay Minnesota at Arizona Dallas at L.A. Chargers Tennessee at Seattle Kansas City at Baltimore

Monday’s game

Detroit at Green Bay

Thursday, Sept. 23

Carolina at Houston

Sunday, Sept. 26

Arizona at Jacksonville Atlanta at N.Y. Giants Baltimore at Detroit Chicago at Cleveland Cincinnati at Pittsburgh Indianapolis at Tennessee L.A. Chargers at Kansas City New Orleans at New England Washington at Buffalo Miami at Las Vegas N.Y. Jets at Denver Seattle at Minnesota Tampa Bay at L.A. Rams Green Bay at San Francisco

NFL injury reportNEW YORK — The National Football

League injury report, as provided by theleague (DNP: did not practice; LIMITED:limited participation; FULL: Full participa-tion):

SUNDAYATLANTA FALCONS at TAMPA BAY BUC-

CANEERS — ATLANTA: OUT: WR Frank Dar-by (calf). TAMPA BAY: QUESTIONABLE: CBCarlton Davis (hamstring). DNP: WR Anto-nio Brown (knee), TE Rob Gronkowski (notinjury related - resting player), DT SteveMcLendon (not injury related - restingplayer), LB Jason Pierre-Paul (hand), DTNdamukong Suh (not injury related - rest-ing player). LIMITED: CB Carlton Davis(hamstring). FULL: LB Shaquil Barrett(back), S Jordan Whitehead (hamstring).

BUFFALO BILLS at MIAMI DOLPHINS —BUFFALO: QUESTIONABLE: WR Gabriel Da-vis (ankle), DT Star Lotulelei (calf), DE EfeObada (calf). DNP: WR Stefon Diggs (notinjury related - resting player), DE JerryHughes (not injury related - resting play-er). LIMITED: WR Gabriel Davis (ankle), SMicah Hyde (neck), DE Efe Obada (calf).FULL: DT Star Lotulelei (calf), WR IsaiahMcKenzie (shoulder), LB Matt Milano (an-kle), WR Emmanuel Sanders (foot, not in-jury related - resting player). MIAMI: OUT:WR Will Fuller (not injury related - person-al matter). QUESTIONABLE: WR PrestonWilliams (foot, knee). FULL: S Clayton Feje-delem (shoulder), DT John Jenkins (knee),WR DeVante Parker (shoulder), LB Elan-don Roberts (knee), TE Adam Shaheen(knee), LB Andrew Van Ginkel (back).

CINCINNATI BENGALS at CHICAGOBEARS — CINCINNATI: OUT: S Ricardo Allen(hand, hamstring), CB Trae Waynes(hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: LB MarkusBailey (knee), CB Darius Phillips (thigh).DNP: G Quinton Spain (not injury related -personal matter). FULL: QB Joe Burrow(knee), G Jackson Carman (cramps), CBDarius Phillips (thigh), S Brandon Wilson(thumb). CHICAGO: OUT: T Larry Borom(ankle). DOUBTFUL: DT Eddie Goldman(knee). QUESTIONABLE: WR MarquiseGoodwin (quadricep), LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe(shoulder), WR Darnell Mooney (back), TJason Peters (quadricep), LB Robert Quinn(back), WR Nsimba Webster (hamstring).FULL: WR Marquise Goodwin (quadricep),TE Jimmy Graham (not injury related -resting player), LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe(shoulder), WR Darnell Mooney (back), LBRobert Quinn (back), WR Nsimba Webster(hamstring).

DALLAS COWBOYS at LOS ANGELESCHARGERS — DALLAS: OUT: T Ty Nsekhe(illness). QUESTIONABLE: S Damontae Ka-zee (thigh), S Donovan Wilson (groin).FULL: DE Chauncey Golston (hamstring),CB Nahshon Wright (not injury related -

personal matter). LOS ANGELES CHAR-GERS: OUT: CB Chris Harris (shoulder).DOUBTFUL: DT Justin Jones (calf). QUES-TIONABLE: S Nasir Adderley (groin). DNP: TBryan Bulaga (groin, back). FULL: LB KylerFackrell (knee), S Derwin James (toe), STrey Marshall (ankle), K Tristan Vizcaino(illness).

DENVER BRONCOS at JACKSONVILLEJAGUARS — DENVER: DOUBTFUL: G Gra-ham Glasgow (illness). QUESTIONABLE: LBBradley Chubb (ankle), LB Jonas Griffith(back). FULL: TE Noah Fant (knee), DE Shel-by Harris (wrist), DE Shamar Stephen(back). JACKSONVILLE: OUT: CB Tre Hern-don (knee). LIMITED: CB Tre Herndon(knee), DE Lerentee McCray (hamstring),DE Jordan Smith (knee). FULL: CB TysonCampbell (calf).

HOUSTON TEXANS at CLEVELANDBROWNS — HOUSTON: OUT: QB DeshaunWatson (not injury related - personal mat-ter). QUESTIONABLE: TE Pharaoh Brown(ankle, shoulder), LB Kamu Grugier-Hill(illness). FULL: CB Lonnie Johnson (thigh),CB Desmond King (knee), WR Andre Ro-berts (knee). CLEVELAND: OUT: WR OdellBeckham (knee), T Christopher Hubbard(triceps). QUESTIONABLE: G Michael Dunn(back), CB Troy Hill (hamstring, foot), WRAnthony Schwartz (knee), C J.C. Tretter(knee), T Jedrick Wills (ankle). LIMITED: TJack Conklin (knee), CB Greg Newsome(biceps). FULL: S Grant Delpit (hamstring),CB Troy Hill (hamstring, foot), DT TommyTogiai (illness), LB Mack Wilson (quadri-cep).

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS at BALTIMORERAVENS — KANSAS CITY: FULL: C AustinBlythe (abdomen), DE Frank Clark(hamstring), DE Michael Danna (groin), RBClyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle), WR TyreekHill (toe), DT Derrick Nnadi (hip), DT Kha-len Saunders (glute). BALTIMORE: OUT: DEDerek Wolfe (back, hip). QUESTIONABLE:WR Marquise Brown (ankle), WR Devin Du-vernay (groin), LB Daelin Hayes (knee), CBMarlon Humphrey (back), CB Jimmy Smith(ankle), T Ronnie Stanley (ankle). DNP: DTCalais Campbell (not injury related - rest-ing player), LB Justin Houston (not injuryrelated - resting player).

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS at PITTSBURGHSTEELERS — LAS VEGAS: OUT: G Richie In-cognito (calf), RB Josh Jacobs (toe, ankle),LB Nick Kwiatkoski (concussion), QB Mar-cus Mariota (quadricep), CB RodericTeamer (ankle). QUESTIONABLE: DE CarlNassib (pectoral, toe), DE Yannick Nga-koue (hamstring), DT Darius Philon (knee).LIMITED: LB Denzel Perryman (hip). FULL:LB Divine Deablo (ankle), WR Bryan Ed-wards (elbow), DE Clelin Ferrell (back), DTJohnathan Hankins (knee), RB Alec Ingold(fibula), C Andre James (elbow), S DallinLeavitt (hip). PITTSBURGH: OUT: DT CarlosDavis (knee). QUESTIONABLE: LB DevinBush (groin), TE Zach Gentry (ankle), CBJoe Haden (groin). FULL: TE Eric Ebron(hamstring), QB Ben Roethlisberger (notinjury related - resting player), WR JuJuSmith-Schuster (not injury related - rest-ing player), LB Robert Spillane (shin).

LOS ANGELES RAMS at INDIANAPOLISCOLTS — LOS ANGELES RAMS: DNP: WRDeSean Jackson (not injury related - rest-ing player). FULL: DT Aaron Donald (not in-jury related - resting player), DT SebastianJoseph (knee), LB Terrell Lewis (not injuryrelated - resting player), DT A’Shawn Rob-inson (knee), WR Ben Skowronek (fore-arm), T Andrew Whitworth (not injury re-lated - resting player). INDIANAPOLIS:OUT: CB Xavier Rhodes (calf), T BradenSmith (foot). QUESTIONABLE: S JulianBlackmon (back), WR Parris Campbell (ab-domen), T Eric Fisher (Achilles), G QuentonNelson (foot, back), DE Kwity Paye(hamstring), WR Michael Pittman (ankle),S Khari Willis (illness). DNP: DT DeForestBuckner (groin). LIMITED: LB Darius Leo-nard (ankle, illness), DE Kwity Paye(hamstring), DE Kemoko Turay (groin).FULL: TE Jack Doyle (not injury related -resting player), T Eric Fisher (Achilles), DEAl-Quadin Muhammad (ankle), WR Mike

Strachan (ankle), S Khari Willis (illness).MINNESOTA VIKINGS at ARIZONA CAR-

DINALS — MINNESOTA: OUT: LB AnthonyBarr (knee), T Christian Darrisaw (groin),DE Everson Griffen (concussion), CB Harri-son Hand (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: LBEric Kendricks (quadricep). FULL: LB EricKendricks (quadricep), LB Nick Vigil (an-kle). ARIZONA: OUT: LB Devon Kennard(hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: T KelvinBeachum (ribs). FULL: S Charles Washing-ton (thigh).

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS at NEW YORKJETS — NEW ENGLAND: OUT: K Quinn Nor-din (abdomen), LB Kyle Van Noy (throat).QUESTIONABLE: T Trenton Brown (calf), TYodny Cajuste (hamstring), LB Ronnie Per-kins (shoulder), TE Jonnu Smith (hip).FULL: WR Nelson Agholor (ankle), S KyleDugger (wrist), CB Jalen Mills (ankle). NEWYORK JETS: DOUBTFUL: LB Jamien Sher-wood (ankle). QUESTIONABLE: WR KeelanCole (knee), WR Jamison Crowder (groin),CB Isaiah Dunn (shoulder), T Chuma Edoga(illness (non-covid).

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS at CAROLINAPANTHERS — NEW ORLEANS: OUT: LBKwon Alexander (elbow), DE Marcus Da-venport (shoulder), LB Chase Hansen(groin), C Erik McCoy (calf), LB Pete Wer-ner (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: S Chaun-cey Gardner-Johnson (knee), DE TanohKpassagnon (calf), CB Marshon Lattimore(hand), S P.J. Williams (back). LIMITED: CBMarshon Lattimore (hand), S P.J. Williams(back). FULL: QB Trevor Siemian (illness).CAROLINA: LIMITED: DT DaQuan Jones(groin), T Taylor Moton (groin). FULL: SJuston Burris (neck), S Sean Chandler(hamstring), G Pat Elflein (hip), G JohnMiller (illness), WR Shi Smith (shoulder).

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS at PHILADELPHIAEAGLES — SAN FRANCISCO: OUT: LB DreGreenlaw (groin). DOUBTFUL: CB Emma-nuel Moseley (knee). QUESTIONABLE: DEArik Armstead (adductor), LB Marcell Har-ris (oblique), DT Javon Kinlaw (knee).FULL: DE Dee Ford (ankle). PHILADELPHIA:OUT: S Rodney McLeod (knee). QUESTION-ABLE: S Marcus Epps (concussion). LIMIT-ED: WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (ankle), GBrandon Brooks (knee, not injury related -resting player). FULL: DT Fletcher Cox (notinjury related - resting player), G LandonDickerson (knee), S Marcus Epps (concus-sion), TE Zach Ertz (hamstring, not injuryrelated - resting player), DE Brandon Gra-ham (not injury related - resting player), TLane Johnson (not injury related - restingplayer), C Jason Kelce (not injury related -resting player), DE Ryan Kerrigan (not in-jury related - personal matter), CB AvonteMaddox (groin), RB Miles Sanders (ankle,not injury related - resting player), CB Da-rius Slay (not injury related - resting play-er), LB Davion Taylor (calf).

TENNESSEE TITANS at SEATTLE SEA-HAWKS — TENNESSEE: OUT: CB Caleb Far-ley (shoulder). QUESTIONABLE: LB JayonBrown (hamstring), LB Bud Dupree (knee),TE Anthony Firkser (knee), LB David Long(hamstring). FULL: WR A.J. Brown (knee),LB Rashaan Evans (groin), CB Chris Jack-son (hamstring), LB Harold Landry (groin),LB David Long (hamstring), WR Josh Rey-nolds (foot), LB Derick Roberson (groin).SEATTLE: DOUBTFUL: WR D’Wayne Esk-ridge (concussion), RB Rashaad Penny(calf). QUESTIONABLE: G Damien Lewis(groin), DT Bryan Mone (elbow), CB D.J.Reed (calf).

MONDAYDETROIT LIONS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS

— DETROIT: DNP: DE Kevin Strong (concus-sion), WR Tyrell Williams (concussion).LIMITED: DE Michael Brockers (shoulder),LB Trey Flowers (shoulder), LB Romeo Ok-wara (shoulder), RB D’Andre Swift (groin),RB Jamaal Williams (chest). FULL: DE LeviOnwuzurike (hip). GREEN BAY: DNP: TE Jo-siah Deguara (concussion), G Lucas Pa-trick (concussion), LB Za’Darius Smith(back). LIMITED: DT Tyler Lancaster (back,ankle), S Darnell Savage (shoulder), S Ver-non Scott (hamstring). FULL: C Josh Myers(finger).

PRO FOOTBALLCOLLEGE FOOTBALL

Friday’s scoresEAST

Husson 42, Dean 14S. Connecticut 34, St. Anselm 31St. Lawrence 27, Morrisville St. 14W. Connecticut 42, Westfield St. 6

SOUTHLouisville 42, UCF 35

MIDWESTMaryland 20, Illinois 17

PRO BASKETBALL

WNBA

EASTERN CONFERENCE

W L Pct GB

x-Connecticut 25 6 .806 —

x-Chicago 15 16 .484 10

Washington 12 19 .387 13

New York 12 20 .375 13½

Atlanta 8 23 .258 17

Indiana 6 25 .194 19

WESTERN CONFERENCE

W L Pct GB

x-Las Vegas 23 8 .742 —

x-Minnesota 21 10 .677 2

x-Seattle 21 11 .656 2½

x-Phoenix 19 12 .613 4

x-Dallas 13 18 .419 10

Los Angeles 12 19 .387 11

Friday’s games

New York 91, Washington 80Minnesota 92, Indiana 73Las Vegas 103, Chicago 70Seattle 94, Phoenix 85

Saturday’s games

No games scheduled.

Sunday’s games

Atlanta at ConnecticutLas Vegas at PhoenixMinnesota at WashingtonLos Angeles at DallasIndiana at Chicago

Fortinet ChampionshipPGA Tour

FridayAt Silverado Resort and Spa North

Napa, Calif.Purse: $7 million

Yardage: 7,123; Par: 72Second Round

Maverick McNealy 6864—132 12 Beau Hossler 7064—134 10 Mito Pereira 6767—134 10 Troy Merritt 6768—135 9Will Zalatoris 6867—135 9Bronson Burgoon 6867—135 9Harold Varner III 6868—136 8Matt Kuchar 7066—136 8Russell Knox 6967—136 8Tom Hoge 7166—137 7 Jim Knous 7067—137 7 David Lipsky 7364—137 7Peter Malnati 7166—137 7Nate Lashley 6770—137 7Scott Stallings 6770—137 7John Augenstein 6869—137 7Hideki Matsuyama 6969—138 6Scott Piercy 6969—138 6Mark Hubbard 7068—138 6Patrick Rodgers 6870—138 6Si Woo Kim 6870—138 6 Cameron Tringale 6672—138 6Dawie van der Walt 6870—138 6Jason Dufner 6772—139 5C.T. Pan 7168—139 5 Patton Kizzire 6970—139 5Aaron Baddeley 7168—139 5

Cambia Portland ClassicLPGA Tour

FridayAt The Oregon Golf Club

West Linn, Ore.Purse: $1.4 million

Yardage: 6,478; Par: 72Second Round

Jin Young Ko 6967—136 8Gemma Dryburgh 6869—137 7Carlota Ciganda 6871—139 5Alana Uriell 7466—140 4Jeongeun Lee 7367—140 4Andrea Lee 7268—140 4Jeongeun Lee6 7070—140 4Su Oh 6971—140 4Jenny Shin 6971—140 4Pajaree Anannarukarn 6872—140 4Anne van Dam 7270—142 2Esther Henseleit 7270—142 2Perrine Delacour 6973—142 2Patty Tavatanakit 7667—143 1Lauren Coughlin 7271—143 1Cydney Clanton 7271—143 1Emma Talley 7172—143 1SsuChia Cheng 7172—143 1Sung Hyun Park 7073—143 1Bianca Pagdanganan 7470—144 EAshleigh Buhai 7074—144 EMi Jung Hur 6975—144 EMina Harigae 7570—145 +1Louise Ridderstrom 7471—145 +1Caroline Inglis 7471—145 +1Jennifer Kupcho 7372—145 +1Olivia Mehaffey 7372—145 +1

Sanford InternationalChampions Tour

FridayAt Minnehaha Country Club

Sioux Falls, S.D.Yardage: 6,729; Par: 70

Purse: $1.8 MillionFirst Round

K.J. Choi 3330—63 7Darren Clarke 3132—63 7Robert Karlsson 3232—64 6Matt Gogel 3133—64 6Rod Pampling 3232—64 6Brandt Jobe 3232—64 6Steven Alker 3332—65 5Mario Tiziani �2936—65 5Retief Goosen 3332—65 5Mark Hensby 3134—65 5Cameron Beckman 3135—66 4Ken Duke 3135—66 4Chris DiMarco 3333—66 4Tom Byrum 3432—66 4Jerry Kelly 3333—66 4Jim Furyk 3432—66 4Ernie Els 3234—66 4Miguel Angel Jiménez 3234—66 4John Senden 3334—67 3Shane Bertsch 3334—67 3José María Olazábal 3433—67 3Paul Goydos 3433—67 3Billy Andrade 3433—67 3Alex Cejka 3334—67 3Rocco Mediate 3433—67 3

GOLF

SEE SCOREBOARD ON PAGE 20


SCOREBOARD/SPORTS BRIEFS

Friday’s transactionsBASEBALL

Major League BaseballAmerican League

BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Optioned 2B Jah-mai Jones to Norfolk (Triple-A East). Re-called RHP Dusten Knight from Norfolk.

BOSTON RED SOX — Reinstated LHPChris Sale and RHP Matt Barnes from theCOVID-19 list. Optioned RHP Ryan Braisierto Worcester (Triple-A East). Sent CF Jar-ren Duran to Worcester on a rehab assign-ment.

CLEVELAND INDIANS — Recalled RHP J.C.Mejia from Columbus (Triple-A East). Op-tioned LHP Alex Young to Columbus.

HOUSTON ASTROS — Sent RHP Tyler Iveyto FCL Astros (Florida Complex League) ona rehab assignment. Reinstated C JasonCastro from the 10-day IL. Optioned C Gar-rett Stubbs to Sugar Land (Triple-A West).

KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Placed RHP Bra-dy Singer on the 10-day IL. Selected thecontract of RHP Jon Heasley from North-west Arkansas (Double-A Central) andagreed to terms on a major league con-tract. Reinstated CF Michael A. Taylor. Op-tioned CF Edward Olivares to Omaha (Tri-ple-A East). Sent C Cam Gallagher to Oma-ha on a rehab assignment. Announced thehiring of Gene Watson as vice president/assistant general manager-major leaguescouting.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Selected thecontract of LHP Jhonathan Diaz from SaltLake (Triple-A West) and agreed to termson a major league contract. ReinstatedRHP Jose Marte from the 10-day IL. PlacedRHP Junior Guerra on the 10-day IL. Re-turned RHP Elvis Peguero to Salt Lake.

MINNESOTA TWINS — Reinstated OFBrent Rooker from the paternity list. Se-lected the contract of RHP Nick Vincentfrom St. Paul (Triple-A East) and agreed toterms on a major league contract. Sent CMitch Garver to St. Paul on a rehab assign-ment. Optioned LHP Andrew Albers to St.Paul.

NEW YORK YANKEES — Placed RHP SalRomano on the 10-day IL, retroactive toSept. 15. Recalled RHP Clarke Schmidtfrom Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-AEast).

SEATTLE MARINERS — Sent INF/OF JoseMarmolejos outright to Tacoma (Triple-AWest).

TEXAS RANGERS — Reinstated 3B AndyIbanez from the 10-day IL. Optioned C Yo-hel Pozo to Round rock (Triple-A West).

National League

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — ReinstatedOF Kole Calhoun from the 10-day IL. PlacedINF Seth Beer on the 10-day IL, retroactiveto Sept. 15.

CHICAGO CUBS — Placed RHP ManuelRodriguez on the 10-day IL. ReinstatedLHP Adam Morgan from the bereavementlist. Reinstated LHP Adam Morgan fromthe bereavement list. Placed RHP ManuelRodriguez on the 10-day IL.

CINCINNATI REDS — Reinstated LF JesseWinker from the 10-day IL. Placed CF TylerNaquin on the 10-day IL, retroactive toSept. 14.

MIAMI MARLINS — Transferred RHP Pa-blo Lopez and 3B Brian Anderson from the10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Placed C JorgeAlfaro on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Sept.16. Optioned 2B Isan Diaz to Jacksonville(Triple-A East). Selected the contracts ofCs Payton Henry and Nick Fortes fromJacksonville and agreed to terms on majorleaague contracts.

NEW YORK METS — Reinstated OF Bran-don Nimmo from the 10-day IL. OptionedRHP Jake Reed to Syracuse (Triple-A East).Reinstated RHP Jordan Yamamoto fromthe 60-day IL then optioned him to Syra-cuse. Recalled LHP Thomas Szapucki fromSyracuse, then placed him on the 60-dayIL.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Recalled LHPDamon Jones from Lehigh Valley (Triple-AEast). Optioned J.D. Hammer to LehighValley.

SAN DIEGO PADRES — Optioned RHPShaun Anderson to El Paso (Triple-AWest). Selected the contract of RHP VinceVelasquez from El Paso and agreed toterms on a major league contract. Desig-nated LHP Nick Ramirez for assignment.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Recalled RHPJay Jackson from Sacramento (Triple-AWest). Reinstated INF Donovan Solanofrom the 10-day IL. Placed LHP Jake McGeeon the 10-day IL, retroactive to Sept. 14.Optioned INF/OF Thairo Estrada to Sacra-mento.

BASKETBALLWomen’s National Basketball

AssociationMINNESOTA LYNX — Signed F Jillian Al-

leyne to a seven-day contract.FOOTBALL

National Football LeagueATLANTA FALCONS — Re-signed K Elliott

Fry to the practice squad. Released G Dan-ny Isidora from the practice squad.

BALTIMORE RAVENS — Placed CB ChrisWestry on injured reserve.

CAROLINA PANTHERS — Re-signed CB

Rashaan Melvin to the practice squad. Re-leased CB John Brannon from the practicesquad.

CLEVELAND BROWNS — Placed LB An-thony Walker Jr. on injured reserve.

DALLAS COWBOYS — Placed WR OsirusMitchell on the practice squad injured re-serve.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Released RBDuke Johnson from the practice squad.

GREEN BAY PACKERS — Signed LB La’Da-rius Hamilton off the Tampa Bay practicesquad and placed on injured reserve.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — Signed OLMichael Schofield. Placed OT Bryan Bula-ga on injured reserve.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Placed LBKwon Alexander and DE Marcus Daven-port on injured reserve.

TENNESSEE TITANS — Signed K RyanSantoso to the practice squad. Released TChristian DiLauro from the practicesquad.

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM — Re-leased OT Evin Ksiezarczyk from the prac-tice squad. Signed WRs Marken Micheland Dalton Schoen to the practice squad.

SOCCERMajor League Soccer

MLS— Suspended San Jose head coachMatias Almeyda for one match and finedhim an undisclosed amount for his actionstowards officials following San Jose’sSept. 15 match against Real Salt Lake.

MLS DISCIPLINARY COMMTTEE — FoundToronto FC D Kemar Lawrence guilty offailure to leave the field in a timely mannerin the 37th minute of Toronto’s matchagainst Inter Miami CF on Sept. 14. FoundToronto FC D Chris Mavinga guilty of sim-ulation/embellishment in the 48th minuteof Toronto’s match against Inter Miami CFon Sept. 14. Found Orlando City SC F Naniguilty of failure to leave the field in a time-ly manner in the 35th minute of Orlando’smatch against CF Montréal on Sept. 15.Found Orlando City SC M Andres Pereaguilty of failure to leave the field in a time-ly manner in the 83rd minute of Orlando’smatch against CF Montréal on Sept. 15.Found LA Galaxy F Javier Hernández guiltyof simulation/embellishment in the 84thminute of LA’s match against Houston Dy-namo FC on Sept. 15. Found Chicago Fire FCD Miguel Navarro guilty of simulation/em-bellishment in the 53rd minute of Chica-go’s match against D.C. United on Sept. 15.

MINNESOTA UNITED FC — Loaned F Pa-trick Weah to Sacramento Republic FC(USL Championship) for the remainder ofthe season.

DEALS

FROM PAGE 19

Food City 300NASCAR Xfinity Series

FridayAt Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, Tenn.Lap length: 0.53 miles

(Start position in parentheses)1. (10) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 306

laps, 50 points.2. (9) Austin Cindric, Ford, 306, 45.3. (8) Riley Herbst, Ford, 306, 34.4. (2) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 306, 52.5. (16) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 306, 38.6. (5) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 306, 45.7. (6) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 306, 31.8. (17) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 306, 29.9. (22) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 306, 34.10. (4) Daniel Hemric, Toyota, 306, 46.11. (3) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 306, 32.12. (1) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 306, 41.13. (13) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 306,

24.14. (11) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 306,

23.15. (31) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 305, 22.16. (32) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 305, 21.17. (36) Joe Graf Jr, Chevrolet, 305, 20.18. (39) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, 305, 19.19. (14) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 305, 18.20. (18) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 305, 17.21. (21) Brandon Gdovic, Toyota, 305, 16.22. (27) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 304,

15.23. (23) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet,

304, 14.24. (7) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 303, 14.25. (29) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet,

303, 12.26. (37) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 303, 0.27. (30) Jade Buford, Chevrolet, 302, 10.28. (25) Jesse Little, Chevrolet, 302, 9.29. (19) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet,

301, 8.30. (24) David Starr, Toyota, 300, 7.31. (33) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 298, 0.

32. (34) Carson Ware, Chevrolet, 297, 5.33. (38) Chad Finchum, Toyota, 282, 4.34. (12) Ryan Sieg, Ford, fuelpump, 259, 5.35. (15) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 215, 2.36. (26) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, accident,

108, 1.37. (28) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, brakes,

94, 1.38. (40) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet,

brakes, 53, 0.39. (35) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, elec-

trical, 40, 1.40. (20) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, acci-

dent, 9, 1.Race statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 75.029mph.

Time of Race: 2 hours, 10 minutes, 26seconds.

Margin of Victory: 0.082 seconds.Caution Flags: 10 for 72 laps.Lead Changes: 11 among 7 drivers.Lap Leaders: N.Gragson 0-4; D.Hemric 5-

35; J.Allgaier 36-108; D.Hemric 109-135;J.Allgaier 136-153; D.Hemric 154-173; J.Bur-ton 174-180; S.Mayer 181-229; A.Cindric230-241; J.Allgaier 242; A.Cindric 243-305;A.Allmendinger 306

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led,Laps Led): J.Allgaier, 3 times for 92 laps;D.Hemric, 3 times for 78 laps; A.Cindric, 2times for 75 laps; S.Mayer, 1 time for 49laps; J.Burton, 1 time for 7 laps; N.Gragson,1 time for 4 laps; A.Allmendinger, 1 time for1 lap.

Wins: A.Cindric, 5; A.Allmendinger, 4;T.Gibbs, 3; J.Allgaier, 2; N.Gragson, 2; J.Ha-ley, 1; J.Burton, 1; M.Snider, 1; J.Berry, 1.

Top 16 in Points: 1. A.Allmendinger, 1043;2. A.Cindric, 1033; 3. J.Allgaier, 924; 4.D.Hemric, 895; 5. H.Burton, 871; 6. J.Haley,864; 7. N.Gragson, 863; 8. J.Burton, 789; 9.B.Jones, 629; 10. R.Herbst, 624; 11. J.Cle-ments, 622; 12. M.Snider, 587; 13. T.Gibbs,526; 14. M.Annett, 524; 15. B.Brown, 504; 16.R.Sieg, 502.

AUTO RACING TENNIS

Luxembourg OpenFriday

At Kockelscheuer Sport CentreLuxembourg

Purse: $235,238Surface: Hardcourt indoor

Women’s SinglesQuarterfinals

Jelena Ostapenko (3), Latvia, def. AlizeCornet (8), France, 7-6 (6), 6-2.

Clara Tauson, Denmark, def. MarieBouzkova, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2.

Liudmila Samsonova (7), Russia, def. Be-linda Bencic (1), Switzerland, 6-1, 6-4.

Marketa Vondrousova (5), Czech Re-public, def. Elise Mertens (2), Belgium, 7-5,6-2.

Women’s DoublesSemifinals

Kimberley Zimmermann, Belgium, andErin Routliffe, New Zealand, def. VitaliaDiatchenko and Yana Sizikova, Russia, 6-4,6-2.

Alison van Uytvanck and Greet Minnen,Belgium, def. Makoto Ninomiya and Eri Ho-zumi (3), Japan, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Zavarovalnica Sava PortorozFriday

Portoroz, SloveniaPurse: $235,238

Surface: Hardcourt outdoorWomen’s Singles

Round of 16Tamara Zidansek (5), Slovenia, def. An-

helina Kalinina, Ukraine, walkover.Quarterfinals

Yulia Putintseva (2), Kazakhstan, def.Lucia Bronzetti, Italy, 6-3, 6-2.

Jasmine Paolini, Italy, def. Sorana Cir-stea (4), Romania, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Alison Riske (3), United States, def. Kris-tina Mladenovic, France, 6-4, 6-1.

Kaja Juvan, Slovenia, def. Tamara Zidan-sek (5), Slovenia, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — AJ All-

mendinger slid sideways across

the Bristol Motor Speedway finish

line to edge rival Austin Cindric

for both the Friday night win and

the NASCAR Xfinity Series regu-

lar-season championship.

The race was Cindric’s to win

and the reigning Xfinity champion

was four laps away from a second

straight regular-season title and a

healthy lead for the start of the

playoffs. Instead, a late caution

gave Allmendinger a shot to steal

a sixth win from Cindric and con-

tinue his own fairytale season.

The rivals crashed each other as

the cars crossed the finish line and

Allmendinger’s fourth win of the

season was awarded because his

Chevrolet was sliding ahead of

Cindric’s under the checkered

flag.

The wreck was a wild way to

send the Xfinity Series into the

playoffs.

The win gave Allemendinger

the regular-season title over Cin-

dric by 10 points. More important,

it tied the two at the top of the

standings for the start of the play-

offs next week at Las Vegas Motor

Speedway.

College Football HoF DT

Roger Brown dies at 84 LOS ANGELES — Roger

Brown, a College Football Hall of

Famer and six-time Pro Bowl se-

lection with the Detroit Lions and

Los Angeles Rams, died Friday.

He was 84.

The Lions and College Football

Hall of Fame announced his death

on Friday. The Lions said a mem-

ber of Brown’s family confirmed

the death. No cause was given.

Brown played 10 years in the

NFL. He was selected in the fourth

round of the 1960 draft by Detroit.

In his seven seasons with the Li-

ons, Brown went to the Pro Bowl

five times (1962-66) and was an

All-Pro selection in 1962 and ‘63.

He started in 124 of the 138 games

he played.

Brown was traded to the Los

Angeles Rams in 1967 and joined

the “Fearsome Foursome” defen-

sive line alongside Deacon Jones,

Lamar Lundy and Merlin Olsen

for three seasons. He made the

Pro Bowl in 1967 after getting sev-

en sacks.

Brown was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame in

2009 after a dominating career at

Maryland Eastern Shore from

1956-59. He was a two-time NAIA

All-American and was part of a

team that went 24-5-1 during his

four years at the school.

Chara going to Islanders

on 1-year contractZdeno Chara is returning to the

team where he started his career,

agreeing to terms on a one-year

deal with the New York Islanders.

The team announced the con-

tract Saturday, the latest in a se-

ries of moves by seasoned general

manager Lou Lamoriello de-

signed to get the Islanders over

the hump in the playoffs.

Chara wasn’t even sure he’d

continue playing in the NHL, and

now he’ll take the ice for a 24th

season at age 44 with the team he

broke in with. He was a 1996 Islan-

ders draft pick and made his debut

with them in 1997 before being

traded to Ottawa in 2001.

The big Slovak defenseman will

chase the Stanley Cup at least one

more time just over a decade since

hoisting it as Boston’s captain. The

Bruins let their longtime captain

leave in free agency last offseason

following 14 seasons, and Chara

went to Washington to play for a

year with the Capitals.

BRIEFLY

Allmendinger slidesto Xfinity Series title

Associated Press

MARK HUMPHREY/AP

AJ Allmendinger, left, slides across the finish line ahead of AustinCindric to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race Friday in Bristol, Tenn.

Sept. 191925 — Bill Tilden wins his sixth straight

U.S. Open tennis championship with a five-set victory over Bill Johnston. Tilden wins4-6, 11-9, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. It’s the fourth consec-utive year that Tilden beats Johnston inthe final.

1942 — Alsab, runner-up in the 1942 Ken-tucky Derby, beats 3-10 favorite Whirla-way, the 1941 Triple Crown champion, by anose in a $25,000 match race at Narragan-sett Park. Alsab and Whirlaway meettwice more in 1942, with Whirlaway win-ning the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Oct.3,and Alsab taking the New York Handicapon Oct. 10.

1948 — Pancho Gonzales, 20, wins theU.S. Lawn Tennis Association title with a6-2, 6-3, 14-12 victory over Eric Sturgess.

1951 — Ford C. Frick, president of the Na-tional League, is elected baseball com-missioner by the team owners.

1985 — Minnesota’s Tommy Kramerpasses for 436 yards and three touch-

downs in the Vikings’ 33-24 loss to the Chi-cago Bears.

1988 — U.S. Olympic diver Greg Louganishits his head on diving board at the SeoulOlympics. Louganis hits the board on hisninth dive. He has four temporary stitchesput in the top of his head so that he couldcome back and perform his last two dives.Less than 30 minutes later, he completes areverse 1½ somersault with 3½ twists and,in the final round, a reverse 3½ somersaultin tuck position to secure his place in themedal round.

1992 — Sergei Bubka raises the world re-cord in the pole vault, his 32nd world re-cord, clearing 20 feet, 1½ inches in the TotoInternational at Tokyo.

1993 — Nigel Mansell overpowers thefield in the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix tobecome the first rookie to win the Indy carPPG Cup championship.

2000 — In the Sydney Olympics, the U.S.softball team strands a staggering 20

baserunners in an 11-inning, 2-1 loss to Ja-pan, which ends a 112-game winningstreak. It’s the first loss for the Americanssince the 1998 world championships.

2001 — Roger Clemens becomes the firstpitcher in major league history to go 20-1,pitching the New York Yankees to a 6-3 vic-tory over the Chicago White Sox.

2004 — Jerry Rice’s run of 274 straightgames with a catch is ended in the Oak-land Raiders’ 13-10 victory over the BuffaloBills. The last time Rice didn’t catch a passwas Dec. 1, 1985, at Washington.

2009 — Texas College of the NAIA istrounced 75-6 by Texas Southern, a weekafter losing 92-0 to Stephen F. Austin. TheSteers fall to 0-4 and have been outscored300-12.

2015 — Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma,sets a school record with 572 total yards,throws four TD passes and runs for twomore scores in the Sooners’ 52-38 victoryover Tulsa.

AP SPORTLIGHT


MLB

American League

East Division

W L Pct GB

Tampa Bay 92 56 .622 _

Boston 84 65 .564 8½

New York 83 65 .561 9

Toronto 82 65 .558 9½

Baltimore 47 100 .320 44½

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Chicago 84 63 .571 _

Cleveland 71 74 .490 12

Detroit 70 78 .473 14½

Kansas City 66 81 .449 18

Minnesota 65 83 .439 19½

West Division

W L Pct GB

Houston 87 60 .592 _

Oakland 80 67 .544 7

Seattle 79 68 .537 8

Los Angeles 72 75 .490 15

Texas 54 93 .367 33

National League

East Division

W L Pct GB

Atlanta 76 69 .524 _

Philadelphia 75 72 .510 2

New York 72 76 .486 5½

Miami 62 85 .422 15

Washington 60 87 .408 17

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Milwaukee 90 57 .612 _

St. Louis 77 69 .527 12½

Cincinnati 77 71 .520 13½

Chicago 66 82 .446 24½

Pittsburgh 55 92 .374 35

West Division

W L Pct GB

z-San Francisco 96 52 .649 _

z-Los Angeles 94 54 .635 2

San Diego 76 71 .517 19½

Colorado 69 78 .469 26½

Arizona 47 100 .320 48½

z-clinched playoff berth

Friday’s games

N.Y. Yankees 8, Cleveland 0 Minnesota 7, Toronto 3 Tampa Bay 7, Detroit 4, 10 innings Boston 7, Baltimore 1 Chicago White Sox 8, Texas 0 Seattle 6, Kansas City 2 Oakland 5, L.A. Angels 4 Cincinnati 3, L.A. Dodgers 1 Pittsburgh 2, Miami 1 Philadelphia 4, N.Y. Mets 3 Colorado 9, Washington 8 St. Louis 8, San Diego 2 Houston 4, Arizona 3, 10 innings Milwaukee 8, Chicago Cubs 5 San Francisco 6, Atlanta 5, 11 innings

Saturday’s games

Cleveland at N.Y. Yankees Baltimore at Boston Minnesota at Toronto Detroit at Tampa Bay Chicago White Sox at Texas Seattle at Kansas City Oakland at L.A. Angels L.A. Dodgers at Cincinnati Colorado at Washington Pittsburgh at Miami Arizona at Houston Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Philadelphia at N.Y. Mets San Diego at St. Louis Atlanta at San Francisco

Sunday’s games

Cleveland (Morgan 2-7) at N.Y. Yankees(Cole 15-7)

Minnesota (TBD) at Toronto (Berríos11-8)

Baltimore (Wells 1-3) at Boston (Eovaldi10-8)

Detroit (Peralta 3-3) at Tampa Bay (TBD) Seattle (Gilbert 5-5) at Kansas City (Ko-

war 0-3) Chicago White Sox (Giolito 9-9) at Texas

(Lyles 9-11) Oakland (Montas 12-9) at L.A. Angels

(Ohtani 9-2) Colorado (Feltner 0-1) at Washington

(Espino 4-5) L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 9-7) at Cincinnati

(Miley 12-6) Pittsburgh (Peters 1-2) at Miami (Alcan-

tara 9-13) Arizona (Gallen 2-10) at Houston

(Greinke 11-6) Chicago Cubs (Sampson 1-2) at Milwau-

kee (Lauer 6-5) San Diego (Arrieta 5-13) at St. Louis

(Happ 9-8) Atlanta (Fried 11-7) at San Francisco

(DeSclafani 12-6) Philadelphia (Gibson 10-7) at N.Y. Mets

(Hill 6-7)

Scoreboard

ST. LOUIS — Dylan Carlson

homered twice, including a grand

slam, to help Miles Mikolas win

for the first time in two years as

the St. Louis Cardinals beat the

San Diego Padres 82 on Friday

night.

It was the Cardinals’ sixth win

in a row and extended their lead

for the second wild card spot to 1½

games over San Diego. The Cin

cinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles

Dodgers 31 and remain one game

back of St. Louis.

Mikolas joked with reporters af

ter the game about not having a

win in a while.

“Has it been that long” Mikolas

asked. “ I don’t really ever put my

head too far in the past. I’m going

out trying to win every game. I had

a couple of wins in the minor

leagues (and) that was nice. It

does feel good. First I haven’t

pitched in like two years, now I fi

nally get a win after two years so

who knows what I’ll do next?”

Carlson was not just happy to be

able to contribute but he recog

nized the importance of beating

the Padres who are chasing them .

“I mean just coming through for

the team is something I’m really

proud of,” Carlson said. “Yeah, it’s

huge. Obviously we’re just focus

ing on our series here, doing all we

can to win it. That’s a really good

team over there.”

Mikolas (12) threw 52⁄�3 shutout

innings, allowing three hits, walk

ing two and striking out three. He

last won on Sept. 12, 2019. Mikolas

missed all last season with an in

jured right shoulder, and he mis

sed a considerable part of this sea

son with right forearm tightness.

The Cardinals jumped all over

Padres emergency starter Vince

Velasquez in the first inning. Ve

lasquez signed with San Diego

Wednesday after the Padres

placed Blake Snell on the Injured

List with a left abductor groin

strain.

Carlson powers Cards past PadresBY JEFF MELNICK

Associated Press

JEFF ROBERSON/AP

The Cardinals’ Dylan Carlson, right, is congratulated by teammates Yadier Molina, left, and PaulGoldschmidt after hitting a grand slam during the eighth inning of Friday’s game in St. Louis.

CINCINNATI — Luis Castillo struck out 10

while outpitching Walker Buehler, Kyle Farmer

doubled twice and the Cincinnati Reds snapped

the Los Angeles Dodgers’ sixgame winning

streak with a 31 victory Friday night.

The Reds have dropped their last seven series

to slip to fourth in the NL wildcard standings, a

halfgame behind San Diego and a full game be

hind secondplace St. Louis.

The Dodgers, already assured at least a wild

card spot, began the day one game behind San

Francisco in the NL West.

Castillo (815) didn’t allow a runner past sec

ond base in 61⁄�3 shutout innings. He threw a sea

sonhigh 111 pitches and gave up five hits and two

walks.

Yankees 8, Indians 0:Corey Kluber (53) won

for the first time in nearly four months, pitching

six sharp innings in his first outing against the

team that helped him blossom into a star, and

host New York routed Cleveland.

With 14 games left, New York moved a half

game ahead of Toronto for one of the two AL

wildcard berths, a halfgame behind Boston.

Twins 7, Blue Jays 3: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

connected for his major leagueleading 46th

homer, but Jorge Polanco, Josh Donaldson, and

Miguel Sanó hit consecutive homers as visiting

Minnesota beat Toronto.

The Blue Jays slipped into the third spot in the

AL wildcard race, one game behind Boston and

a halfgame behind the Yankees.

White Sox 8, Rangers 0: Luis Robert hit a

Rays 7, Tigers 4 (10): Brett Phillips hit a

threerun homer in the 10th inning and host

Tampa Bay came back from a threerun deficit

in the ninth to beat Detroit.

The Rays maintained their 8½game lead in

the AL East over Boston.

Mariners 6, Royals 2: Seattle rookie Jarred

Kelenic spoiled the major league debut of Kan

sas City pitcher Jonathan Heasley by hitting a

pair of tworun homers to lift visiting Seattle.

Kelenic’s first multihomer game kept the

Mariners 3½ games behind the Yankees for the

second AL wild card.

Athletics 5, Angels 4: Cole Irvin (1013)

pitched six solid innings to earn his first victory

in four weeks, and visiting Oakland kept pace in

the AL wildcard race with a victory over Los An

geles.

Josh Harrison had two RBIs and Mark Canha

scored the goahead run on a passed ball in the

sixth for the A’s (8067), who won their third

straight and remained 2½ games out of the final

playoff spot.

Pirates 2, Marlins 1: Wil Crowe (47) won for

the first time since July 30 as host Pittsburgh

beat Miami.

Rockies 9, Nationals 8: Elías Díaz hit a tying

homer and Brendan Rodgers had an RBI single

as visiting Colorado rallied in the ninth inning to

beat Washington.

Astros 4, Diamondbacks 3 (10):Chas McCor

mick was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to

drive in the winning run in the 10th inning as host

Houston sent Arizona to its 100th loss.

threerun double, Dylan Cease (127) struck out

10 in five innings and visiting Chicago moved

closer to its first division title in 13 years by

trouncing Texas.

Chicago’s magic number over Cleveland fell

to five for winning the AL Central.

Red Sox 7, Orioles 1: Chris Sale returned

from COVID19 to pitch five innings of twohit

ball, and Bobby Dalbec homered to help host

Boston hand Baltimore its 100th loss.

Baltimore became the first team to reach 100

losses this season.

Giants 6, Braves 5, (11):Pinchhitting pitcher

Kevin Gausman lofted a fullcount, basesloaded

sacrifice fly in the 11th inning and host San Fran

cisco edged Atlanta to increase its NL West lead.

Atlanta had its NL East lead trimmed to two

games over Philadelphia.

Phillies 4, Mets 3:Zack Wheeler (149) limit

ed the damage in a short but effective outing

against his old team, Brad Miller hit a tiebreak

ing homer and visiting Philadelphia held off New

York.

The Phillies moved within two games of NL

East leader Atlanta and stayed 2½ games behind

St. Louis for the league’s second wild card.

Brewers 8, Cubs 5: Kolten Wong hit a tie

breaking single with two outs in the eighth inning

and host Milwaukee moved closer to a playoff

berth by beating Chicago.

The Brewers’ magic number for wrapping up

the NL Central title fell to four. Their magic num

ber for clinching a fourth consecutive postseason

appearance shrank to two.

ROUNDUP

Reds end Dodgers’ winning streak at sixAssociated Press


NFL

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. —

Dan Marino was 28 when the

Buffalo Bills last were in the

throes of enjoying such a one-sid-

ed series against the Miami Dol-

phins.

It was a while ago: Marino, the

Hall of Fame quarterback for

Miami, turned 60 this week.

The Bills beat the Dolphins six

straight times during that run

from 1987 through 1989, a streak

they’ll try to match on Sunday

when the AFC East rivals face

off. Miami has had almost no an-

swers for Buffalo in the teams’

last five meetings, with the Bills

scoring at least 31 points in each

of them — including 56 in a most

lopsided regular-season finale

last winter.

It begs the question of whether

Buffalo simply has Miami’s num-

ber right now.

“I respect where you’re coming

from with that, but nah,” Bills

coach Sean McDermott said.

“Nah.”

There was a consistency in the

themes coming from the respec-

tive team camps this week when

players and coaches were asked

about the Bills’ 56-26 win back in

January, the second-biggest mar-

gin of victory Buffalo has ever en-

joyed against the Dolphins. Last

year was last year, this year is

this year, that team was different,

this team is different.

“It didn’t go so well,” Dolphins

coach Brian Flores said, offering

an early front-runner in the race

for understatement of the year.

Division games always matter

— there are only six of them —

and this one looms perhaps a bit

larger than most, particularly

with this only being Week 2. The

Dolphins were the only AFC East

team to win last week, meaning

they can move two games clear of

Buffalo in the standings if they fi-

nally find a way to solve the Bills’

hex over them.

“It’s not a grudge match or

nothing like that,” Dolphins de-

fensive tackle Christian Wilkins

said. “Yeah, it’s a division game

so it’s important, and it’s the most

important game of the year be-

cause it’s the next one. But we’re

just going to have to prepare well.

You can’t think about anything

else except the task at hand.”

It’s human nature to think that

the Dolphins who endured that

season-ending loss in western

New York last January will want

to avenge it on Sunday. But Bills

quarterback Josh Allen said his

team is in a similar position, not

wanting to get off to an 0-2 start.

In short, both teams might have

a little extra incentive.

“They’re 1-0 and we’re 0-1,” Al-

len said. “We’ve got to focus on

going into a hostile environment

and trying to execute.”

Home openers The Dolphins — even aided by

the South Florida heat and hu-

midity — have lost 12 of their last

18 home openers. They’re 0-2 in

home debuts under Flores, falling

31-28 to Buffalo last season and

59-10 to Baltimore in 2019.

The Bills are trying to win a

third consecutive road opener. It

would be their longest such

streak since four straight from

1991 through 1994.

RespectDolphins CB Xavien Howard,

who had the forced fumble and

recovery that sealed Miami’s

Week 1 win over New England,

had high praise this week for

Bills CB Tre’Davious White.

Both are among the NFL’s best

at that position.

“He’s a baller,” Howard said.

“He tackles well. He plays the

ball. He does a lot of great things

well. He’s also quick. Just watch-

ing his game — I try to watch a lot

of guys’ game, especially when

I’m playing against them. Each

corner, I try to learn from and try

to see what they do well.”

BRETT CARLSEN/AP

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa runs with the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the thirdquarter of their game on Jan. 3 in Orchard Park, N.Y. The Bills won 5626.

Recent historydoesn’t matterBills downplay streak against Miami

BY TIM REYNOLDS

Associated Press

AP sports writer John Wawrow in Orchard Park,N.Y., contributed to this report.

PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin

spent four years on Jon Gruden’s

staff in Tampa Bay in the early

2000s, helping mold a defense that

won a Super Bowl and gleaning

what he could from his fiery boss.

Nearing two decades later, the

lessons Tomlin — now in his 15th

season as the head coach in Pitts-

burgh — learned from Gruden en-

dure.

“Gruden has no fear,” Tomlin

said. “He doesn’t. He looks at an

issue or a problem, and he sees it

as an opportunity. I worked for

him for four years. You can’t fake

that. It’s every day from him.”

And so it is with Gruden’s for-

mer pupil, who will stand on the

opposite sideline from one of his

mentors when Tomlin and the

Steelers (1-0) host Gruden and the

Las Vegas Raiders (1-0) on Sun-

day.

One of the tenets of Tomlin’s

coaching philosophy is the idea of

not living in fear. His team embod-

ied that philosophy during a sea-

son-opening win at Buffalo last

week, rallying from 10 points

It looked that way a season ago,

too, before a 2-0 start faded to an

8-8 finish. So Gruden, quarter-

back Derek Carr and the rest of

the Raiders are not getting too far

ahead of themselves. Still, Las Ve-

gas is heading east with a chance

to send the same kind of message

the Steelers sent at Buffalo.

“As a football fan, I’m honored

that I get to even step on the field

at Heinz Field and get to play

against these guys,” Carr said.

“It’s cool for me as a fan, but as a

competitor, you want to do well

and win the game.”

Las Vegas has done that lately

against the Steelers. The Raiders

are 5-2 against Pittsburgh since

Roethlisberger arrived in 2004.

Harris in a hurry? Steelers rookie running back

Najee Harris endured a relatively

quiet NFL debut, running for 45

yards on 16 carries behind a new-

look offensive line that needed a

full half to start finding its footing.

Still, Harris didn’t miss any of

Pittsburgh’s 58 snaps, a sign of

how confident Tomlin is in both

Harris’ conditioning and his po-

tential. The sledding for Harris

and the line could be a bit easier

against the Raiders, who allowed

Baltimore to run for 189 yards in

the opener even with the Ravens

decimated by injuries to their top

three running backs.

Short turnaroundThe Raiders have a tough task

this week, heading on a long trip

following an emotional win Mon-

day night. They’ve lost the last six

times they had to travel after a

Monday night game. Last season,

they got beat 36-20 by New En-

gland following a prime-time win

at home over New Orleans in their

first game ever in Las Vegas. Gru-

den gave the team a lighter week

with just a walkthrough on

Wednesday before two days of

practice.

It was thrilling for Pittsburgh. It

was also just one game out of 17.

The same goes for Las Vegas,

which surged past Baltimore on

Monday night, suggesting the re-

build Gruden began when he re-

turned to coaching in 2018 after a

decade away may finally be taking

hold.

down to stun the defending AFC

East champions.

Even the veterans whooped it

up after the Steelers sent a mess-

age that even with a rookie-laden

offense and 39-year-old Ben

Roethlisberger throwing on a re-

built right elbow, they’re still rele-

vant in the tough AFC North.

Steelers, Raiders hoping to build on Week 1 winsBY WILL GRAVES

Associated Press

ADRIAN KRAUS/AP

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ulysees Gilbert (54) celebrates withtight end Eric Ebron after returning a blocked punt for a touchdownduring Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Las Vegas Raiders (1-0)at Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)

AFN-Sports7 p.m. Sunday CET1 a.m. Monday JKT

AP sports writer Josh Dubow contributed to thisreport.


NFL

This is the fourth straight sea-

son Baltimore and Kansas City

will face off, and Jackson has yet

to beat Mahomes and the Chiefs.

The Baltimore quarterback is 30-5

as a starter in the regular season

against everybody else.

The Ravens will be at home for

Sunday night’s game, but Kansas

City won 34-20 at Baltimore last

year, and the Chiefs have 11 con-

secutive regular-season road vic-

tories overall.

“When two good teams play

each other, there’s always going to

be a lot of hype and a lot of buildup

to the game,” Mahomes said.

“Seeing Lamar and all the success

that he’s had with that team, you

know two of the top teams in the

AFC, so we’re going to have to bat-

tle every year it seems like in the

playoffs or whenever it is.”

The Ravens still have to show

they can measure up against Kan-

sas City — and now there’s added

pressure on Baltimore, which is

trying to avoid an 0-2 start. The

Ravens dropped their opener for

the first time since 2015, losing 33-

27 in overtime at Las Vegas on

Monday night.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, haven’t

lost in the month of September

since 2016. Mahomes is 11-0 in

September as a starter, with 35

touchdown passes and no inter-

ceptions in those games.

Familiar facesWatkins played three seasons

with the Chiefs before signing

with Baltimore this offseason. He

says he can be a resource for de-

fensive coordinator Don “Wink”

Martindale.

“I’m trying to win,” Watkins

said. “Snitch or no snitch, any-

thing I can give Wink and the de-

fense, that’s what I’m going to do.

Not particularly giving up plays,

but, ‘Hey man, do this on this guy,

and do this on that guy.’”

The Ravens traded tackle Or-

lando Brown Jr. to Kansas City in

the offseason.

Room for improvementThe Ravens and Chiefs rank last

and next-to-last in the NFL in total

defense after one week. They al-

lowed a combined 948 yards in

their openers.

InjuriesThe Chiefs are certainly the

healthier team. Baltimore lost

running backs J.K. Dobbins and

Gus Edwards to serious knee inju-

ries before the season started. De-

fensive back Marcus Peters is also

out for the season.

The Ravens were still able to

run the ball against the Raiders.

Ty’Son Williams rushed for 65

yards and a touchdown in his NFL

debut. The injuries led Baltimore

to bring in veteran running backs

Latavius Murray, Le’Veon Bell

and Devonta Freeman, although

only Murray played in the opener.

Freeman was promoted to the

active roster Thursday.

“We have four good guys in

here, and those guys are all going

to be a big part of what we’re doing

going forward,” coach John Har-

baugh said.

The injuries keep mounting,

though. Tackle Ronnie Stanley

has ankle issues, and cornerback

Chris Westry an injured knee.

Closing inMahomes, the league MVP in

2018, has had a passer rating of 100

or better in 29 games in his career,

one shy of Len Dawson’s franchise

record. He had a rating of 131.4 in

last weekend’s win over Cleveland

— and 133.5 in last year’s win over

Baltimore.

Carrying the loadJackson is a big reason Balti-

more can still rack up big rushing

numbers despite all the injuries in

the backfield. The 2019 MVP ran

for 86 yards against the Raiders,

although he did lose two fumbles.

Jackson also threw for 235

yards and a touchdown.

“You can tell he has a better un-

derstanding of the offense, just

like I have,” Mahomes said.

“When you first get out there, me

in my first year and him in his first

year, you have to rely on your

playmaking capability. But as you

kind of continue to learn and

evolve as a passer and you learn

different things in this league and

you see different defenses, you un-

derstand little tricks of the trade.”

MVP: Chiefs have won11 straight road gamesFROM PAGE 24

DAVID BECKER/AP

Wide receiver Sammy Watkins isquite familiar with PatrickMahomes and Lamar Jackson.Watkins played three seasonswith the Chiefs before signingwith Baltimore this offseason.

Kansas City Chiefs (1-0)at Baltimore Ravens (0-1)

AFN-Sports2:20 a.m. Monday CET9:20 a.m. Monday JKT

SEATTLE — The silence of last

year’s NFL games had some bene-

fits for those who’ve been trained

to communicate in a cauldron of

noise.

For example, Seattle linebacker

Bobby Wagner could hear his

coaches yelling from the sideline.

“It was fun at first because you

got to hear what the coaches say

during the game that you may not

hear,” Wagner said. “You got to

hear some coaches that don’t cuss,

cuss a lot during the game. That

was very interesting.”

Hearing his coaches, or his

teammates, will become a thing of

the past for Wagner when Seattle

hosts Tennessee on Sunday, play-

ing a regular-season home game

in front of fans for the first time

since Dec. 29, 2019.

Seattle was regarded as having

arguably the best home-field ad-

vantage in football before the CO-

VID-19 pandemic forced the Sea-

hawks to play nine games — eight

in the regular season and one

playoff loss — with only card-

board cutouts in the seats last sea-

son.

Nearly 21 months after Seattle’s

“12s” last got a chance to scream,

yell and cause chaos in a meaning-

ful game, they’ll be back.

“It was so uncomfortable last

year to not share the experience

with them because the game has

always been that, where we do it

all together,” Seattle coach Pete

Carroll said. “To know now that

are fans get to come, take part in

it, and be in this game with us is a

big deal. It’s exciting.”

Those fans will be welcoming a

team that looked impressive in its

opening win over Indianapolis.

With unknowns about how Seat-

tle’s new offensive system would

operate, Russell Wilson went out

and posted one of the best games

of his career, throwing nearly as

many touchdowns (four) as in-

completions (five).

The setting and situation

couldn’t be much more challeng-

ing for the Titans after their lack-

luster opening loss to Arizona.

Tennessee’s offensive line was

dominated and its defense was

torched by Kyler Murray.

Avoiding the first 0-2 start for

Tennessee since 2012 will be a

major task.

“I’m sure no one’s expecting us

to win this game but us,” Titans

defensive lineman Jeffery Sim-

mons said. “We have to control it.

We have to get their fans out of it.”

Protect the QB The Titans cannot afford to al-

low QB Ryan Tannehill to be pres-

sured like he was in the opener.

Tannehill was sacked six times,

lost two fumbles and was inter-

cepted once. Arizona linebacker

Chandler Jones had five of those

sacks, abusing three-time Pro

Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan.

Tennessee gave up 25 sacks all of

last season, and Tannehill hadn’t

been sacked that much in a game

since Dec. 1, 2019.

Carry the load Both Derrick Henry and Chris

Carson are massive pieces of how

their offenses function. One

looked far better in Week 1 than

the other.

Carson rushed for 91 yards and

averaged 5.7 yards per carry, and

had another three catches for 26

yards.

Meanwhile, Henry managed 58

yards on 17 carries and had three

receptions for 19 yards as Tennes-

see struggled offensively. Henry

has been very good away from

home in recent seasons. In his

past 16 road games dating to 2019,

Henry has rushed for 2,003 yards.

“He’s really unique. There have

not been very many guys like him

over the years because he’s really

fast, a big strider, and runs

through things,” Carroll said.

Century clubWith one more victory, Wilson

will become the second quarter-

back to amass 100 regular-season

wins in his first 10 seasons. Peyton

Manning had 105 victories in his

initial 10 years, meaning Wilson

could have the mark to himself by

the end of the season.

JEFF HAYNES/AP

Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson, left, picks up yards as Indianapolis Colts safety JulianBlackmon tries to bring him down last weekend in Indianapolis. Carson and the Seahawks will play in frontof their home fans Sunday for the first time since Dec. 29, 2019.

Seahawks ready for noisewhen Titans come calling

BY TIM BOOTH

Associated Press

Tennessee Titans (0-1)at Seattle Seahawks (1-0)

AFN-Atlantic10:25 p.m. Sunday CET5:25 a.m. Monday JKT

AP pro football writer Teresa M. Walker contrib-uted to this report.

SPORTS

PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Sunday, September 19, 2021

Clutch for Cardinals

Carlson’s homer, grand slam pushSt. Louis past San Diego ›› MLB, Page 21

Allmendinger slides across finish to win Xfinity race ›› Auto racing, Page 20

Leave it to Sammy Watkins — who has playedfor both teams recently — to set the stage forthis weekend’s Ravens-Chiefs matchup.

Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson candownplay it all they want, but this game is first

and foremost a clash between two MVP quarterbacks. “I think those guys definitely view it that way,” said Wat-

kins, now a receiver for Baltimore. “You can say you’renot, but the world is watching two of the best, youngestMVPs in the league, and very talented guys. I’m definitelylooking at it that way. Like, man, Lamar needs to win.”

MVP matchupMahomes, Jackson face off again when Ravens host Chiefs on Sunday night

BY NOAH TRISTER

Associated Press

Baltimore Ravensquarterback LamarJackson has yet to beatPatrick Mahomes.Jackson is 305 againstthe rest of the league in the regular season.

RICK SCUTERI/AP

Kansas City Chiefs quarterbackPatrick Mahomes is 110 in September as a starter, with 35 touchdown passes and no interceptions in those games.

CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP

NFL

SEE MVP ON PAGE 23

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