US nears full troop pullout in Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States appears to be heading toward a full military withdrawal from Syria amid growing chaos, cries of betrayal and signs that Turkey’s invasion could fuel a broader war.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday that President Donald Trump had directed U.S. troops in northern Syria to begin pulling out “as safely and quickly as possible.” 

He did not say Trump ordered troops to leave Syria, but that seemed like the next step in a combat zone growing more unstable by the hour.

Esper, interviewed on two TV news shows, said the administration was considering its options.

“We have American forces likely caught between two opposing advancing armies and it’s a very untenable situation,” Esper said.

This seemed likely to herald the end of a five-year effort to partner with Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters to ensure a lasting defeat of the Islamic State group. Hundreds of IS supporters escaped a holding camp amid clashes between invading Turkish-led forces and Kurdish fighters, and analysts said an IS resurgence seemed more likely, just months after Trump declared the extremists defeated.

The U.S. has had about 1,000 troops in northeastern Syria allied with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to combat IS. The Pentagon previously had pulled about 30 of these troops from the Turkish attack zone along the border. With an escalation of violence, a widening of the Turkish incursion and the prospect of a deepening conflict, all U.S. forces along the border will now follow that move. 

It was unclear where they would go.

The Pentagon chief did not say U.S. troops are leaving Syria entirely. The only other U.S. presence in Syria is at Tanf garrison, near Syria’s eastern border with Jordan. The U.S. and coalition troops there are not involved in the Kurd mission, and so it seems highly unlikely the 1,000 being moved from the north would go to Tanf.

Critics say the U.S. has betrayed the Kurds by pulling back in the face of Turkey’s invasion, but Esper said the administration was left with little choice once President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Trump a week ago that he was going ahead with a military offensive. Esper said the Kurds have been good partners, “but at the same time, we didn’t sign up to fight the Turks on their behalf.”

The Kurds then turned to the Syrian government and Russia for military assistance, further complicating the battlefield.

The prospect of enhancing the Syrian government’s position on the battlefield and inviting Russia to get more directly involved is seen by Trump’s critics as a major mistake. But he tweeted that it shouldn’t matter.

“Others may want to come in and fight for one side or the other,” he wrote. “Let them!”

Trump tweeted night Sunday: “The U.S. has the worst of the ISIS prisoners. Turkey and the Kurds must not let them escape. Europe should have taken them back after numerous requests. They should do it now. They will never come to, or be allowed in, the United States!”

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Trump is weakening America. ‘To be clear, this administration’s chaotic and haphazard approach to policy by tweet is endangering the lives of U.S. troops and civilians,” Menendez said in a statement. “The only beneficiaries of this action are ISIS, Iran and Russia.”

The fast-moving developments were a further unraveling of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Syria, and they highlighted an extraordinary breakdown in relations between the United States and Turkey, NATO allies for decades. Turkish troops have often fought alongside American troops, including in the Korean War and in Afghanistan.

Asked whether he thought Turkey would deliberately attack American troops in Syria, Esper said, “I don’t know whether they would or wouldn’t.”

He cited an incident on Friday in which a small number of U.S. troops fell under artillery fire at an observation post in the north. Esper called that an example of “indiscriminate fire” coming close to Americans, adding it was unclear whether that was an accident.

Esper disputed the notion that the U.S. could have stopped Turkey from invading in the first place. He said Erdogan had made clear he was going to launch his incursion “regardless of what we did.”

Strongly critical of the Turks, Esper said “the arc of their behavior over the past several years has been terrible.” He added: “I mean, they are spinning out of the Western orbit, if you will. We see them purchasing Russian arms, cuddling up to President Putin. We see them doing all these things that, frankly, concern us.”

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said the U.S. and its NATO partners should consider expelling Turkey from the alliance. “How do you have a NATO ally who’s in cahoots with the Russians, when the Russians are the adversaries of NATO?”

In explaining Trump’s decision to withdraw from northern Syria, Esper cited two weekend developments.

“In the last 24 hours, we learned that they (the Turks) likely intend to expand their attack further south than originally planned — and to the west,” he said.

The U.S. also has come to believe that the Kurds are attempting to “cut a deal” with the Syrian army and Russia to counter the invading Turks, he said. As a result, Trump “directed that we begin a deliberate withdrawal of forces from northern Syria,” Esper said.

Trump, in a tweet Sunday, said: “Very smart not to be involved in the intense fighting along the Turkish Border, for a change. Those that mistakenly got us into the Middle East Wars are still pushing to fight. They have no idea what a bad decision they have made. Why are they not asking for a Declaration of War?”

Esper said he would not discuss a timeline for the U.S. pullback, but said it would be done “as safely and quickly as possible.”

The Pentagon had said before the operation began that the U.S. military would not support it, and the U.S. pulled about 30 special operations troops out of observation posts along the invasion route on the Syrian border to keep them out of harm’s way. The Turkish offensive initially covered an area along the border about 125 kilometers (77 miles) wide and about 30 kilometers (19 miles) deep. Esper said it has since grown wider and deeper.

Esper said he was aware of reports of hundreds of IS prisoners escaping as a result of the Turkish invasion and of atrocities being committed against Syrian Kurds by members of a Turkish-supported Syrian Arab militia.

“It gets worse by the hour,” Esper said. “These are all the exact things” that U.S. officials warned Erdogan would likely happen by ignoring U.S. urgings not to invade northern Syria.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held out the possibility of quick action to impose economic sanctions on Turkey, a move that Trump has repeatedly threatened if the Turks were to push too far into Syria.

“If we go to maximum pressure, which we have the right to do — at a moment’s notice the president calls me up and tells me — we will do this,” Mnuchin said. “We could shut down all U.S. dollar transactions with the entire government of Turkey. … That is something we may do, absolutely.”

Esper was interviewed on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday.” Mnuchin appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and Engel was on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Chiefs struggle at home

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The first finger that Andy Reid points after the Kansas City Chiefs lose a game is at himself, regardless of the score, the opponent or whatever may have transpired on the field.

The old coach willingly shoulders more than his share of the blame.

He probably deserved much of it Sunday.

The Chiefs lost 31-24 to the Texans, their second straight defeat at Arrowhead Stadium, and one that was punctuated by a laundry bin full of yellow flags, more dropped passes than in most Pop Warner games, and questionable decisions made by Reid all afternoon.

“I have to do a better job getting our team ready to go,” he said, before anyone had a chance to ask a question. “We need to be more disciplined than what we saw with the penalties and drops and so on. We have a lot of things we need to work on here to get turned around. We have to do it better.”

The Chiefs were penalized 11 times for 79 yards, three of which resulted in first downs. But they were actually flagged 16 times — four were declined, another was offsetting — one week after they had 11 penalties for 125 yards in a 19-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

So even though Reid was never called for holding, the penalty du jour on Sunday, the coaching staff clearly didn’t do enough to stop the flow of flags from last week to this week.

“There are a bunch of things to look at,” Reid said, “but penalties and time-of-possession, those are pretty big at this time. Taking advantage of turnovers — we have to do a better job of taking advantage of turnovers, scoring touchdowns. That’s my responsibility.”

But while penalties and dropped passes and a myriad other mistakes can be chalked up to miscues or misfortune on behalf of the players, some questionable decisions fall directly on the head coach.

The first head-scratching set of events took place just before halftime.

Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill had just picked off Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in the end zone to prevent points, and seemingly preserving a 17-16 halftime lead. But despite having just 23 seconds on the clock, and a quarterback hobbled by a sore ankle, the Chiefs called a pass play from their own 20.

Patrick Mahomes dropped back, the pocket quickly collapsed, and Texans defensive end Charles Omenihu reached out his paw and knocked the ball lose. Benardrick McKinney immediately pounced on the fumble, giving Houston the ball at the 3-yard line.

Watson scrambled in for a touchdown on the very next play to give Houston the lead.

“For us, how we feel and how we act as an offense is we’re going to try to score every single drive,” Mahomes said in defense of the play-calling. “There were some drives in the second half where we couldn’t get going. We have to find ways to score when it’s a close ballgame and at the end.”

Indeed, there were more questionable calls in the third quarter, when Watson was again picked off in the end zone, this time by Charvarius Ward. The Chiefs led 24-23 at that point, but three consecutive pass plays fell incomplete and they were forced to punt the ball back to Houston.

Twelve plays, 93 yards and 8 1/2 minutes later, Watson scrambled in for his second TD run, and his 2-point conversion pass to DeAndre Hopkins gave the Texans a 31-24 lead with 6:17 to go.

Still, the Chiefs had an opportunity to march downfield for a tying touchdown. But a pass to LeSean McCoy was stopped for a loss, putting them in a second-and-14 and at their own 21-yard line. And rather than put the ball in the hands of the reigning league MVP, the Chiefs elected to run — and McCoy went nowhere, earning a round of lusty boos from the antsy crowd in Arrowhead Stadium.

Mahomes proceeded to throw an incomplete pass on third down, the Chiefs punted yet again, and this time the Texans managed to drain the final 5:03 off the clock to preserve the victory.

“We did some good things,” Reid said, “but we have to cut down on the penalties all the way around, whoever is making whatever. There were quite a few holding penalties there, on both sides of the ball.

We have to finish stronger,” he added. “We have to do a better job all the way around.”

Boxer in coma after fight injury

CHICAGO (AP) — Boxer Patrick Day suffered a traumatic brain injury and is in extremely critical condition in a coma caused by the injury sustained in a bout, his manager said Sunday.

Lou DiBella says in a posting on his website that Day underwent emergency surgery after being rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after getting viciously knocked out in the 10th round by Charles Conwell on Saturday.

Fighting at super welterweight on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight debut against Chazz Witherspoon, Conwell landed a right hand early in the 10th. That caused Day (17-4-1, 6 knockouts) to stumble and seconds later Conwell landed a left hook that knocked Day to the canvas.

The 27-year-old Day, from Freeport, New York, was instantly knocked out and it wasn’t clear if he regained consciousness. He was treated by a doctor in the ring and then was rushed off on a stretcher by paramedics and transported to the hospital. Day was knocked down twice earlier in the fight.

DiBella said on his verified Twitter account Sunday: “Pat Day makes any room he is in a better place. I’ve never met anyone who’s met Patrick and not liked him. Never heard him utter a mean word. Never saw him greet someone without a big smile. Life doesn’t seem fair sometimes. Please keep Pat in your prayers, thoughts, and hearts.”

In his statement, DiBella conveyed thanks for the outpouring of “support, prayers and offers of assistance from all corners of the boxing community.” He asked that the privacy of Day and his family be respected at this difficult time.

Eddie Hearn, the managing director of the promoter, Matchroom Sport, said after the bout that Day never gave up in the bout.

Hearn said: ” I think there was 30 seconds left in the final round and he was still trying to win the fight and he was a mile behind in the fight and he could’ve easily not tried to win the fight, but he got knocked out trying to win the fight. “

Biles will be face of 2020 games

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Next stop Tokyo for Simone Biles.

With Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps both retired since the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the U.S. gymnast will be the face of the games for much of the world.

In gymnastics, no one else comes close. Biles won five of the six gold medals at last week’s world championships and broke the all-time record of 25 medals by any gymnast, male or female.

“She’s just above anything else that we have seen in the sport,” five-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci said of Biles on Sunday, praising “the domination that she has toward all the other gymnasts that competed here.”

Biles has not just got the talent. She’s got the character of an Olympic star.

There’s the laser-like focus on training, the same easygoing humor which endeared the world to Bolt, and — crucially in the modern era — a savvy social-media style.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said Sunday that Biles’ star status would make gymnastics a must-see event at the Tokyo Olympics.

“You can have legends confirming their status as we have just seen with Simone Biles, this amazing performance there on the beam, but you also have new stars,” he said. “Gymnastics has all the ingredients to be top another time, I must say. A top Olympic event in Tokyo.”

Despite its dispute with Biles over the scoring for her new double-double beam dismount — its grade was lessened in part so as not to encourage less-skilled gymnasts to attempt the risky move — the International Gymnastics Federation knows Biles is crucial to the sport.

Labeling her “wonder woman” and “a hero,” FIG president Morinari Watanabe is keen for Biles not to retire after the Tokyo Olympics. “I hope she will continue after 2020, because she is an excellent athlete,” he said Sunday.

Biles is certainly the only athlete who could pull off her look in training at the U.S. nationals in August. She caused a stir with a leotard bearing her surname and a goat’s head picked out in sequins, a nod to “Greatest Of All Time.”

Few disagree, but Biles hasn’t yet won everyone over.

“There’s no need to turn her into some unbeatable queen. If I was 15 years younger, I’d definitely take the fight to the American,” the Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina said in comments on the Russian Olympic Committee website Thursday.

Khorkina won 20 world championship medals between 1994 and 2001 and held the women’s record until Biles overtook her Tuesday.

One record is likely to remain out of Biles’ reach, however. Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won a record 15 Olympic medals between 1956 and 1964. Biles won five Olympic medals in Rio de Janeiro, and could add six more next year in Tokyo, but appears highly unlikely to stick around until the 2024 Olympics.

However, there’s another record to aim for. Matching her world championship performance from last week would make Biles the first female gymnast to win five gold medals at a single Olympics, and the first female athlete to do so in any sport since East German swimmer Kristin Otto in 1988.

After Biles pioneered a new beam dismount and triple-double on the floor this season, her coach Laurent Landi says he favors refining her existing routines for the Olympics over adding yet more upgrades.

“I can find plenty of (upgrades), but you need to be realistic and only the medals count at the end,” he said. “We don’t need to show off everything we can do.”

Mahomes set to duel against Watson and Texans at home

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The relationship between Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Texans counterpart Deshaun Watson goes back well beyond the 2017 draft, when along with Mitchell Trubisky they were considered among the best prospects at their position.

It goes back to their college days, when Mahomes was orchestrating the “Air Raid” offense at Texas Tech and Watson was trying to navigate Clemson to a national championship.

“I think we were going into our junior year,” Mahomes recalled, “and we went to a QB camp out in California. I talked to him, back and forth, about how he did his stuff at Clemson, how I did my stuff at Texas Tech. He’s a great player. We kind of hit it off.”

They stayed in touch during the draft process, too.

“We took a lot of the same visits,” Mahomes said, “and we went to the same places, and we would talk to each other about what we went through. But we didn’t necessarily knew where we would go.”

Nobody did.

Trubisky wound up going second overall to Chicago. And when nobody grabbed a quarterback in the next eight picks, the Chiefs traded up to No. 10 and chose Mahomes over Watson as the heir apparent to Alex Smith. Watson wound up going two picks later to the Texans.

“He’s been doing a heck of a job putting the Chiefs in contention each and every game, and putting up a lot of great numbers,” Watson said, “because that’s what he’s been doing his whole career, and just being that leader.”

Yes, it was Mahomes who rewrote the record books during his MVP season a year ago, and he is off to another blazing start this season. But it is Watson who comes into the AFC showdown with the hot hand, having thrown for 426 yards and five touchdowns while running for 47 yards last week against Atlanta.

“He’s a heck of a player. We had him in here before the draft,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We thought the world of him. I know he was a heck of a player in college and he carried it over and he’s playing really good football. I don’t know exactly what they’re asking and not asking him to do, but whatever they’re asking him to do, he’s doing it well.”

The matchup Sunday is more than just Mahomes vs. Watson, though. Here are some other story lines:

INJURY BUG

The Chiefs hope to get wide receiver Tyreek Hill on the field for the first time since breaking his collarbone Week 1 in Jacksonville. But they are poised to play without several key players, such as wide receiver Sammy Watkins (hamstring), defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin) and left guard Andrew Wylie (ankle).

MANO-A-MANO

The Colts slowed down the Chiefs by playing a bunch of man-to-man defense, and the Texans are likely to follow the same blueprint. But the Chiefs also have spent the week trying to fix their issues from last week, resulting in an intriguing offense-defense chess match Sunday.

BEWARE THE HONEY BADGER

Tyrann Mathieu picked off his first pass as a member of the Chiefs last week, and he’d like nothing more than to get his second against the Texans. Mathieu had a big year with Houston last season, and the club wanted to keep him around, only to see the Chiefs win the bidding in free agency.

12 ANGRY MEN

One of the most effective personnel groups for Houston this season has been “12 personnel,” which means a set with one running back and two tight ends. But why has it worked so well?

“It’s a good question,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “It has a lot to do with what you’re going to see defensively. We’ve got a lot of different combinations of personnel groupings we can use and we try to study and we try to think about, defensively, how they’re going to attack it. ‘What personnel are they going to use? What’s going to be their scheme, and how does that fit what we want to do?’ … And sometimes it works. Hopefully it works more than it doesn’t.”

Astros set to duel Yankees

A look at what’s happening around the majors today:

 

WELCOME TO THE NLCS

The Washington Nationals play in the NL Championship Series for the first time, taking on St. Louis at Busch Stadium. Aníbal Sánchez starts for the Nats against Miles Mikolas.

Both teams won a deciding Game 5 on the road in the NL Division Series. The Cardinals scored 10 runs in the first inning and romped past Atlanta 13-1 while Washington rallied late and beat the Dodgers 7-3 in 10 innings.

Nationals aces Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin all got plenty of work in the NLDS. Sánchez was 11-8 with a 3.85 ERA this season, then gave up one run in five innings in his lone appearance against Los Angeles.

Washington manager Dave Martinez says he hasn’t decided how he will line up the rest of his starting staff after Sánchez. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said Adam Wainwright will start Game 2, followed by Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson, who will be available out of the bullpen at the beginning of the series.

MAMMOTH MATCHUP

Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros are set to meet Gleyber Torres, Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in a highly anticipated AL Championship Series beginning Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.

The pitching-rich Astros led the majors with 107 wins, and are expected to start Zack Greinke in the opener. The Yankees posted 103 victories and could go with either James Paxton or Masahiro Tanaka in Game 1.

These teams have recently met in the playoffs. Houston won the 2015 AL wild-card game at Yankee Stadium, and also topped New York in a seven-game ALCS in 2017 on the way to its first World Series title.

The Astros went 4-3 against the Yankees this season.

REVIVED REDBIRDS

No telling what Cardinals manager Mike Shildt might say in the closed — and camera-free — locker room to fire up his team before the NLCS opener. Usually mild mannered, his curse-filled clubhouse victory speech after St. Louis battered Atlanta in the NLDS clincher went viral when a player posted it on social media.

Shildt was sorry his colorful language got leaked, but didn’t feel bad about the gist of his message.

“It’s regretful that that was able to get out,” Shildt said Thursday, a day after the 13-1 romp. “I will not apologize for having passion about how I feel about our team and the accomplishments of our team.”

The video was posted by Cardinals rookie Randy Arozarena. Shildt said he harbored no ill will toward the 24-year-old outfielder.

“As far as Randy goes,” Shildt said, “I completely give Randy grace. He was just excited. He’s a great kid with a great heart.”

CHECK THEM

The Nationals will see how catcher Kurt Suzuki and outfielder Victor Robles are feeling before Game 1. Manager Dave Martinez said X-rays showed nothing broken on the hand of Suzuki, who was hit by a pitch Wednesday night. The ball ricocheted and hit Suzuki in the head — he was going to go through concussion protocol in St. Louis. Robles, who missed the last two games of the series against the Dodgers with a strained right hamstring, will be examined to determine his status.

VACANCY

The Phillies have become the eighth team to head into the offseason looking for a new manager. They fired Gabe Kapler, nearly two weeks after a disappointing finish to a season of big expectations highlighted by Bryce Harper’s arrival.

Kapler went 161-163 in two years, his team unable to deliver following its offseason spending spree. Philadelphia finished 81-81, its first nonlosing season since 2012.

The skipper carousel has been spinning. San Francisco’s Bruce Bochy and Kansas City’s Ned Yost retired, San Diego’s Andy Green, Pittsburgh’s Clint Hurdle, the Mets’ Mickey Callaway and the Angels’ Brad Ausmus were fired, and the Cubs and Joe Maddon jointly said he would leave.

Kansas coach Self bristles at idea of ‘trolling’ NCAA

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self bristled at the suggestion Wednesday that he was sending a message to the NCAA following its investigation into his basketball program when he donned an Adidas jersey and golden chain for a recent promotional video.

The Jayhawks received a notice of allegations late last month alleging severe violations tied to recruiting and a responsibility charge leveled against Self, along with a lack of institutional control.

The notice from the NCAA does not detail what Kansas is accused of doing, but it is among the most prominent to surface during an FBI investigation into Adidas — the school’s longtime sponsor. Among the allegations in that case is that an Adidas employee funneled money from the company to recruits.

The school and Self said they “strongly disagree” with the accusations and plan to appeal, and some believe the Hall of Fame coach was trolling the NCAA with his promo for Late Night in the Phog.

“That has been a narrative some people have used since this, and anybody who knows me knows I’m not smart enough to figure out some of those things that have transpired would relate to anything other than that moment,” Self said. “I do stuff for Late Night every year. This year was no different.”

Oh, but it was different.

Not only did Self star in the controversial promotional video, the featured act was rapper Snoop Dogg, who among other things shot cannons full of fake money at players and prospective recruits.

The performance led Kansas athletic director Jeff Long to issue a public apology.

“I’ve already addressed and spoke to what happened the other night,” Self said during the Jayhawks’ annual media day Wednesday. “I don’t know how any entertainer would in any way, shape or form thought to be sticking it to anybody, including the NCAA, by performing.

“I do not like the narrative that has been said concerning that with me,” Self continued, “but I also understand that I can’t control what the media writes or their opinions.”

All the off-the-court drama has overshadowed what could be a big season for the Jayhawks, who some have already pegged as Final Four contenders. They return a trio of big men that are among the best in the nation in Udoka Azubuike, David McCormick and Silvio de Sousa; they have experience in the backcourt with Devon Dotson and Marcus Garrett; and they have plenty of role players at other positions.

The Jayhawks, who open the regular season against Duke in the Champions Classic on Nov. 5, also will have a sizeable chip on their shoulder. Not only have the NCAA allegations cast the entire program in a negative light, the Jayhawks are not defending a Big 12 title for the first time in 15 years.

Texas Tech and Kansas State shared the championship last season.

“I don’t want to make it sound like I haven’t been motivated in the past. I’d like to think I’m pretty turned up each and every year,” Self said, “but this has certainly been a unique offseason.”

In some respects, Self said, the NCAA mess has “put perspective and focus at motivation at the forefront of what we do.” And that could ultimately be a silver lining to it.

“Right now I just think we are so motivated,” De Sousa said. “I have been a part of so many teams, and I’ve just never seen something like this.”

The Jayhawks already have endured Self’s notorious “boot camp” conditioning program, and they are a couple of weeks into practice. More than anything, the ability to turn the focus to a zone defense — “It’s not very good,” Self quipped — or an offensive set or rebounding is a blessing.

It sure beats thinking about the NCAA, the FBI investigation and other things out of their control.

“Like coach tells us every day, it has nothing to do with us,” said Garrett, one of the team’s elder statesmen. “He just tells us he’s going to handle it. So we just go out and practice every day trying to get better and get ready for the first game.”

League decides to remain silent to media in China trip

The NBA will complete its trip to China in silence.

Saturday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets to end this year’s NBA China Games series will be played as scheduled in Shenzhen, though there will be no news conferences for players or coaches before or after that contest.

The NBA came to that conclusion after talking with the teams and the National Basketball Players Association about what would be best for players.

“We have decided not to hold media availability for our teams for the remainder of our trip in China,” the NBA said. “They have been placed into a complicated and unprecedented situation while abroad and we believe it would be unfair to ask them to address these matters in real time.”

On Thursday, it was the Chinese that stopped NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the teams from holding news conferences before or after the Lakers-Nets game in Shanghai. That was part of the Chinese response to the rift that started when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong and intensified when Silver defended Morey’s right to exercise free speech.

This time, it was the NBA’s call. The game in Shenzhen has been a hot ticket since the matchup was announced, and just as was the case in Shanghai on Thursday a full arena is expected on Saturday.

“I think whoever bought the ticket needs to attend the game. After all, it is just a sport. An entertainment in fact,” Chinese fan Lao Zhang said in Shenzhen on Friday. “The bottom line is the two countries respect each other. We have the choice to like NBA players or not, meanwhile, NBA should respect China. Only by this way, NBA would have more fans and a bigger market in China.”

Under normal circumstances, the Lakers and Nets may have spoken Friday in advance of the game and then coaches and players would be made available to talk both before and after Saturday’s contest. No player or coach from either team has reacted publicly to the fallout surrounding Morey’s tweet, which was deleted quickly though continues to remain a major problem for the league and its relationship with the world’s most populous country.

The Rockets were asked repeatedly about the situation during their two-game trip to Japan earlier this week for games with the reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors. A Rockets media relations official stopped Houston guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook from answering a question from a CNN reporter Thursday about whether they would continue to speak out about political and societal matters. That prompted an apology from the NBA, who said that decision “was inconsistent with how the NBA conducts media events.”

In Tokyo, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said questions about the China-NBA rift are thorny to answer.

“You can’t answer questions like that because you’re wrong no matter what,” D’Antoni said. “I’m here to speak basketball, talk basketball. … Hey, I coach basketball. I’m not a diplomat.”

Golden State forward Draymond Green said the fallout over China won’t stop players from speaking out about matters they deem important. But he also said he didn’t think it was wise to discuss the nuances of this rift without fully grasping all sides of the matter.

“I don’t really understand it,” Green said. “So at this point I’m just trying to educate myself more on all of it. Even the initial tweet that started this uproar, I don’t really understand what’s going on in Hong Kong or China. It’s hard enough trying to understand politics in America for me.”

Silver spoke earlier this week and said the league would continue protecting freedom of expression for its players and employees. Morey’s tweet was criticized by Nets chairman Joe Tsai, who is in China for this week’s games and is a co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

“I don’t think it’s inconsistent to both be apologetic that that was the outcome of that speech but at the same time support Daryl’s right to his freedom of expression and Joe Tsai’s right to respond,” Silver said.

Arrests tied to Giuliani, Ukraine probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Florida businessmen tied to President Donald Trump’s lawyer and the Ukraine impeachment investigation were charged with federal campaign finance violations.

The charges Thursday relate to a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trump’s reelection.

Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, associates of Rudy Giuliani, were arrested Wednesday trying to board an international flight with one-way tickets at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, according to Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

Parnas and Fruman were arrested on a four-count indictment that includes charges of conspiracy, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and falsification of records. The men had key roles in Giuliani’s efforts to launch a Ukrainian corruption investigation against Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The indictments mark the first criminal charges related to the Ukraine controversy. While they do not suggest wrongdoing by the Republican president, they raise additional questions about how those close to Trump and Giuliani sought to use their influence.

Trump has dismissed the impeachment inquiry as baseless and politically motivated. As he was leaving the White House for a political rally in Minneapolis, Trump said he didn’t know Parnas or Fruman and hadn’t spoken with Giuliani about them.

“We have nothing to do with it,” Trump said.

Giuliani said he couldn’t comment and that he didn’t represent the men in campaign finance matters.

Records show that Parnas and Fruman used wire transfers from a corporate entity to make the $325,000 donation to the America First Action committee in May 2018. But wire transfer records that became public through a lawsuit show that the corporate entity reported as making the transaction was not the source of the money.

The big donation to the Trump-allied PAC was part of a flurry of political spending tied to Parnas and Fruman, with at least $478,000 in donations flowing to GOP campaigns and PACs in little more than two months.

The money enabled the relatively unknown entrepreneurs to quickly gain access to the highest levels of the Republican Party, including meetings with Trump at the White House and Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

Prosecutors allege that Parnas urged a congressman to seek the ouster of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, at the behest of Ukrainian government officials. That happened about the same time that Parnas and Fruman committed to raising more than $20,000 for the politician.

The congressman wasn’t identified in court papers, but the donations match campaign finance reports for former Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican who lost his reelection bid in November. In May 2018, Parnas posted a photo of himself and his business partner David Correia with Sessions in his Capitol Hill office, with the caption “Hard at work!!”

Parnas and Fruman appeared in court Thursday and were ordered to remain jailed as a bail package was worked out. They are due in court in New York next week. Kevin Downing, the lawyer who represented former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on charges that he hid millions of dollars that he earned in Ukraine advising politicians there, was representing the men for their initial appearance and declined to comment.

Correia and Andrey Kukushkin, a Ukrainian-born U.S. citizen, were also charged in the case. A federal judge in San Francisco ordered Kukushkin held on Thursday pending a bail hearing to determine whether he is considered a flight risk.

Parnas and Fruman were arrested as they attempted to get on a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, according to a person familiar with the investigation. U.S. authorities are looking at whether that was a first stop en route to Ukraine, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the probe and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Attorney General William Barr had been briefed on the investigation soon after he was confirmed in February, was updated in recent weeks and was made aware Wednesday night that the men were being arrested, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The indictment says Parnas and Fruman “sought to advance their personal financial interests and the political interests of at least one Ukrainian government official with whom they were working” and took steps to conceal it from third parties, including creditors. They created a limited liability corporation, Global Energy Producers, and “intentionally caused certain large contributions to be reported in the name of GEP instead of in their own names.”

Prosecutors charge that the two men falsely claimed the contributions came from GEP, which was described as a liquefied natural gas business. At that point, the company had no income or significant assets, the indictment said.

Prosecutors allege that Parnas and Fruman conspired to make illegal contributions to try to skirt the limit on federal campaign contributions. The men are also accused of making contributions to candidates for state and federal office, joint fundraising committees and independent expenditure committees in the names of other people.

The commitment to raise more than $20,000 for the congressman was made in May and June 2018.  The lawmaker had also received about $3 million in independent expenditures from a super political action committee that Parnas and Fruman had been funding.

As a result of the donations, Parnas and Fruman had meetings with the congressman and Parnas lobbied him to advocate for removing the ambassador to Ukraine, Berman said.

Trump referred to Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, who was indeed recalled to the U.S., as “bad news” in his July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Sessions said in a statement tweeted by a spokesman that he “could not have had any knowledge of the scheme described in the indictment.” Sessions wasn’t asked to take any action during the meetings with Parnas and Fruman and wrote a letter to the secretary of state about Yovanovitch after colleagues in Congress said she was “disparaging” the president, he said.

The indictment also charges that Kukushkin conspired with the three other defendants to make political contributions, funded by a foreign national, to politicians seeking state and federal office “to gain influence with candidates as to policies that would benefit a future business venture.”

An unnamed foreigner wired $500,000 from a bank account overseas through New York to the defendants for contributions to two candidates for state office in Nevada, the indictment alleges. Foreigners are not permitted to contribute to U.S. elections.

The indictment accuses the four men of also participating in a scheme to acquire retail marijuana licenses through donations to local and federal politicians in New York, Nevada and other states.

America First Action said the $325,000 contribution will remain in a separate account while the court cases play out. A spokeswoman, Kelly Sadler, said the committee will “scrupulously comply with the law.”

The AP reported last week that Parnas and Fruman helped arrange a January meeting in New York between Ukraine’s former top prosecutor, Yuri Lutsenko, and Giuliani, as well as other meetings with top government officials.

Giuliani’s efforts to launch a Ukrainian corruption investigation were echoed by Trump in the July 25 call with Zelenskiy. That conversation is now at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.

House Democrats subpoenaed Parnas and Fruman on Thursday for documents they have refused to produce to three House committees. The panels have also subpoenaed Giuliani.

A whistleblower complaint by an unnamed intelligence official makes reference to “associates” of Giuliani in Ukraine who were attempting to make contact with Zelenskiy’s team, though it’s not clear that refers to Parnas and Fruman.

Jim Miller

Jim Miller

James “Jim” Walter Miller, 85, of Parsons, died Thursday, October 10, 2019 at the Presbyterian Manor.  

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the First Christian Church with the Rev. Laurie Lewis officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Carson-Wall Funeral Home.