A11
THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, JuNE 8, 2019
US commander: Iranian
threat ‘is very real’
By ROBERT BURNS
Associated Press
BAGHDAD — Iran has
chosen to “step back and
recalculate” after making
preparations for an apparent
attack against U.S. forces in
the Persian Gulf region, but
it is too early to conclude the
threat is gone, the top com-
mander of American forces
in the Mideast said.
Gen. Frank McKen-
zie said he remains con-
cerned by Iran’s potential
for aggression and he would
not rule out requesting addi-
tional U.S. forces to bol-
ster defenses against Iranian
missiles or other weapons.
“I don’t actually believe
the threat has diminished,”
McKenzie said Thursday.
“I believe the threat is very
real.”
McKenzie, the head of
U.S. Central Command,
and other military officials
are trying to strike a bal-
ance between persuading
Iran that the U.S. is prepared
to retaliate for an Iranian
attack on Americans, thus
deterring conflict, and push-
ing so much military muscle
into the Gulf that Iran thinks
the U.S. plans an attack, in
which case it might feel
compelled to strike preemp-
tively and thus spark war.
Tensions between the
U.S. and Iran have wors-
ened since President Don-
ald Trump withdrew from
a 2015 nuclear agreement
between Iran and several
world powers and reinstated
sanctions on Tehran. Last
month, in response to what
American officials char-
acterized as an imminent
threat, the U.S. announced
it would rush an aircraft car-
rier and other assets to the
region.
The U.S. also blamed
Iran for last month’s attacks
on oil tankers in a United
Arab Emirates port.
On Thursday, United
Nations ambassadors from
the Emirates, Saudi Arabia
and Norway told U.N. Secu-
rity Council members that
investigators believe those
attacks were led by a foreign
state using divers on speed
boats who planted mines
on the vessels. They did not
name Iran.
Earlier, the Saudi ambas-
sador to the U.N., Abdallah
Al-Mouallimi, said Saudi
Arabia also blames Iran for
the sabotage.
Iran has consistently dis-
missed allegations that it
was involved in the recent
attacks on the oil tankers
or was preparing to attack
American troops in the
region.
In Baghdad, McKen-
zie told reporters from The
Associated Press and two
other media organizations
that U.S. redeployments to
the Gulf have “caused the
Iranians to back up a little
bit, but I’m not sure they are
strategically backing down.”
The general said the U.S.
is showing enough force to
“establish deterrence” with-
out “needlessly” provoking
SPORTS
its longtime adversary. He
said he is confident in the
moves he has made.
“We’ve taken steps to
show the Iranians that we
mean business in our abil-
ity to defend ourselves,” he
said, referring to the acceler-
ated deployment to the Gulf
area of the USS Abraham
Lincoln carrier strike group,
four Air Force B-52 bomb-
ers and additional batteries
of Army Patriot air-defense
systems.
Trump, speaking beside
French President Emman-
uel Macron in Caen, France,
said U.S. sanctions are crip-
pling Iran’s economy, pos-
sibly yielding a diplomatic
opening.
“And if they want to talk,
that’s fine,” Trump said.
“We’ll talk. But the one
thing that they can’t have
is they can’t have nuclear
weapons.”
Speaking at the Baghdad
headquarters of the U.S.-
led coalition fighting the
Islamic State group in Iraq
and Syria, McKenzie said
he also has repositioned sur-
veillance aircraft to more
closely monitor the situa-
tion in the Gulf and in Iraq,
where the U.S. has 5,200
troops on the ground, and
has given Iran a “new look”
by introducing more aerial
patrols by land- and carri-
er-based fighters.
“Cumulatively, all of
these have caused them to
sort of step back and recal-
culate the course that they
apparently were on,” he said.
After Pro Bowl season with
Jets, Myers lands back in Seattle
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. —
When kicker Jason Myers
became a free agent in the
offseason following a Pro
Bowl campaign last season,
Seattle was near the top of
his destination list.
Good thing for Myers
that Seattle special teams
coordinator Brian Schnei-
der had the kicker as the
clear top option for solv-
ing the Seahawks’ kicking
situation.
“The way I looked at it,
when I evaluated college
kickers, I had Jason Myers
at the top of my board,”
Schneider said Thursday.
A year after losing a
training camp competi-
tion in Seattle and watching
Sebastian Janikowski claim
the job, Myers is back with
the Seahawks. But this time
there is no competition.
Coming off a season
where Myers hit 33 of 36
field goal attempts and
earned the first Pro Bowl
selection of his career, the
Seahawks are banking on
Myers to solidify an unset-
tled position.
“It feels the same. I
Angels’ Ohtani expected to face
Mariners’ Kikuchi on Saturday
Associated Press
US, Russia blame each other
as ships nearly collide in Asia
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
U.S. and Russia accused
each other of unsafe actions
on Friday after an American
guided-missile cruiser and
a Russian destroyer came
within 165 feet of each other
in the Philippine Sea.
Acting Defense Secretary
Patrick Shanahan told report-
ers that the U.S. will file a
formal diplomatic complaint
about the incident and will
have military to military con-
versations with the Russians.
He added that the encounter
will not deter the U.S. from
conducting naval operations.
The U.S. 7th Fleet said
the Russian destroyer put
the safety of the USS Chan-
cellorsville and its crew at
risk, forcing it to reverse
all engines at full throttle to
avoid a collision.
No one was injured, and
the ships never came into
contact, said Navy Cdr. Clay
Doss, a spokesman for the
Japan-based 7th Fleet.
An American helicopter
was preparing to land on the
Chancellorsville, which was
traveling on a steady course,
when the Russian destroyer,
traveling behind the U.S.
ship, started moving faster
and approached as close as
50-100 feet, the 7th Fleet
said in a statement.
“We consider Russia’s
actions during this interac-
tion as unsafe and unprofes-
sional and not in accordance
with the International Regu-
lations for Preventing Col-
lisions at Sea (COLREGS),
‘Rules of the Road,’ and
internationally recognized
maritime customs,” the state-
ment said.
It was the first such inci-
dent involving warships in
the region since September,
when the Chinese warship
Luoyang maneuvered close
to the USS Decatur , a Navy
destroyer, in the South China
Sea, an incident the U.S. also
labeled unprofessional and
unsafe. The U.S. at the time
said the Chinese ship came
within 45 yards (41 meters)
of the American ship, forc-
ing it to maneuver out of the
way. The Chinese said the
Luoyang had been deployed
to drive the U.S. vessel away
from islands that China
claims as its own.
The U.S. also has repeat-
edly complained in recent
years that Russian planes
have flown dangerously
close to American aircraft,
and the two nations routinely
SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
shadow each other in inter-
national airspace.
In this latest incident, in
open ocean northeast of the
Philippines, the Russian mil-
itary accused the Chancel-
lorsville of making a danger-
ous maneuver by crossing
the path of the Russian
destroyer Admiral Vinogra-
dov. The U.S. said the inci-
dent happened in the Philip-
pine Sea, while the Russians
said it was in the East China
Sea, which is further west
and closer to China.
The Russian military said
in a statement that the U.S.
cruiser “suddenly changed
direction and crossed the
path of Admiral Vinogradov
just 165 feet away,” forcing
the crew of the Russian ship
to make a quick maneuver to
avoid a collision. It said its
navy sent a radio message in
protest.
With U.S.-Russian rela-
tions at post-Cold War lows
over the Ukrainian crisis, the
war in Syria and Moscow’s
meddling in the 2016 U.S.
presidential election, the
Russian and U.S. militaries
have frequently exchanged
accusations of what they
describe as unsafe maneu-
vers by the other side’s war-
planes and navy ships.
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
ANAHEIM, Calif. —
Shohei Ohtani’s first major
league showdown with
Yusei Kikuchi is expected
to happen this weekend.
Los Angeles Angels
manager Brad Ausmus said
he expects Ohtani to be in
the lineup when Kikuchi
pitches for the Seattle Mar-
iners at Angel Stadium on
Saturday night.
The matchup would pit
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Mostly sunny
68 52
70 54
75 58
72 55
Partly sunny
Sunshine and
pleasant
Partly sunny
and warm
Partly sunny
and nice
64 53
63 53
Mostly cloudy;
Mainly cloudy
cooler
REGIONAL FORECAST
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Aberdeen
Olympia
61/45
67/51
Wenatchee
Tacoma
Moses
Lake
UNDER THE SKY
TODAY'S TIDES
Astoria through Thursday
Tonight’s Sky: After sunset, the
bright star is low in the northwest
is Capella of Auriga.
Astoria / Port Docks
Temperatures
High/low ................................ 61/47
Normal high/low .................. 63/49
Record high .................. 90 in 1912
Record low .................... 39 in 1933
Precipitation
Thursday ................................. 0.06”
Month to date ........................ 0.06”
Normal month to date ......... 0.61”
Year to date .......................... 22.07”
Normal year to date ........... 33.97”
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Time
High (ft.) Time Low (ft.)
5:04 a.m.
6:54 p.m.
8.1 12:16 p.m. -0.7
7.1
none
Cape Disappointment
4:42 a.m.
6:33 p.m.
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Hammond
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today .................. 5:25 a.m.
Sunset tonight ............... 9:05 p.m.
Moonrise today ........... 11:08 a.m.
Moonset today ............... 1:05 a.m.
First
Full
Last
New
4:52 a.m.
6:40 p.m.
Warrenton
4:59 a.m.
6:49 p.m.
Knappa
5:41 a.m.
7:31 p.m.
Depoe Bay
June 9 June 17 June 25 July 2
3:52 a.m.
5:48 p.m.
7.6 11:24 a.m. -1.1
6.8 11:48 p.m. 3.0
8.3 11:42 a.m. -1.0
7.3
none
8.5 12:00 p.m. -0.6
7.5
none
8.3 12:32 a.m. 2.5
7.4 1:17 p.m. -0.6
7.7 10:54 a.m. -1.3
6.9 11:19 p.m. 2.9
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Honolulu
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
New York City
Phoenix
San Francisco
Wash., DC
Sun.
Hi/Lo/W
81/69/t
75/59/s
76/62/pc
91/74/s
80/45/s
88/73/s
95/72/pc
79/62/pc
91/81/t
80/62/s
100/77/s
78/58/s
83/65/pc
81/70/t
77/58/s
72/59/t
92/71/t
63/44/pc
88/75/s
97/76/pc
84/64/s
90/80/t
78/63/pc
104/80/pc
85/60/s
74/70/sh
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy,
c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms,
r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.
61/40
Kennewick Walla Walla
69/50 Lewiston
76/45
68/43
Hermiston
The Dalles 76/46
Enterprise
Pendleton 59/35
69/43
72/47
La Grande
63/38
70/46
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Hi/Lo/W
Pullman
73/42
67/45
Salem
62/44
Yakima 74/44
Longview
62/45 Portland
69/49
Spokane
72/49
66/43
67/43
Astoria
ALMANAC
many Japanese fans last
week when he kept Ohtani
out of the lineup in Seat-
tle while the Angels faced
Kikuchi.
Ohtani wasn’t yet back
from Tommy John sur-
gery when Kikuchi faced
the Angels for the first time
April 20.
The 24-year-old Ohtani
and the 27-year-old Kiku-
chi attended the same high
school in Japan, but never
played on the same team.
the Angels’ AL Rookie of
the Year against the Mar-
iners’ new left-hander for
the first time in the majors.
They faced each other five
times in Japan’s top league.
Ohtani often gets days
off against left-handed
pitchers, but Ausmus
said his designated hitter
“probably will” hit against
Kikuchi this weekend,
“unless something happens
between now and then.”
Ausmus disappointed
Seattle
62 45
Myers said. “I’m always
trying to get better person-
ally. That’s what I was doing
last year and what I’m going
to try and do this year.”
Janikowski wasn’t bad,
hitting 22 of 27 field goals,
including three game-win-
ning kicks. But Myers
had the better season after
being claimed off waivers
by the New York Jets. The
27-year-old Myers kicked
an NFL-record five field
goals of at least 55 yards last
season. He also had six field
goals of at least 50 yards,
setting a Jets franchise
record. Myers set another
team mark by making seven
field goals against Indianap-
olis last season.
He was the first Jets
kicker to be selected to
the Pro Bowl in franchise
history.
“(It was) a fresh start,
kind of. What I went
through two years ago, I
took it as more of a learning
experience than trying to
get down on myself for get-
ting let go in Jacksonville,”
Myers said. “I took that as
a positive and I knew I was
hitting the ball well out here
last year and it kept clicking
back there in New York.”
was very comfortable with
everybody last year. Big
part of the reason why I
came back,” Myers said.
“Everything kind of felt like
I never left in a way so just
kind of building off what we
did last year.”
Seattle has sought stabil-
ity at the kicking position
since losing Stephen Haus-
chka in free agency after the
2016 season. The Seahawks
opted for the Blair Walsh
experiment in 2017, but he
missed eight field goals that
season, including missed
kicks that played a major
role in three Seattle losses.
Last year, the Seahawks
brought in Janikowski and
Myers to compete for the
job, but ultimately went
with the veteran in what
turned out to be his final
season before retirement.
Schneider said Seattle
tracked every kick from off-
season workouts through
the early preseason games
last season and Janikowski
won the job in the eyes of
the team.
“It was fair, they told me
to come out here and com-
pete and that’s what I do. I
do that whether it’s just me
out here or somebody else,”
Corvallis
70/47
Albany
70/46
John Day
Eugene
Bend
70/43
66/36
63/39
Ontario
70/41
Caldwell
Burns
67/39
62/32
Medford
79/46
Klamath Falls
67/38
City
Baker City
Brookings
Ilwaco
Newberg
Newport
Today
Hi/Lo/W
63/31/pc
69/52/s
60/49/s
69/46/s
59/45/s
Sun.
Hi/Lo/W
74/40/s
74/56/pc
65/53/pc
80/53/pc
64/51/pc
City
North Bend
Roseburg
Seaside
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Today
Hi/Lo/W
62/49/s
76/48/s
62/47/s
71/43/s
67/47/s
Sun.
Hi/Lo/W
66/52/pc
88/55/s
68/52/pc
81/49/s
80/53/pc