Digital Alabama News

🌱 Fire At Amazon Fulfillment Center + HSV Greyhound Service Suspended https://digitalalabamanews.com/%f0%9f%8c%b1-fire-at-amazon-fulfillment-center-hsv-greyhound-service-suspended/ Skip to main content Chattanooga, TN Trussville, AL Franklin, TN Birmingham, AL Mountain Brook, AL La Vergne-Smyrna, TN Vestavia Hills, AL Brentwood, TN Antioch-South Nashville, TN Hoover, AL Alabama Top National News See All Communities Hi all! Amy Young here with your fresh copy of the Huntsville Daily, filled with all the things you need to know about what’s happening in town. Including updates on: Fire at the Amazon Fulfillment Center Healthy Huntsville’s Party on the Green Huntsville Greyhound services suspended But first, your daily weather: Sunny and pleasant. High: 75 Low: 46. Check out what our local sponsor can do for you: Find out what’s happening in Huntsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch. Do you run a business in Huntsville and need a workspace with the option of flexible administrative support? Huntsville Hub is Huntsville’s premiere professional workspace, helping small businesses since 1994. The Hub is locally owned and operated and offers personalized administrative support, private office suites, coworking and dedicated desks, virtual office services, and a variety of meeting spaces. Visit them here to learn more — mention Patch for a free Lounge Day Pass or 1-hour meeting. Want to see your business featured in this spot? Click here to get started. Find out what’s happening in Huntsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch. Here are the top stories today in Huntsville: There was a fire overnight at the Amazon Fulfillment Center. Employees were evacuated and sent home. There was no mention of injuries or updates on when the center will reopen. (WAFF) On Thursday, Healthy Huntsville will host a Party on the Green at Campus 805. The free family-friendly event will start at 5:30 and will have dancing, music, scavenger hunts, and lawn games. (Patch Press Release Desk) A team of engineering students at the University Of Alabama In Huntsville have created an interactive light show at the Botanical Garden. This group designed and installed the show as part of a project. (Patch Press Release Desk) I saw some of you talking about Huntsville Greyhound tickets being unavailable on social media, and it turns out they have temporarily suspended their service to Huntsville. Greyhound has confirmed this and said they are working with the city to bring their services back “very soon,” but did not give details on a timeline for this return. (WHNT News 19) Tomorrow and Thursday, there will be a middle and high school career expo to help guide them as they start to think about entering the workforce. There are around 9000 students invited to the event. The career fair will be public tomorrow from 4- 7 p.m. (WAFF) Today and tomorrow in Huntsville: Liberty Middle vs Buckhorn – Football (5:00 PM) Huntsville High vs Bob Jones and Sparkman – Flag Football (7:00 PM) Fall Concert – Columbia High School (7:30 PM) Columbia Vs Mae Jemison – Flag Football (8:00 PM) From my notebook: The City of Decatur is hiring for several positions. Check them out here! Celebrate National Dog Week with Huntsville Animal Services this week by sharing your shelter pup! (Details) The Huntsville Botanical Garden will have Fall Break Wacky Wednesday on October 5 from 12- 1 p.m. Your kiddos can play games, draw with chalk, and even hula hoop! (Details) The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber Small Business Awards Gala will be November 1 this year! (Details) Municipal election results have been certified by the Huntsville City Council. Congrats to the winners! (Details) Downtown Huntsville, Inc. is hosting a giveaway for two Family Four Packs of tickets to the 2nd Annual Rocket City Octane Auto Show. (Details) Now you’re in the loop and ready to start this Tuesday! See you soon for another update. — Amy Young Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Huntsville Daily? Contact me at huntsville@patch.com Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. The rules of replying: Be respectful. This is a space for friendly local discussions. No racist, discriminatory, vulgar or threatening language will be tolerated. Be transparent. Use your real name, and back up your claims. Keep it local and relevant. Make sure your replies stay on topic. Review the Patch Community Guidelines. Read More…

Hurricane Ian Makes Landfall In Cuba- Follow Live https://digitalalabamanews.com/hurricane-ian-makes-landfall-in-cuba-follow-live/ Central Florida stores struggle to keep water on shelves ahead of Tropical Storm Ian Heavy rain and strong winds are lashing western Cuba after Hurricane Ian made landfall on Tuesday. Earlier in the day Ian strengthened into a category 3 storm, before making landfall in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province. According to the US National Hurricane Center, the island’s west coast could see as much as 14 feet (4.3 metres) of storm surge. Authorities in Cuba have evacuated 50,000 people, set up at least 55 shelters and rushed in emergency personnel. According to the National Hurricane Center Ian won’t linger over Cuba but will slow down over the Gulf of Mexico, growing wider and stronger, “which will have the potential to produce significant wind and storm surge impacts along the west coast of Florida”. Meanwhile, mandatory evacuations are also underway in parts of Florida amid warnings of life-threatening conditions from the potentially category 4 storm in the coming days. There is a risk of flash flooding, strong winds, storm surge of up to 10 feet, and possible isolated tornadoes along Florida’s Gulf Coast with impacts beginning up to 36 hours before the peak. Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists Email Please enter a valid email Please enter a valid email Password Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number First name Please enter your first name Special characters aren’t allowed Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters Last name Please enter your last name Special characters aren’t allowed Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters You must be over 18 years old to register You must be over 18 years old to register Year of birth I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent.  Read our Privacy notice You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe. Already have an account? sign in Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists Email Please enter a valid email Please enter a valid email Password Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number First name Please enter your first name Special characters aren’t allowed Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters Last name Please enter your last name Special characters aren’t allowed Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters You must be over 18 years old to register You must be over 18 years old to register Year of birth I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent.  Read our Privacy notice You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe. Already have an account? sign in Read More…

Hurricane Ian Makes Landfall In Western Cuba As A Category 3 Storm, Threatening A Path Of Destruction As It Churns Toward Florida | CNN https://digitalalabamanews.com/hurricane-ian-makes-landfall-in-western-cuba-as-a-category-3-storm-threatening-a-path-of-destruction-as-it-churns-toward-florida-cnn/ CNN  —  Rapidly intensifying Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday morning while on its trek toward Florida, where residents in some coastal areas are already evacuating. The hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, made landfall just southwest of the town of La Coloma in the Pinar del Rio Province of Cuba at 4:30 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said. The region is enduring significant wind and storm surge, which could raise water levels by as much as 14 feet above normal tide levels along the coast of Cuba the hurricane center said. The storm is expected to move north-northwest and across the island, leaving devastating wind damage in its path, according to the center. It is expected to emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and continue churning toward Florida, passing west of the Florida Keys late Tuesday, and approaching the west coast of Florida late Wednesday into Thursday. The hurricane is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge along much of Florida’s west coast by mid-week, as well as hurricane-force winds. While its exact path remains uncertain, projections show the Tampa area could get its first direct hit from a hurricane since 1921, and impacts on the area could be devastating. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian ALEXANDRE MENEGHINI/X03465/REUTERS Farmer Cito Braga puts plastic on a window of his home ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Coloma, Cuba, Monday, September 26. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Rich Reynolds and his son John fill sandbags at Ben T. Davis Beach in Tampa, Florida. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian Ramon Espinosa/AP Waves kick up under a dark sky along the shore of Batabano, Cuba. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Imagaes A man helps pull small boats out of Havana Bay in Cuba. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian Mike Lang/USA Today Network Ryan Copenhaver, manager of Siesta T’s in Sarasota, Florida, installs hurricane panels over the store’s windows on Monday. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian John Raoux/AP People in Orlando fill sandbags Monday to help protect their homes from flooding. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian NOAA/NASA This satellite image, taken Monday at 1 p.m. ET, shows Hurricane Ian near Cuba, right. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, Florida, references a map that indicates where storm surges would impact the county. During a news conference, she urged anyone living in those areas to evacuate. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images Shelves are empty in a supermarket’s water aisle in Kissimmee, Florida, on Monday. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian Andrew West/USA Today Network Sarah Peterson fills sandbags in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Saturday, September 24. Photos: Bracing for Hurricane Ian Andrew West/USA Today Network Besnik Bushati fills gas containers at a gas station in Naples, Florida, on Saturday. The station had only premium gas that morning. “This is something that we haven’t seen in our lifetime … So we definitely need to take it seriously,” said Meteorologist Rick Davis of the National Weather Service’s Tampa office. A hurricane warning is in place from Bonita Beach to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay, according to the latest advisory from the hurricane center. This means “hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case, within 24 to 36 hours,” the center said. Additionally, a tropical storm warning was issued for the Middle Florida Keys and portions of the state’s east and west coasts. A tropical storm watch was issued for the southeast coast from Deerfield Beach north to Jupiter Inlet, the hurricane center said. The hurricane’s menacing approach to Florida triggered preparations across the state as officials announced school closures and flight cancellations, and the military began moving ships and aircraft. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned of power outages as well as possible evacuations and fuel shortages, telling people to “make preparations now.” All along Florida’s west coast, officials are urging residents to get out of harm’s way instead of staying to protect their property. “This is nothing to mess around with. If you can leave, just leave now,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said Monday. Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties and emergency shelters were opened. “When we issued that mandatory evacuation, what that means is if you don’t and you call for help, we’re not coming because we’re not going to put our people in harm’s way and put them in peril because you didn’t listen to what we told you to do,” said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. Evacuation orders also went into effect for low-lying areas of Charlotte County as well as the counties of Sarasota, Hernando and Manatee. Floridians should expect more evacuations Tuesday for counties north of the bay, inland and some south of the bay, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. With tropical storm conditions possibly beginning Tuesday night, officials are concerned about Ian’s storm surge – a rise in water level caused by a strong storm’s wind pushing water onshore. A storm surge warning is effect for the Anclote River southward to Flamingo and Tampa Bay, where the inundation of water could reach 10 feet. The Tampa Bay region is particularly vulnerable to storm surge and could see catastrophic damage from flooding – even if the area doesn’t get a direct hit from the hurricane. Tampa Electric said it may have to proactively shut down power in the southern tip of downtown early Wednesday in an effort to “avoid serious damage to the underground equipment from saltwater storm surge, which will significantly shorten restoration time after the storm.” Tampa Bay International Airport will suspend operations at 5 p.m. Tuesday, DeSantis said Monday. The Port of Tampa Bay is also planning to suspend operations at 8 a.m. Tuesday, the governor said. Around the state, residents were queuing in long lines Monday to fill up bags of sand or pick up bottled water in preparation for the storm’s arrival. Resident Khadijah Jones told CNN she was in line for three hours Monday to get free sandbags in Tampa, uncertain if her home will flood. “Just doing the basics… securing loose materials in the yard, sandbags in low areas, and getting items to prep for no power,” she said. As the storm approaches a slew of closures and cancellations have been announced. The HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg announced it has suspended services and transferred patients. Colleges and universities across the state – like Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach and University of South Florida in Tampa – are taking steps to prepare, including campus evacuations or a shift to online classes. On the K-12 level, Hillsborough County Schools said it had “no choice” but to cancel classes as campuses become storm shelters. And surrounding counties, including Citrus, Pasco, Manatee and Hernando have also announced closures this week. Disney World announced some temporary resort closures from Wednesday through Friday due to the weather conditions. At least three cruise lines also began rerouting passengers due to the hurricane. In an effort to ease congestion on the roadways for those leaving evacuation zones, the Florida Department of Transportation will likely authorize emergency shoulder use, which allows drivers to use shoulders at slower speeds, Guthrie, the state emergency management director, said. As residents are urged to leave, officials are staging people and equipment to quickly respond when recovery begins. With widespread power outages likely, Florida Power and Light announced it activated its emergency response plan, mobilizing 13,000 personnel. The company will work to restore power “as long as it’s safe to do so,” the release said, including using smart grid technology to remotely restore power to customers where possible. Resources from outside the state are also pouring in, Guthrie said. The Florida National Guard activated 5,000 Florida soldiers and 2,000 additional soldiers from Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina, DeSantis announced Monday. President Joe Biden on Saturday approved a disaster declaration for Ian. “The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population,” the White House said in a news release. US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a public health emergency for the state of Florida – a move meant to give health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs, his office said. “We will do all we can to assist Florida officials with responding to the health impacts of Hurricane Ian,” Becerra said. “We are working closely with state, local, and tribal health authorities, as well as our federal partners, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support.” Read More…

AP News Summary At 5:16 A.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-516-a-m-edt/ Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Cuba en route to Florida HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Ian has made landfall in western Cuba, lashing the island with rain and winds as it barreled north toward the Florida coast. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says that Ian hit Cuba early Tuesday as a Category 3 storm as it continued to strengthen, with sustained winds of 125 mph. Authorities in Cuba evacuated more than 50,000 people in Pinar del Rio province, the country’s main tobacco-growing region, ahead of Ian’s arrival, which was expected to bring flooding and heavy rainfall. The government also set up dozens of shelters in the island. The hurricane is expected to strike Florida as early as Wednesday, possibly as a Category 4 storm. Putin’s call-up fuels Russians’ anger, protests and violence TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Five days after President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization to call up hundreds of thousands of reservists to fight in Ukraine, the move has triggered outraged protests across Russia, a fearful exodus of men of fighting age from the country, and acts of violence. There have been demonstrations — not just in the usual places like Moscow and St. Petersburg — but also in the remote far north province of Yakutia and in the poor, southern region of Dagestan. A gunman opened fire in an enlistment office in a Siberian city and gravely wounded the military commandant. One analyst says Putin is risking a lot because of the mobilization and is losing some support. Preordained vote to wrap up in Russia-held areas of Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The final day of voting is taking place in Russian-held regions of Ukraine. Moscow is expected to use the referendum results as a pretext for the annexation of the areas, while the vote is rejected as sham by Kyiv and its Western allies. In the five-day voting, residents are asked whether they want their regions to become part of Russia. It has been anything but free or fair, as tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions amid the war, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. Japan’s former leader Abe honored at divisive state funeral TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s hawkish former leader Shinzo Abe was honored by a rare and divisive state funeral that was full of militaristic presentation like soldiers carrying his ashes in a box brought by his widow and praise of his nine-year premiership. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said the publicly financed ceremony was a deserved honor for Japan’s longest-serving modern political leader, but it has deeply split public opinion. The event attended by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and other foreign and Japanese dignitaries. Kishida eulogized Abe as having a clear vision for economic growth and development and promoting the concept of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” as a counter to China’s rise. Bam! NASA spacecraft crashes into asteroid in defense test CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft has rammed an asteroid in an unprecedented test to see if a potentially menacing space rock could be knocked off course. The galactic grand slam occurred at a harmless asteroid 7 million miles away Monday. The Dart spacecraft plowed into the small space rock at 14,000 mph. Scientists say the impact should have carved out a crater and hurled streams of rocks and dirt into space. Most importantly, though, scientists are hoping the collision altered the asteroid’s orbit. NASA won’t know how much the spacecraft nudged the asteroid for a couple of months. Jury to be picked for Oath Keeper boss’ Jan. 6 sedition case Jury selection is expected to get underway Tuesday in one of the most serious cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The founder of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates are charged with seditious conspiracy. Stewart Rhodes and the others are the first Jan. 6 defendants charged with the the rare Civil War-era offense to stand trial. Authorities allege there was a serious, weekslong plot to violently stop the transfer of presidential power from election-denier Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Pound stabilizes but turmoil continues for UK economy LONDON (AP) — The British pound has stabilized in Asian trading after plunging to a record low, as the Bank of England and the British government try to soothe markets nervous about a volatile U.K. economy. The instability is having real-world impacts, with several British mortgage lenders withdrawing deals amid concern that interest rates may soon rise sharply. The pound was trading at around $1.08 on Tuesday morning. On Monday it plunged to $1.0373, the lowest since the decimalization of the currency in 1971, on concerns that tax cuts announced Friday by Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng would swell government debt and fuel further inflation. but some analysts warned that was “too little, too late.” At UN, a fleeting opportunity to tell their nations’ stories UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Pakistan’s new prime minister stepped onto the U.N. podium to spin a tale of floods and climate change. Shahbaz Sharif began: “As I stand here today to tell the story of my country …” At its core, that was what every world leader was here to do during the past week. One after another, they took the fleeting opportunity to craft a story about their nation and the world. They hoped the tales would make others sit up and listen. Some did it better than others. Vietnam imposes curfew, evacuations ahead of Typhoon Noru HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has imposed a curfew and evacuated over 800,000 people as a powerful typhoon that had flooded villages and left at least eight dead in the Philippines aimed for the country’s central region. National television VTV says people living near the coast where Typhoon Noru is expected to slam early Wednesday had been ordered to take shelter. Schools were closed and public events canceled. In Da Nang and Quang Nam provinces, a curfew will be in effect starting Tuesday evening. It forbids people from venturing out except those on official duty. Flights at five regional airports were canceled and train service halted until the typhoon passes. The weather agency says Noru is packing maximum sustained winds of 111 miles per hour. As Cantonese language wanes, efforts grow to preserve it SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Three decades ago, finding opportunities to learn the Cantonese language in San Francisco wasn’t hard. But today in the city that’s drawn Cantonese speakers from South China for over 150 years, there is fear that political and social upheaval are gradually diminishing the language. The Chinese government’s push for wider use of Mandarin, which is already the national language, along with the country’s changing migration patterns have contributed to an undeniable shift away from Cantonese. It’s a change that has reverberated from East to West. From the U.S. to the U.K. and beyond, there is worry that Cantonese won’t survive in some families for another generation. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More…

Biden To Announce New Rule Requiring Airlines To Disclose 'True Cost' Of Plane Tickets https://digitalalabamanews.com/biden-to-announce-new-rule-requiring-airlines-to-disclose-true-cost-of-plane-tickets/ Tuesday, September 27th 2022, 3:50 am By: CBS News WASHINGTON – President Biden will announce a new initiative Monday that would eventually allow consumers to see a more complete price on airline tickets — including baggage and change fees — before they buy, as the White House continues to search for ways to lower costs for Americans amid persistently high inflation. The White House says the proposed rule from the Transportation Department will prevent airlines from hiding the “true cost” of airline tickets, which would help consumers save money up front and encourage more competition among airlines to offer better fares. The requirement will apply not only to airlines directly but also on third-party search sites such as Kayak and Expedia. Airlines made nearly $700 million on cancellation and change fees last year, according to the White House. The proposal, which dates back to the Obama administration before it was scrapped in 2017 by then-President Donald Trump, would need to go through a 60-day comment period before final approval. The president will make the announcement on Monday afternoon at a meeting of the White House Competition Council, established last year as a way for his administration to find cost-saving measures for consumers. It will be the third time that the group, chaired by National Economic Council director Brian Deese, has met. At the meeting, Mr. Biden plans to push other federal agencies to take similar cost-saving actions, particularly by increasing transparency on hidden fees that can balloon the true cost of goods and services. One example is a proposal from the Federal Communications Commission that would require internet service providers to better outline fees and charges on what the administration calls a “broadband nutrition label.” And the Agriculture Department on Monday will also unveil new actions meant to encourage competition in various agricultural markets. The administration has taken similar actions when it comes to bank and credit card fees, which the White House says have saved consumers $3 billion annually compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. First published on September 26, 2022 / 12:21 PM © 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Read More…

EXCLUSIVE: $20 Billion Payday: Biden’s Border Surge Sends Smuggling Prices Soaring https://digitalalabamanews.com/exclusive-20-billion-payday-bidens-border-surge-sends-smuggling-prices-soaring/ The migrant smuggling economy at the U.S.-Mexico border now tops $20 billion and the cartels have made at least $2.6 billion in profit over the past 12 months just from controlling the routes illegal immigrants use, according to a Washington Times analysis. Both amounts are up substantially from the Trump and Obama years because more people are coming to the border and because they are paying higher prices. Mexican migrants are paying an average of $8,600 in total smuggling fees this year, according to The Washington Times’ database of smuggling cases. That’s up roughly $2,000 from 2019, the last pre-pandemic year under the Trump administration. Migrants from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are paying about $11,500 for the trip, up from $9,000 in 2020 and $7,900 in 2019, The Times’ data shows. Those rates are averages across the southern border. Migrants pay a little less in parts of Texas and a little more in California. “There’s an inflationary pressure on the number,” said Ronald Vitiello, a former chief of the Border Patrol. “Everything else being equal, things are more expensive. Employees, gasoline, logistics — things are more expensive.” The migrant surge that began at the start of the Biden administration is still going strong 20 months later. The numbers paint a grim picture of how the surge has fattened the wallets of the cartels that control the smuggling economy. One yardstick is the mafia fee, or “piso” — literally, the tax — migrants pay to cartels to use their routes into the U.S. Nearly every migrant pays, and the rate has increased to $1,300 per person. That is up more than 50%, from about $850 in the Trump years. The Border Patrol nabbed nearly 2.2 million people trying to sneak into the country from Mexico over the past 12 months. Subtracting repeat crossers who may have paid only once for multiple attempts, adding in estimated “gotaways” who avoid capture, and figuring conservatively that 90% of migrants pay the piso means the cartels have made $2.6 billion over the past year on crossing fees alone. That’s free and clear profit just for use of their smuggling routes. Any money they make from the rest of the smuggling journey, such as operating stash houses or coordinating foot guides and drivers, comes on top of that. “They’re printing money,” Mr. Vitiello said. All the extra money is bad news for the U.S., said former Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf. He told The Times’ “Politically Unstable” podcast that the cash helps fuel cartels’ other deadly activities, such as producing and smuggling in fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is responsible for record drug overdose deaths in the U.S. “It’s all the same enterprise,” Mr. Wolf said. “So the money that they make on the human trafficking, the $10,000 to $12,000 per head, they’re using to either import from China or make fentanyl and push that across the border.” Mr. Vitiello said the cartels are cashing in under President Biden. “Reasonable people can understand this has a shelf life,” he said. “They’re taking advantage of the maximum flow because they know it’s not going to last.” The $20 billion for the total smuggling economy includes the money migrants pay to the recruiters in their home countries, those who shepherd them to the U.S. border, foot or raft guides who get them across the boundary, stash house operators who shelter them on the U.S. side and drivers who take them deeper into the U.S. The gross domestic product of Honduras or El Salvador is less than $30 billion. Border monopoly A simple supply-and-demand curve might suggest prices should be falling. The pool of migrants is larger, meaning a bigger supply for the smugglers to share. That doesn’t account for the cartels’ monopolies. The cartels control ground and all the activities that go through there, including drug and migrant smuggling, and they set the prices they want. Victor Manjarrez, a longtime Border Patrol agent who now teaches at the University of Texas at El Paso, said there is a logic to how prices are established, though the smugglers don’t exactly advertise their thinking. In general, those from Mexico pay the least and those from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America pay a couple of thousand dollars more per person. The going rate for a Mexican to cross in Laredo, Texas, is $7,400, up from about $6,400 in 2020 and $5,900 a year before. Someone from Honduras or Guatemala crossing through Laredo is paying about $10,000, up from $7,700 in 2019. Those from South America might pay closer to $20,000, and those from outside the hemisphere can pay even more. Other factors contribute to the exact price. Those willing to walk more often pay less. Making a five-day trek through the deserts of Arizona or the Otay Mountain Wilderness in Southern California saves thousands of dollars compared with getting bused to the border, hopping across, and quickly getting picked up and driven north. Even more expensive is being crammed into a trunk or a modified gas tank and brought through a border crossing or stuck on the back of personal watercraft and ridden up the California coast. Mexican migrants can pay more than $15,000 for those trips. Chinese migrants have told officers that they paid more than $50,000 for their journey. “It’s based on level of comfort, mode of transportation, how quick you want to do it,” Mr. Manjarrez said. He said wealthier migrants from more urban areas are willing to pay for a few hours of serious discomfort in a car trunk over the days-long, life-threatening slog through the desert. Smugglers also have adapted to the new conditions on the border. Because of the Biden administration’s leniency, many illegal immigrants from beyond Mexico are hoping to get caught. They believe, usually correctly, that they will be quickly released. Mr. Manjarrez said smugglers coach migrants on how to take advantage of the Biden policies, such as by lodging claims for political asylum, as part of their package. What particularly troubles him are the implications that a migrant from a country where the average annual income is $5,000 manages to pay $10,000 for the trip. “Most of these folks who are crossing usually come from the poorest of the poor in their country. So these fees get paid, but then you get the exploitation,” Mr. Majarrez said. The lucky migrants end up owing relatives already in the U.S. The unlucky ones have to work off their debts to the smuggling cartels in any way they can. The Biden administration recognized the dangers of the smuggling networks and announced a major initiative to try to detect and arrest the smuggling leaders. In a major raid this month, authorities said, they unraveled an organization working in the Laredo area to bring migrants across the border to Texas and up to San Antonio, where they could fan out to destinations throughout the country. The organization charged about $8,000 per person. Migrants were smuggled in suitcases stuffed inside pickup trucks, stacked inside empty water tanker trucks or sealed into wooden crates strapped to flatbed trailers, according to court documents. Prosecutors said the organization raked in “at least millions of dollars in proceeds,” and they specifically traced $2.3 million that they were seeking to forfeit as proceeds from the smuggling venture. Border security experts commended those efforts but said it’s not a substitute for policies that discourage the flow of people. ‘The borders are open’ The Times’ database uses affidavits filed by Border Patrol agents, Customs and Border Patrol officers and Homeland Security Investigations agents in border smuggling cases in which there are witnesses — namely migrants who were being smuggled. The authorities often elicit the smuggling fees the migrants pay and include that information in the affidavit. The Times’ calculations are based on those numbers. Juan Jose Reyes-Mazariegos, who was arrested by the Border Patrol on Interstate 10 in Arizona on Sept. 13, told agents he paid roughly $13,000 for his trip. That’s 50,000 Guatemalan quetzals — about $6,400 — to go from Guatemala to the U.S. border, $6,000 for crossing and smuggling fees, and $700 to get him from Phoenix to New York. Jesus Ivan Garcia-Torres, a Mexican pulled from the water off the coast of California after he was dumped from a personal watercraft he rode across the international boundary, said he paid 120,000 pesos, or roughly $6,000, for his trip. It was the second time he was caught that week. Last week, agents nabbed Deylin Denisel Salazar-Enriquez, a Guatemalan woman, as she was being driven through a checkpoint outside Laredo. She told agents that a family member was paying $23,000 to have her smuggled to North Carolina. That price is exceptionally high. The court documents didn’t shed light on the reasons. The Times calculated the cartels’ mafia fee income by taking the total number of people arrested by the Border Patrol over the previous 12 months and adjusting for recidivists and gotaways who were never captured. The Times calculated that 90% of migrants pay a mafia fee — some experts say the rate is closer to 100%, while others say it’s lower, in part because the cartel in the Del Rio area doesn’t charge a piso. Together, that amounts to a little more than 2 million payments over 12 months. At $1,300 per payment, that works out to $2.6 billion. Getting a handle on the exact size of the smuggling picture is tricky, but The Times used rough approximations from its data. Of the illegal immigrants caught by Border Patrol agents this year, about 34% are Mexican, 24% are from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, and the rest are from elsewhere. Using the average payment rates for Mexicans, that works out to roughly $6 bi...

Biden To Host France's Macron For State Visit In December https://digitalalabamanews.com/biden-to-host-frances-macron-for-state-visit-in-december/ President Biden will host French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte for a state visit on Dec. 1, the White House announced, in what will be the first state visit for Mr. Biden since assuming the presidency. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that during the visit, Mr. Biden and Macron will discuss the “continued close partnership” between the United States and France, as well as “shared global challenges and areas of bilateral interest.” Among the areas where the two nations have worked together is on the the ongoing war in Ukraine, she said. The state visit, Jean-Pierre said, “will underscore the deep and enduring relationship between the United States and France, our oldest ally. Our close relationship with France is founded on our shared democratic values, economic ties and defense and security cooperation.” Mr. Biden and Macron have spoken numerous times over the president’s time in office and met last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Jean-Pierre said the U.S. and France have a “deeply valued relationship,” and it was important for the president and first lady Dr. Jill Biden to “welcome this close and valued partner to the White House.” The first state visit for Mr. Biden will come more than 22 months after he took office, and Jean-Pierre noted that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed many in-person events that the president traditionally hosts at the White House. Still, other foreign leaders have met with Mr. Biden for working visits during his administration. Macron also traveled to the U.S. for a state visit hosted by former President Donald Trump in 2018. First elected to lead France in 2017, Macron defeated far-right challenger Marine Le Pen to win a second term in April. First published on September 26, 2022 / 2:11 PM © 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Read More…

Betty Jane Cornell Lindell https://digitalalabamanews.com/betty-jane-cornell-lindell/ Betty Jane Cornell Lindell Betty Jane Cornell Lindell, 100, of Lander, PA, passed away on Friday, September 23, 2022, at the Rouse Home in Youngsville, PA. She was born on Sept. 13, 1922, in Sugar Grove PA, the daughter of the late Nathan A. and Eveline Gunn Cornell. She was a 1940 graduate of Lander High School. She graduated from the Chown School of Business in Buffalo, NY. She then worked at Remington Rand in Buffalo during WWII as a currency analyst. Betty attended the Lander United Methodist Church. She was involved in many organizations and clubs including the Hill & Dale Garden Club, Lady Aid Society, 500 Card Club, and was a Girl Scout Leader and involved in the PTA for the Lander Elementary School. She enjoyed sewing, quilting, cross stitching, crafting, ceramics, and gardening. She maintained close family ties with summer picnics and holiday gatherings. Betty is survived by her five children, Charles A. Lindell and wife Rebecca of Hamburg, NY, Caroline Marti and husband Steven of Auburn, AL, Kae Marie Mann and husband John of Randolph, NY, Curtis H. Lindell and wife Carol of Knoxville, TN, and Timothy Lindell and wife Gaylene of Jamestown, NY; twelve grandchildren, Jane Janus and husband Daryl, Kelly Brandsetter and husband Louis, Adam Lindell and wife Liz, Todd Marti and wife Claire, Julia Ballard and husband Matthew, Erin McGrath and husband Mark, Katherine Turner and husband Paul, Kyle Mann and wife Emily, Matthew Mann, Jennifer Lind and husband Michael, Keith Lindell and wife Morgan, and Gage Lindell; fourteen great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Betty is preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Allan Putnam Lindell, whom she married on May 30, 1942, in Mayville, NY, and passed on April 24, 2010; grandson Michael Mann; and five sisters, Hazel Harper, Marion Skinner, Esther Letina, Grace Wood, and Jean Johnson. Friends will be received at Peterson-Blick Funeral Home Inc., 1003 Penna Ave. E., Warren, PA, on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, from 4-7 pm. Burial in the Foster Cemetery, Lander, PA, will be private and at the convenience of the family. Memorial Contributions may be made to Foster Cemetery, 4650 Old State Rd, Sugar Grove, PA; Lander Volunteer Fire Department, 5555 PA-957, Russell, PA; or a charity of one’s choice. Those wishing to send online condolences may do so by visiting www.petersonblickfuneral home.com . Read More…

Could Justice Eye U.S. Senate Seat In 2024? https://digitalalabamanews.com/could-justice-eye-u-s-senate-seat-in-2024/ WHEELING — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said he may not be done with public office when his second term as governor concludes in 2024, and that a seat in the U.S. Senate just might pique his interest. The next time one of West Virginia’s two Senate seats will be on the ballot is 2024, when the seat of current U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will be up for grabs. That coincides with Justice’s term as governor coming to an end. While he would not commit 100% to a Senate run, Justice said it is something he’s considering. And if he runs against Manchin, it would mean a potential matchup of arguably the two strongest personalities in West Virginia. “I don’t really know what I’m going to do right yet,” Justice said. “Maybe you’ll see me … you know … sticking around and running for national office. But right now, I don’t know.” When asked directly, Justice acknowledged it is a U.S. Senate seat that has grabbed his interest. “I guess it’s possible,” he continued. “Who knows?” The avid sportsman keeps photos of West Virginia sunsets on his phone, but Justice said he is not yet ready to ride off into a sunset on his ATV with hunting rifle in hand. “I really believe the good Lord made me, Jim Justice, for a reason,” he continued. “That reason does not mean for me to just go home and go hunting. That’s what I love to do. I love to hunt and fish and be outdoors.” Justice said some might believe he has earned the right to go hunting and fishing now, but he still thinks he should continue to serve. “What I deserve to do is not just hang out on the beach if I can help somebody,” he said. “Until I can’t do it, until God decides not to give me any more breath, that’s what I’m going to keep doing.” Justice was elected to his first term as governor in 2016 as a Democrat with the backing of Manchin. After taking office, Justice appointed Manchin’s wife, Gayle Manchin, as the state’s Secretary of Education and the Arts. Justice in August 2017 announced he was switching his political affiliation to Republican. Gayle Manchin later was removed from the secretary’s job in March 2018, and the position was abolished. Justice was mum on who he thinks should succeed him as governor. He said he just wants someone in the office “who cares about the people.” “Most (politicians) are looking for all the perks, looking for the next parties and all the tips. And all that’s not going to work. We’ve proven that time and time again,” Justice said. He also isn’t certain whether his long-time friend, former President Donald Trump, will be atop the ballot as a presidential candidate in 2024. “I think Trump did a lot of really good things. I really do,” he said. “I know the family really well. I see a lot of things happening with our (former) president that are not very fair. When the FBI just invades your home and does that kind of stuff, it doesn’t make much sense to me. “I know he has his hands full with a lot of personal things right now, and I don’t think it’s very fair. He has not directly talked to me saying, ‘I’m going to run,’” Justice said. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More…

Shinzo Abe: Japan's Longest-Serving Prime Minister » Capital News https://digitalalabamanews.com/shinzo-abe-japans-longest-serving-prime-minister-capital-news/ Tokyo (AFP), Jul 12 – Shinzo Abe smashed records as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, championing ambitious economic reform and forging diplomatic relationships as he dodged cronyism scandals and battled chronic health problems. He remained a key voice in politics even after stepping down for a second time over his health, and was campaigning for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party when he was assassinated on July 8. On Tuesday, a state funeral will honour the former leader who was shot dead by a gunman resentful of the Unification Church, a religious group to which he believed Abe had ties. When Abe first became prime minister in 2006, he was a sprightly 52, becoming the youngest person to occupy the job in the postwar era. He was seen as a symbol of change and youth, but also brought the pedigree of a third-generation politician groomed from birth by an elite, conservative family. Abe’s one-year first term was turbulent, plagued by scandals and discord, and capped by an abrupt resignation. After initially suggesting he was stepping down for political reasons, he acknowledged he was suffering from a condition later diagnosed as ulcerative colitis, a bowel disease. – Abenomics – The debilitating condition required months of treatment but was, Abe said, eventually overcome with the help of new medication. He ran again, and Japan’s revolving prime ministerial door brought him back to office in 2012, ending a turbulent period in which leaders sometimes changed at a rate of one a year. Shinzo Abe’s economic policies were dubbed ‘Abenomics’ © AFP / RODRIGO BUENDIA With Japan still staggering from the 2011 tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster at Fukushima — and a brief opposition government lashed for flip-flopping and incompetence — Abe offered a seemingly safe pair of hands. And he had a plan: Abenomics. The scheme to revive Japan’s economy — the world’s third-biggest, but more than two decades into stagnation — involved vast government spending, monetary easing and cutting red tape. Abe also sought to boost the country’s flagging birth rate by making workplaces more friendly to parents, particularly mothers. He pledged to create “a society in which women shine”, and pushed through controversial consumption tax hikes to help finance nurseries and plug gaps in Japan’s overstretched social security system. Japan’s economy was in recession even before the coronavirus pandemic struck © POOL/AFP / Eugene Hoshiko While there was some progress with reform, the economy’s bigger structural problems remained. Deflation proved stubborn and the country was in recession even before the coronavirus struck in 2020. Abe’s star waned further during the pandemic, with his response criticised as confused and slow, driving his approval ratings down to some of the lowest of his tenure. – Political storms – On the international stage, Abe pursued a hard line on North Korea, but sought a peacemaker role between the United States and Iran. Abe prioritised a close personal relationship with Donald Trump © AFP / Nicholas Kamm He prioritised a close personal relationship with Donald Trump in a bid to protect Japan’s key alliance from the then-US president’s “America First” mantra, and tried to mend ties with Russia and China. The results were mixed. Trump still sought to make Japan pay more for US troops stationed in the country, while a deal with Russia on disputed northern islands stayed elusive, and a planned state visit by China’s Xi Jinping fell by the wayside. Abe also took a hawkish stance with South Korea over unresolved wartime disputes, and continued to float plans to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution. Abe stepped down as prime minister in 2020 for health reasons © AFP / Kazuhiro NOGI Throughout his tenure, he weathered political storms including cronyism allegations that dented his approval ratings but did little to affect his power, in part thanks to the weakness of the opposition. Abe had been due to stay on until late 2021, giving him an opportunity to see out one final event in his historic tenure — the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. But in a shock announcement, he stepped down in August 2020, with a recurrence of ulcerative colitis ending his second term, too. Read More…

Incumbents Haul In Campaign Cash https://digitalalabamanews.com/incumbents-haul-in-campaign-cash/ The incumbent Republicans in three state legislative races in the Mahoning Valley have significant financial advantages over their general election challengers. Also, Republican Nick Santucci of Howland, who is running for the open 64th Ohio House District seat, has more than three times the amount of campaign cash in his fund than Vincent Peterson II of Howland, his Democratic opponent. Meanwhile, Youngstown Councilwoman Lauren McNally doesn’t have a large surplus in her fund for the 59th House race. But Greg Beight of New Springfield, an independent challenger, hasn’t raised any money, and Poland Township Trustee Eric Ungaro, another independent candidate who won an Ohio Supreme Court case Thursday to get on the ballot, hasn’t collected contributions yet. Candidates who ran in the Aug. 2 primary for state legislative seats, even if they were unopposed, had to file what are called post-primary reports with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. The reports are for financial activity between July 14 — almost three weeks before the primary — and Sept. 2 — a month after it ended. In the three contested Aug. 2 primary races in the Mahoning Valley, the winners raised and spent more money than their opponents. The state legislative primary was moved to Aug. 2 from May 3 because of unconstitutional maps. The maps currently being used are only good for this year’s election and will have to be redrawn in time for the 2024 election. TRUMBULL COUNTY Peterson raised considerably more money than Bria Bennett of Warren, who he beat in the 64th House District’s Democratic primary. He received 69 percent of the vote. Peterson raised $45,768 in the post-primary period with $25,000 coming from the Ohio House Democratic Caucus and $13,704 from Reid Hoffman, a venture capitalist from Menlo, Calif., who co-founded LinkedIn. Hoffman gave the same amount to Peterson in the pre-primary period. Peterson spent $17,574 in the post-primary period with $8,790 to 2 Ticks & The Dog Productions Inc. of Warren being his largest expense. That money went to buy television commercial time and for the production of a campaign video. Peterson had $49,037 in his fund as of Sept. 2, which included carryover from previous reporting periods. In comparison, Bennett raised $6,156 in the post-primary period with $2,000 from Jurveston. She spent $8,406 in the post-primary period with her largest expenses being $2,079 to Giant Eagle for food and beverage expenses and $1,499 for TV ads. She had $412 in her fund as of Sept. 2. Santucci, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination in this district, raised $49,265 between July 14 and Sept. 2 with his major contributors being Regina Mitchell of Warren at $13,704 and Eric J. Rebhan of Fort Lauderdale at $8,704. Both are executives with Warren Fabricating. Santucci spent $9,564 in the post-primary period with $5,000 going toward radio commercials. With carryovers from previous reporting periods, Santucci had $173,180 in his campaign fund as of Sept. 2. 65TH HOUSE DISTRICT: Incumbent state Rep. Mike Loychik, R-Bazetta, who got 71 percent of the vote in the Aug. 2 GOP primary for the 65th House District seat, raised $25,548 in the post-primary period with $5,000 contributions each from the campaigns of state Reps. Jeff LaRe of Violet Township and D.J. Swearingen of Huron. The Ohio Republican Party also gave $33,582 in in-kind contributions for campaign mailers during that period. Loychik spent $32,714 between July 14 and Sept. 2 with his largest expenses being $15,443 to H&F Strategies of Chagrin Falls for media ad purchases and $5,000 to rent the Eastwood Event Centre in Niles for an Aug. 22 fundraiser with Donald Trump Jr. Loychik had $16,927 in his campaign account as of Sept. 2 because of money carried over from previous reporting periods. Randy Law of Warren Township, who lost to Loychik in the Republican primary, received no contributions from donors. He gave his campaign $3,378 in the post-primary period for printing, postage and online ads. Loychik is being challenged in the Nov. 8 election by Jennifer Donnelly of Cortland, who is running as an independent. She hasn’t reported raising any money for her campaign. 32ND SENATE DISTRICT: This seat isn’t up for election until 2024 so no reports had to be filed. The seat is held by state Sen. Sandra O’Brien, R-Lenox. MAHONING COUNTY Among the four candidates who ran in the 59th House’s Democratic primary, only two filed post-primary reports. McNally, who captured 56 percent of the vote, raised $7,559 and spent $7,308 in the post-primary period. Her largest contributors were Karla Jurvetson, a Los Altos, Calif., doctor and major Democratic donor, who gave $2,000; and the Matriots Political Action Committee of Columbus, which supports female candidates in Ohio, which gave $1,500. Her largest expenses were $2,404 to City Printing of Youngstown for the printing and mailing of campaign literature and $2,400 to Event Management LLC of Youngstown for the same purpose. She had $12,648 in her fund as of Sept. 2, which included money she carried over from previous reports. McNally is facing Beight and Ungaro, who didn’t have to file a post-primary report as they are independents. Beight and Ungaro said they haven’t raised money for their campaigns as of yet. Besides McNally, only John R. Dyce of Hanoverton, who finished third in the Democratic primary, filed a post-primary report. He reported $2,600 in contributions with $2,500 of it coming from the Ohio AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education. Dyce spent $2,737 with $1,500 of it for radio ads. With a small carryover, Dyce had $299 in his campaign fund as of Sept. 2. Ronald Shadd of Youngstown, who finished second in the race, failed to file a post-primary report. Wayne Penny Jr. of Youngstown, who was last in the primary, reported he didn’t raise or spend money on his campaign. 58TH HOUSE DISTRICT: In Mahoning County’s other House race, the 58th District, incumbent state Rep. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, reported raising no money from donors in the post-primary period. Cutrona, whose campaign is flush with cash, reported having a $276,958 surplus on Sept. 2 after he spent $32,486 in the post-primary period. Of that amount, $25,000 went to the Fraternal Order of Police’s Canfield Lodge toward the purchase of a police dog and trainer costs. Cutrona also loaned $60,000 to has campaign on July 20. He has, by far, the most money in his fund than any other candidate running for the General Assembly in the Valley. Both Cutrona and Canfield Councilman Bruce Neff, his Democratic challenger, ran unopposed in their party’s primary on Aug. 2. Neff reported raising $3,125 in the post-primary period, with $1,000 coming from the AFL-CIO, and spending $472. He had $2,653 in his campaign account as of Sept. 2. 33RD SENATE DISTRICT: State Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, who is seeking a second term in the 33rd Senate District, raised more money in the post-primary period than any other legislative candidate in the area. Rulli, who was unopposed in the Aug. 2 primary, received $81,089 in contributions between July 14 and Sept. 2 with $34,204 coming from PACs. Rulli spent $16,203 in the post-primary period with $11,606 going to H&F Strategies of Chagrin Falls for digital advertising, yard signs and consulting services. With carryover money, Rulli had $151,507 in his fund as of Sept. 2. Democrat Robert Hagan of Youngstown, a former state legislator challenging Rulli, raised $33,979 in the post-primary period including $16,400 from PACs. Hagan, who also ran unopposed in the primary, spent $19,938 between July 14 and Sept. 2 with $10,000 going to Electrica USA of Washington, D.C., for advertising and $6,000 to R Strategy Group of East Cleveland for consulting fees. Hagan had $84,318 in his fund, which includes money carried over from previous reporting periods. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More…

Judy Aaron Massey Obituary (2022) https://digitalalabamanews.com/judy-aaron-massey-obituary-2022/ Judy Aaron Massey of Nashville, TN passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Sunday September 25 at the age of 81. She was born November 1, 1940 to Marvin and Lillie Aaron in Montgomery, AL. Judy was a 1959 graduate of West High School in Nashville. She was employed by Show Biz Inc, producing many television shows. On May 10, 1968 she was married to Kenneth W. Massey, who was pastoring Calvary Baptist Church in South Carthage. Judy left secular occupation to become a housewife, mother, and grandmother. She excelled in each of these roles. Her family came first; her church next, and then her many friends. “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her” (Pro. 31:28). Our loss is her and heaven’s eternal gain. She was preceded in death by her parents, Marvin and Lillie Aaron; sisters, Jean Heard, Barbara Weber and Freda Davis. Survived by her husband, Ken Massey; daughter, Julie (Bret) O’Brien; son, Lance (Stefanie) Massey; granddaughtes, Millie and Maggie O’Brien and Ava Massey; niece, Jan Lukowiak; nephews, Chip Heard, Jim Davis, Gary Davis, Brent Davis, Scott Davis, and Mark Weber, and several great nieces and nephews. Visitation will be Thursday September 29 from 10 am until service at 2pm at McFerrin Missionary Baptist Church 431 W. Old Hickory Blvd., Madison, TN with Pastor Jeremy Sisk and Bro. Ray Smith officiating. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens. Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. John McRae, and Brenda Baxter, Endocinology NP. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to your favorite church or charity. To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store. Published by Cole & Garrett Funeral Home and Cremation Services – Goodlettsville on Sep. 27, 2022. Read More…

Ukrainians Involved In Russian-Backed Referendums Face Treason Charges, Prison Term https://digitalalabamanews.com/ukrainians-involved-in-russian-backed-referendums-face-treason-charges-prison-term/ Hundreds of collaborators face treason charges, says Ukraine Heavy fighting as Russian referendums enter last day Russian conscription sparks protests, exodus No decisions taken on closing Russian border, Kremlin says KYIV, Ukraine, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Ukrainians who help Russian-backed referendums to annexe large swathes of the country will face treason charges and at least five years in jail, Ukraine’s presidential adviser said, as voting in four regions entered its last day. “We have lists of names of people who have been involved in some way,” presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick. “We are talking about hundreds of collaborators. They will be prosecuted for treason. They face prison sentences of at least five years.” Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Podolyak said Ukrainians who were forced to vote would not be punished. Ukrainians officials have reported ballot boxes being taken door to door and residents being coerced into voting in front of Russian-backed security. Moscow hopes to annex the provinces of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, in the east and south, which make up about 15 percent of Ukraine. None of the provinces are fully under Moscow’s control and fighting has been under way along the entire front line, with Ukrainian forces reporting more advances since they routed Russian troops in a fifth province, Kharkiv, earlier this month. Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a veiled threat to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian soil, which would include the four provinces if annexed. Voting on whether to join Russia began on Friday in the regions and is due to end on Tuesday, with the Russian parliament possibly approving the annexation within days. The British Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that Putin is likely to announce the accession of the occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation during his address to parliament on Sept. 30. read more Kyiv and the West have dismissed the referendums as a sham and pledged not to recognise the results. Ukrainian and Russian forces were locked in heavy fighting in different parts of Ukraine on Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Donetsk region in the east remained his country’s — and Russia’s — top strategic priority, with fighting engulfing several towns as Russian troops try to advance to the south and west. There were also clashes in Kharkiv region in the northeast — focus of a Ukrainian counter-offensive this month. And Ukrainian forces pressed on with a campaign to put out of action four bridges and other river crossings to disrupt supply lines to Russian forces in the south. The Ukrainian Armed Forces southern command said on Tuesday that its counter offensive in Kherson had resulted in enemy losses of 77 servicemen, six tanks, five howitzers, three anti-aircraft installations and 14 armoured vehicles. Reuters could not immediately verify battlefield reports. CONSCRIPTION In Russia, the call-up of some 300,000 reservists has led to the first sustained protests since the invasion began, with one monitoring group estimating at least 2,000 people have been arrested so far. All public criticism of Russia’s “special military operation” is banned. Flights out of Russia have sold out and cars have clogged border checkpoints, with reports of a 48-hour queue at the sole road border to Georgia, the rare pro-Western neighbour that allows Russian citizens to enter without a visa. Asked about the prospect of the border being shut, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: “I don’t know anything about this. At the moment, no decisions have been taken on this.” Russia counts millions of former conscripts as official reservists. The authorities have not spelled out precisely who is due to be called up, as that part of Putin’s order is classified. The mobilisation has also seen the first sustained criticism of the authorities within state-controlled media since the war began. But Sergei Tsekov, a senior lawmaker who represents Russian-annexed Crimea in Russia’s upper house of parliament, told RIA news agency: “Everyone who is of conscription age should be banned from travelling abroad in the current situation.” Two exiled news sites – Meduza and Novaya Gazeta Europe – both reported that the authorities were planning to ban men from leaving, citing unidentified officials. Ukraine’s presidential adviser Podolyak said his country was well positioned to counter Russia’s mobilisation, with 700,000 men in reserve or fighting. “We already have an effective army that is well positioned and has experienced forces,” he said. Moscow says it wants to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Kyiv and the West describe Russia’s actions as an unprovoked war of aggression. Late on Monday, Zelenskiy described the military situation in Donetsk as “particularly severe.” “We are doing everything to contain enemy activity. This is our No. 1 goal right now because Donbas is still the No. 1 goal for the occupiers,” he said, referring to the wider region that encompasses Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia carried out at least five attacks on targets in the Odesa region using Iranian drones in the last few days, according to the regional administration. Russian missiles hit the airport in Kriviy Rih, Zelenskiy’s home town in central Ukraine, destroying infrastructure and making the airport unusable, Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram. More U.S. funding looks to be on the way as negotiators of a stop-gap spending bill in Congress have agreed to include nearly $12 billion in new military and economic aid to Ukraine, according to sources. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Michael Perry and Costas Pitas; Editing by Shri Navaratnam Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…

Johnny Mack Gibson Sr Obituary (2022) https://digitalalabamanews.com/johnny-mack-gibson-sr-obituary-2022/ SOUTHERN HERITAGE FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY 1000 HODGESVILLE ROAD DOTHAN, ALABAMA 36301 334-702-1712 www.southernheritagefh.com Johnny Mack Gibson Sr, a resident of Pansey, Alabama died Monday, September 26, 2022, at Westside Terrace Healthcare. He was 82. Funeral services will be held at 11AM Saturday, October 1, 2022, in Clearman Chapel at Southern Heritage Funeral Home with Pastor Judy Dyson officiating. Burial will be immediately following the service in Ashford City Cemetery with Southern Heritage Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service from 10AM to 11AM at the funeral home. Johnny Mack was born to the late Alford and Vennie Cheshire Gibson on March 21, 1940. He was a Floor Installer Mechanic by trade, laying flooring most his adult life for many flooring companies in the wiregrass, including his own. Johnny Mack believed in hard work and putting many hours into a week. A forty-hour work week was a rarity for him. In his early years you could find him and his family on Saturday nights at the track, Racing. Johnny Mack was one of the original pioneer drivers at The Rocket Speedway, and later raced at Haleburg and Gray Hodges tracks. He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Harold Gibson, Edward “Hoot” Gibson and his twin, Joe Brack Gibson; a sister, Helen Gibson Howard; a grandson, Ian Hubbard; and a nephew, Donnie Gibson. Left to cherish his memory is his former wife and caregiver, Barbara Rutherford; a son, Johnny Mack Gibson Jr. (Stacey); a daughter, Giovionne Gibson; one sister, Shirley Howell (James); three grandchildren, Kaitlynn Gibson, Faith Gray (Jamie), and Chelsea Lien (Luke); five great grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews, and many friends. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Johnny Mack Gibson Sr, please visit our floral store. Published by Southern Heritage Funeral Home on Sep. 27, 2022. Read More…

'Let's Get Right To The Violence': New Documentary Film Footage Shows Roger Stone Pre-Election Day – ABC17NEWS https://digitalalabamanews.com/lets-get-right-to-the-violence-new-documentary-film-footage-shows-roger-stone-pre-election-day-abc17news/ By Zachary Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Jackson Grigsby, CNN The day before the 2020 election, Roger Stone, the long-time Republican operative and ally of former President Donald Trump, said in front of a documentary film crew that he had no interest in waiting to tally actual votes before contesting the election results. “F**k the voting, let’s get right to the violence,” Stone can be heard saying, according to footage provided by a Danish documentary film crew and obtained by CNN. The clip is one of multiple pieces of footage obtained by CNN that the filmmakers also shared with the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The filmmakers tell CNN they came to an agreement to share certain clips with the committee after a subpoena for the footage was signed by the panel’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and delivered to the filmmakers in Copenhagen about two months ago. The filmmakers, Christoffer Guldbrandsen and Frederik Marbell, followed Stone for portions of about three years for their documentary film. The footage shared with the committee may be incorporated into its upcoming hearing this week. Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, suggested publicly over the weekend that the panel has more to reveal about the connection between Stone and domestic extremist groups, as well as efforts to keep Trump in power after the US Capitol attack and the ongoing threats to democracy. “Stay tuned,” Raskin said at the Texas Tribune festival when asked about Stone’s possible connections to the Capitol riot. “He’s someone who I think saw where things were going,” Raskin said. In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Don Lemon, the filmmakers said the committee appeared interested in footage that focused on Stone’s relationship with the White House, and also his alleged ties to the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The filmmakers said they were not able to establish a link between Stone, those groups and the White House. Members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys face multiple charges — including seditious conspiracy — for their actions during the Capitol riot. The trial for several Oath Keepers, including their leader Stewart Rhodes, will begin with jury selection on Tuesday. When committee investigators traveled to Denmark to review documentary footage related to Stone, they came to agreement with the filmmakers to share 8 minutes of video that were of interest to the panel and within the scope of its investigation. Politico first reported that trip in August. The film crew was also contacted by the FBI in March and has not shared footage with federal investigators, the filmmakers said. The FBI did not issue the crew a subpoena, they said. In a second clip of the documentary, also obtained by CNN, Stone said that Trump should prematurely claim victory on election night 2020. “I really do suspect it’ll still be up in the air. When that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory. Possession is nine tenths of the law, no we won,” Stone said on November 1, 2020, according to the footage. In another clip, filmed a week after January 6, Stone is seen criticizing the White House Counsel’s Office for what he described as their argument that Trump could not provide preemptive pardons to Stone and others for their alleged involvement in efforts to overturn the election. “I believe the President is for it. The obstacles are these — are these lily livered, weak kneed, bureaucrats in the White House Counsel’s Office and now they must be crushed because they’ve told the President something that’s not true,” Stone says in the clip. As far back as July 2020, Stone talked about challenging the upcoming presidential election in the courts. “The election will not be normal,” he said. “Sorry, we’re not accepting them,” he said of the anticipated results. “We’re challenging them in court.” “If the electors show up at the Electoral College, armed guards will throw them out,” he continued. “I’m challenging all of it. And the judges we’re going to, are judges I appointed.” Stone disputed the authenticity of the footage. “I challenge the accuracy and the authenticity of these videos and believe they have been manipulated and selectively edited. I also point out that the filmmakers do not have the legal right to use them. How ironic that Kim Kardashian and I are both subjected to computer manipulated videos on the same day,” Stone said in a statement to CNN. “The excerpts you provided below prove nothing, certainly they do not prove I had anything to do with the events of January 6th. That being said, it clearly shows I advocated for lawful congressional and judicial options,” he added. It’s unclear what the committee may have uncovered, but there are some basic details that are known of Stone’s whereabouts and involvement in the events surrounding January 6. On January 5, the day before the Capitol attack, members of the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers provided security for Stone during a rally that day, including driving him around on a golf cart. Stone also had contacts with the Proud Boys, a right-wing group known for street violence, and has been recorded reciting the group’s creed in a video released by the House select committee. According to former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to the committee this summer, the night before January 6, Trump told then-chief of staff Mark Meadows to ask Stone and former national security adviser Michael Flynn what was going to happen on January 6. Hutchinson testified that Meadows called Stone and Flynn that evening and tried to go to Washington’s Willard Hotel, where Trump supporters — including Stone — had set up a “war room.” Stone, who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, has not been charged with a crime related to the Capitol attack. This story has been updated with additional details Monday. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Read More…

Who Will Control State GOP After Election? https://digitalalabamanews.com/who-will-control-state-gop-after-election/ The whirling noise you may have heard recently is all the moderate Michigan Republicans who are spinning in their collective graves over the direction their beloved party has taken since they departed. Donald Trump is the leader — and unelected, at that. Yeah, defenders of the current incarnation of this party point out there are duly elected co-chairs. They are Ron Weiser and Meshawn Maddox. He got his votes from what’s left of the establishment wing of the party and she rode to an easy victory with a big boost from the former president, who, in reality, is the unelected head of the state party. Two of those aforementioned grave-spinners are Bill McLaughlin and Jerry Roe. Back in the 70s, when moderates actually had a pretty strong foothold on things with Gov. Bill Milliken in the saddle, the handsome, gray curly-haired McLaughlin was chair, and his nuts-and bolts, rather frumpy sidekick, Roe, did all the behind-the-scenes heavy lifting. Jason Roe remembers it well. The son of Jerry Roe was a little tike in those days and was probably relegated to licking envelopes, but, these days, as a grown-up, certified political consultant, he opined the other day on the future of the party. “Well, there are definitely things to be concerned about. I’ve never seen the party more fractured than it is now,” he begins his analysis of what’s going on and what will happen next. Now, all you Democrats out there gloating about this internal civil war that threatens to cost Republicans the governor’s race, secretary of state race, and the state attorney general’s office — and maybe even legislative control — get beyond your partisanship and note that two healthy and diversified political parties are good for the state and political discourse, and we don’t have that now. Roe goes on. During the four years of the Trump presidency, “the Republican hierarchy here was demolished … there is no party leader, or a governor-like person who can kinda lead the party from this wasteland where Donald Trump could ride unfettered.” Now, all you President Trump supporters, take a bow for taking over a party you never much liked in the first place when all those moderates were calling the shots, but your critics would advise you that winning a battle is one thing, but not working with others who hold a different viewpoint could cost you the war. More and more in this town you are hearing the scuttlebutt that, if the GOP takes a bath this November, it creates the opportunity to configure a new party. “If we lose, and if we lose by wide margins as a party, we’re going to have to do a little self-examination about what direction we’re going to go,” Roe said. “If we’re out of power, everyone is going to sober up a little bit and take a look at how we move forward if we’re going to be relevant …” Which takes us to that obvious question: Who the heck is the person who can paste Humpty Dumpty back together again? Roe says that search could be complicated if Mr. Trump runs for president in 2024, which means he will continue to do everything within his power to keep his stranglehold on the state party, allowing no room for reinvention to take place where authority is shared with others. Any volunteers? The line forms to the right. The far right or the sensible center? That’s the sticky question, and some would say there is only one answer to stop all that spinning racket. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More…

Japan Farewells Its Longest Serving Prime Minister https://digitalalabamanews.com/japan-farewells-its-longest-serving-prime-minister/ The polls are open in America and in six Tuesdays from today, America will vote.  In several states across the country, early voting has begun in the most consequential midterm elections for Congress in 12 years.   Midterm elections are a referendum on the president, and this year is no different.  Biden’s future is on the line no less than the control of Congress. However, the current President is painting an optimistic future. There are only 50 days until the midterms. Imagine the possibilities if we elect more Democrats to the Senate and keep the House. From codifying Roe v. Wade to protecting voting rights—I’m ready to get it done. Join us and get involved at https://t.co/V9Mzpw8kB0. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 19, 2022 In 2010, President Barack Obama lost 63 Democrats in the House, giving Republicans control in that chamber, and six Senate seats but keeping Democratic control over the Senate.   It was a big setback. That result meant that Obama’s ability to pass his legislative agenda came to a halt for the balance of his presidency. President Obama, 2010 midterms. For the next six years, there were no significant new legislative initiatives in health care and the environment or any other major domestic policy issues. As of today, the outlook for the November 8 midterm elections for Congress looks like a replay for President Joe Biden. Republican gains that will give them control of the House, and continued, but very narrow, Democratic control over the Senate.  This would be a better-than-expected outcome for Biden and the Democrats than many thought just three months ago.  At the end of June, Biden’s popularity was plummeting. Petrol prices reached record highs; inflation had erupted and there was sticker shock on groceries; supply chains were a mess; there were no legislative victories. Now to mention the nightmare of women losing their constitutional rights becoming all too real with the decision by the Trump Supreme Court to repeal the landmark Roe decision.  Biden had slumped to the mid-30s in approval.  Republicans seemed in easy reach of matching the average historical benchmark of gaining 26 seats from the president’s party in these midterms – and taking the Senate too.  But momentum shifted in August to the Democrats.  Women across the country are furious about what the Supreme Court did to their reproductive health rights – with the Republican Party all-in with the Court.  Biden started getting big legislation through Congress, especially on health care costs, clean energy and climate change, and high-tech manufacturing for the future. Donald Trump’s legal challenges mounted, from FBI raids to get back the classified documents he took from the White House to state officials in Georgia and New York moving against him.  Biden regained some popular approval, and the Republicans were on the defensive – especially on abortion with their candidates for the Senate on the wrong side of the anger from women voters. In the 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton’s team kept reminding him, and the county, that “it’s the economy stupid.” Clinton won the White House in the wake of a painful recession on President George H.W. Bush’s watch.  This economy is hurting Biden and the Democrats.  The gut punch last Friday of the Fed’s raising interest rates by 75 basis points – with mortgages now the highest in over a decade and no end in sight to further sharp interest rate rises – and the markets tanking as a result, has left the mood of many deeply anxious and uncertain about the future.  Inflation is still too high and most Americans believe the country is already in a recession. “People are seeing their wage increases eaten up by inflation.” federal reserve chair jerome powell This plays to the Republicans, who are already pounding the culture war buttons on high crime in the cities, “out-of-control” immigration on the southern border and putting more control from parents back into the classroom particularly on gender and racial issues. The essence of Donald Trump as a major factor in American politics and what America’s experience with him means about the future of America’s democracy is crystallizing.  As many as two thirds of American believe that their democracy is on the brink, and they are worried about it.  Together with an extremist Supreme Court that has repealed fundamental rights for women, this makes Trump-supported Republican candidates – especially in the Senate – vulnerable. If the Republicans take the Senate thanks to the Trump-endorsed candidates winning in key states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and New Hampshire, that will be a big win for Trump as he moves to declare for the 2024 presidential campaign.  The converse is also true:  If Democrats beat Trump candidates this year, then they are more likely to beat Trump and the Republicans again in 2024. There are two possible shock outcomes:  a sweep of both chambers by either party.  A Republican Congress will move aggressively against Biden, his policies and his government.  Expect big investigations.  Expect Biden to be impeached by the House Republicans. A Democratic Congress, especially if they gain one or two more Senators, would present a complete reversal of fortune, making it possible to enact crucial legislation on abortion rights and voting rights and cement a historical place for Joe Biden as a truly great president. The stakes are huge.  We’ll know the final verdict in 8 weeks. Read More…

Top 5 Nail-Biting Monday Night Football Games The Dallas Cowboys Have Played In https://digitalalabamanews.com/top-5-nail-biting-monday-night-football-games-the-dallas-cowboys-have-played-in/ With NFC East rivals the Giants and Cowboys featured tonight on Monday Night Football, what are the best games that Dallas has played on Monday Night Football? Courtesy of Fan Nation. #5. Giants at Cowboys – September 8, 1986 Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker were both playing in this game which was won by the Cowboys 31-28 in the last two minutes by a 10-yard touchdown by Herschel Walker. #4. Eagles at Cowboys – September 17, 1997 Cowboys won this game 21-20 also in the last few seconds when Philadelphia holder Tom Hutton bobbled the snap on a 22-yard field goal attempt with :04 left in the game. #3 Cowboys at Giants – September 15, 2003 This was Bill Parcells first win in Dallas after the Giants came back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter and tied the game to force overtime on a Billy Cundiff 52-yard field goal to send it into overtime and then kicked the game-winner as well. Dallas won 35-32. #2 Cowboys at Redskins – September 5, 1983 This game was a nail-biter with Dallas trailing at halftime 23-3, but Danny White rallied to throw three second-half touchdown passes and pulled out a one-point win with 1:49 remaining in the game. Dallas won 31-30. #1. Cowboys at Bills – October 8, 2007 This had one of the craziest finishes in Cowboys’ history. The Cowboys went into the fourth quarter trailing 24-13 after 6 Romo turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns. A Romo pass to Patrick Crayton produced a touchdown that left the Cowboys trailing 24-22, so a two-point conversion by Terrell Owens was called for but Owens was stripped of the ball with only :20 left in the game. But after Tony Curtis recovered a weird bouncing onside kick that hit Sam Hurd, rookie kicker Nick Folk hit a 53-yard field goal only to have the Bills call a last-second timeout to ice the kicker, but on the second try Folk was once again good and the Cowboys win the game 25-24. So will tonight be another game that causes gasps and hair pulling all over Texas? We will just have to sit back and watch. TACKLE THESE: Check Out the Best Uniforms In Each NFL Team’s History LOOK: 50 images of winning moments from sports history Sometimes images are the best way to honor the figures we’ve lost. When tragedy swiftly reminds us that sports are far from the most consequential thing in life, we can still look back on an athlete’s winning moment that felt larger than life, remaining grateful for their sacrifice on the court and bringing joy to millions. Read on to explore the full collection of 50 images Stacker compiled showcasing various iconic winning moments in sports history. Covering achievements from a multitude of sports, these images represent stunning personal achievements, team championships, and athletic perseverance. Read More…

'Let's Get Right To The Violence': New Documentary Film Footage Shows Roger Stone Pre-Election Day – KTVZ https://digitalalabamanews.com/lets-get-right-to-the-violence-new-documentary-film-footage-shows-roger-stone-pre-election-day-ktvz/ CNN By Zachary Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Jackson Grigsby, CNN The day before the 2020 election, Roger Stone, the long-time Republican operative and ally of former President Donald Trump, said in front of a documentary film crew that he had no interest in waiting to tally actual votes before contesting the election results. “F**k the voting, let’s get right to the violence,” Stone can be heard saying, according to footage provided by a Danish documentary film crew and obtained by CNN. The clip is one of multiple pieces of footage obtained by CNN that the filmmakers also shared with the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The filmmakers tell CNN they came to an agreement to share certain clips with the committee after a subpoena for the footage was signed by the panel’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and delivered to the filmmakers in Copenhagen about two months ago. The filmmakers, Christoffer Guldbrandsen and Frederik Marbell, followed Stone for portions of about three years for their documentary film. The footage shared with the committee may be incorporated into its upcoming hearing this week. Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, suggested publicly over the weekend that the panel has more to reveal about the connection between Stone and domestic extremist groups, as well as efforts to keep Trump in power after the US Capitol attack and the ongoing threats to democracy. “Stay tuned,” Raskin said at the Texas Tribune festival when asked about Stone’s possible connections to the Capitol riot. “He’s someone who I think saw where things were going,” Raskin said. In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Don Lemon, the filmmakers said the committee appeared interested in footage that focused on Stone’s relationship with the White House, and also his alleged ties to the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The filmmakers said they were not able to establish a link between Stone, those groups and the White House. Members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys face multiple charges — including seditious conspiracy — for their actions during the Capitol riot. The trial for several Oath Keepers, including their leader Stewart Rhodes, will begin with jury selection on Tuesday. When committee investigators traveled to Denmark to review documentary footage related to Stone, they came to agreement with the filmmakers to share 8 minutes of video that were of interest to the panel and within the scope of its investigation. Politico first reported that trip in August. The film crew was also contacted by the FBI in March and has not shared footage with federal investigators, the filmmakers said. The FBI did not issue the crew a subpoena, they said. In a second clip of the documentary, also obtained by CNN, Stone said that Trump should prematurely claim victory on election night 2020. “I really do suspect it’ll still be up in the air. When that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory. Possession is nine tenths of the law, no we won,” Stone said on November 1, 2020, according to the footage. In another clip, filmed a week after January 6, Stone is seen criticizing the White House Counsel’s Office for what he described as their argument that Trump could not provide preemptive pardons to Stone and others for their alleged involvement in efforts to overturn the election. “I believe the President is for it. The obstacles are these — are these lily livered, weak kneed, bureaucrats in the White House Counsel’s Office and now they must be crushed because they’ve told the President something that’s not true,” Stone says in the clip. As far back as July 2020, Stone talked about challenging the upcoming presidential election in the courts. “The election will not be normal,” he said. “Sorry, we’re not accepting them,” he said of the anticipated results. “We’re challenging them in court.” “If the electors show up at the Electoral College, armed guards will throw them out,” he continued. “I’m challenging all of it. And the judges we’re going to, are judges I appointed.” Stone disputed the authenticity of the footage. “I challenge the accuracy and the authenticity of these videos and believe they have been manipulated and selectively edited. I also point out that the filmmakers do not have the legal right to use them. How ironic that Kim Kardashian and I are both subjected to computer manipulated videos on the same day,” Stone said in a statement to CNN. “The excerpts you provided below prove nothing, certainly they do not prove I had anything to do with the events of January 6th. That being said, it clearly shows I advocated for lawful congressional and judicial options,” he added. It’s unclear what the committee may have uncovered, but there are some basic details that are known of Stone’s whereabouts and involvement in the events surrounding January 6. On January 5, the day before the Capitol attack, members of the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers provided security for Stone during a rally that day, including driving him around on a golf cart. Stone also had contacts with the Proud Boys, a right-wing group known for street violence, and has been recorded reciting the group’s creed in a video released by the House select committee. According to former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to the committee this summer, the night before January 6, Trump told then-chief of staff Mark Meadows to ask Stone and former national security adviser Michael Flynn what was going to happen on January 6. Hutchinson testified that Meadows called Stone and Flynn that evening and tried to go to Washington’s Willard Hotel, where Trump supporters — including Stone — had set up a “war room.” Stone, who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, has not been charged with a crime related to the Capitol attack. This story has been updated with additional details Monday. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Read More…

Biden’s Mixed Record Forces Some Democrats Into Odd Balancing Act https://digitalalabamanews.com/bidens-mixed-record-forces-some-democrats-into-odd-balancing-act/ Carol Discher, a volunteer for the reelection campaign for Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, stacks yard signs in Toledo, Ohio, on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. Kaptur appeared with President Joe Biden during his July visit to Ohio but has since produced an ad saying she “doesn’t work for Joe Biden,” evidence of how some Democrats are struggling with how much to embrace — or distance themselves — from the president ahead of November’s midterm elections. (AP Photo/Will Weissert) CINCINNATI (AP) — Democratic House candidate Greg Landsman can tick off how his party’s control of Congress and the White House has benefited his city. The bipartisan infrastructure deal will mean upgrades to the heavily traveled highway bridge linking Cincinnati with its airport and northern Kentucky while bolstering a vital westside viaduct. COVID-19 relief funding meant training for more new police academy recruits. A sprawling spending package capped insulin prices. But Landsman won’t say whether President Joe Biden, who signed those measures into law, will help or hurt his campaign to unseat longtime Republican Rep. Steve Chabot. He doesn’t think the president will visit the southwest Ohio swing district before the November midterm elections and insists that, in thousands of conversations while campaigning, Biden usually “just doesn’t come up.” Officeholders and top candidates often distance themselves from their party’s unpopular president. Some Republicans shunned Donald Trump ahead of the 2018 midterms when Democrats flipped the House, just as many Democrats ran away from Barack Obama as 2010’s red wave loomed. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton suffered similar midterm election fates. But this cycle presents conflicting political incentives that have forced some front-line Democrats into delicate balancing acts. While improving lately, Biden’s approval ratings remain low and inflation is still running near record highs. Yet unemployment is down, wages are up and the White House has notched key congressional wins applauded by many Democrats in close races. The predicament underscores the lack of a national Democratic playbook on how to run in relation to Biden ahead of the midterms. “These issues become, especially in places like Cincinnati, Greater Cincinnati, very local very quickly,” said Landsman, a City Council member whose hesitancy to mention Biden is a change from his appearance with the president in Cincinnati in May. Two hundred miles north in Toledo, Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in House history, has been more direct, producing an ad saying she “doesn’t work for Joe Biden” mere weeks after greeting the president at the Cleveland airport in July. Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, running for Ohio’s open Senate seat, appeared with the president at the recent groundbreaking of an Intel computer chip factory outside Columbus. But he suggested then of the possibility of Biden seeking reelection in 2024 that both parties need “new leadership” and “it’s time for a generational move.” When Biden visited Milwaukee on Labor Day, Democratic Gov. Tom Evers, who is up for reelection, appeared with him, but Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, competing against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, did not. In Maine, Democratic Rep. Jared Goldenhas an ad saying he opposed “trillions of dollars of President Biden’s agenda because I knew it would make inflation worse.” Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is giving Biden’s performance “mixed reviews.” Landsman says he appeared with the president because he supported White House-backed microchip legislation that helped make the new Intel facility a reality. Kaptur says she appeared with Biden because he was announcing $1 billion for Great Lakes improvements and got a firsthand look at the town of Lorain, which has been devastated by steel mills closing. “There’s some other things I don’t agree with the president on. But that one — getting attention to Lorain, Ohio, which has endured such a battering in the international markets, and the people are still so positive and so constructive,” she said, “it was a great moment.” Phil Heimlich, a former Cincinnati City Council member and Republican county commissioner who opposes Trump and has endorsed Landsman, said Democrats’ struggles with Biden are real but pale in comparison to GOP candidates contending with a national party increasingly beholden to his predecessor. “I think the national stuff still plays a role,” Heimlich said, “but that cuts both ways.” When Trump held a rally recently in Youngstown, Ohio, Chabot didn’t attend. Kaptur’s opponent, J.R. Majewski, did. But they aren’t letting their opponents escape Biden’s political shadow. “I think people know Pelosi and Biden. Some people are favorable. But I don’t think that’s the majority,” said Chabot, who has criticized Landsman for briefly working in Nancy Pelosi’s Washington office in 1999, before she was House speaker. He’s also tagged tweets about rising prices #Bidenflation. Majewski said in his first TV ad that “Biden and Kaptur are spending more and more while inflation goes up and up.” Chabot was first elected to Congress in 1994 and has won several hotly contested reelection races. But Ohio’s new congressional maps mean his territory encompasses more of Democrat-friendly Cincinnati. A recent Landsman campaign event included his releasing a 5-year-old wire-haired dachshund named Jerome in a wiener dog race as Oktoberfest celebrations thronged the city’s downtown. Chabot, that same weekend, greeted would-be voters at a smaller, Catholic church-sponsored street festival in the nearby town of Reading, where he was born. “I know a lot of people who are not Democrats and they are definitely going to be voting,” Jean Huneck, a 67-year-old who owns a small mechanical engineering business, said of the new, ostensibly bluer district. Huneck is a registered Democrat but supports Chabot and said the GOP needs big November wins to counter Biden. “I feel like our livelihoods are depending on it,” she said. Kaptur has held her seat since 1983 but faces circumstances opposite from Chabot’s. Redistricting swapped parts of her district’s largely blue Cleveland suburbs for a conservative, eastern swath of the state that hugs Lake Erie and reaches the Indiana border. Some of the new territory is dotted with cornfields and bait and tackle shops. An occasional yard sign says “Trump 2024 or Before,” a reference to the former president’s spurious suggestions he could be reinstated into power. Majewski is Trump-endorsed, and Kaptur has branded him as a past devotee of QAnon conspiracy theories who passed police barricades during last year’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Kaptur says in a TV ad that her opponent is “too dangerous to serve in Congress.” The National Republican Campaign Committee, the party’s House campaign arm, promoted a photo of Biden kissing Kaptur’s hand upon arriving in Cleveland and a video of her saying that, after a year in office, the president’s “report card is outstanding” juxtaposed with headlines about inflation and the president’s sinking approval ratings. Following an Associated Press report that Majewski misrepresented his military career, the NRCC canceled TV ads it had booked to support his campaign. Brendan McHugh, a 31-year-old who works in investment real estate in Toledo, said linking Biden and Kaptur isn’t a bad thing because “Democrats have been getting some wins recently.” “I’ve been pleased with the progress that the Biden administration’s been making,” McHugh said, calling that “a net positive” for Kaptur. Michael Jones, a 56-year-old attorney who lives in the same Old Orchard neighborhood near the University of Toledo, said that he’s a Kaptur supporter and that controlling things like inflation is largely out of Biden’s hands. But he added, “There’s a lot of challenging things happening right now.” “People may look at who’s at the top right now,” Jones said. “And it may impact how an undecided person might vote.” Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More…

Governor Jim Justice Says He’s Intrigued By Future Senate Run https://digitalalabamanews.com/governor-jim-justice-says-hes-intrigued-by-future-senate-run/ photo by: Derek Redd Wheeling resident Pamela Bonawitz, left, talks to Gov. Jim Justice as she pets Babydog, Justice’s English bulldog, on Friday at Wheeling’s Centre Market. WHEELING — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said he may not be done with public office when his second term as governor concludes in 2024, and that a seat in the U.S. Senate just might pique his interest. The next time one of West Virginia’s two Senate seats is up is 2024, when the seat of current U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will be on the ballot. That coincides with Justice’s term as governor coming to an end. While he would not commit 100% to a Senate run, Justice said it is something he’s considering. And if he runs against Manchin, it would mean a potential matchup of arguably the two strongest personalities in West Virginia. “I don’t really know what I’m going to do right yet,” Justice told The Intelligencer. “Maybe you’ll see me … you know … sticking around and running for national office. But right now, I don’t know.” When asked directly, Justice acknowledged it is a U.S. Senate seat that has grabbed his interest. “I guess it’s possible,” he continued. “Who knows?” The avid sportsman keeps photos of West Virginia sunsets on his phone, but Justice said he is not yet ready to ride off into a sunset on his ATV with hunting rifle in hand. “I really believe the good Lord made me, Jim Justice, for a reason,” he continued. “That reason does not mean for me to just go home and go hunting. That’s what I love to do. I love to hunt and fish and be outdoors.” Justice said some might believe he has earned the right to go hunting and fishing now, but he still thinks he should continue to serve. “What I deserve to do is not just hang out on the beach if I can help somebody,” he said. “Until I can’t do it, until God decides not to give me any more breath, that’s what I’m going to keep doing.” Justice was elected to his first term as governor in 2016 as a Democrat with the backing of Manchin. After taking office, Justice appointed Manchin’s wife, Gayle Manchin, as the state’s Secretary of Education and the Arts. Justice in August 2017 announced he was switching his political affiliation to Republican. Gayle Manchin later was removed from the secretary’s job in March 2018, and the position was eliminated. Justice was mum on who he thinks should succeed him as governor. He said he just wants someone in the office “who cares about the people.” “Most (politicians) are looking for all the perks, looking for the next parties and all the tips. And all that’s not going to work. We’ve proven that time and time again,” Justice said. He also isn’t certain whether his long-time friend, former President Donald Trump, will be atop the ballot as a presidential candidate in 2024. “I think Trump did a lot of really good things. I really do,” he said. “I know the family really well. I see a lot of things happening with our (former) president that are not very fair. When the FBI just invades your home and does that kind of stuff, it doesn’t make much sense to me. “I know he has his hands full with a lot of personal things right now, and I don’t think it’s very fair. He has not directly talked to me saying, ‘I’m going to run,’” Justice said. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More…

Asia-Pacific Markets Mixed Following Negative Start To The Week https://digitalalabamanews.com/asia-pacific-markets-mixed-following-negative-start-to-the-week/ The Fed is ‘very fortunate’ to be raising rates while unemployment levels are low, former governor says The U.S. Federal Reserve is “very fortunate” that current unemployment levels are below 4%, Randy Kroszner, professor of economics at University of Chicago Booth School of Business told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.” “When the unemployment is still relatively low, they’re not getting the same kind of pressure” to slow down the pace of its rate hikes, the former Fed governor said. “It’s rare that a central bank can raise interest rates as much as they have,” he said. “In addition to maintaining credibility, it’s really important for the Fed to be moving fast.” –Jihye Lee Asian stock markets could outperform in 2023, led by China, portfolio manager says China is likely to loosen its zero-Covid policy in 2023 and economic activity will recover, which bodes well for the stock market, according to Jun Bei Liu, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners. Authorities have provided “so much stimulus,” which will help domestic activity, she said. Meanwhile, risks of recession remains very high for developed markets in the West, Liu said, adding entrenched inflationary pressures will hurt consumption and economic activity. “With that sort of environment, when corporate earnings [are] going backwards — very hard to see equity markets do substantially better,” she said. — Abigail Ng World Bank slashes growth forecasts for East Asia and Pacific region The World Bank has slashed its 2022 full-year growth forecast for the East Asia and Pacific region to 3.2% from its April prediction of 5%, it said in its latest report released Tuesday. “The slowing growth is mostly due to China,” it said, adding the organization also cut its 2022 forecasts for the nation to 2.8% from 5%. The World Bank expects China to grow 4.5% in 2023. The report said the median headline inflation is seen to surpass 5% this year, an upward revision from 3% previously forecasted in April. –Jihye Lee CNBC Pro: Here’s where Dan Niles is putting his money “We made money today. We are up in August. We’re up for the year,” fund manager Dan Niles told CNBC. As major stock markets remain deep in the red this year, the investment veteran shares what he’s buying in this volatile market. Pro subscribers can read more. — Zavier Ong Fed’s Mester says it is better to act ‘aggressively’ against high inflation U.S. inflation is “unacceptably high” and uncertainties make monetary policy decisions “not trivial,” said Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester in prepared remarks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “When there is uncertainty, it can be better for policymakers to act more aggressively,” she said. “Aggressive and pre-emptive action can prevent the worst-case outcomes from actually coming about.” She said she will be “very cautious” when assessing inflation data. “I will need to see several months of declines in the month-over-month readings,” she said. “Wishful thinking cannot be a substitute for compelling evidence.” –Jihye Lee CNBC Pro: Analysts like Nvidia once again, with Citi giving it almost 100% upside Analysts are once again starting to get bullish on Nvidia, after the semiconductor giant lost favor amid geopolitical tensions and a slowdown in the chip sector. Citi and JPMorgan both said last week that solid demand in PC gaming, as well as cloud adoption in data centers, were set to be tailwinds for Nvidia. So how much upside did they each give Nvidia shares? CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Weizhen Tan Oil, U.S. dollar diverge For the first half of 2022, the price of oil and the U.S. dollar both rose sharply. However, that has changed in recent weeks, with notable moves for both on Monday. The Dollar Index rose as high as 114.527 on Monday, hitting its highest level since 2002. Meanwhile, futures for West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.58% to $76.08 per barrel. That is the U.S. benchmark’s lowest settle since Jan. 3, meaning nearly all of oil’s year to day gains have been erased. — Jesse Pound, Christopher Hayes Treasury yields rising at rapid clip Treasury yields are rising at a rapid clip, as global rates jump and investors anticipate a more aggressive Federal Reserve. The benchmark U.S. 10-year yield rose above 3.9% for the first time since 2010. It was at about 3.75% on Friday. The 2-year yield Monday rose by about 13 basis points to 4.33%. A basis point equals 0.01 of a percentage point. The U.K. 10-year gilt yield was at 4.24%. It was at 3.15% just a week ago. Bond yields move opposite price. A sharp sell-off in U.K. bonds led the selling, as investors weigh the Bank of England’s potential response to a U.K. government plan to cut taxes and raise spending. The pound fell to an all-time low against the dollar, as U.K. rates jumped Monday. The Fed sent shockwaves across global rates markets Wednesday with a more aggressive forecast for interest rate hikes. “I think there’s three things” moving the market, said AmeriVet’s Greg Faranello. “It’s the repricing of the Fed. It’s the global rates story, and it’s a function of liquidity,” he said. Andy Brenner of National Alliance said he sees no signs of support in the chart of the 10-year yield until 4%. “This could also be the bond vigilantes seeing nothing to stop them,” said Brenner. –Patti Domm Read More…

Kegler’s Korner: Edkin, Heck Earn Bowlers Of Week Nod https://digitalalabamanews.com/keglers-korner-edkin-heck-earn-bowlers-of-week-nod/ Bowlers of the week for last week’s action are Alicia Edkin with a 785 series in the Intercommunity League and John Heck with an 832 in that same league. Edkin rolled a 298 in her last game of the night after posting a 277 in her second game. In the Monday Night Classic League, Randy Drake shot a 300 game to record a series of 800 on the nose. Following are the available highest scores in each local league last week. HARVEST MOON: Inter-Community: John Heck Jr 297; Andy Tressler Memorial: Shane Reeder 725, Al Hoover 258; Three-Man Major: Andrew Neuer 718/266; Youth: Andrew Mitchell 545/213, Ellanor Mitchell 357/122; Saturday Night Moonlighters: Dave Rhodes 745/290, Lisa Reed 568/213. ABC: Sunday Night Social: Courtney Solomon 550/216, Bryant Solomon 651, Justin Edkin 246, Gordy Welsh 246. FAXON: Sunday Night Mixed: Mark Congdon 647, Darlene Litzelman 512, Louie Santalucia 253, Christine Covey 185; Faxon Sport: Daniel Splain 759/290; Faxon Classic: Noreen Smith 641, Logan Burkett 771, Karla Anderson 244, Robert Walters 279; Susquehanna Health: Jon Albright 697, Stacy Gridley 609/236, Joe Szczechowski 279; Wednesday Ladies: Sandy Taggart 504/189; Thursday Morning Mixed: Pat Eckman 741/279, Brenda Brownawell 516/213; Mitey 8: 9/15: Chase Platt 670, Karen VanKuren 529/188, Chris Marino 264; Diane Fox Memorial: 9/15: Kevin Fountain 665, Josh Rogers 245; Noxaf: 9/16: Betsy Zimmerman 449, Jason McClosky 667/268, Donna Reidy 163; Retirees: 9/16: Tom Gower 685, Brenda Brownawell 542/198, Tim Martin 244; Youth: 9/17: Caine Matthews 528/206, Karima Beckett 500/173. Did you know that although most bowling balls have two finger holes and one thumb hole, balls are allowed to have up to four finger holes and one thumb hole? You can read about this in Chapter 8 of the USBC playing rules. Back in the early 1900s, most balls were drilled with one finger hole and one thumb hole. Soon a hole for the other middle finger was added, enabling the bowler to produce more lift and rotation, and allowing the ball to travel further down the lane before hooking. This is called the conventional grip, with the fingers inserted up to the second joint. After 1960, the finger-tip grip was created, in which the two center fingers are inserted up to only the first joint. The finger-tip grip enabled the bowler to produce even more lift and rotation. Today some bowlers have gone to a ball grip that does not include a thumb hole. With no thumb hole the bowler cups the ball in his palm, and usually keeps the other hand on the ball until just before the release. Hope to see you on the lanes. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More…

NFL Monday Night: Trevon Diggs Seals Cowboys’ Victory https://digitalalabamanews.com/nfl-monday-night-trevon-diggs-seals-cowboys-victory/ After intercepting 11 passes in the 2021 season – the most in the NFL in 40 years – Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs got his first interception of 2022 on Monday night, and it locked up the Cowboys’ 23-16 victory over the New York Giants. Diggs capitalized when Giants wide receiver David Sills slipped running his route, and the former Alabama defensive back made a diving interception of quarterback Daniel Jones’ pass at the New York 36-yard line with 1:11 left to play. MORE NFL: · WHAT’S WRONG WITH MAC JONES? ASK BILL BELICHICK · ALABAMA ROUNDUP: DEVONTA SMITH HITS CAREER HIGHS · AUBURN ROUNDUP: JOSH BYNES LEADS RAVENS’ DEFENSE Diggs had one tackle and three passes defended on Monday night. The Cowboys won for the second week in a row with Cooper Rush filling in for Dak Prescott at quarterback. Rush completed 21-of-31 passes for 215 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. The touchdown came on a 1-yard toss to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who made a one-hand grab as Dallas took a 20-13 lead with 8:30 left in the game. In addition to Diggs, seven other players from Alabama high schools and colleges played in the Dallas-New York game: · Cordale Flott (Saraland) started at right cornerback for the Giants. Flott made four tackles. · Xavier McKinney (Alabama) started at free safety for the Giants. McKinney made six tackles, recorded a tackle for loss and broke up a pass. · Evan Neal (Alabama) started at right offensive tackle for the Giants. · Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive. Robinson is recovering from an appendectomy. · Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton (Auburn) played but did not record any stats. · Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert (McGill-Toolen, South Alabama) caught a 4-yard pass in his NFL debut. · Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) was designated as a game-day inactive. Toney has a hamstring injury and did not practice on Friday and Saturday. · Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (Lee-Montgomery) made two tackles. · Nick Williams (Minor, Samford) started at defensive end for the Giants. Williams made three tackles. Monday night’s outcome gave Dallas and New York records of 2-1 and left their NFC East rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, as the only unbeaten team in the NFC three weeks into the 2022 season. At noon CDT Sunday, the Cowboys host the Washington Commanders and the Giants host the Chicago Bears. New York Giants defensive lineman Nick Williams (93) tries to get to Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott during an NFL game on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

ESPN Struck Out Interrupting College Football For Aaron Judge At-Bats https://digitalalabamanews.com/espn-struck-out-interrupting-college-football-for-aaron-judge-at-bats/ BSM Writers Why make that even more difficult by trying to serve an audience that, if they cared that deeply about a Yankees’ home run record, would probably be watching YES Network anyway? Published 17 seconds ago on September 27, 2022 One thing you quickly learn in this business is that you will never please everyone. If you try to be all things to all people, you often end up failing everyone. That can often put an organization like ESPN in a difficult spot. They are heavily invested in live sports play-by-play but are also the video outlet of record for any breaking sports news. Never has this tension been more apparent for ESPN than it was in Saturday’s early slate of college football. While Clemson was playing Wake Forest in a key early season ACC game on ABC, Auburn was hosting Missouri in a “Coaching Hot Seat Special” on ESPN. At the same time, Aaron Judge was continuing his chase for the magical number of 61 home runs on the YES Network. When I was a kid, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire had not yet passed the Roger Maris Major League home run mark. Any time a player passed the 50 homer mark, that became the story of the summer. I often wondered if anyone would ever pass 61 but that happened that one magical summer, the summer many credit with saving baseball, when Sosa and McGwire both assaulted it. The American League, and Yankees, home run record still remains at 61, so Judge’s chase doesn’t lack historical significance but does feel a little hollow. I can only speak for myself but Judge’s chase for 61 feels like an “if I’m at home with nothing else to do, I’d like to see that at-bat” type of chase. That was not the case Saturday and ESPN chose to serve up those at-bats right in the middle of their college football games. During the action of both the ABC and ESPN games, the Worldwide Leader chose to go with a double box of the football and Judge’s at-bats with the audio of Michael Kay’s call on the YES Network. Now, if you don’t know much about the Southern football fan, they don’t even allow their football Saturdays to be interrupted by family weddings. I’m not even exaggerating. A Fall wedding in the Deep South is about as common as 62 home runs in a season. Fans are only guaranteed 12 weekends of football and they live the other 40 weeks dreaming about those 12 weeks. If you want me to see you get married, or hit your 61st homer, do it when I’m not watching football. The most common reaction I saw to this was the understandable, “If I wanted to watch baseball, I’d be watching baseball.” I find it a reasonable reaction to what ESPN chose to do. We no longer live in a world in which we can’t watch a Yankees game anywhere in America. Sure, in 1998 when McGwire and Sosa were chasing history, MLB Extra Innings was only two years old. The opportunity to watch Cubs or Cardinals games then was much more limited. Not to mention, you know, McGwire and Sosa were chasing actual Major League Baseball history. Judge is chasing Yankees history. Anyone that deeply cares about that would be well aware of the fact they could watch it on YES Network. Auburn, Missouri, Wake Forest and Clemson fans were doing just that; watching the game the only place they could. My surprise in ESPN’s miscalculation here is their lack of grasp of the fact that the people watching these two college football games fall mainly into two groups. Group one: viewers emotionally invested in the success or failure of Clemson, Wake Forest, Auburn or Missouri. Group two: people financially invested in the success or failure of Clemson, Wake Forest, Auburn or Missouri.  I have to think the crossover between those two groups and the group of people that deeply care about Aaron Judge’s 61st home run is very small, if not non-existent. That is the risk you run when you try to be all things to all people, you eventually upset everyone. Why not just show the Judge at-bats on ESPNNews? That is ESPN’s catch-all channel anyway. How many college football games start on ESPNNews and the ESPN app because ESPN can’t accept the fact that 90% of college games last longer than three and a half hours? That way, if I care at all, and have no access to YES Network, I have my options. The objection would be that the college football fans only missed minimal action but that misses the main point. As a consumer of college football, I can tell you the fans want to think the game you are showing them is the most important thing to your network at that time. It is why they hate when your announcers turn play-by-play into a sports talk show, or when you waste their time with meaningless sideline interviews, or when you miss plays to show things that don’t impact the outcome of their game. There is no doubt just pleasing your target audience is hard enough as it is. Why make that even more difficult by trying to serve an audience that, if they cared that deeply about a Yankees’ home run record, would probably be watching YES Network anyway? ESPN would call it breaking news, I would call it a lack of situational awareness by ESPN. Either way, ESPN was trying to be all things to all people. When you try to please everyone, you often end up scheduling a Fall wedding. Ryan Brown is a columnist for Barrett Sports Media, and a co-host of the popular sports audio/video show ‘The Next Round’ formerly known as JOX Roundtable, which previously aired on WJOX in Birmingham. You can find him on Twitter @RyanBrownLive and follow his show @NextRoundLive. BSM Writers “It was the biggest sports story on Friday morning. It warranted the amount of coverage that it got but giving it the “embrace debate” treatment was foolish.” Published 24 hours ago on September 26, 2022 Stephen A. Smith is the franchise at ESPN. First Take has probably eclipsed SportsCenter as the network’s signature show. Those are opinions made without any judgment. They are neither good things nor are they bad things. They are merely ESPN’s business model in 2022. On Friday, social media exploded like an elementary school class breaking out in a simultaneous “uh-woo-woo” when the teacher calls out a single student. It didn’t matter who you thought was in the wrong, everyone was talking about the verbal sparring match Smith got into with Malika Andrews while discussing the Boston Celtics’ suspension of head coach Ime Udoka. I don’t want to dwell on who is right and who is wrong between Smith and Andrews. I don’t think that matters. The answer to that question is less important than the fact that we are asking it at all. First Take was not built to handle the nuances and delicacy of a situation like Udoka’s suspension. Clearly, the coach was involved in something that is not as cut and dry as two adults choosing to have sex with each other. We don’t have all the facts and there is no version of a responsible discussion of the situation that involves speculation. It was the biggest sports story on Friday morning. It warranted the amount of coverage that it got but giving it the “embrace debate” treatment was foolish. I don’t know who that is on.  Stephen A. Smith did not come out looking great in the exchange, but it seems too simplistic to point the finger at him. Malika Andrews came in ready for a confrontation, but again, to say just one person is responsible for making this feel icky is not addressing the issue at hand. Matt Barnes of ESPN and All the Smoke posted an interesting message as an Instagram Reel on Friday. He said that his initial reaction to the news of Udoka’s suspension was to post a message on social media defending the coach. After someone that knew the details of the suspension spoke with him, he pulled the message down because he could not defend the things he was told happened. We all speak with emotion on social media. That whole industry is fueled by users confusing their opinions and feelings as some sort of unimpeachable moral authority. It is a pretend space. It does not matter. ESPN is very real. What is said on the network has consequences for the people talking and the people being talked about. First Take is the centerpiece of a billion-dollar network. It is built to be a very specific thing. In a perfect world for ESPN, the show is the spark that starts the fire of every debate in sports.  We have been having way too many conversations in sports lately that aren’t appropriate for that kind of platform.  First Take isn’t, and frankly shouldn’t be, a show that deals in nuance. It is loud, passionate and fun. It’s supposed to sound like a bar or a barbershop. Surely Ime Udoka and what he did or didn’t do with female employees of the Boston Celtics will be discussed in those venues, just like sexual misconduct accusations against DeShaun Watson and evidence that Brett Favre helped orchestrate a welfare fraud scheme in Mississippi likely were. But barbershop discussions don’t play out on the biggest brand on cable TV. They have no consequences. The Boston Celtics are coming off of a season that saw their young core finally start to look like the championship team we have been told they were for the last five years. They made their first Finals appearance since 2010. As a lifelong fan of this team, trust me when I tell you that if a suspension weren’t absolutely warranted, the front office would not be trying to scapegoat the head coach responsible for all of that. Stephen A. Smith has to take a side. He has to have an adversary to every opinion he offers. It is his brand and it is what he does well. Like the rest of us, he is welcome to have an opinion on Udoke and the suspension.  First Take does what it is supposed to very well, but it is never going to be the right forum for conversation that has to be more fact and almost no opinion. Demetri Ravanos is the Assistant Content Dir...

Tuscaloosa News Obituaries In Tuscaloosa, AL | Tuscaloosa News https://digitalalabamanews.com/tuscaloosa-news-obituaries-in-tuscaloosa-al-tuscaloosa-news-5/ Gerald K. Dunlap, Sr., 78, of Niagara Falls, NY, passed away on September 23, 2022 at his residence. Born in Niagara Falls, NY, he was the son of the late Perry W. and Dorothy (Harvey) Dunlap. Gerald was a graduate of Trott Vocational High School. He also attended the University of Buffalo. Gerald proudly served in the United States Army as a Postal Clerk and Military Police Officer at Fort Dix, NJ from 1967 until his honorable discharge in 1969. He was employed as a Fork Lift Operator and in Inspections with General Motors for 33 years, first working at Harrison Radiator in Lockport, NY, from 1972 until 1989, later in Tuscaloosa, AL from 1986 until 2002, and in Shreveport, LA from 2003 until his retirement in 2005. In 1990, he married Deborah L. (Porter) Dunlap, who predeceased him. Gerald was an active reader and numerologist. He was a very giving man, always offering food to whomever he encountered. Above all, he will be remembered as a hardworking man and a great father and grandfather. Gerald is survived by his children, Duane K. (Sue) Dunlap, Lesley R. (Henry ‘Hank’) LoStracco, and Gerald K. ‘Sonny’ Dunlap; his step-daughter, Corbi Jean Mills; 14 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; his brother, Jeffery (Nancy) Dunlap, as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to his wife, he was predeceased by his former wife, Maureen J. ‘Mia’ (Powless) Dunlap, his stepson, Jason Bond, and his brother, William Dunlap, USN. Funeral services and committal prayers will be held on Wednesday, September 28 at 11 AM at Niagara Falls Memorial Park Cemetery, 5871 Military Road, Lewiston, NY 14092. In lieu of flowers, memorial offerings may be made to Heart, Love and Soul Food Bank, https://heartloveandsoul.org/. Arrangements by M.J. Colucci & Son Niagara Funeral Chapel. Visit mjcoluccifuneralchapel.com for online condolences. Posted online on September 27, 2022 Published in Tuscaloosa News Service Information Funeral Services Niagara Falls Memorial Park Cemetery, 5871 Military Road, Lewiston, NY 14092 September 28, 2022 at 11:00 AM Read More…

Harris Focuses Asia Trip On Security, Adds Tour To Korea DMZ https://digitalalabamanews.com/harris-focuses-asia-trip-on-security-adds-tour-to-korea-dmz/ U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, right, holds a bilateral meeting with South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in Tokyo, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP) TOKYO – In meeting after meeting with Asian leaders Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the U.S. commitment to regional security, and the White House disclosed that she would visit the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas. An official said Harris would tour the border area between South and North Korea on Thursday, at the end of her trip to Asia. The visit comes amid persistent concerns about North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. North Korea test-fired a short-range ballistic missile shortly before Harris left Washington, an apparent response to joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea that include the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the DMZ in August, and former President Donald Trump went in 2019 when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Harris’ plan, which had been kept under wraps by her team, was unexpectedly revealed during a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday. A White House official rushed to confirm details of her trip afterward. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Harris “will tour sites at the DMZ, meet with service members and receive an operational briefing from U.S. commanders.” She will also “reflect on the shared sacrifice of tens of thousands of American and Korean soldiers who fought and died together” in the war that divided the peninsula seven decades ago. Harris has been emphasizing security ties during her time in Tokyo, where she’s attending the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in July. During her meeting with Han, Harris said the U.S. alliance with South Korea is the “linchpin of security and prosperity” in the region. “We stand with you in the face of threats,” she said. Afterwards, Harris met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, telling him their countries share a “common goal and bond as it relates to our dedication to peace and security.” The conversations follow Harris’ meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday, shortly after arriving in Tokyo. During that encounter, Harris described the U.S. alliance with Japan as “a cornerstone of what we believe is integral to peace, stability and prosperity” in the region. Like the abrupt disclosure of Harris’ trip to the DMZ, the meeting with Kishida was also marked by confusion. His staff tried to usher reporters out of the room while Harris was still speaking. The commotion drowned out some of her remarks, making it hard for her office to finalize a transcript of her exact comments. In addition to concerns over North Korea, there’s been increased tension involving Taiwan, the self-governing island that China views as part of its territory. President Joe Biden recently said that the U.S. would send troops to defend Taiwan if China attacked. Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, said Saturday that any attempt to prevent reunification with Taiwan would be “crushed by the wheels of history.” Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More…

Trump Nominee Claver-Carone Voted Out At IDB, Threatens Legal Action https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-nominee-claver-carone-voted-out-at-idb-threatens-legal-action/ The governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on Monday voted to fire Mauricio Claver-Carone, the bank said, after an investigation showed that the only American president in the bank’s 62-year history had an intimate relationship with a subordinate. The bank’s 14 directors had voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend the board remove Claver-Carone after an independent ethics investigation found evidence he had engaged in a prior intimate relationship with a senior staffer and it may have continued while they were at the bank. It also showed he made employment decisions for the staffer, including salary increases totaling more than 45% of base pay in less than one year. The bank in a statement said Claver-Carone would leave the bank effective immediately, and his deputy, Reina Irene Mejia, already the highest-ranking female leader in the bank’s history, would become acting president until a new leader was elected. Claver-Carone denied in an interview with Reuters on Monday that he ever had an intimate relationship with the staffer and said he was planning legal action against the bank. Headquartered in Washington, the IDB is a key investor in Latin America and the Caribbean, behind nearly 600 ongoing infrastructure, health, tourism and other projects. It was responsible for $23.4 billion in financing and other financial commitments in 2021, and was expected to lend billions to Argentina in 2022 and 2023 to help ease economic turmoil. Cuban-American Claver-Carone was nominated for a five-year term by then-President Donald Trump and took office in October 2020. He had tried to wrest power away from Argentina and Brazil, which have dominated the bank’s agenda in the past, and provide more of a role for smaller countries. Investigators also found that Claver-Carone created a hostile environment at the bank, with numerous staff members fearing reprisals and retaliation for participating fully and honestly in the probe, the report showed. Ten of the 50 people interviewed for the probe expressed such concerns, one source familiar with the investigation added. Nominations for Claver-Carone’s replacement, likely a politically charged process, were expected to begin as early as next week. Some members are pushing for Claver-Carone to be replaced permanently with a woman, several sources briefed on the search for his replacement said. On Monday, after Reuters first reported the governors’ decision, Claver-Carone denied any allegations of wrongdoing and said he had not been informed by the bank of the vote to remove him. He is planning legal action against the bank for breach of contract and potentially defamation, he told Reuters.  “They have yet to be able to substantiate one single rule that I violated,” Claver-Carone said, “but we’ve identified 15 rules that the bank violated” regarding rights and protections for its employees. Whistleblower sparks probe The IDB hired the law firm Davis Polk to investigate in April after a whistleblower sent an email to bank officials, alleging that Claver-Carone had engaged in a relationship with someone he directly managed. The firm presented the findings of its investigation to the bank’s directors on Monday. The report, a copy of which was viewed by Reuters, included details of what investigators said was evidence of the relationship, including a photograph of a hand-written contract on the back of a paper placemat, purportedly written and signed by Claver-Carone and the staffer, which mapped out their plans to become a “legal (de jure) couple” by September 2020. It said “we deserve absolute happiness” and a clause that stipulated any contract breach would result in “candle wax and a naughty box.” Asked by Reuters about the placemat, Claver-Carone said he had not been shown the original document. He said the document had been disallowed in the staffer’s divorce proceedings, and questioned why it should be included in the IDB investigation. Claver-Carone said he confirmed that he refused to hand over his bank-issued cellphone to investigators because it contained confidential texts from world leaders, and he had no confidence in the way the bank or the law firm were handling the probe. He said he felt let down by the US government. “I’ve never felt so betrayed by my country,” Claver-Carone told Reuters, saying he had never been told by the bank’s legal counsel what to expect from the investigative process. “I have yet to have anybody talk to me in the bank, let alone my own government.” US Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, and a Mexican official who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the experiment of appointing someone from outside Latin America had failed, and that leadership of the bank should now return to the region. Read More…

McConnell Calls Democrat Kyrsten Sinema ‘the Most Effective First-Term Senator’ – Deltaplex News https://digitalalabamanews.com/mcconnell-calls-democrat-kyrsten-sinema-the-most-effective-first-term-senator-deltaplex-news/ (WASHINGTON) — Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Monday doubled down on her controversial support for the filibuster and displayed her unconventional friendship with Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell during a speech hosted by the Republican in his home state of Kentucky. Speaking at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, Sinema reiterated her stance that the Senate should continue passing legislation under a 60-vote threshold, clarifying that she hopes to resurrect the filibuster for “everything,” including all judicial and executive branch nominees. That move would almost guarantee that the 50-50 Senate would block nearly all of President Joe Biden’s appointments. “I committed to the 60-vote threshold, it’s been an incredibly unpopular view. I actually think we should restore the 60 vote threshold for the areas in which it has been eliminated already,” the moderate Democrat said during her speech on “The Future of Political Discourse and the Importance of Bipartisanship.” “It would make it harder for us to confirm judges. It would make it harder for us to confirm executive appointments in each administration. But I believe by restoring, we’d actually see more of that middle ground in all parts of our governance which is what I believe our forefathers intended.” Sinema has over the past two years been the outlier among fellow Democratic senators who have attempted to pass legislation in a tied Senate, remaining steadfast in her allegiance to the filibuster rule despite mounting criticism. Her main argument against eliminating the filibuster was that doing so might turn the Senate into the House — a lower chamber without the longstanding Senate rule. “The trouble with that is …the House with elections every two years, representing a smaller group of voters by each House, they really represent the passions of the moment in the political spectrum,” she said, noting the impending midterm elections just over a month and a half away. Sinema is not yet up for reelection for another term. “Control changes between the House and the Senate every couple of years, it’s likely to change again, in just a few weeks … The Senate was designed to be a place that moves slowly to cool down those passions, to think more strategically and long term about the legislation before us.” Ahead of her remarks, Sinema was called “the most effective first term senator I’ve seen in my time in the Senate,” by McConnell, who has served 37 years in the chamber and is poised to break records for leadership longevity. His selection of Sinema for the bipartisan speaking series means the Arizonan is now part of a longstanding list of political heavyweights, including Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Biden while he was vice president and Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state. “She is today what we have too few of in the Democratic Party, a genuine, moderate, and a dealmaker,” McConnell said, noting with particular reverence her dedication to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold rule. “It took one hell of a lot of guts for Kyrsten Sinema to stand up and say, ‘I’m not going to break the institution in order to achieve a short-term goal,”” he said, noting her departure from the Democrats’ desire to lower the threshold. McConnell also said that former President Donald Trump “would harangue me on virtually a weekly basis,” about the same idea. He also applauded Sinema’s involvement in moving forward bipartisan legislation — a role she has enjoyed as one of the few swing votes in the 50-50 Senate. “Kyrsten has been right in the middle of, if not the principal leader, in getting us to an outcome in a highly partisan time, on infrastructure on school safety, mental health, postal reform, that ships bill you name it, every single thing that we’ve been able to work together on,” McConnell said. Sinema, too, touted her friendship with the top Republican during her speech. “At first glance, Sen. McConnell and I have relatively little — or some could even say nothing — in common,” she said. “For starters, he drinks bourbon, I drink wine. He’s from the Southeast and I’m from the great Southwest. He wears suits and ties, and I wear dresses and these fierce sneakers. Perhaps most obviously, we come from opposing political parties.” “But despite our apparent differences, Sen. McConnell and I have forged a friendship — one that is rooted in our commonalities, including our pragmatic approach to legislating, our respect for the Senate as an institution, our love for our home states and a dogged determination on behalf of our constituents.” Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read More…

Auburn University Reports First Case Of Monkeypox https://digitalalabamanews.com/auburn-university-reports-first-case-of-monkeypox/ This image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles… This image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue) .(NIAID via AP, File) by: Elizabeth White Posted: Sep 26, 2022 / 06:45 PM CDT Updated: Sep 26, 2022 / 06:45 PM CDT This image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles… This image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue) .(NIAID via AP, File) by: Elizabeth White Posted: Sep 26, 2022 / 06:45 PM CDT Updated: Sep 26, 2022 / 06:45 PM CDT AUBURN, Ala. (WRBL) – The first reported case of monkeypox at Auburn University was confirmed over the weekend. A local doctor reported an Auburn University student tested positive for monkeypox. The student is isolating outside of the Auburn area and close contacts have been identified and notified.  The AU Medical Clinic and the Alabama Department of Health will continue to monitor the case. According to the CDC, monkeypox is a disease that can cause flu-like symptoms and a rash. Symptoms can include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, headache, muscle aches and backache. Those who have been exposed to monkeypox will usually experience symptoms within three weeks of exposure to the virus. The flu-like symptoms will begin first with a rash developing within one to four days. The CDC reports monkeypox can spread through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact, including: Direct contact with monkeypox rash, scabs, or body fluids from a person with monkeypox. Touching objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding, or towels), and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox. Contact with respiratory secretions. If the University receives any other monkeypox confirmations, those identified as close contacts will be notified and given information and instructions. The Alabama Department of Health is overseeing the distribution of the monkeypox vaccine through local health departments. Individuals who are considered high risk may want to get vaccinated.  The AU Medical Clinic advises anyone who experiences monkeypox symptoms to make an appointment with the clinic or to contact their own health provider. TRENDING STORIES Read More…