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AP Sports SummaryBrief At 8:37 P.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-sports-summarybrief-at-837-p-m-edt/ Rodgers throws for 2 TDs, Packers hold off Brady, Bucs 14-12 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and the Green Bay Packers withstood a late rally led by Tom Brady to hold off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 14-12 victory on Sunday. Rodgers tossed TD passes of 5 yards to Romeo Doubs and 6 yards to Allen Lazard on his team’s first two possessions, while the Bucs’ offense sputtered much of the day. Brady finally got the Bucs into the end zone on a 1-yard pass to Russell Gage, capping a 90-yard drive with 14 seconds remaining. Tampa Bay’s bid to force overtime with a 2-point conversion was thwarted, first by a delay-of-game penalty and then an incomplete pass. AP Top 25: Vols, Wolfpack join top 10; Florida State returns Tennessee and North Carolina State have broken into the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll. Florida State is back in the rankings for the first time in four years. Georgia remained No. 1 and received 55 of 63 first-place votes in the Top 25. No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Clemson all held their places. Oklahoma’s upset loss to Kansas State created room for teams to move up, like No. 6 Southern California and No. 7 Kentucky. Tennessee moved up three to No. 8. Oklahoma State remained at nine and North Carolina State jumped to No. 10. Dolphins halt Allen, survive ‘butt punt’ to beat Bills MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins’ defense stopped Josh Allen and the Bills at the goal line late, then held again after punter Thomas Morstead bizarrely kicked the ball off a teammate and out of bounds for a safety in a 21-19 win over Buffalo. Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins improved to 3-0 in an AFC East thriller that ended with Allen and the Bills attempting to spike the ball near midfield, the clock just running out on their chance to try a long-distance, go-ahead field goal. Tagovailoa briefly left the game in the second quarter, returning after halftime despite appearing to be disoriented by a head injury. Allen also may have been injured, heading to the X-ray room after the game. AP source: NFL, NFLPA reviewing Tagovailoa’s quick return MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — A person with knowledge of the matter said after the game that there will be a joint review by the NFL and the National Football League Players Association of what went into the decision to allow Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to return to a game despite what was called a head injury. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because that probe was not revealed publicly. Tagovailoa briefly left Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills after hitting the back of his head on the turf. The real issue apparently was his back. He wound up missing the Dolphins’ last three offensive snaps of the first half, then was back on the field for the start of the second half. Don Mattingly won’t be back as Marlins manager in 2023 MIAMI (AP) — Don Mattingly will not be back as manager of the Miami Marlins next year. He made the announcement toward the end of his seventh season with the club. Mattingly’s contract expires when the season ends and he and the team have agreed that a mutual parting is best for both sides. He is Miami’s all-time leader in managerial wins. Spieth goes 5-0 as Americans rule Presidents Cup again CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Presidents Cup stays with the Americans, just like it always does. The Americans finished off a five-point victory. Jordan Spieth capped off a perfect week at Quail Hollow by going 5-0. His match helped set the tone for the Americans. The International team already was depleted by players who defected to Saudi-funded LIV Golf and were not eligible. It still showed plenty of fight. It just doesn’t have a cup to show for it. The Americans won for the ninth straight time, and their only loss was in 1998 since the matches began in 1994. Just call them champions, young Guardians win AL Central ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The young Cleveland Guardians finished what they started. Rookie Steven Kwan hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs as the Guardians beat the Texas Rangers 10-4 to clinch the AL Central. Baseball’s youngest team, the Guardians have won seven straight and gone 18-3 since being tied for first on Sept. 4. It’s Cleveland’s first division title since 2018 and it came in the team’s first season after changing its name from Indians to Guardians. Manager Terry Francona was in the middle of a chaotic celebration in the clubhouse. It was a personal triumph for the 63-year-old who battled serious health problems the past two years. Manny Machado hits 31st homer, Padres beat Rockies, 13-6 DENVER (AP) — Manny Machado and Brandon Drury hit back-to-back home runs in a five-run eighth inning, Wil Myers also went deep, and the San Diego Padres beat Colorado 13-6 in the Rockies’ final home game of the season. Jake Cronenworth tripled and drove in three runs and Juan Soto, Jurickson Profar and Luis Campusano had two hits each for the Padres. San Diego kept its hold on the second NL wild card and increased its lead on Milwaukee to three games. The Brewers lost 2-1 to Cincinnati Sunday and trail Philadelphia by two games for the final wild card. Patriots QB Jones leaves with leg injury after 3rd pick FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Mac Jones hopped off the field after his third interception of the game against the Baltimore Ravens, unable to put any weight on his left leg. He went straight to the locker room. The Patriots quarterback was unavailable to the media after the game and could be unavailable to the team for next week’s game against the Green Bay Packers. The Patriots confirmed that Jones had a leg injury. New England’s backup QB is 36-year-old Brian Hoyer. Justin Herbert starts for Chargers despite rib injury INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Quarterback Justin Herbert is expected to start for the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars after being questionable all week due to a rib injury. Herbert fractured rib cartilage on a hard hit from Kansas City defensive lineman Michael Danna during the fourth quarter of a game Sept. 15. He has 34 consecutive regular-season starts, seventh among active quarterbacks, according to Sportradar. The third-year quarterback was limited Wednesday and went through most of his usual workload on Thursday before sitting out Friday’s practice. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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U.S. Warns Russia Of ‘Catastrophic Consequences’ If It Uses Nuclear Weapons https://digitalalabamanews.com/u-s-warns-russia-of-catastrophic-consequences-if-it-uses-nuclear-weapons/ The comments by the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, illustrate how quickly the rhetoric has intensified as Russia has faltered on the battlefield in recent months. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, this month. American intelligence officials say they still believe the chances that nuclear weapons will be used in the conflict are low.Credit…Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times Sept. 25, 2022, 8:00 p.m. ET WASHINGTON — President Biden’s national security adviser said on Sunday that the United States had warned Russia that there would be “catastrophic consequences” for the country if Moscow used nuclear weapons in its increasing desperation to hold on to territory in Ukraine, adding that in recent days the United States has “spelled out” how the world would react in private conversations with Russian officials. The adviser, Jake Sullivan, repeated the comments several times in three Sunday television interviews, though he left deliberately vague whether those consequences would be military, economic or diplomatic. Officials were quick to say they still had not seen any movement in Russia’s stockpile of 2,000 or so small tactical weapons — which can be launched from a short- or medium-range missile — despite President Vladimir V. Putin’s threats in a televised address last week that “this is not a bluff.” But Mr. Sullivan’s use of the word “catastrophic” as a deliberately ambiguous warning of a major — if almost certainly non-nuclear — response to a Russian nuclear detonation illustrated how quickly the rhetoric has intensified as Russia has faltered on the battlefield in recent months. In late May, Mr. Biden wrote a guest essay in The New York Times in which he said that “any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict on any scale would be completely unacceptable to us as well as the rest of the world and would entail severe consequences.” American intelligence officials say they still believe the chances that nuclear weapons will be used in the conflict are low. But they believe those chances are significantly higher than they were in February and March because Mr. Putin has lost confidence in the ability of his ground troops to hold territory, much less take over Ukraine. Mr. Sullivan is a longtime student of nuclear escalation risks, and he has been walking a fine line between orchestrating repeated warnings to the Russians and avoiding statements that could prompt Moscow to raise the stakes, perhaps by beginning to move weapons toward the border in a menacing show of seriousness. He indicated as much on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “We have communicated to the Russians what the consequences would be,” Mr. Sullivan said, “but we’ve been careful in how we talk about this publicly, because from our perspective we want to lay down the principle that there would be catastrophic consequences, but not engage in a game of rhetorical tit for tat.” The White House declined to say who in Russian leadership the officials had communicated with, or to characterize the Russian response. But even before Mr. Putin issued his latest threats last week, the White House and the Pentagon had quietly engaged in detailed tabletop exercises, senior officials say, to think through how the United States and its allies might react to a variety of provocations. Those varied from a detonation over the Black Sea by Mr. Putin to the actual use of a weapon against a Ukrainian target. The first of those would be more akin to a North Korean nuclear test, intended as a warning shot. The second would be the first use of a nuclear weapon against a population since the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. For months, administration officials have said they could think of almost no circumstances in which a nuclear detonation by Russia would result in a nuclear response. But there has been discussion of several non-nuclear military responses — using conventional weapons, for example, against a base or unit from which the attack originated, or giving the Ukrainian forces the weaponry to launch that counterattack. In the minds of many officials, any use of nuclear weapons would require a forceful military response. But many of the options under discussion also involve nonmilitary steps, casting Mr. Putin as an international pariah who broke the nuclear taboo for the first time in 77 years. It would be a chance, some officials say, to bring China and India, along with much of Asia and Africa, into the effort to impose sanctions on Russia, cutting off some of the biggest markets that remain for its oil and gas. Mr. Putin’s nuclear threats have hung over the war from its opening days, when he publicly ordered that nuclear forces be placed on a heightened alert status. (There is no evidence it ever happened.) More recently the shelling, apparently by Russian forces, of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has raised the specter of deliberately turning a commercial facility into a potential dirty bomb. Shelling near the plant has continued in recent days, though the reactors have now been shut down, lowering the risk of a runaway nuclear accident. On Wednesday, for the first time in more than six months, Mr. Putin revived his nuclear threats, saying he could use all arms available to him in the war — remarks interpreted by officials in both Russia and the West as a veiled threat about the use of nuclear weapons. “If Russia feels its territorial integrity is threatened, we will use all defense methods at our disposal, and this is not a bluff,” he said. “Those who are trying to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the winds can also turn in their direction.” Mr. Sullivan said in several interviews that he was taking Mr. Putin’s nuclear threats seriously — saying at one point that the United States was preparing for “every contingency” in the conflict and working to deter Russia from using nuclear weapons. “We do have the capacity to speak directly at senior levels and be clear about our messages to them,” he said, adding: “Russia understands very well what the United States would do in response to nuclear weapons use in Ukraine because we have spelled it out for them.” On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Sullivan said there would be announcements in the coming days of new economic sanctions from the Group of 7 nations against Russia — including on Russian entities operating in other countries — in response to Moscow’s “sham” referendums in portions of Ukraine it is occupying. The voting, which ends early this week, is widely believed to be a pretext for Russia to annex those territories. “We’ve been clear: We’re not going to stop or slow down our support to the Ukrainians, no matter what Putin tries to do with these fake elections and fake referenda and annexation,” Mr. Sullivan said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.” Ukrainian and Western officials believe that the rushed voting would open the door for Mr. Putin to claim that Kyiv’s defensive war was an attack on Russian territory. On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine reiterated that annexation by Moscow would scuttle any fleeting hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. Mr. Sullivan put it even more bluntly, citing plunging Russian troop morale and shortages of precision-guided weapons. “What we are seeing are signs of unbelievable struggle among the Russians,” Mr. Sullivan said. “You’ve got low morale, where the soldiers don’t want to fight. And who can blame them because they want no part of Putin’s war conquest.” He continued: “You’ve got Russia disorganized and losing territory to a capable Ukrainian force. And you’ve got a huge amount of infighting among the Russian military leadership. And now the blame game has started to include these replacements.” Eric Schmitt contributed reporting. Read More…

LinkedIn Ran Social Experiments On 20 Million Users Over Five Years https://digitalalabamanews.com/linkedin-ran-social-experiments-on-20-million-users-over-five-years/ A study that looked back at those tests found that relatively weak social connections were more helpful in finding jobs than stronger social ties. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Researchers examined changes that LinkedIn had made to its “People You May Know” algorithm to test what sociologists call the “strength of weak ties.”Credit…Sundry Photography/Alamy By Natasha Singer Natasha Singer, a business reporter at The New York Times, teaches a tech accountability journalism course at The Times’s summer program for high school students. Published Sept. 24, 2022Updated Sept. 25, 2022, 7:13 p.m. ET LinkedIn ran experiments on more than 20 million users over five years that, while intended to improve how the platform worked for members, could have affected some people’s livelihoods, according to a new study. In experiments conducted around the world from 2015 to 2019, Linkedin randomly varied the proportion of weak and strong contacts suggested by its “People You May Know” algorithm — the company’s automated system for recommending new connections to its users. Researchers at LinkedIn, M.I.T., Stanford and Harvard Business School later analyzed aggregate data from the tests in a study published this month in the journal Science. LinkedIn’s algorithmic experiments may come as a surprise to millions of people because the company did not inform users that the tests were underway. Tech giants like LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, routinely run large-scale experiments in which they try out different versions of app features, web designs and algorithms on different people. The longstanding practice, called A/B testing, is intended to improve consumers’ experiences and keep them engaged, which helps the companies make money through premium membership fees or advertising. Users often have no idea that companies are running the tests on them. (The New York Times uses such tests to assess the wording of headlines and to make decisions about the products and features the company releases.) But the changes made by LinkedIn are indicative of how such tweaks to widely used algorithms can become social engineering experiments with potentially life-altering consequences for many people. Experts who study the societal impacts of computing said conducting long, large-scale experiments on people that could affect their job prospects, in ways that are invisible to them, raised questions about industry transparency and research oversight. “The findings suggest that some users had better access to job opportunities or a meaningful difference in access to job opportunities,” said Michael Zimmer, an associate professor of computer science and the director of the Center for Data, Ethics and Society at Marquette University. “These are the kind of long-term consequences that need to be contemplated when we think of the ethics of engaging in this kind of big data research.” The study in Science tested an influential theory in sociology called “the strength of weak ties,” which maintains that people are more likely to gain employment and other opportunities through arms-length acquaintances than through close friends. The researchers analyzed how LinkedIn’s algorithmic changes had affected users’ job mobility. They found that relatively weak social ties on LinkedIn proved twice as effective in securing employment as stronger social ties. In a statement, Linkedin said during the study it had “acted consistently with” the company’s user agreement, privacy policy and member settings. The privacy policy notes that LinkedIn uses members’ personal data for research purposes. The statement added that the company used the latest, “non-invasive” social science techniques to answer important research questions “without any experimentation on members.” LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, did not directly answer a question about how the company had considered the potential long-term consequences of its experiments on users’ employment and economic status. But the company said the research had not disproportionately advantaged some users. The goal of the research was to “help people at scale,” said Karthik Rajkumar, an applied research scientist at LinkedIn who was one of the study’s co-authors. “No one was put at a disadvantage to find a job.” Sinan Aral, a management and data science professor at M.I.T. who was the lead author of the study, said LinkedIn’s experiments were an effort to ensure that users had equal access to employment opportunities. “To do an experiment on 20 million people and to then roll out a better algorithm for everyone’s jobs prospects as a result of the knowledge that you learn from that is what they are trying to do,” Professor Aral said, “rather than anointing some people to have social mobility and others to not.” (Professor Aral has conducted data analysis for The New York Times, and he received a research fellowship grant from Microsoft in 2010.) Experiments on users by big internet companies have a checkered history. Eight years ago, a Facebook study describing how the social network had quietly manipulated what posts appeared in users’ News Feeds in order to analyze the spread of negative and positive emotions on its platform was published. The weeklong experiment, conducted on 689,003 users, quickly generated a backlash. The Facebook study, whose authors included a researcher at the company and a professor at Cornell, contended that people had implicitly consented to the emotion manipulation experiment when they had signed up for Facebook. “All users agree prior to creating an account on Facebook,” the study said, “constituting informed consent for this research.” Critics disagreed, with some assailing Facebook for having invaded people’s privacy while exploiting their moods and causing them emotional distress. Others maintained that the project had used an academic co-author to lend credibility to problematic corporate research practices. Cornell later said its internal ethics board had not been required to review the project because Facebook had independently conducted the study and the professor, who had helped design the research, had not directly engaged in experiments on human subjects. Image Whether most LinkedIn members understand that they could be subject to experiments that may affect their job opportunities is unknown.Credit…Linkedin The LinkedIn professional networking experiments were different in intent, scope and scale. They were designed by Linkedin as part of the company’s continuing efforts to improve the relevance of its “People You May Know” algorithm, which suggests new connections to members. The algorithm analyzes data like members’ employment history, job titles and ties to other users. Then it tries to gauge the likelihood that a LinkedIn member will send a friend invite to a suggested new connection as well as the likelihood of that new connection accepting the invite. For the experiments, LinkedIn adjusted its algorithm to randomly vary the prevalence of strong and weak ties that the system recommended. The first wave of tests, conducted in 2015, “had over four million experimental subjects,” the study reported. The second wave of tests, conducted in 2019, involved more than 16 million people. During the tests, people who clicked on the “People You May Know” tool and looked at recommendations were assigned to different algorithmic paths. Some of those “treatment variants,” as the study called them, caused LinkedIn users to form more connections to people with whom they had only weak social ties. Other tweaks caused people to form fewer connections with weak ties. Whether most LinkedIn members understand that they could be subject to experiments that may affect their job opportunities is unknown. LinkedIn’s privacy policy says the company may “use the personal data available to us” to research “workplace trends, such as jobs availability and skills needed for these jobs.” Its policy for outside researchers seeking to analyze company data clearly states that those researchers will not be able to “experiment or perform tests on our members.” But neither policy explicitly informs consumers that LinkedIn itself may experiment or perform tests on its members. In a statement, LinkedIn said, “We are transparent with our members through our research section of our user agreement.” In an editorial statement, Science said, “It was our understanding, and that of the reviewers, that the experiments undertaken by LinkedIn operated under the guidelines of their user agreements.” After the first wave of algorithmic testing, researchers at LinkedIn and M.I.T. hit upon the idea of analyzing the outcomes from those experiments to test the theory of the strength of weak ties. Although the decades-old theory had become a cornerstone of social science, it had not been rigorously proved in a large-scale prospective trial that randomly assigned people to social connections of different strengths. The outside researchers analyzed aggregate data from LinkedIn. The study reported that people who received more recommendations for moderately weak contacts generally applied for and accepted more jobs — results that dovetailed with the weak-tie theory. In fact, relatively weak contacts — that is, people with whom LinkedIn members shared only 10 mutual connections — proved much more productive for job hunting than stronger contacts with whom users shared more than 20 mutual connections, the study said. A year after connecting on LinkedIn, people who had received more recommendations for moderately weak-tie contacts were twice as likely to land jobs at the companies where those acquaintances worked compared with ...

Semipro Football: Red & Black Pounds Pride, Moves Into EFL Title Game https://digitalalabamanews.com/semipro-football-red-black-pounds-pride-moves-into-efl-title-game/ Powered by Watertown Daily Times and Northern New York Newspapers 56° Cloudy Watertown, NY (13601) Today Cloudy with occasional rain late. Rainfall locally heavier in lake-effect prone areas. Low 53F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain late. Rainfall locally heavier in lake-effect prone areas. Low 53F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Updated: September 25, 2022 @ 6:33 pm Full Forecast WATERTOWN — Credit Curtis Dukes and the Watertown Red and Black with delivering a complete effort on both sides of the ball in its playoff opener Saturday night. By generating another dominant win, the Red and Black will return to the Empire Football League title game. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Johnson Newspapers 7.1 Chris Fitz Gerald Author email Post a comment as anonymous Welcome to the discussion. Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don’t Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don’t knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the ‘Report’ link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We’d love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article. Read More…

Va. Delegates In Primary Fight Head To Court After Shoving Accusation https://digitalalabamanews.com/va-delegates-in-primary-fight-head-to-court-after-shoving-accusation/ Two southwestern Virginia GOP delegates pitted against one another in recent redistricting had harsh words for one another Sunday after one pressed charges against the other for an alleged “shoulder slamming” at a regional Republican fundraiser. Delegates Marie March (R-Floyd) and Wren Williams (R-Patrick) were elected last fall, but now the state’s redistricting plan earlier this year has them facing off. Next year they’ll face each other in a primary for voters in Carroll, Floyd and Patrick counties. According to the lawmakers, they were at the annual 9th District Republican Celebration Saturday night in Wytheville. As Williams and his wife were exiting the party, through a group of people, his body touched March’s. He said it was accidental and that he didn’t even realize it was March, and that he apologized immediately. She said he intentionally bumped her and had been picking fights with friends of hers at the event all night. The event space was “massive” with lots of big rooms and empty spaces. “When he saw me, he kind of stomped over into this group of people until he could body slam me on the way out. He didn’t need to be within 30 feet of me. It was a bully tactic,” she said. “He kind of turned around and realized how bad it looked, and he goes, ‘Uh sorry,’ under his breath and kind of ran out the door,” March told The Washington Post. After the event, she said, police took her to a magistrate’s office to fill out a criminal complaint. In the case of an alleged misdemeanor, if the police don’t witness it, the citizens lodge the complaint, Lt. Bryan Bard of the Wytheville police told The Post. The complaint, a copy of which is in the Cardinal News — which covers Southern and Southwestern Virginia and reported the incident — alleges “my opponent intentionally pushed/shoulder slammed into me in front of a large group of people.” The complaint includes a court hearing for Nov. 21 in Wytheville. Michael Brame, March’s legislative aide, told The Post he was a few feet away Saturday night and that the moment followed “escalating bullying” by Williams. “He had interjected himself into several conversations. He would step in and give a very aggressive statement that wasn’t pertinent,” Brame said. On his way out of the event, Williams “in my belief deliberately bumped into her … She wasn’t harmed. It knocked her off-balance but didn’t knock her down. There is a considerable disparity in size” between the two lawmakers. In an interview, Williams called March “dangerous” and said he and his wife had wanted to avoid her that night because he believes she looks for situations to distort for political advantage. “This has been brewing for a long time.” “I think she is using this as a political hit job. This is a stunt because she has burned bridges and has no shot in continuing to represent these people,” he said. “This goes beyond politics. She has a pure hatred for anyone who crosses her. I can’t get over the fact that she would go to this extreme.” Wytheville police spoke to both delegates at the event, Bard said. Williams, a lawyer, won an upset primary victory in early 2021 against seven-term Del. Charles Poindexter, in part by sticking very closely to former president Donald Trump. Wren worked for Trump’s legal team challenging the vote count in Wisconsin. Then last fall he won three-quarters of the votes in his heavily-conservative region against a Democratic newcomer to politics. March, whose family conducts concealed-carry classes in their barbecue restaurants, won in an open seat, and attracted media attention after attending the rally on the Mall called by Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. Read More…

U.S. Will Press Iran On Nuclear Program As It Tries To Support Protesters: White House Official https://digitalalabamanews.com/u-s-will-press-iran-on-nuclear-program-as-it-tries-to-support-protesters-white-house-official/ The U.S. can continue nuclear talks with Iran even as Washington pushes back on Tehran’s crackdown on massive protests in the Middle Eastern country, a top White House official said Sunday. “The fact that we are in negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program is in no way impacting our willingness and our vehemence in speaking out about what is happening on the streets of Iran,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Last week, President Biden voiced solidarity with Iranian protesters who have taken to the streets since a 22-year-old woman died after being arrested for wearing her hijab too loosely. At least 11 people have died during the unrest. Sullivan noted the U.S. has sanctioned members of the notorious “morality police” responsible for enforcing Iran’s religious laws and has “taken steps to make it easier for Iranians to be able to get access to the internet and access to communications technologies.” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (Andrew Harnik/AP) But the U.S. will continue to seek a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear program, he said. After former President Donald Trump killed the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, the Biden administration has offered to lift punishing sanctions on the country if it stops trying to develop nukes. “We’re talking about diplomacy to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon. If we can succeed in that effort — and we are determined to succeed in that effort — the world America and our allies will be safer,” Sullivan said. “And that will not stop us in any way from pushing back and speaking out on Iran’s brutal repression of its citizens and its women. We can and will do both.” In this Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, protesters make fire and block the street during a protest over the death of a woman who was detained by the morality police, in downtown Tehran, Iran. Iranians saw their access to Instagram, one of the few Western social media platforms still available in the country, disrupted on Wednesday following days of the mass protests. (AP Photo) (AP) Sullivan also talked Russia on Sunday. “We have communicated directly, privately, at very high levels to the Kremlin, that any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the United States and our allies will respond decisively,” he said. With News Wire Services Read More…

Giorgia Meloni Set To Be Italy's Most Far-Right Prime Minister Since Mussolini — Exit Poll https://digitalalabamanews.com/giorgia-meloni-set-to-be-italys-most-far-right-prime-minister-since-mussolini-exit-poll/ (CNN)Italy will be led by the most far-right government since the fascist era of Benito Mussolini, early exit polls suggest. An alliance of far-right parties, led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party — whose origins lie in post-war fascism — were on track to win between 41 and 45% of the vote in Sunday’s general election, according to data from the Rai exit pollster Piepoli. The ultra-conservative Brothers of Italy party looks likely to win between 22 and 26% of the vote, with coalition partners the League, led by Matteo Salvini, taking between 8.5 and 12.5% and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia scoring between 6 and 8% of the vote. As the leader of a far-right coalition, Meloni, a 45-year-old Euroskeptic firebrand, is now set to become Italy’s first female prime minister. Final results are expected early Monday. Meloni’s party has seen an astronomical rise in popularity in recent years, having won just 4.5% of the vote in the last elections, in 2018. Their popularity underscores Italy’s longstanding rejection of mainstream politics, seen most recently with the country’s support of anti-establishment parties such as the Five Star Movement and Salvini’s League. Celebrating the early results on Sunday evening, Salvini said on Twitter, “Center-right in clear advantage both in the House and in the Senate! It will be a long night, but already now I want to say THANK YOU.” Meloni, a 45-year-old mother from Rome who has campaigned under the slogan “God, country and family,” leads a party whose agenda is rooted in Euroskepticism, anti-immigration policies, and one that has also proposed curtailing LGBTQ and abortion rights. The center-left coalition, led by the left-wing Democratic Party and centrist party +Europe are set to win between 25.5% and 29.5% of the vote, while former prime minister Giuseppe Conte’s bid to revive the Five Star Movement appeared to have been unsuccessful, taking just 14 to 17% of the vote. Sunday’s snap national election was triggered by party infighting that saw the collapse of Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government in July. Voters headed to the polls amid a number of new regulations, with voting hours also contained to one day rather than two. Other changes included a younger voting age for the Senate and a reduction in the number of seats to elect — down from 685 seats to 400 in the Senate and from 315 to 200 in the lower House of Parliament. That parliament is scheduled to meet on October 13, at which point the head of state will call on party leaders to decide on the shape of the new government. The buildup to the election was dominated by hot-button issues including Italy’s cost-of-living crisis, a 209-billion euro package from the European Covid-19 recovery fund and the country’s support for Ukraine. Meloni differs from coalition partner leaders Berlusconi and Salvini on a number of issues, however, including Ukraine, and has no connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin, unlike the pair, who have said they would like to review sanctions against Russia because of their impact on the Italian economy. Meloni has instead been steadfast in her support for defending Ukraine. The incoming prime minister — the sixth in just eight years — will be tasked in tackling those challenges, with soaring energy costs and economic uncertainty among the country’s most pressing. And while Meloni is slated to make history as Italy’s first female prime minister, her politics do not mean that she is necessarily interested in advancing women’s rights. Emiliana De Blasio, adviser for diversity and inclusion at LUISS University in Rome told CNN Meloni is “not raising up at all questions on women’s rights and empowerment in general.” Sunday’s results come as other far-right parties in other European countries have marked recent gains, including the rise in Sweden’s anti-immigration party, Sweden Democrats — a party with neo-Nazi roots — who are expected to play a major role in the new government after winning the second largest share of seats at a general election earlier this month. And in France, while far-right ideologue Marine Le Pen lost the French presidential election to Emmanuel Macron in April, her share of the popular vote shifted France’s political center dramatically to the right. Read More…

Next Jan. 6 Hearing May Be 'more Sweeping,' Schiff Says, As Committee Weighs Criminal Referral https://digitalalabamanews.com/next-jan-6-hearing-may-be-more-sweeping-schiff-says-as-committee-weighs-criminal-referral/ Ahead of what could be their final investigative hearing, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, members of the House Jan. 6 committee on Sunday offered a small preview of what is to come as they rapidly approach the end of their timeline. “We’re not disclosing yet what the focus will be. I can say that, as this may be the last hearing of this nature — that is, one that is focused on sort of the factual record — I think it’ll be potentially more sweeping than some of the other hearings,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But it too will be in very thematic,” he said of the hearing. “It will tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election. And the public will certainly learn things it hasn’t seen before, but it will also understand information it already has in a different context by seeing how it relates to other elements of this plot.” After the committee’s vice-chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, said Saturday that she believes the group will move forward unanimously, Schiff agreed and went a bit further when asked if there was going to be an unanimous criminal referral made about the former president’s conduct. (Trump has repeatedly said he did nothing wrong and cast the committee, which includes two Republicans, as partisan.) “It will be … my recommendation, my feeling, that we should make referrals,” Schiff said. “But we will get to a decision as a committee, and we will all abide by that decision, and I will join our committee members if they feel differently.” Cheney has also said the committee received around 800,000 pages of communications from the Secret Service in response to a subpoena. Members of the committee said Sunday they are still going through that information. While the provided materials are not a substitute for the Jan. 6-related messages that were deleted, they offer some additional context, according to Schiff. “We are still investigating how that came about [the deleted messages] and why that came about. And I hope and believe the Justice Department, on that issue, is also looking at whether laws were broken in the destruction of that evidence,” Schiff said on CNN. “But we do have a mountain of information that we need to go through. But I think it’s fair to say that it won’t be a complete substitute for some of the most important evidence, which would have been on those phones.” Rep. Adam Schiff answers audience questions about his role in the January 6th Committee and other obligations in the U.S. House at the Saturday morning sessions of the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texsas, Sept. 24, 2022. Bob Daemmrich/ZumaPress Asked about former committee adviser Denver Riggleman’s recent suggestion that “the White House switchboard had connected to a rioter’s phone” during the attack on the Capitol last year — and if he viewed such a development as significant to the investigation — Schiff downplayed the comment. “I can’t comment on the particulars. I can say that each of the issues that Mr. Riggleman raised during the period he was with the committee, which ended quite some time ago, we looked into. And one of the things that has given our committee credibility is we’ve been very careful about what we say, not to overstate matters,” Schiff said, adding, “Without the advantage of the additional information we’ve gathered since he left the committee, it poses real risks to be suggesting things. So, we have looked into all of these issues.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and was asked about the likelihood that the Jan. 6 committee will have testimony from Ginni Thomas and Newt Gingrich before Wednesday’s hearing. “I doubt that. But I think that there is an agreement in place with Ginni Thomas to come and talk and I know the committee is very interested,” Raskin said, referring to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, a noted conservative activist who was in touch with Trump’s team as he pushed to overturn the 2020 results. Raskin said that those testimonies — once they are given — will be included in the committee’s final report if the hearings have already concluded. He was also asked if that report will be finished by the midterm elections. “I don’t know whether it will be done then, but our commitment is to get it done by the end of this Congress [by January],” Raskin said. “The House of Representatives, unlike the Senate, ends every two years. A completely new Congress comes in. So that’s the end of our lease on life and we have to get it out to the people.” Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in Wilmington, N.C., Sept. 23, 2022. Chris Seward/AP Pressed further on the amount of work still left for them to do, Raskin pledged that the committee will “make sure our materials are made public and available for the future, and we’re going to preserve them. We’re not going to allow them to be destroyed.” The committee chair, Bennie Thompson, told reporters last week that the hearings were wrapping up. “Unless something else develops, this hearing, at this point, is the final hearing. But it’s not in stone because things happen,” Thompson, D-Miss., said then. He promised “substantial footage” of the riot and “significant witness testimony” that hadn’t previously been released. Read More…

Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions: Week 4 https://digitalalabamanews.com/bowl-projections-college-football-playoff-predictions-week-4/ The bowl projections get weirder than ever for three reasons. First, who’s going to be there from the Group of Five who’ll be worthy of a New Year’s Six bowl spot? Second, there are going to be way too many eligible teams, and third, who the heck is that fourth team going to be in the College Football Playoff? It’s a snapshot of what this all might be, along with an added bowl to handle the overflow. 2022-2023 conference bowl tie-ins Bowl Projections: Week 4 Bowl Projections: Week 4 2022-2023 Bowl Projections, Part 2 | New Year’s Six College Football Playoff Prediction CFN Week 4 Rankings 1-131 Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak All Times Eastern HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl Friday, December 16, 2022 11:30 am, ESPN Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas Last Year: Middle Tennessee 31, Toledo 24 Bowl Ties: Conference USA vs MAC Bowl Projection: UAB vs Eastern Michigan Duluth Trading Cure Bowl Friday, December 16, 2022 3:00, ESPN Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL Last Year: Coastal Carolina 47, Northern Illinois 41 Bowl Ties: Group of Five vs Group of Five or Army Bowl Projection: Tulane vs Troy Wasabi Fenway Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 11:00 am, ESPN Fenway Park, Boston, MA Last Year: Canceled Bowl Ties: ACC vs American Athletic (Conference USA) Bowl Projection: Wake Forest vs UCF Cricket Celebration Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 12:00, ABC Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA Last Year: South Carolina State 31, Jackson State 10 Bowl Ties: MEAC vs SWAC Bowl Projection: North Carolina Central vs Jackson State New Mexico Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 2:15, ESPN Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, NM Last Year: Fresno State 31, UTEP 24 Bowl Ties: Mountain West vs AAC, C-USA, MAC or Sun Belt Bowl Projection: Air Force vs Middle Tennessee Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 3:30, ABC SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA Last Year: Canceled Bowl Ties: Mountain West vs Pac-12 Bowl Projection: Fresno State vs UCLA LendingTree Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 5:45, ESPN Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA Last Year: Liberty 56, Eastern Michigan 20 Bowl Ties: MAC vs Sun Belt (C-USA) Bowl Projection: Toledo vs South Alabama SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 7:30, ABC Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV Last Year: Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 13 Bowl Ties: Pac-12 vs SEC Bowl Projection: Washington State vs LSU Frisco Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 9:15, ESPN Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX Last Year: San Diego State 38, UTSA 24 Bowl Ties: Group of Five vs Group of Five or Army Bowl Projection: Houston vs UNLV Myrtle Beach Bowl Monday, December 19, 2022 2:30, ESPN Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC Last Year: Tulsa 30, Old Dominion 17 Bowl Ties: C-USA, MAC, Sun Belt Bowl Projection: Appalachian State vs BYU Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Tuesday, December 20, 2022 3:30 ESPN Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID Last Year: Wyoming 52, Kent State 38 Bowl Ties: MAC vs Mountain West Bowl Projection: Miami University vs Boise State RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Tuesday, December 20, 2022 7:30, ESPN FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL Last Year: WKU 59, Appalachian State 38 Bowl Ties: Group of Five vs Group of Five Bowl Projection: Marshall vs Florida Atlantic R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Wednesday, December 21, 2022 9:00, ESPN Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA Last Year: Louisiana 36, Marshall 21 Bowl Ties: Conference USA vs Sun Belt Bowl Projection: Louisiana Tech vs Coastal Carolina Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Thursday, December 22, 2022 7:30, ESPN Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX Last Year: Army 24, Missouri 22 Bowl Ties: American Athletic vs Conference USA (Big 12, Pac-12) Bowl Projection: Tulsa vs UTSA Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Friday, December 23, 2022 TBA, ESPN Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL Last Year: UAB 31, BYU 28 Bowl Ties: American Athletic vs Army Bowl Projection: SMU vs Army Union Home Gasparilla Bowl Friday, December 23, 2022 TBA, ESPN Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL Last Year: UCF 29, Florida 17 Bowl Ties: ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC (AAC, C-USA) Bowl Projection: South Carolina vs Texas Tech Frisco Football Classic* Thursday, December 23, 2022 TBA, ESPN Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX Last Year: Miami University 27, North Texas 14 Bowl Ties: None Bowl Projection: Kansas vs San Jose State *We’re making the call that once again there will be too many available bowl teams, so – this is a projection – ESPN will revive the Frisco Football Classic to get a Big 12 team in against an available Mountain West squad. Easyport Hawaii Bowl Saturday, December 24, 2022 8:00, ESPN Clarence TC Ching Complex, Honolulu, HI Last Year: Canceled Bowl Ties: Conference USA vs Mountain West Bowl Projection: WKU vs Wyoming Bowl Projections: Week 4 2022-2023 Bowl Projections, Part 2 | New Year’s Six College Football Playoff Prediction CFN Week 4 Rankings 1-131 More Bowl Projections After Week 4: NEXT Read More…

“From Lens To Land” Photo Contest Runs Through October 17 https://digitalalabamanews.com/from-lens-to-land-photo-contest-runs-through-october-17/ Public invited to capture the beauty of Alabama’s National Forests in “From Lens to Land” photo contest in celebration of National Public Lands Day MONTGOMERY, AL – September 20, 2022 —-The USDA Forest Service is kicking-off the National Public Lands Day (NPLD) celebration with a “From Lens to Land” photography contest on September 24, 2022. The public is invited to use their camera lens to capture the natural beauty and ways people are connecting to Alabama’s national forests – Bankhead, Conecuh, Talladega, and Tuskegee. Please visit our website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/news/alabama/news-events/?cid=4254 for contest rules. NPLD is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer event for public lands. Established in 1994 and held annually on the 4th Saturday in September, thousands of volunteers come out to help restore and improve public lands around the country. NPLD is also a “Fee-Free Day”—1 out of 5 days per year when entrance fees are waived at national parks and other public lands. On Public Lands Day, whether you decide to volunteer or enjoy a day of hiking, camping, or fishing – share your pictures of how you engage with nature to honor the wonderful gift of public lands with the U.S. Forest Service. The “From Lens to Land” photo contest runs from September 24 – October 17, 2022. The first-place winner will have their winning photo featured on the National Forests in Alabama website and social media accounts. The winner will also receive a complimentary day pass to any location within the National Forests in Alabama of their choice (excluding concessionaire ran sites). Submit your photograph(s), up to three total, taken at one of the four national forests in Alabama to SM.FS.pa_alabama@usda.gov for a chance to win. Forest Service personnel judge each photo entry. The winners will be announced on the National Forests in Alabama’s Facebook, Twitter pages and website on October 24, 2022. Top three finalists will receive Smokey the Bear Memorabilia Read More…

The Megastate G.O.P. Rivalry Between Abbott And DeSantis https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-megastate-g-o-p-rivalry-between-abbott-and-desantis/ Political Memo Publicly, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has not criticized the migrant flights from his state by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. Privately, the Florida governor’s stunt stung the Texas governor’s team. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, left, and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas in 2021 in Del Rio, Texas.Credit…Office of the Texas Governor Sept. 25, 2022Updated 5:42 p.m. ET AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida wanted to irritate a set of wealthy, liberal elites when he flew migrants to Martha’s Vineyard from Texas, delivering them a slice of the humanitarian crisis simmering along the nation’s southern border. But Mr. DeSantis’s stunt also annoyed an entirely different group — fellow Republicans in Austin, including some of the allies and aides of Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas. Publicly, Mr. Abbott has not criticized Mr. DeSantis’s migrant flights from his state. “Every state that wants to help, I’m happy for it,” said Dave Carney, Mr. Abbott’s top campaign strategist. But privately, the Florida governor’s gambit stung Mr. Abbott’s team. No one in the Texas governor’s office was given a heads-up that Mr. DeSantis planned to round up migrants in San Antonio, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Abbott had spent months — and millions of state tax dollars — methodically orchestrating a relocation program that, since April, had bused 11,000 migrants to Washington, New York and Chicago. Mr. DeSantis’s adaptation was considerably smaller. But it immediately put the national spotlight on Mr. DeSantis, garnering headlines and earning him praise from Republicans and condemnation from Democrats. It also led to an investigation by the sheriff in San Antonio and a lawsuit from migrants who said they had been lured onto the planes under false pretenses. Mr. DeSantis grabbed the attention of right-wing America, using Mr. Abbott’s tactic, on Mr. Abbott’s turf, to bigger and more dramatic effect. Image Members of the media gathering in Edgartown, Mass., after the arrival of migrants from San Antonio.Credit…Matt Cosby for The New York Times Mr. DeSantis’s instinct for political theater has helped him quickly turn into Republicans’ leading alternative to former President Donald J. Trump. Even Texas Republicans tell pollsters that they prefer Mr. DeSantis over Mr. Abbott for president in 2024. The two Republican governors have been locked in an increasingly high-stakes contest of one-upmanship, wielding their own unique brands of conservatism and pushing boundaries by using desperate migrants for political gain. In Florida, Mr. DeSantis mused to donors last year about Mr. Abbott’s good political fortune to share 1,254 miles of border with Mexico and complained that he didn’t have the same to use as a backdrop, according to one person familiar with the conversation. For all the bluster, the war between Austin and Tallahassee is decidedly more cold than hot. Yet, the two governors’ policy moves antagonizing the Biden administration and the Democratic Party as a whole have been unfolding as an interstate call and response, with national repercussions. In August 2020, Mr. Abbott proposed legislation to punish cities in Texas that took funding away from police departments by preventing them from raising more property tax revenue. The following month, Mr. DeSantis went further, saying he would seek to cut state funding from municipalities that defunded the police. In February of this year, Mr. Abbott ordered state officials to open child-abuse investigations into medically accepted treatments for transgender youth, including hormones and puberty-suppressing drugs. Last month, Mr. DeSantis said doctors who “disfigure” young people with gender-affirming care should be sued. In June 2021, on the first day of Pride Month, Mr. DeSantis signed a bill into law that barred transgender girls from playing on female sports teams at public schools. Mr. Abbott followed suit with a similar measure that October. The competition between Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Abbott has more to do with their job descriptions than any personal animosity. Governors elected to lead megastates like Florida and Texas — two of America’s three largest states that accounted for 15 percent of the Republican presidential vote in 2020 — are automatically injected into the national political arena, where they are sized up and watched closely for signs of White House ambitions. “Love Florida. Love Texas. Love Florida more,” Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor with deep familial ties to Texas, said when asked about the rivalry between the two states. When Rick Scott was the governor of Florida and Rick Perry was the governor of Texas, the two Ricks shared a bromance even as both eyed the White House. From Florida, Mr. Scott spoke glowingly of his counterpart’s record of luring businesses. In Texas, Mr. Perry admired his rival’s refusal to accept federal stimulus money for railroads or to expand Medicaid. Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Abbott have lacked such camaraderie. Their brinkmanship has played out against the backdrop of their re-election bids. Both men are seeking additional four-year terms while facing challenges by well-known Democrats in contests that could help determine their presidential aspirations and the direction of the Republican Party for years to come. “No one has ever been elected governor of even a small state who didn’t, somewhere deep in their heart, start dreaming about being president,” said Chris Wilson, a pollster who has worked for both men. “So it’s not shocking to see both Abbott and DeSantis jockeying at least a little toward 2024 or beyond.” Mr. Abbott is the more institutional politician. He faced no opposition in his first primary election for attorney general in 2002, and was effectively unopposed inside the party when he ran to succeed Mr. Perry as governor in 2014. He has worked to maintain ties with business groups, social conservatives and fellow Republican governors. A former Texas Supreme Court justice, he is a rather lawyerly governor. Mr. DeSantis is more instinctual. He emerged from a six-way Republican primary in his first race for the House of Representatives in 2012. He was viewed as an underdog in the 2018 governor’s primary until he became separated from the pack, thanks to an endorsement — and constant promotion — from Mr. Trump. A former lawyer for the Navy at Guantánamo Bay, he is more pugilistic than judicial. Image Both Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Abbott are running for re-election this year and face challenges by well-known Democrats. Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times Still, Mr. DeSantis has positioned himself as something of a political loner. He has eschewed events coordinated by the tight-knit Republican Governors Association. Instead of joining a group of current and former Republican governors on the campaign trail this year to support fellow incumbents, Mr. DeSantis embarked on his own victory lap, promoting the migrant flights during campaign stops with Republican candidates for governor in Kansas and Wisconsin. Those events were organized not by the Republican Governors Association, but by Turning Point USA, a group of younger and more provocative conservative activists close to Mr. Trump and his family. In Tallahassee, the migrant flights had been discussed for more than a year and had, at one point, centered on relocating the migrants to the Hamptons, the popular Long Island destination for wealthy New Yorkers, according to people familiar with the talks. Initially, the proposal caused some division within Mr. DeSantis’s team. The contrasting styles of Mr. Abbott and Mr. DeSantis were on clear display last year in their handling of high-profile election bills. When Mr. Abbott signed a new round of voting restrictions, he traveled to Tyler, the hometown of one of the bill’s chief proponents, and was surrounded by Republican lawmakers, supporters and reporters. When Mr. DeSantis signed his state’s voting restrictions, he, too, was surrounded by fellow Florida Republicans, but the only network that was allowed to cover the event was Fox News, which aired the footage live on its program “Fox & Friends.” Image Mr. Abbott in Tyler, Texas, after signing an election bill last year that restricts voting.Credit…LM Otero/Associated Press The coronavirus pandemic has been a defining moment for both governors. Mr. DeSantis burnished his conservative bona fides by challenging Covid safety guidelines from public health officials. He lifted pandemic restrictions on businesses in Florida in September 2020, earlier than most governors. By contrast, Mr. Abbott found himself clashing with conservatives over the business restrictions and mask mandate that he had ordered. Some donors confronted Mr. Abbott, expressing their disappointment that he was not following Mr. DeSantis’s lead and suggesting that he could lose re-election if he did not move quicker to reopen businesses and return the state to normalcy, according to two Republicans who participated in the meeting. Mr. Abbott eventually lifted restrictions on businesses in March 2021, months after Mr. DeSantis did. “Governor Abbott and Governor DeSantis have a solid working relationship, having worked together on various initiatives through Republican governors organizations,” Renae Eze, Mr. Abbott’s press secretary, said. A spokeswoman for Mr. DeSantis did not respond to requests for comment about his relationship with Mr. Abbott and his remark about the border to donors last year. Last year, after the start of the Biden administration and as migrants arrived at the border in increasing numbers, Mr. Abbott and Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona sought assistance from other states to h...

US Sees Signs Russia Is ‘struggling,’ Has Warned Of Catastrophe If Putin Uses Nuclear Weapon: Sullivan – Deltaplex News https://digitalalabamanews.com/us-sees-signs-russia-is-struggling-has-warned-of-catastrophe-if-putin-uses-nuclear-weapon-sullivan-deltaplex-news/ (NEW YORK) — The U.S. is seeing evidence that Russia is “struggling” in its invasion of Ukraine and has warned Moscow that there would be “catastrophic consequences” if it were to use a nuclear weapon in its war against Kyiv, the White House national security adviser said Sunday. Jake Sullivan, in an interview with ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos, pointed both to the protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization of 300,000 reservists and to what Sullivan called “sham” annexation referendums in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine. “These are definitely not signs of strength or confidence. Quite the opposite: They’re signs that Russia and Putin are struggling badly,” Sullivan said while noting Putin’s autocratic hold on the country made it hard to make definitive assessments from the outside. “It will be the Russian people, ultimately, who make the determination about how Russia proceeds and the extent to which that there is resistance and pushback to what Vladimir Putin has tried to do, calling up these hundreds of thousands of young men,” Sullivan added. “Do you want them to rise up and replace Putin?” Stephanopoulos asked. “At the end of the day, the future of Russian politics is going to be dictated, not by Washington, not by anyone in Europe, but by the people inside Russia,” Sullivan responded. “And what you are seeing in the streets right now is a deep unhappiness with what Putin is doing.” His comments come amid escalating rhetoric from Putin as Russian forces have been forced to cede large swaths of northeast Ukraine while retreating from a Ukrainian counteroffensive this month. Last week, Putin called up reservists and suggested that tactical nuclear weapons could be used to change the course of the war, groundlessly accusing the West of threatening Russia’s territorial integrity. Since before attacking Ukraine in February, Putin has cast the invasion as a matter of Russian national security. “The territorial integrity of our homeland, our independence and freedom will be ensured, I will emphasize this again, with all the means at our disposal. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the prevailing winds can turn in their direction,” Putin said in a speech last week. “I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and some components are more modern than those of the NATO countries,” Putin added. On “This Week,” Sullivan declined to explain precisely what warnings have been communicated between Russia and the U.S. but he said that there would be dire repercussions if such a weapon were used. “We have communicated directly, privately, to the Russians at very high levels that there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia if they use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. We have been clear with them and emphatic with them that the United States will respond decisively alongside our allies and partners,” Sullivan said. “So that means taking the fight directly to Russia?” Stephanopoulos asked. Sullivan demurred: “We’ve been careful in how we talk about this publicly because, from our perspective, we want to lay down the principle that there would be catastrophic consequences but not engage in a game of rhetorical tit-for-tat.” Stephanopoulos also asked Sullivan if protests in Iran over the death of a woman who was not adhering to the country’s strict female dress code would be enough to topple the government in Tehran. “The United States … hasn’t necessarily over many decades had a great track record of perfectly predicting when protests turn into political change, and I can’t perfectly predict that sitting here today. What I can say is they do reflect a deep-seated and widespread belief among the population of Iran, the citizens abroad, the women of Iran, that they deserve their dignity and their rights,” Sullivan said. Stephanopoulos pressed, given the Iranian government’s actions, if the Biden administration should continue seeking to revive the Obama-era nuclear deal which President Donald Trump scrapped. Conservatives have repeatedly criticized those efforts. Sullivan said that the White House feels diplomacy and political pressure can go hand-in-hand. “The fact that we are in nuclear talks is in no way slowing us down from speaking out and acting on behalf of the people of Iran,” he said. “We’re not going to slow down one inch in our defense and advocacy for the rights of the women and citizens of Iran.” Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read More…

Trump Can’t ‘declassify Documents By Saying So,’ GOP Sen. Barrasso Acknowledges When Pressed – Deltaplex News https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-cant-declassify-documents-by-saying-so-gop-sen-barrasso-acknowledges-when-pressed-deltaplex-news/ (NEW YORK) — After Donald Trump suggested last week that as president “you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it,” Republican Wyoming Senator John Barrasso disagreed — but only after George Stephanopoulos pressed him on the issue twice on ABC’s “This Week.” During an interview on Sunday, Barrasso was asked by Stephanopoulos about Trump’s handling of classified material, which is under federal investigation as Trump denies wrongdoing. Trump claimed to Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week that while “different people see different things,” his view of this authority was absolute: “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified. Even by thinking about it.” Stephanopoulos asked if Barrasso agreed. The senator said that he had not heard about such an assertion and pivoted to criticizing the Department of Justice’s court-authorized search of Mar-a-Lago. Barrasso said that he had “never seen anything like that before,” referring to the FBI “raid” Trump’s home, and that it had “become political.” Stephanopoulos pushed back: “You know that a president can’t declassify documents by thinking about it. Why can’t you say so?” The senator, who also said that he isn’t versed in the rules of presidential declassification and wants to get a briefing from the DOJ on the investigation, then agreed with Stephanopoulos. He said, “I don’t think a president can declassify documents by saying so, by thinking about it.” That view lines up with what outside experts have told ABC News: The president must document his declassification process somewhere, whatever his process was. Barrasso spent much of his “This Week” appearance pushing back on President Joe Biden’s foreign policy, including addressing the potential revival of the 2015 nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran. Stephanopoulos opened up the interview by having Barrasso respond to Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser. Sullivan was also interviewed on “This Week” on Sunday and said nuclear negotiations — so Iran never has a weapon “they can threaten the world with” — could be effective at the same time the White House was putting public pressure on the country over its treatment of women and protesters. “Did you find his argument convincing for staying in the Iran nuclear talks?” Stephanopoulos asked Barrasso. “No deal with Iran, George, is a good deal … They continue to claim ‘death to America.’ We cannot allow them to have a nuclear weapon,” Barrasso said. Stephanopoulos also sought clarity from Barrasso on the GOP and Ukraine. Citing criticism of American’s continued aid to Ukraine by some Republicans, like Ohio Senate nominee J.D. Vance, Stephanopoulos asked Barrasso if Democrats were right to warn that the GOP may restrict future support if they retake Congress. “No. There continues to be bipartisan support in the House and in the Senate for weapons to Ukraine,” Barrasso said. He said he wanted the White House to be quicker in providing weapons to Ukraine and said “we ought to be producing more American energy to help our European allies” and American consumers who are dealing with the fallout of the conflict with Russia, a major energy provider. Stephanopoulos asked Barrasso, just as he asked Sullivan: “Do you believe that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s hold on power is secure?” “I’m not sure,” Barrasso, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said. “He is in a deep hole right now and he’s dug this hole. And I thought his statement to the country there really was desperate. It didn’t show really confidence or strength.” “The Foreign Relations Committee is going to have a hearing this Wednesday on what additional things we can do in terms of sanctions [on Russia],” Barrasso said. “And also we have a secure briefing on Thursday in the Senate to take a look right at what’s happening on the ground in Ukraine.” Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read More…

Weekly Top Reads: Tubman Mural Unveiled In Auburn, New Traffic Light In Aurelius https://digitalalabamanews.com/weekly-top-reads-tubman-mural-unveiled-in-auburn-new-traffic-light-in-aurelius/ Weekly top reads: Tubman mural unveiled in Auburn, new traffic light in Aurelius The Citizen’s top 10 most-read stories of the week.  ‘Culture of care’: Weedsport trucking company expands with wellness, training facilities A few years ago, Page Trucking had to take its foot off the gas. The Weedsport company, founded by Keith and Debra Titus in the mid-1970s, was growing too fast. Now owned and operated by their children, Piper and Dan Titus, the company went from $12 million in revenue when they bought it in the mid-2000s to $100 million in 2018. But with that revenue came “really expensive mistakes,” Piper told The Citizen on Wednesday, and it wasn’t healthy. “We realized we weren’t approaching safety correctly. People were getting hurt,” she said. “We were working harder and making less money, and it was stressing everyone out.” The costs of worker’s compensation and equipment repair continued to increase until 2020. After a computer virus forced the company offline for several weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S. in March. For months, half of Page’s clients told the company they couldn’t accommodate trucks. So the Tituses took the opportunity to bring their business into the body shop. They didn’t just want to make Page more profitable, said Piper, the company’s chief financial officer. They wanted to reimagine trucking in a new way — one their competitors may not be willing to. “This industry historically runs hard, but that isn’t how it has to be,” she said. “We want to say to drivers, you don’t have to work 70 hours a week. This job doesn’t have to suck your life.” The result of those repairs is a $12 million new building and several new facilities spanning that building and Page’s longtime one on Trombley Road, just off Route 34 and New York State Thruway Exit 40. The company will host a grand opening celebration for its workforce of 220 on Saturday. The building opened a year ago, but the celebration was delayed due to COVID-19. The main part of the new building is an eight-bay heavy duty repair facility. About 8,500 square feet, it boasts a state-of-the-art exhaust system that limits exposure to fumes. There is also plenty of natural light, which Titus said was intended to give Page’s mechanics peace of mind. A bridge across the top of the shop, meanwhile, allows people to watch repairs from a safe distance.  With that space and light, employee wellness was an emphasis of the new facility. It’s even more of an emphasis at Page’s new $2 million Driver Care Center, which opened in the company’s old building. The facility is for Page’s 350 drivers, many of whom are over-the-road, and offers them sleeping rooms, bathrooms, a movie room, a kitchen, a living room and a quiet room. “Most of these guys’ trucks are mobile homes on wheels. This way they can get a shower that’s not at a truck stop,” Piper said. “It helps reinforce our message to our drivers that they’re our priority.” The needs of other employees influenced the facilities as well. A new quiet room is available for all who need it, but Piper noted it should be particularly helpful for nursing mothers tired of having to use a bathroom. Page’s office is staffed by more than 60% women, she added. For mechanics, the fact they’re often covered in grease was considered when designing facilities like the kitchen. The company’s old building is also the site of new training facilities, including a Department of Labor diesel mechanic apprenticeship lab. The lab is halfway done, Titus said. Page hopes to create mechanics, drivers and more trucking professionals, and not necessarily for its own workforce. In that respect, Titus sees the company as having “an opportunity to be stewards of the business.” Titus said Page has already met two of three job creation requirements of a $1.2 million state grant it is receiving through the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council to support the new facilities. Similarly, she has already seen the benefits of the company’s new “culture of care” since starting to implement it a few years ago. With programs like profit sharing and budgeting resources helping them financially and the new facilities helping them physically and mentally, Page employees feel safer talking about change, she said, if only because they’ve seen it there firsthand. “We see the trajectory for giving individuals and ultimately families the ownership to chart their own course,” she said. “To have the job be enriching, not just an exchange of services.” Gallery: New facilities at Page Trucking in Weedsport The repair facility at Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen The repair facility at Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen The kitchen in the Driver Care Center at Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Bathrooms in the Driver Care Center at Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen A sleeping room in the Driver Care Center at Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen The movie room in the Driver Care Center at Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Page Trucking in Weedsport. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Auburn football blitzed at home by West Genesee AUBURN — From the first play from scrimmage, West Genesee’s plan against Auburn was clear.  At that point, it was just about executing said plan. Unfortunately for the Maroons, the Wildcats did just that.  Auburn fell to West Genesee 52-14 on Thursday at Holland Stadium. The loss drops the Maroons’ record to .500 (2-2).  Through three games, the Maroons’ most effective form of offense was the rushing attack led by tailback Kemauri Perry. Knowing this, the Wildcats’ focus was geared toward taking Auburn out of its comfort zone. On the Maroons’ first offensive play of the night, the Wildcats had all 11 players on defense within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. It remained that way for much of the first half, as West Genny dared Auburn to abandon its running game. Though the Maroons tried to mix in some play-action passes, those efforts were blown up by the Wildcats’ timely pass rush.  West Genny was so effective with its game plan that Auburn did not run an offensive play in its opponent’s territory the entire first half. “It was real tough. We have young offensive linemen and we can’t replicate that in practice,” Auburn coach Dave Moskov said. “We knew what they were gonna do but couldn’t stop it. They were all over us and took us out of anything we were trying to establish. “We still wanted to establish our ground game even though we knew they’d be packed in. We struggled to establish the pass because they were blitzing off the corners and we couldn’t pick it up. They were just all over us.” To make matters worst, two of the Wildcats’ first three possessions started deep in Auburn territory. The Maroons were unable to punt the ball away multiple times, which set up short fields for West Genny.  The advantageous situation set up Francisco Cross for a hat trick of touchdowns in the first quarter alone, which put West Genesee ahead 20-0 after 12 minutes.  The Maroons did receive a boost on the final play before halftime. From their own 49, quarterback Mac Maher tossed a throw down the right sideline to DeSean Strachan who made the catch and reached the end zone untouched.  That score trimmed the Wildcats’ lead to 33-6 midway through.  The same pair hooked up early in the fourth quarter for Auburn’s second touchdown of the game, when Maher threw a pass to the left flat that Strachan extended 35 yards for the score.  Those were two bright spots in an otherwise dim evening. Moskov hopes that aspect of the game will continue to grow and force opposing defenses to play honestly.  “That’s what we’ve gotta build on and just try to get more consistent with that,” Moskov said. “We’ve been one-dimensional. We have to continue to work on it and get better. It’s coming along but it’s not a straight-line progress.” An additional challenge was the schedule quirk of playing on a Thursday night, instead of the typical Friday.  Thursday and Saturday games are more prevalent this season in Section III, due to an officials shortage that prevents most games from being played under the lights on Fridays.  This West Genesee tilt was Auburn’s first Thursday game of the season, and another awaits next week at Carthage.  For creatures of routine, one day less of practice makes a major difference.  “It was a short week and it matters. You lose a day of practice and that affects you,” Moskov said. “Would it have changed the outcome tonight? Probably not, but with this team we want to practice as much as possible. We’ll get back with the team and watch film tomorrow and practice Saturday, so we should be more on track with our regular schedule.” Gallery: Auburn football takes one on the chin against West Genesee at Holland Stadium Auburn’s star running back Kemauri Perry reacts on the sideline after leaving the game with an injury to his ankle against West Genesee at Holland stadium. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Auburn’s DeSean Strachan, 8, looks down at the coin toss against West Genesee at Holland stadium. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Auburn quarterback Mac Maher hands off to Kemauri Perry against West Genesee at Holland stadium. Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen Auburn quarterback Mac Maher, left, f...

US Forecast https://digitalalabamanews.com/us-forecast-41/ City/Town, State;Yesterday’s High Temp (F);Yesterday’s Low Temp (F);Today’s High Temp (F);Today’s Low Temp (F);Weather Condition;Wind Direction;Wind Speed (MPH);Humidity (%);Chance of Precip. (%);UV Index Albany, NY;64;54;69;50;A shower;S;9;71%;86%;2 Albuquerque, NM;83;57;81;58;Partly sunny;SE;5;37%;26%;6 Anchorage, AK;53;39;49;42;An afternoon shower;SSE;6;79%;95%;1 Asheville, NC;74;53;72;46;Mostly sunny;NNW;8;57%;17%;6 Atlanta, GA;81;62;80;54;Sunny and delightful;NNW;9;51%;2%;6 Atlantic City, NJ;75;63;76;59;Breezy;SW;14;55%;24%;5 Austin, TX;97;73;94;62;Breezy and hot;NNE;14;33%;2%;7 Baltimore, MD;80;63;79;59;Breezy in the a.m.;W;11;45%;14%;5 Baton Rouge, LA;95;72;91;61;Mostly sunny;NNE;8;57%;5%;7 Billings, MT;77;53;80;52;Sunshine, pleasant;E;8;36%;3%;4 Birmingham, AL;84;62;80;53;Sunny and nice;N;8;52%;4%;6 Bismarck, ND;68;41;72;42;Partly sunny, nice;N;6;45%;2%;4 Boise, ID;83;55;87;58;Mostly sunny, warm;ENE;7;21%;0%;4 Boston, MA;69;61;75;58;An afternoon shower;SSW;11;60%;51%;3 Bridgeport, CT;72;59;74;56;Sunny intervals;SW;11;60%;25%;3 Buffalo, NY;64;55;59;54;Windy with showers;W;19;82%;100%;1 Burlington, VT;59;55;68;52;A couple of showers;S;11;78%;90%;1 Caribou, ME;66;50;63;52;Downpours;S;6;87%;96%;1 Casper, WY;74;41;78;41;Sunny and beautiful;ENE;7;36%;5%;5 Charleston, SC;83;71;88;66;Sunny and warm;WSW;7;61%;44%;6 Charleston, WV;77;55;72;48;Variable cloudiness;SSW;8;56%;18%;4 Charlotte, NC;75;58;81;53;Mostly sunny, nice;NW;6;54%;9%;6 Cheyenne, WY;70;46;76;47;Sunny and nice;NNW;10;28%;3%;5 Chicago, IL;69;53;63;49;Windy;NW;20;56%;13%;5 Cleveland, OH;67;56;63;54;Windy with showers;W;19;76%;99%;1 Columbia, SC;86;64;88;56;Mostly sunny, nice;NW;7;51%;8%;6 Columbus, OH;70;53;66;49;Breezy;NW;18;53%;34%;4 Concord, NH;64;54;70;48;An afternoon shower;SW;8;72%;51%;2 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX;96;67;87;62;Plenty of sunshine;NNE;10;28%;0%;6 Denver, CO;76;49;81;52;Mostly sunny;NE;5;26%;4%;5 Des Moines, IA;75;48;68;47;Mostly sunny, breezy;NW;14;45%;0%;5 Detroit, MI;67;52;61;50;A couple of showers;W;19;74%;94%;1 Dodge City, KS;78;49;83;54;Mostly sunny;SE;7;40%;1%;5 Duluth, MN;66;47;58;40;Breezy in the a.m.;NNW;13;62%;5%;4 El Paso, TX;89;68;86;64;Partly sunny;ESE;10;45%;11%;6 Fairbanks, AK;53;34;46;35;Rain and drizzle;NNE;4;80%;95%;0 Fargo, ND;67;41;63;40;Partly sunny;ENE;8;60%;0%;4 Grand Junction, CO;82;51;83;54;Mostly sunny;ESE;6;29%;3%;5 Grand Rapids, MI;62;52;58;48;Brief showers, windy;NW;19;82%;96%;1 Hartford, CT;71;57;74;54;A t-storm around;SSW;9;64%;48%;3 Helena, MT;78;48;81;49;Mostly sunny, warm;SW;4;44%;0%;4 Honolulu, HI;87;75;89;75;Breezy in the p.m.;ENE;12;60%;14%;9 Houston, TX;96;75;92;66;Mostly sunny and hot;NE;9;49%;5%;7 Indianapolis, IN;69;53;67;47;Partly sunny, breezy;WNW;14;49%;28%;5 Jackson, MS;93;68;85;56;Sunshine, not as hot;NNE;8;42%;5%;6 Jacksonville, FL;89;70;91;73;Mostly sunny, warm;SSE;6;64%;36%;7 Juneau, AK;56;51;59;52;Rain, heavy at times;S;17;88%;100%;0 Kansas City, MO;80;51;74;50;Sunny and nice;WNW;9;41%;0%;5 Knoxville, TN;78;54;76;47;Sunny and nice;W;8;55%;15%;5 Las Vegas, NV;98;70;99;74;Sunny and hot;NW;5;11%;0%;6 Lexington, KY;78;55;71;47;Partly sunny, breezy;W;14;45%;14%;5 Little Rock, AR;93;59;84;54;Sunny and pleasant;N;8;36%;0%;6 Long Beach, CA;89;69;88;70;Warm with sunshine;S;6;56%;0%;6 Los Angeles, CA;89;69;94;70;Sunny and hot;SE;7;48%;0%;6 Louisville, KY;78;56;72;48;Sunny and breezy;WNW;13;42%;12%;5 Madison, WI;64;49;59;42;Breezy;NW;15;62%;7%;4 Memphis, TN;93;62;83;55;Sunny and nice;N;9;35%;0%;6 Miami, FL;90;79;85;77;A couple of t-storms;SE;8;81%;100%;2 Milwaukee, WI;66;52;63;46;Windy;NW;19;58%;22%;4 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN;70;49;62;43;Partly sunny, breezy;NNW;14;48%;1%;4 Mobile, AL;93;73;92;63;Warm with some sun;N;7;63%;30%;7 Montgomery, AL;90;67;82;57;Sunny and less humid;N;7;62%;10%;6 Mt. Washington, NH;40;38;41;33;Very windy;SW;33;98%;88%;1 Nashville, TN;86;55;76;47;Sunny and pleasant;NNW;8;42%;9%;5 New Orleans, LA;92;79;91;70;Clouds and sun;NNE;9;59%;15%;7 New York, NY;73;60;74;58;Breezy;SW;14;55%;21%;4 Newark, NJ;72;58;74;54;Clouds and sun;SW;10;54%;36%;3 Norfolk, VA;87;65;84;61;Mostly sunny;W;9;46%;19%;5 Oklahoma City, OK;87;57;83;57;Plenty of sunshine;SE;8;35%;0%;6 Olympia, WA;80;49;84;48;Mostly sunny;SSW;2;56%;3%;4 Omaha, NE;78;46;72;47;Mostly sunny;NNW;11;46%;0%;5 Orlando, FL;90;75;90;75;A stray p.m. t-storm;E;5;70%;75%;6 Philadelphia, PA;77;60;76;56;Breezy;WSW;13;50%;17%;5 Phoenix, AZ;103;79;104;82;Sunny and hot;E;7;23%;16%;6 Pittsburgh, PA;72;55;67;49;A shower or two;W;12;59%;85%;2 Portland, ME;65;57;68;55;A shower in the p.m.;SSW;11;77%;63%;2 Portland, OR;87;55;87;55;Sunlit and very warm;N;5;49%;3%;4 Providence, RI;70;60;73;56;An afternoon shower;SSW;10;64%;52%;3 Raleigh, NC;81;61;81;55;Sunshine, pleasant;NW;7;51%;13%;5 Reno, NV;85;54;86;56;Sunny and warm;WSW;6;28%;0%;5 Richmond, VA;84;59;80;53;Partly sunny, nice;NW;9;50%;17%;5 Roswell, NM;91;61;85;58;Partly sunny;SSW;7;38%;5%;6 Sacramento, CA;94;62;93;58;Sunny and very warm;S;5;42%;0%;5 Salt Lake City, UT;82;57;84;58;Sunny;ESE;7;30%;0%;5 San Antonio, TX;95;73;94;63;Breezy and very warm;NE;15;50%;3%;7 San Diego, CA;78;68;80;68;Lots of sun, humid;WNW;9;68%;0%;6 San Francisco, CA;69;59;72;58;Clouds, then sun;WSW;11;65%;0%;5 Savannah, GA;86;68;90;65;Warm with sunshine;SSW;5;63%;34%;6 Seattle-Tacoma, WA;77;54;80;55;Clouding up;N;5;54%;3%;4 Sioux Falls, SD;74;44;70;44;Partly sunny;NE;10;44%;0%;4 Spokane, WA;81;47;85;48;Mostly sunny;E;1;43%;0%;4 Springfield, IL;76;49;67;42;Sunny and breezy;WNW;13;47%;0%;5 St. Louis, MO;78;52;71;47;Sunny and nice;WNW;12;40%;2%;5 Tampa, FL;93;75;89;75;A stray p.m. t-storm;SSE;5;76%;91%;7 Toledo, OH;66;50;61;48;Windy with a shower;W;18;72%;84%;2 Tucson, AZ;98;74;97;74;Hot;ESE;12;33%;32%;7 Tulsa, OK;87;55;83;54;Plenty of sun;ENE;6;35%;0%;5 Vero Beach, FL;88;75;88;74;Humid with a t-storm;SE;7;81%;98%;5 Washington, DC;78;59;77;55;Partial sunshine;WNW;9;49%;11%;5 Wichita, KS;80;49;81;53;Sunny and beautiful;E;7;35%;0%;5 Wilmington, DE;77;59;76;55;Breezy;WSW;13;53%;15%;5 _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Read More…

US Forecast https://digitalalabamanews.com/us-forecast-42/ City/Town, State;Yesterday’s High Temp (F);Yesterday’s Low Temp (F);Today’s High Temp (F);Today’s Low Temp (F);Weather Condition;Wind Direction;Wind Speed (MPH);Humidity (%);Chance of Precip. (%);UV Index Albany, NY;64;54;69;50;A shower;S;9;71%;86%;2 Albuquerque, NM;83;57;81;58;Partly sunny;SE;5;37%;26%;6 Anchorage, AK;53;39;49;42;An afternoon shower;SSE;6;79%;95%;1 Asheville, NC;74;53;72;46;Mostly sunny;NNW;8;57%;17%;6 Atlanta, GA;81;62;80;54;Sunny and delightful;NNW;9;51%;2%;6 Atlantic City, NJ;75;63;76;59;Breezy;SW;14;55%;24%;5 Austin, TX;97;73;94;62;Breezy and hot;NNE;14;33%;2%;7 Baltimore, MD;80;63;79;59;Breezy in the a.m.;W;11;45%;14%;5 Baton Rouge, LA;95;72;91;61;Mostly sunny;NNE;8;57%;5%;7 Billings, MT;77;53;80;52;Sunshine, pleasant;E;8;36%;3%;4 Birmingham, AL;84;62;80;53;Sunny and nice;N;8;52%;4%;6 Bismarck, ND;68;41;72;42;Partly sunny, nice;N;6;45%;2%;4 Boise, ID;83;55;87;58;Mostly sunny, warm;ENE;7;21%;0%;4 Boston, MA;69;61;75;58;An afternoon shower;SSW;11;60%;51%;3 Bridgeport, CT;72;59;74;56;Sunny intervals;SW;11;60%;25%;3 Buffalo, NY;64;55;59;54;Windy with showers;W;19;82%;100%;1 Burlington, VT;59;55;68;52;A couple of showers;S;11;78%;90%;1 Caribou, ME;66;50;63;52;Downpours;S;6;87%;96%;1 Casper, WY;74;41;78;41;Sunny and beautiful;ENE;7;36%;5%;5 Charleston, SC;83;71;88;66;Sunny and warm;WSW;7;61%;44%;6 Charleston, WV;77;55;72;48;Variable cloudiness;SSW;8;56%;18%;4 Charlotte, NC;75;58;81;53;Mostly sunny, nice;NW;6;54%;9%;6 Cheyenne, WY;70;46;76;47;Sunny and nice;NNW;10;28%;3%;5 Chicago, IL;69;53;63;49;Windy;NW;20;56%;13%;5 Cleveland, OH;67;56;63;54;Windy with showers;W;19;76%;99%;1 Columbia, SC;86;64;88;56;Mostly sunny, nice;NW;7;51%;8%;6 Columbus, OH;70;53;66;49;Breezy;NW;18;53%;34%;4 Concord, NH;64;54;70;48;An afternoon shower;SW;8;72%;51%;2 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX;96;67;87;62;Plenty of sunshine;NNE;10;28%;0%;6 Denver, CO;76;49;81;52;Mostly sunny;NE;5;26%;4%;5 Des Moines, IA;75;48;68;47;Mostly sunny, breezy;NW;14;45%;0%;5 Detroit, MI;67;52;61;50;A couple of showers;W;19;74%;94%;1 Dodge City, KS;78;49;83;54;Mostly sunny;SE;7;40%;1%;5 Duluth, MN;66;47;58;40;Breezy in the a.m.;NNW;13;62%;5%;4 El Paso, TX;89;68;86;64;Partly sunny;ESE;10;45%;11%;6 Fairbanks, AK;53;34;46;35;Rain and drizzle;NNE;4;80%;95%;0 Fargo, ND;67;41;63;40;Partly sunny;ENE;8;60%;0%;4 Grand Junction, CO;82;51;83;54;Mostly sunny;ESE;6;29%;3%;5 Grand Rapids, MI;62;52;58;48;Brief showers, windy;NW;19;82%;96%;1 Hartford, CT;71;57;74;54;A t-storm around;SSW;9;64%;48%;3 Helena, MT;78;48;81;49;Mostly sunny, warm;SW;4;44%;0%;4 Honolulu, HI;87;75;89;75;Breezy in the p.m.;ENE;12;60%;14%;9 Houston, TX;96;75;92;66;Mostly sunny and hot;NE;9;49%;5%;7 Indianapolis, IN;69;53;67;47;Partly sunny, breezy;WNW;14;49%;28%;5 Jackson, MS;93;68;85;56;Sunshine, not as hot;NNE;8;42%;5%;6 Jacksonville, FL;89;70;91;73;Mostly sunny, warm;SSE;6;64%;36%;7 Juneau, AK;56;51;59;52;Rain, heavy at times;S;17;88%;100%;0 Kansas City, MO;80;51;74;50;Sunny and nice;WNW;9;41%;0%;5 Knoxville, TN;78;54;76;47;Sunny and nice;W;8;55%;15%;5 Las Vegas, NV;98;70;99;74;Sunny and hot;NW;5;11%;0%;6 Lexington, KY;78;55;71;47;Partly sunny, breezy;W;14;45%;14%;5 Little Rock, AR;93;59;84;54;Sunny and pleasant;N;8;36%;0%;6 Long Beach, CA;89;69;88;70;Warm with sunshine;S;6;56%;0%;6 Los Angeles, CA;89;69;94;70;Sunny and hot;SE;7;48%;0%;6 Louisville, KY;78;56;72;48;Sunny and breezy;WNW;13;42%;12%;5 Madison, WI;64;49;59;42;Breezy;NW;15;62%;7%;4 Memphis, TN;93;62;83;55;Sunny and nice;N;9;35%;0%;6 Miami, FL;90;79;85;77;A couple of t-storms;SE;8;81%;100%;2 Milwaukee, WI;66;52;63;46;Windy;NW;19;58%;22%;4 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN;70;49;62;43;Partly sunny, breezy;NNW;14;48%;1%;4 Mobile, AL;93;73;92;63;Warm with some sun;N;7;63%;30%;7 Montgomery, AL;90;67;82;57;Sunny and less humid;N;7;62%;10%;6 Mt. Washington, NH;40;38;41;33;Very windy;SW;33;98%;88%;1 Nashville, TN;86;55;76;47;Sunny and pleasant;NNW;8;42%;9%;5 New Orleans, LA;92;79;91;70;Clouds and sun;NNE;9;59%;15%;7 New York, NY;73;60;74;58;Breezy;SW;14;55%;21%;4 Newark, NJ;72;58;74;54;Clouds and sun;SW;10;54%;36%;3 Norfolk, VA;87;65;84;61;Mostly sunny;W;9;46%;19%;5 Oklahoma City, OK;87;57;83;57;Plenty of sunshine;SE;8;35%;0%;6 Olympia, WA;80;49;84;48;Mostly sunny;SSW;2;56%;3%;4 Omaha, NE;78;46;72;47;Mostly sunny;NNW;11;46%;0%;5 Orlando, FL;90;75;90;75;A stray p.m. t-storm;E;5;70%;75%;6 Philadelphia, PA;77;60;76;56;Breezy;WSW;13;50%;17%;5 Phoenix, AZ;103;79;104;82;Sunny and hot;E;7;23%;16%;6 Pittsburgh, PA;72;55;67;49;A shower or two;W;12;59%;85%;2 Portland, ME;65;57;68;55;A shower in the p.m.;SSW;11;77%;63%;2 Portland, OR;87;55;87;55;Sunlit and very warm;N;5;49%;3%;4 Providence, RI;70;60;73;56;An afternoon shower;SSW;10;64%;52%;3 Raleigh, NC;81;61;81;55;Sunshine, pleasant;NW;7;51%;13%;5 Reno, NV;85;54;86;56;Sunny and warm;WSW;6;28%;0%;5 Richmond, VA;84;59;80;53;Partly sunny, nice;NW;9;50%;17%;5 Roswell, NM;91;61;85;58;Partly sunny;SSW;7;38%;5%;6 Sacramento, CA;94;62;93;58;Sunny and very warm;S;5;42%;0%;5 Salt Lake City, UT;82;57;84;58;Sunny;ESE;7;30%;0%;5 San Antonio, TX;95;73;94;63;Breezy and very warm;NE;15;50%;3%;7 San Diego, CA;78;68;80;68;Lots of sun, humid;WNW;9;68%;0%;6 San Francisco, CA;69;59;72;58;Clouds, then sun;WSW;11;65%;0%;5 Savannah, GA;86;68;90;65;Warm with sunshine;SSW;5;63%;34%;6 Seattle-Tacoma, WA;77;54;80;55;Clouding up;N;5;54%;3%;4 Sioux Falls, SD;74;44;70;44;Partly sunny;NE;10;44%;0%;4 Spokane, WA;81;47;85;48;Mostly sunny;E;1;43%;0%;4 Springfield, IL;76;49;67;42;Sunny and breezy;WNW;13;47%;0%;5 St. Louis, MO;78;52;71;47;Sunny and nice;WNW;12;40%;2%;5 Tampa, FL;93;75;89;75;A stray p.m. t-storm;SSE;5;76%;91%;7 Toledo, OH;66;50;61;48;Windy with a shower;W;18;72%;84%;2 Tucson, AZ;98;74;97;74;Hot;ESE;12;33%;32%;7 Tulsa, OK;87;55;83;54;Plenty of sun;ENE;6;35%;0%;5 Vero Beach, FL;88;75;88;74;Humid with a t-storm;SE;7;81%;98%;5 Washington, DC;78;59;77;55;Partial sunshine;WNW;9;49%;11%;5 Wichita, KS;80;49;81;53;Sunny and beautiful;E;7;35%;0%;5 Wilmington, DE;77;59;76;55;Breezy;WSW;13;53%;15%;5 _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Read More…

Letter: Vance Must Decide Whether To Accept Or Disavow QAnon https://digitalalabamanews.com/letter-vance-must-decide-whether-to-accept-or-disavow-qanon/ Poor J.D. Vance. Donald Trump announces that he is going to campaign in Ohio for him. A right-wing Republican’s dream, right? Not so fast. Almost immediately, the wheels start wobbling. They schedule a Trump-Vance rally in Youngstown for Sept. 17, right when the Ohio State Buckeyes were playing their in-state neighbors and patsies Toledo. (A game The Ohio State University won handily.) Then, at the rally, Trump announces: “J.D. is kissing my a***. Of course, he wants my support.” This is not an image that one would want to carry in one’s imagination. More importantly, it suggests that Vance is nothing more than a lackey, who only got the GOP nomination because he was adept at smooching the Boss’s posterior. (Ugh!) But wait, there’s more. As Trump sluggishly pronounces his litany of hellish consequences to a Biden administration, there is music playing. Now, I’ve seen dozens of clips of Trump speaking at his rallies. I’ve never seen one where music competes with his diatribe. I’d have thought that he is too much of an egoist to compete with background music. But this wasn’t just any background music. Numerous news outlets have pointed out the eerie similarity of the tune to the QAnon anthem. (They have an anthem you say? Who knew?) And if there was any doubt, almost immediately, hundreds, maybe thousands of his minions at the rally thrust their arms in the air holding one finger aloft. And no they weren’t giving The Donald “the finger.” That is a QAnon salute, symbolizing their motto, “Where we go one, we go all,” or Wwg1wga, which just happens to be the title of the song that is playing. So, you have the QAnon anthem, the QAnon motto and the QAnon hand salute. Could anything be clearer? If you support QAnon, you support Trump. And vice versa. If I’m Vance’s democratic rival, Tim Ryan, this is where I go for the jugular. Put Vance on the spot: does he accept QAnon’s support in this campaign? Or does he condemn QAnon as a paranoid conspiracy-ridden cult? If he accepts their support, this election campaign is over, IMHO. Joe Gerken Buffalo Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Read More…

'I Love Being With Her': Trump Says In New Book That New York Times Reporter Maggie Haberman Is Like His 'psychiatrist' https://digitalalabamanews.com/i-love-being-with-her-trump-says-in-new-book-that-new-york-times-reporter-maggie-haberman-is-like-his-psychiatrist/ Donald Trump once said New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman was like his “psychiatrist.” Haberman said that while Trump treats many people like his psychiatrists, “almost no one really knows him.” Haberman covered Trump’s presidency extensively and interviewed him for her forthcoming book. Loading Something is loading. Former President Donald Trump said reporter Maggie Haberman was like his “psychiatrist” during one of their interviews, according to Haberman’s new book.  Haberman, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, conducted a series of interviews with Trump for her upcoming book, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.”  “I love being with her, she’s like my psychiatrist,” Trump told his aides during one of their interviews while he gestured to Haberman, according to an excerpt of the book published in The Atlantic.  Haberman wrote that it was an insightful but “meaningless line, almost certainly intended to flatter,” per The Atlantic.  “The reality is that he treats everyone like they are his psychiatrists—reporters, government aides, and members of Congress, friends and pseudo-friends and rally attendees and White House staff and customers. All present a chance for him to vent or test reactions or gauge how his statements are playing or discover how he is feeling,” Haberman wrote, according to the excerpt.  The Times reporter, who covered Trump’s presidency extensively, also wrote that she was often asked to “decipher” Trump’s actions, “but the truth is, ultimately, almost no one really knows him.” “He works things out in real time in front of all of us. Along the way, he reoriented an entire country to react to his moods and emotions,” Haberman wrote, per The Atlantic. “Some know him better than others, but he is often simply, purely opaque, permitting people to read meaning and depth into every action, no matter how empty they might be.” Read More…

Rep. Liz Cheney Says She Won't Vote For Harriet Hageman, The Trump-Endorsed Republican Who Defeated Her In The Wyoming GOP Primary https://digitalalabamanews.com/rep-liz-cheney-says-she-wont-vote-for-harriet-hageman-the-trump-endorsed-republican-who-defeated-her-in-the-wyoming-gop-primary/ Liz Cheney said she would not support Wyoming GOP House nominee Harriet Hageman in the November general election. Hageman, who was backed by Trump and a plethora of national Republicans, defeated Cheney 66%-29%. Cheney during her interview reaffirmed that her fight against election deniers was not over. Loading Something is loading. Rep. Liz Cheney on Saturday said that she would not vote for Harriet Hageman, the water rights attorney who is the new Republican nominee for Wyoming’s at-large congressional district. Hageman, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and a plethora of House Republicans, defeated Cheney in the August GOP primary 66%-29%. During a conversation at The Texas Tribune Festival, Cheney said that Hageman continued to spread debunked theories about the 2020 presidential election and in her opinion should not serve in public office. “Harriet is a member of the Wyoming State Bar and she’s sworn an oath to the Constitution as a member of the Wyoming State Bar,” Cheney told the media organization’s chief executive Evan Smith. “And she continues to make the assertion that somehow the 2020 election was stolen and has said many of the same things that have resulted in people like Rudy Giuliani having their license suspended and I know that she knows better.” “There are many people around this country who are making claims they know not to be true, and I don’t think anybody should vote for any of them,” she added. Cheney also pointed out Kari Lake, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arizona, as a candidate who has continued to question the results of the 2020 election. Lake is currently locked in a tight contest with Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. The congresswoman said that she would work to ensure sure that candidates like Lake are unsuccessful at the ballot box, even if it means campaigning with Democrats. “In this election, you have to vote for the person who actually believes in democracy,” she said. “And that is just crucial, because if we elect election deniers, if we elect people who said that they’re not going to certify results or who are going to try to steal elections, then we really are putting the Republic at risk.” Lake during an appearance on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures” responded to Cheney’s remarks, stating that the Wyoming lawmaker’s comments were a “gift.” “That might be the biggest, best gift I have ever received,” Lake told host Maria Bartiromo. “Liz Cheney probably should change her voter registration. Turns out she really is a Democrat after all,” she added. Read More…

Ian Could Become https://digitalalabamanews.com/ian-could-become/ Tropical Storm Ian was forecast to rapidly gain strength Sunday while racing across the Caribbean toward Cuba and threatening a big hit to Florida’s west coast later in the week. Ian was 540 miles southeast of Cuba early Sunday, cruising northwest at 12 miles an hour with 50 mph winds. The storm was forecast to reach hurricane status late Sunday, then roll across western Cuba Monday night and early Tuesday. As Ian approaches Florida, Accuweather said the storm could reach Category 4 status, which means sustained winds between130 mph and 156 mph. “In just a few days, Ian is likely to be a dangerous, major hurricane,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to load up on food, water, medicine, batteries and fuel. He said it was too soon to determine when or even if Ian will make landfall, but that evacuations may be ordered in coming days. “Expect heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge and even isolated tornadoes. Make preparations now,” he said Sunday. “Anticipate power outages. That is something that is likely to happen with a hurricane of this magnitude.” “Significant” wind and storm surge damage was expected across a wide swath of the Atlantic Basin, and the Cuban government upgraded the hurricane watch to warning. Such storms can cause “catastrophic” damage, with power outages that can last weeks or possibly months, according to the National Weather Service description. Areas can be uninhabitable for weeks or months, the weather service says.  “Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state,” DeSantis said. IAN COULD BE MAJOR HURRICANE SOON: Statewide emergency in Florida declared Storm could drive heavy rains all week Heavy rainfall may affect north Florida, the Florida panhandle and the southeast United States through Saturday, the weather service update said. Flooding and rising area streams and rivers across the region “can’t be ruled out” later this week, especially in central Florida due to already saturated conditions, the updated warned. East coast of Florida not in the clear Though the track had shifted westward, parts of the state’s east coast remained solidly within the edges of Ian’s forecast cone Sunday. Melbourne resident Pat Alderman wasn’t taking any changes, buying ten 50-pound bags of sand, along with 50 empty sandbags, at Lowe’s in West Melbourne to fortify her back patio door against floodwaters. She has a backyard pond, and her soils are saturated with recent rainfall.  Alderman, shopping at Lowe’s on Sunday, said she had a generator and roll-down shutters – no need to board her windows.  “This is from decades of living in Florida,” she said. ‘If you’ve lived here for a while, you need to have all these things. Transplants don’t understand.” In Tampa, stocking up on water and sandbags John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at hurricane center, said Floridians should begin preparations, including gathering supplies for potential power outages, he said. “For those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare,” he said. “I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it’s still time to get your supplies.”  Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said city sandbag sites were open. She urged residents to shop for several days of necessities now and to check family disaster kits and plans. “Are you #TampaReady?” she tweeted. “It’s never too early to prepare.” Residents agreed. Shoppers at a Walmart Supercenter Tampa were stocking up on supplies – and wiped out almost 1,000 cases of bottled water in a few hours Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported.  NASA postpones launch, considers stashing rocket NASA said Sunday that it was monitoring Tropical Storm Ian, but had not determined whether it would roll back the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the protection of the assembly building. The agency said it would “prioritize the agency’s people and hardware.” NASA managers, who canceled a launch set for Tuesday due to the storm, planned to meet Sunday night to evaluate whether to keep the vehicle at the launch pad to preserve an opportunity for a launch attempt on Oct. 2. The latest information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Space Force, and the National Hurricane Center indicated a “slower moving and potentially more westerly track of the storm than yesterday’s predictions showed, providing more time for the agency’s decision making process,” NASA said in a statement. Bethune-Cookman University orders evacuation Bethune-Cookman University canceled classes Monday and said they would reconvene remotely on Tuesday. “As a precaution, and in the interest of safety for members of our campus community, the university has issued a mandatory campus evacuation,” the school said in a statement on its website. The school, a private, historically black university in Daytona Beach, has about 2,750 undergraduate students. The school told its students that their smartphones are “computers” and that they should continue to use their cellphones to keep up with their studies in the event they do not have access to a tablet, laptop or desktop technology. Florida’s west coast could take rare hurricane hit AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that the storm could slam the west coast of Florida – an often-missed target. The U.S. database show that about 160 hurricanes, excluding tropical storms, that have affected Florida. Only 17 have made landfall on the west coast north of the Florida Keys. Most storms typically travel northeast or northwest, not up the coast, AccuWeather senior weather editorJesse Ferrell said. There is no record of a hurricane ever having tracked entirely up the west coast of Florida since records began in 1944. But Ian appears likely to take a “very unusual track,” he said. Florida has had recent storms that were hurricanes, but were downgraded to tropical storms before landfall, Ferrell said. Elsa in 2021 made landfall west of Tampa, and Eta in 2020 made landfall north of Tampa in Cedar Key. Neither had the firepower close to a Category 3 storm, however. DeSantis declares statewide state of emergency Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a pre-landfall state of emergency for all 67 counties late Saturday. The declaration came a day after DeSantis’ 24-county declaration.Florida National Guard members will be activated and on standby. “Floridians should remain vigilant and ensure their households are prepared for a potential impact,” DeSantis said. Ian will then either move inland somewhere over the southeast U.S., or could track near or along parts of the Eastern Seaboard late this week, The Weather Channel said, adding that i​t’s too soon to tell where Ian will end up, but there could be wind, flooding rain and other impacts extending into other parts of the East late next week. Biden authorizes FEMA to help President Joe Biden also declared an emergency for the state, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance to protect lives and property. Biden postponed a scheduled Sept. 27 trip to Florida due to the storm. Caymans, Cuba to see Ian’s fury first But Ian will do damage even before reaching Cuba. Hurricane conditions are expected to reach Grand Cayman by early Monday, with tropical storm conditions expected by Sunday night, the weather service said. Hurricane conditions are possible within the hurricane watch area in Cuba by Monday night or early Tuesday, with tropical storm conditions possible by late Monday. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the tropical storm watch area in Cuba Monday night and Tuesday. Contributing: Rick Neale, Florida Today; The Associated Press Read More…

Europe Holds Its Breath As Italy Expected To Vote In Far-Right Leader https://digitalalabamanews.com/europe-holds-its-breath-as-italy-expected-to-vote-in-far-right-leader/ Italians are voting in an election that is forecast to deliver the country’s most radical rightwing government since the end of the second world war, and a prime minister ready to become a model for nationalist parties across Europe. A coalition led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, a party with neofascist origins, is expected by polls ahead of the vote to secure a comfortable victory in both houses of parliament while taking between 44 and 47% of the vote. Meloni’s party is also set to scoop the biggest share of the votes within the coalition, which includes the far-right League, led by Matteo Salvini, and Forza Italia, headed by Silvio Berlusconi, meaning she could become Italy’s first female prime minister. The coalition’s expected victory, however, raises questions about the country’s alliances in Europe as the continent enters a winter likely dominated by high energy prices and its response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Meloni has sought to send reassuring messages, but the prospect of her as prime minister is unlikely to be welcomed in Paris or Berlin. Germany’s governing Social Democratic party warned last week that her win would be bad for European cooperation. Lars Klingbeil, the chairman of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD, said Meloni had aligned herself with “anti-democratic” figures such as Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán. Earlier this month, Meloni’s MEPs voted against a resolution that condemned Hungary as “a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy”. Meloni is also allied to Poland’s ruling nationalist Law and Justice party, the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats and Spain’s far-right Vox party. The 45-year-old firebrand politician from Rome received an endorsement from Vox towards the end of her campaign, and in response said the two parties were linked by “mutual respect, friendship and loyalty” while hoping victory for Brothers of Italy would give Vox some thrust in Spain. “Meloni has an ambition to represent a model not only for Italy, but for Europe – this is something new [for the right in Italy] compared with the past,” said Nadia Urbinati, a political theorist at New York’s Columbia University and the University of Bologna. “She has contacts with other conservative parties, who want a Europe with less civil rights … the model is there and so is the project.” Mattia Diletti, a politics professor at Rome’s Sapienza University, said Meloni would win thanks to her ability to be ideological but pragmatic, something that has allowed her to pip the French far-right leader, Marine Le Pen, to the post of becoming western Europe’s model for nationalism. However, she is unlikely to rock the boat, at least at the beginning, as she wants to secure continuing flows of cash under Italy’s €191.5bn (£166bn) EU Covid recovery plan, the largest in the EU. The coalition has said it is not seeking to renegotiate the plan, but would like to make changes. Matteo Salvini, Silvio Berlusconi, Giorgia Meloni and Maurizio Lupi attend a political meeting organised by the rightwing political alliance in Rome on Thursday. Photograph: Riccardo Fabi/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock “Ambiguity is the key to understanding Meloni,” Diletti said. “She’s really interested in compromising with the EU on economic politics. But if the EU pushes her too much on the Italian government, she can always revert back to her safe zone as being a populist rightwing leader. She will do what she needs to do to stay in power.” Salvini’s potential return to the interior ministry will also dampen hopes for a breakthrough in the EU’s long-stalled attempt to reform its migration system by sharing asylum seekers across member states. Salvini, who has close ties with Le Pen, said he “can’t wait” to resume his policy of blocking migrant rescue ships from entering Italian ports. On Ukraine, Meloni has condemned Russia’s invasion and supported sending weapons to the war-torn country, but it remains unclear whether her government will back the eighth round of EU sanctions being discussed in Brussels. Salvini has claimed sanctions were bringing Italy to its knees, although he never blocked any EU measures against Russia when in Mario Draghi’s broad coalition government, which collapsed in July. Voting started at 7am on Sunday, and turnout stood at about 51,8% by 7pm local time. The share of undecided voters was at 25% before voting began, meaning the rightwing alliance might win a slimmer majority than pollsters originally suggested. A leftwing alliance led by the Democratic party is predicted to get 22-27% of the vote. Several seats in southern Italian regions, such as Puglia and Calabria, are also potentially in play after a mini-revival by the populist Five Star Movement, which regained support after promising to maintain its flagship policy, the basic income, if the party re-enters government. There was a steady flow of voters to a booth in Esquilino, a multicultural district in Rome, on Sunday morning, but the mood was one of despondency. “It feels as if we’re on a rudderless boat,” said Carlo Russo. “All we heard during the election campaign was an exchange of insults between the various parties rather than an exchange of ideas. And in moments of confusion such as this, people vote for the person who seems to be the strongest.” Fausto Maccari, who runs a newspaper stand, said he won’t vote for the right but is unsure who he will back. “The choices are poor,” added Maccari, who is in his 60s. “For example, I look at Berlusconi and he reminds me of a comic character. At his age, he shouldn’t be doing politics. It would be like me, at my age, trying to be a footballer like Maradona.” Many Italians who support Meloni are doing so because she is yet to be tried and tested in government, and are attracted by her determination and loyalty to her ideals. “She presents herself as a capable, but not arrogant, woman,” said Urbinati. “She gets things done and is dedicated, but without this masculine adrenaline that wants power at all costs.” Read More…

‘Swamp ‘em’: Trump Speaks To Thousands At ILM, Rallies For GOP Support | Port City Daily https://digitalalabamanews.com/swamp-em-trump-speaks-to-thousands-at-ilm-rallies-for-gop-support-port-city-daily/ Ted Budd and Donald Trump at the Friday night rally at Wilmington International Airport. (Port City Daily/Carl Blankenship) WILMINGTON — He was nearly an hour late to his speech at the Aero Center at Wilmington International Airport on Friday, but the crowd erupted into applause and rose to their feet when former President Donald Trump walked up to the podium. “Thank you very much and hello, Wilmington,” he told the roaring crowd.  Trump spoke for a little more than an hour, hitting main talking points including the “stolen” 2020 election, deriding immigrants, praising fossil fuels, calling for the execution of drug dealers, and briefly teasing a 2024 presidential campaign. No stranger to the Port City, Trump made stops during his last presidential bid against Democratic nominee Joe Biden and when he dedicated Wilmington as the nation’s first World War II Heritage City. Friday evening’s visit was his first in two years, one organizers expected to bring out 10,000 people, though less seemed to be in attendance.  This time Trump was campaigning for other Republicans, notably Congressman Ted Budd (R-13), who is making a bid for the U.S. Senate seat; fellow Republican Richard Burr is retiring at the end of this year. Budd is opposed by Democratic candidate and former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley. Pollsters show Beasley and Budd neck-in-neck for the seat. The latest FiveThirtyEight poll has Budd with a 0.3% advantage. In the spring Budd showed a more commanding lead, ahead by a few points, but the margins narrowed by August and the candidates traded off small leads in September. The polls didn’t stop Trump from saying Budd was ahead “big” in the race, though encouraging Republicans to still get out and vote. “Ted is running against a weak-on-crime, left-wing extremist named Cheri Beasley,” Trump told a booing crowd during his speech. He accused Beasley of supporting raising taxes on “hard working families.” Trump added the former judge halted the death sentences of eight death-row inmates who committed violent crimes, ranging from rape to murder (since 2006, North Carolina has had in place a de facto moratorium on capital punishment). By contrast, he described Budd as a “law and order” candidate. Beasley’s campaign took to social media after the rally to call Trump’s statements lies. Along with Budd, state GOP party chairman Michael Whatley, N.C. District 13 candidate Bo Hines, N.C. District 1 candidate Sandy Smith, N.C. District 7 representative David Rouzer, South Carolina District 7 candidate Russell Fry, N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, and Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson addressed attendees from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., prior to Trump’s arrival more than two hours later. Speakers at the “Save America” rally hit Republican talking points: a poor economy, indoctrination of children in schools, and how Democrats are destroying the country. Even Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara — originally from the area and who toyed with a Senate bid but ultimately decided against it for now — sent a video to her hometown apologizing for not being there. The crowd of supporters were draped in Trump merch from head to toe at Friday night’s GOP rally, “Save America,” with Donald Trump speaking for over an hour. Crowd response remained lukewarm compared to the raucous cheering for every line uttered by Trump; however, reception increased at the mention him. “Our country was much better off under President Trump,” Smith yelled from the podium, generating claps and adulation from the sea of red hats, Trump merch and American flags. “That’s because President Trump loved every single one of us and he cared.” Strong support continued when Smith called to “seal the southern border,” while Hines elicited boos from the crowd when bringing up current gender norms that have challenged conservative thinking.  “We have men competing in female athletics,” he said. Crowds excitedly chanted “Trump!” over each landing plane and applauded even at the changing of songs — as if the fading of one would give space to announce Trump’s appearance. A mix of Trump rally favorites included Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer,” David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” The Village People’s “Macho Man,” and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.” Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire” welcomed Smith, the only female candidate on site to speak, while Fry walked on stage to CCR’s “Fortunate Son” — a song with explicitly anti-politician lyrics. “This is better than any rock concert,” attendee Gregg Smyth said. He was among a few hundred people in the general admission area, standing-room only, which flanked the media section.  The South Floridian has attended 13 Trump rallies to show support for “The Man,” he said. In 2016, Smyth voted for Trump but clarified he was a fan even before the real estate mogul became a major political contender. The former president’s reputation for teetotaling compelled the voter. “He never touched drugs, never drank, never touched caffeine — in the ‘80s in New York City, with that kind of money?” Smyth said. “He’s a real, true leader.” Draped in Trump gear head-to-toe, Smyth didn’t shy away from stating the 2020 election was unfair. He thinks the conspiracy theory that it was stolen is “obvious.” “Trump’s the president,” he said, deriding President Biden and claiming he was not on the campaign trail while Trump was. Mid-sentence, a private security guard tapped Smyth on the shoulder and ushered him away without saying a word. The interview was cut short. “He won’t let me talk to you,” Smyth said, throwing his hands up as he walked away from the media barrier. Several guards approached other people speaking to reporters and cut their interviews off as well. No one approached the barrier to speak to the media for the rest of the night. By the time Trump arrived just before 8 p.m., night had fallen. Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” played as the former “Apprentice” host tossed “Make America Great Again” hats into the crowd. Over the megatrons, a voice exclaimed: “NORTH CAROLINA IS TRUMP COUNTRY.” “That’s a big crowd, Ted,” Trump commented among a few thousand who gathered on the tarmac just a few feet away from the stage. Out of the gate, Trump came after one of his favorite targets. “The fake news media. There they are,” Trump said, pointing to the media section as the crowd booed reporters. “Look how many. Look how many there are.” Trump described November 2022’s general election as a referendum on the Democrats. The 2022 election in North Carolina is high stakes, as the GOP could take a supermajority if they gain three seats in the House and two seats in the Senate. This would give the legislature power to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. People cheered as Trump took to the lectern to speak. (Port City Daily/Carl Blankenship) Trump wasted no time getting into issues he takes umbrage with, including the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. He called it largely a climate bill that will put American energy out of business. He rattled off a list of statistics to demonstrate how items like gas and milk are more expensive than when he was president. He claimed gasoline is an unlimited source of energy for vehicles and criticized the Biden administration for both the push for electric vehicles and the increased cost of fuel. “Two years ago, when I was in office, gas, gasoline — the famous, beautiful gasoline — was $1.87 a gallon,” Trump said, claiming prices are continuing to rise.  For three months, the cost of fuel experienced was on a decline. On Sept. 21 it rose from $3.67 to $3.68 a gallon. Trump added the stock market had worsened and violent crime heightened nationwide since his time in office. He pointed to recent murders in the Durham and Raleigh area as examples of “Democrat failures.” According to the Council on Criminal Justice, violent crimes nationwide dropped in the first half of 2022, but are still up significantly compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. Trump pushed off efforts of his successor administration as misplaced. “The only thing these deranged leftists care about, the only thing they talk about is trying to destroy your favorite president: me.” Trump said. “Have you ever heard of me?” The crowd roared with approval. A few minutes of his speech was dedicated to railing people who aren’t politicians — namely, immigrants and drug dealers. He claimed 10 million people have crossed the border this year, about five times more than federal estimates. Countries south of the border, he added, have emptied their prisons to send violent offenders to the United States.   “It’s numbers like nobody’s ever seen before,” he said. Trump has repeated this claim for years, yet reports do not substantiate as much. Reuters published this month that Mexico released 2,000 prisoners who have not committed serious crimes. Mexican President Lopez Obrador made a similar order in 2021. Trump said his points are not Republican or conservative, they’re just “common sense.” “We don’t want open borders, we want low taxes, we want good education, we want military,” Trump exclaimed. “Good, strong military.” He also addressed the ongoing criminal investigation into documents stored at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump called the civil fraud suit brought against him by New York Attorney General Latitia James “abusive” and a hoax. Speaking to his base, he continued to mount the 2020 election as stolen. Trump said he won twice, despite 2020’s certified results showing Biden received 81,282,916, Trump garnered 74,223,368and 2,891,441 went to other votes. The only way, he said, to beat his opponents is to “swamp ‘em.”  “We may just have to do it again,” Trump teased the cheering...

With “The Murdochs: Empire Of Influence,” CNN Has Its “Succession” https://digitalalabamanews.com/with-the-murdochs-empire-of-influence-cnn-has-its-succession/ If you think Rupert Murdoch has only been pushing mainstream journalism rightward and for the worse since 9/11, Maury Povich will avuncularly disabuse you of that notion in “The Murdochs: Empire of Influence.”  The one-time host of “A Current Affair” gleefully recalls flying to Germany to cover the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, to the bemusement of Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw – that era’s giants of TV journalism. “A Current Affair” was syndicated TV tabloid trash; what was it doing covering a world event? To answer that, Povich’s colleague Gordon Elliott ran to a local firehouse, procured a pickaxe and took a few theatrical digs at the great concrete symbol of communism. Then a local asked Elliott, “Oh, can I have that for a while?” The tabloid newsman hands the guy the axe, and he starts swinging. One enterprising photographer’s click later and boom – there he was on the cover of Newsweek. Compared to what Murdoch would wreak on the media landscape, political discourse and democracy on the whole, this is a cheeky detail. But it makes Povich’s point: If something is lacking in the landscape – whether that refers to a frame of history or the full scope of it – he will not only fill that gap but use that device to alter the full picture. Not only that, Povich adds, there’s no unplugging or overwriting what Murdoch’s done. “You can’t erase it,” he says at the top of the second episode. “It’s here to stay.”  Out of the tens of journalists, biographers and political consultants serving as on-camera experts in CNN’s seven-part series along with whatever species Roger Stone is classified as these days, Povich stands out as the guy who gets the joke. Why wouldn’t he? Murdoch made Povich a famous man by bankrolling one of the trashiest shows on TV. Even that was a stepping stone to bigger things. First, it was “A Current Affair,” then a broadcast network, Fox, then Fox News and . . . well. We’re living in the world Murdoch has wrought – something most of us would rather forget. If something is lacking in the landscape, Murdoch will not only fill that gap but use that device to alter the full picture. The producers know that, which is why they take a page from its subject in their shaping of it. Rupert Murdoch, like his henchman, the late Roger Ailes, made a fortune off of giving the audience what it wants. So although “The Murdochs” is based on the behemoth of a feature by New York Times journalists Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg, who serve as consulting producers and appear throughout, it looks, feels and struts along in the manner of “Succession.” Jesse Armstrong doesn’t exactly make a secret of having patterned the Roys after the Murdochs, along with the Hearsts, the Mercers, the Redstones and others. But it takes seeing a biographical, extensively sourced look at the baron’s family to appreciate the accuracy of his portraiture. The only detail Armstrong really fudges is the Roy children’s intelligence, but that’s on purpose. If Shiv, Kendall and Roman were as capable as Lachlan, James and Elisabeth, “Succession” wouldn’t be half as entertaining. It’s better for all of us that the Roy kids are mulling their place in a legacy that mirrors that of the Murdoch children, only with the brainpower of the Trumps. Rupert Murdoch accompanied by his sons James (right) and Lachlan (left) on March 5, 2016 in London, England. (John Phillips/Getty Images) “The Murdochs” is two stories presented in tandem, as Mahler explains. The first covers the rise and dominance of Rupert Murdoch, media mogul. The second is the story of Murdoch as a father. It opens with the near-death incident in 2018 that kicks the question of who will inherit the kingdom into overdrive, before stepping back to examine Rupert’s misshapen youth as the privileged son of a distant father he could never please. When Rupert realizes his parents’ modest media kingdom will not pass to him, he makes it his life’s mission to overshadow the modest legacy dad built. Murdoch’s steady empire expansion is common knowledge to those who care to know about such things. But “The Murdochs” excels at filling in the story’s emotional and psychological blanks, which is where the juice is. For a family that willingly gives away very little about themselves to the public, there’s a lot to be read in the moves Lachlan, James and Elisabeth make – and their father’s regular efforts to play them off of one another as a sort of Darwinist test of fitness. But the relationship between Rupert and his children is even stranger than that of their fictional counterparts because, by all accounts, he does seem to care about them. It’s just that he cares about his empire even more. Such grace notes of universal acknowledgment allow the viewer to find some way of respecting the tenacity fueling Murdoch’s monstrous nature. “The Murdochs” is even-handed in its examination, to the point that it enables a person to absorb insights from truly odious people with equanimity. Stone, for instance, has nothing but respect and admiration for Murdoch, of course. But that’s presented within a mix of folks who concede the bold ruthless of Murdoch’s business acumen even if they disagree with despise how he plays the game. That is to say, knowing what we know about Stone, if he admires the man, the show helps us to get it. Such grace notes of universal acknowledgment allow the viewer to find some way of respecting the tenacity fueling Murdoch’s monstrous nature. The story of an early kidnapping gone awry that led to a woman’s death opens our eyes to the family’s vulnerability before their paterfamilias built the fortress around them; they are human, after all. And yet, the head of this family also pushed thousands of journalists out of their jobs in one fell swoop to appease a prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who was not friendly to unions or labor organizing. This is merely one of the many obscenities Murdoch is blamed for orchestrating. The later episodes cover the one we know best and are still struggling to shake off – which is Donald Trump’s kingmaking.  “The Murdochs” stands on its own merits owing to its double-fisted servings of media insight on one hand and juicy biographical examination on the other. It is nimble and surefooted, illuminating, and above all, entertaining. Rupert Murdoch and wife Wendy Deng on February 27, 2005 in West Hollywood, California. (Mark Mainz/Getty Images) Along with puzzling through what drives Lachlan, James and Elisabeth, we’re also invited to contemplate what Anna did for Murdoch’s ego – and why that well ran dry by the time he met Wendi Deng, whom he married in 1999. They divorced in 2013, only for Murdoch to marry Jerry Hall in 2016. And she finalized her divorce from him last month. Nobody in the family agreed to participate in the making of the series, but the producers make an extensive effort to help us understand who Rupert Murdoch is and what spurs him onward.  By extension, we also come to understand why entities like Fox News and Murdoch’s newspapers are so devoted to catering to the darkest side of the human impulse – stirring up our fears and our hatreds, and steering governments into division and ruin. It’s all in service of his empire’s bottom line and the interests of his constituency, which consists of . . . him. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. Most documentary filmmakers are quick to point out that whatever parallels the audience finds in their work and current events are coincidental. In most cases that’s true. Ken Burns’ recent effort, “The U.S. and the Holocaust” points directly at the similarities between the nativist atmosphere in America and Germany before World War II and the anxieties that have gripped us since Jan. 6, 2021. Even so, he says, he and his co-producers began working on that project in 2015. Debuting “The Murdochs” six weeks out from the midterms, though, is a choice. It won’t impact the outcome of any races – nothing like that. But if CNN wants to make a vaguely admiring, audience-pleasing point about its rival as it lurches rightward to score some of its audience, this is a savvy way to do it. “The Murdochs: Empire of Influence” launches with a special two-episode premiere at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25 on CNN. Subsequent episode air at 10 p.m. Sundays on CNN. Read More…

Red Flags For Arizona Republicans https://digitalalabamanews.com/red-flags-for-arizona-republicans/ Arizona Republicans are spiraling toward a series of major missed opportunities after nominating MAGA-aligned candidates in key races. Driving the news: A super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell withdrew over $9 million in ads from the state, leaving Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters at a significant financial disadvantage against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). A recent survey of Arizona voters conducted by Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio and Biden pollster John Anzalone for the AARP found Kelly leading Masters 50%-42%. Masters’ favorability rating stood at 37% (54% unfavorable), an unusually negative showing for a first-time candidate. Down the ballot: The Cook Political Report this week moved the ratings of two competitive Arizona House seats in the Democrats’ direction. Rep. Tom O’Halleran, one of the most vulnerable Democrats, whose seat was redrawn into a Trump +8 seat, is running more competitively than expected against Republican Eli Crane. The NRCC is spending nearly $1 million in the contest, despite the natural GOP advantage in the district. And GOP Rep. David Schweikert, who was reprimanded by the House Ethics Committee for misusing official funds, is in a race now rated as a “toss-up” against Democrat Jevin Hodge. Schweikert’s new district backed Biden by two points. But, but, but: Republican Kari Lake, despite her amplification of former President Trump’s election denial, is in a statistical tie with Democrat Katie Hobbs in the Arizona governor’s race, according to the AARP survey. And election-denying GOP Secretary of State nominee Mark Finchem narrowly leads Democrat Adrian Fontes, according to an OH Predictive Insight survey. One in four likely voters is unsure of who they’d vote for. The bottom line: Arizona will be the biggest test of whether far-right candidates embracing Trump’s conspiracy theories can win in a swing state. Read More…

Obituaries In Worcester, MA | Worcester Telegram & Gazette https://digitalalabamanews.com/obituaries-in-worcester-ma-worcester-telegram-gazette/ Lawrence Anthony McGrail, 84, of Grafton, MA passed away on Wednesday, September 21st, with his loving family and passionate caregivers by his side. Along with his beloved wife Gail (Riordan) McGrail of Grafton, Larry is survived by his four children and five grandchildren, who were his pride and joy and in his own words, the greatest accomplishments of his life. His children include Maureen McGrail and husband Randy Fritz of Crown Point, Indiana, Gene McGrail of Saint Petersburg, Florida, Matthew McGrail and his wife Mary (Kavanagh) McGrail of Auburn, Massachusetts and Andrew McGrail and his predeceased wife Jennifer (Goguen) McGrail of Keene, New Hampshire. His grandchildren include Lily Fritz of Indiana, Conor and Molly McGrail of Massachusetts, and Adam and Lucas McGrail of New Hampshire. Larry also leaves behind his beloved brother Thomas F. McGrail, Jr. and his wife Patricia of Chadds Ford, PA, and his dear sister Mary-Margaret McGrail of Alexandra, Virgina. Larry was predeceased by his sister Judith and her late husband Al Pettirrossi, his sister Madeline and husband Joe Wiensko, and his sister Ellen McGrail. Larry also leaves an extended family that includes many beloved cousins, nieces and nephews across the country. Larry was born in Worcester, MA on May 15th, 1938, to the late Thomas F. McGrail and Mary (Cunningham) McGrail and grew up on his beloved John Street where his story began. Larry was a parishioner of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul and graduated from St. John’s High School on Temple Street in 1956. Larry often declared his time on Temple Street to be one of the most defining periods of his life, absorbing all the knowledge he could under the guidance of the Xavierian Brothers. Larry maintained a strong connection with the St. John’s community as he understood the power of education and modeled himself after the school’s motto, “In Harmony, Small Things Grow”. Larry was honored at many Saint John’s alumni events for his generosity to the school. Larry graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1960, and immediately set his sights on his lifelong love of science, teaching and learning with his students about the world around him. It was through his teaching that Larry discovered how the discipline of Physics both helped shape and explain the natural world. He was also an extremely proud and active alumnus of Holy Cross where so many of the experiences he gained there paved the way for his successful future. During his first two years of teaching Larry also earned a Master’s degree in Natural Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1964. Larry taught at Wachusett Regional High School for five years, and another thirty one years at West Boylston Junior/Senior High School where he flourished as a passionate, distinguished and highly engaged educator with both staff and students. He also taught nights and weekends at Quinsigamond Community College, Johnson & Wales University, Central New England College, and finally at Northeastern University upon his retirement from West Boylston. His commitment and passion for teaching never went away. Larry was blessed to marry Gail Elizabeth Riordan, the love of his life, and wife of 60 years. Larry and Gail went on to build a magnificent life together raising four children, sharing a passion for teaching and taking an active role in numerous community initiatives. Larry and Gail never left one another’s side throughout all their years together. He loved and honored family in a selfless way. Larry had terrific wit, a gift for conversation, a philosophy to keep life simple, and a spirit that welcomed new challenges and adventures. He also had a deep affection for Worcester’s most celebrated Holy Cross sports icons from the 1940’s through the late 1970’s, namely: Jack “the Shot” Foley, Ron Perry Sr., his son Ron Perry Jr., Tommy Heinsohn, Togo Palazzi and Bob Cousy. For the past 26 years, when Larry wasn’t devoting his time to his children and grandchildren, you could find him engaging in his passions for: sailing, hiking, cross-country skiing, swimming, meticulously maintaining his pool, engaging in a variety of sports and assembling jigsaw puzzles. Larry cherished his time at he and Gail’s weekend home in Grantham, NH, and his summer holidays in Newport, RI and Cape Cod, MA. He loved his extended Thanksgivings with his daughter’s family in Crown Point, IN, as well as his winter vacations with his son in Saint Petersburg, FL. He and Gail also looked forward to their annual tropical getaway to Aruba. Calling hours will be held on Thursday, September 29th from 4 – 7 p.m. at Roney Funeral Home, 152 Worcester Street, North Grafton, Massachusetts. A Catholic Mass celebrating the life of Lawrence will follow on Friday, September 30th at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 17 Waterville Street, North Grafton, Massachusetts. For all those attending the funeral mass, please go directly to St. Mary’s. Burial will follow at St. Phillip’s Cemetery in Grafton. Larry will be dearly missed by his family and friends. In lieu of flowers, the family requests making a donation referencing Larry’s name to St. John’s High School, Attn: Mr. Warren Hayden, 378 Main Street, Shrewsbury, MA 01545 or to the College of the Holy Cross, P.O. Box DEV, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA 01610. Posted online on September 25, 2022 Published in Worcester Telegram & Gazette Read More…

‘It’s A Big Storm:’ DeSantis Urges All Floridians To Prepare For Ian. https://digitalalabamanews.com/its-a-big-storm-desantis-urges-all-floridians-to-prepare-for-ian/ South Florida remains out of the current tracks for a direct hit from Tropical Storm Ian, but all Floridians should prepare for a major storm,, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday. Tropical Storm Ian is expected to become a hurricane Sunday, and then grow into the season’s second major hurricane by midweek. A 2 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center said Ian is forecast to “begin rapidly strengthening” Sunday night, with significant wind and storm surge expected in western Cuba. The models show a possible direct hit to the Tampa area or the Florida Panhandle “Don’t get too wedded to those cones,” DeSantis said in a news conference Sunday at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. “Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state.” [ RELATED: Everything you need to know heading into the potential hurricane ] He said there could be heavy flooding on Florida’s east coast. And there’s no guarantee that the storm’s path will continue to move west as it has for the past two days. “There’s uncertainty. The models are not in agreement,” he said. “Just don’t think if you’re not in that eye, you don’t have to make preparations. The last thing we want to have it bear east quickly and then have folks who are not prepared. It’s better to be prepared and not have to use those preparations than the opposite.” This includes having an adequate supply of food, water, batteries, medicine and fuel, he said. Tropical Storm Ian’s projected path, from the National Hurricane Center’s 2p.m. Sunday update. (NOAA/National Hurricane Center) But most residents won’t need to evacuate, emergency officials said. People should first look on floridadisaster.org/know to see if they are in an evacuation zone. If not, they should assess whether their home can withstand tropical storm- or hurricane-strength winds. “In Hurricane Irma, we over evacuated residents by nearly two million people,” said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. DeSantis said to expect heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surges and even isolated tornadoes. He has issued a state of emergency for all 67 counties “given the uncertainty of the storm.” Previously, the state of emergency had been issued only for 24 counties, including Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach. President Biden has also approved a federal emergency declaration for Florida, allowing it to access the resources of FEMA. The state has waved restrictions for commercial trucks and authorized emergency refills of prescriptions or 30 days. DeSantis said he’s also activated 2,500 members of the Florida National Guard to assist with the emergency. [ MAP: See the latest forecast map for potential Hurricane Ian  ] The center of Ian is expected to pass well southwest of Jamaica Sunday evening, and pass near or west of the Cayman Islands early Monday, according to a 2 p.m. forecast track. Ian will then move near or over western Cuba Monday night and early Tuesday and emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. If Ian does make landfall on Cuba, it is expected to do so as a major hurricane (sustained winds of at least 111 mph). It will then and emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. South Florida is out of the cone of uncertainty forecasts where the center of a hurricane will be two-thirds of the time, said Shawn Bhatti, a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center. But subtle shifts in the track can make a huge difference, and the warm waters of the Gulf and possible land interaction with Cuba could create those shifts. “This weekend, have all preparations in place for a potential worst-case scenario,” said Bhatti. The “reasonable” worst-case scenario right now still includes all the impacts associated with a major hurricane. But if the storm keeps shifting west, South Florida could see only high waves and gusty winds. As the weekend progresses, the hurricane’s path will become increasingly clear. By Sunday night into Monday morning, forecasters say they’ll have a much better idea of what’s to come and whether South Florida might be spared the brunt of the storm. [ READ IN SPANISH: Se espera que el huracán Ian se forme hoy; la ruta pronosticada parece no llegar al sur de Florida por ahora  ] (National Hurricane Center) [ STAY UPDATED with the latest forecast for tropical weather at SunSentinel.com/hurricane ] . What used to be tropical Storm Hermine on Sunday was continuing to bring rain to the Canary Islands and is poised to become a remnant low, forecasters said. Breaking News Alerts As it happens Get updates on developing stories as they happen with our free breaking news email alerts. What was Hurricane Fiona had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone by early Sunday, and the National Hurricane Center was no longer posting advisories about the storm. Fiona was the first major hurricane of the 2022 season, meaning Category 3 and above. Forecasters are also monitoring a broad area of low pressure in the Atlantic that has a 20% chance of developing in the next five days, though Ian is the biggest concern. “The one to watch is definitely the system moving into the southeastern Caribbean,” said Eric Blake, a forecaster for the National Hurricane Center. Tropical Storm Gaston is continuing to weaken and is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone Sunday. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30. The next named storm after Ian would be Julia. Staff writer Shira Moolten contributed to this report. Read More…

Poll: Most Dems Say Ditch Biden; Trump Preferred Among Republicans https://digitalalabamanews.com/poll-most-dems-say-ditch-biden-trump-preferred-among-republicans/ A majority of U.S. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents want the party to replace President Joe Biden as its nominee in the 2024 presidential election, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll released Sunday. Just 35% of this group prefer Biden for the nomination, while 56% say the Democratic Party should pick someone else, according to the poll. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 47% back former President Donald Trump for the 2024 nomination and 46% prefer that it be someone else. In a head-to-head matchup, the survey found Biden and Trump essentially tied: Biden edged Trump by 2 percentage points, 48%-46%. Among registered voters, the numbers reversed to give Trump a 2-point advantage. Democrats’ preference for a candidate other than Biden at the top of the ticket in 2024 also was evident in a July survey by The New York Times and Siena College. In that poll, nearly two-thirds of Democratic respondents, 64%, said they would prefer a different candidate. Of that group, a third cited Biden’s age as the reason for their preference. At 79, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. Biden said in an interview this month with “60 Minutes” that he’ll decide whether to run for reelection after the November midterm elections, which will determine whether his party maintains its House and Senate majorities. “It’s much too early to make that kind of decision,” Biden said in the interview, which aired Sept. 18. “What I’m doing is I’m doing my job. I’m gonna do that job, and within the time frame that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.” The Washington Post-ABC News survey put Biden’s overall approval rating at 39%, with disapproval at 53%. On his handling of the economy, approval was at 36% and disapproval at 57%. Looking to the midterms, 47% of registered voters polled would cast their House district vote for a Republican and 46% for a Democrat, about the same result as in April, The Washington Post said. The poll was conducted between Sept. 18 and 21 on a random national sample of 1,006 U.S. adults, including 908 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Read More…

Schiff Says Any Criminal Referral For Trump By The January 6 Committee Should Be Decided Unanimously – ABC17NEWS https://digitalalabamanews.com/schiff-says-any-criminal-referral-for-trump-by-the-january-6-committee-should-be-decided-unanimously-abc17news/ By Daniella Diaz and Devan Cole, CNN US Rep. Adam Schiff, who serves on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, says that if the panel makes a criminal referral for former President Donald Trump related to the riot at the US Capitol, it should be made unanimously. “We operate with a high degree of consensus and unanimity,” the California Democrat told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday. “It will be certainly, I think, my recommendation, my feeling, that we should make referrals, but we will get to a decision as a committee, and we will all abide by that decision, and I will join our committee members if they feel differently.” CNN reported earlier this year that although the bipartisan committee was in wide agreement that Trump committed a crime when he pushed a conspiracy to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, panelists were split over what to do about it, including whether to make a criminal referral of Trump to the Justice Department, according to four sources connected to the committee. The internal debate spilled into plain view in June when the committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, repeatedly told a group of reporters at the Capitol that the panel would not be issuing any criminal referrals, a declaration that several of his fellow committee members were quick to push back on. Schiff said Sunday he wouldn’t disclose information about the focus of the select committee’s public hearing Wednesday, which will likely be its last until the panel releases its final report. “I think it’ll be potentially more sweeping than some of the other hearings, but it too will be in a very thematic — it will tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election,” he said. Rep. Jamie Raskin, another January 6 panelist, said Sunday that the upcoming public hearing would share “details” learned by the committee since its last hearing in August. The Maryland Democrat told NBC News that he expects Wednesday’s hearing to be the last presentation of its investigation, but he’s “hopeful” the committee will hold a hearing presenting recommendations to Congress. Raskin added that the goal of Wednesday’s hearing is for panelists to reveal the newest findings in the investigation to supplement the broader narrative they presented in earlier hearings. Schiff, when asked by Tapper about the committee obtaining Secret Service communications related to the riot, said the panel was still going through them. “We are still going through them because they are very voluminous. I will say they’re not a substitute for having the text messages that were apparently erased from those devices, and we are still investigating how that came about and why that came about. And I hope and believe the Justice Department on that issue is also looking at whether laws were broken and the destruction of that evidence,” Schiff said. “But we do have a mountain of information that we need to go through.” Thompson said earlier this month that the communications turned over to the January 6 committee included “a combination of a number of text messages, radio traffic, that kind of thing. Just thousands of exhibits.” He added that the texts that were handed over were “primarily” from the day before and during the riot. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, another member of the committee, reemphasized the panel’s desire to obtain further testimony from former US Secret Service Assistant Director Tony Ornato, who retired last month. “We remain deeply wanting to hear from him,” he said Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” Ornato has met with the committee twice but has not agreed to a meeting since former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told the committee Ornato had told her Trump was irate upon learning his security detail wouldn’t take him to the US Capitol the day of the insurrection. Lawmakers push back on Trump Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, added his voice Sunday to a growing group of lawmakers pushing back on Trump’s claim that he could simply declassify classified documents by “thinking about it.” “No, that’s not how it works. Those comments don’t demonstrate much intelligence of any kind,” he told Tapper. “If you could simply declassify by thinking about it, then frankly, if that’s his view, he’s even more dangerous than we may have thought.” He continued: “With that view, he could simply spout off on anything he read in a Presidential Daily Brief or anything he was briefed on by the CIA director to a visiting Russian delegation or any other delegation and simply say, ‘Well, I thought about it and therefore, when the words came out of my mouth, they were declassified.’” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican in the chamber, also rejected Trump’s claim on Sunday, telling ABC News that he doesn’t “think a president can declassify documents by saying so.” This story has been updated with additional reaction. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. CNN’s Aaron Pellish and Sonnet Swire contributed to this report. Read More…

Poll: Most Dems Say Ditch Biden As https://digitalalabamanews.com/poll-most-dems-say-ditch-biden-as/ Sophie Jackman  |  Bloomberg A majority of U.S. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents want the party to replace President Joe Biden as its nominee in the 2024 presidential election, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll reported on Sunday. Just 35% of this group prefer Biden for the nomination, while 56% say the Democratic Party should pick someone else, according to the poll. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 47% back former President Donald Trump for the 2024 nomination and 46% prefer that it be someone else. In a head-to-head matchup, the survey found Biden and Trump essentially tied: Biden edged Trump by 2 percentage points, 48%-46%. Among registered voters, the numbers reversed to give Trump a 2-point advantage. Democrats’ preference for a candidate other than Biden at the top of the ticket in 2024 also was evident in a July survey by The New York Times and Siena College. In that poll, nearly two-thirds of Democratic respondents, 64%, said they would prefer a different candidate. Of that group, a third cited Biden’s age as the reason for their preference. At 79, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. Biden said in an interview this month with “60 Minutes” that he’ll decide whether to run for reelection after the November midterm elections, which will determine whether his party maintains its House and Senate majorities. “It’s much too early to make that kind of decision,” Biden said in the interview, which aired Sept. 18. “What I’m doing is I’m doing my job. I’m gonna do that job, and within the time frame that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.” The Washington Post-ABC News survey put Biden’s overall approval rating at 39%, with disapproval at 53%. On his handling of the economy, approval was at 36% and disapproval at 57%. Looking to the midterms, 47% of registered voters polled would cast their House district vote for a Republican and 46% for a Democrat, about the same result as in April, The Washington Post said. The poll was conducted between Sept. 18 and 21 on a random national sample of 1,006 U.S. adults, including 908 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Read More…

Democrats Are Warming To A Biden 2024 Campaign. They're Just Not Sure If He'll Run. | CNN Politics https://digitalalabamanews.com/democrats-are-warming-to-a-biden-2024-campaign-theyre-just-not-sure-if-hell-run-cnn-politics/ CNN  —  Many Democratic leaders, operatives and officials are cautiously warming to the idea of President Joe Biden running for reelection in 2024, dozens of high-ranking Democrats told CNN. But just like many voters and donors – as poll after poll shows – they’re still not sure he should do it, or that he will. The mood has notably shifted among top Democrats in recent months. During the depths of Biden’s political struggles in March, some party leaders from all over the country huddled in the hallways of the Hilton a few blocks from the White House for the annual Democratic National Committee meeting, according to four people involved in the conversations. Over drinks, while looking around to make sure no one overheard, they winced and grimaced and whispered: What could they do to stop Biden from running for reelection again? “There were people who were not certain he would be the right candidate,” said Jim Roosevelt, a top DNC member and the grandson of a president who ran for reelection more than any other. When those same state party chairs and executive directors returned to the capital for their fall meeting two weeks ago, the disposition had whipped around. Biden’s summer of successes has started to permeate. Fears of a radical Donald Trump restoration remain high, mounting legal problems regardless. A potentially bruising open primary would loom if Biden decided against seeking another term. “In New Mexico I’ve seen a radical shift after his speech in Philadelphia,” said the state’s Democratic Party chair Jessica Velasquez, referring to the President’s battle for the soul of democracy speech. “Part of that is he just keeps showing up.” A state party chair who asked not to be named added, “People were grumbling because nothing was passing. Now we’re getting the Biden we all voted for.” Inside the White House – both in the West Wing and in first lady Dr. Jill Biden’s offices – the last six weeks have renewed confidence of the President’s chances in a reelection run. They’ve developed a chip-on-the-shoulder underdog mentality, saying people doubt Biden and claim they’re not excited by him before he pulls it all together and comes out on top. He did it after he was counted out during the 2020 primaries, they say, he did it in going up against Trump and he did it again when his presidency was assumed to have sputtered out in the spring. Now they were ready to get on board – if he is. “If he feels he can do it,” Roosevelt said, “people would want him to do it.” Biden is already the oldest president ever and tends to keep a lighter public schedule than his predecessors, which has led to questions about how extensive a campaign he’d engage in. But even with those limited appearances recently, his poll numbers have been slowly moving upward. Already at his rally in Washington on Friday, Biden delivered another in what has become a series of much more energetic speeches, ripping into Republicans while pacing the stage on a handheld mic, and then walking off the stage to the beat of Daft Punk’s “One More Time.” But as much as most Democrats would love to be finished with the endless “Is he going to run?” discussion, Biden keeps stoking it. “My intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again. But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,” Biden said in his “60 Minutes” interview that aired last Sunday. Advisers dismissed that answer as simply trying to listen to lawyers’ warnings of not preemptively triggering Federal Elections Commission laws around fundraising and activity. Many others are not convinced. People in and around the President’s orbit would like him to make a decision by early 2023, after he comes back from his traditional Biden family Christmas, possibly by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “He will decide when he decides,” a top Democrat who speaks to the President told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a highly sensitive subject. “And rarely has he ever decided anything a minute sooner than he has to.” Even in-the-know supporters who say they’re completely gung-ho about Biden 2024 quickly add that of course he’ll have to talk with his family to see what’s right for him – and that more than anything, they know everything hinges on the first lady. No incumbent president has faced these kinds of continued doubts about running for reelection, which stretch from Pennsylvania Avenue to Pennsylvania. Dave Henderson, the executive director of AFSCME Council 13 in Pennsylvania – who as a union leader from Pittsburgh is about as core a Biden voter as exists – said he’d supported the President from the start of his 2020 campaign and remains enthusiastic, but paused when asked if he’d support Biden for reelection. “Tough question, because I’m not sure he’s going to run for reelection,” Henderson said. Told that Biden has said he intends to run, Henderson signed on immediately: “If he’s running, then I’ve got his back.” Sen. Chris Coons, the Delaware Democrat who holds Biden’s old seat and has stayed a confidant, told CNN the President “is seriously considering running,” and dismissed any static from the “60 Minutes” interview or elsewhere. “He beat Donald Trump before; he’ll beat Donald Trump again. If that’s the way this race plays out, I think Joe Biden is the best Democrat to beat Donald Trump in 2024,” Coons said. Standing on the White House driveway earlier this month after attending the Inflation Reduction Act celebration, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said that as one of the incumbent Democrats facing a strong GOP challenger in November, he’d be eager to have the President come campaign for him. “People have connected that it’s Democrats delivering,” Bennet said, “But I’d say it’s something more important than that: It reflects a very different ethic than the chaos of the Trump White House.” Those who know the first lady’s thought process, and are familiar with the strength of the Biden clan’s input, tell CNN that the last few months have also made them feel more open to another campaign. At times, they’ve expressed a little excitement at the prospect. Jill Biden “is still processing” the idea, says a person with knowledge of the first lady’s recent conversations on the topic. She was never sold on Biden’s running in 2016, when he ultimately didn’t. She was in favor of his running in 2020, when he did. “She will want to know if he can win, first and foremost. She will not want him put in a position where he could be embarrassed,” said one person who has worked for Biden for a long time and has witnessed the first lady’s tenacity with assessing data. “She will want to see a strategy for a primary and for a general (election).” With the exception of Hunter Biden’s toddler-aged son, the other five Biden grandchildren are old enough, and care enough, to have an opinion on whether their “Pop” should run again. The President himself has recently returned to recounting the input his grandchildren gave him about getting into the 2020 race. “Jill would make sure this decision would be made as a family – Hunter, Ashley, Val (Biden’s sister) and the grandchildren,” says the person who has worked with Biden. “She would want to know how they individually feel.” A senior Biden adviser insisted there’s no wavering. “The President has consistently said he intends to run for reelection and that is something both Dr. Biden and the family fully supports,” the adviser said. “The first lady will be an active campaigner for Democrats this fall and will carry a message of optimism and hope, focusing on the accomplishments of her husband’s administration. ‘Joe is delivering results’ will be a frequent message from her on the stump, name checking his achievements, and calling on voters to imagine what more he could do with larger majorities in Congress.” Biden is now a couple of months older than he was when many Democrats were gingerly trying to nudge him off the stage in the spring, but suddenly they’re insisting age is just a number for a man who’d be an unprecedented 86 years old by the end of his second term. “The age thing is a convenient place to go for people who had other reasons to say they didn’t want him to run,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania congressman who was rooting for Biden to run in 2016, attended the first fundraiser of his 2020 campaign and is eager to see him go again. “It will be unique to have someone that age running for president. It was two years ago. It was in 2016 with Trump.” Standing in a hallway in the Capitol, Boyle motioned toward the House floor, where all three top members of the Democratic leadership are already in their 80s. “I serve in Congress,” he said. “To me, Joe Biden is young.” Biden has always been sensitive about being seen as or called old, but he and others now say that all the talk over the summer that he wasn’t up to the moment and shouldn’t run for reelection was just Democrats voicing their despair that he and his White House seemed unable to get anything done. “First half of the administration, people were basically describing him as Johnny Carson in his retirement year,” said Quinton Lucas, the 38-year-old mayor of Kansas City. “What you are seeing now is someone who is very active, going on trips, engaging with different parts of the administration.” Getting results on “issues that not only are important for all Americans but issues the base has been talking about for a long time – guns, climate – that quells that discussion,” Lucas said. Sitting at a bar in the Pittsburgh suburbs, Summer Lee, the young outspoken progressive almost certainly headed to Congress to succeed a retiring Democrat, said she’s not ready to commit t...