University Of Alabama Vs. Vanderbilt University Odds Lines Picks And Prediction September 24 | 2022 NCAA Football Season
University Of Alabama Vs. Vanderbilt University Odds, Lines, Picks, And Prediction – September 24 | 2022 NCAA Football Season https://digitalalabamanews.com/university-of-alabama-vs-vanderbilt-university-odds-lines-picks-and-prediction-september-24-2022-ncaa-football-season/
The University of Alabama will take on Vanderbilt University at home on Saturday night. The teams will kick-off their conference campaign for the season next week. In contrast, Vanderbilt could not have been dealt a more challenging opponent for this interdivisional game. Alabama will get a taste of league action before plunging into the SEC West’s rigors.
After thrashing a ULM team that offered no resistance last week, Alabama enters the matchup with a 3-0 record. Although Vanderbilt appears to have improved, it is difficult to imagine the Commodores keeping the game close into the second half. Since Alabama is a 40.5-point favorite, they can use this game as an SEC practice game before traveling to Arkansas in Week 5. The starters for the Crimson Tide should be observing some of this game from the sidelines.
Vanderbilt has a very difficult road ahead of it, but thanks to a thrilling win over Northern Illinois this weekend, it has already surpassed its win total for 2021. The Crimson Tide squad is filled with four- and five-star talent, so the Commodores will struggle to stay up. However, it will be interesting to watch freshman quarterback AJ Swann play against this Alabama defense.
“Game Week Central – Vanderbilt” – AlabamaFTBL
Pointsbet:-First bet risk-free up to $ 500.
Match Details: University of Alabama vs. Vanderbilt University
Fixture: VU at UA
Saturday, September 24 at 5:30 PM ET
Venue: Bryant Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL
University of Alabama at Vanderbilt University betting odds
Teams
Spread
Over/Under
Vanderbilt Commodores
+40.5 (-110)
Over 58.5 (-115)
Alabama Crimson Tide
-40.5 (-110)
Under 58.5 (-105)
The University of Alabama vs. Vanderbilt University best picks
Both teams would like to get a quick and forthcoming start to the game, but expect the Crimson Tide to get a headstart and pierce through the Commodores’ defensive line to get some touchdowns.
Pick: First half total under 34.5 (-120)
University of Alabama vs. Vanderbilt University prediction
The Crimson Tide are the clear favorites for this clash. Despite the Commodores’ being a good unit, expect Alabama to cover the spread tonight.
Alabama -40.5 (-110)
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NOT REAL NEWS: A Look At What Didn't Happen This Week
NOT REAL NEWS: A Look At What Didn't Happen This Week https://digitalalabamanews.com/not-real-news-a-look-at-what-didnt-happen-this-week/
By The Associated Press
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
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Ad misleads on treaty regulating global arms trade
CLAIM: President Joe Biden just announced that he is adding the U.S. as a signatory to the United Nations “Small Arms Treaty,” which would “establish an international gun control registry” in which other countries can “track the ‘end user’ of every rifle, shotgun, and handgun sold in the world.”
THE FACTS: There is no “U.N. Small Arms Treaty.” A separate U.N. agreement, the Arms Trade Treaty, regulates the international trade of a range of weapons, but does not track domestic gun sales. The false claim about an “international gun control registry” was shared in a Facebook advertisement by a gun rights group stoking fears about threats to the Second Amendment. The group, the “American Firearms Association,” claims in its Facebook ad that Biden “has just announced that he is adding America as a signatory to the U.N. Small Arms Treaty, setting the stage for a full ratification vote in the U.S. Senate.” “The U.N. Small Arms Treaty would establish an international gun control registry, allowing Communist China, European socialists, and 3rd World dictators to track the ‘end user’ of every rifle, shotgun, and handgun sold in the world,” continues the post, which links to a petition asking for users’ contact information. The post calls on supporters of the Second Amendment to oppose the treaty. But there is no treaty called the “U.N. Small Arms Treaty,” and the treaty that is being referenced does not record private gun sales in any country, experts say. The actual treaty, the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, deals not only with small arms such as rifles and pistols, but battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships and more, the AP has reported. The U.N. in 2013 adopted the treaty to keep weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists and human rights violators. The treaty prohibits countries that ratify it from exporting conventional weapons if they violate arms embargoes, or if they promote acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. It does encourage its parties to maintain national records regarding exports of conventional arms and says such records should include the “end user.” But that’s a recommendation about recording exports that a country makes to another country, not gun sales to individuals within a country, said Jennifer Erickson, an associate professor of political science and international studies at Boston College. Experts note that the treaty was written to explicitly make clear it has no bearing on domestic gun rights or sales. The treaty’s preamble, for example, states that the agreement is “Reaffirming the sovereign right of any State to regulate and control conventional arms exclusively within its territory, pursuant to its own legal or constitutional system.” The U.N. has “no gun control registry in terms of private ownership, whatsoever,” Erickson said. Erickson said the U.S. government already uses “end-use” monitoring by recording where it sends weapons. “There is only in the Arms Trade Treaty a focus on cross-border transfers, so not domestic sales or ownership,” said Rachel Stohl, vice president of research programs at the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan think tank focused on international security. “It’s really looking at sales between governments. And it applies to the entire range of conventional weapons, not just small arms and light weapons.” The U.S. signed the treaty in 2013, though the Senate never ratified it — which means the country is a signatory of the agreement, but not an official party and bound by it. In 2019, Trump announced that he was revoking the country’s status as a signatory, though that move was symbolic. The U.N. still lists the U.S. as a signatory to the treaty, though in a footnote online it acknowledges that, in a July 2019 communication, the U.S. said it did not intend to become a party to the treaty and that it has no legal obligations in relation to it. Contrary to the ad’s claim, Biden has not yet taken any action to reverse the U.S.’s public position on the treaty, Stohl said. An inquiry to one of the directors of the American Firearms Association was not immediately returned.
— Associated Press writer Angelo Fichera in Philadelphia contributed this report.
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Baseless claims about safety of mRNA vaccines circulate online
CLAIM: Humans and other mammals injected with an mRNA vaccine die within five years.
THE FACTS: There is no scientific evidence to suggest humans or other mammals given an mRNA vaccine die within five years, experts told the AP. Social media users are reviving concerns that mRNA-based vaccines, including those that are used to combat COVID-19, are extremely deadly. “No mammal injected with mRNA has ever survived longer than 5 years. The die-off has begun,” one user on Twitter wrote in a post that’s been liked or shared more than 17,000 times. But there’s no scientific proof that the mRNA vaccination shortens life expectancy or has led to mass die offs in humans or other mammals since research began on them decades ago, experts told the AP “Nothing of the scale suggested has happened,” Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, chief of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told the AP. “The vast majority of the millions who have been injected are doing just fine.” Vaccines utilizing messenger RNA, or mRNA, teach cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response that protects a person from becoming seriously ill from a disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The molecule was first discovered in the early 1960s and research into its uses in medical treatment progressed into the 1970s and 1980s, according to Johns Hopkins University’s School of Public Health. A flu vaccine based on mRNA was tested on mice in the 1990s, but the first vaccines for rabies and influenza weren’t tested on humans until recently. Kuritzkes said no deaths from those vaccines were reported in those trials. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been inoculated against COVID-19 in the last couple of years and reports of death after vaccination remain rare. Healthcare providers are required to report any death after a COVID-19 shot to the federal government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), even if it’s unclear whether the vaccine was the cause. More than 600 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the U.S. from December 2020 through last week, according to the CDC. During that time, there have been more than 16,500 preliminary reports of death, or 0.0027% of those that have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Of those, the CDC has identified just nine deaths causally associated with rare blood clots caused by the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is not mRNA based like those produced by Pfizer and Moderna. Kuritzkes also notes that mRNA only lasts in the body for a short period of time before rapidly degrading, making it unlikely that it would cause long term effects. “The fact that we’re just now getting to the five-year mark for some of the earliest studies is not evidence that people die from the vaccines,” he said. “Just evidence that five years have yet to elapse for many trials. Sort of like saying nobody who voted in the 2020 presidential election has lived more than five years.”
— Associated Press writer Philip Marcelo in New York contributed this report.
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Video of traffic at the Finnish-Russian border misrepresented
CLAIM: Video shows lines of cars waiting at the Russian-Finnish border after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists on Wednesday amid the war in Ukraine.
THE FACTS: The video was filmed at the Vaalimaa border crossing point between Russia and Finland on Aug. 29, weeks before Putin announced the partial mobilization of Russian reservists to Ukraine. Following Putin’s announcement, social media users misrepresented a video showing traffic at the border crossing point in Finland, about a three hour drive from St. Petersburg, Russia. The original video, which was posted to YouTube and TikTok on Sept. 19, shows a long line of cars at the border crossing point. Social media users then took the clip out of context, falsely claiming that it captured Russians fleeing to Finland. “#Breaking: just in – The traffic jam at the border with#Russia/#Finland has pilled up to 35KM and is rising by the hour, it is the only border who is still open for Russian civilians with shengen visas, after#Putin announced he will send 300.000 new troops to#Ukraine,” a tweet with more than 2.7 million views falsely claimed. Igor Parri, the TikTok user who posted the original video confirmed to The Associated Press in an email that he filmed it on Aug. 29. He sent the AP the original video to verify that he filmed it and noted that the video “was just depicting the quite typical line” at the border. The Finish border authority on Wednesday publicly responded to the claims circulating widely on social media, noting that traffic conditions at the border remained normal. “Situation at Finnish Russian border is normal, both at green border and in border traffic,” Matti Pitkäniitty, a senior official with the Finnish border authority wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “Just talked to our officers in charge. There is normal queuing in border traffic…” Pitkäniitty then tweeted on Thursday that traffic from Russia was at a “higher level than usual,” but was comparable to weekend traffic. In a statement to reporte...
Donald Trump Shares Truth Social Photo Proclaiming Him As Second Only To Jesus
Donald Trump Shares Truth Social Photo Proclaiming Him As Second Only To Jesus https://digitalalabamanews.com/donald-trump-shares-truth-social-photo-proclaiming-him-as-second-only-to-jesus/
Donald Trump shared a Truth Social post comparing him to Jesus Christ.
The post said the former president is “second greatest” only to Jesus.
Trump’s supporters, and even Trump himself, have made similar comparisons before.
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Former President Donald Trump shared a post on his Truth Social account on Friday, declaring him as “second” only to Jesus.
The post by Truth Social user @austinnegrete said: “Jesus is the Greatest. President @realDonaldTrump is the second greatest.”
It accompanied an image of a painting of Jesus by artist Dan Wilson.
Trump “ReTruthed,” or reposted, the Jesus comparison to his 4.1 million Truth Social followers.
It isn’t the first time that the former president’s supporters have compared him to Jesus.
In 2019, Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk claimed Jesus was treated more fairly before his crucifixion than Trump was treated throughout his first impeachment.
“When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers,” said Loudermilk during a debate on the House floor, per TIME magazine. “During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this President in this process.”
In the same year, The Washington Post reported that white, conservative evangelicals who approved of Trump’s performance as president promoted the idea that he was heaven-sent.
Local religious leaders pray alongside President Donald Trump during an “Evangelicals for Trump” rally in Miami, FL on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020.
Photo by Scott McIntyre/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Trump has made these grand proclamations himself. In August 2019, Trump told reporters in reference to trade with China: “I am the chosen one.” He also shared tweets describing him as the “King of Israel” and “the second coming of God.”
And in October 2020, per the Independent, he claimed to have had a conversation where somebody told him he was the most famous person in the world. Trump told his supporters in North Carolina that Jesus Christ was actually more famous than him.
Insider contacted Trump’s post-presidency office for comment on Saturday morning but did not immediately receive a response.
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Trump Allies Create A New Super PAC Called MAGA Inc.
Trump Allies Create A New Super PAC Called MAGA Inc. https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-allies-create-a-new-super-pac-called-maga-inc-2/
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Youngstown, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)
NEW YORK — Top allies of former President Donald Trump are creating a new super PAC that’s expected to serve as the main vehicle for his midterm spending and could become a key part of his campaign infrastructure should he move forward with a 2024 White House run.
The political action committee, called MAGA Inc., will supersede Trump’s existing super PAC, Politico first reported. Paperwork for the new committee was filed Friday morning with the Federal Election Commission.
The buildout comes as Trump, a Republican, is under mounting legal pressure on multiple fronts. The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into how hundreds of documents with classified markings ended up at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and state and federal officials are probing his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. And in New York, Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit this week claiming Trump’s namesake company engaged in decades of fraudulent bookkeeping, padding his net worth by billions of dollars and habitually misleading banks.
News of the new super PAC also comes less than two months before the Nov. 8 midterm elections and as many Republican candidates have been struggling to raise money against well-funded Democrats.
“President Trump is committed to saving America, and Make America Great Again, Inc. will ensure that is achieved at the ballot box in November and beyond,” said Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich, who will serve as the group’s executive director.
Others joining the committee include Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, longtime Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio and communications aides Steven Cheung and Alex Pfeiffer.
Until now, Trump’s Save America leadership PAC, which must abide by far stricter fundraising and spending limits and has come under its own scrutiny, has served as his chief political vehicle. Super PACs can raise unlimited money and spend it freely but are barred from coordinating directly with campaigns.
Trump officials declined to say how much the notoriously thrifty former president intends to spend on his midterm efforts or how much he might try to transfer from his Save America PAC, which ended August with more than $90 million. The Associated Press previously reported that aides had been discussing the possibility of moving at least some of that money to a new or repurposed super PAC, though campaign finance experts are mixed on the legality of such a move.
While Trump has been a prolific fundraiser since leaving office, vacuuming up small-dollar donations, his existing super PAC — Make America Great Again, Again! — has not been a major midterm player.
Trump has been under growing pressure to open his war chest and start spending on midterm races as Republicans have been outraised by Democrats heading into the final campaign stretch.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in particular, has urged candidates with Trump’s support to ask him to open his wallet. In the meantime, candidates, including some who presented themselves as McConnell antagonists during their primaries, have had to grovel to him and the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC he controls, which had $100 million in reserve at the end of June.
Trump played a highly visible role during the GOP primaries, endorsing hundreds of candidates up and down the ballot, from Senate to governor to county commissioner. But some of those contenders are now struggling in their general election races, putting control of the evenly divided Senate up in the air.
Trump is widely expected to launch another presidential run, but the timing of an announcement remains unclear. While he had once been keen to announce before the midterm elections, in part to try to stave off a long list of potential rivals who have been circling, some aides have urged him to wait, warning that announcing early could leave him open to blame if Republicans perform poorly in November.
Print Headline: Trump allies create a new super PAC called MAGA Inc.
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Brayden Jenkins, Theodore Run Past Opelika https://digitalalabamanews.com/brayden-jenkins-theodore-run-past-opelika/
Opelika coach Erik Speakman had seen more than enough of Theodore running back Brayden Jenkins well before he finished with 267 yards on 31 carries and four touchdowns Friday night and wasn’t sure he was safe from the onslaught afterward.
“He’s probably still running around out here somewhere,” Speakman said after Jenkins and the No. 5-ranked 6A Bobcats rallied from a 21-7 first-quarter deficit to overpower the No. 6-ranked 7A Bulldogs 34-24.
By then, Jenkins was standing atop a bench in the locker room, Theodore coach Eric Collier by his side, celebrating with his teammates after scoring on runs of 31, 8, 75 and 1 yard — the final TD coming at the end of an incredible 75-yard, 20-play drive that chewed up 11 minutes of the third and fourth quarters.
Jenkins’ performance pushed the Bobcats to only the fifth 6-0 start in school history, three of those authored by Collier.
“To come up here and win over such a historic program as Opelika says a lot,” Collier said after Theodore administered a thorough beating to the Bulldogs at the line of scrimmage after a shaky first quarter.
It also said a lot that the Bobcats again rallied from a substantial deficit for the second straight game. Last week, they trailed Spanish Fort 14-0 before winning 29-21.
“We didn’t panic,” Collier said. “We had to find a few things. Our offensive line did a heckuva job. We built this program on being physical and running the ball and playing great defense. It was like last week. We work those situations a lot.”
After Opelika lost its two best defensive players, linebacker Tae Gay and defensive lineman Brenton Williams, to early injuries, Collier decided to keep feeding Jenkins the ball even after trailing 21-7.
“We talked about it at halftime,” Collier said. “We felt we could go out and put them away in the fourth quarter, go out and run them out of gas.”
The 75-yard, 20-play drive to secure victory midway through the fourth quarter “was the nail,” Collier said.
And the 5-10, 180-pound Jenkins was the hammer.
“They were knocking everybody over,” Jenkins said of his offensive line. “I love them. We slowly got control and got into our groove.”
Jenkins said he never felt tired.
“Actually, it felt like 10 carries,” he said. “I couldn’t even tell it was 31. That’s always the job, to be more physical than everybody.”
Game within the game: The Bulldogs were nearly perfect in the first quarter as their possession passing game stretched Theodore’s defense at its seams. Opelika quarterback Roman Gagliano threw TD passes of 14 yards to Jamari Miller and 50 yards to Makai Simpson and Miller scored on a 12-yard run to make it 21-7 in the first quarter. Two of the touchdowns were set up by Bobcats turnovers.
But Theodore began playing more press man coverage and turned the game around. Gagliano was 28-of-40 passing for 287 yards but managed only 147 yards in the last three quarters after going 11-of-12 for 140 yards in the opening quarter.
“We don’t do a lot of press,” Collier said. “And we just had to find the open bubble offensively.”
Theodore responded by rushing for 261 of its 274 yards in the final three quarters after mustering only 13 yards on six carries in the first quarter.
“The way they were able to run the football on us was the most disappointing thing,” said Speakman.
Key sequence: Opelika got the ball first in the second half and drove to Theodore’s 11 before Johnni Cessena — whose field goal in overtime beat No. 1 Central-Phenix City earlier this season — missed a 39-yard field goal that could have given the Bulldogs a 27-20 lead.
“We had first down and didn’t block anybody, then we missed the field goal, then (Jenkins) ripped off that long run,” Speakman said.
Plays of the game: First, Jenkins’ 75-yard TD run on Theodore’s second play of the second half to give the Bobcats the lead for good at 27-24.
“They pancaked almost everybody,” Jenkins said. “My guards (Timmes Marquez and Gyainni Smith) got out and pulled and it was smooth sailing from there.”
And secondly, Tevaris Sullivan kept Theodore’s game-clinching drive alive with a 25-yard wide receiver screen from quarterback Cameron Rigby on third-and-25.
Stat sheet: Theodore outgained Opelika 274 yards to 71 on the ground … Rigby was 9-of-17 passing for 125 yards, including a 47-yard TD pass to Sullivan in the first quarter … the Bobcats controlled the clock for 28:44, nearly 10 minutes more than Opelika … Kade Cooper had nine catches for 100 yards for the Bulldogs … Jenkins has 941 yards rushing and 13 TDs this season and is averaging 8.4 yards per carry.
By the numbers: 80-9, Theodore’s record since 2000 when scoring more than 30 points … 5-25, Opelika’s record since 2000 when giving up more than 30 points.
He said it: “They were ready for us and did some things we weren’t expecting. They threw a little more than I thought they would. But we’re blessed with coaches who adjusted.” — Collier.
Next: Theodore is off next week and visits Blount on Oct. 7. Opelika visits No. 1-ranked 7A Auburn on Sept. 30.
This post will be updated
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Kenya's Deal With US Could Hurt Regional Trade https://digitalalabamanews.com/kenyas-deal-with-us-could-hurt-regional-trade/
By LUKE ANAMI
The pursuit of a new trade pact between Washington and Kenya is eliciting old fears on whether it could hurt adherence to obligations under the East African Community, and hence continental ambitions for more commerce.
The US has confirmed it is willing to restart negotiations on a future trade pact with Nairobi once a substantive government is formed by President William Ruto. And although Washington says any trade agreements in Africa will adhere to the ambitions of more integration and trade as per the African Union, some of the suggestions could contradict it.
“What you see is right now we are pursuing a number of different initiatives, one of them in a very multilateral context in the Indo Pacific,” Katherine Tai, the US trade representative told The EastAfrican last week.
“What we are doing with Kenya is not because of a preference for bilateral versus multilateral,” she added.
Policy on mitumba
Tai, however, said the US government has no plans to change its policy on the exports of second hand clothes (mitumba) to Kenya despite plans to ban the trade through increase of taxes on cotton by the East African Community.
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“I am aware of this particular issue; I guess we would call it a measure or trade action. Actually, I welcome the conversation with whoever will be my new Kenyan counterpart about this,” she added.
“I think that there are some clear trade discipline concerns from a strict World Trade Organisation legal standpoint. But I will be very interested to hear Kenya’s perspective and the EAC perspective about the goals that they are about to accomplish.”
In December 2019, the EAC Council of Ministers failed to decide on the ban of second-hand clothes but approved the final draft on cotton, textile and apparels strategy.
In 2016, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda were meant to decide on whether to adopt a call for a ban on importation of used clothes.
Rwanda went ahead with the ban, but its apparel benefits under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa)- a free trade agreement between Washington and select African countries were suspended by former US President Donald Trump in July 2018.
Kenya, which has long sought a full free trade agreement with the US, is yet to finalise the trade agreement discussions as Tai revealed that the Washington administration still prefers a bilateral trade deal with Nairobi.
In June this year, the Joe Biden administration launched the United States-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP), replacing earlier negotiations for a trade pact began by Trump’s administration.
The new partnership is supposed to lead to “high standard commitments in a wide range of areas with a view to increasing investment,” according to a joint statement shared by Tai and Kenyan counterpart Betty Maina. It is supposed to promote inclusive economic growth, enhance small and medium enterprises and support African regional economic integration.
Kenya enjoys substantial duty-free access to the US market through Agoa, but the pact expires in September 2025.
Kenya’s trade with the US has been growing from strength to strength as latest figures indicate that the US has overtaken Uganda as the largest buyer of Kenyan goods.
Thriving trade
Official data shows that exports to the US jumped 47 percent to Ksh38.8 billion ($321.7 million) in the first half of the year on the back of increased sales of clothes.
The sale of Kenya-made goods to Uganda dipped slightly at Ksh36.2 billion ($300.1 million) in the period under review from Ksh36.3 billion ($300.9 million) in the same half last year.
However, American technology giants want the Biden administration to compel the Kenyan government to abolish digital services tax (DST) as a condition for a new trade deal.
The bone of contention between Washington and Nairobi is a 1.5 per cent digital services tax that the National Treasury introduced last year.
Removal of the tax would stop Nairobi from collecting taxes from tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon.
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Elton John In Tears As President Biden Surprises Him With Medal At White House Gig
Elton John In Tears As President Biden Surprises Him With Medal At White House Gig https://digitalalabamanews.com/elton-john-in-tears-as-president-biden-surprises-him-with-medal-at-white-house-gig/
Sir Elton John has played for Joe Biden and about 2,000 fans on the White House lawn as part of his farewell tour, with the singer in tears as the president awarded him a medal.
Introducing the star, Mr Biden said: “Like so many Americans, our family loves his music. It’s clear Elton John’s music has changed our lives.”
The president said in his 2017 book that he sang Crocodile Rock to his son Beau when he was a child, and again when he was dying of cancer.
Sir Elton performed the song at Friday’s gig, as well as tracks such as Tiny Dancer, Rocketman and Your Song.
Nurses, teachers, emergency services workers and LGBTQ activists were among the audience at the show, intended to honour what the White House called “everyday heroes”.
The singer, 75, said the performance was the “icing on the cake” of his decades-long career.
Elton had previously declined to play for former president Donald Trump’s inauguration but appeared in his element at Friday’s gig.
And there was a surprise too – with President Biden awarding him the National Humanities Medal.
“I’m flabbergasted,” said a tearful Sir Elton. “I will treasure this.”
“I don’t know how to take a compliment very well,” he added.
“But it’s wonderful to be here amongst so many people who have helped my AIDS foundation and my heroes, the ones that work day to day on the front line.”
Image: It was an emotional night for the 75-year-old singer. Pic: AP
Image: Pic: AP
In between songs, Elton gave shout-outs to the likes of ex-president George W Bush for his administration’s plan to tackle AIDS – and former first lady Laura Bush was in the audience.
The singer’s foundation has raised more than £400m to combat the virus around the world since being set up in 1992.
Elton is in the middle of a farewell tour that includes a show in Washington on Saturday and gigs across America until mid-November.
It heads to Australia and New Zealand at the end of the year before heading to Europe in March – where dates include nine days at London’s O2 Arena.
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After Declaring That He's 'not A Terrorist' Trump Uses North Carolina Rally To Vilify New York Attorney General Letitia James
After Declaring That He's 'not A Terrorist' Trump Uses North Carolina Rally To Vilify New York Attorney General Letitia James https://digitalalabamanews.com/after-declaring-that-hes-not-a-terrorist-trump-uses-north-carolina-rally-to-vilify-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james/
Former President Donald Trump bashed the NY AG who filed a suit against him and his family business.
His remarks came at a Friday rally where he also lifted up his children, who were named in the suit.
Trump called Letitia James “racist” and said her actions were “gross prosecutorial misconduct.”
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At a Friday rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, former President Donald Trump took the time to lift up three of his children in response to a new fraud suit filed against him.
During the rally in support of GOP Senate candidate Rep. Ted Budd, Trump said he and his fellow MAGA Republicans are not “terrorists” and claimed President Joe Biden “is cognitively impaired and in no condition to lead our country, which may very well end up in World War III.”
But Trump spent more time berating New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has filed a massive fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization.
The James’ office said “Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to further enrich himself and cheat the system” and “repeatedly and persistently manipulated the value of assets to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization.”
The suit follows a three-year probe into Trump and his business dealings.
Trump on Friday called James “racist” — an accusation he’s also made on multiple other occasions — and referred to her actions as “gross prosecutorial misconduct.”
The attorney general is accusing him, his children, and the Trump Organization of years of financial fraud. The case is just one of many legal problems Trump faces, including the investigation into mishandled classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and the probe into the January 6 insurrection.
At the rally, Trump defended his children who were named in the suit, apparently reading off a teleprompter: “Ivanka, Ivanka is a very good person. Don Jr., he’s a good person. Eric. Eric. These are good people.”
He added: “This crazy radical leftist nutjob James should be going after the killers, the gangbangers, the drug dealers.”
James’ office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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Zelensky Calls On Ukrainians In Occupied Territory To Resist Russian Draft
Zelensky Calls On Ukrainians In Occupied Territory To Resist Russian Draft https://digitalalabamanews.com/zelensky-calls-on-ukrainians-in-occupied-territory-to-resist-russian-draft/
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Cheering at passing military vehicles on Friday in Chuhuiv, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.Credit…Yasuyoshi Chiba/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
With Russia laying the groundwork to formally annex areas it is occupying, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine directly asked Ukrainians to help the nation’s war effort even from within the occupied territory.
Russian-backed officials in eastern and southern Ukraine continued carrying out referendums that began on Friday and that were widely viewed as staged to establish a pretext for Moscow to incorporate those areas into the Russian Federation. That would allow the Kremlin to conscript people from the region for its war effort and frame attacks on the territory as attacks on Russia.
Mr. Zelensky, in his nightly address on Friday, asked those living in regions under partial Russian control — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizka and Kherson — to avoid Russian mobilization efforts “by any means” and to try to make it to Ukraine-held lands.
If they cannot, and end up in the Russian military, Mr. Zelensky asked that they assist Ukraine’s fight from the inside.
“Sabotage any activity of the enemy, hinder any Russian operations, provide us with any important information about the occupiers — their bases, headquarters, warehouses with ammunition,” he said. “And at the first opportunity, switch to our positions. Do everything to save your life and help liberate Ukraine.”
Ukrainian partisans have played a major role in the war from behind enemy lines. They were credited with taking part in a strike on a Russian air base in Crimea, an area that has been under Moscow’s control since 2014, and attacks on Russian-appointed officials in occupied cities.
As the referendums on joining Russia began this week, partisans targeted election infrastructure, blowing up warehouses containing ballots or buildings where officials were meeting in preparation for the vote. An explosion rocked the Russian-controlled southern city of Melitopol on Friday morning before voting started.
Mr. Zelensky said in his speech that Ukraine’s stunning advance in recent weeks, which has forced a Russian retreat in the country’s northeast, was enabled by the collaboration of Ukrainians living under Russian rule there.
Praising their efforts, he said, “Please do everything to increase such help.”
After President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia announced a mobilization this week that could draft about 300,000 people into the military, Ukrainians in occupied lands expressed fears of the same fate.
Olha, a Ukrainian who spoke on Thursday night to friends in Enerhodar, a Russian-controlled city in southeastern Ukraine near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, said men ages 18 to 35 were being prevented from leaving the city.
She said she was nervous that annexation would force young men to join the Russian military and fight against fellow Ukrainians.
Mr. Zelensky called such mobilization efforts “criminal” and called on outside governments to condemn the draft and “sham” referendums in occupied Ukraine.
— Victoria Kim and Maria Varenikova
Image
Residents of Luhansk, Ukraine, voted in a referendum organized by Russian authorities on Friday. Polling stations were installed across Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory for referendums on annexation by Russia.Credit…EPA, via Shutterstock
Russian soldiers, wearing balaclavas and wielding guns, flanked election workers. Ukrainians were forced to vote while Russian officials or their proxies stood guard. Some residents even hid in their homes, terrified that voting against Russia’s annexation would lead to their being abducted, or worse.
As Russia began orchestrating staged voting in referendums across Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine on Friday, Ukrainians in those areas expressed a mix of anger, defiance and fear that their homeland was being usurped by force in what they called a sham vote.
The aim of the hastily called referendums — supported by pro-Russian residents and their proxies — was apparent: to give President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a legally bogus pretext to gobble up their country. And they brought back memories of staged votes in 2014 in Crimea that were swiftly followed by Russia’s annexation of the peninsula.
BELARUS
POLAND
RUSSIA
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Luhansk
Donetsk
MOLDOVA
Zaporizka
ROMANIA
Kherson
CRIMEA
200 miles
RUSSIA
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Luhansk
Donetsk
MOLDOVA
Zaporizka
Kherson
ROMANIA
CRIMEA
200 miles
Tina, 27, a freelance journalist who was visiting her fiancé’s parents in Beryslav, in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, said that she drove through the streets on Friday morning and saw Russian officials standing in a neighbor’s yard, waiting for him to fill the ballot before passing it on to someone in a nearby vehicle.
Russian officials were going door to door, she said, to deliver ballots, peering into the windows of homes that did not answer their call.
“We are against these occupiers,” Tina said, “but we do not have a right to say no — we cannot refuse.”
Tina, who said she has participated in protests against the Russian occupation, said that her fiancé’s relatives had locked their gates and doors and turned off their lights, as Ukrainian authorities had advised. But she was worried that their address would be noted and there would be negative repercussions if they refused to answer the door.
“After living side by side with them for more than six months now, we have learned that any refusal could result in a direct ticket to the basement,” she said, using a phrase Ukrainians under occupation in Kherson, a port city in the country’s south, have started using to describe abductions by occupying forces.
Olha, a Ukrainian who spoke on Thursday night to friends in Enerhodar, a Russian-controlled city in southeastern Ukraine near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, said men aged 18 to 35 were being prevented from leaving the city. Echoing the concerns of many Ukrainians, she said she was nervous that Russian annexation would force young men to join the Russian military and fight against fellow Ukrainians. That has already happened in parts of Luhansk and Donetsk occupied by Russia since 2014.
“They want to conscript them to the Russian armed forces,” Olha said. “And Ukrainians will have to fight against Ukrainians,” she said, stopping as she broke into tears. Like others interviewed for this article, she did not want to use her full name out of concern for her safety.
Andriy, 44, who has friends and relatives in Kherson, said he had spoken to them in recent days and they had told him that it wasn’t possible to leave the city because of the referendum.
“You know, those who are smart, they sit at home and don’t go anywhere,” he said by phone from Kyiv.
Image
Residents of Luhansk, Ukraine, waited to vote at a polling station set up for this week’s referendum on whether to be annexed by Russia. Credit…Associated Press
In Russian-occupied Melitopol, in southeastern Ukraine, Natalia, 73, a pensioner, said that the referendums had shocked her.
“The scariest thing is that after the referendum, if Ukraine tries to liberate my city, it will be considered as an attack on Russia,” she said.
She said the Russians had set up information booths about the referendum across Melitopol, and had hung banners with pro-Russian slogans. The city, she said, was covered with Russian flags, and patriotic Russian music played.
On Friday, she said, she looked out the window of her apartment and saw two pro-Russian referendum workers entering the building. She remained inside, far from the window, to avoid being seen. But she managed to spot two soldiers, each wearing a balaclava and clutching a gun, escorting three referendum workers. She said that a polling station had been set up in the gym of a school.
“I will not go to vote,” Natalia said. “Only if they point a gun at me, and even then I will vote for Ukraine.”
Diana Poladova contributed reporting.
Image
Construction workers lineup to cast ballots at a mobile polling station in Russian-controlled Mariupol in eastern Ukraine on Friday. The referendum has been called a sham by the G7.Credit…Associated Press
President Biden and leaders of the Group of 7 nations on Friday condemned Russia’s hastily called referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine, a possible prelude to annexation of those territories, calling the votes a flagrant violation of international law.
“These sham referenda initiated today by Russia and its proxies have no legal effect or legitimacy, as demonstrated by Russia’s hasty methods of organization, which in no way respect democratic norms, and its blatant intimidation of local populations,” the leaders of the group, which includes the United States, Britain and other Western powers, said in a statement released on Friday afternoon.
“These referenda in areas that have been forcibly put under Russia’s temporary control in no way represent a legitimate expression of the will of the Ukrainian people, who have consistently resisted Russian efforts to change borders by force,” the leaders continued. “We will never recognize these referenda which appear to be a step toward Russian annexation and we will never recognize a purported annexation if it occurs.”
The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, told reporters on Friday that the Biden administration was “prepared to impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia along with our allies and partners in response to these actions if they move forward with annexation.”
Nodding to the Group of 7 statement, Ms. Jean-Pierre said the United States would “never recognize this territory or as anything other than part of Ukraine, because we stand with our partners around the world in rejecting whatever f...
Louisiana Tech Vs South Alabama Prediction Game Preview
Louisiana Tech Vs South Alabama Prediction, Game Preview https://digitalalabamanews.com/louisiana-tech-vs-south-alabama-prediction-game-preview/
Louisiana Tech vs South Alabama prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 4, Saturday, September 24
Louisiana Tech vs South Alabama How To Watch
Date: Saturday, September 24
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: Louisiana Tech (1-2), South Alabama (2-1)
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Louisiana Tech vs South Alabama Game Preview
Why Louisiana Tech Will Win
The Bulldogs battled well against Clemson in a 48-20 loss, the passing attack was fine against Missouri, and the ground game rolled in the win over Stephen F. Austin. This is the first game against someone who’s truly their own size.
Even with the 1-2 start, the offense has been scoring, the passing attack under Sonny Cumbie is doing Sonny Cumbie passing attack things, and now it gets to go against a South Alabama defense that doesn’t generate enough of a pass rush and doesn’t get behind the line.
Give the Bulldog quarterbacks time and they’ll roll. But …
– CFN Expert Picks, Week 4
Why South Alabama Will Win
Louisiana Tech turns it over way too much, giving the ball aways eight times with seven picks.
No, the Jaguars don’t generate a pass rush, but quarterbacks are only hitting 55% of their passes so far and they’re not consistent enough.
For all of the good things the Louisiana Tech passing game has done, it’s only connecting on 55% of its throws with seven touchdowns to go along with the seven picks.
The Jaguars have a nice mix of offensive things happening. The ground game is enough for the Bulldogs to worry about, QB Carter Bradley and the passing game have been great over the first few games, and …
– 10 Best Predictions Against the Spread
What’s Going To Happen
South Alabama doesn’t have the turnover issues Louisiana Tech does. The Jaguar defense hasn’t done much to take it away, and it needs to be more disruptive, but it’ll control the game.
It’ll be the USA running game that takes over and helps the O keep the ball for well over 35 minutes.
– NFL Expert Picks, Week 3
Louisiana Tech vs South Alabama Prediction, Line
South Alabama 37, Louisiana Tech 23
Line: South Alabama -13, o/u: 58.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Louisiana Tech vs South Alabama Must See Rating (out of 5): 2
College coaches all over America this week are raising awareness and research dollars for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive genetic disorder that takes the lives of young men. Fans can donate to Coach To Cure MD online or by texting the word CURE to 501501 to give $25.
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Story originally appeared on College Football News
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Cards' Pujols Hits 700th Home Run 4th Player To Reach Mark
Cards' Pujols Hits 700th Home Run, 4th Player To Reach Mark https://digitalalabamanews.com/cards-pujols-hits-700th-home-run-4th-player-to-reach-mark/
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Albert Pujols seemed like a long shot in early August to reach 700 home runs, still more than a dozen swings from the hallowed mark and his power stroke all but gone.
Or so it appeared.
Now showing the pop of his youth in the final weeks of his career, the 42-year-old slugger got there with two long shots.
Pujols hit his 700th home run, connecting for his second drive of the game and becoming the fourth player in major league history to make it to the milestone as the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-0 Friday night.
Pujols joined Barry Bonds (762 homers), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) in one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs.
St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Albert Pujols, center, is surrounded by his family while speaking to reporters after a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Pujols hit his 700th home run during the fourth inning. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ashley Landis
“Don’t get me wrong, I know where my places stand in this game, but since Day One when I made my debut, I was never about numbers, never about chasing numbers,” Pujols said. “It was always about winning championships and tried to get better in these games.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gladly gushed about Pujols’ accomplishment.
“This is like the Mount Rushmore of sluggers, so to reach that 700-home run mark, it’s remarkable,” Roberts said.
A man wearing a blue Dodgers shirt with Hideo Nomo’s No. 16 on the back snagged the 700th homer ball. He was whisked under the stands as he clutched a black glove containing the historic souvenir ball to his chest. Prolonged negotiations went on before the man was escorted out of Dodger Stadium flanked by 10 security personnel and into a waiting SUV.
“Souvenirs are for the fans,” Pujols said. “I don’t have any problem if they want to keep it. That’s why the fans come here, to have a special moment of history.”
Stirring up images of his dominant days as a three-time NL MVP, Pujols hit No. 699 in the third inning, then launched No. 700 in the fourth.
A 37-year-old Los Angeles man, Cesar Soriano, snagged No. 699. He turned the ball over to security after being told he could meet Pujols.
It’s been a remarkable and resurgent run for Pujols. This was his 14th home run since the start of August for the NL Central-leading Cardinals, and his 21st of the season.
Roberts marveled at the improbability in July of Pujols making history in late September.
“I wouldn’t doubt him, but the stars seem to kind of have to align for it to play out like this,” Roberts said. “I don’t think Albert even thought it was a possibility.”
Now, no one needs to wonder whether Pujols would’ve come back for a few extra swings next year had he finished this season at 699 or so.
Pujols took extra pleasure in making his mark at Dodger Stadium, where he said he regained his joy for the game while with the Dodgers last season.
“It’s pretty special, especially with the Dodgers fans, to do it here,” Pujols said. “And, you get to see both sides, they get to enjoy this and to do it in a Cardinals uniform is really special.”
Pujols’ historic homer was a three-run shot against reliever Phil Bickford. The ball landed in the first couple rows of the left-field pavilion, the same location his two-run shot touched down the previous inning off left-hander Andrew Heaney.
“At first, I was upset … and then when the crowd reacted and seen all the smiles, it was a very special moment for MLB,” Bickford said. “Albert Pujols is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.”
Pujols jogged around the bases smiling all the way. After crossing the plate and pointing his fingers skyward, Pujols went over to greet fellow Dominican Republic and former Dodgers star Adrian Beltre. They high-fived through the protective netting.
Then he was off to the Cardinals dugout, getting hugs and congratulations every step of the way.
Pujols received a prolonged standing ovation from the crowd — he finished out last season while playing for the Dodgers. He took a curtain call, raising his cap in acknowledgment.
The crowd of 50,041 chanted “Pujols! Pujols!” The fans finally sat down after being on their feet in anticipation of seeing history.
Later in the Cardinals clubhouse, his teammates “gave me a little shower, a little toast,” Pujols said.
Pujols’ 700th homer gave him a couple of other nice, round numbers, too — he has hit 500 home runs off right-handers and 200 off lefties.
His achievement was celebrated beyond Chavez Ravine.
At Chase Field in Phoenix, the San Francisco Giants were meeting on the mound when the 700th homer was shown on the videoboard, prompting veteran third baseman Evan Longoria to applaud, along with the Diamondbacks’ crowd.
At Target Field in Minneapolis, Shohei Ohtani pitched the Los Angeles Angels to a win and then said through an interpreter: “I’m really glad he got to 700. … It was an honor to be a teammate of his. He’s raking this year, so it feels like he’s got a lot more left in the tank.”
Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez tweeted about his fellow star from the Dominican: “You are the man!!”
Pujols connected twice on the same night New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge remained on deck for home run history. He remained at 60 homers, just short of tying Roger Maris’ AL mark of 61 in 1961, in a win at Yankee Stadium.
Lars Nootbaar, Juan Yepez and Alec Burleson also homered for St. Louis.
Pujols struck out swinging in his first at-bat against Heaney and grounded out to short in the sixth. He was replaced in the eighth by Burleson, who added a pinch-hit homer.
José Quintana (6-6) got the victory. He scattered five hits over 6 2/3 innings and struck out six.
Cardinals outfielder Corey Dickerson pitched the ninth. With the bases loaded, he retired Trayce Thompson on a flyball to end the game.
Heaney (3-3) was tagged in the most-lopsided loss this year for the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Pujols snapped a tie with Alex Rodriguez for fourth on the career list when he hit career homer No. 697 against Pittsburgh on Sept. 11.
Batting .189 on July 4, Pujols started to find his stroke in August, swatting seven homers in one 10-game stretch that helped St. Louis pull away in the division race.
Pujols has enjoyed a productive season after returning to St. Louis in March for a $2.5 million, one-year contract. It’s his highest total since he hit 23 homers for the Angels in 2019.
He plans to retire when the season ends.
Pujols began his career in St. Louis. He was selected by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 amateur draft and won the 2001 NL Rookie of the Year award.
He has hit at least .300 with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in each of his first 10 seasons. He helped the Cardinals to World Series titles in 2006 and 2011.
He set a career high with 49 homers in 2006 — one of seven seasons with at least 40 homers. He led the majors with 47 homers in 2009 and topped the NL with 42 in 2010.
Pujols left St. Louis in free agency in December 2011, signing a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Angels. He was waived by the Angels in May 2021, and then joined the Dodgers and hit 12 homers and drove in 38 runs in 85 games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: All-Star RHP Tony Gonsolin (forearm) will throw two innings in a rehab assignment Tuesday for Triple-A Oklahoma City. … LHP David Price (wrist) will throw to live hitters again in a couple days.
HONORING ALBERT AND YADI
The Dodgers honored Cardinals teammates Pujols and catcher Yadier Molina, both of whom are retiring at season’s end.
The players were greeted by a standing ovation when they strode to home plate before the game. Their career highlights were shown on the stadium’s big screens.
Both players were presented with white golf bags before Pujols took the mic and thanked his former teammates and fans for treating him well during his lone season in LA last year.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: LHP Jordan Montgomery (8-5, 3.26 ERA) makes his second road start with the team since coming from the Yankees. He tossed a one-hit shutout in his other one against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 22 in a 1-0 victory.
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (9-3, 2.39) makes his 20th start of the season. He has 117 strikeouts in 109 1/3 innings.
___
AP freelance writer Jolene Latimer contributed to this report.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Shapiro Wages Drama-Free Pa. Campaign Amid Big Personalities
Shapiro Wages Drama-Free Pa. Campaign Amid Big Personalities https://digitalalabamanews.com/shapiro-wages-drama-free-pa-campaign-amid-big-personalities/
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, is perhaps best known as an election denier who was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. John Fetterman, the Democrat hoping to flip the state’s Senate seat, has revolutionized how campaigns use social media. And Dr. Mehmet Oz was a TV celebrity long before he launched a GOP Senate campaign.
And then there’s Josh Shapiro.
In one of the most politically competitive states in the U.S., the Democratic contender for governor is waging a notably drama-free campaign, betting that a relatively under the radar approach will resonate with voters exhausted by a deeply charged political environment. But Shapiro faces a test of whether his comparatively low-key style will energize Democrats to rally against Mastriano, who many in the party view as an existential threat.
The GOP candidate, who worked to keep Donald Trump in power and overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, supports ending abortion rights and would be in position to appoint the secretary of state, who oversees elections in this state that is often decisive in choosing presidents.
The tension of Shapiro’s strategy was on display during a recent swing through this small city, a dot in deeply Republican south central Pennsylvania. He spent 10 minutes ticking through his record as a two-term attorney general and his policy goals if he becomes governor, such as expanding high-speed internet and boosting school funding. But he also acknowledged that he knew what was on the minds of audience members, noting how his wife gives him a simple reminder every morning: “You better win.”
The 49-year-old Shapiro then became more explicit about the implications of a Mastriano win.
“This guy is the most dangerous, extreme person to ever run for governor in Pennsylvania and by far the most dangerous, extreme candidate running for office in the United States of America,” Shapiro told the crowd in Chambersburg, Mastriano’s home base in his conservative state Senate district.
Shapiro is managing something of a two-pronged campaign, one built for a conventional election year and another aimed at the tense political environment in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing abortion rights.
Last month, Shapiro released a TV ad statewide that discussed a case he brought as attorney general against a contractor who agreed to repay wages after Shapiro’s office accused it of stealing from workers. Then, he’s also aired TV ads describing Mastriano as a threat to democracy, pointing out that Mastriano watched at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as pro-Trump demonstrators attacked police.
“It was there that day that my opponent sided with the angry mob, marched to the Capitol, breached the police lines, and he did so with one purpose, all of them: they didn’t want your votes to count,” Shapiro told an audience in Gettysburg, prompting one woman to call out, “He’s a traitor.”
That message isn’t lost on the Democrats who go see Shapiro.
“I think this is just a critical election,” said Marissa Sandoe, 29. “I think this election will determine whether we still have a democracy in this nation.”
Shapiro later shrugs off suggestions that, for his supporters, the grist of normal-year gubernatorial politics is being drowned out by existential issues, like saving democracy.
“I’m focused like a laser beam on making Pennsylvanians’ lives better,” Shapiro said.
The first midterm of a new administration is often challenging for the president’s party. But for now, polls suggest Shaprio is leading Mastriano and he also has a significant fundraising advantage. Shapiro has run more than $20 million worth of TV ads, while Mastriano has run hardly anything, and nothing since the primary.
Campaigning in the state where Biden was born, Shaprio may benefit from a recovery in Biden’s approval.
The president’s popularity nationally has improved to 45% from 36% in July, although concerns about his handling of the economy persist, according to a September poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Republican Party leaders who initially criticized Mastriano as being too extreme to win the fall general election say he could still win, despite his flaws, if the electorate is angry enough over inflation to check every box against Democrats as a vote against Biden.
But Republicans acknowledge Mastriano is running a race focused largely on his right-wing base, instead of reaching out to the moderates who often put winners over the top in one of America’s most politically divided states.
Mastriano has gotten institutional fundraising help, including events headlined by state party leaders, Donald Trump Jr. and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, but Republican strategists have whispered that the fundraisers aren’t well-attended and Mastriano went on Facebook this week to complain about a lack of support from “national-level Republican organizations.”
“We haven’t seen much assistance coming from them and we’re 49 days out,” Mastriano said.
At campaign events, Mastriano promises to be a pro-energy governor and bus migrants to Biden’s home in Delaware, and he warns that Shapiro is pursuing an extreme agenda.
“If we’re extreme about anything, it’s about loving our constitution,” Mastriano told a rally crowd in nearby Chambersburg earlier this month.
For his part, Shapiro is gamely going about the campaign, taking advantage of Mastriano’s weaknesses. The Democrat will be a guest in early October at the annual dinner of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, a group accustomed to endorsing Republicans for governor. Mastriano hasn’t accepted even its invitation to speak to its board, something Shapiro already did.
Building-trades unions that work on power plants, pipelines and refineries in a coal and natural gas powerhouse haven’t heeded Mastriano’s promises that “we’re going to drill and dig like there’s no tomorrow.”
Instead, they have accepted Shapiro’s middle-of-the-road stance on energy and attacked Mastriano’s support for right-to-work policies as anathema even to rank-and-file members who vote Republican.
“Here’s one thing my members get: They’ll never, ever be with someone who is for right-to-work, ever,” said James Snell, the business manager of Steamfitters Local 420 in Philadelphia.
Shapiro is also taking centrist positions that might help inoculate himself against Mastriano’s attacks.
The race got personal, with Mastriano repeatedly criticizing Shapiro’s choice of a private school for his children — a Jewish day school — as “one of the most privileged, entitled schools in the nation.”
Shapiro, a devout conservative Jew, responded that Mastriano — who espouses what scholars call Christian nationalist ideology — wants to impose his religion on others and “dictate to folks where and how they should worship and on what terms.”
Shapiro dug deeper on Mastriano, saying he speaks in “anti-Semitic, racist and homophobic tropes every day.” Mastriano calls those distractions from Shapiro’s record as attorney general and failure to stem rising homicides in Philadelphia.
Still, Shapiro is drawing crowds on Mastriano’s turf, far from his power base in Philadelphia’s upscale suburbs.
It is fertile ground, said Marty Qually, a Democratic county commissioner in Adams County, which includes Gettysburg, because Democrats are riled up like he’s never seen before and even Republicans there tell him they cannot accept Mastriano’s Christian nationalism or hard-line abortion stance.
It speaks volumes that Shapiro is campaigning in small towns, and not in Democratic strongholds: It means that he’s comfortable with where the race is, Qually said.
“Some folks here said: ‘Why do you want to go to Franklin County? That’s where the other guy’s from,’” Shapiro told the crowd in Chambersburg. “Let me tell you something. I’m glad I came. Ya’ll are making me feel at home.”
___
Follow Marc Levy on Twitter: twitter.com/timelywriter.
___
Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ap_politics.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Trump Rally Staffers Reportedly Tell People To Drop One-Finger QAnon Salute
Trump Rally Staffers Reportedly Tell People To Drop One-Finger QAnon Salute https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-rally-staffers-reportedly-tell-people-to-drop-one-finger-qanon-salute/
Staff members at Donald Trump’s North Carolina political rally Friday night told members of the audience to drop their controversial QAnon one-finger salute, a journalist for NPR reported.
Those attending Trump’s rally in Youngstown, Ohio, last week sparked a controversy after many raised their arms pointing skyward in a gesture chillingly evocative of the stiff-armed “heil Hitler” salute honoring the late Nazi leader.
Donald Trump disciples raise a disturbing stiff-armed one-finger salute to the former president at his his Ohio rally last week.
Gaelen Morse via Reuters
“You saw the rally in Ohio the other night: Trump is there ranting and raving for more than an hour, and you have these rows of young men with their arms raised,” she said at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin.
The comparisons may also have been worrisome for the Trump rally organizers in North Caroline because one man in the crowd at Wilmington told NPR’s Lisa Desjardins that a rally staffer told him to put his hand down when he raised the one-finger salute.
Other staff members could be seen telling others in the crowd the same, according to Desjardins. “Clearly,” they “had been directed to watch for this kind of gesture and to shut it down,” she tweeted.
Those attending the rally said the index-finger gesture stands for the QAnon sign WWG1WGA, or: “Where We Go One We Go All.”
THIS.
Confirmed w people at Trump rally who held 1 finger up that they meant it as a symbol of QAnon’s “Where We Go One We Go All” and further…
Security staff here fanned out and told people to take down their fingers. That is a reason why – maybe main reason – we saw fewer 1/
— Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) September 24, 2022
When the crowd holds up their fingers again at the Trump rally tonight to give the QAnon sign, security moves through them and has them put it down. pic.twitter.com/FQVJVrJ1FX
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 24, 2022
But there were plenty of other conservative signifiers, such as Trump’s rally songs “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and Elvis Presley singing “Dixie.”
The former president also flashed from the stage an “OK” sign, a gesture often used to communicate white supremacy and frequently employed by QAnon disciples.
In addition, Trump closed his lengthy speech over instrumental music linked to the QAnon movement similar to what was played during a segment of his speech in Ohio, the Raleigh News & Observer noted.
Trump promoted local candidates he has endorsed, and took the opportunity to bash investigations into his political and business practices.
He repeatedly attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James, bizarrely referring to her as “Peekaboo” several times, and calling her “disgusting,” “racist” and a “raging maniac” for investigating his business. A lawsuit (which Trump referred to as “depraved”) filed by her office earlier this week accuses Trump and his three oldest children of vastly misrepresenting the value of their assets to obtain loans and favorable insurance payouts, and undercut taxes.
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Trump Said He Could Declassify Documents With His Mind But He May Have Also Accidentally Admitted To Taking Them 'intentionally' NYT Reporter Says
Trump Said He Could Declassify Documents With His Mind, But He May Have Also Accidentally Admitted To Taking Them 'intentionally,' NYT Reporter Says https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-said-he-could-declassify-documents-with-his-mind-but-he-may-have-also-accidentally-admitted-to-taking-them-intentionally-nyt-reporter-says/
Fox News Channel and radio talk show host Sean Hannity (L) interviews U.S. President Donald Trump before a campaign rally at the Las Vegas Convention Center on September 20, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump said Presidents could declassify documents “even by thinking about it.”
Based on a previous interview, a political analyst says he may have “intended to send the boxes of materials.”
Trump’s claim may go against the idea that documents ended up in his home accidentally.
CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman said former President Donald Trump may have inadvertently deviated from the narrative that classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago ended up there accidentally.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump made the unfounded claim that Presidents are able to declassify documents simply by “saying: ‘It’s declassified'” or “even by thinking about it.”
“Because you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago, or to wherever you’re sending it,” Trump told Hannity on Wednesday. “You’re the president, you make that decision. So when you send it, it’s declassified. I declassified everything,” Trump added.
On a Friday episode of CNN New Day, Haberman fixated on Trump’s phrase “you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago.”
She argued the statement “seemed to indicate that he had intended to send the boxes of materials to his private club and home. Whereas there has been this line from people around him that this was all an accident, things were just shipped out.”
Two sources familiar with the Mar-a-Lago raid and the DOJ’S investigation into the documents told NBC News in August that Trump’s aides were hastily packing up documents near the end of his presidency — one of several possible justifications for the matter.
“So they’ve tried leaning in on the idea that this was some kind of accident and just now he seemed to suggest that this was intentional,” Haberman added.
Trump also claimed the FBI planted information in Mar-a-Lago during the August raid, but then seemingly undermined the allegation.
“There seems to be confusion as to the ‘picture’ where documents were sloppily thrown on the floor and then released photographically for the world to see, as if that’s what the FBI found when they broke into my home,” Trump wrote in a September 1 Truth Social post: “Wrong!”
He added: “They took them out of cartons and spread them around on the carpet, making it look like a big ‘find’ for them. They dropped them, not me – Very deceiving…And remember, we could have NO representative, including lawyers, present during the Raid. They were told to wait outside.”
Haberman is a White House Correspondent for the New York Times and a political analyst for CNN who has followed Trump extensively throughout his political career. Her upcoming book, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America,” discusses details about how Trump handled his defeat in the 2020 election, including his attempt to seek advice from White House aides on whether he should refuse to leave office.
Haberman and CNN hosts John Berman and Brianna Keilar went on to discuss more about Trump, including the civil suit New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed against him.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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2022 SEC Football Predictions: Week 4 https://digitalalabamanews.com/2022-sec-football-predictions-week-4/
Hey everyone. It is essential that haste is made as kickoff is moving swiftly in our direction. The write-ups are short, but the scores and predictions will be, as always, somewhat not bad.
Utilizing the AP Poll until the College Football Playoff Selection Committee releases their rankings.
OVERALL RECORD: 28-7
Kent State (1-2) at #1 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC)
Noon ET | Athens, GA | ESPN+/SECN+
Remember when we made jokes about Georgia not winning a national title for 40 years. They may not lose another one for the next 50.
PREDICTION: Georgia 52, Kent State 0
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Missouri (2-1, 0-0 SEC) at Auburn (2-1, 0-0 SEC)
Noon ET | Auburn, AL | ESPN
Auburn will probably try to hire Mike Stoops or Lane Kiffin at the end of the season.
PREDICTION: Missouri 34, Auburn 13
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Bowling Green (1-2) at Mississippi State (2-1, 0-1 SEC)
Noon ET | Starkville, MS | SEC Network
Dogs are licking their wounds after last week’s trip to Baton Rouge.
PREDICTION: Mississippi State 34, Bowling Green 6
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#20 Florida (2-1, 0-1 SEC) at #11 Tennessee (3-0, 0-0 SEC)
3:30pm ET | Knoxville, TN | CBS
We’ve seen this episode in previous seasons, but there’s a cast in Knoxville and they will follow the script written for them right here in Week 4 of your 2022 SEC Football Predictions.
No more being out-coached by a Muschamp. No more losing to the Gators. It’s about to get a little crazy on Cumberland Avenue Saturday evening.
PREDICTION: Tennessee 41, Florida 14
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Tulsa (2-1) at #16 Ole Miss (3-0, 0-0 SEC)
4:00pm ET | Oxford, MS | SEC Network
The more I write these predictions, the more I find myself asking, “How is Alabama going to look against this team?” Yeah. I was able to mention Alabama in a Tulsa-Ole Miss prediction. Nonetheless, Ole Miss smoked the Yellow Jackets last week and will continue the momentum Saturday as the head back to Oxford for a home tilt with Tulsa.
PREDICTION: Ole Miss 38, Tulsa 7
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Northern Illinois (1-2) at #8 Kentucky (3-0, 1-0 SEC)
6:00pm ET | Lexington, KY | ESPN2
The Huskies lost to Vandy at home. Kentucky beat Youngstown State. Kentucky better make Calapari mad and make Mike Stoops the richest coach in the Commonwealth of Kentucky before Nebraska or Auburn make him the richest coach in their own respective state (second-richest coach in Alabama).
PREDICTION: Kentucky 28, Northern Illinois 13
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#10 Arkansas (3-0, 1-0 SEC) vs. #23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-0 SEC)
7:00pm ET | Arlington, TX | ESPN
It’s Arkansas-Texas A&M, which means it is time for our perennial overtime prediction. More times than not, you will be correct by saying this game is going to overtime.
Jimbo and the Aggies didn’t need much offense last week to beat another edition of a how-is-this-team-ranked-this-high Miami Hurricanes. Sometimes these games come down to coaching and Sam Pittman has a chance to bump his stock up another notch by out-coaching one of the three head coaches in the SEC with a national championship on his resume.
Expect Sammy to enjoy, but not endorse, an ol’ co’ beer after this classic.
I wrote this one early, so you get a little “Overtime” on this one. Woooooot. Who’s with me? High five! Fist bump!
PREDICTION: Arkansas 30 – Texas A&M 28 (OT)
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Vanderbilt (3-1, 0-0 SEC) at #2 Alabama (3-0, 0-0 SEC)
7:30pm ET | Tuscaloosa, AL | SEC Network
Alabama hasn’t lost to Vanderbilt since 1984.
PREDICTION: Alabama 45, Vanderbilt 0
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New Mexico State (2-1) at LSU (2-1, 1-0 SEC)
7:30pm ET | Baton Rouge, LA | ESPN+/SECN+
Yeah. LSU is already starting to play pretty well under Brian Kelly. Dang.
PREDICTION: LSU 33, New Mexico State 10
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Charlotte (1-3) at South Carolina (1-2, 0-1 SEC)
7:30pm ET | Columbia, SC | ESPNU
Charlotte hasn’t looked the same since Larry Johnson and Mugsy Bogues hit the transfer portal. South Carolina was not treated very well by the visiting Dawgs last week. Shoo wee! Shoot fire! Them ‘Dawgs were a barkin’!
South Carolina will defeat the Charlotte football team.
PREDICTION: South Carolina 42, Charlotte 12
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A Time Of National Crisis https://digitalalabamanews.com/a-time-of-national-crisis/
To the editor:
I must state that I am quite pleased that President Joe Biden has, finally, elected to promote a more aggressive and honest approach in his recent calling out of the Trump MAGA Republicans, stating that the Trump-led MAGA movement is an “existential threat to democracy” in our great country, and that such extremism “threatens the very foundation of our republic,” in order to specifically address his grave concerns that such “semi-fascism” and “authoritarianism” poses the greatest threat to our democracy since the American Civil War.
Is it not, indeed, quite troubling that even after more than a year and a half following their failed coup attempt on our nation’s capitol, former President Donald Trump continues to use hateful and very provocative rhetoric in order to continue to charge up his base, and state that he was the actual winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which he decisively lost, as verified by all election professionals, concluding that the election actually was, perhaps, the most fair and honest election in our nation’s history.
However, the facts, obviously, do little to discourage the former president and his minions from continuing, in spite of all of the evidence to the contrary, to question the legitimacy of the electoral process and literally all departments of the federal government, as well as the national media, as being somehow corrupt for the priority of service being to the American people, and for their not prioritizing their unquestioned allegiance to him (Trump) above all else.
As the irrational, hateful rhetoric continues unabashed by Trump and his MAGA sycophants, I fear that it might well be possible for further acts of violence, such as what occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, against our nation, of which we must be aware and mindful, and address such areas of grave concern, as has President Biden recently, and have numerous others as well, and no longer tend to ignore such a real and present threat to our cherished way of life, hoping that such will eventually fade away.
These are certainly among the most challenging and concerning times that our nation has faced in its glorious history. Hopefully, better days will, soon, be ahead for all of us.
Richard Hord
Martins Ferry
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Time For Education https://digitalalabamanews.com/time-for-education/
To the editor:
A recent letter included me in its mish-mash salad of words. Let’s do some education on a few subjects. Republican voter suppression is strong on Native American reservations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and New Mexico because they don’t have street addresses, polling places and have taken away drop boxes. Georgia has purged 1.5 million voters and closed 214 polling places. Florida, Texas, New York, North Carolina and Virginia also have done huge purges. Let’s not forget Ohio is so gerrymandered and they won’t draw fair maps. Cheating is the only way the Republicans can win.
Personal attacks on me and other women in our group show much. All of the name-calling makes it sound like a 5-year-old throwing a tantrum. The obsession with degrading women is beyond normal. If there is reincarnation, maybe the writer will come back as Aunt Esther.
I just saw that Trump played the Q Anon nut’s song when he came to Youngstown last week and was wearing the Q pin. He’s combining extreme Christian nationalism and conspiracy theorists into a cult. He is promoting lies, hate, violence, attacks on the truth and us-against-them. Calling the press, FBI, DOJ and branches of government corrupt because they are investigating him. Isn’t this what Mussolini and Hitler did?
He also said “the storm is coming.” Signaling to his cult to be ready for violence again as he did when attempting a coup. So, when you vote for J.D. Vance, you are supporting this cult. He is the author of “Hillbilly Elegy” — why the poor and uneducated support Trump. Trump stole top secret documents and lied about having them — a severe threat to our national security. He said he’d exonerate those in prison that violently stormed our Capitol, committing an insurrection and crimes against our country and calling them patriots because they listened to him. He stacked the most important courts with judges who are bending for him. This is not about politics anymore. It’s about a desperate mentally unstable man that wants to be a lawless dictator. Remember Jim Jones? He claimed to be a pastor but was actually an atheist.
So, when you vote for Trump Republican minions, keep in mind they are taking away voting rights, women’s rights, gerrymandering the courts with far-right judges with no term limits, taking history books out of libraries (freedom of speech), human rights and future generations will be suppressed.
They do support armed citizens carrying guns on our streets. I doubt this is what the majority of the people want. What happened to integrity, respect for our laws and Constitution and doing what is right for the people? The real Republicans are silent and won’t stand up to this threat. What will happen to our land of the free? Our Democracy is at risk.
Linda Caputo
Steubenville
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First Down Friday Night Week 5 – Sept. 23rd, 2022 https://digitalalabamanews.com/first-down-friday-night-week-5-sept-23rd-2022/
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A lot of non-region games were on tap during week 5 of the AHSAA season. We’ve got several key matchups on the newest episode of FOX 54’s First Down Friday Night.
– Madison Academy vs Madison County
– Hartselle vs Oxford
– Gardendale vs Austin
– Guntersville vs Buckhorn
– Fyffe vs Plainview
– Priceville vs Scottsboro
– Westbrook Christian vs Section
– Fort Payne vs Arab
– New Hope vs Decatur Heritage
AHSAA Week 5 Football Scoreboard
Friday Results (includes Thursday games)
OTHER GAMES
Class 7A
Alma Bryant 41, Robertsdale 20
Auburn 42, Ramsay 21
Austin 17, Gardendale 10
Davidson 38, B.C. Rain 0
Dothan 43, Baker 15
Florence 35, Minor 16
Hewitt-Trussville 49, Huffman 8
Huntsville 54, Mae Jemison 0
IMG Academy 41, Central-Phenix City 26
Mary Montgomery 34, Baldwin County 7
Prattville 49, Stanhope Elmore 10
Class 6A
Benjamin Russell 46, Smiths Station 28
Briarwood Christian 34, Oak Mountain 14
Center Point 27, Fairfield 6
Chilton County 24, Tallassee 21 (OT)
Cullman 26, Mortimer Jordan 24
Fort Payne 21, Arab 0
Hartselle 69, Oxford 21
Helena 16, Jackson-Olin 13
Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 45, Gadsden City 19
McGill-Toolen Catholic 27, St. Michael Catholic 7
Muscle Shoals 38, James Clemens 10
Northridge 42, American Christian 28
Pelham 35, Chelsea 28
Pinson Valley 21, Homewood 13
Shades Valley 26, Bessemer City 20
Sidney Lanier 54, Satsuma 6
Spanish Fort 18, Daphne 15
Theodore 34, Opelika 24
Wetumpka 42, Greenville 21
Woodlawn 2, Choctaw County 0
Class 5A
Ardmore 42, Elkmont 0
Carver-Birmingham 30, Dallas Country 14
Central, Clay County 21, Alexandria 7
Charles Henderson 26, Saint James 14
Demopolis 73, Paul Bryant 16
Elmore County 35, St. Clair County 13
Eufaula 54, Pell City 35
Faith Academy 34, St. Pal’s Episcopal 7
Guntersville 52, Buckhorn 21
Hayden 28, Ashville 6
Jemison 20, Montevallo 12
Lawrence County 17, Hanceville 14
Moody 47, Shelby County 0
Pleasant Grove 49, Parker 28
Sardis 12, Brewer 7
Selma 18, Park Crossing 14
Southside-Gadsden 41, Boaz 20
Valley 27, Russell County 24
Wenonah 27, Holt 6
Class 4A
Andalusia 55, Bibb County 18
Anniston 30, Piedmont 28
Bullock County 7, Red Level 0
Cherokee County 56, Munford 26
Corner 44, Fultondale 6
Curry 66, Vina 22
DAR 34, Clements 24
Deshler 36, Colbert County 33
Escambia County 20, Monroe County 0
Geneva 40, Geneva County 33
Handley 37, Lanett 0
Jackson 12, Thomasville 7
New Hope 48, Decatur Heritage 47
Orange Beach 42, McIntosh 14
Priceville 28, Scottsboro 21
Sipsey Valley 36, Oak Grove 19
Slocomb 39, Ashford 20
West Blocton 26, Holtville 7
West Limestone 31, East Limestone 7
Central-Florence 70, Westminster Christian 69 (corrected score)
Class 3A
Alabama Christian 33, Montgomery Academy 27
Dadeville 45, Notasulga 0
Excel 42, J.U. Blacksher 13
Fayette County 59, Marion County 28
Glencoe 54, Holly Pond 20
Gordo 48, Pickens County 18
Greensboro 49, R.C. Hatch 42
Houston Academy 41, Abbeville 0
J.B. Pennington 6, Cleveland 0
Madison Academy 42, Madison County 20
Mars Hill Bible 31, Russellville 30
Opp 23, Rehobeth 13
Phil Campbell 28, Carbon Hill 0
Pike County 18, Headland 13
Prattville Christian 35, Beulah 21
Randolph County 34, Wadley 28
Saks 28, B.B. Comer 0
Sylvania 34, Pisgah 7
Trinity Presbyterian 30, Marbury 3
Walter Wellborn 48, Talladega 28
Weaver 46, Asbury 8
Westbrook Christian 59, Section 6
Winfield 52, Hamilton 0
Class 2A
Aliceville 42, Central-Tuscaloosa 13
Ariton 28, Straughn 14
Collinsville 48, Gaston 12
Cottonwood 56, Graceville, FL 6
Fyffe 56, Plainview 13
Goshen 63, Kinston 19
Greene County 50, A.L. Johnson 0
Hatton 50, East Lawrence 7
Highland Home 28, Brantley 27
Horseshoe Bend 48, Fayetteville 20
Lexington 14, Lauderdale County 13
Luverne 41, Calhoun 0
Sheffield 43, Waterloo 14
Sulligent 35, South Lamar 6
Tanner 66, Columbia 0
Tharptown 48, Cherokee 22
Tuscaloosa Academy 44, University Charter 22
Class 1A
Addison 30, Good Hope 28
Elba 40, Providence Christian 7
Florala 28, Samson 14
Fruitdale 28, Washington County 8
Gatlingburg-Pittman (TN) 28, Coosa Christian 24
Hackeburg 34, Hubbertville 28
Leroy 13, St. Luke’s Episcopal 0
Lynn 49, Tarrant 6
Marengo 32, Southern Choctaw 14
Millry 27, Clarke County 7
Phillips 53, Brilliant 0
Ragland 32, Pleasant Valley 6
Spring Garden 41, Cedar Bluff 12
Sumiton Christian 54, Talladega County Central 21
Victory Christian 19, Gaylesville 16
Winterboro 26, Oakman 20
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Georgia Voting Equipment Breach At Center Of Tangled Tale
Georgia Voting Equipment Breach At Center Of Tangled Tale https://digitalalabamanews.com/georgia-voting-equipment-breach-at-center-of-tangled-tale/
ATLANTA (AP) — The tale of breached voting equipment in one of the country’s most important political battleground states involves a bail bondsman, a prominent attorney tied to former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and a cast of characters from a rural county that rarely draws notice from outsiders.
How they all came together and what it could mean for the security of voting in the upcoming midterm elections are questions tangled up in a lawsuit and state investigations that have prompted calls to ditch the machines altogether.
Details of the unauthorized access of sensitive voting equipment in Coffee County, Georgia, became public last month when documents and emails revealed the involvement of high-profile Trump supporters. That’s also when it caught the attention of an Atlanta-based prosecutor who is leading a separate investigation of Trump’s efforts to undo his loss in the state.
Since then, revelations about what happened in the county of 43,000 people have raised questions about whether the Dominion Voting Systems machines used in Georgia have been compromised.
The public disclosure of the breach began with a rambling phone call from an Atlanta-area bail bondsman to the head of an election security advocacy group involved in a long-running lawsuit targeting the state’s voting machines.
FILE – In this Jan. 7, 2021, image taken from Coffee County, Ga., security video, Cathy Latham, right, appears to take a selfie with a member of a computer forensics team inside the local elections office. Latham was the county Republican Party chair at the time. The computer forensics team was at the county elections office in Douglas, Ga., to make copies of voting equipment in an effort that documents show was arranged by attorney Sidney Powell and others allied with then-President Donald Trump. (Coffee County, Georgia via AP)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE – In this Jan. 7, 2021 image taken from Coffee County, Ga., security video, Cathy Latham, bottom, who was the chair of the Coffee County Republican Party at the time, greets a team of computer experts from data solutions company SullivanStrickler at the county elections office in Douglas, Ga. According to deposition testimony and documents produced in response to subpoenas, the trip to Coffee County to copy data and software from elections equipment was arranged by attorney Sidney Powell and other Trump allies. (Coffee County via AP)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks as he attends the National Association of Secretaries of State summer conference in Baton Rouge, La., July 8, 2022. An apparent breach of sensitive voting equipment data from a rural county in Georgia spilled into the public light last month when documents and emails produced in response to subpoenas in the lawsuit revealed the involvement of high-profile supporters of former President Donald Trump. Since then, a series of revelations about what happened in Coffee County has raised questions about whether the Dominion Voting Systems machines used throughout Georgia have been compromised. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Matthew Hinton
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According to a recording filed in court earlier this year, the bail bondsman said he’d chartered a jet and was with a computer forensics team at the Coffee County elections office when they “imaged every hard drive of every piece of equipment.”
That happened on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and two days after a runoff election in which Democrats swept both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats.
The trip to Coffee County, about 200 miles south of Atlanta, to copy data and software from elections equipment was directed by attorney Sidney Powell and other Trump allies, according to deposition testimony and documents produced in response to subpoenas.
Later that month, security camera footage shows, two men who have participated in efforts to question the results of the 2020 election in several states spent days going in and out of the Coffee County elections office.
The footage also shows local election and Republican Party officials welcoming the visitors and allowing them access to the election equipment. The video seems to contradict statements some of the officials made about their apparent involvement.
The new information has made Coffee County, where Trump won nearly 70% of the vote two years ago, a focal point of concerns over the security of voting machines. While there is no evidence of widespread problems with voting equipment in 2020, some Trump supporters have spread false information about machines and the election outcome.
Election security experts and activists fear state election officials haven’t acted fast enough in the face of what they see as a real threat.
The copying of the software and its availability for download means potential bad actors could build exact copies of the Dominion system to test different types of attacks, said University of California, Berkeley computer scientist Philip Stark, an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the voting machines lawsuit.
“This is like bank robbers having an exact replica of the vault that they’re trying to break into,” he said.
Stark said the risks could be minimized by using hand-marked paper ballots and rigorous audits. Dominion says its equipment remains secure.
Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, the group that sued over the state’s voting machines, said the state has been slow to investigate. She was on the receiving end of the phone call from the bail bondsman.
The state, she said, has been “repeatedly looking the other way when faced with flashing red lights of serious voting system security problems.”
State officials say they’re confident the election system is safe. All Coffee County election equipment that wasn’t already replaced will be swapped out before early voting begins next month, the secretary of state’s office said Friday.
State officials also noted they were deluged by false claims after the 2020 election.
“In retrospect, you can say, well what about this, this and this,” said Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the Georgia secretary of state’s office. “In real time, no, there was no reason to think that.”
In late January 2021, a few weeks after the computer forensics team visited, security video shows a secretary of state’s office investigator arriving at the Coffee County elections office. He and the elections supervisor walk into the room that houses the election management system server. Seconds later, Jeff Lenberg, who has been identified by Michigan authorities as being part of an effort to gain access to voting machines there, is seen walking out of that room.
Asked whether Lenberg’s presence in the room with sensitive election equipment raised concerns for the investigator, secretary of state’s office spokesperson Mike Hassinger said the investigator was looking into an unrelated matter and didn’t know who Lenberg was.
Security video also showed another man, Doug Logan, at the office in mid-January. Logan founded a company called Cyber Ninjas, which led a discredited review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, Arizona. In May 2021, Coffee County’s new elections supervisor raised concerns with the secretary of state’s office after finding Logan’s business card by a computer. The election supervisor’s concerns were referred to an investigator, but he testified that no one ever contacted him.
Hassinger said the secretary of state’s office responds to allegations when they are raised but that “information about unauthorized access to Coffee County’s election equipment has been kept hidden” by local officials and others.
Much of what is known was uncovered through documents, security camera video and depositions produced in response to subpoenas in the lawsuit filed by individual voters and the election security advocacy group. The suit alleges Georgia’s touchscreen voting machines are not secure and seeks to force the state to use hand-marked paper ballots instead.
The recently produced evidence of a breach wasn’t the first sign of problems in Coffee County, which caused headaches for state election officials in the hectic weeks following the 2020 election. It’s likely that turmoil helped opened the door for Trump’s allies.
In early December 2020, the county elections board declined to certify the results of a machine recount requested by Trump, saying the election system had produced inaccurate results. A video posted online days later showed the former county elections supervisor saying the elections software could be manipulated; as she spoke, the password to the county election management system server was visible on a note stuck to her computer.
At the end of December, Cathy Latham, the Coffee County Republican Party chair who also was a fake elector for Trump, appeared at a state legislative committee hearing and made further claims that the voting machines were unreliable.
Within days of that hearing, Latham said, she was contacted by Scott Hall, the bail bondsman, who had been a Republican observer during an election recount. Latham testified in a deposition that Hall asked her to connect him with the Coffee County elections supervisor (who later was accused of falsifying timesheets and forced to resign).
A few days later, on Jan. 7, Hall met with a computer forensics team from data solutions firm SullivanStrickler at the Coffee County elections office. The team copied the data and software on the election management system server and other voting system components, a company executive said in a deposition. The company said it believed its clients had the necessary permission.
Invoices show the...
Trump Lawyers Argue To Limit White House Aides Testimony To Jan. 6 Grand Jury
Trump Lawyers Argue To Limit White House Aides’ Testimony To Jan. 6 Grand Jury https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-lawyers-argue-to-limit-white-house-aides-testimony-to-jan-6-grand-jury/
Lawyers for former president Donald Trump have entered a high-stakes legal battle seeking to limit the scope of former top White House aides’ testimony to a federal grand jury that is investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 elections, according to people familiar with the matter.
The action sets up a potentially precedent-setting struggle that could affect the Justice Department’s investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, and address the scope of a former president’s assertion of executive or attorney-client privilege to preserve the confidentiality of advisers’ communications.
The specific contours of the fight, reported first by CNN, are unclear. One person familiar with the matter said that the dispute concerned the testimony of two top aides to former vice president Mike Pence — his former chief of staff, Marc Short, and former counsel, Greg Jacob. The men appeared before the grand jury in July and answered some, but not all, questions, based on Trump’s assertion of privilege, people familiar with the matter said.
Grand jury matters are typically secret. However, the case spilled into light after Trump attorneys M. Evan Corcoran, John P. Rowley III and Timothy C. Parlatore were seen at federal court in Washington on Thursday with no publicly scheduled matters, along with a lead Jan. 6 federal prosecutor, Thomas Windom. A person with knowledge of the matter said Trump’s representatives were present for a Jan. 6-related proceeding.
The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation.
Trump’s attorneys and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. said they could not comment on grand jury matters. Efforts to reach representatives for Short or Jacobs were not immediately successful Friday night.
A dispute over executive privilege and compelling a witness’s testimony before a grand jury would typically be heard by Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell in Washington. While Howell has in the past moved quickly, any appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia would probably extend through the end of the year, and the arguments would be unlikely to be made public before then. A spokeswoman for Howell did not respond to a request for comment.
In most fights over executive privilege — which are often between Congress and the executive branch — both sides usually compromise and settle their differences rather than risk a precedent-setting defeat for either branch of government.
But the stakes of the criminal investigation into Trump’s actions during the presidential transition after he lost reelection in November 2020 may make negotiation more difficult.
The Justice Department is questioning witnesses about conversations with Trump, his lawyers and others in his inner circle who sought to substitute Trump allies for certified electors from some states Joe Biden won, people familiar with the matter have said. Prosecutors have asked hours of detailed questions about meetings Trump led in December 2020 and January 2021 and his pressure on Pence to overturn the election. Those lines of inquiry are separate from the investigation into classified documents recovered from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home — though that case, too, has produced legal fighting over issues of executive and attorney client privilege.
Both Short and Jacob have unique windows into those events. Both were with Pence on Jan. 6 at the Capitol. They testified with Pence’s approval before a House select committee conducting a parallel investigation, although the former vice president declined to do so himself. Jacob also told the committee that two days before the riot, private Trump attorney John Eastman conceded that the plot to have Pence help overturn the election was illegal.
In other legal proceedings, attorneys for Trump have defended executive privilege claims, warning that rulings to the contrary could damage the presidency by weakening the confidentiality afforded to the conversations of top presidential advisers. They have argued that allowing a sitting president to waive executive privilege of a predecessor unilaterally also could politicize and defeat the purpose of the privilege.
However, Trump’s legal options to withhold testimony may have been limited by a string of court decisions since Jan. 6.
Courts have long held that White House claims of executive or attorney-client privilege are easier to overcome when the information is sought in a criminal proceeding rather than by Congress. The standard for prosecutors is whether they can show a witness is likely to possess information important to the criminal probe not readily available otherwise.
And even though lawmakers must meet a higher bar, courts since January have sided with Congress and rejected an attempt by Trump to withhold thousands of pages of White House communications and records from the House Jan. 6 committee, and a similar effort by Eastman to do so claiming attorney-client confidentiality.
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New Birmingham City Walk Dog Park The Barkery Now Open
New Birmingham City Walk Dog Park, The Barkery, Now Open https://digitalalabamanews.com/new-birmingham-city-walk-dog-park-the-barkery-now-open/
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – City Walk BHAM’s newest amenity, The Barkery, is now open.
The Barkery dog park is an off-leash members only park. BJCC officials said it already has more than 80 members and isn’t limiting the number of dogs accepted right now.
The park is completely fenced in and has turf for grass. With lots of room to run on the big dog side, there is a special section for smaller dogs. The park has water to drink, tennis balls, toys, and climbing activities. There is also a pool for your dog to cool down in.
It costs $10 a visit for non-members and $95 a year for the membership. BJCC leaders said the membership fee goes directly back to the park’s maintenance.
New members tell WBRC they are happy the park opened and now they want to explore even more downtown.
“It’ll be good for us to walk a few laps before we come in here,” Member Meredith Brady said. “The dog can play and we can grab something to eat. We are even searching for our pickleball set next to play now.”
“It’s a good way to get to know folks and let the dog socialize,” Member Ben Brady said. “It’s great all around.”
Hours are Monday – Thursday 2pm to 8pm and Saturday & Sunday 7am – 8pm.
Dogs must be spayed or neutered and you do need proof of vaccinations to sign-up and enter the park.
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Tennessee High School Football Scores For Week 6 Of TSSAA 2022 Season
Tennessee High School Football Scores For Week 6 Of TSSAA 2022 Season https://digitalalabamanews.com/tennessee-high-school-football-scores-for-week-6-of-tssaa-2022-season/
Here are the Tennessee high school football scores from Week 6 of the 2022 TSSAA season. A * denotes a region game.
Out of state
Claiborne 36, Thomas Walker, VA 28
Heritage, GA 47, Chattanooga Preparatory School 0
Monterey 28, Tennessee Heat 13
Pisgah, NC 34, David Crockett 10
Tennessee High 34, Abingdon, VA 14
DANDY DOZEN AT MIDSEASONReshuffling the 2022 Dandy Dozen at the midpoint of the season
SUPER 25 Tennessee high school football Super 25 rankings entering Week 6: MBA faces Brentwood Academy
PICK ‘EM Brentwood Academy vs. MBA headlines Week 6 Nashville area games — with predictions
East Tennessee
Anderson Co. 35, Elizabethton 34
Baylor 35, Ooltewah 0
Bearden 43, Knoxville Fulton 19
Bledsoe Co. 27, Sequatchie Co. 21
Boyd Buchanan 55, Columbia Academy 7
Brainerd 32, Austin-East 6
Chattanooga Christian 44, CAK 14 *
Chuckey-Doak 34, South Greene 6
Cleveland 34, Walker Valley 3
Clinton 51, Chattanooga Central 21
Cloudland 40, Cosby 24 *
Cumberland Gap 60, Lynn Camp, KY 14
Farragut 58, South-Doyle 14
Gatlinburg-Pittman 28, Coosa Christian, AL 24
Grainger 33, Union Co. 12
Greeneville 21, Dobyns Bennett 20
Heritage 55, Seymour 0
Hixson 17, Howard 14
Indiana School for the Deaf 64, TSD 8 (Thu)
King’s Academy 36, Eagleton College and Career Academy 28 (Thu)
Kingston 41, Campbell Co. 40
Knoxville Carter 37, Karns 35
Knoxville Central 17, Hardin Valley 14
Knoxville Grace 35, Notre Dame 18 *
Knoxville West 29, Alcoa 26 (Thu)
Loudon 48, Greenback 20
Maryville 42, Science Hill 14
McMinn Co. 29, East Hamilton 20
Meigs Co. 20, McMinn Central 7
Morristown West 48, Cocke Co. 12
MTCS 38, Lakeway Christian 21 *
Oliver Springs 40, Oakdale 12 *
Oneida 24, Northview Academy 21
Pigeon Forge 41, Scott 7
Powell 33, Knoxville Halls 3
Red Bank 7, Rhea Co. 3
Rockwood 47, Harriman 0
Sevier Co. 43, William Blount 7
Signal Mountain 17, East Ridge 14
South Pittsburg 42, North Jackson, AL 19
Sunbright 48, Jellico 21
Sweetwater 43, Sequoyah 7
Tellico Plains 27, Copper Basin 14
Tyner 35, Soddy Daisy 7
Unaka 16, Happy Valley 12
Unicoi Co. 56, Sullivan East 35
Volunteer 24, Johnson Co. 12
West Greene 56, North Greene 7
West Ridge 42, Cherokee 6
Whitwell 49, Red Boiling Springs 9
Middle Tennessee
Beech 22, Summit 7 (Thu)
Blackman 56, Antioch 28
Bowling Green, KY 46, Father Ryan 45
Brentwood 42, Hillsboro 7 (Thu)
Cane Ridge 31, CPA 28
Cascade 46, Community 0
Centennial 24, Dickson Co. 0
Clarksville 47, Clarksville Northeast 30
Coffee Co. 42, Spring Hill 7
Columbia 32, Mt. Pleasant 20
Creek Wood 28, Montgomery Central 0 *
DeKalb Co. 55, Cannon Co. 7
Eagleville 28, Cornersville 14 *
East Hickman 34, Houston Co. 22 (Thu)
East Nashville 32, Independence 7
East Robertson 41, Jo Byrns 0
Ensworth 66, St. Benedict 7 *
Fairview 41, White House Heritage 7 (Thu) *
Fayetteville 59, Collinwood 7 *
FRA 42, St. George’s 14
Franklin Co. 61, Grundy Co. 6
Franklin Grace 37, Webb School 7
Friendship Christian 55, Maplewood 8
Gallatin 58, Cookeville 29
Goodpasture 29, Liberty Creek 0
Gordonsville 42, Coalfield 21
Greenbrier 47, Hillwood 2 *
Hunters Lane 31, Stratford 4
Huntland 28, Lookout Valley 7
Jackson Co. 19, Livingston Academy 7 (Thu)
Kenwood 27, Shelbyville 24
Lawrence Co. 44, Glencliff 0 *
Lebanon 68, Lincoln Co. 0
Lewis Co. 28, Loretto 17
Macon Co. 42, Portland 15
Marion Co. 42, Forrest 35
MBA 35, Brentwood Academy 21
McEwen 48, Harpeth 26
McGavock 35, Franklin 14
Moore Co. 34, Wayne Co. 25 *
Mt. Juliet 31, Wilson Central 3 *
Nashville Christian 59, Davidson Academy 51
Nashville Overton 46, Clarksville Northwest 13
Nolensville 49, Rockvale 21
Page 45, Giles Co. 28
Pearl Cohn 45, Tullahoma 0 *
Polk Co. 21, Cumberland Co. 10
Pope John Paul 34, BGA 27
Ravenwood 27, Hendersonville 10
Sale Creek 55, Pickett Co. 6
Siegel 21, Warren Co. 18
Silverdale 37, DCA 7
Smith Co. 53, Trousdale Co. 8
Smyrna 15, Riverdale 5
Springfield 32, Rossview 7
Station Camp 34, West Creek 13
Stewarts Creek 38, LaVergne 0
Stone Memorial 44, York Institute 7
Summertown 30, Ezell-Harding 7
Upperman 48, Watertown 7
Waverly 48, Stewart Co. 6 *
Westmoreland 20, Clay Co. 19
White Co. 21, Green Hill 20 *
White House 38, Sycamore 6 *
Whites Creek 18, Cheatham Co. 14
Scotts Hill at Perry Co. (Sat)
West Tennessee
Arlington 28, Cordova 13 *
Bartlett 47, White Station 21 *
Briarcrest 42, Wooddale 6
Brighton 51, RePublic 0 (Thu)
Christian Brothers 21, Pure Youth Alliance, TN 7
Clarksville Academy 49, Fayette Academy 28
Collierville 26, Whitehaven 21 *
Craigmont 30, Bolivar Central 26
Crockett Co. 28, Kirby 13
Dresden 56, South Fulton 6 *
ECS 35, Booker T. Washington 12
Fairley 40, Oakhaven 38 *
Fayette-Ware 28, Bolton 12 *
Freedom Prep 50, KIPP Memphis 6 (Thu) *
Gleason 58, Greenfield 20
Halls 34, Harding Academy 7
Hamilton 34, Frederick Douglass 16 *
Hardin Co. 56, McNairy Central 6 (Thu) *
Haywood 49, Melrose 16
Henry Co. 29, South Gibson 7
Hickman Co. 31, Hollow Rock-Bruceton 13
Houston 35, Germantown 24 *
Huntingdon 42, Milan 21
Jackson North Side 39, Liberty Magnet 0 (Thu)
Kossuth, MS 42, Adamsville 21
Lake Co. 62, Gibson Co. 7
Lausanne 42, Humboldt 6
Lexington 51, Westwood 6
Manassas 12, MLK Prep 6 (Thu) *
MASE 44, Jackson Central-Merry 0 (Thu)
McKenzie 51, West Carroll 0 (Thu)
Memphis Middle College 24, Trezevant 6
Memphis Overton 48, Kingsbury 22 (Thu) *
Mitchell 50, Hillcrest 0 (Thu) *
Munford 54, Dyer Co. 31 *
MUS 42, Ridgeway 7
Myrtle, MS 14, Middleton 12
Northpoint Christian 28, Millington 7
Obion Co. 37, Chester Co. 29
Peabody 42, Dyersburg 14
Raleigh Egypt 18, Memphis Business 0 (Thu) *
Richland 55, FACS 47
Riverside 70, Camden 27
Sheffield 52, Memphis East 20 *
Southwind 20, Memphis Central 14 *
Trinity Christian 45, Tipton-Rosemark 12 *
Union City 41, Ripley 3
USJ 59, Jackson Christian 17 (Thu) *
Westview 21, Jackson South Side 0
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Hoover Earns 5th Straight Win By Beating Mountain Brook
Hoover Earns 5th Straight Win By Beating Mountain Brook https://digitalalabamanews.com/hoover-earns-5th-straight-win-by-beating-mountain-brook/
Hoover scored 16 fourth-quarter points and earned a 26-14 victory over Mountain Brook in a battle of Birmingham area heavyweights on Friday at Spartans Stadium.
The Bucs, ranked No. 4 in Class 7A, finally took control when a bad snap forced Mountain Brook quarterback John Colvin to get rid of the ball while in his own end zone, which resulted in an intentional grounding penalty. By rule, that’s a safety.
That gave Hoover a 19-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter, and Hoover then took the ensuing free kick and scored on Frederick Dunson’s 36-yard touchdown pass from Brewer Smith to make it 26-14.
“Mountain Brook is the most complete team we have played all year long,” Hoover coach Wade Waldrop said. “We beat a good team, and our defense played good all night. We will take this win and get ready for the next game.”
Mountain Brook, ranked No. 2 in 6A, suffered its first loss of the season.
Hoover built a 10-7 halftime lead, as Ahamari Williams capped a seven-play, 68-yard drive with a 5-yard run and Peyton Argent kicked a 31-yard field goal. Mountain Brook’s Cole Gamble also scored the Spartans’ first TD on a 43-yard run, and Colvin made the extra point.
Colvin also threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Beatty in the fourth quarter to cut Hoover’s lead to 17-14.
The streak: Hoover has won five straight since a 17-14 loss to Auburn to open the season.
Star of the game: Smith threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes – a 34-yarder to Jordan Woolen to make it 17-7 and the final one to Dunson – to kick-start the Bucs’ offense.
Stat sheet: For Hoover, Smith finished 15-of-23 passing for 181 yards and two TDs, and Williams ran 19 times for 101 yards and one TD. Woolen caught eight passes for 148 yards and one score. D.J. Estes had a strip sack just before halftime that set up the Bucs’ field goal. He also recovered the fumble in the play. “D.J. is an electric player. He played really hard tonight,” Waldrop said. “That strip and recovery was big for us tonight right before halftime.” … For Mountain Brook, Colvin was 12-for-24 passing for 130 yards. Gamble ran 10 times for 99 yards.
By the numbers: 2, turnovers for Mountain Brook, as the Spartans lost a fumble and threw an interception. Hoover had no turnovers. … 342 yards, total offense for Hoover. … 275 yards, total offense for Mountain Brook.
They said it: “I think this was a good road win in an amazing environment tonight. I think if we keep trusting each other and play with the energy we played with tonight, we will have a good season.” — Smith
“We stuck to our game plan and we were able to pull out a victory in a tough place.” — Woolen
“We were trying to get a first down and the corners overplayed me. I was able to make a play and run it in for the touchdown.” — Woolen on his TD catch.
Coachspeak: “We needed this game to identify the mistakes we need to correct. The game was a little faster than we expected, but we needed to play a good team like Hoover. We have the potential to go a long way this season.” — Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager
Did you know?: Hoover has won eight straight against Mountain Brook dating back to the Spartans’ 17-9 win in 2011. This year’s game was the first time the teams have played since 2019, which was Mountain Brook’s most recent season in Class 7A.
What’s next?: Hoover plays at Oak Mountain next week in 7A, Region 3 action, while Mountain Brook (5-1) is off next week before playing at Parker on Oct. 7.
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🌱 High School Football Scores + Vandy @ Alabama https://digitalalabamanews.com/%f0%9f%8c%b1-high-school-football-scores-vandy-alabama/
Rise and shine, T-Town! It’s game day in Tuscaloosa, so let’s breeze through this Saturday morning to get you all caught up on your headlines from around town.
But first, today’s weather: Sunny; pleasant, low humidity. High: 88 | Low: 66.
Find out what’s happening in Tuscaloosawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Patch Shout Out
Our Shout Out for this Saturday morning goes to these 11 students who have been accepted into the University of Alabama’s Rural Scholars Program. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
University of Alabama
Here are the top 5 stories today in Tuscaloosa
Find out what’s happening in Tuscaloosawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Here’s a look at the high school football action we were following on Friday night around the Tuscaloosa Patch coverage area. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
Getting ready to roll with the Tide today? Our friends at WVUA 23 have everything you need to know before you make your way to Bryant-Denny Stadium. (WVUA 23 News)
The Tuscaloosa Police Department on Friday announced four arrests of suspects believed to have been responsible for multiple vehicle break-ins over the last few weeks.(Tuscaloosa Patch)
Shelton State Community College reopened its Terrific Tuesday Concert Series on Tuesday and will hold free shows throughout the fall in the Alabama Power Recital Hall on the Martin Campus. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
Don’t miss this look back to Friday as the Brookwood community reflected on the 13 lives lost in an explosion at the Jim Walter No. 5 mine on Sept. 23, 2001. (WVUA 23 News)
Now you’re in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Saturday. I’ll see you soon!
— RP
Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Tuscaloosa Daily? Contact me at ryan.phillips@patch.com
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Be respectful. This is a space for friendly local discussions. No racist, discriminatory, vulgar or threatening language will be tolerated.
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Auburn Football: Holden Geriner Receives High Praise Ahead Of Mizzou
Auburn Football: Holden Geriner Receives High Praise Ahead Of Mizzou https://digitalalabamanews.com/auburn-football-holden-geriner-receives-high-praise-ahead-of-mizzou/
Auburn football Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
When looking at the Auburn football quarterbacks room ahead of head coach Bryan Harsin’s second season on the Plains, fans thought for sure that there would be nothing to worry about when it came to who would be leading the Tigers’ offense come fall.
Well, the season has arrived, and nearly four weeks in, there is still not a lot of clarity surrounding the quarterback plan. TJ Finley is considered day-to-day with a shoulder injury sustained in the Penn State game, and will be unavailable this weekend in the SEC opener. Zach Calzada will undergo a second shoulder surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
This means that Auburn football’s starting quarterback against Missouri will be Robby Ashford, who has gotten plenty of playtime so far but has not started a game. Ashford will be expected to step up this weekend, with true freshman Holden Geriner as his backup.
Throughout the offseason and during fall camp, Geriner was repeatedly praised for his athleticism by teammates and coaches, and the praise did not falter this week as Geriner took snaps with the first team in preparation for Missouri, per AL.com:
“That man can zip it,” Auburn pass rusher Marcus Harris said about Geriner this week. “The first week he was on scout team, and he was just dotting up receivers, and he’s a pretty good quarterback. As his time goes on at Auburn, I feel he’s going to be great. He has one of the best balls I’ve seen, and I think he’s going to be great.”
Of course, the hope is that Ashford steps up and is able to provide some sort of consistency and rhythm for the offense, but it seems that there is complete confidence in Holden Geriner’s ability to come in this weekend, should Ashford need it.
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Joe Biden Hits Another Year-High Approval Rating In New Poll Thanks To Women
Joe Biden Hits Another Year-High Approval Rating In New Poll, Thanks To Women https://digitalalabamanews.com/joe-biden-hits-another-year-high-approval-rating-in-new-poll-thanks-to-women/
President Joe Biden has just hit another high-water mark in his approval rating this year, riding a surge of support from women, according to a new poll.
An Emerson College poll released Friday found that 45% of voters said they approve of Biden’s performance — a 3-percentage-point increase since last month. Forty-nine percent disapprove of his performance, which is a 2-point dip from the last time around.
Biden’s approval increase “appears to be largely driven by women voters,” noted Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling. Since July, women voters’ approval of Biden has jumped 10 points, from 39% to 49%, Kimball noted.
The findings are the latest evidence that the U.S. Supreme Court’s revocation of constitutional abortion rights, to the joy of Republicans, could be a key factor in the midterm elections, especially in light of widespread anger among female voters.
Other polls are finding similar results for Biden. A Politico-Morning Consult survey, published Wednesday, found that 46% of all respondents approve of the job Biden is doing — his highest level since December in that poll. His approval hit 45% in the latest NBC News poll, his highest since last October.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that support for Biden recovered from a low of 36% in July to 45% earlier this month — driven in large part by a rebound in support from his own party. During a few bleak summer months, when gas prices peaked and lawmakers appeared deadlocked on legislation, it appeared Democrats were facing the possibility of blowout losses against the Republicans in the midterms.
In the Emerson poll, a significant segment of those surveyed (39%) ranked the economy as the most important issue in their vote, followed by threats to democracy (15%) and access to abortion (10%).
As far as presidential candidates in 2024, 45% said they’d vote for Biden and 44% would go for Trump. That’s within the polls’ margin of error. Six percent would vote for someone else, and 5% are undecided.
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Trump Peddles Conspiracies Stokes Fear As Republicans Hope For Election Turnout Boost
Trump Peddles Conspiracies, Stokes Fear, As Republicans Hope For Election Turnout Boost https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-peddles-conspiracies-stokes-fear-as-republicans-hope-for-election-turnout-boost/
Former President Donald Trump delivered a dark assessment of the country Friday night at a rally North Carolina Republicans hope will boost GOP enthusiasm ahead of key elections.
“We are a nation where free speech is no longer allowed,” Trump said, as ominous music played at the end of his speech.
“Where crime is rampant like never before,” he said. “Where the economy has been collapsing.”
Trump’s bleak description, less than two years after he left the presidency, touched almost every aspect of American life. He told the crowd that, if they want “the decline and fall of America,” they should vote for Democrats. He continued to pound the false conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. He called President Joe Biden and other Democrats “arsonists.”
The event, held outside a private hangar at the Wilmington International Airport, wasn’t meant to convince undecided voters. Instead, it was aimed at increasing turnout among Republicans heading into the Nov. 8 elections. North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, and a key U.S. House race in the Triangle, may ultimately determine party control of the U.S. Congress.
Political consultants on both sides acknowledged Trump as a double-edged sword. He remains a major draw for Republicans, but Democrats raised funds off the visit and trumpeted it as if they’d planned it themselves, hoping GOP candidates appearing with Trump — most prominently U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, are tied to him in the voting public’s mind.
Morgan Jackson, who consults for most of the top Democrats in the state, called Trump “the most motivational force in modern political history.” He also called him “the largest unifying, motivating factor in turning Democrats out.”
Trump won North Carolina in both 2016 and 2020, and the rally was held in Eastern North Carolina, an area Budd’s campaign has targeted. Trump is popular here, and a spread-out populace makes it more difficult to knock on doors and gather voters together.
Thousands attended Friday’s rally. Security guards on site said they didn’t have a count, but the crowd was an eager one. People near the front of the line mid Friday afternoon said they’d been there since 7 a.m. Security said some people camped out the night before.
When the gates opened the available chairs filled up quickly. Much of the crowd stood for hours on the concrete tarmac, and for much of the day lines were long for five food trucks and a stand selling water for $2 a bottle.
One man said the barbecue on offer was good, but he had to wait an hour for it.
Trump took the stage about 7:50 p.m.
“You know there’s an expression,” Trump said at one point. “Trump was right about everything.”
Trump endorses Smith, Robinson
Eight North Carolina Republicans spoke from the stage, including state GOP Chairman Michael Whatley, Speaker of the North Carolina House Tim Moore, U.S. Rep. David Rouzer and Sandy Smith, the GOP candidate in Eastern North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, who, among other things, has been accused of domestic violence by two ex-husbands.
Trump endorsed her Friday. Like other candidates, and many in the crowd, Smith blasted Biden over record inflation and immigration.
“It seems like Joe Biden just wants us all to suffer,” she said. “Just as long as he gets his ice cream and his nap he’s fine.”
Bo Hines, the GOP’s nominee in the 13th Congressional District, told the crowd that Republicans are “not winning the culture war.” He said compromise doesn’t always equate to progress,” and that conservatives are “about to compromise our way out of the country.”
Among other things, Hines said former President Barack Obama “tried to tear apart the whole fabric of this country.” He promised to “go on offense” and defend free speech rights in online forums, 2nd Amendment rights everywhere and parents’ rights to have more say in what their children learn in school.
Hines faces Democratic state Sen. Wiley Nickel in the 13th district, which is the state’s most competitive congressional district by far. It’s made up of southern Wake County along with all of Johnston County and parts of Harnett and Wayne counties.
Nickel spokeswoman Abby May criticized Hines for “district hopping.” As state lawmakers, and a series of lawsuits, shifted North Carolina’s congressional lines earlier this year, Hines prepped for runs in different parts of the state before settling on the 13th district, which he moved to this summer.
“North Carolinians know they can count on Bo Hines for one thing,” May said in a text message. “His unconditional allegiance to Donald Trump and the far right.”
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, expected to run for governor in 2024, introduced Budd, and the crowd perked up as Robinson hit the stage. Some who’d been resting on the concrete tarmac stood as Robinson, too, lit into Biden, calling him “weak, ineffective, incontinent.”
But it will be OK, Robinson, told the crowd, comparing this moment in America to Pearl Harbor, 9.11 and the American Revolution. It’s OK, Robinson said, for the same reason it was OK all those times.
“Because you were here,” he said. “Because you were here.”
Robinson, along with Budd, got multiple mentions from the former president during his nearly hour-and-a-half speech.
“Whatever you’re running for let me know, I want to give you a real early endorsement,” Trump told Robinson, calling the lieutenant governor “a friend of mine.”
Trump told the crowd that his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who is from Wilmington and recorded a video message shown earlier in the day, decided not to run for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina this year because of Budd.
“I said, ‘Lara, why don’t you run?’” Trump said. “She said, ‘Because Ted Budd is going to do a fantastic job.’”
Budd got called up on stage during Trump’s speech. By then it was nearly 8:45 p.m., the night had turned chilly, and some people were headed for the exits. Hines, Rouzer, Smith, Whatley and Moore also got shout-outs, and Trump added Smith to his list of North Carolina endorsements.
In his own speech before Trump arrived, Budd contrasted himself with his Democratic opponent, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, saying that she would “vote to continue each and every policy that has made life worse” and that he would vote against Biden’s agenda.
“If you want to stop Joe Biden, you’ve only got one choice,” Budd said.
Beasley spokeswoman Dory MacMillan said Budd “realizes he is losing this election and is trying desperately to pull out all the stops to salvage his flailing campaign.”
“But voters know that he is too extreme for North Carolina with his career of undermining our democracy and even now refusing to commit to upholding this year’s election results,” MacMillan said in a text message.
In recent weeks multiple media outlets have asked Budd, who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, whether he’d commit to accepting this year’s election results. At least three times his campaign declined to say. Then he told WRAL News at a campaign event that it was a non-issue.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he said. “Unless the Democrats do something.”
Conspiracy fears stoked
Trump told the crowd that “every weapon of the deep state” has been used against him. He called his enemies “crazy … left-wing tyrants … the sick Washington establishment” and the “repulsive political class.”
He called New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed a lawsuit this week against Trump and his family alleging hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud, a “disgusting human being.”
Many in the crowd were prepared to embrace anything he said.
“He’s the most honest president we’ve ever had,” said Michael Tevepaugh, a Trump supporter from Brunswick County who traveled to the rally with a friend.
Historians have called Trump the most dishonest president in U.S. history, but Tevepaugh said he doesn’t believe it. He accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Justice of spreading lies about the former president, and he complained about the recent raid of Trump’s Florida home.
The Department of Justice said it raided Trump’s home to collect classified documents after repeated requests that the former president return them. The saga angered many in attendance, and it was part of a video featured on the rally’s big screens ahead of the president’s speech.
Renee Stevens, of Columbia, South Carolina, said Trump wanted the FBI to raid his home to set a precedent so that former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent in the 2016 race, can be raided later.
Stevens said she let her seventh-grade son skip class to travel to the rally. Asked whether there’s anything she could hear that would change her mind about Trump, she shook her head.
“No sir,” she said.
Other issues that stoked anger in the crowd: Immigration, U.S. aid to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion, foreign aid in general and, over and over, inflation in the U.S., which is the highest in decades.
“Everything is just going up,” said Michael Quinn, who owns a landscaping business and came from Ash. “I would have gotten here last night if I could.”
Trump said Russia wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine if he’d remained president. He called the U.S. border with Mexico, “the worst border in, maybe, the world.” He said other countries wouldn’t allow such a flow of immigrants, that they’d “get out there with sticks and stones” if they had to.
Trump called during his speech for the death penalty against drug dealers, saying he’d push for the change if re-elected, and that it would immediately lower crime rates.
“And I think Ted Budd would head i...
GOP Candidate Jokes About Kidnapping Plot Against Michigan Governor
GOP Candidate Jokes About Kidnapping Plot Against Michigan Governor https://digitalalabamanews.com/gop-candidate-jokes-about-kidnapping-plot-against-michigan-governor/
One of the highest-profile domestic terrorism cases in recent memory is now, according to a Trump-backed Republican gubernatorial candidate in Michigan, a punchline.
In 2020, federal officials interrupted a kidnapping plot that targeted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), leading to criminal charges against six people and convictions for two of them last month. Whitmer’s rival in the November general election referenced the plot Friday, drawing laughter from supporters. Twice.
At one event, the Republican challenger, Tudor Dixon, said, “The sad thing is Gretchen will tie your hands, put a gun to your head and ask if you’re ready to talk. For someone so worried about being kidnapped, Gretchen Whitmer sure is good at taking business hostage and holding it for ransom.”
Dixon drew applause and laughter with the line, according to video posted online by a reporter in attendance. She spoke while standing in front of a backdrop that read “Michigan Families United,” an organization that says it advocates for “a family-friendly agenda” for the state.
At another event on Friday, Dixon said that when Whitmer appeared with President Biden at an auto show in Detroit recently, her facial expression appeared to say, “I’d rather be kidnapped by the FBI,” CNN reported.
Later, she added: “I think when you’re being attacked every day, you have to have a little levity in things — we can still have fun.”
Dixon made the remarks as she was joined on the campaign trail by former president Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and top adviser Kellyanne Conway. The former president, who endorsed Dixon right before her August primary, will hold a rally with Dixon and other candidates in the state Oct. 1.
Maeve Coyle, a spokeswoman for Whitmer’s campaign, said in a statement, “Threats of violence … are no laughing matter,” adding that “the fact that Tudor Dixon thinks it’s a joke shows that she is absolutely unfit to serve in public office.”
The comments come amid a backdrop of growing concerns by Democrats that Republican rhetoric is stoking threats of political violence, particularly against federal officials after a court-ordered search of Trump’s Florida home for classified government documents he stored there.
Even before a mob of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress was certifying Biden’s victory in the presidential election, Michigan had seen its top government office overtaken by armed protesters.
In April 2020, Michigan’s Capitol was stormed by protesters with guns who said they wanted the state to lift safety measures put in place during the pandemic. “A handful of them, wearing camouflage fatigues with semiautomatic rifles slung over their shoulders, watched ominously from the gallery above the Senate chamber as the elected officials did their work,” the New York Times reported.
Less than six months later, the FBI charged six men with planning to kidnap Whitmer, and several others with plans to attack law enforcement officials, overthrow the government and ignite a civil war. One person in the group, Adam Fox, spoke about needing “200 men” to storm the Capitol building in Lansing, Mich., and take hostages, including Whitmer, according to prosecutors. Fox said they would try Whitmer for “treason” before the election in November, they said.
Fox and another defendant, Barry Croft Jr., were convicted by a federal jury on two charges of conspiracy, one related to the kidnapping scheme and another to obtain and use a weapon of mass destruction. The men face life in prison.
At the time, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R) condemned the suspects on Twitter, writing: “A threat against our Governor is a threat against us all.”
He added: “We condemn those who plotted against her and our government. They are not patriots.”
A spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association called Dixon’s comments on Friday “dangerous.” He added that the remarks are “utterly disqualifying for the role of Michigan governor.”
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NPRs News Chief Announces Unexpected Departure After Four Years
NPR’s News Chief Announces Unexpected Departure After Four Years https://digitalalabamanews.com/nprs-news-chief-announces-unexpected-departure-after-four-years/
The top news executive at NPR announced Friday that she is leaving the organization, an unexpected departure that coincides with a shake-up in the nonprofit media giant’s management structure.
Nancy Barnes, who took over NPR’s newsroom in 2018 as senior vice president and editorial director of the broadcasting and digital news operation, said she will leave the organization later this fall. She did not announce new plans, but said in a note to staff on Friday that she will “pursue other journalistic endeavors.”
Her decision came hours after NPR’s chief executive, John Lansing, announced the creation of a new position that will oversee all of NPR’s programming — trademark news programs such as “All Things Considered” as well as podcasts and non-news programming such as “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me.” The new chief content officer position would have effectively created another tier of management over Barnes, who previously reported directly to Lansing.
Barnes and Lansing did not respond to requests for comment.
A highly regarded newspaper editor at the Houston Chronicle and Minneapolis Star Tribune, Barnes took over NPR’s newsgathering operations from an interim manager following the resignation of Michael Oreskes in 2017 amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
NPR said it would conduct a search for Barnes’s successor, who will become the fourth person to run NPR’s news operations in the past five years.
She leaves at a time of growing financial pressure on NPR, a nonprofit organization that is funded by primarily by fees from noncommercial radio stations and corporate sponsorships.
For fiscal year 2021, NPR had revenue-after-expenses of $16.9 million — a swing from a deficit of $14.1 million the year before. Officials have indicated that the organization was hit hard by the pandemic, with daily listening and corporate support falling as fewer people listened to news reports while working from home. At one point in mid-2020, NPR imposed unpaid, week-long furloughs on most of its newsroom employees.
Lansing announced the new chief content officer position in a staff memo Friday morning. Barnes announced her resignation that afternoon.
She wrote in an internal memo that there is “increasingly overlap between the news and [non-news] programming divisions” and that she supported Lansing’s decision to add a new chief content officer. She called her departure “bittersweet.”
NPR’s news division currently employs 481 people. The programming division employs an additional 183.
Barnes supervised NPR’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election, the pandemic, social unrest following the murder of George Floyd and the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. She also created a climate desk, a disinformation team and a breaking news investigations team. She said she would remain on the job through the 2022 midterm elections.
NPR won its first Pulitzer Prize under Barnes last year, in audio reporting, for an investigative podcast series called “No Compromise” about gun rights activists. A second NPR-produced series, “Throughline: Soleimani’s Iran,” about the assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, was a finalist for a Pulitzer last year.
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