Digital Alabama News

Week Of Sept 22, 2022 https://digitalalabamanews.com/week-of-sept-22-2022/ LEGAL NOTICE Notice is hereby given that application has been filed with the City Clerk of the City of Montgomery, Alabama for approval of a permit for the sale of alcoholic beverages: LICENSE: 020 – RESTAURANT RETAIL LIQUOR BUSINESS NAME: FREEZE DAIQUIRI BAR AND GRILL APPLICANT: ROCKER GROUP LLC ADDRESS: 115 EAST SOUTH BOULEVARD Public hearing on said application has been set before the Council of the City of Montgomery on OCTOBER 4, 2022, at 5:00 PM the Council Auditorium, City Hall, 103 North Perry Street, Montgomery, Alabama. Anyone desiring to be heard either for or against said application may appear in person at said time or may indicate his or her wishes in writing by communication addressed to the City Council, P.O. Box 1111, Montgomery, AL 36101-1111. BRENDA GALE BLALOCK CITY CLERK (Mont. Ind., September 22, 2022) | ORDINANCE NO. 35-2022 BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA as follows: SECTION 1. That the Zoning Ordinance of Montgomery, Alabama, adopted September 17, 1963, be amended by removing the following described property from R-75-s (Single-Family Residential) Zoning District and B-2 (Commercial) Zoning Districts to a B-2 (Commercial) Zoning District. A LOT OR PARCEL OF LAND LYING ON THE WEST SIDE OF VIRGINIA LOOP ROAD, LYING ON THE NORTHEASTERLY SIDE OF WOODLEY ROAD, BEING SITUATED IN THE NORTHEAST 1/4 SECTION 10, TOWNSHIP 15 NORTH OF RANGE 18 EAST, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, ALABAMA, AND BEING MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEGINNING AT A 1/2″ REBAR (CAP CA0960) AT THE NORTHERLY INTERSECTION OF VIRGINIA LOOP ROAD AND WOODLEY ROAD; THENCE ALONG THE NORTHEASTERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF WOODLEY ROAD (25 FEET FROM CENTERLINE) NORTH 48°40’17” WEST 333.35 FEET TO A 1/2″ REBAR (CAP PLS CA#1067-LS); THENCE LEAVE SAID RIGHT OF WAY NORTH 00°07’36” WEST 237.90 FEET TO A 1/2″ REBAR (CAP PLS CA#1067-LS); THENCE NORTH 89°51’50” EAST 249.77 FEET TO A 1/2″ REBAR (CAP PLS CA#1067-LS) ON THE WEST RIGHT OF WAY OF VIRGINIA LOOP ROAD; THENCE ALONG SAID RIGHT OF WAY (40 FEET FROM CENTERLINE) SOUTH 00°08’07” EAST 458.63 FEET BACK TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING, AND CONTAINING 2.00 ACRES, MORE OR LESS. SECTION 2. This ordinance shall take effect upon its passage, approval and publication, or as otherwise provided by law. ADOPTED this 6th day of September, 2022. /S/ BRENDA GALE BLALOCK, CITY CLERK APPROVED: 9-12-22 /S/ STEVEN L. REED, MAYOR 35-2022 (Mont. Ind., September 22, 2022) | ORDINANCE NO. 36-2022 BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA as follows: SECTION 1. That the Zoning Ordinance of Montgomery, Alabama, adopted September 17, 1963, be amended by removing the following described property from an AGR-1 (Residential Agriculture) Zoning District to an M-1-Q (Light Industrial-Qualified) Zoning District. Commence at a concrete monument found marking the purported northwest corner of Section 16, T16N, R20E, Montgomery County, Alabama and run S00º38’43”E, 1770 ft., said point being the Point of Beginning; thence run N88º19’54”E, 1060 ft.; thence run S00º31’04”E, 1035 ft. to a ½” rebar set in a curve on the northwest ROW northwesterly right-of-way of Line Creek Road (ROW varies, unimproved); thence leaving the Ingram, Wilson and Murdock Property run along said northwesterly right-of-way along a curve (concave southeasterly and having a radius of 691.41 ft.) the chord being S72º46’33”W, 55.29 ft. to a point of compound curvature; thence continue along said northwesterly right-of-way along a curve (concave southeasterly and having a radius of 83.09 ft.) the chord being S52º08’38”W, 52.29 ft. to a ½” rebar set at the northeast corner of the Alabama Department of Transportation property as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate Montgomery County, Alabama in Real Property Book 1994 at Page 167 and identified as Tract No. 88-REV. on the right-of-way map for Project No. DPI-0035(5), a copy of said right-of-way map is reported to be on file in said probate office; thence leaving the northwesterly right-of-way of Line Creek Road, run along the north boundaries of said Alabama Department of Transportation property the following courses: N87º36’07W, 82.37 ft. to a concrete monument found (STA-660+15); thence N84º19’55”W, 230.04 ft. to a concrete monument found (STA-659+45); thence N88º02’22”W, 429.80 ft. to a concrete monument found (STA-658+14); thence N82º50’18”W, 197.53 ft. to a concrete monument found (STA-657+54); thence S88º06’33”W, 16.18 ft. to a ½” rebar set on the east boundary of the Harrison Property as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate Montgomery County, Alabama in Real Property Book 2089 at Page 277; thence leaving the north boundary of the Alabama Department of Transportation Property run along the east boundary of said Harrison Property N00º38’43”W, 2777 ft. to the Point of Beginning. Above described property lying in the west ½ of Section 16, T16N, R20E, Montgomery County, Alabama and containing 24 acres more or less. SECTION 2. Restricted to a laydown/equipment yard. SECTION 3. This ordinance shall take effect upon its passage, approval and publication, or as otherwise provided by law. ADOPTED this 6th day of September, 2022. /S/ BRENDA GALE BLALOCK, CITY CLERK APPROVED: 9-12-22 /S/ STEVEN L. REED, MAYOR 36-2022 (Mont. Ind., September 22, 2022) | ORDINANCE NO. 37-2022 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE LICENSE TAX CLASSIFICATIONS IN CHAPTER 16, ARTICLE III, SECTION 16-74. WHEREAS, the Alabama Department of Revenue is responsible for establishing and publishing adjustments to municipal business license issuance fees; and WHEREAS, based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Producer Price Index, the Alabama Department of Labor has determined that municipal business license issuance may remain or may be adjusted to a maximum amount of $14, at the discretion of each municipality, for the license year beginning January 1, 2023; BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, as follows: 1. That Chapter 16, Article III, Section 16-74(3) be amended to read: Sec. 16-74(3) Issue fee. For each license issued there shall be an issue fee collected of $14.00 and said issue fee shall be collected in the same manner as the license tax. The issue fee may be increased every five years subject to an increase by the state department of revenue. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect the business license year beginning January 1, 2023. ADOPTED this the 6th day of Sepember, 2022. /S/ STEVEN L. REED, MAYOR ATTEST: /S/ BRENDA GALE BLALOCK, CITY CLERK 37-2022 (Mont. Ind., September 22, 2022) | NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION Notice is hereby given that Resource Ventures II, LLC (the “Company”), a limited liability company organized pursuant to the Indiana Business Flexibility Act, with its principal place of business in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been voluntarily dissolved under and pursuant to Resolutions of its Members, in accordance with Indiana Code §23-18-9, et seq. Any person(s) with a claim against the Company shall mail a statement of such claim to the following address: Resource Ventures II, LLC 7575 W. Jefferson Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN, 46804 Such statement of claims shall include the following information: (a) The name and address of the claimant; (b)The amount of the claim; (c)The date the claim came into existence; (d)The basis for the claim; and (e) A copy of any writing that evidences the claim. Any and all claims against the Company will be BARRED unless the proceeding to enforce the claim is commenced within two (2) years after the publication date of this Notice. (Mont. Ind., September 22, 2022) | NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION Notice is hereby given that Resource Ventures, LLC (the “Company”), a limited liability company organized pursuant to the Indiana Business Flexibility Act, with its principal place of business in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been voluntarily dissolved under and pursuant to Resolutions of its Members, in accordance with Indiana Code §23-18-9, et seq. Any person(s) with a claim against the Company shall mail a statement of such claim to the following address: Resource Ventures, LLC 7575 W. Jefferson Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN, 46804 Such statement of claims shall include the following information: (a)The name and address of the claimant; (b)The amount of the claim; (c)The date the claim came into existence; (d)The basis for the claim; and (e)A copy of any writing that evidences the claim. Any and all claims against the Company will be BARRED unless the proceeding to enforce the claim is commenced within two (2) years after the publication date of this Notice. (Mont. Ind., September 22, 2022) | NOTICE OF COMPLETION LEGAL NOTICE In accordance with Chapter 1, Title 39, Code of Alabama, 1975, notice is hereby given that Lower Bros. Co. Inc., Contractor, has completed the Contract for SPW #135/Project #2022-07, Resurfacing Ten Tennis Courts, located at 7430 East Drive Montgomery AL 36117 for AUM, Owner, and have made request for final settlement of said Contract. All persons having any claim for labor, materials, or otherwise in connection with this project should immediately notify Auburn University Montgomery, P.O. Box 244023, Montgomery, Alabama 36124-4023. (Mont. Ind., September 22, 2022) | MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE. Default having been made in the payment of the indebtedness secured by that certain mortgage executed by Daniel Dye and Andrea L. Dye, husband and wife, originally in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Ins., as nominee for Quicken Loans, Inc., on June 9, 2014, said mortgage recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Montgomery County, Alabama, in RLPY Book 04580 Page 0020; the undersigned Rocket Mortgage, LLC f/k/a Quicken Loans, LLC f/k/a Quicken Loans Inc., as Mortgagee/Transferee, under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in said ...

Iran Restricts WhatsApp, Instagram As Mahsa Amini Protests Grow https://digitalalabamanews.com/iran-restricts-whatsapp-instagram-as-mahsa-amini-protests-grow/ NetBlocks says the outage is the ‘most severe’ since the internet was blocked during 2019’s fuel protests. Published On 22 Sep 202222 Sep 2022 Iran has curbed access to social media networks Instagram and WhatsApp amid protests over the death of a woman in police custody, according to residents and internet watchdog NetBlocks. Last week’s death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by morality police in Tehran for “unsuitable attire”, has unleashed a wave of anger over issues including freedom in the Islamic Republic and an economy reeling from sanctions. At least six protesters have now been killed, according to Iranian media and officials, as well as a police officer and a member of a pro-government militia. However, activist groups say the death toll is higher. NetBlocks also reported a “nation-scale loss of connectivity” on Iran’s main mobile telephone provider and another company’s network. WhatsApp’s servers were disrupted on multiple internet providers, hours after Instagram’s services were blocked, London-based NetBlocks said. The group’s data shows a near-total disruption to internet service in parts of Kurdistan province in western Iran since Monday, while the capital city of Tehran and other parts of the country have also faced disruptions since Friday, when protests first broke out. #Iran is now subject to the most severe internet restrictions since the November 2019 massacre. Mobile networks largely shut down (MCI, Rightel, Irancell – partial) Regional disruptions observed during protests Instagram, WhatsApp restrictedhttps://t.co/8cCHIJA2Oi — NetBlocks (@netblocks) September 21, 2022 Two residents in Tehran and southern Iran said they could only send text and not pictures on WhatsApp and that Instagram appeared to be completely blocked. Both platforms are owned by Meta, Facebook’s parent company and are among the few social media networks still operating. NetBlocks said the disruptions were the “most severe” since 2019 when the government shut down the internet for about a week to help stifle fuel protests. Without internet access, it is harder for people to post videos on social media to generate support for their cause or obtain reliable reports on what is happening. This month’s unrest has been particularly intense in Amini’s home province of northwestern Kurdistan. The 22-year-old Amini lived in Saqqez, Kurdistan, and was in Tehran when she was detained for what Iran’s ‘morality police’ deemed ‘immodest clothing’, violating Iran’s mandatory modest-dress rules, which were imposed shortly after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The authorities say she had a stroke and a heart attack while she was in a “guidance centre” and was transferred to a nearby hospital, where she died several days later. Amini’s family has denied claims by Tehran’s police chief that she had several pre-existing conditions like epilepsy and diabetes. Social media websites such as TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are routinely blocked in parts of the Islamic Republic, which has some of the strictest internet controls in the world. But tech-savvy residents often use virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the curbs. Read More…

Obituaries, Sept 22, 2022 https://digitalalabamanews.com/obituaries-sept-22-2022/ Julie Holley Cowen Julie Holley Cowen, 60, of Hazel, Kentucky, died Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, at her home. She was born Sept. 17, 1961, in Biloxi, Mississippi, to Anson “Campy” Holley and Annabell Tillman. She was a retired teller supervisor for BB&T and The Murray Bank. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by grandchild, Delilah Elmer. Mrs. Cowen is survived by her husband, Marc Cowen of Hazel, whom she married April 20, 2020, in Hazel; two daughters, Skyler Elmer and husband Jared of Columbia, Missouri, and Meagan Elliott and husband Brandon of Murray; two sons, Tyler Carson of Seattle, Washington, and Zak Cowen and wife Riley of Pleasant Hill, California; two sisters, Joyce Miller and husband Chip of Carriere, Mississippi, and Jan Kelly and husband Glen of Latimer, Mississippi; one brother, Anson Holley of Lacombe, Louisiana; five grandchildren, Kaylen Kennedy, Ellie Elmer, Bentley Towery, Harper Elliott and Rowan Cowen; several nieces and nephews; and her fur babies, Kiki and Bowie. The funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, in the chapel of the J.H. Churchill Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Visitation will be from 11a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, at the funeral home. Online condolences may be left at www.thejhchurchillfuneralhome.com. The J.H. Churchill Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements. Dr. Lusanne ‘Sandy’ Lilly McKenzie Dr. Lusanne “Sandy” Lilly McKenzie passed away Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, at her home in Huntsville, Alabama. She was born Feb. 16, 1945, in Franklin, Kentucky, to George Truett and Lucy Kummer Lilly.  Sandy grew up in Murray, Kentucky, where she graduated as valedictorian of her class at Murray High School. She graduated magna cum laude from Murray State University where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, Alpha Chi Honor Society, and was named Outstanding Senior Woman. She graduated, with honors, from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine where she was a member of the medical honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha. She completed her internship and residency at Vanderbilt before moving to Huntsville to practice pediatrics and serve on the faculty of University of Alabama/Birmingham School of Medicine. Dr. McKenzie relocated to Mobile, Alabama, where she joined the faculty of the University of South Alabama Medical School. After a few years, she returned to Huntsville to serve as Vice President/Medical Affairs at Huntsville Hospital. After being retired for several years, she returned to Vanderbilt to complete a residency in psychiatry, which she practiced in Huntsville before retiring again in 2018. She was an active member of Central Presbyterian Church, where she taught Bible studies and was involved in the Women’s Ministry. She was also a part of two prayer groups, her beloved Morning Glories and Friday Friends, who became her family in Huntsville. Preceded in death by her parents, Sandy is survived by her loving sister, Trudy Lilly Gardner of Pleasant View, Tennessee; her beloved nephew, Daniel (Megan) Gardner of Pleasant View; her adored niece, Lucy Gardner (Gene) Slusher of Lexington; her great-nephews, Truett and Bennett Gardner of Pleasant View, whom she loved dearly; and her many cousins. Visitation with the family will be at Laughlin Service Funeral Home, 2320 Bob Wallace Avenue in Huntsville on Friday, Sept. 23. 2022, from 6-8 p.m. Her funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, at Central Presbyterian Church, 406 Randolph Avenue in Huntsville with Dr. Randy Jenkins officiating. Serving as pallbearers are Daniel Gardner, Truett Gardner, Bennett Gardner, Gene Slusher, Chris Kummer, Douglas Gardner, Jamison Howard and John Howard Jr. Her Morning Glories and Friday Friends, along with dear friend, Susan Cloud, will sit as honorary pallbearers. Burial and graveside service will be Sunday, Sept. 25. 2022, at Zion Lutheran Cemetery in the Schweizer community of Simpson County, Kentucky, where her parents and German ancestors are buried. Daniel Gardner and the Morning Glories will officiate at this farewell to Sandy. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Sandy’s memory to Lincoln Village Ministry, 1110 Meridian St., N., Huntsville, AL, 35801, or to Central Presbyterian Church.  Laughlin Service Funeral Home, Huntsville, is in charge of arrangements. Blondie G. McClure Blondie G. McClure, 88, of Murray, Kentucky, died Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, at the Anna Mae Owen Residential Hospice House in Murray. Arrangements are incomplete at Blalock-Coleman Funeral Home. Larry Robinson Larry Robinson, 67, of Murray, Kentucky, died Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Anna Mae Owen Residential Hospice House in Murray. Arrangements are incomplete at the J.H. Churchill Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Read More…

Trump Docs Probe: Court Lifts Hold On Mar-A-Lago Records – KESQ https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-docs-probe-court-lifts-hold-on-mar-a-lago-records-kesq/ By ERIC TUCKER, NOMAAN MERCHANT and JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In a stark repudiation of Donald Trump’s legal arguments, a federal appeals court on Wednesday permitted the Justice Department to resume its use of classified records seized from the former president’s Florida estate as part of its ongoing criminal investigation. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit amounts to an overwhelming victory for the Justice Department, clearing the way for investigators to continue scrutinizing the documents as they consider whether to bring criminal charges over the storage of of top-secret records at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. In lifting a hold on a core aspect of the department’s probe, the court removed an obstacle that could have delayed the investigation by weeks, if not months. The appeals court also pointedly noted that Trump had presented no evidence that he had declassified the sensitive records, as he has repeatedly maintained, and rejected the possibility that Trump could have an “individual interest in or need for” the roughly 100 documents with classification markings that were seized by the FBI in its Aug. 8 search of the Palm Beach property. The government had argued that its investigation had been impeded, and national security concerns swept aside, by an order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that temporarily barred investigators from continuing to use the documents in its inquiry. Cannon, a Trump appointee, had said the hold would remain in place pending a separate review by an independent arbiter she had appointed at the Trump team’s request to review the records. The appeals panel agreed with the Justice Department’s concerns. “It is self-evident that the public has a strong interest in ensuring that the storage of the classified records did not result in ‘exceptionally grave damage to the national security,’” they wrote. “Ascertaining that,” they added, “necessarily involves reviewing the documents, determining who had access to them and when, and deciding which (if any) sources or methods are compromised.” An injunction that delayed or prevented the criminal investigation “from using classified materials risks imposing real and significant harm on the United States and the public,” they wrote. Two of the three judges who issued Wednesday’s ruling — Britt Grant and Andrew Brasher — were nominated to the 11th Circuit by Trump. Judge Robin Rosenbaum was nominated by former President Barack Obama. Lawyers for Trump did not return an email seeking comment on whether they would appeal the ruling. The Justice Department did not have an immediate comment. The FBI last month seized roughly 11,000 documents, including about 100 with classification markings, during a court-authorized search of the Palm Beach club. It has launched a criminal investigation into whether the records were mishandled or compromised, though is not clear whether Trump or anyone else will be charged. Cannon ruled on Sept. 5 that she would name an independent arbiter, or special master, to do an independent review of those records and segregate any that may be covered by claims of attorney-client privilege or executive privilege and to determine whether any of the materials should be returned to Trump. Raymond Dearie, the former chief judge of the federal court based in Brooklyn, has been named to the role and held his first meeting on Tuesday with lawyers for both sides. The Justice Department had argued that a special master review of the classified documents was not necessary. It said Trump had no plausible basis to invoke executive privilege over the documents, nor could the records be covered by attorney-client privilege because they do not involve communications between Trump and his lawyers. It had also contested Cannon’s order requiring it to provide Dearie and Trump’s lawyers with access to the classified material. The court sided with the Justice Department on Wednesday, saying “courts should order review of such materials in only the most extraordinary circumstances. The record does not allow for the conclusion that this is such a circumstance.” Trump’s lawyers had argued that an independent review of the records was essential given the unprecedented nature of the investigation. The lawyers have also said the department had not yet proven that the seized documents were classified, though they have notably stopped short of asserting — as Trump repeatedly has — that the records were previously declassified. The Trump team this week resisted providing Dearie with any information to support the idea that the records might have been declassified, signaling the issue could be part of their defense in the event of an indictment. But the appeals court appeared to scoff at that argument. “Plaintiff suggests that he may have declassified these documents when he was President. But the record contains no evidence that any of these records were declassified,” they wrote. “In any event, at least for these purposes, the declassification argument is a red herring because declassifying an official document would not change its content or render it personal.” ____ Colvin reported from New York. Read More…

Best Place To Watch A Big Game – Texas Live! https://digitalalabamanews.com/best-place-to-watch-a-big-game-texas-live/ North Texas has no shortage of proper bars for watching your favorite sports. But if you really want to be enveloped in the big game — all one trillion of your synapses firing — Texas Live! is the place. It’s big enough that a large crowd can drive big energy, but not so big that you miss half the game standing in lines for beer or food; service is usually quick. TVs deck the walls, and there’s plenty of beer and good food. If a local team is in a big game, they even pull out the smoke machines and DJs to keep things extra lively. If you can’t be at the game, this is the next best thing. 1650 E Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, 76011 Map There is one true top dog for North Texas baseball in 2022, and it might surprise you. Meet Chris Dickens, who in his freshman year at Eastfield College in Dallas led his team to the championship game of the 2022 National Junior College Division III World Series. For the season, Dickens hit .440 with a .560 on-base percentage, which ranked eighth in the country. Oh, and just for kicks he also pitched, posting a 12-2 record with a 3.63 ERA. For his efforts, Dickens was honored as the NJCAA Division III National Player of the Year. Remember his name; you can bet folks in baseball will. IKEA isn’t the only hot spot in Frisco. The Frisco Commons Park may not have Swedish meatballs, but it does have almost everything else. The 63-acre park has bike and walking trails and a picnic area in a raised amphitheater that allows a grand view of the grounds and pond. Even amid the majesty of nature, however, the playground is the shining centerpiece. Once a maze of wooden, splintery structures, the play space was rebuilt in 2013 as “Hope Park” to be inclusive of families with special needs. It’s wheelchair-accessible, with adaptive playground equipment, rubberized surfaces and new play areas designed with endless color (and zero splinters). Frisco Commons also has a spray park that opens in the summer, and it really beats playing outside with the water hose. 8000 McKinney Rd., Frisco, 75034 Map 972-424-1460 Public pools can be sort of gross. But let’s be honest, so are kids. Until you finally win that Powerball drawing you (and only you) prayed about, you’ll have to share the water with other bodies and ruin your highlights with heavy loads of chlorine. If you’re looking for a spot to hang with rowdy drunk adults, this isn’t it. But if you seek a lively space with kids as loud as your own, have a family day at Jack Carter in Plano. Once you tune out the pool’s comically young lifeguards excessively blowing their whistles like the overzealous lifeguard Jim Carrey played on SNL, you’ll find Jack Carter to be the most joyous type of chaotic. It’s got a surf simulator pool, colossal slides, a lazy river with free floats, spray features and a swim area with mere inches of water just for babies. 2601 Pleasant Valley Dr., Plano, 75023 Map Ever wanted to try sailing? With more than 7,000 acres of water to sail on, Lake Grapevine is a great place to start. There are multiple marinas and charter companies as well as the Grapevine Sailing Club, which has races throughout the year that you can crew on to get some experience. There is also a juniors sailing program in case the kids want to get started learning a new skill. There are parks and camping available, so this is a great place to spend time with the family enjoying the outdoors all year long. Admit it, when the Dallas Mavericks lost Game 1 of their first-round playoff matchup against the Utah Jazz and then announced that Luka Doncic would also miss Game 2 because of a strained calf, the general feeling around town was, welp, it was fun while it lasted. But Jalen Brunson wasn’t having it. The fourth-year guard poured in a career-high 41 points in the Mavs’ 110-104 win, and in doing so joined Doncic, Dirk Nowitzki, Rolando Blackman and Nick Van Exel as the only players in Mavericks history to score at least 40 in a postseason game. Even though he’s gone now, that’s pretty nice company. Dallas-Fort Worth is loaded with amazing sports venues. There’s the big bright spectacles of AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field in Arlington, the friendly and fun Riders Field in Frisco, the historic Cotton Bowl in South Dallas and even some great college venues, such as Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth and the underrated College Park Center in Arlington. Still, American Airlines Center (AAC) is hard to top. Located in Victory Park in the heart of Dallas, the AAC has easy access to bars and restaurants within walking distance. The Stars ranked seventh in the NHL in attendance, while the Mavericks ranked third in the NBA, so the atmosphere within the stadium was consistently very lively and energetic. The AAC plays a great host to concerts and shows as well. One thing the pandemic reminded us is that dining outside can be just as valuable as the nourishment you’re eating. Even better is doing so while on green grass under the shade of a tree, looking out onto a bit of water with the Dallas skyline in the background. That’s the scene when having a picnic at Reverchon Park, the absolute best spot to enjoy a meal al fresco. It’s Dallas’ premier urban park, where there’s plenty of shaded grass and it’s easy to grab food from Malibu Poke not far away. Get the sauce on the side, park at the rec center if you’re driving and walk to a shaded spot to sit down, take a beat from the day and enjoy. While Ducanville basketball made a case for a second straight award, and Desoto’s women’s basketball made winning a state championship look easy, just about everyone got lost in the gold and glory that the South Oak Cliff High School football team earned in 2021. After a first-week loss to Ducanville, the Golden Bears went on a dominant run of 15 straight wins en route to a state title. With a powerhouse defense starring Billy Walton and Malik Muhammad and led by head coach Jason Todd, SOC became the first Dallas ISD school to win a state football title since 1958, and the first in South Oak Cliff history. There was a lot of excitement around here on June 16 when Dallas learned that it would be one of 16 host sites for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Four years from now, people from parts near and far will be here to watch soccer’s best kick it around at AT&T Stadium. Of course, they already are thanks to the annual Dallas Cup, held in North Texas each spring. At one of the game’s premier youth tournaments, teams come from around the country, including Hawaii, and also from around the globe. No need to wait until 2026 to see soccer’s best. The world is here every year. Read More…

AP News Summary At 10:41 P.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1041-p-m-edt/ Zelenskyy vows Ukraine will win as Russia redoubles effort UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukraine’s president has implored the world to punish Russia for its invasion. He vowed his forces would win back every inch of territory despite Moscow’s decision to redouble its war effort. In a much-anticipated video address to the U.N. General Assembly hours after Russia announced it would mobilize some reservists, Volodymyr Zelenskyy portrayed the declaration as evidence the Kremlin wasn’t ready to negotiate an end to the war. But he insisted his country would prevail anyway. Trump docs probe: Court lifts hold on Mar-a-Lago records WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has lifted a judge’s hold on the Justice Department’s ability to use classified records seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate in its ongoing criminal investigation. The ruling Wednesday from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta clears the way for investigators to continue scrutinizing the documents as they evaluate whether to bring criminal charges over the storage of top-secret government records at Mar-a-Lago. The court notes that Trump presented no evidence that he had declassified the sensitive records. And it is rejecting the possibility that Trump could have an “individual interest in or need for” the roughly 100 documents marked as classified. Biden: Russia’s Ukraine abuses ‘make your blood run cold’ UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Joe Biden has declared that Russia has “shamelessly violated the core tenets” of the United Nations charter with its “brutal, needless war” in Ukraine. Biden on Wednesday delivered a forceful condemnation of Russia’s invasion to the international body, saying abuses against civilians in Ukraine “should make your blood run cold.” He also said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s new nuclear threats against Europe show a “reckless disregard” for his nation’s responsibilities as a signatory of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. And he highlighted consequences of the invasion for the world’s food supply, pledging $2.9 billion in global food security aid to address shortages caused by the war and the effects of climate change. Putin orders partial military call-up, sparking protests Read More…

U.S. Appeals Court Says Trump Criminal Probe Can Resume Classified Records Review https://digitalalabamanews.com/u-s-appeals-court-says-trump-criminal-probe-can-resume-classified-records-review/ Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 3, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department can resume reviewing classified records seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump’s Florida home pending appeal, a federal appellate court ruled on Wednesday, giving a boost to the criminal investigation into whether the records were mishandled or compromised. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request by federal prosecutors to block U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s stay barring them from using the classified documents in their probe until an independent arbiter, called a special master, vets the materials to weed out any that could be deemed privileged and withheld from investigators. The appeals court also said it would agree to reverse a portion of the lower court’s order that required the government to hand over records with classification markings for the special master’s review. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com “We conclude that the United States would suffer irreparable harm from the district court’s restrictions on its access to this narrow—and potentially critical—set of materials, as well as the court’s requirement that the United States submit the classified records to the special master for review,” the three-judge panel wrote. The decision is “limited in nature,” the panel wrote, as the Justice Department had asked only for a partial stay pending appeal, and that the panel was not able to decide on the merits of the case itself. The three judges who made the decision were Robin Rosenbaum, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, and Britt Grant and Andrew Brasher, both of whom were appointed by Trump. Trump’s lawyers could potentially ask the U.S. Supreme Court, whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by him, to intervene in the matter. In filings on Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers urged the court to keep the stay in place and to allow them under the supervision of the special master, U.S Judge Raymond Dearie, to review all of the seized materials, including those marked classified. A Justice Department spokesperson did not have an immediate comment. Attorneys for Trump could not be immediately reached for comment. In an interview on Fox News Wednesday night, Trump repeated his claim without evidence that he declassified the documents and said he had the power to do it “even by thinking about it.” The FBI conducted a court-approved search on Aug. 8 at Trump’s home at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, seizing more than 11,000 documents including about 100 marked as classified. The search was part of a federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed documents from the White House when he left office in January 2021 after his failed 2020 re-election bid and whether Trump tried to obstruct the probe. Cannon, a Trump appointee herself, appointed Dearie to serve as special master in the case at Trump’s request, despite the Justice Department’s objections about a special master. Cannon tasked Dearie with reviewing all of the materials, including classified ones, so that he can separate anything that could be subject to attorney-client privilege or executive privilege – a legal doctrine that shields some White House communications from disclosure. However, Trump’s lawyers have not made such claims in any of their legal filings, and during a hearing before Dearie on Tuesday, they resisted his request to provide proof that Trump had declassified any records. read more Although the appeals court stressed its ruling was narrow in scope, it nevertheless appeared to sharply rebuke Cannon’s ruling from top to bottom and many of Trump’s legal arguments. “[Trump]has not even attempted to show that he has a need to know the information contained in the classified documents,” the judges wrote. “Nor has he established that the current administration has waived that requirement for these documents.” The Justice Department previously also raised strong objections to Cannon’s demand that Dearie review the seized records for documents possibly covered by executive privilege, noting that Trump is a former president and the records do not belong to him. While it voiced disagreement, however, the Justice Department did not appeal that portion of Cannon’s order. It is not clear if prosecutors may separately seek to appeal other parts of Cannon’s ruling on the special master appointment. “We decide only the traditional equitable considerations, including whether the United States has shown a substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits, the harm each party might suffer from a stay, and where the public interest lies,” the appeals court said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Eric Beech, Mike Scarcella and Jacqueline Thomsen; Editing by Leslie Adler & Shri Navaratnam Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…

Asia Markets Sink On Hawkish Fed; Yen Weakens Ahead Of Bank Of Japan Decision https://digitalalabamanews.com/asia-markets-sink-on-hawkish-fed-yen-weakens-ahead-of-bank-of-japan-decision/ Pedestrians walk past the Exchange Square complex, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Paul Yeung | Bloomberg via Getty Images The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to continue hiking interest rates to as high as 4.6% in 2023, according to its median forecast. — CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Samantha Subin, Carmen Reinicke and Yun Li contributed to this report. CNBC Pro: This fund manager is beating the market. Here’s what he’s betting against Stock markets are down but the fund managed by Patrick Armstrong at Plurimi Wealth is continuing to deliver positive returns. The fund manager has a number of short positions to play the market volatility. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Zavier Ong Asian currencies weaken after Fed’s third-straight big hike Currencies in the Asia-Pacific weakened further after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered its third consecutive rate hike of 75 basis points. China’s onshore yuan weakened past 7.09 per dollar, hovering near levels not seen since June 2020. The Japanese yen weakened to 144.51, while the Korean won also surged past 1,409 against the greenback – the weakest since March 2009. Australia’s dollar fell to $0.6589. –Jihye Lee U.S. 2-year Treasury yield inches toward 2007 highs British pound slides further to hover around 37-year low The British pound fell further in Asia’s morning trade, hitting $1.1217 — its lowest level since 1985. The currency has been losing ground against the U.S. dollar this year as economic concerns rise. Analysts are split over whether the U.K. central bank will hike rates by 50 basis points or 75 basis points later today. Sterling last traded at $1.1223. — Abigail Ng CNBC Pro: Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson names the key attribute he likes in stocks Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson is staying defensive amid the persistent market volatility this year. He names the key attribute he’s looking for in stocks. Stocks with this attribute have been “rewarded” this year, with the trend likely to persist until the market turns more bullish, according to Wilson. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Zavier Ong Bank of Japan likely to maintain yield curve control for rest of 2022: DBS Substantial adjustments to the Bank of Japan’s policies are likely to happen only after the central bank’s leadership changes in mid-2023, DBS Group Research said in a note Tuesday. But the BOJ may consider some “policy finetuning,” such as widening the target band by 10 basis points, in response to market pressures, analysts wrote. It added that “regardless of intervention,” the dollar-yen could test 147.66 last seen in August 1998, adding they are not ruling out USD/JPY pushing above 150 “without a hard landing in the U.S. prompting Fed cuts.” — Abigail Ng Stock futures open lower U.S. stock futures fell on Wednesday night following a volatile session in the major averages as traders weighed another large rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined by 16 points, or 0.05%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.19% and 0.31%, respectively. — Sarah Min Stocks slide, Dow closes 522 points lower in volatile trading session Stocks wavered on Wednesday but finished the session deep in the red after the Federal Reserve announced another 75 basis point rate hike. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 522.45 points, or 1.7%, to close at 30,183.78. The S&P 500 slid 1.71% to 3,789.93 and the Nasdaq Composite dove 1.79% to 11,220.19. — Samantha Subin Read More…

Trump Is Now Claiming He Can Declassify Documents Telepathically https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-is-now-claiming-he-can-declassify-documents-telepathically/ The very desperate former president went on Fox News to vent to Sean Hannity about his legal woes, and offer a new defense of his document-hoarding Donald Trump went on Fox News Wednesday night to vent to Sean Hannity about the civil fraud lawsuit New York Attorney General Letitia James slapped on him and three of his children earlier in the day. The former president didn’t exactly clear his name, instead claiming repeatedly that he has plenty of cash, very little debt, and that James’ investigation is nothing more than a political stunt.. The conversation eventually turned to another of Trump’s myriad legal quandaries: the Justice Department’s investigation into the material he was — and maybe still is — hoarding at Mar-a-Lago. Trump has long argued that he declassified all of the highly sensitive classified documents the FBI retrieved from his Palm Beach estate last month, a claim so dubious that his lawyers have refused to make it in court. Trump told Hannity not to worry, though. There need not be any physical or even anecdotal evidence that he declassified the documents, as the president has the power to do it with nothing more than his mind. “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified — even by thinking about it,” Trump said. “Because you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago or wherever you’re sending it. There doesn’t have to be a process. There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be.” Presidents are able to declassify documents, but there is typically a procedure for doing so. It’s up for debate whether presidents are required to follow any such procedure, but the idea that they can declassify sensitive material just by thinking about it is, of course, absurd. “Hypothetical questions like, ‘What if a president thinks to himself that something is declassified? Does that change its status?’ are so speculative that their practical meaning is negligible,” Steven Aftergood, a secrecy specialist with the Federation of American Scientists, recently told The New York Times. “It’s a logical mess. The system is not meant to be deployed in such an arbitrary fashion.” The legal system isn’t likely to buy Trump’s claim, either. Judge Raymond Dearie told the former president’s legal team on Tuesday that unless they provide some concrete evidence that Trump declassified the documents clearly labeled as classified, he will treat them as if they are, indeed, classified. Dearie last week was designated a “special master” to review the documents seized by the FBI in order to flag any privilege issues. The hearing on Tuesday was a blow to Trump’s defense, especially considering it was his own legal team that recommended Dearie for the position. Trump tried to distance himself from the appointment when pressed by Hannity on Wednesday. “I didn’t know any of the people involved,” he said. Read More…

Appeals Court: Justice Dept. Can Use Mar-A-Lago Documents In Criminal Probe https://digitalalabamanews.com/appeals-court-justice-dept-can-use-mar-a-lago-documents-in-criminal-probe/ An appeals court sided with the Justice Department in a legal fight over classified documents seized in a court-authorized search of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, ruling Wednesday that the FBI may use the documents in its ongoing criminal investigation. The decision by a three-judge panel of the appeals court marks a victory, at least temporarily, for the Justice Department in its legal battle with Trump over access to the evidence in a high-stakes investigation to determine if the former president or his advisers mishandled national security secrets, or hid or destroyed government records. It was the second legal setback of the day for Trump, who was sued Wednesday morning by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The lawsuit said Trump and his company flagrantly manipulated property and other asset valuations to deceive lenders, insurance brokers and tax authorities to get better rates and lower tax liability. In Wednesday night’s ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta found fault with Trump’s rationale that the classified documents seized on Aug. 8 might be his property, rather than the government’s. The appeals court also disagreed with the rationale used by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon in agreeing to have the classified documents reviewed by a special master to see if they should be shielded from investigators because of executive or attorney-client privilege. “For our part, we cannot discern why [Trump] would have an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings,” the court wrote, noting that the stay it issued is temporary and should not be considered a final decision on the merits of the case. The lower court “abused its discretion in exercising jurisdiction … as it concerns the classified documents,” the panel wrote in a 29-page opinion. Two judges on the panel were appointed by Trump; the third was appointed by President Barack Obama. A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an interview Wednesday with Fox News that was recorded before the appeals court issued its ruling, Trump claimed he had declassified the documents, and he suggested there would not have to be any written record of such an action. “I declassified the documents when they left the White House,” Trump said. “There doesn’t have to be a process as I understand it. You’re the president of the United States, you can declassify … even by thinking about it.” The panel found particularly unpersuasive the repeated suggestions by Trump’s legal team that he may have declassified the documents — citing an appearance by Trump’s attorneys on Tuesday before special master Raymond Dearie, who pressed them to say whether the former president had acted to declassify the materials in question. “Plaintiff suggests that he may have declassified these documents when he was President. But the record contains no evidence that any of these records were declassified. And before the special master, Plaintiff resisted providing any evidence that he had declassified any of these documents,” the panel wrote. “In any event, at least for these purposes, the declassification argument is a red herring because declassifying an official document would not change its content or render it personal.” Last week, the Justice Department filed papers asking the appeals court to quickly assess part of Cannon’s decision in which she appointed a special master to review the seized documents. Prosecutors have said that two parts of her order — allowing the special master to review the roughly 100 documents that were marked classified and halting the criminal investigation surrounding those documents while the special master conducts a review — jeopardize national security interests. Cannon, a federal judge in Florida, appointed Dearie, a federal judge in New York City, to serve as special master and review the roughly 11,000 documents and items seized in the FBI’s search. The Justice Department had previously asked Cannon to reconsider those two elements of her order, but she declined in a written order that repeatedly expressed skepticism of the government’s claims about the case. In particular, Cannon said that a risk assessment of the case, conducted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, could continue, while the criminal investigators were not allowed to use the classified documents for the time being. The Justice Department said such a distinction was impractical because much of the DNI’s work would necessarily be done by FBI agents, and the two tasks were “inextricably intertwined.” Cannon did not accept that characterization and held to her original determination. But the appeals court rejected her reasoning on that issue, writing: “This distinction is untenable.” The panel also used its ruling to offer a public primer on how the government classifies and declassifies government secrets, and why that process is important. “For example, information that could reveal the identity of a confidential human source or that relates to weapons of mass destruction is exempted from automatic disclosure,” the judges wrote. Prosecutors have said in court papers that some papers seized from Mar-a-Lago contained information related to programs that involve intelligence gleaned from human sources. The Washington Post has reported that one document recovered by FBI agents described a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities. The Justice Department told the appeals court that it disagrees with Cannon’s decision, but it asked the court to issue a stay of “only the portions of the order causing the most serious and immediate harm to the government and the public,” calling the scope of its request “modest but critically important.” Trump’s lawyers countered with their own filing, urging the appeals court not to intercede, suggesting that the documents marked classified may not in fact be classified and arguing that if they are, it is up to the government to prove it. The appeals court decision simplifies the special master’s work, removing the classified documents from the equation — though Dearie had signaled at a meeting Tuesday that he would probably avoid reviewing the classified documents if he could. At Tuesday’s hearing, Justice Department lawyers had indicated that they might appeal the issue to the Supreme Court if they lost at the 11th Circuit; it is unclear if Trump’s legal team would file such an appeal now that the panel has ruled against them. Read More…

The U.S. And Its Allies Are Joining Forces On Chips. That Could Stop China Reaching The Next Level https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-u-s-and-its-allies-are-joining-forces-on-chips-that-could-stop-china-reaching-the-next-level/ Leading chipmaking nations including the U.S. are forming alliances, in part to secure their semiconductor supply chain and to stop China from reaching the cutting-edge of the industry, analysts told CNBC. Places including the United States, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, which have strong semiconductor industries, have looked to forge partnerships around the critical technology. “The immediate reason for all this is definitely China,” said Pranay Kotasthane, chairperson of the High Tech Geopolitics Programme at Takshashila Institution, in reference to the alliances. The teaming up underscores how important chips are to economies and national security, while at the same time highlighting a desire by countries to stem China’s advancement in the critical technology. Kotasthane was a guest on the latest episode of CNBC’s Beyond the Valley podcast published Tuesday, which looks at the geopolitics behind semiconductors. Why chips are in the geopolitical spotlight Semiconductors are critical technology because they go into so many of the products we use — from smartphones to cars and refrigerators. And they’re also crucial to artificial intelligence applications and even weaponry. The importance of chips were thrust into the spotlight during an ongoing shortage of these components, which was sparked by the Covid pandemic, amid a surge in demand for consumer electronics and supply chain disruptions. That alerted governments around the world to the need to secure chip supplies. The United States, under President Joe Biden, has pushed to reshore manufacturing. But the semiconductor supply chain is complex — it includes areas ranging from design to packaging to manufacturing and the tools that are required to do that. For example, ASML, based in the Netherlands, is the only firm in the world capable of making the highly complex machines that are needed to manufacture the most advanced chips. The United States, while strong in many areas of the market, has lost its dominance in manufacturing. Over the last 15 years or so, Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung have come to dominate the manufacturing of the world’s most advanced semiconductors. Intel, the United States’ largest chipmaker, fell far behind. Taiwan and South Korea make up about 80% of the global foundry market. Foundries are facilities that manufacture chips that other companies design. Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro The concentration of critical tools and manufacturing in a small number of companies and geographies has put governments around the world on edge, as well as thrust semiconductors into the realm of geopolitics. “What has happened is there are many companies spread across the world doing small part of it, which means there’s a geopolitical angle to it, right? What if one company doesn’t supply the things that you need? What if, you know, one of the countries sort of puts things about espionage through chips? So those things make it a geopolitical tool,” Kotasthane said. The concentration of power in the hands of a few economies and companies presents a business continuity risk, especially in places of contention like Taiwan, Kotasthane said. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and has promised a “reunification” of the island with the Chinese mainland. “The other geopolitical significance is just related to Taiwan’s central role in the semiconductor supply chain. And because China-Taiwan tensions have risen, there is a fear that, you know, since a lot of manufacturing happens in Taiwan, what happens if China were to occupy or even just that there are tensions between the two countries?” Kotasthane said. Alliances being built that exclude China Because of the complexity of the chip supply chain, no country can go it alone. Countries have increasingly sought chip partnerships in the past two years. On a trip to South Korea in May, Biden visited a Samsung semiconductor plant. Around the same time, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met her then Japanese counterpart, Koichi Hagiuda, in Tokyo and discussed “cooperation in fields such as semiconductors and export control.” Last month, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen told the visiting U.S. state of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey that she looks forward to producing “democracy chips” with America. Taiwan is home to the world’s most advanced chipmaker TSMC. And semiconductors are a key part of cooperation between the United States, India, Japan and Australia, a group of democracies collectively known as the Quad. The U.S. has also proposed a “Chip 4” alliance with South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, all powerhouses in the semiconductor supply chain. However, details of this have not been finalized. There are a few reasons behind these partnerships. One is about bringing together countries, each with their “comparative advantages,” to “string together alliances that can develop secure chips,” Kotasthane said. “It doesn’t make sense to go it alone” because of the complexity of the supply chain and the strengths of different countries and companies, he added. U.S. President Joe Biden met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in May 2022 on a visit to the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek campus. The U.S. and South Korea, along with other countries, are seeking to form alliances around semiconductors, with the aim of cutting out China. Kim Min-Hee | Getty Images The push for such partnerships have one common trait — China is not involved. In fact, these alliances are designed to cut China off from the global supply chain. “In my view, I think over the short term, China’s development in this sector will be severely constrained [as a result of these alliances],” Kotasthane said. China and the U.S. view each other as rivals in technology in areas ranging from semiconductors to artificial intelligence. As part of that battle, the U.S. has looked to cut off China from critical semiconductors and tools to make them through export restrictions. “The goal of all this effort is to prevent China from developing the capability to produce advanced semiconductors domestically,” Paul Triolo, the technology policy lead at consulting firm Albright Stonebridge, told CNBC, referring to the aims of the various partnerships. China ‘cutting-edge’ chips in doubt So where does that leave China? Over the past few years, China has pumped a lot of money into its domestic semiconductor industry, aiming to boost self-sufficiency and reduce its reliance on foreign companies. As explained before, that would be incredibly difficult because of the complexity of the supply chain and the concentration of power in the hands of very few companies and countries. China is improving in areas such as chip design, but that’s an area that relies heavily on foreign tools and equipment. Over the long term, I do think they [China] will be able to overcome some of the current challenges… yet they won’t be able to reach the cutting edge that many other countries are. Pranay Kotasthane Takshashila Institution Manufacturing is the “Achilles’ heel” for China, according to Kotasthane. China’s biggest contract chipmaker is called SMIC. But the company’s technology is still significantly behind the likes of TSMC and Samsung. “It requires a lot of international collaboration … which I think is now a big problem for China because of the way China has sort of antagonized neighbors,” Kotasthane said. “What China could do, three, four years earlier in terms of international collaboration won’t just be possible.” That leaves China’s ability to reach the leading edge of chipmaking in doubt, especially as the U.S. and other major semiconductor powerhouses form alliances, Kotasthane said. “Over the long term, I do think they [China] will be able to overcome some of the current challenges… yet they won’t be able to reach the cutting edge that many other countries are,” Kotasthane said. Tensions in the alliances Still, there are some cracks beginning to appear between some of the partners, in particular South Korea and the United States. In an interview with the Financial Times, Ahn Duk-geun, South Korea’s trade minister, said there were disagreements between Seoul and Washington over the latter’s continued export restrictions on semiconductor tools to China. “Our semiconductor industry has a lot of concerns about what the US government is doing these days,” Ahn told the FT. China, the world’s largest importer of chips, is a key market for chip companies globally, from U.S. giants like Qualcomm to Samsung in South Korea. With politics and business mixing, the stage could be set for more tension between nations in these high-tech alliances. “Not all U.S. allies are eager to sign up for these alliances, or expand controls on technology bound for China, as they have major equities in both manufacturing in China and selling into the China market. Most do not want to run afoul of Beijing over these issues,” Triolo said. “A major risk is that attempts to coordinate parts of the global semiconductor supply chain development undermine the market-driven nature of the industry and cause major collateral damage to innovation, driving up costs and slowing the pace of development of new technologies.” Read More…

Legal Notices: September 22, 2022 https://digitalalabamanews.com/legal-notices-september-22-2022/ State of Alabama   Probate Court County of Dallas LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATE OF DEBORAH ANN LAW, Deceased. Letters Testamentary upon the estate of said decedent having been granted to THERESIA OLIVIA LAURENN, the undersigned on the 22nd  day of August, 2022 by Jimmy L. Nunn, Probate Judge of Dallas County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate is hereby required to be present the same, duly sworn to, in Probate Court of said County within the time allowed by law, or else same will be forever barred. Charles H. Sims, III Attorney At Law P.O. Box 1432 Selma, AL 36702 Selma Sun September 8, 2022, September 15, 2022 and September 22, 2022State of Alabama                                                                             Probate Court County of Dallas LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATE OF JOHN DOUGLAS LAW, JR., Deceased. Letters Testamentary upon the estate of said decedent having been granted to THERESIA OLIVIA LAURENN, the undersigned on the 22nd day of   August, 2022 by Jimmy L. Nunn, Probate Judge of Dallas County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate is hereby required to be present the same, duly sworn to, in Probate Court of said County within the time allowed by law, or else same will be forever barred. Charles H. Sims, III Attorney At Law P.O. Box 1432 Selma, AL 36702 Selma Sun September 8, 2022, September 15, 2022 and September 22, 2022 NOTICE OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE  STATE OF Alabama COUNTY OF DALLAS Default having been made of the terms of the loan documents secured by that certain mortgage executed by Willie Lee Craig Single  to Jim Walter Homes, Inc. dated June 5, 2007; said mortgage being recorded on June 27, 2007, in Book 1377, Page 638 in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Dallas County, Alabama. Said Mortgage was last sold, assigned and transferred to U.S. Bank National Association, not in its individual capacity but solely as Trustee of NRZ Inventory Trust by assignment recorded in Deed Book 1637, Page 186 in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Dallas County, Alabama. The undersigned, U.S. Bank National Association, not in its individual capacity but solely as Trustee of NRZ Inventory Trust, under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in said mortgage, will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash before the main entrance of the Court House in Dallas County, Alabama during the legal hours of sale (between 11am and 4pm), on the 4th day of April, 2022 the following property, situated in Dallas County, Alabama, to-wit: Beginning at a rebar at the northeast corner of a tract of land described in Deed Book 586 at Page 119 in the Probate office of Dallas County, Alabama; thence run a southerly direction along the west right-of-way of Green Street for 72.49 feet to an iron pin; thence turn an interior angle of 90 deg 11′ and run for 150.09 feet to an iron pipe; thence turn an interior angle of 89 deg 55′ and run for 72.30 feet to an iron pipe; thence turn an interior angle of 90 deg 09′ and run for 150.21 feet to the Point of Beginning, Said described property contains 0.25 acres, more or less, has an interior closing angle of 89 deg 45′, and is a portion of Lot 6 of Block 1 according to the map of Robbins Addition to Selma, Alabama, recorded in Map Book 1 at Page 102 in the Probate Office of Dallas County, Alabama. Said property is commonly known as 1801 Green St, Selma, AL 36703. Should a conflict arise between the property address and the legal description the legal description will control. Said property will be sold subject to any outstanding ad valorem taxes (including taxes which are a lien, but not yet due and payable), the right of redemption of any taxing authority, all outstanding liens for public utilities which constitute liens upon the property, any matters which might be disclosed by an accurate survey and inspection of the property, any assessments, liens, encumbrances, easements, rights-of-way, zoning ordinances, restrictions, special assessments, covenants, the statutory right of redemption pursuant to Alabama law, and any matters of record including, but not limited to, those superior to said Mortgage first set out above. Said property will be sold on an “as-is” basis without any representation, warranty or recourse against the above-named or the undersigned.  The successful bidder must present certified funds in the amount of the winning bid at the time and place of sale. Alabama law gives some persons who have an interest in property the right to redeem the property under certain circumstances. Programs may also exist that help persons avoid or delay the foreclosure process. An attorney should be consulted to help you understand these rights and programs as a part of the foreclosure process. The sale will be conducted subject (1) to confirmation that the sale is not prohibited under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and (2) to final confirmation and audit of the status of the loan with the holder of the Mortgage. U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE OF NRZ INVENTORY TRUST as holder of said mortgage McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC Two North Twentieth 2 20th Street North, Suite 1000 Birmingham, AL 35203 (800) 275-7171 FT21@mccalla.com File No. 9263620 www.foreclosurehotline.net Selma Sun September 8, 2022, September 15, 2022, and September 22, 2022 DALLAS COUNTY TAX LIEN AUCTION SALE OF TAX LIENS FOR COLLECTING DELINQUENT PROPERTY TAX  As the Tax Collector for Dallas County, please accept this notice as a declaration of my intentions to conduct a Tax Lien Auction and Sale for the collection of delinquent taxes for the year 2022-2023 forward.  Title 40-10-180 (c) Code of Alabama requires that this notice be advertised once a week for three consecutive weeks prior to October 1, 2022, in a newspaper with general circulation of said county, or the tax collecting official’s website. The format of the sale has officially changed to Tax Lien Auction and Sale effective with the 2022 tax collection year.  A Tax Lien Auction will be held in May 2023.  Tanika Wagner-Neely Tax Collector Dallas County Selma Sun September 8, 2022, September 15, 2022, and September 22, 2022 Dallas County Commission Project Number: CDBG CV-NC-20-017 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Dallas County Commission, will receive bids in the Commission’s Courtroom located at 102 Church Street, Selma, AL 36701 on 7th of October 10:00 A.M., for the Purchase of Approximately Twenty One (21) Automatic External Defibrillators for the Dallas County Commission. Bids received after the deadline will not be considered.  The full Invitation to bid documents will be posted on the Dallas County Commission’s website or a copy may be obtained by e-mailing: bharrell@dallascounty-al.org.   The Dallas County Commission reserves the right to waive any informalities or to reject any or all bids. Attention of bidders is particularly called to the requirements as to conditions of employment to be observed and minimum wage rates to be paid under the contract, Section 3, Segregated Facility, Section 109 and E.O. 11246. The Dallas County Commission is an equal opportunity employer and encourages the participation of women and minority-owned business and Section 3 qualified contractors in all project procurements.  No bidder may withdraw its bid within thirty (30) days after the actual date of the opening thereof. Jimmy Nunn, Chairman, Dallas County Commission Selma Sun September 15, 2022, September 22, 2022, and September 29, 2022 BID ADVERTISEMENT Dallas County Commission Project Number: CDBG CV-NC-20-017 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Dallas County Commission, will  receive bids in the Commission’s Courtroom located at 102 Church Street, Selma, AL 36701 on 7th of October 2022 10:00 A.M., for the Purchase of Approximately Fifteen (15) Automatic CPR machines for the Dallas County Commission. Bids received after the deadline will not be considered.  The full Invitation to bid documents will be posted on the Dallas County Commission’s website or a copy may be obtained by e-mailing: bharrell@dallascounty-al.org.   The Dallas County Commission reserves the right to waive any informalities or to reject any or all bids. Attention of bidders is particularly called to the requirements as to conditions of employment to be observed and minimum wage rates to be paid under the contract, Section 3, Segregated Facility, Section 109 and E.O. 11246. The Dallas County Commission is an equal opportunity employer and encourages the participation of women and minority-owned business and Section 3 qualified contractors in all project procurements. No bidder may withdraw its bid within thirty (30) days after the actual date of the opening thereof. Jimmy Nunn, Chairman, Dallas County Commission Selma Sun September 22, 2022, September 29, 2022, and October 6, 2022 MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE.  Default having been made in the payment of the indebtedness secured by that certain mortgage executed by Shayla M. Griffin, an unmarried person, originally in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as a nominee for Freedom Mortgage Corporation, on May 18, 2016, said mortgage recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Dallas County, Alabama, in Book 1539 Page 266; the undersigned Freedom Mortgage Corporation, as Mortgagee/Transferee, under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in said mortgage, will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash, in front of the main entrance of the Courthouse at Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, on November 15, 2022, during the legal hours of sale, all of its rights, title, and interest in and to the following described real estate, situated in Dallas C...

Auburn Defense Falling Well Short Of Lofty Sack Goal So Far https://digitalalabamanews.com/auburn-defense-falling-well-short-of-lofty-sack-goal-so-far/ Jeff Schmedding gathered Auburn’s defense in the team meeting room this offseason and threw a number to the group: 60. It represented the number of sacks he figured, based on some calculations and on the talent Auburn returned on that side of the ball, was attainable for the Tigers this season. The first-year defensive coordinator asked his players if they agreed that number could be reached this fall. They agreed, it was a lofty goal but one they felt they could strive for. “We’re supposed to be able to get that,” defensive lineman Marcus Harris said. “As defense, we set that goal, so we’re trying to get that.” Read more Auburn football: “That’s our identity”: Can Auburn reestablish run game in SEC opener? Sources: T.J. Finley expected to miss Missouri game due to injury What to make of Auburn’s “lack of focus” in first big game of season If Auburn hopes to attain that goal, the defense has some catching up to do. Through three games, the Tigers have recorded just four sacks, which is tied with Missouri and Texas A&M for ninth among SEC teams and ranks 100th nationally entering Week 4. Only Florida (three sacks), South Carolina (two sacks) and, somewhat surprisingly, Georgia (one sack) have fewer than Auburn among SEC teams this season. Auburn is coming off a 41-12 loss to Penn State in which it failed to record a sack. It’s the first time since last year’s loss at Texas A&M that the defense has not registered a sack and the third time in 16 games under head coach Bryan Harsin that the defense has gone sack-less (last year’s Penn State game was the other occasion). “I’m not pleased with that result,” Harsin said. “I mean, no sacks — you’ve got to be able to. Now, teams get the ball out; you’ve got to put pressure on the quarterback, you want to hit the quarterback, you want to get to him. I think we have guys that should be able to do that. That’s going to create, hopefully, some opportunities for us to create some negative plays and get the offense behind the chains. “I don’t think there’s anything in that question right there — am I happy with that whatsoever. I don’t think the defense is happy; I don’t think anybody on the D-line is happy. Any linebacker that blitzed, I don’t think anybody out there was like, ‘We came out with no sacks, we’re good.’ That’s part of it, though.” Auburn’s four sacks through three games is its fewest since 2013, when it also posted just four in the first three weeks (two each against Washington State and Arkansas State, followed by none against Mississippi State). The Tigers finished with 32 that season. The defense’s inconsistent pass rush so far has been frustrating, according to Harris, especially after the unit generated 36 of them last season while finishing 34th nationally in that category. So far this season, Auburn has not had a player with multiple sacks; Harris, edge defenders Derick Hall and Eku Leota, and cornerback Keionte Scott each have one sack to their names. Hall and Leota have come close a few other times, with each credited with three hurries on the year, with two more coming from Colby Wooden. Finishing off those pressures with sacks has been difficult to come by, though. “As a defense, we have a goal for how many sacks we want on the year, and like, we’re not accomplishing that right now,” Harris said. “I feel like we’ve got the guys that are going to get to it and keep working, like we’re not going to give up on that. We’ve still got a high standard for sacks, and we’re going to get that by the end of the year.” Sixty is still an unlikely goal, though. No FBS team since at least 2005 (as far back as the NCAA’s archived team stats for sacks go) has finished a season with more than 57 sacks. Alabama hit that mark last season, while Stanford accomplished it in 2012. During that same span, Auburn has never finished a season with more than 38 sacks. The Tigers hit that mark in 2018, with Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, Nick Coe and Deshaun Davis leading the push. Despite the unlikelihood of hitting that mark (Auburn would need to average 5.6 sacks per game the rest of the season, including a bowl game), Auburn is going to keep striving for it. Harris said the defense will “get back to the drawing board” and look to what made it so successful in the pass rush last season while still building off what it has tried to do through three games this year. On Saturday, when Auburn opens SEC play, it’ll do so against a Missouri offensive line that is experiencing some growing pains but has only allowed three sacks so far this season. Auburn hopes to pump that number up by the time Missouri heads home from its first-ever trip to the Plains. “It’s one thing to want to and another thing to get it done,” Harsin said. “That’s what it comes down to — we want to do these things. Well, we have to find a way to make it happen. Whether that’s coaching, scheme, players, whatever, that’s part of the execution. If we’re coming after a guy, we’ve got to go get him.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

Trump Docs Probe: Court Lifts Hold On Mar-A-Lago Records | News Channel 3-12 https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-docs-probe-court-lifts-hold-on-mar-a-lago-records-news-channel-3-12/ By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals panel has lifted a judge’s hold on the Justice Department’s ability to use classified records seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate in its ongoing criminal investigation. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit is a victory for the Justice Department, clearing the way for it to immediately resume its use of the documents as it evaluates whether to bring criminal charges in its investigation into the presence of top-secret government records held at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. The government had argued that its investigation had been impeded by the order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that temporarily barred investigators from continuing to use the documents in the probe. Cannon, a Trump appointee, had said the hold would remain in place pending a separate review by an independent arbiter she had appointed at the Trump team’s request. The FBI last month seized roughly 11,000 documents, including about 100 with classification markings, during a court-authorized search of the Palm Beach club. It has launched a criminal investigation into whether the records were mishandled or compromised. It is not clear whether Trump or anyone else will be charged. Cannon ruled on Sept. 5 that she would name an independent arbiter, or special master, to do an independent review of those records and segregate any that may be covered by claims of attorney-client privilege or executive privilege and to determine whether any of the materials should be returned to Trump. Raymond Dearie, the former chief judge of the federal court based in Brooklyn, has been named to the role. The Justice Department had argued that a special master review of the classified documents was not necessary. It said Trump, as a former president, could not invoke executive privilege over the documents, nor could they be covered by attorney-client privilege because they do not involve communications between Trump and his lawyers. Trump’s lawyers argued that an independent review of the records was essential given the unprecedented nature of the investigation. The lawyers also said the department had not yet proven that the seized documents were classified, though they notably stopped short of asserting — as Trump repeatedly has — that the records were previously declassified. They have resisted providing Dearie with their position on that question, signaling the issue could be part of their defense in the event of an indictment. Read More…

Jan. 6 Committee Reaches Deal With Ginni Thomas For An Interview https://digitalalabamanews.com/jan-6-committee-reaches-deal-with-ginni-thomas-for-an-interview/ The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection has reached an agreement with Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to be interviewed by the panel in coming weeks, according to her attorney and another person familiar with the agreement. Thomas’s attorney, Mark Paoletta, confirmed the agreement in a statement. “I can confirm that Ginni Thomas has agreed to participate in a voluntary interview with the Committee,” Paoletta said. “As she has said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas is eager to answer the Committee’s questions to clear up any misconceptions about her work relating to the 2020 election. She looks forward to that opportunity.” The committee had earlier announced a public hearing for next week. The panel had contemplated issuing a subpoena to compel her testimony. Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, had pushed lawmakers and top Republican officials to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, citing baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. Her efforts caught the attention of lawmakers and legal scholars who questioned whether it could prompt Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from any cases linked to causes on which his wife had worked. Ginni Thomas repeatedly pressed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to find ways to overturn the election, according to messages she sent to him weeks after the election. The messages represent an extraordinary pipeline between Thomas and one of Trump’s top aides as the president and his allies were vowing to take their efforts all the way to the Supreme Court. She emailed 29 Arizona state lawmakers in November and December 2020, urging them to set aside Biden’s popular-vote victory and “choose” their own presidential electors. She also emailed a pair of Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin urging them to do likewise. On March 6, 2021 — two months after a mob of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol as Congress was certifying Biden’s victory — Thomas attended a gathering of right-wing activists where a speaker declared to thundering applause that Trump was still the “legitimate president,” a video recording of the event shows. Read More…

Trump, Namesake Organization Sued For https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-namesake-organization-sued-for/ AFP In this file photo taken on January 11, 2017, US President-elect Donald Trump along with his children Eric (left), Ivanka and Donald Jr., arrive for a press conference on January 11, 2017, at Trump Tower in New York. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against former US President Donald Trump on Wednesday for alleged financial fraud. James accused Trump, the Trump Organization, senior management, and involved entities of “engaging in years of financial fraud to obtain a host of economic benefits.” The civil lawsuit alleged Trump, with the help of his three adult children and senior executives at the Trump Organization, falsely inflated his net worth by billions of US dollars to induce banks to lend money to his business on more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company and to gain tax benefits, among other things. Trump and the Trump Organization were said to have “knowingly and intentionally created more than 200 false and misleading valuations of assets on his annual Statements of Financial Condition to defraud financial institutions.” James’ office is seeking to permanently bar Trump and his adult children from serving as an officer or director in any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in the state of New York. It also asks Trump and the Trump Organization to be banned from entering into any New York real estate acquisitions for five years and the disgorgement of all financial benefits obtained through the persistent fraudulent practices, estimated to total 250 million dollars. Besides, James has referred the matter to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Internal Revenue Service for criminal investigation. “For too long, powerful, wealthy people in this country have operated as if the rules do not apply to them,” James, a Democrat, said in a statement. Trump, a Republican who served as US president from 2017 to 2021, hasn’t responded to the lawsuit but he and his allies have frequently lashed out at James for the inquiry into him and his namesake business. Last month, Trump attended a deposition at the New York attorney general’s office but declined to answer questions by invoking the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating whether Trump mishandled presidential and government records – some of them allegedly highly classified – when and after leaving office. Federal agents searched his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, last month and seized 33 groups of items, including documents bearing classification markings, according to court filings. Trump has lambasted the Mar-a-Lago “raid” as well as the DOJ probe and denied any wrongdoing. An independent arbiter, or “special master,” named by a federal judge recently, is reviewing items seized by federal agents in the search of Mar-a-Lago. Read More…

Live Updates: Russia's War In Ukraine https://digitalalabamanews.com/live-updates-russias-war-in-ukraine-4/ 1 min ago Blinken welcomes prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday welcomed the prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia that led to the release of 10 people, including two Americans. “The United States is appreciative of Ukraine including all prisoners of war, regardless of nationality, in its negotiations, and we look forward to these U.S. citizens being reunited with their families,” Blinken said in a statement.   He also thanked Saudi Arabia for spearheading the initiative. “I conveyed my gratitude to Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in a call this morning,” Blinken said. Family members of Americans Alexander John-Robert Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh — captured in June while fighting for Ukraine north of Kharkiv — confirmed to CNN earlier Wednesday that they had been freed. Five Britons were also released, the British government said. Additionally, three others — Moroccan, Swedish and Croatian nationals — were freed in the swap, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.  In his statement, Blinken reiterated that US citizens should not travel to Ukraine. “Americans who travel to Ukraine to participate in the fighting there face significant risks and the United States cannot guarantee their safety,” he said. “We encourage U.S. citizens to devote their energies towards the many other opportunities that exist to help the country of Ukraine and its people.” 36 min ago North Korea says it never sold weaponry to Russia, according to state media From CNN’s Yoonjung Seo and Larry Register North Korea says it never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.  Earlier this month, a US official told CNN that Russia is purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use in Ukraine. The New York Times first reported the purchases. North Korea condemned the US “for thoughtlessly circulating the rumor against the DPRK to pursue its base political and military aim” and said the US should keep its mouth shut, according to KCNA. DPRK stands for the Democratic Republic of Korea, the formal name for North Korea. The state media cited a press statement from the Vice Director General of the General Bureau of Equipment of the Ministry of National Defense but did not provide a name for the Vice Director General. North Korea said the “development, production, possession of military equipment, but also their export and import are the lawful right peculiar to a sovereign state, and nobody is entitled to criticize it.” However, the statement said: “We have never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before and we will not plan to export them.” It added that the rumors about exports to Russia were aimed at tarnishing North Korea’s image. 48 min ago Zelensky claims Russia is afraid of peace talks in Ukraine From CNN’s Jonny Hallam  Russia is afraid of real peace negotiations in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday during his address to the UN General Assembly. Instead, Russia lies to everyone, the president said. It “talks about the talks but announces a military mobilization.” Zelensky, in his pre-recorded remarks, added: “What is true then? The military mobilization in Russia is true. Sham referendums are also true. Russia wants war. It’s true.”  Zelensky ended his address by saying, “We are ready for peace. But true, honest and fair peace. That’s why the world is on our side.” 1 hr 27 min ago US doesn’t see any evidence of a heightened nuclear threat after Putin’s speech, official says From CNN’s Kevin Liptak Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt at “playing the nuclear card” in his national address earlier Wednesday along with his order for a partial mobilization was an act of weakness, a senior US administration official said Wednesday. “Declaring a mobilization, and then refining the declaration of mobilization to try to have it both ways — on the one hand, indicating you’re calling a bunch of people up, and on the other hand, saying we’re not calling too many people up — that also indicates a very pressurized environment in Russia,” the official said. “And the fact that he has to resort to something he clearly didn’t want to do is a reflection of the fact that his campaign in Ukraine is failing.” The official said the US does not see any signs that indicate a heightened nuclear threat from Russia, despite Putin’s rhetoric. “We have heard him before, wave around the nuclear card, and we heard it again in his speech today, and in fact, the language and formula he used today is quite similar to how he’s spoken before,” the official said. Still, President Biden and other US officials remain on alert for potential escalation as the conflict in Ukraine grinds ahead. “We are watching carefully to see for any signs of potential escalation, and we are sending very clear and strong messages to Russia about the consequences of escalation,” the official said. 2 hr 14 min ago Zelensky spoke to the UN. Here are the main points he made (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in a pre-recorded speech that focused on the Russian war launched on Feb. 24.  He outlines five preconditions for peace during his speech: Punishment for aggression  Protection of life  Restoration of security and territorial integrity  Security guarantees  Determination to defend oneself  Here are the key lines from Zelensky’s remarks: The Ukrainian president called for Russia to be punished: “A crime has been committed against Ukraine and we demand just punishment. The crime was committed against our state borders. The crime was committed against the lives of our people,” Zelensky said. “Ukraine demands punishment for trying to steal our territory” and for the murder of thousands of people. Zelensky said the entire world wants peace, with the exception of Russia: “Ukraine wants peace, Europe wants peace, the world wants peace, and we have seen who is the only one who wants war,” he said, alluding to President Vladimir Putin, without mentioning his name. “There is only one entity among all UN member states, who would say now, if he could interrupt my speech that he’s happy with this war, with his war.” Zelensky said. Zelensky said he believed Ukrainian territories will be liberated over time: “We can return the Ukraine flag to our entire territory. We can do it with the force of arms, but we need time.” Russia should lose UN veto power: Zelensky called for Russia, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, to lose its veto power. “So long as the aggressor is party to decision making in the international organization you must be insulated from them, at least until aggression stops.” Special tribunal to punish Russia: Zelensky called for the creation of a special tribunal to punish Russia. “This will become a signal to all would-be aggressors, that they must value peace or be brought to responsibility by the world.” Zelensky received a standing ovation from most delegates after his speech. The Russian delegation remained seated and did not applaud. 2 hr 7 min ago IAEA chief met with Russian and Ukrainian ministers to discuss safety zone around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant From CNN’s Jennifer Deaton International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said he met the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in an effort to establish a safety and security protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. “I’m working very very hard,” he said. “The wheels are in motion.” Grossi had meetings with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The issue needs to be resolved quickly, Grossi said. “Getting an agreement today would have been nice, but you can imagine that these are very complex issues that require perhaps a bit more than one meeting. But we are already working on the very concrete aspects that would be required to having the zone be established,” he said. Grossi added that beyond the differences, “there is the conviction that the establishment of this zone is indispensable. Let’s be clear. This nuclear power plant is being shelled now. And so we need to protect it in some way.” 2 hr 17 min ago Shelling damages cables providing power to Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor, UN watchdog says From CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq A number of cables providing electricity to one of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s reactors were damaged by shelling on Wednesday, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a statement. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the shelling had temporarily forced reactor number six “to rely on emergency diesel generators for the power it needs for essential safety functions.” The five other reactors were not affected and continued ” to receive power directly from the plant’s off-site power line that was restored last week,” IAEA added. The plant in southern Ukraine, with six reactors, is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. It was mostly built in the Soviet era and became Ukrainian property after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. “Work is underway to repair the damaged cables,” the IAEA’s statement said. “This once again demonstrates the urgent necessity to establish such a zone around the ZNPP. Until yesterday, there seemed to be less shelling at or near the plant, but this latest episode shows that the danger remains very real, It hasn’t gone away, and we can’t afford to lose any more time,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said. 2 hr 33 min ago Zelensky calls for the UN to deprive Russia of its veto power in the Security Council From CNN’s J...

Gavin Newsom Says People Left California Because Of Trump’s Visa Policies https://digitalalabamanews.com/gavin-newsom-says-people-left-california-because-of-trumps-visa-policies/ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently blamed a mass exodus of people leaving the Golden State on former President Trump’s visa policies.  The comments came during a talk Newsom gave earlier this month at the Code 2022 conference, videos of which were posted on YouTube Friday.  California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in New York.  (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) The Democratic governor touted California’s achievements, which included outperforming other states in terms of GDP growth and a more than $100 billion-dollar operating surplus.  Host Preet Barara then asked the governor how he reconciled those statistics with the fact that thousands of people have left California in recent years.  Newsom conceded that the state had lost around 182,000 people in 2020. He said many factors contributed to this trend, but the number one was former President Trump’s visa policies.  “Our formula for success is getting first-round draft choices from around the world. I mean, we’re as dumb as we want to be,” Newsom said. “This whole border debate is made up.” WITH BIDEN 2024 IN DOUBT, SAN FRANCISCO VOTERS DELIVER BLUNT ASSESSMENT OF GAVIN NEWSOM’S PRESIDENTIAL FUTURE The governor lambasted Congress for not passing “comprehensive immigration reform.”  “No state has more to lose, and no state has more to gain, than the State of California from Silicon Valley to Central Valley,” Newsom said.  He then conceded that “affordability” does play a role in why some Californians have left.  “We own that. I’m not naïve about our problems – homelessness,” Newsom said, before arguing that taxes were lower in California than in Texas.  Fox News has reached out to Newsom’s office for further comment.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Long-term migration out of California proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The study concluded that Texas was a top destination for people leaving the state, followed by Washington and Florida.  Read More…

Brace Yourselves, Electric Bills Could Increase 64% This Winter https://digitalalabamanews.com/brace-yourselves-electric-bills-could-increase-64-this-winter/ LAST. JOHN ATWATER IS LIVE IN RANDOLPH WITH THE HIT TO YOUR WALLET. JOHN: ABOUT HALF OF THE POWER THAT COMES INTO OUR HOMES IS GENERATED AT GAS AND POWER PLANTS AND RIGHT NOW NATURAL GAS PRICES ARE SKYHIGH. I’M NOT SURPRISED WITH HOW THINGS ARE GOING IN THE WORLD TODAY. EVERYTHING IS GOING UP. JOHN: AND THIS WINTER IT’S GOING TO GET MUCH WORSE. WE’VE NEVER SEEN PRICES GO THIS HIGH. JOHN: NATIONAL GRID NOW PREPARING CUSTOMERS FOR ELECTRIC BILLS THAT WILL BE 64% HIGHER THIS WINTER, BECAUSE ABOUT HALF OF THE ELECTRICITY HERE IS GENERATED USING NATURAL GAS. WHEN THE WAR BROKE OUT, WE SAW WORLDWIDE ENERGY PRICES SKYROCKET, AND THEY’VE REMAINED HIGH. JOHN: THE UTILITY SAYS A TYPICAL ELECTRIC CUSTOMER WHO PAID $179 A MONTH FOR ELECTRICITY LAST YEAR WOULD PAY $293 A MONTH THIS WINTER. NATURAL GAS CUSTOMERS CAN EXPECT TO PAY ROUGHLY $50 MORE A MONTH. EVERYTHING’S GOING UP. CAN’T GOING TO GROCERY WITHOUT SPENDING $100. DEFINITELY NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THE GAS BILL THIS WINTER. JOHN: EVERSOURCE NATURAL GAS RATES ARE ALSO GOING UP BETWEEN 25% AND 38%, ELECTRIC RATES ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO JUMP. LEAVING CUSTOMERS HOPING FOR AN EASY WINTER. WE’RE HOPING IT’S NOT GOING TO BE A VERY COLD WINTER SO WE DO NOT HAVE TO USE AS MUCH ENERGY AS WE DID IN THE PAST. JOHN: RATE HIKES WILL BE TOUGH FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. UTILIT Electric bills could increase 64% this winter in Massachusetts, National Grid warns Natural gas heating customers could see 22-24% price hike Massachusetts electricity customers could be facing a steep increase in their winter bills, National Grid warned on Wednesday. Citing the high price of natural gas used in generating the power, the utility company said winter electricity rates taking effect on Nov. 1, will be sharply higher than they were last winter. “In total, the monthly bill of a typical residential electric customer using 600 kWh (kilowatt-hours) will increase from $179 in the winter 2021-2022 season, to approximately $293 for the winter 2022-2023 season,” National Grid said. That’s a 64% increase year-over-year. National Grid says most of the increase is driven by electric supply rates and that the company has “worked to keep the delivery portion of the bill essentially flat.”Eversource, the state’s other major electric utility, said it plans to file proposed rate changes with the Department of Public Utilities around mid-November, for changes to take effect on Jan. 1. Last winter, the Eversource proposed increase was about 25%. Rates are also seasonally adjusted for natural gas and National Grid said the average Boston Gas residential heating bill will increase $50 or 22% and the average Colonial Gas residential heating customer will see an increase of $47 or 24%, compared to rates last year. “With energy costs rising due to global conflict, inflationary pressures, and high demand as the winter heating season approaches, National Grid understands the impact this increased financial burden can have on our customers and communities, especially when we are all experiencing increased costs for other goods and services,” the company wrote in a statement. “National Grid buys energy on behalf of our customers from the wholesale market and passes through those costs without any markup or profit, so customers pay what National Grid pays for that energy.” Eversource said its proposed natural gas rates, scheduled to take effect on Nov. 1, would increase prices by about 38% or $86 for customers in the former NSTAR Gas service area and 25% or $61 for those in the former Columbia Gas territory. “These increases are mainly driven by the current high supply cost of natural gas worldwide,” Eversource said. To help customers, National Grid announced a “Winter Customer Savings Initiative” that highlights energy-saving tips and payment assistance programs. Eversource also shared its link to energy efficiency programs. Massachusetts also offers the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps eligible households pay a portion of their winter bills. WALTHAM, Mass. — Massachusetts electricity customers could be facing a steep increase in their winter bills, National Grid warned on Wednesday. Citing the high price of natural gas used in generating the power, the utility company said winter electricity rates taking effect on Nov. 1, will be sharply higher than they were last winter. “In total, the monthly bill of a typical residential electric customer using 600 kWh (kilowatt-hours) will increase from $179 in the winter 2021-2022 season, to approximately $293 for the winter 2022-2023 season,” National Grid said. That’s a 64% increase year-over-year. National Grid says most of the increase is driven by electric supply rates and that the company has “worked to keep the delivery portion of the bill essentially flat.” Eversource, the state’s other major electric utility, said it plans to file proposed rate changes with the Department of Public Utilities around mid-November, for changes to take effect on Jan. 1. Last winter, the Eversource proposed increase was about 25%. Rates are also seasonally adjusted for natural gas and National Grid said the average Boston Gas residential heating bill will increase $50 or 22% and the average Colonial Gas residential heating customer will see an increase of $47 or 24%, compared to rates last year. “With energy costs rising due to global conflict, inflationary pressures, and high demand as the winter heating season approaches, National Grid understands the impact this increased financial burden can have on our customers and communities, especially when we are all experiencing increased costs for other goods and services,” the company wrote in a statement. “National Grid buys energy on behalf of our customers from the wholesale market and passes through those costs without any markup or profit, so customers pay what National Grid pays for that energy.” Eversource said its proposed natural gas rates, scheduled to take effect on Nov. 1, would increase prices by about 38% or $86 for customers in the former NSTAR Gas service area and 25% or $61 for those in the former Columbia Gas territory. “These increases are mainly driven by the current high supply cost of natural gas worldwide,” Eversource said. To help customers, National Grid announced a “Winter Customer Savings Initiative” that highlights energy-saving tips and payment assistance programs. Eversource also shared its link to energy efficiency programs. Massachusetts also offers the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps eligible households pay a portion of their winter bills. Read More…

‘Fentanyl Is Evil,’ Jefferson County Mom Warns After Daughter’s Accidental Overdose Death https://digitalalabamanews.com/fentanyl-is-evil-jefferson-county-mom-warns-after-daughters-accidental-overdose-death/ Jakari Givens took a Percocet to help her sleep on July 24. It was something the 26-year-old college graduate had been doing for about a month, unbeknownst to her mother. LaToya Givens only found out when her daughter never woke up again. Jakari was found dead the following morning in her Ensley apartment. LaToya is now on a mission to warn others in hopes of preventing even one death. The pill Jakari took was laced with fentanyl. In fact, according to the autopsy, it contained 11 milligrams of the deadly drug. Just one or two milligrams is enough to kill. “Fentanyl is evil,’’ LaToya said. “It’s an evil drug and it’s taking over our youth. And our adults.” “My daughter did not live that kind of lifestyle,’’ LaToya said. “They don’t know what’s in these drugs. If they’re buying them off the street, they don’t know.” According to the CDC, 107,375 people died of drug overdoses and drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending in January 2022. Of those, 67 percent involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Many users, experts said, were unaware they were actually taking fentanyl, and it’s particularly dangerous for someone who doesn’t have a tolerance to opioids. “Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered,’’ DEA Administrator Ann Milgram has said. “Fentanyl is everywhere.” Jakari grew up in the Birmingham area, attending Alabama State and the University of Alabama before graduating from Miles College. LaToya Givens, right, is mourning the death of her 26-year-old daughter, Jakari Givens, and wants others to be warned about the dangers of Fentanyl. (Special to AL.com) She had previously worked at the Social Security Administration and, at the time of her death, was working for T-Mobile where her mother said she ranked in the Top 25 of job performance. Jakari had big plans for her future, which included weight loss surgery and getting a master’s degree in counseling. “Her cause of death did not define who she was as a person,’’ LaToya said. “You could call anybody that knew Jakari and they would tell you about how positive, how friendly, how kind, how gentle she was to everybody.” “She was loved by many,’’ LaToya said. “During her service, my pastor even choked up about her.” “She was such a positive person,’’ she said. “She encouraged so many people.” LaToya spoke with her daughter multiple times on the day before her death and was last on the phone with her for about 30 minutes that Sunday night. Jakari had just started dating a man who had been a close family friend. He had been getting Percocet for her because she wanted help sleeping. She had experience depression in her past, her mother said. Jakari reportedly went to sleep about midnight, and her friend had told LaToya he noticed her snoring heavily. “That wasn’t snoring, that was death,’’ LaToya said. He called 911 the following morning when he found Jakari unresponsive. According to the coroner’s office, she was found at 6:45 am. and pronounced dead at 7:03 a.m. Her official cause of death was accidental Fentanyl toxicity. “I was very shocked,’’ LaToya said. “And I was angry at the same time.” “I was shocked that she had passed away because she was a pretty healthy young lady,’’ she said. “She didn’t live a bad life. She never gave off any indication she was taking these pills.” LaToya didn’t know much about fentanyl at the time. She knew her sister had been prescribed fentanyl patches when she had breast cancer, and later learned that a high school friend had died after using heroin laced with fentanyl. But after Jakari’s death, she became more painfully aware of the havoc it wreaks. “It seems like it’s in everything,’’ she said. “This is just so big now.” LaToya said she isn’t making excuses for her daughter. “I know she made a conscious decision to take these pills. I’m not saying anybody made her,’’ she said. “I just want people to know these pills are laced with fentanyl. They can take you out immediately. Jakari’s autopsy showed, according to LaToya, that she died from within minutes to an hour of ingesting the pill. LaToya knows there’s nothing she can do to change the outcome for Jakari. But she doesn’t want her death to be in vain. “Some may know what’s in the pills they’re taking but I’m almost sure that if Jakari had known what was in that pill would have taken her life, she wouldn’t have taken it,’’ she said. Her message is simple: “If you’re doctor does not prescribe these pills to you, don’t take them. If you’re not picking them up from the pharmacy, don’t take them. People are just out here selling these pills to make money.” Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

Residents Visit Distribution Sites Still Leery Of Drinking The Water https://digitalalabamanews.com/residents-visit-distribution-sites-still-leery-of-drinking-the-water/ JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Jackson’s boil water alert was lifted nearly a week ago, but that brings little comfort to some residents. They are still searching for bottled water. Wednesday, the Hank Aaron Sports Academy, along with a Louisiana-based group, helped ease those concerns. A New Orleans-based organization familiar with disaster recovery continues to distribute water to Jackson residents who are still questioning the quality of their water. “It’s running, but it’s been brown. It’s been like brown tea,” said Juanita Jackson. The 75-year-old was glad to still see water distribution underway Wednesday at Smith Wills Stadium. She made pickups for her family and a friend battling cancer. “In the morning time when I get up to turn the faucet on it’s still a little brown, but not as brown as it has been,” said Jackson. “But it’s a blessing each day, each day that the water comes clearer. that’s a blessing for everybody .” “I’ve lived through catastrophe,” said The Fellowship of Corvette Owners Founder Paul Collins. The Corvette enthusiasts organization, based in New Orleans, supplied the water. Paul Collins started the group in 2018. The health care IT consultant said before Hurricane Katrina hit he was financially stable. Two days later he didn’t know where he would live or get his next meal. “Of course, we know the government has a role to play in providing for its citizens; however, we individuals all have a role to play as well and I think each of us has a realm of influence,” said Collins. The organization raised funds through its regional membership to purchase six pallets of water. It was a welcomed site for many. “I live in Byram,” said Kenneth Felder who took advantage of the water giveaway. “We don’t trust the water system because I have a wife who’s a cancer patient at home, and we have never trusted the water.” “We take fresh water for granted. we really do,” added Collins. The Fellowship of Corvette Owners includes 348 members from Baton Rouge LA, Jackson MS, Memphis TN, Nashville TN, New Orleans LA, and Mobile AL. Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. Copyright 2022 WLBT. All rights reserved. Read More…

Saban Gives Update On Injured Freshman WR https://digitalalabamanews.com/saban-gives-update-on-injured-freshman-wr/ Alabama Football Updated: Sep. 21, 2022, 7:26 p.m.| Published: Sep. 21, 2022, 6:32 p.m. Nick Saban nearly had his wish granted: one full press conference without giving an injury update. The last question asked on Wednesday, however, kept him waiting. Alabama football’s head coach was asked about freshman wideout Aaron Anderson ahead of the Crimson Tide’s (3-0) conference-opener against Vanderbilt. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Anderson is “day-to-day” after injuring his knee in the offseason. Anderson was spotted warming up before kickoff against Louisiana-Monroe. “The guy is practicing,” Saban said. “He’s making progress. I don’t know when he’s going to be ready to play. I mean, that’s a medical decision and he’s gotta feel comfortable and confident that he’s ready to go as well. So it’s still kind of up in the air.” Anderson, from Edna (La.) Karr, is projected to be a speedy slot receiver for Alabama. He came to Tuscaloosa as the No. 35 overall prospect and fourth-ranked receiver, per the 247Sports Composite. He was timed at 10.77 seconds on a 100-meter dash in high school. To replace Anderson, as well as the other pass-catchers on the shelf — JoJo Earle (foot) and Tyler Harrell (foot) — Alabama has looked to another freshman, Kobe Prentice (nine catches for 87 yards). It’s also relied on Jahmyr Gibbs in the passing game. Alabama welcomes Vanderbilt (3-1) to Bryant-Denny Stadium at 6:30 p.m. CDT. MORE Tide football: How Traeshon Holden learned patience to become Alabama’s leading WR Alabama football adds top-10 WR to class of 2023, sets up historic class Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

Bryan Harsin Cagily Addresses T.J. Finley’s Status Against Missouri https://digitalalabamanews.com/bryan-harsin-cagily-addresses-t-j-finleys-status-against-missouri/ Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin continues to closely guard his decision on the Tigers’ starting quarterback for Saturday’s (11 am CT ESPN) game against Missouri. T.J. Finley won the job after besting Robby Ashford, Zach Calzada, and freshman Holden Geriner in a quarterback battle. Finley started the first three games with wins against Mercer and San Jose and last week’s 41-12 loss against Penn State at Jordan-Hare. He got sacked four times in the loss, including a third-quarter sack where he fumbled after taking a blindside tackle in the pocket. He didn’t return to the contest, and CBS cameras showed the 6′7 signal-caller favoring his non-throwing shoulder. Finley has a 62.3% completion rate and threw 431 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions through three games. He added a rushing touchdown against San Jose State and ran for 40 yards through three games this season. Read More Auburn Football: Sources: T.J. Finley is out with an injury for Missouri game ‘That’s our identity’: Can Auburn reestablish run game as SEC play begins? What to make of Auburn’s “lack of focus” in first big game of season Several sources confirmed to AL.com on Tuesday that Finley wouldn’t play against Missouri because of injuries suffered against Penn State. Harsin refused to confirm or deny the reports when asked if Finley had participated in practice. “All of those guys have been at practice. Every guy is at practice,” Harsin said. “If we have somebody that’s a season-ending injury or they’re in trouble, those might be the only two things that keep guys from being at practice. But our guys are always at practice.” Injury reports are required in the National Football League. Coaches aren’t required to update fans and media on injuries in college football. Harsin is well within his rights to be as cagy as he wants. It gives Auburn no competitive advantage to tell Missouri their starting quarterback isn’t going to play. However, several reports have seen Finley in a sling since Saturday’s 29-point loss. It’s possible Finley attended practice, but how much he participated isn’t easy to ascertain. Ashford has completed 51.7% of his passes for 245 yards and one touchdown compared to two interceptions as the Tigers’ backup in a two-quarterback system. He ran for 158 yards and is Auburn’s second-leading rusher behind Tank Bigsby. Calzada hasn’t played a snap after entering fall camp as the presumptive favorite to win the starting quarterback role over Finley, Ashford, and Geriner. He was third on the depth chart before Finley got injured against the Nittany Lions. He completed 184-of-328 passes for 2,185 yards, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions last season for Texas A&M in 10 games, including an upset win against Alabama. Will Harsin start Ashford if reports are accurate about Finley? Would Calzada make his debut? Would Harsin play the true freshman? “Well, we’re working through who’s going to be the guy at every position. I talked about competition earlier in the week,” Harsin. “So, who’s going to start for us? We’ll see.” Indeed, we will. Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

Trump Ally’s Foreign Agent, Justice Obstruction Trial Kicks Off In New York https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-allys-foreign-agent-justice-obstruction-trial-kicks-off-in-new-york/ BROOKLYN (CN) — In an already fraught week for Donald Trump, trial opened Wednesday against the former president’s campaign adviser charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent.  Tom Barrack faces seven counts accusing him of working on behalf of the United Arab Emirates while Trump was both a candidate and president-elect, as well as obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI.  The longtime Trump associate used his ties to the White House to help UAE officials gain influence in the United States, according to prosecutors, starting in spring of 2016 — including providing information about Trump’s nominations for director of the CIA, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, and National Security Advisor.  “It all started with a speech,”  Assistant U.S. Attorney Hiral Mehta said in his opening statement, referring to a 2016 campaign speech that Barrack wrote for Trump and then edited at the request of UAE officials to include praise for the nation’s crown prince.  When Trump’s team cut the reference, Barrack became “extremely upset,” Mehta said.  “He told the Trump campaign they were being imbecilic, and insisted they at least refer to the Gulf allies in the speech, a thinly veiled reference to the UAE and its close ally, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Mehta said during the 20-minute opening.   The prosecutor said Barrack, 75, became the “eyes, ears and voice” of the UAE, all in the “corrupt pursuit of money and power.”  After Barrack became Trump’s inaugural committee chair, he met with the UAE’s crown prince and national security adviser, Mehta said. “There they discussed designing a plan for the UAE to influence the United States government for the first 100 days, 6 months, 1 year, and 4 years of the incoming administration.”  Then, under investigation, Barrack thwarted the efforts of federal agents, Mehta said. “He lied again and again and again to the FBI.”   To make their case, prosecutors will present hundreds of emails and text messages, flight and business records, and witnesses to explain the workings of the UAE government and foreign influence. The government called its first witness, Middle East expert Christopher Davidson, late in the day on Wednesday. Prosecutors pointed to a $74 million investment in Barrack’s real estate investment firm — formerly Colony Capital, now called Digital Bridge — from a fund controlled by the UAE government.  Barrack’s attorneys say that’s a small amount compared with investments from Qatar, which refutes claims about UAE influence since the two countries “deeply distrust each other and have effectively been at war.”  Attorney Michael Schachter opened Barrack’s case, calling the charges “nothing short of ridiculous.”  He drew a parallel with McDonald’s — which stopped doing business in Russia after calls to do so by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  “The fact that McDonalds did what Ukraine’s president happened to ask, it doesn’t mean that McDonald’s had entered into an agreement with the Ukrainian government, subject to the direction or control of Ukraine,” said Schachter, of the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. “It was merely a business decision.” The same was true for Barrack, who made decisions as his “own man,” Schacter said. “He did things because he wanted to and because he believed it was the right thing to do for his business, his work, his shareholders, and for America.”  As the grandchild of Lebanese immigrants, Barrack felt a connection to the Middle East, and had an “innate appreciation” of other cultures. He became a globetrotting businessman while building his $40 billion business, Schachter said.  “We are a nation of immigrants. People can love America and the land where their parents and grandparents come from. They may refer to that place as their home, or region,” Schachter said. “That doesn’t make them foreign agents. It makes them Americans.”  When Barrack called the UAE an important ally in television interviews, Schachter said, the comment was a far cry from the propaganda the government accuses Barrack of spewing.  “President Obama said the exact same thing. So has President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, George W. Bush, Hilary Clinton,” Schachter said. “They all have said the same words.”  The attorney also distanced his client from Trump, or at least his politics.  “This wasn’t a political relationship. Tom voted for President Obama twice,” Schachter  said. “It was a personal relationship.”  Standing trial alongside Barrack is Matthew Grimes, a former investment analyst and vice president of Barrack’s investment firm.  Attorney Abbe Lowell cast Grimes as a go-getter who started his own DJ business at age 14, and snagged the job with Barrack after working a gig at the former billionaire’s son’s birthday party.  Grimes, 29, only took directions from Barrack, Lowell said. And while he rose through the ranks, Grimes’ duties didn’t actually change: He remained a “gofer” tasked with bringing Barrack coffee and smoothies, taking photos of Barrack at events, and making sure his luggage arrived and plane was stocked with food while Barrack was traveling.  “All he was doing was his U.S. job for his U.S. company run by his U.S. boss,” said Lowell, of Winston & Strawn LLP. “A person cannot become a foreign agent by accident.”  Barrack’s and Grimes’ co-defendant, Emirati national Rashid Al-Malik, remains at large.  Wednesday’s kickoff followed two days of voir dire, during which U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan and attorneys for both sides asked prospective jurors about their feelings toward Middle Eastern countries, Trump, and the 2016 election.  Answering the judge’s questions, jurors also noted their feelings toward other public figures, both admiration (Obama, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jordan) and dislike (the Kardashians, Trump himself).  Unfavorable feelings toward Trump, whom Cogan said could possibly testify at trial, were not a disqualifier.  “I don’t mean any disrespect to the former president by this,” the judge said, “but we’re in Brooklyn. If we exclude anybody who had a strong feeling against the former president, we may not be able to select a jury.”  Leaving court on Tuesday, Barrack told Courthouse News the voir dire process had been “humbling” and had kind words for prosecutors and Cogan while leaving jury selection. Seeing what “working people go through to be part of the process – I was super impressed,” Barrack said. Read the Top 8 Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day’s top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday. Read More…

N.Y. AG James Sues Donald Trump, Three Of His Adult Children, And The Trump Organization For Business Fraud — Says Former President Inflated Net Worth By ‘billions’ https://digitalalabamanews.com/n-y-ag-james-sues-donald-trump-three-of-his-adult-children-and-the-trump-organization-for-business-fraud-says-former-president-inflated-net-worth-by-billions/ New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a bombshell $250 million civil fraud lawsuit on Wednesday against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. Three of Trump’s adult children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump, were also named as defendants, along with two longtime company executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney. The AG’s lawsuit filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan accuses the Trump Organization, related entities, and senior executives of purposely misvaluing assets emblazoned with Trump’s name by hundreds of millions of dollars on skyscrapers, mansions, and golf courses. “This investigation revealed that Donald Trump engaged in years of illegal conduct to inflate his net worth, to deceive banks and the people of the great state of New York,” James said at a news conference. “Claiming you have money that you do not have does not amount to the art of the deal. It’s the art of the steal.” New York Attorney General Letitia James announces a bombshell $250 million civil fraud lawsuit Wednesday against former president Donald Trump, his adult children and his company. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News) The sweeping lawsuit, the result of a three-year civil investigation, seeks to remove Trump and family members from their roles within the eponymous organization for engaging in widespread financial fraud in an “astounding” scheme from 2011 through 2021. And James wants to permanently ban them from ever running a business in the Big Apple again or buying commercial real estate in New York for five years. “Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself, and cheat the system, thereby cheating all of us,” James said. Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to lash out against the lawsuit. “Attorney General Letitia ‘Peekaboo’ James” was “a failed A.G.” whose “lack of talent” was causing people and companies to flee New York. “Today’s filing represents the culmination of nearly three years of persistent, targeted, unethical political harassment by the New York State Attorney General, Letitia James,” the Trump Organization said in a statement. “What an abhorrent abuse of power, waste of valuable resources and tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.” Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said the AG’s office had overstepped its authority “by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing” had occurred. Former President Donald Trump speaks at a Save America Rally to support Republican candidates running for state and federal offices in the state at the Covelli Centre on September 17, 2022 in Youngstown, Ohio. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images) The AG’s lawsuit represents the latest legal setback faced by the former president and a resounding blow. If it succeeds, it could sound the death knell for Trump’s family company in his home state — where his grandmother founded it with his father almost 100 years ago. As well as demanding the Trump entities pay back lenders $250 million in ill-gotten proceeds, James said her office made a referral for criminal prosecution to the Internal Revenue Service and the Southern District of New York. Nick Biase, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, said the federal prosecutor’s office was aware of the AG’s referral and declined to comment further. Reached by the News, Michael Cohen, a former Trump attorney and fixer who served three years in federal custody for his work for Trump, said he felt validated after a journey filled with “pain, sadness, and anger.” “Today’s announcement makes it all worth it,” Cohen said. New York Attorney General Letitia James announces a bombshell $250 million civil fraud lawsuit Wednesday against former president Donald Trump, his adult children and his company. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News) The AG’s office deposed Trump and three of his adult children in the probe, with the former president and Eric invoking their Fifth Amendment right hundreds of times under questioning. During the investigation, Trump was held in civil contempt and fined $110,000 for failing to meet deadlines. The AG’s civil probe ran parallel to a criminal investigation into Trump’s business practices brought by the Manhattan district attorney. James and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office have shared evidence in their respective investigations. The DA’s case against the Trump Organization is headed to trial next month. Weisselberg pleaded guilty to criminal charges in that case in August, admitting to engaging in a 15-year scheme with the company. His plea deal requires him to testify against the Trump Organization at trial. Bragg said the criminal investigation into Trump, the Trump Organization, and its leadership was “active and ongoing.” U.S. President Donald Trump’s children, (L-R) Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Tiffany Trump, sit on the stage as their father delivers his 70-minute acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination on the South Lawn of the White House August 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) On Wednesday, James said she was only “scratching the surface” as she detailed scheme after scheme related to Trump-owned properties across the country. Investigators scrutinized numerous assets in the probe, including Trump’s sprawling estate in Westchester County, Trump Park Ave, and Trump’s 70-story skyscraper at 40 Wall Street in lower Manhattan, and his golf course in Scotland. Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. James said the twice impeached former president valued his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago at nearly 10-times its actual worth. “The club generated annual revenues of less than $25 million and should have been valued at about $75 million,” she said. “However, Mar-a-Lago was valued as high as $739 million.” Donald Trump looks out at the construction site of his 92-story tower along the Chicago river during a visit to his Chicago offices Wednesday, April 10, 2006. (CHARLES REX ARBOGAST/ASSOCIATED PRESS) The 280-page complaint is a litany of business fraud allegations, including how Trump in 2015 falsely and knowingly tripled the value of his triplex apartment at Trump Tower on Fifth Ave to the tune of $300 million. The $327 million price tag “was absurd given the fact that at that point only one apartment in New York City had ever sold for even $100 million,” reads the AG’s lawsuit, which says it was worth closer to $16.5 million. James said the numbers represented “intentional and deliberate fraud, not an honest mistake” and that Trump was “intimately familiar” with the building and apartment, having overseen their construction. Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for the Trump children named in the lawsuit, did not respond to a request seeking comment, nor did firms representing various Trump entities named in the lawsuit. McConney’s lawyer did not return a call. Weisselberg’s lawyer Mary Mulligan declined to comment. James’ lawsuit comes amid a swirl of unprecedented legal challenges for a former president, including an FBI investigation into Trump’s handling of classified records and inquiries into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Read More…

Obituaries In Gadsden, AL | The Gadsden Times https://digitalalabamanews.com/obituaries-in-gadsden-al-the-gadsden-times-3/ May 29, 1936 – September 19, 2022 Funeral Services will be at 2:00pm Friday, September 23, at Snead Funeral Home for Mr. Garnett Carraway Jackson, 86, of Gadsden, AL, who passed away peacefully at his home on September 19, 2022. The Reverend Dr. Chris Lamb will officiate with burial to follow at New Emmaus Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Snead, AL. Mr. Jackson was born May 29, 1936, in Snead, AL to Addison and Mattie Nichols Jackson. He was a graduate of Susan Moore High School and went on to enjoy a fulfilling career at Goodyear Tire in Gadsden, AL, where he impacted the lives of many. Garnett loved being a husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather. His four grandchildren were the light of his life, and he was their “Papa”. He loved going to their many sporting events and school activities. He was proud of his extensive garden, always giving half of the vegetables he grew to friends and family. He was a constant learner, embracing the internet and Facebook in later life, and always working to keep his mind sharp by doing crossword puzzles, wordsearches and reading his Bible. He was a man of many talents and loved to bake bread and poundcake. Garnett could fix anything working in his tool shed behind the house, and gave countless hours to Habitat for Humanity, delivering food for Meals on Wheels, and volunteering at the Humane Society, where he had a strong love for animals. He was a longtime member of Bellevue Baptist Church where he served as chairmen of the deacons and was a Sunday School teacher for the Open Arms Sunday School class for many years. Toward the end of his life, he was a member of Glen Iris Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. Garnett loved the Lord. He was the youngest of three children and preceded in death by his brother, Garth Jackson of Snead, AL, and sister Nancy Jackson Ryan of Rainbow City, AL. He was also preceded in death by his beloved wife of 63 years Marlene Golden Jackson, where he was her dutiful and loving caretaker the last 10 years of her life. Survivors include his son Perry Garnett Jackson (Terre Su Jackson); grandchildren Riley Carraway Jackson, Chapman Golden Jackson, Addison Britt Jackson and Grantham Cole Jackson, all of Birmingham, AL; sister-in-law Janelle Jackson of Springville, AL; and a host of loving cousins, nieces and nephews who were all the benefit of his loving kindness and humor. Garnett was very loved and will be missed by his family, friends, neighbors, and his beloved dog Noodles. Visitation will be Friday, September 23, 12:00p.m. until 2:00p.m. at the Snead Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Bellevue Baptist Church, Gadsden, AL, or Glen Iris Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL. Posted online on September 21, 2022 Published in Gadsden Times Service Information Visitation Snead Funeral Home September 23, 2022 at 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM Funeral Services Snead Funeral Home September 23, 2022 at 2:00 PM Read More…

James' Lawsuit Against Trump Is Latest In Longstanding Battle Between Them https://digitalalabamanews.com/james-lawsuit-against-trump-is-latest-in-longstanding-battle-between-them/ “Another Witch Hunt by a racist Attorney General, Letitia James, who failed in her run for Governor, getting almost zero support from the public, and now is doing poorly against Law & Order A.G. candidate, highly respected Michael Henry,” Trump said Wedneday in a post on his social media site, Truth Social, referring to James’ Republican opponent. “I never thought this case would be brought – until I saw her really bad poll numbers,” Trump added. “She is a fraud who campaigned on a ‘get Trump’ platform, despite the fact that the city is one of the crime and murder disasters of the world under her watch!” James dismissed the attacks and Trump’s argument that her case is politically motivated, noting that courts have rejected the claims before. “With regards to the name calling, as you know, they basically attempted to delay this investigation. Two judges have dismissed those claims of a witch hunt. So I give no credence to the names that he has referred to me,” she said at a press conference at her lower Manhattan office where she announced the suit. James, who previously served as New York City public advocate, won her office in 2018, after her predecessor, Eric Schneiderman, resigned in a domestic violence scandal. During that campaign, she made it clear that Trump would be her top target — remarks that have left the former president, a New York native, stewing ever since. “I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate president,” James said in a video during the campaign. “I believe that this president is incompetent. I believe that this president is ill-equipped to serve in the highest office of this land. And I believe that he is an embarrassment to all that we stand for.” She went on to say Trump should be indicted on criminal charges and charged with obstruction of justice. She even pulled Trump into her victory speech, saying her win “was about that man in the White House who can’t go a day without threatening our fundamental rights.” “As the next attorney general of his home state,” James said, “I will be shining a bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings, and every dealing, demanding truthfulness at every turn.” James toned down her rhetoric, to a degree, after taking office and launching an investigation into Trump — as well as fighting him in court on a host of policy matters while he was in the White House. Trump, on the other hand, only ramped up his own attacks. He lashed out at James and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a series of tweets in 2019, accusing them, among other things, of “harassing all of my New York businesses in search of anything at all they can find to make me look as bad as possible.” He complained about how his company and children were “spending a fortune on lawyers.” James, who was only referred to in the barrage as Cuomo’s AG, responded that she would “follow the facts of any case, wherever they lead.” “Make no mistake: No one is above the law, not even the President,” she said. “P.S. My name is Letitia James. (You can call me Tish.).” As James’ investigation progressed, the legal and verbal sparring escalated. Trump sued James last year seeking to halt her probe, alleging it was “baseless” and motivated solely by her desire to harass a political opponent. A judge dismissed the suit in May. At a campaign rally in Texas in January, Trump called for massive protests if James and three other Black prosecutors investigating him “do anything illegal.” He said: “These prosecutors are vicious, horrible people. They’re racists and they’re very sick — they’re mentally sick.” But Trump’s tirades have not swayed the courts. He was held in contempt of court in April and fined $10,000 a day for refusing to turn over financial documents James requested in her investigation. The contempt order was lifted after he agreed to turn over the documents — but James said in her suit Wednesday that documents covered by the subpoena which he never turned over were found at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump lost another court skirmish when he was ordered to appear for questioning under oath in James’ investigation, losing an attempt to block the deposition. He sat for the deposition at the AG’s office last month, but took the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer every question. “When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice,” Trump said last month. Later Wednesday, she sent out a fundraising email to campaign supporters: “These men think they can rattle me and scare me off my path, but the truth is, they have only reaffirmed why I went into this work in the first place.” James hopes to have the last word in the longstanding war if she triumphs in her case, which seeks to bar him and his family from being officers of any business in New York and ban them from participating in real estate transactions or getting loans in the state. “The complaint demonstrates that Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and to cheat the system, thereby cheating all of us,” she told reporters. “Claiming you have money you do not have does not amount to the art of the deal. It’s the art of the steal,” she said. “No one, no one is above the law.” Read More…

The Historic Streak Of Falling US Gas Prices Is Over | CNN Business https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-historic-streak-of-falling-us-gas-prices-is-over-cnn-business/ New York CNN Business  —  Well, it was nice while it lasted. After sinking every day for more than three months, US gas prices edged higher — by a penny — to $3.68 a gallon, on average Wednesday, according to AAA. That ends 98 consecutive days of falling pump prices, the second-longest such streak on record going back to 2005. The last time the national average price for gasoline rose was June 14, when it hit a record of $5.02. Prices fell every day since then and Thursday would have marked the 100th straight day of declines. The plunge in gas prices was driven by a series of factors, including stronger supply and weaker demand as drivers balked at high prices and the unprecedented releases of emergency oil by the White House. Another major factor that had been driving gas prices lower: Growing concerns of a global recession that could hurt demand for gas. People who lose jobs don’t have to drive to work, and even those with jobs pull back on their spending during recessions. The strong dollar also helped bring down the price of gas because crude oil is priced in dollars. That means each dollar can buy more oil than it would if the value of the currency was stable or falling. The dollar index, which compares the value of the greenback to major foreign currencies, is up 15% this year. That also means oil prices are rising faster for countries that don’t use the dollar, which dampens global demand. At the same time, Russia’s oil flows have held up better than feared despite sanctions and the war in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions that followed, helped spark the steep rise in oil and gas prices. The average price the day of the invasion stood at $3.54 a gallon, just a bit lower than it is today. Russia’s announcement Wednesday that it would increase its mobilization of troops helped lift crude oil futures 2% in global markets. White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan argued that gasprices should be falling more than they have been. “American families should be seeing more relief,” he said. “Over the last month, wholesale gas prices have declined by 18% but prices at the gas station have only dropped by 6%. Oil and gas companies are making record profits and need to pass these savings on to consumers at the gas pump now. President Biden will use every tool he has to get gas prices lower, and to hold oil and gas companies accountable.” Gas prices will probably remain relatively close to the current levels in the near term, said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for OPIS, which tracks gas prices nationally for AAA. “I don’t think you’ll see a major move higher or lower,” he said recently, prior to Wednesday’s modest price rise. Kloza added that competing forces will affect prices in the near term. US refining capacity remains limited. And OPEC along with other oil-producing nations recently agreed to cut production. Both put upward pressure on prices. Meanwhile, seasonal factors, such as the end of the summer driving season and the annual end of the US environmental regulations requiring a cleaner, more expensive blend of gasoline during summer months, could help ease prices. Also pushing prices lower: Oil traders remain nervous about the state of the global economy. “Crude has no speculative investment money behind it right now,” Kloza said. Wholesale gasoline futures point to sharply lower gas prices by the end of the year, with the possibility that below $3 a gallon could be common in much of the country, Kloza said. But he cautioned “futures prices are a notorious poor predictor of what the future will bring.” Although sub-$3 gas remains rare — only 5% of the 130,000 US gas stations are selling gas for less than that price, according to OPIS — relatively cheap gas has become far more common with the months of decline. Nearly one station out of four nationwide is selling gas for less than $3.25 a gallon, and 56% are selling it for less than $3.50 a gallon. Cheaper gas has been a major boost to the US economy, easing inflationary pressure and giving Americans extra cash to spend. Since the typical US household uses about 90 gallons of gas a month, the drop in gas prices saves those households about $120 a month from what they had been paying since the peak in June. A one-cent rise in gas prices is not a meaningful change for most drivers, and prices could slump again as global economic concerns grow. But if gas prices begin to rise again that could undermine the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve’s efforts to keep inflation in check. Falling gas prices are the sole reason America’s consumer prices have remained steady overall during the past few months after rising sharply in 2021 and the early part of this year. Read More…

Huntsville Music Industry Career Fair & Community Expo Set For Sept. 24 https://digitalalabamanews.com/huntsville-music-industry-career-fair-community-expo-set-for-sept-24/ Published on September 21, 2022 Arts Huntsville, in partnership with the Huntsville Music Office and Von Braun Center, announces the inaugural Huntsville Music Industry Career Fair & Community Expo. The music industry-related event aims to connect people to job openings and volunteer opportunities within the local music ecosystem. The free event will be held at the Von Braun Center East Hall on Saturday, Sept. 24, from noon to 4 p.m. Attendees are urged to make connections and support the Huntsville music scene as various local businesses and nonprofits will participate. “Whether you’re a professional musician, sound technician, stagehand, event promoter or simply a music lover, there are multiple opportunities to get involved in our local music scene,” said Arts Huntsville Executive Director Allison Dillon-Jauken. Entertainment businesses and nonprofit arts organizations at the event will include: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Arts Huntsville Bluewood Productions Brass Band of Huntsville The DJ Kartel Fantasy Playhouse Huntsville Community Drumline A Smart Place (Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce) Huntsville Concert Band Huntsville Master Chorale Huntsville Music Office Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Huntsville Traditional Music Association Maitland Conservatory and Maitland Arts Initiative Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation Opera Huntsville Randstad USA Spur Staffing Tennessee Valley Jazz Society Turn Systems UAH Music Department Von Braun Center WJAB “Huntsville is home to a vibrant, growing music ecosystem, and Huntsville Music Month is the perfect opportunity for the public to connect with Huntsville music businesses and nonprofits,” said City of Huntsville Music Officer Matt Mandrella. Details can be found on the Huntsville Music Industry Career Fair and Community Expo Facebook event page. More information on #hsvmusicmonth can be found on the Huntsville Music Month web page. Information on Arts Huntsville can be found by visiting the Arts Huntsville website, calling 256-519-ARTS (2787) or following @ArtsHuntsville on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Read More…

Autauga BOE Candidate Found Guilty In Prattville Police High Speed Chase https://digitalalabamanews.com/autauga-boe-candidate-found-guilty-in-prattville-police-high-speed-chase/ PRATTVILLE — A candidate for the Autauga County Board of Education has been found guilty of a misdemeanor in connection with a high-speed chase with Prattville police where speeds reached more than 110 mph. Prattville Municipal Court Judge Louis Colley on Wednesday afternoon found Ell White II guilty of attempting to elude a police officer and reckless driving. White had a trial in municipal court Aug. 24, but Colley delayed his decision so he could have time to review dash and body camera footage from officers. Colley handed down a six-month suspended jail sentence, a six-month suspension of White’s driver’s license and he ordered White to pay a total of $2,137 in fines and court costs. White, 50, of Prattville is a retired Army major. He is the Democratic candidate in the open BOE District 3 post. He did not return a text message seeking comment for this story. Colley, usually a reserved jurist, had hard words for White before he handed down his verdict. During the Aug. 24 hearing, White, who acted as his own attorney, told the court that he was driving his black 2014 Can-Am Spyder motorcycle in Prattville the day and the time of the chase, but that it wasn’t him who Prattville police officers chased. “You want me to believe that there were two black Can-Ams, with two right side mirrors off, driving through Prattville at the same time,” Colley said. “But that it was this phantom Can-Am that police chased. I reviewed the dash camera footage and you are exceedingly fortunate that officers did not file 10 to 12 other charges against you. “I find it inconceivable that you want me to believe that this is not you.” After the verdict, White gave verbal notice that he would appeal the conviction to Autauga County Circuit Court. He has 14 days to appeal the verdict. According to previous testimony, a Prattville officer on the night of March 26 spotted a black Can-Am Spyder traveling at a high rate of speed west bound on the U.S. Highway 82 Bypass. The driver did not stop when the officer attempted to pull him over and then drove away at a high rate of speed. Two citizens riding together in a vehicle testified that they witnessed the chase and saw an object fall off the motorcycle. They retrieved the object and gave it to police. A Prattville police investigator told the court it was a right side mirror from a Can-Am Spyder. The motorcycle drove through downtown Prattville at a high rate of speed, forcing several oncoming vehicles off the road and running several stop signs and red lights, the officer testified. Speeds in the chase reached more than 110 mph, the officer testified. The chase was captured on the officer’s dash camera. The officer was told to stop the chase after the motorcycle traveled outside the city’s police jurisdiction and into rural parts of Autauga County. An Autauga County deputy sheriff and an Alabama State trooper testified that they heard the chase on the radio and set up on County Road 57. They testified that a short time after the chase was called, a black Can-Am traveling at a high rate of speed stopped at their vehicles, which were blocking the road. They identified the driver as White, who told them he was unaware of being chased by Prattville police. The interaction was recorded by the officers’ body cameras. White was arrested at a later date. Reckless driving is a citation, and attempting to elude a police officer is a misdemeanor. The Montgomery Advertiser has changed the way it covers crime and typically doesn’t report on misdemeanor cases or nonviolent felonies. The Advertiser is covering this case because White is seeking a position of public trust. Conviction of a misdemeanor generally does not ban a person from seeking or serving in public office in Alabama. The Advertiser requested copies of the dash and body camera footage. City prosecutor Brad Ekdahl denied that request, stating that case could be appealed to circuit court. Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com Read More…