Digital Alabama News

The Mar-A-Lago Special Master Wants Answers From Trump. The Dispute Over https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-mar-a-lago-special-master-wants-answers-from-trump-the-dispute-over/ The special master in former President Donald Trump’s case over seized Mar-a-Lago documents told his attorneys Tuesday to supply evidence that Trump declassified records stored there, or to otherwise stop making the argument – simply put, the neutral third-party said, “you can’t have your cake and eat it.” A federal judge in Florida has effectively put the Justice Department’s criminal probe in the case on hold until the special master she appointed at Trump’s request completes a review for privileged information. The DOJ has partially appealed her decision saying it urgently needs to review the 100 or so sets of documents, or more than 700 pages labeled as classified. Here’s what you need to know about the special master’s role and this case: What and who is the special master? A special master is a neutral third-party arbiter who in this case is in charge of assessing whether any of the documents seized by the Justice Department when executing an Aug. 8 search warrant on Mar-a-Lago were governed by executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. In this case it’s a senior federal judge in the Eastern District of New York, Raymond Dearie, who has spent a lifetime handling high-profile cases. Why are we talking about classified or declassified records? Trump’s attorneys argued that the president has broad powers to declassify information, but in court filings have tiptoed around actually saying whether the president did or did not declassify documents. Trump himself has said he had a standing order to “automatically declassify” all documents he took home from the Oval Office. Why does it matter if the records are declassified? The DOJ has argued that roughly 100 “secret” and “top secret” documents seized from Mar-a-Lago belong to the government and are also part of an ongoing criminal investigation. The DOJ said their release could cause “immediate and serious harms to the government and the public.” Multiple ongoing, complex cases After the FBI executed a court-approved search warrant on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, Trump’s attorneys filed suit in federal court, arguing the government violated his rights and committed overreach. That case is before Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida. A grand jury in Washington has also subpoenaed Trump aides and associates in an investigation of the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, for issues such as fake electors and Trump’s fundraising. In the documents case, Cannon approved Trump’s request for a special master – which came weeks after the search itself – and appointed Dearie. The DOJ previously said its own “filter team” had gone through the documents to assess whether any documents were covered by attorney-client privilege. The team found about 500 pages of personal or privileged documents. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is conducting its own review of the national security risk of possible unauthorized disclosure of the classified records and any harm that may have occurred, according to DOJ court filings. Big Picture:Trump has argued he declassified Mar-a-Lago documents. In DOJ probe, it might not matter The DOJ asked Cannon to put a partial stay on her order blocking investigators from reviewing the highly classified records, but she rejected the request. Instead, Cannon told the DOJ it could not review the classified documents seized for its criminal investigation until the special master’s review is complete. The order essentially puts a pause on the investigation. Dearie has estimated it will take until Nov. 30 to complete his review. The DOJ has partially appealed Cannon’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, arguing it urgently needs the ability to review about 100 classified documents, making up more than 700 pages, for potential criminal violations. If a three-judge panel of the appeals court refuses to lift the temporary pause on the investigation, DOJ officials have said they will consider other appeal options, including petitioning the Supreme Court. Outlines on the DOJ criminal probe The federal laws used to justify the search do not require the documents to be classified for a crime to be committed. In fact, the provisions of federal law contained in the Espionage Act, obstruction and the mishandling of government records and reports mentioned in the search affidavit don’t even include the words “classified” or “confidential.” The first two laws – should charges be brought – would carry the heftiest penalties of fines and up to 10 and 20 years in prison, respectively. In approving the search warrant, a federal magistrate agreed there was probable cause FBI agents would uncover evidence that these three provisions of federal law were violated. That’s why some legal experts have called the argument by Trump’s team over declassification a “red herring.” Read More…

A ‘first’ For Pickens County Schools; All County Schools Now Have SROs https://digitalalabamanews.com/a-first-for-pickens-county-schools-all-county-schools-now-have-sros/ TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) – Pickens County Schools made history to start the 2022-2023 school year. For the first time ever every county school has a School Resource Officer. A federal grant made it possible, according to school district leaders. School Resource Officers are now assigned to Gordo High School, Reform and Aliceville schools and the career center. Gordo High School history teacher Jonathan Pate admitted he often felt uneasy over the years without that extra layer of protection of added security. “You watch TV and circumstances and see what happened at other schools,” said Pate. Deputy James Davis is Gordo High School’s SRO officer. He was not allowed to talk to the media but his comforting presence is already being felt. “The world we live in today it’s obviously great to have someone here help us and the person we need here,” said Pate. A federal grant made the hires possible. Sheriff Todd Hall says this has been in the works for awhile now. “What we’re trying to do is be pro-active, prevent stuff and be reactive because across the nation these days we’ve had some terrible, terrible tragedies,” said Sheriff Hall. Principal Mark Capps says students and teachers are pleased, they feel better knowing James Davis is there for them should the unthinkable happen. “Just safety feel having a police officer walking around your campus,” said Capps. Davis does far more than walk the halls and make sure the gates are locked. A major part of his job is to develop trust with the students including classroom visits. “A lot of the kids know him already from youth football, so there is a connection already with a safety net, so it’s a great benefit,” said Capps. Sheriff Todd Hall says the federal grant is good for two years. For the third year and beyond, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Department will need to come up with funds to continue with the SRO officers. CLICK HERE TO GET THE WBRC FOX6 NEWS APP Subscribe to our WBRC newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email. Copyright 2022 WBRC. All rights reserved. Read More…

Analysis | 6 Takeaways From The New York AG’s $250 Million Lawsuit Against Trump https://digitalalabamanews.com/analysis-6-takeaways-from-the-new-york-ags-250-million-lawsuit-against-trump/ Another shoe has dropped in the growing post-presidential legal woes of former president Donald Trump, with New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) filing a major lawsuit against Trump, his business and his family on Wednesday. The lawsuit accuses Trump, the Trump organization and three of his children — Trump Jr., Eric and Ivanka — of business fraud and misrepresenting their finances for personal gain. It also names Trump’s longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, who recently pleaded guilty to tax crimes, and Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney. It seeks to recover $250 million and severely restrict the defendants from conducting business in the state moving forward. James also said at a news conference that she was referring the matter to the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department’s Southern District of New York for potential criminal prosecution. With James telegraphing an intense focus on Trump in the lead-up, and reportedly rebuffing an offer to settle the case recently, this lawsuit has been expected. It also comes as the former president faces potential criminal scrutiny from the federal government, the Manhattan district attorney and prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., for a variety of issues — including his finances, the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and his retention of sensitive government documents at his residence in Florida. Trump lawyer Alina Habba responded Tuesday: “Today’s filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law — rather, it is solely focused on advancing the attorney general’s political agenda. It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place.” In a string of social media posts, Trump called the suit “Another Witch Hunt.” Below are some takeaways from the lawsuit. 1. The alleged inflations of asset values Thanks to a host of reports by newspapers including The Washington Post, as well as the previous indictment of Weisselberg, we already knew some of the details about Trump’s properties and how their values might have been inflated, laid out in James’s lawsuit. Among the key examples: claiming his triplex apartment at Trump Tower was 30,000 square feet when other documents stated it was only about 11,000 square feet; claiming other buildings had more floors and square footage than they did; claiming more residential lots than he was zoned for on his golf course; and listing values far beyond what appraisers had. But the lawsuit provides even more specifics. In one instance, it says Trump claimed money held by Vornado Partnership Interests as his — even though he owned only a 30 percent partnership stake and had no ownership interest. The lawsuit says this increased Trump’s claimed liquid assets by between $14 million and $93 million, depending on the year, thereby “often constituting a considerable portion of Mr. Trump’s reported liquidity.” At another point, it accuses Trump of seeking to “unduly influence” a lender appraisal in 2015 for 40 Wall Street in New York. The appraised value more than doubled from just three years before: In 2012, it had come in at $220 million, but the 2015 version came in at $540 million. Trump had sought to refinance the loan through Capital One but was rejected, ultimately turning to Ladder Capital Finance, which employed Weisselberg’s son Jack as a director. James’s office can only sue Trump in civil court, but her office has coordinated with the Manhattan district attorney. A major question is what the civil probe might reveal that could be used in criminal probes brought there or elsewhere. In addition to referring the matter to the IRS and the Justice Department, James’s lawsuit highlights a number of state criminal laws she says Trump violated. Among them: New York Executive Law § 63 (12), which makes it a crime to “engage in repeated fraudulent or illegal acts or otherwise demonstrate persistent fraud or illegality in the carrying on, conducting or transaction of business.” New York Penal Law § 175.10, which involves falsifying business records. New York Penal Law § 175.45, which involves issuing a false financial statement. New York Penal Law § 176.05, which deals with insurance fraud. In a footnote, the lawsuit also suggests that the alleged conduct it describes “plausibly violates” federal criminal laws: 18 U.S.C. § 1014, which deals with false statements to financial institutions. 18 U.S.C. § 1344, which deals with bank fraud. James declined to say at her news conference Wednesday whether she expected Trump to be charged criminally, saying merely that others would make that determination. 3. Explaining the disclaimer A big question in all of this is whether Trump’s allegedly false “Statements of Financial Condition,” containing purportedly inflated figures, might have broken the law and were held up as actual financial statements. The documents came with disclaimers that assured they were not the full picture of his finances. But James’s lawsuit says that while that disclaimer could insulate the accountants involved, it doesn’t absolve Trump. “While the accountants gave notice in the reports that they did not audit or review the Statements to verify the accuracy or completeness of the information provided by Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization, they confirmed that their clients were responsible for preparing the Statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States,” the suit says. It adds that such disclaimers “do not give license to Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization to submit to their accountants fraudulent and misleading asset valuations for inclusion in the Statements.” Elsewhere in the lawsuit, the attorney general’s office says the disclaimers were adjusted after McConney was questioned in the investigation in 2020. It says that after McConney was asked about the claim in the disclaimer that the valuations were reached in consultation with “outside professionals,” the language was changed to downplay the role of those “outside professionals.” “The Trump Organization’s abrupt removal of any specific references to consultation with outside professionals in connection with specific valuations is a tacit admission that such references in prior years were inaccurate and misleading,” the lawsuit says. 4. The roles of Trump Jr., Ivanka and Eric The decision to include Trump’s three eldest children is a notable one. They have been high-ranking executives at Trump’s business, but relatively little has been known about their roles in alleged wrongdoing. After accusing them of each taking part in the scheme — and even saying it “required” their “participation” — the lawsuit lays out the case against each, one by one. Of Donald Trump Jr., it says he “was a source of valuations in the Statement of Financial Condition for properties like Trump Park Avenue.” It also says he was “was responsible for the preparation of the Statement for every year from 2016 to the present” and that he certified its accuracy in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Though he once testified that the rent-stabilized apartments at Trump Park Avenue were “the bane of [his] existence,” it says a statement valuing unsold units there did not account for any such restrictions; as a result, the appraisal of the residential and storage spaces were nearly six times higher in later years than they were in 2010. Of Ivanka Trump, it says she “was familiar with the Statements of Financial Condition, making presentations on them to the [U.S. General Services Administration] in 2011, and using them to facilitate loans from Deutsche Bank in 2012 and 2013.” And of Eric Trump, it says he “was a source of valuations in the Statement of Financial Condition for properties like Seven Springs,” an estate in Westchester County, N.Y. It says, “Those projections for developing mansions [at Seven Springs] from Eric Trump were false in almost every particular.” It also says that he certified the statements’ accuracy in 2020 and 2021 and that he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked whether he assisted in the preparation of the statements. (Invoking the Fifth Amendment can be used against you in civil cases in New York, unlike in criminal cases.) 5. Where the $250 million figure comes from James’s lawsuit alleges that the over-valuations of Trump’s properties and other financial tricks allowed him to profit because they helped him secure favorable interest rates and other benefits. She seeks to recover $250 million that she says the defendants illegally obtained. Of that, she says $100 million represents the net gain Trump made from selling the Old Post Office property in D.C. this year, after using inaccurate statements to get favorable interest rates from Deutsche Bank to fund the construction of his hotel. The other $150 million comes from favorable interest rates received from banks for other properties. “All of those benefits were derived from the improper, repeated, and persistent use of fraudulent and misleading financial statements,” the lawsuit says. 6. A Mar-a-Lago documents connection? The lawsuit also repeatedly suggests a coverup by Trump and those around him, noting instances in which those involved sought to cut down on written correspondence and long email chains. It also makes a reference to what had — until recently — been the biggest news involving Trump: the seizure of government documents from his residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The lawsuit floats the idea that the search might have turned up documents that Trump’s team should have shared with the New York Attorney General’s office. It notes that the district court has said “the...

MSNBC Host Predicts Chances Of Trump Indictment Just “skyrocketed” — Thanks To His Own Lawyers https://digitalalabamanews.com/msnbc-host-predicts-chances-of-trump-indictment-just-skyrocketed-thanks-to-his-own-lawyers/ This article originally appeared on AlterNet. Twenty months after leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump continues to be the subject of a variety of investigations — from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia to New York State Attorney General Letitia James to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s January 6 select committee to the U.S. Department of Justice. One DOJ investigation has been probing the events of January 6, 2021, while another has been investigating the government documents that Trump was storing at his Mar-a-Lago resort/home in Palm Beach, Florida when FBI agents executed a search warrant on Monday, August 8. During a Monday night, September 19 commentary on DOJ’s Mar-a-Lago/documents probe, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell argued that Trump’s chances of facing a federal prosecution have “skyrocketed.” O’Donnell, quoting a report by the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, explained, “The New York Times is reporting tonight that a former White House counsel warned Donald Trump last year, when he was no longer president, that ‘Mr. Trump could face legal liability if he did not return government materials he had taken with him when he left office. The lawyer, Eric Herschmann sought to impress upon Mr. Trump the seriousness of the issue and the potential for investigations and legal exposure if he did not return the documents, particularly any classified material’…. And so now, we know the name of one witness, possibly the most important witness, federal prosecutors will call to testify in their grand jury investigation of Donald Trump’s possession of those documents: Eric Herschmann.” Eric Herschmann, O’Donnell added, has been a witness for the January 6 select committee, and he will “obviously” comply with DOJ investigators. Trump has claimed that all of the government documents he was storing at Mar-a-Lago were “declassified” before he left the White House in January 2021 — a claim that O’Donnell disputed during his September 19 commentary. The MSNBC host told viewers, “If Eric Herschmann tells federal prosecutors the same thing that the New York Times is reporting at this hour tonight, then the chances of Donald Trump being indicted have just skyrocketed. And that is not the only breaking news in this case tonight. Donald Trump’s lawyers said, in writing tonight…. That they are refusing to answer the question of whether Donald Trump declassified documents seized by the FBI at his Florida home because they are saving their answer to that question as, quote, ‘a defense to the merits of any subsequent indictment.'” Trending Articles from Salon Read More…

Trump Save America PAC https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-save-america-pac/ During August, Trump faced simultaneous investigations related to the classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate, the Trump Organization’s finances and a Georgia grand jury investigation. The vast majority of legal spending went to a single firm in West Palm Beach, Florida. Save America was created just after the 2020 election Trump lost. The legal fees made up the majority of the $6.5 million the PAC spent last month. As Donald Trump worked to mount a legal defense to an unprecedented federal search of his Mar-a-Lago estate, one of a litany of escalating investigations with the former president at the center, his political action committee’s bills for legal consulting skyrocketed. Save America spent $3.9 million on legal consulting in August most of which went to a West Palm Beach, Florida, law firm, according to paperwork filed Tuesday night with the Federal Election Commission. The legal fees made up the majority of the $6.5 million the PAC spent last month. The number far exceeds the $964,000 Save America paid to 13 firms for legal consulting in July and the $555,000 the PAC spent on legal consulting in June, at the height of the House’s committee hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The information filed with the FEC does not specify that the law firms worked on any particular cases, and do not describe anything beyond “legal consulting.” But reporting shows that some of these firms have represented Trump or members of his inner circle in recent legal battles. During August, Trump faced heightening, simultaneous investigations related to the classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate, the Trump Organization’s finances, and a Georgia grand jury investigation into election interference. Save America is facing a separate grand jury investigation into how it fundraised in late 2020, according to ABC News.  Save America formed days after the 2020 election to fight debunked election fraud claims and has raised more than $135 million. It is registered as a leadership PAC, a type of committee that the FEC has put few restrictions on, even if some lawyers argue the law says such organizations are not allowed to spend money on personal items.  Save America: PAC raised million to fight election fraud. Here’s how that money was spent. Smithsonian portraits: Ex-president’s Save America PAC doles out $650,000 for paintings Fashion designer: Trump PAC formed to push debunked voter fraud claims paid $60K to Hervé Pierre Adav Noti, vice president and legal director for the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, said money spent related to the Mar-a-Lago probe is appropriate because it is related to his official duties as a federal officeholder. But if the money is spent on a New York probe into Trump’s namesake Trump Organization, that is personal use illegal under federal law, even if the FEC would not enforce it, Noti said.  “The only question that is left in terms of legality is, ‘Is the money in question subject to that ban on personal use?’ and that’s where there’s gray area right now with a leadership PAC,” he said. “There are different views as to whether leadership PAC money is subject to the ban on personal use.” Meanwhile, Save America continues to rake in money. Following the FBI search for confidential documents on Aug. 8, a joint fundraising committee tied to Save America sent out repeated appeals for donations, including to an “Official Trump Defense Fund,” wording similar to an “Official Election Defense Fund” in the days after the election that the House committee investigating Capitol attack said did not exist. Information on how much was raised from those most-recent pleas will not be available until October. Here’s how Save America spent money on legal consulting last month: Law firms added in August Three new law firms showed up on Save America’s filings this month and received $3.1 million total. $3 million to the trust account of Critton, Luttier & Coleman LLP of West Palm Beach $81,094 to Dhillon Law Group Inc. of San Francisco  $50,000 to Weber, Crabb & Wein, P.A. of St. Petersburg Critton Luttier did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s unclear what the money was spent on.  Harmeet Dhillon, the managing partner of Dhillon Law Group, also chairs the Republican National Lawyer’s Association. She’s made several Fox News appearances in support of Trump. She appeared on Fox News’ Ingraham Angle program on Aug. 23, where she endorsed the move by Trump lawyers to seek a special master to oversee FBI document seizures at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago mansion. She also used the appearance to raise the prospect of a motion to recuse the magistrate judge who approved the warrant for that search because of what she characterized as bias. John D. O’Connor, a trial litigator and fee expert based in San Francisco, said it’s common for attorneys to charge $1,000 to $1,500 an hour for complex litigation. The legal challenges facing Trump are quite complex, he said.  “You have multiple issues ranging from possible criminal prosecution to an analysis of the Presidential Records Act and what the president’s rights are and what they’re not, and also there may be some analysis of questions of classified versus unclassified information,” he said.  What to know: Trump’s ‘Save America’ PAC raised millions after the election. QAnon: Salute from crowd, music at Ohio rally suggest closer ties with Trump. Highest-paid firms Habba Madaio & Associates LLP, headquartered in New Jersey, is one of the highest paid law firms on the list. The firm received $943,277 this year, including $207,827 in August. Attorneys Alina Habba and Michael Madaio represented Trump in his racketeering lawsuit that accused former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and others of scheming to vilify Trump by suggesting he colluded with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election. A judge dismissed that case in early September, calling it a “200-page political manifesto.” Habba also has represented Trump during a continuing investigation of the Trump Organization, the former president’s company, by the New York State Attorney General’s Office. On Wednesday, the state filed a lawsuit alleging that Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and his family.   “We look forward to defending our client against each and every one of the Attorney General’s meritless claims,” Habba said Wednesday. Elections LLC, a politics-and elections-focused legal consulting group based in Washington, D.C. and founded by three top Trump allies, has received $412,028 from Save America, including $10,000 in August. The company’s founders are Stefan Passantino, a former deputy White House counsel under Trump; Justin Clark, a former Trump campaign official and advisor; and Matthew Morgan, general counsel for Trump’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential reelection campaign. Passantino is believed to have represented former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. However, she later switched attorneys and became a key witness for the House Jan. 6 committee, The New York Times reported. Squire Patton Boggs LLP, an influential firm founded in Cleveland, Ohio, that has a lobbying arm, has received $210,850, with the latest payout in July. Alan S. Futerfas Attorney At Law has received $184,744, with all the money coming in July. Futerfas has represented Trump during the New York attorney general’s ongoing probe. The law firm is based in New York City. Earth & Water Law LLC, headquartered in Washington, D.C. received $175,000 in June for legal consulting. One of the firm’s lawyers, John S. Irving IV, has represented former Trump aide Peter Navarro in his contempt of Congress case. Navarro, a former trade advisor in the White House, was indicted for contempt of Congress after not complying with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.  Lawsuit against Trump, family: New York lawsuit could prompt new federal criminal inquiries Declassification debate: For Trump’s legal defense, it might not matter Other key firms JPRowley Law PLLC, headquartered in Washington, D.C., received $221,218, including $52,266 in August. SECIL Law PLLC, also based in Washington, D.C. got $175,000 for legal consulting, all in June. What the firms share in common is that attorney John Rowley has worked at both, their websites show. Rowley has represented Trump in the Department of Justice investigation of the Jan. 6 attack. He also has represented senior Trump advisor Stephen Miller’s legal battle against a House subpoena in the Jan. 6 investigation and Navarro. Washington, D.C.-headquartered Ifrah Law PLLC has received $302,770 for legal consulting, with most of that, $242,770, coming in August. James M. Trusty,  a member with the firm,  is among Trump’s lawyers in the special master case. He was in a Brooklyn federal courtroom Tuesday for arguments on that case. Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin and White, headquartered in Baltimore, received $157,512, including $68,413 in August. One of the firm’s lawyers, Evan Corcoran, represented Trump in the case involving the special master and was in New York  with Trusty regarding that case on Tuesday.  Registered in Wyoming and based in a Miami high-rise overlooking Biscayne Bay, New Age Consulting LLC received $64,240 from Save America for legal consulting, including $8,333 in August, the political action committee’s new filing shows. The company, which is not a law firm, is headed by Shelly Lipkis, a paralegal who previously worked at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, online records show. In addition to the money her company received, she received $33,984 from Save America, with the latest payment coming in April, for legal consulting and office supplies. Christina Bobb: How the ex-OAN host took spotlight in...

Grammy Winners Ben Lovett, Kelvin Wooten To Headline Career & Artist Development Workshop https://digitalalabamanews.com/grammy-winners-ben-lovett-kelvin-wooten-to-headline-career-artist-development-workshop/ Published on September 21, 2022 Huntsville is fortunate to have many bright stars within its diverse ecosystem, and two of them – Grammy winners Ben Lovett and Kelvin Wooten – will appear as panelists at an upcoming event. Lovett and Wooten will share their thoughts about and experiences in the music industry at an upcoming Career & Artist Development Workshop. The event will be 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, in the theater of Lee High School, 2500 N. Meridian St., Huntsville. The free event, presented as part of #hsvmusicmonth, will double as the Huntsville Music Office’s HSV Quarterly Music Meetup. About the artists Wooten is an acclaimed musician and producer, while Lovett is a member of Mumford & Sons and the CEO of tvg hospitality. Huntsville Music Officer Matt Mandrella said both Lovett and Wooten were perfect for the panel because of their experience from all sides of the music industry spectrum – writers, performers, producers and business operators. In addition to producing artists as diverse as H.E.R. and Eric Clapton, Wooten is the founder of WoodaWorx, a production company. Lovett’s company, tvg hospitality, operates The Orion Amphitheater at Apollo Park, recently featured in Rolling Stone magazine. “It really is an incredible opportunity and a bit of luck that we were able to get both these talented artists together at the same time for this workshop,” Mandrella said. “Kelvin is held in such high regard by so many amazing musicians, which is evident by the caliber of artists who want to work with him. Ben has a wealth of knowledge because he’s not only a musician, songwriter and performer, but he’s also CEO of a successful venue company.” Building a music city Lucia Cape, senior vice president of economic development for the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, will moderate the event. Cape, who has lived in Athens, Georgia, New Orleans and Nashville, believes Huntsville has the key ingredients to join the ranks of those music towns. “The talent is here, and the City is proving that they want to make this happen,” she said. “Just like every engineer creates jobs in finance, human resources, management and administration, every musician creates other opportunities for people to work in this field. This workshop will help show the bigger picture of a music economy and what that means for Huntsville. I’m pinching myself that I get to be a small part of it.” Mandrella urges attendees to arrive early as seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. He anticipates informative discussions that will provide a wealth of knowledge for newcomers as well as seasoned musicians. “If you’re a musician, songwriter or working behind the scenes in the music industry, this is really a must-see event,” Mandrella said. “Even better, the only thing it costs is your time.” Read More…

Rodney Carson Gilbert Obituary (2022) The Birmingham News https://digitalalabamanews.com/rodney-carson-gilbert-obituary-2022-the-birmingham-news/ Rodney Carson Gilbert September 14, 1939 – September 16, 2022 Rodney Carson Gilbert, of Birmingham, Alabama passed away on Friday, September 16, 2022. He was 83 years of age. He is survived by his children Leigh Anne Hodge (Jeff); Leslie Carol Dove (Ty); Rodney Bradley Gilbert; Paul David Gilbert (Lee Anne); and Stephanie Simone Gilbert (Chris Phillips). He also is survived by sixteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of sixty-three years, Karen East Gilbert, his grandson, Ingram “Gram” Harrison Gilbert, and his parents, Lloyd and Bertie Gilbert. Mr. Gilbert was a graduate of the mechanical engineering program at the University of Alabama. He spent his entire professional career with Rust International, Inc., rising to become the President and Chief Executive Officer. The family extends special gratitude to his devoted caregivers, including Donna Carroll, Christy Patterson, Minnie Smith, Valerie Jews, Yesemia Diaz, and others. In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorials be made to one of the following: Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church; Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Music Therapy Program, a program that brings music (and the associated joy, love and laughter) to hospitalized children; or High Hopes Development Center in Franklin, Tennessee, a non-profit organization that provides an inclusive early education experience for special needs children alongside their typically developing friends. Services will be held privately for the family. Ridout’s Valley Chapel in Homewood (205-879-3401) is directing. Published by The Birmingham News from Sep. 21 to Sep. 25, 2022. 34465541-95D0-45B0-BEEB-B9E0361A315A To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store. Read More…

Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers Camo-Style Gear On Sale In Operation Hat Trick Campaign https://digitalalabamanews.com/alabama-crimson-tide-auburn-tigers-camo-style-gear-on-sale-in-operation-hat-trick-campaign/ Alabama Football Published: Sep. 21, 2022, 1:52 p.m. Auburn Tigers Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Quarter-Zip Hoodie – Arctic – on Fanatics. Fanatics has launched camo-style gear in its annual Operation Hat Trick campaign, and there are plenty of Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers options. Operation Hat Trick (OHT) generates awareness and support for the recovery of wounded service members and veterans through the sale of branded merchandise and products. Proceeds are donated to select organizations that support the OHT mission. In addition, Fanatics is offering up 65 percent off select items with the promo code COZY. Not all items are eligible. Check out the offerings. Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Digital Camo Polo – Charcoal at Fanatics. Save – with the promo code – on the Alabama Crimson Tide Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Digital Camo Polo. Pay just $33.74, slashed from $44.99. Its bold digital camo accents and American flag on the left sleeve let everyone know you’re serious about cheering on the Alabama Crimson Tide and raising awareness for wounded service members and veterans. Alabama Crimson Tide Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Quarter-Zip Hoodie – Arctic Camo at Fanatics The Alabama Crimson Tide Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Quarter-Zip Hoodie is also on sale for $56.24 with code COZY from $74.99. It features a distinct camo design and the Alabama Crimson Tide logo proudly displayed on the chest. Sport this over your go-to team tee for a complete look to show off during the season. Alabama Crimson Tide Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Hoodie Long Sleeve T-Shirt – Black at Fanatics. Save on the Alabama Crimson Tide Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Hoodie Long Sleeve T-Shirt. Priced at $33.74 with code COZY. Normally, it is $44.99. You’ll show support for more than just your favorite team in this inspiring tee. Other items for sale: Check out all the Alabama gear here. Auburn Auburn Tigers Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Digital Camo Polo – Charcoal by Fanatics. Auburn Tigers Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Digital Camo Polo – Charcoal – is $33.74 with code COZY. Now you can show your Auburn Tigers fandom while supporting a great cause with this OHT Military Appreciation polo from Colosseum. Auburn Tigers Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Quarter-Zip Hoodie – Arctic – on Fanatics. Auburn Tigers Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Quarter-Zip Hoodie – Arctic Camo – is $56.24 with code COZY. No matter where you watch the next Auburn Tigers game, make sure your style is as strong as ever in this OHT Military Appreciation quarter-zip hoodie by Colosseum. Auburn Tigers Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Flag 2.0 T-Shirt – Heathered Black in Fanatics. Auburn Tigers Colosseum OHT Military Appreciation Flag 2.0 T-Shirt – Heathered Black – is $26.24 with code COZY. The ultra-soft material maximizes comfort, helping you feel great as you cheer on the Auburn Tigers. Other items for sale: Check out all the Auburn gear here. Here are all the schools that offer OHT gear: Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

AP News Summary At 3:53 P.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-353-p-m-edt/ Biden: Russia ‘shamelessly violated’ UN Charter in Ukraine 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. Fed attacks inflation with another big hike and expects more WASHINGTON (AP) — Intensifying its fight against high inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a third straight time and signaled more large rate hikes to come — an aggressive pace that will heighten the risk of an eventual recession. The Fed’s move boosted its benchmark short-term rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, to a range of 3% to 3.25%, the highest level since early 2008. The officials also forecast that they will further raise their benchmark rate to roughly 4.4% by year’s end, a full percentage point higher than they had forecast as recently as June. Putin orders partial military call-up, sparking protests KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia, effective immediately. He risks a deeply unpopular step that follows humiliating setbacks for his troops nearly seven months after invading Ukraine. It’s the first mobilization in Russia since World War II. Western backers of Ukraine derided the move as an act of weakness. The Russian leader also warned the West he isn’t bluffing over using everything at his disposal to protect Russian territory, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to his nuclear arsenal. The partial mobilization came a day after Russian-occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine said they would hold votes on becoming part of Russia. Hundreds of people were arrested at protests across Russia. Trump accused of vast fraud in suit by NY attorney general Read More…

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Mail Ballot Fight Persists In Pa. As Slow Count In Midterms Could Fuel Election Lies https://digitalalabamanews.com/mail-ballot-fight-persists-in-pa-as-slow-count-in-midterms-could-fuel-election-lies/ What to Know Pennsylvania and two other key swing states continue to ban the counting of mail-in ballots prior to Election Day. Counting mail-in ballots as they come in speeds up the process of releasing election results, according to experts like former Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, a Republican. Delays in reporting election results gives politicians like former President Donald Trump a window to spread lies about vote totals before the official tally is finished. Former President Donald Trump and his allies seized on the drawn-out vote processing and counting in Pennsylvania during the 2020 election to fuel his false claims that fraud cost him victory in the battleground state — and election officials worry that a replay could be on the horizon in November’s crucial Senate and governor’s races. And it’s not just Pennsylvania. Michigan and Wisconsin are other crucial swing states that allow no-excuse mail-in ballots but give local election offices no time before Election Day to process them. Election workers’ inability to do that work ahead of time means many of the mailed ballots may not get counted on Election Day, delaying results in tight races and leaving a gaping hole for misinformation and lies to flood the public space. “That time between the polls closing on election night and the last vote being counted is really being exploited by people who want to undermine confidence in the process,” said Al Schmidt, a Philadelphia City Commissioner who oversaw city elections during the 2020 presidential election. He is now president and CEO of the good-government group Committee of Seventy. The first step in processing mailed ballots, or pre-canvassing, is a routine but crucial administrative task that allows election workers to verify voters’ signatures and addresses, or spot problems that could be fixed by voters. Once ballots are deemed valid, they are removed from their envelopes — another time-consuming task — so they are ready to be counted on Election Day. Not in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, though. Thirty-eight other states — including Republican-controlled ones such as Florida, Georgia and Texas — allow mailed ballots to be processed before Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, even brags about producing results on election night — a pointed criticism he made during a recent stop in Pennsylvania. For the three critical battleground states, such objections fall flat. Efforts since 2020 to give local election workers more time before Election Day to process mailed ballots have died in Republican-controlled legislatures. Instead, Republicans in those states have sought to tighten restrictions on voting by mail — provisions vetoed by Democratic governors. Like Pennsylvania, election workers in Michigan and Wisconsin must wait until Election Day to start the pre-canvassing of mailed ballots. There’s a lot of talk right now about how we get our vote to the ballot box. Is in-person or mail-in voting safer? Are dead people voting? And why don’t we vote online? Here’s what you need to know about how we vote, explained with some of our favorite old-school video games. “Counting the ballots should be driven by security, not speed,” Wisconsin state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, a Republican, said earlier this year as lawmakers were considering legislation on the issue. “Why would we want to give bad actors the chance to see ballots prior to Election Day?” Republicans helped kill a bipartisan bill that would have allowed more time for processing mailed ballots in Wisconsin amid claims that it would give partisans more time to cheat or leak vote counts early — another unfounded conspiracy theory promoted as a way to explain Trump’s loss. For now, in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, requests for absentee ballots are running below 2020’s rate, relieving some of the burden on local election offices. Still, Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, said it’s “a total guess” when counting will finish in Wisconsin’s most populous county. She hopes it will wrap up by 11 p.m. on election night. A late rush of dropped-off ballots — as happened in 2020 — isn’t expected this year, she said, because courts banned the use of drop boxes. In Michigan in 2020, lawmakers agreed to give clerks in more populous cities and towns 10 hours on the day before Election Day to process mailed ballots. Clerks unsuccessfully sought a similar provision for this year. The Michigan Secretary of State’s office said it was too early to estimate how many absentee ballots might be cast or how long it will take to process them. The Republicans who control the Pennsylvania Legislature have refused to allow early processing of mailed ballots unless it comes packaged with provisions Democrats oppose, such as putting limits on drop boxes and expanding voter identification requirements. Forget the red and blue election map. The most important map to watch on Election Night is one that shows when each state starts counting its early ballots. The differing rules states use to prioritize when early voting ballots are counted may create a blue or red “mirage” on Election Night that shows early leads for either Joe Biden or President Trump that slip away once more votes are tallied. NBCLX’s Noah Pransky explains. County election officials say they are grateful the state approved $45 million in election administration grants to help them buy ballot processing equipment and pay for workers to help. But they still face the work of processing well over 1 million mailed ballots just as they are running the November election. A number of them do not expect to finish processing mailed ballots until at least the day after the election — even after working through the night. The Pennsylvania House Republicans’ lead lawmaker on election legislation said allowing counties to process ballots before Election Day must be combined with “election integrity” measures. “Once a ballot is opened, you remove the outside envelope from the ballot, you remove any ability to question anything in that election system,” said Republican state Rep. Seth Grove. “So you have to guard the front end of it a lot better.” Those who advocate for earlier processing say observers can watch the pre-canvassing of mailed ballots, increasing transparency, and note that it is allowed by many other states. “If people want to observe the process,” said Lee Soltysiak, the chief operating officer of Montgomery County in Pennsylvania, “they’re more likely to do it at 3 p.m. and not 3 a.m.” Decision 2022 All three states flipped to support Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and are still being buffeted by conspiracy theories about Trump’s loss. Among those is that election workers falsified ballots in the middle of the night in Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee and other Democratic-leaning cities across battleground states lost by Trump, despite no such evidence emerging for nearly two years since the election. Death threats to election officials followed the arguing, as did a flurry of litigation designed to keep Trump in office. In the middle of the counting, two men inspired by Trump’s election lies and armed with guns drove from Virginia to where ballots were being tallied in Philadelphia. Trump continues to peddle the conspiracy theories, repeating this month during a rally in Wilkes-Barre that Pennsylvania’s vote in 2020 was “a rigged election.” Fearing a repeat of the false claims from two years ago, Democrats in the Pennsylvania Legislature continued to push Republicans to bring up a pre-canvassing bill — without any poison pills — for a vote. “That bill will not run,” said Democratic state Rep. Scott Conklin. “Why won’t it run? Because if it runs, it takes away the conspiracy theories. It takes away the fact that what they’re saying is nonsense and not true.” Read More…

Explainer-What New York’s Lawsuit Means For Trump And His Family Company https://digitalalabamanews.com/explainer-what-new-yorks-lawsuit-means-for-trump-and-his-family-company/ By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Donald Trump, three of his adult children and their family company were sued by New York state Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday following a civil investigation into the former U.S. president and his business practices. Here is an explanation of the case and what it means for Trump. WHAT IS THE CASE ABOUT? James accused Trump and the Trump Organization of fraudulently misstating the values of numerous properties to obtain favorable loans and tax benefits. The company manages hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world. In one example, James said the Trump Organization valued its Seven Springs estate in New York’s Westchester County at up to $291 million based on the claim that the company had won approvals to build seven mansions on the property. James called that claim a “fiction,” noting that local authorities limited how the property could be developed. The investigation focused on the company’s activities before Trump became president in 2017. WHAT COULD THE CONSEQUENCES BE FOR TRUMP? The lawsuit seeks to have Trump and the other defendants give up $250 million that James said was obtained through fraud. James is also seeking to bar Trump and three of his children – sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and daughter Ivanka Trump – from serving as directors of companies registered in New York, and prevent them and their company from buying commercial real estate or getting bank loans in New York state for five years. James is also seeking to appoint an independent monitor at the Trump Organization to oversee valuations and disclosures to lenders, among other aspects of its business, for five years. The attorney general acknowledged at a news conference that Trump, who now lives in Florida, could try to move his company or borrow elsewhere. The company’s portfolio in New York state includes 14 residential properties, three commercial properties and two golf courses as well as Seven Springs, according to its website. Trump, who is considering running again for president in 2024, is certain to contest the litigation. WHAT HAS TRUMP SAID ABOUT THE CASE? Following a news conference by James on Wednesday, Trump in a social media post called the lawsuit “another Witch Hunt” and launched a personal attack on her integrity. “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!” Trump wrote. Trump appeared for an August deposition in the investigation and declined to answer more than 400 questions, citing his protection against self-incrimination under the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment. If the case goes to trial, jurors can take his refusal to answer questions into account. A lawyer for Trump on Thursday called the allegations “meritless.” WILL TRUMP FACE CRIMINAL PENALTIES IN THIS CASE? James cannot bring criminal charges against Trump in this investigation because her probe was a civil one, not a criminal one. But James said she was referring allegations of criminal fraud to federal prosecutors in Manhattan as well as the Internal Revenue Service for investigation. The Trump Organization has separately been charged with criminal tax fraud by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and is preparing for a scheduled Oct. 24 trial. nL1N30J1LQ] Its former longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty and is expected to testify against the company, but is not cooperating with the investigation. Trump himself has not been charged in that case. James is assisting in that criminal investigation. A criminal case requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, while civil cases require a lower standard of proof. WHAT ABOUT TRUMP’S OTHER LEGAL WOES? Trump faces federal investigations into his handling of government records after leaving office and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump also faces a state grand jury investigation in Georgia over efforts to overturn that state’s election results. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham) Read More…

U.S. Veterans Freed From Captivity By Russian Proxies In Ukraine https://digitalalabamanews.com/u-s-veterans-freed-from-captivity-by-russian-proxies-in-ukraine/ Two U.S. military veterans held captive for months by Russian-backed separatists in northeastern Ukraine have been released along with eight other foreigners, part of a broader prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv that was brokered with involvement from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the government in Riyadh and one of the American’s families said Wednesday. Alexander J. Drueke and Andy Tai Huynh, both of Alabama, were captured in June near the northeastern border city of Kharkiv. They are among the hundreds of Westerners who have traveled to Ukraine to take up arms against Russian forces. Drueke served previously in the U.S. Army while Huynh is a Marine Corps veteran. The men’s release was startling development, its announcement coming just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had ordered the mobilization of 300,000 military reservists to shore up the Kremlin’s staggering battlefield losses over the last seven months. And while it was not immediately clear who was freed in exchange for Drueke and Hyunh, their exit from captivity is certain to intensify pressure on the Biden administration to secure the release of two Americans imprisoned in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner and Marine veteran Paul Whelan. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia called the Americans’ families on Wednesday morning, said Dianna Shaw, Drueke’s aunt. Drueke’s mother, Lois Drueke, spoke to him for about 10 minutes, and said her son appeared to be in good condition, Shaw said, noting that Dreuke and Huynh were expected to receive medical screenings later in the day. “He sounded clearheaded, with clear speech,” Shaw said. “He sounded like himself.” Shaw expressed amazement at how the men’s release had come about, even as they awaited additional details. “I never dreamed it was a possibility that the Saudi government would be able to do something like this,” she said. “But any port in a storm.” The Saudi government said in a statement that the other prisoners released were from Britain, Morocco, Sweden and Croatia. Saudi Arabia credited itself and Mohammed personally with arranging the releases, although Riyadh’s role remains unclear. But Saudi relations with Moscow have improved in recent months even as ties with Washington have continued under stress. Much of the U.S.-Saudi strain revolves around human rights, and congressional disapproval of the way Mohammed, or MBS, as he is widely known, has run the country of which he is de facto leader under his aging father King Salman. While the crown prince has said his goal is to modernize the country, repeated assaults on the rights of women have undermined his reputation here — already low following the 2018 killing by Saudi agents in Istanbul of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. According to a U.S. intelligence assessment, MBS approved the operation. President Biden, looking for assistance in easing the high price of gasoline and promoting unity among Persian Gulf countries against Iran, visited Saudi Arabia in July but appeared to make little progress toward U.S. goals. At the same time, Saudi relations with Russia have deepened, including recent agreements, through the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, to reduce production targets, and Saudi investments in Russian energy companies despite U.S. and European sanctions. Biden administration spokespersons said they were awaiting Ukraine’s announcement of the releases before commenting. Hugely welcome news that five British nationals held by Russian-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine are being safely returned, ending months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families. — Liz Truss (@trussliz) September 21, 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss said in a tweet that it was “hugely welcome news that five British nationals held by Russian-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine are being safely returned, ending months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families.” Truss thanked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his efforts to release the prisoners, and added that Russia “must end the ruthless exploitation of prisoners of war and civilian detainees for political ends.” At least half a dozen U.S. citizens are believed to have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion began in February. Another American citizen, retired Marine Corps officer Grady Kurpasi, was reported missing in southern Ukraine in late April. He was not among the prisoners released Wednesday, said George Heath, a friend speaking on behalf of Kurpasi’s family Kurpasi was last seen near the southern city of Mykolaiv, when he went to investigate the source of incoming fire. A short time later, Willy Cancel, another Marine Corps veteran in the same group, was fatally wounded, becoming the first known American veteran to die in combat in Ukraine. The Drueke and Huynh families have had sporadic contact with their loved ones since their capture, but the calls often seemed tense and scripted, Shaw said in an earlier interview. One of the biggest challenges in captivity, Drueke said in audio provided to The Post in July, was “finding little things to think about, just, you know, [to] fill in the boredom.” The U.S. government has, for many months, strongly cautioned Americans against traveling either to Ukraine or Russia. Whelan, who was convicted by a Russian court on espionage-related charges he and his family say are false, is serving a 16-year prison sentence. Griner, held in Russia since February, was sentenced last month to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to drug charges. The Biden administration regards both as having been wrongfully detained, and has assigned their cases to the U.S. government’s top hostage negotiator. Souad Mekhennet contributed to this report. War in Ukraine: What you need to know The latest: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” of troops in an address to the nation on Sept. 21, framing the move as an attempt to defend Russian sovereignty against a West that seeks to use Ukraine as a tool to “divide and destroy Russia.” Follow our live updates here. The fight: A successful Ukrainian counteroffensive has forced a major Russian retreat in the northeastern Kharkiv region in recent days, as troops fled cities and villages they had occupied since the early days of the war and abandoned large amounts of military equipment. Annexation referendums: Staged referendums, which would be illegal under international law, are set to take place from Sept. 23 to 27 in the breakaway Luhansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine, according to Russian news agencies. Another staged referendum will be held by the Moscow-appointed administration in Kherson starting Friday. Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work. How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating. Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video. Read More…

New York Attorney General Files Civil Fraud Lawsuit Against Trump, Some Of His Children And His Business | CNN Politics https://digitalalabamanews.com/new-york-attorney-general-files-civil-fraud-lawsuit-against-trump-some-of-his-children-and-his-business-cnn-politics/ CNN  —  The New York state attorney general filed a sweeping lawsuit Wednesday against former President Donald Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization, alleging they were involved in an expansive fraud lasting over a decade that the former President used to enrich himself. In the more than 200-page lawsuit, Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, alleges the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals. “This conduct cannot be brushed aside and dismissed as some sort of good-faith mistake,” James said at a news conference in New York. “The statements of financial condition were greatly exaggerated, grossly inflated, objectively false, and therefore fraudulent and illegal,” she added. “And as a result of that we are seeking relief, and Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, his family – they should all be held accountable.” Trump and his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Allen Weisselberg, former CFO for the Trump Organization, and Jeff McConney, another longtime company executive, are also named. James said she believes state and criminal laws may have been violated and referred the matter to the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York and the Internal Revenue Service. The US attorney’s office declined to comment. “These acts of fraud and misrepresentation were similar in nature, were committed by upper management at the Trump Organization as part of a common endeavor for each annual Statement, and were approved at the highest levels of the Trump Organization – including by Mr. Trump himself,” the lawsuit states. As part of the lawsuit, James is seeking $250 million in allegedly ill-gotten funds and to permanently bar Trump and the children named in the lawsuit from serving as the director of a business registered in New York state. She is also seeking to cancel the Trump Organization’s corporate certificate, which, if granted by a judge, could effectively force the company to cease operations in New York state. 02:23 – Source: CNN Maggie Haberman breaks down New York AG’s lawsuit against Trump Trump previously called James a “renegade prosecutor” who he said is running a “vindictive and self-serving fishing expedition.” The Trump Organization called her previously allegations “baseless” and denied any wrongdoing. Responding to Wednesday’s announcement, Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement to CNN: “Today’s filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law – rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General’s political agenda. It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place.” Weisselberg’s attorney, Nicholas Gravante, declined to comment. The civil lawsuit comes as Trump is under increasing legal pressure as prosecutors are taking investigative steps that move ever closer to his inner circle. Trump is facing numerous criminal investigations from federal and state prosecutors involving the accuracy of his company’s financial statements, interference in the 2020 presidential election, and his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Trump has denied any wrongdoing. James alleges that the former President and his company made “scores of fraudulent, false, and misleading representations” over a 10-year period, according to the lawsuit, which specifically highlighted what it called “200 false and misleading valuations” of Trump’s assets. “The financial statements in question were issued annually; each contained a significant number of fraudulent, false, and misleading representations about a great many of the Trump Organization’s assets; and most played a role in particular transactions with financial institutions,” the lawsuit alleges. “The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering,” the suit adds. According to James, Trump’s businesses prepared statements of financial condition every year to submit to banks and other financial institutions. The statements showed the financial position of the Trump businesses, James said, and were relied upon if the Trump Organization wanted to apply for loans. Each statement was personally certified as accurate by Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., or Weisselberg, James told reporters on Wednesday. Trump “made known” that “he wanted his net worth reflected on those statements to increase,” James said, “a desire Mr. Weisselberg and others carried out year after year in their fraudulent preparation of those statements.” As an example of allegations Trump inflated valuations to increase his own profits. James highlighted what she says happened with 40 Wall Street, a property known as The Trump Building in New York City’s financial district, which is referenced dozens of times in the lawsuit. Trump’s company obtained appraisals for the property in 2010 and 2012, which found that it was worth $200 million and $220 million respectively, according to the lawsuit. But Trump’s company repeatedly claimed that the property was worth a lot more in its official financial statements, according to the lawsuit. In 2011, Trump’s company said the property was worth $524 million. He said it was worth $527 million in 2012, and $530 million in 2013, according to the lawsuit, which argued that there was not a valid basis for these inflated valuations, and that Trump falsely claimed these numbers came from “professionals.” During Wednesday’s news conference James also said that Trump inflated the square footage of his Trump Tower triplex apartment in order to misrepresent the value at over $300 million. “Mr. Trump represented that his apartments spanned more than 30,000 square feet, which was the basis for valuing the apartment. In reality, the apartment had an area of less than 11,000 square feet, something that Mr. Trump was well aware of,” James said. She added: “Based on that inflated square footage, the value of the apartment in 2015, in 2016, was $327 million. To this date, no apartment in New York City has ever sold for close to that amount.” The announcement is the latest development in what has been a three-year investigation led by James into the Trump Organization’s finances. In January, James’ office said it found “significant” evidence indicating the Trump Organization used false or misleading asset valuations in its financial statements to obtain loans, insurance and tax benefits. The following month, Trump’s long-time accounting firm resigned. James’ launched her investigation in 2019 after Trump’s former fixer and personal attorney Michael Cohen testified before Congress alleging that Trump inflated the value of certain assets to obtain loans and insurance and undervalued others to gain tax benefits. Cohen told CNN’s Victor Blackwell on “Newsroom” Wednesday that the allegations in James’ lawsuit represent a “complete destruction” to Trump’s image as a wealthy self-made businessman. “It’s like a nuclear bomb exploded. The man has a fragile ego, which we all know. His entire life is predicated on his net worth and him portraying himself as this wonderful businessman, this massive success, this incredibly wealthy guy. And what do we know? We know that it’s not true,” he said. In addition to the new fraud lawsuit, the Trump Organization is going on trial next month on charges it was engaged in a 15-year tax fraud scheme and its long-time chief financial officer has agreed to testify against the company. Weisselberg, who served as chief financial officer at the Trump Organization for decades, pleaded guilty in August to his role in a 15-year-long tax fraud scheme, and as part of the deal, he had agreed to testify against Trump’s real estate company at trial. In recent weeks, the Trump Organization had offered to settle to ward off the lawsuit even as they denied any wrongdoing, but James’ office made it clear it wasn’t interested in a deal, people familiar with the matter said. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been conducting a criminal investigation into the Trump Organization but has yet to bring any charges and former prosecutors have cast doubt that that would ever happen. The burden of proof in civil investigations is lower than for criminal investigations, however, something that benefits James’ office. To bring a criminal case, prosecutors would need evidence of Trump’s state of mind and whether he intended to mislead or defraud anyone when he made statements embellishing the value of his properties. Bragg’s office interviewed bankers, Trump Organization employees and Trump’s longtime accountant but it does not have a key insider cooperating with the investigation. One of the issues that gave Bragg pause from moving forward earlier this year was the lack of an insider who could tie Trump to the valuations, CNN has reported. Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. “knowingly participated” in the alleged fraudulent schemes, the lawsuit states. The alleged scheme “required the participation of Mr. Trump and his children,” the lawsuit said, adding that the children were “aware of the true financial performance of the company.” The lawsuit, for instance, alleges that Eric Trump was involved in an approach to appraising properties in Las Vegas in a way that lowered their value for tax purposes while inflating their value on Trump financial statements. It also quotes testimony from Trump J...

Huntsville CEO Appointed To UA System Board Of Trustees https://digitalalabamanews.com/huntsville-ceo-appointed-to-ua-system-board-of-trustees/ News Published: Sep. 21, 2022, 2:16 p.m. The UA System Board of Trustees announced Sept. 21, 2022, that Jeff Gronberg of Huntsville has been appointed to the board (UA System Board of Trustees) The head of a Huntsville-based defense contracting company has been appointed to the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees. Jeff Gronberg, CEO of decibel, fills the seat for the Fifth Congressional District on the board that oversees the flagship university in Tuscaloosa as well as the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Gronberg replaces Britt Sexton of Decatur and his appointment must be confirmed by the Alabama Senate. “The University of Alabama System is a precious jewel in our state, especially when you consider its abiding commitment to excellence and its far-reaching impact on education, research, healthcare, workforce and economic development, and beyond,” Gronberg said in the announcement made Wednesday. “I am honored to serve on the Board of Trustees and look forward to working with my esteemed colleagues on the Board, Chancellor (Finis) St. John, and leaders across the UA System.” Gronberg is the immediate past board chair of the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce. Gronberg received his Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Alabama, where he also attended graduate school. He and his wife, Amy, are Huntsville natives, and their children attended UAH. Gronberg has also served on the UAH Foundation Board. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

Housing Bubble Woes: Home Prices Drop 3.5%, Steepest Monthly Drop Since Jan. 2016. Sales, Already At Lockdown Levels, Drop Further. Active Listings Rise Further https://digitalalabamanews.com/housing-bubble-woes-home-prices-drop-3-5-steepest-monthly-drop-since-jan-2016-sales-already-at-lockdown-levels-drop-further-active-listings-rise-further/ But these sales happened during the “Fed pivot” fantasy that pushed mortgage rates down to 5%. Now mortgage rates are near 6.5%. By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET. In July and through mid-August, mortgage rates fell sharply from the 6%-range in mid-June, on the widely propagated fantasy of a Fed “pivot” on rate hikes. By mid-August, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was down to 5%. Yesterday, they were at 6.47%. But the brief interlude of dropping mortgage rates slowed down the decline in home sales – sales declined again in August from July but at a slower rate – with Realtors in mid-August talking about the market waking back up. But prices backed off for the second month in a row, and in a big way, amid widespread price reductions, and that also helped getting some deals done. The median price of existing single-family houses, condos, and co-ops whose sales closed in August dropped a hefty 3.5% in August from July, the largest month-to-month percentage drop since January 2016, after the 2.4% drop in the prior month, to $389,500, according to the National Association of Realtors. While there is some seasonality involved, the percentage drop was much bigger than normal in August, whittling down the year-over-year price increase to 7.7%, down from the 25% year-over-year increases last summer (data via YCharts): In the West, price drops are further advanced, amid dismal sales. For example, in San Francisco and in Silicon Valley, median prices have plunged in recent months – now down on a year-over-year basis in San Francisco and Santa Clara County (San Jose) and up just a hair in San Mateo County, according to data from the California Association of Realtors. Sales of existing houses, condos, and co-ops across the US dipped a smidgen from July, after the 5.9% plunge in the prior month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales of 4.80 million homes, roughly level with lockdown-June 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors in its report. This was the seventh month in a row of month-to-month declines. Beyond the lockdown months, it was the lowest sales rate since 2014, and down by 29% from October 2020 (historic data via YCharts): Sales of single-family houses dropped by 0.9% in August from July, and by 19% year-over-year, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.28 million houses. Sales of condos and co-ops rose 4% from July, to 520,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 25% year-over-year. Compared to August last year, sales fell by 20%, the 13th month in a row of year-over-year declines, based on the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales (historic data via YCharts): Sales by region: On a year-over-year basis, sales dropped sharply in all regions. On a month-over-month (mom) basis, you can see a little uptick in two of the four regions: Northeast: +1.6% mom; -13.7% yoy. Midwest: -3.3% mom; -15.9% yoy. South: 0% mom; -19.3% yoy. West: +1.1% mom; -29.0% yoy. Sales dropped in all price ranges but dropped the most at the low end. Sales volume has been low because potential sellers are clinging to their aspirational prices of yesteryear, when mortgage rates were 3%, and many would rather keep the home off the market or pull it off the market than sell for less, for as long as they can. But price reductions have now taken off by sellers who want to sell. Price reductions started spiking in May from record low levels last winter and spring as sales stalled, and as mortgage rates surged. In July, they reached the highest level since 2019, according to data from realtor.com. In August, price reductions dipped just a little as sellers might have felt that price reductions were less needed, amid the declining-mortgage-rate-Fed-pivot fantasy in July and August: Active listings – total inventory for sale minus the properties with pending sales – rose to 779,400 homes in August, the highest since October 2020, up by 27% from a year ago, according to data from realtor.com: The National Association of Realtors is clamoring for more single-family houses to be built. But homebuilders, they are having trouble selling the houses that they have already built or are building, sales have plunged, inventories have spiked to the highest since 2008, and homebuilders have started cutting prices, buying down mortgage rates, and piling on other incentives to get their inventory moving. Investors or second home buyers purchased 16% of the homes in August, up from 14% in July, but down from the 17%-22% range in the spring and winter, according to NAR data. “All-cash” buyers, which include many investors and second home buyers, remained at 24% of total sales, down from a share of 25% to 26% April through June. Going forward: holy-moly mortgage rates. After the fantasy-drop from 6% in mid-June to 5% by mid-August, mortgage rates are now solidly over 6%. The daily measure of the average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate is at 6.47%, according to Mortgage News Daily. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly measure, released last week, based on mortgage rates early last week, rose to 6.02%, more than double a year ago. These 6%-plus mortgage rates are still very low, considering that CPI inflation is over 8%. But they’re catching up. And potential sellers that hung on to their homes in July and August because they didn’t want to meet the price where the buyers were – hoping the “pivot” fantasy would push down mortgage rates further – now face the effects of these 6%-plus mortgage rates: Enjoy reading WOLF STREET and want to support it? Using ad blockers – I totally get why – but want to support the site? You can donate. I appreciate it immensely. Click on the beer and iced-tea mug to find out how: Would you like to be notified via email when WOLF STREET publishes a new article? Sign up here. Read More…

2nd Alabama Inmate Recaptured After Weekend Escape From Prison Work Center https://digitalalabamanews.com/2nd-alabama-inmate-recaptured-after-weekend-escape-from-prison-work-center/ Birmingham Real-Time News Published: Sep. 21, 2022, 1:40 p.m. Richard Mordecai (left) and Terry Warren (right) escaped from an Alexander City facility on Sept. 17. (Photos courtesy of Alabama Department of Corrections) A second inmate who escaped from an Alexander City Community Work Center over the weekend has been recaptured. Richard Mordecai, 48, and Terry Dale Warren, 47, escaped Saturday from the facility, which is located near the Coosa and Tallapoosa County line. The inmates were discovered missing about 10 a.m. Saturday. Warren was recaptured Monday on Highway 22 by a Coosa County sheriff’s deputy. Mordecai was recaptured overnight. According to the sheriff’s office, he was taken back into custody by Alexander City police officers after multiple law enforcement agencies received information on his whereabouts. Warren was convicted of multiple charges of burglary and robbery in 1998 and was sentenced to an additional 22 years for escaping a year later. Mordecai was convicted of burglary and theft, he was up for parole in June, but no hearing was held. “I appreciate all cooperating agencies and their assistance with helping our county,’’ Sheriff Michael Howell said in a statement. “Although these inmates escaped from the Alexander City Work Release Camp, they were still in Coosa County.” “This was a group effort by many investigators and I’m proud no one was injured during their escape,’’ Howell said. “The public played an important role with helping us take these individuals back into custody.” Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

Obituaries In Jacksonville, FL | Florida Times-Union https://digitalalabamanews.com/obituaries-in-jacksonville-fl-florida-times-union-2/ Sandra Simmons Duggan passed away peacefully on September 14th 2022. Sandra is survived by her beloved husband, James Wyman Duggan of Jacksonville, her three children, Marshall Dimmitt Redmond, Council Bluffs, Iowa (Dessie), Katherine Redmond Lindsay, The Woodlands, TX (Steven), and Andrew Rand Porter, Huntsville, AL (Caitlyn), as well as her husband’s children, Wyman R. Duggan and Peyton Duggan Chunn of Jacksonville. She was “Granny” to 10 grandchildren, all of whom she adored dearly. She is also survived by her three siblings all of Jacksonville: John Wesley Simmons (Marcia), Sidney S. Simmons, II (Ruthie) and Campbell Simmons Cowan (Gary), as well as many nieces, nephews, and their children. Sandra was born December 7th, 1952 in Norfolk, Virginia. She was the daughter of the late John Wesley and Joan McAdoo Simmons of Jacksonville. She graduated from Lee High School (Class of ‘70), attended Stratford College and graduated from the University of North Florida. Sandra dedicated her professional and personal life to social services, especially elder care. She retired from her career as Director of EPS Pregnancy Services of Jacksonville in 2020. She was a member of the 1971 Jacksonville Debutant Coterie. She was an active member of the National Association of Colonial Dames and a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church where she served as a chalice bearer. A funeral service to celebrate Sandra’s life will be held on Monday, September 26 at 10am at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 4129 Oxford Avenue, Jacksonville, FL. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Foundation, or a charity of your choice. Posted online on September 21, 2022 Published in Florida Times Union Service Information Funeral Service St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 4129 Oxford Avenue, Jacksonville, FL September 26, 2022 at 10:00 AM Read More…

That's Amore – Oxford Magazine https://digitalalabamanews.com/thats-amore-oxford-magazine/ By Jude Burke-Lewis  Photos by Joey Brent  What is amore? In Italian, it means love. And, according to the famous song by Dean Martin it is – among other things – when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, or when the world seems to shine like you had too much wine. It’s also Oxford’s newest Italian restaurant, which opened on Sisk Avenue in early June.  Amore Ristorante and Bar, run by Tony Demaj and his cousin Tini, might be the new kid in town but it’s backed by over 25 years of experience. It has its roots in the 1990s when Tony’s father emigrated from his native Albania – just a short hop across the Adriatic Sea from Italy’s heel – to New York City. Already a keen chef and lover of Italian food, he honed his skills in the kitchens of the city’s famed Italian restaurants. After learning from the experts – and a brief stint running his own restaurant in the Big Apple – he relocated to Texas where the first Amore restaurant was born.  Tony himself grew up in the kitchen, helping his father and learning the ropes of the family business. “Since I was little, I was going into the kitchen to see my dad. I started helping him a little bit, doing this, doing that,” he said. “I started cooking when I was little, started helping him out, giving him a hand and from there here I am.” After opening two further restaurants – one in Auburn, AL, and another in Hattiesburg, MS – the family has now brought its passion for Italian cooking with them to Oxford. “We just had a lot of people saying that Oxford is a really nice place, and that it needed a good Italian restaurant here,” Tony said of the decision to move to town. The kitchen team at Amore has been with the family for ten years.  Every day they create their signature dishes from scratch, following recipes that Tony’s father learned during his apprenticeship in NYC. These include a wide variety of chicken dishes, including Chicken Genova – made with mushrooms, onions, spinach and freshly made alfredo sauce over angel hair pasta – and Chicken Piccata, sautéed with basil capers in a white wine lemon sauce. There’s also a choice of seafood dishes, including the signature Seafood Amore #1 and #2. Featuring shrimp, clams, and mussels over noodles and sauce – alfredo or marinara – these are both “very popular” with diners, according to Tony. In addition, the menu boasts a range of classic pasta dishes, including lasagna, manicotti, cheese ravioli, beef ravioli, baked ziti and, of course, spaghetti. The undoubted star of the show, however, is the restaurant’s marinara sauce which features in many of the dishes on the menu. Rich and full of flavor, it’s made fresh in Amore’s kitchen every morning.  “Fresh peeled tomatoes, carrots, basil, celery, salt, pepper, garlic powder, boil it, every day, every morning. We make big jugs every morning because we know we sell a lot of it. If we don’t sell it, we throw it away. We’ll make a new one tomorrow. But we don’t really throw away a lot, just a little bit, whatever’s leftover,” Tony said. So good is the sauce, in fact, that it’s rare to see any left on diners’ plates.  “That’s what everybody tells me – I’m full, but just one more bite…and then two minutes later I’ll see the plate is clean, with no more food left!” Tony said.  For anyone with a little room left, there’s also a tempting selection of desserts – including the Italian classic Tiramisu (described by one diner on Facebook as “The best I’ve had!”) The food is complemented with a selection of wines from the bar, including many Italian classics such as Roscato, Moscato, Lambrusco and Prosecco, as well as a variety of iconic Chiantis: Bellagio, Ruffino and Classico. Amore first opened its doors on June 6, and since then “it’s been going well,” according to Tony.  “We’ve been letting people talk for us, and everybody loves it so far.” Indeed, the restaurant’s Facebook page is full of glowing reviews from diners, with comments including “Wonderful food and atmosphere” and “Ate here tonight and it was delicious!” The hope is that once the summer is over and the football crowds are back in town, the restaurant will be bustling. It can hold up to 130 people, which includes seating at the bar, at tables and booths. There’s also a private room – ideal for meetings, parties or other celebrations.  “Everybody’s talking, everybody’s saying it’s going to be better,” Tony said. “Everybody loves it, they need an Italian restaurant down here. They need some good food, and a change from the Square. Just come and see us! Have some good food, some good times and enjoy!” Amore Ristorante and Bar is located at 705 Sisk Avenue, and is open from 11am to 10pm Mondays through Sundays.  Read More…

Russia Releases 10 Foreigners Captured In Ukraine After Saudi Mediation, Riyadh Says https://digitalalabamanews.com/russia-releases-10-foreigners-captured-in-ukraine-after-saudi-mediation-riyadh-says/ Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the Red Sea WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world title boxing fight, between Oleksandr Usyk Vs Anthony Joshua, in King Abdullah Sports City Arena, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, August 20, 2022. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RIYADH, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Russia on Wednesday released 10 foreign prisoners of war captured in Ukraine following mediation by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi foreign ministry said. The freed prisoners were American, British, Croatian, Moroccan and Swedish nationals, the ministry said in a statement, adding that a plane carrying the prisoners landed in the kingdom. “The relevant Saudi authorities received and transferred them from Russia to the kingdom and are facilitating procedures for their respective countries,” the statement said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The ministry did not identify the prisoners. A Saudi official said they were five Britons, two Americans, a Croatian, a Moroccan and a Swedish national. British Prime Minister Liz Truss hailed the release of the British nationals on Twitter as “hugely welcome news” after “months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families.” British lawmaker Robert Jenrick said Aiden Aslin was among those released. He was captured earlier this year then sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), one of Russia’s proxies in eastern Ukraine. Russia also released U.S. citizens Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, a family representative told Reuters on Wednesday. read more The pair, both from Alabama, were captured in June while fighting in eastern Ukraine where they went to support Ukrainian troops resisting Russia’s invasion. Large numbers of foreigners have travelled to Ukraine to fight since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. Some of them have been caught by Russian forces, along with other foreigners in the country who say they were not fighters. Reuters could not immediately establish if the released group included Britons Shaun Pinner and Morocco-born Brahim Saadoun who were also captured and sentenced to death in Donetsk. A Swedish citizen, captured at the port city of Mariupol and facing a possible death sentence under the laws of the DPR, was among those released, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde confirmed. “I can confirm that the Swede who in May was taken into custody by Russian forces is free and on his way to Sweden,” Linde told Swedish news agency TT on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Prince Mohammed has maintained close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including within the framework of the OPEC+ oil producers group, despite heavy pressure from Washington, Riyadh’s traditional ally, to isolate Russia. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have captured hundreds of enemy fighters since the start of the conflict, with a handful of prisoner exchanges having taken place. The head of the U.N. human rights mission in Ukraine said earlier this month that Russia was not allowing access to prisoners of war, adding that the U.N. had evidence that some had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment that could amount to war crimes. read more Russia denies torture or other forms of maltreatment of POWs. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; additional reporting by Niklas Pollard in Stockholm; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…

Evaluate Trees Before Purchasing A Home https://digitalalabamanews.com/evaluate-trees-before-purchasing-a-home/ Photo by Beau Brodbeck Mushroom conks are good indicators of internal decay in trees.  BY Beau Brodbeck, Ph.D., Extension Specialist in Community Forestry & Arboriculture, Auburn University / mobilecountymastergardeners.org   An unfortunate but common scenario that plays out time and time again goes like this: A homeowner purchases a home surrounded by large trees only to learn that many are in poor health, requiring costly maintenance or removal. There are two problems here that can be particularly distressing. First, the cost of unexpected tree maintenance, and second, the loss of trees that provide shade, beauty and higher property values. In some cases, people have bought their homes because of the trees, which are now a liability. Here are three tips to consider when evaluating trees around a new home. Note, the newly built home with a tree far too close. This tree suffered significant root damage and as a result, poses a serious risk to the home. Photo by Beau Brodbeck These trees are in severe decline. This is evidenced through the patchy foliage and dead limbs at branch extremities. Photo by Beau Brodbeck First, evaluate the tree’s health. Tree health is a good indicator of past construction damage or trees reaching the end of their functional lifespan. A tree’s foliage and canopy are the best indicators of overall health. A healthy tree will have dense, deep green foliage that is evenly distributed around the canopy. Early signs of tree decline will include foliage that is yellowing and becoming sparse. Foliage may also become unevenly distributed or patchy, with leaves clumped in one area and large gaps in others. These signs can be subtle and highly variable, so it helps to find trees of the same species and size to use for comparison.  A more obvious and problematic symptom of progressing tree decline is dead limbs at the top or outer margin of the canopy. Ignore dead limbs inside or on the lower portions of the canopy. These are naturally shed due to shade from the tree’s own growth or surrounding vegetation. Dead branch tips, however, especially as larger branches die off, signal the tree is dying back. It is important to note that depending on the tree species, age and causal damage, this dieback process can progress quickly (one to three years) or over a decade or more. With early intervention, it might be possible to reverse tree decline using proper tree care techniques, which could be costly. If the top quarter or more of the tree is dead, removal is inevitable.  Second, evaluate trees near the home for defects that could increase the risk of failure. Purchasing homes that have potentially dangerous trees in the landscape, especially on the storm-prone Gulf Coast, can be a costly mistake. Trees in landscapes are often damaged during the construction process. Common damage includes cut roots for foundations, underground utilities, sidewalks, driveways or irrigation systems. If roots have been cut within the tree’s dripline, future tree health and possibly stability are issues. Other construction-related problems include soil compaction caused by driving or stockpiling materials within the tree’s dripline or burying roots with grade changes. Note that newly installed turf and landscaping can mask many of these problems.  Evaluating tree health is a good method for determining if there has been construction-related root damage. However, be aware that some trees might show only subtle signs in the first year, becoming more obvious as time progresses. As a result, you need to inspect trees carefully and ask about previous construction practices.  There are other tree defects, not related to construction, to look for as well. These include: Lightning scars; look for strips of missing bark running the length of the tree Cracks; look for deep fissures in the wood, especially in the crotches of forked trees Decay; evidence of internal decay includes fungal fruiting bodies (conks and mushrooms). missing bark, oozing wounds and carpenter ants Large cavities; cavities extending more than a third of the tree’s diameter can be problematic Sawdust; boring insects in trees will leave fine sawdust on the bark and tree base Finally, get a second opinion. Evaluating tree health, and especially tree risk, can be a complex and highly subjective process, built on the knowledge and experience of the evaluator. If you have doubts, consider hiring an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist who is Tree Risk Assessment Qualified to evaluate the tree’s health and risk potential. A few hundred dollars upfront could save thousands of dollars and, more importantly, the heartache of removing trees you hoped to enjoy. This knowledge can help you decide if the trees are going to be a valuable part of your landscape in the years ahead or a potential liability. Finally, this information can prove useful when negotiating the sale price of the home.  For a more detailed guide to evaluating trees for risk, see: aces.edu/blog/topics/disaster-home-family/restoring-storm-ravaged-trees-step-by-step-guide-to-examining-your-tree-for-safety. To find a Certified Arborist in your area, visit treesaregood.org.    Garden Opportunities for Your Calendar:   What: Gulf Coast Camellia Society Annual Conference Where: Mobile Botanical Gardens and Bellingrath Gardens and Home When: Oct. 21-22 Speakers include: Maarten van der Giessen, Bobby Green, Kip McConnell, Mark Crawford, Forrest Latta, Seth Allen, Robin Krchak, and Dr. Todd Lasseigne Fee: $125 for both days or $60 for Friday, $80 for Saturday Required membership: Single is $10/year or couple is $12/year To register: mobilebotanicalgardens.org/2022-gulf-coast-camellia-society-conference Registration deadline: Oct. 3   What: Visit Mobile Botanical Gardens Where: 5151 Museum Drive, Mobile When: Wednesday-Sunday (check website for hours and fees) Lunch: Reserve Wednesdays and Fridays More info: MobileBotanicalGardens.org   What: Visit Bellingrath Gardens Where: 12401 Bellingrath Gardens Road, Theodore When: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily More info: bellingrath.org   What: Enjoy the Mobile Japanese Garden  Where: 700 Forest Hill Drive, Mobile  When: Every day during daylight hours Fee: Free, but donations requested  More info: MobileJapaneseGarden.com   Master Gardener Helpline: 877-252-4769     Read More…

Cause Of Austin, Chicago Building Collapse That Injured 8 Still Under Investigation https://digitalalabamanews.com/cause-of-austin-chicago-building-collapse-that-injured-8-still-under-investigation/ CHICAGO (WLS) — The cause of a Chicago building explosion and collapse in the Austin neighborhood remains under investigation Wednesday. “I’ve been asking the same question, I can’t imagine what it was,” property owner Roman Viere said. The collapse and explosion Tuesday left eight people injured, including three seriously. “It’s surreal,” Viere said. “Nothing could prepare you for a situation which we are dealing with today.” WATCH: CFD responds to South Austin building collapse Viere owns the now severely damaged building. “When I arrived on site and I saw the rubble all over the street and on top of that one car, it was just breathtaking,” he said. “You automatically think of a war zone.” RELATED: Chicago building that exploded has history of inspection failures, alleged code violations Fire officials said the blast happened around 9 a.m. on the top floor of the building, which is located at the intersection of West End and Central Avenue. The blast could be felt blocks away. Debris from the explosion impaled a building across the street. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said James Fenton, who lives next door to the building that exploded. WATCH: CFD deputy commissioner describes response to building collapse “When the building shook, I said, ‘what in the hell was shaking the building like that?'” he said. The ABC7 I-Team found online records, highlighting a history of inspection failures and alleged code violations at the building, but Viere says, “Nothing that came up in any of those inspections would have had anything to do with what happened yesterday.” As the sun shines on the belongings of tenants, now visible from the street, Viere says he is focused on making sure his residents are cared for. “My heart goes out to them,” he said. “When I got home with my family last night we had prayers for them. It’s just devastating and we want to make sure we do what we can to help them out.” The property owner also said his office is working with all of the affected residents to help them in securing housing. He could not comment on if the building will be demolished. ABC7 spoke with some of the explosion victims, who described those panicked moments after the blast. Eric Hune was knocked clean off his feet. “I just got up off the floor. I didn’t even see myself fall down. I got up off the floor and just ran straight out the door,” he said. “I woke up off the ground. I don’t remember hitting the ground. I just remember getting up and running.” WATCH: ‘It’s very tragic’: West Side alderman reacts to building collapse The third floor hallway, he said, was a fog of chaos, a mix of disorienting panic, dust and doors blown off hinges. “As I was running out they couldn’t see where to go, there was so much smoke, so they just followed behind me,” he said. “So many of us running out, I couldn’t count.” A nearby church also served as a Red Cross shelter for displaced residents, providing them with food and a place to sleep. Many fled the scene without cell phones, identification or medications. “My foundation of my home shook like an earthquake,” said Ashunda Harris, who lives in an apartment a few blocks away. “I saw a cloud of smoke from the building. It was a foundation type of smoke, not like smoke from a fire.” Copyright © 2022 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved. Read More…

Juntos At 20: Born In The Community, And Forever Staying There https://digitalalabamanews.com/juntos-at-20-born-in-the-community-and-forever-staying-there/ When Erika Guadalupe Núñez took the helm as the new executive director at Juntos in March 2020, she described the organization as going through a period of “deep, deep transition.” It was founded and built upon 18 years of community work regarding immigration, youth development and teaching English to name a few, but when Nuñez came aboard there was only one other staff member in addition to herself and they only worked part time. Add to that the city’s shutdown declaration on her first day on the job, and she had more than her work cut out for her. “It was kind of like starting over in a lot of ways,” Núñez told AL DÍA two and a half years after that rocky beginning, as she and her staff of now 10 were planning Juntos’ 20th anniversary. “The pandemic actually forced us to really reckon with that.” “What is it that’s working? What is it that’s not working?” were the main questions asked at the time. “There’s no room to entertain anything that is not for the best of the community right now.” In answering those questions and developing a game plan — which started with a survey of some 2,000 community members about what they needed as the world traversed a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic — Núñez was putting her definitive stamp early on Juntos and its future, but also reasserting what the organization has always been about and its work in South Philly’s Latinx community. Back in 2002, Juntos was the product of the change that was beginning to take root in South Philly. That was the immigrant Latinx community, which was arriving in big numbers from predominantly Mexico.  It was a tumultuous time to be an immigrant in Philadelphia, let alone the rest of the country, still raw in the aftermath of 9/11 that bred an animosity towards newcomers that still persists to this day. “People were getting disappeared, picked up by police and then three days later went up into the detention center. [We realized] that there were databases, that there were people who were getting fingerprinted and that maybe police were calling ICE themselves and there was this collaboration,” former Juntos Executive Director Erika Almirón told AL DÍA in an interview from 2018, then celebrating 15 years of advocacy work in the community. At the time, two University of Pennsylvania students made the journey south to the burgeoning community in hopes of starting an urban agriculture project. One of those students was Juntos co-founder Peter Bloom. Their initial project idea was quickly discarded, and Bloom along with some other friends began using the basement of St. Aquinas Church to teach English classes to members of the surrounding community. According to Núñez, those classes grew to address not only the language barrier confronting the community, but also issues of immigration, mutual aid, policing and safety. The group also joined forces with other leaders in South Philly’s Mexican community like Cristina Pérez at Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR), Edgar Ramirez, founder of Philatinos Radio, Leticia Nixon, Carlos Rojas, and Dalia O’Gorman, among others. Núñez first encountered Juntos at a protest she organized as part of the Migrant Power Movement at Montgomery County Correctional Facility in 2012. At the time, the facility had a contract with ICE, and local authorities were upping enforcement in local immigrant communities to fill beds.  She was one of three individuals arrested for blocking traffic to and from the facility, but before her arrest, Núñez remembers seeing members of Juntos in attendance wearing their green ‘Si Se Puede’ shirts. “I remember hearing: ‘Oh, they’re from Philly, they’re here to support,’ and I remember being really touched,” she said. That initial interaction left Nuñez wanting to know more about the organization, and she started attending more Juntos events, joined its group focused on issues confronting LGBTQ+ individuals, and began art-making for the organization’s various campaigns and protests. The art-making hit a new level in 2013, as Juntos organized its first act of civil disobedience outside the old ICE headquarters in Philadelphia on La Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe. Much like the protest she organized a year earlier outside Montgomery County Correctional Facility, the group blocked the garage doors that provided access to the facility, not allowing the transport of migrants out to detention centers across the state. Núñez painted two banners in preparation for the action and screen printed a number of other posters. “It began a shift,” she said of the action, specifically the use of visuals like the ones she created. “Art and culture became concrete tools that the organization was using in their protest.” It also represented a shift for Nuñez in her relationship with Juntos, as she became its resident artist, continuing to create visual components for the organization’s many actions and programs. Over the next eight years, Nuñez would hold a number of unpaid roles at Juntos beyond being its resident artist. Eventually, she would also sit on its board, but stepped down before the call went out for a new executive director.  “At the time, for me, that’s when it became really apparent that that’s what I wanted to do,” Núñez said of the opportunity to make her organizing career more formal. She applied, got the job, and came into the role with energy and a number of goals for the organization that included establishing a formal membership model and investing more meaningfully into Juntos’ youth programs, but a world health crisis took precedence. “We could have these goals for membership base building and in-person youth programming and a pipeline and all of that, but it actually meant very little without responding to the task at hand, which was the pandemic,” said Núñez. Being there for South Philly’s Latinx community from the early days of COVID-19 also became personal for Juntos’ new executive director given her roots. “I grew up in a community just like this,” said Núñez. “For me, it was very, very important to show up for my people however I could.” Born in Sinaloa, Mexico, Nuñez migrated to the U.S. with her parents at a young age. She told AL DÍA that she grew up undocumented “all over,” but calls home Phoenix, Arizona.  There, Núñez experienced firsthand the harsh realities of being undocumented, as the state put in place laws like SB 1070, allowing law enforcement to request documentation whenever it felt like it from individuals it suspected were undocumented. She can remember her mom not letting her outside for months at a time in fear of such regulations ripping her family’s life apart. Those barriers only became more numerous as Núñez’s family needed healthcare and she applied for college just months after another version of the DREAM Act was shot down in Congress. They’re experiences known all-too-well in South Philly’s Latinx community and they continue to this day.  Just a month before the pandemic arrived in the city, a pregnant mother was detained by ICE outside of Eliza B. Kirkbride Elementary in South Philadelphia after she dropped off a child at school. She was released shortly after for humanitarian reasons, but it sent a shockwave of fear through the community. Despite the constant fear and potential harm always present, Núñez still said it was a community that welcomed her with open arms in 2009, further emphasizing the personal importance of her work when the pandemic hit. “Part of it is caring for them as if they’re my family too,” she said. Her message to the community and all who would eventually come to work with or for Juntos under her leadership was as follows: “Solo el pueblos salva el pueblo.” “Only the people can save the people.” Born of a pandemic that exposed long-existing abandonment by government, big business, and the education system, it fell to the people of the community to come up with their own solutions and fight. “Only we can take care of each other. Only we know what each other needs. Only we have the empathy to take care of the thing to take care of each other,” Núñez said, expanding on the message. “We shouldn’t wait around for some elected official to have a change of heart, or we shouldn’t wait around for some giant nonprofit. We can’t live our lives that way. In these moments, survival is something we build together, and resiliency.” Juntos’ first answer to that challenge after surveying 2,000 residents in the early days of the pandemic was to launch a food bank, finding that food insecurity was the most prevalent issue in the community. The same, community-centered motivations were also behind the organization’s Sanctuary Schools Movement, which spawned after the aforementioned ICE arrest of the mother outside a South Philly elementary school. Three months after it was launched, Philly City Council passed a resolution adopting many of its suggested measures for the school district. These days, Núñez said discussions are more nuanced around the campaign, as it pushes for more beyond a cutoff of ICE cooperation. “Sanctuary is more than no collaboration with ICE. Sanctuary is language access, no criminalization, it’s resources, investment in communities, investment in schools,” she said. There is also a bigger push to help more newcomer families, specifically those arriving in bigger numbers from Central America as opposed to just from Mexico. Another campaign Núñez highlighted was Juntos’ shutdown efforts at York County Detention Center that freed 113 migrants before their transfer to other facilities. All of that work was put into perspective for Núñez in planning for its 20th anniversary gala, held on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Fleisher Art Memorial. “The fact that an organization like Juntos has made it 20 years is an amazing accomplishment,” she said. ...

Russia Releases 2 Alabama Veterans Captured In Ukraine https://digitalalabamanews.com/russia-releases-2-alabama-veterans-captured-in-ukraine/ Two Alabama men captured earlier this year in Ukraine have been released from Russian custody, ABC News is reporting. Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh and Alexander Drueke, both veterans from Alabama, were reported missing by their families following a fight in the Kharkiv area back in June. The two men are now in the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, according to a joint statement from their families, the network reported. “We are thrilled to announce that Alex and Andy are free,” the statement reads. “They are safely in the custody of the US embassy in Saudi Arabia and after medical checks and debriefing they will return to the States.” Huynh, 27, of Lawrence County, left the U.S. in early April to fight with Ukrainian forces. The son of Vietnamese immigrants, he had served as a U.S. Marine for four years and, before his departure, was a student at Calhoun Community College. Huynh’s fiancée, Joy Black, got a call from Saudi Arabia this morning, to let her know that Drueke and Huynh were at the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia, CNN reported. Then Huynh called her. “It kind of knocked us off our feet but this is the best outcome we could have asked for,” Black’s mother, Darla Black, told CNN. “The only thing confirmed for us is that they are at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia and that they are free.” Drueke, a 39-year old from Tuscaloosa, is an Iraq War veteran who told his family he had been teaching Ukrainian troops how to use American-made weapons. Dianna Shaw, Drueke’s aunt, told The Washington Post Drueke was expected to receive a medical screening later in the day. “I never dreamed that it was a possibility that the Saudi government would be able to do something like this,” Shaw told The Post. “But any port in a storm.” The Saudi government said the release came as part of a mediation effort involving ten prisoners of war- including Moroccan, British, Swedish and Croatian nationals. “We deeply appreciate everyone’s prayers and especially the close communication and support of our elected officials, Ukrainian Ambassador Markarova, and our members of the US embassies in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Department of State,” the statement said. Alabama Congressman Robert Aderholt said his office is working to get more information. “I want to say how thankful and relieved I am that they have been freed,” Aderholt said in a statement. “Having met with Joy and Darla Black, I know they are beyond relieved and excited for this news. I know we all look forward to seeing them back safely, on American soil.” Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

Trump, Adult Children Sued By New York Attorney General For Fraud https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-adult-children-sued-by-new-york-attorney-general-for-fraud/ (L-R) Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump attend the ground breaking of the Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office Building in Washington, July 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his adult children were sued on Wednesday for what New York state’s attorney general called numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation, accused of misstating the values of real estate properties to obtain favorable loans and tax benefits. The lawsuit, filed in a New York state court in Manhattan, accused the Trump Organization of wrongdoing in preparing Trump’s annual statements of financial condition from 2011 to 2021. It also named as defendants the Trump Organization – a family company that manages hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world – as well as the former president’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump. Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said her office uncovered more than 200 examples of misleading asset valuations, and the complaint mentioned 23 assets that she called “grossly and fraudulently inflated.” Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Trump in a social media post called the lawsuit, one of the biggest legal blows for the Republican businessman-turned-politician since he left office in January 2021, “another Witch Hunt” and launched a personal attack on James. Trump is considering running for president again in 2024. The lawsuit was civil, meaning it did not involve criminal charges. But James said she was referring allegations of criminal wrongdoing to federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the Internal Revenue Service for investigation. “The pattern of fraud and deception that was used by Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization for their own financial benefit is astounding,” James told a news conference. “Claiming that you have money that you do not have does not amount to the ‘art of the deal,’ it’s the art of the steal,” James said, referring to the title of a 1987 book written by Trump. The lawsuit accused Trump of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to induce banks to lend money to his company on more favorable, to satisfy continuing loan terms, to coax insurers to provide coverage for higher limits at lower premiums, to gain tax benefits and other purposes. James is seeking to permanently bar Trump and his three children named as defendants in the case from serving as an officer or director in any New York corporation, prohibit Trump and the Trump Organization from entering into any commercial real estate acquisitions in New York for five years and award disgorgement of all financial benefits gained fraudulently – estimated to total $250 million. read more James said her office rejected settlement offers submitted by the defendants, but said “our doors are always open” for future negotiations. The Trump Organization has separately been charged with criminal tax fraud by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and is preparing for an Oct. 24 trial. Its former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg – who is also named as a defendant in James’ suit – has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify against the company. read more ‘DISASTERS OF THE WORLD’ Following the news conference by James, Trump on social media disparaged her integrity. “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!” Trump wrote. James opened the civil investigation into Trump’s business practices after Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, said in congressional testimony that the president inflated some asset values to save money on loans and insurance. “The Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place,” Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said in a statement, calling the accusations “meritless.” Wednesday’s lawsuit followed a contentious investigation in which James accused Trump, his company and some family members of using delay tactics to ignore subpoenas and avoid testifying. Trump on Aug. 10 declined to answer questions in a closed-door deposition at the office of the attorney general, invoking his right against self-incrimination under the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment more than 400 times. Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump agreed to sit for depositions only after courts required it. Eric Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment rights more than 500 times in a 2020 deposition. read more Among the properties James cited as examples in the lawsuit was Trump’s own apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower. James said Trump said the apartment was 30,000 square feet, when in fact it was only 10,996 square feet, and that its $327 million valuation in 2015 was “absurd” since no New York City apartment had sold for $100 million at the time. She also said Trump valued his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as high as $739 million by pretending it could be developed for residential use, when he knew there were restrictions. James said Mar-a-Lago should have been valued closer to $75 million. James also aims to bar Trump and his company from borrowing from state-licensed banks for five years. She acknowledged that Trump, who now lives in Florida, could try to move his company or borrow elsewhere, but that would not excuse him from his obligations in New York. “There cannot be different rules for different people in this country or state, and former presidents are no different,” James said. Trump has been beset with legal troubles. The FBI conducted a search at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 as part of a criminal investigation into his handling of presidential records including classified material. read more Trump also faces a criminal investigation in Georgia over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. read more He has denied wrongdoing in the various probes. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, Karen Freifeld and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Luc Cohen Thomson Reuters Reports on the New York federal courts. Previously worked as a correspondent in Venezuela and Argentina. Read More…

Europe Burns Cash To Help Businesses In Energy Crisis https://digitalalabamanews.com/europe-burns-cash-to-help-businesses-in-energy-crisis/ Genreal view of electricity pylons and power lines leading from the Uniper coal power plant in Hanau, Germany, early morning November 23, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com European gas prices have soared amid Ukraine crisis Utilities face liquidity crunch Germany will ‘do everything possible’ to help firms Russian mobilisation triggers oil price jump BERLIN/LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Germany nationalised gas importer Uniper (UN01.DE) on Wednesday and Britain said it would halve energy bills for businesses in response to a deepening energy crisis that has exposed Europe’s reliance on Russian fuel. Russian President Vladimir Putin added to the upward pressure on energy prices by announcing a partial military mobilisation, in the biggest escalation of the Ukraine war since Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion. European governments had already earmarked almost 500 billion euros ($496 billion) in the last year to shield citizens and companies from soaring gas and power prices, according to research by think-tank Bruegel. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Uniper has been among the biggest corporate casualties, with Germany earmarking an additional 8 billion euros on Wednesday in the latest step in a 29 billion euro bailout. France, also among the high spenders, will allocate 9.7 billion euros to take full control of utility EDF (EDF.PA). Britain said its new plan to help businesses would cost “tens of billions of pounds.” “We have stepped in to stop businesses collapsing, protect jobs, and limit inflation,” Britain’s finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng said of the cap on wholesale electricity and gas costs for businesses, which is set to apply from Oct.1 read more More than 20 British power providers have collapsed, many crumbling because a government price cap prevented them from passing on soaring prices. read more Uniper’s full nationalisation will involve the German government buying out Finland’s Fortum (FORTUM.HE) to give the state a 99% holding. read more “This is clearly not sustainable from a public finance perspective,” Bruegel senior fellow Simone Tagliapietra said of Europe’s overall energy crisis bill. “Governments with more fiscal space will inevitably better manage the energy crisis by outcompeting their neighbours for limited energy resources over the winter months.” ‘DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE’ German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, announcing the Uniper move and other steps to avoid energy rationing this winter, said: “The state will … do everything possible to always keep the companies stable on the market.” read more The Uniper ationalisation gives the German government control of some assets in Russia, a government spokesperson said, adding that it was examining what to do with these. Germany was more reliant than many others in Europe on Russian gas, mostly supplied via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Russia halted flows through the pipeline, blaming Western sanctions for hindering operations. European politicians call that a pretext and say Moscow is using energy as a weapon. The German government has already put Gazprom Germania, a unit of Kremlin-controlled Gazprom, and a subsidiary of Russian oil company Rosneft (ROSN.MM) under trusteeship – a de facto nationalisation. Including Uniper’s bailout, the bill amounts to about 40 billion euros. WINDFALL TAX Meanwhile, a debate is raging in Europe over whether oil companies making record profits because of the energy crisis should pay additional taxes to help consumers cope with soaring inflation. TotalEnergies’ CEO (TTEF.PA) Patrick Pouyanne said on Wednesday that the French energy group was likely to face more than 1 billion euros in additional levies if a proposed EU scheme to impose extra taxes on oil and gas companies was approved. read more European gas prices on Wednesday hit 212 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), below this year’s peak of around 343 euros but up more than 200% from a year earlier. Oil prices rose by as much 3% in early trading, but later gave up these gains. [O/R} “The partial mobilisation (in Russia) is definitely a bullish factor as it increases the risks of a prolonged war in Ukraine,” said Viktor Katona, lead crude analyst at Kpler. read more Russia’s gas flows to Europe via Ukraine were steady on Wednesday while eastbound gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Poland from Germany were halted. read more In the United States, Democratic and Republican senators on Tuesday proposed that President Joe Biden’s administration use secondary sanctions on international banks to strengthen plans for a price cap by G7 countries on Russian oil. read more Moscow has said it would cut all oil and gas flows to the West if such a cap was implemented. Several countries have banned imports of Russian crude and fuel, but Moscow has managed to maintain its revenues through increased sales to Asia. The move by U.S. lawmakers came hours before Putin ordered Russia’s first mobilisation since World War Two, warning the West that if it continued what he called its “nuclear blackmail” Moscow would respond with its vast arsenal. read more ($1 = 1.0087 euros) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Reuters bureaux; writing by Ingrid Melander; editing by Edmund Blair, Jason Neely and Jane Merriman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…

New York Attorney General Sues Donald Trump And His Company https://digitalalabamanews.com/new-york-attorney-general-sues-donald-trump-and-his-company/ NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general sued former President Donald Trump and his company for fraud on Wednesday, alleging they padded his net worth by billions of dollars by manipulating the value of prized assets including golf courses, hotels and his homes at Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago. Attorney General Letitia James dubbed it: “The art of the steal.” James’ lawsuit, filed in state court in New York, is the culmination of the Democrat’s three-year civil investigation of Trump and the Trump Organization. Trump’s three eldest children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump, were also named as defendants, along with two longtime company executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney. The lawsuit strikes at the core of what made Trump famous, taking a blacklight to the image of wealth and opulence he’s embraced throughout his career — first as a real estate developer, then as a reality TV host on “The Apprentice” and “Celebrity Apprentice,” and later as president. James is seeking repayment of at least $250 million she alleges the Trumps pocketed from the scheme. James, a Democrat, announced details of the lawsuit at a news conference on Wednesday. She said her office filed the case — which is civil, not criminal in nature — after rejecting settlement offers made by lawyers for the defendants. The alleged scheme was intended to burnish Trump’s billionaire image and the value of his properties when doing so gave him an advantage, such as in obtaining favorable loan terms, while playing down the value of assets at other times for tax purposes, James’ office said. “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 the 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.” James said her investigation uncovered potential criminal violations, including falsifying business records, issuing false financial statements, insurance fraud, conspiracy and bank fraud. She said her office is referring those findings to federal prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service. Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, said the lawsuit “is neither focused on the facts nor the law — rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General’s political agenda.” “It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place,” Habba said. “We are confident that our judicial system will not stand for this unchecked abuse of authority, and we look forward to defending our client against each and every one of the Attorney General’s meritless claims.” James is seeking to remove the Trumps from businesses engaged in the alleged fraud and wants an independent monitor appointed for no less than five years to oversee the Trump Organization’s compliance, financial reporting, valuations and disclosures to lenders, insurers and tax authorities. She is seeking to replace the current trustees of Trump’s revocable trust, which controls his business interests, with independent trustees, to bar Trump and the Trump Organization from entering into commercial real estate acquisitions for five years, from obtaining loans from banks in New York for five years and permanently bar Trump and three of his adult children from serving as an officer or director in any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in New York State. She also seeks to permanently bar Weisselberg and McConney from serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in New York State. 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. The Trump Organization is set to go on trial in October in a criminal case alleging that it schemed to give untaxed perks to senior executives, including its longtime finance chief Weisselberg, who alone took more than $1.7 million in extras. Weisselberg, 75, pleaded guilty Aug. 18. His plea agreement requires him to testify at the company’s trial before he starts a five-month jail sentence. If convicted, the Trump Organization could face a fine of double the amount of unpaid taxes. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been conducting a parallel criminal investigation of the same business practices at the heart of James’ civil lawsuit. That probe lost momentum earlier this year after Bragg raised questions internally about whether a criminal case was viable, but the Democrat has said it has not been abandoned. At the same time, the FBI is continuing to investigate Trump’s storage of sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and a special grand jury in Georgia is investigating whether Trump and others attempted to influence state election officials. All of the legal drama is playing out ahead of the November midterm elections, where Republicans are trying to win control of one or both houses of Congress. Meanwhile, Trump has been laying the groundwork for a potential comeback campaign for president in 2024 and has accused President Joe Biden’s administration of targeting him to hurt his political chances. State law allows a broad range of civil remedies against companies committing commercial fraud, including revoking licenses to conduct business in the state, removing company officers and forcing the payment of restitution or disgorgement of ill-gotten gains. James’ office could also seek to ban Trump from being involved in certain types of businesses, as happened in January when a judge barred ex-drug company CEO Martin Shkreli from the pharmaceutical industry for life. In a previous clash with Trump, James oversaw the closure of his charity, the Trump Foundation, after her predecessor in the attorney general’s office, Barbara Underwood, filed a lawsuit alleging he misused its assets to resolve business disputes and boost his run for the White House. A judge ordered Trump to pay $2 million to an array of charities to settle the matter. James, who campaigned for office as a Trump critic and watchdog, started scrutinizing his business practices in March 2019 after his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen testified to Congress that Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements provided to Deutsche Bank when he was trying to obtain financing to buy the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Since then, James’ office and Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly sparred over the direction of the investigation and Trump’s unwillingness to comply with subpoenas for his testimony and records. Trump spent months fighting the subpoena that led to his August deposition, his lawyers unable to convince courts that he should be excused from testifying because his answers could be used in Bragg’s criminal probe. In May, Trump paid $110,000 in fines after he was held in contempt of court for being slow to respond to a subpoena James’ office issued seeking documents and other evidence. The contempt finding was lifted in June after Trump and his lawyers submitted paperwork showing they had made a good faith effort to find relevant documents. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More…

Cowboys For Trump Cofounder Appeals Ruling Removing Him From Office Over Jan 6 Participation https://digitalalabamanews.com/cowboys-for-trump-cofounder-appeals-ruling-removing-him-from-office-over-jan-6-participation/ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A New Mexico county commissioner who was removed from office by a judge for attending the January 6 Capitol Hill riot is appealing the decision to the state Supreme Court. Cowboys for Trump co-founder and former Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin notified the high court on Tuesday of his intent to appeal a ruling earlier this month that removed him from his position as an elected official in Southern New Mexico. New Mexico State District Court Judge Francis Mathew issued the original ruling that bars Griffin from holding office or running for future office, claiming that he participated in an “insurrection after taking his oath” at the U.S. Capitol which violates Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. “Mr. Griffin aided the insurrection even though he did not personally engage in violence,” Mathew wrote. “By joining the mob and trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds, Mr. Griffin contributed to delaying Congress’s election-certification proceedings.” MARK MEADOWS COMPLYING WITH DOJ SUBPOENA, TURNING OVER DOCUMENTS PREVIOUSLY SHARED WITH HOUSE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, Friday, June. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File) Griffin was previously convicted in federal court of a misdemeanor for entering Capitol grounds on Jan. 6. He was sentenced to 14 days and given credit for time served. The ruling marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official from office via Section 3, according to a press release from the nonprofit government ethics watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, in Washington, D.C. POLITICO SENIOR EDITOR DEMANDS OBITUARIES FOR PRO-TRUMP LAWMAKERS INCLUDE THEIR VOTES TO ‘OVERTURN ELECTION’ In a statement to Fox News Digital, Griffin said he has been “abandoned” by the leaders of his political movement.” “I feel I have truly held the line and fought hard for election integrity, securing our border, protecting our 2nd Amendment, and defending life,” Griffin said. “Now that I’m under political attack and in the fight of my life those ‘leaders’ are silent.  I sat in solitary confinement for three weeks on a misdemeanor charge and President Trump made no mention of the injustice. I hear General Flynn’s message of local leaders needing to stand up and fight back but when I do and they remove me from office I don’t hear one word out of Flynn advocating in my defense.” Otero County Commission Chairman and Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin rides his horse on 5th Avenue in New York on May 1, 2020 (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images) Griffin continued, “I reach out to Sidney Powell, who has represented me in the past, and her response is ‘get a NM lawyer and good luck!’ Professor David Clements who encourages local officials to stand up and fight back (which I agree with) is a law professor here in New Mexico and should have the skills to navigate this lawfare I am in, yet he shrinks back when it comes to toeing the line.” VP HARRIS BLAMES GOP ‘ELECTION DENIERS’ FOR MAKING US DEMOCRACY ‘WEAKER’ THROUGH ‘THREATS FROM WITHIN’ Griffin, who is acting as his own legal counsel in the case, added that he will “keep fighting” and “continue to trust in God.” “He has been by me every step of the way and I know that it is only by His grace that I will get through this and be victorious when I do,” Griffin said. “Until then I’ll keep doing all that I can as a pro se defendant and continue to pray for a lawyer who is interested in what will surely be a historic victory!” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Capitol Police Jan. 6 Riot (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Griffin, a 48-year-old former rodeo rider and former pastor, helped found Cowboys for Trump in 2019. The promotional group staged horseback parades to spread President Donald Trump’s conservative message about gun rights, immigration controls and abortion restrictions. Griffin was elected as Otero County Commissioner in 2018 and withstood a recall effort last year. Associated Press contributed to this report. Andrew Mark Miller is a writer at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com. Read More…

Alabama’s Biggest SEC Blowout Wins Since World War II https://digitalalabamanews.com/alabamas-biggest-sec-blowout-wins-since-world-war-ii/ Alabama hosts Vanderbilt on Saturday, which means there’s a legitimate chance Nick Saban’s team rolls up one of its most-dominant victories ever. The Commodores have been involved in multiple mega-blowouts at the hands of the Crimson Tide, but they’re not the only ones. Alabama has beaten just about every one of its SEC opponents by 40 points or more at one time or another. But what are Alabama’s the biggest SEC blowouts? Here are 10 of them (actually 11, due to ties) from the semi-modern era since World War II, listed in reverse order or decisiveness. Alabama running back Eddie Lacy (42) scores a first quarter touchdown as Auburn defensive end Dee Ford (95) and linebacker Jonathan Evans (35) pursue during the first half of a NCAA college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP T10. Alabama 49, Auburn 0 (2012) The defending national champion Crimson Tide clinched the SEC West title with its most-decisive victory over the Tigers in more than 60 years. AJ McCarron threw four touchdown passes and Eddie Lacy ran for 131 yards and two scores as Alabama capped a 12-1 regular season with a dominant day at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tide would go on to beat Georgia in the SEC championship game, and then rout Notre Dame in the BCS title game for its second straight national championship and third in four years. Auburn, which finished 3-9 overall and 0-8 in the SEC just two years after winning the national championship, fired coach Gene Chizik the following day. Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks (13) is tackled for a loss by Alabama defender Will Anderson Jr. (31) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)AP T10. Alabama 52, Arkansas 3 (2020) This wasn’t even the Crimson Tide’s worst domination of the Razorbacks, nor was it Alabama’s most-decisive victory during the record-setting 2020 season. The game was actually tied 3-3 in the first quarter before DeVonta Smith returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown, and the rout was on at Razorbacks Stadium in Fayetteville. Najee Harris and Brian Robinson combined for five touchdowns on the ground, and Jase McClellan added an 80-yard TD sprint in the fourth quarter. The victory capped a 10-0 COVID-shortened regular season for the Crimson Tide, which went on to beat Florida in the SEC championship game, Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl and Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Arkansas, on its way to a 3-7 season under first-year coach Sam Pittman, turned the ball over four times. Alabama running back Blake Sims, left, and teammate Ryan Kelly celebrate Sims’ fourth-quarter touchdown against Arkansas in an NCAA college football game in Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. Alabama defeated Arkansas 52-0. (AP Photo/April L. Brown)AP T8. Alabama 52, Arkansas 0 (2012) The Crimson Tide began the SEC portion of its 2012 schedule in dominating fashion in Fayetteville, forcing five turnovers and limiting the Razorbacks to just 137 yards of total offense. Eddie Lacy powered his way to three touchdowns on the ground, half of the six Alabama scored rushing on the day. The Crimson Tide had blanked Western Kentucky 35-0 the previous week, giving it back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1980. Alabama would add two more shutouts that season (including one in the Iron Bowl), on its way to the SEC title and a second straight BCS national championship. Arkansas was on its way to a 4-8 finish under interim coach John L. Smith, who had taken over in the wake of the Bobby Petrino motorcycle scandal. Alabama head coach Nick Saban shakes hands with Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema after Alabama beat Arkansas 52-0 in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP T8. Alabama 52, Arkansas 0 (2013) It’s crazy, but the Crimson Tide really did beat the Razorbacks 52-0 in consecutive seasons. This one was in late October in Tuscaloosa, but the result was the same. AJ McCarron threw for 180 yards and three touchdowns, while Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake both eclipsed the 100-yard mark in rushing. Henry capped the action with an 80-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, shades of things to come when he won the Heisman Trophy two years later. As a team, the Crimson Tide ran for 352 yards and averaged 9.5 yards per carry. Arkansas, led by first-year coach Bret Bielema, ended the year 3-9 overall and 0-8 in the SEC. Alabama, meanwhile, stayed unbeaten and ranked No. 1 nationally through its first 11 games before losing at Auburn in the “Kick Six” game. Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (13) readies to start the play behind the block of offensive lineman Lester Cotton Sr., (66), center during the first half of their NCAA college football game against Ole Miss on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, in Oxford, Miss. Alabama won 62-7.(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)AP 7. Alabama 62, Ole Miss 7 (2018) The Crimson Tide and Rebels have had some wild shootouts in recent years, but this was not one of them. Ole Miss did in fact score first on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Ta’amu to DK Metcalf on the game’s first offensive snap at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. Alabama scored the next 62 points, leading 28-7 after one quarter and 42-7 at halftime. Tua Tagovailoa combined for four touchdown passes, while Jerry Jeudy scored on a 79-yard reception, Damien Harris on a 43-yard run and Xavier McKinney on a 30-yard interception return. The victory improved the Crimson Tide to 3-0 and 1-0 in the SEC, and it would keep right on rolling through the regular season on the way to a school-record 684 points scored. Alabama beat Georgia for the SEC title (with Hurts famously coming off the bench for an injured Tagovailoa), then outlasted Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl before facing Clemson for the national title for the third time in four years. This time, the Tigers throttled the Crimson Tide 44-16, easily the most-decisive loss of Nick Saban’s Alabama tenure. Alabama’s Ed Salem was a running, passing and kicking star in the 1948 Iron Bowl, accounting for four touchdowns and seven extra points in a 55-0 victory over Auburn. 6. Alabama 55, Auburn 0 (1948) The first meeting between the Crimson Tide and Tigers in 41 years was no contest at all as Alabama thoroughly dominated its in-state rival before a crowd of 46,000 at Legion Field in Birmingham. Ed Salem was the do-everything hero for Alabama, running and passing for a total of 186 yards and four touchdowns, kicking seven extra points and also punting for a 52.6-yard average. The Crimson Tide totaled 404 yards on 61 plays, a heady 6.6-yard average in those grind-it-out days. The Tigers, meanwhile, turned the ball over seven times and managed just 48 yards of offense, including a net of three yards on 34 rushing attempts. The victory capped a 6-4-1 season for coach Red Drew and Alabama, while Auburn finished a miserable 1-8-1 under first-year coach Earl Brown. The Tigers would get their revenge a year later, however, winning 14-13 in what remains one of the bigger upsets in Iron Bowl history. Alabama linebacker Ryan Anderson (7) sacks Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct, 18, 2014, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)AP T4. Alabama 59, Texas A&M 0 (2014) The Crimson Tide’s new-look offense had its breakout performance at the expense of the Aggies, jumping out to a 45-0 lead at halftime at Bryant-Denny Stadium and totaling 609 yards and nearly a point per minute. Lane Kiffin had been hired the previous offseason to breathe some life into Alabama’s staid offensive attack, and helped turn Blake Sims into an RPO machine. Sims threw three touchdown passes and ran for another on this day against Texas A&M, outshining Kenny “Trill” Hill, who had briefly become a Heisman candidate earlier that season. (The 2014 Alabama game would in fact be Hill’s last appearance as an Aggie, as he was suspended by coach Kevin Sumlin and later transferred to TCU). Alabama, meanwhile, shook off an early-season loss to Ole Miss to finish 11-1 during the regular season, then beat Missouri in the SEC championship game. The Crimson Tide was the top seed for the first College Football Playoff, but lost 42-35 to eventual national champion Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl to finish 12-2. Vanderbilt fans wait out the final minutes of the fourth quarter during a 59-0 loss to Alabama in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)AP T4. Alabama 59, Vanderbilt 0 (2017) Of all the ill-advised trash-talkers in American sports history, Vanderbilt defensive lineman Nifae Lealao might rank near the top of the list. After the Commodores beat Kansas State 14-7 to improve to 3-0, Lealao looked into a television camera and said ‘Alabama, you’re next.’ He was technically correct, but only in as much as the Crimson Tide was the Commodores’ next opponent. Alabama scored three first-quarter touchdowns — including a 61-yard run by Damien Harris — to make this one a laugher early in Nashville. Tua Tagovailoa threw only 10 passes — completing eight for 102 yards and a touchdown — while the Alabama running game did most of the heavy lifting. The Crimson Tide ran for 496 yards, set a school record with 38 first downs, and limited the Commodores to just 77 yards of offense. Amazingly, this wasn’t even Alabama’s most-decisive victory of the season (we’ll get to the other one in a minute). The Crimson Tide won its first 11 games before losing 26-14 to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, but slipped into the playoff after the Tigers lost to Georgia in the SEC championship game. Alabama beat Clemson 24-6 in the Suga...

Tipoff Times, TV Networks Set For Auburn Basketball’s 2022-23 SEC Schedule https://digitalalabamanews.com/tipoff-times-tv-networks-set-for-auburn-basketballs-2022-23-sec-schedule/ Auburn Basketball Published: Sep. 21, 2022, 10:36 a.m. Zep Jasper (12) celebrates during Auburn’s win against Ole Miss on Feb. 23 at Neville Arena. (Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics)Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics Auburn’s SEC schedule for the upcoming 2022-23 season will include one game on CBS, seven on SEC Network and the remainder across the ESPN family of channels. The SEC on Wednesday morning released tipoff times and network designations for its complete slate of games this season, with Auburn’s schedule headlined by a late-season road trip to Rupp Arena for a 3 p.m. tip against Kentucky on CBS on Feb. 25. The Tigers’ SEC opener at home against Florida on Dec. 28 will tip at 6 p.m. from Neville Arena and air on ESPN2. Auburn has seven games that will air on SEC Network, including Jan. 4 at Georgia (5:30 p.m.), Jan. 7 at home against Arkansas (7:30 p.m.), Jan. 14 at home against Mississippi State (7:30 p.m.), Jan. 21 at South Carolina (2:30 p.m.), Feb. 1 at home against Georgia (6 p.m.), Feb. 18 at Vanderbilt (7:30 p.m.) and Feb. 22 at home against Ole Miss (7:30 p.m.). Auburn’s home game against rival Alabama on Feb. 11 will tip off at 1 p.m. and air on either ESPN or ESPN2, while the Tigers’ trip to Tuscaloosa on March 1 will tip at 6 p.m. and be broadcast on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. Auburn’s other SEC games that will air on one of ESPN’s networks include Jan. 10 at Ole Miss (8 p.m. on ESPN2 or ESPNU), Jan. 18 at LSU (6 p.m. on ESPN2 or ESPNU), Jan. 25 at home against Texas A&M (8 p.m. on ESPN2 or ESPNU), Feb. 4 at Tennessee (1 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2), Feb. 7 at Texas A&M (6 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2) and Feb. 14 at home against Missouri (6 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU). Auburn’s regular-season finale at home against Tennessee on March 4 will tip at either 11 a.m., 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. and air on ESPN or ESPN2. 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…