Terry Bowden: You Could Be 10-0 At Auburn And Save Your Career But You Havent Saved Your Job
Terry Bowden: ‘You Could Be 10-0 At Auburn And Save Your Career, But You Haven’t Saved Your Job’ https://digitalalabamanews.com/terry-bowden-you-could-be-10-0-at-auburn-and-save-your-career-but-you-havent-saved-your-job/
On a day when the college football vultures were circling Auburn to get a whiff of Bryan Harsin news, Terry Bowden – now the coach at Louisiana Monroe – was licking his wounds after a 63-7 loss to Alabama when he made a reference to the Tigers.
The comment was tweeted. Well, combined with all sorts of commentary about the coaching future of Harsin on The Plains, Bowden’s comment got a little traction on social media.
“I used to say you could be 10-0 at Auburn and save your career, but you haven’t saved your job yet,” Bowden said.
Was he in some way referencing the current situation at Auburn, a place he coached from 1993-1998?
Nope.
Sorry to burst conspiracy theory bubbles.
His Warhawks are preparing to battle in-state rival Lafayette. The question was about the difference in playing a rivalry game early in the season as opposed to at the end of the season.
His point about Alabama-Auburn is that a 10-0 record will keep you well-respected around the country as a good coach, and, therefore, your career is in good shape. Lose to Alabama, though, and you may be out of a job, regardless of the year you might have had. Winning a rivalry game is just more important to some.
Speaking of Alabama, Bowden recapped the blistering his team got at the hands of Nick Saban’s club.
“You always go into those games hoping and expecting to find a way to be in the game or have a chance if they don’t play their best,” he explained. “You also want to make sure of that’s not the case you fight to the bitter end. You go out swinging. They just kind of whipped us in all phases of the game.”
Bryce Young passed for three touchdowns and rushed for a fourth, Will Anderson Jr. scored on an interception return and No. 2 Alabama rolled over Louisiana-Monroe. The Crimson Tide scored on offense, defense and special teams in the first six minutes and raced to a 28-0 first-quarter lead.
“We were outmanned in every phase of the game.”
In his first year at Auburn, Bowden led the Tigers to a perfect 11-0 season, becoming the first coach to go undefeated in his debut season at a Division I school. He followed that up with a 9-1-1 record, establishing the longest winning streak in school history at 20 games. The Tigers played in the SEC Championship Game in 1997, but things went south the following year.
Recruiting woes, off-the-field issues and player discipline, combined with player injuries, led to a 1-5 start and Bowden resigned as head coach the night before Auburn played against Louisiana Tech.
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.
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Good Afternoon News: Trumpers Interfere With Oregon Elections Wealthy Nimbys Vs. The Homeless And Judge Orders Release Of Serial's Adnan Syed
Good Afternoon, News: Trumpers Interfere With Oregon Elections, Wealthy Nimbys Vs. The Homeless, And Judge Orders Release Of Serial's Adnan Syed https://digitalalabamanews.com/good-afternoon-news-trumpers-interfere-with-oregon-elections-wealthy-nimbys-vs-the-homeless-and-judge-orders-release-of-serials-adnan-syed/
The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!
GOOD AFTERNOON, PORTLAND! Oh, you thought summer was over? Well put away that pumpkin spice, losers, because today and tomorrow will reach a sunny-funny 85 degrees. Now let’s warm up even more with some NEWS.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Don’t miss this illuminating deep dive from the O‘s Catalina Gaitán, who looks at how small town Gladstone, Oregon is dealing with the same internal political divisions as Portland… and perhaps worse? The unfortunate truth is that the Trump misinformation and racist/homophobic virus has deeply infected almost every community in the nation.
• RELATED: Oregon’s Secretary of State is reporting that many election offices around the state are being inundated with bullshit record requests from—ummmm, let’s say unsavory sources… okay fine, Trumpers, who are using the “Big Lie” to once again disrupt the fair election process.
Angry residents in Portland’s swanky Laurelhurst neighborhood have hired a lawyer in bid to make the city stop allowing allowing homeless camp. https://t.co/fRjeHmyqCZ
— OPB (@OPB) September 19, 2022
• Everybody from Gov. Kate Brown to the U of O’s athletic director is apologizing for the “vulgar, anti-Mormon chant” that came from the student section during Sunday’s football game against BYU.
• Curious about charter reform and what it entails? Here’s a pretty good primer explaining what’s in the charter reform ballot measure, and how different aspects of it have worked in other cities.
• Good news: While they experienced a rough start, Oregon—with help from community organizations—have almost bridged the COVID vaccination gap between Latinos and white Oregonians.
• Calling all trash lovers! It’s time for the latest TRASH REPORT from Elinor Jones! This week: cat financial advisors, Pink Martini’s *very* expensive hoodie, and our newest feature, “What Does Grimes Have to Say?”
• Shaking the Tree’s Fucking A—a riff on Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, with abortion substituted for adultery—is shaping up to be one of the most exciting theatrical productions of the year. (And, why yes! It is part of the Mercury‘s Fall Arts Guide!)
Following a soul-crushing pandemic, the ever-resilient Portland art scene is finding its footing—and is more entertaining and relevant than before. Find out what you can expect this season with the Mercury’s FALL ARTS GUIDE 2022.https://t.co/bzKvXTL5Mr pic.twitter.com/vv5eOAMLiM
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury) September 19, 2022
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Heavy rainfall and floods from Hurricane Fiona continue to wreak havoc on Puerto Rico, knocking out power on the entire island as rescue operations continue. To make matters worse, the island is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Maria which killed 3,000 people in 2017.
President Biden’s statement that the “pandemic is over” caught his team by surprise and led GOP to call for an end to covid policies.
Federal officials sought to clarify: covid fight isn’t done.
TONY FAUCI: “I’m not comfortable with 400 deaths per day.”https://t.co/ltwwkgaOKS
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) September 19, 2022
• Following a historic, lavish funeral, Queen Elizabeth II has been buried after days where thousands of mourners dutifully filed past her casket.
• Calling all fans of the podcast Serial:
BREAKING NEWS: Judge throws out Adnan Syed conviction and orders him to be released. https://t.co/knpChgBwkx
— The Baltimore Banner (@BaltimoreBanner) September 19, 2022
• According to their lawyers, the migrants who were shipped to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis say they were tricked by brochures given to them by the state promising they’d receive housing, cash assistance, and jobs. Sounds like a pretty clear lawsuit to me!
• Today in “everyday fascism”: “More than 1,600 books banned during 2021-22 school year, report finds.”
• And finally… everybody, especially pranksters, needs an encouraging mom like this.
I am LAUGHING pic.twitter.com/Qt3XG227z2
— Youtube: Zoe LDN (@ZoeLDN) September 17, 2022
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U.S. Hails Release Of Taliban Captive Following Prisoner Swap
U.S. Hails Release Of Taliban Captive Following Prisoner Swap https://digitalalabamanews.com/u-s-hails-release-of-taliban-captive-following-prisoner-swap/
correction
An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Bashir Noorzai had been held in Guantánamo Bay. He was serving his life sentence in a federal penitentiary. The article has been corrected.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Mark Frerichs, an American contractor held captive by the Taliban since his abduction in Kabul in 2020, was freed in exchange for an Afghan imprisoned on drug trafficking charges in the United States, U.S. and Afghan officials said Monday.
Frerichs’s family hailed his release, saying they were “grateful and excited” to learn he had been set free after more than 2½ years in militant captivity.
“Our family has prayed for this each day,” Charlene Cakora, Frerichs’s sister, said in the statement from Camden Advisory Group, which had been advocating for his release. “We never gave up hope that he would survive and come home safely to us.”
President Biden applauded the release of Frerichs, who U.S. officials said was in U.S. care in Doha, Qatar. “Bringing the negotiations that led to Mark’s freedom to a successful resolution required difficult decisions, which I did not take lightly,” the president said in a statement.
U.S. officials said Frerichs’s release capped months of behind-the-scenes negotiations with the Taliban, the insurgent group that has governed Afghanistan since August 2021, when the United States withdrew from the country.
To obtain his freedom, an official said, the U.S. government released detainee Bashir Noorzai (also known as Haji Bashir Noorzai), a warlord with ties to the Taliban who was sentenced to life in federal prison for drug trafficking after being lured to the United States and arrested in 2005.
In Kabul, acting Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi hailed Noorzai’s release. “This will open a new chapter in the bilateral relations between the United States and Afghanistan,” he said at a news conference that was broadcast by local television outlets.
“We have been persistent in our efforts to free [Noorzai], and now he is with us in his own country,” Muttaqi continued. He said the two men were swapped at Kabul’s international airport.
Senior U.S. officials, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, said Frerichs was in “stable health” and was being offered U.S. support. They declined to provide details on where Frerichs was kept during his long captivity.
Frerichs’s release illustrates the delicate path the Biden administration must tread in its dealings with Afghanistan’s new leaders, whom the United States fought for two decades before they took over after the collapse of the U.S.-backed government.
The United States, like other nations, has not officially recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government, but U.S. officials have engaged with it regularly as they seek to provide aid to Afghans in need and advocate for the rights of women and girls as the group imposes new restrictions on them.
The Frerichs deal comes weeks after the United States conducted a drone strike in downtown Kabul that killed al-Qaeda’s top militant, a development that highlighted the Taliban’s ongoing ties to terrorist organizations and posed a major setback to the potential normalization of U.S. ties with Afghanistan’s new leaders.
One U.S. official said the Biden administration told Taliban leaders after that strike that “we would hold them directly responsible if any harm were to come to Mark, and that the best way they might begin to rebuild trust with the United States with the world was to immediately release him.”
“If the Taliban are as interested as they say they are in normal relations with the international community, then that practice must resolutely end,” another official said, referring to hostage-taking.
Officials said there was a “narrow window of opportunity” following Biden’s initial decision this summer to potentially grant Noorzai clemency. They contrasted the conviction of Noorzai, who was alleged to have been distributing heroin in the United States since the 1990s, with the fact that Frerichs hadn’t been tried for any crime.
The swap is not the first the United States has undertaken in Afghanistan. In 2014, the Obama administration approved the exchange of five senior Afghans held at the Guantánamo Bay prison for U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, then a Taliban hostage. Other Americans abducted in Afghanistan have escaped or been freed.
The officials declined to say whether other U.S. citizens are now being held by the Taliban. Last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists said an American filmmaker and an Afghan producer had been taken into Taliban custody. It was not immediately clear whether they were still being held.
The release of Frerichs comes as the Biden administration attempts to secure the release of two Americans it says are being wrongly held by Russia, potentially via another prisoner swap.
In July, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said officials had made Moscow a “substantial proposal” to secure the release of basketball star Brittney Griner and businessman Paul Whelan. The offer was believed to include the release of convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is imprisoned in the United States. On Monday, the Russian government accused Washington of holding up talks to secure their releases.
Laurel Miller, who served as a senior official for Afghanistan during the Obama and Trump administrations, said that while Frerichs’s release was a positive development, it wouldn’t necessarily lead to progress on other issues the United States has cited as impediments to fuller global support of the Taliban government, like allowing all girls to return to school.
“It’s very difficult to see that this solves any problems in the U.S.-Taliban relationship other than the specific problem of Frerichs being wrongfully held as a hostage,” she said. “This was a transactional exchange.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill)., whose office has described Frerichs as an “Illinoisan,” said she had been advocating for his release since the Trump administration. In a phone interview, she said she had urged the Biden administration to free Noorzai, arguing that the Afghan prisoner is elderly and in poor health.
“He’s being kept alive at taxpayers’ expense; we’re providing his health care,” Duckworth said she told U.S. officials. “And I’d rather have Mark come home.”
George reported from Islamabad, Pakistan, and Ryan reported from Washington. Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
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Even Before Fiona Puerto Ricos Power Grid Was Poised For Failure
Even Before Fiona, Puerto Rico’s Power Grid Was Poised For Failure https://digitalalabamanews.com/even-before-fiona-puerto-ricos-power-grid-was-poised-for-failure/
The hurricane winds that knocked out power to the entire island of Puerto Rico over the weekend encountered an electrical grid that experts liken to a house of cards: a fragile, decrepit, patchwork system running on old equipment that has failed to substantially modernize since the U.S. territory’s deadliest storm, Hurricane Maria, swept through five years before.
The state-run utility that is responsible for electricity generation is bankrupt and mediation to restructure its $9 billion debt to bondholders ended without a deal last week. Luma Energy, the private consortium that was hired in 2020 to handle transmission, has failed to satisfy critics, as power outages have increased in duration this year even apart from destructive storms, according to a report last month by the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau.
And a major plan to modernize the island’s electricity system, funded with billions from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency as a response to Hurricane Maria — which killed about 3,000 people and left some residents out of power for nearly a year — has been slow to get started.
“Given all that, it shouldn’t be surprising that we are where we are,” Sergio Marxuach, policy director at the Center for a New Economy, a Puerto Rico-based think tank, said by phone from his home on the island’s north coast, which was running on generator power.
“What we’re seeing right now is a direct consequence of that failure to act” since Hurricane Maria, he said.
Fiona made landfall on Sunday afternoon with 80 mph winds and quickly knocked out power to more than 3 million people — or the entire population of Puerto Rico. Luma Energy officials on Monday said power has been restored to just more than 100,000 people by Monday afternoon, including in the San Juan metropolitan area, at the city’s main hospital campus and the island’s largest airport, but the company had yet to offer a detailed assessment of the damage.
The extent of Fiona’s destruction remains unclear. The storm’s outer bands continue to drop copious amounts of rain and threaten to swell waterways already breaching their banks and causing landslides in the mountains. Some areas of Puerto Rico’s big island and its eastern islands are not yet accessible, officials said. Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said at least two people have died.
Puerto Rico National Guard adjutant Gen. Jose Reyes said Monday that his troops have performed more than 30 search-and-rescue operations in 25 municipalities across the island. More than 1,000 people had to be rescued from flooded homes, particularly along the southern coast in the town of Salinas, where one of the largest operations brought 400 people to safety.
In Yabucoa, Mayor Rafael Surillo Ruiz said he had never seen flooding like what his community experienced in the last 24 hours. Roads and bridges that had recently been repaved were swept away by engorged rivers. At least two barrios saw waters rise several feet, and municipal workers spent all night and morning rescuing trapped vulnerable residents, including carrying the bedridden elderly from their soaked beds, he said.
“It’s painful that we are here again,” Surillo Ruiz said. “Now we are in not one but two recovery processes: what was left over from Maria, where we haven’t made much progress, and now we have to add everything that happened with this hurricane.”
President Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration Monday, and top officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency pledged a more effective response than five years ago, when the agency acknowledged systemic failures in the aftermath of Maria.
Fiona sent generators buzzing throughout the island, as residents defaulted into the routines they learned during Maria. Days before forecasters detailed Fiona’s path, anxiety levels rose and the rush to prepare began. Instead of heading into a weekend of rest and relaxation, thousands filled up their gas tanks, shopped for essentials and steeled their nerves against the trauma that would undoubtedly be triggered by the storm.
“Even a hurricane that’s a lot smaller in comparison brings back those dark memories and those feelings of stress,” said Mariana Ferré, a 23-year-old medical student from San Juan. “The messages I’m getting from all my friends is, ‘I have PTSD.’ ”
Maria’s ravaging winds severely weakened Puerto Rico’s already outdated energy infrastructure when it struck the island in September 2017. Since then, habitual outages, which can often extend into weeks, have instead become the norm.
“That’s how sad it is,” Ferré said. “It’s so normalized, and it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be normal for people to lose power all the time. People literally depend on electricity to live.”
Puerto Rico’s fragile power grid has been at the center of recriminations from protesters, customers and utility union members who have called on Pierluisi to cancel the government’s contract with Luma Energy. In recent weeks, Pierluisi levied his first public remarks critical of the company, echoing what for months has been the cry of critics bemoaning the company’s performance.
The U.S.-Canadian power consortium has struggled more than a year after taking over operations of Puerto Rico’s transmission and distribution lines with public perception, frequent brownouts and at least one total blackout. Protests outside their San Juan offices are regular weekly events and the “fuera Luma,” or “out with Luma,” are as ubiquitous in Puerto Rico as the chant of the coqui, the island’s famous frog.
Luma spokesman Hugo Sorrentini said the company’s crews have been hampered by extensive flooding across the island but that some 1,500 utility workers are “ready to respond” to the outages. Helicopters haven’t been able to access some of the areas where power lines are down in the mountains as heavy rains persist, he said. Customers who have been restored so far mostly rely on underground power lines.
“There’s roadblocks, there’s flooding, there’s rivers that just overflowed,” he said. “It’s a very difficult situation, and it’s very complicated, especially with access. But for the next couple of days, we’re going to keep working on and assessing and restoring as best we can.”
One of the major vulnerabilities to Puerto Rico’s electrical system is the cross-country transmission system. Power generation takes place primarily in the southern coast of the island, where giant aging power plants send electricity through transmission lines that run across the mountainous interior. The towers stand atop steep hillsides, looking over ravines and continue to the populous north to where most of the energy is consumed. During storms, those lines regularly fail.
After Fiona, winds knocked out power to at least four of the island’s major transmission lines. Luma has said it put 200 utility workers in place ahead of the storm and called up 70 more through a support brigade to respond to the outages.
The problems with Puerto Rico’s electrical grid go back decades and are a source of ongoing agony for many residents. Prices are high and electricity is still predominantly supplied by fossil fuels, including oil and diesel, even though local laws mandate a transition to renewable energy in coming years.
Eduardo Bhatia, who was president of Puerto Rico’s senate until last year, said the widespread blackouts from Hurricane Fiona makes it clear once again that Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, known as PREPA, failed for decades to invest in modernizing the grid, running on infrastructure he compared to “cars from Cuba — equipment that is 40, 50 years old.”
“How they used the money is a great mystery, but they did not do the investments to strengthen the grid,” he said.
Bhatia added that the storm also showed how desperately the island needs an overhauled energy grid. Since 2020, Congress has appropriated some $12 billion for the project — the largest allocation of FEMA funds in the agency’s history. But bureaucratic delays have hobbled the work of modernizing the grid.
“They have to speed it up,” Bhatia said.
Luma Energy officials say the fragile power grid has long been mismanaged and neglected by PREPA, creating unprecedented challenges for its workforce. But the 3,000-employee company, a consortium between North American companies Atco and Quanta Services, insists that the system is in better shape than ever and that it’s set to spend billions in federal funds to rebuild and harden the grid.
“The system has been declining for decades. The system itself was already in very bad shape,” Mario Hurtado, Luma’s chief regulatory officer, said in an interview days before Hurricane Fiona. “PREPA was the worst performing utility in America, far and away.”
The corruption, unreliability and failures of PREPA are well-documented in congressional hearings, expert testimony and personal experiences. The public utility, which still controls power generation in Puerto Rico, is in bankruptcy and helped drive the U.S. territory’s decade-long financial crisis. Negotiations to restructure $9 billion in debt faltered yet again last week.
In 2016, a federally appointed fiscal oversight board took control of Puerto Rico’s finances and the long-held desire of local politicians to privatize the power grid began to take shape. But lax regulation, an overly generous contract and self-dealing plagued the privatization process from the start, critics say.
Luma Energy took over Puerto Rico’s transmission and distribution system in June 2021 after a year of studying one of the most complicated power grids in the country.
Thousands of PREPA workers took jobs with Luma, but hundreds of experienced, unionized line workers refused job offers after learning they would lose hard-fought benefits. Luma set up a training and apprenticeship program to fill up th...
Mosquito Fire: Foresthill Other Placer County Communities Can Begin Returning Home
Mosquito Fire: Foresthill, Other Placer County Communities Can Begin Returning Home https://digitalalabamanews.com/mosquito-fire-foresthill-other-placer-county-communities-can-begin-returning-home/
Residents of the town of Foresthill in Placer County can begin returning home as evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings for the Mosquito Fire, officials said Monday afternoon. The Foothills area saw some light rain in the area, which crews took advantage of in getting a better handle on the wildfire. With evacuation warnings, residents are recommended to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice in case wildfire activity becomes threatening, but it also allows for already evacuated residents to return home. The reduction from order to warning is a big contrast from nearly a week ago when the wind-driven Mosquito Fire flared up and nearly tore through Foresthill.Several other communities in Placer County were also given the green light to begin repopulating as well, allowing for a total of 2,128 residents to return to 983 homes.Residents will have to show identification at the following traffic control points.Mosquito Ridge Road at Foresthill RoadSoap Street at Lowe StreetMichigan Bluff Road at Chicken Hawk RoadAs of Monday morning, the fire has burned 76,290 acres and is 39% contained. Containment is a measure of the perimeter crews have established to prevent the spread of a wildfire. Thousands of people were allowed to go home on Sunday as more evacuation orders were downgraded in Placer County. At least 78 structures have been destroyed, and 13 structures damaged.Battling the BlazeIn its Monday morning incident update, Cal Fire said that containment on the Mosquito Fire almost doubled within the last 36 hours. “This increase in containment can be attributed to the hard work of firefighters who have been working around the clock to strengthen and secure containment lines in and around the communities,” Cal Fire said.Communities have also been able to repopulate some areas following the increase in containment and wet weather. However, several evacuation warnings and orders remain in place. Rain helped fight the fire Sunday, but Cal Fire said that added precipitation makes the landscape “more treacherous” due to muddy and slippery terrain. A flash flood watch is also in place for the fire area due to potential ash and debris flow from forecast thunderstorms in the burn scar. Some evacuation orders reducedOn Monday, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office reduced evacuation orders for the Volcanoville and Quintette areas to evacuation warnings. This reduction in orders also includes the area east of the intersection of Wentworth Springs Road and Wolfridge Road, west of Stumpy Meadows Lake, south of the El Dorado-Placer county line and north of Wentworth Springs Road.Evacuation warnings were also lifted for the Canyon Creek, Bottle Hill and Grey Eagle areas.On Sunday morning, some evacuation orders in Placer County were reduced to warnings and people could start to go home. Zones 7B, 8, 9, 10, 11A, 12, 15 and 26 all on the west side of the fire are the ones that were downgraded. At least 3,701 people are able to return home, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday. For those returning home to spoiled food, there are dumpsters available in the parking lot at the LDS Church on Todd Valley Road, authorities said. Some orders in El Dorado County were also downgraded on Sunday.The communities allowed to return home include Cannon Creek, Bottle Hill and Grey Eagle. The warnings in Cool, Garden Valley, Georgetown Proper and Swansboro were lifted. On Saturday evening, evacuation orders were reduced to warnings for Zone 12 in Placer County and some people along Foresthill Road, among others, will be allowed to go home. However, authorities warn people there is no gas available in Foresthill and Worton’s Market remains closed. Some residents in the community of Georgetown in El Dorado County were allowed to return home on Friday. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office reduced the evacuation order, a lawful mandate to leave immediately, to an evacuation warning, which is a recommendation to be ready to leave in case wildfire activity becomes threatening. For evacuated residents, a drop from order to warning is also a green light for them to begin repopulating. Evacuation orders were reduced for the area west of Wentworth Springs Road at Citabria Lane, north of Greenwood Road and Graybar Mine Road. Also included is east of Highway 193 at Sliger Mine Road, and south of Bottle Hill Road and Snow Cap Road. The reduced orders do not include Sliger Mine Road north of Loriel Drive and Spanish Dry Diggins Road north of Odyssey Falls Drive.Georgetown is about 18 miles north of Placerville and about 19 miles east of Auburn. See all evacuation orders and warnings below. App users, click here.Evacuation centersPlacer CountySierra College — 5100 Sierra College Blvd, Rocklin, CA 95677 (Parking in Lot B, the shelter will be in the Building J cafeteria)El Dorado CountyCameron Park Services District — 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park, CA 95682. Overnight shelter, meals, showers, limited health services and parking for trailers will be provided. Animals in crates and carriers will also be accepted.Green Valley Community Church — 3500 Missouri Flat Road, Placerville, CA. This location with accept human and small domestic animals on leashes or in creates. No Large animal and no birds. Limited RV parking and no hookups.Animal evacuation centersPlacer County Gold Country Fairgrounds — 209 Fairgate Road, Auburn, CaliforniaPeople can start to pick up their animals starting at 8 a.m. on SundayDiamond Springs Shelter (small animals only) — 6435 Capitol Avenue, Diamond Springs, CA 95619Rancho Murieta Equestrian Center (equines only) — Call for information: 916-985-7334Flying M Ranch (large animals only) — 5421 Buck Mountain Road, Placerville, CA 95667Road ClosuresThe Placer County Sheriff’s Office said hard road closures are in place on Foresthill Road and Lincoln Way in Auburn. There are also closures at the Old Foresthill Road at the Confluence.The eastbound Interstate 80 offramp to Foresthill Road is closed due to the fire.(Click through the gallery below for a glimpse at the firefight.) Foresthill students take classes in AuburnHigh school is tough enough without students having to worry about their town or school burning in a massive wildfire.Yet, for 200 Foresthill High School students, they are now taking classes at Placer High in Auburn while the town of Foresthill remains under an evacuation order because of the Mosquito Fire.”The first few days, I wasn’t able to focus because the fire kept getting closer and closer to our town,” said Foresthill sophomore Bryce Dowling. Full story here. Foresthill resident who didn’t evacuate recalls terrifying flare-upMitch Griffith has lived in the town of Foresthill in Placer County for the last 22 years.He is also one of the residents who chose to stay put when mandatory evacuations were issued for his home when the Mosquito Fire began threatening that area.“Tuesday morning was a great morning,” Griffith said. “It was beautiful. Everything was great, and then this fire jumped up.” Full story here.El Dorado County and Placer County residents can check if their home is destroyedResidents in El Dorado and Placer counties can check if their homes have been damaged, destroyed, or still intact.The sheriff’s offices for both counties released their own respective interactive maps that let you click on homes that are color-coded based on the amount of damage. Damaged or destroyed homes will also include pictures showing what the house looks like. Homes without damage will not have their pictures posted.View the El Dorado County map below. App users, click here.View the Placer County map below. App users, click here.State of emergency declared Placer County issued a local emergency due to the blaze.“A local emergency proclamation asserts continuing risk to life and property and that the response is beyond the capabilities of local resources,” a release from the county said. “Placer’s proclamation requests state and federal assistance, but neither a state nor a federal disaster has yet been declared that would authorize individual disaster assistance for residents and businesses.” Gov. Gavin Newsom also declared a state of emergency in Placer and El Dorado counties due to the fires. With the state of emergency declared, that opens up federal resources to assist in combating the fire. PG&E files incident report to CPUCIt’s still unclear how the Mosquito Fire started. However, PG&E filed a report with the state’s public utility commission for a pole near where the fire started. The U.S. Forest Service had placed “caution tape around the base of a PG&E transmission pole” the report said on Thursday. “Thus far, PG&E has observed no damage or abnormal conditions to the pole or our facilities near Oxbow Reservoir, has not observed down conductor in the area or any vegetation related issues.”PG&E is investigating. Here’s a look at the current air quality in Northern CaliforniaSmoke from the Mosquito Fire burning in Placer and El Dorado counties will continue to impact areas across the Sacramento region, according to Spare the Air. The Sacramento Metropolitan, El Dorado, Feather River, Placer and Yolo-Solano air districts forecast unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups in the region.
Residents of the town of Foresthill in Placer County can begin returning home as evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings for the Mosquito Fire, officials said Monday afternoon. The Foothills area saw some light rain in the area, which crews took advantage of in getting a better handle on the wildfire.
With evacuation warnings, residents are recommended to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice in case wildfire activity becomes threatening, but it also allows for already evacuated residents to return ...
Missoula Police Arrest Woman For Having 3.8 Grams Of Meth
Missoula Police Arrest Woman For Having 3.8 Grams Of Meth https://digitalalabamanews.com/missoula-police-arrest-woman-for-having-3-8-grams-of-meth/
At approximately 1:15 a.m. on September 16, 2022, a Missoula Police Department officer observed two vehicles in the parking lot of a casino located in the 2700 block of South Reserve Street. Police Public Information Officer Lydia Arnold explains.
“A little after one in the morning, an officer on patrol observed vehicles parked in an area in a manner which raised suspicion,” Arnold said. “The officer observed different vehicles come and go from the area and observed different people around the vehicles. The officer recognized one of the vehicles and a female based on prior law enforcement drug-related contacts.”
According to Arnold, the driver of the vehicle allowed the officer to do a consent search.
“As the officer was getting ready to conduct the search, a female, Tara Finley, got out of the car,” Arnold said. “As she was getting out of the car, she grabbed a bag that the officer had observed earlier in her possession prior to making contact with the vehicles. During the search, officers observed indicators of dangerous drugs and dangerous drug paraphernalia in the proximity of where Finley was sitting. An additional passenger in the car told officers Finley had observed law enforcement around her earlier and requested to be picked up so law enforcement would not notice her.”
Arnold said Finley had sent messages to the passenger of the car indicating use of dangerous drugs.
“When speaking to officers, Finley told officers the drugs were hers and indicated she had attempted to separate herself from them,” Arnold said. “Officers collected a presumed positive 3.8 grams of methamphetamine. This case is still under investigation with the Missoula Police Department Detective Division.”
Finley is currently being charged with felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.
20 Impressive Features at the New and Improved Missoula Airport
Missoula’s new airport will include large windows for loved ones to watch planes depart and arrive, and the only escalator on this side of Montana! Plus, a keggerator system for the Coldsmoke Tavern.
14 Destinations to Visit With Direct Flights From Missoula
Here’s a list of places to visit (and things to do while you’re there) with nonstop flights out of the Missoula Montana Airport.
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Alabama Students Standardized Test Scores Improving
Alabama Students’ Standardized Test Scores Improving https://digitalalabamanews.com/alabama-students-standardized-test-scores-improving/
(Photo: Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images)
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Alabama has released standardized test scores for Alabama schools, and education officials say the scores paint a picture of why students should be in the traditional school setting.
Students’ scores on the standardized tests have increased from last year. But some of the data points to students struggling, and education officials say some of that is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The numbers, from last year’s Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program tests, ACAP, show an increase in students scoring high enough to be proficient in math, reading, and science.
“We’re very encouraged because they are up in math and science and reading across the state. So our trajectory is definitely headed the right way,” said Dr. Eric Mackey, the State Superintendent of Education.
For all Mobile County Schools, about 41% of students are proficient in English Language Arts, a little more than 20% are proficient in Math, and 33% are proficient in Science.
In Baldwin County, 56% of students are proficient in English Language Arts, 36% are proficient in Math, and 49% are proficient in Science. You can see last year’s scores here.
Education officials argue that a lot of the gains come from students being in the classroom instead of learning from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s a clear correlation that the longer schools stayed closed down to in-person instruction, the lower the test scores were,” said Dr. Mackey.
But not all students are making gains, just 15% of economically disadvantaged students statewide are considered proficient. This is also a nationwide trend. But schools are working to help catch those students up, but need parents’ help.
“Schools have right now an unprecedented amount of resources in state funds to provide after-school and summer school programing. We’ve got to get parents to take advantage of that,” said Dr. Mackey.
The state will begin issuing the school letter grades, again, this year as they did before the pandemic. Those letter grades are expected to be out this November.
We reached out to the Mobile County Public School System about the test scores of their students, they released this statement:
In response to the recent data release, Mobile County Public Schools would like to “officially” respond as a district. First and foremost, we applaud our students and teachers for the job they do each day in providing instruction to our students based on unique needs throughout the district. These needs provided for daily vary in numerous economically and demographically and diverse environments. Even with challenges, the district continues to see growth in academic achievement throughout the district.
As we are still recovering from the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have worked to address gaps created by this unprecedented time. As in districts throughout the nation, our elementary students have been most impacted in the lower grades. In our kindergarten and first grade courses, students truly begin learning the foundations of reading and math. As a result of this unprecedented time, our students may have missed one or two years, thus missing that key instruction. However, we are prepared to combat this loss of instruction. Our elementary teachers have been trained in innovative, multi-sensory programs that allow them to reach all students as well as close learning gaps as a result of the pandemic. Each of our schools has adopted a systematic approach to identifying learning gaps, especially those in the areas of foundational reading and math skills throughout the year. This allows us to effectively implement the Alabama Literacy Act. We also provide innovative summer literacy camps at each elementary school. During the summer, elementary students were invited to participate, and we encouraged our students to attend in an effort to support growth in critical literacy skills. Literacy camps also included instructional time during each day to develop foundational math skills to prepare for the implementation of the Alabama Numeracy Act.
For middle school students, we have taken a similar approach, using data to drive our instructional decisions. We utilized ACAP Summative scores from previous years along with students’ grades and universal screeners to determine the needs of our students. At that point, students are given the appropriate supports based on their needs. For students who are missing foundational skills in reading and math, they are given small group and one-on-one instruction during the school day to help fill those gaps. Moreover, this allows us to continue to teach grade level standards in all subjects, so students do not miss instruction and may be successful.
We have restructured our high school schedules to provide more time for teachers to teach core content. Embedded intervention and ACT preparation target each student’s individual need. Data from previous test scores and student grades were used to help assign students to specific interventions or enrichment periods to help them achieve and support growth in all areas. To help place students in these specific courses, we provide students with universals screeners that help identify learning gaps. Additionally, our ACT Prep courses are specifically designed to meet the needs of our students to support test scores and subsequently growth for our district report card as ACT is used as an accountability tool. Each student is placed in a specific ACT Prep period based on his/her score on the Pre-ACT assessment given each year in 10th grade. These sections are fluid. As a student meets benchmarks set for each area, he or she may be moved to the next lowest scoring area. This specific approach helps target the needs of students on an individual basis.
We also understand that our district is large and diverse. The teacher shortage is an issue that faces districts throughout our country and state. We are working to continue to hire and place trained individuals to meet the needs of all our students, providing incentives and implementing the 2022 MCPSS Teacher Recruitment Fair. This recruitment fair allowed us to bring teachers to our classrooms from all over the southeast region. We have hired teachers as well as instructional specialists, literacy leads, and coaches to support schools. These individuals work with teachers to help analyze data and make instructional decisions based on student needs. These highly trained educators also work to provide our teachers with professional learning opportunities, so our teachers are prepared to implement the most innovative and effective instruction, allowing all of our students to grow and meet their full potential.
Again, we applaud our teachers and students for the job they do each day. While we recognize the need for improvement, we also recognize the growth that is taking place and celebrate their successes as we know, taking a negative approach is not in the best interest of teachers, students, and the district as a whole. For example, according to the U.S. News and World Report, Council Traditional School is the top elementary school in Alabama, Eichold-Mertz School of Math and Science is #3 and Old Shell Road School for Creative and Performing Arts is #11. And among Alabama’s middle schools, Clark-Shaw School of Math and Science is #4, and Phillips Preparatory is #5.
You can see the breakdown of the scores from each school in Mobile County here.
School
English
Math
Science
Mobile County TOTAL
41.05
20.66
33.72
Alba Middle
50.8
13.94
45.63
Allentown Elementary
53.41
38.59
55.2
Bryant High
28.57
15.71
25.68
Austin Elementary
61.73
38.1
55.84
Baker High
35.31
25.65
31.58
Barton Academy
81.46
51.66
68
Blount High
2.76
2.31
6.54
Booth Elementary
55.74
48.37
60.71
Breitling Elementary
48.77
28.1
52.69
Burns Middle
36.65
5.95
25.17
Burroughs Elementary
31.68
9.94
29.79
Calcedeaver Elementary
49.14
30.17
21.88
Calloway-Smith Middle
24.63
6.14
25
Castlen Elementary
59.11
41.33
64.38
Causey Middle
51.81
23.86
55.34
Chastang-Fournier K-8
21.91
3.2
18
Citronelle High
17.68
14.63
21.34
Clark-Shaw Magnet
81.3
34.65
78.4
Collier Elementary
60.06
49.26
47.06
Collins-Rhodes Elementary
29.37
10.99
9.09
Continuous Learning Center
6.25
0
12.5
Council Traditional
81.72
60.55
67.05
Craighead Elementary
27.17
11.41
27.42
Dauphin Island Elementary
70.59
67.65
86.67
Davidson High
42.23
36.24
47.14
Davis Elementary
27.67
22.97
25.97
Dawes Intermediate
73.03
60.91
68.6
Denton Magnet School of Technology
73.83
37.54
63.11
Dickson Elementary
40.21
19.49
34.62
Dixon Elementary
40.49
18.93
50
Dodge Elementary
38.6
14.96
28.57
Dunbar Magnet
62.78
17.72
42.22
Eichold-Mertz Magnet
90.21
68.94
82.43
Fonde Elementary
28.37
7.39
22.22
Forest Hill Elementary
25.3
11.16
11.36
Gilliard Elementary
33.6
27.57
28.93
Grand Bay Middle
41.14
13.47
41
Grant Elementary
27.12
13.56
28.21
Griggs Elementary
45.24
17.21
36.79
Hall Elementary
13.33
8.15
12.2
Hankins Middle
36.04
11.29
27.8
Haskew Elementary
45.68
35.68
53.95
Hollinger’s Island Elementary
46.77
30.65
53.33
Holloway Elementary
28.19
10.77
19.18
Howard Elementary
28
13
23.44
Indian Springs Elementary
32.69
10.69
28.57
LeFlore Magnet
8.26
2.46
9.84
Leinkauf Elementary
25.98
15.69
9.41
Lott Middle
47.17
17.18
36.67
Maryvale Elementary
20.19
8.21
6.41
McDavid-Jones Elementary
45.36
26.98
36.15
Meadowlake Elementary
31.41
10.42
32.79
Mobile County Training
21.83
2.05
9.09
Mary G Montgomery High
25.38
14.64
25.69
Morningside Elementary
26.13
14.93
8.22
Murphy High
24.43
9.81
18.11
N. Mobile County K...
74-Year-Old Leeds Woman Swindled Out Of $35000; Police Recover Money Trying To ID Suspect
74-Year-Old Leeds Woman Swindled Out Of $35,000; Police Recover Money, Trying To ID Suspect https://digitalalabamanews.com/74-year-old-leeds-woman-swindled-out-of-35000-police-recover-money-trying-to-id-suspect/
Birmingham Real-Time News
Published: Sep. 19, 2022, 5:56 p.m.
A 74-year-old Leeds woman was scammed out of $35,000, but police said they recovered all the woman’s money.
The investigation began Sept. 9, when the woman reported that someone called her and accused her of a crime. The suspect told her she would have to mail $20,000 to a location in New York.
The victim went to the bank and mailed the money overnight.
Police Chief Paul Irwin said the suspect called back and told her he had not received it. He told her that she would need to wire him $15,000 to a Bank of America account, which she did.
The victim told someone else about what happened, and they told her to call police.
The cash delivery was stopped, Irwin said. Det. James Butterbrodt contacted the Bank of America and froze the account to which the $15,000 was being sent.
Investigators obtained a search warrant and Bank of America is return a check to the Leeds Police Department as a refund of the wire transfer for the victim.
Irwin said detectives at the Cayuga Heights Police Department to identify and prosecute the person responsible for the crime.
“The elderly in our country are constantly being targeted by people in their own family and across the world,’’ Irwin said.
The chief lauded the detective for getting back the victim’s money.
“She was swindled out of $35,000 in a short period of time and not for his immediate actions, this money would not have been recovered,’’ he said. “This is a large amount of money and most citizens have worked their entire life to be able to retire and survive. This is despicable.
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Does A Book Call Trump 'The Son Of Man The Christ'?
Does A Book Call Trump 'The Son Of Man, The Christ'? https://digitalalabamanews.com/does-a-book-call-trump-the-son-of-man-the-christ/
A book that names Donald Trump as “the son of man” and “the Christ” was promoted by its author at multiple rallies for the former U.S. president.
Context
Author Helgard Müller said that he believes there are two Christs, with Jesus being the son of God who was betrayed by Judas, and Trump being the son of man who was “betrayed by [former U.S. President Mike] Pence.” He also claimed that his book, “President Donald J. Trump, The Son of Man – The Christ,” was not satire.
In September 2022, a Twitter user posted that flyers were available at an Ohio rally held for former U.S. President Donald Trump that named him as “the son of man” and “the Christ.” It was true that the flyers showed the cover of a real, published book from author
Helgard Müller, titled, “President Donald J. Trump, The Son of Man – The Christ.” The rally took place on Sept. 17 at the Covelli Centre arena in Youngstown.
Müller confirmed to us via the Messenger app that he personally handed the flyers out at the Youngstown Trump rally. “I did hand the flyers out. I gave them to the people in line. Some were sitting,” he said. We also asked him if anyone with Trump’s campaign or team had ever handed out the flyers in any official capacity. “No,” he answered.
Posts on Müller’s Facebook page showed that he traveled with a trailer (the small one below) and some signage to help promote his book at Trump rallies. The book‘s release appeared to have been around March 2022.
“Is this satire?,” a Facebook commenter asked. “Nope,” Müller answered. “The real deal.”
Another Facebook commenter asked for an explanation, posting, “What!!?? Trump…The Christ? Are you pulling our leg?” Müller provided an answer by pointing to his interpretation of Bible verses, saying he believed the son of God to be Jesus Christ, and the son of man to be Trump, meaning he believed there to be two Christs:
You know that Jesus, the Son of God always spoke about the Son of MAN in a third person?
“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words (Jesus, the Son of God), of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.”
Have you not notice how Jesus, the Son of God spoke in the first person about himself and always referred to the Son of MAN in the third person?
Müller also told us that he believed there to be a comparison between Jesus being betrayed by Judas and Trump purportedly being “betrayed by Pence,” purportedly referring to the former U.S. vice president’s decision to follow the U.S. Constitution rather than overturning the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election based on conspiracy theories. (In reality, no credible evidence of massive voter fraud has ever been produced to show that the election was “stolen,” as Trump often claimed.)
Following the Ohio rally, Müller uploaded a video that provided a longer explanation as to why he believed Trump to be “the son of man” and “the Christ,” as mentioned on the cover of his book. “Don’t get offended. Don’t say, ‘Ew, that’s blasphemous,’” he said. “Jesus is the king of the Jews. Trump is the king of kings.”
In sum, yes, it’s true that flyers were being handed out at a Trump rally for a book that called Trump “the son of God” and “the Christ.”
Sources:
Article II Executive Branch. Constitution Annotated, https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-2/section-1/.
@HelgardMullerShow. Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/HelgardMullerShow/.
Howie, Craig. “Trump Rallies for Vance — and Himself — in Ohio.” POLITICO, 17 Sept. 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/17/trump-rally-vance-ohio-midterms-00057341.
“Luke 22 – New International Version.” Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2022&version=NIV.
Müller, Helgard. President Donald J. Trump, The Son of Man – The Christ. Outskirts Press, Incorporated, 2022.
@nothoodlum. Twitter, 19 Sept. 2022, https://twitter.com/nothoodlum/status/1571904092720746502.
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Jan. 6 Panel Members Offer Long-Awaited Elections Reform Bill
Jan. 6 Panel Members Offer Long-Awaited Elections Reform Bill https://digitalalabamanews.com/jan-6-panel-members-offer-long-awaited-elections-reform-bill/
Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), two members of the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, introduced a bill on Monday to reform the Electoral College Act, offering a number of provisions to protect elections from interference by state and federal lawmakers.
The Presidential Election Reform Act would make clear that the role of the vice president in presiding over the counting of electoral votes is purely “ministerial.”
It also takes aim at potential action from the lawmakers’ colleagues to object to states’ electoral slates, requiring that a third of the members from both chambers must object to the certification, up from just one member for each chamber, while narrowing the grounds under which they can bring such an objection.
“If members of Congress have any right to object to electoral slates, the grounds for such objections should be narrow. Congress doesn’t sit as a court of last resort, capable of overruling state and federal judges to alter the electoral outcome,” the duo wrote in a Sunday night op-ed previewing the bill.
The bill also directly prohibits the fake elector scheme employed by the Trump campaign, which both submitted faux election certificates and pressured Republicans in various states to replace their electors with those who would vote for then-President Trump.
The legislation requires “a single, accurate certificate from each state,” according to a one-pager on the bill, and allows candidates to seek a court order if a state governor fails to transmit the electoral certificate. It also increases the penalty for neglecting that duty from $1,000 to $25,000.
The House Rules Committee is set to consider the Presidential Election Reform Act on Tuesday, clearing the way for the bill to make it to the House floor as soon as Wednesday.
The legislation comes amid progress on a similar Senate package introduced in July, with two House lawmakers introducing companion legislation last week.
The Cheney-Lofgren bill departs from the Senate’s Electoral Count Act in several ways, including by requiring a higher bar to object to elections — the Senate proposal requires one-fifth backing in each chamber to do so.
But the House bill also eyes other areas of election protection untouched by the Senate version, including a section designed to limit the ability to delay elections.
The legislation only allows for delays due to a “catastrophic event” such as a natural disaster affecting a substantial portion of the state from casting ballots, and would only permit an extension of the election in the affected areas.
“Federal law must make clear that the rules governing an election can’t change after the election has occurred. The Constitution assigns an important duty to state legislatures, to determine the manner in which the states appoint their electors. But this shouldn’t be misread to allow state legislators to change the election rules retroactively to alter the outcome,” Lofgren and Cheney wrote in the op-ed.
The bill is the first to come from the House committee’s members after they vowed to offer legislation to prevent the actions of Jan. 6 from happening again.
Committee member Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-Md.) has urged the panel to go further.
“Donald Trump didn’t set out to overthrow the Electoral Count Act, he set out to overthrow the election. And the election is far broader than just the Electoral Count Act,” Raskin said.
“We need to develop a comprehensive approach to guaranteeing voting rights and solidifying the electoral apparatus against coups and insurrections, political violence and electoral sabotage in the future,” he added.
“If all we did was to say that the vice president does not have the authority to nullify Electoral College votes, then we will not have lived up to this moment,” Raskin said.
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Kickoff Time TV Network Set For Auburns Home Game Against LSU
Kickoff Time, TV Network Set For Auburn’s Home Game Against LSU https://digitalalabamanews.com/kickoff-time-tv-network-set-for-auburns-home-game-against-lsu/
Auburn Football
Updated: Sep. 19, 2022, 1:26 p.m.|
Published: Sep. 19, 2022, 11:50 a.m.
Auburn quarterback Robby Ashford (9) throws a pass against Penn State during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP
Auburn will close out its season-opening five-game homestand under the lights.
Auburn will host LSU at 6 p.m. on Oct. 1, with the game airing on ESPN, the SEC announced Monday morning. It will be Auburn’s third evening kickoff in its first five games this season, all of which have been at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Read more Auburn football: Does Charles Barkley want to be Auburn’s next AD? “They can’t afford me”
Talty: Auburn should get Lane Kiffin because Bryan Harsin isn’t the guy
Bryan Harsin explains why Tank Bigsby got so few touches in loss to Penn State
The game will mark the 57th all-time meeting between Auburn and LSU. Auburn trails the all-time series, 24-31-1, but has won each of the last two meetings. Bryan Harsin’s team won in Death Valley last season for the first time since 1999, and Auburn routed LSU at Jordan-Hare Stadium during the 2020 season.
Auburn is 13-8 against LSU at home in series history.
Before the two teams meet Oct.1, Auburn (2-1) will host Missouri on Saturday to open SEC play as it tries to bounce back from a lopsided loss to Penn State last weekend. LSU (2-1) will host New Mexico in Baton Rouge, La., as Brian Kelly’s team tries to win its third straight after a season-opening loss to FSU.
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.
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A Trump Advisor's Trial Could Shed Light On 'espionage Lite' And Foreign Influence Around The Former President
A Trump Advisor's Trial Could Shed Light On 'espionage Lite' And Foreign Influence Around The Former President https://digitalalabamanews.com/a-trump-advisors-trial-could-shed-light-on-espionage-lite-and-foreign-influence-around-the-former-president/
Jury selection started in the trial of Tom Barrack, the former chair of Trump’s inaugural committee.
Barrack is just the latest Trump ally accused of illegally lobbying for foreign interests.
The trial is a test of the Justice Department’s crackdown on covert foreign influence.
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In the summer of 2016, Thomas Barrack stopped to appreciate his latest national television appearance as an informal advisor to the Trump campaign.
“I nailed it … for the home team,” Barrack wrote in a July 2016 text.
But in a court filing, federal prosecutors said Barrack was not referencing Trump’s campaign or the United States. The “home team” was instead the United Arab Emirates, prosecutors said, in an indictment charging Barrack — a wealthy businessman who served as chair of Trump’s presidential inaugural committee — with illegally acting as a foreign agent to push US officials on policies favoring the Gulf nation.
On Monday, jury selection began in Barrack’s trial, where he stands charged not only with acting as an unregistered foreign agent acting on orders of foreign rulers but also with obstructing justice and lying to the FBI. The trial is expected to last about a month and could shed additional light on how advisers in Trump’s orbit secretly lobbied his campaign and administration on behalf of foreign countries.
Indeed, Barrack is only the latest Trump ally to face charges in connection with an alleged foreign influence campaign. In October 2020, the prominent Republican fundraiser Elliot Broidy pleaded guilty to conspiring to influence the administration on behalf of Chinese and Malaysian interests. Trump’s onetime national security advisor Michael Flynn had previously admitted to making “material false statements and omissions” in foreign-agent filings related to his advocacy for Turkey. (Flynn was not charged in connection with Turkey but made the admission as he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his communications with the Russian ambassador to the US before Trump’s inauguration.)
Broidy and Flynn both received pardons from Trump.
Barrack is standing trial alongside his former assistant, Matthew Grimes, who was charged only with participating in the lobbying scheme. An Emirati businessman, Rashid al-Malik, was also charged, but he left the United States just days after federal agents interviewed him. He remains at large.
In court papers, federal prosecutors alleged that Barrack agreed in the spring of 2016 to develop a backchannel between the Emiratis and Trump campaign. As part of the arrangement, Barrack also agreed to influence and obtain information about the campaign’s foreign policy positions, according to the indictment, which quotes extensively from text and email correspondence.
Before long, Barrack sent al-Malik a copy of a speech he’d drafted for Trump, in which he praised an Emirati ruler who was the crown prince of Abu Dhabi at the time.
“They loved it so much! This is great!” Al-Malik replied, according to the indictment.
As the draft went through edits, Barrack then worked with Trump campaign officials to ensure that the remarks included a positive reference to Persian Gulf allies. After Trump delivered the speech, an Emirati official emailed Barrack to congratulate him “on the great job today” and to say “everybody here are happy with the results.”
Barrack also praised the United Arab Emirates in television interviews, with al-Malik passing along talking points from Emirati officials, according to the indictment.
Following Trump’s election, Barrack communicated with senior Emirati officials about the transition and likely candidates for key posts. In December 2016, al-Malik drafted a “wish list” of US foreign policy positions that would benefit the United Arab Emirates. A month later, in January 2017, al-Malik urged Grimes to push the Trump administration to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization — a longtime goal of the Emiratis.
“Yes. At your direction,” Grimes answered. Weeks later, Grimes followed up with a news article reporting that the US government was considering that move.
The prosecution of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort kicked off a new era of foreign influence enforcement.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
A new test
For the Justice Department, Barrack’s monthlong trial marks just the latest test of its recent crackdown on covert foreign influence.
After decades of light enforcement, the Justice Department in recent years has brought multiple prosecutions under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, a law designed to shine a light on Nazi propaganda. The 1938 law requires lobbyists and other consultants to register with the Justice Department and disclose their political activities for foreign countries and other overseas powers.
In 2018, Paul Manafort, the former chairman of Trump’s 2016 campaign, pleaded guilty to FARA-related charges in connection with his past work for the Russia-backed government in Ukraine. The case went down as a high-profile opening salvo in the Justice Department’s renewed scrutiny of foreign influence, but Trump pardoned Manafort in the waning weeks of his presidency.
Barrack was not charged with violating FARA but rather a lesser-known statute used in cases involving evidence of someone acting at the direction of a foreign government official. The law, described as “espionage lite” within the Justice Department’s national security division, has a maximum sentence of 10 years — twice that of FARA.
Former prosecutors said a conviction in Barrack’s case could send a message and sharpen the lines between illegal influence peddling and the lawful use of Washington connections to represent the viewpoints of foreign governments.
Ahead of trial, lawyers for Barrack and Grimes have argued that the Justice Department has overstretched a statute usually reserved for spies and criminalized free speech. And they have disputed that Barrack and Grimes ever entered into an agreement with the United Arab Emirates.
“Mr. Barrack was never an agent of the UAE, nor did he commit obstruction or make any false statements. There is no basis whatsoever for the charges against Mr. Barrack,” his lawyers wrote in a court filing.
Through his lawyers, Barrack has also argued that his contacts with Emiratis were no secret to the Trump campaign and the former president’s administration. Barrack has also raised questions about prosecutors waiting two years — and until after Trump left office — to charge him, arguing “the government intentionally delayed bringing this case for political reasons or tactical advantage.”
Prosecutors are expected to highlight evidence that Barrack stood to profit from his advocacy. Between April 2016 and 2018, they said, he was seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from Emirati sovereign wealth funds.
In 2017 and 2018, Barrack’s investment firm, Colony Capital Inc., raised about $374 million in capital commitments from the United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth funds — “in part as a result of the efforts” of Barrack, Grimes and al-Malik, prosecutors said.
“Of course, it’s not just Barrack who will be on trial. It’s the practices of the Trump years, Trump’s cronies trading on their proximity and access to the president and those around him,” said Norm Eisen, who served as counsel for House Democrats in Trump’s first impeachment, in an interview earlier this year.
“Barrack was just following the model of monetizing the presidency that Trump established.”
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Fact Check: False Claim That King Charles III Said Trump Won The Election
Fact Check: False Claim That King Charles III Said Trump Won The Election https://digitalalabamanews.com/fact-check-false-claim-that-king-charles-iii-said-trump-won-the-election/
The claim: King Charles III signed a proclamation saying Trump won the 2020 presidential election
Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Sept. 8 at the age of 96, ending her 70-year reign. Her son, King Charles III, was officially proclaimed the country’s monarch on Sept. 10.
Social media users are claiming the king has begun using his newfound power to weigh in on U.S. politics.
“King Charles III signs a proclamation stating that Donald Trump won the 2020 Presidential election and is the rightful President by Law,” a Sept. 11 Instagram post reads. “Warns Biden and Kamala to vacate the premises within 48 hours or a state of war will exist between America and England.”
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The post features a picture of the king signing a document and garnered more than 200 likes within a day. A now-deleted Facebook post amassed more than 400 likes within a day. Similar viral iterations have been shared on Instagram and Twitter.
There is no evidence to suggest the king signed such a proclamation. During his accession ceremony, he signed an oath solidifying the security of the Church of Scotland.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.
King didn’t proclaim Trump won the election
The photo featured in the post shows Charles signing a document during his accession ceremony at St. James’s Palace, where he was formally proclaimed as monarch of the U.K. The document is an oath vowing to uphold the security of the Church of Scotland, according to the royal family’s website.
The ceremony was filmed for the first time in history. At no point during the event did the king make any proclamation regarding former President Donald Trump or the 2020 presidential election.
It is also the responsibility of the Prime Minister, not the monarch, to declare war.
“In the event of a declaration of war or the commitment of British forces to military action, constitutional convention requires that authorisation is given by the Prime Minister, on behalf of the Crown,” says a 2018 briefing paper published by the House of Commons. “Decisions on military action are taken within the Cabinet with advice from, among others, the National Security Council and the Chief of the Defence Staff.”
Though it is not a legal requirement that Parliament be consulted before declaring war, it has been common practice in the past, according to the briefing paper.
Fact check: Queen Elizabeth II died in Scotland, contrary to false claims citing US locations
USA TODAY has previously debunked the claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. Election audits, lawsuits and recounts prove the election results were legitimate.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that the king signed a proclamation saying Trump won the 2020 presidential election. There’s no evidence the king signed such a proclamation. During his accession ceremony, Charles signed an oath solidifying the security of the Church of Scotland.
Our fact-check sources:
USA TODAY, Sept. 8, Special edition: Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96
USA TODAY, Sept. 10, Queen Elizabeth updates: King Charles III formally proclaimed, funeral date set, family gathers
The Washington Post, Sept. 10, Charles formally proclaimed king as princes William and Harry reunite
The Royal Household, Sept. 10, The Accession Council and Principal Proclamation
YouTube, Sept. 10, The Royal Family
The House of Commons, May 8, 2018, Parliamentary approval for military action
USA TODAY, Jan. 6, Fact check: How we know the 2020 election results were legitimate, not ‘rigged’ as Donald Trump claims
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim that King Charles III said Trump won in 2020
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Four Killed In Iran During Protests Over Death In Custody Rights Group
Four Killed In Iran During Protests Over Death In Custody – Rights Group https://digitalalabamanews.com/four-killed-in-iran-during-protests-over-death-in-custody-rights-group/
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Kurdish woman detained by Iran’s morality police last week
Police deny any wrongdoing, say Mahsa Amini fell ill
U.S. demands accountability for Amini’s death
Leading Iraqi Kurd sends condolences to family
DUBAI, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Four people were killed in Iran’s Kurdish region on Monday when security forces opened fire during protests over the death of a woman in police custody, a Kurdish rights group said, on a third day of turmoil over an event that has ignited nationwide anger.
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old from Iran’s Kurdistan province, fell into a coma and died following her arrest in Tehran last week by the morality police, sparking demonstrations in numerous areas including the capital. read more
Two of the people were killed as security forces opened fire on protesters in the Kurdish city of Saqez, Amini’s hometown, the Hengaw Human Rights Organisation said on Twitter.
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It said two more were killed in the town of Divandarreh “by direct fire” from security forces.
There was no official confirmation of the deaths.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
State TV said a number of protesters had been arrested but rejected “some claims of deaths on social media” by showing two injured youths who denied reports they had been killed. Their names were different to those in Hengaw’s report.
In the nationwide condemnations of Amini’s death, the Persian hashtag #MahsaAmini reached nearly 2 million Twitter mentions.
The police have said Amini fell ill as she waited with other women being held by the morality police, who enforce strict rules in the Islamic republic requiring women to cover their hair and wear loose fitting clothes in public.
But her father has repeatedly said his daughter had no health problems, adding that she had suffered bruises to her legs. He held the police responsible for her death.
The protests have been most intense in the Kurdish region, where the authorities have previously put down unrest by the Kurdish minority.
Hengaw said 15 people were injured in Divandarreh.
A video posted on Twitter earlier by Hengaw showed protesters throwing rocks while a man could be heard saying “there is a war in Divandarreh” and accusing the police of attacking.
Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the video.
A newspaper with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic’s “morality police” is seen in Tehran, Iran September 18, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Internet blockage observatory NetBlocks reported “near-total disruption to internet connectivity in Sanandaj” – the provincial capital of the Kurdish region – on Monday, linking it to the protests, according to its Twitter account.
In Washington, the White House demanded accountability for Amini’s death. read more
“Mahsa Amini’s death after injuries sustained while in police custody for wearing an ‘improper’ hijab is an appalling and egregious affront to human rights,” a White House spokesperson said.
‘UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT’
Tehran Police commander Hossein Rahimi said “cowardly accusations” had been made against police, that Amini suffered no physical harm, and the police had “done everything” to keep her alive.
“This incident was unfortunate for us and we wish to never witness such incidents,” Rahimi said.
A police video showed a woman identified as Amini walking into a room and sitting down alongside others, before fast-forwarding to show her on her feet talking to someone who was inspecting part of her clothing.
The woman then raised her hands to her head and collapsed.
Offenders against Iran’s sharia, or Islamic law, face public rebuke, fines or arrest. But activists have recently urged women to remove veils despite the hardline rulers’ crackdown on “immoral behaviour”. read more
Masoud Barzani, former president of Iraq’s Kurdish region, sent condolences to Amini’s family on Sunday, a statement said.
In Tehran, a widely-followed Iranian protest Twitter account posted footage showing what it said was a protest at a university against the paramilitary Basij, a militia.
Other videos showed police using a water cannon to disperse protesters in Tehran, and demonstrations spreading to cities such as Rasht, Mashhad and Isfahan.
Reuters could not independently verify the videos.
Vali Nasr of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies said the protests reflected pent up frustrations over matters including “the ethnic issue, the hijab issue, as well as … unhappiness with the way in which authorities react and brutally handle the population”.
An official organisation that promotes Islamic morals urged reform to the way Iran implements rules on hijab wearing, calling for less policing and more encouragement for women to abide by the rules.
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Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Ed Osmond, Leslie Adler and Grant McCool
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Elrich Joins Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations https://digitalalabamanews.com/elrich-joins-hispanic-heritage-month-celebrations/
Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations are in full swing.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has announced his participation in many of the events celebrating Latino and Hispanic people. Celebrations began on the Sept. 15 and will continue through Oct. 15.
Among the many events being held across the county, Elrich plans to visit Latino-owned businesses across the county on several different days. On Sept. 27, Elrich will be a guest on Montgomery al Dia, the County’s long-standing Spanish language show. The celebrations will conclude on Oct. 15 when Baila por la Vida or Dance for Life will take place from 5 to 8 p.m.
According to a press release, Montgomery County has proven to be one of the most popular destinations nationwide for Hispanic and Latino families.
“More than 200,000 Latinos call Montgomery County home. 40 percent of our foreign-born population are from Latin American and South American countries,” Elrich said.
According to 2020 Census statistics, Montgomery County is the second most popular destination nationwide for Bolivian immigrants and the third most popular destination for Salvadorian immigrants.
So proud to see so many people celebrating and recognizing the start of #HispanicHeritageMonth. 1 in 3 MCPS students are Latino and so are 13% of the workforce in Montgomery County. We will continue to be an inclusive and welcoming community to families from around the world. https://t.co/3lwy0VLdva
— County Exec Marc Elrich (@MontCoExec) September 15, 2022
Now available: calendars for #HispanicHeritageMonth events in Montgomery County broken down by regions. Please follow the link and have a look. In English and en español. https://t.co/YizP5WgyCp pic.twitter.com/Ein9W71hji
— County Exec Marc Elrich (@MontCoExec) September 15, 2022
When @OliverRFajardo asks you to rep for HHM, you do! Don’t have a jersey (don’t judge me lol), but reppin all day and everyday! pic.twitter.com/76u7fCzM7w
— Vilma Nájera, Assistant Principal (@APVNajera) September 15, 2022
Elrich began the month by issuing a statement in recognition of the month. His statement can be viewed here.
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Trump May Be Called To Testify At Ally's Foreign Agent Trial Judge Says
Trump May Be Called To Testify At Ally's Foreign Agent Trial, Judge Says https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-may-be-called-to-testify-at-allys-foreign-agent-trial-judge-says/
Tom Barrack watches jury selection in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S. September 19, 2022. Tom Barrack, a private equity executive and onetime fundraiser for former President Donald Trump is charged with acting as a foreign agent without notifying the U.S. government as required. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
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NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Former President Donald Trump may be called as a witness at the criminal trial of Thomas Barrack, a private equity investor and former Trump fundraiser charged with acting as an unregistered agent for the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. judge said on Monday.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn told several prospective jurors for Barrack’s trial about the prospect of Trump testifying to gauge whether they might be biased against the defendant.
Prosecutors said Barrack, a former chairman of the company now called DigitalBridge Group Inc (DBRG.N), tried to exploit his ties to Trump to advance UAE interests, without disclosing his efforts to the U.S. attorney general as the law requires. Barrack raised money for Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign and chaired Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee.
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Barrack, 75, has pleaded not guilty, as has his former assistant and co-defendant Matthew Grimes. Both intend to argue that their interactions with UAE officials were part of their work, and Barrack’s lawyers have said the U.S. State Department, and Trump himself, knew of his contacts with Middle East officials.
Any testimony by Trump would come as the Republican businessman-turned-politician faces a number of legal issues including a federal investigation into his handling of presidential records after leaving office and a New York state trial in October of his family company on tax fraud charges.
A lawyer and a spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Barrack’s lawyers in an Aug. 26 court filing said Trump and members of his administration “cannot be ruled out as potential witnesses.”
Twelve jurors and four alternates are to be selected to serve in the trial, which is expected to last about one month.
Prosecutors believe UAE officials gave Barrack input about what to say in television interviews and what Trump should say in a 2016 energy policy speech, and directed him to promote the interests of Saudi Arabia, a UAE ally. read more
Barrack was charged last year with acting as a foreign agent, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements in an FBI interview. The foreign agent charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
Cogan dismissed one prospective juror who said she did not like Trump, prompting the judge to ask if she could set her feelings aside.
“Subconsciously, I have no control,” she said. “Consciously, I want to be fair and impartial.”
Other prospective jurors were deemed fit to serve after they said their views about Trump would not affect how they weighed evidence.
One such juror said on a questionnaire that Trump was his least-admired public figure for “embarrassing our country and trying to steal an election.” Another said in court he believed “Trump is better than Biden,” referring to President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Barrack was arrested in Los Angeles but has been free on $250 million bond. Another co-defendant, Emirati businessman Rashid Al Malik, is at large.
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Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Jonathan Oatis
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.
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Nathaniel I. Burkett Obituary (2022) Orlando Sentinel
Nathaniel I. Burkett Obituary (2022) Orlando Sentinel https://digitalalabamanews.com/nathaniel-i-burkett-obituary-2022-orlando-sentinel/
Nathaniel I. (Bob) Burkett went to be with his Heavenly Father on September 13, 2022.
Bob is survived by his wife of 68 years, Alma Thompson Burkett, his son Bob (Arlene) Burkett, daughter Cindy (Bob) Hutchison, and daughter-in-law Natalie Burkett. He is predeceased by his son Bill Burkett and his sister Frankie Bassett. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren: Martha (Jason) Brackett, Robert (Courtney) Hutchison, Brad (Hiromi) Burkett, Mary (Michael) Veira, Amy (Brad) Ruhmann, Angela (Tim) Young, Daniel Hutchison, Rebecca (Anthony) Tisci, Sara Beth (Hunter) Bryant, Anna Burkett, and Will Burkett. He was blessed with 13 great grandchildren: Madilyn, Jameson, Ashlyn, Brody, Joseph, Bryson, Ansley, Noah T., Stephen, Rachel, Nathaniel, Noah B., and Leah. A new great grandson, Colton is expected in January.
Bob was born on November 25, 1932 in Laurel Hill, Florida to J.D. Burkett and Claudie Mae Hodge Burkett. Sadly, his father passed away when he was only one year old. His childhood was spent in Florala, AL; Mobile, AL; and
Pascagoula, MS. Upon graduating from Pascagoula High School, he moved to Childersburg, AL with his mother, sister, and step-father. In 1953, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and eventually was stationed in Orlando where he served the remainder of his duty and met the love of his life, Alma. They married on April 16, 1954.
In 1957, shortly after his discharge from the Air Force, he began his career with Publix. As Publix expanded, Bob was transferred to south Florida where he was assistant manager in Lighthouse Point and then in Coral Ridge. In 1961 he was promoted to manager of a brand new store in Boca Raton and then to West Palm Beach. He worked his way up through the retail side of the business and retired as a Regional Director of Retail Operations in the Miami Division in 1995.
Bob’s faith in God was central to his life. As a young boy, he and his mother walked to a revival “tent meeting” and that is where he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. He then recommitted his life to Christ in his early adult life at a revival in Orlando. At that time, he and Alma committed to tithing and have been faithful servants ever since. Bob and Alma raised their three children in West Palm Beach where they were members of Haverhill Baptist Church for many years. While living in Boca Raton, they were active members of Bible Town/Boca Raton Community Church. Upon retiring, Bob and Alma moved back to the Orlando area and joined First Baptist Church Orlando. An important part of Bob’s life was serving in the church. Participating on various committees, ushering, serving as a deacon and teller, and helping in the widow ministry are just a few examples of how Bob desired to honor the Lord by actively engaging in church community. God honored his faithfulness and Bob lived a very blessed life. His life verse was 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
Bob loved his wife and treasured Alma as a gift from God. He loved his family and when he wasn’t working, they were who he desired to be with. Above all, he loved the Lord and desired all to know Jesus as Savior. Bob was a man of great character – honest, a hard worker, reliable, compassionate, and generous. He prayed faithfully for his family and friends. He could always be counted on and was a wise counsel to many. He was a tenacious problem solver, a perfectionist, and a wonderful handyman. He was a devoted fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide. As an avid golfer, he truly enjoyed his Thursday golf with friends.
Bob will be greatly missed by his family and friends. There is great comfort in knowing that although he is no longer here with us in this temporary world, he is in the presence of his Lord and Savior waiting for us to join him one day. That is the hope that gives us the peace that passes all understanding. Bob would agree with David in his Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
The celebration of Bob’s life is Friday, September 23rd at 1:00pm in Henry Chapel, First Baptist Church Orlando with a reception to follow at the church.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be given in memory of Bob Burkett to First Baptist Church Orlando – Grace Ministry or Florida Baptist Children’s Home Lakeland (onemorechild.org).
Published by Orlando Sentinel from Sep. 19 to Sep. 21, 2022.
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Rally In Ohio Features One-Finger Salute Music Similar To QAnon Song
Rally In Ohio Features One-Finger Salute, Music Similar To QAnon Song https://digitalalabamanews.com/rally-in-ohio-features-one-finger-salute-music-similar-to-qanon-song/
Former President Donald Trump appeared at a rally on Saturday in Youngstown, Ohio, which featured music similar to the anthem of QAnon and supporters giving a one-finger salute.
USA Today, The New York Times and Business Insider reported that Trump was at the rally to support Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance. As Trump spoke, people reportedly raised an arm with their index finger pointed as they cheered.
The background music, The New York Times reported, sounded similar to a QAnon song called “Wwg1wga,” which stands for “where we go one, we go all.”
The salute, however, was a different story.
While The Washington Post and British newspaper The Guardian reported that some political observers pointed out the one-finger salute resembled another salute that the Nazis used, NBC News reporter Ben Collins and The New York Times reported that the salute was probably in reference to the QAnon song.
The salute did prompt New York State Senator Anna Kaplan to issue a statement condemning it.
“Supporters were urged to hold up their right hands in a unified salute that should shock the conscience of every American for its remarkable similarity to the “Heil Hitler” salute used by the Nazis,” Kaplan said. “I talk a lot about the importance of learning the history of the Holocaust — so that we don’t repeat history’s darkest chapter ever again — and the horrifying images from these events remind us that we have a lot more work to do yet.”
Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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'Scandalous': Trump Spokesperson Says White House Not 'leaking' Enough National Security Secrets
'Scandalous': Trump Spokesperson Says White House Not 'leaking' Enough National Security Secrets https://digitalalabamanews.com/scandalous-trump-spokesperson-says-white-house-not-leaking-enough-national-security-secrets/
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Trumps Youngstown Rally Shows The Ex-President Maintains A Tight Grip Over The Ohio Republican Party: Analysis
Trump’s Youngstown Rally Shows The Ex-President Maintains A Tight Grip Over The Ohio Republican Party: Analysis https://digitalalabamanews.com/trumps-youngstown-rally-shows-the-ex-president-maintains-a-tight-grip-over-the-ohio-republican-party-analysis/
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Nearly two years after he lost his re-election bid, Donald Trump’s grip on the Ohio Republican Party remains as strong as ever, the ex-president’s Saturday night rally in Youngstown showed.
Theoretically, a Trump rally this close to the Nov. 8 election could have political downsides, by alienating swing voters top Republicans like Gov. Mike DeWine and J.D. Vance, the GOP Senate nominee, are trying to court.
Trump, who’s always been polarizing, has become more politically extreme lately, leaning into the QAnon conspiracy theory movement by sharing a photoshopped image of himself wearing a “Q” pin on his social media platform last week and demanding last month that he be reinstated as president. At the rally Saturday night, Trump’s production team played music strikingly similar to a QAnon-themed song, prompting a response from some in the audience.
But DeWine, Vance, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, state Auditor Keith Faber and Pat DeWine, Pat Fischer and Sharon Kennedy, the three Republican justices running in this year’s Ohio Supreme Court races, all took time from their busy campaigns to get to the event. The three justices met with Trump briefly before the event, Trump said during the rally.
The governor’s journey to the event, held at the mostly-full Covelli Center arena in Youngstown, was particularly fraught.
Amid a busy day of campaigning and a family commitment on the opposite end of the state, DeWine, whom Trump has publicly tormented in the past by suggesting he should draw a primary challenger, improbably squeezed in a meeting with Trump before the rally, thanking the president for his recent endorsement during a private chat on the runway of the Youngstown-area airport.
DeWine then jumped on a plane – with costs covered by the DeWine campaign — and managed to get to Cedarville in Greene County on time to see his three granddaughters’ nighttime cross-country meet, posting a photo on social media.
“It is very rare for all three of them to be running in the same meet, so it was a special night. I figured out I could meet former President Trump at the Youngstown airport and then fly back to Springfield for the meet in Cedarville,” DeWine told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer in a statement.
Vance ate his own helping of humble pie about an hour into Trump’s speech.
In a tangent, Trump complained about a New York Times article that suggested Vance and other Republican Senate candidates across the country weren’t thrilled that Trump was scheduling and holding rallies in their states.
Vance is running a tough race against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, leading national Republicans to plow almost $30 million into a state they weren’t planning to focus on.
The Times article did not specifically say Vance didn’t want Trump to be there, saying rather that Trump’s political team informed Vance’s campaign that the president was coming instead of asking if the ex-president’s presence was needed. The two sets of aides coordinated the Youngstown location, the article said.
But Trump, taking a break from criticizing Ryan, described the article as saying Vance wasn’t sure if he wanted Trump’s support.
“J.D. is kissing my a–, he wants my support so bad. I’m 18 points up!” Trump said, describing what he said were his poll numbers in Ohio over President Joe Biden. (An Emerson College poll from August that Trump shared on social media earlier Saturday showed Trump with a 14-point lead in a hypothetical Biden matchup, although others, including a more recent Emerson poll, show a narrower lead.)
Three minutes later, Vance, a former ardent Trump critic who won the Republican primary thanks to a last-minute endorsement from Trump, walked onto the stage and shook Trump’s hand.
Ryan, whom the crowd booed throughout the Saturday rally, made hay out of the exchange the next day, saying on CNN: “I’ll tell you what Ohioans don’t want. Regardless of their political party or even their views, they don’t want a senator who’s gotta go kiss someone’s ring or kiss someone’s rear end, to go get the OK to vote a certain way.”
Also there, serving as warm-up speakers, were a crop of Trump-endorsed Republican political newcomers running for Congress this year: Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, Max Miller, J.R. Majewski. Trump helped Miller, a former White House aide, and Gesiotto Gilbert, a former Miss Ohio and pro-Trump commentator, win their primaries by endorsing them.
Trump didn’t endorse Majewski before the primary election, but during Saturday’s rally, described the arbitrary sequence of events that led him to give Majewski a major boost in his campaign against two better-known opponents.
Trump said he was flying in to Ohio for a rally last April, just days before the primary, when he saw something he liked through his plane window.
“I see this massive field, wheat field. And it was cut [to read] Trump. Trump. The letters were like 60 feet,” Trump said. “So I’m flying in. I’m looking down. I said ‘Look at that field?’ I said ‘Who did this?” It’s a guy named J.R. Majewski.”
Trump ended up singling out Majewski for praise, picking him out.
“I called him out at the rally. And he wasn’t really campaigning too hard because he wasn’t really thinking about beating these four professional politicians, but I called him out,” Trump said.
Closing that section of the speech, Trump said Majewski ended up winning his primary. Majewski, a nuclear industry official who rose to prominent in pro-Trump circles after he painted Trump’s name on his lawn, now is facing Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longtime Toledo Democrat, in a newly drawn district that projects as a political toss-up.
In his speech earlier in the night, Majewski referred to himself and Vance as “Ultra MAGA” candidates, referencing a pejorative term Biden has used to cast hardcore pro-Trump Republicans as political extremists.
In his brief remarks, Majewski falsely said Democrats stole the 2020 election, amplifying claims that have been rejected by Trump’s own Homeland Security and Justice departments as well as dozens of courts. He also took the chance to criticize policies DeWine pursued during the coronavirus pandemic while not mentioning the governor by name.
“I’ve called all our candidates and met with every congressman,” Majewski said. “Our days of being forgotten in Ohio are over. We are going to lead the way. No more empty promises. No more locking us down. No more masks. And no more ruining our children.”
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Auburn Drops In ESPN College Football Power Index After Penn State Loss
Auburn Drops In ESPN College Football Power Index After Penn State Loss https://digitalalabamanews.com/auburn-drops-in-espn-college-football-power-index-after-penn-state-loss/
Auburn starts its SEC schedule this Saturday (11 am CT) coming off an embarrassing 41-12 loss against Big Ten foe Penn State two days ago at Jordan-Hare. Byran Harsin’s squad dropped 11 spots on the ESPN College Football Power Index after the defeat in the rematch against the Nittany Lions.
ESPN developed the College Football Power Index in 2013 to predict game and season outcomes. FPI also measures team strength. The index ranked Auburn #11 during the preseason. Before the win against Mercer, ESPN’s FPI said the Tigers had a 91.5% of winning at least six games.
The Tigers have a 30.6% chance of winning at least six games, according to the latest FPI rankings. Auburn also has a 0% chance of winning out, winning the West, or a possible Southeastern Conference title, again according to the lastest rankings.
Read More Auburn Football: Talty: Auburn should get Lane Kiffin because Bryan Harsin isn’t the guy
Bryan Harsin explains why Tank Bigsby got so few touches in loss to Penn State
Impactful plays from Auburn’s 41-12 loss against Penn State
Because of their demanding schedule, the preseason FPI had Auburn finishing the season with 7.4 wins to 4.6 losses. ESPN’s College Football Power Index projects a 4.9-7.1 record for Auburn this season. ESPN uses over 20,000 simulations to get to these numbers. FPI ratings for teams based on anticipated offensive, defensive, and special teams elements.
Auburn dropped to #27 after beating Mercer and to #40 after a not-so-convincing win against San Jose State before the Penn State debacle. The Tigers are #51, one spot below Appalachian State, who needed a hail mary to beat Troy and a slot above 3-0 Kansas.
Auburn scored one touchdown against Penn State, which leads an offensive efficiency ranking of #77. The defense is rated lower at #102 in America, and the overall efficiency is 91st. ESPN bases its overall efficiency rankings on incorporating offense, defense, and special teams efficiencies into a single schedule-adjusted measure of per-play efficiency.
Defensive ratings are based on the defense’s contribution to scoring margin on a per-play basis, adjusted for the strength of opposing offenses. The offense is charted on its contribution to scoring margin, similar to the defensive metrics.
In layman’s terms: Auburn hasn’t shown consistency on offense or defense. The Tigers have to get better on both sides of the ball if they’re going to win games. Auburn had four turnovers against Penn State and was 2-4 in the red zone, both field goals. There are several areas where the Tigers must improve if they’re going to overcome the Penn State loss.
“In my opinion, everyone is going to have some type of disappointment at some point. We still have a long season ahead of us and there’s a lot of football to play,” Harsin said. “What we do moving forward, it’s going to be the key to our success. I think our guys understand that. The coaches understand that, but we have to get it done at the end of the day. That’s really what it comes down to.”
Tiger fans looking for some optimism can take solace in the FPI, giving Auburn a 72% chance to beat Missouri in a pivotal home game.
“We will have our guys, in this week’s preparation, ready to go play against Missouri on Saturday. But, I do want to thank everybody for playing the game and what they brought,” Harsin said. That was awesome. Now, we have to go out there, we have to put the time and work in. We have to make sure we are prepared to go out there and play the way that we all hope we can play. Those are the expectations and the standards we have for this football team.”
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Opinion | Project Veritas Offered Cash Bonuses For specific Goals Court Records Say
Opinion | Project Veritas Offered Cash Bonuses For ‘specific Goals,’ Court Records Say https://digitalalabamanews.com/opinion-project-veritas-offered-cash-bonuses-for-specific-goals-court-records-say/
Conducting an undercover investigation is a resource-intensive project, if the ongoing civil trial involving sting-video operation Project Veritas is any indication. It requires cutting-edge technology, extensive planning and dedicated employees.
And in this particular case, a till deep enough for some cash-bonus offers, according to an email that surfaced in the trial exhibits. “With the knowledge that ‘Content is King,’ I’ve decided to challenge the organization with a rallying focus,” wrote Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe in the email to his colleagues. “I’ve laid out below specific goals that when achieved will reward each and every full-time employee and several others intimately involved in the investigations.”
The email came amid crunchtime for Project Veritas, a month before the 2016 presidential election, whose contours it sought to shape. For months, it had taken careful steps to infiltrate Democracy Partners, an umbrella group of progressive political consulting firms. Project Veritas staffers used hidden cameras to record Democratic operatives boasting about their work. Among the targets were Robert Creamer, founder of Democracy Partners, and Scott Foval, a subcontractor of the firm. (Following the publication of the videos starting on Oct. 17, 2016, Creamer stepped away from his work advising the Hillary Clinton campaign, and Foval lost his job.)
Arguments in the trial Democracy Partners v. Project Veritas center on whether the infiltrators engaged in fraudulent misrepresentation and unlawful wiretapping, as alleged in the plaintiffs’ 2017 complaint. Paul Calli, who represents Project Veritas, argues that his clients were merely reporting a news story — and that it’s not their fault if the political operatives happened to make embarrassing statements while on tape. Democracy Partners, on the other hand, maintains that Project Veritas is a “political spying operation” that was out to help Donald Trump win the presidential race.
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In his opening statement last week, Joseph Sandler, an attorney representing Democracy Partners, cited the cash-bonus offer as part of his argument that the organization was engaging in politics, not investigative journalism. The topic may well arise again this week, when O’Keefe is due to testify in the trial, which is unfolding in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman.
O’Keefe’s offer of cash bonuses came late in Project Veritas’s investigation of Democracy Partners, an operation whose timeline stretches back to spring 2016. Through the use of false identities, backstories and internet pages, Project Veritas had not only scooped up video of Creamer and Foval, but it had also planted an intern — Allison Maass, who presented herself as “Angela Brandt” — in the offices of Democracy Partners.
In an Oct. 3, 2016, email, O’Keefe specified what more the project needed. The top objective:
1) $1,000 bonus to every qualified participant IF we get the content we need on Democracy Partners:
Objective- Prior to October 14th, PV obtains Video and Audio OR Written collaboration where individuals directly connected to the Creamer/Foval element (or some derivative directly connected to same) state that they participate in some form of voter fraud. The words “Voter Fraud” don’t need to be mentioned, however the activities addressed must contain elements of Voter Fraud. Such as “we bus “x” in to the area from out of state” or “we offer money to homeless people to vote,” etc.
The memo also proposed a $1,000 bonus if either candidate mentioned the Democracy Partners investigation “OR we GET TV or Print coverage in Washington Post, New York Times, WSJ, Associated Press, National CBS, National NBC, National ABC, Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC.” A higher bonus of $2,500 would be disbursed “if Donald Trump mentions our videos in the Oct 19th debate, with or without attribution to PV.”
“I can’t wait to write dozens of bonus checks,” wrote O’Keefe in concluding the email.
In a February 2019 deposition, O’Keefe fielded a number of questions from Sandler on the email, including whether it was ethical “to offer a bonus to reporters, to a reporter, if they get a source or interviewee to state something specific that’s set out in advance.” O’Keefe responded that in this situation, “I believe it’s not unethical.” Further defending the practice, he said there’s nothing unethical in “providing an incentive for reporters to go get a story, which is essentially what our reporters did, and the story they got was huge.”
What’s more, O’Keefe claimed that “we can’t make people say things.” However: When Sandler noted that Project Veritas “never got Mr. Creamer to say” that he’d participated in voter fraud, O’Keefe replied, “We got him to say, perhaps, things that were even worse.”
Asked about these matters, Project Veritas responded with this statement: “As journalists, we understand your focus. As litigants, your specific focus is likely to be a subject of future testimony during Mr. Sandler’s examination and thus it would not be ethical or appropriate for us to comment at this time.”
The Project Veritas videos went viral and snared coverage from several mainstream outlets. O’Keefe told Sandler in the deposition that he didn’t recall if he’d actually paid out any bonuses for the first “objective” in the memo.
The Erik Wemple Blog has never heard of a bonus being offered to journalists at mainstream outlets in connection with particular reportorial outcomes. Any such arrangement would only boost critiques that establishment media adjusts the facts to its preconceived conclusions — and it would be a smoking-gun liability in a defamation suit brought against any media outlets reckless enough to deploy it as an incentive.
Mark Stencel, co-director of the Reporters’ Lab at Duke University, notes that tabloids pay for exclusives when hot stories arise, though such scenarios are different from “bounties for specific news outcomes,” he writes via email. And though there are examples of “checkbook journalism” in Britain, he’s “hard pressed to think of recent examples here.”
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Sen. Shelby Says Growth Makes The Case For New Huntsville Federal Courthouse
Sen. Shelby Says Growth Makes The Case For New Huntsville Federal Courthouse https://digitalalabamanews.com/sen-shelby-says-growth-makes-the-case-for-new-huntsville-federal-courthouse/
Huntsville, which last year claimed the title as the largest city in Alabama, continues to see new people moving in every day so that’s why a new and larger federal courthouse is needed to replace the one built 90 years ago, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Monday.
The retiring senator joined present and retired federal, state and local leaders at the site for the new federal courthouse that’s being built between Gallatin Street and Dr. Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard. They officially broke ground for the approximately $100 million, 123,000 square-foot project already under construction and expected to open in the summer of 2024.
Shelby referenced the city’s growth with a story of recently meeting a young couple from New Jersey – an attorney and an engineer – moving to Huntsville. “We’ve been down there,” Shelby said they told him. “We’ve got friends there.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala) helped break ground today on a nfew Huntsville courthouse to replace this one on Holmes Avenue. (Paul Gattis | pgattis@al.com)
“They’re coming from everywhere, and you’re going to see more of this,” Shelby said. “So you needed this courthouse.
“You’ve got a lot a lot of federal presence here – one of the big federal presences in the South,” Shelby said, “so you’re going to have something here. But what is this all about? It’s about justice, about courts and the rule of law, addressing grievances and everything that goes with it.”
Shelby has “single-handedly secured funding to replace Alabama’s aging courthouses,” U.S. District Judge Liles Burke said. “He has guided funding for new federal courthouses in Tuscaloosa, Mobile, Anniston and, yes, Huntsville during his tenure.”
Shelby said that U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith, Jr. and the late attorney local Herman “Buck” Watson “worried me to death about this courthouse. They didn’t give up.”
Shelby helped fund buying the land years ago but said it took more than 20 years to secure funding for the building. That land in the heart of downtown would be unaffordable today, he said.
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said the new courthouse meets a need for downtown, north Alabama and “for the nation.” Battle said, “That is one thing Richard Shelby has brought us time and time again. Where there was a need for the nation – and it had to be a need for this nation – Richard Shelby would step up and Richard Shelby would come in and say, ‘Where in Alabama do you want to put that?’”
Allison Azevedo, deputy commissioner of Public Buildings Services for the federal General Services Administration, said she was excited to be in Huntsville to see the growth she’d heard about. “Congratulations,” Azevedo told local leaders.
Azevedo listed the main features of the 123.000-square-foot federal district courthouse: “Six chambers for the Northern District of Alabama and secure parking for the judges that will work in that facility. Also (offices for) the U.S. Marshall’s Service, U.S. attorneys, U.S. Probation and Pretrial.
“Co-locating these services in this building is going to save money,” Azevedo said. “It’s going to improve operational efficiency for the judiciary. Additionally, it will help meet the court’s long-term space and security needs.”
The new courthouse is rising south of Big Spring Park and north of the Twickenham Square shopping centerl. Design on the building began in 2021, and contractor is Brasfield & Gorrie LLC of Birmingham.
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Powerful Quake Strikes Mexico On Anniversary Of Temblors At Least One Dead
Powerful Quake Strikes Mexico On Anniversary Of Temblors, At Least One Dead https://digitalalabamanews.com/powerful-quake-strikes-mexico-on-anniversary-of-temblors-at-least-one-dead/
People react during a quake in Mexico City, Mexico September 19, 2022. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo
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MEXICO CITY, Sept 19 (Reuters) – A powerful earthquake struck western Mexico on Monday on the anniversary of two devastating temblors, killing at least one person, damaging buildings, knocking out power and sending residents of Mexico City scrambling on to streets for safety.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a video address that a person had died in the Pacific port of Manzanillo after a wall collapsed in a store.
Shortly after 1 p.m. (1800 GMT), the magnitude 7.6 quake quake hit near the coast on the border region of the states of Michoacan and Colima at a depth of around 15 km (9 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
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Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of damage in the capital after the tremors, which rumbled through Mexico on the same day as major quakes battered the country in 1985 and 2017.
“It’s this date, there’s something about the 19th,” said Ernesto Lanzetta, a business owner in the Cuauhtemoc borough of the city. “The 19th is a day to be feared.”
In an earlier message before announcing the death, Lopez Obrador said there was material damage in areas near the epicenter. Images posted on social media showed buildings badly damaged.
Power was knocked out in parts of the central Roma area of the capital, some 400 km (250 miles) from the epicenter. Local residents cradling pets stood on the street, while tourists visiting a local market with a local guide were visibly confused and upset.
Traffic lights stopped working, and people clutched their phones, sending text messages or waiting for calls to get through.
Thousands of people were killed in the Sept. 19, 1985 earthquake and more than 350 died in the Sept. 19, 2017 quake.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for parts of Mexico’s coast, saying waves reaching 1 to 3 meters (3 to 9 feet) above the tide level were possible.
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Reporting by Mexico City newsroom; writing by Dave Graham; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Sandra Maler
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Oil Edges Up As Supply Woes Outweigh Demand And Rate Hike Worries
Oil Edges Up As Supply Woes Outweigh Demand And Rate Hike Worries https://digitalalabamanews.com/oil-edges-up-as-supply-woes-outweigh-demand-and-rate-hike-worries/
Crude oil storage tanks are seen in an aerial photograph at the Cushing oil hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, U.S. April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Drone Base
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Strong dollar weighs as Fed rate decision looms
Supply concerns limit decline
Easing COVID-19 restrictions in China could lend support
HOUSTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Oil prices edged slightly higher in volatile trading on Monday, as worries of tight supplies outweighed fears that global demand could slow due to a strong U.S. dollar and possible large increases to interest rates.
Brent crude for November rose 65 cents, or 0.7%, to $92 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October was up 62 cents to $85.73 per barrel, or 0.7% percent.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, fell short of its oil production target by 3.583 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, an internal document showed. In July, OPEC+ missed its target by 2.892 million bpd. read more
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“The surveys of OPEC+ production being so far below their quotas for August has the market feeling that they’re
simply unable to increase their production if the market demands,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.
Central banks around the world are certain to increase borrowing costs this week to tame high inflation, and there is some risk of a full 1 percentage point rise by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Many traders were once again moving to the sidelines to await the Fed’s meeting this week, said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.
A British public holiday for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth limited trade volume during London hours on Monday. read more
Still, oil also came under pressure from hopes of an easing of Europe’s gas supply crisis. German buyers reserved capacity to receive Russian gas via the shut Nord Stream 1 pipeline, but this was later revised and no gas has been flowing. read more
Crude has soared this year, with the Brent benchmark coming close to its record high of $147 in March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated supply concerns. Worries about weaker economic growth and demand have since pushed prices lower.
The U.S. dollar stayed near a two-decade high ahead of this week’s decisions by the Fed and other central banks. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies and tends to weigh on oil and other risk assets.
The market has also been pressured by forecasts of weaker demand, such as last week’s prediction by the International Energy Agency that there would be zero demand growth in the fourth quarter. read more
“The market still has the start of European sanctions on Russian oil hanging over it. As supply is disrupted in early December, the market is unlikely to see any quick response from U.S. producers,” ANZ analysts said.
Easing COVID-19 restrictions in China, which had dampened the outlook for demand in the world’s second-biggest energy consumer, could also provide some optimism, the analysts said. read more
U.S. crude oil stockpiles are estimated on average to rise by around 2 million barrels in the week to Sept. 16, according to a Reuters poll. read more
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Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London, Florence Tan and Jeslyn Lerh Editing by David Goodman, David Evans, David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Is It Illegal To Burn Leaves In Maine? https://digitalalabamanews.com/is-it-illegal-to-burn-leaves-in-maine/
It’s getting to be that time of year when the trees start shedding and litter our lawns with leaves of all sizes and colors, leaving us to slave in the front and back yard every damn weekend trying to keep it somewhat manageable. And every year (just like the fall weather filling the air), it feels like it happens out of nowhere.
Imagine my surprise when I got home from vacation and looked out my window where my patio used to be to see nothing but a blanket of leaves (mainly due to the massive oak I have in the backyard.)
Burning Leaves
My first thought, honestly, was just to sweep up all the leaves and toss them in my empty fire pit, light them up, and BOOM — problem solved. Seemed like the easiest (and cheapest) route to take, right? Sweep them into a pile, toss them all in, no need to spend money on leaf bags, buy a permit to drop said bags off (depending on where you live). Plus, maybe you can even snag an afternoon or evening of s’mores-making out of it.
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But is leaf burning legal in Maine?
Your first thought may be “probably not,” and you’d only be partially right. Because according to Maine.gov, open burning of leaves is actually illegal — unless you’ve secured a permit. As mentioned in Title 12, Section 9325, subsection 1-F,
“A permit is required for open burning of leaves, brush, deadwood and tree cuttings accrued from normal property maintenance by the individual landowner or lessee of the land unless expressly prohibited by municipal ordinance.”
Basically, get a permit, and you’re free to load that fire pit up as much as you want and let that sucker burn (preferably safely, obviously. No need to be careless and set the whole neighborhood on fire.)
You can apply for your Maine open burn permit on Maine.gov, but keep in mind with or without a permit, you’ll only be allowed to burn on days when the fire danger rating is either low or moderate.
New Maine Laws In 2022
On Monday, August 15th, 2022 nearly two dozen new laws went into effect. Here are some of the highlights
LOOK: What major laws were passed the year you were born?
Data for this list was acquired from trusted online sources and news outlets. Read on to discover what major law was passed the year you were born and learn its name, the vote count (where relevant), and its impact and significance.
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GOP's Election-Year Standing With Independents At Risk
GOP's Election-Year Standing With Independents At Risk https://digitalalabamanews.com/gops-election-year-standing-with-independents-at-risk/
By THOMAS BEAUMONT
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Wis. (AP) — Sarah Motiff has voted for Sen. Ron Johnson every time his name appeared on the ballot, starting in 2010 when the Wisconsin Republican was first elected as part of the tea party wave. Fond of his tough views on spending, she began the year planning to support his reelection again.
She became skeptical this summer as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection reported his office discussed giving then-Vice President Mike Pence certificates with fake presidential electors for Donald Trump from Wisconsin and Michigan, part of a broader push to overturn Joe Biden’s victory. Johnson has downplayed the effort and the certificates were never given to Pence, but Motiff, a political independent, wasn’t convinced.
“I’m not going to lie when I say I’ve had some concerns about some of the reports that have come out,” the 52-year-old nonpartisan city councilwoman from Columbus, Wisconsin, said. “It just put a bad taste in my mouth.”
Nudged further by the June U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, Motiff is opposing Johnson and supports his Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, in one of the most fiercely-contested Senate races this year.
“Which was really a hard decision for me because I do think he’s done good things in the past,” Motiff said of Johnson. “But this is pretty damaging.”
Motiff’s evolution represents the challenge for Republicans emerging from a tumultuous summer, defined by the court decision, high-profile hearings on former President Donald Trump’s actions during the insurrection and intensifying legal scrutiny of his handling of classified information and efforts to overturn the election. Now, a midterm campaign that the GOP hoped would be a referendum on President Joe Biden and the economy is at risk of becoming a comparison of the two parties, putting Republicans in an unexpectedly defensive position.
In politically-divided Wisconsin where recent elections have been decided by a few thousand votes, the outcome could hinge on self-described independent voters like Motiff.
“Having former President Trump so prominently in the news in so many ways makes it easier for Democrats to frame the midterm as a choice between two competing futures as opposed to a referendum on the Democrat governance,” said Republican pollster Whit Ayres. “That’s hurting Republicans. It’s distracting from the referendum message and allowing more of a focus on a choice of two different parties.”
That tension is playing out in Columbia County, Wisconsin, a constellation of tidy small towns surrounded by rolling dairy farm country, all within commuting distance of Madison.
Statewide, top-of-the-ticket candidates have won by barely a percentage point in the past three elections. Trump won Columbia County by a little more than 500 votes out of 33,000 cast in 2020.
In interviews with more than a dozen independent voters here over two days last week, many were rethinking their support of the GOP this fall.
Steve Gray, a self-described Republican-leaning independent “but never a Trump fan,” opposed the June court decision, because he backs abortion rights. But the 61-year-old school maintenance manager also resented what he saw as an unwelcome political power play by out-of-power Republicans.
“Trump stacked the Supreme Court. We all knew he wanted to overturn Roe,” said Gray, of small-town Rio, where Trump won by two votes in 2020. “That decision was a partisan hand grenade Trump threw into this election.”
The court decision “upended the physics of midterm elections,” said Jesse Stinebring, a pollster advising several Democratic campaigns.
It gave voters the rare opportunity to judge a policy advance backed by the minority party, distracting them from a pure up-or-down vote on majority Democrats, he said.
“The backlash from a political perspective isn’t directed at the traditional party in power, but is actually reframed in terms of this Republican control of the Supreme Court,” Stinebring said.
The decision made Dilaine Noel’s vote automatic.
The 29-year-old data analytics director for a Madison-area business said she had never affiliated with either party.
Despite her grievances about Democrats’ warring moderate and liberal wings, her support for abortion rights gave her no choice than to vote for the party’s candidates this fall.
“By default, I have to move in that direction,” said Noel, from small-town Poynette in the Wisconsin River valley. “I’m being forced to.”
Mary Percifield is a lifelong independent voter who says the abortion decision motivated her to vote Democratic because she worries the court might overturn other rights.
“A right has been taken away from us,” the 68-year-old customer service representative from Pardeeville, said. “I question if a woman’s right to vote will be taken away. A woman’s right for birth control.”
Independent voters who lean neither Democrat nor Republican nationally preferred Biden over Trump, 52% to 37% in 2020, and preferred Democrats over Republicans in U.S. House races by a similar margin in the 2018 midterms, according to AP VoteCast. Independents who lean neither Democrat nor Republican made up 5% of the 2020 electorate and 12% in 2018.
Independents had moved toward Republicans by early this year, seeking answers on the economy, said Republican pollster David Winston, a senior adviser to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. But they have drifted back toward Democrats as efforts by GOP leaders to focus on the economy have clashed with Republican attacks on the Justice Department and Trump’s continuing complaints about the 2020 election.
“Everything is suddenly back in the context of Trump,” Winston said in light of Trump’s prominent endorsement of Senate candidates and protests of the federal investigation into classified documents recovered from his Florida home. “It’s not that Democrats are gaining. It’s that Republicans over the summer were off talking about a variety of things. And independents are thinking, ‘If you’re not talking specifically about the problems that I’m concerned about, why am I listening?’”
Republicans remain optimistic about their chances in November, particularly about netting the handful of seats they need to regain the U.S. House majority. Inflation remains high and, despite a recent uptick, approval of Biden is still low for a party hoping to maintain its hold on power.
The economy remains the most effective message and one that breaks through others, GOP campaign officials say.
“Prices and things are so front-of-mind to people,” said Calvin Moore, the communications director for Congressional Leadership Fund, a superPAC supporting Republican U.S. House candidates. “It’s not just something that’s on the news. It’s something they are experiencing every day in their daily life. It’s something they face themselves every day when they go to the grocery store.”
A shift by independents is particularly meaningful in Wisconsin, as Republicans work to overtake Democrats’ one-seat majority in the Senate.
Johnson, among the most vulnerable Republicans running for reelection this fall, is locked in a tight race with Barnes, Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor. Of the most competitive Senate seats this year, his is the only one held by a Republican.
Though Johnson dismissed testimony about fake electors as staff work which never reached him, it reminded Christian Wood, an independent voter from Lodi, of Johnson’s opposition to certifying the election before Jan. 6. Johnson reversed course after the riot.
“It’s absolutely scary,” said Wood, who has often voted Republican. “To me that’s the most existential threat to our democracy. And to think he was even considering it makes him a non-starter.”
There’s time for an economic message to win out, but it will require news about Trump fading, GOP pollster Ayres said.
Meanwhile, Trump has a full schedule of fall campaign travel for candidates he has endorsed.
“Any distraction from that focus undermines the best Republican message,” he said.
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Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Washington contributed to this report.
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Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ap_politics
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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