Digital Alabama News

Sister Of Lombard Man Freed By Taliban In Hostage Swap ‘stunned, Very Happy’ At News https://digitalalabamanews.com/sister-of-lombard-man-freed-by-taliban-in-hostage-swap-stunned-very-happy-at-news/ The White House early Monday confirmed details of a deal leading to the release of hostage Mark Frerichs, raised in Lombard and held hostage in Afghanistan for more than two years by the Taliban. Frerichs, a Navy veteran who had spent more than a decade in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor, was abducted in January 2020 and was believed to have been held since then by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network. President Joe Biden called Frerichs’ sister, Charlene Cakora, who lives in the western suburb, early Monday, the family said. Cakora spoke briefly to the Sun-Times at her home Monday afternoon. Charlene Cakora said she got the new when her cell phone rang at 3:36 a.m. Monday morning and the president was on the line. “I was just in awe, I was stunned, very happy, very happy, but right now we just need time to process this,” she said from her home in Lombard, an American flag and a POW/MIA flag waving in the wind in her front yard. “It was very brief, just getting to the point, because, you know, he was at the Queen’s funeral. But he was really brief and sweet and just basically said that my brother is pretty much lucky to have me as a sister,” she said. “We were close, still are, always have been,” she said of her relationship with her brother, who’s two years older. “I’ve been having my phone next to me and had little sleep for the past two and a half years. I’m alert to the phone every time it rings — even during the day, I’ve got it with me all the time, and I’m not like that,” she said. The next move, she said, is up to her brother. “It’s all up to Mark, what he wants to do. We don’t even know if he’s going to be going to Germany yet. Right now he’s on safe ground and it’s up to him what he wants to do,” she said. “I haven’t even talked to him and he hasn’t even had 24 hours to process being on safe lands right now so he’s still trying to process this,” she said. She said she’s been receiving a lot calls from friends of her brother who are relieved and want more information. Cakora said it was a happy and exhausting day. “I think I can sleep tonight,” she said with a laugh. Later Monday morning, Biden stated: “I spoke with Mark’s sister today to share the good news and express how happy I am for Mark’s family. Bringing the negotiations that led to Mark’s freedom to a successful resolution required difficult decisions, which I did not take lightly. Our priority now is to make sure Mark receives a healthy and safe return and is given the space and time he needs to transition back into society. “My administration continues to prioritize the safe return of all Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, and we will not stop until they are reunited with their families. We have much more work to do in many other cases, but Mark’s release demonstrates our enduring commitment. Like our work to free Americans held in Burma, Haiti, Russia, Venezuela and elsewhere, it is our duty to do all we can to bring our people home.” A White House official confirmed Frerichs was freed in a swap involving a Talban drug lord imprisoned in the U.S., telling the Chicago Sun-Times: “In order to bring home a U.S. citizen and reunite him with his family, the president made the difficult decision to grant clemency to Haji Bashir Noorzai after he spent 17 years in U.S. government custody. “We will continue to work intensively — using a wide range of tools – to bring home all Americans wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad, and Mark’s successful release is evidence of our commitment.” Frerichs had last been seen in a video distributed earlier this year, pleading for his release so that he can be reunited with his family, according to a recording posted by The New Yorker magazine at the time. A spokesman for the family, Eric Lebson, a former national security official who has been advising the Frerichs family, said Monday that Frerichs is “in Doha right now getting a medical checkup. He was able to walk to the plane in Kabul.” Cakora stated: “I am so happy to hear that my brother is safe and on his way home to us. Our family has prayed for this each day of the more than 31 months he has been a hostage. We never gave up hope that he would survive and come home safely to us. “We are grateful to President Biden, Secretary Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Sens. Duckworth and Durbin for their efforts to free Mark. Sen. Duckworth got personally involved — advocating tirelessly within our government to get him home. “My brother is alive and safe because President Biden took action. There were some folks arguing against the deal that brought Mark home, but President Biden did what was right. He saved the life of an innocent American veteran. “We also want to thank the countless people at the State Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Council who worked diligently to support us and push other elements of the U.S. government to make Mark’s safe return a priority. Ambassador Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, was personally involved after Mark was taken, and his efforts to raise Mark’s profile in both the Trump and Biden administrations were important factors in today’s result.” Lebson stated: “Everything about this case has been an uphill fight. Initially the Trump administration gave away our leverage to get Mark home quickly by signing a peace accord with the Taliban without ever having asked them to return Mark first. Mark’s family then had to navigate two administrations, where many people viewed Mark’s safe return as an impediment to their plans for Afghanistan. “There was a small group of dedicated folks — both in government and outside – who worked hard to keep Mark’s name in the news, created options and helped get a decision in front of President Biden. Mark is free today because there are people who truly want to bring Americans home from hostage or wrongful detention abroad, and President Biden has shown he is among that group.” The Illinois senators, Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, both Democrats, have been working for Frerichs’ release, pressing the Trump and Biden administrations for his return. “It’s a profound relief that Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran who served our nation honorably, is now safely back in American hands after being kidnapped in Afghanistan more than two and a half years ago,” Duckworth stated. “I’m thrilled that his family, who have long been Mark’s champions, will get to reunite with him. I applaud President Biden, who I spoke with personally about the need to get Mark home, for taking the steps necessary to prove that we do not leave Americans behind.” Stated Durbin: “I am deeply heartened by Mark’s long overdue release and the relief it will bring to him and his family. The tragic and cruel use of him as a hostage has finally come to an end. I want to thank President Biden and his team for their tireless effort to secure Mark’s release and regular engagement with us and his family along the way.” In Afghanistan, Noorzai told reporters at a news conference that he had been released from an unspecified U.S. prison and handed over earlier in the day to the Taliban in Kabul, in exchange for an American prisoner held in Afghanistan whom he did not identify. Other Taliban officials claimed Noorzai was held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The Taliban-appointed foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, also spoke at the news conference alongside Noorzai and welcomed the exchange, saying it marked the start of a “new era” in U.S.-Taliban relations. “This can be a new chapter between Afghanistan and the United States. This can open a new door for talks between both countries,” Muttaqi said at the Kabul news conference. “This act shows us that all problems can be solved through talks, and I thank both sides’ teams who worked so hard for this to happen,” Muttaqi added. Since its takeover of Afghanistan in August last year, the Taliban have demanded the United States release Noorzai in exchange for Frerichs amid expectations of such exchanges for U.S. citizens held in Afghanistan. However, there has been no public sign of Washington moving forward on any sort of prisoner trade or exchange. The Taliban also posted a brief video Monday on social media showing Noorzai’s arrival at the Kabul airport where he was welcomed by top Taliban officials, including Muttaqi. At the news conference, Noorzai expressed thankfulness at seeing his “mujahedeen brothers” — a reference to the Taliban — in Kabul. “I pray for more success of the Taliban,” he added. “I hope this exchange can lead to peace between Afghanistan and America, because an American was released, and I am also free now.” Contributing: Associated Press Read More…

Voting Laws Are Changing. Here's How They Look In Your State https://digitalalabamanews.com/voting-laws-are-changing-heres-how-they-look-in-your-state/ (NewsNation) — As the November midterm election draws near, voters in several states will be subjected to new laws dictating who, where, and how people may cast their ballots. Proposed voting legislation took off after the most recent presidential election, following former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election and widespread voter fraud. Below is a look at voting practices in each state and how today’s political climate is shaping election laws. Vote-by-mail Thirty-five states and Washington, D.C., allow voters to cast absentee mail-in ballots without an excuse. Eight states automatically mail a ballot to every eligible voter even if it isn’t requested, although there may still be an option to vote in person. In the early days of American democracy, people would cast their votes out loud on the courthouse steps, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Paper ballots didn’t become commonplace until the late 19th century. The use of mail-in ballots came under fire during the 2020 presidential election, after the former president claimed an “unprecedented massive amount of unsolicited ballots” would mean the election results “may never be accurately determined.” Voter fraud has proved exceedingly rare. The Brennan Center for Justice in 2017 ranked the risk of ballot fraud at 0.00004% to 0.0009%, based on studies of past elections. Last year, a federal judge struck down portions of a Florida election law that the judge said suppressed Black voters. The law tightened rules on mailed ballots, drop boxes and other popular election methods, changes that made it more difficult for Black voters who, overall, have more socioeconomic disadvantages than white voters, the judge said in his ruling. Ballot drop-off box Some states provide ballot drop boxes where voters can submit a sealed and signed envelope with their ballot, a practice that became more common in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-three states have specific laws regulating drop-box locations, how many are in each county, hours of operation and security measures. Additionally, 31 states allow someone to return an absentee or mail ballot on behalf of a voter. Those practices were recently challenged in Wisconsin, where a conservative-controlled Supreme Court ruled in July that absentee ballot drop boxes may be placed only in election offices and that no one other than the voter can return a ballot in person. Republicans have argued that practice — known as ballot harvesting — is rife with fraud, although there has been no evidence of that happening in Wisconsin. Democrats and others argue that many voters, particularly the elderly and disabled, have difficulty returning their ballots without the assistance of others. Supporters argue drop boxes are a better option than mailing ballots because they go directly to the clerks and can’t be lost or delayed in transit. Voter registration In the U.S., all but one state require citizens to register to vote. North Dakota is the only one without a requirement and instead allows eligible citizens to vote with proper identification. In Wisconsin, a conservative law firm is challenging the use of a federal voter registration form, saying it doesn’t meet the requirements laid out by state law. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty recently filed a lawsuit asking a judge to declare the National Mail Voter Registration Application illegal in the state and order the Wisconsin Election Commission to withdraw its approval for the form because it doesn’t include places to fill in information including whether a voter has been convicted of a felony and how long they have lived in their district. Many states are required by federal law to use the form, which is provided by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, but Wisconsin isn’t subject to such an obligation because the state allows voters to register at the polls on Election Day. Residents can also register online, at their municipal clerk’s office or by mail with a state form, which is available in English, Spanish and Hmong on the election commission’s website. Photo Identification Eighteen states had voter photo identification laws in effect as of this spring, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures and 19 states had identification laws that accepted proof other than photos. Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia have some of the most strict photo ID requirements. In Missouri, two groups are challenging a new election law requiring a photo ID to vote. The Missouri League of Women Voters and the Missouri NAACP are suing the state, claiming the law restricts voting rights, NewsNation’s local affiliate KOLR reported. The Missouri law allows people without a government-issued ID (not a voter registration card or student ID) to cast a provisional ballot. That ballot would be counted if they return to the polling location later that day to show a photo ID or an election official can verify the voter’s signature. Those opposed to the requirement have said getting a state photo ID isn’t always easy and cited concerns about voters’ provisional ballots being deemed insufficient. They also argue the new law is a barrier that disproportionately affects voters of color, seniors, voters with disabilities, young voters, and low-wage workers. Proponents of the measure say it helps prevent in-person voter impersonation and increases public confidence in the election process. Opponents say there is little fraud of this kind, and the burden on voters unduly restricts the right to vote and imposes unnecessary costs and administrative burdens on elections administrators. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Read More…

Jam-Packed Events Could Be ‘best Weekend In The History Of Las Vegas’ https://digitalalabamanews.com/jam-packed-events-could-be-best-weekend-in-the-history-of-las-vegas/ Mexican Independence Day weekend could amount to a historic win for the Las Vegas economy as visitors flocked to Southern Nevada for a long weekend of notable events. Thursday kicked off festivities with the Grupo Firme concert at Allegiant Stadium. The next day, the Life is Beautiful festival began its three-day run downtown. Then, UNLV football blew out North Texas on Saturday afternoon, just ahead of the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin fight card. The weekend was capped off on Sunday with the Raiders’ 2022 regular season home opener at Allegiant Stadium. In all, well over a hundred thousand fans were expected to attend the various events this weekend. That had Steve Hill, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority president and CEO, and other officials optimistic about the weekend’s potential. Room occupancy was tracking near “functionally full” and room rates were well-above average for the weekend, Hill noted. “There’s a lot going on in Vegas this weekend,” Hill said. “I think there’s a reasonable possibility that this weekend in Las Vegas will be the best weekend in the history of Las Vegas.” The LVCVA didn’t have estimates on the number of visitors or the economic impact the major weekend could generate. Since the addition of multiple professional sports teams in Las Vegas, there have been several mega-sports weekends following the pandemic. Hill doesn’t see that trend stopping anytime soon, cementing the city as the “Greatest Arena on Earth,” as the nearly 1-year old LVCVA-born slogan suggests. “That lineup is pretty hard to beat,” Hill said. “We’ve helped coordinate and plan these ultimate sports weekends for the last number of years. We’ve had the same similar number of events, but we’ve only had the Raiders where we could have fans in the stands for a couple of years and that’s been huge. ” Fight night For the first time in four years, boxing superstar Alvarez took part in a major fight in Las Vegas during Mexican Independence Day weekend. Historically the biggest fight weekends in Las Vegas each year fall on either Cinco de Mayo or Mexican Independence Day weekends. Adding Alvarez into the mix Saturday with his rubber match win versus Golovkin took the already usually busy weekend to the next level. “It’s about as big of marquee match up that you can get at any time of year, but when you do it on Mexican Independence Day weekend, it kind of amplifies the effect,” Hill said. “Based on our analysis of previous events and current trends in visitation and visitor spending, we expect the impact to be significant and to reach well beyond the event itself,” said Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst of Applied Analysis. “They couldn’t have this fight scheduled at a better time.” Alvarez has fought on Mexican Independence Day weekend in Las Vegas three times previously — against Floyd Mayweather in 2014 and against Golovkin in 2017 and 2018 — and was glad to be back fighting again on the popular boxing weekend. “I’m excited to fight (Mexican) Independence weekend,” Alvarez said. “I’ve had a long time of not fighting on this day … so, I’m very excited to be back on this day.” Alvarez said he could feel the increased intensity the holiday brings with fans setting the tone during the fighter’s arrival Tuesday all the way through fight week. “I’m excited about the fans and all the support they bring me,” Alvarez said. “It’s motivating for me.” Brian Albarran from Arkansas made the trek to Las Vegas to take in his fourth Alvarez bout in person. Having the big fight on Mexican Independence Day weekend upped the ante for Albarran. “I’m excited,” he said. “Canelo (Alvarez) brought out a lot of people for his weigh-in (Friday), so you could feel it (the increased excitement) then. Now it being Mexican Independence Day and all the, as we call it, “La Razas” out here, we’re all singing and everything.” Sunday football Raiders fans got in the Mexican Independence Day spirit during pregame tailgating Sunday, with the popular Lot J packed with tents and set ups, including a local Banda group hyping the fans with live music. For many it was the first time they stepped foot in the Raiders new $2 billion home since this is just the second season with fans allowed inside Allegiant Stadium and the first with no attendance restrictions. Dan Moody from Huntsville, Alabama, has been a lifelong fan of the Silver and Black but had never attended a Raiders game in person. His birthday made it the opportune time to check that off his bucket list. “This is amazing,” Moody said while standing under the Al Davis Memorial Torch. “I have parents that live about 80 miles north, so I come out about three or four times a year. I’ve got pictures as the stadium was being built, so it’s quite the feat. It’s overwhelming. I’ve never been to a Raiders game, so it’s a good birthday celebration.” Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter. Read More…

Bruce Pearl: Auburn Practice Facility On Hold, NIL Needs To Be Priority https://digitalalabamanews.com/bruce-pearl-auburn-practice-facility-on-hold-nil-needs-to-be-priority/ Auburn Basketball Published: Sep. 19, 2022, 12:32 p.m. Mar 5, 2022; Auburn, AL, USA; Bruce Pearl reacts after cutting the net after the game between Auburn and South Carolina at Neville Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Taylor/AU AthleticsJacob Taylor/AU Athletics Auburn’s new men’s basketball practice facility at Neville Arena is apparently on hold for the time being, according to coach Bruce Pearl. The Tigers’ head coach was asked Monday prior to teeing off at the Bruce, Barkley and Basketball Golf Event in Opelika about any updates on the facilities upgrade, which was approved by Auburn’s Board of Trustees back in February. Pearl said the project is being pushed to the backburner for the time being, because Auburn needs to prioritize another aspect of its athletics program first: NIL. “We’ve got to take care of the NIL space first — in all sports,” Pearl said. “First, that’s got to be one of our commitments and our objectives…. We’ve got some other things to take care of before we take care of the practice facility.” Read more Auburn sports: Does Charles Barkley want to be Auburn’s next AD? “They can’t afford me” Seven potential candidates for Auburn’s next AD Talty: Auburn should get Lane Kiffin because Bryan Harsin isn’t the guy The facility upgrade at Neville Arena, which was unanimously approved on Feb. 4, was set to include a new practice gym built onto the arena, as well as renovations to the team support space and to the women’s locker room area within the facility. There is already a practice gym at the arena, but it is a shared space between men’s and women’s basketball; the arena also houses volleyball and gymnastics practices and events, making scheduling for all four programs difficult at times. The planned project at Neville Arena is the latest upgrade to the venue, which first opened in 2010, and previously saw $3 million upgrades to the men’s and women’s locker rooms prior to the 2019-20 season. The following year, the program also unveiled a new scoreboard with wraparound LED video display. The latest project is expected to be funded by gift funds and bonds, with the debt service of the bonds paid for by athletics department funds. While Pearl previously expressed excitement about a new practice gym, he knows it is not the most important thing that needs to be done to sustain success not just for his program — which is coming off an SEC regular-season title — but across Auburn’s athletics teams given the current NCAA landscape and the manner in which business is being conducted nationally, and particularly in the cutthroat SEC. “We’ve won sharing the practice facility with the volleyball team and the women’s basketball team and gymnastics being in there,” Pearl said. “That doesn’t transition to winning. Would I love a better teaching space? Would it be easier on our student-athletes to be able to, you know, have us not have to share time with everybody? We’re making it work it. But when we do it, we’re gonna do it right. When we do it, we’re gonna do we’re gonna do it right. But we’ve got some other things to take care of before we take care of the practice facility.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

‘Rapid Acceleration’ In US School Book Censorship Leads To 2,500 Bans In A Year https://digitalalabamanews.com/rapid-acceleration-in-us-school-book-censorship-leads-to-2500-bans-in-a-year/ There is a “rapid acceleration” of book censorship occurring across the US, with more than 2,500 different book bans taking place over the past school year, a new report has found. A total of 1,648 individual book titles, many of them that mention issues relating to race or sexuality, were the subject of bans by school districts in 32 states in the last school year, according to the new analysis. More than 5,000 schools nationally have had books barred from access by students in libraries and classrooms, according to the report compiled by Pen America, a non-profit that supports freedom of expression in literature. There has been a “proliferation of organized efforts to advocate for book removals”, the report states, from rightwing politicians in states such as Texas, Georgia and Wisconsin to at least 50 groups that have sprung up either in person or on Facebook. Many of the books have been banned for simply featuring people who identify as LGBTQ+, with a third of all banned books from April to June featuring people with such identities, often under a spurious justification that the titles are “obscene”. Race and discussion of the US’s racist past is also a target of book bans, with 40% of titles banned featuring prominent characters of color. “While we think of book bans as the work of individual concerned citizens, our report demonstrates that today’s wave of bans represents a coordinated campaign to banish books being waged by sophisticated, ideological and well-resourced advocacy organizations,” said Suzanne Nossel, chief executive officer of Pen America. “This censorious movement is turning our public schools into political battlegrounds, driving wedges within communities, forcing teachers and librarians from their jobs and casting a chill over the spirit of open inquiry and intellectual freedom that underpin a flourishing democracy.” While book bans have long been a part of America’s education fabric, the Pen report suggests they are now driven less by the complaints of individual parents and more by organized, ideological groups and overt pressure from politicians. About 40% of the book bans in the past year have been connected to political pressure or legislation designed to restrict and reshape teaching, the report estimates. In November, for example, Henry McMaster, the Republican governor of South Carolina, demanded that the book Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe, be removed from school libraries for being “sexually explicit” and “pornographic”. Kobabe’s book was the most banned book in the past school year, banished by 41 school districts, followed by All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M Johnson, banned in 29 districts, and Out of Darkness, by Ashley Hope Pérez, prohibited in 24 districts. Among the most banned authors is Toni Morrison, the Nobel laureate. Texas led the way with book bans, followed by Florida and Pennsylvania. The push to ban certain books has prompted backlash in some states. Shortly after the Texas state lawmaker Matt Krause called for the state’s school libraries to consider 850 books for possible removal, a group of librarians created a broad online campaign to fight the bans, deluging state politicians with tweets and emails over the issue. In Wisconsin, meanwhile, a school district’s decision to ban the title When the Emperor Was Divine, a book by Julie Otsuka about the internment of Japanese-Americans during the second world war, provoked a furious response from local teachers, parents and students, who organized protest rallies over the move. Such bans have continued unabated across the US, however. “This rapidly accelerating movement has resulted in more and more students losing access to literature that equips them to meet the challenges and complexities of democratic citizenship,” said Jonathan Friedman, a lead author of the Pen report. “The work of groups organizing and advocating to ban books in schools is especially harmful to students from historically marginalized backgrounds, who are forced to experience stories that validate their lives vanishing from classrooms and library shelves.” Read More…

DOJ Seeks To Remove Phony Filing In Trump https://digitalalabamanews.com/doj-seeks-to-remove-phony-filing-in-trump/ September 19, 2022 01:44 PM The Justice Department filed a motion to remove an apparent phony docket entry after media revealed a prison inmate with a history of forging documents apparently tricked court staff. The document, which was filed on Sept. 12 and remains on the docket as of Monday, appeared to be from the Treasury Department and said the agency had seized sensitive documents related to the Aug. 8 raid at Mar-a-Lago and included a warrant ordering CNN to “preserve leaked tax records.” FAKE FILING ON COURT DOCKET IN TRUMP MAR-A-LAGO CASE LINKED TO NORTH CAROLINA INMATE: REPORT “The United States of America herby moves to strike Docket Entry 128 which purports to be a motion by the United States Department of the Treasury to Intervene in the instant matter,” the DOJ’s Monday motion said. “The United States has confirmed the pleading was not submitted by the Department of the Treasury but rather mailed to the Clerk of Court by someone not associated with the Government.” A review conducted by reporters at the Associated Press claimed on Sept. 16 that the document was entirely fake and may have originated from a person incarcerated in a North Carolina prison who has a history of forging government documents. A federal statute for collecting financial records in investigations was cited in the document and also included two supposed warrants, one to a towing company in Michigan and another claiming to be sent to CNN in Atlanta, according to a copy of the allegedly bogus filing obtained by the Washington Examiner. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The man was not identified by name, but the outlet said he had previously impersonated federal officers in court records, and his mail is supposed to be subject to additional scrutiny from the Bureau of Prisons, two people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. The inmate has been in prison for several years since he was found not competent to stand trial after an arrest for placing a fake explosive outside the Guardian Building, a Detroit skyscraper. Read More…

Election Integrity On The Ballot This November; Arizona To Be Election To Watch https://digitalalabamanews.com/election-integrity-on-the-ballot-this-november-arizona-to-be-election-to-watch/ (NewsNation) — Democrats and Republicans are peddling a similar campaign message: Democracy is on the ballot this November. Polls show that elections are a top concern among voters. Democrats have long pushed for expanding voting access through measures like vote-by-mail and automatic registration. While Republicans often oppose those efforts, former President Donald Trump’s continuing false claims of a stolen election made election integrity a top campaign issue. At a rally this weekend, Trump questioned such election integrity. “We are just two months away from the midterms and we need a win so big that the radical left cannot rig it or steal it,” he said. In Arizona, election integrity is at the forefront of the midterms. Republican nominee for governor Kari Lake has based much of her campaign on questioning the 2020 election results. “The reason we have inflation — sky-high inflation — and can’t afford gasoline or groceries is because we had a rigged stolen election,” Lake said. Her opponent, Katie Hobbs, has called Lake’s comments “dangerous” and said that if Lake were in office in 2020, she wouldn’t have certified President Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona. “This is part of an ongoing attack on our democracy that we have seen play out since the 2020 election,” Hobbs said. Almost all of the 2022 midterm candidates whom Trump has endorsed say election fraud is “rampant.” According to a NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll, most Americans agree it’s a top concern. Of those polled, 52% of Americans said preventing voter fraud is a higher priority than ensuring eligible voters are never prevented from voting. A separate poll by FiveThirtyEight found that 60% of Americans will see a candidate on their ballot who denies the 2020 election results. Out of 541 total Republican nominees running for office, 199 fully deny the legitimacy of the most recent presidential election. Despite no evidence of widespread election fraud, some remain suspicious and cite it as a reason they continue to support Trump-backed candidates. Arizona resident Yvonne Drew moved from California to escape COVID-19 lockdowns, she said. Drew said she always voted Democrat in the past but now supports Trump. “Well when I started supporting him at first I didn’t like him,” Drew said. “I thought he was a misogynist. But then I thought, ‘Let me not go with personality; let me see action.’” Drew acknowledges she’s seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud, but she still has concerns about election security. “It took so many days on this primary to count the votes,” she said. “And I just thought something is not right here. I felt anxiety over that. And I feel like they may cheat because there are so many ways to do that.” Others, however, say Trump’s followers “parrot” the former president’s claims even if they “aren’t supported by evidence,” another voter told NewsNation. Those who support Trump’s false claims of widespread election fraud won Republican nominations in Arizona for governor, secretary of state, attorney general and U.S. senator positions. In the senate race, Blake Masters is the GOP nominee going up against incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly. Masters, hand-picked by Trump, has a good chance of winning the seat. If elected, those in office could change how elections are run and how constituents can vote in the state. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has stressed a need for election integrity. The state considered more than 250 bills in the past two years to change how elections are run. That includes proposals to allow overturning an election, dismantling vote-by-mail systems and requiring millions of ballots to be hand-counted. Only a few changes were actually signed into law, including expanding proof-of-citizenship requirements. But if the swing state goes red, there could be GOP candidate wins for each of those critical seats in the state. Election deniers have been chosen as GOP gubernatorial nominees in eight states, U.S. Senate nominees in seven states and U.S. House nominees in at least 20 states. Results are expected to have a major impact on the 2024 race. Read More…

Editorial: Republicans In NH Must Choose Path https://digitalalabamanews.com/editorial-republicans-in-nh-must-choose-path/ Published: 9/19/2022 1:35:51 PM Modified: 9/19/2022 1:35:12 PM Tuesday’s primary election results did not resolve the struggle over the desiccated soul of New Hampshire’s Republican Party, but they do strongly suggest that the wing-nut wing of the party is ascendant at the top of the ticket this fall. Don Bolduc — retired Army general, conspiracy theorist and 2020 election denier who now denies his denial but who is open to abolishing the FBI in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago search — narrowly defeated state Sen. President Chuck Morse for the U.S. Senate nomination, thereby earning the opportunity to face incumbent Democrat Maggie Hassan in November. Morse had the backing of the party’s popular governor, Chris Sununu, and national GOP leaders who poured $4.5 million into his campaign, all to no avail. Morse won most of the state’s larger communities, but Bolduc blitzed him in the red zone of smaller towns. The race for the First Congressional District nomination pitted two former Trump administration officials — Karoline Leavitt and Matt Mowers — in a battle over who most faithfully embodied the Trump brand. The Republican leader in the U.S. House backed Mowers, but Leavitt out MAGA-ed him. She will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas in the fall. Robert Burns, an anti-abortion candidate who also ran to the right of his opponents, picked up the GOP nomination in the Second District, which includes the Upper Valley, and will oppose incumbent Annie Kuster in November. Sununu backed Keene Mayor George Hansel in that primary race. Although his influence with Republican voters may be waning, Sununu had his moments, too. He won renomination handily over five opponents and is heavily favored to win re-election in November. And voters in Belknap County heeded his call to oust a group of libertarian Free State representatives whose controversial oversight of the county-owned Gunstock Mountain Resort roiled politics in that area. What seems safe to say is that the party is seething with internal tensions between Trump acolytes and less extreme conservatives. Many mainstream Granite State Republicans feared that extremists like Bolduc and Leavitt would fail to appeal to the more moderate Republicans, conservative Democrats and independents whose support is generally critical to Republican success in New Hampshire, and that their victories would diminish the party’s chances of flipping the U.S. Senate and House seats into the red column. (Bolduc has apparently reached the same conclusion. The day after the primary, he reversed field on the 2020 election results after falsely claiming for years that the election was stolen from Trump.) National Democrats seem to have made the same calculation as mainstream Republicans, spending heavily to tarnish Morse as “another sleazy politician.” All over the country, in fact, Democratic leaders backed Republican primary candidates whom they thought too extreme to be elected in November. Many of those won their primaries. This Democratic strategy strikes us as unhealthy, unsavory and probably unnecessary, and falls into the risky category of “be careful what you wish for.” The most intriguing question posed by the primary results is whether and how strongly the party establishment will rally to Bolduc, Leavitt and Burns. The dilemma is best personified by Sununu, who denounced Bolduc during the campaign as a conspiracy theorist and an extremist, but who has also signaled that he would support the party’s eventual nominee. That would be a walk on the high wire, given that Bolduc last year called Sununu “a communist sympathizer” whose family supported terrorism — opinions he has since backed away from, but possibly still holds. The ever-shrinking sanity wing of the Republican Party across the country now faces a similarly stark choice: effectively sitting out the midterm elections or rallying behind Trump loyalists who promote the absurd lies the former president continues to spread about, among many other things, the 2020 election, the FBI search of his Florida residence and the Jan. 6 insurrection. For the rest of voters, it should be a much easier call. Do they want to elect to Congress candidates who will abet Trump’s ongoing attempt to seize power and establish authoritarian rule by corrupting the 2024 electoral process? We don’t think so, but we also don’t take that outcome for granted Read More…

Britain Bids Farewell To Its Queen With A Ceremony Steeped In History And Royal Ritual https://digitalalabamanews.com/britain-bids-farewell-to-its-queen-with-a-ceremony-steeped-in-history-and-royal-ritual/ Earlier, tens of thousands lined the Mall in London to watch the procession that followed the funeral. The farewell for the monarch — whose 70-year reign began in the aftermath of World War II, outlasted the Cold War, and spanned the dawn of the space race to the ubiquity of the internet — also cemented the rule of its new one. Her coffin was carried on a Royal Navy gun carriage from the funeral service to the Wellington Arch near Hyde Park. It was then transferred to a state hearse for the journey to Windsor. Before the funeral service, Westminster Abbey’s tenor bell tolled 96 times, once for each year of Elizabeth’s life, before her coffin was carried inside for the state funeral. Behind the casket followed her eldest son, Charles, who at age 73 is finally taking the reins of the kingdom. Then, for the next hour, there were tributes to Elizabeth and hymns that culminated in two minutes of silence observed by those in attendance and across the country. In his sermon, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby recalled how when Elizabeth turned 21 she vowed, in a radio address to her millions of subjects around the world, to spend her life serving the British nation and the Commonwealth. “Rarely has such a promise been so well-kept,” he said. Toward the end of the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, mourners gathered in the ancient edifice sang “God Save the King,” a version of the national anthem that had not been heard there in 70 years. The service took place after the epic line of devoted mourners who had spent four days filing past her coffin was halted, and more than a week of ceremonies steeped in ancient tradition came to a close. And it was a sendoff that played out on a grand scale. Some 4,000 military personnel were mustered to parade on the streets of London and Windsor. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, lined the streets. Inside Westminster Abbey, the guest list included leaders such as President Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron, European royals, as well as British doctors and other emergency workers. Read More…

Stocks Making The Biggest Moves Midday: Lennar, Coinbase, Array Technologies And More https://digitalalabamanews.com/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-midday-lennar-coinbase-array-technologies-and-more/ A worker at a Lennar home under construction. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday Monday: D.R. Horton, Lennar, PulteGroup — Homebuilder stocks moved higher on Monday after KeyBanc double upgraded the sector to overweight from underweight. Analyst Kenneth Zener said that homebuilders, which have underperformed this year, tend to rebound sooner and more sharply than the broader market. Shares of Lennar rose about 2%, while D.R. Horton gained over 2%, and PulteGroup jumped nearly 4%. related investing news Array Technologies — The solar stock jumped over 3% after Piper Sandler upgraded Array Technologies to overweight from neutral, saying the company has more upside ahead on an improved forward outlook. SunOpta — Shares of SunOpta rallied more than 5% after being named a top pick by Cowen. Analyst Brian Holland, who has a buy rating on the stock, wrote in a note that “the company’s agnostic posture and capital execution is affording strong growth sight lines underappreciated by the market.” His $15 price target implies 55.9% upside from Friday’s close. Opendoor Technologies — Opendoor dropped 6% after a Bloomberg reported the iBuyer lost money on 42% of its August resales. Like others in the housing space, the company faces headwinds including a housing recession and mortgage rates over 6%. AutoZone — AutoZone shares fell more than 2% as traders pored over a mixed quarterly earnings report. The company’s gross margins of 51.5% were slightly below a StreetAccount estimate of 51.9%. Still, AutoZone earned $40.50 per share in the previous quarter, beating a forecast of $38.51 per share. NCR — Shares of NCR slid almost 3% after being downgraded to equal-weight from overweight by Morgan Stanley. The firm said the path to unlocking shareholder value is “less clear and longer tailed” after the enterprise payment solutions company said Friday it would separate into two companies. Wix — Shares of Wix soared 11% after activist investor Starboard Value revealed a 9% stake in the web development platform company. According to Reuters, Starboard has spoken to Wix about how it can improve operations of the company, which has lost half its value this year. Coinbase — Shares of the cryptocurrency exchange fell more than 7% as the price of bitcoin dipped to its lowest level since June and traders continued unwinding short positions following the completion of the Ethereum merge. Stocks also fell Monday ahead of the Fed decision this week. Crypto prices are largely macro driven, and Coinbase’s revenue relies heavily on trading fees. Theravance Biopharma — Theravance rallied more than 3% after announcing a $250 million stock buyback program. Airlines — United Airlines, Alaska Air and American Airlines rose more than 3% and were among the best performers in the S&P 500 on Monday. Gamco Investors — Shares of the Mario Gabelli-led investment firm plunged almost 12% after announcing after the bell on Friday it was voluntarily delisting from the New York Stock Exchange. Gamco has filed an application for its common stock to be quoted on the OTCQX platform, operated by OTC Markets Group. Ralph Lauren — The luxury clothing and household goods maker rose almost 2% after an investor update pointed to high single digit sales growth. —CNBC’s Alexander Harring, Sarah Min, Jesse Pound, Tanaya Macheel and Yun Li contributed reporting. Read More…

Gulf Coast Spotlight: City Of Mobile Business Development Opportunities https://digitalalabamanews.com/gulf-coast-spotlight-city-of-mobile-business-development-opportunities/ MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – In today’s Gulf Coast Spotlight, City of Mobile representatives want the public to know about many upcoming business development opportunities. They joined us on FOX10 Midday to share the details on the following events and more! TruFund Digital Marketing Training Tuesday, September 20, 2022 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Want to have 2 years of free web hosting? Complete TruFund’s Digital Marketing Training sponsored by Empower by GoDaddy. Learn how to leverage the digital age for your business. Apply here: https://form.jotform.com/222406744764156 Collaboration is the Destination (Two Day Workshop) Wednesday, September 28, 2022 and Thursday, September 29, 2022 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. For effective partnership collaboration, team’s authorities require a better understanding of each other’s talents, duties and responsibilities. Ultimately, this will generate an operating environment in which all parties work effectively and efficiently. Productive bridges move you toward working together with more confidence. Working well in any group generates energy and enthusiasm for success. Join us as Leavie King, III, Founder & CEO of CoachedUP leads an interactive workshop on how to build successful bridges through strategic collaborative practices. Seating is limited! Sign-Up Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/collaboration-is-the-destination-two-day-workshop-tickets-416070146007 Lendahand Small Business Grant Program Application Deadline Friday, September 30th at 11:59pm EST The LendingTree Bowl has announced that it will be doubling the number of receipts in the LendaHand Small Business Grant Program — raising its total contributions to small businesses in Mobile County to $40,000. The program will also lower the annual minimum income requirements, which will help more local companies qualify for a potential $10,000 grant to support their small business. As part of the 2022 bowl game, LendingTree will be selecting four small businesses to highlight throughout bowl season. In addition to a $10,000 grant, the four selected businesses will be highlighted on LendingTree’s social media channels and through advertising associated with the game. Local businesses with 25 or fewer employees in operation for more than a year can apply through September 30. Seeing the Bowl doubling LendingTree’s investment into the LendaHand program in Mobile is wonderful. Small businesses make Mobile what it is, and we are proud to continue participating in this program to help highlight the great work local entrepreneurs are doing. If your small business is interested in a LendaHand Small Business Grant, you can find an application and additional information about eligibility requirements at lendingtreebowl.com/community/lendahand/. City of Mobile P.O. Box 1827 Mobile, Alabama 36633-1827 Office: (251) 208-7967 Website: www.cityofmobile.org https://workwith.cityofmobile.org/WorkWithCity/GetReady — Download the FOX10 Weather App. Get life-saving severe weather warnings and alerts for your location no matter where you are. Available free in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Copyright 2022 WALA. All rights reserved. Read More…

HS Volleyball Update: St. Luke’s Wins Delta Storm Tournament https://digitalalabamanews.com/hs-volleyball-update-st-lukes-wins-delta-storm-tournament/ St. Luke’s won eight matches last week and captured the Delta Storm tournament in high school volleyball action. The Class 3A top-ranked Wildcats (21-9) beat W.S. Neal and Flomaton in regular season play before beating Baldwin County, Davidson, Cottage Hill, T.R Miller, Robertsdale and downing Class 4A sixth-ranked Orange Beach for the title at Baldwin County High School. St. Luke’s also fell to Orange beach in pool play. RELATED: AL.com volleyball rankings Haley Patterson broke the school record for kills during the week when she posted 111 kills in nine matches, adding 14 aces, 79 digs, 12 blocks. Patterson has 2,014 career kills. Lexi Garside set up the offense with 219 assists, adding 12 kills, 8 aces and 21 digs and Cammie Waite had 13 aces, 71 digs and a 2.6 passer rating. In other action: CLASS 7A Top-ranked McGill-Toolen (16-7) beat Class 6A top-ranked Spanish Fort and second-ranked Bayside Academy. Anna Grace Sparks had 27 kills, 4 aces, 2 blocks and 17 digs, Emma Moore had 24 kills, 8 blocks and 2 aces, Chelsea Daffin had 18 kills, 3 blocks and 4 digs. Mamie Fromdahl had 2 aces, 7 digs, 50 assists and 3 blocks and Annalise Lee had 40 digs and 2 aces. Second-ranked Spain Park (17-6) beat Oak Mountain and Mountain Brook as Emily Breazeale had 34 kills and 17 digs, Megan Ingersoll had 21 kills, Brooklyn Allison had 32 digs, 7 assists and 4 aces, Lilly Johnson had 39 assists and 8 digs and Haley Thompson had 31 assists and 17 digs. Third-ranked Enterprise (20-4) won eight matches and captured the title of its 13th annual Enterprise Invitational. The Wildcats beat Dothan in regular season play then downed Kinston, Rehobeth, Central-Phenix City, Ashford, G.W. Long, UMS-Wright and Prattville Christian for the championship. Jadyn Britton had 56 kills, 5 blocks and 2 aces, Alivia Freeman had 35 kills and 13 blocks, Lily Rhoades had 60 digs and 13 aces and Heather Holtz had 145 assists, 6 kills, 9 aces and 21 digs. Fifth-ranked Bob Jones (29-5) beat Arab, Florence and Hazel Green as Meg Jarrett had 50 digs and 9 aces, Eliza Tyrrell had 28 kills and 6 blocks, Kennedy Vaughn had 32 kills, 4 aces, 18 digs and 5 blocks and Riley Lovell had 98 assists and 20 digs. Sixth-ranked Huntsville (26-8) won seven matches last week, beating Sparkman, Sylacauga, Fort Pane, Ardmore, Guntersville, New Hope and Lawrence County. Ella Hall had 38 kills, 3 aces, 6 blocks and 30 digs while Addy Stewart had 27 kills, 8 aces, 7 blocks, 33 digs and 93 assists, Ryan Damon had 63 digs and Rachel Clarke had 27 kills and 15 blocks. Seventh-ranked Vestavia Hills (24-6) was 5-1 with regular season wins over Beat Tuscaloosa County and Hoover and beating Archbishop McCarthy (Fla.), Lee County (Ga.) and Hebron Christian (Ga.) and a loss to Cherokee (Ga.) at the Panama City (Fla.) tournament. Savannah Gann had 85 kills and 45 digs, Audrey Vielguth had 86 digs and Kate Kaiser had 161 assists. Eighth-ranked Hoover (15-11) lost Vestavia Hills as Peyton David had 30 digs and 29 receptions, Maggie Harris had 11 digs, 2 aces, 47 assists and 3 kills. Kendyl Mitchell had 16 kills and 6 digs and Alanah Pooler had 11 kills, 4 digs and 3 blocks. Ninth-ranked Chelsea (21-6) was 2-1 with wins over John Carrol and Pelham and a loss to Northridge. Lauren Buchanan had 27 kills, 4 blocks and 16 digs and Madison Moore had 3 aces, 45 assists, 17 digs and 4 blocks. Auburn (17-7) beat Opelika and Smiths Station as Ellie Pate had 24 kills and 5 blocks, Laila Esters had 13 kills and 3 blocks and Anna Grace Sessions had 42 assists and 13 digs. Daphne (15-14) beat Foley and lost to Bayside and St. Michael as Lucy McCoy had 68 assists (surpassed 1,000 career in the Bayside match), 8 digs, 6 kills and 2 aces, Janiyah King had 22 kills (.304 hitting percentage) and 2 blocks and Ella Lomax had 20 kills, 25 digs and a 2.0 passer rating. Grissom (10-19) beat Albertville and lost to Arab as Emily Torok had 66 assists, surpassing 1,000 career assists, and Emily Alexander had 26 kills. Oak Mountain (12-11) lost to Spain Park as Ella Pierce had 7 kills and 2 digs, Lauren Schuessler had 6 kills, 11 assists and  4 digs and Makayla Ragland had 2 aces, 2 assists and 10 digs. Thompson (10-9) was 4-2 with a regular season win over Calera and beating Georgia’ Class 3A No. 1 team Sandy Creek, Georgia’s Class 6A No. 5 team North Forsythe and beating St. Patrick (Miss.) and losing to Bartram HS (FL) and #3 ranked Jefferson HS (GA) at the Panama City Tournament. Olivia Kelly had 11 aces, 8 kills (.400 hitting percentage), 92 assists and 14 digs and Cydney Mitchell had 21 kills (.410 hitting percentage) and 14 blocks. CLASS 6A Top-ranked Spanish Fort (25-11) was 3-3 with wins over Robertsdale, Sandy Creek (Ga.) and Hebron Christian Academy (Ga.) and losses to McGill-Toolen, Allatoona (Ga.) and North Forsyth (Ga.). Alexis Belarmino had 135 assists, 44 digs, 5 kills, 4 aces and 3 blocks, Reece Varden had 40 kills and 15 blocks, Elyse McKinney had 30 kills, 72 digs and 16 aces, Bailey Hope had 29 kills, 70 digs and 5 aces, Taylor Ishmael had 30 kills, 11 blocks and 10 aces and Mary Madison Lyles had 27 kills, 11 blocks and 9 digs. Second-ranked Bayside was 3-1 with wins over Baldwin County, Daphne and St. Michael and a loss to McGill-Toolen. Maysie Douglas had 4 aces 29 kills and 17 digs, Georgia McInnis had 3 aces, 18 kills and 5 blocks, Mia Bindon had 3 aces and 22 digs, Hayley Robinson had 32 kills and 5 blocks, MK Whitehurst had 2 aces and 55 digs, Misty Kate Smith had 5 aces and 31 kills, Blakeley Robbins had 7 aces, 12 kills, 42 digs and 102 assists and Grier Broughton had 8 aces, 14 kills and 45 digs. Fourth-ranked Pelham (16-7) beat Helena and lost to Chelsea as Averi Smith had 27 kills, 41 digs and 4 aces and Londyn Wynn had 25 kills, 23 digs and 5 aces. Ninth-ranked Homewood (10-16) beat Jackon-Olin and Parker and lost to Mountain Brook as Mary Przybysz had 47 assists, 21 digs, and 7 aces, Sydney Humes had 43 digs and 10 aces and Olivia Jackson had 20 digs, 17 kills and 3 aces. No. 10 John Carroll (10-14) lost three matches, falling to Chelsea, Northridge and Helena as Stella Yester had 28 digs, 3 aces and a 2.2 passer rating and Helen Macher had 63 assists and 35 digs. Saint James (14-8) won three matches, beating Providence Christian, Carver-Montgomery and Sidney Lanier. Ava Card had 7 aces, 35 kills (,409 hitting percentage), 2 assists, 3 blocks and 26 digs, Kaylin Corley had 7 assists, 23 digs, 7 aces, 24 kills (.352 hitting percentage) and Tatiana Shuford had 4 aces, 3 kills, 2 blocks, 65 assists and 13 digs. Saraland (19-12) was 4-3 with wins over Baker, T.R. Miller, Robertsdale and Davidson and losses to Gulf Shores, T.R. Miller and Faith Academy. Sophia Saxon had 105 assists, 15 kills, 11 aces and 36 digs, Bre Hughes had 12 assists, 5 aces and 38 digs and Morgan Davis had 29 kills (.523 hitting percentage) and 11 digs. CLASS 5A Top-ranked Westminster Christian (25-7) won five matches, beating James Clemens, Priceville, Madison Academy and Danville. Calli Tanielu had 48 kills, 32 digs and 4 aces, Meg Paparella had 36 kills, 30 digs and 16 aces, Brianna Tinsley had 21 kills and Paislee Shelton had 52 assists. Second-ranked Montgomery Academy (22-1) won four matches, beating Elmore County, Montgomery Catholic and Demopolis. Addi Vinson had 87 assists, 11 aces, 33 digs, 2 kills and 2 blocks, Caroline McDaniel had 32 kills, 22 digs, 4 aces and 2 blocks and Elle McBride had 21 kills, 19 digs, 3 blocks and 3 aces. Eighth-ranked Lawrence County (24-13) was 10-1 with regular season wins over Hatton, East Lawrence, West Point and Lauderdale County and beating Phillips, Pisgah, Fairview, Geraldine, East Limestone and Madison Academy before falling to Huntsville in the tournament championship at Supreme Courts in Guntersville. Kylie Graham had 153 assists, Sarah Dutton had 78 digs, Skye Letson had 41 blocks and 50 kills, Ava Boyll had 72 kills and 47 digs and Bentlee Cross had 31 kills and 18 aces. Sixth-ranked Arab (19-8) was 2-2 with wins over Guntersville and Grissom and losses to Bob Jones and Hartselle. Anna McFerrin had 168 assists, 8 kills, 7 aces, 33 digs and 3 blocks, Karli Walker had 53 kills, surpassing 1,000 career kills against Grisson, with 4 aces, 24 digs and 10 blocks, Sami Kate Hudson had 28 kills, 2 aces, 49 digs and Marissa Pope had 66 digs and 5 assists. Faith Academy (15-9) was 5-3 with a win over Citronelle and loss to St. Paul’s in regular season then downing Saraland, Davidson, Robertsdale and Baldwin County and losing to Cottage Hill and Orange Beach in tournament play. Parker Goff had 63 kills, 37 digs, 18 aces and 9 assists, Katy Parker had 124 assists, 56 kills, 13 aces and 29 digs and Anya Powell had 61 digs, 43 kills, 21 assists and 14 aces. CLASS 4A Fourth-ranked New Hope (21-7) was 7-1 with regular season wins over Buckhorn, Brindlee Mountain and DAR and beat Columbia, East Limestone, McAdory, Geraldine and lost to Huntsville in tournament play. Eevy Bellar had 12 aces, 111 kills, 90 digs and 14 blocks, Libreo Rylee Jo Hardin had 12 aces and 63 digs and Malaina Cloud had 110 assist, 11 kills, 17 digs and 2 blocks. Fifth-ranked UMS-Wright (22-6) was 7-1 last week with regular season wins over Orange Beach and Mary Montgomery and beating Providence Christian, Andalusia, Houston Academy, Goshen and Central-Phenix City and losing to host Enterprise in the semifinal tournament action. Noel Freeman had 70 kills, 20 blocks, 12 digs and 8 aces and Addison Prine had 14 aces, 2.02 passer rating, 11 assists and 82 digs. Sixth-ranked Orange Beach (21-7) was 6-3 with regular season losses to UMS-Wright and Gulf Shores and wins over St. Luke’s, T.R. Miller, Davidson twice, Baldwin County and Faith Christian and losing to St. Luke’s in the title match of the Delta ...

Power 25 Rankings: New No. 1 Heading Into Non-Region Week https://digitalalabamanews.com/power-25-rankings-new-no-1-heading-into-non-region-week/ There is a new No. 1 in the AL.com Power 25 Rankings this week. Class 7A Auburn jumped previous No. 1 Clay-Chalkville for the top spot despite the fact that the Cougars are still undefeated as well. MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Rewinding Friday’s Week 5 action Check out all the scores from Friday night Clay-Chalkville beat Center Point 56-19 last week to improve to 5-0, while the Tigers remained perfect with a 58-7 win over Lee-Montgomery. Auburn received one first-place votes and three second-place votes to edge the Cougars by two points. Clay-Chalkville received two first-place votes, a second place and a fifth-place. New additions to this week’s poll, a ranking of the top high school football teams in Alabama regardless of classification, include Guntersville (tie for 23rd) and Deshler (25). 25. Deshler (5-0) Total points: 13 Previous ranking: NR Last week: Defeated Wilson 55-13 This week: vs. Colbert County, Friday 23. (Tie) Ramsay (4-1) Total points: 14 Previous ranking: 24 Last week: Defeated Fairfield 48-14 This week: at No. 1 Auburn, Friday 23. (Tie) Guntersville (5-0) Total points: 14 Previous ranking: NR Last week: Defeated Boaz 62-14 This week: at Buckhorn, Friday 21. (Tie) Handley (5-0) Total points: 24 Previous ranking: 21 Last week: Defeated Central-Clay County 26-15 This week: at Lanett, Friday 21. (Tie) Muscle Shoals (4-0) Total points: 24 Previous ranking: 22 Last week: Idle This week: vs. James Clemens, Friday 20. Decatur (5-0) Total points: 26 Previous ranking: 25 Last week: Defeated Hazel Green 48-14 This week: Idle 19. Pinson Valley (2-2)* Total points: 27 Previous ranking: Tied for 16th Last week: Defeated Oxford 44-20 This week: at Homewood, Friday *Record includes forfeit loss to Florence in season-opener 18. Fyffe (4-0) Total points: 28 Previous ranking: Tied for 16th Last week: Defeated Section 54-0 This week: at Plainview, Friday 17. Andalusia (5-0) Total points: 29 Previous ranking: 20 Last week: Defeated Montgomery Academy 49-7 This week: at Bibb County, Friday 16. Gardendale (3-1) Total points: 30 Previous ranking: 15 Last week: Defeated Parker 27-14 This week: at Austin, Friday 15. Hartselle (5-0) Total points: 41 Previous ranking: 18 Last week: Defeated Gadsden City 16-9 This week: at Oxford, Friday 14. Opelika (4-1) Total points: 46 Previous ranking: 7 Last week: Lost to Prattville 24-21 in OT This week: vs. No. 8 Theodore, Friday 13. Hewitt-Trussville (3-2) Total points: 48 Previous ranking: 11 Last week: Lost to No. 6 Hoover 17-7 This week: at Huffman, Thursday 12. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (5-0) Total points: 51 Previous ranking: 14 Last week: Defeated Brookwood 44-0 This week: at Gadsden City, Friday 11. UMS-Wright (5-0) Total points: 56 Previous ranking: 13 Last week: Defeated Vigor 10-7 This week: Idle THE TOP 10 Montgomery Catholic head coach Kirk Johnson works with his players during the Trinity at Montgomery Catholic high-school football game, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, in McCalla, Ala. (Vasha Hunt | preps.al.com)Vasha Hunt 10. Montgomery Catholic (5-0) Total points: 57 Previous ranking: 12 Last week: Defeated Geneva 62-0 This week: at Pike Liberal Arts, Friday Central-Phenix City’s Daylyn Upshaw runs the ball after a completed pass defended by Hewitt-Trussville’s Nick Hill during an AHSAA football game Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Phenix City, Alabama. (Julie Bennett for AL.com)Julie Bennett for AL.com 9. Central-Phenix City (4-1) Total points: 62 Previous ranking: 3 Last week: Defeated Jeff Davis 49-16 This week: vs. IMG Academy, Friday Theodore’s Brayden Jenkins scores on a short run late in the game against Spanish Fort. (Todd Stacey | preps@al.com) 8. Theodore (5-0) Total points: 64 Previous ranking: 10 Last week: Defeated Spanish Fort 29-21 This week: at No. 14 Opelika, Friday Fairhope QB Caden Creel finds running room against Davidson on Friday night. (Tom Deck | Contributed) 7. Fairhope (5-0) Total points: 72 Previous ranking: 9 Last week: Defeated Davidson 55-28 This week: Idle Hoover’s Bradley Shaw celebrates after sacking Hewitt-Trussville quarterback Peyton Floyd in Trussville, Ala., Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (Mark Almond | preps@al.com) 6. Hoover (4-1) Total points: 78 Previous ranking: 8 Last week: Defeated No. 13 Hewitt-Trussville 17-7 This week: at No. 4 Mountain Brook, Friday Thompson’s Peter Woods warms up during a game at Thompson High School’s Warrior Stadium in Alabaster, Ala., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com) 5. Thompson (3-2) Total points: 79 Previous ranking: 6 Last week: Defeated Chelsea 48-3 This week: vs. No. 2 Clay-Chalkville, Friday Mountain Brook’s John Cooper (17) is grabbed from behind by Jackson-Olin’s Abari Poellnitz (7) during a game at Jackson-Olin High school in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. (Marvin Gentry | preps@al.com) 4. Mountain Brook (5-0) Total points: 82 Previous ranking: 5 Last week: Defeated Jackson-Olin 41-0 This week: vs. No. 6 Hoover, Friday Spanish Fort running back Jake Godfrey getting tackled by Delvon Gulley and Camron Laffitte (10). (Helen Joyce | Contributed) 3. Saraland (5-0) Total points: 84 Previous ranking: 4 Last week: Defeated Robertsdale 50-0 This week: at Foley, Friday Center Point’s Jabari Collier (10 ) is tackled by Clay Chalkville’s Deantuan Matthews (11) during a game at Jerry Hood Field in Clay, Ala., Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (Marvin Gentry | preps@al.com) 2. Clay-Chalkville (5-0) Total points: 95 Previous ranking: 1 Last week: Defeated Center Point 56-19 This week: at No. 5 Thompson, Friday Auburn’s Logan Blomeyer dodges Dothan High’s Javeon Walker Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at Duck Samford Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. (Julie Bennett | preps@al.com)Julie Bennett | preps@al.com 1. Auburn (5-0) Total points: 97 Previous ranking: 2 Last week: Defeated Lee-Montgomery 58-7 This week: vs. No. 20 Ramsay, Friday Dropped out: Benjamin Russell, Pleasant Grove Also receiving votes: Pleasant Grove (10), Piedmont (11), Tuscaloosa County (8), Elba (6), Sparkman (6), Gulf Shores (5), Anniston (3), Enterprise (2), Mars Hill (2), Oneonta (2), Dothan (1), Leroy (1). VOTE FOR THE TOP PLAYERS OF WEEK 5 BIRMINGHAM COASTAL/MOBILE HUNTSVILLE/TENNESSEE VALLEY Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

College Football TV Schedule For Week 4 Of 2022 Season https://digitalalabamanews.com/college-football-tv-schedule-for-week-4-of-2022-season/ Below is the college football TV and live stream schedule for Week 4 of the 2022 season. All times Central: Thursday, Sept. 22 West Virginia at Virginia Tech, 6:30 p.m., ESPN (ESPN+) Coastal Carolina at Georgia State, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU (ESPN+) Chattanooga at Illinois, 7:30 p.m., Big Ten Network (Fox Sports) Friday, Sept. 23 Virginia at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ESPN (ESPN+) Nevada at Air Force, 7 p.m., Fox Sports 1 (Fox Sports) Boise State at UTEP, 8 p.m., CBS Sports Network (CBS Sports video) Saturday, Sept. 24 Clemson at Wake Forest, 11 a.m., ABC (espn3) Maryland at Michigan, 11 a.m., Fox (Fox Sports) Missouri at Auburn, 11 a.m., ESPN (ESPN+) Baylor at Iowa State, 11 a.m., ESPN2 (ESPN+) TCU at SMU, 11 a.m., ESPNU (ESPN+) Bowling Green at Mississippi State, 11 a.m., SEC Network (ESPN+) Rhode Island at Pittsburgh, 11 a.m., ACC Network (ESPN+) Central Michigan at Penn State, 11 a.m., Big Ten Network (Fox Sports) Duke at Kansas, 11 a.m., Fox Sports 1 (Fox Sports) Buffalo at Eastern Michigan, 11 a.m., CBS Sports Network (CBS Sports video) South Florida at Louisville, 11 a.m., Bally Sports South (Bally Sports+) Kent State at Georgia, 11 a.m., no TV (ESPN+) UCLA at Colorado, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Network Live) Notre Dame at North Carolina, 2:30 p.m., ABC (espn3) Florida at Tennessee, 2:30 p.m., CBS (SEC on CBS) Texas at Tech Tech, 2:30 p.m., ESPN (ESPN+) Indiana at Cincinnati, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2 (ESPN+) Toledo at San Diego State, 2:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 (Fox Sports) Middle Tennessee at Miami, 2:30 p.m., ACC Network (ESPN+) Minnesota at Michigan State, 2:30 p.m., Big Ten Network (Fox Sports) Florida International at Western Kentucky 2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network (CBS Sports video) Oregon at Washington State, 3 p.m., Fox (Fox Sports) Georgia Tech at Central Florida, 3 p.m., ESPNU (ESPN+) Tulsa at Ole Miss, 3 p.m., SEC Network (ESPN+) Arizona at California, 4:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Network Live) Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (at Arlington, Texas), 6 p.m., ESPN (ESPN+) Northern Illinois at Kentucky, 6 p.m., ESPN2 (ESPN+) Iowa at Rutgers, 6 p.m., Fox Sports 1 (Fox Sports) Marshall at Troy, 6 p.m., NFL Network (NFL Network live) UNLV at Utah State, 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network (CBS Sports video) Louisiana Tech at South Alabama, 6 p.m., no TV (ESPN+) Wisconsin at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m., ABC (espn3) Charlotte at South Carolina, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU (ESPN+) Vanderbilt at Alabama, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network (ESPN+) Florida Atlantic at Purdue, 6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network (Fox Sports) Miami (Ohio) at Northwestern, 6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network (Fox Sports) Connecticut at North Carolina State, 6:30 p.m., Bally Sports South (Bally Sports+) Kansas State at Oklahoma, 7 p.m., Fox (Fox Sports) Boston College at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACC Network (ESPN+) USC at Oregon State, 8:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Network Live) Wyoming at BYU, 9:15 p.m., ESPN2 (ESPN+) Utah at Arizona State, 9;30 p.m., ESPN (ESPN+) Stanford at Washington, 9:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 (Fox Sports) Western Michigan at San Jose State, 9:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network (CBS Sports video) Select games are also available via FUBO.tv. Click HERE for subscription information. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

Port: As Trump Embraces The Qanon Movement, When Are North Dakota's Republicans Going To Turn Away? https://digitalalabamanews.com/port-as-trump-embraces-the-qanon-movement-when-are-north-dakotas-republicans-going-to-turn-away/ MINOT, N.D. — “What is the downside for humoring him for this little bit of time?” Those were the words of a Republican official, speaking about disgraced former President Donald Trump after his 2020 election loss but before the Jan. 6 riots, as quoted by the Washington Post . “It’s not like he’s plotting how to prevent Joe Biden from taking power on Jan 20,” this person continued. “He’s tweeting about filing some lawsuits, those lawsuits will fail, then he’ll tweet some more about how the election was stolen, and then he’ll leave.” Needless to say, given all we know now about how Trump would handle his exit from the White House, these comments have aged like milk. Still, I think there are a lot of Republicans who are still making this calculation. The Republican base, for the most part, still likes Trump, so what’s the harm in humoring him, they wonder. Jan. 6 should have been enough evidence of the “harm” of continuing to humor Trump, but for many Republicans it wasn’t. Including North Dakota’s Republicans. During a recent debate I hosted in the U.S. House debate, incumbent Congressman Kelly Armstrong said, unequivocally , that if Trump was the GOP’s nominee again in 2024 he’d vote for him. U.S. House debate on Plain Talk Wed Sep 07 12:17:58 EDT 2022 U.S. House incumbent Kelly Armstrong debates challenger Cara Mund on this episode of Plain Talk Sen. Kevin Cramer remains a loyalist. Sen. John Hoeven, in beating back a challenge from the Trumpiest wing of his party, leaned heavily on an endorsement from Trump himself. Whether this ongoing Trumpism among Republican leaders is a product of genuine feeling, or political expediency, there is a point at which this will blow up in their faces. Again. Consider Trump’s new embrace of the Qanon conspiracy movement. The mainstream iteration of this cult believes that Donald Trump is fighting a battle against a secret cabal of left-wing pedophiles, and their source for this is a supposed insider in Trump world going by the name “Q.” Yes, that’s the mainstream iteration of this foolishness. On the fringes of the movement are the Qanon Queen, Romana Didulo, a Canadian woman who believes Queen Elizabeth II was actually executed last year, and who has told her followers that they are authorized to make “citizens arrests” of Canadian law enforcement because she will soon be appointed sovereign of the Great White North by a global coalition of forces including the U.S. military. This woman has 70,000 online followers . And then there’s Michael Protzman, another Qanon leader who has drawn hundreds of followers to Dallas to witness what he claims will be the resurrection of former President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in that city . Every political movement has nutters on its fringes, and it’s not typically fair to smear the leaders of those movements with their more deranged followers. But Donald Trump? He’s embracing these people. At his recent rally in Ohio, supporting U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance, and featuring Rep. Majorie Taylor “Jewish Space Lasers” Greene, Trump played a song that is nearly identical to the Qanon theme song . Trump’s crowd knew what was going on and responded, performing a raised-arm salute with one finger pointing up, a reference to the Qanon slogan, “where we go one we go all.” Trump’s people, of course, dismissed that this was pandering to the Qanon crowd. “The fake news, in a pathetic attempt to create controversy and divide America, is brewing up another conspiracy about a royalty-free song from a popular audio library platform,” Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesperson, told The New York Times . That might be believable — there is no question that many in the news media are not averse to using exaggeration, conflation, and falsehoods to smear Trump, to the detriment of us all — except that Trump posted a picture of himself wearing a Q lapel pin over the “where we go one we go all” slogan. Or, more specifically, he “re-truthed” a “truth” with the image posted on Trump’s Twitter clone Truth Social: A “re-truth” posted by former President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform. Screenshot Trump has always flirted with the Qanon movement, and there’s evidence of that from right here in North Dakota. His 2018 rally at the Scheels Arena in Fargo had a very visible contingent of Q people in attendance. And last election cycle, Trump, along with deranged election conspiracy monger Mike Lindell, endorsed Daniel Johnston, a Qanon conspiracy enthusiast , for treasurer. But now the footsy is over. Things have gotten explicit. The former president is choosing to align himself with a conspiracy theory movement that believes, in its best moments, the Democratic Party is run by a secret cabal of pedophiles and, in its worst moments, that zombie JFK is going to come back and lead our country again while a Filipino health care worker is going to take over Canada with an assist from our military. This is who you’d vote for to be president again, Rep. Armstrong? This man’s endorsement is important to you, Sen. Hoeven? This is the person who commands your loyalty, Sen. Cramer? Though we shouldn’t just lay the blame at the feet of these men. They’re taking their cues from the Republican base where, inexplicably, Trump remains incredibly popular. That’s not an excuse. Leaders should lead, not follow. But whether we’re talking about those out in front of the Republican movement, or those in the rank-and-file, it’s clearly past time to get off the Trump train. It’s not going anywhere any rational, sane American should want to go. Rob Port is a news reporter, columnist, and podcast host for the Forum News Service. He has an extensive background in investigations and public records. He has covered political events in North Dakota and the upper Midwest for two decades. Reach him at rport@forumcomm.com. Click here to subscribe to his Plain Talk podcast. Read More…

QAnon Believers Are Claiming Credit For Mysterious 'one' Salute That Greeted Trump At Latest Rally https://digitalalabamanews.com/qanon-believers-are-claiming-credit-for-mysterious-one-salute-that-greeted-trump-at-latest-rally/ Read More…

Midterm Elections Roundup: Trump Hits The Trail In Ohio https://digitalalabamanews.com/midterm-elections-roundup-trump-hits-the-trail-in-ohio/ Sept. 19, 2022, 2:39 PM UTC By Bridget Bowman and Ben Kamisar Former President Donald Trump traveled to Ohio over the weekend to boost GOP Senate hopeful J.D. Vance, and Trump pushed back on a New York Times report that some Republican candidates are distancing themselves from him as they head into November.  “The New York Times did a fake story today, big front page, that J.D. wasn’t sure if you wanted my support,” Trump said at the Youngstown rally, per NBC News’ Jesse Kirsch. “J.D. is kissing my ass. He wants my support.” Vance’s spokesman Luke Schroeder told Kirsch that Vance “has been calling on the president to join us on the campaign trail, both publicly and privately, throughout the summer,” but the Times reported that Vance did not specifically invite Trump to the state. The rally also came as Vance finds himself in an unexpectedly tight race against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan. Not every GOP Senate candidate is eager to campaign with Trump. Colorado Republican Joe O’Dea noted on “Meet the Press” that Trump has not endorsed him, adding, “I don’t want to see him run again.” Trump’s favorability also reached a new post-presidency low in the latest national NBC News poll. For his part, Trump once again teased another run for the White House, telling the crowd in Ohio, “Stay tuned, everybody, stay tuned.”  Elsewhere on the campaign trail: Georgia Senate: Republicans are focusing new attacks on Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock on his “financial gains” since taking office, Politico reports.  Pennsylvania Senate: The Philadelphia Inquirer delves into the cognitive tests that Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman took as he recovers from a stroke. And Politico reports that an internal Fetterman campaign memo raised concerns about increased GOP ad spending.  Arkansas Governor: Arkansas Republican gubernatorial nominee Sarah Sanders says she is “cancer free” after surgery for thyroid cancer, and released a statement from her doctor saying: “I don’t anticipate any of this slowing her down.”  Arizona Governor: NBC News’ Liz Brown-Kaiser confirmed that Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin plans to campaign with Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake.  Nevada Governor: NBC News’ Adam Edelman reports on how GOP gubernatorial nominee Joe Lombardo is focusing heavily on education issues as he tries to win in a purple state. He’s also facing criticism from the Las Vegas Sun editorial board for speaking at a church it called “infamous for its violently anti-gay rhetoric.” Maine-02: The Associated Press reports on how the rematch between Democratic Rep. Jared Golden and former Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin could be a bellwether.  Texas-34: The Texas Tribune reports that Republican Rep. Mayra Flores’ district director resigned amid sexual harassment allegations stemming from both his time in Flores’ office and at the county Republican Party. The former staffer denies the allegations. Bridget Bowman Bridget Bowman is a deputy editor for NBC’s Political Unit.  Ben Kamisar Ben Kamisar is a deputy political editor in NBC’s Political Unit.  Read More…

GOP Senator Says He Won’t Back Graham’s Proposed National Abortion Ban https://digitalalabamanews.com/gop-senator-says-he-wont-back-grahams-proposed-national-abortion-ban/ Another Republican senator says he won’t support the bill Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) introduced that would ban most abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said abortion policy should be left up to states during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “At this point, to have Congress step back and to tell all of the states that we know better than them how to handle this is probably not the right direction to go,” Rounds said, adding: “I think the states are in a better shape to explore and to find the right direction on a state-by-state basis.” The senator, who as South Dakota’s governor signed a bill in 2006 that sought to ban most abortions there, is the latest in a growing list of Republicans to have voiced opposition to Graham’s bill. That bill, introduced Sept. 13, would allow some states’ stricter abortion laws to remain, but impose new restrictions on other states. Though the GOP has traditionally championed limiting the procedure, the party is split on whether Congress should impose abortion rules on states. Previous attempts to do so have been unsuccessful, and Rounds said Graham’s latest bill is unlikely to pass the House and Senate. Neither senators’ office responded to a request for comment from The Washington Post late Sunday. The overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year made it so that states set their own abortion policies — and that’s how it should remain, Rounds said. Since the Supreme Court struck the long-standing precedent, legislators in 22 states have moved to further restrict abortion access. Now almost one-third of women ages 15 to 44 live in places where the procedure is banned or mostly banned. But the cascade of legislation prompted by Roe’s overturning stands in stark contrast to the opinions most Americans hold. Several polls indicate that the majority of Americans favor abortion rights. A July Pew Research Center poll showed that 62 percent of those surveyed said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In a Washington Post-Schar School poll from that same month, 65 percent of respondents indicated that the end of Roe v. Wade represented a “major loss of rights” for women, and almost a third said abortion will be one of the “single most important” issues when they vote in November. Still, Graham on Sunday said he was “confident the American people would accept a national ban on abortion at 15 weeks.” “And to those who suggest that being pro-life is losing politics, I reject that,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) last week distanced himself from Graham’s bill, saying “most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.” Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin also said states should set abortion policies. With a 15-week benchmark, Graham’s bill is less restrictive than some of the most hard-line abortion laws — such as the near-total bans in Indiana and West Virginia or the heartbeat bills in Texas and Georgia. However, if it was to pass, Graham’s bill would roll back access in some blue states that have laws protecting abortion rights — for instance, in New York, California and Illinois. As Republicans speak out against Graham’s bill, Democrats have seized on the party’s divisions. “Republicans are twisting themselves into pretzels trying to explain why they want nationwide abortion bans when they said they’d leave it up to the states,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said last week. Two days after the Supreme Court struck down Roe, Graham said that “there’s nothing in the Constitution giving the federal government the right to regulate abortion.” “Let every state do it the way they would like,” he told Fox News’s Martha MacCallum. Read More…

Stevie Nicks Brought The Hits, Covered Tom Petty At Sea.Hear.Now Fest (Setlist, Video) https://digitalalabamanews.com/stevie-nicks-brought-the-hits-covered-tom-petty-at-sea-hear-now-fest-setlist-video/ Stevie Nicks‘ fall tour is officially underway, having kicked off last week at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, and she hit Asbury Park on Saturday (9/17) to headline the first day of the 2022 Sea.Hear.Now festival. Only a couple songs shorter than her headline date in Clarkston, MI earlier in the week, her SHN set was loaded with hits, both Fleetwood Mac and solo, and a few covers. “Is this the world of Bruce Springsteen?” Stevie Nicks asked the massive crowd in Asbury Park on Saturday night. The Boss didn’t make an appearance during Stevie’s set, or during the festival, but she had no problem holding the crowd’s attention during her Day 1 headline set. The weather was perfect on Saturday, making “Outside the Rain” a great start, and her set also including Mac classics “Dreams,” “Gypsy,” “Gold Dust Woman,” “Landslide” and “Rhiannon.” On the solo side, she played “Edge of Seventeen,” “Stand Back,” “Enchanted,” “If Anyone Falls,” and “The Wild Heart.” There was also, of course, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” her duet with Tom Petty, and she went on to pay tribute to him by covering “Free Fallin’.” Stevie had a couple other covers for Asbury Park: Buffalo Springfield’s classic protest anthem “For What It’s Worth,” and she closed out Sea.Hear.Now’s first night with Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.” Stevie’s tour rolls on, hitting the Boston area tonight, with upcoming festival stops at CT’s Sound on Sound and California’s Ohana, as well as a big L.A. show at Hollywood Bowl and more. All dates are listed below. SETLIST: Stevie Nicks @ Sea.Hear.Now Festival 9/17/2022 Dreams (Fleetwood Mac) If Anyone Falls Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around Enchanted For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield cover) Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac) Wild Heart Bella Donna Free Fallin’ (Tom Petty cover) Stand Back Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac) Landslide (Fleetwood Mac) Edge of Seventeen Encore: Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac) Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin) STEVIE NICKS: 2022 TOUR SEP 19, 2022 – Xfinity Center – Mansfield, MA SEP 22, 2022 – Maine Savings Amphitheatre – Bangor, ME SEP 24, 2022 – Sound on Sound Festival – Bridgeport, CT SEP 30, 2022 – Ohana Festival – Dana Point, CA OCT 3, 2022 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA OCT 6, 2022 – Ak-Chin Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ OCT 9, 2022 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – The Woodlands, TX OCT 12, 2022 – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre – Alpharetta, GA OCT 16, 2022 – Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN OCT 19, 2022 – Credit One Stadium – Charleston, SC OCT 22, 2022 – PNC Music Pavilion – Charlotte, NC OCT 25, 2022 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre – Tampa, FL OCT 28, 2022 – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL OCT 31, 2022 – The Orion Amphitheater – Huntsville, AL Read More…

Brookley By The Bay: Mobile Begins Collecting Dreams For Park Property https://digitalalabamanews.com/brookley-by-the-bay-mobile-begins-collecting-dreams-for-park-property/ From The Lede Updated: Sep. 19, 2022, 9:25 a.m.| Published: Sep. 19, 2022, 9:24 a.m. At a Sept. 13 public meeting, people were able to mark a map with features they’d like a new bayfront park to have.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com “I love the turnout,” Mobile official Shonnda Smith said on the evening of Sept. 13 at a public meeting on the future of the property known colloquially as Brookley by the Bay. “This is the biggest turnout for a community engagement for a park.” Smith, deputy director of public works and the city’s parks and recreation director, was facing an audience of dozens of people, probably adding up to well over 100 as visitors came and went during the two-hour session at the Harmon-Thomas Community Center on Belfast St. near Williamson High School. The big turnout made sense, given that Brookley by the Bay presents not just a big opportunity but a generational one. A deal announced in December 2020 laid out a plan for the city to purchase about 300 acres owned by the University of South Alabama Foundation. The plan calls for some of the land to be developed as an industrial park supporting the adjacent Brookley Aeroplex; some to be held as waterfront and wetlands conservation areas; and some to be developed as a public park. A bayfront park spanning more than 90 acres, including open grassy areas, wooded areas and a shoreline with “pocket beaches” and other shore features, all flanked by conservation zones along the shoreline, clearly could be a game-changing amenity for Mobilians and even a draw for visitors. But its great potential also presents a challenge in clarifying what can and will be done with it. The overarching message of Tuesday’s session was that this was the very beginning of the process, to be followed by more opportunities for public input. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More…

Zelenskiy Vows No Let-Up As Ukraine Says Troops Cross Key River In Northeast https://digitalalabamanews.com/zelenskiy-vows-no-let-up-as-ukraine-says-troops-cross-key-river-in-northeast/ Ukraine says its forces advance to eastern bank of Oskil Biden says: ‘They’re defeating Russia’ Ukraine says Russia strikes Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear plant KYIV, Sept 19 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed there would be no let-up in Ukraine’s fight to regain its territory as Kyiv said its troops had crossed a major river, paving the way for an assault on Russia’s occupation forces in the eastern Donbas region. Reflecting the dramatic change in momentum since Ukrainian forces routed Russian troops earlier this month in the northeast, U.S. President Joe Biden offered his strongest prediction so far that the Ukraine would win the war. “They’re defeating Russia,” Biden said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes”. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Victory would come only when Russian forces were completely driven from Ukrainian territory, and the United States would support Ukraine “as long as it takes”, Biden said. “Russia’s turning out not to be as competent and capable as many people thought they were going to be.” Crossing the Oskil River is another important milestone in Ukraine’s counter-offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The river flows south into the Siversky Donets, which snakes through the Donbas, the main focus of Russia’s invasion. Further beyond lies Luhansk province, the base for Russia’s separatist proxies since 2014 and fully in Russian hands since July after some of the war’s bloodiest battles. Ukrainian troops “have pushed across the Oskil. From yesterday, Ukraine controls the east bank”, the Ukrainian Armed Forces wrote on Telegram late on Sunday. Serhiy Gaidai, Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, wrote on Telegram: “Luhansk region is right next door. De-occupation is not far away.” Gaidai said Ukrainian forces had regained full control of the town of Kreminna and the village of Bilohorivka. The two settlements are located on roads on the northern approach to the city of Lysychansk, whose fall after weeks of grinding battles in July put Luhansk wholly under Russian control. Bilohorivka, the nearer of the two to Lysychansk, is located just 8 km (5 miles) from the city’s outskirts. Ukrainian forces swept through the Kharkiv region this month after bursting through the front line, sending thousands of Russian troops fleeing and abandoning their tanks and ammunition. In recent days, the pace of the Ukrainian advance has again slowed, but Zelenskiy said this was only because the forces were consolidating and preparing for further offensives. “Perhaps it seems to some of you that after a series of victories we now have a lull of sorts,” he said in his regular nightly address on Sunday. “But there will be no lull. There is preparation for the next series … For Ukraine must be free. All of it.” ALARM OVER NUCLEAR PLANT Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Ukraine accused Russian forces on Monday of shelling near the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in the country’s southern Mykolaiv region. A blast occurred 300 metres (yards) away from the reactors and damaged power plant buildings shortly after midnight, Ukraine’s atomic power operator Energoatom said in a statement. The reactors were not damaged and no staff were hurt, it said, publishing photographs showing a huge crater it said was caused by the blast. “Russia endangers the whole world. We have to stop it before it’s too late,” Zelenskiy said in a social media post. The strikes will add to global concern over the potential for an atomic disaster, already elevated over fighting around another Ukrainian nuclear power plant in the south, Zaporizhzhia, captured by Russian forces in March. Moscow has ignored international calls to withdraw and demilitarise it. Since its forces were driven out of Kharkiv, Russia has repeatedly fired at power plants, water infrastructure and other civilian targets in what Ukraine says is retaliation for defeats on the ground. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians. ‘ILLUSORY GOALS’ Russia’s rapid losses over the past few weeks have shaken a Kremlin public relations campaign that has never veered from the line that the “special military operation” is “going to plan”. Officially Russia announced it was moving some troops out of the Kharkiv region to regroup elsewhere. But the losses are being openly acknowledged on state television, by commentators calling for escalation. Alla Pugacheva, 73, Russia’s most celebrated pop diva since the Soviet era, became by far the biggest mainstream cultural figure to oppose the war, with a post on Instagram denouncing “the death of our guys for illusory goals that are turning our country into a pariah and worsening the lives of our citizens”. Russian President Vladimir Putin met the leaders of China and India at a summit last week and acknowledged their “concerns” over the conflict, a rare nod to friction with the Asia powers he has turned to amid a total break with the West. He belittled the Ukrainian advance: “The Kyiv authorities announced that they have launched and are conducting an active counteroffensive operation,” he said with a grin at Friday’s summit. “Well, let’s see how it develops, how it ends up.” The Kremlin denied on Monday that Russia was to blame for atrocities that Ukraine says it has uncovered on territory it recaptured from Russian forces. “It’s a lie, and of course we will defend the truth in this story,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, comparing the allegations to incidents earlier in the war where Russia claimed without evidence that atrocities were staged by Ukrainians. Ukraine has sent forensic experts to a huge burial site in woods near the city of Izium, where it says 17 soldiers were found in a mass grave with some showing evidence of having been tortured under Russian occupation. In London, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and First Lady Olena Zelenska attended the funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. Russia was banned from the ceremony. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by David Brunnstrom, Stephen Coates and Peter Graff; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Lincoln Feast and Mark Heinrich Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…

More Homebuilders Lower Prices As Sentiment Falls For Ninth Straight Month https://digitalalabamanews.com/more-homebuilders-lower-prices-as-sentiment-falls-for-ninth-straight-month/ A worker walks on the roof of a new home under construction in Carlsbad, California. Mike Blake | Reuters More builders are lowering prices for homes as their confidence in the market continues to tumble. Homebuilder sentiment in September fell three points to 46 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Anything below 50 is considered negative. related investing news That is the ninth straight month of declines and the lowest level since may of 2014, with the exception of a short-lived drop at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Sentiment was at 83 in January of this year, when interest rates were about half of what they are now. Indeed, builders blame rising rates for their falling sentiment. The average on the 30-year fixed started this year around 3% and then began rising steadily, crossing 6% for a few days in June, according to Mortgage News Daily. It then fell back a bit and almost hit 5% in August, before rising sharply again, back over 6% this month. That made an already pricey housing market even less affordable. The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, is expected to again raise its benchmark rate this week as inflation remains high. “Buyer traffic is weak in many markets as more consumers remain on the sidelines due to high mortgage rates and home prices that are putting a new home purchase out of financial reach for many households,” said NAHB Chairman Jerry Konter, a home builder and developer from Savannah, Geogia. Nearly a quarter of homebuilders also reported lowering home prices, up from 19% in August, Konter added. Of the index’s three components, current sales conditions dropped three points to 54, sales expectations in the next six months fell one point to 46 and buyer traffic fell one point to 31. Builders continue to report elevated construction costs, in addition to higher interest rates weighing on their market. Higher costs for land, labor and materials have made it harder for builders to lower prices, but they are now being forced to. “In this soft market, more than half of the builders in our survey reported using incentives to bolster sales, including mortgage rate buydowns, free amenities and price reductions,” said Robert Dietz, NAHB’s chief economist. On a three-month moving average, sentiment in the Northeast fell five points to 51 and also dropped five points to 44 in the Midwest. In the South, it fell seven points to 56, and in the West, where home prices are highest, sentiment declined 10 points to 41. Read More…

The Top 50 Pennsylvania Lobbyists 2022 https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-top-50-pennsylvania-lobbyists-2022/ September 19, 2022 10:00 AM ET Power List 1. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Robert Shuster, Shareholder and Co-Chair, State and Federal Government Relations Group Robert Shuster / Provided Key industries: Transportation, energy and infrastructure, health care, technology, financial services, education Notable clients: UPMC, Argo AI, City of Philadelphia, Wexford Science & Technology LLC, EQT  Other key employees: This team brings a wealth of experience and expertise at all levels of government from a variety of public policy positions including: former cabinet and senior staff from a multitude of gubernatorial administrations, a former chief of staff to a governor, former members of the House of Representatives, a former Secretary of the Commonwealth, a former Public Utility Commissioner and former senior staff from the Pennsylvania House and Senate, as well as U.S. Congress. Company news: As Pennsylvania continues to address important legislative and policy matters that impact its client base, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney consistently grows their team in multiple Pennsylvania offices. The firm’s four top industry teams – Energy/Infrastructure, Financial Services, Health Care and Life Sciences – help facilitate and promote the identification of opportunities in those areas, in addition to providing strategic solutions for clients. Biggest achievement: Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney clients range from small businesses to large corporations, school districts, municipalities, cultural organizations and the nonprofit sector, with many playing a role as economic drivers for growth in Pennsylvania. The bipartisan team contributed successfully to the efforts to reduce Pennsylvania’s corporate net income tax, which was the second highest in the nation; assisted the City of Philadelphia in its efforts to extend the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, which provides fiscal oversight of the City; and secures millions of dollars in funding for numerous cultural, education and nonprofit and clients. 2. Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies James Davis, Managing Director & Joseph Hill, Senior Principal Key industries: Banking and financial services, construction and real estate, cannabis, nonprofits and associations, higher education Notable clients: Bank of America, United States Golf Association, UPS, REFORM Action Fund, Philadelphia Zoo, Dick’s Sporting Goods Other key employees: Mark Alderman, David Bonsick, Beth Brennan, Sam Denisco, Kevin Kerr, Brianna Westbrooks Company news: The Pennsylvania lobbying team expanded with the addition of Sam Denisco, who formerly served as the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry’s chief lobbyist and vice president. Brianna Westbrooks, the team’s Policy Advisor, was named one of Philadelphia’s Forty Under 40 By City & State Pennsylvania. The team also launched several weekly publications to keep clients up to date on policy and political developments at the federal, state and local government levels. Biggest achievement: Notable successes include helping to secure $15+ million in capital dollars to support critical economic development projects throughout the commonwealth; assisting with the selection of Oakmont Country Club as the USGA’s second U.S. Open anchor site; and leading advocacy for the passage of critical legislation such as data center tax exemption, an interstate nurse licensure compact bill and an increase in the film production tax credit program. 3. Triad Strategies Mike Manzo, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs & Todd Brysiak, Vice President of Government Affairs Key industries: Energy, health care, IT/technology, building trades, tourism, economic development  Notable clients: Cisco, Independence Blue Cross, Pocono Raceway, Columbia Gas/NiSource, Rush Street Gaming Other key employees: Mike Acker, Olivia Edwards Rindfuss, Yvonne Roberts, Brendan Schubert Company news: Recent Triad clients include: American Public Gardens Association, Cody Systems, Computer Aid, Inc., Help at Home, LLC, Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees and Select Medical. To help take care of so many new clients, the firm has recently hired Savannah Beeler, Noah Logan, Charles Oberdick and Sarah Spotts, and promoted Brendan Schubert to vice president of economic development. Biggest achievement: Triad had the opportunity to advocate on behalf of several clients who are making an impact in their communities through various economic development projects. Their clients received nearly $18 million in grants awarded by the commonwealth that will train the next generation of skilled labor, expand access to health care, increase tourism, improve aging infrastructure and provide revitalization to blighted neighborhoods. Projects like these have a ripple effect in local economies. 4. Malady & Wooten Stacy Gromlich, Member & Jenna McCarthy, Member Key industries: Health care, energy, transportation, education, telecommunications Notable clients: Merakey, Pennsylvania Life Providers Alliance, Highmark, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), Ayr Wellness Other key employees: Lisa Dishong, Nicole Fidler, Dennis Giorno, PJ Lavelle, Micki Leininger, Drew Lyons, John Malady, Jodie Stuck, Andy Surra Company news: Over the past year, the team at Malady Wooten has continued to grow. Their dedicated lobbyists represent a large and diverse group of clients before the state government.  Biggest achievement: The firm has focused on serving clients by collaborating with them throughout the process, working to understand the issues of critical importance to each client to achieve the best outcome. This is particularly true when serving clients in the complex world of health and human services, which constantly sees new technologies and interactions between various health care services. The team has extensive experience navigating these intricate systems through their representation of service providers, entities creating new and innovative treatments, medical marijuana companies and those trusted with caring for the commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents. 5. Long, Nyquist & Associates Michael S. Long, Partner & Todd R. Nyquist, Partner Key industries: Health care, utilities, education, skill games, energy Notable clients: American Independent Colleges and Universities of PA, Independence Blue Cross, Comcast, Pennsylvania Health Care Association, Pace-O-Matic Other key employees: Athan Koutsiouroumbas, Casey Long, John Gower, Haley Bova, Ben Wren, Bill Bova, Mike Barley Company news: Long Nyquist and Associates was named as one of the fastest-growing companies in Central Pennsylvania by the Central PA Business Journal. Biggest achievement: Long Nyquist worked with the staff and members of AICUP to increase the Ready to Succeed college scholarship program – which helps working families – by 333%, from $5 million to $24 million. The team also worked with staff and members of PHCA to increase long-term care state funding by $515 million – one of the largest increases for any program in the state budget. 6. Pugliese Associates Rocco Pugliese, Lobbyist; Scott Bishop, Lobbyist; Joann Bell, Director of Pugliese Associates Philadelphia office; Lou Biacchi, Lobbyist; Rick Allan, Lobbyist Key industries: Economic development, education, providers serving the intellectual disabilities community, renewable energy Notable clients: University of Pittsburgh, UnitedHealth Group, Tesla, City Center Allentown, Peron Development LLC, Lehigh Valley Health System, Local Development Districts of Pennsylvania, Stride Other key employees: Megan Milford, Colette Al-Qaadir, Shabri Banks Company news: The firm gained new clients including Philadelphia Housing Authority, Divert, Philadelphia Parking Authority, Prominent Games, Case New Holland, The Provider Alliance and REV Renewables. Biggest achievement: Achievements include the University of Pittsburgh receiving its non-preferred appropriations in this fiscal year, wins for clients in the second 2021 RCAP round and grant funding for vital projects. Additionally, the firm worked with Sen. Yudichak, Rep. Heffley and Senate and House caucus leaders to pass SB 635 (Act 43) before the summer recess. The legislation would establish a property-assessed clean energy program in the commonwealth to ensure that owners of agricultural, commercial and industrial properties can obtain low-cost, long-term financing for energy efficiency, indoor air quality, resiliency improvement, water conservation and renewable energy projects. 7. Bravo Group Dennis Walsh, President, Government Relations & Chris Bravacos, President and CEO Key industries: Health care, energy Notable clients: Amazon, Citizens Against Nuclear Bailouts, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Comcast Other key employees: Brian Abela, Lauren Barr, Anne Hart Biggest achievement: Bravo’s proudest achievement this year was the enactment of legislation creating parity in taxation and insurance standards for consumers between peer-to-peer car rental platforms and the rental car industry. 8. S.R. Wojdak & Associates Colleen Kopp, Vice President & Darrin Smith, Vice President Key industries: Public safety, economic development, health care, technology, appropriations Notable clients: PA State Troopers Association, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Thomas Jefferson University Health System, Microsoft, High Industries Other key employees: Wendy Hoover, Mike Lane, Mark Richards, Shannon Waterman Dawson, Andrew Wigglesworth, Molly Furlong, Jordan Furhman Company news: WGR added two new hires, Molly Furlong and Jordan Furhman, and a new affiliation with former commonwealth Chief Technology Officer Sean Crager. Furlong and Furhman will specialize in economic development programming and legislative re...

3 Friends Want To Bring A Self-Pour, Family-Friendly Taproom To Auburn. Here https://digitalalabamanews.com/3-friends-want-to-bring-a-self-pour-family-friendly-taproom-to-auburn-here/ LAUREN JOHNSON Three Auburn men are in the process of establishing The Plains Taproom, a bar in downtown Auburn that will allow patrons to pour their own drinks. Dion Peoples got the idea when he visited a self-pour taproom in Orange Beach, and he started looking at possible sites in Auburn and researching the technology that would be required. He shared the idea with Justin Alexander. Each of them have a daughter with Down Syndrome, and their families became close friends about eight years ago. Alexander thought it sounded “amazing,” and both men asked Scott Brown, who owns a homebrew store in Opelika called Whistle Stop and Brew, to join them as a co-owner. Brown said he’d seen “self-pour type places before and considered it briefly” for his Opelika store. He also thought it was “the right type of venue and space for Auburn.” He jumped on board. The Plains Taproom will be at 200 West Glenn Suite 200, near Tropical Smoothie Café and Waffle House in downtown Auburn. The Auburn Planning Commission reviewed the request on Sept. 8 and has passed it to the Auburn City Council, which will vote on it on Sept. 20. Peoples, Alexander and Brown envision the bar as a place where the entire family can hang out on Auburn University game days. They plan to offer 40 kinds of beer and wine, as well as non-alcoholic beverages including craft sodas, kombucha and sparkling water. “Our business model is more of a family style since we’re not serving liquor,” Alexander said. “Kids can come in, and we won’t be classified as a lounge. We’ll have games for kids and for adults, couch seating and more of a laid-back environment.” He said the vibe will be “kind of like a taproom meets coffee shop.” Peoples said he hopes everyone will feel welcome there. “From grad students on up to young professionals to families, we really want to make it approachable to everyone, even people who many not drink alcohol,” Peoples said. “It’s really a place for people who enjoy craft alcoholic beverages to come, but also their friends who may not drink can also come hang out.” They plan to have a small stage for live acoustic music and to also serve food. How it works The self-pour system prevents customers from waiting in line for drinks or to settle their tab, and it also lets them sample a few ounces. “It’s free rein to taste as you go and not be committed to 16 ounces of something that you may or may not like,” Peoples said. An employee will scan the customer’s ID and credit card and then give them a smart card that uses radio-frequency identification technology. The customer can then go to the beer wall, select a glass and put the card in the slot above the tap. There will be 40 taps to choose from and 20 screens with information about the beverage including the alcohol content and price per ounce. “It charges you by the ounce, so if you just want to taste an ounce of this type of beer or wine, you can do so and not have to pay full price for a whole cup and not like it,” Alexander said. The self-pour technology also comes with safety features to prevent over-imbibing. Each customer is capped off at two drinks, depending on the ABV. Once a customer reaches the two-drink threshold, the card will lock, Peoples said. If the customer wants more to drink, they have to go back to a staff member who will reevaluate them and possibly allow them to get two more drinks. “It’s a more controlled, safer way to avoid people over-consuming and just being responsible as a business to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Peoples said. “It also cuts down on underage drinking because the only way you’re getting an RFID card is if we swipe your ID and make sure you’re over 21,” Alexander added. “Plus being self-serve, it gives the employees more time to walk around, talk to customers and keep eyes on who’s drinking and who’s not.” If their plan gets approved by the Auburn City Council, they will get started on renovating and remodeling the space the next day, Peoples said. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Read More…

Toxic Effects Of The Big Lie: Will Any Republican, Anywhere, Ever Concede Defeat? https://digitalalabamanews.com/toxic-effects-of-the-big-lie-will-any-republican-anywhere-ever-concede-defeat/ Days before the 2016 election, candidate Donald Trump stood before a throng of ecstatic followers and said, “I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters and to all of the people of the United States that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win.” Indeed he did pull out a narrow electoral victory, even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million. There was plenty of carping. There were street protests. But nobody stormed the U.S. Capitol or enlisted Democratic officials in various states to sign fraudulent elector statements in the hopes of getting Congress to overturn the result in defiance of the Constitution. Clinton conceded the next day, although no one’s pretending she was happy about it. Democrats grumbled about the antiquated system that elected the last two Republican presidents with a minority of the popular vote, but everyone moved on. There’s no need to recapitulate what happened in 2020. We are all too aware of it, mostly because Trump and his allies won’t let anyone forget it. He made it clear from the beginning that it was simply not possible for him to lose and now we can see that he’s convinced a large number of candidates for office, as well as their voters, that it holds true for them too. The Big Lie is alive and well. According to FiveThirtyEight, 60% of American voters have an election denier on the ballot where they live. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post reported over the weekend about election deniers running for office around the country who have refused to say whether they will accept the results of their own upcoming elections. The Post surveyed 19 important statewide races, and only seven Republican candidates said they would accept the results while 18 of the 19 Democrats said they would. (The other Democrat didn’t respond.) The Times noted that a few of those GOP candidates seem to be posturing in order to appeal to Trump voters who’ve bought into the big lie, quoting an aide who said on background that their candidate would certainly accept the results but just couldn’t say so in public. That’s what passes for integrity in Republican politics these days. Amusingly, a number of defeated Republicans in this year’s primary elections have claimed that the votes were rigged, proving just how deep this conspiracy goes. Axios reports that losing GOP candidates in Michigan, Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Florida have all claimed their elections were tainted. Even some winners complained. Arizona’s GOP nominee for secretary of state, state Rep. Mark Finchem, a hardcore 2020 election denier, claimed that “people all over the state [are] saying, ‘I’ve gotten ballots that I didn’t ask for.'” Presumably he doesn’t believe his own primary win was dubious, but these people are so far down the rabbit hole that you never know. Political number-crunchers keep warning that Democratic momentum could be a mirage. Are there still “shy” GOP voters out there who don’t have MAGA flags on their pickup but feel deeply wounded by Joe Biden? There has also been a recent spate of articles from various political number-crunchers warning that Democrats should be wary of getting it into their heads that they can win this midterm election. The momentum certainly seems to be moving their way, but these observers suggest that’s a mirage: Polling in both 2016 and 2020 failed to capture Republican voters, who showed up in greater numbers than expected. (In the 2018 midterms the polls were pretty accurate. But because historically the party in power loses seats in midterm elections, somehow that doesn’t count.) Data analysts don’t know what’s going on with these invisible or “shy” Republican voters, but at least one pollster — who is generally considered right-leaning — says it’s because GOP voters are sensitive to what strangers who call them on the phone might think of them: He claims that Joe Biden’s comments have created an “army” of these hidden voters who are impossible to poll, “even for us.” These shy voters aren’t like the MAGA fans who put Trump flags on their pickup trucks, but according to this theory they are so traumatized on behalf of the good folks who wear “Fuck your feelings” T-shirts in public and worship a man who calls Democrats, “disgusting,” “depraved,” “treasonous” and every other gross insult known to man that they won’t even admit to a pollster who they are going to vote for. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. This pollster’s data may be valid, but his analysis is just an personal opinion. In my opinion, it’s highly doubtful that GOP voters aren’t responding to pollsters because their feelings got hurt. Trump voters don’t strike me as shrinking violets. I would guess they don’t respond because Trump has told them that you can’t trust anyone but him and his designated associates. Since he says any poll that shows he isn’t winning by a landslide is in the tank, and all polls, even the right-leaning ones, do show that from time to time, his followers are required to discount and distrust all polling. They have swallowed Trump’s belief that the only way Democrats can win is by cheating and that any polls which show Republicans losing are by definition rigged. Why participate in a rigged game? Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight threw some cold water on this whole thing anyway, noting that none of this is quite as predictable as one might think: People’s concerns about the polls stem mostly from a sample of exactly two elections, 2020 and 2016. You can point out that polls also had a Democratic bias in 2014. But, of course, they had a Republican bias in 2012, were largely unbiased in 2018, and have either tended to be unbiased or had a Republican bias in recent special elections. True, in 2020 and 2016, polls were off the mark in a large number of races and states. But the whole notion of a systematic polling error is that it’s, well, systematic: It affects nearly all races, or at least the large majority of them. There just isn’t a meaningful sample size to work with here, or anything close to it. The consequences of this belief that the polls are definitely wrong, however, could be profound. It feeds into the idea that if Democrats do manage to hold onto one or both houses of Congress — even Silver’s site forecasts that it’s fairly likely they will win the Senate — it cannot be legitimate. It will give all those election deniers still more fodder for the belief that they’re being cheated, and we’ll see yet more lies by cynical GOP politicians who see an upside to losing: It’s a chance to delegitimize a Democratic majority and nurse the grievance and delusions of their Trump-crazed base. OK, it’s not quite as good as winning, but it pays the bills — and our already fragile democracy frays just a little bit more.  Read More…

World Mourns Queen Elizabeth II; Fiona Pounds Puerto Rico; Leaders Gather At UN | Hot Off The Wire Podcast https://digitalalabamanews.com/world-mourns-queen-elizabeth-ii-fiona-pounds-puerto-rico-leaders-gather-at-un-hot-off-the-wire-podcast/ Britain and the world are saying a final goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II at a state funeral that drew presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers. Crowds massed along the streets of London to honor a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an age. In a country known for pomp and pageantry, the first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s was filled with spectacle. Royal Navy sailors drew the gun carriage carrying Elizabeth’s coffin to Westminster Abbey. King Charles III and his sons Princes William and Harry walked behind as pipers played. Pall bearers then carried the coffin into the Abbey. Around 2,000 people ranging from world leaders to health care workers gathered to mourn her. After the funeral, the queen’s coffin left the abbey to start a procession through central London. Hurricane Fiona is bearing down on the Dominican Republic after knocking out the power grid and unleashing floods and landslides in Puerto Rico, where the governor said the damage was “catastrophic.” No deaths have been reported, but authorities in the U.S. territory said it was too early to estimate the damage from a storm that was still forecast to unleash torrential rain across Puerto Rico on Monday. World leaders are gathering at the United Nations this week under the shadow of Europe’s first major conflict since World War II. It is taking place as many countries across the globe are also confronting inequality, an escalating climate crisis, the threat of multiple famines and increasing misinformation and hate speech. The Viola Davis-led action epic “The Woman King” easily conquered the North American box office in its first weekend in theaters, against a crowded market of new releases. It surpassed expectations and earned $19 million in ticket sales, according to estimates from Sony on Sunday. The horror movie “Barbarian,” a 20th Century Studios release, took second place in its second weekend with $6.3 million. In sports, a roundup of action in the NFL, the Yankees’ Aaron Judge hit his 58th and 59th home runs and the Mets completed a four-game sweep. “The Phantom of the Opera” — Broadway’s longest-running show — is scheduled to close in February 2023, a victim of post-pandemic softening in theater attendance in New York. A spokesperson says the closing will come less than a month after its 35th anniversary. Former White House press secretary and Arkansas GOP gubernatorial candidate Sarah Sanders has been released from a hospital following surgery for thyroid cancer. President Joe Biden met with family members of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American detained in Russia, Paul Whelan. The meetings Friday at the White House were the first face-to-face encounter between the president and the relatives of Griner and Whelan. Immigration lawyers are threatening legal action as they claim Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott are breaking the law by sending migrants out of their states. The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to lift a judge’s order that temporarily barred it from reviewing a batch of classified documents seized during an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home last month.  Here’s a look at the latest news and most interesting developments today. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Read More…

Post Politics Now: It’s A Big Week On The World Stage For Biden https://digitalalabamanews.com/post-politics-now-its-a-big-week-on-the-world-stage-for-biden/ Today, President Biden is returning to Washington after attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London. It’s a big week on the world stage for the American president: He is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly, hold a meeting with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss and host a reception for world leaders in New York. On Sunday night, Biden made multiple headlines in an interview that aired on “60 Minutes,” declaring that the coronavirus pandemic is over and saying U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from China. Biden also hedged about whether he plans to seek reelection in 2024, saying that is his intention but that “it’s just an intention.” Your daily dashboard 5 a.m. Eastern time (10 a.m. in London): Biden and first lady Jill Biden attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. 5:05 p.m. Eastern: The Bidens return to the White House. Got a question about politics? Submit it here. After 3 p.m. Eastern weekdays, return to this space and we’ll address what’s on the mind of readers. Analysis: Democrats push to avoid a Medicaid cliff for new moms Return to menu Half the states have taken advantage of a provision of President Biden’s coronavirus relief bill making it easier to extend Medicaid benefits to a full year after birth for low-income new mothers. Writing in The Health 202, The Post’s Rachel Roubein says that while the option has had notable success, there’s one key caveat: Congress only authorized the pathway for five years. Without additional action by lawmakers, extra postpartum coverage in these states will expire on April 1, 2027. Rachel writes: On our radar: Reps. Cheney, Lofgren preview Electoral Count Act bill Return to menu It’s quite possible the House will vote this week on legislation to change the Electoral Count Act, the 1887 law that governs the certification of the presidential election. Writing in The Early 202, The Post’s Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer note that Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the House Administration Committee’s chairwoman, and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) previewed their bill in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday night. Here are some of the details, according to their op-ed: Analysis: What an election denier could do if elected secretary of state Return to menu In many states, the secretary of state is the chief elections official. It’s a crucial job, but not one that many Americans have heard of, much less paid attention to. But secretary of state races are starting to get a lot more national attention and money, The Post’s Amber Phillips writes. Per our colleague: Former president Donald Trump and his allies have succeeded in boosting 2020 election deniers as candidates this primary season, and in many states, they’ve won the Republican nomination. That means, by next year, election deniers could be in charge of their states’ elections, including in key swing states for the 2024 presidential race. Among the things rogue secretary of states could do: make it harder to vote, allow for endless audits, refuse to sign off on election results and sow distrust. You can read Amber’s full analysis here. Analysis: Why Elise Stefanik may be moving up by moving down Return to menu Ambitious politicians don’t often seek a demotion. But that’s basically what Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) did last week when she announced she would run again for the position of House Republican conference chair. Writing in The Early 202, The Post’s Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer says that if Republicans retake the House, as they expect to, that position would move down a peg from the No. 3 spot in House GOP leadership to No. 4 in the hierarchy because the party would pick up the speakership. On our radar: Biden says running again is ‘just an intention’ Return to menu President Biden said in an interview that aired Sunday that it’s “much too early” to make a firm decision about running for president again in 2024, leaving open the possibility that another Democrat could appear atop the ticket in two years. “Look, my intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again,” Biden told CBS’s Scott Pelley on “60 Minutes.” “But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.” “I’m a great respecter of fate,” Biden added. “And so, what I’m doing is I’m doing my job. I’m going to do that job, and within the time frame that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.” The latest: Biden, in London, honors the queen and avoids diplomatic disputes Return to menu President Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived Monday morning at Westminster Abbey in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. The Post’s Toluse Olorunnipa reports that Biden on Sunday visited Westminster Hall in London to view the queen’s coffin, his first official act of condolence during a brief visit to the United Kingdom to attend the funeral of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Per our colleague: As he stood before the coffin, Biden took a deep breath before making the sign of the cross and then placing his hand over his heart. With the visit, the president and first lady Jill Biden, became the latest — and highest-profile — visitors to the royal lying in state that has drawn thousands of people in queues stretching for miles. “She was the same in person as her image,” Biden said Sunday after signing a condolence book for her. “Decent, honorable and all about service.” Biden’s itinerary is being closely watched by the British public, from his arrival on Air Force One on Saturday night, to which British officials he chooses to engage, to his use of the presidential limousine known as “The Beast” while other world leaders are relegated to buses. You can read the full story here. Noted: Biden says ‘the pandemic is over’ Return to menu President Biden declared the coronavirus pandemic “over,” in apparently off-the-cuff remarks that reflect the growing sentiment that the threat of the virus has receded, even as hundreds of Americans continue to die of covid each day. “We still have a problem with covid,” Biden said in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday night. “We’re still doing a lot of work on it … but the pandemic is over.” The Post’s Dan Diamond reports that Biden made the remarks Wednesday during the interview at the auto show in Detroit, referencing the crowds at the event. The annual auto show had not been held since 2019. Per Dan: Noted: Biden says U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in event of attack by China Return to menu President Biden has again confirmed that U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from China, the clearest recent statement that Biden has made about how far the United States would go to support Taiwan militarily. The Post’s Amy B Wang reports that in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday evening, Biden told host Scott Pelley that the United States would defend Taiwan “if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.” Amy writes: China claims Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that is home to 23 million people, as its own territory, and has asserted it could one day use force to take control of the island. Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than six months ago, Biden had emphasized several times that U.S. military forces would not fight Russian troops on Ukrainian soil. Pelley pressed Biden on whether the situation would be different in the event of an attack on Taiwan. “So unlike Ukraine, to be clear, sir, U.S. forces — U.S. men and women — would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion?” Pelley asked. “Yes,” Biden replied. You can read Amy’s full story here. Take a look: On the Sunday shows, guests debate transporting migrants Return to menu The decisions by Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida to transport migrants north to largely Democratic areas were an intense topic of conversation on the Sunday talk shows. Democrats accused the governors of engaging in cruel political stunts, while Republicans argued that the Biden administration needs to overhaul the nation’s border policies. The Post’s Mahlia Posey pulled together the highlights, which include appearances by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and New York Mayor Eric Adams (D). Analysis: Happy 15th birthday, Fact Checker! Return to menu The Washington Post Fact Checker is 15 years old today, although strictly speaking that statement might merit a Pinocchio. The Post’s Glenn Kessler writes that with a burst of four fact checks on the morning of Sept. 19, 2007 — of statements by Osama bin Laden, former senator Mike Gravel (D-Alaska), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and former senator Fred D. Thompson (R-Tenn.) — our former colleague Michael Dobbs launched the Fact Checker. Per Glenn: By coincidence, the new feature appeared a few weeks after the St. Petersburg Times (now the Tampa Bay Times) unveiled PolitiFact. The original idea was that the Fact Checker would run through the 2008 election, so Dobbs closed up shop on Nov. 4, 2008, just 14 months later. But Washington Post editors noticed that thousands of readers, searching the internet for information, every day kept coming back for the original campaign fact checks, even months after they were first posted. There was clearly a hunger for nonpartisan, fact-based research on public policy topics. So the Fact Checker was relaunched almost 12 years ago under my direction. You can read Glenn’s full piece here. Read More…

SPLC Action Fund Endorses Donald, Bell https://digitalalabamanews.com/splc-action-fund-endorses-donald-bell/ The SPLC Action Fund has announced two new endorsements as the general election approaches. The fund is lending its support to Moshae Donald, the Democratic nominee for Mobile County district attorney, and Ashley Bell, Democratic nominee for Shelby County district judge. “The criminal justice system in Alabama is riddled with racial inequities from arrests, to overincarceration to a broken system of fees and fines that too often prevent successful reentry,” said Brandon Jones, director of political campaigns for the SPLC Action Fund, in a statement. “We must have officials – including District Attorneys – committed to addressing these inequities and putting fairness before all else. Moshae Donald has demonstrated she will do just that, and we are proud to endorse her.” The SPLC Action Fund statement identifies Donald’s commitment to “rehabilitative juvenile justice” and intent to use “prosecutorial discretion” in low-level marijuana possession cases and abortion cases as key platforms that earned its support. “As a black woman who was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, the location of one of the last known lynchings in the United States, to be endorsed by the very organization that was instrumental in bringing the Klan to justice in Alabama on behalf of Michael Donald’s family…it is truly an affirmation that I am on the right side of reform and progress,” Donald said. Jones said judges are essential in the fight against the racial injustices in the incarceration system and Bell would focus on those issues. “In the Shelby County race, we feel that Ashley Bell is most centered in the community and has demonstrated her commitment to putting fairness before all else,” the SPLC Action Fund said in a statement. The SPLC Action Fund is focused on communities of color, particularly in the Deep South, who face systemic oppression, poverty and structural racism. To overcome these injustices, the organization is committed to reimagining the political, economic and social systems that sustain them – to create a world where all people can thrive. To that end, the organization is directing its work and resources on four key impact areas that we believe will lead to transformational change: Decriminalizing and decarcerating Black and Brown people Expanding voting rights and civic engagement among communities of color   Eliminating the root causes of poverty in the South Dismantling white nationalism and protecting democracy Read More…

Watch Live: Queen Elizabeth II https://digitalalabamanews.com/watch-live-queen-elizabeth-ii/   18m ago Queen’s coffin transferred to hearse for her final trip to Windsor The queen’s coffin is being transferred to the state hearse from the gun carriage on which it was processed through central London.  As the late monarch begins her final journey from the British capital to her home in Windsor, about an hour west of London by car, there was to be a royal salute by a military brass band, followed by another playing of the national anthem. The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is transferred into a state hearse for the trip from central London to Windsor, following her state funeral on September 19, 2022. CBS News   53m ago Queen’s funeral service ends – What happens next? After the conclusion of the official state funeral service at Westminster Abbey, the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is being processed through central London to Wellington Arch. Big Ben is tolling every minute during the procession, and guns are being fired in Hyde Park. Watch: Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral service at Westminster Abbey 01:07:52 At 1 p.m. (8 a.m. Eastern): The queen’s coffin will be transferred to the state hearse from the gun carriage on which it is being processed through London to the state hearse. There will then be a royal salute, and the national anthem will be played. The queen’s coffin will then be driven from London to Windsor. At approximately 3 p.m. (10 a.m. Eastern): The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is expected to reach Shaw Farm Gate in Windsor. There, it will join a funeral procession that will go to Windsor Castle. At 3:40 p.m. (10:40 a.m. Eastern): In the castle grounds, King Charles III and other members of the royal family will join the funeral procession. Members of the royal household will be positioned behind the coffin. At 3:53 p.m. (10:53 a.m. Eastern): The procession is expected to reach the steps of St. George’s chapel at Windsor Castle. The queen’s coffin will be taken from the state hearse and carried in procession into the chapel for the committal service. At 4:00 p.m. (11:00 a.m. Eastern): A committal service will take place, with about 800 people attending. Guests will include members of the queen’s household. The choir of St. George’s chapel will sing before the queen’s coffin is lowered into the royal vault. 7:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. Eastern): A private ceremony for the queen’s family will take place in the King George VI memorial chapel. She will be laid to rest alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.   31m ago King Charles III leaves handwritten note on the queen’s coffin A handwritten note from King Charles III was placed on top of the coffin carrying his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, for her state funeral on Monday. Nestled in a wreath of flowers which included a sprig from Queen Elizabeth’s wedding to her husband, Prince Phillip, Charles’ note said, “In loving and devoted memory. Charles R.” The R is short for the word “Rex,” which is Latin for king.   Britain’s King Charles III, left, and Camilla, the Queen Consort follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it is carried out of Westminster Abbey during her funeral in central London, September 19, 2022. A note placed in flowers on top of the coffin from Charles reads, “In loving and devoted memory. Charles R”. AP Photo/Frank Augstein/Pool   7:44 AM New Zealand leader shares the “best” advice she got from the queen New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the late Queen Elizabeth II gave her some of the best advice on leading a country while being a new mother. Ardern, who had a baby while in office, met the queen in 2018, while she was pregnant. “One of the things on my mind, alongside being a new prime minister, was being a prime minister and a mom, and when you think about leaders who have been in that position, there was Benazir Bhutto. There was myself. Before that, there was the queen. There were so few to look to,” Ardern told CBS News partner network BBC News on Sunday. “So I said to [Queen Elizabeth II], ‘How did you manage?’ And I remember she just said, ‘Well, you just get on with it.’ And that was actually probably the best and most factual advice I could have,” Ardern said. Queen Elizabeth II greets Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand at The Queen’s Dinner during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018. WPA Pool/Getty   7:20 AM Queen’s coffin taken out of abbey for procession to Hyde Park The pallbearers raised Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from the catafalque in the center of Westminster Abbey and began processing with it through the center aisle of the great nave, to bring it outside and place it back on the State Gun Carriage. Members of the Royal family follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it is carried out of Westminster Abbey during her State Funeral in central London, September 19, 2022.  Frank Augstein/AP The coffin will be followed in procession on the carriage by King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, along with other members of the family. The entire procession was to take about 45 minutes to reach Wellington Arch, at Hyde Park Corner. From there, the queen’s coffin was to be placed in a hearse for the drive west from central London to Windsor, where the queen will be laid to rest in her family chapel next to her late husband Prince Philip.  Britain’s King Charles III, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Princess Anne, and her husband Vice Admiral Tim Laurence, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Prince William, and Kate, Princess of Wales with their children Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Britain’s Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it is carried out of Westminster Abbey during her funeral in central London, September 19, 2022. Frank Augstein/AP   6:59 AM A commendation, a blessing, trumpets and a silence for the queen. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gave the commendation over the queen’s coffin as the funeral service neared its end on Monday.  The commendation, essentially a prayer for the late queen to be welcomed into heaven, included the traditional line: “Go forth, O Christian soul, from this world,” which is often included in funeral services. The commendation was followed by a new song composed specifically for the service, the words for which were taken from Romans 8 in the Bible, which includes the line, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”  The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard, is placed in Westminster Abbey in central London, for the funeral service, September 19, 2022. Ben Stansall/AP The dean of the abbey then delivered a blessing, and asked those in the ancient church to remain standing for the “Last Post,” a trumpet peel by the royal Household Cavalry. Finally, all fell silent. A two-minute national silence was held at 11:55 a.m. local time, or 6:55 a.m. Eastern, to honor the queen. Watch: “God Save the King” is sung at the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral 02:20   6:43 AM Unseen portrait of Queen Elizabeth II released on the eve of her funeral A never-before-seen portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was released by the royal family on the eve of the late monarch’s state funeral, for which thousands flocked to the British capital, London, on Monday. The photo was taken to mark the queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the celebration of her 70 years on the throne, the royal family said. Queen Elizabeth II was the first British monarch to ever reach that milestone, which she celebrated three months before her death. Ahead of Her Majesty The Queen’s State Funeral, a new photograph has been released. The photo was taken to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee – the first British Monarch to reach this milestone. Tomorrow, millions will come together to commemorate her remarkable life. pic.twitter.com/UyVfjVvJgw — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 18, 2022  The photo was taken by photographer Ranald Mackechnie, who also took the commemoration photo for her Platinum Jubilee.   6:25 AM British Commonwealth official gives first reading as funeral begins As the queen’s coffin entered the abbey, the Choir of Westminster Abbey sang The Sentences, a song which has been used since the mid-1500s, according to Buckingham Palace, including at every state funeral since the early 18th century. The “First Lesson” was then read by Baroness Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth, in tribute to the late monarch’s life “of dedication and service to the family of nations,” the palace said.  The queen’s death and passage of the throne to her son King Charles III comes at a time when several members of that “family of nations” are fiercely debating their future within it, with referendums planned in a couple Caribbean countries in particular on becoming fully independent republics. Queen Elizabeth II’s death revives criticism of the monarchy’s colonial past and role in the slave trade 05:10   6:08 AM Prince George and Princess Charlotte processing behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II The queen’s great grandchildren, nine-year-old Prince Goerge and seven-year-old Princess Charlotte, will participate in the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, according to the order of service provided by Buckingham Palace.  The children of William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, joined the funeral procession along with other members of the royal family as their grandmother’s coffin entered Westminster Abbey. Britain’s King Charles III, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Kate, Princess of Wales, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince George and Princess Charlotte arrive at the Westminster Abbey for the state funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, in London, September 19, 2022. Phil Noble/Pool/AP Their younger brother, four-year-old Prince Louis, did not ...

American Held Captive In Afghanistan For More Than 2 Years Is Released In Prisoner Swap | CNN Politics https://digitalalabamanews.com/american-held-captive-in-afghanistan-for-more-than-2-years-is-released-in-prisoner-swap-cnn-politics/ CNN  —  Mark Frerichs, an American held captive in Afghanistan for more than two years, has been released in a prisoner swap, a senior Biden administration official confirmed Monday. “Bringing Mark home has been a top priority for President Biden and his national security team,” the official said. Haji Bashir Noorzai, a prominent member of the Taliban, who was in prison in the US on drug trafficking charges for 17 years, was granted clemency as part of the deal, the official said. Frerichs, a Navy veteran from Illinois, was kidnapped in late January 2020 while he was doing construction contract work in Afghanistan. He was believed to be held by the Haqqani network, which is a faction of the Taliban. He was missing for less than a month before the US signed a peace deal with the Taliban. Frerichs was able to walk on his own onto the aircraft, a source familiar with the matter said, and his physical and mental condition appear good. He is currently in Doha, Qatar. Frerichs’ family praised Biden for securing his release, with his sister, Charlene Cakora, saying in a statement, “there were some folks arguing against the deal that brought Mark home, but President Biden did what was right. He saved the life of an innocent American veteran.” “I am so happy to hear that my brother is safe and on his way home to us. Our family has prayed for this each day of the more than 31 months he has been a hostage,” Cakora said. “We never gave up hope that he would survive and come home safely to us.” Earlier this year, The New Yorker published a video of Frerichs pleading for his release – the first time the Illinois native had been seen in years. “I’ve been patiently waiting my release,” Frerichs says in the brief video, which he says is being recorded on November 28, 2021. Since her brother’s kidnapping, Cakora has called on the US government to do more to secure his release, escalating those calls in the lead-up to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Earlier this year, the Biden administration secured the release of Afghan-American Naval reservist Safi Rauf and his brother Anees Khalil, a US green card holder, who had been detained by the Taliban since December. This story has been updated with additional details. Read More…