Digital Alabama News

Record Lows (And Highs) Possible In Alabama https://digitalalabamanews.com/record-lows-and-highs-possible-in-alabama/ It’s going to feel more like January than October across Alabama for the next two days. High temperatures will only make it into the 50s across most of Alabama today as an arctic airmass takes hold across the state. There are some freeze warnings in effect through part of Tuesday morning, and more will go into effect tonight. The Alabama counties in purple will be under freeze warnings tonight: Freeze warnings will go into effect Tuesday night for the Alabama counties in purple. But there’s a chilly day to get through first. Here are the forecast high temperatures for Tuesday: Temperatures on Tuesday may not make it out of the 50s across much of Alabama. In fact, it may be cool enough today to set record low high temperatures, according to forecasters. More records could fall overnight — from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning — and freeze warnings will be in effect for a large part of the state. (The forecast for Tuesday night into Wednesday morning is at the top of this post.) More cold-for-October temperatures are in store for Wednesday and Wednesday night, and more record low temperatures will be possible, according to forecasters. Here’s the low temperature forecast for Wednesday night/Thursday morning: More below-freezing temperatures will be possible by Thursday morning. Here’s what to expect across the state: NORTH ALABAMA * Freeze warning for all of north Alabama until 9 a.m. today (Tuesday) and from 1 a.m. until 9 a.m. Wednesday. Counties in both warnings are Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Marshall, Jackson, DeKalb and Cullman. Temperatures this morning could range between 29 to 32 degrees. It will be even colder tonight, with lows expected to be between 26 and 30 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Huntsville. CENTRAL ALABAMA * Freeze warning until 9 a.m. today (Tuesday) for Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Winston, Walker, Blount, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Jefferson and St. Clair counties. * Freeze warning from midnight tonight until 9 a.m. Wednesday for Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Shelby, Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Sumter, Greene, Hale, Perry, Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Chambers, Marengo, Dallas, Autauga-Lowndes-Elmore-Montgomery-Macon-Bullock-Lee-Russell-Pike, Barbour, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Winston, Walker, Blount, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Jefferson and St. Clair counties. * Freeze watch for the same counties listed above from Wednesday night through Thursday morning. Temperatures from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning could be as low as 26 degrees. Wednesday night into Thursday night could see lows fall as far as 24 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Birmingham. SOUTH ALABAMA * Freeze warning from 1 a.m. until 8 a.m. Wednesday for Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Wilcox, Monroe, Conecuh, Butler, Crenshaw, Escambia, Covington and central and inland Mobile and Baldwin counties. * Freeze watch from Wednesday night into Thursday morning for Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Wilcox, Monroe, Conecuh, Butler and Crenshaw counties. RECORD WATCH Could there be some record cold temps? It’s possible. Here is a look at the record lows for some Alabama cities through Oct. 20: BIRMINGHAM Oct. 18: 31 in 1948 Oct. 19: 29 in 1948 Oct. 20: 32 in 1964 DAUPHIN ISLAND Oct. 18: 49 in 2009 Oct. 19: 46 in 2009 Oct. 20: 42 in 1989 DOTHAN Oct. 18: 36 in 2001 Oct. 19: 37 in 2009 Oct. 20: 34 in 1989 FORT PAYNE Oct. 18: 32 in 2009 Oct. 19: 38 in 2015 Oct. 20: 39 in 2008 HIGHLAND HOME Oct. 18: 43 in 2015 Oct. 19: 42 in 2015 Oct. 20: 42 in 2015 HUNTSVILLE Oct. 18: 28 in 1943 Oct. 19: 25 in 1948 Oct. 20: 30 in 1925 MOBILE Oct. 18: 35 in 1948 Oct. 19: 38 in 1989 Oct. 20: 33 in 1989 MONTGOMERY Oct. 18: 35 in 2001 Oct. 19: 34 in 1948 Oct. 20: 32 in 1989 MUSCLE SHOALS Oct. 18: 29 in 1948 Oct. 19: 28 in 1948 Oct. 20: 28 in 1917 SELMA Oct. 18: 34 in 1943 Oct. 19: 34 in 1948 Oct. 20: 35 in 1989 TROY Oct. 18: 31 in 1943 Oct. 19: 37 in 1981 Oct. 20: 32 in 1989 TUSCALOOSA Oct. 18: 30 in 1948 Oct. 19: 28 in 1948 Oct. 20: 32 in 1989 If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

Photography: Part Of The Big Picture At The Detroit Institute Of Arts https://digitalalabamanews.com/photography-part-of-the-big-picture-at-the-detroit-institute-of-arts/ When photography was invented in France in the 1820s, some artists predicted — even feared — that it would in time take the place of painting. That didn’t happen, but photographers around the world consistently have recorded images that reveal us to ourselves, move us emotionally and upend our expectations. Dawoud Bey, Fred Stewart and Tyler Collins from Birmingham: Four Girls, Two Boys, 2014, pigment print on paper.  |  Credit: Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Coville Photographic Fund, 2015.69.5 The Victoria and Albert Museum in London claims to have mounted the first photography exhibit in 1858. More than six decades later, photographer Alfred Stieglitz donated some of his work to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City began collecting photos in 1930. Five years later, when the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opened, photos by Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston formed the core of the museum’s collection. Today, all museums recognize photography as an important art form.   “To me, photography has always been an art form in and of itself, media used as creative expression.” “To me, photography has always been an art form in and of itself, media used as creative expression,” said Nancy Barr, curator of photography and department head at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). Barr curated “Conscious Response: Photographers Changing the Way We See,” now on display through Jan. 8. “Photos in this exhibit are by photographers from different generations, backgrounds, genders and races, all looking at the world through their own lens and broadening our perspectives on people, places and things.” Some 75 photos, made by 25 artists between the 1950s and the present day, are in the show. Works by Diane Arbus, Bruce Davidson, Robert Frank, Gordon Parks, twins Doug and Mike Starn and Hiroshi Sugimoto are included, as are photos by emerging and mid-career artists Genesis Báez, Brian Day, Merik Goma, Jarod Lew, Jova Lynne and Millee Tibbs. Many of the photos were donated; others are recent acquisitions that have not been on view before. ‘Artists Use Photography in Different Ways’ Six of Dawoud Bey’s photos from his “Birmingham Project” series are on display in “Conscious Response.” The photos are tributes to the lives of the four girls and two boys who died Sept. 15, 1963, when white supremacists bombed the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. “Bey created diptych portraits that show one person at the age one of the children would be now, had the killings not occurred, and a second person the age of one of the children when they died,” Barr said. “At first, visitors think they are looking at family portraits, but when they read about the series, they start to talk about the bombing. That’s one way a photo can make you see something differently, bring you into the realm of focus around a subject such as social justice.” Al Qasimi spent a monthlong residency photographing Dearborn’s Muslim community, one of the largest in the country. Farah Al Qasimi’s “Sally at the Ford Estate,” from 2019, shows a young Muslim woman, veiled and wearing jeans, in the garden at Ford House in Dearborn, Michigan, the former estate of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford and his wife, Clara. Born in Abu Dhabi and brought up in the U.S., in 2020 Al Qasimi spent a monthlong residency photographing Dearborn’s Muslim community, one of the largest in the country.  “We also have a photo of Machu Picchu by Japanese photographer Kenzo Izu,” Barr said. “He has traveled the world in search of sacred places, looking to capture a spiritual message and also to help us realize these ancient sites are not all permanent and some show decay.” A photo by Corine Vermeulen, a native of the Netherlands who lives in Detroit, portrays El Poblado, a vibrant neighborhood in Medellín, Colombia. “LaToya Ruby Frazier spent five years photographing Black residents in Flint, Michigan, and we have a picture of a family dressed for a wedding. Next to it is an aerial view of the Flint water treatment plant at the height of the water crisis,” Barr said. Landscapes, some mixed genre photos and some photo journalism work round out the show. ‘Rethinking Monuments’ Exhibit Goes on Tour Farah Al Qasimi, Sally at the Ford Estate, 2019, pigment print.  |  Credit: Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Albert and Peggy DeSalle Charitable Trust and Asian Art Deaccession Fund, 2021.295 Founded in 1885, the DIA’s collection boasts more than 65,000 works housed in a 658,000-square-foot Beaux-Arts building. The museum owns Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry” murals, 27 panels that show work at the Ford Motor Company, and Vincent van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait” from 1887, the first of his self-portraits to enter a U.S. museum collection. That painting is the centerpiece of “Van Gogh in America,” a new exhibit on display at DIA through Jan. 22. Not all the museum’s art stays in the building. Currently, some works are part of “Rethinking Monuments: American Sculptures in Its Time,” an exhibit touring Michigan through the Art Bridges Initiative. Developed by the DIA, the Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum in Saginaw and the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the exhibit showcases 19 sculptures made by American artists between 1850 and 2000. Ben Colman, curator of American art at the DIA, recalled that as curators at the four museums developed “Rethinking Monuments” in 2020 and 2021, they talked about the urgent debates around the country about monuments that some said misrepresented history. That discussion brought to mind “Pulling Down the Statue of King George III,” a painting by Johannes Adam Simon Oertel from 1852 or 1853. Whetting the Public’s Appetite for Art “What artists depict, erase or ignore has been contested, debated and confronted since before the U.S. was the U.S. — it’s never not been debated, though the questions are always rooted in different sets of contemporary concerns,” Colman said. “That helped us crystallize our thinking, and we decided to look at how sculptors from the mid-19th century to the present day have played roles in shaping history.” “Rosa Parks, Heidelberg Fragment,” from 1986 is part of “Rethinking Monuments.” Artist Tyree Guyton, who lives in Detroit, found the battered sign and added a line drawing of a bus. “The sign comes from the artist’s Heidelberg Project, a large-scale sculptural installation in a Detroit neighborhood that has seen radical depopulation and disinvestment,” Colman said.  Tyree Guyton, Rosa Parks, Heidelberg Fragment, 1986, oil paint on street sign.  |  Credit: Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Tyree and Karen Guyton of the Heidelberg Project, in memory of Sam Mackey, 1991.1114 “Rethinking Monuments” is DIA’s second touring exhibit through Art Bridges, which is based in Bentonville Arkansas. Arts patron Alice Walton, founder of Crystal Bridges Museum and The Momentary, started the foundation in 2017. “The DIA collaborated with Art Bridges on pilot programming that built on decades of our experience sending exhibitions to art centers, museums and galleries around Michigan. That’s not unheard of, but it’s not common,” Colman said. The touring exhibit is one more way to whet the public’s appetite for art, he added. “More than offering concrete answers, this exhibit introduces a set of questions visitors can carry with them as they think about how artists represent the past and the present.” Patricia Corrigan is a professional journalist, with decades of experience as a reporter and columnist at a metropolitan daily newspaper, and a book author. She now enjoys a lively freelance career, writing for numerous print and on-line publications. Read more from Patricia at latetothehaight.blogspot.com. Read More Read More…

Birmingham Is Starving Itself To Death https://digitalalabamanews.com/birmingham-is-starving-itself-to-death/ This is an opinion column. I’m sitting here in Birmingham, Alabama, thinking “Dang, you can’t go online these days without hearing bad news.” And by bad news I mean if I see another story about how flippin’ great Huntsville is, I’m gonna yack all over my “Take that s#$& Back to Hoover” T-shirt. Not because I wish ill of Huntsville. I used to live there, for Pete’s sake. I’m happy for it, in the same way I pretended to be “happy” for Auburn back when that team had success. It hurt, but I felt obliged. I joked the other day – in the face of all that federally funded north Alabama success – that if Huntsville is to be taken seriously it needs to put out an APB for its skyline, and prosecute whoever made off with it. “Pshaw,” a Birmingham booster muttered. “Huntsville is half the city Birmingham is… except for population.” Except for population. And there’s the rub. I’m not really mad at Huntsville. Haters gonna hate is all. I’m just frustrated at Birmingham – and when I say Birmingham I mean the 1.1 million people in the metro who seem like neighbors but are siloed by invisible lines – because those divisions keep us from having nicer things. The Birmingham Metro Area – 89 municipalities and 23 public school districts – is a protect-your-own-and-eff-the-rest set of communities, many of which broke away from Birmingham in white flight and formed school systems as a direct result of desegregation. Division has been an albatross. But that’s all right, right? Everybody thinks they’re doing fine. Mountain Brook is fine and Hoover is fine and Birmingham is fine and everything is fine. Just fine. Fine is … fine. Except, according to the non-partisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama’s award-winning report on regional cooperation a few years ago, it’s not. Fragmentation has not only led to a decline in Birmingham’s prominence, but is a drag on metropolitan growth. Seems like it. Average employment across the Birmingham region has been stagnant this whole century, and the same is true of income growth and poverty rates. It’s true of splintered regions across the country. “In cities where government is fragmented, growth is slower, and social and economic problems are more concentrated,” the PARCA report said. “The negative effects of fragmentation weigh not only on the center city but also on the metropolitan area as a whole. The fortunes of the central city and its suburbs are interlocked.” It’s like that old Aesop’s fable where the parts of the body got mad because the stomach was getting all the grub. The hands stopped forking, the mouth stopped chewing, and the throat went on a swallowing strike to teach that belly a lesson. Pretty soon the whole body began to starve. Huntsville skyline at Big Springs Park. Huntsville area photos from January 2021. (Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com). Joe Songer | jsonger@al.comJoe Songer | jsonger@al.com The Birmingham metro is slowly starving itself. To spite its gut. Perhaps it always worried about its differences more than it valued its possibilities. Consolidation efforts twice failed in Birmingham in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The metro had the chance to come together like Nashville, or Jacksonville, but chose to scatter to the wind instead. I had long hoped Birmingham would be jealous enough to come to its senses when threatened, to find a way to cooperate when Huntsville became Alabama’s real magic city. After all, Louisville was motivated, at least in part, to consolidate government in 2003 after Lexington passed it in population. But divided we continue to stand, and watch others pass by. Some say the mayors of different area cities are communicating more – and council members, too. There is more talk of shared services than there used to be, and every five years or so another task force forms to find elusive “regional cooperation.” But little comes of it, and in the end the legislative delegation, which has more control than all those others, just sits divided and fiddles fat and happy. While we, the people of the Birmingham Metro Area, face starvation. With 89 tiny kingdoms and 89 castles and courts, we duplicate services, compete against each other instead of the world, build a Tale of 89 Cities, a community of haves and have nots, and watch places like Huntsville zoom by. It’s time to wake up, Birmingham. Again. It’s time to wake up and eat. John Archibald is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for AL.com. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

Stocks Making The Biggest Moves Premarket: Johnson & Johnson, Goldman Sachs, FuboTV And More https://digitalalabamanews.com/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-johnson-johnson-goldman-sachs-fubotv-and-more/ Here are the companies making headlines before the bell: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – Johnson & Johnson shares rose 1.4% in the premarket after beating top and bottom line estimates for the third quarter, helped by growth in pharmaceutical sales. J&J did narrow its earnings outlook, as it maintains caution due to the impact of a strong U.S. dollar. Hasbro (HAS) – The toymaker reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.42 per share, falling 10 cents shy of Street forecasts, with revenue matching estimates. Hasbro had cut its sales forecast earlier this month, noting increased consumer sensitivity to higher prices. Hasbro slid 3.5% in premarket trading. Goldman Sachs (GS) – Goldman earned $8.25 per share for the third quarter, beating the $7.69 consensus estimate, while revenue topped Wall Street forecasts as well. Goldman rose 2.3% in the premarket. Amazon.com (AMZN) – Amazon added 2.3% in premarket trading after Citi named it a top pick for both a hard and soft economic landing, saying it would perform well under either scenario. fuboTV (FUBO) – fuboTV rallied 10.4% in the premarket after the sports-centered streaming service announced it would eliminate its sports betting business and also raised its sales outlook. XPO Logistics (XPO) – XPO issued a preliminary third-quarter sales forecast that was slightly below analyst estimates and would be its smallest quarterly sales since 2015. However, the transportation company also raised its profit forecast, and the stock rose 1.5% in premarket trading. Nordstrom (JWN) – Nordstrom Chief Financial Officer Anne Bramman will step down in December. The retailer has launched a search for a new CFO, with Chief Accounting Officer Michael Maher serving as interim CFO. Nordstrom rose 1.7% in the premarket. Intel (INTC) – Intel’s Mobileye unit is targeting a value of about $16 billion in its initial public offering, according to an SEC filing. The Wall Street Journal had reported that Intel had initially expected a roughly $50 billion valuation for the self-driving car unit, but had scaled those expectations down substantially. Intel added 1.2% in premarket action. Target (TGT) – The retailer’s stock jumped 3% in the premarket after Jefferies upgraded it to “buy” from “hold,” saying Target will benefit from an easing of supply chain issues and improved inventory positioning. Target shares had risen yesterday after CEO Brian Cornell made bullish comments at a Yahoo Finance conference. Read More…

LA Kings Hand Red Wings First Loss Of The Season – Tuesday Morning Sports Update | WSJM Sports https://digitalalabamanews.com/la-kings-hand-red-wings-first-loss-of-the-season-tuesday-morning-sports-update-wsjm-sports/ NHL – National Hockey League Last Night Los Angeles Kings 5, Detroit Red Wings 4 – OT Kings 5, Red Wings 4 – OT – Danault’s overtime goal gives Kings 5-4 win over Red Wings Phillip Danault scored 1:12 into overtime for his second goal of the game, and the Los Angeles Kings handed the Detroit Red Wings their first loss with a 5-4 victory. Danault’s winning shot in front hit a defender’s skate and bounced into the net. Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist, giving him 47 points in 42 games against Detroit. Gabriel Vilardi also scored for the Kings, and Jonathan Quick made 29 saves. Wings forward Oskar Sundqvist scored in the final minute of regulation to send the game into overtime. NHL – Red Wings’ Bertuzzi out 4 to 6 weeks with upper-body injury Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi is expected to be out for four to six weeks with an upper-body injury. The team made the announcement Monday before hosting the Los Angeles Kings. Bertuzzi helped Detroit win its first two games this season, giving the rebuilding team a much-needed solid start. Bertuzzi had career highs last year with 30 goals and 62 points. The 27-year-old Bertuzzi has scored 84 goals and has 189 assists in his career. NFL – National Football League – Week 6 Yesterday Los Angeles Chargers 19, Denver Broncos 16 – OT Chargers 19, Broncos 16 – OT – Late turnover, Hopkins 4th field goal gives Chargers OT win Dustin Hopkins kicked four field goals, including a 39-yarder with 2:38 remaining in overtime, and the Los Angeles Chargers rallied for a 19-16 victory over the Denver Broncos. The Chargers have won three straight to improve to 4-2. They are tied with Kansas City atop the AFC West. The game appeared to be headed toward a tie until Denver’s Montrell Washington muffed JK Scott’s punt at the Broncos 32-yard line. It was recovered by Deane Leonard at the 28. NFL – Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike out for year after back surgery Detroit Lions defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike is out for the season after having back surgery earlier this month. Lions coach Dan Campbell made the announcement Monday. The Lions drafted Onwuzurike with the No. 41 pick overall in 2021 and the former Washington standout had an underwhelming rookie season. Onwuzurike played in 16 games as a backup last year and had 35 tackles, including one sack. While trying to recover from a back injury this season, he did not play in a game. MLB – Major League Baseball Playoffs Last Night ALDS – Best of 5 Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees, PPD Rain                            (Series tied 2-2) Guardians at Yankees, PPD – Guardians-Yankees rained out, to play ALDS Game 5 on Tuesday The decisive Game 5 of the AL Division Series between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees has been postponed by rain after a 2 1/2-hour delay and rescheduled for Tuesday at 4:07 p.m. Both teams took batting practice ahead of the scheduled 7:07 p.m. start. Major League Baseball announced a delay at 6:20 p.m., rain started falling at 7:30 p.m. and the postponement was announced at 9:38 p.m. It was the second postponement of the series following Game 2 at Yankee Stadium being pushed back a day until last Friday. Cleveland or New York will start the AL Championship Series at Houston on Wednesday night. Today ALDS – Best of 5 Cleveland (Civale 5-6) at New York (Cortes 12-4), 4:07 p.m.                 (Series tied 2-2) NLCS – Best of 7 Philadelphia (Wheeler 12-7) at San Diego (Darvish 16-8), 8:03 p.m.       (Game 1) NBA – National Basketball Association – Regular Season Openers Tonight Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m. Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors, 10:00 p.m. NBA – NBA ’22-23: Warriors out to defend, amid tons of contenders The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics were the final two teams standing last season. And before this season started, both encountered some major issues. The Warriors will get their championship rings Tuesday night when the 77th NBA season opens. It’ll be the fourth time in eight years that the Warriors go into a season as defending champs. But they were rocked in the preseason by Draymond Green punching teammate Jordan Poole. They beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals and Boston has since lost coach Ime Udoka to a team-ordered suspension. If all that wasn’t enough, there are tons of contenders in both conferences to try to take the Warriors and Celtics down. NBA – Barkley, ‘Inside the NBA’ crew agree to contract extensions Charles Barkley will not be leaving TNT or the “Inside the NBA” crew for the foreseeable future. Barkley has signed a 10-year extension with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, which owns TNT. Barkley’s agreement coincides with contract renewals for host Ernie Johnson and analysts Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. Barkley has been with TNT since retiring as a player in 2000. He had floated the idea of doing commentary for LIV Golf this past summer. NCAAMBKB – North Carolina No. 1 in preseason AP Top 25 North Carolina is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll. The national runner-up from last season returns four of five starters and received 47 of 62 first-place votes. Gonzaga is No. 2, followed by Houston and Kentucky. Kansas and Baylor, the last two national champions, are tied for fifth. Duke, led by new coach Jon Scheyer, is seventh with UCLA, Creighton and Arkansas rounding out the top 10. The Big 12 and SEC lead the way with five teams apiece in the Top 25. 1 North Carolina(47) 1532 2 Gonzaga(12) 1479 3 Houston(1) 1404 4 Kentucky(2) 1364 5 Kansas 1200 Baylor 1200 7 Duke 1168 8 UCLA 1093 9 Creighton 1060 10 Arkansas 1026 11 Tennessee 880 12 Texas 844 13 Indiana 745 14 TCU 735 15 Auburn 623 16 Villanova 578 17 Arizona 543 18 Virginia 462 19 San Diego State 394 20 Alabama 281 21 Oregon 260 22 Michigan 229 23 Illinois 215 24 Dayton 170 25 Texas Tech 122 NCAAFB – Fallout from rare Alabama loss Alabama loses so infrequently it seems to shift the shape of the season when it happens. The Crimson Tide took an L on Saturday at Tennessee that pushed the Volunteers to No. 3 in the AP Top 25. The Vols received 15 first-place votes, the most they have gotten since 1999. After falling on a field goal as time expired, the Crimson Tide slipped three spots to No. 6. Alabama is the highest ranked team that has lost. Reality Check cautions against making any grand proclamations about the Alabama dynasty’s long-term health and is fine with the Tide’s short fall. NASCAR – Wallace ignored his own mantra in Larson conflict NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace has a mantra of “Peace, Love and Understanding” that he uses to push back against the negativity so often hurled his way. There was nothing peaceful about his skirmish with Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Wallace appeared to deliberately crash the reigning NASCAR champion in a dangerous retaliatory move and then he tried to fight Larson. Now NASCAR gets to decide if Wallace was out of line. He could be looking at a suspension. MCCAA – Junior College Athletics Yesterday Women’s Volleyball Lake Michigan College 3, Marian Ancilla College 0 Today Women’s Volleyball Kalamazoo Valley Community College at Southwestern Michigan College, 6:30 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Yesterday Volleyball St. Joseph 3, Berrien Springs 0 Buchanan 3, Our Lady of the Lake 0 Michigan Lutheran 3, Lawrence 0 Boys Soccer – Districts (Semifinals) Division 2 at Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg Gull Lake 3, Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg 0 Parma Western 5, Marshall 0 Yesterday Boys Soccer – Districts (Semifinals) Division 2 (St. Joseph) Edwardsburg vs. Sturgis, 5:00 p.m.                  at St. Joseph St. Joseph vs. Vicksburg, 7:00 p.m.                   at St. Joseph Division 3 (South Haven) Allegan at Holland Christian, 6:00 pm. Delton-Kellogg at Fennville, 6:00 p.m. Division 4 (Our Lady of the Lake) Cassopolis at Howardsville Christian, 5:00 p.m. Bridgman vs. Brandywine, 5:00 p.m.                  at Our Lady of the Lake Division 4 (Hartford) Bangor at Hartford, 5:00 p.m. Bloomingdale at Holland Black River, 5:00 p.m. Division 4 (Kalamazoo Christian) Battle Creek Academy at Kalamazoo Hackett, 7:00 p.m. Battle Creek Calhoun Christian at Schoolcraft, 7:00 p.m. Volleyball Lakeshore, Hopkins, at Dowagiac, 5:00 p.m. Our Lady of the Lake at Howardsville Christian, 7:00 p.m. Bridgman, Martin at Schoolcraft, 5:00 p.m. Otsego at Vicksburg, 6:00 p.m. South Haven, Delton-Kellogg at Lawton, 5:00 p.m. Bloomingdale at Cassopolis, 7:30 p.m. White Pigeon at Comstock, 7:30 p.m. Marcellus at Hartford, 7:30 p.m. Bangor at Lawrence, 7:30 p.m. Decatur at Mendon, 7:30 p.m. Allegan at Constantine, 5:30 p.m. Watervliet, Galesburg-Augusta at Kalamazoo Christian, 5:00 p.m. Coloma, Gobles at Parchment, 5:00 p.m. Girls Swimming and Diving St. Joseph at Portage Central, 6:00 p.m. Kalamazoo Central at Bridgman, 6:00 p.m. MHSAA – High School Football Rankings Division 1 1. Belleville (5)                                      (8-0)     50 2. Caledonia                                           (8-0)     44 3. Rockford                                            (8-0)     39 4. Macomb Dakota                                    (8-0)     37 5. Rochester Adams                                 (7-1)     28 6. West Bloomfield                                  (7-1)     24 7. Brighton                                            (8-0)     20 8. Davison                                              (7-1)     12 9. Clarkston                                          (6-2)     5 (tie) Romeo                                            (6-2)     5 Others receiving votes: Lapeer 3. De...

A Trump Aide Seen Moving Boxes Around Mar-A-Lago Before The FBI Raid Is A Former White House Staffer, Reports Say https://digitalalabamanews.com/a-trump-aide-seen-moving-boxes-around-mar-a-lago-before-the-fbi-raid-is-a-former-white-house-staffer-reports-say/ Reports identified a Trump aide who was seen moving boxes around Mar-a-Lago before the FBI raid.  The FBI believes Trump may have tried to conceal government records they had requested he return.  The footage helped to prompt the FBI’s August 8 Mar-a-Lago raid.  Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. The aide to former President Donald Trump who moved boxes of government records from a storage room in Mar-a-Lago in surveillance footage that prompted the FBI’s raid on the resort was identified in multiple reports.  Citing a source familiar with the investigation, CBS News on Monday confirmed reports in the The New York Times and The Washington Post that identified Walt Nauta, a former White House staffer turned Trump aide, as the staffer who moved the records.  The reports say that Nauta is cooperating with the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump’s retention of thousands of government records after leaving office. They say he has told investigators that Trump directed him to move the boxes.  The surveillance footage of Nauta moving the records, which was obtained by the FBI via subpoena, played a key role in its decision to raid Mar-a-Lago on August 8, where agents retrieved thousands of government records, including highly classified records.  Nauta was a Navy veteran who worked as a culinary employee at the White House from White House from 2012 to 2021, CBS News reported. The Post reported that Nauta was also a White House valet, and that he moved to work as a personal aide to Trump at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left office. The Times said that Nauta is a former military aide who worked at the White House, and then left to work for Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Insider has contacted an attorney for Nauta for comment. Investigators believe Trump may have violated several laws in retaining the records, including the Espionage Act, and that he and his aides may have attempted to obstruct the FBI’s investigation.  Before the raid, the FBI has subpoenaed all of the government records Trump was holding at Mar-a-lago, and in June Trump’s aides had handed over several boxes of them.  But the surveillance footage and other evidence led them to believe that a sworn statement from a Trump lawyer saying all records had been returned was false, and they obtained a warrant to raid the resort.  Before the this, the National Archives had made several attempts to obtain all the records from Trump,  Trump has denied wrongdoing in relation to the investigation, claiming at various times that the records were declassified, that he had the right to keep them, and that they were planted by the FBI in a plot to incriminate him.  Read More…

5 Things To Know For October 18: Student Loans, Russia, Trump, Grocery Stores, SpaceX | CNN https://digitalalabamanews.com/5-things-to-know-for-october-18-student-loans-russia-trump-grocery-stores-spacex-cnn/ Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan: Who it helps, who it doesn’t 04:06 – Source: CNN CNN  —  One of the two winning lottery tickets in the latest Mega Millions jackpot of almost half a billion dollars was sold in an area of Florida battered by Hurricane Ian less than a month ago. Florida’s lottery secretary called the win “slightly more meaningful than others” as many residents in the region are undergoing expensive restoration efforts in the wake of the storm. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. (You can get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.) President Joe Biden on Monday announced that federal student loan borrowers can now apply online for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness. “This is a game changer for millions of Americans… and it took an incredible amount of effort to get this website done in such a short time,” Biden said. People seeking to apply for student debt relief can fill out the form at StudentAid.gov. Borrowers have until December 31, 2023, to submit an application. In August, Biden announced his decision to cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt for individuals making less than $125,000 a year or as much as $20,000 for eligible borrowers who were also Pell Grant recipients. The latest phase of his plan is expected to provide debt relief to as many as 43 million borrowers. At least 13 people, including three children, were killed after a Russian military jet crashed into apartments in the country’s western city of Yeysk on Monday, state media and authorities said. The crash occurred during a training flight in which one of the plane’s engines caught on fire, Russia’s Defense Ministry told a state-run news agency. Images and videos of the crash’s aftermath showed smoke billowing and fire blazing in the residential area. A building, believed to house hundreds of people, was later engulfed in flames, officials said. Russian President Vladimir Putin told authorities to provide all necessary assistance to the victims of the crash, the Kremlin said in a statement.  Video shows scene where Russian jet crashed into building 01:38 – Source: CNN New documents released by the House Oversight Committee on Monday revealed that the Trump Organization charged the Secret Service “exorbitant rates” – upwards of $1.4 million over four years – to protect then-President Donald Trump and his family at properties they owned. The rates were as high as $1,185 per night despite claims by Trump’s company that federal employees traveling with him would stay at those properties “for free” or “at cost.” Charging his protective detail for lodging at his properties was a controversial practice when Trump was in office, and it has continued in his post-presidency because it appears to have been taxpayer-funded, the panel’s chairwoman, Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney said. Separately, a House report released Monday also alleges Trump aides blocked public health officials from providing accurate Covid-19 information during the pandemic. Haberman reacts to report that refutes Trump’s claims about Secret Service expenses 01:45 – Source: CNN A major supermarket merger could result in significant changes to grocery shopping in America, industry analysts say. The proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons, which the companies expect to complete in 2024, would combine the fifth and tenth largest retailers in the country. If approved by federal regulators, the nearly $25 billion deal would be one of the biggest in US retail history. With grocery prices already a concern for many shoppers, the companies said that they would be able to use $500 million in cost savings from the deal to reduce prices for shoppers and tailor promotions and savings. They also said they will invest $1.3 billion in Albertsons, which would include lowering prices. However, some critics and antitrust advocates say the merger would force out competition and concentrate power among the largest chains – resulting in higher prices.  ‘I need to cut back on things’: Family reacts to surging food prices 01:01 – Source: CNN Business SpaceX founder Elon Musk has announced his company has withdrawn its request for the Pentagon to fund its Starlink satellite internet services for Ukraine. Musk’s announcement followed an exclusive CNN report that SpaceX made the request in September, saying it was no longer able to donate the Starlink terminals or support the service that has provided critical cell and internet services to Ukraine during its war with Russia. SpaceX previously asked the Pentagon to start paying for the service for the current terminals operated by the Ukrainian government as well as fund almost 8,000 new terminals and service for Ukraine’s military and intelligence services. The announcement comes after the CNN report also showed in greater detail that SpaceX is not solely responsible for Starlink access in Ukraine. exclusive CNN reporting that SpaceX will no longer fund critical satellite services in Ukraine, Elon Musk says his company will keep funding the satellite services. CEO and author Bill Browder speaks to CNN’s Jim Acosta about Musk’s decision.” data-details=”” data-duration=”01:54″ data-editable=”settings” data-fave-thumbnails=”{“big”:{“uri”:”https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221015163809-bill-browder-vpx.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill”},”small”:{“uri”:”https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221015163809-bill-browder-vpx.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill”}}” data-featured-video=”true” data-headline=”Author reacts to Musk’s reversal on Ukraine funding: ‘Tiniest tiny fraction’ of Musk’s wealth” data-live=”” data-medium-env=”prod” data-show-ads=”true” data-show-name=”” data-show-url=”” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_75e13bfa8ccca9a6fb50df6c30a4bf9b-h_1be106c176a61efc43c6b31d156003b1@published” data-video-id=”business/2022/10/15/elon-musk-ukraine-satellites-bill-browder-intv-acostanr-vpx.cnn” data-vr-video=”” Author reacts to Musk’s reversal on Ukraine funding: ‘Tiniest tiny fraction’ of Musk’s wealth 01:54 – Source: CNN President Biden to speak on abortion rights Three weeks from the midterm elections, President Biden will zero in on abortion rights in remarks today at a Democratic National Committee event in Washington, DC, a Democratic official told CNN. Biden has argued that voters need to elect more Democrats in order to codify the protections of Roe v. Wade into law. He’s also pledged to veto any bill that would ban abortions on the federal level if Republicans take control of Congress. Is another ‘Top Gun’ movie in the works? We’re keeping our fingers crossed… but one of the stars of the latest movie isn’t sure that will happen. Kanye West to acquire conservative social media platform Parler West, who legally changed his name to Ye, is acquiring the controversial social media platform after being removed from Twitter this month over an antisemitic tweet.  Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka wins 2022 Booker Prize Looking for a good read? This novel just received one of the most prestigious literary awards. Best Chinese food: 32 must-try dishes This photo gallery offers a sampling of China’s many different regions. Actress Selma Blair departs ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Selma Blair, one of the show’s fan favorites, announced she is leaving the competition due to health concerns.  Astronaut James McDivitt, who led Apollo and Gemini missions, has died, NASA said in a statement. He was 93. McDivitt’s work during the Apollo 9 mission played a critical role in eventually helping land the first humans on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. His work on Gemini IV also helped extend astronauts’ time in space, nearly doubling the duration at that point in early space history, NASA said. 30% That’s the percentage of Ukraine’s power stations that have been destroyed since October 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky said today. Zelensky’s announcement comes in the wake of Russia’s recent strikes on critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine that have caused widespread blackouts. “I would remind you that Stacey Abrams campaigned to be Joe Biden’s running mate.” – Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, speaking at the Georgia governor’s debate on Monday about his challenger, Democrat Stacey Abrams. Kemp repeatedly sought to connect Abrams to President Biden, who, despite winning the state in 2020, is a deeply unpopular figure there now. Abrams, unlike many other Democrats running this year, has not sought to distance herself from the President and recently said publicly that she would welcome him in Georgia. Pedram Javaheri has the forecast. ” data-details=”” data-duration=”02:10″ data-editable=”settings” data-fave-thumbnails=”{“big”:{“uri”:”https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221018022618-3-day-temps-tuesday.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill”},”small”:{“uri”:”https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221018022618-3-day-temps-tuesday.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill”}}” data-featured-video=”true” data-headline=”Extremely cold temperatures warrant freeze alerts for the East” data-live=”” data-medium-env=”prod” data-show-ads=”true” data-show-name=”” data-show-url=”” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_ecfbe4b4c31b95177176d1a7b246eb09-h_1be106c176a61efc43c6b31d156003b1@published” data-video-id=”weather/2022/10/18/daily-weather-forecast-cold-east-northeast-freeze-snow-rain-great-lakes-fire-pacific-northwest-hot.cnn” data-vr-video=”” Extremely cold temperatures warrant freeze alerts for the East 02:10 – Source: CNN Check your local forecast here How a $250,000 diamond ring is made Watch this shor...

Monkeypox: What Nurses Need To Know – Daily Nurse https://digitalalabamanews.com/monkeypox-what-nurses-need-to-know-daily-nurse/ Listen to this article. Cases of monkeypox have greatly diminished in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean it’s gone for good or won’t come back in another form. Daily Nurse spoke with Jennifer Meyer, Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Division of Population Health Services, about monkeypox and what nurses should be aware of treating patients. (The interview has been edited for length and clarity). Q: I know that monkeypox is a virus, but is it similar to COVID? Although both are viruses, and we have vaccines and antivirals that can significantly prevent infection and reduce serious outcomes like prolonged hospitalization/death, several critical differences exist. Since May, about 20,000 Monkeypox cases have been reported. First, monkeypox is not a novel virus like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Monkeypox was identified in the 1950s, while SARS-CoV-2 was identified in 2019. Follow current U.S. case data here and Global data here. The second key difference relates to transmission. Early versions of SARS-CoV-2 appeared to predominantly be transmitted by droplets in the air from one person to another.  Current versions appear to be far more efficiently transmitted in aerosols. How does this happen? Consider the three D’s. If a virus is changing and finding ways to infect more people, it usually means you need less of a dose or exposure to the virus to cause an infection or less duration of exposure to the virus to cause an infection and/or changes in the distance the virus travels or survives while moving from one host to another. These days current SARS-CoV-2 variants (like Omicron) can easily transmit through the air in tiny aerosolized particles that can travel greater distances. This has been one of the lessons learned regarding our primitive descriptive terminology for infectious disease transmission. Traditional terminology would indicate that monkeypox is predominantly transmitted via direct close contact with an infected person with symptoms (rash, sores, feeling ill) or soiled/contaminated surface/linens, etc. However, there is some evidence that Monkeypox can be transmitted via respiratory secretions. Scientists are still investigating how often that occurs along with how infectious someone might be just before the onset of symptoms. Q: What are the symptoms? How do healthcare professionals know to test for monkeypox? Symptoms include any combination of the following: rash that can go through several stages, from blisters to scabs, and may include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, aches, exhaustion, headaches, muscle aches, congestion, sore throat, etc. The incubation period for monkeypox is quite long, up to three weeks. Once symptomatic, the person usually gets a rash 1-4 days later. The person is most contagious from when symptoms start to when blisters and scabs have healed, which takes 2-4 weeks. Review clinical guidance here. Clinicians should be on the lookout for any unexplained rash and, of course, if a patient has been exposed or is suspected to be exposed to someone who has tested positive. Get more guidance here. In general, viruses don’t live very long when outside the body. Monkeypox, however, can survive a long time–up to 15 days. For comparison, SARS-CoV-2 can survive a maximum of 5 days and HIV a few hours. These experiments are done in controlled lab settings, but you can see a clear difference. Q: What precautions should nurses take to protect their patients? Correctly don and doff PPE, wash hands, and disinfect equipment. Q: What are the myths about monkeypox? That the infections only occur among gay and bisexual men. While this population is disproportionately affected by monkeypox at this time, anyone can contract it. Q: Is there a potential for it to have variants? Certainly, however, pox viruses are not known for changing quickly, while coronaviruses are known for rapid changes. Q: Is there anything important for our readers to know? Nurses play a critical role in educating their patients and community. I encourage nurses to stay up-to-date on monkeypox information from high-quality resources. Help patients and community members understand how to protect themselves and each other, especially from health misinformation. Reach out to underserved and historically oppressed members of our community to ensure they have the information and resources they need to stay healthy. Consider inclusive communication strategies, read more here. Learn more about the new Vaccine Equity Project and if your employer can apply to participate here. Author Recent Posts Michele Wojciechowski is an award-winning writer and author of the humor book Next Time I Move, They’ll Carry Me Out in a Box. Latest posts by Michele Wojciechowski (see all) Read More…

Australia Reverses Trump-Era Recognition Of West Jerusalem As Capital Of Israel https://digitalalabamanews.com/australia-reverses-trump-era-recognition-of-west-jerusalem-as-capital-of-israel/ The Australian government has reversed a decision by its predecessor to recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, prompting a rebuke from the Israeli government. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong reaffirmed Canberra’s “previous and long-standing position” on Israel in a briefing on Tuesday, emphasizing the new Labor government’s unwavering support both for Israel and the Palestinian people. “Australia is committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist, in peace and security, within internationally recognized borders,” Wong said. “We will not support an approach that undermines this prospect.” The previous government, led by former Coalition Prime Minister Scott Morrison, recognized West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in 2018, following an announcement made by former US President Donald Trump. in 2017, Trump upended seven decades of U.S. foreign policy by declaring the United States considered Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel. The following year, the U.S. relocated its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Australia’s decision to revert to its previous position on Tuesday was a “hasty response to an incorrect report in the media.” “In light of the way in which this decision was made in Australia, as a hasty response to an incorrect report in the media, we can only hope that the Australian government manages other matters more seriously and professionally,” Lapid said in a statement, without elaborating on the “incorrect report.” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned Australia’s ambassador to Israel. Before Trump’s announcement, successive US leaders had resisted making any proclamation on the issue before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was resolved. Trump’s decision drew condemnation from world leaders and sent shock waves through the Muslim world. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim the holy city as their capital. Morrison’s decision to follow Trump’s lead also prompted outrage, and on Tuesday Wong apologized for any distress caused. “I regret that Mr. Morrison’s decision to play politics resulted in Australia’s shifting position, and the distress these shifts have caused to many people in the Australian community who care deeply about this issue,” Wong said. The division of Jerusalem into East and West dates from the 1949 armistice agreement that brought fighting between Israel and Arab powers to an end, and left the city divided. West Jerusalem was in the hands of Israel and East Jerusalem controlled by Jordan. A 1947 United Nations plan to divide Palestine in two, creating a Jewish state and an Arab state, had envisaged Jerusalem as an internationally run “corpus separatum,” apart from the two states. In 1967 Israel captured East Jerusalem in the Six Day War. It expanded the municipal boundaries of the city and declared all of it to be the unified capital of Israel. Until Trump’s announcement, the international community was largely united in not formally recognizing Israel’s position, stating instead that only a negotiated agreement between the two sides could determine the city’s final status. The city is home to deeply holy sites for Jews, Muslims and Christians. The issue has been so thorny that negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians had left the question of Jerusalem to the final stages of any peace deal. Read More…

Russia Hits Infrastructure Targets Across Ukraine, Targets Power And Water https://digitalalabamanews.com/russia-hits-infrastructure-targets-across-ukraine-targets-power-and-water/ Three blasts hit port of Mykolaiv – witness City of Zhytomyr left without power, water Blasts heard in Kyiv, other cities hit Zelenskiy accuses Russia of targeting civilians Moscow denies that, says hitting infrastructure KYIV/MYKOLAIV, Ukraine, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Russian missiles crashed into infrastructure targets across Ukraine on Tuesday morning as Moscow stepped up what looked like a deliberate campaign to destroy electricity and water facilities before winter. The major of Zhytomyr, a city of 263,000 people, said the attacks had knocked out the power and water supply, and two explosions rocked an energy facility in the southeastern city of Dnipro, a city of nearly 1 million, causing serious damage, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a Ukrainian presidential aide. In the southern Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv, a missile slammed into an apartment building killing at least one man, a Reuters witness said, and blasts were heard and smoke seen rising in Kyiv, the capital. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com There were also reports of power facilities being targeted in the city of Kharkiv, a city with a pre-war population of 1.43 million people, close to the Russian border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of terrorising and killing civilians with the air attacks, which came a day after drone strikes on Kyiv and other cities killed at least four people. “Ukraine is under fire by the occupiers. They continue to do what they do best – terrorise and kill civilians,” Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “The terrorist state will not change anything for itself with such actions. It will only confirm its destructive and murderous essence, for which it will certainly be held to account.” There was no immediate word on how many people had been killed in the strikes. Russia earlier this month named General Sergei Suvorikin as overall commander of what Moscow calls its “special operation” in Ukraine. Suvorikin served in Syria and Chechnya where Russian forces pounded cities in a scorched earth policy against its foes. A local resident takes pictures of a building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine October 18, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media because of his alleged toughness, his appointment was followed by the biggest wave of missile strikes against Ukraine since Moscow invaded on Feb. 24. Russia carried out its latest strikes on Tuesday after the United States warned it would hold Moscow accountable for any war crimes. Moscow denies targeting civilians. Its defence ministry has said it is carrying out attacks on military targets and energy infrastructure across Ukraine using high-precision weapons. In the port city of Mykolaiv, a Reuters witness said they had heard three explosions in the early hours of Tuesday. A missile had completely destroyed one wing of a building in the downtown area, leaving a massive crater, they said. A fire crew was seen pulling the dead body of a man from the rubble. “In Mykolaiv, the enemy destroyed a residential building with S-300 missiles. A person died. There was also a strike at the flower market, the chestnut park. I wonder what the Russian terrorists were fighting against at these absolutely peaceful facilities?” Zelenskiy said. The Russian strikes followed advances by Ukrainian forces in the east and south and came after an Oct. 8 blast on a bridge linking mainland Russia to Crimea – the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. U.S. President Joe Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday that the White House “strongly condemns Russia’s missile strikes” and spoke of Putin’s “brutality”. Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what he called a “special operation” to root out what it calls dangerous nationalists. Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance, with the help of arms supplied by the United States and its allies, who have also imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Philippa Fletcher Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…

Tuesday, Oct. 18: Sixers Vs. Celtics, Lakers Vs. Warriors In NBA Opening Night On TNT https://digitalalabamanews.com/tuesday-oct-18-sixers-vs-celtics-lakers-vs-warriors-in-nba-opening-night-on-tnt/ Ezra Shaw/Getty Images ALSO SEE: Your Full 2022 NFL Regular Season TV Schedule All Times Eastern. PBS programming varies regionally. Tuesday, Oct. 18 NBA Basketball TNT, beginning at 7:30pm Live The NBA regular season tips off tonight with a TNT doubleheader featuring the Philadelphia 76ers at the Boston Celtics and the 2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors (led by Steph Curry) raising another banner to the rafters when they host LeBron James and the L.A. Lakers. The 2022-23 NBA season tips off Oct. 18 on TNT! @sixers vs. @celtics // 7:30pm ET@Lakers vs. @warriors // 10pm ET pic.twitter.com/idjzflzZnX — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 17, 2022 Gabriel Iglesias: Stadium Fluffy Live From Los Angeles Netflix Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias became the first comedian to perform at Dodger Stadium in this stand-up special, filmed earlier this year at the Netflix Is a Joke festival. In the performance, Iglesias shares details about being a Los Angeles native, a recent attempt at extortion toward him and where he holds the record for receiving the highest fine onstage. Somebody Feed Phil Netflix Season Premiere! The popular unscripted food-and-travel docuseries is back with its sixth season, in connection with today’s release of host Phil Rosenthal’s companion cookbook. This season, Phil’s travels around the globe to explore different cuisines and cultures take him to Croatia, Philadelphia, Nashville, Austin and Santiago. There will also be a special tribute episode to Phil’s parents, Helen and Max. Unsolved Mysteries Volume 3 Netflix Season Premiere! The third installment of this reboot of the famed mystery-investigation docuseries airs as a three-week event, with new episodes dropping today, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 that feature more unexplained deaths, baffling disappearances and bizarre paranormal activity. FBI: “Flopped Cop” CBS, 8pm The team investigates the death of a wealthy accountant who was gunned down for secretly testifying against a notorious drug lord in the new episode “Flopped Cop.” The Resident: “A River in Egypt” FOX, 8pm In the new episode “A River in Egypt,” a college professor comes into the ER and Conrad (Matt Czuchry) realizes it’s a former patient of his from when he was an intern. MLB Playoffs: NL Championship Series: Game 1 FS1, 8pm Live The National League’s two remaining playoff contenders meet tonight in Game 1 of the best-of-seven NL Championship Series. FS1 and FOX split coverage of the series, which would end on Oct. 25 if a seventh game is needed. Life Below Zero: “Hard Lessons, Lasting Impressions” Nat Geo, 8pm As the sun slowly returns to the Arctic, Alaskans break trail and hunt for their survival ahead of the looming thaw. Sue Aikens learns of an imminent danger; in Eagle, Denise Becker breaks trail on her own to learn to navigate the landscape without her partner; Agnes and Chip Hailstone dig deep in Kiwalik to protect their meat from the elements; and Ricko DeWilde and his sons use the warmer weather in Huslia to search for a late-winter meal. The Voice: “The Battles, Part 3” NBC, 8pm The battle rounds continue as the coaches enlist music industry powerhouses Jimmie Allen, Sean Paul, Charlie Puth and Jazmine Sullivan to prepare their artists to go head-to-head in hopes of advancing to the knockouts. Each coach has one steal and one save at their disposal. By Design: The Joe Caroff Story TCM, 8pm This Turner Classic Movies original documentary explores the life and work of Joe Caroff, one of the most influential graphic designers of the 20th century, who created iconic movie logos including West Side Story and the 007 logo of the James Bond productions, as well as corporate logos for ABC News and others. Included are exclusive interviews with the 101-year-old Caroff, his wife, Phyllis, legendary movie executive/producer Mike Medavoy and leading Hollywood poster artist Dan Chapman. Following the hourlong film, TCM airs three movies for which Caroff designed the posters: Manhattan (1979), Cabaret (1972) and A Hard Day’s Night (1964). Historic Battles for America: Crucial Conflicts FOX Business Network, 8pm Season Premiere! Kelsey Grammer returns as narrator of this series that dives into key battles that left an indelible mark on America, including Bunker Hill, the Alamo, Antietam and more. The 60-minute episodes will analyze the strategies deployed in each conflict, the motivations of the soldiers who fought it and the consequences that still resonate long after the final shot was fired. The Very VERY Best of the 80s: “Celebrity Couples” AXS TV, 8:30pm Host Kelly Osbourne and her celebrity guests look back at the famous couples who had everyone swooning during the 1980s. FBI: International: “Yesterday’s Miracle” CBS, 9pm The team searches Bucharest for a Romanian surrogate who goes missing shortly before giving birth to an American couple’s biological child in the new episode “Yesterday’s Miracle.” Monarch: “The Night Of…” FOX, 9pm The Romans await the news of the Country Music Legacy Awards nominations in the new episode “The Night Of…” Primal Survivor: Over the Andes Nat Geo, 9pm New Series! Follow survivalist Hazen Audel as he tackles South America’s mighty Andes mountain range, crossing east to west through six amazing and diverse ecosystems, from the ancient jungle of the Atlantic forest and the frozen peaks of the high Andes, to the Atacama Desert and the Pacific coast. But to complete this epic trek, he will need to learn the skills and survival techniques of local tribes. La Brea: “The Fog” NBC, 9pm When a fog falls over the clearing, Eve (Natalie Zea) leads a defense against a group of invaders, only to encounter a threat more dangerous than they’ve faced before. In 1988, Josh (Jack Martin) and Riley (Veronica St. Clair) pursue a woman who may hold the key to stopping the impending tidal wave disaster. American Dynasty FOX Business Network, 9pm New Series! FOX Nation’s American Dynasty makes its regular TV debut on FOX Business Network. The series chronicles America’s most iconic family empires from the 18th century to the present day, including the Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts and the Kennedys. The series will reveal how each family first achieved fame and fortune and display the following generation’s fight to live up to the near-impossible example set by their ancestors. It also features expert commentary on the lasting legacies of these families from guests such as FBN’s Larry Kudlow, David Rockefeller, Patrick J. Kennedy, Jay Leno and others. Making Black America: Through the Grapevine: “A Growing Resistance” PBS, 9pm The docuseries’ third hour looks at how, to survive a period of economic cataclysm and global war, African Americans relied on informal economies, grassroots organizations and cultural innovations behind the color line to sustain themselves and dismantle the oppressive reality of Jim Crow. The Rookie: Feds: “To Die For” ABC, 10pm When the team splits up to question a suspect’s father, Simone and Laura discover critical information on how their abusive relationship is connected to the crimes. Following this lead, the team heads to Tucson to save the suspect’s newest target. Meanwhile, sparks fly with Laura and her former colleague, Mark Atlas, as they debate the killer’s motive. FBI: Most Wanted: “Chains” CBS, 10pm In the new episode “Chains,” Hana (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is kidnapped while trying to help a young girl (guest star Dalya Knapp) in peril at a rest stop. The Murder Tapes Investigation Discovery, 10pm Season Premiere! The true-crime series that unfolds homicide investigations through dramatic real footage returns for Season 8 with “Two Neighbors.” After Cindy Testerman is found murdered in her own home, and a second woman goes missing, police race to get the person who did this off the streets. With an investigation full of twists and turns, a chilling confession ultimately tells all. New Amsterdam: “Grabby Hands” NBC, 10pm Max (Ryan Eggold) endeavors to save a nurse who has become the subject of a dangerous malpractice probe; Reynolds (Jocko Sims) goes the extra mile to help a group of patients who are being poisoned in their own building; and Bloom (Janet Montgomery) makes a startling admission to her sister. Frontline: “Michael Flynn’s Holy War” PBS, 10pm With collaboration from the Associated Press, this 90-minute film explores how Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn went from an elite soldier to waging “spiritual war” in America as a leading conspiracy theorist, from QAnon to “Stop the Steal,” as well as his ties to Christian nationalism. Nosferatu MOVIES!, 12:05am (late-night) Catch a Classic! Director F.W. Murnau’s masterful 1922 silent German Expressionist film classic — an unofficial (and unauthorized) adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, which had been published just 25 years earlier — features an iconic physical performance, enhanced by wonderful makeup effects, from Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok, one of the great monsters in screen history. Wednesday, Oct. 19 In the Soop: Friendcation Disney+ New Series! This Korean reality series follows five celebrity friends — actors Park Seo-jun and Choi Woo-shik; K-pop stars Park Hyung-sik (of the boy band ZE:A) and V (Kim Tae-hyung, of the boy band BTS); and rapper Peakboy (Kwon Sung-hwan) — as they step away from their busy everyday lives to unwind together in a surprising trip. Love Is Blind Netflix Season Premiere! The dating reality series hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey returns for Season 3, which was filmed in Dallas. New episodes are available weekly. The School for Good and Evil Netflix Original Film! Paul Feig directed this fantasy film adaptation of Soman Chainani’s novel about teenage best frie...

European Markets Higher After UK Fiscal U-Turns; EU Energy Announcement Expected https://digitalalabamanews.com/european-markets-higher-after-uk-fiscal-u-turns-eu-energy-announcement-expected/ The U.K.’s new Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt made big fiscal announcements Monday. House of Commons – PA Images / Contributor / Getty Images LONDON — European markets are higher as the region feels the impact of the U.K.’s fiscal U-turns on Monday and anticipates new EU measures to tackle energy prices. The Stoxx 600 index is up 0.4%. Most sectors and major bourses have made gains at 11.00 a.m. London time, with autos leading increases up 2.2%, followed by technology and financial services both at 1.4%. Basic resources, health care and oil and gas have dipped into the red, with losses below 1%. The British pound rose and bond yields fell after new Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt scrapped most of Prime Minister Liz Truss’ fiscal policies in an announcement Monday. Sterling is down 0.7% to $1.1353 at 11.00 a.m. Truss apologized for the “mistakes” she made in her first six weeks in the position. U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday morning after the Nasdaq Composite posted its best daily performance since July. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 373 points, or 1.23%. S&P 500 futures jumped 1.46% and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.7%. Shares in the Asia-Pacific traded higher on Tuesday after Wall Street’s rally overnight. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.68% to lead gains in the region, the Nikkei 225 was 1.38% up, while the Topix added 1.11%. London stocks hit one-week high following UK policy reversals The FTSE 100 is up 0.6% to 6,920.24 points mid-morning following policy U-turns by the new British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt on Monday. The index hit a one-week high earlier in the day, peaking at 7,012.58 points at 8.30 a.m. London time. — Hannah Ward-Glenton EU to propose extra energy measures but avoid gas price cap The European Commission is expected to propose extra emergency energy measures today to combat high prices, but an immediate cap on gas prices will not be included, Reuters reported. The Commission will propose that as a “last resort” it could set a temporary “maximum dynamic price.” — Hannah Ward-Glenton Inflation stickiness could be the Bank of England’s biggest issue, portfolio manager says The Bank of England’s biggest issue is how sticky inflation might be, said Jon Day, global bond portfolio manager at Newton Investment Management. Day also said the Bank is in a “very, very difficult place” while discussing the U.K.’s gilt market. Avanza Bank tops Stoxx 600 with 15% rise after earnings release Sweden’s largest stockbroker Avanza Bank tops the Stoxx 600 index at the start of trade with gains of 15% at 8.20 a.m. London time. Shares are up after the bank reported third quarter operating profits of 502 million Swedish krona ($45.1 million), beating estimates by almost 18%. The company’s revenue was more than 9% above consensus at 740 million Swedish krona. — Hannah Ward-Glenton European markets open marginally higher: Stoxx 600 up 0.45% The Stoxx 600 index opened in the green this morning, up 0.45% at 8.10 a.m. London time. — Hannah Ward-Glenton Opening calls: European markets set to open higher The FTSE 100 is expected to open 55.7 points higher, France’s CAC index around 68.8 points higher, Germany’s DAX index up about 153 points, and Italy’s MIB 290.9 points higher. — Hannah Ward-Glenton Bank of England will further delay quantitative tightening, FT reports The Bank of England is set to further delay quantitative tightening — the sale of billions of pounds of government bonds, known as gilts — until the market settles, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. The move should encourage more stability in gilt markets, according to the report. A spokesperson from the Bank of England said later Tuesday: “This morning’s FT report that the BoE has decided to delay MPC gilt sales (‘QT’) is inaccurate.” — Hannah Ward-Glenton CNBC Pro: Strategist predicts when the S&P 500 could bottom — and names 3 stocks he likes right now Rob Luna, chief investment strategist at Surevest, says his firm has “started to witness individual stocks outperforming and showing signs of already bottoming.” He predicts when the S&P 500‘s long-term move downward could turn, and names the stocks he thinks look attractive right now. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Weizhen Tan CNBC Pro: Top Goldman Sachs strategist picks the global small-cap stocks he says look cheap Smaller companies have had a difficult year. In fact, according to Peter Oppenheimer, Goldman Sachs’ chief global equity strategist, they’ve had the worst year-to-date since the turn of the century. However, he argued that the segment is starting to look “inexpensive,” and named several global stocks with stable growth and good profitability. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Zavier Ong Monday’s rally saw all sectors close more than 10% from 52-week highs During Monday’s rally, all three major indices climbed and the Nasdaq posted its best day since July. It also closed more than 34% from its 52-week high, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 23% and 18% from their 52-week highs, respectively. All sectors also closed more than 10% from their 52-week highs, led by communication services that was up more than 40% from the key level. Tech, consumer discretionary and real estate were all more than 32% from 52-week highs, while financials and materials were more than 22% from 52-week highs. —Carmen Reinicke Read More…

Lessons From Hurricane Michael Being Applied To Ian Recovery https://digitalalabamanews.com/lessons-from-hurricane-michael-being-applied-to-ian-recovery-3/ JAY REEVES Associated Press FORT MYERS (AP) — Four years before Category 4 Ian wiped out parts of southwest Florida, the state’s Panhandle had its own encounter with an even stronger hurricane, Michael. The Category 5 storm all but destroyed one town, fractured thousands of homes and businesses and did some $25 billion in damage. With damage from Ian estimated at several times that and the Fort Myers area beginning a cleanup that will be even larger than after Michael, the two areas are collaborating on a way forward as south Florida residents wonder what their area will look like in a few years. Mayor Greg Brudnicki and other leaders from a rebuilt Panama City traveled to the southwestern coast this week at the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis to help officials plan a way forward. Keeping crews and trucks in the area to remove mountains of debris is job No. 1 because all other progress hinges on that, Brudnicki said, and that can mean obtaining loans as a bridge until federal reimbursement money shows up. “You can’t fix anything until you get it cleaned up,” Brudnicki said. Tiny Mexico Beach, which was nearly leveled by Michael in 2018, still has fewer structures and people than it did before the storm. The town’s mayor, Al Cathey, said one of the biggest challenges recovering from a natural disaster is fundamental: looking ahead, not back. With little left in town after Michael, Cathey said, residents gathered daily at a portable kitchen to map out the way forward after the hurricane, and there was an unwritten rule. “When we had our afternoon meetings at the food truck, all we talked about is, ‘What are we going to do tomorrow?’ — not what didn’t get done four days ago,” Cathey said. Michael was blamed for more than 30 deaths. With more than 100 fatalities, Ian was the third-deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland this century behind Hurricane Katrina, which left about 1,400 people dead, and Hurricane Sandy, which killed 233 despite weakening to a tropical storm just before landfall. Recovery will be more complicated in southwest Florida than it was in the Panhandle because of population, Cathey said. Bay County, which includes Panama City and Mexico Beach, has only 180,000 residents, while Lee County, where the Fort Myers area is located, is home to almost 790,000 people, many of whom are retirees. Simply removing the boats that were thrown onto land around Lee County could take months, and there are the remains of homes and businesses scattered by 155 mph (250 kph) winds or flooded by seawater that surged miles inland along creeks and canals. One of the damaged vessels and waterlogged homes belongs to Mike Ford, who is braced for a prolonged recovery that could change the character of the area. The flooded-out mobile home park where Ford lives — one of hundreds of such communities in the region — would be better off as an RV park where people can come and go than as a permanent neighborhood, he said. Residents might be ripe for a buyout or conversion after Ian, particularly since he and others had to repair damage after Hurricane Irma in 2017. “I’ve got enough money to rebuild, but I can’t see it because what I’ve (already) done is rebuild, and now this happened,” said Ford, who lost a valuable collection of guitars and Beatles records to Ian. “It kind of takes the wind out of you.” A neighbor of Ford’s, Chuck Wagner, said some people already are getting frustrated after Ian. Many southwest Florida residents are retirees who only live in the area half the year, spending the hot summers in the north, and they’re hearing that aid might not be available to part-time residents. “Everything is up in the air,” he said. “It might take years. Who knows?” Progress is measured in incremental steps. Over the weekend, officials announced that power had been restored to the first few homes on Fort Myers Beach, one of the hardest hit places. As of Sunday, FEMA had approved $420 million statewide for lodging and home repair assistance for residents unable to live in their homes following Ian. In Mexico Beach, Tom Wood, 82, is proof that progress will happen — slowly and painfully. His beachfront business, the Driftwood Inn, was blown apart and filled with ocean water when Michael made landfall with sustained winds of 160 mph (258 kph) on Oct. 10, 2018. Initially, he said, the only logical step seemed to be giving up. But the storm passed and the Gulf still beckoned, Wood said, so he decided to rebuild. The new Driftwood Inn reopened in June with 24 rooms at its original location after a $13 million outlay and a lot headaches from insurance, government regulations and contractors. Mexico Beach still desperately needs a grocery store to avoid the more than 10-mile (16-kilometer) drive to the nearest one, he said, and a pharmacy and more restaurants would be good. But looking back, Wood said, he believes he made the right decision to rebuild and hopes people in Fort Myers Beach do the same. “I am so glad that we did it, not only us but for the town,” he said. “It just makes the town better, I think.” Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Read More…

Aimbridge Hospitality Grows Select Service Division, Bringing Five Extended Stay Hotels Owned By Three Wall Capital Under Management https://digitalalabamanews.com/aimbridge-hospitality-grows-select-service-division-bringing-five-extended-stay-hotels-owned-by-three-wall-capital-under-management/ Aimbridge Hospitality, a leading global hospitality company, ​​announced the expansion of its robust portfolio and growth of its Select Service Division with the addition of five extended stay properties recently acquired by Three Wall Capital, LLC (“TWC”). The properties, conveniently located along major thoroughfares in Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio, bring 603 keys under Aimbridge management to benefit from the operator’s unparalleled industry resources for owners. With the additional five properties, Aimbridge is responsible for the management of more than 70 extended stay, select service, and full-service properties owned by TWC, continuing a partnership first established in 2019. Three Wall Capital plans to acquire and develop an additional 30-plus midscale and upscale extended stay hotels over the next 18-24 months. “As we continue to expand our portfolio, we know Aimbridge will service our owned properties better than anyone, with a commitment to delivering results through their talented team and tremendous resources,” said Alan Kanders of Three Wall Capital. “We find immense value in our partnership with Three Wall Capital, and we are proud to continually be their partner of choice to manage their investments,” said Simon Mendy, Divisional President, Aimbridge Select Service. “Adding these five properties to our portfolio means more opportunities for us to create memorable guest experiences while tailoring our industry-leading service to these properties to drive outstanding results for TWC.” The properties are: Candlewood Suites Birmingham-Inverness (126 rooms), located at 4686 Hwy. 280, Birmingham, AL 35242 Mainstay Suites Jacksonville Camp Lejeune (96 rooms), located at 2201 N. Marine Blvd., Jacksonville, NC 28546 Extended Stay America Premier Suites Pittsburgh-Cranberry I-76 (127 rooms), located at 136 Emeryville Dr., Cranberry Township, PA 16066 Extended Stay America Premier Suites Cleveland-Independence (127 rooms), located at 6025 Jefferson Drive, Independence, OH 44131 Candlewood Suites Cincinnati-Northeast Mason (127 room), located at 5070 Natorp Blvd., Mason, OH 45040 About Three Wall Capital Three Wall Capital, LLC is a New York City based investment group focused on investing in hospitality real estate. Founded in 2008 by Alan Kanders, TWC has invested over $2.0 billion in the hospitality sector including acquisition, new construction, redevelopment, and recapitalization opportunities across all hotel asset classes from 5-star luxury to extended stay. TWC’s current primary strategy is to acquire extended stay hotels in secondary and tertiary markets. TWC’s current portfolio encompasses 76 hotels of which 69 are extended stay properties affiliated with the Extended Stay America, Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, Residence Inn by Marriott, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton. To learn more, visit www.threewallcapital.com. Aimbridge Hospitality Aimbridge Hospitality is a leading, global hospitality company with a growing hotel portfolio representing more than 1,500 properties in 50 states and over 20 countries, inclusive of pipeline. As a top hotel management company and trusted operator of over 80 lodging brands and distinctive luxury and lifestyle assets, Aimbridge leverages its scale and operational excellence to consistently deliver results for hotel owners and offer unparalleled opportunities for associates around the globe. Aimbridge adds value through focused, expertise-driven operating divisions in Full Service, Evolution Lifestyle, Enhanced Select Service, and Select Service, optimizing owners’ investment returns and driving hotel market success. The Aimbridge EMEA Division has supporting offices across Europe in Amsterdam, Birmingham, and Glasgow. The Aimbridge LatAm Division has offices in Monterrey and Mexico City. Aimbridge Hospitality’s global headquarters is based in Plano, Texas. To learn more, visit www.aimbridgehospitality.com. Connect with Aimbridge on LinkedIn. Read More…

Charles Barkley Agrees To New 10-Year TNT Contract Worth More Than $100 Million https://digitalalabamanews.com/charles-barkley-agrees-to-new-10-year-tnt-contract-worth-more-than-100-million/ SEC Updated: Oct. 17, 2022, 2:42 p.m.| Published: Oct. 17, 2022, 12:01 p.m. Alabama native Charles Barkley arrives for the Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony in Springfield, Mass, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in Springfield, Mass. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill) Charles Barkley has agreed to a 10-year deal with TNT which is expected to be worth more than $100 million, The Post is reporting. Barkley, who has three years left on his current contract that pays him $10 million per season, could also own rights to go work for another network, after TNT’s agreement with the NBA expires after the 2024-25 season if TNT doesn’t renew. The Post is reporting the former Auburn star’s new contract may approach $200 million. Barkley, 59, said in 2021 he was retiring at 60, blaming cancel culture. According to the report, Shaquille O’Neal has a long-term agreement, and the network has also re-signed host Ernie Johnson and analyst Kenny Smith to new deals. Last week, WarnerBrothers Discovery chief content officer of U.S. networks Kathleen Finch spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about Barkley’s contract talks and said that the likely new deal will encompass more than NBA coverage. In June of last year, Barkley vented his frustration in an interview with WJFK 106.7 The Fan in Washington about cancel culture. “You can’t even have fun nowadays without these characters trying to get you canceled and things like that,” he said. “I’m trying to hang on for another couple of years until I’m 60 and then they can kiss my ass. I’m only working until 60. I’ve already told them that. I’m not working until the day I die. That’s just stupid. And if I don’t have enough money by now, I’m an idiot, anyway. They should fire me, anyway. “That’s all we ever talk about behind the scenes like, ‘Yo, man, be careful going in this direction.’ I’m like, ‘Yo, man, we can’t even have fun anymore.’ We’ve had fun all these years and now all of a sudden in the last year and a half, everybody is trying to get everybody fired and it really sucks.” Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

Lord Sugar Reignites Trump Feud https://digitalalabamanews.com/lord-sugar-reignites-trump-feud/ Carol Vorderman calls out Alan Sugar on women’s football stance Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Lord Alan Sugar, 75, didn’t hold back as he reignited his fiery feud with US Apprentice rival and former president of the country, Donald Trump, as he branded the businessman an”idiot”. It came in response to a self-promoting post by Trump on his Truth Social Platform this weekend, as he prasied his own commitment to the state of Israel during his term in office. The former president, who was banned from Twitter in 2021, wrote a post on his new platform directed at American-Jewish citizens, urging them to “get their act together”. In full view of his millions of followers, he added that no one had “done more for Israel” than he had. He said: “No president has done more for Israel than I have. “Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderfufl Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S. READ MORE: Madonna, 64, causes stir in TikTok clip coming out as gay Lord Sugar went after Trump on Twitter (Image: GETTY) Lord Sugar has reignited a feud with Donald Trump (Image: GETTY) “Those living in Israel, though, are a different story – Highest approval rating in the world, could easily be P.M! “U.S Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel – before it’s too late!” In response, Alan tweeted to his own 5.2 million followers, quipping that it was directed at Trump’s “son in law”. He wrote: “What is this idiot talking about. Donald Trump had posted a self-promoting Tweet before his ban (Image: GETTY) Alan Sugar and Donald Trump are historic rivals from The Apprentice series (Image: GETTY) “Is this directed at his son in law,” in reference to Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who has also converted to Judaism. Donald Trump’s recent comments that American Jews have not given sufficient praise of his policies toward Israel have since been condemned as “insulting” and “anti-Semitic” by White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday. Trump has not yet responded to the accusations from the White House. Meanwhile, British business mogul Lord Sugar’s fans were quick to jump on to the comments section of his tweet and share their own opinions on the subject.  @GreenfordBlog said, referring to the former POTUS: “The less publicity he gets the better.” @Wonky1961 penned: “I hate trump with a passion. He knows nothing about the American Civil War. READ MORE… George Clooney admits ‘terrible mistake’ he and Amal made with twins [NEWS] Shirley Ballas asks people to ‘respect each other’ amid Strictly fury [UPDATE] Strictly star Kym Marsh’s furious row with Myleene Klass unveiled [INSIGHT] “He’s an insult to those such as Great -grandpa whose families were punished when Sherman punished the South by going through the Savanna and setting fire and killing many families.” @TedSage2, however, defended Trump, arguing: “With respect Lord Sugar, Everything that Trump predicted has come true, have a good day.” It follows on from a feud starting in 2016, when Trump mocked his English rival as being a “small timer”. During an interview with Piers Morgan for Good Morning Britain in 2016, Trump, then a presidential candidate, happily responded to Lord Sugar bashing him in the press. Trump said: “He works for me. He is a small timer. “I mean, he’s doing a nice job but don’t forget, he works for me — I make money from The Apprentice.” He continued: “When we first chose him for the show, he was so low on the economic scale, he didn’t really fit the role. “I think he’s made more money by being on The Apprentice than he has in business. “I just wish him luck.” But Lord Sugar doesn’t hold Trump in high esteem either.  During an appearance at the 2019 Humber Business Week, he labelled Mr Trump a “buffoon” in an impassioned rant. He said: “Donald Trump is a buffoon. If you were to say to me three years ago he would be President, I would have bet anyone £1million it was never going to happen.” Read More…

The Incredible Mystery Of How Trump Got Judge Cannon In The Mar-A-Lago Case https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-incredible-mystery-of-how-trump-got-judge-cannon-in-the-mar-a-lago-case/ Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty When Donald Trump’s legal team filed their court paperwork protesting the Mar-a-Lago raid, a lawyer took the rare step of actually filing the paperwork in person. At a courthouse 44 miles from Mar-a-Lago. And they got a judge to oversee the case that was outside both West Palm Beach—where the raid took place—and the district where they filed. Those incredible coincidences have led lawyers and legal experts to suggest that something may not be above board with how Trump’s team filed their lawsuit, which serendipitously ended up in the MAGA-friendly hands of Judge Aileen Cannon. For one, Trump’s team blamed a “technical issue” with the court’s computer system. But The Daily Beast has discovered that the system was working just fine for dozens of other lawyers making hundreds of filings that day. For another, lawyers typically file lawsuits at the district where an issue took place. Trump’s lawyers filed at a courthouse in a neighboring division. And third, lawyers will mark a case as “related” when it deals with a similar matter. Trump’s legal team did not—despite the fact that another magistrate judge at the right courthouse had approved the FBI’s search warrant to recover those classified government documents from Mar-a-Lago. Trump Went Judge Shopping and It Paid Off in Mar-a-Lago Case “It’s clearly related. I don’t think there’s a plausible argument that it’s not related… it was related to another case in the district—in the same courthouse as a matter of fact,” said Carl Tobias, a law school professor at the University of Richmond. Questions continue to swirl over how exactly Trump managed to get Cannon, who has shocked legal scholars by issuing mind-boggling orders that always favor Trump. She has temporarily halted the FBI investigation, appointed a “special master” to slow down the probe, and kept the case far from its natural home in Washington, D.C. “It was basically a home run to get her,” said Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson. “They clearly made the correct calculation, because Judge Cannon’s rulings legally don’t make sense. They only make sense if you’re trying to help the former president.” Levinson said Trump’s team was clearly “judge shopping.” “They did not want the magistrate judge to make this decision,” she said. “There was already a captain of this ship. They just didn’t like the direction this was taking.” Trump’s lawyers filed in one division, Fort Lauderdale, selected the venue in a second division, West Palm Beach, and got a judge in a third division, Fort Pierce. And the way Trump handled this matter was odd from the start. On Aug. 8, the FBI raided Trump’s oceanside estate in Palm Beach. But he did nothing to intervene or legally protest the search over the following two weeks—inaction that surprised two lawyers who have done significant work for Trump or his associates, who told The Daily Beast about their frustration. Court Screwup Reveals Mar-a-Lago Judge’s Latest Legal Absurdity in Trump Case It wasn’t until Aug. 22 that Trump finally sued the government to assert his rights were being violated—at a courthouse an hour’s drive south of Mar-a-Lago. A relatively new addition to the former president’s ever expanding cadre of lawyers, the 33-year-old Lindsey Halligan, went in person to the Fort Lauderdale courthouse near her listed address to submit a copy of the 27-page lawsuit, according to a receipt of the transaction. West Palm Beach was selected as the proper venue. The clerks entered the document into the court system at 4:50 p.m. The move was so peculiar that Trump’s legal team had to explain themselves, which they did in an official document electronically signed by Halligan, Washington lawyer James M. Trusty, and Baltimore attorney M. Evan Corcoran. “A technical issue with access to the Court’s CM/ECF system precluded electronic filing today, and the CM/ECF Help Desk advised undersigned counsel to file conventionally,” they attested. To fact-check that, The Daily Beast examined timestamps for all 1,370 court filings made in the Southern District of Florida that day and interviewed lawyers who used the system throughout the afternoon. Five lawyers who filed documents in the district that day told The Daily Beast that the court’s electronic system was working fine and some even provided receipts that showed their electronic filings were submitted successfully. The district’s head clerk, attorney Angela E. Noble, also confirmed that her court experienced no technical difficulties that day. Court docket timestamps provide further proof. A lawsuit against a pizzeria was filed electronically at 4:08 p.m. Pissed-off restaurant employees sued their boss over missing tips at 4:14 p.m. A cruise line got sued three minutes later at 4:17 p.m. And the system was still working at 4:43 p.m., just three minutes before Trump’s lawyers filed their lawsuit, when a woman sued over the way she tripped on a pallet at a Costco aisle. The system was up and running afterwards too, when a food producer sued French businessmen at 5:10 p.m. When South Florida lawyers who regularly practice in this district were told about Trump’s in-person filing—and the excuse that the system wasn’t working—they all responded with disbelief. “I don’t know anybody who files in person. I didn’t even know you could do that anymore. It looks like this person was trying to select a particular judge,” one said, suggesting that a Trump lawyer may have had sway with a court employee. “I find it bizarre. The only people who file in person are ‘pro se,’” said another, referring to people who sue on their own without the help of a lawyer. “People don’t do this anymore. It’s extremely odd. I guess you could do this if you wanted to get a particular judge—or avoid getting a particular judge,” speculated a third. For weeks on social media, legal scholars and paid news commentators have been wondering the same thing—and openly suggesting that Trump’s legal team figured out how to game the system. Judge Cannon’s Latest Mar-a-Lago Ruling Just Got Benchslapped “Could the 4th estate PLEASE get to the bottom of this,” tweeted former DOJ prosecutor Andrew Weissman. “If there wasn’t at least the potential to judge shop why on g_d’s green earth would Trump have gone all the way to her district to file and do so physically, when he could have electronically filed at the court in his backyard?” Lawyers spoke on background, citing a concern that they may have future cases assigned to Judge Cannon. Some lawyers raised the possibility that Trump’s lawyers tried to be deliberately vague when they blamed “a technical issue with access to the court’s” system, which could technically mean they couldn’t get their own computers to work. “It lacks the ambiance of candor,” one lawyer said. “What do you mean by technical issue? Are you saying the court system was down? Or your computer was down?” Trump’s own lawyers seem to disprove that notion. In court documents, Halligan attested that she was able to send a copy of the lawsuit “via electronic mail” that day to two Department of Justice lawyers: top Miami federal prosecutor Juan Antonio Gonzalez and Jay I. Bratt, chief of the DOJ National Security Division’s counterintelligence and export control section. Halligan did not respond to questions for this story. Trump’s lawyers’ claim that the system wasn’t working makes even less sense when you consider that they could have filed sooner or even later. Trump-Appointed Judge’s ‘Originalist’ Claim Is Absurd “There was nothing that imposed a deadline on them to file. They could have done it the next day,” one South Florida lawyer said. “I think somebody pulled a fast one in the clerk’s office to rotate it to a friendly judge. It doesn’t sound like it was done by the blind filing system,” mused another. The Daily Beast contacted a court employee with direct knowledge of how the Trump lawsuit filing was handled, and this person said the case was placed into the federal court system’s automatic random judge “assignment wheel.” Noble, the head of that office, also said that the proper procedure was followed on their end—and that this is backed up by a log that “is not publicly available.” She said the Trump lawsuit was placed on the West Palm Beach civil wheel, which consists of nine judges. Cannon is in a neighboring division, so she can occasionally get West Palm Beach cases. Theoretically, that would give Trump a 1-in-9 chance of getting Cannon on the case. However, The Daily Beast analyzed new case assignments in West Palm Beach in the week preceding Trump’s lawsuit and found that Cannon actually got a much higher share, nine of the 29 new complaints—roughly a third of all cases. But the system still appears random. The previous Friday in West Palm Beach, Cannon got the first lawsuit of the day. Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks got the next three. Cannon got the last one. On Monday, Aug. 22, in West Palm Beach, Cannon got the first case. Trump’s lawsuit was the second of the day in that division, and she got that too. A head clerk of federal courts in another state told The Daily Beast that lawyers sometimes time filings as if they’re players at a casino. Sometimes it works. “If you play cards and count the cards, I suppose they could say, ‘I’ll hold this here until I see if other judges got assignments.’ But it would be very risky because it’s random,” she said. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast’s biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast’s unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Read More…

Marjorie Taylor Greene Isn’t Joking. She’s Pushing ‘War.’ https://digitalalabamanews.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-isnt-joking-shes-pushing-war/ Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s hateful rhetoric isn’t a joke. She wants to start a war, says podcaster Danielle Moodie on the latest episode of The New Abnormal podcast. Moodie, who joined as guest co-host of the show alongside host Andy Levy, tore into the Georgia Republican after listening to a recent clip of Greene making Democrats out to be child predators. According to Moodie, the left and the media have been grossly underestimating the congresswoman’s propensity for violence. Subscribe to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Overcast. “Ever since Marjorie Taylor Greene entered into Congress, she’s been looked at primarily as a joke, right? We have said she’s the QAnon queen. She is the conspiracy theorist’s conspiracy theorist. Like she is absolutely crazy. She has said things about Jewish people operating lasers from outer space. But what I want folks to take away from that rant that she went on is that Marjorie Taylor Greene is not representative of the fringe of the Republican Party. She is the mainstream of the Republican Party,” Moodie says during the episode’s opening brief. “And when she is referring to Democrats as predators,” continues Moodie, “when she is saying that we are going after children, talking about mutilation and all of these things, what she is signaling to the Republican Party, to her base, is that we are at war.” Andy agrees, saying that he’s been telling everyone for a while now that Greene isn’t a joke. “Now anyone that thinks Mitt Romney is a better representation of the Republican Party right now than Marjorie Taylor Greene is nuts. This is her party, the party that Trump made over, that she is part and parcel of. This stuff has to be taken seriously at the highest levels,” he adds. Moodie then makes a pointed plea to Democrats to shut down these dangerous GOP talking points: “You need to direct the American people to exactly who is taking away your rights. Who is making your communities more dangerous. Who is putting your children under threat.” ‘Not a Prayer in Hell’ Trump Will Testify Before the Jan. 6 Committee Also on this episode: The Intercept investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein explains where the United States currently stands with the Trump- and Putin-friendly Saudis, who are gearing up to screw President Joe Biden over, big-time. And for good measure, Klippenstein shares all the ways we could fuck over Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman without war, if we wanted to. Plus! Daily Beast media editor and editor of the media newsletter Confider, Andrew Kirell, joins to give Andy the inside scoop on how Fox News is handling the deranged Kayne West clips that were cut from his segment on Tucker Carlson’s show and then subsequently leaked. Kirell thinks he has an idea of who the leaker could be, and he and Andy talk theories. Listen to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast’s biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast’s unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Read More…

Central Kyiv Hit By Kamikaze Drone Strikes; Heavy Fighting Rages In Two Hot Spots In Eastern Ukraine https://digitalalabamanews.com/central-kyiv-hit-by-kamikaze-drone-strikes-heavy-fighting-rages-in-two-hot-spots-in-eastern-ukraine/ Additional 4 million children pushed into poverty due to Russia’s war, UNICEF says A child waits on the train to Poland at the central train station on April 11, 2022 in Lviv, Ukraine. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Russia’s monthslong war in Ukraine coupled with rising inflation has pushed more of the world’s children into poverty, according to a new report by UNICEF. UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, says an additional four million children across eastern Europe and Central Asia have been pushed into poverty, a 19% increase since 2021.  “Beyond the obvious horrors of war – the killing and maiming of children, mass displacement – the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine are having a devastating impact on children across eastern Europe and Central Asia,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia. “Children all over the region are being swept up in this war’s terrible wake. If we don’t support these children and families now, the steep rise in child poverty will almost certainly result in lost lives, lost learning, and lost futures,” Khan added. — Amanda Macias EU approves Ukraine training mission, arms funds High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell speaks during a news conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium, February 27, 2022. Stephanie Lecocq | Reuters The European Union approved a military training mission in Europe for thousands of Ukrainian troops and to provide around 500 million euros ($486 million) in extra funds to help buy weapons for the war-torn country. The mission, which will have a headquarters in Brussels and be under the command of French naval officer Vice Adm. Herve Blejean, will initially run for two years with a budget of almost 107 million euros ($104 million). EU headquarters said in a statement that the mission’s aim is to allow the Ukrainian armed forces to “effectively conduct military operations,” so that Ukraine can “defend its territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, effectively exercise its sovereignty and protect civilians.” It said that the EU will provide “individual, collective and specialized training.” Countries that aren’t part of the bloc will be allowed to take part in the training effort. The aim initially is to train about 15,000 Ukrainian troops, chiefly in Poland and Germany — Associated Press New UN rights chief urges halt to drone attacks on civilians in Ukraine The new United Nations human rights chief, who took office on Monday as Russian drones struck the Ukrainian capital, said attacks on civilians in Ukraine had to stop. “We have received reports from our colleagues on the ground about these drone attacks and it is absolutely important that…civilians are not targeted, this is very difficult in densely populated urban areas,” Volker Turk of Austria, the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, said. Respecting international human rights law and humanitarian law was “absolutely critical, so the big call is to de-escalate,” he told reporters. A new wave of Russian drone attacks hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Monday, causing people to scramble for cover during the morning rush hour for the second successive week. — Reuters Five vessels to leave Ukraine carrying more than 122,000 metric tons of agricultural products An aerial view shows ships at the anchorage area of the Bosphorus southern entrance in Istanbul, on October 12, 2022. Yasin Akgul | AFP | Getty Images The organization overseeing the export of grain from Ukraine said it has approved five vessels to leave the besieged country. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal among Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said the vessels are carrying 122,315 metric tons of grain and other crops. Two ships are set to leave from Ukraine’s port of Chornomorsk and are destined for Pakistan and Italy. Two more vessels will depart from Odesa to Libya and Turkey. The fifth ship will leave from Ukraine’s Yuzhny-Pivdennyi port to France. Read more about the Black Sea Grain Initiative here. — Amanda Macias Kyiv and Moscow carry out largest prisoner swap of the war so far This handout picture taken ad released by Ukrainian presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak on October 17, 2022 shows freed Ukrainian female prisoners posing for a picture after their exchange in an unknown location in Ukraine. Ukraine announced had swapped more than 100 prisoners with Russia in what it said was the first all-female exchange with Moscow after nearly eight months of war. Str | AFP | Getty Images Moscow and Kyiv carried out one of the biggest prisoner swaps of the war so far, exchanging a total of 218 detainees, including 108 Ukrainian women, officials from both sides said. Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s staff, said there were 12 civilians among the freed women. “It was the first completely female exchange,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that 37 of the women had been captured after Russian forces took the giant Azovstal steelworks in the port city of Mariupol in May. Separately, Ukraine’s interior ministry said some of the women had been in jail since 2019 after being detained by pro-Moscow authorities in eastern regions. Earlier, the Russian-appointed head of one of the regions said Kyiv was freeing 80 civilian sailors and 30 military personnel. Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) walk after a swap, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in an unknown location, Ukraine October 17, 2022. Andriy Yermak | Ukraine’s Presidential Office via Telegram | via Reuters Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) look out of a bus window, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, as they arrive in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 17, 2022. Stringer | Reuters Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, as they arrive in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 17, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | via Reuters Ukrainian prisoner of war (POWs) reacts, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, as she arrives in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 17, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | via Reuters Ukrainian prisoner of war (POWs) reacts, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, as she arrives in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 17, 2022. Stringer | Reuters A Ukrainian prisoner of war (POWs) reacts, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, as she arrives in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 17, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | via Reuters — Reuters Blinken says Russian drone strikes ‘a sign of increased desperation’ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia’s recent targeting of civilians is “a sign of increased desperation,” following widespread drone strikes that hit residential buildings and infrastructure in major cities. “We’re seeing these drones as you said. What are they doing? They’re attacking civilians,” he told reporters. “They’re attacking critical infrastructure, like power plants, hospitals, the things that people need in their daily lives that are not military targets.” While this points to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s desperation as Ukraine has begun to push back against Russia in occupied territories, he said “it’s also a sign of the levels that they will stoop that we’ve seen repeatedly when it comes to foreign civilians, and civilian infrastructure.” — Rocio Fabbro UN Human Rights Council votes to investigate human rights abuses in Russia The United Nations Human Rights Council voted to create a Special Rapporteur to investigate Russia’s “dire human rights situation.” “The resolution expresses grave concern regarding the deteriorating human rights situation in Russia – including severe restrictions on freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly,” the U.S. State Department said. The resolution was led by 26 European Union member states and cosponsored by the United States and 40 other countries. The Rapporteur will independently review the Russian government’s domestic repression that endangers human rights and “facilitates disinformation that enables Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” according to the State Department. — Rocio Fabbro White House says Iran is lying about Russia’s use of its drones Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, September 23, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters The White House said Iran lied when it claimed the country’s drones weren’t used in Russian strikes on Ukraine. “There is extensive proof of their use by Russia against both military and civilian targets,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a briefing. “You all have seen as well the reports this morning of what appears to be an Iranian drone strike in downtown Kyiv. Yet Iran continues to lie about this,” she added. “They have not been truthful.” She also noted that Iran is considering sending more weapons to Russia, despite claiming to oppose the war in Ukraine. Iran has denied supplying weapons systems to Russia throughout President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. The deepening Russia-Iran relationship could pose major global security threats, she said. “We’ll continue to vigorously enforce sanctions on both the Iranian and Russian arms trade,” Jean-Pierre said. — Rocio Fabbro Russian fighter plane crashes into apartments in southern city near Ukraine A view shows a site of a plane crash on residential building in the southern city of Yeysk, Russia October 17, 2022. Stringer | Reuters A Russian fighter plane crashed into a residential building in the southern Russi...

Will Africa Send The First Human To Mars? https://digitalalabamanews.com/will-africa-send-the-first-human-to-mars/ The pessimism often thrust on Africa denies its youth a chance to dream, when even a space-age future is possible. Education Specialist, World Bank Published On 18 Oct 202218 Oct 2022 What will Africa look like by 2050? Will the present tale of missed opportunities persist? Or will the continent become a superpower securing a pole position in the new race to reach new frontiers of technology and of our imagination? Will, it, for instance, become a leading space-faring continent? Today’s forecasts paint a dire picture of the continent’s future. Conflict. Poverty. Unemployment. The plagues of yesterday creep into tomorrow. On the face of it, there appears to be little reason to expect a miracle – a sudden awakening that could herald the rapid transformation that Singapore and South Korea, for instance, have gone through in the past six decades. Yet this pessimistic narrative has obvious consequences. It scares investors. It demotivates African expatriates who might otherwise have considered returning home. Most critically, it robs African youth of a chance to dream of a better life right here on the continent. All of this perpetuates a vicious cycle where a presumption of future failures denies Africa the opportunities and resources it needs to truly deliver on the potential of its 1.2 billion people – in turn reinforcing prejudices about the continent. In my new book, From Africa to Mars, I counter this negative narrative. From Africa to Mars tells the story of a technologically advanced African continent that takes on a seemingly impossible challenge: flying to Mars within a decade. However, myriad challenges arise causing the world to wonder: “Will they make it on time?” I sent an early version of the manuscript to a friend based in the United Kingdom. When he read through it, he noted that it felt somewhat utopic. I asked him whether Iron Man or Wonder Woman felt utopic too. He said no. “It’s Westerners. Flying cars. Lasers. Interstellar travel. They can do all that,” he said, pausing and cocking his head before adding, “Would you ever get on a rocket built by an African?” He probably meant it as a joke but his query showed just how much the cancer of stereotypes has metastasised. We live in a world where tales of African genius are not just missing, they are discouraged and subconsciously banned. A few years ago, I was working on a communications campaign in Burkina Faso. Our goal? To encourage youth in the capital, Ouagadougou, to train for STEM careers. I crafted a series of illustrated posters on the outcomes of science and engineering studies. In one poster, a child started as an electrician and ended up as a space engineer. When I shared the poster with colleagues, one sent a reply that left me utterly shocked. She remarked that it was impossible for a child in Burkina Faso to become a space engineer. I informed her that the West African nation was already building its first satellite, Burkina Sat-1. Hence, there was no reason why a Burkinabe child couldn’t join the country’s nascent space programme. Indeed, Africa’s space sector is reaching new heights. In January 2022, South Africa made history by launching three nanosatellites that were the first to be wholly designed and produced on the African continent. Cocoa farmers in Ghana will soon be able to receive agricultural advice thanks to the SAT4Farming initiative, a programme that leverages satellite imagery to monitor environmental conditions in the country. Angola’s second telecommunications satellite, Angosat-2, launched last week. In other areas of tech too, African innovators are showing why it would be a mistake to ignore them. M-PESA, the pioneering mobile money payment service, was launched by Kenyan company SAFARICOM in 2007 and has since become a model for mobile banking services globally. While there were no unicorns on the continent a decade ago, Africa now boasts seven startups valued at over $1bn. More than 600 tech hubs across the continent support startups and in 2021 alone, African startups attracted more than $10bn in funding. Africa urgently needs nuanced future narratives that, without masking the challenges that the continent faces, deviate from the standard scripts of refugees on boats and rebels in bushes. This is not just a requirement for attracting tourists and investors. I believe this will be critical to inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists, statisticians, astronauts and science enthusiasts who will help resolve Africa’s most pressing developmental challenges – and help the continent’s potential take off. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Read More…

Australia's Stocks Lead Gains In Asia After Wall Street's Jump; Yen Hovers Near 149-Levels https://digitalalabamanews.com/australias-stocks-lead-gains-in-asia-after-wall-streets-jump-yen-hovers-near-149-levels/ A man in a mask is seen in front of The Australian Stock Exchange logo on March 13, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. Jenny Evans | Getty Images Shares in the Asia-Pacific traded higher on Tuesday after Wall Street’s rally overnight. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.72% to 6,779.20, leading gains in the wider region. The Reserve Bank of Australia released its meeting minutes for its October meeting. The Nikkei 225 was 1.42% up at 27,156.14, while the Topix added 1.16% to 1,901.44. Japan’s yen touched 149.08 against the dollar and was last trading near 149. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 1.23% higher in the final hour of trade, with the Hang Seng Tech index up 3.3%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite turned negative and closed 0.13% lower at 3,080.96 and the Shenzhen Component added 0.23% to 11,187.70. China was due to report gross domestic product data, but has delayed that and a slew of economic releases for the third quarter, according to an updated calendar posted on the National Bureau of Statistics’ website. The unusual move comes as the Communist Party of China holds its 20th National Congress. South Korea’s Kospi was 1.36% higher at 2,249.95 and the Kosdaq was 2.21% up at 697.09. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 1.36%. Overnight in the U.S., major indexes jumped following some better-than-expected earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 550.99 points, or 1.86%, to close at 30,185.82. The S&P 500 popped 2.65% to 3,677.95. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.43% for its best day since July, finishing at 10,675.80. — CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Yun Li contributed to this report. China is ‘managing the message’ by delaying economic data release, economist says The leadership in China’s government is “managing the message” by delaying the release of its major economic data expected today, said Austan Goolsbee, an economist and professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. “Given the obvious economic negative impact of the zero-Covid policy … that probably was going to show up in the GDP data and they just didn’t want to have that coming up,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.” “The rule of data is that nobody hides good news … more likely it’s because it showed something that they didn’t want to be released at this moment,” said Goolsbee, a former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. –Jihye Lee Oil prices give up some gains on reports the White House plans to release more oil reserves The travel industry in the Asia-Pacific may completely recover ahead of other regions Asia-Pacific’s travel industry may be the first to reach pre-pandemic levels of contribution to the regional growth, according to a new report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). Other regions are forecasted to return to 2019 levels in 2024, the report said. WTTC estimates that in 2025, travel revenue in APAC will contribute 32% more to the region’s GDP than it did before the pandemic. The Middle East is expected to get a 30% boost in the same period, while the report predicts a growth of 10% and 12% in Europe and North America respectively. Read CNBC Travel’s story here. — Abigail Ng, Monica Pitrelli CNBC Pro: Top Goldman Sachs strategist picks the global small-cap stocks he says look cheap Smaller companies have had a difficult year. In fact, according to Peter Oppenheimer, Goldman Sachs’ chief global equity strategist, they’ve had the worst year-to-date since the turn of the century. However, he argued that the segment is starting to look “inexpensive,” and named several global stocks with stable growth and good profitability. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Zavier Ong Asia is a bright spot in an ‘increasingly dimming’ global economy: IMF The International Monetary Fund said Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, will likely enjoy a strong year ahead despite recession risks for the global economy next year. For example, Vietnam is benefitting from being at the center of supply chain diversification efforts while tourism in Cambodia and Thailand will improve, the IMF said.   “Asia remains a relative bright spot in an increasingly dimming global economy,” the IMF said in an update. The IMF predicted growth for Asia and the Pacific at 4% this year and 4.3% in 2023. These are higher than the fund’s forecasts for Europe and the U.S. The IMF is expecting growth of 3.1% in 2022 and 0.5% for the euro area; and 1.6% growth this year and 1% for the U.S. Read the full story here. — Su-Lin Tan CNBC Pro: Strategist predicts when the S&P 500 could bottom — and names 3 stocks he likes right now Rob Luna, chief investment strategist at Surevest, says his firm has “started to witness individual stocks outperforming and showing signs of already bottoming.” He predicts when the S&P 500‘s long-term move downward could turn, and names the stocks he thinks look attractive right now. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Weizhen Tan Australia’s central bank is able to achieve ‘similar tightening’ with smaller hikes, deputy governor says The Reserve Bank of Australia has more flexibility on the “size and timing of rate increases” because its board holds more meetings compared to other central banks in the region, RBA Deputy Governor Michele Bullock said. It is able to “achieve similar tightening” with smaller individual rate increases, Bullock said, speaking at the Australian Finance Industry Association. The central bank’s board members said they “recognized the benefits of a smaller increase,” according to minutes released from RBA’s October 4 meeting, where it raised its cash rate by 25 basis points. “A smaller increase than that agreed at preceding meetings was warranted given that the cash rate had been increased substantially in a short period of time and the full effect of that increase lay ahead,” it said, adding that it remains determined to “do what is necessary” to return inflation to its target. The Australian dollar rose 0.19% against the U.S. dollar and last traded at $0.6302. –Jihye Lee New Zealand inflation data for the third quarter comes in hotter than expected New Zealand’s consumer prices rose 7.2% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, much higher than the 6.6% predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll. Prices rose 2.2% from the second quarter, driven by food, housing and utilities, Stats NZ said. “The main driver for the 7.2 percent annual inflation to the September 2022 quarter was housing and household utilities due to rising prices for construction, rentals for housing, and local authority rates,” the statement added. Compared to the previous quarter, annual inflation eased very slightly from the 7.3% reported in July, which was a 32-year high. — Abigail Ng Monday’s rally saw all sectors close more than 10% from 52-week highs During Monday’s rally, all three major indices climbed and the Nasdaq posted its best day since July. It also closed more than 34% from its 52-week high, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 23% and 18% from their 52-week highs, respectively. All sectors also closed more than 10% from their 52-week highs, led by communication services that was up more than 40% from the key level. Tech, consumer discretionary and real estate were all more than 32% from 52-week highs, while financials and materials were more than 22% from 52-week highs. —Carmen Reinicke Stocks close higher, with Nasdaq jumping more than 3% Stocks finished the day up solidly higher, with the Nasdaq Composite leading the way with a gain of more than 3%. The Dow added more than 500 points to close back above the 30,000 level. — Jesse Pound Treasury yields trim losses U.S. Treasury yields have rebounded from their lows of the session. The 2-year Treasury yield is now down about 5 basis points to 4.45%, while the 10-year yield is unchanged just above 4%. Yields move opposite of price, and a basis point is equal to 0.01 percentage points. Notably, the rebound for yields has not caused a major move in the equity markets, where the Nasdaq is still up more than 3% for the session. — Jesse Pound Read More…

Four Friends Missing In Oklahoma Found Dismembered, Police Say https://digitalalabamanews.com/four-friends-missing-in-oklahoma-found-dismembered-police-say/ U.S.|Four Friends Missing in Oklahoma Found Dismembered, Police Say https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/17/us/oklahoma-bodies-river.html A witness had been invited to join the men to “hit a lick big enough for all of them,” or to engage in some kind of criminal behavior, a police chief said on Monday. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Joe Prentice, the police chief in Okmulgee, Okla., said investigators believe the missing men had planned to “commit some type of criminal act.”Credit…KJRH 2 News Oklahoma Published Oct. 17, 2022Updated Oct. 18, 2022, 3:16 a.m. ET The mysterious disappearance of four friends in Oklahoma took a grim turn on Monday after the police confirmed that their remains had been found in a river after they had been fatally shot and then dismembered. Joe Prentice, the police chief in Okmulgee, a city of about 11,000 people about 40 miles south of Tulsa, said at a news conference on Monday that the remains had been identified as those of Mark Chastain, 32; Billy Chastain, 30; Mike Sparks, 32; and Alex Stevens, 29, all of Okmulgee. The chief said the Chastains were brothers. Chief Prentice said that investigators believed the men had planned to “commit some type of criminal act” after they left Billy Chastain’s home on Okmulgee’s west side around 8 p.m. on Oct. 9. All four were reportedly riding bicycles, the police said. Their plan to engage in criminal activity was based on information from a witness who had been invited to join the men to “hit a lick big enough for all of them,” the chief said, quoting the witness. “That is common terminology for engaging in some type of criminal behavior, but we do not know what they were planning or where they planned to do it,” he added. The men had been reported missing last week after they left Billy Chastain’s home, the police said. Mark Chastain’s wife, Jessica, told 2 News Oklahoma last week that her husband had parked his car at a house owned by the Chastain family on Sunday. The four men often spent time there, she said. “They don’t go far — never,” Ms. Chastain told the news station. On Friday, a passer-by noticed something suspicious in the Deep Fork River, leading investigators to find what appeared to be human remains protruding from the water. Image Clockwise from top left: Billy Chastain, Mark Chastain, Mike Sparks and Alex Stevens.Credit…Okmulgee Police Department But it wasn’t until Monday that the police confirmed the identities of the remains. Chief Prentice said it took some time to make the identification because all four had gunshot wounds and had apparently been dumped in the river after they were dismembered. Chief Prentice said that the police were looking for the owner of a local salvage yard, Joe Kennedy, whom he described as a “person of interest” in the investigation. Mr. Kennedy’s salvage yard is next to a property where investigators discovered “evidence of a violent event,” the chief said, without elaborating. He said that a signal from Mark Chastain’s cellphone had pinged at and around the salvage yard. No charges have been filed and the cause and manner of the deaths have yet to be determined, the chief said. When Mr. Kennedy spoke to investigators on Friday, he denied knowing the men, Chief Prentice said, adding that he had no reason to believe the men had any relationship with Mr. Kennedy. On Saturday, Mr. Kennedy was reported missing and he may be suicidal, the chief said. There was no immediate response on Monday afternoon to a text message sent to a number listed for a salvage yard under Mr. Kennedy’s name. Later Monday, the chief said that Mr. Kennedy’s car had been found “abandoned” behind a business in Morris, Okla., about six miles east of Okmulgee. Investigators have not recovered the gun used in the killings, Chief Prentice said. They also have not yet found the bicycles that the men had reportedly been riding. “Unfortunately, I have no description of the bicycles,” Chief Prentice said. “At least one, and we believe all, of the boys had multiple bicycles, and there’s no way to know which ones they were on.” Chief Prentice said that the investigation was continuing and that the police were waiting for cellphone records and had requested video surveillance from businesses in the area. He said his best guess was that the men’s remains were dumped in the river on the night of Oct. 9 or the morning of Oct. 10. / Read More…

Walt Disney World Resort Update For October 18-24, 2022 https://digitalalabamanews.com/walt-disney-world-resort-update-for-october-18-24-2022/ Walt Disney World Resort Update for October 18-24, 2022 You can view a larger version of the photos included in the Update by clicking on the photo. Each photo will open in a separate tab without a caption.  Writer’s Note, News & Views Following last week’s change to Genie+ pricing (it’s now set dynamically by date rather than a fixed amount), it has been another quiet week for news around Walt Disney World Resort. Disney did share the less-than-specific news that the revised version of Fantasmic! will open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in November (following the announcement earlier this year that the show would return before the end of 2022). The good news for those cast members (and us locals) that approach the Resort from the northeast via Reams Road this week is that the flooding between Bay Court and Magic Kingdom cast parking subsided sufficiently for Orange County to finally reopen the road this week for the first time since September 28 and the approach of Hurricane Ian. On the whole now, the Resort has fully returned to pre-Hurricane Ian operations. Of course, the tropical storm season continues through the end of November and storms do not know how to read calendars, so it remains important to keep tuned in for weather events as we head into Florida’s typically dry winter season. Views Around the World With the summer heat and humidity further fading now that fall is underway, I again made it over to three of the parks this past weekend and even took the long walk from Magic Kingdom to main parking via Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (and the new detour around the DVC construction that is underway). All of the parks were busy during my visits, so whatever lull in attendance that fall brought in the past was not evident when I was there. Magic Kingdom and Vicinity With Halloween about two weeks away, I noticed that the entrance to Magic Kingdom has already begun a slight transformation to Christmas: the Mickey head floral bed seems to consist of the winter holidays’ traditional red poinsettias. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka. With the TRON Lightcycle Run attraction expected to open in the Spring, pavement installation is now evident in this new expansion of Tomorrowland beyond the Speedway. Railroad tracks have been reinstalled around Tomorrowland and through a new tunnel under the TRON Lightcycle Run canopy. Tomorrowland Light & Power Co. is closed for refurbishment and its exterior look continues to evolve. This “exit through the gift shop” for Space Mountain likely will also serve as a merchandise location for TRON Lightcycle Run when it opens. The Walt Disney World Railroad remains closed because of the on-going construction of TRON Lightcycle Run. Next to the Fantasyland station, the railroad track re-installation remains incomplete. Photos by Alan S. Dalinka. At Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, the culinary team has created a Halloween display that pays tribute to The Haunted Mansion. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka. The walkway from Disney’s Grand Floridian to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort now detours away from Seven Seas Lagoon due to the construction of the new Disney Vacation Club tower on the former site of the Spirit of Aloha luau dinner theater. Detour signs lead guests walking between the two resorts through Disney’s Wedding Pavilion’s parking lot. To walk between Disney’s Grand Floridian and Polynesian Resorts, guest must now cross Floridian Way twice. A new crosswalk has been painted across Floridian Way at the exit to the Wedding Pavilion’s parking lot. Guests walking between the two resorts now share the path with the golf cart path along the Floridian Way side of the Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course. The Magnolia Golf Course itself is undergoing a major reimagination right now as well. Guests cross Floridian Way near Disney’s Polynesian Resort where the golf cart path crosses the road. The detour between the resorts ends where the existing Polynesian longhouses stand. Photos by Alan S. Dalinka. Further south along Floridian Way where it approaches the Speedway Auto Center and World Drive, construction has finally resumed on the flyover ramps that began long-before the pandemic and its temporary shutdown of the resort. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka. The flyover on the west side of Magic Kingdom’s main parking lot will change the flow of traffic around the parking lot. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka. EPCOT EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival continues for another month, through November 19. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka. The Disney Vacation Club Member lounge (on the upper level of Imagination! pavilion), has some new graphics on the walls surrounding the space. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka. The graphics on the DVC Member Lounge now also include a “permanent” photo spot. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka. Back downstairs in the Imagination! pavilion, I noticed Bing Bong appearing on the walls from time to time for the first time. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka. Steel framing for the future CommuniCore Hall (festival center) is visible from all over the west side of the park. From the monorail around the former Future World section of the park, guests can see quite a bit of ongoing construction now. The area where the Fountain of Nations formerly stood remains an active construction area. The future CommuniCore Hall (festival center) construction can be seen from the monorail as it heads to the station. The future Journey of Water inspired by Moana walk-through attraction continues to take shape ahead of its expected debut sometime next year. Some of the rock work for Journey of Water already shows some finer details. Photos by Alan S. Dalinka. Disney’s Hollywood Studios Since our last Update, Disney got slightly more specific as to when the updated version of Fantasmic! will open: November. Socially distanced Donald was again appearing near the park’s entrance this weekend. Although about a third of the Cairo set was not on stage during a performance of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular on Sunday (along with about a third of the usual show), Indy and Marion stunt doubles still took a major leap off one of the towers. Exterior construction at the Roundup Rodeo BBQ table service restaurant continues. I hope that the “backyard” theme of Toy Story Land is restored to this area and the administration building beyond the restaurant is once again hidden when construction is complete. Disney has not shared an opening date for this restaurant that was originally announced for a 2020 debut. When browsing the stores of the park, it is never surprising that even some of the newest characters of Disney subsidiaries are available to help celebrate Halloween. Photos by Alan S. Dalinka. This & That & Reminders… …An okapi calf was born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, the twelfth okapi born at Walt Disney World Resort and the fifth at the lodge. Named Beni, the baby okapi is the first calf to be born at Walt Disney World Resort since 2018, and at a little over three feet tall from hoof to shoulder, he weighs just under 100 pounds. He could eventually grow to between five and six feet tall and up to 650 pounds! BOO! Isn’t this the cutest “ghost of the forest” you’ve ever seen? Meet Beni, an okapi calf born this summer at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. He’s currently backstage where he’s perfecting his wobbly walk & following in mom Olivia’s “hoof”steps: https://t.co/wrazEjYyW9 pic.twitter.com/KenADpz0AE — Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) October 15, 2022 …Disney Parks Blog saluted Miguel Arribas this week as part of honoring of all the talented Hispanic cast members and beyond. Arribas has devoted more than 50 years of his life to creating Disney-themed collectibles as a glass artist at Arribas Brothers stores across Walt Disney World Resort since opening year. Originally from Montevideo, Uruguay, Arribas is one of the longest-serving team members at the Walt Disney World Arribas Brothers locations. Walt Disney World Resort, and especially Disney Springs, is now celebrating Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month. …Looking ahead to Thanksgiving, Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant at Disney Springs will be serving up its special Thanksgiving dinner all day—11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Guests who prefer to order lunch or dinner from the restaurant’s all-day menu are also welcome to do so; Raglan’s plant-based Shepherd’s Pie (This Shepherd Went Vegan) is a popular vegan option too. Live Irish music and dance begins at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and continues through pub close. Considering Thanksgiving dining at Raglan Road? Reservations recommended: RaglanRoad.com. …REMINDER: Give Kids The World’S popular “Night of a Million Lights,” will be back for its third year—but at the Island H2O Water Park in Kissimmee, Florida, rather than at the not-for-profit Village’s resort as it had been since its debut. From November 11, 2022, through January 1, 2023, the Island H2O Water Park, 3230 Inspiration Drive, Kissimmee, FL 34747, will be “transformed into a dazzling winter wonderland featuring millions of lights, luminous displays, festive family activities and live entertainment for a one-of-a-kind, fully immersive holiday experience.” Nightly entertainment will include performances by Dueling Pianos Jingle and Jangle and the strolling a cappella group Santa’s Dancing Reindeer, with DJ Jack Frost Ice Block Party leading an interactive holiday hits dance party. Tickets are on sale now at gktw.org/lights/. Night of a Million Lights was hosted at Give Kids the World Village in late 2020 and 2021. Its third installment will be at Island H2O Water Park in Kissimmee. File photo by Alan S. Dalinka. …REMINDER: Give Kids the World Village is also hosting Gingerbread Run: Valentine’s Day Edition on Saturday, February 11, 2023. Thi...

Alabama DOC Says Inmate Work Stoppage Has Ended https://digitalalabamanews.com/alabama-doc-says-inmate-work-stoppage-has-ended/ The prisons are resuming regular meal service, regular inmate movement, and inmate programs, the ADOC said By Mike Cason al.com MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A work stoppage by state inmates that started three weeks ago to demand changes in Alabama’s overcrowded, violent, and understaffed prisons has ended, the Alabama Department of Corrections said today. The prisons are resuming regular meal service, regular inmate movement, and inmate programs, the ADOC said. “These three weeks have been very challenging for the staff at ADOC, and I am very proud of the way they have risen to that challenge,” ADOC Commissioner John Hamm said in a press release. “The daily operations of the state’s correctional facilities involve many moving pieces, and it takes a huge effort under the best circumstances to ensure those pieces work together smoothly. I want to commend every member of ADOC staff for going above and beyond to make sure all critical services were maintained.” The work stoppage began Sept. 26 in conjunction with a protest outside the ADOC offices in Montgomery. Relatives of inmates and former inmates took party in the rally and called for better conditions and medical care in prisons, as well as sentencing reforms and more paroles granted. Inmates stopped doing the unpaid work that keeps prisons functioning, such as food, janitorial, and laundry services. Prisons reduced food service to two meals a day and restricted inmate movement during the strike. More than 200 people took part in another protest at the Alabama Capitol on Friday. Organizers placed tombstones on the white marble steps to represent the men who died in Alabama prisons from suicides, murders and overdoses, according to the Associated Press. “Men are being murdered. Men are overdosing. Men are taking their own lives,” said Eric Buchanon, a former inmate who does prison ministry, according to AP. “Somebody said, ‘Well, how can we stop people from taking their own lives?’ Well, if you had enough officers operating the prisons, who could monitor these men like they are supposed to, that would help.’” The U.S. Department of Justice sued the Alabama prison system in December 2020, alleging that the state holds men in conditions that violate the Constitution because of inmate-on-inmate violence and excessive force by correctional staff. The ADOC has been unable to hire officers to address a severe staffing shortage. The state has acknowledged problems in its prisons but denies the DOJ’s charges of constitutional violations. A federal judge has issued scheduling orders telling both sides to prepare for trial in 2024. McClatchy-Tribune News Service Read More…

Looking Back On Oct. 18 https://digitalalabamanews.com/looking-back-on-oct-18/ Encore increase font size 100 Years Ago: 1922 The Senior class of the Stephens High School will hold another sociable and dancing party on Friday evening, Oct 20th, at the high school. Entertainment will be given and Al Melanson’s orchestra will furnish music. These socials are very popular and the proceeds go to the Senior Class Treasury. 50 Years Ago: 1972 Mrs. Joanne Ayotte of Lewiston will cut silhouettes at the Harvest Bazaar, being held Friday at the old YWCA building, 73 Pine Street under the auspices of the YW. Mrs. Ayotte will cut silhouettes of individuals or families. The silhouette attraction is one of several features to be introduced at the Bazaar. Another is a wishing well and a house of treasures, a children’s corner, a Christmas boutique and a gourmet table, the latter a home cooked food table which will offer unusual arrangements. 25 Years Ago: 1997 A senior citizens luncheon will be held at the United Methodist Church of Auburn, Park Avenue, Tuesday. John Neal will play the piano starting at 11:30 a.m. At 12:15 p.m. lunch, consisting of American chop suey, rolls, green beans, jellied salad, apple crisp with ice cream and beverage, will be served. For reservations, call Gladys Chapman at the church. The material used in Looking Back is produced exactly as it originally appeared although misspellings and errors may be corrected. Invalid username/password. Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration. Use the form below to reset your password. When you’ve submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code. « Previous Read More…

Vance, Ryan Spar In Second – And Final – Fiery Debate In Ohio Senate Race https://digitalalabamanews.com/vance-ryan-spar-in-second-and-final-fiery-debate-in-ohio-senate-race/ Youngstown, Ohio  – Senate candidates Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican JD Vance faced off Monday night in their second fiery debate, clashing over the blockbuster issues of this election –  the economy, abortion, the border and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 – as well as who would best serve the state. Former President Donald Trump won Ohio by eight points in 2020 but the race to fill the seat being vacated by retiring moderate Republican Sen. Rob Portman this year has proven to be competitive with just over three weeks to go before Election Day.  At the debate hosted by WFJM in Youngstown, the candidates spoke over each other and accused one another of putting their party first. It comes exactly one week after the candidates appeared alongside each other for their testy first debate, where they clashed over the economy, abortion rights and extremism.  Ryan, who is currently serving his tenth term in the House representing Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, which includes Youngstown, has focused his campaign on the economy and manufacturing – while also taking aim at China. He has attempted to distance himself from Democrats in control in Washington as they face headwinds heading into the midterms amid soaring inflation and with President Joe’s Biden’s approval rating being underwater in the state. He instead has painted his Republican opponent as an extremist who left Ohio for California and is only in the race for himself.  Vance, a venture capitalist and author of the memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” grew up in Middletown, Ohio. He soared to victory in the May primary after being backed by Trump and billionaire Peter Thiel. On the campaign trail, Vance links Ryan to Mr. Biden, and has questioned what Ryan has to show for his 20 years in Congress.  This combination of photos shows Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, on March 28, 2022, in Wilberforce, Ohio, left, and Republican candidate JD Vance on Aug. 5, 2022, in Dallas.  AP Photo “If you want to run against Nancy Pelosi, move back to San Francisco and run against Nancy Pelosi. You’re running against me,” Ryan shot back in response to Vance tying him to House Democratic party leadership. Ryan pointed out that he challenged Pelosi’s leadership in 2016. The pair also clashed on abortion rights. In the previous debate, Vance said the 10-year-old Ohio girl who had to go to another state to get an abortion – a story that made national headlines – should have been able to get an abortion. On Monday, he was asked what other exceptions he would support, having previously rejected exceptions for rape and incest.  “My basic view is we need to protect life in this country,” Vance said, and he noted that it would likely be dangerous for a 10-year-old to carry a pregnancy to term. He also reiterated his that an undocumented immigrant was arrested for raping the 10-year-old girl, accusing Ryan and Democrats of not acting on border security.   When asked about Sen. Lindsey Graham’s 15-week federal abortion ban, Vance responded “if you can’t support legislation like that, you are making the United States the most barbaric pro-aboriton regime anywhere in the entire world.” Last week, the House Jan. 6 committee voted to subpoena Trump.  Ryan said Trump should respond to the subpoena. Vance said he would not pretend to give the former president legal advice. “The Jan. 6 committee has shown from the very beginning that it’s not interested in the truth, that it’s interested in a political hit job that goes back to four years ago,” Vance said. He went on to accuse Democrats of being obsessed with  the idea that Trump somehow had the election stolen by the Russians. “There’s been a nonstop political effort to not honor the election of 2016 but I think that’s just as much of a threat to democracy as the violence on Jan. 6 January 6th,” Vance said. The candidates also clashed over immigration. Vance accused Democratic leadership of wanting more immigrants, claiming it would mean Republicans are never able to win another election. Ryan responded accusing Vance of running around with those talking about replacement theory.  “You can believe in a border without being a racist, you can believe in the country without being a racist and this just shows how desperate this guy is for political power,” Vance responded – invoking his three biracial children.  “I think I struck a nerve with this guy,” Ryan countered. With the economy being the most pressing issue for voters across the country, the debate began with a question about inflation. Ryan defended voting for the Inflation Reduction Act – pointing to investments coming back to Ohio, and he said he also advocated for tax cuts for working people. Vance argued the U.S. needed to stop spending money and for the U.S. to “really open up America’s energy sector.” Ohio is often considered a battleground state, with  former President Obama having won it twice and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown was reelected in 2018. But Ohio has been trending more red in recent years, and Trump won it by eight points in both 2016 and 2020. Despite the political climate, the Senate race has proven to be competitive according to the latest polls. The Real Clear Politics average has Vance up by just two percentage points. While Republicans are still positioned to retake the majority in the House in November according to the latest CBS News Battleground Tracker, the Senate remains a toss up. Several other Senate races are often considered more competitive by strategists as Democrats look to expand their majority in the 50-50 split Senate, but tens of millions are being spent in the Ohio Senate race in the final stretch of the election season. And as candidates make their final pitches to voters, early voting is already underway in Ohio both by mail and in-person. At least 812,000 Ohioans requested absentee ballots. Those ballots started going out Sept. 23.  Read More…

House Panel: Trump https://digitalalabamanews.com/house-panel-trump/ NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s private company arranged for the Secret Service to pay for rooms at his properties in excess of government-approved rates at least 40 times during his presidency, including two charges for more than $1,100 per night, according to documents released Monday by a congressional committee. The Secret Service was charged room rates of more than $800 per night at least 11 times when agents stayed at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C., and other properties, the Democratic-led House Oversight Committee said. It noted that Trump made over 500 trips to his properties while president. The “exorbitant” rates point to a possible “taxpayer-funded windfall for former President Trump’s struggling businesses,” Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney of New York wrote in a letter Monday to the Secret Service requesting more information. The Secret Service said it had received the letter and was reviewing it. The Trump Organization denied that the Secret Service charges were a problem and said it provided rooms and other services at cost, at big discounts or for free. “The Trump Family is likely the first family in American history to have not profited off of the United States government,” said Eric Trump in a statement. He added, “President Trump funded the vast majority of his campaign with hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money and turned away billions of dollars in real estate deals worldwide.” In total, the Trump Organization charged the agency responsible for protecting the president and his family at least $1.4 million, according to Secret Service records released by the committee. The committee said the total bill was likely higher because the panel only got records through September 2021 and payments for trips abroad were not included. The former president has been repeatedly criticized by Democrats and government watchdogs for what they say were brazen attempts make money from taxpayer funds during his presidency. In addition to money from the Secret Service when he and his family visited his clubs and hotels, Trump played host to foreign officials at his properties, also requiring lodging for accompanying agents. The president tried to arrange for his Trump National Doral Golf Club in Florida to be chosen as the venue for a Group of Seven meeting of global leaders, only to pull back after an outcry of about self dealing. Among the documents released Monday was a bill tied to 2017 trip by Trump’s oldest son, Don Jr., to the Trump International Hotel down the street from the White House. That resulted in a Secret Service room charge of $1,185 per night, more than five times the government-approved per diem rate, the committee said, though the agency is allowed to make exceptions. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More…

GoLocalProv | Politics | Control Of The US Senate Still Up For Grabs – Rob Horowitz https://digitalalabamanews.com/golocalprov-politics-control-of-the-us-senate-still-up-for-grabs-rob-horowitz/ Tuesday, October 18, 2022 Rob Horowitz, MINDSETTER View Larger + Dr. Oz PHOTO: Campaign With the mid-term elections now only three weeks away, the contest for control of the US Senate remains very much undetermined. It is certainly the case that the fundamentals that usually drive mid-term election outcomes continue to favor the Republicans.  While President Biden’s job approval has improved somewhat, at 42.9 % in FiveThirtyEight’s weighted average of recent polls, it remains low. In fact, it’s at a level that tends to produce significant gains for the opposition party.  Similarly, only about 3-in-10 Americans think our nation is “headed in the right direction,” as compared to about 7-in-10 who think we are “pretty seriously off on the wrong track,” according to the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average of recent polls.  GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE — SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST In short, if these are typical mid-term elections–which history tells us are usually referendums on perceptions of the performance of the incumbent president and the related question of how people feel things are going in the national generally–one would expect Republicans to easily regain control of the House of Representatives and to win the Senate back as well.  This is especially the case when one party controls not only the presidency, but both houses of Congress, so there is no place to deflect blame. There are a number of signs, however, that this may not end up being a typical mid-term. First, the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade is providing a political boost to Democratic candidates.  Taken together, the decision’s motivation of more Democrats to vote and its impact in persuading a slice of independent and Republican women who otherwise could have been counted on to vote Republican to cast their ballot for a Democratic candidate is the potential winning difference in some close races. By nearly 2 to 1(63% to 34%), Americans oppose the overturning of Roe v. Wade and a similar percentage say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey.   Since the Dobbs decision, the percentage of Americans who believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases who say they will only vote for a candidate who shares their views on abortion has more than doubled. Additionally, former President Donald Trump, who remains unpopular, has stayed front and center in our politics., This has enabled the Democrats to turn this election into a bit less of a pure referendum. In at least some voters’ minds, the election has become more of a choice with some voters likely to vote Democratic as the lesser of two perceived evils.  The combination of the former president continues to insist in the face of all evidence to the contrary that he won the 2020 election, his well-publicized mounting legal difficulties, the work of the January 6 select committee, his successful backing of extreme, election-denying candidates in Republican primaries around the nation and his fierce desire to stay in the news all contribute to a feeling among a key sub-set of swing voters that Trump is in some sense still on the ballot.  This redounds heavily to the Democrats’ advantage, creating a somewhat less daunting political environment upon which to fight out individual House and Senate races. These countervailing factors are unlikely to prevent Republicans from taking control of the House.  This requires the GOP to only pick up 6 seats.   When likely voters are asked the generic ballot question in polls—do they plan to vote for a Democrat or Republican for US House of Representatives—it is roughly even, according to an average of recent polls. Given that Democrats are disproportionately concentrated in cities and inner-ring suburbs, they would need to be at least several points ahead in the generic ballot on election day to hold the House.  The indications, however, are that they are losing a bit of ground in this measure as inflation picks up even more salience with the electorate and if present trends continue, the Republicans could be ahead by a few percentage points by election day.  On the other hand, there is still a better than even money chance that the outcome in the US Senate will be different.  This is in part because the states where the battleground races are being held are relatively friendly territory for Democrats.  But the most important factor is that in Senate races, where voters learn a lot more about individual candidates than in House races, the quality of the candidate, as Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted over the summer, is a larger component of a voter’s decision.   Simply put, Mr. Trump’s success in putting a number of his endorsed candidates over the top in Senate primaries has given the Democratic party a lifeline. In nearly every case, these Trump-backed candidates who were selected primarily because they were willing to embrace his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen are far weaker general election candidates than their primary opponents would have been:  Trump’s actions saddled the GOP with problematic candidates in nearly all the key states that will determine control of the US Senate:  Dr Oz in Pennsylvania, Blake Masters in Arizona, Don Bolduc in New Hampshire, Herschel Walker in Georgia and JD Vance in Ohio(even if Vance wins, his weakness has forced the Republicans to spend millions of dollars that could have gone elsewhere). While control of the US Senate is still in the balance, my bet is that the political winds at the Republicans’ backs has been sufficiently tempered by countervailing factors and as a result are not strong enough to overcome the weakness of too many of their key Senate candidates. The bottom line is the Democrats are positioned to narrowly hold their Senate majority. If this turns out to be the case, they should send a thank you note to Donald Trump—the gift that keeps giving to the Democratic Party. Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits, businesses, and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island. Related Articles A College Education Continues to Pay Major Dividends – Horowitz Looming Roe v. Wade Overturn Shakes Up Our Politics – Horowitz Buffalo and the Mainstreaming of Replacement Theory – Horowitz Will 19 Dead 4th Graders Finally Break the Logjam on Gun Safety? – Horowitz January 6 Committee Takes Sledgehammer to the “Big Lie” – Horowitz DeSantis Punishes the Magic Kingdom – Horowitz The High Price of Resistance to COVID-19 Vaccinations – Horowitz American Public Rallies Behind Ukraine – Horowitz The Cheers Effect:  The Importance of Neighborhood Gathering Places – Horowitz CPAC’s Growing Autocrat Problem – Rob Horowitz We Are Divided: On That At Least We Agree – Horowitz Musk Has Potential to Expand Republican Twitter Use – Horowitz Supreme Court Decisions Upend Our Politics – Horowitz On Primary Day, The Field Generals Take Center Stage – Horowitz Trump is No Victim – Horowitz The American Public’s Support for Ukraine Is Not Wavering – Horowitz Growth of Social Media as a News Source Stalls – Rob Horowitz California and New York Turbocharge Transition to Electric Cars – Rob Horowitz Biden’s Legislative Accomplishments Mount – Horowitz Alex Jones’ Legal Spanking is a Boost for the Truth – Horowitz Cassidy Hutchinson: A Courageous American Patriot – Rob Horowitz The Abortion Issue Packs a Potent Political Punch – Rob Horowitz State and Local Action Now Become More Central to the Climate Fight – Horowitz January 6 Committee Loosening Trump’s Grip on Republican Party – Horowitz Americans Know We Face a Mental Health Crisis – Rob Horowitz Enjoy this post? 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Russia-Ukraine War Latest: What We Know On Day 237 Of The Invasion https://digitalalabamanews.com/russia-ukraine-war-latest-what-we-know-on-day-237-of-the-invasion/ Moscow stepped up attacks across Ukraine on Monday, killing four people and cutting off power in a series of kamikaze drone strikes in the capital. Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmygal, said Russia launched five strikes in Kyiv, as well as attacks against energy facilities in Sumy and the central Dnipropetrovsk regions, knocking out electricity to hundreds of towns and villages. Elsewhere, at least three people were killed when a Russian warplane crashed near the border with Ukraine. The plane struck a residential area of Yeysk, a town in southwestern Russia, news agencies reported, citing the defence ministry. Both pilots managed to eject before the crash, but many locals were taken to hospital with injuries, local authorities said. Health minister Mikhail Murashko said three people had died and 19 were injured, the state-run TASS news agency reported. The ministry of emergency situations had earlier given a toll of six dead. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. Ukraine announced that more than 100 prisoners have been swapped with Russia in what it said was the first all-female exchange with Moscow after nearly eight months of war. “The more Russian prisoners we have, the sooner we will be able to free our heroes. Every Ukrainian soldier, every frontline commander should remember this,” Zelensky said. In the south, Ukrainian troops have been pushing closer and closer to the large city of Kherson, just north of Crimea. Kherson is one of four regions in Ukraine that Moscow recently claimed to have annexed. Ukraine’s foreign minister called on the European Union to sanction Iran for providing Russia with kamikaze drones that killed at least four civilians in Kyiv on Monday. Iran said again on Monday that it had not provided Russia with drones to use in Ukraine. “The published news about Iran providing Russia with drones has political ambitions and it is circulated by western sources. We have not provided weaponry to any side of the countries at war,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said. The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc would look for “concrete evidence” about the participation of Iran in Russia’s war on Ukraine. The European Union has agreed to create a mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers. It will also provide a further €500m to help buy weapons. An EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday approved the two-year training mission, which will involve different EU forces providing basic and specialist instruction to Ukrainian soldiers, in Poland and Germany. Officials hope the mission, which is expected to cost €107m, will be up and running by mid November. Israeli officials refused to comment on comments from Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president, that Tel Aviv is preparing to supply military aid to Ukraine. In a Telegram message on Monday, Medvedev, currently deputy chair of Russia’s security council, warned Israel against arming Kyiv, calling it a “a reckless move” that would “destroy relations between our countries”. Israel has tried to maintain a neutral stance, as it relies on Russia to facilitate its operations against Iranian-linked actors in Syria. Marina Ovsyannikova, the former Russian state TV journalist who staged an on-air protest against the war in March, has fled the country, according to her lawyer. Read More…

Democrats Who Flipped Congress In 2018 Face Hurdles In 2022 | News Channel 3-12 https://digitalalabamanews.com/democrats-who-flipped-congress-in-2018-face-hurdles-in-2022-news-channel-3-12/ By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Moments after she flipped a longtime Republican congressional seat in 2018, Iowa Democrat Cindy Axne declared that “Washington doesn’t have our back and we deserve a heck of a lot better.” Now seeking a third term in one of the most competitive House races, Axne is sounding a similar tone, telling voters she’s delivered for Iowans “while Washington politicians bicker.” But Axne and other Democrats from the class of 2018 are campaigning in a much different political environment this year. The anxiety over Donald Trump’s presidency that their party harnessed to flip more than 40 seats and regain the House majority has eased. In its place is frustration about the economy under President Joe Biden. And many districts that were once competitive have been redrawn by Republican-dominated state legislatures to become more friendly to the GOP. “It was a very different world,” pollster John Zogby said of 2018. “Inflation’s now where we haven’t seen in 40 years and it affects everybody. And this is the party in power. With campaigns, you don’t get to say, ‘But it could have been’ or ’But look at what the other guy did.’” Many swing-district Democrats elected four years ago were buoyed by college-educated, suburban voters, women and young people shunning Trump. That means many defeats for second-term House Democrats could be read as opposition to Trump no longer motivating voters in the same way — even though the former president could seek the White House again in 2024. Trump continues to shape politics in a far more present sense, too. He’s dominated the national Republican Party despite spreading lies about 2020’s free and fair presidential election and now facing a House subpoena for helping incite the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol last year. Tom Perez, who headed the Democratic National Committee from 2017 until 2021, noted that midterm cycles are historically tough for the president’s party and that — plus grim U.S. economic news — would normally raise the question “are Democrats going to get shellacked?” Instead, Perez thinks many of the toughest congressional races remain close because of the strength of Democrats elected four years ago. “All these folks from the Class of ’18, what they have in common is they’re really incredibly competent, accomplished and they’ve earned the trust of voters in their districts across the ideological spectrum,” said Perez, co-chair of the super PAC American Bridge 21st Century. “That, to me, is why we have a chance here, not withstanding the headwinds of the moment, is that incredible combination of candidate quality contrasted with the extreme views of the people who are running against them.” In all, 66 new Democrats won House races in 2018, flipping 41 Republican seats. Their party gave back many of those gains in 2020, with Republicans taking 14 new seats. Those GOP victories included defeating a dozen Democrats elected to the House for the first time the previous cycle. The Democratic House losses were overshadowed by Biden beating Trump. But this time, the ranks of the 2018 Democratic House class further dwindling may draw more attention — especially if it helps the GOP gain the net five seats it needs to reclaim the chamber’s majority. In addition to Axne, Democrats who may be vulnerable include Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Tom Malinowski of New Jersey and Elaine Luria of Virginia. Another Virginia Democrat, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, as well as Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Angie Craig of Minnesota and Sharice Davids of Kansas all also may face tough reelections. “The question is, is it going to have similarities to ’18 or not in the sense of democracy being on the ballot and a reaction to Trump,” former California Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda, who was elected in 2018 but narrowly lost his reelection bid, said of next month’s election. “Based on polling and the primaries, it doesn’t seem like the voting public is holding Republicans responsible for the Big Lie.” Perez is more sanguine: “The midterm election is supposed to be a referendum on the president, but Donald Trump continues to inject himself” into the nation’s politics. House turnover is common among both parties. By early 2018, almost half of the 87 House Republicans newly elected when their party took control of the chamber during the 2010 tea party surge were gone. More lost that November. Still, the 2018 class was notable as the largest influx of first-year House Democrats in four-plus decades, and the chamber’s youngest and most diverse ever. Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, said 2018 was also the largest class of new women elected to the House since 1992, with 35 Democrats and one Republican. But 2020 also saw 28 new women elected to Congress, and some were Republicans who defeated Democrats who’d won for the first time the last cycle. “We had a couple of very strong years in a row, one for Democrats and one for Republicans,” Walsh said of women in the House. She said that means that even if the 2018 House Democratic class gets smaller this year, ”I would not look at one election cycle and say the face of Congress is going back to old, white men.” Republicans, meanwhile, have 32 Hispanic nominees and 23 Black nominees running for the House this cycle — both party records. They say their chances of winning the chamber’s majority are built more on high inflation and crime rates rising in some places than Trump or last year’s insurrection. “We have a choice between commonsense and crazy,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “And Americans will vote for Republicans up and down the ballot as a result.” The Democrats’ 2018 House class won’t dissolve completely. Some incumbents are seeking reelection in safely blue districts, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Lucy McBath of Georgia and Colin Allred of Texas, who was the class’ co-president. Democratic Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens, the other co-president, beat fellow 2018 Democratic House class member Andy Levin when the two incumbents squared off in this year’s Democratic primary based on their state’s new map. One Democratic 2018 House class member ousted in 2020, former New York Rep. Max Rose, is now running to get back to Congress. Another member, New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, has since become a Republican. Former Virginia Rep. Denver Riggleman was a Republican elected in 2018 but lost his 2020 GOP primary. Riggleman is now appearing in a TV ad praising Spanberger. “She’s trying to change Congress and make it work,” Riggleman says in the ad. “She puts country first.” Read More…