Al-Nassrs Al-Najei Voted Star Of Roshn Saudi Leagues Matchday 7
Al-Nassr’s Al-Najei Voted Star Of Roshn Saudi League’s Matchday 7 https://digitalalabamanews.com/al-nassrs-al-najei-voted-star-of-roshn-saudi-leagues-matchday-7/
NEW YORK: The stage is set for the Aramco Team Series – New York tournament teeing off Thursday with the world’s top women golfers taking part at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx, New York.
The Ladies European Tour event, with a $1 million prize purse, features 78 golfers, including world No. 4 Nelly Korda, No. 6 Brooke Henderson, No. 8 Lexi Thompson, No. 14 Jessica Korda, No. 18 Charley Hull and No. 19 Leona Maguire.
Speaking to the media in New York on Wednesday, Korda said: “We play so many events on the LPGA Tour, it’s nice to switch it up for a team aspect. It’s very different and it’s fun. Throughout the season, competing and traveling gets a little tiring. It’s a breath of fresh air having a team and doing a little something different throughout the season.”
Thompson said: “It’s an amazing golf course and it’s in great shape. I got to play about 14, 15 holes yesterday. Besides the traffic in New York, everything is great. To take on this golf course, keep it in the fairways. There’s some fescue out there.
“It’ll be all weather-dependent as well, if it gets super windy there’s obviously not too much to block it; keeping a good trajectory on ball flight. It’s in great shape for us.”
Regarding the opportunities the Aramco Team Series is creating for female golfers, Thomson continued: “It’s amazing what they’re doing. As an athlete of any sport, we want to grow our game and our sport individually. What they’re doing with golf and giving other girls an opportunity to bring out their best is great. They’re very grateful for this opportunity.”
On Tuesday evening, the players gathered for the draw where 26 captains selected their teams for the tournament. The event features a unique scoring system, allowing an amateur player to contribute to the final result of the Ladies European Tour event as the competition features individual and team champions vying for the $1 million prize.
Brooke Henderson shared her excitement this week on her first visit to New York City: “First time for me in actual New York City, which is hard to believe as I’m only a seven-and-a-half-hour drive from here, but I’ve never experienced the city. I was able to walk around Central Park a little bit, so I’m enjoying the hustle and bustle and the craziness. It’s all very exciting.”
The team event covers the first two rounds, with individuals making the cut for a chance at the individual title on day three.
Headlining teams include the following:
Team N. Korda: Nelly Korda, Noora Komulainen, Celine Herbin
Team Henderson: Brooke Henderson, Christine Wolf, Linda Wessberg
Team Thompson: Lexi Thompson, Kelly Whaley, Laura Fuenfstueck
Team J. Korda: Jessica Korda, Jillian Hollis, Kylie Henry
Team Hull: Charley Hull, Laura Davies, Julia Engstrom
Team Maguire: Leona Maguire, Liz Young, Tvesa Malik
Read More…
Ukraine War: UN General Assembly Condemns Russia Annexation
Ukraine War: UN General Assembly Condemns Russia Annexation https://digitalalabamanews.com/ukraine-war-un-general-assembly-condemns-russia-annexation/
Image source, EPA
Image caption,
A screen at the UN in New York shows how some nations voted with green, red and yellow markers
The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia’s attempts to annex four regions of Ukraine.
The resolution was supported by 143 countries, while 35 states – including China and India – abstained.
As well as Russia, four countries rejected the vote, namely Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Nicaragua.
Although symbolic, it was the highest number of votes against Russia since the invasion.
Last week, in a grand ceremony in the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin signed documents to make the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson part of Russia.
The agreements were signed with the Moscow-installed leaders of the four regions, and came after self-proclaimed referendums in the areas that were denounced as a “sham” by the West.
The resolution calls on the international community not to recognise any of Russia’s annexation claims and demands its “immediate reversal”. It welcomes and “expresses its strong support” for efforts to de-escalate the conflict through negotiation.
The countries which voted with Russia all have a longstanding stance of criticising Western governments.
Belarus is considered a satellite state of its neighbour and ally, and its territory was used in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
As well as China and India, which have attempted to remain neutral on the conflict, parties that abstained from the vote included 19 nations in Africa.
Many African countries have avoided taking sides in the war – which has been seen as a reflection of efforts to maintain longstanding trade ties, or of historic non-alignment policies.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was grateful to the countries that did support the resolution.
“The world had its say – [Russia’s] attempts at annexation is [sic] worthless and will never be recognised by free nations,” he tweeted, adding that Ukraine would “return all its lands”.
US President Joe Biden said the vote sent a “clear message” to Moscow.
“The stakes of this conflict are clear to all, and the world has sent a clear message in response – Russia cannot erase a sovereign state from the map,” he said.
Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain’s ambassador to the UN, said Russia had failed on the battlefield and at the UN, adding that countries had united to defend the world body’s charter.
“Russia has isolated itself, but Russia alone can stop the suffering. The time to end the war is now,” she said.
The General Assembly vote was triggered after Russia used its veto power to prevent action at the Security Council – the body in charge of maintaining international peace and security. As permanent members, China, the United States, France and the United Kingdom also hold vetoes on the council.
There have been calls for Russia to be stripped of its veto power after the Ukraine invasion.
Read More…
Australia News LIVE: Medibank Private Hit By cyber Incident; PM Confirms Spending Cuts In October Budget
Australia News LIVE: Medibank Private Hit By ‘cyber Incident’; PM Confirms Spending Cuts In October Budget https://digitalalabamanews.com/australia-news-live-medibank-private-hit-by-cyber-incident-pm-confirms-spending-cuts-in-october-budget/
Key posts
1 of 4
5.56pm
The Wrap: ASX wipes gains to close flat as investors await US inflation figures
By Carla Jaeger
Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day, and how the experts saw it.
The numbers: The Australian sharemarket finished flat on Thursday, erasing the morning’s gains to end 4.9 points, or 0.07 per cent, down to 6642.6.
Financial stocks again lifted the market, adding another 1.4 per cent to Wednesday’s gains. Consumer discretionary was the only other sector to finish higher, with real estate the biggest drag, falling 1.9 per cent.
The lifters: Qantas shares soared 8.7 per cent after the airline flagged it would return to profit by year’s end; transport operator Kelsian Group up 6.3 per cent; and Westpac up 2.95 per cent as the big four banks rallied.
The laggards: Health insurer NIB shed 12 per cent after completing a $135 million institutional placement; GrainCorp down 6.3 per cent; and lithium player Allkem down 4.1 per cent.
The lowdown: A rally from the banks helped limit losses on the ASX on Thursday as investors await CPI data from the US. The big four banks all gained ground again.
Financial stocks were helping lift the ASX on Thursday.Credit:Nick Moir
Craig Sidney, senior investment adviser at Shaw and Partners, said there was renewed interest in the banks after BoQ’s results, while the broader market was awaiting US CPI data overnight and US quarterly results, which will begin to filter through this week.
“The market’s really waiting for the CPI read out of the US tonight,” he said. “That’ll set the scene for tomorrow, those figures and how the market reacts to them.”
Qantas shares soared by 8.7 per cent after the airline revealed in a trading update it expected to be back in profit by the end of the year.
Read more here.
5.44pm
WorkSafe to take ‘no further action’ on ex-Labor MP’s bullying claims
By Callum Godde
Victoria’s work safety regulator has closed its case into a former state Labor MP’s claims she was bullied by the premier and others.
WorkSafe Victoria has completed its investigation into allegations Labor-turned-independent upper house MP Kaushaliya Vaghela was bullied, it announced on Thursday.
Kaushaliya Vaghela with Premier Daniel Andrews.Credit:Facebook
Its probe focused on Premier Daniel Andrews, some employees of his private office, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and members of the public, and used coercive powers to obtain information.
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“On the basis of the evidence, and taking into account WorkSafe’s general prosecution guidelines, WorkSafe will not take further action on this matter at this time,” a statement read.
“WorkSafe will not comment further on this matter as avenues of independent review remain open.”
After crossing the floor to vote against Labor on a contentious motion in February and resigning from the party, Vaghela accused Andrews and Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams of bullying her.
Under parliamentary privilege, she said she was “systematically targeted” for switching from Andrews’ Socialist Left to the right faction, then led by disgraced former powerbroker Adem Somyurek, before the 2018 state election.
Vaghela alleged Williams sent her an “angry” text after she changed factions, questioning her integrity and demanding an explanation.
Read more here.
AAP
5.25pm
Qld hospital reviews staff complaints but not workplace culture
By Marty Silk
A major Queensland hospital has reviewed its staff complaints process, but not its workplace culture, the state’s health minister says.
Yvette D’Ath was perplexed when asked about a cultural probe at the Caboolture Hospital by the opposition in parliament on Thursday.
Queensland’s Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has responded to a damning report into Mackay Base Hospital where three infants died as a result of healthcare failures.
The minister later clarified there had not been a review of workplace culture, but the Caboolture Hospital and Health Service had probed its public interest disclosure (PID) process for staff complaints.
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“I’m still seeking further clarification but already the information I’m getting shows that the LNP’s comments today are not completely accurate,” the minister told reporters.
“But there is work that has been commissioned, externally, around how the HHS can improve their processes around PID complaints.
“So not cultural behaviour, PID complaints.”
An inquiry last year into the hospital, north of Brisbane, found at least one preventable death occurred there due to surgical negligence between 2015 and 2020.
The inquiry report, handed down in November, said a “negative workplace culture and destabilised governance structure” could be putting safety at risk.
Read more here.
4.59pm
Former RBA deputy flags Australia’s risks of slow start on green energy
By Colin Kruger
Former Reserve Bank deputy Guy Debelle says Australia is well-placed to become a green energy superpower, but warns we risk having “the rug pulled from under us” without incentives to attract the level of infrastructure investment needed.
The energy crisis in Europe, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has ensured huge demand for renewable energy, says Debelle, who now heads billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries in its green hydrogen push.
“We’re lucky again as a country because we have some of the best renewable resources in the world,” Debelle told Citi’s Australia & New Zealand Investment Conference on Thursday.
“We’re lucky again as a country”: Former Reserve Bank deputy governor Guy Debelle.Credit:Dion Georgopoulos
“We have the comparative advantage in this stuff, but we can have the rug pulled from under us if other countries get there first,” he said.
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The US Emissions Reduction Act is already boosting investment in sectors such as green hydrogen, according to Debelle, who said Australia could not afford to lag on the incentives needed to attract the capital now flowing to the US.
“The question is, how do you accelerate that investment in scale? And that’s where there is opportunity for policy.”
Debelle shocked the RBA in March this year when he resigned to become chief financial officer of Fortescue Future Industries (FFI).
Forrest’s Fortescue unveiled FFI in 2020 with a target to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030, the same year the miner plans to hit net-zero emissions.
Last month, FFI announced plans to invest $US130 million ($200 million) with Tree Energy Solutions, known as TES, to become a partner in a gas import terminal and planned green energy hub in Germany.
Read more here.
4.50pm
Former minister Linda Reynolds to give evidence in Lehrmann trial
By Angus Thompson
Former Coalition minister Linda Reynolds will give evidence in the rape trial of her former adviser Bruce Lehrmann on Tuesday.
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who also worked for the senator when she was minister for defence industries, alleges Lehrmann sexually assaulted her in Reynolds’ office in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after a night out drinking with colleagues.
Former Coalition minister Linda Reynolds will give evidence in the trial next week.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to a count of sexual intercourse without consent, being reckless as to whether Higgins was consenting. He denies ever having sex with Higgins.
Higgins will return on Friday to continue giving evidence after being unavailable most of the week. There is a non-publication order over other evidence in the proceedings in her absence.
The trial is expected to run until the end of next week after prosecutor Shane Drumgold, SC, told ACT Supreme Court judge Lucy McCallum the case was running “much ahead of schedule”.
Read more here.
4.38pm
Second WA mining death this week
By Peter Milne
A worker has died at a Pilbara mine site on Thursday, two days after a fatality at Gold Fields’ Saint Ives mine near Kambalda.
WorkSafe WA commissioner Darren Kavanagh said any work-related death was a tragedy and conveyed his condolences to the worker’s family, friends and co-workers.
Another worker has died at a West Australian mine.
Mine safety inspectors are travelling to the site to investigate the incident. WA Police are also attending the scene.
The regulator said it was unable to provide further details of either incident at this time.
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The two tragedies this week are the first fatalities in WA’s mining sector since industrial manslaughter legislation came into effect in March 2022.
A worker died late Tuesday after an accident at the Hamlet underground mine at Gold Fields’ Saint Ives operation near Kambalda.
Gold Fields executive vice president Australasia Stuart Mathews said all mining at Saint Ives was suspended until it was safe to restart.
Australian Workers’ Union WA branch secretary Brad Gandy said the Gold Fields fatality was devastating news and the union would participate in the investigation as appropriate.
Thursday’s fatality in the Pilbara is the eighth death in WA mining in the past three years.
Read more here.
4.25pm
Former Trump employee tells FBI Trump ordered Mar-a-Lago boxes to be moved
By Sarah N. Lynch and Kanishka Singh
Washington: A former employee of Donald Trump has told federal agents the former president asked for boxes of records to be moved within his Florida residence after receiving a government subpoena demanding their return, the Washington Post reported.
The testimony of the key witness, coupled with surveillance footage the Justice Department also obtained, represent some of the strongest known evidence to date of possible obstruction of justice by the former Republican president.
Former Pre...
ADTRAN (NASDAQ:ADTN) Downgraded By StockNews.com https://digitalalabamanews.com/adtran-nasdaqadtn-downgraded-by-stocknews-com/
ADTRAN (NASDAQ:ADTN – Get Rating) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.
ADTRAN Stock is a Compelling Broadband Infrastructure Play
A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ADTN. Loop Capital upgraded shares of ADTRAN from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, September 26th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on ADTRAN in a research report on Tuesday, September 13th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on ADTRAN in a report on Thursday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on ADTRAN from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 8th. Finally, Cowen boosted their target price on shares of ADTRAN to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ADTRAN presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.33.
ADTRAN Trading Down 1.0 %
Shares of ADTN opened at $19.32 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.92. The firm has a market cap of $952.77 million, a PE ratio of -69.00 and a beta of 1.36. ADTRAN has a 12-month low of $16.30 and a 12-month high of $25.47.
ADTRAN (NASDAQ:ADTN – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $172.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.00 million. ADTRAN had a negative net margin of 2.20% and a positive return on equity of 4.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ADTRAN will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other ADTRAN news, CEO Brian Protiva sold 26,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.64, for a total transaction of $652,984.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 330,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,146,205.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On ADTRAN
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ADTN. DNB Asset Management AS purchased a new stake in ADTRAN during the third quarter valued at about $54,790,000. Berry Street Capital Management LLP boosted its position in ADTRAN by 147.1% during the 1st quarter. Berry Street Capital Management LLP now owns 200,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,690,000 after purchasing an additional 625,000 shares during the period. Shellback Capital LP raised its position in ADTRAN by 101.1% in the first quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 932,811 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,210,000 after purchasing an additional 469,042 shares during the period. Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of ADTRAN by 398.6% during the fourth quarter. Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC now owns 498,623 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $11,384,000 after purchasing an additional 398,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ADTRAN by 1,039.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 368,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,454,000 after buying an additional 335,872 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.65% of the company’s stock.
ADTRAN Company Profile
(Get Rating)
ADTRAN Holdings, Inc develops and provides network access solutions. It is a global provider of open, disaggregated networking and communications equipment that enable voice, data, video and internet communications across any network infrastructure. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Huntsville, AL.
Further Reading
Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on ADTRAN (ADTN)
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Should you invest $1,000 in ADTRAN right now?
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While ADTRAN currently has a “Moderate Buy” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
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Gauff Downs Montgomery In Rain-Delayed Match In San Diego
Gauff Downs Montgomery In Rain-Delayed Match In San Diego https://digitalalabamanews.com/gauff-downs-montgomery-in-rain-delayed-match-in-san-diego/
GLASGOW, Scotland: Mo Salah came off the bench to score the fastest-ever hat trick in Champions League history as Liverpool routed Rangers 7-1 at Ibrox on Wednesday.
The Egyptian came on in the second half with his team leading 3-1 and proceeded to fire a stunning treble in just six minutes, 12 seconds to set a new benchmark in the competition.
Bafetimbi Gomis previously held the record from 2011 when he took eight minutes to complete his hat trick in a 7-1 win for Lyon against Dinamo Zagreb.
But Salah smashed that time with his stunning feat, walking away with the match ball in Glasgow and putting the seal on a confidence-boosting win for Liverpool, who are in a strong position to advance to the round of 16.
With Manchester City to come in the Premier League on Sunday, Jurgen Klopp hopes the victory will be a turning point for his team after such an unconvincing start to the season.
“The goals we scored were exceptional,” he said. “It’s a night where things worked out for us. It changes the mood definitely, and that’s good. We all know who is coming on Sunday. That will be different, but it’s better to go in with the feeling from tonight.”
It had been a night when Roberto Firmino had looked like being the hero — scoring twice and setting up another for Darwin Nunez after Rangers had gone ahead in the first half.
But Salah ensured he would dominate the headlines with three wonderfully taken goals.
Klopp had opted to make changes with his team in total control after Nunez made it 3-1 in the 66th minute.
When Salah poked in a fourth for Liverpool from a tight angle in the 75th minute, it served notice of what was to come.
Five minutes later, he curled in another from the edge of the area and almost immediately completed his hat trick with another clinical strike.
Another substitute, Harvey Elliott, finished the scoring in the 87th.
Liverpool are second in Group A with 9 points with two games remaining. Napoli lead with 12 points and advanced to the round of 16 by beating Ajax 4-2 earlier Wednesday. The Amsterdam club have 3 points, while winless Rangers have zero.
Rangers were left stunned after dominating the early play.
The Scottish giant had avoided a heavy defeat in a 2-0 loss at Anfield a week ago only due to the heroics of goalkeeper Allan McGregor. But in a vastly improved performance, it had the home crowd in dreamland when taking the lead after 17 minutes.
Fabio Carvalho lost possession in his own half, and after a swift break Scott Arfield fired low past goalkeeper Alisson on the edge of the area.
It could have been even better for Rangers when Antonio-Mirko Colak cut out Joe Gomez’ loose back pass but couldn’t find a finish.
Liverpool equalized against the run of play after 24 minutes when Firmino headed in Konstantinos Tsimikas’ corner at the near post.
Liverpool went ahead 10 minutes into the second half when Gomez’ curled cross was turned home by Firmino again.
From there, the visitors took control and went 3-1 up when the Brazilian’s delightful back heel set up Nunez to strike.
It looked like game over — but Salah had other ideas.
“They punished us with the attack they have,” Rangers coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst said. “In the last 25 minutes we weren’t in the game, not with our heads, not with the decisions we made. Against a team like Liverpool, you get punished.”
Read More…
Google Allows Donald Trump https://digitalalabamanews.com/google-allows-donald-trump-2/
The social media service has become an online haven for January 6 rioters, QAnon fans to share conspiracy theories
A QAnon conspiracy theory button sits affixed to the purse of an attendee of the Nebraska Election Integrity Forum
By AFP
Published: Thu 13 Oct 2022, 8:42 AM
Google on Wednesday said it has allowed Donald Trump’s Truth Social app in its Play Store for Android devices – after receiving assurances the app would meet the platform’s standards for moderating harmful content.
The app – which Trump launched after being barred from Twitter over the 2021 Capitol riot – had been kept out of Google’s store over its lack of moderation tools, including for violent threats.
Google said Truth Social has since been updated to comply with its policies barring objectionable posts, and has built-in effective systems for reporting and removing unwanted content as well as blocking abusers.
“Apps may be distributed on Google Play provided they comply with our developer guidelines, including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those that incite violence,” a Google spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.
Developers can make Android apps available elsewhere on the internet, but the Play Store is a main source of content for users.
Truth Social app for Android devices is available on the social network’s website and other venues that may not have Google’s content moderation rules, according to the Alphabet-owned tech titan.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with Google, and we’re glad they helped us to finally bring Truth Social to all Americans, regardless of what device they use,” Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) chief executive said in a released statement.
TMTG early this month announced today that a Truth Social app was freshly available for people in the United States who use Samsung smartphones, which are powered by customized Android software and have their own app shop.
Samsung’s share of the US smartphone market is about 30 per cent, according to industry analysis firm Counterpoint.
A version of Truth Social tailored for Apple mobile devices is available at the App Store, which also enforces rules about content moderation.
Google said in August that it had notified Truth Social that its app violated Play policies and required “effective systems for moderating user-generated content” in order to be offered on the platform.
The online giant said at the time that Trump’s app broke rules barring content that incites physical threats and violence, but was working on addressing those issues.
Truth Social was conceived as Trump’s answer to Twitter – from which he was ejected in January 2021, days after a mob of his supporters refusing to accept his election defeat to Joe Biden stormed the US Capitol.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has made a $44-billion deal to buy Twitter, has said he would likely allow the former US leader back on the platform. After trying to walk away, Musk now says the troubled deal is back on and could close by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, a merger between TMTG and a blank check company named Digital World Acquisition Corp – intended to bring in fresh funding for the Trump platform – has yet to take place. Digital World shares were up more than seven per cent to just over $17 in after-market trades in the wake of the Play Store news.
Excluded from major social networks, Trump has regained only a fraction of his followers on Truth Social.
Trump has 4.18 followers at Truth Social, compared to the 88.8 million he had on Twitter and the 35.4 million he had on Facebook before being booted for encouraging real-world violence such as the deadly attack on the US Capitol.
Truth Social has become an online haven for QAnon fans to share conspiracy theories such as prominent members of the Democratic Party being involved with Satanists or paedophiles. Misinformation watchdog NewsGuard has reported finding scores of Truth Social accounts sharing QAnon content, with Trump among those resharing posts.
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AP Top News At 12:17 A.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-top-news-at-1217-a-m-edt/
Social Security recipients expected to get big benefit boost
WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Social Security recipients will learn soon just how high a boost they’ll get in their benefits next year. The increase to be announced Thursday, expected to be the largest in 40 years, is fueled by record high inflation and is meant to help cover the higher cost of food, fuel and other goods and services. How well it does that depends on inflation next year. The boost in benefits will be coupled with a 3% drop in Medicare Part B premiums, meaning retirees will get the full impact of the jump in Social Security benefits. The announcement comes just weeks before the midterm elections, and at a time when Democrats and Republicans are sparring about high prices now and how best to shore up the program financially in the future.
Little sign of relief expected in September inflation data
WASHINGTON (AP) — Any Americans hoping for relief from months of punishing inflation might not see much in Thursday’s government report on price increases in September. Lower gas prices will probably reduce overall consumer inflation for a third straight month. But measures of “core” inflation, which are closely watched because they exclude volatile food and energy costs, are expected to return to a four-decade peak. Economists have estimated that the government’s consumer price index jumped 8.1% in September from 12 months earlier, according to a survey by the data provider FactSet. That is a distressingly large gain, though below the 9.1% year-over-year peak that was reached in June.
EXPLAINER: US weapons systems Ukraine will or won’t get
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian leaders are pressing the U.S. and Western allies for air defense systems and longer-range weapons to keep up the momentum in their counteroffensive against Russia and fight back against Moscow’s intensified attacks. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday said allies are committed to sending weapons “as fast as we can physically get them there.” And he said defense leaders meeting in Brussels are working to send a wide array of systems, ranging from tanks and armored vehicles to air defense and artillery. But there are still a number of high-profile, advanced weapons that Ukraine wants and the U.S.
Poll: Most in US say misinformation spurs extremism, hate
Americans from across the political spectrum say misinformation is increasing political extremism and hate crimes, according to a new poll that reflects broad and significant concerns about false and misleading claims ahead of next month’s midterm elections. About three-quarters of U.S. adults say misinformation is leading to more extreme political views and behaviors such as instances of violence based on race, religion or gender. That’s according to the poll from the Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “We’re at a point now where the misinformation is so bad you can trust very little of what you read in the media or social media,” said 49-year-old Republican Brett Reffeitt of Indianapolis, who participated in the survey.
Jan. 6 hearing promises ‘surprising’ details before election
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee is set to unveil “surprising” details including evidence from Donald Trump’s Secret Service about the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol in what is likely to be its last public hearing before the November midterm elections. The hearing Thursday afternoon, the 10th public session by the panel, is expected delve into Trump’s “state of mind” and the central role the defeated president played in the multipart effort to overturn the election, according to a committee aide who discussed the plans on condition of anonymity. The committee is starting to sum up its findings: Trump, after losing the 2020 presidential election, launched an unprecedented attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory.
Alex Jones ordered to pay $965 million for Sandy Hook lies
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — Jurors ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Wednesday to pay nearly $1 billion to Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims’ relatives and an FBI agent, who said he turned their loss and trauma into years of torment by promoting the lie that the rampage was a hoax. The $965 million verdict is the second big judgment against the Infowars host for spreading the myth that the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history never happened, and that the grieving families seen in news coverage were actors hired as part of a plot to take away people’s guns.
North Korea says Kim supervised cruise missile tests
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised tests of long-range cruise missiles, which he described as a successful demonstration of his military’s expanding nuclear strike capabilities and readiness for “actual war,” state media said Thursday. Wednesday’s tests extended a record number of weapons demonstrations this year by North Korea, which has punctuated its testing activity with threats to preemptively use nuclear weapons against South Korea and the United States if it perceives its leadership as under threat. Analysts say Kim is exploiting the distraction created by Russia’s war on Ukraine, using it as a window to accelerate arms development as he pursues a full-fledged nuclear arsenal that could viably threaten regional U.S.
West to bolster Ukraine air defense; nuke plant loses power
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Unbowed Western powers pledged to supply Ukraine with more potent air defense systems following a furious barrage of retaliatory Russian missile strikes, including one that temporarily knocked Europe’s biggest nuclear plant off the invaded country’s electrical grid Wednesday. The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant suffered a “blackout” when a missile damaged a distant electrical substation, Ukraine’s state nuclear operator said. The power loss increased the risk of a radiation emergency because the plant needs electricity to prevent its reactors from overheating. Energoatom said the external power source was repaired after about eight hours and that the plant’s emergency diesel generators — which rely on uncertain fuel deliveries in the war zone — provided backup in the meantime, but a similarly hazardous interruption could happen at any time.
China’s Xi gets chance to tighten hold on economy at meeting
BEIJING (AP) — President Xi Jinping, China’s most influential figure in decades, gets a chance to install more allies who share his vision of an even more dominant role in the economy for the ruling Communist Party and tighter control over entrepreneurs at a party meeting that starts this weekend. The only question, economists and political analysts say, is whether China’s economic slump might force Xi to temper his enthusiasm for a state-run economy and include supporters of the markets and private enterprises that generate jobs and wealth. The congress will name a new Standing Committee, China’s inner circle of power, and other party leaders, not economic regulators.
Georgia features Deep South’s only competitive US House race
GEORGETOWN, Ga. (AP) — In an uphill fight against a 30-year incumbent, Republican congressional candidate Chris West was scratching for votes in Georgia’s second-smallest county on a recent October evening. West was telling voters in Georgetown, just across the Chattahoochee River from Alabama, that they should dump longtime Democrat Sanford Bishop if they’re unhappy with inflation and gas prices. West said his own experience as a commercial developer would help improve the fortunes of Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, long one of the nation’s poorest. “Sanford has represented this district for 30 years now. And we have been in the top 10 poorest congressional districts for the last 30 years,” West told supporters.
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Dog Park & Bar In T-Town Coaling Fire Save Moundville Festival
🌱 Dog Park & Bar In T-Town + Coaling Fire Save + Moundville Festival https://digitalalabamanews.com/%f0%9f%8c%b1-dog-park-bar-in-t-town-coaling-fire-save-moundville-festival/
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Rise and shine, Tuscaloosa! We’re a day closer to weekend, so get caught up here on all the latest headlines before you power through this Thursday.
In today’s Daily, we have these stories and more …
Big Bama volleyball win
Dog park & bar coming to Tuscaloosa
Coaling Fire’s heroic save
But first, today’s weather: Sunny and pleasant. High: 81 | Low: 47.
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Patch Shout Out
Our Shout Out for this Thursday morning goes to Alabama volleyball for grabbing a 15-point win in the third Wednesday night against Missouri to clinch the sweep. (More)
UA Athletics/Crimson Tide Photos
Here are the top 5 stories today in Tuscaloosa
Good Dog Park & Bar is gearing up to open its first location in Tuscaloosa in the coming months, which will provide the city with a combination concept consisting of a pet resort, daycare, dog park and bar … all in one convenient spot. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
The Coaling Volunteer Fire Department made a big save at a church this week after a dog ended up in the oddest of places. (Chelsea Barton, WVUA 23 News)
The University of Alabama has officially announced the schedule of events for Homecoming Week 2022, which will culminate in the Crimson Tide hosting Mississippi State at Bryant-Denny Stadium. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
The Worlds of Work Career expo is once again set to engage with area ninth-grade students at Shelton State Community College in an effort to showcase industry opportunities in the region. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
Former University of Alabama outfielder Tyler Gentry has been named the Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ 2022 Player of the Year by the Kansas City Royal organization. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
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Today In Tuscaloosa
Moundville Native American Festival (More)
‘Hey Coach!’ @ Baumhower’s Victory Grille (More)
Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting for Ly-Cycle Plant (More)
Whiskey Myers @ Tuscaloosa Amphitheater (More)
Karaoke Tonight @ Copper Top (More)
Our Media Partners
Tuscaloosa Patch is proud to be media partners with WVUA 23 News at the University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa Radio. Catch their great content and our headlines here and there on your cable provider, online and, for our radio partners, at the following stations: 92.1 The Possum, 102.1 WJRD, Rock 106.3, and 96.1 The Blessing.
5⃣ Other Stories I’m Reading Today
Alabama-Tennessee fan rap battle might be bigger than the upcoming SEC showdown (Ben Flanagan, Al.com)
UA student charged with felony assault, causes brain bleed, skull fractures to another student (Kayla Solino, Crimson White)
Moundville Native American Festival returns to in-person event (Tim Reid, CBS 42 News)
Famous Burger Joint Coming To Downtown Tuscaloosa In Early 2023 (Stephen Dethrage, Tuscaloosa Thread)
House Minority Leader: Tuberville belongs in “concussion protocol” (Josh Moon, Alabama Political Reporter)
Obituaries
Louise Carroll Perkins of Tuscaloosa (Heritage Chapel)
Randolph Clifton, 85, of Vernon (Memory Chapel)
Dorothy “Dot” (Dobbs) Lathum, 90, of Cottondale (Memory Chapel)
You’re all caught up for today. I’ll be in your inbox tomorrow with a new update!
— RP
Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Tuscaloosa Daily? Contact me at ryan.phillips@patch.com
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Gulf Coast Challenge Expected To Bring A Major Economic Impact To Mobile
Gulf Coast Challenge Expected To Bring A Major Economic Impact To Mobile https://digitalalabamanews.com/gulf-coast-challenge-expected-to-bring-a-major-economic-impact-to-mobile/
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — We’re one month away from this year’s 5th annual Gulf Coast Challenge.
There will be a week full of events, ending with football at Ladd-Pebbles Stadium between Alabama A&M and Jackson State.
Organizers expect this year’s game to be one of the largest games hosted at Ladd Stadium.
“We’re on track to be a sellout,” said Tim Hale, Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Challenge. “The last game between Alabama A&M and Jackson State both sold out, so I think it’s going to be great.”
The Historically Black Universities will be taking the field on Nov. 12, and there are a lot of events to look forward to leading up to game day.
“On Wednesday night we have a free concert in the park with legendary artist Jon B.,” said Hale. “On Thursday we have a networking reception where we merge the HBCU community with corporate businesses to get a chance to mix and mingle. On Friday we have a team luncheon.”
Executive Director of the Mobile Sports Authority, Danny Corte said he expects this year’s Gulf Coast Challenge to be one of the biggest The Port City has seen.
“We’re really excited to have Coach Prime and Coach Maynor bringing their teams here,” said Corte. “The alumni base, the fans, and the passion of the fans and friends of these two schools are really what we’re tapping into. We welcome them to come in, and enjoy a three to four-day period in Mobile.”
This game could potentially bring a major economic impact to Mobile.
“If we get between 30,000 and 40,000 people in town for a weekend, you are talking about $8,000 to $10,0000 economic impact if we can verify that,” said Corte. “So with the crowds that follow these two schools, especially Coach Prime at Jackson State as he has elevated the HBCU world, I mean 40,000 is not out of the realm of possibility.”
For a complete list of events for the Gulf Coast Challenge click here.
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Lula Represents Hope: Brazil Presidential Frontrunner Takes His Message Into Rios Favelas
‘Lula Represents Hope’: Brazil Presidential Frontrunner Takes His Message Into Rio’s Favelas https://digitalalabamanews.com/lula-represents-hope-brazil-presidential-frontrunner-takes-his-message-into-rios-favelas/
Thousands of favela residents and activists have hit the streets of Rio to voice their support for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the leftist frontrunner to become Brazil’s next president.
Addressing a sea of supporters in one of Rio’s largest favelas, the Complexo do Alemão, Lula vowed to give his far-right rival Jair Bolsonaro “a thrashing” when South America’s biggest democracy holds the second round of its presidential election at the end of October.
“We’re going to win these elections,” proclaimed the 76-year-old ex-president who fell just short of an outright victory over Bolsonaro in the first round 10 days ago.
Lula, who rose from rural poverty to become Brazil’s first working-class president in 2002, said he was determined to return to power “to prove to the elites who have governed since 1500 that once again a metalworker will fix this country”.
“The only reason I’m running for president once again is my belief that we can change things,” Lula told activists during an assembly at the headquarters of Voz das Comunidades, the favela news group that organised his rare visit. “I promise you that this country is going to change – and it’s going to change for the better.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva greets supporters during a campaign rally in Belford Roxo, Rio de Janeiro. Photograph: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images
Residents from more than 30 favelas had flocked to the Complexo do Alemão on Wednesday morning to champion a politician they hope can end Bolsonaro’s tumultuous four-year reign, during which Covid killed nearly 700,000 people and millions were plunged into poverty.
“Lula setting foot in the favela is an act of resistance. It shows that we’re not alone – that there’s hope,” said Douglas Viana, a 30-year-old activist from another sprawling working-class community, the Complexo da Maré. “This is a historic moment for the country. We’ve never seen anything on this scale,” Viana added.
Rene Silva, the founder of the Voz das Comunidades, voiced optimism that social change was around the corner under Lula, who used his two-term presidency to help millions escape poverty and enter higher education with the proceeds of a regional commodities boom.
“Lula represents hope – hope of less hunger and less inequality. We’ve taken so many steps backwards during Bolsonaro’s four years in power – and it will take a long time to rebuild all of this,” said Silva, 27.
A supporter of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva flashes the letter L for ‘Lula’ during a campaign rally in the Complexo do Alemao favela. Photograph: Silvia Izquierdo/AP
Anielle Franco, a campaigner whose politician sister Marielle Franco was assassinated in 2018, said she hoped a Lula victory might help secure justice for her murdered sibling.
“Lula symbolises the return of the humble, the poor, the black and the north-easterners from the favela to the presidency – everything that we don’t have under this government,” Franco said.
Fighting a ‘government of hatred’
Lula won the election’s first round in the region around Alemão, a vast sweep of redbrick housing in north Rio with tens of thousands of residents, as well as in other major favelas such as Rocinha and Maré.
But the leftist lost in Rio state as a whole, with Bolsonaro winning 51% of the vote to Lula’s 40.7%, and Lula has stepped up his campaigning here ahead of the 30 October showdown with the far-right incumbent.
Carlos Lupi, a Labour party leader who is helping run Lula’s second-round campaign, said Wednesday’s event was designed to raise awareness in the favelas about the urgent need for political change.
“This is the government of hatred, of anger – and we must defeat it,” Lupi said as the crowds streamed down one of Alemão’s main arteries with banners denouncing the hunger crisis blighting Brazil’s poor. “We need to wake this community up to the harm this government is causing it.”
Not all locals were convinced, with many evangelical favela residents remaining loyal to Bolsonaro, whose allies have falsely accused Lula of plotting to close churches.
Valmir da Silva, a 51-year-old driver, came to the Alemão rally carrying a towel featuring Bolsonaro’s image and his nationalist slogan: “Brazil above everything, God above all.”
Lula rose from rural poverty to become Brazil’s first working-class president in 2002. Photograph: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images
“He has done more in two years than Lula did in eight,” Silva said of the right-wing radical. “Lula isn’t interested in the poor. All he thinks about is staying in power.”
Silva insisted the throng of Lula supporters around him didn’t represent the working-class area where he was born and raised. “The favela’s divided,” he said.
But as the young favela leaders addressed Lula, they were united in their plea for better healthcare and education – and an end to the government neglect and police violence that claims hundreds of mostly black lives each year. “We are tired of dying,” local activist Alan Brum told Lula.
Buba Aguiar, an activist from a community called Acari, told the former president the only way of overcoming Bolsonaro and his far-right movement was to join forces with the voices of the favela, where about 20% of Rio’s citizens live.
“There’s no way that we can stop authoritarianism or stop Bolsonarismo, without the leaders who are here today,” Aguiar said. “It’s only with our help that we’ll be able to get Brazil back on track.”
Additional reporting by Alan Lima
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AHSAA Volleyball Area Tournament Play Continues https://digitalalabamanews.com/ahsaa-volleyball-area-tournament-play-continues/
AHSAA volleyball area tournaments started on Tuesday with teams playing a single elimination format to determine each area winner and runnerup.
The top two from each area advance to super regional sites with play beginning on Wednesday.
Each super regional tournament is comprised of 104 teams with the South Super Regional at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl Multi-Plex while Huntsville’s Von Braun Center hosts the North Super Regional.
Class 6A-1A areas 1-8 along with Class 7A areas 1-4 play in Montgomery while Class 6A-1A areas 9-16 and Class 7A areas 5-8 play in Huntsville.
Four teams from each of seven classes at both sites advance to the Elite Eight championship tournament beginning on Oct. 25 at the Birmingham Crossplex with state championships decided next door at the Bill Harris Arena on Oct. 26-27.
AHSAA Volleyball
Area Tournament Championship Results
CLASS 1A
Area 1 at Kinston HS
Finals
Kinston (14-13) 3, Houston County (9-12) 1 (25-14, 25-18, 20-25, 25-16)
Area 2 at Brantley HS
Finals
Pleasant Home (15-11) 3, Brantley (22-10) 1 (25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 25-18)
Area 3 at Leroy HS
Finals
Leroy (18-6) 3, Fruitdale (8-7) 0 (25-17, 27-25, 25-14)
Area 4 at Calhoun HS
Finals
Calhoun (7-1) 3, Central-Hayneville (2-9) 0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-12)
Area 5 at Sweet Water HS
Finals
Thurs., Oct. 13, 2:30 p.m.
Area 6 at University Charter School
Finals
University Charter School (21-7) 3, Keith (9-9) 0 (25-6, 25-9, 25-13)
Area 7 at Maplesville HS
Finals
Wed., Oct. 12, 4:30 p.m., no scores reported
Area 8 at Faith Christian School
Finals
Faith Christian (14-25) 3, Wadley (18-6) 1 (11-25, 24-19, 25-16, 25-18)
Area 9 at South Lamar HS
Finals
South Lamar (20-8) 3, Holy Spirit Catholic (10-12) 0 (25-15, 25-6, 25-10)
Area 10 at Sumiton Christian
Finals
Sumiton Christian (17-19) 3, Ragland (9-17) 0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-11)
Area 11 at Marion County HS
Finals
Marion County 3, Brilliant 1
Area 12 at Spring Garden HS
Finals
Spring Garden (36-13) 3, Cedar Bluff (17-21) 1 (24-26, 25-12, 25-16, 25-11)
Area 13 at Addison HS
Finals
Addison (39-10) 3, Meek (18-21) 0 (25-4, 25-3, 25-7)
Area 14 at Belgreen HS
Finals
Phillips (13-7) 3, Belgreen (8-17) 0
Area 15 at Athens Bible HS
Finals
Athens Bible (21-18) 3, Woodville (18-8) 0 (25-13, 25-7, 25-18)
Area 16 at Covenant Christian
Finals
Thurs., Oct. 13, 3:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A
Area 1 at St. Luke’s Episcopal HS
Finals
St. Luke’s Episcopal 3, Mobile Christian (32-8) 1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-21)
Area 2 at Houston Academy
Finals
Houston Academy 3, Ashford 0
Area 3 at Straughn HS
Finals
Opp (8-11) 3, Straughn (13-11) 0
Area 4 at Thomasville HS
Finals
Thomasville (19-13) 3, Excel 0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-12)
Area 5 at Sumter Central HS
Finals
Sumter Central (4-5) 3, Greensboro (3-7) 1 (25-23, 21-25, 20-28, 25-20)
Area 6 at Prattville Christian
Finals
Prattville Christian (32-1) 3, Alabama Christian (14-22) 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-19)
Area 7 at Indian Springs School
Finals
Thur., Oct. 13, 7 p.m.
Area 8 at Walter Wellborn HS
Finals
Walter Wellborn (25-13) 3, Saks (3-30) 0 (25-7, 25-7, 25-6)
Area 9 at Carbon Hill HS
Finals
Winfield 3, Carbon Hill 2
Area 10 at Ohatchee HS
Finals
Ohatchee (39-10) 3, Piedmont (17-12) 0 (25-8, 25-21, 25-16)
Area 11 at Westbrook Christian
Finals
Westbrook Christian (35-5) 3, Glencoe (21-23) 0 (25-16, 25-15, 31-29)
Area 12 at Danville HS
Finals
Danville (55-16) 3, Vinemont 0 (25-10, 25-11, 25-10)
Area 13 at Susan Moore HS
Finals
Susan Moore (46-8) 3, Brindlee Mountain (13-28) 0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-13)
Area 14 Plainview HS
Finals
Plainview (58-10) 3, Geraldine (29-15) 0 (25-9, 25-`3, 25-16)
Area 15 at Colbert Heights HS
Finals
Colbert Heights (24-23) 3, Colbert County (9-22) 0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-23)
Area 16 at Lauderdale County HS
Finals
Lauderdale County (30-22) 3, Clements (16-20) 0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-23)
CLASS 4A
Area 8 at Munford HS
Finals
Munford (29-14) 3, Handley (7-15) 0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-18)
CLASS 5A
Area 1 at Gulf Shores HS
Finals
Gulf Shores (42-15) 3, Elberta (5-8) 0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-9)
Area 2 at Faith Academy
Finals
Faith Academy (24-17) 3, Citronelle (4-8) 0 (25-9, 25-6, 25-7)
Area 3 at Providence Christian
Finals
Providence Christian (18-23) 3, Rehobeth (32-12) 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-21)
Area 4 at Brewbaker Tech HS
Finals
Brewbaker Tech 3, Charles Henderson 0
Area 5 at Beauregard HS
Finals
Beauregard (27-8) 3, Eufaula (17-9) 0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-18)
Area 6 Montgomery Academy
Finals
Montgomery Academy (37-6) 3, Demopolis (8-15) 0 (25-8, 25-4, 25-8)
Area 7 at Elmore County HS
Finals
Elmore County (26-12) 3, Marbury (7-12) 0 (25-8, 25-13, 25-5)
Area 8 at Sylacauga HS
Finals
Jemison 3, Sylacauga 2
Area 9 at Birmingham CrossPlex
Finals
Ramsay 3, Pleasant Grove 0
Area 10 at Jasper HS
Finals
Jasper (49-9) 3, Hayden (31-13) 1 (21-25, 25-11, 25-13, 25-19)
Area 11 at Leeds HS
Finals
Springville 3, Leeds 0
Area 12 at Alexandria HS
Finals
Alexandria (40-12) 3, Southside-Gadsden (34-25) 1 (25-19, 26-24, 22-25, 25-15)
Area 13 at Douglas HS
Finals
Boaz (35-25) 3, Douglas (28-12) 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16)
Area 14 at Arab HS
Finals
Arab (44-12) 3, Guntersville (39-19) 1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-18)
Area 15 at Lawrence County HS
Finals
Brewer (40-14) 3, Lawrence County (33-21) 1 (25-16, 19-25, 25-20, 25-19)
Area 16 at Westminster Christian
Finals
Westminster Christian (40-9) 3, Madison Academy (30-21) 0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-10)
CLASS 7A
Area 1 at St. Paul’s Episcopal HS
Finals
Baker vs. St. Paul’s Episcopal, Wed., Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m. – no score reported
Area 2 at McGill-Toolen Catholic HS
Finals
McGill-Toolen Catholic (45-8) 3, Fairhope (19-16) 0 (25-5, 25-17, 25-15)
Area 3 at Enterprise HS
Finals
Enterprise (39-7) 3, Dothan (18-17) 0 (25-15, 25-7, 25-12)
Area 4 at Auburn HS
Finals
Auburn (21-13) 3, Central-Phenix City (14-7) 0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-15)
Area 5 at Vestavia Hills HS
Finals
Hoover 3, Vestavia Hills 2 (25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 14-25, 19-17)
Finals
Area 6 at Spain Park HS
Finals
Spain Park 3, Oak Mountain 0
Area 7 at Bob Jones HS
Finals
Bob Jones (46-6) 3, James Clemens (18-34) 0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-13)
Area 8 at Huntsville HS
Finals
Huntsville (33-11) 3, Sparkman (43-11) 0 (25-13, 25-15, 26-24)
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Google Allows Donald Trump https://digitalalabamanews.com/google-allows-donald-trump/
Synopsis
Google said Truth Social has since been updated to comply with its policies barring objectionable posts, and has built in effective systems for reporting and removing unwanted content as well as blocking abusers.
Reuters
Donald Trump
Google on Wednesday said it has allowed Donald Trump‘s Truth Social app in its Play Store for Android devices — after receiving assurances the app would meet the platform’s standards for moderating harmful content.
The app — which Trump launched after being barred from Twitter over the 2021 Capitol riot — had been kept out of Google’s store over its lack of moderation tools, including for violent threats.
Google said Truth Social has since been updated to comply with its policies barring objectionable posts, and has built in effective systems for reporting and removing unwanted content as well as blocking abusers.
“Apps may be distributed on Google Play provided they comply with our developer guidelines, including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those that incite violence,” a Google spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.
Developers can make Android apps available elsewhere on the internet, but the Play Store is a main source of content for users.
A Truth Social app for Android devices is available on the social network’s website and other venues that may not have Google’s content moderation rules, according to the Alphabet-owned tech titan.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with Google, and we’re glad they helped us to finally bring Truth Social to all Americans, regardless of what device they use,” Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) chief executive said in a released statement.
TMTG early this month announced today that a Truth Social app was freshly available for people in the United States who use Samsung smartphones, which are powered by customized Android software and have their own app shop.
Samsung’s share of the US smartphone market is about 30 percent, according to industry analysis firm Counterpoint.
A version of Truth Social tailored for Apple mobile devices is available at the App Store, which also enforces rules about content moderation.
– Trump take on Twitter – Google said in August that it had notified Truth Social that its app violated Play policies and required “effective systems for moderating user-generated content” in order to be offered on the platform.
The online giant said at the time that Trump’s app broke rules barring content that incites physical threats and violence, but was working on addressing those issues.
Truth Social was conceived as Trump’s answer to Twitter — from which he was ejected in January 2021, days after a mob of his supporters refusing to accept his election defeat to Joe Biden stormed the US Capitol.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has made a $44-billion deal to buy Twitter, has said he would likely allow the former US leader back on the platform. After trying to walk away, Musk now says the troubled deal is back on and could close by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, a merger between TMTG and a blank check company named Digital World Acquisition Corp — intended to bring in fresh funding for the Trump platform — has yet to take place. Digital World shares were up more than seven percent to just over $17 in after-market trades in the wake of the Play Store news.
– QAnon – Excluded from major social networks, Trump has regained only a fraction of his followers on Truth Social.
Trump has 4.18 followers at Truth Social, compared to the 88.8 million he had on Twitter and the 35.4 million he had on Facebook before being booted for encouraging real-world violence such as the deadly attack on the US Capitol.
Truth Social has become an online haven for QAnon fans to share conspiracy theories such as prominent members of the Democratic Party being involved with satanists or pedophiles. Misinformation watchdog NewsGuard has reported finding scores of Truth Social accounts sharing QAnon content, with Trump among those resharing posts.
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Sarah Matthews: Trump Is A Threat To Democracy https://digitalalabamanews.com/sarah-matthews-trump-is-a-threat-to-democracy/
Greg Nash
Sarah Matthews, former White House deputy press secretary, testifies during a House Jan. 6 committee hearing on Thursday, July 21, 2022 to focus on former President Trump’s actions during the insurrection.
Former deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews on Wednesday said former President Trump is a threat to democracy and called out his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
“I do think that he poses a threat to democracy. I think that January 6th showed that, and that was part of my reason for resigning,” Matthews said of the former president to host Jake Tapper on “CNN Tonight.” Matthews resigned from the White House on the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“He failed to act that day. He had every opportunity to call off the mob and condemn the violence. We’ve seen from taped testimony from several of my colleagues that folks were pleading with him to do that. And he didn’t ever pick up the phone once,” Matthews said.
Matthews testified in July before the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, saying that Trump greenlit the rioters by tweeting to criticize then-Vice President Mike Pence for not rejecting the Electoral College vote in the 2020 election.
“Furthermore than just January 6th, he’s continued to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him with zero evidence of that. And I think that does pose a threat to our democracy,” Matthews said in the CNN interview.
She posited that some members of her party “know better” but stick by Trump’s election claims in order to “stay in the good graces of Trump world,” while other election deniers “truly are detached from reality.”
On CNN Wednesday, Matthews said she felt circumstances throughout her tenure in the Trump White House built up in a “slow burn” to her resignation, but that she felt spurred to make the decision when Trump in a video on Jan. 6 told his supporters that he loved them and called them “very special.”
“That was really the moment for me when I knew that I was going to resign,” Matthews said.
She said she’s hopeful that speaking out to say “Donald Trump is lying to the American people about the 2020 election” will encourage others to reject the former president’s lies from within the Republican party.
“I think that the more people that are willing to stand up and speak the truth will save the Republican party, but I’m not encouraged by the direction that it’s headed right now,” Matthews said.
The Jan. 6 committee is set to hold a public hearing Thursday, possibly its last.
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Durham Inquiry Trial: FBI Wanted To Suspend Analyst Who Interviewed Steele Source
Durham Inquiry Trial: FBI Wanted To Suspend Analyst Who Interviewed Steele Source https://digitalalabamanews.com/durham-inquiry-trial-fbi-wanted-to-suspend-analyst-who-interviewed-steele-source/
October 12, 2022 10:34 PM
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia —The FBI’s internal investigation unit sought to discipline and suspend the FBI analyst who interviewed Igor Danchenko in January 2017 and who was special counsel John Durham’s first witness this week in the false statements trial against the main source for British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited anti-Trump dossier, new court testimony revealed.
FBI supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten, who disclosed Wednesday that Durham informed him in 2021 that he was a “subject” of the special counsel’s criminal review of the Trump-Russia investigation, confirmed that the FBI had recommended he receive a suspension due to his actions as a member first of the Crossfire Hurricane team and then of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between then-candidate Donald Trump and the Russian government.
Durham said the FBI’s inspection division investigated Auten’s conduct and recommended that he be suspended. “That is being appealed,” Auten countered from the witness stand.
Auten had been referred by FBI Director Christopher Wray to the Office of Professional Responsibility for disciplinary action following the December 2019 release of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse. Wray has said those proceedings were slowed down to cooperate with Durham’s criminal investigation.
Auten was the “Supervisory Intel Agent” in Horowitz’s report and is mentioned 106 times by the internal watchdog. The FBI analyst repeatedly downplayed his involvement in the FISA process to obtain search authority to snoop on onetime Trump campaign aide Carter Page, who was never charged with any wrongdoing, admitting only that he reviewed the Page FISA on an “ad hoc basis” and reviewed the application’s footnotes.
Durham contended that Auten’s refusal to be completely honest about the full extent of his involvement in the Page FISAs was one of the reasons he was recommended for suspension, but Auten disputed that characterization. Durham seemed openly frustrated with Auten’s testimony about how dossier claims were used in the application for surveillance, but the FBI analyst insisted, “I wasn’t the one who carried it over into the FISA application.”
FBI OFFERED STEELE UP TO $1 MILLION IF HE COULD PROVE DOSSIER CLAIMS
The FBI analyst briefly discussed Horowitz’s report, which Durham described as “scathing,” with the FBI analyst using much softer language. Auten noted that “the report was quite extensive” and detailed “quite a number of errors and omissions.” Auto added: “I believe the [Office of Inspector General] described [the errors] as significant.”
Horowitz’s report undermined the Steele dossier claims, and the watchdog criticized the DOJ and the FBI for at least 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to the FISA warrants against Page and for the bureau’s “central and essential” reliance on Steele’s dossier.
John Durham and Igor Danchenko.
AP
Auten, who interviewed Danchenko in early 2017 and was there when the Justice Department set up a partial immunity agreement with the Steele source, was also among the FBI employees who interviewed Steele overseas in early October 2016 as the FBI sought more details on the dossier. Auten revealed the FBI had offered Steele an incentive of up to $1 million if he could prove the allegations of collusion in his dossier, but the FBI analyst said the former MI6 agent was unable to corroborate the claims. Steele also declined to provide the identity of his sources, including Danchenko.
The FBI analyst circulated a February 2017 intelligence memo to top FBI officials about the Danchenko interview he had conducted a month prior, but Horowitz said it “did not describe the inconsistencies” from the FBI interview in January 2017.
The FBI soon made Danchenko a paid confidential human source starting in March 2017 through October 2020, as revealed by Durham in court filings. Horowitz said FBI interviews with Danchenko “raised significant questions about the reliability of the Steele election reporting.”
During his Wednesday court testimony, Auten agreed with Danchenko’s defense lawyer, Danny Onorato, that it was “scary” to be told that he had been named a subject of Durham’s investigation during his first meeting with the special counsel team in late July 2021. The FBI analyst claimed that when he had met with Horowitz’s investigators, it had been as a “witness” and not a “subject.” Auten said he understood the term “subject” to be “somewhere between a witness and a target” of an investigation.
The FBI analyst added that he was not directly threatened with possible prosecution but said that is understood to be a possibility when you are the subject of a criminal investigation. Auten said he had never been the subject of an investigation prior to that point. The FBI analyst said he ended up meeting with Durham’s investigators three or four times total, including twice last week.
The dossier was created after Steele was hired by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which was itself hired by Perkins Coie through Marc Elias, the general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. Steele hired Danchenko.
According to Durham, Danchenko anonymously sourced a fabricated claim about Trump 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort to Charles Dolan, a Clinton ally who spent years, including 2016, doing work with Russian businesses and the Russian government.
Durham’s indictment also said Danchenko lied to the FBI about a phone call he claimed he received from Sergei Millian, a Belarus-born U.S. citizen and businessman who the Steele source had said told him about a conspiracy of cooperation between Trump and the Russians — which the special counsel said is false.
Auten testified Wednesday that he believed Danchenko should have handed over to the FBI relevant emails he had sent to Millian and exchanged with Dolan but said the Russian lawyer did not do so.
Shortly after being referred to the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility, Auten was involved with the bureau’s inquiry into Hunter Biden, the adult son of now-President Joe Biden, with his August 2020 analysis being used in part to justify the decision to “shut down investigative activity.”
Wray said this summer that he found the whistleblower claims that the FBI had improperly labeled the younger Biden evidence as disinformation to be “deeply troubling.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Danchenko’s October trial comes after Democratic lawyer Michael Sussmann was found not guilty in May on a false statements charge of concealing his representation of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign from the FBI when he pushed since-debunked Trump-Russia collusion claims about Alfa-Bank to the bureau in 2016. Testimony during the trial revealed Hillary Clinton personally signed off on her campaign sharing the Alfa-Bank claims with the media.
Horowitz said in 2019 that Auten “told us that he factored the Alfa-Bank/Trump server allegations into his assessment of Steele’s reporting.”
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Moore And Cox Shake Hands Then Gloves Come Off In Lone Debate
Moore And Cox Shake Hands, Then Gloves Come Off In Lone Debate https://digitalalabamanews.com/moore-and-cox-shake-hands-then-gloves-come-off-in-lone-debate/
Maryland gubernatorial hopefuls Wes Moore and Dan Cox put mutual contempt on display Wednesday in an hour-long debate that highlighted how the majority political parties developed radically different views of our country’s problems and where the nation should be headed.
They clashed over each other’s credibility, the definition of freedom, and their stances on abortion, crime, election integrity, LGBTQ rights and the existence of a racial wealth gap.
The sole scheduled confrontation in a lopsided campaign, the debate offered Cox a rare chance to pierce the air of inevitability around Moore. Moore, the Democratic nominee who is ahead in the polls by 32 percentage points, sought to motivate voters in the deeply blue state to show up and cast a ballot by painting Cox as extreme.
Cox, a far-right, conservative state delegate endorsed by former president Donald Trump, had the most at stake heading into the exchange. Moore, a best-selling author and former head of one of the country’s largest poverty-fighting organizations, holds a commanding fundraising lead with four weeks remaining until Election Day.
The debate, which began and ended with the two men shaking hands, was often contentious and at times aggressive.
In a series of sharp exchanges, Cox called Moore’s efforts to close the racial wealth gap a “racist” transfer of resources, and Moore labeled Cox “an extremist election-denier.”
Cox called Moore a “phony,” claiming that his book “The Other Wes Moore” was full of passages that were “completely false.” Moore has previously fended off claims he misconstrued whether he was born in Baltimore. He later said Cox, who has claimed the 2020 presidential election was “stolen,” was a candidate with “dangerous and divisive” policies.
Some of the sharpest divisions came as the men discussed abortion: Moore said Maryland should be a “safe haven” for health-care decisions made between a woman and her doctor, and Cox said he was “pro-life” and would “ensure that everyone is safe and that women and children and the unborn all have equal protection and they are supported by our laws.”
Both candidates tried to harness the popularity of Gov. Larry Hogan (R) by drawing favorable comparisons to the term-limited governor. Hogan has not given an endorsement in the race, but he has called Cox a “QAnon whack job” whom he doesn’t see fit to tour the governor’s office, let alone lead it.
Yet Cox tried to align himself with Hogan during the debate, saying he’s worked on the governor’s crime task force and stood with him against tax increases.
Asked by a moderator to give Hogan a letter grade, Cox awarded an “A,” with the exception of how the governor handled pandemic restrictions. Moore pointed out that Cox tried to impeach Hogan over those restrictions.
“He stood alone,” Moore said. “Even his Republican colleagues did not do that.”
Moore evaded the letter-grade question, offering Hogan an “incomplete” but praising him for “being so early and full-throated about the danger of this MAGA movement.”
Moore went on to say that the economy has not improved fast enough for enough people. He said that as governor, he would try to make sure people have the right skills to apply for open jobs, to focus on public education that values more than college acceptance, and to expand access to affordable child care so that women who want to rejoin the workforce have an easier route.
Cox shot back that Moore’s proposals are costly, predicting: “You are going to see tax increases like never before. The tolls are going to rise.”
As he did several times during the hour-long debate, Moore responded, “That is not true.”
Cox also accused Moore of supporting “transgender indoctrination in kindergarten,” which Moore said is not something he has ever said.
Pressed by a moderator to explain what he thinks is happening in elementary schools, Cox said he believes kindergartners see a book called “Gender Queer” that depicts acts “so disgusting” he could not describe them on television. The book, which has become a target of the conservative-dominated parent’s rights movement across the country, is a memoir by Maia Kobabe about growing up asexual and nonbinary.
Moore, in turn, went on to say Cox’s proposals to reduce income taxes and business taxes would eliminate the state’s prime source of revenue and bankrupt the state. “That’s not an ideological position,” he said. “That’s math.”
Cox has not detailed the extent of his tax cuts, but he broadly proposed eliminating or reducing them.
The candidates disagreed over issues as fundamental as the legacy of racism and wealth in this country.
When a moderator asked the candidates about reparations and how to deal with the toll of inflation that, given the long-documented racial wealth gap, falls heavier on many Black families, Cox rejected the premise of the question and called his opponent “racist” for suggesting “reparative actions,” such as fixing the state’s procurement system and addressing discriminatory practices in home appraisals.
Cox said the only wealth gap that deserves reparations is one that was created by lockdowns during the pandemic. He accused Moore, who has made equity a pillar of his campaign pitch, of “transferring wealth away from people because of their skin color. That is racist; it’s wrong.”
Moore, who is Black and led a poverty-fighting nonprofit called the Robin Hood Foundation, shot back with a touch of exasperation.
“The impacts of racial disparities did not start two years ago, Delegate Cox,” he said. “We are watching something that has been a long-term challenge that our state has got to wrestle with and address. The fact that we have an 8 to 1 racial wealth gap in our state is real. It’s not pretend, and it’s not because one group is working eight times harder.”
Cox, who unsuccessfully challenged plans to count mail-in ballots early, again refused to say whether he planned to accept the results of the election in November, saying to do so would be akin to declaring a surgery a success before it has taken place. He noted that the state affords candidates the right to question an election and said he intended to uphold that process.
Cox has struggled to pivot from the far-right stances that consolidated GOP support in the primary. Cross-party appeal is critical for Republicans in Maryland, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1.
Meanwhile, Moore, who is making his first bid for public office, said after winning the primary that he wants general election voters not just to cast a ballot against Cox, but also to support Moore’s vision for the state.
As a political newcomer, Moore is still introducing himself to voters — particularly the disaffected Republicans and independents he is wooing. He had accumulated $1.3 million in his coffers as of late August, outraising Cox by a 10-1 margin.
Cox, who has criticized Moore for not agreeing to more debates, said after the debate that he hopes his opponent’s campaign will agree to more.
Asked if he wished to share the stage with Cox again, Moore smiled and said: “I think I’m good.”
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U.S. And Mexico Reach Agreement On Plans For Venezuelan Migrants
U.S. And Mexico Reach Agreement On Plans For Venezuelan Migrants https://digitalalabamanews.com/u-s-and-mexico-reach-agreement-on-plans-for-venezuelan-migrants/
The Department of Homeland Security announced measures Wednesday aimed at reducing the number of Venezuelan migrants arriving at the southern border, a record influx that has fueled partisan divisions over U.S. immigration policies.
Biden officials announced the plans after reaching an agreement with Mexico that will allow U.S. authorities to send some Venezuelan migrants back across the border, while expanding opportunities for others to seek legal entry through an application process abroad.
The arrangement is modeled after a Biden administration program that has allowed nearly 70,000 Ukrainians to enter the United States over the past six months with a legal status known as humanitarian parole. Applicants must have a person or organization willing to sponsor them financially, then await authorization to fly to the United States, rather than arriving at the southern border.
Mexico, in an effort to discourage Venezuelans from heading directly to the border, will agree to accept the return of Venezuelan migrants under Title 42, a pandemic measure ostensibly designed to protect public health.
“Effective immediately, Venezuelans who enter the United States between ports of entry, without authorization, will be returned to Mexico,” DHS said in a statement. “At the same time, the United States and Mexico are reinforcing their coordinated enforcement operations to target human smuggling organizations and bring them to justice.”
Migrants who enter Panama or Mexico illegally will be ineligible for the U.S. humanitarian program, U.S. officials said. Applicants must clear health screenings and security vetting, but those approved through the online process will have a fast-track to U.S. work authorization.
DHS officials said the measures will “help ease pressure on the cities and states” that have been receiving the migrants. With a record number of Venezuelan migrants illegally entering the United States across the southern border in recent months, administration officials have been scrambling to head off a humanitarian and logistical emergency.
The Republican governors of Arizona and Texas have sent thousands of border-crossers — mostly Venezuelans — to northern U.S. cities in recent months.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said his city’s shelter system has been overwhelmed by the influx, declaring a crisis and a state of emergency that is straining finances.
U.S. officials said they will allow 24,000 Venezuelans to reach the United States under the terms of the accord. But that number is dwarfed by the nearly 160,000 who have been taken into U.S. custody along the southern border over the past year, raising doubts about the program’s capacity to redirect Venezuelans to formal channels.
Authorities said they will allow Venezuelans who are already in Mexico to apply for entry into the United States under the humanitarian program. But new arrivals to the country will be detained by Mexican immigration authorities and possibly deported, officials said.
Deporting Venezuelans from the United States and Mexico has been difficult because the Venezuelan government has frequently refused to allow deportation flights into the country. Mexico has reluctantly accepted U.S. demands on Title 42 since the policy was implemented in March 2020. But it previously would not accept Venezuelans largely because of the deportation challenges.
Mexican officials say the program will work only if the United States agrees to accept a significant number of Venezuelans under the visa program, so that migrants believe they have a viable alternative to transiting through Central America.
“We will be watching the program to make sure the numbers are sufficient,” said a Mexican official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the agreement.
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday announced an increase in the allotment of work visas, adding 65,000 H2-B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers. Of those, 20,000 visas will be reserved for people from Central America and Haiti, according to the department.
Administration officials familiar with the plan said it has been contingent on getting Mexico to agree to take back more migrants expelled by U.S. authorities using Title 42.
Mexico has limited the number of migrants it receives, citing its shelter capacity constraints, and it has allowed the United States to return relatively few Venezuelans.
Roughly 1,000 Venezuelans have been crossing the U.S. southern border each day in recent weeks, according to the latest available data from Customs and Border Protection.
One official familiar with the program, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss it, expressed skepticism that the plan would be successful if Mexico agrees to the return of only a few hundred migrants per day at the border.
U.S. authorities have virtually no ability to send Venezuelans back to their home country on deportation flights because the United States does not recognize Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as the country’s legitimate president.
Venezuelans who aren’t “expelled” to Mexico under Title 42 would continue to be allowed to enter the United States. If the new legal program generates backlogs, some applicants may not be willing to wait and attempt to enter illegally.
Nearly 7 million Venezuelans have left their homeland since 2013, according to the latest U.N. estimates. Many settled in Colombia, Peru and other South American nations, but others have opted to make the journey north to the United States in search of better security and economic opportunities.
The Biden administration attempted to end the Trump-era Title 42 public health policy but was blocked in federal court in May. Critics said the agreement with Mexico appeared to be an indication of the administration’s dependency on Title 42.
“The contours of the Humanitarian Parole Program for Venezuelans have not been presented to us,” said Thomas Cartwright, an immigrant advocate with the group Witness at the Border, “but we are extremely disturbed by the apparent acceptance, codification, and expansion of the use of Title 42, an irrelevant health order, as a cornerstone of border policy, one that expunges the legal right to asylum.”
Sieff reported from Mexico City.
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U.K Markets Whipsaw As Bank Of England Sets End To Bailout
U.K Markets Whipsaw As Bank Of England Sets End To Bailout https://digitalalabamanews.com/u-k-markets-whipsaw-as-bank-of-england-sets-end-to-bailout/
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The central bank confirmed it will let a debt-buying program expire, worrying investors about the stability of the market for government bonds.
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Oct. 12, 2022Updated 10:08 p.m. ET
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Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, was hit with a new bout of markets turmoil today.Credit…Yui Mok/Agence France-Presse, via Pool
“You’ve got three days left.”
The British pound whipsawed and selling of U.K. government bonds intensified on Wednesday after another head-snapping turn of events that left investors confused and worried about what’s coming next. Yields of 30-year government bonds, known as gilts, hit 5 percent, near the levels that forced the Bank of England to intervene in markets two weeks ago.
The Bank of England muddied the waters. The central bank spent much of Tuesday trying to ease investors’ fears about the scheduled end on Friday of its bond-buying program, including by suggesting that it would continue to buy gilts beyond this week, according to The Financial Times.
But then Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, warned in a speech — after the bond market had closed — that the gilt repurchase program would definitively end on Friday. He bluntly told British pension funds looking to sell gilt holdings to raise collateral, “You’ve got three days left.”
(On Wednesday, the Bank of England firmly restated that the bond-buying operation will end on Friday. “The governor confirmed this position yesterday and it has been made absolutely clear in contact with the banks at senior levels,” the central bank said in a statement.)
You can imagine what happened next. The pound sank immediately after his speech, falling below $1.10, though it recovered on Wednesday. Yields on 30-year U.K. debt shot up when trading opened, approaching the levels that prompted the Bank of England to gin up the bond-buying operation in the first place.
The Bank of England’s credibility is now in question. Market commentators swiftly panned the comments by Bailey (who, in fairness, may not have been at his best — he said he had been up for over 24 hours watching the markets). John Authers of Bloomberg Opinion called it “an all-time central banking gaffe,” while the research group CrossBorder Capital tweeted that Bailey had just delivered the “shortest suicide note in history.”
Any loss of confidence in the central bank removes yet another sliver of hope for British investors, who have already been bewildered by the government’s insistence on broad tax cuts to bolster economic growth. (The I.M.F. reiterated its concern that those unfunded cuts would juice inflation, forcing the Bank of England to keep raising interest rates.) And it comes as Britain’s economy continues to sputter.
Britain’s woes are spilling over into other markets as well. The prices of bonds tied to collateralized loan obligations, investment vehicles that buy loans made to junk-rated corporate borrowers, have fallen in recent weeks as British pension funds sell off their holdings to raise cash. That is making life difficult for the likes of private equity firms, which rely on C.L.O.s to fund leveraged buyouts — and, investors worry, potentially other parts of the market that haven’t come to the fore just yet.
HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING
President Biden turns up the heat on Saudi Arabia. He vowed yesterday to impose “consequences” on the kingdom after it teamed up with Russia for a huge cut in oil production. That may mean reducing arms sales. It’s not clear that Riyadh is scared: Saudi Arabia reportedly went ahead with the cut despite private warnings from Washington, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Gig workers could get a boost from the White House. The Labor Department proposed making it easier to classify a company’s workers as employees instead of independent contractors, potentially entitling them to a minimum wage and overtime. Shares in DoorDash, Lyft and Uber all fell on the news.
Peloton’s ex-C.E.O. concedes pressure on his stock borrowing. John Foley, who left the embattled home-fitness company last month, faced margin calls from Goldman Sachs on loans he borrowed against his Peloton holdings, according to The Wall Street Journal. Foley didn’t elaborate on his borrowing but told The Journal, “This was not a fun personal balance-sheet reset.”
TikTok faces questions over gifts meant for Syrian refugees. A BBC investigation into refugees begging for money on the video platform found that they received only around 30 percent of the money sent via the company’s gifts offering. TikTok said it would investigate “exploitative begging” but would not say what cut it takes of gifts.
Musk vs. Bremmer
Elon Musk found yet another adversary yesterday, this time in Ian Bremmer, the well-connected political scientist who has the ear of C.E.O.s and policymakers. Bremmer, the founder of the political risk firm Eurasia Group, wrote in his latest newsletter that Musk told him he’d spoken directly with President Vladimir Putin about what it would take to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Musk denied Bremmer’s account, adding to the fireworks.
What Bremmer initially published: According to Bremmer, Musk said Putin made three stipulations for ending the war: Crimea remains Russian; Ukraine accepts a form of neutrality and demilitarizes; and Ukraine recognizes Russia’s annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Musk posted a similar list on Twitter last week and was subsequently slammed by Ukrainian officials.
Musk denied Bremmer’s account. “I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space,” he tweeted.
Bremmer denied Musk’s denial. “elon musk told me he had spoken with putin and the kremlin directly about ukraine. he also told me what the kremlin’s red lines were,” Bremmer tweeted.
Does it matter? Yes, Bremmer argued in his newsletter, where he also eschews capital letters: “given that elon musk now looks increasingly likely to buy twitter, at which point he’ll reinstate the former president, you’ll have those same views with trump and his full political base behind it, potentially leading the united states to become fundamentally divided on the issue.” Musk in his last tweet on the matter was a little more personal: “Nobody should trust Bremmer.”
Blaming the Fed
Top economic officials are gathering this week in Washington for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Atop the agenda: How to bring down inflation and revive a slowing global economy to ensure the turmoil doesn’t mushroom into the next global financial crisis.
Look for central banks, and specifically the Fed, to get some of the blame for economic volatility, which has spilled into the financial markets. Yesterday, economists at the I.M.F. said in its World Economic Outlook report that the Fed’s aggressive efforts to crush domestic inflation, primarily by rapidly raising interest rates, had turbocharged the dollar’s value, increasing the odds of an international debt crisis. That follows a United Nations agency warning that the Fed’s interest rate policy would ultimately deprive developing nations of $360 billion in “future income,” and “signal more trouble ahead.” Josep Borrell, a foreign policy chief for the E.U., was just as blunt, saying U.S. monetary policy risks creating “a world recession.”
With criticism mounting, Vincent Reinhart, a former top Fed economist who is now at Dreyfus and Mellon, said “it’s very possible that the view that it’s all the Fed’s fault could emerge as the consensus by Friday.”
The big worry: The Fed could be pressured to rein in its inflation-fighting efforts, even if tomorrow’s Consumer Price Index report shows tough measures are still needed to stabilize prices. It puts the Fed in a tough — and possibly misunderstood — spot, particularly as supply-chain disruptions and a global energy crisis continue to roil the global economy and undermine the Fed’s inflation-fighting efforts. “Central bankers around the globe have a huge set of headaches,” said David Wilcox, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute and the director of U.S. economic research at Bloomberg Economics. “But are those headaches substantially Fed-driven in origin? The answer to that is no.”
“The way I think about labor hoarding is, it has option value.”
— Benjamin Friedrich, an associate professor of strategy at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, on the phenomenon of labor hoarding, and why companies may be inclined to retain employees even if the economy falls into recession.
Moving closer to global rules on crypto controls
A group of financial regulators tasked with preventing globe-spanning financial crises laid out a new framework to regulate crypto yesterday, saying rapid adoption and the recent crash show more oversight is urgently needed. “Crypto-asset markets are fast evolving and could reach a point where they represent a threat to global financial stability due to their scale, structural vulnerabilities and increasing interconnectedness with the traditional financial system,” the Financial Stability Board, a group formed in 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, warned in its report to Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors.
News that underscored the urgency soon followed. BNY Mellon — the U.S.’s oldest bank and one of 30 institutions deemed “global systemically important banks” by the F.S.B. — announced that it had begun acting as a crypto custodian for clients. It’s the first major U.S. bank to go into that business. But it probably won’t be the last, which is why authorities are scrambling to come up with a plan to mitigate ...
A Trump Employee Told The FBI That The Former President Ordered Staff To Move Boxes Of Documents At Mar-A-Lago
A Trump Employee Told The FBI That The Former President Ordered Staff To Move Boxes Of Documents At Mar-A-Lago https://digitalalabamanews.com/a-trump-employee-told-the-fbi-that-the-former-president-ordered-staff-to-move-boxes-of-documents-at-mar-a-lago/
One of Donald Trump‘s employees told FBI agents that the former president had ordered the relocation of boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago before federal agents searched the property, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The source also told NBC News that the FBI obtained security video showing people moving boxes out of a storage room at Trump’s Florida estate.
The Washington Post first reported the employee’s account on Wednesday.
When reached by NBC News, the FBI and Justice Department declined to comment.
The worker’s account offers new details about Trump’s actions before FBI agents executed a search warrant on Aug. 8 to retrieve classified material from Mar-a-Lago.
In response to the Washington Post report, Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich accused the Biden administration of weaponizing law enforcement.
“The Biden administration has weaponized law enforcement and fabricated a Document Hoax in a desperate attempt to retain political power,” Budowich said in a statement to NBC News. “Every other President has been given time and deference regarding the administration of documents, as the President has the ultimate authority to categorize records, and what materials should be classified.”
The revelation about the witness account comes just days after NBC News first reported that Trump attorney Christina Bobb spoke with federal investigators last week and named two other Trump attorneys involved with the case.
Sources previously told NBC News that Bobb, Trump’s then-custodian of record, had signed a letter in June certifying that Trump was in compliance with a grand jury subpoena in May and no longer possessed a trove of documents with classification markings at Mar-a-Lago.
But the witness’ account suggests that the boxes were moved to Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago after the subpoena was issued.
Trump has publicly insinuated without evidence that federal agents planted evidence during their search, which according to the Justice Department unearthed 100 classified, secret and top-secret documents, as well as thousands of other documents belonging to the government.
Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for NBC News, based in Washington.
Zoë Richards is the evening politics reporter for NBC News.
Kristen Welker
contributed
.
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Biden Says He can Beat Donald Trump Again ReutersFGN News
Biden Says He ‘can Beat’ Donald Trump Again – ReutersFGN News https://digitalalabamanews.com/biden-says-he-can-beat-donald-trump-again-reutersfgn-news/
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he was confident he could beat his predecessor Donald Trump in a rematch in 2024 – even though he acknowledged the country could slide back into recession under his direction.
The 79-year-old Democrat was asked if he would announce a run for a second term after November’s midterm elections – and if Trump would be a factor in his decision.
“I believe I can beat Donald Trump again,” Biden replied, though he paused before confirming another tilt to the Oval Office in 2024.
Biden defeated Trump in both the state-by-state “electoral college” and in the popular vote in 2020 – leading to relentless false allegations of widespread voter fraud by the defeated president.
Biden told reporters at a NATO summit in March that he would be happy for Trump to be his opponent again.
Biden’s popularity took a hit last year amid soaring inflation, rising violent crime in cities and a seemingly intractable migrant crisis on the southern border.
But his approval ratings still top the numbers seen in the polls for Trump, who routinely mocks Biden — three years his senior — for his age.
CNN asked Biden what he would say to voters who consider him too old to be reelected.
“Name me a president in recent history who did as much as I did in the first two years. No joke. You may not like what I did, but the vast majority of Americans do. what I did,” Biden replied.
“And so…it’s a question of, can you do the job?” And I believe I can do the job.
In an extensive interview that focused on the war in Ukraine and the Saudi-led oil production cuts that are expected to push gas prices up again, Biden was asked about fears for the economy amid gloomy projections of growth.
Biden played down the likelihood of a recession, but admitted a “mild” slowdown was possible.
“I don’t think there will be a recession. If so, it will be a very mild recession. That is to say, we will go down slightly,” he said.
Trump, 76, came to power during the longest economic expansion in US history, although the economy fell into recession in 2020 as the world grappled with the Covid outbreak -19.
Biden frequently answers questions from the media, but he has held few one-on-one press conferences or television interviews.
He has been more visible recently as he takes to the road to speak about Democratic legislative achievements and criticize “MAGA Republicans” – supporters of former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” program – in the final weeks of the mid-term election campaign.
He also spoke with CBS in September, making headlines for declaring the end of the pandemic and confirming the United States’ commitment to defend Taiwan against Chinese aggression.
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DHS To Expel Illegal Venezuelans Via Trump-Era Border Policy
DHS To Expel Illegal Venezuelans Via Trump-Era Border Policy https://digitalalabamanews.com/dhs-to-expel-illegal-venezuelans-via-trump-era-border-policy/
October 12, 2022 09:28 PM
The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday it will begin expelling illegal immigrants from Venezuela who enter the country from the southern border to Mexico by expanding a Trump-era policy.
In addition to the new push to deport illegal immigrants from Venezuela, which comes through the Trump-era Title 42 policy, the department also unveiled a program that will enable up to 24,000 Venezuelans to get work authorizations to reside in the United States for up to two years.
VENEZUELA LANDSLIDE KILLS AT LEAST 25 PEOPLE WITH 50 MORE MISSING AFTER HEAVY RAINFALL
“Effective immediately, Venezuelans who enter the United States between ports of entry, without authorization, will be returned to Mexico. At the same time, the United States and Mexico are reinforcing their coordinated enforcement operations to target human smuggling organizations and bring them to justice,” the department announced.
Title 42 is a policy that was invoked during the coronavirus pandemic that effectively authorizes the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to send noncitizens pursuing asylum at ports of entry into Mexico.
New: Confirming earlier news reports, @DHSgov announced it will begin expelling Venezuelan migrants to Mexico under a new joint agreement.
The Biden admin will also launch an effort to bring up to 24K Venezuelans migrants with family ties in the U.S. through ports of entry. pic.twitter.com/1Ivw03vU9d
— Suzanne Monyak (@SuzanneMonyak) October 12, 2022
U.S. officials negotiated with Mexico over recent months to accept the Venezuelan illegal immigrants through that policy. Prior to the Wednesday announcement, Venezuelans were not part of the Title 42 expulsions because no other country was accepting them, the Hill reported.
Mexico also announced the agreement but refrained from specifying whether there is a limit on the quantity of Venezuelans it will accept as part of Title 42 expulsions.
“The migrant persons that are in Mexican territory will have to prove they entered Mexico before [Wednesday] to be able to request their orderly access to the United States. Those persons who enter Mexico after [Wednesday] will not be able to present their application from our national territory,” the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry said, per the Hill.
The Biden administration has been dogged by an immigration crisis at the southern border. Last month, the U.S. reached a record-breaking 2 million migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border for the fiscal year.
Republicans such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have blasted the Biden administration’s stewardship of the border.
Coinciding with the expulsion initiative, DHS also emphasized that it was initiating a new program for Venezuelans to enter the U.S. legally. The measure is modeled after the Uniting for Ukraine program, which was intended to welcome refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine into the U.S.
“These actions make clear that there is a lawful and orderly way for Venezuelans to enter the United States, and lawful entry is the only way,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declared.
“Those who attempt to cross the southern border of the United States illegally will be returned to Mexico and will be ineligible for this process in the future. Those who follow the lawful process will have the opportunity to travel safely to the United States and become eligible to work here,” he added.
The DHS laid out several requirements prospective Venezuelans must meet to be eligible for the program.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
They must not have been removed from the U.S. within the past five years or embarked on authorized crossings between ports of entry after the program announcement, must not have “irregularly entered Mexico or Panama,” and are mandated to meet public health requirements.
Top officials between the U.S. and Mexico, including Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, are set to meet Thursday.
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Auburn's Big Men In Big Battle For Starting Spots Playing Time
Auburn's Big Men In Big Battle For Starting Spots, Playing Time https://digitalalabamanews.com/auburns-big-men-in-big-battle-for-starting-spots-playing-time/
AUBURN, Alabama–Bruce Pearl said he likes what he is seeing from his front line guys as his Auburn basketball Tigers prepare for the 2022-23 schedule minus two players at those positions who were NBA first round draft picks.
“The front line guys, it is somebody different every day and I think it is because they are all good,” Pearl said of the candidates to replace Jabari Smith, the 2021-22 national Freshman of the Year, and Walker Kessler, who was the national defensive player of the year.
At center the Tigers return Dylan Cardwell, a 6-11, 256 senior, who was a standout performer on the team’s three-game exhibition tour of Israel in August. They also return 6-10, 245 senior Babatunde “Stretch” Akingbola.
Added to the mix is 6-10, 235 sophomore Johni Broome, a transfer from Morehead State where he was the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Broome was also a standout performer in Israel. Broome was third nationally in blocked shots last season at 3.9 per game while averaging 16 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
“Dylan and Johni are head-to-head,” Pearl said of the competition to win the starting spot held by Kessler. “Stretch is close,” Pearl added. “It is good depth.”
At power forward the Tigers return senior Jaylin Williams, a 6-8, 230 senior left-hander, who has extensive experience. He was a starter as a sophomore before losing his first string spot last year to Smith, the third player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
Williams is dealing with competition from another five-star freshman. This time it is 6-10, 225 Yohan Traore from Tours, France via Dream City Christian School in Arizona.
Pearl said that Williams and Traore are also “head-to-head” in their competition to start.
The only other scholarship forward on the roster is 6-6, 230 Chris Moore, who was less than full speed last year due to a leg problem. Moore won praise from Pearl for his performance in Israel. The junior can play as a small forward/big guard and has guarded power forwards.
“He did have a great summer and there has been some carryover, but he is getting pushed by Lior (Berman), he will be pushed by Al (Flanigan) and we will have Chance (Westry) back in a few weeks so it will probably be a moving target,” Pearl said of the small forward role. “At the end of the summer Chris was right there to have a chance at a starting position.
Westry, a 6-6 freshman, is recovering from surgery he underwent last week. Flanigan, a 6-6 senior, is a multi-year starter going into his senior season. He is back at practice this week after being out since late September for what Pearl said were personal reasons. Flanigan suffered a partially torn Achilles in the summer of 2021, but returned to action in December.
In addition to the three exhibition games in Israel the Tigers will play another one vs. UAH on Nov. 2nd at Neville Arena. Before that happens the Tigers will have a private scrimmage when UAB visits Auburn’s homecourt.
Pearl said the scrimmage will be a “barometer” of where the Tigers are as a team. The coach said the Tigers are at the point at which they need to play games vs. outside competition.
Pearl said UAB, an NCAA Tournament team last season out of the American Athletic Conference, is good enough to finish “seventh or eighth” in the 14-team SEC. “I think that is a compliment to a team out of that league because I think that is how good they are,” the coach said. “Last year we went up there and it was a very good barometer of where we were at that time.”
The Tigers, the defending SEC regular season champions, play their season opener on Nov. 7th at home vs. George Mason.
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Reuters US Domestic News Summary | Law-Order https://digitalalabamanews.com/reuters-us-domestic-news-summary-law-order-3/
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
U.S. home heating bills expected to surge this winter -EIA
U.S. consumers can expect to pay up to 28% more to heat their homes this winter than last year due to surging fuel costs and slightly colder weather, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected in its winter fuels outlook on Wednesday. Nearly half of U.S. households rely on natural gas for heat, with the average winter heating cost expected to rise to $931, up by 28% from last year, EIA said.
New York’s gun law remains in effect as court gives more time for arguments
New York’s new gun law will remain in effect for now after a federal appeals court on Wednesday agreed to temporarily reverse a lower court’s order blocking the law’s central provisions while a legal challenge by a gun-owners’ rights group proceeds. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City reversed the temporary restraining order issued last week by U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby while an appeal filed by New York’s government was heard by a three-judge motions panel.
Casino tycoon Wynn defeats U.S. lawsuit over Chinese agent claims
Casino magnate Steve Wynn cannot be ordered to register with the U.S. Department of Justice as a foreign agent of China, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., said on Wednesday. The Justice Department in May sued for a court order forcing Wynn, the former CEO of Wynn Casinos, to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Officials alleged that Wynn lobbied then-U.S. President Donald Trump on China’s behalf in 2017. Wynn’s attorneys denied that he was ever an agent of the Chinese government.
Former Trump employee tells FBI Trump ordered Mar-a-Lago boxes to be moved -report
A former employee of Donald Trump has told federal agents the former president asked for boxes of records to be moved within his Florida residence after receiving a government subpoena demanding their return, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The testimony of the key witness, coupled with surveillance footage the Justice Department also obtained, represent some of the strongest known evidence to date of possible obstruction of justice by the former Republican president.
Biden’s national security plan takes aim at China, Russia
The White House rolled out a long-delayed national security strategy on Wednesday that seeks to contain China’s rise while reemphasizing the importance of working with allies to tackle challenges confronting democratic nations. The 48-page document, which was delayed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, includes no major shifts in thinking and introduces no major new foreign policy doctrines. Instead, it highlights the view that U.S. leadership is the key to overcoming global threats like climate change and the rise of authoritarianism.
Alex Jones must pay Sandy Hook families nearly $1 billion for hoax claims, jury says
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay at least $965 million in damages to numerous families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting for falsely claiming they were actors who faked the tragedy, a Connecticut jury said on Wednesday. The verdict, which came after three weeks of testimony in a state court in Waterbury, Connecticut, far outstripped the $49 million Jones was ordered to pay in August by a Texas jury in a similar case brought by two other Sandy Hook parents.
Trump loses bid to delay rape accuser’s lawsuit ahead of deposition
Donald Trump on Wednesday lost a bid to delay a defamation lawsuit brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll after he denied having raped her, ahead of a deposition of the former U.S. president scheduled for Oct. 19. Carroll sued Trump in November 2019, five months after he denied raping her in the mid-1990s in a Manhattan department store dressing room. Trump said “she’s not my type.”
U.S. Treasury probing misuse of federal funds for DeSantis’s migrant flights
The U.S. Treasury is investigating whether Florida Governor Ron DeSantis improperly used federal funds to pay for flights transporting migrants from Texas to Massachusetts, the department confirmed in a letter to U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.
The Republican governor took credit for flying about 50 migrants last month to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts, in a move intended to draw more attention to the rise in crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
Mexico says tackling migration, does not want to be in U.S. election debate
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday said his government was working to keep a lid on undocumented immigration ahead of U.S. elections so that his country is not drawn into the political crossfire. Speaking after Mexican authorities announced they had registered nearly 6,000 undocumented migrants in the country on Friday and Saturday, Lopez Obrador said his government wanted to ensure there was not “an influx of migrants in these days.”
Firearms were stashed in hotel room before U.S. Capitol riot, Oath Keeper trial hears
A recruit of the far-right Oath Keepers group displayed for a jury on Wednesday the AR-15 assault-style rifle he said was among a large stash of firearms cases he saw in a hotel room the day before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Terry Cummings, a Florida resident and former member of the U.S. military, was testifying in the trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four others. The defendants are accused of plotting to use force to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory in a failed bid to keep then-President Donald Trump in power.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Danchenko Trial Puts Spotlight On FBI As Top Official Grilled For Not Checking Trump-Russia Claims
Danchenko Trial Puts Spotlight On FBI As Top Official Grilled For Not Checking Trump-Russia Claims https://digitalalabamanews.com/danchenko-trial-puts-spotlight-on-fbi-as-top-official-grilled-for-not-checking-trump-russia-claims/
A senior FBI official Brian Auten was hammered by prosecutors and defense lawyers on Wednesday when he took the stand in the trial of Russian analyst Igor Danchenko, who is accused of lying to federal agents about information he provided for an anti-Trump dossier.
Both sides said FBI agents failed to scrutinize Mr. Danchenko and plowed ahead with the Trump-Russia collusion investigation in 2016.
Special prosecutor John Durham, who brought the case as the last act of his three-year probe of the origins of the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation, lambasted Mr. Auten and bureau officials for accepting information from Mr. Danchenko, who was a prime source for British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s salacious and unverified dossier detailing Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia.
Defense lawyers, on the other hand, blasted Mr. Auten and his FBI colleagues for asking Mr. Danchenko vague questions with virtually no follow-ups. They said the lack of direct questions landed Mr. Danchenko in hot water with the special counsel’s team.
Mr. Danchenko is on trial in Alexandria, Virginia, on five charges of lying to the FBI agents who interviewed him in 2017 about how he gathered information that ultimately ended up in the Steele dossier.
The FBI used the unconfirmed information in the dossier to secure approval of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Application warrant to monitor Trump campaign figure Carter Page, according to Mr. Auten’s testimony. That warrant was renewed three times based on the same, unverified claims.
SEE ALSO: Goals of Danchenko, Clinton ally ‘coincided,’ FBI agent says
Mr. Durham zeroed in on anti-Trump information in the report that purportedly came from Sergei Millian, the former president of the Russian American Chamber of Commerce.
Prosecutors say Mr. Danchenko deceptively told FBI officials that Mr. Millian was a source of information based on a phone call that never happened. Defense attorneys say their client told agents he wasn’t sure if the call came from Mr. Millian so he didn’t lie.
Both sides made it clear in court that the FBI should have done more to confirm the phone call.
Mr. Danchenko’s legal team said the claims in the dossier about former President Donald Trump were based on a 15-minute anonymous phone call their client had with someone he believed to be Mr. Millian in 2016.
Jurors were shown emails and other information that depicted Mr. Millian as a Trump supporter.
Mr. Durham asked Mr. Auten if he found it “peculiar” that a backer of the former president would be pitching negative gossip tying Mr. Trump to Russia. When Mr. Auten responded that it was, indeed, peculiar, Mr. Durham fired back that it was “unbelievable.”
Mr. Durham remained on the attack, getting Mr. Auten to admit that agents didn’t look at phone records to verify Mr. Millian had actually made the call or pull travel records to back up claims that he traveled to New York for a meeting with Mr. Danchenko.
Defense attorneys said that after the anonymous phone call, Mr. Danchenko spent two days in New York awaiting a meeting with Mr. Millian that never happened.
“You took the information from the dossier and put it in the FISA application and it didn’t come from Sergei Millian,” Mr. Durham said. “You believed it was coming from Sergei Millian based on what Igor Danchenko told you.”
Danny Onorato, one of Mr. Danchenko’s attorneys, pressed Mr. Auten, about why investigators were not more curious during their days interviewing their client in January 2017.
When Mr. Auten described Mr. Danchenko as “unsure” who called him pitching anti-Trump dirt, the defense attorney wanted to know why he wasn’t pressed for a more direct answer.
“There was much more we could have asked during the interview,” Mr. Auten admitted.
He later said the interviews were more about “breaking the ice” with Mr. Danchenko rather than eliciting new information for the Trump-Russia probe.
Mr. Auten also acknowledged that agents could have asked for Mr. Danchenko’s phone or email password in an attempt to verify his claims, two steps he said did not happen. He also said that he did not believe agents pulled Mr. Millian’s travel records to see if he was in New York at the time of the meeting or when Mr. Danchenko received the anonymous phone call.
He said he couldn’t think of a good reason why investigators didn’t take those steps, prompting a strong rebuke from Mr. Durham.
“You didn’t have any corroborating evidence from any databases, or from other intelligence agencies, or from Mr. Steele, and it still went into the [FISA] affidavit?” he asked.
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Trump Worker Told FBI About Moving Mar-A-Lago Boxes On Ex-Presidents Orders
Trump Worker Told FBI About Moving Mar-A-Lago Boxes On Ex-President’s Orders https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-worker-told-fbi-about-moving-mar-a-lago-boxes-on-ex-presidents-orders-2/
A Trump employee has told federal agents about moving boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago at the specific direction of the former president, according to people familiar with the investigation, who say the witness account — combined with security-camera footage — offers key evidence of Donald Trump’s behavior as investigators sought the return of classified material.
The witness description and footage described to The Washington Post offer the most direct account to date of Trump’s actions and instructions leading up to the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of the Florida residence and private club, in which agents were looking for evidence of potential crimes including obstruction, destruction of government records or mishandling classified information.
The people familiar with the investigation said agents have gathered witness accounts indicating that, after Trump advisers received a subpoena in May for any classified documents that remained at Mar-a-Lago, Trump told people to move boxes to his residence at the property. That description of events was corroborated by the security-camera footage, which showed people moving the boxes, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Spokespeople for the Justice Department and FBI declined to comment.
Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich declined to answer detailed questions for this article. “The Biden administration has weaponized law enforcement and fabricated a Document Hoax in a desperate attempt to retain political power,” Budowich said in a statement. “Every other President has been given time and deference regarding the administration of documents, as the President has the ultimate authority to categorize records, and what materials should be classified.”
The warrant authorizing the search of former president Donald Trump’s home said agents were seeking documents possessed in violation of the Espionage Act. (Video: Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)
Budowich accused the Justice Department of a “continued effort to leak misleading and false information to partisan allies in the Fake News,” and said that to do so “is nothing more than dangerous political interference and unequal justice. Simply put, it’s un-American.”
The employee who was working at Mar-a-Lago is cooperating with the Justice Department and has been interviewed multiple times by federal agents, according to the people familiar with the situation, who declined to identify the worker.
In the first interview, these people said, the witness denied handling sensitive documents or the boxes that might contain such documents. As they gathered evidence, agents decided to re-interview the witness, and the witness’s story changed dramatically, these people said. In the second interview, the witness described moving boxes at Trump’s request.
The witness is now considered a key part of the Mar-a-Lago investigation, these people said, offering details about the former president’s alleged actions and instructions to subordinates that could have been an attempt to thwart federal officials’ demands for the return of classified and government documents.
Multiple witnesses have told the FBI they tried to talk Trump into cooperating with the National Archives and Records Administration and the Justice Department as those agencies for months sought the return of sensitive or historical government records, people familiar with the situation said.
But entreaties from advisers and lawyers who pushed for Trump to hand the documents back fell on deaf ears with Trump, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Trump grew angry this spring after a House Oversight Committee investigation was launched, telling aides they’d “screwed up” the situation, according to people who heard his comments. “They’re my documents,” Trump said, according to an aide who spoke to him.
The details shared with The Post reveal two key parts of the criminal probe that until now had been shrouded in secrecy: an account from a witness who worked for and took directions from Trump, and the way that security footage from Mar-a-Lago has played an important role in buttressing witness accounts.
Together, those pieces of evidence helped convince the FBI and Justice Department to seek the court-authorized search of Trump’s residence, office and a storage room at Mar-a-Lago, which resulted in the seizure of 103 documents that were marked classified and had not been turned over to the government in response to the May subpoena. Some of the documents detail top-secret U.S. operations so closely guarded that many senior national security officials are kept in the dark about them. The Aug. 8 search also yielded about 11,000 documents not marked classified.
The failure or possible refusal to return the classified documents in response to the subpoena is at the heart of the Justice Department’s Mar-a-Lago investigation, which is one of several high-profile, ongoing probes involving Trump. The former president remains the most influential figure in the Republican Party and talks openly about running for the White House again in 2024.
Within Trump’s orbit, there have been months of dueling accusations and theories about who may be cooperating with the federal government. Some of the former president’s closest aides have continued to work with Trump even as they have seen FBI agents show up at their houses to question them and serve subpoenas.
Within the Justice Department and FBI, the witness’s account has been a closely held secret as agents continue to gather evidence in the high-stakes investigation. In addition to wanting to keep the information they have gathered so far under wraps, people familiar with the situation said, authorities are also concerned that if or when the witness’s identity eventually becomes public, that person could face harassment or threats from Trump supporters.
In a filing to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Department lawyers appeared to allude to witness accounts and the video footage when they wrote: “The FBI uncovered evidence that the response to the grand jury subpoena was incomplete, that additional classified documents likely remained at Mar-a-Lago, and that efforts had likely been taken to obstruct the investigation.”
Since the Aug. 8 search, Trump has offered a number of public defenses of why documents with classified markings remained at Mar-a-Lago — saying he declassified the secret documents, suggesting that the FBI planted evidence during the search, and suggesting that as a former president he may have had a right to keep classified documents. National security law experts have overwhelmingly dismissed such claims, saying they range from far-fetched to nonsensical.
Officials at the National Archives began seeking the return of documents last year, after they came to believe that some presidential records from the Trump administration — such as letters from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — were unaccounted for, and perhaps in Trump’s possession.
After months of back-and-forth, Trump agreed in January to turn over 15 boxes of material. When archivists examined the material, they found 184 documents marked classified, including 25 marked top secret, which were scattered throughout the boxes in no particular order, according to court filings.
That discovery suggested to authorities that Trump had not turned over all the classified documents in his possession. In May, a grand jury subpoena demanded the return of classified documents with a wide variety of markings, including a category used for secrets about nuclear weapons.
In response to that subpoena, Trump’s advisers met with government agents and prosecutors at Mar-a-Lago in early June, handing over a sealed envelope containing another 38 classified documents, including 17 marked top secret, according to court papers. According to government filings, Trump’s representatives claimed at the meeting that a diligent search had been conducted for all classified documents at the club.
That meeting, which included a visit to the storage room where Trump’s advisers said the relevant boxes of documents were kept, did not satisfy investigators, who were not allowed to inspect the boxes they saw in the storage room, according to government court filings.
Five days later, senior Justice Department official Jay Bratt wrote to Trump’s lawyers to remind them that Mar-a-Lago “does not include a secure location authorized for the storage of classified information.” Bratt wrote that it appears classified documents “have not been handled in an appropriate manner or stored in an appropriate location.”
“Accordingly, we ask that the room at Mar-a-Lago where the documents had been stored be secured and that all of the boxes that were moved from the White House to Mar-a-Lago (along with any other items in that room) be preserved in that room in their current condition until further notice.”
Agents continued to gather evidence that Trump was apparently not complying with either government requests or subpoena demands. After significant deliberation, aware that it would be highly unusual for federal agents to search a former president’s home, they decided to seek a judge’s approval to do so.
That Aug. 8 search turned up, in a matter of hours, 103 documents marked classified, including 18 marked top secret, according to court papers. The stash included at least one document that described a foreign country’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities.
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