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Biden Says He ‘can Beat Former US President Donald Trump Again In A 2024 Rematch https://digitalalabamanews.com/biden-says-he-can-beat-former-us-president-donald-trump-again-in-a-2024-rematch/ US President Joe Biden on Tuesday voiced confidence that he could beat his predecessor Donald Trump in a 2024 rematch — even as he acknowledged the country could sink back into recession under his leadership. The 79-year-old Democrat was asked if he’d be announcing a run for a second term after November’s midterm elections — and if Trump would be a factor in his decision. For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. “I believe I can beat Donald Trump again,” Biden responded, although he stopped short of confirming another tilt at the Oval Office in 2024. Biden defeated Trump in both the state-by-state “electoral college” and the popular vote in 2020 — leading to relentless false claims of widespread voter fraud from the defeated president. Biden indicated to reporters at a NATO summit in March that he would be happy for Trump to be his opponent again. Biden’s popularity has taken a hit in the last year amid soaring inflation, rising violent crime in cities and a seemingly intractable migrant crisis at the southern border. But his approval ratings still outrank the numbers seen in polling for Trump, who regularly mocks Biden — three years his senior — for his age. CNN asked Biden what he would tell voters who consider him too old for reelection. “Name me a president in recent history that’s gotten as much done as I have in the first two years. Not a joke. You may not like what I got done, but the vast majority of the American people do like what I got done,” Biden replied. “And so… it’s a matter of, can you do the job? And I believe I can do the job.” In a wide-ranging interview that took in the war in Ukraine and Saudi-led oil production cuts that are expected to send gas prices soaring again, Biden was asked about fears for the economy amid gloomy growth projections. Biden downplayed the likelihood of a recession but conceded a “slight” downturn is possible. “I don’t think there will be a recession. If it is, it’ll be a very slight recession. That is, we’ll move down slightly,” he said. Trump, 76, came to power during the longest economic expansion in US history, although the economy tumbled into recession in 2020 as the world was gripped by the Covid-19 outbreak. Biden frequently takes questions from the media, but he has held few press conferences or one-to-one televised interviews. He has been more visible recently as he takes to the road to talk up Democratic legislative achievements and slam “MAGA Republicans” — followers of former president Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda — in the final weeks of the midterm election campaign. He also sat down with CBS in September, making headlines for declaring the pandemic over and confirming US commitment to defending Taiwan from a Chinese assault. Read more: Putin ‘miscalculated’ Russia’s ability to occupy Ukraine: Biden Donald Trump sues CNN for alleged defamation, seeks $475 million in punitive damages Read More…

China Steps Up Anti-COVID Measures In Megacities As Infections Mount https://digitalalabamanews.com/china-steps-up-anti-covid-measures-in-megacities-as-infections-mount/ Women with dogs chat through gaps in a barrier at a sealed area, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China October 11, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song China reports 2,089 new local cases for Oct. 10 Shanghai ramps up routine testing on its 25 million residents China warns of dangers of any large-scale rebound BEIJING, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Shanghai and other big Chinese cities, including Shenzhen, have ramped up testing for COVID-19 as infections rise, with some local authorities hastily closing schools, entertainment venues and tourist spots. Infections have risen to the highest since August, with the uptick coming after increased domestic travel during the National Day “Golden Week” earlier this month. Authorities reported 2,089 new local infections for Oct. 10, the most since Aug. 20. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com While many of the cases were found in tourist destinations, including scenic spots in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, megacities that are often the source of well-travelled tourists have started to report more cases this week. Shanghai, a city of 25 million people, reported 28 local cases for Oct. 10, the fourth day of double-digit increases. Keen to avoid a reprise of the economically and psychically scarring lockdown in April-May, Shanghai said late on Monday that all its 16 districts were to conduct mass testing at least twice a week until Nov. 10, a step up from once a week under a regime imposed after the last lockdown. Checks on inbound travellers and in places such as hotels should also be strengthened, authorities said. The expanding web of measures have already ensnared some. Peter Lee, a long-time British expatriate, was out at lunch with his wife and seven-year-old son last week when he was notified his apartment block was to be locked down. Lee and his son then checked into a hotel, which was soon also locked down, due to a prior visit by a virus carrier. Lee’s wife, who was planning to join them, had no choice but returned home to be locked in. “It might be that we say, we miss home and we miss mum too much and maybe we just go home and just deal with it,” Lee told Reuters. “We’re monitoring the situation because it seems like Shanghai is gradually shutting down anyway and if everything starts to close then there won’t be much benefit in being able to come and go.” ‘FINAL PRICE’ As of Monday, 36 Chinese cities were under various degrees of lockdown or control, affecting around 196.9 million people, versus 179.7 million in the previous week, according to Nomura. In China’s southern tech hub Shenzhen, where the highly transmissible BF.7 Omicron subvariant has surfaced, local cases more than tripled to 33 on Oct. 10 from a day earlier. Inbound travellers will be subject to three tests over three days, authorities in the city of 18 million people said on Tuesday. In the northwestern city of Xian, which reported just over 100 cases from Oct. 1-10, authorities halted offline classes at schools and closed many public spaces including the famous Terracotta Warriors Museum. Daily shuttle buses ferrying tens of thousands of people to work in Beijing from nearby Tianjin and Hebei will be suspended from Wednesday due to the COVID resurgence. Despite China’s very small caseload versus the rest of the world, and the toll its counter-epidemic policies exact on the economy and population, the government has repeatedly urged people to accept the measures. “Once a large-scale rebound occurs, the epidemic will spread, and is bound to have a serious impact on economic and social development, and the final price will be higher and losses will be greater,” state-controlled People’s Daily wrote in a commentary on Tuesday. The COVID preventive steps come days ahead of a Communist Party congress starting on Oct. 16 where Xi Jinping is expected to extend his leadership. read more “The latest resurgence of draconian COVID-19 restrictions is likely to be temporary given the priority to keep things under control ahead of the all-important meeting,” said analysts from U.S. alternative asset management firm Clocktower Group. “However, the People’s Daily’s tripling down on the zero-COVID-19 narrative is indeed a major concern, which suggest that a major policy recalibration may still be far away.” (This story has been refiled to restore dropped word in paragraph 6.) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Ryan Woo, Casey Hall and Jason Xue; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…

Biden Says He Doesn't Think There Will Be A Recession, If So It Will Be 'very Slight' https://digitalalabamanews.com/biden-says-he-doesnt-think-there-will-be-a-recession-if-so-it-will-be-very-slight/ US President Joe Biden arrives to speak at the Volvo Group powertrain manufacturing facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Craig Hudson | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Joe Biden said he doesn’t believe there will be a recession in the near future and if there is, he expects it to be a “slight” economic dip. “Every six months they say this. Every six months, they look down the next six months and say what’s going to happen,” Biden said in an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN that was aired Tuesday, referring to recent economic projections by major U.S. banks. “It hadn’t happened yet. It hadn’t… I don’t think there will be a recession. If it is, it’ll be a very slight recession. That is, we’ll move down slightly.” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Monday warned of the likelihood of a recession in six to nine months. In an interview with CNBC, Dimon warned of a “very, very serious” mix of headwinds which could tip both the U.S. and global economy into recession by the middle of next year. The concerns come as the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates aggressively in an effort to reduce inflation. In September, the U.S. central bank raised benchmark interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point — it was the Fed’s third consecutive hike. Biden didn’t fully discount the odds of a recession but told CNN the odds were low. “It’s possible,” Biden said. “I don’t anticipate it.” The president acknowledged the U.S. has “real problems” but credited legislation passed under his administration like the Inflation Reduction Act with putting the United States in “a better position than any other major country in the world economically and politically.” Read More…

What A Gourd Idea: Pumpkin-Carving Contest Aims To Pump Up Crimson Tide Fans https://digitalalabamanews.com/what-a-gourd-idea-pumpkin-carving-contest-aims-to-pump-up-crimson-tide-fans/ The University of Alabama wants folks to put a little Crimson Tide spirit into Halloween again this year. For the sixth year, UA is holding the Crimson Carving Contest and the rules are as easy as pumpkin pie. Submit a photo of your Alabama-themed pumpkin to social@ua.edu along with with your name and location. Pumpkins must be real and must be carved. Entries must be the sole work of the contestant. The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. Oct. 30. The contest is open to all UA fans in the U.S. and the winners will be declared on Halloween through UA’s social media platforms. The contest is open to all UA fans in the U.S. and the winners will be declared on Halloween through UA’s social media platforms. Pumpkins must feature an image related to the University of Alabama. Some ideas include the school’s script “A” logo, the elephant mascot Big Al or phrases like “Roll Tide.” Contestants are also encouraged to pump up their creativity. Past entrants have shown outside-the-gourd thinking by featuring a carving of the Million Dollar Band logo or an image of Nick Saban, the Alabama football coach who will mark his 71st birthday on Oct. 31. One of last year’s winning entries showed a UA pumpkin about to eat a smaller pumpkin with an Auburn University logo. Carving templates, along with the complete contest rules, are also available online at news.ua.edu/2022/10/the-pumpkins-have-eyes. Contestants are encouraged to show off their Alabama-themed pumpkins on social media and include a tag for the University of Alabama and the hashtag #CrimsonCarvingContest. Follow UA’s social media for judging and prize information.   Read More…

Rockford Officer Accused Of Civil Rights Violation For Body Slamming Auburn Student https://digitalalabamanews.com/rockford-officer-accused-of-civil-rights-violation-for-body-slamming-auburn-student/ WTVO FILE PHOTO WTVO FILE PHOTO by: Jim Hagerty Posted: Oct 11, 2022 / 08:40 PM CDT Updated: Oct 11, 2022 / 08:54 PM CDT CHICAGO (WTVO) — A Chicago attorney filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Rockford Public Schools and the city Rockford Tuesday, accusing a school resource officer of misconduct. The suit alleges that Officer Bradley Lauer caused a 14-year-old Auburn High School student permanent brain damage on Sept. 21, 2021, when he body slammed him inside the school. The suit alleges that the victim, referred to as “PM,” was walking in the hallway when he was approached by Assistant Principal Scott Dimke. “Dimke began to follow him and got gradually more physical, blocking his path repeatedly and eventually restraining him with both arms from behind, pushing him into a secluded room off the main hallway,” the complaint says. At that point, the suit claims, Dimke summoned Lauer, who quickly subdued the student and slammed him to the floor. “Without warning, officer Lauer, from behind PM, locked his arms into PM’s arms at PM’s elbows, lifted PM up off of his feet and over Lauer’s head, and slammed PM down to the hallway floor, head-first, with the left side of PM’s head and body hitting the hard floor, bearing the brunt of the impact and producing a 4- to 6-inch vertical fracture to the left side and top of PM’s skull,” the suit continues. At the time of the incident, “PM” stood 4-11 and weighed between 125 and 130 pounds. Lauer was over 6 feet and weighted between 200 and 210, the complaint says. Chicago attorney Al Hofeld Jr., claims that Lauer’s use of force caused his client a traumatic brain injury that has resulted in what is now permanent brain damage. The boy suffers from PTSD, ADHD and other neurological issues, Hofeld’s filing says. The incident was captured by a security camera. Hofeld claims RPS 205 attempted to cover up Lauer’s alleged misconduct. The attorney says PM’s mother and grandmother were told by school officials that the boy slipped and hit his head during a scuffle with the officer. A press conference announcing the lawsuit is scheduled for 11:30 a.m., Wednesday at Hofeld & Schaffner, 30 N. LaSalle St., Suite 3120, Chicago. See videos below. Warning: Viewer discretion advised. Latest News Video Read More…

Biden Says He’s ‘Confident’ In Son Hunter On Tax, Gun Probe https://digitalalabamanews.com/biden-says-hes-confident-in-son-hunter-on-tax-gun-probe/ (Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden downplayed a report that federal investigators believe they have enough evidence to charge his son Hunter with tax and gun crimes, saying he “has confidence” in him. Most Read from Bloomberg Here’s How Weird Things Are Getting in the Housing Market It’s Official: The Fed’s in the Red Home Flippers Get Burned by US Housing Market’s Sudden Slump This Is What 7% Mortgages Will Do to the Housing Market Ukraine Latest: Biden Sees Putin as Both Rational and Irrational “I’m confident,” Biden said Tuesday in an interview with CNN, that “what he says and does are consistent with what happens.” The Washington Post reported, citing anonymous sources, that Hunter Biden purchased a handgun and allegedly filled out a federal form in October 2018 stating that he was not a user of or addicted to drugs. By his own account in a memoir, the younger Biden was using drugs heavily that year. The tax investigation has focused on whether he did not declare income related to his business ventures, including overseas endeavors that dogged his father’s 2020 presidential campaign, according to the Post. A lawyer for Hunter Biden, asked by the Post about the case, accused federal agents of leaking information about the inquiry. A decision whether to charge Biden ultimately rests with a US attorney in Delaware who was nominated by former President Donald Trump. President Biden told CNN he “didn’t know anything” about the situation involving Hunter’s gun purchase but acknowledged his son “wrote about saying no” on the gun form. “I love him and he’s on the straight and narrow, and he has been for a couple of years now. I’m just so proud of him,” President Biden said. Any charges against Hunter Biden could ultimately shadow his father’s decision whether to seek a second term. Asked if he will run again in 2024, Biden said he would “be in the process of deciding” after the November midterm elections. “It’s a matter of, can you do the job? And I believe I can do the job. I’ve been able to do the job,” said Biden, who will turn 80 next month. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Twitter Deal Has Pierced Elon Musk’s Reality Distortion Field The Great Post-Covid Online Shopping Bet Was a Costly Delusion Even After $100 Billion, Self-Driving Cars Are Going Nowhere A New Silicon Valley Emerges at the Arctic Circle Hackers Target Eager Homebuyers With a Dumb Scam That Keeps Working ©2022 Bloomberg L.P. Read More…

Republican Adam Kinzinger Endorses Democrats In Key Swing-State Races – Deltaplex News https://digitalalabamanews.com/republican-adam-kinzinger-endorses-democrats-in-key-swing-state-races-deltaplex-news/ (WASHINGTON) — Retiring Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois on Tuesday announced a slate of midterm endorsements, which include six Democrats vying for governor or secretary of state in critical southeastern and midwestern swing states. Through his newly-formed political action committee, the House Jan. 6 committee member who voted to impeach Donald Trump rolled out support for Democratic secretary of state candidates in Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Minnesota, with notable backing for Republican Brad Raffensberger of Georgia, the state’s current top elections official who upheld the results of the 2020 election despite urging from Trump to overturn them. Kinzinger is also supporting Democrats for governor in Pennsylvania and Arizona. Republicans and Independents who have campaigned on the legitimacy of the 2020 election have also made the list of Kinzinger endorsements through his “Country 1st” PAC, first unveiled in January 2021. The support from Kinzinger, of the most forward facing critics of the former president, comes just days after another GOP Jan. 6 committee member, Rep. Liz Cheney, told an Arizona audience she would vote for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs against an election-denying GOP nominee Kari Lake if she lived in the state. “So, for almost 40 years now, I’ve been voting Republican. I don’t know that I have ever voted for a Democrat — but if I lived in Arizona now, I absolutely would. And for governor and for secretary of state,” Cheney said during a question-and-answer session at the McCain Institute at Arizona State University. “We cannot be in a position where we elect people who will not fundamentally uphold the sanctity of elections.” Cheney is also off the ballot in the upcoming midterm elections, following her primary defeat from Trump-backed Harriet Hageman. Hobbs also made Kinzinger’s midterm endorsements, which also includes Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat running for governor against election-denying state senator Doug Mastriano. He also endorsed an independent House candidate running against far-right GOP Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona who was intimately involved in efforts to challenge the electoral count on Jan. 6. A number of federal candidates also made Kinzinger’s endorsement list: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who is facing a Trump-backed challenge in her reelection contest and Evan McMullin, an independent who is challenging Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. In an interview with Politico, Kinzinger said he chose 2022 endorsements partly based on where there are “going to be positions that, frankly, can be bulwarks to defend against a real constitutional crisis in 2024.” “A badly-placed, bad faith secretary of state can really throw the whole country into chaos,” he said. ABC News’ Libby Cathey contributed to this report. Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read More…

Justice Dept. Asks Court To Deny Trump Plea Over FBI Search https://digitalalabamanews.com/justice-dept-asks-court-to-deny-trump-plea-over-fbi-search/ WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to steer clear of a legal fight over classified documents seized during an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. The high court is weighing an emergency appeal from Trump asking it to overturn a lower court ruling and permit an independent arbiter, or special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classified markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. The Justice Department said in a 32-page filing that Trump’s claim has no merit, noting the case involves “extraordinarily sensitive government records.” A three-judge panel from the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit last month limited the special master’s review to the much larger tranche of non-classified documents. The judges, including two Trump appointees, sided with the Justice Department, which had argued there was no legal basis for the special master to conduct his own review of the classified records. But Trump’s lawyers said in their application to the Supreme Court that it was essential for the special master to have access to the classified records to “determine whether documents bearing classification markings are in fact classified, and regardless of classification, whether those records are personal records or Presidential records.” At issue is a legal dispute over the scope of the authority given to Raymond Dearie, a veteran Brooklyn judge who was named last month to serve as a special master and segregate any documents seized from Mar-a-Lago that may be covered by claims of executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. All told, roughly 11,000 documents were taken during the Aug. 8 search, including about 100 with classification markings. The Florida judge who appointed Dearie, Aileen Cannon, empowered him to inspect the roughly 100 classified documents and halted the Justice Department’s use of those records for its criminal investigation until the special master’s review was done. But the appeals court set aside that part of Cannon’s longer ruling, agreeing with the Justice Department’s arguments that there was no need for Dearie to review the classified records since they were not likely to involve issues of privilege. The Trump team subsequently appealed. The Justice Department, meanwhile, is appealing Cannon’s entire ruling to the 11th Circuit. In the Supreme Court filing, the department described it “as an unprecedented order by the district court restricting the Executive Branch’s use of its own highly classified records in an ongoing criminal investigation and directing the dissemination of those records outside the Executive Branch for a special-master review.” The department again dismissed the relevance of the Trump team’s assertions that Trump, as president, had absolute declassification authority — something his lawyers have repeatedly raised even while avoiding making the claim that he took steps in this instance to declassify the records. The department said the declassification claim has not been supported with any “competent evidence” and said the Trump team, when presenting investigators with a batch of classified records last June, did not assert claims of privilege or suggest that any of the records had been declassified. Trump’s filing first went to Justice Clarence Thomas, who oversees emergency appeals from the 11th Circuit. But individual justices almost always involve the entire court in high-profile cases such as this one. Read More…

Former San Antonio Officer Who Shot 17-Year-Old At McDonald's Parking Lot Turns Himself In On Aggravated Assault Charges | CNN https://digitalalabamanews.com/former-san-antonio-officer-who-shot-17-year-old-at-mcdonalds-parking-lot-turns-himself-in-on-aggravated-assault-charges-cnn/ 03:57 – Source: CNN Teen eating meal in McDonald’s parking lot shot by officer, video shows CNN  —  The former San Antonio police officer who shot an unarmed 17-year-old eating in his car at a McDonald’s parking lot last week is facing two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant, the police department announced Tuesday. The officer, identified as James Brennand, turned himself in to San Antonio Police Tuesday night, Police Chief William McManus said at a Tuesday news conference. Brennand’s arrest comes days after he was fired in connection with the October 2 shooting that left the teenager in critical condition. Brennand did not respond to requests for comment from CNN prior to his arrest. It was not clear Tuesday night whether he had an attorney. McManus has said it was clear from the beginning that the shooting was “not justified.” “The video was horrific,” the chief previously told CNN’s Brianna Keilar. “There is no question in anybody’s mind looking at that video that the shooting is not justified.” McManus said he recognized an issue immediately upon arriving to the scene of the shooting, based on the location of the bullet holes. “We have a policy that prohibits officers from shooting at vehicles, moving vehicles, except if their life is in immediate – their life or someone else’s life – is in immediate danger,” he said. “When I saw it, the location of the bullet holes, I had an issue with it right away. You can tell by looking at the vehicles, which way the vehicle is moving when the shots are fired, and this vehicle, it was very telling to me, that this vehicle was moving away from the officer, and moving parallel with the officer, so it was pretty clear to me at that point that we were going to have an issue,” McManus said. The chief has previously said that the aggravated assault charges could rise to homicide if the 17-year-old does not survive. The announcement of charges come a week after Brennand, a probationary officer with seven months of experience, shot 17-year-old Erik Cantu as the teenager sat in his car eating fast food. According to police, Brennand was handling an unrelated disturbance call at the McDonald’s on October 2 when he saw a car he believed had evaded police the previous day and called for backup. Before backup officers arrived, body camera video released by police shows the officer walk up to the driver’s side of the car, open the door, and order the driver out. The visibly startled teen, who was in the driver’s seat eating, put the car in reverse and started backing up. The police officer then opened fire five times on the car, according to the video. As the driver shifted the vehicle to move forward, body camera video showed the officer opening fire an additional five times as the car drove away. Cantu was shot multiple times and is in critical condition and on a life support system, his family said Monday. A passenger in the vehicle was unhurt. Brennand was fired in the wake of the shooting for violating the agency’s tactics, training and procedures, police said. “It took us a couple of days to terminate Brennand, but he was gone pretty quickly,” McManus told CNN. SAPD’s deadly force policy is explicit: “An officer in the path of an approaching vehicle shall attempt to move to a position of safety rather than discharging a firearm at the vehicle or any of the occupants of the vehicle.” The policy further states that “officers should not shoot at any part of a vehicle in an attempt to disable the vehicle.” While in the hospital, Cantu was initially charged with evading detention in a vehicle and assaulting the officer, who had claimed he was struck by the door of the car as the teen backed up. However, his defense attorney Brian Powers said the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office notified him prosecutors would not be moving forward with charges. A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s office referred CNN to the county’s online court record system, which indicates both charges have been dismissed and the case closed. “While Sunday’s shooting of an unarmed teenager by a then-San Antonio Police officer remains under investigation, the facts and evidence we have received so far led us to reject the charges against Erik Cantu for further investigation,” District Attorney Joe Gonzales’ office said in a statement last week. “Once SAPD completes its investigation into the actions of former Officer James Brennand and submits the case to our office, our Civil Rights Division will fully review the filing. As we do with all officer-involved shootings that result in death or serious injury, we will submit the case to a Grand Jury for their consideration. Until that happens, we can make no further comment on this matter.” Read More…

Parker Towing Company Eyes Expansion With Purchase Of Baton Rouge Firm https://digitalalabamanews.com/parker-towing-company-eyes-expansion-with-purchase-of-baton-rouge-firm/ Skip to main content Pelham, AL Hoover, AL Vestavia Hills, AL Birmingham, AL Mountain Brook, AL Trussville, AL Meridian, MS Montgomery, AL Huntsville, AL Dallas-Hiram, GA Alabama Top National News See All Communities TUSCALOOSA, AL — Tuscaloosa-based Parker Towing on Tuesday announced it has purchased Louisiana tank barge operator General Marine Services (GMS). Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts. The acquisition expands Parker Towing’s current tank barge division, with the company saying it the move is geared toward diversifying and growing from being a traditionally dry cargo carrier. Find out what’s happening in Tuscaloosawith free, real-time updates from Patch. Parker Towing said in a press release that GMS operates a fleet of liquid tank barges and towboat, primarily serving customers in the refining industry. Founded nearly a century ago, Parker Towing is one of the largest barge lines in the United States and operates a fleet of towboats and over 400 open and covered hopper barges, in addition to a fleet of 30,000 BBL tank barges. Find out what’s happening in Tuscaloosawith free, real-time updates from Patch. Parker Towing transports commodities including coal, steel and steel-related products, aggregates, forest products, grain products, cement, asphalt and other petroleum products. Parker Towing President Tim Parker III praised the reputation built by GMS President and CEO Gene Moore, who has served in the role for nearly seven years “Gene Moore and GMS have a long-standing reputation of providing high quality service to its customers,” Parker said. “By acquiring GMS, Parker Towing will be able to offer a broader array of services to current and future customers.” Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, GMS specializes in liquid cargo transportation services for oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. “GMS shares many of the same core values as Parker Towing Company with a focus on providing high quality customer service, and a commitment to safety and sustainability,” Moore said. “GMS is excited to partner with Parker Towing and to work with their senior management team.” Parker Towing said the GMS management team will continue in their current roles. Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you’re interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. The rules of replying: Be respectful. This is a space for friendly local discussions. No racist, discriminatory, vulgar or threatening language will be tolerated. Be transparent. Use your real name, and back up your claims. Keep it local and relevant. Make sure your replies stay on topic. Review the Patch Community Guidelines. Read More…

Huntsville Looking At Permitting Medical Cannabis Dispensaries https://digitalalabamanews.com/huntsville-looking-at-permitting-medical-cannabis-dispensaries/ News Published: Oct. 11, 2022, 7:19 p.m. The city of Huntsville announced Tuesday night plans to consider adding dispensaries to access medical marijuana. In a press release, the city said it was “taking cautious steps toward participating in Alabama’s new medical cannabis system.” Under state law passed last year, cities must pass an ordinance and inform the state if they are seeking to allow dispensing sites. “After giving careful consideration to the new medical option, City administration believe making medical cannabis products available to qualified patients under the care of a physician would be beneficial for those suffering from chronic and terminal illnesses,” the press release said. The city’s zoning committee of its planning commission is meeting Wednesday to begin evaluating zoning recommendations. An ordinance authorizing dispensing sites will be introduced at Thursday’s city council meeting and would be set for a vote by the council on Oct. 27. “We’re taking a thoughtful and measured approach to make certain we get this right,” Mayor Tommy Battle said in the press release. Birmingham’s city council did a first reading last week of an ordinance it will consider. Other Alabama cities that have starting the process of permitting dispensaries include Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Dothan, Daphne and Foley. Huntsville officials emphasize that the dispensaries do not legalize or sanction the use of recreational marijuana. Under Alabama’s law, medical marijuana can be sold in the form of tablets, capsules, tinctures, or gel cubes for oral use. They could be gels, oils or creams for topical use. They could be suppositories, transdermal patches, nebulizers, or liquids or oils for use in an inhaler. Raw plant material, products that could be smoked or vaped, or food products such as cookies or candies would not be allowed. An array of conditions to be covered by the use of medical marijuana are outlined in state law. Some of those conditions include cancer-related pain, epilepsy or other seizure-causing ailments, Crohn’s disease and autism spectrum disorder. The earliest anticipated date dispensaries could be operable would be mid-2023 after the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission grants the licenses. The AMCC is working to set qualifications for cannabis dispensaries. More information is available at amcc.alabama.gov. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

Exclusive: McConnell Ignores Trump's Attacks And Says 'I Have The Votes' In Quest To Make History – KVIA https://digitalalabamanews.com/exclusive-mcconnell-ignores-trumps-attacks-and-says-i-have-the-votes-in-quest-to-make-history-kvia/ CNN By Manu Raju, CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent It’s become a throwaway line at former President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies: GOP senators must boot Mitch McConnell from the leadership position he’s held longer than any Republican in American history. But McConnell has a message. “I have the votes,” the Senate GOP leader said bluntly, indicating he’s locked down enough support to claim a new feat: The longest-serving Senate party leader ever, a record held by Democrat Mike Mansfield for more than four decades and which McConnell would surpass in the next Congress. Yet whether he’s in the minority or majority next year — and if he continues to serve as GOP leader after 2024 — are different questions altogether. In a wide-ranging interview with CNN, McConnell weighed in on his outlook for the high-stakes battle for control of the Senate and warned President Joe Biden about how his nominees would be handled in a GOP majority. The GOP leader expressed his preference for a new Nebraska senator, defended votes that put him at odds with Republicans in the 50-50 Senate and steered clear of Trump’s brazen personal attacks against him and his wife, Elaine Chao — in an apparent attempt to avoid a distracting fight with the former President before the midterms. And as Republicans grow nervous about their prospects of retaking the Senate, especially after allegations that Georgia Republican nominee Herschel Walker paid for a woman to have an abortion 13 years ago, the GOP leader indicated his belief that the battle for the majority is a true “cliffhanger” and that it’s too early to know if the 2022 cycle will turn into a GOP debacle like 2010 and 2012 when lackluster general-election candidates cost his party a serious shot at the Senate majority. “It was clearly a challenge in 2010 and 2012, with Sharron Angle, Christine O’Donnell, Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock,” McConnell said, referring to GOP candidates in Nevada, Delaware, Missouri and Indiana, respectively, who lost general election matchups. “So it was clearly a problem in 2010 and 2012. Whether it’s a challenge, whether it’s fatal or a big problem this year, we’ll find out” next month. McConnell, who has been devoting enormous time to ensure his high-spending super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, continues to spend staggering sums across the airwaves in the final weeks of the midterm elections, indicated that he plans to stand by the anti-abortion Walker who has denied stunning allegations that one of the mothers of his four children had an abortion at his request. “I think we’re going to stick with Walker and all the effort we put in through SLF, we’re going take it all the way to the end,” McConnell said when asked if he had concerns about the revelations, arguing instead he believed the election would turn on Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s alliance with Biden. “I talk to him fairly often,” McConnell said of Walker, the former football star and novice candidate pushed into the race by Trump and backed by the GOP leader in the primary. “I think they’re going to hang in there and scrap to the finish.” While McConnell and Trump have been at sharp odds since the GOP leader cast him as “practically and morally responsible” for the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, despite voting to acquit him at his impeachment trial, the Senate GOP leader has taken pains to avoid mentioning the former President or engage in a tit-for-tat with Trump and his powerful megaphone. In a recent tirade on his social media page, Trump said McConnell has “a death wish,” attacking his votes on unspecified bills and saying the GOP leader is “willing to take the country down with him.” “I don’t have anything to say about that,” McConnell said about the attack against him, his first response to the episode. In the same post, Trump issued a racially charged attack against Chao, a naturalized American citizen who was born in Taiwan and also served as Trump’s secretary of transportation, calling her McConnell’s “China loving wife, Coco Chow.” Asked if the racist comment about his wife was acceptable, McConnell did not want to respond to it. “The only time I’ve responded to the President, I think, since he left office is when he gave me my favorite nickname — Old Crow — which I considered a compliment and after all, it was Henry Clay’s favorite bourbon.” He declined to comment further on the matter. (The interview was conducted Friday before a member of his conference, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, made racially charged remarks at a Trump rally over the weekend.) With less than a month to the midterms, the GOP leader knows full well that a back-and-forth with the former President could distract the party’s focus at a crucial time. And for McConnell, he says he’s not concerned that a growing number of Republicans act like Trump rather than hew to the traditional GOP orthodoxy espoused by the likes of Rep. Liz Cheney, who lost her Wyoming primary this year after her battle over Trump’s “stolen” election lies. His only goal, he said, is winning elections. “I don’t have a litmus test,” McConnell said when asked if he wants a party more in line with Trump or with Cheney. “I’m for people that get the Republican nomination, and for winning, because if we win we get to decide what the agenda is, and they don’t.” McConnell’s future atop his conference But Trump doesn’t get a vote in a secret-ballot election in the Senate after the November midterms, and McConnell’s reelection to the top post is virtually a lock — whether they win or lose in next month’s elections, according to interviews with more than two dozen GOP senators. Yet publicly and privately, the interest in his Senate seat — and his leadership post — has begun to sprout. On Capitol Hill, the timing of McConnell’s decision of when he may step aside as leader could have a profound impact on the leadership race to succeed him. That’s because the current whip — John Thune of South Dakota — is term limited in the No. 2 position at the end of the next Congress. If McConnell were to step aside from his top position at the end of 118th Congress, which ends in January 2025, it could give Thune a leg-up in a secret-ballot election. But if McConnell waits for longer to step aside, the next No. 2 could be seen as a frontrunner in the race. As they await McConnell’s decision, his potential successors-in-waiting are signaling interest in the top job if the GOP leader steps aside. “Well, sure,” Thune said when asked if he’s interested in the GOP leaders’ job when McConnell steps aside. “I mean, who wouldn’t be, right?” “If there’s an opportunity, that’s something I would be interested in pursuing,” said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a former GOP whip and current member of McConnell’s leadership team. “I’m going to continue to serve the conference in any way that they feel is useful,” Sen. John Barrasso, the Wyoming Republican and currently the No. 3 in leadership, said when asked if he’s interested in running for leader. There are signs that McConnell could be preparing for the end of his term. Last year, he backed an effort in the state legislature to change Kentucky law on how successors to Senate seats could be named. The new McConnell-backed law would require the governor — who is currently a Democrat — to pick a successor from the same political party as the departing senator. Privately, there’s interest in his seat from his state’s US House delegation, including Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican who has privately expressed serious interest in the seat if it opens up, according to sources close to the GOP congressman, with the domain name “BarrForSenate” already secured in case he decides to run. Other members of the delegation have kept the option open as well. In the interview, the 80-year-old McConnell put to rest speculation that he might cut his current Senate term short and quit after the next Congress. His term ends in January 2027. “Oh, I’m certainly going to complete the term I was elected to by the people of Kentucky, no question about that,” McConnell said of the seat he’s held since 1985. But asked if he would stay as the Republican leader through his current Senate term, McConnell wouldn’t say. “I’m not going to go there,” the GOP leader said. “I’m confident I’ll be reelected to another two-year term.” On his preference for a potential successor for the leadership job, McConnell would only say: “I think there are plenty of people who could step in and do this job.” And he brushed back a question about whether he has made a decision about running again. “I’m in the second year of my term, for God’s sake,” the GOP leader said. But even though polls in Kentucky have long shown his popularity lagging, Republicans in the state say he could win again if he wants to run — despite his battle with Trump. “The thing about Mitch McConnell: his polling has never been really good,” said Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican. “But he’s such a good politician that on Election Day, he always makes sure that his opponent is less popular than he is.” Comer added: “He’s a vicious politician in battle, and that has served him well over the years.” Maintaining support within his conference will be essential to keeping his leadership position. While most Republicans indicated they back the GOP leader maintaining his leadership post, several Republican senators declined to commit, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, John Kennedy of Louisiana, fellow Kentuckian Rand Paul and Rick Scott of Florida, the National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman who has been at odds with McConnell over strategy this year. “There’ll be an election a...

AP News Summary At 8:42 P.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-842-p-m-edt/ UN, G7 decry Russian attack on Ukraine as possible war crime KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have carpeted Ukraine with a fresh barrage of missiles and munition-carrying drones. The bombardment came a day after strikes across the country killed at least 19 people and knocked out power across the country. The U.N. human rights office says the “particularly shocking” attacks could amount to war crimes. The leaders of the Group of Seven industrial powers also condemned the attacks and said they would “stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” Their pledge defied Russian warnings that Western assistance would prolong the war and the pain of Ukraine’s people. Russia launched the attacks in retaliation for a weekend explosion that damaged a bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. Prosecutors drop charges against Adnan Syed in ‘Serial’ case ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges against Adnan Syed in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee after additional DNA testing excluded him as a suspect in a case chronicled by the hit podcast “Serial.” Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney for the city of Baltimore, said Tuesday that her office will continue to pursue justice for Lee, but that it has closed its case against Syed, who spent 23 years in prison for the killing. She says the decision was made after additional DNA testing excluded Syed as a suspect in the strangulation of Lee, whom Syed had dated. Syed’s case captured the attention of millions in 2014 when the first season of “Serial” focused on it. Smashing success: NASA asteroid strike results in big nudge CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA says a spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away last month succeeded in shifting its orbit. The space agency announced the results of the experiment Tuesday.  NASA attempted the first test of its kind two weeks ago to see if a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth’s way. The Dart spacecraft carved a crater into the asteroid, hurling debris out into space and creating a cometlike trail of dust and rubble. It took consecutive nights of telescope observations to determine how much the impact altered the asteroid’s path around its companion, a bigger space rock. Trump lawyer who vouched for documents meets with FBI Read More…

'Serial Liar' Trump Has Already Kneecapped His Own Lawsuit Against CNN: Missouri Paper https://digitalalabamanews.com/serial-liar-trump-has-already-kneecapped-his-own-lawsuit-against-cnn-missouri-paper/ Donald Trump delivering a speech at a campaign rally held at the Mohegan Sun Arena. (Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock.com) This week, the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch produced a scathing analysis of former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CNN — and how the former president’s own lies make it almost impossible for him to win the case. “The network’s coverage, Trump complains, has caused him to suffer ’embarrassment, pain, humiliation and mental anguish.’ If those criteria are sufficient to qualify for a lawsuit, the entire nation should be suing Trump for exactly the same,” wrote the board. “But America’s grievances, substantial as they are, aren’t before the court. Trump’s lawsuit is. He asserts that CNN presenters and guest commentators undertook ‘a smear campaign to malign’ Trump ‘with a barrage of negative associations and innuendos, broadcasting commentary that he is like a cult leader, a Russian lackey, a dog whistler to white supremacists, and a racist’ whom the network compared to Adolf Hitler.” The fundamental problem for Trump, wrote the board, is that Trump has lied so often — and in ways that make him look like all of those things CNN accused him of being — that proving CNN knowingly defamed him, or in fact said anything false at all, is a monumental task. “Trump still has to meet the standard of proving deliberate falsity, and his own record promises to trip him up at every turn. He was a serial liar, especially regarding his assertion that the 2020 election was stolen from him. He behaved in public like a Russian lackey and invited Russia to meddle in U.S. elections,” wrote the board. Furthermore, CNN can point to numerous statements that can be described as racist, from his claim the Charlottesville Nazis were “very fine people,” to his description of Mitch McConnell’s Taiwanese-American wife and his own former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao as “China loving … Coco Chow.” At the end of the day, there is no grounds for Trump to prove his case — something other legal experts have noted. And worse, the discovery process will end up putting Trump in a more humiliating spot. “To defend itself, CNN is certain to subpoena Trump’s internal communications and records,” concluded the board. “A treasure trove of juicy information awaits disclosure. In this game of chicken, the question is which side least wants its most embarrassing information to be exposed publicly.” READ: Mitch McConnell complains GOP candidates are too incompetent to fundraise: report You can read more here. Read More…

Watch Bryan Harsin React To Robby Ashford’s Fumble Against Georgia https://digitalalabamanews.com/watch-bryan-harsin-react-to-robby-ashfords-fumble-against-georgia/ Auburn Football Updated: Oct. 11, 2022, 5:35 p.m.| Published: Oct. 11, 2022, 5:32 p.m. Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin talks with quarterback Robby Ashford during an NCAA college football game against Georgia Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)AP Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin experienced an emotional roller coaster that is a microcosm of the Tigers’ season through six games during a failed series on Saturday at Sanford Stadium. The Tigers took possession on offense at the Auburn 23-yard-line with 8:40 left in the second quarter trailing by 14-0 against the Bulldogs. Ashford led the team on a seven-play drive that ended with a fumble at Georgia’s 38 with less than five minutes left in the first half. Our video team at AL.com captured Harsin’s reactions to every play during the series that ended with the fumble by Ashford. Read More Auburn Football: Auburn drops one spot on ESPN College Football Power Index after loss at No. 1 Georgia Bryan Harsin left searching for answers, “hope” after blowout loss to Georgia Robby Ashford learns tough lessons from the 42-10 Georgia loss The drive had completed passes by Ashford to tight end John Samuel Shenker, a run by Tank Bigsby, and a holding penalty that negated a potential big play. Fumbling on the drive is a recurring theme for a team with a -9 turnover ratio. Also, going from the exhilaration of Auburn’s first drive into Georgia territory with a chance to cut the lead in half to a costly turnover is indicative of the Tigers’ 1-2 record in conference play and 1-3 against Power 5 teams, including the 29-point loss against Penn State at Jordan-Hare. Harsin is a stoic man. However, the agony of missed opportunity was visible during the video. “Nobody’s trying to not take care of the ball, but in order to win games, and to be a good football team, that’s got to be the most important thing when you have that ball in your hands,” Harsin said. “So, we’ll work on it, and he’ll get better at it. That will continue to be an emphasis, and I know it’s important to him. So, by no means does he run off the field shrug it off and like, ‘oh well.’ It hurts and he’s going to work very hard on that to improve in that area.” Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

National Archives Appears To Refute Trump Statement About George H.W. Bush https://digitalalabamanews.com/national-archives-appears-to-refute-trump-statement-about-george-h-w-bush/ The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) publicly refuted the falsehood that has been promoted by former President Donald Trump that former presidents have taken presidential records with them when they leave office or kept them in “substandard conditions.” “Reports that indicate or imply that those Presidential records were in the possession of the former Presidents or their representatives, after they left office, or that the records were housed in substandard conditions, are false and misleading,” NARA said Tuesday in an unusual statement. Trump, who has been fighting with the government over records he took from the White House to his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, on Sunday raised incomplete and inaccurate comparisons with his predecessors’ handling of their records when they left the White House. He said at a rally in Arizona that former President Bill Clinton’s records were taken “from the White House to a former car dealership in Arkansas,” that former President Barack Obama “moved more than 20 truckloads, over 33 million pages of documents, both classified and unclassified, to a poorly built and totally unsafe former furniture store located in a rather bad neighborhood in Chicago” and George W. Bush “stored 68 million pages in a warehouse in Texas.”  In each of these cases, it was NARA that announced where the presidential records would be processed and stored while the presidential libraries were being built. In May 2000, for instance, the Archives issued a press release saying that the site selected for Clinton’s records was “formerly the Balch Motor Company,” located in Little Rock, about 1.5 miles from “the site of the future Clinton Presidential Library.” NARA negotiated the lease and would operate the 42,000-square-foot facility until the opening of the library, its release said. Perhaps the most dramatic accusation Trump made was the claim that former President George H.W. Bush “took millions and millions of documents to a former bowling alley pieced together with what was then an old and broken Chinese restaurant. They put them together. And it had a broken front door and broken windows. Other than that it was quite secure.” As Politifact notes, pointing to an Associated Press clip from the 1990s, it is true that the documents and memorabilia from George H.W. Bush’s White House was housed in “an old bowling alley” and “what used to be the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant” while his library was being built in College Station, Texas.  But it was far more secure than Trump’s rendition. The AP noted: “Uniformed guards patrol the premises. There are closed-circuit television monitors and sophisticated electronic detectors along walls and doors. Some printed material is classified and will remain so for years; it is open only to those with top-secret clearances.”  The Bush records were overseen, catalogued and organized by an acting director from NARA and 10 researchers. What was the bowling alley was filled with rows of shelves to hold campaign memorabilia, and 58 lanes of shelves held boxes of Bush White House documents, according to the AP. In response to a request for comment, the Bush Library sent the original NARA response. NARA said in its statement that it took “physical and legal custody of the Presidential Records” from the administrations of former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan when they left office.  The National Archives explained that the records first go to temporary facilities leased from the General Services Administration (GSA) and close to where their presidential libraries “built for NARA” will be located. The temporary facilities are managed and staffed “exclusively by NARA employees,” NARA’s statement said.  Read More…

Next Jan. 6 Committee Hearing Will Reveal 'pretty Surprising' New Material, Rep. Zoe Lofgren Says https://digitalalabamanews.com/next-jan-6-committee-hearing-will-reveal-pretty-surprising-new-material-rep-zoe-lofgren-says/ Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., arrives for the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol fifth hearing to present previously unseen material and hear witness testimony in Cannon Building, on Thursday, June 23, 2022. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images The House Jan. 6 select committee’s next public hearing will reveal new material about former President Donald Trump‘s plans and how much he knew about the Capitol riot, one of the panel’s members said Tuesday. The committee’s ninth public hearing will touch on the “close ties between people in Trump world and some of these extremist groups,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said in a CNN interview. But “that’s not the only thing the hearing will be about,” Lofgren said. “We’re going to be going through, really some of what we’ve already found, but augmenting with new material that we’ve discovered through our work throughout this summer.” That involves focusing on Trump’s intentions, she said, including “what he knew, what he did, what others did.” “I do think that it will be worth watching,” Lofgren said. “There’s some new material that, you know, I found as we got into it, pretty surprising.” The hearing is set for 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. It was originally scheduled for late last month, but on the eve of the hearing the committee leaders opted to delay it, citing the major hurricane bearing down on Florida at the time. Later that same week, the committee interviewed Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for about 3.5 hours. Thomas, who goes by Ginni, had reportedly pushed Trump administration officials and others to try to challenge President Joe Biden’s electoral victory in 2020. Thomas was not videotaped during her interview with the committee, Lofgren said over the weekend in an MSNBC interview. It is unclear if Ginni Thomas’ testimony will feature in Thursday’s hearing. Asked to be more specific about the alleged ties between “Trump world” and the extremist groups, Lofgren said, “Let’s just say that the mob was led by some extremist groups, they plotted in advance what they were going to do, and those individuals were known to people in the Trump orbit.” The committee is investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, when a violent mob of then-President Donald Trump‘s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The insurrection forced lawmakers to flee their chambers and temporarily stopped them from confirming President Joe Biden‘s victory over Trump in the 2020 election. The committee also faces an end-of-the-year deadline to submit a final report to the president and Congress containing its findings. That report will include recommended policy changes to make U.S. elections more secure in the future, Lofgren told CNN on Tuesday. Before the hearing was postponed on Sept. 27, NBC News reported that the panel was expected to show clips of Roger Stone, a longtime political operative and confidant of Trump’s, talking about challenging the 2020 election results. Read More…

Exclusive: McConnell Ignores Trump's Attacks And Says 'I Have The Votes' In Quest To Make History | CNN Politics https://digitalalabamanews.com/exclusive-mcconnell-ignores-trumps-attacks-and-says-i-have-the-votes-in-quest-to-make-history-cnn-politics/ CNN  —  It’s become a throwaway line at former President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies: GOP senators must boot Mitch McConnell from the leadership position he’s held longer than any Republican in American history. But McConnell has a message. “I have the votes,” the Senate GOP leader said bluntly, indicating he’s locked down enough support to claim a new feat: The longest-serving Senate party leader ever, a record held by Democrat Mike Mansfield for more than four decades and which McConnell would surpass in the next Congress. Yet whether he’s in the minority or majority next year – and if he continues to serve as GOP leader after 2024 – are different questions altogether. In a wide-ranging interview with CNN, McConnell weighed in on his outlook for the high-stakes battle for control of the Senate and warned President Joe Biden about how his nominees would be handled in a GOP majority. The GOP leader expressed his preference for a new Nebraska senator, defended votes that put him at odds with Republicans in the 50-50 Senate and steered clear of Trump’s brazen personal attacks against him and his wife, Elaine Chao – in an apparent attempt to avoid a distracting fight with the former President before the midterms. And as Republicans grow nervous about their prospects of retaking the Senate, especially after allegations that Georgia Republican nominee Herschel Walker paid for a woman to have an abortion 13 years ago, the GOP leader indicated his belief that the battle for the majority is a true “cliffhanger” and that it’s too early to know if the 2022 cycle will turn into a GOP debacle like 2010 and 2012 when lackluster general-election candidates cost his party a serious shot at the Senate majority. “It was clearly a challenge in 2010 and 2012, with Sharron Angle, Christine O’Donnell, Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock,” McConnell said, referring to GOP candidates in Nevada, Delaware, Missouri and Indiana, respectively, who lost general election matchups. “So it was clearly a problem in 2010 and 2012. Whether it’s a challenge, whether it’s fatal or a big problem this year, we’ll find out” next month. McConnell, who has been devoting enormous time to ensure his high-spending super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, continues to spend staggering sums across the airwaves in the final weeks of the midterm elections, indicated that he plans to stand by the anti-abortion Walker who has denied stunning allegations that one of the mothers of his four children had an abortion at his request. “I think we’re going to stick with Walker and all the effort we put in through SLF, we’re going take it all the way to the end,” McConnell said when asked if he had concerns about the revelations, arguing instead he believed the election would turn on Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s alliance with Biden. “I talk to him fairly often,” McConnell said of Walker, the former football star and novice candidate pushed into the race by Trump and backed by the GOP leader in the primary. “I think they’re going to hang in there and scrap to the finish.” While McConnell and Trump have been at sharp odds since the GOP leader cast him as “practically and morally responsible” for the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, despite voting to acquit him at his impeachment trial, the Senate GOP leader has taken pains to avoid mentioning the former President or engage in a tit-for-tat with Trump and his powerful megaphone. In a recent tirade on his social media page, Trump said McConnell has “a death wish,” attacking his votes on unspecified bills and saying the GOP leader is “willing to take the country down with him.” “I don’t have anything to say about that,” McConnell said about the attack against him, his first response to the episode. In the same post, Trump issued a racially charged attack against Chao, a naturalized American citizen who was born in Taiwan and also served as Trump’s secretary of transportation, calling her McConnell’s “China loving wife, Coco Chow.” Asked if the racist comment about his wife was acceptable, McConnell did not want to respond to it. “The only time I’ve responded to the President, I think, since he left office is when he gave me my favorite nickname – Old Crow – which I considered a compliment and after all, it was Henry Clay’s favorite bourbon.” He declined to comment further on the matter. (The interview was conducted Friday before a member of his conference, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, made racially charged remarks at a Trump rally over the weekend.) With less than a month to the midterms, the GOP leader knows full well that a back-and-forth with the former President could distract the party’s focus at a crucial time. And for McConnell, he says he’s not concerned that a growing number of Republicans act like Trump rather than hew to the traditional GOP orthodoxy espoused by the likes of Rep. Liz Cheney, who lost her Wyoming primary this year after her battle over Trump’s “stolen” election lies. His only goal, he said, is winning elections. “I don’t have a litmus test,” McConnell said when asked if he wants a party more in line with Trump or with Cheney. “I’m for people that get the Republican nomination, and for winning, because if we win we get to decide what the agenda is, and they don’t.” But Trump doesn’t get a vote in a secret-ballot election in the Senate after the November midterms, and McConnell’s reelection to the top post is virtually a lock – whether they win or lose in next month’s elections, according to interviews with more than two dozen GOP senators. Yet publicly and privately, the interest in his Senate seat – and his leadership post – has begun to sprout. On Capitol Hill, the timing of McConnell’s decision of when he may step aside as leader could have a profound impact on the leadership race to succeed him. That’s because the current whip – John Thune of South Dakota – is term limited in the No. 2 position at the end of the next Congress. If McConnell were to step aside from his top position at the end of 118th Congress, which ends in January 2025, it could give Thune a leg-up in a secret-ballot election. But if McConnell waits for longer to step aside, the next No. 2 could be seen as a frontrunner in the race. As they await McConnell’s decision, his potential successors-in-waiting are signaling interest in the top job if the GOP leader steps aside. “Well, sure,” Thune said when asked if he’s interested in the GOP leaders’ job when McConnell steps aside. “I mean, who wouldn’t be, right?” “If there’s an opportunity, that’s something I would be interested in pursuing,” said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a former GOP whip and current member of McConnell’s leadership team. “I’m going to continue to serve the conference in any way that they feel is useful,” Sen. John Barrasso, the Wyoming Republican and currently the No. 3 in leadership, said when asked if he’s interested in running for leader. There are signs that McConnell could be preparing for the end of his term. Last year, he backed an effort in the state legislature to change Kentucky law on how successors to Senate seats could be named. The new McConnell-backed law would require the governor – who is currently a Democrat – to pick a successor from the same political party as the departing senator. Privately, there’s interest in his seat from his state’s US House delegation, including Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican who has privately expressed serious interest in the seat if it opens up, according to sources close to the GOP congressman, with the domain name “BarrForSenate” already secured in case he decides to run. Other members of the delegation have kept the option open as well. In the interview, the 80-year-old McConnell put to rest speculation that he might cut his current Senate term short and quit after the next Congress. His term ends in January 2027. “Oh, I’m certainly going to complete the term I was elected to by the people of Kentucky, no question about that,” McConnell said of the seat he’s held since 1985. But asked if he would stay as the Republican leader through his current Senate term, McConnell wouldn’t say. “I’m not going to go there,” the GOP leader said. “I’m confident I’ll be reelected to another two-year term.” On his preference for a potential successor for the leadership job, McConnell would only say: “I think there are plenty of people who could step in and do this job.” And he brushed back a question about whether he has made a decision about running again. “I’m in the second year of my term, for God’s sake,” the GOP leader said. But even though polls in Kentucky have long shown his popularity lagging, Republicans in the state say he could win again if he wants to run – despite his battle with Trump. “The thing about Mitch McConnell: his polling has never been really good,” said Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican. “But he’s such a good politician that on Election Day, he always makes sure that his opponent is less popular than he is.” Comer added: “He’s a vicious politician in battle, and that has served him well over the years.” Maintaining support within his conference will be essential to keeping his leadership position. While most Republicans indicated they back the GOP leader maintaining his leadership post, several Republican senators declined to commit, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, John Kennedy of Louisiana, fellow Kentuckian Rand Paul and Rick Scott of Florida, the National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman who has been at odds with McConnell over strategy this year. “There’ll be an election and we’ll figure it out,” Scott said when asked if he’d back McConnell aga...

Why Mitch McConnell Isn't Taking Donald Trump's Bait | CNN Politics https://digitalalabamanews.com/why-mitch-mcconnell-isnt-taking-donald-trumps-bait-cnn-politics/ CNN  —  Mitch McConnell doesn’t like talking about Donald Trump. But you might think he would make an exception when it came to the former President attacking his wife. You would be wrong. In an exclusive interview, CNN’s Manu Raju asked the Senate Minority Leader whether the former President referring to Elaine Chao as McConnell’s “China loving wife, Coco Chow” on social media was acceptable. “The only time I’ve responded to the President, I think, since he left office is when he gave me my favorite nickname – Old Crow – which I considered a compliment and after all, it was Henry Clay’s favorite bourbon,” McConnell said, declining to comment further on the matter. Which is pretty remarkable – even for the famously iron-willed McConnell. (Sidebar: Chao is a naturalized American citizen who was born in Taiwan. And not for nothing, she spent the better part of the Trump administration as his Transportation secretary.) What’s McConnell up to? Well, as I said above, he really doesn’t want to talk about Trump. In fact, he’s spent the past 18 months trying to avoid all talk about the former President, acting like the Republican Party is just moving on, even though it’s crystal clear that much of the base remains loyal to Trump and his election conspiracies. The last thing McConnell wants to do a month before the midterm elections is get into a back and forth with Trump – because you can bet that Trump would respond if McConnell said anything – that would further amplify the former President. And so, there isn’t any way – up to and including Trump making racist comments about his wife – that McConnell is going to go down the road of talking about the former President. It’s clear that McConnell believes that the less is said about Trump, the better Republicans’ chances are of winning control of the Senate in four weeks’ time. So he is setting what must be – even for him – a difficult example: Under no circumstances let the ever-provocative Trump goad you into a conflict. It’s what Trump wants, but it’s a bad thing for the broader Republican cause. The Point: McConnell cares only about winning the Senate majority. Everything – and I mean everything – pales in comparison to that. Read More…

Stock Futures Rise Slightly Ahead Of Key Inflation Data, Fed Minutes https://digitalalabamanews.com/stock-futures-rise-slightly-ahead-of-key-inflation-data-fed-minutes/ Traders on the floor of the NYSE, May 13, 2022. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Stock futures ticked higher Tuesday night as investors awaited the latest inflation numbers and the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 44 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were each up about 0.2% as well. The moves came after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.65% and 1.1%, respectively, to post their fifth straight day of declines. The Dow ended the day on a higher note, up about 36 points, but gave back most of its gains from a rally earlier in the session. Stocks fell off their highs and bond yields ticked up when the Bank of England said its market intervention will be over soon and pension funds have just three days to rebalance positions. Investors are looking forward to the September producer price index, a gauge of final-demand wholesale prices, due to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones are expecting headline PPI to increase 0.2%, after declining 0.1% in the previous month. The minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting will also be released Wednesday. While Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has acknowledged that aggressive interest rate increases could be painful, the central bank will continue to charge forward in its fight to lower inflation. “Powell has repeated, in what has become his mantra, that without price stability we cannot have a strong economy or a strong labor market,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial. “Investors are concerned that restrictive monetary policy, that is, tighter financial conditions, could lead to the kind of financial accident that dries up liquidity and delivers more harm to the global economy.” Elsewhere, PepsiCo will report its quarterly earnings before the bell Wednesday. Bank earnings will kick off later in the week. Despite lower expectations, S&P 500 earnings are still expected to grow. U.S. economy is doing well amid economic uncertainty, says Treasury Secretary Yellen Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. is “doing very well” amid global economic uncertainty. Although the U.S. economy has slowed after a strong recovery, jobs reports indicate a resilient economy, she said in an interview Tuesday with CNBC’s Sara Eisen. She also acknowledged that inflation is too high and that lowering it is a priority for the Biden administration, and emphasized the importance of maintaining a healthy labor market while doing so. — Chelsey Cox, Tanaya Macheel Stock futures open slightly higher Stock futures rose slightly on Tuesday night. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 44 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both rose about 0.2% as well. In regular trading, the S&P and Nasdaq Composite posted their fifth straight day of losses. The Dow ended on a higher note but gave back most of their gains by the close. — Tanaya Macheel Read More…

College Football At Trash Pandas Stadium: There’s 1 Million Reasons https://digitalalabamanews.com/college-football-at-trash-pandas-stadium-theres-1-million-reasons/ The sod has been rolled out on the infield dirt at Toyota Field and the pitching mound has been scraped away. The baseball field that’s home to the Rocket City Trash Pandas is getting a new look. Toyota Field will host its first college football game Saturday at 6 p.m. when the University of North Alabama plays Jacksonville State University. Related: Jacksonville State, North Alabama will renew football rivalry at Toyota Field There will be some quirks: The offense for both teams will go the same direction for both teams the entire game – from left field to the first base dugout – and the marching bands will be situated beyond the outfield fences. A crowd of about 10,000 people is expected, which will be the largest in-house event held at the Madison minor league baseball stadium that opened in 2020. The previous mark was about 7,500 people for Trash Panda games and the extra seating will be bleachers located along the south sideline in the outfield. But the bottom line is the bottom line, at least for Huntsville and Madison officials. The event is expected to have an economic impact for the Madison County area of about $1 million, according to Joel Lamp, sports manager for the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We’re taking a dead time at Toyota Field and turning it into an economic impact for Madison County,” Lamp said. Indeed, the season for the Trash Pandas – the stadium’s primary tenant — ended in the playoffs last month. So to add an event that will be the facility’s largest, Lamp said that’s huge. It’s huge for the city of Madison as well. The city built the $46 million stadium factoring in non-baseball events as part of its revenue to pay for the facility. Mayor Paul Finley said he sees benefits beyond the immediate economic windfall driven primarily by the filling of hotel rooms and restaurants. That includes introducing out-of-town visitors to the sprawling Town Madison development that houses the stadium. “A lot of people will learn about Madison for the first time and the Town Madison area, which we’re really excited about,” Finley said. “Part of what we recognized with the Trash Pandas was the other events that would come in addition to baseball. This would be one of the bigger ones that we’ve had. You tie it together with the Christmas light show that has so many people that come through here. So those types of events truly make a difference to the bottom line.” Preparations are underway in Madison at Toyota Field, home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, for the Oct. 15 football game between the University of North Alabama and Jacksonville State University. It will be the first college football game at the stadium. (Paul Gattis | pgattis@al.com) There are other benefits as well. MartinFed — a federal solutions company headquartered in Huntsville — will be the game’s presenting sponsor and Lamp pointed out that the game will be televised on ESPN+. “So now, hey, you’re live from Madison at Toyota Field,” Lamp said. “That’s something we don’t get a lot of so that’s an added bonus for us.” Playing one-direction football also gives the game a unique twist. The format is dictated by the space available on the field with the layout not having enough buffer space beyond the end zone on the east end to permit playing both directions. It’s believed to be only the second time in Division I history where a game will be played in that format – preceded by Northwestern playing Illinois in 2010 at Wrigley Field, the home of baseball’s Chicago Cubs. “That’s just pretty cool to be tied together with Wrigley Field,” Finley said. The project began about a year ago when UNA Athletic Director Josh Looney raised the prospect to Lamp. It raises UNA’s profile in Alabama’s largest city and brings the Lions to play a game in a facility where the school has purchased advertising atop the stadium’s two dugouts since its opening. The excitement over the game for UNA is evident, Looney said, by the fact that the school sold out its allotment of tickets in July. Fewer than 1,000 tickets remain available for the game and tickets are available on the Trash Pandas website. “This is a great opportunity for us,” Looney said. “We’re the fastest growing university in the state of Alabama. We’re the newest Division I athletic department in the country. It’s a great week — we passed over 10,000 students at our university, a significant milestone. Our university just hit its record ranking in the U.S. News & World Report (ratings). “It’s tremendous momentum for us at the university right now. And this is a great time to have this game in this park.” The Trash Pandas are urging people to arrive as early as possible at the stadium due to parking. The overflow lot will be at Hexagon about two miles west of the stadium. Shuttle service will be provided at the overflow lot. The stadium parking lot will open at 11 a.m. and stadium gates at 3 p.m. A clear-bag policy will be in effect and Toyota Field is a cashless facility – which also includes parking. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

🌱 Magic City Classic Deal + Accidental Shooting In Carpool Line https://digitalalabamanews.com/%f0%9f%8c%b1-magic-city-classic-deal-accidental-shooting-in-carpool-line/ Skip to main content Mountain Brook, AL Vestavia Hills, AL Hoover, AL Trussville, AL Pelham, AL Tuscaloosa, AL Huntsville, AL Montgomery, AL Dallas-Hiram, GA Douglasville, GA Alabama Top National News See All Communities Hi all. It’s me, Miranda Fraraccio, your host of the Birmingham Daily — here to impart everything that’s fit to print about what’s happening in town. But first, today’s weather: A heavy t-storm in the p.m.. High: 75 Low: 64. Find out what’s happening in Birminghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch. Attention, real estate pros in Birmingham! We’re now offering an exclusive sponsorship opportunity for an agent interested in attracting local clients and standing apart from the competition. Click here to learn more. Here are the top three stories in Birmingham today: Find out what’s happening in Birminghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch. Alabama A&M and Alabama State are still negotiating the future of the Magic City Classic. The game will kick off at Birmingham’s Legion Field on Thursday, Oct. 27. This is the last year of the Magic City Classic deal between the two schools. The schools might decide to move the game to a newer facility at Protective, but they have remained silent during the ongoing negotiations. (WBRC) The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim of a fatal bicycle crash that occurred on Sunday in Birmingham. The victim has been identified as Birmingham resident Taurus Lamond Hearns, 49 years old. The driver did not stay at the scene of the crash. The Birmingham Police Department is still investigating the hit-and-run. (AL.com) A parent accidentally shot himself in a Birmingham elementary school carpool line. The incident occurred at Arrington Elementary School on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. Birmingham City Schools assures parents that no students or staff were threatened during the incident. There is no law prohibiting weapons from being in a vehicle in the district’s parking lots. (AL.com) Today in Birmingham: Scavenger Hunt At The Woodlawn Branch Library (9:00 AM) Quetzal Bird Craft – Grab N’ Go At The Southside Branch Library (9:00 AM) Mayan Weaving At The Birmingham Public Library (9:00 AM) Tabling For Domestic Violence Awareness Month At Hill Student Center (11:00 AM) From my notebook: Fall has arrived. StyleBlueprint has created a list of nine must-try items on Birmingham restaurant’s fall menus. Click for the complete list that includes Crestline Bagel’s Pumpkin Treats and Cannella Gelato’s Seasonal flavors. (StyleBlueprint) The National Weather Service is closely monitoring the possibility of severe storms occurring in the Birmingham area tonight (Oct. 12). Click for the full report. (US National Weather Service Birmingham Alabama via Facebook) The City of Birmingham is currently hiring. Click for a complete list of open positions and apply. (City of Birmingham) Now you’re in the loop and ready to start this Wednesday off right. I’ll see you around! — Miranda Fraraccio About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander, now living in New York. She works as a staff writer for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and is a graduate of The University of Rhode Island, where she earned a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies. In her free time, you can find her traveling, drinking tea, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer. Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. The rules of replying: Be respectful. This is a space for friendly local discussions. No racist, discriminatory, vulgar or threatening language will be tolerated. Be transparent. Use your real name, and back up your claims. Keep it local and relevant. Make sure your replies stay on topic. Review the Patch Community Guidelines. Read More…

UK Nurse Lucy Letby Was ‘interrupted’ By Mom Of Baby She Was Allegedly Killing https://digitalalabamanews.com/uk-nurse-lucy-letby-was-interrupted-by-mom-of-baby-she-was-allegedly-killing/ Accused UK serial killer nurse Lucy Letby was “interrupted” as she murdered a baby by the child’s distressed mom — but tricked her by saying, “Trust me, I’m a nurse,” prosecutors said Tuesday. The mom had found Letby, 32, with her bloodied son the night before he died in August 2015 — and the day before the nurse also tried to kill the child’s twin brother, Manchester Crown Court heard. “We say that [the mom] interrupted Lucy Letby who was attacking [her baby son], although she did not realize it at the time,” prosecutor Nick Johnson told the court, according to The Independent. The baby, identified as Child E, was “acutely distressed and bleeding from his mouth” after Letby allegedly injected air into his bloodstream Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester, the court heard. However, the nurse told the mom the blood was just from a stomach tube irritating her newborn’s throat, the trial heard. “Trust me, I’m a nurse,” Letby told the mother, according to Johnson. The mom then left her dying newborn after being “fobbed off by Lucy Letby,” he said. Prosecutors said at UK nurse Lucy Letby’s murder trial that she was “interrupted” by the mother of one of the babies she allegedly killed. Photo by Elizabeth Cook/PA Images/Alamy Images/Sipa USA Child E died in the early hours after losing more blood than one medical official said he’d ever witnessed from a baby, the trial heard. Letby made “fraudulent” nursing notes which were “false, misleading and designed to cover her tracks,” the prosecutor said. The next day, she then tried to also kill the dead baby’s twin brother, Child F, this time by poisoning him by injecting insulin, the court heard. Negligence was ruled out because no other baby on the ward had been prescribed insulin, Johnson said, noting that Letby hung up the bag and was in the room at the time the boy was poisoned. Letby allegedly told the mother “trust me, I’m a nurse” to prevent her from stopping the murder. Chester Standard / SWNS.com “The only credible candidate” to be the poisoner was Letby, he said, “the same person who was present at all the unexplained collapses and deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital on the neo-natal unit.” The nurse also showed “unusual interest” in the family, repeatedly searching them up on social media — even on Christmas Day, the court heard. Child E is one of seven children — five boys and two girls — that Letby has been charged with murdering. His twin, Child F, is one of 10 children that she is charged with attempting to murder between June 2015 and June 2016. She tried to kill some of the them more than once, and at least one was left “severely disabled,” the court heard. Johnson said all the deaths and collapses were “not naturally occurring or random events.” Letby allegedly killed seven babies while working at Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester. SWNS “They were deliberate attempts to kill using slightly different methods by which Lucy Letby sought to give the appearance of chance events,” he added. Letby, from Hereford, has denied all the charges. Her trial is scheduled to continue Wednesday. Read More…

Trump Lawyer Who Vouched For Documents Meets With FBI https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-lawyer-who-vouched-for-documents-meets-with-fbi-2/ WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for former president Donald Trump who signed a letter stating that a “diligent search” for classified records had been conducted and that all such documents had been given back to the government, has spoken with the FBI, according to a person familiar with the matter. Christina Bobb told federal investigators during Friday’s interview that she had not drafted the letter but that another Trump lawyer who she said actually prepared it had asked her to sign it in her role as a designated custodian of Trump’s records, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The process is of interest to investigators because the Justice Department says the letter was untrue in asserting that all classified records sought by the government had been located and returned. Though the letter, and 38 documents bearing classification markings, were presented to FBI and Justice Department officials during a June 3 visit to Mar-a-Lago, agents returned to the Florida estate with a search warrant on Aug. 8 and seized about 100 additional classified records. According to an August court filing, the signed certification letter was presented to investigators who visited Mar-a-Lago on June 3 to collect additional classified material from the home. The Justice Department had weeks earlier issued a subpoena for the records after it says it developed evidence that more classified documents remained at the estate beyond those contained in 15 boxes recovered in January by the National Archives and Records Administration. The letter produced for investigators asserted that, in response to the subpoena, “a diligent search was conducted of the boxes that were moved from the White House to Florida” and that “any and all responsive documents accompany this certification.” The letter also included the caveat that the statements in it were true “based upon the information that has been provided to me.” At the time, the FBI was presented with an envelope containing 38 documents with classification markings, including at the top-secret level. But agents began to suspect that they had not received the entire stash of records, and returned two months later with a warrant. Bobb told the FBI that the letter was actually drafted and prepared by another of Trump’s lawyers, M. Evan Corcoran, and that he had asked her to sign it in her capacity as custodian of the records, according to the person. Corcoran did not immediately return an email and phone message on Tuesday. Spokespeople for the FBI and Justice Department declined to comment, and Bobb did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. The interview was first reported by NBC News. The person familiar with it said it was a voluntary discussion with investigators and did not take place before a grand jury, and that she is not regarded as a target of the investigation. The Justice Department has said that, beyond investigating possible crimes in the retention of the documents themselves, it is also investigating whether anyone sought to obstruct its probe. It is not clear if anyone will be charged. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sign up for the Breaking News Newsletter and receive up to date information. Read More…

Ezra Klein: Joe Biden Knows How To Use Donald Trump https://digitalalabamanews.com/ezra-klein-joe-biden-knows-how-to-use-donald-trump/ Trump’s efforts to stay in the news are matched by Biden’s efforts to stay out of it. (Doug Mills | The New York Times) President Joe Biden speaks to the media as he departs the White House for a trip to New Jersey and New York, in Washington on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. By Ezra Klein | The New York Times   | Oct. 11, 2022, 9:20 p.m. According to Gallup, 56% of Americans disapprove of the job President Joe Biden is doing. About 80% say the country is on the wrong track. Eighty-two percent say the state of the economy is “fair” or “poor,” and 67% think it’s only getting worse. Midterm elections are typically bad for the president’s party. But a midterm taking place alongside this kind of disappointment in the president and his party? It should be cataclysmic. And yet, that’s not how the election looks, at least right now. The FiveThirtyEight forecast gives Democrats a roughly 1-in-3 chance of holding the House and a roughly 2-in-3 chance of keeping the Senate. Other forecasts, along with betting markets, tell similar stories. Perhaps the polls, which have tightened a bit in recent weeks, are underestimating Republican turnout. We’ve seen that before and, worryingly for Democrats, we’ve seen it in some of the states they most need to win this year. But even a strong Republican performance would be a far cry from the party-in-power wipeouts we saw in 1994, 2010 and 2018. It’s worth asking why. Begin with the seats the parties hold now. Only seven House Democrats won districts Donald Trump carried in 2020. Democrats aren’t defending many of the crossover seats that led to huge losses in 2010 and 1994. On the flip side, the Senate map is pretty good for Democrats, with Republicans defending more seats. Then, of course, there’s the Dobbs decision, which led to a surge in Democratic interest and of young women registering to vote. Every candidate and strategist and analyst I’ve talked to, on both sides of the aisle, believes Dobbs reshaped this election. The question they’re mulling is whether that energy is fading as the months drag by and the election draws close. But there’s something else distorting this race, too: Biden’s relative absence and Trump’s unusual presence. Trump’s relentless presence in our politics comes from a few sources. One is, well, Trump. He never stops talking, insulting, complaining, cajoling, provoking. He’s publicly preparing for a 2024 campaign. As I was writing this piece, I got an email from “Donald J. Trump,” headlined “Corrupt News Network,” announcing that Trump was filing a defamation suit against CNN. This isn’t a guy trying to stay out of the news. Then there’s the unusual aftermath of the Trump presidency, which reverberates throughout our politics. The Jan. 6 investigation is ongoing, and the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago to reclaim classified documents that Trump is alleged to have taken with him inappropriately. (Trump, for his part, recently told Sean Hannity that the president can declassify documents “even by thinking about it,” which, sigh.) Trump also bears responsibility for some of the lackluster candidates causing Republicans such problems. Trump pushed J.D. Vance in Ohio and Herschel Walker in Georgia and Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania — all of whom are underperforming in their respective matchups. In a speech to the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Mitch McConnell admitted that Republicans might not flip the Senate and observed, acidly, “Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome.” Trump’s efforts to stay in the news, however, are matched by Biden’s efforts to stay out of it. Biden gives startlingly few interviews and news conferences. He doesn’t go for attention-grabbing stunts or high-engagement tweets. I am not always certain if this is strategy or necessity: It’s not obvious to me that the Biden team trusts him to turn one-on-one conversations and news conferences to his advantage. But perhaps the difference is academic: A good strategy is sometimes born of an unwanted reality. Biden simply doesn’t take up much room in the political discourse. He is a far less central, compelling and controversial figure than Trump or Obama or Bush were before him. He’s gotten a surprising amount done in recent months, but then he fades back into the background. Again, that’s a choice: Biden could easily command more attention by simply trying to command more attention. When he picks a fight, as he did in his speech on Trump, the MAGA movement and democracy in Philadelphia last month, the battle joins. He just doesn’t do it very often. Which isn’t to say Biden doesn’t do anything. He governs. Just this past week, Biden pardoned all federal convictions for simple marijuana possession. Before that, he canceled hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt (although legal and administrative questions continue to swirl around that plan). He signed the Inflation Reduction Act. But then he moves on. He’s not looking to take his policy ideas and turn them into culture wars. Biden didn’t win the Democratic nomination in 2020 because he was the most thrilling candidate or because he had legions of die-hard supporters. The case most often made for Biden was that other people would find him acceptable. And that proved true. Biden was able to assemble an unusually broad coalition of people who feared Trump and considered Biden to be, eh, fine. That strategy demanded restraint. A lot of politicians would have vied with Trump to make the election about them. Biden hung back and let Trump make the election about him. I suspect that’s part of why Biden’s approval rating is, and has been, soft. Biden’s appeal to Democrats has been transactional more than inspirational. You don’t need to love, or even really to like, Biden to support him. You need to believe in him as a vehicle for stopping something worse. That’s still true today. What was never clear to me was what Biden and the Democrats would do when Trump wasn’t on the ballot — when Biden had to drive Democratic enthusiasm on his own. But Biden is running a surprisingly similar strategy in 2022 to the one he ran in 2020, with some evidence of success. He doesn’t try to command the country’s attention day after day. And that’s left space for Trump and the Supreme Court and a slew of sketchy Republican candidates to make themselves the story and remind Democrats of what’s at stake in 2022. I’m too burned by recent polling misses to take a decent Democratic year as certain. Republican victories in both the House and the Senate wouldn’t surprise me in the least. But it’s worth noting: At this point in 2010, Republicans were much more enthusiastic about voting than Democrats. At this point in 2018, Democrats were more enthusiastic about voting than Republicans. This year? It’s about even, with some polls even showing a slight lead for Democrats. If these numbers hold up and Democrats avoid a wipeout in November, Biden is going to owe Trump a fruit basket. An undated portrait of Ezra Klein of The New York Times. (Anastasiia Sapon/The New York Times) Ezra Klein is a columnist for The New York Times. Read More…

Justice Department Asks Supreme Court To Deny Trump Plea Over FBI Search https://digitalalabamanews.com/justice-department-asks-supreme-court-to-deny-trump-plea-over-fbi-search/ WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to steer clear of a legal fight over classified documents seized during an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. The high court is weighing an emergency appeal from Trump asking it to overturn a lower court ruling and permit an independent arbiter, or special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classified markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. The Justice Department said in a 32-page filing that Trump’s claim has no merit, noting the case involves “extraordinarily sensitive government records.” A three-judge panel from the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit last month limited the special master’s review to the much larger tranche of non-classified documents. The judges, including two Trump appointees, sided with the Justice Department, which had argued there was no legal basis for the special master to conduct his own review of the classified records. But Trump’s lawyers said in their application to the Supreme Court that it was essential for the special master to have access to the classified records to “determine whether documents bearing classification markings are in fact classified, and regardless of classification, whether those records are personal records or Presidential records.” At issue is a legal dispute over the scope of the authority given to Raymond Dearie, a veteran Brooklyn judge who was named last month to serve as a special master and segregate any documents seized from Mar-a-Lago that may be covered by claims of executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. All told, roughly 11,000 documents were taken during the Aug. 8 search, including about 100 with classification markings. The Florida judge who appointed Dearie, Aileen Cannon, empowered him to inspect the roughly 100 classified documents and halted the Justice Department’s use of those records for its criminal investigation until the special master’s review was done. But the appeals court set aside that part of Cannon’s longer ruling, agreeing with the Justice Department’s arguments that there was no need for Dearie to review the classified records since they were not likely to involve issues of privilege. The Trump team subsequently appealed. The Justice Department, meanwhile, is appealing Cannon’s entire ruling to the 11th Circuit. In the Supreme Court filing, the department described it “as an unprecedented order by the district court restricting the Executive Branch’s use of its own highly classified records in an ongoing criminal investigation and directing the dissemination of those records outside the Executive Branch for a special-master review.” The department again dismissed the relevance of the Trump team’s assertions that Trump, as president, had absolute declassification authority — something his lawyers have repeatedly raised even while avoiding making the claim that he took steps in this instance to declassify the records. The department said the declassification claim has not been supported with any “competent evidence” and said the Trump team, when presenting investigators with a batch of classified records last June, did not assert claims of privilege or suggest that any of the records had been declassified. Trump’s filing first went to Justice Clarence Thomas, who oversees emergency appeals from the 11th Circuit. But individual justices almost always involve the entire court in high-profile cases such as this one. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Read More…

What Alabama Expects From Tennessee ‘Orange Out’ Crowd https://digitalalabamanews.com/what-alabama-expects-from-tennessee-orange-out-crowd/ A few competing narratives will meet Saturday afternoon in Knoxville. The first is obvious: This is the most anticipated home game for sleeping giant Tennessee in decades. Ticket prices took a rocket ship right past affordability for most when the Vols stomped No. 25 LSU last week to assure an undefeated record and top-10 ranking for the 2:30 p.m. CT visit from No. 3 Alabama. At the same time, the Crimson Tide have struggled at times in all but one true road game the past two seasons. And coming off a sloppy offensive performance in a 24-20 home win over Texas A&M, the 15 years of Tennessee frustration in the Alabama rivalry is bubbling over. By Monday morning, the official Vol football Twitter account declared Saturday an “Orange Out” of Neyland Stadium. Two weeks ago, Arkansas went for the all-red look in Razorback Stadium in what ended with a 49-26 road win for the Crimson Tide. It’s been four years since Alabama played in a capacity Neyland Stadium since the 2020 game occurred under COVID-19-mandated reduced seating. “Oh yeah, we know it’s going to be loud. We’re probably going to see that orange-white section, orange-white section,” Alabama safety Jordan Battle said Tuesday, referencing the checker-board look Neyland’s seating bowl replicated for last month’s win over Florida. “We know it’s going to be loud. I know we probably haven’t played the best on the road this year so this week will be a big emphasis of trying to play better on the road.” With Tennessee easily carrying more momentum than any of the 15 previous losses to Alabama, the demand for tickets in Knoxville is far outpacing the 101,915-seat capacity of Neyland Stadium. The cheapest tickets on StubHub are just under $500 with fees with 50-yard line seats going well into four figures. That will make communication a chore for an Alabama offense that had issues with just that in a Week 2 road trip to Texas. It was flagged for three false start flags on a 15-penalty day the Crimson Tide barely survived, 20-19. “Going into that environment on Saturday is obviously pretty tough,” said left tackle Tyler Steen. “We gotta make sure that we communicate and stay focused throughout the game — make sure we maintain our intensity throughout the game — stuff like that. I don’t think you can really practice it just because it’s hard to, like, replicate that situation.” Experience helps with that dynamic, Steen explained, and the fact Alabama was hit with just one false start in the hornets’ nest of Razorback Stadium is evidence. A year ago, the Tide was flagged six times for false starts in the first two road games at Florida and Texas A&M. Then in the final two road games at Mississippi State and Auburn, it had none. “We have a lot of guys on the team that’s played a lot of football and have been put in those situations before,” Steen said, “so just making sure that we stay focused each and every play, I think that’s going to go a long way in helping us do that.” “Just practicing throughout the week and just understanding the calls and adjustments that we have to do throughout the plays that we run. I feel like that’s something that we’ve improved throughout the week.” Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

US Justice Department Urges Supreme Court To Reject Trump Appeal On Mar-A-Lago Documents https://digitalalabamanews.com/us-justice-department-urges-supreme-court-to-reject-trump-appeal-on-mar-a-lago-documents/ The US Department of Justice has asked the US supreme court to reject an appeal in which Donald Trump sought to return 103 documents bearing classification markings to the special master for review. The special master, the judge Raymond Dearie, was appointed by order of a Trump-appointed district court judge. He is examining materials seized by the FBI from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August, seeking to establish if any are covered by executive privilege protections. Material taken from the White House and recovered in Florida included more than 300 classified files, among them documents reportedly concerning nuclear weapons. Many observers think Trump is in danger of indictment. He has argued he did nothing wrong, and even claimed that when he was president he was able to declassify documents merely by thinking about doing so. In the 34-page brief filed to the supreme court on Tuesday, the justice department argued that the court should reject Trump’s motion and keep the 103 documents out of the special master’s review, because Trump did not show he was being irreparably harmed by their exclusion. It also argued that Trump’s arguments about jurisdiction lacked merit. In the brief, the justice department said Trump “does not acknowledge, much less attempt to rebut, the court of appeals’ conclusion that the district court’s order [under which the special master review began] was a serious and unwarranted intrusion on the executive branch’s authority to control the use and distribution of extraordinarily sensitive government records”. The brief was submitted by the US solicitor general on behalf of the justice department. It represents the latest turn in what began as an effort by Trump to slow the criminal investigation of potential retention of national defense information but has expanded into a fraught legal battle. Read More…

US Forecast https://digitalalabamanews.com/us-forecast-68/ City/Town, State;Yesterday’s High Temp (F);Yesterday’s Low Temp (F);Today’s High Temp (F);Today’s Low Temp (F);Weather Condition;Wind Direction;Wind Speed (MPH);Humidity (%);Chance of Precip. (%);UV Index Albany, NY;66;47;71;55;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;11;60%;14%;4 Albuquerque, NM;74;51;76;51;Mostly sunny;NNE;7;32%;0%;5 Anchorage, AK;40;25;36;22;High clouds, chilly;NNE;7;72%;44%;1 Asheville, NC;71;54;66;58;A stray t-shower;SE;7;89%;91%;2 Atlanta, GA;77;62;73;63;A stray p.m. t-storm;S;7;84%;97%;2 Atlantic City, NJ;71;52;70;61;Breezy in the p.m.;S;12;65%;4%;4 Austin, TX;89;69;96;67;Mostly sunny, warm;WSW;5;54%;15%;5 Baltimore, MD;75;53;71;61;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;10;59%;40%;3 Baton Rouge, LA;85;67;85;69;A couple of t-storms;S;6;80%;91%;1 Billings, MT;67;44;60;41;Partly sunny;SW;7;49%;2%;3 Birmingham, AL;81;62;77;64;A heavy thunderstorm;S;8;78%;96%;3 Bismarck, ND;63;38;57;33;Windy;NW;20;36%;26%;3 Boise, ID;76;45;80;45;Sunny and warm;ENE;7;29%;0%;4 Boston, MA;66;50;73;56;Partly sunny;SSW;8;57%;6%;4 Bridgeport, CT;68;49;70;57;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;59%;6%;4 Buffalo, NY;71;52;71;59;Breezy;S;15;51%;98%;1 Burlington, VT;62;47;70;54;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;12;58%;10%;3 Caribou, ME;57;35;65;46;Partly sunny, mild;SSE;6;62%;10%;3 Casper, WY;59;35;62;32;Sunshine;NW;11;41%;1%;4 Charleston, SC;77;67;76;67;A p.m. t-storm;SE;9;80%;94%;1 Charleston, WV;75;52;76;59;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;70%;98%;3 Charlotte, NC;76;58;72;62;A t-storm around;SE;5;80%;99%;2 Cheyenne, WY;69;38;65;35;Sunny and breezy;NW;16;33%;1%;4 Chicago, IL;70;59;68;45;Thunderstorms;WSW;17;70%;97%;1 Cleveland, OH;75;57;73;57;Windy, a p.m. shower;SSW;18;55%;97%;1 Columbia, SC;76;62;77;65;A stray p.m. t-storm;SSE;6;76%;97%;2 Columbus, OH;73;52;75;53;Windy, a p.m. shower;SW;18;57%;98%;2 Concord, NH;63;38;72;47;Clouds and sun;S;7;62%;8%;4 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX;87;70;92;59;Mostly sunny, warm;N;12;46%;10%;5 Denver, CO;77;44;73;41;Sunny;E;8;28%;1%;4 Des Moines, IA;76;54;70;37;Increasingly windy;WNW;15;51%;33%;4 Detroit, MI;77;56;70;51;Couple of t-storms;SW;13;60%;99%;2 Dodge City, KS;85;48;78;43;Sunshine and nice;N;10;33%;1%;4 Duluth, MN;81;51;57;39;Showers around;W;14;68%;83%;1 El Paso, TX;80;56;84;57;Mostly sunny;NNW;5;38%;0%;5 Fairbanks, AK;35;19;32;17;Clearing and chilly;NNW;5;64%;32%;1 Fargo, ND;78;40;56;30;Increasingly windy;NW;16;48%;27%;1 Grand Junction, CO;75;44;74;44;Plenty of sunshine;E;7;29%;0%;4 Grand Rapids, MI;74;59;66;46;A shower and t-storm;SSW;16;75%;91%;1 Hartford, CT;70;47;72;56;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;58%;26%;4 Helena, MT;69;45;65;41;Plenty of sunshine;WNW;7;43%;0%;3 Honolulu, HI;86;74;81;71;A couple of showers;WNW;5;79%;90%;2 Houston, TX;85;71;91;71;A t-storm around;SSW;7;69%;55%;5 Indianapolis, IN;74;59;71;47;A heavy p.m. t-storm;WSW;12;59%;93%;2 Jackson, MS;83;60;83;64;Heavy thunderstorms;S;7;79%;99%;2 Jacksonville, FL;88;71;83;69;A t-storm around;E;6;78%;99%;2 Juneau, AK;53;47;51;49;Rain;SE;11;95%;100%;0 Kansas City, MO;79;57;75;47;Periods of sun;NW;9;50%;15%;4 Knoxville, TN;76;55;76;62;Periods of sun, nice;SSW;8;74%;99%;2 Las Vegas, NV;91;65;92;64;Sunny;NNW;6;23%;0%;5 Lexington, KY;75;56;78;56;Breezy;SW;13;64%;96%;3 Little Rock, AR;84;60;86;54;A heavy thunderstorm;NNW;9;61%;66%;4 Long Beach, CA;75;64;75;64;Low clouds breaking;SW;7;74%;28%;4 Los Angeles, CA;76;63;76;62;Low clouds breaking;SSW;6;79%;30%;4 Louisville, KY;76;59;79;54;Thunderstorms;WSW;14;61%;94%;3 Madison, WI;71;57;61;38;Showers around;W;12;71%;89%;1 Memphis, TN;80;62;85;57;A heavy thunderstorm;NW;10;56%;73%;4 Miami, FL;88;79;87;76;A t-storm in spots;E;9;73%;55%;4 Milwaukee, WI;75;60;67;42;Thunderstorms;W;14;70%;96%;2 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN;80;52;62;36;Breezy and cooler;WNW;14;49%;66%;2 Mobile, AL;82;69;80;69;A t-storm or two;SSE;6;84%;95%;1 Montgomery, AL;84;62;74;64;A heavy thunderstorm;S;6;82%;98%;2 Mt. Washington, NH;35;33;45;36;Windy in the morning;SSW;22;74%;9%;4 Nashville, TN;80;59;83;56;Very warm;SSW;11;55%;66%;3 New Orleans, LA;84;72;84;72;A couple of t-storms;SSW;7;77%;91%;2 New York, NY;71;54;70;61;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;55%;25%;4 Newark, NJ;72;49;72;57;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;54%;41%;4 Norfolk, VA;72;52;74;62;Lots of sun, nice;SSE;7;65%;25%;4 Oklahoma City, OK;78;62;80;50;Breezy;WNW;14;46%;40%;5 Olympia, WA;67;42;71;41;Mostly sunny, warm;NE;7;70%;3%;3 Omaha, NE;84;50;72;41;Increasingly windy;NW;15;43%;7%;4 Orlando, FL;90;73;87;73;A p.m. t-storm;SE;6;74%;91%;2 Philadelphia, PA;74;52;73;60;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;56%;27%;3 Phoenix, AZ;92;70;95;70;Plenty of sunshine;NNW;5;29%;0%;5 Pittsburgh, PA;72;51;74;58;A stray p.m. shower;S;10;58%;98%;3 Portland, ME;57;43;64;51;Partly sunny;SSW;7;69%;5%;3 Portland, OR;72;48;77;50;Mostly sunny;NNE;6;54%;3%;3 Providence, RI;68;48;73;53;Partly sunny, nice;S;7;59%;6%;4 Raleigh, NC;73;51;75;61;Partly sunny;SSE;6;67%;81%;4 Reno, NV;81;44;81;44;Sunny and warm;WNW;4;28%;0%;4 Richmond, VA;74;48;74;61;Clouds and sun;SSE;8;62%;77%;4 Roswell, NM;82;54;83;51;Mostly sunny;SW;7;37%;2%;5 Sacramento, CA;89;54;89;54;Mostly sunny, warm;S;5;45%;1%;4 Salt Lake City, UT;78;49;78;49;Sunny and very warm;ESE;7;31%;0%;4 San Antonio, TX;88;69;93;67;Very warm and humid;SSW;6;63%;15%;6 San Diego, CA;71;66;75;66;Low clouds breaking;NNW;8;72%;2%;5 San Francisco, CA;66;55;66;55;Low clouds breaking;WSW;11;74%;1%;3 Savannah, GA;79;68;79;66;Heavy p.m. t-storms;ESE;8;84%;98%;1 Seattle-Tacoma, WA;69;51;70;51;Mostly sunny;NNE;9;60%;3%;3 Sioux Falls, SD;84;46;64;35;Windy and cooler;NW;17;39%;41%;4 Spokane, WA;74;44;75;44;Brilliant sunshine;SE;5;50%;1%;3 Springfield, IL;67;60;71;44;A morning t-storm;W;14;66%;82%;1 St. Louis, MO;76;62;74;48;Thunderstorms;W;10;70%;91%;2 Tampa, FL;90;73;88;73;A t-storm or two;NNE;6;80%;94%;2 Toledo, OH;75;58;71;49;Thunderstorms;WSW;11;60%;96%;2 Tucson, AZ;86;63;89;63;Mostly sunny;E;6;36%;0%;5 Tulsa, OK;79;64;80;49;A morning shower;WNW;7;50%;40%;4 Vero Beach, FL;86;74;87;72;A stray thunderstorm;SE;8;77%;73%;2 Washington, DC;74;50;72;61;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;10;61%;63%;3 Wichita, KS;84;56;79;45;Partly sunny;N;10;38%;5%;4 Wilmington, DE;73;48;71;59;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;11;64%;55%;4 _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Read More…

The Best Apple Deals Available For Amazon Prime Day 2022 https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-best-apple-deals-available-for-amazon-prime-day-2022/ Think you have to wait until Black Friday to score a good deal on Apple devices? Think again. Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale (aka Prime Day 2.0) has officially arrived, and with it comes some pretty solid Apple deals. Right now, there are stellar deals to be had on Apple’s first-gen AirPods and the latest AirPods Pro, which are on sale for their lowest price to date. If you’re looking for something else, however, there are also deals available on the latest entry-level iPad and iPad Pro, the M1-powered MacBook Air, and more. Below, we’ve listed some of the best Apple deals currently available, all of which are exclusive to Amazon Prime subscribers. To save on non-Apple devices and other kinds of tech, be sure to also check out our complete list of the best deals from Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, which includes products from all kinds of brands. The best Apple deals from Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale The best AirPods deals $223.24 Apple’s latest AirPods Pro take after the last-gen model but include swipe controls and a new H2 chip that allows for improved noise cancellation. They also come with a water-resistant charging case that offers support for Apple’s robust Find My network. Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro only just recently launched, but you can currently buy them on sale for $223.24 instead of $249. While not a steep discount, that’s a new record low on the true wireless earbuds, which offer better noise cancellation than their predecessor, four replaceable tips, and even swipe controls. Read our review. If you don’t require active noise cancellation or water resistance, you might want to check out this deal on the second-gen AirPods. The 2019 earbuds are currently on sale with a wired charging case for $89.99 at Amazon instead of $129 and Walmart, which is one of their best prices to date. They may be older, but these earbuds still sound great, offer decent battery life, and feature reliable wireless performance. Read our review. The best iPad deals $269 Apple’s latest entry-level iPad represents a slight update, with a new A13 Bionic chip and a 12MP front camera that supports Apple’s Center Stage feature. Amazon and Best Buy are discounting various configurations of Apple’s latest 10.2-inch iPad. Right now, for instance, the entry-level model with 64GB of storage and Wi-Fi is on sale right now for around $269 instead of $329. The iPad comes equipped with a 3.5mm audio jack, a 12MP wide-angle camera that supports Apple’s Center Stage feature, and A13 Bionic processor. Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro is also on sale today. The fast, M1-powered iPad boasts an impressive display, as well as nice features like a 120Hz refresh rate. Various sizes and configurations are on sale, with the Wi-Fi-enabled model with 128GB of storage starting at $899 instead of $1,099 at Amazon and Walmart. Read our review. You can currently buy Apple’s latest, Wi-Fi-equipped iPad Air with 64GB of storage for $519.99 instead of $599 at Amazon and Best Buy. Not only is the new iPad Air powered by Apple’s still-speedy M1 chip, but it also features all-day battery life and an excellent display. Read our review. Apple’s latest iPad Mini with USB-C charging and 64GB of storage is $399.99 at Best Buy. While we’ve seen this $100-off deal before, it’s always nice to see it come back. Verge Deals on Twitter / Join over 50,000 followers and keep up with the best daily tech deals with @vergedeals Follow us! The best MacBook deals $799 The MacBook Air is Apple’s entry-level laptop, which comes outfitted with the company’s new M1 chip in one of three different colors (silver, space gray, and gold). The M1-powered Macbook Air from 2020 is on sale for $799 ($200 off) at Amazon and Best Buywhen you buy the model equipped with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. While not as fast as the newer M2-powered MacBook, it’s still excellent and offers nice features like all-day battery life. Read our review. The newer 2022 MacBook Air with the M2 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD is $1,049 at Best Buy, following a $150 discount. Read our review. The best Apple TV 4K deals The latest version of the Apple TV 4K with 32GB of storage is on sale for $79 instead of $144 at Walmart. This second-gen model comes with a Siri remote as well as support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR. Read our review. Miscellaneous Apple deals $349 The latest smartwatch from Apple features watchOS 9, along with Crash Detection and temperature sensors that enable menstrual cycle tracking — something you won’t find on any other model. The Apple Watch Series 8 (GPS, 41mm) is currently $50 off at Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart, bringing the price down to $349. This is the latest model, which has new temperature sensors for tracking your cycle, as well as a new high-g accelerometer and gyroscope for crash detection. Read our review. This price matches Amazon’s. The 45mm-sized watch costs $379. Amazon is selling Apple’s AirTag loop, which you can use to attach your AirTags to luggage and other accessories, in blue, orange, and yellow for $13.99 instead of $29. Amazon is also selling Apple’s Leather Key Ring in yellow and orange for $24.99 instead of $35. Verge Deals / Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we’ve tested sent to your inbox daily. Read More…