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Fact-Check: Did Democrats Suggest 2016 Presidential Election Was Stolen? https://digitalalabamanews.com/fact-check-did-democrats-suggest-2016-presidential-election-was-stolen/ Warren Fiske, PolitiFact.com  |  Austin American-Statesman Glenn Youngkin: “In 2016, Democrats suggested that the election was stolen.” Rating: Half True Here’s why: Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently gave his blessings to an “Election Integrity Unit” established by Attorney General Jason Miyares, a fellow Republican, to investigate and prosecute violations of Virginia’s election laws. Youngkin visited Loudoun County’s Office of Elections on Sept. 20 to watch officials test vote-counting machines. Reporters asked him why the 20-person unit is needed when, as Democrats note, Virginia elections have been basically clean. “People have concerns about the election process and oh by the way, it’s not just Republicans; it’s Democrats,” Youngkin said. “Let’s just remind ourselves that in 2016 Democrats suggested that the election was stolen.” Did Democrats suggest the 2016 presidential election, won by Donald Trump, was hijacked? The claim is often made by Republicans advancing Trump’s disproven claims that the 2020 presidential election, won by Joe Biden, was stolen by fraudulent vote counting. Youngkin, after some initial hedging, acknowledged last year that Biden was legitimately elected.  Youngkin’s office sent us a number of recordings of prominent Democrats saying that Trump’s 2016 victory was turned by events that occurred during the campaign, especially documented Russian interference on Trump’s behalf.  It’s important to point out, however, that the Democrats did not question the actual counting of ballots in 2016, as Youngkin’s statement implies, or that Trump won the election. Let’s look at the information Youngkin’s office sent. Hillary Clinton In 2016, 2.8 million more people voted for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton than Trump, but she lost the determining Electoral College vote. During a September 2019 interview on CBS, she blamed her loss on voting restrictions passed by some states before the 2016 election and Russian hacking of her campaign that was later confirmed by a U.S. Department of Justice investigation. Trump “knows he’s an illegitimate president,” Clinton said. “I believe he understands that the many varying tactics they used, from voter suppression and voter purging to hacking to the false stories — he knows that — there were just a bunch of different reasons why the election turned out like it did … I know he knows this wasn’t on the level.” In an October 2020 interview with The Atlantic, Clinton said, “There was a widespread understanding that [the 2016] election was not on the level. We still don’t know what happened … but you don’t win by 3 million votes and have all this other shenanigans and stuff going on and not come away with an idea like, ‘Whoa, something’s not right here.’”  Jimmy Carter In June 2019, Jimmy Carter, the former Democratic president, said, “There’s no doubt that the Russians did interfere in the election, and I think the interference, although not yet quantified, if fully investigated would show that Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.” Bernie Sanders Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is an independent who has twice sought the Democratic presidential nomination. During an ABC interview in January 2017, he twice declined to say whether he thought Trump would be “a legitimate president.” “I think he’s going to be inaugurated this week,” Sanders said. “I have great concerns, apparently Republicans do as well, and there’s going to be an investigation about the role that Russian hacking played in getting (Trump) elected.” John Lewis The late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said in January 2017 he would not attend Trump’s inauguration. “I do not see this president-elect as a legitimate president,” he told NBC. “I think there was a conspiracy on the part of the Russians and others that helped him get elected. That’s not right. That’s not fair. That’s not the open democratic process.” Jerry Nadler Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said in January 2017 that Trump was legally elected but an “illegitimate” president. “He was legally elected,” Nadler said. “But the Russians weighing in on the election, the Russian attempt to hack the election and, frankly, the FBI’s weighing in on the election make his election illegitimate. But he is the president.” Nadler’s reference to the FBI concerned then-FBI Director James Comey’s disclosure to Congress, 11 days before the 2016 election, that he was reopening an investigation into whether emails stored on Clinton’s personal computer contained classified information. Maxine Waters Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., was among seven House Democrats who raised futile objections to the Electoral College count by Congress in January 2017 that certified Trump’s victory. They tried to argue that the election was tainted by Russian interference and voter suppression. They were overruled because none of their objections had required support from a senator. Polling Youngkin’s office also sent us an April 2022 Rasmussen poll. It showed that 72% of Democrats believe it’s likely the 2016 election outcome was changed by Russian interference, but that opinion is shared by only 30% of Republicans and 39% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Our ruling Youngkin said, “In 2016, Democrats suggested that the election was stolen.” He was referring to Trump’s victory in the presidential election. Youngkin, a Republican, made the claim while endorsing the formation of an “Election Integrity Unit” by Virginia’s attorney general to investigate violations of the state’s election laws. He was at the Loudoun County Office of Elections, where he had just witnessed the testing of vote-counting equipment. Democrats say the integrity unit is an effort to placate disproven Republican claims that Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election was caused by vote-counting fraud. Youngkin, in responding to that accusation, said concern over election fraud is a bipartisan issue. Indeed, some well-known Democrats — including Clinton — said Trump’s 2016 victory was fishy. They mostly cited events that happened during the campaign, such as Russian hacking of campaign information and Comey’s announcement that the FBI was reopening an investigation into Clinton’s emails. They also complained that many states had passed laws that suppressed voter turnout. But Youngkin’s contention that the Democratic response in 2016 equates with the Republican response to 2020 runs into trouble. The Democrats, while questioning events that occurred during the campaign, didn’t contend there was widespread vote-counting fraud that flipped the election.  The Democratic leaders cited by Youngkin’s office also made a distinction about 2016 that Trump and his followers did not about 2020. While the Democrats rejected the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency based on the oddities of the campaign, they acknowledged that he won the election. All told, we rate Youngkin’s statement Half True. Our sources Glenn Youngkin, comments in Loudoun County, Sept. 20, 2022 Jason Miyares, news release, Sept. 9, 2022 PolitiFact, “Fact-checking Trump’s election fraud falsehoods in White House remarks,” Nov. 5, 2020 Email from Macaulay Porter, Youngkin’s press secretary, Sept. 22, 2022 U.S. Department of Justice, “Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election,” March 2019 Hillary Clinton, CBS interview, Sept. 29, 2022 Clinton, interview with The Atlantic, Oct. 7, 2020 (37:30 mark) The Washington Post, “Hillary Clinton: Trump is an ‘illegitimate president,’” Sept. 26, 2019 The Washington Post, “Jimmy Carter says Trump wouldn’t be president without help from Russia,” June 28, 2018 Bernie Sanders, ABC interview, Jan. 15, 2017 |Jerry Nadler, CNN interviews, Jan. 17 and 18, 2017 John Lewis, NBC interview, Jan. 13, 2017 Congressional Record, Jan. 6, 2017 Rasmussen Reports, “Democrats Still Believe Russia Changed 2016 Election,” April 21, 2022 Republican National Committee, “Over 150 Example of Democrats Denying Election Results,” Jan. 28, 2022 The Washington Post, “The 2020 election was neither stolen nor rigged: A primer,” Sept. 15, 2022 PolitiFact, “Democrats didn’t refuse to acknowledge Trump’s 2016 victory,” Nov. 24,2020 PolitiFact, “Fact-checking the integrity of the vote in 2016,” Dec. 17, 2016 Read More…

Birmingham Program Aims To Increase Student Reading Skills, Fight Crime https://digitalalabamanews.com/birmingham-program-aims-to-increase-student-reading-skills-fight-crime/ Want more state education news? Sign up for The Alabama Education Lab’s free, weekly newsletter, Ed Chat. Two Birmingham-area schools are among recipients of a $107,000 grant-funded effort to tackle long-term crime prevention in the metro area. Volunteers and community advocates are working with Better Basics, an organization founded in 1993, to eradicate illiteracy and help students achieve job and career options. The program also comes amid efforts to address crime rates, and the long-term effects of violence on children. According to the Department of Justice, there is a link between high crime rates and illiteracy. Better Basics aims to disrupt relying on criminal activities as probable means of financial survival by providing basic levels of academic competences and credentials. “Low literacy skills are one of the most significant common factors for individuals in custody in the United States,” said Kristi Bradford, the executive director of Better Basics. “Across the country, 85% of juveniles and 60% of adults within the criminal justice system are functionally illiterate.” Better Basics recently was awarded $28,117 in grant funding. The program partners with classroom teachers to provide needed intervention in reading and math for students in grades K-4 who are performing below grade level. Teachers who are often retired are equipped to deliver lessons to students in small groups. Central Park Elementary School in Fairfield and Martha Gaskins Elementary School in Center Point are the two schools selected to receive the benefits of this grant. Both schools are respectively stationed near the east and west precincts and were chosen because these locations make up for the largest amounts of the crimes that happen in Birmingham. “Combined, total crime rates in the east and west precinct areas make up 55% of all crimes committed in the city of Birmingham,” Bradford said. The funding comes amid other grant support for efforts to lessen and prevent crime rates in Birmingham, which were approved by Gov. Kay Ivey this fall. “These grants offer another tool to help law enforcement agencies and community organizations,” her office said. Jeremy Sherer, the U.S. Assistant Attorney for the northern district in Birmingham and overseer of Project Safe Neighborhoods, keeps a proactive attitude in support of anti-crime efforts in Birmingham. “Our office would always rather prevent a crime than prosecute a crime,” Sherer said. Claudine Land, a second year volunteer for the program, describes a typical Better Basics volunteer day: the volunteers ensure communication between teachers, administration and parents. Making sure the curriculum is translated at a level of understanding for all is also important. She loves seeing the excitement on the faces of children once they grasp the understanding of concepts. “In addition, knowing the children worked hard and accomplished the very skill that they once lacked is rewarding,” said Land. “Seeing the improvement in their subject score is extremely gratifying.” Land makes sure that each student’s curriculum packet is complete with whatever information is being learned that day. She also checks that laptops and other electronic assistance has been provided to everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods has worked with the Better Basics program since 2014 and has been funding the program since 2015. Sherer’s office manages the data that correlates illiteracy with criminal risks, deferring to Better Basics to determine which schools are the most high-risk and necessary to work with. “We’ve invested a lot,” said Sherer, “whether it’s grants through PSN or volunteer hours from staff in supporting initiatives that serve at-risk youth in Birmingham and elsewhere in the district.” The goal for this grant is to increase mathematics and reading skills at Martha Gaskins and Central Park schools during the 2022-23 school year. The hope is that students will be solidified with the foundational skills that they can build on during the remainder of their journey in school. “It’s more difficult to help a 25-year-old adult than a five-year-old kid,” Sherer said. “These communities deal with complex problems. The more programming we can provide kids, the better.” During the 2020-21 school year, all of the Better Basics programs were virtual, but Bradford said volunteers were still able to help students. 2nd & 3rd grade students increased reading fluency by 11 months; 2nd and 3rd grade students increased reading comprehension by 3.7 book levels; and 3rd grade students increased mastery of basic grade-level math skills by 75%. “I would recommend the Better Basics program because the volunteers truly have a heart of gold and are extremely dedicated to helping each student improve their education,” Land said. “The results speak for themselves.” The Better Basics program currently has over 500 volunteers, 15 full- and part-time staff members and varying seasonal employees located in several schools across the city. In the 2021-22 school year, over 22,000 children were served. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

Biden Has A Big Oil Problem. Here's What You Need To Know About The Recent OPEC+ Decision. | CNN Politics https://digitalalabamanews.com/biden-has-a-big-oil-problem-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-recent-opec-decision-cnn-politics/ A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. Washington CNN  —  With just weeks to go until the November midterms, four letters are haunting President Joe Biden and the Democrats: OPEC. Last week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, said that it will slash oil production by 2 million barrels per day, the biggest cut since the start of the pandemic, in a move that threatens to push gasoline prices higher just weeks before US midterm elections. The group announced the production cut following its first meeting in person since March 2020. The reduction is equivalent to about 2% of global oil demand. The Biden administration criticized the decision in a statement, calling it “shortsighted” and saying that it’s harmful to some countries already struggling with elevated energy prices the most. The production cuts will start in November. OPEC+, which combines OPEC countries and allies such as Russia, will meet again in December. For one perspective on the OPEC+ decision and to better understand how it affects everyone, we turned to Hossein Askari, who teaches international business at The George Washington University. Our conversation, conducted over the phone and lightly edited for flow and brevity, is below. WHAT MATTERS: Can you walk us through this recent OPEC decision? What’s happening exactly? ASKARI: So when the war in Ukraine started, sorry to tell your audience, but the United States was not very well prepared in what it was going to do. It sanctioned Russia for this and for that. And so the price of oil started going up. And at the same time, the United States actually put sanctions on Russian oil, not on gas, on oil. And so there was less Russian oil in the Western markets. Russia actually started selling its oil more and more to China and to India and cutting its prices to those countries. So they would buy Russian oil, but there was a shortage of oil. Another reason why the shortage had developed was America basically sanctions like a mad cowboy, if I may say that. It has sanctioned Venezuela for many years. But Saudi Arabia, with the new effective ruler who’s known as MBS, he has cozied up to Putin. And so when President Biden went and saw him a few months back and kind of asked him to increase oil production – I’m sorry to say this, I have to throw in this bit of politics – I think America really shamed itself by doing that. Of course, MBS did not respond positively. But now he, in fact, has gone over the top. He has agreed within OPEC – and of course he’s the main spokesman in OPEC with Russia – that they will cut back. WHAT MATTERS: What does the OPEC decision mean for the average American? ASKARI: From where we are now, crude oil prices by the end of the year, my guess, maximum, they’ll go up by $5 a barrel. Now, a lot of people think they’re gonna go up more than that. I don’t believe that, because I think the world economy is going to grow less and I think that we are going to see some Venezuelan oil come on the market, and I think we may see some deals made so some more Iranian oil may come on the market. For gasoline, I think Americans can see maybe prices going up from where they are today, if nothing else happens, by about another 30 to 50 cents a gallon. However, there is also another problem for Americans that is home heating oil, and that can also go up. So for the average American, they’re going to pay, no matter what, something more per gallon of gasoline at the pump. And I think there’s going to be more of an impact, actually, on the fuel oil that they heat their houses with. So it’s gonna put on the squeeze on the average American. There’s no two ways about it. WHAT MATTERS: What should the US do now? ASKARI: I think the United States should be much, much tougher with Saudi Arabia because we have bent over backward to accommodate them in every way. And we have looked the other way with what they’ve done. And now it’s the time to be tough. They’ve been tough with us. I think the President of the United States should be tough with Saudi Arabia. WHAT MATTERS: What else can the US do in terms of helping with oil prices in the immediate term? ASKARI: I think undoubtedly this administration has very bad rapport with US oil companies and energy companies. I think that there should be more behind-the scenes cooperation with the oil companies and the administration because you really need them now to cooperate. I know a lot of people don’t believe in fracking, but maybe it’s time to do some more fracking. Maybe it’s time to increase output. They can increase output elsewhere too. I think that would be extremely, extremely helpful. And I think the US oil companies – and I’m not a backer of oil companies, please don’t misunderstand – but I think they feel that the administration basically just wants to drive them out business. WHAT MATTERS: Anything else you’d like to add? ASKARI: Some people think that OPEC decisions are purely economic. Some people think purely political. It has always been both, especially for Saudi Arabia. It is really Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates driving OPEC’s decision. I think Americans should understand it’s not the other members, it’s not Nigeria or Iran. I feel Americans should understand who are our friends and who are not our friends. Read More…

Local Beer Fans, Meet Huntsville’s Only Female Head-Brewer https://digitalalabamanews.com/local-beer-fans-meet-huntsvilles-only-female-head-brewer/ From The Lede Published: Oct. 10, 2022, 7:30 a.m. Genna Flynn, head-brewer at Green Bus Brewing in Huntsville, Alabama (Courtesy Genna Flynn) Two years into a culinary career, Genna Flynn realized for her, “doing the chef stuff,” cooking for mostly strangers instead of just friends and family, “wasn’t as fun or fulfilling as I thought it would be.” She’d also started hanging out at Green Bus Brewing. Located in downtown Huntsville, Green Bus is a nanobrewery housed in a 150-year-old-plus building that oozes neighborhood pub charm you can’t synthesize, even though Green Bus has only been here since 2016. As you walk into the place and look up, you’ll see the severed visage of a ‘70s Volkswagen van mounted on a wall. It’s a cool cozy space. In early 2022, Flynn became the head brewer at Green Bus, located at 206 Eustis Ave S.E. She’s the only head brewer in Huntsville, a city with a robust craft-beer scene and no shortage of breweries. Female head brewers are a rarity in the state of Alabama too. And somewhat in the industry as a whole, where the well-earned head brewer stereotype is a trucker-hat-wearing, bearded-white-dude. Unlike most other local breweries, Green Bus’ beer is sold only in its taproom and not at restaurants and bars or via commercially packaged cans or bottles. “I love my job here. I love the people that come in. It’s a great atmosphere,” says Flynn, who is 29-years-old. Genna Flynn, head-brewer at Green Bus Brewing in Huntsville, Alabama (Courtesy Genna Flynn) If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

BCA, Alabama Technology Network Announces 2022 Manufacturer Of The Year Winners https://digitalalabamanews.com/bca-alabama-technology-network-announces-2022-manufacturer-of-the-year-winners/ The Business Council of Alabama (BCA), in partnership with the Alabama Technology Network (ATN) have announced the 2022 Manufacturer of the Year (MOTY) Award winners.  Winners were selected for three categories: Small, Medium, and Large Manufacturers of the Year. The Emerging Manufacturer of the Year also recognizes an upstart manufacturer who has been in business less than five years who has displayed significant growth, with the potential to breakout in the coming years. The awards recognize those leading the way in leadership, performance, profitability, and workforce relations. Winners are selected by an independent panel of judges based on demonstration of superior performance in customer focus, employee commitment, operating excellence, continuous improvement, profitable growth, and investment in training and retraining.  Since its inception over 20 years ago, the Alabama Manufacturer of the Year Awards program has continued to recognize the state’s top manufacturers – celebrating the hard work and dedication of each employee and promoting the many exemplary accomplishments of Alabama’s best and brightest industry leaders. “BCA is proud to support these leading manufacturers who are dedicated to keeping Alabama’s manufacturing industry the best in the nation through their hard-working employees, superior performance, and excellence in innovation,” said Executive Director, Robin Stone. “From small businesses to large industrial employers, each of the category winners and finalists have certainly set themselves apart. We are honored to partner with ATN to recognize these impressive Made-In-Alabama manufacturers.” “Alabama’s manufacturers have a monumental impact on our economy – and it is industry leaders like these being recognized today that keep our state moving forward in growth and development. ATN is pleased to stand alongside BCA to support and recognize these top-notch manufacturers at the 23rd annual Manufacturer of the Year Awards.” stated Executive Director of ATN, Keith Phillips. Category winners were recognized at an event at the Alabama Activity Center in Montgomery today, highlighted by remarks from the Alabama Secretary of Commerce, Greg Canfield. Secretary Canfield touched on the beneficial economic impact manufacturers have on Alabama:  “The Manufacturer of the Year award winners are the foundation of Alabama’s economic success. These incredible companies continue to move Alabama forward with their motivated workforce, innovation, and growth-minded business models. I am honored to help recognize the best in Alabama manufacturing.” Awards were presented in three categories based on the number of employees: small with 99 or fewer employees; medium with 100-399 employees; and large with 400 or greater employees.  The award winners this year are as follows: Alabama Secretary of Commerce, Greg Canfield, presents representatives from Douglas Manufacturing with the Small Manufacturer of the Year award. CONTRIBUTED Small Manufacturer of the Year: Douglas Manufacturing Established in 1978, Douglas Manufacturing has long been known as a leading manufacturer of conveyor components and engineered conveying solutions. All Conveyor Components are proudly designed and manufactured in Pell City, Alabama where they convey innovation every day. For 44 years, Douglas has codified its legacy as a leader and innovator in the conveyor industry. Douglas Manufacturing’s mission is to maintain their status as a recognized leader and continue to help customers make their conveyor operations safer and more profitable. Representatives from Aker Solutions stand with Sec. Canfield after receiving the Medium Manufacturer of the Year award. CONTRIBUTED Medium Manufacturer of the Year: Aker Solutions Aker Solutions’ experienced workforce, innovative manufacturing, and commitment to solve global energy challenges makes them one of Alabama’s Manufacturers of the Year. Located in the Mobile Middle Bay Port, Aker Solutions delivers integrated solutions to the global energy industry. By enabling low-carbon oil and gas production, and developing renewable solutions to meet future energy needs, Aker Solutions is accelerating the transition to sustainable energy production. Sec. Canfield presents the Large Manufacturer of the Year award to representatives of Bridgewater Interiors, LLC. CONTRIBUTED Large Manufacturer of the Year: Bridgewater Interiors, LLC Located in Eastaboga, AL, Bridgewater Interiors, LLC has been providing customer-focused automotive interior manufacturing services since 2004. Bridgewater Interiors, LLC upholds industry- leading standards and performance levels that fulfill the ideals of Minority Business Enterprise leadership. The company heeds the responsibility of good corporate citizenship, dedicated community involvement, and commitment to inclusion and diversity in its supplier base and employee ranks. Representatives of YKTA stand for photo with Sec. Canfield as they receive the Emerging Manufacturer of the Year award. CONTRIBUTED Emerging Manufacturer of the Year:  YKTA (Y-TEC Keylex Toyotetsu Alabama, Inc.) Manufacturing high-quality parts since 2019, YKTA strives to uphold their values of harmony, co-creation, and fairness in all areas of their business. Located in Madison, Alabama, YKTA is a joint venture between Mazda supplier – Y-TEC; expert in design and manufacture of vehicle body parts – Keylex; and Toyota supplier – Toyotetsu. The 2022 Alabama Manufacturer of the Year Award finalists in alphabetical order are below: Adventech LLC Aker Solutions American Metal Group Avanti Polar Lipids Bridgewater Interiors, LLC Douglas Manufacturing Ecovery, LLC Goat Island Craft Brewing, LLC Golden State Foods Homtex Johnson Labs, Inc. McVantage Packaging, LLC Southeastern Extrusion & Tool, Inc. Specification Rubber Products YKTA (YTEC Keylex Toyotetsu Alabama Read More…

Early Edition: October 10, 2022 https://digitalalabamanews.com/early-edition-october-10-2022/ Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated weekday guide to major national security news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news. RUSSIA, UKRAINE – KERCH BRIDGE EXPLOSION ​​The Kerch Bridge in Crimea was partially destroyed by an explosion Saturday morning. The damage to the bridge, which comes as Ukrainian advances continue to reclaim occupied territories from Moscow’s forces, endangers a crucial route for Russian military supplies to support its forces in southern Ukraine. The head of the Russian-installed regional parliament in Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov, blamed the damage to the bridge on “Ukrainian vandals,” according to Russian media. Kyiv hasn’t claimed responsibility for the damage to the bridge, but Ukrainian officials celebrated the blast on social media. Sergei Kuznetsov reports for POLITICO.  Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday accused Ukraine of being behind the attack on the bridge linking Crimea to Russia, calling it an act of terrorism. “There is no doubt that this is a terrorist attack aimed at destroying the critically important civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation,” Putin said, summing up the attack in just two sentences. “The authors, performers, and customers are the secret services of Ukraine.” After the president’s remarks were published, a reporter from the state-run Russian news outlet RIA Novosti asked Putin’s spokesperson whether the “terrorist attack” fell within the category under Russian defense doctrine that allowed for a nuclear response. “No,” the spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, responded, according to the outlet. Neil MacFarquhar reports for the New York Times.  Putin will hold a meeting of his national security council today, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state-owned news agency TASS. Although Peskov declined to say whether they would discuss the explosion on the Kerch Bridge connecting Russian-occupied Crimea to Russia, it is bound to be on the security council’s agenda. Russia has opened an investigation into the explosion. Sarah Anne Aarup reports for POLITICO.  Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia will destroy the “terrorists” responsible for the attack on the Kerch bridge in Crimea. In an interview with Russian journalist Nadana Friedrichson, Medvedev said the hit on the crucial artery was a “terror attack” carried out by “the failed state of Ukraine.” “Russia’s response to this crime can only be the direct destruction of terrorists, just as other countries would react. This is exactly what the citizens of Russia are waiting for,” Medvedev said. “This is a terrorist act and sabotage committed by the criminal Kyiv regime. There was never any doubt about this. All reports and conclusions have been made.” Katharina Krebs reports for CNN.  RUSSIA, UKRAINE – FIGHTING In what appears to be the heaviest wave of missile and rocket attacks since the opening week of the war, Russia hit cities across Ukraine on Monday, including the capital Kyiv, where at least five people were killed. Explosions were reported across other major Ukrainian cities, including in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Lviv, as Moscow unleashed a barrage of missiles in waves. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Kyiv was reaching out to its Western allies to organize a response to the strikes, which appear to be retribution for Saturday’s attack on the Kerch Bridge. Missy Ryan and Isabelle Khurshudyan report for the Washington Post.  ​​A children’s playground was among the sites hit by missile attacks on Kyiv. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, posted photos on Twitter of what appears to be a playground with the caption: “Children’s playground in the center of Kyiv after the attack.” Angus Watson reports for CNN.  China has expressed hope that the situation in Ukraine will be “de-escalated soon,” following apparent Russian strikes on Kyiv. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said China had noted reports of both the explosion on the Kerch bridge linking Crimea with mainland Russia on Saturday and Monday’s strikes on Kyiv. Speaking during a daily briefing in Beijing, Mao reiterated China’s position on the situation in Ukraine, stressing China has “always maintained that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected.” Niamh Kennedy reports for CNN.  Power cuts have been reported in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv following an explosion “at a critical infrastructure facility,” Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi posted on Telegram. “Part of the city is without electricity. A third of the traffic lights do not work,” Sadovyi wrote. “Due to the lack of electricity, the operation of the city’s thermal power stations has been temporarily suspended. Therefore, hot water is not provided at the moment.” Tim Lister reports for CNN.  European leaders have criticized Russian missile attacks on residential buildings that have left scores of civilians dead and wounded in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia over the past week. Top E.U. diplomat Josep Borrell said: “The E.U. condemns Russia’s relentless attacks against civilians all over Ukraine, with dozens of victims every week. All those responsible will be held to account.” The European Commissioner for Crisis Response Janez Lenarcic also reacted to the attacks, saying, “Civilians and civilian infrastructure must not be the target. Never. Nowhere.” The attacks have also been condemned by the foreign ministries of Lithuania, Belgium, Romania, Croatia, and North Macedonia. Mariya Knight reports for CNN.  External power has been restored to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant after repeated shelling caused an outage lasting nearly two days. This is according to a statement by the director of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi, who is set to visit Russia early this week for talks about establishing a safety zone around the plant. Carly Olson reports for the New York Times.  RUSSIA, UKRAINE – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS  The Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan has unilaterally cancelled joint military drills between the six nations making up the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The Kyrgyz defense ministry did not specify the reason for cancelling the “Indestructible Brotherhood-2022” command and staff exercises, which were set to be held in the country’s eastern highlands Monday to Friday. According to earlier reports, the exercises were set to involve army personnel from CSTO members Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and focus on securing ceasefires. Observers from five further states, including Serbia, Syria, and Uzbekistan, had also been invited. AP reports.  India has declined to say whether it will vote to condemn Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory in a U.N. General Assembly session this week. “As a matter of prudence and policy, we don’t predict our votes in advance,” India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at a news conference. The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote on Wednesday on a resolution that condemns Russia’s recent illegal annexation of four Ukrainian provinces. Jake Kwon, Richard Roth and Rhea Mogul report for CNN.  NORTH KOREA  North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters yesterday. Japanese Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino who confirmed the launches said the weapons could be submarine-launched ballistic missiles. North Korea’s pursuit of the ability to fire missiles from a submarine would constitute an alarming development for its rivals because it’s harder to detect such launches in advance. The launch, North Korea’s seventh round of weapons tests in two weeks, came hours after the U.S. and South Korea wrapped up two days of naval drills off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast. Hyung-Jin Kim and Mari Yamaguchi report for AP.  North Korea’s recent missile tests are part of a series of simulated procedures intended to demonstrate its readiness to fire tactical nuclear warheads at South Korea, North Korean state media has said. Quoting leader Kim Jong Un, who oversaw the drills, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said the tests showed Pyongyang was ready to respond to regional tension by involving its “huge armed forces.” The series of seven drills of North Korea’s “tactical nuclear operation units” showed that its “nuclear combat forces” are “fully ready to hit and wipe out the set objects at the intended places in the set time,” the agency said. Brad Lendon Yoonjung Seo and Gawon Bae report for CNN.   The Biden administration has announced new sanctions targeting businessmen and companies in Asia that officials say help support the development of North Korea’s weapons and military. “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues its unprecedented pace, scale, and scope of ballistic missile launches this year,” U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a statement, using North Korea’s formal name. “This year alone, it has launched 41 ballistic missiles. Six of these were intercontinental ballistic missiles,” he added. Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.  GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS  Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has said that there is “no room for compromise” over the self-ruled island’s sovereignty. She is, however, willing to work with China to find “mutually acceptable ways” to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait. “I call on the Beijing authorities that resorting to war must not be the option for cross-strait relations,” Tsai said during a speech marking Taiwan’s National Day. “Only by respecting Taiwanese people’s insistence on sovereignty, freedom, and democracy can we resume positive interactions across the Taiwan Strait,” she added. Eric Cheung reports for CNN. Five teen...

From Fringe To Front Row: Congresswoman Greene Rises In GOP https://digitalalabamanews.com/from-fringe-to-front-row-congresswoman-greene-rises-in-gop/ WASHINGTON (AP) — Marjorie Taylor Greene took her seat directly behind Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, a proximity to power for the firebrand congresswoman that did not go unnoticed, as he unveiled the House GOP’s midterm election agenda in Pennsylvania. Days later, she appeared on stage warming up the crowd for Donald Trump, when the former president rallied voters in Michigan to cast ballots for Republicans, including for control of Congress. Once shunned as a political pariah for her extremist rhetoric, the Georgia congresswoman who spent her first term in the House stripped of institutional power by Democrats is being celebrated by Republicans and welcomed into the GOP fold. If Republicans win the House majority in the November election, Greene is poised to become an influential player shaping the GOP agenda, an agitator with clout. “No. 1, we need to impeach Joe Biden. No. 2, We need to impeach Secretary Mayorkas. And No. 3, we should impeach Merrick Garland,” Greene told The Associated Press outside the U.S. Capitol. Alejandro Mayorkas is the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Garland the attorney general. Scolding the media for having been “wrong about me” from the start, she said those who know better “take me very seriously.” “I’m going to be a strong legislator and I’ll be a very involved member of Congress,” she predicted. “I know how to work inside, and I know how to work outside. And I’m looking forward to doing that.” This is the outlook for the Republican Party in the Trump era, the normalizing of once fringe figures into the highest ranks of political power. It’s a sign of the GOP’s rightward drift that Greene’s association with extremists and nationalists, violent rhetoric and remarks about Jewish people have found a home in elected office. Her ascent brings into focus the challenge ahead for McCarthy, whose GOP ranks are filling with far-right political stars with the potential to play an oversized role in setting the policies, priorities and tone of the new Congress. “I’ve said for a long time there’s a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party,” said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, at a briefing ahead of the midterm elections. When the congresswoman says outlandish things — as she did at the Trump rally earlier this month claiming “Democrats want Republicans dead, and they’ve already started the killings” — few Republican leaders dare a public or private rebuke of such incendiary language. In this case, she was exaggerating two local incidents involving politics, one that ended tragically in a fatality. Greene’s political currency stretches beyond her massive social media following and her ability to rake in sizable sums from donors. Her proximity to Trump makes her a force that cannot be ignored by what’s left of her mainstream GOP colleagues. McCarthy’s allowance for Greene to sit front and center with leadership for the campaign rollout was not by accident but design. The Republican lawmakers in attendance celebrated her presence, calling it a sign of the GOP’s “big tent” that welcomes all comers. But Greene’s arrival also signaled a stark normalizing of the most extreme elements in the Republican Party. Longtime political strategist Rick Wilson, a former Republican who left the party in the Trump era, calls Greene’s brand of politics “government by trolling” that marks a dangerous new era for the GOP and will make it difficult to govern. McCarthy is in line to become House speaker if Republicans regain the majority. “No matter what the trolling part of the Republican caucus does, you can’t ever satisfy them,” said Wilson, now at the Lincoln Project. With the departure of the last vestiges of the anti-Trump wing of the House GOP — Liz Cheney defeated by a primary opponent and Adam Kinzinger deciding to step down rather than seek reelection — “that’s it,” Wilson said. Greene swept onto the national stage in the 2020 election, catapulted forward even before she took office. As the lawmaker-elect from northwest Georgia, she attended a key organizing meeting at the Trump White House as lawmakers laid plans to object to the certification of Joe Biden’s election on Jan. 6, 2021. When she arrived to be sworn into Congress, she wore a “Trump Won” face mask. Democrats moved swiftly and unequivocally to reprimand Greene, voting to strip her of congressional committee assignments over her incendiary rhetoric, including trafficking in volatile conspiracy theories. Greene drew rebuke from her own party a few months later for comparing mandatory COVID-19 face masks to the treatment of Jewish people by Nazi Germany. While some have tried to compare Greene to outspoken far-left lawmakers, it became clear even to Republican leaders that Greene stood in a category of her own. At that time, McCarthy called her comments about the Holocaust “wrong” and “appalling.” Greene later apologized. In many ways, Greene’s arrival in the House traces the arc of the Republican Party’s rightward evolution from the Newt Gingrich revolution that brought conservatives to power in the 1994 election, to the “tea party” Republicans that regained the House majority in 2010. Jack Kingston, a former Republican congressman who rose during those earlier eras, said McCarthy was smart in welcoming Greene to unfurl the House GOP’s “Commitment to America” last month. “He’s got to work with her, and he knows that,” Kingston said. “Getting Marjorie Taylor Greene on board is very important,” he said. “If you don’t bring everybody in the tent, they’re going to find their own niche.” In the interview, Greene said she is certain she will be reinstated on her congressional committees if Republicans win the majority, eyeing the House Oversight panel, and is talking to leadership about other opportunities in the new Congress. Not only does Greene want to impeach Biden and Cabinet officials, she is eager to conduct investigations, including into the origins of COVID-19. Last month, Greene unveiled legislation that is another priority — her bill to prohibit some gender reassignment procedures on minors — flanked by a dozen Republican lawmakers and leaders in the conservative movement. Many of them praised the congresswoman for her work. “I want to thank Marjorie Taylor Greene — who is soon to get her full legislative powers back, by the way,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Committee, who hugged her afterward. “If this is the type of thing that you’re going to have the courage to do, I think that’s something everybody needs to understand,” Schlapp said. McCarthy and Greene appear to have come to an understanding that they need each other. The leader needs Greene to come into the GOP fold rather than throw rocks from outside. She needs McCarthy’s blessing to regain committee assignments, enabling her to participate more fully in Congress and put her imprint on legislation. At the Pennsylvania event McCarthy batted away questions about his ability to govern if Republicans win the majority. “Name me one person in the conference that is opposed to this,” he said afterward of their platform. “Is that a difference? Yes.” Read More…

Trump-Linked Digital World Acquisition Corp Prepares For Another Vote To Extend Merger Deadline https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-linked-digital-world-acquisition-corp-prepares-for-another-vote-to-extend-merger-deadline/ The former US President announced his intention to create a new social media platform after he was banned from Facebook and Twitter last year. Leon Neal | Getty Images Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., the blank-check company set to take Trump Media and Technology Group public, are due to vote Monday on a proposal to extend the merger deadline and buy the company time to find financing. With $1 billion in financing already at risk, DWAC needs 65% of its shareholders to approve the extension for the merger with Trump Media beyond the current deadline of Dec. 8. The special-purpose acquisition company has previously warned that a failure to extend the deadline could force it to liquidate. Monday’s vote is the continuation of a monthslong effort to garner enough shareholder support for the extension. The company held a shareholder meeting on the matter in September but was unable to rally enough votes in favor. That meeting was adjourned four times before DWAC CEO Patrick Orlando initiated a built-in, three-month extension with a $2.8 million contribution from his company Arc Global Investments II. Orlando has been attempting to drum up votes on Trump Media’s Truth Social platform, at one point urging Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes and its chairman, former President Donald Trump, to help publicize the effort. DWAC’s private investors were set to provide $1 billion to Trump Media upon completion of the merger. But at least $138 million of that funding was withdrawn, and the company moved its address to a UPS Store. One of the investors told CNBC that they were underwhelmed with user numbers compared to Twitter and feared the legal obstacles facing the deal. Trump founded Trump Media and its Truth Social platform after he was banned from Twitter over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, in which hundreds of his followers stormed the building in an attempt to block Congress from confirming Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Trump, who is considering a run for the White House in 2024, has built a following of 4 million on his platform, compared to the 80 million or so he had on Twitter. DWAC’s stock last week slid on the news that a deal for Elon Musk to buy Twitter may be close. Musk has previously said he would reinstate the account of the ex-president. Beyond a shareholder vote, legal obstacles continue to face a DWAC-Trump Media merger. The deal is the subject of both a criminal and an SEC probe into possible securities violations relating to potentially illicit conversations had before the merger was announced. Trump Media recently responded, saying the company was exploring legal action against the SEC for delaying the deal. Trump, himself the subject of a federal criminal probe into whether he illegally kept sensitive government documents, has warned on multiple occasions that he could ultimately decide to keep his company private. That would kill the deal, liquidating DWAC and splitting its trust among shareholders, paying out around $10 per share. The stock currently trades around $17 per share, below its 2022 peak of $97 in March. “If they don’t come with the financing I’ll have it private,” Trump said to supporters in an early-October rally in Michigan. “Easy to have it private.” Read More…

Offense Carries Tigers To 18-0 Victory At Alabama State – Auburn University Athletics https://digitalalabamanews.com/offense-carries-tigers-to-18-0-victory-at-alabama-state-auburn-university-athletics/ MONTGOMERY, Ala.– In a scheduled 10 inning contest, Auburn softball’s offense muscled 17 hits en route to an 18-0 victory over Alabama State Sunday at Barbara Williams Softball Field.   The Tigers slugged seven doubles and scored in six of the 10 innings.   Sophomores Jessie Blaine and Abbey Smith and senior Lindsey Garcia all totaled two RBI in Sunday’s contest. Blaine went 2-for-3 with a double with a run score. Smith finish 1-for-2 with a walk, double and three runs scored. Garcia also picked up a pair of hits with a double and scored a pair of runs.   In the circle, the pitching trio of junior Maddie Penta, sophomore Annabelle Widra and freshman Emmah Rolfe split the work. As a staff, Auburn struck out 20 of the 35 batters faced and allowed a lone hit, a triple in the eighth inning.   Penta earned the start and struck out nine in four innings. She issued a walk and earned the victory to improve to 2-0 over the fall season. Widra tossed three innings, striking out six of the nine batters she faced. Rolfe tossed the fall three innings, allowing just one run, one hit while striking out five.     HOW IT HAPPENED   After a scoreless first inning, the Tigers loaded the bases with help of two free passes from the pitching circle. Junior Sydney Cox brought in the first run of the game with the third free pass of the inning, a hit by pitch. Sophomore Abbey Smith broke open the scoring as she slapped a double to right field to pick up a pair of RBI.   Senior Carlee McCondichie drove in a run with a ground ball to second before a wild pitch brought home Smith. Following a walk, sophomore Bri Ellis popped up a ball that landed untouched between third base and home plate, allowing the sixth run of the inning to score and Ellis to reach safely with a double.   Errors plagued the Lady Hornets in the top of the fourth as three Alabama State miscues helped plate three of Auburn’s five runs of the inning. Blaine had the big hit in the fourth as her single through the left side drove in a pair of runs.   A pair of walks and ground ball to third put two runners in scoring position with one out in the fifth for Aspyn Godwin, who pushed the lead to 12-0 with a sacrifice fly to deep right. Auburn pushed across another run in the inning with help of a late and overthrown ball to first base on a single from junior KK McCrary.   The Tigers scratched across one run in the sixth. With sophomore Kenadie Cooper on base after slugging a double to right center, Widra came up with a two-out RBI single to right field. Auburn took advantage of a leadoff walk in the seventh, manufacturing a run with a sacrifice fly from freshman Millie Roberts.   Auburn didn’t waste its last trip to the plate, stringing together a two-out rally to plate three runs. Widra and Blaine sparked the 10th-inning rally with back-to-back singles. Garcia delivered a double to the warning track in center to clear the bases. McCrary drove in the final run with single to left field to cap the Tigers 18-0 victory.   UP NEXT In the lone out-of-state trip of the fall season, Auburn heads to Panama City, Florida, on Sunday, Oct. 16 for a doubleheader slate. The Tigers will face Pearl River Community College at 10 a.m. CT before taking on Gulf Coast State at 12:30 p.m. CT.   Players Mentioned #00 Aspyn Godwin C/OF 5′ 8″ Sophomore #12 Carlee McCondichie UTL 5′ 7″ Freshman #5 Lindsey Garcia INF 5′ 5″ Freshman #2 Sydney Cox UTL 5′ 3″ Sophomore L/R #9 Maddie Penta RHP 6′ 2″ Sophomore R/R #20 Abbey Smith OF 5′ 8″ Freshman L/R #22 Jessie Blaine C 5′ 10″ Freshman R/R #25 Kenadie Cooper OF 5′ 7″ Freshman R/R #77 Bri Ellis INF 5′ 10″ Freshman R/R Players Mentioned #00 Aspyn Godwin 5′ 8″ Sophomore C/OF #12 Carlee McCondichie 5′ 7″ Freshman UTL #5 Lindsey Garcia 5′ 5″ Freshman INF #2 Sydney Cox 5′ 3″ Sophomore L/R UTL #9 Maddie Penta 6′ 2″ Sophomore R/R RHP #20 Abbey Smith 5′ 8″ Freshman L/R OF #22 Jessie Blaine 5′ 10″ Freshman R/R C #25 Kenadie Cooper 5′ 7″ Freshman R/R OF #77 Bri Ellis 5′ 10″ Freshman R/R INF Read More…

Analyst Accused Of Lying In Trump Probe On Trial https://digitalalabamanews.com/analyst-accused-of-lying-in-trump-probe-on-trial/ FILE – Igor Danchenko leaves the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Nov. 4, 2021. Danchenko, a think tank analyst who played a major role in the creation of a flawed report about former President Donald Trump, is scheduled to go on trial Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022, for lying to the FBI about how he developed information that went into what is now infamously known as the “Steele dossier.” (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Five years after the term “Steele dossier” entered the political lexicon, a think tank analyst who contributed to research about Donald Trump and Russia goes on trial Tuesday for lying to the FBI about his sources of information. Igor Danchenko is the third person to be prosecuted by Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed to investigate the origins of “Crossfire Hurricane” — the designation given to the FBI’s 2016 probe into former President Trump’s Russia connections. It is also the first of Durham’s cases that delves deeply into the origins of the dossier that Trump derided as fake news and a political witch hunt. Here’s some background on what the case is about. WHO IS DANCHENKO AND WHAT IS HE ACCUSED OF? Danchenko, a Russian analyst, was a source of information for Christopher Steele, a former British spy who was paid by Democrats to research ties between Russia and presidential candidate Donald Trump. The compilation of research files, which included salacious rumors and unproven assertions, came to be familiarly known as the “Steele dossier.” Though the dossier did not help launch the FBI’s investigation into potential coordination between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, the Justice Department did rely on it when it applied for and received warrants to monitor the communications of a former Trump campaign adviser. As part of its efforts to verify information in the dossier, the FBI interviewed Danchenko in 2017. He is charged with lying to agents about his information sources, with prosecutors accusing Danchenko of misleading the FBI in an effort to make his own contributions seem more credible. WHAT DO THE PROSECUTORS SAY? Prosecutors say Danchenko lied when the FBI asked him about how he obtained the information he gave to Steele. Specifically, they say he denied that he relied on a Democratic operative, Charles Dolan, a public relations executive who volunteered for Hillary Clinton’s presidential 2016 campaign. Prosecutors also say Danchenko lied when he said he received information from an anonymous phone call that he believed was placed by a man named named Sergei Millian, a former president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. They argue Danchenko knew that Millian wasn’t a source of any anonymous phone call. The indictment says the FBI could have better judged the veracity of the Steele dossier had it known that a Democratic operative was the source of much of its information. WHAT DOES THE DEFENSE SAY? Danchenko’s lawyers say the prosecution “is a case of extraordinary government overreach.” They note that Danchenko agreed to multiple voluntary FBI interviews throughout 2017. They say his answers to the FBI were all technically true. For instance, an FBI agent asked Danchenko whether he ever “talked” with Dolan about the information that showed up in the dossier. While prosecutors have produced evidence that the two had email exchanges about topics in the dossier, there’s no evidence that they talked orally about those topics. “It was a bad question,” said Danchenko’s lawyer, Stuart Sears, at a pretrial hearing last month. “That’s the special counsel’s problem. Not Mr. Danchenko’s.” And while Danchenko said he believed Millian was the voice on the anonymous phone call, he never told the FBI with any certainty that it was Millian. Sears argued that ambiguous statements like that fall short of what’s necessary to convict on a false statements charge. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga last month rejected a request from defense lawyers to dismiss the charges, though he called his decision to let the case move forward an “extremely close call.” He has since ruled that prosecutors cannot present evidence about the most salacious parts of the dossier. WHAT OTHER CASES HAS DURHAM BROUGHT? Durham was the U.S. Attorney in Connecticut in 2019 when he was tapped by then-Attorney General William Barr to hunt for potential misconduct by government officials who conducted the original Russia investigation. But after more than three years, Durham’s work has failed to meet the expectations of Trump supporters who hoped he would uncover sweeping FBI conspiracies to derail the Republican’s candidacy. The probe has produced only three criminal cases. The first case was against an FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, who was accused of altering an email related to the surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. It ended in a guilty plea and a sentence of probation — and involved FBI misconduct already uncovered by the Justice Department’s inspector general. Last year, Durham’s team charged a Democratic lawyer with making a false statement to the FBI’s top lawyer during a 2016 meeting in which he presented information about a purported digital backchannel between a Russia bank and the Trump organization. The FBI investigated but found no suspicious contact. The case against the lawyer, Michael Sussmann, ended in a swift acquittal in May. Durham’s work has continued deep into the Biden administration Justice Department, but the Danchenko trial seems likely to be the last criminal case his team will bring. It is not clear when Durham might produce a report summarizing his findings. Read More…

Russia Strikes Kyiv And Cities Across Ukraine After Crimea Bridge Attack https://digitalalabamanews.com/russia-strikes-kyiv-and-cities-across-ukraine-after-crimea-bridge-attack/ KYIV, Ukraine — A series of blasts rocked Kyiv on Monday morning, with some strikes landing in the heart of the Ukrainian capital’s downtown during rush hour, and rocket attacks hit cities across the country — Russia’s apparent revenge for an explosion Saturday on the Crimean Bridge. Suspected Russian missiles caused heavy explosions around 8:15 a.m., and vehicles were in flames near Taras Shevchenko Park — on a road often jammed with rush-hour traffic. At least five people were killed, and at least a dozen others were injured in the strikes, Ukraine’s national police reported on its Telegram channel. Explosions were reported across other major Ukrainian cities on Monday, including in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Lviv, as Moscow unleashed a barrage of missiles. In Kyiv, the strikes came in waves, the first attack on the city since June. But even when Russian forces were on the outskirts of the capital in the early months of the war, no attack had hit so directly in the city center. Suddenly, the gleeful taunts that characterized Ukraine’s national elation over the fireball on the Crimean Bridge, were replaced on Monday by fury and outrage, charges of terrorism against Moscow, and redoubled resolve to overcome the aggression and defeat the invaders. In a parallel to the first days of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of him standing in the center of Kyiv, outside of the presidential office, to address citizens. “The morning is tough,” Zelensky said. “We are dealing with terrorists.” “Always remember,” he added, “Ukraine existed before this enemy appeared, and Ukraine will exist after it.” In Moscow, where he convened a meeting of his security council, Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted of a “massive attack” using high-precision weapons in retaliation for the bridge explosion, and he warned of further strikes if Ukraine continued to hit Russian targets. “In the event of continued Ukrainian acts of terrorism on Russian territory, our response will be harsh and in terms of its scale will correspond to the level of threats,” Putin said. Russia’s strikes in the heart of the capital raised questions about the strength of Ukraine’s air defenses, which officials have been pushing Western countries to bolster through additional security assistance. Ukraine’s military reported that its air defenses had knocked down 43 of the 83 missiles launched at the country on Monday. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Kyiv was reaching out to its Western allies to organize a response to Monday’s strikes. “I am in constant contact with partners since early morning today to coordinate a resolute response to Russians attacks,” Kuleba posted on Twitter. “I am also interrupting my Africa tour and heading back to Ukraine immediately.” The strikes appeared to be retribution for Saturday’s attack on the bridge across the Kerch Strait, which has partially reopened, including to rail traffic. The Crimean Bridge is a strategic link between mainland Russia and Crimea and a symbol of Putin’s ambitions to annex Ukrainian territory. Putin blamed Ukrainian special services for the attack. “There is no doubt that the attack was aimed at destroying critical civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation,” Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin on Sunday. The 12-mile span, while used by civilians, is a crucial military logistics conduit for Russia’s military, the only direct road and rail route from mainland Russia to Crimea, which the Kremlin invaded and illegally annexed in 2014. “And now the answer has arrived,” Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of state-owned channel RT, wrote on Twitter. “The Crimean bridge from the very beginning was that red line. It was obvious.” Putin has been under pressure to up the ante in what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine after a succession of recent battlefield failures. In the past six weeks, Ukraine has routed Russian forces from the northeast Kharkiv region, and pushed them back in the eastern Donbas region and southern Kherson region. But while hitting Kyiv might please Russian hard-liners who have been calling for more attacks on the capital, it will not reverse Russia’s core strategic programs, including losses of soldiers and equipment, flagging morale, and repeated logistical failures. The attacks followed Russia’s announcement on Saturday that Gen. Sergei Surovikin had been named overall commander of the war in Ukraine. Surovikin is a veteran officer who led the Russian military expedition in Syria in 2017, which featured indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas. Moscow’s longtime proxy leader of Crimea called the barrage of strikes across Ukraine “good news.” “Good news from the early morning: approaches to conducting the special military operation have changed,” the regional chief, Sergey Aksyonov, wrote on Telegram. “I’ve said from the first day of the operation that if such actions aimed at destroying the enemy’s infrastructure have been taken every day, then we would have finished everything in May and the Kyiv regime would have been defeated.” “I hope that now the pace of the operation will not slow down,” Aksyonov said. Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechnya region in the in the North Caucasus who has repeatedly called for an escalation of the war in Ukraine and sent hundreds of fighters to the front line, said he is now “100 percent satisfied” with Moscow’s war strategy. Monday’s strikes shattered the sense of relative peace that Kyiv has experienced since April, when Ukrainian troops pushed Russian forces to retreat from the northern edges of the region. Reports of explosions occurring throughout the country over several hours harked back to the first day of the war, when Russia attempted to wipe out Ukrainian military installations to set the stage for the invasion. On Monday, however, the targets appeared to be mostly civilian. About 90 minutes after the first explosions rocked the capital, emergency workers and military personnel were arrayed around an intersection that was hit in central Kyiv. The site is next to a major university complex and Taras Shevchenko Park, which is popular with families. One of the missiles landed in the park’s playground. The burned-out hulls of several cars remained, and at least one body bag was visible on the pavement. Glass from shattered building windows littered the sidewalk. Another missile hit a glass pedestrian bridge in downtown Kyiv that had been a popular site for tourists. Kyiv has returned to somewhat normal life in the months since Russia failed to seize the capital and topple the government. People routinely ignored air-raid sirens while sitting at outdoor cafes and walking around town. After the war’s initial onset prompted many foreign governments to evacuate their embassy staff, embassies gradually reopened. The United States reopened its embassy in May. It was unclear whether Monday’s barrage would prompt those countries to reconsider. In the western city of Lviv, a refuge for thousands of displaced Ukrainians because it is far from the front line, missiles struck a power plant and knocked out electricity and hot water in some places, the mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, said on Twitter. “They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth,” Zelensky said on Telegram. “Destroy our people who are sleeping at home in Zaporizhzhia. Kill people who go to work in Dnipro and Kyiv.” Khurshudyan reported from Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Kostiantyn Khudov in Kyiv and Mary Ilyushina in Riga, Latvia, contributed to this report. War in Ukraine: What you need to know The latest: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees Friday to annex four occupied regions of Ukraine, following staged referendums that were widely denounced as illegal. Follow our live updates here. The response: The Biden administration on Friday announced a new round of sanctions on Russia, in response to the annexations, targeting government officials and family members, Russian and Belarusian military officials and defense procurement networks. President Volodymyr Zelensky also said Friday that Ukraine is applying for “accelerated ascension” into NATO, in an apparent answer to the annexations. In Russia: Putin declared a military mobilization on Sept. 21 to call up as many as 300,000 reservists in a dramatic bid to reverse setbacks in his war on Ukraine. The announcement led to an exodus of more than 180,000 people, mostly men who were subject to service, and renewed protests and other acts of defiance against the war. The fight: Ukraine mounted a successful counteroffensive that forced a major Russian retreat in the northeastern Kharkiv region in early September, as troops fled cities and villages they had occupied since the early days of the war and abandoned large amounts of military equipment. Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work. How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating. Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video. Read More…

White House Braces For Latest Hunter Biden Fallout Near Elections https://digitalalabamanews.com/white-house-braces-for-latest-hunter-biden-fallout-near-elections/ October 10, 2022 06:48 AM Hunter Biden‘s legal entanglements pose problems for Democrats before next month’s midterm elections because they provide Republicans with more political fodder to undercut his father, President Joe Biden. But the Justice Department‘s criminal tax investigation into Hunter Biden, among other ethical issues, will more likely trip up the president and Democrats next year if Republicans control Congress, or even just the House. BIDEN ENDS CEASEFIRE WITH GOP RIVALS AFTER ONE DAY AND RETURNS TO CAMPAIGN MODE Republicans, including Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, are criticizing the Justice Department for slow-walking its investigation into Hunter Biden, an inquiry that became public weeks after the 2020 election when it was already two years old. Fitton and others’ scrutiny is a reaction to reports from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal that federal agents are confident they have enough evidence to charge Hunter Biden with tax crimes and a false statement regarding a gun purchase. The decision rests with the Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. attorney, but there are reportedly concerns the younger Biden’s addictions could undermine their case. “The story that’s in plain sight is that the Justice Department has been investigating Hunter Biden for four years, and they still don’t want to do what, seemingly, the law requires, which is to prosecute him,” Fitton told the Washington Examiner. “They’re pretending that Hunter’s alcohol and drug problems could be a defense, and they’re nervous about it. I mean, it’s just absurd.” “The Justice Department, to the degree they would move forward against Hunter, would be in a way as to minimize exposure for Joe,” Fitton added. “It’s going to be harder for the Biden administration to avoid these corruption issues with a Republican House.” House Oversight Committee Republicans offered a preview last month of what to expect next Congress if the GOP wins a majority in either or both chambers. Ranking member Rep. James Comer (R-KY), for instance, forced a vote on a resolution that would have compelled the administration to disclose details related to the broader Biden family’s foreign business dealings. The Justice Department is unlikely to indict Hunter Biden before November’s elections, if at all, according to former Arkansas U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins. For Cummins, that is the right decision based on the investigation’s political considerations, but he expressed surprise with respect to the case’s narrow scope. “It may be because the U.S. attorney can only rely on IRS and ATF investigators at this point,” he said, referring to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. GOP strategists and operatives, including at the Republican National Committee, are comparing the Justice Department’s approach to Hunter Biden with that to Donald Trump, contending the former president is being treated differently. As Trump involves the Supreme Court in the special master review of classified materials seized during the FBI‘s search of his Mar-a-Lago home and office in Florida, federal agents are reportedly questioning whether the previous president still has government records in his possession. “Now Hunter now knows how it feels to have somebody breathing down his neck — quite a change for someone from the Biden family,” RNC spokesman Will O’Grady said. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was needled about the Justice Department’s Hunter Biden investigation during a quick, informal briefing Friday aboard Air Force One en route to Maryland. The first son was last seen publicly with his father, his wife, Melissa Cohen, and the couple’s toddler, Beau Biden, during the president’s summer vacation in South Carolina. “As you know, this is an ongoing investigation being handled independently by the Department of Justice, so I would refer you to the Department of Justice,” Jean-Pierre said before the plane landed after the short flight. Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Chris Clark, defended his client more vociferously, reminding reporters it is a federal felony for a federal agent to leak information about a grand jury investigation, which will help determine whether charges can be laid. Clark called on the Justice Department to “prosecute such bad actors.” “As is proper and legally required, we believe the prosecutors in this case are diligently and thoroughly weighing not just evidence provided by agents, but also all the other witnesses in this case, including witnesses for the defense,” he wrote. “It is regrettable that law enforcement agents appear to be violating the law to prejudice a case against a person who is a target simply because of his family name.” The Hunter Biden reporting precedes a possible repeat of the 2020 election when news broke in December, after votes were counted, that the Justice Department had been investigating his “tax affairs.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER In a statement disseminated by the then president-elect’s transition team, Hunter Biden insisted he has filed his taxes “legally,” “appropriately,” and with professional assistance. Joe Biden issued a statement in the same email, adamant he is “deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.” Read More…

Analysis | A Maine Democrat Is Hoping Voters Will Reward His Independent Streak https://digitalalabamanews.com/analysis-a-maine-democrat-is-hoping-voters-will-reward-his-independent-streak/ Good morning, Early Birds, and happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day! The Cherokee Nation has launched a campaign to seat their delegate, Kim Teehee, in Congress. Read all about the push from our colleague Paul Kane and us. Tips: earlytips@washpost.com. Thanks for waking up with us. Ben Bernanke and two other Americans win the Nobel Prize in economics. In today’s edition …  Trail Mix: Isaac Arnsdorf on how Trump-endorsed candidates are recalibrating for the general election … Shaped by gun violence and climate change, Gen Z weighs whether to vote, Mariana Alfaro writes … but first … A Maine Democrat is hoping voters will reward his independent streak LEWISTON, Maine — Rep. Jared Golden is, once again, in the political fight of his relatively short career. As one of seven House Democrats running for reelection who represent districts that former president Donald Trump carried in 2020, Golden is a prime target of Republicans who need to win this seat and others like it to take back the House. Golden’s campaign strategy is similar to how he operates in Washington: Portray himself as a fiercely independent lawmaker focused on his state’s needs while distancing himself from the national Democratic Party. In this vast, rural district that often shuns hardcore partisans and typically elects moderates, the strategy has worked for him in the past. In 2018, Golden defeated then-Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R), who’s challenging Golden again this year.  He won again in 2020 when the district voted for both Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Trump. But this time, Golden is being outspent by Poliquin, who is running a traditional Republican campaign focused on inflation, crime and the border, in a sprawling district where many voters learn about candidates through television ads. The race is as a test of how willing voters in a swing district are to support a Democrat — no matter how independent — when the party and its leaders are unpopular. On an unseasonably warm fall day in western Maine, Golden met with the founders of Operation Reboot at their rural hunting property. The organization hosts veterans struggling to readjust to a post-service life through nature, including hikes, hunts and fishing. The group’s mission hits close for Golden who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I took a real interest in the issue of PTSD since I’ve been in elected office,” he said in an interview, adding that he first ran because Maine had zero beds for veterans with mental health and substance abuse issues despite 10 percent of the population being veterans. These are the type of campaign events Golden hopes will help him hang on to his seat as he tries to keep the focus on local issues and what he’s doing for the state instead of broader national debates. The Maine Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed Golden. The National Rifle Association gave Poliquin a top grade but declined to endorse him, signifying their acceptance of Golden in that seat. Michael Edes, executive director of the Maine FOP, said in an interview that Golden is in constant communication with them. “Golden gives us a seat at the table. That’s all we ask for,” Edes said, adding that he has never heard from Poliquin, even when Poliquin was in Congress Golden, 40, born in Lewiston, Maine, flies under the radar in Washington, but is a constant source of consternation for Democrats. He snubbed leadership on high-profile bills, including voting against one of the two articles of impeachment against Trump in the first impeachment; the assault weapons ban; the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better plan (which never passed the Senate); and the $2 trillion covid-related American Rescue Plan (which did pass and was signed into law). He also criticized Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debt. He said Democratic leadership has stopped trying to whip him on votes and he ignores the advice of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.  The only nationally known Democrat who’s campaigned for him is moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.), who did so virtually. Unlike many other Democrats, Golden is not running on abortion, even though he says he supports abortion rights and believes Mainers think it’s a privacy issue. But Golden has voted for many Democratic priorities, including the bills to codify Roe v. Wade and marriage equality. He also backed the infrastructure law, legislation to ramp up microchip manufacturing and Democrats’ climate change and health care bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).  The old district wants to be the new boss Poliquin characterizes Golden’s vote for the IRA as proof he is a puppet of the Democratic Party. “Jared Golden, Joe Biden and AOC and all the folks that are in charge, they have spent trillions and trillions of dollars that we don’t need to fund the government,” Poliquin said at an event on Friday in Lewiston, referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Poliquin appeared with Paul LePage, Maine’s former two-term Republican governor who’s also mounting a comeback run this year. “Bruce doesn’t have a lot of substance,” Golden shot back in response to Poliquin’s attacks in an interview. “Sometimes it’s kind of like debating one of those dolls that you pull the cord in the back. You pull it and it has four or five phrases just, like, on repeat.”  A spending disparity could be Golden’s biggest challenge, especially in the massive, rural district, which encompasses 80 percent of the state geographically. Poliquin and his Republican allies are outspending Golden and Democrats in the state, $17 million compared to $12 million, in media ad buys so far, according to advertising numbers from AdImpact. Golden’s allies are placing some of the blame for the disparity at the feet of the DCCC. “Just like in 2020, [the DCCC] made the map too big and they’re not doing enough to protect incumbents,” said a person close to the Golden campaign, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly. Other Democrats have expressed similar worries. Poliquin served in Congress from 2015 to 2019. His vote for the Republican tax bill in 2017 and its impact on Medicare is one of Golden’s key attacks in the state that has the oldest population in the country.. During his previous campaigns for reelection to Congress in 2016 and 2018, Poliquin refused to say if he voted for Trump and tried to distance himself from the then-president. This time, Poliquin doesn’t often talk about Trump on the stump but uses a “Maine first, America first” slogan.. He won’t say if the 2020 election was legitimate. And in responses to questions from The Early, he wouldn’t say if he’d vote to impeach Biden should Republicans control the House or if he’d vote for a national abortion ban. (He voted for a 20-week abortion ban when he was in Congress.) When asked if he’d support a bill to the Electoral Count Act co-authored by Collins, his fellow Maine Republican, he said he hadn’t read the bill. Like many rural regions, the district is economically stressed. Logging and paper mills were once robust, but they’ve hit hard times over the years. The Androscoggin Mill in the small town of Jay announced last month that it would close in the first part of next year, impacting nearly 200 people. Voters outside the Hannaford grocery store in Jay say they have a wide range of issues they are concerned about, including inflation and abortion. David Flagg, 57, lives on a $1,600-a-month fixed income from Social Security. He said his monthly grocery bill has risen from $175 to $300. “I just want it to go back to the way it was,” Flagg said. Native Mainer Karen Bor, who voted for Trump, said she is concerned about inflation. But she says the overturning of Roe v. Wade makes her angry.  “I like the fact that he crosses the line. He doesn’t just vote for what Biden says,” she said of Golden.  Ranked-choice voting could be a factor in the race’s outcome as it was in 2018, when Golden won after independent candidate Tiffany Bond’s votes were redistributed. Bond is on the ballot again this year. It’s the “deja vu election,” said Pat Callaghan, a longtime political reporter and anchor at News Center Maine. To hug or to distance: Trump-endorsed candidates recalibrate for the general election Isaac Arnsdorf on the trail with Trump: A pair of Trump rallies this weekend underscored the high-wire act that many Republican candidates are walking this midterm, hoping to harness the former president’s enduring pull with the Republican base without turning off independents and swing voters.  In Nevada and Arizona, Trump shared the stage with candidates who benefited from his endorsement in the primary but have since walked back their ties to him.  Joe Lombardo, the Clark County sheriff running for governor of Nevada, said at a debate last week that it “bothers” him that Trump insists the 2020 election was stolen and said he wouldn’t call Trump a great president. “I think he was a sound president,” he explained. At Saturday’s rally outside Reno, however, Lombardo repeatedly called Trump “the greatest president.” In Arizona, Senate candidate Blake Masters said at his own debate last week that the 2020 election wasn’t stolen and acknowledged Biden as the “legitimate president,” reversing himself on claims he made throughout the primary. Masters has also removed language falsely claiming fraud in 2020 election from his campaign website. Masters didn’t discuss the 2020 election in his speech at Sunday’s rally.  Trump, not known for being magnanimous when it comes to personal slights, let those transgressions go unremarked. Trump praised Lombardo as a friend he’s known for a long time who would be tough on crime and election inte...

Football Rankings: Big Central Conference Top 15, Through Week 6 https://digitalalabamanews.com/football-rankings-big-central-conference-top-15-through-week-6/ (record in parenthesis) 1. Phillipsburg (6-0) – last week No. 1 — The Stateliners continue to provide false hope for opponents, before snuffing out their dreams late in games, this time it was allowing Bridgewater-Raritan to carry a 7-0 lead into the second quarter, before scoring two unanswered in the second and another to start the third on the way to a 28-13 win. Phillipsburg plays host to Union (2-4) on Friday night. FOOTBALL: Week 6 roundup and story links in the Big Central Conference 2. North Brunswick (6-0) – last week No. 2 – The Raiders defense held yet another opponent in check in a 41-10 victory over New Brunswick. North Brunswick, which has not allowed more than 14 points in any game this year, plays host to East Brunswick (0-6) on Friday night. 3. Hillsborough (5-1) – last week No. 3 – The Raiders were challenged by Hunterdon Central, but got a big day from Jackson Jankowicz in a 29-15 win. Hillsborough heads to Somerville (2-5) on Friday night, the first meeting between these teams since 1999. 4. North Hunterdon (6-1) – last week No. 7 – The Lions scored a 21-14 road win over Montgomery to clinch the Liberty Silver Division title and moved into the top spot in North Group 4 with two weeks left in the regular season. North Hunterdon plays host to Woodbridge (3-4) this weekend. 5. Sayreville (4-2) – last week No. 4 – The Bombers were pushed by Franklin, but the defense ultimately proved the difference in a 15-0 Sayreville win – its first shutout of the season. Piscataway (4-2) is next up. 6. Ridge (4-2) – last week No. 5 – The Red Devils scored their third straight lopsided win, turning in a dominant defensive effort in a 24-7 topping of South Brunswick, behind three interceptions by Adam Meiner. Ridge plays host to Westfield (5-1) in a game that should have a huge impact on both team’s playoff seedings. 7. Edison (5-2) – last week No. 6 – The Eagles served as St. Joseph’s first-ever under-the-lights opponent, and it went well for the road team, 42-23. Edison plays host to South Brunswick (3-3) this weekend. 8. St. Thomas Aquinas (6-1) – last week No. 8 – The Trojans sent Rahway to its third straight shutout loss, 33-0, the sixth straight win for STA, this one clinching the United Gold crown. St. Thomas heads to North Plainfield (1-6) Friday night. 9. Watchung Hills (5-2) – last week No. 9 – The Warriors made it three straight wins, holding off Plainfield 31-22 behind three TDs by Dylan Kelly. Watchung Hills heads to St. Joseph-Metuchen (3-3) on Saturday. 10. Hillside (5-1) – last week No. 10 – The Comets cruised past A.L. Johnson 38-7 Friday night to wrap up the Patriot Silver Division title. Delaware Valley (5-1) comes to Conant Street Park on Saturday. 11. Westfield (5-1) – last week No. 11 – The Blue Devils won their fifth straight, throttling Somerville 37-0 on the road Friday night. Huge game this weekend as Westfield visits Ridge (4-2). 12. Cranford (4-2) – last week No. not ranked — The Cougars make their season depute in the rankings, fresh off their second straight shutout, 28-0 over Scotch Plains-Fanwood. Cranford, which has only suffered losses to North Hunterdon and St. Thomas, heads to Linden (3-3) in Week 7. 13. Bernards (6-1) –– last week No. 13 — The Mountaineers’ Friday night meeting with winless Bound Brook went about as expected with a 38-0 victory. Bernards heads to Roselle (2-4) this weekend, an opponent better than its record. 14. Colonia (6-1) –– last week No. 14 — The Patriots rolled past Perth Amboy 24-14 on Friday night to wrap up its divisional schedule. Colonia heads to much-improved Summit (3-3) Saturday. 15. South Plainfield (6-0) – last week not ranked – The Tigers make their first-ever appearance in the conference rankings, just off yet another dominant win, this time 33-19 over Voorhees. South Plainfield, which also counts 6-1 Carteret among its victims, plays host to Perth Amboy on Friday night. ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION:  Brearley (6-0), Carteret (6-1), Delaware Valley (5-1) DROPPED OUT: St. Joseph (3-3), Montgomery (5-2) BIG CENTRAL CONFERENCE WEEK 7 SCHEDULE Friday, Oct. 14 Carteret at Rahway, 6 p.m. Metuchen at J.P. Stevens, 6 p.m. Bound Brook at Roselle, 6 p.m. Brearley at Middlesex, 7 p.m. Belvidere at North Warren, 7 p.m. Cranford at Linden, 7 p.m. Dayton at South Hunterdon, 7 p.m. East Brunswick at North Brunswick, 7 p.m. Franklin at Hunterdon Central, 7 p.m. Highland Park at Manville, 7 p.m. Hillsborough at Somerville, 7 p.m. Montgomery at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 7 p.m. New Brunswick at Old Bridge, 7 p.m. New Providence at Bernards, 7 p.m. Perth Amboy at South Plainfield, 7 p.m. Piscataway at Sayreville, 7 p.m. Roselle Park at Dunellen, 7 p.m. South Brunswick at Edison, 7 p.m. Spotswood at A.L. Johnson, 7 p.m. St. Thomas Aquinas at North Plainfield, 7 p.m. Union at Phillipsburg, 7 p.m. Voorhees at J.F. Kennedy, 7 p.m. Westfield at Ridge, 7 p.m. Woodbridge at North Hunterdon, 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 Bridgewater-Raritan at Elizabeth, 12:30 p.m. Colonia at Summit, 1 p.m. Delaware Valley at Hillside, 1 p.m. Monroe at Plainfield, 1 p.m. South River at Governor Livingston, 1 p.m. Watchung Hills at St. Joseph-Met., 1 p.m. Rankings by Simeon Pincus and Andy Mendlowitz Simeon Pincus has been covering New Jersey sports since 1997. He can be reached at SPincus@GannettNJ.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus Andy Mendlowitz can be reached at AMendlowitz@GannettNJ.com. Follow him on Twitter @Andy_Mendlowitz Read More…

Inflation Relief Checks Live Online Updates By State: California, Florida… | Payments, Who Qualifies & Amounts https://digitalalabamanews.com/inflation-relief-checks-live-online-updates-by-state-california-florida-payments-who-qualifies-amounts-2/ Inflation Relief Checks: live updates  Latest News California Inflation Relief Check: do I qualify according to my filing status? The amount of money that will be distributed to households for the Middle-Class Tax Refund depends on income and tax filing status.  The state allocated around $9.5 billion for the refund and hopes that families will be able to use the payments to keep up with prices. The state leads the country in the cost of gas and after a brief period of relief from high prices from July to September, they are on the climb once again. The payments for the tax refund are worth anywhere between $200 and $1,050, and you can read our full coverage to determine your eligibility and payment amount.  SOCIAL SECURITY Social Security Increase: what is the expected COLA raise for 2023? This week the Social Security Administration will announce the 2023 COLA, which is expected to be historic in size.  Earlier in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased slightly by 0.1 percent in August. Combined, the last two months of price increases show a 8.3 percent increase in average prices in August compared to August last year. Georgia begins sending checks Gov. Brian Kemp, facing stanch competition for his seat, has decided to send inflation relief payments to many across his state.  The first batch of payments was sent in late September and are worth $350.  The payments are being sent to those on SNAP, social security, and other government benefit programs.  A COLA of 8.7 percent is extremely rare and would be the highest ever received by most Social Security beneficiaries alive today. There were only three other times since the start of automatic adjustments that it was higher (1979-1981). US NEWS California Inflation Relief Check: when will I receive the payment & how to track? The first payments for the Middle Class Tax Refund were sent out on October 7. People will, of course, be hoping to receive their money as soon as possible, and fortunately, the California Franchise Tax Board (CFTB) has published information for when people should receive their payment. The CFTB says it expects to send 90 percent of the direct deposit payments for the Middle-Class Tax Refund in October 2022. Those who received the first or second Golden State Stimulus (GSS I and II) via direct deposit can expect to see the money in their account between 7 October and 25 October. The remaining direct deposits will be issued between 28 October and 14 November 2022. Read more on when you can expect your payment.  Welcome to the AS USA live blog on financial payments being sent by states to assist residents as inflation continues to rock the economy.  Last week, California sent out its first batch of payments for the Middle-Class Tax Refund, which will send checks worth up to $1,050 to millions of households across the state. Direct deposit payments will be made first.  Additionally, this week, the Social Security Administration will announce the 2023 Cost-of-living adjustment that will be made to payments in January.   Follow along for more news on the payments being sent in other states, as well as support that may come from the federal level.  Read More…

Oil Falls As China Demand Concerns Fuel Recession Fears https://digitalalabamanews.com/oil-falls-as-china-demand-concerns-fuel-recession-fears/ Brent, WTI fall $1 from 5-week highs OPEC+ decision on big supply curbs boosted prices Chinese services sector contracts for first time in months LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday, ending five straight days of gains, as investors looked to slowing economic activity in China, the world’s biggest crude importer, which revived concerns about a global recession and falling global fuel demand. Brent crude futures for December settlement fell by as much as 1.1%, and was last down 77 cents, or 0.8%, at $97.15 a barrel by 0645 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery declined by as much as 1.1% and was last at $92 a barrel, down 64 cents, or 0.7%. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Services activity in China during September contracted for the first time in four months as COVID-19 restrictions hit demand and business confidence, data showed on Saturday. read more The slowdown in the economy of China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer after the United States, adds to growing concerns about a possible global recession triggered by numerous central banks raising interest rates to combat high inflation rates. “Oil … is getting hit with the triple whammy of China’s economic weakness, U.S. monetary policy tightening and Biden administration SPR intervention,” Stephen Innes, managing director at SPI Asset Management, said in a note. Innes was referring to the possibility of additional releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve next month in response to the decision last week by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, to lower their output target by 2 million barrels per day. read more Brent and WTI posted their biggest weekly percentage gains since March after the reduction was announced. The OPEC+ cuts, which come ahead of a European Union embargo on Russian oil, will squeeze supply in an already tight market. EU sanctions on Russian crude and oil products will take effect in December and February, respectively. “The cut is clearly bullish,” ING analysts said in a note. “However, there is obviously still plenty of other uncertainty in the market, including how Russian oil supply evolves due to the EU oil ban and G7 price cap, as well as the demand outlook given the deteriorating macro picture.” Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Additional reporting by Florence Tan and Emily Chow; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Christian Schmollinger and Louise Heavens Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…

Blake Masters, Arizona Senate Candidate, Vows To Force Shutdown Showdown Over Border Chaos https://digitalalabamanews.com/blake-masters-arizona-senate-candidate-vows-to-force-shutdown-showdown-over-border-chaos/ NOGALES, Ariz. — Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters said if Arizona voters elect him, he is prepared to shut down the government to force President Biden to reverse course on his border policies. “I’m willing to go there,” Mr. Masters told The Washington Times in an exclusive interview in this border city, which serves as a major hub for fresh produce imports from Mexico. He said he doubts Mr. Biden would go over the edge to allow a shutdown and figures the president won’t go all-in on an issue where he is clearly struggling with both voters and the realities on the ground. Still, Mr. Masters said, Republicans should be willing to “play hardball.” “By exercising that leverage, I think we will win,” Mr. Masters said. “I think he will capitulate.” If Republicans stick together, Mr. Masters said, they can paint the president into a corner by offering their votes in favor of spending bills to keep the government running in exchange for a change of course on the border. “Go ahead, Mr. President, your move,” he said. “What’s he going to do? He’s going to shut the government down and try to blame Republicans? SEE ALSO: Trump stumps in Arizona for Blake Masters, Kari Lake and down-ticket Republicans “No, we’re going to say, ‘Hey, he’s not securing the border,’” Mr. Masters said. “If Biden wants to shut the government down and tell the American people that he’d prefer to do that over having border security, that’s a political loser.” The 36-year-old venture capitalist is facing off against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly in a race that is perhaps the clearest referendum right now on Mr. Biden’s border policies.  Mr. Kelly, a 58-year-old former astronaut, tried to distance himself from the president on immigration, but Mr. Masters said voters are choosing between Mr. Biden’s policies and a change in direction. Mr. Kelly won his seat in a 2020 special election and is running for a full six-year term against Mr. Masters, a political newcomer who won the Republican nomination after getting a massive financial boost from billionaire Peter Thiel and winning an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. The race also features libertarian Marc Victor, who pollsters say is a wildcard in the race. He offers disenchanted voters an alternative to the two major party contenders. Mr. Kelly is also the husband of gun control activist Gabby Giffords, a former congresswoman who resigned in January 2012 after suffering severe brain injury when she was shot in an assassination attempt by a crazed gunman.  Mr. Kelly is clinging to a lead in the polls, buoyed by the fact that voters have a more personal affinity for him. A recent CBS poll of likely voters showed 57% like Mr. Kelly and 43% dislike him, while 37% like Mr. Masters and 63% dislike him. By a wide margin, voters also favor Mr. Kelly on the abortion issue in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling this year overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to the procedure. Abortion, however, is competing with or ranks below the economy, inflation and immigration in terms of importance to likely Arizona voters, including among independents — and Mr. Masters has the edge there. The border chaos is unprecedented. Encounters with illegal immigrants are at all-time highs and dangerous drugs such as fentanyl are pouring into the U.S. at record levels. The migrant smuggling economy is now worth $20 billion a year, according to calculations by The Times. That’s roughly triple the size of the migrant surge in 2019. Much of the money goes straight to smuggling cartels, which pump the cash back into drugs. Arizona is also ground zero for the catch-and-release policies that are driving the surge. Of roughly 200,000 illegal immigrants nabbed in the Border Patrol’s Yuma sector since January, 95% were released, the local sheriff said. In a debate with Mr. Masters last week, Mr. Kelly struggled to defend the situation. Describing it as a chaotic “mess,” the Democrat said he fought to pass $1 billion to pay for more Border Patrol agents and more security and monitoring systems. He said he is working to raise Border Patrol pay and won the Homeland Security Department’s commitment to close some gaps in the border wall in Yuma. “I’ve been strong on border security and I’ve stood up to Democrats when they are wrong on this issue, including, by the way, the president,” he said. “I’ve been focused on the border since Day One.” Mr. Masters snapped back: “To no great effect because we have a wide-open border.” “So if that is the best you can do, I respectfully request that you resign,” Mr. Masters said. “Let’s get someone in there who will actually secure our border.” Mr. Masters took a victory lap the next day at a diner in Rio Rico, Arizona, where he told voters he had exposed Mr. Kelly. “I said, ‘Senator, did you do everything in your power the last two years to secure our southern border?’ That is not a gotcha question; that’s a fair question,” he said. “Now, it is a tough one for him to answer because if he says yes, well, he is confessing to be ineffective. If he says no, then, well … you’re not trying to secure the border?” “His record is indefensible,” Mr. Masters said. Mr. Masters’ immigration plan includes finishing the border wall, tripling the size of the Border Patrol, increasing high-tech border surveillance, mandating that all companies use the E-Verify system to check whether new hires are legally able to work, and speeding up the backlog of deportation cases by hiring significantly more immigration judges and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers. The hard reality facing Republicans, even if they win control of both chambers of Congress in November, is that Mr. Biden retains veto power and is unlikely to be swayed by a series of border security bills landing on his desk. That’s where Mr. Masters says his shutdown gambit comes into play and forces Mr. Biden to defend his border policies. Mr. Masters said flipping control of Congress is the first step toward better border policies. The next step is taking back the White House in 2024. “So we’re just going to have to find a way to keep the caucus united and play hardball,” he said. Republicans have orchestrated shutdowns before, including one partial shutdown that lasted a record 35 days as President Trump demanded money for his border wall. He eventually relented and signed bills lacking the funding level he sought. He then used emergency powers to siphon cash from Pentagon accounts. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, forced a shutdown in 2013 over Obamacare. They relented after 17 days without achieving any changes. • Stephen Dinan contributed to this report. Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Read More…

Democrat Heidi Campbell Faces Republican Andy Ogles For Tennessee's 5th District. Their Opposing Stances On Abortion Could Shape The Race. https://digitalalabamanews.com/democrat-heidi-campbell-faces-republican-andy-ogles-for-tennessees-5th-district-their-opposing-stances-on-abortion-could-shape-the-race/ Courtesy Heidi Campbell and Andy Ogles campaignsFacebook Republican Andy Ogles (right) has received more support from political action committees in his run for Tennessee’s 5th congressional district. But the advantage in the race against Democrat Heidi Campbell (left) might be less about money and more about the issue of abortion. One of Tennessee’s two congressional districts that has been a democratic stronghold is now heavily gerrymandered in favor of Republicans. Even so, Democratic candidate Heidi Campbell believes she can win the District 5 race. That means she’d have to defeat Republican Andy Ogles, who has received more support from political action committees. But the advantage in this race might be less about money and more about the issue of abortion. A majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a Pew Research Center study. And a majority of voters list it as a top issue this election cycle. In many Republican-led states, like Tennessee, the procedure is now banned with no exceptions. District 5 Republican candidate Andy Ogles, the former mayor of Maury County, supports the abortion ban. He dismissed the need for exceptions in a recent interview with WKRN-TV in Nashville. “Statistically, those are not even part of the conversation,” Ogles said. “That’s a red herring used by the left and radicals to try and taint the conversation.” His opponent, state Sen. Heidi Campbell, has been vocal about adding exceptions to the state’s abortion law. “I’m running with Bob Freeman a bill that includes exceptions for incest and rape,” Campbell said. “But we’re also running clear exceptions to save a woman’s life or well-being, exceptions for minors, exceptions for sex trafficking and to repeal any criminal statutes that would be basically codifying Roe.” The issue has moved so near to the forefront that it could swing some midterm elections, says University of Tennessee political science professor Richard Pacelle. “Overturning Roe v. Wade has given the Democrats a surge — surge in registration and surge in money,” said Pacelle. In Tennessee, voter registration numbers have been higher since Roe v. Wade was overturned June 24. Between that time and the end of August, more than 58,000 people registered to vote in Tennessee — making up a third of all new voter registrations since the beginning of the year. Of that, the majority are women. And while voters don’t register with a party in Tennessee, historically women are more likely to vote for a Democrat. But this district is expected to go to Republicans, according to some political analysts. J. Miles Coleman of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics points to the last presidential election to show just how much of an advantage Tennessee Republicans have. “The new 5th — instead of going to Biden by 20 points — it goes to Trump by 11 or 10,” Coleman said. But that isn’t stopping Heidi Campbell. She spoke to guests during a private meet and greet in Antioch in September. “This campaign is about love, and we are at a weird time where we’re actually in a situation where we kind of have love versus fear,” Campbell said. Campbell’s running on common Democrat talking points: more funding for public schools, reasonable gun control and holding corporations accountable. And her opponent Ogles is running on conservative Republican talking points. “I’ve been very outspoken on immigration. Build the wall. Secure the border. Under no circumstances, no amnesty,” Ogles said during his appearance on conservative streaming news channel Real America’s Voice with John Fredericks back in August. “If you’re going to come here, you have to come here legally. But if you’re here illegal, we’re not going to grant you amnesty.” While Ogles has appeared on conservative talk shows, he’s mainly avoided speaking to other news media or on a debate stage. Campbell’s campaign manager Beth Joslin Roth says they’ve been trying to have a debate with Ogles. “Unfortunately, every single candidate or candidate debate that we have been invited to has not materialized, apparently due to the lack of responsiveness or availability of our opponent, which is frustrating,” said Joslin Roth. Political science professor Pacelle says the strategy to avoid debates or media interviews isn’t new. “This has been a constant thing for a couple of years. But it’s really being implemented this year sort of widespread for the first time,” Pacelle said. “The whole strategy the Republicans have used for a while is trying to pit different things against each other and say, ‘The election was stolen. The media doesn’t want us to win. They are trying to undermine us,’ etc. We’re not going to contribute to that.” WPLN and other news outlets have reached out to Ogles about the 5th district race, but he hasn’t responded to those media requests. Read More…

Prosecutors Seek Prison For Berks County Man’s Attack On AP Journalist During January 6th Capitol Attack | WITF https://digitalalabamanews.com/prosecutors-seek-prison-for-berks-county-mans-attack-on-ap-journalist-during-january-6th-capitol-attack-witf/ October 10, 2022 | 5:22 AM Alan Byerly purchased a stun gun before he traveled from his home in Fleetwood to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. Julio Cortez / AP Photo In this image from video, Alan William Byerly, center, attacks an Associated Press photographer during a riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. Federal prosecutors on Sunday recommended a prison sentence of approximately four years for a Berks Coujnty man who pleaded guilty to assaulting an Associated Press photographer and using a stun gun against police officers during a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss is scheduled to sentence Alan Byerly on Oct. 21 for his attack on AP photographer John Minchillo and police during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in Washington. Sentencing guidelines recommend a prison term ranging from 37 to 46 months. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of at least 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Byerly’s attorney has until Friday to submit a sentencing recommendation. The judge isn’t bound by any of the sentencing recommendations. Byerly was arrested in July 2021 and pleaded guilty a year later to assault charges. Byerly purchased a stun gun before he traveled from his home in Fleetwood to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. Leaving the rally before then-President Donald Trump finished speaking, Byerly went to the Capitol and joined other rioters in using a large metal Trump sign as a battering ram against barricades and police officers, prosecutors said. Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. After that, he went to the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, where he and other rioters attacked Minchillo, who was wearing a lanyard with AP lettering. Byerly is one of at least three people charged with assaulting Minchillo, whose assault was captured on video by a colleague. Byerly then approached police officers behind bike racks and deployed his stun gun. “After officers successfully removed the stun gun from Byerly’s hands, Byerly continued to charge toward the officers, struck and pushed them, and grabbed an officer’s baton,” prosecutors wrote. Byerly later told FBI agents that he did just “one stupid thing down there and that’s all it was,” according to prosecutors. “This was a reference to how he handled the reporter and nothing more,” they wrote. Byerly treated Jan. 6 “as a normal, crime-free day, akin to the movie, ‘The Purge,’ when he could do whatever he wanted without judgment or legal consequence,” prosecutors said. “He was mistaken,” they added. More than 100 police officers were injured during the Capitol siege. Approximately 900 people have been charged with federal crimes for their conduct on Jan. 6. More than 400 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanor offenses. Over 280 riot defendants have been sentenced, with roughly half sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from one week to 10 years. Read More…

Bonus Observations From 2nd Look At Alabama-Texas A&M https://digitalalabamanews.com/bonus-observations-from-2nd-look-at-alabama-texas-am/ Life on the edge is exhausting. Alabama’s pursuit of that adrenaline high found a new extreme Saturday night in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Boiling a 60-minute game down to a 3-second, winner-take-all defensive stop at the 2-yard line was a new twist a white-knuckle 2022 season. This started with needing the Crimson Tide’s first game-winning field goal since 2005 at Texas to the mood swings at Arkansas. With Bryce Young sidelined Saturday, Alabama tested its intestinal lining with the 24-20 thrill ride win over the Aggies. Four turnovers and two missed field goals were the perfect recipe to allow a 24-point underdog a shot to steal one on the road. Anyway, per tradition, my notes from the Sunday DVR rewatch of the previous night’s game. — It was increasingly clear as the week progressed that Bryce Young was unlikely to play. Watching him go through warmups without throwing a single pass confirmed it. This was to be Jalen Milroe’s night and it certainly would run the full spectrum of Saturday night emotions. — The first quarter was an absolute rock fight. A few first downs here and there but nothing sustained by either team as the Aggies gained 68 yards to Alabama’s 63. — It was interesting to hear the CBS broadcast reference the lack of QB hurries Alabama recorded last week at Arkansas and how coaches used that as a motivator entering Saturday. It’s a fairly ambiguous stat that’s very much a judgement call for whoever is on the stat crew. Well, let’s say that number wasn’t three Saturday, it was a multiple of three that made a real difference at the end. — You definitely saw more read-option looks with Milroe in the game with one to open the offensive night and again on the third snap when Jahmyr Gibbs went 25 yards up the middle. Alabama had 11 rushing plays of 10-plus yards with a long of 37 by Gibbs. — The sack-adjusted run-pass ratio included 73% rushing plays for Alabama. The 111 Tide passing yards were the fewest since the 2017 opener when it had 96. The opponent that day? Jimbo Fisher’s Florida State Seminoles in a game Alabama won, 24-7. — Milroe was sacked four times — twice on fumbles — but any negative plays early in a series felt like drive killers. The fact Alabama was 5-for-14 on third downs needing an average of 8.4 yards a conversion wasn’t great math with the rhythm of the game. A second-down sack doomed Alabama’s first drive while a two-yard loss from Jase McClellan on the second possession took the Tide off schedule. — Back to the pass rush, Will Anderson made his presence felt on the second drive. His stat line was interesting with two tackles and no sacks but the number 8 was under the QB hurry column. It’s not an official stat that appears on the NCAA site but an eight-hurry night is the definition of ­affecting the quarterback without a sack. — Alabama’s pass rush was predictably dominant on third downs. All three recorded sacks came in that moment as A&M was 5-of-17 on third downs. (Alabama has the No. 2 third-down defense in the nation). — The Tide dusted off the three-outside LB formation a few times with Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell teaming up with Anderson on third downs. At least once, Alabama had a single down lineman, Jamil Burroughs, with his hand in the dirt as Anderson and Braswell flanked his left side while Turner came off the right edge for the sack. Turner had two and Braswell one. “I’m super proud of Dallas and Braswell,” Anderson said. “Them stepping up big time like this, creating pressure, creating havoc on the quarterback, that’s something they did an excellent job at.” — There was a first-quarter snap when Anderson chased Haynes King from the pocket before 348-pound defensive lineman Jaheim Oatis escorted him to the sideline. Flashes like that show why coaches are so high on the long-term potential of this athletic and large freshman who worked into the regular rotation already. — Texas A&M threw it 47 times compared to 19 for Alabama. The Tide had 288 rushing yards compared to 70 for A&M. Just playing different games. — The time of possession was as close to even as I can remember seeing. A&M had it 30:04 to Alabama’s 29:56. — Both punters did a fine job with A&M’s Nik Constantinou averaging 41.6 yards on seven attempts. Most importantly, he didn’t give Kool-Aid McKinstry any room for a return. He attempted just one and was thrown for a two-yard loss after being one of the nation’s most dangerous return men in recent weeks. Alabama’s James Burnip had four punts for an average of 41.8 yards with two downed inside the 20. — Things really got spicy in the second quarter after a scoreless opening 15 minutes. Milroe’s 33-yard scramble put Alabama in the red zone as the hot and cold roller coaster began. A third-and-eight touchdown pass to Cameron Latu made it 7-0 as the pace cranked up. Alabama converted just five third downs but two went for touchdowns on Milroe passes. — The three fumbles — two from Milroe — were the less-ideal moments from his first start. A&M took advantage of Milroe and McClellan failing to protect the ball in traffic to punch the three fumbles free. — The Aggies scored 17 of its 20 points on possessions that followed the fumbles and they went for shot plays on the first snap of each possession after a recovered a giveaway. 13-yard pass to the Alabama 17. Drive ends in TD. 43-yard pass to the Alabama 6. Drive ends in TD. 36-yard pass to the Alabama 36. Drive ends in FG — There was a point when this started to get the slow-motion car wreck feel. Alabama felt like it was in control but the scoreboard didn’t reflect it as the hosts never got ahead by more than 10. The missed opportunities, careless turnovers and two surprising missed field goals left the door open for Texas A&M straight up to the final snap. — Milroe held onto the ball too long on the first strip-sack — nearly four seconds on my stopwatch — as the blindside hit came as he tried to step up in the pocket. — A&M got the matchup they wanted on its first touchdown of the game as receiver Moose Muhammad found the soft spot in the zone with middle linebacker Deontae Lawson the nearest defender to make it 7-7. That play, however, planted a seed for Saban that would grow fruit on the final snap. — Perhaps Milroe’s best throw of the night followed Gibbs’ longest run of the night, a 37-yarder. Giving a read-option look, Milroe kept it and found Jermaine Burton across the middle on a slant for a 35-yard touchdown. The Georgia transfer found a soft spot in the A&M defense and Milroe didn’t move off his first read to nail the receiver in stride. — There was a sense Alabama could be in a position to go on a run from there, especially after Turner’s third down sack on the next drive forced a three-and-out. King had no running back and a five-man blitz that gave the passer no shot. — The Tide was back to midfield when the fumble/Aggie TD cycle began again. While Saban will certainly coach the ball-security drills this week but that’s kind of the price that comes with having a slippery runner at quarterback. He can make big plays when nobody’s open downfield but plays like that are a side effect. — The tight-end throw back for Texas A&M’s second TD was a perfectly designed play that Alabama defensive lineman Byron Young nearly broke up. The press box was right in front of the play and our angle was perfect to see what Young saw and he came closer to swatting it from the sky than the broadcast gave credit. — The late-half interception of Terrion Arnold got lost in the shuffle but was important. He was in coverage for the big play to set up the previous touchdown but after Milroe’s arm-punt INT, but he put the Tide in position to score before halftime. Braswell’s big blindside hit on King was the catalyst for the takeaway. — The 50-yard field goal from Reichard with 12 seconds on the clock didn’t come without preceding drama. Receiver Jermaine Burton was hit with one of those unsportsmanlike conduct flags that drives Saban nuts. His shot to the facemask of the Aggie defender pushed Reichard out of range before Milroe’s 8-yard scramble made it possible again. The 50-yard kick was two shy of tying his career long as he confidently drilled it through the south end zone uprights. — The Gibbs long run/Milroe touchdown pass combination struck again right after halftime. Just like with the second quick scoring drive, Gibbs ran 28 yards into Aggie territory before Milroe found Ja’Corey Brooks three plays later on third-and-seven to make it 24-14. Let Gibbs make a cut and see any slice of daylight and it’s an instant first down or more. — The 29-yard touchdown to Brooks came out of a bunch formation where Brooks streaked across the formation right to left. Tight end Cameron Latu’s crossing route created just enough traffic to spring Brooks on the other side. Running back Jase McClellan delivered the only downfield block he needed to find the painted grass. Up 24-14, the momentum was back … but we know the mood swings were again on the horizon. — An Aggie 3-and-out on the following drive and Alabama marching back inside the Aggie 40 was about as comfortable as the Bryant-Denny Stadium crowd would get. — The McClellan fumble at the Aggie 38 paired with the missed field goals from 47 and 35 yards reminded me of a certain game of missed opportunities from the past. It honestly was taking on characteristics of the infamous 2013 Iron Bowl that ended in the Kick 6. Alabama had countless chances to make a single play that would’ve put Auburn away but a half dozen forks in the road went the wrong way. — Texas A&M missed a golden opportunity for an easy touchdown on a busted coverage following McClellan’s fumble. Muhammad was wide open down the middle midway through the third quarter but the pass was off line. He had to jump and couldn’t land it fo...

Ukraine Live Updates: Strikes Across Ukraine, Including Heart Of Kyiv; Putin Convenes His Security Council https://digitalalabamanews.com/ukraine-live-updates-strikes-across-ukraine-including-heart-of-kyiv-putin-convenes-his-security-council/ On Oct. 10, a series of explosions rocked Kyiv, in apparent Russian retribution for an explosion on the Crimean Bridge. (Video: Reuters) Updated October 10, 2022 at 3:50 a.m. EDT|Published October 10, 2022 at 1:22 a.m. EDT KYIV, Ukraine — Strikes hit across Ukraine, including in the heart of its capital, in apparent Russian retribution for a weekend explosion on the Crimean Bridge. The explosions in Kyiv — some of which came during rush hour— were the first in months after a period of relative calm and came after many diplomats had returned to the capital. Attacks were also reported in key cities including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the west, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro in the center. Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for the attack on the strategic bridge, calling it an “act of terror” by its special services. He is also set to meet with Russia’s Security Council later Monday as prominent Russians urge reprisal for the bridge blast. Here’s what to know The Kyiv blasts, the first major attacks on the capital since June, killed 8 and injured 24 in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, a Ukrainian official said. After the strikes, Kyiv City Council announced that all subway stations would now be operating as bomb shelters and subway service would be suspended. While the Ukrainian government hasn’t officially claimed responsibility for a predawn blast Saturday that saw sections of the Crimean bridge plunge into the waters of the Kerch Strait, a Ukrainian official told The Washington Post that the country’s special services were behind the attack. Putin, in a video released by the Kremlin on Sunday, characterized the bridge explosion as an attempt to destroy “critical civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky branded a string of weekend airstrikes that hit residential buildings the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring dozens and killing at least 14, “absolute evil” and “terrorism.” Early morning attack in Zaporizhzhia area amid cleanup from earlier strikes Return to menu Another airstrike devastated the Zaporizhzhia area early Monday, according to the regional governor, as rescuers worked to clear the debris from an earlier strike. About 2 a.m. local time, Oleksandr Starukh warned people in Zaporizhzhia to take cover because of an incoming airstrike, according to his Telegram account. About an hour later, he said a residential building had been destroyed. At least 14 people were killed and more than 70 people were injured, including 11 children, in the overnight strikes Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address, calling the strikes “absolute evil” and “terrorism.” He said hundreds of families were left homeless. 8 dead, 24 wounded in Kyiv district, official says Return to menu Eight people died and 24 were wounded in the central Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv on Monday, according to Rostyslav Smirnov, adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelesnky condemned the attacks, accusing Russia of trying to “destroy” Ukrainians and wipe them “off the face of the earth.” He confirmed people were dead and wounded in the strikes but did not provide immediate numbers. Zelensky was referencing a series of strikes in the capital Monday that appeared to be ongoing and also Russia’s weekend attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia that killed residents as they slept in their homes and injured at least 70 people. Strikes hit heart of Kyiv’s downtown during rush hour Return to menu KYIV, Ukraine — A series of blasts rocked Kyiv on Monday morning, some of the strikes landing in the heart of the Ukrainian capital’s downtown during rush hour, in apparent Russian retribution for a weekend explosion on the Crimean Bridge. Videos posted to social media showed civilian cars on fire near Taras Shevchenko Park — on a busy road that people would’ve been using to drive to work when suspected Russian missiles landed around 8:15 a.m. The number of casualties is unclear. The attack is the first on Kyiv since June, but even when Russian forces were on the outskirts of the capital in the early months of the war, no strikes hit so deep into the city center. Explosions were reported across other Ukrainian cities on Monday — in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Lviv — as Moscow unleashed a barrage of missiles after Saturday’s attack on the strategic bridge that linked mainland Russia and Crimea, a symbol of President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions to annex Ukrainian territory. Putin to meet with Russian Security Council Return to menu President Vladimir Putin is set to meet with his Security Council on Monday as prominent Russians urge reprisal for the attack on the Crimean Bridge, calling it an “act of terror” by Ukraine. While the Ukrainian government hasn’t officially claimed responsibility for a predawn blast Saturday that plunged sections of the bridge into the Kerch Strait, a Ukrainian official told The Washington Post that the country’s special services were behind the attack. Read More…

Trump's 'Beginning To End' Has Started, Says His Former Lawyer: This Case Will 'Financially Destroy Him' – Digital World Acq (NASDAQ:DWAC) https://digitalalabamanews.com/trumps-beginning-to-end-has-started-says-his-former-lawyer-this-case-will-financially-destroy-him-digital-world-acq-nasdaqdwac/ Michael Cohen, who served as a lawyer for Donald Trump between 2006 to 2018, said in a recent interview that he believes it is the beginning of the former president’s end. What Happened: Cohen’s comments were made in an interview with Salon in advance of his upcoming book “Revenge.” “I believe that the beginning to his end started with that incredible statement by Tish James,” said Cohen referring to the attorney general for the state of New York. Last month, James sued Trump and his three children for $250 million. Letitia James alleged fraud by Trump’s companies in a 200-page lawsuit filed before the Manhattan Supreme Court. Cohen also said in the interview that the classified documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago by the Federal Bureau of Investigation were Trump’s “get out of jail free card.” “What he saw in those documents. ‘You want to play with me? Really? I was the former president of the United States. I have documents that are so damaging to this country’s national security. Go ahead, indict me, try to throw me in prison. See what happens,’” said Cohen. See Also: How To Buy TMTG IPO Stock  Why It Matters: Referring to the Manhattan suit filed by James, Cohen said, “That case will financially destroy him,” according to Salon. “A lot of people make the mistake and they say that she’s seeking $250 million. That’s not accurate. What she said was, “There is a baseline of $250 million.” Cohen said that the baseline exists because the prosecutors don’t have the full amount. The former lawyer for Trump said in the interview, “Donald Trump has committed tax evasion, bank fraud, wire fraud, misrepresentation. He will not be able to get past that, and that is criminal.”  Cohen, who pleaded guilty to nine federal crimes that included tax fraud and lying to Congress, was sentenced to three years in prison in Dec. 2018. He was released in May 2020.  He called Trump an “orange-crusted buffoon” recalling the former president’s reaction to his office being raided by the FBI. Cohen said Trump had forgotten his name when the media asked him about the raid. Trump, meanwhile, compared himself on Truth Social with former presidents George H.W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton on Sunday and slammed the “double standard” related to confidential papers that he faced. Truth Social is a part of the Trump Media & Technology Group, a company set to go public through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC. Read Next: Trump Warns US ‘Saying Exactly The Wrong Thing’ On Russia-Ukraine War: ‘We’ll End Up In World War 3’ © 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Read More…

Marjorie Taylor Greene Gains Momentum As GOP Normalizes Once Fringe Figures https://digitalalabamanews.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-gains-momentum-as-gop-normalizes-once-fringe-figures/ WASHINGTON (AP) — Marjorie Taylor Greene took her seat directly behind Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, a proximity to power for the firebrand congresswoman that did not go unnoticed, as he unveiled the House GOP’s midterm election agenda in Pennsylvania. Days later, she appeared on stage warming up the crowd for Donald Trump, when the former president rallied voters in Michigan to cast ballots for Republicans, including for control of Congress. Once shunned as a political pariah for her extremist rhetoric, the Georgia congresswoman who spent her first term in the House stripped of institutional power by Democrats is being celebrated by Republicans and welcomed into the GOP fold. If Republicans win the House majority in the November election, Greene is poised to become an influential player shaping the GOP agenda, an agitator with clout. “No. 1, we need to impeach Joe Biden. No. 2, We need to impeach Secretary Mayorkas. And No. 3, we should impeach Merrick Garland,” Greene told The Associated Press outside the US Capitol. Alejandro Mayorkas is the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Garland the attorney general. Scolding the media for having been “wrong about me” from the start, she said those who know better “take me very seriously.” Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms “I’m going to be a strong legislator and I’ll be a very involved member of Congress,” she predicted. “I know how to work inside, and I know how to work outside. And I’m looking forward to doing that.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., talks to the media at DMI Companies in Monongahela, Pa., September 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File) This is the outlook for the Republican Party in the Trump era, the normalizing of once-fringe figures into the highest ranks of political power. It’s a sign of the GOP’s rightward drift that Greene’s association with extremists and nationalists, violent rhetoric and remarks about Jewish people have found a home in elected office. Her ascent brings into focus the challenge ahead for McCarthy, whose GOP ranks are filling with far-right political stars with the potential to play an oversized role in setting the policies, priorities and tone of the new Congress. “I’ve said for a long time there’s a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party,” said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, at a briefing ahead of the midterm elections. When the congresswoman says outlandish things — as she did at the Trump rally earlier this month claiming “Democrats want Republicans dead, and they’ve already started the killings” — few Republican leaders dare a public or private rebuke of such incendiary language. In this case, she was exaggerating two local incidents involving politics, one that ended tragically in a fatality. Greene’s political currency stretches beyond her massive social media following and her ability to rake in sizable sums from donors. Her proximity to Trump makes her a force that cannot be ignored by what’s left of her mainstream GOP colleagues. McCarthy’s allowance for Greene to sit front and center with leadership for the campaign rollout was not by accident but by design. The Republican lawmakers in attendance celebrated her presence, calling it a sign of the GOP’s “big tent” that welcomes all comers. But Greene’s arrival also signaled a stark normalizing of the most extreme elements in the Republican Party. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., listens as House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., not pictured, speaks at DMI Companies in Monongahela, Pa., September 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File) Longtime political strategist Rick Wilson, a former Republican who left the party in the Trump era, calls Greene’s brand of politics “government by trolling” that marks a dangerous new era for the GOP and will make it difficult to govern. McCarthy is in line to become House speaker if Republicans regain the majority. “No matter what the trolling part of the Republican caucus does, you can’t ever satisfy them,” said Wilson, now at the Lincoln Project. With the departure of the last vestiges of the anti-Trump wing of the House GOP — Liz Cheney defeated by a primary opponent and Adam Kinzinger deciding to step down rather than seek reelection — “that’s it,” Wilson said. Greene swept onto the national stage in the 2020 election, and catapulted forward even before she took office. As the lawmaker-elect from northwest Georgia, she attended a key organizing meeting at the Trump White House as lawmakers laid plans to object to the certification of Joe Biden’s election on January 6, 2021. When she arrived to be sworn into Congress, she wore a “Trump Won” face mask. Democrats moved swiftly and unequivocally to reprimand Greene, voting to strip her of congressional committee assignments over her incendiary rhetoric, including trafficking in volatile conspiracy theories. Greene drew rebuke from her own party a few months later for comparing mandatory COVID-19 face masks to the treatment of Jewish people by Nazi Germany. While some have tried to compare Greene to outspoken far-left lawmakers, it became clear even to Republican leaders that Greene stood in a category of her own. At that time, McCarthy called her comments about the Holocaust “wrong” and “appalling.” Greene later apologized. In many ways, Greene’s arrival in the House traces the arc of the Republican Party’s rightward evolution from the Newt Gingrich revolution that brought conservatives to power in the 1994 election, to the “tea party” Republicans that regained the House majority in 2010. In this Sunday, January 3, 2021, file photo, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wears a ‘Trump Won’ face mask as she arrives on the floor of the House to take her oath of office on the opening day of the 117th Congress at the US Capitol in Washington. (Erin Scott/Pool Photo via AP) Jack Kingston, a former Republican congressman who rose during those earlier eras, said McCarthy was smart in welcoming Greene to unfurl the House GOP’s “Commitment to America” last month. “He’s got to work with her, and he knows that,” Kingston said. “Getting Marjorie Taylor Greene on board is very important,” he said. “If you don’t bring everybody in the tent, they’re going to find their own niche.” In the interview, Greene said she is certain she will be reinstated on her congressional committees if Republicans win the majority, eyeing the House Oversight panel, and is talking to leadership about other opportunities in the new Congress. Not only does Greene want to impeach Biden and Cabinet officials, she is eager to conduct investigations, including into the origins of COVID-19. Last month, Greene unveiled legislation that is another priority — her bill to prohibit some gender reassignment procedures on minors — flanked by a dozen Republican lawmakers and leaders in the conservative movement. Many of them praised the congresswoman for her work. US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., speaks about Twitter, April 28, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) “I want to thank Marjorie Taylor Greene — who is soon to get her full legislative powers back, by the way,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Committee, who hugged her afterward. “If this is the type of thing that you’re going to have the courage to do, I think that’s something everybody needs to understand,” Schlapp said. McCarthy and Greene appear to have come to an understanding that they need each other. The leader needs Greene to come into the GOP fold rather than throw rocks from outside. She needs McCarthy’s blessing to regain committee assignments, enabling her to participate more fully in Congress and put her imprint on legislation. At the Pennsylvania event, McCarthy batted away questions about his ability to govern if Republicans win the majority. “Name me one person in the conference that is opposed to this,” he said afterward of their platform. “Is that a difference? Yes.” Read More…

Futures Fall To Start Week With Key Inflation Data, Earnings Ahead https://digitalalabamanews.com/futures-fall-to-start-week-with-key-inflation-data-earnings-ahead/ Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Getty Images Stock futures were lower Monday morning as the markets come out of a tumultuous week and traders look ahead to key reports coming in the next week that can offer insights into the health of the economy. Futures connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.44% or 130 points. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.51%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.52%. Market observers generally consider the week ahead as the kickoff to earnings season, with four of the world’s largest banks – JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Citi – reporting Friday. PepsiCo, Delta and Domino’s are also among companies reporting next week. Inflation will also take center stage as new monthly Consumer Price Index data comes Thursday morning. It will follow a week of whiplash for market participants. The first half brought a relief rally that pushed the S&P 500 up more than 5% in its largest two-day gain since 2020. But jobs data that economists say will keep the Federal Reserve on a path to continue raising interest rates and OPEC+’s decision to slash oil supply rattled investors, diluting wins later in the week. When day trading ended Friday, the S&P was up 1.5% compared to where it started the week. The Dow and Nasdaq were up 1.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Still, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq had the first positive week in the last four. All remain down substantially so far in 2022, however, and the Nasdaq is less than 1% away from its 52-week low. Meanwhile, the 2-year Treasury yield rose 6 basis points, closing at 4.316%. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%. “The direction of the stock market is likely to be lower because either the economy and corporate profits are going to slow meaningfully or the Fed is going to have to raise rates even higher and keep them higher for longer,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance, on Friday. “Given the conditions that we are operating under, we believe it’s prudent to begin preparing for a recession,” he added. “The talk of a shallow recession that is now the narrative-du-jour strikes us as eerily similar to the ‘inflation is transitory’ narrative of last year.” Last week brought heightened concerns that corporate earnings will show the ugly side of a surging dollar as Levi Strauss became the latest to cut guidance due to sliding international sales. Bank of England announces liquidity measures to help ease pension fund issues The Bank of England is set to introduce further liquidity measures as it seeks to ensure financial stability in the U.K. It comes after the central bank on Sep. 28 announced a two-week emergency two-week purchase program for long-dated U.K. government bonds. It was designed to protect liability driven investment (LDI) funds from imminent collapse. Now, the BOE has announced further measures to ensure an “orderly end” to its purchase scheme on Oct. 14, including increasing the size of its daily auctions to allow headroom for gilt purchases ahead of Friday’s deadline. Read more here. — Elliot Smith European markets continue sell-off, tracking global negativity European markets retreated on Monday morning, tracking negative global sentiment as investors bet that last week’s U.S. jobs data will keep the Federal Reserve on an aggressive path of interest rate hikes. The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.4% in early trade, with utilities shedding 1.2% to lead losses as most sectors and major bourses slid into the red. – Elliot Smith CNBC Pro: Goldman says these ‘cheap’ global stocks are set to win in the short and long-term As Europe struggles with soaring electricity and gas bills, Goldman Sachs says global companies focussing on energy efficiency are set to outperform. “We think Energy Efficiency companies can outperform over the short term, with the focus on energy efficiency to tackle the current energy crisis that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the analysts wrote in a note on Oct. 3. “[And] over the long term, with the focus on energy efficiency to tackle the climate change and reach the ambitious ‘net zero’ targets.” CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Weizhen Tan Services activity in China contracted in September, private survey shows The Caixin services purchasing managers’ index came in at 49.3 in September, according to a report published Saturday, a steep drop from 55 in August. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction. PMI readings compare activity from month to month. The nation’s Covid curbs caused services activity in China to contract in September for the first time since May, the report said. “Companies that reported reduced activity frequently commented that the pandemic and subsequent measures to contain the virus had restricted operations and weighed on demand in September,” the press release by Caixin said. — Abigail Ng Core inflation will rise again, Allianz’s El-Erian predicts Allianz Chief Economic Adviser Mohamed El-Erian predicts core inflation will continue rising while headline inflation comes down to about 8%. He told CBS’ “Face The Nation” on Sunday that inflation core inflation will eventually come down. But he expects new Consumer Price Index data coming Thursday to show it rose again month over month. Core inflation previously rose 0.6% from July to August – the most recent data before what is coming next week – and was up 6.3% from a year ago. “The question is, does it come down with a slowdown in the economy or a major recession?” he said. — Alex Harring, Ashley Capoot The week ahead: Earnings season kicks off, new data and more Market observers will be watching for key data and information coming in the coming week. Four of the world’s largest banks, as well as consumer interest brands like PepsiCo and Domino’s, will report earnings for a week many call the start to the new earnings season. They will also watch for Consumer Price Index data Thursday morning as concerns over inflation continue to impact the political landscape and economic policy. New data from the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index will drop Friday morning. This index gauges consumer feelings about issues such as the health of the business world and their finances and is considered a key indicator of how average Americans feel about the economy. CNBC Pro subscribers can see more to watch for here. — Alex Harring, Jesse Pound Stock futures open lower Stock futures were down at the start of after-hours trading Sunday night. Futures connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.3% to 29,225 points. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 saw futures down 0.4% to 3,638 points and 11,056.75 points, respectively. — Alex Harring Read More…

AP News Summary At 3:23 A.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-323-a-m-edt/ Explosions rock multiple Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s military has hurled a barrage of missiles against Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv. The barrage struck civilian targets early Monday in what could be Moscow’s retaliation for the bombing of a key bridge connecting Russia to its annexed territory of Crimea. The first strikes on Kyiv in four months targeted the center of the city and left people dead and wounded. The number of casualties was not known. After the first early morning strikes in Kyiv, more loud explosion were heard later in the morning in an intensification of Russia’s attack that could spell a major escalation in the war. Officials and media also reported explosions in a number of other locations, including Dnipro and Lviv. N. Korea confirms nuke missiles tests to ‘wipe out’ enemies SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says its recent barrage of missile launches were tests of its tactical nuclear weapons to “hit and wipe out” potential South Korean and U.S. targets. Its leader Kim Jong Un has signaled he would conduct more provocative tests. Monday’s North Korean statement released on the 77th birthday of its ruling Workers’ Party is seen as an attempt to buttress a public unity behind Kim as he is struggling to overcome difficulties such as pandemic-related economic hardships. State media say North Korea’s recent missile tests were response to recent naval drills between U.S. and South Korean forces, which involved the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. ‘Nothing’s left’: Hurricane Ian leaves emotional toll behind FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland. For those who lost everything to disaster, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. The Lee County medical examiner says two men in their 70s even took their own lives a day apart after viewing their losses. Experts say suicides climb after disasters and more funding for mental health should be provided as climate change makes storms and fires more frequent and devastating. ‘A time bomb’: Anger rising in a hot spot of Iran protests SULIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Anger among civilians is rising in a majority Kurdish district in northwestern Iran that has become one of the hotspots of protests. The Associated Press spoke to six activists in the northern city of Sanandaj, 300 miles (500 kilometers) from the capital Tehran. They described an evolving protest movement that has shifted from mass gatherings to more scattered protests and other signs of civil disobedience amid a harsh government crackdown. Protests erupted after the burial of a 22-year-old woman who died in Iranian police custody and have persisted with protests in neighborhoods, schools, with burning tires and commercial strikes. Nobel panel to announce winner of economics prize STOCKHOLM (AP) — The winner, or winners, of this year’s Nobel Prize for economics will be announced Monday at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in Stockholm. The prizes carry a cash award of nearly $900,000 and will be handed out Dec. 10. Unlike the other prizes, the economics award wasn’t established in Alfred Nobel’s will of 1895 but by the Swedish central bank in his memory. The first winner was selected in 1969. Last year, half the award went to David Card for his research on how the minimum wage, immigration and education affect the labor market. The other half was shared by Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens for proposing how to study issues that don’t easily fit traditional scientific methods. Nevada Senate race tests potency of abortion focus for Dems LAS VEGAS (AP) — Democrats predicted abortion would be Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s saving grace. But on the ground in Nevada, there are signs that the backlash against the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade may not be enough to save the Democratic senator from intense economic concerns and the harsh realities of midterm politics next month. The high-stakes Senate race in the Western battleground may ultimately decide the U.S. Senate majority. Perhaps more than any other state, Nevada’s high-stakes Senate election is testing the extent to which abortion can help Democrats maintain their grip on power in Washington and in key state houses across the nation. From fringe to front row: Congresswoman Greene rises in GOP WASHINGTON (AP) — Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene once was shunned as a political pariah for her extremist rhetoric. Now the Georgia Republican is being welcomed by House Republicans into the fold. Recently, Greene was front and center as Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy unveiled the House GOP’s midterm campaign agenda in Pennsylvania. She joined Donald Trump at a rally in Michigan. Greene spent her first term stripped of committee assignments by Democrats over her rhetoric. But if Republicans win the House majority in the November election, Greene is poised to become an influential player. She tells The Associated Press that impeaching President Joe Biden tops her agenda. Drive for climate compensation grows after Pakistan’s floods DADU, Pakistan (AP) — The devastation wreaked by floods in Pakistan this summer has intensified the debate over a question of climate justice: Do rich countries whose emissions are the main cause of climate change owe compensation to poor countries hit by climate change-fueled disasters? Pakistan contributed only 0.8% of the world’s emissions. Now it is pushing for funds to rebuild from losses it estimates at some $30 billion from the monster monsoons, widely believed to have been worsened by climate change. Pakistan and other countries are also pushing for the question of paying for climate loss and damage to be discussed at the upcoming COP27 conference, but developing countries have long rejected the idea. As suicides rise, US military seeks to address mental health WASHINGTON (AP) — Rising suicide rates among active service members have forced the Pentagon to review the military’s mental health protocols. But many service members in crisis still fear coming forward and admitting they need help. And those who do seek that help often find themselves fighting through deep-rooted stigma surrounding mental health issues, bureaucratic obstacles and an internal pressure to stay on the job. The Pentagon has created an independent committee to review the military’s mental health and suicide prevention programs. At the same time, a network of military-adjacent charitable organizations has tried to fill the gaps with a variety of programs and outreach efforts. A personal reckoning, and the truth comes out of the closet As a journalist, his job is to report about the truth. But personally, for many years, he had been purposely hiding it to protect himself. His journey out of the closet has taken decades. Now 57, he is still sharing his truth about his sexuality. The journey hasn’t ended; indeed, it’s just beginning as he now lives his life as the man he believes he was meant to be. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More…

Adverse Effects With Ketamine And Opioid/ketamine | JPR https://digitalalabamanews.com/adverse-effects-with-ketamine-and-opioid-ketamine-jpr/ Introduction Ketamine is a phencyclidine derivative that antagonizes the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and has additional pharmacological effects at multiple other receptors. It was first clinically used as an anesthetic in humans as early as 1964 and FDA approved in 1970.1 Recently, there has been increasing use of ketamine at subanesthetic doses as an adjunct in both acute and chronic pain management, as it may reduce opioid requirements.2,3 Subanesthetic intraoperative ketamine infusions may be considered for opioid-dependent or opioid-tolerant patients, especially patients undergoing highly stimulating or painful surgery.4 Complementary usage of ketamine in the perioperative period is associated with reduced postoperative opioid consumption for up to 6 weeks following spine surgery.5–7 Ketamine may lead to a number of adverse drug effects (ADEs) including hallucinations, dizziness, delirium, visual disturbances, tachycardia, hypertension, and nausea.7 Intraoperative ketamine, when used in combination with opioids as part of a multimodal anesthetic, has been shown to reduce the risk of postoperative opioid-related adverse effects, including decreased postoperative nausea and vomiting.8–10 Despite ketamine’s ability to reduce opioid consumption, there is conflicting data on the incidence of postoperative ADEs associated with ketamine. Furthermore, there are few studies addressing ketamine patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) dosages or infusion dosages that can lead to ketamine-induced ADEs.11,12 Recent guidelines have even recommended intraoperative ketamine infusions for complex spine surgeries, but not for the immediate postoperative period.13 Even with increasing use of ketamine, there are limited studies directly comparing the incidence of ADEs in ketamine infusions with as-needed PCA boluses and combined opioid and ketamine PCAs in postoperative spine patients. The objective of this study is to compare the incidence and type of ADEs in postoperative spine surgery patients on ketamine infusions with PCA bolus to patients on combined opioid and ketamine PCAs. We want to determine whether patients on postoperative ketamine infusions with PCA bolus experience lower incidence rates of ADEs when compared to patients placed on combined hydromorphone and ketamine PCAs as well as combined morphine and ketamine PCAs. Methods The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Institutional Review Board approved this study protocol without a requirement for written patient consent. The study was consistent with the standards set by the Declaration of Helsinki. A retrospective analysis was performed on consecutive patients between the ages of 18 and 79 who underwent elective or urgent, but not emergent, single and multi-level spine surgery at one urban, hybrid academic/private institution in Los Angeles, California, between March 2016 and March 2020. Patients underwent cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral anterior fusions, posterior fusions, laminectomies, foraminotomies, microdiscectomies, and corpectomies. Patients received either a postoperative ketamine infusion with PCA bolus, combined hydromorphone and ketamine PCA, or combined morphine and ketamine PCA. Exclusion criteria included age less than 18 years, patients who received opioid-alone PCAs, oral or intranasal ketamine, and patients treated with regional anesthesia. Both Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients were included. Patients who received intraoperative ketamine for induction and analgesia were included in the study if they were also treated postoperatively with a ketamine infusion with PCA bolus, hydromorphone and ketamine PCA, or morphine and ketamine PCA. The main outcome investigated was the number and type of ADEs experienced by patients in the three groups. Information was obtained from hospital progress notes in a unified electronic medical record (EMR). Patients were first grouped by the type of PCA used postoperatively and then dichotomized into those that experienced a particular ADE and those that did not. Patient characteristics including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status, and preoperative morphine equivalent daily dose (MEDD) were recorded. It was noted whether patients were diagnosed with chronic pain prior to their surgery. Patients were identified as having chronic pain if they experienced pain lasting more than 6 months prior to surgery.14 The average daily amount of preoperative opioids that each patient was prescribed, as indicated in their medical records, were converted into the equianalgesic dose of oral morphine.15 Similarly, intraoperative opioid and ketamine use were both recorded. Patients who required a rapid response team (RRT) assessment for imminent clinical deterioration while on a PCA were also identified. The decision to begin a postoperative PCA was made at the discretion of the inpatient pain service (IPS), comprised of nurse practitioners and attending pain physicians, in consultation with the primary surgical team. The IPS team was trained in the management of ketamine infusions with PCA bolus as well as combined opioid and ketamine PCAs, including detection of ADEs. Patients were treated with a ketamine infusion with PCA bolus at 0.06 mg/kg/hr with a 0.1 mg/hr demand dose bolus, a combined hydromorphone 1 mg/mL and ketamine 1 mg/mL PCA, or combined morphine 1 mg/mL and ketamine 1 mg/mL PCA. Demand doses and lockout intervals for the combined opioid and ketamine PCAs varied at the discretion of the IPS team and were recorded. Patients in the ketamine infusion with PCA bolus group were continued on their home oral opioid regimen with additional as-needed oral and intravenous opioids available to supplement the ketamine infusion and PCA. All patients were extubated in the operating room and admitted to the postoperative neurosurgical floor or the neurosurgical intensive care unit following surgery. The IPS team managed and followed patients daily while using a postoperative infusion or PCA, including weekends and holidays. The PCA was generally started within 4 hours following surgery, but could be started as late as 24 hours postoperatively. Duration of PCA in days was recorded for each patient. ADEs were managed with benzodiazepines, clonidine, and ondansetron when appropriate. Patient infusions and PCAs could be discontinued at any time following initiation. Patient’s EMR daily progress notes written by the IPS team, surgical team, and registered nurses were assessed for specific ADEs. Patients were examined for psychological ADEs including visual hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, paranoid ideas, anxious feelings, inability to control thoughts, derealization in time and space, increased awareness of sound and color, out-of-body experiences, and euphoria while on a PCA. Similarly, neurological ADEs experienced by patients, including dizziness, sedation, blurred vision, vertigo, nystagmus, nightmares, vivid dreams, impaired motor function, and memory deficits while on a PCA, were documented. The EMR was also reviewed for documented nausea with or without vomiting while being treated with a PCA, heart rate immediately prior to initiation of PCA and maximum heart rate during PCA treatment. Tachycardia was defined as a heart rate greater than or equal to 100 beats per minute. Patients with new-onset tachycardia while on a PCA were counted. Lastly, length of hospitalization in days was documented. Given the higher preoperative MEDD in the combined opioid PCA groups, we conducted a sub-analysis of 189 patients with preoperative MEDD less than or equal to 90. The CDC recommends that prescribers should not increase opioid dosages to greater than 90 MEDD/day unless necessary and with careful justification.15 This sub-analysis may help determine if the three treatment modalities maintain differences in postoperative ADEs among patients with similar preoperative MEDD. Similarly, a sub-analysis of patients who experienced any ADE except for new-onset tachycardia was performed to draw a more meaningful comparison with existing literature. Statistical Analyses For continuous variables of sufficient homoscedasticity, a one-way analysis of variance was used to compare differences between the three analgesic groups. When significant differences were detected, a Tukey–Kramer test was performed for post hoc pairwise comparison. Equality of variance was assessed using Levene’s test. For continuous variables which violated the equality of variance assumption, Welch’s one-way ANOVA was substituted for the traditional one-way ANOVA and the Games–Howell test was used for post hoc pairwise comparison. For the sole ordinal variable, ASA Status, the Kruskal–Wallis H-test was used. For all other categorical variables, either Pearson’s chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test was used. When significant differences were detected, a post hoc pairwise comparison was performed with Bonferroni adjusted p-values. Among outcome variables, a Bonferroni correction was also included. Finally, a binary logistic regression was performed to assess the risk of an ADE for each analgesic group. Independent variables were selected either due to clinical relevance or a significant difference between analgesic groups. Dependent variables included the dichotomous composite, Any ADE, and Nausea with or without emesis. Associations with P0.05 were considered statistically significant. All analyses were conducted using R statistical software, version 4.2.0. Results A total of 1630 medical records were reviewed. A total of 315 patients were included in the analysis based on the study criteria. A total of 1315 patients were excluded as these patients did not meet inclusion criteria. Of the patients included in the analysis, 68 were treated wit...

Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions: Week 6 https://digitalalabamanews.com/bowl-projections-college-football-playoff-predictions-week-6/ It’s time to start really analyzing just how the College Football Playoff will really look now that we’ve seen all the likely key players in tough games. It’s not going to be easy as the obvious four teams, but we’ll save that for the College Football Playoff section at the end. There are two key problems about to happen. First, the bowl tie-ins are going to get funky – the Mountain West is going to struggle to get more than a few teams in. That goes to the second problem – there probably won’t be enough eligible teams. Let’s wait one more week to see how the upsets shake out and then get into all the five-win team scenarios. For now. here’s how all the bowls project out. Bowl Projections: Week 6 Bowl Projections: Week 6 2022-2023 Bowl Projections, Part 2 | New Year’s Six College Football Playoff Prediction CFN Week 6 Rankings 1-131 | Rankings By Conference Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak 2022-2023 conference bowl tie-ins All Times Eastern HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl Friday, December 16, 2022 11:30 am, ESPN Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas Last Year: Middle Tennessee 31, Toledo 24 Bowl Ties: Conference USA vs MAC Bowl Projection: Middle Tennessee vs Kent State Duluth Trading Cure Bowl Friday, December 16, 2022 3:00, ESPN Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL Last Year: Coastal Carolina 47, Northern Illinois 41 Bowl Ties: Group of Five vs Group of Five or Army Bowl Projection: Marshall vs Western Michigan Wasabi Fenway Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 11:00 am, ESPN Fenway Park, Boston, MA Last Year: Canceled Bowl Ties: ACC vs American Athletic (Conference USA) Bowl Projection: Pitt vs Tulane Cricket Celebration Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 12:00, ABC Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA Last Year: South Carolina State 31, Jackson State 10 Bowl Ties: MEAC vs SWAC Bowl Projection: North Carolina Central vs Jackson State New Mexico Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 2:15, ESPN Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, NM Last Year: Fresno State 31, UTEP 24 Bowl Ties: Mountain West vs AAC, C-USA, MAC or Sun Belt Bowl Projection: UNLV vs North Texas Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 3:30, ABC SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA Last Year: Canceled Bowl Ties: Mountain West vs Pac-12 Bowl Projection: San Jose State vs Washington LendingTree Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 5:45, ESPN Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA Last Year: Liberty 56, Eastern Michigan 20 Bowl Ties: MAC vs Sun Belt (C-USA) Bowl Projection: Toledo vs Troy SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 7:30, ABC Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV Last Year: Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 13 Bowl Ties: Pac-12 vs SEC Bowl Projection: Washington State vs Florida Frisco Bowl Saturday, December 17, 2022 9:15, ESPN Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX Last Year: San Diego State 38, UTSA 24 Bowl Ties: Group of Five vs Group of Five or Army Bowl Projection: Rice vs Wyoming Myrtle Beach Bowl Monday, December 19, 2022 2:30, ESPN Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC Last Year: Tulsa 30, Old Dominion 17 Bowl Ties: C-USA, MAC, Sun Belt Bowl Projection: Louisiana Tech vs Georgia Southern Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Tuesday, December 20, 2022 3:30 ESPN Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID Last Year: Wyoming 52, Kent State 38 Bowl Ties: MAC vs Mountain West Bowl Projection: Eastern Michigan vs Boise State RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Tuesday, December 20, 2022 7:30, ESPN FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL Last Year: WKU 59, Appalachian State 38 Bowl Ties: Group of Five vs Group of Five Bowl Projection: Appalachian State vs Houston R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Wednesday, December 21, 2022 9:00, ESPN Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA Last Year: Louisiana 36, Marshall 21 Bowl Ties: Conference USA vs Sun Belt Bowl Projection: UAB vs Coastal Carolina Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Thursday, December 22, 2022 7:30, ESPN Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX Last Year: Army 24, Missouri 22 Bowl Ties: American Athletic vs Conference USA (Big 12, Pac-12) Bowl Projection: Kansas vs SMU Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Friday, December 23, 2022 TBA, ESPN Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL Last Year: UAB 31, BYU 28 Bowl Ties: American Athletic vs Army Bowl Projection: Memphis vs Liberty Union Home Gasparilla Bowl Friday, December 23, 2022 TBA, ESPN Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL Last Year: UCF 29, Florida 17 Bowl Ties: ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC (AAC, C-USA) Bowl Projection: Iowa State vs UTSA Easyport Hawaii Bowl Saturday, December 24, 2022 8:00, ESPN Clarence TC Ching Complex, Honolulu, HI Last Year: Canceled Bowl Ties: Conference USA vs Mountain West Bowl Projection: WKU vs Air Force Bowl Projections: Week 6 2022-2023 Bowl Projections, Part 2 | New Year’s Six College Football Playoff Prediction CFN Week 6 Rankings 1-131 | Rankings By Conference More Bowl Projections After Week 6: NEXT Read More…

After Racist Comments, Los Angeles City Council President Faces Calls To Resign https://digitalalabamanews.com/after-racist-comments-los-angeles-city-council-president-faces-calls-to-resign/ In a leaked recording of a meeting last year, she mocked Indigenous immigrants and the Black child of a fellow council member. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Nury Martinez, president of the Los Angeles City Council.Credit…Al Seib/Los Angeles Times, via Getty Images Published Oct. 9, 2022Updated Oct. 10, 2022, 2:17 a.m. ET LOS ANGELES — The president of the Los Angeles City Council faced widespread calls to resign on Sunday after a leaked audio recording revealed racist and disparaging remarks about the Black child of a white council member and also about Indigenous immigrants in the city’s Koreatown neighborhood. The comments, made during a meeting last year with two other council members and a labor official, exposed longstanding racial tensions in the governance of one of the nation’s most multicultural cities as well as fault lines among the city’s Democrats. In the profanity-laced recording, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times and which was first reported by The Los Angeles Times, the City Council president, Nury Martinez, who is Latina, compared the Black child of a white council member to a “changuito,” Spanish for little monkey. She also called Oaxacan immigrants living in Koreatown “short little dark people.” It was unclear who leaked the recording of the October 2021 meeting, which included Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, council members representing parts of the city’s East Side, and Ron Herrera, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Also unknown was who made the recording, which was initially uploaded to Reddit earlier this month by an unidentified, now-suspended user, and continued to circulate via email after the post was taken down. No one has disputed the recording’s authenticity, and Ms. Martinez and Mr. de León have issued apologies. Although advocates on all sides of upcoming city races are unleashing information to sway voters, the exact motivation behind the release of the recording was not immediately clear. But an unsigned introduction in the Reddit post, shared via screenshot with the recording, denounced the ties between organized labor and some members of the Council, including Ms. Martinez, complaining that “the labor movement is in bed with City Hall.” The four officials in the meeting were strategizing about political redistricting in advance of this year’s election. Mr. Herrera can be heard telling the group that “my goal is to get the three of you elected, and I’m just focused on that — we’re like a little Latino caucus of our own.” A citizen advisory committee conducts Los Angeles’s redistricting process each decade and recommends maps, but the final lines are determined by the Council, which ultimately approved a map far different from the one that was recommended. The conversation focused on those heated negotiations and on the distribution among the 15 council districts of economic and municipal “assets” such as stadiums, universities and airports. Such assets provide jobs to constituents and can enhance an officeholder’s political influence and fund-raising abilities. In the audio, the group echoed long held complaints about Latino representation in the city, where Latinos make up about half of the population but hold only about a third of the seats on the Council. Ms. Martinez complained that the commission had recommended moving key assets, such as the Van Nuys airport, out of her district while claiming to back broader representation for Latinos. “If you’re going to talk about Latino districts, what kind of districts are you trying to create?” she asked her colleagues. “Because you’re taking away our assets. You’re just going to create poor Latino districts with nothing?” Ms. Martinez, who is not up for re-election until 2024, added that Nithya Raman, a council member of South Asian descent, should not represent Koreatown, which is now largely Latino. Ms. Martinez also weighed in on a dispute between two Black council members over whose district would include Exposition Park and the University of Southern California. Rather than fight among themselves, she said, they should demand a map in which one of them gets the massive Los Angeles International Airport. That asset, she noted, is in the district of a white council member, Mike Bonin, whom she referred to with a vulgarity. In the ensuing exchange, Mr. de León referred to Mr. Bonin, a West Los Angeles liberal, as the council’s “fourth Black member” and joked with Ms. Martinez that Mr. Bonin carried his adopted son, who is Black, as if the toddler were a designer handbag. Ms. Martinez complained that on a parade float on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Mr. Bonin had failed to control his son and said that the child’s antics had nearly tipped the float over. “They’re raising him like a little white kid,” Ms. Martinez says. “I was like, this kid needs a beatdown. Let me take him around the corner, and then I’ll bring him back.” She also cursed George Gascón, the Los Angeles County district attorney, saying that “he’s with the Blacks.” News of the audio ricocheted around Los Angeles on Sunday, eliciting shock and fury but also acknowledgment of the complexity of race relations in the sprawling city. The furor extended to the city’s increasingly tight race for mayor between Rick Caruso, a billionaire developer and police commissioner endorsed by Mr. Cedillo, and Representative Karen Bass, who is Black and was endorsed by Ms. Martinez. “This entire situation shows that City Hall is fundamentally broken and dysfunctional,” Mr. Caruso said in a statement. “In a closed-door meeting, leaders at the highest levels of city government used racial slurs and hate speech while discussing how to carve up the city to retain their own power.” Ms. Bass issued a condemnation as well. “Let me be clear about what was on those tapes: appalling, anti-Black racism,” she said in a statement, adding that she had “spent the day speaking with Black and Latino leaders about how to ensure this doesn’t divide our city.” “Homelessness is out of control, crime is on the rise, and Angelenos are being priced out of their hometown,” she said. “The challenges we face already threaten to tear us apart and, now, this hateful and shocking conversation among some of our city’s most powerful leaders could divide us even further. All those in the room must be held accountable.” Eunisses Hernandez, a progressive who in June won Mr. Cedillo’s council seat in an upset, said she was “beyond disgusted.” “We have three sitting council members being explicit about the Black community, and their language exemplifies anti-Blackness,” she said. “How is it we have these people in leadership?” Latinos are by far the largest demographic among the city’s 3.8 million residents. But the Black community in Los Angeles has long wielded greater clout than would be suggested by its 8.8 percent of the population, and the Asian community has become a rising political force with nearly 12 percent of the population. White Angelenos, with more than 28 percent of the population, have long controlled much of the city’s wealth and power. Residents of the city routinely tout their diversity as an asset, and, since the 1992 riots, have expressed pride in the strides they have made in race relations. In polls, Latino residents of the city repeatedly say that their Black neighbors understand them better than do any other ethnic group in Los Angeles, and vice versa, said Fernando Guerra, whose Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University regularly surveys the city’s residents. Mr. Guerra said that when he heard the recording, he was appalled, particularly at the remarks about Mr. Bonin’s child. But he also noted that, as in most of California, getting along remains a work in progress and that unlike the county and state, the city of Los Angeles still allows elected officials, rather than an independent commission, to have the final say in their own district maps. That practice, he said, has contributed to ongoing racial tensions. In drawing a fair map, the council “had to talk about race,” Mr. Guerra said. “Although not like this.” Calls for Ms. Martinez to step down as president or resign from the council altogether came from politicians across the state as well as business owners and activists. Ms. Martinez, who did not respond to a question about whether she would step down, did not deny making the remarks, and she apologized for the comments. “In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me, and I hold myself accountable for these comments. For that I am sorry,” she said in a statement. “The context of this conversation was concern over the redistricting process and concern about the potential negative impact it might have on communities of color. My work speaks for itself.” Mr. de León, who also is not up for re-election, apologized as well. “There were comments made in the context of this meeting that are wholly inappropriate,” he said in a statement, “and I regret appearing to condone and even contribute to certain insensitive comments made about a colleague and his family in private. I’ve reached out to that colleague personally. On that day, I fell short of the expectations we set for our leaders — and I will hold myself to a higher standard.” Mr. Cedillo did not respond to requests for comments. Mr. Herrera issued a statement apologizing “for my failure to stand up to racist and anti-Black remarks in that immediate moment,” adding that “there is no justification and no excuse for the vile remarks made in that room.” Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, who heads the California Labor Federation, condem...

Jefferson County Law Enforcement, Faith Leaders Take Part In Public Safety Events https://digitalalabamanews.com/jefferson-county-law-enforcement-faith-leaders-take-part-in-public-safety-events/ Jefferson County law enforcement, faith leaders take part in public safety events COMING YOUR WAY. LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. HAPPENING NOW, LAW ENFORCEMENT WORKING WITH LEADERS OF FAITH IN OUR COMMUNITY TO BUILD A BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PUBLIC. THEY’LL BE VICTIM 13 CHIP SCARBOROUGH LIVE AT THE CITY WALK IN DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM WHERE FOLKS ARE GETTING TOGETHER THIS AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHIP. GOOD AFTERNOON. YOU HAVE THE PRAISE AND PRAYER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY. CELEBRATION IS GETTING UNDER WAY RIGHT NOW HERE AT THE CITY WALK IN DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM. IT ROUNDS OUT A NUMBER OF EVENTS TAKING PLACE IN OUR AREA THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND, THIS WEEKEND, RATHER. GO AHEAD AND TAKE A LOOK AT SOME VIDEO WE SHOT SATURDAY OVER AT EASTLAKE PARK IN BIRMINGHAM. IT’S ALL PART OF NATIONAL FAITH AND BLUE WEEKEND. JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF MARK PETTWAY SAYS HE HAS MADE IT A POINT TO ATTEND THESE EVENTS OVER THE WEEKEND TO HELP BRIDGE THE GAP WITH THE COMMUNITY. WITH THE HELP OF LEADERS OF FAITH TO IT TAUGHT ME VALUES, STANDARDS OF LIFE, A WAY OF LIVING. AND THAT IS STUFF THAT WE NEED INCORPORATE AGAIN RIGHT NOW AS OH COMING UP AS LOOK HE’S TRYING TO TEACH THEM SO WHEN THEY GROW UP THOSE VALUES, THOSE DANGERS WOULD BE A WAY OF LIFE WOULD BE IN THEM. AND THAT’S WHAT THE CHURCH DOES. THAT’S WHAT WE HAVE BACK OUT HERE AT THE CITY WANTED DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM. AS WE TAKE A LIVE LOOK AT THINGS GETTING UNDER WAY RIGHT NOW, THE BIRMINGHAM POLICE DEPARTMENT IS ALSO TAKING PART IN THESE EVENTS ALONG WITH THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE. THERE’S SOMETHING GOING ON UNTIL 7:00 THIS EVENING. WHY HAVE AT THE CITY BACK IN DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM NEAR THE SHERAT GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Privacy Notice Jefferson County law enforcement, faith leaders take part in public safety events Law enforcement in Birmingham and Jefferson County worked with leaders of faith to help build a better relationship with the public. Learn more in the video above the praise and prayer for public safety celebration. JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. — Law enforcement in Birmingham and Jefferson County worked with leaders of faith to help build a better relationship with the public. Learn more in the video above the praise and prayer for public safety celebration. Read More…

World War III Is A Possibility: Donald Trump On Russia-Ukraine Crisis https://digitalalabamanews.com/world-war-iii-is-a-possibility-donald-trump-on-russia-ukraine-crisis/ Former US president Donald Trump called for an immediate and “peaceful end” to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war which started following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Speaking at a “Save America” rally in the US state of Nevada on Saturday, Donald Trump warned of the dangers of escalation and nuclear weapons. “Nothing would be left of our earth all because ignorant people didn’t have a clue”, he said. “We must demand the immediate negotiation of a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine, or we will end up in World War III and there will be nothing left of our planet,” Donald Trump added. Donald Trump’s remarks come after US President Joe Biden warned of the risk of a nuclear “Armageddon” for the first time in 60 years. “For the first time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat from the use of nuclear weapons if, in fact, things continue down the path they are going,” Joe Biden had said referring to the nuclear standoff that took place sixty years ago owing to Soviet Union stationing missiles in Cuba at a striking distance from the US. Joe Biden also warned that the world has “not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis.” On Biden’s chilling remark, the White House later said that president’s warning was not based on any new intelligence suggesting such nuclear use is imminent. ABOUT THE AUTHOR When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, “What is the purpose of journalism in society?” Subscribe to our best newsletters Read More…