Digital Alabama News

AP News Summary At 2:33 A.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-233-a-m-edt/ Ukraine nuclear workers recount abuse, threats from Russians ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Workers at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are recounting fears of being abducted and tortured or killed by Russian forces who seized control of the facility and the city of Enerhodar. Ukrainian officials say the Russians sought to intimidate the staff into keeping Europe’s largest nuclear plant running, through beatings and other abuse. but also punish those who express support for Kyiv. The head of Ukraine’s state nuclear company says that among those seized was the plant’s director, who was abducted Friday on his way home from work and released Monday after being forced to make false statements on camera. Seoul’s reprisal blows up after North Korean missile success SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A malfunctioning South Korean ballistic missile blew up as it plowed into the ground during a drill with the United States that was a reprisal for North Korea’s launch a day earlier of a weapon that flew over Japan and has the range to strike Guam. The explosion panicked and confused residents of the coastal city of Gangneung. Their concern that it could be a North Korean attack only grew as the military and government officials provided no explanation about the explosion for hours. The short-range Hyumoo-2 missile that crashed inside an air force base in the outskirts of Gangneung is key to South Korea’s preemptive and retaliatory strike strategies against the North. Big Brazilian gold refiner delisted amid Amazon mining probe MIAMI (AP) — One of Brazil’s biggest gold refiners, which processes gold suspected of being mined illegally in the Amazon rainforest, has been stripped of an important industry seal of approval that global manufacturers from Apple to Tesla rely on to root out abuses in their supply chains. An investigation by The Associated Press in January revealed how Sao Paulo-based Marsam shares ownership links and processes gold on behalf of an intermediary accused by Brazilian prosecutors of buying tarnished gold from Indigenous territories and other protected areas. With a lawsuit underway against that partner, Marsam this month was quietly removed by the Responsible Minerals Initiative from a public list of smelters and refiners deemed to follow best sourcing practices. Biden to focus on hurricane victims in Florida, not politics WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is traveling to hurricane-ravaged Florida with a pledge that federal, state and local governments will work as one to help rebuild homes, businesses and lives. Biden plans to put politics on mute for now to focus on those in need during his tour Wednesday afternoon of Fort Myers, Florida. Biden plans to meet with residents and small business owners, and to thank government officials providing emergency aid and removing debris. Joining Biden in Florida will be two of his most prominent Republican critics, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott. EXPLAINER: Musk Twitter turnaround reflects legal challenges WASHINGTON (AP) — News that Elon Musk has agreed after all to proceed with his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter may have felt like a stunning surprise from the brash billionaire who loves to shock. It sent shares of the social media platform soaring and stoked alarm among some media watchdogs and civil rights groups. But it wasn’t surprising to expert observers of the monthslong rollercoaster of the Twitter vs. Musk legal battle, as Twitter tried to compel the world’s richest man to consummate the buyout. A combination of gambles or missteps by Musk and potential advantages that didn’t pan out made his hand appear weak in the looming trial. GOP optimistic about Senate chances despite Walker turmoil NEW YORK (AP) — A dramatic family fight has clouded the GOP’s hopes in Georgia’s high-stakes Senate contest. Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker is drawing criticism from his own son as Walker denies a report that he paid for a girlfriend’s abortion. But as the midterm campaign speeds into its final full month, leading Republicans believe the Senate majority remains firmly within their reach. Democratic strategists privately concede that their party’s own shortcomings may not be outweighed by the GOP’s mounting challenges. Democrats have no margin for error as they confront the weight of history, widespread economic concerns and President Joe Biden’s weak standing. Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in Mar-a-Lago dispute WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step into the legal fight over the classified documents seized during an FBI search of his Florida estate. The Trump team asked the court Tuesday to overturn a lower court ruling and permit an independent arbiter, or special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classified markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search. A three-judge panel last month limited the review to the much larger tranche of non-classified documents. A veteran Brooklyn judge, Raymond Dearie, is serving as special master. Ian deals blow to Florida’s teetering insurance sector Florida’s home insurance market was already on shaky ground. It now faces an even mightier struggle after the damage caused by Hurricane Ian. Wind and storm-surge losses from the hurricane could reach between $28 billion and $47 billion, making Ian Florida’s costliest storm since Hurricane Andrew made landfall in 1992, according to one property analytics firm. The storm destroyed a record number of homes in Florida, the firm said. The wreckage comes at a time when Florida’s home insurance market was already dealing with billions of dollars in losses and ever-increasing costs from a string of natural disasters, rampant litigation and increasing fraud. Yankees star Judge hits 62nd homer to break Maris’ AL record ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Judge has hit his 62nd home run of the season to break Roger Maris’ American League record. Judge hit a 1-1 slider from Texas right-hander Jesús Tinoco into the first row of seats in left field when leading off the second game of New York’s day-night doubleheader on Tuesday. The 30-year-old Judge had homered only once in his past 13 games. That was when he hit No. 61 in Toronto last Wednesday to match Maris. While Maris’ 61 for the Yankees in 1961 had been exceeded six times previously, all were tainted by the stench of steroids. That includes Barry Bonds’ 73 for the the San Francisco Giants in 2001, though he has denied knowingly using performing-enhancing drugs. ‘Best Before’ labels scrutinized as food waste concerns grow “Best before” labels are coming under scrutiny as concerns about food waste grow around the world. Manufacturers have used the labels for decades to estimate peak freshness. But “best before” labels have nothing to do with safety, and some worry they encourage consumers to throw away food that’s perfectly fine to eat. Major U.K. chains like Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer recently removed “best before” labels from prepackaged fruit and vegetables. The European Union is expected to announce a revamp to its labeling laws by the end of this year. In the U.S., there’s no similar push to scrap “best before” labels. But there is growing momentum to standardize the language on date labels to help educate buyers about food waste. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For Related Stories: Hurricane Ian Read More…

GOP Optimistic About Senate Chances Despite Walker Turmoil https://digitalalabamanews.com/gop-optimistic-about-senate-chances-despite-walker-turmoil/ By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Politics Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Leading Republicans are entering the final month of the midterm campaign increasingly optimistic that a Senate majority is within reach even as a dramatic family fight in Georgia clouds one of the party’s biggest pickup opportunities. And as some Democrats crow on social media about apparent Republican setbacks, party strategists privately concede that their own shortcomings may not be outweighed by the GOP’s mounting challenges. The evolving outlook is tied to a blunt reality: Democrats have virtually no margin for error as they confront the weight of history, widespread economic concerns and President Joe Biden’s weak standing. There is broad agreement among both parties that the Democrats’ summertime momentum across states like Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin has eroded just five weeks before Election Day. “There’s reason to be apprehensive, not reason to be gloomy,” veteran Democratic strategist James Carville said. “It looked like at the end of August we had a little momentum. I don’t know if we’ve regressed any, but we’re not progressing in many places.” That tepid outlook comes even as Republicans confront a series of self-imposed setbacks in the states that matter most in the 2022 midterms, which will decide the balance of power in Congress and statehouses across the nation. None has been more glaring than Herschel Walker’s struggles in Georgia, where the Republican Senate candidate’s own son accused him of lying about his personal challenges — including a report from The Daily Beast alleging that the anti-abortion Walker paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in 2009. Walker called the accusation a “flat-out lie” and said he would sue, an action his campaign hadn’t taken as of late Tuesday. “Everything has been a lie,” Christian Walker responded Tuesday. The Republican establishment, including the Sen. Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, and former President Donald Trump himself remained staunchly behind Walker on Tuesday in his bid to oust first-term Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. The Walker campaign also reported a massive fundraising haul that coincided with the latest allegations. “If you’re in a fight, people will come to your aid,” said Steven Law, head of the Senate Leadership Fund and a close ally of McConnell, R-Ky. Law said the Georgia race had grown increasingly competitive despite the Democrats’ focus on Walker’s personal life. And looking beyond Georgia, Law said the political climate was predictably shifting against the party that controls the White House, as is typically the case in midterm elections. “It certainly seems that voters are returning to a more traditional midterm frame of mind,” Law said. Should Republicans gain even one Senate seat in November, they would take control of Congress’ upper chamber — and with it, the power to control judicial nominations and policy debates for the last two years of Biden’s term. Leaders in both parties believe Republicans are likely to take over the House. Even facing such odds, it’s far too soon to predict a Republican-controlled Congress. Democrats remain decidedly on offense and are spending heavily to try to flip Republican-held seats in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Voter opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision this summer to strip women of their constitutional right to an abortion has energized the Democratic base and led to a surge in female voter registrations. Republicans are most focused on Democratic incumbents in Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire and Nevada, although Republican officials believe that underwhelming Trump-backed nominees in Arizona and New Hampshire have dampened the party’s pickup opportunities. “The Republican candidates they’re running are too extreme,” said J.B. Poersch, who leads the pro-Democrat Senate Majority PAC. “I think this is still advantage Democrats.” Meanwhile, conditions in the top battleground states are rapidly evolving. In Pennsylvania, Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz faced difficult new questions this week raised by a Washington Post article about the medical products he endorsed as a daytime television star. Another news report by the news site Jezebel detailing how his research caused hundreds of dogs to be killed rippled across social media. Still, Democratic officials acknowledge the race tightened considerably as the calendar shifted to October. And White House officials are concerned about Democratic nominee John Fetterman’s stamina as he recovers from a May stroke. “Senate Republicans had a very bad start to October, but we know each of our races will be tight and we’re going to keep taking nothing for granted,” said Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, who leads the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm. The GOP Senate candidates’ latest challenges in Georgia and Pennsylvania dominated social media Monday and Tuesday, according to data compiled by GQR, a public opinion research firm that works with Democratic organizations. News stories about Walker’s abortion accuser and Oz’s animal research had the first- and second-highest reach of any news stories on Facebook and Twitter since they surfaced Monday, topping content related to the television show “Sons of Anarchy,” another report about Planned Parenthood mobile abortion clinics and news about Kanye West. GQR used the social listening tool NewsWhip, which tracks over 500,000 websites in more than 100 languages roughly in real time. In swing-state Nevada, the rhetoric from Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto has become increasingly urgent in recent days as she fends off a fierce challenge from former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt. Within the White House, there is real fear that she could lose her reelection bid, giving Republicans the only seat they may need to claim the Senate majority. “We have a big problem, friend,” Cortez Masto wrote in a fundraising appeal Tuesday. “Experts say that our race in Nevada could decide Senate control — and right now, polling shows me 1 point behind my Trump-endorsed opponent.” Democrats and their allies continue to hope that backlash against the Supreme Court’s abortion decision will help them overcome historical trends in which the party controlling the White House almost always loses seats in Congress. Democrats, who control Washington, are also facing deep voter pessimism about the direction of the country and Biden’s relatively weak approval ratings. The traditional rules of politics have often been broken in the Trump era. In past years, Republicans may have abandoned Walker. But on Tuesday, they linked arms behind him. Law, of the Senate Leadership Fund, said he takes Walker at his word that he did not pay for a former girlfriend’s abortion, despite apparent evidence of a “Get Well” card with Walker’s signature and a check receipt. He said voters believe that “Walker may have made mistakes in his personal life that affected him and his family, but Warnock has made mistakes in public life in Washington that affected them and their families.” There were some signs of Republican concern on the ground in Georgia, however. Martha Zoller, a popular Republican radio host in north Georgia and one-time congressional candidate, told her audience Tuesday that the latest allegations require Walker to reset his campaign with a straightforward admission about his “personal demons” and what he’s done to overcome them. “He needs to fall on the sword. ‘I was a dog. … And I have asked forgiveness for it,’” she said, detailing the kind of message she believes Walker must give voters. “It would be so refreshing to have somebody just tell the truth.” Veteran Democratic strategist Josh Schwerin warned his party against writing off the Georgia Republican. “I wouldn’t say Walker is done. Over the last couple of cycles we’ve certainly seen Republican candidates survive things that are not supposed to be survivable,” Schwerin said. “There are a lot of close races, and the dynamics of this election are difficult to predict. Everybody is expecting multiple shifts in momentum between now and Election Day.” ___ Associated Press writers Zeke Miller in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More…

Can Biden Save Democracy One US Factory Job At A Time? https://digitalalabamanews.com/can-biden-save-democracy-one-us-factory-job-at-a-time/ By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is working to create a manufacturing revival — even helping to put factory jobs in Republican territory under the belief it can restore faith in U.S. democracy. The latest development came Tuesday, when chipmaker Micron announced an investment of up to $100 billion over the next 20-plus years to build a plant in upstate New York that could create 9,000 factory jobs. It’s a commitment made in a GOP congressional district that Biden and the company credited to the recently enacted $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act. “Today is another win for America, and another massive new investment in America spurred by my economic plan,” Biden said in a statement. “Together, we are building an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, where we lower costs for our families and make it right here in America.” Biden has staked his presidency on what he has called “a historic manufacturing boom,” hoping to succeed where past presidents, governors and hordes of other politicians have struggled for a half-century. His goal is to keep opening new factories in states such as Ohio, Idaho, North Carolina and Georgia — where Democrats’ footholds are shaky at best. Administration officials say they want to spread the prosperity across the entire country, rather than let it cluster in centers of extreme wealth, in a bid to renew the middle class and a sense of pride in the country itself. The push comes at a precarious moment for the global economy. High inflation in the U.S. has hurt Biden’s popularity and prompted recession concerns. Much of Europe faces a possible downturn due to the jump in energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the International Monetary Fund just downgraded growth in China. The world economy is defined by uncertainty just as Biden has called for investments in clean energy and technology that could take years to pay off. The president is hopeful that whatever good manufacturing can do for the U.S. economy also turns out to yield political benefits for himself and other Democrats in 2022 and beyond. He told Democratic donors on Friday that the manufacturing and technology investments mean “we have an opportunity” to strengthen the U.S. if Democratic governors and lawmakers are elected this year. Going into the midterm elections, Biden is telling voters that a factory renaissance has already started because of him. The administration sees its infrastructure spending, computer chip investments and clean-energy incentives as helping domestic manufacturing in unprecedented ways. Recent academic studies suggest that decades of layoffs due to offshoring contributed to the rise of Republican Donald Trump, with his opposition to immigration and global trade. But many of the authors of the studies doubt that Biden can make these demographic trends disappear through the promise of jobs for skilled workers. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California would like to see the president make a national tour of factory openings, so that his policies could stick better in voters’ minds. Khanna recently attended the groundbreaking of a $20 billion Intel plant in Ohio and laid out his belief that factory job losses helped cause today’s political schisms. The Silicon Valley congressman reasons that too many Americans have lost faith in a government that seemed indifferent to their own well-being, leading them to embrace hucksters and authoritarians who thrive by exploiting and widening divisions in society. “How do you get rid of people’s jobs and expect them to believe in democracy?” Khanna asks. Factory jobs have risen during Biden’s tenure to the most since 2008 at 12.85 million, yet the task of steadying the country’s middle class and its democratic institutions is far from complete. The industrial Midwest has yet to recover the factory jobs shed in the pandemic, let alone decades of layoffs in which the economic challenges evolved into political tensions. Labor Department data show that Ohio is still 10,000 factory jobs shy of its pre-pandemic level and 350,000 jobs below its total in 2000. The numbers are similarly bad in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — three states that were key to Biden’s 2020 victory and could help decide control of Congress in November’s elections. The White House says Biden eschews thinking about Americans solely as consumers interested only in the cheapest prices and thus promoting outsourcing. Instead, his speeches are woven with talk about people as workers and the identity that working gives them. What Biden can show with this year’s factory groundbreakings is progress, even if the total number of manufacturing jobs is unlikely to return to the 1979 peak of 19.55 million. Intel’s computer chip plant being built in New Albany, Ohio, would add 3,000 jobs. Hyundai would add 8,100 jobs with its electric vehicle plant in Georgia. Wolfspeed, with plans to produce silicon carbide wafers in North Carolina, would add 1,800 jobs. Jay Timmons, CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said the gains in factory jobs reflect five years of effort, starting with the 2017 tax cuts by Trump and including Biden’s investments in infrastructure and computer chips as well as efforts to return jobs to the U.S. after global supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic. “There’s a commitment by government at all levels to do more here and a desire by manufacturers to do more here,” Timmons said. Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Daron Acemoglu applauded the president’s plans for spreading factory work across the country. It’s too soon to tell if the administration is succeeding, he said, but Biden is challenging what was once conventional wisdom among economists that little could be done to expand factory work in the U.S. “I believe the president is right,” said Acemoglu, the co-author of the book “Why Nations Fail.” “’Good jobs,’ which pay decent wages, have job stability, offer career-addressing opportunities, and endow a sense of accomplishment and dignity, are important for the middle class and social cohesion.” New academic research released in September suggests that the offshoring of factory jobs led white men to feel like victims and gave way to the rise of grievance politics that helped fuel Trump’s ascendancy among Republican voters. That movement in turn spawned election denialism and political violence that Biden has repeatedly said is “a dagger to the throat of our democracy.” The research covering 3,500 U.S. citizens finds that factory job losses due to automation are less controversial among voters than the offshoring, which triggered a “self-victimization bias” for whites who were more likely to “view offshoring as leading to greater total harm to the American economy, and to the U.S. position in the world.” One of the study’s authors, Leonardo Baccini of McGill University, still expects factory job totals to shrink, though a decline primarily due to automation would be less harmful to Democratic candidates. He still anticipates factory job losses over the long term as advanced economies focus more on productive services to sustain growth. “From an economic standpoint, the decline of U.S. manufacturing is inevitable and it is actually a good thing,” Baccini said. “Any attempt to stop this structural transformation with protectionism and government subsidies is likely to backfire.” J. Lawrence Broz, a political scientist at the University of California San Diego, co-wrote a 2019 research paper that found populist support was strongest in communities that endured long-term economic and social decline, a contrast to the superstar cities where technology, finance and a highly educated workforce were magnets for wealth. “It is unlikely that recent efforts to re-shore manufacturing jobs will produce the intended effects, either economically or politically,” Broz said. “The new factories won’t employ large numbers of less-skilled workers, leaving white industrial workers just as angry as they are now.” That means the underlying test of Biden’s agenda might be whether enough workers can be educated to meet the needs of a manufacturing sector with higher standards than during the heights of its dominance in the 20th century. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More…

SEC Football By The Numbers: Top 10 From Week 5 https://digitalalabamanews.com/sec-football-by-the-numbers-top-10-from-week-5/ During the fifth week of the SEC’s 2022 season, Alabama defeated Arkansas 49-26, Georgia defeated Missouri 26-22, LSU defeated Auburn 21-17, Mississippi State defeated Texas A&M 42-24 and Ole Miss defeated Kentucky 22-19 in league games. In non-conference contests, Florida defeated Eastern Washington 52-17 and South Carolina defeated South Carolina State 50-10. Here are 10 numbers about the SEC’s Week 5 games: 0 TD passes on Saturday for LSU, which reached the end zone on runs by QB Jayden Daniels and RB John Emery Jr. and a fumble return by Jay Ward in its 21-17 victory over Auburn. LSU entered the game having thrown at least one TD pass in 46 consecutive contests. The streak started after a 29-0 loss to Alabama on Nov. 3, 2018. 2 Fumbles were lost by Kentucky in the red zone in the final three minutes of the Wildcats’ 22-19 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday. Rebels LB Austin Keys caused Kentucky QB Will Levis to fumble on a third-and-2 run from the Ole Miss 19-yard line, and S A.J. Finley recovered with 2:55 to play. After the Rebels went three-and-out, a 51-yard completion from Levis to WR Barion Brown got Kentucky to the Ole Miss 7-yard line. Levis threw a TD pass to WR Dane Key from there, but an illegal-motion penalty nullified the go-ahead score, and on the next snap, DE Jared Ivey got a strip-sack of Levis and DE Tavius Robinson recovered the loose football with 51 seconds remaining to seal the Rebels’ victory. 4 Interceptions have been returned for TDs by Mississippi State CB Emmanuel Forbes, who scored on a 33-yard interception return with 3:29 left in the Bulldogs’ 42-24 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday. Forbes had three interception-return TDs as a freshman in 2020. Forbes became the fifth SEC player with at least four interception-return TDs. Tennessee’s Jackie Walker holds the conference record with five. Florida’s Brandon Spikes, Vanderbilt’s Trey Wilson and Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick had four apiece. Forbes intercepted two passes on Saturday, boosting his career total to 11. During his time at MSU, Forbes has two more interceptions than any other player in the nation and four more interceptions than any other SEC player since the start of the 2020 season. 4 Of Auburn’s past five SEC games have included a lead for the Tigers in the second half. Auburn lost all four, including Saturday’s 21-17 setback against LSU. The one game among the five that the Tigers didn’t lead in the second half, they won. Auburn and Missouri were tied 14-14 at halftime on Sept. 24, and after neither team scored in the second half, Auburn posted a 17-14 overtime victory. Auburn had a 17-0 lead on LSU, which won its other SEC game this season 31-16 over Mississippi State on Sept. 17 after the Bulldogs scored the game’s first 13 points. 6 Alabama rushing attempts gained 229 yards against Arkansas after the previous 31 had netted 80 yards (a total that includes 24 yards lost on sacks) on Saturday. The six-carry span included a 77-yard run to the Razorbacks 3-yard line by QB Jalen Milroe and TD runs of 72 and 76 yards by RB Jahmyr Gibbs. Alabama led Arkansas 28-23 entering the fourth quarter and posted a 49-26 victory. FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE SEC, GO TO OUR SEC PAGE 16 Years since the loser of the annual Auburn-LSU game gained more yards than the winner. In LSU’s 21-17 victory over Auburn on Saturday, Auburn’s offense had the advantage in yardage 438-270. But Auburn also had four turnovers to LSU’s one and lost despite scoring the game’s first 17 points. Before Saturday, the most recent Auburn-LSU game in which the losing team finished with more yards than the winning team came in 2006, when Auburn won 7-3 even though LSU held a 311-182 advantage in yardage. 20 Victories in his first 28 games as Ole Miss coach for Lane Kiffin after the Rebels defeated Kentucky 22-19 on Saturday. That’s the fastest to 20 wins among the 12 coaches who have guided Ole Miss since Johnny Vaught’s final full season at the Rebels’ helm. Kiffin equaled Vaught with 20 victories in his first 28 games. Vaught had a 20-7-1 record in his first 28 games with Ole Miss starting in 1947 on his way to a 190-61-12 career mark. The fastest an Ole Miss coach has reached 20 victories is 24 games. Harry Mehre started his seven-year tenure with the Rebels with a 9-2 showing in 1938 followed by 7-2 in 1939 and four consecutive wins to open the 1940 season. Mehre had a 23-5 record after 28 games but finished with a 39-26-1 career mark at Ole Miss. 29 More penalty yards than yards of offense for South Carolina State in the first half of its 50-10 loss to South Carolina on Thursday night. In the first half, the Bulldogs gained 83 yards on 27 snaps and were flagged 11 times for 112 yards. In the second half, South Carolina State had one 5-yard penalty. The game marked the second time that South Carolina has scored at least 50 points in consecutive games, with the Gamecocks coming off a 56-20 victory over Charlotte on Sept. 24. In 1995, South Carolina reached 50 points in three straight games, beating Kent State 77-14, Mississippi State 65-39 and Vanderbilt 52-14. 206 Yards on 18 rushing attempts for Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs in a 49-26 victory over Arkansas on Saturday. Gibbs turned in the 10th game by an SEC player in this century in which a ball-carrier averaged at least 11.4 yards on 18 or more rushing attempts. Among Crimson Tide players, Gibbs is the first ball-carrier in 26 years to produce that combination of numbers. On Nov. 9, 1996, in a 26-0 victory over LSU, Shaun Alexander averaged 14.6 yards on 20 carries for 291 yards to set Alabama’s single-season rushing record. Gibbs scored touchdowns against the Razorbacks on runs of 72 and 76 yards. 750 Victories in Florida’s football history. By beating Eastern Washington 52-17 on Sunday, the Gators became the 21st major-college program with 750 all-time victories and the first to do so without playing football in the 19th century. Florida became the seventh SEC program to reach 750 victories. Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Auburn and Texas A&M are the current SEC members that already have won at least 750 games. Florida has an all-time record of 750-433-40. Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

Police Find Dozens Of Stolen Bicycles In Property Ring Sting https://digitalalabamanews.com/police-find-dozens-of-stolen-bicycles-in-property-ring-sting/ Navigation for News Categories Some of the bikes that were recovered as part of the police Operation Trump Card. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police Police say they have disrupted a major stolen property ring in Wellington and recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegally obtained property. More than 60 police officers were involved in the execution of 12 warrants across the capital today as part of Operation Trump Card. Two men and a woman have been arrested, and police allege that they are key players in receiving stolen goods. The trio face a variety of receiving-related charges and further charges are likely to follow. Among the many items are high-value bicycles, including mountain bikes or e-bikes, whiteware and other household appliances, high-value tools and construction materials. Many of the pushbikes and e-bikes were reportedly stolen from the central city area. “The offenders have been highly organised and Operation Trump Card has involved months of planning,” Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Anna Grant said in a statement. “The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are likely. “Over the coming weeks there will be a significant amount of work undertaken to find the rightful owners of this property. “If anyone has been the subject of theft of burglary, we urge them to report it to police and give as much detail as possible about the stolen items.” Stolen items can be reported by calling 105 or [www.police.govt.nz/use-105 using an online form.] Get the RNZ app for ad-free news and current affairs Read More…

Strong Leadership https://digitalalabamanews.com/strong-leadership/ A friend who supports Trump told me that she thought that Biden isn’t a strong leader. Judging whether Biden “is a strong leader” is fairly subjective, so I’ll compare leadership characteristics of Biden and Trump. Trump employs strong-arm tactics and violence, promotes discontent among otherwise dissatisfied persons, has no respect for the average American citizen, complains about perceived problems more than he seeks meaningful solutions to real problems, supports nationalism and racism, ignores science and expertise, and is a very poor role model for American youth. While Biden has a mild personality, not the demeanor of an angry bully, his moral compass is good and I believe that his political objectives can benefit all of us. I believe that Biden is a strong leader, not in the Trump sense, but in the sense of the democratic leaders of most of the NATO alliance countries and of (most of) the American Presidents of the past few decades. Obviously, I’m not a Trump supporter. I also do not support politicians who, regardless of what their conscience may tell them, support Trump in order to court votes from his base (for example, Mastriano, Oz, Perry, Keller, Kelly, Thompson, etc.). Please be objective as American democracy examines actions by Trump and his supporters that resulted in an attempted coup, and may have damaged America’s security and global reputation, and now show the potential to disrupt or corrupt future elections. Please join me in rejecting Trump/MAGA corruption in the Pennsylvania 2022 midterm elections. MARK RALSTON Centre Hall Submitted by Virtual Newsroom Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More…

AP News Summary At 12:32 A.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1232-a-m-edt/ Seoul’s reprisal blows up after North Korean missile success SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A malfunctioning South Korean ballistic missile blew up as it plowed into the ground during a drill with the United States that was a reprisal for North Korea’s launch a day earlier of a weapon that flew over Japan and has the range to strike Guam. The explosion panicked and confused residents of the coastal city of Gangneung. Their concern that it could be a North Korean attack only grew as the military and government officials provided no explanation about the explosion for hours. The short-range Hyumoo-2 missile that crashed inside an air force base in the outskirts of Gangneung is key to South Korea’s preemptive and retaliatory strike strategies against the North. Retreating Russians leave their comrades’ bodies behind LYMAN, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops abandoned a key Ukrainian city so rapidly that they left the bodies of their comrades in the streets. The scene offered more evidence Tuesday of Moscow’s latest military defeat as it struggles to hang on to four regions of Ukraine that it illegally annexed last week. Russia’s upper house of parliament rubber-stamped the annexations Tuesday after “referendums” that Ukraine and its Western allies dismissed as fraudulent. Responding to the move, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally ruled out talks with Russia. Meanwhile, the U.S. announced it would provide an additional $625 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more of the advanced rocket systems credited with helping Ukraine’s military momentum. Musk says he wants Twitter again and will pay $44B price Elon Musk wants Twitter again — and Twitter is game. The billionaire Tesla CEO has proposed to buy the company at the originally agreed-on price of $44 billion, bringing the tumultuous, monthslong saga another step closer to a conclusion. Musk made the surprising turnaround not on Twitter, as has been his custom, but in a letter to Twitter that the company disclosed in a filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It came less than two weeks before a trial between the two parties over Musk’s attempt to back out of the deal is scheduled to start in Delaware. Musk also faced a scheduled deposition by Twitter attorneys starting Thursday. EXPLAINER: Musk Twitter turnaround reflects legal challenges WASHINGTON (AP) — News that Elon Musk has agreed after all to proceed with his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter may have felt like a stunning surprise from the brash billionaire who loves to shock. It sent shares of the social media platform soaring and stoked alarm among some media watchdogs and civil rights groups. But it wasn’t surprising to expert observers of the monthslong rollercoaster of the Twitter vs. Musk legal battle, as Twitter tried to compel the world’s richest man to consummate the buyout. A combination of gambles or missteps by Musk and potential advantages that didn’t pan out made his hand appear weak in the looming trial. Big Brazilian gold refiner delisted amid Amazon mining probe MIAMI (AP) — One of Brazil’s biggest gold refiners, which processes gold suspected of being mined illegally in the Amazon rainforest, has been stripped of an important industry seal of approval that global manufacturers from Apple to Tesla rely on to root out abuses in their supply chains. An investigation by The Associated Press in January revealed how Sao Paulo-based Marsam shares ownership links and processes gold on behalf of an intermediary accused by Brazilian prosecutors of buying tarnished gold from Indigenous territories and other protected areas. With a lawsuit underway against that partner, Marsam this month was quietly removed by the Responsible Minerals Initiative from a public list of smelters and refiners deemed to follow best sourcing practices. Biden to focus on hurricane victims in Florida, not politics WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is traveling to hurricane-ravaged Florida with a pledge that federal, state and local governments will work as one to help rebuild homes, businesses and lives. Biden plans to put politics on mute for now to focus on those in need during his tour Wednesday afternoon of Fort Myers, Florida. Biden plans to meet with residents and small business owners, and to thank government officials providing emergency aid and removing debris. Joining Biden in Florida will be two of his most prominent Republican critics, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott. GOP optimistic about Senate chances despite Walker turmoil NEW YORK (AP) — A dramatic family fight has clouded the GOP’s hopes in Georgia’s high-stakes Senate contest. Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker is drawing criticism from his own son as Walker denies a report that he paid for a girlfriend’s abortion. But as the midterm campaign speeds into its final full month, leading Republicans believe the Senate majority remains firmly within their reach. Democratic strategists privately concede that their party’s own shortcomings may not be outweighed by the GOP’s mounting challenges. Democrats have no margin for error as they confront the weight of history, widespread economic concerns and President Joe Biden’s weak standing. Can Biden save democracy one US factory job at a time? WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is working to create a manufacturing revival. He’s even helping to put factory jobs in Republican territory under the belief it can help restore faith in U.S. democracy. The latest development came Tuesday, when chipmaker Micron announced an investment of up to $100 billion over the next 20-plus years to build a plant in upstate New York that could create 9,000 factory jobs. It’s a commitment made in a GOP congressional district that Biden and the company credited to the recently enacted $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act. Biden’s goal is to keep opening new factories in states where Democrats’ footholds are shaky at best. ‘Best Before’ labels scrutinized as food waste concerns grow “Best before” labels are coming under scrutiny as concerns about food waste grow around the world. Manufacturers have used the labels for decades to estimate peak freshness. But “best before” labels have nothing to do with safety, and some worry they encourage consumers to throw away food that’s perfectly fine to eat. Major U.K. chains like Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer recently removed “best before” labels from prepackaged fruit and vegetables. The European Union is expected to announce a revamp to its labeling laws by the end of this year. In the U.S., there’s no similar push to scrap “best before” labels. But there is growing momentum to standardize the language on date labels to help educate buyers about food waste. Yankees star Judge hits 62nd homer to break Maris’ AL record ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Judge has hit his 62nd home run of the season to break Roger Maris’ American League record. Judge hit a 1-1 slider from Texas right-hander Jesús Tinoco into the first row of seats in left field when leading off the second game of New York’s day-night doubleheader on Tuesday. The 30-year-old Judge had homered only once in his past 13 games. That was when he hit No. 61 in Toronto last Wednesday to match Maris. While Maris’ 61 for the Yankees in 1961 had been exceeded six times previously, all were tainted by the stench of steroids. That includes Barry Bonds’ 73 for the the San Francisco Giants in 2001, though he has denied knowingly using performing-enhancing drugs. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Read More…

Trump Constantly Talks About Ron DeSantis To His Aides As The Florida Governor Is Poised To Be His Most Formidable Opponent In The 2024 Election, NYT's Maggie Haberman Tells CNN. https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-constantly-talks-about-ron-desantis-to-his-aides-as-the-florida-governor-is-poised-to-be-his-most-formidable-opponent-in-the-2024-election-nyts-maggie-haberman-tells-cnn/ Many Republicans consider Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a likely presidential candidate in 2024. Trump has talked more about DeSantis than other potential GOP candidates, per NYT’s Maggie Haberman. The former president believes “he made” DeSantis, Haberman told CNN. Loading Something is loading. No other potential GOP candidate for the 2024 election is on former President Donald Trump’s mind than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman. “There is no potential candidate in the Republican field who Trump has talked about more to his aides than Ron DeSantis,” Haberman told CNN in an interview on Tuesday about her new book, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.” “It is a constant running discussion.” CNN also played a recording from one of three interviews Haberman conducted with Trump for her book. In the clip, Trump credited himself for boosting DeSantis to Florida’s governorship after endorsing the latter in 2018. “He came to me, he said, ‘I’d love your endorsement,'” Trump said in the recording. “I said, ‘Ron, you’re at 3%. You can’t win.’ He said, ‘If you endorse me, I can.'” Trump has long claimed credit for DeSantis’ win and even said during a Newsmax interview in June that he was “very responsible” for DeSantis becoming Florida’s governor. In that interview, Trump also said that he did not know if DeSantis intended to run for the White House but said he had a “good relationship with Ron.”  However, reports of the duo’s behind-the-scenes relationship tend to differ from Trump’s characterization of the issue. In September, two sources close to Trump told Rolling Stone that Trump was nervous about DeSantis getting attention from a political stunt he pulled, which involved chartering two planes to transport 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. According to the sources, Trump was irritated about DeSantis getting credit for the stunt and complained to aides that the Florida governor had timed the act to boost his profile among the Republican base.  Trump has also reacted negatively to the implication that DeSantis might run against him to try to secure the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. In July, the former president lashed out at “Fox & Friends” for mentioning a poll that showed DeSantis ahead of him, accusing the show’s hosts of going “to the dark side.” In September, Trump took another swipe at DeSantis, sharing an Insider article about his polling lead over DeSantis. For his part, DeSantis has not publicly rebuked Trump. However, the Florida governor has been fundraising for his war chest and has launched a campaign to sell a gold “Florida First Fighter” card that resembles the Trump Card. While DeSantis and Trump appear to be the leading contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential ticket, neither has made a formal declaration about entering the race. In July, a DeSantis representative told Insider that DeSantis was “focused on Florida and running for reelection as governor this year.” Meanwhile, Trump’s former senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told CBS News on Friday that Trump “would like to” announce that he is running for president again after the midterms and before Thanksgiving.  “I will tell you why he wants to run for president,” Conway said. “Donald Trump wants his old job back.” Represenatives for DeSantis and a spokesman at Trump’s post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.  Read More…

The Onion Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief Defending The Right To Parody https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-onion-files-supreme-court-amicus-brief-defending-the-right-to-parody/ The Onion — a satirical publication known for poking fun at everything from popular culture to global politics — is taking a stab at a serious issue. On Monday, it filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of an Ohio man who faced criminal charges over a Facebook page parodying his local police department. Anthony Novak, an amateur comic from Parma, a Cleveland suburb, was arrested and briefly jailed after creating a fake social media page in 2016 styled after the Parma Police Department’s Facebook page. His lawyers argue it was an obvious parody, and he was acquitted at trial. Novak subsequently filed a civil suit alleging his constitutional rights were violated, though that was dismissed after a federal appeals court granted the police officers qualified immunity — a legal doctrine that protects government officials from being sued for allegedly violating civil rights. “There’s no recognized right to be free from a retaliatory arrest that is supported by probable cause,” the appellate judges ruled. Now, Novak is petitioning the Supreme Court to take up his case. True to form, the supporting brief filed by the Onion’s lawyers Monday takes a satirical approach in its bid to get the nation’s top court to consider Novak’s petition. It starts with an outlandishly false claim that the Onion is “the world’s leading news publication,” with a “daily readership of 4.3 trillion” that has “grown into the single most powerful and influential organization in human history.” Despite the sarcasm and hyperbole, the legal brief isn’t a joke. The publication’s aim is to get the Supreme Court to scrutinize qualified immunity and free speech rights. (Amicus briefs are documents filed by parties not directly involved in a case to provide the court with additional information.) “The Onion cannot stand idly by in the face of a ruling that threatens to disembowel a form of rhetoric that has existed for millennia, that is particularly potent in the realm of political debate, and that, purely incidentally, forms the basis of The Onion’s writers’ paychecks,” the brief says. It also highlights what the Onion suggests are shortcomings in the legal system when it comes to protecting those who use comedy to question people in positions of authority. “The Onion regularly pokes its finger in the eyes of repressive and authoritarian regimes, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, and domestic presidential administrations,” the brief says. “So The Onion’s professional parodists were less than enthralled to be confronted with a legal ruling that fails to hold government actors accountable for jailing and prosecuting a would-be humorist simply for making fun of them.” According to Novak’s lawyers, police obtained a warrant for his arrest over a fake Facebook page that mocked the department. The page in question was up for only about 12 hours before Novak took it down after law enforcement threatened a criminal investigation. They searched his apartment, seized his electronics and charged him with a felony under an Ohio law that criminalizes using a computer to “disrupt” police operations. Novak’s petition calls on the Supreme Court to decide whether officials can claim qualified immunity when they arrest someone based purely on speech. It also asks the justices to do away with the doctrine altogether. A lawyer representing Parma, Richard Rezie, said in an email Tuesday that Novak’s lawsuit was “groundless,” and that the courts which dismissed it “did not base their opinions on parody, freedom of speech, or the need for a disclaimer.” Novak “went beyond mimicry” when he copied a warning posted by the City of Parma about his page onto the fake page, claiming that his was the “official” version, Rezie said. “Falsely copying an official warning along with a claim to be the authentic Facebook page is not parody.” The Onion didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on its legal brief. Andrew Wimer, a spokesman for the Institute for Justice, the civil rights law nonprofit that is representing Novak, described the brief as “both humorous and very serious.” “If the police can use their authority to arrest their critics without consequence, everyone’s rights are at risk,” the institute said in a statement. Read More…

Bank Of England Bought No Bonds Today, After Buying Only £22 Million On Monday, Instead Of £5 Billion Per Day https://digitalalabamanews.com/bank-of-england-bought-no-bonds-today-after-buying-only-22-million-on-monday-instead-of-5-billion-per-day/ Carefully communicating this isn’t a Pivot to QE but a temporary “backstop” to calm a panic. And it calmed the panic with minimal purchases. By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET. This was the infamous Pivot back to QE: The Bank of England announced on September 28 that it would buy up to £5 billion per day in long-dated UK government bonds (gilts) “in a temporary and targeted way.” It said specifically, “The purpose of these purchases is to restore orderly market conditions.” It said the program would expire on October 14. This came after long-dated gilt yields blew out last week, with the 10-year yield on September 28 getting close to 5%. Panic had broken out after highly leveraged UK pension funds with £1.5 trillion in assets had received margin calls on their gilt-based derivatives linked to their liability-driven investment (LDI) strategy (explained here). The pension funds had started to dump gilts along with other assets to meet those margin calls, thereby creating a death spiral for gilts. On September 28, the BOE stepped in and said it would buy up to £5 billion per day in the secondary market via auctions through October 14. It spelled out that this wasn’t a new round of QE, but a backstop for the gilt market that had become dysfunctional. It would also give pension funds time to sort out their issues. The announcement settled down the markets, and 10-year gilt yields plunged back below 4%, and yields plunged around the world as everyone breathed a sigh of relieve that the panic wasn’t spreading. And the meme was born that the BOE was the first central bank to “pivot” back to QE. But the BOE bought no bonds today, almost no bonds yesterday, and very little last week. The BOE bought very little over the first three days of the program (Sep 28, 29, and 30), averaging only £1.21 billion per day, instead of £5 billion per day, according the BOE’s daily disclosures of gilt purchases under this program. It bought almost nothing on Monday (Oct 3), just £22 million with an M; and it bought £0 – meaning exactly “zero” – today (Oct 4): Turns out, the program was highly effective in calming markets, settling down the panic, and unwinding the spike in long-term yields, without big purchases. The BOE is using reserve pricing at the auctions. On Monday, it had received £1.91 billion in offers to sell gilts, and rejected all but £22 million of them. Today it had received £2.23 billion in offers, and rejected all of them, with its reserve pricing. With these pricing limits, the BOE is further communicating that this is a temporary “backstop,” as it calls it, to calm the gilt market, and not the beginning of a new round of QE; and that it is serious about ending the program, as announced, on October 14. On October 3, the BOE  reiterated that “the purpose of these operations is to act as a backstop to restore orderly market conditions and reduce any risks from contagion to credit conditions for UK households and businesses.” It said that it is “studying patterns of demand and will continue to use reserve pricing in order to ensure the backstop objective of the tool is delivered.” And it said that “the Bank stands ready to adjust any of the other parameters of the auction in order to secure that objective.” In the same announcement, in a further sign that this is not a new round of QE, it said that it asked gilt dealers “to identify” whether offers are made on behalf of themselves or on behalf of their clients, starting on October 4. The BOE is caught between the unruly gilt market and 10% inflation that is wreaking havoc on the economy. The 10-year guilt yield has dropped about 100 basis point from the peak of the panic to 3.87% now, about where it had been on September 23: Enjoy reading WOLF STREET and want to support it? Using ad blockers – I totally get why – but want to support the site? You can donate. I appreciate it immensely. Click on the beer and iced-tea mug to find out how: Would you like to be notified via email when WOLF STREET publishes a new article? Sign up here. Read More…

South Korea Apologises After Missile Fired In Response To North Korea Test Crashes https://digitalalabamanews.com/south-korea-apologises-after-missile-fired-in-response-to-north-korea-test-crashes/ South Korea’s military has apologised after a missile it launched during a drill on Tuesday malfunctioned and crashed to the ground, causing alarm among nearby residents who thought they were under attack from North Korea, which had test launched a missile earlier in the day. The live-fire drill, involving South Korea and the US, was supposed to be a show of strength by the allies, hours after the North sent an intermediate-range missile over northern Japan. Instead, it ended in embarrassment when a short-range Hyumoo-2 ballistic missile crashed to the ground inside an air force base near the South Korean coastal city of Gangneung. Although the missile did not explode, the noise and subsequent fire caused some Gangneung residents to believe the North had launched an attack, according to media reports. There were no reports of injuries. The South Korean military acknowledged the accident hours after internet users posted videos showing an orange ball of flames emerging from an area they described as near a Gangneung air force base. The military said it was investigating what had caused the “abnormal flight” of the South Korean missile – a key part of its preemptive and retaliatory strike strategies against the North. The accident occurred as the South Korean and US militaries fired a volley of missiles into the East Sea – also known as the Sea of Japan – in response to North Korea firing a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years. The nuclear-armed state launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew for a record distance of 4,600km (2,850 miles) at n altitude of 1,000km, in its most provocative weapons demonstration in years. That range puts the US Pacific territory of Guam, homes to American military bases, within striking distance. The missile landed in the Pacific Ocean about 3,200km east of Japan. Japan’s government issued an alert urging residents to take cover as the missile passed high over the northernmost main island of Hokkaido and Aomori prefecture. The US and South Korean militaries fired two ATACMS short-range ballistic missiles into the water “to precisely strike a virtual target,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The drills “showed the ability and readiness to neutralise the origin of the provocation while maintaining a constant monitoring posture,” it said in a statement. On Tuesday, South Korean and US fighter jets had carried out a bombing drill at a target in the Yellow Sea. The drills aim to “make sure that we have the military capabilities at the ready to respond to provocations by the North if it comes to that,” US national security council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN. “It shouldn’t come to that. We have made it clear to (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un we’re willing to sit down with no preconditions. We want to see the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” he said. “He hasn’t shown an inclination to move in that direction – and quite frankly he’s moving in the opposite direction by continuing to conduct these missile tests, which are violations of Security Council resolutions.” Pyongyang’s latest launch is part of a record year of sanctions-busting weapons tests by the isolated regime, which recently revised its laws to declare itself an “irreversible” nuclear power. US president Joe Biden and Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida condemned North Korea’s latest launch “in the strongest terms”. South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol called the launch a “provocation”, and vowed a “stern response”. The Tuesday test was Pyongyang’s fifth missile launch in 10 days. North Korea does not routinely comment on its weapons tests in state media. South Korean and US officials have been warning for months that Kim is preparing to conduct another nuclear test, saying last week that this could happen soon after Pyongyang’s key ally China holds a Communist party congress from 16 October. US vice-president Kamala Harris visited Seoul last week and toured the heavily fortified demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula, on a trip to underscore her country’s commitment to South Korea’s defence. About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to help protect it from the North. Read More…

Obituaries, Wednesday, October 5, 2022 – The Troy Messenger https://digitalalabamanews.com/obituaries-wednesday-october-5-2022-the-troy-messenger/ Danny Floyd Pelham Mr. Danny Floyd Pelham, a lifelong resident of Clio, passed away Saturday, October 1, 2022, at his residence with his loving family by his side.  He was 76. Graveside services were held 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 3, 2022, at Elam Cemetery. Kendall Allen officiated the graveside service. Serving as pallbearers were Kendall Pelham, Jessie Pelham, Trevor Littlefield, Andy Littlefield, Tommy Rhett and Greg Faulk; honorary pallbearers, Eugene McClendon and Doug Cherry. Left to cherish his memory, son, Ashley Pelham of Brundidge; daughter, Shannon Pelham of Elamville; brothers, Bobby Pelham, Ray Nell Pelham of Elamville; grandchildren, Justin Culpepper, Kristin Williams, Aidan Pelham and Tyson Pelham; great grandchild, Anna-Grace Williams and a special caregiver, Ramona Goolsby. He was preceded in death by his wife, Sandra Pelham and his parents Jessie Pelham and Letha Victoria Mann Pelham. He served in the U.S. Army and retired from Service Electric Company; he also worked for the City of Clio for many years. He was a “glorified Mr. Fix-It”, he could take any repair project and make it like new! He dearly loved his children, grandchildren and great grandchild and will be greatly missed. William Elbert “Bill” Goss                                      William Elbert “Bill” Goss died on Sunday, October 2, 2022 at age 92. He was a Tallassee, AL native, educator, historian, genealogist, author, preservationist and museum curator. He was born on Thursday, February 13, 1930 in East Tallassee, Tallapoosa County, AL, son of Lemuel Clinton Goss (1906 – 1973) and Erscle Melton (1908-1969). In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his sisters, Dorothy Gaynell Goss Wyatt and Virginia Joyce Goss McClean; half-siblings, Van Clinton Goss and Pamela Goss Hughes; and brothers-in-law, William Brady “Pete” Wyatt and Morgan Eugene Prestwood. He graduated from Tallassee High School in 1948, where he was president of the Student Council; Troy State Teachers College (now Troy University) in 1951 (B.S.), where he was a student leader; and Auburn University in 1958 (M.Ed.). He also attended West Texas State College, Canyon, TX, and did post-graduate work at the University of Florida. Bill was unique and lived a life of service to others. His work ethic was amazing. For 78 years, he received a paycheck. He began working at age 13 at the Palace Café of the Woodall Hotel and received his last pay from Linville Memorial Funeral Home at age 91. Bill was an educator for 38 years. He lived and worked on four of the seven continents. His teaching career began at Troy High School (now Henderson High School), Troy, AL in September 1951. Because of the Korean War, he resigned in November 1951 and entered the USAF (1951-55). He received basic training at Lackland AFB, TX and Sheppard AFB, TX. The USAF sent him to administrative school at West Texas State College, Canyon, TX. Bill was administrative clerk at Westover AFB, MA; senior administrative clerk at Sidi Slimane Air Base, Morocco; and administrative supervisor (S/Sgt) at Eglin AFB, FL. He returned to Charles Henderson High School in September 1955 (while still in the USAF, but on 60-days leave status) where he taught US history, English, US government, economics, journalism, Student Council and yearbook sponsors; and was a supervising teacher for Troy State College to train student teachers. Bill remained at Troy until June 1960 when he joined the Department o Defense Overseas Dependents Schools at Ramstein Junior High School (7-9), Ramstein, Germany (US history and Student Council sponsor); Assistant Principal, General H.H. Arnold High School (9-12), Wiesbaden, åGermany; and Principal, Karamursel American School (grades 1-9), Karamursel, Turkey. When Bill returned to the US from Turkey, he served as principal of Girard Junior High School, Dothan, AL. He became Assistant Principal at Riverside Military Academy, Gainesville, GA and its winter home in Hollywood, FL; Dean of Students at The Bolles School, Jacksonville, FL; taught English at Lafayette High School, Mayo, FL; was Community School Director, Hernando County Schools, Brooksville, FL for 13 years; taught US history/government at Trenton High School, Trenton, FL; principal at Grant Center Hospital School (7-12), Ocala, FL, a residential psychiatric hospital for emotionally disturbed children and teenagers; and GED teacher, Mayo Correctional Prison School (9-12), Mayo, FL. On December 1, 1995, after 47 years living elsewhere, Bill returned to his hometown of Tallassee. During his 27 retirement years in Tallassee, he worked six years at the Hotel Talisi as cashier and tour guide and 18 years as a funeral attendant at Jeffcoat Funeral Home and Linville Memorial Funeral Home. For 15 years, he was a Commander, Tallassee American Legion Post 118. Bill was an elections poll worker for 20 years. He was active in the Tallassee High School Alumni Association for nine years and served as chair of the THS Hall of Pride Committee and the Alumni Scholarship Committee. In 2001 the Tallassee Chamber of Commerce honored him with the Frances Herren Wagnon Award for volunteerism and his service as Tallassee tour guide. In 2016 Bill was inducted into the Tallassee High School Hall of Pride. He also served as co-chair of the Troy University World War II Era Reunion Committee. At age 92, he continued to research and compile genealogies for family and friends. Bill was an avid Tallassee historian and dedicated preservationist. Tallassee’s rich heritage and culture were important to him. He wanted it preserved. For more than 27 years he researched and published it in books, magazines and newspapers. For 24 years he was an active member of the Talisi Historical Preservation Society and served as secretary, historian and museum curator/director. In 2004 he and Bob Brown removed the 1860s Micou-Sistrunk-Carr House for the society. In 2004 he acquired the 1898 Tallassee Mills Superintendent’s house from the City of Tallassee and helped renovate it for the society. For more than 20 years, each Wednesday morning on WTLS radio, he presented a live 45-minute broadcast about Tallassee’s history, In 2022, the City of Tallassee named a park in his honor. In 2008, when Tallassee was 100 years old as an incorporated city, he served on the City Centennial Committee. Bill co-authored a pictorial history, Images of America: Tallassee. Goss discovered that there was no record or photographs of the first eight mayors (1908-1948) at Tallassee City Hall. Bill compiled a list and obtained photographs of those mayors. He recommended that a City of Tallassee flag be created. He was guest-editor of the 68 pages centennial edition of The Tallassee Tribune, the largest ever published in Tallassee. In 2014 Bill also co-authored Gladys McNair’s 1941 Study of Tallassee. As a preservationist, he wrote the text for three historical markers: “History of Tallassee; Confederate Officers Houses; and General Birkett Davenport Fry, CSA.” On June 7, 2013, the Tallassee Falls Museum opened with Bill as its first director/curator. He spent 18 years collecting documents, photographs, books and artifacts for twelve exhibits. For six years, he kept it open 20 hours a week. In 2019, Bill was instrumental in erecting a historical marker for Seminole leader Osceola, who was born in the Muskogee (Creek) village of Talisi. Goss also designed and erected historical signs for the 1844 Patterson Log Cabin and the 1941 Tallassee Mills Guest House. Bill is survived by sister Elizabeth Goss Prestwood, Sanford, NC and half-brother Randall “Randy” Goss, San Diego, CA; brother-in-law Raymond J. “Ray” McClean, Pensacola, FL; nephews David (Janis) Wyatt, Alpine, AL, Stephen Prestwood, San Francisco, CA, Brennan McClean and Barrett (Beth) McClean, Pensacola, FL; and Michael McClean, New Orleans, LA; nieces Janice Wyatt (Keith) Sailers, Lawrenceville, GA, Monquie McClean (Lars) Topelmann, Ephraim, WI, Marcia Prestwood (Bob) Morrell, Lewisville, NC, Sherry Prestwood, Cary, NC, Elisa Prestwood, Raleigh, NC, Edee McClean Hart, Chicago, IL; cousins Vera Goss Webster, Stacy (Becky) Goss, Ray (Patsy) Goss, John Goss, Ben and Bill Goss, W. C. Bryant, Laura Bryant Harris and Don (Anne) Bryant. Bill was grateful for special friends Patricia Perry Anthony, Brett Ashurst, Leigh Anne and Michael Butler, Sarah Covington, Paula and Bill Godwin, Fay Lock Jones, Madonna Linville, Brad and Sherry Linville, Fay and Archie McDow, Kristina and Darryl Pendergrass, Kami and Joey Scarborough and Susannah and Darrell Wilson for their love, respect, assistance and care. During his lifetime, Bill was an active member of the East Tallassee Baptist Church, Troy First Baptist Church, Troy Kiwanis Club, Dothan Rotary Club, Tallassee American Legion Post 118, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Troy University Alumni Association and National Trust for Historic Preservation. The family will receive friends on Monday, October 10, 2022 beginning at 11:30 am with memorial service to follow at 12 noon at Linville Memorial Funeral Home. Expressions of sympathy may be memorial contributions to Tallassee High School Alumni Assn, 305 James St, Tallassee, AL 36078. Online condolences at www.linvillememorial.com. Linville Memorial Funeral Home and Crematory Eclectic, Alabama. Read More…

A New Book's Behind-The-Scenes Look At Congress' Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Investigation https://digitalalabamanews.com/a-new-books-behind-the-scenes-look-at-congress-jan-6-capitol-riot-investigation/ 9:31pm October 04, 2022 by Tom Dreisbach Steve Helber / AP View Slideshow Denver Riggleman, a former Republican Congressman, joined the staff of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His new book, “The Breach,” describes his work on the investigation and his path to politics. Denver Riggleman served eight months as a senior technical adviser for the congressional select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a new book, titled “The Breach,” Riggleman delves into a few key parts of the committee’s investigation, including an examination of a trove of text messages sent and received by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the lead-up to the Capitol riot. The book also revealed for the first time that during the Capitol breach, someone at the Trump White House made a call to a rioter who had entered the building. Riggleman took a somewhat unusual path to the committee. After serving in the United States Air Force and working as a contractor for the National Security Agency, he ran for – and won – a seat in Congress representing a district in Virginia in 2018. At the time, Riggleman was a Republican. He describes himself as “a full-blooded redneck.” Former president Trump actually endorsed him – twice – and Riggleman joined the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus. Despite Trump’s endorsement, Riggleman lost a primary to a more hard-right Republican, and Riggleman became more outspoken about the former president’s embrace of extremism and amplification of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory. After the Nov. 2020 election, Riggleman was one of the few Republican elected officials to quickly acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory. When Congress eventually launched its investigation into the Jan. 6 attack, Riggleman raised his hand and joined the committee, where he found himself examining some of his former colleagues who tried to overturn the election. He ultimately left the investigation in April 2022, before the committee began holding public hearings. Some members of the committee have expressed frustration with Riggleman’s decision to write a book, especially before the final hearing has taken place. In an interview with NPR, Riggleman discussed his work on the investigation, his experience as a member of congress, and whether the committee should submit a criminal referral to the Department of Justice. Here are four takeaways from that conversation: The significance of the White House call to a Jan. 6 rioter remains unclear “The Breach” revealed for the first time that congressional investigators discovered at 4:34 pm on Jan. 6, 2021, someone used a White House phone to call a man who had participated in the rioting. “The call was outgoing to an individual rioter as the violence played out,” Riggleman writes. The identity of the person who made the call remains unknown. However, multiple news outlets have identified the recipient of the call as a low-level Capitol riot defendant, who pleaded guilty to a non-violent misdemeanor. According to court documents, he had already left the building by the time of that phone call. The call lasted nine seconds, and the content is also unknown. Since this detail was made public, some members of the Jan. 6 Select Committee have appeared to downplay its significance. “That’s one of thousands of details that obviously the committee is aware of,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on NBC’s Meet the Press. “And so, you know, to me, it’s interesting, but much less interesting than the fact that Donald Trump told the crowd in public, ‘You’ve got to fight like hell. And if you don’t, you’re not going to have a country anymore.'” Still, Riggleman told NPR that the mere existence of the call demands further investigation. “Nine seconds is an eternity to a counterterrorism analyst,” Riggleman said. “The fact that the call came from inside the White House at a desk, was routed through the switchboard or defaulted to that number and went out to a rioter, is something that’s extremely important.” Political pressure is driving some elected Republicans further right During his short-lived political career, Riggleman vocally supported Trump and joined the House Freedom Caucus not out of principle, he says, but out of political expediency. “There’s some things that you do that you think you have to [do to] win,” he said. “I had a consultant who was correct. He said, ‘hey, Denver, you gotta be a little bit crazy if you’re gonna beat the crazier people on the right.'” He said a similar dynamic may have played a role in the thought process for some House Republicans, who supported Trump’s lies about the election. “I know there’s a few that absolutely didn’t believe the election was stolen, but there was no way they could go against the grain,” Riggleman said. In Riggleman’s case, conservatives in his district turned on his campaign in 2020, in part because he officiated a same-sex wedding for his campaign volunteers. That contributed to his loss of a primary contest against an ever more conservative opponent. “Being a politician – I wasn’t as talented as I thought I was gonna be at it,” Riggleman told NPR. He says he now regrets his support for Trump, and in 2020, he did not vote for the then-president. “I might have been one of the first Republicans that was a sitting member to see that Trump was retweeting some pretty crazy QAnon-based sort of troll-farm conspiracies and some things that were very dangerous, even things that were calling for violence,” he said. “So no, I did not vote for him.” Instead, Riggleman said he decided to write in himself for president. Riggleman believes there are grounds to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows provided a large number of text messages to congressional investigators, which Riggleman describes as “the crown jewels” for the committee’s work. “What we found in the texts was a road map to an insurrection fueled by apocalyptic propaganda,” Riggleman writes in the book. “It was a toxic stew of old-school zealotry and internet authoritarianism.” Among the trove of messages were texts sent by Ginni Thomas, a longtime conservative activist and spouse of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. In those texts, Thomas expressed the view that the 2020 election was stolen, and appeared to brainstorm legal and congressional strategies to overturning the result. Shortly after the Nov. 2020 election, Thomas wrote a message to Meadows that bore some similarities to rhetoric spread by adherents to the QAnon conspiracy theory: “Biden crime family & ballot fraud co-conspirators (elected officials, bureaucrats, social media censorship mongers, fake stream media reporters, etc) are being arrested & detained for ballot fraud right now & over coming days, & will be living in barges off GITMO to face military tribunals for sedition.” “The first time I saw the Ginni Thomas texts, I called it a ‘bourbon text,'” Riggleman said. “You have to take a shot of bourbon to get through it.” Ginni Thomas testified to the Jan. 6 committee last week, and denied ever discussing her post-election activities with her husband. In a statement, her lawyer, Mark Paoletta, said, “Mrs. Thomas had significant concerns about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election. And, as she told the committee, her minimal and mainstream activity focused on ensuring that reports of fraud and irregularities were investigated. Beyond that, she played no role in any events after the 2020 election results.” Riggleman expressed skepticism that Ginni and Clarence Thomas maintained such a strict firewall when it came to discussions of the election. “It’s possible that Clarence Thomas didn’t know about Ginni Thomas’ activities not just around Jan. 6 and the election but through the years as a Republican activist,” he said. “But I don’t know if it’s probable.” Riggleman said Congress would be justified in taking the extraordinary step of seeking information from Justice Thomas himself, though he said it was unlikely given that the committee is currently wrapping up its work. “I think it would’ve been appropriate to talk to Justice Thomas,” he said. “I think Ginni [Thomas] coming in is a heck of a great step by the Committee. But I do believe, at some point, the American public is going to have to come to their own conclusions about that.” Should the Jan. 6 committee issue a criminal referral to the Justice Department? Political and legal commentators – as well as members of the Jan. 6 committee themselves – have debated whether Congress should make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice at the close of their investigation. The decision on whether to charge former President Trump or any other target of the investigation would still remain with the Justice Department, but a referral could potentially add political pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland. Riggleman told NPR he opposed sending a referral. “Let the DOJ make that decision,” he said. “Instead of getting caught up in the politics of referrals, just present the best case you can to the American public.” “They’ve already proven that based on conspiracy theories, based on coordination, that based on really a president that decided to really cavort with the craziest in the far-right base…all that suggests that you had a president that was unfit for office,” Riggleman said. “Because even with criminal referrals, it’s gonna be up to the voters if they want to support that kind of nonsense.” Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. Transcript JUANA SUMMERS, HOST: A new book is providing some behind-the-scenes details about the congre...

AP News Summary At 10:30 P.m. EDT https://digitalalabamanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1030-p-m-edt/ Retreating Russians leave their comrades’ bodies behind LYMAN, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops abandoned a key Ukrainian city so rapidly that they left the bodies of their comrades in the streets. The scene offered more evidence Tuesday of Moscow’s latest military defeat as it struggles to hang on to four regions of Ukraine that it illegally annexed last week. Russia’s upper house of parliament rubber-stamped the annexations Tuesday after “referendums” that Ukraine and its Western allies dismissed as fraudulent. Responding to the move, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally ruled out talks with Russia. Meanwhile, the U.S. announced it would provide an additional $625 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more of the advanced rocket systems credited with helping Ukraine’s military momentum. Deal back on? Elon Musk gets closer to buying Twitter The tumultuous saga of Elon Musk’s on-again off-again purchase of Twitter has taken a turn toward a conclusion. The mercurial Tesla CEO proposed to buy the company at the originally agreed-on price of $44 billion. Musk made the proposal in a letter to Twitter that the company disclosed in a filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It comes less than two weeks before a trial between the two parties is scheduled to start in Delaware. In a statement, Twitter said it intends to close the deal at $54.20 per share. Trading in Twitter’s stock had been halted for much of the day pending release of the news. It resumed trading late Tuesday and soared 22% to close at $52. S. Korea missile crash during drill with US panics wary city SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean ballistic missile has malfunctioned and crashed into the ground during a live-fire drill with the United States, panicking residents of a coastal city already uneasy over increasingly provocative weapons tests by North Korea. The sound of the blast and fire early Wednesday led many in Gangneung to believe it could be a North Korean attack, concern that only grew as officials provided no explanation about the explosion for hours. No injuries from the crash have been reported. The military said it was investigating what caused the “abnormal flight” of the short-range Hyumoo-2 ballistic missile, which is a key weapon in South Korea’s preemptive and retaliatory strike strategies. You’re a winner: Listening in on ‘the call’ for Nobel Prize Usually the call telling scientists that they won a Nobel Prize is received in private by the special few. Not in American physicist John Clauser’s case. He was on a Zoom interview with The Associated Press when the call finally came and he asked if it was OK to talk with the Nobel Committee. Sure. Now the world gets a glimpse of what it’s like to be told you are the ultimate winner. Spoiler alert: He already knew he won. Friends had called him earlier. It just took some time for the Swedish Academy of Sciences to get through to his busy home phone. Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in Mar-a-Lago dispute WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step into the legal fight over the classified documents seized during an FBI search of his Florida estate. The Trump team asked the court Tuesday to overturn a lower court ruling and permit an independent arbiter, or special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classified markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search. A three-judge panel last month limited the review to the much larger tranche of non-classified documents. A veteran Brooklyn judge, Raymond Dearie, is serving as special master. Haiti at breaking point as economy tanks and violence soars PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, is in the grips of an inflationary vise that is squeezing its citizenry and exacerbating protests that have brought society to the breaking point. Violence is raging and making parents afraid to send their kids to school; fuel and clean water are scarce; and hospitals, banks and grocery stores are struggling to remain open. Daily life in Haiti began to spin out of control last month just hours after Prime Minister Ariel Henry said fuel subsidies would be eliminated, causing prices to double. Protesters vow to keep up the pressure until Henry resigns. Police: California serial killer ‘on a mission’ in slayings STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Police say a California serial killer appears to be “on a mission” throughout the fatal shooting of six men and the wounding of one woman. Ballistics tests and some video evidence have linked the crimes in Stockton and Oakland, about 70 miles apart. Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said Tuesday: “We don’t know what the motive is. What we do believe is that it’s mission-oriented.” Authorities last week announced that five men in Stockton had been slain in recent months, ambushed and shot to death alone in the dark. Police said late Monday that two additional cases from last year have been tied to those killings. There is a $125,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Yankees star Judge hits 62nd homer to break Maris’ AL record ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Judge has hit his 62nd home run of the season to break Roger Maris’ American League record. Judge hit a 1-1 slider from Texas right-hander Jesús Tinoco into the first row of seats in left field when leading off the second game of New York’s day-night doubleheader on Tuesday. The 30-year-old Judge had homered only once in his past 13 games. That was when he hit No. 61 in Toronto last Wednesday to match Maris. While Maris’ 61 for the Yankees in 1961 had been exceeded six times previously, all were tainted by the stench of steroids. That includes Barry Bonds’ 73 for the the San Francisco Giants in 2001, though he has denied knowingly using performing-enhancing drugs. Son’s images show him rescuing Mom from Ian’s floodwaters As Hurricane Ian flooded Naples, Florida, one man went to rescue his 86-year-old mom from her home after she had refused to evacuate. He sent photos and short videos to his family, letting them know he was OK. That’s how Johnny Lauder ended up unintentionally documented the whole rescue. His mom Karen had lost a leg and requires a wheelchair. As the waters rose, she called her son for help. Lauder swam, waded and walked about a half mile to her. Several hours later, the water subsided enough for him to push her through the streets to safety. Jolie details Brad Pitt abuse allegations in court filing LOS ANGELES (AP) — A new court filing from Angelina Jolie alleges that on a 2016 flight, Brad Pitt grabbed her by the head and shook her then choked one of their children and struck another when they tried to defend her. The descriptions of abuse on the private flight came in a cross-complaint Jolie filed Tuesday in the couple’s dispute over a winery they co-owned. A representative for Pitt denied the abuse allegations to The Associated Press. The allegations were first aired soon after the flight, but details have been kept sealed. The FBI and Los Angeles County’s child services agency investigated but found no grounds for action against Pitt. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More…

Letters To The Editor: Postcard On Gainesville Mayoral Candidate Ed Bielarski Is Deceptive https://digitalalabamanews.com/letters-to-the-editor-postcard-on-gainesville-mayoral-candidate-ed-bielarski-is-deceptive/ Letters to the editor present the opinions of readers on news stories and other pieces published by The Sun. Deceptive postcard  The Democrats sent out a deceptive postcard against Ed Bielarski during the August non-partisan mayoral campaign. Checking their references, one finds it actually highlighted Bielarski’s accomplishments and integrity as a human being. Here are their claims vs. the facts:   Taking “Right-Wing PAC money”: Bielarski received $500 from a PAC but donated it to a charity for needy Gainesville Regional Utilities customers, matching it with his own money.   “Raised your GRU bills”: The City Commission (Harvey Ward) votes on and approves the GRU rates. Bielarski helped lower base rates by eliminating the $2.1 billion biomass non-purchase contract in exchange for the $750 million purchase.   “Opposing rooftop solar”: GRU limits individual solar installations to 2 MW (300 times typical residential rooftop solar array), protecting our electrical grid.   “Dumping toxic coal ash”: This harkens back to late 1990s when Bielarski was winning awards from the Environmental Protection Agency for creative solutions to handling coal-fired plant effluents.   “Fighting the city’s Covid vaccine push and spreading right-wing misinformation”: Bielarski simply did his job, informing the commission that a vaccine mandate would (and did) have dire consequences to providing essential services, resulting in high staff vacancy rates at the Gainesville Police Department, Gainesville Fire Rescue and the line crews at GRU.     Thanks, Dems!  Gary Ihas, Gainesville  More letters to the editor: Hurricane Ian showed ‘mind boggling’ GOP hypocrisy on climate change New solutions needed for Gainesville’s massive cat population Single-member districts could make officials earn votes in district Contrast in character  In this time of unprecedented destruction and devastation in Florida we should remember that our governor, Ron DeSantis, one day after taking his congressional seat in 2013, voted against aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy calling the bill “fiscally irresponsible.”  The bill passed in a 354 to 67 vote, which included scores of reasonable and empathetic Republicans. DeSantis wasn’t one of them.  Now he comes calling for Democratic President Joe Biden for help. He’ll get it from one of the most empathetic and caring presidents the country has ever had. What a contrast in character.    Hal Cohen, High Springs  Foolish decisions  I have always thought our government was incompetent at all levels. But it never ceases to amaze me that some of the same people who brought you the biomass plant and have drained the life blood out of GRU for years are still in power.    I wonder if all those complaining about the cost of utilities are the same ones that voted for these politicians. I give some blame to the media. The Sun should have taken a stronger stand against the reelection of these politicians   It is small consolation to learn that western Europe is managed by the same incompetents. Here is a triangle of foolish decisions made recently.     They outlawed fracking, cut down on oil exploration and refused to build liquified gas terminals. They went off the deep end by spending millions on green energy and driving up the cost of electricity to near unbearable is some areas, Worst of all, against all advice, they decided to buy Russian energy. Of course, they had to decide between two unreliable suppliers of energy: the USA and Russia. After Joe Biden’s election, Europe probably is thinking it wouldn’t have made a difference which provider they choose.  Jonathan Berger, Gainesville  Sanctuary hypocrisy   “A place of refuge or protection” is Webster’s definition of the word “sanctuary.” A number of American cities/states have declared themselves to be official sanctuaries for immigrants who enter our country without permission. Yet it seems as though the leaders of these sanctuaries are far from thrilled when they find a number of these non-Americans have actually arrived in their hometowns.   Instead of instantly providing for the needs of these surprise visitors, these “leaders” scream and yell about the way in which these individuals have come to be where they are, as though that really matters. Perhaps these places are sanctuaries in name only.   Claiming compassion does make for good “advertising.” Or, perhaps it’s more about a different Webster definition: “a pretending to be what one is not.” You know — hypocrisy. (There seems to be a lot of that going around. Perhaps a vaccine is called for.)  Leonard C. Young, Keystone Heights  Popular president  According to Nate Silver’s 538’s average of the latest polls of registered voters, President Biden’s popularity stands at 43.5%. It is logical to assume that Trump’s base, estimated at 20% of the U.S. population over 18 years of age, automatically answer “disapprove” when asked in a survey if they approve or disapprove of Biden. This means 80% of that population produced the 43.5% Biden approval rating.   If we divide 43.5% by 80.0%, we get 54.3% as the Biden approval rating non-Trump base members had to vote to offset Trump’s base’s disapproval vote.   Conclusion: President Biden’s approval rating among non-Trump base registered voters is higher than he gets credit for. He is a popular president among the majority of registered voters Larry Jaffe, Gainesville Join the conversation Share your opinions by sending a letter to the editor (up to 200 words) to letters@gainesville.com. Letters must include the writer’s full name and city of residence. Additional guidelines for submitting letters and longer guest columns can be found at bit.ly/sunopinionguidelines. Journalism matters. Your support matters. Get a digital subscription to the Gainesville Sun. Includes must-see content on Gainesville.com and Gatorsports.com, breaking news and updates on all your devices, and access to the eEdition. Visit www.gainesville.com/subscribenow to sign up. Read More…

Hurricane Ian's Death Toll Rises As Crews In Florida Go Door To Door In Search For Survivors In Decimated Neighborhoods | CNN https://digitalalabamanews.com/hurricane-ians-death-toll-rises-as-crews-in-florida-go-door-to-door-in-search-for-survivors-in-decimated-neighborhoods-cnn/ CNN  —  After Hurricane Ian obliterated communities in Florida, rescue crews going door to door in search of survivors are reporting more deaths, and residents grappling with loss are facing a long, daunting recovery. As of Tuesday, at least 109 people have been reported killed by the hurricane in the United States, with 105 of those deaths in Florida and 55 of them in Lee County. The Florida Medical Examiners Commission reported a death in Martin County, an additional death in Manatee County and an additional death in Sarasota County attributed to Hurricane Ian, according to a news release from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Ian also claimed the lives of four people in North Carolina. The storm slammed into Florida as a furious Category 4 hurricane last Wednesday. Days later, some residents of island communities are cut off from the mainland, hundreds of thousands of people are without power and many Floridians have found themselves homeless. As of Tuesday evening, about 400,573 customers in Florida were without power, according to PowerOutage.us. Many outages remain in hard-hit Lee and Charlotte counties, with 208,263 outages in Lee County and 75,721 outages in Charlotte County. Outages also continue to be tracked in Sarasota, Manatee, Collier, Hendry, Hardee, and Desoto counties. In some cases, government officials dealing with recovery efforts are among those who lost their homes. Fort Myers Beach City Councilman Bill Veach said his 90-year-old cottage is in ruins, with only one section that was a recent addition left standing. Pieces of his home were found two blocks away, he said. “When you are walking around the ruins, it’s an apocalyptic scene,” Veach said of his neighborhood. Still, even in the wreckage, there have been moments of hope, he said. “You see a friend that you weren’t sure was alive or dead and that brings you joy. A joy that is so much more than the loss of property,” he added. Rescuers have been coming to the aid of trapped residents via boat and aircraft. Statewide, more than 2,300 rescues have been made and over 1,000 urban search and rescue personnel have checked 79,000 structures, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference Tuesday. The governor also announced the opening of the first Disaster Recovery Center – or “one-stop shop” – in Fort Myers for residents and businesses that have been affected by Hurricane Ian. Live updates: Hurricane Ian’s aftermath in Florida Some residents who were anxiously waiting to hear from their loved ones have received unimaginable news. Stacy Verdream told CNN she and her brother found out Monday their uncle, Mike Verdream, died in the storm. Mike Verdream decided to ride out Hurricane Ian in Matlacha, Florida, and planned to go to his boss’ two-story home if things got too bad. Stacy Verdream said she spoke with her uncle briefly on Wednesday. Her cousin spoke with him later that day and he said the water was 4 feet deep before telling her he had to go. “It was a very brief call because he said he was very scared and she’d never heard him like that, because he wasn’t that type of person. He’s always put on a brave face,” Stacy Verdream said. “But she said he sounded absolutely terrified.” The family was unable to reach Mike Verdream because his phone was wet, his niece said. A detective told Stacy Verdream on Tuesday that her uncle was found in a canal on Friday. The condition of his body was consistent with other victims that had been recovered, Verdream said. Authorities used medical records to identify her uncle because his face was not recognizable, Verdream said. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday. “He was always there for me growing up, teaching me how to drive and taking me to the fair,” she said. “The cool uncle that would buy me like a dirt bike and bought the Jet ski for us to, like, go out on the lake. He just loved us to death.” Elizabeth McGuire’s family said they last spoke with her Wednesday and had been having trouble reaching her. They learned Friday that the 49-year-old had been found dead in her Cape Coral home. Police told her family she died in her bed holding her cell phone and it looked like she died instantly, her son Andrew Chedester said. McGuire’s mother, Susan McGuire, said the destruction of the storm “is massive.” “One hundred blizzards will not cost you what one hurricane will cost you,” said Susan McGuire, who moved to Florida from Maryland a few years ago. “My husband’s business whipped out, my daughter is dead … I never had a blizzard take anything away from me.” On Sanibel Island, now cut off from the Florida peninsula after Ian wiped out a portion of the roadway connecting them, every house shows damage, Sanibel Fire Chief William Briscoe said. “There are a lot of places that are not livable. There are places off their foundation, and it’s very dangerous out there,” Briscoe said. “There are alligators running around, and there are snakes all over the place.” Crews have evacuated 1,000 people from Sanibel since Ian ripped through the island, Briscoe said. Sanibel Mayor Holly Smith told CNN Tuesday that residents will be allowed back on the island Wednesday to assess the damage to their property, but the island is still “extremely unsafe.” “Roads are 90% clear on the island … meaning that there’s enough vehicular access that has been cut through the debris so vehicles and employees servicing the island can get through,” Dana Souza, Sanibel city manager, said. Sanibel remains under a 24-hour curfew. Tomorrow, residents and business owners can access the island between 7 a.m. and 7p.m., Souza said. The National Guard will work with police to enforce checkpoints throughout the island, making sure that only those with a resident ID or hurricane pass are onsite. “We’re only allowing people who are Sanibel residents, business owners or property owners, back on the island and you must have those credentials. If you don’t have them, they will ask you to leave,” Souza said. A similar situation is playing out on nearby Pine Island, the largest barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Just days ago, it was a tranquil fishing and kayaking destination known for its small-town atmosphere. Now it’s a scene of carnage, with cracked roadways and destroyed homes. Ian destroyed the only bridge to Pine Island, making it only accessible by boat or aircraft. Supplies are now being airdropped to the island by helicopter as some residents choose to stay, authorities said. County officials are trying to get a temporary ferry service for Sanibel, Sheriff Carmine Marceno said Tuesday. For Pine Island, work is underway to install a temporary bridge, with a goal to have it ready by the end of the week, DeSantis has said. Emergency physician Dr. Ben Abo, who joined rescuers on Pine Island, said crews are encountering residents who were in denial the storm would hit the area and are now running out of supplies. “I’m seeing a lot of despair, but I’m also seeing hope,” Abo said. “I’m seeing urban search and rescue, fire rescue, bringing hope to people that we’re going to get through this. But we have to do it in stages.” The National Guard will also be flying power crews to Sanibel and Pine islands to start working on restoring power. It could take at least a month to restore power for some places on those islands, Lee County Electric Cooperative spokesperson Karen Ryan said Tuesday. DeSantis said Tuesday he has already visited Pine Island and will likely visit Sanibel Island Wednesday, one week after it was ravaged by Hurricane Ian. “We’re gonna have that bridge patched this week,” DeSantis said Tuesday of Pine Island. “Yesterday we had 130 (Florida Department of Transportation) trucks that were there working to get this temporary bridge fixed. It will be done this week.” DeSantis also directed the state’s transportation department to prioritize the repair of the Sanibel Causeway. A contract for the repair was awarded Tuesday with the end goal of having the causeway fully repaired by the end of the month, according to a news release. Right now, emergency repairs to the causeway will help first responders and emergency services access the barrier island to aid with recovery efforts, power restoration, and removal of debris. Long-term repairs will follow, giving residents “drivable” access to and from the mainland. “The Sanibel Causeway was affected when the land that the road was built on was washed away,” FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue said in a statement. “A bridge stability analysis will be performed, and repairs needed range from repairing bridge approaches to restoring the roadway across most of the causeway.” At Fort Myers Beach, where storm surge and wind combined to wipe out numerous homes and businesses, it may also take a month to restore power due to damage to the electrical infrastructure,” Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said. It’s unclear how many people remain unaccounted for after the storm. Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said authorities are working to consolidate a list of the missing. Search teams have been combing a 7-mile stretch of Fort Myers Beach for days, looking for anyone still in need of help. One of the teams, South Florida Task Force 2, found 150 people trapped in homes in its first 48 hours in the community, some of whom had ascended to attics to avoid floodwater, it said. On Monday, the team still was helping people off the island town, as well as telling them where to get food and water. The team has found people who died at Fort Myers Beach, but it has not said how many. Bob and Rosemary Kopsack were among those the team helped off the islan...

It's Not A Cop Car, But This Fort Kent Coffee Car Sure Stops Speeders https://digitalalabamanews.com/its-not-a-cop-car-but-this-fort-kent-coffee-car-sure-stops-speeders/ Red Devil Roast Coffee owner Alan Susee loves his coffee car and sometimes hates it. Alan is funny. Living way up near the Canadian border makes it hard to get a good cup of coffee. Alan has had coffee from all around the world thanks to his military background. So, he decided if the coffee won’t come to him, he’ll bring the coffee to Fort Kent. The police car? That’s just a fun purchase. Red Devil Roast Facebook Red Devil Roast Facebook loading… Alan told the Bangor Daily News that he bought the Ford Police Interceptor SUV that was once in the state’s fleet of sheriff’s vehicles. Being a little clever, he kept the sheriff’s look with the word coffee instead of sheriff. Also, instead of the words ‘to protect and serve’, it’s ‘to brew and serve’. Is it legal? Yup. You can’t pretend you are the police, but you can look like them. Otherwise, imagine all the arrests at Halloween! Just to be super clear, the back of the ‘caffeine patrol car’ (Alan’s own name for it) has some major hints that this is not a cop car. Red Devil Roast Facebook Red Devil Roast Facebook loading… Despite the tongue and cheek of this awesome car, Alan says when people see it, they slow down! In fact, that can be a real pain in the neck. He slowed down a whole line of motorcycles and it took him forever to get to his son in Woodland because those bikes slowed down to the speed limit! He told the Bangor Daily News, It’s been a boatload of fun. He’s got big plans for his coffee cruiser. He’d like to drop off his free coffee, ‘Back to the Blue Brew‘ to police departments throughout Maine. Just don’t try to pass him! LOOK: What major laws were passed the year you were born? Data for this list was acquired from trusted online sources and news outlets. Read on to discover what major law was passed the year you were born and learn its name, the vote count (where relevant), and its impact and significance. Read More…

US Navy's Latest And Most Advanced Aircraft Carrier Deploys For First Time | CNN Politics https://digitalalabamanews.com/us-navys-latest-and-most-advanced-aircraft-carrier-deploys-for-first-time-cnn-politics/ Petty Officer 2nd Class Anderson/US Navy CNN  —  The US Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier left on its first deployment Tuesday from Norfolk, Virginia, designed to put the ship through its paces and exercise with allies in North America and Europe. The USS Gerald Ford is the first new aircraft carrier designed in “over 40 years,” according to the US Navy. The carrier’s construction formally began in November 2009 and it was commissioned in 2017 by former President Donald Trump, according to a US Navy release. The ship is the first Ford-class aircraft carrier. The Navy has begun construction on the next two Ford-class carriers, the USS Kennedy and the USS Enterprise. The aircraft carrier has new, advanced technology including “nearly three times the amount of electrical power,” compared to the Nimitz-class carriers and uses the electromagnetic aircraft launch system, or EMALS, according to the Navy. The EMALS system uses electric power to launch aircraft off the vessel instead of the previous steam catapult system. The system puts less stress on the aircraft as they are launched from the carrier and will allow for less time between launches, a Navy official said. The carrier also has dual band radar, which is a more advanced radar system. It is the only forward-class carrier that will have this kind of radar, the official said. The USS Gerald Ford and the carrier strike group will operate with allies and partners in both the 2nd and 6th fleet areas of responsibility in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea, a US Navy official said. The deployment will be shorter than a standard six-month deployment, the official added. “This deployment is an opportunity to push the ball further down the field and demonstrate the advantage that Ford and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 bring to the future of naval aviation, to the region and to our allies and partners,” Carrier Strike Group 12 Commander Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman said in a statement. The deployment will involve “approximately 9,000 personnel from nine nations, 20 ships and 60 aircraft,” a US Navy release said. The nations participating in the exercise include the US, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, the release added. While the USS Gerald Ford deployed Tuesday, the other ships in the carrier strike group will leave to join the Ford on Wednesday, a second Navy official said. This is common for these deployments. Read More…

Trump Wants The Supreme Court To Have Its Say In The Mar-A-Lago Documents Case – Digital World Acq (NASDAQ:DWAC) https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-wants-the-supreme-court-to-have-its-say-in-the-mar-a-lago-documents-case-digital-world-acq-nasdaqdwac/ Donald Trump and his legal team are requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court review a stay issued by the 11th Circuit of Appeals in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.  What Happened: The lawyers for the former president said the 11th Circuit lacked jurisdiction to stay the special master’s review of the documents, according to court documents seen by NPR. In an application to vacate the stay of the order, filed before the Supreme Court, Trump’s lawyers said, “In sum, the Government has attempted to criminalize a document management dispute and now vehemently objects to a transparent process that provides much-needed oversight.” The lawyers said the government’s move to shield what they called “purportedly classified documents” from the special master “illustrates precisely why the District Court found a special master was appropriate and necessary under the circumstances.” See Also: How To Buy TMTG IPO Stock  Why It Matters: Trump received a legal blow late in September when the 11th Circuit allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to continue investigating the classified records obtained from Mar-a-Lago — the former president’s Palm Beach, Florida estate. Trump-appointed Florida Federal Judge Aileen Cannon had earlier denied a motion by prosecutors for a partial stay that forbade DoJ from reviewing the seized materials. Cannon had earlier appointed Senior District Judge Raymond Dearie as special master in the case. Trump labeled Cannon as “brilliant and courageous” on Truth Social, a platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). TMTG is set to go public through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC. Read Next: Biden Signals More Empathy Than Trump To Hurricane-Ravaged Puerto Rico: ‘Going To Make Sure You Get Every Dollar Promised’ © 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Read More…

Chiranjeevi's GodFather Advance Booking Trumps Nagarjuna's The Ghost At BO, Sells Tickets Worth Whopping Rs 4 Crore https://digitalalabamanews.com/chiranjeevis-godfather-advance-booking-trumps-nagarjunas-the-ghost-at-bo-sells-tickets-worth-whopping-rs-4-crore/ Chiranjeevi’s Godfather advance booking trumps Nagarjuna’s The Ghost at BO KEY HIGHLIGHTS GodFather and The Ghost are clashing at BO GodFather stars Chiranjeevi in lead GodFather has trumped The Ghost in advance bookings Dussehra 2022 is seeing two of the biggest Telugu stars clashing at the box office with the release of Chiranjeevi‘s GodFather and Nagarjuna‘s The Ghost. However, it seems that in terms of advance bookings, Chiranjeevi’s GodFather has trumped over Nagarjuna’s The Ghost by a massive margin. GodFather, a remake of Moanlal’s Lucifer features Nayanthara, as well as Bollywood superstar Salman Khan in a pivotal role. The action entertainer is releasing in Telugu and Hindi and the Telugu version of the film had sold tickets worth over ₹4 crore for day one. In addition, the Hindi version had seen advance bookings worth ₹10 lakh. As per industry sources, the figure is might even reach the ₹5-crore mark. On the other hand, The Ghost, which also stars Sonal Chauhan, has seen advance booking sales of only ₹70 lakh by Tuesday evening. The film stars Nagarjuna, Sonal Chauhan, Gul Panag, Anikha Surendran, Manish Chaudhari, Ravi Varma, and Srikanth Iyengar and follows Vikram (Nagarjuna), a retired RAW field operative who is now working in the Indian Embassy. GodFather Meanwhile, recently in an interaction with News18, Chiranjeevi played down the clash with Nagarjuna. The actor stated, “There is no competition with Nagarjuna. Both the films are unique and we are trying to showcase our talent in it and prove ourselves.” As per 123Telugu.com, Nagarjuna in a recent interview said that both the films would be huge hits. He said that GodFather and The Ghost are made in different genres and the fact that Chiranjeevi and he will be seen in different avatars after a long time, will help the two films become huge hits. Last week Nagarjuna had wished Chiranjeevi luck on the release of Godfather, stating, “My dear friend Chiranjeevi’s GodFather is also releasing on the October 5 along with The Ghost. I hope both the films become a big hit at the box office.” Read More…

Testimony: Oath Keepers Founder Told Followers ‘be Ready To Fight’ To Keep Trump In Office https://digitalalabamanews.com/testimony-oath-keepers-founder-told-followers-be-ready-to-fight-to-keep-trump-in-office/ By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and LINDSAY WHITEHURST, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press Published: October 4, 2022, 6:33pm 2 Photos Attorneys of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, Phillip Linder, left, and James Lee Bright, arrive at the Federal Courthouse on Tuesday during the Rhodes trial in Washington. (Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press) Photo Gallery WASHINGTON — Hours after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, the leader of the Oath Keepers extremist group was discussing how to push President Donald Trump to go further in his fight to cling to power, according to messages shown to jurors Tuesday in his U.S. Capitol attack trial. Prosecutors used Stewart Rhodes’ messages and recordings of him speaking from November 2020 to try to show that he had been working behind the scenes for two months to try to stop the transfer of presidential power before his followers attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Rhodes and four associates are facing charges of seditious conspiracy for what authorities allege was a detailed, drawn-out plot to keep Biden out of the White House that included putting armed teams on standby outside of Washington. Tuesday was the first full day of testimony in the high-stakes case that’s expected to last several weeks. The five defendants are the first people arrested in the Jan. 6 attack to stand trial for seditious conspiracy — a rarely used Civil War-era charge that can be difficult to prove. Rhodes’ attorneys have said their defense will focus on Rhodes’ belief that Trump was going to invoke the Insurrection Act and call up the militia to support his bid to stay in power. The messages were revealed during testimony of an FBI agent investigating the insurrection. In several messages sent around Nov. 7, 2020 — the day that The Associated Press and other news outlets called the election for Biden — Rhodes pressed others to refuse to accept the results and “bend the knee” to what he saw as an illegitimate administration. In one message, Rhodes urged his followers to “get your gear squared away” and be “ready to fight.” In another — sent to a group called “FOS” or “Friends of Stone” that included Trump ally Roger Stone — Rhodes urged his fellow Oath Keepers to think of the ways early Americans had resisted the British. “We are now where the founders were in March, 1775,” he wrote. He implored them to “step up and push Trump to finally take decisive action.” “The final defense is us and our rifles,” Rhodes wrote to the group. “Trump has one last chance, right now, to stand. But he will need us and our rifles too.” The evening of Nov. 9, Rhodes held a conference call with more than 100 of his followers to discuss the plan. It was secretly recorded by someone on the call and sent to the FBI. Rhodes urged people on the call to go to Washington and let Trump know that “the people are behind him,” according to a recording played to jurors. Rhodes expressed hope that left-wing antifa activists would start clashes because that would give Trump the “reason and rationale for dropping the Insurrection Act.” “So we have a chance to get President Trump to fight as Commander in Chief. If you’re going to have a fight, guys, you want to start now while he’s still Commander in Chief,” Rhodes told the group. Read More…

Quake Info: Moderate Mag. 4.9 Earthquake – Alboran Sea, 24 Km East Of Al Hoceima, Morocco, On Tuesday, Oct 4, 2022 At 4:39 Pm (GMT +1) – 24 User Experience Reports https://digitalalabamanews.com/quake-info-moderate-mag-4-9-earthquake-alboran-sea-24-km-east-of-al-hoceima-morocco-on-tuesday-oct-4-2022-at-439-pm-gmt-1-24-user-experience-reports/ Updated: Oct 4, 2022 23:40 GMT – I felt this quake Moderate magnitude 4.9 earthquake at 10 km depth 4 Oct 15:42 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 3 minutes. 4 Oct 15:43: Magnitude recalculated from 5.2 to 4.6. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 28.0 to 36.0 km (from 17.4 to 22 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 13 km (8.3 mi) towards NW. … [show all] … 4 Oct 16:27: Now using data updates from USGS Update Tue, 4 Oct 2022, 16:00 Moderate magnitude 4.5 earthquake 40 km northeast of Al Hoceima, Morocco 4.5 quake 4 Oct 4:39 pm (GMT +1) A magnitude 4.5 earthquake near Al Hoceima, Al-Hoceima, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Morocco, was reported only 21 minutes ago by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter in the afternoon on Tuesday, October 4th, 2022, at 4:39 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report. Our monitoring service identified a second report from the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, IPMA) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.1. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 4.4, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 4.4, and Spain’s Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) at magnitude 4.3. Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter. Weak shaking might have been felt in Al Hoceima (pop. 395,600) located 40 km from the epicenter, Tirhanimîne (pop. 55,800) 42 km away, Imzouren (pop. 40,000) 43 km away, and Bni Bouayach (pop. 18,300) 47 km away. Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Nador (pop. 129,300) located 68 km from the epicenter, and Al Aaroui (pop. 36,000) 73 km away. VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake. If you were or still are in this area during the quake help others with your feedback and report it here. Download the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app and get one of the fastest seismic alerts online: Android | iOS I felt this quake I didn’t feel it Earthquake details Date & time Oct 4, 2022 15:39:29 UTC – Local time at epicenter Tuesday, Oct 4, 2022 at 4:39 pm (GMT +1) Status Confirmed Magnitude 4.9 Depth 10.0 km Epicenter latitude / longitude 35.3028°N / 3.6764°W (Alboran Sea, Morocco) Antipode 35.303°S / 176.324°E Shaking intensity Light shaking Felt 24 reports Primary data source USGS (United States Geological Survey) Nearby towns and cities 24 km (15 mi) NE of Imzouren (pop: 40,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 24 km (15 mi) ENE of Al Hoceima (pop: 395,600) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 26 km (16 mi) ENE of Tirhanimîne (pop: 55,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 27 km (17 mi) NE of Bni Bouayach (Province de Al Hoceïma) (pop: 18,300) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 69 km (43 mi) WNW of Nador (pop: 129,300) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 178 km (111 mi) ESE of Gibraltar (Gibraltar) (pop: 26,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 186 km (116 mi) NE of Fes (pop: 964,900) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 322 km (200 mi) ENE of Rabat (pop: 1,655,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby Weather at epicenter at time of quake Few Clouds 25.1°C (77 F), humidity: 57%, wind: 1 m/s (1 kts) from E Estimated seismic energy released 1.4 x 1012 joules (392 megawatt hours, equivalent to 338 tons of TNT) | about seismic energy If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter), please share your experience and submit a short “I felt it” report! Other users would love to hear about it! If you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable to earthquake science, seismic hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you! Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision. Mag. Depth Location Source 4.9 10 km 23 Km NE of Imzouren, Morocco USGS 4.4 11 km Morocco: ALBOR IGN 4.8 10 km Morocco: Strait of Gibraltar GFZ 4.9 10 km Morocco: Strait of Gibraltar RaspberryShake 4.1 0 km Morocco: NE Al Hoceima (MARR) IPMA 4.5 78 km Spain [Sea] INGV 4.5 10 km Morocco: STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR EMSC 4.9 10 km Morocco: Strait Of Gibraltar IRIS Seismograms Seismic station: San Pablo, Spain (PAB/IU network) | Distance from quake: 475 km / 295 mi | Show on map | Station Info Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool Show more User reports for this quake (24) Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! Torroc (160.6 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Tumbada en la cama, como si diesen un golpe de cerrar la puerta pot corriente de aire, pero lo que se vibró fue la cama.   Midar, Nador, Oriental (40.5 km SSE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short : driouch   Málaga (174.5 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Torrox Costa (160.7 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : Sitting on 3rd floor balcony. Other half felt it inside sitting on the couch   Al Aaroui, Oriental (74.7 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s Malaga, Andalucía (173.6 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s NADOR (67.9 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Allongé sur le lit j’ai senti une vibration   Nador, Oriental (69.2 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Melilla (66.5 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s Melilla spain (64.4 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Al hoceima marokko / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : Licht schudden   imzouren / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating Melilla / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Melilla / Light shaking (MMI IV) Torre dem mar / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Horizontalbewegung leicht   imzouren / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s Nerja Malaga Spain / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short : Mild 2 second shake left to right on 5th floor balcony. (reported through our app)   Torre del mar / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s Port nador west med / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Driouch / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s Targuist / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Tamssaman / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating ajdir / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app) Nador / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900 Mar 29, 1954 06:17 69 years ago 7.8 626 km 188km / 117mi 4.1 km W of Durcal, Granada, Andalusia, Spain More Feb 24, 2004 02:27 19 years ago 6.4 0 km 34km / 21mi Isla de Tierra, 13 km SW of Al Hoceima, Morocco More Jan 25, 2016 04:22 7 years ago 6.3 10 km 36km / 22mi Alboran Sea, 45 km NE of Al Hoceima, Morocco More Jan 25, 2016 04:22 7 years ago 6.3 33 km 20km / 13mi Alboran Sea, 6.4 km NE of Al Hoceima, Morocco More Apr 11, 2010 22:08 12 years ago 6.3 610 km 185km / 115mi 1.4 km S of Nigüelas, Granada, Andalusia, Spain More May 26, 1994 08:26 28 years ago 6.0 9.7 km 39km / 24mi 16 km W of Al Hoceima, Al-Hoceima, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Morocco More May 11, 1978 04:51 44 years ago 5.6 26 km 181km / 112mi 15 km SE of Roquetas de Mar, Almeria, Andalusia, Spain More May 20, 2022 12:35 20 weeks ago 5.5 10 km 28km / 17mi Alboran Sea, 49 km NE of Al Hoceima, Morocco More Aug 23, 1959 22:21 63 years ago 5.5 15 km 53km / 33mi 52 km NW of Nador, Oriental, Morocco More May 23, 1993 07:40 29 years ago 5.4 27 km 107km / 66mi Morocco, 21 km N of Isabel II Island, Spain More Feb 25, 2004 12:44 19 years ago 5.3 10.1 km 40km / 25mi 16 km W of Al Hoceima, Al-Hoceima, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Morocco More Mar 12, 1992 13:05 31 years ago 5.3 22 km 10...

Young Receivers Stepping Up For Auburn https://digitalalabamanews.com/young-receivers-stepping-up-for-auburn/ Auburn (3-2, 2-1) didn’t celebrate quarterback Robby Ashford’s 20th birthday with a victory. The Tigers blew a 17-0 lead during Saturday’s 21-17 loss against LSU. Moral victories don’t exist in the Southeastern Conference, especially when head coach Bryan Harsin’s seat is hotter than fish grease. As difficult as it was to lose after allowing 21 unanswered points, there was positivity in Ashford connecting with his wide receivers. Ashford quickly broke the four-game streak of Auburn not having a touchdown pass to a wide receiver on the game’s first drive. He rolled out as the pocket broke down to throw a laser to Ja’Varrius Johnson for 53 yards. Read More Auburn Football: What ESPN’s College Football Power Index says about Auburn after LSU loss Is Robby Ashford ready to elevate as Auburn’s QB1? Instant Analysis: Auburn drops a 17-point lead in 21-17 loss against LSU “You want to be able to run it and throw it. And be able to move the ball down the field, because a lot of those big plays came in the passing game,” Harsin said. “That’s where our chunk yardage was in the passing game. And that was good for us. And you know, to move the ball down the field, be explosive, get into better field position, you’ve got to do that. And I thought we did some of those things well tonight.” Camden Brown caught his first career touchdown pass on an 18-yard throw in the end zone from Ashford. Earlier in the week, Ashford was asked about the lack of production from the wide receivers. We’ve got dogs in that room, and we haven’t been able to show it as much, Ashford said. We’ve got a lot of ballers, and they’re just waiting to pop out. I think they will really soon. Koy Moore had a 33-yard reception against his former team. Moore finished the game with four catches for 55 yards. It was the second game when Moore had multiple catches. Omari Kelly had a big 25-yard catch in the second half. The freshman is one of several receivers developing chemistry with Ashford this season. Ashford spread the ball while throwing for 337 yards against LSU. Moore, Kelly, Brown, and Johnson each caught passes. Ashford also had completions to running backs Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter. Tight ends John Samuel Shenker, and Tyler Fromm caught balls from Ashford. Auburn ran several four, and five wide receiver sets against LSU. The Tigers successfully got the ball to its wide receivers versus LSU in ways they hadn’t this season. Auburn hopes to see more when the team plays Georgia this weekend. “Our young wide receivers have been thrust into playing, Omari Kelly has a big catch, and Camden Brown has a big catch. Var had a couple of big catches in there as well,” Harsin said. “Those things were good. That was encouraging to see some young players step up and do some things on the perimeter.” “We obviously have to be better than that going into this game and every game moving forward because we weren’t good enough to win the football game, but overall, there were some positive things in the pass game that I thought helped us.” Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…

Reuters US Domestic News Summary | Politics https://digitalalabamanews.com/reuters-us-domestic-news-summary-politics/ Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Measuring Hurricane Ian’s toll on Florida’s ‘forgotten’ neighborhoods Betty and Hubert Toney have lost count of all the hurricanes they’ve lived through since moving into their house in the modest Dunbar neighborhood of Fort Myers, Florida, in 1958. But they had never before experienced anything like Ian. The powerful Category 4 hurricane sheared the roof off the Toneys’ green flat-top home, leaving the interior exposed to the torrential rain. Biden, doctors say new abortion laws have chilling impact U.S. President Joe Biden and top White House officials announced new guidelines and grants to protect abortion and contraception rights on Tuesday, and said women’s rights have already been curtailed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade 100 days ago. Speaking at a meeting of the reproductive rights task force, with Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden said the decision that rescinded women’s constitutional right to an abortion has had frightening ripple effects in some states, include restricting a teen’s access to medicine she needed for arthritis. “We’re not going to sit by and let Republicans throughout the country enact extreme policies,” he said. Biden approval slips to 40%, Reuters/Ipsos finds U.S. President Joe Biden’s public approval rating edged lower this week and was close to the lowest level of his presidency, with just five weeks to go before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll completed on Tuesday found. The two-day national poll found that 40% of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance, down from 41% a week earlier. Exclusive-Republican clerk could be charged in Michigan voting-system breach A Michigan township official who promotes false conspiracy theories of a rigged 2020 election could face criminal charges related to two voting-system security breaches, according to previously unreported records and legal experts. A state police detective recommended that the Michigan attorney general consider unspecified charges amid a months-long probe into one breach related to the Republican clerk’s handling of a vote tabulator, according to a June email from the detective to state and local officials. Reuters obtained the email through a public-records request. Michigan judge drops charges against 7 ex-state and city officials in Flint water crisis A Michigan judge on Tuesday threw out felony charges against seven former state and local officials in connection with the Flint water scandal, ruling that the indictments brought against the individuals were invalid due to a procedural error. Under state-appointed managers, the government of Flint, a majority-Black city, switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River to cut costs in 2014. Corrosive river water caused lead to leach from the pipes, exposing thousands of children to lead poisoning and leading to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. Trump asks U.S. Supreme Court to intervene over seized classified records Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in his fight with the Justice Department over classified documents seized from his Florida home as part of a criminal investigation into his handling of government records. Trump filed an emergency request asking the justices to block part of a lower court’s ruling that prevented an independent arbiter requested by Trump, known as a special master, from vetting more than 100 documents marked as classified that were among 11,000 records seized by FBI agents at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach on Aug. 8. Outside dollars help Republican U.S. Senate candidates close financial gap with Democrats Republicans in the tightest U.S. Senate races are getting help from deep-pocketed allies who are unleashing a late advertising blitz, potentially neutralizing their Democratic rivals’ fundraising advantage heading into the Nov. 8 midterm elections. Led by a fundraising group tied to Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, dozens of conservative organizations reported spending more than $104 million in September to help Republican candidates in seven Senate races widely seen as competitive, a Reuters analysis of federal disclosures found. Oath Keepers leader said Trump ‘will need us and our rifles’, U.S. court hears Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told followers of his far-right group that Donald Trump “will need us and our rifles” just days after the then-Republican president lost the 2020 election, an FBI witness said in court on Tuesday. Rhodes and four co-defendants – Thomas Caldwell, Kenneth Harrelson, Kelly Meggs and Jessica Watkins – are on trial in federal court in Washington, accused of conspiring to prevent Congress from certifying the election victory of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in a failed bid to keep Trump in power. Angelina Jolie accuses ex-husband Brad Pitt of abuse in court filing Angelina Jolie detailed what she described as abusive behavior by ex-husband Brad Pitt in a court filing on Tuesday, escalating a legal battle over a French winery the former couple once shared and revealing new details about the dissolution of their marriage. The filing in a Los Angeles court alleges that Pitt sought to condition Jolie’s sale of her stake in the winery on a nondisclosure agreement that would have barred her from publicly discussing “Pitt’s physical and emotional abuse of her and their children.” Soccer-U.S. captain Sauerbrunn says responsible parties in NWSL abuse case must leave United States captain Becky Sauerbrunn called for the removal of individuals at the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and U.S. Soccer who failed to protect players from abuse, after an inquiry found widespread misconduct in the professional league. U.S. Soccer brought in former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and King & Spalding LLP a year ago to conduct an independent investigation after a report in The Athletic outlined allegations of abuse in the NWSL, prompting a reckoning across the league. (This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Read More…

Oath Keepers Founder: Be ‘ready To Fight’ After Trump Loss https://digitalalabamanews.com/oath-keepers-founder-be-ready-to-fight-after-trump-loss-3/ Phillip Linder, left, and James Lee Bright, attorneys for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, arrive at the Federal Courthouse during Rhodes’ trial on Tuesday in Washington. They have said they will argue that Rhodes can’t be guilty of seditious conspiracy because all of his actions were in anticipation of orders he expected were coming from President Donald Trump. Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press WASHINGTON — Hours after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, the leader of the Oath Keepers extremist group was discussing how to push President Donald Trump to go further in his fight to cling to power, according to messages shown to jurors Tuesday in his U.S. Capitol attack trial. Prosecutors used Stewart Rhodes’ messages and recordings of him speaking from November 2020 to try to show that he had been working behind the scenes for two months to try to stop the transfer of presidential power before his followers attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Rhodes and four associates are facing charges of seditious conspiracy for what authorities allege was a detailed, drawn-out plot to keep Biden out of the White House that included putting armed teams on standby outside of Washington. Tuesday was the first full day of testimony in the high-stakes case that’s expected to last several weeks. The five defendants are the first people arrested in the Jan. 6 attack to stand trial for seditious conspiracy – a rarely used Civil War-era charge that can be difficult to prove. Rhodes’ attorneys have said their defense will focus on Rhodes’ belief that Trump was going to invoke the Insurrection Act and call up the militia to support his bid to stay in power. The messages were revealed during testimony of an FBI agent investigating the insurrection. In several messages sent around Nov. 7, 2020 – the day that The Associated Press and other news outlets called the election for Biden – Rhodes pressed others to refuse to accept the results and “bend the knee” to what he saw as an illegitimate administration. In one message, Rhodes urged his followers to get their “get your gear squared away” and be “ready to fight.” In another – sent to a group called “FOS” or “Friends of Stone” that included Trump ally Roger Stone – Rhodes urged his fellow Oath Keepers to think of the ways early Americans had resisted the British. “We are now where the founders were in March, 1775,” he wrote. He implored them to “step up and push Trump to finally take decisive action.” “The final defense is us and our rifles,” Rhodes wrote to the group. “Trump has one last chance, right now, to stand. But he will need us and our rifles too.” The evening of Nov. 9, Rhodes held a conference call with more than 100 of his followers to discuss the plan. It was secretly recorded by someone on the call and sent to the FBI. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers in 2017. Susan Walsh/Associated Press file Rhodes urged people on the call to go to Washington and let Trump know that “the people are behind him,” according to a recording played to jurors. Rhodes expressed hope that left-wing antifa activists would start clashes because that would give Trump the “reason and rationale for dropping the Insurrection Act.” “So we have a chance to get President Trump to fight as Commander in Chief. If you’re going to have a fight, guys, you want to start now while he’s still Commander in Chief,” Rhodes told the group. Rhodes said they would have some of their “best men bolstered up outside” — or “quick reaction forces” that he said would be “awaiting the president’s orders.” It needed to be that way because that gives you “legal cover,” Rhodes said on the call. Rhodes’ attorney sought to show that prosecutors are cherry-picking messages from hundreds of chats on his phone. Defense attorney Phillip Linder pressed the FBI agent over whether he ever saw Rhodes encourage anybody to do anything illegal before prosecutors objected to the question. “All we have is bombastic language,” Linder said. Rhodes’ lawyers have said they will argue that their client can’t be guilty of seditious conspiracy because all of his actions were in anticipation of orders he expected were coming from Trump under the Insurrection Act. Even though Trump never did, Rhodes’ lawyers say he was merely lobbying the president to invoke the law, which gives the president wide discretion to decide when military force is necessary, and what qualifies as military force. On trial with Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, are Kelly Meggs, leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers; Kenneth Harrelson, another Florida Oath Keeper; Thomas Caldwell, a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer from Virginia, and Jessica Watkins, who led an Ohio militia group. Prosecutors showed jurors several items found at Caldwell’s home, including a notebook with writing about things like “comms” and “lookouts.” The FBI agent said that “was all indicative to us of some sort of an operation.” Caldwell’s attorney, David Fischer, pressed the agent on whether the government has any witnesses who claim Caldwell had a plan to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6. The agent said it did not. « Previous Read More…

In Speedy Embrace Of Herschel Walker, Republicans Make Familiar Political Bargain https://digitalalabamanews.com/in-speedy-embrace-of-herschel-walker-republicans-make-familiar-political-bargain/ While the Georgia Senate candidate denied a report that he paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion, his Republican allies looked past the claims toward November. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. This article is part of our Midterms 2022 Daily Briefing National Republican leaders signaled on Tuesday that they planned to stand by Herschel Walker after a report that he had paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in 2009.Credit…Nicole Craine for The New York Times Oct. 4, 2022Updated 7:41 p.m. ET Herschel Walker walked into the First Baptist Church of Atlanta on Tuesday with his Senate campaign in turmoil. A day earlier, an ex-girlfriend said he had paid for her to have an abortion, despite his public opposition to the procedure. His son slammed him on social media as a liar. Mr. Walker had flatly denied the claim. And any question of whether the Republican Party, its grass-roots activists and evangelicals would break with him seemed quickly put to rest. The audience in the church did not wait to render a verdict: He was greeted with a standing ovation. From the closed-door confines of that church in Atlanta to the corridors of power in Washington, Republicans raced to close ranks behind Mr. Walker on Tuesday, fearing that any break with the former football star could cost the party a seat that is widely seen as central to the Republican Party’s chances to take control of the Senate in 2022. “Full speed ahead in Georgia,” declared Steven Law, the president of the Senate Leadership Fund. The group, the leading Senate Republican super PAC, is aligned with Senator Mitch McConnell and has booked more than $34 million in television ads in the state. “Republicans stand with him,” added Senator Rick Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The quick consolidation behind Mr. Walker, less than 24 hours after The Daily Beast reported on the abortion claim on Monday, exposed a Republican Party that has become increasingly conditioned to cast aside questions about personal behavior in pursuit of political victories. While some Republicans said they didn’t believe the report, nearly all party leaders, elected officials and activists dismissed the abortion story as secondary to larger policy goals. “I have faith and confidence that Herschel will vote the right way,” said Debbie Dooley, a conservative activist in Atlanta who attended the church event specifically to support Mr. Walker, a former football star and first-time candidate. It’s a trade-off that has paid remarkable dividends in recent years. Social conservatives embraced Donald J. Trump despite his history as a brash former Democrat who once supported abortion rights. He rewarded the movement by appointing three conservatives to the Supreme Court, justices who delivered the long-sought decision to overturn federal abortion rights. At stake in 2022 could be no less than control of a United States Senate now divided 50-50 between the two parties. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the Democratic incumbent who won the seat in a runoff election in January 2021, is seeking a full six-year term and is widely seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the nation. Abortion has emerged as a key issue in the race. Mr. Walker is a staunch opponent, without exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. “There’s no exception in my mind,” Mr. Walker told reporters in May. The State of the 2022 Midterm Elections With the primaries over, both parties are shifting their focus to the general election on Nov. 8. Trouble for Nevada Democrats: The state has long been vital to the party’s hold on the West. Now, Democrats are facing potential losses up and down the ballot. Democrats’ House Chances: Democrats are not favored to win the House, but the notion of retaining the chamber is not as far-fetched as it once was, ​​writes Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst. Latino Voters: A recent Times/Siena poll found Democrats faring far worse than they have in the past with Hispanic voters. “The Daily” looks at what the poll reveals about this key voting bloc. Michigan Governor’s Race: Tudor Dixon, the G.O.P. nominee who has ground to make up in her contest against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, is pursuing a hazardous strategy in the narrowly divided swing state: embracing former President Donald J. Trump. As abortion energizes Democratic voters this year, particularly in crucial suburban counties, the charges of hypocrisy on abortion, coming even from a son, could threaten Mr. Walker’s chances to make inroads with the independents and women who pushed Georgia into the Democratic column in the 2020 cycle. While local activists and national party figures attacked the news media and publicly rallied behind Mr. Walker on Tuesday, Republican strategists privately fretted about what might come next, with one answering a reporter’s question about the episode by sending an animated GIF of the Titanic sinking. The Walker Senate campaign has already been rocked by a series of revelations about his tumultuous personal history, including the existence of three children whom he had not mentioned publicly. The New York Times has not independently confirmed The Daily Beast’s reporting, which quoted an unidentified woman saying she and Mr. Walker had conceived a child in 2009 and decided to end the pregnancy. The woman produced a receipt from the abortion clinic and a deposit receipt with an image of a $700 check said to be from Mr. Walker, dated days later, that she said had covered the cost of the procedure, the outlet said. It also published a “get well” card that the woman said had been signed by Mr. Walker. Mr. Walker denied the account outright. “I never asked anyone to get an abortion, I never paid for an abortion,” he said on Fox News on Monday night. In a statement, he said he would sue The Daily Beast for defamation on Tuesday. His campaign and lawyer did not respond to questions about whether a lawsuit had been filed. How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Adding to the drama was the response from Mr. Walker’s son Christian Walker. A TikTok star known for his unfiltered political posts, the younger Mr. Walker had largely been quiet about his father’s campaign. But in two videos posted on Tuesday he lashed out at his father as a liar who had committed “atrocities” against him and his mother. His mother, Cindy Grossman, has already been featured in weeks of bruising Democratic ads using old footage of her describing how Mr. Walker once held a gun to her head and threatened to pull the trigger. Mr. Walker has not denied that accusation and has said he once struggled with mental illness. Christian Walker said on Twitter on Monday that “every member” of the family had urged his father not to run for Senate and in a follow-up video on Tuesday, he said conservatives who continued to back his father’s campaign were hypocrites. “Family values, people?” Christian Walker said. “He has four kids, four different women, wasn’t in the house raising one of them. He was out having sex with other women.” Mr. Walker responded simply on Twitter on Monday: “I LOVE my son no matter what.” Mr. Walker’s allies drew comparisons to the “Access Hollywood” recording that threatened to derail Mr. Trump in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign — noting Mr. Trump won that race. “We’ve seen this movie before,” said Ralph Reed, the prominent social conservative leader based in Georgia, adding that he “100 percent” expected evangelical Christians would stick with Mr. Walker. He even argued that the latest report could lift Republican turnout by rallying social conservatives to defend Mr. Walker. As he greeted the audience in the church on Tuesday, Mr. Walker called himself a “sinner saved by grace,” and, before leaving, gathered the group around him to lay hands and pray, according to attendees. Reporters were not allowed in the event. Some Republicans lining up behind Mr. Walker questioned the latest allegations. Some didn’t care seem to care either way. “If y’all find a perfect candidate that has never had challenges in their life, I want you to bring them to me and let me meet him or her,” said Dominic LaRiccia, a Republican state representative backing Mr. Walker. Marci McCarthy, the Republican chair of DeKalb County in the metro Atlanta area, said, “Ultimately Georgia’s voters will put their own lives and livelihoods first because, in either case, they are not voting for fathers and husbands of the year.” Notably, Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, a Republican who has been leading his race for re-election, has kept his distance from Mr. Walker. The two have yet to hold a campaign event together this year. Asked about the episode on Tuesday, a spokesman for Mr. Kemp, Cody Hall, did not mention Mr. Walker and said only that the governor was “laser focused” on fund-raising and voter turnout in the final weeks of the campaign. Mr. Walker has been found to have embellished or misrepresented key elements of his résumé, including claiming he worked in law enforcement, although he did not. For years, his food-distribution company said it would donate a portion of its earnings to charity, but there is little evidence that it did so. His convoluted and confusing stump speeches have made headlines for months. “You’re not going to convince people who made it this far t...

Trump Goes To Supreme Court Over Mar-A-Lago Search And Seizure Of Documents | CNN Politics https://digitalalabamanews.com/trump-goes-to-supreme-court-over-mar-a-lago-search-and-seizure-of-documents-cnn-politics/ CNN  —  Former President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to intervene in the dispute over materials marked as classified that the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate this summer. His emergency request with the Supreme Court is the latest example of the former President seeking to involve the justices in investigations that entangle him – at a time when the high court’s legitimacy in politically explosive cases is under intense scrutiny. Trump is specifically asking the court to ensure that the more than 100 documents marked as classified are part of the special master’s review. The request, if granted, could bolster the former President’s attempt to challenge the search in court, as he has argued that he may have had a right, as a former president, to possess certain government documents, including documents potentially containing the country’s most sensitive secrets. Trump, though, is not asking the Supreme Court to block the Justice Department from using the documents in its criminal probe into how materials from his White House were mishandled. Justice Clarence Thomas – the recipient of Trump’s application because he oversees litigation coming from the circuit court that is handling the special master order appeal – gave the Justice Department a deadline of 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 11, to respond. It remains to be seen whether allowing the special master – a third-party attorney tasked with reviewing evidence and filtering out privileged documents – to also access classified documents poses a real threat to the criminal investigation. Nor is it clear how sympathetic the high court will be to Trump’s claims, which rest largely on technical arguments about whether an appeals court had the authority to carve out the 100 documents from the review. Late last year, Trump asked the justices to block the release of documents from his White House to congressional January 6, 2021, investigators. The high court rejected the request. Trump’s emergency application to the Supreme Court comes after the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Justice Department and said that the department’s criminal investigation into the documents marked as classified could continue. The probe’s use of the records had been put on hold by a district judge in Florida, who granted a Trump request for a third-party review of the materials obtained in the Mar-a-Lago search. That appeals court is now considering whether to wipe away the rest of the special master order. Trump is not asking the high court to restore the hold that Judge Aileen Cannon – a US district judge he nominated in 2020 – put on the Justice Department probe accessing the documents marked classified. But Trump wants those documents put back within the scope of the materials special master is reviewing. In the new filing, Trump’s attorneys said that “any limit on the comprehensive and transparent review of materials seized in the extraordinary raid of a President’s home erodes public confidence in our system of justice.” They also pushed back on the Justice Department’s claims that including the documents in the special master review would pose national security risks. “The Government argued on appeal, without explanation, that showing the purportedly classified documents to Judge Dearie would harm national security,” Trump’s attorneys said, referring to senior Judge Raymond Dearie, who has been appointed special master in the dispute. The Trump team said that position “cannot be reconciled” with the DOJ saying it may want to show those same documents to a grand jury or to witnesses during interviews. In filings before the lower court, the Justice Department had also cautioned that having Dearie’s review cover those documents would potentially allow members of Trump’s legal team to access them, including lawyers whom the department has signaled it views as possible witnesses in its investigation. Cannon, the Justice Department previously told the 11th Circuit, had “ordered disclosure of highly sensitive material to a special master and to Plaintiff’s counsel—potentially including witnesses to relevant events—in the midst of an investigation, where no charges have been brought.” The purpose of getting a special master to review those documents is not entirely fleshed out by Trump’s new filing with the Supreme Court. Trump nodded to Cannon’s assertion that he, as former president, would suffer “reputational harm of a decidedly different order of magnitude” if he was indicted based on evidence that had been unlawfully seized. That rationale was squarely rejected by the 11th Circuit, when it carved out the documents from the special master review. Elsewhere in the new application, Trump indicated his desire to include the documents marked as classified in the churn of challenges his lawyers will get to hash out before Dearie as part of the special master process. He re-upped arguments – viewed with extreme skepticism by a broad range of legal experts – that the Presidential Records Act may shield him from criminal charges brought for how he handled the materials. Trump also hinted at the idea that he may have declassified the records in question. As he has in earlier stages of the litigation, however, Trump stopped short of making the assertion outright. On Tuesday, Trump told the Supreme Court that Cannon had the authority to refer “these matters to a special master to determine whether documents bearing classification markings are in fact classified, and regardless of classification, whether those records are personal records or Presidential records, such that their disposition may be managed properly under the PRA.” “The Government’s position presumes certain documents are in fact classified, affording President Trump no opportunity to contend otherwise. This presumption is at the core of the dispute,” he said. Trump’s application is landing at the Supreme Court’s door step as it embarks on a new term where the justices will consider several high-profile cases. The Supreme Court, with its current conservative majority, is already viewed by the American public as partisan following a string of controversial rulings this year, including overturning Roe v. Wade, and will likely make the Mar-a-Lago search even more of an issue in the upcoming congressional midterm elections. Trump appointed three of the current justices: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. In addition, the justice who receives Supreme Court emergency requests out of Florida is conservative Thomas, although he is almost guaranteed to refer the petition to the full court to consider. Thomas’ wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, promoted efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and has testified before the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said the appeal is intended to delay the Justice Department’s investigation into the former President, if possible. “This is part of the delay strategy,” Honig said on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” noting Trump lost at the appeals court. “So either he accepts that loss and those documents don’t go to the special master and they go right over to DOJ, or his only remaining recourse is to try to get the Supreme Court to take it, and that’s the course he’s taking now.” Honig said it’s a “close call” if the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court typically likes to stay out of messy, political disputes,” Honig said. “On the other hand, when it comes to sort of unique, novel issues of constitutional law, of separation of power, of issues like executive privilege and classification of documents, that’s sort of why the Supreme Court exists – to adjudicate those high level disputes between branches that involve sort of core constitutional principles.” This story has been updated with additional details Tuesday. Read More…

Elon Musk Suggests Buying Twitter At His Original Price https://digitalalabamanews.com/elon-musk-suggests-buying-twitter-at-his-original-price/ The billionaire’s surprise move came months after he tried to back out of a $44 billion deal to acquire the company. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Elon Musk, center, has agreed to acquire Twitter at $54.20 per share, according to filings made public on Tuesday. Credit…Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Oct. 4, 2022Updated 7:23 p.m. ET The monthslong battle over Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter has been massive in scale and drama. One of the tech industry’s biggest deals in recent years, it has captured the public’s imagination, with cinematic twists that have been closely followed even by people who have never written a tweet. Now Mr. Musk, in a surprise move, has added another plot turn. After months of trying to get out of a deal that he struck in April, the billionaire made a proposal on Monday night that could bring the acrimonious legal fight to an end. Mr. Musk said he would do exactly what he said he would do in April: Acquire Twitter at $54.20 per share, according to regulatory filings made public on Tuesday. Twitter, which sued Mr. Musk in July to force him to go through with the $44 billion deal, has yet to accept his new proposal and plans to add conditions to try to ensure that he doesn’t change his mind again. In a short statement, Twitter said it had received Mr. Musk’s letter and reiterated the company’s intention to close the deal. Twitter may ask a court in Delaware, where it filed its suit, for protections that would force Mr. Musk to follow through with his new proposal, said three people familiar with the company’s plans, who were not authorized to speak publicly about them. The company could also demand that Mr. Musk pay interest on the deal price for the delays in completing the acquisition, one of those people added. A deal would allow both sides to avoid a messy trial that was expected to start in two weeks in Delaware Chancery Court. The trial most likely would have featured testimony from Mr. Musk, who runs the electric automaker Tesla, and senior Twitter executives. Mr. Musk is scheduled to be deposed on Thursday and Friday in Austin, Texas, according to a legal filing. Twitter has barely been profitable for most of its history and is dwarfed in size by other social media platforms like Facebook and the much younger TikTok. But the fight with Mr. Musk has preoccupied Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Washington because Twitter has for years been an online bullhorn for opinionated tech industry billionaires like Mr. Musk and politicians like former President Donald J. Trump, whom the company barred from its platform last year after the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill. If Mr. Musk does take over Twitter, one of his first big moves could be allowing Mr. Trump to return. Mr. Musk has said it was a “mistake” for Twitter to bar Mr. Trump. The potential agreement follows months of disputes that have created existential challenges for Twitter, cratering its share price, demoralizing its employees and spooking the advertisers it relies on for revenue. Mr. Musk, with his repeated, scathing criticism of Twitter and its management, has often seemed more interested in taking a wrecking ball to the company than becoming its new owner. His critics have argued that he has simply been looking for anything to justify backing out of a rash decision that he quickly came to regret. What Happened to Elon Musk’s Twitter Deal Card 1 of 9 A blockbuster deal. In April, Elon Musk made an unsolicited bid worth more than $40 billion for the social network, saying he wanted to make Twitter a private company and allow people to speak more freely on the service. Shareholders give approval On Sept. 13, as the start of the trial approached, Twitter’s shareholders voted to approve the company’s deal with Mr. Musk, even as it remains uncertain whether the acquisition will be completed. The company said a preliminary tally of shareholder votes determined support for the deal, but it did not immediately release a vote count. A surprise move. On Oct. 4, Mr. Musk proposed a deal to acquire Twitter for $44 billion, the price he agreed to pay for the company in April. An agreement at the original price, which would be a victory for Twitter, could bring to an end the acrimonious legal fight between the billionaire and the social media company. “I think he recognized that litigation is not going well on his part,” said Ann Lipton, a professor of corporate governance at Tulane Law School. Image Mr. Musk submitted his latest proposal to Twitter on Monday evening, informing the company that he intended to proceed with his original offer.Credit…Jim Wilson/The New York Times A deal at the original price would be a victory for Twitter. Mr. Musk declared in July that he no longer intended to continue with the acquisition because he believed Twitter’s service was overrun by spam. Twitter sued him soon after. Mr. Musk submitted his latest proposal to Twitter on Monday evening, informing the company that he intended to proceed with his original offer. “We write to notify you that the Musk parties intend to proceed to closing of the transaction,” a lawyer for Mr. Musk wrote in the letter, according to a regulatory filing. The letter asked that the court battle be paused, pending the closing of the deal. What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? What’s their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. The two sides met in court in an emergency virtual hearing on Tuesday to discuss the proposal before Kathaleen McCormick, the judge overseeing the trial. The proposal was reported earlier by Bloomberg. Lawyers for Mr. Musk and Twitter were expected to meet again in court later on Tuesday to discuss next steps, the person said. If they opt to proceed with the sale of Twitter, a deal could possibly close within weeks, or as soon as Mr. Musk hands over the $44 billion. Twitter may request that Mr. Musk agree to have the court supervise the deal’s closing, three people familiar with the matter said. The company may also ask Mr. Musk to pay a daily interest fee for every day that has passed since shareholders approved the deal on Sept. 13, one of those people said. “Procedurally, Twitter has done everything they need to do to close this deal,” said Brian J.M. Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School. If the company accepts Mr. Musk’s proposal, it could request that the trial be postponed until the deal is completed, Mr. Quinn said. Once the acquisition is completed, Twitter will most likely dismiss its lawsuit against Mr. Musk. On Tuesday evening, Mr. Musk tweeted that “buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app.” X is the name of holding company that Mr. Musk formed to buy Twitter. Shares in the social media company spiked more than 12 percent on the news of Mr. Musk’s latest offer, before a halt in trading. Trading resumed in the afternoon, and Twitter’s share price closed at $52, a 22 percent increase. The economic backdrop has changed significantly since Mr. Musk announced his intent to buy Twitter last spring. Amid inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, investors are facing the kinds of losses they haven’t seen since 2009. That has also made it more difficult to finance deals. Investment banks, led by Morgan Stanley, have already agreed to help finance the deal with about $13 billion in debt. The banks remain on the hook until April, according to the terms of their contract. Mr. Musk has said he would finance the rest of the deal in cash. In April, he sold about $8.5 billion shares in Tesla to help fund the deal; in May, he said he had lined up about $7 billion in cash from an array of investors including the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and the tech mogul Larry Ellison. It was not immediately clear what commitments those investors had to Mr. Musk. In August, Mr. Musk sold an additional $7 billion worth of Tesla’s stock in “the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don’t come through,” he wrote at the time. Twitter employees learned of Mr. Musk’s proposal from media reports while participating in a companywide meeting about corporate plans for 2023 on Tuesday, reigniting confusion and speculation that have roiled Twitter’s work force over the past six months, four employees said. Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief executive, did not immediately address Mr. Musk’s offer with employees, those people added. Sean Edgett, Twitter’s general counsel, said in an email to employees on Tuesday afternoon, “I will continue to keep you posted on significant updates, but in the meantime, thank you for your patience as we work through this on the legal side.” On the internal Slack messaging system on Tuesday, employees discussed the implications for the company, their jobs and their stock compensation. In a channel with nearly 2,000 members that is used to joke about company news, some wondered what would happen if Twitter’s board did not accept Mr. Musk’s renewed offer. Some speculated that Twitter’s stock would plummet, while another, referring to Mr. Musk, said the company would not have to be owned by “a moron.” Image Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief executive, did not immediately address Mr. Musk’s latest proposal with employees.Credit…Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images While an agreement would signify an end to the uncertainty clouding Twitter’s immediate future, Mr. Musk’s plans for the company are not clear. He told investors before trying to back out of t...

Am I Registered To Vote In Alabama? https://digitalalabamanews.com/am-i-registered-to-vote-in-alabama/ ALABAMA (WKRG) — The general election in Alabama is fast approaching, but before voters can head to the polls on Nov. 8, they must be registered to vote. The deadline to register to vote in-person, online and by mail in Alabama is Oct. 24. Alabama residents can check online to see if they are registered. Voters can register online, in person at their county’s Board of Registrars office or by mail. Can you register to vote online? Alabama offers online voter registration. Alabama residents can submit a voter registration application here. Can you register to vote by mail? Alabama will mail you an Alabama Voter Registration Form. You can also download an Alabama Voter Registration Form. Perspective voters must then send the completed form to their county’s Board of Registrars or to the Secretary of State’s Office: Office of the Secretary of State     Elections Division     PO Box 5616     Montgomery, AL 36103 Who can register to vote in Alabama? Anyone who wants to register to vote in Alabama must meet these requirements, according to the Alabama Secretary of State’s website: You must be a citizen of the United States. You must live in the State of Alabama. You must be at least 18 years of age on or before election day. You must not be barred from voting by reason of a disqualifying felony conviction. You must not have been judged “mentally incompetent” in a court of law. Do you need an ID to vote in Alabama? Alabama also requires people to submit a valid Alabama Driver’s License or valid Alabama Non-Driver’s Identification card. If you do not have one of these forms of identification, you can use this form to apply to vote. Read More…

Bangladesh Plunged Into Darkness By National Grid Failure https://digitalalabamanews.com/bangladesh-plunged-into-darkness-by-national-grid-failure/ Power grid collapse leads to blackouts in 75-80% Bangladesh Authorities working to restore power, investigating cause Government had rationed some gas due to high global prices DHAKA, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Large swathes of Bangladesh were left without electricity on Tuesday after a grid failure, a government official said, adding that authorities were working to gradually restore power supply in the country of 168 million people. The country’s power grid malfunctioned at around 2 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Tuesday, leading to blackouts across 75-80% of the Bangladesh, Bangladesh Power Development Board official Shameem Hasan told Reuters. An investigation was underway to ascertain the reason for the grid’s collapse and power had been restored in 45% of the regions hit by the blackouts, he said. By nightfall, it was still not clear when power would be fully restored. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Bangladesh, which gets three quarters of its electricity from imported natural gas, has been facing frequent power cuts this year due to its inability to address higher power demand. The country has rationed some gas supplies amid high global prices driven up by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The government vowed frugal spending after reporting a record fiscal deficit last year. Over a third of the country’s 77 gas-powered units were short of fuel, government data showed on Tuesday. Grid failures generally happen when there is a high mismatch between demand and supply, potentially due to unexpected or sudden changes in power use patterns. Bangladesh’s peak power demand on Tuesday was 3% higher than the 13,800 MW forecast by the Bangladesh Power Development Board, according to government data. GARMENT FACTORIES HIT Operations at Bangladesh’s lucrative export-oriented garment industry, which supply to clients such as Walmart (WMT.N), Gap Inc (GPS.N), H&M (HMb.ST), VF Corp (VFC.N), Zara and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO.N) were hit by the power outage on Tuesday. “To cope with the (power) crisis, we have been using generators. Today’s outage was unpredictable. We had to shut our offices,” because generators can not run for long periods, Shahidullah Azim, Vice President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association told Reuters. The association represents members that have more than 4,500 garment factories nationwide. Bangladesh is the world’s second-biggest garment exporter after China. “We can’t run factories without power,” Azim added. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, a junior minister in Bangladesh, said on Facebook it was “risky to restore (power) with a heavy load”. The load on the power grid generally increases in the evenings in Bangladesh, when citizens return home after work. Demand growth in the recent years has largely been driven by the residential segment. “If the stability of the system is fairly satisfactory, the power lines of all area of Dhaka will be activated. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience,” Palak said. The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh said on Tuesday mobile and internet services may be disrupted in some parts of the country due to the national power grid failure. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Additional reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal and Tanvi Mehta, Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Frank Jack Daniel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…