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5 Birmingham Area High School Football Games To Watch In Week 8
5 Birmingham Area High School Football Games To Watch In Week 8
5 Birmingham Area High School Football Games To Watch In Week 8 https://digitalalabamanews.com/5-birmingham-area-high-school-football-games-to-watch-in-week-8/ Here are five games to watch in the Birmingham area this week as region play continues. The complete schedule follows. MOUNTAIN BROOK (5-1, 3-0) AT PARKER (4-3, 2-2) Mountain Brook running back Cole Gamble (19) runs the ball against Hoover at Spartan Stadium in Mountain Brook, Ala., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. (Marvin Gentry | preps@al.com) Time/location: Thursday, 7 p.m., Major Brown Memorial Stadium, Birmingham Last week: Class 6A fifth-ranked Mountain Brook was idle last week while Parker beat Woodlawn 37-13. It’s a Class 6A, Region 5 game. The skinny: Mountain Brook has never lost to Parker in five games, the latest win coming in 2013, 41-13. Parker can ensure a playoff spot with a win in one of its final two region games, but it’ll be tough sledding against the Spartans. RB and Kentucky commit Khalifa Keith headlines the offense while WR Jerald Reynolds returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score last week and caught a TD pass. WR Carl Pitts and ATH Naeem Offord are threats. The defense is led by a good front that includes DL Jourdin Crawford (he ran for a TD last week) and Jeremiah Beaman. LB Carlton Duncan and DB Monte Henley are keys. Mountain Brook suffered its first loss of the season against Class 7A No. 4 Hoover, but the Spartans were in it until late. The offense averages 37.7 points a game behind an outstanding trio of RBs in Cole Gamble, Will Waldrop and Jack King. QB John Colvin has good targets in WRs Jackson Beatty and Clark Sanderson. The defense is stout, allowing 12.3 points a game with hard-hitting Trent Wright leading the linebacking corps that also includes Vaughn Frost and Braxton Dean while Parker Avery fills holes on the defensive line. There’s athleticism at DB, including Mac Palmer. GARDENDALE (4-2, 3-0) AT MINOR (4-2, 2-1) Gardendale quarterback Tyler Nelson runs into the end zone for touchdown. Gardendale vs. Austin High School football at Austin High School Stadium in Decatur, Ala. Friday Sept. 23, 2022. (Bob Gathany | preps@al.com)Al.com Time/location: Friday, 7 p.m., Minor Stadium, Adamsville Last week: Gardendale beat Jackson-Olin 40-6 and Minor beat Mortimer Jordan 56-20. It’s a Class 6A, Region 5 contest. The skinny: The teams have split the series 15-15 with Gardendale winning the 2021 game 31-14. Dual-threat QB Tyler Nelson (940 yards, 10 TDs rushing; 739 yards, 10 TDs passing) is the catalyst of the offense that averages 35.2 points a game. RBs Kedrick Storey (2 TDs) and Jonathan Harris (3 TDs) handle the rushing duties behind an OL that includes Lawson Hughes. Carter Jenkins and Harris are the top receivers. The DL is impressive with Caiden Combs (60 tackles, 8 TFL, 4 sacks) and Kelby Collins (59 tackles, 7 TFL, 5.5 sacks) while Caden McGruder (53 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks) is the backer. Dallas Young (45 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks) is a shutdown DB and run-stopper. Minor QB Kareem Key had an outstanding night against Mortimer Jordan last week, completing 20-of-29 passes for 477 yards and 7 touchdowns. Receivers Darrian Jackson (8 catches, 164 yards, 5 TDs last week), Tylan Amerson (2 catches, 29 yards, TD) and Dylan Foresight (2 catches 49 yards) are the top targets. RB Malachi Threatt handles the rushing duties. The defense held Mortimer Jordan to under 300 yards total offense and features a strong front 7, including DL Thaddious Parson, OLB Brandon Woodard, OLB/Edge Daylon Parks and ILB Davion Lake. Kelton Owens closes down the back end. MCAODRY (4-2, 3-1) AT HUEYTOWN (3-3, 3-1) McAdory quarterback Jacob Clopton (1) passes against Pinson Valley at Willie Adams Stadium in Pinson, Ala., Friday August 26, 2022. (Marvin Gentry | preps@al.com) Time/location: Friday, 7 p.m., Hueytown Stadium, Hueytown Last week: McAdory fell to Northridge 21-14 and Hueytown beat Paul Bryant 75-7. It’s a Class 6A, Region 4 game. The skinny: Hueytown leads the series 28-12-1, including winning 65-25 in 2021. It’s a typical McAdory team that prefers to run the football with RBs Rod Thomas and Peyton Ryans behind an offensive line that includes Kaleb May. QB Jacob Clopton is capable with a group of receivers that includes Jacorey Whitted and Tavaris Coles. The defense allows only 14.7 points a game and no team has scored more than 21 points this season. Keys to the front 7 are linemen Alan Price and Savian Graham along with LB Nathan Lake. LaBarryon Moore and Brent Barnes handle duties at DB. Hueytown QB Earl Woods is a dynamic playmaker who recently committed to Jacksonville State. He accounted for 7 TDs against Paul Bryant with 216 all-purpose, 3TDs passing and 4 TDs rushing in only the first half. RB Jakheal Rowser is a threat running behind the OL anchored by Braden Northcutt and receiving while TJ Howell caught 3 passes last week. The defense relies on Derrico King and Keith Green at DL and Noah Eskridge at LB while DB Jakilyn Jones leads the secondary. PINSON VALLEY (4-2, 2-1) AT CENTER POINT (6-1, 3-1) Pinson Valley defensive lineman Zi’Keith Springfield (35) tackles McAdory running back Peyton Ryans (7) during the game at Willie Adams Stadium in Pinson, Ala., Friday August 26, 2022. (Marvin Gentry | preps@al.com) Time/location: Friday, 7 p.m., Bowman Field, Center Point Last week: Class 6A seventh-ranked Pinson Valley beat Huffman 47-0 and Center Point downed Shades Valley 36-20. It’s a Class 6A, Region 6 contest. The skinny: Center Point (Erwin) leads the series 19-15, but Pinson Valley has won four straight, including 49-7 in the latest meeting in 2017. Only one opponent has scored at least 20 points against the stout Pinson Valley defense (12.8 points a game allowed). A strong front 7 includes Zi’Keith Springfield, J’Roc Williams and Jacobi Jackson. Playing on both sides of the ball, brothers T.J. and Tevis Metcalf can break down a defense with their athleticism and both are lockdown defenders with run-stopping ability. Cam Jennings took over at QB against Homewood and shined against Huffman. RB Taurus Chambers runs behind an OL that includes Cam Griffin and Carson Moorer while the top receiving threat is Virginia commit Amare Thomas. Center Point’s offense is led by RB Troy Bruce (107-1,063 yards, 18 TDs rushing; 16-173 yards, 4 TDs receiving this season) and QB Jabari Collier (60-499, 8 TDs rushing; 55-94, 976 yards, 7 TDs passing). WR Harold Holloman (19-485, TD receiving) is the top target while Gerald Perry anchors the offensive line. LB Cameron Bonner (37 tackles, 2.5 sacks), DE DeMario Hicks (35 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 4 sacks), DE Jordan Jackson (35 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks) and LB Malik Brown (32 tackles, 8.5 TFL) are front 7 stalwarts. SS KeMarius Horne (27 tackles, 2 INT), who also has an 85-yard kickoff return TD and FS Deon Moore (4 INT) handle the back end. VESTAVIA HILLS (3-3, 2-2) AT HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE (4-3, 2-2) Hewitt-Trussville quarterback Peyton Floyd tries to get past Thompson’s Dylan Campbell during a game at Thompson High School’s Warrior Stadium in Alabaster, Ala., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com) Time/location: Friday, 7 p.m., Hewitt-Trussville Stadium, Trussville Last week: Vestavia Hills beat Chelsea 52-10 and sixth-ranked Hewitt-Trussville fell 14-12 to third-ranked Thompson. It’s a Class 7A, Region 3 game. The skinny: Vestavia Hills leads the series 13-4, but Hewitt-Trussville has won four of the past five games, including 49-35 last season. Vestavia Hills allows 15.8 points a game with only Thompson scoring 30-plus points on the Rebels this season. LB Houston Owen (25 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks) along with LB Gaines Johnson (2 INT this season) are key. The front includes Jordan Ross (29 tackles, 12 TFL, 2 sacks) and Andrew Sykes (22 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks). Dual threat QB John Paul Head (5 TDs passing, 9 TDs rushing) targets WR Keown Richardson (24-178 yards, 2TDs receiving), WR Tucker Smitha (12 catches, TD) and RB William Tonsmeire (11 catches, TD; 373 yards, TD rushing). The OL is led by Glen Porter and Hudson Hager. The key to Hewitt-Trussville’s offense is QB Peyton Floyd, whose scrambling abilities keep plays alive long enough for receivers to find openings or fleet-footed Floyd doesn’t mind tucking and running. Top targets are WRs Kadarius Barnes and Jadon Loving along with TE Donovan Price. RBs Jaqson Melton and Kennedy Mitchell are potent while Kade Martin is key on the OL. The defense allows 16.3 points a game and held Thompson to 14 points last week. The front includes Alabama commit Hunter Osborne (he also played OL last week) and Tyrell Averhart while Braylon Chatman roams at LB. Tennessee commit Rickey Gibson, Riggs Dunn and Michael Igbinoghene handle DB. BIRMINGHAM AREA SCHEDULE (All games at 7 p.m. unless noted) THURSDAY Homewood at Chilton County John Carroll at Ramsay Mountain Brook at Parker Oak Mountain at Thompson FRIDAY Bessemer City at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa Bibb County at Montevallo Calera at Briarwood Christian Cherokee County at Fultondale Clarke Prep at Banks Academy Crenshaw at Coosa Valley Gardendale at Minor Huffman at Clay-Chalkville Jasper at Carver Lee-Scott at Bessemer Academy Leeds at Alexandria McAdory at Hueytown Moody at St. Clair County Oak Grove at Corner Pell City at Shades Valley Pinson Valley at Center Point Pleasant Grove at Fairfield Shelby County at Selma Spain Park at Chelsea Moody at St. Clair County Tarrant at Midfield Trinity Christian at Cornerstone Christian Tuscaloosa County at Hoover Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Vincent at Woodland Wenonah at Hayden Winston County at Tuscaloosa Academy Woodlawn at Jackson-Olin If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. 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5 Birmingham Area High School Football Games To Watch In Week 8
Georgias Stetson Bennett Reminds Bryan Harsin Of His Greatest QB Protege
Georgias Stetson Bennett Reminds Bryan Harsin Of His Greatest QB Protege
Georgia’s Stetson Bennett Reminds Bryan Harsin Of His Greatest QB Protege https://digitalalabamanews.com/georgias-stetson-bennett-reminds-bryan-harsin-of-his-greatest-qb-protege/ Bryan Harsin can’t help but see a resemblance to his greatest protégé when he turns on the tape of Georgia’s Stetson Bennett. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Bulldogs quarterback’s journey is well established at this point: He’s a former walk-on who climbed the depth chart at Georgia, ultimately leading the program to its first national championship since 1980 last season. Despite his continued success and solid production, Bennett often still gets overlooked by many in college football. Read more Auburn football: Auburn failing in crucial “middle eight” moments under Bryan Harsin Anders Carlson still has Auburn’s “full support” despite recent field goal struggles Auburn edge Eku Leota out for season with pectoral injury It reminds Harsin of former Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, whom he tutored as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for three seasons. “I’m impressed with him,” Harsin said of Bennett. “There’s more guys that are bigger and more athletic and all that. I was fortunate to coach a guy that wasn’t very athletic that won more games than any college quarterback ever. And they would say the same thing about him. I mean, the guy’s a winner.” Moore was a three-star prospect when he arrived at Boise State, but he finished his career as the winningest quarterback in college history while posting a 50-3 record as a starter. He completed 69.8 percent of his passes over four seasons as Boise State’s starting quarterback, throwing for 14,667 yards, 142 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. He was a Heisman finalist in 2010, finishing fourth; it was one of three times he finished in the top-10 of Heisman voting during his career. Despite his success at the college level, Moore was overlooked by NFL teams due to his smaller stature — he was listed at 6-feet tall as a senior — and concerns about his arm strength. He went undrafted but spent six years in the league with the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. He’s now in his fourth season as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator. Bennett’s NFL outlook is being treated similarly to Moore’s was nearly a decade ago: He’s a good and successful college quarterback, but his lack of size and questions about his arm strength have many expecting him to go on Day 3 or undrafted at this point. That shouldn’t detract from what he has done — and continues to do — at Georgia, though. “He’s plenty fast enough to run the ball,” Harsin said. “He’s plenty fast enough to scramble around and make plays. He finds the open receivers. He’s accurate. And he manages their offense really well. And that’s one thing. I’ve got a chance to see him and watch those guys for a couple of years and watch him as a player, and he’s done a very good job. “Really, I don’t see a whole lot of weaknesses in his game. I think he’s got really good command of what they’re doing. And he’s plenty good enough to hurt you in all different ways.” For his career, Bennett has completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 5,837 yards, 44 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while averaging 9.2 yards per pass attempt. He was particularly impressive last season while guiding Georgia to the College Football Playoff title, throwing for 2,862 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven picks while completing 64.5 percent of his passes and rushing for another 259 yards and a score. He has gotten off to another quality start this year while leading Georgia to a 5-0 record and 2-0 start in SEC play. Bennett is 116-of-168 passing (69 percent) for 1,536 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He has also rushed for four touchdowns in five games. “You watch these guys on offense and look at Stetson Bennett, start with him,” Harsin said. “He’s playing confident. He’s in my opinion a very good player. Run, throws, can create, and has shown that all through this season, last season.” The former walk-on turned national champion and Heisman contender will carry those numbers into Saturday’s matchup with Auburn, when the second-ranked Bulldogs host the Tigers in the 127th installment of The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on CBS in Athens, Ga. “You have to know where he’s at,” Harsin said. “You have to do a great job in coverage. You have to do a great job in trying to pressure the quarterback. You’ve got to do a great job of when he scrambles of trying to get to him. And you’ve got to play the entire pay with him too because that’s what he does. “So, if you’re going to let off, he’s going to take advantage of that. You’ve got to play the whole entire play against a quarterback like him.” In other words: You can’t overlook him. Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Georgias Stetson Bennett Reminds Bryan Harsin Of His Greatest QB Protege
Ted Cruz Stumps In Las Cruces Calls Congresswoman Yvette Herrell A
Ted Cruz Stumps In Las Cruces Calls Congresswoman Yvette Herrell A
Ted Cruz Stumps In Las Cruces, Calls Congresswoman Yvette Herrell A https://digitalalabamanews.com/ted-cruz-stumps-in-las-cruces-calls-congresswoman-yvette-herrell-a/ Cruz stops in New Mexico as part of 17-state midterm tour as he weighs his own 2024 run LAS CRUCES – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, stopped in Las Cruces Monday night on a national tour stumping for Republican congressional candidates and gave a boost to New Mexico congresswoman Yvette Herrell. “We’re going to fire Nancy Pelosi,” Herrell told an enthusiastic crowd at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. House Speaker Pelosi’s leadership has been a focus of Herrell’s campaign as Republicans aim to edge out Democrats to capture a majority in the House of Representatives in the Nov. 8 elections. Herrell was introduced by her former state legislature colleague, Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences, and spoke only briefly before introducing Cruz. Without uttering the name of her Democratic opponent, former Las Cruces city councilor Gabe Vasquez, she tied him to Democratic leaders in Washington and said they “don’t believe in the American values that are important to us: Freedom. Family. Faith. That’s what we need to be fighting for every single day.” Herrell, a realtor and former state House member from Alamogordo, is seeking a second term in Congress after unseating Las Cruces Democrat Xochitl Torres Small in 2020. Herrell represents New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional district, which encompasses the southwest corner of the state. Under its new boundaries, redrawn since the 2020 U.S. Census, the usually Republican stronghold includes more of the Albuquerque area than it previouslydid and its population of 706,000 leans slightly Democratic. On the other hand, Herrell leads Vasquez in fundraising and has the backing of Republican leaders and political committees aiming to keep the seat red. Cruz called New Mexico a “battleground state,” although Herrell is the lone Republican in the state’s congressional delegation. Both senators and two other House members are Democrats. “Let me just say Yvette Herrell is a rock star,” Cruz said, even though he was the headliner, delivering a half-hour speech loaded with jokes about President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress, with a sober core excoriating the other party for soaring inflation, crime and increased migrant encounters (including asylum seekers and others crossing without inspection) at the U.S.-Mexico border. Herrell’s district include 180 miles of that border and Cruz also represents a border state. After graphic descriptions of extortion and abuse by human traffickers in Mexico, Cruz declared, “We’re dealing with millions of women and children being assaulted, being brutalized, being left for dead because of political decisions by the Democrats.” The event was paid for by the Truth and Courage PAC as part of Cruz’s month-long “Take Back America” bus tour. The itinerary includes 17 states as Cruz is considered a possible candidate for a 2024 GOP presidential run. Cruz previously ran for the nomination in 2016. The few hundred or so in attendance were invited outside the museum to sign the tour bus and pose for pictures with Cruz and Herrell. Although they both steered clear of mentioning abortion at the rally, they did not shy away from it when asked directly by reporters. New Mexico is set to be the new home of the women’s health clinic at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling this summer in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the federal right to abortion set by Roe v. Wade in 1972. Herrell and Cruz argued that American opinion favored at least some restrictions on access to abortions and put the onus on Democrats to define what limits they would support. A Pew Research Center survey this summer reported that 61 percent of American adults favor legal abortion in most or all cases, with a widening partisan gap in views among Democrats and Republicans. Herrell said she was “unashamedly pro-life” and added, “I know there are some exceptions people agree with. I would like to see you ask the exact same question to my opponent. What are the exceptions that he believes in?” Cruz said the Supreme Court ruling was a “victory for democracy,” arguing: “The status in this country now is that each state will decide the appropriate laws governing abortion and the laws are going to vary state by state, depending on the values and the mores of the citizens of those states.” From Las Cruces, Cruz’s tour bus proceeded to Arizona with rallies planned there on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, Herrell’s challenger was also planning to receive a high-profile guest: U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., was announced as the headliner at a fundraiser for Vasquez’s campaign at a private residence in Las Cruces. While Herrell has positioned herself as a supporter of former President Donald Trump and his policies, Lieu has established his profile as one of Trump’s most vocal critics in Congress. Algernon D’Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter. Others are reading: New Mexico Supreme Court upholds dismissal of corruption charges against four officials Monkey Rock entertainment center to open at Sunland Park Mall 2020 election denial is on the ballot in New Mexico this year. These are the candidates. FBI: Jetliner evacuated in Albuquerque after security threat Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Ted Cruz Stumps In Las Cruces Calls Congresswoman Yvette Herrell A
In Ogden Stop Lee Puts Focus Of Reelection Bid On Regaining GOP Majority
In Ogden Stop Lee Puts Focus Of Reelection Bid On Regaining GOP Majority
In Ogden Stop, Lee Puts Focus Of Reelection Bid On Regaining GOP Majority https://digitalalabamanews.com/in-ogden-stop-lee-puts-focus-of-reelection-bid-on-regaining-gop-majority/ By Tim Vandenack – | Oct 4, 2022 1 / 3 U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, center, speaks with Michael Farr, owner of Farr Better Ice Cream in Ogden, during a campaign stop at the locale on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. On the left, is U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas GOPer, who was campaigning with Lee. Lee is locked in a heated Senate race with independent Evan McMullin. Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner 2 / 3 U.S. Sen. Mike Lee photographed at Farr Better Ice Cream in Ogden during a campaign stop at the locale on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. Lee is locked in a heated Senate race with independent Evan McMullin. Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner 3 / 3 U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, left, speaks with Michael Farr, right, owner of Farr Better Ice Cream in Ogden, during a campaign stop at the locale on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. In the middle is U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas GOPer, who was campaigning with Lee. Lee is locked in a heated Senate race with independent Evan McMullin. Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner ❮ ❯ U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, center, speaks with Michael Farr, owner of Farr Better Ice Cream in Ogden, during a campaign stop at the locale on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. On the left, is U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas GOPer, who was campaigning with Lee. Lee is locked in a heated Senate race with independent Evan McMullin. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee photographed at Farr Better Ice Cream in Ogden during a campaign stop at the locale on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. Lee is locked in a heated Senate race with independent Evan McMullin. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, left, speaks with Michael Farr, right, owner of Farr Better Ice Cream in Ogden, during a campaign stop at the locale on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. In the middle is U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas GOPer, who was campaigning with Lee. Lee is locked in a heated Senate race with independent Evan McMullin. OGDEN — Top on Sen. Mike Lee‘s list of why he should be reelected: Going back to Washington, D.C., will help the GOP regain control of the U.S. Senate. “It’s never been more important for Republicans to regain the majority in the Senate than right now. We’ve got a president whose failed policies have produced catastrophes in every area,” most notably inflation, Lee, a GOPer seeking his third term, said Monday in Ogden. As is, Democrats narrowly control both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, and regaining majorities in each body is a key Republican aim. Democrats hold 48 of the 100 U.S. Senate seats, but two independents caucus with them and Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, serves as a tie-breaker in the 50-50 body. Lee’s chief opponent in the Senate contest is independent Evan McMullin, who has said he won’t caucus with the Democrats or Republicans if he wins. Lee, nevertheless, likens McMullin to a Democrat, which, as a GOPer, underscores his focus on regaining GOP control of the Senate. “If you want a Republican majority, you want to elect a Republican rather than a Democrat,” Lee said during his stop here at Farr Better Ice Cream, alluding to the Utah Democratic Party’s endorsement of McMullin last April. “Whether he calls himself an independent or not, he is the Democratic candidate. The Democrats endorsed him. They chose to run him instead of a Democratic candidate.” In fact, McMullin voices concern with the “political extremes” in the country, putting a focus in serving as a force to “unite instead of divide” on key issues facing the country, according to his website. Either way, Lee — campaigning on Monday with U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican — says inflation is the key issue and hammers away at the policies of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, as a key contributor to the problem. Like many GOPers, he also said Biden’s policies have hamstrung U.S. energy development, boosting gas and fuel prices and further pressuring consumer prices upward. “We need a Republican majority in the Senate and the House in order to provide an effective, meaningful counterbalance (to Biden),” Lee said. “And as a Republican, I believe in developing our nation’s energy resources so that Americans can have access to safe, clean, reliable sources of energy to heat their homes, to run their cars and otherwise to live in a prosperous, upwardly mobile society. All of those things become impossible with the Biden administration policies.” There have been a lot of sharp elbows in the Senate contest and McMullin, in particular, has attacked Lee’s ties to former President Donald Trump. At a campaign rally last month in Salt Lake City, McMullin said Lee “quickly became a loyal sycophant” of Trump after Trump’s election in 2016, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. McMullin ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election, in large part due to his distaste with Trump, even garnering the vote of Lee, similarly disenchanted at the time with Trump. Lee said he was “a huge Trump skeptic” as his 2016 presidential bid unfolded, in part because of the hits Trump levied against other GOP senators also vying for the presidential nomination, some of them Lee’s friends. “I also didn’t believe him, didn’t believe he would do the things he’d say he’d do,” Lee said. After Trump won, though, Lee changed his tune and, in the end, was “pleasantly surprised” at what he says Trump was able to accomplish in his term. He singled out the tax reform package Trump pushed, Trump’s efforts at regulatory reform and Trump’s selection of “textualist originalists” to serve in the federal courts, including three U.S. Supreme Court justices. That said, Lee also noted that he voted less with Trump than even Sen. Mitt Romney, Utah’s other U.S. senator, and most other GOP senators from around the country. Indeed, Lee voted in line with Trump’s position 73.2% of the time during Trump’s time as president, according to FiveThirtyEight, which analyzes political, polling and other data. Romney voted with Trump 75% of the time, just ahead of Lee, while only four GOP senators voted with Trump less than Lee — Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Jon Kyl of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine. As for the vote for McMullin in 2016 when the independent ran for president, Lee now regrets the move. “Big mistake, big mistake,” he said. “It’s part of what happens when you vote not for the candidate you want, but just voting against someone else. Sometimes you don’t make the best judgement call and that was certainly the case then.” A ‘CONSTITUTIONAL CONSERVATIVE’ Lee, who lives in Provo, calls himself a “constitutional conservative.” More specifically, he’s leery of the the federal government taking too large a role at the expense of local and state power. “Where it purports to be the solution, very often (the federal government) is the problem,” he said. In that vein, what he sees as the ballooning power of the federal power — both among the president and unelected federal bureaucrats who set regulations — is a big concern. Congress “outsourced the lawmaking task and thereby insulated ourselves from accountability,” leading to the power imbalance, he maintains. Marshall, the Kansas senator, is one of several lawmakers who have campaigned with Lee. He echoed the importance of GOPers securing control of Congress in this year’s elections. Election Day is Nov. 8. “If Mike Lee does not win, this empowers Joe Biden and (U.S. Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer,” a Democrat from New York, Marshall said. “It allows them to set the agenda. A vote for anyone other than Mike Lee is a vote for Joe Biden.” Newsletter Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
In Ogden Stop Lee Puts Focus Of Reelection Bid On Regaining GOP Majority
Former Northeastern Employee Arrested After Bomb Hoax On Campus The Boston Globe
Former Northeastern Employee Arrested After Bomb Hoax On Campus The Boston Globe
Former Northeastern Employee Arrested After Bomb Hoax On Campus – The Boston Globe https://digitalalabamanews.com/former-northeastern-employee-arrested-after-bomb-hoax-on-campus-the-boston-globe/ Duhaime, 45, was arrested Tuesday in Texas for allegedly staging the incident and will return to Massachusetts to face criminal charges related to the alleged hoax, prosecutors said. “This alleged conduct is disturbing to say the least,” US Attorney Rachael Rollins said at a news conference. “Our city, more than most, knows all too well that a report or threat of an explosion is a very serious matter and necessitates an immediate and significant law enforcement response, given the potential devastation that can ensue.” Duhaime, who vigorously denied staging the explosion, was apprehended in the western district of Texas, records show. At the time of the Sept. 13 incident, he was the new technology manager and director of the media lab, but the school said Tuesday he no longer works at the university. Duhaime is charged with conveying false information and hoaxes related to an explosive device and making material false and fictitious statements in a matter within an executive branch of the US government, according to legal filings in US District Court in Boston. It wasn’t immediately clear when he will appear in court. Duhaime said he was injured by sharp objects that flew out of the plastic case when he opened it inside the lab, according to the affidavit. But investigators found no evidence to suggest that had happened. “The inside and outside of the case did not bear any marks, dents, cracks, holes, or other signs that it had been exposed to a forceful or explosive discharge of any type or magnitude,” the affidavit said. “Likewise, aside from several fold marks, the letter was pristine. It bore no tears, holes, burn marks, or any other indication that it had been near any sort of forceful or explosive discharge.” Investigators concluded Duhaime had written the letter, which said “this VR lab is trying to change us as a world,” and that the explosion was staged, according to the affidavit. “I believe, based on the ongoing investigation, that the subject case contained no ‘sharp’ objects, that no objects were expelled from the case when Duhaime opened it, and that Duhaime sustained no injuries as a result,” the affidavit stated. After Duhaime called 911, police descended on the campus, including two bomb squads, and multiple buildings were evacuated. But bomb technicians did not find any small objects or suspicious debris, the affidavit said. When Duhaime lifted his sleeves for a responding officer, there were several small, superficial marks and bruises on his lower forearms, but his shirt did not appear damaged, investigators said. The next day, law enforcement officials told the Globe they were skeptical about his version of events because of inconsistencies in his story. In an interview with the Globe, Duhaime said “I did not stage this, in no way shape or form.” “They need to catch the guy that did this,” he said. “It’s a very traumatic thing that has occurred so [I’m] shaken up … I’m not doing so good.” Duhaime spoke to investigators while he was being treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He related what he said happened when he opened the protective case. “And as soon as I opened it up, all this energy and, like, these things come flying out,” he told authorities, according to the affidavit. “And I had a long sleeve shirt, and they flew up underneath, basically, and hit my arm. The case went up and then it came down.” He also said, “I popped it – the latches – and then I started to open it up. And then I don’t know how much it was open, but all this freakin’ air, pressure, (expletive) came flying out, like, and these little things – I felt them. I didn’t necessarily see them ‘cause it was dark, but they were, they hit me.” Duhaime, told it was a crime to lie to investigators, insisted he was “telling you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God,” according to the document. The feds also interviewed a student who was working with Duhaime at the time of the incident and said Duhaime entered a closet to open the package. “Shortly after Duhaime entered the closet, Duhaime yelled and then — within seconds — exited the closet,” the affidavit said. The student “did not hear any noises coming from inside the closet other than Duhaime’s voice.” In a statement, Northeastern officials thanked the law enforcement agencies involved in the case. “Knowing what we know now about this incident, we would like to make it clear that there was never any danger to the Northeastern community,” the statement said. “As always, the safety of our students, faculty, and staff is our highest priority. The university does not comment on personnel matters, but we can confirm that Mr. Duhaime is no longer employed by Northeastern.” On campus, Northeastern student Kunal Wagle said he wasn’t surprised by the allegations since he had previously read that no traces of an explosion were found at the scene. “I guess I do feel better that there hasn’t been an actual explosion so there’s not that kind of danger” said Wagle, 20. “I think it’s disappointing that someone would do that, but at the end of the day you can’t really control what someone will do.” Sofia Soares, a second-year business and economics major, said she never felt her personal safety was threatened during the incident. But she conceded the case was peculiar. ”I would expect Northeastern to take adequate provisions to solve the issue, which they did, I think,” said Soares, 19. “It’s a bit weird to know that something as crazy as this could happen.” Globe correspondent Katie Mogg contributed to this report. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe. Ivy Scott can be reached at ivy.scott@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @itsivyscott. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Former Northeastern Employee Arrested After Bomb Hoax On Campus The Boston Globe
In Trump White House Classified Records Routinely Mishandled Aides Say
In Trump White House Classified Records Routinely Mishandled Aides Say
In Trump White House, Classified Records Routinely Mishandled, Aides Say https://digitalalabamanews.com/in-trump-white-house-classified-records-routinely-mishandled-aides-say/ Aides who had worked in Donald Trump’s White House were not surprised this summer when the FBI found highly classified material in boxes at Mar-a-Lago, mixed with news clippings and other items. They’d seen such haphazard collections before. During his four years in office, Trump never strictly followed the rules and customs for handling sensitive government documents, according to 14 officials from his administration, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss what they called Trump’s mishandling of classified information. He took transcripts of his calls with foreign leaders as well as photos and charts used in his intelligence briefings to his private residence with no explanation. He demanded that letters he exchanged with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un be kept close at hand so he could show them off to visitors. Documents that would ordinarily be kept under lock and key mingled with piles of newspaper articles in Trump’s living quarters and in a dining room that he used as an informal office. The warrant authorizing the search of former president Donald Trump’s home said agents were seeking documents possessed in violation of the Espionage Act. (Video: Adriana Usero/The Washington Post) Officials and aides who worked in proximity to Trump said they are not sure how more than 300 classified documents ended up at his Mar-a-Lago estate, triggering a lengthy effort to retrieve them that has resulted in a criminal investigation. But in the waning days of his presidency, as Trump grudgingly began to pack up his belongings, he included documents that should have been sent to the National Archives and Records Administration, along with news articles and gifts he received while president, several former officials said. What those ex-Trump aides and advisers saw in an inventory of items recovered by the FBI in August — classified documents in boxes, stored alongside newspaper and magazine articles, books and gifts — looked to them like the idiosyncratic filing system Trump used in the White House. Senior aides said they tried for years to impose some order on the flow of classified information in the White House — with little success. “The rigor I had felt at the end of meetings during the Obama administration … where someone very carefully collected all the pieces of paper or stayed behind in the room and made sure there was nothing left — that rigor just did not exist at the end during the Trump period,” said one former official who regularly attended Situation Room meetings. A longtime adviser who still sees Trump regularly described him as a “pack rat” and a “hoarder.” Several former aides said Trump spent his time in office flouting classification rules and intimidating staffers who might try to take secret intelligence material away from him. “I can’t say what went wrong that resulted in some boxes ending up at Mar-a-Lago,” said a former official who knew that Trump took classified information to his White House quarters. “But you can see that as an extension of four years of accommodating the president.” A spokesman for Trump declined to comment for this article, other than to repeat a previously issued statement in which he accused the Justice Department of leaking information to The Washington Post to hurt Trump’s image. “President Trump remains committed to defending the Constitution and the Office of the Presidency, ensuring the integrity of America for generations to come,” that statement said. Many of Trump’s aides had not previously worked in senior government positions, and they came to the White House naive about the established procedures for handling classified information. In August 2017, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who had served as secretary of homeland security, tried to set things straight. Kelly issued written guidance requiring that any document sent to the president for his review first be cleared by the staff secretary, the official in charge of keeping track of documents, as well as the chief of staff. Kelly also set up rules for what to do after Trump had seen a document. “All paper leaving the Oval Office must be submitted to the Staff Secretary for appropriate processing,” said the guidance, a copy of which was reviewed by The Post. It was the staff secretary’s job to mark the document “President Has Seen” and submit it to the Office of Records Management. “This process is vital for compliance with the Presidential Records Act,” the guidance states, referring to the law that makes White House records the property of the federal government. “It wasn’t perfect, but we did have a better idea of what was going and coming,” said a former senior administration official. The White House normally establishes a “chain of custody” for classified documents, said Larry Pfeiffer, the senior director of the White House Situation Room in the Obama administration and a former CIA chief of staff. “They log [the documents], track them, give them numbers. If anyone says, ‘Hey, whatever happened to that memo given to the president?’ the [staff secretary] can say, ‘Hey, it’s in the national security adviser’s office.’ ” Former officials credited Kelly and then-Staff Secretary Rob Porter, as well as his successor, Derek Lyons, with trying to impose some order on Trump’s chaotic ways. But it was a struggle. John Bolton, a former national security adviser to Trump, said Trump sometimes asked to keep material after intelligence briefings, with no clear pattern as to what he wanted. Sometimes, Bolton said, he would ask the president to give documents back. “It was very erratic,” he said. “Some things would catch his attention, and other things wouldn’t.” Kelly said Trump “rejected the Presidential Records Act entirely.” He added that “many people would regularly say to him, ‘We have to capture these things.’ ” “What he did doesn’t surprise me at all,” Kelly said. Two Trump advisers said he took, or had aides take, all the documents he wanted to the private dining room or the residence. These documents were not usually closely tracked, one of these people said. One former official said some classified documents in the residence were visible to anyone passing by. Although it was not necessarily improper for a president to take classified information to the residence to continue working and White House staffers are accustomed to adjusting to any president’s working style and preference, it was not always clear that Trump needed the documents for official business, another former official said. White House staffers found ways to accommodate Trump’s demands. The letters he exchanged with Kim, for example, were not stored in the White House space customarily used for sensitive documents but were kept where aides could quickly retrieve them at Trump’s request. The letters were among the items first flagged as missing by the Archives after Trump left office and were included in the 15 boxes of material sent back from Mar-a-Lago in January. Aides also found other ways to circumvent Trump’s “sticky fingers,” as one put it. White House staffers retrieved from the residence documents that Trump had torn into pieces, then reassembled the papers and returned to them to secure facilities so that they could be preserved as presidential records. Others who routinely briefed Trump said they developed a practice of never leaving classified documents in his possession unless he demanded them. Several former officials said they knew that the system, or lack of one, for handling classified information carried risks. Sensitive documents could get lost. Intelligence might fall into the hands of people not authorized to see it. But Trump intimidated his aides. “They didn’t challenge him,” one former official said. Several people singled out Mark Meadows, who became Trump’s chief of staff in March 2020 and stayed through the end of his term, as incapable of telling the president no. That set a tone that others followed, these people said. “This characterization is completely absurd,” said Ben Williamson, a Meadows spokesman. In the absence of higher authority backing them up, personnel in the staff secretary’s office could not be expected to remove documents from the president’s possession, another former aide said. “They would have gotten their heads cut off by the president if they tried to take things from him.” Whatever fragile discipline Kelly and others tried to instill began to disintegrate after the 2020 election. The usual packing process that occurs during a presidential transition was delayed because Trump would not concede that he had lost reelection and did not want to move out of the White House, two former administration officials said. Many officials who by then had some experience with security procedures had left the White House, to be replaced by less-seasoned personnel who did not understand classification rules and were afraid to say no to the president, former officials said. “This created the opportunity for mistakes to happen,” one of the former officials said. “What the president’s intent was is the key question,” the former official said of the transfer of classified material to Mar-a-Lago As Trump dug in his heels, officials in the staff secretary’s office tried unsuccessfully to find some sensitive documents they believed were still in his possession. With the White House expected to hand over all original, relevant documents to the Archives, senior administration officials held several conversations about missing materials, former officials said. Lyons, the staff secretary, and some White House aides discussed places in the residence and elsewhere in the White House where Trump could be keeping the documents, as well as gifts he had a...
·digitalalabamanews.com·
In Trump White House Classified Records Routinely Mishandled Aides Say
Ukraine Drives Russians From More Villages; Elon Musk Peace Plan Sparks Outrage; Russia Fines TikTok: Live Updates
Ukraine Drives Russians From More Villages; Elon Musk Peace Plan Sparks Outrage; Russia Fines TikTok: Live Updates
Ukraine Drives Russians From More Villages; Elon Musk Peace Plan Sparks Outrage; Russia Fines TikTok: Live Updates https://digitalalabamanews.com/ukraine-drives-russians-from-more-villages-elon-musk-peace-plan-sparks-outrage-russia-fines-tiktok-live-updates/ Ukraine reclaimed several more villages Tuesday and the bodies of Russian soldiers were seen lying in the streets of a crucial city liberated days ago as a Ukraine counteroffensive continued to drive Russian forces into retreat. More than 450 settlements in the Kharkiv region, one of four being annexed by Russia, have been liberated in the last month, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Cities and towns in the other regions have also been retaken, he said. “Fierce fighting continues in many areas of the front,” Zelenskyy said. “More and more occupiers are trying to escape, more and more losses are being inflicted on the enemy army.” The Kharkiv region hub of Lyman was retaken over the weekend, providing Ukraine forces with a key staging area for pressing its offensive. On Tuesday, an Associated Press team reporting from the town saw at least 18 bodies of Russian soldiers still on the ground. AP said the Ukrainian military appeared to have collected the bodies of their comrades but had not immediately removed those of the Russians. TURNING POINT?:As Russia admits defeat in Kharkiv, Ukraine regains land, confidence Other developments ►Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the military has recruited over 200,000 reservists as part of a partial mobilization launched two weeks ago. Shoigu has said the goal is 300,000. ►Japan ordered the Russian consul in the northern city of Sapporo to leave the country within six days in retaliation for Moscow’s expulsion of a Japanese diplomat last month for alleged espionage. ►The city council of Kyiv says it is providing evacuation centers with potassium iodine pills in preparation for a possible nuclear strike on the capital, Ukraine’s largest city. RUSSIA’S RETREAT DRAWS CRITICISM AT HOME: Russian drone attack targets Zelenskyy’s hometown: Ukraine updates Elon musk sparks outrage for suggesting Ukraine abandon Crimea Ukraine leaders and supporters were seething on social media Tuesday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted his proposed peace plan that includes Ukraine giving up its efforts to regain control of Crimea. Russian activist and former world chess champion Gary Kasparov dismissed Musk’s plans as “moral idiocy, repetition of Kremlin propaganda, a betrayal of Ukrainian courage & sacrifice.” The response from Ukraine’s parliament was one word: “No.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, credited Musky with trying to find a peaceful solution. Under Musk’s proposal, Crimea would formally become part of Russia and Ukraine must remain neutral, suggesting that efforts to join NATO would be shelved. Musk also calls for new voting in the areas where Russia’s sham referendums held last month resulted in Russian annexing four Ukraine regions. Musk says the votes would be held under U.N. supervision.  He attached a poll, and more than 2.5 million voters rejected his plan by about 60% to 40%. Zelenskyy countered with his own poll, asking Twitter users if they preferred Musk supporting Russia or Ukraine. About 80% of over 2 million voters selected Ukraine. Russia fines TikTok for allowing pro-LGBT posts A Russian court fined TikTok $50,000 for failing to delete LGBT material in what is the country’s latest crackdown on Big Tech companies. The court in Moscow ruled against the video-sharing social media platform following a complaint by Russian regulators. TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Russian leaders approve annexations, transition period until 2026 Russia’s Federation Council – the upper house of parliament – unanimously approved four federal constitutional laws rubber-stamping the annexation of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk “republics” in the hotly contested Donbas area of Ukraine, as well as the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The lower house already signed off and Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to quickly close the deal. Residents are recognized as Russian citizens under the laws but have a month to reject that citizenship. The annexation includes a transition period until 2026 for integration into “the economic, financial, credit and legal systems.” Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies have refused to recognize the annexations. Contributing: The Associated Press Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Ukraine Drives Russians From More Villages; Elon Musk Peace Plan Sparks Outrage; Russia Fines TikTok: Live Updates
Dry Warm Weather Pattern Continues Cold Front Arrives Later This Week
Dry Warm Weather Pattern Continues Cold Front Arrives Later This Week
Dry, Warm Weather Pattern Continues, Cold Front Arrives Later This Week https://digitalalabamanews.com/dry-warm-weather-pattern-continues-cold-front-arrives-later-this-week/ HARMONY: PICTURE━PERFECT MID DAY. 71 IN SUNSHINE AND SOME PASSING CLOUDS WITH A CALM WIND. TALKING ABOUT HEADLINES WE HAVE SEVERAL DRYER DAYS AHEAD. TEMPERATURE’S MOVE INTO THE LOWER 80S FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK BUT NO WIDESPREAD RAINFALL EVEN AS THE FRONT MOVES SOUTHWARD. THE COOLER AIR WILL COME OUT OF THE ROCKIES THAT WE WILL SEE JUST A SMALL UPTICK IN TEMPERATURES OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. THIS IS STILL THE REMNANTS OF IN THAT CONTINUES TO BRING RAINFALL INTO PORTIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, NEW YORK AND UPSTATE NEW YORK AS WELL. WE HAVE A FRONTAL BOUNDARY JUST A BIT COMING OUT OF THE ROCKIES AND LINING UP INTO SEVEN PORTIONS OF THE PLANES THAT WILL TAKE ITS TIME ARRIVING SOUTHWARD BUT IT WILL BE ARRIVING ON THE DOORSTEP BY THE WEEKEND. WE HAVE TO FIND A LITTLE BIT FURTHER SOUTH TO FIND AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE. TROPICAL WAVE MOVING WEST. HURRICANE HUNTERS ARE EN ROUTE RIGHT NOW. THEY WILL INVESTIGATE FURTHER BECAUSE WE’RE SEEING MORE TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS WITH PARTICULAR STORM. FORECASTED TO MOVE INTO AREAS CLOSER TO PANAMA AND POTENTIALLY THE PANAMA CANAL. WE ARE WATCHING THAT VERY CLOSELY.ALL THESE ISLANDS ARE KEEPING CLOSE TABS ON THAT. FRONTS ARE PUSHING SOUTHWARD AND IT WILL ASK OF THE STEERING CURRENT. 80 % CHANCE LIKELY IN THE NEXT 2 TO 3 DAYS THAT WE HAVE A TROPICAL DEPRESSION IN THE ATLANTIC OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA, SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA. WE’VE HAD FOUR HURRICANES, TWO MAJOR HURRICANES AND IN OCTOBER, ANY TROPICAL WEATHER DEVELOPMENT TYPICALLY HAPPENS IN THE SHALLOW WATERS. ONCE THEY MAKE IT PAST A CERTAIN POINT IN OCTOBER WE WOULD TYPICALLY SEE THEM MOVING OVER THE SHALLOWER WARMER ISLANDS IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS IN THE KEYS. WE STILL HAVE COLD FRONTS MOVING SOUTHWARD MAKING IT TO THE KEYS WHICH IS EXCELLENT NEWS FOR FLORIDIANS. MID━SEVENTIES THIS AFTERNOON, CLOSE T Alabama weather forecast: Dry spell continues, cold front arrives later this week Looking for some rain? You won’t find it around here anytime soon as a very dry pattern has set in for the long haul. A cold front arrives later this week. Watch the video above for the latest central Alabama forecast.TYPICAL OCTOBER WEATHER Warm days and cool nights perfectly represent how it ‘should be’ this time of year. Expect more of the same this week: highs in the upper 70s/lower 80s, overnight lows in the 50s, and no real threat of rain. A very large Canadian high-pressure ridge will dive south by Friday night. Temperatures Saturday morning will be much cooler than seasonal averages.DRY AIR AND DRY BRUSH Three weeks, three one-hundredths of an inch of rain in Birmingham. That’s all we have had since early September, and there is not much hope of substantial rainfall in sight.Technically, we are running a surplus of rainfall for the year. Rain piled up in March (10.98″) and again in June (9.38″) leaving us 7.25″ above average for 2022 so far. The problem is, Alabama’s water cycle runs on what-have-you-done-for-me-lately terms. In other words, we already used that Spring/Summer rain and need more to keep lawns healthy, rivers flowing and lakes filled. No rain comes in the near future, and what little rain shows up in the distance is of little impact toward the middle of the month.SEVEN DAY FORECASTTemperatures gradually rise this week: peaking in the 80s ahead of a weekend cold front. Unfortunately, even that relatively strong front brings no rain with it, so Alabama keeps getting drier in the days immediately ahead of us.The weekend cold front does drop the temperature fairly substantially! Saturday features a cool north breeze and temperatures struggling to get above 70°F. A few spots may briefly touch the 30s (North Alabama) Sunday morning; Birmingham looks more like low/middle 40s at the coldest with this chilly air mass.—STAY WEATHER AWAREGet the free WVTM 13 app and turn on the alerts for the latest weather updates.For the latest Birmingham weather information and central Alabama’s certified most accurate forecast, watch WVTM 13 News.Current Weather ConditionsHourly Forecast | 10-Day ForecastInteractive RadarBirmingham SkycamsLive Doppler RadarSign Up For Email Weather AlertsDownload the WVTM 13 AppDon’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Looking for some rain? You won’t find it around here anytime soon as a very dry pattern has set in for the long haul. A cold front arrives later this week. Watch the video above for the latest central Alabama forecast. TYPICAL OCTOBER WEATHER Warm days and cool nights perfectly represent how it ‘should be’ this time of year. Expect more of the same this week: highs in the upper 70s/lower 80s, overnight lows in the 50s, and no real threat of rain. A very large Canadian high-pressure ridge will dive south by Friday night. Temperatures Saturday morning will be much cooler than seasonal averages. DRY AIR AND DRY BRUSH Three weeks, three one-hundredths of an inch of rain in Birmingham. That’s all we have had since early September, and there is not much hope of substantial rainfall in sight. Technically, we are running a surplus of rainfall for the year. Rain piled up in March (10.98″) and again in June (9.38″) leaving us 7.25″ above average for 2022 so far. The problem is, Alabama’s water cycle runs on what-have-you-done-for-me-lately terms. In other words, we already used that Spring/Summer rain and need more to keep lawns healthy, rivers flowing and lakes filled. No rain comes in the near future, and what little rain shows up in the distance is of little impact toward the middle of the month. SEVEN DAY FORECAST Temperatures gradually rise this week: peaking in the 80s ahead of a weekend cold front. Unfortunately, even that relatively strong front brings no rain with it, so Alabama keeps getting drier in the days immediately ahead of us. The weekend cold front does drop the temperature fairly substantially! Saturday features a cool north breeze and temperatures struggling to get above 70°F. A few spots may briefly touch the 30s (North Alabama) Sunday morning; Birmingham looks more like low/middle 40s at the coldest with this chilly air mass. — STAY WEATHER AWARE Get the free WVTM 13 app and turn on the alerts for the latest weather updates. For the latest Birmingham weather information and central Alabama’s certified most accurate forecast, watch WVTM 13 News. Current Weather Conditions Hourly Forecast | 10-Day Forecast Interactive Radar Birmingham Skycams Live Doppler Radar Sign Up For Email Weather Alerts Download the WVTM 13 App Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Dry Warm Weather Pattern Continues Cold Front Arrives Later This Week
Loretta Lynn In Alabama: A Look Back At 3 Memorable Concerts By The Country Icon
Loretta Lynn In Alabama: A Look Back At 3 Memorable Concerts By The Country Icon
Loretta Lynn In Alabama: A Look Back At 3 Memorable Concerts By The Country Icon https://digitalalabamanews.com/loretta-lynn-in-alabama-a-look-back-at-3-memorable-concerts-by-the-country-icon/ Loretta Lynn performed several concerts in Alabama over the years, including some memorable shows in Birmingham, Huntsville and Montgomery. The country legend, who died on Tuesday at age 90, had always been a big draw in the state. However, when Lynn was in her ‘70s, she was riding — and greatly enjoying — a renewed wave of fame after a 2004 album with Jack White, “Van Lear Rose.” “I don’t have to work, so I work when I want to,” Lynn said during an interview in October 2009 with AL.com. “I stay home and it bothers me. I’m working pretty hard this month. But I have it good on the road now, not like when I started. I have my bus fixed up just like a home, with five TVs in it. There’s a complete kitchen, a complete bathroom and a half-bathroom. It’s all my own.” At the time, the singer/songwriter renowned as the First Lady of Country Music was far from ready to retire. “Maybe 20 years from now,” Lynn said. Here’s a look at three of Lynn’s appearances in Birmingham, including a City Stages date that required a behind-the-scenes visit from a local dentist. ALYS STEPHENS CENTER, OCTOBER 2009 “When country icon Loretta Lynn strode onto the stage of the Alys Stephens Center, resplendent in a billowing pink vision of a dress, the dichotomy between that opulent setting and her hardscrabble beginnings in Butcher Holler couldn’t have been clearer, or less important. A woman with a heart like Lynn’s is at home anywhere,” said Jim Dunn, a freelancer reviewing the show for AL.com. “Lynn’s been singing songs of hard times, heartache and honky-tonks for 49 years now. She’s comfortably ensconced as a genuine legend, and legends don’t need set lists. “Lynn just let the crowd pick her songs by shouting out requests like ‘Fist City,’ ‘You Ain’t Woman Enough,’ ‘Honky Tonk Girl,’ ‘Don’t Come Home a’ Drinkin’,’ ‘She’s Got You’ and ‘One’s On the Way,’ which became a medley when Lynn combined it with ‘The Pill.’ “That impromptu approach didn’t faze her or her band, The Coal Miners, but it did cause one bit of confusion when a fan requested ‘Hey Loretta.’ Lynn, thinking the fan wanted to say something to her, replied, ‘What, Honey?’ The voice that’s poured forth more country excellence than anyone not named Williams or Jones is still gut-wrenchingly effective, even on the high notes of ‘Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.’ But Lynn, 77, did avail herself of a gold chair the majority of her time on stage. “In-between songs, Lynn told stories like the time she called her late husband Mooney at 3 a.m. to tell him she’d written a hit song, ‘Your Squaw’s on the Warpath..’ Hubby wasn’t as excited as he was irritated at being awakened at that hour, but ‘that booger run all the way to the bank when that song hit number one.’” ALABAMA THEATRE, APRIL 2007 “Loretta Lynn might want to start billing her concerts differently — let’s say, the Coal Miner’s Daughter & Friends,” AL.com said in its review. “Not to take anything away from a majestic figure in country music. But at age 75, Lynn simply doesn’t sing much anymore. “On Friday night at the Alabama Theatre, more than half of Lynn’s 9 p.m. show was taken up by her band, her twin daughters, her granddaughter and her three backup singers. “That should have been expected by anyone who saw Lynn perform at City Stages 2005 or three months ago at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center. These days, her appearances are staged to give Lynn, who suffers from shoulder and back problems, ample time to rest. “But no matter how well the folks in her entourage perform, fans came to see Loretty.” At the Alabama, she swept on stage in a sequined brown gown and sang a handful of signature tunes: ‘Fist City,’ ‘When the Tingle Becomes a Chill,’ ‘You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man,’ ‘Here I Am Again,’ ‘Table for Two,’’ ‘Don’t Come Home a’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),’ ‘Let Your Love Flow,’ ’Before I’m Over You,’ ‘You’re Lookin’ at Country’ and ‘;Coal Miner’s Daughter.’ “Lynn’s singing isn’t as powerful or consistent as it used to be, but it’s hard to complain about an icon who still can belt and twang. Also, it was satisfying merely to bask in the presence of an old-timey star who bridges Nashville’s present and past. As the hour-long concert proved, Lynn’s earthy good humor and the twinkle in her eye remain intact.” Country legend Loretta Lynn performed in 2005 at the City Stages festival in Birmingham. Her setlist included ”You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man),” ”Don’t Come Here a-Drinkin”’ and ”Here I Am Again.” (AL.com file photo/Frank Couch) CITY STAGES FESTIVAL, JUNE 2005 “As befits the First Lady of Country Music, Loretta Lynn kept her fans waiting Friday night at City Stages’ Momentum Telecom Stage,” AL.com said in its review. “When her set started around 9:30 p.m., the audience heard a couple of songs from Lynn’s band, the Coal Miners, and two by her twin daughters, the Lynns, before she emerged at 9:45 p.m. “Like a bride atop a wedding cake, Lynn, 73, walked slowly and carefully on stage to thunderous applause. She accepted the crowd’s admiration and began her greatest hits show, which included ‘You Ain’t Woman Enough,’ ‘Don’t Come Here a’ Drinkin’’ and ‘Here I Am Again.’ “Loretta still sounds like Loretta, of course, but her age did show some — mostly in the way she sang seated in a folding chair for most of the show and the small breaks she took while the band performed around her. However, many in the packed audience seemed thrilled to merely bask in her presence.” BEHIND THE SCENES AT CITY STAGES, JUNE 2005 “Dr. Jerry Walker thought it was a prank when he got the call. But it turns out Loretta Lynn did need a dentist quickly — to fix a temporary crown that had come loose before her show Friday night on the Miller Lite Stage,” Alec Harvey said in a report for AL.com. “A patient of Walker’s suggested him and he was off to Linn Park, where he fixed Lynn’s tooth and chatted with her.” ‘’’She was one of the nicest people you could ever meet in your life,’ the Altadena resident said of the First Lady of Country Music. ‘It was like you were talking to your aunt. The nice aunt; not the mean one.’ “Walker wouldn’t let Lynn pay for his tour-bus call, but she did give him passes to her show.” NOTE: Lynn originally was scheduled to make her City Stages debut in 2004, the year “Van Lear Rose” was released, but canceled all her shows that June due to back problems. “We’re disappointed she won’t be with us,” said Guy McCullough, the festival’s marketing director. “But we understand that she needs to rest up. Maybe she’ll be with us another year.” MORE ON LORETTA LYNN: Loretta Lynn has died: ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ was 90 Wearing her crown lightly: Loretta Lynn, country queen, retains her just-folks appeal The true story behind one photographer’s hilarious interaction with Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn jokes about marrying Kid Rock, and fans cheer her on If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Loretta Lynn In Alabama: A Look Back At 3 Memorable Concerts By The Country Icon
Twitter Stock Surges On Reports Elon Musk Again Proposes Buying The Company At Full Price | CNN Business
Twitter Stock Surges On Reports Elon Musk Again Proposes Buying The Company At Full Price | CNN Business
Twitter Stock Surges On Reports Elon Musk Again Proposes Buying The Company At Full Price | CNN Business https://digitalalabamanews.com/twitter-stock-surges-on-reports-elon-musk-again-proposes-buying-the-company-at-full-price-cnn-business/ 02:57 – Source: CNN Business Here’s how Elon Musk calculated the number of bots on Twitter CNN  —  Twitter stock was halted twice, the second time for news pending, and rose around 13% in midday trading Tuesday following reports that Elon Musk has proposed to move forward with his deal to buy the company at the originally agreed upon price of $54.20 per share. Bloomberg and the Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Musk had sent a letter to Twitter proposing to complete the deal as originally signed, citing people familiar with the negotiations. Representatives for Musk and Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The news comes as the the two sides have been preparing to head to trial in two weeks over Musk’s attempt to pull out of the $44 billion acquisition agreement, which Twitter had sued him to complete. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal had been set to be deposed by Musk’s lawyers on Monday, and Twitter’s lawyers had planned to depose Musk starting on Thursday. Such an agreement could bring to an end a contentious, months-long back and forth between Musk and Twitter that has caused massive uncertainty for employees, investors and users of one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. Twitter’s board would likely agree to suspend the litigation to move forward with closing the deal, according to Josh White, assistant professor of finance at Vanderbilt University. “The very public saga has certainly taken a toll on them and Twitter employees,” White said. “It is best for all parties to finish the deal and make a quick and seamless transition. I suspect it will close quickly.” The saga began in April when Musk revealed he had become Twitter’s largest shareholder. Over the next several months, Musk accepted and then backed out of an offer to sit on Twitter’s board, threatened a hostile takeover of the company, signed an agreement to buy the company, started raising concerns about bots on the platform, attempted to terminate the agreement, was sued by Twitter to follow through with the deal and added claims from a Twitter whistleblower to his argument. Musk initially moved to terminate the deal citing claims that the company has misstated the number of spam and fake bot accounts on the platform. Twitter claimed that Musk had breached the deal and was using bots as a pretext to exit a deal he’d gotten buyer’s remorse over after the broader market decline, which also hurt Tesla stock and, by extension, Musk’s personal wealth. Still, many legal experts have said that Twitter has the stronger argument heading into court, and that Musk would a face a significant burden in trying to prove that the company had made materially misleading statements in its securities filings or in the deal contract. The lawsuit was the final hurdle remaining in the way of the deal getting closed, after Twitter shareholders last month voted to approve the deal. The deal had originally been set to close this month. With news that the deal could end up closing, attention may once again shift to what Musk’s control could mean for the social media platform. Musk has previously suggested a series of potential changes to Twitter, the most significant of which could be returning former President Donald Trump to the platform and doing away with permanent account bans. Musk has also said he wants to make Twitter more open to “free speech” and could change its content moderation policies. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Twitter Stock Surges On Reports Elon Musk Again Proposes Buying The Company At Full Price | CNN Business
Leo Schaeffer
Leo Schaeffer
Leo Schaeffer https://digitalalabamanews.com/leo-schaeffer/ Leo Schaeffer, 86, Minot, ND, passed away Friday, September 30, 2022, in the North Dakota Veterans Home. Leo Aloysius Schaeffer was born January 16, 1936, the son of Nickodemus and Martina (Obrigewitch) Schaeffer, in Belfield, ND. He was raised in Amidon, ND, and attended St. Mary’s Catholic school in New England, ND. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in December 1958. He proudly served his country from 1958-1980. He was honorably discharged in December 1980. Leo attended basic training at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio, TX, and was first stationed at Forbes Field AFB in Topeka, KS. This is where he met Ruth Schneider. He was then stationed to Thule Greenland. Upon return from Greenland they were united in Holy Matrimony on May 30, 1961 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Emporia, KS. They made their home(s) at the following Air Force Bases: Scott AFB near Belleville, IL; Maxwell AFB Montgomery, AL; Sioux City AFB Sioux City, IA; Wiesbaden Air Base, Germany; Aviano Air Base, Italy; Laughlin AFB Del Rio, TX, and finally Minot AFB. Among the many commendations Leo received, he was also awarded the Air Force Good Conduct Medal with one Silver Oak Leaf Cluster. Following his retirement, the couple made their forever home in Minot, ND. After his retirement from the USAF, Leo worked as an Insurance Agent for the Knights of Columbus, Sales Director for the Sheraton Hotel, and finally with Cenex as the fuel vendor for Amtrak. Leo was an active member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus Council #4894. His hobbies included woodworking, model railroading, fishing, skeet shooting, hunting, and gardening. His grandchildren were extremely important to him and he was able to share those hobbies with them through the years. Leo is survived by son, Kevin (Olga M. Fernandez Solivan) of Spring Brook, PA; grandson, Lukas Schaeffer and great-granddaughter Lillian Schaeffer; daughter, Lee (Dan) Gruss of Shawnee, KS; granddaughters, Elizabeth Gruss and Eileen (Ryan) Smith; son, Clint of Clackamas, OR; son, Eric (Stacy) of Minot; grandchildren Griffin Schaeffer, Grant Schaeffer, Grayson Schaeffer and Greer Schaeffer; daughter-in-law, Marianne Eitvet Schaeffer of Dal, Norway; grandchildren, Ulrik Eitvet Schaeffer and Amalie Eitvet Schaeffer; sisters, Margaret (Robert) Heil, Leila Brin, Angela (David) Messmer, Grace (Daniel) Cash, Cecilia (Olaf) Golberg, Ebba (Donald) Tescher and Mary Jane Hanify; brothers, Raymond Schaeffer and Albert (Jennifer) Schaeffer; brother-in-law, Fr. Harold Schneider of Kansas City, KS; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 58 years, Ruth, who passed away March 16, 2020; daughter, Mary Ann Schaeffer; son, Kurt Joseph Eitvet Schaeffer; his parents; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Tony and Rosie Schneider; brother, Christopher Schaeffer; brother-in-law, Felix Brin. Mass of Christian Burial: Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Minot, ND. Interment: Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot, ND. Visitation: Tuesday from 7:40 to 8:00 pm at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Minot, ND. Vigil Prayer Service: Tuesday, October 4, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Minot, ND. Memorials: are preferred to Our Lady of Grace Food Pantry, Dakota Hope Clinic and the Saint Gianna’s Maternity Home. The service will be livestreamed for the public to view and can be accessed by going to the Thompson-Larson Funeral home website: www.thompsonlarson.com Those wishing to sign the online register and share memories may access the online obituaries section at (www.thompsonlarson.com). Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Leo Schaeffer
Auburn 2024 CB: I Didnt Commit To The Coach I Committed To The School
Auburn 2024 CB: I Didnt Commit To The Coach I Committed To The School
Auburn 2024 CB: ‘I Didn’t Commit To The Coach, I Committed To The School’ https://digitalalabamanews.com/auburn-2024-cb-i-didnt-commit-to-the-coach-i-committed-to-the-school/ Auburn Football Published: Oct. 04, 2022, 9:40 a.m. So far, the transition from Alabaster to Moody couldn’t have gone better for A’mon Lane. One of the state’s premier cornerback prospects in the 2024 class, Lane transferred schools in April and made a verbal pledge to Auburn in August. Since head coach Jake Ganus took over the Blue Devils, they’re 7-0 (3-0 Class 5A, Region 6) with Lane a pillar of the secondary. The four-star and No. 12 junior in Alabama, per 247Sports Composite rankings, has deflected two passes and made 36 total tackles. Lane said it felt like something special is brewing inside Bill Morris Stadium. After a 53-14 blowout win over Springville on Sept. 30, Lane spoke to AL.com’ s Wes Sinor about his early decision and gave his view on the Tigers’ season. Lane, listed at 5-foot-11, 180-pounds said Auburn is a good team that’s figuring out its quarterback situation. Speculation hasn’t stopped about head coach Bryan Harsin’s job status, but Lane said he’s still “locked in” with the Tigers. “Well, I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t commit to the coach, I committed to the school,” Lane said. “If it’s in God’s will, I’ll be at Auburn. If not, I’ll just open up my recruitment, but I think my options won’t change. “I’m still committed and I’m still going to be committed til I don’t know.” Lane said the schools he’s still in contact with are Tennessee, Ole Miss and Clemson. Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Auburn 2024 CB: I Didnt Commit To The Coach I Committed To The School
Judge Expects Steve Bannons Wall Fraud Trial In Nov. 2023
Judge Expects Steve Bannons Wall Fraud Trial In Nov. 2023
Judge Expects Steve Bannon’s Wall Fraud Trial In Nov. 2023 https://digitalalabamanews.com/judge-expects-steve-bannons-wall-fraud-trial-in-nov-2023/ NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Bannon’s trial on charges he defrauded donors who gave money to build a wall on the U.S. southern border might not happen until late next year, a judge said Tuesday. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said he anticipates Bannon, former President Donald Trump’s longtime ally, will go to trial in November 2023 — about a year before the 2024 presidential election. Manhattan prosecutors charged Bannon, 68, last month with state-level money laundering, fraud and conspiracy charges related to the “We Build the Wall” campaign. Bannon has pleaded not guilty. The New York case stems from much of the same alleged conduct as a federal case cut short last year by a Trump presidential pardon. Prosecutors say that Bannon falsely promised donors that all money would go to constructing a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. Former White House strategist Steve Bannon arrives at court, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/John Minchillo Instead, prosecutors allege, Bannon was involved in transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars to third-party entities and used them to funnel payments to two other people involved in the scheme. At a hearing Tuesday, Merchan set various deadlines for pretrial motions through next summer and gave Bannon’s lawyers until February to comb through evidence and file motions. Prosecutors say so far they’ve turned over about four terabytes of material — the size equivalent of millions of written pages or hundreds of hours of video. If Bannon’s trial happens in November 2023, it could coincide with the trial in the New York attorney general’s fraud lawsuit against Trump and his company. Attorney General Letitia James’ office said in court papers last week that she intends to seek a trial date before the end of 2023. Trump has been been laying groundwork for a potential comeback campaign for president in 2024. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Judge Expects Steve Bannons Wall Fraud Trial In Nov. 2023
It Shouldn
It Shouldn
It Shouldn https://digitalalabamanews.com/it-shouldn/ The Washington Post//Getty Images This! This is the thing that will sink Herschel Walker’s campaign! Yes, it’s bad, at least in the sweet-summer-child vision of politics: Walker is running a campaign based on Christian Conservative Family Values, including banning abortion in all cases including rape and incest, and The Daily Beast produced evidence Monday night that he paid for an abortion in 2009. The conservative media apparatus was immediately plunged into disarray: Erick, son of Erick hopped out in front of things at 7:28 p.m. to declare that it was old news: “I thought we all knew this,” he tweeted. Then, at 7:33, he added an update: “Note Walker is denying it. I thought it was an old story.” He added a shrug emoji. Walker is indeed denying the story, and threatened to sue the Beast. But all over the tweet machine, right-wingers could be found calling the story fake news and/or old news. Walker didn’t do it, and also he’s a changed man since those bad old days! The truth is that Walker could pay for an abortion today, right now, and these people would still support him and his quest to ban abortions. He could escort someone to the clinic this afternoon and get 42% of the vote next month. It’s not exactly a revelation to point out that Republican politicians want to ban abortion for other people, not themselves or their (alleged) mistresses. It’s a nice data point for Frank Wilhoit’s maxim that “conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” But more than that, it’s a testament to the fact that all that matters is what jersey you’re wearing and whether you say the right things about Those People. After all, Donald Trump was also held up as a family values champion, a joke that needs no explanation, and it was Trump who tapped Herschel Walker for this gig, presumably on the grounds that he’d endorsed Trump and he was famous in Georgia. (Walker was, for everything else, a phenomenal running back.) Like Trump’s, though, the candidacy was cooked up in a lab to expose the “family values” stuff as just some threads in the Republican uniform. These are the things we say to get them to vote for us. It soon emerged that Walker had a bunch of kids with different women. But well before all of that, his ex-wife alleged he held a gun to her head and told her he was going to blow her brains out, one of many violent encounters she says she had with the former professional football player. Last night, Walker’s son, Christian—who’s spent the last year or so building a brand as a conservative media star—seemed to confirm the above: I know my mom and I would really appreciate if my father Herschel Walker stopped lying and making a mockery of us. You’re not a “family man” when you left us to bang a bunch of women, threatened to kill us, and had us move over 6 times in 6 months running from your violence. I don’t care about someone who has a bad past and takes accountability. But how DARE YOU LIE and act as though you’re some “moral, Christian, upright man.” You’ve lived a life of DESTROYING other peoples lives. How dare you. It was never in doubt whether or not Walker is a “family man,” but it’s always been guaranteed that millions of people will pull the lever for him while declaring that he is. This content is imported from twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. I’ve stayed silent for nearly two years as my whole life has been lied about publicly. I did ONE campaign event, then said I didn’t want involvement. Don’t you dare test my authenticity. Here is the full story: pic.twitter.com/ekVEcz8zq3 — Christian Walker (@ChristianWalk1r) October 4, 2022 Beyond this scandal or that one, though, there’s the basic notion that it would require a “scandal” for someone to choose not to vote for Herschel Walker to be a United States senator. What is the affirmative argument that Herschel Walker should make the laws we all have to live by? What does he know about…anything? He says himself that he’s “not that smart.” How did we get to a place where it was acceptable to vote for stupid people to run the country? Maybe it always has been. Anti-intellectualism is nothing new as a feature of American political life. But it feels particularly acute these days when the main criterion for success as a Republican is a complete lack of shame. There are Democrats who say and do stupid things, and who fail their constituents, but how many truly compare even to the halfwit who could soon be the Speaker of the House if Republicans are successful in November? There have always been idiots in public office, but Trump seems to have ushered in an era when competence and “knowing things” are completely irrelevant. Walker’s plan to prevent school shootings is, along with prayer, “a department that can look at young men that’s looking at women that’s looking at social media.” But don’t worry, he’s at least coming to grips with his personal shortcomings: “I’m always accountable to whatever I’ve ever done,” he once said, “And that’s what I tell people: I’m accountable to it.” Jack Holmes is a senior staff writer at Esquire, where he covers politics and sports. He also hosts Useful Context, a video series. This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Watch Next Advertisement – Continue Reading Below Advertisement – Continue Reading Below Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
It Shouldn
Opinion | How Democrats Can Crush Dangerous GOP Extremists
Opinion | How Democrats Can Crush Dangerous GOP Extremists
Opinion | How Democrats Can Crush Dangerous GOP Extremists https://digitalalabamanews.com/opinion-how-democrats-can-crush-dangerous-gop-extremists/ Is rhetoric passe?  Traditional media consider the economy, abortion, crime, and immigration as key 2022 variables. Can Democrats still find messages that elevate the possible death of a working Democracy—access to voting, majority rules, rule of law, peaceful transfer of power—to become a tie-breaker in a tight election? Those who discount political slogans as a side-show have overlooked Abraham “The Rail Splitter” Lincoln, the propaganda of “Blood and Soil” in 1920s Germany, the “I Like Ike” slogan of the early 1950s, Reagan’s “Morning in America,” and of course the infamous “Make America Great Again” pitch—all of which provided a strategic lens to focus target audiences. As the clash between democracy and despotism hurtles toward November, American politics now has become a contest between governing Democrats trying to enact policies for families and GOP insurgents running on faux populism to blur their right-wing radicalism. Trump Republicans largely just rotate loaded culture-war phrases—words like “Woke,” “Canceled,” “Fake News,” “Socialist,” “Trans,” “Open Borders,” and “Critical Race Theory”—in order to slyly scratch the itch of anxious white voters and to villainize Democrats. (Earlier iterations included “death panels,” “death taxes,” “migrant caravans,” “the war on Christmas,” and “Dr. Seuss…”—the opportunities to trigger the confirmation biases of their easily-triggered base are endless.) Yet such language has indeed managed to steer much of the national conversation due to voters with five-second attention spans, smash-mouths at Fox News, and the sad reality that hateful rhetoric can attract more attention than positive policy. Adding to the problem has been the reluctance of above-the-fray Democrats to return fire. “Democrats Deliver,” “For the People,” and “Build Back Better” were nice homilies but drowned out by far-right polemicists with the subtlety of Russian foot soldiers.  In this Age of Rage, Democrats need more passionate, memorable language to contrast the moral values and political vision of the two major parties.  President Biden did launch a strong counterattack with his “defense of democracy” speech in Philadelphia in early September. While that alone won’t sway any significant number of Trump cultists, the goal is more modest—if even 5 percent of Independents, soft-Republicans, and non-voters understand that extremism isn’t patriotism then a 7 million vote margin of victory in 2020 could grow into a 12 million vote margin by 2024 while making any attempt to sabotage democracy appear treasonous. Early evidence—Democratic successes in six of six by-elections since 2020 and the 60% Kansas vote for reproductive choice—offers a hint that may be happening. Whether Democrats can continue their momentum will likely depend on their willingness to maintain three strategies: 1) stay on offense; 2) keep tattooing Trump on the back of Republicans; and 3) show how anti-majoritarian rules—e.g., about dark corporate money, gerrymandering, and the filibuster—have big consequences, like screwing millions of workers out of a higher minimum wage. Contrast #1: “Mainstream vs. Extreme.”  Most voters know at some inchoate level that a party now dominated by theocrats, corporatists, and white nationalists is fundamentally different from one led by Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. But simply attacking “extremists’” may fall short since the MAGA playbook will simply find some hyperbolic reference as a flimsy rebuttal. What about AOC—isn’t she extreme? Or what about that guy who considered killing Justice Kavanaugh? Or they will pout that calling them “extremists” is like Hillary implying that all Republicans are “deplorable.” No, not all Republicans, but many. Here are the receipts:  Team Trump tried to violently overthrow our constitutional democracy by stopping the peaceful transfer of power; promised, if reelected, to pardon those convicted of insurrection-connected crimes; misled the public early in the Covid-19 pandemic destroying tens of thousands of lives; are openly conspired to rig the next election; want to criminalize all abortions; enforce new state laws making it harder for minorities to vote; and invoke the parlance of war to inflame MAGA mobs who then threaten local officials. This already malevolent list only grows as the news and a slew of books continues to further incriminate—never exonerate—the ex-president. At the same time, GOP presidential contenders continue their near-gravitational race-to-the-bottom to see who can incite Trump’s far-right base the most. According to multiple polls, some half of registered Republicans doubt Obama is an American, associate pedophilia with the Democratic Party, and believe that white people suffer more discrimination than Black people .…while 60-70 percent embrace The Big Lie that Biden stole the 2020 election. This QAnon-level insanity provides an array of material for powerful messages: e.g., “Big Brother Republicans are dangerous extremists.” Contrast #2: Whose side are you on? Since at least the Robber Baron era, Republicans exploit patriotic poetry during campaigns (“the Exceptional Nation”) and then prosaically deliver lower taxes and deregulation to their wealthy donors once in office. But events such as January 6 and the Dobbs decision by U.S. Supreme Court’s right-wing majoirty put Democrats in a position to win the age-old election question, Whose side are you on?  Look at the history of social progress from FDR to Biden opposed by Republicans: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, stronger labor laws, the Affordable Care Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, civil rights legislation, environmental and consumer protections, and recent investments in the future like the bipartisan infrastructure law and the more recent Inflation Reduction Act. Imagine America without them. Compare that to the 2022 plan of Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the head of the National Senate Campaign Committee, to attack Social Security and bedrock anti-pollution laws that keep our air and water clean. Democrats can now stick Scott’s party with a slogan they can run against: “Let’s Make America 1922 Again.” CONTRAST #3: “The Party of Corruption” Despite a long run as the party of “law and order,” today’s GOP is compromised by violent militants and lawless leaders. When the majority of a party says they believe the Jan. 6 mob were “patriots” and that’s party’s leaders warn of “riots in the streets” if Trump is charged, it should be impossible to pose as sentries of safety. Worse, the far-right so often talk up a “coming Civil War” within the context of their “Second Amendment rights” that they appear indifferent to the impact their incendiary words have on millions of armed and unstable followers, such as the gunman who attacked an FBI office in Cincinnati after Trump called them “thugs.” The unwillingness of Republican officials to condemn violence can only be seen as coaxing more of it. And any organization that opposes a ban on the AR-15—the weapon of choice for slaughtering children—can effectively be called “soft on crime.” The Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) recently estimated that Trump committed as many as 55 crimes while in office. Indeed, there’s so much illegality in TrumpLand that perpetrators ironically benefit from scandal fatigue as frequency normalizes corruption. When one law or norm appears to be broken, Trumpers always conjure up some excuse and soon enough another scandal arrives to distract from the previous. But explaining away any single scandal ignores how MAGA’s whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts. Trump himself is now the subject of at least six criminal probes, surely a record for an ex-leader in a western democracy. Politifact reports that there were 142 people indicted over 18 years in the Nixon, Reagan, and Trump administrations. In the 20 years under Carter, Clinton, and Obama, there were only 3.  Recall when a few “influence peddlers” in 1948 and the gift of a vicuna coat to Ike aide Sherman Adams in 1956 made corruption a big issue in both those election years. From the vantage point of 2022, to quote Dustin Hoffman in Wag the Dog, “this is nothing.” Since Sen. Joe McCarthy gleefully described the Democratic Party as the “Party of Treason” when it clearly wasn’t, it should be kosher to call today’s GOP the “Party of Corruption” which it very much is.           Contrast #4: Freedom or Fascism? Anat Shenker-Osario, podcast host and founder of ASO Communications, has attracted much notice for showing how the GOP embraces the language of freedom while trying to ban abortions, books, vaccines, trans kids, marriage equality, and voting rights. Leading Democrats like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and newly-elected Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) have all embraced this winning formula. It used to be seen as a naive epithet to call the GOP “fascists” (or even “semi- fascists” in Biden’s telling). But if their unapologetic assaults on freedom and democracy are not an American version of fascism—by a party forever calling Democrats “communists” and “socialists”—what would be?  To take one example, “Critical Race Theory”—which is taught in zero grade schools—should lead Democrats to reply: “Stop exploiting hatred. Parents want educators choosing books, not politicians banning them.” Contrast #5: 50% More Economic Growth. World-wide inflation is too high (due largely to the pandemic, Putin’s war, and corporate price-gouging). Yet Democrats also deserve polemical blame for allowing Republicans to be seen as better on the economy by 14 points in a recent NYTimes/Siena poll.                           If you add up economic growth for every president since 1961, it rose 50 percent faster under Democratic administrations. Trump and Bu...
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Opinion | How Democrats Can Crush Dangerous GOP Extremists
Elon Musk Says
Elon Musk Says
Elon Musk Says https://digitalalabamanews.com/elon-musk-says/ In a world where social systems often depend on the young supporting the old, forward thinkers are starting to wonder what happens as populations age. At the Cannes Film Festival this summer, many attendees reveled at the “Top Gun” reboot, a throwback to the past. But on the sidelines a smaller crowd witnessed something more solemn: the possibility of a dark and tragic future. “Plan 75,” a film by Japanese director Hayakawa Chie, explores the potential dangers of her country’s aging society, where nearly one-in-three people are currently 65 or older. Set in a near-future dystopia, the film depicts a nation whose healthcare and pensions systems have become so overburdened by the elderly that the government aggressively markets a policy to pay for final bucket list items and then euthanize anyone over 75. While technically the stuff of science fiction, demographers say the film arrives at a time when humanity really is aging.  The global fertility rate has decreased by half since 1960. In countries responsible for 85% of the world’s gross domestic product – the United States, Germany, Japan, even China and India – births have fallen below the “replacement rate,” meaning that unless offset by immigration, population will begin to decline as older generations depart. The United Nations calculates the world population will now peak in 2084, before starting to fall by the century’s end. More: US, world population to shrink after midcentury, study suggests In a world where economies are designed around growth and social systems depend on the young supporting the old, forward thinkers are beginning to wonder what comes next. Consider Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and business magnate, now most prominent among their ranks. “Population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming,” Musk wrote on Twitter this summer. “Mark these words.”  But is he right? Population concerns are nothing new For centuries, humans have pondered the ideal size of humanity. But experts warn such efforts usually end in folly, and that our species has within its grasp solutions to prosper whether populations rise or fall. “It’s up to us and how the world responds,” said Lauren Johnston, a professor at the University of Sydney’s China Studies Centre and economic demographer. For much of the last few centuries, those fretting about overpopulation have had the spotlight. In 1798, English scholar Thomas Malthus published an influential essay that laid out an idea known as the “Malthusian trap,” which holds that population growth inevitably exceeds food and other resources, leading to famine and poverty. The work inspired anxiety in England and helped lead to the first national census of England, Scotland and Wales.  Such concerns echoed loudly in 1968, when Stanford University professor Paul Ehrlich and wife Anne Ehrlich published “The Population Bomb,” a book that predicted global famine leading to the deaths of hundreds of millions of people within decades. But most experts say such predictions have not come to pass. Particularly in the past 50 years, a “Green Revolution” in agriculture has used new farming methods to reap more calories per acre of land, leading world hunger to decrease even as the population doubled. More: A new threat emerges for US lakes and rivers. Your lawn or toilet may be partly to blame. Although studies show such practices have created additional problems – driving water pollution, contributing to climate change, and perhaps even decreasing the nutritional value of food – Johnston points out that many nations are now facing the opposite of starvation. “In most countries there has been a sufficiently productive response to population growth that there hasn’t been a famine,” Johnston said. “Now there’s obesity.” Underpopulation on the horizon? As concern over having too many mouths to feed has waned, an opposing one has risen: too few people to work. That’s an especially obvious worry in China, which infamously implemented a one-child policy in 1980 to address exponential population growth projections. Its current population of 1.4 billion remains the world’s largest. But realizing the aging trajectory of its society, in 2016 China eliminated the policy and has also limited pensions and social programs for the elderly, Johnston said. Many other nations are or soon will be facing similar challenges. To maintain a steady population without immigration, a nation has to achieve a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman, experts say. But the fertility rate is just 1.7 in China and Brazil, 1.5 across the European Union, and 0.8 in South Korea, the lowest of any country, according to the World Bank. The rate is 1.6 in the United States, where the population is still rising only due to longer lifespans and immigration, which is projected to outpace natural births by 2030. Globally, it’s primarily African nations like Nigeria, where the fertility rate is 5.2, that are contributing to population growth. But as those nations develop, some experts expect fertility rates to fall as well, contributing to the possibility of unprecedented global population decline. “There’s never been anything close to a parallel,” Johnston said. Some experts are ringing alarm bells on what that could mean for societies.  In their book “Reversal: Ageing Societies, Waning Inequality, and an Inflation Revival,” economists Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan warn of mounting fiscal crises, “as medical, care, and pension expenditures all increase in our ageing societies.” Nations could wind up burning the candle at both ends: as a higher percentage of people become retirees they require more public resources, while at the same time the taxable working population shrinks. Problems could be exacerbated as rates of Alzheimer’s and other costly elder illnesses increase, while labor shortages create inflationary pressures. As countries face these challenges, their societies and politics could destabilize. “Our view of the future is not encouraging, but it is coherent and plausible,” Goodhart and Pradhan write. So Musk is right? Not so fast, says Daniel Kammen, a professor of sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley and former Science Envoy to the U.S. State Department. While aging societies do pose possible challenges in the future, Kammen says the world is facing a current full-blown crisis right now: climate change. And adding more people to the Earth’s population will only further complicate humanity’s lagging efforts to fight global warming, experts say. “There’s no ideal number, but certainly I would say there are too many people on our planet for our current lifestyle,” Kammen said. Kammen believes the entire conversation about population is a red herring, a view commonly held among population experts. Instead, he says the focus should be on whether or not countries are wisely using resources. That’s when the wealth of nations like the U.S., and not their population, come into focus. A study in the journal Nature Sustainability this year found that the world’s wealthiest 10% of people produce 47% of its carbon emissions, compared to just 10% of emissions for the entire bottom half of the economic ladder. To put it another way, World Bank data shows the average Nigerian’s carbon footprint is 0.6 metric tons each year. With the globe currently emitting about 34 billion metric tons of CO2 annually, that means it could currently support 58 billion people if they had a Nigerian carbon footprint. On the other hand, the average American uses 14.7 metric tons of CO2 each year, meaning the world could support just 2.3 billion people if everyone had an American footprint. The same effect can be seen within countries. While many Americans believe that population-dense cities hold the most blame for carbon emissions, work from Kammen and his colleagues show the carbon footprints of urban Americans are actually substantially less than rural residents, with suburban residents surpassing both. That’s true both on a per capita basis and in total: about half of U.S. carbon emissions come from suburban settings, while less than a third come from urban. Ultimately, Kammen said, the question is how to reduce resource footprints, especially in wealthy nations. The smaller they get, the more people the planet can support. “While it sure seems like there are a lot of people on our planet, our individual impact is much more measured by the ways in which we amplify or minimize our footprint,” Kammen said. “If you make it about population, you avoid how critical our patterns of consumption are.” Experts also say the challenges of population decline are not insurmountable.  Johnston says it will come down to smart planning and cooperation. If populations do peak and fall, governments can mitigate the repercussions by sharing resources more equitably. That will likely include sacrifices among the older generations. Not with their lives as “Plan 75” depicts, but through higher retirement ages and adjustments to pensions and benefits. Other experts note that it may be possible to maintain productivity levels with fewer people, through increased education or even possibly with the assistance of technologies like Artificial Intelligence and automation. In the end, people of working ages may also need to sacrifice in the form of higher taxes. But such a future will inevitably look different than the world we live in now, and Goodhart and Pradhan warn a lot will be riding on whether or not societies accept such changes. “We doubt that politicians, facing rising health and pension costs, will be prepared or able to raise taxes enough to equilibrate the economy via fiscal policy,” they wrote. Population ‘cures’ can be worse than population collapse While population decline comes with challenges, experts warn that attempts to...
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Elon Musk Says
Job Openings Unexpectedly Plunge In August To Lowest Level Since June 2021
Job Openings Unexpectedly Plunge In August To Lowest Level Since June 2021
Job Openings Unexpectedly Plunge In August To Lowest Level Since June 2021 https://digitalalabamanews.com/job-openings-unexpectedly-plunge-in-august-to-lowest-level-since-june-2021/ U.S. job openings unexpectedly dropped in August to the lowest level in over a year as the Federal Reserve tries to bring down near-record high inflation and cool the labor market.  The Labor Department said Tuesday that there were 10.1 million job openings in August – a major decline from the previous month’s revised reading of 11.17 million.  Still, the number of available jobs has topped 10 million for 15 consecutive months; before the pandemic began in February 2020, the highest on record was 7.7 million. “The broad-based decline in job openings across sectors in the US shows a slight loosening in the labor market,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for the Charlotte-based LPL Financial. “But overall, still tight.” THE FED’S WAR ON INFLATION COULD COST 1M JOBS A hiring sign is posted at a Target store on August 05, 2022 in San Rafael, California. ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) / Getty Images) The Federal Reserve closely watches these figures as it tries to gauge labor market tightness; the lower-than-expected number of openings could provide some relief for policymakers as they try to slow the economy and cool painfully high inflation.  Despite the loosening in the labor market, Roach said he does not anticipate “a change in the Fed’s likely actions at the next meeting. In our view, the labor market moved from ‘extremely tight’ to just ‘very tight,’ and the Fed will likely respond by another 0.75% increase in the Fed funds rate next month.” SEVERE RECESSION NEEDED TO COOL INFLATION, BANK OF AMERICA ANALYSTS SAY Meanwhile, the number of Americans quitting their jobs rose to 4.2 million, or about 2.7% of the workforce – below the high of 4.5 million recorded earlier this year, but well above the pre-pandemic level of about 3.6 million. Hiring was also mostly unchanged at 6.3 million.  Switching jobs has been a windfall for many workers over the past year, with employees seeing an average 6.7% annual wage growth rate – a marked increase from the 4.9% of workers who do not switch jobs, according to the Atlanta Fed.  Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, arrives to speak during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, D.C., on Sept 21, 2022. (Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images) The Fed has responded to the inflation crisis and the extremely tight labor market by raising interest rates at the fastest pace in decades. Officials approved three consecutive 75-basis-point rate hikes in June, July and September, and have signaled that another of that magnitude is on the table in November. Chairman Jerome Powell has conceded that higher rates could “give rise to increases in unemployment.”  “We think we need to have softer labor market conditions,” Powell said. “And if we want to set ourselves up really light the way to another period of a very strong labor market, we have got to get inflation behind us. I wish there were a painless way to do that. There isn’t.”  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS The data precedes the release of the September jobs report on Friday morning, which is expected to show that employers hired 250,000 workers following a gain of 315,000 in July. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 3.7%. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Job Openings Unexpectedly Plunge In August To Lowest Level Since June 2021
Pumpkin Patches Across Central Alabama That Offer Field Trips
Pumpkin Patches Across Central Alabama That Offer Field Trips
Pumpkin Patches Across Central Alabama That Offer Field Trips https://digitalalabamanews.com/pumpkin-patches-across-central-alabama-that-offer-field-trips/ by: Nicole Cook Posted: Oct 4, 2022 / 10:12 AM CDT Updated: Oct 4, 2022 / 10:13 AM CDT by: Nicole Cook Posted: Oct 4, 2022 / 10:12 AM CDT Updated: Oct 4, 2022 / 10:13 AM CDT BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Looking to take the kiddos on a field trip to a pumpkin patch this fall season? CBS 42 has compiled a list of pumpkin patches across Central Alabama that welcome teachers, students and their parents all season long. Along with the many other fun activities available to enjoy during the trip, you even get to leave with a pumpkin! 4D Farm 7182 County Road 703, Cullman, AL 35055 Open to public Thursday through Saturday until 8 p.m. Field trips available every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in October. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Students $10 person with one pumpkin included. One free teacher per 15 students. Parents, siblings and other chaperones are $10.95+tax and must purchase tickets online or at the gate.  For additional pricing and booking information, click here. Griffin Farms 826 Griffin Rd, West Blocton, AL 35184 Open every weekend in October. Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday: noon to 6 p.m. Offers field trips 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday through Friday the whole month of October $8 per person with one pumpkin included Must bring a sack lunch for the day Click here to make a reservation. Tuscaloosa Barnyard 11453 Turner Bridge Rd. Tuscaloosa AL 35406 Open to the public every Friday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. $12 per person Field trips available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday Groups of 20 or less, $250 Groups of more than 20 total children, $12 per person (including parents) Easy to carry fall pumpkins $3 per child For additional pricing and booking information, click here. Old Baker Farm 184 Furrow Ln, Harpersville, AL 35078  Open to public throughout the week from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. MUST purchase a pumpkin for $11 to enter Several other activities are available, check them out here. For field trips fill out inquiry form or call 205-672-7209 for pricing information TRENDING STORIES Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Pumpkin Patches Across Central Alabama That Offer Field Trips
The Onion And The Supreme Court. Not A Parody
The Onion And The Supreme Court. Not A Parody
The Onion And The Supreme Court. Not A Parody https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-onion-and-the-supreme-court-not-a-parody/ WASHINGTON (AP) — The Onion has some serious things to say in defense of parody. The satirical site that manages to persuade people to believe the absurd has filed a Supreme Court brief in support of a man who was arrested and prosecuted for making fun of police on social media. “As the globe’s premier parodists, The Onion’s writers also have a self-serving interest in preventing political authorities from imprisoning humorists,” lawyers for the Onion wrote in a brief filed Monday. “This brief is submitted in the interest of at least mitigating their future punishment.” The court filing doesn’t entirely keep a straight face, calling the federal judiciary “total Latin dorks.” The Onion said it employs 350,000 people, is read by 4.3 trillion people and “has grown into the single most powerful and influential organization in human history.” The Supreme Court case involves Anthony Novak, who was arrested after he spoofed the Parma, Ohio, police force in Facebook posts. The posts were published over 12 hours and included an announcement of new police hiring “strongly encouraging minorities to not apply.” Another post promoted a fake event in which child sex offenders could be “removed from the sex offender registry and accepted as an honorary police officer.” After being acquitted of criminal charges, the man sued the police for violating his constitutional rights. But a federal appeals court ruled the officers have “qualified immunity” and threw out the lawsuit. One issue is whether people might reasonably have believed that what they saw on Novak’s site was real. But The Onion said Novak had no obligation to post a disclaimer. “Put simply, for parody to work, it has to plausibly mimic the original,” the Onion said, noting its own tendency to mimic “the dry tone of an Associated Press news story.” More than once, people have republished the Onion’s claims as true, including when it reported in 2012 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was the sexiest man alive. The brief concludes with a familiar call for the court to hear the case and a twist. “The petition for certiorari should be granted, the rights of the people vindicated, and various historical wrongs remedied. The Onion would welcome any one of the three, particularly the first,” lawyers for the Onion wrote. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
The Onion And The Supreme Court. Not A Parody
15 Halloween-Inspired Events To Get You In The Spooky Spirit | Bham Now
15 Halloween-Inspired Events To Get You In The Spooky Spirit | Bham Now
15 Halloween-Inspired Events To Get You In The Spooky Spirit | Bham Now https://digitalalabamanews.com/15-halloween-inspired-events-to-get-you-in-the-spooky-spirit-bham-now/ More info. When: Thursday, October 6 | 6:30-8:30PM Where: Dave & Buster’s, 2700 Galleria Cir, Ste 110, Birmingham, AL 35244 Cost: Free admission + free to play 2. Overnight Adventure with The Chamber of Secrets More info. When: Friday, October 14 | 5PM-8AM Where: McWane Science Center, 200 19th St N, Birmingham, AL 35203 Cost: $60 per person (includes admission to McWane, pizza, breakfast + IMAX tickets to Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets) Reserve your spot here by October 10 3. Harry Potter Day What: Head to McWane Science Center for a day devoted to all things Harry Potter. There will be wizardly activities + the chance to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in IMAX. More info. When: Saturday, October 15 | 10AM-5PM Where: McWane Science Center, 200 19th St N, Birmingham, AL 35203 Cost: General admission to McWane | IMAX Tickets – $10 per person Tickets 4. Hoots and Howls much more. Where: The Birmingham Zoo, 2630 Cahaba Rd, Birmingham, AL 35223 When: Saturday-Sunday, October 15-16, 22-23, 29-30 | 10AM-4PM Cost: Varies Tickets 5. Trick or Trot 5K More info. When: Sunday, October 16-22 | In-Person 5K, 8-10AM Where: Back Forty Beer Company, 3201 1st Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35222 Cost: $30 Register 6. The Rocky Horror Masquerade Ball What: Don’t dream it… be it… during The Rocky Horror Masquerade Ball on October 22. One of Birmingham’s most extravagant Halloween parties, take part in an eerie-sistable costume contests (you know you’ll want to dress up!), watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie + more. More info. When: Saturday, October 22 | 6PM Where: Boutwell Auditorium, 1930 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr Blvd, Birmingham, AL 35203 Cost: $30 Tickets 7. Magic City Witches’ Ball More info. When: Saturday, October 22 | 7PM-2AM Where: TrimTab Brewing Co, 2721 5th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35233 Cost: $15 at door 8. Asbury Trunk or Treat More info. When: Sunday, October 23 | 4-6PM Where: Asbury United Methodist Church, 6690 Cahaba Valley Rd, Birmingham, AL 35242 Cost: Free admission 9. Naughty Halloween Puttanesca Party What: You won’t want to miss this naughty, live cooking show! Tickets include a cooking class, full meal, pasta sample, alcoholic beverage + recipes. Happy hour prices on wine, beer + mimosas will also be available. *Dressing up is highly encouraged. More info. When: Thursday, October 27 Where: Vecchia Pizzeria & Mercato, 610 Preserve Pkwy Suite 100, Hoover, AL 35226 Cost: $47.99 Tickets 10. Halloween Murder Mystery Dinner, Ghost Hunter What: This popular event is back for its third year and you won’t want to miss out on the fun. Take part in an interactive Halloween-themed murder mystery dinner with an optional ghost hunt + paranormal investigation in the mansion. More info. When: Saturday, October 28 | 6:30-10PM Where: Arlington Antebellum Home & Gardens, 331 Cotton Ave SW, Birmingham, AL 35211 Cost: $65 Tickets 11. Scare Your Face Off XII What: Check out Halloween festivities with cover sets of your old favorites performed by Birmingham’s finest musicians. Dress in the creepiest costume and win prizes + a trophy. More info. When: Friday, October 28 | 9PM Where: Saturn Bham, 200 41st Street South Birmingham AL 35222, Birmingham Cost: $10 in costume | $15 in street clothes Tickets 12. Haunted House Party What: Explore one of the hottest haunts in Highland Park during this event at Rojo. There will be performances from Cierra Symone Campbell , Sam Star + Imberli, plus Halloween giveaways, swag + costume contest. More info. When: Saturday, October 29 | 11AM-2PM Where: Rojo, 2921 Highland Ave, Birmingham, AL 35205 Cost: Free admission 13. Halloween Havoc Half Marathon More info. When: Saturday, October 29 | 5:30-11PM Where: Oak Mountain State Park, 200 Terrace Dr, Pelham, AL 35124 Cost: 6 Mile – $60 | 13 Mile – $80 Register 14. The 5th Annual Halloween Bar Crawl What: Here for the boos? You won’t want to miss this night of drinks and fun during this popular Halloween Bar Crawl. Venues include TrimTab Brewing Company, Mojo Pub, The Quest Club + more. More info. When: October 29 | 4PM-Midnight Where: Moe’s Original BBQ – Lakeview, 731 29th St S, Birmingham, AL 35233 Cost: $10-$20 Tickets 15. Don’t Beer the Reaper – Crafty Halloween Costume Party What: Attend this adult-only Halloween costume party for live music + DJ, ghoulish treats, party favors + prizes, cornhole tournament + food trucks. More info. When: Saturday, October 29 | 6-11PM Where: Brock’s Gap Brewing Company, 500 Mineral Trace, Ste 100, Hoover, AL 35244 Cost: $40 Tickets More Halloween fun Seeking chilling entertainment this Halloween season? Here are 5 of the most fun haunted houses within two hours of Birmingham to visit this spooky season. Heading out of town for some ghoulish Halloween fun this October? Check out these 5 scary good upcoming events in Mobile for Halloween. For more events around Birmingham, follow Bham Now on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok + LinkedIn.  Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
15 Halloween-Inspired Events To Get You In The Spooky Spirit | Bham Now
New Huntsville Restaurant The Curry Elevates Local Indian Options
New Huntsville Restaurant The Curry Elevates Local Indian Options
New Huntsville Restaurant The Curry Elevates Local Indian Options https://digitalalabamanews.com/new-huntsville-restaurant-the-curry-elevates-local-indian-options/ For the past year or so, the parking lot at 607 Andrew Jackson Way has mostly been empty. On Sunday around noon though, the lot was filled with cars. Locals had flocked there to check out The Curry, a new Indian restaurant that opened this weekend in the building last home to pizzeria Mario’s Five Points, which shuttered last October, and for decades housed country-cooking fave Mullins Restaurant, which closed in 2014. The Curry’s logo and fuchsia front signage look like they could be for a new social media app. Meanwhile inside the restaurant, a fusion of traditional Indian cuisine is served in all its aromatic glory. Hence the eatery’s tagline “Modern Indian.” It’s a perfect fit for Five Points, the Huntsville area known for its charming neighborhoods mixing historic homes and bohemian funkiness. The locals have quickly responded. During its first weekend, The Curry served more than 300 guests, says the restaurant’s manager and social media coordinator, Lilian German. She says The Curry’s team is “overjoyed” by the initial response. “Five Points is a community that supports one another, values progressive thinking and is rich with history,” German says. “Bishop’s Flowers (a nearby florist) even came by before our opening weekend to drop off flowers.” Buffets are a staple of Indian restaurants, and there’s a reason. That serving configuration offers easy culinary tourism through foods average Americans have a limited familiarity with. Even if one’s an Indian super-fan, it’s just a great way to sample these vibrant flavors. Selection from the weekend buffet at The Curry, a new Indian cuisine restaurant in Huntsville. (Matt Wake/mwake@AL.com) Yes, The Curry’s buffet, served from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturdays and 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Sundays, includes flavorful versions of Indian greatest-hits like chicken tikka masala and saag paneer. But you’ll also find a rotating selection of spectacular off-menu items like peri-peri wings (think peppery tandoori) and tawa chicken cafreal (an awesome green-chili covered mix of bird, peppers, tomatoes, etc.). “India is not just one style or one type of people,” German says. “It’s a country rich in diversity. Every weekend we will be highlighting different dishes.” Of course, The Curry isn’t Huntsville’s first Indian restaurant. There’s regional chain Sitar on Jordan Lane and Indian Kitchen on Whitesburg Drive and recently departed Ruchi on Memorial Parkway. All solid joints. But The Curry, with its fresh flavors and approach, clearly levels-up local Indian options. The Curry, a new Indian cuisine restaurant in Huntsville. (Matt Wake/mwake@AL.com) The head chef? Linil Raman, a South India native whose culinary journey in America took him through several states over the years before arriving at The Curry. Raman is also a part-owner. German says the other two owners prefer to remain private, but she will say The Curry is the lone restaurant with which the three owners are involved. The Curry’s guest capacity is around 200. Inside there are two dining rooms, including a front area outfitted with a black & white mural depicting yesterday local fixtures like the Whitesburg Drive-In movie theater. A neon sign in a hallway between dining rooms and the back banquet area opened weekends for the buffet line reads, “Less Worry More Curry.” The restaurant’s current hours of operation: Tuesday through Thursday lunch 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and dinner 5-9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and dinner 5-9:30 p.m.; and Sunday 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. The Curry, a new Indian cuisine restaurant in Huntsville. (Matt Wake/mwake@AL.com) The menu spans bowls (chili gobi, etc., around $13 each); fragrant spiced biryani (veggie, chicken, goat, etc., $14-$17); vegan curries (dal panchamal, dal makhana, etc., around $14); traditional carne dishes (butter chicken, lamb madras, etc., $15-$19); tandoor (mustard prawns, shahi salmon tikka, etc. $15.50 and up) and beyond. Indian breads like naan, as well as trad drinks and desserts too. The complete menu is available at thecurryrestaurant.com. German says The Curry has already made adjustments since their opening weekend. Those tweaks include revising menu descriptions to include more dietary-restriction info, reorganizing the kitchen’s expo line and additional training on the handheld tablets servers use to print guests’ bills. The Curry currently employs a staff of around a dozen. But like many pandemic-era restaurants, The Curry is looking to fill out their ranks with more hosts, dishwashers, prep cooks, expos and food runners. Interested parties can apply in-person or via the restaurant’s website. German’s Huntsville service-industry background began nine years ago at Southside staple Angel’s Island Coffee. She holds a business management degree with digital marketing specialty and most recently worked at downtown English-style pub The Poppy & Parliament. German’s Indian go-to’s veer toward vegan/vegetarian dishes and desserts. Veggie biryani. Masala dosa, a crispy crepe. Gulab jamun confections. “Indian food in particular is an incredible adventure,” she says, “because it’s not just a way to travel to India but a way to travel through time. It absolutely fascinates me that these recipes go back to ancient times.” For example, she says kheer, a rice-pudding-ish dessert The Curry serves, is thought to be one of the world’s oldest recipes, dating back to 400 B.C. “How cool is that?” MORE ON FOOD: Trash Pandas’ Dumpster Wrap: The story behind bonkers concession item Frozen wine drinks, gourmet sandwiches coming to Huntsville 15 essential Huntsville restaurants and local food recommendations ‘Elevated pub-food’ kitchen coming to downtown Huntsville Huntsville barbecue options just got more interesting If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
New Huntsville Restaurant The Curry Elevates Local Indian Options
Auburn Failing In Crucial 'middle 8' Moments Under Bryan Harsin
Auburn Failing In Crucial 'middle 8' Moments Under Bryan Harsin
Auburn Failing In Crucial 'middle 8' Moments Under Bryan Harsin https://digitalalabamanews.com/auburn-failing-in-crucial-middle-8-moments-under-bryan-harsin/ Bryan Harsin is a big believer in momentum and the role it can play on Saturdays. Unfortunately for the second-year Auburn coach, his team has a poor track record of generating it — and, conversely, keeping opponents from gathering some of their own — just before halftime. In each of Auburn’s five games this season, opponents have scored a touchdown inside the final two minutes of the first half. In the last four games, those opponent touchdowns have either put Auburn behind heading into halftime, tied the game or — as was the case last weekend — trimmed the Tigers’ lead to a field goal at the break. Read more Auburn football: Anders Carlson still has Auburn’s “full support” despite recent field goal struggles Auburn edge Eku Leota out for season with pectoral injury Statistically speaking: Auburn committing turnovers at alarming rate “That’s a big one,” Harsin said. “That’s probably one of the biggest in my opinion, right? You don’t want anybody to score, and you want to score points going into halftime. I think it’s all about momentum. And that’s one area, when you’ve got the ball, it’s not just about scoring touchdowns, it’s just about scoring points, alright? Try to create some momentum, especially if you get the ball back in the second half…. So, being on the losing side of that, yeah, I mean that’s — you go in, they scored, alright, really that’s the momentum that they’ve got. And when you come into halftime, you’ve got to find a way to get that back.” The problem for Auburn is that it largely has been unable to get those points back coming out of the locker room, as the team has struggled in the “middle eight” — the four minutes on either side of halftime, which often play critical roles in the outcome of any given game. Auburn has been outscored 42-7 in the middle eight this season, and Harsin’s team has failed to win those crucial eight minutes in any game this year. Auburn has lost the middle eight in four of its five games, while it managed to come out even in that period of gametime in Week 2 against San Jose State (the Spartans scored a touchdown with 58 seconds left in the first half to take a 10-7 lead at the break, but the Tigers responded with a Tank Bigsby touchdown with 11:45 to go in the third to cap their opening drive coming out of the locker room). It’s part of a troubling trend for Auburn under Harsin, which particularly struggled in the middle section of games against Power 5 competition last season. Auburn was outpaced, 59-13, in the middle eight of those nine games — eight SEC contests plus the Penn State game — and only held an advantage in that area once: in the Iron Bowl, outscoring Alabama 3-0 in that stretch before ultimately losing in a quadruple-overtime thriller. Those issues have extended into this season, with Auburn outscored 28-0 in the middle sections of its last three games (its only games against Power 5 opponents so far). Penn State held a 14-0 edge in that stretch during the Week 3 tilt at Jordan-Hare Stadium, including a Kaytron Allen rushing touchdown with 1:46 to go in the first half to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to 14-6 at halftime. Missouri and LSU each managed a 7-0 advantage in that area; Missouri’s Brady Cook scored from 1 yard out with 30 seconds left in the first half to tie the game at 14-14, while LSU’s Jayden Daniels had a 1-yard touchdown run with 15 seconds remaining in the half, cutting Auburn’s lead to 17-14, as Harsin’s team eventually blew a 17-point lead in a 21-17 loss last weekend. In 12 games under Harsin, Auburn has now been outscored 87-13 in that crucial period of games against Power 5 opponents. “That’s a big factor, in my opinion, at halftime, giving up points or trying to get them,” Harsin said. Auburn’s Middle 8 struggles in 2022: Opponent Middle 8 score How Mercer Mercer 7, Auburn 0 Fred Payton 5-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left in first half San Jose State San Jose State 7, Auburn 7 Kairee Robinson 1-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left in first half; Tank Bigsby 1-yard touchdown run with 11:45 to go in third quarter. Penn State Penn State 14, Auburn 0 Kaytron Allen 3-yard rushing touchdown with 1:46 left in first half; Nick Singleton 1-yard touchdown run with 12:16 left in third quarter. Missouri Missouri 7, Auburn 0 Brady Cook 1-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds remaining in first half. LSU LSU 7, Auburn 0 Jayden Daniels 1-yard touchdown run with 15 seconds to go until halftime. Complicating the matter for Auburn has been the team’s well-documented second-half struggles under Harsin. In the Tigers’ last eight games against Power 5 teams, they have been outscored 104-21 in regulation after halftime. The team is 2-6 during that stretch, with wins against Ole Miss late last October and the fortunate overtime escape against Missouri two weeks ago. Over the last three weeks, excluding the overtime period against Missouri, Auburn has managed just one second-half score — a fourth-quarter touchdown (followed by a failed two-point conversion) in a blowout loss to Penn State. Auburn has been outscored, 34-6, after halftime of those three games while averaging just 0.32 points per drive and committing five turnovers (along with three more turnovers on downs). “We look at every game and we know the reasons, alright?” Harsin said. “We know the reasons. We look at every drive. There’s a drive chart. There’s a result. There’s reasons why, and so we break it all down. You know, what was it? Where did we have a negative play? Where did we have positive plays? What was the end result on those drives? So, those are things that we’ve discussed as a staff, those are things we discuss with our players.” According to Harsin, the biggest issues have been consistency and negative plays. Auburn needs to find more of the former and cut down on the latter — which it hasn’t been able to do against quality competition. “That’s play-calling, that’s execution; that’s all those things,” Harsin said. “I mean, it’s really not one thing in particular that’s just the glaring reason why. It’s things that we all have to improve on and get better at. And then our adjustments coming out of half, we’ve got to be able to find ways to continue to put points on the board. “It’s not just the half of football; you’ve got to play all four quarters.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Auburn Failing In Crucial 'middle 8' Moments Under Bryan Harsin
New Analysis Explains The Problematic Nature Of Trump's Violent Rhetoric
New Analysis Explains The Problematic Nature Of Trump's Violent Rhetoric
New Analysis Explains The Problematic Nature Of Trump's Violent Rhetoric https://digitalalabamanews.com/new-analysis-explains-the-problematic-nature-of-trumps-violent-rhetoric/ Former President Donald Trump speaking at the “Rally to Protect Our Elections,” hosted by Turning Point Action at the Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, Gage Skidmore A new analysis is breaking down the potential problems that could arise due to former President Donald Trump’s violent rhetoric. In a new piece published by CNN, White House reporter Stephen Collinson began by explaining the trend that started in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. “The lesson of January 6, 2021, is that when extremism, conspiracies, and incitement reach a boiling point, they seek an outlet,” Collinson wrote. “That recent history is loudly echoing amid a deepening sense that the country could be heading back to a dark political place as another Election Day looms. And sadly, in a such a toxic age, another violent eruption cannot be ruled out.” READ MORE: Donald Trump’s Save America PAC under investigation by federal grand jury: report According to Collinson, Trump has an angle when it comes to getting the reaction he desires when circumstances are unfavorable to his agenda. “Trump’s political model remains rooted in igniting anger among his supporters,” Collinson wrote. “The more outrageous his comments, the more that the ex-President and his supporters show disdain for Washington elites and the rules and conventions that constrain the presidency and government institutions” “His political self-image emulates the militarism and brashness of foreign strongmen,” he added. “And in a sense, his refusal to temper his political speech, even at the risk of endangering others, demonstrates yet again his power over a party that largely refuses to rebuke him, however extreme he becomes.” Collinson also expressed concern about the vast majority of Republican lawmakers refusing to push back against Trump. READ MORE: Donald Trump, who ‘fell in love’ with Kim Jong-Un, calls Kamala Harris a ‘North Korea sympathizer’ He pointed to a Wall Street Journal editorial published on Monday, October 3 as an example of the problem. That piece noted lawmakers’ silence on Trump’s latest attack leveled at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “The ‘death wish’ rhetoric is ugly even by Mr. Trump’s standards and deserves to be condemned. Mr. Trump’s apologists claim he merely meant Mr. McConnell has a political death wish, but that isn’t what he wrote,” the news outlet said. “It’s all too easy to imagine some fanatic taking Mr. Trump seriously and literally, and attempting to kill Mr. McConnell.” Collinson acknowledged that the violent rhetoric could come from both sides but he also highlighted the distinct difference in Trump’s case. “Violent rhetoric can be bipartisan,” he wrote, adding, “But there is little doubt that Trump’s behavior has contributed to an increasingly volatile political culture. “Long before the Capitol insurrection, the ex-President injected a bullying and brutal tone in his campaign rhetoric. Month by month, Trump built an impression that violence was a legitimate tool of expressing political grievances – a process that came to a head on January 6 – and further eroded the idea that Americans’ differences should be settled at the ballot box rather than through violent action.” READ MORE: ‘Not worth the paper it’s printed on’: Experts torch Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CNN Read More…
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New Analysis Explains The Problematic Nature Of Trump's Violent Rhetoric
Trumps Sues CNNfor Defamation Seeks $475 Million FISM TV
Trumps Sues CNNfor Defamation Seeks $475 Million FISM TV
Trumps Sues CNN for Defamation, Seeks $475 Million – FISM TV https://digitalalabamanews.com/trumps-sues-cnn-for-defamation-seeks-475-million-fism-tv/ Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News Former President Donald Trump proved Monday that his promise to hale CNN into court was sincere. Months after first pledging to sue CNN, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against the legacy media giant, who Trump says should be forced to pay him $475 million in punitive damages and additional compensatory damage pending a jury trial. “A lawsuit was filed today against CNN, the once prestigious news channel that has devolved into a purveyor of disinformation, defamation, and Fake News, at a level which the American Public, and indeed the World, will not even believe is possible,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “For years I have watched this take place, often in disbelief, but the time has finally come to hold CNN responsible and legally accountable for their willful deception and defamatory statements made about me.” CNN has indicated to multiple news outlets, among them NBC News, that it will offer no comment on the lawsuit. In the suit, Trump’s legal team alleges CNN went beyond reporting only negatively about him and “sought to use its massive influence — purportedly as a ‘trusted’ news source —to defame the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically.” At issue is Trump’s belief that CNN had, on 34 occasions, crossed the line between criticism and defamation. Most notably, the former president objects to the network’s frequent decision to compare Trump to Adolf Hitler and to use the phrase “The Big Lie” when describing Trump’s claims about a fraudulent 2020 presidential election. The phrase is indelibly linked, historically and connotatively, to the vile history of Hitler. “Most notably, and, the subject of this complaint, is CNN’s persistent association of the Plaintiff to Adolf Hitler and Nazism,” the complaint reads. “When labels like ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ and ‘insurrectionist’ did not have the desired effect to undermine the Plaintiff’s candidacy when running for President or the Plaintiff’s accomplishments as President, CNN upped the stakes to conjure associations between the Plaintiff and arguably the most heinous figure in modern history.” The network’s penchant for Nazi comparisons was a deliberate attempt to damage Trump’s political future, Trump’s attorneys conclude. “By publication of these defamatory statements, CNN has incited readers and viewers to hate, contempt, distrust, ridicule, and even fear the Plaintiff, causing injury to the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff’s reputation, and the Plaintiff’s political career,” the complaint reads. Trump has been the originator and recipient of numerous forms of litigation since leaving office. He is currently embroiled in a well-documented criminal process with the Department of Justice over documents confiscated from his Florida home and is being sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James in civil court over his business dealings in the Empire State. He was recently unsuccessful in a bid to sue Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, ABC, and individual Democrats like Rep. Adam Schiff over those parties’ claim that Trump colluded with Russia in his 2016 presidential election, a claim that has never been substantiated. Trump alleged the defendants in that case had violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a law primarily meant to criminally punish organized crime. Monday’s suit, which at 29 pages is about one-tenth the length of Trump’s Clinton-RICO effort, might be the first of several. Trump has announced that he planned to file many more lawsuits against additional news outlets in the weeks and months to come. Read More…
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Trumps Sues CNNfor Defamation Seeks $475 Million FISM TV
The Sports Facilities Companies Announce Partnership With Stonehenge Partners
The Sports Facilities Companies Announce Partnership With Stonehenge Partners
The Sports Facilities Companies Announce Partnership With Stonehenge Partners https://digitalalabamanews.com/the-sports-facilities-companies-announce-partnership-with-stonehenge-partners/ Industry-Leading Sports Facility Planning and Management Firm Attracts Resources for Next-Generation Services. , /PRNewswire/ — The Sports Facilities Companies (SFC) has announced a partnership with Stonehenge Partners (Stonehenge) to fuel the firm’s expansion and service to communities across the country. Founded in 2003, SFC has been involved in the planning, consulting, and operating of many of today’s most notable sports tourism and recreation destinations, hosting more than 25 million annual visits in SFC-affiliated venues. The sports, recreation, and tourism industry is experiencing explosive growth: Youth and amateur sports tourism, currently a $39.7 billion industry (Sports Events and Tourism Association 2021 Report), is predicted to reach $77.5 billion in 2026 worldwide (Evergreen Research Report 2020). The Sports Facilities Companies Announce Partnership With Stonehenge Partners SFC Co-Founders Jason Clement and Dev Pathik commented on the future of the partnership. “We are obsessed with serving communities and families,” Clement, SFC CEO stated. “This partnership allows us to invest in our client and customer experiences in new and different ways. We are focused on the technology, talent, and tools to expand our full-service solution for developing and operating the nation’s highest-performing sports and recreation complexes.” “This is the ideal time to take on a capital partner who shares our vision for improving communities,” added Pathik. “The Stonehenge model provides the right balance of mission alignment with the current SFC executive team maintaining its significant ownership stake and continuing to lead the companies’ expanding service offerings.” Andrew Bohutinsky, Stonehenge Managing Partner, stated, “The Stonehenge team is thrilled to partner with SFC. We view the firm’s focus on long-term client relationships, consistent growth, talent, market position, and end-to-end solution as huge advantages in the highly fragmented sports tourism and recreation marketplace.” The youth and amateur sports marketplace have been on a steep rise since the early 2000s, with a notable spike in growth in the travel and tourism space since 2014. As municipalities seek solutions in their parks and recreation budgets, invest in travel sports destinations, and compete to be cities of choice for quality of life, SFC is poised to provide the best service and resources. SFC currently operates a growing list of sports tourism, community recreation, wellness, and events properties across 17 states and hosts more than 25 million visits annually. Chief Executive of the Sports and Fitness Industry Association Tom Cove said of the announcement, “The SFC team has played a significant and positive role in the youth and amateur sports landscape. Their growth and this partnership are testaments to their commitment to excellence. This is great news for the industry and the communities in which SFC serves.” Current SFC Client Dan Rowe, CEO of the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau and former Visit Florida Board Chair, added, “Congratulations to the entire SFC team. They are once again resourcing themselves to lead the facilities management movement in the sports, recreation, and tourism space.” Sports Facilities Companies has served more than 2,000 communities since its founding and currently operates 40 properties on behalf of municipalities, real estate developers, and private clients, including Myrtle Beach, SC, Gatlinburg, TN, Hoover, AL, Sandusky, OH, Panama City Beach and notable new developments in Fort Bend, TX and Starkville, MS. The SFC team is comprised more than 1,500 team members in 17 states. To learn more about the Sports Facilities Companies (SFC), please visit www.sportsfacilities.com. About The Sports Facilities Companies The Sports Facilities Companies (SFC) provide outsourced management and development services for community sport, recreation, wellness, and event facilities. SFC provides full-service solutions to community leaders, municipalities, convention & visitors bureaus, and developers consisting of master planning, program planning, feasibility, development oversight, construction management, and professional management services. The SF Network consists of more than 30 managed venues and 1500 team members serving more than 25 million annual guests while producing over $250 million in economic impact each year. To learn more, visit www.SportsFacilities.com and www.theSFNetwork.com PRESS CONTACT Ashley Whittaker 274743845 https://sportsfacilities.com/ SOURCE The Sports Facilities Companies Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
The Sports Facilities Companies Announce Partnership With Stonehenge Partners
Truss Faces New Challenge Over UK Welfare Payments
Truss Faces New Challenge Over UK Welfare Payments
Truss Faces New Challenge Over UK Welfare Payments https://digitalalabamanews.com/truss-faces-new-challenge-over-uk-welfare-payments/ Pressure builds over future benefit policy Truss, Kwarteng to set out full fiscal plan Truss refuses to rule out limits to welfare payments BIRMINGHAM, England Oct 4 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Liz Truss triggered a new row in her party on Tuesday by suggesting she could limit increases in benefit payments by less than soaring inflation as she seeks ways to fund her tax-cutting growth plan. Britain’s new leader has endured a tumultuous time since she came to power on Sept. 6, first leading national mourning for Queen Elizabeth before releasing an economic package that immediately roiled financial markets. Seeking to snap Britain out of more than 10 years of economic stagnation, Truss and her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng set out 45 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts on Sept. 23 alongside promises to deregulate the economy to stoke growth. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com On Monday, they bowed to pressure to scrap the most divisive policy – eliminating the top rate of income tax for the highest earners – and are now working urgently to set out how they can afford the other tax cuts without leaving a huge black hole in the country’s public finances. “We have to look at these issues in the round. We have to be fiscally responsible,” Truss told BBC Radio when asked whether benefit payments would rise in line with record-high inflation to prevent the poorest in society from becoming poorer. Immediately lawmakers in Truss’s Conservative Party – some who helped force the top tax rate reversal – opposed any move to reduce the increases in benefits at a time when millions are struggling with higher costs of food and energy. Penny Mordaunt, who is in Truss’s cabinet of senior ministers, said benefits should rise in line with inflation. Damian Green, part of the party’s centrist faction, said he doubted any real-terms cut would pass a parliamentary vote. “I think there will be many of my colleagues who think that when you’re reaching for spending cuts, benefit payments are not the way to do it,” Green told BBC Radio. Another lawmaker, Roger Gale, also signalled his opposition. Victoria Prentis, a minister in the Department for Work and Pensions, told Reuters the government had to go through the numbers before it could take a final decision on benefits. British interior minister Suella Braverman accused certain sections of the party of staging “a coup effectively” over the top tax rate cut. “I am very disappointed to say the least about how some of my colleagues have behaved,” she said, at the party’s annual conference. Braverman also said when she ran for leader of the party she “was actually quite clear … that I wanted to cut welfare spending”, adding she supported the cut to the top rate of tax. Kwarteng has set Nov. 23 as the date for his next fiscal statement. A government source said the Treasury was considering bringing that forward but any change would most probably be announced once parliament resumes next week. read more POLITICAL TURBULENCE Truss became Britain’s fourth leader in six years last month, promising to reignite the economy and bring some political stability after the chaotic leadership of Boris Johnson. Chosen by her party’s members, not the broader electorate, she was not the most popular candidate among the more than 350 Conservative members of parliament and her decision to stake out a tax cut plan and then concede defeat has left lawmakers and investors questioning her judgement and authority. At the annual conference in Birmingham, central England, some lawmakers and commentators have questioned whether she has a mandate to take Britain back to a 1980s-style Reagonomics policy without a national election. The Conservatives won the 2019 election with Johnson promising to increase spending on public services. “It is not a great thing to sell the public on one type of package and vision, and then completely flip it and appear not to care,” Rachel Wolf, the co-author of the Conservatives 2019 manifesto, said on Sunday. Investors have also taken fright at the new economic policy direction, hammering the value of British assets so hard that the Bank of England had to intervene last week with a package worth up to 65 billion pounds to shore up the bond market. Mortgage costs have already risen. Mohamed El-Erian, an adviser to financial services giant Allianz, said the government needed to get its house in order. “We are not a developing country and we need to stop acting like a developing country,” he told Sky News. The BoE action has calmed markets, at least for now, while investors also took some comfort from the tax U-turn and the hoped-for move to bring forward the publishing date for the next fiscal plan from Nov. 23. But Boris Glass, senior economist at S&P Global ratings agency, said Britain faced a difficult winter. “Unless strong medium-term growth can fully fund the extra spending, medium-term fiscal tightening appears inevitable, which may weigh on future growth,” he said. ($1 = 0.8782 pounds) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Writing by Kate Holton, Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Elizabeth Piper and Alistair Smout in Birmingham, Kylie MacLellan and Sarah Young in London. Editing by William Maclean, Jon Boyle, Alexandra Hudson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More…
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Truss Faces New Challenge Over UK Welfare Payments
FAA Mandates More Rest For Flight Attendants To Combat Fatigue
FAA Mandates More Rest For Flight Attendants To Combat Fatigue
FAA Mandates More Rest For Flight Attendants To Combat Fatigue https://digitalalabamanews.com/faa-mandates-more-rest-for-flight-attendants-to-combat-fatigue%ef%bf%bc/ An aircraft flies past the control tower as it prepares to land at New York’s John F Kennedy Airport, May 25, 2015. (TREVOR COLLENS/AFP/Getty Images) The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday announced a new rule increasing the amount of rest time airlines must give flight attendants between shifts. The new rule, which the FAA proposed late last year, boosts the required rest time from nine consecutive hours to 10 hours for flight attendants between their shifts, which can reach as long as 14 hours. Officials touted the new rule as helping mitigate fatigue among flight attendants. “It’s been a long road, and it’s about time,” FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen said at a press conference. “I can tell you it’s been a priority for me and for this administration, and that’s why we are here today. I’m a pilot and as any pilot can tell you, we cannot fly the plane without this safety expertise and support of flight attendants.” The change was first reported by CNN. Sarah Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said congressionally mandated studies found flight attendants had increased risk for cancer, cardiac issues and respiratory issues in part because of the lack of rest, calling the nine-hour requirement a “safety loophole.” “We continue to make this one standard of safety and continue to press forward to ensure that this minimum rest is applied for cargo pilots,” she said. Congress passed the rule in 2018 but was never implemented by the Trump administration. Nelson at the press conference repeatedly applauded the Transportation Department and FAA’s work to implement the rule, tying its success to the “consequences of elections.” “We are so happy, this was time to happen, and especially on the heels of coronavirus and all that flight attendants have had to deal with,” Nelson said.  “Longer days, shorter nights with the reduction of schedules throughout this pandemic and also all of the combative passengers that they have had to face on not enough rest,” she continued. “Today, that is getting corrected, and we are going to see by the new year this implemented across the industry.” Unruly passenger investigations soared during the pandemic, hitting an all-time annual record of 1,099 in 2021, as flight attendants enforced a federal mask mandate in mass transit. The number of initiated investigations has fallen since the mandate ended, but the rate remains more than double that of any time before the pandemic, according to FAA data. The airline industry has also struggled to grow their operation to meet resurging demand after downsizing during the pandemic. The problems have led many airline labor groups to protest for better pay or improved conditions. Read More…
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FAA Mandates More Rest For Flight Attendants To Combat Fatigue
Inbox: After All These Years Mason Crosby Is Still Getting It Done
Inbox: After All These Years Mason Crosby Is Still Getting It Done
Inbox: After All These Years, Mason Crosby Is Still Getting It Done https://digitalalabamanews.com/inbox-after-all-these-years-mason-crosby-is-still-getting-it-done/ Brian from Minneapolis, MN Good morning, Mike and Wes. What did you think of Aaron Rodgers rocking the cutoff hoodie in his postgame press conference? I thought it was a witty nod to Bill Belichick’s “style.” Oddly, it seemed to go unnoticed by the assembled press. It didn’t go unnoticed by me. It was fantastic. Pay homage. Al from Green Bay, WI This is a shout out to Molly Crosby’s steady, reliable, pro’s pro of a husband. When the game came down to his foot, there was no doubt. It’s great to have Mason on the team, and to have his family in our community! I tweeted after the game there’s no amount of money you could pay me to be an NFL kicker. Yet, Crosby has made so many of those clutch kicks during his 15-plus NFL seasons. Kickers are wired differently. The best don’t have that “worry” signal in their membrane. They simply do it. After all these years, Mason Crosby is still getting it done. Ky from Santa Cruz, CA I was very excited for a solid run defense this year given the improved D-line. After a couple bad games, I was encouraged by the performance against the Bucs. Then, this game happened, and the Bucs rushed for minus-3 yards in the first half of SNF. What’s going wrong? Spoff asked and Matt LaFleur answered on Monday. The head coach called for more physicality up front. There also might be times when schematically the Packers move out of their Cover-2 defensive looks and drop a safety into the box to defend against run-heavy offenses. All is not lost. The Packers are aware they have work to do against the run and the talent required to make the corrections. Paul from Ledgeview, WI Wes, what’s the counter to the jumbo package NE used (employing an extra OL when they ran out of TEs)? Bringing on another DL? Do the NYG have anything comparable? If not, could you see them adding it? Should GB employ their own version of a heavy package? Meeting power with power. I didn’t see Marcus Cannon run any routes. If a team is content with having six blockers, the Packers may need to deploy an extra rusher or two. Venny from Montgomery, AL I think many of these close games are attributed to the Packers’ negative turnover margin. If I’m not mistaken, they’ve given up at least one in every game. I think we start to see a cleaner operation once those mistakes are minimized. Much like the run defense, I feel confident the Packers will sort out the turnovers. Historically, Green Bay has been solid under LaFleur when it comes to protecting the football. Defensively, I think the takeaway tide will turn over the next month, as well. The unit is too talented for it not to. Julian from Gastonia, NC I have just one question for this week. Can this Packers defense slow down Saquon Barkley, and if so, how? That is the No. 1 question. Because Barkley is back and so are the Giants. The Packers must have an answer. Because it’s not just about getting beat on first down against a back of his caliber – it’s how Barkley is a threat to take it to the end zone every time he touches the ball. Pete from Hillsborough, NC There are two pressing questions this week. First, will all three phases show up for Green Bay for the whole game in London? Second, can Wes drink room-temperature root beer? Better yet, do they even have root beer in the UK? Getting all three phases clicking simultaneously is so difficult to accomplish, especially in an international game. But the good thing is all three phases have made impacts early on. It’s not one area carrying the other two. On the root beer front, a UK Packers fan told me I’m gonna be out of luck, but I guess there’s only one way to find out. Ben from Pensacola, FL Also, I like that Rodgers kept going back to Romeo Doubs after the fumble. Build his confidence, and it even surprised me when Rodgers said afterward, he felt like he didn’t give him the right ball. Is he tough on them? Sure, but I think the headlines of “Rodgers hates his WR core” are completely bogus, and the WRs themselves know that. I do really want to see Christian Watson make a catch down field for a huge gain though. Soon… And when plays are made, Rodgers is the first player there to celebrate with them. Echoing Dan Orlovsky’s comments, I’m excited to see what this receiving corps looks like at the end of the season. Green Bay has the right mix of veterans (Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins) and youth (Watson, Romeo Doubs, Rodgers and Samori Toure), and are only gonna get better. Bill from Wilmington, DE Hi Wes, I never complain about a win. Do you think the offense will start trying to mix in more Christian Watson? Teams now have to account for Lazard and Doubs. I know our defense can get leaky at times, but I still have a ton of faith in them. GPG! It’s building a menu. You give the rookies packages that they feel comfortable with and expand from there. The Packers have already done that with both Watson and Doubs. Jesse from Minneapolis, MN I’ve seen a lot of discussion about, “What kind of team are the Packers?” Brian Gutekunst prioritized elite blocking skill players (Lazard, Lewis, and Watkins). The Packers kept the OL/Asst OL/run game coordinator (Stenavich/Butkus). Gutekunst invested in D/ST in the draft/free agency. I don’t know if anyone in a position of authority has outright confirmed it to us, but do you read all of this as, “We’re changing fundamentally who are: run the ball, play D/ST, grind out wins”? It’s not even about changing anything. It’s more embracing the identity of this current team and its personnel. Lazard is a perfect example. LaFleur wasn’t even here yet when Gutekunst signed Lazard during the final week of 2018, but the receiver’s skill set fit perfectly within LaFleur’s scheme. When you have a talented receiver who blocks as well as Lazard does, a coach will want to steer the offense to that player’s strengths. And that’s just one slice of larger pie. Steve from Alexandria, VA What took so long for us to get the tight end in the mix on Sunday? That was baffling. Robert Tonyan is still on a pitch count, it appears. While he made a great snag on the 20-yard TD down the seam, Tonyan still only played 32 of the 73 offensive snaps. Again, the Packers are playing the long game with their No. 1 pass-catching tight end. Trust the process. Ron from Mitchell, SD Lots of chatter about how we almost lost to third-stringer Bailey Zappe. Last time I checked we played the New England Patriots and not Bailey Zappe. Coach Belichick always has his teams ready to play and no one should have expected anything less than that on Sunday. Fans are entitled to their opinion, but Belichick did an exceptional job of putting Zappe in a position to succeed under less-than-desirable circumstances. The Patriots stayed patient with their wide-zone, and the backs and offensive line did a masterful job of executing. The great coaches put their players in a position to succeed. Belichick did that. Austin from Manassas, VA Is Elgton Jenkins really better at RT than Yosh Nijman? Much has been said about his versatility, but even that has limits. Coming off a major injury and playing out of position hasn’t been kind to him. With Bak looking like he’s going to be back for good and playing very well, I would be surprised if Yosh isn’t training at RT. LaFleur said they’re considering everything right now. If David Bakhtiari comes through OK after his 70-snap day, then maybe the Packers have more options with how they want to utilize Jenkins and Nijman. With Jenkins’ ability to play all five positions, it allows the rest of the linemen to play in their best spot, as well. The coaches will make the best decision for Elgton and the starting five. David from Janesville, WI Inboxers, according to my research (which could be wrong) Kylin Hill can be designated to come off the PUP list after the Jets game. Amari Rodgers seems to have improved in punt returns but kickoffs remain a bit sluggish. Any word on how Hill’s recovery is going? Not sure what roster moves make sense to activate him, but if Hill is healthy, he may provide a nice option returning kicks again. Hill was working out on the field before pre-game warmups on Sunday. You’re right in that Hill is eligible to be activated from PUP but the first step is going to be returning to practice. Once that happens, the Packers have a 21-day window to return him to the active roster. I don’t expect Green Bay to rush him. You have to walk before you can sprint with these matters. Michael from Morrison, IL On the game-winning field goal, Jack Coco deserves a ton of credit. While both Mason Crosby and Pat O’Donnell have been through that situation many times, I can’t imagine the nerves going on with the rookie long snapper facing his first such snap. The kid has been cool as a cucumber since winning the job during training camp. While Coco didn’t snap on punts in college, he did quite a bit of short snapping. I thought that’s shown up so far. If you watch the replay, the snap was near-perfect. O’Donnell slightly turned the laces and Crosby drilled it home. The quick IG video Mason Crosby did after the game was great, too – two veteran specialists and the undrafted rookie just having a ball. Ed from Hilltown, PA When the average points allowed by the defense are calculated, are points resulting from an interception and/or fumble recovery factored into the total or are they excluded because it resulted from a turnover by the offense? It all counts. Why? No idea. But that’s how it goes. Ed from Hilltown, PA Why does the NFL consider the nose of the ball crossing the goal line a touchdown on a run (provided knees or elbows don’t touch the ground) but a reception caught with a step or two plus knee and/or elbow hitting the ground a split second before the ball is loose not ...
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Inbox: After All These Years Mason Crosby Is Still Getting It Done
More Floridian Homes Businesses Still Without Power After Hurricane Ian Than The All The Households In Rhode Island
More Floridian Homes Businesses Still Without Power After Hurricane Ian Than The All The Households In Rhode Island
More Floridian Homes, Businesses Still Without Power After Hurricane Ian Than The All The Households In Rhode Island https://digitalalabamanews.com/more-floridian-homes-businesses-still-without-power-after-hurricane-ian-than-the-all-the-households-in-rhode-island/ Video above: The latest on the impacts of IanNearly a week after Hurricane Ian smashed into Florida and carved a path of destruction that reached into the Carolinas, more than half a million statewide residents faced another day without electricity Tuesday as rescuers continued their search for those trapped inside homes inundated with lingering floodwaters.U.S. officials vowed Sunday to unleash a massive amount of federal disaster aid as crews scrambled to rescue people stranded by the storm. GALLERY: Hurricane Ian causes tornadoes, flooding across South Florida At least 99 people have been confirmed dead in Florida and four in North Carolina, according to ABC News. Search and rescue efforts were still ongoing in Florida, where more than 1,600 people have been rescued statewide.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Arcadia on Sunday afternoon, about 30 miles inland from where Ian made landfall. The rural area didn’t get the storm surge experienced by coastal communities, but standing water from floods remained four days after the storm.“This is such a big storm, brought so much water, that you’re having basically what’s been a 500-year flood event,” DeSantis said. Video below: The last news conference from Florida officials on IanIan knocked out power to 2.6 million customers across Florida when it roared ashore with 150-mph (241-kph) winds and pushing a powerful storm surge. About 520,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still without electricity Monday evening, down from a peak of 2.6 million. But that is still nearly the same amount of customers in all of Rhode Island.Eric Silagy, Chairman and CEO of Florida Power & Light — the largest power provider in the state — said he understands the frustrations and said crews are working as hard as they can to restore power as soon as possible. The utility expects to have power restored to 95% of its service areas by the end of the day Friday, he said.A utility spokesperson said the remaining 5% comprises mostly cases where there’s a special situation making it difficult to restore power, such as the home being so damaged it can’t receive power or the area still being flooded. Those outages do not include customers whose homes or businesses were destroyed.Another major electricity provider in the hard-hit coastal region — Lee County Electric Cooperative — said Monday it expects to hit the 95% mark by the end of Saturday. That figure does not include barrier islands like Sanibel that are in its service area.Video below: WPBF 25 drone video shows the devastation in Fort MyersPower restoration is always a key challenge after major hurricanes when high winds and flying debris can topple power lines that distribute electricity to homes or in more severe storms, damage major parts of the electric infrastructure such as transmission lines or power generation.Silagy said the utility has invested $4 billion over the last 10 years to harden its infrastructure by doing things such as burying more power lines, noting that 40% of its distribution system is now underground. The utility is also using more technology like drones that can stay aloft for hours to get a better picture of the damage to the system, and sensors at substations that can alert them to flooding so they can shut off parts of the system before the water hits.Silagy said he’s seen during Ian where those investments have paid off. On Fort Myers Beach, for example, where so many homes and businesses were wiped away, concrete utility poles remain standing, he said. Silagy said the company also didn’t lose a single transmission structure in the 8,000 miles (12,875 kilometers) they have across Florida. Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the federal government is focusing first on victims in Florida, which took the brunt of one of the strongest storms to make landfall in the United States. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden plan to visit Florida on Wednesday. Informational: 2022 WPBF 25 First Warning Weather Hurricane Survival GuideMeanwhile, rescue and salvage efforts across Florida remained difficult. In DeSoto County, northeast of Fort Myers, the Peace River and tributaries reached record high levels, and boats were the only way to get supplies to many of the county’s 37,000 residents.Video below: Central Florida family saved during water rescueIan washed away bridges and roads to several barrier islands. About 130 Florida Department of Transportation trucks started work on building a temporary bridge to Pine Island and, by the end of the week, should be finished on a structure drivers can carefully traverse at slow speeds, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference Monday.The governor said a similar temporary bridge is planned for nearby Sanibel, but will take more time. Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson on Sunday defended Lee County officials from accusations that they were slow in ordering evacuations Tuesday ahead of the storm, a day later than some other counties in the area.“Warnings for hurricane season start in June. So there’s a degree of personal responsibility here. I think the county acted appropriately. The thing is, a certain percentage of people will not heed the warnings regardless,” Anderson said on the CBS show “Face the Nation.” Video below: EF2 tornado damage in Delray Beach, which was one of the three tornadoes in Palm Beach County during Hurricane Ian Video above: The latest on the impacts of Ian Nearly a week after Hurricane Ian smashed into Florida and carved a path of destruction that reached into the Carolinas, more than half a million statewide residents faced another day without electricity Tuesday as rescuers continued their search for those trapped inside homes inundated with lingering floodwaters. U.S. officials vowed Sunday to unleash a massive amount of federal disaster aid as crews scrambled to rescue people stranded by the storm. GALLERY: Hurricane Ian causes tornadoes, flooding across South Florida At least 99 people have been confirmed dead in Florida and four in North Carolina, according to ABC News. Search and rescue efforts were still ongoing in Florida, where more than 1,600 people have been rescued statewide. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Arcadia on Sunday afternoon, about 30 miles inland from where Ian made landfall. The rural area didn’t get the storm surge experienced by coastal communities, but standing water from floods remained four days after the storm. “This is such a big storm, brought so much water, that you’re having basically what’s been a 500-year flood event,” DeSantis said. Video below: The last news conference from Florida officials on Ian Ian knocked out power to 2.6 million customers across Florida when it roared ashore with 150-mph (241-kph) winds and pushing a powerful storm surge. About 520,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still without electricity Monday evening, down from a peak of 2.6 million. But that is still nearly the same amount of customers in all of Rhode Island. Eric Silagy, Chairman and CEO of Florida Power & Light — the largest power provider in the state — said he understands the frustrations and said crews are working as hard as they can to restore power as soon as possible. The utility expects to have power restored to 95% of its service areas by the end of the day Friday, he said. A utility spokesperson said the remaining 5% comprises mostly cases where there’s a special situation making it difficult to restore power, such as the home being so damaged it can’t receive power or the area still being flooded. Those outages do not include customers whose homes or businesses were destroyed. Another major electricity provider in the hard-hit coastal region — Lee County Electric Cooperative — said Monday it expects to hit the 95% mark by the end of Saturday. That figure does not include barrier islands like Sanibel that are in its service area. Video below: WPBF 25 drone video shows the devastation in Fort Myers Power restoration is always a key challenge after major hurricanes when high winds and flying debris can topple power lines that distribute electricity to homes or in more severe storms, damage major parts of the electric infrastructure such as transmission lines or power generation. Silagy said the utility has invested $4 billion over the last 10 years to harden its infrastructure by doing things such as burying more power lines, noting that 40% of its distribution system is now underground. The utility is also using more technology like drones that can stay aloft for hours to get a better picture of the damage to the system, and sensors at substations that can alert them to flooding so they can shut off parts of the system before the water hits. Silagy said he’s seen during Ian where those investments have paid off. On Fort Myers Beach, for example, where so many homes and businesses were wiped away, concrete utility poles remain standing, he said. Silagy said the company also didn’t lose a single transmission structure in the 8,000 miles (12,875 kilometers) they have across Florida. Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the federal government is focusing first on victims in Florida, which took the brunt of one of the strongest storms to make landfall in the United States. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden plan to visit Florida on Wednesday. Informational: 2022 WPBF 25 First Warning Weather Hurricane Survival Guide Meanwhile, rescue and salvage efforts across Florida remained difficult. In DeSoto County, northeast of Fort Myers, the Peace River and tributaries reached record high levels, and boats were the only ...
·digitalalabamanews.com·
More Floridian Homes Businesses Still Without Power After Hurricane Ian Than The All The Households In Rhode Island
Micron Pledges Up To $100 Billion For Semiconductor Factory In New York
Micron Pledges Up To $100 Billion For Semiconductor Factory In New York
Micron Pledges Up To $100 Billion For Semiconductor Factory In New York https://digitalalabamanews.com/micron-pledges-up-to-100-billion-for-semiconductor-factory-in-new-york/ The company is planning a giant complex in Clay, N.Y., a sign that the government’s investments in semiconductors are steering firms’ decisions. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Micron said high-volume production would start after 2025. Credit…Steve Helber/Associated Press Oct. 4, 2022Updated 8:50 a.m. ET Micron announced on Tuesday that it planned to spend as much as $100 billion over the next 20 years or more to build a huge computer chip factory complex in upstate New York, the latest move by a major semiconductor maker to invest in the United States. The commitment by Micron is a sign that the federal government’s prodding and package of generous incentives is helping to steer investment decisions. Legislation that passed in August, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, provides $52 billion in grants and subsidies for companies to build and expand computer chip factories in the country. “There is no doubt that without the CHIPS act, we would not be here today,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, chief executive of Micron. The legislation along with favorable tax treatment and partnerships with state governments like New York are key ingredients needed to match the subsidies offered by Asian nations and “bring chip-making back to America,” Mr. Mehrotra said Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, has championed the chip legislation and his state as a site for semiconductor investment. Gov. Kathy Hochul worked on the state’s behalf to persuade Micron. The Micron decision, Mr. Schumer said, is a byproduct of the chips legislation he worked on for three years. “Had America not done that, I think our economy would have slipped,” he said. “We’ve led in semiconductor research, but over the years we let the manufacturing slip away. But we’re reversing that now.” The investment is a long-term bet by the company and by the federal and state governments. Micron estimated that it would spend $20 billion through the end of the decade and described that plan as a first phase. The company said it planned to invest as much as $100 billion in New York over the next two decades or more. The giant factory will be built in Clay, N.Y., about 15 miles north of Syracuse. Micron said site preparation would begin next year, construction in 2024 and production in volume after 2025. Over the next 20 years, Micron says, the project will generate nearly 50,000 jobs — about 9,000 Micron employees and more than 40,000 jobs for suppliers, contractors and others. The plan also calls for Micron and the state to spend $500 million on community and work force training. The New York incentive package is put at $5.5 billion, one of the largest ever by a state. New York officials noted that the financial support would come in steps as milestones for job creation and private investment are met. How much federal support will flow to the project is uncertain. Since the legislation passed only a couple of months ago, companies cannot apply for federal backing until next year. Both Mr. Schumer and Ms. Hochul met and spoke frequently with Mr. Mehrotra of Micron. “This is personal for me,” said Ms. Hochul, who grew up in Buffalo. “I lived through the decline of manufacturing upstate.” The Micron investment, she said, is an opportunity to revive the region as an advanced manufacturing hub. Upstate New York does have a legacy of chip-making. GlobalFoundries has a plant outside Albany. IBM also had semiconductor manufacturing operations, which it sold to GlobalFoundries. And the State University of New York at Albany has a semiconductor research center. The semiconductor industry is both highly capital-intensive and cyclical. The Micron plan looks well beyond the current cycle. Concerns that the United States was becoming too dependent on Asia to make computer chips — a vital technology for the economy and national security — had been growing for years. Those worries intensified when pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions and chip shortages hampered the production of cars and other goods just as China’s technological capabilities improved. China has also ramped up its rhetoric and its military threats to Taiwan, a vital chip supplier. Those industry and geopolitical forces increased support for the federal chip legislation. To chip makers, it has been clear since the Trump administration that manufacturing in the United States would be encouraged and imports would be threatened with trade curbs. The final bill attracted both a rare measure of bipartisan backing in Congress and a rare endorsement of industrial policy. In recent months, the chip market cycle has swung down. Covid-related lockdowns in China, the war in Ukraine and inflation have affected consumer spending, as many economies struggle or head for recession. Personal computer shipments, for example, are expected to decline nearly 13 percent this year, according to IDC, a research firm. Smartphone sales are also soft. Micron is a leading producer of memory and data storage chips used in personal computers, smartphones, data centers, cars and an array of other electronic products. The company, based in Boise, Idaho, reported a 20 percent falloff in sales in its most recent quarter, to $6.64 billion, and a 45 percent decline in profit, to $1.49 billion. But beyond the current cycle, the demand for memory chips is expected to grow, doubling by the end of the decade, according to industry estimates. The company joins other major chip makers in expanding operations in the United States. Intel, banking on investment incentives, announced in January its plan to invest $20 billion to build two chip plants in Ohio. In late 2021, Samsung said it would build a $17 billion plant in Texas. It later raised the possibility of adding several more in the state with a total long-term investment of nearly $200 billion. In 2020, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced it would construct a $12 billion factory in Arizona. This year, Mark Liu, chairman of T.S.M.C., told shareholders that the price tag was likely to go higher in part because the United States lacked the rich ecosystem of suppliers and large pool of skilled workers that had developed around T.S.M.C., the world’s largest chip maker, in Taiwan. But Mr. Liu added that his company would proceed with its plans in the United States “no matter what.” Read More…
·digitalalabamanews.com·
Micron Pledges Up To $100 Billion For Semiconductor Factory In New York