Digital Alaska News

Trump Warns Of 'big Problems’ If He Is Indicted, Says He Would Still Run For Office https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-warns-of-big-problems-if-he-is-indicted-says-he-would-still-run-for-office/ Former president Donald Trump warned that if he were indicted for mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House, there would be “problems in this country the likes of which perhaps we’ve never seen before.” Trump, speaking Thursday to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, added, “I don’t think the people of the United States would stand for it.” Hewitt, who is also a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, then noted that critics would describe the comment as inciting violence, and asked Trump to respond to the claim. “That’s not inciting — I’m just saying what my opinion is. I don’t think the people of this country would stand for it,” said Trump. When pressed by Hewitt, Trump said he thought there would be “”big problems. Big problems.” Federal agents conducted a court-authorized search of Trump’s club and residence on Aug. 8, as part of a long-running investigation into whether government documents — some of which are classified — were being stored at Mar-a-Lago instead of returned to the National Archives. The FBI probe is the latest legal pressure on Trump, who now faces growing scrutiny as the criminal probe intensifies. The investigation is looking into whether he or his former aides took classified government documents and improperly stored or never returned them. Trump’s lawyer has argued that the former president cooperated with federal authorities and that many of the documents were covered by executive privilege. In January 2021, the House impeached Trump on a single charge of “incitement of insurrection” for his role in whipping up a crowd of his supporters to stop Congress from the counting of electoral college votes for Joe Biden. A mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop the count in the transfer of power, an attack that resulted in five dead and injuries to dozens of members of law enforcement. In the interview with Hewitt, Trump also said he “would have no prohibition against running” for office if he were indicted. “It would not take you out of the arena,.” Hewitt said, trying to clarify the former president’s position. Trump replied, “It would not.” Trump’s warning of problems echoes Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who told Fox News last month there would be “riots in the street” if Trump is prosecuted. Trump appeared to endorse the notion, sharing a link to a video of Graham’s comments on his Truth Social platform. Read More Here

Declassified Report Shows US Predictions Of IS Group Threat https://digitalalaskanews.com/declassified-report-shows-us-predictions-of-is-group-threat/ WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials predicted two years ago that the Islamic State group would likely regain much of its former strength and global influence, particularly if American and other Western forces reduced their role in countering the extremist movement, according to a newly declassified report. Analysts said many of the judgments in the 2020 report appear prescient today, particularly as the group is resurgent in Afghanistan following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of American forces last year. The Islamic State group is no longer controlling huge swaths of territory or staging attacks in the United States as it did several years ago before a major U.S.-led offensive. But it is now slowly rebuilding some core capabilities in Iraq and Syria and increasingly fighting local governments in places including Afghanistan, where an affiliate of the IS group, also known by the acronym ISIS, is fighting the ruling Taliban following the U.S. withdrawal. “If the United States and our partners pull back or withdraw further from areas where ISIS is active, the group’s trajectory will increasingly depend on local governments’ will and capability to fill the resulting security voids,” says the report, originally published in classified form in May 2020, months after then-President Donald Trump’s administration reached an agreement with the Taliban to pull out American troops. Biden and top national security officials have cited the recent strike killing al-Qaida head Ayman al-Zawahri as evidence that America maintains an “over-the-horizon” counterterrorism capacity in Afghanistan after the withdrawal. U.S. special forces also killed the head of the Islamic State group in a February raid in northwest Syria. “The fact of those operations are, I think, reflective how serious this threat environment remains,” said Christy Abizaid, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, on Thursday. But she added that analysts believe the terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland is “less acute than we’ve seen it” at any time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Analysts have recently seen growth in IS group branches around the world, particularly in Africa, said Abizaid, who spoke at the Intelligence and National Security Summit outside Washington. “Afghanistan is a really interesting story along those lines about where the ISIS affiliate is and how we continue to be concerned about it,” she said. Some outside analysts say al-Zawahri’s apparent presence in downtown Kabul suggests that extremist groups are more comfortable operating in Afghanistan — and that it will be tougher to counter the Islamic State group as it grows across the country. Bruce Hoffman, senior fellow for counterterrorism at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations, called the May 2020 report “very clear-eyed and forthright.” “It’s very different operating against ISIS in the isolated mountain redoubts or deep valleys of Afghanistan,” he said. “The advantages that enabled us to so brilliantly take out al-Zawahri, I would guess, are absent outside of Kabul.” While the White House last month released declassified points from an intelligence assessment saying al-Qaida had not reconstituted in Afghanistan, the points did not address the Islamic State in Khorasan, the local IS group affiliate. IS-K was responsible for killing 13 U.S. troops outside the Kabul airport during the withdrawal and has continued to mount an insurgency against the Taliban now in control of the country. The National Security Council said in a statement that the U.S. is working to deny “ISIS-K access to financing, disrupt and deter foreign terrorist fighters from reaching Afghanistan and the region, and counter ISIS-K’s violent extremism.” The May 2020 report was declassified this August and published online last week by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The ODNI periodically declassifies and releases older intelligence assessments. A spokesperson for the ODNI’s National Counterterrorism Center declined to answer questions about the assessment or address the intelligence community’s current view on the Islamic State group. The report predicts that the Islamic State group’s global branches are likely to increase its “capability to conduct attacks in many regions of the world, including the West.” The U.S. would more likely face attacks from people inspired by the group’s ideology than plots directed or supported by the group, the report said. Pressure by local governments where the IS group is active and their international partners “almost certainly will shape the scale of ISIS’ resurgence in Iraq and Syria and its expansion worldwide,” the report said. Experts commonly agree with the report’s predictions, said Colin Clarke, an expert on counterterrorism who is director of research for The Soufan Group, an intelligence and security consultancy. But top intelligence analysts would have been involved in drafting and reviewing the assessment, formally known as a national intelligence estimate, he said. Clarke noted several recent IS-linked attacks in Afghanistan, including an apparent suicide bombing outside the Russian embassy in Kabul that killed two diplomats, as well as ongoing fighting between militants and U.S.-backed forces at a sprawling camp in Syria. “There are some things that have happened in the last few weeks,” he said, “that make you wonder if the situation is not more dire than is being presented.” ___ Follow the AP’s coverage of the Islamic State group at https://apnews.com/hub/islamic-state-group. Read More Here

Grand Jury Indicts Cheyenne McMullen On Murder Charges In Death Of Her Son – Alaska Native News https://digitalalaskanews.com/grand-jury-indicts-cheyenne-mcmullen-on-murder-charges-in-death-of-her-son-alaska-native-news/ (Anchorage, AK) – On Monday, an Anchorage grand jury indicted Cheyenne Jewel McMullen for two counts of murder in the second degree and one count of manslaughter for the death of her two-year-old son E.B.    E.B. died from injuries sustained during a single vehicle crash on Aug. 31, 2022, on Lake Otis Parkway, approximately 500 feet south of the Lake Otis and Dowling Road intersection.    Investigation revealed that McMullen drove approximately 94 miles per hour through the Lake Otis and Dowling intersection and lost control of her vehicle while trying to negotiate an S curve just north of East 63rd Avenue. It was also determined she was heavily intoxicated at the time of the collision. In addition to the indicted felony charges, McMullen is also charged with one count of driving under the influence.    The charges in the indictment are only allegations and are not evidence of guilt. McMullen is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.   McMullen is in custody on $25,000 cash performance plus PED (Pre-Trial Enforcement Division) house arrest. A superior court arraignment is scheduled for Wed., Sept. 14, 2022, at 1:45 p.m. at the Nesbett Courthouse. Read More Here

US Dispatch: A Politicized Judiciary Could Facilitate An Authoritarian Turn https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-dispatch-a-politicized-judiciary-could-facilitate-an-authoritarian-turn/ Marisa Wright is a US national staff correspondent for JURIST, and a 2L at Harvard Law School.  Last week, a federal judge agreed with Donald Trump’s request to appoint a special master to review records seized by the FBI during its search of his estate. Judge Aileen M. Cannon also ordered the Justice Department to cease reviewing the records as part of its criminal investigation into Espionage Act violations and obstruction of justice. Cannon’s order has been widely criticized by legal experts for its flawed reasoning and problematic implications. It comes as no surprise that Cannon was appointed to the bench by Trump or that she is a long-time member of the Federalist Society, an organization that champions extreme conservative efforts to reshape American law and overtake the judiciary. FedSoc, as it is known, is led by Leonard Leo, who recently made news for receiving  $1.6 billion in dark money to further his political agenda. Concerns about a politicized judiciary were understandably renewed on the heels of Cannon’s order. Norman Ornstein, a political scientist and Emeritus scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, called Cannon “a partisan hack of a judge.” Ornstein went on to say, “What a disgrace. Nothing but a Trump lickspittle. Unfit for the bench.” In How Democracies Die, authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt detail the basic tactics that accompany the rise of authoritarianism. One of the first actions would-be authoritarians take is to politicize independent institutions, especially the judiciary. “It always helps to have the referees on your side,” they write. Having the referees on your side is helpful—indeed, crucial—when you violate the rules of the game, or the rule of law. That’s why the politicized judiciary in the United States, combined with the prospect of the election of dozens of MAGA election deniers to offices that oversee election administration during this year’s midterm elections, is so incredibly alarming. The blend between candidates chomping at the bit to suppress the vote and overturn election results they don’t like and a judiciary packed with partisans willing, even eager, to uphold those efforts poses a uniquely dangerous threat to American democracy and legitimacy. Cannon’s order has joined a growing number of deeply flawed, highly political opinions from Trump judges. A Trump-appointed judge ordered the Biden administration to reinstate the Trump-era policy that required asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico while waiting for their U.S. court hearings. Another Trump-appointed judge struck down the CDC’s mask requirement for public transportation. Yet another Trump-appointed judge blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its vaccine mandate for federal employees. And of course, all three Trump-appointed justices joined the Court’s other conservatives to overturn Roe v. Wade in June. In just one term, Trump appointed 226 judges to the federal judiciary (for context, Presidents Obama, W. Bush,. and Clinton each appointed 320-367 in double the amount of time), along with three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump’s replacement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was widely-considered a swing justice, with Brett Kavanaugh and of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Amy Coney Barrett moved the Court sharply right. That’s not the only long-lasting impact Trump will leave on the federal judiciary. His judicial nominees were uniquely young and so will remain on the bench for decades. According to the Trump White House, “[t]he average age of circuit judges appointed by President Trump is less than 50 years old – a full 10 years younger than the average age of President Obama’s circuit nominees.” His nominees are also hand-picked by the Federalist Society, which means they must pass an unspoken ideological test. The Trump White House also even bragged that his judicial “appointments have already tipped the balance of numerous Federal courts to a Republican appointed majority.” Trump’s rush to pack the federal judiciary with young, conservative ideologues has also come at the price of qualifications. Six of his nominees were rated as “unqualified” by the American Bar Association. State Republican parties have also been trying to pack state courts with conservative partisans. The politicization of state courts is particularly worrisome because they hear 95 percent of all complaints filed, including election-related litigation. As Levitsky and Ziblatt point out, authoritarians must lay the groundwork for future attempts to expand power by politicizing the judiciary precisely because their efforts to consolidate power violate the rule of law and related democratic norms: In democracies, such institutions are designed to serve as neutral arbiters. For would-be authoritarians, therefore, judicial and law enforcement agencies pose both a challenge and an opportunity. If they remain independent, they might expose and punish government abuse. It is a referee’s job, after all, to prevent cheating. But if these agencies are controlled by loyalists, they could serve a would-be dictator’s aims, shielding the government from investigation and criminal prosecutions that could lead to its removal from power. The president may break the law, threaten citizens’ rights, and even violate the constitution without having to worry that such abuse will be investigated or censured. With the courts packed and law enforcement authorities brought to heel, governments can act with impunity. Nowhere is this sort of power grab clearer than in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Fortunately, institutions held in that dark moment. But an even more daunting possibility has developed since then. More than a hundred election deniers will be on the ballot in November. The most risk to democracy stems from election deniers who are candidates for offices that oversee election administration—like Republican nominees for secretary of state Kristina Karamo of Michigan, Mark Finchem of Arizona, Jim Marchant of Nevada, and Audrey Trujillo of New Mexico, along with Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania (the governor appoints the state’s top election official in the Keystone State). All five of these candidates are members of the American First Secretary of State Coalition. Among the Coalition’s agenda are commitments to eliminate mail-in ballots and early voting, aggressively purge voter rolls, and implement strict voter ID laws. That’s not all—experts warn that the candidates, if elected, could use “the power of red tape” to meddle with elections in the future. It’s not just a possibility that these candidates will try to subvert free and fair elections; it’s already a reality. Mastriano, for example, engaged in multiple attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including organizing a pseudo-hearing where the Trump campaign presented baseless claims of fraud, facilitating a plan to appoint fake Pennsylvania electors for Trump, and pushing an unofficial review of election equipment. Mastriano continues to propagate the Big Lie and was present at the capitol during the January 6 attacks. Arizona’s Finchem also “introduced several resolutions seeking to decertify the results of the 2020 election in three major Arizona counties, as well as a bill that would give the Legislature the power to reject election results.” Republican state legislators in North Carolina are already pushing the independent state legislature theory, which would give state legislatures unfettered power over elections, and the conservative U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up a case involving the fringe theory this term. The Brennan Center for Justice warns that “adopt­ing the inde­pend­ent state legis­lature theory would also mean that voters across the coun­try have no judi­cial remedy — in state court or in federal court — to fight partisan gerry­man­der­ing. The poten­tial consequences could stretch still further…State lawmakers would be able to adopt vote suppres­sion legis­la­tion without any checks or balances from state courts or even gubernat­orial veto.” It is highly likely, if not inevitable, that these election denier candidates will interfere with any election outcome they don’t like in 2024 and beyond. Courts proved to be a generally effective backstop against the efforts to overturn the 2020 election, but the threats from election deniers will be different this time around. Whereas the Trump campaign and others peddled kooky theories and claims about election fraud in 2020 that courts couldn’t entertain with a straight face, elected election deniers will be able to use what Levitsky and Ziblatt call “the veneer of legality”—that is, they will be able to use the legal authority vested in their public offices— to subvert democratic elections. With an emboldened and politicized judiciary in the background, it would be foolish to view the 2022 midterms as simply another normal election. We can either look back on it as an example of intense organizing and civic engagement that saved American democracy from the brink, or as a key juncture of authoritarianism’s ascent. Read More Here

N.Y. AG Letitia James Rejects Settlement Offer From Trump, Moves To File Civil Lawsuit In Fraud Case: Report https://digitalalaskanews.com/n-y-ag-letitia-james-rejects-settlement-offer-from-trump-moves-to-file-civil-lawsuit-in-fraud-case-report/ New York Attorney General Letitia James has reportedly rejected an offer by former President Donald Trump to settle the fraud case against him and is now planning to file a civil lawsuit against him. James is now likely to proceed with a civil suit against Trump over a decades long scheme to inflate the value of his properties, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing three unnamed sources. The state’s top law enforcement official is also eyeing charges against an unnamed adult child of Trump, either Don Jr., Eric or Ivanka, the paper said. State Attorney General Letitia James and former President Donald Trump (Getty Images) James, a Democrat who has become one of Trump’s top legal nemeses, recently rejected an offer to settle the case made by Trump through one of his lawyers. [ James says plenty of evidence of Trump fraud ] There is no expectation of a new deal and prosecutors are preparing to move ahead with the civil case, the sources said. If found guilty, Trump could face fines and stiff penalties aimed at his eponymous family real estate empire. Unlike criminal cases against him, the case could not lead to the imprisonment of the former president. The 3½-year investigation is centered on whether Trump falsely inflated the value of his golf courses, resorts and office buildings to secure loans and other financial goodies. Trump recently invoked the Fifth Amendment 440 times during a deposition with state prosecutors. His refusal to answer questions can be held against him in the civil case. Trump derides the probe as a partisan witch hunt and unsuccessfully sued to block it. He calls James, who is Black, a racist. Read More Here

Trump Offered The West Bank To Jordan’s King, According To A New Book https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-offered-the-west-bank-to-jordans-king-according-to-a-new-book/ Donald Trump once offered Jordan’s King Abdullah II control of the West Bank, which he characterised at the time as being a “great deal”, according to a forthcoming book on behind-the-scenes accounts of the Trump White House. The Jordanian monarch received the offer from the former US president, who had no authority to make the promise since the American government has no control over who resides or owns the occupied territory, in January 2018. The offer was just one month after his administration broke with decades of US policy by moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. When Abdullah II received the message from Mr Trump, he reportedly told an American friend: “I thought I was having a heart attack,” authors Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, and Susan Glasser, staff writer for the New Yorker, reveal in their book The Divider: Trump in the White House 2017-2021. “I couldn’t breathe. I was bent doubled-over,” said the monarch of the Middle East nation, which has often acted as the principal arbiter in the Israel–Palestine negotiations. The Washington Post, who received an excerpt of the forthcoming book, first reported on the details of the two world leaders’ exchange. The exchange shared between the two world leaders is just one of the stunning revelations unearthed by the two veteran White House reporters in their forthcoming book, due out on Tuesday. At the time the unachievable deal was reportedly floated to the king, Mr Trump was attempting to put out fires in his own administration’s attempt at cementing peace between Israel and Palestine. One of the first major cracks in the president’s overzealous and perhaps naively mapped out promise to achieve peace between the two arrived in December when he announced that the US would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and planned to move the US embassy there from its long held address in Tel Aviv. Though then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed MrTrump’s acknowledgement, which broke with precedent established by several administrations before him, it came at the cost of Palestinian leadership rejecting American involvement in the peace process. Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas said at the time that with “Jerusalem off the table” – which Palestinians view as the seat of their state’s capital and is one the main sticking points in efforts to resolve the conflict – he would not participate in any future negotiations as long as Trump was involved. “We won’t take orders from anyone. We told Trump we will never accept his [peace] plan. His deal of the century is the slap in the face of the century, and we will not accept it,” said Mr Abbas at the time. From 1950 to 1967, Jordan controlled the West Bank but after the Six-Day War, the large swath of land between Jordan and Israel was captured by Israeli forces. Since then, the Palestinian territory has been militarily occupied by Israeli forces, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice. Groups of Israeli settlers have been moving into the occupied territory to establish settlements since the military moved in, which are viewed as illegal under international law and condemned by many nations around the world. This policy was reaffirmed by many US presidents until Trump took the reins in 2017 and began supporting the construction of these illegal settlements. During Mr Trump’s administration, settler growth in the contested territories accelerated after the one-term president showed an unprecedented level of support for Israel’s claims to land seized in war. That growth, according to figures released by a pro-settler group in March, has continued to surge in the last year, despite President Joe Biden reversing Mr Trump’s tracks and returning to the US policy that has widely condemned the expansion of developments. Statistics from WestBankJewishPopulationStats.com, as reported by the Associated Press, show that the settler population grew to 490,493 by the end of January 2022, representing a 3.2 per cent increase from the previous 13 months. Since 2017, when the group began tracking development, the settler population in the West Bank has grown by 16.5 per cent. Read More Here

CUET 2022 Result Live: NTA CUET UG Result Scorecard Today At Cuet.samarth.ac.in; Updates On College Admission https://digitalalaskanews.com/cuet-2022-result-live-nta-cuet-ug-result-scorecard-today-at-cuet-samarth-ac-in-updates-on-college-admission/ Home Education CUET 2022 Result Live: NTA CUET UG Result Scorecard Today At Cuet.samarth.ac.in; Updates On College Admission Live CUET Result 2022 Live: In addition to the CUET UG 2022 result, NTA will also release the CUET UG 2022 final answer key and individual scorecards of the candidates. CUET 2022 UG result today around 10 pm CUET UG 2022 Result: The result of the Common University Entrance Test Undergraduate (CUET UG) will be declared today, September 15 by 10 pm. The NTA conducted CUET UG 2022 in six phases between July 15 and August 30 in 489 centres in 259 cities in India and nine cities outside. Around 14.9 lakh candidates appeared for CUET 2022 UG exam in its debut edition this year. As soon as the CUET UG result is declared, aspirants can check the NTA CUET result on the official website — cuet.samarth.ac.in. Register here for CUET UG 2022 result date, time, direct link, cut-off Suggested: Browse the list of colleges/universities accepting CUET 2022 Score. Free Download! Don’t Miss: CUET Cut Off 2022 (UR-OBC-SC-ST). Check Now Admissions at UPES. #65 in NIRF, 50 LPA Highest CTC, Grade ‘A’ by NAAC, QS 5 Star rating for Employability. Apply Now Extending best wishes to the aspirants seeking admission to central universities, the UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar in a social media post confirmed the CUET UG 2022 result release date and time. He said: “Common University Entrance Test (CUET UG) results will be announced by National Testing Agency (NTA) by around 10 pm tonight. Best wishes to the students.” Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG) results will be announced by National Testing Agency (NTA) by around 10.00 pm tonight. Best wishes to the students. — Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (@mamidala90) September 15, 2022 In addition to the CUET UG 2022 result, NTA will also release the CUET UG 2022 final answer key and individual scorecards of the candidates. NTA does not have any role in the preparation of Merit List, a statement on the CUET official notification said. How to Download CUET Result 2022 Scorecard Visit CUET official website — cuet.samarth.ac.in On the Home Page, click on the designated CUET UG 2022 result link On the next window enter credentials including NTA CUET application number and date of birth Click and access the CUET UG 2022 result Live updates The UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar in a social media post confirmed the CUET UG 2022 result release date and time. He said: “Common University Entrance Test (CUET UG) results will be announced by National Testing Agency (NTA) by around 10 pm tonight. Best wishes to the students.” 07:51 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 Cuet.samarth.ac.in Result 2022: How To Download CUET Scorecard? To check and download the CUET UG scorecard on the official website- cuet.samarth.ac.in, candidates have to log in with their application number and date of birth. 07:47 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG 2022 Exam Dates NTA has conducted the CUET examination for admission to undergraduate programmes between July 15 and August 30, in 20 days and 38 slots. 07:44 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG Result 2022: Top Colleges Under DU Miranda House (NIRF rank 1) Hindu College (NIRF rank 2) Lady Shri Ram College For Women (5) Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College (7) Kirori Mal College (10) St. Stephens’s College (11) Shri Ram College of Commerce (12) Hans Raj College (14) Sri Venkateswara College (14) Lady Irwin College (16) Acharya Narendra Dev College (18) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College (21) Gargi College (23) Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences (25) Deshbandhu College (28) Daulat Ram College (29) Maitreyi College (34) Dyal Singh College (35) Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women (36) Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College (39) Kamala Nehru College (40) Ramanujan College (41) Jesus & Mary College (44) 07:40 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG Result 2022: Helpline Numbers 011-40759000 011-69227700 07:37 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 Cuet.samarth.ac.in Result 2022: NTA’s Help Desk E-Mail ID cuetug@nta.ac.in  ak@cuet.nta.ac.in 07:34 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG 2022 Held In 13 Languages The NTA has conducted the debut edition of CUET UG in the following 13 languages English  Hindi  Assamese  Bengali Gujarati  Kannada  Malayalam  Marathi Odia  Punjabi Tamil  Telugu Urdu 07:31 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET 2022 Result: Sanskrit University In India Central Sanskrit University, Delhi Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University National Sanskrit University 07:28 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET Result: Name Of Some Central Universities Central University of Andhra Pradesh Central University of South Bihar Central University of Gujarat Central University of Haryana  Central University of Himachal Pradesh  Central University of Jammu  Central University of Jharkhand  Central University of Karnataka  Central University of Kashmir  Central University of Kerala  Central University of Odisha  Central University of Punjab Central University of Rajasthan Central University of Tamil Nadu 07:25 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET Result 2022: How Merit List Will Be Prepared? The CUET UG 2022 merit list will be prepared by participating universities, organisations. The universities may conduct their individual counselling on the basis of the CUET UG scorecard. 07:23 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 Cuet.samarth.ac.in 2022 UG Result: How To Download Scorecard Visit the official website – cuet.samarth.ac.in Click on the CUET UG 2022 scorecard link Enter CUET application number and date of birth Submit and download CUET UG result 2022 07:21 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG 2022: Exam Pattern Section 1 A – 13 Languages Section 1 B – 19 Languages Section 2 – 27 Domain-specific subjects Section 3 – General test 07:20 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG Result 2022: Helpline Numbers 011-40759000 011-69227700 07:15 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG 2022 Answer Key The CUET 2022 scores can be calculated with the help of CUET answer keys and candidates can predict and check the institutions that will accept their CUET 2022 scores for admission. NTA has also declared the CUET UG result 2022. 07:14 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET 2022 Answer Key “Candidates were asked to challenge against the provisional answer key from September 8 to 10. Challenges received online were placed before the concerned subject experts for verification. The NTA has now finalized the answer keys. This massive exercise involved a total of 2,219 question papers in 13 mediums,” an NTA statement issued today said. 07:05 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET Answer Key 2022: Steps To Download Go to the official website — cuet.samarth.ac.in On the homepage, click on the CUET UG answer key download link Enter CUET 2022 application number and date of birth The CUET 2022 answer key will appear on the screen Download and check the responses 07:01 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG 2022 Result Link The cuet.samarth.ac.in will host the CUET UG 2022 result. 06:50 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG Result 2022 FAQs When to check CUET UG 2022 result? As confirmed by UGC Chairman, NTA is likely to declare the CUET UG 2022 result today by 10 pm. Where to check CUET UG 2022 result? The CUET UG 2022 result link will be made live at cuet.samarth.ac.in. 06:42 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 Cuet.samarth.ac.in Result 2022: How To Download NTA Scorecard Visit the official website – cuet.samarth.ac.in. Click on the CUET result 2022 link. Enter CUET registration number and date of birth. Submit and download CUET UG 2022 result. 06:34 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG Result 2022: NTA Scorecard Up To 90 Days The record of Common University Entrance Test Undergraduate (CUET UG) 2022 would be preserved up to 90 days from the date of declaration of CUET UG 2022 result today. 06:29 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG Result 2022: Key Points On Revaluation The result for CUET UG 2022 result will be processed on the basis of CUET final answer keys. No grievance with regard to CUET answer key after the declaration of CUET UG 2022 result will be entertained. The marks obtained by a candidate will be considered further for computation of the CUET UG 2022 result. There shall be no re-evaluation/re-checking of the CUET UG 2022 result. No correspondence in this regard shall be entertained. No CUET UG 2022 score card will be dispatched to the candidates and the candidates are advised to download their NTA CUET UG score cards 2022 from the website — cuet.samarth.ac.in. 06:22 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG Result 2022: How Is Percentile Score Calculated CUET percentile score = (100 X Number of candidates appeared in the Session with raw score equal to or less than the candidate)/The total number of the candidates who appeared in the Session 06:19 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG Result 2022: Can Final Answer Key Be Challenged The CUET UG result 2022 will be compiled based on the final answer key declared. No grievance with regard to CUET answer keys after the declaration of CUET UG result, or NTA Score of CUET 2022 will be entertained, a National Testing Agency (NTA) website said. 06:12 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET Result 2022 UG Marking Scheme Candidates will be awarded 5 marks for every correct response. However, one mark will be deducted for every wrong answer and no marks will be deducted for unattempted question. 06:10 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 CUET UG Result 2022: Helpline Numbers 011-40759000 011-69227700 06:07 PM IST Sept. 15, 2022 Cuet.samarth.ac.in Result 2022: When Can Result Be Cancelled The result of CUET UG 2022 of the candidates who indulges in unfair means practices will be cancelled and will not be declared. Si...

Xi, Putin Meet As Russian Military Losses Test ‘no Limits’ Partnership https://digitalalaskanews.com/xi-putin-meet-as-russian-military-losses-test-no-limits-partnership/ Amid the global economic uncertainty triggered by Russia’s war on Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, highlighting their responsibility to “inject stability into a turbulent world”. In a rare admission, Putin said he was aware of China’s “questions and concerns” about the war, but assured Xi he would address them all in their first face-to-face meeting since the Feb. 24 invasion. Xi said that China is willing to work with Russia to “demonstrate the responsibility of a major country to play a leading role and inject stability into a turbulent world,” according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The Chinese President said China would support Russia’s core interests, as the two countries test the boundaries of their friendship, disrupted by Russia’s setbacks in the invasion. But the detached formality of their meeting was a far cry from the warmth of their “no limits” friendship agreement, when Putin attended the Winter Olympic in Beijing, weeks before the war. In a meeting that was symbolically crucial for Putin, seeking to demonstrate continued global clout, he told Xi, “We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends regarding the Ukrainian crisis, we understand your questions and concerns on this matter, and during today’s meeting we will of course clarify all of these in detail,” Putin said in his opening remarks in Uzbekistan, kicking off a meeting with Xi, whom he addressed as his “dear and longtime friend.” The Russian leader added that Russia is committed to the one-China principle and “condemned the provocations” of the United States in Taiwan. When the two leaders met in February to declare the beginning of their “no limits” partnership, they were also signaling the start of a new alignment of two of the world’s most powerful authoritarian states. Since then, Russia’s war against Ukraine has gone worse for Moscow than anyone expected, with Russia facing repeated humiliating military setbacks, while Putin has been largely shunned by Western leaders and the Russian economy has been hammered by unprecedented sanctions. Their first face-to-face meeting since the war began — held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand — comes at a fragile time for both leaders, testing how boundless that friendship really is. Russian forces have suffered stunning losses on the battlefield in Ukraine. Beijing, meanwhile, finds itself increasingly at odds with Western countries over Taiwan and human rights abuses in Xinjiang. For Putin, the meeting sends a crucial message that he remains a global player, with friends who share his authoritarian views and determination to create a new world order in which the United States no longer dominates. For Xi, his first trip abroad in almost three years marks his diplomatic reemergence before a party congress in October when he expects to secure a precedent-breaking third term. “It’s of course a demonstration of mutual support and solidarity, a message primarily for the U.S. and the West,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center. Yet Xi is unlikely to offer Putin more concrete support. Doing so could risk Western blowback that would exacerbate a growing list of domestic challenges, including a slowing Chinese economy, property crisis and public discontent with strict “zero covid” policies. China has maintained a delicate balance on Russia’s war against Ukraine, calling for peace while endorsing Russian complaints that NATO was to blame because of the alliance’s expansion. Beijing has tried to lend moral support to Putin without outright backing the invasion or sending financial or military assistance that would incur secondary sanctions. Having pledged to maintain normal trade relations with Moscow, China has continued to export goods to Russia as well as import Russian oil and gas. Bilateral trade grew 31 percent for the first eight months of 2022, according to Chinese customs data. “Concrete support for the war in Ukraine is unlikely,” said Sun. “Military support and assistance are not in the cards. China doesn’t need to support Russia in the war; it only does not oppose it.” China is likely to continue its approach, which some analysts have termed the “Beijing straddle,” of diplomatic support for Russia in a partnership aimed at countering a Washington-led international order while also complying with Western sanctions. In recent days, however, China has signaled stronger support of Russia. Li Zhanshu, China’s third-most-senior leader, visited Moscow last week and emphasized that Beijing has lent “support with coordinated action” to Russia as it responded to security threats “on its doorstep.” A Russian readout of the meeting said that Li expressed support for the war, but the Chinese version was more tempered in saying that Li said China “understands and fully supports” Russia’s security interests. Despite China’s efforts to strike a balance, Xi’s meeting with Putin will invite more questions about China’s position in the conflict. “The trip fits with Mr. Xi’s strategic vision of close ties with Moscow, but the meeting with Russia’s leader may make it harder for Xi to claim he is not somehow enabling Russia’s aggression,” said Joseph Torigian, an assistant professor focusing on Russia and China at American University. Going into the talks, the Kremlin described Russian-Chinese ties as being “at an unprecedented high level,” saying it “attaches great importance to China’s balanced approach to the Ukrainian crisis.” The Kremlin claims that Moscow and Beijing’s partnership ensures “global and regional stability,” although Russia’s war on Ukraine has destabilized the region, creating particular uncertainties in Central Asia. “The countries jointly stand for the formation of a just, democratic and multipolar world order based on international law and the central role of the United Nations,” a Kremlin statement said. In Uzbekistan, Xi faces the added awkwardness of maintaining neutrality while attending a summit with Central Asian countries, most of which oppose the war and worry about possible Russian incursion into their territories. Before flying to Samarkand, Xi visited Kazakhstan where he met President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in a symbolically important first stop, where he appeared to send a subtle message about the Ukraine war, vowing to strongly support Kazakhstan’s efforts to protect its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, “no matter how the international situation changes.” Russia has shown irritation at Kazakhstan’s refusal to endorse the war or to recognize the independence of two Russian proxy “republics” in eastern Ukraine. Like Ukraine, Kazakhstan has a sizable Russian-speaking component, some 18 percent of the population, concentrated in the north of the country. With Moscow’s often-stated historical mission to “protect” Russian speakers around the world — one of the reasons it gave for the Ukrainian invasion — they are a viewed as a source of insecurity. Xi’s travels to Central Asia are part of long-term efforts to establish better trade routes and connectivity through the region, an increasingly urgent task as China faces the possibility of conflict in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea that could hinder access to maritime shipping lanes. In protest of a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, China in August launched large-scale military exercises simulating a blockade of Taiwan’s main island, triggering what has become known as the Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis. “This makes this trip quite important because Xi is basically there with a mission to convince Central Asian leaders that having a strong relationship with China is still important [and to] please consider our goals and what we can give you,” said Niva Yau, senior researcher at the OSCE Academy, a foreign policy think tank in Kyrgyzstan. In Central Asia, where countries for years have had to navigate between two giant powers locked in quiet competition, a diminished Putin could give Beijing a chance to expand its footprint. “The saying is China has the deep pockets and Russia has the guns,” said Theresa Fallon, director of the Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels. “The question now is, as Russia’s military footprint possibly recedes in the region, will China’s grow?” Read More Here

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Railroad Unions And Companies Reach A Tentative Deal To Avoid A Strike https://digitalalaskanews.com/railroad-unions-and-companies-reach-a-tentative-deal-to-avoid-a-strike/ Business|Railroad Unions and Companies Reach a Tentative Deal to Avoid a Strike https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/business/rail-strike.html President Biden announced the agreement after negotiations brokered by the labor secretary lasted deep into the night. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. An Amtrak passenger train heading south out of Chicago on Wednesday evening.Credit…Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press Sept. 15, 2022Updated 9:17 a.m. ET WASHINGTON — Freight rail companies and unions representing tens of thousands of workers reached a tentative agreement to avoid what would have been an economically damaging strike, after all-night talks brokered by Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh, President Biden said early Thursday morning. The agreement now heads to union members for a ratification vote, which is a standard procedure in labor talks. While the vote is tallied, workers have agreed not to strike. The talks brokered by Mr. Walsh began Wednesday morning and lasted 20 hours. Mr. Biden called in around 9 p.m. Wednesday, a person familiar with the talks said, and he hailed the deal on Thursday in a long statement. “The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people,” Mr. Biden said. “It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years.” The announcement had a swift effect for rail passengers. A day after canceling all long-distance passenger trains to avoid stranding people in the event of a freight rail strike, Amtrak said it was “working to quickly restore canceled trains and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures.” Many of Amtrak’s trains run on tracks operated and maintained by freight carriers. Talks had stalled over a push for companies to improve working conditions, including allowing workers to take unpaid leave to visit physicians. The agreement grants that ability, giving workers one additional paid day off and an ability to attend medical appointments without penalty, labor unions said. “Most importantly, for the first time ever, the agreement provides our members with the ability to take time away from work to attend routine and preventative medical, as well as exemptions from attendance policies for hospitalizations and surgical procedures,” the presidents of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers said in a news release. The presidents, Jeremy Ferguson of the transportation division and Dennis Pierce of the engineers and trainmen, also said the deal will freeze workers’ monthly health care contributions when it expires, ensuring those costs will not increase during the next round of contract negotiations. “These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions and peace of mind around their health care costs, all hard-earned,” Mr. Biden said in his early-morning statement. “The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come.” The Association of American Railroads, an industry group, thanked the unions and Biden administration officials — including Mr. Walsh, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack — for helping to bring the deal together. “Thanks to the dedication of all members involved in the collective bargaining process,” the association said in a news release, “these new contracts provide rail employees a 24 percent wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024, including an immediate payout on average of $11,000 upon ratification.” Image Workers servicing the tracks at a rail yard on Tuesday in Chicago.Credit…Scott Olson/Getty Images Union Pacific, a rail carrier, praised the deal. “We look forward to the unions ratifying these agreements and working with employees as we focus on restoring supply chain fluidity,” the company said in a statement. Mr. Walsh wrote on Twitter that the agreement “balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy.” “Our rail system is integral to our supply chain,” he said in a follow-up tweet, “and a disruption would have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country.” Mr. Biden and his economic team had increasingly inserted themselves in the talks over the past week, hoping to avoid a work stoppage that would have snarled the distribution of food, chemicals for water treatment plants and other critical goods across the country. Such a stoppage also risked creating shortages on store shelves that could have sent consumer prices soaring, further adding to an inflation rate that reached a four-decade high this summer. Unions and the freight rail industry were negotiating ahead of a Friday deadline, when a federally imposed “cooling-off period” was set to end and workers would have been free to strike if no deal had been reached. That possibility had already shaken both freight and passenger rail companies. Nearly a third of U.S. freight moves by rail, second only to trucking. The Association of American Railroads estimated that a nationwide rail service interruption would have idled more than 7,000 trains daily and cost the economy more than $2 billion a day. Railroads began warning their customers last week that they would prepare for a strike by cutting back some services. Union Pacific, CSX and BNSF all said that they would begin securing hazardous and toxic materials on Monday to try to ensure that dangerous goods would not be left unguarded in the event of a strike. Norfolk Southern closed its gates to shipping containers coming off trucks and ships on Tuesday, and said it planned to begin shutting down its network entirely at midnight on Thursday. Administration officials had begun making contingency plans for trying to minimize disruptions for critical shipments in the event of a strike. Those plans included working with trucking companies, ocean shippers and other alternative forms of transportation to ensure some supplies could still get to their destinations. Niraj Chokshi and Ana Swanson contributed reporting. Read More Here

Thu. 9:16 A.m.: Biden Approval Rises Sharply Ahead Of Midterms https://digitalalaskanews.com/thu-916-a-m-biden-approval-rises-sharply-ahead-of-midterms/ President Joe Biden poses for a photo after speaking on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Tuesday. Biden’s popularity has improved substantially from his lowest point this summer, but concerns about his handling of the economy persist. That’s according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s popularity improved substantially from his lowest point this summer, but concerns about his handling of the economy persist, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Support for Biden recovered from a low of 36 percent in July to 45 percent, driven in large part by a rebound in support from Democrats just two months before the November midterm elections. During a few bleak summer months when gasoline prices peaked and lawmakers appeared deadlocked, the Democrats faced the possibility of blowout losses against Republicans. Their outlook appears better after notching a string of legislative successes that left more Americans ready to judge the Democratic president on his preferred terms: “Don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative.” The president’s approval rating remains underwater, with 53 percent of U.S. adults disapproving of him, and the economy continues to be a weakness for Biden. Just 38 percent approve of his economic leadership as the country faces stubbornly high inflation and Republicans try to make household finances the axis of the upcoming vote. Still, the poll suggests Biden and his fellow Democrats are gaining momentum right as generating voter enthusiasm and turnout takes precedence. Average gas prices have tumbled 26 percent since June to $3.71 a gallon, reducing the pressure somewhat on family budgets even if inflation remains high. Congress also passed a pair of landmark bills in the past month that could reshape the economy and reduce carbon emissions. Republicans have also faced resistance since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and its abortion protections. And Biden is openly casting former President Donald Trump as a fundamental threat to democracy, a charge that took on resonance after an FBI search of Trump’s Florida home found classified documents that belong to the U.S. government. This combination of factors has won Biden some plaudits among the Democratic faithful, even if Americans still feel lukewarm about his leadership. “I’m not under any belief that he’s the best person for the job — he’s the best from the people we had to choose from,” said Betty Bogacz, 74, a retiree from Portland, Oregon. “He represented stability, which I feel President Trump did not represent at all.” Biden’s approval rating didn’t exceed 40 percent in May, June or July as inflation surged in the aftermath of Russia invading Ukraine. The president’s rating now is similar to what it was throughout the first quarter of the year, but he continues to fall short of early highs. His average approval rating in AP-NORC polling through the first six months of his term was 60 percent. Driving the recent increase in Biden’s popularity is renewed support among Democrats, who had shown signs of dejection in the early summer. Now, 78 percent of Democrats approve of Biden’s job performance, up from 65 percent in July. Sixty-six percent of Democrats approve of Biden on the economy, up from 54 percent in June. Interviews suggest a big reason for Biden’s rebound is the reemergence of Trump on the national stage, causing voters such as Stephen Jablonsky, who labeled Biden as “OK,” to say voting Democratic is a must for the nation’s survival. “The country has a political virus by the name of Donald Trump,” said Jablonsky, a retired music professor from Stamford, Connecticut. “We have a man who is psychotic and seems to have no concern for law and order and democracy. The Republican Party has gone to a place that is so unattractive and so dangerous, this coming election in November could be the last election we ever have.” Republicans feel just as negative about Biden as they did before. Only about 1 in 10 Republicans approve of the president overall or on the economy, similar to ratings earlier this summer. Christine Yannuzzi, 50, doubts that 79-year-old Biden has the capacity to lead. “I don’t think he’s mentally, completely aware of everything that’s happening all the time,” said Yannuzzi, who lives in Binghamton, New York. “The economy’s doing super poorly and I have a hard time believing that the joblessness rate is as low as they say it is.” “I think the middle class is being really phased out and families are working two and three jobs a person to make it,” the Republican added. Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults say the economy is in good shape, while 71 percent say it’s doing poorly. In June, 20 percent said conditions were good and 79 percent said they were bad. Democrats are more positive now than they were in June, 46 percent vs. 31 percent. Republicans remain largely negative, with only 10 percent saying conditions are good and 90 percent saying they’re bad. About a quarter of Americans now say things in the country are headed in the right direction, 27 percent, up from 17 percent in July. Seventy-two percent say things are going in the wrong direction. Close to half of Democrats — 44 percent — have an optimistic outlook, up from 27 percent in July. Just 9 percent of Republicans are optimistic about the nation’s direction. Akila Atkins, a 27-year-old stay-at-home mom of two, thinks Biden is “OK” and doesn’t have much confidence that his solutions will curb rising prices. Atkins says it’s gotten a little harder in the last year to manage her family’s expenses, and she’s frustrated that she can no longer rely on the expanded child tax credit. The tax credit paid out monthly was part of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and has since lapsed. The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the expanded tax credit nearly halved the child poverty rate last year to 5.2 percent. Atkins said it helped them “stay afloat with bills, the kids’ clothing, shoes, school supplies, everything.” Whatever misgivings the Democrat in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has about Biden, she believes he is preferable to Trump. “I always feel like he could be better, but then again, he’s better than our last president,” she said. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Pentagon Removes Almost All Of Its COVID-Related Workplace Restrictions | Federal News Network https://digitalalaskanews.com/pentagon-removes-almost-all-of-its-covid-related-workplace-restrictions-federal-news-network/ Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Federal Drive’s daily audio interviews on Apple Podcasts or PodcastOne. For the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic, the Pentagon has removed almost all of its workplace restrictions. A memo issued yesterday puts the Pentagon campus and other DoD worksites in the D.C. region into “Health Protection Condition Alpha.” Among other things, the new status means unvaccinated employees and contractors won’t have to… READ MORE Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Federal Drive’s daily audio interviews on Apple Podcasts or PodcastOne. For the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic, the Pentagon has removed almost all of its workplace restrictions. A memo issued yesterday puts the Pentagon campus and other DoD worksites in the D.C. region into “Health Protection Condition Alpha.” Among other things, the new status means unvaccinated employees and contractors won’t have to take COVID tests. And visitors won’t be required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test before they enter the building. Amid concerns over rising threats against feds, lawmakers are asking the Department of Homeland Security for more details. House Democrats are looking for answers from DHS’ Federal Protective Service, on the resources it needs to better protect the federal workforce. Lawmakers said threats against feds rose after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, and the FBI’s search of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club. The representatives asked for details on how FPS monitors threats, and how it works to address risks on social media platforms. They also asked about the cost to heighten agency security, and if FPS has adequate funding to protect agencies. (Federal News Network) The new class of White House fellows will be landing at 15 agencies in the coming weeks. The Biden administration is deploying these competitively chosen young leaders at agencies ranging from the Social Security Administration to the National Security Council. The fellows bring a wide-range of experience including a pediatric dentist, an educator, and a lieutenant for the New York City Police Department. The White House will begin accepting applications for the next class of fellows on November 1. The Justice Department is adding more firepower to its COVID fraud strike force. DoJ will team with eight other agencies to establish new strike force teams in California, Florida and Maryland. The interagency team, which includes prosecutors and investigators from the IRS, the Postal Service and the Small Business Administration, will continue to identify resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and share and harness information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. Justice said over the last year the teams have recovered more than $1.2 billion in relief funds from more than 1,500 defendants. Concerns have been raised over a software supply chain provision in the 2023 defense bill. Four industry associations are sounding the alarm over a provision in the fiscal 2023 defense authorization bill that they said could cause confusion across government and contradict current cybersecurity efforts. The Alliance for Digital Innovation, the Software Alliance, the Cybersecurity Coalition and the IT Industry Association wrote to House and Senate leaders expressing concern over the DHS Software Supply Chain Risk Management provision in the House version of the NDAA. The associations said the provision is vague, and it’s premature to legislate requirements for software bill of materials. (Federal News Network) The White House is out with new guidance for securing federal software. The Office of Management and Budget is directing agencies to obtain self-attestations from software vendors that they’re following secure development practices. OMB said agencies need to inventory their third-party software within 90 days, and obtain the self-attestations for all software they use within one year. The use of software bills of materials and other security artifacts is optional, but encouraged. OMB hopes the new requirements will help avoid a future SolarWinds-like cyber attack. (Federal News Network) A new executive takes her seat at the Department of Health and Human Services. Melanie Fontes Rainier has been sworn in as director of the Office for Civil Rights, where she had been acting director. The office has a wide portfolio, including health data privacy, and patient safety and quality improvement. Rainier was counselor to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and earlier was a special assistant attorney general and health adviser in the California Department of Justice. The House has passed a bill that would take away the Securities and Exchange Commission’s real estate leasing authority, giving it to the General Services Administration. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) first introduced the bill in 2011, and it passed out of committee this July. In 2021, the SEC said it would use GSA in future real estate deals. If the bill becomes law, the SEC would be held to that promise. Military spouses in the national capital region will have an opportunity to meet a growing list of prospective employers. The DoD’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership will hold its first ever in-person job fair in Arlington next month. Over 540 government organizations, private- sector companies and nonprofits work with the program to find job placement for military spouses. The Office of Personnel Management is partnering with the Agriculture Department to host “FedsWISH,” a walk to raise awareness about American health challenges and hunger. OPM encourages feds and agencies across the country to participate in the event at the end of the month, put on by USDA’s Feds Feed Families initiative. Read More Here

Post Politics Now: Biden Hosting White House Summit Targeting Hate-Fueled Violence https://digitalalaskanews.com/post-politics-now-biden-hosting-white-house-summit-targeting-hate-fueled-violence/ Today, President Biden is hosting a White House summit aimed at combating the kind of hate-fueled violence that emerged at a gay nightclub in Orlando in 2016, a Walmart in El Paso in 2019 and a supermarket in Buffalo earlier this year. Aides said Biden will deliver a speech calling for a “whole-of-society” response at the United We Stand summit, where several new actions are expected to be unveiled, including some measures from technology companies to address hate-based content. Earlier Thursday, the White House announced it had reached a “tentative” agreement to avert a national rail strike that had threatened the nation’s economy. In a statement, Biden said the agreement would guarantee “better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs” for workers. Your daily dashboard 10 a.m. Eastern time: Vice President Harris delivers welcoming remarks at the United We Stand summit. Watch live here. 12:15 p.m. Eastern: Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and other Democrats hold a news conference on reproductive rights. 1:15 p.m. Eastern: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. Watch live here. 3:30 p.m. Eastern: Biden delivers the keynote speech at the United We Stand summit. Watch live here. 8:25 p.m. Eastern: Biden attends the 45th Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala. Got a question about politics? Submit it here. After 3 p.m. weekdays, return to this space and we’ll address what’s on the mind of readers. Analysis: Three takeaways from the monkeypox hearing Return to menu Senators hauled top Biden health officials to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, demanding answers on the federal response to monkeypox during the chamber’s first hearing on the virus. Writing in The Health 202, The Post’s Rachel Roubein notes that lawmakers on the Senate’s health panel said they were disturbed that a virus traditionally confined overseas had spread so rapidly in the United States — and were worried that it may permanently take root here. Per Rachel: Both Republicans and Democrats accused the administration of frequent missteps, raising questions about whether the federal government can beef up its public health preparedness efforts in time for the next infectious-disease outbreak. “For the next one, we’ve got to respond a hell of a lot faster than we did for covid — and we’ve got to do much better than we did on monkeypox,” said Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.), the panel’s top Republican. You can read the full analysis, in which Rachel and The Post’s Dan Diamond offer takeaways from the hearing, here. Noted: Rail deal was reached after more than 20 straight hours of negotiations Return to menu Railroad companies and union representatives engaged in more than 20 consecutive hours of negotiations at the Department of Labor before reaching an agreement that averted a potentially calamitous rail strike, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said Thursday. In a statement posted just after 5 a.m. Thursday, Walsh said both sides came to “a tentative agreement that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy.” “The Biden Administration applauds all parties for reaching this hard-fought, mutually beneficial deal. Our rail system is integral to our supply chain, and a disruption would have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country,” Walsh said. The latest: Amtrak working to restore canceled trains Return to menu Following the White House announcement early Thursday, Amtrak said it plans to move to restore service that had been canceled ahead of the potential work stoppage. “Amtrak is working to quickly restore canceled trains and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures,” the passenger railroad said in a statement. Amtrak had announced the suspension of all its long-distance and some state-supported trains starting Thursday, impacting thousands of passengers. It is unclear if any of Thursday’s trains will be restored. The company said it would provide updates as soon as more information becomes available. The latest: Pelosi says Congress was prepared to act in response to rail strike Return to menu House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that Congress was prepared to act to avert a national rail strike. In a statement, she also praised President Biden for helping broker a tentative agreement between freight rail operators and workers. “With hope for an agreement but concern for the challenges that a strike would present, Congress stood ready to take action,” Pelosi said. She noted that, under the commerce clause of the Constitution, Congress “has the authority and responsibility to ensure the uninterrupted operation of essential transportation services and has in the past enacted legislation for such purposes.” Noted: Most Americans say politicians don’t know enough about abortion to make fair policies Return to menu Seventy percent of Americans — including large majorities in both major political parties — don’t believe politicians are informed enough about abortion to craft fair policies, a new 19th News-SurveyMonkey poll finds. The finding comes as lawmakers, particularly at the state level, are moving quickly to make new abortion policy in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Members of Congress are also pushing new measures. This week, for example, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) unveiled legislation that would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Analysis: Democrats ramp up efforts to win over Hispanic voters Return to menu President Biden will address the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual gala this evening, as Democrats labor to win back Hispanic voters ahead of the midterm elections. They’ve got their work cut out for them, The Post’s Theodoric Meyer and Leigh Ann Caldwell write in The Early 202. Per our colleagues: Former president Donald Trump alarmed Democrats by making big gains with Hispanic voters — Hispanic men in particular — in 2020 even as he lost the presidency. The party suffered another blow when Republicans won the special election in June to fill the seat vacated by former Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Tex.), who represented a heavily Hispanic district. Republicans argue that Democrats have alienated Hispanic voters by moving to the left on social issues. Democrats are cautiously optimistic that stepped-up outreach to Hispanic voters, falling gas prices and anger over the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade can help them reverse their losses this cycle — or at least stop the bleeding. You can read the full analysis here. On our radar: Technology companies, former presidents, mayors to detail initiatives at Biden summit Return to menu At Thursday’s White House summit seeking to combat hate-fueled violence, President Biden plans to announce several new initiatives, some of them led by outside groups, including major technology companies. Among the new actions, according to a White House fact sheet: A group of former White House officials from both Democratic and Republican administrations is launching Dignity.us, an initiative to foster dialogue in local communities. The group is being supported by foundations and centers of former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford. New Pluralists, a group of philanthropic leaders, is pledging $1 billion to increase support for programs “that build bridges among Americans of different backgrounds to foster unity.” More than 140 mayors have signed a new “Compact to Combat Hate and Extremism.” Service organizations, led by Interfaith America, the YMCA and Habitat for Humanity, are launching A Nation of Bridge Builders, a partnership to train 10,000 Americans to be “bridge builders” in their neighborhoods. Technology companies, including YouTube, Twitch, Microsoft and Meta, are announcing new actions that their platforms are taking to prevent hate-fueled violence. Few details were provided by the White House on Thursday morning. The latest: Biden says ‘tentative’ deal reached to avert rail strike Return to menu The White House announced Thursday morning it has reached a “tentative” agreement to avert a national rail strike that threatened the nation’s economy. The Post’s Jeff Stein and Lauren Kaori Gurley report that President Biden said in a statement that the agreement would guarantee “better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs” for the workers. Per our colleagues: Negotiators had until Friday at 12:01 a.m. to reach a deal to avoid a major impact to the economy. A Labor Department official confirmed that a deal “that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy” was reached early Thursday morning after 20 consecutive hours of negotiations between rail companies and union negotiators. “Secretary Walsh and the Biden administration applaud all parties for reaching this hard-fought, mutually beneficial deal,” a Labor Department official said. “Our rail system is integral to our supply chain, and a disruption would have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country.” You can read the full developing story here. Take a look: Rep. Pappas using abortion against new GOP opponent in N.H. Return to menu Among the latest examples of Democrats seeking advantage on the abortion issue is an effort by Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) to highlight the views of his newly minted opponent, Karoline Leavitt, a 25-year-old former Trump White House staffer, who prevailed in the GOP primary on Tuesday in the state’s 1st Congressional District. “Here in New Hampshire, we keep the government o...

Railroad Strike Averted After Marathon Talks Reach Tentative Deal | CNN Business https://digitalalaskanews.com/railroad-strike-averted-after-marathon-talks-reach-tentative-deal-cnn-business/ Washington, DC CNN Business  —  Unions and management reached a tentative deal early Thursday, averting a freight railroad strike that had threatened to cripple US supply chains and push prices higher for many goods. The deal with unions representing more than 50,000 engineers and conductors was announced just after 5 a.m. ET in a statement from the White House, which called it “an important win for our economy and the American people.” A verbal agreement between the two sides was reached at about 2:30 am ET according to sources, and the final hours were spent getting the details worked out. That concluded about 20 hours of talks between the unions’ leadership and the railroads’ labor negotiators hosted by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. They began their meeting Wednesday morning with the clock ticking down to a strike that had been set to start at 12:01 am ET on Friday. President Joe Biden called in personally to talk to negotiators around 9 pm ET Wednesday, according to a person familiar with negotiations. Biden stressed that catastrophic harm could come to families, businesses and communities if the rail system shut down. Sources within the unions were giving Biden’s call credit for helping to get the deal completed without a strike. “We’re very proud of what was accomplished,” said Jeremy Ferguson, president of the conductors union and one of the leaders involved in the marathon session. He thanked Biden and Labor Department officials involved in the talks for the deal. “Everybody pulled together to make sure that we could get our members what they deserved,” he said. “This is the quality of life issue we have been trying to get for our members since bargaining started,” said Dennis Pierce, president of the engineers’ union and the other union official involved in the talks. The agreement does not mean the threat of a strike has gone away entirely. The deal needs to be ratified by union members. But it’s good news for a wide range of businesses that depend upon the freight railroads to continue to operate, and for the wider US economy. About 30% of the nation’s freight moves by rail. The deal gives the union members an immediate 14% raise with back pay dating back to 2020, and raises totaling 24% during the five-year life of the contract, that runs from 2020 through 2024. It also gives them cash bonuses of $1,000 a year. Few other details of the deal have so far been made public. But the statement from Biden indicated that the major sticking point – involving work rules and scheduling issues – that had brought the country within a day of its first national rail strike in 30 years had been addressed in the unions’ favor. “It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years,” said Biden in a statement. “These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned.” The dispute was about staffing shortages and scheduling rules that union leaders said had brought their membership to a breaking point. The unions say the railroads have been requiring their members to be “on call” and ready to report to work on short notice as often as seven days a week. Leadership of the two unions had said their members would not accept a contract without changes to those work rules. Biden described the deal as “also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come.” It is an important victory for Biden, who faced nothing but bad choices if a deal had not been reached. Backing Congressional action sought by the business community to impose a contract on workers would have angered his supporters among the unions. Letting the work stoppage play out risked massive economic consequences just ahead of the midterm elections. Railroad workers are governed by a different labor law than most workers, one that limits their freedom to strike and allows for more governmental intervention. In July, Biden issued an order that prevented a strike at that time and created a panel, known as a Presidential Emergency Board, to try to find a solution to the dispute. It also imposed a 60-day cooling off period during which the unions could not strike and management could not lock out workers. That cooling off period was due to end early Friday. Biden could not have ordered the railroads to keep operating once the cooling off period ended Friday. Only Congress could have acted to get the unions back to work if a strike had begun. With a wide range of business groups calling on Congress to act, Republicans had prepared legislation that would have given railroad management the deal they wanted. But Democrats were opposed to taking such action. A union source said that Democrats’ refusal to side with management had been a key to the talks. “Senate leaderership not acting gave space for these negotiations,” said the union source. He said that Walsh had “hung in” with the union during the negotiations. “it was a slog yesterday,” he said, with lots of back and forth. “Our people were not going to give up,” said the source. “Our people would have gone on strike” if a deal was not reached by the Friday deadline. The Association of American Railroads also praised the deal and thanked the Biden administration, as well as the unions themselves, for their role in reaching an agreement. The pay raises and bonuses had been recommended by a presidential panel charged with trying to find a solution to the impasse in negotiations at that time. Those terms were lucrative enough for most of the rail unions to agree to tentative deals in recent weeks, the engineers and conductors, who were faced with work and scheduling rules that did not apply to others, refused to sign on without relief on the scheduling issue. Shares of the major freight railroads – Union Pacific (UNP), CSX (CSX) and Norfolk Southern (NSC) – were between 1% and 3% higher in premarket trading on the news. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), which owns the fourth national freight railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, was narrowly higher as well. The threat of the strike had already started to disrupt operations. Amtrak, whose 22,000-mile system is almost exclusively over freight rail lines outside of the Northeast Corridor, had already canceled all long-distance trains. Amtrak said it “is working to quickly restore canceled trains and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures.” It said it will provide update soon as information becomes available. The railroads had already stopped accepting shipments of hazardous and security-related materials a week ago. And Wednesday some of the railroads had stopped accepting shipments of crops from the agricultural industry. Customers of the railroads who had been braced to major problems expressed relief that a strike had been avoided. “This is fantastic news for the economy,” said Eric Hoplin, CEO of the National Association of Wholesale Distributors, in an appearance on CNN’s New Day Thursday. “My phone has been ringing off the hook over the last 48 hours, talking to distribution leaders from across the country, who were spelling out what some of the catastrophic consequences could have been to America’s supply chain and the economy.” The US economy avoided several economic blows, including a potential spike in gasoline prices that could have undone the 26% decline in prices at the pump over the last three months. Although refineries get most of their oil through pipelines and ship out most of the gasoline they produce the same way, they still needed railroad tank cars to deliver other materials to refine gasoline and to take away waste products. Higher prices for food and cars and a shortage of consumer goods well into the holiday shopping season were likely if there had been a prolonged strike, according to business leaders and economists. Read More Here

Putin Praises Xi Over Ukraine, Scolds U.S. 'provocations' On Taiwan https://digitalalaskanews.com/putin-praises-xi-over-ukraine-scolds-u-s-provocations-on-taiwan/ Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Xi on first trip since COVID pandemic Putin praises Xi for ‘balanced’ Ukraine position Putin scolds U.S. for ‘provocations’ on Taiwan Xi and Putin discuss Ukraine and Taiwan SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised China’s Xi Jinping for his “balanced” position on the conflict in Ukraine and scolded the United States for what the Kremlin chief said were provocations over Taiwan. Xi, on his first trip outside China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, met Putin in the ancient Uzbek Silk Road city of Samarkand where they will attend a summit of The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Speaking at their first face-to-face meeting since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, Putin praised Xi for his position on the war in Ukraine but also said he understood Beijing had “questions and concern” over the conflict. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com China has refrained from condemning Russia’s operation against Ukraine or calling it an “invasion” in line with the Kremlin, which casts the war as “a special military operation”. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan September 15, 2022. Sputnik/Alexandr Demyanchuk/Pool via REUTERS. “We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis,” Putin said. “We understand your questions and concern about this. During today’s meeting, we will of course explain our position.” Putin explicitly backed China over Taiwan. China held blockade-style military drills around Taiwan after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island last month. Taiwan’s government strongly rejects China’s sovereignty claims. “We intend to firmly adhere to the principle of ‘One China’,” Putin said. “We condemn provocations by the United States and their satellites in the Taiwan Strait.” Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Writing by Olzhas Auyezov and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Tomasz Janowski and Jon Boyle Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Stocks Making The Biggest Moves Premarket: Rail Stocks, Arconic, NextEra Energy And More https://digitalalaskanews.com/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-rail-stocks-arconic-nextera-energy-and-more/ Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Union Pacific (UNP), CSX (CSX), Norfolk Southern (NSC) – Rail stocks are all higher in the premarket following news of a tentative agreement that prevents a rail workers’ strike. CSX – which also named former Ford Motor (F) President Joe Hinrichs as its new CEO – rose 4.1% in the premarket, with Union Pacific up 3.95% and Norfolk Southern adding 1.5%. Arconic (ARNC) – Arconic tumbled 9.8% in premarket trading after the aluminum products maker cut its annual forecast due to a variety of production costs and higher energy costs in Europe. NextEra Energy (NEE) – NextEra Energy plans to sell $2 billion in equity units, with the alternative energy company planning to add the proceeds to the general funds of its NextEra Energy Capital Holdings subsidiary. The stock slipped 3.5% in the premarket. Danaher (DHR) – Danaher gained 4.2% in the premarket after the medical technology company announced plans to spin off its environmental and applied sciences unit into a separate company. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023. AIG (AIG) – The insurer’s life insurance unit CoreBridge raised $1.68 billion in the biggest initial public offering of 2022. In the IPO, 80 million CoreBridge shares were sold at $21 per share, at the low end of the projected $21-to 24 range. AIG gained 1.75 in the premarket. Nordstrom (JWN) – The department store operator’s shares jumped 2.6% in premarket action after Jeffries upgraded the stock to “buy” from “hold”. The firm said younger and wealthier consumers will be spending on major wardrobe upgrades, and Nordstrom is best poised to benefit from that trend. Wynn Resorts (WYNN) – The casino and resort operator was upgraded to “outperform” from “neutral” at Credit Suisse, which called Wynn one of the most compelling stories in the gaming industry. Wynn rose 2.5% in premarket trading. Netflix (NFLX) – The streaming service’s shares were up 2.5% in premarket trading following an Evercore ISI upgrade to “outperform” from “in line”. Evercore based its opinion on Netflix’s revenue opportunities from its planned ad-supported tier and limits on password sharing. Read More Here

A Texas McCombs Professor Is At The Center Of A New Battle In The Culture War https://digitalalaskanews.com/a-texas-mccombs-professor-is-at-the-center-of-a-new-battle-in-the-culture-war/ Richard Lowery, a finance professor at Texas-Austin McCombs, is suing the Texas A&M University system over a new fellowship program that he says discriminates against White and Asian-American faculty candidates. Salem Center photo A finance professor at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business is suing a major state university system over its hiring policies in a case that seems like it was designed in a think-tank for national attention — because it was. Richard Lowery, a finance professor at McCombs, says the Texas A&M University System is discriminating against White and Asian-American teaching candidates through its new faculty fellowship program for African Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Lowery, who is White, says the fellowship violates federal law. The legal broadside has garnered heavy media attention in part because it is supported by a group founded by Stephen Miller, former speechwriter and adviser for President Donald Trump and widely acknowledged architect of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Miller is well-known to the world of graduate business education as the prime mover behind the Trump administration’s restrictions of the H-1B visa program, which has long been viewed by B-schools as vital to the pipeline of talent coming to the U.S. A&M FELLOWSHIP IS ‘FLATLY ILLEGAL’ SAYS McCOMBS PROF Richard Lowery. American Institute for Economic Research photo The Accountability, Climate, Equity and Scholarship Faculty Fellows Program was announced in July by Annie McGown, Texas A&M vice president and associate provost for diversity, and N. K. Anand, vice president for faculty affairs. Through it, the A&M system — which includes 11 Texas universities serving more than 150,000 students — has promised to provide “50% matching base salary and benefits, up to a maximum contribution of $100,000 (salary and fringe) for new mid-career and senior tenure-track hires.” The fellowship includes as priorities: “Hires that significantly advance campus goals and our land-grant mission for a demographic composition that represents the State of Texas.” “Hires who have demonstrated knowledge, expertise, and commitment to supporting our student body (e.g., student mentoring, teaching, service).” “Hires that will expand the capacity of Texas A&M University to more effectively serve students of color and low-income students, and thereby maintain HSI eligibility. The candidates must clearly communicate how their commitment to enhancing opportunities for underserved populations may benefit Texas A&M University.” In his lawsuit, Lowery says Texas A&M’s $2 million ACES fellowship violates not only Title VI and Title IX of the federal Civil Rights Act but also the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. “Texas A&M’s proclaimed goal of establishing a faculty whose racial composition attains ‘parity with that of the state of Texas’ seeks to achieve racial balancing,” Lowery’s lawsuit says, “which is flatly illegal under Title VI and the binding precedent of the Supreme Court.” LOWERY REPRESENTED BY GROUP PACKED WITH TRUMP OFFICIALS In a statement, a Texas A&M spokesman said Lowery’s lawsuit was an “unusual job application when Mr. Lowery says in the lawsuit he is ‘able and ready’ to apply for a faculty appointment at Texas A&M. But our lawyers will review the lawsuit, confer with Texas A&M and take appropriate action as warranted.” The case has gained national attention largely insofar as Lowery’s backers are high-profile conservatives. He is represented by America First Legal, a group created by former Trump adviser Miller and Jonathan Mitchell, a former solicitor general for Texas. Mitchell is the legal architect of Texas’ six-week abortion ban. Besides Miller, America First Legal lists among its board of directors Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, and Matthew Whitaker, former acting attorney general. Already the case has drawn coverage from the Texas Tribune, the Houston Chronicle, Inside Higher Ed, and — in perhaps the surest sign that it is destined to be a focus at least of right-wing media attention until resolution (and perhaps beyond) — The National Review. Reached by email, Lowery referred Poets&Quants‘ request for comment to his attorney Gene Hamilton, a Federalist Society contributor and former Trump administration official who served as counsel to attorneys general Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr and acting attorneys general Whitaker and Jeff Rosen. Hamilton, also listed as one of America First Legal’s directors, did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment. LOWERY IS A 2009 PHD GRADUATE OF CMU TEPPER Lowery is a senior scholar at Texas McCombs’ Salem Center for Policy, which launched in 2020 promising to help “students and business leaders better understand the costs, benefits and consequences of policy decisions.” The Center “works with students, policymakers, and business leaders to advance the use of data science in public policy research and practice,” according to its website. The center also plans events that “bring together policy experts, business leaders, and students”; the next, slated for Sept. 19, is titled “Dependence & Autonomy: Lunch Talk with Professor Carl R. Trueman.” Trueman, a professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College, is described as “an esteemed church historian” who previously taught at Princeton University. According to his LinkedIn profile, Lowery received his Ph.D. in Economics from Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business in 2009. He was an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin from June of that year to 2017; he became an associate professor at the McCombs School in May 2017. According to his personal page, his research areas are theoretical corporate finance and financial intermediation, and experimental economics. Lowery has shared his conservative views widely, publishing articles at The Hill, the Texas Tribune, the Houston Chronicle, and the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram — and he has not reserved his criticisms of diversity, equity and inclusion policies to competing institutions. He has also trained fire on his own school. In an article titled “Higher Ed Jobs: Only the Woke Need Apply” in an outlet called the Heartland Daily News on August 10, he begins: “After hypocritically ranting about the threat to ‘academic freedom’ posed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s higher education reform proposals, the faculty and administration at the University of Texas–Austin appear poised to end the remaining vestiges of free expression and free inquiry at our institution. The university’s ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ (DEI) policy – which already requires that those seeking hiring and promotion demonstrate political commitment to critical race theory and radical gender ideologies – will now be ‘sharpened,’ apparently to include mandatory ‘diversity’ statements from job applicants.” DON’T MISS MEET THE TEXAS McCOMBS MBA CLASS OF 2023 and B-SCHOOLS REACT TO TRUMP’S SUSPENSION OF H-1B VISAS Read More Here

Kemp Grew His Fortune By Erasing Personal Debts While In Office https://digitalalaskanews.com/kemp-grew-his-fortune-by-erasing-personal-debts-while-in-office/ But a closer look at the figures shows his addition mostly came by subtraction. During his first term, Kemp’s assets — which include ownership stakes in apartment complexes, office buildings and agricultural properties, as well as other business ventures and investments — actually fell 24% in total value from about $11.6 million to $8.8 million. But he increased his overall net worth by erasing $6.3 million in debt, much of which came from his decision to divest himself from Hart AgStrong, a costly and controversial seed-crushing operation with plants in northeast Georgia and Kentucky. Kemp’s campaign said the governor used the proceeds from the sale of his share of the company to pay off bank notes, business loans and mortgage debt on investment properties, leaving just the $180,000 outstanding balance on his private residence in Athens. Doing the math, Kemp’s net worth grew 65% from $5.2 million in 2018 to $8.6 million on his most recent financial disclosure earlier this year, ahead of his rematch against Democrat Stacey Abrams. The AJC is committed to ensuring that Georgians are fully educated about the candidates for governor and others who seek public office. It is critical that voters know where each candidate stands on important issues, what moneyed interests might influence them and whether the candidates have behaved ethically. Today’s focus is on Republican Brian Kemp. The newspaper will, over the course of this election cycle, focus on each of the candidates. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newsroom will: Conduct deep background investigations with an eye toward past behavior and any potential conflicts that might raise questions on or provide insight into how a candidate might perform. Publish profiles of each candidate aimed at understanding each candidate’s personal life, background, influences and qualifications. Attend forums and debates throughout the election cycle so you know how the candidates are staking out their positions and answering urgent questions. To access the newspaper’s ongoing coverage of politics, visit ajc.com/politics. Kemp managed all of this private business activity while simultaneously steering the state through a global pandemic and choppy economic waters. And, inevitably, sometimes the paths crossed. Last year, Specialty Stone Inc., a landscaping supply company in Jackson County that is half-owned by Kemp, received $38,137 in pandemic relief from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. In statements to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kemp campaign spokesman Cody Hall at the time pointed to Kemp’s support for the PPP program and emphasized the governor was not a direct recipient of the aid and was not involved in the day-to-day operation of the store. In his personal financial disclosure, Kemp reported nearly $15,000 in losses in his investment in the store in 2020 and 2021. In more recent comments for this article, Hall touted the governor’s track record as a businessman while defending Kemp’s decision to continue to manage his assets while serving in public office. Combined Shape Caption Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and his Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, have both seen their net worth increase since their first race in 2018. Credit: AJC Credit: AJC Combined Shape Caption Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and his Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, have both seen their net worth increase since their first race in 2018. Credit: AJC Credit: AJC “Gov. Kemp has been a successful small businessman for over 35 years and still is to this day,” Hall said. “His business interests in construction, real estate and agribusiness do not conflict with his duties as governor and have been fully disclosed, reported on and discussed publicly for years now.” Abrams’ personal finances have come under the microscope, too, as her narrow loss in the 2018 race to Kemp helped catapult the Democrat into wider fame — and brought her new financial opportunities. An AJC review showed how her lucrative portfolio of books, speaking engagements, business interests and investments made her a multimillionaire. She’s said that if elected she would step down from public boards and wall herself off from financial decisions that could create a conflict of interest. And when asked by the AJC, the Abrams campaign confirmed that she would place her assets in a blind trust. It used to be common for Georgia governors to distance themselves from their private financial matters while in office. Govs. Joe Frank Harris, Zell Miller, Roy Barnes and Nathan Deal are recent examples of chief executives who placed their personal business in the hands of a trusted adviser. These blind trusts were meant to create separation between the governors’ personal lives and their service to the state, shielding them from claims of self-dealing. And it worked, most of the time. In the 1990 campaign for governor, Democrat Andy Young and Republican Johnny Isakson criticized Zell Miller for the 25% stake in a North Georgia bank held by him and his wife, Shirley. Young and Isakson said the banking stock created a conflict of interest for Miller, who would be called on to sign banking legislation. In response, Miller placed his financial interests in a blind trust, and two years later the trustee liquidated the stock without consulting him. “The point of a blind trust is not to have it the subject of (Miller’s) knowledge,” the trustee told The Associated Press at the time. Combined Shape Caption During the 1990 campaign for governor, Andy Young. far left, criticized fellow Democrat Zell Miller, second from left, for his investment in a North Georgia bank. Young said the banking stock created a conflict of interest for Miller, who would be called on to sign banking legislation. Miller responded by placing his assets in a blind trust. (Frank Niemeir / AJC file) Credit: AJC Staff Credit: AJC Staff Combined Shape Caption During the 1990 campaign for governor, Andy Young. far left, criticized fellow Democrat Zell Miller, second from left, for his investment in a North Georgia bank. Young said the banking stock created a conflict of interest for Miller, who would be called on to sign banking legislation. Miller responded by placing his assets in a blind trust. (Frank Niemeir / AJC file) Credit: AJC Staff Credit: AJC Staff Placing those interests in a blind trust didn’t entirely shield Miller from the fallout. When his trustee sold the bank stock, Miller was criticized for the $600,000 he received in the sale — a 31% return on the investment made eight years prior. But these are different times. Charles Bullock, a longtime political science professor at the University of Georgia with expertise in state politics, said Kemp’s decision to continue to manage his personal finances while in office likely does not shock or concern many voters in the current political environment. He invoked Donald Trump, who refused to sever ties with his real estate empire and other businesses after his 2016 election as president, putting him and his family in line to directly profit from his public service. “Trump lowered the bar dramatically in that area,” Bullock said. Rather than separate himself from his vast business holdings, Trump allowed his children to actively manage his assets. Critics — then and now — say that decision created countless conflicts of interest, especially with his real estate holdings, while his businesses profited. Kemp’s fortune, while substantial, is nowhere near that of Trump’s, and Bullock said voters may have lowered their expectations of what is proper financial behavior for politicians as a result. Even before Trump, concern over conflicts of interest has not been enough to sway voter opinion. Sonny Perdue eschewed tradition during his two terms as governor and remained popular with voters throughout. Elected in 2002, Perdue became the first governor since the 1970s to forgo the blind trust and actively managed his assets while in office. As a result, he was accused of using his position of power and influence to enrich himself, including signing legislation that gave him a $100,000 tax deferral on a controversial land deal. “He also left office very popular,” Bullock said. “If Georgia law had allowed it, he could have been elected a third time.” Despite his popularity, Perdue was heavily scrutinized for his decision to moonlight as a private businessman while serving in office. In contrast, Kemp has received relatively little attention or criticism, even from Democrats who haven’t chosen to make the Republican’s private business a campaign issue in 2022. State Rep. David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs, said he would rather the governor put more distance between his personal finances and the business of the state, but you can’t build a campaign around it. “It’s not the best practice,” said Wilkerson, a certified public accountant. “But do voters typically punish someone for not doing that? They haven’t in the past.” Wilkerson said the decision of high-ranking politicians to continue to act as private investors or business people feeds into a narrative that politicians are crooked. “Every decision that gets made, you wonder if it is in the best interest of the state or their best interest,” he said. Combined Shape Caption Sonny Perdue, left, and Brian Kemp both managed their private businesses while also serving as governor. “It’s not the best practice,” said state Rep. David Wilkerson, a Democrat from Powder Springs and a certified public accountant. “But do voters typically punish someone for not doing that? They haven’t in the past.” HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC Combined Shape Caption Sonny Perdue, left, and Brian Kemp both managed their private businesses w...

Republican Secretary Of State Candidate Kim Crockett Can’t Seem To Get Her Facts Straight – Minnesota Reformer https://digitalalaskanews.com/republican-secretary-of-state-candidate-kim-crockett-cant-seem-to-get-her-facts-straight-minnesota-reformer/ Kim Crockett, the Republican candidate for Minnesota secretary of state, has made a litany of erroneous statements about election administration during her campaign to be the state’s top election official. Chief among them: She called the 2020 election “rigged” and is a proud believer in the false assertion that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, even though thousands of Republican election judges oversaw the election, and a random group of precincts in every Minnesota county were hand-counted to ensure accuracy.  Crockett falsely accuses Simon of rigging the 2020 election when he agreed to a judicially approved consent decree — after a voting rights group sued the state — to expand mail balloting for safe voting during the pandemic. Post-election reviews by county administrators found no significant irregularities. Minnesota Republicans picked up a congressional seat, maintained their state Senate majority and picked up state House seats, which means for the election to have been “rigged,” Democrats rigged it against themselves. Her DFL opponent, Secretary of State Steve Simon, has called the 2020 election “funda­ment­ally fair, accur­ate, honest, and secure.” Michelle Witte, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, condemned factually erroneous claims that shake Minnesotans’ confidence in elections: “To me, it’s very irresponsible for anyone to sow doubts without facts,” she said. “When people make claims that truly undermine our confidence in our democracy … you better have the facts to back you up.”  And a new poll indicates most Minnesotans agree: Public Policy Polling found 53% of Minnesotans support the Jan. 6 insurrection investigation, and 65% of Minnesotans say the investigation is important to protecting democracy. The poll also found 65% of Minnesotans are concerned about Crockett being an election denier who has asserted the 2020 elections results are illegitimate, and that she’s part of a right-wing network that is recruiting an army of activists to make voting more difficult.  Although Crockett’s views may be outside the Minnesota mainstream, Republicans are confident in their prospects this November, as voters often turn against the party that controls the White House.  And, as secretary of state, Crockett could play a big role in the future of Minnesota democracy. The secretary of state oversees statewide elections and operates the statewide voter registration system. Just months away from potentially taking command of Minnesota election administration, however, Crockett, who didn’t respond to interview requests, doesn’t seem to have a basic understanding of what the secretary of state does.  In an email to supporters earlier this year, she said the secretary of state counts the votes. That’s false. Counties and cities count votes.  Max Hailperin, a retired computer scientist who consults on election systems, has been tracking Crockett’s false claims, and said she has incorrectly ascribed numerous duties to the office. “Anything she doesn’t like, she ascribes to the secretary of state,” Hailperin said. “If you’re running for the office, it would be good to know what they do.” She told a Senate committee the secretary of state mailed her a ballot, but that’s impossible. Cities and counties mail ballots, not the secretary of state. Crockett also told a podcast host that military ballots were delivered to the secretary of state’s office. That’s false: They go back to the county that sent them.  She said she wasn’t sure whether military ballots are counted by counties or the state. Ballots aren’t counted by the state. Hailperin was struck by how many times Crockett said in that interview she didn’t know, was unsure, she’d have to check or “good question” — although at least she admitted uncertainty.  “It’s a bigger problem when she very confidently states things that are false,” he said. She touts as credentials years of experience working as an Election Day lawyer for the Republican Party. “I think if I were the Republican Party, I might ask for my money back,” Hailperin joked. Crockett has repeatedly said the state’s residency requirement for elections is 20 days in a precinct, which is also false.   People must live in the state for 20 days before the election, but if they move within the state, they can vote in their new precinct, according to Paul Linnell, deputy state elections director. Linnell said election judges are trained on this point. Crockett has encouraged thousands of Republicans to volunteer to be election judges this year, but she hasn’t served as one herself, which means she probably knows less about elections than they do, Hailperin said. Crockett has said postmarks are required on absentee ballot envelopes. That’s false. They’re not. On another podcast, Crockett said when the state was under Democratic control, absentee balloting was expanded from “a week or two” of early voting to 46 days. That’s false.  The absentee voting period was changed in 2010, when Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a law expanding it from 30 to 46 days. That was part of a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Defense, because 30 days was not enough time for ballots to go out and be returned by deployed service members.  The extension was applied to all people so there would be one set of rules for all voters, according to Cassondra Knudson, press secretary for the Office of Secretary of State. In the same interview, Crockett said in the 1970s, under Secretary of State Joan Growe, “We got rid of simple, common-sense things like voter ID.” That’s false.  Minnesota has never required identification to vote. Crockett has also implied that Minnesota used to require voter registration prior to Election Day, but Hailperin said there was no statewide voter registration requirement until 1973, when a law was passed allowing registration through Election Day.  “You could just walk into a polling place and say ‘I swear I’m Max and I wanna vote,’” Hailperin said.  Prior to passage of the 1973 law, some cities required registration, but the law grandfathered in a few rural counties that didn’t require registration for a few more years. Crockett also frequently complains about “the widespread use of drop boxes in DFL-strongholds” like Minneapolis, as she wrote last year. Not true. Minneapolis election administrator Jeff Narabrook said the city has never had unstaffed ballot drop boxes, but has had staffed dropoff sites. “She repeatedly talks about the golden age when everyone needed to register in advance, and there never was any such age,” Hailperin said. “The status quo dates to before she was voting. Her golden age thing is striking.” Crockett has also promoted the election falsehoods of others.  She appeared at a showing of the Dinesh D’Souza documentary “2,000 Mules,” which is filled with debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.  With the fall election season in full swing, Crockett has continued her 2020 election denialism. She recently told KARE11 reporter John Croman that she has no way of knowing whether former President Donald Trump actually won Minnesota, despite President Joe Biden’s 230,000 vote margin of victory, and the statutorily mandated post-election audit that found no significant irregularities.  In response, Hailperin tweeted recently that Crockett casts doubt on even the possibility of an accurate election tally. “She denies we have any way of knowing who really won. She denies that elections are our way of knowing. She denies that we conducted an election in any real sense. She denies the election itself, not its outcome. Maybe that’s what people mean by calling her an election denier.”  Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. Read More Here

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Prosecutors Request New Trial For 'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed https://digitalalaskanews.com/prosecutors-request-new-trial-for-serial-subject-adnan-syed/ (CNN)Baltimore prosecutors filed a motion Wednesday asking for a new trial for Adnan Syed, whose case was the subject of the hugely popular first season of the “Serial” podcast. A statement from the state attorney’s office cited newly discovered evidence. “After a nearly year-long investigation reviewing the facts of this case, Syed deserves a new trial where he is adequately represented and the latest evidence can be presented,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in the statement. Syed is serving a life sentence after he was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment in February 2000 for the slaying of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. He has maintained his innocence and has been appealing his convictions for years. “As stewards of the court, we are obligated to uphold confidence in the integrity of convictions and do our part to correct when this standard has been comprised,” Mosby said. “We have spoken with the family of Ms. Hae Min Lee and (they) fully understand that the person responsible for this heinous crime must be held accountable.” The state will request that Syed be released on his own recognizance pending the investigation if the motion to vacate his conviction is granted. “We believe that keeping Mr. Syed detained as we continue to investigate the case with everything that we know now, when we do not have confidence in results of the first trial, would be unjust,” Mosby said. The re-investigation revealed evidence “regarding the possible involvement of two alternative suspects other than Syed,” the statement said. “The two suspects may be involved individually or may be involved together,” the statement said. Adnan and Lee were seniors at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County in January 1999 when she disappeared. Her strangled body was discovered in a city forest three weeks later. Mosby said prosecutors are “not asserting, at this time, that Mr. Syed is innocent” but that the state “lacks confidence in the integrity of the conviction” and that Syed should get a new trial. Syed and prosecutors in March filed a joint motion for post-conviction DNA testing, saying that since the crime occurred more than two decades ago, “DNA testing has changed and improved drastically.” The March motion asked that the victim’s clothing be tested for touch DNA, which was not available at the time of trial. Items now being tested were not previously tested in 2018 — when the Baltimore City Police Lab tested various items for DNA — with the exception of the victim’s fingernail clippings, Mosby’s statement said. Mosby said the motion to vacate was filed along with Sentencing Review Unit (SRU) Chief Becky Feldman. Syed was a juvenile when convicted. The suspects were known persons at the time of the original investigation “and were not properly ruled out nor disclosed to the defense,” according to Mosby’s statement. The state is not disclosing the names of the suspects but said that, according to the trial file, one of them said, “He would make her [Ms. Lee] disappear. He would kill her.” The investigation also revealed that one suspect was convicted of attacking a woman in her vehicle, according to the statement. The second suspect was convicted of engaging in serial rape and sexual assault, the statement said. Some of the information was available at the time of the trial, the statement said, and some came to light later. It is not clear when these assaults took place. Lee’s car was located “directly behind the house of one of the suspect’s family members,” the statement said. Attorneys for Syed brought the case to the attention of the SRU in April of 2021. Syed’s attorneys “identified significant reliability issues regarding the most critical pieces of evidence at trial,” Mosby’s statement said. In the 2019 HBO docuseries “The Case Against Adnan Syed,” an attorney for Syed said his client’s DNA was not found on any of the 12 samples retrieved from the victim’s body and car. That testing was not part of the official investigation by authorities. HBO, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. At trial, prosecutors relied on testimony from a friend, Jay Wilds, who said he helped Syed dig a hole for Lee’s body. To corroborate his account, prosecutors presented cell phone records and expert witness testimony to place Syed at the site where Lee was buried. CNN’s Jenn Selva and Steve Almasy contributed to this report. Read More Here

Talks To Avert Crippling US Rail Strike Continue Overnight | CNN Business https://digitalalaskanews.com/talks-to-avert-crippling-us-rail-strike-continue-overnight-cnn-business/ New York CNN Business  —  Talks aimed at averting a freight railroad strike that could cripple US supply chains continued overnight into Thursday. If the strike goes ahead early Friday, it could send prices higher for goods from gasoline to food to cars. Two rail unions, representing more than 50,000 engineers and conductors who make up the two-person crews that make the trains run, are threatening the first rail strike in 30 years as of 12:01 am ET Friday. Union leaders and the railroads’ labor negotiators began meeting with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh at his Washington, DC, office at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday. The talks were still underway 18 hours later at 3 a.m. ET Thursday, a Labor Department spokesman told CNN. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that “all parties need to stay at the table, bargain in good faith to resolve outstanding issues and come to an agreement. A shutdown of our freight rail system is unacceptable outcome for our economy and the American people, and all parties must work to avoid just that.” The Labor Department asked both management and labor not to comment on the state of the talks, and neither responded to a request for comment. Nearly 30% of the nation’s freight moves on the nation’s railroads. Many vital sectors — including oil refining, agriculture, auto and other manufacturing, plus the imports of consumer goods — depend on the railroads to operate. While a short strike would have a limited effect, economists say a strike lasting a week or more could have severe economic consequences. The railroads announced last Friday that they had stopped accepting shipments of hazardous material, including fertilizer, as well as security-related materials, due to concerns that trains will immediately stop wherever they are once the strike begins. On Wednesday many stopped accepting shipments of agricultural products. Members of Union Pacific (UNP) train crews were informed by the railroad late Tuesday that if they’re in the middle of a trip when the strike begins at 12:01 am EST Friday they should park and secure their train and wait for transportation. Freight railroad Norfolk Southern (NSC) is planning to use management employees to operate a limited number of trains in the event of a strike Friday. That could allow critical materials to reach their destinations, like chlorine to water treatment plants. “We’ll have some capability. Not a very good capability, but we’ll have some if it comes to that,” Norfolk Southern spokesman Connor Spielmaker told CNN Business Wednesday. “How we’re going to utilize them is still being planned out.” Spielmaker said the railroads still hope to reach a deal with the unions and avert such a situation. Freight railroads CSX, BNSF and Union Pacific declined to say if they’ll be using management employees to operate trains in the event of a strike. The threat of the strike could snarl commutes across the country. Many Amtrak and local commuter trains travel on railways owned by freight companies. If striking engineers park their trans midroute Friday morning, commutes could be disrupted. Amtrak on Wednesday said it canceled all long-distance trains starting Thursday, and it announced 10 additional routes would be shut down Thursday evening. Amtrak said additional delays or cancellations are possible. The effort to avert a strike is a major test for President Joe Biden and his White House, which has positioned itself as one of the most pro-labor administrations ever. At the same time, it also wants to avoid any potential shocks to the economy, especially with the midterm elections just seven weeks away. Railroad workers are governed by a different labor law than most workers, one that limits their freedom to strike and allows for more governmental intervention. In July Biden issued an order that prevented a strike at that time and created a panel, known as a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), to try to find a solution to the dispute. It also imposed a 60-day cooling off period during which the unions could not strike and management could not lock out workers. But Biden cannot order the railroads to keep operating once the cooling off period ends Friday. Only Congress can act to keep workers on the job if there is no deal. Sen. Richard Durbin, the second highest ranking member of the Democrats’ Senate leadership, told CNN this week that Congressional action is unlikely, despite business groups calling on Congress to act. The Senate is in recess on Friday, and many members of Congress are flying to London to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. The PEB’s recommendations called for workers to get an immediate 14% pay raise, plus back pay dating back to 2020. It also called for a 24% increase in pay during the five-year life of the contract from 2020 to 2024, and cash bonuses of $1,000 a year. But it did not address the staffing shortages and scheduling rules that have become the key sticking point in the dispute. The engineers’ and conductors’ unions say the railroads are requiring their members to be “on call” and ready to report to work on short notice as often as seven days a week. Leadership of the two unions say their members would not accept a contract without changes to those work rules. There are more than 50,000 other unions members at the railroads who maintain tracks, operate signals, dispatch trains and work as mechanics, among other jobs. But they are not subject to the same work rules, and those unions already accepted tentative deals with the railroads based on the PEB’s recommendations. One of those unions, the Machinists, announced Wednesday that its members voted to reject its tentative labor deal. There are about 5,000 members of the union at the railroads working as locomotive machinists, track equipment mechanics and facility maintenance personnel. Their rejection of the proposed contract is not an immediate setback in efforts to avoid the strike. The union said it will not go on strike before the end of the month, as it tries to reach a change in the tentative agreement that its members will accept. But it is a sign of the complexity the railroads are facing in reaching deals with a dozen different unions that are also acceptable to rank-and-file membership. Two other unions, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen and the Transportation Communications Union, which between them have 11,000 members, ratified deals on Wednesday. – CNN’s Matt McFarland, Ali Zaslav, Kate Sullivan, Phil Mattingly, Maegan Vazquez and Andrew Millman contributed to this report Read More Here

Voter Fraud Investigation Into Ex-Trump Staffer Meadows: Group He Heads Sues Over Ballots https://digitalalaskanews.com/voter-fraud-investigation-into-ex-trump-staffer-meadows-group-he-heads-sues-over-ballots/ A group headed by ex-White House Chief of Staff and former Western North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows is suing officials in Pennsylvania over a ballot box “election integrity” issue, a move made at the same time that Meadows remains under investigation for voter fraud. America First Legal Foundation – led by Meadows and former Donald Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller − is suing Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, elections officials over the use of ballot drop boxes on behalf of four county voters. According to a news release by America First, “the lawsuit seeks to stop violations of Pennsylvania’s election law and instead restore election integrity prior to this November’s election.” Spokespeople from the organization did not respond to a Sept. 14 message from the Citizen Times. Leigh Deputy Solicitor Sarah Murray, who is defending the elections officials, said while the case was active she could not talk about it, including whether it was problematic for Meadows to be a plaintiff in a election integrity case. September marks the sixth month of a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation probe into Meadows. That comes after he voted absentee using the Macon County address of a single-wide mobile home he did not own and appears never to have visited. “Thank you for reaching out.  Unfortunately, I am not able to comment on pending litigation,” Murray said in an email. Meadows spokesperson Ben Williamson also declined to comment. Voter fraud investigations, particularly those into where a person truly lives, can take time because of the “murkiness” of different states’ rules on what it means to reside in a place, said Hans von Spakovsky, the manager of the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Election Law Reform Initiative and a President George W. Bush appointee to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. While residence might seem a cut-and-dried issue, it can often be hard to prove that someone did not live in a certain place. “It’s easy if it’s not actually some place where you can live,” Von Spakovsky said, citing the investigation of Kansas Congressman Steve Watkins who was convicted of three felonies for using a post office box as his home’s address while voting in the wrong 2019 municipal election. Other complications include that state voting regulators often give federal legislators and other government officials working in Washington some leeway in residence claims, since they spend much of their time away from their home state. SBI spokesperson Anjanette Grube said on Sept. 14 that the investigation into Meadows was still underway but would not answer other questions about it. Meadows voted using the address of the mobile home in 2020. It was that year that he helped push the idea that Trump lost the election to Joe Biden because of election fraud, something that was unproven and rebuked by courts and Trump’s attorney general, William Barr. More:Judge to decide whether to dismiss ex-Asheville cop’s suit against police chief, DA More:Attorneys for convicted Asheville Airbnb business owner Shawn Johnson: $0 losses due to fraud News broke of his use of the address to vote absentee with a March 6, 2022, story by the New Yorker. Multiple residents of conservative Macon County interviewed by the Citizen Times said they did not believe Meadows ever lived at the home. On March 17, the SBI announced its investigation. That followed a letter from District Attorney Ashley Hornsby-Welch — whose responsibilities include Macon County — to the N.C. Department of Justice recusing herself from the matter because of a campaign contribution she received from Meadows. In April, Macon elections officials officially removed him from the voter list. Soon after, Meadows, a top member of the Conservative Partnership Institute, has stopped speaking at CPI-sponsored statewide Election Integrity Summits. The summits show how to organize “citizen election integrity task forces” to check on people’s voter records to ensure they live where they have registered. Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He’s written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter.  Read More Here

Biden Admin Awards $80 Million Contract That Prohibits GPS Monitoring Of Illegal Immigrants – Washington Free Beacon https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-admin-awards-80-million-contract-that-prohibits-gps-monitoring-of-illegal-immigrants-washington-free-beacon/ Biden Administration Experts say system will make it impossible to keep track of migrants released into US Some of the thousands of immigrants sheltered near the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas / Reuters Joseph Simonson • September 15, 2022 5:00 am The Biden administration is spending nearly $80 million on a new system to monitor illegal immigrants that prohibits the use of any GPS technology, a decision that experts say will make it impossible to locate their whereabouts after their release into the United States. The system, according to government records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, is meant to track illegal immigrants via monthly check-ins via phone. Migrants released into the U.S. interior aged 18-19 are eligible for the program. Any GPS monitoring that would give exact locations, such as ankle monitor tracking, is explicitly forbidden, according to the contract. “This sort of thing is popular among the left. It sounds great but the reality is that people in these programs will likely never be [deported],” former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Ron Vitiello told the Free Beacon. “There’s nothing at the end of these programs. If they don’t report in, that’s that. They’re now a fugitive.” The new program for illegal immigrants contradicts claims from the Biden administration that the federal government is investing in sophisticated monitoring programs for illegal immigrants during the worst border crisis in U.S. history. When Republican lawmakers criticized the White House over reports in April that immigration authorities were providing cell phones for illegal immigrants upon their release into the United States, the White House defended the conduct, saying the phones assist the government in monitoring the location of illegal immigrants. “We need to take steps to ensure that we know where individuals are and we can track and we can check in with them,” former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. The contract was awarded to Acuity International last month. The first payment of just over $16 million out of a potential $79.5 million was paid on Sept. 1. ICE says in its memo that the purpose of the program is to “promote compliance” among illegal immigrants. Aside from providing case workers for the migrants, the contractor will also “develop and maintain a network of age appropriate and culturally sensitive community resources.” These resources include “trauma informed care.” The contractor will also “assist” illegal immigrants “with a support system upon” deportation. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Caliburn International rebranded as Acuity International in 2021, likely in part because of criticism it faced from Democratic lawmakers during the Trump era. A subsidiary of Caliburn, Comprehensive Health Services, Inc. operated a temporary shelter for child migrants who were either unaccompanied or separated from their parents in 2018. That subsidiary became a subject of ire by such Democrats as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.). In 2019, Warren sent a letter to then-Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar demanding that Caliburn’s subsidiary not operate a for-profit migrant shelter again, citing previous allegations of “overcrowding and poor conditions.” Rather than place illegal immigrants in a detention facility, those eligible for what the government calls an “Alternatives to Detention” (ATD) program may essentially roam the country feely before their court date. The vast majority of illegal immigrants released into the United States have qualified for ATD programs since 2020. “The Alternatives to Detention program has already proven to be a costly failure with thousands of aliens disappearing from monitoring every year, and there’s no reason to think this will be any different,” former DHS senior adviser and director of investigations at the Center for Immigration Studies  told the Free Beacon. “The goal should be to quickly determine whether these individuals have a valid case, and if not, to quickly deport them. Instead, DHS is developing a massive social services program that will benefit NGOs with no guarantee any of these individuals will actually return home when ordered to do so.” The Biden administration has dramatically expanded ATD programs for illegal immigrants. Because of the sheer number of illegal immigrants crossing into the country, the Department of Homeland Security is increasingly relying on private contractors to operate call centers for illegal immigrants who report their location in a brief monthly interview. An internal ICE report on ATD programs, first obtained by Fox News, stated that there are roughly 1.6 million illegal immigrants with scheduled immigration hearings who are not in detention. Many of those illegal immigrants, records show, will not face an immigration court date for upwards of five years. Migrant encounters on the southern border exceeded two million for the fiscal year in August, a new record. The previous record was held by the 2021 fiscal year, which saw 1.94 million encounters. Read More Here

Cuba Demands At UNHRC The End Of Unilateral Coercive Measures https://digitalalaskanews.com/cuba-demands-at-unhrc-the-end-of-unilateral-coercive-measures/ Cuba’s ambassador to the UN-Geneva, Juan Antonio Quintanilla, called today at the Human Rights Council for the end of unilateral coercive measures, such as the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade against the island. RELATED: Syria Condemns Extension of US ‘Trading with the Enemy’ Act “Unilateral coercive measures are illegal and illegitimate, and from every point of view contrary to International Law and the Charter of the United Nations”, he stated when speaking during the debates of the 51st session of the Council. In an interactive dialogue with the special rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures, Alena Douhan, the Cuban diplomat denounced these actions directly attack the sovereignty of states, harm developing countries in particular and seriously hinder efforts for economic and social development. Likewise, they affect the promotion of the enjoyment of human rights of their peoples, and should not be considered as “sanctions”, but as what they are, criminal unilateral acts of pressure and indiscriminate economic warfare, used by the powerful to try to achieve geopolitical objectives, he underlined. Quintanilla recalled in the forum that Cuba is one of the countries targeted by these actions, which, although they do not succeed in subduing the people, still cause a lot of damage and suffering, constituting severe violations of human rights. “We reiterate the denunciation and rejection of the United States blockade, which impacts all sectors of life in my country, every day, for more than 60 years”, he stressed. The island’s ambassador to UN-Geneva, repudiated the economic damage accumulated by a siege rejected year after year by the international community in the United Nations General Assembly, and described the human impact of this hostile policy as incalculable. Washington intensified its blockade in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic with at least 50 measures, of the 243 adopted by the Donald Trump administration (2017-2021) to increase pressure on the island nation, almost all of them maintained by his successor Joseph Biden, “The blockade is the most severe and prolonged system of unilateral coercive measures that has been applied against any country in history. Its ultimate goal is to impose a foreign political system on Cuba, and thus strengthen the agenda of imperial domination, in Latin America and the Caribbean, synthesized in the so-called Monroe Doctrine,” said Quintanilla. However, he ratified before the Human Rights Council that the island will not bow in the face of aggression and threats. Read More Here

Dry Bulk Carrier Attacked Off Guinea – Splash247 https://digitalalaskanews.com/dry-bulk-carrier-attacked-off-guinea-splash247/ An Antigua & Barbuda-flagged dry cargo vessel belonging to Germany’s Jens und Waller was boarded and robbed by armed criminals yesterday whilst in the Conakry anchorage, Guinea, 18 nautical miles south of the city, according to maritime security specialists Ambrey. Three robbers armed with AK style rifles and blades boarded the 8,564 dwt Martina, whilst two accomplices remained onboard a boat. The crew mustered in the citadel, whilst the criminals robbed the vessel. No crew injuries were reported. The vessel was not under the protection of any naval guards at the time of the incident, and had an estimated freeboard of 5.3 m. Piracy incidents around the world were at their lowest levels in nearly 30 years for the first half of 2022. However, the Gulf of Guinea was the area with the highest amount of attacks. In July, the government of Nigeria and a coalition of global shipping stakeholders launched a new strategy to end piracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping in the Gulf of Guinea. Piracy activity in the gulf has posed a severe threat to seafarers and local communities for over a decade. In 2020, 40% of piracy attacks, and 95% of crew kidnappings occurred in the region. However, attacks decreased by nearly 60% in 2021, following the establishment of Deep Blue, the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Maritime Safety Agency (NIMASA) anti-piracy project, and increased international counter-piracy operations in the GoG. Sam Chambers Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune. Read Next September 15, 2022 HMM to work with Panasia developing onboard carbon capture tech September 14, 2022 Date set for new strike at Felixstowe September 14, 2022 New Zealand readies for its first methanol-powered ship September 14, 2022 New look articulated tug and barge set to moves boxes across Brazil September 12, 2022 IMO’s Carbon Intensity Indicator comes in for further criticism Read More Here

Poll: Biden’s Approval Rises But Concerns Over His Handling Of The Economy Remain  https://digitalalaskanews.com/poll-bidens-approval-rises-but-concerns-over-his-handling-of-the-economy-remain/ WASHINGTON (AP) — US President Joe Biden’s popularity improved substantially from his lowest point this summer, but concerns about his handling of the economy persist, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Support for Biden recovered from a low of 36% in July to 45%, driven in large part by a rebound in support from Democrats just two months before the November midterm elections. During a few bleak summer months when gasoline prices peaked and lawmakers appeared deadlocked, the Democrats faced the possibility of blowout losses against Republicans. Their outlook appears better after notching a string of legislative successes that left more Americans ready to judge the president on his preferred terms: “Don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative.” The president’s approval rating remains underwater, with 53% of US adults disapproving of him, and the economy continues to be a weakness for Biden. Just 38% approve of his economic leadership as the country faces stubbornly high inflation and Republicans try to make household finances the axis of the upcoming vote. Still, the poll suggests Biden and his fellow Democrats are gaining momentum right as generating voter enthusiasm and turnout takes precedence. Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms Average gas prices have tumbled 26% since June to $3.71 a gallon, reducing the pressure somewhat on family budgets even if inflation remains high. Congress also passed a pair of landmark bills in the past month that could reshape the economy and reduce carbon emissions. Illustrative: Gas prices are shown on March 7, 2022, in Tumwater, Washington, as the cost of gasoline hit the highest price that American motorists have faced since July 2008. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Republicans have also faced resistance since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and its abortion protections. And Biden is openly casting former president Donald Trump as a fundamental threat to democracy, a charge that took on resonance after an FBI search of Trump’s Florida home found classified documents that belong to the US government. This combination of factors has won Biden some plaudits among the Democratic faithful, even if Americans still feel lukewarm about his leadership. “I’m not under any belief that he’s the best person for the job — he’s the best from the people we had to choose from,” said Betty Bogacz, 74, a retiree from Portland, Oregon. “He represented stability, which I feel President Trump did not represent at all.” Biden’s approval rating didn’t exceed 40% in May, June or July as inflation surged in the aftermath of Russia invading Ukraine. The president’s rating now is similar to what it was throughout the first quarter of the year, but he continues to fall short of early highs. His average approval rating in AP-NORC polling through the first six months of his term was 60%. Driving the recent increase in Biden’s popularity is renewed support among Democrats, who had shown signs of dejection in the early summer. Now, 78% of Democrats approve of Biden’s job performance, up from 65% in July. Sixty-six percent of Democrats approve of Biden on the economy, up from 54% in June. Interviews suggest a big reason for Biden’s rebound is the re-emergence of Trump on the national stage, causing voters such as Stephen Jablonsky, who labeled Biden as “OK,” to say voting Democratic is a must for the nation’s survival. “The country has a political virus by the name of Donald Trump,” said Jablonsky, a retired music professor from Stamford, Connecticut. “We have a man who is psychotic and seems to have no concern for law and order and democracy. The Republican Party has gone to a place that is so unattractive and so dangerous, this coming election in November could be the last election we ever have.” Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in support of Doug Mastriano for Governor of Pennsylvania and Mehmet Oz for US Senate at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on September 3, 2022. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) Republicans feel just as negative about Biden as they did before. Only about 1 in 10 Republicans approve of the president overall or on the economy, similar to ratings earlier this summer. Christine Yannuzzi, 50, doubts that 79-year-old Biden has the capacity to lead. “I don’t think he’s mentally, completely aware of everything that’s happening all the time,” said Yannuzzi, who lives in Binghamton, New York. “The economy’s doing super poorly and I have a hard time believing that the joblessness rate is as low as they say it is.” “I think the middle class is being really phased out and families are working two and three jobs a person to make it,” the Republican added. Twenty-nine percent of US adults say the economy is in good shape, while 71% say it’s doing poorly. In June, 20% said conditions were good and 79% said they were bad. Democrats are more positive now than they were in June, 46% vs. 31%. Republicans remain largely negative, with only 10% saying conditions are good and 90% saying they’re bad. About a quarter of Americans now say things in the country are headed in the right direction, 27%, up from 17% in July. Seventy-two percent say things are going in the wrong direction. Close to half of Democrats — 44% — have an optimistic outlook, up from 27% in July. Just 9% of Republicans are optimistic about the nation’s direction. US President Joe Biden gives a thumbs up as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, August 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Akila Atkins, a 27-year-old stay-at-home mom of two, thinks Biden is “OK” and doesn’t have much confidence that his solutions will curb rising prices. Atkins says it’s gotten a little harder in the last year to manage her family’s expenses, and she’s frustrated that she can no longer rely on the expanded child tax credit. The tax credit paid out monthly was part of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and has since lapsed. The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the expanded tax credit nearly halved the child poverty rate last year to 5.2%. Atkins said it helped them “stay afloat with bills, the kids’ clothing, shoes, school supplies, everything.” Whatever misgivings the Democrat in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has about Biden, she believes he is preferable to Trump. “I always feel like he could be better, but then again, he’s better than our last president,” she said. Read More Here

Biden Approval Rises Sharply As Democrats Fear Trump Return https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-approval-rises-sharply-as-democrats-fear-trump-return/ By Josh Boak September 15, 2022 — 4.15pm Washington: President Joe Biden’s popularity improved substantially from his lowest point a few months ago, but concerns about his handling of the economy persist, according to new polling. Support for Biden recovered from a low of 36 per cent in July to 45 per cent, driven in large part by a rebound in support from Democrats just two months before the November midterm elections, according to the Associated Press and the NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research. During a few bleak summer months when petrol prices peaked and politicians appeared deadlocked, the Democrats faced the possibility of blowout losses against Republicans. President Joe Biden poses for a photo after speaking on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on September 13. His popularity has improved substantially from his lowest point a few months ago. Credit:AP Their outlook appears better after notching a string of legislative successes that left more Americans ready to judge the president on his preferred terms: “Don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative.” The president’s approval rating remains underwater, with 53 per cent of US adults disapproving of him, and the economy continues to be a weakness for Biden. Just 38 per cent approve of his economic leadership as the country faces stubbornly high inflation and Republicans try to make household finances the axis of the upcoming vote. Still, the poll suggests Biden and his fellow Democrats are gaining momentum right as generating voter enthusiasm and turnout takes precedence. Average gas prices have tumbled 26 per cent since June to $US3.71 a gallon, reducing the pressure somewhat on family budgets even if inflation remains high. Congress also passed a pair of landmark bills in the past month that could reshape the economy and reduce carbon emissions. Republicans have also faced resistance since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and its abortion protections. And Biden is openly casting former President Donald Trump as a fundamental threat to democracy, a charge that took on resonance after an FBI search of Trump’s Florida home found classified documents that belong to the US government. This combination of factors has won Biden some plaudits among the Democratic faithful, even if Americans still feel lukewarm about his leadership. “I’m not under any belief that he’s the best person for the job – he’s the best from the people we had to choose from,” said Betty Bogacz, 74, a retiree from Portland, Oregon. “He represented stability, which I feel President Trump did not represent at all.” Biden’s approval rating didn’t exceed 40 per cent in May, June or July as inflation surged in the aftermath of Russia invading Ukraine. The president’s rating now is similar to what it was throughout the first quarter of the year, but he continues to fall short of early highs. His average approval rating in AP-NORC polling through the first six months of his term was 60 per cent. Driving the recent increase in Biden’s popularity is renewed support among Democrats, who had shown signs of dejection in the early summer. Now, 78 per cent of Democrats approve of Biden’s job performance, up from 65 per cent in July. Sixty-six per cent of Democrats approve of Biden on the economy, up from 54 per cent in June. Interviews suggest a big reason for Biden’s rebound is the re-emergence of Trump on the national stage, causing voters such as Stephen Jablonsky, who labeled Biden as “OK,” to say voting Democratic is a must for the nation’s survival. “The country has a political virus by the name of Donald Trump,” said Jablonsky, a retired music professor from Stamford, Connecticut. “We have a man who is psychotic and seems to have no concern for law and order and democracy. The Republican Party has gone to a place that is so unattractive and so dangerous, this coming election in November could be the last election we ever have.” Republicans feel just as negative about Biden as they did before. Only about 1 in 10 Republicans approve of the president overall or on the economy, similar to ratings earlier this summer. Christine Yannuzzi, 50, doubts that 79-year-old Biden has the capacity to lead. “I don’t think he’s mentally, completely aware of everything that’s happening all the time,” said Yannuzzi, who lives in Binghamton, New York. “The economy’s doing super poorly and I have a hard time believing that the joblessness rate is as low as they say it is.” “I think the middle class is being really phased out and families are working two and three jobs a person to make it,” the Republican added. Twenty-nine percent of US adults say the economy is in good shape, while 71 per cent say it’s doing poorly. In June, 20 per cent said conditions were good and 79 per cent said they were bad. Democrats are more positive now than they were in June, 46 per cent v 31 per cent. Republicans remain largely negative, with only 10 per cent saying conditions are good and 90 per cent saying they’re bad. Loading About a quarter of Americans now say things in the country are headed in the right direction, 27 per cent, up from 17 per cent in July. Seventy-two percent say things are going in the wrong direction. Close to half of Democrats — 44 per cent — have an optimistic outlook, up from 27 per cent in July. Just 9 per cent of Republicans are optimistic about the nation’s direction. Akila Atkins, a 27-year-old stay-at-home mom of two, thinks Biden is “OK” and doesn’t have much confidence that his solutions will curb rising prices. Atkins says it’s gotten a little harder in the last year to manage her family’s expenses, and she’s frustrated that she can no longer rely on the expanded child tax credit. The tax credit paid out monthly was part of Biden’s $US1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and has since lapsed. Loading The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the expanded tax credit nearly halved the child poverty rate last year to 5.2 per cent. Atkins said it helped them “stay afloat with bills, the kids’ clothing, shoes, school supplies, everything.“ Whatever misgivings the Democrat in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has about Biden, she believes he is preferable to Trump. “I always feel like he could be better, but then again, he’s better than our last president,” she said. The poll of 1054 adults was conducted September 9-12 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. AP Most Viewed in World Loading Read More Here

Republican Voter Fraud: Look Who’s Messing With Absentee Ballots In Upstate New York https://digitalalaskanews.com/republican-voter-fraud-look-whos-messing-with-absentee-ballots-in-upstate-new-york/ Donald Trump, Dinesh D’Souza and others who breathlessly spin baseless theories about big-city Democrats perpetrating mass voter fraud, call your offices. Jason Schofield, an election commissioner at the Rensselaer County Board of Elections upstate who has an R next to his name, stands credibly accused by federal prosecutors of requesting absentee ballots for others, then in some cases voting on their behalf and without their knowledge. It is fair to say that MAGA heads would be exploding if similar allegations had been leveled against a Democratic election official in Philadelphia, Atlanta or Milwaukee. Jason Schofield In charging documents filed Sept. 8 and unsealed Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York says that after obtaining ballots for other citizens using the state’s absentee ballot application request portal — people who hadn’t asked for ballots and had no interest in voting — Schofield falsely certified that he was the person seeking the ballot. That’s illegal. In four of these cases, say the feds, after filling out or having someone else fill out their ballots, he then got those individuals to sign the outside of their absentee ballot envelopes. Illegal again. Sure, this alleged fraud involved only eight ballots total and local elections, but a Republican seems to have gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The same cookie jar, a website that requires only basic information be submitted to allow absentee ballots to be ordered, has invited others. Earlier this year, federal prosecutors in Manhattan, having been tipped off to irregularities by the local Board of Elections, charged that one man obtained more than 100 absentee ballots in the names of others, including some celebrities and politicians, without their permission. He told the FBI he was doing it “as a hobby,” and never used the ballots to vote. Voter fraud is extremely rare, and there wasn’t nearly enough of it to even potentially sway the 2020 presidential election results. But authorities still need to guard against it vigorously. Monitor those portals and check those envelope signatures carefully. Read More Here

Russian Forces Strike Dam, Flooding Parts Of Kryvyi Rih City; President Zelenskyy Involved In Car Accident https://digitalalaskanews.com/russian-forces-strike-dam-flooding-parts-of-kryvyi-rih-city-president-zelenskyy-involved-in-car-accident/ Russian forces have targeted a dam on the Inhulets River near Kryvyi Rih — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s home city — with eight cruise missiles, according to Ukrainian officials, leading to flooding in parts of the city and residents being evacuated. Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the Kryvyi Rih military administration, said on Telegram last night that Russian missiles had hit a “very large hydrotechnical structure,” widely reported as a dam near the city. Rising water levels on the river led a city official to ask residents to leave parts of the city. In other news overnight, Zelenskyy was involved in a car accident, the president’s office said late last night, but was unhurt in the incident that took place in Kyiv. Presidential Press Secretary Serhii Nykyforov said last night that “a car collided with the car of the President of Ukraine and escort vehicles” and that law enforcement officers would “find out all the circumstances of the accident.” Earlier on Wednesday, he said the country’s armed forces were moving forward “towards victory” as he praised the return of the Ukrainian flag to recaptured territory. 112 houses flooded, 11 people rescued but no casualties after Kryvyi Rih flooding Ukrainian officials have released more details on the flowing in the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, which was targeted by Russian missile strikes yesterday. Kyrylo Timoshenko, deputy head of the office of President Zelenskyy, posted on Telegram that after the strikes by Russian missiles, which targeted a major dam on the Inhulets river, 112 houses were flooded and rescuers had to save 11 people. No deaths have been reported. The local authorities organized four collection points for citizens to evacuate to in order to reach a safe zone, he added as he detailed how the river level rose after the dam was damaged. “As a result of such a breach, the water level in the Ingulets River rose from 100cm to 190cm,” he said, saying that in order to lower the water level, it was necessary to blow up part of the hydraulic structures downstream. After what he described as “the exhausting work of this long night,” the water level in the river has already dropped by 40cm, a detail also noted by the head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration Valentyn Reznichenko. “The water level in the Ingulets River has already dropped by 40 centimeters at the moment and continues to fall. Thank you to the rescuers, emergency services and everyone who worked through the night and continues to work now. Each of you did an incredible job,” Reznichenko said. — Holly Ellyatt European Commission chief visits Kyiv European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers the State of the European Union address to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, on Sept. 14, 2022. Yves Herman | Reuters European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss how to progress Ukraine’s membership bid to join the European Union. “In Kyiv, for my 3rd visit since the start of Russia’s war. So much has changed,” von der Leyen said on Twitter. “Ukraine is now a candidate” for EU membership, she said, adding that she would hold talks with President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal about progressing its membership application. The Ukraine’s membership bid was formally accepted earlier this year but it’s expected that it will take years for it to join the union. — Holly Ellyatt Russians’ flight from Kharkiv region shows ‘breakdowns in command and control’ The manner in which Russian forces withdrew, and fled, from the region of Kharkiv on northeastern Ukraine suggests a breakdown in command structures, the U.K. said in its latest intelligence update Thursday. A damaged military vehicle is seen after the withdrawal of Russian forces in Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sept. 13, 2022. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images “Ukrainian forces continue to consolidate their control of newly liberated areas of Kharkiv Oblast. Russian forces have largely withdrawn from the area west of the Oskil River,” Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Twitter. “The way in which Russian forces have withdrawn in the last week has varied. Some units retreated in relatively good order and under control, while others fled in apparent panic,” it said. “Such abandonment highlights the disorganised retreat of some Russian units and likely localised breakdowns in command and control.” High-value equipment abandoned by withdrawing Russian forces included capabilities essential to enable Russia’s artillery-centric style of warfare, the ministry noted, including at least one Zoopark counter-battery radar and at least one IV14 artillery command and control vehicle. — Holly Ellyatt ‘Active hostilities’ in Kherson amid reports of shelling and looting by Russian forces De-occupied settlements in the region of Kherson in southern Ukraine are coming under Russian fire, a regional official warned on Thursday as he told residents to evacuate. “The situation in the de-occupied settlements of the Kherson region is extremely difficult,” Yaroslav Yanushevych, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said on Telegram, noting that one town had seen all of its houses damaged or destroyed while another had seen 80% of its properties destroyed. Ukraine recently launched a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine to reclaim Russian-occupied territories. Unlike its counterattack in northeastern Ukraine, which has seen most of the region of Kharkiv de-occupied, a significant part of Kherson — the region above Russian-annexed Crimea — remains occupied by Russian forces although Ukraine has launched a series of counterattacks there and has made some gains. A destroyed house following a missile strike in Mykolaiv on Aug. 29, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Dimitar Dilkoff | Afp | Getty Images Yanushevych said the first thing Ukraine’s armed forces did when they liberated settlements from Russian occupation was to advise residents to leave immediately in expectation of Russian reprisals and attacks. Yesterday Yanushevych said the “situation in the Kherson region remains extremely difficult, active hostilities continue.”  The region’s infrastructure was being subjected “to devastating destruction every day due to shelling by the occupiers. In the temporarily occupied settlements, the Russians continue to seize administrative premises and loot,” he said. CNBC was unable to verify the information in the official’s post. — Holly Ellyatt Zelenskyy tells Crimeans that Ukraine is coming Video source: Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a key city recently liberated by Ukrainian troops and had a message for residents of Crimea: “We will arrive.” Zelenskyy spoke to reporters after visiting scenes of destruction inflicted by Russian troops and helping to hoist Ukraine’s flag at Izyum, which only a week ago was held by invading forces. A Ukrainian counteroffensive sent Russian troops into a retreat and reclaimed the city on Sept. 10. “We will come,” Zelenskyy said, addressing residents of Crimea. “I don’t know when. And nobody knows when. But we have plans. So we’ll come, because…it’s our land, and it’s our people.” Zelenskyy expressed concern about the cumulative effect of televised Russian propaganda on Crimean children who have never known what it’s like to be part of Ukraine. Russia’s military seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. “The information war is very strong, and Russia attacked [Crimeans] by television, media … and of course, it will be very difficult for children when we come,” Zelenskyy said. — Ted Kemp Russians target dam near Kryvyi Rih, causing flooding and evacuation of parts of the city Russians have shelled a dam on the Inhulets River near Kryvyi Rih — President Zelenskyy’s home city — leading to flooding in parts of the city and residents being evacuated. Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the Kryvyi Rih military administration, said on Telegram last night that Russian missiles had hit a “very large hydrotechnical structure,” widely reported as a dam near the city. “Dear residents of Kryvyi Rih, Russia has committed another terrorist act. They hit a very large hydrotechnical structure in Kryvyi Rih with eight cruise missiles. The attempt is to simply wash away a part of our city with water. We are monitoring the situation, the response efforts are underway, all services are involved, everyone is on the site. But the water level in the Inhulets River has risen,” Vilkul said. He then named streets that citizens were being asked to evacuate as “the water in the Inhulets River has risen.” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office, said eight Russian cruise missiles had attacked Kryvyi Rih, calling it a “terrorist act.” “After all, rockets are aimed at buildings that are critically important for people’s livelihood,” he said in a post on Telegram with a video showing high water levels on the river and partially submerged trees on the banks. “Today, the Russian troops directed the maximum number of their weapons to hydrotechnical structures. The goal is obvious — an attempt to create an emergency situation. It is not important to them whether people will remain without water or whether the city will be flooded. They need us to panic so it would be difficult for us to make decisions. So let’s not panic,” he said. — Holly Ellyatt President Zelenskyy involved in car accident, is unhurt Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a flag-hoisting ceremony in Izium after Ukrainian forces took control of the city from Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sep...