Digital Alaska News

“Fortunate To Share Last 24 Hours…”: Princess Anne's Note For Queen https://digitalalaskanews.com/fortunate-to-share-last-24-hours-princess-annes-note-for-queen/ “I offer my thanks to each and everyone who shares our sense of loss,” Princess Anne said. London: Anne, The Princess Royal, only daughter of the longest serving monarch of the UK Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip, wrote a heartfelt note for her mother, as she accompanied her coffin back to Buckingham Palace. Grieving the loss of her mother, the Queen’s second child, The Princess Royal wrote that she was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of her dearest mother’s life, as the coffin of the Queen travels from Balmoral to London for the final rites. “It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting,” she wrote. “We will all share unique memories. I offer my thanks to each and everyone who shares our sense of loss,” she added. Princess Royal thanked the countrymen for extending support to her brother Charles III, who ascended the throne as King after the demise of Queen Elizabeth II. “We may have been reminded how much of her presence and contribution to our national identity we took for granted. I am also so grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of The Monarch,” The Princess Royal wrote. Born on August 15, 1950, Anne, The Princess Royal is 16th in the line of succession to the British throne after the death of her mother on September 8, 2022. The eldest daughter of Queen Elizabeth II was granted the title of ‘Princess Royal’ in 1987. Meanwhile, the coffin of Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday II arrived at Buckingham Palace from Edinburgh and will rest overnight in the Bow Room of the palace. “Her Majesty The Queen’s coffin has arrived at Buckingham Palace, where it will rest overnight in the Bow Room. Tomorrow the coffin will be borne in Procession on a Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery to the Palace of Westminster,” The Royal Family wrote on Twitter. The British queen Elizabeth II breathed her last in Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8. The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II began a six-hour journey from her home in the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh on Monday. It arrived at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and was at rest in a Church in Edinburgh for people to pay their last respects to the queen. On the afternoon of Monday, a Procession was formed on the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse to convey the Coffin to St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh. It was flanked by the Bearer Party from the Royal Regiment of Scotland and escorted by the King’s Body Guard for Scotland and the Queen’s children at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Queen’s children on Tuesday held a Vigil beside her coffin in St Giles’ Cathedral church. “The people of Scotland bid their final farewells to Her Majesty The Queen as her coffin travels from Edinburgh to Buckingham Palace,” The Royal Family said. On the afternoon of Wednesday, the Coffin will be borne in Procession on a Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, where The Queen will Lie-in-State in Westminster Hall until the morning of the State Funeral. The Procession will travel via Queen’s Gardens, The Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square, and New Palace Yard. After the coffin arrives at Westminster Hall, The Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct a short service assisted by The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, and attended by The King and Members of the Royal Family, after which the Lying-in-State will begin. During the Lying-in-State, members of the public will have the opportunity to visit Westminster Hall to pay their respects to The Queen. On the morning of Monday 19th September, the Lying-in-State will end and the Coffin will be taken in procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey, where the State Funeral Service will take place at 1100 hrs BST. Following the state funeral, the coffin will travel in procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. From Wellington Arch, the coffin will travel to Windsor, and once there, the State Hearse will travel in procession to St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle via the Long Walk. A Committal Service will then take place in St George’s Chapel. The death of the 96-year-old Queen ended a generation-spanning, seven-decade reign that made her a beacon of stability in a tumultuous world. The UK has entered a period of official mourning, with tributes pouring in worldwide. King Charles-III was proclaimed as the new monarch of England on Saturday after his mother Queen Elizabeth II passed away. Moreover, the national anthem of Britain will now again shift back to “God Save the King” as the British Queen is now no more. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Read More Here

AP News Summary At 11:57 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1157-p-m-edt/ Ukrainian troops keep up pressure on fleeing Russian forces KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops are piling pressure on retreating Russian forces, pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of their counteroffensive. The advance has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow’s military prestige. As the push continued Tuesday, Ukraine’s border guard services said the army took control of Vovchansk — a town just 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Russia seized on the first day of the war. Russian troops were also pulling out of the southern city of Melitopol and heading toward Moscow-annexed Crimea. That’s according to the city’s pre-occupation mayor. His claim could not be verified. Melitopol is the second-largest city in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region. Casket of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Buckingham Palace LONDON (AP) — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II has returned to Buckingham Palace, moving through a drizzly London as crowds lined the route for a glimpse of the hearse and to bid her farewell. People parked their cars along a normally busy road, got out and waved as the hearse, with lights inside illuminating the flag-draped coffin, made its way into London. In the city, people pressed in on the road and held their phones aloft as it passed. Thousands outside the palace shouted “God save the queen!” and clapped as the hearse swung around a roundabout in front of the queen’s residence and through the wrought iron gates. King Charles III and other immediate family members waited inside. Close New Hampshire Senate primary tests direction of GOP CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Republican contest for Senate in New Hampshire is emerging as a tight race between conservative Donald Bolduc and the more moderate Chuck Morse as the final primary night of the midterm season again tests the far right’s influence over the GOP. Republicans see Democratic incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire as beatable in the general election. But a strong competitor in the GOP contest is Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who some in the party believe is too far to the right for swing voters. Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines. GOP’s Graham unveils nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has introduced a bill calling for a nationwide abortion ban. The bill would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the physical health of the mother. The legislation introduced Tuesday is sending shockwaves through both parties with just weeks before voters go to the polls. Graham’s own Republican colleagues did not immediately embrace his abortion ban bill, which has almost no chance of becoming law in the Democratic-held Congress. Democrats reject it as extreme and an alarming signal of where Republicans are headed if they win control of the House and Senate in November. Ken Starr, whose probe led to Clinton impeachment, dies Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment, died Tuesday at age 76, his family says. A former colleague, attorney Mark Lanier, says Starr died at a hospital of complications from surgery. In a probe that lasted five years during the 1990s, Starr looked into a number of matters involving Clinton, including the president’s sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. House Republicans impeached Clinton, but he was acquitted in a Senate trial. In 2020, Starr was recruited to help represent Donald Trump in the nation’s third presidential impeachment trial. Asian markets open lower after price data slam Wall Street Asian markets have skidded lower after Wall Street fell the most since June 2020 as a report showed inflation has kept a surprisingly strong grip on the U.S. economy. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.7% in early trading Wednesday, while Seoul’s Kospi declined 2.5%. On Tuesday, the Dow lost more than 1,250 points and the S&P 500 sank 4.3%. The hotter-than-expected report on inflation Tuesday has traders bracing for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates still more, adding to risks for the economy. Still, the drop didn’t quite knock out the market’s gains over the past four days. Judge unseals additional portions of Mar-a-Lago affidavit WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has unsealed additional portions of an FBI affidavit laying out the basis for a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. The document shows how agents obtained a hard drive after issuing a subpoena for surveillance footage recorded inside Mar-a-Lago. A heavily redacted version of the affidavit was made public last month, but the Justice Department requested permission to show more of it after lawyers for Trump revealed the existence of a June grand jury subpoena that sought video footage from cameras in the vicinity of the Mar-a-Lago storage room. Package explodes on Boston campus; 1 injured, FBI involved BOSTON (AP) — A package has exploded on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston, and the college says a staff member suffered minor injuries. Authorities say another suspicious package was found near a prominent art museum Tuesday evening, and the FBI was assisting with the investigation. Boston’s bomb squad is at the scene of the second package near the city’s prestigious Museum of Fine Arts, on the outskirts of the Northeastern campus. NBC Boston reports that the package that exploded went off as it was being opened near the university’s Holmes Hall, which is home to the university’s creative writing program. The FBI is assisting the investigation. Sandy Hook witnesses testify about Alex Jones’ hoax claims WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A sister of a teacher killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre and an FBI agent who responded to the shooting have both emotionally described what it has been like to be accused of being crisis actors by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others. Carlee Soto Parisi and FBI agent William Aldenberg were the first witnesses to testify Tuesday as a Connecticut jury began hearing statements in a trial to decide how much money Jones owes for spreading the lie that the 2012 mass shooting in Newtown didn’t happen. The trial began Tuesday in Waterbury, only 18 miles from Newtown, where 26 people were killed in 2012. Jones’ attorneys say his comments, which he now admits were wrong, were protected speech. Ancient skeleton found in Mexico cave threatened by train MEXICO CITY (AP) — A cave-diving archaeologist on Mexico’s Caribbean coast says another prehistoric human skeleton has been found in a cave system that was flooded as seas rose 8,000 years ago. Archaeologist Octavio del Rio says the shattered skull and skeleton collapsed are partly covered by sediment. Given the distance from the cave entrance, it couldn’t have gotten there without modern diving equipment, so it must be over 8,000 years old, Some of the oldest human remains in North America have been discovered in the sinkhole caves that experts say are threatened by the Mexican government’s project to build a high-speed tourist train through the jungle. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

‘ https://digitalalaskanews.com/12399-2/ My Pillow CEO and Donald Trump backer Mike Lindell claimed on his talk show that FBI agents seized his cellphone as he made his way through a burger joint near Mankato, Minnesota, recently. Lindell said “all different models” of cars with FBI agents surrounded his vehicle after a Hardee’s drive-thru worker told him to “pull ahead” because his order wasn’t done. He went on to claim Tuesday on “The Lindell Report” that an agent told him he had “bad news” for him, that he had a warrant to seize his cellphone and asked to take the phone from him. He showed a warrant dated Sept. 7. “I said, ‘My whole company, I run five companies off that. I don’t have a computer. My hearing aids run off this. Everything runs off my phone,’” Lindell said on his show. “I said, ‘If I don’t give it to ya, will you arrest me then?’ … I’m going ‘Are you kidding me? You’re not getting my phone.’” Lindell amplified the allegations in a conversation with The Daily Beast on Tuesday. He told the news site that the FBI was looking for information on Dennis Montgomery, a software designer and Lindell associate who reportedly peddled lies about the 2020 presidential election. Lindell later appeared to show a search warrant and a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado on social media. The FBI declined to comment to HuffPost. You can watch Lindell’s claims on the Hardee’s drive-thru stop below. Lindell, who was sued for his conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and was subject to a Twitter ban for repeating them, also claimed the FBI inquired about Mesa County, Colorado, Clerk Tina Peters. Peters pleaded not guilty on seven felony charges and three misdemeanors related to an election security breach case last week, Colorado Public Radio reported. Lindell’s claims come as the Justice Department reportedly issued roughly 40 subpoenas in the last week connected to people with knowledge of Trump and his team’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential results prior to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, The New York Times reported. Read More Here

Major Asia-Pacific Markets Drop 2% Following Wall Street Plunge On Hot Inflation Report; Yen Near 24-Year Low https://digitalalaskanews.com/major-asia-pacific-markets-drop-2-following-wall-street-plunge-on-hot-inflation-report-yen-near-24-year-low/ A pedestrian walks past an electronic quotation board displaying share prices of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on June 16, 2020. Kazuhiro Nogi | AFP | Getty Images Shares in the Asia-Pacific dropped sharply on Wednesday after indexes on Wall Street plunged following a higher-than-expected U.S. consumer price index report for August. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.46%, and the Topix index fell 1.81%. The Japanese yen traded at 144.38 per dollar, hovering around its weakest levels since September 1998. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped 2.55%, and the Hang Seng Tech index fell 2.96%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 2.48%. The Kospi in South Korea lost 1.65% and the Kosdaq declined 1.9%. The South Korean won passed the 1,390-mark against the greenback and was last trading at 1,391.98 against the dollar, around the weakest levels since March 2009. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite lost 1.02% and the Shenzhen Component fell 1.496%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.28%. The U.S. 2-year Treasury yield also reached 3.79%, the highest level since 2007. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,276.37 points, or 3.94%, to close at 31,104.97. The S&P 500 shed 4.32% to 3,932.69, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 5.16% to end the session at 11,633.57. “What is perhaps most disconcerting in all this is that the strength in core inflation is very much service sector-led categories,” said Ray Attrill, National Australia Bank’s head of FX strategy, wrote in a note, adding the sector is primarily wage inflation-driven. — CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Jesse Pound and Carmen Reinicke contributed to this report. Japan’s machinery orders grow again in July, beats expectations Core machinery orders in Japan jumped 5.3% in July from the previous month, beating expectations for a 0.8% contraction in a Reuters poll. That figure grew 0.9% in June. Compared to July 2021, core orders increased more than 12%, beating a 6.6% growth prediction forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. — Abigail Ng CNBC Pro: Morningstar says this is ‘one of the best’ value-focused funds Traders are now split between a 75 basis point or 100 basis point Fed hike Some traders are now expecting a full point rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve at its September meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tracker of Fed funds futures bets. The probability of a 100-basis-point rose to 33% from 0%, and the chance for a three-quarter point hike fell to 67% from 91% a day earlier. Economists at Nomura now also expect to see a full percentage hike. — Abigail Ng Sign up for CNBC’s newsletter here: Read More Here

AP News In Brief At 12:04 A.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-in-brief-at-1204-a-m-edt-3/ Driven by consumers, US inflation grows more persistent WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation is showing signs of entering a more stubborn phase that will likely require drastic action by the Federal Reserve, a shift that has panicked financial markets and heightens the risks of a recession. Some of the longtime drivers of higher inflation — spiking gas prices, supply chain snarls, soaring used-car prices — are fading. Yet underlying measures of inflation are actually worsening. The ongoing evolution of the forces behind an inflation rate that’s near a four-decade high has made it harder for the Fed to wrestle it under control. Prices are no longer rising because a few categories have skyrocketed in cost. Instead, inflation has now spread more widely through the economy, fueled by a strong job market that is boosting paychecks, forcing companies to raise prices to cover higher labor costs and giving more consumers the wherewithal to spend. On Tuesday, the government said inflation ticked up 0.1% from July to August and 8.3% from a year ago, which was down from June’s four-decade high of 9.1% But excluding the volatile categories of food and energy, so-called core prices jumped by an unexpectedly sharp 0.6% from July to August, after a milder 0.3% rise the previous month. The Fed monitors core prices closely, and the latest figures heightened fears of an even more aggressive Fed and sent stocks plunging, with the Dow Jones collapsing more than 1,200 points. Ukrainian troops keep up pressure on fleeing Russian forces KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops piled pressure on retreating Russian forces Tuesday, pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of the counteroffensive that has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow’s military prestige. As the advance continued, Ukraine’s border guard services said the army took control of Vovchansk — a town just 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Russia seized on the first day of the war. Russia has acknowledged that it recently withdrew troops from areas in the northeastern region of Kharkiv. Russian troops were also pulling out from Melitopol, the second largest city in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, the city’s pre-occupation mayor said. His claim could not immediately be verified. Melitopol has been occupied since early March. Capturing it would give Kyiv an opportunity to disrupt Russian supply lines between the south and the eastern Donbas region, the two major areas where Moscow-backed forces hold territory. Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram that the Russian troops were heading toward Moscow-annexed Crimea. He said columns of military equipment were reported at a checkpoint in Chonhar, a village marking the boundary between the Crimean peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland. Casket of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Buckingham Palace LONDON (AP) — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II returned to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening, making its way through a drizzly London as crowds lined the route for a glimpse of the hearse and to bid her a final farewell. People parked their cars along a normally busy road, got out and waved as the hearse, with lights inside illuminating the flag-draped coffin, made its way into London. In the city, people pressed in on the road and held their phones aloft as it passed. Thousands outside the palace cheered, shouted “God save the queen!” and clapped as the hearse swung around a roundabout in front of the queen’s official London residence and through the wrought iron gates. Her son, King Charles III, and other immediate family members waited inside. The coffin traveled to London from Edinburgh, where 33,000 people filed silently past it in the 24 hours at St. Giles’ Cathedral after it had been brought there from her cherished summer retreat, Balmoral. The queen — the only monarch many in the United Kingdom have ever known — died there Sept. 8 at age 96 after 70 years on the throne. The military C-17 Globemaster carrying the casket touched down at RAF Northolt, an air force base in the west of London, about an hour after it left Edinburgh. U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and a military honor guard were among those at the base for the arrival. Close New Hampshire Senate primary tests direction of GOP CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Republican contest for Senate in New Hampshire emerged Tuesday as a tight race between conservative Donald Bolduc and the more moderate Chuck Morse as the final primary night of the midterm season again tested the far right’s influence over the GOP. Republicans see Democratic incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire as beatable in the general election, now just eight weeks away. But a strong competitor in the GOP contest is Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who some in the party believe is too far to the right for some swing voters in the general election. Morse, the president of the state Senate, has been backed by the Republican establishment. New Hampshire’s Senate seat could prove pivotal for whichever party controls the chamber after November. President Joe Biden carried the state by more than 7 percentage points and Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines. Hassan clinched her party’s nomination against only token opposition while Gov. Chris Sununu won the Republican party’s nomination for another term. He’s heavily favored against Democrat Tom Sherman, who was unopposed for his party’s governor’s nomination. Sherman, a state senator and physician, was quick to remind voters that Sununu signed a late-term abortion ban into law last year. “As governor I will stand up for our freedoms and protect a woman’s right to choose, not cave to extremists like Chris Sununu,” he said. GOP’s Graham unveils nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks WASHINGTON (AP) — Upending the political debate, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced a nationwide abortion ban Tuesday, sending shockwaves through both parties and igniting fresh debate on a fraught issue weeks before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Graham’s own Republican Party leaders did not immediately embrace his abortion ban bill, which would prohibit the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy with rare exceptions, and has almost no chance of becoming law in the Democratic-held Congress. Democrats torched it as an alarming signal of where “MAGA” Republicans are headed if they win control of the House and Senate in November. “America’s got to make some decisions,” Graham said at a news conference at the Capitol. The South Carolina Republican said that rather than shying away from the Supreme Court’s ruling this summer overturning Roe v. Wade’s nearly 50-year right to abortion access, Republicans are preparing to fight to make a nationwide abortion ban federal law. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, we’re going nowhere,” the senator said while flanked by female advocates from the anti-abortion movement. “We welcome the debate. We welcome the vote in the United States Senate as to what America should look like in 2022.” Ken Starr, whose probe led to Clinton impeachment, dies Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment and put Starr at the center of one of the country’s most polarizing debates of the 1990s, has died at age 76, his family said Tuesday. Starr died at a hospital Tuesday of complications from surgery, according to his former colleague, attorney Mark Lanier. He said Starr had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit in Houston for about four months. For many years, Starr’s stellar reputation as a lawyer seemed to place him on a path to the Supreme Court. At age 37, he became the youngest person ever to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia also had served. From 1989-93, Starr was the solicitor general in the administration of President George H.W. Bush, arguing 25 cases before the Supreme Court. Roberts said Tuesday: “Ken loved our country and served it with dedication and distinction. He led by example, in the legal profession, public service, and the community.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell remembered Starr Tuesday as “a brilliant litigator, an impressive leader, and a devoted patriot.” Judge unseals additional portions of Mar-a-Lago affidavit WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge Tuesday unsealed additional portions of an FBI affidavit laying out the basis for a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home, showing that agents earlier obtained a hard drive after issuing a subpoena for surveillance footage recorded inside Mar-a-Lago. A heavily redacted version of the affidavit was made public last month, but the Justice Department requested permission to show more of it after lawyers for Trump revealed the existence of a June grand jury subpoena that sought video footage from cameras in the vicinity of the Mar-a-Lago storage room. “Because those aspects of the grand jury’s investigation have now been publicly revealed, there is no longer any reason to keep them sealed (i.e. redacted) in the filings in this matter,” department lawyers wrote. The newly visible portions of the FBI agent’s affidavit show that the FBI on June 24 subpoenaed for the footage after a visit weeks earlier to Mar-a-Lago in which agents observed 50 to 55 boxes of records in the storage room at the property. The Trump Organization provided a hard drive on July 6 in response to the subpoena, the affidavit says. The footage could be an important piece of the investigation, including as agents eva...

Trafficked Teen Who Killed Alleged Assailant Given Probation As ‘second Chance’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/trafficked-teen-who-killed-alleged-assailant-given-probation-as-second-chance/ Pieper Lewis was sleeping in the hallway of an apartment complex when she first encountered the man she would come to think of as her boyfriend. She was 15 years old, on the run from an unstable home life in Des Moines. He gave her a place to stay and called her his girlfriend. But then, by her account, he started listing her on dating websites. Men had paid to have sex with her seven or eight times when, she said in a guilty plea, she killed one of them. The teenager said she had been forced on the night of May 31, 2020, to go to 38-year-old Zachary Brooks’s apartment, where he allegedly plied her with alcohol and drugs and sexually assaulted her repeatedly. Seeing him sleeping afterward, something snapped in her. “I suddenly realized that Mr. Brooks had raped me yet again,” Lewis wrote in pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury, “and was overcome with rage.” She stabbed him dozens of times and was arrested on murder charges a day later. Prosecutors did not dispute her trafficking allegations, and a Polk County judge said in court documents there was evidence that appeared to support them. Still, in a case with parallels to other sex-trafficked teenagers who killed their assailants, she faced up to 20 years in prison. On Tuesday, Polk County District Judge David M. Porter sentenced Lewis, now 17, to five years of probation to be served at a residential correctional facility, in what he called “a second chance.” He deferred Lewis’s judgment, allowing her record to be expunged if she completes probation. In a requirement that Lewis’s attorneys argued against, he said he lacked the discretion to avoid requiring her to pay $150,000 in restitution to Brooks’s family. Before the judge handed down his ruling, Lewis took the stand. She read from a powerful statement, opening with, “Today, my voice will be heard.” Over several minutes, she described the trauma she had endured, along with her attempts to take ownership of her actions and move forward. “I wish the events that took place on June 1, 2020, never occurred,” she said. “But to say there’s only one victim to this story is absurd.” The man she named as her trafficker has not been charged. A Des Moines Police Department spokesman did not respond to The Washington Post’s questions about whether investigators had looked into Lewis’s claims. Across the country, other teenagers who were allegedly sex trafficked and involved in a killing have spent years in prison, their abuse in many cases either unmentioned or dismissed in court. In Ohio, Alexis Martin pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison after prosecutors said she participated in a plan to rob her alleged trafficker, who was shot to death during the crime. In Wisconsin, Chrystul Kizer faced a life sentence for killing her abuser. Cyntoia Brown spent 15 years in prison for killing a man who paid for sex with her while she was trafficked at age 16. Then, in 2019, after advocates rallied to her side in the wake of the #MeToo movement, her sentence was commuted and she was released. Her story helped draw attention to teenagers with similar stories, leading some authorities to reconsider how they should be treated. Lewis’s case has also sparked attention, outrage and calls for her release. She has been held in juvenile detention since her arrest in June 2020. “No one has ever denied that she was a victim, and yet the way that she’s being treated is not the way that we would expect a victim of trafficking, let alone a minor victim of trafficking, to be treated,” said KellyMarie Meek, coordinator of prevention and public health initiatives at the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault. In the years before she met Brooks, Lewis’s childhood was frequently marked by trauma, according to court records. Days after being born, her attorneys wrote in court documents, she returned to a hospital severely malnourished. She was placed in foster care, her parents’ rights were terminated and then she was adopted by Billy and Leslie Lewis. When the couple divorced in 2019, Pieper Lewis, then in middle school, began acting out. Her mother reacted with what Lewis’s attorneys called “draconian parenting measures,” removing her bedroom door and forcing her to sleep on a mattress on the floor. Rules posted on her bedroom wall said she could not have contact with her siblings and must stay in her room until told to come out. In her guilty plea, Lewis laid out the series of events that led to the killing. She said she ran away three times in the early months of 2020 — and for good in March 2020. With nowhere to stay, she bounced from the apartment of one adult to the next, at times facing abuse. She spent the first few months at the apartment of a classmate’s older sister, babysitting in exchange for shelter, until a disagreement that ended with Lewis sleeping in the apartment complex hallways. A 40-year-old man took the teenage girl in, but when he turned violent, she was back to the hallway. In April 2020, another resident of the complex, a 28-year-old man, moved Lewis into his unit in the building. He began arranging for her to have sex with men, she wrote in her plea. Among them was Brooks, with whom she was forced to spend three days in May 2020. She said he assaulted her multiple times. “I did not want to have sex with Mr. Brooks because I believed that [the 28-year-old man] was my boyfriend,” she wrote. “I did not want to go to Mr. Brooks’ apartment but I had no other place to go.” On May 31, Lewis’s alleged trafficker told her she needed to “turn that trick” with Brooks again to get marijuana. She cried and said she didn’t want to go, according to her plea, but he held a knife against her neck. Frightened, she got into Brooks’s car and went with him to his apartment. He gave her alcohol and told her to undress. She wrote that she hoped he would fall asleep: “I tried to remain calm and kept thinking he will pass out and I will leave his apartment at first light.” He assaulted her five times before falling asleep, according to what she said in her plea. Lewis was looking for her clothing when she noticed a knife on a nightstand and rage took over. She stabbed Brooks 37 times and then fled in the early-morning darkness. “My intentions that day were not just to go out and take somebody’s life,” Lewis said in court Tuesday. “In my mind, I felt that I wasn’t safe. And I felt that I was in danger, which resulted in the actions. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that a crime was committed.” Prosecutors had previously indicated that they might request prison time, but in court on Tuesday, they called instead for probation and placement in a women’s facility. They said the case required balancing rehabilitation against protection of the community. While noting that they had not disputed Lewis’s claims of being trafficked, they said that in killing him, she had taken matters into her own hands, leaving Brooks’s children without a father. Matthew Sheeley, one of Lewis’s lawyers, argued that her actions were directly tied to her status as a victim of human trafficking. He argued against the requirement that she pay Brooks’s estate, telling the judge, “I don’t believe that the Iowa Legislature intended to require a 15-year-old girl … to pay her rapist’s estate $150,000.” Placed in a safe environment with support, Sheeley said, Lewis would not pose a risk to the community. He pointed out that she had recently graduated from high school while in detention — a year ahead of her class. He said the Pieper Lewis who was prosecuted for first-degree murder “is not the Pieper Lewis that we know.” In her statement in court, Lewis said she would prevail no matter what the judge decided. She rattled off goals for herself, like becoming a fashion designer, looking out for other girls like her and telling her story. She called herself “a phoenix.” “Some days I feel like giving up,” she said, “but yet again, I am the light at the end of the tunnel. I flicker brighter than the simple thought of my own future. I must prevail.” Read More Here

Anchorage Mayor Bronson Reverses Course On Plan To Use Spenard And Fairview Rec Centers For Emergency Homeless Shelters https://digitalalaskanews.com/anchorage-mayor-bronson-reverses-course-on-plan-to-use-spenard-and-fairview-rec-centers-for-emergency-homeless-shelters/ Mayor Dave Bronson speaks with his chief of staff, Alexis Johnson, during the Anchorage Assembly meeting on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. (Emily Mesner / ADN) In a sudden change of course, Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson on Tuesday announced that the city will not use its recreation centers in the Spenard and Fairview neighborhoods for emergency homeless shelters this winter. The announcement comes less than a week after the mayor’s office said it would shut down its sanctioned homeless camp in Centennial Park Campground at the end of September and move the 200-plus unsheltered homeless residents at the camp into the recreation centers. “We have listened to concerns from the public and Assembly members and we’ll be working with the emergency Shelter Task Force to find appropriate shelter options that meet the needs of our city’s most vulnerable,” Bronson said during his opening comments at Tuesday night’s Assembly meeting. “Homelessness in Anchorage is one of my administration’s top priorities. I’m committed to working with the Anchorage Assembly and our community partners to come up with successful solutions.” A spokesman for the mayor said in an emailed statement Tuesday evening that “other aspects of the plan will be utilized for emergency shelter.” Bronson’s announcement last week about his plans to begin using the two recreation centers for shelters at the end of the month elicited sharp opposition from residents in the impacted neighborhoods, some community groups and from several Assembly members. At Tuesday’s meeting, Assembly member Daniel Volland introduced a related ordinance that, if passed, would prohibit the use of community centers for emergency shelter unless a civil emergency is declared, he said. Members will not vote on it until a later meeting. Other pieces of Bronson’s proposed emergency shelter plan include lodging residents in 20 portable buildings likely provided by the Anchorage School District, distributing city grants to organizations and churches that stand up their own shelter sites, continuing to shelter people in rooms at the Aviator Hotel downtown and opening a planned East Anchorage shelter and navigation center that is now under construction. It is not yet clear whether the Bronson administration still intends to close Centennial at the end of the month, and the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to emailed questions about the matter. In his comments, Bronson did not make mention of his plans for the campers at Centennial Park, where Bronson officials directed and bused homeless individuals as they shut down the city’s mass shelter in Sullivan Arena at the end of June. He also did not mention the previously-announced Sept. 30 closing date for the campsite, which is just over two weeks away. Assembly leaders called on the Bronson administration to produce emergency winter shelter plans, and later criticized the administration after Bronson’s initial reveal of his plans did not include many key details. Bronson revealed more details of his plans for emergency shelter last week. [Anchorage’s last COVID-era shelter is in a downtown hotel. The clock is ticking on its closure.] City officials are rushing to stand up more shelter and housing before the onset of cold weather and as the city is up against a deadline set by Anchorage city code: The law requires officials to open emergency shelter once temperatures drop below 45 degrees and “when a lack of available shelter options poses a danger to the life and health of unsheltered people.” Last month, after Bronson officials did not show up to a committee meeting to discuss winter shelter and did not provide their plans at the time, the Anchorage Assembly voted to create a separate task force to develop emergency shelter plans led by the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness. The coalition estimates at least 350 single adults live unsheltered in Anchorage right now, including those at Centennial. Shelter and housing programs are largely full, with waitlists, while walk-in, low-barrier shelter no longer exists. Assembly members have said they doubt the viability of other aspects in Bronson’s plan, including using the portable buildings. That idea requires a change to city code, and Assembly member Felix Rivera has said the Assembly process to pass the ordinance would likely take too much time to have the buildings ready before the temperatures drop and trigger the emergency shelter requirement. Rivera is chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing and Homelessness. On Tuesday, the administration proposed an ordinance that would allow the use of “relocatable ancillary buildings” as emergency shelters for those experiencing homelessness when the city’s emergency shelter plan is activated. That means that at its next scheduled meeting on Sept. 27, the Assembly is slated to vote on it, unless a meeting is held sooner. The Anchorage School District “is willing to donate relocatable classroom buildings to the municipality for sheltering purposes,” according to a memorandum about the ordinance. Rivera has said that between Bronson’s ideas for emergency shelter and recommendations from the task force, slated to be presented to the Assembly later this month, the city should be able to come up with a working plan. Read More Here

King Charles III News LIVE | King Charles Annoyed Over Leaky Pen | 'I Can't Bear This Bloody Thing!' https://digitalalaskanews.com/king-charles-iii-news-live-king-charles-annoyed-over-leaky-pen-i-cant-bear-this-bloody-thing/ King Charles III News LIVE | King Charles Annoyed Over Leaky Pen | ‘I Can’t Bear This Bloody Thing!’  CNN-News18 Leaky pen irks King Charles during signing ceremony  Yahoo News ‘I can’t bear this bloody thing’: King Charles gets frustrated with leaky pen  Guardian News King Charles Has a Mishap with a Pen in Ireland: ‘I Can’t Bear This Bloody Thing!’  PEOPLE King Charles III becomes frustrated with leaking pen during signing ceremony  Sky News Australia Read More Here

AP News In Brief At 11:04 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-in-brief-at-1104-p-m-edt-3/ Ukrainian troops keep up pressure on fleeing Russian forces KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops piled pressure on retreating Russian forces Tuesday, pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of the counteroffensive that has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow’s military prestige. As the advance continued, Ukraine’s border guard services said the army took control of Vovchansk — a town just 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Russia seized on the first day of the war. Russia has acknowledged that it recently withdrew troops from areas in the northeastern region of Kharkiv. Russian troops were also pulling out from Melitopol, the second largest city in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, the city’s pre-occupation mayor said. His claim could not immediately be verified. Melitopol has been occupied since early March. Capturing it would give Kyiv an opportunity to disrupt Russian supply lines between the south and the eastern Donbas region, the two major areas where Moscow-backed forces hold territory. Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram that the Russian troops were heading toward Moscow-annexed Crimea. He said columns of military equipment were reported at a checkpoint in Chonhar, a village marking the boundary between the Crimean peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland. Casket of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Buckingham Palace LONDON (AP) — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II returned to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening, making its way through a drizzly London as crowds lined the route for a glimpse of the hearse and to bid her a final farewell. People parked their cars along a normally busy road, got out and waved as the hearse, with lights inside illuminating the flag-draped coffin, made its way into London. In the city, people pressed in on the road and held their phones aloft as it passed. Thousands outside the palace cheered, shouted “God save the queen!” and clapped as the hearse swung around a roundabout in front of the queen’s official London residence and through the wrought iron gates. Her son, King Charles III, and other immediate family members waited inside. The coffin traveled to London from Edinburgh, where 33,000 people filed silently past it in the 24 hours at St. Giles’ Cathedral after it had been brought there from her cherished summer retreat, Balmoral. The queen — the only monarch many in the United Kingdom have ever known — died there Sept. 8 at age 96 after 70 years on the throne. The military C-17 Globemaster carrying the casket touched down at RAF Northolt, an air force base in the west of London, about an hour after it left Edinburgh. U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and a military honor guard were among those at the base for the arrival. Close New Hampshire Senate primary tests direction of GOP CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Republican contest for Senate in New Hampshire emerged Tuesday as a tight race between conservative Donald Bolduc and the more moderate Chuck Morse as the final primary night of the midterm season again tested the far right’s influence over the GOP. Republicans see Democratic incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire as beatable in the general election, now just eight weeks away. But a strong competitor in the GOP contest is Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who some in the party believe is too far to the right for some swing voters in the general election. Morse, the president of the state Senate, has been backed by the Republican establishment. New Hampshire’s Senate seat could prove pivotal for whichever party controls the chamber after November. President Joe Biden carried the state by more than 7 percentage points and Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines. Hassan clinched her party’s nomination against only token opposition while Gov. Chris Sununu won the Republican party’s nomination for another term. He’s heavily favored against Democrat Tom Sherman, who was unopposed for his party’s governor’s nomination. Sherman, a state senator and physician, was quick to remind voters that Sununu signed a late-term abortion ban into law last year. “As governor I will stand up for our freedoms and protect a woman’s right to choose, not cave to extremists like Chris Sununu,” he said. GOP’s Graham unveils nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks WASHINGTON (AP) — Upending the political debate, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced a nationwide abortion ban Tuesday, sending shockwaves through both parties and igniting fresh debate on a fraught issue weeks before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Graham’s own Republican Party leaders did not immediately embrace his abortion ban bill, which would prohibit the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy with rare exceptions, and has almost no chance of becoming law in the Democratic-held Congress. Democrats torched it as an alarming signal of where “MAGA” Republicans are headed if they win control of the House and Senate in November. “America’s got to make some decisions,” Graham said at a news conference at the Capitol. The South Carolina Republican said that rather than shying away from the Supreme Court’s ruling this summer overturning Roe v. Wade’s nearly 50-year right to abortion access, Republicans are preparing to fight to make a nationwide abortion ban federal law. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, we’re going nowhere,” the senator said while flanked by female advocates from the anti-abortion movement. “We welcome the debate. We welcome the vote in the United States Senate as to what America should look like in 2022.” Ken Starr, whose probe led to Clinton impeachment, dies Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment and put Starr at the center of one of the country’s most polarizing debates of the 1990s, has died at age 76, his family said Tuesday. Starr died at a hospital Tuesday of complications from surgery, according to his former colleague, attorney Mark Lanier. He said Starr had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit in Houston for about four months. For many years, Starr’s stellar reputation as a lawyer seemed to place him on a path to the Supreme Court. At age 37, he became the youngest person ever to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia also had served. From 1989-93, Starr was the solicitor general in the administration of President George H.W. Bush, arguing 25 cases before the Supreme Court. Roberts said Tuesday: “Ken loved our country and served it with dedication and distinction. He led by example, in the legal profession, public service, and the community.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell remembered Starr Tuesday as “a brilliant litigator, an impressive leader, and a devoted patriot.” Package explodes on Boston campus; 1 injured, FBI involved BOSTON (AP) — A package exploded on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston late Tuesday, and the college said a staff member suffered minor injuries. Authorities said another suspicious package was found near a prominent art museum and the FBI was assisting with the investigation. The parcel that blew up was one of two that were reported to police early in the evening. Boston’s bomb squad neutralized a second package near the city’s Museum of Fine Arts, which is on the outskirts of the Northeastern campus. NBC Boston reported that the package that exploded went off as it was being opened near the university’s Holmes Hall, which is home to the university’s creative writing program and its women’s, gender and sexuality studies program. It said the FBI was assisting the investigation. Authorities declined to elaborate, but Northeastern spokesperson Shannon Nargi said in a statement that an unidentified university staff member suffered minor injuries to his hand in the explosion. Asian markets open lower after price data slam Wall Street Asian markets skidded lower on Wednesday after Wall Street fell the most since June 2020 as a report showed inflation has kept a surprisingly strong grip on the U.S. economy. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.8% in early trading Wednesday, to 27,816.58, while Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 2.5% to 6,834.80. In Seoul, the Kospi lost 2.6% to 2,386.29. U.S. futures edged higher, with the contracts for the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 up 0.1%. European futures also declined. On Tuesday, the Dow lost more than 1,250 points and the S&P 500 sank 4.3%. Tuesday’s hotter-than-expected report on inflation has traders bracing for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates still more, adding to risks for the economy. The steep sell-off didn’t quite knock out the market’s gains over the past four days, but it ended a four-day winning streak for the major U.S. indexes and erased an early rally in European markets. Judge unseals additional portions of Mar-a-Lago affidavit WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge Tuesday unsealed additional portions of an FBI affidavit laying out the basis for a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home, showing that agents earlier obtained a hard drive after issuing a subpoena for surveillance footage recorded inside Mar-a-Lago. A heavily redacted version of the affidavit was made public last month, but the Justice Department requested permission to show more of it after lawyers for Trump revealed the existence of a June grand jury subpoena that sought video footage from cameras in the vicinity of the Mar-a-Lago storage room. “Because those aspects of the grand jury’s investigation have now been publicly r...

MyPillow Exec Lindell Says FBI Agents Seized His Cellphone https://digitalalaskanews.com/mypillow-exec-lindell-says-fbi-agents-seized-his-cellphone/ WASHINGTON (AP) — MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell said Tuesday that federal agents seized his cellphone and questioned him about a Colorado clerk who has been charged in what prosecutors say was a “deceptive scheme” to breach voting system technology used across the country. Lindell was approached in the drive-thru of a Hardee’s fast-food restaurant in Mankato, Minnesota, by several FBI agents, he said on his podcast, “The Lindell Report.” The agents questioned him about Dominion Voting Systems, Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and his connection to Doug Frank, an Ohio educator who claims voting machines have been manipulated, he said. The agents then told Lindell they had a warrant to seize his cellphone and ordered him to turn it over, he said. On a video version of his podcast, Lindell displayed a letter signed by an assistant U.S. attorney in Colorado that said prosecutors were conducting an “official criminal investigation of a suspected felony” and noted the use of a federal grand jury. The circumstances of the investigation were unclear. The Justice Department did not immediately respond Tuesday night to a request for comment about the seizure or investigation. “Without commenting on this specific matter, I can confirm that the FBI was at that location executing a search warrant authorized by a federal judge,” FBI spokeswoman Vikki Migoya said in an email. Federal prosecutors have been conducting a parallel investigation alongside local prosecutors in Colorado who have charged Peters with several offenses, including attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation and official misconduct. The Republican was elected in 2018 to oversee elections in Colorado’s Mesa County. A deputy clerk, Belinda Knisley, was also charged in the case, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation. For more than a year, Peters has appeared onstage with supporters of former President Donald Trump who made false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. The charges against Peters and Knisley allege the two were involved in a “deceptive scheme which was designed to influence public servants, breach security protocols, exceed permissible access to voting equipment, and set in motion the eventual distribution of confidential information to unauthorized people.” State election officials first became aware of a security breach in Mesa County in 2021 when a photo and video of confidential voting system passwords were posted on social media and a conservative website. Because each Colorado county has unique passwords maintained by the state, officials identified them as belonging to Mesa County, a largely rural area on the border with Utah. Peters appeared onstage in August 2021 at a “cybersymposium” hosted by Lindell, who has sought to prove that voting machines have been manipulated and promised to reveal proof of that during the event. While no evidence was provided, a copy of Mesa County’s voting system hard drive was distributed and posted online, according to attendees and state officials. The copy included proprietary software developed by Dominion Voting Systems that is used by election offices around the country. Experts have described the unauthorized release as serious, saying it provided a potential “practice environment” that would allow anyone to probe for vulnerabilities that could be exploited during a future election. Nearly two years after the 2020 election, no evidence has emerged to suggest widespread fraud or manipulation, while reviews in state after state have upheld the results showing President Joe Biden won. The Mesa County breach is just one of several around the country that have concerned election security experts. Authorities are investigating whether unauthorized people were allowed to access voting systems in Georgia and Michigan. Lindell said the federal agents had also questioned him about when he first met Frank, an Ohio math and science educator, who is among a group of people who have been traveling across the U.S. meeting with community groups claiming to have evidence that voting machines were rigged in the 2020 election. In court records, prosecutors say Frank met with Peters and members of her staff in April 2021 in her office. During the meeting, Frank told Peters that the county’s election management system was vulnerable to outside interference and the group discussed concerns the state was going to “wipe” the machines, according to the court records. __ Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Eric Tucker and Michelle R. Smith contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 11:02 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1102-p-m-edt/ Ukrainian troops keep up pressure on fleeing Russian forces KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops are piling pressure on retreating Russian forces, pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of their counteroffensive. The advance has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow’s military prestige. As the push continued Tuesday, Ukraine’s border guard services said the army took control of Vovchansk — a town just 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Russia seized on the first day of the war. Russian troops were also pulling out of the southern city of Melitopol and heading toward Moscow-annexed Crimea. That’s according to the city’s pre-occupation mayor. His claim could not be verified. Melitopol is the second-largest city in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region. Casket of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Buckingham Palace LONDON (AP) — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II has returned to Buckingham Palace, moving through a drizzly London as crowds lined the route for a glimpse of the hearse and to bid her farewell. People parked their cars along a normally busy road, got out and waved as the hearse, with lights inside illuminating the flag-draped coffin, made its way into London. In the city, people pressed in on the road and held their phones aloft as it passed. Thousands outside the palace shouted “God save the queen!” and clapped as the hearse swung around a roundabout in front of the queen’s residence and through the wrought iron gates. King Charles III and other immediate family members waited inside. Close New Hampshire Senate primary tests direction of GOP CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Republican contest for Senate in New Hampshire is emerging as a tight race between conservative Donald Bolduc and the more moderate Chuck Morse as the final primary night of the midterm season again tests the far right’s influence over the GOP. Republicans see Democratic incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire as beatable in the general election, now just eight weeks away. But a strong competitor in the GOP contest is Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who some in the party believe is too far to the right for swing voters in the general election. Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines. GOP’s Graham unveils nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has introduced a bill calling for a nationwide abortion ban. The bill would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the physical health of the mother. The legislation introduced Tuesday is sending shockwaves through both parties with just weeks before voters go to the polls. Graham’s own Republican colleagues did not immediately embrace his abortion ban bill, which has almost no chance of becoming law in the Democratic-held Congress. Democrats reject it as extreme and an alarming signal of where Republicans are headed if they win control of the House and Senate in November. Ken Starr, whose probe led to Clinton impeachment, dies Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment, died Tuesday at age 76, his family says. A former colleague, attorney Mark Lanier, says Starr died at a hospital of complications from surgery. In a probe that lasted five years during the 1990s, Starr looked into a number of matters involving Clinton, including the president’s sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. House Republicans impeached Clinton, but he was acquitted in a Senate trial. In 2020, Starr was recruited to help represent Donald Trump in the nation’s third presidential impeachment trial. Package explodes on Boston campus; 1 injured, FBI involved BOSTON (AP) — A package has exploded on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston, and the college says a staff member suffered minor injuries. Authorities say another suspicious package was found near a prominent art museum Tuesday evening, and the FBI was assisting with the investigation. Boston’s bomb squad is at the scene of the second package near the city’s prestigious Museum of Fine Arts, on the outskirts of the Northeastern campus. NBC Boston reports that the package that exploded went off as it was being opened near the university’s Holmes Hall, which is home to the university’s creative writing program. The FBI is assisting the investigation. Asian markets open lower after price data slam Wall Street Asian markets have skidded lower after Wall Street fell the most since June 2020 as a report showed inflation has kept a surprisingly strong grip on the U.S. economy. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.7% in early trading Wednesday, while Seoul’s Kospi declined 2.5%. On Tuesday, the Dow lost more than 1,250 points and the S&P 500 sank 4.3%. The hotter-than-expected report on inflation Tuesday has traders bracing for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates still more, adding to risks for the economy. Still, the drop didn’t quite knock out the market’s gains over the past four days. Judge unseals additional portions of Mar-a-Lago affidavit WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has unsealed additional portions of an FBI affidavit laying out the basis for a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. The document shows how agents obtained a hard drive after issuing a subpoena for surveillance footage recorded inside Mar-a-Lago. A heavily redacted version of the affidavit was made public last month, but the Justice Department requested permission to show more of it after lawyers for Trump revealed the existence of a June grand jury subpoena that sought video footage from cameras in the vicinity of the Mar-a-Lago storage room. Sandy Hook witnesses testify about Alex Jones’ hoax claims WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A sister of a teacher killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre and an FBI agent who responded to the shooting have both emotionally described what it has been like to be accused of being crisis actors by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others. Carlee Soto Parisi and FBI agent William Aldenberg were the first witnesses to testify Tuesday as a Connecticut jury began hearing statements in a trial to decide how much money Jones owes for spreading the lie that the 2012 mass shooting in Newtown didn’t happen. The trial began Tuesday in Waterbury, only 18 miles from Newtown, where 26 people were killed in 2012. Jones’ attorneys say his comments, which he now admits were wrong, were protected speech. Rapper PnB Rock fatally shot in Los Angeles restaurant LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rapper PnB Rock was fatally shot during a robbery at a South Los Angeles restaurant where police believe a social media post may have tipped the assailant to his location. The Philadelphia artist, whose real name is Rakim Allen, was gunned down Monday at a Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles restaurant while eating with his girlfriend. Los Angeles police say the shooter approached their table and demanded items. A verbal exchange ended when the robber opened fire, striking the rapper multiple times. Police Chief Michel Moore told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that police are investigating whether a social media post by the rapper’s girlfriend prompted the attack. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

DOJ Says Trump Undercuts Himself In Mar-A-Lago Secrets Arguments https://digitalalaskanews.com/doj-says-trump-undercuts-himself-in-mar-a-lago-secrets-arguments/ By Anthony Lin Former President is trying to have it both ways by arguing that classified documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago home are personal property but also covered by executive privilege, the Justice Department said. In a Tuesday court filing, the government took on Trump’s claims that the Presidential Records Act gives him broad discretion to decide that White House documents are personal and therefore not covered by the law. The Justice Department said that clashed with his claim that those documents are also protected by the executive privilege afforded presidents. “If Plaintiff truly means to suggest that, while president, … To read the full article log in. © 2022 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All Rights Reserved Read More Here

Kenneth Starr, Who Led Whitewater Probes Into Clinton, Dies At 76 https://digitalalaskanews.com/kenneth-starr-who-led-whitewater-probes-into-clinton-dies-at-76/ Kenneth Starr, a former U.S. solicitor general who led the Whitewater investigation into the Clinton administration that began with probes into allegedly improper real estate transactions but mushroomed into wider investigations that led to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment in the House, died Sept. 13 in Houston. He was 76. The death was from complications from a surgery at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, according to a statement from his family. Mr. Starr, a former solicitor general in the first Bush administration and federal appeals court judge, was seen as a reliably conservative Republican as U.S. political rifts began to widen in the early 1990s. A federal appeals panel in 1994 named Mr. Starr as replacement for the independent counsel in the Whitewater inquiry, Robert B. Fiske Jr., who was selected by Attorney General Janet Reno. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist rejected Reno’s request to reappoint Fiske, saying that Reno should not have selected the independent counsel because Clinton nominated her to her post. The probe into the Whitewater Development Corp. looked into real estate investments by Bill and Hillary Clinton and associates Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal. The Clintons did not face charges from the Whitewater dealings, but Mr. Starr significantly expanded his mandate. His team later disclosed allegations against Clinton of sexual harassment by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones (the case was settled out of court). Mr. Starr’s investigation also revealed Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and subsequent claims that Clinton lied under oath about the sexual nature of their encounters. Clinton was impeached in December 1998 by the House of Representatives, but he was acquitted by the Senate. After the Clinton impeachment, Mr. Starr would become president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. But in May 2016, Baylor removed Mr. Starr as president of the university after an investigation found that the college had mishandled accusations of sexual assault against its football players. Mr. Starr remained as chancellor and professor of law. The university also fired its football coach, Art Briles. A statement from Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone made no mention of his dismissal. “Judge Starr was a dedicated public servant and ardent supporter of religious freedom that allows faith-based institutions such as Baylor to flourish,” she said. To the Clintons’ defenders, Whitewater became shorthand for an ever-widening effort by political opponents to find evidence of wrongdoing using the powers of an independent counsel. But Mr. Starr’s investigation did bring convictions at a lower level, including a prison sentence for Susan McDougal for contempt of court after refusing to answer questions about Whitewater-related investments. The Whitewater probe fueled a divide between the Clintons — who believed they needed to take special precautions to defend themselves against a hostile Washington establishment — and their critics, who saw Clinton’s defensiveness as obvious proof that something was awry. Lewinsky, in a tweet Tuesday, wrote that thoughts of Mr. Starr “bring up complicated feelings,” but acknowledged that it was a “painful loss for those who love him.” In 2010, Mr. Starr became the 14th president of Baylor. The university said that in his six years at the helm of the prominent Baptist institution, Mr. Starr oversaw the establishment of the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, renovations of three residence halls, and the construction of McLane Stadium for football games as well as an equestrian center, a track and field stadium, and an indoor tennis center. But Mr. Starr’s tenure ended abruptly in a scandal over the university’s response to sexual assault allegations involving football players and others. An independent report from a law firm found in May 2016 that the university had showed too much deference to players accused of sexual assault and indifference or hostility to their alleged victims. The report found that football coaches and staff had conducted “untrained internal inquiries” that deprived the victims of the right to a fair and impartial investigation. It also found that in some cases, university athletic and football officials failed to report sexual violence incidents to administrators outside the athletic department. There was a perception, the report found, that “rules applicable to other students are not applicable to football players.” In addition to the dismissal of the football coach, the governing board apologized to the school community and demoted Mr. Starr, stripping him of the position of president but letting him remain in the position of chancellor. Within a few days, Mr. Starr resigned that position, too. Richard Willis, chair of the Baylor Board of Regents at the time, declared that the board was “shocked and outraged” over the mishandling of sexual violence reports. Mr. Starr, at the time, said he felt “heartfelt contrition for the tragedy and sadness that has unfolded.” He added: “To those victims who were not treated with the care, concern and support they deserve, I am profoundly sorry.” Kenneth Winston Starr, the youngest of three children, was born in Vernon, in north Texas, on July 21, 1946, getting his middle name from his parents’ admiration of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. His father was a Church of Christ minister and part-time barber. His parents were children of farmers, and family life centered around the church and Sunday school teachings. Mr. Starr, whose boyhood nickname was Joe-boy, grew up mostly in San Antonio. Widely described as an earnest straight arrow who carried himself with understated confidence, he excelled in all high school endeavors save for athletics and was elected president of his class. He said he was first electrified by national politics during the 1960 presidential campaign and identified in particular with Richard M. Nixon because of their shared hardscrabble background, although he said he later became a member of Young Democrats and a supporter of Hubert H. Humphrey in the 1968 presidential election. He sold Bibles door-to-door to pay his tuition at what is now Harding University, a Church of Christ school in Searcy, Ark., and threw himself into student activities before transferring to George Washington University after two years. He recalled the transition as a shock, seeing students protesting the war in Vietnam that he supported (even though he reportedly flunked his physical for the draft). He stood out on campus in other ways, preferring suit and tie as his classroom attire, at an institution where blue jeans prevailed as the sartorial choice of his peers. He graduated in 1968, then received a master’s degree in political science the next year at Brown University. He completed his law studies at Duke University in 1973 and began his rapid ascent in legal apprenticeships, ultimately becoming a law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. He married Alice Mendell Starr in 1970. In addition to his wife, survivors include three children; a sister and brother; and nine grandchildren, the family said. In 1977, he joined the Los Angeles firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher to practice corporate law and impressed one of the partners, William French Smith, who became attorney general after Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. His protege followed him to the Justice Department and distinguished himself on high-profile matters that shaped conservative policy on social issues, including reversing federal opposition to organized prayer in school and seeking voluntary paths other than busing to promote school desegregation. His trajectory was astonishing. At 37, he became the youngest person ever named as a judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, a bench viewed as a steppingstone to the Supreme Court. Making the 400-plus-page Starr Report public in 1998 — an early attempt to use the internet for widespread access — was not easy. Mr. Starr’s team wrote the document in WordPerfect, but the congressional officials converted it to HTML, “the format used on the internet,” The Washington Post reported at the time. That process resulted in an array of “mostly insubstantial” errors that “did not alter the meaning of Starr’s report.” But the report also became a must-read for other reasons: its unusually lurid departure from the normally dry bureaucratic language of the Capitol. “The prose, far from a dry, factual recitation, contained rich, erotic details of the sort we expect from a book-club romance,” Daniel M. Filler, a prominent law professor, wrote in a California Law Review article. “En route to the restroom at about 8 p.m., she passed George Stephanopoulos’s office. The President was inside alone, and he beckoned her to enter,” said one passage about Lewinsky from the Starr Report. “She told him that she had a crush on him. He laughed, then asked if she would like to see his private office. Through a connecting door in Mr. Stephanopoulos’s office, they went through the President’s private dining room toward the study off the Oval Office. Ms. Lewinsky testified: ‘We talked briefly and sort of acknowledged that there had been a chemistry that was there before and that we were both attracted to each other and then he asked me if he could kiss me,’ ” it continued. “Ms. Lewinsky said yes.” In January 2020, Mr. Starr was back on the Hill — this time on the legal team defending President Donald Trump in impeachment proceedings. During the Clinton impeachment, Trump had mocked Mr. Starr as “a total wacko” and “totally off his rocker.” Mr. Starr’s bottom line on the Clinton investigation? “Much of the drama was tragically unnecessary, a self-inflicte...

Panel: Archives Still Not Certain It Has All Trump Records https://digitalalaskanews.com/panel-archives-still-not-certain-it-has-all-trump-records-2/ FARNOUSH AMIRI, Associated Press Sep. 13, 2022Updated: Sep. 13, 2022 12:12 p.m. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 1of12Former President Donald Trump plays golf at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.Manuel Balce Ceneta/APShow MoreShow Less 2of12FILE – People walk up the steps even though the National Archives is closed with the partial government shutdown, Dec. 22, 2018 in Washington. While the Archives safeguards precious national documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, that’s only the public face of their sprawling collection, which spans 13 billion pages of text and 10 million maps, charts and drawings, as well as tens of millions of photographs, films and other records.Alex Brandon/APShow MoreShow Less 3of12 4of12Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022.Mary Altaffer/APShow MoreShow Less 5of12Former President Donald Trump plays golf at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.Manuel Balce Ceneta/APShow MoreShow Less 6of12 7of12Former President Donald Trump hits a golf shot at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.Manuel Balce Ceneta/APShow MoreShow Less 8of12Former President Donald Trump hits a golf shot at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.Manuel Balce Ceneta/APShow MoreShow Less 9of12 10of12Former President Donald Trump plays golf at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.Manuel Balce Ceneta/APShow MoreShow Less 11of12Former President Donald Trump plays golf at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.Manuel Balce Ceneta/APShow MoreShow Less 12of12 WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Archives is still not certain that it has custody of all Donald Trump’s presidential records even after the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago club, a congressional committee said in a letter Tuesday. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform revealed that staff at the Archives on an Aug. 24 call could not provide assurances that they have all of Trump’s presidential records. The committee in the letter asked the Archives to conduct an assessment of whether any Trump records remain unaccounted for and potentially in his possession. “In light of revelations that Mr. Trump’s representatives misled investigators about his continued possession of government property and that material found at his club included dozens of ‘empty folders’ for classified material, I am deeply concerned that sensitive presidential records may remain out of the control and custody of the U.S. Government,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the Oversight Committee, wrote in the letter. The House committee has jurisdiction over the Presidential Records Act, a 1978 law that requires the preservation of White House documents as property of the U.S. government. The request is the latest development in a monthslong back-and-forth between the agency and the committee, which has been investigating Trump’s handling of records. The request also comes weeks after the FBI recovered more than 100 documents with classified markings and even more than 10,000 other government documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The search came after lawyers for Trump provided a sworn certification that all government records had been returned. Maloney and other Democratic lawmakers on the panel have been seeking a briefing from the National Archives, but haven’t received one due to the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal investigation into the matter. But the letter notes a call between Archives staff and the committee on Aug. 24, where lawmakers were informed that documents could still be missing. As a result, Maloney wrote, the committee is asking the agency to conduct an “urgent review” of all of the government records that have been recorded from the Trump White House to determine whether any additional records remain unaccounted for and potentially in the possession of the former president. In addition, the committee also asked for the Archives to get a personal certification from Trump “that he has surrendered all presidential records that he illegally removed from the White House after leaving office.” The committee is asking the Archives to provide an initial assessment of this review by Sept. 27. Read More Here

Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorist Mike Lindell Says The FBI Seized His Phone https://digitalalaskanews.com/pro-trump-conspiracy-theorist-mike-lindell-says-the-fbi-seized-his-phone/ Mike Lindell, the pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theorist, said Tuesday that the FBI has seized his cell phone. Mr Lindell, the Minnesota-born CEO of My Pillow and a staunch supporter of the former president who rose to national prominence for his long-running attempts to help overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, said that his cell phone was seized in Minnesota. In an appearance on the programme The Lindell Report, Mr Lindell said that he was returning from a hunting trip in Iowa when his car was surrounded at a Hardee’s drive-thru in his hometown of Mankato in southern Minnesota. “Cars pulled up in front of us, to the side of us, and behind us and I said those are either bad guys or the FBI,” Mr Lindell said. “Well, it turns out they were the FBI.” The execution of a search warrant on Mr Lindell represents another strike by the FBI against a member of Mr Trump’s circle. Mr Lindell advised Mr Trump as president, including on a pseudoscientific Covid cure, and has been one the most ardent promoters of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. His major claims about election fruad are entirely unsubstantiated. “The FBI came after me and took my phone,” Mr Lindell said is another clip posted to social media. “They surrounded me at a Hardee’s and took my phone that I run all my business, everything with. What they have done is weaponise the FBI, it’s disgusting. I don’t have a computer, that phone, everything was on everybody.” Mr Lindell then flashed for the camera a piece of paper that he claimed is an order not to tell anyone about the search. The Post Millennial reported that Mr Lindell said FBI officials asked him questions about the Colorado and Dominion voting machines before informing him of their warrant to take his phone. Mr Lindell then said he consulted with a lawyer before ultimately surrendering his phone. Fox News host Tucker Carlson was displeased by the news — announcing that the raid confirmed the “Soviet” nature of the Biden administration’s FBI. “We told you last night that the Biden administration has politicised law enforcement to the point where it feels Soviet — and we were not overstating it,” Carlson said on his programme. “The FBI has just raided the guy who sells pillows on this channel, not because the pillows were bad, but because they didn’t like who he voted for.” Read More Here

Russia Spent Millions On Secret Global Political Campaign, U.S. Intelligence Finds https://digitalalaskanews.com/russia-spent-millions-on-secret-global-political-campaign-u-s-intelligence-finds/ Russia has secretly funneled at least $300 million to foreign political parties and candidates in more than two dozen countries since 2014 in an attempt to shape political events beyond its borders, according to a new U.S. intelligence review. Moscow planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more as part of its covert campaign to weaken democratic systems and promote global political forces seen as aligned with Kremlin interests, according to the review, which the Biden administration commissioned this summer. A senior U.S. official, who like other officials spoke to reporters Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings, said the administration decided to declassify some of the review’s findings in an attempt to counter Russia’s ability to sway political systems in countries in Europe, Africa and elsewhere. “By shining this light on Russian covert political financing and Russian attempts to undermine democratic processes, we’re putting these foreign parties and candidates on notice that if they accept Russian money secretly we can and we will expose it,” the official said. Countries where such activities were identified included Albania, Montenegro, Madagascar and, potentially, Ecuador, according to an administration source familiar with the matter. Officials pointed to one Asian country, which they declined to name, where they said the Russian ambassador gave millions of dollars in cash to a presidential candidate. They said that Kremlin-linked forces have also used shell companies, think tanks and other means to influence political events, sometimes to the benefit of far-right groups. The senior official said the U.S. government detected an uptick in Russian covert political financing in 2014. The review did not address Russian activities within the United States. Assessments by both U.S. spy agencies and a bipartisan Senate investigation concluded that Russia under President Vladimir Putin launched a campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to assist then-candidate Donald Trump. The publication of details about the Kremlin’s alleged political influence campaign comes as the United States expands its military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, now in its seventh month. Since early this year the White House has taken the unusual step of repeatedly releasing declassified intelligence related to Moscow’s intentions and actions related to Ukraine, part of an attempt to push back on Putin’s ambitions there and counteract what U.S. officials have described as Russian disinformation operations. A State Department démarche Monday to U.S. embassies in more than 100 countries described the alleged Russian activities and suggested steps the United States and its allies can take to push back, including sanctions, travel bans or the expulsion of suspected Russian spies involved in political financing activities. The cable, which officials provided to reporters, said that Russian political financing was sometimes overseen by Russian government officials and legislators, and had been executed by bodies including Russia’s Federal Security Service. The démarche also named Russian oligarchs it said were involved in “financing schemes,” including Yevgeniy Prigozhin and Aleksandr Babakov. Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s chef” after making vast sums in Russian government catering contracts, was charged by U.S. officials in 2018 with attempting to interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections. He has been linked to the private military firm Wagner and is wanted by the FBI. Moscow has used cryptocurrency, cash and gifts to shape political events in other countries, often employing accounts and resources of Russian embassies to do so, the cable said. “In the coming months, Russia may increasingly rely on its covert influence toolkit, including covert political financing, in Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia in an attempt to undermine the efficacy of international sanctions and maintain its influence in these regions amid its ongoing war in Ukraine,” it said. U.S. diplomats are briefing counterparts in other countries about the activities, which American officials believe could go far beyond the nations and sums that have been identified. “We think this is just the tip of the iceberg,” the senior official said. “So rather than sit on the sidelines, we are sharing these response measures.” U.S. officials are also asking partner nations to share their own information about Russian financing to help the U.S. government attain a fuller picture of what Russia is doing. While the review did not address Russian influence efforts in the United States, the senior official acknowledged that issue remains a major challenge requiring continued work to safeguard the U.S. political system and elections. “There’s no question that we have this vulnerability as well,” the official said. Paul Sonne in Washington contributed to this report. War in Ukraine: What you need to know The latest: Grain shipments from Ukraine are gathering pace under the agreement hammered out by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports had sent food prices soaring and raised fears of more hunger in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including loads of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed. The fight: The conflict on the ground grinds on as Russia uses its advantage in heavy artillery to pummel Ukrainian forces, which have sometimes been able to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukrainian hopes rest on liberating the Russia-occupied Kherson region, and ultimately Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014. Fears of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station remain as both sides accuse each other of shelling it. The weapons: Western supplies of weapons are helping Ukraine slow Russian advances. U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) allow Ukrainian forces to strike farther behind Russian lines against Russian artillery. Russia has used an array of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts. Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the very beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work. How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating. Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video. Read More Here

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

A https://digitalalaskanews.com/a-11/ Access to this page has been denied because we believe you are using automation tools to browse the website. This may happen as a result of the following: Javascript is disabled or blocked by an extension (ad blockers for example) Your browser does not support cookies Please make sure that Javascript and cookies are enabled on your browser and that you are not blocking them from loading. Reference ID: #c3a742f0-33cb-11ed-bc6d-546e7a50486e Read More Here

Trump News – Live: Trump Shares Bizarre QAnon Image, Amid Fears He May Be Hoarding More Stolen Papers https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-news-live-trump-shares-bizarre-qanon-image-amid-fears-he-may-be-hoarding-more-stolen-papers/ 1663110058 Lindsey Graham gifts Democrats an anti-abortion bogeyman as midterms loom If Democrats hold on to the Senate this year, they will have an unlikely ally to thank: Lindsey Graham. A South Carolina Republican and Donald Trump loyalist who has continued to remain friendly with the former president even as he faces a bevy of criminal investigations, Mr Graham is hardly the person one would expect to hand Senate Democrats a gift roughly a month and a half before control of the Senate is decided for the next two years. But that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday as Mr Graham, flanked by anti-abortion activists from the Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America group and other opponents of the practice, celebrated the end of Roe vs Wade and vowed to ban abortion after 15 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy should his party retake the Senate. John Bowden reports. Oliver O’Connell14 September 2022 00:00 1663107358 In wild Truth Social spree Trump embraces QAnon’s ‘Storm is coming’ meme Donald Trump embraced QAnon’s “The storm is coming” meme as he went on a “retruthing” spree on his social media website Truth Social. Mr Trump has in the past promoted QAnon accounts, though the recent flurry of posts was Mr Trump’s strongest embrace of the right-wing conspiracy theory movement yet. Graeme Massie reports. Oliver O’Connell13 September 2022 23:15 1663104627 McConnell shoots down Lindsey Graham’s proposed abortion ban The Senate minority leader was asked about the ban that Mr Graham proposed on Tuesday during Senate Republicans’ weekly press conference after their policy luncheon. Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill. Oliver O’Connell13 September 2022 22:30 1663102827 Despite sobering monthly figures released this morning, Biden touts inflation reduction law President Joe Biden gathered a crowd of thousands at the White House Tuesday to celebrate last month’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, even as a new government report showed how hard it could be to bring surging prices down near pre-pandemic levels. Despite its name, the law’s impact on inflation is expected to be modest at best. Oliver O’Connell13 September 2022 22:00 1663101027 Compilation of Rush Limbaugh commentary set to be published A compilation of radio commentary by the late Rush Limbaugh, from his early years on the air to his decades as a bombastic and influential voice in conservative politics, is set to be published. Oliver O’Connell13 September 2022 21:30 1663099227 Pelosi rebukes ‘extreme MAGA Republicans’ for proposed nationwide abortion ban House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has condemned Senator Lindsey Graham’s proposed anti-abortion legislation as the “clearest signal” yet of “extreme Maga Republicans’ intent to criminalise” healthcare for millions of Americans after the US Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right to abortion care. Legislation proposed by the South Carolina Republican on 13 September would outlaw abortions nationwide at 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions only for pregnancies from rape or incest or to protect the life of the patient. Alex Woodward reports. Oliver O’Connell13 September 2022 21:00 1663097427 Braddock, the town that made John Fetterman, speaks on his run for Senate John Fetterman, who grew up in a reasonably wealthy family in York, Pennsylvania, moved to Braddock in 2001 to start a GED programme. He fell in love with the town’s “malignant beauty,” as he called it. Four years later, he ran for mayor and won. It was the work he did here in Braddock during his tenure as mayor that propelled him to the national spotlight. A tattooed, 6ft8 Harvard graduate trying to resurrect a town through innovation, art, blood, sweat and tears, drew journalists by the dozen. For many, he embodied hope in a place that was in short supply. That national spotlight provided Fetterman a platform that led to a run for the United States Senate, and there is every chance he could win. But how does Braddock, the town that made John Fetterman, feel about his national ambitions? And as he sets his sights on Washington, what legacy will he leave behind? Richard Hall reports. Oliver O’Connell13 September 2022 20:30 1663095627 Twitter whistleblower tells Congress by testifying he is ‘risking career and my reputation’ A Twitter whistleblower testified before Congress on Tuesday, saying he did so at great personal risk to his own career and reputation because he feared Twitter lacked the proper security measures. Peiter Zatko, who often goes by the nickname Mudge, spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee and said that the social networking company was more than a decade behind industry security standards. Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC. Oliver O’Connell13 September 2022 20:00 1663094752 Trump posts QAnon imagery on Truth Social Oliver O’Connell13 September 2022 19:45 1663093827 White House slams Lindsey Graham’s ‘wildly out of step’ anti-abortion bill The White House has condemned a proposal from South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham to outlaw abortions nationwide at 15 weeks of pregnancy, the first such bill proposed by a US senator in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision to revoke a constitutional right to abortion care. Senator Graham’s bill marks the sixth time that the Republican senator has introduced a national ban on abortion, with previous drafts proposing that abortion be outlawed at 20 weeks. “This bill is wildly out of step with what Americans believe,” according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Alex Woodward reports. Oliver O’Connell13 September 2022 19:30 Read More Here

Justice Department Criminal Investigation Now Touches Nearly All Efforts To Overturn 2020 Election For Trump – KESQ https://digitalalaskanews.com/justice-department-criminal-investigation-now-touches-nearly-all-efforts-to-overturn-2020-election-for-trump-kesq/ CNN By Tierney Sneed, Katelyn Polantz, Sara Murray, Evan Perez and Kristen Holmes, CNN Justice Department criminal prosecutors are now examining nearly every aspect of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election — including the fraudulent electors plot, efforts to push baseless election fraud claims and how money flowed to support these various efforts — according to sources and copies of new subpoenas obtained by CNN. The investigation is also stretching into cogs of the sprawling Trump legal machine that boosted his efforts to challenge his electoral loss — with many of the recipients of 30-plus subpoenas that were issued in recent days being asked to turn over communications with several Trump attorneys. The sweeping effort has many in Trump world concerned about the potential legal significance of being caught up in a federal investigation. The flurry of investigative activity has involved seizure warrants, including one served to Boris Epshteyn for his phone, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Epshteyn remains a close aide to the former President and to his political and fundraising operation. The widening pool of recipients of subpoenas also includes prominent Trump deputies, such as his former White House adviser Dan Scavino, who continued to work for Trump after he left office. The subpoena language and activity bring together the seemingly far-flung parts of the DOJ investigation. The Justice Department previously obtained grand jury testimony, conducted searches and nabbed extensive documents about rally organization and fundraising, about efforts in and around the White House to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to block certification of the election results, and about the fake electors. This new round of subpoenas drills down with more specific requests about the baseless claims of mass election fraud that were being peddled to legislators, law enforcement and others. In one of the new subpoenas viewed by CNN, along with demands for communications with a lengthy list of Trump-world figures and fake electors, the investigators ask for documents related to the raising and spending of money. Prosecutors are interested in the financing around the January 6 rally, bids to challenge the results and the Trump-aligned political organization formed after the election to push fraud claims. The assistant US attorneys signing the subpoenas are working as part of the team led by prosecutor Thomas Windom in the DC US Attorney’s Office, according to court records and multiple people familiar with the investigation. Two DC US Attorney’s Office supervisors appear on the subpoenas as well, indicating the latest sweep serves both the ongoing fake elector probe and the prosecution office’s larger mission to target planning of violence before January 6, according to the sources familiar with the team’s work. The subpoenas also ask for the recipients to identify all methods of communication they’ve used since fall 2020 and to turn over to DOJ anything the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, has demanded — whether they cooperated with the House panel or not. “They’re now encompassing individuals closer and closer to the President to learn more and more about what the President knew and when he knew it,” David Laufman, an attorney and former federal prosecutor, said Monday on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.” There are no public indications that the DOJ’s January 6 probe is overlapping with the federal investigation into the handling of classified documents from Trump’s White House and seizure of materials from Mar-a-Lago. However, the latest developments in the 2020 election investigation come as the documents probe has already put Trump allies on high alert for potential legal exposure. While those around Trump have brushed off the congressional investigation into the riot on January 6 as political, there is a palpable shift in demeanor when it comes to the Department of Justice probe, as allies and advisers recognize the significance of being looped into a federal investigation, according to multiple people in Trump’s orbit. The Trump-world figures now swept up in the investigation claim the department is on a fishing expedition that is impeding on privileged communications. “It’s all very distressing to me as an American and as a prominent attorney for Donald Trump,” said Bruce Marks, an attorney whose communications are of interest to investigators, according to the recently issued subpoenas. Notorious for leaking, a usually verbose Trump world has fallen virtually silent in the wake of dozens of grand jury subpoenas being sent in recent days. Some subpoenaed have spent the last several days scrambling to find the right lawyers and understand the scope of what the Department of Justice is seeking from them. Others, already entangled in other Trump investigations, know the drill — keep quiet until the dust settles. An aggressive new phase as a pre-election quiet period starts The burst of investigative activity came just as the Justice Department runs into its so-called 60-day rule, an internal policy that discourages prosecutors from taking public steps in cases that stand to influence a coming election. Previously, investigators sought any records of interactions with a set of a dozen Trump officials, largely lawyers and those working with the fake electors including Rudy Giuliani, Epshteyn and John Eastman. But the latest subpoenas also ask for communications with new names: high-profile right-wing Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Cleta Mitchell, as well as Marks, a lawyer based in Philadelphia who assisted with Trump’s election appeals and in an attention-grabbing court case where Giuliani tried and failed to throw out all of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. Marks told CNN on Tuesday that he was among Trump’s lawyers after the election and was reporting to and communicating frequently with Giuliani and Epshteyn over text messages and emails about post-election efforts. Epshteyn was assisting Giuliani in much of his attempts to block the vote outcome electing Joe Biden. The warrant served to Epshteyn, seeking his phone, is another signal of how the probe has escalated. In June, the Justice Department seized the phone of Eastman, the Trump attorney who spearheaded the far-fetched legal theory that Pence could hold up Congress’ certification of Biden’s win. Federal investigators also that month searched the home of an ex-DOJ official, Jeffrey Clark, who was at the center of Trump efforts to pressure the department to support his plots. Prosecutors’ willingness to obtain a warrant for Epshteyn’s phone hints that they see the campaign strategist — who is currently an adviser to Trump — as playing an integral role in Trump’s 2020 election machinations. When the agents seized and imaged his phone, they also served him a subpoena for documents, according to some of CNN’s sources. Epshteyn did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment about the search of his phone. The New York Times was first to report the seizure of his phone. The wider net the department is now casting is also evident in the types of Trump-world figures who received the latest round of subpoenas. They include former campaign manager Bill Stepien and Sean Dollman, who worked for Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign as chief financial officer, as well as Scavino, Trump’s former deputy chief of staff and an architect of Trump’s social media presence. Also receiving a subpoena was Bernard Kerik, a former New York City police commissioner who worked with Giuliani to find evidence of voter fraud in the weeks following the 2020 election, as did Women for America First, the pro-Trump group that organized the rally that preceded the Capitol attack. Kerik was approached by a handful of agents who tried to ask him questions, which he refused to answer and so they handed him a subpoena, a person familiar with the episode said. The agents asked if he would be willing to talk with an attorney present. Eventually the agents handed him the document. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report. Read More Here

Live Updates: New Hampshire And Rhode Island Election Results 2022 https://digitalalaskanews.com/live-updates-new-hampshire-and-rhode-island-election-results-2022/ 1 min ago CNN Projection: Incumbent David Cicilline wins Democratic primary in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District From CNN staff Rep. David Cicilline holds a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center after a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus on July 19.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images) Incumbent David Cicilline will win the Democratic primary in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District, CNN projects. He served as an impeachment manager during former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. Cicilline will face Republican Allen Waters in November. Both ran unopposed in their respective primaries. 10 min ago CNN Projection: Incumbent Chris Sununu will win the GOP primary for New Hampshire governor From CNN staff New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu speaks with people at a campaign stop for Republican Senate candidate Chuck Morse in Bedford, New Hampshire on Tuesday. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images) Incumbent Chris Sununu will win the GOP primary for New Hampshire governor and face Democrat Tom Sherman in November, CNN projects. 6 min ago CNN Projection: Incumbent Maggie Hassan will win the Senate Democratic primary in New Hampshire  From CNN staff Maggie Hassan speaks to media after casting her vote in Newfields, New Hampshire on Tuesday. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images) Incumbent Maggie Hassan will win New Hampshire’s Senate Democratic primary, CNN projects. On the Republican side, a divisive primary broke out after GOP leaders were unable to convince Gov. Chris Sununu to run for Senate. Don Bolduc, a retired Army general who also ran for Senate in 2020, is the likely frontrunner in the race despite concerns among some Republicans he could jeopardize the party’s chances of winning the seat.  11 min ago CNN Projection: Incumbent Chris Pappas wins Democratic primary in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District  From CNN’s Dan Merica Rep. Chris Pappas speaks during a news conference outside the US Capitol on May 12. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images) Incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas will win the Democratic nomination for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, CNN projects. Pappas is considered one of the most vulnerable House Democrats in the country. With election forecasters tempering their months-old predictions of an overwhelming red wave election for Republicans this November, operatives on the right are looking at targets like Pappas as must-wins if the GOP is going to win control of the chamber. Pappas has already begun distancing himself from President Biden. The same University of New Hampshire poll found 54% of New Hampshire adults disapproved of Biden’s performance, while 43% approved. In response to the President’s plan to cancel some student loan debate, Pappas said it “should be more targeted and paid for so it doesn’t add to the deficit.” And he knocked Biden’s description of former President Trump’s following as “semi-fascist” days before the primary, telling reporters that Biden “has to be careful not to paint with too broad of a brush.” CNN’s David Wright contributed to this report. 11 min ago CNN Projection: Allan Fung will win Republican primary in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District From CNN staff Allan Fung speaks at his campaign kickoff event on April 26 in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. (David Goldman/AP) Allan Fung will win the Republican nomination in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District, CNN projects. Fung was running unopposed, but several Democrats are on their party’s primary ballot to take him on in November, including Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner. When Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin announced he would retire, he opened a competitive Democratic primary in a seat that could flip to Republicans this November. 12 min ago It’s 8 p.m. ET and polls are closing across Rhode Island and Delaware From CNN’s Shania Shelton, Melissa Holzberg DePalo and Ethan Cohen  It’s 8 p.m. ET and polls are closing across Rhode Island and Delaware. The final polls are also closing in New Hampshire. Some locations closed earlier in the state at 7 p.m. ET. These are the key races to watch as results roll in: In New Hampshire, the highest-profile race will be the GOP primary for the US Senate seat. Don Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general, is facing off with state Senate President Chuck Morse. Fearing that Bolduc could jeopardize their chances of unseating Hassan, some Republicans have been pouring money into the race to try to boost Morse. The winner will take on Hassan, who is seeking a second term. Granite State Republicans in the 1st District will also choose their nominee to face Rep. Chris Pappas, who is seeking a third term, in November. Top contenders in the crowded primary include: Matt Mowers, who worked as an adviser in the State Department in former President Donald Trump’s administration; Karoline Leavitt, who was an assistant press secretary in Trump’s administration; Gail Huff Brown, the wife of former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown; and state Rep. Tim Baxter. In Rhode Island, there is a full slate of primaries, including in the state’s open 2nd Congressional District. Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin opened up a competitive Democratic primary for the seat when he announced his retirement in January. Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner has raised the most amount of money in the race but was unable to clear the field.  Magaziner faces opposition from several Democrats, including Sarah Morgenthau, who was the director of the Peace Corps Response under former President Barack Obama; David Segal who once served in the state legislature and ran a failed congressional race in 2010; and Joy Fox, who worked as communications director for Langevin and former Gov. Gina Raimondo. The winner will face Republican Allan Fung, who is unopposed, in November. In the Democratic gubernatorial primary, Gov. Dan McKee is seeking his first full term after being elevated from lieutenant governor last year after Gina Raimondo became President Joe Biden’s commerce secretary. McKee faces opposition from a few Democrats, including Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and former CVS president Helena Foulkes. Businesswoman Ashley Kalus is the favorite to win in the Republican primary. The last time a Republican won the governorship was in 2002. While Delaware will not hold any primaries for Congress or governor, the state will hold local and some lower-profile statewide primaries. 1 hr ago How Tuesday’s GOP primary in New Hampshire will help set up the Senate battleground map From CNN’s Eric Bradner and David Wright New Hampshire Republicans are set to choose their candidate to take on Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan on Tuesday in a primary that will lock in the final key matchup in November’s battle for control of the Senate. Don Bolduc, center, stands with supporters during the Pledge of Allegiance at a town hall event in Laconia, New Hampshire on September 10. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images) GOP voters in the Granite State are choosing among a field of candidates led by Don Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general, and state Senate president Chuck Morse. Former President Donald Trump has not publicly backed a candidate in the race, but Bolduc has embraced Trump’s election denialism. GOP Gov. Chris Sununu and national Republicans have rushed to defeat Bolduc, whom they view as a weaker general election candidate, and are backing Morse against Hassan. Bolduc, who lost a bid for the GOP Senate nod two years ago, had brought in just shy of $600,000 by the end of August compared to Hassan’s $31.4 million. He also has a penchant for saying controversial things, some of which he’s walked back. But in response, Sununu called Bolduc a “conspiracy-theorist-type candidate” and “not a serious candidate” in an interview with WGIR last month. In a Sunday op-ed in the New Hampshire Union Leader, Sununu wrote that “the stakes are too high for New Hampshire and America,” adding that they need a nominee “who will have the resources to compete in the most crucial battleground state in America.” Implications for the November midterms: In an evenly divided Senate, where Republicans need a net gain of just one seat to flip the chamber, Hassan is one of four key Democratic incumbents Republicans are looking to pick off this year. Republicans had hoped that inflation and the backlash new presidents historically have faced in midterm elections would carry the party to House and Senate majorities in November, delivering victories in competitive races across the map no matter the individual candidates in those races. But gas prices have dropped. Biden and the Democratic-controlled Congress have enacted more of the President’s agenda. Democratic candidates have outpaced most of their GOP Senate rivals in fundraising. The FBI’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate has once again elevated a figure who galvanizes liberals and alienates suburban voters. 1 hr 12 min ago It’s 7 p.m. ET and some New Hampshire polls are closing. These are the key races to watch in the state. From CNN’s Melissa Holzberg DePalo and Ethan Cohen  It’s 7 p.m. ET and the first polls are closing in parts of New Hampshire. Because times vary across the state, some polls will close later by 8 p.m. ET. These are some of the key races voters will decide on: GOP Senate: New Hampshire’s Senate election in November could be one of the most competitive elections as Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan hopes to keep her seat. Don Bolduc, a retired Army general who also ran for Senate in 2020, is the likely frontrunner. Bolduc has said the 17th Amendment, which requires the popular election of senators, should be overturned, and that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Establishment Republicans are tr...

OPINION: Bronson’s Homeless Plan Is Ill-Conceived And Heartless https://digitalalaskanews.com/opinion-bronsons-homeless-plan-is-ill-conceived-and-heartless/ By Janice Banta Updated: 5 minutes ago Published: 5 minutes ago Mayor Dave Bronson speaks with people during a break in the Anchorage Assembly meeting on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. (Emily Mesner / ADN) Mayor Dave Bronson’s so-called “solution” to address the growing problem of unhoused individuals in our community is to transform functioning safe havens for children, namely the Fairview and Mountain View Recreation Centers, into shelters. These centers provide a place for primarily underprivileged children and families to exercise, play, make art (and friends!) and so much more, as well as providing supervision and safety for children during school breaks. The mayor has taken this action, with limited notice to the community, despite the fact that there are numerous vacant properties (Golden Lion Hotel, the long-shuttered midtown Alaska Club, unused hotel rooms during off-season months, etc.) that would provide safety, access to transportation and shopping, without drastically impacting children and families. This proposal would be heartless in any time, but it is important to recognize that these are still pandemic times. Our schools are struggling with unfilled staff positions. Students have lost many of their competencies to get along with other children and build healthy relationships with adults after years of school disruptions and Zoom lessons. For 30-plus years, the SEARCH Institute has conducted research to determine how we can best help children thrive, avoid high-risk behaviors and demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges. The Institute’s founder synthesized the findings of their research stating, “Nothing – nothing – has more impact in the life of a child than positive relationships.” This is what our community’s recreation centers provide, a place to foster relationships and create connections with trusted adults. The mayor’s proposal is a classic “Solomon’s Choice” — a seemingly impossible decision that has to be made between competing alternatives. It is based upon the assumption, however, that there are only two alternatives, with the administration choosing to serve one population in need (our unhoused neighbors) by creating a significant disservice to children, families and communities in lower income neighborhoods through lost access to their Recreation Centers. Our family has great compassion for our neighbors who are currently without housing. We know from close personal experience and from volunteer efforts with our church, that all of us are just one job loss or health emergency away from homelessness. Let’s make sure that Anchorage provides adequate supports for all its vulnerable individuals. Keep our recreation centers available to children and families and provide shelter for those in need from among the many existing locations in Anchorage that are currently not in use. Janice A. Banta, ACSW (retired), worked as a clinical therapist, children’s advocate and most recently served as an elementary school counselor. The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here. Read More Here

Justice Department Criminal Investigation Now Touches Nearly All Efforts To Overturn 2020 Election For Trump – KVIA https://digitalalaskanews.com/justice-department-criminal-investigation-now-touches-nearly-all-efforts-to-overturn-2020-election-for-trump-kvia/ By Tierney Sneed, Katelyn Polantz, Sara Murray, Evan Perez and Kristen Holmes, CNN Justice Department criminal prosecutors are now examining nearly every aspect of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election — including the fraudulent electors plot, efforts to push baseless election fraud claims and how money flowed to support these various efforts — according to sources and copies of new subpoenas obtained by CNN. The investigation is also stretching into cogs of the sprawling Trump legal machine that boosted his efforts to challenge his electoral loss — with many of the recipients of 30-plus subpoenas that were issued in recent days being asked to turn over communications with several Trump attorneys. The sweeping effort has many in Trump world concerned about the potential legal significance of being caught up in a federal investigation. The flurry of investigative activity has involved seizure warrants, including one served to Boris Epshteyn for his phone, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Epshteyn remains a close aide to the former President and to his political and fundraising operation. The widening pool of recipients of subpoenas also includes prominent Trump deputies, such as his former White House adviser Dan Scavino, who continued to work for Trump after he left office. The subpoena language and activity bring together the seemingly far-flung parts of the DOJ investigation. The Justice Department previously obtained grand jury testimony, conducted searches and nabbed extensive documents about rally organization and fundraising, about efforts in and around the White House to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to block certification of the election results, and about the fake electors. This new round of subpoenas drills down with more specific requests about the baseless claims of mass election fraud that were being peddled to legislators, law enforcement and others. In one of the new subpoenas viewed by CNN, along with demands for communications with a lengthy list of Trump-world figures and fake electors, the investigators ask for documents related to the raising and spending of money. Prosecutors are interested in the financing around the January 6 rally, bids to challenge the results and the Trump-aligned political organization formed after the election to push fraud claims. The assistant US attorneys signing the subpoenas are working as part of the team led by prosecutor Thomas Windom in the DC US Attorney’s Office, according to court records and multiple people familiar with the investigation. Two DC US Attorney’s Office supervisors appear on the subpoenas as well, indicating the latest sweep serves both the ongoing fake elector probe and the prosecution office’s larger mission to target planning of violence before January 6, according to the sources familiar with the team’s work. The subpoenas also ask for the recipients to identify all methods of communication they’ve used since fall 2020 and to turn over to DOJ anything the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, has demanded — whether they cooperated with the House panel or not. “They’re now encompassing individuals closer and closer to the President to learn more and more about what the President knew and when he knew it,” David Laufman, an attorney and former federal prosecutor, said Monday on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.” There are no public indications that the DOJ’s January 6 probe is overlapping with the federal investigation into the handling of classified documents from Trump’s White House and seizure of materials from Mar-a-Lago. However, the latest developments in the 2020 election investigation come as the documents probe has already put Trump allies on high alert for potential legal exposure. While those around Trump have brushed off the congressional investigation into the riot on January 6 as political, there is a palpable shift in demeanor when it comes to the Department of Justice probe, as allies and advisers recognize the significance of being looped into a federal investigation, according to multiple people in Trump’s orbit. The Trump-world figures now swept up in the investigation claim the department is on a fishing expedition that is impeding on privileged communications. “It’s all very distressing to me as an American and as a prominent attorney for Donald Trump,” said Bruce Marks, an attorney whose communications are of interest to investigators, according to the recently issued subpoenas. Notorious for leaking, a usually verbose Trump world has fallen virtually silent in the wake of dozens of grand jury subpoenas being sent in recent days. Some subpoenaed have spent the last several days scrambling to find the right lawyers and understand the scope of what the Department of Justice is seeking from them. Others, already entangled in other Trump investigations, know the drill — keep quiet until the dust settles. An aggressive new phase as a pre-election quiet period starts The burst of investigative activity came just as the Justice Department runs into its so-called 60-day rule, an internal policy that discourages prosecutors from taking public steps in cases that stand to influence a coming election. Previously, investigators sought any records of interactions with a set of a dozen Trump officials, largely lawyers and those working with the fake electors including Rudy Giuliani, Epshteyn and John Eastman. But the latest subpoenas also ask for communications with new names: high-profile right-wing Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Cleta Mitchell, as well as Marks, a lawyer based in Philadelphia who assisted with Trump’s election appeals and in an attention-grabbing court case where Giuliani tried and failed to throw out all of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. Marks told CNN on Tuesday that he was among Trump’s lawyers after the election and was reporting to and communicating frequently with Giuliani and Epshteyn over text messages and emails about post-election efforts. Epshteyn was assisting Giuliani in much of his attempts to block the vote outcome electing Joe Biden. The warrant served to Epshteyn, seeking his phone, is another signal of how the probe has escalated. In June, the Justice Department seized the phone of Eastman, the Trump attorney who spearheaded the far-fetched legal theory that Pence could hold up Congress’ certification of Biden’s win. Federal investigators also that month searched the home of an ex-DOJ official, Jeffrey Clark, who was at the center of Trump efforts to pressure the department to support his plots. Prosecutors’ willingness to obtain a warrant for Epshteyn’s phone hints that they see the campaign strategist — who is currently an adviser to Trump — as playing an integral role in Trump’s 2020 election machinations. When the agents seized and imaged his phone, they also served him a subpoena for documents, according to some of CNN’s sources. Epshteyn did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment about the search of his phone. The New York Times was first to report the seizure of his phone. The wider net the department is now casting is also evident in the types of Trump-world figures who received the latest round of subpoenas. They include former campaign manager Bill Stepien and Sean Dollman, who worked for Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign as chief financial officer, as well as Scavino, Trump’s former deputy chief of staff and an architect of Trump’s social media presence. Also receiving a subpoena was Bernard Kerik, a former New York City police commissioner who worked with Giuliani to find evidence of voter fraud in the weeks following the 2020 election, as did Women for America First, the pro-Trump group that organized the rally that preceded the Capitol attack. Kerik was approached by a handful of agents who tried to ask him questions, which he refused to answer and so they handed him a subpoena, a person familiar with the episode said. The agents asked if he would be willing to talk with an attorney present. Eventually the agents handed him the document. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Read More Here

PolitiFact – No, Trump Didn’t Say Queen Elizabeth II Secretly Knighted Him https://digitalalaskanews.com/politifact-no-trump-didnt-say-queen-elizabeth-ii-secretly-knighted-him/ Stand up for the facts! Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info I would like to contribute No, Trump didn’t say Queen Elizabeth II secretly knighted him If Your Time is short A screenshot of a Truth Social post by Donald Trump saying Queen Elizabeth II secretly knighted him isn’t authentic.  Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to express his condolences about the death of Queen Elizabeth II, but he didn’t claim that the queen had secretly knighted him, as an image circulating online suggests.  “I never told anybody but she knighted me in private,” reads the text in what appears to be a screenshot of a Truth Social post from @realDonaldTrump. Instagram posts sharing the image were flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.) We found no evidence Trump posted this. It’s not in his Truth Social feed, and while we found a post from another user claiming that Trump shared that message, there’s nothing to corroborate that.  RELATED VIDEO A spokesperson for Trump told the Associated Press that the image isn’t an authentic screenshot of a Trump post.  Trump did once claim that a 2019 visit he took to the United Kingdom was the most fun the queen had had in 25 years, but he didn’t say what the post claims. We rate claims that this screenshot is authentic False. Instagram post, Sept. 11, 2001 Donald Trump Truth Social account, visited Sept. 13, 2022 Associated Press, Trump did not claim that Queen Elizabeth II knighted him, Sept. 11, 2022 Insider, Trump releases statement about the Queen’s death: ‘What a grand and beautiful lady she was—there was nobody like her!,’ Sept. 8, 2022 CNN, Trump says his visit was the most fun Queen Elizabeth II had in 25 years, June 14, 2019 In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. Sign me up Read More Here

Durham Moves To Admit Evidence In Danchenko Trial That May Discredit Trump Ritz-Carlton Moscow Allegations https://digitalalaskanews.com/durham-moves-to-admit-evidence-in-danchenko-trial-that-may-discredit-trump-ritz-carlton-moscow-allegations/ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Special Counsel John Durham is seeking to admit evidence in the trial of Russian national Igor Danchenko that would discredit the “lurid” Ritz-Carlton Moscow allegations against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump contained in the salacious and unverified Steele dossier. In a filing unsealed Tuesday, Durham moved to admit evidence regarding the FBI’s prior counterintelligence investigation of Danchenko and to exclude evidence concerning allegations of “political bias underpinning the indictment.” Danchenko, who has been identified as the primary sub-source for the Steele dossier, is charged with five counts of making false statements to the FBI. The charges stem from statements Danchenko made relating to the sources he used in providing information to an investigative firm in the U.K. DESPITE ACQUITTAL, DURHAM TRIAL OF SUSSMANN ADDED TO EVIDENCE CLINTON CAMPAIGN PLOTTED TO TIE TRUMP TO RUSSIA Russian analyst Igor Danchenko arrives at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse before being arraigned Nov. 10, 2021, in Alexandria, Va. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Durham alleges that Danchenko in June 2016 reported to ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele allegations regarding “Donald Trump’s purported sexual activity at the Ritz-Carlton Moscow.” “The Steele report states that ‘Source D,’ who is described as a ‘close associate’ of Trump, who had organized and managed his recent trips to Moscow, had confirmed that Trump had engaged in lurid sexual activity at the hotel,” the filing states, adding that the Steele report also said the allegations “had been confirmed by ‘Source E,’ a senior (western) member of staff at the hotel.” But, in a January 2017 interview with the FBI, Danchenko claimed he had sourced the information while staying at the Ritz-Carlton Moscow in mid-June 2016 during a planning trip for a future business conference. Durham says Danchenko acknowledged that he had “visited, but not stayed at, the hotel during the 2016 trip.”  “In his January 2017 interview with the FBI, the defendant also claimed that he inquired about the Ritz-Carlton allegations with hotel staff who did not deny their veracity,” Durham states. “The defendant [Danchenko] also informed the FBI that he reported the names of these hotel staff to Christopher Steele.” Former President Trump speaks to supporters at a rally to support local candidates Sept. 3, 2022, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Durham says that, during a May 2017 FBI interview, Danchenko “again confirmed that he had spoken with hotel management about the Ritz-Carlton allegations.” “In that interview, the defendant also stated that ‘Source D,’ the purported source of the aforementioned sexual allegations, ‘could be referring to Sergei Millian,’” the filing states. SPECIAL COUNSEL DURHAM REQUESTS 30 SUBPOENAS ISSUED IN DANCHENKO CASE Durham said his team has interviewed and expects to call at trial the “then-general manager of the Ritz-Carlton Moscow, Bemd Kuhlen, a German citizen who does not speak Russian (and whom the Steele Report describe as ‘Source E,’ a senior — western — member of staff at the hotel.)” “Mr. Kuhlen does not recall ever meeting or speaking with [Danchenko] in June 2016 or at any time,” Durham states. “Mr. Kuhlen also has denied (1) having knowledge of the Ritz-Carlton Allegations at any time prior to their being reported in the media, (2) discussing such allegations with, or hearing them from, the defendant. “Mr. Kuhlen also has confirmed to the Government and will testify at trial that he was the only ‘western’ member of management at the hotel in June 2016,” Durham added. “In short, the Government intends to prove at trial that the defendant falsely sought to attribute the Ritz-Carlton Allegations to Mr. Kuhlen, and, as referenced above, to Sergei Millian as part of his work on the Steele Reports that are described in the Indictment.” Christopher Steele compiled a dossier on Donald Trump. (Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images) Durham, in the filing, argued that the government “should be permitted to present evidence of the defendant’s false statement regarding his sourcing of the Ritz-Carlton Allegations as direct evidence of the charged crime.” “The defendant’s statements regarding these allegations constitute direct evidence of the charged offenses because they reflect the defendant’s efforts to fabricate and misattribute information reflected in the Steele Reports and provide important factual context regarding the two individuals — Charles Dolan and Sergei Millian — who are the subjects of the defendant’s false statements to the FBI,” Durham said. Danchenko’s trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 11. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Durham has indicted three people as part of his investigation: Michael Sussmann in September 2021, who was found not guilty in June, Danchenko in November 2021 and Kevin Clinesmith in August 2020. Clinesmith was also charged with making a false statement and pleaded guilty. Sources have told Fox News that Durham’s investigation is ongoing. Brooke Singman is a Fox News Digital politics reporter. You can reach her at Brooke.Singman@Fox.com or @BrookeSingman on Twitter. Read More Here

Ukraine Has Recaptured Over 2,300 Square Miles Of Territory; Risks To Putin's Regime Rise After Defeats https://digitalalaskanews.com/ukraine-has-recaptured-over-2300-square-miles-of-territory-risks-to-putins-regime-rise-after-defeats/ 80% of NATO allies have approved Sweden and Finland’s entry into the alliance NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talks speaks during a joint press with Sweden and Finland’s Foreign ministers after their meeting at the Nato headquarters in Brussels on January 24, 2022. John Thys | AFP | Getty Images Six NATO member countries have yet to sign ratification protocols for Finland and Sweden to join the military alliance. Out of NATO’s 30 member countries, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey are the last holdouts to grant Sweden and Finland membership. In May, both nations began the formal process of applying to NATO as Russia’s war in Ukraine raged. All 30 members of the alliance have to ratify the countries’ entry into the group. Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden signed ratification documents following a 95-1 Senate vote to bring Finland and Sweden into NATO. — Amanda Macias Pentagon closely monitoring reports of Iranian drones used by Russians in Ukraine Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder speaks during a news briefing at the Pentagon September 6, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. Brig. Gen. Ryder held a news briefing to answer questions from members of the press. Alex Wong | Getty Images The Pentagon said that it was not able to determine the impact of Russia’s use of Iranian drones on the battlefield in Ukraine. Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. was closely monitoring the situation but declined to confirm press reports that Russia had begun using the drones in Ukraine. Last month, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Russia had received the drones but said it was “too soon to tell” how the new weapons would shape the combat. “It remains to be seen what the overall impact is going to be on those drones, but it’s not going to change the kinds of capabilities we continue to provide,” Kirby told reporters on a conference call. “We know of some difficulties that the Russians have been having with some of those drones,” Kirby added, but declined to elaborate. — Amanda Macias Ukrainian officials said they found a Russian-made torture chamber for civilians in Kharkiv region Rescuers stand next to burnt cars after a Russian rocket strike in one of the districts of the second largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on July 21, 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sergey Bobok | Afp | Getty Images Ukrainian officials said they discovered a prison equipped with a makeshift torture chamber made by Russian forces in a city in the Kharkiv region. Serhii Bolvinov, chief of Kharkiv’s region police force, wrote on Facebook that Russian troops were looking for civilians that helped Ukrainian forces. He said that Russian forces took Ukrainian civilians living in Balaklia to a converted local police department and integrated those individuals. “In the basement of the police department, the Russian soldiers made a prison and a torture chamber for local residents,” according to an NBC News translation of Bolvinov’s statement. The Kremlin has previously said that it does not target civilians, which mounts to war crimes under international law. — Amanda Macias More than 300 villages in Kharkiv region liberated from Russian occupation, Ukraine says Ukrainian flags placed on statues in a square in Balakliya, Kharkiv region, on Sept. 10 , 2022. Juan Barreto | AFP | Getty Images Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar said that the counter-offensive carried out by Ukrainian troops in Kharkiv over several days resulted in the liberation of more than 300 villages from Russian occupation. “The operation will continue until the area is wholly liberated,” Malyar said during a national telethon update, according to an NBC News translation. She said that approximately 150,000 people living in a region spanning about 3,800 square kilometers are back under Ukrainian leadership. — Amanda Macias White House hints at new security package amid recent gains in Ukraine John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 21, 2022. Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images The White House said another U.S. security assistance package for Ukraine installment would be announced in the coming days, but declined to elaborate on the details. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the next package would be tailored “in lockstep” with Kyiv’s requests and hailed recent Ukrainian advances to seize back territory from Russian forces. “At least in the Donbas, there is a sense of momentum,” Kirby told reporters at the White House. “Certainly in the north, we have seen Russians retreat from the Kharkiv oblast. They’ve left fighting positions, they’ve left supplies and they’re calling it a repositioning,” Kirby said, adding that Russian forces are still facing a slew of logistical challenges. “It’s still a very large and very powerful military and Mr. Putin still has an awful lot of military capacity left at his disposal, not just to be used in Ukraine but potentially elsewhere,” Kirby added. — Amanda Macias Ukrainians prepare for winter in Ukraine Ukrainians begin to prepare for winter as the Russian invasion drags on. A Ukrainian man prepares for the cold winter and stocking up on firewood in Lviv, Ukraine, September 11, 2022. Olena Znak | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Ukrainians are preparing for the cold winter and stocking up on firewood in Lviv, Ukraine on September 11, 2022. Olena Znak | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images A Ukrainian man prepares for the cold winter and stocking up on firewood in Kharkiv, Ukraine, September 13, 2022. Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images A Ukrainian woman prepares for the cold winter and stocking up on firewood in Kharkiv, Ukraine, September 13, 2022.  Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Ukrainians are prepare for the cold winter and stocking up on firewood in Kharkiv, Ukraine, September 13, 2022. Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Getty Images Blinken says U.S. will continue to send weapons to Kyiv, hails advances made by Ukrainian forces U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at the State Department in Washington, March 17, 2022. Saul Loeb | Pool | Reuter U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed Ukraine’s lightning advances made over the weekend but cautioned that Russian forces still maintain “very significant forces in Ukraine.” “As we’ve seen, the brutalization of the country continues by the Russian aggressor and there’s, I think, unfortunately, the prospect of this continues to go on, but I think it’s encouraging to see the progress that Ukraine has made,” Blinken told reporters alongside Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Mexico City. Blinken said the U.S. would continue to provide Kyiv with additional military aid packages. “We will continue to do, what is necessary to support Ukraine to maintain pressure on Russia so that it ends its aggression,” Blinken added. — Amanda Macias Celebrity chef and humanitarian Jose Andres shares a video of food deliveries to Zaporizhzhia Spanish celebrity chef and restaurateur Jose Andres shared a video on Twitter of his team delivering food to Ukrainian villages in the Zaporizhzhia region. “Only one road where people can officially evacuate from the occupied region. Its called the “road of life,” wrote Andres. The two-star Michelin chef brought the World Central Kitchen to Ukraine to address the mounting food crisis triggered by Russia’s war. He has previously said that more than 2 million food kits have been delivered to those affected by the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. — Amanda Macias U.N. says at least 5,827 killed in Ukraine since start of war This photograph taken on July 15, 2022, shows recently made graves at a cemetery in the Vinogradnoe district, Donetsk region, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. – | Afp | Getty Images The United Nations has confirmed 5,827 civilian deaths and 8,421 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded its ex-Soviet neighbor on Feb. 24. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher, because the armed conflict can delay fatality reports. The international organization said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and airstrikes. — Amanda Macias Ukraine has exported 2.7 million metric tons of grains and other crops since ports reopened The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos, near Istanbul, Turkey August 3, 2022. Mehmet Caliskan | Reuters The organization overseeing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine said that a total of 2.7 million metric tons of crops have left the besieged country since ports reopened in July. The Joint Coordination Center, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said that 122 vessels have so far left three Ukrainian ports. — Amanda Macias Zelenskyy will speak with IMF chief on financing requests Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the NATO summit via video link, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 29, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | via Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, two sources familiar with ...

N https://digitalalaskanews.com/n-34/ Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Read More Here

N https://digitalalaskanews.com/n-33/ Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Read More Here

Regional Notebook: Sept. 13, 2022 https://digitalalaskanews.com/regional-notebook-sept-13-2022/ Published: 9/13/2022 5:07:35 PM Modified: 9/13/2022 5:07:05 PM BOSTON — The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women is seeking members for the Hampshire-Franklin Commission on the Status of Women, one of 11 regional commissions across the state that strives to represent women and girls in the areas of equality and opportunity. According to a press release from Regional Commissions Director Tina Games, the mission of the Hampshire-Franklin Commission on the Status of Women is to provide a permanent, influential voice for women and girls across Hampshire and Franklin counties that facilitates and fosters community and inclusiveness. The commission stands for fundamental freedoms, basic human rights, and the full enjoyment of life for all women and girls. The Hampshire-Franklin Commission on the Status of Women represents all towns and cities in Hampshire and Franklin counties, including Amherst, Ashfield, Belchertown, Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Chesterfield, Colrain, Conway, Cummington, Deerfield, Easthampton, Erving, Gill, Goshen, Granby, Greenfield, Hadley, Hatfield, Hawley, Heath, Huntington, Leverett, Leyden, Middlefield, Monroe, Montague, New Salem, Northampton, Northfield, Orange, Pelham, Plainfield, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Southampton, Sunderland, Ware, Warwick, Wendell, Westhampton, Whately, Williamsburg and Worthington. For more information on the commission and how to apply, visit bit.ly/3QvU2nC. Four Greenfield students have been awarded $1,200 scholarships through the A.K. Warner Fund for the 2022-2023 academic year. They are: Christian Larouche (Greenfield High School), Ruari Maloney (Ithaca College), Lola Periera Murphy (Four Rivers Charter Public School) and Kelly Trudeau (Franklin County Technical School). According to a notice from A.K. Warner Fund Secretary Marilyn Hannan, the fund was established under the will of Anson K. Warner to provide financial assistance to Greenfield residents between the ages of 14 and 20. The scholarship is awarded for the purpose of paying room, board or tuition. It may also be used to buy books or other materials needed to procure a good education. The trustees, elected by the citizens of Greenfield, meet annually each spring to determine the recipients. Meals on Wheels, offered through the nonprofit LifepPath, is seeking volunteer drivers to bring meals to homebound seniors in many local communities, particularly Greenfield, Orange and Athol. Stipends and mileage reimbursement are available. For more information, call 413-773-5555 or 978-544-2259, ext. 2216, or visit LifePathMA.org/volunteer. Read More Here

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