Digital Alaska News

Inflation Likely Fell Again In August, But There’s A Long Way To Go https://digitalalaskanews.com/inflation-likely-fell-again-in-august-but-theres-a-long-way-to-go/ Inflation is expected to have slowed again last month thanks to falling prices for gas, food and used cars, a new government report is expected to show Tuesday, although it could be a long time before prices fall back to pre-pandemic levels for families and businesses. Data to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics could show August prices rose roughly 8 percent from the year before. That would be down from the 8.5 percent notched in July, and 9.1 percent from June. And while those measures are dangerously above normal levels, policymakers, economists and the American public are eager for consistent signs that inflation peaked this summer after soaring to the highest level in 40 years. Inflation is the economy’s biggest problem, and its toll falls hardest on vulnerable families with little room to absorb higher costs for rent, groceries and everything in between. The Federal Reserve has been fighting inflation by raising interest rates, which are designed to slow down the economy by making all kinds of investments and loans — from mortgages to auto loans to hiring — more expensive. The Fed’s goal is to use higher rates to dampen demand in the economy, especially since its tools can’t do anything to fix issues like supply chain logjams, worker shortages or the war in Ukraine. “There’s a wider story than just ‘prices falling,’ ” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM. “That’s demand, and that’s the object of policy right there.” But the fight against inflation brings heavy consequences, and could eventually jolt the economy too forcefully, triggering a recession and a new wave of job losses. Still, the Fed has sent a clear message: it is pressing on. “While higher interest rates, slower growth, and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses,” Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell said in a closely watched speech last month. “These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.” Inflation is also playing a political role, influencing the midterm elections. The Biden administration has been hammered by Republicans for sprawling stimulus efforts from earlier in the pandemic that helped turbocharge the economy. And this summer, surging gas prices in May and June soured Americans’ feelings about the economy even more, causing consumer sentiment to plummet and pulling down President Biden’s poll numbers. Republicans have been looking to frame their political message around inflation as they vie for control of the House and Senate. Yet, inflation has lately been losing some potency with voters, especially as gas prices have consistently fallen from their summer highs and the job market is still cranking. Indeed, Americans are beginning to feel better about the economy, and consumer sentiment, which collapsed in June, has been inching up. Lynn Farrell, president and owner of Chicago-based Windy City Travel, said business is booming, especially on luxury travel. People want to fly first class after long-delayed vacations. Farrell will put together safari packages for clients seeking even more extravagant trips. Airfares have come down from their summer surges, Farrell said. And for those who can afford it, sheer excitement is cutting through inflation’s toll. “Travel is such an interesting barometer on consumer confidence,” Farrell said, en route to Chicago from a staff trip in Cancún. “We see that when consumers start to get a little bit anxious, the booking windows shorten, or people don’t book travel out as far. … But travel may actually escape a lot of what’s happening in the economy because there’s such pent-up demand.” Survey data released Monday from the New York Fed also showed American consumers expecting significant declines in future inflation levels. That is welcome news for Fed officials gathering for their September policy meeting next week. Inflation expectations can be self-fulling, and the Fed’s job gets harder if households and businesses anticipate that inflation will stay high and change their behavior as a result. The Fed has been raising rates at its most aggressive pace in decades, and increased them by a whopping three-quarters of a percentage point in July. Fed watchers and the financial markets increasingly expect another increase of that scale next week, since the Fed is rushing to get rates high enough to slow down the economy. “[The Fed] has said, ‘Listen, we’re not where we need to be, but we’re at least not as far behind as we were,’ ” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. Still, the Fed’s moves can address only certain problems in the economy. Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine already caused a massive run-up in energy and gas prices this year, and White House officials are alarmed about a looming energy crisis in Europe after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats to force a bleak winter on the continent. “The progress in inflation may not prove tenable should those geopolitical tensions intensify and Russia shuts off all supply of oil,” Brusuelas said. “Then we’re up for another run of supply shocks.” Read More Here

Ukraine Pushes To Retake All Land From Russia, Calls For Western Arms https://digitalalaskanews.com/ukraine-pushes-to-retake-all-land-from-russia-calls-for-western-arms/ Ukraine has seized back dozens of towns in rapid advance Many fleeing Russian troops have exited Ukraine – U.S. official Zelenskiy calls for anti-aircraft systems from West ON ROAD TO BALAKLIIA, Ukraine, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Ukraine said on Tuesday it aimed to liberate all of its territory after driving back Russian forces in the northeast of country in a rapid offensive, but called on the West to speed up deliveries of weapons systems to back the advance. Since Moscow abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, marking its worst defeat since the early days of the war, Ukrainian troops have recaptured dozens of towns in a stunning shift in battleground momentum. Fighting was still raging in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar told Reuters on Tuesday, saying Ukraine’s forces were making good progress because they are highly motivated and their operation is well planned. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com “The aim is to liberate the Kharkiv region and beyond – all the territories occupied by the Russian Federation,” she said on the road to Balakliia, a crucial military supply hub recaptured by Ukrainian forces late last week which lies 74 km (46 miles) southeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. In a video address late on Monday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the West must speed up deliveries of weapons systems, calling on Ukraine’s allies to “strengthen cooperation to defeat Russian terror”. Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, Washington and its allies have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons that Kyiv says have helped limit Moscow’s gains. Russian forces control around a fifth of the country in the south and east but Ukraine is now on the offensive in both areas. The Ukrainian military did not report any fresh advances on Tuesday, saying Russian forces were shelling parts of Kharkiv region retaken by Ukraine and attacking further south in Donetsk region, which Moscow is trying to seize for separatist proxies. Ukraine had repelled the Donetsk region attacks, its general staff report said, while Denis Pushilin, head of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic, said its forces were repelling Ukrainian attacks and he believed the situation would improve. Serhiy Gaidai, Ukrainian governor of the neighbouring Luhansk region, which Moscow has seized, said a major Ukrainian offensive may be expected there on Tuesday. Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield reports. A senior U.S. military official said earlier that Russia had largely ceded territory near Kharkiv in the northeast and pulled many of its troops back over the border. read more A video issued by Ukraine’s border guards service showed what it said were Ukrainian troops liberating the town of Vovchansk near the country’s border with Russia, burning down flags and tearing down a poster saying “We are one with Russia”. CAUTION A Moscow-based diplomat said the advance in Kharkiv region was encouraging but expressed caution over the next steps. “We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves,” the diplomat said on condition of anonymity, adding that a key question was whether Ukrainian forces would be able to move into Luhansk region. A Ukrainian service member stands on a Russian 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer captured during a counteroffensive operation, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 12, 2022. Press service of the 25th Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS “So a significant moment but not yet the beginning of the end,” the diplomat said, pointing to the importance of a possible impact on Russian morale in the south around Kherson, where Ukraine’s advance had so far been slow. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had made “significant progress” with Western support to ensure it has the equipment it needs. Washington announced its latest weapons programme for Ukraine last week, including ammunition for HIMARS anti-rocket systems, and has previously sent Ukraine NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems, which are capable of shooting down aircraft. read more Zelenskiy said Ukraine had recaptured roughly 6,000 square km (2,400 square miles) of territory, double what officials had cited on Sunday. A sliver of Ukraine’s land mass of around 600,000 square km, it is approximately equivalent to the combined area of the West Bank and Gaza. After being pushed back from the capital Kyiv soon after its invasion, Russia refocused on capturing territory adjacent to Crimea in the south which it annexed in 2014 and in Donetsk and Luhansk in the industrial Donbas in eastern Ukraine, which separatists claimed the same year. Zelenskiy’s advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, spelled out why Ukraine needed more weapons, saying that firstly, it needed air defence to protect its civilians and critical infrastructure. “Second, Luhansk/Donetsk liberation will cause domino effect, collapse ru-frontline and lead to political destabilization. It is possible. Weapons required,” he wrote on Twitter. Russia denies targeting civilians, saying that what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine is designed to degrade its neighbour’s military. ‘HANGING BY A THREAD’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no discussion of a nationwide mobilisation to bolster the operation in Ukraine. Criticism of Russia’s leadership from online nationalist commentators who have demanded mobilisation was an example of “pluralism”, Peskov told reporters, adding that Russians as a whole continue to support President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin on Monday said the military operation would continue until acheiving its goals but sidestepped a question about whether Putin still had confidence in his military leadership. Ukrainian officials say Russia has responded to Kyiv’s battlefield successes by shelling power stations and other key infrastructure, causing blackouts in Kharkiv and elsewhere. Russia has blamed Ukraine for the blackouts. Shelling around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has sparked grave concerns about the risk of radioactive catastrophe. The U.N. atomic watchdog has proposed the creation of a protection zone around the nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, and both sides are interested, IAEA chief said. “We are playing with fire,” Rafael Grossi told reporters. “We can not continue in a situation where we are one step away from a nuclear accident. The safety of the Zaporizhzhia power plant is hanging by a thread.” read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Olzhas Auyezov, Aleksandar Vasovic and other Reuters reporters; Writing by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

New Hampshire's GOP Primary Will Complete The Senate Battleground Map – KVIA https://digitalalaskanews.com/new-hampshires-gop-primary-will-complete-the-senate-battleground-map-kvia/ By Eric Bradner and David Wright, CNN 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. 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. 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. But as they have across the country, some candidates following in Trump’s footsteps in New Hampshire have raised concerns among GOP leaders because of their lackluster fundraising and hardline right-wing rhetoric. The primary in New Hampshire, which was thrown open after Sununu rebuffed national Republicans’ efforts to recruit him, is a window into the GOP struggle that’s been waged across the political map over the spring and summer. 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.” Still, Republican voters could once again ignore establishment preferences Tuesday and opt for the candidate who has aligned himself more closely with Trump, even if doing so comes at the cost of electability in November. A pre-primary season of recruiting misses by top Republicans left the party without what it viewed as its strongest candidates in key races — including governors like Sununu and Arizona’s Doug Ducey, who opted against taking on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. Then, a summer of bruising Senate primaries — many of them shaped by Trump’s endorsements and pro-Trump voters’ demands for candidates who embrace his lies about election fraud — left Republicans fretting about the quality of the party’s nominees and scrambling to close Democrats’ fundraising advantage. 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. And perhaps most significantly, the Supreme Court’s June decision to end federal abortion rights protections appears to have animated parts of the electorate that Democrats feared would slip away from the party or sit the midterms out. The early signs of a more evenly matched midterm landscape came in Democratic victories in a special election in a bellwether House district in upstate New York and in Alaska’s ranked-choice special election for the state’s at-large House seat, which has been in GOP hands for nearly half a century, as well as voters’ overwhelming support for abortion rights in a referendum on the Kansas primary ballot. Meanwhile, a handful of Republican candidates who won primaries, many with Trump’s backing, have struggled to expand their appeal to a broader electorate in critical states — including Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Nevada — that could decide which party controls a Senate that is currently divided 50-50. GOP ups spending and focuses on crime As GOP groups ramp up spending on television ads, their message in several key states is shifting away from attacking Biden on inflation. Instead, those ads target Democrats on crime and policing. The latest example: In an ad launched Monday in Wisconsin, the National Republican Senatorial Committee labeled Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, the Democrat challenging Sen. Ron Johnson, “dangerous” and a “defund the police Democrat.” Barnes, in his own ad launched two weeks ago, said Republicans are trying to scare voters, and that their charge that he wants to defund the police is “a lie.” “I’ll make sure our police have the resources and training they need to keep our communities safe, and that our communities have the resources to stop crime before it happens,” Barnes says in the spot. The shifting strategy underscores how unsettled the playing field is in the battle for control of the Senate just eight weeks from the November 8 midterm elections. In August, Republican campaigns and groups spent $25 million airing over 160 ads about inflation, while also spending about $11 million airing 80 ads about crime, according to AdImpact data. In just two weeks of September so far, Republicans have spent about $9 million airing 89 ads about inflation, while also spending about $9 million airing 54 ads about crime. In Ohio’s key Senate race, Republican J.D. Vance launched an ad last week, saying, “Streets are exploding with drugs and violence, while liberals like [Democratic opponent] Tim Ryan attack and defund our police.” Ryan has repeatedly distanced himself from “defunding the police.” In a recent ad in which he throws footballs at TV screens showing Republicans’ ads, he says, “Here come the culture wars; I’m not that guy,” as a football crashes into a screen showing the phrase “defund the police.” Democratic Senate candidates have so far vastly outspent their Republican rivals in races in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, forcing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell-aligned outside GOP groups to attempt to make up the difference. As the campaign season shifts into a new gear post-Labor Day, Senate Leadership Fund, for example, is set to massively ramp up its spending. The super PAC has placed nearly $200 million in ad reservations over the next two months, according to AdImpact data, the most of any political advertiser. It’s picking up attacks in the crucial Pennsylvania Senate race, for instance, with an ad that highlights Democratic nominee John Fetterman’s support for various prison reforms, echoing, “far-left John Fetterman, dangerously liberal on crime.” Fetterman, like other Democratic nominees this year, has explicitly talked about funding the police. FEC filings from SLF last week showed it upping its commitment in several key states — adding $3.7 million to Pennsylvania, $3.7 million to Georgia, $3.5 million to North Carolina, $3 million to Ohio, $2.4 million to Wisconsin, and $2 million to Nevada. The additions will complement already massive reservations in battleground states. SLF had previously booked $38 million in Georgia, $33 million in Pennsylvania, $28 million in North Carolina, $27 million in Ohio, $19 million in New Hampshire, $16 million in Nevada, $15 million in Wisconsin, and $10 million in Arizona. The GOP spending in North Carolina and Ohio underscores Democrats’ success in expanding the map of competitive races. Both seats are held by retiring Republican senators, and are must-wins for the GOP’s chances of winning the chamber in November. In Florida, Democratic Rep. Val Demings has also outspent Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. Even though Rubio has long been favored to win reelection on the same ballot that features potential 2024 Republican presidential prospect Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seeking a second term, Demings’ nearly $25 million in TV ads has outpaced Rubio and Republicans by about a 4-to-1 margin. A big part of her message has been leaning into her experience as the former Orlando police chief to try to head off Republicans’ attempts to tie her to her party’s most liberal members. “I’ll protect Florida from bad ideas like defunding the police,” she said in one recent spot. Debate about debates Several key midterm match-ups are now in the midst of a debate about whether, when and how many times the candidates should debate — including in Pennsylvania, where Fetterman, the Democratic lieutenant governor who suffered a stroke this spring, has committed to only one show-down with Republican Mehmet Oz, who has sought five debates. Fetterman has said he would only debate in October. He said in a statement that he always intended to debate Oz and that the hold-up has “only ever been about addressing some of the lingering issues of the stroke, the auditory processing, and we’re going to be able to work that out,” but he didn’t provide specifics. “Let’s be clear – Dr. Oz’s campaign won’t agree to a SECRET debate. It has to be a REAL one with REAL journalists asking REAL questions. Sorry John – imaginary debates don’t count!,” Oz communications director Brittany Yanick said in response. While Oz’s team has been raising questions about Fetterman’s health, the Democrat has hammered Oz over past remarks calling abortion “murder,” with his allies warning Sunday that Oz would be a “rubber stamp” for a national ban. “Women are the reason we can win...

Justice Dept. OK With 1 Trump Pick For Mar-A-Lago Arbiter https://digitalalaskanews.com/justice-dept-ok-with-1-trump-pick-for-mar-a-lago-arbiter/ WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Monday that it was willing to accept one of Donald Trump’s picks for an independent arbiter to review documents seized during an FBI search of the former president’s Florida home last month. The accommodation could help accelerate the selection process and shorten any delays caused by the appointment of the so-called special master. The judge in the case, granting a request from the Trump team, said last week that she would appoint a neutral arbiter to go through the records and weed out any that may be covered by executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. Department lawyers said in a filing Monday night that, in addition to the two retired judges whom they earlier recommended, they would also be satisfied with one of the Trump team selections — Raymond Dearie, the former chief judge of the federal court in the Eastern District of New York. He is currently on senior active status, and the department said he had indicated he was available and “could perform the work expeditiously” if appointed. It was not immediately clear whether U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon would name Dearie or someone else. The Trump team said earlier Monday that it opposed both Justice Department selections. The back-and-forth over the special master came as Trump’s lawyers in a 21-page filing Monday dismissed the former president’s retention of top-secret documents at Mar-a-Lago as a “storage dispute” and urged Cannon to keep in place a directive that temporarily halted key aspects of the Justice Department’s criminal probe. The Trump team referred to the documents that were seized as “purported ‘classified records,’” saying the Justice Department had not proven that the materials taken by the FBI during its Aug. 8 search were classified or remain so now. The filing underscores the significant factual and legal disagreements between lawyers for Trump and the U.S. government as the Justice Department looks to move forward with its criminal investigation into the retention of national defense information at Mar-a-Lago. Department lawyers in their own filings have rejected the idea that the documents, many of them classified at the top-secret level, belonged to Trump or that Mar-a-Lago was a permissible place to store them. “This investigation of the 45th President of the United States is both unprecedented and misguided,” they wrote. “In what at its core is a document storage dispute that has spiraled out of control, the Government wrongfully seeks to criminalize the possession by the 45th President of his own Presidential and personal records.” The investigation hit a roadblock last week when Cannon granted the Trump team’s request for a special master and prohibited the department, for now, from examining the documents for investigative purposes. The Justice Department has asked the judge to lift that hold and said it would contest her ruling to a federal appeals court. The department said its investigation risked being harmed beyond repair if that order remained in place, noting that confusion about its scope had already led the intelligence community to pause a separate risk assessment. But Trump’s lawyers said in their own motion Monday that Cannon should not permit the FBI to resume its review of classified records. It said the government had unilaterally determined the records to be classified but had not yet proven that they remain so. “In opposing any neutral review of the seized materials, the Government seeks to block a reasonable first step towards restoring order from chaos and increasing public confidence in the integrity of the process,” the lawyers wrote. Both sides on Friday night proposed different names of candidates who could serve as special master, though they disagreed on the scope of duties the person should have. Cannon has said the yet-to-be-named arbiter would be tasked with reviewing the documents and segregating out any that could be covered by claims of either executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. The Justice Department recommended either Barbara Jones, a retired judge in Manhattan who has served as special master in prior high-profile investigations, or Thomas Griffith, a retired federal appeals court jurist in the District of Columbia who was appointed to the bench by former President George W. Bush. The department said in its proposal that the special master should not have access to classified documents, or be empowered to consider claims of executive privilege. On Monday, the Trump team told the judge it was objecting to both those candidates but was not prepared to say why publicly at the moment. Trump’s lawyers proposed either Dearie, a senior judge on active status in the federal court in Brooklyn who also previously served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or Florida lawyer Paul Huck Jr. They have have said the arbiter should have access to the entire tranche of documents and should be able to evaluate executive privilege claims. The Justice Department said it was willing to support Dearie’s selection but it opposed the selection of Huck because of what it said was a lack of relevant experience. In its filing Monday, the Trump team again voiced a broad view of presidential power, asserting that a president has an “unfettered right of access” to his presidential records and absolute authority to declassify any information without the “approval of bureaucratic components of the executive branch” — though it did not say, as Trump has maintained, that he had actually declassified them. The Justice Department has said Trump had no right to hold onto the presidential documents. And the criminal statutes the department has used as the basis of its investigation, including one criminalizing the willful retention of national defense information, do not require that the records be classified. In any event, the Justice Department says more than 100 documents with classification markings were found in last month’s search. Trump, who often spends time at his various properties, was at his Virginia golf club Monday. Read More Here

Tuesday News: “As Russian Losses Mount, So Does Criticism Back Home”; “Justice Dept. Says It Will Accept Trump Nominee For Special Master”; Senate Rs To Introduce National Abortion Ban; “GOP ‘nihilistic Negation’ Agenda Is Nigh”; “Will Duplicity Sink Gov. Youngkin?” https://digitalalaskanews.com/tuesday-news-as-russian-losses-mount-so-does-criticism-back-home-justice-dept-says-it-will-accept-trump-nominee-for-special-master-senate-rs-to-introduce-natio/ by Lowell Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, September 13. First climate lawsuit against Russian government launched over emissions EU eyes levy on fossil fuel firms to help consumers survive energy crisis Now is the best time in human history to be alive (unless you’re a farm animal) (“Animal welfare has suffered as humanity has improved, but there’s hope on the horizon.”) How Ukraine’s offensive changes the equation for Putin and Zelensky Putin’s Russia struggles for response to Ukrainian blitz Ukraine piles pressure on retreating Russian troops Intelligence points to potential turning point in Ukraine war The meaning of Ukraine’s strike in Kharkiv — and Russia’s retreat Ukraine pushes to retake all land from Russia, calls for Western arms Faced with war losses, Russian propagandists retreat to anger and patriotism Ukraine is replenishing its weapons supplies with the equipment that Russian forces have left behind. As Russian Losses Mount, So Does Criticism Back Home Ukraine Deflates MAGA Macho Myths Ukraine’s offensive in the east surprised Russia — and it may be a turning point in the war Ukraine’s battlefield wins delight the West but could make the war more dangerous Will Ukraine’s advance have consequences for Putin? The 4 factors that explain Ukraine’s extraordinary military success Is Putin facing defeat? The ‘End of History’ author remains confident. (Of course, he was totally wrong about the supposed “End of History,” but maybe he’s right this time?) Ukraine Pulled Off a Masterstroke (“Ukrainian leaders announced one counteroffensive against Russia—but had another in the works.”) Russia’s defeats in Ukraine have strategists worried about Moscow’s next move Ukraine exposes the rot in Russian military (“Poor leadership and maintenance issues are among the flaws that have trickled out over the course of the war”) Ukrainian Successes Raise Russian Collapse to Realm of Possibility Armenia says 49 soldiers killed in attacks by Azerbaijan King Charles Inherits Untold Riches, and Passes Off His Own Empire Charles III saw climate change coming. Can he still speak out? (He absolutely should do so!) New U.S. Inflation Data Is Expected to Show Moderation The Supreme Court fight over whether religious schools can discriminate against LGBTQ people (“Yeshiva University v. YU Pride Alliance is a genuinely difficult case about just how much immunity religious institutions should have from the law.”) Roberts joins the chorus of Supreme Court whining We now have two federal judiciaries Justice Dept. says it will accept Trump nominee for special master (“Judge Raymond Dearie, a former chief federal judge in New York, is acceptable to both Donald Trump’s legal team and prosecutors to act as a neutral arbiter of seized documents, according to a new court filing.”) Trump’s PAC faces scrutiny amid intensifying legal probes Why not prosecuting Trump would be the most dangerous thing of all (“If the evidence he committed crimes is clear, the Justice Department must move forward.”) Justice Department Says It’s OK With 1 Of Trump’s Picks For Mar-a-Lago Arbiter Justice Department subpoena storm broadens Trump’s potential legal woes January 6 committee set to meet in person on Tuesday as it debates whether to invite Trump and Pence to appear Justice Dept. Issues 40 Subpoenas in a Week, Expanding Its Jan. 6 Inquiry Jan. 6 committee believes former Secret Service agent Tony Ornato was responsible for attempts to discredit Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony, CNN reported Senate to Investigate Charge That Trump Meddled in Prosecutor’s Office Donald Trump and His Two Forms of Fascism (“Snowflake” and “Gaslight” Fascism) Trump Lawyers: Oh, They’re “Classified”? That’s Just, Like, Your Opinion, Man. Trump wants it both ways on ‘declassified’ documentsf The Last Chance For Election Deniers To Win Primaries Republicans tried to sidestep the issue of abortion. Now they’re seeking a reset. Republicans make their Dobbs woes worse Take it from the ad buys: The GOP ‘nihilistic negation’ agenda is nigh It Is a Well-Known Truth That Opponents of Democracy Don’t Want You to Have Nice Things Inside a Republican Superlawyer’s Break With Donald Trump’s G.O.P. No delay for Trump Organization criminal tax fraud trial ‘Sleazy backroom deal’: Progressives tangle one more time with Manchin Editorial: 2022, 2024 elections differ from almost all; we should act like it Biden Approval Rating Gets Big Bounce From Young Americans The Southern Baptist Convention’s Deal With the Devil GOP throws up last-minute roadblocks to hardline Senate candidate in New Hampshire Far-right candidate causes headaches for GOP in New Hampshire Walker Is the Absurd Apex of “Not a Politician” Lamont holds double-digit lead in Connecticut governor’s race: poll Alex Jones Spied on His Wife and Ex-Wife, Texts Reveal Oregon congressional candidate Alek Skarlatos joked about choking women Even by Florida GOP Standards, This Is Lunacy (“Michael Flynn joined a Proud Boy on the Sarasota Republican Party executive committee—and he’s going to be a poll watcher” Absolutely insane.) DeSantis’ ‘full armor of God’ rhetoric reaches Republicans. But is he playing with fire? Rep. Elaine Luria: No, Jen Kiggans: Banning Abortion Isn’t a “Shiny Object” Used to “Distract,” It’s Reality for Millions of Women in America After Pledging Repeatedly to Vote Against Kevin McCarthy for Speaker, Yesli Vega Flip Flops and Now Says She Supports Him Ahead of Funding Deadline, Spanberger Presses House Leadership to Avoid Federal Government Shutdown, Protect Virginia’s Federal Employees As Virginia religious leaders, we ask Youngkin to stay in the RGGI Youngkin: I have the power to pull out of RGGI Youngkin Campaigned for Extremist MI-GOP Gov Candidate Tudor Dixon; In Stark Contrast, 150 MI Republicans Just Launched a Group Supporting Democrat Gretchen Whitmer’s Reelection Guest editorial: Will duplicity sink Gov. Youngkin? VA Senate Democrats Call Out AG Jason Miyares’s Waste, Lies (Miyares “throwing away millions of taxpayer dollars to discriminate and intimidate voters, particularly those of color.”) Libertarian Party of VA Dissolves Itself, Rips National Party as “destructive of Liberty and to all fundamental principles that we hold dear” (The party’s most high-profile nominee was Robert Sarvis, who ran for governor in 2013 and US Senate in 2014.) Congress weighs options that could have significant impact on the future of the MVP Impact of possible railroad labor unions strike on MARC, VRE, Amtrak riders Virginia Tech, UVa move up in U.S. News & World Report ranking of best colleges Mike Dillender Announces Candidacy for Virginia’s important 84th House District (“According to an analysis from VPAP, this district is highly competitive. Democrat Terry McAuliffe won HD-84 by two points in 2021. This will be an important district for Democrats to win if they want to regain control in the House.”) UVa students say Ellis’ past proves presence on Board of Visitors unacceptable How uncertainty sank Richmond’s plan to be first to adopt ranked-choice voting (Big mistake.) New Richmond civilian review board bill introduced following criticism, delays Last year Roanoke criminalized sleeping on sidewalks. Here’s what’s happened since Arlington County considers reduced speeds on some roads D.C.-area forecast: A burst of nice weather begins today Read More Here

Russia's War In Ukraine | CNN https://digitalalaskanews.com/russias-war-in-ukraine-cnn/ See how Russians try to put positive spin on battlefield losses 03:18 The Ukrainian counteroffensive continues. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces have recaptured 6,000 square kilometers (around 2,300 square miles) of land since the beginning of the month, which amounts to nearly 10% of the territory lost to the Russian offensive since February. The Kremlin on Monday insisted it would achieve its “goals” in Ukraine, and retaliated with airstrikes in the Kharkiv region. But the collapse of Russian defenses in the region has sparked rare domestic criticism and prompted calls for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s resignation. The situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remains tense. The president of Ukraine’s state nuclear company told CNN on Monday that the power units at the plant remain in a cooling state while work continues to restore power lines. Ukraine has claimed major territorial gains since the beginning of the month, much of that progress believed to be in the Kharkiv region. This has given an impression that Ukraine is effortlessly pushing Russian forces back from territory they’ve controlled for more than six months. The truth, inevitably for a war zone, is far less clear-cut. CNN was given exclusive access to Kupiansk, just a day after pictures emerged showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag on the roof of the town’s municipal building. Far from being a town under full Ukrainian control, CNN found one still being bitterly fought for. Further west, some villages have seen calm entirely restored, such as in the Kharkiv region’s Zaliznychne, liberated last week, as the eastern counteroffensive picked up speed. There, the fight appears to have been far less painful. “I didn’t even expect it would be so fast,” says 66-year-old Oleksandr Verbytsky, who witnessed the Russians retreating. “I went to the store and when I came back, everybody was running away. The Russians drove through the cemetery to get away. Can you imagine?” Read the full story here. The entire region of Kharkiv is without electricity, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko said Tuesday, citing “insidious shelling by Russian [forces]” as the cause.  “It has just been reported that Kharkiv and the region are without electricity. The backup line that supplied the settlements failed. Now all forces are directed to eliminate the problem. These are the consequences of insidious shelling by the Russians the day before (Monday),” Tymoshenko said on Telegram.   Local authorities in Derhachi, north-east of the city of Kharkiv, also reported electricity outages across its city center and nearby towns.  The Ukrainian flag waves after the Ukrainian army liberated the town of Balakliya, on Sunday. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) For Russia, the numbers are catastrophic. From Wednesday to Sunday, Vladimir Putin’s military forces saw at least 338 pieces of important military hardware – from fighter jets to tanks to trucks – destroyed, damaged or captured, according to numbers from the open source intelligence website Oryx, as Ukraine’s forces have bolted through Russian-held territory in an offensive that has stunned the Russians in its speed and breadth. Ukraine’s top military commander claimed on Sunday that more than 3,000 square kilometers (1,158 square miles) of territory had been retaken by his country’s forces since the beginning of September. And for more perspective, just “since Wednesday, Ukraine has recaptured territory at least twice the size of Greater London,” the British Defense Ministry said Monday. Ukrainian reports say Putin’s troops are fleeing east to the Russian border in whatever transport they can find, even taking cars from the civilian population in the areas they had captured since the start of the war in February. In their wake they leave hundreds of pieces of the Russian war machine, which since Putin’s so-called “special military operation” commenced, has not come close to living up to its pre-war billing as one of the world’s great powers. These Russian losses are the accumulation of a multitude of existing problems that are now colliding head-on with a Ukrainian military that has been patient, methodical and infused with billions of dollars of the Western military equipment that Russia cannot match. Read more here: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on August 1. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/File) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the recent progress Ukrainian forces have made in the northeastern region of their country, taking back land captured by Russians, was “encouraging,” but added “this is early days still.” “So, I think it would be wrong to predict exactly where this will go, and when it will get there and how it will get there, but clearly we’ve seen significant progress by the Ukrainians particularly in the northeast,” Blinken said at a press conference in Mexico City on Monday.  Blinken attributed this progress to both “support” the US and other allies have provided, “but first and foremost, it’s a product of the extraordinary courage and resilience of the Ukrainian armed forces and the Ukrainian people.” Blinken cautioned that Russia still maintains forces and weapons in Ukraine that they continue to use “indiscriminately,” but said he was encouraged by the recent developments. “The brutalization of the country continues by the Russian aggressor, and unfortunately the prospect of this continues to go on, but I think it’s encouraging to see the progress that Ukraine has made,” he said. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces have recaptured 6,000 square kilometers (approximately 2,316 square miles) of land in the east and south of the country since the beginning of the month as he appealed for greater international pressure to isolate Russia. According to analysts, that would amount to nearly 10% of the territory lost to the Russian offensive since it began in February. In his daily video message, Zelensky also asked: “Why can [Russia] wage war so cruelly and cynically? There is only one reason – insufficient pressure on Russia. The response to the terror of this state is insufficient.” One answer, he said, was to “increase aid to Ukraine, and above all speed up the provision of air defense systems.” “There is still no official recognition of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. Citizens of the terrorist state can still go to Europe to rest and go shopping, they can still get European visas, and no one knows whether there are executioners or murderers among them who have just returned from the occupied territory of Ukraine,” Zelensky said.  Some European countries have enacted bans on tourist visas for Russians; most have not. Zelensky said Russia was to blame for “energy terror. Residents of many countries around the world are suffering due to the painful increase in prices for energy resources – for electricity, for heat. Russia does it deliberately. It deliberately destabilizes the gas market in Europe.” He added: “Yesterday and today, the Russian army struck the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians found themselves in the dark – without electricity. Houses, hospitals, schools, communal infrastructure… Russian missiles hit precisely those objects that have absolutely nothing to do with the infrastructure of the Armed Forces of our country.” The President described the attacks on Ukrainian electricity supplies as “a sign of the desperation of those who invented this war. This is how they react to the defeat of Russian forces in the Kharkiv region.” The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant seen on Sunday. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images) The president of Ukraine’s state nuclear company — Energoatom — told CNN that the power units at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remain in a cooling state while work continues to restore power lines from the plant. Speaking to CNN via Skype, Petro Kotin, said all seven lines connecting to the plant were damaged, and it had switched to what he called the “island mode” — where the plant supplied electricity solely for itself. “We tried to prolong the operation of one of our power units for as long as possible, even in the conditions when it was operating in island mode. It worked for us for three days,” he told CNN.  Kotin said just one of the six power units remained working, and was supplying the needs of the plant — the electricity necessary for the pumps that cool the nuclear material. The reactors “are full of nuclear material, fuel and also there are six pools that are located near the reactors at each power unit. They need to be constantly cooled,” he said. “The hazard is that if there is no power supply, the pumps will stop and there will be no cooling, and in about one and a half to two hours you will have a meltdown of this fuel that is in the reactor,” he added.  Kotin reiterated that when there is no external power supply, the diesel generators could kick in. “As of today the diesel generators can work there for ten days.” “We are also doing our best to secure additional supplies. But we understand that it is very difficult to bring anything in there. The railway is damaged, so it can only be done by vehicles,” he said.  “If there is now a loss of external power, then we will have only one option. The diesel generators,” he added.  Kotin said representatives of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), remained at the plant. “They have meetings with the plant management twice a day, so they have all the current information on the plant’s operation,” he said.  As for the IAEA proposal for a safety zone around the plant, Kotin said: “We don’t fully understand what this safety zone means exactly.” He repeated the Ukrainian gov...

Stock Futures Rise As Wall Street Awaits Key Inflation Report https://digitalalaskanews.com/stock-futures-rise-as-wall-street-awaits-key-inflation-report/ Stock futures were higher Tuesday as investors waited for an important inflation data point ahead of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 117 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures were also up 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.3%. At 8:30 a.m. ET, all eyes will be on the August consumer price index report, which is expected to show a 0.1% decrease in headline inflation on a monthly basis, according to estimates from Dow Jones. On a year-over-year basis, the index is expected to show an 8% increase — down slightly from the previous month. The report is one of the last the Fed will see ahead of their Sept. 20-21 meeting, where they’re expected to deliver their third consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate hike to tamp down inflation. “The durability of the rally will likely be determined by Tuesday’s CPI report this week and the tone of the FOMC meeting next week,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. U.S. stocks rose Monday, continuing a relief rally that began last week when all three major averages snapped three-week slumps. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 230 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 rose close to 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite added about 1.3%. Investors’ confidence has been bolstered by the belief that inflation has already peaked. A weaker dollar and military success in Ukraine also supported stocks. UK unemployment hits 48-year low while real wages fall sharply U.K. unemployment fell to 3.6% in the three months to July, its lowest since 1974. The economic inactivity rate, meanwhile, rose by 0.4 percentage points to a five-year high of 21.7%. The Office for National Statistics attributed the change to a rise in long-term sickness designations and students leaving the jobs market. The increasing tightness of the labor market may fuel further inflationary pressure and cause headaches for the Bank of England. Annual growth in real wages — taking into account inflation — excluding bonuses fell by 2.8% in the three months to the end of July. “People will understandably be looking to their employers for help during the cost of living crisis while Andrew Bailey will be hoping that businesses don’t up salaries too high too quickly and compound inflation,” said Marcus Brookes, chief investment officer at Quilter Investors. “However, the U.K. must brace for discontent amongst the public sector with strikes over pay continuing as budgets are stretched.” – Elliot Smith UBS plans to boost dividend; shares rise in pre-market UBS Group plans to increase its dividend by 10% to $0.55 per share and expects its 2022 share repurchases to exceed $5 billion, the Swiss bank said on Tuesday. UBS shares were indicated 1.2% higher in pre-market activity after what ZKB analyst Michael Klien called surprise news. Read more here. — Reuters European stocks were cautiously higher on Tuesday morning as global markets geared up for the latest reading of U.S. inflation. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.3% in early trade, with food and beverage stocks adding 0.8% to lead gains as most sectors and major bourses inched into positive territory. Retail stocks slid 0.4%. – Elliot Smith CNBC Pro: Want to invest in real estate? These REITs are among analysts’ favorites Real estate investment trusts — or REITs — are coming back to the spotlight after a volatile year for many asset classes. Analysts from Morgan Stanley and Citi highlight REITs from two sectors that they say could outperform the wider market, and remain resilient in a recession. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Weizhen Tan Fed actions this month could be ‘nonevent’ for asset prices, Ameriprise says The upcoming September Federal Reserve meeting, where the central bank is expected to raise interest rates, is likely already priced into the market, according to Ameriprise chief market strategist Anthony Saglimbene. “In our view, central bank actions this month are likely a nonevent for asset prices,” he wrote in a Monday note. “However, incoming economic data over the coming weeks and months and its influence on policy actions next year could play a much more significant role in shaping stock direction over the intermediate term.” Markets now expect the Fed to hike rates by 0.75 percentage point, meaning that assets may not move much if that is the central bank’s decision. A consumer price index report Tuesday that’s in-line with expectations may also not move the needle.” “Unless inflation figures last month changed substantially more than expected, including Wednesday’s update on the August Producer Price Index (PPI), we believe a 75 basis point hike from the Fed is essentially locked in at this point,” he said. —Carmen Reinicke Relief rally is likely bear market bounce, Wells Fargo says The recent relief rally in stocks is likely another bear market bounce and investors should position for more choppiness ahead, according to Wells Fargo. “Year-do-date, the outperformance of defensive, high shareholder payout, high-quality and low-valuation stocks reminds investors of the hallmark of a bear market,” global portfolio and investment strategist Chao Ma wrote in a Monday note. Such recoveries happen in nearly every bear market and many are quickly reversed, leaving investors with regrets, they added. “Although it is difficult to predict the bottom of a bear market, in the past, market bottoms were typically preconditioned by over-pessimistic market sentiment and a sign of definitive improvement in the underlying economic or market issue,” Ma said. “We believe we are not there yet in either regard.” In the meantime, Ma recommends investors look for defensive stocks with low volatility, high dividends and share repurchase yields. He also says investors should go for high quality names with profitability and leading market share and affordable market price. —Carmen Reinicke U.S. stock futures rise ahead of Tuesday CPI report U.S. stock futures were higher Monday night as Wall Street looks ahead to the August consumer price index report set to be released Tuesday morning. The report will give investors an update on the inflation situation in the U.S. and is one of the last pieces of data the Federal Reserve will see ahead of its September meeting. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 55 points, or 0.17%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.18% and 0.21%, respectively. —Carmen Reinicke Read More Here

Ukraine Military Claims Downing Iran Drone Used By Russia https://digitalalaskanews.com/ukraine-military-claims-downing-iran-drone-used-by-russia/ KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military claimed Tuesday for the first time that it encountered an Iranian-supplied suicide drone used by Russia on the battlefield, showing the deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran as the Islamic Republic’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers hangs in the balance. U.S. intelligence publicly warned back in July that Tehran planned to send hundreds of the bomb-carrying drones to Russia to aid its war on Ukraine. While Iran initially denied it, the head of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has boasted in recent days about arming the world’s top powers. A Ukrainian military official, as well as a pro-Ukrainian army website closely associated with the military, published images of the wreckage of the drone. It resembled a triangle, or delta-shaped, drone flown by Iran known as the Shahed, or “Witness” in Farsi. The military official and the website both said Ukrainian troops encountered the drone near Kupiansk amid Kyiv’s offensive that has punched through Russian lines around Kharkiv on the eastern front. The image suggested the Shahed drone had been shot down by Ukrainian forces and hadn’t detonated on impact as designed, though little other information was immediately released by Kyiv. An inscription on the drone identified it as an “M214 Geran-2,” which didn’t immediately correspond to known Russian weaponry. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran has multiple version of the Shahed, which have overflown a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, been used by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, attacked oil depots in Saudi Arabia and allegedly killed two sailors aboard an oil tanker off Oman in 2021. The triangle-shaped Shahed is believed to have a range of around 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles), though Iran has offered few details. Experts refer to such bomb-carrying drones as “loitering munitions.” The drone flies to a destination, likely programmed before its flight, and either explodes in the air over the target or on impact against it. Iran has drawn closer to Russia as it faces crushing sanctions over the collapse of the nuclear deal in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord. Negotiations over the deal, which saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for sanctions being lifted, again appear deadlocked. Ukraine and Iran also have tense relations, stemming from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet in 2020, killing all 176 people on board. ___ Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP. Read More Here

Over 30 Trump Associates Subpoenaed By Grand Jury Over Alleged Efforts To Influence 2020 Election Results https://digitalalaskanews.com/over-30-trump-associates-subpoenaed-by-grand-jury-over-alleged-efforts-to-influence-2020-election-results-3/ September 13, 2022 More than 30 people associated with former President Donald Trump and alleged efforts to influence the 2020 election results have received federal grand jury subpoenas, four sources told CBS News. Find out what’s happening in Dallaswith free, real-time updates from Patch. The subpoenas, some of which were issued last week, mark a significant escalation in the Justice Department’s investigation into origins of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot and other alleged attempts to stop the transfer of power to then-President-elect Joe Biden. One source familiar with the case characterized the investigation as huge. The Justice Department is examining how money was raised and spent on alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election; efforts to submit fake “alternate” electors to Congress from states lost by Trump; and the “Stop The Steal” rally held at the Ellipse, on White House grounds, on Jan. 6, just before the Capitol riot. Find out what’s happening in Dallaswith free, real-time updates from Patch. Click https://www.cbsnews.com/video/… for a CBS News video report. CBS Local Digital Media personalizes the global reach of CBS-owned and operated television and radio stations with a local perspective. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. The rules of replying: Be respectful. This is a space for friendly local discussions. No racist, discriminatory, vulgar or threatening language will be tolerated. Be transparent. Use your real name, and back up your claims. Keep it local and relevant. Make sure your replies stay on topic. Review the Patch Community Guidelines. Read More Here

Analysis: Supreme Court Justices Respond To Public Criticism With Distance And Denial – KVIA https://digitalalaskanews.com/analysis-supreme-court-justices-respond-to-public-criticism-with-distance-and-denial-kvia/ By Joan Biskupic, CNN legal analyst & Supreme Court biographer The Supreme Court‘s obliteration of nearly 50 years of abortion rights for women, along with its new, tougher stance on gun control and other politically charged rulings, have stained the image of an impartial judiciary. There is no ignoring that the public has found it increasingly difficult to think of life-appointed federal judges as neutral decision-makers. Yet the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has largely responded with distance and denial. In the weeks since their contentious late June decisions, the justices have demonstrated a lack of awareness about the public concern and appeared even more disconnected, gravitating to like-minded audiences and speaking at closed venues. The pattern emerges as another annual session will begin in less than a month. The justices will take up challenges to voting rights and racial affirmative action and a clash between religious interests and LGBTQ protection. Chief Justice John Roberts, in an appearance at a judicial conference in Colorado on Friday, seemed willfully oblivious to why the public has turned on the court. “So obviously people can say what they want, and they are certainly free to criticize the Supreme Court and if they want to say that its legitimacy is in question, they are free to do so,” he said, “but I don’t understand the connection between opinions that people disagree with and the legitimacy of the court.” But people have not been questioning the court’s legitimacy simply because they disagree with opinions. They see that the justices have broken from their usual adherence to precedent, offered dubious rationales and voted in what appears to be partisan lockstep. Polls show increased political polarization in responses to the court. The most consequential rulings by the Republican-appointed majority favor longstanding GOP priorities, such as diminishment of reproductive rights, expansion of the Second Amendment and limits on federal regulatory authority. The June decision reversing Roe v. Wade was possible only because of the addition in 2020 of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the third appointee of former GOP President Donald Trump, who had vowed to name only justices who would reverse the 1973 precedent. Roberts dissented from the opinion overturning Roe, although he voted with the conservative majority to uphold the disputed Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks. He wrote that the June decision amounted to “a serious jolt to the legal system” — which is, in fact, why the public concern about the court’s legitimacy goes beyond mere disagreements. The justices who made up the narrow majority in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization have withdrawn from the wider public eye this summer. Justice Samuel Alito, the author of the Dobbs opinion, flew to Rome for a July event for the University of Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Initiative. In a video released a week later, he referred to the opinion reversing Roe — but only sarcastically. “I had the honor this term of writing, I think, the only Supreme Court decision in the history of that institution that has been lambasted by a whole string of foreign leaders,” Alito said. “One of these was former Prime Minister Boris Johnson — but he paid the price.” (Alito’s quip referred to Johnson’s resignation this summer after a series of UK scandals.) Justice Brett Kavanaugh met only with select judges at judicial conferences in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Louisville, Kentucky. Barrett sat for friendly questions at an invitation-only business conference in Big Sky, Montana. She has gravitated toward GOP-oriented settings; in her early months on the bench, she appeared at a celebration of the University of Louisville’s Mitch McConnell Center and at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. The justices who dissented from Roe have appeared at some public events this summer. Perhaps the most relevant remarks, at a 9th US Circuit judicial conference in Big Sky, Montana, broadcast on C-SPAN, were those of liberal Justice Elena Kagan. She implicitly criticized the Dobbs decision as she observed that the court loses public trust when it discards precedent, and she insisted that the court cannot presume that people will hold it in high regard. Rather, she said a court must earn and retain its legitimacy “by acting like a court, by doing the kinds of things that do not seem to people as political or partisan.” And she warned, “If over time the court loses all connection with the public and with public sentiment, that is a dangerous thing for democracy.” In a livestreamed appearance from the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in New York on Monday night, Kagan struck similar themes, saying, “I think judges create legitimacy problems for themselves — undermine their legitimacy — when they don’t act so much like courts and when they don’t do things that are recognizably law.” “And when they instead stray into places where it looks like they are an extension of the political process or where they are imposing their own personal preferences,” she added. Vanishing act The justices in the Dobbs majority have been evasive about their speaking commitments. Justice Neil Gorsuch appeared at the same judicial conference in Colorado Springs as Roberts but with no advance notice. He told the audience that he was expecting a report soon about the court’s internal investigation into an early leak of the Dobbs opinion, which led to Politico’s publication of a 98-page draft on May 2. The Wall Street Journal reported that Gorsuch did not say whether information about the investigation would be made public and said news reporters were prohibited from interviewing Gorsuch. (The Roberts session on Friday was taped by C-SPAN for later airing.) Barrett’s appearance at the Big Sky Labor and Employment Conference in early August was not recorded. Last year when she appeared in Louisville, Barrett was introduced by Sen. McConnell, the Republican powerhouse who has steered judicial appointments as much as any president in recent years. Barrett’s speech was not open to TV cameras and no recording was available. But local media said her opening message was: “My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks.” In a social vein, The New York Times reported last month that the day after the Dobbs ruling, Barrett attended a private party at the home of a top partner from the Jones Day law firm, whose lawyers appear regularly before the court. The firm’s Don McGahn, who served as White House counsel, oversaw Trump’s judicial agenda. One event that was publicized was an education summit appearance hosted by the Reagan Institute featured Barrett and liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Both had kind remarks, in the session taped in mid-May and released in late-July. “Showing that we can disagree on the issues and the merits without being nasty is one of the tributes to the way we do our business,” Barrett said, CNN’s Ariane de Vogue reported. “Our disagreement on political issues and important constitutional issues doesn’t diminish the value of who Justice Amy Barrett is in my mind or to me,” Sotomayor added. Chief tries to build confidence Roberts, a 2005 appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, has in the past tried to defend the court’s legitimacy and the judiciary’s integrity. Most memorably, in November 2018, he declared, in response to Trump’s denigration of a judge as an “Obama judge”: “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.” In Colorado, his response failed to acknowledge the reality of public concerns about a politically motivated judiciary. Multiple polls have shown public approval of the Republican-dominated court at record lows. A Pew Research Center report issued on September 1 additionally found that the majority of Democrats (51%) said the justices are doing a poor job of keeping their political views out of their rulings. Republicans expressed some skepticism of the justices’ biases but at a lower rate. Pew reported that 37% of Republicans said the justices were doing “an only fair or poor job” of keeping their politics from how they decide major cases. Although Roberts dissented in Dobbs, he was solidly in the six-justice conservative majority for other high profile decisions last session: to enhance gun rights, reduce regulation of the environment, and allow more mingling of church and state. At Friday’s session in Colorado Springs, Roberts suggested he believed that people were erroneously criticizing the court’s crucial role as arbiter of the Constitution. “If the court doesn’t retain its legitimate function of interpreting the Constitution,” he said. “I’m not sure who would take up that mantle. You don’t want the political branches telling you what the law is, and you don’t want public opinion to be the guide of what the appropriate decision is.” But that response arguably misses the point that emerges in public responses: that the court appears to be abandoning its constitutional role, in favor of one indistinguishable from the political branches. When Roberts was asked what he might be looking forward to in the new session, he referred first to what he hoped not to see: “I’m looking forward to having a court without barricades. … The more normal, the better.” The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. 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Father Shoots Family, Killing Wife; Daughter Blames QAnon https://digitalalaskanews.com/father-shoots-family-killing-wife-daughter-blames-qanon/ WALLED LAKE, Mich. (WXYZ) – Police in Michigan say a man opened fire on his family, killing his wife and injuring one of his daughters. His other daughter says he was spiraling out of control before the shootings, blaming it on QAnon. Rebecca Lanis, 21, says her grandmother called her Sunday morning, asking if she was at the hospital. At a friend’s sleepover and unaware of the tragedy that had just unfolded at her home, she found that a strange question. But she soon learned that early that morning, her father, 52-year-old Igor Lanis, had shot and killed her 56-year-old mother and critically injured her 25-year-old sister, Rachel Lanis. The sheriff’s department says Igor Lanis also killed the family dog. “It was like I was in a movie or nightmare or something. How could this happen to me?” Rebecca Lanis said. “I had a really close bond with my mom, and I just can’t believe that she’s not here.” The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office says when officers responded to the family’s home in Walled Lake, Igor Lanis opened fire on them. A Walled Lake police officer and an Oakland County deputy returned fire, killing the man. Rebecca Lanis says her father had never been physically violent, but his behavior started spiraling about two years ago after former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. “He became a different person after 2020 when Trump lost,” she said. She says her father started getting more agitated at normal things and often found a way to bring up conspiracy theories about vaccines, 5G and electromagnetic fields. He turned to extremism – like QAnon, a political conspiracy theory centered around baseless claims that Trump was fighting enemies within a so-called “deep state” and a sex-trafficking ring run by Satanic cannibals. Rebecca Lanis says her family’s tragedy is a warning for people to pay attention to their loved ones who may need help. “I think that people need to focus more on radicalization, QAnon. If they have relatives with guns who are like this, you need to get them help, and they need to get checked into a mental institution, even if you think they’re not dangerous,” she said. The sheriff’s office says Rachel Lanis is now in stable condition following surgery. Copyright 2022 WXYZ via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Kushner Says Biden Failing To Get More States To Join Abraham Accords – I24NEWS https://digitalalaskanews.com/kushner-says-biden-failing-to-get-more-states-to-join-abraham-accords-i24news/ i24NEWS September 13, 2022, 07:14 AM 2 min read FADEL SENNA / AFPUS Presidential advisor Jared Kushner delivers a speech upon his arrival, accompanied by the Israeli National Security Advisor, at the Royal Palace in the Moroccan capital Rabat on December 22, 2020. ‘I think that there’s a lot more to build on’ Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner on Monday criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for failing to get other countries to join the Abraham Accords he helped broker in 2020 between Israel and a number of Arab states. “I think the biggest disappointment so far is that more countries haven’t been brought into it,” Kushner said at an event in Washington marking the two-year anniversary of the agreements hosted by his Abraham Accords Peace Institute and the American First Policy Institute. Former aide of previous US president Donald Trump claimed that before leaving his post, “we had about six active discussions going on” with other countries aspiring to join the Abraham Accords. Kushner, however, didn’t name them. “I think that there’s a lot more to build on. But I do hope that the current administration will focus on that and work to do that because once the whole Arab-Israeli conflict is over, I think that you will have an era of prosperity and peacefulness in that region that will endure for a very, very long time,” he added. Although the Biden administration has welcomed Trump’s initiative and worked on strengthening the existing agreements, concerns were raised over some of the methods used by the previous administration to negotiate the deals. Among those were the sale of F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates and the recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed region of Western Sahara. Read More Here

Rains, Mudslides Prompt Southern California Evacuations https://digitalalaskanews.com/rains-mudslides-prompt-southern-california-evacuations/ LOS ANGELES (AP) — Heavy rains Monday unleashed mudslides in a mountain area east of Los Angeles that burned two years ago, sending boulders and other debris across roads and prompting evacuation and shelter-in-place orders for thousands of residents. Firefighters went street by street in the community of Forest Falls to make sure no residents were trapped. Eric Sherwin, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said crews hadn’t found anyone who needed to be rescued and no one was reported missing. Many structures in the area had varying levels of damage, Sherwin said, including a commercial building where the mud was so high it collapsed the roof. The rains were the remnants of a tropical storm that brought high winds and some badly needed rainfall to drought-stricken Southern California last week, helping firefighters largely corral a wildfire that had been burning out of control about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the mudslides. The mud flows and flash flooding occurred in parts of the San Bernardino Mountains where there are burn scars — areas where there’s little vegetation to hold the soil — from the 2020 wildfires. Firefighters walk past backfire, flames lit by firefighters to burn off vegetation, while battling the Mosquito Fire in the Volcanoville community of El Dorado County, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Noah Berger In this photo released by the Death Valley National Park, National Park Service Badwater Road is closed on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, due to storms fueled by the remnants of Hurricane Kay, which caused localized, heavy damage in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Many other park roads are still closed from floods five weeks ago. Caltrans has not provided an estimate for when the road segment will reopen. (M Reynolds/National Park Service via AP) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/M Reynolds In this photo released by the San Bernardino County Fire Department, a fallen tree and other debris blocks a road in Forest Falls after a mudslide in San Bernardino County, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (San Bernardino County Fire Department via AP) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS In this photo released by the San Bernardino County Fire Department a mudslide flows near a road in Forest Falls, San Bernardino County, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (San Bernardino County Fire Department via AP) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS In this photo released by the San Bernardino County Fire Department mud flows near homes in Oak Glen, in San Bernardino County, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (San Bernardino County Fire Department via AP) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS PreviousNext “All of that dirt turns to mud and starts slipping down the mountain,” Sherwin said. One of the wildfires, the El Dorado Fire, was sparked by a smoke device used by a couple to reveal their baby’s gender. A firefighter died and the couple was criminally charged in a pending case. Concerns about additional mud and debris flows Monday night prompted authorities to put 2,000 homes in the San Bernardino Mountain communities of Oak Glen and Forest Falls under evacuation orders after nearly 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain fell on Yucaipa Ridge. For some homes in Forest Falls it was too late to evacuate and residents were told to shelter in place through the night because it was safer than venturing out. “The roads are compromised or they’re covered in debris,” Sherwin said, adding that crews planned to work all night using heavy equipment to clear routes. The mudslides came after a week that saw California endure a record-long heatwave, where temperatures in many parts of the state rocket past 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), and pushed the state’s electrical grid to the breaking point as air conditioners sucked up power. The Fairview Fire and the Mosquito Fire burning east of Sacramento broke out and raged out of control. The tropical storm aided crews battling the Fairview Fire about 75 miles (121 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. The 44-square-mile (114-square-kilometer) blaze was 56% contained by late Monday. Two people died fleeing the fire, which destroyed at least 30 homes and other structures in Riverside County. The Mosquito Fire has grown to 76 square miles (197 square kilometers), with 16% containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. While crews were able to take advantage of cooler temperatures and higher humidity Monday to strengthen control lines, more than 5,800 structures in Placer and El Dorado counties remained under threat, and some 11,000 residents were under evacuation orders. Smoky skies from wildfires in many areas of the West caused air quality to deteriorate Monday, with dangerous levels of particulate pollution detected by government and private monitors in portions of eastern Oregon and Washington, Northern California, central Idaho and western Montana. In some areas, people were told to avoid all outdoor activity until the pollution cleared. In Washington, fire officials scrambled to secure resources for a blaze sparked Saturday in the remote Stevens Pass area that sent hikers fleeing and forced evacuations of mountain communities. As of Monday, the Bolt Creek Fire was 2% contained and had scorched nearly 12 square miles (31 square kilometers) of forestland about 65 miles (104 kilometers) northeast of Seattle. A larger incident management team and additional fire crews were slated to arrive Tuesday, officials said. In Oregon, utility companies said Monday they restored power to tens of thousands of customers after shutting down service over the weekend to try to prevent wildfires during high winds, low humidity and hot temperatures. Both Portland General Electric and Pacific Power enacted planned power shutoffs Friday as gusting winds and low humidity moved into Oregon, posing extreme fire danger. The utilities were concerned that the winds would cause power lines to break or sag, making sparks that could ignite tinder-dry vegetation. South of Portland, evacuation levels were reduced near the 135-square-mile (349-square-kilometer) Cedar Creek Fire, which has burned for over a month across Lane and Deschutes counties. Firefighters were protecting remote homes in Oakridge, Westfir and surrounding mountain communities. Sheriff’s officials warned that people should remain ready to leave at a moment’s notice should conditions change. Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. In the last five years, California has experienced the largest and most destructive fires in its history. ___ For more AP coverage of the climate and environment: https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More Here

MAGA Faceoff In A High-Profile GOP Primary In Key Battleground District Divides Republicans – Vigour Times https://digitalalaskanews.com/maga-faceoff-in-a-high-profile-gop-primary-in-key-battleground-district-divides-republicans-vigour-times/ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! HAMPSTEAD, N.H. – Matt Mowers touts he’s “the only one” in a crowded field of Republican candidates who can defeat two-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas in November’s midterm elections in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District, which has long been a highly contested swing House district.  As he runs for re-election, Republicans view Pappas as vulnerable amid a political climate that for the past year had favored the GOP. Republicans need a net gain of just five seats in the 435-member House in November’s midterms to take back the chamber’s majority they lost in the 2018 elections, and they’re heavily eyeing New Hampshire’s First District, which stretches from the Massachusetts border, Manchester, and the Seacoast region, up through the Lakes region and into the White Mountains. ‘Everyone sees we need a tested conservative winner and that’s exactly what we are. It’s exactly what I’ll do. Every poll shows that I’ll beat Chris Pappas,” Mowers told Fox News on Monday, on the eve of New Hampshire’s primary. Mowers, a former New Hampshire GOP executive director who worked on former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and served in the State Department during the Trump administration, easily captured the 2020 congressional nomination in the district before losing to Pappas by five points in the general election.  TED CRUZ’S 2022 MISSION TO NEW HAMPSHIRE FOR LEAVITT COULD PAY DIVIDENDS IN 2024 Matt Mowers, who’s running in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, speaks with state Sen. Regina Birdsell at the English Muffin diner in Hampstead on Sept. 12, 2022. (Fox News) “This has always been about who is the tested America First fighter for New Hampshire, and I’ve always been the one who’s stepping up to say that I will,” Mowers showcased. “I’m the only one who worked with President Trump to stop the influx of illegal drugs. I worked with President Trump to establish the Keystone XL pipeline and worked to get it approved. I worked with him to take on entrenched bureaucracy.” But the 33-year-old Mowers faces a fierce rival for the GOP nomination in 25-year-old Karoline Leavitt, who’s repeatedly targeted Mowers in a Republican primary that’s turned increasingly combustible. THESE 11 SENATE RACES WILL DECIDE THE CHAMBER’S MAJORITY The most recent public opinion poll indicated Leavitt – a New Hampshire native who worked in Trump’s White House press shop and later for GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who is now the number three ranking House Republican – is just two points behind Mowers in the race for their party’s nomination. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas headlines a rally for GOP congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt, on Sept. 8, 2022, in Londonderry, New Hampshire. (Fox News) “I’m proud to be the home-grown America First candidate in this race,” Leavitt, who would become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress if she wins the primary and again in November, told reporters on Thursday, as she campaigned in Londonderry, New Hampshire, with a very high-profile surrogate – conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. “He already proved to us that he lost to Chris Pappas. He cannot win in this general election, Leavitt charged. The battle between Leavitt and Mowers has been one to the right, with both showcasing their Trump administration experience. However, Mowers does not go as far as Leavitt when it comes to Trump’s 2020 election loss to President Biden. Leavitt is a firm supporter of the former president’s unproven claims that the last election was “rigged” with “massive voter fraud” and “stolen.” Mowers, with more pragmatic language, has said that he continues to have concerns about voting “irregularities around the country.” FINAL SPRINT FOR CONTROL OF CONGRESS AND STATE GOVERNMENTS UNDERWAY Trump, who endorsed Mowers two years ago, stayed neutral in this year’s showdown. Leavitt has attacked Mowers as “a career politician,” and argued to Fox News that “Matt Mowers can’t answer a question to save his life because he is bought and paid for by the party bosses down in Washington, D.C. I am straightforward with voters. They know where I stand.” Mowers – who in June was endorsed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who are the top two Republicans in the chamber – is being backed by a seven-figure ad buy from the Congressional Leadership Fund, a powerful super PAC aligned with the House GOP leaders. Additionally, another outside Republican group, the more moderate Defending Main Street Super PAC, has spent more than $1 million to blast Leavitt on the airwaves. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2022 MIDTERMS POWER RANKINGS Asked about the big bucks flooding into the district, Mowers said, “It tells me that folks know we’re the one who’s going to win this race and defeat Chris Pappas… this is the seat that is going to determine whether Nancy Pelosi is speaker of the House again.” But Leavitt emphasized that “the people are with me” and charged that “the establishment in Washington is viciously smearing me with $5 million in negative attack ads.” Democrats say the combative GOP primary will hurt Republican chances in the general election. Pappas predicted on Saturday that “whoever the nominee is, they’re certainly going to be banged up by this process.” And Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson James Singer claimed that “this GOP primary’s race to the right has fractured the party and weakened any Republican nominee in the general. Their MAGA Republican nominee will be unable to scrub the far-right, anti-abortion positions they have chosen to stake out.” Republican U.S. House candidate Gail Huff Brown, who’s running in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, speaks with voters at MaryAnn’s Diner in Derry on Sept. 12, 2022. (Fox News) The attacks and counterattacks involving Leavitt and Mowers and their allies may open the door to Gail Huff Brown, a former longtime TV news reporter and wife of former Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during the Trump administration. The most recent poll – from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center – indicated Huff Brown in third place but gaining ground. The survey also indicated two other candidates in the GOP primary – former state senator and executive councilor Russell Prescott and state Rep. Tim Baxter – in single digits. “I think the voters are tired of the negative and they’re tired of the negative advertising they see on TV. They’re tired of the money – millions of dollars pouring into New Hampshire,” Huff Brown told Fox News on Monday in Derry, New Hampshire. “People are tired of all of that. And my hope is that people see right down the middle there is me. And I am somebody who has always been open, I’ve always been transparent.” Huff Brown, who touts her “skills and life experience,” grabbed attention the past couple of weeks with a TV ad on the combustible issue of abortion, where she spotlighted her personal and emotional experience in a high-risk pregnancy and her support for “choice.”  “In Congress, I’ll vote to protect the New Hampshire law, and the choice it guarantees,” Huff Brown says at the end of her spot. With Leavitt, Mowers and the rest of the GOP primary field taking a harder anti-abortion stance, Huff Brown may appeal to last-minute and less ideological Republican and independent voters. Pointing to her rivals, Huff Brown stressed that “I believe I’m the only one who can beat Chris Pappas and I wouldn’t have gotten into this race otherwise.” The primary battle has grabbed the national spotlight, with plenty of attention in recent days from national publications And Cruz is far from the only potential presidential contender to weigh in on the race in New Hampshire, which for a century’s held the first primary in the race for the White House.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to United Nations during the first two years of the Trump administration, is backing Mowers and rallied with him in New Hampshire earlier this year. Additionally, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas met with Mowers in New Hampshire last month. Mowers also enjoys the endorsement of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Meanwhile, major figures in the GOP who are allied with Trump – such as Stefanik, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah – are supporting Leavitt. Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.  Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours. Read More Here

Clashes Erupt Along Armenia-Azerbaijan Border, Potentially Reigniting An Old Conflict | CNN https://digitalalaskanews.com/clashes-erupt-along-armenia-azerbaijan-border-potentially-reigniting-an-old-conflict-cnn/ CNN  —  A decades-old conflict may be on the verge of reigniting, as reports emerged this week of attacks along the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Armenian Defense Ministry claimed Azerbaijan Armed Forces conducted artillery strikes toward Armenian border towns Tuesday morning. According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, the strike included drones and large-caliber firearms fired in the direction of Goris, Sotk, and Jermuk. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense responded with a statement acknowledging the strikes, but said the strikes are “small-scale” and “aim to ensure the security of Azerbaijan’s borders.” On Monday, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense accused Armenian forces of firing in small arms in the directions of the Novoivanovka settlement of Gadabay region and Husulu settlement of Lachin region near the border of the two countries. Armenia denied the allegations. Last month, the two countries clashed over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, a landlocked area between Eastern Europe and Western Asia that is populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians but located in Azerbaijani territory. The unrest in the region is decades old, dating back to the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the region, backed by Armenia, declared independence from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has long claimed it will retake the territory, which is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani. Russia, an Armenian security ally, maintains a peacekeeping force in the region after brokering a ceasefire agreement in early November 2020, ending an almost two-month conflict that killed at least 6,500 people, according to Reuters. On Monday evening, the US issued a call for the “immediate cessation of hostilities,” according to a statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s office. “The United States is deeply concerned about reports of attacks along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, including reported strikes against settlements and civilian infrastructure inside Armenia,” Blinken said. “As we have long made clear, there can be no military solution to the conflict. We urge an end to any military hostilities immediately.” Read More Here

Full Story Of Taser Incident Hasn’t Been Told https://digitalalaskanews.com/full-story-of-taser-incident-hasnt-been-told/ Attorneys and our police chief can’t comment on the recent Taser incident by an MPD officer, but I certainly can and will. Perfect example here why the police force and the media get bad reputations. The Times-Republican prints a story smearing a senior officer’s name when all the facts are not in. They printed one side of the story assuming the officer used unnecessary force. The only news that should be revealed to the public is a complaint against the MPD and no other information until the facts are in. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Attorneys and our police chief can’t comment on the recent Taser incident by an MPD officer, but I certainly can … Regarding the lengthy article “How many of her emails were classified? Actually, zero,” the writer skirts … South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham is running his mouth proclaiming that if Trump is convicted for … I had hip replacement surgery six weeks ago. I chose to have it at our Marshalltown UnityPoint hospital. I received … Donald Trump as president, Iowa State Fair canceled. President Biden record attendance at State Fair. Donald Trump … Interesting. Alliant Energy just increased my budget billing by $30 a month. The city must be run by democrats. Tax … Read More Here

Bruce D Bussell – The Daily Reporter – Greenfield Indiana https://digitalalaskanews.com/bruce-d-bussell-the-daily-reporter-greenfield-indiana/ GREENFIELD Bruce D. Bussell, 83, of Greenfield passed away Thursday, September 8, 2022 at Hancock Regional Hospital following an extended illness. He was born September 3, 1939 in Henry County, the son of the late John E. and Hazel V. (Murphy) Bussell. A 1957 graduate of Mt. Summit High School, Bruce also graduated from Ball State University in 1967, where he majored in Science and Business. Upon graduation he was recruited by Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY for Market Research and Development where he received many accolades. Years later he became vice president of Terminal Data Corporation and moved his family to the greater Washington, DC area for almost 40 years. Before returning to Indiana following a stroke, Bruce was an active member of Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church as finance chair, loved singing in the choir, but his pride and joy was his accomplishment as chair of a multimillion dollar building program of an education wing working single handedly with the difficult Fairfax County of Northern Virginia. Also with heavy traveling in the executive world, he volunteered weekly at the National Wolf Trap Performing Arts Theatre for 10 years. Upon planning his 50th high school reunion where many friendships remained close. Following that reunion he wrote a book for his classmates, “The Class of ‘57”. He leaves to cherish his memory, his wife of 62 years, Anna F. (Toller) Bussell of Greenfield; son, Brian D. Bussell of Muncie; granddaughters, Melissa (Matt) Fellman of Anchorage, AK and Cristina Bussell of Fairbanks, AK; a brother, Gary (Connie) Bussell of Muncie; brothers-in-law, William Toller (Gisela) of Sarasota, FL and Jerry Toller (Alice) of New Castle and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Kenneth Butler Soup Kitchen, 202 E. Main Street, Greenfield, IN 46140. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 pm, Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at Sproles Family Funeral Home in New Castle. Burial will follow in South Mound Cemetery. Friends may call from 12 – 1 pm prior to the service at the funeral home. You may send the family a personal condolence at www.sprolesfamilycares.com. Read More Here

US Justice Dept Agrees To Trump 'special Master' Suggestion – Iraqi News https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-justice-dept-agrees-to-trump-special-master-suggestion-iraqi-news/ Washington – The US Department of Justice will accept the appointment of one of the judges proposed by Donald Trump as a “special master” in the investigation of classified documents seized from the former president’s Florida home last month, it said Monday. Despite pushback from the department, federal judge Aileen Cannon agreed last week to grant Trump’s request to name an independent reviewer for the case, assigned to look over the hundreds of classified documents taken from his Mar-a-Lago resort in an FBI raid August 8. Trump is facing mounting legal pressure, with the Justice Department saying top-secret documents were “likely concealed” to obstruct an FBI probe into his potential mishandling of classified materials. He has denied all wrongdoing, saying the raid was “one of the most egregious assaults on democracy in the history of our country.” On Friday, Trump’s legal team and the Justice Department each submitted to Judge Cannon the names of two candidates for the role. But in a court filing earlier Monday, Trump rejected both of the government’s nominations. The department said in its own court filing later Monday that it would agree to the appointment of Trump suggestion Judge Raymond Dearie, from the Eastern District of New York, in addition to its own nominees. Justice officials had originally suggested retired federal judges Barbara Jones and Thomas Griffith, and said they would accept any of the three due to their “previous federal judicial experience and engagement in relevant areas of law.” The filing also noted the department “respectfully opposes the appointment of Paul Huck, Jr,” the Trump team’s second nominee, a federal judge from Florida, “who does not appear to have similar experience.” Trump’s legal team did not include the reason for rejecting Jones and Griffith in its filing, saying “it is more respectful to the candidates from either party to withhold the bases for opposition from a public, and likely to be widely circulated, pleading.”  It is now up to Cannon to choose whether to name 78-year-old Dearie to the case. Government attorneys previously opposed Trump’s special master request all together, arguing that an independent screening for privileged material could harm national security, and was also unnecessary as a team had already completed a screening. In addition to the documents probe, Trump faces investigations in New York into his business practices, as well as legal scrutiny over his efforts to overturn results of the 2020 election, and for the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.  Read More Here

5 Primaries To Watch On Tuesday https://digitalalaskanews.com/5-primaries-to-watch-on-tuesday/ Months of primaries come to an end Tuesday when a pair of New England states hold the final major contests before November’s general election. The themes are similar to what we’ve heard since the first contests in Texas on March 1: Republicans are grappling over former President Donald Trump’s influence in Senate contests, and Democrats are wondering how best to hold on to their narrow congressional majorities. Here are five races to watch in New Hampshire and Rhode Island: Can Republicans Avoid Yet Another Problem Child In A Senate Race? Trump-aligned, election-denying Senate candidates have largely had their way in Republican primaries this cycle, from Herschel Walker’s rout in Georgia to venture capitalist Blake Masters’ victory in Arizona. These wins have contributed directly to the GOP’s struggle to capitalize on a weak political environment for Senate Democrats, and Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire could give the party its biggest headache yet. Don Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general, endorsed abolishing the Department of Education and the FBI. He’s also called for the repeal of the 17th Amendment, which guarantees the direct election of senators. He’s suggested the state’s popular Republican governor, Chris Sununu, is a “Chinese communist sympathizer.” And he’s the leading candidate to challenge Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan. Establishment Republicans are scrambling to stop him. Sununu made a last-minute endorsement of his main primary opponent, New Hampshire Senate President Chuck Morse. And a super PAC popped up ― with money almost certainly from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s political operation ― to spend roughly $4.5 million attacking Bolduc’s “crazy ideas,” which it said will “lose to Maggie Hassan.” A Democratic super PAC responded with $3 million worth of its own ads blasting Morse as a lobbyist-friendly “sleazy politician” and tied him to the opioid industry. Trump has not actually endorsed in the race, though Morse, whose demeanor and long career in politics do not exactly scream “MAGA faithful,” lobbied the former president for his backing. Republicans say Hassan’s numbers are middling enough that the race will be competitive regardless of who wins the primary, but it’s also clear both parties agree Bolduc will be a substantially easier opponent. Republicans desperately need to keep the New Hampshire race competitive with their hopes of winning in other states dwindling. One thing that could save Republicans: Other states where the party’s Trump wing has suffered surprise losses, including Georgia and Colorado, have open or semi-open primaries allowing non-Republicans to cast ballots. New Hampshire’s primaries are open to all. McCarthy vs. Stefanik New lines for the Granite State’s 1st District, which broadly covers the eastern half of the state, have made it much more Republican than it was before this round of redistricting. But it’s not quite Republican enough to undoubtedly doom Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. That’s made the battle for the nomination in New Hampshire especially interesting. An initially crowded field of GOP candidates has narrowed down to two candidates best known for their Washington ties: Matt Mowers, the 2020 nominee in this district and a former Trump administration staffer with the backing of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Karoline Leavitt, a former staffer for Trump and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who has the backing of Stefanik and a host of other conservatives, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC controlled by allies of McCarthy, has spent more than $1 million boosting Mowers. And Defending Main Street, a PAC set up to boost establishment Republicans, has spent another $1 million on ads attacking the 25-year-old Leavitt as a “woke Gen Z-er” and claims she “mooches off her parents.” (Leavitt would be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.) The ads could be effective in New Hampshire, the second-oldest state in the nation. Democrats don’t see much difference between running against Mowers or battling Leavitt. Pappas is in for a tough race either way. Meddle, Meddle Democrats are far less worried about Rep. Annie Kuster, who represents New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District. Her district got more Democratic in redistricting ― Democrat Joe Biden won it by about 9 percentage points in the 2020 presidential race ― but it still could be vulnerable in a GOP wave year. So they’re trying to pick Kuster’s opponent. Democrats Serve, which backs candidates with a background in public service, has spent thousands of dollars boosting Trump-aligned Bob Burns with ads on Fox News, arguing he “follows the Trump playbook on immigration, the border and guns.” The spending could keep Burns competitive with Keene Mayor George Hansel, a relative moderate who describes himself as pro-choice. Choosing A Rhode Island Democrat To Take On A GOP Moderate Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin’s decision to retire has opened up Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District, the more moderate of the state’s two Democratic-leaning House seats. While Biden carried the seat by 14 percentage points in 2020, Republicans are signaling that they plan to contest it in November. The presumptive GOP nominee is former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, a self-described moderate who unsuccessfully ran for governor twice. The six-candidate Democratic primary to take on Fung has focused on questions of electability. Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, who has raised the most money and garnered the most endorsements, is the polling favorite. Former Biden administration official Sarah Morgenthau has also raised enough money to advertise on television. But the two cash-rich contenders face attacks from Joy Fox, a former Langevin aide, who argues that her local roots make her the strongest contender against Fung. She has noted that Magaziner moved into the district only to run for office and that Morgenthau made Rhode Island her permanent home for the first time this year. David Segal, a former state representative who founded the advocacy group Demand Progress, has dominated the left lane in the race. He maintains that his populist stance against “corporate special interests and political corruption” would provide the best contrast with Fung. Progressives Test Their Gains In The Ocean State The resurgent left in Rhode Island made serious gains in the state legislature in the 2018 and 2020 election cycles, ousting conservative Democrats and humbling others with strong showings. Those gains have enabled a flurry of progressive lawmaking, from a climate change bill to the adoption of a $15 minimum wage and the codification of abortion rights, that had previously been impossible. Progressives have yet to win a statewide office in Rhode Island, however. The chances of a progressive candidate winning the Democratic gubernatorial primary to replace Gina Raimondo, whom Biden appointed secretary of commerce, remain slim. Democratic Gov. Dan McKee, a moderate seeking a full term in office, led Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, a mainstream progressive, and Helena Foulkes, a former CVS executive, in a public poll in mid-August. The left-wing gubernatorial candidate Matt Brown, a former secretary of state who founded the Rhode Island Political Co-Op, had support in single digits and is considered a long shot. The Co-Op, whose aggressive approach to electing left-wing Democrats has elicited criticism, may have a slightly better chance in the lieutenant governor’s race. In that contest, Brown’s running mate, state Sen. Cynthia Mendes, is taking on Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, who replaced McKee when he ascended to the governorship, and state Rep. Deb Ruggerio. The group has also endorsed 14 state House candidates and 13 state Senate candidates, including nurse Lenny Cioe, who is seeking to unseat state Senate President Dominick Ruggerio. Read More Here

Senate To Probe Sacked U.S. Attorney’s Claim Trump Wielded DOJ Against Critics https://digitalalaskanews.com/senate-to-probe-sacked-u-s-attorneys-claim-trump-wielded-doj-against-critics/ The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to conduct a congressional inquiry into claims made by a former top federal prosecutor that Donald Trump attempted to meddle with his office, using the Justice Department to protect himself and pursue his detractors. Geoffrey Berman, who was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York until mid-2020, when he was fired by Trump, aired his allegations in a new book, excerpts of which were published by The New York Times earlier this month. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced the body’s intention to probe the alleged “astonishing and unacceptable deviations from the department’s mission to pursue impartial justice” in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland. In an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Monday evening, Berman demurred on commenting on the legality of Trump’s ethics. “But I can tell you, it violated all the norms and traditions of the Department of Justice, which is supposed to be independent from politics,” he said. “Trump turned the department into his own personal law firm.” Read More Here

W https://digitalalaskanews.com/w-2/ Rajlakshmi Ghosh | Posted on Tuesday, September 13,2022 09:00 Intro: Institutes have undertaken several measures to address issues of gender disparity, the supernumerary seats for girls have been instrumental in their increase With a steady rise in the number of girls qualifying for , the number of girls enrolling in the IITs is also on the rise. But what has significantly helped their case is the introduction of launched in 2018 when the IIT admissions council decided to include 800 (14%) additional seats for the girls across the 23 IITs. In 2019, the numbers rose to 946 (17%) female-only seats, though the target was to reach at least 20% by 2020. In 2021, the Joint Admission Board (JAB) decided to allow individual IITs to fix the female enrolments with the attainment of the 20% target in many IITs, while there were some that managed to even exceed the goal. “Prior to the supernumerary quota, it was observed that out of the 20% of girls students who could have joined the IITs, only 8% of girls were seeking admission in the IITs. This could be attributed to their parents who were not inclined towards sending their girls to the far away IITs and admitting them instead to the NITs, IIITs nearer home. The supernumerary seats were started to give the girls a better chance of joining the IITs in close proximity to their homes and settling for their preferred course,” says V Ramgopal Rao, former director, , underlining that data collected by IIT Delhi showed girls were performing better than boys by one-grade point average. “This provided further impetus to create more seats for the girls. This year, the seats are likely to hit the 20% mark, signifying one in five students will be girls in all the IITs. They will also be a role model for other girls to follow in their footsteps,” Rao says. Supernumerary seats apart, the IITs have undertaken several measures in the last few years to address issues of gender disparity, be it conducting outreach programmes in schools around their institute, offering scholarships to the enrolled female students or inviting parents of the girls for special interactive sessions. “But the introduction of the supernumerary seats for women students qualifying JEE has been largely instrumental in their increase, says Preeti Aghalayam, professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, who is mentoring women researchers and is also part of several initiatives on ‘Women in STEM’. Pointing to the fact that currently, there are 20% women in BTech classes, and 25-35% in other programmes (PhD, MS, etc) at IIT Madras, every BTech class at the institute, irrespective of the department (Mechanical, Chemical, Aerospace, etc) is composed of (almost exactly) 20% women students. “Supernumerary seats have made a difference in pulling up the numbers of women students in our BTech programmes, overall and in every single stream,” Aghalayam adds. If in Aerospace Engineering, there are 20.6% girl students, in Computer Science and Engineering, the number is a tad lower at 19.8%, while in Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering the figures are 20.9% and 20.6% respectively. She further elaborates, “The institute conducts several sessions to dispel doubts, prominent among them is a special session for all women students who qualify JEE Advanced, which is done in an interactive webinar mode. Recently, we have launched the ‘Ask IITM’ portal which serves as a resource for parents/students to ask questions which are answered by a big team (including alumni). In-person sessions are being conducted in Chennai, Vijaywada and Hyderabad, with professor V Kamakoti, director, IIT Madras, and several prominent IIT Madras alumni interacting with the students. This will give a clear picture of what to expect at IIT Madras and hopefully encourage top-ranked women students to join us,” Aghalayam adds. At , over the last 5 years, there was an increase of around 37% in the number of overall admissions to the UG programmes. “The increase in the admissions of girl students was 218 % in the same period,” says AK Sharma, dean, Academics, IIT Roorkee, explaining that the campus’ gender-neutral approach across all programmes has attracted more girls to enrol for UG courses. “There has been a continued increase in girl students being admitted, but it is too early to assess the impact of supernumerary seats,” he adds. Professor Shalabh, dean, Academic Affairs, , reasons even as the IITs have seen an increase in the number of female students in recent years, however, once admitted, it is difficult to ascertain whether the candidate was admitted with or without a supernumerary seat. “After their selection in the IITs, there are various counselling services/sessions offered by the departments to clear the doubts, especially of the female students, and motivate them in their journey ahead with the IITs,” he adds. Read More Here