Digital Alaska News

U.S. Supreme Court Rebuffs Fetal Personhood Appeal https://digitalalaskanews.com/u-s-supreme-court-rebuffs-fetal-personhood-appeal/ Oct 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to decide whether fetuses are entitled to constitutional rights in light of its June ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide, steering clear for now of another front in America’s culture wars. The justices turned away an appeal by a Catholic group and two women of a lower court’s ruling against their challenge to a 2019 Rhode Island law that codified the right to abortion in line with the Roe precedent. The two women, pregnant at the time when the case was filed, sued on behalf of their fetuses and later gave birth. The Rhode Island Supreme Court decided that fetuses lacked the proper legal standing to bring the suit. Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee, a Democrat, welcomed Tuesday’s action by the justices. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com “We’re satisfied that the Supreme Court declined to hear this frivolous appeal. Governor McKee believes that we should be expanding access to reproductive healthcare for women,” spokesperson Matt Sheaff said in a statement, adding that the governor “is committed to using his veto pen to block any legislation that would take our state backwards.” Lawyers representing the plaintiffs did not respond to requests for comment. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in June’s ruling overturning the abortion rights precedent that in the decision the court took no position on “if and when prenatal life is entitled to any of the rights enjoyed after birth.” Some Republicans at the state level have pursued what are called fetal personhood laws, like one enacted in Georgia affecting fetuses starting at around six weeks of pregnancy, that would grant fetuses before birth a variety of legal rights and protections like those of any person. Under such laws, termination of a pregnancy legally could be considered murder. Lawyers for the group Catholics for Life and the two Rhode Island women – one named Nichole Leigh Rowley and the other using the pseudonym Jane Doe – argued that the case “presents the opportunity for this court to meet that inevitable question head on” by deciding if fetuses possess due process and equal protection rights conferred by the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The Rhode Island Supreme Court relied on the now-reversed Roe precedent in finding that the 14th Amendment did not extend rights to fetuses. The Roe ruling had recognized that the right to personal privacy under the U.S. Constitution protected a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy. Old Rhode Island laws included a criminal statute, predating the Roe ruling, that had prohibited abortions. After the Roe ruling, a federal court declared that Rhode Island law unconstitutional, and it was not in effect when the Democratic-led legislature enacted the 2019 Reproductive Privacy Act. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat who was the state’s governor at the time and is now President Joe Biden’s U.S. commerce secretary, signed the 2019 law, which codified the then-status quo under Roe in terms of abortion rights. More than a dozen states have enforced near-total abortion bans since the Supreme Court’s abortion June ruling in a case called Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Nate Raymond Thomson Reuters Nate Raymond reports on the federal judiciary and litigation. He can be reached at nate.raymond@thomsonreuters.com. Read More Here

Tulsi Gabbard https://digitalalaskanews.com/tulsi-gabbard/ Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard‘s decision to leave the Democratic Party has some wondering whether she could be former President Donald Trump‘s future running mate. Gabbard announced on Tuesday in a video shared to social media that she was no longer a Democrat, and said the party was being led by “an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness” who promote “anti-white racism.” She went on to say that she was leaving the party to become an Independent in part because she believed Democrats were bringing the world “ever closer to nuclear war.” Many were not surprised by Gabbard’s move away from the Democratic Party. The former congresswoman has repeatedly promoted anti-LGBT positions, taken a pro-Russia stance on the war in Ukraine that is more in line with the American far-right than the left and advocated against “woke” culture since the end of her failed 2020 presidential campaign as a Democrat. Former President Donald Trump, left, during a rally in Mesa, Arizona, on October 9, 2022; former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, right, during an event in Washington, D.C., on June 23, 2022. Some have speculated that Trump may pick Gabbard as his 2024 running mate after her departure from the Democratic Party. Left: Mario Tama, Right: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Gabbard was also a featured speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida earlier this year and served as a guest host of the flagship Fox News program Tucker Carlson Tonight. While she did not register as a Republican on Tuesday, her shift to the political right has prompted many to speculate that she could become the GOP nominee for vice president in 2024. “The thing I like about Tulsi… she’s the definition of an individual,” Fox News host Greg Gutfeld said during a Tuesday broadcast. “Look, I disagree with her on probably at least 30 percent, maybe 40 percent of the things… I think she’s going to be Trump’s VP… that’s where this is going.” Alex Salvi, foreign correspondent for the conservative outlet Newsmax, shared a poll to Twitter asking followers whether Gabbard was “really a viable candidate to be a Republican Vice President pick.” A 44 percent plurality of respondents said “no” as of Tuesday night, while about 37 percent said “yes.” Is Tulsi Gabbard really a viable candidate to be a Republican Vice President pick? — Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) October 11, 2022 Journalist Aaron Rupar noted that “Newsmax [was] already talking about Tulsi being on Trump’s ticket” in a tweet alongside a still image of host Greg Kelly speculating about her being a 2024 candidate. “Lot of chatter today about Tulsi joining a Trump ticket,” ring-wing commentator Jack Posobiec tweeted. Lot of chatter today about Tulsi joining a Trump ticket — Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) October 11, 2022 “There is a non 0 chance Tulsi Gabbard ends up being Trumps running mate in 2024,” self-described “Wisconsin Conservative” @GreatLakePolitc tweeted. “Sad but True fact.” There is a non 0 chance Tulsi Gabbard ends up being Trumps running mate in 2024. Sad but True fact — Luc J. Gagnon (@GreatLakePolitc) October 11, 2022 “If Trump were to pick Tulsi as his running mate 95% of the people condemning her today would turn into her biggest supporters overnight,” tweeted pro-Trump pundit John Cardillo. “So spare me the sanctimony.” If Trump were to pick Tulsi as his running mate 95% of the people condemning her today would turn into her biggest supporters overnight. So spare me the sanctimony. — John Cardillo (@johncardillo) October 11, 2022 “Tulsi gabbard is clearly angling to be the VP pick for either trump or desantis,” tweeted The Dart founder and editor Elaine Atwell. “Which is honestly a smart move if you’re not weighed down by principles or long-term thinking!” tulsi gabbard is clearly angling to be the VP pick for either trump or desantis. which is honestly a smart move if you’re not weighed down by principles or long-term thinking! — Elaine Atwell (@ElaineAtwell) October 11, 2022 “Tulsi was never a Democrat,” musician and writer Holly Figueroa O’Reilly tweeted. “Tulsi has been a Russian asset for years. What are the odds that she’s vying to be Trump’s VP? #ByeFelicia” Trump, who has not officially announced his candidacy despite repeatedly hinting at a 2024 run, has already ruled out former Vice President Mike Pence from any potential ticket, who he has been at increasing odds with since losing the 2020 election. The rejection of Pence was largely due to the former vice president’s refusal to invalidate President Joe Biden‘s 2020 victory during the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. Trump has described Pence’s decision as “political suicide” and the prospect of teaming up with him again in 2024 as “totally inappropriate.” Newsweek reached out to Gabbard and Trump’s office for comment. Read More Here

L https://digitalalaskanews.com/l-5/ The Biden administration proposed new standards Tuesday that could make it more difficult to classify millions of workers as independent contractors and deny them minimum wage and benefits. The U.S. Department of Labor rule, which could take months to take effect, would replace a scrapped Trump-era standard that had lowered the bar for classifying employees as contractors, workers who are not covered by federal minimum wage laws and are not entitled to benefits including health insurance and paid sick days. The reaction in markets for major gig companies was immediate. Shares of the ride-hailing company Lyft fell 12% while rival Uber tumbled about 10%, although both companies dismissed the significance of the new proposal and its potential to affect their business. In one key change, employers are required to consider whether the work provided is an integral part of their business. That could affect app-based companies that rely almost entirely on freelance workers to provide their services. The Trump-era rule had narrowed that criteria to whether the work in part of an integrated unit of production, and gave more weight to other considerations such as the worker’s opportunity to make a profit or loss. The new rule directs employers to consider six criteria for determining whether a worker is an employee or a contractor, without predetermining whether one outweighs the other. The criteria also include the degree of control by the employer, whether the work requires special skills, the degree of permanence of the relationship between worker and employer and the investment a worker makes, such as car payments. The rule, however, does not carry the same weight as a law passed by Congress or state legislatures, nor does it specify whether any specific company or industry should reclassify their workers. Rather, it offers an interpretation of who should qualify for protections under the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. The rule could bolster labor advocates seeking to challenge worker classification in courts, or state lawmakers seeking to pass stricter laws for designating workers as contractors, said Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. “It creates a base from which to work and it discourages predatory companies that want to lower their costs by denying basic rights to their employees,” said Campos-Medina. Still, there is room for interpretation since some companies might meet one set of criteria for contractor designation, but not others. “I don’t think it will stop the debate,” Campos-Medina said. “The only thing the federal rule does is it creates a basic standard for evaluation.” The Labor Department said misclassifying workers as independent contractors denies those workers protections under federal labor standards, promotes wage theft, allows certain employers to gain an unfair advantage over businesses, and hurts the economy. “While independent contractors have an important role in our economy, we have seen in many cases that employers misclassify their employees as independent contractors, particularly among our nation’s most vulnerable workers,” said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh in a prepared statement. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the proposal would constitute a major change for workers and employers from previous years. “A classification to employees would essentially throw the business model upside down and cause some major structural changes if this holds,” Ives wrote. But both Uber and Lyft dismissed the potential impact of the new rule. “Today’s proposed rule takes a measured approach, essentially returning us to the Obama era, during which our industry grew exponentially” CR Wooters, head of federal affairs at Uber, said in a statement. In a blog post, Lyft said the company had expected this change since the start of the Biden administration. “Importantly this rule: Does not reclassify Lyft drivers as employees. Does not force Lyft to change our business model,” the company said. The new rule is subject to a 45-day period ending Nov. 28 during which stakeholders can submit comments, and may not take effect for months. Gig economy giants have weathered past attempts in the U.S. to require their drivers to be classified as employees. In 2020, California voters overwhelmingly approved a proposition to exempt drivers for app-based companies from a state law requiring them to be designated as employees. Uber, Lyft and other companies had spent $200 million campaigning in favor of the proposition. However, a judge struck down the ballot measure as unconstitutional last year, setting up a legal fight that could end up in the California Supreme Court. App-based companies have long argued that their workers want the flexibility to set their own hours as contract workers. Beyond gig workers, the new law has the potential to change the circumstances of millions of custodians, truck drivers, waiters, construction workers and others, according to the Labor Department. Workers themselves are divided over the debate. In California, for example, hundreds of port truck drivers seeking to preserve their independent contractor status shut down operations in the Port of Oakland last summer to protest the state’s gig workers law. But other truckers have successfully fought to force their companies to classify them as employees with full benefits. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

‘I Can Beat Donald Trump Again’, Joe Biden Asserts https://digitalalaskanews.com/i-can-beat-donald-trump-again-joe-biden-asserts/ US President Joe Biden on Tuesday voiced confidence that he could beat his predecessor Donald Trump in a 2024 rematch — even as he acknowledged the country could sink back into recession under his leadership. The 79-year-old Democrat was asked if he’d be announcing a run for a second term after November’s midterm elections — and if Trump would be a factor in his decision. “I believe I can beat Donald Trump again,” Biden responded, although he stopped short of confirming another tilt at the Oval Office in 2024. Biden defeated Trump in both the state-by-state “electoral college” and the popular vote in 2020 — leading to relentless false claims of widespread voter fraud from the defeated president. Biden indicated to reporters at a NATO summit in March that he would be happy for Trump to be his opponent again. Biden’s popularity has taken a hit in the last year amid soaring inflation, rising violent crime in cities and a seemingly intractable migrant crisis at the southern border. But his approval ratings still outrank the numbers seen in polling for Trump, who regularly mocks Biden — three years his senior — for his age. CNN asked Biden what he would tell voters who consider him too old for reelection. “Name me a president in recent history that’s gotten as much done as I have in the first two years. Not a joke. You may not like what I got done, but the vast majority of the American people do like what I got done,” Biden replied. “And so… it’s a matter of, can you do the job? And I believe I can do the job.” Read more: If there is a recession, it will be ’very slight’: What Joe Biden said In a wide-ranging interview that took in the war in Ukraine and Saudi-led oil production cuts that are expected to send gas prices soaring again, Biden was asked about fears for the economy amid gloomy growth projections. Biden downplayed the likelihood of a recession but conceded a “slight” downturn is possible. “I don’t think there will be a recession. If it is, it’ll be a very slight recession. That is, we’ll move down slightly,” he said. Trump, 76, came to power during the longest economic expansion in US history, although the economy tumbled into recession in 2020 as the world was gripped by the Covid-19 outbreak. Biden frequently takes questions from the media, but he has held few press conferences or one-to-one televised interviews. He has been more visible recently as he takes to the road to talk up Democratic legislative achievements and slam “MAGA Republicans” — followers of former president Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda — in the final weeks of the midterm election campaign. He also sat down with CBS in September, making headlines for declaring the pandemic over and confirming US commitment to defending Taiwan from a Chinese assault. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 11:05 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1105-p-m-edt/ UN, G7 decry Russian attack on Ukraine as possible war crime KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have carpeted Ukraine with a fresh barrage of missiles and munition-carrying drones. The bombardment came a day after strikes across the country killed at least 19 people and knocked out power across the country. The U.N. human rights office says the “particularly shocking” attacks could amount to war crimes. The leaders of the Group of Seven industrial powers also condemned the attacks and said they would “stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” Their pledge defied Russian warnings that Western assistance would prolong the war and the pain of Ukraine’s people. Russia launched the attacks in retaliation for a weekend explosion that damaged a bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. Prosecutors drop charges against Adnan Syed in ‘Serial’ case ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges against Adnan Syed in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee after additional DNA testing excluded him as a suspect in a case chronicled by the hit podcast “Serial.” Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney for the city of Baltimore, said Tuesday that her office will continue to pursue justice for Lee, but that it has closed its case against Syed, who spent 23 years in prison for the killing. She says the decision was made after additional DNA testing excluded Syed as a suspect in the strangulation of Lee, whom Syed had dated. Syed’s case captured the attention of millions in 2014 when the first season of “Serial” focused on it. Smashing success: NASA asteroid strike results in big nudge CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA says a spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away last month succeeded in shifting its orbit. The space agency announced the results of the experiment Tuesday.  NASA attempted the first test of its kind two weeks ago to see if a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth’s way. The Dart spacecraft carved a crater into the asteroid, hurling debris out into space and creating a cometlike trail of dust and rubble. It took consecutive nights of telescope observations to determine how much the impact altered the asteroid’s path around its companion, a bigger space rock. Trump lawyer who vouched for documents meets with FBI Read More Here

Are Republicans Behind The Effort To Recall Mayor LaToya Cantrell? https://digitalalaskanews.com/are-republicans-behind-the-effort-to-recall-mayor-latoya-cantrell/ Cantrell’s campaign manager, Maggie Carroll, claimed in a press release Tuesday that the majority of funding for the recall effort comes from Trump mega-donors. NEW ORLEANS — The 45-day finance report for the Mayor Latoya Cantrell recall effort is out, shedding light on who has donated to the cause so far. Cantrell’s campaign manager, Maggie Carroll, claimed in a press release Tuesday that the majority of funding for the recall effort comes from Trump mega-donors. We took a closer look at the report, which shows the committee has raised about 63-thousand dollars in total. The two biggest donors to the effort are Donald “Boysie” Bollinger, who donated ten thousand dollars on September 19, and Richard Farrell, who donated twenty thousand dollars over two payments in the month of September. Bollinger was Louisiana finance co-chair of Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns and campaign finance records show he donates tens of thousands of dollars to republican campaigns every year. Farrell is co-owner of Walk-Ons, is a registered Republican, and has donated tens of thousands to the Republican Party of Louisiana over the years. The 30-thousand dollars total donated by the two men make up just under half of the total funds raised by the campaign. It’s a significant portion, but not the majority of the funds, as Cantrell’s campaign staff have claimed. Bollinger and Farrell are just two of 686 people to donate to the effort. There are 121 pages of small donations in the report, with some donations as small as one dollar. Read More Here

Majority In U.S. See Relations With Adversaries Souring https://digitalalaskanews.com/majority-in-u-s-see-relations-with-adversaries-souring/ FILE – President Joe Biden speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One at Des Moines International Airport, in Des Moines Iowa, April 12, 2022, en route to Washington. Americans’ international outlook has undergone a major shift in recent years. That’s according to a new poll from the Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A majority now expect that U.S. relations with allies will stay the same or improve but that U.S. dealings with traditional adversaries like Russia and North Korea will only grow more hostile. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) WASHINGTON — A majority of U.S. adults expect America’s relations with foreign adversaries like Russia and North Korea to grow more hostile, according to a new poll, a major shift in public opinion from four years ago under President Donald Trump. Two years into the Biden administration, 60% of U.S. adults say relations with adversaries will get worse, up from 26% four years ago at the same point in the Trump administration, according to the poll from the Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 21% say relationships with allies will deteriorate, down from 46% then. In general, 39% expect the country’s global standing to worsen, compared with 48% who said that in 2018. Crucially, the United States’ own sharply divided domestic politic s influences views of the country’s standing abroad. “Those results really, clearly show that it’s hyperpartisanship” affecting how confidently or bleakly, respectively, Democrats and Republicans see the U.S. standing abroad, said Sheila Kohanteb, a political scientist and executive director of the Global Forum at the Chicago-based Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. In terms of the opinions that people in the U.S. are expressing on U.S. dealings abroad, the key factor is “political bloc sticking with political bloc,” Kohanteb said. Four years ago, three-quarters of Democrats expected U.S. global standing to suffer. Now, roughly that same percentage see stability or improvement in the near future. By comparison, about 6 in 10 Republicans predicted improvements in 2018; now that same percentage expect the current administration to stumble. Other countries are “probably laughing at us, waiting for us to fall apart,” said Kristy Woodard, a 30-year-old Republican in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She said she saw the economy and U.S. leadership as suffering under President Joe Biden. “I don’t think we really have allies anymore because the United States is just a joke at this point,” Woodard said. But David Dvorin, a 49-year-old Democrat in Pittsburgh who works as a price specialist, said Biden was winning respect abroad by rallying international allies to respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. “The war in Ukraine has shown the leadership of the Biden administration, to be able to hold most of Europe together,” Dvorin said. Still, as Russia amps up its assault on Ukraine, tensions with China grow over Taiwan and other issues and the U.S. confronts North Korea and Iran over those countries’ nuclear programs, similar percentages of Republicans and Democrats say that relationships with adversaries will get worse in the next year. The Pearson Institute/AP-NORC poll also shows strong support for a U.S. foreign policy that protects women and minorities around the world — even though few people think the U.S. is doing a world-beating job of protecting those same interests at home. Majorities of U.S. adults said they see preventing discrimination against women and minorities around the world as an important U.S. foreign policy goal and that the U.S. government has significant responsibility for protecting the rights of those groups. And 78% of people in the United States believe the U.S. should withhold financial support from other countries that are failing to protect the rights of women and minority groups. However, only about 1 in 5 U.S. adults thinks the country is leading the world in safeguarding the rights of women and racial, ethnic and religious minorities, or LGBTQ people. Many think the U.S. is among several countries that are doing it well, but about a third say there are other countries doing better. Rick Reinesch, 61, of Austin, Texas, who works as a project manager for a consulting firm and describes himself as a Democratic-leaning political independent, calls safeguarding the freedoms of women and minorities abroad “essential” for the U.S. But the increasing Republican and Democratic divide at home means Americans’ performance on that point is a “mixed bag,” with rights deteriorating in states most influenced by former President Donald Trump’s dismissive outlook, he said. Chris Ormsby, 53, of Edmond, Oklahoma, an administrator in higher education who describes himself as a political independent, pointed to women’s rights in Iran, where women are spearheading weeks of protests triggered by government demands that women cover their hair, as among the rights issues playing out overseas. “Maybe we can take more proactive steps” abroad on that, Ormsby said. But “I think there’s other things to worry about, nuclear proliferation and things like that.” He called slowing climate change by moving the world away from fossil fuels a priority for U.S. policy abroad. That all makes for a strange split for those charged with shaping America’s policy on protections of human rights, Kohanteb, the Pearson Institute official, said. “American policy is not as adamant about protecting our own rights as Americans believe we should be doing abroad,” she said. —— Dolby reported from New York. —— The poll of 1,003 adults was conducted Sep. 9-12 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points. FILE – President Joe Biden meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin, June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. Americans’ international outlook has undergone a major shift in recent years. That’s according to a new poll from the Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A majority now expect that U.S. relations with allies will stay the same or improve but that U.S. dealings with traditional adversaries like Russia and North Korea will only grow more hostile. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) Print Headline: Majority in U.S. see relations with adversaries souring Read More Here

WSJ News Exclusive | Peloton Co-Founder John Foley Faced Repeated Margin Calls From Goldman Sachs As Stock Slumped https://digitalalaskanews.com/wsj-news-exclusive-peloton-co-founder-john-foley-faced-repeated-margin-calls-from-goldman-sachs-as-stock-slumped/ By Sharon Terlep and Suzanne Vranica Updated Oct. 11, 2022 10:40 pm ET John Foley, the co-founder and former chief executive of Peloton Interactive faced repeated margin calls on money he borrowed against his Peloton holdings before he left the fitness company’s board last month, according to people familiar with the situation. As Peloton’s shares slumped over the past year, Goldman Sachs Group asked Mr. Foley several times to provide fresh funds or additional collateral for personal loans the bank had extended to him, the people said. The company’s share price has fallen nearly 95% from its $160 peak in December 2020. Read More Here

Former San Antonio Officer Who Shot 17-Year-Old At McDonald's Parking Lot Turns Himself In On Aggravated Assault Charges | CNN https://digitalalaskanews.com/former-san-antonio-officer-who-shot-17-year-old-at-mcdonalds-parking-lot-turns-himself-in-on-aggravated-assault-charges-cnn/ 03:57 – Source: CNN Teen eating meal in McDonald’s parking lot shot by officer, video shows CNN  —  The former San Antonio police officer who shot an unarmed 17-year-old eating in his car at a McDonald’s parking lot last week is facing two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant, the police department announced Tuesday. The officer, identified as James Brennand, turned himself in to San Antonio Police Tuesday night, Police Chief William McManus said at a Tuesday news conference. Brennand’s arrest comes days after he was fired in connection with the October 2 shooting that left the teenager in critical condition. Brennand did not respond to requests for comment from CNN prior to his arrest. It was not clear Tuesday night whether he had an attorney. The chief said an aggravated assault charge was filed for each person who was in the car – the driver and a passenger. The shooting itself “was unjustified, both administratively and criminally,” McManus said. “There was a criminal component to this, that’s why we investigated as a criminal offense.” The police department has been in contact with the district attorney’s office, which may need more information before it takes the case to the grand jury, the chief noted. “We worked on this for several days to get to this point where we could submit a warrant to a judge for signature, and that’s where we are right now,” McManus added. McManus has said it was clear from the beginning that the shooting was “not justified.” He previously said that the aggravated assault charges could rise to homicide if the 17-year-old does not survive. “The video was horrific,” the chief previously told CNN’s Brianna Keilar. “There is no question in anybody’s mind looking at that video that the shooting is not justified.” McManus said he recognized an issue immediately upon arriving to the scene of the shooting, based on the location of the bullet holes. “We have a policy that prohibits officers from shooting at vehicles, moving vehicles, except if their life is in immediate – their life or someone else’s life – is in immediate danger,” he said. “When I saw it, the location of the bullet holes, I had an issue with it right away. You can tell by looking at the vehicles, which way the vehicle is moving when the shots are fired, and this vehicle, it was very telling to me, that this vehicle was moving away from the officer, and moving parallel with the officer, so it was pretty clear to me at that point that we were going to have an issue,” McManus said. The announcement of charges come a week after Brennand, a probationary officer with seven months of experience, shot Erik Cantu as the teenager sat in his car eating fast food. According to police, Brennand was handling an unrelated disturbance call at the McDonald’s when he saw a car he believed had evaded police the previous day and called for backup. Before backup officers arrived, body camera video released by police shows the officer walk up to the driver’s side of the car, open the door, and order the driver out. The visibly startled teen, who was in the driver’s seat eating, put the car in reverse and started backing up. The police officer then opened fire five times on the car, according to the video. As the driver shifted the vehicle to move forward, body camera video showed the officer opening fire an additional five times as the car drove away. Cantu was shot multiple times and is in critical condition and on a life support system, his family said Monday. A passenger in the vehicle was unhurt. When asked about the officers’ training on Tuesday, McManus stressed that what happened goes against the department’s policies. “This was a was a failure for one individual police officer had nothing to do with our policies. Policies did not allow that or training did not did not teach that. So this was a fail for one particular police officer,” the chief said. Police said earlier that Brennand was fired for violating the agency’s tactics, training and procedures. “It took us a couple of days to terminate Brennand, but he was gone pretty quickly,” McManus told CNN. SAPD’s deadly force policy is explicit: “An officer in the path of an approaching vehicle shall attempt to move to a position of safety rather than discharging a firearm at the vehicle or any of the occupants of the vehicle.” The policy further states that “officers should not shoot at any part of a vehicle in an attempt to disable the vehicle.” While in the hospital, Cantu was initially charged with evading detention in a vehicle and assaulting the officer, who had claimed he was struck by the door of the car as the teen backed up. However, his defense attorney Brian Powers said the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office notified him prosecutors would not be moving forward with charges. A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s office referred CNN to the county’s online court record system, which indicates both charges have been dismissed and the case closed. “While Sunday’s shooting of an unarmed teenager by a then-San Antonio Police officer remains under investigation, the facts and evidence we have received so far led us to reject the charges against Erik Cantu for further investigation,” District Attorney Joe Gonzales’ office said in a statement last week. “Once SAPD completes its investigation into the actions of former Officer James Brennand and submits the case to our office, our Civil Rights Division will fully review the filing. As we do with all officer-involved shootings that result in death or serious injury, we will submit the case to a Grand Jury for their consideration. Until that happens, we can make no further comment on this matter.” Read More Here

WSJ News Exclusive | Saudi Arabia Defied U.S. Warnings Ahead Of OPEC+ Production Cut https://digitalalaskanews.com/wsj-news-exclusive-saudi-arabia-defied-u-s-warnings-ahead-of-opec-production-cut/ High oil prices have been beneficial for OPEC+, an alliance of oil-producing countries that controls more than half of the world’s output. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday explains what OPEC+ countries are doing with the windfall and why they aren’t likely to distance themselves from Russia. Illustration: Adele Morgan Updated Oct. 11, 2022 10:20 pm ET RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Days before a major oil-production cut by OPEC and its Russia-led allies, U.S. officials called their counterparts in Saudi Arabia and other big Gulf producers with an urgent appeal—delay the decision for another month, according to people familiar with the talks. The answer: a resounding no. U.S. officials warned Saudi leaders that a cut would be viewed as a clear choice by Riyadh to side with Russia in the Ukraine war and that the move would weaken already-waning support in Washington for the kingdom, the people said. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 9:00 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-900-p-m-edt-3/ UN, G7 decry Russian attack on Ukraine as possible war crime KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have carpeted Ukraine with a fresh barrage of missiles and munition-carrying drones. The bombardment came a day after strikes across the country killed at least 19 people and knocked out power across the country. The U.N. human rights office says the “particularly shocking” attacks could amount to war crimes. The leaders of the Group of Seven industrial powers also condemned the attacks and said they would “stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” Their pledge defied Russian warnings that Western assistance would prolong the war and the pain of Ukraine’s people. Russia launched the attacks in retaliation for a weekend explosion that damaged a bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. Prosecutors drop charges against Adnan Syed in ‘Serial’ case ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges against Adnan Syed in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee after additional DNA testing excluded him as a suspect in a case chronicled by the hit podcast “Serial.” Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney for the city of Baltimore, said Tuesday that her office will continue to pursue justice for Lee, but that it has closed its case against Syed, who spent 23 years in prison for the killing. She says the decision was made after additional DNA testing excluded Syed as a suspect in the strangulation of Lee, whom Syed had dated. Syed’s case captured the attention of millions in 2014 when the first season of “Serial” focused on it. Smashing success: NASA asteroid strike results in big nudge CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA says a spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away last month succeeded in shifting its orbit. The space agency announced the results of the experiment Tuesday.  NASA attempted the first test of its kind two weeks ago to see if a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth’s way. The Dart spacecraft carved a crater into the asteroid, hurling debris out into space and creating a cometlike trail of dust and rubble. It took consecutive nights of telescope observations to determine how much the impact altered the asteroid’s path around its companion, a bigger space rock. Trump lawyer who vouched for documents meets with FBI Read More Here

McCarthy Made GOP Colleague Cry After She Talked About His Jan. 6 Call, Book Says https://digitalalaskanews.com/mccarthy-made-gop-colleague-cry-after-she-talked-about-his-jan-6-call-book-says/ House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy yelled at a fellow House Republican last year and brought her to tears after she publicly confirmed details of a call he made to Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, two reporters claim in a new book. “I alone am taking all the heat to protect people from Trump! I alone am holding the party together!” he yelled at Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) during a meeting in his office on Feb. 25, 2021, according to The Washington Post, which obtained an advance copy of the book. “I have been working with Trump to keep him from going after Republicans like you and blowing up the party and destroying all our work!” Herrera Beutler had given the media details about McCarthy’s call to Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. She said McCarthy had told his colleagues that when he asked Trump to call off his supporters as they attacked the Capitol, Trump replied: “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.” “You should have come to me!” McCarthy reportedly told Herrera Beutler afterward. “Why did you go to the press? This is no way to thank me!” Herrera Beutler reportedly answered: “What did you want me to do? Lie? I did what I thought was right.” The book’s authors, Washington Post reporter Karoun Demirjian and Politico reporter Rachael Bade, said McCarthy’s tirade was “just the start of what would become a GOP-wide campaign to whitewash the details of what happened on January 6 in the aftermath of the second impeachment,” the Post says. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) confirmed details of Kevin McCarthy’s call to Donald Trump that had been reported by CNN. (Photo: Caroline Brehman via Getty Images) Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) confirmed details of Kevin McCarthy’s call to Donald Trump that had been reported by CNN. (Photo: Caroline Brehman via Getty Images) Demirjian and Bade said their reporting about the conversation between McCarthy and Herrera Beutler was based on a primary source and multiple lawmakers who heard the account from McCarthy. However, both McCarthy and Herrera Beutler denied the details reported about their meeting when the book’s authors reached out to them. The book also contains explosive details about Trump and McCarthy’s call during the riot. According to Politico, McCarthy shouted at the then-president that Trump supporters were “trying to fucking kill me.” McCarthy has repeatedly and demonstrably lied about what went on behind the scenes after the Capitol riot. In the immediate aftermath, he said both privately and publicly that Trump bore responsibility for the attack and was recorded telling colleagues he had told Trump to resign. But as the weeks passed and McCarthy sought to salvage his relationship with the former president, he pivoted to downplaying the violence and mischaracterizing his initial response. Herrera Beutler, a six-term moderate Republican who voted in favor of Trump’s second impeachment, lost her primary election in August. “Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress’s Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump” will be released next week. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related… Trump’s Coup Attempt Could Cost GOP A House Seat Because Of Autocracy-Wary Latinos Democratic House Leaders Dance Around The Succession Issue Top Democrat Leaves Door Open For Raising Debt Limit In Lame Duck Session Read More Here

Woman Says She Had To Press Herschel Walker To Pay For Abortion He Wanted https://digitalalaskanews.com/woman-says-she-had-to-press-herschel-walker-to-pay-for-abortion-he-wanted/ The mother of one of Herschel Walker’s children had to repeatedly press the former football star who is now the Republican Senate nominee in Georgia for funds to pay for a 2009 abortion that she said he wanted her to have, according to the woman and a person she confided in at the time. “When I talked to him, I said, ‘You need to send — I can’t afford to pay for this,” the woman said in one of several interviews with The Washington Post in recent days, adding that she also told him: “We did this, too. Both of us did this. We both know how babies are made.” The woman, who lived in the Atlanta area at the time, said she became pregnant when she was unemployed and had less than $600 in her bank account. Walker sent a $700 check via FedEx about a week after the procedure, the woman said. The Post reviewed an image of the check that was printed on an ATM slip, with Walker’s name, signature and an address associated with him at the time. It was deposited nine days after the woman said she had an abortion. The Post has reviewed a receipt for $575 at a women’s medical center that day. She said she did not know exactly how much an abortion would cost and estimated the amount she told Walker she would need based on online searches. The extended discussion over payment for the procedure to end the first pregnancy has not been previously reported. The woman and the person she confided in both spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect the privacy of themselves and their loved ones. As previously reported, the same woman also says Walker pressured her to have an abortion again when she became pregnant a second time; she chose to give birth to her son, who is now 10. The woman sued Walker in New York in 2013 for child support after he allegedly refused to provide it, according to a person familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details. Walker, who now says he is a multimillionaire, said in that case that he made about $140,000 per year, the person said. The new revelations deepen questions about Walker’s treatment of women and his children, as well as the conflict between his public opposition to abortion and his alleged private behavior. Walker and his campaign have denied the woman’s claims that he wanted her to have two abortions, and Walker initially claimed he did not know the woman who was making them. “I know nothing about any woman having an abortion,” Walker said to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last week after the Daily Beast first reported the allegation about paying for an abortion. “Had that happened, I would have said it, because it’s nothing to be ashamed of there.” Walker is running on a platform that opposes abortion in all cases, without exceptions for rape or incest or to protect the life of the mother. He has said he would vote for a national ban of the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy. He has also criticized Black men for being absent parents — a criticism now leveled at him by the woman and by his grown son by another mother, Christian Walker. Herschel Walker has acknowledged having four children with four women. Three women, including his first wife, have told police that Walker threatened them in various ways. Walker has not disputed his first wife’s account, but he or his campaign have denied the others. The Daily Beast first reported the woman’s account of Walker paying for the cost of an abortion and the New York Times later reported the woman’s account of Walker’s unsuccessful efforts to persuade her to have another abortion. The woman has told The Post that those reports accurately described her experiences. The woman was initially supportive of Walker’s Senate campaign, but said that changed after he announced that he would ban all abortions. The woman described an on-and-off-again relationship with Walker; the lawyer who represented her during the child support case said in a statement at the time that it lasted from November 2008 to September 2011. In the weeks before and after the 2009 abortion, the person she confided in at the time recalled her explaining she had to press Walker to send funds, which the person remembered interpreting as an attempt to make the former football player take some accountability for his actions. “She was like, ‘I’ll do it as soon as you send the check,’” recalled the person. “And he was like ‘I sent the check.’ And she was like, ‘It’s been seven days. I didn’t get it.’” Walker reported in August 2022 that he had income and assets worth between about $27 million and $59 million, according to financial disclosure forms. Walker is seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael G. Warnock in November. The race is close, polls show. Both parties see Georgia as a key battleground in the larger fight for the control of the Senate. Walker and Warnock are set to debate Friday in Savannah. Antiabortion groups have rallied to Walker’s side as have some national Republican leaders. Some Republicans in Georgia have said they worry that they erred in elevating an unvetted nominee. On Tuesday, Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) appeared at a rally for Walker in Georgia. Former president Donald Trump has had discussions about coming to Georgia for a rally in the final weeks before Election Day. A central part of Walker’s pitch is that he has struggled with mental illness and recovered from it, a story of redemption that his team believes will resonate with Georgia voters. He wrote a book published in 2008 called “Breaking Free,” in which he details violent thoughts he had while struggling with dissociative identity disorder. He also says these episodes ended after he said he received professional help for his condition. In 2009, at least two women that Walker dated were pregnant, according to public records in one case and three people familiar with the other pregnancy. One gave birth to a boy in February 2009, public records show. Later that year, the woman who spoke to The Post began making repeated calls to Walker to tell him she was pregnant. When Walker eventually responded, he told the woman that it was “not a good time” for a baby, she said. “We should do this the right way,” he added, implying that the couple could have a planned pregnancy some time in the future, according to the woman. The woman said she did not know he had just fathered a child who was born in February 2009. The woman agreed to have an abortion, and said she asked him repeatedly for money to cover the cost. The woman had less than $600 in her checking account, according to her account and an ATM receipt. Amid the Great Recession, she had lost her job, she said. Days after the procedure, Walker sent a $700 check along with a get-well card that features a drawing of a steaming cup of tea and included a handwritten note from Walker. “Pray you are feeling better,” signed, “H.” It was the first time Walker had ever sent money to the woman, she said. The card was seen as an acknowledgment of the abortion, according to the woman and two other people with contemporaneous memories of it. The woman also supplied a copy of receipt for $575 from the Atlanta Women’s Medical Center, showing she had paid for the procedure with a Visa card on Sept. 12, 2009. And she had a pamphlet from the center detailing “Post-operative Instructions.” The second time she became pregnant, in 2011, Walker also did not respond immediately to her calls, she said. Walker again said she should not have the baby, according to the woman and her confidant. Again, Walker said it was “not a good time” for a baby, she said. But the woman said she did not want to undergo a second abortion and felt fate had intervened, with the second pregnancy being a “sign” that she should raise the child. Walker sent occasional checks to the woman during her second pregnancy, she said, but the money didn’t come on any regular schedule so she could not depend on it. “It was just whenever he felt like getting around to it,” the woman recalled. Eventually the woman took Walker to court to get child support, records show. “The child’s mother is a graduate student … struggling to make ends meet,” according to a May 2013 statement about that case from her lawyer at the time, Andres Alonso. “Unfortunately, Mr. Walker has thus far decided not to take full financial responsibility for the care of his alleged son.” Walker was ordered to pay $3,500 a month in child support, according to the person familiar with the case. He also paid a lump sum of $15,000 to help cover hospital costs connected to his son’s birth and early child care, the person said. The child support payments were based on Walker having an annual income of about $140,000 a year in 2013, the person said. The financial disclosures Walker filed this year for his Senate run show an annual income of $3 million from H. Walker Enterprises LLC, an entity that he reported being worth between $25 million and $50 million. Walker’s behavior toward his family has come up repeatedly during the campaign. Walker has been harshly critical of absentee Black fathers, once calling the behavior a “major, major problem.” “The father leaves in the Black family. He leaves the boys alone so they’ll be raised by their mom,” Walker said in a 2021 interview. “If you have a child with a woman, even if you have to leave that woman — even if you have to leave that woman — you don’t leave that child.” But he had only publicly discussed one of his four children until the Daily Beast published a report earlier this year that he had fathered a second child. He subsequently acknowledged three sons and a daughter, and pointed to a form he filled out ahead of his May 2018 appointment to the Presi...

Voting For Walker? Georgia Lieutenant Governor Won’t Say https://digitalalaskanews.com/voting-for-walker-georgia-lieutenant-governor-wont-say/ Caitlyn Shelton Posted: Oct 11, 2022 / 08:03 PM CDT | Updated: Oct 11, 2022 / 08:04 PM CDT (NewsNation) — Heading into the midterms, attention has pivoted to the state of Georgia. Election results in the Peach State could determine the future balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock is facing off against Republican candidate and former football running back Herschel Walker. In the wake of scandals surrounding Walker, Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, a Republican, would not say whether he will vote for the Republican Senate candidate. In an interview with NewsNation’s Leland Vittert, Duncan said he is struggling with the decision. “I’m struggling like a lot of other folks here in Georgia. Hardcore conservatives like me, I’ve got a voting record. I’ve got a whole product of work that says I’m a conservative. I’m not voting for Raphael Warnock (Walker’s Democratic opponent) … I want a real conservative that knows how to get up and fight for real conservative causes and knows the issues and doesn’t have to defend his past every minute of every day. And that’s the problem with this race right now,” Duncan said. Walker has recently come under fire after The Daily Beast reported that he urged a woman, who happens to be the mother of one of his children, to have an abortion in 2009. The former NFL star, who supports a national abortion ban with no exceptions, has denied the woman’s allegation. “This here, this abortion thing, is false, it’s a lie,” Walker said. Walker’s opponent, Warnock, describes himself as a “pro-choice pastor fighting for reproductive justice.” Duncan called Walker’s scandal the hand Republicans in Georgia have been “dealt with” and said since former President Donald Trump backed Walker, it changed the trajectory of the election for conservatives. “We didn’t have a primary in this state. We had an endorsement by Donald Trump. We had a football star that showed up, and now he’s going to represent the Republican Party,” Duncan said. “This has got Trump’s fingerprints all over it. I mean, how many times do we have to get burned by Trump as Republicans in this state?” Duncan described the Senate race as “hard to watch” and insisted there are much bigger issues impacting Georgia residents. “I know most folks I talked to in Georgia are scared to death (about) what this economy’s about ready to do. I mean, how many triple digit down days do we have to have on the stock market? 401(k)s are getting sliced up. Folks are now genuinely worried about maybe getting laid off, all kinds of disasters around the world. I mean, this is really heavy stuff. But yet, we’re going to elect a U.S. senator here in Georgia and other states on just all the superfluous stuff that’s out there that is not actually solving the problem. It’s hard to watch,” Duncan said. Warnock and Walker are expected to debate in Savannah on Friday. Read More Here

Coronation Of King Charles III To Take Place In May | CNN https://digitalalaskanews.com/coronation-of-king-charles-iii-to-take-place-in-may-cnn/ 05:17 – Source: CNN CNN reporter predicts what we’ll see from King Charles London CNN  —  The coronation of King Charles III will take place on May 6 next year at Westminster Abbey in London, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday. The service will be a more modern affair than previous royal coronations and will “look towards the future,” the palace said in a statement. It added that the occasion will still be “rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.” The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will conduct the ceremony, which will see Charles crowned alongside his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort. During the event, the King will be “anointed, blessed and consecrated” by the Archbishop of Canterbury – a role which has conducted most royal coronations since 1066, according to the statement. The palace added: “The Ceremony has retained a similar structure for over a thousand years, and next year’s Coronation is expected to include the same core elements while recognising the spirit of our times.” Charles, 73, became Britain’s monarch last month following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Days after her death, Charles was formally confirmed as the new King of the United Kingdom in a ceremony at St. James’ Palace. However, his coronation has been scheduled for next year to allow an appropriate period of time to mourn the previous sovereign and to plan the ceremony. The palace has not revealed specific details about the coronation, but some have wondered if the King intends to make it more inclusive while reflecting his vision of the future monarchy. Charles previously said he sees Britain as a “community of communities” and this understanding has made him realize that he has an “additional duty” to “protect the diversity of our country.” Later this year, he is expected to sign a proclamation formally declaring the date of the coronation at a meeting of the Privy Council, which is a panel of royal advisers. To get updates on the British Royal Family sent to your inbox, sign up for CNN’s Royal News newsletter. Read More Here

The Best Apple Deals Available For Amazon Prime Day 2022 https://digitalalaskanews.com/the-best-apple-deals-available-for-amazon-prime-day-2022/ Think you have to wait until Black Friday to score a good deal on Apple devices? Think again. Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale (aka Prime Day 2.0) has officially arrived, and with it comes some pretty solid Apple deals. Right now, there are stellar deals to be had on Apple’s first-gen AirPods and the latest AirPods Pro, which are on sale for their lowest price to date. If you’re looking for something else, however, there are also deals available on the latest entry-level iPad and iPad Pro, the M1-powered MacBook Air, and more. Below, we’ve listed some of the best Apple deals currently available, all of which are exclusive to Amazon Prime subscribers. To save on non-Apple devices and other kinds of tech, be sure to also check out our complete list of the best deals from Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, which includes products from all kinds of brands. The best Apple deals from Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale The best AirPods deals $223.24 Apple’s latest AirPods Pro take after the last-gen model but include swipe controls and a new H2 chip that allows for improved noise cancellation. They also come with a water-resistant charging case that offers support for Apple’s robust Find My network. Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro only just recently launched, but you can currently buy them on sale for $223.24 instead of $249. While not a steep discount, that’s a new record low on the true wireless earbuds, which offer better noise cancellation than their predecessor, four replaceable tips, and even swipe controls. Read our review. If you don’t require active noise cancellation or water resistance, you might want to check out this deal on the second-gen AirPods. The 2019 earbuds are currently on sale with a wired charging case for $89.99 at Amazon instead of $129 and Walmart, which is one of their best prices to date. They may be older, but these earbuds still sound great, offer decent battery life, and feature reliable wireless performance. Read our review. The best iPad deals $269 Apple’s latest entry-level iPad represents a slight update, with a new A13 Bionic chip and a 12MP front camera that supports Apple’s Center Stage feature. Amazon and Best Buy are discounting various configurations of Apple’s latest 10.2-inch iPad. Right now, for instance, the entry-level model with 64GB of storage and Wi-Fi is on sale right now for around $269 instead of $329. The iPad comes equipped with a 3.5mm audio jack, a 12MP wide-angle camera that supports Apple’s Center Stage feature, and A13 Bionic processor. Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro is also on sale today. The fast, M1-powered iPad boasts an impressive display, as well as nice features like a 120Hz refresh rate. Various sizes and configurations are on sale, with the Wi-Fi-enabled model with 128GB of storage starting at $999 instead of $1,099 at Amazon and Walmart. Read our review. You can currently buy Apple’s latest, Wi-Fi-equipped iPad Air with 64GB of storage for $519.99 instead of $599 at Amazon and Best Buy. Not only is the new iPad Air powered by Apple’s still-speedy M1 chip, but it also features all-day battery life and an excellent display. Read our review. Apple’s latest iPad Mini with USB-C charging and 64GB of storage is $399.99 at Best Buy. While we’ve seen this $100-off deal before, it’s always nice to see it come back. Verge Deals on Twitter / Join over 50,000 followers and keep up with the best daily tech deals with @vergedeals Follow us! The best MacBook deals $799 The MacBook Air is Apple’s entry-level laptop, which comes outfitted with the company’s new M1 chip in one of three different colors (silver, space gray, and gold). The M1-powered Macbook Air from 2020 is on sale for $799 ($200 off) at Amazon and Best Buywhen you buy the model equipped with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. While not as fast as the newer M2-powered MacBook, it’s still excellent and offers nice features like all-day battery life. Read our review. The newer 2022 MacBook Air with the M2 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD is $1,049 at Best Buy, following a $150 discount. Read our review. The best Apple TV 4K deals The latest version of the Apple TV 4K with 32GB of storage is on sale for $109 ($70 off). This second-gen model comes with a Siri remote as well as support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR. Read our review. Miscellaneous Apple deals $349 The latest smartwatch from Apple features watchOS 9, along with Crash Detection and temperature sensors that enable menstrual cycle tracking — something you won’t find on any other model. The Apple Watch Series 8 (GPS, 41mm) is currently $50 off at Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart, bringing the price down to $349. This is the latest model, which has new temperature sensors for tracking your cycle, as well as a new high-g accelerometer and gyroscope for crash detection. Read our review. This price matches Amazon’s. The 45mm-sized watch costs $379. Amazon is selling Apple’s AirTag loop, which you can use to attach your AirTags to luggage and other accessories, in blue, and yellow for $13.99 instead of $29. Amazon is also selling Apple’s Leather Key Ring in brown and orange for $24.99 instead of $35. Verge Deals / Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we’ve tested sent to your inbox daily. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 8:08 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-808-p-m-edt/ UN, G7 decry Russian attack on Ukraine as possible war crime KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have carpeted Ukraine with a fresh barrage of missiles and munition-carrying drones. The bombardment came a day after strikes across the country killed at least 19 people and knocked out power across the country. The U.N. human rights office says the “particularly shocking” attacks could amount to war crimes. The leaders of the Group of Seven industrial powers also condemned the attacks and said they would “stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” Their pledge defied Russian warnings that Western assistance would prolong the war and the pain of Ukraine’s people. Russia launched the attacks in retaliation for a weekend explosion that damaged a bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. Prosecutors drop charges against Adnan Syed in ‘Serial’ case ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges against Adnan Syed in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee after additional DNA testing excluded him as a suspect in a case chronicled by the hit podcast “Serial.” Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney for the city of Baltimore, said Tuesday that her office will continue to pursue justice for Lee, but that it has closed its case against Syed, who spent 23 years in prison for the killing. She says the decision was made after additional DNA testing excluded Syed as a suspect in the strangulation of Lee, whom Syed had dated. Syed’s case captured the attention of millions in 2014 when the first season of “Serial” focused on it. Smashing success: NASA asteroid strike results in big nudge CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA says a spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away last month succeeded in shifting its orbit. The space agency announced the results of the experiment Tuesday.  NASA attempted the first test of its kind two weeks ago to see if a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth’s way. The Dart spacecraft carved a crater into the asteroid, hurling debris out into space and creating a cometlike trail of dust and rubble. It took consecutive nights of telescope observations to determine how much the impact altered the asteroid’s path around its companion, a bigger space rock. Trump lawyer who vouched for documents meets with FBI WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for former president Donald Trump who signed a letter stating that a “diligent search” for classified records had been conducted and that all such documents had been given back to the government has spoken with the FBI. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The person says Christina Bobb told federal investigators during Friday’s interview that she had not drafted the letter but that another Trump lawyer who she said actually prepared it had asked her to sign it in her role as a designated custodian for Trump’s records. NBC News first reported the interview. Weinstein lawyer decries ‘almost medieval’ cell conditions LOS ANGELES (AP) — Harvey Weinstein’s attorney has told the judge at his trial that conditions in the holding cell where he’s being kept after court are “unhygienic” and “almost medieval.” Attorney Mark Werksman asked Los Angeles  Judge Lisa Lench for help with the issue Tuesday at the beginning of the second day of jury selection in the former movie mogul’s trial on 11 counts of rape and sexual assault. Werksman says he fears the 70-year-old Weinstein may not survive the ordeal of the eight-week trial in such conditions. Weinstein was hospitalized and had a heart procedure after his 2020 conviction in New York, and his attorneys say he’s had many other health issues. California expands largest US illegal pot eradication effort SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s four-year-old legal marijuana market is in disarray. So the state’s top prosecutor says he will try a new broader approach to disrupting the illegal pot farms that undercut the legal economy while sowing widespread environmental damage. The state will expand its nearly four-decade-old multi-agency seasonal eradication program. It’s the nation’s largest and this year scooped up nearly a million marijuana plants. California will turn it into a year-round effort aimed at investigating who is behind the illegal grows. Attorney General Rob Bonta said Tuesday that the new program will attempt to prosecute underlying labor crimes, environmental crimes and the underground economy centered around the illicit cultivations. Angela Lansbury, ‘Murder She Wrote’ star, dies at 96 NEW YORK (AP) — Angela Lansbury, the scene-stealing British actor who kicked up her heels in the Broadway musicals “Mame” and “Gypsy” and solved endless murders as crime novelist Jessica Fletcher in the long-running TV series “Murder, She Wrote,” has died. She was 96. Lansbury died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from her three children. Lansbury won five Tony Awards for her Broadway performances. She earned Academy Award nominations as supporting actress for two of her first three films, “Gaslight” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and was nominated again for “The Manchurian Candidate” and her deadly portrayal of a Communist agent and the title character’s mother. Biden reevaluating US-Saudi relationship amid Democrat anger WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is reevaluating the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. That’s after the Riyadh-led OPEC+ alliance of oil-producing nations announced it would cut oil production and as Democratic lawmakers are calling for a freeze on cooperation with the Saudis. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday said Biden believes “that it’s time to take another look at this relationship and make sure that it’s serving our national security interests.” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Ro Khanna of California on Tuesday introduced legislation that would immediately pause all U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia for one year. Bodies exhumed from mass grave in Ukraine’s liberated Lyman LYMAN, Ukraine (AP) — Covered head-to-toe in protective suits, forensic workers have pulled several bodies wrapped in black plastic from a mass grave in Ukraine’s devastated city of Lyman. It’s all part of an arduous effort to piece together evidence of what happened under more than four months of Russian occupation. Authorities said the bodies of 32 soldiers have been exhumed from the mass grave so far in the city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Another 22 civilians have been exhumed from individual graves at the burial site, located on the edge of a cemetery in a forested area on the outskirts of Lyman. Further exhumations are planned. One Ukrainian official said the bodies may have been buried by local residents, not Russians, during the occupation. Alvarez hits 3-run HR vs Ray in 9th, Astros jolt M’s in ALDS HOUSTON (AP) — Yordan Alvarez smashed a game-ending, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Robbie Ray, wrecking Seattle’s strategy of using a Cy Young Award winner in a rare relief role and vaulting the Houston Astros over the Mariners 8-7 in their playoff opener. Trailing all game after a poor start by Justin Verlander, the AL West champion Astros overtook rookie star Julio Rodríguez and the wild-card Mariners at the end to begin their best-of-five Division Series. Houston was down 7-5 when rookie pinch-hitter David Hensley was hit by a pitch from Seattle closer Paul Sewald and Jeremy Peña singled with two outs. Mariners manager Scott Servais then made the bold move to bring in Ray. Alvarez homered on Ray’s second pitch. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

Comedy Club Owner Will Press Charges Against Pro-Trump Heckler Who Threw Beer Can At Comedian Ariel Elias https://digitalalaskanews.com/comedy-club-owner-will-press-charges-against-pro-trump-heckler-who-threw-beer-can-at-comedian-ariel-elias/ “It doesn’t matter — guys, everybody vote for whoever you want to vote, I don’t care who you voted for, I’m just happy we’re all here together,” the comedian told the crowd in an attempt to move on from the situation. “So you voted for Biden,” the relentless audience member shouted, dismissing the entertainer’s cue that the conversation was over. Giving in to the heckler’s question, a clearly over-it Elias responded, “’I dunno, why does it matter?” “I could just tell by your jokes, you voted for Biden,” the woman yelled back. In a veteran comic fashion, Elias responded to the woman, who had taken up far too much time from her set, “Alright. I can tell by the fact that you’re still talking when nobody wants you to that you voted for Trump.” The audience member did not appreciate Elias’ tone — although she had started the entire fiasco — and shouted out, “So rude! Telling me to stop talking! No one was telling me to stop.” Read More Here

Sources In Russian Analyst’s Trump Dossier Fabricated, Prosecutors Argue https://digitalalaskanews.com/sources-in-russian-analysts-trump-dossier-fabricated-prosecutors-argue/ A Russian analyst who played a major role in the creation of a flawed dossier about former President Donald Trump fabricated one of his own sources and concealed the identity of another when interviewed by the FBI, prosecutors said Tuesday. The allegations were aired during opening statements in the trial of Igor Danchenko, who is indicted on five counts of making false statements to the FBI. The FBI interviewed Danchenko on multiple occasions in 2017 as it tried to corroborate allegations in what became known as the “Steele dossier”. That dossier, by British spy Christopher Steele – commissioned by Democrats during the 2016 presidential campaign – included allegations of contact between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials, as well as allegations that the Russians may have held compromising information over Trump in the form of videos showing him engaged in salacious sexual activity in a Moscow hotel. Specifically, prosecutors say, Danchenko lied when he said he obtained some information in an anonymous phone call from a man he believed to be Sergei Millian, a former head of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. Prosecutor Michael Keilty told jurors in US district court in Alexandria that Danchenko never spoke with Millian and that phone records show he never received an anonymous phone call at the time Danchenko claimed it occurred. Prosecutors also say Danchenko lied when he said he never “talked” with a man named Charles Dolan about the allegations contained in the dossier. But prosecutors say there is evidence that Danchenko “spoke with Mr Dolan over email” about very specific items that showed up in the dossier. The FBI needed to know that Dolan was an important source for Danchenko, Keilty said, because Dolan is a Democratic operative who has worked on the presidential campaign of every Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter, and thus would have had motivation to fabricate or embellish allegations against Trump. “Those lies mattered,” Keilty said. But Danchenko’s attorney, Danny Onorato, told jurors that his client was completely truthful with the FBI. He pointed out that Danchenko never said he was certain that Millian was the source of the anonymous call but that he had good reason to believe it. The government’s case requires jurors to become “mind readers” to assess Danchenko’s subjective belief about the source of the phone call, Onorato said. And while phone records may not show a call, Onorato said, the government has no idea whether a call could have been placed with a mobile app rather than a traditional telephone provider. Indeed, Onorato said, it makes more sense that such a call would have occurred using an Internet app because so many of them conceal the source of the call, and the caller wanted to be anonymous. As for the allegations about his discussions with Dolan, Onorato said, Danchenko answered the question truthfully because the two did not “talk” – but rather had a written exchange. If the FBI wanted to know about email exchanges, it should have asked a different question, Onorato said. “The law doesn’t let you rewrite the dictionary,” Onorato said. Keilty, in his opening, acknowledged to jurors that evidence would show the FBI made errors in conducting its investigations, but he said that shouldn’t exonerate Danchenko. “A bank robber doesn’t get a pass just because the security guard was asleep,” Keilty said. The first prosecution witness was FBI analyst Brian Auten, who testified that information from the Steele dossier was used to support a surveillance warrant against a Trump campaign official, Carter Page. Under questioning from Durham, Auten testified that the dossier was used to bolster the surveillance application even though the FBI couldn’t corroborate its allegations. Auten said the FBI checked with other government agencies to see if they had corroboration but nothing came back. Auten and other FBI agents even met with Steele in the United Kingdom in 2016 and offered him as much as $1m if he could supply corroboration for the allegations in the dossier, but none was provided. Danchenko is the third person to be prosecuted by special counsel John Durham, who was appointed to investigate the origins of “Crossfire Hurricane” – the designation given to the FBI’s 2016 probe into former president Trump’s Russia connections. It is also the first of Durham’s cases that delves deeply into the origins of the dossier, which Trump derided as fake news and a political witch hunt. Read More Here

Justice Dept. Asks Court To Deny Trump Plea Over FBI Search – WABE https://digitalalaskanews.com/justice-dept-asks-court-to-deny-trump-plea-over-fbi-search-wabe/ The Biden administration on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to steer clear of a legal fight over classified documents seized during an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. The high court is weighing an emergency appeal from Trump asking it to overturn a lower court ruling and permit an independent arbiter, or special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classified markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. The Justice Department said in a 32-page filing that Trump’s claim has no merit, noting the case involves “extraordinarily sensitive government records.” A three-judge panel from the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit last month limited the special master’s review to the much larger tranche of non-classified documents. The judges, including two Trump appointees, sided with the Justice Department, which had argued there was no legal basis for the special master to conduct his own review of the classified records. But Trump’s lawyers said in their application to the Supreme Court that it was essential for the special master to have access to the classified records to “determine whether documents bearing classification markings are in fact classified, and regardless of classification, whether those records are personal records or Presidential records.” At issue is a legal dispute over the scope of the authority given to Raymond Dearie, a veteran Brooklyn judge who was named last month to serve as a special master and segregate any documents seized from Mar-a-Lago that may be covered by claims of executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. All told, roughly 11,000 documents were taken during the Aug. 8 search, including about 100 with classification markings. The Florida judge who appointed Dearie, Aileen Cannon, empowered him to inspect the roughly 100 classified documents and halted the Justice Department’s use of those records for its criminal investigation until the special master’s review was done. But the appeals court set aside that part of Cannon’s longer ruling, agreeing with the Justice Department’s arguments that there was no need for Dearie to review the classified records since they were not likely to involve issues of privilege. The Trump team subsequently appealed. The Justice Department, meanwhile, is appealing Cannon’s entire ruling to the 11th Circuit. In the Supreme Court filing, the department described it “as an unprecedented order by the district court restricting the Executive Branch’s use of its own highly classified records in an ongoing criminal investigation and directing the dissemination of those records outside the Executive Branch for a special-master review.” The department again dismissed the relevance of the Trump team’s assertions that Trump, as president, had absolute declassification authority — something his lawyers have repeatedly raised even while avoiding making the claim that he took steps in this instance to declassify the records. The department said the declassification claim has not been supported with any “competent evidence” and said the Trump team, when presenting investigators with a batch of classified records last June, did not assert claims of privilege or suggest that any of the records had been declassified. Trump’s filing first went to Justice Clarence Thomas, who oversees emergency appeals from the 11th Circuit. But individual justices almost always involve the entire court in high-profile cases such as this one. Read More Here

Justice Dept. Asks Supreme Court To Deny Trump Request In Mar-A-Lago Case https://digitalalaskanews.com/justice-dept-asks-supreme-court-to-deny-trump-request-in-mar-a-lago-case/ The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to deny a petition from Donald Trump’s attorneys in the Mar-a-Lago search case, arguing that allowing an outside arbiter to review the classified documents would “irreparably injure” the government and that as former president he has no “plausible” claims of ownership over sensitive government materials. Trump’s legal team last week made a technical and narrow petition to the court, asking the justices to reconsider a portion of an appeals court ruling that granted the Justice Department’s request to keep the classified documents separate from a review of seized material being conducted by the outside expert, known as a special master. FBI agents seized more than 11,000 documents from Trump’s Florida residence and private club, including 103 with a variety of classification markings. The former president’s lawyers have argued that the appeals court lacked authority to prohibit the special master from reviewing the classified material. They asked the Supreme Court to allow the outside expert to examine those sensitive government documents. The government’s response said Trump’s emergency request should fail because he has not shown how he would be harmed without the Supreme Court’s intervention or that the appeals court order was wrong. “Because applicant has no plausible claims of ownership of or privilege in the documents bearing classification markings, he will suffer no harm at all from a temporary stay of the special master’s review of those materials while the government’s appeal proceeds,” wrote Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar. “And applicant further undermined any claim that he is suffering irreparable injury from the stay by opposing the government’s motion to expedite the underlying appeal and urging that oral argument be deferred until ‘January 2023 or later.’ ” In its September ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit also said the Justice Department could immediately resume using the classified documents in its criminal investigation — something a lower court had prohibited until the special master completed his review. While Trump’s lawyers requested that the Supreme Court allow the classified documents to be reviewed, they did not ask the justices to prohibit the government from using those materials in its criminal probe. The Justice Department on Tuesday pushed back against the Trump lawyers’ arguments that the appeals court lacked jurisdiction to say what the special master could review, saying the panel of judges had authority to review the entire ruling appointing a special master, not just portions of it. Prelogar noted that “the government believes the district court fundamentally erred in appointing a special master and granting injunctive relief at all,” and is appealing the Sept. 5 order . The Justice Department is expected to submit its appeal Friday. When Trump first called for the appointment of a special master in late August, his lawyers argued that he has retained some executive privileges since leaving office, which the Justice Department has argued a former president can no longer assert. In Tuesday’s filing, the solicitor general noted that Trump’s lawyers have “abandoned” that argument in recent filings, suggesting that the former president’s attorneys realize he cannot invoke that privilege. “In any event, any such invocation would necessarily yield to the government’s ‘demonstrated, specific need for evidence’ in its criminal investigation concerning the wrongful retention of those very documents and obstruction of its efforts to recover them,” the filing reads. Elsewhere in its 32-page filing, the Justice Department traces the history of the criminal probe into the possible mishandling of government documents at Mar-a-Lago, accusing Trump’s team of likely obstructing the investigation after a grand jury issued a subpoena in May requesting “[a]ny and all documents or writings in the custody or control of Donald J. Trump.” “The FBI uncovered evidence that the response to the grand jury subpoena was incomplete, that additional classified documents likely remained at Mar-a-Lago, and that efforts had likely been undertaken to obstruct the investigation,” the filing says. In response, investigators went to a judge to authorize a search warrant, which FBI agents executed at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8. Read More Here

Mar-A-Lago Search: Justice Department Asking Supreme Court To Not Get Involved https://digitalalaskanews.com/mar-a-lago-search-justice-department-asking-supreme-court-to-not-get-involved/ WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to not get involved in the case of classified documents that were seized by the FBI during the August search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Read more trending news According to CNN, the DOJ asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to reject Trump’s request for the high court’s intervention in the “dispute” over the sensitive documents that were taken from Mar-a-Lago. The DOJ on Tuesday filed a 32-page document over the request for the Supreme Court to pass on Trump’s appeal, according to The Associated Press. Trump’s lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling made by a lower court that would allow the special master to review the 100 classified documents that were seized, according to the AP. The DOJ is suggesting the Supreme Court let a federal appeals court order stand, which would block the special master’s access over the records as other legal challenges play out, according to CNN. Last month, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit limited the special master’s review, allowing him access to non-classified documents, according to the AP. Two judges that Trump appointed agreed with the DOJ and said that there were no legal grounds for the special master to review the classified documents. Mar-a-Lago search: Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in dispute with FBI According to NBC News, whatever the Supreme Court decides to do with Trump’s request will not affect the DOJ’s access to the same documents. About 100 classified documents out of 11,000 records were seized by the FBI over concerns that Trump had retained official White House records unlawfully at the end of his presidential term. It would take five justices to agree on approving Trump’s request. This could happen over the next few days, according to CNN. ©2022 Cox Media Group Read More Here

Woman In Dog Collar Says She Escaped Captivity At Missouri Home https://digitalalaskanews.com/woman-in-dog-collar-says-she-escaped-captivity-at-missouri-home/ A woman was held captive, raped and assaulted for weeks in a Missouri home until she escaped last week, wearing a metal collar, and sought help from neighbors, police said in court documents. The suspect, Timothy Haslett Jr., 39, was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree rape, aggravated sexual offense, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault, according to a complaint filed with the Circuit Court of Clay County, Missouri. Police found the woman on Friday wearing a metal collar with a padlock, latex lingerie, and duct tape around her mouth, the Excelsior Springs Police Department said in a probable cause statement filed Friday. The woman told police that Haslett picked her up in the beginning of September and kept her in a small room in his basement, restraining her wrists and ankles with handcuffs, police said in the document. The woman said Haslett raped her repeatedly and whipped her while she was held hostage, police said, adding the woman had injuries on her back. The woman said she was able to escape while Haslett took his child to school, police said. Ciara Tharp and Lisa Johnson, neighbors who spoke to NBC affiliate KSHB of Kansas City Monday, said that after the woman escaped last week, she started banging on doors and pleading for help. The woman reported the allegations to authorities at 7:47 a.m. Friday, the Clay County Sheriff’s office said in a statement. Haslett was taken into custody Friday in Excelsior Springs, 28 miles northeast of Missouri’s most populous city, the sheriff’s office said. The home where neighbors raised the alarm in Excelsior Springs, Mo.Sarah Plake/KSHB Minutes before, Johnson saw the woman hunched over and appearing to crawl up her front steps, asking for help, the station reported, citing an interview with Johnson. Johnson noticed the dog collar — it looked like a homemade shock collar — and ligature marks around her wrists and ankles, according to the station. When Johnson grabbed the phone to call 911, the woman ran away, saying the man who’d held her captive would kill them both, Johnson said, according to the station. Tharp said her grandmother, who lives next door, heard a woman knocking on the door, saying: “‘You have to help me, I’ve been raped. I’ve been held captive,” KSHB reported, citing an interview with Tharp. The woman appeared thin, weak and barely clothed, with ligature marks, a metal dog collar and what appeared to be duct tape hanging from her neck, as if it had been pulled down from her mouth, Tharp told the station. Tharp’s grandmother took her in and provided food, water and a blanket, the station reported. The woman told the grandmother that she’d been held in the basement since last month and that she escaped after her captor left the house Friday morning, Tharp told KSHB. The sheriff’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Haslett has a lawyer to speak on his behalf. Haslett was taken into custody after authorities searched his home and the Kansas City police crime scene investigators processed the scene, the sheriff’s office said. Daniella Silva is a reporter for NBC News, focusing on education and how laws, policies and practices affect students and teachers. She also writes about immigration. Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. Read More Here

Biden Re-Evaluating U.S. Relationship With Saudis After OPEC Decision https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-re-evaluating-u-s-relationship-with-saudis-after-opec-decision/ WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden is launching a review of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ announced last week that it would cut oil production over U.S. objections, officials said on Tuesday. The announcement came a day after powerful Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States must immediately freeze all aspects of U.S. cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said a review will be forthcoming but gave no timeline for action or information on who would lead the re-evaluation. The United States will be watching the situation closely “over the coming weeks and months,” she said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com OPEC+ announced plans for an oil production cut last week after weeks of lobbying against one by U.S. officials. The United States accused Saudi Arabia of kowtowing to Russia, which objects to a Western cap on the price of Russian oil spurred by the Ukraine invasion. U.S. officials had been quietly trying to persuade its biggest Arab partner to nix the idea of a production cut, but Saudi Arabia’s de factor ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was not swayed. Bin Salman and Biden had clashed during Biden’s visit to Jeddah in July over the death in 2018 of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a source familiar with the situation. U.S. President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office after landing at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 10, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein U.S. intelligence says the crown prince approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, who was murdered and dismembered by Saudi agents inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. The prince, son of King Salman, 86, has denied ordering the killing but acknowledged it took place “under my watch.” Biden said in July he told the prince he thought he was responsible. John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, said Biden would work with Congress “to think through what that relationship ought to look like going forward.” “And I think he’s going to be willing to start to have those conversations right away. I don’t think this is anything that’s going to have to wait or should wait, quite frankly, for much longer,” Kirby added. State Department spokesperson Ned Price also said on Tuesday the Biden administration would not overlook Iran, a U.S. adversary and a bitter regional rival of Saudi Arabia, in the review. read more Much of U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia have been made with Iran’s threat in the region in mind. “There are security challenges, some of which emanate from Iran. Certainly, we won’t take our eye off the threat that Iran poses not only to the region, but in some ways beyond,” Price said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Mark Porter, Heather Timmons and Deepa Babington Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Bank Of England Further Expands Bond-Market Rescue To Restore U.K.’s Financial Stability https://digitalalaskanews.com/bank-of-england-further-expands-bond-market-rescue-to-restore-u-k-s-financial-stability/ Turmoil in the U.K. bond market created a feedback loop that left investors like pension funds short on cash and rippled out into other markets. WSJ’s Chelsey Dulaney explains the type of investment at the heart of the crisis. Illustration: Ryan Trefes Updated Oct. 11, 2022 5:29 pm ET LONDON—The Bank of England extended support targeted at pension funds for the second day in a row, the latest attempt to contain a bond-market selloff that has threatened U.K. financial stability. The central bank on Tuesday said it would add inflation-linked government bonds to its program of long-dated bond purchases, after an attempt on Monday to help pension funds failed to calm markets. Read More Here

US Forecast https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-forecast-128/ City/Town, State;Yesterday’s High Temp (F);Yesterday’s Low Temp (F);Today’s High Temp (F);Today’s Low Temp (F);Weather Condition;Wind Direction;Wind Speed (MPH);Humidity (%);Chance of Precip. (%);UV Index Albany, NY;66;47;71;55;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;11;60%;14%;4 Albuquerque, NM;74;51;76;51;Mostly sunny;NNE;7;32%;0%;5 Anchorage, AK;40;25;36;22;High clouds, chilly;NNE;7;72%;44%;1 Asheville, NC;71;54;66;58;A stray t-shower;SE;7;89%;91%;2 Atlanta, GA;77;62;73;63;A stray p.m. t-storm;S;7;84%;97%;2 Atlantic City, NJ;71;52;70;61;Breezy in the p.m.;S;12;65%;4%;4 Austin, TX;89;69;96;67;Mostly sunny, warm;WSW;5;54%;15%;5 Baltimore, MD;75;53;71;61;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;10;59%;40%;3 Baton Rouge, LA;85;67;85;69;A couple of t-storms;S;6;80%;91%;1 Billings, MT;67;44;60;41;Partly sunny;SW;7;49%;2%;3 Birmingham, AL;81;62;77;64;A heavy thunderstorm;S;8;78%;96%;3 Bismarck, ND;63;38;57;33;Windy;NW;20;36%;26%;3 Boise, ID;76;45;80;45;Sunny and warm;ENE;7;29%;0%;4 Boston, MA;66;50;73;56;Partly sunny;SSW;8;57%;6%;4 Bridgeport, CT;68;49;70;57;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;59%;6%;4 Buffalo, NY;71;52;71;59;Breezy;S;15;51%;98%;1 Burlington, VT;62;47;70;54;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;12;58%;10%;3 Caribou, ME;57;35;65;46;Partly sunny, mild;SSE;6;62%;10%;3 Casper, WY;59;35;62;32;Sunshine;NW;11;41%;1%;4 Charleston, SC;77;67;76;67;A p.m. t-storm;SE;9;80%;94%;1 Charleston, WV;75;52;76;59;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;70%;98%;3 Charlotte, NC;76;58;72;62;A t-storm around;SE;5;80%;99%;2 Cheyenne, WY;69;38;65;35;Sunny and breezy;NW;16;33%;1%;4 Chicago, IL;70;59;68;45;Thunderstorms;WSW;17;70%;97%;1 Cleveland, OH;75;57;73;57;Windy, a p.m. shower;SSW;18;55%;97%;1 Columbia, SC;76;62;77;65;A stray p.m. t-storm;SSE;6;76%;97%;2 Columbus, OH;73;52;75;53;Windy, a p.m. shower;SW;18;57%;98%;2 Concord, NH;63;38;72;47;Clouds and sun;S;7;62%;8%;4 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX;87;70;92;59;Mostly sunny, warm;N;12;46%;10%;5 Denver, CO;77;44;73;41;Sunny;E;8;28%;1%;4 Des Moines, IA;76;54;70;37;Increasingly windy;WNW;15;51%;33%;4 Detroit, MI;77;56;70;51;Couple of t-storms;SW;13;60%;99%;2 Dodge City, KS;85;48;78;43;Sunshine and nice;N;10;33%;1%;4 Duluth, MN;81;51;57;39;Showers around;W;14;68%;83%;1 El Paso, TX;80;56;84;57;Mostly sunny;NNW;5;38%;0%;5 Fairbanks, AK;35;19;32;17;Clearing and chilly;NNW;5;64%;32%;1 Fargo, ND;78;40;56;30;Increasingly windy;NW;16;48%;27%;1 Grand Junction, CO;75;44;74;44;Plenty of sunshine;E;7;29%;0%;4 Grand Rapids, MI;74;59;66;46;A shower and t-storm;SSW;16;75%;91%;1 Hartford, CT;70;47;72;56;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;58%;26%;4 Helena, MT;69;45;65;41;Plenty of sunshine;WNW;7;43%;0%;3 Honolulu, HI;86;74;81;71;A couple of showers;WNW;5;79%;90%;2 Houston, TX;85;71;91;71;A t-storm around;SSW;7;69%;55%;5 Indianapolis, IN;74;59;71;47;A heavy p.m. t-storm;WSW;12;59%;93%;2 Jackson, MS;83;60;83;64;Heavy thunderstorms;S;7;79%;99%;2 Jacksonville, FL;88;71;83;69;A t-storm around;E;6;78%;99%;2 Juneau, AK;53;47;51;49;Rain;SE;11;95%;100%;0 Kansas City, MO;79;57;75;47;Periods of sun;NW;9;50%;15%;4 Knoxville, TN;76;55;76;62;Periods of sun, nice;SSW;8;74%;99%;2 Las Vegas, NV;91;65;92;64;Sunny;NNW;6;23%;0%;5 Lexington, KY;75;56;78;56;Breezy;SW;13;64%;96%;3 Little Rock, AR;84;60;86;54;A heavy thunderstorm;NNW;9;61%;66%;4 Long Beach, CA;75;64;75;64;Low clouds breaking;SW;7;74%;28%;4 Los Angeles, CA;76;63;76;62;Low clouds breaking;SSW;6;79%;30%;4 Louisville, KY;76;59;79;54;Thunderstorms;WSW;14;61%;94%;3 Madison, WI;71;57;61;38;Showers around;W;12;71%;89%;1 Memphis, TN;80;62;85;57;A heavy thunderstorm;NW;10;56%;73%;4 Miami, FL;88;79;87;76;A t-storm in spots;E;9;73%;55%;4 Milwaukee, WI;75;60;67;42;Thunderstorms;W;14;70%;96%;2 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN;80;52;62;36;Breezy and cooler;WNW;14;49%;66%;2 Mobile, AL;82;69;80;69;A t-storm or two;SSE;6;84%;95%;1 Montgomery, AL;84;62;74;64;A heavy thunderstorm;S;6;82%;98%;2 Mt. Washington, NH;35;33;45;36;Windy in the morning;SSW;22;74%;9%;4 Nashville, TN;80;59;83;56;Very warm;SSW;11;55%;66%;3 New Orleans, LA;84;72;84;72;A couple of t-storms;SSW;7;77%;91%;2 New York, NY;71;54;70;61;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;55%;25%;4 Newark, NJ;72;49;72;57;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;54%;41%;4 Norfolk, VA;72;52;74;62;Lots of sun, nice;SSE;7;65%;25%;4 Oklahoma City, OK;78;62;80;50;Breezy;WNW;14;46%;40%;5 Olympia, WA;67;42;71;41;Mostly sunny, warm;NE;7;70%;3%;3 Omaha, NE;84;50;72;41;Increasingly windy;NW;15;43%;7%;4 Orlando, FL;90;73;87;73;A p.m. t-storm;SE;6;74%;91%;2 Philadelphia, PA;74;52;73;60;Breezy in the p.m.;S;10;56%;27%;3 Phoenix, AZ;92;70;95;70;Plenty of sunshine;NNW;5;29%;0%;5 Pittsburgh, PA;72;51;74;58;A stray p.m. shower;S;10;58%;98%;3 Portland, ME;57;43;64;51;Partly sunny;SSW;7;69%;5%;3 Portland, OR;72;48;77;50;Mostly sunny;NNE;6;54%;3%;3 Providence, RI;68;48;73;53;Partly sunny, nice;S;7;59%;6%;4 Raleigh, NC;73;51;75;61;Partly sunny;SSE;6;67%;81%;4 Reno, NV;81;44;81;44;Sunny and warm;WNW;4;28%;0%;4 Richmond, VA;74;48;74;61;Clouds and sun;SSE;8;62%;77%;4 Roswell, NM;82;54;83;51;Mostly sunny;SW;7;37%;2%;5 Sacramento, CA;89;54;89;54;Mostly sunny, warm;S;5;45%;1%;4 Salt Lake City, UT;78;49;78;49;Sunny and very warm;ESE;7;31%;0%;4 San Antonio, TX;88;69;93;67;Very warm and humid;SSW;6;63%;15%;6 San Diego, CA;71;66;75;66;Low clouds breaking;NNW;8;72%;2%;5 San Francisco, CA;66;55;66;55;Low clouds breaking;WSW;11;74%;1%;3 Savannah, GA;79;68;79;66;Heavy p.m. t-storms;ESE;8;84%;98%;1 Seattle-Tacoma, WA;69;51;70;51;Mostly sunny;NNE;9;60%;3%;3 Sioux Falls, SD;84;46;64;35;Windy and cooler;NW;17;39%;41%;4 Spokane, WA;74;44;75;44;Brilliant sunshine;SE;5;50%;1%;3 Springfield, IL;67;60;71;44;A morning t-storm;W;14;66%;82%;1 St. Louis, MO;76;62;74;48;Thunderstorms;W;10;70%;91%;2 Tampa, FL;90;73;88;73;A t-storm or two;NNE;6;80%;94%;2 Toledo, OH;75;58;71;49;Thunderstorms;WSW;11;60%;96%;2 Tucson, AZ;86;63;89;63;Mostly sunny;E;6;36%;0%;5 Tulsa, OK;79;64;80;49;A morning shower;WNW;7;50%;40%;4 Vero Beach, FL;86;74;87;72;A stray thunderstorm;SE;8;77%;73%;2 Washington, DC;74;50;72;61;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;10;61%;63%;3 Wichita, KS;84;56;79;45;Partly sunny;N;10;38%;5%;4 Wilmington, DE;73;48;71;59;Breezy in the p.m.;SSE;11;64%;55%;4 _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Read More Here

Durham Team Gives FBI A Pass For Trump-Russia Collusion Probe, Blames Danchenko’s ‘lies’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/durham-team-gives-fbi-a-pass-for-trump-russia-collusion-probe-blames-danchenkos-lies/ Special counsel John Durham, in what is likely the final trial of his probe into the origins of the FBI’s Trump-Russia collusion investigation, let the bureau off the hook for misconduct, casting it as a hapless victim of a dishonest Russian analyst named Igor Danchenko. Mr. Danchenko, a critical source for the anti-Trump dossier, lied to FBI officials and spurred their “troubling” behavior in going after the Trump campaign in 2016, prosecutors said Tuesday in opening statements at Mr. Danchnko’s trial. “The Steele dossier caused the FBI to engage in troubling conduct. The defendant’s lies played a role in that conduct,” prosecutor Michael Keilty told the jurors in an Alexandria, Virginia, federal courtroom. Mr. Danchenko, a U.S.-based Russian analyst who provided information that found its way into the dossier of salacious and unverified allegations about Mr. Trump, is on trial for five counts of lying to the FBI. He faces up to five years in prison for each count. Mr. Durham’s team of prosecutors say Mr. Danchenko misled FBI agents about how he obtained information for the dossier, which was compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele and paid for by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign. FBI agents used the dossier to help obtain a warrant to wiretap Trump campaign aide Carter Page, who was suspected of working with Russia. Mr. Page was never charged with a crime and no evidence emerged to support claims against him. Mr. Keilty said the FBI relied upon those lies to launch a “historic investigation” of a presidential candidate and later of Mr. Trump while he was president. The portrayal of the FBI as a victim was yet another disappointment for Mr. Trump and his allies who hoped Mr. Durham would expose a far-left conspiracy within the FBI and other U.S. intelligence communities to sabotage Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and undermine his presidency.  At the trial, Mr. Danchenko’s defense lawyers were the ones bashing the FBI. They blamed the FBI for asking vague questions and not following up with more questions. “The questions weren’t asked properly and that’s not his fault,” Defense lawyer Danny Onorato told the jurors. He said Mr. Danchenko didn’t lie to the FBI. He was a trusted and valuable source who worked as a confidential informant for the bureau. Mr. Onorato said that his client came in voluntarily to answer the FBI’s questions about the Steele report. He said, at times, his client offered speculation which is now being spun by Mr. Durham’s team as lies. “He didn’t speculate to hinder the investigation, but to help it,” Mr. Onorato said. The lawyer also aggressively pushed back at Mr. Keilty’s claim that the FBI had offered the defendant immunity in exchange for truthful testimony. “That’s a lie. He just lied to you,” Mr. Onorato told the jurors. “You think about it when you listen to the government’s case.” That fueled an eruption from Mr. Durham, who griped about Mr. Onorato’s remarks after the jury left the room. He told U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga that the statement was “highly inappropriate” and urged the judge to tell the jury to disregard it. The indictment accuses Mr. Danchenko of lying about how he obtained information for the dossier, including about his reliance on information from Democratic operative Charles J. Dolan, a public relations executive with close ties to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. Defense attorneys have said in court documents that the charges against Mr. Danchenko should be dropped because his answers to narrow questions from FBI agents were “literally true.” For example, Mr. Danchenko denied speaking with Mr. Dolan because he communicated with the Clinton operative through email exchanges. The indictment also accuses Mr. Danchenko of lying about his contacts with Sergei Millian, a former president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. According to the indictment, Mr. Danchenko told the FBI that he had spoken with Mr. Milian in July 2016 and the businessman told him that the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to win the election. That information was included in the Steele dossier. Those conversations never happened and the information turned over to Mr. Steele was made up, according to the indictment.  Defense lawyers say the information was relayed to Mr. Danchenko in an anonymous phone call from someone he believed to be Mr. Millian. They say the government can’t prove that the defendant made a false statement if he believed it was true. Read More Here

Trial Begins For Russian Analyst Who Was Source For Flawed Trump Dossier https://digitalalaskanews.com/trial-begins-for-russian-analyst-who-was-source-for-flawed-trump-dossier/ ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Russian analyst who played a major role in the creation of a flawed dossier about former President Donald Trump fabricated one of his own sources and concealed the identity of another when interviewed by the FBI, prosecutors said Tuesday. The allegations were aired during opening statements in the trial of Igor Danchenko, who is indicted on five counts of making false statements to the FBI. The FBI interviewed Danchenko on multiple occasions in 2017 as it tried to corroborate allegations in what became known as the “Steele dossier.” That dossier by British spy Christopher Steele — commissioned by Democrats during the 2016 presidential campaign — included allegations of contact between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials, as well as allegations that the Russians may have held compromising information over Trump in the form of videos showing him engaged in salacious sexual activity in a Moscow hotel. WATCH: What testimony on the Trump dossier adds to the Russia probe Specifically, prosecutors say, Danchenko lied when he said he obtained some information in an anonymous phone call from a man he believed to be Sergei Millian, a former head of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. Prosecutor Michael Keilty told jurors in U.S. District Court in Alexandria that Danchenko never spoke with Millian and that phone records show he never received an anonymous phone call at the time Danchenko claimed it occurred. Prosecutors also say Danchenko lied when he said he never “talked” with a man named Charles Dolan about the allegations contained in the dossier. But prosecutors say there is evidence that Danchenko “spoke with Mr. Dolan over email” about very specific items that showed up in the dossier. The FBI needed to know that Dolan was an important source for Danchenko, Keilty said, because Dolan is a Democratic operative who has worked on the presidential campaign of every Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter, and thus would have had motivation to fabricate or embellish allegations against Trump. “Those lies mattered,” Keilty said. But Danchenko’s attorney, Danny Onorato, told jurors that his client was completely truthful with the FBI. He pointed out that Danchenko never said he was certain that Millian was the source of the anonymous call but that he had good reason to believe it. The government’s case requires jurors to become “mind readers” to assess Danchenko’s subjective belief about the source of the phone call, Onorato said. And while phone records may not show a call, Onorato said, the government has no idea whether a call could have been placed with a mobile app rather than a traditional telephone provider. Indeed, Onorato said, it makes more sense that such a call would have occurred using an Internet app because so many of them conceal the source of the call, and the caller wanted to be anonymous. READ MORE: Senate Democrats release full transcript of interview with firm behind Trump-Russia dossier As for the allegations about his discussions with Dolan, Onorato said, Danchenko answered the question truthfully because the two did not “talk” — but rather had a written exchange. If the FBI wanted to know about email exchanges, it should have asked a different question, Onorato said. “The law doesn’t let you rewrite the dictionary,” Onorato said. Keilty, in his opening, acknowledged to jurors that evidence would show the FBI made errors in conducting its investigations, but he said that shouldn’t exonerate Danchenko. “A bank robber doesn’t get a pass just because the security guard was asleep,” Keilty said. The first prosecution witness was FBI analyst Brian Auten, who testified that information from the Steele dossier was used to support a surveillance warrant against a Trump campaign official, Carter Page. Under questioning from Durham, Auten testified that the dossier was used to bolster the surveillance application even though the FBI couldn’t corroborate its allegations. Auten said the FBI checked with other government agencies to see if they had corroboration but nothing came back. Auten and other FBI agents even met with Steele in the United Kingdom in 2016 and offered him as much as $1 million if he could supply corroboration for the allegations in the dossier, but none was provided. Danchenko is the third person to be prosecuted by special counsel John Durham, who was appointed to investigate the origins of “Crossfire Hurricane” — the designation given to the FBI’s 2016 probe into former president Trump’s Russia connections. It is also the first of Durham’s cases that delves deeply into the origins of the dossier, which Trump derided as fake news and a political witch hunt. Read More Here

Indiana Democrats Push Abortion Issue As Early Voting Starts https://digitalalaskanews.com/indiana-democrats-push-abortion-issue-as-early-voting-starts/ INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana voters can begin casting early, in-person ballots Wednesday for the Nov. 8 election in which Democrats are looking for a backlash against the Republican-backed state abortion ban approved over the summer. Republicans in the tightest races are largely avoiding the abortion issue while emphasizing economic topics as they seek to extend their dominance over statewide offices and the General Assembly. Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young is seeking reelection by following a front-runner strategy of mostly ignoring Democratic challenger Thomas McDermott ahead of their only televised debate scheduled for Sunday. Democrats, meanwhile, are targeting the Indiana secretary of state’s race, in which former Mike Pence aide Diego Morales won the Republican nomination despite twice leaving jobs in that office after being written up for poor job performance. Here is a look at top races on Indiana ballots: U.S. SENATE Young entered the campaign with huge fundraising and organization advantages over McDermott, who has been the mayor of Hammond, Indiana, since 2004 but is little known outside northwestern Indiana. Indiana’s Senate race hasn’t seen the tens of millions in outside spending that it attracted four years ago when Republican Mike Braun defeated Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly and in 2016 when Young won the Senate seat over former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh. Young avoided a primary challenge this year despite not fully embracing Donald Trump’s presidency — and not getting a Trump endorsement. Young voted to acquit Trump in his Senate impeachment trial but voted to uphold President Joe Biden’s election win. McDermott, a lawyer and U.S. Navy veteran, has tried to build an appeal to working-class voters attracted to Trump while advocating congressional protection of abortion rights and federal marijuana legalization. The lack of national groups spending money in the race when Democrats and Republicans are fiercely fighting for control of the current 50-50 Senate makes it difficult to see Young as vulnerable, although the abortion issue is a wildcard, said Paul Helmke, the former Republican mayor of Fort Wayne and the party’s 1998 U.S. Senate candidate. “It might be something that gives a little new spark to Democrats in the state,” said Helmke, now an Indiana University public affairs professor. “But whether that’s enough to overcome the strong Republican mindset is hard to tell.” SECRETARY OF STATE Morales won the Republican nomination to become Indiana’s top elections office after talking up a push for tighter state voting restrictions and calling the 2020 presidential election a “scam” while pointing to unfounded claims Trump and his allies have made about other states. Democrats criticize Morales as an “election denier” and see a chance to defeat him by pointing to him leaving low-level secretary of state office jobs in 2009 and 2011 after job performance write-ups. Morales returned to state government as an aide on Pence’s gubernatorial staff until Pence left to become Trump’s vice president in 2017. Democratic candidate Destiny Wells, an attorney and Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, says Morales is “sowing seeds of fear and doubt” about elections and that the secretary of state should focus on improving Indiana’s troubles with low voter turnout. Libertarian Jeff Maurer, who is also on the ballot, is advocating improved statewide paper versions of all ballots and independent audits of vote tallies in all counties. U.S. HOUSE SEATS Republicans are making their first serious challenge in several decades for the northwestern Indiana congressional district that has long been a Democratic stronghold. Black U.S. Air Force veteran Jennifer-Ruth Green is challenging Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan, who won his first term in 2020 in the 1st District that hugs Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline. Democrats have typically won there by large margins, but Trump closed the gap by appealing to working class voters in the district that has some of the country’s largest steel mills. Green, who is a lieutenant colonel in the Indiana Air National Guard, touted herself as a Trump supporter during the Republican primary campaign. Democrats have focused much of their criticism on her opposition to abortion rights. STATE LEGISLATURE Democrats are trying to pick up enough state legislative seats to break the Republican supermajorities that have left Democrats largely powerless against conservative proposals such as the abortion ban that’s been blocked by a court order. Democrats need to gain five seats in the 100-member House needed to break the two-thirds supermajority that allows Republicans to act even if no Democrats are present. New district maps taking effect with this election protect most current Republican lawmakers, but Democrats are targeting some Republican-held seats in the northern suburbs of Indianapolis and in the South Bend and Fort Wayne areas. State Democratic Chairman Mike Schmuhl said the abortion ban is an example of “government overreach” stemming from the decade-long Republican legislative supermajority. “I think that really crystallizes things for people,” Schmuhl said. “That something so personal, that really should be between a woman, her family, her faith, her doctor, have Republican politicians kind of step in front of those folks and say, ‘Oh, no, we’re going to make those decisions for you.’” Read More Here

Trump Lawyer Who Vouched For Documents Meets With FBI https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-lawyer-who-vouched-for-documents-meets-with-fbi/ Christina Bobb said another lawyer had drafted a letter she signed that said a diligent search for classified documents had been done. A lawyer for former president Donald Trump who signed a letter stating that a “diligent search” for classified records had been conducted and that all such documents had been given back to the government has spoken with the FBI, according to a person familiar with the matter. Christina Bobb told federal investigators during Friday’s interview that she had not drafted the letter but that another Trump lawyer who she said actually prepared it had asked her to sign it in her role as a designated custodian of Trump’s records, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The process is of interest to investigators because the Justice Department says the letter was untrue in asserting that all classified records sought by the government had been located and returned. Though the letter, and 38 documents bearing classification markings, were presented to FBI and Justice Department officials during a June 3 visit to Mar-a-Lago, agents returned to the Florida estate with a search warrant on Aug. 8 and seized about 100 additional classified records. According to an August court filing, the signed certification letter was presented to investigators who visited Mar-a-Lago on June 3 to collect additional classified material from the home. The Justice Department had weeks earlier issued a subpoena for the records after it says it developed evidence that more classified documents remained at the estate beyond those contained in 15 boxes recovered in January by the National Archives and Records Administration. The letter produced for investigators asserted that, in response to the subpoena, “a diligent search was conducted of the boxes that were moved from the White House to Florida” and that “any and all responsive documents accompany this certification.” The letter also included the caveat that the statements in it were true “based upon the information that has been provided to me.” At the time, the FBI was presented with an envelope containing 38 documents with classification markings, including at the top-secret level. But agents began to suspect that they had not received the entire stash of records, and returned two months later with a warrant. Bobb told the FBI that the letter was actually drafted and prepared by another of Trump’s lawyers, M. Evan Corcoran, and that he had asked her to sign it in her capacity as custodian of the records, according to the person. Corcoran did not immediately return an email and phone message on Tuesday. Spokespeople for the FBI and Justice Department declined to comment, and Bobb did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. The interview was first reported by NBC News. The person familiar with it said it was a voluntary discussion with investigators and did not take place before a grand jury, and that she is not regarded as a target of the investigation. The Justice Department has said that, beyond investigating possible crimes in the retention of the documents themselves, it is also investigating whether anyone sought to obstruct its probe. It is not clear if anyone will be charged. ___ Republished with permission from The Associated Press. Post Views: 0 Read More Here