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Joe O'Dea Thinks He Understands Latinos, But He Doesn't – Colorado Newsline https://digitalalaskanews.com/joe-odea-thinks-he-understands-latinos-but-he-doesnt-colorado-newsline/ As every politico knows, Latinos are one of the most crucial voting blocs needed to win a Colorado election. It’s why Democrats and Republicans spend millions on direct voter contact to Latinos and even Spanish language advertising every cycle. Unfortunately, however, there is a right (and indeed, a wrong) way to do it — and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe O’Dea is choosing the worst possible way. GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX At first glance, O’Dea recognizes the importance of Colorado’s Hispanic and Latino communities. Still, after scratching the surface, it’s wise to be cautious. I was sitting in the audience as I watched O’Dea shamelessly tokenize his own wife in a stump speech right here in Pueblo. I was repulsed as he tried to use her credibility as the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants to justify his support for racist Republicans like Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — to put it mildly, this talking point raises substantial concerns about O’Dea’s intentions. Does O’Dea understand, or even just care, about Latino communities and our values, or is he just saying whatever he can to get elected? It would be an understatement to say he seemed overconfident when he proclaimed that he “didn’t need a Hispanic outreach program.” Then O’Dea tried to soften the blow by saying his wife’s heritage and employees would suffice as his outreach. The overwhelming majority of our people came to this country for the promise of the American Dream. I know my family came to the United States primarily because of the promise that you can be anybody if you work hard and play by the rules. However, O’Dea may be shocked to discover that there are over 1.2 million Latinos in Colorado — and if he’s serious about winning, he should try spending time with Colorado Latinos and focus on having a robust outreach program instead of trying to prove that he’s something he’s not. The crowd began to murmur at this embarrassing answer. Then a visibly flustered O’Dea stumbled and referenced “Chiquitos” as he tried to talk about “Chicanos,” which riled up the crowd. “Latinos in Denver, Chicanos down here. I understand it,” he blurted as he tried to recover. If O’Dea truly “understands it,” he would be able to pronounce “Chicanos” without staff coming to his rescue; he would also know that many Chicanos, Hispanics, and Latinos live in Denver, Pueblo, Greeley and all across the state. It seemed like he was blatantly trying to have it both ways by paying lip service to the Latino community and our values while praising DeSantis for ostensibly kidnapping and trafficking Venezuelan asylum seekers for a political stunt and backing Trump’s border wall. O’Dea first stated his support for DeSantis’ cruel stunt during an interview on “Meet the Press.” Since then, a criminal investigation has been launched in Texas because of reports of asylum seekers being lured onto the plane with false promises of jobs and housing. O’Dea hasn’t spoken to the investigation, but his campaign doubled down by praising DeSantis by hosting an event where volunteers mailed a Colorado Newsline story on O’Dea’s support for DeSantis while sipping on margaritas. His campaign even used a dishonest tactic by redacting the part of the story that mentions that the asylum seekers were duped before mailing it. O’Dea even tripled down on wanting to construct Trump’s medieval border wall and knowingly makes false claims about fentanyl crossing the border when a study found that more than 90% of fentanyl seizures at the border happen at legal crossing points, not illegal migration routes. His staunch support for a reckless and costly Trump policy makes him untrustworthy. I thought of all this as O’Dea struggled to regain control of the crowd. To his credit, as he stumbled, he hastily blurted out something to the effect of Latinos “not being monolithic.” He’s right; we’re not. However, the overwhelming majority of our people came to this country for the promise of the American Dream. I know my family came to the United States primarily because of the promise that you can be anybody if you work hard and play by the rules. And that dream is dying because of the systemic degradation of civil rights and privileges pushed by a dangerous, extremist agenda while they pass economic policies that harm everything from our public schools to roads to middle-class jobs and even our tax bill as they slash taxes for the ultra-wealthy. O’Dea hopes that by using his wife’s Mexican heritage, Latino and Hispanic voters will trust him. But it takes much more than just being married to the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants to win over the trust of Latino and Hispanic communities across Colorado. Once voters look beyond who O’Dea is married to and his staged acts to appear likable, they will see that he is just another anti-immigrant Republican who supports harmful policies that will hurt Colorado’s Latinos. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. Read More Here

This Week In Maine Politics: Oct. 9, 2022 https://digitalalaskanews.com/this-week-in-maine-politics-oct-9-2022/ Today, we continue a periodic compilation of reporting on the state’s politics leading up to the Nov. 8 elections. Quality time for the candidates The two major party candidates in the Maine governor’s campaign spent some time together over the past week, at the first debate on Tuesday, then at a federal agency meeting on lobster lines on Wednesday evening, and then at a joint appearance before the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. At Tuesday’s debate, LePage surprised many by stating he would not sign a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks. Abortion is currently legal in Maine through viability, or about 28 weeks.  The former Republican governor, once thought of as a “pro-life” supporter, said Tuesday that he supports current law. That shocked conservatives. Karen Vachon, executive director of Maine Right to Life, told the Associated Press that she was disappointed by LePage’s answer. “It is very disturbing that he wouldn’t support a ban after 15 weeks,” she said. Maine Public noted that LePage “appeared flustered, frustrated and at times confused’’ about reporters’ questions on abortion restrictions.  “I don’t know what you mean by 15 weeks or 28 weeks,” LePage said when asked about potential abortion bans starting at 15 weeks of pregnancy. “I don’t know. I mean, I’m not sure I understand the question.” Mills seized on the opening.: “I understand the question … I would not let such a law become effective. My veto pen will stand in the way of any restrictions on the right to abortion.” Another heated moment came when Mills linked LePage to former President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban.  LePage has sought to distance himself from Trump, his one time ally, this year. He insisted he had never supported Trump’s proposed ban. “Janet Mills, you are a liar,” LePage said. The Press Herald reported, however, that Mills was correct. When LePage was governor, and Mills was Maine’s attorney general, they disagreed on whether Maine should file a legal brief in support of the policy. “LePage supported Trump’s plan, while Mills opposed it,’’ the Press Herald reported. Also on stage Tuesday was Sam Hunkler, who has qualified for the ballot and is running as an independent. On Thursday, at an event hosted by the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, LePage suggested Mills benefited politically from the pandemic because the federal government injected billions of dollars in relief money into Maine’s state budget. “This governor has been very, very fortunate that COVID came because with COVID came nearly 15 billion from Uncle Joe,” LePage said, according to the Press Herald. “That’s where the surplus comes from. That’s why we got the $850 rebate. She’s trying to buy the election. What she should have done is lower the income tax.” Nearly 2,600 people in Maine have died from COVID, according to the New York Times count of cases. At the Portland event, LePage also described the city as a “concrete jungle’’ and referred to an earlier campaign event at Deering Oaks Park. City workers had cleared homeless people from the park before his campaign event, leading to suspicions that the city was attempting to deprive him of a foil. “Deering Park is not safe for you to bring your children,” LePage told the business group Thursday, according to Maine Public. “It actually took a press conference in order to clean up the park for one day. Should I visit every day?” LePage and Mills also attended a hearing Wednesday night to support lobstermen and others opposing proposed new rules to protect endangered right whales. What new taxes? The Maine Monitor’s Caitlin Andrews took a closer look at LePage’s remark that he would have gotten rid of new taxes during the pandemic and rerouted the money to help lower diesel taxes.  We found some tax cuts, but no tax increases. Read more here. Here’s what LePage said:  “I would take a look at suspending all taxes that were put in place since the pandemic,” he said.  “You might suspend them until we reach an inflation rate of 2 percent.” After the debate, the LePage campaign clarified the statement was also meant to encompass regulatory fees, pointing specifically to the law that bans single-use plastic bags and charges consumers for 5 cents for a carry-out bag. That law was passed in 2019 and slated to go into effect in the spring of 2020, but was pushed back for over a year during the coronavirus pandemic. Issues: election deniers, leadership of universities In the latest in their series on issues facing the state, the Press Herald looked at LePage’s past statements on elections. For example, according to the Press Herald, before the 2016 election that ultimately sent Trump to the White House, LePage told radio listeners he was “not confident of a clean election in Maine” and claimed “people from the cemetery” would vote. There’s no evidence of widespread election fraud in Maine.  The Washington Post included LePage and GOP congressional candidate Bruce Poliquin in their account of the 299 candidates who have at one time or another denied or questioned election results.  The Bangor Daily News, meanwhile, reported that UMaine Chancellor Dannel Malloy would likely be gone if LePage returns. He would prefer to see Leigh Saufley, dean of the University of Maine School of Law and the former chief justice of Maine’s high court, replace him, the BDN reported.  Prominent donors line up behind Mills and LePage The Portland Press Herald reported that the campaigns of Janet Mills and Paul LePage have pulled in money from well-known donors. LePage’s campaign has received money from radio host Howie Carr, conservative activist Linda Bean, and the Quirk family, which owns car dealerships. Mills has received money from Illinois Gov. Jay Pritzker, members of the Rockefeller family, artist Jamie Wyeth, Lee Auto Malls President Adam Lee, philanthropist Melinda French Gates, philanthropist Roxanne Quimby and big Democratic donor Donald Sussman. Congressional campaign donations The Washington Post, in an article about Democrats’ worries they will be outspent by Republican megadonors in House campaigns, mentioned the race between Democratic Rep. Jared Golden and Republican Bruce Poliquin. “Republicans have reserved more than $3 million more in television ads than Democrats for the period between Labor Day and the end of the campaign, according to AdImpact. (House Majority Pac) has no reservations for two weeks in October in the district, compared to about $1 million in (Conservative Leadership Fund) spending planned for the same period.’’ The Cook Political Report rates the race a tossup. David Dahl is the editor of The Maine Monitor. He can be reached by email: david@themainemonitor.org. Read More Here

When It Comes To Macomb GOP Power Broker Stanley Grot, The Truth Is Bad Enough https://digitalalaskanews.com/when-it-comes-to-macomb-gop-power-broker-stanley-grot-the-truth-is-bad-enough/ Free legal advice is worth what you pay for it. But if the five Republicans Stanley Grot sued for defamation had consulted me before they started slinging mud, I would have told them: Stick to the facts; the truth is bad enough. Grot has been clerk in Shelby Township for more than 10 years, but his elected position is just part of what makes him such an influential and controversial figure in Macomb County, where things get so rough-and-tumble that instead of political circles they have a political octagon. A former autoworker who turned to politics back in the 1980s, Grot is an old-school ward heeler who recruits ground troops, makes mischief for his rivals and is often rewarded with cozy political appointments. He sued five dyspeptic Republican activists for defamation after he said they accused him of everything from being a “most corrupt politician,” “a tax cheat,” “unethical,” and “immoral” to “crooked.” Grot’s lawsuit says their claims are “without foundation” and “made with reckless disregard to the truth.” I didn’t see evidence to support all of the allegations Grot’s critics leveled on social media and elsewhere, but there is a formidable foundation for some of their charges — and even Grot acknowledges some of the circumstances that provided fodder for his accusers are true. “These are not new issues,” Grot told me Friday. “They are rehashed every time I run for office, or when my wife runs for office.” Grot would like you to believe that all the latest noise is part of a calculated campaign to defeat his wife, Sylvia, in her bid for a seat on the Macomb County Commission. But long before Sylvia Grot entered that race, Stanley Grot got a property tax break he didn’t deserve, the feds pegged him as a corrupt public official, and the Michigan attorney general characterized a $200,000 deal he took after dropping out of the race for Michigan secretary of state as “offensive” and “corrupt behavior.” More:Wayne County judge’s bad judgment endangers kids, creates legacy of shame More:No-show Detroit judge wants another chance to hold all of us in contempt Citizen Grot Republicans love to blame Jimmy Carter for everything, and Grot is no exception. Grot says he was poised for a promotion with GM when economic setbacks he blamed on the Georgia peanut farmer elected president in 1976 robbed him of a raise and turned him into a Ronald Reagan Republican. In 1986, Grot ran for Congress against U.S. Rep. Dennis Hertel and got smooshed by more than 58,000 votes, giving the incumbent Democrat a victory margin of 73% to 27%. In 1988, Grot joined the Sterling Heights City Council. He has since served in a variety of elected and appointed government positions ranging from Macomb County commissioner, Macomb County deputy treasurer, assistant secretary of state under Candice Miller and public relations representative for southeast Michigan under Attorney General Bill Schuette. In 2012, Grot was appointed to fill the vacant Shelby Township clerk position and has been reelected to the post ever since. While he has maintained a reputation as a wheeler-dealer who views politics as a full-contact sport, Grot’s place on the political spectrum has shifted. After nearly 30 years as an establishment Republican, he led a Tea Party takeover of the Macomb County Republican Party. Along the way, he went from Miller ally to enemy, and became such a strong supporter of Donald Trump that he was one of 16 “fake electors” who on Dec. 14, 2020, falsely claimed they were “duly elected and qualified” to cast Michigan’s 16 Electoral College votes for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence — even though Joe Biden and Kamala Harris got 154,000 more votes. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she believed the phony electors were part of a multistate criminal conspiracy to steal the election and asked the feds to investigate. Grot acknowledged signing the certificate pledging Michigan’s votes for Trump. When I asked him whether he believed the election was stolen from Trump, he said: “President Biden was certified, he’s occupying the White House, but we’ve got to respect the office of the presidency.” I told him “that’s a politician’s answer,” and asked him again whether he believed the election was stolen. “Let me repeat what I just told you,” he said. In an earlier and far less dramatic bit of political hijinks, Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson in 2014 cautioned Grot, who was then running for state representative, that the clerk’s office had sent out absentee ballots on which Grot’s name was too prominent. Nevertheless, Grot lost the GOP nomination to Pete Lucido. (Lucido was elected to the state House and is now Macomb County prosecutor.) Despite the loss, Grot remains an influential figure in Macomb County Republican politics — so much so that fellow Trump enthusiast Mellissa Carone wrote on social media that “Grot believes he’s the King Maker of Macomb County,” adding “before a candidate filed to run they’re advised to contact Grot for ‘approval.’ “ That’s one of the less offensive posts Grot’s attorney Michael Balian included as an exhibit in Grot’s defamation lawsuit against Carone. Balian sent Carone a letter demanding a retraction for “all statements published on Facebook and other social media websites.” In 2021, Balian filed a similar lawsuit against Grot critic Kenneth Licari. Earlier this year, Balian filed defamation suits against Pamela Ulrich, Marlene Jacobson and Darlene Doetzel. The lawsuits accuse Grot’s critics of making statements “with reckless disregard to the truth.” Balian acknowledged that, in some cases, the allegations against Grot are built around a “kernel” of truth. “It’s the relentlessness of this group that made him fed up,” Balian said of Grot’s decision to sue. “If they were just to say, ‘Here’s an article about Stan,’ he’s fine with that. … It’s how they embellish them.” Here’s an article about Stan On Feb. 9, 1997, the Macomb Daily ran a front page article under the headline: “Grot loses home tax exemption.” In Michigan, homeowners can get a significant break on property taxes for the home where they live. The hitch is you can only get it on your domicile, which is legal jargon for the place where you spend most of your time, are registered to vote, insure your vehicles and so on. At the time, Grot was working for the Secretary of State. His problem was that while he claimed his primary residence was Delhi Township, which is near Lansing, he was registered to vote in Sterling Heights. Delhi officials determined that meant he was a resident of Sterling Heights, and ineligible for the tax break, which saved him $1,250. Grot told me Friday that he was planning to sell the house in Delhi after buying a home in Sterling Heights, and that the sale took longer than he expected. So, for a while, he got tax breaks on two houses at the same time. “I did not defraud the government,” he told me. “I paid the right amount. It was just the circumstances that took place that I had two forms at the same time.” “I did correct it,” he added. “When the time came, the right amount was paid. I pay what I owe.” Back in 1997, Grot told the Macomb Daily that he believed his enemies in the Republican Party dropped a dime on him to officials in Delhi Township. The article ended with this quote from Grot: “In this business, you’re going to make some friends and you’re going to make some enemies.” … and make some friends On July 9, 2019, a former employee of a Shelby Township contractor testified in federal court that Grot was one of several elected officials in Macomb County who she saw take envelopes filled with money from her boss, Fazal Khan. “People would come in and they would pick up the cash,” Stacy Cerget testified. Grot testified two days later that he did not take bribes, and never saw Cerget at Khan’s office. “There’s no bribes going on in our Shelby,” he said from the witness stand. Grot told me Friday that he believes Cerget put him in the crosshairs because she was mad he refused to testify on her behalf when she sued Khan years earlier. Khan was convicted of bribing public officials, but Grot was never charged. Nevertheless, federal prosecutors believe Grot was crooked. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bullotta, the lead prosecutor in the Khan case, told me: “The questions I posed to Mr. Grot on cross-examination when he testified at Mr. Khan’s federal bribery trial were designed to expose the fact that Mr. Grot received items of value from Mr. Khan at the same time Mr. Grot was the elected clerk for Shelby Township with the power to vote on Khan’s lucrative engineering contracts. This was an important fact in the trial to rebut the claim by Mr. Khan that he did not have a history of providing items of value to public officials in order to influence them in taking official actions.” One thing that no one disputes is that Khan hired two of Grot’s kids as summer interns. As clerk, Grot has a vote on township contracts and payments to vendors. The clerk’s office is also the liaison for the township’s sidewalk committee. Part of the Grot boys’ duties as interns for Khan was inspecting sidewalks. “The evidence in the case showed that Mr. Grot’s children were employed by Mr. Khan at a higher pay rate than other workers to perform menial tasks like walking along sidewalks and checking for cracks, for which Grot’s kids earned 50 cents for every sidewalk square they checked,” Bullotta told me. Grot testified that his sons applied for the internships “just like everybody else,” and were paid minimum wage. He said he did not know if they were paid more than other interns. Grot told me Khan got his engineering contract with Shelby Township before Grot became clerk, but he acknowledged t...

Biden Is ’rounding Up Pro-Life Activists Everywhere’ IG News https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-is-rounding-up-pro-life-activists-everywhere-ig-news/ IG News Updates, Former President Donald Trump called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to send the FBI to arrest lifeguards across the country over alleged minor crimes. Speaking in front of a crowd of supporters at his rally in Nevada, the former president said Joe Biden and his Democrat supporters in government are “turning America into a police state,” citing the administration’s humiliating arrests and turning a blind eye to his turned to Massive bombing of pro-life clinics at the hands of pro-choice terrorists. “Before our eyes, Biden and his leftist handlers are turning America into a police state,” Trump said. Look what’s happening. After ignoring violent attacks on pro-life clinics, the Biden administration is cornering pro-life activists across the country. First they arrested the minister, which you all read about, then this week they arrested the grandparents with guns, several agents barged into their tiny houses and put them in jail. In September, the FBI raided the home of pro-life activist Mark Hawke after his “screaming” children were watched in horror over allegations related to the FACE Act stemming from an incident in which Hawke killed a 72-year-old abortion worker. was pushed, who was escorting. Women in a Planned Parenthood clinic. Hawke’s family says the man was harassing their 12-year-old son. Just last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted 11 pro-life advocates with federal charges related to the 2021 protests at a Tennessee abortion clinic. Most defendants could face up to eleven years in prison. “These guys went out and protested beautifully, quietly, and they’re in jail now,” Trump said of pro-life activists. “They were protesting outside abortion clinics and [the government] They are being charged with a crime of up to 11 years in prison. In many cases, they are grandparents and elderly people…” He continued: These are peaceful patriots. You can agree with them. You don’t need to agree. They want to put him in jail for 11 years which he has every right to do. Democrats are shutting down their political opponents, spying on their political rivals, silencing dissent, and using the full force of government, law enforcement, and the media, fake media. The former president then called on “every freedom-loving American” to protest this tyranny in the upcoming midterm election. “This election, we have to do this. We don’t have the luxury of waiting. The only way for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing,” he concluded. Read More Here

How Trump Deflected Demands For Documents, Enmeshing Aides https://digitalalaskanews.com/how-trump-deflected-demands-for-documents-enmeshing-aides/ Late last year, as the National Archives ratcheted up the pressure on former President Donald Trump to return boxes of records he had taken from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago club, he came up with an idea to resolve the looming showdown: cut a deal. Trump, still determined to show he had been wronged by the FBI investigation into his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia, was angry with the National Archives and Records Administration for its unwillingness to hand over a batch of sensitive documents that he thought proved his claims. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. SUBSCRIBE NOW Read More Here

US Officials Meet The Taliban First Time After Al-Zawahiri's Murder https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-officials-meet-the-taliban-first-time-after-al-zawahiris-murder/ The deputy director of the CIA and the top State Department official responsible for Afghanistan are revealed to have met with the Taliban in Qatar. The Taliban flag. Senior Biden administration officials met in person with the Taliban on Saturday, as revealed by US officials to CNN. This would mark the first time they meet since Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri was killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan.  The deputy director of the CIA and the top State Department official responsible for Afghanistan met with the Taliban delegation in Doha, Qatar. The delegation included Abdul Haq Wasiq, the Taliban’s head of intelligence. After Al-Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike, Washington accused the Taliban of “clear and blatant violation of the Doha agreement” which was brokered by the Trump administration. The deal stipulates that the Taliban would not harbor terrorists if the US withdraws from Afghanistan.  Taliban officials have condemned the killing of Al-Zawahiri.  The US continued to engage with the Taliban, in addition to negotiating with the US to release US citizen Mark Frerichs.  CIA Deputy Director David Cohen and Wasiq met on Saturday. Three weeks ago, Frerichs was released after more than 2 years in captivity with help from Qatar. Administration officials said they spent months negotiating with the Taliban to release the prisoner. Diplomatic sources spoke to Al Mayadeen in August, revealing that Al-Zawahiri was not killed the way Washington said he was killed, indicating that the Al-Qaeda chief was killed as a result of a mysterious explosion that was not and cannot be disclosed. US President Joe Biden claimed that there were no US boots on the ground in Afghanistan at the time of the attack.  However, Washington claims that its forces studied the construction of the Al-Qaeda leader’s home, finalizing a plan using a detailed model of his safehouse in Afghanistan and presenting it to Biden on July 1. The strike was carried out using a non-explosive version of Hellfire, the R9X, which deploys a series of knife-like blades from its fuselage and shreds its target. The “flying ginsu” missiles have been used several times by the United States to kill other targets in Washington’s scope. By the end of August, the Taliban reported that they have not yet found the body of Al-Zawahiri, and that investigation was still underway. Read more: How exactly was Al-Qaeda’s Zawahiri killed? Read More Here

In Russian-Occupied Izyum, She Was Raped And Tortured https://digitalalaskanews.com/in-russian-occupied-izyum-she-was-raped-and-tortured/ A portrait of Alla, a Ukrainian woman who said she was held by Russian forces for 10 days in July in the occupied city of Izyum in Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region. During that time, she said she was raped and tortured by her captors. (Wojciech Grzedzinski for The Washington Post) October 9, 2022 at 1:00 a.m. EDT IZYUM, Ukraine — Soon after Russian forces took her prisoner, the 52-year-old woman picked up a nail and carved her name into a brick wall. A-L-L-A, she wrote. Below, she scratched how many days she had been held in the shed outside a medical clinic in her hometown. Above, she wrote in simple words what she had endured in captivity: ELECTRICAL SHOCK. UNDRESS. PAINFUL. She hoped the markings would one day serve as clues for her son about what she expected to be the final days of her life. “I thought if my son would look for me, he could find these writings and understand that I was there and died there,” she later recalled. Alla, 52, claims Russian forces brutalized her and her husband for 10 days during the occupation of Izyum. (Video: Whitney Shefte, Jon Gerberg/The Washington Post) Some of Alla’s writing is still visible in the small shed in Izyum, the city in northeast Ukraine, where she said occupying Russian forces tortured, raped and beat her while she was held captive for 10 days in July. The men who detained her, Alla said, were seeking information about her son, who works for Ukraine’s internal security service, the SBU, and about her own work at the region’s gas company. Her husband, who worked at the same company, was also detained and tortured on the clinic’s property. Alla’s account of her treatment at the hands of Russian forces adds to a growing body of evidence of alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops and officials in the parts of Ukraine they occupied this year, after President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion and launched a full-scale war. Russian forces have left a trail of destruction and cruelty across Ukraine, including in Bucha, where they were accused of atrocities. New reports of barbarity are emerging as Ukraine’s military liberates more towns following months of occupation, and as authorities and rights groups try to document these acts of inhumanity in hopes of one day bringing perpetrators to justice, perhaps before an international tribunal. Russia controlled Izyum, a small city in the northeast Kharkiv region, from March through September, when a surprise Ukrainian counteroffensive forced Russian troops and local collaborators to rapidly retreat. In the weeks since Ukraine retook its territory, horrific details have emerged about some of the most grievous offenses Russian forces allegedly committed during their violent occupation. Civilians who survived the occupation have recounted other instances of rape and torture at the hands of Russian and Russia-backed troops. Some of the hundreds of civilian bodies retrieved from a mass burial site in Izyum showed signs of torture, Ukrainian officials said. Alla shared her account with The Washington Post on the condition only her first name be used. The Post is also not naming her husband, or son, to protect her identity. Washington Post journalists twice visited the site where she was imprisoned, once independently and once with Alla and her husband. Her account was consistent with what Post journalists found inside, including her name and other details still scrawled on the wall. It was impossible to independently verify every detail of Alla’s case. But in an investigation into torture in Izyum, Human Rights Watch spoke to eight other men and one other woman who were detained at the clinic during the Russian occupation, said Belkis Wille, senior researcher in the group’s conflict and crisis division. The woman told the group she was threatened with rape but not sexually assaulted. A man who was held in a garage at the clinic during the same time as Alla reported that he heard women’s screams, and soldiers talking about denying food to a prisoner because she had not performed a sex act, Wille said. Alla also showed The Post journalists a video of herself after she returned home, in which she appeared gaunt and disheveled. The harassment started in mid-March. After surviving heavy shelling, Alla braved a pedestrian bridge across the river that runs through Izyum to check on her son’s empty apartment near the city center. On her way, she found a scene of ruin: Corpses lay on the sides of the road, and there were destroyed buildings everywhere she looked. Her son’s neighbors told her that Russians had visited the building, asked about her son, who was working elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, and searched his apartment. The men “started taking out everything,” she recalled, including his coffee machine, CD player, television and washing machine. Fearing all his belongings would be looted, she moved what valuables were left to a friend’s house nearby. That same month, Russian forces began visiting her and her husband at their home. First they said they were looking for weapons or wanted photos of her son, who was deployed for work outside of Izyum. Later they started searching her phone, interrogating her and her husband about whether their son was hiding in Izyum and insisting he should collaborate with Russia. Soldiers also told them that her son’s neighbors had provided intelligence to them about their family. They were “threatening us all the time, telling me that if my son collaborated with them, they won’t touch us, everything will be good,” Alla said. “We lived in constant fear, but they didn’t touch us, didn’t torture us.” Like many other civilians, Alla and her husband knew they might be safer elsewhere but they feared leaving behind her elderly parents. Then the Russians’ demands escalated. The Russian-appointed mayor of Izyum and men who identified themselves as FSB agents repeatedly asked Alla to return to her job at the Kharkiv gas company. The gas supply was cut to the much of the city and Russian officials wanted to turn it back on. Alla insisted she would not return to work and that as a manager, she did not have the technical expertise they needed. When she finally visited her office, she found the door kicked in and her belongings turned upside down. The next day, on July 1 at 11 a.m., two cars pulled up outside their house — both emblazoned with the Russian “Z.” About 10 men jumped out of the vehicles, including those who had visited them before. “ ‘You were saying you wouldn’t go to work?’ ” Alla recalled them shouting. “ ‘You went to the gas bureau and bossed around there? Now, get ready.’ ” The men placed bags over Alla and her husband’s heads, tied their hands with duct tape and shoved them into the trunks of each car. With her eyes covered, Alla did not know where she was being taken. Then the cars stopped and the soldiers jumped out. “ ‘We’ll beat the Ukrainian out of you here, you won’t come out of here alive,’ ” they told her. “ ‘Either you accept our rules and acknowledge that you live in Russia or you’ll go missing. No one will find you, ever.’ ” Then they pushed Alla through a door, untied her hands and took off the bag covering her eyes. She was inside a small, dark shed with a cement floor. The men locked the door and said they would be back soon. An hour later, six men returned to the shed, placed the bag back over her head and brought her to another building nearby, where they demanded she undress. When she refused, “they forcefully undressed me, laid me on [the] table and started touching me, everywhere,” she said. They laughed as they groped her. “Then they were throwing me on my knees, screaming, ‘Oh you are Ukrainian. Do you know what we do with Ukrainian women and mothers of Ukraine’s Security Service officers?’ ” Alla said. “ ‘We tie them up naked on the main square and send pictures of them to their sons so they would see what we can do to their parents.’ ” The commander made rules about how Alla should behave, threatening to beat her if she disobeyed: When the men entered the shed, she should be naked from the waist down and keep her back turned to them. She initially refused. “ ‘What do you mean you would not take your clothes off? Do you think you can argue with us?’ ” she recalled the commander saying. “I started crying and screaming, but he took my clothes off and asked his soldiers who would be the first to rape me.” The assaults — carried out by the commander — usually began after 4 p.m., when the men returned to the clinic. For three days, the commander forcibly touched her and forced her to perform oral sex on him while holding her husband hostage in a garage nearby. Alla said she could hear her husband cry out as the troops beat him, and overheard the commander tell “my husband that he raped me, and that we both enjoyed it.” The shed was so stuffy that she found it difficult to breathe and had to remove a loose brick from the wall to try to get fresh air. She begged the soldiers for anti-anxiety medication, which they provided. They also gave her two buckets — one to use as a toilet and the other for porridge and stale bread. Through a hole in the wall, she once saw the men escorting her husband back to the garage, beaten so badly he could barely stand. “I was determined to commit suicide. There were some spikes inside the barn, and I had a bra so I thought of hanging myself,” she said. “It did not work out. I started crying. I was crying all the time. They heard me crying and came back, and started harassing me again.” As the days passed, the men continued to demand information from her about the gas supply in Izyum — at one point shocking her feet with electricity and laughing as she screamed. “I cannot express what kind of pain it was,” she said. The commander also asked about money on her...

Suspect Arrested In Unprovoked Stabbing Death In Bronx Subway Station https://digitalalaskanews.com/suspect-arrested-in-unprovoked-stabbing-death-in-bronx-subway-station/ MORRIS HEIGHTS, Bronx (WABC) — Police have made an arrest in the deadly stabbing of a man in a Bronx subway station on Thursday. Saquan Lemons, 27, of the Bronx was arrested Saturday afternoon on charges including murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon, authorities said. The victim, Charles Moore, 38, was getting off a northbound No. 4 train as it arrived at the 176th Street station just before 9 p.m. Thursday when he was stabbed multiple times in the back and chest. Moore collapsed on the platform awas rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he later died, becoming the seventh person to be killed in the NYC transit system this year, and the second fatal subway stabbing in less than a week. Friends and family say that Moore’s world revolved around his 8-year-old daughter, Charlie. “She was his life. She was Charles’ life – if there’s one thing I can say about my son, he was a damn good father. A better father than what we had,” said Moore’s mother, Frances Vanterpool. On Saturday, friends toasted him, cried and lit candles for a second night – but this time, they knew that a suspect was in custody. Police did not say how they found Lemons, but the MTA’s Security chief thanked him in a statement for their use of MTA cameras in making the quick arrest. Police are still investigating whether this was a random attack. Moore’s mother says it had to be. “It was unprovoked, there was no words spoken between that man and my son. The man stabbed my son in the back, several times,” she said. While the arrest is a relief to family and friends who were honoring Moore, it doesn’t make the loss any less painful. “I mean, he’s arrested – that’s it. But it won’t bring my friend back,” said Darrel Colquhoun. Colquhoun was actually on the phone with Moore minutes before he was attacked, while Moore was on his way home from work at Citi Field. “Everything was normal, we were just talking about my son’s basketball,” Colquhoun said. They were planning to hang out before Moore would spend the weekend with his little girl. Moore’s mother says a murder conviction is all she wants at this point – her family has been through unimaginable loss. Ten years ago, Moore’s nephew, Teddy Beckles was killed in a stabbing outside his school. Just last year, Moore’s sister suffered a fatal heart attack. “I can’t take no more,” said Vanterpool. ALSO READ | Who is the NYC rooftop jumper? Eyewitness News solves mystery behind viral daredevil stunt ———- * More Bronx news * Send us a news tip * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts * Follow us on YouTube Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply. Copyright © 2022 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved. Read More Here

Payne Qualifies For Chancellor https://digitalalaskanews.com/payne-qualifies-for-chancellor/ Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Day Pass Starting at $1.99 for 1 day Rate Price Duration 1 Day Pass $1.99 for 1 day 3 Days Pass $2.99 for 3 days 7 Days Pass $5.99 for 7 days Full Access – Print and Online Starting at $16.00 for 30 days Rate Price Duration 1 Month $16.00 for 30 days 3 Months $43.00 for 90 days 6 Months $83.00 for 180 days 1 Year $159.00 for 365 days Online Only Starting at $16.00 for 30 days Rate Price Duration 1 Month $16.00 for 30 days 3 Months $43.00 for 90 days 6 Months $83.00 for 180 days 1 Year $159.00 for 365 days Print Subscribers Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Free access for current print subscribers Read More Here

From Cheating Scandals To Heartbreaking Stories: 19 Grab Drivers & Passengers Spill Some Juicy Tea – Hype Malaysia https://digitalalaskanews.com/from-cheating-scandals-to-heartbreaking-stories-19-grab-drivers-passengers-spill-some-juicy-tea-hype-malaysia/ E-hailing drivers meet different kinds of passengers every single day, and sometimes we hear interesting stories from them. Be it good, bad, crazy, or even scandalous, these stories are exciting to read and hear about. Though sometimes it’s not just drivers that have the crazy stories, but the passengers too! Just a few days ago, a Twitter user named Intan had tweeted that she wanted to hear some juicy “secrets” from e-hailing experiences. Much to her surprise, numerous people chimed in with their e-hailing stories. Here, we thought we’d share some of the posted tweets. SOURCE: VULCAN POST Drivers’ stories Because of the tweet thread, many Grab drivers were more than happy to share their side of the story. Although rest assured, none of them disclosed any names or any form of identity. There were stories about creepy uncles, political scandals and more! SOURCE: TWITTER “Can I share this? I picked up one guy from BSP to KLIA. The wife even kissed his hands, probably because he was about to work abroad. But then during the car ride, the husband called someone and said ‘Abi, I’m about to reach home.’ He then changed the drop-off location from KLIA to Cyberjaya.“ “I drove 2 Africans once, (they were) sisters. One in the front and the other in the back. At 2am in the morning, they requested a drive from BSP to Trec. But they didn’t have enough money to pay in full. So one of the girls asked me to kiss the younger sister so that they wouldn’t have to pay the difference. Crazy. I still wanted money though, so they went and asked a friend in the area. They just threw the money in.“ “Not a secret, but I drove a passenger once. A college kid broke up with him during the ride until he cried. When I dropped him off, like an idiot, I asked him to rate me 5 stars. I regretted it so fast, I turned off the Grab application, went to a Mamak, and reflected on why I was an idiot.“ “Me: Baiya, on holiday today? Baiya: I work at a snooker center. Behind the door, there is a gambling machine. Me: Wow, aren’t you scared Baiya? Baiya: Why should I be scared? The police always go there anyway. Even the chief of police plays the gambling machine.“ “I drove a Nigerian diplomat once, from KL to Semenyih. He asked me whether I’ve been sexually harassed by an African man since I’m a lady driver. After I said yes, he suggested if I ever come in contact with Africans in the future, I should always say I’m married. Apparently they will leave me alone.“ “I drove Uber once, and this couple – both were drunk – said ‘Please drive safely, we’re not married yet. Hello? You guys are drunk, not me.“ SOURCE: TWITTER “(I was once an Uber driver.) A pretty woman stayed around ****AK, and asked me about politics. I couldn’t share much (due to Uber policies). She then shared a few secrets about Rosmah Mansor. I was shocked….“ “I picked up a handicapped beggar once; Dug up secrets on how they work; Revealed their modus operandi and their daily income. There are 2 work sessions (10am – 12pm), (8pm – 10pm). Their total pay for 1 session is RM250 (if they’re lazy) and RM450 (if they work hard). The wages for a Mak Cik to show the way is RM100 per day.” “There are a few stories I remember from Grab, especially when driving foreigners. First, Bangladeshis are not stingy. He gave RM50 but I didn’t have enough change. He didn’t mind. The fee was only RM10+. Second, English-speaking people are fascinated that I can speak their language fluently. Third, one Arab passenger kept rambling about how much wealth he had back in Saudi. He was Muslim but is going to a pub. He asked for my number so that he can send me gifts. I declined. Said he was rich but he didn’t even tip me.“ “I picked up this woman from Shah Alam who had gotten back from a (kidney) dialysis session. The account she used was a man’s name, so I asked her about it. She said that the account was her husband’s, who just passed away 2 weeks ago. She explained that she wasn’t used to the app since her husband usually booked the Grab. Because she was just after a dialysis session, I brought up the topic, ‘Oh, my dad died too because of kidney failure.’ I felt so stupid at the time. The whole day I was thinking of how insensitive I was. I hope that she is still healthy and strong going through the dialysis sessions.“ One of the most heart wrenching thing I’ve read on Reddit. pic.twitter.com/HRE2ctY5AB — Ilham Alfatihah (@brahma_kali) October 3, 2022 Passengers’ stories After many e-hailing stories, passengers too were keen to share their stories. ADVERTISEMENT SOURCE: TWITTER “I’m not trying to be racist but I had a bad experience with this one Chinese uncle. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met other Chinese drivers who were nice and polite. (This driver) was insisting that I join him for clubbing and drinking. (The driver also) said that I should try pork since it’s delicious. Could he not see that I’m a Muslim wearing hijab?“ “I as a passenger whispered to my friend sitting at the back, please be quick because I’m about to get diarrhea. The moment we reached the hostel, the Grab driver said ‘go faster, or you won’t make it. I died.“ “I’m usually quiet when I’m in a Grab ride. But once I cried while on the car ride because that morning, my dad couldn’t send me to the bus terminal. The Grab driver asked if I ran away from home. Stupidly, I nodded.“ “I once got into a Grab car feeling stressed out and numb. When the Grab driver asked where I’ was going, I said I didn’t know. He then treated me to a free meal and gave me a free ride back home. I’ll never forget his kindness.“ “(I was) talking about my studies with the Grab driver. At that time, I was only in Form 4. He asked what stream I was in. Suddenly he asked, ‘Do you take Tasawwur?’ I didn’t understand so I asked him to repeat several times. Again, he repeated the question four times. I was confused, I thought he was asking whether I had Suhoor this morning.“ “(My story) is fun. I was from my house in KL going to TBS because I needed to go back to Ipoh, my hometown. I farted so loud like a stereo. I said sorry and rolled down the windows. But then after a few minutes, the brother (driver) countered back with a fart attack. When we reached TBS, I tipped him RM5.“ SOURCE: TWITTER “This one time when I got into a Grab car, I requested to sit at the front sit. The driver suddenly burst into tears. When I asked why, he said my face and voice reminded him of his late wife that had just passed that same year. They were married for two months.“ “A driver once shared that contractors will never earn ‘clean money. Every (business) is under the table (unofficial). That is why he resigned because he had money but it wasn’t honest money. So he prefers driving Grab because at least the income is legit.“ “One time I got in this taxi. The driver was a lady. I don’t remember how this topic came but I was complaining about Indonesians being everywhere. There are so many Indonesians in KL. In the end, when we arrived at my destination, I was leaving the cab, and paying my fee when I asked her, ‘Where are you from?’. ‘I’m from Indonesia, originally from Makassar.’ I immediately felt like fainting. When I left the car, I couldn’t feel my legs. Crazy!“ Sharing my story as passenger. pic.twitter.com/ufjKKuewYK — nabilmuhaimin (@nabilmuhaimin) October 4, 2022 There were so many interesting stories, we just couldn’t stop reading. If you too are keen on reading more, go and check them out here! If you have any stories you’d like to share with the world, comment down below! Sources: Murai, Twitter Puteri Teja contributed to this article. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.  Read More Here

Austria https://digitalalaskanews.com/austria/ VIENNA (AP) — Austria’s liberal president is hoping to be reelected on Sunday without the need for a runoff vote after a campaign in which he has cast himself as the stable option in uncertain times. President Alexander Van der Bellen, 78, is seeking a second term after a first six years in which a succession of domestic political crises has given the head of state unusually high visibility in a role that is often largely ceremonial. Nearly 6.4 million people in the Alpine country are eligible to vote in Sunday’s election. Polls have shown a big lead for Van der Bellen, who has the implicit or explicit backing of Austria’s mainstream parties. The main question is whether he will win outright in the first round or whether a runoff will be necessary against the second-placed candidate on Nov. 6. Of the parties in parliament, only the far-right Freedom Party has fielded a candidate against him — Walter Rosenkranz, a lawyer who is the former leader of its parliamentary group. In 2016, Van der Bellen beat a more prominent Freedom Party candidate, Norbert Hofer, by 53.8% to 46.2% in a runoff that was rerun on the orders of Austria’s Constitutional Court. Hofer’s party had claimed widespread voting irregularities in the initial runoff months earlier that Van der Bellen won by a whisker. The vote was closely watched in a year that produced the Brexit vote in the U.K. and Donald Trump’s election in the United States. There’s no sign of any such drama this time. Opinion polling in recent weeks has consistently put Van der Bellen above the 50% mark he needs to avoid a runoff. “If things go well, I’m going to get more votes than all six of my competitors combined,” he said this week. “If I don’t get my wish, well, then I’ll just win four weeks later. … I don’t want that. I want to win this Sunday.” Other candidates include the left-leaning, satirical Beer Party’s Dominik Wlazny, known as Marco Pogo, as well as a handful of right-wing and conspiracy-minded candidates, such as Michael Brunner of the anti-coronavirus restriction party People Freedom Fundamental Rights and Gerald Grosz, a former leader of the now-defunct far-right party Alliance for the Future of Austria. The Freedom Party has capitalized on inflation and rising energy prices to make modest poll gains in recent months. But it’s been unable to pose the strong challenge that Hofer did. Recent campaign posters for Van der Bellen, who hails from the environmentalist Green party but is running as an independent, featured the slogan “The Safe Choice in Stormy Times.” Austria has faced political disruptions in recent years, going through five chancellors during Van der Bellen’s first term. After conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s governing coalition with the Freedom Party collapsed in scandal in 2019, the president appointed an interim Cabinet of non-partisan experts under Brigitte Bierlein, then the head of the Constitutional Court. Austria’s top politicians trooped in and out of Van der Bellen’s Hofburg palace again last year after Kurz, who had returned in a new government with the Greens, resigned. The country had three chancellors in two months, with Kurz’s successor, Alexander Schallenberg, giving way within weeks to current Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Early election projections should be available shortly after the polls close at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) Sunday, with a preliminary result expected Sunday evening. Postal ballots will be counted on Monday. ___ Follow AP’s Read More Here

Biden Takes Victory Lap On Inflation Reduction Act's Insulin Cap, Blames Republicans For Not Backing It https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-takes-victory-lap-on-inflation-reduction-acts-insulin-cap-blames-republicans-for-not-backing-it/ President Joe Biden jumped on social media Saturday night to take a victory lap on the Inflation Reduction Act, a signature piece of legislation the president is parading ahead of November’s midterm elections. In a pair of tweets, Biden — who campaigned on “Bringing America together” and “uniting our nation” — knocked Republicans for supporting only “the wealthiest Americans” and opposing a cap on insulin prices. “If you’re on Medicare, your insulin will be capped at $35 a month thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. We wanted to cut the cost of insulin for everyone—including hundreds of thousands of children with Type 1 diabetes—but Republicans voted to strike that out of the bill,” Biden tweeted. In a separate tweet, Biden claimed Republicans were swift to help corporations. Democrats, he said, were swift to implement taxes against them. HOUSE PASSES BILL CAPPING INSULIN AT $35 A MONTH FOR PATIENTS WITH INSURANCE “Republicans had no problem enacting a $2 trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations,” the president tweeted. “Now, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, corporations will have to pay a minimum corporate tax of 15%.” Biden’s $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which he signed into law in August, caps the cost of a month’s supply of insulin to $35. Medicare recipients will also not have to pay a deductible for insulin, starting on January 1, 2023. The law also authorizes the federal government to negotiate prices on some prescription drugs and cap costs for the government’s Medicare health program, Reuters reported. The government will start negotiating prices for 10 drugs in 2024, which are slated to take effect in 2026. The first of the medicine prices to be negotiated will be for medications that treat diseases such as diabetes, cancer and arthritis. The specific medications will be announced in 2023. HEALTH CARE CEOS THANK TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR CAPPING SENIOR INSULIN COSTS TO $35 A MONTH The new law also caps out-of-pocket pharmacy drug costs for those enrolled in Medicare at $2,000 per year, starting in 2025. While Biden’s victory lap included criticizing Republicans for not supporting the cap, it was Republicans — namely former President Donald Trump in 2020 — that first limited the cost of Part D prescription insulin to a maximum $35 copay for a month’s supply. “President Trump has forged partnerships with pharmaceutical manufacturers and plans to deliver lower priced insulin to our nation’s seniors,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma said at the time. “This market-based solution, in which insulin manufacturers and Part D sponsors compete to provide lower costs and higher quality for patients, will allow seniors to choose a Part D plan that covers their insulin at an average 66 percent lower out-of-pocket cost throughout the year.” THE COST OF INSULIN CAN BE DEADLY Biden rescinded the Trump healthcare action within his first year in office. In recent weeks, Biden has increased his propagandizing against Republicans as the midterm elections are just over 30 days away. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS His recent tweets from the official presidential account include calling some Republicans “extremist,” suggesting Trump supporters are “pro-insurrection,” claiming the Republican Party would enact a nationwide abortion ban and that the GOP would “enact extreme policies to threaten access to basic health care.” Read More Here

Question Our Leaders; Don’t Follow Blindly https://digitalalaskanews.com/question-our-leaders-dont-follow-blindly/ DEAR EDITOR: It’s been a rough two years under Biden. We need to secure our borders. How? That’s the problem. Energy, we need to drill, but we need to transition to cleaner. The economy is humming; yet, we’re being crushed by inflation. I believe in supporting Ukraine militarily, even sanctioning Russia. China has turned a cold shoulder to Putin. His reserves are fleeing. Not a good look for a dictator. Ukraine is getting the better of their brutal aggressor. War crimes are being committed. Obviously, I’ve posed more questions than solutions. Biden is a decent man, but he’s not cutting it. I’d like to pose this about the right’s hypocrisy. Trump made us two huge campaign promises. Mexico would pay for his wall. And he would replace Obamacare with his creation. In four years he initiated not even a plan. To his credit, he inherited a robust economy from Obama and expanded it. He renegotiated NATO countries’ contribution to its defense. He did the same with trade treaties. We became energy independent. In foreign affairs, he led Israel to a peace treaty with regional countries, but Palestine always will be an explosive issue. Did Trump make us safer? He negated Obama’s agreement with Iran to not pursue nuclear weapons (which I think would have been violated anyway), but it gave us agents there. Trump tore it up, and replaced it with nothing. Which is better? Something or nothing? Trump was enamored with Putin and Kim. That alone should have infuriated hawkish “Republicans.” In Geneva in 2017, he stood next to Putin, and when media asked ‘Do you believe our intelligence agencies or Putin?’ on the subject of election interference. He chose Putin. Trump glowed that Putin told him “strongly and powerfully,” he did not. Republicans said nothing. They were, and are, afraid to cross Trump. Their political lives depend on it. These are the politicians who hated him in 2016. Question authority. Why was Obama questioned for not wearing an American flag on his lapel in 2012? He then became un-American, not even a citizen — all false. Yet, Donald Trump openly wears a Q pin, of those claiming a liberal cabal murders babies in the basement of a pizza shop and then uses their blood for satanic rituals. And no one on the right says a thing! How far we have fallen. We trash our own Capitol and our long-held smooth transition of power. For deniers claiming insurrectionists were invited in, watch HBO’s “Four Hours at the Capitol.” It will sicken you. We are a country of three parties. Republicans, Democrats and Trump. John Kasich, Mitt Romney and John McCain are looking good now. Solid and decent people. We have lost so much grace. DINO HAIDARIS Warren Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

‘We Must Defeat Them’: New Evidence Details Oath Keepers’ ‘civil War’ Timeline https://digitalalaskanews.com/we-must-defeat-them-new-evidence-details-oath-keepers-civil-war-timeline/ It was just two days after the presidential election that his preferred candidate Donald Trump lost, and Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes fired off a text to members of his extremist group. “We aren’t getting through this without a civil war,” the text read. Now, Rhodes and four others charged with seditious conspiracy stemming from the deadly 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol staged by Trump supporters are coming off the first week of their trial in federal court in Washington DC. Seven other Oath Keepers pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges before the trial, which saw the prosecution reveal troubling new information about how long ago Rhodes’ group had resolved to keep Trump in the Oval Office at any cost. Testimony on Tuesday from the government’s first witness – FBI agent Michael Palian – established that Rhodes had been encouraging resistance to a potential Joe Biden electoral college victory in the early hours of 4 November 2020, days before the major news networks had called the race in his favor. “The left, including the Democratic party … seek our destruction,” Rhodes said through text messages. “We must defeat them … Even if one of them occupies the White House.” By 7 November, the day news stations projected Biden had defeated Trump, Rhodes sent a group chat through the encrypted private messenger app, Signal, “What’s the plan? We need to roll,” the Washington Post reported. He added: “I’m on my way to [D.C.] now, with my Oath Keepers tactical leaders for a possible DC op to do a leaders recon and make plans. I’m available to meet face to face.” The group chat, Friends of Stone, included Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio and former Trump adviser Roger Stone, though the latter has denied any prior knowledge of the Capitol attack which a bipartisan Senate report linked to at least seven deaths and has not been charged with any crime connected to the insurrection. In arguably the most consequential reveal of the trial thus far, an Oath Keepers insider who testified Thursday claimed the group had begun plotting what he understood to be a coup during a virtual meeting with more than 100 members on 9 November, which took two hours. The Oath Keepers West Virginia chapter leader Abdullah Rashid, a heavy equipment mechanic and US marine corps veteran, started recording the session because it sounded to him like the extremist group planned to go to war with the US government, the loosely affiliated antifascist movement known as “Antifa” for short, and the racial justice movement Black Lives Matter. As Brandi Buchman of the Daily Kos noted, Rashid testified that – after he recorded the meeting – he reached out to Washington DC’s attorney general, Karl Racine, and the US Capitol police. In a November 2020 email to the Capitol police force, he called Rhodes a “wacko,” and on Thursday he told prosecutors that he thought what Rhodes was proposing was “crazy.” Responding to questions about what he suspected were Rhodes’ aims for the January 6 attack, Rashid said, “It sounded like we were going to overthrow the US government and start shooting everybody, and beating up Antifa and beating up [Black Lives Matter]. That’s what I understood it to be.” Rashid also provided a tip to the FBI, which he even resubmitted in March 2021, CNN reported. No one followed up his tip until after the Capitol attack, raising questions about whether authorities had blown a chance to prevent the uprising from happening. In the recording, which was played in court on Tuesday, Rhodes repeatedly discussed putting pressure on Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, a federal law that allows the president to deploy military forces domestically to perform the duties of civilian law enforcement. CNN reported that Rhodes also declared his willingness to die in a fight against Antifa protesters in order to facilitate Trump’s invocation of the Insurrection Act, CNN reported. “I’m not going to micromanage you,” Rhodes said during the call, the Daily Kos reports. “The official position is if we’re going to go in complying with DC bullshit gun laws, we are not vulnerable to being charged with felonies.” One of Rhodes’ co-defendants, Kelly Meggs, was heard on the call mentioning weapons that could skirt Washington DC’s stringent gun laws. “Pepper spray is legal. Tasers are legal. And stun guns are legal,” Meggs said, adding it doesn’t hurt to have lead pipes. Artist sketch depicting trial of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and four others charged with seditious conspiracy in the Capitol attack. Photograph: Dana Verkouteren/AP The defense has argued that Rashid’s video recording doesn’t explicitly mention January 6, CNN reported, but rather refers to members attending the Million Maga March on 14 November in Washington DC. The prosecution countered that the Million Maga March – which refers to Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan – hadn’t been scheduled by 9 November, the Daily Kos reported. Attorneys for Oath Keepers members have argued their clients were simply developing a “quick reaction force” in response to fears about being met with violence by Antifa. Palian testified that the FBI has not come across a person who unequivocally admitted they were planning to attack the Capitol on January 6. A former leader of the Oath Keepers’ North Carolina chapter, army veteran John Zimmerman, testified Thursday that group members did form a quick reaction force for the Million Maga March at Arlington Cemetery, the New York Times reports, hiding in a van with at least a dozen assault-style rifles, sawed-off pool cues, and handguns. The group deployed quick reaction force teams to lie in wait at another December rally and again – from hotels in northern Virginia – on January 6. Zimmerman’s testimony shed light on Rhodes’ fixation with Antifa, which allegedly drove his push to create private security details for his group at rallies before and during the Capitol attack. Zimmerman said he became alarmed over this fixation when Rhodes suggested dressing members up as elderly people or parents with children to see if Antifa would attack them without provocation after the Million Maga March, the New York Times reported Palian also testified that another defendant, Thomas Caldwell, had talked with Rhodes about getting a boat, sitting in it during the Capitol attack, and serving with the group’s “quick reaction force,” the Daily Kos reported. The prosecution produced photos and a receipt of a $670 double-barrel pistol made to look like a cellphone that Caldwell had. Palian also testified that Caldwell had planned to use his Berryville, Virginia, home as a basecamp for out-of-town Oath Keepers descending on Washington DC for the Capitol attack, even complaining to Rhodes that he’d have to get portable toilets. Caldwell was not at the Capitol for January 6. His attorney has attempted to argue his role in the insurrection was insignificant and that he never paid dues as an official Oath Keepers member. Meanwhile, prosecutors unsuccessfully asked Thursday for permission to introduce evidence about a “death list” written by Caldwell that named Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. Freeman and her daughter Moss were subjects of a baseless voter fraud conspiracy circulated among Trump supporters. The trial was expected to last several weeks more. Read More Here

Paul LePage wanted 2016 Votes Hand-Counted While He Wavered On Certifying Results https://digitalalaskanews.com/paul-lepage-wanted-2016-votes-hand-counted-while-he-wavered-on-certifying-results/ AUGUSTA, Maine — While he wavered on certifying the results of Maine’s 2016 election, then-Gov. Paul LePage wanted ballots to be hand-counted and was warned by his top lawyer that failing to sign off could subject him to criminal liability. The Republican ultimately chose to certify the results, but he sent a new crop of lawmakers a form letter saying he had “strong concerns regarding the integrity of Maine’s ballot” and could not attest to the results. He cited no evidence, but had earlier said elections are illegitimate without voter ID laws. Afterward, he singled out voting tabulators used across Maine. A written exchange between LePage and his chief lawyer, Avery Day, shows he was focused on baseless allegations about the tabulators. Discovered by the Bangor Daily News at the Maine State Archives in September, it fleshes out the former governor’s thinking and showed how he wanted to change the election at the last minute, though there were no legal means to do so. Maine election facts Maine elections are administered by city and town clerks, who independently count votes before sending them to be certified by the secretary of state’s office. Voter fraud is extremely rare, here and nationally. In recent Maine elections, it has only been charged under isolated circumstances. LePage’s push for hand-counted elections was somewhat ahead of its time. After a 2020 election marked by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election, the Associated Press counted six states where lawmakers had introduced bills to require them, even though a 2018 study found scanners are better than humans at the tedious task. Despite telling WGAN the 2020 election was “stolen” and writing “stolen election” on the certification of U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s 2018 ranked-choice voting win in Maine’s 2nd District, LePage said at a Tuesday debate with Gov. Janet Mills that he had “never rejected any election, including the last presidential election” and would “absolutely” accept the 2022 outcome. Day, now in private practice, declined to comment on the exchange. LePage strategist Brent Littlefield did not answer questions about the 2016 exchange and whether the former governor still has concerns about the tabulators. “Our campaign is focused on the economy and moving Maine forward,” he said. On Nov. 3, 2016, five days before Mainers voted, a Day memo to LePage noted constituents had contacted the then-governor about the validity of elections based on tabulator software that has come under criticism for security flaws. But Day attached a message from Julie Flynn, the deputy secretary of state who heads elections, saying Maine never used the software. LePage breezed past that in a handwritten note back to his lawyer, saying he was “sensing a desire to overlook the potential of a problem” and requested that all ballots be hand-counted. “This is serious!!!” he wrote. At that time, the tabulators from Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software were used in roughly half of Maine cities and towns, while the rest counted by hand. They count the paper ballots used across Maine, are never connected to the internet and get tested at the federal, state and local levels before they are deployed. Since then, their use has expanded to all Maine cities and towns with more than 1,000 voters and most with more than 700, said Emily Cook, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. The machines provide printouts of the tabulations that are used to report unofficial and official results. Recounts are done by hand in Maine races that remain close. Maine’s 2016 election was mixed. Trump won the 2nd District but lost the state to Democrat Hillary Clinton. Republicans held the 2nd District and the Maine Senate. But referendums opposed by LePage on the minimum wage, marijuana legalization, ranked-choice voting and education funding passed. Approximately two weeks after Day’s initial memo, he followed up with LePage to lay out his options around certifying the election results, noting the then-governor was “hesitant” to do so. But the lawyer said this was not an option because state law directed him to. If he did not, he could face a misdemeanor charge for neglecting official duties or impeachment. Day looked to mollify LePage with a few options, saying official documents could be signed by stamp, he could send a letter to the secretary of state to express concerns about the use of the tabulators or he could release a public statement on the issue. LePage chose the latter. “There are serious flaws in elections in our system,” he said in a note responding to Day. Though LePage’s lawyer contacted his office for information, Matt Dunlap, a Democrat who was the secretary of state at the time, said concerns about tabulators were never brought to him and he called the former governor’s focus on the subject cynical. “I cannot believe that a public official would engage in rhetoric that would discourage people from participating in their own democratic form of self-governance,” he said. While LePage moved away from his hard line on elections in the first debate with Mills and independent longshot Sam Hunkler, he revived unsubstantiated voting claims earlier in the campaign by saying people were bused from Massachusetts to Waterville to vote in Maine’s 2009 referendum on same-sex marriage.  Maine is among 15 states that do not require any form of ID at the polls, although it is required to register. Voter ID laws are roundly supported by Republicans and poll well with the public. Democrats generally oppose them fearing discriminatory effects. However, a 2018 study found little effect on both fraud and turnout. LePage has called a voter ID law one of his top priorities if he goes back to the Blaine House, saying in the debate that the state should simply give eligible voters an ID if they lack one. “Why are you against voter ID?” LePage asked Mills later in the debate. “We don’t need it. We have integrity in our elections,” Mills replied. “We have a huge turnout, which validates our democracy.” Read More Here

Capitol Riot Defendants In https://digitalalaskanews.com/capitol-riot-defendants-in/ Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. HOME News Showbiz & TV Sport Comment Finance Travel Entertainment Life & Style UK Politics Royal World Science Weather Weird History Obituaries Nature Sunday InYourArea In a joint letter to a federal court the 34 inmates have described the “horrific” conditions in their Washington DC jail. 05:51, Sun, Oct 9, 2022 | UPDATED: 05:51, Sun, Oct 9, 2022 Link copied Russian State TV discuss January 6 Committee Hearings Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Over 30 inmates facing trial over the storming of the US Capitol building on January 6 2021 have begged to be transferred to the notorious prison camp in Cuba. They described the DC Central Detention facility as having a “medieval standards of living”. The group also listed a range of concerns such as having to “beg” for water and medical aid and not being allowed visitors. According to the inmates their laundry is returned with “brown stains, pubic hair and or reeking of ripe urine”. There are also complaints about “black mold” and “worms” on the jails walls and in food. In the letter the inmates complained about the lack of religious services, abuse by guards and vaccine requirements for accessing various services. Security forces using tear gad during the January 6 riot (Image: PA ) A guard tower at Guantanamo Bay (Image: Getty Images ) They also claim that they’ve lost their eyesight due to “malnourishment”. The prison is notorious for having poor conditions with many complaints being lodged over the years. Last year around 400 federal prisoners were transferred elsewhere after concerns about conditions were raised. The detainees also argued that they had been subjected to critical race theory “propaganda ” and “racially biased information”. READ MORE: Donald Trump: Capitol attacks could lift pressure on Biden They added: “We hereby request to spend our precious and limited days, should the government continue to insist on holding us captive unconstitutionally as pre-trial detainees to be transferred and reside at Guantanamo Bay.” In contrast they argue that Guantanamo Bay “actually provides nutritional meals, routine sunlight exposure, top notch medical care, is respectful of religious requirements, has centers for exercise/entertainment for its detainees despite the fact that those residents are malicious terrorists”. Those who signed the seven page handwritten letter include David Dempsey and Ronald Sandlin. Mr Dempsey is accused of using a chemical spray along with a crutch and a metal pole to attack police officers guarding the Capitol building. DON’T MISS:  Ivanka Trump to give evidence on US Capitol riots [REVEAL]  Trump’s call logs show 8 hour gap while protesters stormed Capitol [INSIGHT]  GB News: Dan Wootton says ‘we must hear’ from Trump [SPOTLIGHT]  Nathan DeGrave, and as a non-violent participant in the January 6 rally, I have spent the last 9 months in detention as a political prisoner. Conditions here for January 6 have been inhumane. In fact, some inmates are even begging to be transferred to Guantanamo Bay. pic.twitter.com/3vSbuuASHi — ESTEFANY Garmon (@EstefanyGarmon) October 30, 2021 Mr Sandlin is accused of assaulting police on two separate occasions in the Capitol. The violent protests and storming of the US Capitol building last year came as then US Vice President Mike Pence was confirming the result of the 2020 US Presidential election. Former President Donald Trump initially refused to accept the result of the election won by Democrat Joe Biden, alleging voting fraud which critics argue encouraged the rioters. The Guantanamo Bay prison was established in US controlled land in Cuba following the 2001 September 11 attacks to incarcerate terrorist suspects. It has developed a reputation for illegal detention, torture and sexual abuse. IPSO Regulated Copyright ©2022 Express Newspapers. “Daily Express” is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Crimea Bridge: Russia Ramps Up Security After Blast https://digitalalaskanews.com/crimea-bridge-russia-ramps-up-security-after-blast/ Image source, Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies. Image caption, New satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies show smoke and fire following the explosion on the symbolic Crimean bridge. Russia ramped up security on its only bridge to Crimea after a huge blast destroyed sections of it on Saturday. President Vladimir Putin has now ordered the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to oversee the key connector to the occupied peninsula. The bridge is also a pivotal symbol of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. The blast killed three people, Russian investigators said. Officials said work to fix the damaged sections will begin immediately. Russia’s deputy prime minister ordered the destroyed parts of the bridge to be taken down immediately, and said divers would begin investigating damage below the waterline on Sunday morning, Russian news agencies report. Hailed by Russian media as “the construction of the century”, the bridge has been crucial to Russia for the movement of military equipment, ammunition and troops into southern Ukraine. But new satellite images released on Saturday showed smoke and fire near the collapsed areas of the 19km (12-mile) bridge, which was opened with much fanfare four years after Moscow annexed Crimea. Since it plays a strategic role in the war, Ukrainian authorities have said it is a legitimate target, as they vow to retake the peninsula. Ukrainian officials responded with thinly-veiled approval to the explosion – but have not indicated that their forces were behind the attack. President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the incident in his nightly address on Saturday, saying: “Today was not a bad day and mostly sunny on our state’s territory.” “Unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea. Although it was also warm,” he added. Media caption, Watch: Fire and smoke seen on Crimean bridge after explosion reported Russian authorities moved swiftly to reopen those parts of the key connector still intact, and said late on Saturday that the bridge has been partially reopened to road and rail traffic. It is a vital artery in Moscow’s supply chain to the battlefront in its invasion of Ukraine – and to the annexed Crimean territory itself. The Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said there was a desire for revenge, but made reassurances that the peninsula still had a month’s worth of fuel and more than two months’ worth of food. “The situation is manageable – it’s unpleasant, but not fatal,” he said. Ukrainian official David Arakhamia, parliamentary head of Mr Zelensky’s party, said “Russian illegal construction is starting to fall apart and catch fire. “The reason is simple: If you build something explosive, then sooner or later it will explode.” And a Ukrainian MP told the BBC that regardless of who was responsible for the attack, this was a “big Ukrainian victory and very severe and hard loss for Russia.” “The bridge is not destroyed but damaged, but the image of Putin is destroyed, that is the most important thing,” Oleksiy Goncharenko said. It is hard to overstate the political, symbolic and strategic significance of the Crimean bridge. Russian officials previously claimed it was well protected from threats from air, land or water – particularly since it is more than 100 miles from Ukrainian-held territory. A Russian national anti-terrorism committee said the damage was caused by a truck bomb blowing up, which caused seven railway carriages to catch fire. The home of a man from the Krasnodar region of southern Russia is being investigated, it added. While Ukraine has not linked its armed forces to the explosion, it has targeted Crimea in the past. Last month, Ukraine claimed responsibility for a series of air strikes on Crimea – including an attack on Russia’s Saky military base. Since the bridge attack on Saturday, Ukraine’s social media has erupted in celebration. Its second-largest bank says it has already issued a new debit card design featuring the collapsed bridge. In recent weeks, Kyiv’s forces have taken back significant amounts of territory seized by Russia earlier in the war. Hours after the bridge explosion, Russia appointed a new commander to lead its troops in Ukraine. Sergei Surovikin is a veteran commander known for leading Russian forces in Syria and was accused of overseeing the decimation of the city of Aleppo. But Russia still controls fast swathes of Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – the biggest in Europe – which has lost all external power and is relying on emergency diesel generators for the energy it needs for reactor cooling, according to the UN nuclear watchdog. And the nearby city of Zaporizhzhia, in Ukraine’s south-east, saw overnight shelling which killed at least 17 people, according to a local official on Telegram. Buildings and apartment blocks have been damaged in the missile attacks, said Anatoliy Kurtev, the city’s secretary of administration. Unverified posts on social media also appeared to show apartment blocks in flames. Read More Here

'No One Is Living In Peace': Documents Shed Light On Savannah Toddler's Family Before Disappearance https://digitalalaskanews.com/no-one-is-living-in-peace-documents-shed-light-on-savannah-toddlers-family-before-disappearance/ Update 8:35 a.m.: Chatham County Police issued the following statement Saturday morning:“Finding Quinton Simon is our highest priority, and the intensity of our work is as strong as it has been since the day of his disappearance. We appreciate everyone’s offers of assistance, but we are not in need of volunteers. FBI assistance continues.”Initial report: It has been four days since 20-month-old Quinton Simon went missing from his Buckhalter Road home in Savannah. But there are few updates to the ongoing investigation.Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley told county commissioners Friday morning that police have exhausted the physical search but they are still considering it a missing person’s case.Chatham County Police say they don’t believe there was any foul play involved and hope Quinton is still alive.TRENDING STORIESHere’s how you can be in a movie starring Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson shooting near SavannahDeadly crash shuts down Highway 80 at Johnny Mercer BoulevardWawa announces plans to open new location in Georgia, then possibly 20 more”I hope he’s still alive,” Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said during a press conference Thursday. “We don’t have any information to believe he’s not.”Court documents obtained by WJCL show that the family was at odds before Quinton’s disappearance.The documents show that Billie Jo Howell, Quinton’s grandmother, attempted to remove the child’s mother, Lelani, and her boyfriend, Daniel Youngkin, from the home.Billie Jo, Lelani’s mother, said in the document “They have damaged my property and at this point no one is living in peace.”She added that she wanted Lelani and Daniel out “as soon as possible.” Documents also show that Quinton’s grandparents, Billie Jo and her husband, are the ones who have custody of Quinton and his 3-year-old brother. “She hasn’t always done the right thing,” Billie Jo said of her daughter on Thursday. “Sometimes she does really great, sometimes she doesn’t. I don’t know what to think right now. I don’t know what to believe, because I don’t think anybody ever believes this is going to happen to them. I don’t know if I can trust her or I don’t. I just know I’m hurting and I want this baby home. He’s my baby.”Chief Hadley says police will leave no stone unturned in the search. “There’s a very sequential process that takes place here,” Hadley said Friday. “It may be frustrating to the general public, it may be frustrating to y’all that things aren’t developing as quickly as you may like. But we’ve got to make sure that we’re doing the right thing, that we’re being lawful, making sure we dot our I’s and cross our T’s. So that if we discover evidence, it can be admissible in court and we can use it in court if we have to.” Police say a search has been conducted of the home, the backyard pool and a nearby pond. Because of the possibility the case could be an abduction, the FBI is involved, scouring the area by land and air looking for any signs of life. If you have any information regarding the case, call 911. Update 8:35 a.m.: Chatham County Police issued the following statement Saturday morning: “Finding Quinton Simon is our highest priority, and the intensity of our work is as strong as it has been since the day of his disappearance. We appreciate everyone’s offers of assistance, but we are not in need of volunteers. FBI assistance continues.” This content is imported from Facebook. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Initial report: It has been four days since 20-month-old Quinton Simon went missing from his Buckhalter Road home in Savannah. But there are few updates to the ongoing investigation. Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley told county commissioners Friday morning that police have exhausted the physical search but they are still considering it a missing person’s case. Chatham County Police say they don’t believe there was any foul play involved and hope Quinton is still alive. This content is imported from Facebook. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. TRENDING STORIES Here’s how you can be in a movie starring Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson shooting near Savannah Deadly crash shuts down Highway 80 at Johnny Mercer Boulevard Wawa announces plans to open new location in Georgia, then possibly 20 more “I hope he’s still alive,” Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said during a press conference Thursday. “We don’t have any information to believe he’s not.” Court documents obtained by WJCL show that the family was at odds before Quinton’s disappearance. The documents show that Billie Jo Howell, Quinton’s grandmother, attempted to remove the child’s mother, Lelani, and her boyfriend, Daniel Youngkin, from the home. Billie Jo, Lelani’s mother, said in the document “They have damaged my property and at this point no one is living in peace.” She added that she wanted Lelani and Daniel out “as soon as possible.” Documents also show that Quinton’s grandparents, Billie Jo and her husband, are the ones who have custody of Quinton and his 3-year-old brother. “She hasn’t always done the right thing,” Billie Jo said of her daughter on Thursday. “Sometimes she does really great, sometimes she doesn’t. I don’t know what to think right now. I don’t know what to believe, because I don’t think anybody ever believes this is going to happen to them. I don’t know if I can trust her or I don’t. I just know I’m hurting and I want this baby home. He’s my baby.” Chief Hadley says police will leave no stone unturned in the search. “There’s a very sequential process that takes place here,” Hadley said Friday. “It may be frustrating to the general public, it may be frustrating to y’all that things aren’t developing as quickly as you may like. But we’ve got to make sure that we’re doing the right thing, that we’re being lawful, making sure we dot our I’s and cross our T’s. So that if we discover evidence, it can be admissible in court and we can use it in court if we have to.” Police say a search has been conducted of the home, the backyard pool and a nearby pond. Because of the possibility the case could be an abduction, the FBI is involved, scouring the area by land and air looking for any signs of life. If you have any information regarding the case, call 911. Read More Here

Former President Donald Trump Stumps For Nevada Republicans At Minden Rally https://digitalalaskanews.com/former-president-donald-trump-stumps-for-nevada-republicans-at-minden-rally/ Former President Donald Trump stumps for Nevada Republicans at Minden rally  KRNV Read More Here

Lynn Smith: Cowards, Crooks, And Crazies, Part III https://digitalalaskanews.com/lynn-smith-cowards-crooks-and-crazies-part-iii/ Lynn Smith  |  Community Columnist It’s long been observed that American politics is best conducted between the 40-yard lines because when extremists are allowed to dominate either end of the field, our country loses its moorings. But with Republicans pandering to the most extreme elements of their voting base, primary battles have become radical right-wing scrums, with the nuts in possession of the ball, and running it downfield. This month, as the cowards quake, and the crooks corrupt, I’ll end my three-part series on the downfall of the Republican Party, with the conspiracy-loving crazies. More:Lynn Smith: Cowards, crooks, and crazies The embrace of the kooks within the GOP is not an aberration, it’s a culmination. From McCarthyism to Birtherism, from Christian Nationalism to rural militias, from FOX News to Breitbart News, from Rush Limbaugh to Tucker Carlson, and from the John Birch Society to MAGA, the Republican Party has deliberately nurtured extremism. Not only are Republican politicians brandishing firearms and threatening to extinguish the Dems, but former President Trump is overtly embracing QAnon conspiracies that among other nonsense, call for his lifetime appointment as President. More:Lynn Smith: Cowards, crooks and crazies, Part II In today’s GOP, President Reagan’s bold and unapologetic disdain for dictatorships, is long gone. When Republican Sen. Joseph Welch courageously asked, “Have you no decency, sir?” during the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954, he basically ended Republican Joseph McCarthy’s reign of terror in the U.S. Senate. And during his unsuccessful run for president in ’64, Republican Barry Goldwater spoke derisively about the racism among his own supporters. Thankfully, his candor and courage allowed him to thrive in the Senate long enough to join colleagues, John Rhodes, R-Ariz., and Hugh Scott, R-Pa., in encouraging President Nixon to resign in ‘74. Ronald Reagan openly referred to the John Birch Society as a “lunatic fringe,” and Republican congressional leaders Everett Dirksen and Gerald Ford, publicly agreed. During the civil rights movement in the turbulent decade of the ‘60s, conservative bulldog William F. Buckley ran critical commentaries on Republican displays of “conspiratorial and unpatriotic hostility” from his editorial perch at the National Review. Compare those quaint times with now, when a substantial portion of the American right is animated by any action, however illegal or immoral, that allows them to retain control. Shockingly, neither Trump’s attempted coup, nor his theft of our country’s national security secrets, is enough to shake the few remaining Republican patriots out of the trees. No fewer than 86 judges rejected at least one post-election lawsuit filed by Trump and yet, almost 150 Republican candidates are currently running on the gospel of election fraud. Some candidates running for secretary of state, and even governorships, are openly saying they won’t certify a Democrat if they win in 2024. Now, truth is nothing more than an inconvenient annoyance, and the crazies are given free rein to gin up one farcical fantasy after another. What tragic irony in a nation birthed during the Age of Enlightenment! But most dangerous of all are the crazies’ public bouts of rage, increasingly peppered with threats of violence, that are driving the sane and stable folks out of public service. We are losing our most experienced servant leaders, those that have exhibited decades of apolitical excellence, because they can no longer endure the abuse meted out by radical loud mouths. Tragically, we are left with ethical and moral vacuums within our school boards, our election commissions, and at all levels of government. Because democracy is dependent upon our ability to self-govern, the out-of-control extremists at either end of the field, are fundamentally incapable of providing the clearheaded leadership that our country requires. But because we’re the folks that elect the governing class, we’ve all played a part in creating our political brokenness. I voted for independent candidate Ross Perot in 1992. It was the first time that I didn’t vote a straight Republican ticket in a national election, and I still regret that decision. George H.W. Bush was a far better man than Bill Clinton, and in 1992, the GOP was still a functioning political party. But now, the GOP is mostly engaged in igniting culture wars and spreading lies, while the Dems, however imperfect, are passing forward-looking legislation that will improve the lives of millions of Americans. Appallingly, Republicans have harnessed the worst elements in politics, poisoned our national discourse, and are no longer worthy of representing the world’s only remaining superpower. This post-truth, pro-conspiracy, pro-rage cult of personality, must be decisively defeated in November. So for the first time in my life, I will vote a straight Democratic ticket in the upcoming elections. And candidly, I’m praying that millions of Americans will do the same. — Community Columnist Lynn Smith is a retired wealth management executive who resides in Holland. Contact her at lynn.angleworks@gmail.com.   Read More Here

Today In History: October 9, Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize https://digitalalaskanews.com/today-in-history-october-9-obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize/ Today is Sunday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2022. There are 83 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 9, 2009, President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” On this date: In 1888, the public was first admitted to the Washington Monument. In 1910, a coal dust explosion at the Starkville Mine in Colorado left 56 miners dead. In 1936, the first generator at Boulder (later Hoover) Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles. In 1946, the Eugene O’Neill drama “The Iceman Cometh” opened at the Martin Beck Theater in New York. In 1962, Uganda won autonomy from British rule. In 1967, Marxist revolutionary guerrilla leader Che Guevara, 39, was summarily executed by the Bolivian army a day after his capture. In 1975, Soviet scientist Andrei Sakharov (AHN’-dray SAHK’-ah-rawf) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1985, the hijackers of the Achille Lauro (ah-KEE’-leh LOW’-roh) cruise liner surrendered two days after seizing the vessel in the Mediterranean. (Passenger Leon Klinghoffer was killed by the hijackers during the standoff.) In 2001, in the first daylight raids since the start of U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan, jets bombed the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. Letters postmarked in Trenton, New Jersey, were sent to Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy; the letters later tested positive for anthrax. In 2004, a tour bus from the Chicago area flipped in Arkansas, killing 15 people headed to a Mississippi casino. In 2006, Google Inc. announced it was snapping up YouTube Inc. for $1.65 billion in a stock deal. In 2010, Chile’s 33 trapped miners cheered and embraced each other as a drill punched into their underground chamber where they had been stuck for an agonizing 66 days. Ten years ago: Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to 30 to 60 years in prison following his June 2012 conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse of boys. Future Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousufzai (mah-LAH’-lah yoo-SOOF’-zeye), a 15-year-old Pakistani girl who had dared to advocate education for girls and criticize the Taliban, was shot and seriously wounded by a militant gunman. Five years ago: Declaring, “The war on coal is over,” EPA chief Scott Pruitt said he would sign a new rule overriding the Clean Power Plan, an effort from the Obama administration to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. ESPN suspended anchor Jemele Hill for two weeks for making political statements on social media; Hill had referred to President Donald Trump as a “white supremacist” in a series of tweets. The bodies of 100-year-old Charles Rippey and his 98-year-old wife Sara were found in the ruins of their Northern California home; they were among the victims of two deadly wildfires in the region. One year ago: Jonathan Toebbe, a Navy nuclear engineer with access to military secrets, was arrested in West Virginia along with his wife Diana; the Justice Department said Toebbe was charged with trying to pass information about the design of American nuclear-powered submarines to someone he thought represented a foreign government but who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent. (The couple withdrew guilty pleas in August 2022 after a judge rejected plea agreements; they are awaiting trial.) Texas A&M stunned top-ranked Alabama 41-38 to end the Crimson Tide’s winning streak at 19 games. California became the first state to say large department stores must display products like toys and toothbrushes in gender-neutral ways. Today’s Birthdays: Retired MLB All-Star Joe Pepitone is 82. Former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., is 81. C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb is 81. R&B singer Nona Hendryx is 78. Singer Jackson Browne is 74. Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams is 72. Actor Gary Frank is 72. Actor Richard Chaves is 71. Actor Robert Wuhl is 71. Actor-TV personality Sharon Osbourne is 70. Actor Tony Shalhoub is 69. Actor Scott Bakula is 68. Musician James Fearnley (The Pogues) is 68. Actor John O’Hurley is 68. Writer-producer-director-actor Linwood Boomer is 67. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary is 64. Actor Michael Paré is 64. Jazz musician Kenny Garrett is 62. Rock singer-musician Kurt Neumann (The BoDeans) is 61. Movie director Guillermo del Toro is 58. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron is 56. Singer P.J. Harvey is 53. Movie director Steve McQueen (Film: “12 Years a Slave”) is 53. World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam is 52. Actor Cocoa Brown is 50. Country singer Tommy Shane Steiner is 49. Actor Steve Burns is 49. Rock singer Sean Lennon is 47. Actor Randy Spelling is 44. Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae is 43. Actor Brandon Routh is 43. Actor Zachery Ty Bryan is 41. Actor Spencer Grammer is 39. Comedian Melissa Villasenor is 35. Actor Tyler James Williams is 30. Country singer Scotty McCreery (TV: “American Idol”) is 29. Actor Jharrel Jerome is 25. Read More Here

Governor DeSantis Touts ‘parental Rights’ While Restricting Reproductive Freedom https://digitalalaskanews.com/governor-desantis-touts-parental-rights-while-restricting-reproductive-freedom/ The Daily Beast Team Putin Wakes Up: We Never Should’ve Laughed at Ukraine Anadolu Agency via GettyRussia experienced a number of embarrassing setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine, but none of them were as humiliating as an explosion that rocked the Crimean Bridge, also known as Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, early Saturday morning.During his Saturday broadcast on Solovyov Live, Russian state TV host Sergey Mardan opened his show with heavy sighs. He noted, “All day long we’ll be talking about how this happened and what will come of it. I can tell you right now The Daily Beast Pro-Trump Rally-Goers Blame Mysterious Bogeymen for Latest Event Flop Zachary Petrizzo/The Daily BeastWASHINGTON, D.C.—Right-wing activists assembled on Capitol grounds Friday afternoon for yet another pro-Trump rally after a similar event proved an epic failure less than two weeks ago—but again found themselves struggling to explain a pathetically low turnout.Fervent supporters of Jan. 6 defendants, a MAGA-loving fashion designer, and a rough-and-tumble gentleman dressed in early colonial garb were just a few of the characters back outside the Capitol, equally up The Daily Beast Putin’s Own Allies Turn On Him as Ukraine Unleashes Hell in Stolen Russian Tanks Sergei Karpukhin/ReutersHot on the heels of embarrassing reports of Russian recruits fighting each other and Moscow loyalists calling for Kremlin ministers to kill themselves, it seems the rage against Vladimir Putin’s handling of his invasion of Ukraine is now openly being conveyed to the man himself by members of his own inner circle.A report Friday—which is Putin’s 70th birthday—said that one of the despot’s closest allies had openly challenged the disastrous way the war was being conducted. Ukrayinska Pravda “So?”: Russian authorities and propagandists react to destruction of Crimean bridge ROMAN PETRENKO – SATURDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2022, 12:33 Officials of Russia and occupied Crimea, as well as Russian propagandists, react to the explosion and fire on the Crimean bridge with threats. Source: Ukrainska Pravda; Mariya Zakharova, the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, on Telegram Quote from Zakharova: “The reaction of the Kyiv regime to the destruction of civilian infrastructure testifies to its terrorist nature. Bloomberg Why Saudi Arabia Rebuffed Biden’s Pleas for More Oil (Bloomberg) — The US has accused Saudi Arabia of siding with Russia after it led OPEC+ in a shock decision to slash crude output, keeping oil prices high at a time of global concern about inflation. The world’s largest oil exporter insists the decision was about economics, not politics. Most Read from BloombergRussia Races to Reopen Crimea Bridge Damaged in Fiery BlastPutin Orders Sakhalin-1 Project Transferred to Russian EntityFacebook Is Warning 1 Million Users About Stolen Usernames, Passwor The Daily Beast Kremlin Sources Slam ‘Losing’ Putin and His ‘Dumpster Fire’ War in Explosive Report GettyAs Ukrainian forces continue to make gains against the Russian army, whispered grievances about Vladimir Putin have begun to fly around the Kremlin about the war and efforts to avoid celebrating his birthday, which falls on Friday.“It quickly became clear that we’re better off not holding any celebrations right now—it’s not the time,” one source close to the Kremlin told Meduza. “Governors are even thinking about cutting back on this year’s [winter] holiday celebrations; nobody has extra mo Ukrayinska Pravda Satellite images of damaged Crimean Bridge released KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO – SATURDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2022, 20:43 Satellite images have been released showing the damage to the Crimean Bridge after the explosion on Saturday, 8 October. Source: PlanetScope images posted by Planet Twitter, journalist Christopher Miller on Twitter Quote: “This pair of PlanetScope images, captured just one day apart on October 7 and 8, 2022, shows the damaged Kerch Strait Bridge following a major explosion today. The Hill As Mar-a-Lago case advances, Trump’s initial success could fade Former President Trump’s battle against the Justice Department investigation into the mishandling of government records at Mar-a-Lago has now reached the highest court, but legal experts say he may not fare as well as his case is pushed before new judges. Trump scored an initial victory before a federal district court judge in Florida, who… Read More Here

US Officials Hold First Meeting With Taliban Since Strike On Al-Qaeda Leader – Reports – UrduPoint https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-officials-hold-first-meeting-with-taliban-since-strike-on-al-qaeda-leader-reports-urdupoint/ Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published October 09, 2022 | 08:10 AM WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 09th October, 2022) High-ranking US officials have held the first in-person meeting with the Taliban (under UN sanctions for terrorism) since the elimination of Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of al-Qaeda (a terrorist group, banned in Russia), CNN reports citing sources. Two officials familiar with the talks told CNN that the Saturday meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha was attended by the Taliban‘s head of intelligence, Abdul Haq Wasiq, and CIA Deputy Director David Cohen, as well as the US State Department’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tom West. According to CNN, the presence of Cohen and Wasiq at the talks “indicates an emphasis on counterterrorism.” On August 1, US President Joe Biden announced that al-Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike in Kabul on July 31. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban “grossly” violated the Trump-era Doha agreement by hosting and sheltering the al-Qaeda leader. The Taliban (under UN sanctions for terrorism) took power in Afghanistan in August of 2021, triggering the collapse of the US-backed government and accelerating Washington‘s troop pullout. Read More Here

In 10th District Race Debate, Daniels Says GOP Rep. Perry Should Testify Before Congress Over 2020 Election Involvement https://digitalalaskanews.com/in-10th-district-race-debate-daniels-says-gop-rep-perry-should-testify-before-congress-over-2020-election-involvement/ Democrat Shamaine Daniels says her Republican opponent, midstate congressman Scott Perry, should testify before Congress about his involvement in former President Trump’s plan to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election. WITF’s Robby Brod has more on the only debate scheduled in the 10th district race. Read the full story at: https://www.witf.org/2022/09/29/scott-perry-and-shamaine-daniels-debate-immigration-perrys-legal-troubles/ (Original air-date: 10/6/22) Read More Here

North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles In Seventh Of Recent Launches https://digitalalaskanews.com/north-korea-fires-two-ballistic-missiles-in-seventh-of-recent-launches/ TOKYO, Oct 9 (Reuters) – North Korea fired two ballistic missiles early on Sunday, authorities in neighbouring countries said, the seventh such launch by Pyongyang in recent days that added to widespread alarm in Washington and its allies in Tokyo and Seoul. Officials in the South Korean capital have said the uptick in the North’s missile launches could signal it is closer than ever to resuming nuclear testing for the first time since 2017, with preparations observed at its test site for months. Both of Sunday’s missiles reached an altitude of 100 km (60 miles) and covered 350 km (218 miles), Japan’s state minister of defence, Toshiro Ino, told reporters. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The first was fired at about 1:47 a.m. (1647 GMT) and the second some six minutes later. They fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, and authorities were looking into what type they were, including the possibility that they were submarine-launched ballistic missiles, he added. The U.S. military said it was consulting closely with allies and partners following the launches, which it said highlighted the “destabilizing impact” of the North Korean nuclear arms and ballistic missile programs. Still, the United States assessed that the latest launches did not pose a threat to U.S. personnel or American allies. “The U.S. commitments to the defence of the Republic of Korea and Japan remain ironclad,” the Hawaii-based U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. The latest missile launches from the Muncheon area on North Korea’s east coast are a “serious provocation” that harms peace, South Korean authorities said. On Tuesday, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile farther than ever before, sending it soaring over Japan for the first time in five years and prompting a warning to residents there to take cover. Ino said Tokyo would not tolerate the repeated actions by North Korea. The incident was the seventh such launch since Sept. 25. Japan’s foreign ministry said the nuclear envoys of the United States, South Korea and Japan held a telephone call and shared the view that the North’s ballistic missile launches threatened the peace and security of the region and the international community, besides posing a civil aviation risk. North Korea, which has pursued missile and nuclear tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions, said on Saturday its missile tests were for self-defence against direct U.S. military threats and had not harmed the safety of neighbours. “Our missile tests are a normal, planned self-defence measure to protect our country’s security and regional peace from direct U.S. military threats,” said state media KCNA, citing an aviation administration spokesperson. South Korea and the United States held joint maritime exercises on Friday, a day after Seoul scrambled fighter jets in reaction to an apparent North Korean bombing drill. The United States also announced new sanctions on Friday in response to North Korea’s latest missile launches. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo and David Dolan in Tokyo, Phil Stewart in Washington; Additional reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Leslie Adler and Clarence Fernandez Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

A https://digitalalaskanews.com/a-36/ Access to this page has been denied because we believe you are using automation tools to browse the website. This may happen as a result of the following: Javascript is disabled or blocked by an extension (ad blockers for example) Your browser does not support cookies Please make sure that Javascript and cookies are enabled on your browser and that you are not blocking them from loading. Reference ID: #78686a65-4781-11ed-ae16-674667657273 Read More Here

WNCC Sweeps Trinidad, Otero To Move To 24-3 https://digitalalaskanews.com/wncc-sweeps-trinidad-otero-to-move-to-24-3/ By MARK REIN Star-Herald The 6th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team took care of business over the weekend as they swept a pair of Region IX South contests on Friday and Saturday. The Cougars opened the weekend with a 25-12, 25-20, 25-22 win over Trinidad State College and then swept past Otero College 25-7, 25-18, 25-21 to stay unbeaten in conference play and move their record to 24-3 on the season. It was the Cougars’ seventh straight win as they head into a conference match on Wednesday when they travel to McCook Community College. Saturday saw Shanelle Martinez register a triple-double in helping the Cougars to the sweep. Martinez finished with 26 points, 34 set assists, 14 digs, three aces, and a kill. The match started early as Martinez served up 10 straight points for a 10-0 lead. The Cougars pushed the lead to 13-1 after two AK Chavez points and then went up 17-3 after two Ale Meoni kills. WNCC led 20-7 when Erica Fava hammered down a kill and Martinez served the final four points for the 25-7 win. The second and third sets were much closer. The second set saw Otero trail 9-8 and later 13-11 before the Cougars started to put some distance in the score when Fava had two points for a 16-11 lead. WNCC won 25-18 after three Chavez points. The third set saw Otero lead 8-3 before a kill from Jenna Curtis and then three Alex Hernandez points to tie the contest at 8-8. Otero kept playing strong as the Rattlers led 16-15 and later 20-18 and 21-19. Emmalei Mapu got a kill and then Martinez closed out the match with five points. After Martinez’ triple double, Fava and Curtis each had 11 kills. Fava also had six digs and two assisted blocks, while Curtis had eight digs. Meoni hammered down seven kills to go with her two points, while Mapu had five kills, five assisted blocks, and three digs. Also for the Cougars, Chavez had 12 digs with seven points, five set assists, and two aces; Juliana Oliveira had four kills; Hernandez had three kills and four points; Bewley had a dig; and Paige Nakanelua had two digs. In Friday’s win over Trinidad State, the Cougars had strong serving in the first set as well. The Cougars started Friday’s contest strong as Meoni served nine straight points for a 12-2 lead and the Cougars led 17-5 after three Jenna Curtis points. WNCC pushed the lead to 20-6 on a Mapu kill and two Martinez points and won the first set 25-12 on a Curtis kill. The second set was a little scarier as Trinidad took a 7-3 lead after three service points. Maya Angelova tied the set with a kill and then two service points. Trinidad came back to grab a 10-7 lead before Martinez had four service points, including two aces for a 12-10 lead. Meoni later added three more service points and a 19-13 lead. Trinidad came back and cut the Cougars’ lead to 19-18, but a missed serve gave the service back to WNCC and Angelova had two points for a 22-18 lead and then Jayla Brehmer closed out the second set with two ace serves and the 25-20 win. Chavez started the third set for WNCC with four straight points and a 5-1 lead. WNCC pushed the lead to 13-6 on four points from Charli Blackman. Trinidad tried coming back in cutting the lead to 20-17, but Chavez served two points for a 23-17 lead and then the Cougars won the match 25-22. WNCC only had three players with a double-figure statistic. Martinez had 27 set assists along with four digs, six points, and two aces. Fava had 11 kills with eight digs and two points, while Meoni had 12 points with two aces, three kills, and three assisted blocks. Also for the Cougars, Curtis had four kills, four points, and five digs; Angelova had three kills, four points, and two assisted blocks; Hernandez had four kills; Mapu had three kills; and Oliveira had three kills and two assisted blocks. The Cougars also got two points, two aces and a kill from Brehmer, while Blackman had four digs and four points. Chavez finished with seven digs; Nakanelua had three digs; Shae Hardy had an assist with a dig; Angel Nahinu had a kill, and Autumn Bennett had an assisted block. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Read More Here

Trump's Attorneys Cite John Durham's Indictment Of Igor Danchenko To Fight Sanctions Request In Hillary Clinton RICO Lawsuit https://digitalalaskanews.com/trumps-attorneys-cite-john-durhams-indictment-of-igor-danchenko-to-fight-sanctions-request-in-hillary-clinton-rico-lawsuit/ Donald Trump was photographed speaking at a rally on Oct. 1, 2022, in Michigan. Hillary Clinton was seen Sept. 19, 2022, at an event in New York City. Attorneys for Donald Trump this week responded to a request for sanctions filed by one of the many defendants named in a sprawling yet scuttled racketeering lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and others. A federal judge dismissed the case, but the issue of sanctions — a punishment for filing the suit — remains on the table at the district court level as Trump’s attorneys contemplate an appeal. Trump claimed Charles Halliday Dolan Jr. was among those who played roles in a conspiracy against his 2016 election campaign by engaging in a plot that broadly alleged Trump had colluded with Russia. Among the many named defendants were the Democratic National Committee, the law firm Perkins Coie, that firm’s former partner Michael Sussmann, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla. 23), Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele, former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI agent Peter Strzok, former FBI attorneys Lisa Page and Kevin Clinesmith, and former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe. Dolan moved for sanctions on Sept. 21 and stressed that several of the purported “facts” Trump alleged against him were flatly false. Among the alleged errors were Trump’s claims that Dolan had once been the chair of the Democratic National Committee and that Dolan was a resident of New York. Dolan quipped that his “resume is available online and could have been easily checked” for accuracy. He also asserted that Trump’s lawsuit was little more than “speculation, rumor and innuendo.” Trump’s attorneys eventually walked the DNC reference back; they later attested that Dolan was the former chairperson of a “national democratic political organization.” “That does not fix the problem,” Dolan’s lawyers stressed, “as Mr. Dolan was never the Chairman of any such organization.” Trump’s attorneys countered this week that Dolan’s request for sanctions was made “[w]ithout any basis in fact or law.”  Their response pointed to the work of special counsel John Durham, who was appointed by Trump-era Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate whether any “person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activities directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns.” Trump’s filing avers, in part, that Durham’s indictment of Igor Ganchenko was satisfactory source material for the civil RICO lawsuit against Dolan: Defendant’s stance is disingenuous and without merit. Most importantly, it is provably false. Indeed, the Amended Complaint was methodically compiled in reliance on official government documents and other authoritative sources. As demonstrated below, the vast majority of Plaintiff’s allegations against Defendant were sourced directly from Special Counsel John Durham and, more specifically, his criminal indictment against Igor Danchenko. The indictment — which is the culmination of a large-scale, years-long investigation by a highly-qualified federal agency — is rife with actionable allegations against Defendant and provides ample support for the claims asserted Defendant in this civil action. In addition, Plaintiff’s counsel has undertaken significant, diligent, and good-faith steps to assure that the Amended Complaint has a legitimate evidentiary and stands by the adequacy of those efforts. The filing continues: In short, Defendant’s motion is entirely without merit; it lacks specificity, is devoid of factual and evidentiary support, and is comprised of nothing more than thread-bare legal analysis. Plaintiff’s claims are rooted in evidentiary support, based on viable legal theories, and present actionable claims against Defendant for his role in furthering the false narrative that Plaintiff colluded with the Russian government to undermine the 2016 Presidential Election. In other words, Trump’s attorneys in the RICO case are standing on the foundation of Durham’s work. Russian analyst Igor Danchenko arrives at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse before being arraigned on November 10, 2021 in Alexandria, Virginia. Danchenko was charged with five counts of making false statements to the FBI regarding the sources of the information he gave the British firm that created the so-called “Steele Dossier,” which alleged potential ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. Durham has asserted that Danchenko was an FBI operative — a “confidential human source of the FBI” who then ironically “lied to FBI agents” during several interviews. Durham secured a five-count grand jury indictment which alleges that Danchenko lied to the FBI.  The Nov. 4, 2021 indictment is just days away from trial as of the date of this report:  the case is scheduled to be tried on Oct. 11, 2022 and is expected to wrap up around Oct. 21, 2022. According to Trump’s attorneys, the claim that Dolan was the chairperson of a “national democratic political organization” was premised on Durham’s work. The verbatim of Trump’s response reads as follows: First, Defendant incredulously claims that there is “no factual basis” to support Plaintiff’s assertion that he had “previously served as the chairman of a national democratic political organization.” Am. Compl. ¶ 96. Despite Defendant’s belief, this statement was not merely surmised as “unfounded speculation” on the part of Plaintiff’s attorneys. (DE 268 at 6). Instead, it was directly sourced — and cited word-for-word — from an official government pleading drafted by Special Counsel John Durham, who had been appointed by then-Attorney General, William Barr, to commence an investigation into “whether any federal officer, employee, or [] other person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activates directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, individuals associated with those campaigns, and individuals associated with the administration of President Donald J. Trump.” Namely, Plaintiff relied upon the indictment of Igor Danchenko filed on November 3, 2021 in the criminal matter of United States v. Danchenko (the “Indictment”). See Declaration of Alina Habba, Esq., Exhibit A; see also United States v. Danchenko, case no. 1:21-cr-00245-AJT, Eastern District of Virginia (ECF No. 1). The Indictment, which was filed more than one year into a large-scale government investigation and pursuant to grand jury proceedings, stated precisely that Defendant “had served as [] chairman of a national Democratic political organization.” Id. at ¶ 19 (emphasis added). The Indictment goes on to describe Defendant’s “intimate ties” to the Clintons and the Democratic parties, stating that he also served as “state chairman of former President Clinton’s 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, and [] an advisor to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential campaign” and elaborating that “President Clinton appointed [Defendant] to two four-year terms on an advisory commission at the U.S. State Department” and that Defendant “actively campaigned and participated in calls and events as a volunteer on behalf of Hillary Clinton.” The Trump document goes on to assert that “nearly all of the allegations pertaining to Defendant were sourced directly from the [Danchenko] Indictment” and, accordingly, that the “evidentiary basis for the allegations” in Trump’s RICO civil lawsuit “were made in reliance upon, and in deference to, official government pleadings” filed by Durham. John Durham. Specifically, in an attempt to foil Dolan’s quips, Trump’s lawyers asserted that Durham’s filings on Dolan’s background were “a more credible source” than Dolan’s online “resume.” As if to prop up the work of Durham, Trump’s lawyers also called the Office of Special Counsel a “highly-qualified federal agency that wields immense investigatory authority has access to state-of-the-art resources in carrying out its investigations.”  Accordingly, Trump’s lawyers asserted that Durham was “undoubtedly in a better position than Plaintiff’s counsel to substantiate the veracity” of Dolan’s background than Trump’s attorneys were.  Thus, according to Trump’s lawyers, it was legally acceptable for them to mimeograph Durham’s claims without any additional exploration or examination. Durham has spent nearly four and a half million dollars (as of his last report) prosecuting Danchenko (who has yet to go to trial), Sussmann (who was acquitted), and Clinesmith (who pleaded guilty to altering an email and avoided jail time). Dolan’s motion for sanctions said Trump’s lawyers also erroneously connected him to rumors of “salacious sexual activity” in the Steele Dossier. Trump’s lawyers responded by noting that the Danchenko indictment lists Dolan was a “source of information” for the Steele Dossier.  They said Dolan has proffered nothing other than a “self-interest statement” in response to the indictment — one that “does nothing to dimmish [sic] the likelihood that Defendant himself was the one who concocted the ‘salacious sexual activity’ rumor, particularly in light of the fact that he has admitted to providing other ‘fabricated’ information to Danchenko.” And, as to Dolan’s correct state of residence, the following excuse was proffered by Trump’s attorneys: Defendant’s only remaining gripe is that the Amended Complaint purportedly misstates his state of residence, claiming that he is a resident of Virginia, not New York. Nonetheless, Plaintiff’s counsel did indeed exercise diligence prior to making this assertion. Initially, it must be noted that Charles Dolan is an incredibly common name, and Plaintiff counsel’s traditional search methods identified countles...

US Officials Meet With Taliban In Person For First Time Since Drone Strike Killed Al Qaeda Chief In Kabul https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-officials-meet-with-taliban-in-person-for-first-time-since-drone-strike-killed-al-qaeda-chief-in-kabul/ Top U.S. officials held their first in person meeting with the Taliban since a U.S. military strike killed the leader of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan in July. The Biden administration sent CIA deputy director David Cohen to the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday to meet with a Taliban delegation led by Abdul Haq Wasiq, the Taliban’s head of intelligence, Fox News has confirmed. The meeting marks the first time the two sides have met in person since a U.S. drone strike this summer killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri in the Taliban controlled Afghanistan capital of Kabul raising questions about the terror group’s presence in the country. The Taliban claimed it was unaware that the Al-Qaeda chief was in the country and called the drone strike a “clear violation” of the Doha agreement struck with former President Donald Trump in 2020. AFGHANISTAN ONE YEAR LATER: HOW DAILY LIFE IN THE WAR-TORN COUNTRY HAS CHANGED SINCE THE TALIBAN’S TAKEOVER However, under the 2020 Doha Agreement signed by the U.S. and the insurgent group, the Taliban pledged not to allow safe haven for members of al-Qaeda or anyone seeking to attack the U.S. Al-Zawahri was found to have been residing in a Kabul safe house that had ties to the deputy leader of the Taliban. WORLD ‘LESS SAFE’ WITH AFGHANISTAN UNDER TALIBAN: ‘HOSTILE MEDIEVAL DEATH CULT’ COMPLICATES GLOBAL SECURITY Maher Attar/Sygma via Getty Images” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/buqm0yG0rqpOdGL2ysWY6w–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTQ3OA–/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/xZdwARMAjsYb0yDjbZQrxg–~B/aD0yMDY1O3c9MzA0NTthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/fox_news_text_979/4649d3a2efd4d3203af872c7c748afb0″ The fact that Ayman Al Zawahri was living openly in Kabul is a sign that al Qaeda is on the rise, Sales says. Maher Attar/Sygma via Getty Images According to U.S. officials, the al-Qaeda leader had stayed at the home of an aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani, top deputy of the Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah Haibatallah Akhundzada, for months. Al-Zawahri was killed by a U.S. drone strike after he stepped outside onto a balcony. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report Read More Here

US Midterm Election On Nov 8 With All 435 Seats In House Of Representatives On The Ballot https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-midterm-election-on-nov-8-with-all-435-seats-in-house-of-representatives-on-the-ballot/ WASHINGTON: It is only two years since US President Joe Biden was swept to power in one of the most fraught elections Washington has witnessed, but all eyes are already on the next nationwide vote. Biden isn’t up for re-election until 2024, but candidates vying for positions large and small — from county commissioner or tribal chief to US senator — will be sweating the outcome of Election Day on Nov 8. As Democratic and Republican nominees duke it out in the final weeks of the campaign trail, here is a guide to what’s at stake. What are the midterms? US voters decide every two years who gets the majority in both chambers of Congress — and whether the president will get any new policies passed or if the opposition will be able to frustrate the agenda. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are on the ballot, as well as 35 of the 100 Senate seats. Governors’ mansions are also up for grabs in 36 states, and there are elections for state-level lawmakers, secretaries of state and attorneys general. Those more local contests will affect state policies on a range of issues from abortion access to voting rights and Covid-19 restrictions. The horse race In a typical midterm, the party in the White House suffers double-digit losses in the House — 26 on average since World War II — and around four Senate seats as voters seek a check on the president’s power. For much of 2022 the traditional indicators were pointing to business as usual, with Biden’s approval rating hovering around 40 percent, the pandemic dragging into a third year and inflation at a 40-year high. But Democrats have been emboldened by a summer sea-change in the political outlook, buoyed by a spate of legislative achievements, unpopular Republican curbs on abortion and falling gas prices. Neutral analysts expect a modest gain for House Republicans of 10 to 20 seats — enough to win back control of the chamber but not enough for a commanding majority. The Senate remains a toss-up. Analysts see a continued 50-50 split as the most likely outcome, meaning Democrats would keep control with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote. Abortion and other campaign issues Both parties acknowledge that reproductive rights have animated Democratic engagement like no other issue since the Supreme Court’s June withdrawal of the federally guaranteed right to abortion. Some Republicans have floated plans to consider a nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy should they retake Congress. This is despite 85 percent of Americans believing abortion should be legal in all or some circumstances, according to a long-running survey by Gallup. The issue’s salience has diminished since the summer, though, and it now trails behind inflation, crime and immigration among voters’ stated priorities. Economic issues are also a bigger factor than concerns about voting rights and democracy, according to the latest Monmouth University Poll. Republicans are focusing on portraying Democrats as “soft on crime” in many of the tightest swing states, and are reminding voters of record immigration figures and stubbornly high inflation, despite a cooling in gas prices. Democrats are banking on getting credit for the White House finally clinching legislation boosting domestic manufacturing, tackling climate change and lowering prescription drug prices. The Trump factor Like Biden, former president Donald Trump is not on the ballot but he remains a headache for Republicans — both for his mushrooming legal woes and his endorsements. The issue that has sucked much of the oxygen out of the room in the final months is the hoard of government secrets that were found at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in a search by the FBI. A civil investigation of his family’s finances, a criminal probe of his attempts to overturn his election defeat and the barrage of misconduct allegations from the 2021 US Capitol insurrection hearings could discourage moderate Republicans from turning out. Meanwhile, Trump has inserted himself front and center in the election, making more than 200 endorsements, often of election conspiracy theorists and far right candidates in swing states. Senior Republicans have privately bemoaned the quality of Trump-backed Senate candidates in several tight races. Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2022 Read More Here