Digital Alaska News

Uvalde Schools Suspend Entire Police Force After Outrage https://digitalalaskanews.com/uvalde-schools-suspend-entire-police-force-after-outrage/ AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Uvalde’s school district suspended its entire police force Friday amid fresh outrage over the hesitant law enforcement response to the gunman who massacred 21 people at Robb Elementary School. The extraordinary move follows the revelation that the district hired a former state trooper who was among hundreds of officers who rushed to the scene of the May 24 shooting. School leaders also put two members of the district police department on administrative leave, one of whom chose to retire instead, according to a statement released by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Remaining officers will be reassigned to other jobs in the district. Uvalde school leaders’ suspension of campus police operations one month into a new school year in the South Texas community underscores the sustained pressure that families of some of the 19 children and two teachers killed have kept on the district. Brett Cross, the uncle of 10-year-old victim Uziyah Garcia, had been protesting outside the Uvalde school administration building for the past two weeks, demanding accountability over officers allowing a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle to remain in a fourth-grade classroom for more than 70 minutes. Uvalde families have said students in the district are not safe so long as officers who waited so long to confront and kill the gunman remain on the job. “We did it!” Cross tweeted. The Uvalde school district had five campus police officers on the scene of the shooting, according to a damning report from Texas lawmakers that laid out multiple breakdowns in the response. A total of nearly 400 officers responded, including school district police, the city’s police, county sheriff’s deputies, state police and U.S. Border Patrol agents, among others. The fallout Friday is the first in Uvalde’s school police force since the district fired former police Chief Pete Arredondo in August. He remains the only officer to have been fired from his job following one of the deadliest classroom attacks in U.S. history. The district said it would ask the Texas Department of Public Safety, which had already assigned dozens of troopers to the district for the school year, for additional help. Spokespersons for the agency did not immediately return messages seeking comment Friday. “We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition,” the district said in a statement. The statement did not specify how long campus police operations would remain suspended. The former DPS trooper who was hired by the district was among at least seven troopers later placed under internal investigation for her actions at Robb Elementary. Officer Crimson Elizondo was fired Thursday, one day after CNN first reported her hiring. She has not responded to messages left by The Associated Press. Steve McCraw, the head of the Department of Public Safety, has called the law enforcement response to the shooting an “abject failure.” McCraw has also come under pressure as the leader of a department had more than 90 troopers on the scene but still has the support of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. On Thursday, after Elizondo was fired, Abbott called it a “poor decision” for the school to hire the former trooper and that it was up to the district to “own up to it.” ___ For more AP coverage of the Uvalde school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting ___ This story has been corrected to reflect that Brett Cross was the uncle of Uziyah Garcia. Read More Here

Letters https://digitalalaskanews.com/letters/ Biden’s not running Sarah Sanders seems to be confused. In her campaign ads, she makes it clear that she thinks she can defeat Joe Biden in the coming election. The problem with that is that she’s not running for president. She’s running for governor of Arkansas. Biden is the president of the United States. Different league. Why is she so confused? Why doesn’t she try running against Chris Jones, her actual opponent in the race for governor? Is she afraid to match her policies and experience against Jones? That would be understandable. She doesn’t seem to have any policy proposals other than cutting taxes and destroying public education. When it comes to work and life experience, she seems like a bit of a lightweight compared to Jones. She doesn’t really seem to be bringing much to the table other than a penchant for dishonesty. Maybe that’s why Biden hasn’t responded to her attacks. He’s busy running the country. She’s just busy running her, well, you know … MICHAEL FOX Conway What you’re getting Judy Sipes Smith’s recent letter in support of Sarah Huckabee Sanders for governor is unabashed, unapologetic, unfettered support of our political operative-turned-candidate and is in fact unrecognizable. I believe Sarah is none of the things Judy would like her to be. Donald was not. Certainly, Herschel is not. It seems Republicans are no longer even republican. I was unaware that Sarah had ambitions toward public service until Trump blurted it out at a press conference. I think it likely that Arkansas got Sarah much like Pennsylvania got Dr. Oz and Georgia got Herschel Walker. Judy’s imaginary accolades for Sarah are so generic as to be meaningless and none apply to Trump’s snarky press secretary. Sarah has relied exclusively on platitude and endorsement. She has zero experience that qualifies her to begin at the top except her Christian-right credentials and Donald Trump. There is nothing new here. P.T. Barnum reportedly said, “there’s a sucker born every minute.” The Hucksters await around every corner looking for their next mark. When the right-wing oligarchy and the left-wing elite agreed to sell out the American working class in favor of globalization, I have no doubt that evidence indicated it was necessary or inevitable. The rich certainly got much richer and we know what happened to the working class. Sarah and Donald’s voters have a right to be angry, maybe even violent. Democracy was abandoned by both sides long ago. Gridlock has become performance politics. When governor, senator and president are held by Sarah, Herschel and Donald, it’s obvious that the machinery has broken down. I could name names on the left as well; AOC, anyone? So sure, vote for Sarah. But know what you’re getting. Pretending that this bodes well for your precious grandchildren’s future is a fool’s game. ANDY BRANTON Little Rock Camel’s head in tent What is next–another vote to change the Arkansas Constitution to legalize methamphetamine, cocaine, or whatever drug comes along that might “grow the economy”? We do not want “dopeheads” as tourists nor a “dope economy.” Look at what the opioid racket has cost the state and country in terms of lives, money, and other resources. We are asked to vote on the legalization of marijuana which will be used, among other things, to increase tourism dollars. Why not vote to approve abortions in our state? That should bring in lots of Texas tourists. The camel got its head under the tent when the Arkansas Constitution was amended to legalize medical marijuana. Voters are now being asked to legalize marijuana, “pot,” for use by any “adult” regardless of cannabis being illegal under federal law. Nowhere in the ballot title in the public notice published in the Oct. 2 paper could I find a definition of who is considered an adult. Is “adult” age subject to change at the whims of the seller? Are taxes going to be applied? I believe there is nothing responsible about “Responsible Growth Arkansas.” Don’t try to fool people that rules for legalized marijuana will be enforced. It seems these amendments are proposed by wealthy, greedy growers, unethical lawyers, and unprincipled legislators. Their philosophy seems to be to hell with people the proposed amendments will adversely affect. On Nov. 8, vote no on all four proposed amendments to the Constitution. On that same date, vote yes for Chris Jones for governor. He is intelligent, honest, and has the best interests of all Arkansans in his policies. We do not need Sarah Sanders as governor, with all her baggage and no clue or intelligent plan for dealing with problems we face in the state of Arkansas. LOUISE HENDERSON Hot Springs Village Read More Here

The U.S. Attorney For Delaware Is A Key Decision-Maker In A High-Profile Case: The Hunter Biden Probe https://digitalalaskanews.com/the-u-s-attorney-for-delaware-is-a-key-decision-maker-in-a-high-profile-case-the-hunter-biden-probe/ The cloud over Hunter Biden seemed to grow darker this week when the Washington Post reported that federal agents have gathered what they believe is enough evidence to charge the president’s son with tax crimes and offenses related to his purchase of a handgun. Now it is up to the U.S. attorney for Delaware, David C. Weiss, to decide whether to bring a case, the Post reported Thursday. CBS News confirmed the Post’s account in a story Friday. Here’s a look at what’s known about the investigation and Weiss. What did the Post report? Two reporters who cover the U.S. Justice Department wrote that the Hunter Biden probe is focused on whether he reported all of his income for tax purposes and whether he made a false sworn statement on federal paperwork when he bought a weapon in 2018. The newspaper’s story was attributed to unnamed sources. How has the case been pursued? As U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has said publicly, Weiss is overseeing the probe. “There will not be interference of any political or improper kind,” Garland told a congressional committee earlier this year. “We put the investigation in the hands of a Trump appointee from the previous administration.” Weiss, 66, has worked as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware for the last 15 years. President Donald Trump nominated him to the top job as U.S. attorney there in 2018, moving him up from an acting position. He had the backing of the state’s two senators, both Democrats, a traditional requirement of landing one of the 93 U.S. attorney posts in the nation. Weiss launched the investigation of Hunter Biden that year, and President Joe Biden kept him in the position after he took office in 2021. Weiss has registered to vote as a Republican, according to public records. What is Weiss’ career path? He grew up in Northeast Philadephia and went to Washington University in St. Louis before returning to the Philadelphia area to attend Widener University law school. Earlier in his career, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in Wilmington for three years before working in the private sector for 18 years. He worked as a commercial litigator in the Duane Morris law firm’s Wilmington office and later as the chief executive of a Wilmington financial company that advises executives. He returned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2007. How has he been in the news? Weiss had not had a high profile, but more than a decade ago, when he was working for a previous U.S. attorney in Delaware, an appointee of President George W. Bush, Weiss led an investigation into a businessman who was a “bundler,” a raiser of campaign money, for Joe Biden’s losing presidential primary campaign in 2007. The target, Christopher Tigani, pleaded guilty to taking part in a “straw donor” scheme, illegally reimbursing employees for their contributions. The inquiry found no evidence of wrongdoing by Joe Biden. Before that, Weiss played a role in a headline-making case while in private practice. The family of Anne Marie Fahey, a secretary for Delaware’s governor, hired Weiss for help after she went missing. He urged his former colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office to join in the investigation. Fahey was later found shot to death, and in 1999, Thomas Capano, a former Delaware deputy attorney general, was convicted of her murder. Attorney Thomas Ostrander, a Duane Morris partner who worked with Weiss in the Fahey matter, said his former colleague would pursue the Hunter Biden investigation in a nonpartisan way. “David is a very good, experienced lawyer. He has extensive experience both in the private sector and as a prosecutor,” Ostrander said Friday. “He’s the perfect person for this. He’s going to follow the facts, as they say, wherever they might lead.” If the leaks to the news media were designed to ramp up pressure on Weiss, Ostrander said, it wouldn’t work. “David is not going to be pressured by any type of press report or story,” Ostrander said. “He’s not going to do anything sooner than he would ordinarily do.” Why is he investigating Hunter Biden? In late 2020, Hunter Biden issued a statement saying federal prosecutors in Delaware had advised his lawyer that “they are investigating my tax affairs.” The Washington Post said Biden made the statement after learning the FBI wanted to interview him. Biden added at that time: “I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.” For several years, Trump and other Republicans have been raising questions about Biden’s overseas business dealings, in Ukraine and China. In late 2018, Hunter Biden bought a .38-caliber revolver, according to an article in Politico, and possessed it for about 10 days before his companion at the time — Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother, Beau — found the firearm and threw it out. Politico said it had obtained copies of the federal paperwork for the purchase and that it showed Biden answered “no” when asked if he used narcotics. However, in his memoir last year, Biden said he was a heavy user of crack in 2018. Federal prosecutions for lying on firearms forms are extremely rare. In a 2018 GAO study, researchers found that 112,000 people were denied the right to buy guns in the previous fiscal year — and prosecutors charged only a dozen with falsehoods on the forms. And what about Biden’s laptop computer? In late 2019, news organization have reported, a FBI agent who works in Delaware, armed with a subpoena, seized a computer and external hard drive apparently once owned by Biden from a Delaware computer repair shop. It’s not known what role, if any, the devices might have played in the investigation. Read More Here

Former Fayetteville Council Candidate Testifies Against Oath Keeper Leader In Jan. 6 Trial https://digitalalaskanews.com/former-fayetteville-council-candidate-testifies-against-oath-keeper-leader-in-jan-6-trial/ John Zimmerman of Fayetteville testified in the third day of testimony in the case against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman  |  The Associated Press WASHINGTON — John Zimmerman of Fayetteville, North Carolina, who was a City Council candidate in May, testified on Thursday at the criminal trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. This was the third day of testimony in the case against Rhodes and four others charged with seditious conspiracy.  regarding the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Authorities said the right-wing extremist group crafted a detailed, drawn-out plot following the 2020 election to stop the transfer of power from then-President Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden, who won the election. According to several news accounts of Zimmerman’s testimony, Zimmerman had been a member of the Oath Keepers and the head of the group’s chapter in Cumberland County. But he became disenchanted with Rhodes at a rally in Washington in November 2020 and quit the group. Rhodes, from Granbury, Texas, and the others are accused of spending weeks plotting to use violence in a desperate campaign to keep Trump in the White House. The others on trial are Thomas Caldwell of Berryville, Virginia; Kenneth Harrelson of Titusville, Florida; Jessica Watkins of Woodstock, Ohio; and Kelly Meggs of Dunnellon, Florida. The trial is expected to last several weeks. Authorities say the Oath Keepers organized paramilitary training and stashed weapons with “quick reaction force” teams at a Virginia hotel in case they were needed before members stormed the Capitol alongside hundreds of other Trump supporters. Rhodes’ lawyers have said the Oath Keepers leader will testify that his actions leading up to Jan. 6 were in preparation for orders he believed were coming from Trump, but never did. Rhodes has said he believed Trump was going to invoke the Insurrection Act and call up a militia to support his bid to hold power. The defense says the Oath Keepers often set up quick reaction forces for events but they were only to be used to protect against violence from antifa activists or in the event Trump invoked the Insurrection Act. Zimmerman in his testimony described getting a quick reaction force ready for the “Million MAGA March” in Washington on Nov. 14, 2020, in case Trump invoked the Insurrection Act. Thousands of Trump supporters that day gathered at Freedom Plaza along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington to rally behind Trump’s false election claims. Zimmerman told jurors that the Oath Keepers stashed at least a dozen rifles and several handguns in his van parked at Arlington National Cemetery to serve as the quick reaction force. He said they never took the guns into Washington. Zimmerman wasn’t in the city on Jan. 6 because he was recovering from the coronavirus, and he said that after the Nov. 14 event, the North Carolina Oath Keepers split from Rhodes. Zimmerman said the split came over Rhodes’ suggestion that the Oath Keepers wear disguises to entice antifa activists to attack them so the Oath Keepers could give them a “beat down.” Zimmerman said Rhodes suggested dressing up as older people or mothers pushing strollers and putting weapons in the stroller. “I told him ‘No, that’s not what we do,’” Zimmerman said. “That’s entrapment. That’s illegal.” Zimmerman also told the jury that Rhodes previously had said he was in contact with a Secret Service agent. Rhodes claimed to have the agent’s number and to have spoken with the agent about the logistics of a September 2020 rally that then-President Donald Trump held in Fayetteville. More:Thousands of die-hard Trump supporters from all over country attend Fayetteville rally Zimmerman could not say for sure that Rhodes was speaking to someone with the Secret Service — only that Rhodes told him he was — and it was not clear what they were discussing. Zimmerman said Rhodes wanted to find out the “parameters” that the Oath Keepers could operate under during the election-year rally. The significance of the detail in the government’s case is unclear. Trump’s potential ties to extremist groups have been a focus of the House committee investigating the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Another Oath Keeper expected to testify against Rhodes has claimed that after the riot, Rhodes phoned someone seemingly close to Trump and made a request: Tell Trump to call on militia groups to fight to keep him in power. Authorities have not identified that person; Rhodes’ lawyer says the call never happened. A Secret Service spokesperson said the agency is aware that “individuals from the Oath Keepers have contacted us in the past to make inquiries.” The agency said that when creating a security plan for events, it is “not uncommon for various organizations to contact us concerning security restrictions and activities that are permissible in proximity to our protected sites.” Jurors also heard testimony from a man who secretly recorded a Nov. 9, 2020, conference call held by Rhodes in which the leader rallied his followers to prepare for violence and go to Washington. The man, Abdullah Rasheed, said he began recording the call with hundreds of Oath Keepers members because Rhodes’ rhetoric made it sound like “we were going to war with the United States government.” Rasheed said he tried to get in touch with authorities, including the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI, about the call but that no one called him back until “after it all happened.” An FBI agent has testified that the bureau received a tip about the call in November 2020, and when asked if the FBI ever conducted an interview, he said ”not to my knowledge.” The man contacted the FBI again in March 2021, was interviewed and gave authorities the recording of the call. In a separate case on Thursday, Jeremy Joseph Bertino of North Carolina became the first member of the Proud Boys extremist group to plead guilty to seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6 attack. Three Oath Keeper members have also pleaded guilty to the charge. Paul Woolverton of The Fayetteville Observer contributed to this report. Read More Here

Georgia Prosecutor Seeks Testimony From Flynn And Gingrich In State Election Probe https://digitalalaskanews.com/georgia-prosecutor-seeks-testimony-from-flynn-and-gingrich-in-state-election-probe/ Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to former President Donald Trump, speaks to attendees as he endorses New York City mayoral candidate Fernando Mateo during a campaign event on June 3, 2021, in Staten Island, N.Y. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP hide caption toggle caption Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to former President Donald Trump, speaks to attendees as he endorses New York City mayoral candidate Fernando Mateo during a campaign event on June 3, 2021, in Staten Island, N.Y. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP ATLANTA — The Georgia prosecutor investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 election filed paperwork Friday seeking to compel testimony from a new batch of Trump allies, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed petitions in court seeking to have Gingrich and Flynn, as well as former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann and others, testify next month before a special grand jury that’s been seated to aid her investigation. They join a string of other high-profile Trump allies and advisers who have been called to testify in the probe. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump attorney who’s been told he could face criminal charges in the probe, testified in August. Attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro have also appeared before the panel. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s attempt to fight his subpoena is pending in a federal appeals court. And paperwork has been filed seeking testimony from others, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Flynn didn’t immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment, and his lawyer also didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment. Gingrich referred questions to his attorney, who declined to comment. Herschmann could not immediately be reached. Willis has said she plans to take a monthlong break from public activity in the case leading up to the November midterm election, which is one month from Saturday. Each of the petitions filed Friday seeks to have the potential witnesses appear in November after the election. But the process for securing testimony from out-of-state witnesses sometimes takes a while, so it appears Willis is putting the wheels in motion for activity to resume after her self-imposed pause. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks before former President Donald Trump at an America First Policy Institute agenda summit in Washington, D.C., on July 26, 2022. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption toggle caption Andrew Harnik/AP Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks before former President Donald Trump at an America First Policy Institute agenda summit in Washington, D.C., on July 26, 2022. Andrew Harnik/AP Compelling testimony from witnesses who don’t live in Georgia requires Willis to use a process that involves getting judges in the states where they live to order them to appear. The petitions she filed Friday are essentially precursors to subpoenas. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s overseeing the special grand jury, signed off on the petitions, certifying that each person whose testimony is sought is a “necessary and material” witness for the investigation. The petition for Gingrich’s testimony relies on “information made publicly available” by the U.S. House committee that’s investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. It says he was involved along with others associated with the Trump campaign in a plan to run television ads that “repeated and relied upon false claims about fraud in the 2020 election” and encouraged members of the public to contact state officials to push them to challenge and overturn the election results based on those claims. Gingrich was also involved in a plan to have Republican fake electors sign certificates falsely stating that Trump had won the state and that they were the state’s official electors even though Democrat Joe Biden had won, the petition says. The petition seeking Flynn’s testimony says he appeared in an interview on conservative cable news channel Newsmax and said Trump “could take military capabilities” and place them in swing states and “basically re-run an election in each of those states.” He also met with Trump, attorney Sidney Powell and others at the White House on Dec. 18, 2020, for a meeting that, according to news reports, “focused on topics including invoking martial law, seizing voting machines, and appointing Powell as special counsel to investigate the 2020 election,” Willis wrote. Willis in August filed a petition seeking testimony from Powell. Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is shown in her office on Jan. 4, 2022. Ben Gray/AP hide caption toggle caption Ben Gray/AP Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is shown in her office on Jan. 4, 2022. Ben Gray/AP Herschmann, who featured prominently in the House committee hearings on the Capitol attack, was a senior adviser to Trump from August 2020 through the end of his term and “was present for multiple meetings between former President Trump and others related to the 2020 election,” Willis wrote in the petition seeking his testimony. She wrote that the House committee also revealed that Herschmann had “multiple conversations” with Eastman, Giuliani, Powell “and others known to be associated with the Trump Campaign, related to their efforts to influence the results of the November 2020 elections in Georgia and elsewhere.” Specifically, he had a “heated conversation” with Eastman “concerning efforts in Georgia,” she added. Willis also filed petitions Friday to compel testimony from Jim Penrose and Stephen Cliffgard Lee. She identified Penrose as “a cyber investigations, operations and forensics consultant” who worked with Powell and others known to be associated with the Trump campaign in late 2020 and early 2021. He also communicated with Powell and others regarding an agreement to hire data solutions firm SullivanStrickler to copy data and software from voting system equipment in Coffee County, about 200 miles southeast of Atlanta, as well as in Michigan and Nevada, Willis wrote. Penrose did not immediately respond to an email and phone message seeking comment. Willis wrote in a petition seeking Lee’s testimony that he was part of an effort to pressure elections worker Ruby Freeman, who was the subject of false claims about election fraud in Fulton County. He could not immediately be reached for comment. Special grand juries are impaneled in Georgia to investigate complex cases with large numbers of witnesses and potential logistical concerns. They can compel evidence and subpoena witnesses for questioning and, unlike regular grand juries, can also subpoena the target of an investigation to appear before it. When its investigation is complete, the special grand jury issues a final report and can recommend action. It’s then up to the district attorney to decide whether to ask a regular grand jury for an indictment. Read More Here

DACA Suffers Another Court Setback, But Program Remains In Place For Now – Cronkite News | Prescott ENews https://digitalalaskanews.com/daca-suffers-another-court-setback-but-program-remains-in-place-for-now-cronkite-news-prescott-enews/ A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that DACA, the deferred deportation program for young migrants, was unlawfully created in 2012 but that protection for current DACA recipients can continue for now. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest in the 10-year legal odyssey of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and it comes as the Department of Homeland Security unveils new rules it hopes can save the program. The appeals court ordered a lower court to consider the new DHS rules before making a final decision on DACA. But analysts are not optimistic about the long-term prospects for the program, which covered 594,120 migrants in the U.S. as of June, 22,530 of whom were in Arizona, according to Migration Policy Institute estimates. “There’s a 100% chance that this district court judge will rule that DACA is illegal,” said David Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, of District Judge Andrew Hanen, who originally ruled DACA unlawful last summer. That prospect has advocates renewing calls on Congress to act on long-stalled immigration reform. Karina Ruiz, executive director of Arizona Dream Act Coalition, said that without congressional action, people’s lives could be ruined. “People are going to lose their jobs, people could be deported, separated from their families,” said Ruiz, a DACA recipient herself. “Our lives are at stake.” In the meantime, both Hanen and the appellate judges have said undocumented immigrants who are currently protected by DACA can apply for renewal of their status, which lasts two years. People who are not covered by DACA can apply, but DHS is not allowed to process their applications while the legal status of the program is up in the air. That is frustrating for immigrants like Sarai Dueñez, 17. The Phoenix resident has been waiting more than a year for her DACA application to be considered, while her older brother has had DACA protection for six years. “I’ve been trying to be patient and wait, because it takes time,” Dueñez said Thursday. “But it’s also frustrating … I’m about to graduate, so it’s really important for me to know what I’m going to do with my future.” Besides deferring deportation of young migrants it covers, DACA also makes it easier for recipients to get work authorizations, driver’s licenses and enroll in school. “I was really looking forward to getting a job, and I also want to go to college as well,” Dueñez said. “And it’s a disadvantage when I don’t have the same possibilities and opportunities people from here get.” DACA was enacted by DHS during the Obama administration, which said it was a policy memorandum outlining the agency’s enforcement priorities. It called for a deferral of deportation for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and who may not have known any other country as home. Applicants had to have been under age 16 when they came to the U.S. and had to have been here continuously for at least five years before applying. To be accepted, they had to have a clean record, be in school or have a diploma or its equivalent, or have been honorably discharged from the military, among other requirements. The program was immediately attacked by critics who accused the president of overstepping his authority and usurping Congress. When then-President Donald Trump tried to end the program, he was blocked by courts that said his administration failed to observe the “notice and comment” rules required for such a sweeping change in a public program. It was the same reasoning that Hanen applied last year, when he ruled that the original implementation of DACA violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The appellate court agreed Wednesday, saying DACA was a “substantive rule” subject to the APA and not the mere policy statement the Obama administration claimed. “DACA created a detailed, streamlined process for granting enormously significant, predefined benefits to over 800,000 people,” said the ruling by Chief Judge Priscilla Richman. “Because DACA did not undergo notice and comment, it violates the procedural requirements of the APA.” When President Joe Biden took office, he ordered DHS to start the review process for DACA anew. That culminated in a final rule that was unveiled in August and is set to take effect on Oct. 31. While the circuit court ordered Hanen to review the final rule, experts anticipate it will suffer the same fate as other immigration programs that “have gone to … Texas to die.” “I think it’s very likely that DACA will survive 2023, but after that … it comes down to what the Supreme Court wants to do, and I think it’s extremely unlikely given the makeup of the court that DACA will survive the Supreme Court challenge,” Bier said. Congress could act to permanently protect young undocumented immigrants, but Bier said he’s “pretty pessimistic” that will happen. “Nothing has moved the needle for Congress to come together and say, ‘Let’s get this done.’” he said. Congress has been trying since 2001 to pass a DREAM Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for current DACA recipients and those otherwise eligible. Over the last 20 years, at least 11 different versions of the bill have been introduced, but none have become law. Jorge Loweree, managing director of programs and strategy at the American Immigration Council, said that lawmakers need to treat the court’s decision like the crisis it is before DACA is dead. “If Congress doesn’t act in that window, it’s unclear when the next window will open up,” Loweree said. While they expressed relief that the appeals court did not strike down DACA outright, advocates said it is difficult to keep their hopes up. “We bought some time through this decision, however knowing Judge Hanen, and knowing that it is going back to him, doesn’t give us much certainty,” Ruiz said. Ruiz, whose children were born in the United States, said the end of DACA would hurt more than just herself. “I would have the fear of being separated from them,” she said. “That’s a reality.” Read More Here

How Ukrainians, Targeting By Drone, Attacked Russian Artillery In Kherson https://digitalalaskanews.com/how-ukrainians-targeting-by-drone-attacked-russian-artillery-in-kherson/ October 8, 2022 at 1:00 a.m. EDT A Ukrainian soldier who goes by the call name ”Viter” carries a Leleka-100 drone about to be launched, and carefully navigates his way through a field on Thursday in the Kherson region, Ukraine, seeded with Russian mines. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post) KHERSON REGION, Ukraine — The discovery was made by two Ukrainian soldiers staring wide-eyed at their laptop screens, set up in the trunk of their SUV. They sat on a makeshift bench, the large plastic case for their drone. What they were looking at was some 25 miles away, deep into Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. It was a Russian artillery battery positioned in a thin slice of tree line. The drone operator, Leonid Slobodian, started counting out loud as he zoomed in and took screenshots of the findings. He saw at least five guns, trucks that probably carried ammunition inside and counterbattery radar. This was what the Ukrainian military calls a “fat” target. Beside him, Oleksandr Kapli fired off a voice message to the members of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade also watching a live stream of the drone camera. “We need to smash this from front to back,” Kapli said into his phone. Then the expletive-ridden response: “Send all of the footage and we’ll [mess] it up.” Drone video obtained by The Washington Post shows Russian forces coming under fire from Ukrainian artillery on Oct. 6, 2022. (Video: Courtesy of “Falcon” unit of the Kryvyi Rih Territorial Defense Forces) Russian forces in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region are attempting to hold the front line near the town of Dudchany after a strategic retreat along the Western bank of the Dnieper River. Ukraine’s military, meanwhile, is trying to take back even more ground before reinforcements from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization arrive. The “Falcon” unit of the Kryvyi Rih Territorial Defense Forces on Thursday allowed Washington Post journalists a rare look at a day of battle here through the lens of their Ukrainian-made Leleka-100 drone, which looks like a small, gray plane. Moscow has more weapons than Kyiv, so strikes on “fat” targets — armored vehicles, ammunition reserves and artillery — like the one the Falcon unit identified on Thursday is how Ukraine can weaken its enemy and advance. In the Kherson region, where the terrain is flat with wide-open fields, hiding that sort of equipment from reconnaissance drones is a challenge for each side — one that will only increase as the leaves fall and winter arrives. On Thursday, the Falcon unit was able to see through the trees. It located the Russian artillery battery, helped Ukraine’s own artillery target it, and then watched as parts of it were destroyed. “Our task is to determine how many reserves are coming in, how strong these Russian fortifications now are, and to track all of the military equipment,” Kapli said. “Then we convey all of that to artillery forces, and they shell everything possible.” Russian forces are now massing near the town of Mylove, Kapli said, to defend their stronghold in the occupied town of Nova Kakhovka, on the opposite bank of the river. There, Moscow has seized a hydroelectric power plant that controls a vital water supply to Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The artillery battery the Falcon unit spotted was near the neighboring village of Chervonyi Yar. A second drone flight confirmed the equipment was still in place, and Slobodian passed along more screenshots of the site, reading out its coordinates. Neither he, Kapli, nor most of the rest of their unit had any combat experience before Russia’s full-scale invasion. Slobodian and Garry Wagner, who operates the drone with him, were cameramen for Ukrainian television channels before the war. After collecting donations, Falcon’s commander, Oleh Lyadenko, in April purchased the Leleka drone, which can fly about 25 miles and stay in the air for two hours before it needs a battery change. Sometimes, the 128th brigade asks for Falcon to check certain locations, or to follow a Russian column of tanks to see where they go. Other times, the drone operators make their own finds. The recent Russian retreat allowed the unit to move forward into recently liberated villages and fly over territory previously out of their camera’s range. On Thursday, they launched their drone from a trench line the Russians had used for themselves until this week. While the drone was flying, some of the soldiers took careful steps around the neighboring field, shooting at still unexploded mines. During one of the Leleka’s flights, they noticed on the screen a second, longer trench line nearby. Two of the soldiers went to explore it, returning with souvenirs — baseball caps with patches of the Russian flag and a “Z,” the symbol for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The retreating Russians left crates of pear juice behind, which the unit has been drinking with smirks on their faces. With the help of a Starlink satellite internet system, they worked from 8 a.m. until sunset. Around 2:45 p.m., they launched the drone for its penultimate flight of the day. Within minutes, it spotted smoke on the horizon, near where they identified the enemy artillery battery for the 128th brigade. But as it got closer, Slobodian realized it was a neighboring tree line. The Russians had attempted to hide their equipment there, too, and a different reconnaissance drone had spotted it. Ideally, this is how it should work, Kapli said — one drone following another so coverage is never lost and more targets are marked. As long as something was burning, everyone in the unit was happy. Falcon’s job now was to keep its camera trained on the area and confirm that the U.S.-provided artillery was striking accurately as shells landed along the tree line. Soldiers crowded around the computer screen and cheered as they watched the explosions in real time. “At least we have something to be happy about today,” Kapli said in a voice note to his comrade in the 128th brigade. “Grilled meat,” Slobodian deadpanned as another explosion flashed across the screen. Then one strike hit a Russian Ural truck, creating a massive mushroom cloud over the spot. It had been filled with ammunition. The men watching the screen erupted, too. Now the enemy had fewer shells to attack with — and fewer guns to fire them. “That was a nuclear explosion,” Kapli exclaimed between laughs. “We’ve been fighting for a while now, but an explosion like that, I haven’t seen.” Slobodian rubbed his hands together. The “fat” position they discovered would be next. Smoke rose over the trees again. At least one of the Russian 152-mm guns were damaged, they suspected. Their drone was running out of battery power and needed to turn back, but the day had been successful. By Friday, they had moved on to new targets, recording overhead video of a Russian tank burning on the side of a different field. War in Ukraine: What you need to know The latest: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees Friday to annex four occupied regions of Ukraine, following staged referendums that were widely denounced as illegal. Follow our live updates here. The response: The Biden administration on Friday announced a new round of sanctions on Russia, in response to the annexations, targeting government officials and family members, Russian and Belarusian military officials and defense procurement networks. President Volodymyr Zelensky also said Friday that Ukraine is applying for “accelerated ascension” into NATO, in an apparent answer to the annexations. In Russia: Putin declared a military mobilization on Sept. 21 to call up as many as 300,000 reservists in a dramatic bid to reverse setbacks in his war on Ukraine. The announcement led to an exodus of more than 180,000 people, mostly men who were subject to service, and renewed protests and other acts of defiance against the war. The fight: Ukraine mounted a successful counteroffensive that forced a major Russian retreat in the northeastern Kharkiv region in early September, as troops fled cities and villages they had occupied since the early days of the war and abandoned large amounts of military equipment. Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work. How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating. Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video. Read More Here

America https://digitalalaskanews.com/america-2/ Read More Here 1 Dell Technologies Technology Round Rock, TX 130,000 The tech giant is big on employees controlling their own destiny. Example: Workers use Dell’s build-your-career hub to skill up. One result? A majority of management jobs are filled internally. 2 SAP America Computer Software Newtown Square, PA 113,125 Employees embrace the enterprise software firm’s make-a-difference mission. Exhibit A: The staff can take “Social Sabbaticals”—a month-long program to apply their skills in developing communities. 3 Avanade Information Technology Seattle, WA 58,500 Nirvana? This Seattle IT consulting company provides reimbursement for adoption, surrogacy and gender transition leaves. Then there’s the team-building Innovate Fest—with cash prizes! 4 Marriott Vacations Worldwide Hospitality Orlando, FL 21,688 Employees are regularly rewarded for taking risks. Mistakes aren’t punished; instead, they are celebrated and used as learning and development opportunities. Please, sign us up. 5 Hilton Grand Vacations Hospitality Orlando, FL 14,000+ If you’re employed by this Orlando timeshare company, you get to work in “stunning” locations like the Hawaiian Islands. Awards for performance are a big deal as well, via the Champions Club 6 Ally Financial Services Detroit, MI 11,024 Looking for a “safe place” to discuss concerns? Ally is for you. Also, you can feel heard during “Let’s Talk About” conversations, which help with issues like promoting social justice. Open offices are a thing too. 7 ZipRecruiter HR Technology Santa Monica, CA 1,400 No surprise that a recruiter would be good at keeping its own folks happy. New hires, for example, can speak directly with the CEO through their Donuts With Ian (Siegel) program. Yum. 8 ChenMed Health Care Miami Gardens, FL 5,292 Big on diversity, ChenMed has developed programs to celebrate Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian-American Pacific Islander Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and Juneteenth. 9 Zapier Technology San Francisco, CA 735 Zapier was supporting remote work before remote work became a thing. Transparency is a key value, with salary ranges for positions published for all to see. So is career development: Employees are matched with the right jobs via programs which offer specific curriculum and pathways. 10 Gympass Wellness New York, NY 1,618 Collaboration is a big thing here. (Employee compensation is based on overall company success.) Career development is a big deal too: Promotion opportunities are offered first to employees before outsiders. 11 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Hospitality Parsippany, NJ 4,158 The company’s hospitality culture is ingrained in employees throughout the career life cycle. The “Count on Me” mantra: responsiveness, respect and delivering great experiences. 12 BARK Consumer Goods New York, NY 620 BARK employees can enjoy a dog-friendly office environment. Yup, they’re obsessed with their dogs in New York City. Free health care for their canine friends? Of course there is. Woof. 13 Ansys Software Canonsburg, PA 5,428 Inclusion is front and center. Affinity groups include the Black Employee Network, (dis)Ability Connection, Latino Connection, Pride Alliance, Veterans at Ansys and Women in Tech. 14 O2E Brands Consumer Services Vancouver, BC, and Garland, TX 696 The 1-800-GOT-JUNK? company’s values are “Passion, Integrity, Professionalism, Empathy.” Also, founder Brian Scudamore teaches his “Willing to Fail” (WTF) philosophy directly to employees. 15 Total Quality Logistics Transportation Cincinnati, OH 10,000+ Total Quality Logistics not only gives back to employees—there are no commission caps—but gives back to the community too, via Moves That Matter, Cancer Awareness Month and Military Month. 16 Automation Anywhere Robotics San Jose, CA 1,774 A question—“Who or what makes you proud to work here?”—is how each biweekly town hall meeting starts. Also, there’s a forgiving culture. Mistakes are OK, they say, if you learn from them. 17 Jack Henry Financial Services Monett, MO 6,895 Jack Henry likes a lot of feedback. The company continually gathers information from workers via things like “skip-a-level” interviews, which are designed to get direct feedback from employees. 18 ZoomInfo Computer Software Vancouver, WA 3,503 A “mind and body” kind of workplace. There’s training and external coaching for the high potentials. Then there’s a holistic mind, body and lifestyle program. Remote work? Yes. Restricted stock? Yes, again. 19 Southern Veterinary Partners Health Care Homewood, AL 7,500 The skinny: a focus on happy teammates, happy clients and happy pets. The chief executive makes weekly hospital visits—there are more than 300—where he addresses workers by their first names. 20 A+E Networks Entertainment New York, NY 1,500 The NYC-based media and entertainment company likes input from its workforce—especially through town halls and coffee chats. Execs gather feedback and report back to employees with any results. 21 Schrödinger Pharmaceuticals New York, NY 592 Work/life balance is a big deal here. So are collaboration and other kinds of input. LiveDesign is their proprietary digital platform for bringing together great minds from around the world. 22 Harsco Environmental Services Philadelphia, PA 12,000 Impact and Service Awards programs recognize outstanding performance. Employees, through various means of feedback, also make sure teamwork and inclusion are high priorities. 23 Exabeam Software Foster City, CA 612 When there’s something to celebrate at Exabeam, everyone celebrates: Pride, Diwali, Halloween…whatever. If you work there, you also get several “Thank You Days” off a year to relax. 24 Moveworks Software Mountain View, CA 550+ The four founders use anonymous surveys and team building to make sure the staff feels heard, respected and supported at all levels. Micromanagement is actively discouraged. 25 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals Boston MA 4,254 At the company’s annual innovation tournament, employees serve up ideas often incorporated into business decisions. Also, Career Hub and Gig Opportunities portals are the places for career advancement. 26 Southeastern Grocers Retail/Supermarkets Jacksonville, FL 37,000 Lots of support at the Winn-Dixie parent via training development programs like SEG University. The “MyWellness” platform focuses on issues like financial, career, social and community well-being. 27 EQRx Pharmaceuticals Cambridge, MA 339 Employees are asked, “If you could think of one object that tells us more about who you are…what would that be?” That’s one way execs focus on, and encourage, individuality and diversity. 28 KnowBe4 Software Clearwater, FL 1,600 Train up: Bonuses go to staff who earn certificates for working on skills like internal career coaching. Fun, fun, fun: A “shenanigans” team entertains through activities like mechanical bull riding. 29 Pure Storage Technology Mountain View, CA 4,200 Leadership development and upskilling of employees are an obsession here. Career progression? Workers at this tech firm get exposed to other jobs so they’re ready for the next big step. 30 Microchip Technology Electronics Chandler, AZ 21,684 Practicing what they preach: The firm recently made its board more diverse, provided mentoring to the underrepresented, and promoted candidates from diverse backgrounds. 31 Automattic Media San Francisco, CA 2,040 The company that created WordPress is feedback-crazy. Employees share their views with the whole company via monthly town halls, “Ask Me Anything” sessions and anonymous HR chats. 32 DigitalOcean Technology New York, NY 865 “Speak up when we have something to say and listen when others do” is a core part of the culture. Annual hackathons drive innovation; remote teams, worldwide, come together to develop new ideas. 33 Sweetgreen Restaurants Los Angeles, CA 5,817 Daily “Sweettalks” ensure two-way communication and help make sure that the business is running smoothly. Promotions? Employees are provided a clear path to management in a short time frame. 34 EPAM Software Newtown, PA 61,000+ Management respect comes from the “Heroes” program, which recognizes hardworking employees and their significant milestones. Open door: A global “Upload Hackathon” invites new ideas. 35 Horizon Therapeutics Pharmaceuticals Deerfield, IL 1,796 This medicine developer makes inclusion a part of everyday life: A “RiSE Day of Understanding” promotes all forms of diversity. Also, employees say that “they are comfortable voicing their ideas.” 36 Bank Independent Financial Services Sheffield, AL 634 Employees become “wildcards.” Those are nonexperts that provide another perspective to expert teams. Volunteerism is important too. Employees take part in financial literacy programs in Michigan. 37 Thryv Software Dallas, TX 2,400 The modern world: This small-business tech firm is a “Work From Anywhere” company—Zoom meetings, monthly webcasts and various forms of remote communication make it all work. 38 LendingClub Financial Services San Francisco, CA 1,603 The company lives its ethics/values mantra of respecting its employees and giving back. There’s a paid volunteer program; donation matching lets workers give to their own charitable causes. 39 Kaplan Education Fort Lauderdale, FL 4,850 The firm, known for its test-prep business, helps employees beef up their skills for the future through the month-long DevelopU program, in which individual development plans are conjured up. 40 First Watch Restaurants Bradenton, FL 10,000 How are you feeling? A web-based application measures employee happiness; a five-question feedback tool asks workers to share experiences about the previous week to encourage change. 41 ...

Kanye Whines Over Criticism For Supporting Donald Trump As President https://digitalalaskanews.com/kanye-whines-over-criticism-for-supporting-donald-trump-as-president/ During Donald Trump’s presidential term, Kanye West was open about supporting him, even wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap Kanye said he felt he couldn’t talk about Donald Trump support ( Image: Fox News) Kanye West is upset that he was criticised for supporting Donald Trump when he was president. The rapper said that due to receiving so much backlash he was left feeling like he wasn’t able to talk about it anymore. The dad-of-four said it ‘drove him crazy’ to not be able to talk about the controversial businessman turned president. He was also surprised at the criticism he received due to him celebrity status. During the interview, Kanye talks about respecting other celebrities for voicing their controversial opinions as well as saying his relationship with former president Barack Obama has fizzled out. Kanye said he was criticised for supporting Donald Trump ( Image: Fox News) Kanye told Tucker Carlson it ‘drove me crazy not to be able to say I liked Trump’. He then talked about what the point was of working so hard to become so well known and famous if he couldn’t voice his own opinions. Kanye said he respects Russell Brand and Candace Owens for speaking their minds no matter what backlash they got. Talking about Barack Obama, Kanye said they began to drift apart as ‘soon as I wasn’t supposed to be saying the things I wasn’t supposed to say as a rapper’. This comes after Kanye faced more controversy as he wore a ‘White Live Matters’ top at his surprise Yeezy fashion show in Paris. Kanye supported Donald Trump when he was president ( Image: Fox News) The 45-year-old took to the stage to showcase his Season 9 collection and gave a speech while sporting the top, which was emblazoned with the Pope’s face on the front. Kanye, who now goes by the name Ye, also wore a pair of bedazzled flip-flops. On the back of the shirt ‘White Lives Matter’ was written in bold white letters, which was a response to the Black Lives Matter moment which was started in 2013 following the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. The Anti-Defamation League has previously called the phrase ‘White Lives Matter’ a hate slogan. Some of the models in the show wore the same shirt as the musician, with the clothes sparking outrage online. One person tweeted: “I wish black people would start realizing how dangerous and self destructive it is to continue supporting Kanye when he clearly does not give a f*** about our people or our struggles.” Kanye wore a ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt ( Image: Kanye West) While another said: “This man Kanye is wearing a white lives matter shirt I can’t defend him on this one, he needs to face the consequences for this one.” As a third wrote: “Yall need to let #Kanye go. He’s proven himself beyond redeemable.” However, some saw it as supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. One said: “IF KANYE SAYS WHITE LIVES MATTER THEN I SAY WHITE LIVES MATTER.” As another tweeted: “@kanyewest Attacking Racism In The Most Abrasive, Punk & Ironic Way.” Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More Here

Wheat Kings Double Huskies In Season Home Opener https://digitalalaskanews.com/wheat-kings-double-huskies-in-season-home-opener/ It certainly was not the homecoming the Fort St. John Huskies had hoped for as the Grande Prairie Wheat Kings doubled the Huskies 2-1 in Friday night play. Chase London scored Fort St. John’s only goal early in the opening frame, but while the Huskies outshot their opponents in all three periods, head coach Todd Alexander didn’t feel this team played up to its potential. “Our level of play, our standard of play was not consistent tonight…a lot of forced turnovers,” said Alexander. “We threw a lot of pucks away tonight. Made a lot of ‘guess’ passes out of the corner. I was happy with our third period. It looked a whole bunch better.” Kings goaltender Cam Beson was able to shut the door on the Huskies, beginning in the middle frame, turning aside a combined 30 shots in the second and third periods. “Great goaltender. He’s been a great goaltender in this league for long, long time. He showed why. We just couldn’t crack him. When you’re playing against a strong goaltender, you need to play three solid periods.” It was one of three games on the schedule Friday. The Sexsmith Vipers doubled Beaverlodge 4-2 while Peace River squeezed by Fairview 4-3. With the win, the Vipers remain a perfect 6-0 and will face the Huskies (3-1) at the North Peace Arena Saturday at 8 p.m. Scoring Summary: 1st period: Huskies: Chase London (Cayden Frenette) 4:25 2nd period: Kings: Jaydon Gordey (Ethan Boucher, Ben Schmidt) 5:04 PP 3rd period: Kings: Keaton Mercredi (Ethan Boucher, Adam Morrow) 10:31 PP Shots on goal: Huskies: 39 (9-18-12) Kings: 14 (7-3-4) Saves: Huskies: Daniel Sturgeon (11/13) Kings: Cam Beson (38/39) Power play: Huskies (0/3) Kings (2/6) Read More Here

North Pole Falls To Soldotna In State Semifinal, 34-20 https://digitalalaskanews.com/north-pole-falls-to-soldotna-in-state-semifinal-34-20/ By Jeff Olsen JeffOlsen Author email Oct 7, 2022 1 hr ago JeffOlsen Author email Snap Shot Lady Rams The Monroe Catholic Lady Rams basketball team went defeated and took first place in the regional tournament in Valdez, propelling them to the state competition in Anchorage. The All Tournament team was Shannel Kovalsky, Sophia Stepovich and Miranda Wilkerson, with All Conference MVP awarded … Most Popular Articles Images Videos Articles Reinheller twins among 14 Interior tennis players heading to state My weekly musings: Kodiak football was in a no-win situation. It got worse. Strong second period lifts Nanooks over AIC No. 11 Seawolves sweep UAF volleyball team Nanooks open season with 1-1 draw against American International Ice Dogs celebrate hockey history Ice Dogs home opener brings rivals to town UAF volleyball drops third straight with road sweep at Northwest Nazarene Images Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Top Jobs Accounting Associate Bettisworth North GVEA Position Announcement Energy Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. Is seeking an GVEA Position Announcement Energy Interior Weatherization, Inc. (IWI) is Submit your news & photos Let us know what you’re seeing and hearing around the community. Read More Here

Effingham Dominates Lincoln 47-0; Improves To 4-3 On The Season https://digitalalaskanews.com/effingham-dominates-lincoln-47-0-improves-to-4-3-on-the-season/ 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. Associated Press Texas officer fired after shooting hamburger-eating teenager A Texas police officer who shot and wounded a teenager who had been sitting in his car eating a hamburger has been fired, police said. San Antonio Officer James Brennand was fired after shooting Erik Cantu, 17, on Oct. 2 in a fast food restaurant parking lot, police training commander Alyssa Campos said in a video statement released Wednesday. Brennand had responded to an unrelated disturbance at the fast-food restaurant when he saw the Cantu inside the car, which had evaded him a day earlier, Campos said. The Daily Beast Court Screwup Reveals Mar-a-Lago Judge’s Latest Legal Absurdity in Trump Case Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily BeastFirst, she stopped FBI special agents from even glancing at the classified documents they recovered from Mar-a-Lago. Then she appointed a special court referee that former President Donald Trump wanted to slow down the investigation over his mishandling of classified documents.But now, it’s clear District Court Judge Aileen Cannon already knew the Department of Justice was ready to hand Trump back a ton of personal records six days before she cla The Root Maybe It’s Time to Rethink Thursday Night Football As a rule, the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games are awful. Players are generally lethargic after playing just four days earlier in their usual Sunday slots. Coaches, also lacking the typical prep time, haven’t had enough bandwidth to install more than generic offensive or defensive schemes. What typically follows is what we got in last night’s 12-9 snoozer between the Indianpolis Colts and the Denver Broncos, where the most interesting part of the action came on the third play of the game. Th Bloomberg Judge to Trump Lawyers Over Deposition: ‘Stop Wasting Time’ (Bloomberg) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers were told by a federal judge to “stop wasting time” after they tried halting the deposition of former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham in a defamation lawsuit minutes after it began, citing her painkiller medication. Most Read from BloombergBiden Says Putin Threats Real, Could Spark Nuclear ‘Armageddon’Biden Should Hit Saudi Arabia Where It Really HurtsStock Traders Hit Sell Button on Hawkish Fed Bets: Markets WrapFacebook Is Wa The Daily Beast Top Putin Ally Threatens ‘Cruel’ Attacks on New Country Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesTop officials in Belarus, a key Russian ally, are growing increasingly on edge this week about what they see as provocations—and warning that they might soon be forced into a harsh response. The head of the border committee of Belarus, Anatoly Lappo, claimed that Poland was acting “provocatively,” and that if any Polish attack takes place against Belarusian border officials, Belarus will not hold back.“[If] there will be at least one bullet in our border guards, the a Read More Here

AP News In Brief At 12:04 A.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-in-brief-at-1204-a-m-edt-6/ Biden’s ‘Armageddon’ talk edges beyond bounds of US intel WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s warning that the world is at risk of a nuclear “Armageddon” was designed to send an unvarnished message that no one should underestimate the extraordinary danger if Russia deploys tactical nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine, administration officials said Friday. The president’s grim assessment, delivered during a Democratic fundraiser on Thursday night, rippled around the globe and appeared to edge beyond the boundaries of current U.S. intelligence assessments. U.S. security officials continue to say they have no evidence that Vladimir Putin has imminent plans for a nuclear strike. Biden veered into talk about Ukraine at the end of his standard fundraising remarks, saying that Putin was “not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.” “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” he added. He suggested the threat from Putin is real “because his military is — you might say — significantly underperforming.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday did not directly respond to a question about whether Biden had gone into the event intending to invoke Armageddon, as the White House sought to clarify the president’s off-the-cuff comments. Multiple explosions rock eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A series of explosions rocked the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv early Saturday, sending towering plumes of illuminated smoke into the sky and triggering a series of secondary explosions. There were no immediate reports of casualties The blasts came hours after Russia concentrated attacks in its increasingly troubled invasion of Ukraine on areas it illegally annexed, while the death toll from earlier missile strikes on apartment buildings in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia rose to 14. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that the early-morning explosions were the result of missile strikes in the center of the city. He said that the blasts sparked fires at one of the city’s medical institutions and a nonresidential building. In a rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his conduct of Europe’s worst armed conflict since World War II, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to human rights organizations in his country and Ukraine, and to an activist jailed in Russia’s ally Belarus. Michael Flynn’s ReAwaken roadshow recruits ‘Army of God’ BATAVIA, N.Y. (AP) — By the time the red, white and blue-colored microphone had been switched off, the crowd of 3,000 had listened to hours of invective and grievance. “We’re under warfare,” one speaker told them. Another said she would “take a bullet for my nation,” while a third insisted, “They hate you because they hate Jesus.” Attendees were told now is the time to “put on the whole armor of God.” Then retired three-star Army general Michael Flynn, the tour’s biggest draw, invited people to be baptized. Scores of people walked out of the speakers’ tent to three large metal tubs filled with water. While praise music played in the background, one conference-goer after another stepped in. Pastors then lowered them under the surface, welcoming them into their movement in the name of Jesus Christ. One woman wore a T-shirt that read “Army of God.” Flynn warned the crowd that they were in the midst of a “spiritual war” and a “political war” and urged people to get involved. ReAwaken America was launched by Flynn, a former White House national security adviser, and Oklahoma entrepreneur Clay Clark a few months after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol failed to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Attendees and speakers still insist — against all evidence and dozens of court rulings — that Donald Trump rightfully won. Uvalde schools suspend entire police force after outrage AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Uvalde’s school district suspended its entire police force Friday amid fresh outrage over the hesitant law enforcement response to the gunman who massacred 21 people at Robb Elementary School. The extraordinary move follows the revelation that the district hired a former state trooper who was among hundreds of officers who rushed to the scene of the May 24 shooting. School leaders also put two members of the district police department on administrative leave, one of whom chose to retire instead, according to a statement released by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Remaining officers will be reassigned to other jobs in the district. Uvalde school leaders’ suspension of campus police operations one month into a new school year in the South Texas community underscores the sustained pressure that families of some of the 19 children and two teachers killed have kept on the district. Brett Cross, the uncle of 10-year-old victim Uziyah Garcia, had been protesting outside the Uvalde school administration building for the past two weeks, demanding accountability over officers allowing a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle to remain in a fourth-grade classroom for more than 70 minutes. Appeals court ruling allows Arizona abortions to restart PHOENIX (AP) — Abortions can take place again in Arizona, at least for now, after an appeals court on Friday blocked enforcement of a pre-statehood law that almost entirely criminalized the procedure. The three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals agreed with Planned Parenthood that a judge should not have lifted the decades-old order that prevented the older law from being imposed. The brief order written by Presiding Judge Peter J. Eckerstrom said Planned Parenthood and its Arizona affiliate had shown they are likely to prevail on an appeal of a decision by the judge in Tucson to allow enforcement of the old law. Planned Parenthood had argued that the lower court judge should have considered a host of laws restricting abortions passed since the original injunction was put in place following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that said women have a constitutional right to an abortion. Those laws include a new one blocking abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy that took effect last month. The previous limit was 24 weeks, the viability standard established by now-overruled U.S. Supreme Court cases. Haiti’s leader requests foreign armed forces to quell chaos PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s government has agreed to request the help of international troops as gangs and protesters paralyze the country and supplies of water, fuel and basic goods dwindle, according to a document published Friday. The document, signed by Prime Minister Ariel Henry and 18 top-ranking officials, states that they are alarmed by “the risk of a major humanitarian crisis” that is threatening the life of many people. It authorizes Henry to request from international partners “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity,” to stop the crisis across the country caused partly by the “criminal actions of armed gangs.” “It is imperative to restart activities to avoid a complete asphyxiation of the national economy,” the document states. It wasn’t clear if the request had been formally submitted, to whom it would be submitted and whether it would mean the activation of United Nations peacekeeping troops, whose mission ended five years ago after a troubled 11 years in Haiti. Flynn, Gingrich testimony sought in Georgia election probe ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 election filed paperwork Friday seeking to compel testimony from a new batch of Trump allies, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed petitions in court seeking to have Gingrich and Flynn, as well as former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann and others, testify next month before a special grand jury that’s been seated to aid her investigation. They join a string of other high-profile Trump allies and advisers who have been called to testify in the probe. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump attorney who’s been told he could face criminal charges in the probe, testified in August. Attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro have also appeared before the panel. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s attempt to fight his subpoena is pending in a federal appeals court. And paperwork has been filed seeking testimony from others, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Flynn didn’t immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment, and his lawyer also didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment. Gingrich referred questions to his attorney, who declined to comment. Herschmann could not immediately be reached. Willis has said she plans to take a monthlong break from public activity in the case leading up to the November midterm election, which is one month from Saturday. Nobel Peace Prize to activists from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Human rights activists from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a strong rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine ruptured decades of nearly uninterrupted peace in Europe, and to the Belarusian president, his authoritarian ally. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2022 prize to imprisoned Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties. Bialiatski is the fourth laureate to be honored while in detention. Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the panel was honoring “three outs...

LA Animal Shelters Overcrowded, Dogs Aren't Being Walked Daily: Report https://digitalalaskanews.com/la-animal-shelters-overcrowded-dogs-arent-being-walked-daily-report/ 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. The Daily Beast Court Screwup Reveals Mar-a-Lago Judge’s Latest Legal Absurdity in Trump Case Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily BeastFirst, she stopped FBI special agents from even glancing at the classified documents they recovered from Mar-a-Lago. Then she appointed a special court referee that former President Donald Trump wanted to slow down the investigation over his mishandling of classified documents.But now, it’s clear District Court Judge Aileen Cannon already knew the Department of Justice was ready to hand Trump back a ton of personal records six days before she cla The Root Maybe It’s Time to Rethink Thursday Night Football As a rule, the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games are awful. Players are generally lethargic after playing just four days earlier in their usual Sunday slots. Coaches, also lacking the typical prep time, haven’t had enough bandwidth to install more than generic offensive or defensive schemes. What typically follows is what we got in last night’s 12-9 snoozer between the Indianpolis Colts and the Denver Broncos, where the most interesting part of the action came on the third play of the game. Th Bloomberg Judge to Trump Lawyers Over Deposition: ‘Stop Wasting Time’ (Bloomberg) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers were told by a federal judge to “stop wasting time” after they tried halting the deposition of former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham in a defamation lawsuit minutes after it began, citing her painkiller medication. Most Read from BloombergBiden Says Putin Threats Real, Could Spark Nuclear ‘Armageddon’Biden Should Hit Saudi Arabia Where It Really HurtsStock Traders Hit Sell Button on Hawkish Fed Bets: Markets WrapFacebook Is Wa The Daily Beast Top Putin Ally Threatens ‘Cruel’ Attacks on New Country Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesTop officials in Belarus, a key Russian ally, are growing increasingly on edge this week about what they see as provocations—and warning that they might soon be forced into a harsh response. The head of the border committee of Belarus, Anatoly Lappo, claimed that Poland was acting “provocatively,” and that if any Polish attack takes place against Belarusian border officials, Belarus will not hold back.“[If] there will be at least one bullet in our border guards, the a Read More Here

Herschel Walker’s Wife Reaches Out To His Abortion Accuser https://digitalalaskanews.com/herschel-walkers-wife-reaches-out-to-his-abortion-accuser/ Herschel Walker has maintained that he still doesn’t know the identity of the woman claiming she had an abortion after she and Walker got pregnant in 2009. But on Friday afternoon, the woman finally heard from a top Walker campaign surrogate: Julie Blanchard, the candidate’s wife. In a text message exchange shared with The Daily Beast, the woman—who says she later had a child with Walker against his wishes in 2012—told Blanchard it was “cruel” that Walker “continues to claim he doesn’t know me or the abortion he paid for.” “He brought all of this on himself when he decided to get on a platform and denounce abortion and make a mockery of his children who have done NOTHING to deserve this,” wrote the woman. “Shame on him,” she added. The woman asked Blanchard if she had previously known about the abortion, or if she had known that Walker had also said it wasn’t the “right time” to have a child when they conceived three years later. (The woman went forward with the pregnancy despite Walker’s wishes.) Instead of directly answering the woman’s question about the abortion, Blanchard wrote that “this makes me incredibly sad,” claiming she “continually tried to bridge a better relationship” between the estranged family members. Provided to The Daily Beast Blanchard added that she “witnessed everyday Herschel pray for you and [your son] & everyone in our family.” She added that Walker calls and texts the child “regularly,” and feels “sadness” when he gets no response—to which the anonymous woman replied, “Are you kidding me?” Blanchard, who for years has also served as a go-between messenger for Walker and the woman, replied at 1:19 pm EDT, according to the text message chain. An hour later, the campaign blasted out a fundraising text message calling the abortion allegation a “flat-out lie.” The texts show that Blanchard initiated contact with the woman at 9:54 am on Friday to complain about this reporter investigating the existence of Walker’s children. Previously, their last text was on Aug. 30. The woman gave The Daily Beast her consent to publish the text messages in this story, citing Walker’s hypocritical behavior as a father and his continued denials of her claims. She also provided The Daily Beast with a detailed personal account of her life after having Walker’s child. Her account shines a light on the nature of her son’s relationship with Walker—or, as she puts it, the lack thereof. She asked for anonymity out of concern for her family’s privacy and safety, but supported her claims with text messages, photographs, and court records. Walker has not seen their son in person for more than six-and-a-half years, the woman said. The football legend has, by her count, met his son a total of three times, which she supported with photographs. Two of those instances were related to child support hearings. Walker’s campaign declined to comment for this story. For an idea of how present Walker has been in their son’s life, the woman shared a series of screenshots of text messages from Walker to the boy’s iMessage account on his iPad. The messages are incredibly revealing. For instance, Walker never told the boy he had a half-brother until after The Daily Beast broke the news this June. The woman said she also didn’t know about the other son, which she expressed in a text message to Blanchard the day after the story published. On July 7, the messages show—three days after Walker sent his son an Instagram photo from a July 4 campaign event—the boy asked his father if he had any other brothers or sisters he did not know about, in addition to adult son Christian Walker and a daughter Walker had previously disclosed to the boy. Walker, who had confirmed the half-brother to The Daily Beast three weeks previously, lied to his son. “You have the brother and sister I told you about. Love you,” he wrote. On Aug. 1, Walker sent his estranged son a photo of his half-brother, explaining, “This picture never went,” followed by the half-brother’s name. That message is followed by four unanswered texts from Walker, all of them saying, “Love you.” Three of them were sent after midnight. Walker sent that same “Love you” message to his son frequently, no matter how many times it went unanswered. Sometimes the child would write short notes back—inviting Walker to a baseball game, wishing him a Happy Easter, sending a photo of himself with gifts. The pace accelerated in 2021, when Walker was gearing up to announce his candidacy. Between June 4 and June 12 of that year, the texts show, Walker sent seven “Love you” messages, and nothing else. The boy replied, “You to,” on June 13, after which Walker asked how he was doing. The boy invited his father to watch him play baseball, and Walker said he would like to see him play, but according to the woman, the last time Walker saw his son was January 2016. Then, between July 1 and Oct. 11, the texts show, Walker sent his son 34 unanswered brief text messages. All but six say “Love you,” with the vast majority of them coming between midnight and 3:41 in the morning. On the evening of Oct. 13, his son replied, “What’s my favorite color?What grade am I in?And how old am I” Walker responded the next afternoon: “God bless you, love you” Walker didn’t send another text message for more than a month, at which time he wrote: “Your dad loves you so much” on Nov. 21. Walker, a vocal critic of absentee dads in the Black community, has four children with four women, and denied the existence of two of his sons to his own campaign staff this year, The Daily Beast reported in July. But in August, Walker told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade he has a strong relationship with all of his children. “They know that their dad loves them, and that’s what counts,” he said. According to the woman and her lawyer, she dated Walker between November 2008 and September 2011. She ended the relationship after Walker urged her to terminate her second pregnancy, as The New York Times reported on Friday. The woman noted that Walker has never missed any of his $3,500 monthly payments, an amount that has remained steady since their 2014 court order even though Walker’s financial disclosure filed in August shows a net worth between $29 million and $62 million. “A lot of people would probably be surprised at the low amount that it is, but it was enough for me to take care of my son, and I was planning on working,” said the woman, who was a graduate student at Columbia University at the time. “Obviously, in New York that doesn’t go very far. But I wanted it to be fair and legal, so that neither of us would be upset about it.” She said she had only received “sporadic” $1,000 payments from Walker before she sued for child support in 2013. The woman hadn’t planned to go to the courts. She said she wanted to work out child support payments quietly with lawyers—a sentiment backed up by the text messages. At one point during text conversations from the time, Walker misunderstands this goal, writing, “this will be public when we have lawyers.” The woman assures him it won’t, saying she told her attorneys “both of us would like this as quiet as possible.” She explained to The Daily Beast that she wanted privacy for both of them. “Obviously he’s Herschel Walker,” she said. In another text exchange from the time, Walker told the woman to “calm down” while she was trying to arrange a meeting between their lawyers. She replied, “I told you before I don’t want to argue with you-let the lawyers do that. I’m not upset, H-just would like this taken care of in a timely manner, and thus far, it hasn’t.” (“H” was a nickname for Walker, which the woman frequently used in texts with him. It’s also the letter that he signed on the “get well” card he sent her after the abortion, along with a $700 signed personal check.) The messages stretch back to the day she gave birth to their son, when she sent Walker photos of the newborn. “WOW how are you guys doing. I wish I was there, I am in Villahermosa Mexico,” Walker replied. “You ok ,your texts just came thur .When was he born.” She tells him, and Walker responds, “I am so sorry I was not there.” “We waited and waited and waited,” the woman said of the early out-of-court stages of the child support dispute. “Eventually, I needed money to live and take care of my son, but there was no resolution. I gave him ample time to work it out privately, but he didn’t want to do that, so I ended up having to go to court.” At the time, Walker, an outspoken Christian, had been balancing relationships with a number of other women. They include one who gave birth to another son in 2009, a woman who died in 2019, and Blanchard. The Daily Beast has spoken with another woman who confirmed she was also concurrently in a years-long relationship with Walker during that time. In 2010, Walker told talk radio host Howard Stern that he had only slept with two women. The first time Walker met their son, the woman said, was the morning before Walker’s first in-person family court appearance. It was 2013, and the boy was a little over one year old. Walker, she said, didn’t want to meet his son for the first time in a courtroom. So on the morning of the hearing, she brought the toddler to his hotel. She provided a photo of the moment. But Walker didn’t show up for the hearing later that day, she recalled. A lawyer for the woman corroborated the claim. The second time Walker met their son, a year later, he was in the courthouse for the final settlement hearing. The woman provided a photo of the encounter, which her lawyer also recalled. For the third and final meeting, in January 2016, Walker brought along Blanchard. At the time, Walker was on a pre-planned trip to the area where the anonymous woman, unable to afford child care at the time, was livin...

The Promise Of Polymer https://digitalalaskanews.com/the-promise-of-polymer/ Amanda Bohman/News-Miner Oct 7, 2022 1 hr ago Abhijit Dandekar, chair of the University of Alaska’s Petroleum Engineering program, holds vials of heavy oil and polymer Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, following the announcement of new findings with respect to recovering heavy oil on the North Slope.  Amanda Bohman/News-Miner From the Alaska Post — In today’s day and age, social media has become a whole new way of life for many of us. Its evolution has brought a revolutionary change in how we use the internet – for both personal and professional purposes – and has become an integral part of how we communicate with the rest of the world. “Let’s look back at some of our history together.” Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reporting—but good journalism isn’t free. Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution. The Daily News-Miner is locally owned by the Helen E. Snedden Foundation, a 501(c)(3) Let us know what you’re seeing and hearing around the community. Nader Kasfy photo, Fairbanks Read More Here

Putin Orders Seizure Of Exxon-Led Sakhalin 1 Oil And Gas Project https://digitalalaskanews.com/putin-orders-seizure-of-exxon-led-sakhalin-1-oil-and-gas-project/ MOSCOW/HOUSTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday that establishes a new operator for the Exxon Mobil Corp-led (XOM.N) Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia’s Far East. Putin’s move affecting Exxon’s largest investment in Russia mimics a strategy he used to seize control of other energy properties in the country. The decree gives the Russian government authority to decide whether foreign shareholders can retain stakes in the project. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Exxon holds a 30% operator stake in Sakhalin-1, with Russian company Rosneft (ROSN.MM), India’s ONGC Videsh (ONVI.NS) and Japan’s SODECO as partners. Oil production at the Sakhalin-1 project fell to just 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July from 220,000 bpd before Russia invaded Ukraine. NAVIGATING AN EXIT Exxon has been trying to exit its Russia operations and transfer its role in Sakhalin-1 to a partner since March, after international sanctions imposed on Moscow. Russia’s government and Exxon have clashed, with the oil producer threatening to take the case to international arbitration. Exxon declined to comment on Friday’s decree. Japan’s SODECO was not immediately available to comment, but an official of the industry ministry, which owns a 50% stake in the firm, said it was gathering information and talking with partners. Japan has stopped buying crude from Russia since June. read more Exxon took an impairment charge of $4.6 billion in April for its Russian activities and said it was working with partners to transfer Sakhalin-1’s operation. It also reduced energy production and moved staff out of the country. In August, Putin issued a decree that Exxon said made a secure and environmentally safe exit from Sakhalin-1 difficult. The U.S. producer then issued a “note of difference,” a legal step prior to arbitration. Friday’s decree said the Russian government was establishing a Russian company, managed by Rosneft subsidiary Sakhalinmorneftegaz-shelf, that will own investors’ rights in Sakhalin-1. Foreign partners will have one month after the new company is created to ask the Russian government for shares in the new entity, the decree said. Putin used a similar strategy in a July decree to seize full control of Sakhalin-2, another gas and oil project in the Russian Far East, with Shell (SHEL.L) and Japanese companies Mitsui & Co (8031.T) and Mitsubishi Corp as partners. Russia has approved applications by the two Japanese trading houses seeking to transfer their stakes to a new operator. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Reuters; Additional reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo, Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Clarence Fernandez Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Ukraine Governor Says Mass Grave Found In Liberated Eastern Town https://digitalalaskanews.com/ukraine-governor-says-mass-grave-found-in-liberated-eastern-town/ Donetsk regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko says the exact number of bodies in the mass grave in Lyman is not yet known. Published On 8 Oct 20228 Oct 2022 Ukrainian authorities have found a mass grave in the recently liberated eastern town of Lyman and it is unclear how many bodies it holds, the regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has said. Kyrylenko, the governor of eastern Donetsk province, wrote on Telegram on Friday that officials in Lyman had found “a mass grave where, according to local information, there could be both soldiers and civilians. The exact number is yet to be ascertained”. In a separate report, the Ukrinform news agency cited a senior police official as saying the grave contained 180 bodies. The Kyiv Post also tweeted that a mass grave was found in Lyman “where 180 bodies are buried”, including very young children. Ukrainian troops retook Lyman, in the Donetsk region, from Russian control last weekend. In #Lyman, #Ukrainian authorities found a mass grave where 180 bodies are buried. Some of them are children born between 2019-2021. Pics: Donbas Realii pic.twitter.com/2nVAI8h21K — KyivPost (@KyivPost) October 7, 2022 Ukrainian authorities have regularly accused Russian troops of committing atrocities in occupied territories, a charge Moscow denies. Last month, the bodies of 436 people were exhumed from a burial site in the northeastern town of Izyum after it was liberated. Most appeared to have died violent deaths, local officials said. The discovery at Izyum prompted the European Union to call for a war crimes tribunal in Ukraine and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has sent its largest-ever team of experts to investigate alleged war crimes since the start of the Russian invasion in February. United Nations investigators have already concluded that war crimes have been committed in the Ukraine conflict, including Russian bombardments of civilian areas, executions, torture and sexual violence. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands have also sent war crimes investigators to Ukraine to assist local and ICC teams probing possible mass atrocities — including in the Kyiv town of Bucha, where civilians were discovered murdered in April. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukrainian forces had now recaptured nearly 2,500 square kilometres (965 square miles) of territory from Russia in the counteroffensive that began late last month. “In total, 2,434 square kilometres of our land and 96 settlements have already been liberated since the beginning of this offensive operation,” Zelenskyy said in his daily speech shared on social media. Russian forces said earlier on Friday that they had captured ground in Donetsk in east Ukraine, their first claim of battlefield gains since Kyiv grabbed the momentum with its lightning counteroffensive that has deeply rattled Russia’s war effort. Source : Al Jazeera and news agencies Read More Here

Poll: Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Pinnell Has Big Lead In Race For Re-Election https://digitalalaskanews.com/poll-oklahoma-lt-gov-pinnell-has-big-lead-in-race-for-re-election/ The race for lieutenant governor in Oklahoma appears to be well in hand for the incumbent Matt Pinnell, according to poll results released Friday. An exclusive News 9 / News On 6 poll conducted Oct. 3-6 shows Pinnell with a 51.3 to 25.8 percent lead over Democrat challenger Melinda Alizadeh-Fard. Libertarian Chris Powell is picking up 5.2 percent of the vote, and 17.7 of those asked said they were undecided in the race. Likely Oklahoma voters were polled, and the poll has a plus-minus of 5.65 percent meaning that these results are outside the margin of error. Those polled indicated that they would support former President Trump for re-election if he decided to run in 2024 by a 52.7 to 40.8 percent margin. They also hold a 55.9 percent unfavorable rating of President Joe Biden. The Oklahoma general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Read More Here

Cruz Blasts 'deceptive' Tactics In Democrat-Free Utah Election Featuring Evan McMullin Against Sen. Lee https://digitalalaskanews.com/cruz-blasts-deceptive-tactics-in-democrat-free-utah-election-featuring-evan-mcmullin-against-sen-lee/ Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, in the midst of a multi-state bus tour to stump for GOP candidates in key races, tore into anti-Trump Utah senate candidate Evan McMullin, who is mounting a challenge in a tight, Democrat-less race against Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Cruz claimed the Democratic Party is trying to deceive voters in the Beehive State by declining to run an explicit Democrat nominee, and instead reportedly throwing much of their support behind McMullin – a former CIA officer and House Republican Conference staffer. “This race here in Utah – Mike Lee, unfortunately, has a real race – I’m here campaigning for Mike [who] is phenomenal,” he said. “I believe Mike Lee is one of the greatest senators ever to have served in the United States Senate. He is brilliant. He’s a constitutional scholar. He is a fierce and ferocious fighter over and over again for a decade. Mike and I have been side by side, shoulder to shoulder, fighting to defend freedom, defend the Constitution.” BIDEN’S HOMETOWN MAYOR SPLITS WITH DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S DEFUND POLICE MANTRA Third party candidate Evan McMullin, an independent, talks to the press as he campaigns in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 12, 2016. (REUTERS/George Frey/File Photo) Cruz went on to brand the independent challenger “McMuffin,” borrowing a nickname originally dubbed by Donald Trump in 2016, when McMullin mounted a presidential bid against him. “The Democrats are doing something really deceptive and dishonest. The Democrats have not run a, quote, ‘Democrat’ candidate,” Cruz said.  “Instead, you’ve got McMuffin who is theoretically running as an independent… but the Democrat Party in Utah has endorsed him. They are raising millions of dollars for him through ActBlue, the same entity they used to support Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and AOC.” KANYE WEST DEFENDS ‘WHITE LIVES MATTER’ SHIRTS, SLAMS LIBERALS WHO THREATENED, ASSAULTED MAGA HAT WEARERS Senator Ted Cruz spoke with Fox News Digital at Turning Point USA conference in Tampa, FL.  (Fox News Digital) “He voted for Joe Biden,” Cruz claimed, while in 2020, McMullin had tweeted that a vote for the Delaware Democrat isn’t a commitment to support his every decision but to “defend the republic [and] take back our government from Vladimir Putin and Trump family corruption.” McMullin previously riffed on the “McMuffin” moniker, asking Trump on social media if it’s a “true story” that Egg McMuffins from McDonalds taste better than steaks from the former president’s Trump Tower grill in New York. McMullin notably helped spearhead a letter from several Republican figures threatening to leave the party if it does not “reform” itself in the immediate aftermath of the House GOP Conference’s ouster of then-Chairwoman Elizabeth Cheney of Wyoming. On “Hannity,” Cruz further claimed Democrats in Utah intentionally are not running a candidate in the hopes that, combining their support with “even just 5%” of casual voters on the GOP side, they can unseat Lee. GIANNO CALDWELL CONFRONTS BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS FOR ANSWERS ON CRIME – AND IS DISAPPOINTED Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. (AP) Cruz accused McMullin of being “complicit [with] the cultural Marxists doing damage to our country,” and warned he may support Democratic election federalization legislation. For his part McMullin has defended his run against Lee as a unifying effort, to – in his words – “stand up to the broken politics of division and extremism.” McMullin previously cited his CIA service as first-hand witness to “extremist movements that robbed people of their basic freedoms.” His campaign platform opposes gerrymandering and “electoral corruption,” the influence of money in politics and repeatedly voices support for “common ground.” Host Sean Hannity dubbed McMullin a “Romney Republican” – in reference to the fellow Utahns apprehension toward Trumpism. McMullin has been endorsed by some Republicans as well, including former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a Trump critic and onetime RNC Chairman. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean also lended his support, according to the Deseret News.  Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.  He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.  Charles covers media, politics and breaking news, and has covered the annual CPAC conference for Fox News Digital. Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com. Read More Here

Poll: Hofmeister Holds Edge On Stitt 1 Month From Election https://digitalalaskanews.com/poll-hofmeister-holds-edge-on-stitt-1-month-from-election/ Friday, October 7th 2022, 10:10 pm Gubernatorial challenger State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister holds a slight lead on incumbent Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, according to new polling released Friday. The exclusive News 9 / News On 6 poll, conducted between Oct. 3 and 6, shows Hofmeister with nearly a 4-point lead one month from Election Day. Among those polled, Hofmeister got 46.8 percent of the vote, while Stitt got 43 percent. Libertarian Natalie Bruno got 2.3 percent, and Independent Ervin Yen got 1.3 percent. Likely Oklahoma voters were polled, and the poll has a plus-minus of 5.65 percent meaning that the Hofmeister-Stitt figures are within the margin of error. Those polled indicated that they would support former President Trump for re-election if he decided to run in 2024 by a 52.7 to 40.8 percent margin. They also hold a 55.9 percent unfavorable rating of President Joe Biden. Kyle Loveless, the chief operating officer of SoonerPoll, which executed the poll on behalf of News 9 / News On 6, said one key to reading these results could be in looking at the favorables and unfavorables of both Gov. Stitt and State Supt. Hofmeister. Stitt’s favorables come up to 45.1 percent. However, his unfavorables are at 53.8 percent with only 1 percent of Oklahoma voters undecided about the governor. Hofmeister’s favorables are at 50.7 percent as of Oct. 7, and her unfavorables are at 43.3 percent – 10 percent lower than Stitt’s. However, 5.9 percent of Oklahoma voters are undecided about Hofmeister, and Loveless said that’s key to interpreting the numbers. Hofmeister released the following statement in response to the poll: “We launched this campaign one year ago today, and I’m proud to have earned the support of many Oklahoma veterans, parents, teachers and business leaders. Through it all, my reason for running has never changed. I believe Oklahoma belongs to the people, and by working together we can achieve more for our families.” Gov. Stitt’s campaign manager, Donelle Harder, released the following statement in response to the poll: “With an unprecedented amount of profit from special interest dark money TV ads attacking Gov. Stitt, News 9 has bought a poll with outcomes that court more political TV ad spending, yet we are confident Governor Stitt has the support of Oklahomans by a landslide.” The Oklahoma general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Read More Here

Judges In Ohio And Arizona Temporarily Block States’ Abortion Bans https://digitalalaskanews.com/judges-in-ohio-and-arizona-temporarily-block-states-abortion-bans/ The decisions offered a window into which legal arguments might be working in the broader strategy to re-establish abortion rights through state courts. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Protesters rallied in support of abortion rights at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus in June.Credit…Barbara J. Perenic/The Columbus Dispatch, via Associated Press Oct. 7, 2022Updated 10:24 p.m. ET Abortion rights supporters won two temporary victories on Friday when judges in Ohio and Arizona suspended state laws banning the procedures. In Ohio, a county judge indefinitely suspended a state law prohibiting most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. A few hours later, an appeals court in Arizona temporarily blocked its pre-statehood law banning the procedure. The decisions marked progress for abortion advocates who have been fighting to restore access to the procedure in states that ban it. The Ohio decision extends an earlier, temporary suspension of the law that was set to expire next week. The ruling means that the state’s abortion ban is suspended while the court case proceeds, providing a bit more certainty for abortion providers and women. Without the ban in effect, abortion in Ohio is legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion this summer, states have been free to regulate the procedure. More than a dozen, including Ohio, have passed laws banning most abortions. Some include narrow exceptions for rape, incest or if a pregnant woman’s life is in danger. Those in favor of abortion rights have worked to overturn bans and restrictions by suing in state courts. Attorney General David Yost of Ohio, who supports the six-week ban, could still appeal the case to a higher court. “We will wait and review the judge’s actual written order and consult with the governor’s administration,” on next steps, said a spokesman for Mr. Yost. The ruling in Arizona blocks a near-total ban dating back to 1864. The strict law was reinstated last month by a lower court in Arizona. Though Friday’s ruling temporarily restored the injunction on the 158-year-old ban, a law passed this year restricting abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy is in effect. In the court’s brief, Presiding Judge Peter J. Eckerstrom wrote that the lower court erred by failing to consider Arizona’s more recent abortion laws, which attorneys for Planned Parenthood say conflict with the pre-statehood ban. “Arizona courts have a responsibility to attempt to harmonize all of this state’s relevant statutes,” the judge wrote. Friday’s decisions, though not the final word on the cases, offered a window into which legal arguments might be working in the broader strategy to re-establish abortion rights through state courts. The plaintiffs in the Ohio case, a collective of abortion providers including Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, argued that Ohio’s state Constitution offered “broad protections for individual liberties,” which includes the right to abortion. The Ohio law, passed in 2019, went into effect this year after the Supreme Court decision and remained in effect for over two months. In his opinion, Judge Christian Jenkins, of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, argued that the right to abortion was found in the Ohio Constitution, saying, “abortion is health care.” “Ohio’s Constitution specifically and unambiguously recognized as fundamental the right to liberty,” Judge Jenkins said, adding that the state Constitution guaranteed the right to “seek and obtain safety.” State officials had argued that the right to abortion was not explicitly found in Ohio’s Constitution. Judge Jenkins, a Democrat, said that the state was “simply wrong” to argue “that a right does not exist because it is not specifically listed in the Constitution.” “By the state’s reasoning, the Obergefell decision recognizing the right to gay marriage is wrong,” the judge said, referring to the 2015 Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage a nationwide right. The Ohio law restricts abortion after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which is generally six weeks after the start of a pregnant woman’s last period, and before many women realize they are pregnant. The law does not include exceptions for rape and incest, a feature that drew national attention this summer when a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had become pregnant through rape was denied an abortion in her home state. The plaintiffs argued that the Ohio law deprived women of liberty and due process rights, citing several examples of unnamed women. They included a cancer patient who had to travel out of state for an abortion, according to affidavits submitted by a Cleveland abortion clinic. The patient, who had stage III melanoma, “broke down and cried” after learning she would have to travel outside of the state for an abortion so she could begin cancer treatment. Cancer treatments can be harmful to the fetus, so patients are often given the option of abortion before beginning treatment. “Does a law that prevents a cancer patient from getting lifesaving treatment infringe on those rights? The answer is obviously it does,” Judge Jenkins said. The plaintiffs said they were “relieved that patients in Ohio can continue to access abortion as we work to fight this unjust and dangerous ban in court.” “The preliminary injunction will be in place for the duration of our case, which means abortions will be legal in Ohio for a period much, much longer” than the initial suspension, they added. Read More Here

Still On Arming Vigilantes https://digitalalaskanews.com/still-on-arming-vigilantes/ Recently, there has been a back-and-forth between the Ondo State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and the federal government on the issue of arming quasi-security outfits with high calibre weapons. Governor Akeredolu had repeatedly spoken on the need for the state security outfit, Ondo State Security Network, alias Amotekun Corps, and other state and regional security outfits set up by laws enacted by state legislature to be allowed to bear sophisticated weapons in order to confront the threats posed by criminal elements like terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, killer-herdsmen, pipeline vandals and such other violent criminals. In one of his arguments, he pointed at the pipeline surveillance contract recently awarded by the federal government to a firm in which a Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemudopolo, alias Tompolo, has interests in, and said if such non-state actors could be allowed to bear sophisticated weapons in the course of carrying out their duties, there was no reason why government-backed vigilance groups should not be allowed same. Akeredolu had also pointed to a viral video in which a Katsina State-backed security outfit was seen training with high-calibre AK-47 automatic rifles, and insisted that if such vigilantes in Katsina could be allowed use of the sophisticated weapons, he would similarly equip Amotekun Corps in his state. Governor Akeredolu’s call elicited a quick reaction from the federal government, through the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the president, Garba Shehu. He said no state in the federation, including Katsina, had been authorised by the president to procure automatic weapons for their security outfits. According to him, under this administration, the president has repeatedly made it clear that nobody is allowed to illegally carry AK-47 or any other automatic weapons and that they must surrender them. He said where they fail to do so, the law enforcement agencies had been given clear directives to deal with any such outlaws. According to him, only the Office of the National Security Adviser can issue such authorisation, upon proper clearance by the president and commander-in-chief,  adding that at this moment, no such approvals had been issued to any state government. Referring to the Katsina State incident cited by the Ondo State governor, the President’s aide explained that Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari had invited the Provost of the Civil Defence Training College in Katsina to train their vigilantes in the handling and operations of pump action rifles. According to Shehu, the vigilantes were not trained to take over the responsibilities of the security agencies of the government  but to assist them. Northern States Increasingly Relying On Vigilantes For Policing Governor Akeredolu is not the only state governor that has called for a better arming of state-backed vigilantes after it became evident that security agencies, despite their best efforts, have been unable to respond to the security needs of communities across Nigeria which are often exposed to invasion and pillage by rampaging marauders. The governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, had recently vowed to do everything within his power to ensure the state security outfit is armed to fight criminality, which in the state comes in the form of unrelenting attacks by herdsmen militia. Another state government that had indicated an intention to arm its vigilance outfits with sophisticated weapons is Zamfara. In fact, the state governor Bello Matawalle had publicly encouraged its citizens, who wished to acquire weapons to fight the bandits terrorizing their communities, to come forward. Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina had also encouraged individuals to defend themselves against bandits, a call first made by defence minister, retired General Bashir Magashi. These promptings by the above authority men are a negation of  the 2019 Executive Order issued by President Muhammadu Buhari which banned the possession of arms by non-state actors in a move to stop states from arming their people against armed invaders. As a newspaper we call for caution from all parties to this debate. The federal government must not give the impression of bias in this matter as it has been accused of by Governor Akeredolu. What sense does it make to train Katsina vigilantes on AK-47 rifles’ use when the trainees would not be allowed to use the weapon? For governors seeking to arm poorly trained quasi-security outfits, they should be wary in progressing along this route for they could be empowering another set of persons who could turn around to become a danger to society. While we appreciate the governors’ frustrations with the inadequacies of the country’s present policing system, it does not make sense to sow the seeds of another problem in trying to solve the present one, which arming vigilance groups would entail. What the states and the federal government need to do is to demand greater responsibility and operational efficiency with the aid of technology from the present policing and military systems while pursuing constitutional devolution of powers which will lead to the establishment of state police. Read More Here

Seattle Weather: Unseasonably Warm Temperatures Sticking Around For Another Week https://digitalalaskanews.com/seattle-weather-unseasonably-warm-temperatures-sticking-around-for-another-week/ 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 to be an epic failure less than two weeks ago—but again found themselves struggling to explain 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, equall 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. The Daily Beast Court Screwup Reveals Mar-a-Lago Judge’s Latest Legal Absurdity in Trump Case Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily BeastFirst, she stopped FBI special agents from even glancing at the classified documents they recovered from Mar-a-Lago. Then she appointed a special court referee that former President Donald Trump wanted to slow down the investigation over his mishandling of classified documents.But now, it’s clear District Court Judge Aileen Cannon already knew the Department of Justice was ready to hand Trump back a ton of personal records six days before she cla The Root Maybe It’s Time to Rethink Thursday Night Football As a rule, the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games are awful. Players are generally lethargic after playing just four days earlier in their usual Sunday slots. Coaches, also lacking the typical prep time, haven’t had enough bandwidth to install more than generic offensive or defensive schemes. What typically follows is what we got in last night’s 12-9 snoozer between the Indianpolis Colts and the Denver Broncos, where the most interesting part of the action came on the third play of the game. Th Bloomberg Judge to Trump Lawyers Over Deposition: ‘Stop Wasting Time’ (Bloomberg) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers were told by a federal judge to “stop wasting time” after they tried halting the deposition of former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham in a defamation lawsuit minutes after it began, citing her painkiller medication. Most Read from BloombergBiden Says Putin Threats Real, Could Spark Nuclear ‘Armageddon’Stock Traders Hit Sell Button on Hawkish Fed Bets: Markets WrapBiden Should Hit Saudi Arabia Where It Really HurtsKremlin Lets S Read More Here

The US Midterm Election For Dummies https://digitalalaskanews.com/the-us-midterm-election-for-dummies/ Neither man is on the ballot, but the popularity of Democratic President Joe Biden (left) and his predecessor Donald Trump will weigh heavily on the 2022 midterm elections ANGELA WEISS, MANDEL NGAN Text size 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 November 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Read More Here

Judge Won https://digitalalaskanews.com/judge-won/ BOB CHRISTIE, Associated Press Oct. 7, 2022Updated: Oct. 7, 2022 8:57 p.m. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 1of5FILE – Kelli Ward, chair of the Arizona Republican Party, holds a news conference in Phoenix, Nov. 18, 2020. Ward refused to answer questions during a deposition of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, an attorney for the panel revealed Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, during a court hearing in Phoenix.Ross D. Franklin/APShow MoreShow Less 2of5FILE – Kelli Ward, with her husband Mike at her side, concedes to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. in the race for the Republican nomination to U.S. Senate, at her primary night party at a hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Aug. 30, 2016. A federal judge, late Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022, has rejected an effort by Ward and her husband to block a subpoena of their phone records issued by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. (David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic via AP, File) Show MoreShow Less 3of5 4of5FILE – Dr. Kelli Ward, chair of the Arizona Republican Party, holds a press conference at the Maricopa County Elections Department as she reports the progress of the a post-election logic and accuracy test for the general election on Nov. 18, 2020, in Phoenix. A federal judge, late Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022, has rejected an effort by Ward and her husband to block a subpoena of their phone records issued by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Ross D. FranklinShow MoreShow Less 5of5 PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge in Phoenix on Friday refused to put on hold her order requiring phone records of the Arizona Republican Party leader to be turned over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, pending an appeal. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa said state GOP Chair Kelli Ward had failed to show that she would suffer irreparable harm if congressional investigators for the records. And she again rejected Ward’s claims that her First Amendment rights would be chilled if investigators were able to learn whom she spoke with while trying to challenge former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat. Humetewa said she found Ward’s “alleged concern speculative — and in light of disclosures made during oral argument — dubious.” She noted that Ward’s lawyers pointed out at a Tuesday hearing that she had written a book about sending an alternate slate of fake presidential electors to Congress and filmed multiple videos of her actions and posted them on YouTube. “These actions belie Ms. Ward’s concern that her communications with her constituents or colleagues will be chilled by (the phone company’s) possible disclosure of who she spoke with during that time,” Humetewa wrote. The House committee investigating the Capitol attack is seeking phone records from just before the November 2020 election to Jan. 31, 2021. That would include a period when Ward was pushing for Trump’s election defeat to be overturned and Congress was set to certify the results in favor of Democrat Joe Biden. Kelli Ward and her husband, Michael Ward, were presidential electors who would have voted for Trump in the Electoral College had he won Arizona. Both signed a document falsely claiming they were Arizona’s true electors, despite Biden’s victory in the state. During Tuesday’s hearing, the attorney representing the congressional committee noted that Kelli Ward had refused to answer questions during a deposition, citing her Fifth Amendment not to incriminate herself. Ward’s attorney urged the judge to briefly block the subpoena while her appeal is pending. But Humetewa noted that the appeals court won’t get to the case until after the committee must dissolve when the current Congress ends Jan. 3, 2023. Ward is a staunch Trump ally who has aggressively promoted the false claim that the election was stolen from him. In the days after the election, she pressured Republicans on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to investigate unsupported claims of fraud before election results were certified, according to text messages released by the county. Read More Here

AP News In Brief At 9:04 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-in-brief-at-904-p-m-edt-9/ Biden’s ‘Armageddon’ talk edges beyond bounds of US intel WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s warning that the world is at risk of a nuclear “Armageddon” was designed to send an unvarnished message that no one should underestimate the extraordinary danger if Russia deploys tactical nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine, administration officials said Friday. The president’s grim assessment, delivered during a Democratic fundraiser on Thursday night, rippled around the globe and appeared to edge beyond the boundaries of current U.S. intelligence assessments. U.S. security officials continue to say they have no evidence that Vladimir Putin has imminent plans for a nuclear strike. Biden veered into talk about Ukraine at the end of his standard fundraising remarks, saying that Putin was “not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.” “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” he added. He suggested the threat from Putin is real “because his military is — you might say — significantly underperforming.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday did not directly respond to a question about whether Biden had gone into the event intending to invoke Armageddon, as the White House sought to clarify the president’s off-the-cuff comments. Uvalde schools suspend entire police force after outrage AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Uvalde’s school district suspended its entire police force Friday amid fresh outrage over the hesitant law enforcement response to the gunman who massacred 21 people at Robb Elementary School. The extraordinary move follows the revelation that the district hired a former state trooper who was among hundreds of officers who rushed to the scene of the May 24 shooting. School leaders also put two members of the district police department on administrative leave, one of whom chose to retire instead, according to a statement released by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Remaining officers will be reassigned to other jobs in the district. Uvalde school leaders’ suspension of campus police operations one month into a new school year in the South Texas community underscores the sustained pressure that families of some of the 19 children and two teachers killed have kept on the district. Brett Cross, the uncle of 10-year-old victim Uziyah Garcia, had been protesting outside the Uvalde school administration building for the past two weeks, demanding accountability over officers allowing a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle to remain in a fourth-grade classroom for more than 70 minutes. Michael Flynn’s ReAwaken roadshow recruits ‘Army of God’ BATAVIA, N.Y. (AP) — By the time the red, white and blue-colored microphone had been switched off, the crowd of 3,000 had listened to hours of invective and grievance. “We’re under warfare,” one speaker told them. Another said she would “take a bullet for my nation,” while a third insisted, “They hate you because they hate Jesus.” Attendees were told now is the time to “put on the whole armor of God.” Then retired three-star Army general Michael Flynn, the tour’s biggest draw, invited people to be baptized. Scores of people walked out of the speakers’ tent to three large metal tubs filled with water. While praise music played in the background, one conference-goer after another stepped in. Pastors then lowered them under the surface, welcoming them into their movement in the name of Jesus Christ. One woman wore a T-shirt that read “Army of God.” Flynn warned the crowd that they were in the midst of a “spiritual war” and a “political war” and urged people to get involved. ReAwaken America was launched by Flynn, a former White House national security adviser, and Oklahoma entrepreneur Clay Clark a few months after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol failed to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Attendees and speakers still insist — against all evidence and dozens of court rulings — that Donald Trump rightfully won. Multiple explosions rock eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A series of explosions rocked the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv early Saturday, sending towering plumes of illuminated smoke into the sky and triggering a series of secondary explosions. There were no immediate reports of casualties The blasts came hours after Russia concentrated attacks in its increasingly troubled invasion of Ukraine on areas it illegally annexed, while the death toll from earlier missile strikes on apartment buildings in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia rose to 14. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that the early-morning explosions were the result of missile strikes in the center of the city. He said that the blasts sparked fires at one of the city’s medical institutions and a nonresidential building. In a rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his conduct of Europe’s worst armed conflict since World War II, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to human rights organizations in his country and Ukraine, and to an activist jailed in Russia’s ally Belarus. Appeals court ruling allows Arizona abortions to restart PHOENIX (AP) — Abortions can take place again in Arizona, at least for now, after an appeals court on Friday blocked enforcement of a pre-statehood law that almost entirely criminalized the procedure. The three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals agreed with Planned Parenthood that a judge should not have lifted the decades-old order that prevented the older law from being imposed. The brief order written by Presiding Judge Peter J. Eckerstrom said Planned Parenthood and its Arizona affiliate had shown they are likely to prevail on an appeal of a decision by the judge in Tucson to allow enforcement of the old law. They said the judge should have considered a host of laws restricting abortions passed since the original injunction was put in place following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that said women have a constitutional right to an abortion. Those laws include a new one blocking abortions after 15 weeks’ pregnancy that took effect last month. The previous limit was 24 weeks, the viability standard established by now-overruled U.S. Supreme Court cases. Haiti’s leader requests foreign armed forces to quell chaos PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s government has agreed to request the help of international troops as gangs and protesters paralyze the country and supplies of water, fuel and basic goods dwindle, according to a document published Friday. The document, signed by Prime Minister Ariel Henry and 18 top-ranking officials, states that they are alarmed by “the risk of a major humanitarian crisis” that is threatening the life of many people. It authorizes Henry to request from international partners “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity,” to stop the crisis across the country caused partly by the “criminal actions of armed gangs.” “It is imperative to restart activities to avoid a complete asphyxiation of the national economy,” the document states. It wasn’t clear if the request had been formally submitted, to whom it would be submitted and whether it would mean the activation of United Nations peacekeeping troops, whose mission ended five years ago after a troubled 11 years in Haiti. Flynn, Gingrich testimony sought in Georgia election probe ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 election filed paperwork Friday seeking to compel testimony from a new batch of Trump allies, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed petitions in court seeking to have Gingrich and Flynn, as well as former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann and others, testify next month before a special grand jury that’s been seated to aid her investigation. They join a string of other high-profile Trump allies and advisers who have been called to testify in the probe. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump attorney who’s been told he could face criminal charges in the probe, testified in August. Attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro have also appeared before the panel. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s attempt to fight his subpoena is pending in a federal appeals court. And paperwork has been filed seeking testimony from others, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Flynn didn’t immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment, and his lawyer also didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment. Gingrich referred questions to his attorney, who declined to comment. Herschmann could not immediately be reached. Willis has said she plans to take a monthlong break from public activity in the case leading up to the November midterm election, which is one month from Saturday. Nobel Peace Prize to activists from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Human rights activists from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a strong rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine ruptured decades of nearly uninterrupted peace in Europe, and to the Belarusian president, his authoritarian ally. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2022 prize to imprisoned Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties. Bialiatski is the fourth laureate to be honored while in detention. Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the panel was honoring “three outstanding champions of human rights, democr...

'Thin Blue Line' Flag Causing Controversy At California School https://digitalalaskanews.com/thin-blue-line-flag-causing-controversy-at-california-school/ 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 to be an epic failure less than two weeks ago—but again found themselves struggling to explain 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, equall The Daily Beast Court Screwup Reveals Mar-a-Lago Judge’s Latest Legal Absurdity in Trump Case Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily BeastFirst, she stopped FBI special agents from even glancing at the classified documents they recovered from Mar-a-Lago. Then she appointed a special court referee that former President Donald Trump wanted to slow down the investigation over his mishandling of classified documents.But now, it’s clear District Court Judge Aileen Cannon already knew the Department of Justice was ready to hand Trump back a ton of personal records six days before she cla The Root Maybe It’s Time to Rethink Thursday Night Football As a rule, the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games are awful. Players are generally lethargic after playing just four days earlier in their usual Sunday slots. Coaches, also lacking the typical prep time, haven’t had enough bandwidth to install more than generic offensive or defensive schemes. What typically follows is what we got in last night’s 12-9 snoozer between the Indianpolis Colts and the Denver Broncos, where the most interesting part of the action came on the third play of the game. Th Bloomberg Judge to Trump Lawyers Over Deposition: ‘Stop Wasting Time’ (Bloomberg) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers were told by a federal judge to “stop wasting time” after they tried halting the deposition of former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham in a defamation lawsuit minutes after it began, citing her painkiller medication. Most Read from BloombergBiden Says Putin Threats Real, Could Spark Nuclear ‘Armageddon’Stock Traders Hit Sell Button on Hawkish Fed Bets: Markets WrapBiden Should Hit Saudi Arabia Where It Really HurtsKremlin Lets S Read More Here

In AZ Senate Debate, Kelly And Masters Trade Barbs Over Immigration, Abortion. We Fact-Checked Them https://digitalalaskanews.com/in-az-senate-debate-kelly-and-masters-trade-barbs-over-immigration-abortion-we-fact-checked-them/ WASHINGTON (Politifact) – Arizona offers Republicans a chance to pick up a Senate seat and win control of the chamber. Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly leads Republican Blake Masters in the polls, but Masters is within striking range. In an Oct. 6 debate, the two candidates, plus Libertarian Marc Victor, highlighted their differences on abortion and immigration. This is well-traveled ground for both Kelly and Masters. The one surprise of the evening came when Masters dialed back his past claims of fraud in the 2020 election. In June, he told voters, “Whatever their cheating capacity is, I’m pretty sure they pulled out all the stops.” Masters secured the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, and went on to win his primary. During the debate, when asked whether Joe Biden was the legitimately elected president, Masters first blamed Biden’s win on suppression of news coverage of Hunter Biden, the president’s son. Debate moderator Ted Simmons of PBS Arizona, pressed further. “But not vote-counting, not election results?” Simmons asked. “Yeah, I haven’t seen evidence of that,” Masters said. Which reflects the state of things. Multiple audits and recounts have uncovered nothing sizable enough to have altered the election’s outcome. We fact-checked a handful of the top claims from Kelly and Masters.. “Mark Kelly said no to 18,000 more border patrol agents. But yes to 87,000 new IRS agents.” — Blake Masters This is flawed and misleading. Kelly voted for the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a tax and spending bill that included about $80 billion over 10 years for the IRS. The IRS has not said how it will spend that money, except that it will focus any new enforcement on high net-worth individuals and large corporations. Republicans draw the 87,000 figure from a May 2021 Treasury Department assessment of how it would use $80 billion to improve IRS operations. But even in the 2021 plan, not all of the estimated 86,852 full-time positions would be auditors, or work in enforcement. The report said the money would go toward many things, including “hiring new specialized enforcement staff, modernizing antiquated information technology, and investing in meaningful taxpayer service.” And the plan assumed that the hiring would replace about 50,000 IRS workers who are expected to retire in the next five to six years. IRS staff would grow, but by tens of thousands less than 87,000, and the increase would come over the span of a decade. The move to hire 18,000 border patrol agents came in a floor proposal from Senate Republicans during passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Republicans knew they couldn’t stop the overall bill, but they could force votes on motions that would put Democrats in a tough spot. The GOP measure failed on a straight party-line vote, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats, including Kelly, voting opposed. “I worked in Washington to bring more border patrol agents to the state of Arizona — a billion dollars for staffing and security and monitoring systems.” — Mark Kelly This is technically correct but overemphasizes the staffing increase. In March 2022, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill to fund every government agency through the end of the fiscal year. It contained $994 million for Customs and Border Protection for processing facilities, migrant medical care, transportation, personnel overtime, and other border management costs. There were an additional $100 million for Border Patrol hiring and contractors and retention and relocation incentives. Although all of the money went to the Border Patrol, only about 10% went toward increasing the number of agents. Mark Kelly “sponsored a bill that would have mandated legal abortion nationwide up until the moment of birth … for any reason.” — Blake Masters This is Mostly False. The key flaw is Masters’ focus on late-term abortions “for any reason.” Abortions that take place in the final weeks of pregnancy are exceedingly rare and involve a medical crisis. The bill Kelly co-sponsored said that abortions after the point of fetal viability — sometime around weeks 23 or 24 of pregnancy — would be legal “when, in the good-faith medical judgment of the treating health care provider, continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the pregnant patient’s life or health.” That is not the right to an abortion at the sole request of the woman, nor does it provide the right to an abortion for any reason. The health care provider must agree that the abortion is necessary because of the risks to the mother. Abortion opponents argue that the life-or-health exception is overly broad; regardless, Kelly’s bill gave no reason other than life or health as justification for an abortion at that stage of pregnancy. Blake Masters “wants a national abortion ban that’s so strict, that even in the case when a woman is raped, she will not have the option to make this decision.” — Mark Kelly This is generally accurate, but Masters’ favored policies have shifted recently. During the Republican primary, Masters said several times that there should be a federal personhood law. A personhood law would give the fetus the rights of any individual, and an abortion would violate those rights. Masters allowed that people would disagree on when during pregnancy those rights would take hold, but he said whatever the timing, this would be the law in every state. It would be, in effect, a national abortion ban. Until August 2022, Masters’ campaign website included his support for a personhood law. At some point that month, he deleted that language. During the debate, Masters said he supports a federal bill from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that bans abortion after 15 weeks but includes exceptions for rape and incest. But Masters also said that Arizona’s law that bans abortion after 15 weeks “makes sense.” That law has no exception for rape. Blake Masters “wants to send your Social Security savings to Wall Street.” — Mark Kelly This is no longer accurate. At a June debate among the Republican Senate candidates, Masters put privatization on the table, offering a phased-in approach to hold retirees harmless. “We can’t pull the rug out from seniors who are currently receiving Social Security,” Masters said. “Maybe we should privatize Social Security, right? Private retirement accounts, get the government out of it, past a certain point, because the government, it is just too big.” For decades, Republicans have talked of keeping things as they are for people in or near retirement, but changing the rules for those who are younger. After he won the primary Aug. 3, Masters said he no longer had that view. He told reporters, “I do not want to privatize Social Security.” Copyright 2022 KTVK/KPHO via Politifact. All rights reserved. Read More Here

‘Armageddon’ Warning Reflects Biden’s Instincts About Putin https://digitalalaskanews.com/armageddon-warning-reflects-bidens-instincts-about-putin/ President Biden’s warning this week that Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons amounted to the most serious “prospect of Armageddon in 60 years” was not based on any new intelligence or information collected by the government, U.S. officials said Friday, but rather Biden’s own assessment of what Russian President Vladimir Putin could be capable of. Biden and other U.S. officials have harbored concerns in recent weeks that as the war continues to go poorly for Moscow, Putin would resort to increasingly drastic measures, said a senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. U.S. officials stressed on Friday that they had seen no evidence that Russia had taken the measures necessary to use its nuclear arsenal and that the United States has no reason to change its nuclear posture. But several officials said they are taking Putin’s threats seriously and have said the United States is engaged in direct back-channel conversations with the Russians about the repercussions of taking steps such as the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. “We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor do we have indications that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday. She added, “The kind of irresponsible rhetoric we have seen is no way for the leader of a nuclear-armed state to speak, and that’s what the president was making very clear about.” Biden startled many Americans by saying at a fundraiser Thursday night that Putin, who he knows “fairly well,” was “not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.” He added, “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily [use] a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.” Biden suggested that the threat was reminiscent of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, when the United States and Soviet Union came close to nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. “My sense is this is clearly weighing really heavily on President Biden, and we can all say intellectually the risk of the use of nuclear weapons is low, but the reality is the risk has gone up,” said Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. “At a very human level, he now has the potential to be a president who has to manage nuclear use for the first time in 70 years,” Kendall-Taylor said. “I maybe would have preferred he didn’t use the phrase ‘nuclear … Armageddon,’ but I think it’s useful for the president and the administration to be having a conversation with the public about the risk.” Biden’s comments were reflective of the long-held distrust he has harbored against Putin and his understanding of what Putin is willing to do to carry out his goals, U.S. officials and outside experts said. His skepticism about Putin began long before he became president — and long before Putin became one of the United States’ biggest adversaries. Biden’s bleak assessment of Putin dates back at least to 2001, when President George W. Bush met the Russian leader for the first time shortly after he had come to power. While Bush heaped praise on him — describing him as “very straightforward and trustworthy” — Biden, then a senator from Delaware, disagreed, stating that he did not trust Putin. Biden, who has focused on foreign policy throughout his career and chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, places a high value on his own instincts and assessments when it comes to evaluating foreign leaders and landscapes. During his presidential campaign, he often spoke of how many foreign leaders he had met personally, for example citing the long travels he took with Chinese President Xi Jinping. While Biden’s mention of “Armageddon” was his most vivid warning yet, the president has been raising the alarm for weeks about Putin’s actions in Ukraine, including his staging of sham referendums in four Ukrainian territories and then annexing them. In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly last month, Biden addressed the referendums and nuclear threats directly, saying Moscow had “shamelessly” violated the core of the U.N. charter by forcefully invading its neighbor. “Just today, President Putin has made overt nuclear threats against Europe, in a reckless disregard for the responsibilities of the nonproliferation regime,” Biden said. “A nuclear war cannot be won. And must never be fought.” Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons since the beginning of the conflict in February, but officials said they have long recognized that the threat of such a strike would rise if Putin’s military position became imperiled in Ukraine. In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive and made significant gains on the battlefield. But U.S. officials were at pains Friday to stress that nothing they have seen on the ground in recent days has prompted them to expect a potential nuclear strike in the short term. “We have been doing contingency planning for a wide range of scenarios throughout the conflict,” a senior State Department official said. “But have not seen reason to adjust our strategic nuclear posture.” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel added, “We’ve not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture, nor do we have any indications that Russia is preparing to imminently use weapons.” Other senior U.S. officials said they believe any movement of Russian nuclear warheads would not only be detected through various monitoring methods, but would require detectable internal coordination and could be observed by U.S. surveillance in real time. Still, a range of officials acknowledged that such methods are never 100 percent certain. Asked Sunday whether the United States would actively enter the war if Putin used a nuclear weapon, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN, “I have said before that we have had the opportunity to communicate directly to Russia a range of consequences for the use of nuclear weapons and the kinds of actions the United States would take. I have also said before that we are not going to telegraph these things publicly.” Some leaders suggested Friday that Biden’s comments were needlessly provocative. French President Emmanuel Macron said that “we must speak with prudence” on issues like nuclear weapons. Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, also questioned Biden’s tone, saying it would be better for U.S. officials to make limited, calm statements in response to Putin’s nuclear threats. “When you get into this kind of language of ‘Armageddon’ and ‘World War III’ as an official, I think you are raising the anxiety without actually conveying the deterrent threat,” Lewis said. “The primary message that the White House should be conveying at this point is strength and confidence.” Still, he added, Putin could always miscalculate even if the White House messaging was flawless. “Even if they were doing it perfectly, there is going to be a risk that he misreads them, because he already did it with Zelensky,” Lewis said. Other European officials noted that Putin is unpredictable and dangerous, saying Russian losses on the battlefield are creating a kind of pressure he has rarely faced before. For months, the war has not gone according to plan for Putin, and he has resorted to ever more brazen and far-reaching measures to try to stem his losses. After making a failed run at Kyiv, the Russian military retreated from the Ukrainian capital in early April and refocused its efforts on taking more territory in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, an area known as Donbas. The regroup shifted the conflict into more of a traditional artillery war. Russian troops seized a string of new cities and towns in June and July in a dispiriting moment for Ukrainian forces, which found themselves outgunned by Russia’s longer-range artillery. But the United States and other European allies armed the Ukrainians with more sophisticated weapons, including the U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), and found ways to alleviate some ammunition shortages, helping to level the playing field. By the time Kyiv launched its counteroffensive in late August, Putin’s forces had suffered significant losses and lacked the personnel to defend such a wide swath of territory. Russia’s front-line defenses in the Kharkiv region swiftly collapsed, and Ukrainian forces retook thousands of square miles in a rapid advance that has thrown Moscow off-balance. In recent weeks, as Ukrainian forces have pushed farther, Putin resorted to a move U.S. intelligence sources had said he would try to avoid at all costs: ordering a partial military mobilization of up to 300,000 reservists. Putin had been reluctant to take the step earlier, cognizant that it could hamper domestic support of the war, and since the announcement, many Russian men have tried to flee the country to avoid conscription. At the same time, Putin moved up the timeline for the sham referendums and annexations, declaring that the people living in the annexed regions would “be our citizens forever” and warning that the land now belonged to Russia and would be defended as if it were any other part of the country. These urgent — some say desperate — actions form the backdrop for Putin’s escalation of his nuclear threats. Some analysts say the Russian president may see the threats as a way to make the United States and Europe think twice about letting Ukraine advance far enough to provoke the Kremlin into potentially using a weapon of mass destruction. “If the territorial integri...