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Student Resident Assistant Unions Gain Traction https://digitalalaskanews.com/student-resident-assistant-unions-gain-traction/ A group of resident assistants at Barnard College in New York City walked into the office of college president Sian Beilock on Monday to deliver a letter and a message: 95 percent of them had voted to unionize. They asked for the college’s “support”—or voluntary recognition—within five business days. “Our responsibilities and lack of pay impact our ability to both effectively serve our residents as well as take care of ourselves as students,” the letter read. “We have collectively decided that forming a union will empower us to better pursue our shared mission not only for current RAs, but all generations that follow.” The college responded with a statement: “Barnard deeply values our Resident Assistants and the College is committed to ensuring they have the best possible experience in their roles as student leaders on campus,” it read. “We are reviewing this petition.” Katie Cherven, a junior and an RA, said she’s optimistic that the college will voluntarily recognize the union. “Barnard very much positions itself as a social justice–oriented institution, and I’m very hopeful they will center that in their decision,” she said. But she added that RAs aren’t asking for permission; if the college doesn’t give the union its blessing, they are prepared to strike. Undergraduate unions are exceedingly rare, and unions representing residential assistants at private colleges are even rarer. But the events at Barnard are part of a slowly growing trend. Days before Barnard students delivered their petition, student Resident Life employees at Mount Holyoke College filed for union recognition with the National Labor Relations Board after the college failed to respond to their request for voluntary recognition. Keely Sexton, Mount Holyoke’s media relations manager, told Inside Higher Ed by email that the college “appreciates the hard work and dedication that our student employees bring to the jobs they perform while pursuing their academic careers” and “supports the right of workers to choose what they believe is best for them.” In March, Wesleyan University voluntarily recognized a union of undergraduate residential life employees, making it the second such bargaining unit in the country. A few months later at Grinnell College in Iowa, community advisers (Grinnell’s term for RAs) were brought into the fold of the expanded undergraduate worker union, which initially only included student dining workers. RAs at peer institutions are trying to seize the momentum from these victories, hoping to capitalize on the pressure for their progressive liberal arts schools to live the values they claim to espouse. Cherven credits the growing popularity of unions among young people with propelling the recent undergraduate bargaining campaigns. “It’s a very exciting time for the unionization movement,” Cherven said. “I think there’s been a really exciting resurgence among young employees, and that’s really motivating.” She added that it took some time for the Barnard union campaign to win widespread support among RAs, but eventually they bought in. “There was and is some hesitation, because we work where we live and the threat of losing our jobs would therefore mean losing our housing,” she said. “But the more of us there are, the more powerful we are. We have to remember that and recognize that it’s worth taking that risk if we’re all taking it together.” ‘Essentially a Full-Time Job’ Resident assistants—also known as resident advisers, community advisers, hall leaders and myriad other titles—play a crucial role in the administration of residential life at colleges and universities. They organize social events for underclassmen, report dangerous or illicit behavior, and even act as first responders during medical and mental health emergencies. Compensation for these roles varies, from free or reduced room and board to stipends and hourly wages. Every RA or CA that spoke to Inside Higher Ed said that, as student workers, they shoulder too heavy a burden and work far more hours than the job should entail. Moreover, they said they aren’t given the respect or compensation they deserve. “We’re expected to be able to handle anything thrown at us,” said Cherven, who works another 20 hours a week outside of her RA position. “It is essentially a full-time job.” “A big part of our job is being available to our residents 24-7,” said Libby Eggert, a sophomore community adviser at Grinnell, where students receive a housing grant but no stipend or meal plan. “We deserve compensation for that.” Hannah Yi, a Barnard junior and resident assistant, said the road to union organizing on her campus began this past May, when RAs who signed up to work the summer semester found they would be on campus without a meal plan for over a month. Yi, who was scheduled to work 18 weekend shifts, was assigned to a hall without a refrigerator; to save money, she ate granola with water almost every day. Yi said that when she and the other summer RAs went to the office of residential life to ask for a meal plan and reduced hours, they were met with condescension and resistance—so they threatened to strike. Soon after, they were issued $550 food delivery app gift cards for the remaining weeks before their meal plans kicked in. After that, Yi said the RA organizing committee grew, and the goal changed from winning short-term battles to unionization. By the time the RAs delivered their petition to President Beilock, the aspiring union had won the support of 95 percent of the group. “That really galvanized the movement as it is now, because the amount we were able to achieve through collective action and by threatening to strike was so great,” Yi said. “It showed us that the only thing that’s going to make this kind of change sustainable is a union.” Solidarity Takes Forever Until the victory at Wesleyan, only one institution’s undergraduate resident assistants were unionized: those at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where student workers organized the first such bargaining unit in 2002. Twenty years later, more are finally, slowly starting to win support and recognition. Public university employees are governed by state laws, and private colleges are subject to the policy decisions of the National Labor Relations Board. Students at Barnard and Mount Holyoke are acting on a precedent set by that board in 2017. After ruling that graduate student workers at Columbia University qualified as union-eligible employees, the NLRB also ruled that resident assistants at George Washington University could unionize, paving the way for other undergraduate workers at private institutions to do so. But the union election at GW was ultimately canceled, and despite the groundbreaking precedent, no undergraduate RA union campaign succeeded for the next five years. William Herbert, executive director of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College, said frequent turnover—read, graduation—and the NLRB’s waffling on its student worker policy have hampered RAs’ ability to run successful unionization campaigns. At Georgetown University, a four-year unionization campaign ended unsuccessfully when its leaders graduated in 2020. In 2018, a union petition submitted by student housing advisers at Reed College in Portland, Ore., was withdrawn after the NLRB under President Trump proposed reversing its Obama-era ruling that made student workers eligible for union representation. And, in a case that could have broad implications for undergraduate labor, community assistants and other student workers at Kenyon College in Ohio have been locked in a heated battle with their institution since Kenyon refused to voluntarily recognize their union in 2020. In 2021, the administration successfully filed for a motion to postpone NLRB-mediated union elections. In its motion, Kenyon argued that following the election rules of the National Labor Relations Act would force the college to violate its students’ rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act by requiring the college to submit to the NLRB a list of unit members’ “full names, work locations, shifts, and job classifications.” Kenyon spokesperson David Hoyt wrote in an email to Inside Higher Ed that before any election can be held, the NLRB “has to work through, among other considerations, the challenges that FERPA presents in the context of its proceedings.” But Kat Ellis, a community adviser at Kenyon, said she suspects that this argument and other actions taken by the university are disingenuous, designed primarily to give the college a leg up in its fight to stop a union vote. She said CAs at Kenyon were paid an hourly wage until this semester, when they switched to a stipend—a move that Ellis says could help Kenyon make the case that its CAs are more like students than employees. “It’s very odd,” she said. “I think their recent change to pay us with stipends gives them a stronger argument to the NLRB.” Herbert said that while the compatibility of the NLRA and student-college legal relations is under review, RAs’ ability to bargain collectively is, for now, largely in the hands of colleges and universities. “Each institution will examine each case and decide what’s in their interest, based on what their values are towards labor issues and the idea of representational democracy, which is what collective bargaining is,” he said. Student Worker: Oxymoron or Reality? The NLRB’s 2017 decision to allow undergraduates at private colleges to unionize had detractors in higher education: a group of organizations, including the American Council on Education and the Association of College and University Housing Officers–International, filed an amicus brief in support of GW and later condemned the NLRB’s ruling...

Judge To Donald Trump Lawyer In Ex-Aide Deposition: ‘Stop Wasting Time’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/judge-to-donald-trump-lawyer-in-ex-aide-deposition-stop-wasting-time/ 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. Grisham — who famously never held a press conference and resigned her subsequent post as chief of staff to the first lady after the Jan. 6 insurrection — was deposed Thursday in Kansas by lawyers for New York columnist E. Jean Carroll. “Stop wasting time,” US Distract Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said to Trump’s lawyers during a brief hearing held over the phone during a break in the deposition, according to a transcript. “It goes forward.” The sworn testimony was briefly delayed after Trump attorney Michael Madaio tried to halt the deposition when Grisham confirmed she’d taken her prescribed painkillers, though a smaller dose than normal. Trump is set to be deposed in the case on Oct. 19, though he’ll argue at a hearing Friday for Carroll’s suit to be put on hold pending the resolution of a key question on appeal. Carroll claims Trump raped her two decades ago and then defamed her by calling her a liar while he was in office. Trump’s personal attorney Alina Habba said in a phone call that the effort to delay the deposition was strictly related to Grisham’s competency. Read more: Watch| Joe Biden caught swearing on hot mic: ‘No one f**** with me’ “We have proceeded with other depositions in the case this week,” she said in the call from Florida. “The only reason for our concern with this deposition is what the transcript indicates.” According to a transcript of the brief hearing, Habba’s partner Madaio advised the judge that Grisham had cited her medication as a reason to avoid a deposition in an unrelated lawsuit on Sept. 23. “The issue is: The witness advised early in the deposition that she is currently on painkillers, and we were aware that in a related case she recently filed a notice of unavailability for deposition based on the fact that she was on the same painkillers, and that she would not be able to competently testify based on the fact that she was on painkillers,” Madaio told the judge. “She remains on the painkillers today,” he added. “Your honor, there’s been extensive testimony about this already, and it’s really somewhat of a waste of time,” said Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan. “The injury has healed, which is exactly why, your honor, we are here in Kansas.” Kaplan said Grisham was on 20 milligrams of the painkiller, compared to her normal dosage of 100 milligrams. “Do you understand the questions?” the judge asked the former press secretary, who was on the call. “And are you capable of testifying?” “Yes, your honor,” Grisham said. Grisham moved to Kansas to work against Trump in a conservative county that voted for the Republican by a wide margin, according to National Public Radio. Read More Here

Deniers Spur Republicans To Endorse Dems | Arizona Capitol Times https://digitalalaskanews.com/deniers-spur-republicans-to-endorse-dems-arizona-capitol-times/ By: Nick Phillips Arizona Capitol Times October 6, 2022 Rick Romley, an Arizona Republican who served more than 15 years as Maricopa County attorney, is among a group of Republicans who are crossing the political aisle to support Democrats in this year’s election, citing election fraud claims and a sense that the Republican Party they know isn’t represented by many of this year’s GOP candidates.  Enter your user name and password in the fields above to gain access to the subscriber content on this site. Your subscription includes one set of login credentials for your exclusive use. Security features have been integrated on this site: If someone signs in with your credentials while you are logged in, the site will automatically close your ongoing login and you will lose access at that time. To inquire about group subscriptions for your organization please email Shaun Witt for special pricing. If you feel your login credentials are being used by a second party, contact customer service at 877-615-9536 for assistance in changing your password. Already a paid subscriber but not registered for online access yet? For instructions on how to get premium web access, click here. Forgot your password? Tags: 2020, romley, Democrats, election 2014, Lake, hobbs, Robinson, Trump, MAGA, Hamadeh, Gallego, Finchem, mitchell, Gunnigle, Mayes, election deniers, GOP Read More Here

Racial Context Helps Explain Confounding Aspects Of Georgia Senate Race https://digitalalaskanews.com/racial-context-helps-explain-confounding-aspects-of-georgia-senate-race/ 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 Daily Beast Showgirls Among the 2 Dead, 6 Wounded in Mass Stabbing Attack on Las Vegas Strip George Rose/GettyAt least eight people were stabbed, two fatally, on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday by a suspect wielding a large kitchen knife, witnesses and Nevada authorities said.The attack occurred around 11:45 a.m. near the Wynn hotel and casino, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police. The wounded victims, three of whom remain in critical condition, were brought to local hospitals.A suspect was taken into custody in front of The Venetian, a resort less than a mile away from the Wynn. NASCAR.com National Motorsports Appeals Panel amends Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 penalty The National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday amended the September penalty to NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron for his intentional contact to Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway, which sent the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver spinning into the infield and out of the top five Byron, a two-time 2022 winner […] Read More Here

Disappointed By US Decision To Upgrade Pakistani F-16s: Meera Shankar https://digitalalaskanews.com/disappointed-by-us-decision-to-upgrade-pakistani-f-16s-meera-shankar/ Home / News / World /  Disappointed by US Decision to upgrade Pakistani F-16s: Meera Shankar Premium Former Indian envoy to the US Meera Shankar 1 min read . Updated: 07 Oct 2022, 11:45 AM IST Shashank Mattoo It is perhaps in our interest not to have Pakistan completely dependent on China and for there to be balancing influences like America, said former Indian envoy to the US Meera Shankar Former Indian envoy to the US Meera Shankar questioned the US’s modernisation of Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets, and said its domestic divisions threaten to undercut its global power. In an interview to Mint, she highlighted numerous challenges in the relationship and added that differences could also emerge over India’s desire for independence in foreign affairs and tensions in the US-Russia relationship. Shankar said India’s geopolitical balancing gets harder when partners like the US and Russia clash. Edited excerpts from the interview: You entered the foreign service in the early 1970s, and served as ambassador in Washington from 2009 until 2011. What are your reflections on how India’s relationship with the US has changed over the last four decades? Certainly, I think there’s been a transformation in the India-US relationship. If you look at the relationship post independence , it was conditioned by our divergent approaches to foreign policy. The US was looking at building alliances to contain communism and the Soviet Union and China. India,as a newly independent country, was looking to create more space for itself to take its own decisions in its own interest. Two factors were responsible for enabling a shift. One was the economic reforms which India carried out in 1991. Interacting with the global economy became a much more important factor in India’s overall economic approach and the US, as the world’s largest economy, became important for India in this process. For the US, the fact that there were now new opportunities in the previously closed Indian market made it look afresh at India as an economic partner. On the other hand, you also had the collapse of the Soviet Union. That shifted global geopolitics very, very fundamentally and India reassessed its foreign policy approach. That has led to where we are now. As Strategic Partners – we have cooperation and dialogues between India and America on strategic and security issues, trade and economic engagement, technology, education, health, energy and climate change. The relationship is broad and not just between the two governments. It’s between businesses on both sides, particularly in the IT and high tech sectors, and between people, given the large Indian-American community. Could you give us a sense of the abiding strengths and challenges in the relationship? I think the abiding strength of the relationship is that it is broad based. There is a bilateral consensus in the United States between Republicans and Democrats that they need to build the relationship with India. Even Nixon, who in 1971 was seen as tilting towards Pakistan, in his memoir wrote that the next century is going to be one of competition between India and China, and that he hoped that the US would support democratic India. It speaks to how far the Americans had moved in terms of their perception of what the challenges were likely to be in the coming century and also their belief that India would be an important partner. In India too, the major political parties recognise the importance of the relationship with America. In terms of the challenges – the US is a global power and it has global interests. And those global interests may not necessarily be in harmony with what India perceives as its interests, for instance with regard to Pakistan The asymmetry of power with the US can sometimes be a challenge when there are divergent views. However, we have learnt to handle these differences in a more mature fashion, rather than letting each difference grow into a make or break issue between the two sides. The US recently approved a $450 million sustainment program for Pakistan’s F-16. This has conjured up this old image of a United States that acts as a sort of “fair weather friend” and plays both India and Pakistan. Your sense of the issue? I’m disappointed that the US has resumed the upgradation of these F-16s. The fact that the US should engage with Pakistan is understandable. It is perhaps in our interest not to have Pakistan completely dependent on China and for there to be balancing influences like America. However, economic assistance to Pakistan at this stage, when the economy is in such a dire state, might have been more relevant than providing $450 million worth of military assistance. Of course, the F-16s are not really going to be used in the battle against terrorism. They are not designed for that purpose and have been deployed with an eye on India. This is a matter of concern to us. However, I would also say that there are likely to be inherent limits as to how far the US-Pakistan relationship will develop in the future. The level of trust between the two countries has certainly been eroded after Osama bin Laden was found within Pakistan. President Biden didn’t even talk to Imran Khan when he was Prime Minister. It seems that America and Russia are hurtling towards competition. It seems that there are now two camps with the Russians and the Chinese on one side and the West on the other. Given our relationship with Moscow and Washington, how will these tensions impact India’s foreign policy? When US-Russia relations are strained or adversarial, it obviously makes it more difficult for India to navigate between the two. We have always sought to sustain our relationship with Russia because it’s been a good strategic relationship over the years particularly in the security sphere. However, if you look at the economic relationship, it’s very skimpy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, neither trade nor investment has picked up in any substantive way. People to people ties between Russia and India are not very robust. So it’s a good relationship in the field of security and defense but it’s a more limited one. Increased pressure from the West may push Russia towards China even though Russia is taking the view that its relationship with India and relationship with China are in separate baskets. However, we have to watch this space in the future. With the US, of course, we have a far more broad based relationship and a strong convergence of strategic interests. vis-a-vis what both perceive as their primary challenge – how to deal with an increasingly assertive and often aggressive China. There is an increasing concern about the growing divides in America’s domestic politics. This may lead to questions about whether a divided America can be a reliable long term partner for India. Your sense of this issue? I think America’s domestic divides do impact its influence abroad. When President Trump walked out of the Climate Change Agreement or the Iran nuclear accord it raised questions of US reliability. However Democrats and Republicans are still able to agree on important areas of foreign policy such as the challenge posed by China and on support for Ukraine. For India, I think it is important that we not pick sides in American domestic disputes because we have not been a partisan issue in their politics. For example, we have seen a continued nostalgia for Trump’s leadership which certain sections in India continue to voice. This is not a wise way to go. It is much better for India to remain neutral and not embrace either side in these disputes. Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates. More Less Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Read More Here

Timeline In The Stockton And Oakland Serial Killings https://digitalalaskanews.com/timeline-in-the-stockton-and-oakland-serial-killings/ 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 Bloomberg Judge to Trump Lawyer in Ex-Aide 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 BloombergMusk’s Twitter Takeover Hits Snag Over Debt-Financing IssueKremlin Lets State Media Tell Some Truths About Putin’s Stalling WarNord Stream Leaks Caused by Detonations in Sign of SabotageTrump The Daily Beast Showgirls Among the 2 Dead, 6 Wounded in Mass Stabbing Attack on Las Vegas Strip George Rose/GettyAt least eight people were stabbed, two fatally, on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday by a suspect wielding a large kitchen knife, witnesses and Nevada authorities said.The attack occurred around 11:45 a.m. near the Wynn hotel and casino, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police. The wounded victims, three of whom remain in critical condition, were brought to local hospitals.A suspect was taken into custody in front of The Venetian, a resort less than a mile away from the Wynn. The Daily Beast Putin’s Dueling Foot Soldiers Are Now Apparently Killing Each Other Off AFP via GettyWhile Ukraine’s military has been successfully chasing Russian troops out of one territory after another, Vladimir Putin’s foot soldiers have apparently been turning their weapons on each other as the Russian leader’s “special military operation” continues to come apart at the seams in spectacular fashion.The Kremlin’s flailing bid to get an edge on the battlefield by deploying mercenaries from the Wagner Group—which now includes hundreds of prison inmates—has reportedly backfired a NASCAR.com National Motorsports Appeals Panel amends Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 penalty The National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday amended the September penalty to NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron for his intentional contact to Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway, which sent the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver spinning into the infield and out of the top five Byron, a two-time 2022 winner […] Read More Here

Biden Issues Federal Pardons For 'simple Possession' Of Marijuana https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-issues-federal-pardons-for-simple-possession-of-marijuana/ Image source, Getty Images President Joe Biden has pardoned all Americans who have been convicted at the national level of possessing small amounts of marijuana. Officials estimate about 6,500 people with federal convictions for simple possession of marijuana will benefit. No-one is currently in federal prison solely for possession of marijuana. Most convictions occur at state level. But the federal pardons will make it easier for people to get employment, housing, and education, Mr Biden said. As a presidential candidate, Mr Biden promised to decriminalise cannabis use, as well as expunging convictions. “Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” Mr Biden said on Thursday. He added that non-white people were statistically far more likely to be jailed for cannabis. As a White House candidate, Mr Biden was criticised for writing a 1994 crime bill that stiffened penalties for drug crimes and led to more incarceration of minorities. Media caption, Cannabis boom: Why Oklahoma is a ‘wild wild west’ The Democratic president said he would call upon all state governors to issue their own marijuana pardons. He is also directing the Department of Justice and the Department of Health to review how cannabis is classified under federal law. “We classify marijuana at the same level as heroin – and more serious than fentanyl,” said Mr Biden. “It makes no sense.” Recreational marijuana is already legal in 19 states and Washington DC. Medical use is legal in 37 states and three US territories. However, the drug remains illegal at the federal level, even in states where it can be legally bought and used, meaning people there could still be convicted for possession in certain circumstances. The pardons come a month before November’s congressional mid-term elections, which will determine the power balance in Washington for the last two years of Mr Biden’s term. Life for Pot, a website advocating for the release of non-violent marijuana offenders, noted that there are no known federal prisoners that will be affected by Mr Biden’s measure, tweeting: “This is window dressing.” Cannabis company shares jumped on the stock market by around 20% with news of Mr Biden’s pardons. Mr Biden is not the first US president to pardon cannabis offenders. On his final day in office, Donald Trump pardoned 12 marijuana offenders, including some who had been jailed for life under the three-strikes rule created by Mr Biden’s 1994 crime bill. Read More Here

Credit Suisse To Buy Back $3 Billion In Debt, Sell Landmark Hotel As Credit Fears Persist https://digitalalaskanews.com/credit-suisse-to-buy-back-3-billion-in-debt-sell-landmark-hotel-as-credit-fears-persist/ Signage hangs over the entrance of a Credit Suisse Group AG branch in Zurich, Switzerland, on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. Inflation in Switzerland has more than doubled since the start of the year and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs expects it to come in at a three-decade-high of 3% for 2022. Photographer: Pascal Mora/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Troubled bank Credit Suisse offered to buy back up to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.03 billion) of debt securities Friday, as it navigates a plunging share price and a rise in bets against its debt. The Swiss lender also confirmed that it is selling its famous Savoy Hotel in Zurich’s financial district, prompting some speculation that it is scrambling for liquidity. In a statement Friday regarding the offer to repurchase debt securities, Credit Suisse said: “The transactions are consistent with our proactive approach to managing our overall liability composition and optimizing interest expense and allow us to take advantage of market conditions to repurchase debt at attractive prices.” It comes after Credit Suisse’s shares briefly hit an all-time low earlier this week, and credit default swaps hit a record high, amid market’s skittishness over its future. The embattled lender is embarking on a massive strategic review under a new CEO after a string of scandals and risk management failures, and will give a progress update alongside its quarterly earnings on Oct. 27. The most costly of the scandals was the bank’s $5 billion exposure to hedge fund Archegos, which collapsed in March 2021. Credit Suisse has since overhauled its management team, suspended share buybacks and cut its dividend as it looks to shore up its future. Shares closed at 4.22 Swiss francs on Thursday. They are down over 50% year to date. On Friday, the bank announced a cash tender offer relating to eight euro or sterling-denominated senior debt securities, worth up to 1 billion euros ($980 million), along with 12 U.S. dollar-denominated securities worth up to $2 billion. The offers on the debt securities will expire by Nov. 3 and Nov. 10, respectively. Read More Here

Outside The Gates: Nonprofit Offers Essential Job Training Opportunities To Military Members Transitioning Out Of Active Duty https://digitalalaskanews.com/outside-the-gates-nonprofit-offers-essential-job-training-opportunities-to-military-members-transitioning-out-of-active-duty/ ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Inside the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center off Potter Drive, active-duty military members work toward obtaining the skills they need to become certified electrical workers. It’s under the umbrella of the Veteran Electrical Entry Program (VEEP), a program Army Veteran Kyle Kaiser helped bring to life. “I had lost one of my soldiers from Afghanistan to suicide and it really shook me. I was upset and angry,” Kaiser said. “How did I find my way into an apprenticeship, become a journeyman electrician, and have the career path that I did but, you know, he didn’t.” Getting VEEP off the ground inspired Kaiser to expand on transitional training opportunities, leading him to start the nonprofit organization VIPER Transitions. It’s designed to help soon-to-be, and current, veterans navigate the process of returning to civilian life by providing them with training opportunities in a trades career field they’re interested in. “I think the biggest misconception people have is that you step out of the military, you walk right into your next job,” Kaiser said. “The owner is all about the military and super patriotic and great, but it doesn’t mean he’s gonna hire me as an infantry guy with no skills for doing what he needs done.” Kaiser struggled with his own transition out of the Army in 2011. His VA benefits didn’t kick in right away and he got to the point where he, his wife, and their newborn baby were on the brink of being homeless when he reached out to Senator Lisa Murkowski. Thankfully, Murkowski was able to push his disability rating through, though she admits it shouldn’t have to be this way. “At the end of the day, that veteran that you’re working for deserves to have his or her benefits that they have earned and deserves to have them in a timely manner,” Murkowski said. “It shouldn’t have to take an act of congress — literally — to get your benefits, and sometimes I think that’s the way it feels for our veterans.” While servicemembers cut pipes and pull wires at the training facility, across town on Merrill Field, Marine Corps Veteran Neal Hambleton is checking the spark plugs on an aircraft inside the hangar of Pratt Aviation Services. Hambleton is working as an apprentice to get his Airframe and Powerplant certification. “The trades seem to be where a lot of veterans end up going, just because it’s more comfortable for us,” Hambleton said. “Metal workers, iron workers, welders, carpenters – lot of veterans – because we can just kind of be ourselves.” Neal Hambleton – a Marine Corps Veteran – works on an aircraft as part of his apprenticeship at Pratt Aviation Services on Merrill Field.(AKNS) Hambleton left the Marine Corps in 2012. He worked in law enforcement for a while, but it felt more like something he was supposed to do instead of something he wanted. “I was Amphibious Assault,” Hambleton stated. “There’s not a huge market for that in the civilian world.” It wasn’t until joining aviation through Kaiser’s organization that Hambleton found a career path he could see himself in long term. VIPER Transitions connected with John Pratt, President of Pratt Aviation Services, and a Vietnam Veteran himself. “Veterans are a resource that are seldom totally used,” Pratt said. “What people look for when you’re looking for someone to work for you, you look for integrity, you look for people who are willing to learn, you look for all those sorts of things — the things that make a good employee — and I find that veterans do that.” Pratt has guided a number of veterans already through work opportunities in his hangar. “The thing that is important to me is they’ve had the chance,” Pratt said. It’s a chance Kaiser is committed to giving active-duty military members, by training them during their last days in so they’re set up with a successful career opportunity once they’re out. “When you get out of the military everything, everything changes about your life. You go from knowing exactly what you’re going to get paid every two weeks to nothing,” Kaiser said. “When they transition out and they step into that job, there’s no surprises. You know what you’re getting into, you know what the career is, you know what the benefits are, you know what you’re gonna get paid — you can plan for life.” Copyright 2022 KTUU. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Kimmel Jokes He’s ‘Just Glad Willie Nelson Is Alive’ To See Biden Change His Mind On Cannabis (Video) https://digitalalaskanews.com/kimmel-jokes-hes-just-glad-willie-nelson-is-alive-to-see-biden-change-his-mind-on-cannabis-video/ Jimmy Kimmel was delighted on Thursday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” by the surprising news that President Joe Biden has initiated some (long overdue) changes in America’s cannabis policies. And he had a pretty good joke to mark the occasion, referencing one of America’s biggest advocates of cannabis. In case you missed it, earlier Thursday, President Biden announced that he has pardoned all U.S. citizens and legal residents who have federal convictions for simple possession of marijuana. (Meaning, people who were not charged with intent to distribute.) This could potentially affect at least 6,000 people. He also urged state governors to do the same for people convicted at the state level. But Biden also announced something even more important: That he has directed Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra and Attorney General Merrick Garland “to initiate the process of reviewing how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.” Currently, cannabis is a schedule I drug, which means the federal government considers it both dangerously addictive and of no medical value. This puts cannabis in the same category as heroin — but not fentanyl, which is schedule II. In other words, by official decree the U.S. government considers cannabis to be more dangerous than fentanyl. Likely we don’t have to explain how idiotic this is. Even Biden says “It makes no sense.” More to come on this, obviously, but a good start toward reversing decades of terrible policy — and catching up to where Americans are on the issue. (They’re overwhelmingly in favor and it’s not even close: 91% support at least some form of legalization.) Also Read: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Boss Krista Vernoff Felt the Best Way Forward for Season 19 Was to ‘Start Again’ “Hey, here’s some good news,” Kimmel said as he brought the topic up in his monologue. “Grampotus Joe-tus made a big announcement today. Biden fulfilled a campaign promise and pardoned all prior federal offenses for marijuana possession.” “Yeah, this is a very big deal and will affect more than six thousand Americans. Their criminal records will be cleared,” Kimmel continued. “He also encouraged Governors to do the same on the state level, he promised that his administration will review whether marijuana should still be classified as a Schedule 1 drug. And gave the Presidential medal of freedom to a bag of Funyuns. So, progress.” Kimmel noted that Biden hasn’t fully come out in support of full legalization, “which will probably have to wait until we have a President Woodrow Harrelson or something.” But, he said, “it is the most cannabis-friendly decision by a President yet.” “And I, for one, am just glad Willie Nelson is alive to see this happen,” Kimmel joked. Sadly, Willie hasn’t weighed in yet. But we laughed. Kimmel also made some jokes about Donald Trump, and he talked about the latest development in the latest Herschel Walker scandal. You’ll recall that Walker, a Georgia U.S. Senate candidate who supports s total ban on abortion, turns out to have once paid for one of his many secret girlfriends to have one. He denied that this happened, despite clear proof the woman provided, and claimed not to know anything about the woman. But then it turned out that the woman is mother to yet another of the secret children Walker lies about not having. About that, Kimmel joked, “so now Republicans are… they’re scrambling to figure out how to handle this. Do they continue to back him for Senate, or do they ask him to drop out so he can run for President in two years?” You can watch the whole monologue at the top of the page now. Read More Here

Falsehoods, Harassment Stress Election Offices https://digitalalaskanews.com/falsehoods-harassment-stress-election-offices/ Carroll County Board of Elections Clerk Sarah Dyck, foreground, stamps incoming absentee ballot applications as Elections Clerk Deloris Kean counts more applications at the Board of Elections offices in Carrollton, Ohio, Sept. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Phil Long) CARROLLTON, Ohio (AP) — With early voting less than three weeks away, Nicole Mickley was staring down a daunting to-do list: voting machines to test, poll workers to recruit, an onslaught of public records requests to examine. And then, over a weekend, came word that the long-time county sheriff had died. To Mickley, director of elections in a small Ohio county, that added one more complication to an election season filled with them. It meant a new contest was needed to fill the position, so she and her small staff would have to remake the ballots for the fall election for the second time in a week. “I feel like ever since we took office in ’19, it’s just been a constant rollercoaster,” said Mickley, whose 36 months on the job qualify her as the senior member of her four-person staff in the Carroll County elections office. The office Mickley oversees is tucked in a corner of the 137-year-old county courthouse in Carrollton, a close-knit town of 3,200 that sits amid the farm fields and fracking wells of eastern Ohio. She and Deputy Director Cheri Whipkey’s son graduated from high school together. The director and her deputy seem an unlikely pair to be contending with the wrath of a nation. Yet ever since former President Donald Trump began falsely claiming that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, Mickley, Whipkey and local election workers like them across the country have been inundated with conspiracy theories and election falsehoods, and hounded with harassment. They’ve been targeted by threats, stressed by rising workloads and stretched budgets. The stress and vitriol have driven many workers away, creating shortages of election office staff and poll workers. During Ohio’s second primary in August — an added burden for election officials stemming from partisan feuding over redistricting — Mickley’s two clerks darted around the county all day filling in for absent poll workers. Two staff members’ husbands were enlisted to help. And then there’s the stream of misinformation falsely alleging that voting systems across the country are riddled with fraud. Unfounded conspiracy theories about voting machines, manipulation of elections by artificial intelligence or ballot fixing have found a wide audience among Republicans. The claims sometimes lead voters — usually friends and neighbors of the Carroll County election staff — to question them about voting equipment and election procedures, no longer clear what to believe about a system they’ve trusted all their lives. The false claims about the 2020 presidential election also have led believers to inundate election offices around the country with public records requests related to voting processes or equipment, demands to retain the 2020 ballots instead of destroying them, and attempts to remove certain voters from the rolls. Carroll County hasn’t been immune, even though it’s heavily Republican and voted for Trump by nearly 53 percentage points over President Joe Biden in 2020. The county of nearly 27,000 people was flooded over the summer with form-letter emails from self-proclaimed “aggrieved citizens.” They were protesting electronic voting machines, vowing to sue or demanding the county retain thousands of records from past elections. Follow-up letters warned that election officials will “be met with the harshest possible criminal and civil repercussions available under the law” if they destroy any election records. In response, a floor-to-ceiling locked cabinet in Mickley’s office is now jammed with boxes of ballots and other records from 2020, papers that normally would have been destroyed by now to make way for the records of the 2022 election. Whipkey notes that none of the complaint letters are from local residents, so many of whom she knows personally after 16 years managing the local McDonald’s. She and Mickley both feel lucky they are only receiving letters — not the death threats experienced by some election officials around the country. Still, the accusations sting. Whipkey said she hates being called a liar. “If they wanted the answer, they would have come and asked us. We could give it to them,” she said. “But they don’t want the answer; they just want to harass.” Mickley said attending national conferences has persuaded her that election workers across the U.S. are just as honest, hard-working and passionate as her staff is: “I’m starting to get defensive and angry for them, too.” Behind a Plexiglas window in the front of the office, the other two election staffers answer calls and process voter registration forms and change-of-address and absentee ballot requests. They’re also preparing the precinct kits that will go to poll workers — positions the office is still trying to fill for the Nov. 8 election, when they expect heavy turnout partly because Ohio has one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country. Clerks Sarah Dyck, a Democrat, and Deloris Kean, a Republican, keep their personal feelings about the movement spawned by Trump’s election lies out of the office. They don’t want to bring politics into their work helping run the county’s elections. When she’s out in the community, Dyck said neighbors are mostly sympathetic about how stressful elections work has become in recent years. “People all the time say, ‘I don’t know about this, but I know you guys are doing a good job,’” she said. “It’s like with congressmen, right? ‘Well, I don’t like Congress, but my congressman’s okay.’ The closer you are to it, you know the people, and so it’s about those relationships.” That’s not always been the experience of members of the Carroll County Board of Elections. The four members of the bipartisan panel — a retired railroad worker, a farmer, a facilities operator and the owner of a local yoga studio — hold their meetings at a table wedged between Mickley’s and Whipkey’s desks in the cramped office. A collection of whiskey bottles shaped like elephants and donkeys sits atop a metal filing cabinet nearby. Some members said they must work constantly to dispel false information that is rampant in the Republican-dominated county. Roger Thomas, one of the board’s two Republicans and the operator of a popular pumpkin stand, said he’s frustrated that many of his friends “are unwilling to get past what they think they know with the facts.” “It doesn’t matter what you say to them, you can’t convince them,” he said. “I don’t know how we combat that. They don’t care if they gum up the works of these elections, and that’s the problem. If these elections go haywire, go south — as the elections go, so goes the country.” Mickley said she is a perfectionist who would never tolerate the slightest interference with carrying out secure and accurate elections. She chokes up when talking about how seriously she takes her job and how she and her staff long to ease the worries of skeptical voters. The widespread belief in election conspiracy theories and hostility toward front-line election workers leaves Mickley questioning the country’s future. “I think about my kids,” she said, “and I think about what I want to leave for them and what I want to build now to make sure that they still have it in 20, 30 years. And I’m not alone in that.” Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Texas Elections-Monitoring Group Forced To Name Source Of Hacked Poll Worker Data https://digitalalaskanews.com/texas-elections-monitoring-group-forced-to-name-source-of-hacked-poll-worker-data/ HOUSTON (CN) — Counsel for a Texas voter fraud conspiracy group, in open court Thursday, reluctantly provided the name of a man who set off an FBI investigation into a software company’s compromised U.S. poll worker data. Eugene Yu, CEO and founder of Konnech Inc., a Michigan election logistics software purveyor, was supposed to be at a hearing Thursday in Houston federal court for his company’s lawsuit against True the Vote, a Texas nonprofit that backs Donald Trump’s claims voter fraud cost him the 2020 presidential election. But Yu was in Michigan working out a bail agreement following his arrest Tuesday “on suspicion of theft of personal identifying information” by investigators with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, with help from local police. According to District Attorney George Gascón, Konnech has a contract with LA County that mandates it keep election worker information on secure servers in the United States, and a probe by his office found probable cause to believe Konnech was storing the data on servers in China. Yu’s bail deal stipulates he must report to LA County by Oct. 14 to face charges. Konnech’s software helps local governments manage poll workers and coordinate allocation of equipment, it has nothing to do with registering voters or counting ballots, the company says. With Yu arranging his surrender, Konnech’s attorney Dean Pamphilis was in a hearing at the Houston federal courthouse explaining he believes Yu was wrongfully arrested because LA County prosecutors say Konnech stole information about poll workers, but the county itself gave Konnech that data. If Konnech did err by storing the data on Chinese servers, that’s a contract issue, said Pamphilis, who revealed he has yet to see Yu’s sealed indictment. “It appears Yu was arrested because of a breach of contract by Konnech,” Pamphilis told U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt, adding that the district attorney noted there is no evidence Konnech tried to sell the poll workers’ data, which may include their names, addresses and Social Security numbers. The provenance of the data is at the center of Konnech’s lawsuit against True the Vote, its founder Catherine Engelbrecht and board member Gregg Phillips, in which it makes claims of defamation, tortious interference, conversion and violations of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.   According to the lawsuit, Phillips admitted on an Aug. 23 podcast he had targeted Konnech’s server with a group of hackers. “Phillips described meeting his ‘guys’ at a hotel room in Dallas, where they put ‘towels under the doors’ like ‘some kind of a James Bond kind of thing,’ and proceeded to hack into a Konnech server,” the complaint states. True the Vote’s counsel, Brock Akers of Houston, told a different tale at Thursday’s hearing. He said the data — which True the Vote alleges includes the personal information of 1.8 million U.S. poll workers — was obtained by an independent contractor who is not part of True the Vote, and the man contacted Phillips and informed him he had “come across” the information. Akers said Phillips realized the data presented serious national security concerns and told the FBI about it and introduced the contractor to the FBI. “What reason do you believe Phillips verified any of this data was coming from China?” Hoyt asked Akers. “What Phillips told me he saw,” Akers replied. “And you don’t have any sworn statement from Phillips saying this is a person he could vouch for? … You don’t know if the man really got the data from China,” Hoyt said. Hoyt signed a temporary restraining order on September 12, ordering True the Vote, Engelbrecht and Phillips to return all data obtained from Konnech’s password protected computers, to identify each person involved in accessing them, and to identify each person they know of who has had possession of any information or data from Konnech’s computers. Though True the Vote’s attorneys had already shared the name of the independent man who purportedly swiped the data with Hoyt, Pamphilis complained at Thursday’s hearing they had yet to give him the man’s name. Akers all but begged Hoyt not to make him disclose the man’s name: “On behalf of my clients we don’t want to release the name of this individual … due to danger from forces of the Chinese Communist party.” Hoyt would not budge. “You’re going to give that [name] to counsel today,” the Ronald Reagan appointee said. True the Vote’s other attorney, Mark Brewer of the Houston firm Brewer and Pritchard, tried another tack. He argued Konnech had undercut the whole premise of its lawsuit when, in response to True the Vote’s allegations it was careless with poll worker data, it published a statement on its website titled “The Truth About Konnech.” The company stated it has never stored customer data on servers on China and it had “thoroughly investigated True the Vote’s claims and found no evidence whatsoever of any breach of our systems or Konnech data anywhere in the world.” “Plaintiff’s own statement said the company has never been hacked. … You can’t have a hacking by saying I’ve seen the data,” Brewer said. Hoyt was not swayed. “Your client [Phillips] is all over the internet saying he got the data,” the judge said. According to Konnech’s lawsuit, Yu, its CEO, and his family had to leave their home due to threats from True the Vote’s supporters. But Akers, True the Vote’s co-counsel, said Yu is not alone in that regard. He said Phillips and Engelbrecht have recently received death threats. “She [Engelbrecht] has drones flying over her house,” he added. Akers told Judge Hoyt, “Among my fears is that you’d think I would play a game.” “Maybe you’ve been played,” Hoyt replied. But Akers stuck up for True the Vote. He said he believes the group has legitimate evidence of voter fraud. “I think I’m a pretty good judge of character,” Akers asserted. Engelbrecht stars in the documentary “2,000 Mules.” Trump hosted its premiere in May at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Engelbrecht alleges in the film that people had stored fraudulent ballots at “stash houses” in Arizona, facilitating illegal voting in the 2020 presidential election, among other conspiratorial claims critics say have been debunked. Akers finally gave in at the end of Thursday’s 90-minute hearing. He wrote the name of the man responsible for the alleged hack of Konnech’s servers on a notepad and gave it to Pamphilis. At Pamphilis’ urging Akers also said the name out loud but his voice sounded garbled from the gallery. Pamphilis, of the Houston firm Kasowitz Benson Torres, declined to share the name with reporters after the hearing. Hoyt agreed to adjudicate Konnech’s motion for a preliminary injunction — which would extend the restrictions on True the Vote sharing the poll worker data — based solely on written pleadings, without hearing witness testimony. He gave Pamphilis until Oct. 11 to file a response to True the Vote’s motion to deny a preliminary injunction. Read the Top 8 Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day’s top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday. Read More Here

Thailand In Mourning After Children Killed In Mass Stabbing And Shooting https://digitalalaskanews.com/thailand-in-mourning-after-children-killed-in-mass-stabbing-and-shooting/ Thailand was in mourning on Friday after 37 people were killed, most of them young children, in a brutal gun and knife attack at a preschool centre in the country’s northeast. The attacker, a former police officer, opened fire and stabbed children as they slept at the centre in Uthai Sawan, a town 500 km (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok at about noon on Thursday, police and witnesses said. Police said the perpetrator was a former police officer. Photograph: THAILAND’S CENTRAL INVESTIGATION/AFP/ Getty Images As he left the nursery the attacker drove his car towards and shot at bystanders then returned home, where he shot himself, his wife and his child. The age range of children at the daycare centre ranged from two to five years, a local official said. Twenty-three children were killed in the attack. The Thai government ordered all Thai flags to be lowered to half mast on Friday, while prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was expected to visit the area in the afternoon. “This shouldn’t happen,” he said on Thursday. “I feel deep sadness toward the victims and their relatives.” King Maha Vajiralongkorn was expected to visit the town later on Friday to meet families reeling from the tragedy. Rescue workers arrange coffins containing the body of victims. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters “All Thai people, and all people around the world who know about this … will feel so depressed and saddened,” said Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul. Outside the centre on Friday morning, families sat in rows, many wearing black. Nearby lay small coffins, yellow, pale blue and white decorated with gold. On Thursday, some family members of those killed in the attack had remained at the scene of the rampage late into the evening. Mental health workers sat with them, reported Thai TBS television. ‘He shot right through the door’ A teacher told the broadcaster that the assailant got out of a car and immediately shot a man eating lunch outside, then fired more shots. When the attacker paused to reload, the teacher had an opportunity to run inside. “I ran to the back, the children were asleep,” said the young woman, who did not give her name, choking back her words. “The children were two or three years old.” One witness told ThaiPBS that she pleaded with him to stop. “He was heading towards me and I begged him for mercy, I didn’t know what to do,” she said. Another witness said staff at the day care centre had locked the door, but the suspect shot his way in. “The teacher who died, she had a child in her arms,” the witness, whose name wasn’t given, told Thailand’s Kom Chad Luek television. “I didn’t think he would kill children, but he shot at the door and shot right through it.” Paramedics described harrowing scenes. “It’s a scene that nobody wants to see. From the first step when I went in, it felt harrowing,” Piyalak Kingkaew, an emergency worker heading the first responder team, told Reuters. “We’ve been through it before, but this incident is most harrowing because they are little kids.” At least 10 people were wounded, including six critically, police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong said. Among the injured were three boys and a girl. The day care centre sits empty a day after it was attacked. Photograph: Sakchai Lalit/AP Mass shootings are rare in Thailand, however gun ownership rates are high. The attack comes two years after a mass shooting at a shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, which was carried out by a soldier angry at his superiors. In an editorial on Friday, the Bangkok Post said: “Both cases beg questions about the recruitment process employed by the army and the Royal Thai Police (RTP).” “Above all, people will want to know how the RTP hired this man, who reportedly admitted to his superior that he had been taking narcotics since he was a teenager. Moreover, he had been punished for bad behaviour on several occasions.” Police identified the attacker as Panya Khamrab, a 34-year-old former police lieutenant colonel who had been dismissed from the force since January for methamphetamine possession, and officially fired in June. He had appeared in court earlier on Thursday on a drugs charge and was due to appear again on Friday. Officials said the results of an autopsy would determine whether or not he had taken drugs prior to the attack. “Primarily, we believe that it’s because of the drugs and the stress [of his court appearance]”, said Police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapat. “I don’t know (why he did this), but he was under a lot of pressure,” Panya’s mother told Nation TV, citing debt the former policeman had clocked up and his drug taking. Politicians across the world have offered their condolences, including British prime minister Liz Truss and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “I’m profoundly saddened by the heinous shooting at a childcare centre in Thailand. Learning centres should be spaces where children feel safe, never targeted. My condolences to the victims’ loved ones & the people of Thailand.” Read More Here

Federal Prosecutors Weighing Charges On Two Fronts In Hunter Biden Investigation | CNN Politics https://digitalalaskanews.com/federal-prosecutors-weighing-charges-on-two-fronts-in-hunter-biden-investigation-cnn-politics/ CNN  —  Federal prosecutors believe they could charge Hunter Biden with tax crimes and a false statement but a final decision still has not yet been made by the US attorney in Delaware, according to sources familiar with the matter. The case against Biden narrowed earlier this year, and was a matter of discussion in early summer between FBI and IRS investigators, prosecutors in Delaware and the Justice Department, CNN previously reported. The discussions included assessing the strength of the case and questioning whether more work was needed before deciding on charges, according to sources who spoke to CNN in July. Prosecutors have not yet made any charging decisions on the case and have not met since early summer to discuss the federal investigation, according to two sources familiar with the matter. A decision is not expected before the midterm election. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that talks between Biden’s team and the Justice Department have been ongoing for several months but nothing has changed in a couple of months on that front. The Wall Street Journal reported that Biden’s legal team met in “recent weeks” with Justice Department prosecutors to argue against a potential case. “As is proper and legally required, we believe the prosecutors in this case are diligently and thoroughly weighing not just evidence provided by agents, but also all the other witnesses in this case, including witnesses for the defense,” Biden’s attorney Chris Clark said in a written statement to the Journal. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that prosecutors believe they have “sufficient evidence” to charge Biden, son of President Joe Biden, in two areas – tax crimes and a false statement regarding a gun purchase, the same crimes CNN reported in July were the focus of investigators’ discussions with the Justice Department. Investigators have at various times inquired about multiple facets of Hunter Biden’s life – initially focusing on tax issues and money transfers related to business activities in China, multiple people familiar with the probe previously told CNN. But prosecutors have also examined a 2018 incident in which a firearm owned by Biden ended up tossed by his then-girlfriend into a dumpster in Wilmington, a person briefed on the matter said. Biden described in media interviews last year that he was addicted to drugs, which raised the possibility he broke federal law when he bought the firearm. Federal law prohibits firearms purchases by anyone who uses or is addicted to illegal drugs. Still, Biden has publicly discussed his own substance abuse struggles, and some Justice officials have debated whether his open discussions of his past drug use could potentially weaken their case should they bring one. Biden has also denied wrongdoing in his business activities. In late 2020 after being notified by the Delaware US attorney about the investigation, he said in a statement issued by his father’s presidential transition office: “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.” The President, meanwhile, has repeatedly said he won’t interfere in the independence of the Justice Department. Early on in his presidency, Biden decided to keep US Attorney David Weiss, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, in office to continue to oversee the investigation in Delaware. Read More Here

Anchorage Man Sentenced To Fifty Years – Alaska Native News https://digitalalaskanews.com/anchorage-man-sentenced-to-fifty-years-alaska-native-news/ (Anchorage, AK) – On Oct. 4, 2022, Superior Court Judge Eric A. Aarseth sentenced 36-year-old Kevin Gerald Tuckfield to serve 50 years for escape, robbery, and attempted kidnapping. Tuckfield pled guilty to escape in the second degree prior to his June 2022 jury trial on charges of robbery in the first degree and attempted kidnapping. The trial evidence showed that in March 2015 Tuckfield escaped from the Anchorage Correctional Complex. A few hours later as 36-year-old D.R. was vacuuming her car outside of a carwash on Lake Otis, Tuckfield approached her and told her that he had a gun. Tuckfield then threatened to kill her and forced D.R. into her car. Once inside the car Tuckfield repeatedly struck and punched D.R., forced her seatbelt around her torso, and demanded that she place her head between her legs. D.R. was able to escape and yell for help. Good Samaritans heard D.R., ran to assist her, and tracked a fleeing Tuckfield for a short distance before calling 9-1-1. Anchorage Police apprehended Tuckfield a few blocks away. The State of Alaska requested Judge Aarseth sentence Tuckfield to the maximum of 20 years for robbery in the first degree, a consecutive maximum 20 years for attempted kidnapping, and a further 10 years consecutive for escape in the second degree. Judge Aarseth agreed with the State’s recommendations. Judge Aarseth found that Tuckfield was “probably one of the worst offenders this court has sentenced.” Additional findings by Judge Aarseth in sentencing Tuckfield to the maximum terms included observing that Tuckfield is “a sexual predator, ready and willing to victimize” and that “isolation is the sentencing goal”. Tuckfield is currently serving a 99-year sentence for a sexual assault and is pending a 2023 trial for a 2008 murder. CONTACT: Assistant Attorney General Daniel Shorey at (907) 269-6369 or daniel.shorey@alaska.gov. # # #   Alaska, conviction, gerald tuckfield, kidnapping, sentencing Read More Here

The DOJ Believes Trump Still May Not Have Returned All White House Documents After FBI Already Seized Thousands Of Pages Of Material: Report https://digitalalaskanews.com/the-doj-believes-trump-still-may-not-have-returned-all-white-house-documents-after-fbi-already-seized-thousands-of-pages-of-material-report/ This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.Department of Justice via AP The DOJ believes Donald Trump possesses more White House documents, The New York Times reported. Trump’s lawyers have decided to take a more defensive response to the accusation, per NYT. The FBI previously found 48 empty folders that were marked “classified.” The Justice Department believes Donald Trump still may not have turned over all White House documents, according to a New York Times report, even after the FBI collected thousands of pages of material, including hundreds that were marked classified, and in the midst of an ongoing special master review of the seized items. A Justice Department official, Jay I. Bratt, approached Trump’s lawyers in recent weeks, notifying them that the agency believes the former president has not returned all the documents, according to The Times, which cites two anonymous sources familiar with the situation. It’s not clear what new evidence the DOJ has that prompted the outreach from the official, The Times reported. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. According to The Times’ sources, Trump’s lawyers began to discuss whether to cooperate with the DOJ, by hiring a forensic firm to do a scan for more documents, or to take a more defensive approach. The team decided to go with a more defensive response, The Times reported. At least 11,000 pages of official government documents were seized from Mar-a-Lago by the FBI in August. This does not include a trove of material that Trump’s team returned after the National Archives and Records Administration requested them around May 2021. Trump’s counsel claimed in court filings that the number of documents is “closer to 200,000 pages,” as part of their argument that the November 30 deadline for a special master to review all the material is too rigid. In September, the Justice Department also revealed that the FBI recovered 48 empty folders that were marked classified. There has been no indication so far that this means there were documents inside the folders that went missing. However, the DOJ previously indicated that it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of finding more records. When the department appealed a federal judge’s block to review a set of classified records, the DOJ argued that the order bars the agency from “further reviewing the records to discern any patterns in the types of records that were retained, which could lead to identification of other records still missing.” Read the original article on Business Insider Read More Here

GOP Crisis In Herschel Walker Race Was Nearly Two Years In The Making https://digitalalaskanews.com/gop-crisis-in-herschel-walker-race-was-nearly-two-years-in-the-making/ In early 2021, as football star Herschel Walker considered running for Senate, he approached some of Georgia’s top Republican operatives about advising his campaign. The operatives were warned about political vulnerabilities in Walker’s past — including allegations of violence against women — that were openly discussed in the state’s political circles, according to people familiar with the discussions. Walker’s reaction to being confronted with the allegations was also troubling, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. When the consultants would ask the candidate about even incidents in the public record, he would often get simultaneously defensive and aggressive, accusing the questioner of being a Democratic plant or ally of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the minority leader. Those consultants passed on working with Walker, but he pressed ahead with his campaign. After all, Walker’s overwhelming name recognition in Georgia as a Heisman Trophy-winning football star and backing from former president Donald Trump instantly made him so formidable that state and national Republican leaders didn’t mount a serious challenge in the primary, despite concerns about Walker’s baggage. Now, less than five weeks before the midterm elections, they’re stuck with him as those liabilities threaten to dominate the news and derail his campaign in a state widely viewed as a must-win for Republicans to retake the Senate. On Monday, the Daily Beast reported that Walker paid for an abortion in 2009, citing documentation including a receipt, a check image and a get-well card. The Washington Post has not independently verified the allegations. As a candidate, Walker has supported an absolute ban on abortions, with no exception for rape, incest or the health of the mother. Walker’s campaign initially denied the report and promised to sue the next day, but no lawsuit has been filed. “They keep telling me things like that, and it’s totally, totally untrue,” Walker said in an interview on Thursday with the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. Walker added: “If that had happened, I would have said there’s nothing to be ashamed of there. People have done that — but I know nothing about it.” For now, Republicans are publicly rallying around Walker as his campaign said online donations have skyrocketed. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the well-resourced Senate Leadership Fund — a super PAC aligned with McConnell that has committed more than $39 million to back Walker — said they would keep supporting him on the airwaves. And Trump, who urged Walker to run in the first place, said he believes Walker’s denials and is widely expected to hold a rally for him, though a close adviser said plans haven’t been finalized. “This guy is a better-than-even shot to win,” said Curt Anderson, a top strategist for the NRSC. “Herschel Walker has been called everything. Every name in the book. This is not a change in the race.” More quietly, though, Republican strategists are taking a couple weeks to measure and evaluate the fallout. The impact could take several weeks to register in opinion surveys. Walker was already trailing incumbent Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) in most public polls. “Even the most staunch Republicans are rattled,” Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) said Wednesday night on CNN. “Every Republican knew that there was baggage out there, but the weight of that baggage is starting to feel a little closer to unbearable at this point.” This account of Walker’s candidacy is based on interviews with 19 people involved at various times with the Walker campaign, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal matters. The Walker campaign did not respond to a detailed list of questions. The buzz about Walker running for office in Georgia began even before the current Senate race was open. During the runoff campaigns for Georgia’s two Senate seats leading up to Jan. 5, 2021, Republican operatives were already discussing that if incumbent Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue lost, Walker could challenge Warnock in 2022. Walker had been a repeat guest in the Trump White House as a member of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, and he spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention to vouch for Trump’s character. He also became a regular presence on Fox News as a contributor. Republican operatives discussed Walker’s potential weaknesses, including his struggles with mental health, which Walker had acknowledged in a book, and a rumored abortion, according to Liz Mair, a GOP opposition researcher working on the runoffs. Mair said she warned others that the abortion rumor would plague Walker as a candidate, but people thought they could keep it hidden. “Across the board, Republicans in the state knew about it and decided they didn’t care,” Mair said. “I don’t know if it was a moment of collective insanity when a bunch of people all said, ‘Seems like a genius plan.’ ” In March 2021, Trump went public with an official statement urging Walker to run. “Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the legendary Herschel Walker ran for the United States Senate in Georgia?” Trump said. “He would be unstoppable, just like he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, and in the NFL. He is also a GREAT person. Run Herschel, run!” Walker’s football stardom made him a living legend in Georgia and overwhelmingly popular with Republican primary voters. “He comes in with 100 percent name ID, which you just don’t have, and high goodwill,” said Brian Robinson, a former spokesman for former Georgia governor Nathan Deal (R) and a political commentator in the state. “He was my first ever hero. I have not lived in a home where there was not some imagery of Herschel displayed. He was like the pope for us.” Despite those advantages, Walker had trouble from the start attracting top political talent. Early on, he and his wife reached out to Nick Ayers, a former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, who was not taking clients at the time. Walker talked to Austin Chambers, a former aide to Perdue and former president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, and Paul Bennecke, a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association, but they didn’t come to an agreement. The campaign started working with Scott Farmer, who has advised Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), and Heath Garrett, an adviser to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and the late Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), then brought in a local team led by campaign manager Scott Paradise. A few months ago, amid widespread concerns that Republican Senate candidates were falling behind, Walker’s campaign brought on communications consultant Gail Gitcho and Timmy Teepell, a partner at Anderson’s firm, OnMessage Inc. Before he announced, Walker was made aware by other Republicans about much of the opposition research that was likely to confront him, including the mental health struggles he described in his book and the domestic violence allegations. A person familiar with the vetting process said the alleged abortion reported this week did not surface in the early research, and it is not clear whether Walker was directly asked about the rumor. His family was involved in the early discussions, including his son Christian, who had at one point discussed taking a significant role in the campaign, and his current wife, Julie Blanchard. A Republican involved verified the recent claim by Walker’s son Christian that family members warned him against running. Christian Walker was treated as a constructive adviser early in the process and ultimately decided not to take a role in the campaign. Blanchard also initially resisted a run, though she came around as the candidate showed enthusiasm. Christian Walker did not respond to requests for comment. Some advisers to McConnell were initially interested in an alternative to Walker, with particular concern about Walker’s documented record of domestic abuse allegations. In the summer of 2021, Republicans made efforts to warn Walker not to mount a campaign before the Associated Press published a report that he had threatened to kill his ex-wife and alarmed associates. McConnell adviser Josh Holmes publicly shared the Associated Press story on Twitter at the time, commenting, “This is about as comprehensive a takedown as I’ve ever read. My lord.” But challenging Walker in the primary — taking on a folk hero with Trump’s backing — looked futile. The state’s Republican governor, Kemp, stayed out of the Senate race. Kemp was already standing up to the former president in his own reelection, after crossing Trump by certifying Joe Biden’s win in the state. Walker coasted to the nomination with 68 percent of the vote, overcoming attacks from the distant runner-up, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, who said Walker’s history of violence was disqualifying. “Nobody really saw him as beatable,” said Brendan Buck, a Republican consultant who grew up in Georgia. “If he was beatable, there are plenty of people who would love to be United States senators in the state of Georgia. But they all knew that he had the name ID, the general popularity among conservatives, and of course the Trump backing that made it an enormous hill to climb.” The campaign has struggled to respond to reports since the primary about Walker’s unacknowledged children and, finally, the alleged abortion. Walker was not initially forthcoming with his own advisers about at least some of the out-of-wedlock children, and NRSC staff members did not know about them until they were publicly reported. After the Daily Beast story about the abortion, Republican operatives discussed the wisdom of sticking with Walker, given the other possible p...

Masters Tries To Put Kelly On Defense In Ariz. Senate Debate https://digitalalaskanews.com/masters-tries-to-put-kelly-on-defense-in-ariz-senate-debate/ 1 of 9 FILE – Arizona Republican U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters speaks to supporters at a campaign party, Aug 2, 2022, in Chandler, Ariz. FILE – Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, March 24, 2022. A year ago, Arizona’s Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs was all over cable news, building a national profile as a defender of democracy and raking in cash for her campaign for governor. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, newly elected to finish John McCain’s last term and running for re-election, looked to be among the most vulnerable members of the Senate. Fortunes appear to have flipped for the two Democrats. Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, left, Republican challenger Blake Masters, right, and Libertarian Marc Victor, back, pause on the stage prior to a televised debate in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, left, smiles as he stands on stage with Republican challenger Blake Masters, right, prior to a televised debate in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Republican Senate challenger Blake Masters smiles on stage prior to a televised debate with Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and Libertarian candidate Marc Victor in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. “Arizona Horizon” host and managing editor Ted Simons sits on the set as members of the media cover Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, Republican candidate Blake Masters, and Libertarian candidate Marc Victor prior to a televised debate in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, left, reaches out to shake hands with his Republican challenger Blake Masters, right, prior to a televised debate in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, left, talks with Libertarian candidate Marc Victor, center, and Republican challenger Blake Masters, right, prior to a televised debate in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, left, and his Republican challenger Blake Masters, right, arrive on stage prior to a televised debate in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. By JONATHAN J. COOPER – Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters tried to put Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly on defense Thursday, tying the incumbent to President Joe Biden and saying the party had done nothing to secure the southern border. In their first and only scheduled debate, Masters sought to pierce Kelly’s image as an independent moderate willing to work across the aisle — part of an effort to reset a race in which polls show Kelly with a small lead. “Two years ago Mark Kelly stood right there and he promised to be independent,” Masters said in his opening statement, calling Kelly a reliable vote for Biden’s agenda. “But he broke that promise.” Kelly countered that he’s stood up to his party when necessary, particularly on border security, pointing to his opposition to Biden’s plans to end a pandemic-era program that allows for the speedy removal of immigrants in the name of public health. “When the president decided he’s going to do something dumb on this and change the rules and create a bigger crisis, I told him he was wrong,” Kelly said. He portrayed Masters as an extremist, repeatedly hammering Masters’ call during the GOP primary to “cut the knot” and “privatize Social Security,” a plan that Kelly said would “send your savings to Wall Street.” For Masters, the debate was a chance to counter that narrative and go on the offensive against Kelly, whose popularity with independents helped him win two years ago in a state long dominated by Republicans. Masters, an ally and protégé of billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, endeared himself to many GOP primary voters with his penchant for provocation and contrarian thinking. But since then, he has struggled to redefine his image for the more moderate swing voters he will need to win in November. During the primary, Masters called for privatizing Social Security, took a hardline stance against abortion and promoted a racist theory popular with white nationalists that Democrats are seeking to use immigration to replace white people in America. Donald Trump endorsed Masters two months before the primary, citing Masters’ strident support of the former president’s lies about a stolen 2020 election. Masters later scrubbed some controversial positions from his website. He now says he wants to protect Social Security for older and middle-aged workers while creating a private investment option for younger workers. He also says federal law should ban abortion later in pregnancy and allow states to go further. He has not disavowed his comments on the 2020 election but now talks about ensuring the integrity of future elections. The Arizona race is one of a handful of contests that Republicans targeted in their bid to take control of what is now a 50-50 Senate, though they have curtailed spending since Masters emerged from the bruising primary. Thiel, who employed Masters for most of his adult life and bankrolled the candidate’s primary campaign, has not opened his wallet for the general election, though he has held fundraisers. A super political action committee controlled by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has pared back its own spending commitments. That has left Democrats an opening to define Masters on their terms. Masters met Thiel when Masters took a class that the billionaire taught at Stanford University. They wrote a book together, Thiel hired him and Masters eventually rose to senior positions in Thiel’s foundation and his investment firm. Kelly, a retired astronaut and Navy pilot, was elected in 2020 to finish the remainder of the late Sen. John McCain’s term and is now running for a full six-year term. Kelly has worked to build a reputation as a moderate willing to work with Republicans. The debate comes less than a week before early and mail voting begins, the methods chosen by at least 80% of voters in recent elections. Kelly’s campaign has largely focused on his support for abortion rights, protecting Social Security, lowering drug prices and ensuring a stable water supply in the midst of a drought, which has curtailed Arizona’s cut of Colorado River water. For more information on the midterm elections, go to: https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More Here

Ohio Governor Candidate Nan Whaley Makes Canton Campaign Stop, Wows Local Dems https://digitalalaskanews.com/ohio-governor-candidate-nan-whaley-makes-canton-campaign-stop-wows-local-dems/ CANTON ‒ Nan Whaley was in town Thursday night. Of course, that was no secret to anyone who happened to drive the section of I-77 next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The name of the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor was plastered in bright lights on the two giant video screens at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Editorial:Debate should happen Polling:Whaley trails in governor’s race Stark County Democratic Party Chairman Samuel J. Ferruccio, Jr., said the screens were rented for its fourth annual Chairman’s Club dinner ― held in the upper level of the facility. The 46-year-old Whaley, a former two-term Dayton mayor, dropped in to address the friendly crowd. She’d been in Columbus earlier in the day, then was headed to Lima for an event Friday on the campaign trail against Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. Whaley spoke to The Repository for a few minutes, before heading inside to meet, greet and prepare for her speech. She spoke highly of Canton Mayor Tom Bernabei. A pro-choice believer on abortion, Whaley said she’s encouraged by anecdotal reports of an increased number of women registering to vote. And she’s skeptical of data that shows DeWine with as much as a 23-point lead in a Spectrum News/Siena College Poll, released last week. “We see polls all over the place … all over the map,” Whaley said. What Nan Whaley said during Canton stop Inside, she scored touchdowns with the crowd on issues such as abortion, cleaning up corruption, fighting opioids, and economic development. She noted she was 10 months old when the now 75-year-old DeWine first won public office as Greene County prosecutor in 1976 — he later served stints as a lieutenant governor, attorney general, state senator, congressman and U.S. Senator. During those four-plus decades, Whaley said, Ohio wages and exports of products have sunk. “Today, we specialize in exporting our college grads,” she said. She chastised DeWIne for introducing the Strong Ohio bill to stregthen gun laws, then not fighting to pass it. Even worse, she added, he signed laws, such as the “Constitutional Carry” bill, scrapping the need for a permit to carry concealed weapons. “We want to normalize Ohio,” Whaley said. That would include getting Roe v. Wade on the ballot, to make it law. She pointed out 60% of Ohioans believe in a woman’s right to choose. “We are the majority … we forget that,” Whaley said. She said voters must speak up. “The governor’s race is not gerrymandered; a vote is a vote,” she said. Ohio’s voters will decide governor’s race on Nov. 8 The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday. Early voting for most people begins on Wednesday. Election day, for voting in person is on Nov. 8 Whaley told the crowd she’s the working-class candidate, looking out for the masses. She said not only is state government in need of a complete overhaul, but that polling also is broken. She asked them for an old-fashioned bit of assistance. She suggested every person in the room speak about the governor’s race with five people, who they normally don’t discuss politics with, but who may hold similar beliefs. She said they are probably the people who hold their tongue when in the presence of a rabid Donald Trump supporter. Those are the voters to reach, she said. “I don’t want you to talk to the Trump guy; he’s gone,” Whaley said. Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP Read More Here

Stock Futures Inch Lower Ahead Of September's Jobs Report https://digitalalaskanews.com/stock-futures-inch-lower-ahead-of-septembers-jobs-report/ Stock futures slipped in overnight trading Thursday as investors looked ahead to September’s jobs report for further clues into the Federal Reserve’s tightening campaign. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 12 points, or 0.04%, while S&P 500 futures dipped 0.15%. Futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.29%. Advanced Micro Devices’ stock fell in overnight trading after the chipmaker warned its third-quarter revenue would be lower than anticipated. Levi Strauss shares slipped following a cut to its guidance. Major averages closed lower during regular trading but are on pace to cap their best week since June 24 and finish about 4% higher. The Dow fell 346.93 points, or 1.15%, to 29,926.94, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite shed 1.02% and 0.68%, respectively. All major S&P sectors finished the session in negative territory, with the exception of energy. The sector rose 1.8% as oil prices gained and is on pace to close out the week 14.7% higher. Thursday’s downdraft comes as investors remain on edge ahead of September’s jobs report slated for release Friday. The findings could offer further certainty into the Fed’s tightening cycle, with a strong jobs market or upside surprise signaling that the Fed may need a tougher stance to slow the economy and tame surging prices. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the data to show a 275,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls and unemployment to hover at 3.7%. “The environment is ripe for a crisis and if the Fed keeps its hawkish communication up I think we’re quite likely to have something break in the financial markets,” Scott Minerd, Guggenheim’s global chief investment officer said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Thursday. Minerd said the pace of tightening is beginning to create cracks in the financial markets and could force a Fed pivot in the coming weeks. “All the signs are there,” he said. “I can’t tell you exactly what will cause it, but the environment is ripe and when the Fed pivots, they’re not going to preannounce it, they’re not going to ring a bell.” A surprise to the downside occurring 75% of the time over the last 25 years in the September jobs report could lead investors to stage a rally, he added. Along with the big jobs report, wholesale inventories and consumer credit data are also due out Friday. Cannabis stock Tilray Brands, which rose Thursday as the White House announced marijuana pardons, will report earnings results. CNBC Pro: Tesla or Nvidia? One will dominate in A.I., analyst says, giving it 50% upside Tech’s next frontier — artificial intelligence — is still in its adolescence, but offers significant growth opportunities for suppliers and users alike, according to Truist Securities. Both Nvidia and Tesla offer ways to get exposure to AI, the analysts say, revealing their price targets on both stocks. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Weizhen Tan Levi Strauss slumps on revenue miss, outlook cut Shares of Levi Strauss shed 6.5% in extended trading Thursday despite an earnings beat. The company missed revenue estimates for the recent quarter and cut its guidance, dragged down by the U.S. dollar’s strength. Levi Strauss posted earnings of 40 cents a share on revenues of $1.52 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 37 cents a share on $1.60 billion in revenue. — Samantha Subin Exxon on pace for best week since October 1974 Exxon Mobil shares are on track to finish their best week since October 1974. The energy stock rose about 3% in regular trading Thursday as oil prices gained, putting Exxon on track to close out the week 17% higher. Energy was the only S&P 500 sector finishing in positive territory on Thursday, rising nearly 2%. It’s on track to finish the week about 15% higher and close out its best week since November 2020. As of Thursday’s close, energy was also the only sector positive for the year. Shares of Marathon, Halliburton and Devon Energy are on track to finish the week higher by roughly 20% or more. — Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla Advanced Micro Devices falls on disappointing preliminary third-quarter results Advanced Micro Devices‘ stock fell 3.9% in extended trading as the company preannounced results for the third quarter that came in below its previous guidance. The semiconductor company shared preliminary revenue of $5.6 billion for the period, down from the expected $6.7 billion. It blamed the cut on a weakening PC market and supply chain issues. AMD also said it expects a non-GAAP gross margin of roughly 50%, previously expecting gross margins would range closer to 54%. — Samantha Subin Stock futures open lower Stock futures opened lower in overnight trading Thursday. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 57 points, or 0.19%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.36%, while futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.49%. — Samantha Subin Read More Here

This Weekend In Anchorage: Zombie Half Marathon Runs Scared And Make It Alaskan Festival Returns https://digitalalaskanews.com/this-weekend-in-anchorage-zombie-half-marathon-runs-scared-and-make-it-alaskan-festival-returns/ Runners prepare to start the Zombie Half Marathon at Goose Lake Park in October 2011. (Anne Raup / ADN archive) Cubania: Friday-Saturday-Sunday, various locations This full weekend event features dance workshops, performances, social dances, community and live music. Full passes are available as well as daily options. Eisenhower Dance Detroit: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Discovery Theatre, 621 W. Sixth Ave. This internationally hailed dance ensemble’s performances are described as “versatile, fun, and totally accessible.” Tickets for show start at $44. Zombie Half Marathon: 8 a.m. Saturday, Goose Lake, 2811 UAA Drive Runners are encouraged to wear their best zombie costume, with runners going all the way to the Kincaid Park chalet. Preregistration for the race is $50, and it’s $60 to register on the day of the race. Hits of the ‘60s and ‘70s: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Atwood Concert Hall, 621 W. Sixth Ave. The Anchorage Concert Chorus will perform hits from the Beatles, Elton John, the Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel and more. Tickets range from $28 to $49.75. Make It Alaskan Festival: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday/Sunday, Dena’ina Center, 600 W. Seventh Ave. Dozens of exhibitors from jewelers to crafts people and health and wellness products are featured at this new-look show. The event is free to the public. Hopetoberfest: noon-9 p.m. Saturday, Creekbend Co., 19842 Hope Highway This event features pumpkin and face painting, a hayride, a photo backdrop for family pics, ax throwing and music from Blackwater Railroad Company. A piece from the Collages and Constructions collection by Fairbanks artist Jessie Hedden. The collection will have a First Friday reception on October 7, 2022, from 5-7 p.m. at Studio Goodrich. The exhibit continues through October 28. (Courtesy Studio Goodrich) First Friday Anchorage Museum, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., 625 C St. Blush Boutique, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m., 720 D St. Second Run Consignment, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 720 D St. Tundra Herb Co., 9 a.m.-11:55 p.m., 520 W. Sixth Ave. Sara’s Gift Cache, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., 408 Fourth Ave. Kaffee Klatsch, 5-8 p.m., 508 W. Second Ave. Sevigny Studio, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., 312 G St. Tiny Gallery, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., 705 W. Fourth Ave. Stephan Fine Arts, 6-8:30 p.m., 939 W. Fifth Ave. The Cubby at Hotel Captain Cook, 6-8:30 p.m., 939 W. Fifth Ave. Moose A’la Mode, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., 360 K St. Cyrano’s Art Gallery, 5-7 p.m., 3800 DeBarr Road AK Cycle Chic, 5-7 p.m., 908 W. Northern Lights Blvd. Dos Manos, 5-8 p.m., 1317 W. Northern Light Blvd. 2 Friends Gallery, 5-7 p.m., 341 Benson Blvd. Turnagain Ceramics, 4-9 p.m., 1343 G St. Read More Here

Trump https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-4/ The latest Tweet by Bloomberg states, ‘Trump’s lawyers failed to stop former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham from being deposed in a defamation lawsuit after arguing she shouldn’t testify while on painkillers for a broken foot …’ Socially Team Latestly| Oct 07, 2022 06:45 AM IST Trump’s lawyers failed to stop former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham from being deposed in a defamation lawsuit after arguing she shouldn’t testify while on painkillers for a broken foot https://t.co/97RFtGMh5n— Bloomberg (@business) October 7, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user’s social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) Read More Here

DOJ Presses Trump On Whether He Has More Documents To Turn Over https://digitalalaskanews.com/doj-presses-trump-on-whether-he-has-more-documents-to-turn-over/ By Chris Strohm Lawyers for former President are locked in a new legal battle over whether all critical materials sought by the US Justice Department have been turned over for a sprawling investigation into whether classified documents were mishandled and laws were obstructed, according to people familiar with the matter. The Justice Department has notified Trump’s lawyers that it isn’t sure the government has retrieved all necessary documents following multiple efforts to recover them, including subpoenas and a controversial search of Trump’s Florida resort in August, according to the people, who asked not to be named speaking about the sensitive matter. … To read the full article log in. © 2022 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All Rights Reserved Read More Here

Jan. 6 Committee Schedules Next Public Hearing For Oct. 13 – WTOP News https://digitalalaskanews.com/jan-6-committee-schedules-next-public-hearing-for-oct-13-wtop-news/ WASHINGTON (AP) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has scheduled its next hearing for Oct. 13, pushing the investigation back into the limelight less than three weeks before the midterm election that will determine control of Congress. It will be the panel’s first public session since the summer, when lawmakers worked through a series of tightly scripted hearings that attracted millions of viewers and touched on nearly every aspect of the Capitol insurrection. The committee had planned to hold the hearing in late September, but postponed as Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida. The panel — comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans — has not yet provided an agenda, but Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said recently that the hearing would “tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election.” Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee’s chairman, told reporters last week that the hearing would touch on recent revelations about Save America PAC, Trump’s chief fundraising vehicle. It is facing legal scrutiny after the Justice Department issued a round of grand jury subpoenas that sought information about the political action committee’s fundraising practices. The hearing is also expected to include never-before-seen interview footage of witnesses the committee has deposed since late July. That could include Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who was interviewed last week behind closed doors. The committee probed Thomas about her role in trying to help Trump overturn his election defeat, including her correspondence with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election. Throughout its initial eight hearings, the committee has sought to show the American public in expansive detail how Trump ignored many of his closest advisers to pursue false claims of election fraud after he lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden, then failed to act when his rhetoric spurred a mob assault on the Capitol. Some of the more than 1,000 witnesses interviewed by the panel — a number of them Trump’s closest allies — recounted in videotaped testimony how the former president sat idly when hundreds of his supporters violently attacked the Capitol as Congress certified Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, 2021. The committee is aiming to wrap up its work by the end of the year and issue a final report and legislative recommendations, but their investigative work is not yet complete as lawmakers explore several unanswered questions. Panel members still want to get to the bottom of missing Secret Service texts from Jan. 5-6, 2021, which could shed further light on Trump’s actions during the insurrection, particularly after earlier testimony about his confrontation with security as he tried to join supporters at the Capitol. Thompson said earlier this month that the committee has recently obtained “thousands” of documents from the Secret Service. Congressional investigators have also been interviewing several of Trump’s former Cabinet members, some of whom had discussed invoking the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office in the aftermath of the insurrection. Another decision for the committee is how aggressively to pursue testimony from Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. Some members have downplayed the value of taking that step and time is running short to request their testimony. The panel will have to wrap up the loose ends by the end of the year when the select committee status expires. If Republicans take the majority in November’s elections, they are expected to dissolve the committee in January. The panel plans to issue a final report by the end of December that will include legislative reforms it says would help prevent future attempts to subvert democracy. ___ For full coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege Copyright © 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. More from WTOP Read More Here

Biden To Designate His 1st National Monument In Colorado https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-to-designate-his-1st-national-monument-in-colorado/ DENVER (AP) — The Biden administration is preparing to designate its first new national monument, preserving a World War 2-era alpine training site and providing a boost to the reelection campaign of the state’s senior Senator, Michael Bennet, according to a person familiar with the process. The designation is expected to come next week, when the president will join Bennet, a fellow Democrat, and other elected officials in Colorado, according to the person, who declined to be identified discussing the designation before it is formally announced. Bennet is locked in a re-election fight with Republican businessman Joe O’Dea, during which the Democrat has pushed the president to preserve Camp Hale, about 20 miles south of Vail. The camp was where soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division trained in the harsh, wintry conditions of the Rocky Mountains in preparation for fighting in the Italian Alps during World War 2. After the war, many returned to Colorado and played pivotal roles in the founding of the state’s ski industry. Bennet pushed for the national monument designation after a far more sweeping conservation bill known as the CORE Act stalled in Congress. That legislation was opposed by many of the state’s Republican politicians. Some, most prominently Rep. Lauren Boebert, have also objected to the Camp Hale preservation, warning it could lock up land that it could be used for mining or timber harvesting. A 1906 law allows a president to designate an area a national monument to preserve important ecological or historical landscapes. Monuments have become controversial in the west as rural residents and conservative politicians complain they can kill jobs and limit development. At the same time, land conservation is generally popular with politicians and voters of all stripes in the region. Biden has expanded the boundaries of two southern Utah national monuments that were shrunk by former President Donald Trump. But Biden has not designated any of his own in his initial two years in office. Environmental groups were pleased. Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, said in a statement that reports of the impending designation are “a welcome sign that the president is listening to Westerners who want to see public lands and landmarks protected for future generations.” ____ Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report. Read More Here

Democrat McKee Leads GOP https://digitalalaskanews.com/democrat-mckee-leads-gop/ PROVIDENCE – It’s a horse race. Republican Allan Fung is leading his Democratic opponent Seth Magaziner in the nationally watched race for Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District seat, according to a WPRI-TV and Roger Williams University poll released Thursday. But Fung’s lead is so close it is within the margin of error just four and a half weeks out from Election Day. Over in the governor’s race, incumbent Dan McKee has a double-digit lead over his largely self-financed GOP challenger, Ashley Kalus, according to the first publicly released poll since Rhode Island’s Sept. 13 primaries. The numbers:  If the Nov. 8 election were held today, Fung would lead Magaziner, the state’s term-limited treasurer, 46% to 40%, with Moderate Willian Gilbert capturing 4% of the potential vote and 9% undecided. The survey of 254 2nd Congressional District voters was conducted by Fleming & Associates between Sept. 29 and Oct. 2. In their bid to retake the U.S. House of Representatives, the national Republican Party has targeted Rhode Island’s 2nd District since incumbent Rep. Jim Langevin announced in January he would not seek reelection.  The poll shows the GOP, which has poured money into Rhode Island to help Fung, has a good shot to flip a congressional seat held by Democrats in a Democratic state. The way pollster Joseph Fleming sees it: “We have it within the [6.2%] margin of error … so this race can be even closer than it shows right now. “But keep in mind, there is still a month to the general election. A lot can happen in a month. We saw that in the Democratic primary. In the last 10 days when there was a lot of movement,” Fleming recalled Thursday.  Fung or Magaziner?: What we learned about RI’s 2nd Congressional race from a new poll He notes the deep gender divide in this race. Women favor Magaziner 47.2% to 40.7% while men favor Fung, 51.1% to 33.6% in a campaign year when the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe V. Wade and the threat by congressional Republicans of a national abortion ban is weighing on many voters’ minds. Election 2022: Questions swirl amid Ashley Kalus and Gov. Dan McKee’s still-unreleased tax returns Fleming was also struck by the number of Democrats leaning toward the well-known Fung, the former Cranston mayor who ran for governor twice and, in Fleming’s words, “comes across as a nice guy.” While heavily favored by Republicans, Fung also has a 10-percentage point lead among independents – who make up Rhode Island’s largest voting bloc – and a 24% chunk of the potential Democratic vote, which Fleming calls “high for a Republican.” Historically, “Democrats tend to come home towards the end, so that number might go down, but if Allan Fung can hold on to that 24% of the Democratic vote, that puts him in a nice position,” Fleming said. Though Magaziner lags, his spokeswoman Patricia Socarras said:the poll “shows a clear path for Magaziner to win this race by reminding voters how out of step Allan Fung is from their values. “As Rhode Islanders learn that Allan Fung’s opposed the Affordable Care Act, opposed abortion protections in Rhode Island, and has committed to making Trump-loyalist Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, voters will realize that we cannot afford to send Fung to Congress,” she said. “Allan isn’t focused on snapshot polls,” said Fung Campaign Spokesman Steven Paiva.  “Allan is focused on providing relief from the Biden-Pelosi Agenda fully supported by Seth Magaziner that is making powering and heating your homes more expensive this winter.” McKee or Kalus: What the poll numbers show In the governor’s race, Democrat McKee – who ascended from lieutenant governor to the state’s top office in March 2021 – was ahead with 45% of the potential vote, to 32% for Republican Kalus. The three Independents on the ballot – Paul Rianna, Elijah Gizzarelli and Zachary Hurwitz – split another 7% between them, with the last 15% of the 402 likely Rhode Island voters who were surveyed on this race undecided.  With a larger sample, the margin of error is only 4.2%. Election 2022 Update: Follow along with the latest in Rhode Island political news Other takeaways from the two surveys Despite $3.2 million in committed spending on her aggressive challenge to McKee – with most of it coming out of her own pocket – Kalus has not yet been able to push much past the 30% that has been the redoubt of recent GOP challengers. (Fung captured 36% in his first match against Gina Raimondo in 2014, and 37% in their 2018 rematch.) Kalus has been running ads introducing herself – and attacking McKee for “insider deals” – almost non-stop since spring. Her ads also blame McKee and President Biden for the inflation-driven rise in food and gas prices.  Election 2022: In Florida, GOP gov. candidate Kalus was fined over short-term rental rules. How does she feel about them in Rhode Island? Election 2022: GOP’s Ashley Kalus explains a tax break in one state, a voter registration in another By focusing on the cost of living, Kalus has hit on the Number #1 issue cited by 42% of the potential voters who were surveyed, with abortion trailing at (14%), education (11%), health care (10%), taxes (9%), and public safety (7%).  McKee leads, nonetheless, among voters in every age group. Women especially favor McKee over Kalus, 46.5% to 29.6%, which may help explain why McKee has been stressing his pro-choice stance on abortion against Kalus’ “pro-life” position. Men also favor McKee, but the spread is not as wide: 43.4% to 34.9%. Another 9% said: “same.” Only among independents does Kalus lead McKee: 42% to 29%. Voters’ overall preference for McKee over Kalus does not, however, extend to their views of the state in general. Election 2022: McKee walks back Cabinet pay hikes for more modest raises. Here’s what they will make Election 2022: Rivals in the state’s top race, McKee and Kalus scrap over ‘Paw-tucket’ and seagulls Asked if the state was headed in the “right direction,” only 34% said yes, 45% said no. Another 9% said: “same”  And no surprise here: In a hypothetical 2024 matchup, Rhode Island voters would choose Biden over former President Trump, 49% to 32%. The response to the poll from the McKee campaign: “While we don’t put much stock in polls, today’s numbers are a clear indicator that Rhode Islanders are recognizing that Governor McKee is the best person to lead, is in touch with Rhode Islanders’ values, and cares deeply about the future of our state.” Kalus campaign spokesman Matt Hanrahan: “It’s shocking to see a Democrat incumbent, in a Democrat state, way under 50%. Ashley is leading McKee by double-digits with Independents and has a lot of room to grow with Republicans.” Read More Here

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse Expected To Resign From Congress https://digitalalaskanews.com/republican-sen-ben-sasse-expected-to-resign-from-congress/ WASHINGTON — Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who frequently clashed with former President Donald Trump but won a second term in 2020, is expected to resign before the end of the year, a source familiar with the move confirmed to NBC News on Thursday. Sasse is expected to exit the Senate to take a new job leading the University of Florida, the source said. The senator and the university confirmed that Sasse is in talks for the top job there after news broke on Thursday. The news was first reported by KFAB talk radio host Ian Swanson, a former Sasse staffer, who opened his show Thursday by announcing that his former boss would soon be resigning to take a job in academia. Sasse won re-election in 2020, and his term is set to expire in 2026. But Sasse has been at odds with Trump and his own party for years. As Trump ran for reelection in 2020, Sasse unloaded on him, saying the 45th president “kisses dictators’ butts,” “flirted with white supremacists,” disparages women, “mocks evangelicals behind closed doors,” and “treats the presidency like a business opportunity.” After the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Sasse was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump for his role in the deadly riot. He specifically faulted Trump for intimidating election officials and repeatedly lying about widespread election fraud and the outcome of the 2020 election. “Those lies had consequences, endangering the life of the vice president and bringing us dangerously close to a bloody constitutional crisis,” Sasse said at the time. “Each of these actions are violations of a president’s oath of office.” In a statement on Thursday, Sasse called Florida “the most important institution in the nation’s most economically dynamic state.” “Washington partisanship isn’t going to solve these workforce challenges new institutions and entrepreneurial communities are going to have to spearhead this work,” Sasse said. “If UF wants to go big, I’m excited about the wide range of opportunities.” Senate Republican leadership has been alerted of the news, a leadership aide told NBC News. On Thursday afternoon, the University of Florida formally announced that its presidential search committee has unanimously selected Sasse as the “sole finalist” to lead the university. “This is right for the University of Florida, right for the state of Florida and right for the Sasse family,” said Rahul Patel, chair of the university’s Presidential Search Committee. “Ben brings intellectual curiosity, a belief in the power and potential of American universities, and an unmatched track record of leadership spanning higher education, government and the private sector.” The announcement kicks off a process, spelled out in Florida state law, that includes meetings between Sasse and officials in Gainesville. After three weeks, the college’s board of directors will vote on the search panel’s recommendation, then the Florida board of governors will vote to approve the pick. “We anticipate that will be accepted by the end of the year, and then he would resign before the end of the year and the Nebraska governor would select the replacement,” the source said. The appointed senator would serve until Jan. 3, 2025. Since Sasse was just re-elected in 2020, a special election to fill the rest of Sasse’s term would take place in 2024. Sasse, 50, the former president of Midland University who served in the George W. Bush administration, was elected to the Senate in 2014. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Read More Here

Judge Grants Elon Musk’s Request To Delay Trial With Twitter https://digitalalaskanews.com/judge-grants-elon-musks-request-to-delay-trial-with-twitter/ A judge in Delaware gave Mr. Musk until Oct. 28 to complete the deal. The trial, which was set to start in a little more than a week, could still happen in November. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. A judge has granted Elon Musk’s request to delay a trial that was set to start on Oct. 17.Credit…Matt Rourke/Associated Press By Lauren Hirsch and Kate Conger Lauren Hirsch and Kate Conger have been writing about Elon Musk’s pursuit of Twitter since April. Oct. 6, 2022Updated 7:04 p.m. ET Elon’s Musk’s surprise return to the bargaining table with Twitter this week may have merely been the opening salvo in the next stage of the protracted struggle over the future of the company. On Thursday, Mr. Musk managed to slow Twitter’s lawsuit against him. He asked a judge to delay a trial that was set to begin in little more than a week and that could force him to make good on a deal he struck in April to acquire the company for $44 billion. Kathaleen McCormick, the judge overseeing the case, granted Mr. Musk’s request, giving the billionaire three weeks to complete his purchase of Twitter. The trial’s delay is the latest upheaval in what has become the most turbulent and closely watched corporate fight in years, pitting the outsize personality and wealth of Mr. Musk against Twitter, a company that despite its high profile has always struggled with management turmoil and profitability. The decision gives Mr. Musk more time to settle his financing, which may have become more difficult since his initial offer because of inflation and the slowing economy. Mr. Musk said in a legal filing that the process would take several weeks and that he could get it done by Oct. 28. If the transaction does not close by then, the judge said, a trial will be scheduled in November. Twitter had opposed the motion, arguing that Mr. Musk did not appear to be serious about lining up his financing and that the trial should proceed unless he quickly makes good on his latest offer of $54.20 per share. “We look forward to closing the transaction at $54.20 by Oct. 28,” a Twitter spokesman said on Thursday evening. What Happened to Elon Musk’s Twitter Deal Card 1 of 8 A blockbuster deal. In April, Elon Musk made an unsolicited bid worth more than $40 billion for the social network, saying he wanted to make Twitter a private company and allow people to speak more freely on the service. A surprise move. On Oct. 4, Mr. Musk proposed a deal to acquire Twitter for $44 billion, the price he agreed to pay for the company in April. An agreement at the original price, which would be a victory for Twitter, could bring to an end the acrimonious legal fight. The judge overseeing the case granted Mr. Musk’s request to postpone the trial, giving him three weeks to complete the deal. Mr. Musk asked for a delay as Twitter board members discussed his offer and negotiations dragged into their third day. Lawyers for Mr. Musk accused Twitter of bogging down the process by insisting that the lawsuit continue, while Twitter said the attempt to halt the litigation was “an invitation to further mischief and delay.” “Twitter will not take yes for an answer,” lawyers for Mr. Musk wrote in a legal filing. “Astonishingly, they have insisted on proceeding with this litigation, recklessly putting the deal at risk and gambling with their stockholders’ interests. Proceeding toward trial is not only an enormous waste of party and judicial resources, it will undermine the ability of the parties to close the transaction.” Twitter had been set to face Mr. Musk in court on Oct. 17. But on Monday, he delivered a surprise letter to Twitter declaring that he would pay $44 billion for the company, as he agreed to do in April before changing his mind and declaring he would quit the deal. Mr. Musk’s fresh proposal left Twitter’s board juggling two high-stakes negotiations: one over the legal battle and the other about a potential agreement that would avert the courtroom drama. Twitter plans to proceed with its litigation until a deal is certain, two people with knowledge of the confidential discussions said. The board’s transaction committee, which includes the technology executives Bret Taylor, Martha Lane Fox and Patrick Pichette, has met weekly with legal and financial advisers to manage the deal-making. Closing such a deal would normally be a mundane event, with the two sides exchanging the necessary legal documents. But Mr. Musk’s volatile business dealings have made Twitter hesitant to abandon its lawsuit until he takes ownership and his funds are delivered to Twitter shareholders, the people said. Lawyers for Twitter said in a legal filing that Mr. Musk had refused to commit to a closing date. But his lawyers argued that clinging to the lawsuit would jeopardize the deal and that the banks that had agreed to fund Mr. Musk’s bid for Twitter were prepared to honor their commitments. On Thursday, Mr. Musk suggested that he had reluctantly been coaxed to the negotiation table, tweeting a scene from “The Godfather, Part III” that included the line, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” In recent weeks, Mr. Musk proposed buying Twitter at a discount of as much as 30 percent. Discussions later narrowed to around 10 percent, people familiar with those conversations said. Twitter appeared willing to negotiate on the price, said Alex Spiro, a lawyer representing Mr. Musk. “Twitter offered Mr. Musk billions off the transaction price. Mr. Musk refused because Twitter attempted to put certain self-serving conditions on the deal,” Mr. Spiro said, without adding more details. A Twitter spokesman declined to respond to a request for comment on the claim. On Monday, after those conversations had fizzled, Mr. Musk informed the company that he was ready to proceed with the original price he offered in April. Debt financing has remained a focal point in negotiations. If Mr. Musk’s debt financing falls through, he can pay a $1 billion breakup fee to Twitter and walk away from the acquisition. A group of lenders, led by Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Barclays, has committed to providing $12.5 billion. The banks are on the hook for that debt through next year. Fully prepared debt commitment letters from those banks are required to complete the deal. Investment banks typically sell the debt they arrange for such loans to reduce their risks in case borrowers cannot repay what is owed, a process that takes months. Doing so now may be painful for the banks, since economic uncertainty has dented investors’ interest and forced banks to sell such loans at a loss. A corporate representative for one of the banks testified on Thursday that Mr. Musk had not communicated to the bank that he planned to close the transaction, Twitter said in a legal filing. The filing did not identify the banking official or indicate where the official testified. Twitter has accused Mr. Musk in its lawsuit of not making reasonable efforts to secure the debt financing, which would put him in breach of their contract. The remaining funds for the $44 billion deal are set to come from Mr. Musk’s personal wealth and equity investors. Mr. Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, has sold about $15.5 billion in the electric carmaker stock to amass the cash needed to buy Twitter. In the spring, he said he had raised $7.1 billion from equity investors, including the top venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, and his personal confidants, including the tech mogul Larry Ellison. It is unclear whether the terms of their agreement allow them to back out given the changed circumstances. Representatives of Andreessen Horowitz and Oracle, the company that Mr. Ellison leads, did not respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange that committed $500 million, said nothing had changed about the company’s plans to participate in the deal. The deal-making continues under the shadow of Twitter’s lawsuit, which could proceed in November if a deal is not reached. If a trial occurs, the incendiary showdown in the Delaware Court of Chancery, which specializes in managing deal disputes, could feature testimony from Mr. Musk and top Twitter executives. A deposition scheduled for Thursday with Mr. Musk was canceled as negotiations continued, two people familiar with the matter said. It has been rescheduled for Monday, a person with knowledge of the plans said, although Mr. Musk’s on-the-record sit-down has been rescheduled twice and could be moved again because of the trial postponement. Katie Benner and Michael S. Schmidt contributed reporting. Read More Here

Ukraine Regains 150 Square Miles Of Land In Expanding Counteroffensive; Russia Blames NATO For Nuclear Rhetoric: Live Updates https://digitalalaskanews.com/ukraine-regains-150-square-miles-of-land-in-expanding-counteroffensive-russia-blames-nato-for-nuclear-rhetoric-live-updates/ As Ukraine consolidates the territory it has recaptured in the northeastern Kharkiv province, it continues to make gains in the east and south of the country. Since the start of October, Kyiv’s forces have taken back more than 150 square miles of land in the southern Kherson province that had fallen to the Russians early in the war, Ukraine’s southern military command said Thursday. Spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk added the situation along the southern front remains fluid. At the same time, the Ukrainian counteroffensive that drove Russian troops out of Kharkiv and across the border has extended to the neighboring provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, which make up the industrial Donbas region that Russia covets. Among the prize gains was the strategically important city of Lyman.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his officials announced Wednesday the retaking of villages in those provinces. Zelenskyy proclaimed, “The return of the Ukrainian flag means that a peaceful and socially secure life is once again possible for Donbas.”  With the attempted Russian annexation of four provinces as a backdrop, further Ukrainian progress in parts of Luhansk appears probable because of favorable terrain and lack of Russian reinforcements, according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.  “Ukraine’s ongoing northern and southern counteroffensives are likely forcing the Kremlin to prioritize the defense of one area of operations at the expense of another, potentially increasing the likelihood of Ukrainian success in both,” the institute said. TURNING POINT IN THE WAR? As Russia admits defeat in Kharkiv, Ukraine regains land, confidence Other developments: ►The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, met Thursday in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and praised not only Ukraine’s success on the battlefield but the country’s “ongoing efforts to strengthen its democracy and its economy.” She said the U.S. would provide an additional $55 million to repair heating pipes and other equipment. ►Sweden’s domestic security agency said its preliminary investigation of leaks from two Russian gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea confirmed they were caused by “detonations,” and that the findings have “strengthened the suspicions of serious sabotage.” ►Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a prominent Kremlin critic who was jailed for allegedly spreading “false information” about the war in Ukraine, has been charged with treason by Russian authorities. ►The European Union on Thursday froze the assets of an additional 37 people and entities tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine, including officials involved in the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces. ►Polish officials said they are distributing potassium iodide tablets to regional firefighter stations in case Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is damaged. PUTIN SEIZES EUROPE’S LARGEST POWER PLANT: Putin also signs laws annexing Ukraine land; OPEC cuts oil production, helps Russia 2 Russians escaping draft seek US asylum after landing in Alaska Two Russians who said they’re escaping President Vladimir Putin’s military conscription are requesting U.S. asylum after landing on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, the office of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said. Murkowski and fellow Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, said the Russians arrived at a beach near Gambell, an isolated community of about 600 people on St. Lawrence Island. Gambell is about 36 miles from the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia’s region of Siberia. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement the Russians arrived on a small boat Tuesday and were taken to Anchorage for screening and processing. The statement did not provide information on their asylum request. A statement from Sullivan urged federal authorities to come up with a plan in case “more Russians flee to Bering Strait communities in Alaska.” Kremlin accuses NATO of ‘pumping up’ nuclear talk A Kremlin spokeswoman on Thursday appeared to tamp down controversy over any nuclear option in Ukraine and blamed NATO for an escalation in nuclear rhetoric. “The Russian Federation is fully committed to the principle of the inadmissibility of nuclear war,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.  Zakharova said she won’t “participate in pumping up the degree of nuclear rhetoric,” saying it served the interests of NATO countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in announcing a partial military mobilization for his country last month, vowed to use “all available means” to deter attacks against Russia, an allusion to Russia’s tactical nuclear arsenal. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg then warned of “severe consequences for Russia” if Putin were to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The U.S. issued a similar warning. Missile attacks draw close to Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia Russia launched two missile attacks Thursday that hit more than 40 apartment buildings in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, close to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, authorities said. At least seven people were killed and five were missing, regional Gov. Oleksandr Starukha said. The strikes came hours after Ukraine announced that Russian occupation forces had been driven out of three more villages in regions illegally annexed by Moscow. Each side has blamed the other for rocket attacks roaring harrowingly close to the Zaporizhzhia plant. Putin on Wednesday declared the plant Russian property, a decree quickly rejected by Ukraine. Contributing: The Associated Press SIX MONTHS OF WAR: The entire world is losing. 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