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Column: What The New Public Charge Rule Means For Millions Of Immigrants ⋆ Michigan Advance https://digitalalaskanews.com/column-what-the-new-public-charge-rule-means-for-millions-of-immigrants-%e2%8b%86-michigan-advance/ When I joined the Michigan League for Public Policy three years ago, one of the first topics I dove into was the “public charge” regulation and the work of the Protecting Immigrant Families – Michigan (PIF-MI) campaign.  A few weeks before my start date, the Trump administration published its final rule on public charge on August 14, 2019. In fact, the coalition held a same-day press conference to address the rule change and we continued to speak out against the change when the first injunctions were issued.  Trump’s 2019 rule change expanded how government officials administer the “public charge” provision of immigration law. These changes put future immigration applications at risk if lawfully present immigrants used certain health, housing and nutrition benefits. Research confirms that this expansive rule’s “chilling effect” deterred millions of eligible people in immigrant families from getting help and health care, even as need grew during the pandemic. Despite the profound impact this rule has had on millions of people over the last three years, including immigrant families here in Michigan, the federal rulemaking process is slow and it lacks flashy bill signings and speeches, which means it can often feel more removed and less engaging to the average person – or even seasoned advocates. Yet, over the past three years, in addition to community-driven efforts to keep families informed, there have been nine lawsuits about the Trump-era public charge rule and over 1,500 comments submitted as part of a new rulemaking process under the Biden administration.  That process culminated in the Biden administration publishing a new, narrower public charge regulation in September. Last year, the current administration actually ended the Trump administration’s policy, reverting to policy guidance that had been in place since 1999. However, because that policy had never been formalized, a future presidential administration could change it quickly, creating fear within immigrant communities again.  The recently released public charge rule not only formalizes the 1999 policy, making it harder for future presidents to change and further confuse immigrant families and create unnecessary fear.  It also makes clear that: Eligible immigrants can use health care, nutrition and housing programs without public charge concerns A child’s or another family member’s use of federal safety net programs never affects the applicant’s immigration status The only two types of public benefits considered are (1) long-term institutional care paid for by Medicaid and (2) cash assistance for income maintenance, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and state, local and tribal cash assistance This updated rule is certainly great news, but there is still work to do. First, immigrants in Michigan and their families can only benefit from the new regulation if they know the policy has changed and feel confident in accessing public benefits they are eligible for. Federal, state and local leaders must all now ensure immigrant families know about the policy change.  State and local government agencies and offices in Michigan should seek partnerships with community organizations, like those in PIF-MI, among other advocates. The latter are uniquely positioned to effectively close the information gap because of the skills they have and community trust they have earned. But when combined with a broader public platform, greater resources and a stamp of governmental approval, community outreach efforts will be even more fruitful.  Second, the Biden administration’s public charge rule is likely to be challenged in court. However, there are solid grounds for a court to uphold this rule (in part because of the procedures this administration followed in issuing this final rule). PIF-MI will be sure to keep families informed about the implications of any forthcoming lawsuits.  Finally, there is more Congress can do. The new regulation is constrained by the underlying public charge provision of federal immigration law — in place since 1882 and historically used to exclude immigrants of color with low incomes —and no regulation can change that. Advocates must continue to push for Congress to repeal our immigration law’s racist public charge provision and to eliminate other barriers to the health and social services safety net. After three years in the making, the time is now: we can celebrate a new public charge rule, know the facts and ensure that Michigan’s immigrant families are healthy, strong and can thrive. GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. Read More Here

Race To The Governor’s Office Debate Recap https://digitalalaskanews.com/race-to-the-governors-office-debate-recap/ HONOLULU (KHON2) — After two years of pandemic restrictions, tonight’s debate gave former Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona and current Lieutenant Governor Josh Green a chance to let voters know how they would lead Hawai’i as Governor. Moderator Gina Mangieri asked a series of questions about how they would help residents and businesses struggling with Hawaii’s economy. Check out more news from around Hawaii Duke Aiona said, “the best thing we can do is get out of the way. Let businesses know they can be businesses. See what we can do with regulations and taxes.” Josh Green said, “I’d like to get rid of tax on food and medication to lower the cost of living. I’d like to put incentives to develop new industries, like agriculture. We have to have other industries in addition to agriculture.” Frustration among the two simmered to the surface when asked about abortion rights. Green said, “It is offensive that Duke would twice use the word emotional when we talk about the impact on women and their right to choose whatever healthcare access they want.” Aiona said, “Josh, you just don’t get it.There are women out there who believes in the right of life. And women out there who believe in the right of choice. That’s very emotional for them.” And when they asked each other questions, Green asked Aiona to explain why he voted for Donald Trump in 2016 Green said, “You had Facebook posts that said, that you wanted to see people make America great again, his old rhetoric.” Aiona: “I don’t do Facebook. That boggles my mind right now.” Aiona: “I did support the Republican nominee, who ended up to be Donald Trump simply becasue of the choices we had in that election.” Following the debate, I checked in with both to see how they think they did. Aiona: “It’s about leadership, trust and respect. It’s about having the same old, same old, which they don’t want. Things can be better.” Aiona: “Eight years as an LG, 12 years as a judge, grandfather of eight, and a husband for 41 years. When you put that together, this is exactly the type of leadership we need in today’s times.” Check out what’s going on around the nation on our National News page Green: “I feel I was able to convey to people what my values are, I think they saw a clear distinction. I’m going to fight for women’s healthcare rights, for people to get housing rights if they’re homeless, I’m gonna look toward helping our local people, especially with Hawaiian Homeland Program as we build back to make our kids stay here.” Read More Here

Cathy McMorris Rodgers' Post-January 6 Epiphany Didn't Last Long https://digitalalaskanews.com/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers-post-january-6-epiphany-didnt-last-long/ McMorris Rodgers said in August that, “there were significant irregularities in the election.”   Tom Stover photo illustration” href=”https://media2.fdncms.com/inlander/imager/u/original/24689351/news1-1-7b2320d31e8a6f1e.jpg” Tom Stover photo illustration McMorris Rodgers said in August that, “there were significant irregularities in the election.” It was a nightmare that, however briefly, left congressional Republicans shaken and wide awake. Indeed, like a nightmare, the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was a stream of images both horrifying and absurd: Chants of “1776” interspersed with “Hang Mike Pence.” An American flag wielded as a billy club. A guy in a horned, fur headdress screaming “freedom” after breaking into the Senate chamber. One cop beaten with a fire extinguisher. Another dragged down the steps and shocked with his own taser. A flashbang explosion turning a cloud of tear gas an eerie yellow. This wasn’t like other riots. This wasn’t just an attack on a governmental building, it was an assault upon a peaceful transition of power itself. In the immediate aftermath, it sparked clear-eyed condemnation from many, though not all, Republicans. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy declared “the president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters,” and privately said that he planned to tell the president who just lost the election that he should resign early. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell argued that “the mob was fed lies” and was “provoked by the president.” Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Eastern Washington’s representative, offered her own rebuke. “President Trump showed a complete lack of leadership in the face of an attack on the U.S. government,” she said at the time in a statement, acknowledging that “people on the right have excused and defended President Trump, including me,” which meant “turning a blind eye to arrogant, prideful and bullying behavior.” That approach didn’t last. In the same way a bad dream dissipates over breakfast, McMorris Rodgers and other Republicans quickly returned to their routine of playing defense for Trump: McCarthy, McMorris Rodgers and McConnell all opposed Trump’s impeachment. In the year and a half since, McMorris Rodgers has hammered Biden on inflation, gas prices and Afghanistan. She’s accused “Big Tech of turning a ‘blind eye'” to the harm they’ve caused the youth, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee of turning a “blind eye” toward polluters in the Puget Sound. Democratic candidate for Congress Natasha Hill   ” href=”https://media2.fdncms.com/inlander/imager/u/original/24689352/news1-2-982da9776a0754b7.jpg” Democratic candidate for Congress Natasha Hill But in a February 2021 interview with KREM, McMorris Rodgers was already backing off her criticisms by arguing that Trump didn’t explicitly tell the crowd to “storm the Capitol.” She ducked the Inlander’s repeated interview attempts on the topic of Jan 6. last year. She voted against impeachment, and she voted against forming the congressional committee to investigate the attack on the Capitol. Next month’s election is the first time voters have a chance to weigh in on how their leaders handled the attack. McMorris Rodgers has continued to try to walk the line between the party’s far right and its remaining, dwindling moderates — but as Trump continues to assert his role as the leader of the Republicans, that becomes increasingly difficult, if not impossible. The Inlander requested an interview with McMorris Rodgers with a full week to spare — but were told she was only available three days after our deadline, and then only for 15 minutes. By contrast, her opponent, Natasha Hill, talked with us for an hour and a half. “Even after everything we’ve seen come out of this investigation, she didn’t stand up and do the right thing,” Hill says of McMorris Rodgers. “Because she knows if she did, she’d get ousted from her own party.” Six weeks ago, Spokane photographer Don Hamilton mounted a billboard on the top of his Honda CRV that reads BigLieCathy.Com. Every morning, he drives it somewhere prominent, parks it, and then bikes home. It’s one thing to disagree with McMorris Rodgers over, say, ecological policy and the Snake River dams, he says. But the “Big Lie” — the name some have used to describe Trump’s sweeping and false claim that Biden stole the election — is different. “She is undermining our faith in our elections,” Hamilton says. “I fear that the republic is about to fall. … I may sound hysterical, but this is as serious as a heart attack.” On this topic, McMorris Rodgers again attempted to find a line to walk. “I don’t believe the ‘Big Lie’ as such,” McMorris Rodgers said at the Spokane Convention Center during her annual town hall meeting in August. Yet she immediately added a caveat, saying “there were significant irregularities in the election.” McMorris Rodgers pointed to complaints about examples of election officials or governors requiring states to transition to vote-by-mail during the COVID pandemic — yet there hasn’t been any evidence that there was any meaningful amount of election fraud in those states. Then she touted her own efforts to pass “election integrity” legislation that would “require ID to ensure only citizens are voting in elections.” “We must have election integrity, in order to have the peaceful transfer of power,” she said. Dave Weigel, a longtime national political reporter who left the Washington Post for journalism startup Semafor last month, said in a phone interview that most congressional Republicans have tried to strike a similarly murky compromise on their approach to the Capitol riot last year: Jan. 6 was a bad thing, but further investigation is unfair. Weigel says the very few congressional Republicans who have continued to speak out forcefully against Trump after Jan. 6 have been “pretty contemptuous” of the Republicans who have refused to back them up. “It’s like you look back expecting an army behind you and you have no one at all,” Weigel says of those Republicans who’ve spoken out. Even McMorris Rodgers’ greatest critics acknowledge the political wind she’s facing. “Want to get reelected?” Hamilton says. “She’s doing it brilliantly. Remain wallpaper. Remain invisible. Don’t stick your neck out on anything. ‘Aw shucks.’ It is not a profile in courage.” McMorris Rodgers could have been like her one-time protege, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Vancouver-area Republican who voted to impeach. During this year’s primary, Herrera Beutler was defeated narrowly by Joe Kent, a far-right radical who once said he didn’t find anything wrong with “a white people special interest group.” “Want to get reelected? … Remain wallpaper. Remain invisible. Don’t stick your neck out on anything. … It is not a profile in courage.” tweet this Or McMorris Rodgers could have gone even further, following the route of Rep. Liz Cheney. In 2018, Cheney replaced McMorris Rodgers as the House Republican conference chair, promising to be more ambitious and aggressive in championing Republican positions. But Cheney’s frequent condemnation of Trump after Jan. 6, and her role on the Democrat-dominated Jan. 6 Committee, got her quickly booted as conference chair. She lost her re-election bid this year by nearly 40 percentage points, the worst showing for a House incumbent in decades. Considering her father was vice president under George W. Bush, her loss underscores the power Trump has over the GOP. “I think it’s a sad day in America, when honest Republicans are turned out for being honest,” Hamilton says. But there was a third possibility. McMorris Rodgers could have been like Rep. Dan Newhouse, the Republican congressman in the district directly to McMorris Rodgers’ east who voted for impeachment. Despite being in an even more conservative district — one that voted for Trump by 17 percentage points in 2020 — Newhouse survived. He was lucky enough to draw two right-wing Republican challengers. They split the vote, and he squeaked by. But Spokane County Republican Party state committee member Beva Miles, who has had a long history of standing up to more radical elements of the local party, says representatives always face a tension: “Do they vote their conscience or vote according to what their constituents want?” Newhouse voting against his district, Miles argues, was the wrong decision. By contrast, she heaps praise upon McMorris Rodgers’ choice to try to keep her head down on this issue of Trump. “She’s not one to beat her chest or be out in public all the time,” Miles says. “If she wants to get anything done, she has to stay out of it. Getting into a spitfight when [Trump’s] not even on the ballot, it would be a total waste of time and effort.” Hill, McMorris Rodgers’ opponent this year, argues that the congresswoman doesn’t accurately represent her constituents at all. “Cathy is just completely out of touch at this point,” Hill says. “Because she’s out of touch, it’s allowed her to easily fall in line with more of the far-right Republican extremism.” It’s easy to tally up the contrasts. McMorris Rodgers celebrated the defeat of Roe v. Wade as a victory for the “dignity and sanctity of every human life.” Hill calls for codifying Roe v. Wade‘s standard of allowing abortion until the fetus can survive outside the womb into federal law. McMorris Rodgers has condemned Biden’s attempt to forgive $10,000 of most students’ loans, while Hill is critical of Biden for not forgiving even more. McMorris Rodgers decries legislation that gives preference to organized labor. Hill wants to pass a bill mandating federal and state governments to only contract with unions. And in a campaign mailer sent out last week, McMorris Rodgers sought to establish another contrast: She suppo...

US Moves Aircraft Carrier Strike Group Near Korea After North's Missile Launches, South Korea Says | CNN https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-moves-aircraft-carrier-strike-group-near-korea-after-norths-missile-launches-south-korea-says-cnn/ Seoul, South Korea CNN  —  A US Navy aircraft carrier strike group is moving into waters off the Korean Peninsula as tensions flare after a spate of North Korean missile launches over the past two weeks, South Korean security officials said. South Korea’s National Security Council (NSC) held an emergency meeting on Thursday after North Korea launched two more short-range ballistic missiles, the sixth such launch in 12 days, the country’s Presidential Office said in a statement. The NSC warned that North Korea’s provocation will face a stronger response, as demonstrated by the redeployment of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, following Pyongyang’s launch on Tuesday of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that flew over Japan. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff also said on Wednesday that the US carrier strike group would be redeployed to the waterway, in what it characterized as a “very unusual” move meant “to demonstrate the resolute will of the SK-US alliance to respond decisively to any provocation or threat from North Korea.” Asked about the South Korean statement on the Reagan’s movements, a US 7th Fleet spokesperson told CNN, “The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Sea of Japan.” The Navy said it does not comment on future operations. The South Korean statement on the US Navy strike group’s movements drew a harsh response from Pyongyang. “The DPRK is watching the US posing a serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity by redeploying the carrier task force in the waters off the Korean peninsula,” read a statement from the North Korean Foreign Ministry posted on the state-run Korean Central News Agency. Pyongyang’s missile launches Thursday are the 24th such tests this year, including both ballistic and cruise missiles – the highest annual tally since Kim Jong Un took power in 2012. It closely followed the highly provocative launch by the isolated country on Tuesday, when North Korea fired a ballistic missile without warning over Japan – the first in five years – prompting Tokyo to urge residents in the north to take shelter. The United States and South Korea responded with missile launches and exercises around the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday and Wednesday. Speaking Wednesday during a trip to South America, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that if North Korea continues “down this road” of provocation, “it will only increase the condemnation, increase the isolation and increase the steps that are taken in response to their actions.” Last month, the US, Japanese and South Korean navies conducted joint anti-submarine exercises in international waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula to improve response capability against North Korean submarine threats. The Reagan carrier strike group and destroyers from South Korea and Japan were involved in that joint exercise, according to the South Korean Navy. 02:28 – Source: CNN Explained: How much damage can North Korea’s weapons do? The latest North Korean launch came hours after a Security Council briefing at the United Nations headquarters in New York about Pyongyang’s weapons program. Speaking at the council, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia and China, without naming them, of enabling North Korea. North Korea has “enjoyed blanket protection from two members of this council. These two members have gone out of their way to justify the DPRK’s repeated provocations and block every attempt to update the sanctions regime,” she said. Referring to Russia and China, Thomas-Greenfield said, “Two permanent members of the Security Council have enabled (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un” to continue these “provocations.” But China countered that it was Washington ratcheting up tensions. “The US has recently been bolstering its military alliances in the Asia Pacific region and intensifying the risk of military confrontation on the nuclear issue,” Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Geng Shuang said during the Security Council meeting. The US is “poisoning the regional security environment,” he added. Russia, too, blamed Washington. “It is obvious that missile launches by Pyongyang were a response to the short-sighted confrontational military activities of the US,” said Anna Evstigneeva, Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN. 03:29 – Source: CNN Tanks, Apaches, and drones. See South Korea’s state-of-the-art weapons Andrei Lankov, professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, said military displays from the US and its allies have no effect on the North Korean weapons program. “Yes, American strategic assets are deployed, but does it make any difference?” Lankov asked. “It doesn’t make any difference where an American aircraft carrier is … They’re just testing their missiles,” he said of the North Koreans. Experts have warned that North Korea’s recent tests suggest an even greater escalation in weapons testing could be on the horizon. “North Korea is going to keep conducting missile tests until the current round of modernization is done,” Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told CNN earlier this week. Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center in Hawaii, said North Korean leader Kim has both domestic and regional audiences in mind with the testing. Kim is telling his own people, “We can deal with whatever the threat the West, the US and South Korea can come up with,” Schuster said. “He’s also telling the South Koreans that if they go too far, he can rain destruction on them. He’s also signaling to Japan, ‘I can reach you and I’m not afraid to do so.’” Schuster also said that Kim can be expected to up the ante soon by testing a nuclear weapon. Lewis agreed, saying a nuclear test could come “anytime.” South Korean and US officials have been warning since May that North Korea may be preparing for a nuclear test, with satellite imagery showing activity at its underground nuclear test site. If North Korea conducts a test, it would be the country’s seventh underground nuclear test and the first in nearly five years. Read More Here

Bodies Of Kidnapped Merced County Family Found. ‘Our Worst Fears Have Been Confirmed’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/bodies-of-kidnapped-merced-county-family-found-our-worst-fears-have-been-confirmed/ READ MORE Merced County family kidnapping Click the arrow below for more coverage of the kidnapping of a Merced County family. Expand All Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke confirmed on Wednesday night that the bodies of four kidnapped family members were found. “Our worst fears have been confirmed,” Warnke told media gathered in a rural part of the county, northeast of Dos Palos. “There’s no words right now to describe the anger I feel and the senselessness of this incident.” The four family members were 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, and her uncle Amandeep Singh, 39. Warnke said the bodies were located in an “extremely remote” area near the intersection of Indiana and Hutchins roads. He said a farm worker made the gruesome discovery and authorities were notified at around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Warnke said the bodies were “relatively close together.” The four family members were kidnapped at gunpoint from a business they operated just south of Merced off South Highway 59, Gateway Parking. A 48-year-old suspect, Jesus Manuel Salgado, is in custody in connection with the kidnapping. “I said it earlier, there is a special place in hell for this guy,” Warnke said Wednesday. Warnke said the family members of the victims were notified after the bodies were found. “Now that we have the whereabouts of our victims, now we have to do the criminal investigation, gather up all the evidence and tie everything together,” Warnke said. Warnke said Salgado had tried to take his own life prior to being taken into custody, and as a result had to receive medical care. Although Salgado had been sedated, Warnke said the suspect has since began talking with investigators. “The suspect has been talking off and on, based upon his condition. And we still have investigators with the suspect and we are gleaning information from that,” Warnke said. “This investigation is now gearing towards putting this rotten son of a gun in prison.” Video footage of the kidnapping Sheriff Warnke said detectives are still working at piecing together a motive in the crime. Salgado, the suspect in the case, has a previous criminal history and was in prison as recently as seven years ago. He served time for witness intimidation and a residential robbery with gun enhancements. Salgado was convicted on Dec. 19, 2005, and released on parole from prison on June 21, 2015, according to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office. Earlier Wednesday, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office released video footage of the robbery that took place Monday morning at the victims’ business. The video shows a masked man who’s armed and walks onto the business premises. The robber then led Jasdeep Singh (father of 8-month-old) and Amandeep Singh (the baby’s uncle) at gunpoint into Amandeep’s black Dodge Ram pickup truck. Both men were restrained with their hands tied behind their backs with zip ties, the video shows. A few minutes later, the video shows Jasleen exit the building while holding her baby and escorted by the suspect, who was still holding the firearm. Jasleen and Aroohi were put in the vehicle and the pickup truck went southbound on Highway 59. The chilling surveillance footage appears to be the last time the victims were seen alive. Revelations about the crime began to come to light Monday afternoon. Firefighters with Cal Fire’s Madera-Mariposa-Merced unit were dispatched to Buhach Road and Oakdale Road in Winton after a black 2020 Dodge Ram truck was reported on fire. Investigators learned the truck’s registered owner was Amandeep Singh, who was later discovered to be one of the victims. Merced County Sheriff deputies then arrived at the victims’ Gateway Parking business. Deputies determined the business was a crime scene and the kidnapping investigation was initiated. Victims’ cell phones found During Wednesday’s morning press conference, Undersheriff Corey Gibson told reporters that while deputies were conducting their investigation at Gateway Parking, family members had called cell phone belonging to the victims. Gibson said a farmer found the cell phones in the middle of the road near Dos Palos and picked up when they were ringing. Warnke, the Merced County Sheriff, said those phones were not too far from the area where the bodies were ultimately discovered. Deputies are asking for anyone with information about the kidnapping to call 209-385-7547. Tips are confidential and you can remain anonymous. On the left, 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri is shown with her parents Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36. At right is uncle Amandeep Singh, 39. Merced County Sheriff Aroohi Dheri, 8 months Merced County Sheriff Jesus Manuel Salgado Merced County Sheriff This story was originally published October 5, 2022 8:25 PM. Read More Here

Tribute To Prof U. U. Uche https://digitalalaskanews.com/tribute-to-prof-u-u-uche/ By Awa Kalu I first met the late Professor U.U Uche, when I was a young lecturer at the University of Lagos. Prof, as I later learnt to call him, had recently returned from his stint in various capacities overseas. He had just established legal practice with late Chief Ojo Maduekwe( who himself later flourished in various capacities)  in the firm name, U.U Uche & Associates. That first meeting was occasioned by lateEmekaEzera, who as a postgraduate student at the Harvard University, had come on a visit to Nigeria. Emeka walked into my office while I was reading a chapter in one of Professor Ben Nwabueze’sepic trilogy titled “Constitutionalism In The Emergent States”. LateEmeka was the son of the late Professor Kalu Ezera, a member of the Federal House of Representatives in the First Republic who died soon after the Nigerian Civil War. Seeing and delighted by what I was reading, Emeka asked me if I had met Professor Ben Nwabueze and when I replied in the negative, he promised to take me to someone who would make it easy for me to meet the erudite Professor Nwabueze. On an appointed date, Emeka took me to the very imposing (at the time) Western House, where Professor U.U Uche had his practice. I was introduced to him, and while he was trying to discover who I was (in the Ohafia way) Chief Ojo Maduekwe came back from Court and gave me a big hug. Seeing the kind of hug I received from late Chief Ojo Maduekwe, the late Prof.  took more active interest in me and became more magnanimous in realizing that at that time, I was struggling to make my “bones”in academics. As the discussion became friendlier and more interesting, the late Prof. instantly offered me a mild consultancy which brought an opportunity to appreciate fondly, the distance between academics and practice. The challenge was for me at the time to study live files and to provide opinion on recondite points of law arising from the case at hand. Each time I returned an opinion, Prof., encouraged me in a soft and sonorous voice with enthusiastic encomiums. I had a group of young men, at the time, who craved Prof’s company and insightful guidance, either in his office on weekdays or as occasion warranted, in his home in Victoria Island. We found him not only profound in the depth of his knowledge, but  as well as in the breadth of information he was willing to convey to us, a younger generation.  He was a man of candour and wisdom. I had the singular opportunity later in life when as Attorney General of Abia State, I had a misunderstanding with Late Chief Ojo Maduekwe who had risen to the exalted height of Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.I n a nutshell, it was Prof who upon learning of the dispute flew to Umuahia to learn from me, first hand of the facts leading to the disagreement and overnight, he provided guidance on how to resolve the issues without much rancour or bitterness. I dare say that when it came to such mediation, the Late Prof was incomparable. Born on the 7th November, 1934, Professor U.U Uche hailed from Okon, a major community in Ohafia, Abia State. He had his early education at the Aggrey Memorial College, Arochukwu, after which he attended the Teachers Training College, Uyo (now capital of Akwa IbomState). Thereafter, he received University education at the University of Ghana, Accra, the venerated Oxford, England and took a Ph.D in law from the University of London. As is very well known, any legal training that combined the traditions of Ghana, Oxford and London could not but result in anything less than what Professor Uche’s academic sojourn represented. He blazed the trail. He was later called to the English Bar at the Grey’s Inn, London in 1963 and was enrolled as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1965. Thereafter, he tasted legal practice in the thriving law office of the then Barrister A.K Uche of blessed memory. A.K Uche also of Ohafia extraction, was a First Republic Parliamentarian and was later translated as a judge of the High Court ofthe Old Imo State. To dwell on Professor U.U Uche’s sojourn whether as a distinguished member of the Ivory Tower or as a Consultant would require the reader to wade through several pages of paper with diligence and patience. Accordingly, it would suffice to note his distinguished teaching career as a lecturer in African Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, between 1965- 1976; his distinguished service as Counsel with the famous Dingle-foot and Desmond Ackner(1967-1972);as well as his Distinguished service as a Professor of Public law at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Part of Professor Uche’s stint includes his very visible footsteps as a visiting Professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos, 1977-1978. He shared his very vast knowledge in service as a Consultant to several international institutions and these include, as Senior Legal Consultant, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD); former Chairman, Board of Directors, Centre for African Legal Studies, Nairobi, Kenya; Member, Board of Directors, Development Law and Policy Program, Centre for Population and Family Health, Columbia University, New York and also as member, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London. As a commercial lawyer of repute, Prof. also served on the Board of Directors of the defunct African Continental Bank (A.C.B) – a bank in which people had immense confidence and trust. Prof. was not only a man of robust ideas, he was a leader of men and proved his leadership credentials when he was President, Otu Oka Iwu- a prestigious association of Igbo lawyers which functions as a think tank as well as a mild pressure group which resolves teething problems concerning the large crop of Igbo lawyers based in Lagos. Prof. was a great family man, a devout Christian (of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion) he was also a great philanthropist who did good to a number of people. He was a wonderful mentor and a great life-coach who developed me and an innumerable number of young shall grow. In a number of tributes I have written for legal luminaries in the past, I never failed to note through the famous hymn Only Remembered, that when any person dies, he or she will only be remembered by what he or she had done. Prof. will surely be remembered, seeing that he is survived by a strong and formidable family- his Widow, Chief Mrs Gladys Uche and Six (6) solid Children; Pastor (Mrs) Pearl Moses (Nee Uche)- Solicitor/Director of Compliance, Setfords Law Limited, United Kingdom; DrChidiUche- Managing Director of Jacksonville Urgent Care LLC, Florida U.S.A; Ms. Ola Uche- Solicitor with Property Portfolio, United Kingdom; MrUzombaUche- Product Design Engineer and Master Technician, United Kingdom; Dr (Mrs) IjeomaOnyeator (Nee Uche) – Senior Anchor/Producer, Channels Television; several grandchildren and great grandchildren. In the full panoply of what the learned Professor was, of what he had accomplished, the legacy he left behind, and the equally accomplished family that will miss him most, Prof. will surely be remembered.Adieu,Prof U.U Uche – Revered Community Leader, Big Daddy , Teacher of Illustrious Men and Women, Handsome, amiable, Distinguished and erudite Professor. Safe journey and fare thee well. Subscribe for latest Videos Read More Here

Big 12 https://digitalalaskanews.com/big-12/ No. 17 TCU at No. 19 Kansas. An unexpected matchup of undefeated teams on the second Saturday in October when the Big 12 is usually focused on the Red River rivalry. Even ESPN’s “College GameDay” is going to be on location in Lawrence, Kansas, not at the State Fair of Texas for Texas-Oklahoma. Second-year Kansas coach Lance Leipold has already had quite an impact for the Jayhawks (5-0, 2-0 Big 12), who have matched their win total of the past three seasons combined and are now ranked for the first time since 2009. TCU (4-0, 1-0), with first-year coach Sonny Dykes, is coming of a 31-point home win over the Sooners. This is matchup of two of the Big 12’s most efficient quarterbacks: Jalon Daniels for Kansas and TCU’s Max Duggan, who returned to the starting role after Chandler Morris got hurt in the season opener. Daniels and Duggan have 11 touchdowns each, and only one interception among them (Daniels). BEST MATCHUP Iowa State’s Big 12-best defense against Kansas State’s Adrian Martinez and Deuce Vaughn, the conference leader at 127.6 yards rushing per game. Dual threat quarterback Martinez has run 33 times for 319 yards and seven touchdowns, while completing 33 of 53 passes for 350 yards with two TDs and no interceptions as the 20th-ranked Wildcats won their first two Big 12 games. The Cyclones allow only 255.4 total yards and 14.4 points a game. INSIDE THE NUMBERS Texas Tech is playing its fifth consecutive Top 25 opponent to match the longest streak in school history (2012). The Red Raiders have split the first two. According to STATS, they are the first team since Ohio State in 1995 to play five ranked opponents in their first six games. … The Big 12’s 11.3 scoring margin in conference games is the smallest of the Power Five leagues. … Iowa State’s Colby Reeder and Kansas State’s Daniel Green are the only Big 12 linebackers with two interceptions. PLAYER TO WATCH Oklahoma State LB Mason Cobb is the team’s leading tackler with 30 overall (18 solo, 12 assists) and is the Big 12 leader with 1.8 tackles for loss a game. He also had a big play for the seventh-ranked Cowboys in their 36-25 win at Baylor last weekend, when he stopped running back Richard Reese for no gain from the Cowboys 7 when they had a 9-3 lead about midway through the third quarter. UNUSUALLY UNRANKED Texas and Oklahoma play for the 118th time Saturday, and this will be their first meeting since 1998 with neither team ranked. The Sooners had been ranked in 21 of the 24 games since, with Texas ranked 19 times. The future SEC teams each have 931 all-time wins; only Michigan (981), Alabama (947) and Ohio State (947) have more. The Sooners’ all-time record is 931-333-53 since its first season in 1895; Texas played its first game two years before that and is 931-387-33. ___ More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2 Read More Here

Ever The Diplomat    https://digitalalaskanews.com/ever-the-diplomat/ Ambassador Tom Nides was busy with meetings one Sunday morning a few weeks ago when his personal phone rang. On the screen flashed a name that until recently would have merited an immediate response from Israel’s prime minister himself. “Yanky Kanievsky” read the display. Rav Chaim’s well-connected grandson had a last-minute request for the American diplomat. “Tom, we’re giving out 4,000 food parcels in Bnei Brak today — can you come and pack some boxes?” Taken aback by the 11th-hour timing, Nides responded: “You do know that my schedule is arranged weeks in advance, don’t you?” But Yanky, as he’s widely known, was having none of it. He produced his trump card. “It would have meant a lot to my grandfather,” he said. That, indeed, clinched the deal. Tom Nides picks up an enlarged photo of his own meeting with the gadol, which rests in the corner of his office at the United States embassy in Jerusalem. “I told my staff, ‘Clear my schedule — we’re going to Bnei Brak to pack boxes.’ ” Nides is still chuckling over the episode a day later when we sit down for a pre-Rosh Hashanah interview, but as becomes clear, the anecdote is more than mere opening gambit. That’s because Tom Nides is convivial, he exudes a certain empathy, and seems genuinely curious about people — notably the exotica of the chareidi world. “I’ve gone to Bnei Brak many times now to learn about the chareidi community,” he says. “I’ve met many of the rabbinic leaders, and while I don’t understand everything, I see the importance of family, tradition, and studying.” Over the last year, he’s parlayed those qualities into an ambassadorial style — part diplomatic, part learning process — that involves engagement across Israeli society. The Jewish ambassador has become a notable fixture at that saddest of Jewish events — the shivah. Through a terror-soaked year, Nides has visited 15 shivah houses, turning up to comfort families up and down Israel. “I sat with the families after the Elad terror attack, and I went to a Druze family in Nazareth, where I saw firsthand how terror affects everyone.” That empathy has played well with Israelis. More controversially for many on the country’s right, Nides has broken with his Trump-era predecessor, Ambassador David Friedman, making outreach to the Palestinians a priority. That tilt was obvious when Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist covering a counter-terror operation in Jenin, was shot in May, under unclear circumstances. A State Department report pre-judged an Israeli investigation, saying that it was likely that the Al-Jazeera reporter had been killed by an IDF bullet. The US embassy followed up with a call for a review of Israel’s rules of engagement, the public nature of which carried overtones of a dressing down. But inevitably, Tom Nides deals as much with what lies over the horizon — Iran — as with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that plays out in sight of his office windows. And even as the Biden administration seeks to bring back the Obama-era Iran Deal from the dead — against an Israeli consensus that the agreement is weak — Nides is adamant that this time around, Israel won’t be left out in the cold. “Every option is on the table,” he says, reiterating the administration’s position on military action. “America will never bind Israel’s hands when it needs to act, even after a deal.” These are Obama-era slogans rewarmed for the post-Trump epoch, with a hint of the third way that Biden has carved out on Israel. As Tom Nides wraps up his first year in the embassy that bears the name of his boss’s nemesis Donald Trump, the former investment banker has brought a surprisingly personal touch to the job. It’s also clear that for the new occupant of “David Friedman’s office,” as Nides jokingly calls his workspace, what’s past is prologue in the altneuland of America’s Israel policy. Giving Back A framed copy of Tom Nides’ local newspaper — the Duluth News Tribune — sitting on the office windowsill betrays the ambassador’s origin in small-town America. Born in 1961 in Duluth, Minnesota, a Midwest port city, as one of eight siblings, the future ambassador’s parents were active in the local Jewish community. Tom’s father Arnold was a president of the Federation and the local Reform temple, and mother Shirley headed the branch of Hadassah. “We were cultural Jews, not religious ones, but being Jewish was in our bones,” Nides says. “I went to the Temple for the High Holidays and I was bar-mitzvahed, and the first time that I came to Israel was at 14 years old, when I climbed Masada and was turned on by the idea of being a Jew.” That typically mid-century secular Jewish experience is what gives Nides his sincere if bromide-laden worldview. “I’m a cultural Jewish guy, which means giving back, kindness, and taking care of other people. That’s what I tried to do in the private sector, using the money that I made to help others. And obviously in government I try to do the same thing.” Nides’ twin career in finance and government is testament both to his native ability and the kind of symbiotic relationship between public and private sectors common in Washington. An early interest in politics saw a teenage Nides invite then–vice president Walter Mondale to speak at Duluth East High School’s graduation. Post-college, Nides cut his teeth on political campaigns, serving as Midwest field director for Mondale’s 1984 presidential run, before going on to spend time as a congressional aide. Nides’ work on the NAFTA free-trade agreement — the ultimate poster-child for the Washington liberal consensus — under the Clinton administration was followed by an intermittent career in finance, taking in federal mortgage provider Fannie Mae, plus stints at Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. His wife’s position as an executive at CNN is more evidence of the insider circles that Nides mixes in. (That relationship, plus Nides’s evident royalism, is the reason that throughout our interview, the flatscreen on the wall is playing CNN’s coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral). From 2010, Nides was back in government, serving as deputy secretary of state for management and resources under the Obama administration. Declining a role in Hillary Clinton’s ill-fated 2016 presidential campaign, he joined Team Biden in 2021 as the president’s nominee for ambassador. “It’s rare for someone to be as fortunate as I have been to get to work at the top of government and the private sector,” Nides reflects. “It’s an enormous honor to be able to use a combination of both my government skills and my business skills as ambassador.” Americans Abroad The strict security protocols that govern the Jerusalem embassy prevent us from photographing the black-and-white portraits of previous ambassadors that line the entranceway to Nides’s office, but one thing — a peculiarity of the America-Israel relationship — is clear. Unlike most other diplomatic postings, where the ambassador needn’t conform to the host country’s traditions, it’s now almost a given that America’s Israel ambassador is Jewish — the question is simply which flavor. Successive ambassadors now seem to indicate which part of the US Jewish community is currently close to the White House. It was the colorful Philadelphia-born Warder Cresson — Tom Nides’s first diplomatic forebear — who began the tradition of Jews in the ambassador’s residence. Cresson arrived in Jerusalem in 1844 as the first United States consul to the Holy Land, before converting to Judaism as Michael Boaz Yisrael ben Avraham. After Israel’s establishment, diplomats with names like Macdonald, Barbour, and Keating were the norm. But things changed (or reverted to the Cresson model) this century, when a string of Jews got the job: first Martin Indyk, then Dan Kurtzer, and then Dan Shapiro in 2011, followed by David Friedman, Nides’s immediate predecessor. Tom Nides is eager to stress the continuity between his Orthodox predecessor David Friedman and himself. “My first week here, I called David. I’ve had lunch with him multiple times, and have enormous respect for him,” Nides says. “David and I both care deeply about maintaining Israel as a democratic Jewish state. We may have differences in how we maintain that right, or what we emphasize, seeing as I lean into helping the Palestinian people more than David’s view, and we have different views on settlement growth, but we’re both committed to the security of the State of Israel.” Collegiality aside, the gap between Trump’s and Biden’s respective envoys is a yawning chasm both in word and deed. As the face of Donald Trump’s new Israel policy, Friedman pushed for the administration to defund UNWRA, the UN agency ostensibly dedicated to helping Palestinians, but that has been accused of perpetuating the refugee problem. “The United States has thrown more than $10 billion in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians,” Friedman said in 2018, “without bringing the region closer to peace even by a millimeter.” Contrast that with Nides’s frequent support for the Palestinian cause, couched in the language of democracy and social justice. “Maintaining the democratic Jewish state means making sure that we’re taking care of the Palestinian people and not losing sight of the two-state solution,” he says. “You can be pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian. When I wake up and try to help Palestinians with education and health, I’m not making a political statement. It’s a humanitarian question.” While an Israeli consensus has long advocated working to improve economic conditions for ordinary Palestinians for reasons of humanity and foreign policy, in today’s Democratic Party, whose leader Nides represents, the pro-Israel part of the equation is in retreat. Democrats’ increasingly jaundiced view of Israel extends far beyond the hatred peddled by members of the far-left Squad such as Rashi...

Thursday Morning News: October 6, 2022 https://digitalalaskanews.com/thursday-morning-news-october-6-2022/ WORLD Radio – Thursday morning news: October 6, 2022 President Biden visited Florida to view damage from Hurricane Ian, South Korea botched a ballistic missile test, three scientists received the Nobel Prize for their work on “click” chemistry, Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to intervene in his legal battle with the Justice Department, the White House is disappointed by OPEC-plus cutting production targets, protests have sprung up in at least 80 cities in Iran President Joe Biden visits Fisherman’s Wharf in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Ian Saul Young/Knoxville News Sentinel via Associated Press For WORLD Radio, I’m Kristen Flavin.  Biden in FL » President Biden visited Florida yesterday to view damage from Hurricane Ian. He said it could take years to cleanup—and he promised long-term federal aid. BIDEN: You got to start from scratch and move again. And it’s going to take a lot, a lot of time, not weeks or months. It’s going to take years for everything to get squared away in the state of Florida. The president saw the damage himself this afternoon when he took a tour of Florida from the air. He met with residents, business owners, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DESANTIS: So, I’m just thankful that everyone’s banded together. We’ve got a lot of work to do here, but I’ll tell you, the spirit of the people of this state in southwest Florida has been phenomenal. DeSantis said the White House got help on the ground faster by approving an emergency declaration… before Hurricane Ian made landfall. South Korea Missile » Just a day after North Korea conducted its longest ballistic missile test, South Korea botched a missile test of its own. AUDIO: [Missile test] During a live-fire drill with the United States, a South Korean ballistic missile plowed into the ground, scaring residents in the nearby city of Gangneung. South Korean officials said the explosion did not kill or injure anyone and the warhead did not explode. Burning rocket fuel caused a fire. The United States and South Korea have been conducting military exercises in response to increased missile tests by North Korea. The exercises are intended to demonstrate the two countries’ ability to deter a North Korean invasion. Nobel Prizes » ELLEGREN – The Royal Swedish Academy of Science has this morning decided award the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in equal shares to… The three scientists—Carolyn R. Bertozzi, K. Barry Sharpless and Morten Meldal—received the award yesterday for their work on “click” chemistry. RAMSTROM: So this year’s award is, as Johan just mentioned here, is about making connections, making connections between molecules in a very straightforward, selective and robust way. The scientists developed ways of snapping molecules together to make new molecules that can be used to make cancer drugs, map DNA, and create specialty materials. BERTOZZI: Thank you so much, all of you. I’m absolutely stunned. I’m sitting here. I can hardly breathe. The award caps off the Nobel Prizes for science. Monday’s award for medicine went to Svante Paabo for his work tracing the history of the genomes of humans and Neanderthals. Tuesday’s award for physics went to three physicists—Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger—for their work studying quantum entanglement. Trump Mar-a-Lago case » Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to intervene in his legal battle with the Justice Department. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more. MARY MUNCY, REPORTER: Trump’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court yesterday to overturn the decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. That decision gave the Justice Department access to documents marked as classified when they were seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon initially told the Justice Department they had to stop using the documents until special master Raymond Dearie reviewed them. But the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision last month. Trump’s lawyers say a special master needs to review the documents to determine if they are indeed classified and whether they are personal records or presidential records. The Justice Department is still investigating how Trump and his aides handled presidential records when he left office. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy. OPEC » President Joe Biden said today that he’s disappointed by OPEC-plus’ decision to cut its oil production target. OPEC and its allies are cutting production by 2 million barrels a day starting in November. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. PIERRE: OPEC’s decision to cut production’s quotas is short-sighted while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But the U.S. government says the countries were already underproducing by nearly 3.6 million barrels a day. So the change might just align the target with production. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. BLINKEN: We are working to the best of our ability to ensure that energy supply from wherever is actually meeting demand. OPEC-plus said it cut the total because of uncertainty in the global economy and oil markets. Iran » AUDIO: [Protests] Protests have sprung up in at least 80 cities in Iran in the past two weeks, some of them ending in violent crackdowns. Protesters say the police beat a 22-year-old woman to death while she was in their custody. They had detained her for not following rules about head coverings. The police said she died of “sudden heart failure.” Girls across the country have been burning their head coverings in protests and it sparked a global movement. The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said security forces have killed at least 133 people so far in the crackdown. I’m Kristen Flavin. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.  WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record. Read More Here

Senator Murkowski Supports Revitalization Of Our Native Languages https://digitalalaskanews.com/senator-murkowski-supports-revitalization-of-our-native-languages/ Culture and language are so closely linked together. Research has shown that if a language is lost, much of the knowledge, skills and the very foundation of that culture are also lost. The Koyukon Athabascan language has very few fluent speakers left, as is the case with many of our Alaska Native languages throughout the state. As I have been spending the last several years learning Koyukon Athabascan, I have been learning so much more about my culture and who I am as a Koyukon Athabascan. As result of this, my wellness has increased, which further allows me to be healthy for my family and of service to my community. It is imperative that we do everything we can to revitalize our languages. Sen. Lisa Murkowski recently led on bills that will enact educational efforts to revitalize the many Alaska Native languages that exist in our state, protecting our culture and people in the process. If we can sustain our languages, we can better sustain our cultures and traditions, which leads to healthier people physically and socially. Please join me in voting for a senator who cares about our people and our culture. Teisha Simmons Fairbanks, AK Despite Murkowski’s claims, Alaska won’t see benefits of infrastructure bill According to an old adage, if you stand in the middle of the road, sooner or later you’ll get run over. That’s exactly what happened when Sen. Lisa Murkowski decided to work with the radical environmentalists in the Biden administration. Murkowski helped write an “infrastructure” bill that was immediately hijacked by Biden administration extremists who are imposing smothering regulations that will likely leave Alaska without the new projects Murkowski promised. If you call Murkowski out on this, she gets “combative,” according to the Anchorage Daily News, and it’s little wonder why. After 21 years in a Senate seat she was given by her father when he became governor, she doesn’t like to be questioned, much less criticized. But we don’t elect monarchs, we elect public servants we expect to be effective. And the record clearly shows that on the infrastructure bill, as in many other important areas, Lisa Murkowski simply was ineffective. Murkowski’s main error was expecting radical environmentalists to act reasonably by not blocking any new roads or bridges. However, just a month after President Biden signed the infrastructure law, the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) published a memo ordering staff to push states to repair existing roads and bridges before considering building new ones. States are also being told that the use of infrastructure money to build bike lanes and walking paths would undergo a much easier environmental review process than roads and bridges. The Wall Street Journal called the infrastructure package a “bait-and-switch” scheme because of the memo from FHA, the agency tasked with receiving construction proposals from states and localities. Indeed, the memo dictates that low priority will be given to projects that “add new general purpose travel lanes serving single occupancy vehicles.” That’s as clear it can be: No new roads. But the trouble doesn’t end there. The Biden administration’s radical environmentalists (all confirmed by Murkowski) are using the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to create new regulations to delay and block new construction projects. Sen. Dan Sullivan sounded the alarm about this on the Senate floor. “What did they do? They made the NEPA rules much harder to actually build infrastructure, not just for oil and gas, but it targeted oil and gas. This is for all infrastructure–roads, bridges, ports, renewable projects, LNG projects, natural gas projects,” Sullivan said. “Why in the heck would we do that as a country? We just passed a big infrastructure bill with permitting reform in it, and somebody over at the White House said: ‘No, let’s make it harder.’” Alaskans should remember all this when Murkowski visits the state to brag about the infrastructure bill she helped write. The radical environmentalists are controlling the flow of money and the things that Alaska needs will be at the bottom of the to-do list. In fact, Murkowski has already admitted as much by co-sponsoring Sen. Sullivan’s legislation to repair the NEPA rules mess, which is a clear acknowledgement that the legislation she wrote was completely broken. In announcing the legislative fix, Sullivan made it clear that, without it, projects in the infrastructure bill won’t be built. “The bridges and roads, pipelines and tunnels, ports and runways that American taxpayers were promised will now suffer from an increasing regulatory quagmire,” Sullivan said. It’s as simple as this: If the infrastructure bill Murkowski wrote were so great, she wouldn’t have co-sponsored another bill to rescue it. But her entire re-election campaign hinges on her authorship of the infrastructure bill, so she conceals all of this from the voters. It’s yet another way she’s lying to Alaskans about her record. Because of the bill’s $1.2 Trillion price tag, every Alaskan family is on the hook for over $2,000. Alaska is 18% of the nation’s landmass, but only 0.6% of the infrastructure funding is even “available” to Alaska, if we survive Biden’s regulatory barriers. That means we lost a proportional 17.4% of funds when language was drafted. Over 75% of the bill went towards climate change initiatives, not infrastructure, which has contributed to the crippling inflation plaguing the country. It’s a boondoggle that’s nothing more than the Green New Deal in disguise. And Lisa Murkowski didn’t just vote for it, she wrote it. Because the appropriations process changed a decade ago, there aren’t earmarks or dedicated funds allocated for Alaska, meaning we must compete for federal money. It doesn’t help to make funds “available” in the federal bureaucracy if Alaskans can’t find the money! When I’m in the Senate, I’ll make sure a grant writer is on staff to help Alaskans successfully access that funding. Alaskans agree that it’s time for a change, because when Lisa Murkowski tries to be popular with Joe Biden and the D.C. insiders, she puts Alaska right in the middle of the road. And Alaskans refuse to keep getting run over. Kelly Tshibaka, born-and-raised Alaskan Candidate for the U.S. Senate in Alaska Endorsed by former President Donald Trump and the Alaska Republican Party Cloud migration now underway will strengthen, enhance State IT systems The Last Frontier has entered a transformational time with several major initiatives to leap even farther forward into the Digital Frontier. In addition to the excitement of the State’s coordinated efforts for delivery of world class broadband across our great state, the Department of Administration’s Office of Information Technology has spent the last two years executing important and thoughtful preliminary work to move the vast majority of state servers and software applications out of local datacenters and into a cloud environment. By taking advantage of state-of-the-art facilities, this effort will provide increased security around our citizen’s data, more resilience and better reliability, and rapidly modernize Alaska’s technical infrastructure. At the most basic level, cloud computing is the delivery of computing services remotely. Instead of relying on a server that is in our office or datacenter, cloud computing uses servers hosted in other centralized locations. The State of Alaska has long been using cloud-based systems in the form of hundreds of software-as-a-service applications, and the current large-scale project continues and accelerates the effort to capitalize on the benefits available with cloud computing. In early 2020, following the decision to modernize, scale and secure the state’s infrastructure with cloud migration, we partnered with industry leaders to evaluate the best path forward and select a solution that was consistent with our current environment. After significant employee training, we began assessing individual applications for movement and moving representative servers to evaluate their performance. As other states have experienced this “one at a time” approach, while effective, can be costly and time consuming when it comes to evaluating thousands of state servers and programs. Amid the pandemic response, we identified the need to optimize the process further and began looking for a quicker or more cost-effective approach that would be well suited for our computing needs and goals. Earlier this year, the specific tools needed for just such a rapid migration of our systems were made available in our selected cloud datacenters, setting the stage for the full migration. The cost of delivery of on-premise infrastructure has increased since we began this journey, and the “Cloud First” strategy is not about matching current capabilities. But instead provides a more cost effective and sustainable vision that upgrades our infrastructure to meet the needs and expectations of our citizens leveraging state of the art technologies beyond our current on-premise capabilities. With the support of the Legislature, we secured funding in the Governor’s 2023 budget and the large-scale migration project kicked off last month. This project is a culmination of the preparation that has been accomplished over the past two years. It involves a close partnership with industry leaders and technology professionals across all the state’s departments. The migration to cloud based servers represents an important part of the state’s ongoing work to take full advantage of world class security features to protect Alaskans’ data, modernize state information technology systems, and dramatically improve the state’s resilience to unexpected disruption. The evolution of cybersecurity threats...

Alaska Women’s Hall Of Fame Selects 10 Women To Be Virtually Inducted On Oct. 18 https://digitalalaskanews.com/alaska-womens-hall-of-fame-selects-10-women-to-be-virtually-inducted-on-oct-18-2/ The Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame has selected 10 women to be honored at a virtual induction ceremony this fall carried on its website, www.alaskawomenshalloffame.org. These women from across the state will be recognized for their accomplishments within their communities, their professions and our state. The virtual induction ceremony is at 6 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Inductees are from Anchorage, Willow, Fairbanks, and Utqiaġvik. They have been shaping the face of Alaska for decades, mentored many and continue to inspire future generations. Read More Here

C https://digitalalaskanews.com/c-5/ What band could seamlessly combine gritty guitar, languid vocals and synth-oriented electronic elements? Why, none other than Cherry Glazerr. The band is currently made up of only three members, frontwoman Clementine Creevy, Tabor Allen on drums and Sami Perez on bass.  They are not your typical indie garage rock group; their sound is an eclectic and unique amalgamation of alternative, punk and most recently, electronic influences. Creevy, a Los Angeles native, began releasing music in 2012 at the age of 15 and hasn’t slowed down since, according to All Music. Around a year prior to forming Cherry Glazerr, Creevy released solo music on SoundCloud under the name “Clembutt.” With the help of fellow Los Angeles musicians Hannah Uribe, Sophia Muller and Sean Redman, she formed Cherry Glazerr in 2013. While the band’s sound has developed from mellow and at times timid indie rock, to bombastic punky art-rock, to electronically surged alternative jams, there is no question that its music has always been unique and boundary-pushing. Creevy has been the only consistent member since the band’s formation in 2013, with five other members drifting in and out from 2013 to 2018, per Last.fm, but the turnover of members has been completely organic. This variety of musicians has enhanced Creevy’s collaborative vision for Cherry Glazerr; she credits having a multitude of talented artists contributing to her project as influencing the band’s ever-changing sound. While the band’s sound has fluctuated throughout the years, Creevy’s leadership has provided the band with stability and an instantly recognizable quality through each new era.  Creevy hasn’t limited herself to the musical realm. In 2013, she modeled for Yves Saint Laurent. In 2014, the brand’s creative director Hedi Slimane commissioned Creevy to write a song for its fall campaign, as reported in TWELV. This seemingly dissonant mash-up of indie-rock and high fashion birthed Cherry Glazerr’s most famous song, “Had Ten Dollaz.” This is ironic, considering that while promoting a luxury fashion brand, she repeatedly croons, “Had ten dollars but put it away.” Irony aside, “Had Ten Dollaz” allowed Cherry Glazerr to skyrocket to indie-rock stardom. The bass-fueled and intensity-laced track embodied the first major transition in Cherry Glazerr’s music. The casual and lighthearted sound of Cherry Glazerr’s first album, Papa Cremp, was abandoned for the moody and at times aggressive songs in Haxel Princess, the band’s sophomore album. Notable songs, such as the title track “Haxel Princess” and “Bloody Bandaid,” feature more precise guitar and pointed, calculated, yet often humorous lyrics.  In 2017, Cherry Glazerr released a new album entitled Apocalipstick. Around the time of release for Apocalipstick, Cherry Glazerr signed to indie rock label Secretly Canadian. Other notable artists under the label, as reported in their signed artists list, include Faye Webster, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Skullcrusher. While the sense of humor and quick-wittedness present in Haxel Princess lived on in Apocalipstick, there was a new sense of gloom present. The decision to release Apocalipstick on the day of former President Donald Trump’s inauguration day was no accident—it was a calculated political statement. In an interview with CLRVYNT, Creevy confirmed that the political statements (and political humor) in Apocalipstick were inspired by the racist, sexist, psychotic monster himself.   This is not the only time Creevy has taken a brave stand. In 2020, Creevy disclosed that when she was 14, she was sexually abused by Sean Redman of the Buttertones, a band also signed to Burger Records—the label that had released Creevy’s first album. Creevy’s bravery—along with the bravery of other women in bands under Burger Records, such as Starcrawler’s Arrow De Wilde—exposed the toxic culture and inexcusable behavior occurring under Burger Records, which led to the record label ceasing operations in July 2020, as stated by the Los Angeles Times. Creevy’s bravery and resilience in the face of extreme adversity shine through on Cherry Glazerr’s most recent album, Stuffed and Ready, which also took a completely new sonic direction. With the combined undertones of indie-pop and art-rock, “Stuffed and Ready” ushered in a new era of confidence. Tracks like “Daddi” explored new electronic influences, while songs like “Distressor” contain the wall of guitar-fueled sound present in previous albums. Recently, Cherry Glazerr has been delving into the world of electronic and synth-infused music. By collaborating with artists such as Moon Boots and working with producers such as Suzy Shinn, Cherry Glazerr has successfully shifted genres once again. Despite a roller coaster of different sounds over the years, fans keep coming back to Creevy and her familiar witty lyrics and instantly recognizable confident vocals. With Creevy only being in her mid-20s, who’s to say what comes next for Cherry Glazerr? Only time will tell what exciting new directions Creevy and the band will explore.  Read More Here

Appeals Court Orders New Review Of Revised ‘DACA’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/appeals-court-orders-new-review-of-revised-daca/ NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court Wednesday ordered a lower court review of Biden administration revisions to a program preventing the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought into the United States as children. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a federal district judge in Texas should take another look at the program following the revisions adopted in August. The ruling leaves the future of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals up in the air, with current DACA recipients protected — for now — but new applicants barred. “It is beyond time for Congress and Biden to act on their promises to secure permanent protections for Dreamers, including a pathway to citizenship, once and for all,” the advocacy group Families Belong Together said in a statement. People protected by DACA are commonly referred to as “Dreamers,” based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act. DACA was adopted by former President Barack Obama’s administration and has had a complicated ride through federal court challenges. Texas-based U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen last year declared DACA illegal. He found that the program had not been subjected to public notice and comment periods required under the federal Administrative Procedures Act. But he left the program temporarily intact for those already benefiting from it, pending the appeal. “Current DACA recipients can renew their status and apply for advance parole, but the ruling continues to block new applicants from being granted DACA,” the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, an advocacy organization, said in a statement. The organization was among advocates renewing calls Wednesday for the Biden administration and Congress to protect DACA recipients. Wednesday’s ruling by three judges of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit upholds the judge’s initial finding. But it sends the case back to him for a look at a new version of the rule issued by the Biden administration in late August. The new rule takes effect Oct. 31. “A district court is in the best position to review the administrative record in the rulemaking proceeding,” said the opinion by Chief 5th Circuit Judge Priscilla Richman, nominated to the court by President George W. Bush. The other panel members were judges Kurt Engelhardt and James Ho, both appointees of President Donald Trump. The new rule’s 453 pages are largely technical and represent little substantive change from the 2012 memo that created DACA, but it was subject to public comments as part of a formal rule-making process intended to improve its chances of surviving legal muster. In July arguments at the 5th Circuit, the U.S. Justice Department defended the program, allied with the state of New Jersey, immigrant advocacy organizations and a coalition of dozens of powerful corporations, including Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft. They argued that DACA recipients have grown up to become productive drivers of the U.S. economy, holding and creating jobs and spending money. Texas, joined by eight other Republican-leaning states argued that they are harmed financially, incurring hundreds of millions of dollars in health care, education and other costs, when immigrants are allowed to remain in the country illegally. They also argued that the White House overstepped its authority by granting immigration benefits that are for Congress to decide. DACA is widely expected to go to the Supreme Court for a third time. In 2016, the Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 over an expanded DACA and a version of the program for parents of DACA recipients, keeping in place a lower court decision for the benefits to be blocked. In 2020, the high court ruled 5-4 that the Trump administration improperly ended DACA by failing to follow federal procedures, allowing it to stay in place. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Opioid Drug Companies Donated To Ryan https://digitalalaskanews.com/opioid-drug-companies-donated-to-ryan/ COLUMBUS — Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who has made his opponent’s questionable record fighting the opioid epidemic a central theme of his campaign for U.S. Senate, has accepted campaign donations over the years from drug distributors blamed for key roles in the crisis, an Associated Press review found. The contributions to Ryan from AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health, the three biggest drug distribution companies in the U.S., rolled in between 2007 and August of this year. Earlier this year, the companies finalized a $21 billion settlement with state, local and Native American tribal governments and others over the toll of the opioid crisis. The settlement is the largest over opioid claims and keeps the companies from facing thousands of lawsuits. The trio’s combined giving to Ryan of $27,000 represents a fraction of the campaign contributions he has collected over the years, which include a record $17.6 million in the third quarter of 2022. Still, they are notable as Ryan hammers the spotty record of the anti-opioid nonprofit started by his Republican opponent, “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance. Ryan and Vance are locked in a tight contest for the open Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman. Republicans see the seat as a critical one to hold if they hope to retake the Senate, while a flip to Democrats would be a major victory in the increasingly conservative-leaning state. Luke Schroeder, Vance campaign spokesman, said: “Tim Ryan has spent millions spreading lies about J.D., despite the fact that J.D.’s own mother struggled with addiction for years. All the while, Tim Ryan was taking money from the very companies responsible for the opioid epidemic, and even voted against legislation that would have delivered needed relief. This shameless hypocrisy from Tim Ryan disqualifies him from higher office.” The distributor most generous to Ryan was from Cardinal Health Inc., a multinational health care services company headquartered in his home state. The company’s PAC has given him $21,000 since 2007, including $5,000 this August. McKesson Corp. Employees PAC gave Ryan $5,000 in 2012. Amerisource Bergen Corp. PAC gave him $1,000 in 2019. The opioid crisis was ongoing during all those years. The three companies’ PACs have donated nearly $10.8 million combined to a wide range of candidates across the country since 2007, according to campaign finance figures compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. About $4.5 million of that went to Democrats, and the other roughly $6.2 million went to Republicans. Vance’s campaign has not received any donations from the PACs. Ryan’s early ads called Vance’s “Our Ohio Renewal” a “sham” that “didn’t fund a single addiction program” to fight the crisis, but rather backed efforts that “made it worse.” A second ad featured an August Associated Press article detailing a residency the nonprofit organized for an addiction doctor with links to Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin. Vance has said that he did not know about the addiction doctor’s ties to Purdue Pharma, but that he “remains proud of her work to treat patients, especially those in an area of Ohio who needed it most.” Ryan’s campaign said the congressman had helped bring funding to health care providers and law enforcement officials working to fight opioids and had worked to expand access to treatment for residents with substance abuse issues. “Unlike J.D. Vance, who used his opioid nonprofit to launch his political career and enlist a Purdue Pharma mouthpiece to come to the southern Ohio communities hit hardest by the opioid epidemic, Tim Ryan has a proven record of working across the aisle to combat this epidemic,” campaign spokesperson Izzi Levy said in a statement. During the same years that the now-shuttered Our Ohio Renewal was operating in southern Ohio, Ryan was casting votes in Congress on a host of bills aimed at tackling various elements of the opioid crisis — sometimes for, sometimes against. He voted overwhelmingly in support of such efforts — including co-sponsoring the INTERDICT Act praised by President Donald Trump for allocating $15 million to beef up illegal drug screenings on the southern border. But Ryan also opposed several measures aimed at addressing opioid enforcement and addiction, the AP review found. Those included funding packages aimed at providing medical care to address the problem and legislation intended to crack down on illegal fentanyl trafficking. Levy said the congressman had policy objections to aspects of those bills. Ryan also missed a vote in 2020 on legislation extending the Drug Enforcement Administration’s temporary order listing fentanyl-related substances as Schedule 1 controlled substances. Levy said he was attending a family funeral on that day. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Biden, DeSantis Meet In Florida, Pledging Bipartisanship On Ian Relief https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-desantis-meet-in-florida-pledging-bipartisanship-on-ian-relief/ FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — As President Biden visited this storm-stricken community in southwest Florida on Wednesday, touring the damage from Hurricane Ian and pledging billions of dollars for recovery, he used the opportunity to praise one of his top political rivals and harshest critics — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. “I think he’s done a good job,” Biden told reporters when asked about the governor’s handling of the deadly storm. “We have very different political philosophies, but we’ve worked hand in glove. … In dealing with this crisis, we’ve been in complete lockstep.” With those comments, Biden offered a nod to the kind of bipartisanship he once pledged to restore to politics, while at the same time extolling a man who could soon seek to oust him from the White House. DeSantis, who has previously assailed Biden as weak and has threatened to send planeloads of undocumented immigrants to the president’s home in Delaware, said Biden had been an admirable partner as Florida faced its deadliest storm in decades. “I want to thank President Biden,” DeSantis said before going on to praise the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the president’s leadership. “We were very fortunate to have good coordination with the White House and with FEMA.” The hurricane-related detente between the president and the governor with presidential aspirations marked a rare moment of cross-party comity in a charged political climate defined by name-calling, threats and trolling. DeSantis has seen his star rise as he has leaned in to pugilistic politics, while Biden has described the decline in decorum as a threat to the nation’s soul. Both men may have seen opportunity in embracing cooperation in the aftermath a deadly natural disaster. For Biden, who repeatedly used the word “united” on Wednesday, it was a chance to make good on his campaign pledge to calm tensions and work across the aisle. For DeSantis, it was a chance to pivot from a combative style of governing embraced by former president Donald Trump and show that he could be presidential when the moment called for it. It’s a skill that some of Trump’s supporters say he lacked, perhaps costing him the presidency. The governor, standing before the presidential seal on a lectern that had been set up for Biden, also used the meeting to praise his own handling of the hurricane. “One of the things you’re seeing in this response is that we’re cutting through the bureaucracy,” DeSantis said as he introduced Biden. Before their official remarks, the two men spent more than an hour together in a storm-ravaged marina in a part of the state that had been leveled by surging waters and fierce winds. They only spoke directly for a few minutes, shaking hands but keeping largely out of earshot of reporters. The rest of the time, they were separately working their way around the marina, speaking to local officials and hurricane survivors. The scene, against the backdrop of a damaged seafood cafe and a capsized boat, gave voters a chance to see Biden and DeSantis side by side. The governor, 44 and more than three decades younger than the 79-year-old president, was more animated with his hands during the interactions and spoke with a more forceful voice. Biden, known for being a tactile politician with a knack for comforting those experiencing grief, took off his coat and donned aviator sunglasses as he shook hands with the storm survivors and local officials he met. At one point, he draped his arm around a woman, who hugged him back. A photographer captured an image of Biden, the woman and a man in a “Florida Cracker” T-shirt — all smiling — with DeSantis standing alone in the foreground, wearing a dour expression. Before meeting with DeSantis, Biden surveyed the storm’s aftermath by helicopter, viewing snapped trees, destroyed businesses and waterlogged homes. He also attended a briefing with local officials and viewed more of the wreckage on foot, meeting with small-business owners and local residents in one of the communities most affected by the deadly Category 4 hurricane. After observing the damage, Biden pledged that while the recovery effort could take years, the federal government would provide support as long as necessary. “The only thing I can assure you is that the federal government will be here until it’s finished,” Biden said, emphasizing that in times of disaster, people across the political spectrum could come together in a time of crisis. In previewing the trip, the White House said Biden would put aside his political differences with DeSantis, who sparked the ire of the White House last month by flying dozens of Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., in an attempt to draw attention to the issue of illegal immigration. “There will be plenty of time to discuss differences between the president and the governor, and — but now is not the time,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday. The White House also invited Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who represents the area, and Biden spent time speaking with each official during his visit. Donalds, whose district was hit hard by Ian, took to Twitter to highlight the apolitical nature of the trip, saying he was pleased to welcome the Bidens to Florida. “Political differences aside, it’s the job of every President and First Lady to console and support Americans in need following a devastating tragedy,” he wrote on Twitter. “Before (R) and (D), we are Americans.” Still, the bipartisan meeting was not completely free of political messages, even if Biden and DeSantis were subtle in delivering them. Biden used his remarks to make the case that the hurricane and other extreme weather events highlighted the need to combat climate change. He also pledged that Florida would “build back better” after the storm, citing his 2020 campaign motto. DeSantis spoke about reducing governmental “red tape” and pushed an effort for private charities to take on some of the recovery costs, thereby reducing reliance on government aid. Both men noted the fact that power had been restored across most of the state quickly, though they offered different explanations that spoke to their political ideologies. Biden credited his work as vice president to provide millions of dollars in funding for “smart grid” technology in Florida, which he said was vital in the restoration effort. DeSantis, on the other hand, cited his push to surge hundreds of utility workers to the areas that lacked power to get it restored. The meeting was not without political risk, as previous interactions between governors and presidents from opposing parties have sometimes been used in partisan attacks against the politicians involved. Former Florida governor Charlie Crist, who is running as a Democrat against DeSantis in this year’s gubernatorial race, was driven from the Republican Party not long after he welcomed President Barack Obama to the state and accepted emergency aid from the federal stimulus package in 2009. Crist later said that the image him and Obama embracing was used by his political opponents to paint him as insufficiently conservative. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie faced similar attacks during the 2016 presidential primary from his Republican rivals for welcoming Obama to New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy devastated his state. Images of Christie and Obama embracing circulated and his Republican opponents accused him of “hugging” the Democratic president. Christie later said that he met with Obama because he needed federal help for his state after the deadly storm. Hurricane Ian slammed into southwest Florida on Sept. 28, flooding homes, tearing off roofs, washing away roads and leaving thousands of people stranded without power or access to essential services. Biden, who traveled with first lady Jill Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, had already spoken by phone with DeSantis several times in recent days and pledged to provide Florida with whatever it needs to recover from the storm. During the trip, he announced that the federal government would pay 100 percent of the costs for debris removal and other assistance for 60 days, a decision he said would probably unlock billions of additional dollars for the state. DeSantis, who had publicly expressed concern that the original 30-day window for full reimbursement would not be enough for some local communities, thanked Biden for the “significant” extension. The Florida Medical Examiners Commission has confirmed more than 70 storm-related deaths, but the total is probably higher, as searches continue for several missing people. Moreover, survivors of the storm face a long road to recovery as they try to repair their homes and rebuild their lives. The area Biden visited Wednesday had been pummeled by Ian, with hundreds of homes and businesses damaged or destroyed and much of the beachfront community’s commercial area flattened. “We took a real bad shot,” Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy said in a video message Friday. “A real hard hit. There’s a lot of devastation down here. And more to come.” DeSantis has been consistent in complimenting the Biden administration for its handling of the hurricane, thanking FEMA for its response efforts. “I think FEMA’s worked very well with the state and local, and we want to continue to do it and have all hands on deck,” he said Tuesday. Criswell, who spent time with DeSantis last week, lauded his team for its cooperation with federal officials. DeSantis has previously criticized Biden over some of his policies, focusing most recently on immigration. The governor’s decision to fly dozens of Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard sparked backlash among Democrats...

Stock Futures Rise On Thursday After Two-Day Market Rally Ends https://digitalalaskanews.com/stock-futures-rise-on-thursday-after-two-day-market-rally-ends/ U.S. stock futures were higher Thursday morning after falling in the regular trading session and breaking a massive two-day rally. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 118 points, or 0.39%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.43% and 0.55%, respectively. Stocks fought to hold onto the winning streak Wednesday but ultimately fell short. The Dow closed about 42 points lower, or 0.14%, rebounding from the session’s low of nearly 430 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.20% and 0.25%, respectively. Rising yields added pressure to stocks Wednesday. The rate on the 10-year U.S. Treasury topped 3.7%, rising from 3.6% a day earlier. “Few are convinced that the recent move is more than a bear market rally, with skepticism over the durability,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. “Confidence remains weak, ranging from CEOs, small businesses, consumers, and investors. Universal pessimism is bullish from a contrarian perspective, though timing of the pendulum swing is difficult to predict.” Investors continue to monitor economic data to see if inflation is cooling off, or if the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes are pushing the U.S. closer to a recession. Data from ADP showed that the labor market remained strong among private companies in September, when businesses added 208,000 jobs. That beat the 200,000 job estimate from Dow Jones. On Friday, the September jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will be released, giving the central bank and investors another piece of data. Some companies are reporting earnings, as well. On Thursday, Constellation Brands will announce its results before the opening bell, and Levi Strauss will report after the market closes. Mizuho says OPEC+ supply cut confirms ‘naked desire for price buoyancy’ OPEC and its allies’ decision to cut production by 2 million barrels per day confirms the group’s “naked desire for price buoyancy, not just support,” said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank. A supply cut of around 1 million barrels per day would have resulted in price gains without a compromise on volumes, but a larger cut shows the alliance’s “disregard for the economic woes of, and geo-political alignment with, global partners,” he wrote. “What may have been argued as an opportunistic gamble exploiting geo-political supply kinks for self-interest advantage is now in danger of being interpreted as an affront to the U.S. and its allies (in protestation of Russia price cap plans) that aligns with Russia,” he added. — Abigail Ng CNBC Pro: Time to buy the dip? Some stocks are still trading at lows with further big upside The beginning of this week has brought something of a relief rally to stocks. Still, global as well as Wall Street indexes, are still well in the red year-to-date. That could present an opportunity for investors looking for quality stocks and future upside in a volatile environment. CNBC Pro screened for stocks trading within 10% of their 52-week low, but have a buy rating from more than 50% of Wall Street analysts that cover them. The stocks have an average price target upside of 20% or more, and earnings growth expectation for 2022 of at least 10%. Here are the stocks that turned up. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Weizhen Tan CNBC Pro: NYU’s Aswath Damodaran names big tech stocks that are a better bet than ‘traditional safe’ ones NYU’s Aswath Damodaran loves companies that can “withstand a hurricane, a catastrophe if it does happen.” The professor of finance at New York University, who is sometimes referred to as the “Dean of Valuation, believes big tech stocks can do just that, and reveals the stocks he owns. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Zavier Ong October could be the start of a bull market rally, Detrick says Even though stocks pulled back Wednesday, stopping a major two-day win streak, October may still be the start of a new bull market rally according to Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group. “We think this could be the start of a pretty decent-sized end of year rally,” Detrick said during CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” That’s because, traditionally, stock performance improves in October in midterm election years, said Detrick. He also noted that even though markets ended the day lower, stocks posted a major rally in the afternoon that regained a lot of lost ground. That’s a positive, according to Detrick. —Carmen Reinicke Stock futures open flat Wednesday Stock futures opened flat Wednesday evening after all three major averages closed lower, failing to continue a major two-day rally that started this week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 7 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.02% and 0.03%, respectively. – Carmen Reinicke Read More Here

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US Intelligence Says Ukrainians Behind Dugina Killing: NYT https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-intelligence-says-ukrainians-behind-dugina-killing-nyt/ Assessment that ‘parts of the Ukraine government’ authorised bombing was shared last week, according to the New York Times. Published On 6 Oct 20226 Oct 2022 Intelligence agencies in the United States believe parts of the Ukrainian government authorised the car bomb attack near Moscow in August that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, according to a report in the New York Times. The assessment of alleged Ukrainian complicity was shared within the US government last week, the paper reported on Wednesday. The US officials who spoke about the intelligence did not disclose which elements of the Ukrainian government were believed to have authorised the mission, who carried out the attack, or whether President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed off on it. Those briefed on the Ukrainian action and the US response spoke on the condition of anonymity, in order to discuss secret information and matters of sensitive diplomacy, the report said. Dugina, a 29-year-old commentator with a nationalist Russian TV channel, was killed when a bomb exploded in her car in August, in an attack that Russia blamed on Ukrainian “special services“. Ukraine’s government denied involvement at the time, and when asked about the US intelligence assessment, Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak reiterated those denials. “Again, I’ll underline that any murder during wartime in some country or another must carry with it some kind of practical significance,” Podolyak told The New York Times. “It should fulfill some specific purpose, tactical or strategic. Someone like Dugina is not a tactical or a strategic target for Ukraine.” US officials also told the paper that they lack a complete picture of the competing power centres in the Ukrainian government, including the military, the security services and Zelenskyy’s office. This may explain why some parts of the Ukrainian government may not have been aware of the plot, it added. The US took no part in the attack, had no prior knowledge of it and “admonished” Ukrainian officials afterwards, the New York Times said, adding that the US would have opposed the killing if it had been aware of the plan. Dugina’s father, Alexander Dugin, is a prominent ultranationalist and staunch supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and some believe he was the intended target. Russian media said Dugin switched cars with his daughter shortly before the blast, which ripped the Toyota Land Cruiser apart as she was driving through the outskirts of Moscow after attending a cultural festival. Dugina was also a prominent supporter of the Ukraine invasion, known as a ‘special military operation’ in Russia. Russia has not taken any specific retaliation over the killing, but the US is concerned that such attacks could provoke Moscow into carrying out its own attacks against senior Ukrainian officials, the New York Times said. Russia’s intelligence agency, the FSB, has said a Ukrainian woman, who entered Russia in July and rented an apartment where Dugina lived, was behind the bombing. She fled Russia after the attack, according to the agency. Read More Here

Liz Cheney Urges Voters To Reject Kari Lake And Mark Finchem https://digitalalaskanews.com/liz-cheney-urges-voters-to-reject-kari-lake-and-mark-finchem/ TEMPE, Ariz. — Rep. Liz Cheney urged voters to reject Arizona’s Republican nominees for governor and secretary of state in next month’s midterm election, casting them as existential threats to U.S. democracy. “If you care about democracy and you care about the survival of our republic, then you need to understand — we all have to understand — that we cannot give people power who have told us that they will not honor elections,” Cheney, R-Wyo., said Wednesday night at an event at Arizona State University. Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor, and Mark Finchem, the GOP nominee for secretary of state, have both put denial of the 2020 election results in their state at the forefront of their campaigns. Aligning themselves closely with former President Donald Trump and his stolen election lie, Lake has falsely called President Joe Biden an illegitimate president, while Finchem has said that had he been secretary of state when Biden won Arizona, he would not have certified the 2020 election results. Both have also claimed without evidence that the midterm elections next month might be tainted by fraud. “They’ve looked at all of the law, the facts and the rulings of the courts, and they said it doesn’t matter to them,” Cheney said of Lake and Finchem. “So what happens here in Arizona is not just important for Arizona, but it’s important for the nation and for the future functioning of our constitutional republic,” she said. Later during the event, which was put on by the McCain Institute, a think tank named for the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Cheney noted that “for almost 40 years now, I’ve been voting Republican.” “I don’t know that I have ever voted for a Democrat,” she continued. “But if I lived in Arizona now, I absolutely would … for governor and for secretary of state.” Lake and Finchem are locked in tight races against Democratic gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs, the current secretary of state, and Democratic secretary of state nominee Adrian Fontes, currently the Maricopa County recorder, polling suggests. Arizona has turned from being solidly red to deeply purple, and it was one of the most critical presidential swing states in 2020, when Biden became the first Democrat to flip the state blue in a presidential election since 1996. “We cannot be in a position where we elect people who will not fundamentally uphold the sanctity of elections,” Cheney said Wednesday. “So what happens here in Arizona is not just important for Arizona, but it’s important for the nation and for the future functioning of our constitutional republic,” she said earlier. At a candidate forum later Wednesday evening, Lake called Cheney a “warmonger.” In August, Cheney, an outspoken critic of Trump’s election lies, lost her primary in a landslide after Trump endorsed her opponent. After she voted for his impeachment after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and subsequently served as the top Republican on the House committee investigating the riot and his role in it, she became one of his top targets for political retribution. Speaking to more than 200 people gathered in Tempe, Cheney said she believes “it’s important for us as Republicans to demand from our Republican leaders that they not accept this unraveling of the democracy.” She criticized other fellow Republicans by name for supporting those election-denying candidates, including Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is set to campaign with Lake this month. He “should not come here” to stump for her, she said. She also took issue with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who campaigned with Lake earlier Wednesday. Cruz, she said, “absolutely knows that what he’s advocating is unconstitutional, that what she’s saying is unconstitutional.” “They know it,” she said. “And as Republicans, there have to be consequences. And we have to make sure that people understand that we’re going to vote for those that we can trust and depend on to do the right thing.” This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Read More Here

‘We've Done Nothing Wrong': Trump Addresses FBI Search During Miami Speech https://digitalalaskanews.com/weve-done-nothing-wrong-trump-addresses-fbi-search-during-miami-speech/ Former President Donald Trump was in Miami Wednesday, where he made the keynote address at the Hispanic Leadership Conference. Trump, who spoke at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Miami, extended his condolences to the victims of Hurricane Ian, and then addressed the legal fight over the classified documents seized during an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate. “Let me begin today by expressing my boundless sympathy and love for everyone affected by the horrific devastation of the recent monster hurricane,” he said. “Our hearts ache for everyone whose home was damaged or destroyed.” Trump then shifted his focus to the Mar-a-Lago investigation, lashing out at the DOJ. “They raided and broke into my home. Everyone knows we’ve done nothing wrong,” he said. “They are targeting me because they want to silence me, silence you and silence our amazing ‘Make America Great Again’ movement. There’s never been a movement like this in the history of our country. Not even close.” Trump’s appearance also comes one day after his legal team asked the Supreme Court justices to overturn a lower court ruling and allow the arbiter, called a special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classification markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. Read More Here

Drug Makers Gave $27,000 To Ryan Campaigns https://digitalalaskanews.com/drug-makers-gave-27000-to-ryan-campaigns/ COLUMBUS — Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who has made his opponent’s questionable record fighting the opioid epidemic a central theme of his campaign for U.S. Senate, has accepted campaign donations over the years from drug distributors blamed for key roles in the crisis, an Associated Press review found. The contributions to Ryan from AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health, the three biggest drug distribution companies in the U.S., rolled in between 2007 and August of this year. Earlier this year, the companies finalized a $21 billion settlement with state, local and Native American tribal governments and others over the toll of the opioid crisis. The settlement is the largest over opioid claims and keeps the companies from facing thousands of lawsuits. The trio’s combined giving to Ryan of $27,000 represents a fraction of the campaign contributions he has collected over the years, which include a record $17.6 million in the third quarter of 2022. Still, they are notable as Ryan hammers the spotty record of the anti-opioid nonprofit started by his Republican opponent, “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance. Ryan and Vance are locked in a tight contest for the open Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman. Republicans see the seat as a critical one to hold if they hope to retake the Senate, while a flip to Democrats would be a major victory in the increasingly conservative-leaning state. Luke Schroeder, Vance campaign spokesman, said: “Tim Ryan has spent millions spreading lies about J.D., despite the fact that J.D.’s own mother struggled with addiction for years. All the while, Tim Ryan was taking money from the very companies responsible for the opioid epidemic, and even voted against legislation that would have delivered needed relief. This shameless hypocrisy from Tim Ryan disqualifies him from higher office.” The distributor most generous to Ryan was from Cardinal Health Inc., a multinational health care services company headquartered in his home state. The company’s PAC has given him $21,000 since 2007, including $5,000 this August. McKesson Corp. Employees PAC gave Ryan $5,000 in 2012. Amerisource Bergen Corp. PAC gave him $1,000 in 2019. The opioid crisis was ongoing during all those years. The three companies’ PACs have donated nearly $10.8 million combined to a wide range of candidates across the country since 2007, according to campaign finance figures compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. About $4.5 million of that went to Democrats, and the other roughly $6.2 million went to Republicans. Vance’s campaign has not received any donations from the PACs. Ryan’s early ads called Vance’s “Our Ohio Renewal” a “sham” that “didn’t fund a single addiction program” to fight the crisis, but rather backed efforts that “made it worse.” A second ad featured an August Associated Press article detailing a residency the nonprofit organized for an addiction doctor with links to Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin. Vance has said that he did not know about the addiction doctor’s ties to Purdue Pharma, but that he “remains proud of her work to treat patients, especially those in an area of Ohio who needed it most.” Ryan’s campaign said the congressman had helped bring funding to health care providers and law enforcement officials working to fight opioids and had worked to expand access to treatment for residents with substance abuse issues. “Unlike J.D. Vance, who used his opioid nonprofit to launch his political career and enlist a Purdue Pharma mouthpiece to come to the southern Ohio communities hit hardest by the opioid epidemic, Tim Ryan has a proven record of working across the aisle to combat this epidemic,” campaign spokesperson Izzi Levy said in a statement. During the same years that the now-shuttered Our Ohio Renewal was operating in southern Ohio, Ryan was casting votes in Congress on a host of bills aimed at tackling various elements of the opioid crisis — sometimes for, sometimes against. He voted overwhelmingly in support of such efforts — including co-sponsoring the INTERDICT Act praised by President Donald Trump for allocating $15 million to beef up illegal drug screenings on the southern border. But Ryan also opposed several measures aimed at addressing opioid enforcement and addiction, the AP review found. Those included funding packages aimed at providing medical care to address the problem and legislation intended to crack down on illegal fentanyl trafficking. Levy said the congressman had policy objections to aspects of those bills. Ryan also missed a vote in 2020 on legislation extending the Drug Enforcement Administration’s temporary order listing fentanyl-related substances as Schedule 1 controlled substances. Levy said he was attending a family funeral on that day. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Liz Cheney Says Arizona GOP Candidates Threaten Democracy https://digitalalaskanews.com/liz-cheney-says-arizona-gop-candidates-threaten-democracy/ PHOENIX — Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney on Wednesday said the Republican candidates for Arizona governor and secretary of state pose a huge risk for democracy because both say they will refuse to certify election results if they don’t like the results. Cheney, a prominent critic of former President Donald Trump and one of just 10 U.S. House Republicans who voted to impeach him after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, made the comments at an event organized by the McCain Institute at Arizona State University. Cheney also leveled broadsides as what she said was a growing “Putin wing” of the Republican Party who want America to withdraw from the world stage and refuse to defend freedom in other countries. She has spent a lot of time thinking about Arizona and the upcoming elections here. “In Arizona today you have a candidate for governor in Kari Lake, you have a candidate for Secretary of State in Mark Finchem, both of whom have said — this isn’t a surprise, it’s not a secret — they both said that they will only honor the results of an election if they agree with it,” Cheney told the audience filled with ASU students. She said both looked at Trump’s 2020 loss in Arizona, and both know that it was carried out following state law, and that there were counts, recounts, audits and court challenges that all went against Trump. “They’ve looked at all of that, the law, the facts and the rulings, the courts, and they’ve said it doesn’t matter to them,” Cheney said. “And if you care about democracy, and you care about the survival of our republic, then you need to understand, we all have to understand, that we cannot give people power who have told us that they will not honor elections.” Cheney, who is vice chair of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress and was trounced in Wyoming’s Republican primary as a result of her refusal to back Trump, spoke of what she believes is a wider threat to the nation from a Republican Party that is now fully in Trump’s control. “The first thing that we have to understand is that we’ve never been where we are,” Cheney said. “We’ve never been in a phase, a place where we’re facing this kind of a threat. And that’s because we’re facing a threat from a former president who is attempting to unravel the Republic.” Cheney, daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, spoke of how 30 years ago she worked overseas for the International Republican Institute when former Arizona Sen, John McCain chaired the group’s board. She said she saw firsthand how fragile some of those democracies were. “And I think I knew on some level that even in the United States this was fragile,” she said. “But I certainly didn’t understand just how fragile. I think that’s such an important lesson that we need to take from history.” Cheney, who said her first vote was for Ronald Reagan and is a traditional conservative Republican who favors low taxes and international engagement by the United States, also took shots at Fox News Channel. The issue came up after she was asked by the moderator, McCain Institute Democracy Fellow Sofia Gross, about the meaning of patriotism. Cheney said being a patriot means loving country more than whatever political party someone belongs to. “And that means that you put your love of country above politics, you put it above your political career,” she said. She said McCain stood for that idea that American is a nation based on freedom, and that carries with it an obligation to help defend freedom around the world. “You can’t look at something like what’s happening today with Russia and Ukraine, and say America is neutral in that,” Cheney said. “That’s a frontline in the war of freedom and America must support Ukraine.” She pointed to what she called “a growing Putin wing of the Republican Party,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “And you see news outlets like Fox News, running propaganda,” she said. “You’ve watched it not just on Tucker Carlson’s show, although he is the biggest propagandist for Putin on that network. “And you really have to ask yourself … whose side is Fox on in this battle?” Cheney added. “And how could it be that you have a wing of the Republican Party that thinks that America would be standing with Putin as he conducts that brutal invasion of Ukraine?” Cheney has floated the idea of running for president in 2024, if nothing else than to serve as a foil if the former president runs again. Read More Here

Temporary Bridge Repairs Complete Earlier Than Expected For Florida Island Hit Hard By Ian https://digitalalaskanews.com/temporary-bridge-repairs-complete-earlier-than-expected-for-florida-island-hit-hard-by-ian/ The Hill Harris, Secret Service director concerned over Monday motorcade accident Vice President Harris and the director of the Secret Service have reportedly expressed concerns over an accident on Monday involving the vehicle Harris was traveling in after the agency initially did not disclose details about the minor collision, according to The Washington Post. The motorcade was delayed in transporting Harris to the White House… Bloomberg DOJ Wins Faster Schedule for Mar-a-Lago Special Master Appeal (Bloomberg) — A federal appeals court granted the US Justice Department’s request to expedite its challenge to the appointment of a so-called special master to review thousands of White House documents seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.Most Read from BloombergMusk Revives $44 Billion Twitter Bid, Aiming to Avoid TrialTrump Says US Agency Packed Top-Secret Documents. These Emails Suggest Otherwise.Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner’s Daughter And Country Queen, DiesStocks Take Breather After Fu Ukrayinska Pravda Russian soldiers are surrendering en masse VALENTYNA ROMANENKO – TUESDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2022, 11:46 The Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine says that more than 2,000 Russian soldiers have contacted them over the past few weeks asking for an opportunity to surrender. NASCAR.com NASCAR hits No. 4 Cup team with L2-level penalty for modification of single-source part NASCAR officials issued L2-level penalties Wednesday to the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team for unapproved modification of a single-source part. The infraction, which falls under the heading of Sections 14.1 (vehicle assembly) and 14.5 (body), resulted in a 100-point penalty for both driver Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 SHR team in their respective […] Oxygen ‘I’m The Idiot Husband That Stayed’: Keith Papini Was ‘In Shock’ After Discovering Wife’s 2016 Kidnapping Was A Hoax Keith Papini had been one of his wife’s biggest advocates, but when investigators revealed in 2020 that her kidnapping four years earlier had been an elaborate hoax, the dad of two told investigators he was “in shock.” “I’m the idiot husband that stayed around the whole time,” Keith said in August of 2020 as he sat down to talk with investigators after the stunning revelation, according to interrogation footage included in an episode of ABC’s “20/20,” which aired on Friday. Sherri Papini was sen Read More Here

Judge Rules Downtown Denver Luxury Apartment Breached Contract By Serving Tenants Notices To Vacate https://digitalalaskanews.com/judge-rules-downtown-denver-luxury-apartment-breached-contract-by-serving-tenants-notices-to-vacate/ The Hill Harris, Secret Service director concerned over Monday motorcade accident Vice President Harris and the director of the Secret Service have reportedly expressed concerns over an accident on Monday involving the vehicle Harris was traveling in after the agency initially did not disclose details about the minor collision, according to The Washington Post. The motorcade was delayed in transporting Harris to the White House… Bloomberg DOJ Wins Faster Schedule for Mar-a-Lago Special Master Appeal (Bloomberg) — A federal appeals court granted the US Justice Department’s request to expedite its challenge to the appointment of a so-called special master to review thousands of White House documents seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.Most Read from BloombergMusk Revives $44 Billion Twitter Bid, Aiming to Avoid TrialTrump Says US Agency Packed Top-Secret Documents. These Emails Suggest Otherwise.Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner’s Daughter And Country Queen, DiesStocks Take Breather After Fu Ukrayinska Pravda Russian soldiers are surrendering en masse VALENTYNA ROMANENKO – TUESDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2022, 11:46 The Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine says that more than 2,000 Russian soldiers have contacted them over the past few weeks asking for an opportunity to surrender. NASCAR.com NASCAR hits No. 4 Cup team with L2-level penalty for modification of single-source part NASCAR officials issued L2-level penalties Wednesday to the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team for unapproved modification of a single-source part. The infraction, which falls under the heading of Sections 14.1 (vehicle assembly) and 14.5 (body), resulted in a 100-point penalty for both driver Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 SHR team in their respective […] Oxygen ‘I’m The Idiot Husband That Stayed’: Keith Papini Was ‘In Shock’ After Discovering Wife’s 2016 Kidnapping Was A Hoax Keith Papini had been one of his wife’s biggest advocates, but when investigators revealed in 2020 that her kidnapping four years earlier had been an elaborate hoax, the dad of two told investigators he was “in shock.” “I’m the idiot husband that stayed around the whole time,” Keith said in August of 2020 as he sat down to talk with investigators after the stunning revelation, according to interrogation footage included in an episode of ABC’s “20/20,” which aired on Friday. Sherri Papini was sen Read More Here

Patients And Loved Ones Express Concern As MercyOne Deals With IT Outage https://digitalalaskanews.com/patients-and-loved-ones-express-concern-as-mercyone-deals-with-it-outage/ Parts of MercyOne’s computer system are currently offline.On Monday, MercyOne sent a statement to KCCI, regarding an “IT security incident,” that caused them to take some of their systems offline.”MercyOne Central Iowa continues to use CommonSpirit Health technology as we prepare to integrate into Trinity Health. CommonSpirit is managing an IT security incident, which is impacting some of our facilities. As a precautionary step we have taken certain IT systems offline, which may include electronic health record (EHR) systems and other systems. Our facilities are following existing protocols for system outages and taking steps to minimize the disruption.”On Wednesday, patients and their families at MercyOne Medical Center in West Des Moines say they are watching their caregivers keep paper records.On Wednesday, MercyOne told KCCI they are classifying the incident as an “IT outage”MercyOne shared the following statement:”MercyOne Central Iowa continues to use established downtime procedures due to the IT outage. Care teams are in constant communication with one another and documenting care through paper records. Our team is committed to ensuring safe, quality care for all patients. We continue to work with CommonSpirit around the clock to resolve the IT system downtime that MercyOne Central Iowa is experiencing along with other CommonSpirit locations. We will continue to share updates as we learn more information from CommonSpirit.”KCCI spoke to patients and their families who shared their concerns about the current procedures MercyOne is following.”They said the computers are down. And I thought,’ well, computers go down.’ But then they said they’re down 98 hours and I thought, ‘well, that’s a big deal,” Mollie Topf said.Topf’s mother is in the hospital for treatment of her Parkinson’s disease.”With my mom, she’s elderly, she’s got a history of health issues, and so it’s really important for a care provider to look at the history of health issues and to know what medicine she has reactions to, what medicines are good for her, so when they can’t look at that history in a computer that concerns me,” Topf said. Tierra Mayberry also has concerns. Her sister is being treated for pneumonia at MercyOne West. Mayberry says she knows that doctors and nurses are doing all they can, but she is worried that computer issues might prevent them from seeing her sister’s medical history.”If they can’t get to her charts, how would they know what medications, if there was a medication change, or even getting tests to see what was actually wrong with her?” Mayberry said. “Where was the contingency plan when they decided to go digital?” DES MOINES, Iowa — Parts of MercyOne’s computer system are currently offline. On Monday, MercyOne sent a statement to KCCI, regarding an “IT security incident,” that caused them to take some of their systems offline. “MercyOne Central Iowa continues to use CommonSpirit Health technology as we prepare to integrate into Trinity Health. CommonSpirit is managing an IT security incident, which is impacting some of our facilities. As a precautionary step we have taken certain IT systems offline, which may include electronic health record (EHR) systems and other systems. Our facilities are following existing protocols for system outages and taking steps to minimize the disruption.” On Wednesday, patients and their families at MercyOne Medical Center in West Des Moines say they are watching their caregivers keep paper records. On Wednesday, MercyOne told KCCI they are classifying the incident as an “IT outage” MercyOne shared the following statement: “MercyOne Central Iowa continues to use established downtime procedures due to the IT outage. Care teams are in constant communication with one another and documenting care through paper records. Our team is committed to ensuring safe, quality care for all patients. We continue to work with CommonSpirit around the clock to resolve the IT system downtime that MercyOne Central Iowa is experiencing along with other CommonSpirit locations. We will continue to share updates as we learn more information from CommonSpirit.” KCCI spoke to patients and their families who shared their concerns about the current procedures MercyOne is following. “They said the computers are down. And I thought,’ well, computers go down.’ But then they said they’re down 98 hours and I thought, ‘well, that’s a big deal,” Mollie Topf said. Topf’s mother is in the hospital for treatment of her Parkinson’s disease. “With my mom, she’s elderly, she’s got a history of health issues, and so it’s really important for a care provider to look at the history of health issues and to know what medicine she has reactions to, what medicines are good for her, so when they can’t look at that history in a computer that concerns me,” Topf said. Tierra Mayberry also has concerns. Her sister is being treated for pneumonia at MercyOne West. Mayberry says she knows that doctors and nurses are doing all they can, but she is worried that computer issues might prevent them from seeing her sister’s medical history. “If they can’t get to her charts, how would they know what medications, if there was a medication change, or even getting tests to see what was actually wrong with her?” Mayberry said. “Where was the contingency plan when they decided to go digital?” Read More Here

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Man Sentenced To Fifty Years https://digitalalaskanews.com/man-sentenced-to-fifty-years/ October 5, 2022 (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. # # # Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6379. You just read: Distribution channels: EIN Presswire’s priority is source transparency. We do not allow opaque clients, and our editors try to be careful about weeding out false and misleading content. As a user, if you see something we have missed, please do bring it to our attention. Your help is welcome. EIN Presswire, Everyone’s Internet News Presswire, tries to define some of the boundaries that are reasonable in today’s world. Please see our Editorial Guidelines for more information. Submit your press release Read More Here

North Korea Launches More Missiles As US Redeploys Carrier https://digitalalaskanews.com/north-korea-launches-more-missiles-as-us-redeploys-carrier/ SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Thursday after the United States redeployed an aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula in response to Pyongyang’s previous launch of a nuclear-capable missile over Japan. The latest missile launches suggest North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is determined to continue with weapons tests aimed at boosting his nuclear arsenal in defiance of international sanctions. Many experts say Kim’s goal is to eventually win U.S. recognition as a legitimate nuclear state and the lifting of those sanctions, though the international community has shown no sign of allowing that to happen. The latest missiles were launched 22 minutes apart from the North’s capital region and landed between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The first missile flew 350 kilometers (217 miles) and reached a maximum altitude of 80 kilometers (50 miles) and the second flew 800 kilometers (497 miles) on an apogee of 60 kilometers (37 miles). The flight details were similar to Japanese assessments announced by Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, who confirmed that the missiles didn’t reach Japan’s exclusive economic zone. He added that the second missile was possibly launched on an “irregular” trajectory. It is a term that has been previously used to describe the flight characteristics of a North Korean weapon modeled after Russia’s Iskander missile, which travels at low altitudes and is designed to be maneuverable in flight to improve its chances of evading missile defenses. South Korea’s military said it has boosted its surveillance posture and maintains readiness in close coordination with the United States. The U.S. Indo Pacific Command said the launches didn’t pose an immediate threat to United States or its allies, but still highlighted the “destabilizing impact” of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was expected to hold a telephone call with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over the North Korean threat later Thursday, said the North’s continued launches were “absolutely intolerable.” Yoon’s office said his National Security Director Kim Sung-han discussed the launch at an emergency security meeting where members discussed plans to prepare for further North Korean hostilities, including military provocations. The launches were North Korea’s sixth round of weapons tests in less than two weeks, adding to a record number of missile launches this year that has prompted condemnation from the United States and other countries. South Korean officials the North may up the ante soon by testing an intercontinental ballistic missile or conducting its first nuclear test explosion since 2017 and seventh overall, escalating an old pattern of heightening tensions before trying to wrest outside concessions. On Tuesday, North Korea staged its most provocative weapons demonstration since 2017, firing an intermediate-range missile over Japan, forcing the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains. Experts said the weapon was likely a Hwasong-12 missile capable of reaching the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and beyond. Other weapons tested earlier included Iskander-like missiles and other ballistic weapons designed to strike key targets in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there. Thursday’s launches came as the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan returned to waters east of South Korea in what South Korea’s military called an attempt to demonstrate the allies’ “firm will” to counter North’s continued provocations and threats. The carrier was in the area last week as part of drills between South Korea and the United States and the allies’ other training involving Japan. North Korea considers such U.S.-led drills near the peninsula as an invasion rehearsal and views training involving a U.S. carrier more provocative. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the redeployment of the Reagan strike group poses “a serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity.” The ministry said it strongly condemns U.S.-led efforts at the U.N. Security Council to tighten sanctions on the North over its recent missile testing, which it described as a “just counteraction” to joint U.S.-South Korean drills. After the North’s intermediate-range missile launch, the United States and South Korea also carried out their own live-fire drills that have so far involved land-to-land ballistic missiles and precision-guided bombs dropped from fighter jets. But one of the tit-for-tat launches nearly caused catastrophe early Wednesday when a malfunctioning South Korean Hyumoo-2 missile flipped shortly after liftoff and crashed into the ground at an air force base in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung. South Korea’s military said no one was hurt and civilian facilities weren’t affected. After Tuesday’s North Korean launch, the United States, Britain, France, Albania, Norway and Ireland called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. But the session Wednesday ended with no consensus, underscoring a divide among the council’s permanent members that has deepened over Russia’s war on Ukraine. Russia and China during the meeting insisted to fellow Security Council members that U.S.-led military exercises in the region had provoked North Korea into acting. The United States and its allies expressed concern that the the council’s inability to reach consensus on North Korea’s record number of missile launches this year was emboldening North Korea and undermining the authority of the United Nations’ most powerful body. North Korea has fired nearly 40 ballistic missiles over more than 20 different launch events this year, using the stalled diplomacy with the United States and Russia’s war on Ukraine as a window to speed up arms development. ___ Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report. ___ See more AP Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific Read More Here

Liz Cheney Says Electing Arizona GOP Nominees For Governor And Secretary Of State Could Put Republic At Risk – Local News 8 https://digitalalaskanews.com/liz-cheney-says-electing-arizona-gop-nominees-for-governor-and-secretary-of-state-could-put-republic-at-risk-local-news-8/ By Maeve Reston, CNN Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney told Arizona voters on Wednesday that they will play a critical role in “ensuring the future functioning of our constitutional republic” — warning that election deniers like GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Secretary of State nominee Mark Finchem could put the republic at risk. The three-term GOP congresswoman, who lost to a Donald Trump-backed primary challenger earlier this year, cast the stakes of Arizona’s elections in national terms. “So what happens here in Arizona is not just important for Arizona, but it’s important for the nation and for the future functioning of our constitutional republic,” she said at a McCain Institute event at Arizona State University’s campus in Tempe. Cheney has vowed to do whatever is necessary to prevent candidates who repeat the former President’s lies about the 2020 election from winning in November. She noted on Wednesday that she couldn’t think of an instance where she’d voted for a Democrat, but added that if she lived in Arizona now, “I absolutely would — for governor and for secretary of state,” following up on comments she made at the Texas Tribune Festival last month that she was willing to campaign for Democrats who are running against election deniers. Lake and Finchem have placed Trump’s falsehoods about the 2020 election at the center of their campaigns in Arizona, and the former President is headed to the state — a crucial battleground that he lost in 2020 — to campaign for them on Sunday. Answering a question on Wednesday as to what she thinks about as she sets about her future work to defend democracy, the vice chair of the House select committee probing January 6, 2021, said she spends a lot of time thinking about Arizona. “In Arizona today, you have a candidate for governor in Kari Lake, you have a candidate for secretary of state in Mark Finchem, both of whom have said — this isn’t a surprise, it’s not a secret — they both said that they will only honor the results of an election if they agree with it,” said Cheney. “They’ve looked at all of that — the law, the facts and the rulings of the courts,” she said, referring to the 2020 election, “and they’ve said it doesn’t matter to them.” “If you care about democracy, and you care about the survival of our republic, then you need to understand — we all have to understand — that we cannot give people power who have told us that they will not honor elections,” Cheney continued. Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, said she was not willing to give up on the GOP. “I’m not ready to say we’re going to allow Trump, and those who are at war with democracy, to hijack our party. I’m not ready to give up that fight,” she said. But she called out members of her party on Wednesday, including Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has made plans to campaign with Lake, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who campaigned for her on Wednesday. “Glenn Youngkin should not come here and campaign for Kari Lake,” Cheney said. “Ted Cruz, who absolutely knows better, absolutely knows that what she’s advocating is unconstitutional. … And as Republicans, there have to be consequences. We have to make sure that people understand that we’re going to vote for those that we can trust and depend on to do the right thing and to uphold their oath.” The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Read More Here

OPINION: The Witless Candidacy Of Leora Levy For U.S. Senate https://digitalalaskanews.com/opinion-the-witless-candidacy-of-leora-levy-for-u-s-senate/ Oct. 5—I might have concluded, after listening to Leora Levy, Republican candidate in Connecticut for U.S. Senate, prattling on for a while during a recent local radio interview, that she was just stupid. Really, how else can you explain her unhinged answer to a caller who asked her what she thought about the Mashantucket Pequots using federal Covid relief PPP money to open a casino in Puerto Rico. Who knows where this crazy, untrue idea originated from or how this anonymous radio caller was able to just get on the air and float such a preposterous notion. Yes, the Pequots did open a casino last year in a hotel in Puerto Rico. But there is certainly no evidence, or even an accusation I could find anywhere on the public record, that they improperly used Covid grant money to do it. And yet candidate Levy, incredibly, jumped right in and agreed with the wacky, anonymous caller, saying it was indeed a terrible thing. Then the candidate doubled down on the outrageousness of her response, saying it was especially bad because the tribe doesn’t pay taxes. Is it possible the candidate running for the U.S. Senate from Connecticut doesn’t know that the Mashantucket Pequots are one of the biggest contributors to the state budget? And these were just some of the stupid things I heard from Levy In an interview, on local conservative radio, that could not have featured more lovey-kissy softball questions. I was kind of taken aback that a candidate on the ballot here for U.S. Senate could be so dim witted. And yet Levy does have an Ivy League education, and she was clearly smart enough at one time in her career to make enough money to be a donor/player in national Republican politics. I suppose it’s the candidacy more than the candidate that is so dumb. I mean, really, who could possibly think that an anti-abortion candidate could win a Senate seat in Connecticut in the year Roe v. Wade was overturned? And who thinks a Trump-endorsed candidate could win a statewide election here? Indeed, Levy herself must know how pointless her candidacy is. I guess it is just an exercise in egoism. In that sense it makes her a perfect Trumper. I suppose that’s why she doesn’t really think about or care what she says on the radio. And who needs to learn the issues and prepare for interviews if you know in advance you are never going to win. Just say whatever comes into your head seemed to be the plan for the interview I heard. Levy may be a significant Republican donor, but unlike many of the rich Republicans who have made themselves prominent statewide candidates in Connecticut, Levy is apparently smart enough not to spend too much of her own money on herself. She’s not raising a lot either. There are not so many stupid people out there waiting to contribute to her lost cause. When was the last time that Republicans made such a miserable attempt at winning a Senate seat that there weren’t even any Republican candidate commercials in the weeks before the election? Even Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s television campaign has been light. Why waste the money? The last time we saw a rich Republican woman run against Blumenthal, it was Linda McMahon, who spent many tens of millions of her TV/wrestling dough to try to win. And McMahon ran an aggressive, disciplined campaign. She ran to win. No one would have caught her giving a dim witted answer to a question about the Mashantucket Pequots on the radio. I’m glad for Blumenthal’s cakewalk this year. His smart professionalism and years of dedicated public service, despite great personal wealth, make him my favorite candidate on the ballot this election. And yet the folly of the Levy candidacy troubles me, an oversized symbol of the great dysfunction in our state politics, with too much power concentrated in one party. Leora Levy and her stupid answers in a friendly interview are a very visible sign of the rot in the Republican party here, which can’t even field a viable candidate in a statewide Senate race. This is the opinion of David Collins d.collins@theday.com Read More Here