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Ukraine Pushes Further Into Territory 'annexed' By Moscow; Poorly Trained Russian Conscripts Dying Just Days Into Fighting https://digitalalaskanews.com/ukraine-pushes-further-into-territory-annexed-by-moscow-poorly-trained-russian-conscripts-dying-just-days-into-fighting/ Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the east and south of the country continues to build momentum, with President Zelenskyy announcing last night that there were “new liberated settlements in several regions.” On Monday, Ukrainian forces saw more successes on the battlefield, pushing through Russian defenses in the south of the country, as well as consolidating their hold on territory around Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region, and looking to push further into neighboring Luhansk. President Putin announced Russia was annexing both regions last Friday, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south, but Moscow’s hold on them looks increasingly fragile with none of the regions fully occupied by Russian forces. In his nightly address, the Ukrainian president said “fierce fighting continues in many areas of the front” but said an increasing number of occupying forces were trying to escape and “more and more losses are being inflicted on the enemy army.” Zelenskyy said Russian men who had been mobilized to fight in Ukraine just a few weeks ago were already dying in Ukraine. Ukraine’s upper house greenlights annexation, Putin’s signature will seal it Russian President Vladimir Putin on a screen at Red Square as he addresses a rally and a concert marking the annexation of four regions of Ukraine — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — in central Moscow on Sept. 30, 2022. Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty Images Ukraine’s upper house of parliament has approved laws incorporating four regions of Ukraine that Russia announced it was annexing last week, into the Russian Federation. The move to annex Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk — following sham referendums in the occupied regions on whether to join Russia — was internationally condemned, with Ukraine and its allies calling the votes illegal and illegitimate. Despite the prospect of further sanctions in response to the annexation, Russian lawmakers have plowed ahead with the legal process to annex the territories. The State Duma, or lower house of parliament, yesterday approved the annexation and the upper house, the Federation Council, today unanimously approved legislation ratifying the annexation. It now remains for Russian President Vladimir Putin to put his signature to the documents to complete the formal annexation process. (From left) The Moscow-appointed heads of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo and Zaporizhzhia region Yevgeny Balitsky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin and Luhansk separatist leader Leonid Pasechnik listen to the Russian national anthem after signing treaties formally annexing four regions of Ukraine Russian troops occupy, at the Kremlin in Moscow on Sept. 30, 2022. Mikhail Metzel | AFP | Getty Images It’s still unclear where the boundaries of Russia’s new so-called “territory” are, with none of the regions fully occupied by Russian forces and with Ukrainian troops making advances into Donetsk in the east and Kherson in the south. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the DPR and LPR (so-called “people’s republics in eastern Ukraine) will become a part of the Russian Federation according to their current boundaries but that Russia will consult with the residents of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia over where the borders of those regions are set. When asked whether the parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that are now under control of the Ukrainian army are Russian or Ukrainian territory, Peskov said “I have nothing more to add to what I said right now.” — Holly Ellyatt What’s happening in the war? Here’s the latest assessment by defense analysts Ukraine’s counteroffensive continues in the south in the Kherson region and in the northeast, with Ukrainian forces looking to push further into the Donetsk region and toward Luhansk. Here’s how defense analysts at the Institute for the Study of War assessed Ukraine’s progress late on Monday: Ukrainian forces have made substantial gains around Lyman and in northern Kherson Oblast [a province or region] over the last 24 hours. The Russian units defeated on these fronts were previously considered to be among Russia’s premier conventional fighting forces. Ukrainian forces made advances on the Oskil River-Kreminna line toward the Luhansk Oblast border. Ukrainian forces advanced in northern Kherson Oblast. Ukraine recaptures Lyman, a key logistics hub for Russian forces. Institute for the Study of War Summing up Ukraine’s progress following the recapturing of Lyman (a key logistics hub for Russian forces in the area) on Saturday, analysts at the ISW wrote that the country’s forces “continued to make substantial gains around Lyman and in Kherson Oblast in the last 48 hours.”  “Ukrainian and Russian sources reported that Ukrainian troops made significant breakthroughs in northern Kherson Oblast between October 2 and 3. Geolocated footage corroborates Russian claims that Ukrainian troops are continuing to push east of Lyman and may have broken through the Luhansk Oblast border in the direction of Kreminna.” The ISW noted again that Russian groupings in northern Kherson Oblast and on the Lyman front were largely comprised of units that had been regarded as among Russia’s premier conventional fighting forces before the war but said “their apparent failures to hold territory against major Ukrainian counter-offensive actions is consistent with ISW’s previous assessment that even the most elite Russian military forces are becoming increasingly degraded as the war continues.” — Holly Ellyatt Zelenskyy says there are newly liberated settlements in several regions Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the northeast and south of the country continues to build momentum, with President Zelenskyy announcing last night that there were “new liberated settlements in several regions.” On Monday, Ukrainian forces saw more successes on the battlefield, pushing through Russian defenses in the south of the country, as well as consolidating their hold on territory around Lyman in the northeast Donetsk region, and looking to push further eastward into Luhansk. President Putin announced Russia was annexing both regions last Friday but Moscow’s hold on them looks increasingly fragile. Wreckage of a car marked with a Russian military symbol “Z” at a Russian military base, which Ukrainian forces destroyed by HIMARS during a counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast, on Sept. 26, 2022 in Balakliia, Ukraine. Balakliia was under Russian occupation for half a year. On Sept. 10, Ukraine’s armed forces liberated the city. Global Images Ukraine | Getty Images News | Getty Images In his nightly address, Zelenskyy didn’t name the newly liberated towns but said “fierce fighting continues in many areas of the front” but said an increasing number of occupying forces were trying to escape and “more and more losses are being inflicted on the enemy army.” Zelenskyy said Russian men who had been mobilized to fight in Ukraine just a few weeks ago were already dying in Ukraine. “Among the dead occupiers we can already see those who were taken [brought to fight in Ukraine] just a week or two ago. People were not trained for combat, they have no experience to fight in such a war. But the Russian command just needs some people – any kind – to replace the dead. And when these new ones die, more people will be sent. This is how Russia fights. That’s how it will lose as well,” he said. “No sham referenda, announcements about annexations, conversations about the borders they invented and drew somewhere, will help them,” he added, referring to a set of fake referendums in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine that led to Moscow announcing their annexation last week, a move branded as illegitimate and illegal by Ukraine and its allies. — Holly Ellyatt Elon Musk is publicly rebuked by Zelenskyy over his Twitter poll SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk takes part in a joint news conference with T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert (not pictured) at the SpaceX Starbase, in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., August 25, 2022. Adrees Latif | Reuters American tech billionaire Elon Musk drew public ire from Ukraine’s top officials after the Tesla CEO posted a Twitter poll asking the public to agree or disagree with what he claimed is the most likely outcome of Russia’s invasion. “F– off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, wrote in response to Musk’s tweet. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy responded with a Twitter poll of his own. “Which Elon Musk do you like more,” Zelenskyy asked. “The one who supports Ukraine” or “The one who supports Russia.” What Musk calls a “highly likely” outcome presumes that Russia accomplishes several of its major goals, including permanently annexing Crimea, using referendums to determine the fates of 4 other attempted annexations, and prohibiting Ukraine from joining NATO. For Ukrainians, these outcomes would never, ever be acceptable. — Christina Wilkie Photos show destroyed Russian armored vehicles left behind in Izium, Kharkiv Ukrainian forces transport Russian vehicles and missile launch pads left behind by the Russian forces in Izium, Kharkiv, Ukraine on October 02, 2022. Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Over the weekend Ukrainian forces seized the strategic city of Lyman and continued a stunning counteroffensive in the northeast of the country. The following photos show destroyed Russian armored vehicles and tanks left behind as Ukrainian forces battle for Izium, Kharkiv and continue to push east through Russian lines. Destroyed Russian armored vehicles left behind by the Russian forces in Izium, Kharkiv, Ukrai...

Herschel Walker Denies Report That He Paid For Girlfriend’s Abortion https://digitalalaskanews.com/herschel-walker-denies-report-that-he-paid-for-girlfriends-abortion/ Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Georgia, on Monday denied a claim that he paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in 2009, saying in a televised interview on Fox News Channel that the account published in the Daily Beast is a “flat-out lie.” Walker’s denial came after the Daily Beast published a detailed description from an unnamed former girlfriend who said that Walker encouraged her to have an abortion after she became pregnant while they were dating, wrote her a $700 check to pay for the procedure and then sent her a subsequent “get well” card. When asked by Fox News’s Sean Hannity about the reported $700 check, Walker, who has voiced opposition to abortion rights, said he frequently gives money to others. “I send money to a lot of people,” Walker said. “I believe in being generous.” The Washington Post has not independently verified the reporting in the Daily Beast. Walker did not respond to a text message from The Post seeking comment. The Republican Senate candidate issued a written statement posted on Twitter referencing the Daily Beast story. “I deny this in the strongest possible terms,” he said. In that statement, Walker also said he planned to “sue the Daily Beast.” Walker is challenging Democratic Sen. Raphael G. Warnock in one of the most closely watched Senate contests of the year. The outcome of race, which polls show is competitive, is expected to help determine which party controls the Senate for the next two years. Shortly after the Daily Beast story published, one of Walker’s children turned to social media to criticize his father, accusing Walker of lying and saying that the former football star threatened him and his mother with violence that forced them to move multiple times. “I know my mom and I would really appreciate if my father Herschel Walker stopped lying and making a mockery of us,” wrote Christian Walker. Christian Walker has offered support for his father in the past, tweeting a video last December in which he hugged his father. “Had the honor of introducing my dad, @HerschelWalker, last night at Mar a Lago,” Christian Walker wrote. The younger Walker has also used his Twitter account to promote conservative ideas. On Monday evening, Christian Walker alleged that his father “threatened to kill us” and caused him and his mother to move six times in six months “running from your violence.” Christian Walker’s mother, Cindy Grossman, was married to Herschel Walker for nearly two decades and has recounted violent episodes in the past. Speaking to CNN, she detailed a time when he “held the gun to my temple and said he was gonna blow my brains out.” Walker has faced criticism for false claims, as well as allegations of stalking and violent threats. He has said that he has battled dissociative identity disorder throughout his life. Christian Walker also said that other family members discouraged his father from running for office “because we all knew (some of) his past.” “He decided to give us the middle finger and air out all of his dirty laundry in public, while simultaneously lying about it. I’m done,” Christian Walker wrote. He did not immediately respond to an email or direct message seeking additional comment. Asked for comment on Christian Walker’s postings, the Herschel Walker campaign pointed to a tweet from the candidate. “I LOVE my son no matter what,” Herschel Walker wrote on Twitter shortly after his son’s messages posted. Walker, 60, one of the most well-known figures in Georgia football history, won the Republican primary by a wide margin in May. He ran with former president Donald Trump’s endorsement and the name recognition of a national championship-winning Heisman Trophy winner. Read More Here

Clinically Relevant Germline Variants In Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients – Bone Marrow Transplantation https://digitalalaskanews.com/clinically-relevant-germline-variants-in-allogeneic-hematopoietic-stem-cell-transplant-recipients-bone-marrow-transplantation/ Abstract Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) provides patients with severe hematologic disease a well-established potential for curation. Incorporation of germline analyses in the workup of HSCT patients is not a common practice. Recognizing rare harmful germline variants may however affect patients’ pre-transplantation care, choice of the stem cell donor, and complication risks. We analyzed a population-based series of germline exome data of 432 patients who had undergone HSCT. Our aim was to identify clinically relevant variants that may challenge the outcome of the HSCT. We focused on genes predisposing to hematological diseases, or solid tumors, and genes included in the American College of Medical Genetics secondary findings list v3.0. As population-specific controls, we used GnomAD non-cancer Finns (n = 10,816). We identified in our population-based analysis rare harmful germline variants in disease-predisposing or actionable toxicity-increasing genes in 17.8% of adult and pediatric patients that have undergone HSCT (15.1% and 22.9%, respectively). More than half of the patients with a family member as a donor had not received genetic diagnosis prior to the HSCT. Our results encourage clinicians to incorporate germline genetic testing in the HSCT protocol in the future in order to reach optimal long-term outcome for the patients. Introduction Despite recent progress in cellular and genetic therapy modalities for blood diseases, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains the major curative treatment for high-risk hematological malignancies, inborn errors of immunity, and hypoplastic bone marrow syndromes. The HSCT protocol has been optimized for decades. Still today, new aspects arise and precision medicine, including germline genetics, will likely produce novel cues. Recognizing germline defects may require modified pre-transplant strategies: it affects the selection of the donor and determines the appropriate conditioning [1]. This practice is well-acknowledged in the treatment of inherited bone marrow failure (BMF) syndromes, like Fanconi anemia and short telomere disorders [2, 3]. However, the increasing amount of information on the role of germline defects in hematological diseases challenges us to think more broadly [4, 5]. Allogeneic HSCT itself predisposes patients to secondary tumors. Furthermore, certain germline-derived BMFs demonstrate high risk for subsequent malignancy or organ dysfunction after HSCT [6,7,8]. We are witnessing remarkable improvement in the primary therapy results of hematological diseases. Particularly in young adults and pediatric patients, we need to address the long-term effects and complications of therapy where germline genetics will have a role. We analyzed a population-based set of germline exome data of 432 adult and pediatric hematologic patients that have undergone allogeneic HSCT in 1999-2020. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of clinically relevant, rare pathogenic (P) and likely pathogenic (LP), germline variants in genes predisposing an individual to hematological malignancies, solid tumors, and other comorbidities potentially hampering the success of HSCT. Materials and methods Patients In Finland, HSCTs are centralized in Helsinki University Hospital (HUH; adult and pediatric patients) and Turku University Hospital (TUH; adults). We analyzed whole exome sequencing (WES) data in three patient cohorts: 141 adult patients from HUH and TUH (Adult cohort 1, patients D001–D141), 138 adult patients from the Finnish Bone Marrow Transplantation Registry (BMTR) (Adult cohort 2, patients V001–V138), and 153 pediatric patients from HUH (Pediatric cohort, patients C001–C153). Study patients’ clinical information was gathered from medical records and the Finnish Hematological Registry (adults). The patient characteristics are summarized in Table 1 and Supplementary Table 1. The study was approved by the Ethics Committees of HUH and TUH, and the Finnish National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) (#206/13/03/03/2016, #303/13/03/01/2011; HUS/114/2018, HUS/284/2019, and V/3235/2019). Samples and data were collected either after written informed consent (living individuals), or authorization by the ethics committee (deceased patients). Adult cohort 1 The adult cohort 1 included patients with allogeneic HSCT performed in 1999–2019 (1999–2011 n = 16; 2012–2019 n = 125) in HUH (n = 134) or TUH (n = 7). Patients were 17–70 years of age (mean 45.8 years, median 48.2 years) at the time of HSCT (Table 1). DNA for exome sequencing was extracted from skin biopsies (n = 138), bone marrow (n = 2; D058 and D092) or peripheral blood (n = 1; D024). Samples were originally collected as germline controls for somatic (bone marrow or peripheral blood) exome analysis for academic research purposes [9, 10] or retrieved from the Finnish Hematological Registry and Biobank. Exome sequencing and bioinformatics have been described earlier [11]. Adult cohort 2 The adult cohort 2 consisted of adult patients from the Finnish BMTR originally described in Ritari et al. [12]. These data collection consisted of patients that had undergone HSCT from an HLA-matched sibling donor between years 2002 and 2016 in Finland (HUH, n = 47; TUH n = 91). Exome sequencing data were available for 163 patients. We excluded three subjects already included in the adult cohort 1, five pediatric patients, and 17 adult patients with solid cancer as the indication for HSCT. Patients were between 16 and 69 years of age (mean 49.1 years, median 52.0 years) at the time of HSCT (Table 1). DNA for exome sequencing was extracted from blood samples originally collected or HLA typing before transplantation. The exome sequencing and bioinformatics are described in detail in Morin et al. [13]. This adult cohort 2 is a population-based series of allogeneic transplant recipients and matches the adult cohort 1 for age, gender, and diagnosis (p = 0.072, p = 0.86, p = 0.071, respectively: Mann-Whitney test) (Table 1). Pediatric cohort To compare frequencies of germline variants among the adult transplant recipients, we also analyzed a data set comprising all children who had undergone HSCT in Finland 2001–2020 (n = 352) and for whom exome data (performed for academic research purposes) was available (n = 153, 43.5%). DNA for exome sequencing was extracted from blood samples collected for HLA typing before transplantation. The sample preparation and exome sequencing have been previously described [11]. Pediatric patients were 0–18 years of age (mean 8.7 years, median 8.2 years) at the time of HSCT. The major indication for HSCT was acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but the set also included some other rare malignant and non-malignant diseases (Table 1 and Supplementary Table 1). We compared clinical characteristics of the patients with and without exome data: Age, gender, and diagnosis distribution of the patients did not differ between these patient series (data not shown), and the pediatric cohort represents population-based pediatric material. Genes included in the analyses We used three gene lists to study clinically relevant rare germline variants in our study patients. First, we gathered a list of 189 genes predisposing to hematological malignancies, cytopenia syndromes, and inborn errors of immunity (Hematology Panel, Supplementary Table 2). Second, we formatted a list of 114 genes predisposing patients to solid cancers (Oncology Panel, Supplementary Table 2). Third, we used a list of 73 clinically actionable genes that the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) has compiled (ACMG SF 3.0 Panel, Supplementary Table 2) [14]. The genes in each panel shared features, e.g. risk of graft failure or increased risk of secondary malignancy, and were thus analyzed together. Deleterious variants in the ACMG SF 3.0 Panel genes are known to cause disorders that have clinical guidelines for intervention. Variant analyses We analyzed the variants utilizing next-generation sequencing data with BasePlayer (1.0.2) [15]. We validated the findings visually with BasePlayer and the somatic exomes were utilized to validate the findings in the adult cohort 1. We used GnomAD non-cancer whole database and GnomAD non-cancer Finns (n = 10,816) as population-specific controls (version 2.1) [16, 17]. Variants with a minor allele frequency higher than 0.05 were not considered. To filter out poor-quality variants we used a 1000 genomes mappability pilot mask track [18] and quality measures of genotype quality ≥ 20, QUAL ≥ 20, coverage  6 reads, and allelic fraction ≥ 30%. We classified the variants as benign, likely benign, variant of uncertain significance, LP, and P according to the ACMG guidelines [19] using two different variant classification tools: Varsome [20] (ACMG classification, version 10.1.1–10.2.3) and Intervar [21] (version 2.0.2). In addition, ClinVar interpretations [22] (version 2016-03-02) annotated by Intervar were utilized to assess the pathogenicity of the variants. The blood samples (adult cohort 2 and pediatric cohort) for HLA typing and exome sequencing were obtained at different phases of the disease. We filtered somatic mutations by considering the variant allele frequency (VAF), characteristics of the variant, and features of the patient’s disease (blast count in acute leukemias). Some variants with VAF  0.5 were classified as heterozygous after considering the variant type, sequencing depth, sample type, and patient’s disease status. When the evaluation was ambiguous, the variant was conservatively classified as heterozygous to avoid overestimation...

European Markets Climb As Global Markets Rally; Stoxx 600 Up 1.6% https://digitalalaskanews.com/european-markets-climb-as-global-markets-rally-stoxx-600-up-1-6/ European stocks advanced on Tuesday, building on gains seen in yesterday’s trading session. The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.6% in early trade, with travel and leisure stocks adding 2.9% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses entered positive territory. The higher open in Europe comes after a rebound on Wall Street Monday. U.S. markets rallied to start the new month and quarter on a positive note, as Treasury yields eased from levels not seen in roughly a decade. It was the best day since June 24 for the Dow, and the S&P 500′s the best day since July 27. U.S. stock futures rose overnight, while Asia-Pacific shares also traded higher on Tuesday, bolstered by the rally on Wall Street. Stocks on the move: Greggs, Accelleron up 5% Shares of British bakery chain Greggs gained 5.6% in early trade after reporting a rise in quarterly sales despite the deepening cost of living crisis and plummeting consumer confidence in the U.K. Accelleron shares added 5% as investors picked up the stock at a discount following the former ABB turbocharging unit’s weak market debut on Monday. – Elliot Smith CNBC Pro: Want a ‘defensive move’ with up to 5% return? Buy this fund, says strategist It’s been a volatile year for both stocks and bonds, with major Wall Street indexes just ending their worst month since March 2020, and Treasury yields remaining elevated. However David Dietze, chief investment strategist at Point View Wealth Management, says “pockets of opportunity” still exist. “Short-term defensive measures probably are warranted,” Dietze told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Monday, and named his favorite fund to play the market right now. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Weizhen Tan Watch fourth quarter earnings guidance more than third quarter actual numbers, S&P Global says Fourth quarter earnings forecasts companies give when reporting third quarter results will be far more important to the market’s future direction than the actual third quarter numbers themselves, S&P Global believes. “October brings earnings, with Q3 estimates already declining 7%, and the whisper numbers a bit more than that,” Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst wrote over the weekend. “The larger concern (than the actual numbers for Q3, when consumers were still spending) is the guidance for Q4, as consumers have pulled back, inflation continues and the Fed’s `adjustments’ will have a more substantial impact.” Third quarter earnings for the S&P 500 are projected by analysts to grow 6.1% compared with the same quarter a year ago, and almost 18% over the second quarter of 2022, S&P Global said. Next year’s estimates call for a 14.3% earnings growth over 2022, and a corresponding forward P/E ratio of 15.0. Silverblatt also looked at typical performance for the S&P 500 in the month of October. “Historically, the index posts gains 57.4% of the time, with an average gain of 4.18% for the up months, a 4.67% average decrease for the down months and an overall average decrease of 0.46%,” he wrote. — Scott Schnipper CNBC Pro: Here’s what’s next for stocks, according to Wall Street pros September is finally behind us, much to the relief of many equity investors who endured a difficult month, with all major U.S. indexes posted steep losses. With a historically weak month now firmly in the rearview mirror, what is the outlook for stocks as we enter into the fourth quarter of the year? CNBC Pro combed through the research to find out what Wall Street thinks. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Zavier Ong Wed, Aug 17 202212:29 AM EDT European markets: Here are the opening calls European stocks are heading for a higher open on Tuesday, building on gains seen in yesterday’s trading session. The U.K.’s FTSE index is expected to open 30 points higher at 6,934, Germany’s DAX 126 points higher at 12,324, France’s CAC 40 up 58 points at 5,850 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 245 points higher at 21,043, according to data from IG. The higher open expected in Europe comes after a rebound on Wall Street Monday. There, stocks rallied to start the new month and quarter on a positive note, as Treasury yields eased from levels not seen in roughly a decade. It was the best day since June 24 for the Dow, and the S&P 500′s the best day since July 27. Earnings come from Greggs on Tuesday and euro zone producer prices data for August is released. — Holly Ellyatt Read More Here

Donald Trump Files £419 Million Lawsuit Against CNN For Alleged Defamation https://digitalalaskanews.com/donald-trump-files-419-million-lawsuit-against-cnn-for-alleged-defamation/ By Upday StaffOctober 4, 2022, 08:10 AM GMT+1 Read More Here

Trump Rallies Drift To Fringe Ahead Of Potential 2024 Bid – Associated Press | Prescott ENews https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-rallies-drift-to-fringe-ahead-of-potential-2024-bid-associated-press-prescott-enews/ Paige Cole is one of the “Anons.” The mother of three from Eastpointe, Michigan, says Joe Biden is a sham president and believes Donald Trump will soon be reinstated to the White House to finish the remainder of Biden’s term. “His whole inauguration was fake. He didn’t have real military people. He had, like, fake badges, fake people. And Trump is actually our president,” she said while waiting in line for his latest rally on Saturday at Macomb Community College. Wearing a pink “Trump 2024” hat and draped in a large “TRUMP WON” flag, Cole — a former Democrat who says she voted twice for Barack Obama — began to cry as she described the significance of Trump’s return and the 1,000 years of peace she believes will be ushered in with it. “It’s gonna change everything,” she says, “like we have never in humanity seen before.” Trump’s rallies have always attracted a broad swath of supporters, from first timers taking advantage of their chance to see a president in person, to devotees who camp out for days and follow him around the country like rock band groupies. But after spending much of the last two years obsessively peddling false claims of a stolen election, Trump is increasingly attracting those who have broken with reality, including adherents of the baseless QAnon conspiracy, which began in the dark corners of the internet and is premised on the belief that the country is run by a ring of child sex traffickers, satanic pedophiles and cannibals that only Trump can defeat. As he eyes another White House bid, Trump is increasingly flirting with the conspiracy. He’s reposted Q memes on his social media platform and amplified users who have promoted the movement’s slogans, videos and imagery. And in recent weeks, he has been closing out his rally speeches with an instrumental song that QAnon adherents have claimed as their anthem and renamed “WWG1WGA” after the group’s “Where we go one, we go all” slogan. Trump and his allies often dismiss suggestions that he advances conspiracy theories or condones violence. “The continued attempts by the media to invent and amplify conspiracies, while also fanning the flames of division, is truly sick,” his spokesperson, Taylor Budowich, said in a statement. “America is a nation in decline and our people are suffering, President Trump and his America First movement will not be distracted by the media’s nonsense, and he will instead continue fighting to Make America Great Again.” But interviews with more than a dozen Michigan rallygoers Saturday underscore his influence and serve as a reminder that many cling to his every word and see his actions as validation. Several of those interviewed said they only began attending Trump’s rallies after the 2020 election, when they said they had become more politically engaged. Several, like Virginia Greenlee, of Holland, Michigan, said they had been in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, trying to halt the peaceful transition of power by disrupting the certification of Biden’s win. “President Trump really woke people up because I didn’t even know there was a deep state or fake media, fake news, until he started bringing light,” said Greenlee, who said she did not go inside the building but watched from outside. She blamed the violence on leftist protesters masquerading as Trump supporters, though there is no evidence to support that claim. Meanwhile, Trump continues to elevate those who peddle conspiracies. Mike Lindell, the MyPillow salesman who has spent millions trying (and failing) to prove the election was stolen, spoke twice Saturday — once outside to attendees waiting in line to enter and again during the rally program. Also in attendance was Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right Georgia congresswoman who told the crowd that “Democrats want Republicans dead. And they’ve already started the killings.” Trump has long used angry and violent rhetoric to rile up his supporters, even after Jan. 6 made clear that some may act on that anger. As he inches closer to a possible announcement, Trump has leaned into the kind of racist and violent language that helped him clinch victory in 2016, when his ever-more-shocking statements — and the inevitable backlash — helped him dominate the news. On Friday, he again attacked Mitch McConnell, this time in a racist post on his social media site that accused the Senate Republican leader of having a “death wish” and derided McConnell’s wife, who was born in Taiwan and served in Trump’s administration as a Cabinet secretary. On Saturday, the crowd cheered enthusiastically as Trump touted plans to use the death penalty to kill drug dealers and traffickers if he returns to the White House, emulating the strongman leaders he’s often admired. And again, he empathized with the Jan. 6 defendants who have been jailed for their role in the insurrection, casting the rioters — whom he has already pledged to pardon if he runs and wins — as “political prisoners” and accusing authorities of “persecuting people who just happened to be there, many of them didn’t even go in.” The crowd in turn, broke into numerous “Lock her up!” chants directed at Trump’s 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as well as the state’s Democratic governor, secretary of state and attorney general, whom his endorsed candidates are trying to unseat. Still, Trump aides seem to want to have it both ways. As he began to wrap up his speech, some in the crowd raised their index fingers in what has been described as a QAnon salute. But for the second week in a row, burly event staff with tattoos carefully scanned the crowd, quickly asking those who raised their fingers to put them down. “They said they didn’t want hands in the air,” one of them explained he’d been told. Still, Trump’s nods to QAnon are encouraging to people like Cole, who said Trump had opened her eyes “to everything, to the evil in the world.” A 55-year-old semi-retired certified nursing assistant who relies on a bevy of fringe podcasts for information since eschewing cable news, Cole believes “our money’s no good because it was controlled by the Rothschilds,” an anti-Semitic trope, and that the Supreme Court has “already overturned” the 2020 election, but “they’re just sitting on it and they’re waiting for things to come about.” “We have to listen to underground news to get the truth of what’s going on, really,” she said. Trump’s decision to play the song, she said after the rally, shows the American people “and all those affiliated and committed in with the WWG1WGA bond and mission, that President Trump, too, is doing his best to help all involved to eradicate worldwide evil and helping to make the world better for all. It brings me strength in my mind to hold onto the hope and promises for a better life for all.” But some in the crowd voiced discomfort. Christina Whipkey, 50, who lives in Warren, Michigan, said she found Trump’s flirtations with QAnon “kind of weird” and “odd” and worried their presence at his rallies was playing into negative stereotypes. “I didn’t like that,” she said. “It’s telling people what they said about us all along, that we’re all just a bunch of QAnon supporters.” “You don’t want people to think just because you support him that you’re that far into it, that you’re one of those people,” she went on. “You don’t want people to think that about you.” A longtime Trump supporter who remembers talking about him running for president while playing his board game in high school, Whipkey also said she thinks it’s time for Trump to move on from the 2020 election, even if she has concerns about the vote. “I just wish he’d let that go now. Focus more on the future than on the past,” she said, worried he was turning off potential voters. “They’re tired of hearing it … You get to a point where it’s like, ‘All right, buddy. We heard it enough. We got it. We know.’” Laurie Letzgus, 51, a machine operator from Port Huron, Michigan, and another longtime supporter, agreed. “It is time to move on, I think,” she said. “Let’s look forward. And let’s look to 2024.” But Sharon Anderson, a member of the “Front Row Joes” group that travels the country to see Trump and who was attending her 29th rally Saturday, including the one held Jan. 6, disagreed. While she doesn’t “put a lot of faith in some of their beliefs,” she took no issue with QAnon’s growing presence at the rallies. “There’s a lot of people, a big group that comes to his rallies. And they are for him, too. They’re for his policies. Now whether they are trying to push their beliefs, I don’t know,” said Anderson, who lives in East Tennessee. “But I do know that everybody here that I’ve encountered supports Donald J. Trump. That’s what matters.” Read More Here

Oath Keepers Trial: Jan. 6 Was ‘rebellion,’ Prosecutor Says https://digitalalaskanews.com/oath-keepers-trial-jan-6-was-rebellion-prosecutor-says/ WASHINGTON (AP) — The founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates planned an “armed rebellion” to keep President Donald Trump in power, a federal prosecutor contended Monday as the most serious case yet went to trial in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Stewart Rhodes and his band of extremists were prepared to go to war to stop Joe Biden from becoming president, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told jurors. The group celebrated the Capitol attack as a victory in that fight and continued their plot even after Biden’s electoral victory was certified, Nestler alleged. “Their goal was to stop, by whatever means necessary, the lawful transfer of presidential power, including by taking up arms against the United States government,” the prosecutor said during his opening statement. “They concocted a plan for armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy.” The five defendants are the first Jan. 6 defendants to stand trial on the charge of seditious conspiracy, a rare Civil War-era charge that calls for up to 20 years behind bars. The stakes are high for the Justice Department, which last secured a seditious conspiracy conviction at trial nearly 30 years ago, and intends to try two more groups on the charge later this year. Defense attorneys accused prosecutors of cherry-picking evidence from messages and videos and said the government has no evidence there ever was any plan to attack the Capitol. Rhodes’ attorney said his client will take the stand and show that the Oath Keepers had merely been preparing for orders they expected from Trump but never came. “Stewart Rhodes meant no harm to the Capitol that day. Stewart Rhodes did not have any violent intent that day,” Rhodes’ attorney, Phillip Linder, said. “The story the government is trying to tell you today is completely wrong.” On trial with Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, are Kelly Meggs, leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers; Kenneth Harrelson, another Florida Oath Keeper; Thomas Caldwell, a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer from Virginia, and Jessica Watkins, who led an Ohio militia group. They face several other charges as well. They are among roughly 900 people who have been charged in the attack, which temporarily halted the certification of Biden’s electoral victory, sent lawmakers running for cover and left dozens of police officers injured. In the Oath Keepers case, prosecutors will try to prove that their actions were not a spontaneous outpouring of election-fueled rage but part of a detailed, drawn-out plot to stop Biden from entering the White House. The Oath Keepers “were prepared in November, they were prepared in December and when the opportunity finally presented itself on Jan 6, 2021, they sprang into action,” Nestler said. Rhodes began plotting to overturn Biden’s victory right after the election, Nestler said. In November 2020, Rhodes sent his followers a step-by-step plan for stopping the transfer of power based on a popular uprising that brought down Yugoslavia’s president two decades earlier. As December approached, Rhodes’ rhetoric became increasingly violent and desperate, Nestler said. In messages and comments read to the jury, the Oath Keepers repeatedly warned of violence if Biden were to become president. During a December interview, Rhodes called senators “traitors” and warned that the Oath Keepers would have to “overthrow, abort or abolish Congress.” He described Jan. 6 as a “hard constitutional deadline” for stopping the transfer of power. The Oath Keepers organized training, including one session on “unconventional warfare.” Before coming to Washington, they set up “quick reaction force” teams with “weapons of war” stashed at a Virginia hotel so they could get them into the capital quickly if necessary, the prosecutor said. As Oath Keepers stormed the Capitol in helmets and other battle gear, Rhodes remained on the outside, like “a general surveying his troops on a battlefield,” Nestler said. After the attack, the elated Oath Keepers went to a Virginia restaurant to celebrate their victory, the prosecutor said. They planned to continue “that war,” but “thankfully their plans were foiled,” Nestler said. In the days between the riot and Biden’s inauguration, Rhodes spent more than $17,000 on firearm parts, ammunition and other items, prosecutors say. About a week after the insurrection, Rhodes was secretly recorded saying that his “only regret is that they should have brought rifles,” Nestler said. Prosecutors showed jurors a slew of videos, including showing Meggs, Harrelson and others firing AR-15 style rifles at targets at a range. Meggs sent the video, set to rock music, to a group on Jan. 5 and declared: “We are ready!” the prosecutor said. Among those expected to testify during the trial, which will last several weeks, are three Oath Keepers who have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and are cooperating with prosecutors in hopes of getting lighter sentences. They include a man who says that after arriving in Washington, Meggs told him that another Florida Oath Keeper had brought explosives in his RV. The government’s first witness was a FBI agent, who responded on Jan. 6 to help rescue senators. He described lawmakers crying, broken doors and windows and a scene that “looked like a bomb had gone off.” Defense lawyers say prosecutors have ripped the Oath Keepers’ messages out of context to paint them unfairly. The Oath Keepers came to Washington to provide security at events for figures such as Trump ally Roger Stone before the president’s big outdoor rally behind the White House, defense lawyers said. Rhodes’ attorney described the group as a “peacekeeping” force and called his client an “extremely patriotic” man who “loves this country.” Rhodes’ attorneys plan to argue that Rhodes believed Trump was going to going to invoke the Insurrection Act and call up a militia, which Rhodes had been calling on him to do to stop Biden from becoming president. Rhodes’ lawyers have said he was merely lobbying the president to invoke a U.S. law. Prosecutors say it’s clear the Oath Keepers were going to act regardless of what Trump did. Nestler told jurors that Rhodes, a Yale Law School graduate, was only using the Insurrection Act as “legal cover.” In one message, Rhodes wrote in December 2020 that Trump “needs to know that if he fails to act, then we will.” An attorney for Caldwell said his client is a disabled veteran who didn’t even know of the Oath Keepers until November 2020. The defense lawyer, David Fischer, called Jan. 6 a “black eye” for the country, but said Caldwell merely came to Washington “on a date with his wife” and wasn’t planning to go to the Capitol until Trump’s speech on the Ellipse before the riot. “Mr. Caldwell couldn’t storm his way out of a paper bag,” Fischer said. “I came here to clear his name.” Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

George Conway Says Trump's Piling Legal Issues Have Turned Him Into A 'cornered Animal' That Will Eventually Turn On The GOP https://digitalalaskanews.com/george-conway-says-trumps-piling-legal-issues-have-turned-him-into-a-cornered-animal-that-will-eventually-turn-on-the-gop/ George Conway weighed in on Trump’s brimming docket of legal issues. He predicted that Trump would eventually be convicted, but would also cause “real pain” to the US. “The party is finally going to realize that Trump will take them down with him,” Conway said. Loading Something is loading. George Conway, a prominent lawyer and vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, likened Trump to a “cornered animal” in a Salon interview published Monday. Conway told Salon he thinks Trump is embracing the QAnon movement because the former president is finally “facing real consequences for his actions.” “Trump is basically a cornered animal. He’s got all these legal proceedings bearing down on him. In addition, he is losing his touch and his connection to his public, because his act has become very tiresome,” Conway said. He added that, in his opinion, Trump’s support from QAnon is “narcissistic fuel” for a man who is in “a downward psychological, emotional and physical spiral.” Weighing in on Trump’s brimming docket of legal problems, Conway echoed comments he made in August that the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago probe into whether Trump mishandled top-secret documents would be “the “shortest distance” between the former president and prison. Conway said Trump would likely “threaten violence” if he were ever tried in court and predicted that Trump would hurt the GOP on his way out. “The party is finally going to realize that Trump will take them down with him,” Conway told Salon. “It is going to be very ugly all around.” Since the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago on August 8, Conway has commented on multiple occasions about the legal jeopardy he thinks Trump is in. Days after the raid, Conway said he thought Trump was “in very substantial legal jeopardy.” And in September, Conway commented during a podcast that he thought “any fair jury” would convict Trump for mishandling top-secret documents. Conway is married to Kellyanne Conway, a former senior counselor to Trump. He gained a large social-media following as an anti-Trump pundit, a position that stands in sharp contrast to his wife’s support of Trump. Earlier this summer, Kellyanne Conway said on CNN that there has been “a lot of hurt” in her marriage, stemming from her husband’s position as a Trump opponent. A representative at Trump’s post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. Read More Here

Former US President Donald Trump Files 475 Million USD Defamation Suit Against CNN https://digitalalaskanews.com/former-us-president-donald-trump-files-475-million-usd-defamation-suit-against-cnn/ On Monday, former US President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN, asking for 475 million dollars in compensatory damages. Trump said in his lawsuit that CNN was waging a “libel and slander” campaign against him out of “fear” that he would run for the office of President again in 2024. The complaint cites multiple instances in which CNN seemed to equate Trump to Hitler, including a special program by Fareed Zakaria in January 2022 that featured a video of the German tyrant. — ANI Digital (@ani_digital) October 4, 2022 “As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the left, CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler,’” the lawsuit mentions. “CNN has sought to use its massive influence, purportedly as a ‘trusted’ news source — to defame the plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically,” it further adds. Former president Donald Trump is currently the subject of a criminal investigation by the US Justice Department for keeping government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving office in January 2021. Trump communicated in a statement on Monday that similar cases might be launched against other media organizations. “In the coming weeks and months we will also be filing lawsuits against a large number of other Fake News Media Companies for their lies, defamation, and wrongdoing, including as it pertains to ‘The Big Lie,’ that they used so often in reference to their disinformation attack on Presidential Election of 2020,” Trump said. He also stated that he may take ‘appropriate action’ against the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill. According to sources, at a meeting more than three months ago, new CNN CEO Chris Licht discreetly encouraged his news staff to desist from using such remarks against Trump because it is too similar to Democratic efforts to brand the former president. Whether NDTV or ‘The Wire’, they never have to worry about funds. In name of saving democracy, they get money from various sources. We need your support to fight them. Please contribute whatever you can afford Read More Here

George Conway Says Trump's Piling Legal Issues Have Turned Him Into A 'cornered Animal' That Will Eventually Turn On The GOP https://digitalalaskanews.com/george-conway-says-trumps-piling-legal-issues-have-turned-him-into-a-cornered-animal-that-will-eventually-turn-on-the-gop-2/ George Conway weighed in on Trump’s brimming docket of legal issues. He predicted that Trump would eventually be convicted, but would also cause”real pain” to the US.”The party is finally going to realize that Trump will take them down with him,” Conway said. George Conway, a prominent lawyer and vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, likened Trump to a “cornered animal” in a Salon interview published Monday. “Trump is basically a cornered animal. He’s got all these legal proceedings bearing down on him. In addition, he is losing his touch and his connection to his public, because his act has become very tiresome,” Conway said. He added that, in his opinion, Trump’s support from QAnon is “narcissistic fuel” for a man who is in “a downward psychological, emotional and physical spiral.” Conway said Trump would likely “threaten violence” if he were ever tried in court and predicted that Trump would hurt the GOP on his way out. “The party is finally going to realize that Trump will take them down with him,” Conway told Salon. “It is going to be very ugly all around.” Conway is married to Kellyanne Conway, a former senior counselor to Trump. He gained a large social-media following as an anti-Trump pundit, a position that stands in sharp contrast to his wife’s support of Trump. Earlier this summer, Kellyanne Conway said on CNN that there has been “a lot of hurt” in her marriage, stemming from her husband’s position as a Trump opponent. A representative at Trump’s post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. FOLLOW BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA Our newsletter gives you access to a curated selection of the most important stories daily. Thanks for signing up for our daily insight on the African economy. We bring you daily editor picks from the best Business Insider news content so you can stay updated on the latest topics and conversations on the African market, leaders, careers and lifestyle. Also join us across all of our other channels – we love to be connected! Unblock notifications in browser settings. Read More Here

Ukraine Forces Break Through Russian Defences In South, Advance In East https://digitalalaskanews.com/ukraine-forces-break-through-russian-defences-in-south-advance-in-east/ Ukraine making gains in two of four regions annexed by Russia Retaking of strategic hub of Lyman improves access to the Donbas Elon Musk proposal for ending war draws Ukrainian condemnation Ukraine says it took 31 Russian tanks out of action in south SVIATOHIRSK/KYIV, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces have broken through Russian defences in the south of the country while expanding their rapid offensive in the east, seizing back more territory in areas annexed by Russia and threatening supply lines for its troops. Making their biggest breakthrough in the south since the war began, Ukrainian forces recaptured several villages in an advance along the strategic Dnipro River on Monday, Ukrainian officials and a Russian-installed leader in the area said. Ukrainian forces in the south destroyed 31 Russian tanks and one multiple rocket launcher, the military’s southern operational command said in a nightly update, without providing details of where the fighting occurred. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield accounts. The southern breakthrough mirrors recent Ukrainian advances in the east even as Russia has tried to raise the stakes by annexing land, ordering mobilisation, and threatening nuclear retaliation. Ukraine has made significant advances in two of the four Russian-occupied regions Moscow last week annexed after what it called referendums – votes that were denounced by Kyiv and Western governments as illegal and coercive. In a sign Ukraine is building momentum on the eastern front, Reuters saw columns of Ukrainian military vehicles heading on Monday to reinforce the rail hub of Lyman, retaken at the weekend, and a staging post to press into the Donbas region. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s army had seized back towns in a number of areas, without giving details. “New population centres have been liberated in several regions. Heavy fighting is going on in several sectors of the front,” Zelenskiy said in a video address. Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk – one of two regions that make up the Donbas – said Russian forces had taken over a psychiatric hospital in the town of Svatovo, a target en route to recapturing the major cities of Lysychansk and Sivierodonetsk. “There is quite a network of underground rooms in the building and they have taken up defensive positions,” he told Ukrainian television. In the south, Ukrainian troops recaptured the town of Dudchany along the west bank of the Dnipro River, which bisects the country, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed leader in occupied parts of Ukraine’s Kherson province, told Russian state television. “There are settlements that are occupied by Ukrainian forces,” Saldo said. Dudchany is about 30 km (20 miles) south of where the front stood before Monday’s breakthrough, indicating the fastest advance of the war in the south. Russian forces there had been dug into heavily reinforced positions along a mainly static front line since the early weeks of the invasion. While Ukraine has yet to give a full account of the developments, military and regional officials did release some details. Soldiers from Ukraine’s 128th Mountain Assault Brigade raised the blue and yellow national flag in Myrolyubivka, a village between the former front and the Dnipro, according to a video released by the defence ministry. Serhiy Khlan, a Kherson regional council member, listed four other villages recaptured or where Ukrainian troops had been photographed. “It means that our armed forces are moving powerfully along the banks of the Dnipro nearer to Beryslav,” he said. Reuters was unable to independently verify the developments. ‘ABILITY TO ATTACK’ The southern advance is targeting supply lines for as many as 25,000 Russian troops on the Dnipro’s west bank. Ukraine has already destroyed the river’s main bridges, forcing Russian forces to use makeshift crossings. A substantial advance down river could cut them off entirely. “The fact we have broken through the front means that … the Russian army has already lost the ability to attack, and today or tomorrow it could lose the ability to defend,” said Oleh Zhdanov, a military analyst based in Kyiv. Ukraine appears to be on course to achieve several of its battlefield objectives, giving it “a much better defensive position to ride out what probably will be a tamping down of the hot fighting over the winter”, Celeste Wallander, a senior Pentagon official, said on Monday. Just hours after a concert on Moscow’s Red Square on Friday where Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be Russian territory forever, Ukraine recaptured Lyman, the main Russian bastion in the north of Donetsk province. Billionaire Elon Musk on Monday asked Twitter users to weigh in on a plan to end the war which included proposing U.N.-supervised elections in the four occupied regions and recognising Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014, as Russian. The plan drew immediate condemnation from Ukrainians, including President Zelenskiy. read more Russia’s flagging fortunes have led to a shift in mood on state media, where talkshow hosts have been acknowledging setbacks and searching for scapegoats. “For a certain period of time, things won’t be easy for us. We shouldn’t be expecting good news right now,” said Vladimir Solovyov, the most prominent presenter on state television. The commander of Russia’s western military district, which borders Ukraine, has lost his job, Russian media reported on Monday, the latest in a series of top officials to be fired after defeats. (This story refiles to correct spelling of Saldo in paragraph 13) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Rami Ayyub and Lincoln Feast; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Sam Holmes Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Central Valley Family, Including 8-Month-Old Child, Kidnapped, Officials Say https://digitalalaskanews.com/central-valley-family-including-8-month-old-child-kidnapped-officials-say/ THAT BREAKING NEWS TONIGHT OUT OF MERCED COUNTY WHERE AUTHORITIES ARE SEARCHING FOR A FAMILY, INCLUDING AN EIGHT-MONTH-OLD BABY THEY SAY WAS KIDNAPPED BY AN ARMED MAN. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE RELEASED THESE PHOTOS. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR 8-MONTH OLD AROOHI DHERI. HER MOTHER JASLEEN KAUR, AND FATHER JASDEEP SINGH, AND THE BABY’S UNCLE AMANDEEP SINGH. DETECTIVES SAY THE FAMILY WAS TAKEN AGAINST THEIR WILL FROM A BUSINESS NEAR HIGHWAY 59 AND HIGHWAY 99. AND TAKE A LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS JUST IN TO OUR NEWSROOM. AUTHORITIES BELIEVE THIS IS THE SUSPECT IN TODAY’S KIDNAPPING. HE’S DESCRIBED AS A LIGHT-COMPLECTED MAN WITH A SHAVED HEAD LAST SEEN WEARING A HOODIE. HE IS CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS. THE MERCED COUNTY SHERIFF RELEASED A VIDEO STATEMENT TO RELEASE MORE DETAILS. SO FAR WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE KIDNAPPING, WE HAVE NO MOTIVATION BEHIND IT WE JUST KNOW THAT THEY ARE GONE. WE’VE GOT EVIDENCE TO INDICATE THAT THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN THIS DESTROYED EVIDENCE IN AN ATTEMPT TO COVER THEIR TRACKS. THE SHERIFF SAYS THEY ARE WORKING THROUGH THE NIGHT TO TRY TO FIND THIS FAMILY AND GET THEM HOME SAFE. IF YOU SEE THE FAMILY OR T Central Valley family, including 8-month-old child, kidnapped, officials say A Central Valley family of four, including an 8-month-old child, was kidnapped on Monday, by a person the sheriff’s office believes to be armed and dangerous. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office said the family was taken against their will from a business in the 800 block of South Highway 59 in the south Merced area of the county.The family was identified as 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her 27-year-old mother Jasleen Kaur, her 36-year-old father Jasdeep Singh, and her 39-year-old uncle Amandeep Singh.The sheriff’s office released two images of a person they believe to be the abductor, describing him as having a shaved head and wearing a hoodie.Merced County Sheriff Vernon Warnke in a video update said there are signs indicating that the “individuals involved” destroyed evidence to cover their tracks. As of Monday night, Warnke also said that as of Monday night, no contact has been made about any demands or ransom.It is unknown if the family knew their kidnapper, but the sheriff’s office is urging people to not approach the family or kidnapper and to instead call 911 if spotted.Detectives are canvassing the area for leads, and Warnke said aircraft were also out to assist.Anyone with information is asked to call 209-385-7445. MERCED, Calif. — A Central Valley family of four, including an 8-month-old child, was kidnapped on Monday, by a person the sheriff’s office believes to be armed and dangerous. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office said the family was taken against their will from a business in the 800 block of South Highway 59 in the south Merced area of the county. The family was identified as 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her 27-year-old mother Jasleen Kaur, her 36-year-old father Jasdeep Singh, and her 39-year-old uncle Amandeep Singh. The sheriff’s office released two images of a person they believe to be the abductor, describing him as having a shaved head and wearing a hoodie. Merced County Sheriff’s Office Merced County Sheriff Vernon Warnke in a video update said there are signs indicating that the “individuals involved” destroyed evidence to cover their tracks. As of Monday night, Warnke also said that as of Monday night, no contact has been made about any demands or ransom. It is unknown if the family knew their kidnapper, but the sheriff’s office is urging people to not approach the family or kidnapper and to instead call 911 if spotted. Detectives are canvassing the area for leads, and Warnke said aircraft were also out to assist. Anyone with information is asked to call 209-385-7445. Read More Here

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Alaska Permanent Fund Board Names New CEO To Manage $74 Billion Portfolio https://digitalalaskanews.com/alaska-permanent-fund-board-names-new-ceo-to-manage-74-billion-portfolio/ The Permanent Fund’s board of trustees held a special meeting, and unanimously chose acting Revenue Commissioner Deven Mitchell, left, to be the corporation’s new CEO on Monday, October 3 at the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. building in Juneau. (Sean Maguire/ADN) JUNEAU — The Alaska Permanent Fund’s board of trustees named acting Revenue Commissioner Deven Mitchell as the corporation’s new chief executive officer Monday to manage the $74-billion fund, which has been the source of the Permanent Fund dividend and has provided over half of state government revenue annually since 2018. Mitchell, a lifelong Alaskan, served as the state of Alaska’s debt manager and the executive director of the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank Authority since 1998. He stepped down from those positions in September when he was named acting Department of Revenue commissioner by Gov. Mike Dunleavy after Lucinda Mahoney resigned. Mitchell will take over management of the fund, which he called Alaska’s “trump card” as a renewable source of revenue, during a strained fiscal situation. The fund has lost almost $10 billion in value since the beginning of the year and the stock market has dropped by 20% over the same period. His message to the board was that he wouldn’t chase short-term cash yields as the fund has been invested for long-term growth. Mitchell said he doesn’t see the CEO’s role as second-guessing the investment decisions made by Marcus Frampton, the corporation’s chief investment officer, or overriding his decisions. The corporation has recently struggled with recruitment and retention of staff. Mitchell said it was “a touchy subject’ and he didn’t want to overstate the issue, but that as a state of Alaska employee, he had heard “whispers” of some corporation staff feeling under-appreciated and that there had been something of a breakdown in trust between management and rank-and-file employees, which he wanted to address. “You want your community to support you, and you want to support your community,” he said. Former CEO Angela Rodell was abruptly fired by the board in December last year. A legislative committee hired an Anchorage law firm to conduct an independent investigation into her ouster in January, which released its final report last week, finding that the board had used a “deficient” performance evaluation process, but that loss of confidence in her was reason enough to fire her and that there was no credible evidence that Gov. Mike Dunleavy was involved. Mitchell said he had respect for Rodell, but that he would be a little more direct and approachable with staff. Although it would be time consuming, Mitchell said one of his priorities is to revisit the fund’s five-year strategic plan midway through its enactment, given the change in leadership. Trustee Craig Richards asked what Mitchell would do if he was given instructions as CEO from the board that didn’t align with the fund’s financial goals. Mitchell said he would try to educate the trustees but unless those directions were egregious, they would need to be followed. “At the end of the day, the board’s the boss,” he said. There were between 120 and 130 applications for the CEO position, which were then whittled down to 10 finalists by People AK, a recruitment company. The board’s hiring committee picked their five finalists in mid-September, and then conducted interviews last week to choose their top three candidates to go before the full board Monday for public interviews and the final selection process. One of the other three finalists was Melanie Hardin, who currently lives in California and works as an executive at Verizon Communications. She spoke about her years of experience in the finance industry, including spells working for Charles Schwab Corp. in London, and said that her interest in the mission of Permanent Fund was to create intergenerational wealth for Alaska, calling it “capitalism with a conscience.” The third finalist, Morgan Neff, has served as chief investment officer of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority since moving from Texas in February last year. He said he was excited about the idea of heading the fund, and giving back to Alaska. If he wasn’t chosen as the new corporation’s chief executive, Neff said he would be happy to return to his current role at AIDEA. Five trustees were part of the final vote for the new CEO with Mitchell, the newly-appointed sixth trustee due to his position as acting Revenue commissioner, recusing himself from Monday’s decision. After a three-hour closed door meeting, the board’s choice of Mitchell as CEO was unanimous. Frampton and acting CEO Valerie Mertz were both on the hiring committee to narrow down the candidate pool. They both sat at the table during Monday’s public interviews, but did not have a final vote. Mertz said she would return to work as the corporation’s chief financial officer once the new CEO started. Mitchell’s start date and salary will now be the subject of negotiations with Mertz. Rodell finished her tenure as CEO earning $389,000 per year. Former Anchorage Republican Rep. Jennifer Johnston criticized the hiring process in August as taking too long with the corporation not having a permanent executive director since December. Newly elected board chair Ethan Schutt said last week that as a public body, the corporation had to go through a long procurement process to hire a new CEO and the priority had been finding an “exceptional” pool of candidates. • • • Read More Here

Biden Pledges $60 Million In Aid To Puerto Rico After Hurricane https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-pledges-60-million-in-aid-to-puerto-rico-after-hurricane/ President Joe Biden on Monday pledged $60 million in aid for Puerto Rico while visiting after Hurricane Fiona devastated the island as a Category 1 storm around two weeks ago, leaving most without power. The president and first lady met with Puerto Rican residents impacted by Fiona on Monday, two weeks after the storm ravaged the island on Sept. 18, dumping 30 inches of rain, and tearing up roads, water pipes, and power lines. Once on the ground in Ponce, a city on the southern side of the island, Biden said he came in person with First Lady Jill Biden to show Puerto Ricans that “all of America’s with you as you receive and recover and rebuild.” Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 1 on Sept. 18, leaving most people without power and around 13 dead, according to Puerto Rico’s Department of Health (pdf). Biden, who was joined by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, said the $60 million he announced Monday is earmarked to help rebuild coastal regions. The $60 million will go toward shoring up levees and flood walls and creating a new flood warning system to help residents better prepare for future storms, Biden further said on Twitter. Cars drive under a downed power pole in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 21, 2022. (Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters) Cost of Recovery Fiona struck Puerto Rico a week before Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida as a Category 4 storm before moving north to the Carolinas as a weakened hurricane. The disaster recovery in those states is expected to cost tens of billions. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarified that while the $60 million was nowhere near the estimated costs of Ian in Florida and the Carolinas, it would help with “specific pieces.” She noted the $60 million is on top of $2 billion already allocated through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law earmarked to build and strengthen the island’s infrastructure. Criswell also noted Monday, while en route with the president, that FEMA had authorized around $9.5 billion to restore Puerto Rico’s power grid from the impacts of 2017’s Hurricane Maria, a deadly Category 5 storm that killed around 3,000 in the Caribbean. “It’s going to take multiple different funding streams from the federal family to make sure that we’re getting them to a place that they can be more resilient,” Criswell said. In September, Fiona brought over 30 inches of rain to some areas of the island, causing flooding and mudslides that damaged roads and bridges. Criswell said that around 92 percent of power has been restored to the island, and around 95 percent of the water has been patched up with temporary fixes. Around 100,000 customers remain without power since the hurricane struck two weeks ago, according to LUMA Energy. Congress wrote to Luma Energy on Sept. 27 expressing “grave concern” about the ongoing outages and disruption of power on the island (pdf). In the letter, members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce said the outages “amplify concerns that LUMA has failed to adequately develop and maintain crucial electrical infrastructure in Puerto Rico despite its lucrative 15-year contract.” White House Contrasts Trump’s 2017 Visit Biden’s visit to Puerto Rico fell on the anniversary of a 2017 visit by then-President Donald Trump after Hurricane Maria, which the White House made a point to contrast. Prior to departing Washington on Marine One on Monday, Biden alluded to the former administration when he said Puerto Rico hasn’t “been taken very good care of.” “They’ve been trying like hell to catch up from the last hurricane. I want to see the state of affairs today and make sure we push everything we can,” he said on the south lawn of the White House. Jean-Pierre made a “fine point” of noting that the Bidens’ visit to Ponce, a hard-hit area, demonstrated Biden’s commitment to Puerto Ricans. In a bid to paint Biden as more generous than Trump in 2017, Jean-Pierre said Trump had “restricted ability … for Puerto Rico to access $5 billion in funds” that she said was “for critical recovery and reconstruction needs.” Trump Response Praised by Puerto Rico Officials In the wake of Maria, Trump visited Puerto Rico on Oct. 3, 2017, receiving praise from island officials for the U.S. government’s federal response to the disaster. Puerto Rico’s then-governor, Ricardo Rosselló, said the cooperation between local and federal authorities had been crucial. “I want to let the people of Puerto Rico and the people on the United States know that you have always responded to us,” Rosselló said during Trump’s visit. “I want to personally thank you, Mr. President, because over the course of the past week you have called essentially every day to make sure we have what we need, to make sure that the resources are over here,” Rosselló said, addressing his remarks to Trump. At the time, Trump signed a disaster declaration following Maria that allowed the federal government to provide 100 percent funding for debris removal and emergency protective measures for 180 days. More than 12,000 federal responders were deployed to Puerto Rico to help stabilize the situation, enabling water and food supplies to be distributed to staging areas across the island, and the reopening of almost 60 hospitals. The Trump administration’s aid also saw a decrease in the number of people in shelters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked with the island’s then-power supplier, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, and the Department of Energy to restore power, which was completely wiped out. Around 4,000 personnel from different branches of the military were on-site to help during Maria, having been deployed there after Hurricane Irma struck the week before, on Sept. 6, 2017. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, making it neither a U.S. state nor a sovereign nation. Residents don’t have voting rights in U.S. domestic elections unless they move to the mainland. Biden will visit Florida on Wednesday, a week after it was hit by Hurricane Ian, a devastating Category 4 storm that left two million without power at the height of the outages. State utilities report that power has since been restored to around 80 percent of affected customers. Follow Caden Pearson is a reporter based in Australia. Contact him on caden.pearson@epochtimes.com.au Read More Here

Puerto Rico Hurricane Survivors Remain Hopeful And Skeptical After Biden’s Visit https://digitalalaskanews.com/puerto-rico-hurricane-survivors-remain-hopeful-and-skeptical-after-bidens-visit/ President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden finished a three-hour visit to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico on Monday evening, leaving residents with mixed feelings about whether it will make a difference in speeding up the island’s recovery. Mercedita International Airport in Ponce, where the Bidens landed, was submerged under brown water just two weeks ago when Hurricane Fiona brought heavy rains that caused a nearby river to burst out of its bank and flood the area with 6 feet of water. It also flooded the Central Mercedita community a few minutes north of the airport, stranding people for days. The community of nearly 200 families has not had electricity since Sept. 18, when an islandwide blackout was reported about an hour before Hurricane Fiona’s eye entered the southwestern coast. Gerardo Manuel Robles, Central Mercedita’s community leader, said families are spending $30 to $50 daily to buy fuel to power their generators. Fallen trees and blue tarps sit on top of many destroyed homes. “This is literally two minutes from where the president landed,” Robles said in Spanish. After they landed, the Bidens went to the Port of Ponce, where the president met with Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi and other officials and delivered a speech renewing his commitment to assist the U.S. territory in its recovery. “You deserve every bit of help your country can give you,” Biden said. “That’s what I’m determined to do.” The Bidens later visited the Sor Isolina Ferré relief center in Ponce, where they briefly met with community leaders and families affected by the hurricane. Puerto Rican residents like Ileana Vargas of Cabo Rojo, where Fiona made landfall, said they wished the Bidens had spent more time visiting other communities and meeting with more residents so they could see firsthand how many areas were devastated and still remain without electricity. “He had no contact with the people,” Vargas said in Spanish, “but we’ll see what aid will be sent to the island.” Still, said Laura Domenech, a resident of Ponce, his presence on the island was significant. “I think it’s very important that he did come,” said Domenech, a senior medical officer at the Ponce Medical School Foundation. “For us, it’s really important that he made some remarks about sending us funds for restoration.” The president’s visit coincides with the approval of $60 million in additional aid to shore up levees, strengthen flood walls and create a new flood warning system ahead of future storms. Robles is hopeful about the additional money, because it could prevent future floods in his community. However, he is skeptical about the government’s ability to use the aid in a timely manner, saying money assigned for similar purposes after Hurricane Maria in 2017 has not been put to use. Close to $155 million in emergency individual and public assistance for residents affected by Fiona has been made available to Puerto Rico. So far, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved more than 200,000 individual assistance applications on the island, allowing people to receive $700 “to help cover the essentials for just a little while,” Biden said. “Seven hundred dollars won’t replace what you lost, not even close, but it can help take care of some of the basics while you catch your breath and get back on your feet,” he added. Biden’s trip comes exactly five years after President Donald Trump’s infamous visit to the island, where he threw paper towels at a crowd of Hurricane Maria survivors. Jorge Schmidt Nieto, a political science professor at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez, remembers Trump’s visit as “a cruel one,” because he told the governor at the time that Puerto Rico was not enduring a real disaster — even though Hurricane Maria became the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. territory in 100 years. “That’s why I said Biden is doing what any other president would’ve done,” Schmidt Nieto, who lives in Cabo Rojo, said in Spanish. “But because Trump set such a low standard, the fact that Biden is not coming here to mock us feels like a big deal.” While the Trump administration approved billions of dollars to help Puerto Rico rebuild after Maria, much of that aid was withheld, effectively delaying the island’s reconstruction process. Under Biden, restrictions previously used to withhold the funds were lifted. “We’re going to make sure you get every single dollar promised,” Biden said. “I’m determined to help Puerto Rico build faster than in the past and stronger and better prepared for the future.” Image: President Joe Biden, with first lady Jill Biden, delivers remarks on Hurricane Fiona on Oct. 3, 2022, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. (Evan Vucci / AP) Hurricane Maria caused $90 billion in damage. Congress allocated at least $71 billion for general recovery and reconstruction operations, of which $62 billion has been made available to the island. About 72% of the funds have not yet reached local communities, mainly because permanent reconstruction work on the island began in late 2020. Officials are still assessing Fiona’s damage, but FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell expects it to reach billions. In August, FEMA made $9.5 billion available to rebuild Puerto Rico’s power grid after Maria. On Monday, Biden promised to add more aid and to invest additional resources to ensure “the Puerto Rican people can get clean, reliable, affordable power” after Fiona. Based on data provided by Luma Energy, the private company in charge of power transmission and distribution, government officials insist that power has been restored to 93% of customers in Puerto Rico after Fiona. But residents like Vargas and Schmidt Nieto find that hard to believe. “When I hear that nearly 90% of Puerto Rico has power, it feels like having toilet paper thrown at my face. I’m sure that comment doesn’t sit well with the more than 100,000 people still without power,” Schmidt Nieto said. “It leaves this impression that things are improving when, in fact, things in a big part of the island are still the same.” Vargas agreed, adding that most of her colleagues at a hospital in the nearby town of San German still do not have power. Residents in other parts of the island have also reported having unreliable power access since their electricity was restored. “The worst damage is currently being caused by the lack of electricity, and I did not see President Biden with an attitude of putting pressure on the company that has to solve that problem,” Schmidt Nieto said. Follow NBC Latino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Read More Here

Today In History: October 4, Soviets Launch Sputnik https://digitalalaskanews.com/today-in-history-october-4-soviets-launch-sputnik/ Today is Tuesday, Oct. 4, the 277th day of 2022. There are 88 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into orbit. On this date: In 1777, Gen. George Washington’s troops launched an assault on the British at Germantown, Pennsylvania, resulting in heavy American casualties. In 1887, the International Herald Tribune had its beginnings as the Paris Herald, a European edition of the New York Herald. In 1940, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini conferred at Brenner Pass in the Alps. In 1965, Pope Paul VI became the first pope to visit the Western Hemisphere as he addressed the U.N. General Assembly. In 1970, rock singer Janis Joplin, 27, was found dead in her Hollywood hotel room. In 1990, for the first time in nearly six decades, German lawmakers met in the Reichstag for the first meeting of reunified Germany’s parliament. In 1991, 26 nations, including the United States, signed the Madrid Protocol, which imposed a 50-year ban on oil exploration and mining in Antarctica. In 2001, a Russian airliner flying from Israel to Siberia was accidentally downed by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile over the Black Sea, killing all 78 people aboard. Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 70th home run to tie Mark McGwire’s 1998 record in a 10-2 victory over the Houston Astros. In 2002, “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh received a 20-year sentence after a sobbing plea for forgiveness before a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia. (He was released from prison in May, 2019.) In a federal court in Boston, a laughing Richard Reid pleaded guilty to trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives in his shoes (the British citizen was later sentenced to life in prison). In 2004, the SpaceShipOne rocket plane broke through Earth’s atmosphere to the edge of space for the second time in five days, capturing the $10 million Ansari X prize aimed at opening the final frontier to tourists. Pioneering astronaut Gordon Cooper died in Ventura, California, at age 77. In 2010, the Supreme Court began a new era with three women serving together for the first time as Elena Kagan took her place at the end of the bench. In 2020, infected and contagious, President Donald Trump briefly ventured out in an SUV from the hospital where he was being treated for COVID-19 to salute cheering supporters. Trump’s medical team reported that his blood oxygen level had dropped suddenly twice in recent days and that they gave him a steroid typically only recommended for the very sick; doctors said he had also been given oxygen before being hospitalized. Ten years ago: A day after his first debate with Mitt Romney, which had been widely seen as a victory for Romney, President Barack Obama suggested that his Republican rival hadn’t been candid about his policy positions during the faceoff. The Nielsen Co. said an estimated 67.2 million people had watched the debate; it was the biggest TV audience for a presidential debate since 1992. Five years ago: Four U.S. soldiers were killed in the African country of Niger (nee-ZHEHR’) when a joint patrol of U.S. and Niger forces was ambushed by militants who were believed linked to the Islamic State group. President Donald Trump visited hospital bedsides and a police base in Las Vegas in the aftermath of the shooting rampage three nights earlier that left 58 people dead. One year ago: A massive global outage knocked Facebook and its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms offline for hours due to what Facebook called a “faulty configuration change”; there were no signs that malicious activity was involved. The Biden administration reversed a Trump-era ban on abortion referrals by federally-funded family planning clinics. Supreme Court justices returned to the courtroom for the start of a new term after a nearly 19-month absence because of the coronavirus pandemic. China flew 56 fighter planes toward Taiwan, continuing three days of military harassment against the self-ruled island. A federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Michael Garbo, was shot and killed while questioning a passenger on an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona; the passenger who opened fire was then killed in a gunfight with other officers. Today’s Birthdays: Country singer Leroy Van Dyke is 93. Actor Felicia Farr is 90. Author Roy Blount Jr. is 81. Actor Lori Saunders (TV: “Petticoat Junction”) is 81. Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa is 78. Actor Clifton Davis is 77. The former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, is 76. Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is 76. Actor Susan Sarandon is 76. Blues musician Duke Robillard is 74. Playwright Lee Blessing is 73. Actor Armand Assante is 73. Actor Alan Rosenberg is 72. Actor Christoph Waltz is 66. Actor Bill Fagerbakke is 65. Music producer Russell Simmons is 65. Actor-singer Wendy Makkena is 64. Musician Chris Lowe (The Pet Shop Boys) is 63. Country musician Gregg “Hobie” Hubbard (Sawyer Brown) is 62. Actor David W. Harper is 61. Singer Jon Secada is 61. TV personality John Melendez is 57. Actor-comedian Jerry Minor is 55. Actor Liev Schreiber is 55. Actor Abraham Benrubi is 53. Country singer-musician Heidi Newfield is 52. Singer-guitarist M. Ward (She & Him) is 49. Actor Alicia Silverstone is 46. Actor Dana Davis is 44. Rock musician Robbie Bennett (The War on Drugs) is 44. Actor Phillip Glasser is 44. Rock singer-musician Marc Roberge (O.A.R.) is 44. Actor Brandon Barash is 43. Actor Rachael Leigh Cook is 43. Actor Tim Peper is 42. Actor Jimmy Workman is 42. Actor Michael Charles Roman is 35. Actor Melissa Benoist is 34. NBA All-Star Derrick Rose is 34. Actor Dakota Johnson is 33. Figure skater Kimmie Meisner is 33. Actor Leigh-Anne Pinnock (Little Mix) is 31. Actor Ryan Scott Lee is 26. Read More Here

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Over Japan https://digitalalaskanews.com/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missile-over-japan/ TOKYO — North Korea on Tuesday launched a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, Japanese and South Korean officials said. The missile, which was the first North Korean projectile to pass through Japanese airspace since 2017, landed in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese government issued a rare evacuation order Tuesday morning, urging residents in the Aomori and Hokkaido prefectures in the northern region to take shelter. Japanese officials said the missile flew outside of the country’s exclusive economic zone but warned about falling debris. North Korea has tested an unprecedented number of missiles this year as it diversifies and expands its weapons arsenal as part of leader Kim Jong Un’s five-year plan. North Korea has conducted five rounds of ballistic missile tests since Sept. 24, ahead of Vice President Harris’s visit to the region. In recent weeks, the U.S., Japanese and South Korean governments have all conducted military exercises designed to demonstrate the allies’ readiness to work together in the event of a conflict. The latest launch came as the United States and South Korea wrap up their joint military exercises involving the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. While the allied countries say the drills are defensive in nature, Kim’s regime has long viewed them as hostile acts and used them to justify its weapons development and nuclear program. Tuesday’s launch is the seventh time since 1998 that North Korea has launched a missile over Japan. There are signs that a new cycle of escalation is already taking shape, with North Korea rejecting overtures and possibly preparing for a seventh nuclear test amid a diplomatic deadlock with Washington and shifting security dynamics in the region. On Tuesday morning, residents in the Aomori prefecture woke up to the noise of blaring sirens warning them of the missile launch. Fishermen who work off the coast of Aomori in the waters where the missile fell told Japanese news outlets that the launch was a serious threat to their safety. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida convened a meeting of the National Security Council in response and condemned the launch. Japanese officials said they sent the strongest words of condemnation possible through diplomatic channels. “The recent repeated launch of missiles is outrageous and we strongly condemn this,” Kishida said. The intermediate-range ballistic missile is believed to be, or may be similar to, the Hwasong-12, according to missile experts. The missile’s reach includes Japan and Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean located to the east of Japan. North Korea launched the missile from Chagang province in the northern part of the country, South Korean military officials said. The missile was launched at 7:22 a.m. and it flew 4,600 kilometers (2,858 miles) for 22 minutes over Aomori prefecture before landing in the Pacific Ocean, Japanese officials said. Its maximum height was 1,000 km (621 miles). Min Joo Kim in Seoul and Julia Mio Inuma in Tokyo contributed to this report. Read More Here

Jan. 6 Committee Argues Trump Election Attorney John Eastman 'consistently Unreliable' As He's Tried To Protect Emails From Investigators – ABC17NEWS https://digitalalaskanews.com/jan-6-committee-argues-trump-election-attorney-john-eastman-consistently-unreliable-as-hes-tried-to-protect-emails-from-investigators-abc17news/ By Katelyn Polantz, CNN Reporter, Crime and Justice The House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, argued to a federal judge Monday night that Trump election attorney John Eastman has been “consistently unreliable” as he’s tried to protect his communications from the ongoing probe and that the investigators should now get access to more emails from one of his work email accounts. The judge, David O. Carter of the federal district court in central California, already released many of Eastman’s emails from around January 2021 to House investigators, but the two sides are still arguing over 562 additional documents from Eastman’s Chapman University email account. The latest court filing from the House highlights how the January 6 probe has already collected troves of communications and continues to push for information. In their filing Monday night, lawyers for the House argued that Eastman is unreliable because he said previously that some of his emails were attorney communications, such as confidential legal advice and co-counsel discussions. But when the House probe received them, they said, the documents shouldn’t have been protected. One was a photograph of a Trump campaign rally with a handwritten note on it commenting on rally attendance, that Trump had forwarded to Eastman through his assistant, the House said. Yet Eastman’s legal team had maintained the note, including the words “NO WAY THIS LOSES,” was about anticipated litigation. Another email that Eastman’s team said was attorney communications was a joking discussion between lawyers about stays at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. “A shame you are not in DC and could contribute to violation of the emoluments clause,” one Trump campaign lawyer wrote. “I[‘]m stay[i]ng at Trump Int [i]n DC from Jan 3 to at [l]east the 8th. Do[i]ng my part to curry favor w[i]th the Pres[i]dent by [li]n[i]ng h[i]s (empty) pockets! [smiley face emoji],” another wrote. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Trump Files $830 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-files-830-million-defamation-lawsuit-against-cnn/ Former US President Donald Trump today sued CNN, seeking US$475 million (NZ$830.7 million) in damages, saying the network had defamed him in an effort to short-circuit any future political campaign. Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in September 2022. (Source: Associated Press) The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, focuses primarily on the term “The Big Lie” about Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud that he says cost him the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. There was no immediate comment from CNN. Trump repeatedly attacked CNN as president, which resonated with his conservative followers. He has similarly filed lawsuits against big tech companies with little success. His case against Twitter for knocking him off its platform following the January 6, 2021, US Capitol insurrection was thrown out by a California judge earlier this year. Numerous federal and local election officials in both parties, a long list of courts, top former campaign staffers and even Trump’s own attorney general have all said there is no evidence of the election fraud he alleges. Trump’s lawsuit claims “The Big Lie,” a phrase with Nazi connotations, has been used in reference to him more than 7700 times on CNN since January 2021. “It is intended to aggravate, scare and trigger people,” he said. In a statement today, Trump suggested that similar lawsuits would be filed against other news organizations. And he said he may also bring “appropriate action” against the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters. The lawsuit comes as he is weighing a potential bid for the presidency in 2024. New CNN chief Chris Licht privately urged his news personnel in a meeting more than three months ago to refrain from using the phrase because it is too close to Democratic efforts to brand the former president, according to several published reports. Read More Here

Rex Tillerson Takes Stand In Trump Ally Trial https://digitalalaskanews.com/rex-tillerson-takes-stand-in-trump-ally-trial/ Tom Barrack’s attorneys compared his international business dealings to Rex Tillerson’s work as an ExxonMobil executive, while prosecutors highlighted key differences in their interactions with foreign officials. BROOKLYN (CN) — Prosecutors called former Secretary of Defense Rex Tillerson as a witness Monday in the federal trial against Donald Trump’s former inaugural committee chair Tom Barrack, who stands accused of acting as an unregistered foreign agent during Trump’s candidacy and time as president-elect. Barrack, a longtime Trump ally, is charged with working on behalf of the United Arab Emirates as well as obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI while under investigation. The 75-year-old became the “eyes, ears and voice” of the UAE, all in the “corrupt pursuit of money and power,” prosecutors say. Before accepting Trump’s nomination, Tillerson — now 70 and sporting a white mustache — was a few months shy of retirement from his role as chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, rounding out more than four decades at the energy giant.  Barrack’s attorneys attempted to draw a parallel between their client’s work and Tillerson’s. The former oil executive said he had briefed former presidents and vice presidents before being called to the Trump Tower in New York City to do the same for Trump, and he described meetings of his own with foreign officials and traveling to, by his estimate, 40 or 50 countries, including at least a dozen trips to the UAE.  Yet he hadn’t registered as a foreign agent, noted attorney Randall Jackson of the New York City-based firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, seeking confirmation from Tillerson that the thought had “never even crossed your mind.”  Not so, Tillerson responded.  “I had my attorneys, my lawyers, look at the law,” Tillerson clarified. “I wanted to be sure that if I needed to register I registered. But there was nothing I was doing that required that.”  Prosecutors accuse Barrack of trying to influence Trump’s view on the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis, during which Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt blockaded Qatar, accusing the country of supporting terrorism and pushing the Muslim Brotherhood to be classified as a terrorist organization. Tillerson said he had urged Trump not to get involved in the matter, calling it premature to take a stance.  “These were important allies in the war to defeat ISIS,” Tillerson said. “This was not really good for anyone.”  While Trump publicly criticized Qatar “for supporting terrorism,” Tillerson testified, “I don’t know that he ever actually supported the blockade.”  Tillerson was confirmed as secretary of state on Feb. 1, 2017, and held the position for a little over a year.  “It was an opportunity to serve my country,” Tillerson said. “I never had to put a uniform on — I’m a Vietnam-era guy — and I was in a lottery system. My number was 89, my draft board got to 86, so I never had to go.”  Tillerson met Barrack while Trump was president-elect, he said, and relayed Barrack’s interest in an ambassadorship to Trump. “He didn’t direct me one way or the other what to do, so it was kind of the end of it,” Tillerson said.  Standing trial alongside Barrack is Matthew Grimes, a former investment analyst and vice president of Barrack’s investment firm. Grimes’ attorneys say he was little more than Barrack’s assistant, tasked with jobs like bringing Barrack smoothies and handling his luggage on business trips. A third co-defendant, Emirati national Rashid Al-Malik, remains at large.  Taken out of order due to scheduling issues, Tillerson’s testimony broke up that of FBI Special Agent Liz Sidaros, who has been on the stand since last week reviewing emails and text messages showing Barrack, Grimes, and Al-Malik corresponding with officials from the United Arab Emirates and the Trump administration.  In one October 2016 message, Al-Malik sent a document to UAE official Abdullah Khalifa Al Ghafli titled “A Proposal to Strengthen UAE Influence in the USA,” apparently prepared by Al-Malik.  The same month, Grimes sent Al-Malik an article Barrack drafted for Fortune, “What the Middle East Needs Now from America,” in which he referred to certain Middle Eastern countries as “dictatorships.” Al-Malik asked that the word be taken out; the published version used “regimes” instead. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hiral Mehta alluded to those communications while distinguishing between Tillerson’s and Barrack’s interactions as international businessmen. While Tillerson authored articles as an Exxon executive, he hadn’t passed along drafts to foreign officials for feedback, for instance.  “As a private citizen,” Mehta asked, “did you ever provide a foreign government with inside, confidential information about U.S. foreign policy?”  “No,” Tillerson replied. Nor had he handed a foreign entity information about a political party’s platform, disclosed nominees for positions like national security adviser or secretary of state or drafted a plan for a foreign government to influence the U.S. government. Testimony from Sidaros will continue on Tuesday. Read the Top 8 Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day’s top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday. Read More Here

U.S.: Oath Keepers, Rhodes Attacked ‘bedrock Of Democracy’ On Jan. 6 https://digitalalaskanews.com/u-s-oath-keepers-rhodes-attacked-bedrock-of-democracy-on-jan-6/ Members of the extremist group Oath Keepers led by Stewart Rhodes planned for an armed rebellion “to shatter a bedrock of American democracy” — the peaceful transfer of presidential power — culminating in their role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, a prosecutor told a jury Monday in the first seditious conspiracy trial of the sprawling Jan. 6 investigation. Rhodes and four co-defendants that day staged an “arsenal” of firearms in nearby Virginia and several forcibly breached the Capitol with a mob to prevent Congress from confirming President Biden’s 2020 election victory, thwarting the will of U.S. voters and elected representatives, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler said during opening statements in federal court. “That was their goal — to stop by whatever means necessary the lawful transfer of presidential power, including by taking up arms against the United States government,” Nestler said. Descending on Washington “to attack not just the Capitol, not just Congress, not just our government — but our country itself.” Rhodes’s defense decried the prosecution as “government mischaracterization and government overreach.” Oath Keepers came to Washington as “peacekeeping” security guards who “had no part in the bulk of the violence that occurred on January 6th,” attorney Phillip Linder said, believing that President Donald Trump could invoke the Insurrection Act to mobilize private militias, put down riots and remain in power. “That is why he did what he did,” Linder said, adding that Rhodes would testify in his own defense. “You’re going to hear from Stewart Rhodes himself about who he is, about the Oath Keepers, what their role is and what their role was on January 6th.” The clashing views of democracy, patriotism and violence at the seat of the U.S. government during the handoff from Trump to Biden played out in the most-anticipated trial to arise from the Jan. 6. 2021, Capitol siege. Held at a federal courthouse blocks from the Capitol where events unfolded 21 months ago, the trial of Rhodes — a former Army paratrooper and Yale Law graduate who has become one of the most visible figures of the far-right anti-government movement — poses a major legal and political test of the Biden administration’s pledge to combat domestic terrorism, as well as the law and the courts. Prosecutors in court and lawmakers in a parallel House investigation describe the Oath Keepers as an anti-government group that played an outsize role in organizing individuals to come to the Capitol prepared for violence. The group’s leaders worked with Trump post-election “Stop the Steal” advisers who spent weeks making unfounded allegations of election fraud, including former national security aide Michael Flynn and longtime political confidant Roger Stone. On the day networks declared the election for Biden, Nov. 7, Rhodes shared a text with Stone and others asking, “What’s the plan?” the prosecution’s first witness, an FBI agent, testified. Rhodes then shared an action plan from an anti-government uprising in Serbia that included storming its parliament. Four days after Jan. 6, Nestler told jurors, Rhodes urged an intermediary to tell Trump, “It’s still not too late too take action.” But the person secretly recorded Rhodes. “My only regret is that they should have brought rifles” into the city, Rhodes said in audio Nestler played to jurors. Nine of at least 33 alleged Oath Keepers members or associates arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 riot have pleaded guilty, including seven to conspiracy charges, and several of them are expected to testify for the government against Rhodes. Rhodes and 10 others were indicted in January on three related conspiracy charges, plotting to oppose by force federal authority and laws related to Biden’s swearing-in; to obstruct an official proceeding of Congress; and to impede lawmakers from discharging their duties. The first two charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Nine remaining defendants face trial this week and in early November on those charges and others alleging destruction of federal property, destruction of evidence, and impeding police in a riot. Four others are on trial with Rhodes, including three who have served in the military. Kelly Meggs, 53, is an auto dealer from Dunnellon, Fla. Kenneth Harrelson, 42, of Titusville, Fla., and Ohio militia leader and bar owner Jessica Watkins, 39, of Woodstock are Army veterans. Thomas Caldwell, 68, of, Berryville, Va., is a retired Navy intelligence officer. In a 75-minute opening statement, prosecutors recapped a 48-page, 17-count indictment and alleged dramatic new details. Nestler told jurors that on Jan. 6 just as 14 Oath Keepers co-conspirators allegedly pushed past police and through the Capitol’s East Rotunda doors after marching up the steps in military-style formation and gear, Rhodes stood back “like a general overseeing the battlefield” and did not enter the building. The prosecutor said Rhodes was recorded on video saying of lawmakers inside: “They need to be sh—–g their pants. Sic semper tyrannis!” “Thus always to tyrants,” Nestler translated from the Latin after playing the video for jurors. “It’s what John Wilkes Booth yelled when he assassinated President Lincoln,” Nestler said. Nestler gave the jury of nine men and seven women a panoramic view of actions spanning from the Nov. 3, 2020, election, through the Capitol attack and up to the first co-defendants’ arrests on Jan. 17, 2021. While Rhodes named his group for the oath sworn by members of the U.S. military “to defend the Constitution against all enemies,” Nestler argued that the philosophy “perverts the constitutional order.” “He preaches to his followers that they should disobey orders that he says are unconstitutional,” Nestler said. The prosecutor said Rhodes’s orders unfolded beginning Nov. 4 and that he told an invitation-only message group of Oath Keepers leaders to ignore the election results: “We aren’t getting through this without a civil war. Too late for that. Prepare your mind, body, spirit,” On Nov. 10, after contacting Stone and Oath Keepers leaders, he published openly to Oath Keepers a “step-by-step” call to action modeled after the Serbian plot that included storming parliament after filling the streets and seeking support from the police and military. On Nov. 9, Rhodes laid out that they should use “code or shorthand” when describing their plan to stop the transfer of power through violence if necessary, by linking it to Trump’s use of the Insurrection Act, “magic words” that gave them “plausible deniability” for any actions to follow, Nestler alleged. Another “alarmed follower” recorded Rhodes saying on a Nov. 9 conference call that mentioning the law would give the group “legal cover” for bringing firearms as part of “quick reaction force” teams to Washington for use as needed. In open letters in December 2020, Rhodes elaborated by calling on Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, saying that “millions” of American gun owners stood ready to answer his “call to arms.” Rhodes said that on Jan. 6, if Congress defied his false claims of a stolen election, “tens of thousands of patriotic Americans … will already be in Washington D.C., and many of us will have our mission-critical gear stowed nearby just outside D.C., and we will answer the call right then and there.” As officials including Trump’s own attorney general, William P. Barr, and White House attorneys said there was no evidence of anything that would cast doubt on Biden’s win, Rhodes wrote on Christmas Day, “The only chance we/he has is if we scare the s— out of them [Congress] and convince them it will be torches and pitchforks time,” Nestler said. Rhodes purchased tens of thousands of dollars worth of firearms and related gear in the days before and after Jan. 6, and seven co-conspirators including co-defendants Meggs, Harrelson and Caldwell were seen stashing firearms cases and bags at a Comfort Inn in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, across the Potomac, where “heavy” QRF teams from Florida, Arizona and North Carolina had rooms, Nestler said. Meggs and Caldwell allegedly laid plans to transport firearms by boat if bridges to Washington were closed, Nestler said. Meggs and Harrelson and others engaged in firearms and “unconventional warfare” training in Florida, including from a man who Meggs allegedly told a cooperating witness drove to Washington with hand grenades inside his recreational vehicle that the FBI later recovered. On Jan. 6, Meggs searched for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.,) inside the Capitol, while Watkins allegedly impeded police guarding an entrance to the Senate chamber, Nestler said. “We are in the main dome right now. We are rocking it. They are throwing grenades, they are fricking shooting people with paint balls. But we are in here,” Watkins shouted over a push-to-talk radio-phone app, according to a recording played by Nestler. “Get it, Jess,” an Illinois Oath Keepers leader not at the Capitol responded, “This is … everything we f—ing trained for!” Nestler said. In defense, Linder said government and media accounts were wrong, that the prosecution revealed little new that wasn’t laid out in charging papers, and promised “surprises” when the defense’s turn to present evidence came. Linder said the defendants face “substantial prison sentences” and have been portrayed as “a paramilitary group, a racist group, a violent group.” His statements drew a warning from U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta, who said the latter assertions are not alleged by the government and that sentencing penalties are withheld from jurors so they do not form judgments about defendants’ guilt. Linder suggested government cooperators lied in pursuit of leniency. He singled out Oa...

South Korea's Naver To Buy U.S. E-Commerce Site Poshmark For $1.2 Billion https://digitalalaskanews.com/south-koreas-naver-to-buy-u-s-e-commerce-site-poshmark-for-1-2-billion/ Rafael Henrique | LightRocket | Getty Images South Korean internet giant Naver is acquiring U.S. e-retailer Poshmark for roughly $1.2 billion, the companies announced Monday. Poshmark shares popped as much as 14% in extended trading. Naver is paying $17.90 per share in the all-cash deal. Poshmark closed on Monday at $15.57. Naver operates a search engine, e-commerce platform and other services in South Korea. The companies said the deal will deepen Naver’s reach in online retail, while allowing Poshmark to enter international markets. Poshmark is a popular online retail site that lets people shop from the closets of other users. The company went public in January 2021 at $42 a share, hitting the market at a time when online shopping was surging due to the Covid-19 pandemic and investors were flocking to tech stocks. Since then, the stock has fallen sharply, tumbling alongside the rest of the tech industry. Naver and Poshmark said they expect the deal to generate “significant revenue and cost synergies,” including re-acceleration of annual revenue growth beyond 20% in the near term, as ads improve monetization, investments grow overseas and live commerce gets greater adoption. The deal adds to recent consolidation in the secondhand clothing market. Etsy acquired fashion resale app Depop for $1.62 billion last year. Depop competes with Poshmark and other resale services like ThredUp. The companies will host a conference call to discuss the deal at 9 p.m. ET on Monday. WATCH: Young entrepreneurs turn old clothes into big money Read More Here

AP News In Brief At 9:04 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-in-brief-at-904-p-m-edt-8/ Ukraine claws back more territory Russia is trying to absorb KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces scored more gains in their counteroffensive across at least two fronts Monday, advancing in the very areas that Russia is trying to absorb and challenging Moscow’s effort to engage fresh troops and its threats to defend incorporated areas by all means. In their latest breakthrough, Ukrainian forces penetrated Moscow’s defenses in the strategic southern Kherson region, one of the four areas in Ukraine that Russia is in the process of annexing. Kyiv’s troops also consolidated gains in the east and other major battlefields, re-establishing Ukrainian control just as Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to overcome problems with manpower, weapons, troop morale and logistics, along with intensifying domestic and international criticism. Putin faces disarray and anger domestically about his partial troop mobilization and confusion about the establishment of new Russian borders. Ukraine’s advances have become so apparent that even Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, who usually focuses on his military’s successes and the enemy’s losses, was forced to acknowledge it. “With numerically superior tank units in the direction of Zolota Balka and Oleksandrivka, the enemy managed to forge deep into our defenses,” Konashenkov said Monday, referring to two towns in the Kherson region. He coupled that with claims that Russian forces inflicted heavy losses on Ukraine’s military. N. Korea sends missile soaring over Japan in escalation SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, forcing Japan to issue evacuation notices and suspend trains, as the North escalates tests of weapons designed to strike regional U.S. allies. It was the most significant missile test by North Korea since January, when it fired an Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam. Japan and South Korea both called security meetings to discuss the launch. The Japanese prime minister’s office said at least one missile fired from North Korea flew over Japan and was believed to have landed into the Pacific Ocean. Japanese authorities alerted residents in northeastern regions to evacuate to shelters, in the first “J-alert” alert since 2017 when North Korea fired a Hwasong-12 missile over Japan in its previous provocative run of weapons tests. Trains were suspended in the Hokkaido and Aomori regions until the government issued a subsequent notice that the North Korean missile appeared to have landed into the Pacific. Officials: US to send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will soon deliver to Ukraine four more of the advanced rocket systems credited with helping the country’s military gain momentum in its war with Russia. The High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, will be part of a new $625 million package of aid expected to be announced on Tuesday, according to U.S. officials. The decision marks the first time the U.S. has sent more HIMARS to Ukraine since late July, and it will bring the total number delivered so far to 20. The systems have become a key tool in Ukraine’s ability to strike bridges that Russia has used to supply its troops, enabling Ukrainian forces to make inroads in Russia-controlled regions. The U.S. in recent weeks also provided funding through a separate program — the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative — so another 18 HIMARS can be purchased through longer-term contracts. USAI funds are being used as part of the effort by the U.S. and Western allies to ensure Ukraine’s forces are trained and equipped to defend their country in the years to come. But those contracts will take several years to fulfill. The latest aid package is also expected to include other ammunition and equipment for Ukraine’s troops. Several U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of the package ahead of the announcement. This is the first tranche of U.S. aid delivered in the new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. Oath Keepers trial: Jan. 6 was ‘rebellion,’ prosecutor says WASHINGTON (AP) — The founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates planned an “armed rebellion” to keep President Donald Trump in power, a federal prosecutor contended Monday as the most serious case yet went to trial in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Stewart Rhodes and his band of extremists were prepared to go to war to stop Joe Biden from becoming president, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told jurors. The group celebrated the Capitol attack as a victory in that fight and continued their plot even after Biden’s electoral victory was certified, Nestler alleged. “Their goal was to stop, by whatever means necessary, the lawful transfer of presidential power, including by taking up arms against the United States government,” the prosecutor said during his opening statement. “They concocted a plan for armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy.” The defendants are the first among hundreds of people arrested in the Capitol riot to stand trial on seditious conspiracy, a rare Civil War-era charge that calls for up to 20 years behind bars. The stakes are high for the Justice Department, which last secured such a conviction at trial nearly 30 years ago, and intends to try two more groups on the charge later this year. The trial comes as Trump continues to insist, against much evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and as vocal pushback against the charges filed against those who entered the Capitol continues in some quarters. The broader reaction could show how the American public, as well as the jury, sees the attack, nearly two years later. Frustration and desperation mount as Ian’s effects linger FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Days after the skies cleared and the winds died down in Florida, Hurricane Ian’s effects persisted Monday, as people faced another week without power and others were being rescued from homes inundated with lingering floodwaters. Ten additional deaths were blamed on the storm in Florida as frustration and desperation mounted in the path the storm cut through state. And the hurricane’s remnants, now a nor’easter, weren’t done with the U.S. The mid-Atlantic and Northeast coasts were getting flooding rains. The storm’s onshore winds piled even more water into an already inundated Chesapeake Bay. Norfolk and Virginia Beach declared states of emergency, although a shift in wind direction prevented potentially catastrophic levels Monday, said Cody Poche, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia Coastal flooding temporarily shut down the only highway to part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and flooding was possible all the way to Long Island, the National Weather Service said. Georgia election probe enters new phase with search warrants ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor investigating whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke the law trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state is seeking search warrants in the case, a sign that the wide-ranging probe has entered a new phase. The revelation came Monday in a court order filed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s overseeing the special grand jury seated to help the investigation. In an order sealing any search warrants and related documents from being made public, McBurney wrote that District Attorney Fani Willis’ office is “now seeking to obtain and execute a series of search warrants, the affidavits for which are predicated on sensitive information acquired during the investigation.” Disclosure of the information could compromise the investigation, McBurney wrote, “by, among other things, causing flight from prosecution, destruction of or tampering with evidence, and intimidation of potential witnesses.” It could also result in risks to the “safety and well-being” of people involved in the investigation, he wrote. It wasn’t immediately clear who the targets of the search warrants are or whether any search warrants had yet to be approved by a judge. To obtain a search warrant, prosecutors must convince a judge they have probable cause that a crime occurred at the location where authorities want to search. As Willis’ investigation ramps up, the public court filings in the case have provided a rare window into the workings of a special grand jury that meets behind closed doors. Trump rallies drift to fringe ahead of potential 2024 bid WARREN, Mich. (AP) — Paige Cole is one of the “Anons.” The mother of three from Eastpointe, Michigan, says Joe Biden is a sham president and believes Donald Trump will soon be reinstated to the White House to finish the remainder of Biden’s term. “His whole inauguration was fake. He didn’t have real military people. He had, like, fake badges, fake people. And Trump is actually our president,” she said while waiting in line for his latest rally on Saturday at Macomb Community College. Wearing a pink “Trump 2024” hat and draped in a large “TRUMP WON” flag, Cole — a former Democrat who says she voted twice for Barack Obama — began to cry as she described the significance of Trump’s return and the 1,000 years of peace she believes will be ushered in with it. “It’s gonna change everything,” she says, “like we have never in humanity seen before.” Trump’s rallies have always attracted a broad swath of supporters, from first timers taking advantage of their chance to see a president in person, to devotees who camp out for days and follow him around the country like rock band groupies. But after spending much of the last two years obsessively peddling false claims of a stolen election, Trump is increasingly attr...

Brett Favre Hires Former Trump Attorney In Mississippi Welfare Fraud Case https://digitalalaskanews.com/brett-favre-hires-former-trump-attorney-in-mississippi-welfare-fraud-case/ Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre has hired a high-powered attorney to represent him in the $70 million welfare fraud scheme in Mississippi. Eric Herschmann served on former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment defense team. According to CNN, Herschmann said in a statement he agreed to represent the Pro Football Hall of Famer after he did his “independent due diligence.” Herschmann also said he was convinced Favre did nothing wrong. Favre was previously represented by lawyer Bud Holmes. So far, Favre has not been charged or accused of any crime in connection with the scandal. Favre allegedly received millions for his start-up company and for speeches he never gave from the nation’s poorest state. According to NBC, Mississippi paid Favre $1.1 million in 2017 and 2018 to give speeches – out of federal welfare funds intended for needy families. The state’s auditor is demanding the money back with interest. NBC reports Favre has paid back the fees, but not the $228,000 in interest. The Associated Press previously reported Favre denied he was paid for events he didn’t attend and said his charity provided millions to poor children in both Mississippi and Wisconsin. However, as the scandal continues to unfold, ESPN Milwaukee and Sirius XM Radio put Favre’s weekly shows and appearances on pause. Last month, a Mississippi Today report said the former governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, helped Favre get welfare funds to build a volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi. The report cites text messages filed in the state’s lawsuit over misspent welfare funds. The text messages were filed by an attorney representing Nancy New, who has pleaded guilty to her role in the welfare scheme. Nancy New and her son once ran a nonprofit group and an education company in Mississippi that spent millions of dollars in federal welfare funds to help the state. According to Mississippi Today reporting, the text messages show Favre, Bryant, and New discussed how to move $5 million in welfare funds to build a new volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre played at Southern Miss and his daughter was a volleyball player there at the time some of the text messages were sent. Last week, a new report alleged Favre used $60,000 from his nonprofit disadvantaged children to help pay for a new volleyball gym at his daughter’s high school. The Daily Beast reports the retired Green Bay Packers quarterback’s nonprofit Favre4Hope directed the funds to the booster club of suburban Oak Grove, one of the highest-rated high schools in Mississippi. Two years after the new stadium was built, the contractor filed a lawsuit against the boosters claiming the group still owed them $328,000, the Daily Beast reports. Favre was not listed as a defendant but was named in a letter attached to the civil complaint, the report alleges. Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sign up for our new TMJ4 Morning Headlines Newsletter and get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 9:02 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-902-p-m-edt/ Ukraine claws back more territory Russia is trying to absorb KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces have scored more gains in their counteroffensive across a broad front. The troops advanced Monday in the very areas Russia is trying to absorb. Their breakthroughs challenged Russia’s effort to engage fresh troops and its threats to defend incorporated areas by all means, including with nuclear weapons. Ukrainian forces penetrated Moscow’s defenses in the strategic southern Kherson region, one of the four areas Russia is annexing. Ukraine’s advances have become so apparent that even Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman admitted the gains. He cited Ukraine’s numerically superior tank units. Also Monday, Russia released from detention the head of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. N. Korea sends missile soaring over Japan in escalation SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years as it escalates tests of weapons designed to strike regional U.S. allies. The launch early Tuesday forced Japan to issue evacuation notices to residents in the northeast and suspend trains. It was North Korea’s most significant missile test since January. Japan and South Korea both called security meetings to discuss the launch. The launch is the fifth round of weapons tests by North Korean in the past 10 days in what was seen as an apparent response to recent military drills involving the United States and its allies in North Asia. Officials: US to send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will soon deliver four more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, under a new $625 million package of aid expected to be announced Tuesday. That’s according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of the package ahead of the announcement. The decision marks the first time the U.S. has sent more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to Ukraine since late July, and it will bring the total number delivered so far to 20. The systems have become a key tool in Ukraine’s ability to strike bridges that Russia has used to supply its troops, enabling Ukrainian forces to make inroads in Russia-controlled regions. Oath Keepers trial: Jan. 6 was ‘rebellion,’ prosecutor says WASHINGTON (AP) — Prosecutors are saying at the opening of the most serious case to reach trial in the attack on the U.S. Capitol that the founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates planned for an “armed rebellion” to stop the transfer of presidential power. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler delivered his opening statement Monday in Washington’s federal court in the trial of Stewart Rhodes and others charged with seditious conspiracy. They are accused of a weekslong plot to stop the transfer of power from Republican Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden. Defense attorneys accused prosecutors of cherry-picking comments from messages and videos and said the government has no evidence there ever was any plan to attack the Capitol. Frustration and desperation mount as Ian’s effects linger FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Days after Hurricane Ian carved a path of destruction from Florida to the Carolinas, the dangers persisted, and even worsened in some places. It was clear the road to recovery from the storm will be long and painful. More than 500,000 homes and businesses remained without power Monday in Florida and it will be the weekend before most power is restored. And Ian still is not done. Officials warned there still was the potential of coastal flooding from Long Island south to North Carolina’s Outer Banks where the only highway to the barrier islands was closed by sand and seawater. Seventy-eight deaths have been blamed on Ian, with 71 of them reported in Florida. Georgia election probe enters new phase with search warrants ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor investigating whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke the law trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state is seeking search warrants in the case. It’s a sign the wide-ranging probe has entered a new phase. The revelation came Monday in a court order filed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney. It wasn’t immediately clear who the targets of the search warrants are or whether any search warrants had been executed. As the investigation ramps up, the public court filings have provided a rare window into the workings of a special grand jury that meets behind closed doors. Trump rallies drift to fringe ahead of potential 2024 bid WARREN, Mich. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s rallies have always attracted a broad swath of supporters. They draw first timers taking advantage of their chance to see a president in person to devotees who camp out for days and follow him around the country like rock band groupies. But after spending much of the last two years obsessively peddling false claims of a stolen election, Trump is increasingly attracting those who have broken with reality. That includes adherents of the baseless QAnon conspiracy, which began in the dark corners of the internet and is premised on the belief that the country is run by a ring of child sex traffickers that only Trump can defeat. Frustration with Ukraine war spills out on Russian state TV Russia’s retreat from a key Ukrainian city over the weekend elicited outcry from an unlikely crowd – state-run media outlets that typically speak glowingly about Moscow’s war. A series of embarrassing military losses for Moscow has presented a growing challenge for prominent hosts of Russian news and political talk shows scrambling to find ways to paint Kyiv’s gains in a way that is still favorable to the Kremlin. The less conciliatory tone from state-run media comes as President Vladimir Putin faces more than just battlefield losses; there is widespread Russian discontent about his partial mobilization of reservists and officials are struggling to explain plans to annex Ukrainian regions while they are being retaken by Kyiv’s forces. Wall Street soars to best day since summer, S&P 500 up 2.6% NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rallied to its best day since July as falling bond yields eased some of the pressure that’s battered markets. The S&P 500 rose 2.6% Monday, the latest swing for a scattershot market that’s been mostly falling this year on worries about a possible global recession. Treasury yields fell after a report on U.S. manufacturing came in weaker than expected. That could mean the Federal Reserve won’t have to be so aggressive about raising interest rates to beat down the high inflation damaging households’ finances, but analysts still see plenty more turbulence ahead. Will Smith’s ‘Emancipation’ gets release date, post-slap NEW YORK (AP) — After holding “Emancipation” in limbo following Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March, Apple will release the actor’s next big project in December. The fate of the $120 million runaway slave thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua had been uncertain. One of Apple’s most high-profile productions yet, the film had once been expected to be a potential Oscar contender this year. But an awards-season rollout of a film headlined by Smith has obvious complications as Smith is banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years. Apple TV+ will debut “Emancipation” on Dec. 2 in theaters and stream it Dec. 9. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

N.Korea Fires Missile Over Japan, Stopping Trains And Sparking Warning Message https://digitalalaskanews.com/n-korea-fires-missile-over-japan-stopping-trains-and-sparking-warning-message/ SEOUL/TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Nuclear-armed North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years on Tuesday, prompting a warning for residents to take cover and a temporary suspension of train operations in northern Japan. The Japanese government warned citizens to take cover as the missile appeared to have flown over and past its territory before falling into the Pacific Ocean. It said it did not use any defence measures to destroy the missile, which was the first to fly over or past Japan from North Korea since 2017. “North Korea’s series of actions, including its repeated ballistic missile launches, threatens the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community, and poses a serious challenge to the entire international community, including Japan,” Japan’s top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno, told a news conference. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com He said the missile flew 4,600 kilometres (2,850 miles) to a maximum altitude of 1,000 km. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it appeared to have been an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) launched from North Korea’s Jagang Province. North Korea has used that province to launch several recent tests, including multiple missiles that it claimed were “hypersonic.” The test prompted East Japan Railway Co (9020.T) to suspend train operations in the northern regions, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported. Matsuno said there were no reports of damage to aircraft or ships from the missile. ‘REAL-WORLD’ TEST The initial flight details announced by South Korea and Japan suggest the missile may have been the Hwasong-12 IRBM, which North Korea unveiled in 2017 as part of its threatened plan to strike Guam, said Kim Dong-yup, a former South Korea Navy officer who now teaches at Kyungnam University. The Hwasong-12 was used in 2017 tests that overflew Japan, and Kim noted it was also test fired from Jagang Province in January. North Korea’s flurry of missile testing is helping make more of its weapons operational, develop new capabilities, and send a message that its weapons development is sovereign right that should be accepted by the world, analysts said. North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programmes are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions, which have imposed sanctions on the country. Many of North Korea’s ballistic missile tests are conducted on a “lofted trajectory,” which sends them high into space but leads to an impact point not far from the launch site, avoiding over flights of its neighbours. Firing over or past Japan allows North Korea’s scientists to test missiles under more realistic conditions, said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Compared to the usual highly lofted trajectory, this allows them to expose a long-range reentry vehicle to thermal loads and atmospheric reentry stresses that are more representative of the conditions they’d endure in real-world use,” he said. “Politically, it’s complicated: the missile largely flies outside of the atmosphere when it’s over Japan, but it’s obviously distressing to the Japanese public to receive warnings of a possible incoming North Korean missile.” POLITICAL BACKLASH The latest launch was Pyongyang’s fifth in 10 days, amid military muscle-flexing by the United States and South Korea, which conducted trilateral anti-submarine exercises last week with Japanese naval forces. South Korea staged its own show of advanced weaponry on Saturday to mark its Armed Forces Day, including multiple rocket launchers, ballistic missiles, main battle tanks, drones and F-35 fighters. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called the test “reckless” and said it would bring a decisive response from his country’s military, its allies and the international community. The North has completed preparations for a nuclear test, which it might look to undertake sometime between China’s Communist Party Congress this month and U.S. mid-term elections in November, South Korean lawmakers said last week. “So I guess the extremely sensitive period of the run-up to Xi Jinping’s 20th Party Congress was not deemed sensitive enough in Pyongyang to prevent or at least delay this,” John Delury of Seoul’s Yonsei University, said of Tuesday’s missile launch in a post on Twitter. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called North Korea’s actions “barbaric”, and said the government would continue to gather and analyse information. The launch over Japan was “unfortunate” and “not a productive path forward,” Daniel Kritenbrink, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, said during an online event hosted by the Institute for Corean-American Studies. “We are open to diplomacy with North Korea (but) it very much takes two to tango,” he said. “We are going to leave that door open, but we are going to respond resolutely to this growing threat.” Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith in Seoul, and Chang-Ran Kim and Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Leslie Adler, Chris Reese, Lincoln Feast and Gerry Doyle Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

P https://digitalalaskanews.com/p-8/ Public Comment Open for Juneau Police Department Spending Plan for Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program Funding The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program is the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The FFY22 JAG allocation and award to the City and Borough of Juneau, Juneau Police Department is $37,362. The Police Department’s full spending plan proposal for these funds can be found on the City’s website, at the link below. This proposal will not pass through the City and Borough of Juneau’s Assembly for public hearing. A resolution will be submitted to the Assembly for final consideration and adoption supporting the grant and its funding uses. The Assembly appropriated authority for these expenditures in the Police Department’s FY23 City Budget. The U.S. Department of Justice JAG Program requires a 30-day public comment period prior to releasing funds for the FFY22 JAG Program. The public can submit comments to Adrien Speegle, City and Borough of Juneau Budget Manager, electronically at adrien.speegle@juneau.org, or via mail to 105 Municipal Way, Juneau, AK 99801. All public comments will be taken into full consideration after the required 30-day comment period has closed on November 4, 2022. For more information, contact CBJ Budget Manager Adrien Speegle at (907) 586-5215 ext. 4058. FY22 JPD Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Spending Plan Read More Here

Forestry Wildfire Mitigation Programs Still Underway In Alaska’s Interior https://digitalalaskanews.com/forestry-wildfire-mitigation-programs-still-underway-in-alaskas-interior/ By Alaska Division of Forestry on October 3, 2022 The Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection (DOF) has been taking advantage of favorable conditions to continue burning piles of black spruce slash cut in recent years as part of wildfire mitigation programs for the community of Anderson and the Fairbanks North Star Borough. DOF’s Fairbanks Area Forestry office has burned over 900 piles, each about 10 feet around and four feet tall, completing their work near Milepost 4 of Goldstream Road in two parcels north of the road: one 16-acre parcel north of Clifden and Molly roads, and a 10-acre parcel south of Ballina Road. Firefighters have extinguished and mopped up the burned piles and will continue to monitor the area to ensure that nothing rekindles. Last week, Fairbanks Area Forestry firefighters and members of the DOF White Mountain Type 2 Initial Attack Crew turned their attention to the Cripple Creek/Parks Highway areas and burned nearly 240 piles in two days work. Conditions were best in a 32-acre parcel north of the Parks Highway near Pear Tree Loop, Parks Ridge Road and Spirit Court, where more than 200 piles have been burned. The piles were wetter and not burning as well in a 21-acre parcel south of the Parks Highway and west of Violin Circle, Harp Court and Mandolin Circle. Firefighters will continue their work in these areas as long as favorable conditions continue. Local residents may see smoke from the burning. gordon.amundson@alaska.gov Categories: AK Fire Info, Alaska DNR – Division of Forestry (DOF), Fuel Break Project Tags: Anderson, Cripple Creek Subdivision, Goldstream AK Subdivision, pile burning, Rx Burn Piles Read More Here

Rex Tillerson Says He Knew Nothing Of Foreign Influence Plans https://digitalalaskanews.com/rex-tillerson-says-he-knew-nothing-of-foreign-influence-plans/ The former secretary of state testified in the trial of Thomas Barrack, who is accused of acting as an agent for the United Arab Emirates during the Trump administration. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing in 2017. Mr. Tillerson testified on Monday in the trial of Thomas J. Barrack Jr.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times Oct. 3, 2022Updated 7:12 p.m. ET Former Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson on Monday told jurors in the trial of Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a private equity investor accused of secretly working for the United Arab Emirates, that despite being America’s top diplomat, he was unaware of any back-channel dealings with the oil-producing Gulf state. Mr. Tillerson — a former head of Exxon Mobil and a relative outsider in the Trump administration — testified that he tried, in his brief and tumultuous stint in government, to keep the nation’s foreign policy above board by, in part, pushing for checks on outside influence. But in a sometimes slapdash and inscrutable administration, the influence of outside advisers at times frustrated those efforts. Prosecutors have accused Mr. Barrack, a longtime friend of Mr. Trump, of acting as an illegal agent of the Emiratis, seeking to influence the Trump campaign and administration and funneling secret information to the Gulf state. Mr. Tillerson’s three-hour testimony amounted to a reunion in federal court in Brooklyn of influential figures in the Trump administration, as well as a refresher course in Middle East political crises during Mr. Trump’s first year in office. After Mr. Tillerson was fired in March 2018 — over Twitter — having failed to establish himself as Mr. Trump’s chief diplomat, he returned to Texas as a retiree. Aside from a commencement address that spring, animated by a veiled rebuke of Mr. Trump, Mr. Tillerson has rarely spoken publicly about his experience in Washington. On Monday, Mr. Tillerson, who now wears a full white mustache, testified that he had spoken with Mr. Barrack only a handful of times, including once when Mr. Barrack called him to ask about a possible ambassadorship, and that he was unaware of any side channels that Mr. Barrack had with Mr. Trump. Asked by a prosecutor if he were aware that Mr. Barrack had passed sensitive information to a foreign government, Mr. Tillerson said he was not. That testimony stood in contrast to the testimony and evidence provided so far in the trial, which began with opening statements on Sept. 21. Jurors have heard expert testimony about the United Arab Emirates and have seen hundreds of emails and text messages exchanged among Mr. Barrack, Emirati officials and Trump campaign officials in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors have accused Mr. Barrack of using his sway with Mr. Trump to advance the interests of the Emiratis, serving as a secret back channel for communications without disclosing his efforts to the attorney general, as the government contends he should have. He faces nine counts, including acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Prosecutors say Mr. Barrack repeatedly lied to F.B.I. agents when questioned in 2019 about his dealings with the Emiratis. Evidence so far shows a frenzy of correspondence about media appearances and policy positions, with Mr. Barrack and his assistant seeking regular feedback from the Emiratis. Mr. Barrack’s lawyers have called the government’s accusations “ridiculous” and have said he was acting on his own accord, as a businessman with extensive international interests, not as a secret agent. Image Mr. Barrack, center, leaving the Federal District Court in Brooklyn in September. Mr. Barrack is accused of acting as an illegal agent of the United Arab Emirates while seeking to influence the Trump campaign and administration.Credit…Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times Mr. Tillerson is well versed in the international politics of energy. His selection as secretary of state was met with skepticism over his connections in Russia and other energy-producing states, including with Middle Eastern leaders, formed over his decades as a deal maker in the private sector. Mr. Tillerson’s tenure at the State Department was rocky from the start, marked by low morale and an exodus of officials. Some of his troubles emanated from the White House itself, which often preferred to call its own shots on engagement with foreign officials, rather than check with the State Department. On the witness stand, Mr. Tillerson repeatedly said he was not aware of the details of what Mr. Trump heard from his outside advisers on foreign policy, including Mr. Barrack and Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and adviser. Mr. Tillerson described a spring 2017 meeting in Washington between Mr. Trump and Mohammed bin Salman — then the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia. At the time, Mr. Tillerson recalled on the witness stand, the lines of succession in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were “evolving quickly,” as younger members of the royal families positioned themselves to take on more power. “I thought he should not take that meeting,” Mr. Tillerson testified, saying he was concerned it might suggest that Mr. Trump was putting a thumb on the scales for the ambitious prince. “The United States should stay neutral,” Mr. Tillerson said. Another challenge emerged in June 2017, when Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates accused Qatar of supporting terrorism. Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen launched a blockade of Qatar, creating a confrontation among some of America’s most important allies. In the blockade’s early days, there were differing views about what prompted the action, Mr. Tillerson testified. On cross-examination, he said Mr. Kushner was among those who thought Qatar was sponsoring terrorism and that there was substantial media coverage of the disagreements in the administration. While the State Department ultimately “found no validity to the claims” of the Gulf countries and blamed the intransigence of Saudi Arabia for the standoff, Mr. Trump heaped praise on Saudi’s monarchs. Asked in court on Monday if Mr. Barrack was involved in discussions about the Qatari blockade, Mr. Tillerson said “not to my knowledge.” The former secretary of state did not elaborate in depth on his clashes with Mr. Trump — even when one of Mr. Barrack’s lawyers, Randall Jackson, prompted him on cross-examination with an infamous tweet in which Mr. Trump appeared to contradict Mr. Tillerson on negotiations with North Korea: “I told Rex Tillerson our wonderful Secretary of State that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man.” That tweet, Mr. Tillerson said, “does not represent a disagreement between the president and I.” Mr. Jackson continued, asking if “on some occasions, you were playing bad cop, good cop with the president.” “Or vice versa,” Mr. Tillerson said. Mr. Jackson asked about occasions in which Mr. Trump did not take Mr. Tillerson’s recommendations. “He is the president of the United States, and that’s fine,” Mr. Tillerson said. Read More Here