Digital Alaska News

Tropical Storm Ian Regains Hurricane Strength – Follow Live https://digitalalaskanews.com/tropical-storm-ian-regains-hurricane-strength-follow-live/ Hurricane Ian: Waves flood roads in Key West as storm strengthens to category 4 After spending most of Thursday as a tropical storm, Ian was upgraded to a hurricane again as it takes aim at the South Carolina coastline. The National Hurricane Center stated in its 5pm ET update that Hurricane Ian was “taking aim at the Carolinas and Georgia with life-threatening flooding, storm surge and strong winds.” “Ian could slightly strengthen before landfall, and is forecast to rapidly weaken over the southeastern United States late Friday into Saturday,” the advisory said. Dozens of rescue operations have been taking place across Florida after unprecedented flooding from one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the United States. Thousands of people are stranded across the state as coastguard helicopters were seen plucking people from roofs after several feet of water surged into neighbourhoods. Some 2.5million people were currently without power. Meanwhile, the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Ian could amount to as much as $120bn, according to a new estimate. Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists Email Please enter a valid email Please enter a valid email Password Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number First name Please enter your first name Special characters aren’t allowed Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters Last name Please enter your last name Special characters aren’t allowed Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters You must be over 18 years old to register You must be over 18 years old to register Year of birth I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent.  Read our Privacy notice You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe. Already have an account? sign in Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists Email Please enter a valid email Please enter a valid email Password Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number First name Please enter your first name Special characters aren’t allowed Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters Last name Please enter your last name Special characters aren’t allowed Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters You must be over 18 years old to register You must be over 18 years old to register Year of birth I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent.  Read our Privacy notice You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe. Already have an account? sign in Read More Here

Trump Special Master Deadline Extended Until Dec. 16 By Judge https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-special-master-deadline-extended-until-dec-16-by-judge/ WASHINGTON — (TNS) A federal judge in Florida has extended the timeline for the review of documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, delaying the fight over whether any materials are privileged by another two weeks. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, citing delays in hiring a vendor to scan the 11,000 documents at issue, ruled in an order Thursday that the special master overseeing the review, U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, would have until Dec. 16 to complete his work. Dearie originally faced a Nov. 30 deadline.  Read More Here

Ginni Thomas Appears Before House Panel Probing Jan. 6 Attack https://digitalalaskanews.com/ginni-thomas-appears-before-house-panel-probing-jan-6-attack/ WASHINGTON — (TNS) Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, appeared for a voluntary interview Thursday before the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, which sought information about her involvement in the effort to overturn President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election. Ginni Thomas’ appearance in person on Capitol Hill comes as the committee nears the end of its investigation, with a plan to release a report by the end of the year on the circumstances leading to the Jan. 6 attack that features Trump’s push to change the outcomes in key states. Read More Here

Stock Futures Inch Lower Following Thursday’s Broad Sell-Off https://digitalalaskanews.com/stock-futures-inch-lower-following-thursdays-broad-sell-off/ Stock futures were lower on Friday morning following a sharp sell-off that brought the S&P 500 to a new 2022 low. Futures tied to the S&P 500 were down 0.25%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 0.36% or 106 points. Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.26% lower. The 2022 sell-off resumed in full force during regular trading on Thursday as investors weighed concerns over future rate-hiking decisions from the Federal Reserve and the impact on the market. Apple led Thursday’s decline, closing down 4.9% as the tech giant has faced reports of declining demand for its new products, specifically the iPhone 14 series. Bank of America also downgraded the tech giant, which pressured shares. At the end of regular trading on Thursday, the S&P 500 dropped 2.1% to 3,640.47. The Dow was down 1.54% to 29,225.61, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.84% to 10,737.51. The major indexes are also on track to end the week — and September — sharply in the red. The S&P 500 is off 1.4% for the week, while the Dow and the Nasdaq are each down 1.2%. For September, the S&P 500 is down 7.9%, and the Dow is off 7.2%. The Nasdaq is on track for a loss of 9.1% for the month. “The market stinks,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner of Harris Financial Group. “But that’s basically what the Fed wants: tighten financial conditions, and they believe that that will help bring down inflation to the levels that they find acceptable. And they’re using the transmission mechanism of the market to make that happen.” Nike shares fell in after-hours trading after the company reported that sales increased, but supply chain and inventory issues hampered the bottom line in its fiscal first quarter. Meanwhile, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals‘ shares spiked after the Food and Drug Administration approved its drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease. On the economic data front, investors will watch for personal income and spending and consumer spending Friday morning. The Federal Reserve’s favorite measure of inflation, the PCE deflator, is also due for August. China reports better-than-expected factory activity for September China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index surprisingly grew in September to 50.1, much higher than the 49.6 predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction. PMI prints compare activity from month to month. Meanwhile, the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, a private survey of factory activity — reported a contraction with a reading of 48.1. “Subdued demand conditions and lower production requirements led firms to cut back on their purchasing activity in September, with the rate of decline the quickest in four months,” the Caixin press release said. The official non-manufacturing PMI came in at 50.6 in September, down from 52.6 in August. — Abigail Ng CNBC Pro: Is the Fed on the right track? Wall Street veteran Ed Yardeni says this is what it should do next The U.S Federal Reserve announced yet another 75 basis point hike earlier this month, sending the federal funds rate up to a range of 3% to 3.25%. The central bank also signaled it may raise interest rates up to as high as 4.6% in 2023 to control inflation. Ed Yardeni, the economist who coined the term “bond vigilantes,” gives his take as the Fed’s response to inflation comes under intense scrutiny. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Zavier Ong Nike, Amylyx move in post-market trading Nike and Amylyx Pharmaceuticals are moving after hours. The sportswear giant Nike was down about 9.2% in after-hour trading Thursday after reporting first-quarter earnings after the bell. Despite beating revenue expectations, the company said supply chain and inventory issues hurt the bottom line. On the other hand, Amylyx saw shares up nearly 10% in extended trading. The pharmaceutical company received approval from the Food and Drug Administration late in the afternoon for its controversial new drug expected to slow the progress of Lou Gehrig’s disease. — Alex Harring Indices slide week to date, month to date The three major indices are all on pace to slide this week. The Dow is down about 1.23% week to date, putting it on track for its sixth negative week out of the last second. It dropped 7.25% so far this month, which places it on pace for its worst month since March 2020 – when the pandemic began. The S&P 500 was also on track for its sixth negative week out of the last seven, notching down 1.43% so far this week. It has fallen 7.95% month to date, which would be its worst month since June if it remains at that level. Also heading toward its sixth negative week out of the last seven, the Nasdaq slid 1.2% so far this week. It is down 9.13% month to date, meaning it is on track for its worst monthly performance since April. — Alex Harring Futures tick up slightly in first hour Futures ticked up slightly after open Thursday evening following a day of sell-offs as nervous investors continue wondering how the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation will impact markets. Futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.33%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up slightly less at 0.23%. Nasdaq 100 futures followed closely, up 0.21%. — Alex Harring Read More Here

New Owners Of Wasilla 4-Plex Surprised After DOT Levels Privacy Trees https://digitalalaskanews.com/new-owners-of-wasilla-4-plex-surprised-after-dot-levels-privacy-trees/ WASILLA, Alaska (KTUU) – After being designated as a Safety Corridor in 2009 by the State of Alaska, Knik-Goose Bay Road finally began phase 1 of a four-mile reconstruction project last month. The project will expand the corridor to a four-lane divided roadway between Centaur Avenue to Fairview Loop. The Department of Transportation has been working around the clock clearing existing public right-of-ways to make room for road expansion. However, one property owner of a four-plex in the area was surprised to see a video taken by a tenant last month, shocked that the privacy trees that surrounded three sides of the complex had been leveled — including the backside of the property that faces the notoriously dangerous road. “My whole backyard is gone, like, my kid has nowhere to play next summer,” said Amber Bolam, a tenant in the complex. Bolam has lived in her apartment for the last three years and said all the tenants use the back area for family functions. Despite being close to the road, she said it was thickly surrounded by a wooded area to the point where people even had a hard time finding the place. Owner Russ Elliot purchased the complex in January of this year and has his daughter, Suzy Campbell, managing the property. Campbell said they had no idea the department had plans to clear the trees and that nothing was disclosed in their For Sale By Owner transaction with the previous owner, Don McKay. “We were not aware that that was going to happen,” Campbell said. “This is not a good situation for (the tenants).” Elliot and Campbell reached out to the department to see if they could help mitigate the impact on the property. Campbell said they were responsive to communication, but ultimately not responsible. “They said their hands are tied, they can’t do anything to change this,” Campbell said. The department provided Elliot and Campbell with temporary construction easement and permit paperwork that the previous owner had signed in November of 2020. Since Elliot didn’t purchase the property until 2022, he was unaware the documents existed. In a phone conversation on Thursday afternoon, previous owner Don McKay acknowledged that he was aware of the plan to widen the road, but didn’t know the the department would down the privacy trees in the process. The administrative operations manager for the department, Justin Shelby, said this project has been in the planning process for a long time and that all property owners subjected to its impact were notified. “Property owners were contacted, you know, years prior — so 2020, 2021 — regarding the work that was going to be done in the area including the clearing of trees in the right-of-way,” Shelby said. This leaves Elliot, Campbell, and their tenants unsure of what to do next, as the construction project aimed at improving safety on Knik-Goose Bay Road has left their residential property more exposed. Copyright 2022 KTUU. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Germany Will Borrow Nearly $200 Billion To Cap Consumers' Energy Bills | CNN Business https://digitalalaskanews.com/germany-will-borrow-nearly-200-billion-to-cap-consumers-energy-bills-cnn-business/ London CNN Business  —  The German government announced plans to borrow €200 billion ($195 billion) to cap natural gas prices for households and businesses. That’s a bigger price tag than the £150 billion ($165 billion) the UK government is expected to borrow to finance its own price cap. Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, is trying to cope with surging gas and electricity costs caused largely by a collapse in Russian gas supplies to Europe. Moscow has blamed these supply issues on the Western sanctions that followed its invasion of Ukraine in February. “Prices have to come down, so the government will do everything it can. To this end, we are setting up a large defensive shield,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday. Under the plans, which are set to run until spring 2024, the government will introduce an emergency price brake on gas, the details of which will be announced next month. It is also scrapping a planned gas levy meant to help firms struggling with high spot market prices. A temporary electricity price brake will subsidize basic consumption for consumers and small and medium-sized companies. Sales tax on gas will fall sharply to 7% from 19%. The package will be financed with new borrowing this year, as Berlin makes use of the suspension of a constitutionally enshrined limit on new debt of 0.35% of gross domestic product. Finance Minister Christian Lindner has said he wants to comply with the limit again next year. Lindner, of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) who share power with Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens, said on Thursday the country’s public finances were stable. “We can put it no other way: We find ourselves in an energy war,” said Lindner. “We want to clearly separate crisis expenditure from our regular budget management. We want to send a very clear signal to the capital markets.” Lindner also said the steps would act as a brake on inflation, which has hit its highest level in more than a quarter century. Consumer prices rose 10.9% in the year through September, provisional data from the country’s statistics office showed on Thursday. Germany has historically relied on Russian natural gas exports to fuel its homes and heavy industry. But a sharp drop in Moscow’s gas shipments since the start of the war has pushed some of Germany’s manufacturers to the brink. “The Russian attack on Ukraine and the resulting crisis on the energy markets are leading to a noticeable slump in the German economy,” Torsten Schmidt, head of economic research at RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, said in a Thursday report coauthored with three other top German economic institutes. While German GDP is expected to rise by 1.4% this year, it is likely to fall by 0.4% in 2023, the report predicts. The report said that, while tight gas supplies should ease over the medium-term, prices are likely to remain “well above pre-crisis levels.” “This will mean a permanent loss of prosperity for Germany,” it said. Industry groups welcomed the government’s plans. “This is important relief,” said Wolfgang Grosse Entrup, head of the chemicals industry trade group VCI. “Now we need details quickly, as firms increasingly have their backs to the wall.” Read More Here

AP News Summary At 11:53 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1153-p-m-edt/ Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has regained some strength after exiting Florida and taking aim at South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said the storm spent only a few hours as a weakened tropical storm over Florida before it spun up into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews were wading through water and using boats to rescue Florida residents stranded in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The Orange County fire department posted photos of crews in a flooded neighborhood in the Orlando area. At least four people in Florida were confirmed dead on the state’s eastern coast. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for coastal South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina ahead of another landfall Friday. Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council. Russia opens more border draft offices amid call-up exodus Russian authorities are opening more military enlistment offices near Russia’s borders in an apparent effort to intercept Russian men of fighting age who are trying to avoid getting called up to fight in Ukraine. Saratov regional officials said a new draft office opened Thursday at a checkpoint on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. Another military enlistment center was to open at a crossing in the Astrakhan region, also on the border with Kazakhstan. Earlier this week, makeshift Russian draft offices were set up near a border crossing into Georgia and on Russia’s border with Finland. Russian officials say they would hand call-up notices to all eligible men who were trying to leave the country. 1/6 chairman: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That is according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin after the election. Thomas’ attorney says his client was solely focused on ensuring reports of voter fraud and irregularities were investigated. Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cars are left abandoned where they stalled on the road into Fort Myers Beach when Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded their engines and their drivers couldn’t continue. Broken trees, boat trailers and other debris litter the path. It’s even worse in the seaside tourist town, much of which was flattened by the fierce winds and powerful storm surge generated by the Category 4 hurricane. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famed for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. They took major hits from Ian when it came ashore Wednesday and residents tried to salvage what they could Thursday. Trump records probe: Tensions flare over special master WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate has spawned a parallel “special master” process that has slowed the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and exposed simmering tensions between department prosecutors and lawyers for the former president. The probe into the presence of top secret information at Mar-a-Lago continues. But barbed rhetoric in the past week’s court filings has laid bare deep disagreements related to the special master’s work and made clear that a process the Trump team initially sought has not been playing to the president’s advantage. The special master, Raymond Dearie, is a former federal prosecutor and served as a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn. S. Korea, US and Japan hold anti-N. Korean submarine drills SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea, U.S. and Japanese warships have launched their first anti-submarine drills in five years, after North Korea renewed ballistic missile tests this week. South Korea says Friday’s one-day trilateral training off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast is meant to cope with a North Korean push to advance its ability to fire missile from submarines. North Korea has been building bigger submarines including a nuclear-powered one and testing sophisticated missiles that can be fired from them in recent years. The North’s recent five missiles launches, the first such tests in a month, also came before and after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Korea. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa stretchered off with head injury CINCINNATI (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained neck and head injuries after being slammed to the ground Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, and was stretchered from the field. The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious and had movement in all his extremities after being taken by stretcher from the field and to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The Dolphins said after their 27-15 loss to the Bengals that Tagovailoa was expected to be released from the hospital and fly home with the team. Tagovailoa was chased down and sacked by Josh Tupou with about six minutes left in the first half. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded on a backboard, stabilized and removed via stretcher. Study finds that climate change added 10% to Ian’s rainfall A quick study by two scientists calculates that climate change made Hurricane Ian 10% rainier than it would have been if there were no such thing as global warming. Thursday’s analysis, which was not peer reviewed, is based on 20 computer simulations of a world with no climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Scientists then compared those scenarios to what was playing out in real time with Hurricane Ian. The authors compared the highest rainfall rates over three hours. Biden vows US commitment to Pacific Islands at summit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has told visiting leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries that the U.S. is committed to bolstering its presence in their region and becoming a more collaborative partner as they face the “existential threat” of climate change. The president on Thursday addressed the leaders who gathered in Washington for a summit as the White House looks to improve relations in the Pacific amid heightened U.S. concern about China’s growing economic and military influence. Biden hosted the leaders for a dinner at the White House on Thursday evening. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

P https://digitalalaskanews.com/p-7/ NEW YORK — Prosecutors cracked open a trove of emails and other communications at a federal trial on Thursday that they say shows how the former chair of Donald Trump’s inaugural committee worked behind the scenes in 2016 to get the future president to embrace the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Some of the email traffic was between Tom Barrack — accused of working at the direction of the UAE as a secret foreign agent — and Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager at the time. The exchanges focused in part over an energy policy speech by Trump in 2016. In one email read to the jury by an FBI agent, Barrack complained to Manafort that an original draft of the speech didn’t mention either the UAE or Saudi Arabia, or the importance of their role in the Middle East. “Wow. I’m just stunned by how bad this is,” the billionaire private equity manager wrote about the draft. Manafort responded: “Send me an insert that works for our friends.” The speech Trump gave ended up referring to the need to team with “our supportive Gulf allies” as part of a broader strategy to fight terrorism in the region. Afterward, Barrack received an email from a UAE official congratulating him for doing a “great job.” In other emails, Manafort assured those in the back-channel network that he would get Trump to tone down his anti-Muslim rhetoric and that he would set up face-to-face meetings between Trump and UAE and Saudi leaders. Another Barrack email indicated he had lobbied Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner on Manafort’s behalf to get Manafort the campaign manager post. Manafort was eventually convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and later pardoned by Donald Trump. Prosecutors say the communications demonstrate Barrack’s efforts to manipulate the Trump campaign and later his administration to advance the interests of the UAE. They say at the same time, the energy-rich Gulf state poured millions of dollars into business ventures operated by Barrack. Barrack, 75, has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, obstruction of justice and making false statements. In his opening statements this week, defense attorney Steven Schachter insisted there was no evidence that Barrack ever took orders from the UAE or betrayed his country by becoming a covert agent. “Tom Barrack is his own man,” the lawyer said. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Analysis | ‘Tropical Trump’ Takes Brazil’s Democracy To The Brink https://digitalalaskanews.com/analysis-tropical-trump-takes-brazils-democracy-to-the-brink/ You’re reading an excerpt from the Today’s WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest free, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox every weekday. For half a decade, we have drawn comparisons between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former president Donald Trump. In many ways, the two right-wing ultranationalists are birds of a feather: They both surged to power on a tide of anti-establishment anger; they counted on the enduring support of evangelical voters and certain business elites; they gained politically by the spread of misinformation on social media; they stymied collective global action on climate change; they raged at the strictures imposed by (and the science behind) pandemic-era lockdowns; they waged a relentless culture war against supposed enemies in media, state institutions and schools. Throughout, Bolsonaro and Trump have referred to each other as allies and fellow travelers, locked in the same battles against the Western liberal establishment. Earlier this month, in his typically self-regarding style, Trump offered Bolsonaro an endorsement ahead of upcoming national elections: “‘Tropical Trump’ as he is affectionately called, has done a GREAT job for the wonderful people of Brazil,” Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social. “When I was President of the U.S., there was no other country leader who called me more than Jair.” As Brazilians head to the polls Sunday, the putative “Tropical Trump” is reading directly from the Trump playbook. For more than a year, Bolsonaro has derided Brazil’s election processes and called into question the integrity of the imminent vote. He insists that the country’s electronic voting system is compromised, contrary to the preponderance of evidence and the rulings of independent experts and state authorities. Sound familiar? Opinion polls show Bolsonaro trailing his main rival and nemesis Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by a considerable margin. Should Lula, as the leftist former president is known, win more than 50 percent of the vote in Sunday’s first round it would be enough to secure the presidency without the need for a direct second-round runoff against Bolsonaro. The incumbent, though, has repeatedly suggested that any electoral defeat would be only due to fraud — and an outcome his supporters would never accept. The question on many people’s minds is whether Brazilian democracy can stand up to the challenge. The current clash has raised all forms of hoary specters in a country that’s no stranger to anti-democratic coups and plots. Bolsonaro, of course, has expressed nostalgia for the years of Brazil’s right-wing military dictatorship. And while few analysts believe the country’s top brass would go along with an anti-democratic usurpation of power, Bolsonaro may have other tactics in mind. “He could summon his supporters to take to the streets and cause turmoil, especially if there’s a second round,” said Guilherme Casarões, a political analyst at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, to my colleagues. “He could try to subvert the results or force a state of emergency so he could postpone the second round until next year.” Mario Braga, analyst for international consultancy Control Risks, predicted that Brazil “may have political instability in the coming months,” but not necessarily “democratic rupture.” “We are talking about a polarized environment and higher degree of radicalization in some parts of the electorate,” he told me. Still, Braga added, “Bolsonaro is a credible threat to democracy” and represents “the biggest test of the country’s institutions” since the country clawed back its democracy from the military dictatorship in 1985. Even if Bolsonaro can’t overturn or thwart the results, he can opt to refuse to leave office. And the prospect of a Brazilian Jan. 6-style event remains, with Bolsonaro supporters, fueled by an almost-existential animus against Lula and his leftist party, attempting to interrupt the statutory certification of the votes in Brasilia. “Bolsonaro retains the fervent devotion of millions of people who believe they too are acting to save democracy,” wrote Brian Winter, editor in chief of Americas Quarterly. “Many of them, uniformed and otherwise, have guns.” Lula was jailed for a year and a half on alleged corruption charges that his defenders always believed were trumped up. The conviction was later overturned and Lula stormed back into public life, buoyed not just by his long-standing popularity among a segment of the Brazilian electorate but the support of voters who fear Bolsonaro’s corrosive impact on the country’s body politic. At a recent rally, he cast the choice facing Brazil as one of “democracy or barbarism.” Lula “is far from the ideal candidate, but he is squarely within the realm of the normal — and he is a supporter of democracy,” noted Britain’s Economist, not known to back charismatic leftists. “Bolsonaro, by instinct, is not. He may operate within a democratic system, but he is constantly looking for ways to evade its strictures. And the worry is that the system constraining him is less robust than the one that constrained Trump.” Some analysts suggest a possible Bolsonaro defeat would have global implications, marking a setback for illiberal demagogues at a time when liberal democracies are under strain in many parts of the world. “If Bolsonaro loses, that will be significant,” said Richard Youngs, a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to my colleagues. “The fact that Brazil has gone backward in terms of democratic quality is quite a large part of the story in explaining these negative overall trends. I think a number of autocrats could very well be put on the back foot.” In recent months, campaigns by Brazilian civil society activists have focused international attention on the stakes of the election. On Wednesday, dozens of members of the European Parliament urged the leaders of the European Commission, including President Ursula von der Leyen, “to make it unequivocally clear to President Bolsonaro and his government that Brazil’s constitution must be respected and attempts to subvert the rules of democracy are unacceptable.” On the same day in Washington, the Senate unanimously approved a resolution defending Brazilian democracy that was proposed by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). It urged the U.S. government to “immediately recognize” the results of the election once announced by the country’s electoral authorities and to “review and reconsider the relationship” with Brazil in the event of a seizure of power through undemocratic means. “It is important for the people of Brazil to know we’re on their side, on the side of democracy,” Sanders said in a statement. “With passage of this resolution, we are sending that message.” Read More Here

Stories Of Surviving Ian: Narrow Escapes, Harrowing Rescues, Floodwater Fish https://digitalalaskanews.com/stories-of-surviving-ian-narrow-escapes-harrowing-rescues-floodwater-fish/ FORT MYERS, Fla. — Kathy Sharp believed she would be safe at the Thunderbird Park, a mobile home community for retirees dotted with palm trees two miles from the Gulf of Mexico. For days, forecasters had indicated Hurricane Ian was heading toward Tampa. But as the storm shifted and tore through Fort Myers, Sharp looked out a window and noticed pieces of her neighbor’s roof flying into the air. Not long after, her own home started to break apart, the fierce wind casting aluminum paneling into the swirl of airborne debris. Then the water hit. “It was just like a river out of nowhere,” said Sharp, 74, describing the apocalyptic storm surge. “There was nothing there, and then all the sudden there was like a foot of water in the house.” Frightened, Sharp and her husband, Lonny Henry, frantically called 911. Even before a dispatcher picked up, however, the couple knew no one would be coming to their rescue. Harrowing stories of survival surfaced across southwest Florida on Thursday as first responders rescued hundreds of people from homes turned into islands surrounded by still-deep floodwater. One elderly woman recounted how the water rose so high she had just six inches of space in which to breathe. A couple described looking out a window and seeing several large fish swimming by. Many described being caught off guard — settling in as Ian approached with supplies of nonperishable food, water and generators on hand, only to find out that their homes were no match for the storm. In communities near Fort Myers Beach, the water was so forceful it collapsed buildings, tumbled concrete walls, and pushed sailboats and dumpsters hundreds of feet. At one gas station, a large boat ended up parked next to a gas pump, as if ready to fill up. Scores were still waiting to be rescued from trailer parks, residential subdivisions and luxury waterfront apartment complexes in a part of the state that is home to a large senior citizen population. Everett Bailey, 56, said he was asleep on a couch and woke up to see water starting to spill into his one-story home. He immediately waded through the flood to get his car. “The water was in the car, too,” he said. “But my car started, and I drove it to the church.” He returned home when the water receded to find his waterlogged belongings ruined. A few doors away, Anne Dalton, 70, considers herself lucky that the flood stopped inches short from reaching the interior of the house her family has owned since the 1980s. But as she watched the murky water swirl around her house Thursday, Dalton said she nonetheless experienced the scariest night of her life. “The weird thing is it was like a river of currents, and it was not calm water at all,” she said. “It was pulsating, and it was pulsating under the water, too. It was very frightening, because we couldn’t go anywhere. We would have just fallen down.” At one point, Dalton’s husband, Oliver Martin, looked outside and saw a school of fish. “They were not small,” Martin, 75 said. “There was eight- to 12-inch fish swimming by.” In another subdivision off McGregor Boulevard — a main transit route from Fort Myers to Fort Myers Beach — Laurent Boce, 58, estimated that Ian brought a 13-foot storm toward his home, which sits at about 11-feet above sea level. “It was just like five, six hours of pure madness,” said Boce, who was essentially trapped in his subdivision on Thursday as parts of the street remained under two feet of water. “I was able to sit in a chair and just watch the water and debris come in, in, in.” Boce’s neighbor, Karen More, 69, said she will never again underestimate a hurricane. As she watched floodwaters carry debris down her street, the wind began shaking her door. “I was holding my front door, because of the wind, and I didn’t know what else to do,” she said. “I didn’t know what else to do. I thought the ocean was going to come through.” In downtown Fort Myers, the Caloosahatchee River spilled over, inundating several blocks inland. In neighborhoods closer to the Gulf of Mexico, the water rose so high against structures — especially trailers — it knocked over interior walls, said Myke Hastings of Gulf Search and Rescue, a Texas-based team, as he attempted to check up on stranded residents in one trailer park. He recalled rescuing a 77-year-old woman in a lifejacket who said she had just six inches of space between the floodwaters and her ceiling. “She was trapped,” Hastings said. “We had to dig her out. Everything had collapsed around her, and she couldn’t get out of her trailer even though the water had receded.” About 25 miles to the north, in Punta Gorda, the wind rattled residents at Creekside RV Park, who said Hurricane Ian’s eye passed directly over them. Deborah Clark, 57, and her husband have lived in their 40-foot trailer for the past two years while they build a house nearby. About 8 a.m. Wednesday, Clark woke up as her unit began shaking. “My gut said, ‘This is bad,’ ” said Clark, who had not the expected the winds to pick up so soon. She rushed to the community’s clubhouse, which she said was built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Within a few hours, 30 other residents were huddled inside. For the next six hours, they watched from windows as Hurricane Ian flipped over their trailers. “It sounded like planes flying overhead,” Clark said. “But you knew this wasn’t planes. And then you could almost hear a whistling sound.” When the wind subsided, residents discovered that about 40 of the 50 recreational vehicles that had been parked at the site had been turned upside down or destroyed. One was pushed into a pond. “For most of the people, these are their homes,” said Erik Clark, Deborah’s husband. “Everything they own is in these campers.” The Clarks said they decided not to evacuate Punta Gorda ahead of the storm because it was initially forecast to make landfall near Tampa. When they realized Tuesday that the forecasts had changed, Erik Clark said he worried that roads would be cluttered with traffic. Many said they won’t hesitate to leave next time a powerful hurricane rolls in. As the floodwaters seeped into her home Wednesday, Sharp and her husband watched from a kitchen table and prayed while trying to stay as clam as possible. “We were just sitting there in the water,” she said, adding “this storm made me a true believer” of the power of wind and water. When they did peek out the window, the couple saw “roofs going by and insulation” floating down the street. At one point, a neighbor’s washing machine was sucked out of a home. Another neighbor’s 600-pound toolbox floated away. “By midnight, it was pretty much done,” Henry, Clark’s husband, said. “And when we got up this morning, we started to cleaning up.” Read More Here

Donna C. Morgan https://digitalalaskanews.com/donna-c-morgan/ Donna Morgan, 85, lifetime Nome resident, died peacefully of natural causes on September 14, 2022 just before midnight.  She was surrounded by a large group of family members in her final days.  Donna was born in Nome, Alaska on October 15,1936 to Don and Mary Ellen Lyle.  She grew up with her sister Mary Louise and attended Nome Public Schools.  She graduated from Nome High School in 1955, and attended Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.  She married Barrow J. Morgan on November 23, 1956, and together they raised five amazing children.   She resided in Nome until 2014 when she reluctantly moved to the Anchorage Pioneer Home as her need for care increased. Leaving her beloved Nome was very difficult for her. Donna and Barrow owned and operated Morgan’s Snowmachine Sales and Service (Polaris) for over 40 years, and Morgan Enterprises, providing school bus transportation service to Nome’s K-12 students.  Both businesses are still owned and operated by members of the family. Donna was involved in many community organizations, including Beta Sigma Phi, Pioneers of Alaska Igloo #1, Women’s Auxiliary and the United Methodist Church. She had several hobbies including gardening, traveling, baking, photography, sewing/quilting, painting and other artsy pastimes. She loved spending time outside snow machining with her family, berry picking, beach combing, crabbing and fishing.  If she wasn’t traveling, working on a project in town, or out on a backcountry adventure, she could be found at the Dexter cabin, tending to her garden and enjoying family.  Family was definitely the focus of Donna’s life.  Spending time with her five children (Stan, Noma, Bruce, David and Debbie), their spouses, 16 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren was her greatest passion.  In 1998, her service and long life in Nome was honored when she was selected by the community as Nome’s Centennial Queen.  This was a great honor for her and the entire family as “Queen Donna” was so very proud to have spent her life in such a wonderful community. Donna had a kind, warm, loving spirit and was quick to put others first.  She loved life and was always up for any adventure.  She had such a knack for exhibiting class, while also maintaining the tough pioneer spirit that is so emblematic of her generation.   As a second-generation Alaskan, she and Barrow built a family that is hardworking, adventurous, fun and just a little (maybe a lot) competitive. She was the pillar of the Morgan family.  Moving forward, the family will honor Donna and Barrow’s memory by continuing to spend time together, crying, laughing, telling stories and playing Yahtzee. Donna is survived by her children: Stan (Ruby) of Nome, Noma (Luke in memory) Terhaar of Minneapolis, Bruce (Linda) of Anchorage, David (Joy) of Nome, Deborah (David) Karp of Anchorage; 16 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, sister Mary Louise (Ron) Dutton of Gering, Nebraska, sisters-in-law Beverly Blanning of Soldotna, Alice (Bob) Glenn of Anchorage, and several nieces and nephews who live throughout Alaska.  She is preceded in death by her parents and her husband Barrow. The family will be planning a celebration of life sometime in the spring/summer of next year.   In lieu of flowers, the family requests any contribution be made to the Pioneer Igloo #1 Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box #146, Nome, AK 99762. As she joins Barrow in heaven, we hope they rest peacefully and take great pride in their family and the life they created for us. Read More Here

Experts May Have Recorded A Third Blast Connected To The Nord Stream Gas Leaks, Geological Agency Says https://digitalalaskanews.com/experts-may-have-recorded-a-third-blast-connected-to-the-nord-stream-gas-leaks-geological-agency-says/ 8 hr 37 min ago Experts may have recorded a third blast connected to the Nord Stream gas leaks, geological agency says From CNN’s Arnaud Siad and Chris Liakos Seismologists with a Danish geological agency may have recorded a third explosion connected to the Nord Stream gas pipeline leaks this week, officials said. The blast may have occurred at the same time as the second explosion recorded Monday, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) said in a statement Thursday. GEUS cautioned its seismologists had “reservations” about the analysis, “because the signals from the potential third blast may also be reflections from the second blast that occurred at 07.03 PM on 26 September.” The agency said further study could produce more knowledge. Earlier this week, GEUS announced that it recorded “shaking” twice Monday in the Baltic Sea. Experts said the signals recorded “do not resemble signals from earthquakes” but “resemble the signals typically recorded from blasts.” The Swedish National Seismic Network also said it detected two explosions near the area of the Nord Stream pipelines during that timeframe. Some context: NATO’s chief and several European leaders have described the leaks as “acts of sabotage,” but Western officials have stopped short of attributing the attack to Russia or any nation. European security officials observed Russian navy ships in the vicinity of leaks Monday and Tuesday, according to Western intelligence officials and one other source. The Kremlin has said any claims it targeted the pipelines are “absurd” and spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday the “unprecedented nature” of the leaks suggests they may have been the result of a possible “terrorist attack.” 7 hr 35 min ago More than 200,000 people have left Russia since Putin’s mobilization announcement, collective data shows From CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite, Anna Chernova, Eve Brennan and Radina Gigova Russian citizens entering Georgia at the Kazbegi border, on Wednesday. (Davit Kachkachishvili/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) More than 200,000 people have traveled from Russia into Georgia, Kazakhstan and the EU since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens on Sept. 21, collective data from various countries shows. Here’s a breakdown of the numbers: Approximately 100,000 Russians have crossed into Kazakhstan in the last week, Marat Kozheyev, Kazakh deputy minister of internal affairs, said Wednesday, according to Kazinform, a state-owned news agency. At least 53,136 people have crossed the Georgian-Russian border between Sept. 21-26, data released by Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs Tuesday shows. Nearly 66,000 Russian citizens have entered the European Union over the past week (Sept. 19-25) — a more than 30% increase in comparison to the past week, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex said Tuesday. This information does not include data from Mongolia and Armenia, where Russian citizens have also traveled in the past days. Official data from Russia has not been publicly available on how many Russian citizens have left the country since Sept. 21. More on Putin’s order: Russia’s mobilization announcement for its war in Ukraine sparked protests and an exodus of Russian citizens from the country, as the Kremlin tightened rules around evading military orders. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Sept. 21 that up to 300,000 men with previous military experience will be drafted.  The number of Russians fleeing country to avoid call-up “likely exceeds” the number of troops that invaded Ukraine in February, the UK Ministry of Defense said Thursday. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday he does not know the number of people who have left the country since the announcement. Independent Russian media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe on Tuesday cited a source in the Russian presidential administration as saying the FSB (Federal Security Service of Russia) reported 261,000 men fled Russia since the announcement of the mobilization on Sept. 21. 11 hr 35 min ago Analysis: Why Putin wants to annex Ukrainian territory Analysis by CNN’s Tim Lister Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual press conference on December 23, in Moscow, Russia (Natalya Zamboska/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) President Vladimir Putin is set to sign agreements Friday that will absorb into Russia thousands of square miles of Ukrainian territory in what will be the largest forcible annexation of land in Europe since 1945. The agreements will be signed at a ceremony at the Kremlin, three days after hastily-conducted referendums concluded in the four areas of Ukraine that Moscow will now consider Russian territory. Putin will deliver a speech and meet with Russian-backed leaders of the four occupied regions, according to the Kremlin. Ukraine and its western allies have categorically rejected the planned annexation of the four regions – Donetsk, Luhansk and much of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, a swathe of Ukrainian land that contains heavy industry, rich farmland and a critical freshwater conduit for Crimea. Donetsk and Luhansk are home to two breakaway republics that Moscow has backed since 2014, while Kherson and parts of Zaporizhzhia have been controlled by Russian forces since shortly after the invasion began in late February. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asserted that if the Kremlin presses ahead with annexation, any negotiation with Putin will be impossible. In all, Russia plans to raise its flag over some 100,000 square kilometers (38,600 square miles) of Ukrainian territory in what is a flagrant breach of international law and after votes dismissed by the great majority of countries, including some friends of Russia like Serbia, as null and void. While the international community will reject Russia’s plan almost in unison (expect a few outliers like Syria and North Korea), annexation does change the “facts on the ground” and diminishes the prospects for any negotiated settlement. There’s a huge difference between withdrawing from occupied land (as the Russians did in April when they pulled back from much of northern Ukraine) and giving up areas that has been formally and ceremonially absorbed into the motherland – especially for a leader like Putin who is fixated with a “greater Russia.” Keep reading here. 12 hr 15 min ago Ukrainian forces are closing in on an occupied railroad hub in Donetsk, Russian-backed official says From CNN’s Tim Lister and Olga Voitovych Rail infrastructure on fire after a shelling near the Lyman station in Lyman, eastern Ukraine, on April 28. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) Ukrainian forces continue to press closer to the occupied town of Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region, according to a Russian-backed leader there. The railroad hub fell to Russian forces and their allied militia at the end of May, but the situation has grown “difficult” for the forces trying to hold the territory, said Alexander Petrikin, the pro-Russian head of the city administration. “Today, September 29. The situation in the city is difficult. Ukrainian militants keep shelling Krasny Liman [Lyman in Ukrainian] and Krasny Liman district,” Petrikin said in a short video on the vk.com social network. Ukrainian forces have made gains to the south, west and north of Lyman — with just one road to the east still under control of the pro-Russian groups. 13 hr 7 min ago EU readies new sanctions as Russia’s parliament plans to consider annexation of occupied Ukrainian regions From CNN’s Jo Shelley in London and Anna Chernova Russia’s two houses of parliament — the State Duma and Federation Council — will consider the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories next week, as EU readies additional sanctions in retaliation for the plan. Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a ceremony on Friday where agreements for Russia to take over four Ukrainian territories will be signed, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday. The ceremony will start a legislative process in Moscow to annex Russian-occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – a move that would be illegal under international law. Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, will meet on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, its chairman, Vyacheslav Volodin, said according to RIA Novosti. The state news agency cited Volodin as saying that the State Duma’s schedule had been adjusted so the deputies could make legislative decisions based on the supposed results of the polls. The Federation Council, Russia’s upper house, will consider the annexation of the occupied Ukrainian territories on Oct. 4, Andrey Klishas, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation, said in a Telegram post on Thursday. “The Federation Council can consider all issues related to the entry of new regions into Russia only after the signing of the relevant Treaties, and that is exactly what will be done at the next meeting of the Chamber on October 4,” he wrote. Remember: The declared annexation comes after so-called referendums on Ukrainian territory on joining Russia — votes that were not observed by independent monitors and have been widely condemned by western governments as a “sham.” The EU proposed a new package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, targeting “those involved in Russia occupation and illegal annexation of areas of Ukraine,” including “the proxy Russian authorities in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and other Russian individuals who organized and facilitated the sham referenda in these four occupied territories of Ukraine.” 13 hr 40 min ...

Elon Musk Vs. Twitter: Here Are All The Juiciest Private Texts Between Musk And His Billionaire Buddies Discussing Plans For Twitter https://digitalalaskanews.com/elon-musk-vs-twitter-here-are-all-the-juiciest-private-texts-between-musk-and-his-billionaire-buddies-discussing-plans-for-twitter/ Text logs show Reid Hoffman, Jack Dorsey, Joe Rogan, and many more texting Musk about Twitter.  Conversations ranged from praise of Musk’s moves to financing his acquisition of the company. Texts also show who influenced Musk and what caused the breakdown of talks with Twitter executives.  Loading Something is loading. Elon Musk‘s smartphone has been bombarded by billionaires, executives, bankers, and other notable figures from tech, finance, and media, all hoping to get a piece of his wild and wayward $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.  Hundreds of his private text conversations were just released as part of Twitter’s lawsuit against Musk, who is trying back out of the deal. Among those who showed up are fellow tech billionaires like former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was also interested in buying Twitter and offered Musk $5 billion to get in on his eventual deal, text logs show. Then there are the likes of TV personality Gayle King, who wanted Musk for a sit-down interview, podcaster Joe Rogan, Justin Roiland, co-creator of “Rick and Morty,” and Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Insider parent company Axel Springer. James Murdoch and his wife Kathryn Murdoch make individual appearances, too. Musk also had extensive back and forth with Twitter executives, including board chair and Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. Talk between Musk and Agrawal went south quickly, prompting Musk to reveal that he’d decided to buy Twitter instead of join its board because a board seat was “a waste of time.” Brother Kimball Musk was a frequent confidant on Musk’s ideas for Twitter, or a possible competing platform.   Also notable in Musk’s texts are the various people he solicited for either financing for the $44 billion deal or advice on running the company. Many others reached out to him to offer their help, thoughts, or sometimes money. David Sacks was invited to invest. Reid Hoffman, too, eventually suggesting he could put $2 billion toward a deal. Marc Benioff, founder of Salesforce, shows up to talk about a new operating system for Twitter. Musk friends Jason Calacanis and Tim Urban offer to help, along with VC’s Joe Lonsdale, Adeo Russi and Riot Games founder Marc Merrill. Musk texted Sean Parker once to say he was doing “Twitter diligence calls” from his mother’s apartment.  The log makes clear that, at least at one point, Musk was serious about acquiring Twitter. Not until early May did Musk begin to discuss any concerns about the platform. That began with an exchange with Morgan Stanley tech banker Michael Grimes in which Musk asks him to “slow down” on the deal. The majority of the texts shown in the log span between March and mid-June, a few weeks before Musk sent Twitter a letter attempting to cancel the deal altogether. Now Musk is locked in a legal battle with the company, which is trying to force him to acquire it. See below for highlights of the juiciest exchanges between Musk and other Twitterati: Jack Dorsey Jack Dorsey Chesnot/Getty Images Dorsey and Musk exchanged many texts in the days before Musk’s involvement in Twitter became public. The first text between the two the appears on the log is from March 26, before Musk’s investment more than 9% investment in Twitter became public.  “A new platform is needed. It can’t be a company. That’s why I left,” Dorsey wrote. The two proceeded to discuss what the future of Twitter should look like. About a week later, on April 5 when it was announced Musk would be joining Twitter’s board, he texted Dorsey to set up a time to “speak confidentially.”   A few days later, Musk pointed to phone conversations he’d had with Dorsey as supportive of his decision to take the company private. In one text to board chair Bret Taylor from April 10, two days after he told Agrawal he intended to buy the company and not sit on its board, Musk wrote: “It’s better in my opinion to take Twitter private, restructure and return to the public markets one that is done. That was also Jack’s view when I spoke to him.” Joe Rogan Joe Rogan in March 2019. Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images Musk has spoken to Rogan on his podcast twice, in one 2018 interview infamously smoking weed, leading to some corporate headaches for the Tesla CEO. Rogan first texted Musk about Twitter April 4, the day Musk’s stake in Twitter became public, asking “Are you going to liberate twitter from the censorship happy mob?” “I will provide advice, which they may or may not choose to follow,” Musk replied. A few weeks later, after Musk had offered to acquire Twitter, Rogan on April 25 texted again. “I REALLY hope you get Twitter. If you do, we should throw one hell of a party,” Rogan said. Musk replied with the “100” emoji. Parag Agrawal Brendan McDermid/Reuters Things appear to have started off friendly between Musk and Parag Agrawal, who took over from Dorsey as Twitter CEO less than a year ago. They texted about meeting in person with Taylor, the text log shows, as well as other video meetings. They touched on things that needed to improve on Twitter and Agrawal said April 3, a few days before Musk’s decision to join the board became public, he was “super excited about the opportunity and look forward to working closely and finding ways to use your time as effectively as possible.” The mood shifted quickly after Agrawal texted Musk on April 9, regarding Musk’s asking on Twitter “Is Twitter dying?”  Agrawal told Musk he was free to Tweet anything he wanted about Twitter, “But it’s my responsibility to tell you that it’s not helping me make Twitter better in the current context. Next time we speak, I’d like to provide you perspective on the level of internal distraction right now and how its hurting our ability to do work.” Musk responded about 30 minutes later asking “What did you get done this week?” He immediately followed up with, “I’m not joining the board. This is a waste of time” and added, “Will make an offer to take Twitter private.” Agrawal asked to get on the phone with Musk, who appears to have refused, as Taylor followed up a few minutes later, saying Agrawal had informed him of “your text conversation.” Taylor asked to speak on the phone, too. Musk simply said “Please expect a take private offer.” Taylor tried again to speak by phone, wanting to “understand the context.” “Fixing Twitter by chatting with Parag won’t work,” Musk wrote back. “Drastic action is needed.” “This is hard to do as a public company, as purging fake users will make the numbers look terrible, so restructuring should be done as a private company. This is Jack’s opinion too.” Musk again refused to get on the phone with Taylor, saying he was “about to take off” but could talk the following day. Larry Ellison Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Musk and Ellison also texted a number of times, with Ellison expressing support for Musk’s effort to buy Twitter from the outset. On March 27, Ellison texted Musk to set up a call: “I do think we need another Twitter.” When Musk on April 20 asked the Oracle founder if he wanted to take part in financing the deal, Ellison wrote: “Yes, of course.” He offered to put up “A billion… or whatever you recommend.” Musk recommend $2 billion, but Ellison only ended up putting in the $1 billion he initially offered.  “This has very high potential and I’d rather have you than anyone else,” Musk wrote to Ellison. “I agree that it has huge potential… and it would be lots of fun,” Ellison replied. Sam Bankman-Fried Samuel Bankman-Fried f Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images Will MacAskill, an advisor to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, texted Musk on March 29 in hopes of connecting the two about Twitter, about two weeks before Musk moved to take over the company. It’s unclear whether Musk knew immediately who Bankman-Fried was, as he asked MacAskill “you vouch for him?” after MacAskill suggested Bankman-Fried had been interested in buying Twitter “for a while” and was open to working with Musk “about a possible joint effort in that direction.” To that Musk replied, “Does he have huge amounts of money?” MacAskill said he was worth $24 billion and that he’d already mentioned contributing $1 billion to $8 billion into any deal for Twitter, a number that could potentially have gone up to $15 billion with financing. Musk did not appear very interested. Bankman-Fried texted Musk directly April 1, saying he was “happy to chat about Twitter (or other things) whenever!” Musk responded “Hi!” adding that he was currently in Germany. Bankman-Fried offered to call at a time that worked for Musk’s time zone, but there are no texts in the log showing that Musk responded. Bankman-Fried texted again about two weeks later, after Musk’s offer to acquire Twitter was in full swing, saying he would “love to talk about Twitter.” Musk does not appear to have responded. Morgan Stanley’s Grimes then tried to connect Musk with Bankman-Fried on April 25, saying he could put $5 billion into Musk’s deal to buy Twitter. Musk disliked Grimes’ text explaining briefly who Bankman-Fried is and suggesting a meeting. But wrote of a meeting, “So long as I don’t have to have a laborious blockchain debate.” Joe Lonsdale Joe Lonsdale’s comments sparked outrage online. Brian Ach/Getty Images Before Musk’s stake in Twitter became public, he began posting questions and polls to his many millions of followers on the platform about what its future should look like. Joe Lonsdale, cofounder of Palantir and an outspoken political conservative, texted Musk in response to a March 24 post he made asking “Should Twitter be an open source?”...

Mike Pence In Iowa: Role Of The Vice President https://digitalalaskanews.com/mike-pence-in-iowa-role-of-the-vice-president/ WILTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence said in Iowa on Thursday that he believes “the role of the vice president is clear” when presiding over the counting of electoral votes as the U.S. Senate considers reforms to the role he played in the process on Jan. 6. Pence joined 200 Republican supporters in Wilton at the 15th annual Kaufmann Family Harvest Dinner fundraiser. He spoke about the upcoming midterm elections and the resilience of Americans in the face of national disasters, like Hurricane Ian, which is battering the southeastern United States.  Pence told the Press-Citizen that, while Congress considers reforming the Electoral Count Act, the role of the vice president has always been clear and he understood his duty on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to halt the certification of Joe Biden as president. He said the Constitution says the vice president’s role is to preside over a joint session of Congress where the electoral votes are opened and counted, “no more and no less.” “The role of the vice president in the counting of electoral votes has been clear throughout our history and I know that I did my duty on that day, on Jan. 6,” said Pence, who served as vice president under Donald Trump. The Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 would reform the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and includes new protections for presidential elections and the transition of power. The bill is a response to former Trump’s attempts to coerce Pence to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6. The proposed reform clarifies that the vice president’s role in the joint session following a presidential election is “solely ministerial and that he or she does not have any power to solely determine, accept, reject, or otherwise adjudicate disputes over electors.” The Electoral Count Act instructs the vice president, as president of the Senate, to be the “presiding officer” over the electoral count, by opening election certificates and calling for objections. Pence didn’t say whether he would support the legislation. He said he defers to Congress to work the bill through the legislative body. The bill already has nine Republicans as either sponsors or cosponsors, meaning it would need one more Republican vote to pass if every Democrat voted in favor. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, expressed support for proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act to The Des Moines Register in August, but said he would wait to read it before making a final decision about his vote. More:Johnson County politicians fan out to door-knock. Here’s how it went. Former vice president focuses on electing Republicans and healing wounds in speech as Hurricane Ian batters Florida Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann and Iowa state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann hosted Pence at the fundraiser to raise money for several down-ballot candidates in the crowd, including state Sen. Roby Smith, who is running against State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, and two candidates running in Johnson County this fall: Board of Supervisors candidate Jammie Bradshaw and House District 92 candidate Heather Hora. Bobby Kaufmann is running against Libertarian Clyde Gibson this fall and that new district, House District 82, starting in 2023 will no longer include Johnson County, which he has represented since 2012. Pence arrived just before 6 p.m. and a line soon formed in the middle of the room to greet the former governor and congressman from Indiana. Pence took the stage while the air was filled with the smell of the fried chicken being served. “Hello, Iowa! It is wonderful to be here 40 days away from a great American comeback, and it all starts here in the Hawkeye State,” Pence said, referring to his hope for Republican victories in the Nov. 8 election. Pence focused on the impacts of Hurricane Ian during his speech, saying it was extraordinary to see the storm come ashore and level communities on the west coast of Florida. He recalled trips he’s made to Sanibel Island off the coast of Florida and how the hurricane devastated the island. “To see that hurricane come across and sunder that island and come ashore as it did in Fort Myers … just broke our hearts,” Pence said. Pence said he’s taken heart seeing Americans coming together to aid people in Florida and likened it to when the derecho hit Iowa in 2020 while he was vice president. “In my years of public service in Congress, as governor of Indiana and as your vice president, my opinion of the American people went up, not down,” Pence said. Pence sounded off on his optimism for Republican chances in the midterms, stating Iowa will help the party get a new majority in Congress and “retire” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a common rallying cry for conservatives this year. He said he believes America can be turned around despite challenges he referenced like inflation, immigration and crime. He said it seems to him that Biden’s administration is working to weaken the country. “I came to Iowa today to say in this year and the years ahead, we need to have government as good as our people,” Pence said. More:Hurricane Ian one of strongest storms in US history; 2M in Florida without power; 911 callers stranded in homes Pence and other potential 2024 candidates making frequent stops in Iowa ahead of the midterms Pence has been in Iowa several times over the last year ahead of a possible run for president in 2024. He isn’t alone in this effort. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Des Moines in February to join a panel discussing America’s standing on the international stage with U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst; former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley held events in Dubuque and Sioux Center; and South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott joined a fundraiser in Central City for U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in August. Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott campaigned with U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks on the outskirts of Iowa City in September prior to the “Cy-Hawk” football game featuring the hometown University of Iowa Hawkeyes playing the Iowa State Cyclones just across town. Miller-Meeks is in a tight race against Democrat Christina Bohannan of Iowa City in the 1st Congressional District. Arkansas U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton was Miller-Meeks’ guest at the tailgate event last year. The Des Moines Register reported that earlier this year Pence made appearances at the Iowa State Fair and was met with a downpour; he spoke at the Bremer County Republican’s summer fundraiser; and inCarroll in the 4th Congressional District in April. Pence also invested $400,000 in the 3rd Congressional District race by funding a TV ad for Republican candidate Zach Nunn, who is running against Democratic U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne. Pence was asked about Trump saying he wouldn’t select the former vice president as his running mate in 2024, should Trump choose to run himself. Pence did not address the question, saying he is focused on 2022. “For me and for my family, when the time comes after the first of (2023) we will take time to reflect on how we might serve in the future. Near-term or long-term,” Pence said. Pence, during his speech, alluded to the Iowa caucuses by saying the state plays an outsized role in the destiny of the nation every four years. He said in 2024 he thinks Iowa will set the course for “strong conservative leadership in America.” “If we win back our states and our Congress in 2022, we will win back America in 2024,” Pence said. Iowa will continue to host the Republican Party’s first-in-the-nation caucuses in 2024. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, is still considering changing the presidential nominating calendar, removing Iowa as the first state in that party’s primary. More:Which Republicans might run for president in 2024? Iowa visits give early hint George Shillcock is the Press-Citizen’s local government and development reporter covering Iowa City and Johnson County. He can be reached at (515) 350-6307, GShillcock@press-citizen.com and on Twitter @ShillcockGeorge Read More Here

AP News Summary At 10:14 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1014-p-m-edt/ Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has regained some strength after exiting Florida and taking aim at South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said the storm spent only a few hours as a weakened tropical storm over Florida before it spun up into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews were wading through water and using boats to rescue Florida residents stranded in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The Orange County fire department posted photos of crews in a flooded neighborhood in the Orlando area. At least four people in Florida were confirmed dead on the state’s eastern coast. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for coastal South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina ahead of another landfall Friday. Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council. Russia opens more border draft offices amid call-up exodus Russian authorities are opening more military enlistment offices near Russia’s borders in an apparent effort to intercept Russian men of fighting age who are trying to avoid getting called up to fight in Ukraine. Saratov regional officials said a new draft office opened Thursday at a checkpoint on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. Another military enlistment center was to open at a crossing in the Astrakhan region, also on the border with Kazakhstan. Earlier this week, makeshift Russian draft offices were set up near a border crossing into Georgia and on Russia’s border with Finland. Russian officials say they would hand call-up notices to all eligible men who were trying to leave the country. 1/6 chairman: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That is according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin after the election. Thomas’ attorney says his client was solely focused on ensuring reports of voter fraud and irregularities were investigated. Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cars are left abandoned where they stalled on the road into Fort Myers Beach when Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded their engines and their drivers couldn’t continue. Broken trees, boat trailers and other debris litter the path. It’s even worse in the seaside tourist town, much of which was flattened by the fierce winds and powerful storm surge generated by the Category 4 hurricane. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famed for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. They took major hits from Ian when it came ashore Wednesday and residents tried to salvage what they could Thursday. Trump records probe: Tensions flare over special master WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate has spawned a parallel “special master” process that has slowed the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and exposed simmering tensions between department prosecutors and lawyers for the former president. The probe into the presence of top secret information at Mar-a-Lago continues. But barbed rhetoric in the past week’s court filings has laid bare deep disagreements related to the special master’s work and made clear that a process the Trump team initially sought has not been playing to the president’s advantage. The special master, Raymond Dearie, is a former federal prosecutor and served as a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn. Tagovailoa stretchered off field with head, neck injuries CINCINNATI (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained neck and head injuries after being sacked in Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation. The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious and had movement in all his extremities after being taken by stretcher from the field. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Tagovailoa was chased down and sacked by Josh Tupou with about six minutes left in the first half. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded on a backboard, stabilized and removed via stretcher. Dolphins players gathered around as he was rolled off the field and the crowd chanted “Tua! Tua!.” Biden vows US commitment to Pacific Islands at summit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has told visiting leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries that the U.S. is committed to bolstering its presence in their region and becoming a more collaborative partner as they face the “existential threat” of climate change. The president on Thursday addressed the leaders who gathered in Washington for a summit as the White House looks to improve relations in the Pacific amid heightened U.S. concern about China’s growing economic and military influence. Biden hosted the leaders for a dinner at the White House on Thursday evening. ALS drug wins FDA approval despite questionable data WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials have approved a much-debated drug to treat the deadly illness known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The approval Thursday follows an intense lobbying campaign by patients and advocates, though it’s also likely to raise questions about the standards used to review experimental medicines. The Food and Drug Administration approved the medication from Amylyx Pharmaceuticals based on results from one small, mid-stage study. The agency’s internal scientists repeatedly said the company’s results were not convincing. But thousands of patients have urged the FDA to be flexible and grant patients’ access. Lou Gehrig’s disease has no cure and most patients die within five years of initial symptoms. Cubans suffer as hurricane-caused power outage drags on HAVANA (AP) — Ivette Garrido hurried last week to get the 6 kilograms of subsidized chicken allotted to her family by Cuba’s government and put it in the freezer, happy to have meat to get through Hurricane Ian. Now she is considering giving the chicken to her three dogs before it goes bad, as a huge power blackout caused by the storm extends beyond two days and everything in her freezer thaws amid scorching temperatures. Cuban authorities have not said what percentage of the population remains without electricity or when things will return to normal, but the Electric Union says only 10% of Havana’s 2 million people have power. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 10:14 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1014-p-m-edt-2/ Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has regained some strength after exiting Florida and taking aim at South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said the storm spent only a few hours as a weakened tropical storm over Florida before it spun up into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews were wading through water and using boats to rescue Florida residents stranded in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The Orange County fire department posted photos of crews in a flooded neighborhood in the Orlando area. At least four people in Florida were confirmed dead on the state’s eastern coast. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for coastal South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina ahead of another landfall Friday. Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council. Russia opens more border draft offices amid call-up exodus Russian authorities are opening more military enlistment offices near Russia’s borders in an apparent effort to intercept Russian men of fighting age who are trying to avoid getting called up to fight in Ukraine. Saratov regional officials said a new draft office opened Thursday at a checkpoint on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. Another military enlistment center was to open at a crossing in the Astrakhan region, also on the border with Kazakhstan. Earlier this week, makeshift Russian draft offices were set up near a border crossing into Georgia and on Russia’s border with Finland. Russian officials say they would hand call-up notices to all eligible men who were trying to leave the country. 1/6 chairman: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That is according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin after the election. Thomas’ attorney says his client was solely focused on ensuring reports of voter fraud and irregularities were investigated. Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cars are left abandoned where they stalled on the road into Fort Myers Beach when Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded their engines and their drivers couldn’t continue. Broken trees, boat trailers and other debris litter the path. It’s even worse in the seaside tourist town, much of which was flattened by the fierce winds and powerful storm surge generated by the Category 4 hurricane. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famed for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. They took major hits from Ian when it came ashore Wednesday and residents tried to salvage what they could Thursday. Trump records probe: Tensions flare over special master WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate has spawned a parallel “special master” process that has slowed the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and exposed simmering tensions between department prosecutors and lawyers for the former president. The probe into the presence of top secret information at Mar-a-Lago continues. But barbed rhetoric in the past week’s court filings has laid bare deep disagreements related to the special master’s work and made clear that a process the Trump team initially sought has not been playing to the president’s advantage. The special master, Raymond Dearie, is a former federal prosecutor and served as a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn. Tagovailoa stretchered off field with head, neck injuries CINCINNATI (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained neck and head injuries after being sacked in Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation. The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious and had movement in all his extremities after being taken by stretcher from the field. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Tagovailoa was chased down and sacked by Josh Tupou with about six minutes left in the first half. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded on a backboard, stabilized and removed via stretcher. Dolphins players gathered around as he was rolled off the field and the crowd chanted “Tua! Tua!.” Biden vows US commitment to Pacific Islands at summit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has told visiting leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries that the U.S. is committed to bolstering its presence in their region and becoming a more collaborative partner as they face the “existential threat” of climate change. The president on Thursday addressed the leaders who gathered in Washington for a summit as the White House looks to improve relations in the Pacific amid heightened U.S. concern about China’s growing economic and military influence. Biden hosted the leaders for a dinner at the White House on Thursday evening. ALS drug wins FDA approval despite questionable data WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials have approved a much-debated drug to treat the deadly illness known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The approval Thursday follows an intense lobbying campaign by patients and advocates, though it’s also likely to raise questions about the standards used to review experimental medicines. The Food and Drug Administration approved the medication from Amylyx Pharmaceuticals based on results from one small, mid-stage study. The agency’s internal scientists repeatedly said the company’s results were not convincing. But thousands of patients have urged the FDA to be flexible and grant patients’ access. Lou Gehrig’s disease has no cure and most patients die within five years of initial symptoms. Cubans suffer as hurricane-caused power outage drags on HAVANA (AP) — Ivette Garrido hurried last week to get the 6 kilograms of subsidized chicken allotted to her family by Cuba’s government and put it in the freezer, happy to have meat to get through Hurricane Ian. Now she is considering giving the chicken to her three dogs before it goes bad, as a huge power blackout caused by the storm extends beyond two days and everything in her freezer thaws amid scorching temperatures. Cuban authorities have not said what percentage of the population remains without electricity or when things will return to normal, but the Electric Union says only 10% of Havana’s 2 million people have power. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 9:00 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-900-p-m-edt/ Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has regained some strength after exiting Florida and taking aim at South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said the storm spent only a few hours as a weakened tropical storm over Florida before it spun up into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews were wading through water and using boats to rescue Florida residents stranded in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The Orange County fire department posted photos of crews in a flooded neighborhood in the Orlando area. At least one person in Florida was confirmed dead on the state’s eastern coast. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for coastal South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina ahead of another landfall Friday. Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council. Russia opens more border draft offices amid call-up exodus Russian authorities are opening more military enlistment offices near Russia’s borders in an apparent effort to intercept Russian men of fighting age who are trying to avoid getting called up to fight in Ukraine. Saratov regional officials said a new draft office opened Thursday at a checkpoint on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. Another military enlistment center was to open at a crossing in the Astrakhan region, also on the border with Kazakhstan. Earlier this week, makeshift Russian draft offices were set up near a border crossing into Georgia and on Russia’s border with Finland. Russian officials say they would hand call-up notices to all eligible men who were trying to leave the country. 1/6 chairman: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That is according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin after the election. Thomas’ attorney says his client was solely focused on ensuring reports of voter fraud and irregularities were investigated. Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cars are left abandoned where they stalled on the road into Fort Myers Beach when Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded their engines and their drivers couldn’t continue. Broken trees, boat trailers and other debris litter the path. It’s even worse in the seaside tourist town, much of which was flattened by the fierce winds and powerful storm surge generated by the Category 4 hurricane. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famed for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. They took major hits from Ian when it came ashore Wednesday and residents tried to salvage what they could Thursday. Trump records probe: Tensions flare over special master WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate has spawned a parallel “special master” process that has slowed the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and exposed simmering tensions between department prosecutors and lawyers for the former president. The probe into the presence of top secret information at Mar-a-Lago continues. But barbed rhetoric in the past week’s court filings has laid bare deep disagreements related to the special master’s work and made clear that a process the Trump team initially sought has not been playing to the president’s advantage. The special master, Raymond Dearie, is a former federal prosecutor and served as a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn. Biden vows US commitment to Pacific Islands at summit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has told visiting leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries that the U.S. is committed to bolstering its presence in their region and becoming a more collaborative partner as they face the “existential threat” of climate change. The president on Thursday addressed the leaders who gathered in Washington for a summit as the White House looks to improve relations in the Pacific amid heightened U.S. concern about China’s growing economic and military influence. Biden hosted the leaders for a dinner at the White House on Thursday evening. GOP states sue Biden administration over student loan plan WASHINGTON (AP) — Six Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration to try and halt its plan to forgive student loan debt for millions of Americans. They’re accusing it of overstepping its executive powers. It’s at least the second legal challenge this week to the sweeping proposal laid out by President Joe Biden in late August, when he said his administration would cancel up to $20,000 in education debt for millions of borrowers. As the lawsuit was being filed, the administration quietly scaled back eligibility rules for the debt relief, eliminating a relatively small group of borrowers who are the subject of legal debate in the suit. ALS drug wins FDA approval despite questionable data WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials have approved a much-debated drug to treat the deadly illness known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The approval Thursday follows an intense lobbying campaign by patients and advocates, though it’s also likely to raise questions about the standards used to review experimental medicines. The Food and Drug Administration approved the medication from Amylyx Pharmaceuticals based on results from one small, mid-stage study. The agency’s internal scientists repeatedly said the company’s results were not convincing. But thousands of patients have urged the FDA to be flexible and grant patients’ access. Lou Gehrig’s disease has no cure and most patients die within five years of initial symptoms. Cubans suffer as hurricane-caused power outage drags on HAVANA (AP) — Ivette Garrido hurried last week to get the 6 kilograms of subsidized chicken allotted to her family by Cuba’s government and put it in the freezer, happy to have meat to get through Hurricane Ian. Now she is considering giving the chicken to her three dogs before it goes bad, as a huge power blackout caused by the storm extends beyond two days and everything in her freezer thaws amid scorching temperatures. Cuban authorities have not said what percentage of the population remains without electricity or when things will return to normal, but the Electric Union says only 10% of Havana’s 2 million people have power. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

Keeping Up With Hurricane Ian And With Trump's GOP Election Fraudsters: 'BradCast' 9/29/2022 https://digitalalaskanews.com/keeping-up-with-hurricane-ian-and-with-trumps-gop-election-fraudsters-bradcast-9-29-2022/ Guest: Nicole Sandler from Florida Also: Election tampering charges for Michigan pollworker Bad days in court for Powell, Dobbs and Fox ‘News’ Trump’s corrupt Mar-a-Lago judge strikes again… On today’s BradCast, we try to keep up with the damage caused both by Hurricane Ian and by the former President’s team of fraudsters. [Audio link to full show follows below this summary.] We begin with a quick update on the still-unfolding devastation of Ian in Florida. After having crossed back into the Atlantic, the storm has gained strength and hurricane status again. It is now aiming for another landfall, this time in South Carolina on Friday. After that, we check in with an old friend who rode the storm out this week in the Sunshine State. We’re joined today from southeast Florida by NICOLE SANDLER of The Nicole Sandler Show — and, too-occasionally, of The BradCast, where she is kind enough to serve as our guest host from time to time. Nicole tells us she “got really lucky” this time, as she lives in one of the few areas of Florida which wasn’t pummeled by a direct hit from Ian, though she reports it still got very wet and windy even where she is. Naturally, in addition to the weather, we discussed the politics — including the climate change politics (or, more aptly, the climate change denialist politics) — of Florida Republicans like Gov. Ron DeSantis, who famously voted against federal aid for Superstorm Sandy when he first arrived as a freshman Congressman in 2013 “before Donald Trump plucked him from the back-bench of Congress where he wallowed in obscurity.”  What impact will Ian have on DeSantis’ re-election hopes against his Democratic challenger this year, former Gov. Charlie Crist? It’s too early to say, she notes, but “at least he’s not bad-mouthing the President as he takes the money that President Biden has been so freely offering.” And what of Rep. Val Demings‘ challenge for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Marco Rubio? There is, of course, much to discuss with our old friend today, including the seven Republican U.S. House Members and one U.S. Senator from Florida who have, collectively, accepted more than a million dollars from fossil fuel industry donors, as they try to block the Securities and Exchange Commission from requiring public companies to reveal the financial risks that our climate crisis now poses to their businesses.  DeSantis himself, whose own re-election campaign has taken more than $800,000  from the industry, has even gone so far, according to The Lever today, to “spearhead an initiative to bar his state from considering environmental factors such as climate risks in its investment of billions of dollars of retirement savings of teachers, firefighters, and other government workers.” Will this week’s climate change-intensified storm change those politics in any way? Then, from keeping up with Ian, we try to keep up with the attempts at legal accountability for Donald Trump’s merry band of GOP “voter fraud” fraudsters. Among our related stories on that today… The election worker in Michigan who was charged this week with tampering with voting equipment after he was seen inserting a USB drive into an electronic pollbook system at the polls during the state’s August primary. Disgraced trump attorney Sidney Powell saw her counter-suit against Dominion Voting Systems tossed by a Trump-appointed federal judge on Wednesday. Dominion is suing Powell in a $1.3 billion defamation suit. The company’s complaint is moving forward. Powell’s  counter-complaint, as of Wednesday, is not. And, a federal judge (in this case, one appointed by Ronald Reagan), ruled that a defamation lawsuit against Fox “News” and its former host Lou Dobbs may move forward to the discovery phase. This week, the judge rejected a motion by Fox and Dobbs to toss the case filed against them by a Venezuelan businessman who Dobbs had accused of executing an “electoral 9/11” in 2020, falsely charging the man was somehow linked to Hezbollah and somehow rigged voting systems from both Smartmatic and Dominion to steal the election from Trump. Next, Desi Doyen joins us for our latest Green News Report, with more on the widespread damage and records smashed by the climate change-fueled Hurricane Ian; a legislative crash and burn for Sen. Joe Manchin this week; a new criminal probe for CA’s largest and most corrupt power utility; and the mysterious breaches of the Russian natural gas pipelines to Germany. Finally, as if that’s all not enough, some breaking news at the end of today’s show. The wildly corrupt Trump-appointed judge overseeing the former President’s attempt to quash the DoJ’s criminal probe investigating thousands of documents he stole from the White House and stored at Mar-a-Lago, issued another insane ruling in Trump’s favor. This time, she overruled the Special Master — the chosen by Trump and appointed by her — who had ordered Trump’s attorneys to offer evidence to back up Trump’s claims that documents were planted by the FBI and/or declassified by Trump before he took them from the White House. Judge Aileen Cannon also pushed back the deadline for Special Master Raymond Dearie to complete his work until mid-December, despite Dearie’s plan to complete his review of the documents in question by mid-October… CLICK HERE TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD TODAY’S SHOW!… * * * While we post The BradCast here every day, and you can hear it across all of our great affiliate stations and websites, to automagically get new episodes as soon as they’re available sent right to your computer or personal device, subscribe for free at iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or our native RSS feed! [Cross-posted from The BRAD BLOG…] Read More Here

AP News Summary At 9:00 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-900-p-m-edt-2/ Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has regained some strength after exiting Florida and taking aim at South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said the storm spent only a few hours as a weakened tropical storm over Florida before it spun up into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews were wading through water and using boats to rescue Florida residents stranded in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The Orange County fire department posted photos of crews in a flooded neighborhood in the Orlando area. At least one person in Florida was confirmed dead on the state’s eastern coast. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for coastal South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina ahead of another landfall Friday. Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council. Russia opens more border draft offices amid call-up exodus Russian authorities are opening more military enlistment offices near Russia’s borders in an apparent effort to intercept Russian men of fighting age who are trying to avoid getting called up to fight in Ukraine. Saratov regional officials said a new draft office opened Thursday at a checkpoint on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. Another military enlistment center was to open at a crossing in the Astrakhan region, also on the border with Kazakhstan. Earlier this week, makeshift Russian draft offices were set up near a border crossing into Georgia and on Russia’s border with Finland. Russian officials say they would hand call-up notices to all eligible men who were trying to leave the country. 1/6 chairman: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That is according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin after the election. Thomas’ attorney says his client was solely focused on ensuring reports of voter fraud and irregularities were investigated. Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cars are left abandoned where they stalled on the road into Fort Myers Beach when Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded their engines and their drivers couldn’t continue. Broken trees, boat trailers and other debris litter the path. It’s even worse in the seaside tourist town, much of which was flattened by the fierce winds and powerful storm surge generated by the Category 4 hurricane. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famed for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. They took major hits from Ian when it came ashore Wednesday and residents tried to salvage what they could Thursday. Trump records probe: Tensions flare over special master WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate has spawned a parallel “special master” process that has slowed the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and exposed simmering tensions between department prosecutors and lawyers for the former president. The probe into the presence of top secret information at Mar-a-Lago continues. But barbed rhetoric in the past week’s court filings has laid bare deep disagreements related to the special master’s work and made clear that a process the Trump team initially sought has not been playing to the president’s advantage. The special master, Raymond Dearie, is a former federal prosecutor and served as a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn. Biden vows US commitment to Pacific Islands at summit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has told visiting leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries that the U.S. is committed to bolstering its presence in their region and becoming a more collaborative partner as they face the “existential threat” of climate change. The president on Thursday addressed the leaders who gathered in Washington for a summit as the White House looks to improve relations in the Pacific amid heightened U.S. concern about China’s growing economic and military influence. Biden hosted the leaders for a dinner at the White House on Thursday evening. GOP states sue Biden administration over student loan plan WASHINGTON (AP) — Six Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration to try and halt its plan to forgive student loan debt for millions of Americans. They’re accusing it of overstepping its executive powers. It’s at least the second legal challenge this week to the sweeping proposal laid out by President Joe Biden in late August, when he said his administration would cancel up to $20,000 in education debt for millions of borrowers. As the lawsuit was being filed, the administration quietly scaled back eligibility rules for the debt relief, eliminating a relatively small group of borrowers who are the subject of legal debate in the suit. ALS drug wins FDA approval despite questionable data WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials have approved a much-debated drug to treat the deadly illness known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The approval Thursday follows an intense lobbying campaign by patients and advocates, though it’s also likely to raise questions about the standards used to review experimental medicines. The Food and Drug Administration approved the medication from Amylyx Pharmaceuticals based on results from one small, mid-stage study. The agency’s internal scientists repeatedly said the company’s results were not convincing. But thousands of patients have urged the FDA to be flexible and grant patients’ access. Lou Gehrig’s disease has no cure and most patients die within five years of initial symptoms. Cubans suffer as hurricane-caused power outage drags on HAVANA (AP) — Ivette Garrido hurried last week to get the 6 kilograms of subsidized chicken allotted to her family by Cuba’s government and put it in the freezer, happy to have meat to get through Hurricane Ian. Now she is considering giving the chicken to her three dogs before it goes bad, as a huge power blackout caused by the storm extends beyond two days and everything in her freezer thaws amid scorching temperatures. Cuban authorities have not said what percentage of the population remains without electricity or when things will return to normal, but the Electric Union says only 10% of Havana’s 2 million people have power. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

Two Migrants Shot, One Fatally, Along Roadway In Rural Texas https://digitalalaskanews.com/two-migrants-shot-one-fatally-along-roadway-in-rural-texas/ A detention center warden in Hudspeth County is one of two men arrested in connection with the attack east of El Paso, a law enforcement official said. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Sept. 29, 2022Updated 9:07 p.m. ET HOUSTON — Two unauthorized migrants were shot, one of them fatally, by two men in a pickup truck that approached them as they walked along a roadway in West Texas, according to court documents filed on Thursday. After the shooting, which took place on Tuesday evening, the truck was found parked at a home in Hudspeth County, a rural area east of El Paso that runs from the border with Mexico to the state line of New Mexico. Two men were arrested in connection with the shooting, law enforcement officials said: Michael Sheppard, the warden at a local privately run detention center, and his twin brother, Mark Sheppard. Both men were charged with manslaughter, according to affidavits filed by investigators in the case. Neither could be immediately reached for comment. The killing came amid a sharply escalating national debate over the treatment of migrants and how to respond to a record number of asylum seekers and other arrivals at the southern border. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has been busing thousands of migrants, who are awaiting asylum proceedings, north to cities run by Democrats, saying he was doing so to relieve the pressure on resources in often poor rural counties along the border. And earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida arranged for 48 migrants, who had been in San Antonio, to be flown to Martha’s Vineyard. The migrants who were shot on Tuesday were many miles from the border, according to the affidavits, crossing through the desert in an apparent attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement or border officials. They were walking in a group along a roadway near Sierra Blanca around 7 p.m. when they stopped at a water tank, according to the affidavits. As the pickup truck approached, the group, which included at least four people, tried to hide. The truck drove by and then stopped and backed up, according to the filings. The driver then left the pickup truck, according to the affidavits. During interviews with federal agents, the migrants said that they had heard one of the men shout in Spanish for them to “Come out,” peppering his language with profanity, before revving the engine of the truck, according to the affidavits. The revving of the engine led the migrants to believe that the truck was leaving, at which point, they told investigators, the two shots were fired, according to the affidavits. The driver leaned on the truck’s hood and fired two shots at the group of migrants before climbing back in and driving away, according to the affidavits. One shot hit one of the migrants in the head, killing him; another shot hit a female migrant in the stomach, the official said. She was taken to a hospital, where she was recovering, according to a statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is investigating the case. The truck was traced by investigators, working with the U.S. Border Patrol, to a home in Sierra Blanca, the official said. “We all responded,” First Deputy Chief Lasaro Salgado of the Hudspeth County sheriff’s office said, describing the night of the shooting. “We handed the investigation to the Rangers.” The deputy said that the Texas Rangers had arrested the Sheppards, both 60. In their interviews with the police, summarized in the affidavits, the two men said that they had been out looking for animals to shoot, first telling investigators that they had been looking for ducks, and then birds and finally javelinas, hoglike animals that are common to the drier parts of West Texas. Mark Sheppard said that they had stopped the truck because they believed they had spotted a javelina, according to the affidavits, and he said his brother had left the truck with a shotgun and had fired two times. Neither of them went to check on whether they had struck anything, he said, according to the affidavits. He denied to the police that either man had yelled anything before opening fire, according to the affidavits, and afterward, the men left to attend a county water board meeting. The F.B.I., the Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations are assisting in the investigation, according to a spokesman for the Rangers, who declined to provide further details. Michael Sheppard worked as the warden of the West Texas Detention Center in Sierra Blanca, a site run by LaSalle Corrections, a company that operates more than a dozen private detention facilities in Texas, Louisiana and Georgia, according to the company’s website. A spokesman for the company, Scott Sutterfield, said in an emailed statement that Mr. Sheppard had been “terminated due to an off-duty incident unrelated to his employment” and that no further details could be provided because of the “ongoing criminal investigation.” Representative Veronica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso and who has been vocal about combating anti-immigration sentiment, called on the Department of Justice to begin an investigation into what she described as an apparent hate crime against migrants. Edgar Sandoval contributed reporting from San Antonio. Read More Here

Ian Regains Hurricane Strength As It Takes Aim At Georgia, Carolinas https://digitalalaskanews.com/ian-regains-hurricane-strength-as-it-takes-aim-at-georgia-carolinas/ After leaving a path of destruction across Florida, Ian has again intensified into a hurricane Thursday afternoon as it heads toward Georgia and the Carolinas. Here’s the latest on Hurricane Ian:Ian strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane around 5 p.m. ET Thursday.As of 8 p.m. ET, the storm was about 215 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center predicts it will make landfall in South Carolina on Friday.Authorities have confirmed at least one storm death in Florida.President Joe Biden said Ian “could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history” and warned, “we’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life.” Roughly 2.67 million homes and businesses were without electricity in FloridaWatch live video coverage above from sister station WESH in Orlando.Live storm coverage is also available for free on your connected TV from Very Local. Download the app here.Ian regains hurricane strengthIan regained hurricane strength as it spun toward South Carolina late Thursday afternoon, a day after devastating a cross-section of Florida. As of 8 p.m. ET, the NHC said Ian was centered about 215 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, and moving north northeast at 10 mph. Its maximum sustained winds remained at 75 mph. The NHC predicted it would continue to strengthen before hitting South Carolina on Friday, but still remain a Category 1 storm. A hurricane warning was issued for the South Carolina coast and extended to Cape Fear on the southeastern coast of North Carolina. With tropical-storm-force winds reaching 415 miles from its center, Ian was forecast to shove storm surge of 5 feet into coastal areas in Georgia and the Carolinas. Rainfall of up to 8 inches threatened flooding from South Carolina to Virginia. Video below: Wind gusts picking up in Charleston, South Carolina The National Hurricane Center said a turn toward the north is expected Thursday night, followed by a turn toward the north-northwest with an increase in speed Friday night.On the forecast track, Ian will approach the coast of South Carolina on Friday. The center will move farther inland across the Carolinas Friday night and Saturday.The NHC said Ian could slightly strengthen before landfall on Friday and is forecast to rapidly weaken over the southeastern U.S. late Friday into Saturday.LATEST CONELATEST MODELSLATEST SATELLITEThe governors of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia all preemptively declared states of emergency. Ian’s impact in FloridaRescue crews piloted boats and waded through flooded streets Thursday to save thousands of Floridians trapped after Hurricane Ian destroyed homes and businesses and left millions in the dark. The devastation began to come into focus a day after Ian made landfall in Florida as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. The storm flooded homes on both the state’s coasts, cut off the only bridge to a barrier island, destroyed a historic waterfront pier and knocked out electricity to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses — nearly a quarter of utility customers. At least one man was confirmed dead.Aerial photos from the Fort Myers area, a few miles west of where Ian struck land, showed homes ripped from their slabs and deposited among shredded wreckage. Businesses near the beach were completely razed, leaving just twisted debris. Broken docks floated at odd angles beside damaged boats, and fires smoldered on lots where houses once stood. Authorities confirmed at least one storm death in Florida — a 72-year-old man in Deltona who fell into a canal while using a hose to drain his pool in the heavy rain, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said. “We’ve never seen storm surge of this magnitude,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told a news conference. “The amount of water that’s been rising, and will likely continue to rise today even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flooding event.”Video: WESH reporter talks about water rescueThe National Hurricane Center said storm surge and flooding rains remained a threat as Ian crept across the Florida peninsula and emerged in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cape Canaveral.Sheriffs in southwest Florida said 911 centers were inundated by thousands of stranded callers, some with life-threatening emergencies. The U.S. Coast Guard began rescue efforts hours before daybreak on barrier islands near where Ian struck, DeSantis said. More than 800 members of federal urban search and rescue teams were also in the area. A chunk of the Sanibel Causeway fell into the sea, cutting off access to the barrier island where 6,300 people normally live. It was unknown how many heeded orders to evacuate, but Charlotte County Emergency Management Director Patrick Fuller expressed cautious optimism that worst-case scenarios might not have been realized.No deaths or injuries have been confirmed in the county, and flyovers of barrier islands show “the integrity of the homes is far better than we anticipated,” Fuller said.South of Sanibel, the historic beachfront pier in Naples got destroyed, with even the pilings underneath torn out, as towering waves crashed over the structure. “Right now, there is no pier,” said Penny Taylor, a commissioner in Collier County, which includes Naples.The Florida Highway Patrol shut down the Florida Turnpike in the Orlando area and said the main artery in the middle of the state will remain closed until water subsides. Video: Florida wakes up to Hurricane Ian destructionIan struck Florida as a monstrous Category 4 storm, with 150 mph winds that tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the U.S.Devastation in CubaA boat carrying Cuban migrants sank Wednesday in stormy weather east of Key West.The U.S. Coast Guard initiated a search and rescue mission for 23 people and managed to find three survivors about two miles south of the Florida Keys, officials said. Four other Cubans swam to Stock Island, just east of Key West, the U.S. Border Patrol said. Aircrews continued to search for possibly 20 remaining migrants.The storm previously tore into Cuba, killing two people and bringing down the country’s electrical grid.Video: Space station flies over Hurricane Ian After leaving a path of destruction across Florida, Ian has again intensified into a hurricane Thursday afternoon as it heads toward Georgia and the Carolinas. Here’s the latest on Hurricane Ian: Ian strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane around 5 p.m. ET Thursday. As of 8 p.m. ET, the storm was about 215 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center predicts it will make landfall in South Carolina on Friday. Authorities have confirmed at least one storm death in Florida. President Joe Biden said Ian “could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history” and warned, “we’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life.” Roughly 2.67 million homes and businesses were without electricity in Florida Watch live video coverage above from sister station WESH in Orlando. Live storm coverage is also available for free on your connected TV from Very Local. Download the app here. Ian regains hurricane strength Ian regained hurricane strength as it spun toward South Carolina late Thursday afternoon, a day after devastating a cross-section of Florida. As of 8 p.m. ET, the NHC said Ian was centered about 215 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, and moving north northeast at 10 mph. Its maximum sustained winds remained at 75 mph. The NHC predicted it would continue to strengthen before hitting South Carolina on Friday, but still remain a Category 1 storm. A hurricane warning was issued for the South Carolina coast and extended to Cape Fear on the southeastern coast of North Carolina. With tropical-storm-force winds reaching 415 miles from its center, Ian was forecast to shove storm surge of 5 feet into coastal areas in Georgia and the Carolinas. Rainfall of up to 8 inches threatened flooding from South Carolina to Virginia. Video below: Wind gusts picking up in Charleston, South Carolina The National Hurricane Center said a turn toward the north is expected Thursday night, followed by a turn toward the north-northwest with an increase in speed Friday night. On the forecast track, Ian will approach the coast of South Carolina on Friday. The center will move farther inland across the Carolinas Friday night and Saturday. The NHC said Ian could slightly strengthen before landfall on Friday and is forecast to rapidly weaken over the southeastern U.S. late Friday into Saturday. LATEST CONE LATEST MODELS LATEST SATELLITE The governors of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia all preemptively declared states of emergency. Ian’s impact in Florida Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through flooded streets Thursday to save thousands of Floridians trapped after Hurricane Ian destroyed homes and businesses and left millions in the dark. The devastation began to come into focus a day after Ian made landfall in Florida as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. The storm flooded homes on both the state’s coasts, cut off the only bridge to a barrier island, destroyed a historic waterfront pier and knocked out electricity to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses — nearly a quarter of utility customers. At least one man was confirmed dead. Aerial photos from the Fort Myers area, a few miles west of where Ian struck land, showed homes ripped from their slabs and deposited among shredded wreckage. Businesses near the beach were completely razed, leaving just twisted debris. Broken docks floated at odd angles beside damaged boats, and fires smoldered on lots where houses once stood. Authorities confirmed at least one storm death in Florida — a 72-year-old man in Deltona who fe...

A https://digitalalaskanews.com/a-30/ Access to this page has been denied because we believe you are using automation tools to browse the website. This may happen as a result of the following: Javascript is disabled or blocked by an extension (ad blockers for example) Your browser does not support cookies Please make sure that Javascript and cookies are enabled on your browser and that you are not blocking them from loading. Reference ID: #f6103833-405d-11ed-8ff9-756e754e5968 Read More Here

Around Alaska – Summer 2022 https://digitalalaskanews.com/around-alaska-summer-2022/ I worked in Alaska this summer doing conservation work, including trail building, tree population protection, and tundra protection. This is a collection of videos from around the beautiful state, and experiences I had. Locations seen: Anchorage, AK Chugach State Park Afognak Island Discoverer Bay, AK Kodiak, AK Indian, AK Kenai Fjords National Park Harding Ice Field, AK Kenai Peninsula, AK Wrangell-St. Elias National Park McCarthy, AK Root Glacier, AK Palmer, AK Eagle River, AK Denali State Park K’esugi Ridge, Ak Galbraith Lake, AK Brooks Range Dalton Highway Franklin Bluffs, AK Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse, AK Lake Benchmark Mountain, Brooks Range, AK Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reporting—but good journalism isn’t free. Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution. Read More Here

Ginni Thomas Falsely Asserts To Jan. 6 Panel That Election Was Stolen, Chairman Says https://digitalalaskanews.com/ginni-thomas-falsely-asserts-to-jan-6-panel-that-election-was-stolen-chairman-says-2/ Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, reiterated her belief that the 2020 election was stolen during her interview Thursday with the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.). Her false assertion, nearly two years after Joe Biden’s victory, came during a five-hour closed-door interview with the committee. Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist, drew the attention of the committee after investigators obtained emails between her and lawyer John Eastman, who had advocated a fringe legal theory that Vice President Mike Pence could block the congressional certification of Biden’s electoral college win. She also repeatedly pressed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to find ways to overturn the election, according to messages she sent to him weeks after the election. The messages represent an extraordinary pipeline between Thomas and one of Trump’s top aides as the president and his allies were vowing to take their efforts all the way to the Supreme Court. The committee says it may use clips from her appearance, if they are warranted, in a future hearing. But lawmakers have not yet scheduled their next hearing. Mark Paoletta, an attorney for Thomas, said in a statement that she appeared before the panel “to clear up the misconceptions about her activities surrounding the 2020 elections.” “As she has said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas had significant concerns about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election,” the lawyer said. “And, as she told the Committee, her minimal and mainstream activity focused on ensuring that reports of fraud and irregularities were investigated. Beyond that, she played no role in any events after the 2020 election results.” The panel had previously contemplated issuing a subpoena to compel her testimony. Read More Here

Ginni Thomas Falsely Asserts To Jan. 6 Panel That Election Was Stolen, Chairman Says https://digitalalaskanews.com/ginni-thomas-falsely-asserts-to-jan-6-panel-that-election-was-stolen-chairman-says/ Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, reiterated her belief that the 2020 election was stolen during her interview Thursday with the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.). Her false assertion, nearly two years after Joe Biden’s victory, came during a five-hour closed-door interview with the committee. Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist, drew the attention of the committee after investigators obtained emails between her and lawyer John Eastman, who had advocated a fringe legal theory that Vice President Mike Pence could block the congressional certification of Biden’s electoral college win. She also repeatedly pressed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to find ways to overturn the election, according to messages she sent to him weeks after the election. The messages represent an extraordinary pipeline between Thomas and one of Trump’s top aides as the president and his allies were vowing to take their efforts all the way to the Supreme Court. The committee says it may use clips from her appearance, if they are warranted, in a future hearing. But lawmakers have not yet scheduled their next hearing. Mark Paoletta, an attorney for Thomas, said in a statement that she appeared before the panel “to clear up the misconceptions about her activities surrounding the 2020 elections.” “As she has said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas had significant concerns about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election,” the lawyer said. “And, as she told the Committee, her minimal and mainstream activity focused on ensuring that reports of fraud and irregularities were investigated. Beyond that, she played no role in any events after the 2020 election results.” The panel had previously contemplated issuing a subpoena to compel her testimony. Read More Here

YouTube Restricts Video Of Dems, Critics Saying 2016 Election Was Hacked https://digitalalaskanews.com/youtube-restricts-video-of-dems-critics-saying-2016-election-was-hacked/ YouTube cracked down on a video compilation of Democrats and media pundits questioning the legitimacy of former President Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory, its creators claimed Thursday. The TK News video — put together to highlight the partisan double standard over election denialism – is still playable although it runs with limited or no ads, depriving the creators of vital revenue. TK’s Matt Taibbi said in a Substack post Thursday. The video includes clips of prominent liberals repeatedly calling Trump’s presidency “illegitimate” and using the word “hacked” to describe the 2016 election. “After manually reviewing your video, we’ve confirmed that it isn’t suitable for all advertisers,” the Google-owned video giant wrote to producer Matt Orfalea, according to the post. “As a result, it will continue to run limited or no ads … Your video remains playable and is still eligible to earn subscription revenue from YouTube Premium.” Editor Matt Orfalea compiled a video that incorporated clips of critics claiming the 2016 election was “hacked” amid accusations of Russian interference. The Washington Post via Getty Im The message was sent by YouTube before the video was posted as part of an article that called election denialism “a sequel story.” “The material in this video does not promote the idea that any election was stolen or illegitimate,” Taibbi wrote. “On the contrary, it shows a great mass of comments from Democratic Partisans and pundits who themselves make that claim about the 2016 election.” The comments were not censored when they were “made the first time around,” Taibbi added and he noted there were no sanctions against, for example, former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann for claiming “it will not be a peaceful transfer of power” when Trump took office. The video splices video and audio with narration and news articles regarding the 2016 presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Orf/YouTube One clip in the video shows Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, telling a crowd the election was “stolen” from her. The compilation also shows actors like Rosie O’Donnell and cable news commentators making similar claims, and also highlights an online petition asking state electors to go against the will of the voters and select Clinton as president. Screenshots of article headlines and tweets mixed with narration are spliced with the video and clips echoing the idea that Russia “hacked” the election as part of an elaborate intelligence operation or even engaged in “actual interference with the elections themselves,” as Clinton says in another clip. The video was to run as part of a story by Taibbi and Orfalea that discussed the postponement of a scheduled meeting of the House Select Committee investigating last year’s Capitol riot, where a pro-Trump crowd stormed Congress and disrupted certification of the 2020 election. Trump lost that election to now-President Joe Biden, but he and his supporters have pushed the idea the result was illegitimate. The article points out that similar claims were made against Trump in 2016, when he won the Electoral College vote but lost the nationwide popular vote, but are only being scrutinized or policed when Republicans put them forward. “This is exactly the kind of behavior we’re now being told is so dangerous that it requires both censorship and official investigation,” the authors wrote. “The chief difference is Trump’s efforts ended in an ‘Airheads’-style temporary occupation of the Capitol by MAGA dolts, while Democratic efforts ended in multiple, sophisticated efforts to remove Trump from the White House, either by impeachment or indictment.” “It can’t be held against Trump that his brand of election denial was dumber and less likely to succeed than that of his opponents. Orfalea’s video shows the double-standard,” the article concludes. “We either censor and condemn election denial, or we don’t. You can’t have it both ways, but they sure are trying.” Read More Here

AP News Summary At 7:02 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-702-p-m-edt/ Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has regained some strength after exiting Florida and taking aim at South Caroline. The National Hurricane Center said the storm spent only a few hours as a weakened tropical storm over Florida before it spun up into a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews were wading through water and using boats to rescue Florida residents stranded in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The Orange County fire department posted photos Thursday of crews in a flooded neighborhood in the Orlando area. At least one person in Florida was confirmed dead on the state’s eastern coast. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for coastal South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina ahead of another landfall Friday. Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council. Russia opens more border draft offices amid call-up exodus Russian authorities are opening more military enlistment offices near Russia’s borders in an apparent effort to intercept Russian men of fighting age who are trying to avoid getting called up to fight in Ukraine. Saratov regional officials said a new draft office opened Thursday at a checkpoint on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. Another military enlistment center was to open at a crossing in the Astrakhan region, also on the border with Kazakhstan. Earlier this week, makeshift Russian draft offices were set up near a border crossing into Georgia and on Russia’s border with Finland. Russian officials say they would hand call-up notices to all eligible men who were trying to leave the country. 1/6 chairman: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That is according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin after the election. Thomas’ attorney says his client was solely focused on ensuring reports of voter fraud and irregularities were investigated. Trump records probe: Tensions flare over special master WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate has spawned a parallel “special master” process that has slowed the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and exposed simmering tensions between department prosecutors and lawyers for the former president. The probe into the presence of top secret information at Mar-a-Lago continues. But barbed rhetoric in the past week’s court filings has laid bare deep disagreements related to the special master’s work and made clear that a process the Trump team initially sought has not been playing to the president’s advantage. The special master, Raymond Dearie, is a former federal prosecutor and served as a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn. Cubans suffer as hurricane-caused power outage drags on HAVANA (AP) — Ivette Garrido hurried last week to get the 6 kilograms of subsidized chicken allotted to her family by Cuba’s government and put it in the freezer, happy to have meat to get through Hurricane Ian. Now she is considering giving the chicken to her three dogs before it goes bad, as a huge power blackout caused by the storm extends beyond two days and everything in her freezer thaws amid scorching temperatures. Cuban authorities have not said what percentage of the population remains without electricity or when things will return to normal, but the Electric Union says only 10% of Havana’s 2 million people have power. GOP states sue Biden administration over student loan plan WASHINGTON (AP) — Six Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration to try and halt its plan to forgive student loan debt for millions of Americans. They’re accusing it of overstepping its executive powers. It’s at least the second legal challenge this week to the sweeping proposal laid out by President Joe Biden in late August, when he said his administration would cancel up to $20,000 in education debt for millions of borrowers. The announcement became immediate political fodder ahead of the November midterms while fueling arguments from conservatives about the program’s legality. ALS drug wins FDA approval despite questionable data WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials have approved a much-debated drug to treat the deadly illness known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The approval Thursday follows an intense lobbying campaign by patients and advocates, though it’s also likely to raise questions about the standards used to review experimental medicines. The Food and Drug Administration approved the medication from Amylyx Pharmaceuticals based on results from one small, mid-stage study. The agency’s internal scientists repeatedly said the company’s results were not convincing. But thousands of patients have urged the FDA to be flexible and grant patients’ access. Lou Gehrig’s disease has no cure and most patients die within five years of initial symptoms. ‘Crown,’ ‘Interview With the Vampire’ among TV highlights LOS ANGELES (AP) — What’s fall got to do with the fall TV season? “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “House of the Dragon” are among the major series that arrived early. The broadcast tradition of a strict September-to-May season has been undermined by streaming and cable efforts to keep audiences glued to TV year-round. But there’s still an expectation that people watch more TV when days grow shorter and colder, so long-awaited and promising new shows are rolling out. Among them: Season five of “The Crown,” the journalism drama “Alaska Daily” starring Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, and the quirky comedy “Sherman’s Showcase.” Wall Street drops back to lowest since 2020 as fear returns NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are back to falling on Wall Street as worries about a possible recession and rising bond yields put the squeeze back on markets. The S&P 500 fell 2.1% Thursday, reaching its lowest level since late 2020. The washout erased the index’s gains in a big rally the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.5% and the Nasdaq lost 2.8%. For markets to really turn higher, analysts say investors will need to see a break from the high inflation that’s swept the world. That hasn’t arrived yet, and even more data arrived Thursday showing the opposite. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

Tropical Storm Ian Regains Hurricane Strength – Live https://digitalalaskanews.com/tropical-storm-ian-regains-hurricane-strength-live/ Hurricane Ian: Waves flood roads in Key West as storm strengthens to category 4 After spending most of Thursday as a tropical storm, Ian was upgraded to a hurricane again as it takes aim at the South Carolina coastline. The National Hurricane Center stated in its 5pm ET update that Hurricane Ian was “taking aim at the Carolinas and Georgia with life-threatening flooding, storm surge and strong winds.” The hurricane is now moving north-northwest at around 10 mph with maximum sustained winds increasing to 75 mph with strong gusts. “Ian could slightly strengthen before landfall tomorrow, and is forecast to rapidly weaken over the southeastern United States late Friday into Saturday,” the advisory said. Dozens of rescue operations have been taking place across Florida after unprecedented flooding from one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the United States. Thousands of people are stranded across the state as coastguard helicopters were seen plucking people from roofs after several feet of water surged into neighorboods. Some 2.5million people were currently without power. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the hurricane as a “500-year flood event” and said that major infrastructure had been badly damaged including the Sanibel Causeway in southwest Florida and the bridge to Pine Island, near Fort Myers. President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Florida following the catastrophic impacts. “This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history,” he said later during a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters. Read More Here

FDA Approves First ALS Drug In 5 Years After Pleas From Patients https://digitalalaskanews.com/fda-approves-first-als-drug-in-5-years-after-pleas-from-patients/ The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday overcame doubts from agency scientists and approved a fiercely debated drug for ALS, a move that heartened patients and advocates who pushed for the medication but raised concerns among some experts about whether treatments for dire conditions receive sufficient scrutiny. “It’s a huge deal,” said Sunny Brous, 35, who was diagnosed with ALS seven years ago after she had trouble closing her left glove while playing softball. She plans to begin taking the drug as soon as she can. “Anything that shows any amount of efficacy is important,” the resident of Pico, Tex., added. Even a small change, Brous said, “might be the difference between signing my own name and someone else signing it for me.” The newly approved therapy, which will be sold under the brand name Relyvrio, is designed to slow the disease by protecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord destroyed by ALS — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The ailment paralyzes patients, robbing them of their ability to walk, talk and eventually breathe. Patients typically die within three to five years, though some live much longer with the condition sometimes called “Lou Gehrig’s disease” for the renowned baseball player diagnosed in 1939. “This approval provides another important treatment option for ALS, a life-threatening disease that currently has no cure,” Billy Dunn, director of the FDA’s Office of Neuroscience, said in a statement. The agency said the efficacy of Relyvrio, the first new therapy approved for ALS in five years, was demonstrated in a 24-week study in which 137 patients were randomized to receive Relyvrio or placebo. The patients treated with the drug experienced a 25 percent slower rate of decline in performing essential activities such as walking, talking and cutting food compared with those receiving a placebo. In addition, the FDA said, a long-term analysis showed that patients who originally received Relyvrio versus those who took the placebo lived longer. Amylyx, the Cambridge, Mass., biotech that makes the drug, said that survival benefit was a median of about 10 months. During reviews of the drug, the FDA staff expressed concerns about the medication’s effectiveness and posed questions about the clinical trial. On Thursday, the agency acknowledged there were “limitations” to the data that resulted in uncertainty about the drug’s degree of effectiveness. But the agency said that regulatory flexibility was acceptable because of the “serious and life-threatening nature of ALS and the substantial unmet need” for treatments. Amylyx officials said they plan to move as quickly as possible to make the drug available. “Amylyx’ goal is that every person who is eligible for Relyvrio will have access as quickly and efficiently as possible as we know people with ALS and their families have no time to wait,” co-chief executive officers Josh Cohen and Justin Klee said in a statement. The company said information on the price would be coming soon. Patients, advocates and ALS specialists hailed what they called a landmark approval, saying the drug represents the kind of modest advance needed to make progress against the disease. About 30,000 people in the United States have ALS, with 6,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Two other drugs are approved for the ailment but have extremely limited effectiveness. Some drug policy experts, however, said insufficient evidence exists that the drug works. A trial with 600 patients won’t be completed until late 2023 or early 2024. “There is some evidence to support the efficacy of the product, but I don’t think it hits the bar that the FDA typically requires,” said G. Caleb Alexander, an internist and epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who serves on the FDA advisory committee that reviewed the drug. “How much should the FDA lower the bar — if at all — for products for a devastating disease” that lacks effective treatments? Diana Zuckerman, president of the of National Center for Health Research, a think tank, agreed. “How many ineffective ALS drugs do we need?” Zuckerman said. “It would be better to have one that has been proven to make a meaningful difference to live longer.” But Jinsy A. Andrews, an associate professor of neurology and director of neuromuscular clinical trials at Columbia University, applauded the approval and said she plans to start prescribing the drug as soon as it is available. Other ALS specialists agreed. “I see patients living with this disease, and I diagnose them every day,” Andrews said. “So to have another therapy for the tool kit is helpful.” Andrews is an investigator in the large trial for the drug now underway. The drug consists of two components — a prescription drug called sodium phenylbutyrate used to treat rare liver disorders and a nutritional supplement called taurursodiol. The drug comes in a powder that is dissolved in water and can be swallowed or given through a feeding tube. Two Brown University undergraduates — Cohen and Klee — came up with the idea for the therapy almost a decade ago, initially thinking it would be for Alzheimer’s disease. ALS advocates said the approval shows the importance of patients and advocates getting involved in efforts to bring drugs to the market. “We still have a lot of work to do to cure ALS, but this new treatment is a significant step in that fight,” said Calaneet Balas, president and chief executive officer of the ALS Association. In 2014, the organization raised $115 million in six weeks from the Ice Bucket Challenge and provided $2.2 million of that to help pay for testing AMX0035, the drug’s name during development. The medication is the first funded by the organization to receive FDA approval. Amylyx has agreed to use proceeds from sales of the medication to repay the organization 150 percent of its investment. In 2019, Brian Wallach, a staffer in the Obama White House, and his wife founded a group named I AM ALS after Wallach was diagnosed. That organization made getting the Amylyx drug onto the market a priority. The two groups pressed the FDA to be faster and more flexible in clearing ALS drugs, saying patients would accept treatments with increased safety risks in return for even a small benefit — a viewpoint incorporated into the agency’s 2019 guidance to the pharmaceutical industry on developing ALS therapies. In 2020, the two ALS organizations submitted more than 50,000 signatures to the FDA calling for approval of AMX0035. In a do-it-yourself effort, some ALS patients in the United States already are taking the ingredients of the medication. Because sodium phenylbutyrate was already approved, doctors may prescribe it off-label to ALS patients. The nutritional supplement taurursodiol, also called TUDCA, can be bought online. Steve Kowalski, 58, who lives in Boston and takes the components of the drug, along with the other two approved ALS drugs, credits the regimen for slowing his deterioration. With careful planning and the help of his three adult children, he can still go see his beloved Red Sox but is exhausted when he gets home, he said. Kowalski welcomed the FDA action on the drug. He prefers to get a high-quality, approved version of the medication rather than having to buy a supplement online. The company’s application to the FDA was based largely on the single 24-week clinical trial and follow-up data from an “open label” study in which all trial participants were offered the drug. Typically, the FDA expects drugmakers to submit “substantial evidence of effectiveness” provided by two well-designed clinical investigations. But the agency says a single trial may be sufficient if the study demonstrates a “clinically meaningful and statistically very persuasive effect” on extending survival or some other aspect of the disease. In March, however, the FDA staff issued a mostly negative assessment — suggesting the data was not persuasive — and the agency’s advisers agreed, voting 6-4 to recommend against FDA approval. Patients and advocates flooded the FDA with more than 10,000 emails pleading for approval, advocates said. In a rare move, the FDA held a second advisory meeting this month to consider additional analyses submitted by the company. Once again, the FDA staff suggested in a memo that there was not enough evidence of effectiveness to approve the drug. But the tone of the meeting differed markedly from that of the first session. At the outset, Dunn acknowledged the data for the drug raised numerous questions but also stressed the “tremendous unmet medical need” for ALS and the seriousness of the disease. He said the agency had the legal authority to be flexible. And in a highly unusual move, Dunn asked the Amylyx officials whether they would voluntarily withdraw the drug from the market if the large trial failed; they said they would. With a few of the outside experts on the advisory committee changing their position, the panel recommended approval 7-2. The debate over the drug has echoes of the battle over Aduhelm, the controversial Alzheimer’s drug approved by the agency in June 2021. Critics said there was scant evidence of efficacy for that medication, and Medicare declined to cover it except in trials. The drug collapsed in the marketplace, never gaining traction with patients or physicians. But ALS doctors insist the ALS drug is different. It reached its primary goal in the trial, even if the benefit was modest, they noted. And even small gains are meaningful to people with the disease, they argued. The FDA said the drug did not pose major safety concerns; the most common adverse reactions were diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and upper respiratory tract infection. The agency added that taurursodiol, a bile acid, may cause worsening d...

Murkowski, Sullivan Introduce Bill To Recognize The Legacy Of The Late Congressman Don Young | U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski Of Alaska https://digitalalaskanews.com/murkowski-sullivan-introduce-bill-to-recognize-the-legacy-of-the-late-congressman-don-young-u-s-senator-lisa-murkowski-of-alaska/ 09.29.22 Volcano, Federal Office Building & Job Corps Center to be Named After Young Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-AK) today introduced the Don Young Recognition Act, a bill to honor the legacy of the late Don Young, Congressman for All Alaska. The legislation designates one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian Islands, currently known as Mount Cerberus, as Mount Young. In addition, the bill recognizes Congressman Young’s lifelong contributions to Alaska by designating the Federal office building in Fairbanks as the Don Young Federal Office Building and the Job Corps Center located in Palmer as the Don Young Alaska Job Corps Center. Congressman Young, Dean of the House, passed away on March 18, 2022 after serving Alaska in the House of Representatives for 49 years. “During Congressman Young’s decades long career of service, he made an outsized impact on our state. He loved the people of Alaska with every ounce of his being. His loyalty and commitment to the betterment of all who call Alaska home was evident throughout his work. He was determined and effective, shepherding critical legislation into law that impact generations,” said Senator Murkowski. “Through this legislation, my goal is that we not only pay tribute to a great man who did so much for our state, but that it ensures that what he has done for Alaskans is not forgotten. Don Young moved mountains for Alaska, it’s only fitting we name one after him–even if it is a bit unpredictable.” “Don Young left an indelible mark on the state he loved so much through his decades of service in Congress,” said Senator Sullivan. “Having fought so hard for countless federal investments, projects and economic opportunities for Alaskans, it is a fitting tribute for some of these projects and lands to bear his name. Future generations will be reminded of this larger-than-life Alaskan, a true man of the people, who was ceaselessly invested in improving the livelihoods of Alaskans.” Following Congressman Young’s passing, Senators Murkowski and Sullivan introduced a resolution which passed the Senate unanimously in March of 2022, celebrating Congressman Young’s life and legacy. Read More Here