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Ahead Of Razor Thin Elections, Are Democrats Overlooking Rural Wisconsin? – Wisconsin Examiner https://digitalalaskanews.com/ahead-of-razor-thin-elections-are-democrats-overlooking-rural-wisconsin-wisconsin-examiner/ In 2012, Barack Obama carried 35 counties on his way to winning Wisconsin with nearly 53% of the vote against Mitt Romney. In 2020, Joe Biden carried 14 counties on his way to winning the state with 49.6% of the vote against former President Donald Trump.  23 counties flipped from Obama to Trump from 2012 to 2016 and only two, Door and Sauk, flipped back to Biden in 2020.  In the decade since Obama won Wisconsin, the state’s political geography has been summed up into an oft-repeated, if over-simplified narrative — the rural parts of the state are red and the urban ones blue.  In the 2022 midterm elections under the state’s new and more gerrymandered political maps, Republicans are more likely to win a veto-proof supermajority in both houses of the Legislature than Democrats are to get a simple majority, but the statewide races for governor, U.S. senator and attorney general promise to be decided by razor thin margins.  Democrats and candidates backed by Democrats have won 10 of the last 11 statewide elections in the 50-50 state but in a national political environment that favors Republicans, polls show that gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels and incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson are neck and neck with their Democratic opponents, Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.  GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Michels has posted online about his regular campaign stops in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee, but Democrats running and voting in rural parts of the state are questioning if the party will show up to fight for votes in the small communities across rural Wisconsin.  They see a party that failed to put a Democrat on the ballot in two congressional districts and a national party that they feel has written them off.  “The Democratic Party has abandoned us,” says Jayne Swiggum, a Democrat running to unseat Rep. Loren Oldenburg (R-Viroqua) in the state’s 96th Assembly District. “That makes those of us around here feel like, ‘Oh, apparently we aren’t important enough.’ You know, that flyover state feeling, that makes me mad. But yeah, I do think that the Democratic Party has forgotten us. It used to be the party of working people. It still wants to be but it’s not. It can be again. But truly it has forgotten us.” Jayne Swiggum looks out over one of the Driftless Region’s fields. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner) Jeff Spitzer-Resnick, an attorney who recently moved from Madison to Adams County, got so frustrated with the lack of outreach from Democrats to him and his new neighbors, he started paying to put ads supporting Democratic candidates in the local weekly ad mailer.  “It appears, for frankly no good reason, that the Democratic Party has written off rural Wisconsin, which is a horrible mistake,” he says. “A lot of Wisconsin counties are Obama-Trump counties. That means there are swing voters who can vote for candidates as opposite as Obama and Trump. In a purple state with razor thin margins, why wouldn’t you put as much into every part of the state?” State Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) is running for the open seat in the state’s 3rd Congressional District. Made up of largely rural parts of Western Wisconsin, the district is one of the most closely contested in the country. Pfaff, the former secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, can’t afford to ignore the rural parts of the district in his race against Republican Derrick Van Orden, but he says he recognizes the way voters in these parts of the state have felt left out by the modern Democratic party.  “I will say this, I will never abandon rural America. I’m a Democrat, I was raised a Democrat, raised with rural, Democratic values,” Pfaff says. “We didn’t talk about partisan politics in the house. We just talked about things like hard work, dedication, resilience, and we were part of a community.  “But, you know, the Democratic Party needs more rural voices,” he adds. “And the national Democratic Party needs more rural voices, without a doubt.” Despite that sentiment, the state’s Democratic Party says it’s dedicated to building up the infrastructure to compete for votes all over the state.  “Here at WisDems, we’re committed to earning every last vote. In the past several years, we’ve dedicated significant resources and people power to building the necessary party infrastructure to reduce GOP margins and connect with blue voters in rural Wisconsin,” says Courtney Beyer, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Regardless of November’s results, we will continue to build on the years of work we’ve done to reach voters in every part of the state — including Republican strongholds.” But Spitzer-Resnick, who lives on a county highway that is well-trafficked by rural Wisconsin standards, he says he’s tried, and failed, several times just to have the party send him big billboard signs to plant in his yard. “I have a long stretch of land along a county highway, I could put up large signs, I’ve asked for signs,” he says. “The Barnes and Pfaff campaigns said they’d get them to me but they haven’t.” Chad Sime, a self-described conservative-leaning independent voter, says personal politics matter in his rural district. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner) Swiggum, a nurse and former English teacher, grew up in Gays Mills in Crawford County. Driving through the district that crosses Crawford, Monroe and Vernon counties, she says she can speed a bit because she knows the roads — that wind through the Driftless Area’s bluffs and woods — like the back of her hand. She says that the area’s residents will still consider you an outsider if your family moved in just 50 years ago.  Oldenburg, her opponent, whose family is also from the district, was first elected to the seat in 2018, winning 51.7% of the vote against Democrat Paul Buhr. Two years later, he was reelected with 56% of the vote. This year, he’s outraising Swiggum by a 3-1 margin.  But Swiggum says she has been knocking on as many doors as she can — adding that she can often get her foot in even the most conservative doors by starting with, “Tell me about your health care.”  And if the Democratic Party has neglected rural America, she doesn’t see Republicans representing the region’s interests either. Oldenburg, Swiggum points out, votes with the Legislature’s Republican leadership nearly all the time. It’s a record she sees as a sign that the interests of the district — which is much more sparsely populated and poorer than, for example, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’s 63rd District in Racine County — aren’t Oldenburg’s first priority.  If the district’s representative truly had its best interests at heart, she says, he’d be first in line to push for policies such as the acceptance of federal money to expand Medicaid.  For voters in the district, a personal connection with the candidate still helps decide their vote. Chad Sime, a Crawford County dairy farmer who has known Swiggum for years and self-describes as a conservative-leaning independent, is still undecided in a number of races on the ballot this fall, but says he starts to consider his choice at the county fair in the end of August when you “get a chance to meet someone, you know, shake a hand and stuff like that.” To me, it’s more a person thing than it is necessarily a political thing. – Chad Sime – Crawford County voter Sime, a father to five kids between the ages of 2 and 14, was on the local school board for more than eight years before he resigned in the middle of local fights about mask mandates and COVID-19 protocols. He says when making those choices, he wants to hear the plan the candidate, Democrat or Republican, has for the issues affecting his farm, his family and his community.  “I’ve never never checked a single party ticket,” he says. “Especially at the state level, you know, you get a chance — knowing Jayne for quite a while back, Brad Pfaff’s been around, I actually met and had a chance to talk to Derrick Van Orden at a Farm Bureau meeting — your more local candidates, which I feel affects you more, are very easy to meet. To me, it’s more a person thing than it is necessarily a political thing.” “I’m more interested in hearing what that candidate has to do than them telling me what the other candidate didn’t do,” he adds. “I guess for me, that’s very key. I mean, if someone’s [saying], ‘This has been screwed up, that’s been screwed up,’ it’s like, well, you don’t seem to want to fix anything; you’re just pointing this out. I guess for me, that’s probably the single biggest thing. I want to hear what they think, what they want to do, not what somebody else did or didn’t do.” For Sime, a candidate showing up and making a personal pitch matters. That strategy, according to Kate Felton, an organizing director at Citizen Action of Wisconsin, is important to step-by-step changing the state’s political landscape. Even if a campaign knocks on a rural voter’s door and doesn’t change someone’s mind, at least that voter has now had a positive experience with a Democrat.  “I think it’s also approaching this changing tide of rural Wisconsin politically by remembering that it’s not a lost cause and actually going into those communities and not abandoning them,” Felton says. “Other than that I will say, anecdotally we are hearing a lot from voters that the way they’re seeing the Republican party is no longer representing them. That they are not feeling good about voting for Republicans who support the insurrection, Republicans who support tax breaks for the rich, things like that and frankly Republicans that support everything that’s happening in the news involving Trump. I’ve been doing this a really long time and I’m seeing ...

Stock Futures Fall After Wednesday's Big Market Rally https://digitalalaskanews.com/stock-futures-fall-after-wednesdays-big-market-rally/ Stock futures slumped Thursday, putting the major averages on track to give back some of the sharp gains seen in the previous session. Futures tied to the Dow Jones dropped 241 points, or 0.8%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1% and 1.3%, respectively. The moves followed a broad rally for stocks a day earlier, as the Bank of England said it would purchase bonds in an effort to help steady its financial markets and the cratering British pound. Sterling has stooped to record lows against the U.S. dollar in recent days. It marked a stark shift from the aggressive tightening campaign many global central banks have undertaken to cope with surging inflation. The Dow on Wednesday gained or 1.9%, while the S&P 500 rose nearly 2% after hitting a new bear market low on Tuesday. Both indexes snapped six-day losing streaks. As stocks rose and the BOE shared its bond-buying plan, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped the most since 2020 after briefly topping 4%. “We are skeptical that the calmer mood in markets on Wednesday marks an end to the recent period of elevated volatility or risk-off sentiment. For a more sustained rally, investors will need to see convincing evidence that inflation is coming under control, allowing central banks to become less hawkish,” UBS’ Mark Haefele wrote in a Thursday note. Wednesday’s rally put the major averages on pace to eke out small gains for the week, but they are still on track to cap off their worst month since June. The Nasdaq Composite is leading the monthly losses, down about 6.5%, while the Dow and S&P are on pace to close 5.8% and 5.9% lower, respectively. On a quarterly basis, the Nasdaq is on track to break a two-quarter losing streak, while the Dow is headed for its third consecutive quarterly loss for the first time since the third quarter of 2015. The S&P is on pace for its third negative quarter in a row for the first time since its six-quarter negative streak that ended the first quarter of 2009. Bank of America downgrades Apple, shares slide Apple shares dipped more than 2% after Bank of America downgraded the tech giant to neutral from buy and slashed its price target on the stock. “Shares have outperformed significantly YTD (AAPL down 16%, S15INFT down 29%) and have been perceived as a relative safe haven,” Wamsi Mohan wrote in a Thursday note. “However, we see risk to this outperformance over the next year, as we expect material negative est. revisions driven by weaker consumer demand.” CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Carmen Reinicke Wells Fargo says sell Coinbase Analysts at Wells Fargo initiated Coinbase with an underweight, citing rising macroeconomic pressures among other potential negative catalysts. “Though we believe in the value of COIN’s platform, we see its early-mover advantages gradually being eroded away as the competition increasingly mimics the COIN ecosystem,” analyst Jeff Cantwell wrote in a Thursday note. CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here. — Carmen Reinicke European stocks fall as Bank of England boost fades – Elliot Smith U.S. Treasury yields climb in late Asia session, 10-year recovers losses The 10-year yield inched back up to 3.848% after dropping 25 basis points, or the most since 2020 overnight in the U.S. The yields on the 5-year Treasury note and the 7-year Treasury note were up — as high as 4.085% and 3.986% respectively. The yield on the policy-sensitive 2-year Treasury touched 4.227%. Yields and prices have an inverted relationship. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%. — Jihye Lee CNBC Pro: Oil and gas are making a comeback — and these mutual funds are jumping on the trend, says Morningstar Markets have largely fallen this year, but the S&P 500’s oil and gas sector has advanced nearly 30%. That’s attracted investors who previously shunned the sector as the clean energy push grew in the past 10 years. Morningstar named three funds that have turned positive towards the sector and pointed to one fund manager being “the most notable energy bull.” CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Ganesh Rao CNBC Pro: Analyst says this FAANG stock is an evergreen winner — and investors should buy the dip Tech stocks have had a difficult year so far but a Rosenblatt Securities analyst thinks the sell-off is an opportunity for long-term investors to buy the dip.   “Stay away from the losers,” he said, recommending “winners in the various secular battles and evolutionary battles” in tech. Pro subscribers can read more. — Zavier Ong Stocks may continue this ‘oversold bounce’ over the next few days, Wells Fargo’s Harvey says Wells Fargo’s Chris Harvey expects stocks to continue their upward move. “The spike in short interest, retail selling skew, and BOE’s action all suggest stocks will continue their oversold bounce for the next few days,” he said in a note to clients Wednesday. Stocks hit fresh lows earlier in the week, with the S&P 500 notching a new bear market. The sell-off was triggered by the Fed’s latest rate decision last week, which some investors believe steered the market into oversold conditions. As the cost of capital rises and prices hover near record highs, the consensus is increasingly coming to believe that a Fed-induced recession is unavoidable, Harvey said. “We look at a recession like a car crash,” he wrote. “You never know how bad it will be, but there is almost no ‘better-than-expected’ outcome — so policymakers need to be careful what they wish for.” — Samantha Subin Major averages on pace for a month of losses Just two trading days are left in September and all the major averages are on pace to cap off the month with losses. While Wednesday’s market comeback put the major averages on track for modest weekly gains, the Nasdaq Composite, Dow Industrial Averages and S&P 500 are slated to lose nearly 6% each in September. The end of the third quarter also comes Friday, with the Dow on pace to cap its third negative quarter in a row for the first time since the third quarter of 2015. The S&P is slated to post its third consecutive negative quarter since its six-quarter losing streak that ended the first quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq is on track to snap a streak of two consecutive down quarters. Here’s where the major averages stand heading into Thursday: Dow Jones Industrial Average: Up 0.32% for the week On track to lose 5.8% this month Down 3.55% this quarter Down 18.31% this year S&P 500 Up 0.7% this week Set for a 5.97% September loss Down 1.75% for the quarter Down 21.97% this year Nasdaq Composite: Up 1.69% this week On pace for a 6.47% September loss Up 0.2% for the quarter Down 29.36% this year — Samantha Subin, Chris Hayes Futures open flat Futures opened flat following a broad market rally during Wednesday’s regular trading session. Futures tied to the Dow Jones rose 10 points, or 0.04%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat. — Samantha Subin Read More Here

Live Updates: Ian Has Weakened To A Tropical Storm, Continues To Pummel Florida https://digitalalaskanews.com/live-updates-ian-has-weakened-to-a-tropical-storm-continues-to-pummel-florida/ (CNN) Cajun Navy, a team of volunteers who help perform rescues in the wake of hurricanes and other natural disasters, has already been at work in the wee hours of the night, helping stranded Floridians, according to founder Rob Gaudet. By their last count, the team had already performed between 20 and 30 rescues, he said, adding that they’re not sure of an accurate updated number. The Cajun Navy gets ticket requests through social media or direct messages from people who request help, and that helps the volunteers know exactly where they are going to perform rescues. “Our team has been out for the last four or five hours, pulling people out from homes,” he told CNN, adding that the most number of requests are coming from the Venice and Fort Myers area, but the volunteers haven’t been able to make it that far yet. “The guys started up in Tampa about 2:00 a.m. when they left, it was safe. And they’ve been running all the way down, going along different roads and finding people that are asking to be rescued,” he said. The requests — which are probably in hundreds, according to Gaudet — are usually made by family members of the people in need of rescue assistance. “It’s not the people that are stranded on the roof, it’s the family member … calling us saying, ‘hey, I have a family member that’s stranded that needs help,'” he explained. “When you have six feet of water and water around you, you can’t see land, you can’t see the roads. Stranded is literally, you’re stuck on your roof or inside of your home without the ability to leave. You’re not going to put your family at risk by going into water.” The people that the team usually assists are those with with disability or they have children or they need help getting out, Gaudet added. Read More Here

Ronald Gene Potts https://digitalalaskanews.com/ronald-gene-potts/ Ronald Gene Potts, 86, of Scipio, left this world on September 21, 2022. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family. Ron was born in Rosiclare, IL on August 28, 1936. He was the son of Thomas Ray and Norma Fowler Potts. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex from 1953-1957. Ron married his “pretty girl down the road”, Virginia R. May, on August 23, 1958 in Golconda, IL. They spent 64 blessed years together. Their union resulted in three children: Dusty Allen Potts and Felicia Diana Potts of Scipio and Gregory (Angela) Wayne Potts of Hope. He is survived by his wife, children and two grandsons Dusty LeGene “Boomer” Potts and Trevor Silas Potts (Nikki), as well as a sister, Melba Cullum of Rosiclare, IL, a brother, Bill (Betty) Potts of Anchorage, AK. He is preceded in death by his parents and siblings Bob Potts, Ramona Lanham, Janet Cornell, Myrna Cowsert and Michele Tinalt. Ron appreciated music, especially Bluegrass. He was a self-taught musician, who played banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar and piano, but his instrument of choice was the upright bass. He played with several local bands including Elvin Rooks and the Bluegrass Ramblers, Here and Gone and James White & Deercreek. He played many Bluegrass festivals, including Bill Monroe’s Bean Blossom Festival. Throughout his musical career, he recorded several albums. Ron enjoyed working daily crossword puzzles and attending antique tractor shows. Ron was a tool and die maker with Arvin Industries Gladstone plant. He retired after 55 years in 2014. Per his request, Ron was cremated, and no public services were held. A celebration of his life will follow at a later date. Bass & Gasper Funeral Home and Crematory has been entrusted with the arrangements. Online condolences can be made to the family at www.bassgasper.com Read More Here

Kamala Harris Hits Out At North Korea’s ‘provocative Nuclear Rhetoric’ On DMZ Visit https://digitalalaskanews.com/kamala-harris-hits-out-at-north-koreas-provocative-nuclear-rhetoric-on-dmz-visit/ The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, has condemned North Korea’s “provocative nuclear rhetoric” during a trip to South Korea that included a visit to the heavily armed border dividing the peninsula. Harris arrived in Seoul on Thursday, hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, in a move that underlines Washington’s struggle to rein in the regime’s weapons programme. Her visit to the demilitarised zone (DMZ) – which has divided the peninsula since the 1950-1953 Korean war ended in an uneasy truce – was intended to demonstrate the US’s commitment to South Korea, a key ally in the region. Harris looked through binoculars as a South Korean colonel pointed out military installations on the southern side. An American colonel then pointed out some of the defences along the military demarcation line, which marks the boundary between the two Koreas, including barbed wire fences and mines. “It’s so close,” Harris said. Earlier, she told US military personnel at a nearby base “how grateful and thankful we are” for their role in protecting the southern side of the tense border between the two Koreas. North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has overseen a record number of missile launches this year, including one that involved a long-range weapon. Officials in Seoul and Washington have warned that Pyongyang could be preparing to carry out a nuclear test. In a meeting in Seoul with the South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, Harris praised the alliance between the two countries as a “linchpin of security and prosperity. I’m here to reinforce the strength of our alliance and strengthen our work together”. Yoon, a conservative who took office in May, called her visit “another turning point” in strengthening bilateral ties. They reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and “condemned [North Korea’s] provocative nuclear rhetoric and ballistic missile launches, in violation of UN security council resolutions”, the White House said in a statement. “They discussed our response to potential future provocations, including through trilateral cooperation with Japan.” The DMZ has become a regular stop for visiting US officials eager to demonstrate their resolve on North Korean weapons’ development and their commitment to the security of South Korea, where 28,5000 US troops are based. The 155-mile (250km) long border is highly fortified with razor wire, heavy armaments and tank traps on either side of a 2.5-mile wide buffer. Ronald Reagan was the first US president to visit the DMZ, but Bill Clinton – who described it as “the scariest place on Earth” during a 1993 visit – and Donald Trump are the only sitting presidents to have visited the Joint Security Area, a cluster of buildings that hosts inter-Korean talks, and the only place where troops from both sides directly face each other. Harris’s visit comes at a time of rising tensions on the peninsula. This week, the US and South Korea launched large-scale naval exercises for the first time in five years. The allies insist that their joint drills are purely defensive, but North Korea routinely condemns them as rehearsals for an invasion. Earlier this week, Harris condemned Pyongyang’s “illicit weapons programme” during a speech at a naval base in Japan, where she also attended the state funeral of the country’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Speculation is building that North Korea is preparing to detonate a nuclear device in what would be its seventh nuclear test since 2006. Pyongyang claimed that its most recent test, in 2017, involved its most powerful weapon to date. This week, the South Korean spy agency said North Korea appeared to have completed a third tunnel at its Punggye-ri nuclear site as part of preparations for a test, according to a South Korean MP who attended a closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service. The lawmaker said Pyongyang was likely to conduct the test after the end of the Chinese Communist party congress, which begins on 16 October, and before US midterm elections on 8 November. Kim Jong-dae, of the Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies, said the latest missile launches were an attempt by the regime “to gain an upper hand on the peninsula with a nuclear arsenal at its disposal”. That and other launches were “a harbinger of Pyongyang’s aggressive posturing to come next month – with missile launches and a possible nuclear test”, Kim added. Read More Here

See What Chuck Grassley, Mike Franken Say About Abortion And Inflation In Iowa https://digitalalaskanews.com/see-what-chuck-grassley-mike-franken-say-about-abortion-and-inflation-in-iowa/ Des Moines Register staff  |  Des Moines Register Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley faces a challenge from Democrat Mike Franken as he seeks his eighth term in the U.S. Senate. Grassley was first elected to the seat in 1980 and has regularly defeated his opponents by wide margins. A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll from July found Grassley leading Franken, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, by 8 percentage points, 47% to 39%. While Grassley leads, it’s his narrowest margin recorded by an Iowa Poll since he was first elected to the Senate. To help voters, the Des Moines Register sent questions to all federal, statewide and Des Moines area legislative candidates running for political office this year. Their answers appear in alphabetical order by last name and have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Early voting begins Oct. 19 for the Nov. 8 election. More: A guide to voter rights in Iowa. What you need to know before you cast a ballot Who is Mike Franken? Age: 64 Party: Democrat Where did you grow up? Lebanon Current town of residence: Sioux City Education: Morningside College, University of Nebraska (BA), Naval Post Graduate School at MIT Occupation: Retired 3-star vice admiral in the U.S Navy Political experience and civic activities: U.S. Senate candidate in 2020 and 2022 Chief Legislative Liaison to Congress for Department of the Navy (Obama Administration) Legislative aide to Sen. Ted Kennedy Who is Chuck Grassley? Age: 89 Party: Republican Where did you grow up? New Hartford Current town of residence: New Hartford Education: B.A., M.A. Political Science from the University of Northern Iowa, Ph.D. work, University of Iowa  Occupation: Farmer, U.S. senator Political experience and civic activities:  U.S. Senate: 1981-present U.S. House of Representatives: 1975-1981 Iowa House of Representatives: 1959-1975 Iowa Farm Bureau, Butler County and State of Iowa Historical Societies, Pi Gamma Mu, Kappa Delta Pi, Prairie Lake Church of Cedar Falls More: Gov. Kim Reynolds has controlled $2.7 billion in federal COVID-19 aid. Here’s how she’s spending it. What is the most important domestic policy you would champion as a senator? Franken: The rising cost of healthcare is unsustainable: Iowans cannot afford the rising costs of going to a doctor, and doctors are torn between treating patients and negotiating with insurance companies who prioritize profit over the delivery of care. I want all families to have the same healthcare my family and I received as an officer in the military. We must expand Medicare to cover hearing, dental and vision care, treat mental health with the same urgency as other illnesses, cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month, and pass legislation affirming a woman’s right to choose. Grassley: By refusing to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, President Biden has given human smugglers, potential terrorists and drug traffickers free rein at the border. Mexican drug cartels push deadly fentanyl into our communities. A record 470 Iowans died from overdoses last year; 44 deaths under age 25. On Biden’s watch, more than 2 million illegal border crossers have been encountered. Include so-called “got-aways” and that’s the entire population of Iowa coming to America without permission. This is unsustainable to the taxpayer, unfair to those who follow the law and undermines U.S. sovereignty. I’ll continue fighting to secure the border and shut down the flow of deadly fentanyl. More: Coronavirus aid gave Gov. Kim Reynolds unprecedented spending power. How well has she used it? What is one specific piece of bipartisan legislation you would advocate for in Congress? Franken: No one priority should be looked at as a bipartisan effort. Too often, good legislation fails because it’s the opposing party’s idea. I’ll work with anyone to support good legislation for the people of Iowa, like the SAFE Banking Act and the Electoral Count Act right away — and look for other opportunities to make life better for Iowans, like capping insulin at $35 a month and protecting a woman’s right to choose with the support of Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Grassley: At my 99 county meetings, I hear from Iowans about the sky-high costs of prescription drugs. I wrote the comprehensive, bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act with Sen. Ron Wyden to bring common sense relief to consumers. It passed 19-9 on a bipartisan vote when I chaired the Finance Committee. It would save taxpayers $95 billion and save seniors $72 billion. It would cap out-of-pocket expenses at $3,100 and rein in annual increases of Medicare Part D drugs by capping it to the inflation price index. Our bipartisan bill would lower costs without harming life-saving cures and treatments the American people expect. More: Gov. Kim Reynolds agrees to 1 debate against Deidre DeJear. She’s not the only one to avoid more Iowans are struggling with rising costs and inflation. What can Congress do to help them make ends meet? Franken: As the youngest child of 9, born to a dad who fixed farm implements and a mom who was a one-room schoolhouse teacher, I know what extra costs do to the family dynamic. I know the sense of dread you feel at the end of the month when bills come due and there’s not enough money. Instead of letting corporate special interests call the shots, I’ll work to extend the child tax credit, make free school lunches for our children permanent, make the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share in taxes, and stop oil and gas companies from price gouging consumers at the pump. And unlike my opponent, I won’t take a dime of corporate PAC money. Grassley: Iowans tell me their biggest concern is the rising cost of living and 40-year high inflation. It’s harder for families to pay the bills and buy food. It costs more for farmers to put their crops in the ground and take them out. President Biden insisted inflation was “transitory” when he pushed through an additional $2 trillion after Congress already enacted $4 trillion in pandemic relief in 2020. I know what it takes to tighten the belt to get inflation under control. Canceling student debt and spending hundreds of billions of dollars on Biden’s social spending program will fuel the fires of inflation, not extinguish them. More: This new website aims to help Iowans access treatment for opioid use disorder Congress passed a bipartisan gun safety law this summer. What further action, if any, should Congress take to address gun violence? Franken: While the bill passed had some good elements in it, it did not go far enough. There need to be standards applied to gun ownership, just as we apply standards to car ownership. In the military, no one handles firearms without strict training and understanding of the responsibilities associated. No one disputes the right to own firearms. The responsibility for safe use must be on the owners of firearms themselves. Responsible firearm ownership is supported by the vast majority of Iowans and Americans, we must strive toward that end. I’ll work with anyone willing to come to the table. Grassley: I’d like the Senate to pass my EAGLES Act named after the mascot in Parkland, Florida. I worked with one of the Parkland dads on my bipartisan legislation that would expand the Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center to help schools prevent gun violence. Schools ought to be one of the safest places for our kids to be. I’ll continue working with parents, educators, law enforcement officials and mental health professionals to prevent crime in our schools and communities, including passage of the Safe Schools Act. One issue is certain. Defunding the police makes communities less safe. We need to ensure we keep guns out of the wrong hands without infringing on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens and get people struggling with mental health the help they need. More: Iowa SOS candidates Paul Pate, Joel Miller trade heated jabs on election integrity, voting Should Congress pass federal legislation addressing abortion, either to restrict the procedure or to preserve access? Franken: Congress must immediately codify Roe v. Wade into federal law. Every man and woman has a fundamental right to make their own healthcare decisions, and our federal code needs to reflect this. The Supreme Court’s decision is out of step with the lives of Americans. Congress can change that and the president can affirm it. We need to go forward, not back half a century. Congress must act to rectify this. Grassley: The Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs to return this issue to the states closest to where the American people live and work. Even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg criticized the Roe v. Wade decision for overstepping and invalidating almost every state law in force at the time. This ruling returns the decision back to the states unless and until the courts or Congress acts. Abortion regulations ought to be decided by elected representatives closest to the people, not unelected judges. More: Here’s what Sen. Chuck Grassley thinks about a proposed nationwide 15-week abortion ban What policies would you advocate for including in the next farm bill? Franken: Agriculture policy of recent decades has incentivized farm consolidation; has diminished the resiliency of independent, diversified farms; has greatly reduced opportunities. Policies and programs in the 2023 farm bill must be designed to address and reverse these trends and gain stability and quality of life for Iowa’s rural population. The supply and processing sectors of the food chain have undergone consolidation and severely limit farm purchasing and marketing choices. Robust action is required to break up monopolies and deconcentrate corporate agri...

As Trust In SCOTUS Drops, Alito Spars With Kagan https://digitalalaskanews.com/as-trust-in-scotus-drops-alito-spars-with-kagan/ With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross OVERNIGHT — WaPo: “Harris visits DMZ after North Korean missile tests”  HURRICANE IAN LATEST — AP: “People trapped, 2M without power after Ian swamps SW Florida”: “One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States barreled across the Florida peninsula overnight Wednesday, threatening catastrophic flooding inland, the National Hurricane Center warned.” ROVE’S HOUSE PREDICTION — KARL ROVE in the WSJ: “The red wave will likely generate a smaller midterm swing than the average, which since 1934 has been 28 House seats. Republicans are likely to gain closer to 20 than 25. But that’s partly because the GOP got a head start in 2020 by picking up 14 House seats. A net gain of 20 seats this fall would give Republicans 233 — the GOP had 230 in 1995 when Newt Gingrich was elected speaker.” (He’ll offer a Senate prediction next week.) TRUST IN JUDICIAL BRANCH PLUMMETS — A new Gallup poll set for release today shows a drop in approval of and confidence in the Supreme Court. Gallup previewed some of the key findings for Playbook: The topline: “Less than half of Americans say they have ‘a great deal’ or ‘a fair amount’ of trust in the judicial branch of the federal government, representing a 20-percentage-point drop from two years ago, including seven points since last year.” The historic trend: “This is the lowest confidence rating for the judicial branch in Gallup’s trend by six points. The judicial branch’s current tarnished image contrasts with trust levels exceeding two-thirds in most years in Gallup’s trend since 1972.” What’s driving it: “The drop in trust … is driven largely by a sharp decline among Democrats, whose level of trust is half of what it was one year ago. The new poll marks the first time that less than half of Democrats and independents express faith in the judicial branch.” Two more findings: (1) “The new Gallup poll also finds a record-tying-low of Americans saying they approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing.” (2) “Meanwhile, a record high percentage of Americans say the Supreme Court is ‘too conservative.’” The Supreme Court has long been one of the few major institutions in America to survive with relatively high levels of bipartisan approval, but voters’ views of SCOTUS now more closely track the polarized views of Congress, the president and the media. The justices themselves are well-aware of their diminished standing. The Wall Street Journal’s Jess Bravin documents how Justice ELENA KAGAN and Chief Justice JOHN ROBERTS have sparred over the legitimacy issue during public appearances this summer. Key quotes from Kagan at recent events in Rhode Island and Montana, respectively: “The very worst moments [in the court’s history] have been times when judges have even essentially reflected one party’s or one ideology’s set of views in their legal decisions. The thing that builds up reservoirs of public confidence is the court acting like a court and not acting like an extension of the political process.” “If, over time, the court loses all connection with the public and with public sentiment, that is a dangerous thing for democracy.” Roberts’ response earlier this month in Colorado: “Simply because people disagree with an opinion is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of the court.” Kagan and Roberts declined to comment to the Journal, but in an unusual and rare statement, Justice SAMUEL ALITO, author of the Dobbs decision that has driven down the Court’s approval, directly responded to Kagan’s critiques (without naming her), telling the paper: “It goes without saying that everyone is free to express disagreement with our decisions and to criticize our reasoning as they see fit. But saying or implying that the court is becoming an illegitimate institution or questioning our integrity crosses an important line.” We cannot recall the last time justices sparred with each other in the press in this manner. Meanwhile, in a victory for much-needed transparency, a spokesperson said on Wednesday that the court would continue its pandemic-instituted measure of offering live audio broadcasts of arguments when the new term begins Oct. 3. AP’s Jessica Gresko notes, “Monday will be the first time in more than two and a half years that the justices will hear arguments with members of the public present.” Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line with your predictions for the Supreme Court’s new term: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. TALKER — John Harris’ latest “Altitude” column: “The Reporters Who Proved That Journalism Is More Powerful Than Trump” As it made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, Hurricane Ian forced roads to close, rained in torrents, flooded vast coastal areas, spawned tornadoes and forced locals who hadn’t already escaped harm’s way to bunker down. One thing the hurricane didn’t stop? Negative campaign ads. Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, Sen. MARCO RUBIO and Rep. VAL DEMINGS, all of whom are in competitive statewide races this year, are “continuing to run ads during the storm,” reports Gary Fineout. “The hurricane’s arrival comes at a pivotal time in the election cycle, less than six weeks ahead of the 2022 midterms. Most election officials in Florida are supposed to start sending out mail-in ballots in the next week.” “The campaign has been paused in some ways, but it depends a lot on where someone lives in the state,” Gary told Playbook on Wednesday night. “Some campaigns began to take down their television ads in markets that were directly impacted by the storm, but have left them up in places that have gotten some impacts but have not experienced the full fury.” One longtime Florida pol who’s not a fan of continuing to politic during the storm? Former Republican Gov. JEB BUSH. “I think campaigns should shift to helping what will be hundreds of thousands of Floridians that will need a lot of assistance,” Bush told POLITICO. BIG PICTURE THINKER — “What Can History Tell Us About the Roe Effect on the Midterms?” by NYT’s Nate Cohn: “Finding analogies for big successes by the party out of power.” BATTLE FOR THE SENATE McCONNELL’S VIEW — Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL is expressing more optimism about the GOP’s chances of reclaiming the majority. “We are in a bunch of close races,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s going to be really, really close either way, in my view.” It’s something of a turn for McConnell, who “has been careful about overstating any GOP gains in the chamber,” AP’s Farnoush Amiri writes, and has even gone so far to criticize his party’s candidate quality. THE GOP’S CRIME BLITZ — As Republicans across the country turn to crime and public safety issues to level the playing field against their Democratic opponents, MEHMET OZ has been no different in Pennsylvania. “And now, Republicans are pushing a not-so-subtle narrative that Democratic nominee JOHN FETTERMAN supports — or maybe even has ties to — a gang. The Crips, to be exact,” The Daily Beast’s Ursula Perano and Jake Lahut write. “The Oz campaign did not respond to a request for comment on whether the television doctor earnestly believes Fetterman supports the Crips or other gangs, or whether he believes Fetterman has ties to the Crips.” HEADS UP — “U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorses Republican Mehmet Oz in Senate race,” by Reuters’ Andrea Shalal IN NEVADA — Republican Senate nominee ADAM LAXALT used a Wednesday campaign event to slam Democratic Sen. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO for not supporting law enforcement back in 2020. But after the event, speaking to NBC’s Natasha Korecki, Laxalt couldn’t get behind the FBI. “The FBI is far too political right now, and we need to do something to take the polarization out of that,” he said. “We just can’t afford to have our top law enforcement agency that politicized.” BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE IN OHIO — Last week, Ohio GOP congressional candidate J.R. MAJEWSKI said that while in the armed forces, he was punished and demoted for getting in a “brawl” in an Air Force dorm. “Military records obtained since then by The Associated Press, however, offer a different account of the circumstances, which military legal experts say would have played a significant role in the decision to bar him from reenlisting,” AP’s Brian Slodysko and James Laporta report. “They indicate Majewski’s punishment and demotion were the result of him being stopped for driving drunk on a U.S. air base in Japan in September 2001. The documents, which were provided to the AP and independently authenticated, present yet another instance where the recorded history of Majewski’s service diverges from what he has told voters as he campaigns while using his veteran status as a leading credential.” BATTLE FOR THE STATES IN PENNSYLVANIA — “As campaign struggles, Doug Mastriano plans ‘40 days of fasting and prayer,’” by the Philly Inquirer’s William Bender and Jonathan Tamari IN ARIZONA — “Arizona attorney general debate gets heated as candidates discuss abortion, elections and experience,” by the Arizona Republic’s Ray Stern IN MICHIGAN — “Culture wars take center stage in Tudor Dixon’s education proposals,” by MLive’s Simon Schuster IN COLORADO — “Three revealing moments from Jared Polis, Heidi Ganahl’s first debate of the Colorado governor’s race,” by the Denver Post’s Nick Coltrain TRACKING THE MOVEMENT —Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved the Michigan and Pennsylvania gubernatorial races from “Leans” to “Likely Democratic.” HOT POLLS — Georgia: Democratic Sen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK leads Republican HERSCHEL WALKER, 46% to 41%, while Republican Gov. BRIAN KEMP leads STACEY ABRAMS, 50% to 43%, per a new Fox News poll. — Pennsylvania: Fetterman leads Oz, 45% to 41%, and Democrat JOSH SHAPIRO leads DOUG MASTRIANO, 51% to 40%, per a new Fox News poll. — ...

Donald Trump Had His Chance, And He Blew It https://digitalalaskanews.com/donald-trump-had-his-chance-and-he-blew-it/ Each passing day brings the US closer to the midterm elections and, even more significantly, Donald Trump’s almost certain declaration of his candidacy for presidency in 2024. When Trump finally jumped into presidential politics in 2015 after a couple of earlier half-hearted stabs, I was intrigued. In an essay, I questioned Trump’s staying power, but noted, “It’s always fun to watch someone enter the political fray who doesn’t have the typical political background, doesn’t play by the rules, seems to march to his own drummer and rattles the old guard and many in the media.” But by January 2016, I had recognised Trump’s inevitability as the Republican nominee, writing about a conversation with a friend who, like other old-school conservatives locally and nationally, “could not fathom a GOP presidential ticket led by Donald J. Trump.” My suggestion: “They should start fathoming.” Nine months later, my newspaper became one of only six in the country to endorse Trump, leading to a rather shocking level of scrutiny for a small newspaper’s two-sentence endorsement. Trump’s world-shaking victory that November was exciting. After years of working in both journalism and politics, I was fascinated by someone breaking all the standard rules and succeeding. I was optimistic about the new kind of president Trump could become. Despite much media criticism of his positions, Trump’s main issues were important Image Credit: Supplied A new era of bipartisanship Think about it. As strange as it might sound now, Trump in 2017 enjoyed a rare chance to usher in a new era of bipartisanship. After all, he had little reason to feel beholden to a GOP establishment that had, in the worst cases, completely repudiated him, and in the best cases only grudgingly supported him. And his background featured close ties to the Democratic Party, ranging from being a registered Democrat to making numerous donations to various Democratic candidates and even having Bill and Hillary Clinton on hand at his 2005 wedding. As The Post summed it up in 2015, “In many ways, he’s been to the left of [Hillary] Clinton and even Bernie Sanders on some issues.” Seldom had a president-elect been so well positioned to bring a fresh approach. Americans gave Trump a chance despite his drawbacks for one reason — they wanted change. Just a few months before the election, a CBS News-YouGov poll found that in Florida, for example, a majority of respondents said Clinton was better prepared for the presidency, but 65 per cent said Trump would bring change, while only 33 per cent said the same of Clinton — a sentiment reflected across battleground states. Despite much media criticism of his positions, Trump’s main issues were important. Finally tackling illegal immigration is a goal supported by most Americans, who welcome migrants but agree they should be vetted. Bolstering US energy independence and reworking trade deals were reasonable goals. Defending the traditional beliefs of Middle America without belittling movements reflective of changing times was a balance Trump seemed poised to achieve. I envisioned Trump first trying to work with GOP leaders in Congress but, failing that, moving effortlessly across the aisle to partner with Democrats to achieve his goals. Insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump riot outside the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington Image Credit: AP Refusal to accept verdict What happened? Choose your theory. The groundwork for impeachment was laid by his enemies even before he took office. Trump was hamstrung by endless investigations; almost daily conniptions over his politically incorrect, plain-spoken utterances and tweets; an impeachment over a phone call with the Ukrainian president that should have brought a censure resolution at most; and a final year dominated by a novel coronavirus that was politicised as a weapon against him. Both parties are so beholden to the extremes of their base that any hint of working with the other side risks fierce retribution. Don’t let President Barack Obama succeed. Don’t let Trump succeed. Don’t let President Biden succeed. It never ends. But instead of ignoring the pettiness and focusing on his agenda, Trump wallowed in self-pity. Instead of trying to expand his base, Trump chose to alienate even more Americans. And worst of all, when most Americans finally decided that Trump was never going to rise to the occasion and rejected him at the ballot box in 2020, he refused to accept the verdict, incited an insurrection at the Capitol and encouraged endless election challenges in state after state. I don’t regret giving Trump a chance. I regret that he squandered the golden opportunity he was handed to be a transformative president. Trump is likely on the verge of declaring another White House run, but the millions of Americans who believed in him deserve someone more effective in fighting for the issues he highlighted. Trump had his chance, and he blew it. He should move on, as should his supporters. Gary Abernathy is a noted American political analyst Washington Post Read More Here

Trump Pushing Back On Special Master's Request For Him To Declare In Court Whether DOJ Inventory Is Accurate – ABC17NEWS https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-pushing-back-on-special-masters-request-for-him-to-declare-in-court-whether-doj-inventory-is-accurate-abc17news/ By Tierney Sneed and Katelyn Polantz, CNN Former President Donald Trump is pushing back against a plan from the special master overseeing the review of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago that would require Trump to declare in court whether the Justice Department’s inventory from the search is accurate. The requested declaration would force the former President to go on the record in court about his suggestion that the FBI may have planted evidence during the search on August 8. Trump’s objection to the request for the declaration was made public Wednesday night in a court filing from his lawyers, after the Justice Department discussed his opposition vaguely in a public submission to US District Judge Raymond Dearie, who is serving as special master, Tuesday evening. Trump’s team argued the court order appointing Dearie made mention only of a declaration from a government official verifying the Justice Department’s search inventory, and that there was no such reference to a declaration from the Trump side. In the newly-public filing, which was a letter sent privately to Dearie Sunday, Trump said he had to object to the requirement “because the Special Master’s case management plan exceeds the grant of authority from the District Court on this issue.” “Additionally, the Plaintiff currently has no means of accessing the documents bearing classification markings, which would be necessary to complete any such certification by September 30, the currently proposed date of completion,” Trump said. The former President’s team also claimed that Dearie is exceeding his authority by asking that the documents from the search be logged in categories more specific than what US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who granted Trump’s request for the review, contemplated in her appointment order. Trump expressed his opposition as well to providing a briefing to Dearie on whether certain legal motions related to the search were best left to the magistrate judge who approved the warrant. The Sunday objection letter to Dearie was made public with a Wednesday submission from the Trump team, in which they told the special master that documents from the search amount to 200,000 pages of material. The amount of material seized has not grown significantly since prosecutors first worked through it on the day of the search — but the Trump team, now grasping the number of pages within each document, is alarmed at how quickly they’ll have to work through the collection. The Trump team wants extra time to work through the large volume of documents — after they had been characterized earlier as 11,000 items or documents by the Justice Department, three of Trump’s lawyers wrote in a letter to Dearie on Wednesday. The Justice Department is investigating whether a crime was committed or the nation’s security was harmed because Trump and others had federal and classified government records among the hundreds of thousands of unsecured pages at the Florida beach club after he left the presidency. In recent days, the special master process has prompted the Trump team and the Justice Department to try to hire a service that can host the documents digitally, so they can be worked through. Earlier this week, the department said in a court filing that Trump’s team had indicated the data hosting companies didn’t want to work with the former President. His team now says the issue is the size of the evidence collection. “In conversations between Plaintiff’s counsel and the Government regarding a data vendor, the Government mentioned that the 11,000 documents contain closer to 200,000 pages. That estimated volume, with a need to operate under the accelerated timeframes supported by the Government, is the reason why so many of the Government’s selected vendors have declined the potential engagement,” Trump’s team wrote on Wednesday. Trump, in his Wednesday letter to Dearie, also complained that attorneys working on the investigation may have been exposed to a small number of confidential attorney-client communications before either the department’s filter team or the special master could review. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Porsche Races Higher After Landmark $72 Bln Listing https://digitalalaskanews.com/porsche-races-higher-after-landmark-72-bln-listing/ Cars of German manufacturer Porsche are parked outside the stock exchange prior to Porsche’s IPO in Frankfurt, Germany, September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Shares priced at top of indicated range Biggest listing in Germany since 1996 Shares rise 4.6% despite weaker stock markets FRANKFURT, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Porsche AG shares made a strong start on Thursday after Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) defied volatile markets to list the sports car brand at a valuation of 75 billion euros ($72 billion) in Germany’s second-biggest market debut ever. Volkswagen priced Porsche AG shares at the top end of the indicated range and raised 19.5 billion euros from the flotation to fund the group’s electrification drive. Porsche AG stock was trading up 4.6% from the issue price of 82.50 euros at 0927 GMT. That lifted Porsche AG’s valuation to 78.5 billion euros, close to the market capitalisation of Volkswagen as a whole, which is worth around 81 billion euros, and puts it ahead of rivals like Ferrari (RACE.MI). It is Germany’s biggest listing since Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) in 1996. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Porsche AG’s strong start came despite broadly weaker stock markets following red-hot German inflation data. Shares in Volkswagen and holding firm Porsche SE (PSHG_p.DE), which owns a blocking minority in Porsche AG, were down 3.8% and 8%, respectively, as investors switched across. “This is not exactly a dream environment for an IPO today,” said Thomas Altmann, a wealth manager at QC Partners. Porsche’s flotation comes as European listings are facing their worst year since 2009, as investors fret about a possible global recession amid soaring inflation, rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine. Companies in the region have raised $44 billion from equity capital markets deals up to Sept. 27, according to Refinitiv data, with only $4.5 billion from initial public offerings. “There’s a lot to like about the company, with its aggressive electrification plans, expected strong cashflow generation and premium brand positioning in the market,” Chi Chan, Portfolio Manager European Equities at Federated Hermes Limited, told Reuters. “However, it is coming to market at a time of unprecedented turmoil and consumer confidence is falling.” Porsche vs rivals ‘PEARL OF VOLKSWAGEN’ Porsche AG’s Chief Executive Oliver Blume, whose dual role as the new head of Volkswagen has drawn criticism from some investors, hailed the listing as an “historic moment” as he hugged colleagues and rang the bell on a packed Frankfurt stock exchange trading floor. Volkswagen has said the market’s volatility was precisely why fund managers were sorely in need of a stable and profitable business like Porsche AG to invest in. “Porsche was and is the pearl in the Volkswagen Group,” Chris-Oliver Schickentanz, chief investment officer at fund manager Capitell, said. “The IPO has now made it very, very transparent what value the market brings to Porsche.” Faced with tens of billions of costs for a radical shift towards electric mobility and software, Volkswagen executives had long mulled listing Porsche, a move executives hoped would both raise much-needed funds and lift Volkswagen’s own value. The Porsche and Piech families, whose holding company Porsche SE controls Volkswagen, will in turn solidify their control over Porsche AG as they will own 25%, plus one ordinary share – carrying voting rights – in the sports car brand. Up to 113,875,000 preferred Porsche AG shares, carrying no voting rights, were sold in the initial public offering. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan worked as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners on the deal, while Mediobanca acted as financial adviser to Porsche. ($1 = 1.0339 euros) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Emma-Victoria Farr, Hakan Ersen, Christoph Steitz, Sinead Cruise and Pamela Barbaglia; Writing by Victoria Waldersee and Matthias Williams; Editing by Jane Merriman and Mark Potter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Emma-Victoria Farr Thomson Reuters Reports on European M&A with previous experience at Mergermarket, Bloomberg The Daily Telegraph and Deutsche Presse Agentur. Read More Here

Hurricane Ian Nears Category 5 Storm Status Before Florida Landfall https://digitalalaskanews.com/hurricane-ian-nears-category-5-storm-status-before-florida-landfall/ Prior to making landfall in Florida, Hurricane Ian has strengthened into an extremely dangerous category 4 storm, nearing category 5 status with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. Walt Disney World is now under a hurricane warning, as the system is expected to approach Orlando tonight. In this, we’ll update you on the Ian’s status with advisories from the National Hurricane Center, with graphics from the NHC, NOAA, NWS, and more. Walt Disney World and other Central Florida attractions have announced closures since our latest update. All 4 Theme Parks at Walt Disney World Will Close Due to Hurricane Ian, as will Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, LEGOLAND, and more. That was updated earlier this morning, and contains new information and details as of September 28. The National Hurricane Center updates its Hurricane Ian Advisory every few hours, at which point it shifts the ‘cone of uncertainty’ representing the range of possibilities for the storm’s center that extends up to five days into the future. The cone of uncertainty predicts the hurricane’s path, but even outside of the cone, ferocious winds, storm surge, heavy rains, and other intense weather can be felt. Let’s start with the latest of these advisories, issued at 11 am by the NHC (plus accompanying new graphics): In the 11 am update, the National Hurricane Center reported that the center of Hurricane Ian was approximately 45 miles west-northwest of Naples, 50 miles south-southwest of Punta Gorda, and 165 miles south-southwest of Orlando. The system is moving north-northeast at 9 mph and remains a Category 4 system. Data from an Air Force Reserve and NOAA Hurricane Hunter data was “absolutely critical” in diagnosing the rapid intensification of Hurricane Ian, despite both planes undergoing multiple eyewall penetrations experiencing severe turbulence. That data supported an intensity of about 135 kt a few hours ago. Since that time, high-resolution Tampa Doppler radar data has been sampling the eyewall near 10,000 ft with winds up to 155 kt, indicating that Ian is on the threshold of Category 5 status. The maximum winds are set to 135 kt on this advisory. According to the 11 am NHC update, Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall in southwestern Florida in the next few hours as a catastrophic hurricane. No changes were made to the track forecast near Florida, except to be faster to come into line with the latest consensus aids. One important change is that Ian is likely to remain more intact as it crosses the Florida peninsula (due to both its stronger initial wind speed and its faster forecast forward speed), and this now increases the threat of hurricane-force winds on the east coast of Florida. This necessitates the issuance of a Hurricane Warning on the east coast of central Florida. While significant re-strengthening of Ian might not occur over the Atlantic Ocean, model guidance has been catching up with a trough interaction from a shortwave over the southern United States, and are stronger than yesterday on Ian’s intensity. Thus, a Hurricane Watch has been issued from northeastern Florida northward up the coast through most of coastal South Carolina. The new intensity forecast for Hurricane Ian is raised from the previous one. Per an earlier full update from the National Hurricane Center on September 28, fluctuations in intensity are possible before the center reaches the coast later today, but Hurricane Ian is expected to reach the coast of Florida as an “extremely dangerous” category 4 hurricane according to the NHC. However, weakening is expected as Ian moves over the Florida peninsula. Ian has shifted a little to the left this morning, but the longer-term motion remains north-northeastward, as the system continues on a path that is expected to take it just south of Walt Disney World property. The hurricane should continue moving north-northeastward through Thursday between the western side of a subtropical ridge and a broad trough over the eastern United States. This motion is expected to bring the center of Ian onshore along the west coast of Florida later today, and over central Florida tonight and Thursday. After that, Ian is expected to turn northward along coast of northeastern Florida and Georgia Thursday night and Friday. According to the National Hurricane Center, here are the Key Messages for Florida (all direct quotes): 1. Catastrophic storm surge inundation of 12 to 18 feet above ground level along with destructive waves are expected somewhere along the southwest Florida coastline from Englewood to Bonita Beach, including Charlotte Harbor. Residents in these areas should urgently follow any evacuation orders in effect. 2. Catastrophic wind damage is beginning along the southwestern coast of Florida today near the landfall location. Hurricane-force winds are expected to extend well inland along near the core of Ian. Preparations to protect life and property should be urgently rushed to completion. 3. Heavy rainfall will spread across the Florida peninsula through Thursday and reach portions of the Southeast U.S. later this week and this weekend. Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic flooding is expected across portions of central Florida with considerable flooding in southern Florida, northern Florida, southeastern Georgia and coastal South Carolina. Widespread, prolonged major and record river flooding is expected across central Florida. 4. Hurricane conditions are expected along the east-central Florida coast overnight, where a Hurricane Warning has been issued. Hurricane conditions are possible from northeastern Florida to portions of South Carolina on Thursday and Friday, and a Hurricane Watch has been issued for that area. The aforementioned Hurricane Warning includes Orange, Osceola, and other inland Central Florida counties. These remain under Hurricane Warnings as Ian could result in catastrophic flooding and hurricane-force gusts to the region. Central Florida is now also under a tornado watch, as the outer bands of Hurricane Ian have produced several damaging twisters. Consequently, multiple tornado warnings have been issued according to the National Weather Service–these include Osceola and Orange Counties, among many others. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held an early morning press conference on Wednesday from the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee during which he addressed the strengthening and arrival of Hurricane Ian. “The strengthening of this over the last night has been really, really significant,” DeSantis said. “It could make landfall as a Category 5.” “This is a very powerful major hurricane that’s going to have major impacts, both on southwest Florida, but then as it continues to work through the state,” DeSantis continued. Hurricane Ian will have “major, major impacts in terms of wind, rain, [and] flooding. This is going to be a nasty, nasty…two days.” “It’s time to hunker down and prepare for the storm. This is a powerful storm that should be treated like you would treat it if a tornado was approaching your home,” DeSantis said. He also indicated that there are hundreds of shelters open for those who need somewhere safe to stay during Hurricane Ian. “There’s already 40,000 power outages reported, but outside of southwest Florida, crews have been responding to those power outages,” DeSantis said. Previously, he has said that “tens of thousands” of people are on standby to ensure power is restored as promptly as possible and that all of the state’s long-term care facilities in the state have an active generator on site with the threat of major power outages this week. Over 5,000 National Guardsmen from Florida plus several thousand more from neighboring states have been activated, along with search and rescue teams. Residents are advised to avoid trying to drive down flooded roads after Hurricane Ian passes. “If there are flash flood warnings, remember it is never safe to drive through flooded areas,” said Kevin Guthrie, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Guthrie added that emergency managers in Florida are preparing for Hurricane Ian to strengthen to a Category 5 system. Guthrie also addressed comparisons to Charley, which were drawn for a second consecutive day during the Emergency Operations Center news briefing. “It does have a Charley-esque feel. One of the things that’s a little different with Charley is [Hurricane Ian] may go through Central Florida with less intensity than Charley.” “The big difference is it will have less intensity once it hits Central Florida,” Guthrie said. Hurricane Ian “shouldn’t be nearly as catastrophic as the winds on Charley,” Guthrie added. The National Weather Service in Melbourne is forecasting hurricane-force winds gusts of up to 90 mph in Orlando by early Thursday. Hurricane Ian’s projected path is strikingly similar to that of Charley, which hit Florida as a major Category 4 hurricane and arrived in Central Florida as a Category 1 system with sustained winds of 80 mph and wind gusts up to 110 mph. While Hurricane Ian is not forecast to be quite that intense upon arrival in the Walt Disney World area, it doesn’t need to be to cause considerable damage. Its larger size and current conditions–due to prior precipitation–could result in extensive damage and power outages throughout the Orlando area. If you are anywhere in Central Florida, stay safe. If you’re at Walt Disney World, remember to be kind and extend some grace to Cast Members and other guests. Many people staying at the resorts are seeking shelter from coastal areas where Hurricane Ian is making landfall, and are likely on edge about their homes, friends and family. Some Cast Members are Florida transplants and, given the amount of time that has passed since the la...

Live Updates: Ian, Now A Tropical Storm, Moving Across Florida https://digitalalaskanews.com/live-updates-ian-now-a-tropical-storm-moving-across-florida/   4:36 AM Downed power lines’ sparks serve as reminders of danger they pose Power lines brought down by Hurricane Ian sparked dramatically early Thursday, prompting the Winter Haven Fire Department to say on Facebook, “One of our fire trucks captured this just a few minutes ago while responding to a call. If anyone doubts the danger of this storm, this is just one…” One of our fire trucks captured this just a few minutes ago while responding to a call. If anyone doubts the danger of this storm, this is just one incident. (BTW – a trampoline flew just in front of the truck just prior to this video). Posted by Winter Haven Fire Department on Wednesday, September 28, 2022   2:45 AM CBS Fort Meyers affiliate being evacuated The CBS affiliate in Fort Meyers, Florida, WINK-TV, was being cleared out early Thursday, according to a tweet from a meteorologist at the station, Dylan Federico, who said, “212AM: Just woke up. We are being emergency evacuated from the WINK News building. I have no idea what’s going on.” Fort Meyers isn’t far from where Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday. But Wednesday night, he’d tweeted that, “The storm surge has peaked at WINK. Water has gone down about a foot, but the wind on the back side of this hurricane is unbelievably strong. We are safe in the 2nd floor.” He also said, “Fort Myers is pitch dark. Likely catastrophic failure of grid.”   2:21 AM Ian continuing its trek across Florida The National Hurricane center in Miami says Ian, now barely a hurricane, will keep moving  “across central Florida this morning and emerge over the Atlantic later today.” Then, “Ian is forecast to turn northward” Friday and head for the northeastern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina coasts. The center warned that, “Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic flash and urban flooding, with major to record flooding along rivers, will continue across central Florida. Widespread considerable flash, urban, and river flooding is expected across portions of northeast Florida, southeastern Georgia, and eastern South Carolina today through the weekend.” As of 2 a.m. EDT, Ian’s core was some 55 miles south-southeast of Orlando and the same distance south-southwest of Cape Canaveral. It was moving northeast at 9 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.    1:39 AM Ian hits Port Charlotte hospital hard Hurricane Ian swamped a Florida hospital from both above and below, the storm surge flooding its lower level emergency room while fierce winds tore part of its fourth floor roof from its intensive care unit, according to a doctor who works there. Dr. Birgit Bodine spent the night at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, anticipating the storm would make things busy, “but we didn’t anticipate that the roof would blow off on the fourth floor,” she said. Water gushed down Wednesday from above onto the ICU, forcing staff to evacuate the hospital’s sickest patients – some of them on ventilators – to other floors. Staff members resorted to towels and plastic bins to try to mop up the sodden mess. The medium-sized hospital spans four floors, but patients were forced into just two because of the damage. Read more here   12:38 AM Jacksonville airport closed Jacksonville International Airport tweeted late Wednesday night that it won’t be operating on Thursday: All flights tomorrow are cancelled and the airport terminal is closed. Contact your airline for rebooking options. pic.twitter.com/dACEMgaDiS — JAXairport (@JAXairport) September 29, 2022   11:57 PM Ian downgraded to Category 1 At 11 p.m. ET, Hurricane Ian had maximum sustained wins of 90 mph, making it a Category 1 storm. It made landfall earlier in the day as a major Category 4 storm.  But the National Hurricane Center warned that life-threatening conditions were ongoing. “Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic” flooding was expected to continue throughout central Florida overnight.  Storm surges were still a concern along the southwest Florida coastline. Life-threatening storm surges were also expected to impact the northeast Florida coast and the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Thursday and Saturday as the storm continues to push northeast into the Atlantic.   11:12 PM Watches and warnings in effect as of 11 p.m. Watches and warnings in effect as of 11 p.m.: A hurricane warning is in effect for: Chokoloskee to Anclote River, including Tampa Bay Sebastian Inlet to Flagler/Volusia County Line A storm surge warning is in effect for… Suwannee River southward to Flamingo Tampa Bay Flagler/Volusia Line to the mouth of the South Santee River St. Johns River A tropical storm warning is in effect for: Indian Pass to the Anclote River Boca Raton to Sebastian Inlet Flagler/Volusia County Line to Surf City Flamingo to Chokoloskee Lake Okeechobee Bimini and Grand Bahama Islands A storm surge watch is in effect for: North of South Santee River to Little River Inlet A hurricane watch is in effect for: Flagler/Volusia County Line to the South Santee River A tropical storm watch is in effect for: North of Surf City to Cape Lookout   10:41 PM More than 2 million Florida residents without power as Hurricane Ian moves inland The total number of those in Florida without power as of 10 p.m. ET to more than 2 million people, according to poweroutage.us.  Southwest Florida has so far borne the brunt of the impact. Nearly every resident in several counties, including DeSoto, Charlotte and Lee, is without power as of Wednesday evening. At least half of all residents in several other neighboring counties, including Manatee, Sarasota, Collier, Highlands and Glades, are without power, according to poweroutage.us.  Read more here.    10:07 PM Hurricane hunter pilot discusses flights to track Ian While most people try to flee from hurricanes, Captain Jason Mansour, who pilots a Gulfstream-IV Hurricane Hunter for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, flies into them. He spoke with CBS News’ John Dickerson on “Prime Time” to discuss why. “The Hurricane hunters go into harm’s way to obtain the best possible information so the best possible forecast can be made,” Mansour explained.  Hurricane hunter pilot discusses his mission flying into Hurricane Ian 04:03   9:30 PM Hurricane position and strength as of 9 p.m. ET Hurricane Ian was located about 40 miles northeast of Punta Gorda, Florida, and roughly 85 miles south-southwest of Orlando. It was traveling north-northeast at 8 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, making it a Category 2 storm.   8:47 PM Tampa police chief gives update as Hurricane Ian slams Florida   8:13 PM Warnings and watches in effect as of 8 p.m. The National Hurricane Center said the following warnings and watches were in effect as of 8 p.m ET: A hurricane warning is in effect for: -Chokoloskee to Anclote River, including Tampa Bay -Sebastian Inlet to Flagler/Volusia County Line A storm surge warning is in effect for: -Suwannee River southward to Flamingo -Tampa Bay -Flagler/Volusia Line to the mouth of the South Santee River -St. Johns River A tropical storm warning is in effect for: -Indian Pass to the Anclote River -Flamingo to Sebastian Inlet -Flagler/Volusia County Line to Surf City -Flamingo to Chokoloskee -Lake Okeechobee -Bimini and Grand Bahama Islands A storm surge watch is in effect for: -North of South Santee River to Little River Inlet -Florida Bay A hurricane watch is in effect for: -Flagler/Volusia County Line to the South Santee River -Lake Okeechobee A tropical storm watch is in effect for: -North of Surf City to Cape Lookout   8:05 PM Daytona Beach Shores, on Florida’s east coast, closes bridges due to high winds The department of public safety in Daytona Beach Shores said Wednesday night that all bridges crossing the Halifax River will close “due to wind speeds.” It added that the bridges will be inspected by the state’s department of transportation – and reopen if they are determined to be structurally safe. “Stay indoors and stay safe everyone!” the department tweeted. Portions of northeastern Florida, including Daytona, are likely to see flooding and high winds as Hurricane Ian makes its way across the peninsula. The greater Volusia County is currently under a hurricane warning, flood watch and tornado watch.   8:48 PM Sarasota mayor on the impact of Hurricane Ian: “It’s definitely accelerating”   8:00 PM Biden to visit FEMA headquarters Thursday As Hurricane Ian continues to batter Florida, the White House said President Biden would visit FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. While there, he will receive a “briefing on impacts from Hurricane Ian and ongoing Federal response efforts.” The president will then deliver remarks about the hurricane.   7:31 PM / September 28, 2022 Virginia to enter state of emergency Friday Beginning on Friday, Virginia will be under a state of emergency, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The declaration is in response to Hurricane Ian, which is expected to impact parts of the state later this week. “We want to ensure that our communities have the resources needed to respond to and recover from any potential effects from the storm,” the governor wrote in a statement. “While we recognize that the storm track is still uncertain, I nevertheless encourage all Virginians and visitors to make a plan, have supplies on hand, and follow official sources for the latest forecast information and guidance.” Similar states of emergency were declared in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.   6:50 PM / September 28, 2022 Residents take shelter at Tampa schools Evacuating her Florida home as Hurricane Ian approached was an easy decision for Anita Glover, who is taking shelter at a Tampa high scho...

Fourth Leak Found On Nord Stream Pipelines, Swedish Coastguard Says https://digitalalaskanews.com/fourth-leak-found-on-nord-stream-pipelines-swedish-coastguard-says/ OSLO, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Sweden’s coastguard said on Thursday it had discovered a fourth gas leak on the damaged Nord Stream pipelines earlier this week, after ruptures first reported on Monday sent gas spewing into the Baltic Sea. The European Union suspects sabotage was behind the leaks on the subsea Russian pipelines to Europe, and has promised a “robust” response to any intentional disruption of its energy infrastructure. The leak reported on Thursday is the second one found in Swedish waters, while two others were discovered in Danish waters. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com While neither pipeline was in use at the time of the suspected blasts, they were filled with gas that has been spewing out and bubbling to the surface of the Baltic Sea since Monday. “There are two emission sites in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone, the bigger one above the Nord Stream 1 and a smaller one by Nord Stream 2,” the coastguard said in a statement. The distance between the two sites measured about 1.8 km (1.1 miles), it added. Danish authorities have also reported one hole in each of the two pipeline sections in their exclusive economic zone. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Jan Harvey Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Malemutes Stay Unbeaten In Conference With Sweep Of West Valley https://digitalalaskanews.com/malemutes-stay-unbeaten-in-conference-with-sweep-of-west-valley/ Jeff Olsen Sep 29, 2022 1 hr ago West Valley players circle the ball as it bounces off the floor Wednesday night during the Wolf Pack’s three-set loss to Lathrop. Vadim Bledsoe / For the Daily News-Miner Vadim Bledsoe / For the Daily News-Miner The Monroe Catholic Lady Rams basketball team went defeated and took first place in the regional tournament in Valdez, propelling them to the state competition in Anchorage. The All Tournament team was Shannel Kovalsky, Sophia Stepovich and Miranda Wilkerson, with All Conference MVP awarded … Articles Images Videos Images Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Let us know what you’re seeing and hearing around the community. Read More Here

‘Beautiful Letters’ Reveal Trump-Kim Friendship That Sidelined South Korea’s President https://digitalalaskanews.com/beautiful-letters-reveal-trump-kim-friendship-that-sidelined-south-koreas-president/ Then-President Donald Trump speaks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone, June 30, 2019. (KCNA) CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Over two dozen letters exchanged between former President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un revealed the North Korean leaders efforts to curry favor with Trump while sidelining South Korean President Moon Jae-in during negotiations. Twenty-seven letters dated between 2018 to 2019 were fully released on Sunday by the Korean-American Club, a nonprofit organization of current and former South Korean journalists from various news agencies in the country. Portions of the letters were first published in investigative journalist Bob Woodward’s book on Trump’s administration, “Rage,” in 2020. The letters were released so that the world “can study deep into these materials … and improve understanding for everyone in the nation,” Lee Kang Duk, the club’s chairman and a former political reporter for the Korean Broadcasting System, told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday. Trump and Kim expressed their fondness for each other in many of the writings, which the U.S. president described during campaign rallies as “beautiful letters.” In other missives, the two lamented the political climate that stalled their summit talks. “I am ready to work with your excellency with all my heart and devotion” to accomplish a feat no one has ever accomplished, Kim said in a letter dated April 1, 2018, two months before met with Trump for the first time at a summit in Singapore. Then-President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose inside the Freedom House at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, June 30, 2019. (Shealah Craighead/White House) Trump replied the same day, saying he was “happy to meet” Kim to “drastically” improve relations between Washington and Pyongyang. Four months later, Trump wrote another letter thanking Kim for the repatriation of 55 remains believed to be U.S. troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. A U.S. military aircraft had flown to North Korea on July 27, 2018, to receive the remains following a joint agreement signed in Singapore. “Thank you for keeping your promise to start the repatriation process of our soldiers,” Trump said in the letter dated Aug. 2, 2018. “I look forward to seeing you soon,” he wrote in black ink. On June 10, 2019, four days before the U.S. president’s birthday, Kim wrote a letter congratulating Trump and for the one-year anniversary of the “historical moment” in Singapore. “I extend my warmest regards for your excellency’s birthday,” Kim wrote. Two days later, Trump thanked Kim for his birthday letter and said the two leaders shared a “unique relationship and a special friendship.” However, the tone of the letters was not always pleasant, and complications in their negotiations began bleeding through the missives. “As of now, it is very difficult for me and my people to understand the decision and behavior of you and South Korean authorities,” Kim wrote in a letter dated Aug. 5, 2019. Kim went on to say that he was “offended” by the “paranoid” war exercises between U.S. and South Korean troops. “As your excellency indicated at some point, we have a strong military … and it is a matter of common knowledge that the [South Korean] armed forces are no match for our military,” Kim continued. “Setting aside the differences in military power, I have no intention to attack South Korea or start a war. I have no inclination to do that indeed.” The communist leader also alluded to Trump having previously justified North Korea’s weapons tests. “As your excellency mentioned, while we conducted capability improvement tests of very small missiles that have been being done by all countries, we astonished fools in the South and this was quite funny,” Kim said in the August letter. Trump and Moon later downscaled and suspended the joint military exercises to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In addition to returning the remains of U.S. troops, North Korea agreed to a broadly worded set of terms to bring peace in the region and declared it would suspend nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests in 2018. Kim also hinted at his desire to sideline Moon in denuclearization talks and instead collaborate only with Trump. “I hope in the future to have discussions on the denuclearization issue directly with your excellency, not South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and I think President Moon’s excessive interest being expressed about our issue is unnecessary,” Kim wrote in a letter dated Sept. 21, 2018. The peace talks eventually collapsed after disagreements over sanctions relief and the terms for North Korea’s denuclearization. Trump’s last summit with Kim was in Hanoi on Feb. 28, 2019, but the two met again four months later at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. North Korea has since conducted a record number of weapons tests, having fired more than 33 missiles in 20 rounds of testing so far this year. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials have also said the regime is prepared to conduct its seventh nuclear test, its first since 2017. Read More Here

W https://digitalalaskanews.com/w-6/ WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have asked the US Commerce Department to curb assault weapons exports and increase oversight of gun exports after a Trump-era ruling to ease firearms export laws pushed sales up, according to a letter sent on Wednesday and seen by Reuters. The lawmakers wrote that they have “grave concern about Commerce Department actions that have weakened oversight of assault weapon and high-capacity magazine exports, padding the gun industry’s profits while putting deadly weapons in the hands of corrupt actors around the world.” The letter, which was signed by Warren and Senator Chris Murphy, as well as Representatives Joaquin Castro and Norma Torres, was sent to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. In 2020, President Donald Trump’s administration eased firearms exports when it moved export license oversight from the US State Department to the Commerce Department. The rule change was expected to increase business for gunmakers such as Smith & Wesson Brands Inc and Sturm Ruger & Co Inc. In the first 16 months since the Commerce Department took over firearm export licensing, it approved nearly $16 billion worth of licenses. The lawmakers, citing US government data, said that was a 30% increase from when the State Department controlled firearms licensing. “It’s hard to see how the Commerce Department’s increased approvals for assault weapons exports is consistent with the Administration’s gun safety agenda and commitment to return firearm license export controls to the State Department,” Warren said in a statement. Warren and the other Democrats also expressed concern that since taking over oversight, the Commerce Department had denied 0.4% of license applications and approved 95%.  Read More Here

Supreme Court Trust, Job Approval At Historical Lows https://digitalalaskanews.com/supreme-court-trust-job-approval-at-historical-lows/ Story Highlights 47% trust the judicial branch; previous low was 53% 40% job approval of U.S. Supreme Court is tied for record low Record-high 42% say Supreme Court is too conservative WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty-seven percent of U.S. adults say they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of trust in the judicial branch of the federal government that is headed by the Supreme Court. This represents a 20-percentage-point drop from two years ago, including seven points since last year, and is now the lowest in Gallup’s trend by six points. The judicial branch’s current tarnished image contrasts with trust levels exceeding two-thirds in most years in Gallup’s trend that began in 1972. ###Embeddable### In addition to documenting record-low trust in the federal judiciary, the new Gallup poll also finds a record-tying-low 40% of Americans saying they approve, and a record-high 58% saying they disapprove, of the job the Supreme Court is doing. ###Embeddable### Approval of the Supreme Court fell from 49% in July 2021 to 40% last September, just after the court allowed a restrictive Texas abortion law to go into effect and allowed colleges’ COVID-19 vaccination requirements to stand. In July 2022, 43% approved after the Court’s ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had limited states’ abilities to restrict abortion. The Supreme Court has seen its job approval dip into the low 40s before, including 42% ratings in 2005 and 2016 and 43% in 2013. The latest results are based on Gallup’s annual Governance survey, conducted Sept. 1-16. A third measure of the high court, from Gallup’s June Confidence in Institutions poll, found confidence in the Supreme Court also at a new low. That poll was conducted before the court issued the Dobbs decision but after the leak of a draft opinion in that case signaled that the court was poised to overturn Roe. By all Gallup measures, then, Americans’ opinions of the Supreme Court are the worst they have been in 50 years of polling. Record High Say Court Is “Too Conservative” Since 1993, Gallup has asked Americans to say whether they believe the Supreme Court is too liberal, too conservative, or about right. Until now, the plurality has always described the court as “about right.” In the current survey, 42% say the court is too conservative — a new high for that response — while 38% say it is about right, and 18% say it is too liberal. Both the “too liberal” and “about right” percentages are at or near their low points in Gallup’s trend. At most, 37% have described past courts as being too liberal in 2015 and 2016. ###Embeddable### The court has come under criticism for a series of rulings in its last term that aligned with conservative policy preferences, including on abortion, environmental policy, gun laws and the separation of church and state. Six of the nine justices now are conservative-leaning, after former President Donald Trump’s three Supreme Court nominees were seated during his tenure. Democrats’ Trust in Judicial Branch Declined by Half in the Past Year The drop in trust in the federal judicial branch since September 2021 is driven largely by a sharp decline among Democrats. Twenty-five percent of Democrats, down from 50% a year ago, have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the court. Last year, Republicans and independents had larger losses of faith in the judicial branch than Democrats did. This year, Republican trust is up modestly, while fewer independents trust the judicial branch. The new poll marks the first time that less than half of Democrats and independents express faith in the judicial branch. Republicans’ trust fell below the majority level in 2015 and 2016 — although not as low as Democrats’ trust is today — after court rulings that legalized same-sex marriage and upheld the Affordable Care Act. ###Embeddable### The party groups also diverge in their job approval of the court, with 60% of Republicans, 36% of independents and 23% of Democrats approving. As with trust in the judiciary, Republican approval has increased since last September, while Democrats and independents are now less approving. However, since the July reading taken immediately after the court’s last term ended, Republican approval has declined and Democratic approval has increased. ###Embeddable### In describing the high court’s ideology, the vast majority of Democrats, 71%, say the Supreme Court is “too conservative,” as do 46% of independents. In contrast, the majority of Republicans, 58%, say it is “about right,” with more calling it “too liberal” (29%) than too conservative (11%). ###Embeddable### A year ago, 66% of Democrats, 37% of independents and 6% of Republicans believed the court was too conservative. Bottom Line Trust in many U.S. institutions has declined in recent years, but the loss of faith in the Supreme Court is especially notable, given the high levels of trust it has enjoyed historically. Some of the sitting justices have publicly addressed criticisms of the court’s rulings in the past year. Liberal critics of the court have pressured the Biden administration and Congress to take steps to try to move the court in a more left-leaning direction, including by adding more justices to the court or by limiting the tenure of justices or the jurisdiction of the court. President Joe Biden agreed to study the issue, and a bipartisan commission he set up issued a report late last year. The commission declined to make recommendations on these proposed changes, noting the division among its members on many of the proposals they studied. Biden made his first Supreme Court nomination this year. New Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson replaced another liberal, Stephen Breyer, and that membership change is not expected to diminish the strength of the conservative majority. To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter. Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. View complete question responses and trends (PDF download). Read More Here

Hurricane Ian Weakens To Category 1 Storm After Soaking Florida, Knocking Out Power https://digitalalaskanews.com/hurricane-ian-weakens-to-category-1-storm-after-soaking-florida-knocking-out-power/ Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday afternoon in southwest Florida as one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the U.S. Here’s the latest on Hurricane Ian: As of the 2 a.m. advisory, Hurricane Ian was moving north-northeast at 9 mph and winds had slowed to 75 mph, keeping the storm at Category 1 status. Ian was located 55 miles south-southwest of Orlando and Cape Canaveral as of 2 a.m. ET. It was expected to move across central Florida and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday. It was located 55 miles south-southeast of Orlando and Cape Canaveral.Nearly 2 million homes and businesses were without electricity, and Florida Power and Light warned those in Ian’s path to brace for days without power. Florida has requested a federal Major Disaster Declaration for all 67 of the state’s counties.The NHC said Ian continues battering the Florida peninsula with catastrophic storm surge, winds and flooding. Ian could be near hurricane strength when it moves over Florida’s eastern coast Thursday and when it approaches the northeastern coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Friday. 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 hereTracking Ian: The latest cone, models and satellite imagesLATEST CONELATEST MODELSLATEST SATELLITEIan makes landfall in Florida The hurricane’s center struck Wednesday afternoon near Cayo Costa, a protected barrier island just west of heavily populated Fort Myers. The massive storm was expected to trigger flooding across a wide area of Florida as it crawls northeastward across the peninsula.The Category 4 storm slammed the coast with 150 mph winds and pushed a wall of storm surge accumulated during its slow march over the Gulf of Mexico. Ian’s windspeed at landfall tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane to strike the U.S., along with several other storms. Among them was Hurricane Charley, which hit almost the same spot on Florida’s coast in August 2004, killing 10 people and inflicting $14 billion in damage.Ian made landfall more than 100 miles south of Tampa and St. Petersburg, sparing the densely populated Tampa Bay area from its first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921. Isolated tornadoes spun off the storm well ahead of landfall. One tornado damaged small planes and a hangar at the North Perry Airport, west of Hollywood, Florida, along the Atlantic coast. Video below: Florida governor gives update after Hurricane Ian makes landfall as Category 4 stormImpacts in Florida Nearly 2 million homes and businesses were without electricity, and Florida Power and Light warned those in Ian’s path to brace for days without power.In Naples, the first floor of a fire station was inundated with about 3 feet of water and firefighters worked to salvage gear from a firetruck stuck outside the garage in even deeper water, a video posted by the Naples Fire Department showed. The sheriff’s department reported on Facebook that it was getting “a significant number of calls of people trapped by water in their homes” and that it would prioritize reaching people “reporting life threatening medical emergencies in deep water.” The storm surge flooded a hospital’s lower level emergency room in Port Charlotte, while fierce winds tore part of its fourth floor roof from its intensive care unit, according to a doctor who works there.Water gushed down from above onto the ICU, forcing staff to evacuate the hospital’s sickest patients — some of whom were on ventilators — to other floors, said Dr. Birgit Bodine of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital. Staff members used towels and plastic bins to try to mop up the sodden mess.The medium-sized hospital spans four floors, but patients were forced into just two because of the damage. Bodine planned to spend the night at the hospital in case people injured from the storm arrive there needing help.“The ambulances may be coming soon and we don’t know where to put them in the hospital at this point because we’re doubled and tripled up,” she said. “As long as our patients do OK and nobody ends up dying or having a bad outcome, that’s what matters.”Ongoing closuresAirports in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Key West were closed Wednesday.Walt Disney World announced on Tuesday evening that the parks would be closing due to Hurricane Ian. The parks will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.Universal Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay also announced they will close on Wednesday and Thursday.NASA rolled its moon rocket from the launch pad to its Kennedy Space Center hangar, adding weeks of delay to the test flight.Video below: Space station flies over Hurricane IanPresident Biden declares emergencyAt the White House, President Joe Biden said his administration was sending hundreds of Federal Emergency Management Agency employees to Florida and sought to assure mayors in the storm’s path that Washington will meet their needs. He urged residents to heed to local officials’ orders. The federal government sent 300 ambulances with medical teams and was ready to truck in 3.7 million meals and 3.5 million liters of water once the storm passes.“We’ll be there to help you clean up and rebuild, to help Florida get moving again,” Biden said Wednesday. “And we’ll be there every step of the way. That’s my absolute commitment to the people of the state of Florida.”Video below: Hurricane Ian FEMA announcement at White House press briefing Georgia, South Carolina watch Ian’s pathParts of Georgia and South Carolina also could see flooding rains and some coastal surge into Saturday. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp preemptively declared an emergency, ordering 500 National Guard troops on standby to respond as needed.The governors of Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina all preemptively declared states of emergency. Forecasters predicted Ian will turn toward those states as a tropical storm, likely dumping more flooding rains into the weekend, after crossing Florida. Cuba without electricity after storm hits power gridHurricane Ian knocked out power across all of Cuba and devastated some of the country’s most important tobacco farms when it slammed into the island’s western tip as a major hurricane.Cuba’s Electric Union said work is being done to gradually restore service to the country’s 11 million people between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.Ian made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane early Tuesday. It devastated Pinar del Río province, where much of the tobacco used to make Cuba’s iconic cigars is grown. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated ahead of Ian’s arrival.Two people were reported dead there.Video below: Hurricane Ian powers into western Cuba FORT MYERS, Fla. — Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday afternoon in southwest Florida as one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the U.S. Here’s the latest on Hurricane Ian: As of the 2 a.m. advisory, Hurricane Ian was moving north-northeast at 9 mph and winds had slowed to 75 mph, keeping the storm at Category 1 status. Ian was located 55 miles south-southwest of Orlando and Cape Canaveral as of 2 a.m. ET. It was expected to move across central Florida and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday. It was located 55 miles south-southeast of Orlando and Cape Canaveral. Nearly 2 million homes and businesses were without electricity, and Florida Power and Light warned those in Ian’s path to brace for days without power. Florida has requested a federal Major Disaster Declaration for all 67 of the state’s counties. The NHC said Ian continues battering the Florida peninsula with catastrophic storm surge, winds and flooding. Ian could be near hurricane strength when it moves over Florida’s eastern coast Thursday and when it approaches the northeastern coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Friday. 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 Tracking Ian: The latest cone, models and satellite images LATEST CONE LATEST MODELS LATEST SATELLITE Ian makes landfall in Florida The hurricane’s center struck Wednesday afternoon near Cayo Costa, a protected barrier island just west of heavily populated Fort Myers. The massive storm was expected to trigger flooding across a wide area of Florida as it crawls northeastward across the peninsula. The Category 4 storm slammed the coast with 150 mph winds and pushed a wall of storm surge accumulated during its slow march over the Gulf of Mexico. Ian’s windspeed at landfall tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane to strike the U.S., along with several other storms. Among them was Hurricane Charley, which hit almost the same spot on Florida’s coast in August 2004, killing 10 people and inflicting $14 billion in damage. Ian made landfall more than 100 miles south of Tampa and St. Petersburg, sparing the densely populated Tampa Bay area from its first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921. Isolated tornadoes spun off the storm well ahead of landfall. One tornado damaged small planes and a hangar at the North Perry Airport, west of Hollywood, Florida, along the Atlantic coast. Video below: Florida governor gives update after Hurricane Ian makes landfall as Category 4 storm Impacts in Florida Nearly 2 million homes and businesses were without electricity, and Florida Power and Light warned those in Ian’s path to brace for days without power. In Naples, the first floor of a fire station was inundated with about 3 feet of water and firefighters worked to salvage gear from a firetruck stuck outside the garage in even deeper water, a video posted by the Naples Fire Department showed. The sheriff’s department...

European Stocks Fall As Bank Of England Boost Fades; Stoxx 600 Down 1.7% https://digitalalaskanews.com/european-stocks-fall-as-bank-of-england-boost-fades-stoxx-600-down-1-7/ The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 1.7% in early trade, with retail stocks dropping 4% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory. Sterling has stooped to record lows against the U.S. dollar in recent days, and slid once again on Thursday morning, shedding 1% against the greenback to trade at around $1.078. Global markets saw another volatile trading day on Wednesday, with stocks trading sharply lower as global markets sold off on economic concerns surrounding inflation and the growth outlook. Market turmoil continued to hit the U.K., prompting the Bank of England to suspend the planned start of its gilt selling next week and begin temporarily buying long-dated bonds in order to calm the market chaos unleashed by the new government’s so-called “mini-budget.” That move calmed markets in the U.S. yesterday, and that, in turn, pacified indices in Asia-Pacific overnight. U.S. stock futures inched lower in early premarket trading on Thursday, however. Stocks on the move: Rational up 12%, Barratt Developments down 9% Rational shares jumped more than 12% in early trade to lead the Stoxx 600 after the German combi steamer and oven manufacturer raised its sales revenue and profit forecast for 2022. At the bottom of the European blue chip index, British property developer Barratt Developments fell more than 9%. – Elliot Smith CNBC Pro: Analyst says this FAANG stock is an evergreen winner — and investors should buy the dip Tech stocks have had a difficult year so far but a Rosenblatt Securities analyst thinks the sell-off is an opportunity for long-term investors to buy the dip.   “Stay away from the losers,” he said, recommending “winners in the various secular battles and evolutionary battles” in tech. Pro subscribers can read more. — Zavier Ong Stocks may continue this ‘oversold bounce’ over the next few days, Wells Fargo’s Harvey says Wells Fargo’s Chris Harvey expects stocks to continue their upward move. “The spike in short interest, retail selling skew, and BOE’s action all suggest stocks will continue their oversold bounce for the next few days,” he said in a note to clients Wednesday. Stocks hit fresh lows earlier in the week, with the S&P 500 notching a new bear market. The sell-off was triggered by the Fed’s latest rate decision last week, which some investors believe steered the market into oversold conditions. As the cost of capital rises and prices hover near record highs, the consensus is increasingly coming to believe that a Fed-induced recession is unavoidable, Harvey said. “We look at a recession like a car crash,” he wrote. “You never know how bad it will be, but there is almost no ‘better-than-expected’ outcome — so policymakers need to be careful what they wish for.” — Samantha Subin 10-year Treasury yield drops the most since 2020 The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped the most since 2020 on Wednesday, despite briefly topping 4% earlier in the session, after the Bank of England announced a bond-buying plan to stabilize the British pound. The 10-year Treasury yield last dropped 23 basis points to 3.733%, or the most it’s dropped since 2020. It hit a high of about 4.019%, a key level that was the highest since October 2008, earlier in the day before erasing those gains. Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point is equal to 0.01%. — Sarah Min Wed, Aug 17 202212:29 AM EDT European markets: Here are the opening calls European stocks are expected to open in negative territory on Wednesday as investors react to the latest U.S. inflation data. The U.K.’s FTSE index is expected to open 47 points lower at 7,341, Germany’s DAX 86 points lower at 13,106, France’s CAC 40 down 28 points and Italy’s FTSE MIB 132 points lower at 22,010, according to data from IG. Global markets have pulled back following a higher-than-expected U.S. consumer price index report for August which showed prices rose by 0.1% for the month and 8.3% annually in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday, defying economist expectations that headline inflation would fall 0.1% month-on-month. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, climbed 0.6% from July and 6.3% from August 2021. U.K. inflation figures for August are due and euro zone industrial production for July will be published. — Holly Ellyatt Read More Here

Myanmar Court Jails Suu Kyi, Australian Economist For 3 Years – Source https://digitalalaskanews.com/myanmar-court-jails-suu-kyi-australian-economist-for-3-years-source/ Sept 29 (Reuters) – A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday jailed deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her former economic adviser, Australian Sean Turnell, for three years for violating a secrets law, a source familiar with the proceedings said. Both had pleaded not guilty to charges of violating the official secrets act, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. “Three years each, no hard labour,” said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Suu Kyi, Turnell, and several members of her economic team are among thousands arrested since the military overthrew her elected government in a coup early last year, including politicians, lawmakers, bureaucrats, students and journalists. Turnell has also been charged with immigration violations, for which he faces up to five years in prison. The court is expected to rule on that case on Thursday, according to a second source and media reports. Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has already been sentenced to at least 23 years in prison in separate cases, mostly related to corruption charges. She denies all accusations against her. Opponents of the military say the charges against Suu Kyi are aimed at blocking her from ever getting involved in politics again and challenging the military’s grip on power. A junta spokesperson did not answer calls seeking comment on Thursday. The junta insists Myanmar’s courts are independent and those arrested are receiving due process. Turnell, who is also a professor of economics at Macquarie University in Australia, has been in detention since a few days after the coup. His wife, Ha Vu, who is based in Australia, said she and her family were “heartbroken” at the verdict and called for him to be deported. “Sean has been one of Myanmar’s greatest supporters for over 20 years and has worked tirelessly to strengthen Myanmar’s economy. Please consider the contributions … and deport him now,” she said in a Facebook post. Australia called for Turnell’s release. “The Australian government has consistently rejected the charges against Professor Turnell. (It) rejects today’s court ruling … and calls for his immediate release,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement. Australian consular officials tasked with assisting Turnell were denied access to the court, Wong said. Thursday’s sentencing took place in a closed court in the capital, Naypyitaw. The defendants’ exact offence under the official secrets act remains unclear, though a source previously said Turnell’s offence “relates to an allegation that he had government documents”. An analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank, Richard Horsey, called the proceedings “a show trial”. “For Sean the hope now must be that – having already been in detention for almost 20 months – he will be released soon from this terrible ordeal and reunited with his family,” he said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Ed Davies, Robert Birsel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

S https://digitalalaskanews.com/s-5/ Read More Here USDA Awards $33m Grant for Klukwan-Skagway Fiber Project September 28, 2022 Wednesday (SitNews) – Alaska Telephone Company (ATC), a subsidiary of Alaska Power & Telephone Company (AP&T), has been selected by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to receive a $33,017,636 grant award from USDA Rural Utility Service’s ReConnect grant program to expand fiber optic connectivity in rural southeast Alaska. Alaska Telephone Company will invest $11,005,879 in matching funds. The “Klukwan- Skagway Fiber” project will develop fiber optic networks capable of 100 Mbps symmetrical service and higher for in the Alaska Native community of Klukwan, rural areas near Haines, and underserved areas of Skagway. This joint investment by ATC and USDA will bring new, highly affordable, technology-driven opportunities to families and businesses throughout the region. AP&T estimates that initial construction may begin in 2023, depending on the timing of permitting and environmental approvals. Construction will be a multi-year process, with completion projected for 2028. The project utilizes existing right-of-way and previously disturbed areas, minimizing its environmental footprint and impacts. Richard (Chalyee Éesh) Peterson, stated: “I am excited about this project and the impact that it will have on our remote communities in Southeast Alaska. In the last three years, the pandemic has shown us how remote our communities really are. By closing that connectivity gap, we are providing more opportunities for our youth, employment opportunities for citizens, and unlimited potential of growth for our tribes and village corporations.” AP&T’s CEO Mike Garrett reflected: “The Klukwan-Skagway Fiber project will spur economic growth and significantly enhance quality of life in very remote, hard-to-serve locations, empowering rural Alaskans with options for remote work, distance learning, telemedicine, and more. The outpouring of support we received from indigenous organizations was an invaluable component of AP&T’s application. Special thanks to US Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan for the incredible work they have done developing and supporting programs like ReConnect. We look forward to demonstrating our gratitude by making this project an amazing success for rural stakeholders, who helped to make this historic investment possible.” Chilkat Indian Village, Skagway Traditional Council, Sealaska Corporation, and the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska provided resolutions formally endorsing the Klukwan-Skagway Fiber project, emphasizing powerful synergies between modern telecommunications technology, indigenous culture, and tribal priorities. Additionally, environmental groups the Sustainable Southeast Partnership and Sitka Conservation Society submitted letters of support, citing the project’s support for the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy, and the importance of broadband in diversifying southeast Alaska’s economy beyond its historical dependency on legacy industries like timber and mining. For years, rural southeast Alaska has struggled to achieve economic sustainability, with villages like Klukwan experiencing particular hardship. USDA’s and AP&T’s new investment in fiber optic assets will help provide excellent opportunities for economic diversification and resiliency, giving stakeholders a new path forward to a successful future. U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-AK) announced last week the communities on the North Slope and in Southeast Alaska will receive a total of $63 million for high-speed internet network buildout / deployment projects. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ReConnect Program grants, awarded to the Alaska Telephone Company and Arctic Slope Telephone, will help improve broadband access, including its affordability, for rural communities. “Having reliable internet has become a basic service that many in urban areas take for granted. In far too many remote communities in Alaska, I’ve seen and heard firsthand accounts of the unreliability and high cost of internet, with some households paying upwards of $300 a month alone for an unstable service. Connectivity means so much—for telehealth, education, our economy and so much more. That’s why I led the infrastructure bill and why I’ve made it a priority to expand broadband infrastructure and accessibility for unserved and underserved areas,” Senator Murkowski said. “I’m pleased to see these grants for Alaska and what it will mean to so many of these rural communities for years to come.”  “It’s great to see the USDA continuing to award significant resources to assist with delivering high-speed internet access to rural Alaska—an essential component of 21st century infrastructure,” Senator Sullivan said. “Last month, I hosted a broadband summit in Anchorage with critical stakeholders from federal agencies, including from USDA, state and local governments, Alaska Native communities, industry, and other key partners as Alaska prepares to receive significant funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law. As these federal funds from various agencies come to Alaska, it is critical that all Alaskan stakeholders are coordinated in their response. If we coordinate well and work together, we have the potential to connect every community across our state.” Arctic Slope Telephone will be receiving a grant for  $30.9 million to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 476 people, 15 businesses and a public school to high-speed internet in North Slope Borough. Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative Inc. will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity and Lifeline programs and will serve communities of North Slope Borough and portions of the Anaktuvuk and the Point Lay Alaska Native Village Tribal Areas. Alaska Telephone Company’s $33 million is to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 211 people and five businesses to high-speed internet in the Haines Borough, the Hoonah Angoon Census Area and the Skagway Municipality. Alaska Telephone Company will make high-speed internet affordable by implementing the FCC’s Lifeline Program, which will serve Skagway and Chilkat Alaska Native Village areas. Edited By: Mary Kauffman, SitNews Source of News: Alaska Power & Telephone Company www.aptalaska.com Alaska Power & Telephone Company (OTC: APTL) is an employee- and investor-owned utility providing diverse utility services in over 40 communities in rural Alaska. Additional information on AP&T can be found at: www.aptalaska.com Office of US Senator Lisa Murkowski www.murkowski.senate.gov Office of US Senator Dan Sullivan www.sullivan.senate.gov Representations of fact and opinions in comments posted are solely those of the individual posters and do not represent the opinions of Sitnews. Contact the Editor SitNews ©2022 Stories In The News Ketchikan, Alaska  Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews are considered protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper freelance writers and subscription services. E-mail your news & photos to editor@sitnews.us Photographers choosing to submit photographs for publication to SitNews are in doing so granting their permission for publication and for archiving. SitNews does not sell photographs. All requests for purchasing a photograph will be emailed to the photographer.

Why You Should Vote This November https://digitalalaskanews.com/why-you-should-vote-this-november/ And why we should all care Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian (2012) By Colby Sutton, Collegian Correspondent September 29, 2022 November is set to feature one of the most consequential midterm elections in living memory. We will not be electing a new president, but we will be deciding the direction in which our country and our state will go for the foreseeable future. The midterm elections are exactly what they sound like; in the middle of a four-year presidential term, there are a slew of other, and equally important, elections at the federal and state level. These include races for the Senate, House of Representatives and governor’s office. Midterm elections have historically favored the party that does not hold the presidency; this year that would be the Republican Party. As students at the University of Massachusetts, we are all either permanent or temporary Massachusetts residents. Massachusetts is regarded as a “blue state” with most of the population voting for Democrats. However, this does not mean that these elections do not matter to us, and it certainly does not mean that your vote does not matter. Before delving into the politics and policies of the candidates up for election, I want to advocate for the importance of staying informed, and more broadly, simply caring. As a political science and legal studies major, it’s safe to say that I exist in a bubble of political awareness. Through my years at UMass, I have learned to understand that following politics can be an emotional burden for some, while others simply do not have the time. I have come to see that for many, “not caring about politics” is a privilege for them, as their rights, their interests and their very way of life are not threatened in our political climate. Staying informed about the most pressing political issues does not have to be an all-consuming task. It can be as simple as turning on Apple News notifications or utilizing the free New York Times subscription that is available for all UMass students. This election cycle is so important and different from years past because the Republican establishment has adopted a stance that disregards the Constitution and the rule of law. Introducing controversial policies, they have targeted members of the LGBTQ community, immigrants and women. That is why I believe we should all care about politics — while these GOP policies may not directly affect you, they may very well affect someone you love. This threat is closer than we think. One election to keep an eye on is our gubernatorial race. The Democratic nominee for governor is Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy. On the Republican side is Geoff Diehl, the Trump-endorsed candidate. When asked if Diehl would accept the results of the election — a basic tenet of any functioning democracy — his spokeswoman replied, “no comment,” according to the New York Times. While Diehl and other Trump-endorsed candidates’ in Massachusetts’ races have slim chances of winning, they aren’t zero. After all, Massachusetts’ current governor is a Republican. I am not advocating that everyone become a political junkie, but I am advocating for people to realize that elections, no matter how small, can have serious consequences for marginalized communities that are proudly represented at UMass. Trump-endorsed candidates are betting on the fact that many voters, both in the state and in the nation, simply do not care enough to show up to the polls and cast their ballots, and that is when they win. We have the power as a generation to be the change that we want to see in our community and in our country, and it all starts with casting your vote. Colby Sutton can be reached at [email protected]. Read More Here

Australia News LIVE: PM Calls On Optus To Pay For Fresh Customer Passports; Labor Says Federal Budget Set To Face $32b Deficit https://digitalalaskanews.com/australia-news-live-pm-calls-on-optus-to-pay-for-fresh-customer-passports-labor-says-federal-budget-set-to-face-32b-deficit/ Key posts 1 of 5 5.15pm ASX continues its rise following Wall St gains By Carla Jaeger Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day and how the experts are seeing it. The numbers: The Australian sharemarket has added to its early morning gains, buoyed by a healthy session on Wall Street that saw US markets post their most significant gains this month. The ASX200 is up 1.86 per cent, or 117.9 points, to 6,579.9 points per cent at midday. All 11 sectors are in the green, with the energy sector leading the charge, up 3.63 per cent. Financial stocks are up 1.11 per cent, with all big four banks in positive territory. The S&P 500 has snapped a six-day rout.Credit:Bloomberg AGL stocks have rebounded after dropping at the start, up a modest 0.3 per cent after the company announced it would close the Loy Yang power plant a decade ahead of schedule. The brown coal plant generates about 30 per cent of Victoria’s power each year. In other news, financial software company Iress has shed 15.4 per cent after announcing a downgrade in its earning guidance due to increased supplier costs. Meanwhile, Australia’s job vacancies dropped slightly in August to one unemployed person per job vacancy. Despite the ease, job vacancies were still 107.4 per cent higher than they were in February 2020. The numbers indicate continued labour shortages and ongoing disruptions to operations. US stocks and Treasuries rallied on Wednesday on the back of the Bank of England’s decision to stage a market intervention. The move boosted UK bonds and tentatively calmed markets. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 snapped a six-day rout. It rose the most since early last month, and for the first time since the US Federal Reserve boosted rates and dialled up its hawkishness a week ago. The index jumped more than 2 per cent later in the session, bolstered by gains in Amazon.com shares after the company’s annual device event on Wednesday showed it pushing further into wellness, security and the auto industry. Read more here. 4.56pm Fourth leak reported on Nord Stream pipelines in Baltic Sea STOCKHOLM: A fourth leak on the Nord Stream pipelines has been reported off southern Sweden, a Swedish news agency reports. Sweden’s coast guards told news agency TT that they have a vessel on the site of the leak, off Sweden. All four detected leaks are in international waters, two near Sweden and two near Denmark. Leaks from natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany may be the result of sabotage.Credit:AP The Nord Stream pipelines run through the Baltic to transport gas from Russia to Germany. Neither pipeline was operating, but both were filled with gas. The Danish and Swedish governments believe that the leaks off their countries were “deliberate actions.” Loading Before the leaks were reported, explosions were recorded. A first explosion was recorded by seismologists early Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions. Some European officials and energy experts said Russia is likely to blame for any sabotage — it directly benefits from higher energy prices and economic anxiety across Europe — although others cautioned against pointing fingers until investigators can determine what happened. AP 4.46pm Welfare minister blasts pensioner ‘stunt’ By Dominic Giannini Aged pensioners have been dragged into an ugly political brawl over how much they can earn before impacting their payments. The partisan fight erupted after a late-night manoeuvre in the Senate, when a non-controversial government bill to make it easier for seniors to get cheaper access to everyday items was amended. The income threshold for seniors health cards will soon be increased to $90,000 for singles and $144,000 for couples. Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth says the coalition is delaying relief for pensioners.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen But in a surprise move, the coalition and Greens joined forces to tack on an amendment to double the pension work bonus to $600 a fortnight, meaning older Australians could earn an extra $7800 a year. The amended legislation passed the Senate but appears unlikely to clear the lower house when parliament returns in late October. Loading That means older Australians will have to wait longer for cheaper medicines and trips to the doctor. Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth confirmed the government would strip out the amendment about work bonuses. “The Liberal-National coalition attached an unrelated amendment to the legislation as a political stunt,” Rishworth told AAP on Thursday. “We want to ease cost of living pressures for older Australians and it is disappointing the coalition is delaying this much-needed relief.” The government has already introduced its own work bonus bill to the lower house, which would allow pensioners to earn $4000 a year before having their payments cut. Labor’s proposal equates to about $150 extra a fortnight while the coalition and Greens pushed for $300. AAP 4.36pm New free Brisbane bus loop rolls out as roadwork ramps up By Tony Moore A new free bus will from early 2023 run for 12 months through inner-city Brisbane to tempt people out of their cars as big construction projects ramp up. The free bus will run a triangular “loop” at South Brisbane, along Vulture Street past Brisbane State High School as far as Tribune Street, around to Grey Street and back towards Kurilpa Point, then down Montague Road until it meets Vulture Street again. A new free bus will run through the major arts, retail and residential areas of South Brisbane and West End from 2023 as a 12-month trial.Credit:Brisbane City Council It will allow residents, students and workers to get to local primary and secondary schools, to the popular West End Markets, Queensland Museum, the State Library of Queensland, the Queensland Performing Arts Complex and South Bank Parklands. The 10-minute loop also runs past West End’s main retail centre on Boundary Street. Brisbane City Council will introduce a free bus service around South Brisbane that will run through Grey Street, Montague Road and Vulture streets from 2023 as roadworks intensify.Credit:Tony Moore The free bus service coincides with major work for the Brisbane Metro project around the Queensland Cultural Centre and extra traffic along Montague Road, a major thoroughfare between South Brisbane and West End. Brisbane City Council transport committee chair Ryan Murphy said the free bus trial was introduced to ease traffic congestion as construction on big projects increased. Read more here. 4.25pm US influence will decline, China will rise and ‘Trump trauma will linger’ By Farrah Tomazin Washington: Countries from around the world have virtually no appetite to send troops or weapons to Taiwan if China invades, in apparent contrast to US President Joe Biden’s recent pledge to intervene militarily if the island nation was attacked. A new report on global trends has also found that people from both sides of the Atlantic predict that America’s influence will drop significantly in the next five years while China rises, partly due to what researchers suggest could be “Trump trauma” in Europe – the lingering effect of Donald Trump’s foreign policy. Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi JinpingCredit:AP “Europeans are looking to what could happen in the US in 2024 [if Trump runs for office and is re-elected],” said Gesine Weber, a policy analyst at the German Marshall Fund, the think-tank that conducted the study. “That is something that would be very problematic for them, particularly for a country like Germany, which is always reliant on the US as a security guarantee.” Loading The findings are contained in the latest Transatlantic Trends polling project, an annual survey of US and European public opinion on a range of issues, from foreign policy challenges and the economy, to support for NATO and the rise of other world powers. According to the report, respondents from the 14 countries surveyed were particularly cautious when asked what actions their country should take should China invade Taiwan, with people from the US among several other nations who wanted their country to only take diplomatic steps. Over 4 per cent of respondents said they would support sending arms to Taiwan and only 2 per cent supported sending in troops. Democracy is also perceived to be declining, according to the research, particularly in Turkey (where 46 per cent of respondents felt it was in danger); Italy and Poland (both 32 per cent) and the US (30 per cent – 10 points higher than last year). Read more here. 4.15pm Five Melbourne University employees leave after sexual misconduct allegations By Caroline Schelle and Nicole Precel Five University of Melbourne staff members left the organisation in 2021 due to sexual misconduct allegations as part of the university’s new approach to tackling harassment. The university’s first Sexual Misconduct Annual Report showed there were nine sexual complaints filed against staff, which led to five leaving the university, most accused of “serious misconduct”. The University of Melbourne released a report into sexual harassment. One resigned, two were sacked without notice, one’s contract was not renewed, and another departure came in 2021 because of a complaint lodged in December 2020. Two staff members accused of wrongdoing who left the university tried to fight the claims at the Fair Work Commission but withdrew the action,...

Analysis | Stacey Abrams’s Rhetorical Twist On Being An Election Denier https://digitalalaskanews.com/analysis-stacey-abramss-rhetorical-twist-on-being-an-election-denier/ “I have never denied that I lost. I don’t live in the governor’s mansion; I would have noticed.” — Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, interview on “The View,” Sept. 14, 2022 “We had this little election back in 2018. And despite the final tally and the inauguration and the situation we find ourselves in, I do have one very affirmative statement to make. We won.” In 2018, Abrams lost a bitter election to become Georgia’s governor to Brian Kemp, then the state’s secretary of state, and refused to concede after suggesting that Kemp used his position to manipulate his way to victory. Now, Abrams is in a rematch with Kemp, fending off questions from reporters that she’s little different from former president Donald Trump, who has falsely claimed election fraud led to his defeat by Joe Biden. In recent weeks she has subtly adjusted language to argue that, unlike Trump, she “never denied the election” and “never denied that I lost.” “The difference [with Trump] is very stark when I did not win my election in 2018,” she told Yahoo News in August. “The first thing I said was that I acknowledged the outcome — that the new governor was Brian Kemp. I was not the governor, but I did say the system was broken.” In an interview with the 19th this month, Abrams said: “My point was that the access to the election was flawed, and I refuse to concede a system that permits citizens to be denied access. That is very different than someone claiming fraudulent outcome.” Abrams, in her non-concession speech, did acknowledge Kemp “will be certified as the victor of the 2018 gubernatorial election.” But a review of numerous interviews shows that Abrams subsequently used language denying the outcome of the election that she now appears to be trying to play down. For instance, Abrams at various times has said the election was “stolen” and even, in a New York Times interview, that “I won.” She suggested that election laws were “rigged” and that it was “not a free or fair election.” She also claimed that voter suppression was to blame for her loss, even though she admitted she could not “empirically” prove that. While she did acknowledged Kemp was the governor, she refused to say he was the “legitimate” governor. Abrams made these claims while often leaving herself a rhetorical exit. When she said the election was stolen, she often hastened to add it was “stolen from the people of Georgia.” Moreover, unlike Trump, Abrams has not attempted to rile supporters to violence or call into question the outcome of the election before it takes place. Instead, she has encouraged more people to register to vote and filed successful lawsuits that made voting easier and many experts believe helped Democrats win in 2020. Earlier this month, her spokesman told The Washington Post that she “will acknowledge the victor of the 2022 election.” “She never failed to acknowledge the legal outcome of an election,” a campaign spokesman said in a lengthy statement to the Fact Checker. “Over the last few years, she has used different frames to describe what took place in 2018 but the sentiment remains the same: she acknowledged that Brian Kemp was the victor in the race and also acknowledged that many Georgians were denied the opportunity to make their voices heard due to voter suppression.” Abrams repeatedly questioned the integrity of Kemp’s victory as her rising stardom in the national Democratic Party in 2019 prompted widespread speculation that she might run for president. But what might have appeared at the time as a savvy appeal to voters who felt disenfranchised looks different now that Trump and his GOP allies have taken election denialism to a dangerous new level. Today, the Republican Party is dominated by candidates who echo Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, a trend that has undermined faith in election outcomes and destabilized American democracy. Abrams played up claims the election was stolen until such tactics became untenable for anyone who claims to be an advocate for American democratic norms and values. The debate over the election Before we review how Abrams has discussed the election, it is helpful to understand the context. Kemp beat Abrams, who had been the Democratic leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, by 1.4 percentage points, or about 55,000 votes. Kemp, who as secretary of state at the time was Georgia’s top elections official, refused to recuse himself from overseeing the election — a potential conflict of interest criticized by Abrams and others, such as former president Jimmy Carter. Democrats often cite this litany as examples of possible voter suppression. Kemp oversaw an aggressive effort as secretary of state to update eligible voter lists before the 2018 election. Nearly 700,000 names, or 10 percent, were removed from the rolls in the year before the election. “For an estimated 107,000 of those people, their removal from the voter rolls was triggered not because they moved or died or went to prison, but rather because they had decided not to vote in prior elections,” according to a report by American Public Media. Kemp’s office placed 53,000 voter registrations in electoral limbo in October, with the Associated Press estimating that 70 percent were Black voters. The move was the result of an “exact match” policy in which even a single digit or a misplaced hyphen could derail the registration. No one knows how many of those voters turned up to vote. More than 200 polling places across the state were closed, primarily in poor and minority neighborhoods. Voters reported long lines, malfunctioning voting machines and other problems that delayed or thwarted voting in those areas. The Atlanta Journal Constitution found that precinct closures and longer distances likely prevented an estimated 54,000 to 85,000 voters from casting ballots on Election Day. But there’s also a compelling counterargument. Even if every provisional ballot not counted and every rejected absentee ballot had been awarded to Abrams, it would not have necessitated a runoff, much less overcome Abrams’s vote deficit. The 2018 turnout was far greater than any previous midterm, according to FiveThirtyEight, and more African Americans voted in 2018 than in 2016. Even if 54,000 to 84,000 had not voted because of precinct closings, “Abrams would have had to have won between 82% and 100% of those additional votes to close the gap,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said. Georgia purges lots of voters because of death, moving or not voting in recent elections, but it also makes it very easy to register because of automatic voter registration (AVR) when people obtain driver’s licenses. Registration has grown 94 percent in Georgia because of automatic voter registration, according to the Brennan Center. Ten days after the election, on Nov. 16, Abrams declared: “I acknowledge that Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be certified as the victor of the 2018 gubernatorial election …. But let’s be clear, this is not a speech of concession because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper.” When asked a couple of days later by CNN’s Jake Tapper if Kemp was the “legitimate governor-elect of Georgia,” Abrams dodged. “He is the person who won an adequate number of votes to become the governor,” she replied. When Tapper noted she refused to use the word “legitimate,” Abrams answered: “He is the legal governor of Georgia.” The next day, on MSNBC, Abrams said “it was not a free and fair election,” citing what she regarded as voter purges. “Brian Kemp oversaw for eight years the systematic and systemic dismantling of our democracy and that means there could not be free and fair elections in Georgia this year.” The following year, when Abrams was mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, Abrams began to assert that she had “won” the election. Sometimes this was carefully couched, but at other times, it was not. In a March conversation with Rashad Robinson, the president of the Color of Change advocacy group, Abrams spoke about what attributes she would bring to the presidential race, including: “I did win my election, I just didn’t get to have the job.” A few days later, on “The View,” Abrams put it this way: “I can’t say that empirically I won, but I will never know because we did not have a fair fight. And my responsibility was to acknowledge that he had the numbers, but to call out the fact that the process was wrong.” Also in March, she told the Grio: “I may not have won this election, or at least, but I didn’t lose, I got the votes. But we won’t know exactly how many because of how they cheated.” In an appearance in London, she declared: Kemp “got to be the contestant, the referee and the scorekeeper — and shockingly, he won. Or at least that’s what he tells us. But I know in my heart of hearts, we won.” Her most emphatic statement came at the National Action Network convention in April: “We had this little election back in 2018. And despite the final tally and the inauguration and the situation we find ourselves in, I do have one very affirmative statement to make. We won.” The audience erupted in cheers. Recently, in a September interview with “The View,” Abrams tried to explain away this declaration. “There’s this clip that’s going around and it shows me saying that we won, and what I was referring to was that we won in terms of communities that were long left out of the electoral process,” she said. But a review of the full speech shows she did not immediately make that point, and only 14 minutes later did she offer a caveat: “I cannot prove empirically that I would have won, but we’ll never know.” At the NAN convention, Abrams even suggested the election was stolen: “So in response to what I believe...

US Influence Will Decline, China Will Rise And ‘Trump Trauma Will Linger’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-influence-will-decline-china-will-rise-and-trump-trauma-will-linger/ Washington: Countries from around the world have virtually no appetite to send troops or weapons to Taiwan if China invades, in apparent contrast to US President Joe Biden’s recent pledge to intervene militarily if the island nation was attacked. A new report on global trends has also found that people from both sides of the Atlantic predict that America’s influence will drop significantly in the next five years while China rises, partly due to what researchers suggest could be “Trump trauma” in Europe – the lingering effect of Donald Trump’s foreign policy. Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi JinpingCredit:AP “Europeans are looking to what could happen in the US in 2024 [if Trump runs for office and is re-elected],” said Gesine Weber, a policy analyst at the German Marshall Fund, the think-tank that conducted the study. “That is something that would be very problematic for them, particularly for a country like Germany, which is always reliant on the US as a security guarantee.” The findings are contained in the latest Transatlantic Trends polling project, an annual survey of US and European public opinion on a range of issues, from foreign policy challenges and the economy, to support for NATO and the rise of other world powers. Loading According to the report, respondents from the 14 countries surveyed were particularly cautious when asked what actions their country should take should China invade Taiwan, with people from the US among several other nations who wanted their country to only take diplomatic steps. Over 4 per cent of respondents said they would support sending arms to Taiwan and only 2 per cent supported sending in troops. Democracy is also perceived to be declining, according to the research, particularly in Turkey (where 46 per cent of respondents felt it was in danger); Italy and Poland (both 32 per cent) and the US (30 per cent – 10 points higher than last year). The findings come less than two weeks after US President Joe Biden told 60 Minutes that the US would commit military forces in the event of an “unprecedented attack” by China – a move that would draw Australia into an unwanted future conflict. Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen watches soldiers operate equipment during a visit to a naval station on Penghu, an archipelago of several dozen islands off Taiwan’s western coast.Credit:AP Pressed if that would involve US men and women – unlike in Ukraine, where the president has ruled out sending American troops – Biden answered: “Yes”. While Biden sought to walk back his comments at the United National General Assembly last week, his sentiments, which he has made before, deviate from the traditional strategy used in Washington: to remain ambiguous about the sensitive issue of defending Taiwan. Weber said the lack of appetite to assist Taiwan militarily could simply be geography. “It’s pretty far away for some respondents and they don’t regard it as their conflict, whereas Ukraine is right in their neighbourhood,” she said. The Transatlantic Trends annual polling project takes in the views of people from 14 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the UK and the US. Loading Most countries had about 1500 respondents, who were predominantly surveyed between late June and early July 2022. The report found that while most nations view the influence of the US in global affairs as positive, only 37 per cent expect the country to be the most influential in five years’ time compared to 64 per cent now. China’s influence, on the other hand, was predicted to nearly double (from 13 per cent to 25 per cent), and the EU’s would remain relatively steady (from 17 per cent to 15 per cent). In somewhat better news for America – and set against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine – most respondents believe that the relationship between the US and Europe will remain stable in the next five years, while more than a quarter believe they will get closer. Most Viewed in World Loading Read More Here

Is There Room For A Third Party? – Cardinal News https://digitalalaskanews.com/is-there-room-for-a-third-party-cardinal-news/ The Forward Party logo. Courtesy of Forward Party. Virginia’s Libertarian Party has voted to dissolve itself, a reaction to the party’s national convention earlier this year where a hardline faction took control. Depending on your point of view, this so-called Mises Caucus will either “make the Libertarian Party libertarian again” (the caucus view) or is “endorsing thinly-veiled antisemitism, explicitly welcoming bigotry into the party, reversing the LP’s 50-year legacy of support for LGBTQ+ rights, and openly denouncing women’s suffrage, the civil rights act, and democracy itself” (in the words of the resolution approved by the Virginia party’s central commmittee, as reported by the Virginia Mercury). This is ironic, historically speaking, because Virginia is so far the only state to cast an electoral vote for a Libertarian candidate for president. In 1972, Charlottesville lawyer Roger MacBride, then the state Republican treasurer and one of the state’s electors, cast his vote for Libertarian John Hospers instead of Richard Nixon. For this, MacBride achieved a certain level of fame — and the Liberatarian Party nomination for president in 1976. It’s also fair to look at this and wonder: Does this really matter? After all, the Libertarian Party has never come close to winning anything in Virginia – not the General Assembly, not statewide elections. True, it’s not good to have a party “endorsing thinly-veiled antisemitism, explicitly welcoming bigotry into the party” and so forth, but in practical terms, why should we care what happens to some party whose vote totals barely register? Hold that thought. Meanwhile, earlier this year Andrew Yang (a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and the New York City mayoral nomination in 2021) and Christine Todd Whitman (a former Republican governor of New Jersey and head of the Environmental Protection Agency under George W. Bush) announced the formation of a new political party: the Forward Party. The Forward goal: to establish itself as a centrist party between a Democratic Party being pulled further left and a Republican Party pulled further right. Together, these two actions – the turmoil engulfing the Libertarians and the formation of the Forward Party – prompt an obvious question: Is there room for a third party and, if so, what would it look like? In theory, voters say yes to the first part of that question. A poll by YouGov America finds that 39% of Americans say a third party is necessary while only 30% say having Democrats and Republicans is sufficient; 31% are unsure. In 2021, the Gallup polling group asked a similar (but differently worded) question and found that 62% of Americans agree that “parties do such a poor job representing the American people that a third party is needed.” That’s an all-time high. Now, there’s obviously a lot of space between 39% and 62%, but that also shows how much the wording of a question matters. Perhaps a better way to look at those two different polls is that YouGov America found that 30% were happy with two parties and Gallup found 33% are. Those numbers are pretty similar so perhaps those are the ones to pay attention to. Clearly voters are unhappy (although they tend to be perpetually unhappy, in my experience). In theory, that means there’s lots of room for a third party to flourish, right? Wrong. The key words there are “in theory.” Now, I’d love to be proven incorrect. I’m one of those who believes that both parties have strayed too far from the center, and that the country would be better off if they both moderated themselves. What I think doesn’t really matter, though, as I’m often reminded. What matters is human nature and the American political system. Here are the reasons why the Libertarians have failed to become a significant force and why the Forward Party won’t, either. The Statue of Liberty is the Libertarian Party’s official symbol but the porcupine is often used in the same way that donkeys are for Democrats and elephants are for Republicans. The idea is that porcupines are defensive animals who don’t hurt anyone as long as people leave them alone. Courtesy of Hdebug. Libertarians don’t fit easily on the political spectrum. Most people see politics as a simple left-to-right spectrum. Libertarians are better understood on a three-dimensional political scale. Maybe this current faction will refashion the party into a hard-right party that’s easier to understand, for better or for worse. Historically, though, Libertarians have been hard for many voters to understand because they’re on a completely different axis – some of their positions have seemed liberal, some have seemed conservative, when, in fact, they’re simply libertarian. That’s because both major parties are inconsistent. During the depths of the pandemic, and the debate over vaccine mandates, many Republicans chanted “my body, my choice.” That’s not what they say on abortion, though, where Democrats are the ones essentially saying “my body, my choice.” Democrats want to regulate guns and not regulate abortion; Republicans want to regulate abortion but not guns. Both parties want to exercise state power for something. Libertarians historically haven’t wanted much state power for anything. The best-performing Libertarian in any statewide race in Virginia was Robert Sarvis, who took 6.5% of the vote in 2013. I doubt, though, that many of those voters were really endorsing the Libertarian platform; most were probably registering a protest vote because they didn’t much like either Democrat Terry McAuliffe or Republican Ken Cuccinelli. We’ve seen the same thing nationally. The best Libertarian Party showing came in 2016, when the main choices were Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, two candidates with high unfavorable ratings. That year, Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson took 3.3% of the vote. Otherwise, the Libertarian vote has rarely topped 1% in a presidential year. Historically the party has done best in Western states; its best showing in a presidential race was 1980, when Ed Clark took 11.7% of the vote in Alaska. The best Libertarian showing in a Senate race came in Arkansas in 2020, when the Libertarian candidate took 33.47%. The catch: There was no Democratic candidate on the ballot, just a Libertarian against Republican Tom Cotton, so a lot of those votes were likely from Democrats who had no other place to go. Bottom line: The Libertarians can rightfully claim to be America’s biggest third party but that’s not saying much, given their small vote share. Nor does that seem likely to change. As traditionally constructed, their views just don’t square with most people’s understanding of politics. If they become a hard-right party, then there’s very limited space on the spectrum to be occupied. So, what, then, about this new Forward Party? Why am I so down on its prospects? Here’s why: Moderates don’t make for good rebels. You know the saying “well-behaved women seldom make history”? The same thing applies here. Moderates tend to be, well, moderate. Maybe most people are disgusted with both Democrats and Republicans. But most people aren’t inclined to give up their time to do the things necessary to change that. Working in politics requires passion – giving up nights and weekends for the cause. I haven’t met many moderates with that kind of passion. Those on the left and right – oh, yeah, some of them are a little too passionate sometimes. It’s hard to build a political movement from the center. When we look around the world, we see lots of countries that have more than two parties; parliamentary systems make that more possible than ours. But we don’t see many centrist parties. In Canada, there’s a Liberal Party and a Conservative Party (Canadians have very straightforward names for their parties). There is a third major party – the New Democratic Party – but it’s to the left of the Liberals (and has never won enough seats to govern). There was an attempt in Great Britain to create a centrist party. In 1981, four senior members of the Labor Party left – saying the party had gone too far left – and formed the Social Democratic Party. Today they’re called the Liberal Democrats, but they’ve never displaced either Labor or the Conservatives. Math + fear. Elections require a winner to get more votes than the other candidates. That seems simple enough to understand, right? But consider the dynamics of getting there. Maybe third parties bring out some voters who otherwise would stay at home but, generally speaking, they’re going to take votes away from one of the existing parties. So which ones? Let’s consider a hypothetical race between Hamlet and Macbeth. Maybe some voters are so turned off by this choice between the moody Dane and the regicidal Scotsman that they’d rather support Juliet of Romeo and Juliet fame. And let’s assume that Juliet takes support away from Hamlet. But there’s a lot of institutional support for Hamlet’s party and Macbeth’s party so they remain the leaders in the early polling. Come voting time, a lot of those Juliet voters fret that they’ll “waste” their vote. They aren’t keen on Hamlet but they really detest Macbeth and are afraid he might win so in the end they abandon Juliet and vote for Hamlet even though they don’t really like him. Juliet’s third-party bid sputters. The math is that somebody is going to win, and to defeat the candidate you despise, your candidate has to get more votes. Third-party candidates sometimes poll well initially but historically have a hard time becoming true contenders and then fade when reality sets in. The necessity of getting enough votes to defeat Macbeth overrides everything else. In our language, it’s hard to see moderate Republicans leaving the party for fear that Democrats might win. Likewise, it’s hard to see mod...

Kimmel Offers Kansas A Pretty Good Comeback To NYC Mayor Eric Adams' Insult (Video) https://digitalalaskanews.com/kimmel-offers-kansas-a-pretty-good-comeback-to-nyc-mayor-eric-adams-insult-video/ One of the weirdest stories this week came courtesy of New York Mayor Eric Adams who, for some reason, decided to insult the state of Kansas. But on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Wednesday night, Kimmel came to the rescue with a snappy comeback Kansas should have used against the out-of-nowhere interstate diss. So, Adams’ comments came on Tuesday when, while talking about why he thinks it’s important for New York to get involved with recovery efforts in Caribbean following recent devastating hurricanes, he said “This city was saying to people that they matter. We have a brand. New York has a brand, and when people see it, it means something.” “Kansas doesn’t have a brand. New York has a brand. That brand means diversity, that brand means we care, that brand means we are compassionate,” He added. Now plenty of Kansans were angered by this out-of-nowhere insult — obviously right wingers made the usual rote culture war arguments peppered with bigotry and implied violence, while normal Kansas who aren’t fueled by made-up grievances made their own more substantial rebuttals. But in his monologue, Kimmel highlighted one of the cornier responses and offered an even better one of his own. “Former Brooklyn Borough President and current Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, is getting some heat for a comment he made about, of all places, Kansas,” Kimmel said, playing the clip of Adams’ comments. “First of all, I just want to say my wife went to Kansas and I have to defend them. Kansas does have a brand. It’s the rectangle next to the other rectangle. But more importantly, what did Kansas do to deserve that?” Kimmel continued. “I mean, they’re minding their own business and then they get an unprompted attack from the Mayor of New York! Obviously, the insult didn’t sit well with people from Kansas, who issued this very Kansassy rebuttal on their local news,” Kimmel added before cuing up a local news program. That news show listed several positive things about Kansas, including that 2.9 million people live in Kansas, that Dodge City is the actual windiest city in America (“It ain’t Chicago,” the anchor said), and that the state has more than 400 caves. “Wow. Woah. Woah. Woah. No need to get nasty guys. Come on now,” Kimmel reacted after the video ended. “Somebody needs to help Kansas with their snaps. They’re bragging about how many caves they have.” And then Kimmel provided the very good snap: “And the truth is, New York and Kansas have a lot more in common than you think. For one thing, both places don’t like Eric Adams, right?” Kimmel was correct of course: Adams is polling pretty bad since taking office. Immediately after, Kimmel took a detour to discuss how Elon Musk has unseated Jeff Bezos as the richest man in America, and in the process got in very good insults against both of them. “Oh, hey, speaking of people — of unlikeable people — the ‘richest man in America’ is now Elon Musk. According to the new Forbes 400 list, Elon Musk is worth around $251 billion. He beat out Jeff Bezos, who topped the list last year,” Kimmel explained. “Bezos ceded his spot at number one in a show of solidarity with employees who aren’t allowed to go number one on the job,” Kimmel joked. After that, he told some jokes about Donald Trump, but we’ll let you just watch those. You can see the whole monologue at the top of the page. Read More Here

Hurricane Ian Slams Southwest Florida With “catastrophic” Storm Surge https://digitalalaskanews.com/hurricane-ian-slams-southwest-florida-with-catastrophic-storm-surge/ Hurricane Ian was flooding some areas of Florida’s west coast with storm surges as high as 18 feet above ground level as it moved across the peninsula after making landfall Wednesday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Why it matters: Surge numbers that high — 12 to 18 ft — would be unprecedented for the region and some of the highest on record in the U.S. “Ian battering the Florida peninsula with catastrophic storm surge, winds, and flooding,” the NHC said in a 5pm ET update. Although the hurricane weakened after making landfall near Pirate Harbor in the afternoon, becoming a Category 1 storm by 11pm, storm surge and flooding threats remained on Thursday — as power outages hit more than 2 million customers in the state. What they’re saying: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) warned at a briefing Wednesday evening there would be damage throughout the entire state. “Overwhelmingly it’s been that surge that’s been the biggest issue and the flooding … as a result,” he said. “In some areas, we think it’s hit 12 feet.” The big picture: Storm surge was battering Florida’s west coast throughout Wednesday, and 8 to 12 ft was expected between Bonita Beach and the small island of Chokoloskee in southern Florida, and 6 to 10 ft from Englewood to Longboat Key. The storm surge was occurring along with high winds, heavy rainfall and considerable flooding. Zoom in: Ian caused over 9 ft of surge in Naples, Collier County, by 1pm ET Wednesday — a new record for the city, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitoring station. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said officers were “getting a significant number of calls of people trapped by water in their homes,” and the Naples fire station was inundated with about three feet of floodwater. In Fort Myers, the city saw a peak 7.26 ft of surge — a record high, per NOAA. Homes in Fort Myers Beach were damaged or destroyed from the surge, while boats were seen floating through streets in Fort Myers. Meanwhile, the Caloosahatchee River, which flows into the San Carlos Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, was experiencing 7.2 ft of “moderate flooding” as of around 6:10pm ET, according to a National Weather Service gauge in Fort Myers. Surge-related flooding was reported on the island of Sanibel and seen on public cameras broadcasting footage of the storm. A National Ocean Service station near Ft. Myers reported a water level greater than 7 ft, per a 7pm EST NHC update. Threat level: The NHC considers storm surge, or an abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, to be the most deadly and destructive aspect of hurricanes. The surge is the result of water being thrust toward the shoreline by the winds moving cyclonically around the storm and can cause “extreme” flooding in coastal areas, especially when it coincides with high tides. Photo: National Weather Service Miami/Twitter Go deeper: Universal Studios, Disney, stores, schools and more closing for Hurricane Ian Axios’ Andrew Freedman contributed to this story. Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details. Read More Here

EAG Vs TUS Dream11 Prediction, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Dream11 Team, Playing XI, Pitch Report, Injury Update- BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 https://digitalalaskanews.com/eag-vs-tus-dream11-prediction-fantasy-cricket-tips-dream11-team-playing-xi-pitch-report-injury-update-byjus-kca-president-cup-t20/ EAG vs TUS Dream11 Prediction, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Dream11 Team, Playing XI, Pitch Report, Injury Update of BYJU’s KCA President Cup T20 match between KCA Eagles and KCA Tuskers. EAG vs TUS BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 Match 18 Details: The 18th match of the BYJU’s KCA President Cup will see KCA Eagles facing off against KCA Tuskers on 29th September at the Sanatana Dharma College Ground. For all the Dream11 Tips and Fantasy Cricket Live Updates, follow us on Cricketaddictor Telegram Channel. This game is scheduled to start at 1:30 PM IST and live score and commentary can be seen on FanCode and CricketAddictor website. EAG vs TUS BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 Match 18 Preview: The BYJU’s KCA President Cup will see its eighteenth match of this season between the KCA Eagles and KCA Tuskers. KCA Eagles will be squaring off against KCA Tuskers for the second time in the eighteenth match of this season of the BYJU’s KCA President Cup. KCA Eagles are currently placed at the third position on the points table of this season of BYJU’s KCA President Cup T20 whereas KCA Tuskers is currently placed at the bottom of the points table. KCA Eagles played five matches in this season of the KCA President Cup T20 where they won three matches while KCA Tuskers also played five matches in this season where they were unable to win a single game. EAG vs TUS BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 Match 18 Weather Report: The temperature is expected to hover around 27°C on the matchday with 83% humidity and 11 km/hr wind speed. There are no chances of precipitation during the game. EAG vs TUS BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 Match 18 Pitch Report: The wicket at the Sanatana Dharma College Ground delivers a neutral wicket where both the departments are expected to earn a decent amount of help from the surface. Spinners will play a crucial role in the middle overs. Average 1st innings score: The average first innings score on this wicket is 145 runs. Record of chasing teams: The team batting second has great records here. They have maintained a winning percentage of 60 on this ground. EAG vs TUS BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 Match 18 Injury Update: (Will be added when there is an update) EAG vs TUS BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 Match 18 Probable XIs: KCA Eagles: KM Asif, Aswanth S Sanker, Athul Raveendran, Krishna Prasad, Mhd Kaif(wk), Sachin Baby©, Vaishak Chandran, Rahul P, Arjun AK, Abhiram CH, Adithya Vinod, Akhil KG, Nipun Babu, Fazil Fanoos, Rohan Nair KCA Tuskers: Afrad Reshab P N, Rabin Krishnan, Shoun Roger, Sreehari S Nair, Varun Nayanar(wk), Vinoop Manoharan, Vishweshwar Suresh, Rohan Prem©, Mohammed Anas, Sreerag V K, Abhishek Pratap, Aditya Krishnan, Gireesh PG, Vinil TS, Aadidev TJ Top Picks For Dream11 Prediction and Fantasy Cricket Tips: Sachin Baby is a left-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler from KCA Eagles. He hammered 46 runs in the last game against KCA Tuskers. Athul Raveendran is a right-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox spinner from KCA Eagles. He grabbed 2 wickets in the last match against KCA Tuskers. Vinoop Manoharan is a right-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler from KCA Tuskers. He smacked 12 runs and took 1 wicket in the last game against KCA Eagles. Mohmmed Anas is a left-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox spinner from KCA Tuskers. He stacked 22 runs in the last match against KCA Eagles. EAG vs TUS BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 Match 18 Captain and Vice-Captain Choices: Captain – Vinoop Manoharan, Athul Raveendran Vice-Captain – Sachin Baby, C H Abhiram Suggested Playing XI No.1 for EAG vs TUS Dream11 Team: Keeper – Rahul-P Batsmen – Sachin Baby (VC), C H Abhiram, Mohammad Anas All-rounders – Athul Raveendran, Vinoop Manoharan (C), M Rabin-Krishna Bowlers – KM Asif, Vishweshwar A Suresh, Vaisakh Chandran, K Adithyakrishnan EAG vs TUS Dream11 Prediction Suggested Playing XI No.2 for EAG vs TUS Dream11 Team: Keeper – Rahul-P Batsmen – Sachin Baby, C H Abhiram (VC), Mohammad Anas All-rounders – Athul Raveendran (C), Vinoop Manoharan, M Rabin-Krishna Bowlers – KM Asif, Vishweshwar A Suresh, Vaisakh Chandran, TS Vinil EAG vs TUS Dream11 Prediction EAG vs TUS BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 Match 18 Expert Advice: Vinoop Manoharan will be a great multiplier choice for the small leagues. K Adithyakrishnan and TS Vinil are among the punt-picks here. The best-suggested fantasy/Dream11 combination for this game is 1-3-3-4. EAG vs TUS BYJU’S KCA President Cup T20 Match 18 Probable Winners: KCA Eagles are expected to win this match. Read More Here

Russia Set To Annex Ukraine Territory; West Warns Of New Sanctions https://digitalalaskanews.com/russia-set-to-annex-ukraine-territory-west-warns-of-new-sanctions/ Russia says overwhelming support for annexation Russian parliament may consider annexation on Tuesday Ukraine rejects referendums as illegal West prepares new sanctions over referendums ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Russia was poised to annex a swath of Ukraine within days, releasing what it called vote tallies showing overwhelming support in four provinces to join it, after what Ukraine and the West denounced as illegal sham referendums held at gunpoint. On Moscow’s Red Square, a stage with giant video screens has been set up, with billboards proclaiming “Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson – Russia!” The head of the upper house of the Russian parliament said it could consider the incorporation of the four partially occupied regions on Oct. 4, three days before President Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The Russian-installed administrations of the four provinces have formally asked Putin to incorporate them into Russia, which Russian officials have suggested is a formality. “This should happen within a week,” Rodion Miroshnik, the Russia-installed ambassador to Moscow of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, told the RIA state news agency “The main thing has already happened – the referendum has taken place. Therefore, let’s say: the locomotive has already started and it’s unlikely to be stopped.” To annex the territories, which represent about 15% of Ukraine, some sort of treaty will need to be struck and ratified by the Russian parliament, which is controlled by Putin allies. The areas will then be seen as part of Russia and its nuclear umbrella will extend to them. Putin has warned he would use nuclear weapons to protect Russian territory from attack. read more ‘NOBODY VOTED’ Residents who escaped to Ukrainian-held areas in recent days have told of people being forced to mark ballots in the street by roving officials at gunpoint. Footage filmed during the exercise showed Russian-installed officials taking ballot boxes from house to house with armed men in tow. “They can announce anything they want. Nobody voted in the referendum except a few people who switched sides. They went from house to house but nobody came out,” said Lyubomir Boyko, 43, from Golo Pristan, a village in Russian-occupied Kherson province. Russia says voting was voluntary, in line with international law, and that turnout was high. The referendums and notion of annexations has been rejected globally, as was Russia’s 2014 takeover of Crimea from Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sought to rally international support against annexation in a series of calls with foreign leaders, including those of Britain, Canada, Germany and Turkey. “Thank you all for your clear and unequivocal support. Thank you all for understanding our position,” Zelenskiy said in a late-night video address. The United States has unveiled a $1.1 billion weapons package for Ukraine that includes 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers, accompanying munitions, various types of counter drone systems and radar systems. The announcement brings the U.S. security aid to $16.2 billion. The United States has also said it would also impose new sanctions on Russia for the referendums and the European Union’s executive proposed more sanctions, but the bloc’s 27 member countries will need to overcome their own differences to implement them. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would need to keep fighting until it had taken control of all of Donetsk. About 40% is still under Ukrainian control. Russia has announced it will mobilise some 300,000 reservists to bolster its forces in Ukraine. The conscription drive has sent thousands of Russian men fleeing to other countries. On the ground, Ukraine and Russian forces are engaged in heavy fighting, especially in the Donetsk region, where the governor said six civilians were killed in Russian attacks on Wednesday. Over the past 24 hours, Russia launched three missile and eight air strikes, carried out more than 82 attacks from rocket salvo systems on military and civilian sites, Ukraine’s military said early on Thursday. Ukraine’s air force carried out 16 strikes on Wednesday, damaging or destroying a number of Russian positions, while ground forces destroyed two command posts, it said. Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said three people were killed in Russian shelling of Dnipro, the region’s capital, including a 12-year-old girl, and more than 60 buildings were damaged. “The rescuers carried her out of the damaged house where was just sleeping when a Russian missile hit,” he said on his Telegram channel. Reuters was not able to verify battlefield reports. EUROPEAN ENERGY Leaking gas bubbled up in the Baltic Sea for a third day after suspected explosions tore through undersea pipelines built by Russia and European partners to send natural gas to Europe. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, once the main route for Russian gas to Germany, was already shut but cannot now be easily reopened. NATO and the European Union warned of the need to protect critical infrastructure from what they called “sabotage”, though officials stopped short of assigning blame. Russia’s FSB security service is investigating the damage to the pipelines as “international terrorism”, the Interfax news agency cited the general prosecutor’s office as saying. The Nord Stream pipelines have been flashpoints in an expanding energy war between Russia and European countries that has damaged Western economies and sent gas prices soaring. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Robert Birsel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here