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Futures Lower Following Another Day Of Losses After Fed Rate Hike, Sell-Offs https://digitalalaskanews.com/futures-lower-following-another-day-of-losses-after-fed-rate-hike-sell-offs/ Stock futures were lower on Friday morning as investors continued reacting to the Fed’s rate hike and concerns over a potential economic downswing. The Nasdaq 100 was down 0.51%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 133 points, or 0.44%. S&P 500 futures shed 0.46%. Costco stock was down about 2.6% in extended trading. Although the retailer posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings that topped analysts’ expectations, it is seeing higher freight and labor costs. Thursday brought another day of losses as the market remains poised to end the week below where it started. The Nasdaq Composite decreased 1.4% to 11,066.81. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 3,757.99, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day 107.10 points lower at 30,076.68, which is a loss of 0.3%. With the latest pullback, the Dow has given up about 2.4% this week. Both the S&P and Nasdaq saw slightly sharper declines, falling 3% and 3.3%, respectively, week to date. Bond yields also continued their upward ascent, with the 2-year and 10-year Treasury notes hitting highs not seen in more than a decade. Industrials, consumer discretionary, growth tech and semiconductors were all industries hit amid fears of easing growth in the economy. Meanwhile, defensive stocks outperformed. “You’ve just got this volatility that nobody seems to be able to get their head around,” said Tim Lesko, a senior wealth advisor at Mariner Wealth Advisors. Lesko said more investors are starting to accept that a recession may be on the horizon after the Fed’s decision this week to hike rates by 75 basis points and FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam saying on CNBC last week that he believed one was imminent. Once that happens, Lesko said investors will react differently. “At some point, they’ll figure out that recession doesn’t mean the end of the world, and they’ll start getting constructive on stocks again,” he said. “But right now, we’re acting as if the sky’s falling.” CNBC Pro: Is it time to buy Treasurys? Here’s how to allocate your portfolio, according to the pros Nomura downgrades China’s 2023 growth outlook Nomura downgraded its forecast for China’s 2023 annual growth to 4.3% from 5.1%. Analysts cited a potentially prolonged Covid-zero policy or a spike in the nation’s infections after a possible reopening in March. The latest downgrade comes after Goldman Sachs lowered its outlook earlier this week to 4.5% from 5.3%. William Ma of Grow Investment Group told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” he’s optimistic on policy changes he sees coming after the People’s Party Congress in mid-October. —Jihye Lee CNBC Pro: Back hedge funds to outperform equities and bonds this year, UBS says As both stocks and bond prices fall simultaneously, hedge funds have broadly outperformed and are “well placed to navigate current market volatility,” according to a new report by UBS. As market volatility persists, the Swiss bank shared the types of hedge funds it prefers. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Ganesh Rao Costco, Scholastic shares fall after reporting earnings Scholastic and Costco both saw shares fall in post-market trading Thursday after reporting quarterly earnings. Scholastic shares fell 3.3% after sharing declines of 82% and 74% in operating income and earnings before taxes in the first quarter compared to the same period a year ago. The children’s book maker saw a 1% increase in revenue. Costco, the wholesale retail chain, was down about 2.6% after reporting its third-quarter earnings. Though the company posted expectation-beating increases in earnings per share and revenue that also marked improvements from a year ago, the company reported increases in freight and labor costs. — Alex Harring Futures start flat in post-market trading Stock futures were flat after another tumultuous day, as investors continue grappling with the Federal Reserve’s decision to up rates and worries about the health of the economy. Dow Jones Futures went up 41 points, or .14%, to 30,190. The S&P 500 was up 4 points, which translates to .11%, at 3,776. The Nasdaq 100 rose 10 points, .09%, to 11,575,50. — Alex Harring Read More Here

Trump Once Got Paid With Gold Bars That That Were Wheeled Up To His Fifth Avenue Apartment: Book https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-once-got-paid-with-gold-bars-that-that-were-wheeled-up-to-his-fifth-avenue-apartment-book/ Donald Trump was once paid in gold bars for the lease of a parking garage, per a new book. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman wrote that the gold bars were sent to Trump Tower. Trump didn’t know how to handle the bars and it is unclear what happened to them, per Haberman. Loading Something is loading. During his days as a businessman in New York, former President Donald Trump was once paid with a pile of gold bars in lieu of cash.  This anecdote was shared in a new book by New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman titled “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.” According to an excerpt provided exclusively to CNN, this odd form of payment was given to Trump to cover the price of leasing a garage at the General Motors building in New York, which Trump bought in 1998.  Per CNN, Haberman wrote that Trump didn’t know how to handle the dozens of gold bars sent to him. They were eventually wheeled up to his apartment at Trump Tower, though it’s unclear what happened with the gold bars afterward. Haberman also recalled in the excerpt seen by CNN that Trump was asked about the gold bars and responded by calling it a “fantasy question.” A representative at Trump’s post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. The account from Haberman adds to the list of odd revelations about Trump’s past business dealings that have emerged in recent months. This month, for example, an excerpt from a book by New York Times reporter David Enrich — titled “Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump and the Corruption of Justice” — recounted how Trump once tried to pay an attorney $2 million in legal fees with the deed to a stallion.  According to Enrich, Trump — who was then a real-estate businessman — had failed to pay his bills. When confronted by his irate lawyer, Trump t pulled out a “deed to a horse” and told the lawyer that it was “more valuable” than the fees he owed.  Meanwhile, Trump and his three adult children are facing a $250 million civil lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Leticia James. The suit seeks to bar the Trump family from conducting business in New York and accuses the former president of inflating his net worth by billions. Get the latest Gold price here. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 1:49 A.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-149-a-m-edt/ Moscow-held regions of Ukraine vote whether to join Russia KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Voting has begun in Moscow-held regions of Ukraine on referendums to become part of Russia. The Kremlin orchestrated the votes and they’re certain to go Russia’s way, though Ukraine and the West have denounced them as shams without any legal force. The votes are being held in the Luhansk, partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. In Kherson, the balloting is also expected to get underway. The expected outcome favoring joining Russia would give it the pretext to claim Ukrainian forces are attacking Russia itself, dramatically escalating the 7-month-old conflict. The referendums follow President Vladimir Putin’s order of a partial mobilization, which could add some 300,000 Russian troops to the fight. World opinion shifts against Russia as Ukraine worries grow NEW YORK (AP) — The tide of international opinion appears to have decisively shifted against Russia, as a number of non-aligned countries joined the United States and its allies in condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine and its threats to the principles of the international rules-based order. In what many believed earlier this year was Western wishful thinking, much of the international community spoke out against the conflict in rare displays of unity at the often fractured United Nations. The coalescing condemnation picked up steam earlier in the week when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of some additional 300,000 troops to Ukraine, signaling the unlikelihood of a quick end to the war and suggested that nuclear weapons may be an option. Trump’s legal woes mount without protection of presidency WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s latest legal troubles — sweeping fraud allegations by New York’s attorney general and a stark repudiation by federal judges he appointed — have laid bare the challenges piling up as the former president operates without the protections afforded by the White House. The bluster and bravado that served him well in the political arena are less handy in a legal realm dominated by verifiable evidence, where judges this week have looked askance at his positions. This week alone, he has been sued in New York and a federal appeals court has sharply rejected his legal team’s arguments about documents seized from his Florida home. US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea for joint drills Read More Here

Clockwork Orange: The Intimately Related Impunities Of Fascist Floridians Donald Trump And Ron DeSantis https://digitalalaskanews.com/clockwork-orange-the-intimately-related-impunities-of-fascist-floridians-donald-trump-and-ron-desantis/ Photograph Source: Government of Florida – Public Domain This essay appeared for free on Substack last Monday. I have added an extensive update at the end. Impunity feeds on itself.  The more a transgressor gets away with the more he feels emboldened to transgress again.  And the more he transgresses without punishment the more others in the same mold feel free to transgress. It Still Walks Free Take the cases of the orange-hued fascist maniac and QAnon backer Donald “Take Down the Metal Detectors Cuz the Guys with AR-15s Don’t Want to Hurt Me” Trump and Florida’s mini-Trump governor Ron DeSantis. A remotely functioning democracy would have jailed Trump for fraud and/or sexual assault years ago, long before he tried to subvert and cancel the 2020 presidential election and absconded to his private Florida estate with boxes of classified government documents. After decades of epic transgression, the orange-hued ogre has yet to be indicted once. Far from rotting in a jail cell where he belongs, he’s the Republican Party’s intraparty kingmaker and 2024 presidential front-runner. Three-fourths of the Trump his party’s base believes his preposterous Big Hitlerian Lie about the 2020 election. He has fraudulently raised tens of millions of dollars through this grand deception. He has Republican election-deniers running for office in the coming general election in 27 states. This rogue roster includes people vying for state-level positions in charge of election supervision and certification, candidates ready to use those offices (governor, attorney general, secretary of state) to nullify statewide popular votes if necessary to ensure Trump’s victory in battleground states in 2024-25. Trump has recently openly identified with the neo-Nazi QAnon cult and joined his fellow white supremacist Lindsey Graham in warning that prosecuting Trump would cause civil unrest. The claim is intended to send the following message to the Department of Justice and the Fulton County District Attorney: “Try to impose the rule of law on our Demented Dear Leader and our thugs will act to impose the rule of force on you!” That’s pretty damn…well, fascist. A young and inexperienced right-wing (Federalist Society) District Court judge Trump and his party cynically installed after the 2020 election (Aileen Cannon) has just issued two preposterous orders that have thrown a significant monkey wrench into the federal investigation of his document theft crime(s). The Appeals Court to which the Department of Justice is appealing this openly ridiculous, partisan ruling is stocked with Trump appointees.  So is the next and last judicial body up – the US Supreme Court. (See my update below) The Department of Justice is about to stand own from aggressively investigating Trump’s mind-boggling transgressions to honor its absurd “60-day rule” rule of avoiding activities that might seem political for sixty days before the mid-term elections. The dismal Dems, lacking a seriously positive and progressive program for the people, seem to want Trump to run against in 2024. What could go wrong with “Pied Piper” II? (The Democrats bear huge responsibility for the creation and appeasement of this unspeakable and monster, as I have shown on numerous occasions. See this, for one example among many.) It all feeds the deadly Q-ish story of Trump as a “chosen one” above the rule of law – a special Dear Leader who can “shoot someone on Fifth Avenue” and lose no support. Among the many problems with Trump’s continuing unindicted status and epic impunity – no small part of his super-hero status among his base – is the green light it gives to prodigiously indecent wrongdoing by others within and beyond his base. Ron DeSadist Speaking of orange-tinted fascism, let’s turn to the “political stunt” that Florida’s Mussolini-esque chief executive Ron DeSantis pulled last week. DeSantis used Florida taxpayer money to hire two private charter jets to fly 50 asylum-seeking Venezuelan migrants from Texas to a small town on the affluent Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard. DeSantis’s goal was to “expose liberal hypocrisy” for supposedly backing weak border policies and supposedly being unwilling to take care of immigrants. A woman hired by the great orange-producing state of Florida lured the migrants onto the planes with free food and promises that they would get “expedited work papers” when they arrived. The desperate newcomers were told that good housing and employment awaited them in “Boston.” ​​ “Many don’t know where they are,” Massachusetts State Rep. Dylan Fernandes tweeted after the migrants landed, “they were told they would be given housing and jobs. Islanders were given no notice…” Martha’s Vineyard government officials and service providers quickly used their emergency hurricane protocols to welcome, feed and shelter the frightened and disoriented newcomers. DeSantis’s spokesman Jeremy Redfern responded to criticism of his failure to give Massachusetts and Martha’s Vineyard officials advance warning by Tweeting this: “Do the cartels that smuggle humans call Florida or Texas before illegal immigrants wash up on our shores or cross over the border?” Redfern’s defense was that Mexican human trafficking gangs do the same thing – a revealing identification of his thuggish boss with criminal enterprises south of the US border. “Faci(ist)nating,” I thought to myself as I watched this story unfold in Chicago. My home city had just received busloads of Mexican and Central American migrants of uncertain legal status sent without warning by Texas’s far right governor woman-hating governor Greg Abbott, with whom DeSantis must have collaborated in executing his sickening deed. It was much the same story: many of the men, women, and children getting off the buses did not know where they were but had been told that good jobs and housing awaited them. Chicago officials and service providers rushed to give assistance. In pretending to justify this crass act, Abbot made the same false claims that his fellow nativist DeSantis did – that “radical Left Democrats” (a ludicrous description of the corporate-imperialist Democrats, as any actual radical Leftist knows) advocate weak border policies and that it is therefore justified to send frightened migrants of unknown legal status up to “Democratic sanctuary cities” and states to “deal with the problem.” Reverse Freedom Rides It turns out that this was anything but a late breaking news story. Abbott issued a press release boasting that his “Operation Lone Star initiative” had bused in excess of 10,000 migrants to Democratic cities. His fellow nativist Arizona governor Doug Ducey has been runnng a similar noxious program, busing migrants to Washington, D.C. Two Ducey Expresses recently unloaded near the Washington home of Vice President Kamala Harris in an obvious attempt to hang the dubious charge of border weakness on the Democrats and the Biden administration. Might this have been inspired by an ugly tactic employed by southern white supremacists during the days of the Civil Rights Movement? Daily Beast columnist Kali Holloway provides some relevant historical context, recalling Jim Crow bigots’ “Reverse Freedom Rides” during the presidency of John F. Kennedy: “In the early 1960s, another group of white supremacists, relying on the same racism-and-spite blueprint, and peddling the same lies about housing and opportunity, bussed vulnerable people — Black Americans living in the Jim Crow-era South—across the Mason-Dixon line to get back at Northern liberals involved in the civil rights movement. The Reverse Freedom Rides were a racist prank in the same mean-spirited, pitiless vein we’re seeing from MAGA immigration hardliners.” Holloway notes that Abbott is an advocate of “the Republican Party’s version of the Great Replacement Theory [GRT], a racist and xenophobia-steeped conspiracy theory which holds that global elites (which is often meant to invoke ‘the Jews’) are attempting to wipe out white Americans with Democrat-voting non-whites.” Holloway connects DeSantis and Abbot’s heartless human rafficking to an old-time “playbook for racists, xenophobes, and white supremacists… From the banning of books to the refusal to acknowledge Black history—to, incredibly, the bussing of migrants,” Holloway writes, “the cycles just repeat.” Racist Political Stunt or Fascist Kidnapping? This is thoughtful commentary, but I differ from Holloway in two ways. First, what we are seeing today is worse than nasty old racist right-wing history repeating itself.  As I have demonstrated in numerous publications, including two books – see this and this – the  current “cycle” reflects one of the nation’s two major parties’ (the Republicans’) qualitative cross-over into full-on (and not just “semi-“) fascism in a time when the United States’ longstanding previously ruling class-normative bourgeois electoral and rule-of-law democracy may well be on the verge of collapse. GRT needs to be understood as “FRT,” that is fascist replacement theory, a recycling and update not just of longstanding racism but of classic fascist narratives on the purported ruination, weakening, and pollution of great white nations by swarthy and supposedly inferior outsiders nefariously brought into imperial homelands by backstabbing globalist elites. Second, the migrants caught up in DeSantis’s current-day “Reverse Freedom Rides” are victims of an act that deserves investigation for the breaking of federal law. The flight to Martha’s Vineyard was more than what Holloway terms “a political stunt masquerading as immigration policy.”  Yes, the migrants were used as what Holloway calls “‘political pawns’ in a sick game,” what sh...

Late-Night TV Goes To Town On Trump’s ‘Jedi’ Declassification https://digitalalaskanews.com/late-night-tv-goes-to-town-on-trumps-jedi-declassification/ Sometimes a Donald Trump story comes along that is so dumb, every late-night comedy host can’t help but make way too many jokes about it. This Thursday was one of those nights. After Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity this week that, as president, he had the power to declassify documents just by “thinking about it,” the late-night pile-on came fast and furious. First out of the gate was The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, who expressed deep skepticism that Trump could “declassify documents with his brain” when he couldn’t even “read documents with his brain.” He predicted that Trump would “plead Jedi” at the eventual trial and joked that it would “be the first time in his life that Trump has thought something and not said it out loud.” Seth Meyers used his “A Closer Look” segment to argue that Trump’s claim is a “shaky defense” because it requires you to believe that he’s capable of “thinking” at all. “I mean, even if it was true that the law said you could declassify something just by thinking about it, all a judge would have to do is look into Trump’s eyes and immediately rule that there’s just nothing going on in there.” Over on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel took aim at Hannity for failing to follow up on the ridiculous claim. “His approach was basically, ‘Show me on the doll where the FBI investigated you,” he said. “I mean you have to hand it to Sean. When life gives him felons, he makes felon-ade!” “If Trump actually had the power to change things just by thinking about them, Don Jr. would have turned into a Big Mac 30 years ago,” he joked. “And by the way, even if he did have the power to declassify this information, it doesn’t matter. It’s illegal for him to take any presidential records from the White House without permission.” And on The Late Show, Stephen Colbert mocked Trump for using his “mind” to “make more dumb words come out of his stupid mouth,” before showing the clip of the former president insisting that he declassified “everything.” “OK, I’ll hop on that crazy train,” Colbert added. “Let’s say he telepathically declassified everything, like he was wearing a treason Cerebro. That means he thinks it’s a good idea, somehow, for everyone to know foreign nuclear secrets and, somehow, getting all the names of America’s undercover spies out there. How is that better?” Even Jimmy Fallon got in on the action, playing the clip and then joking, “Hannity was like, ‘Oh, I get it, you’re going to plead insanity.’” Read More Here

Budd Embraces Trump, Abortion Opposition In NC Senate Race https://digitalalaskanews.com/budd-embraces-trump-abortion-opposition-in-nc-senate-race/ RALEIGH, N.C. — In competitive races across the U.S., Republican candidates are distancing themselves from their party’s most controversial policies and people — namely, abortion and former President Donald Trump — as Election Day approaches. The North Carolina GOP Senate nominee is leaning into support for abortion restrictions and amity with the former Republican president as Democrats fight for an elusive victory in the Southern swing state. Democratic optimism remains tempered given the state’s recent red tilt, but Democratic officials believe Budd, a low-profile congressman who emerged as the GOP’s Senate nominee largely because of Trump’s backing, gives them a real chance at flipping a seat — and holding the balance of power in Washington — this fall. Disregarding his critics, Budd is set to appear alongside Trump on Friday night at a rally in Wilmington. The Budd campaign was eager to welcome Trump when the former president’s team called, according to adviser Jonathan Felts. “Trump won North Carolina twice, and an in-person rally is helpful,” Felts said, suggesting Trump would help drive turnout, especially “with unaffiliated and/or undecided voters concerned about the economy.” Others aren’t so sure. “The more Trump emerges, the more Trump is in the news, the better for Democrats,” said David Holian, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Indeed, Trump remains overwhelmingly popular with Republican voters but is less appealing to the moderates and independents who often decide swing-state elections. Trump’s national favorable ratings have been roughly even with, or worse than, President Joe Biden’s in recent weeks. Still, some North Carolina Democrats are far from confident in a state where they have suffered painful losses in recent years. Democratic skepticism comes despite the apparent strength of their Senate nominee, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who has a decided fundraising advantage, a record of outperforming other Democrats in statewide elections and a moderate message. She would be the state’s first Black senator if elected. Yet Beasley is also running against negative perceptions of her party. Trump’s rise has fueled a growing sense among some voters in North Carolina, along with those in many other states, that the national Democratic Party has lost touch with the daily struggles of the working class and similar voting blocs. The Democratic-controlled Congress’ focus on climate change, for example, hasn’t helped inspire voters like Talmage Layton, a 74-year-old farmer from Durham. Layton said he doesn’t know whether a North Carolina Democrat can make a difference on Capitol Hill in lowering gas prices or pushing back against climate change policies that other Democrats have embraced. “That’s not anything against Cheri Beasley,” Layton said after a recent meeting with Beasley. “I’m a registered Democrat, and I would have no problem voting for a Democrat. But they’ve got to think about the little guy here.” Not long ago, it looked as if the Democratic Party was poised to take over North Carolina politics. In 2008, Obama carried the state, becoming the first Democrat to do so since 1976, and Democrat Kay Hagan upset GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Political experts predicted the Democratic Party would step to dominance as a result of increasing urbanization and out-of-state liberals moving in for tech jobs in the Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte regions. But Republicans took over the state legislature for the first time in over 140 years following the 2010 election and retained it thanks to support from exurban and rural voters and favorably drawn districts. A decade later, Trump became a two-time North Carolina winner, though he won the 2020 election by just 1 percentage point. While Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper managed to win reelection in 2020, Beasley was one of the party’s casualties. She lost a bid to remain chief justice to a Republican rival by just 401 votes. Her near-miss turned her into a rising candidate in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr. In one sign of strength, Beasley has consistently raised more money than Budd. And she appears to be generating momentum by seizing on abortion to energize women and independents, relying on the same playbook Democrats have used elsewhere. Budd, meanwhile, has been outspoken in his opposition to abortion. He co-sponsored a House version of a national 15-week abortion ban introduced by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham that even Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell distanced himself from. “My opponent has been in Congress for six years, and every opportunity he’s had to vote for North Carolina, he’s voted against us,” Beasley charged after meeting with farmers at a produce market in Durham before Graham’s bill introduction. Meanwhile, Republicans in competitive elections in states like Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada and Arizona have distanced themselves from their rigid anti-abortion stances in recent weeks. Others have stripped their websites of references to Trump or his favorite talking points. In Virginia, a Republican House candidate removed a Trump reference from her Twitter bio. In New Hampshire, Republican Senate nominee Don Bolduc abruptly reversed himself last week when asked about Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. After spending much of the last year echoing Trump’s lies, Bolduc told Fox News he had done more research and concluded, “The election was not stolen.” Meanwhile, Budd’s campaign refused this week to say whether he would accept the 2022 election results, having already voted to block certification of the 2020 election. Such positions will almost certainly appeal to Trump’s base, but political operatives say Budd needs sizable support from moderate, independent voters to be successful. Unaffiliated voters this year surpassed Democrats to become the largest bloc of registered voters in the state. “Regardless of what your faith background is, you’re dealing with skyrocketing energy prices. You’re dealing with high grocery costs. You’re dealing with high crime. You’re dealing with economic uncertainty,” Budd said after speaking to pastors recently in Greenville. “And so I want to make life better for all North Carolinians and people in our country by the things that I support.” As Budd has struggled to keep pace with Beasley’s fundraising, outside groups have come to his aid. The McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund and the National Republican Senatorial Committee have spent $17.3 million combined on advertising opposing Beasley, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The Senate Majority Fund, which supports Democratic candidates, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have spent close to $4 million in North Carolina while investing far more in high-profile contests in states like Pennsylvania and Arizona. “We’re committed to making sure voters continue seeing and hearing the truth about Ted Budd,” Senate Majority Fund spokesperson Veronica Woo said. An arm of the pro-abortion-rights EMILY’s List announced this month spending $2.7 million to criticize Budd on abortion as well. During a recent stop at Perkins Orchard in Durham, Beasley chatted with farmers who gathered around picnic tables and near fresh pumpkins for sale. Some said afterward they were glad to see her interest in their plight. Jason Lindsay, 34, a first-generation Black farmer from Rocky Mount, said he’s been frustrated with the divisive political environment but is encouraged by Beasley. “Her temperament here today gave me the first sign of hope that I’ve had in a long time,” he said. ___ Peoples contributed from New York. Read More Here

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Arrives In South Korea As Warning To North https://digitalalaskanews.com/u-s-aircraft-carrier-arrives-in-south-korea-as-warning-to-north/ U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is anchored at a port in Busan, South Korea, September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Daewoung Kim Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com BUSAN, South Korea, Sept 23 (Reuters) – A U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Friday for the first time in about four years, set to join other military vessels in a show of force intended to send a message to North Korea, officials said. USS Ronald Reagan and ships from its accompanying strike group docked at a naval base in the southern port city of Busan. Its arrival marks the most significant deployment yet under a new push to have more U.S. “strategic assets” operate in the area to deter North Korea. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Strike group commander Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly told reporters aboard the ship that the visit had been long planned and was designed to build relations with South Korean allies and boost interoperability between the navies. “We are leaving messaging to diplomats,” he said, when asked about any signal to North Korea, but added that joint drills were designed to ensure the allies were able to respond to threats anywhere at any time. “It’s an opportunity for us to practice tactics and operations,” Donnelly said. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has pushed for more joint exercises and other displays of military power as a warning to North Korea, which this year conducted a record number of missile tests after talks failed to persuade it to end its nuclear weapons and missile development. Observers say Pyongyang also appears to be preparing to resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017. North Korea has denounced previous U.S. military deployments and joint drills as rehearsals for war and proof of hostile policies by Washington and Seoul. The visit is the first to South Korea by an American aircraft carrier since 2018. That year, the allies scaled back many of their joint military activities amid diplomatic efforts to engage with North Korea, but those talks have since stalled, and Pyongyang this month unveiled an updated law codifying its right to conduct first-use nuclear strikes to protect itself. Questions have risen over the role the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea might play if conflict erupts over Taiwan. Donnelly said such questions are for policymakers above him, but said that operating with like-minded allies such as South Korea is a key part of the U.S. Navy’s efforts to maintain the regional security and stability that has existed for more than seven decades. Officials declined to provide details of the upcoming joint drills, but said the carrier would be in port for “several days” while its crew visited Busan. Just hours after the ship docked, long lines of crewmembers formed as they took COVID-19 tests before being bused into the city. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Gerry Doyle Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

N.Y. Attorney General Uses Trump https://digitalalaskanews.com/n-y-attorney-general-uses-trump/ Bowling Green, KY (42101) Today Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High near 75F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy during the evening followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Updated: September 22, 2022 @ 11:59 pm Read More Here

Australia Stocks Drop 2%; Asian Markets Slide, Singapore Inflation Reaches 2008 Levels https://digitalalaskanews.com/australia-stocks-drop-2-asian-markets-slide-singapore-inflation-reaches-2008-levels/ An electronic board displays stock information at the Australian Securities Exchange, operated by ASX Ltd., in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. Brendon Thorne | Bloomberg via Getty Images Asia-Pacific shares fell on Friday as investors continue to weigh the Federal Reserve’s aggressive stance. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 2.28% to its lowest levels since July on its return to trade after a holiday on Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 1.82% and the Kosdaq declined 2.49%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.85%. Mainland China stocks were also lower, with the Shanghai Composite shedding 1.08% and the Shenzhen Component losing 1.769%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.42%. Japan markets were closed for a holiday Friday. Elsewhere in Asia, inflation in Malaysia came in in line with expectations, while Singapore’s consumer price index rose more than expected. On Wall Street overnight, stocks fell for a third consecutive day over recession fears following the Fed’s latest 75-basis-point rate hike. The S&P 500 was 0.8% lower at 3,757.99, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.4% to 11,066.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 107.10 points, or 0.3%, to 30,076.68. — CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Sarah Min contributed to this report. Singapore’s inflation rises at fastest pace in 14 years Singapore’s headline inflation figure for August jumped more than expected from a year ago to 7.5%, the fastest pace of increase since 2008. The print is higher than analysts’ predictions of 7.2%. Core inflation, which is closely watched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, rose 5.1%, slightly above than the expected 5%. In Malaysia, inflation came in at 4.7% for August, in line with expectations. — Abigail Ng Singapore, Malaysia inflation for August expected to accelerate Core inflation in Singapore is expected to rise to 5% in August from a year ago, up from 4.8% in July, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Headline inflation is set to increase to 7.2%, compared with July’s 7% print. In neighboring Malaysia, the consumer price index for August is predicted to rise to 4.7%, a faster pace than July’s 4.4%, another Reuters poll forecasts. — Abigail Ng Nomura downgrades China’s 2023 growth outlook Nomura downgraded its forecast for China’s 2023 annual growth to 4.3% from 5.1%. Analysts cited a potentially prolonged Covid-zero policy or a spike in the nation’s infections after a possible reopening in March. The latest downgrade comes after Goldman Sachs lowered its outlook earlier this week to 4.5% from 5.3%. William Ma of Grow Investment Group told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” he’s optimistic on policy changes he sees coming after the People’s Party Congress in mid-October. —Jihye Lee CNBC Pro: Is it time to buy Treasurys? Here’s how to allocate your portfolio, according to the pros Australia’s S&P Global flash PMI shows growth in private sector Australia’s flash manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose slightly to 53.9 in September from 53.8 in August, according to data from S&P Global. The flash services PMI ticked higher to 50.4 in September, compared with 50.2 in August. “The latest survey data indicated that the manufacturing sector was the primary driver of Australia’s private sector growth during September,” S&P Global wrote in a release. “The service sector, though expanding more quickly than in August, saw activity rise only marginally with activity and new business growth rates remaining below the historical averages,” it said. — Abigail Ng Japanese yen hovers around 142 against the U.S. dollar The Japanese yen traded at 142.33 against the greenback in Asia’s morning the day after Japanese authorities said they intervened in the currency market for the first time since 1998. The yen strengthened to 140-levels before heading back to 142-levels. “In our view, the Ministry of Finance [in Japan] needs to convince the U.S. Treasury to join the intervention,” Joseph Capurso of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a Friday note, adding solo intervention by Japan “fails within a few weeks.” — Abigail Ng CNBC Pro: Back hedge funds to outperform equities and bonds this year, UBS says As both stocks and bond prices fall simultaneously, hedge funds have broadly outperformed and are “well placed to navigate current market volatility,” according to a new report by UBS. As market volatility persists, the Swiss bank shared the types of hedge funds it prefers. Pro subscribers can read more here. — Ganesh Rao Read More Here

CS AK Mehta Visits Ganderbal, Reviews Developmental Scenario Of District – Northlines https://digitalalaskanews.com/cs-ak-mehta-visits-ganderbal-reviews-developmental-scenario-of-district-northlines/ GANDERBAL, SEPTEMBER 22: Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today visited Ganderbal district to review the developmental scenario and implementation of various scheme in the District in a meeting held at Conference Hall of Mini Secretariat Ganderbal. Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, P K Pole, Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal, Shyambir, Additional Principal, Chief Conservator Forest, Directors of various departments, Chief Engineers of Jal Shakti, PMGSY, R&B and RDD, HODs and district heads of various departments attended the meeting.The Deputy Commissioner gave a sector wise detailed PowerPoint presentation of various ongoing developmental works and status of flagship schemes being executed by different departments in the district. The Chief Secretary took comprehensive review of district Capex budget 2021-22 & 2022-23, Financial/ physical progress under district Capex budget, Status of Back to Village programme, Languishing projects and other flagship programmes. While reviewing School Education Department, DC informed that district administration has launched GAASH Literacy Campaign in the district with the purpose to enlighten general masses about the importance “being literate” besides education department launched special drive to cover left out, never enrolled, and out of school children to achieve the target of 100 percent enrolment by 2nd October 2022.The Chief Secretary directed for adopting regular student feedback system from class 6 onwards and by local panchayat members in primary schools besides biometric attendance shall be ensured in all schools. He also stressed for ensuring availability of basic facilities including functional toilets, water and electricity in all schools of the district.The meeting also discussed the power scenario in the district for which SE, PDD said that 48131 households connections are in district besides district is meeting out 100 percent demand of electricity in summers and in winters there is shortage of only 25MWs that too will be meted out once the augmentation of Badampora Grid is completed.Dr Mehta directed the SE to expedite the augmentation work on Badampora Grid to get it completed before winter adding that LG led administration is committed to provide 24-hour power supply to the consumers in winter too. Similarly, the Jal Shakti Department was directed to ensure vital projects are completed on time especially that are approved in Languishing scheme and called for immediate resolution of all issues to ensure regular water supply both in Ganderbal and Srinagar. The Chief Secretary also took brief review of agriculture and its allied sectors. He observed that district Ganderbal has tremendous scope in agriculture and its allied sectors including Fisheries, Apiculture and Animal Husbandry and directed the concerned departments to prepare a plan for engaging more youth in the sector and apply latest technologies for doubling farmers income in the district. Dr Mehta took a brief review of implementation of various beneficiary oriented and other welfare schemes like PMAY, SAKSHAM scholarships, self-employment schemes, Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, Ayushman Bharat and others in the district. The Chief Secretary directed the concerned departments to start vigorous awareness campaign in a convergence mode for effective implementation of all schemes which are intended to improve social economic condition of downtrodden. The Social Welfare department was asked to saturate scholarship schemes. Dr Mehta also reviewed the status of activities carried under Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan. The DC informed that various activities including awareness camps, Pledge taking ceremony, painting competitions, cannabis destruction, etc. are going vigorously throughout the district.The Chief Secretary directed SSP Ganderbal to ensure that the drug peddlers are nabbed and booked. He said that drug menace is a grave concern and it is social and human responsibility of all to work in eliminating drug menace and directed all the officers to work in coordination in this regard so that district Ganderbal is declared drug free. Furthermore, the Chief Secretary reviewed the implementation of Self-employment schemes offered by various departments in the district. He said that the government is giving a major thrust to self-employment and all these schemes are launched with the purpose to support the unemployed youth so that they could earn their livelihood. He directed all the concerned departments to provide handholding to the unemployed youth in establishing their units saying that there no limit in such schemes. Dr Mehta directed the District administration to formulate district tourism plan with the objective to tap the potential of various tourist location in the district like Manasbal and identity other spots besides promote Village Tourism. He also directed for promoting sports and culture activities under all age groups involving PRIs, students and locals. He also directed for working on Swachh Gram Abhiyan and Solid Waste Management initiatives.Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary interacted with DDC Chairperson, Nuzhat Ishfaq, Vice Chairperson, Bilal Ahmad Sheikh, BDCs, DDCs and other PRIs who projected several issues and demands for development of their respective areas The Chief Secretary gave patient hearing and assured that all the issues would be redressed in time bound manner. Earlier, the CS took round of various stalls installed by different stake holders and directed the concerned Officers to raise awareness regarding the schemes on various platforms so that people can get to know about the benefits of the schemes and accordingly get benefited from them.He also handed over hearing aids, wheelchairs, sports kits, tractors, disability certificates besides sanction letters to various beneficiaries under several schemes. Meanwhile, he also felicitated the NEET qualifiers and students who excelled in various sports activities in the district. The Chief Secretary also e-inaugurated various projects worth Rs around 21 crore which include 12 room, 3 storey building at Girls Higher Secondary School Tullamulla, NTPHC building at Chattergul, Dak Bunglow Fathepora, Bamloora Bridge and 12 room additional accommodation at Government Degree College Ganderbal. GAASH literacy Campaign and 10 Homestays at Sonamarg were also e-inaugurated by the Chief Secretary. Read More Here

West Valley Vs. Kodiak – Alaska High School Football 2022 https://digitalalaskanews.com/west-valley-vs-kodiak-alaska-high-school-football-2022/ Sep 22, 2022 1 hr ago 0 Post a comment as anonymous Welcome to the discussion. Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don’t Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don’t knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the ‘Report’ link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We’d love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reporting—but good journalism isn’t free. Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution. By MAISIE THOMAS Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Apr 4, 2022 1 In Alaska, Covid-19 cases are leveling off after reaching record highs during the Omicron surge, but a new and even more highly contagious variant is on the rise. The BA.2 variant of Omicron now accounts for over 50% of new cases nationally, and just under half of cases in Alaska, state epid… LINDA F. HERSEY Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Apr 1, 2022 0 North Pole Rep. Mike Prax was one of eight lawmakers diagnosed with Covid-19 Wednesday in an outbreak that has swept through the Alaska House. By LIV CLIFFORD Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Mar 31, 2022 0 Alaskans lost more than $13 million to suspected internet crimes in 2021, federal data shows. Read More Here

Some Words For Columnist Witcover https://digitalalaskanews.com/some-words-for-columnist-witcover/ To the editor: Jules Witcover is back on your editorial page writing about how good Biden is and how bad Trump was and is. I wonder what world he lives in! Yesterday, the Dow Jones average took a hit, a big hit, thanks to President Biden’s policies which have produced nothing but economic failure for the vast number of legal American citizens. He states, with the generosity and freedom of a First Amendment opinion writer, totally irrational comments such as, “Trump and his enablers in the Republican Party are now clearly imperiling U.S. National security.” As well as, “Trump and his captive Republicans continue to do incalculable damage to our cherished political norms.” Witcover must be living in the political bubble of Washington where our political norms may just need a bit of help. Make that a lot of help — now! He, Witcover, trashes Trump and lauds Biden. Whose year-and-a-half as president has brought this country to its economic knees with free monetary gifts to voters, legal and illegal alike, debt relief to scholarly debtors and unparalleled spending. All resulting in inflation that has taken one month’s worth of purchasing power from every American citizen, legal and/or otherwise. He states, with only the arrogant veracity of the uninformed, that the “next presidential election will be a replay on Trump’s character.” No, Mr. Witcover, but on Trump’s ability to lead this country away from socialistic democractic and historically weak leadership from the current occupants of the White House. Seriously, Mr. Witcover, to write what you write and expect the American electorate to believe you is proof of your isolation in Washington’s huge bubble. I would strongly suggest you visit our America. Your eyes just may be opened. RONALD J. PRICE, Sebring Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Opinion: Flip-Flopping Like Bluefish In A Bucket https://digitalalaskanews.com/opinion-flip-flopping-like-bluefish-in-a-bucket/ Who among us has not changed our opinion from time to time? Take former U.S. Senator John Kerry, whose photo could be used to illustrate the verb “flip-flop” in the dictionary. In 2003, Kerry famously declared, when criticized for a vote against a spending bill to fund the war in Iraq: “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” But Kerry can’t hold a candle to today’s political flip-floppers, who have elevated the artform to Orwellian heights. The most recent example is a senatorial hopeful who changed his mind about the 2020 presidential election—like he was changing his socks after a hard day of misleading voters. His “epiphany” came soon after he won his party’s primary. With the general election looming —where saner voters would prevail— he determined, after months of adamantly saying otherwise, that Joe Biden was, indeed and in fact, the nation’s legitimate president after all —that the 2020 election had not been stolen. But even this abrupt, self-serving, and shameless U-Turn doesn’t lead the league in shiftless shifts. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham could give him lessons. Before it was clear that Donald Trump would be the likely winner of the Republican nomination for president in 2016, Graham referred to the man who is now his BFF as a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” Based on the senator’s subsequent behavior, it is not clear if this characterization was meant as a criticism. To be fair, the honorable senator did say in 2015 that the way to make America great again was to “Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.” Neck and neck with Graham for having a hate-love relationship with the former president is Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. In 2016 Cruz called Trump, among other epithets, a “pathological liar,” “a narcissist at a level I don’t think this country has ever seen,” “a sniveling coward,” an “immoral bully,” and “a serial philanderer.” And Ted should know: he went to Princeton and Harvard. But by 2018, Ted and Don were, like, totally BFFs. The latter traveled to Texas to campaign for Cruz’s reelection. Cruz, in turn, would work to keep Trump in the Oval Office after the ultimate narcissist lost the 2020 presidential election. Some ultra-flexible “statesmen” are clever enough not to flip-flop in plain sight, for example, on YouTube. After the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, Rep. Kevin McCarthy reportedly told colleagues that he was going to ask the president to resign. McCarthy denied those news reports, but (oopsy-doopsy) he could be heard on a taped phone call saying that very thing. Whether the timorous McCarthy ever confronted his commander in chief is highly unlikely since subsequently, in public, he pledged toadying support for the floundering president, lambasting anyone who found fault with the lame duck’s totalitarian behavior. After a gyration like that, one would suspect that atop McCarthy’s “to do” list was: “Make appointment with my chiropractor.” Sen. Mitch McConnell told allies after the insurrection that impeachment was warranted, then pulled a 180. He voted not to impeach the president, for the second time. And what about the man for whom these flippers and floppers are doing cartwheels? He thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin is a genius for invading Ukraine. David Holahan is a freelance writer from East Haddam. Read More Here

ELECTION 2022 | Governors’ Races Take On New Prominence, With Higher Stakes https://digitalalaskanews.com/election-2022-governors-races-take-on-new-prominence-with-higher-stakes/ Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks during an event attended by President Biden at Henry Maier Festival Park on Sept. 5, 2022, in Milwaukee. Evers who is up for reelection warns voters that democracy is on the ballot this fall and notes he has vetoed more bills than any governor in modern state history, including measures Republicans pushed to change how elections are conducted. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Governors’ races often are overshadowed by the fight for control of Congress during midterm elections. But this fall, the nation’s political future hangs just as much on governors’ mansions as it does on Capitol Hill. With abortion rights, immigration policies and democracy itself in the balance, both parties are entering the final weeks before the Nov. 8 election prepared to spend unprecedented amounts of money to win top state offices. Those elected will be in power for the 2024 election, when they could influence voting laws as well as certification of the outcome. And their powers over abortion rights increased greatly when the U.S. Supreme Court in June left the question to states to decide. “Governors’ races matter more than ever,” said North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, the group working to elect Democrats to lead states. For Democrats, Cooper said, governors “are often the last line of defense” on issues that have been turned over to states, including gun laws and voting rights in addition to abortion. That’s been especially true in places with Democratic governors and Republican-controlled legislatures, such as Wisconsin and Kansas — states both parties have made top targets for victory in November. Democrats are leading Republican candidates in two important battleground states with GOP-led statehouses, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is the only Democratic governor running for reelection in a state carried by former President Donald Trump in 2020. The former legislator won the office in 2018 against a fiery conservative after running as a moderate who promoted bipartisanship. She now faces three-term state Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who has repeatedly tried to tie her to President Joe Biden and criticized her as too liberal for the red state. Schmidt’s campaign has been hurt, however, by a third-party bid from a conservative state lawmaker. During a debate at the Kansas State Fair this month, Schmidt portrayed Kelly’s position on abortion as too extreme, telling a crowd she supports abortion without restrictions. Kansas has been the unlikely site of Democratic hopes in regard to abortion rights. In August, Kansas voters overwhelmingly defeated a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have allowed the GOP-controlled Legislature to greatly restrict or ban abortion. Kelly opposed the measure, though she has tried to focus her campaign elsewhere. Schmidt said he respects the outcome of the vote but that the abortion debate isn’t over. “What was not on the ballot was Governor Kelly’s position,” he said. Throughout nearly two decades in elective politics, Kelly has opposed nearly every restriction on abortion now in Kansas law. But asked about Schmidt’s characterization of her position on abortion, she said, “You know, I have never said that.” Kelly hasn’t emphasized abortion as an issue, though many Democrats think it would help her. Instead, she has been touting the state’s fiscal strength and her work to lure businesses and jobs. “Maybe I’m not flashy, but I’m effective,” she said at the end of the state fair debate. In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers warns voters that democracy is on the ballot this fall and notes he has vetoed more bills than any governor in modern state history, including measures Republicans pushed to change how elections are conducted. Evers faces businessman Tim Michels, who was endorsed by Trump. Michels has claimed the 2020 presidential election was rigged — a lie Trump has pushed in an effort to overturn his loss to Biden — and supports changes to voting and election laws in the state, a perennial presidential battleground. Michels is among several Trump-backed nominees who emerged from sometimes brutal GOP primaries. In some cases, more moderate or establishment Republicans warned that the far-right pick endorsed by Trump would struggle to win in a general election. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, chair of the Republican Governors Association, acknowledged the intraparty turmoil during a discussion at Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Policy last week. “We’re a divided nation right now, and it is very tribal. And much of that crept into this cycle,” said Ducey, who is term-limited. The RGA doesn’t endorse in primaries. But as governor, Ducey endorsed businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson for Arizona’s GOP nomination for governor. She lost to former TV news anchor Kari Lake, who had Trump’s backing. Ducey and Trump have feuded over the governor’s refusal to cede to Trump’s wishes and overturn the 2020 election results in his state. Lake has said she would not have certified Biden’s victory, even though it has been affirmed by multiple reviews. Cooper said the DGA will be “leaning in hard” in Arizona as well as in a tight contest in Georgia, where GOP Gov. Brian Kemp is facing Democrat Stacey Abrams, a former state legislative leader who lost a close 2018 race to him. In the primary, Kemp easily defeated former Sen. David Perdue, who was endorsed by Trump. Both the Democratic and Republican governors associations entered 2022 having raised record amounts of money — over $70 million each — in what they say is a sign that voters are increasingly focused on state races. Cooper attributed some of the increased interest to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The RGA is bullish about defending Republican governorships in Arizona and Georgia, and is heavily focused on picking up a handful of blue states in the West, including Oregon and New Mexico. At the top of the list is Nevada, where Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo is among Republicans’ most prized recruits this election cycle and is challenging Gov. Steve Sisolak. In Oregon, GOP hopes rest on an independent candidate siphoning enough support from the Democrat and allowing the Republican to pull out a victory. Democrats, meanwhile, are confident they will take back governorships in Massachusetts and Maryland, two blue states currently led by moderate Republicans, after far-right Republicans won their party’s nominations. Pennsylvania, a top presidential battleground, is another state where the GOP nominee could hurt Republicans’ chances in November. GOP voters chose Doug Mastriano from a crowded field, picking a Trump-backed candidate who opposes abortion rights without exceptions, spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and organized bus trips to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the day of the violent insurrection. He faces Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Asked about the race during the discussion at Georgetown, Ducey was blunt. “Another axiom that we have at the RGA is that we don’t fund lost causes, and we don’t fund landslides,” he said. In Michigan, a swing state where Trump and his allies also tried unsuccessfully to overturn his 2020 loss, Trump-backed nominee Tudor Dixon won a chaotic GOP primary. Democrats have repeatedly criticized Dixon for her stance against abortion, including in cases of rape or incest. A measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution also will be on the November ballot, and Democrats are hoping it will help their candidates. First-term Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has millions more in her campaign fund than Dixon, but said after an appearance at the Detroit Auto Show that she was taking nothing for granted. “This is Michigan, and it’s always tight in Michigan,” she said. —— Burnett reported from Chicago. Associated Press reporter Colleen Long contributed from Detroit. Print Headline: ELECTION 2022 | Governors’ races take on new prominence, with higher stakes Read More Here

Trump, Lindell, Ginni Thomas — Geniuses All!: 'BradCast' 9/22/2022 https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-lindell-ginni-thomas-geniuses-all-bradcast-9-22-2022/   (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.) Thursday September 22, 2022 · 7:18 PM PDT 2022/09/22 · 19:18 {{backgroundUrl avatar_large}} Joined: {{created_at}} Story Count: {{n_stories}} Comment Count: {{n_comments}} Popular Tags: {{showTags popular_tags}} {{#each badges}} {{badgeUrl .}} {{/each}} {{authorSig user_sig}} {{/unless}} {{/if}} {{#ifcanRecComment author_id}} {{#if recommenders_text}} {{else}} {{/if}} {{n_recrates}} {{n_recrates}} {{else}} {{#if recommenders_text}} {{else}} {{/if}} Recommended {{n_recrates}} time{{simplePlural n_recrates}} {{/ifcanRecComment}} {{#ifCommentFlaggable author_id story_author_id}} {{/ifCommentFlaggable}} {{#if preview}} {{/if}} Read More Here

BPAS TRUMPS BUDGET AT MARATHON SPECIAL CALL MEETING https://digitalalaskanews.com/bpas-trumps-budget-at-marathon-special-call-meeting/ Marathon City Hall The “budget” portion of the Marathon City Council’s final budget hearing special call meeting on Sept. 21 took less than 10 minutes, and for the second time was unanimously approved with no public comment. Instead, the council spent the majority of its time discussing the city’s building allocations and permitting process moving forward in the wake of the recent revocation of 300 affordable housing allocations given to the city in 2018. The budget and tax rate tentatively approved at the Sept. 13 city council meeting went unchanged throughout the course of Tuesday’s meeting. With a final millage rate of 2.72 mills, the city’s 2022-2023 tax rate reflects a 15.04% increase over the rollback rate – the rate required to raise the same tax revenue as in 2021-2022 given current assessed property values. Finance director Jennifer Johnson justified the increase in part due to additional staff members in the city’s code and public works departments, along with a 9.6% cost of living adjustment for city staff and an anticipated 5% increase in health insurance costs. The increase will add roughly $9.7 million in revenue for the city’s general fund and will bring the city to 13 days shy of one year in unassigned reserves. The new $116,909,494 budget accounts for development of the Seven Mile Marina, along with $400,000 set aside for the first time homebuyer loan program. Expected infrastructure projects include improvements to bridges, the park at the base of the Seven Mile Bridge, the unused Quay property and the community park. In addition to approving the recommended building allocations for the current BPAS period, Marathon Mayor John Bartus made a motion to use seven of the city’s available administrative relief building allocations – set aside for use in special circumstances – in order to allow completion of affordable housing units in the La Palma development on 101st Street Ocean. Nearly complete, the development’s original building allocations were revoked as part of 300 affordable units deemed illegal in an Aug. 3 opinion handed down by Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal (DCA). City Attorney Steve Williams revealed in the course of discussion that the city’s request for a rehearing of the affordable units case had been denied in an 8-1 decision earlier that afternoon. Short of an unlikely result should the city appeal the case to the Florida Supreme Court, a fix for the revoked allocations via the state’s next legislative session, if successful, could be more than six months away. “There is one gentleman who is literally 25 miles into a 26-mile marathon,” said Williams, adding that by the same analogy, “If he’s at mile 25, I’m not sure anybody else was back at mile 20 yet. “Our initial thought was to use some of our available administrative relief pool to assist that gentleman. It’s a barn door situation. … You’re nice to one person, everyone else wants you to be nice to them. … At some point someone’s going to have to make the policy calls or the legal calls or both as to what units you’re handing out … and where do you draw the line?” “I would urge you all to pause on all of this,” said councilman Steve Cook. “Is it harsher to choose the same outcome for all as opposed to treating some better than others? … Trying to get around the court ruling by doing what looks like the right thing may just cost us a lot.” Following discussion of several contractors’ relative progress in their respective developments both now and in the near future while the revoked units are involved in additional appeals or legislative fixes, the council voted 4-1 to abstain from granting the administrative relief allocations, with Bartus as the lone yes vote. Vice Mayor Dan Zieg also reminded the council of a 2001 decision in which the current appellants’ attorney in the 300 units case, Richard Grosso, successfully argued that a $3.3-million apartment complex violated its county’s comprehensive plan and was torn down after being previously occupied. In other news: At its first public hearing, the council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance prohibiting drinking and smoking any item other than an unfiltered cigar – an exception mandated by state statutes – at Marathon’s beaches and parks, as well as establishing an enforcement mechanism. The prohibition may be waived by the city council for special occasions upon request. At its final public hearing, the council voted to formally establish non-resident boat ramp usage fees as well as parking fees for trailers at boat ramps and vehicles at Sombrero Beach. The fee schedule is as follows: $5 per hour for the first two hours to park at Sombrero Beach, followed by $2 per hour thereafter; $25 to launch or retrieve a boat at any of the city’s three public boat ramps; and $20 per day to park a vehicle and trailer in available spaces at these ramps. The ordinance dictates that vehicles registered in Marathon or Key Colony beach may register annually to use these facilities at no cost, and at its Sept. 13 meeting, the council indicated its wishes to extend the same free use to year-round Marathon and KCB residents as evidenced by documents such as driver’s licenses, voter registration cards and leases. The privilege of free use is not transferable to short-term renters or visitors. The exact registration process used is yet to be determined, as is the date of practical enforcement. Read More Here

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Americans In Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Swap Wondered If Death Was Near https://digitalalaskanews.com/americans-in-russia-ukraine-prisoner-swap-wondered-if-death-was-near/ As they were led from their prison cell deep inside Russian-occupied Ukraine, Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Huynh contemplated their uncertain fate: Were they about to be freed — or would they be killed? Days after their capture in June, the Kremlin proclaimed that the men, both American military veterans, were suspected war criminals and refused to rule out that they could face the death penalty. In a phone call with his aunt Thursday, Drueke said that in that moment, it seemed things “could go either way.” “That was one of those moments,” said the aunt, Dianna Shaw, “where it was a gut punch for me.” The Americans were released Wednesday as part of a prisoner exchange between the governments in Kyiv and Moscow, an agreement as stunning as it was sprawling. In addition to Drueke, 40, and Huynh, 28, the Russian government agreed to release eight other foreign nationals who had joined the war on behalf of Ukraine, plus 215 Ukrainians. Fifty-five Russian fighters were freed in exchange, along with Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian opposition politician who has such warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Putin is believed to be the godfather to Medvedchuk’s daughter. Details of the sweeping deal, mediated with involvement from the governments of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, continued to trickle out Thursday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters covering the U.N. General Assembly in New York that the prisoner exchange was the result of “diplomatic traffic I conducted” with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling it an “important step” toward ending the war that began seven months ago, according to a transcript of his comments carried by state-run media. Ankara also played a key role in brokering a breakthrough deal this summer that allowed for the resumption of grain exports after Russia’s naval blockage of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, but thus far Erdogan has been unable to secure a direct meeting between Putin and Zelensky. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, where Drueke and Huynh are convalescing, also was credited with facilitating the foreign nationals’ release. A senior member of the Saudi government on Thursday said Mohammed’s efforts illustrate his “proactive role in bolstering humanitarian initiatives.” The U.S. government has expressed gratitude to the crown prince for his efforts in securing the two Americans’ release, but relations between the two countries remain strained over Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights and, notably, over Mohammed’s suspected role orchestrating the plot to kill Saudi American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In Russia, there was outrage among some nationalists who considered the deal a betrayal. Medvedchuk once was seen as a potential replacement for Zelensky, had Russian forces successfully managed to topple the government in Kyiv and install a puppet regime. Several of the Ukrainians released in exchange for Medvedchuk and other Russians were members of the far-right Azov Regiment, a military force Putin has branded Nazis. In Ukraine — where Azov forces have been cheered for their courage during Russia’s bloody siege of Mariupol — the deal was celebrated. A senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy, said, “It is telling Putin elected to trade his crony and one of his long-term proxies in Ukraine, Medvedchuk, for the heroes of Mariupol,” calling the move further evidence of how the Russian leader prioritizes himself over the interests of the Russian people. “Even as this [war] is awful for Ukraine … it’s awful for the Russian people,” the official said. “Putin has chosen his own vain imperial ambition over his people’s needs.” Kyryl Budanov, who leads Ukraine’s chief military intelligence directorate, said some of the liberated Ukrainians had been “subjected to very cruel torture” while in captivity. It is unclear if Drueke and Huynh endured such treatment, although there are signs both went through stages of physical degradation that may take time to reverse. Drueke’s aunt said her nephew has not yet shared many details with his family about how his captors treated him and Huynh. She said Drueke and Huynh have some “minor, minor, minor health considerations” and that both are “very dehydrated,” noting that the family is unsure precisely when Drueke and Huynh may be ready to make the 14-hour flight home to Alabama from Saudi Arabia. Footage of the captives’ release that aired on German television network Deutsche Welle station showed a gaunt and thin Drueke being assisted by what appeared to be medical personnel as he walked. He was carrying his own bag, however. Drueke, a former U.S. soldier, and Huynh, a Marine Corps veteran, disappeared near the city of Kharkiv on June 8 while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces. They were moved a few times during their captivity, and likely were held in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Drueke’s family believes. Drueke and Huynh appear to have been kept together throughout their captivity, according to Shaw. For at least some of their time as prisoners, they were also held in the same cell as British national John Harding, who also was freed this week as part of the exchange. Since their release, the American veterans have been sharing an apartment in Saudi Arabia while they take the first steps toward recovery. The former captives are keenly aware, Shaw said, that the return to normalcy could be a long road. “He did not sound regretful to me at all — he sounded excited to be coming home,” Shaw said. “He is still very much in admiration of the Ukrainian people.” Kareem Fahim in Beirut; Robyn Dixon and Mary Ilyushina in Riga, Latvia; and John Hudson in New York contributed to this report. War in Ukraine: What you need to know The latest: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” of troops in an address to the nation on Sept. 21, framing the move as an attempt to defend Russian sovereignty against a West that seeks to use Ukraine as a tool to “divide and destroy Russia.” Follow our live updates here. The fight: A successful Ukrainian counteroffensive has forced a major Russian retreat in the northeastern Kharkiv region in recent days, as troops fled cities and villages they had occupied since the early days of the war and abandoned large amounts of military equipment. Annexation referendums: Staged referendums, which would be illegal under international law, are set to take place from Sept. 23 to 27 in the breakaway Luhansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine, according to Russian news agencies. Another staged referendum will be held by the Moscow-appointed administration in Kherson starting Friday. Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work. How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating. Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video. Read More Here

US Forecast https://digitalalaskanews.com/us-forecast-73/ City/Town, State;Yesterday’s High Temp (F);Yesterday’s Low Temp (F);Today’s High Temp (F);Today’s Low Temp (F);Weather Condition;Wind Direction;Wind Speed (MPH);Humidity (%);Chance of Precip. (%);UV Index Albany, NY;67;46;57;44;Partly sunny, cooler;NW;13;49%;0%;5 Albuquerque, NM;85;61;82;59;A t-storm around;SSE;5;49%;45%;4 Anchorage, AK;50;41;50;43;Rain and drizzle;SSE;4;79%;70%;1 Asheville, NC;80;47;72;48;Nice with sunshine;N;6;41%;3%;6 Atlanta, GA;91;59;78;54;Sunny and cooler;ESE;7;43%;1%;6 Atlantic City, NJ;82;52;66;50;Windy and cooler;NNW;22;42%;2%;5 Austin, TX;99;71;100;71;Record-tying heat;S;3;39%;3%;7 Baltimore, MD;84;56;68;50;Windy in the morning;NW;15;37%;2%;5 Baton Rouge, LA;96;73;95;72;Sunny and very warm;ENE;7;53%;5%;7 Billings, MT;69;56;76;52;Winds subsiding;W;18;33%;4%;4 Birmingham, AL;96;62;81;59;Sunny and cooler;E;7;45%;10%;6 Bismarck, ND;63;47;67;49;Showers around;W;9;65%;69%;3 Boise, ID;71;49;76;50;Sunny and pleasant;ENE;7;39%;0%;5 Boston, MA;70;48;60;47;Windy and cooler;NW;22;48%;2%;3 Bridgeport, CT;72;47;62;45;Windy and cooler;NW;20;43%;0%;5 Buffalo, NY;63;44;57;47;Mostly sunny, cool;NNW;9;51%;2%;5 Burlington, VT;68;44;53;44;Clearing and cooler;NW;15;60%;0%;4 Caribou, ME;59;44;52;41;Breezy in the a.m.;NNW;13;67%;5%;1 Casper, WY;73;46;73;41;Sunshine and windy;SW;19;35%;2%;5 Charleston, SC;93;64;77;60;Sunshine and cooler;NNE;8;35%;3%;7 Charleston, WV;73;46;67;50;Partly sunny, cool;E;5;59%;11%;5 Charlotte, NC;93;54;76;51;Partly sunny, cooler;E;7;35%;1%;6 Cheyenne, WY;54;48;73;48;Windy and warmer;WNW;20;24%;3%;5 Chicago, IL;61;54;63;56;Inc. clouds;S;8;52%;78%;5 Cleveland, OH;63;54;60;52;Breezy in the a.m.;SSW;11;63%;4%;5 Columbia, SC;96;59;79;51;Sunny and cooler;ENE;7;28%;2%;6 Columbus, OH;66;44;65;50;Partly sunny, cool;ENE;5;53%;40%;5 Concord, NH;65;45;54;40;Partly sunny, windy;NW;19;59%;3%;4 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX;98;72;97;77;Hot;SSE;8;41%;4%;7 Denver, CO;64;51;80;49;Mostly sunny, warmer;WNW;6;27%;3%;5 Des Moines, IA;68;53;58;53;A couple of showers;S;12;78%;84%;1 Detroit, MI;63;45;65;49;Sun, some clouds;SSW;6;52%;5%;5 Dodge City, KS;55;53;86;58;Partly sunny, warmer;NE;13;57%;6%;6 Duluth, MN;59;43;57;48;A couple of showers;SSE;9;72%;99%;1 El Paso, TX;93;67;92;65;Sunny and very warm;SE;7;32%;0%;7 Fairbanks, AK;47;33;50;34;Inc. clouds;N;4;70%;33%;2 Fargo, ND;62;49;60;49;A couple of showers;SSE;15;75%;90%;1 Grand Junction, CO;77;51;77;49;Mostly sunny;SSE;6;47%;0%;5 Grand Rapids, MI;61;40;62;50;Partly sunny;SSE;5;60%;41%;5 Hartford, CT;72;47;60;44;Partly sunny, windy;NW;20;46%;0%;5 Helena, MT;65;49;70;50;Warmer;SW;11;44%;0%;4 Honolulu, HI;89;74;88;76;An afternoon shower;ENE;7;64%;68%;9 Houston, TX;98;76;97;75;Hot;S;7;54%;9%;7 Indianapolis, IN;69;47;66;56;Partly sunny;SE;6;49%;27%;5 Jackson, MS;96;68;87;65;Not as hot;E;5;48%;6%;7 Jacksonville, FL;95;75;82;68;Breezy and cooler;NE;15;56%;7%;7 Juneau, AK;58;47;52;48;Rain, heavy at times;SSW;14;91%;100%;1 Kansas City, MO;67;57;68;58;Cloudy with showers;ENE;9;75%;97%;1 Knoxville, TN;83;52;75;54;Sunshine and nice;NE;7;46%;10%;6 Las Vegas, NV;94;69;95;72;Sunny;NNW;6;13%;0%;6 Lexington, KY;73;48;71;55;Mostly sunny, nice;E;7;49%;27%;5 Little Rock, AR;89;62;85;65;Sunny and nice;ESE;7;45%;10%;6 Long Beach, CA;87;64;87;67;Sunny;SW;6;47%;0%;6 Los Angeles, CA;85;65;92;69;Sunny and very warm;SSW;6;43%;0%;6 Louisville, KY;76;49;72;58;Mostly sunny, nice;ESE;6;45%;27%;5 Madison, WI;62;42;61;51;An afternoon shower;SSE;7;65%;81%;3 Memphis, TN;86;62;84;66;Sunshine, pleasant;E;7;40%;12%;6 Miami, FL;89;76;89;79;Humid with sunshine;NE;7;62%;26%;8 Milwaukee, WI;65;49;64;54;Inc. clouds;S;8;61%;78%;4 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN;65;50;57;51;Cooler with showers;SSE;14;76%;99%;1 Mobile, AL;96;75;92;69;Sunny and less humid;NNE;7;48%;9%;7 Montgomery, AL;98;65;81;60;Sunny and cooler;E;7;49%;9%;7 Mt. Washington, NH;48;22;28;23;Very windy and cold;NW;53;98%;27%;1 Nashville, TN;81;55;75;58;Sunny and beautiful;ENE;7;43%;6%;6 New Orleans, LA;95;78;92;77;Humid with sunshine;E;8;56%;5%;7 New York, NY;77;50;63;50;Windy and cooler;NNW;20;39%;0%;5 Newark, NJ;75;49;63;47;Windy and cooler;NW;20;38%;0%;5 Norfolk, VA;96;55;70;54;Cooler;NNW;14;40%;0%;5 Oklahoma City, OK;81;60;93;71;Warmer;S;13;49%;7%;6 Olympia, WA;71;52;69;50;Low clouds breaking;SW;5;70%;15%;2 Omaha, NE;63;52;67;54;Showers around;S;14;79%;84%;2 Orlando, FL;92;75;90;73;A t-storm around;NE;11;69%;54%;8 Philadelphia, PA;79;51;66;50;Windy and cooler;NNW;20;36%;2%;5 Phoenix, AZ;94;80;100;81;Warm with some sun;SW;6;46%;34%;6 Pittsburgh, PA;66;46;63;46;Mostly sunny, cool;N;8;50%;5%;5 Portland, ME;65;47;58;44;Partly sunny, windy;NW;19;53%;3%;3 Portland, OR;72;50;73;53;Partly sunny;N;6;64%;4%;4 Providence, RI;70;47;59;44;Partly sunny, windy;NW;20;52%;2%;4 Raleigh, NC;95;54;73;48;Sunny and cooler;ENE;8;39%;1%;6 Reno, NV;70;45;77;49;Sunny and delightful;WSW;7;36%;0%;5 Richmond, VA;87;50;70;48;Sunny and cooler;N;10;42%;1%;5 Roswell, NM;90;62;92;62;Sunny and very warm;S;9;36%;6%;7 Sacramento, CA;81;58;86;60;Plenty of sunshine;NW;5;49%;0%;5 Salt Lake City, UT;74;53;76;53;Sunny and pleasant;ESE;6;37%;0%;5 San Antonio, TX;97;71;99;71;Mostly sunny and hot;SSE;7;48%;3%;7 San Diego, CA;73;67;79;70;Sunshine, pleasant;WNW;8;65%;0%;7 San Francisco, CA;73;58;76;59;Partly sunny;SW;8;63%;0%;5 Savannah, GA;95;65;79;59;Sunny and cooler;E;9;46%;2%;7 Seattle-Tacoma, WA;70;56;68;55;Considerable clouds;SSW;7;65%;31%;1 Sioux Falls, SD;66;52;68;51;Showers around;WSW;16;73%;70%;1 Spokane, WA;72;47;70;47;Partly sunny;S;7;52%;2%;4 Springfield, IL;70;47;61;54;An afternoon shower;SSE;7;67%;60%;2 St. Louis, MO;72;51;65;56;A p.m. shower or two;SE;6;60%;85%;4 Tampa, FL;93;75;92;73;A stray p.m. t-storm;NE;6;72%;56%;8 Toledo, OH;63;40;64;47;Sun, some clouds;SSE;3;57%;25%;5 Tucson, AZ;95;73;95;72;A t-storm around;SE;7;48%;55%;7 Tulsa, OK;71;60;93;71;Sunny and warmer;S;9;45%;15%;6 Vero Beach, FL;90;69;90;76;A t-storm around;NE;10;76%;99%;8 Washington, DC;78;53;69;51;Cooler;NW;13;36%;1%;5 Wichita, KS;63;54;81;58;Warmer;ENE;8;58%;29%;3 Wilmington, DE;80;51;66;48;Windy and cooler;NNW;19;38%;1%;5 _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Read More Here

AP News In Brief At 9:04 P.m. EDT https://digitalalaskanews.com/ap-news-in-brief-at-904-p-m-edt-6/ Trump’s legal woes mount without protection of presidency WASHINGTON (AP) — Stark repudiation by federal judges he appointed. Far-reaching fraud allegations by New York’s attorney general. It’s been a week of widening legal troubles for Donald Trump, laying bare the challenges piling up as the former president operates without the protections afforded by the White House. The bravado that served him well in the political arena is less handy in a legal realm dominated by verifiable evidence, where judges this week have looked askance at his claims and where a fraud investigation that took root when Trump was still president burst into public view in an allegation-filled 222-page state lawsuit. In politics, “you can say what you want and if people like it, it works. In a legal realm, it’s different,” said Chris Edelson, a presidential powers scholar and American University government professor. “It’s an arena where there are tangible consequences for missteps, misdeeds, false statements in a way that doesn’t apply in politics.” That distinction between politics and law was evident in a single 30-hour period this week. Trump insisted on Fox News in an interview that aired Wednesday that the highly classified government records he had at Mar-a-Lago actually had been declassified, that a president has the power to declassify information “even by thinking about it.” Read More Here

The Starr Legacy And The Trump Probes https://digitalalaskanews.com/the-starr-legacy-and-the-trump-probes/ OPINION: The death of Ken Starr–famous for being the independent counsel whose investigation led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton–invited comparisons to the present-day Trump investigations.  This was true even in the final years of Starr’s life, as he wrote a memoir of the investigation, “Contempt,” just months before the special counsel Robert Mueller released his report.  The Clinton and Trump presidencies were consumed by multiple investigations that definitely have parallels, but the comparisons are limited. With regard to the two prosecutors, while neither harpooned the Moby Dick (president) they were seeking, Mr. Starr will be remembered for having a proven case, and a successful string of prosecutions. Mr. Mueller will not.  Mr. Starr would likely rather be remembered for his time as a federal judge and U.S. solicitor general rather than as the lawyer who got Bill Clinton impeached and also defended Donald J. Trump in an impeachment trial. His death, at 76, also comes amid a continued and unprecedented investigation into Mr. Trump. In July 2019, on the day a seemingly bewildered Mr. Mueller struggled to answer questions before Congress about a prosecution team stacked with partisan Democrats, Mr. Starr commented, “I love Bob Mueller as a human being, as a patriot – but I think he’s done a grave disservice to our country in the way he conducted this.” Mr. Starr in fact identified with Mr. Mueller. Both prosecutors were accused of conducting “witch hunts.” Clinton used surrogates such as James Carville to say this about Mr. Starr. Mr. Trump just said it himself about Mr. Mueller.  Another parallel is a political one. Democrats found Trump–a crass businessman who never held public office–as unfit for office, unworthy and indecent. The same might have been said regarding how Republicans felt about an immoral Mr. Clinton with a shady past of womanizing, Arkansas political scandals and draft dodging.  Mr. Clinton and Mr. Trump incited a degree of emotion on the other side of the aisle that transcended ideology.  Notably, one result of Mr. Starr’s investigation that wrapped up with the Clinton impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice regarding Monica Lewinsky, was putting Democrats on the record that the personal character of a president didn’t matter in the 1990s. Many of those same Democrats looked patently silly 20 years later complaining about Mr. Trump’s character flaws.  There are more differences between the Clinton and Trump investigations. Most importantly, there was a predicate to commence the Whitewater investigation–which led to Filegate, Monica-gate and other gates under Mr. Starr’s purview. It involved evidence and direct allegations from a former Arkansas banker and municipal judge, as well as an investigator’s criminal referral to the FBI.  Mr. Starr never nailed Bill or Hillary Clinton. But his investigation did score successful prosecutions of more than a dozen people involved in the deal–including Mr. Clinton’s successor as governor of Arkansas, Jim Guy Tucker; as well as Clinton political supporter and Justice Department appointee Webster Hubbell.  Eventually, the Starr team pivoted to a perjury investigation into the Lewinsky matter. Mr. Clinton was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate, but he surely faced consequences. A federal court held him in civil contempt for denying under oath his affair with Ms. Lewinsky in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. To avoid prosecution after leaving office, Mr. Clinton reached a deal with Starr’s successor Robert Ray, admitting to misleading statements and surrendering his law license.  The Mueller investigation was based on the Russia collusion narrative that lacked an evidentiary predicate for a special prosecutor. It was a probe launched on a hunch and a media desire.  The Mueller probe not only failed to nab Trump, but the convictions and guilty pleas it scored–such as Trump political allies Paul Manafort, George Papadopolous and Rick Gates were largely based on process crimes such as lying to investigators. Notably, a jury did find Roger Stone guilty of lying to Congress, but the Justice Department’s case against Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn largely fell apart. None of the convictions involved conspiracy with Russians.  Through this, Mr. Mueller didn’t seem a bad actor. Though, he should not have been named to the post. While Mr. Trump might have exaggerated Mr. Mueller’s interest in re-assuming his job as FBI director, documents show he was interviewed to replace the ousted James Comey, and was on a White House shortlist. Mr. Starr didn’t face such potential conflicts of interest when investigating Clinton.  Though rather disparaging of Mr. Trump, Mr. Mueller’s final report in March 2019 found no evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.  Unlike Mr. Starr, Mr. Mueller’s report didn’t offer anything impeachable for Congress to sink its teeth into. So, House Democrats had to settle for a much less exciting Ukraine phone call. When two impeachments didn’t work, in the post-presidency, elected New York state Democrat prosecutors sharpened their knives to go after Trump’s businesses, while federal prosecutors and a Georgia district attorney are targeting Trump over his actions disputing his 2020 election loss.  Most recently, a dispute between a former president and the National Archives and Records Administration escalated into an FBI raid on the president’s home.  Mr. Clinton might have been the most investigated president ever before Mr. Trump came along. Both presidents in their public statements clearly have felt put upon. But the relentless hunting of a president certainly far escalated for Trump. • Fred Lucas, the author of “Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left’s Assault on Clean Elections,” is the manager of the Investigative Reporting Project at The Daily Signal.  Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Read More Here

House Democrats Preemptively Pan GOP’s ‘Extreme’ Policy Agenda https://digitalalaskanews.com/house-democrats-preemptively-pan-gops-extreme-policy-agenda/ House Democrats delivered a preemptive rebuttal of their Republican peers’ policy rollout on Thursday, branding it as an “extreme” and “cynical” fusion of Donald Trump-inspired authoritarianism, infringements on key personal freedoms and traditional trickle-down economics. In a conference call with reporters, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), who chairs House Democrats’ campaign arm, cited Democratic special-election wins in vacant House seats in Alaska and New York as evidence that the Republican policy agenda is already unpopular. “Voters are rejecting the cynical reality that is the MAGA Republican movement, that is extreme and dangerous, that has taken away our reproductive freedom, that’s threatening our political freedom by ignoring the attack on our Capitol, and by making it harder to vote,” said Maloney, who spoke alongside Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison. The Democrats’ frontal assault was timed to precede House Republicans’ rollout of the “Commitment to America,” a policy framework for a potential GOP governing majority. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other top Republicans are unveiling the plan in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, an industrial town outside of Pittsburgh, on Friday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is due to respond to McCarthy with remarks in Pittsburgh itself. But House Republicans’ big policy debut is already off to a rocky start. A web page with the plan’s core elements was leaked ahead of schedule on Wednesday. McCarthy’s team quickly locked up the webpage ― and the materials it contained ― to the public before reopening it on Thursday. The triage was not enough to preclude the short-term political damage, however, as Democrats pounced on elements of the plan that they see as liabilities for the GOP. House Democrats seized, in particular, on a part of the webpage where Republicans committed to “protect the lives of unborn children and their mothers.” Coming on the heels of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s introduction of a national bill forbidding abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Democrats pointed to this section as a sign that House Republicans have a similar federal prohibition in store. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) speaks after winning his primary election on Aug. 23. Maloney is leading House Democrats’ effort to hold the U.S. House of Representatives. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press “Don’t let them fool you,” said Jacobs, the freshman cohort’s representative to House Democratic leadership, who recently completed a cross-country tour campaigning in support of swing-seat Democratic candidates. “Kevin McCarthy has promised that a Republican majority will pass a national abortion ban.” “We’ve all seen just how dangerous the Republican Party’s war on women has been,” she added. Jacobs went on to outline extreme cases of young women who suffered because of state-level abortion restrictions that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority overturned a constitutional right. Those examples include the ordeal of 10-year-old girl in Ohio whose mother had to drive her to another state to receive an abortion after she became pregnant from a rape. As of Thursday night, the materials publicly available on the “Commitment to America” webpage still contained a pledge to protect “unborn children” in a section on “defending Americans’ rights under the Constitution.” It also criticized the provision of the Inflation Reduction Act that would empower Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. “The Democrats’ drug takeover scheme could lead to 135 fewer lifesaving treatments and cures,” the site says in a section discussing health care policy. House Democrats have also interpreted a Republican promise to “save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare” as a veiled threat to cut the beloved programs’ benefits. “They want to undo all of the legislation that Democrats have passed to lower prescription drug costs, and they want to cut Social Security and Medicare, and their agenda will continue to undermine our democracy,” Harrison said. “They want to roll back our rights and make it harder to vote. They are relentlessly committed to Donald Trump’s big lie [that the 2020 election was stolen].” “We’ve all seen just how dangerous the Republican Party’s war on women has been.” – Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) Although House Republicans have proposed cutting Social Security and Medicare in past Congresses, save for restrictions on eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance, they did not seriously entertain benefit cuts for either social insurance program during their last period with unified control of the federal government, in 2017 and 2018. Democrats instead hope to turn a proposal that Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), chair of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, introduced in February into a liability for Scott’s colleagues in the House. Among other things, Scott’s plan, which has not been embraced by GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, would require all federal laws to be reauthorized every five years. That would turn Social Security and Medicare from mandatory budget items to perpetual targets of legislative wrangling. The Democrats on Thursday’s call also glossed over elements of the “Commitment to America” that likely have more popular traction than the policies they singled out. Though the “Commitment to America” is vague on the details, it contains proposals to expand “school choice,” prohibit transgender females from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, beef up border security and crack down on progressive prosecutors. House Democrats’ efforts to force Republicans to answer for their traditional economic agenda, the actions of a conservative Supreme Court they helped appoint and Trump’s election denial movement reflect what some Democratic pollsters are seeing as an effective one-two punch against the GOP. There is a particular body of research backing up Democrats’ decision to associate conservative lawmakers with the term “MAGA,” an acronym for the Trump slogan “Make America Great Again.” In a new poll conducted by Hart Research for the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank, pollster Geoff Garin found that 58% of independent voters would be less likely to vote for a candidate who is identified as a “MAGA Republican,” compared with 12% who would be more likely to do so. A slim majority (51%) of all voters believe that “MAGA Republicans” are “extreme.” Read More Here

Trump Faces Growing Legal Peril As He Seeks To Raise Profile Ahead Of 2024 https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-faces-growing-legal-peril-as-he-seeks-to-raise-profile-ahead-of-2024/ The legal dangers facing former president Donald Trump rose this week, after the New York attorney general filed a fraud lawsuit that could effectively shutter the Trump Organization and the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals allowed federal investigators to continue their probe into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. These and other setbacks for Trump come as at least a half dozen additional legal efforts proceed against the president and his allies — committing him to months of legal wrangling as he seeks to raise his political profile for a possible 2024 bid while also increasing the prospect of becoming the first former U.S. president to face indictment after leaving office. Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed dozens of his former advisers, and many others, as part of a sprawling investigation into efforts to obstruct the transfer of power after the 2020 election. Separately, a Georgia grand jury has been looking at allegations that he tried to obstruct that state’s electoral count by pressuring secretary of state Brad Raffensperger (R) to “find” enough votes to overturn the election. An aspiring corporate partner for his new social media company has received subpoenas from the Securities and Exchange Commission. District attorneys in Westchester, N.Y., and Manhattan have ongoing investigations of his companies. One of his sexual assault accusers filed court papers last month disclosing her intent to sue him under a recently-passed New York law that offers exceptions to the standard statute of limitations for sex crimes. Attorneys aligned with the Democratic Party have even begun to lay the groundwork for legal challenges if he declares another presidential campaign, under the premise that his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, as revealed by congressional investigators, bars him from serving in office under section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies those who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office. The breadth of current and potential legal challenges are large even by the standards of Trump, who has spent much of his adult life in litigation. He has returned to old tactics in response, seeking to delay proceedings against him, refusing to admit any misdeed and using the claims against him to rally his political supporters. “The people behind these savage witch hunts have no shame, no morals, no conscience, and absolutely no respect for the citizens of our country,” he told supporters at a rally in Ohio Saturday in a retooled stump speech. “Our cruel and vindictive political class is not just coming after me. They’re coming after you, through me.” In other ways, Trump has been forced to adjust, devoting a growing share of political contributions to pay attorney fees. The summer’s planning for a fall presidential campaign announcement have been put on pause, according to two people familiar with the plans, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Two Trump advisers said the former president was surprised and angry at the lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) on Wednesday, and that her “attacks,” in the words of one of them, anger him more than other investigations. Trump has accused James, who is Black, of being “racist,” without explaining how. Trump now has more than a dozen lawyers working on various probes against him, with financial support for their efforts coming from both the Republican National Committee and his political committee, Save America. There are separate sets of lawyers for each of the investigations. His political team has tried to cheer him up at times with positive tweets and other conservative news articles that he shares through his PAC’s website. “He doesn’t seem to have a breaking point,” one of these people said. “He just rolls on and acts like all these things, at least to everyone around him, aren’t slowing him down.” Among Trump’s advisers, the Jan. 6 investigation from the Justice Department and the Mar-a-Lago document probe are widely viewed as the most wide-ranging and perilous to Trump and his inner circle. But some advisers fear the biggest political damage could be done by James, as his wealth has long been part of his mystique to Republican voters, they say. Trump himself has paid close attention to that probe, two advisers said. And the Georgia investigation is viewed as something of a wild card with an aggressive prosecutor. One recent visitor to Trump’s club said he did not focus on the classified documents seized from him — other than to say it was a “witch hunt, overblown and they’re not a problem.” He continues to argue that he won the 2020 election, which he lost to President Biden. For the moment, there is little sign that the legal attacks have shifted Trump’s political standing and some advisers argue that they will only strengthen him among his core supporters. His favorability rating among the American people, as measured by averages of public polling, remains effectively unchanged over the last 18 months, at about 43 percent. In late August, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) predicted there would be “riots in the streets” if Trump is prosecuted. “If the media, if the Democrats, if the New York attorney general and the Department of Justice just left this guy alone, you would see his numbers among Republicans fade, I guarantee it,” said one former Trump White House adviser who remains bullish on Trump’s prospects in a Republican nomination fight. “He is constantly getting attacked by these people, who our voters hate. That is what cleaves the base to him.” Democrats nonetheless believe the controversies, coming less than seven weeks before the midterm elections, have helped them to make the argument to moderate Republicans and independent voters that the current crop of Republican candidates, who have not distanced themselves from Trump, are more extreme than past GOP opponents. “The impact that the Mar-a-Lago issue has had is it’s raised the stakes on the unquestioning fealty of Republicans to Trump,” Democratic pollster Geoff Garin said. “So I don’t think they are necessarily litigating the details of Trump’s possession of super-classified documents, but voters are litigating the blind loyalty that Republicans have to President Trump and that is part of what people think about when they think about MAGA Republicans.” Trump has lived his life under legal jeopardy, a regular instigator and defendant in civil litigation, dating back to a 1973 Justice Department civil rights claim for housing discrimination against his family real estate business that ended in a consent decree. Years later, he found himself back in court over his alleged hiring and underpayment of undocumented Polish workers for his first major Manhattan building project, Trump Tower, in 1980. Under oath in a 2012 deposition about the alleged fraud at a real estate seminar called Trump University — a case he later settled for $25 million — Trump said he had testified in over 100 court hearings and given over 100 depositions. “Normal course of business, unfortunately,” he explained. Trump’s time in the White House earned him a brief reprieve, as judges debated whether he could be held accountable in civil matters while in office. Justice Department precedent, meanwhile, protected him from criminal charges while in office. Congress, however, kept up the pressure, with the House impeaching him twice. D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine sued Trump two days after he left office for abusing nonprofit funds to enrich himself by overpaying his own hotel during his 2016 inauguration. He settled that case for $750,000 more than a year later, without admitting guilt. Months after leaving office, he sat for hours of deposition in a civil case about claims that Trump’s personal security assaulted protesters in 2015 outside his Manhattan office. The Justice Department’s sprawling investigation of the role of Trump and his aides in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results remains in the early stages, with a new round of broad subpoenas issued earlier this month. Prosecutors are seeking vast amounts of information and communications with more than 100 people about the origin, fundraising and motives of the effort to block Biden from being certified as president — including the slates of fake electors and the riot at the U.S. Capitol. “It looks like a multipronged fraud and obstruction investigation,” former federal prosecutor Jim Walden told The Post last week. “It strikes me that they’re going after a very, very large group of people, and my guess is they are going to make all of the charging decisions toward the end.” The department’s criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago won an important victory on Wednesday night, when a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit overturned parts of a lower court judge’s ruling and said the FBI may once again have access to the classified documents they seized from Trump’s Florida residence and private club on Aug. 8. In that case, Trump and his aides could be in considerable legal peril, according to experts. That’s because Trump’s lawyers told the Justice Department they had returned all documents with classified markings in response to a subpoena — only to have FBI agents recover about 100 more classified documents during their court-authorized search. The Justice Department, from Attorney General Merrick Garland on down, has repeatedly said that no one is above the law. But legal experts say prosecutors may still feel that they need a serious, can’t-miss case to file criminal charges against a former commander in chief. If authorities were to seek an indictment against Trump —...

Sidney Powell Skips Grand Jury Interview In Georgia Investigation Of Trump's Coup Attempt: Report https://digitalalaskanews.com/sidney-powell-skips-grand-jury-interview-in-georgia-investigation-of-trumps-coup-attempt-report/ Read More Here

Special Master Calls Out Lawyers On Trump's Claim That FBI 'Planted' Mar-A-Lago Records https://digitalalaskanews.com/special-master-calls-out-lawyers-on-trumps-claim-that-fbi-planted-mar-a-lago-records/ Business Wire Light & Wonder to Debut Next Phase of Transformation Journey at G2E on October 10-13 LAS VEGAS, September 23, 2022–With a new name, brand identity and vision, a leading cross-platform global game company Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNW) (“Light & Wonder,” “L&W” or the “Company”) will be unveiling the next phase of its transformation journey at this year’s Global Gaming Expo (“G2E”) (Oct. 10-13) at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. On display will be groundbreaking innovations and unparalleled gaming experiences all led by L&W employees known as “Creators” and studio tal GlobeNewswire Scott and Danya Reynolds Become Franchise Owners at Journey Payroll & HR (Chico, CA) Journey Payroll & HR’s popularity for attracting successful sales professionals in the payroll industry continues to grow. Scott and Danya Reynolds, Journey Payroll & HR Scott and Danya Reynolds, Journey Payroll & HR CHICO, Calif., Sept. 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Journey is proud to announce its newest location in California. More importantly, they are excited to announce Journey’s newest franchise owners, Scott and Danya Reynolds! Scott and Danya join the Journey Family from Chico, Californi Associated Press Newcomers Young, Homa help US take Presidents Cup lead Neither did Max Homa. Young buried a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th hole as he and Collin Morikawa closed out Tom Kim and K.H. Lee 2-and-1. Homa and Tony Finau won a tight match by making par on the 18th hole after Mito Pereira hooked his drive into the trees. CNW Group ECONOMIC INVESTMENT TRUST LIMITED ANNOUNCES OSC RELIEF IN SUBSTANTIAL ISSUER BID Economic Investment Trust Limited (TSX: EVT) (the “Company”) announced today that the Ontario Securities Commission (the “OSC”) has granted an exemptive relief order (the “Relief Order”) exempting the Company from complying with the requirement that the Company first takes up all the common shares (the “Shares”) deposited under its currently underway substantial issuer bid (the “Offer”) before extending the expiration date of the Offer, if the Company ultimately determines to extend the Offer in Read More Here

South Korean President Overheard Insulting U.S. Congress As ‘idiots’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/south-korean-president-overheard-insulting-u-s-congress-as-idiots/ South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was caught on a hot mic Wednesday insulting U.S. Congress members as “idiots” who could be a potential embarrassment for President Biden if they did not approve funding for global public health. Yoon had just met with Biden at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment Conference in New York City. There, Biden had pledged $6 billion from the United States to the public health campaign, which fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria worldwide. The funding would require congressional approval. “It would be so humiliating for Biden if these idiots don’t pass it in Congress,” Yoon was overheard telling a group of aides as they left the event. Video of the exchange quickly went viral in South Korea, where Yoon took office in May. Representatives for Yoon did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. A spokesman for the National Security Counsel said in a statement Thursday it would “not comment on the hot mic comments.” “Our relationship with the Republic of Korea is strong and growing,” the statement said. “President Biden counts President Yoon as a key ally. The two leaders had a good, productive meeting on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly yesterday.” Park Hong-keun, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party in South Korea, criticized Yoon’s “foul language tarnishing the U.S. Congress” as “a major diplomatic mishap,” Agence France-Presse reported. Yoon and Biden were both in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, where they held discussions on the sidelines Wednesday. “The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the U.S.-ROK alliance and ensure close cooperation to address the threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” the White House said in a readout of their meeting. “The Presidents also discussed our ongoing cooperation on a broad range of priority issues including supply chain resilience, critical technologies, economic and energy security, global health, and climate change.” Min Joo Kim contributed to this report. Watch more: Read More Here

Judge Cannon’s Latest Mar-A-Lago Ruling Just Got Benchslapped https://digitalalaskanews.com/judge-cannons-latest-mar-a-lago-ruling-just-got-benchslapped/ In its ruling yesterday overturning Judge Aileen Cannon’s injunction—with regard to the approximately 100 documents bearing classified markings seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence—the 11th Circuit did not merely overrule Judge Cannon, it went out of its way to detail the many ways in which Judge Cannon had fundamentally misstated the law. In my more than 25 years of practice as a criminal and civil litigator (including three years as an assistant U.S. Attorney), I do not believe that I have read an appellate decision that was more dismissive of the lower court. The 11th Circuit sent a clear message to Judge Cannon and Trump: stop doing this. Let’s take them one by one. 1. The 11th Circuit (in Footnote 4 of its ruling) explicitly poured cold water on the idea that the FBI raid was designed solely to harass Trump: The Supreme Court has recognized an exception to this general rule—where the “the threats to enforce statutes against appellants are not made with any expectation of valid convictions, but rather are part of a plan to employ arrests, seizures and threats of prosecution under color of the statutes to harass appellants.” Plaintiff has not made such an allegation here, nor do we see any evidence in the record to support one. 2. The 11th Circuit absolutely eviscerated Judge Cannon’s finding that the prospect of facing criminal prosecution was a harm from which Trump deserved protection: Second, we find unpersuasive Plaintiff’s insistence that he would be harmed by a criminal investigation. “Bearing the discomfiture and cost of a prosecution for a crime even by an innocent person is one of the painful obligations of citizenship.” Cobbledick v. United States, 309 U.S. 323, 325 (1940). “ In my more than 25 years of practice…I do not believe that I have read an appellate decision that was more dismissive of the lower court. ” 3. The 11th Circuit literally held that none of the relevant factors favored granting Trump his injunction: In sum, none of the Richey factors favor exercising equitable jurisdiction over this case. Consequently, the United States is substantially likely to succeed in showing that the district court abused its discretion in exercising jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s motion as it concerns the classified documents. 4. The 11th Circuit also flamed Judge Cannon’s attempt to split the baby by holding that the intelligence community could continue the national security review of the 100 documents bearing classified markings, but the FBI could not do any criminal work with those documents: This distinction is untenable. Through [Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division of the FBI] Kohler’s declaration, the United States has sufficiently explained how and why its national-security review is inextricably intertwined with its criminal investigation. When matters of national security are involved, we “must accord substantial weight to an agency’s affidavit.” 5. The 11th Circuit also affirmed the Justice Department’s argument that allowing the Special Master—or Trump’s defense team—to review the 100 documents bearing classified markings would be an “irreparable harm” to the United States. The United States also argues that allowing the special master and Plaintiff’s counsel to examine the classified records would separately impose irreparable harm. We agree. The Supreme Court has recognized that for reasons “too obvious to call for enlarged discussion, the protection of classified information must be committed to the broad discretion of the agency responsible, and this must include broad discretion to determine who may have access to it.” As a result, courts should order review of such materials in only the most extraordinary circumstances. The record does not allow for the conclusion that this is such a circumstance. 6. Finally, the 11th Circuit basically held that the DOJ had already satisfied the most important element of an eventual prosecution under the Espionage Act (18 USC Section 793(d). Here’s what Section 793(d) states: “Whoever, lawfully having possession of [a document] relating to the national defense which information the possessor had reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation…willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it” violates the Espionage Act and “shall be…imprisoned not more than ten years” for each document willfully retained. Yesterday, the 11th Circuit held: The documents at issue contain information “the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.” The 11th Circuit almost certainly selected that parallel language to provide Judge Cannon and Trump a message: the former president does not have any legal defense to an indictment for violation of the Espionage Act. If he is indicted, the indictment will not be dismissed. If he is convicted, the conviction will not be overturned. In short, so long as the documents were properly marked as classified in the first place, Trump is screwed. In summation, my take on the 11th Circuit’s response to Judge Cannon’s order is best captured by Vincent LaGuardia Gambini in his opening statement in the 1992 film My Cousin Vinny: “Everything that guy just said is bullshit.” Read More Here

Charts Suggest Inflation Could Soon Come Down ‘substantially,’ Jim Cramer Says https://digitalalaskanews.com/charts-suggest-inflation-could-soon-come-down-substantially-jim-cramer-says/ CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said that inflation could soon decline, leaning on charts analysis from legendary technician Larry Williams. “The charts, as interpreted by Larry Williams, suggest that inflation could soon cool down substantially — soon — if history’s any guide,” he said.  The “Mad Money” host’s comments come after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by another 75 basis points and reiterated its hawkish stance against inflation. To explain Williams’ analysis, the “Mad Money” host first examined a chart of the current Federal Reserve sticky price consumer price index (in black) compared to the burst of inflation in the late seventies and early eighties (in red). Williams notes that the current trajectory of sticky price inflation has closely hugged this historical pattern, Cramer said.  He added that when situated in the pattern of inflation in the late seventies and early eighties, current inflation is roughly in the 1980 point of the trajectory — which is around when inflation peaked then. “Today, unlike back then, the Fed knows exactly how to beat inflation,— and Jay Powell has shown that he’s willing to bring the pain. That means it should peak sooner,” Cramer said. For more analysis, watch Cramer’s full explanation below. Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing Click here to download Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest smarter. Read More Here

Martin James Hackett Obituary (2022) https://digitalalaskanews.com/martin-james-hackett-obituary-2022/ Obituary of Martin James Hackett Martin James Hackett passed away September 18, 2022. He was 88. He was born July 6, 1934, in Butte, Montana. With his wife Colleen, he moved to Eugene in 1958. Here they raised their four children. Marty was a dentist for over 35 years before becoming the dental director at Pacific Source Insurance until his retirement in 2005. It was in Spokane, Washington, while a student at Gonzaga University, that Marty met Colleen at an ROTC dance. Later, they would move to Omaha, Nebraska, where Marty attended Creighton University School of Dentistry. During college and dental school, he worked in the Butte copper mines and at Omaha’s Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack to help pay for his education. After graduating, he drove up the west coast, looking for where he might set up his dental practice and raise a family. Wanting to live in a college town with a robust athletic program, Marty was immediately drawn to Eugene and University of Oregon sports. The newlyweds lived first in a tiny downtown apartment and then an equally small house on Fairmont Boulevard before a buying a tidy new tract home in a development on Pearl Street, near Edgewood Elementary School. After the challenges of growing up poor, the son of a copper miner in a hardscrabble town, Marty could hardly believe his good fortune. Surrounded by other young and growing families, he and Colleen would cherish those “Pearl Street” years as among the happiest times in their lives. As their family grew, Marty and Colleen built a house also in the Edgewood neighborhood; and when their kids went off to college, they moved to the Sheldon area, making many wonderful and helpful friends in both parts of town. In addition to maintaining a thriving dental practice, Marty for several years coached his daughters’ and son’s softball and baseball teams. There was never an evening after supper when he begged off playing catch or shooting baskets with his kids. Marty was also an avid golfer and a longtime member of the Eugene Country Club, serving as club president in 1989. It was a point of pride with Marty to always walk the course and to always carry his clubs. Indifferent to prestige and social pretension, Marty found his warmest friendships with members and club staff who felt similarly. Colleen and Mary were married for 64 years. Together, they enjoyed landscaping and yard work, skiing with their kids when they were young, time on the Oregon coast and, most of all, the eight dogs they had over the course of their marriage. Their Catholic faith sustained and guided them through the inevitable challenges of an enduring marriage. Marty is preceded in death by his parents Gladys and John, his devoted uncle Snudge, his brothers Jack and Frank and his sister Mimi. His wife Colleen, his daughters Bridget, Amy and Mollie, his son Thomas, and his grandsons Andrew and Quinn survive him. His family would like to give special thanks to the caregivers in the memory care unit of The Springs at Greer Gardens. Beset with dementia in his final years, Marty could at times be a handful. But his caregivers quickly came to love and admire his strong independent spirit. A memorial service will be 11 am Tuesday, September 27, at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 1201 Satre Street, 97401, followed by a 12:30 reception at the Eugene Country Club. Please visit Musgroves.com to sign an online guest book. In lieu of flowers, friends are asked to make a donation to The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Published by Legacy on Sep. 22, 2022. Legacy.com reports daily on death announcements in local communities nationwide. Visit our funeral home directory for more local information, or see our FAQ page for help with finding obituaries and sending sympathy. Read More Here