Digital Arizona News

Michael Cohen Says Trump's Downfall Will Resemble Al Capone's: 'You're Not Going To Get Them On Murder, Extortion, Or Racketeering. You're Gonna Get Them On Tax Evasion.' https://digitalarizonanews.com/michael-cohen-says-trumps-downfall-will-resemble-al-capones-youre-not-going-to-get-them-on-murder-extortion-or-racketeering-youre-gonna-get-them-on-tax-evasion/ Michael Cohen said he thinks Trump will get indicted on tax charges. Speaking to MSNBC, Cohen predicted Trump would face the “Al Capone effect.”Capone, a notorious gangster, was indicted in 1931 on tax evasion charges. Michael Cohen predicted on Tuesday that former President Donald Trump will, like the mobster Al Capone, get taken down by tax fraud charges. Speaking on MSNBC’s “Deadline White House,” Cohen who was Trump’s lawyer and personal fixer weighed in on a sprawling probe into the Trump Organization sparked by New York Attorney General Leticia James. “Like the Al Capone effect, you’re not going to get him on murder, extortion, racketeering. You get them on tax evasion,” Cohen said. “And much of this, especially the easier, the low-hanging fruit, so to speak that was available a long time ago,” he added, referring to potential evidence of fraudulent acts committed by the former president’s business. During his MSNBC appearance, Cohen commented on Trump’s legal troubles and predicted that the former president would use a “playbook” which Cohen helped create in response to them. “I believe that there’ll be a criminal prosecution by the IRS. I believe there’ll be potentially a criminal prosecution by SDNY, especially now that it’s not Trump controlled,” Cohen said, referring to the courts in the Southern District of New York. “And I also believe that there will be other criminal investigations that will be forthcoming, but remember what Donald does, and again, this is all part of the playbook that I am responsible for helping to create,” he added. “This playbook is delay, delay delay.” Cohen added that he thought the Trump Organization probe looked like an “open and shut case” of fraud, classifying Trump’s denials as the “nonsensical rantings of a lunatic mind.” A representative at Trump’s post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider. Last week, Cohen was given a shoutout by James when she announced her office’s $250 million civil lawsuit against Trump, his business, and his adult children. James has accused the former president of falsely inflating his net worth by billions of dollars. She also seeks to bar the Trumps from conducting business in New York. Since his release, Cohen has become an outspoken Trump critic. He has weighed in on the former president’s many legal troubles, including the FBI’s raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. FOLLOW BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA Our newsletter gives you access to a curated selection of the most important stories daily. Thanks for signing up for our daily insight on the African economy. We bring you daily editor picks from the best Business Insider news content so you can stay updated on the latest topics and conversations on the African market, leaders, careers and lifestyle. Also join us across all of our other channels – we love to be connected! Unblock notifications in browser settings. Read More Here

Chandler Takes A Step Toward Backyard Chickens OK https://digitalarizonanews.com/chandler-takes-a-step-toward-backyard-chickens-ok/ By Ken Sain Managing Editor Rene Lopez’s time on the Chandler City Council is winding down and he’s hoping to cross off at least one more item on his “to do” list before his term ends in January. He wants Chandler residents to have the same right as nearly every other city in the Valley to raise chicken hens in their backyards. It appears a divided Council will do that by the end of this year. “I’d like to get this done, because it’s been postponed and kicked down the road for the last several years,” Lopez said. “It’s about liberty, allowing people to do what they want in their own backyards.” Council met in a work session on Sept. 19 to hash out possible changes to city ordinances that would allow residents to own backyard chickens. It appears at least four members of council are strongly in favor, one against, and two others want more information. Members supporting for the change were Lopez, Mark Stewart, Vice Mayor Terry Roe and Mayor Kevin Hartke. Matt Orlando appeared to be opposed while OD Harris and Christine Ellis indicated they wanted more information. According to the timeline provided by city staff, the change in ordinances will first go to Planning and Zoning in October and then be presented to the Council in November. A final vote will happen at the council’s December meeting. Here’s the direction that council members gave city staff: • Chickens will be allowed in backyards. This will impact traditional homes that are not part of a homeowners association, since most of them ban chickens. •  No roosters will be allowed. • Homeowners will not need a permit. • A limit of five was suggested, but Councilman Mark Stewart asked for a sliding scale based on a lot size, with bigger yards allowed more chickens. • Homeowners would not need their neighbors’ approval to host chickens. • Staff will look at the setbacks from the property line. Staff had recommended 5 feet, which is what most other cities require. Orlando pushed for more, saying a homeowner who wants chickens should have to deal with the odor and noise more than neighbors. Council asked staff to look at increasing the setback limit to 10 or 15 feet. Council members remain adamant they do not want Chandler Police Department to handle chicken complaints. A large portion of the 90-minute meeting was dedicated to that issue. Members were told that code enforcement could handle those complaints – and that other cities that allow chickens get very few complaints about chickens. Large agricultural lots are allowed to have chickens in Chandler. Guy Jaques, the city’s neighborhood services supervisor, said the city received only 37 complaints about chickens in 2021 and only 20 of those were founded. He said the city had 100% compliance after telling residents what they needed to do to not be in violation of city codes. Jaques also said complaints were up across the board last year, probably because of the pandemic. They don’t usually receive that many. Other cities had similarly low numbers of chicken complaints, even though every Valley city other than Avondale and Chandler allows backyard chickens in residential neighborhoods. Phoenix had 304 founded complaints; Mesa had 102; Gilbert 12; Tempe 16. Jaques said the code department could handle an increase in chicken complaints. “We’ve talked about it, we’ve thought about it, and we absolutely have the capacity to enforce chicken complaints,” Jaques said. “We don’t feel we’re going to be overburdened with chicken complaints.” Jaques said code enforcement plans to start a pilot program to have an inspector available on Saturdays to handle some weekend complaints. That was one of the criticism opponents pointed to, that inspectors don’t work weekends. Leah Powell, the city’s neighborhood resources director, said the pilot program would likely last months and they will see if there is enough work to justify the scheduling change. More than 71% of city residents live in a HOA, so the change in chicken laws will likely not impact them. Most of the neighborhoods that do not live in a HOA are in the northern half of the city. City staff said only 23 residents filled out feedback on backyard chickens on the city website, with 22 in favor. To provide feedback, search for urban chickens ordinance at chandleraz.gov. Lopez urged his colleagues to move forward with the process. “I can appreciate reservations,” Lopez said. “But again, we’re not making a decision here to pass chickens. The only decision is to give staff direction.” Read More Here

Obituary: Frederick James Work (Fred) https://digitalarizonanews.com/obituary-frederick-james-work-fred/ Frederick James Work (Fred). (Courtesy) Originally Published: September 27, 2022 10:31 p.m. Frederick James Work (Fred), 90, of Scottsdale, Arizona passed away peacefully on Sept. 20, 2022. He was predeceased by his loving wife, Roberta. Survived by daughter and son-in-law Sandra and Charles Brunk, son Rick Work, daughter Jeanette Rogers, stepdaughter and son-in-law Deborah and Hank Luedy, siblings Avery Nunn, Rod Work and Joe Work, 12 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. A native Arizonan, Fred was in the Navy, spent time on the rodeo circuit, and worked as a carpenter and an educator for most of his career. His teaching and coaching careers were spent at St. Mary’s and McClintock High Schools. He then moved on to run the Carpenters Apprenticeship program for the State of Arizona. Fred enjoyed a second home in Prescott where he loved golfing and being social. He will be remembered as a beloved father, adored grandfather and forever an ASU fan. Funeral will be held at The Franciscan Renewal Center at The Casa (5802 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253) on Oct. 5, 2022 starting at 10 a.m. Memorial donations can be made to Hospice of the Valley hov.org. Information provided by the funeral home. Read More Here

Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Cognitive Decline In Trial, Firms Say https://digitalarizonanews.com/experimental-alzheimers-drug-slows-cognitive-decline-in-trial-firms-say/ An experimental Alzheimer’s drug slowed cognitive and functional decline by 27 percent in a closely watched clinical trial, the sponsors of the medication said Tuesday, increasing the therapy’s chance for approval as soon as early next year. Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its American partner, Biogen, in a news release said the slowing of deterioration, compared with a placebo, was “highly statistically significant.” They said the drug, called lecanemab, had met the primary and secondary goals of the 18-month late-stage study. The trial results have not undergone peer review. The upbeat news served as a stark contrast to the calamitous rollout last year of another drug, marketed as Aduhelm, sponsored by the two companies. Like Aduhelm, lecanemab reduces abnormal clumps of beta amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. But unlike Aduhelm, for which the data was confused and conflicting, the trial results for lecanemab told a straightforward and encouraging story, some experts said. Aduhelm was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but Medicare refused to cover it broadly, and the drug collapsed in the marketplace. “A 27 percent slowing of deterioration seems like a modest effect, but for patients with Alzheimer’s, this could be very meaningful,” said Gil Rabinovici, a neurologist at the University of California at San Francisco. The trials for Aduhelm were shut down before they were completed, and a post-hoc analysis raised a raft of questions. But the lecanemab trial, called Clarity AD, was “completed according to protocol” and shows that “lowering amyloid at this stage can translate into a slowing of clinical decline,” Rabinovici said. “That is a huge breakthrough.” Some other experts cautioned that the benefits of the drug were likely to be small and said they wanted to see the full data before reaching conclusions. The companies have already applied to the FDA for accelerated approval for lecanemab, based on earlier-stage data. The FDA’s deadline for a decision is Jan. 6. The firms said the FDA has agreed that the results of the Clarity AD trial can serve as the confirmatory study to verify the clinical benefit of lecanemab. That process will continue to go forward. But Eisai officials said Tuesday they will also seek full FDA approval for the drug after they get the expedited approval. Full approval would make it much more likely that the treatment would be covered by Medicare and other insurers. The trial included almost 1,800 patients with mild cognitive impairment caused by Alzheimer’s or early-stage Alzheimer’s. Eisai, which is taking the lead in developing the drug and working with regulatory authorities, said it will present the full results of the study in late November at an Alzheimer’s conference in San Francisco. The results also will be published in a medical journal, the company said. Officials said the clinical trial participants were tested in several areas to gauge the pace of their decline, including memory, orientation and problem solving. Starting at six months, the companies said, the group that received the treatment did better than the placebo group. The treatment was administered intravenously twice a month. The lecanemab group experienced side effects including brain swelling and bleeding — complications of anti-amyloid therapies — but the rates were within expectations, the companies said in the release. Eisai officials also said the results showed that the “amyloid hypothesis” — which holds that removing amyloid plaques can slow the progression of the neurodegenerative disease — is valid. Critics have expressed skepticism about that approach because of multiple failures involving drugs targeting amyloid. The trial results “prove the amyloid hypothesis, in which the abnormal accumulation of [beta amyloid] in the brain is one of the main causes of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Haruo Naito, Eisai’s chief executive officer. Read More Here

‘Full Chaos’: Over 100,000 Russians Flood Neighboring Countries To Flee Army Call-Up https://digitalarizonanews.com/full-chaos-over-100000-russians-flood-neighboring-countries-to-flee-army-call-up/ TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia and Kazakhstan said Tuesday that tens of thousands of Russians had flooded into their countries from neighboring Russia since the announcement of a partial military mobilization to fight in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week announced the call-up of thousands of reservists, sparking protests across the country and a rush among Russian men for the borders. Fyodor said he had fled to Russia’s border with Kazakhstan spooked by reports that even the infirm and elderly were being called up to fight. Like other people AFP spoke to, he asked not to provide his full name. “There is full chaos [in Russia],” the 24-year-old said. “We don’t understand what will happen.” Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms He decided to leave for Kazakhstan on Saturday morning “as a precautionary measure” to “take a head start, just in case.” Russians arrive in Kazakhstan outside the railway station in the city of Uralsk (Oral) on September 27, 2022. (AFP) On Tuesday Kazakhstan said around 98,000 Russians had entered the country since mobilization was announced. It took Fyodor about 48 hours, including a five-kilometer (three-mile) walk to the border and a six-hour queue, before he reached the northern Kazakh city of Oral. “It was raining, it was cold, but six hours of wait… well, that was still reasonable given the circumstances,” he said. Vladislav, a 25-year-old bartender, found shelter in the Kazakh capital of Astana on Monday evening. In Russia, he said, “I could go to work or to do the groceries and never come back… I don’t want to die.” “A week ago, I could not imagine I’d be in Kazakhstan,” he told AFP, adding that he “wanted to thank the Kazakh people for welcoming him so nicely.” Russians arrive in Kazakhstan at the Syrym border crossing point on September 27, 2022. (AFP) Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Tuesday his country would ensure the safety of Russians fleeing “a hopeless situation.” “This is a political and humanitarian issue,” Tokayev said. “The territorial integrity of states must be unshakeable,” Tokayev added. Kazakhstan has condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and called for respect of territorial integrity, as Russia held annexation referendums in four Ukrainian regions. The votes were widely derided as a sham. Russians also flocked to the Black Sea nation of Georgia. People carrying luggage walk past vehicles with Russian license plates on the Russian side of the border toward the Nizhniy Lars customs checkpoint between Georgia and Russia near the town of Vladikavkaz, on September 25, 2022. (AFP) On Tuesday, Georgia said the number of Russians arriving each day has nearly doubled since the draft was announced. “Four to five days ago 5,000-6,000 [Russians] were arriving in Georgia daily. The number has grown to some 10,000 per day,” Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri told journalists. Georgia and its neighbor Armenia, which do not require visas for Russians, have been major destinations for Russians fleeing since the war began on February 24. Over the first four months of the war, nearly 50,000 Russians fled to Georgia and another 40,000 to Armenia. On Tuesday, the local interior ministry in a Russian region that borders Georgia said there was a tailback of around 5,500 cars waiting to cross the Georgian border, calling the situation “extremely tense.” Ukrainian soldiers fire a mortar launcher at a position along the front line in the Donetsk region on September 26, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (ANATOLII STEPANOV / AFP) The ministry added that a mobile draft office will be set up at the border in the “near future.” The White House said Tuesday that Russians fleeing the war could seek asylum in the US. “We believe that regardless of their nationality, they may apply for asylum in the United States,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Arrivals will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, she said. On Monday, a young man shot a Russian military officer at an enlistment office to protest the army call-up. There have also been scattered arson attacks against enlistment offices and protests in Russian cities that have resulted in at least 2,000 arrests. Russia is seeking to bolster its military as its Ukraine offensive has bogged down and sapped its forces, and Kyiv has reclaimed swathes of territory in a blistering counter-offensive. Times of Israel staff contributed to this report. Read More Here

Elfigo Ulibarri Pena https://digitalarizonanews.com/elfigo-ulibarri-pena/ Elfigo Ulibarri Pena, age 93, entered into eternal glory to join his beloved wife Dolores and son Paul Patrick on September 14, 2022 surrounded by his family. Elfigo was born to Manuel Ortiz Pena and Benina Moreno Ulibarri in McNary, Arizona. Elfigo knew his life partner since they were infants. The story goes that one snowy night in Concho, Elfigo’s family was returning from Holbrook. The incline on the hill to return to St. Johns was too slick for the Model A truck to climb. Elfigo’s parents knew Antonio and Rufina Perez (Dolores’ parents) and knocked on their door for help. The Pena family was welcome into the Perez home for the night. As both Dolores and Elfigo were infants, they were placed in the same crib for the night. Elfigo liked to say that baby Dolores reached over and held his hand throughout the snow night. Elfigo attended school in St. Johns. At that time, the schools were segregated and Elfigo shared many memories of his time at the school. When he entered grade school, Elfigo did not speak English. He said he had to learn English quickly because they were not allowed to speak Spanish during school hours and if they did, they were punished. He also remembered that there was a pretty girl in his class named Dolores. One day, the 4th grade class was lined up to go back into school after recess. One of the other boys poked Dolores on the behind with the bat. Dolores would have none of that and turned around and slapped Elfigo thinking it was he who did the dastardly deed. The blow delivered both hearts and stars to Elfigo. Thus, the romance was forged. After high school graduation, Elfigo enlisted in the Navy with his best friend, Joe Salazar. Elfigo proudly served on both the USS Yorktown and USS Antietam during the Korean War. Elfigo remembered a shore leave in Japan when he was able to connect with his cousin Cristobal Ulibarri, childhood friend Joe Salazar and another friend. The 4 servicemen had a night to remember. They reconnected as friends, cousins and servicemen. Elfigo married Dolores Perez while he was active military and after he was honorably discharged, he attended Arizona Teacher College (NAU) on the GI bill. He completed school in 3 years and started working for Winslow Unified School District after graduation. To many, of his ex-students he was and always will be Mr. Pena. He was the teacher who whistled in the halls, taught them how to square dance, sang to the staff and students, had a story to tell, and taught with dedication. Mr. Pena enjoyed his retirement to the fullest. He also enjoyed camping, fishing, bowling, and spending time at the Rancho in St. Johns. Elfigo received joy from his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He always enjoyed video chats and pictures. If Elfigo was not out taking his daily walks, washing his car, or working in the yard he would read his Kindle while sitting across the living room from his wife who was reading her Kindle. Elfigo’s faith in God and the sacraments of the Holy Catholic Church kept him strong and sustained him during the 15 months without his beloved wife. He missed Dolores beyond words and he died a little each day he was without her. However, she taught him to trust in God’s will. As Dolores would say, “Thy will be done.” He is preceded in death by his wife of 69 years, Dolores, son Paul, parents Manuel and Benina, sister Emilia, brother Gilbert, and grandson Manuel, and 9 siblings who died in infancy. Elfigo is survived by his children Steve (Pamela), Thomas (Dee), Antoinette (Jim), Monica (Eduardo) and his sister, Cecelia Pena. He was blessed with 8 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandson. Elfigo leaves behind many cousins, nieces, nephews, Godchildren, students, and friends who loved him. He will always be remembered as Grandpa, Nino, Primo, Chapo, Uncle, Al, or Mr. Pena. But he was and always will be a child of God. Now he has returned home. Service will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Winslow on October 8th. Rosary will be at 9:30 followed by Holy Mass. Interment to follow. Obituaries Newsletter Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox. Read More Here

Trump's $3M Attorney Chris Kise Sidelined From Mar-A-Lago Probe: Report – Digital World Acq (NASDAQ:DWAC) https://digitalarizonanews.com/trumps-3m-attorney-chris-kise-sidelined-from-mar-a-lago-probe-report-digital-world-acq-nasdaqdwac/ Former President Donald Trump’s attorney, Chris Kise, has been sidelined in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, according to a report. What Happened: Kise is not leading the work related to a federal government investigation related to the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago, reported CNN citing people familiar with the matter. Kise is reportedly expected to remain a part of Trump’s legal team but his focus may relocate to other investigations such as Trump’s business practices and the Jan. 6 insurrection. A Trump spokesperson said, “Chris Kise’s role as an important member of President Trump’s legal team remains unchanged, and any suggestion otherwise is untrue,” reported CNN. See Also: How To Buy TMTG IPO Stock  Why It Matters: Kise, a former adviser to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, was hired by Trump less than a month ago. The sidelining of Kise, a former Florida solicitor general, was construed as “another setback” for Trump by CNN. Kise was hired for $3 million, the fee was paid by Save America political action committee  — which was launched by Trump in Nov. 2020 in the aftermath of the presidential elections, according to a prior report. The lawyer sought to avoid criminal prosecution in the Mar-a-Lago case and was said to be taking a more conciliatory approach in taking on the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation. Trump recently called the investigation a “witch hunt” on Truth Social and said “this nonsense should end, now.” Screenshot Of Donald Trump’s Truth Social Post Truth social is a part of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), a company set to go public through merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC. Read Next: To Restore Trump As President, Millions Of Americans Believe Force Necessary: Poll © 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Read More Here

ABC News Appoints Marcus Moore To Foreign Reporting Role https://digitalarizonanews.com/abc-news-appoints-marcus-moore-to-foreign-reporting-role/ News Television Olbermann is a loud voice when it comes to criticizing news media, and he’s set his sights on “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd. Published 17 hours ago on September 27, 2022 Former MSNBC host and iHeartMedia podcaster Keith Olbermann is a loud voice when it comes to criticizing news channels, and he’s set his sights on “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd.  There’s been plenty of speculation over the future of Todd as the host of the Sunday program, and Olbermann stated that people who want to see a new person are wasting their time asking MSNBC to move on from Todd.  “I see a lot of tweets asking when @msnbc will fire Chuck Todd,” Olbermann tweeted on Monday. “It’s not their call. The man in charge is @nbcnews president @cesarconde_.” Additionally, Olbermann took a shot at the NBC News president for not moving on from Todd, noting that Conde has other priorities, such as looking for his next executive position.  “[Conde would] make the change – IF somebody can get his attention,” Olbermann added. “He spends most of his time trying to get a corporate executive position somewhere.” In late August, The Daily Beast reported that with the show struggling in the ratings department, the network could be ready to replace Todd with NBC White House correspondent Kristen Welker. Furthermore, Welker is expected to take on more hosting duties as the midterm elections are nearing. Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com. News Television “I gave then Donald Trump and then President Trump a fair hearing. If he said things that were demonstrably false, which he did frequently, I called it out because of how it erodes trust and it’s a crisis,” Cuomo added. Published 1 day ago on September 26, 2022 CNN has made strides to become political centrists in their daily news coverage, but one former host is not a fan of the decision. Chris Cuomo appeared Monday on the debut of the On with Kara Swisher podcast, where the host of an upcoming primetime show on NewsNation took issue with his former network’s programming shift. “I don’t like the idea that they’re saying they’re going to be more middle ground,” Cuomo said. “I think a lot of people in the media like to see CNN go down because it was so powerful. And they tried to make that happen because I believe that that’s what our business is often about, is tearing things down as a negativity as a proxy for insight, but I don’t believe in middle ground.” CNN is now part of Warner Bros. Discovery, which Cuomo believes was the reason for the channel’s move away from the left and toward neutrality. Swisher observed that Cuomo spent time on his old show criticizing former President Donald Trump, but Cuomo said he called things right down the middle. “I gave then-President Trump a fair hearing. If he said things that were demonstrably false, which he did frequently, I called it out because of how it erodes trust and it’s a crisis,” Cuomo added. Cuomo, who was fired by CNN over advising his brother and then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in his sexual harassment scandal, also said America’s two-party system is bad. “I want more parties, I want rank choice voting, I want term limits in Congress, and I want electors apportioned by the states that matter. Is that right or left or is it reasonable? I want more parties. I don’t care about the left and the right. I think it’s killing us.” Cuomo’s show on NewsNation premieres Monday, October 3 at 8:00 PM ET. On with Kara Swisher is produced by New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. New episodes will be released every Monday and Thursday. Joe Salzone is a news media writer for Barrett News Media. He’s a native of Long Island and has been involved in the radio industry since he was 16 years old. Currently, he serves as the News Director for the Cayuga Radio Group and hosts Ithaca’s Morning News on WHCU. His radio career has included stops at SiriusXM, Galaxy Communications, WGBB, WNYG, and the Finger Lakes Radio Group. He can be found on Twitter @JoeSalzone. News Television “What’s been interesting is it’s not just him,” said McEnany of Biden’s put downs. “Some lap dogs have followed the president’s orders in using the same language.” Published 1 day ago on September 26, 2022 Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany had strong criticism for MSNBC host Tiffany Cross. During her show Outnumbered, McEnany discussed phrasing used by prominent Democrat lawmakers, as well as former Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and President Joe Biden himself in regards to Donald Trump supporters. “What’s been interesting is it’s not just him,” said McEnany of Biden’s put downs. “Some lap dogs have followed the president’s orders in using the same language.” The program then aired a clip of panelists from The Cross Connection, the show the aforementioned Cross hosts on MSNBC, saying MAGA Republicans are the “biggest threat to democracy”. The most explosive comments were made by Roland Martin, who called Trump supports “evil” and went as far to say “we are at war” with them. Harris Faulkner called the comments “irresponsible” before saying the language is damaging and could be used to fuel anti-conservative crimes. She also rebuked Clinton for her comparison of Trump supporters to slavery and Hitler. Cross raised eyebrows earlier this month by saying a Civil War has already begun, after Republican Senator Lindsay Graham said there would be “riots in the streets” if former President Donald Trump was indicted for having classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence. Read More Here

Kansas Race Tests Which Matters More: Economy Or Abortion? https://digitalarizonanews.com/kansas-race-tests-which-matters-more-economy-or-abortion/ KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Republicans redrew Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids ′ suburban Kansas City, Kansas-area district this year to make a third term harder for her to win, adding rural areas where former President Donald Trump did well and removing urban areas that Davids had carried handily. But the dynamic changed in June, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Kansas voters responded in August by overwhelmingly rejecting a ballot measure expected to lead to more restrictions or a ban on abortion. The magnitude of that vote has left Davids and other Democrats optimistic. That’s why she is spending the final stretch of the campaign focused on abortion, attempting to keep the same abortion-rights supporters who turned out to vote in August energized to do so again in November. It’s a delicate task, asking voters who may fault Democrats for rising housing and grocery prices to nonetheless support Davids for Congress. “I think this has more to do with control and limiting people’s rights,” said swing voter Tanner Klingzell, a 42-year-old from the suburb of Prairie Village who says he is fiscally conservative but socially progressive. He supports abortion rights and says, “I just don’t feel comfortable voting for Republicans.” The Supreme Court’s abortion ruling has rewritten the script in districts around the country, and both Davids and Republican challenger Amanda Adkins must win over independents and GOP moderates to win the one swing congressional district in an otherwise red state. Davids became the first lesbian Native American in Congress when she rode suburban anti-Trump sentiment to office in the 2018 election. Her background as a mixed martial arts fighter drew national interest, and Republicans initially tried to group her with “The Squad” of new liberal House members. Those efforts fell flat as she focused on such non-divisive issues as road projects, prescription drug prices and high-speed internet for rural areas. Adkins, a former corporate executive and Kansas GOP chair, is hitting Davids hard on pocketbook issues, a tactic Republicans nationally expect to carry them back to a House majority. She’s also started highlighting crime and border security. She held a news conference on those issues Monday, days after House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy released Republicans’ “Commitment to America” agenda, which promises to fight inflation but also to “protect the lives of unborn children.” The two have faced off before. Davids defeated Adkins in 2020 by 10 percentage points, but that was before redistricting after the 2020 census. While Democrat Joe Biden would have prevailed in the new district in 2020, his margin would have been roughly half the 10 percentage points he racked up in the old district — and that’s likely true for Davids as well. If Adkins’ percentage of the vote in the suburbs is a few points higher this year than in 2020, she can win. In suburban Overland Park, Andrea Calvo, a 33-year-old freight-company accounts manager, is hoping Republicans emerge a little stronger from the November election because, in her view, “they have proven to be able to handle the economy better.” While Calvo, a Republican, doesn’t see herself as a moderate, she voted in August against the proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution. She sees Adkins’ support for it as “definitely a problem.” But it’s not a deal-breaker. “It’s all about the economy at the end of the day for me,” she said. The two campaigns, the parties and political groups are now on track to spend about $8 million on television ads. Davids’ ads attack Adkins for her long association with former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, whose nationally notorious 2012-13 experiment in cutting taxes was followed by huge, persistent state budget shortfalls. Davids on Saturday launched an ad attacking Adkins on abortion that follows up on multiple Kansas Democratic Party mailings, including to Republicans. Davids and her backers are painting Adkins as an extremist for supporting the proposed amendment that voters rejected in August. It would have removed protections for abortion from the state Constitution, which would have allowed the state Legislature, dominated by abortion opponents, to greatly restrict or ban abortion. Davids’ strong, public opposition to the Kansas anti-abortion measure contrasts with three decades of Democratic candidates soft-pedaling their support for abortion rights in most areas of the state. Abortion has been a dominant issue in Kansas politics since the 1991 anti-abortion “Summer of Mercy” protests outside Dr. George Tiller’s clinic in Wichita. Tiller was among the few doctors known to perform abortions late in pregnancy and was shot to death in 2009 by an anti-abortion zealot. Anti-abortion groups have been powerful forces in state politics. Even with the 3rd District’s new, more Republican leanings, 67.5% of its voters opposed the Kansas anti-abortion measure in the August abortion referendum. “They were very engaged and sent a strong message about us not wanting to have politicians making our decisions for us,” Davids said. Adkins describes herself as a Catholic who has “always been pro-life” and “100% committed to protecting life at every stage.” But Adkins said she respects the August vote and opposes federal laws on abortion, saying the issue should be decided at the state level. “It should not be a federal issue, and Sharice Davids still is focusing on it as a federal issue,” Adkins said after a recent suburban meet-and-greet. Davids voted last year for a Democratic measure to guarantee abortion rights across the U.S. and override state restrictions. Adkins has not been specific about how far she thinks abortion law should go in Kansas, which bans most abortions at the 22nd week, but said Monday that she would favor any new, incremental state measures that would reduce the number of abortions. In the new, rural parts of the 3rd District, Democrats say the abortion ruling means volunteers are energized. But Republican state Rep. Samantha Poetter Parshall said that Davids is an “extremely hard sell,” especially with conservative farmers. Even Democrats tend to take more conservative positions on issues such as gun rights, she said. “Also, taxes — people are extremely upset with how high their taxes are right now,” she said. But about 85% of the district’s voters still live in the suburbs, where centrist and conservative Republicans have feuded for decades, and voters have been electing more Democrats in recent years. Former U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, the four-term GOP incumbent ousted by Davids in 2018, praised Adkins as a candidate, but he pointed to the dominance of those suburbs in the district as the reason the race remains challenging for the GOP. “It’s still a Biden district,” he said. _____ Hollingsworth reported from multiple cities in Johnson County, Kansas. ___ Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna Read More Here

Trump Wins Ruling In Rape Accuser Carroll's Defamation Lawsuit – News Today | First With The News https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-wins-ruling-in-rape-accuser-carrolls-defamation-lawsuit-news-today-first-with-the-news/ A federal appeals court set aside a judge’s ruling that Donald Trump could be sued for defamation by E. Jean Carroll after denying he raped her, though it stopped short of declaring the former U.S. president immune from the author’s lawsuit. In a 2-1 decision on Tuesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan asked an appeals court in Washington to weigh in on whether the laws of that district shielded Trump from liability.But the Manhattan court also accepted Trump’s argument that he qualified as a U.S. government “employee” when he allegedly defamed Carroll, a condition underlying his immunity claim. A dissenting judge, Denny Chin, would have let Carroll pursue “at least some” claims, saying “Carroll’s allegations plausibly paint a picture of a man pursuing a personal vendetta against an accuser.” Carroll sued Trump in November 2019, and had been hoping to go to trial as soon as next February. She had accused Trump in a June 2019 book excerpt of having raped her in late 1995 or early 1996 in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in midtown Manhattan.Trump, then in his third year in the White House, responded to her accusations by telling a reporter he did not know Carroll, that “she’s not my type,” and that she concocted the rape claim to sell her book. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said in a statement she was “extremely pleased” with Tuesday’s decision, saying it would “protect the ability of all future presidents to effectively govern without hindrance.”Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll, said in a statement she was “confident” the District of Columbia court would let the case proceed. On Sept. 20, Kaplan said Carroll planned to sue Trump for battery and inflicting emotional distress even if the defamation claims were thrown out. She cited a new state law, the Adult Survivors Act, which gives adult accusers a one-year window starting on Nov. 24 to bring civil claims over alleged sexual misconduct occurring long ago. ‘WE DO NOT PASS JUDGMENT’Trump claimed he was shielded from Carroll’s lawsuit by a federal law immunizing government employees from defamation claims. He also said letting the case proceed could unleash a flood of frivolous lawsuits whenever presidents spoke.U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan had found that Trump was not a government employee, and that even if he were, he exceeded the scope of his employment when talking about Carroll. Asking the D.C. Court of Appeals to address the second issue, Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi said the district’s law was “genuinely uncertain” and the matter was “of extreme public importance.” Post navigation Read More Here

Obituaries In Phoenix, AZ | The Arizona Republic https://digitalarizonanews.com/obituaries-in-phoenix-az-the-arizona-republic-32/ Daniel Edward Robinson, 45, of Chandler, AZ passed away on 9/15/2022. If you have any information regarding this person, please call Maricopa County Indigent Decedent Services at 602-372-0535, select option #5. Posted online on September 27, 2022 Published in The Arizona Republic Read More Here

Obituaries In Phoenix, AZ | The Arizona Republic https://digitalarizonanews.com/obituaries-in-phoenix-az-the-arizona-republic-31/ Cynthia June Nelson, 76, of Phoenix, AZ passed away September 22, 2022. Cindy was born on August 6, 1946 in Phoenix to James Kenneth and Gloria (Liden) Wright. Cindy is survived by her husband Gerald L. Nelson; her children Criquett Englerth, Kenneth Brott, Gerald V. Nelson, and Sherry Abbate. She was predeceased by her son, Mark Nelson. She is also survived by her grandchildren Julia Hamrick, Sydney Brott, Adam Alvarado, Kristina Airola, Brooke Johnson, Matt Nelson, Jordan Paul, Kennedy Nelson, Jack Nelson, Lauren Flynn, and Jewel Abbate; her great grandchildren Maggie Airola, Brandi Airola, and Levi Paul; as well as her sisters Linda Fink and Shelly Reichenback. Visitation will be held Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 1:00pm at Phoenix Mortuary, 200 W. Beardsley Rd., Phoenix, AZ, followed by the Funeral Service at 1:30pm. The Graveside Service will be held on Friday, September 3oth at Citizen Cemetery, 1300 S. San Francisco St., Flagstaff, AZ. To send condolences to the Nelson Family please visit www.PhoenixMemorial Mortuary.com. Posted online on September 27, 2022 Published in The Arizona Republic Service Information Graveside Service Citizen Cemetery, 1300 S. San Francisco St., Flagstaff, AZ. Visitation Phoenix Mortuary, 200 W. Beardsley Rd., Phoenix, AZ, September 29, 2022 at 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM Funeral Service Phoenix Mortuary, 200 W. Beardsley Rd., Phoenix, AZ, September 29, 2022 at 1:30 PM Read More…

AP News Summary At 11:21 P.m. EDT https://digitalarizonanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1121-p-m-edt/ Cuba without electricity after hurricane hammers power grid HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Ian has knocked out power across all of Cuba and devastated some of the country’s most important tobacco farms when it slammed into the island’s western tip as a major hurricane. Cuba’s Electric Union says work is underway to gradually restore service to the country’s 11 million people overnight. Ian hit a Cuba that has been struggling with an economic crisis and has faced frequent power outages in recent months. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm Tuesday and devastated Pinar del Río province, where much of the tobacco for Cuba’s iconic cigars is grown. Tens of thousands of people had evacuated ahead of the arrival of Ian. Authorities are still assessing the damage, although no fatalities have been reported. Hurricane Ian strikes Cuba, Florida braces for winds, floods HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba as a major hurricane, knocking out power to the entire country and leaving 11 million people without electricity. Now it’s on a collision course with Florida over warm Gulf waters and forecasters say it may strengthen into a catastrophic Category 4 storm. Ian made landfall early Tuesday in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 people and took steps to protect crops in the nation’s main tobacco-growing region. Ian was expected to get even stronger over the warm Gulf of Mexico. In Florida, 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate. Kremlin announces vote, paves way to annex part of Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Moscow officials say that residents in all four occupied areas of Ukraine voted to join Russia. The Kremlin-orchestrated votes have been dismissed by the U.S. and its Western allies as illegitimate. According to Russia-installed election officials, 93% of the ballots case in the Zaporizhzhia region were in support of annexation, as were 87% of ballots in the southern Kherson region and 98% in Luhansk. The preordained outcome sets the stage for a dangerous new phase in Russia’s seven-month war in Ukraine because it is expected to serve as a pretext for Moscow to annex the four areas. That could happen within days. Biden keeps US target for refugee admissions at 125,000 SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden is formally keeping the nation’s cap on refugee admissions at 125,000 for the 2023 budget year, despite pressure from advocates to raise it even higher to meet the need after falling far short of that target this year. Refugees advocates had been pushing the Biden administration to do more to restore the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The program suffered deep cuts under the Trump administration, which slashed admissions to a record low of 15,000. Biden has raised the cap to four times that amount this year, but so far fewer than 20,000 refugees have been admitted. Millions of Americans will save on Medicare fees next year WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time in a decade, Americans will pay less next year on monthly premiums for Medicare’s Part B plan, which covers routine doctors’ visits and other outpatient care. The rare 3% decrease in monthly premiums — a savings of $5.20 for most — comes after millions of Medicare beneficiaries endured a tough year of high inflation and a dramatic increase in those premiums this year. Most people on Medicare will pay $164.90 monthly for Part B coverage starting next year. The decrease in Medicare fees comes as many older people await news about big increases next year to their Social Security checks, which are often used to pay for Medicare premiums. VP Harris seeks computer chip partners in Japan meetings TOKYO (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has highlighted a new U.S. law boosting support for computer chip manufacturing as she met with Japanese technology executives on Wednesday. The meeting on her last full day in Tokyo reflects the administration’s focus on boosting semiconductor manufacturing and expanding the supply chain for critical materials. At the same time, Japan is looking to rejuvenate its own computer chip industry, and there could be opportunities for new partnerships as the allies work together to counter China’s own technology investments. Blasts precede Baltic pipeline leaks, sabotage seen likely WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Denmark believes “deliberate actions” caused big leaks in two natural gas pipelines that run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, and seismologists said powerful explosions preceded the leaks. European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday that “it is the authorities’ clear assessment that these are deliberate actions -– not accidents.” The incident overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continent’s energy independence from Moscow. California murder suspect, teen daughter killed in shootout LOS ANGELES (AP) — California authorities say an abducted 15-year-old girl and her father — a fugitive wanted in the death of the teen’s mother — were killed in a shootout with law enforcement. San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus says the teenager, Savannah Graziano, was wearing tactical gear as she ran toward sheriff’s deputies during the firefight on a highway in the high desert. She was shot and was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly before noon. Her father, 45-year-old Anthony John Graziano, was pronounced dead at the scene in Hesperia. He allegedly killed his estranged wife in a domestic violence incident on Monday in the city of Fontana. Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — Nicole Hockley lost one son in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. She testified Tuesday that her biggest fear is that people who believe the shooting never happened will harm her other son, who survived the attack at his school. Hockle, her former husband, Ian Hockley, and the sister of another victim were the latest family members of the 26 victims of the school shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the lie that the shooting was a hoax. Defense attorney Norm Pattis is arguing that any damages should be limited and accused the victims’ relatives of exaggerating the harm the lies caused them. FAFSA season starts: What you need to know for financial aid NEW YORK (AP) — The Free Application for Federal Student Aid period opens Oct. 1 for the 2023-2024 school year. If you plan to attend college next year, you might want to fill out the FAFSA application as close to the opening date as possible. Many institutions award financial aid on a first come first serve basis. Karen McCarthy, vice president of public policy and federal relations from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, recommends students fill out the application as soon as they can. The FAFSA is a free government application that uses financial information from you and your family to determine whether you can get financial aid from the federal government. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Read More Here

Homeowners Fighting Back Against Water Damage With Mold Remediation In Mesa, AZ – Digital Journal https://digitalarizonanews.com/homeowners-fighting-back-against-water-damage-with-mold-remediation-in-mesa-az-digital-journal/ Cooper State Home Builders is a local company providing mold remediation in Mesa, AZ, to property owners experiencing issues with water damage due to leaks or flooding. Mold growth poses a threat to the health of residents and other tenants that are living or working inside of the affected area. Mold thrives in damp and dark regions. Storm and flood damage can create the ideal environment in a home or business for the growth of mold. The mold itself is a kind of fungus that makes use of spores to reproduce and form colonies. When people breathe in these spores, health risks can arise. Some of the different issues that can develop when these spores are absorbed into the lungs include: Colds Coughs Asthma Itchy Eyes Itchy Skin Sore Throats Severe Allergic Reactions Mold restoration services, such as those performed by the Cooper State Home Builders team, identify the mold’s source, and then work toward eliminating it. Technicians utilize the latest technology to remove any mold or spores from the property of their clients. Once the mold remediation is finished, customers are likely to notice a marked improvement in their indoor air quality. Water extraction services are also employed at the same time as mold restoration. Since excessive water is usually the cause of mold growth, these services are able to remove the moist conditions that allow for the quick spread of mold and mold spores. Structural repairs could also be needed depending on the severity of the water damage to the home or building. Schedule a consultation with the team at Cooper State Home Builders by calling them at (480) 744-1411. Further information about their different restoration services can also be found by visiting their Website. Appointments can also be made to visit the team in-person at their office in Mesa, AZ. Media Contact Company Name: Copper State Home Builders Contact Person: Maureen Fessler Email: Send Email Phone: (480) 744-1411 Address:2903 North Norfolk City: Mesa State: AZ Country: United States Website: waterfiredamage-az.com Read More Here

What’s Does A Trump/Mastriano “tele-Rally” Sound Like? https://digitalarizonanews.com/whats-does-a-trump-mastriano-tele-rally-sound-like/ Updated: Sep. 27, 2022, 11:09 p.m.| Published: Sep. 27, 2022, 11:08 p.m. Former President Donald Trump, left, hosted a “tele-rally” with Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano Tuesday night. Above, the two men on stage at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)AP It was “Phone-a-Friend” for Pennsylvania’s Republican governor candidate Doug Mastriano Tuesday night as the campaign held a tele-rally featuring former President Donald J. Trump. In the brisk 15-minute call, which Pennsylvanians attended in listen-only mode, callers heard Trump read through about a 50-50 mix of blasts of Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro and praise for Mastriano, the Franklin County state senator whom the former president threw an 11th-hour endorsement to the weekend before this spring’s primary elections. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Read More Here

Ian, Now A Major Category 3 Hurricane, Is Growing Stronger In The Gulf Of Mexico https://digitalarizonanews.com/ian-now-a-major-category-3-hurricane-is-growing-stronger-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-2/ Hurricane Ian became a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday and will continue to strengthen as it approaches Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters say. Ian made landfall at about 4:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in western Cuba just southwest of the town of La Coloma in Pinar del Río province, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, U.S. officials said. The entire island was without power Tuesday evening because of infrastructure damage, the country’s electricity service said. Crews were working to restore power, which the agency should begin to return overnight and into Wednesday. The hurricane, which was about 110 miles from Naples, Florida, had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and was moving northeast at 10 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 11 p.m. update. By late evening, winds were beginning to whip the Florida Keys, where a 52 mph gust was recorded at Florida Keys Marathon International Airport. The latest on Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba as a major hurricane early Tuesday; by evening, the entire island was without power. Ian is likely to continue to grow stronger as it travels over the warm Gulf of Mexico and reach top winds of 130 mph as it approaches the southwest coast of Florida. Tropical storm-force winds have reached Florida’s southern peninsula. About 2.5 million residents are under some type of evacuation order in Florida. Ian will slow to 3 to 4 mph Thursday and Friday over or near Florida’s west coast, prolonging storm surge, wind and flash flooding impacts. Georgia’s governor has declared a state of emergency. The center of Ian could strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane as it continues to move over the gulf, NBC News forecasters said. Ian will continue to intensify today through Wednesday as it approaches the west coast of Florida on Wednesday “as an extremely dangerous major hurricane,” according to the National Hurricane Center. Models show the storm landing somewhere between Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor. The system is forecast to slow down to as low as 3 to 4 mph, prolonging the impacts of heavy rain, strong wind and storm surge. Follow along for NBC News’ live coverage of Hurricane Ian Tornadoes over the Florida peninsula are also possible over the next three days. Storm surge can also affect Florida’s east coast, where a warning has been issued from Marineland to St. Marys River, along Georgia’s coast, according to the hurricane center. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a statewide emergency, saying Ian could bring several feet of storm surge. Charlotte Harbor may get 12 feet of storm surge, and in the Tampa Bay area, 7 feet is expected, according to forecasters. “What we have here is really historic storm surge and flooding potential,” he said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “That storm surge can be life-threatening.” DeSantis encouraged residents to heed evacuation orders in place from Pinellas County to the Fort Myers area. About 2.5 million residents are under some type of evacuation orders, he said. Parts of the state may also be without power anywhere from three days to a week, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said at the news conference. Boarded-up windows in Indian Shores, 25 miles west of Tampa, had a message for Hurricane Ian on Monday.Ricardo Arduengo / AFP – Getty Images Georgia and South Carolina may also get some impact from Ian. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for all counties Tuesday that will go into effect 7 a.m. Thursday and expire midnight Friday. As the storm headed for Florida, oil companies evacuated workers from deep-water platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, and airports in Tampa, Orlando and Pinellas County in Florida announced that they would close Tuesday and Wednesday. American Airlines announced travel waivers for people flying to or out of 20 airports in Florida and the Caribbean. Residents on Florida’s Gulf Coast stocked up on food and prepared with sandbags and plywood for their windows. Hundreds of thousands of people were under evacuation orders. Bob Copeland helps fill free sandbags for Wilbur Villamarin, left, and his son Fabian on Monday at an Orange County park in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Ian.Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP “This storm is trending to slow down, which means it could potentially sit on top of us for 47 hours,” said Cathie Perkins, the director of Pinellas County Emergency Management, NBC affiliate WFLA of Tampa reported. “That’s a lot of rain, and it’s not going to be able to drain out quickly,” she said. Steve McClure, 54, was headed to his parents’ home in a nearby county. “I’d rather be safe than sorry, especially with the track of the hurricane consistently changing,” McClure said. Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. Chantal Da Silva Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based in London.  Mirna Alsharif is a breaking news reporter for NBC News. Kathryn Prociv Kathryn Prociv is a senior meteorologist and producer for NBC News.  Deon J. Hampton contributed . Read More Here

Nord Stream Pipeline Leaks Spark Sabotage Fears https://digitalarizonanews.com/nord-stream-pipeline-leaks-spark-sabotage-fears/ Sweden’s national seismic network said Tuesday that it registered two explosions near mysterious leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which have prompted concerns of sabotage. Why it matters: The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, crucial to delivering Russian natural gas to Germany, have been central to the energy crisis that has enveloped Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While Nord Stream 2 hasn’t entered commercial operation — its certification was halted on the eve of the invasion — Nord Stream 1 provided a crucial pathway for Russian gas to reach Europe until earlier this month, when Russia closed the pipeline citing maintenance concerns. The latest: “The U.S. is supporting efforts to investigate and we will continue our work to safeguard Europe’s energy security,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday night, noting that he had also spoken to his Danish counterpart Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe. The big picture: Two leaks were detected in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. While neither pipe was operating at the time the leaks were discovered, both were filled with gas, Reuters noted. One blast occurred early Monday and a second occurred later that day, public broadcaster SVT reported, per Reuters. Zoom in: Nord Stream AG confirmed in a statement that “the Nord Stream 1 control center registered a pressure drop on both strings of the gas pipeline,” adding that an investigation is underway. Sweden’s Maritime Authority issued a warning for ships to maintain a five nautical mile distance from the sites of the leaks, which were registered near the Danish island of Bornholm. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she “cannot rule out” sabotage. The country’s maritime authority echoed Sweden’s warning, noting that ships could lose buoyancy if they’re in the vicinity of the leaks and that there remains a risk of the leaked gas igniting at the water’s surface and in the air, according to AP. Bjorn Lund, a seismologist at Sweden’s National Seismology Centre SVT there’s “no doubt that these were explosions,” Reuters reports. What they’re saying: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday the leaks were a cause for concern and acknowledged the possibility of sabotage along the pipeline. “No option can be ruled out right now,” he said, per Reuters. “It is too early to conclude yet, but it is an extraordinary situation. There are three leaks, and therefore it is difficult to imagine that it could be accidental,” Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday, the Financial Times reported. Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to note that the leaks began on Monday, not Thursday. This story has been updated with new details on the blasts registered by Sweden’s National Seismology Centre and with comment from White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Read More Here

Yankees Beat Blue Jays 5-2, Clinch AL East Title https://digitalarizonanews.com/yankees-beat-blue-jays-5-2-clinch-al-east-title/ George Springer smacked a solo shot to straightaway centre for his 52nd career leadoff homer on the second pitch from Yankees starter Jameson Taillon (14-5). Taillon settled down after Springer’s at-bat to retire 16 of the next 17 Blue Jays. Only Whit Merrifield reached base on an infield hit before Springer, and Bo Bichette singled in the sixth inning. Springer scored on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s shot down the left field line but, like Bichette before him, was thrown out at second base. Taillon’s 94-pitch outing saw him depart with one out in the eighth inning. He gave up two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and no free passes. Toronto starter Jose Berrios (11-7) was knocked out of the game after 5 1/3 innings. He yielded nine hits on five runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. The Yankees’ offence picked up in the third inning. Catcher Kyle Higashioka, who also belted out three hits, began the two-run splurge with a single and advanced to second after Judge walked. Anthony Rizzo’s single to right scored Higashioka and Judge followed him home after a Torres bouncer up the middle. Judge scored again in the fifth after a leadoff walk, followed by singles from Rizzo and Torres. The Yankees picked up two more an inning later thanks to back-to-back doubles from Higashioka and Aaron Hicks and another RBI single from Torres. FIRST PITCH Toronto Maple Leafs sniper Auston Matthews delivered a ball high with his ceremonial pitch to Alek Manoah. Matthews wanted to throw from the mound. However, he was instructed by the Blue Jays mascot to make his toss in front of the mound. Matthews played baseball and hockey as a kid in Scottsdale, AZ. His father played baseball at the collegiate level. Mitch Marner and Michael Bunting accompanied their linemate to the Rogers Centre. UP NEXT Mitch White (1-6) will face Yankees righty Gerrit Cole (12-7) in the series rubber match on Wednesday. In his only career start against New York, White gave up seven hits and one run with five strikeouts in four innings in a no-decision at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 20. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2022. Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press Read More Here

Trump-Backed Joe Kent Accused Of Spreading Conspiracy Theories In Testy Debate https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-backed-joe-kent-accused-of-spreading-conspiracy-theories-in-testy-debate/ Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Trump-backed candidate Joe Kent has been accused of spreading conspirary theories after he called the Covid vaccine “experimental gene therapy”, during a testy, sold-out debate in Washington state. Little more than 40 days berfore voters across the country go to the polls in the midterm elections, Mr Kent clashed with Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, in their first debate in the showdown for Washington’s third congressional district. More follows…. Read More Here

Sen. Ted Cruz Votes Against Changing Law That Made Him Center Of Attention On Jan. 6 https://digitalarizonanews.com/sen-ted-cruz-votes-against-changing-law-that-made-him-center-of-attention-on-jan-6/ WASHINGTON ― Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) cast the lone vote Tuesday against a bipartisan bill designed to prevent another insurrection like the one on Jan. 6, 2021. Cruz played a starring role that day, leading a faction of Senate Republicans who objected to the 2020 presidential election result, bolstering then-President Donald Trump’s lies about election fraud and siding with a violent mob of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. The Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday approved a bipartisan bill, by a vote of 14 to 1, that would make it harder for Cruz to raise another presidential election objection in 2025. Cruz was the only committee member who voted against the bill. “The biggest reason this bill is problematic is that it is intended to decrease the ability of the United States Congress to address the very real problem of voter fraud,” Cruz said. Cruz was careful not to say directly that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election by fraud, since that would be an obvious lie. Dozens of courts, as well as top officials in Trump’s campaign and his administration, have said that the election wasn’t rigged, contrary to the former president’s bogus claims. Instead, Cruz railed against a straw man: the idea that there is no voter fraud at all, as in not a single instance of an ineligible voter accidentally casting a ballot or deliberately voting twice. In 2020, Cruz claimed, “Democrats began clutching their pearls and insisting there is no voter fraud, it never has happened, and anyone who says it does happen is wearing a tinfoil hat and is a conspiracy theorist.” An investigation by The Associated Press published in 2021 found several hundred potentially fraudulent votes in 2020, almost all of them perpetrated by people acting alone and not as part of a conspiracy to rig the election. The sum total of their individual efforts came nowhere close to affecting the election outcome in a single state. “It doesn’t eliminate Congress’ ability to look at any aspect of elections; it just says one or two people can’t do it.” – Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) Democrats don’t deny that such picayune voter fraud exists, but Cruz pretended otherwise. And he hinted that maybe Democrats do use fraud to throw elections. “Today’s Democrats have made, I think, a really cynical political decision that voter fraud, they believe, helps elect more Democrats, and so the more fraud, the better,” Cruz said. “What this bill does is decrease the ability of Congress to address instances of fraud when it occurs.” One of the bill’s key provisions would require a fifth of lawmakers in both the House and Senate to object to a state’s election result. When Cruz raised his objection on Jan. 6, 2021, he needed only himself and one member of the House. The effort failed to change the outcome, but it gave Trump an opportunity for his insurrection attempt. Cruz said the Electoral Count Act of 1887, the law that created the congressional procedures for certifying a presidential election, had been carefully drafted following the contentious presidential election of 1876. But the bill would merely amend that law, Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said in response to Cruz. Another key provision would simply state that the vice president has a ceremonial role in electoral count proceedings; Trump had wanted Mike Pence to somehow throw out the 2020 result. “It’s not a new effort of Congress to intrude into the electoral process; it is merely intended to clarify a law which virtually everyone that has discussed over the past 25 years has agreed is archaic and confusing,” King said. “It doesn’t eliminate Congress’ ability to look at any aspect of elections; it just says one or two people can’t do it.” Rules Committee chair Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) suggested that election standards from the late 1880s might not be the best model for today. “It is not my favorite precedent because I wouldn’t have even been allowed to vote,” Klobuchar said. The bill’s supporters have said it will get a full Senate vote sometime before the end of the year. Read More Here

All Eyes Are On DeSantis' Relationship With Biden As Hurricane Ian Approaches Florida. Here's How The Previous 3 Presidents Worked (Or Didn't) With Governors On Disaster Relief Efforts. https://digitalarizonanews.com/all-eyes-are-on-desantis-relationship-with-biden-as-hurricane-ian-approaches-florida-heres-how-the-previous-3-presidents-worked-or-didnt-with-governors-on-disaster-relief-efforts/ Hurricane Ian is forecasted to strike Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday. Governors usually work directly with the White House during disasters, relying on the government for federal resources. Here’s a look at how the last three presidents handled disaster relief efforts and how Biden could address this crisis with DeSantis. Loading Something is loading. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been one of President Joe Biden’s loudest critics. He’s attacked Biden’s pandemic strategy, his immigration policy, and encouraged congressional Republicans to go after his administration if they take the US House in November’s midterms. But as Hurricane Ian gains strength to strike Florida’s Gulf Coast, DeSantis may need to put politics on pause as he leans on the federal government for disaster support. DeSantis has rejected federal aid before: In 2021, The Associated Press reported the governor vetoed funding from the American Rescue Plan, which included $1 billion for an Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund. The governor claimed the funding had strings attached — such as parts of it only being accessible through grants — that made it unusable, per the outlet.  Ian — which could become a Category 4 storm — will be DeSantis’ first major hurricane as governor, just six weeks before Election Day.   Earlier Tuesday, Biden called the mayors of Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, Florida, to discuss preparations for Ian including evacuation efforts — but not DeSantis. However, on Tuesday evening, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted that Biden and DeSantis had spoken to discuss steps the federal government is taking to help Florida. “The President and the Governor committed to continued close coordination,” she said.  During emergencies, The White House can engage the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency responsible for preparing and recovering from the impacts of natural disasters. It can also invoke The Stafford Act, which allows a state governor to authorize the use of the military for disaster relief operations. The act authorizes the president to make federal aid available to states undergoing a natural or man-made disaster. Here’s how the last three presidents worked with governors in their disaster relief efforts. George W. Bush and Kathleen Babineaux Blanco In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Louisiana, claiming at least 1,800 lives, displacing nearly one million people, and causing property damage that totaled over $125 billion. More than 20,000 residents took shelter in the Superdome, the city’s NFL stadium, where they were stranded for weeks.  Days after Katrina hit, Michael D. Brown, the head of FEMA, admitted on live television that his agency had just learned of the thousands of people at the Superdome without food or water.  In the days that followed, the Bush administration drew intense criticism for its slow response.  Instead of being on the ground to support the relief effort, then-President George W. Bush chose to fly over the region on Air Force One. “It’s devastating,” he said as he looked down, according to The Washington Post. “It’s got to be doubly devastating on the ground.” UNSPECIFIED – AUGUST 31: In this handout photo provided by the White House, U.S. President George W. Bush looks out over devastation from Hurricane Katrina as he heads back to Washington D.C. August 31, 2005 aboard Air Force One. Bush cut short his vacation and returned to Washington to monitor relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina. Paul Morse/White House via Getty Images New Orleans Democratic Mayor Ray Nagin blasted the White House, saying: “They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn — excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed,” he said. Democratic Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said the state’s despair was made worse by a Republican-led White House eager to blame someone else for its failed disaster response: “I just thought I could shout more loudly than the noise around me, but in the end I couldn’t. There was just too much pain,” she said. Barack Obama and Chris Christie Former President Barack Obama’s response to Hurricane Sandy in 2012 was swift. The day before the storm hit New Jersey, Obama signed emergency declarations for Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. The declarations allowed FEMA to transfer resources directly to state, local, and tribal organizations to make preparations in advance of the storm. More than $1.2 billion was dedicated to housing assistance, including costs for temporary housing, and repairing damaged property. The hurricane killed 285 people and caused $70 billion in damage. During a visit to the coast to assess the destruction, Obama and New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie formed an unlikely bond.  Photos from that day show the two side-by-side. Christie said, “I want to thank the president for coming here today. It’s really important to have the president of the United States acknowledge all the suffering that’s going on here in New Jersey and I appreciate it very much.”  The New York Times reported Christie’s praise of Obama didn’t sit well with Republican leaders who were offended at how closely he worked with the president. FILE – In this Oct. 31, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama is greeted by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie upon his arrival at Atlantic City International Airport, in Atlantic City, N.J. Obama traveled to region to take an aerial tour of the Atlantic Coast in New Jersey in areas damaged by superstorm Sandy. Ever since President George W. Bush’s administration was crippled by its response to Hurricane Katrina, politicians and news organizations have been acutely aware of the stakes raised by big storms. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File According to a White House pool report, Obama told survivors at a shelter in Brigantine, “I want to just let you know that your governor is working overtime to make sure that as soon as possible everybody can get back to normal.” Donald Trump and Carmen Yulín Cruz In 2017, three major hurricanes occurred over the span of two months during former President Donald Trump’s tenure: Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Hurricane Irma in Florida, and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.  Harvey was one of the costliest disasters in the US and one of the first serious crises of his presidency. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa called out Trump on Twitter to “keep on top of” the hurricane and warned him not to “make the same mistake President Bush made with Katrina.” Questions were raised as to whether Trump would handle the situation appropriately, given he had “zero disaster-response experience,” according to Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based Republican strategist.  While Trump received flak for downplaying how climate change contributed to the intensity of Harvey and Irma, it was nothing compared to the criticism he earned for how his White House handled Hurricane Maria. The White House made few preparations in the days leading up to the storm, and it took weeks before FEMA committed its full resources to the island. Despite nearly 3,000 people dying, the former president referred to his administration’s handling of the disaster as “incredibly successful.” He also tossed paper towels to crowds of survivors during a visit to the territory.  U.S. President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of San Juan, Puerto Rico, who led her city’s response during Maria, blasted Trump’s claim, saying: “The president keeps adding insult to injury and I think his words are despicable. They really do not have any connection with reality.” During Hurricane Dorian in 2019, Trump altered a map from the National Hurricane Center to support his false claim that Alabama was in the path of Dorian. The incident was referred to as Sharpiegate and the Category 5 storm ravaged the Bahamas instead.  Joe Biden and Ron DeSantis President Joe Biden has already had to deal with a number of hurricanes such as Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas in 2021, far but appears to be taking the necessary steps to actively prepare for the impending damage of Ian.  On Sept, 18, Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico, causing an island-wide blackout and mass flooding. Biden declared a state of emergency as the storm approached, ordering federal assistance to supplement disaster response efforts. As of Monday, an estimated 746,000 homes and businesses were still without power, according to Reuters. The Whi...

Ian, Now A Major Category 3 Hurricane, Is Growing Stronger In The Gulf Of Mexico https://digitalarizonanews.com/ian-now-a-major-category-3-hurricane-is-growing-stronger-in-the-gulf-of-mexico/ Hurricane Ian became a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday and will continue to strengthen as it approaches Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters say. Ian made landfall at about 4:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in western Cuba just southwest of the town of La Coloma in the Pinar del Río province, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, U.S. officials said. The entire island was without power Tuesday evening because of infrastructure damage, the nation’s electricity service said. Crews were working to restore power, which the agency should begin to return overnight and into Wednesday. The hurricane, now in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, is moving north toward Florida at 10 mph and growing stronger, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. update. The latest on Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba as a major hurricane early Tuesday, by evening, the entire island was without power. Ian will likely continue to grow stronger as it travels over the warm Gulf of Mexicoreach top winds of 130 mph as it approaches the southwest coast of Florida. Tropical storm-force winds are expected across Florida’s southern peninsula late Tuesday, reaching hurricane-force Wednesday — when the hurricane’s eye is predicted to make landfall. About 2.5 million residents are under some type of evacuation order in Florida. Ian will slow to 3 to 4 mph Thursday and Friday over or near Florida’s west coast, prolonging storm surge, wind and flash flooding impacts. Georgia’s governor has declared a state of emergency.. The center of Ian could strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane as it continues to move over the Gulf, NBC News forecasters said. Ian will continue to intensify today through Wednesday as it approaches the west coast of Florida on Wednesday “as an extremely dangerous major hurricane,” according to the National Hurricane Center. Models show the storm landing somewhere between Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor. The system is forecast to slow down as low as 3 to 4 mph, prolonging the impacts of heavy rain, strong wind and storm surge. Follow along for NBC News’ live coverage of Hurricane Ian Tornadoes over the Florida peninsula are also possible over the next three days. Storm surge can also affect Florida’s east coast where a warning has been issued from Marineland to St. Marys River, along Georgia’s coast, according to the hurricane center. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a statewide emergency, saying Ian could bring several feet of storm surge. Charlotte Harbor may see 12 feet of storm surge, and in the Tampa Bay area, 7 feet is expected, according to forecasters. “What we have here is really historic storm surge and flooding potential,” he said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “That storm surge can be life-threatening.” DeSantis encouraged residents to heed evacuation orders in place from Pinellas County to the Fort Myers area. About 2.5 million residents are under some type of evacuation orders, he said. Parts of the state may also be without power anywhere from three days to a week, according to Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, who spoke at the news conference. Boarded-up windows in Indian Shores, 25 miles west of Tampa, had a message for Hurricane Ian on Monday.Ricardo Arduengo / AFP – Getty Images Georgia and South Carolina may also see some impact from Ian. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for all counties Tuesday that will go into effect 7 a.m. Thursday and expire midnight Friday. As the storm headed for Florida, oil companies evacuated workers from deep-water platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, and airports in Tampa, Orlando and Pinellas County in Florida announced that they would close Tuesday and Wednesday. American Airlines announced travel waivers for people flying to or out of 20 airports in Florida and the Caribbean. Residents on Florida’s Gulf Coast stocked up on food and prepared with sandbags and plywood for their windows. Hundreds of thousands of people were under evacuation orders. Bob Copeland helps fill free sandbags for Wilbur Villamarin, left, and his son Fabian on Monday at an Orange County park in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Ian.Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP “This storm is trending to slow down, which means it could potentially sit on top of us for 47 hours,” said Cathie Perkins, the director of Pinellas County Emergency Management, NBC affiliate WFLA of Tampa reported. “That’s a lot of rain, and it’s not going to be able to drain out quickly,” she said. Steve McClure, 54, was headed to his parents’ home in a nearby county. “I’d rather be safe than sorry, especially with the track of the hurricane consistently changing,” said McClure. Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. Chantal Da Silva Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based in London.  Mirna Alsharif is a breaking news reporter for NBC News. Kathryn Prociv Kathryn Prociv is a senior meteorologist and producer for NBC News.  Deon J. Hampton contributed . Read More Here

'It Bothered Me': Michigan House Race Tests Whether Democrats' Meddling In GOP Primaries Will Pay Off Or Backfire – ABC17NEWS https://digitalarizonanews.com/it-bothered-me-michigan-house-race-tests-whether-democrats-meddling-in-gop-primaries-will-pay-off-or-backfire-abc17news/ By Eric Bradner, Omar Jimenez and Donald Judd, CNN In the battleground Michigan congressional district that might be the most controversial example of Democrats’ meddling in Republican primaries, Democratic-leaning voters are fretting that the strategy could leave them with an election-denying Republican in Congress. “Politics sucks,” said Erick Davis, 31, who runs a coffee business in Grand Rapids and said he is an independent who typically votes for Democrats. Michigan’s 3rd District is among the congressional contests that will decide which party controls the House in 2023. It could also be the clearest test of whether national Democrats’ decision to pump money into ads in GOP primaries elevating candidates the party views as unelectable — including John Gibbs, an official in Donald Trump‘s administration who has backed the former President’s lies about widespread fraud in the 2020 election, in this district — will backfire. Democrats, whose narrow House majority is on the line, are already facing historic headwinds and economic factors that could tilt competitive races in the GOP’s favor. Freshman Rep. Peter Meijer, one of the 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump in the wake of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, was seeking a second term in the Grand Rapids-based district. But Trump, who has spent much of 2022 seeking political retribution against those Republicans, endorsed Gibbs. And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — expecting that Gibbs would be easier to defeat in what, after last year’s redistricting process, now looks like a battleground district — spent $450,000 on television advertising labeling him “too conservative.” It might have been the difference: Gibbs defeated Meijer by 3.6 percentage points, less than 4,000 votes. He is now taking on Democrat Hillary Scholten, an attorney, in the general election. “I understand the strategy,” Davis said. “I think Gibbs is a much weaker candidate, and … Pete Meijer is someone that’s in the community, he’s someone that you see around — like, his family has done like a lot for this community. So, like, the strategy is not something I would have spent money on. But like, tactically, I guess I get it.” There is no evidence in the district of backlash against Scholten over her national party’s tactics in the race. But some Democratic-leaning voters’ discomfort with the DCCC’s approach underscores why Meijer was broadly seen as poised to win re-election if he survived the GOP primary. “It bothered me, and I know it bothered others,” said Ruth Kelly, a retired teacher and former Grand Rapids city commissioner. “I just think, you know, Peter Meijer had a lot to offer here. However, I’m still really excited about Hillary.” “They had to make some choices, some very difficult choices, and I disagree with that,” Janice Lanting, a retired teacher from Grand Rapids, said of national Democrats’ involvement in the race. “But I guess I’m not the one to make decisions, and we just want Hillary to do well in the polls.” ‘Risky and unethical’ Michigan’s 3rd District offered a window into a strategy Democratic political groups employed across the map. Democrats also pumped money into similar ads temporarily boosting what would become winning candidates in gubernatorial primaries in Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania, as well as House and Senate primaries in New Hampshire. The practice helped elevate a series of election deniers in key races in November’s midterm elections. Democratic officials have defended the practice, arguing that it is the most effective way of defeating GOP candidates. But some in the party have warned that helping Republicans who have attempted to erode Americans’ faith in its election system — particularly at the cost of helping the GOP purge figures such as Meijer, who sided with Democrats on Trump’s impeachment — could have serious consequences. “These destructive primary tactics aim to elevate Republican candidates who Democrats hope they can more easily beat in November,” former Indiana Rep. Tim Roemer wrote in an August letter signed by 35 former Democratic lawmakers criticizing the party’s strategy. “But it is risky and unethical to promote any candidate whose campaign is based on eroding trust in our elections. We must stop this practice, and stop today.” Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans on the largely Democratic House panel investigating the insurrection, said the DCCC’s actions in Michigan were “terrible.” “All of us, again, across party lines, have got to make sure that we are supporting people who believe fundamentally in our democratic system,” she said. “And so I think that it’s inexplicable and wrong for the Democrats to be funding election deniers, particularly against one of the 10 Republicans who so bravely stood up and did the right thing.” Meijer said on CNN in the days after the election that that Democrats’ tactic in the Michigan 3rd District primary showed that “there is no incentive to try to be a productive member” of Congress while working in Washington, and that “it all will come down to partisan benefit no matter what the consequence.” “Any party that pretends to have a set of principles, any party that pretends to have a set of values and that comes in and boosts exactly the same type of candidate that they claim is … a threat to democracy, don’t expect to be able to hold on to that sense of self-righteousness and sanctimony,” Meijer said. ‘A much better opponent’ In Michigan, Scholten said she does not see Gibbs as necessarily being easier to defeat than Meijer would have been. “At the end of the day, Republicans decided who their standard bearer was going to be in this race, and they chose Mr. Gibbs. The voters came out, and they elected Mr. Gibbs, and national Republicans wanted him too,” she said in an interview with CNN. “You know, they didn’t spend a dime to try to support Peter Meijer or to keep Mr. Gibbs out of this race.” Gibbs, meanwhile, has tapped into a Republican base that remains energized by Trump and the former President’s lies about election fraud. He campaigned in recent days alongside GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon, the former President’s son Donald Trump Jr. and former top Trump White House aide Kellyanne Conway. “My opponent’s name happens to be Hillary. And no matter what, not another Hillary,” Gibbs said recently at an event held by the Muskegon County GOP, to cheers from the crowd. “I’m losing the country I grew up in. It’s crazy to see what’s happening, but we got to take it back,” he said. He called the race a “civilizational fight.” “This is a big deal, we got to let them know that they’re not going to take us down a path of China, North Korea, Iran, whatever it might be, whatever it might be. We are a free country, we have to remain that way,” Gibbs said. On the Democratic side, Scholten believes the stakes are similar. “This election is a referendum on our democratic ideals as a state and as a nation,” she told CNN. “There is nothing easy about this race, let me tell you, this is going to be a fight to the finish.” Gibbs, who worked in Trump’s administration, has wrongly called the results of the 2020 election “mathematically impossible.” He is also under fire after CNN reported that he wrote as a college student in the early 2000s that the United States has “suffered as a result of women’s suffrage.” He’s insisted the writings were satirical. While Democratic voters fretted about the consequences of helping elevate Gibbs in the primary, some Republican voters said they saw him as the better candidate for November’s general election. Vicki Ware, a Republican from Norton Shores, said she believes Gibbs is a stronger candidate than Meijer was. She said Meijer had betrayed the GOP by voting to impeach Trump, and that she wants to see Trump run for president again. “Everyone knew, obviously, that Peter Meijer was a RINO,” Ware said, using an acronym that refers to the phrase “Republican in name only.” “He got into office promising one thing and then completely flipped and so everybody wanted him out, and John Gibbs is the person that beat him and can win.” Diana Blais, a retiree from Muskegon, said Meijer “was not a good fit for Michigan” and that Gibbs is, in her view, “going to be a much better opponent” against Scholten. “I think just because his values line up with what we’re looking to gain back again — that we’ve, you know, been under attack by this administration in a lot of different ways; our freedoms are being taken away, kind of slowly but surely, they have been,” Blais said. “And he’s going to help get us lined back up again.” The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. 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Sedition Trial Begins For Oath Keepers Leader https://digitalarizonanews.com/sedition-trial-begins-for-oath-keepers-leader/ WASHINGTON — Jury selection began Tuesday in the trial of the founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates charged with seditious conspiracy, one of the most serious cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Amid complaints by attorneys for Stewart Rhodes and the others that they can’t get a fair jury in Washington, the judge began winnowing the pool of potential jurors who will decide the fate of the first Jan. 6 defendants to stand trial on the rare Civil War-era charge. The case against Rhodes and his Oath Keeper associates is the biggest test yet for the Justice Department in its massive Jan. 6 prosecution and is being heard in federal court not far from the Capitol. Seditious conspiracy can be difficult to prove, and the last guilty trial verdict was nearly 30 years ago. Prosecutors have accused Rhodes of leading a weekslong plot to violently stop the transfer of presidential power from election-denier Donald Trump to Joe Biden that culminated with Oath Keepers dressed in battle gear storming the Capitol on Jan. 6. Jury selection could take several days and the trial is expected to last at least five weeks. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta on Tuesday denied defense attorney’s latest bid to move the trial out of Washington. The judge acknowledged that no juries have acquitted Jan. 6 defendants so far, but said that doesn’t tell him about “bias or inherent bias of jurors in the District of Columbia.” The court already had dismissed more than two dozen potential jurors before Tuesday, including a journalist who had covered the events of Jan. 6. and someone else who described that day “one of the single most treasonous acts in the history of this country.” The judge disqualified several other people Tuesday based on concerns about their impartiality. One man recalled the fear and “trauma” that he experienced on Jan. 6. Mehta also disqualified a woman who said she used to work as a House staffer on Capitol Hill and still has many friends who work there. “I was really afraid for their lives that day,” she said. Others excused from the jury pool include an attorney who questioned why hundreds of people have been charged with Capitol riot offenses when some of them appeared to him to be “just standing around.” Another was a man who said he raised money for Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign and expressed negative impressions of the Oath Keepers Hundreds of people have already been convicted of joining the mob that overran police barriers, beat officers and smashed windows, sending lawmakers fleeing and halting the certification of Biden’s electoral victory. In a different court on Tuesday, a judge handed down one of the longest sentences so far in the riot. Kyle Young of Redfield, Iowa, was ordered to serve seven years in prison after he admitted to assaulting then-Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone. Prosecutors will try to show that an Oath Keepers’ plot to stop Biden from becoming president started well before that, in fact before all the votes in the 2020 race had even been counted. On trial with Rhodes, of Granbury Texas, are Thomas Caldwell, of Berryville, Virginia; Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, Florida; Jessica Watkins of Woodstock, Ohio, and Kelly Meggs of Dunnellon, Florida. Caldwell, a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer and the only defendant released from jail ahead of trial, walked with a cane as he slowly entered the courthouse wearing a dark suit. Authorities say Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper and a Yale Law School graduate, spent weeks mobilizing his followers to prepare to take up arms to defend Trump. The Oath Keepers repeatedly wrote in chats about the prospect of violence, stockpiled guns and put “quick reaction force” teams on standby outside Washington to get weapons into the city quickly if needed, authorities say. On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers were captured on camera storming the Capitol in military-style “stack” formation. Rhodes isn’t accused of going inside the Capitol, but phone records show he was communicating with Oath Keepers who did enter around the time of the riot and he was seen with members outside afterward. Conviction for seditious conspiracy calls for up to 20 years behind bars. The last time prosecutors secured a seditious conspiracy conviction at trial was in 1995 in the case against Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks. Three of Rhodes’ Oath Keepers followers have pleaded guilty to the charge and are likely to testify against him at trial. Rhodes’ lawyers have claimed those Oath Keepers were pressured into pleading guilty and are lying to get a better sentencing deal from the government. On Tuesday, Rhodes’ lawyers asked the judge to bar prosecutors and witnesses from using words such as “antigovernment” or “extremists” in describing the Oath Keepers to jurors, saying in court documents that it would “add nothing but prejudice into what already promises to be an emotionally charged trial.” Rhodes’ attorneys have suggested that his defense will focus on his belief that Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act and call up a militia to support his bid to stay in power. Defense attorneys say Rhodes’ actions in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 were in preparation for what he believed would have been lawful orders from Trump under the Insurrection Act, but never came. The defense has said that Oath Keepers were dressed in helmets and goggles to protect themselves from possible attacks from left-wing antifa activists and that the “quick reaction force” outside Washington was meant for defensive purposes if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act. Nearly 900 people have been charged so far in the Jan. 6 riot and more than 400 have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. Sentences for the rioters so far have ranged from probation for low-level misdemeanor offenses to 10 years in prison for a retired New York City police officer who used a metal flagpole to assault an officer at the Capitol. ___ Associated Press journalist Mike Pesoli contributed to this report from Washington. ___ Follow the AP’s coverage of the Capitol riot at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege. More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump Read More Here

AP News Summary At 8:35 P.m. EDT https://digitalarizonanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-835-p-m-edt/ Hurricane Ian strikes Cuba, Florida braces for winds, floods HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba as a major hurricane Tuesday and left 1 million people without electricity. Now it’s on a collision course with Florida over warm Gulf waters and forecasters say it may strengthen into a catastrophic Category 4 storm. Ian made landfall early Tuesday in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 people and took steps to protect crops in the nation’s main tobacco-growing region. Ian was expected to get even stronger over the warm Gulf of Mexico. In Florida, 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate. Kremlin announces vote, paves way to annex part of Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Moscow officials say that residents in all four occupied areas of Ukraine voted to join Russia. The Kremlin-orchestrated votes have been dismissed by the U.S. and its Western allies as illegitimate. According to Russia-installed election officials, 93% of the ballots case in the Zaporizhzhia region were in support of annexation, as were 87% of ballots in the southern Kherson region and 98% in Luhansk. The preordained outcome sets the stage for a dangerous new phase in Russia’s seven-month war in Ukraine because it is expected to serve as a pretext for Moscow to annex the four areas. That could happen within days. Blasts precede Baltic pipeline leaks, sabotage seen likely WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Denmark says it believes “deliberate actions” by unknown perpetrators were behind big leaks, which seismologists said followed powerful explosions, in two natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday that “it is the authorities’ clear assessment that these are deliberate actions -– not accidents.” The incident overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continent’s energy independence from Moscow. Millions of Americans will save on Medicare fees next year WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time in a decade, Americans will pay less next year on monthly premiums for Medicare’s Part B plan, which covers routine doctors’ visits and other outpatient care. The rare 3% decrease in monthly premiums — a savings of $5.20 for most — comes after millions of Medicare beneficiaries endured a tough year of high inflation and a dramatic increase in those premiums this year. Most people on Medicare will pay $164.90 monthly for Part B coverage starting next year. The decrease in Medicare fees comes as many older people await news about big increases next year to their Social Security checks, which are often used to pay for Medicare premiums. California murder suspect, teen daughter killed in shootout LOS ANGELES (AP) — California authorities say an abducted 15-year-old girl and her father — a fugitive wanted in the death of the teen’s mother — were killed in a shootout with law enforcement. San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus says the teenager, Savannah Graziano, was wearing tactical gear as she ran toward sheriff’s deputies during the firefight on a highway in the high desert. She was shot and was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly before noon. Her father, 45-year-old Anthony John Graziano, was pronounced dead at the scene in Hesperia. He allegedly killed his estranged wife in a domestic violence incident on Monday in the city of Fontana. Biden keeps US target for refugee admissions at 125,000 SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden is formally keeping the nation’s cap on refugee admissions at 125,000 for the 2023 budget year, despite pressure from advocates to raise it even higher to meet the need after falling far short of that target this year. Refugees advocates had been pushing the Biden administration to do more to restore the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The program suffered deep cuts under the Trump administration, which slashed admissions to a record low of 15,000. Biden has raised the cap to four times that amount this year, but so far fewer than 20,000 refugees have been admitted. Jan. 6 panel delays hearing as Hurricane Ian aims at Florida WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee has postponed a hearing scheduled for Wednesday as a hurricane hurtles toward the Florida coast. The committee had planned to hold what was likely to be its final investigative hearing Wednesday afternoon. But lawmakers decided at the last minute to delay it as it became clear that Hurricane Ian was churning on a collision course toward Florida, where it is expected to strengthen into a catastrophic Category 4 storm. The committee had not yet provided a specific agenda for the Wednesday hearing, but Rep. Adam Schiff said over the weekend it would “tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election.” Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — Nicole Hockley lost one son in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. She testified Tuesday that her biggest fear is that people who believe the shooting never happened will harm her other son, who survived the attack at his school. Hockle, her former husband, Ian Hockley, and the sister of another victim were the latest family members of the 26 victims of the school shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the lie that the shooting was a hoax. Defense attorney Norm Pattis is arguing that any damages should be limited and accused the victims’ relatives of exaggerating the harm the lies caused them. Senators push to reform police’s cellphone tracking tools NEW YORK (AP) — Civil rights lawyers and Democratic senators are pushing for legislation that would limit U.S. law enforcement agencies’ ability to buy cellphone tracking tools to follow people’s whereabouts, including back years in time, and sometimes without a search warrant. Concerns about police use of the tool known as “Fog Reveal” raised in an investigation by The Associated Press published earlier this month also surfaced in a Federal Trade Commission hearing three weeks ago. Police agencies have been using the platform to search hundreds of billions of records gathered from 250 million mobile devices, and hoover up people’s geolocation data to assemble so-called “patterns of life,” according to thousands of pages of records about the company. Hurricane Ian gets nasty quickly, turbocharged by warm water Hurricane Ian is quickly gaining monstrous strength as it moves over oceans partly heated up by climate change, just like 30 other Atlantic tropical storms since 2017 that became much more powerful in less than a day. This turbocharging of storms is likely to become even more frequent as the world gets warmer, scientists say. After getting 67% stronger in less than 22 hours from Monday to Tuesday, Ian is bearing down as a likely Category 4 hurricane that threatens to deliver a potential nightmare storm-surge to the Tampa Bay and southwest Florida regions. Ian’s so-called rapid intensification occurred after it traveled over Caribbean waters that are about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) warmer than normal. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Read More Here

Nord Stream Pipelines Hit By Suspicious Leaks In Possible Sabotage; Russia Says It Has 'a Right' To Use Nuclear Weapons https://digitalarizonanews.com/nord-stream-pipelines-hit-by-suspicious-leaks-in-possible-sabotage-russia-says-it-has-a-right-to-use-nuclear-weapons-2/ Blinken says initial reports of damage to Nord Stream pipeline could be sabotage US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about US policy towards China during an event hosted by the Asia Society Policy Institute at George Washington University in Washington, DC, on May 26, 2022. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that initial reports of apparent damage to the Nord Stream pipeline indicate it may be the result of sabotage. “These are initial reports and we haven’t confirmed that yet,” Blinken told reporters at the State Department. “Now, my understanding is the leaks will not have a significant impact on Europe’s energy resilience. And what’s critical is that we are working day in and day out both on a short-term basis and a long-term basis to address energy security for Europe and for that matter around the world,” Blinken added. European officials, meanwhile, are investigating the unexplained leaks affecting both the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that bring natural gas from Russia to Europe via the Baltic Sea. — Amanda Macias Russian forces are using Iranian drones in Ukraine, Pentagon says Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder speaks during a news briefing at the Pentagon September 6, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. Brig. Gen. Ryder held a news briefing to answer questions from members of the press. Alex Wong | Getty Images The Pentagon said it has observed Russian forces use Iranian drones in Ukraine. “We do assess that the Russians are using the Iranian drones in Ukraine,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a daily press briefing. “We’ve also seen reports of Ukrainians shooting down some of these drones,” he added, without providing more detail. Last month, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Russia had received the drones but said it was “too soon to tell” how the new weapons would shape the combat. “It remains to be seen what the overall impact is going to be on those drones, but it’s not going to change the kinds of capabilities we continue to provide,” Kirby told reporters on a conference call. “We know of some difficulties that the Russians have been having with some of those drones,” Kirby added, but declined to elaborate. — Amanda Macias Use of nuclear weapons is ‘absolutely unacceptable,’ NATO chief says Stoltenberg has said NATO’s updated Strategic Concept will likely refer to Russia as the “most significant and direct threat” to security. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance is taking Russia’s rhetoric and threats of using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine very seriously. “Any use of nuclear weapons is absolutely unacceptable,” Stoltenberg said in his opening remarks before the European Parliament. “It will change the nature of the conflict,” he said, adding that the NATO alliance, as well as the European Union, will impose severe consequences on Russia if it uses a nuclear weapon. The Kremlin has previously said that it has a “right” to use nuclear weapons if its territory is threatened. — Amanda Macias Nine vessels depart Ukraine carrying more than 340,000 metric tons of agricultural products An aerial view shows the Sierra Leone-flagged cargo vessel Razoni sailing en route to Tripoli, Lebanon, along the Bosphorus Strait on August 3, 2022, after being officially inspected. Ozan Kose | Afp | Getty Images The organization overseeing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine said it has approved nine vessels to leave the besieged country. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said the vessels are carrying a total of 344,643 metric tons of grain and other crops. Two ships are destined for Spain and are carrying corn, barley and wheat. Another ship will depart from Ukraine’s Yuzhny-Pivdennyi port for South Korea and is carrying corn. Two ships carrying wheat and soy beans will sail to Turkey. Another ship carrying sunflower pellets will sail to Bulgaria. Two vessels from Odesa will sail to Tunisia and Romania carrying wheat and corn. The ninth vessel with leave from Chornomorsk for France and is carrying rapeseed. Read more about the Black Sea Grain Initiative here. — Amanda Macias CIA reportedly warned Berlin about possible attacks on gas pipelines Russia has drastically reduced gas supplies to Europe in recent weeks. Odd Andersen | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had weeks ago warned Germany about possible attacks on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, German magazine Spiegel said after gas leaks in Russia pipelines to Germany were reported. The German government received the CIA tip in summer, Spiegel reported, citing unnamed sources, adding that Berlin assumes a targeted attack on Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. A German government spokesperson declined to comment, Spiegel added. — Reuters A superyacht linked to a sanctioned Russian businessman fetched $37.5 million at auction The Axioma super yacht belonging to Russian oligarch Dmitrievich Pumpyansky who is on the EU’s list of sanctioned Russians is seen docked at a port, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Gibraltar, March 21, 2022. Jon Nazca | Reuters A superyacht linked to a sanctioned Russian businessman fetched $37.5 million at auction in Gibraltar last month after it was sold at the behest of creditor JP Morgan, a court has confirmed, in the first sale of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine. The 72.5-meter Axioma was impounded by the Gibraltar authorities in March after U.S. bank said its alleged owner, a company that was owned by Dmitry Pumpyansky, had reneged on the terms of a 20.5 million euro loan ($19.6 million). Pumpyansky, 58, was until March the owner and chairman of steel pipe manufacturer OAO TMK, a supplier to Russian energy company Gazprom. — Reuters NATO chief speaks with Zelenskyy and reaffirms the alliance’s support “Just spoke with President Zelenskyy and made clear that NATO allies are unwavering in our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and right to self-defense,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter. “The sham referenda held by Russia have no legitimacy and are a blatant violation of international law. These lands are Ukraine,” he added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the call in a separate tweet and said that he thanked the NATO chief for “condemning Russia’s illegal referenda.” “We discussed current battlefield developments and further support of the alliance’s member states to the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Zelenksyy added. — Amanda Macias Gas leaks from Russian pipelines to Europe raise sabotage fears BORNHOLM, DENMARK – SEPTEMBER 27: Danish Defense shows the gas leaking at Nord Stream 2 seen from the Danish F-16 interceptor on Bornholm, Denmark on September 27, 2022. Danish Defence/ | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Europe is investigating leaks in two Russian gas pipelines that churned up the Baltic Sea, raising concerns from Copenhagen to Moscow about sabotage on infrastructure at the heart of an energy standoff. However, it remained far from clear who might be behind any foul play, if proven, on the Nord Stream pipelines that Russia and European partners spent billions of dollars building. Poland’s prime minister blamed sabotage for the leaks, without citing evidence, while the Danish premier said it could not be ruled out. Russia, which slashed gas deliveries to Europe after the West imposed sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, said sabotage was a possibility and that the incident undermined the continent’s energy security. A senior Ukrainian official called it a Russian attack to destabilize Europe, without giving proof. The Nord Stream pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between European capitals and Moscow that has pummeled major Western economies, sent gas prices soaring and sparked a hunt for alternative energy supplies. — Reuters U.N. calls for immediate release of those detained in Russia protesting Putin’s mobilization order Russian policemen detain a demonstrator protesting against mobilization in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. AP Photo The U.N. called on the Kremlin to release people who have been detained in Russia for protesting President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization order. “As of 26 September, according to credible reports, some 2,377 demonstrators had been arrested since last Wednesday in various locations across the country. It is unclear how many people remain in detention,” wrote Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. “We stress that arresting people solely for exercising their rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty,” Shamdasani said, adding that the U.N. calls for the immediate release of all those detained in this manner. — Amanda Macias NATO air forces conduct training drills over Baltic Sea Two Swedish Air Force jets fly over their home territory in 2021. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images NATO members Hungary, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania participated in the training drills dubbed “Ramstein Alloy.” “The exercise series integrates more than two dozen fighter and support aircraft and NATO airborne early warning aircraft with NATO and national command and control centers,” the alliance wrote in a release. “The realistic drills train Allied forces to deter and if needed defend against any aggression.” — Amanda ...

ABC News Report Labels Kyrsten Sinema's Support Of The Senate Filibuster 'controversial' https://digitalarizonanews.com/abc-news-report-labels-kyrsten-sinemas-support-of-the-senate-filibuster-controversial/ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! ABC News called Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s, D-Ariz., defense of the filibuster “controversial” after she reiterated her support at a bipartisan event on Monday. “Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Monday doubled down on her controversial support for the filibuster and displayed her unconventional friendship with Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell during a speech hosted by the Republican in his home state of Kentucky,” ABC News’ Isabella Murray reported. The “controversial” comment was repeated on ABC News Politics’ official Twitter account on Tuesday. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has been attacked by fellow Democrats and the liberal media for supporting the filibuster. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) LIBERALS IN MEDIA ATTACK SINEMA FOR DEFENDING BIPARTISANSHIP, ‘FRIENDSHIP’ WITH MCCONNELL  The tweet read, “Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema doubled down on her controversial support for the filibuster and displayed her unconventional friendship with Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell during a speech hosted by the Republican in Kentucky.” Twitter users attacked the description on Tuesday for suggesting that the filibuster is considered “controversial.”  National Review writer Charles C. W. Cooke wrote, “As the raw numbers in the Senate—and the polling—show, it’s opposition to the filibuster that is ‘controversial.’” “’Controversial,’” Mitch McConnell communications director David Popp tweeted to highlight the use of the word in a news story. Townhall.com web editor Rebecca Downs tweeted, “Oh, look! Here’s the MSM once more providing cover for a extremist position, in this case preserving the filibuster, but dubbing it ‘controversial.’”  Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) walks to her office in the basement of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 19, 2022 in Washington, DC.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) “’Controversial support for the filibuster.’ Literally one President ago nearly every Senate Democrat signed a letter saying ending the filibuster would destroy the Senate. Now @ABCPolitics calls preserving the filibuster ‘controversial’ because Democrats have flip-flopped,” Republican communicator Matt Whitlock wrote. “Here, @ABCPolitics continues its ‘controversial’ sprint to full fledged DNC propaganda outlet,” Former investigative reporter Matthew Foldi tweeted.  “So is this pro-filibuster letter signed by Kamala Harris and dozens of other senators now ‘controversial’?” National Review writer Fred Bauer asked, retweeting a 2017 letter signed by Democratic senators in support of the filibuster. ‘THE VIEW’ HOST JOY BEHAR SAYS DEMOCRATS ‘DON’T NEED’ SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA: ‘SHE HAS A PROBLEM’  Liberal media have previously attacked both Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin’s, D-W. Va., support of the filibuster. Many have echoed liberal talking points in suggesting that eliminating the filibuster is necessary to preserve democracy in America and claiming that the filibuster has a racist history. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have both voiced support for ending the filibuster in certain situations despite Harris being one of many senators who signed a letter in 2017 endorsing its preservation in the wake of President Trump’s win and Republicans retaining control of Congress. Then-Democratic candidate Kyrsten Sinema speaks to supporters after officially winning the U.S. Senate race at the Omni Montelucia resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S., November 12, 2018.  (REUTERS/Caitlin O’Hara) Sinema called out this hypocrisy in a Washington Post op-ed in 2021. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Once in a majority, it is tempting to believe you will stay in the majority. But a Democratic Senate minority used the 60-vote threshold just last year to filibuster a police reform proposal and a covid-relief bill that many Democrats viewed as inadequate,” Sinema wrote. “Those filibusters were mounted not as attempts to block progress, but to force continued negotiations toward better solutions.” Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report. Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick. Read More Here

Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Disease Progression In Trial https://digitalarizonanews.com/alzheimers-drug-slows-disease-progression-in-trial/ Eisai’s headquarters in Nutley, N.J.; the company said it would present more detailed study results in November at an Alzheimer’s research conference. Photo: Eisai Inc. Sept. 27, 2022 7:31 pm ET Eisai Co. and Biogen Inc. said their experimental Alzheimer’s disease drug significantly slowed progression of the memory-robbing disease in a large study, bolstering the drug’s prospects for approval. The pharmaceutical companies said their drug lecanemab reduced cognitive and functional decline by 27%, compared with a placebo, over 18 months in a Phase 3 study of 1,800 patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s. The drug was also linked to higher rates of brain swelling and small bleeds, though the company said they were rarely symptomatic. Read More Here

Police Investigating After Man Stabbed To Death In West Phoenix https://digitalarizonanews.com/police-investigating-after-man-stabbed-to-death-in-west-phoenix/ Detectives believe there were several people in the area of 27th and Missouri avenues who may have information as to what led up to the homicide. PHOENIX — The Phoenix Police Department is asking for the public’s help locating a suspect accused of stabbing a man to death in west Phoenix Monday evening.  Police said around 9 p.m., officers were called to the area of 27th and Missouri avenues about a report of an injured person.  When officers arrived, police said they found Bruce Daniels, 33, who had been stabbed to death.  Detectives believe there were several people in the area that may have information as to what led up to the homicide. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Phoenix Police Department or Silent Witness (480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish speakers) if they wish to remain anonymous.   Up to Speed Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. Silent Witness: Arizona’s Silent Witness program allows people to send in tips and share information about crimes happening within their local communities. The program shares unsolved felony case information in multiple ways, including TV, radio and social media. Anyone who has information on a crime or recognizes a suspect described by the program is asked to call 480-948-6377, go to the program’s website online or download the Silent Witness app to provide a tip. The identity of anyone who submits a tip is kept anonymous. Calls to Silent Witness are answered 24/7 by a live person and submitted tips are accepted at all times. Submitted tips are then sent to the detective(s) in charge of the specific case. Individuals who submit tips that lead to an arrest or indictment in the case can get a reward of up to $1,000. More ways to get 12News On your phone: Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone. On your streaming device: Download 12News+ to your streaming device The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like “Today in AZ” and “12 News” and our daily lifestyle program, “Arizona Midday”—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV. 12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona. On social media: Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Read More…

Elva Flores Davis Obituary (2022) https://digitalarizonanews.com/elva-flores-davis-obituary-2022/ Elva Davis’s passing on Saturday, September 24, 2022 has been publicly announced by Carrillo’s Tucson Mortuary – Tucson in Tucson, AZ. According to the funeral home, the following services have been scheduled: Visitation, on October 2, 2022 at 6:00 p.m., ending at 7:00 p.m., at Carrillo’s Tucson Mortuary (North Chapel), 204 S. Stone Ave, Tucson, AZ. Service, on October 3, 2022 at 9:30 a.m., at St.’s Peter and Paul Church, 1946 E. Lee St, Tucson, AZ. Interment, on October 3, 2022 at 11:00 a.m., at Holy Hope Cemetery, 3555 N. Oracle Rd, Tucson, AZ. Legacy invites you to offer condolences and share memories of Elva in the Guest Book below. The most recent obituary and service information is available at the Carrillo’s Tucson Mortuary – Tucson website. Published by Legacy on Sep. 27, 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