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Next Jan. 6 Hearing May Be 'more Sweeping,' Schiff Says, As Committee Weighs Criminal Referral https://digitalarizonanews.com/next-jan-6-hearing-may-be-more-sweeping-schiff-says-as-committee-weighs-criminal-referral/ Ahead of what could be their final investigative hearing, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, members of the House Jan. 6 committee on Sunday offered a small preview of what is to come as they rapidly approach the end of their timeline. “We’re not disclosing yet what the focus will be. I can say that, as this may be the last hearing of this nature — that is, one that is focused on sort of the factual record — I think it’ll be potentially more sweeping than some of the other hearings,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But it too will be in very thematic,” he said of the hearing. “It will tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election. And the public will certainly learn things it hasn’t seen before, but it will also understand information it already has in a different context by seeing how it relates to other elements of this plot.” After the committee’s vice-chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, said Saturday that she believes the group will move forward unanimously, Schiff agreed and went a bit further when asked if there was going to be an unanimous criminal referral made about the former president’s conduct. (Trump has repeatedly said he did nothing wrong and cast the committee, which includes two Republicans, as partisan.) “It will be … my recommendation, my feeling, that we should make referrals,” Schiff said. “But we will get to a decision as a committee, and we will all abide by that decision, and I will join our committee members if they feel differently.” Cheney has also said the committee received around 800,000 pages of communications from the Secret Service in response to a subpoena. Members of the committee said Sunday they are still going through that information. While the provided materials are not a substitute for the Jan. 6-related messages that were deleted, they offer some additional context, according to Schiff. “We are still investigating how that came about [the deleted messages] and why that came about. And I hope and believe the Justice Department, on that issue, is also looking at whether laws were broken in the destruction of that evidence,” Schiff said on CNN. “But we do have a mountain of information that we need to go through. But I think it’s fair to say that it won’t be a complete substitute for some of the most important evidence, which would have been on those phones.” Rep. Adam Schiff answers audience questions about his role in the January 6th Committee and other obligations in the U.S. House at the Saturday morning sessions of the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texsas, Sept. 24, 2022. Bob Daemmrich/ZumaPress Asked about former committee adviser Denver Riggleman’s recent suggestion that “the White House switchboard had connected to a rioter’s phone” during the attack on the Capitol last year — and if he viewed such a development as significant to the investigation — Schiff downplayed the comment. “I can’t comment on the particulars. I can say that each of the issues that Mr. Riggleman raised during the period he was with the committee, which ended quite some time ago, we looked into. And one of the things that has given our committee credibility is we’ve been very careful about what we say, not to overstate matters,” Schiff said, adding, “Without the advantage of the additional information we’ve gathered since he left the committee, it poses real risks to be suggesting things. So, we have looked into all of these issues.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and was asked about the likelihood that the Jan. 6 committee will have testimony from Ginni Thomas and Newt Gingrich before Wednesday’s hearing. “I doubt that. But I think that there is an agreement in place with Ginni Thomas to come and talk and I know the committee is very interested,” Raskin said, referring to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, a noted conservative activist who was in touch with Trump’s team as he pushed to overturn the 2020 results. Raskin said that those testimonies — once they are given — will be included in the committee’s final report if the hearings have already concluded. He was also asked if that report will be finished by the midterm elections. “I don’t know whether it will be done then, but our commitment is to get it done by the end of this Congress [by January],” Raskin said. “The House of Representatives, unlike the Senate, ends every two years. A completely new Congress comes in. So that’s the end of our lease on life and we have to get it out to the people.” Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in Wilmington, N.C., Sept. 23, 2022. Chris Seward/AP Pressed further on the amount of work still left for them to do, Raskin pledged that the committee will “make sure our materials are made public and available for the future, and we’re going to preserve them. We’re not going to allow them to be destroyed.” The committee chair, Bennie Thompson, told reporters last week that the hearings were wrapping up. “Unless something else develops, this hearing, at this point, is the final hearing. But it’s not in stone because things happen,” Thompson, D-Miss., said then. He promised “substantial footage” of the riot and “significant witness testimony” that hadn’t previously been released. Read More Here

Special Master Will Force Trump To “put Up Or Shut Up” : Ex-DOJ Official https://digitalarizonanews.com/special-master-will-force-trump-to-put-up-or-shut-up-ex-doj-official/ Sarah Isgur, a former senior official in the Department of Justice, says the special master in former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago documents case is challenging him to “put up or shut up” regarding some of the public statements he’s made. Department senior official said on ABC’s “This Week” show on Sunday. Why it matters: Isgur’s comments said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, are the latest among members of the GOP, as well as some Trump allies, who have voiced opposition to some of the president’s claims regarding the materials discovered during the Mar-a-Lago search. The most recent opposition has come after Trump claimed last week that the president has power to declassify documents “by thinking about it.” What they’re saying: Isgur called it “fascinating” that Trump’s team picked U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, who served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and has dealt with so much with classified material, as one of the special master candidates. Isgur said Dearie is telling Trump’s lawyers that they need to say clearly in court “whether the president ever declassified anything” and “whether they actually believe and have evidence that anything was planted at Mar-a-Lago.” “All the things that Trump has said publicly, this judge is saying put up or shut up,” Isgur said. What’s Next: Dearie has given Trump’s legal team until September 30 to give evidence regarding some of the claims they have made regarding the FBI’s search of his Florida residence. Those claims include allegations that the FBI planted evidence during the August 8 search. Dearie also told the DOJ to give a detailed inventory of the non-classified items taken from Mar-a-Lago to Trump’s legal team by September 26. Trump’s lawyers have until Friday to provide the special master with a “declaration” that the FBI is “incorrectly describing” any of the items on the list. “This submission shall be Plaintiff’s final opportunity to raise any factual dispute as to the completeness and accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory,” Dearie wrote. Read More Here

Pilot Shortage Is Result Of ‘poorly Thought-Through Regulation’, Mesa Air CEO Says https://digitalarizonanews.com/pilot-shortage-is-result-of-poorly-thought-through-regulation-mesa-air-ceo-says/ Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images News The pilot shortage hampering the airline industry is largely driven by overaggressive regulatory measures, Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ:MESA) CEO Jonathan Ornstein told SeekingAlpha in an interview. Ornstein’s airline grabbed headlines in late September by instituting a training program that included the purchase of up to 104 new training aircraft and offers qualified pilots up to 40 hours of flight time each week with flight benefits and priority status for employment as a First Officer at the airline. The program was touted as a private sector solution to a problem created by regulation. The main problem at hand, according to Ornstein, is the FAA’s requirement of 1,500 hours of flight time to be granted an Airline Transport Pilot certificate. Ornstein noted that the rest of the world does not adhere to such a strict standard, with most other regulators across the globe requiring just 250 flight hours for pilot certification. Even for major carriers abroad that typically institute stricter standards, the 1,500 hour rule dwarfs requirements. For example, Australia’s QANTAS airlines advertises a requirement of just 700 hours of total experience. Ornstein, therefore, lamented the FAA’s decision to reject Republic Airways’ proposal to cut the required training time. “We’re in a shortage now that has been entirely created by really poorly designed, poorly executed, and poorly thought-through government regulation that has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with money,” Ornstein said. “As a result we are short thousands of pilots and most regional airlines are flying at half capacity.” He added that the regional airlines are under particular stress given they are “at the bottom of the food chain” in terms of pilots. As such, they have had to double wages for pilots even prior to instituting a new program for pilot training in pursuit of the 1,500 hour minimum that Ornstein considers “absurd.” Raymond James recently cut its rating on Mesa Air Group (MESA) and SkyWest (SKYW) to a Sell-equivalent citing the spike in pilot wages as the impetus for the shift. Ultra low-cost carriers like Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and Frontier Group (ULCC) are also under pressure given their reliance on low fares that are growing less tenable amid surging labor costs. Additionally, many routes normally trekked by regional airlines are simply becoming uneconomic, in Ornstein’s view. This is an issue for not only the airlines, but consumers traveling from the smaller cities serviced, he noted. Airfares in the US increased 33.4% in August compared to 2021 on an unadjusted basis. Reinforcing his view on regional capacity cuts, regional carrier SkyWest (SKYW) filed to trim 29 routes from its schedule earlier this year prior to DOT intervention. Meanwhile, American Airlines (AAL) said it will cut service to four smaller cities this month due to a shortage of pilots, adding to earlier capacity cuts. Meanwhile, United Airlines (UAL) has recently pushed for more flights from JFK Airport to focus on a major hub while cutting service to smaller markets like Texarkana, AK and Flagstaff, AZ. Both Delta Air Lines (DAL) and American have even moved to offering buses in lieu of short-haul routes given the shortage and adverse economics of regional routes. On a more positive note, Ornstein told SeekingAlpha that Mesa has already received “hundreds of applications” to its pilot training program unveiled on Thursday. “There are a lot of kids out there that have the 250 hours for their commercial license that are struggling to get to the 1,500 hour requirement by towing banners, crop-dusting or other activities that do not really improve their skills,” he said. “What we’re doing is providing a more concentrated timeline where they can accelerate their entry into the industry.” He expects the program will offer some breathing room for the airline in the longer term. Nonetheless, he remained pessimistic on the pilot shortage problem being solved in the near term. US Airlines: Delta Air Lines (DAL), American Airlines (AAL), United Airlines (UAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Spirit Airlines (SAVE), Alaska Airlines (ALK), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Sun Country (SNCY), Frontier Group (ULCC), Hawaiian Airlines (HA), SkyWest (SKYW), Allegiant (ALGT), Mesa Air Group (MESA). Read more on President Biden’s recent comments criticizing US air carriers’ capacity cuts. Read More Here

ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAMER DAVE MASON ANNOUNCES FALL TOUR https://digitalarizonanews.com/rock-roll-hall-of-famer-dave-mason-announces-fall-tour/ Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason kicks off his Fall tour on Saturday, October 29th in Thousand Oaks, CA,  and continues North to Seattle, WA and then heads Southwest with a performance in Tucson on Sunday, November 29th  at the Tucson Music Hall.  This continuing world tour is a testament to Dave Mason’s six decade enduring role as an icon in rock history as well as the unrelenting support of his music loving fans the world over.  Mason enjoyed a successful cross country run over the summer and is thrilled to get back out on the road to see his friends and fans – “There is nothing quite like performing live. I love it!” exclaimed Mason. Get up to speed with DAVE MASON IN 60 SECONDS. Joining Mason on this run are longtime band members Johnne Sambataro on guitar and vocals, Alvino Bennett on drums, and exciting new additions Bill Mason on keyboard and vocals, and Ray Cardwell on bass and vocals. This new lineup will perform Mason’s most loved and iconic songs as well as deep tracks and fans can always count on a few surprises. In 2020 Dave Mason reimagined his iconic album Alone Together with the release of Alone Together Again. The album is available through Mason’s online store, and on all digital platforms, via Shelter Records. Written when he was only 20 years old, Dave Mason is likely best known for “Feelin’ Alright?”, one of the most beloved and covered rock anthems since its release in 1968. The timeless song continues to be a powerful and enduring  moment of rock and roll history, featured in dozens of films and TV commercials as well as interpretations by artists as diverse as Joe Cocker, Three Dog Night, Grand Funk Railroad, ELO, Coldplay, The 5th Dimension and so many more. A new version of this classic was re-recorded and released in July 2020 featuring Mason alongside Mick Fleetwood, Sammy Hagar, Michael McDonald and The Doobie Brothers: John McFee, Tom Johnston, John Cowan and Pat Simmons. Listen to “Feelin’ Alright” HERE; watch the video HERE. Mason has been respectfully called a musical “gunslinger” for a reason; having worked with some of the biggest names in music, his trademark guitar licks and musical touches are all over beloved classic hits.  Early next year will see the release of his first ever autobiography Only You Know & I Know, where Dave will share some of the great untold tales in rock and roll. Dave has a unique and rare viewpoint as he;  recorded an album with Mama Cass, played rhythm guitar on “All Along the Watchtower” with Jimi Hendrix, was a founding member of Traffic, recorded with Paul McCartney , George Harrison and The Rolling Stones, was part of Fleetwood Mac for a spell, as well as a guitar designer and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee …. Yep, that’s Dave Mason. Dave Mason on Tour 2022 OCT 29     Thousand Oaks, CA – Fred Kavli Theatre – Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza   OCT 31    Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up     NOV 1     San Juan Capistrano, CA – Coach House Concert Hall    NOV 4      Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse    NOV 5      Napa, CA – Uptown Theatre Napa NOV 6      Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse   NOV 11    Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater     NOV 12 & 13    Seattle, WA – Triple Door   NOV 15     Redding, CA – Cascade Theatre    NOV 16     Sacramento, CA – Crest Theatre     NOV 19     Phoenix, AZ – Celebrity Theatre   NOV 20     Tucson, AZ – Tucson Music Hall Read More Here

The Megastate G.O.P. Rivalry Between Abbott And DeSantis https://digitalarizonanews.com/the-megastate-g-o-p-rivalry-between-abbott-and-desantis/ Political Memo Publicly, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has not criticized the migrant flights from his state by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. Privately, the Florida governor’s stunt stung the Texas governor’s team. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, left, and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas in 2021 in Del Rio, Texas.Credit…Office of the Texas Governor Sept. 25, 2022Updated 5:42 p.m. ET AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida wanted to irritate a set of wealthy, liberal elites when he flew migrants to Martha’s Vineyard from Texas, delivering them a slice of the humanitarian crisis simmering along the nation’s southern border. But Mr. DeSantis’s stunt also annoyed an entirely different group — fellow Republicans in Austin, including some of the allies and aides of Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas. Publicly, Mr. Abbott has not criticized Mr. DeSantis’s migrant flights from his state. “Every state that wants to help, I’m happy for it,” said Dave Carney, Mr. Abbott’s top campaign strategist. But privately, the Florida governor’s gambit stung Mr. Abbott’s team. No one in the Texas governor’s office was given a heads-up that Mr. DeSantis planned to round up migrants in San Antonio, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Abbott had spent months — and millions of state tax dollars — methodically orchestrating a relocation program that, since April, had bused 11,000 migrants to Washington, New York and Chicago. Mr. DeSantis’s adaptation was considerably smaller. But it immediately put the national spotlight on Mr. DeSantis, garnering headlines and earning him praise from Republicans and condemnation from Democrats. It also led to an investigation by the sheriff in San Antonio and a lawsuit from migrants who said they had been lured onto the planes under false pretenses. Mr. DeSantis grabbed the attention of right-wing America, using Mr. Abbott’s tactic, on Mr. Abbott’s turf, to bigger and more dramatic effect. Image Members of the media gathering in Edgartown, Mass., after the arrival of migrants from San Antonio.Credit…Matt Cosby for The New York Times Mr. DeSantis’s instinct for political theater has helped him quickly turn into Republicans’ leading alternative to former President Donald J. Trump. Even Texas Republicans tell pollsters that they prefer Mr. DeSantis over Mr. Abbott for president in 2024. The two Republican governors have been locked in an increasingly high-stakes contest of one-upmanship, wielding their own unique brands of conservatism and pushing boundaries by using desperate migrants for political gain. In Florida, Mr. DeSantis mused to donors last year about Mr. Abbott’s good political fortune to share 1,254 miles of border with Mexico and complained that he didn’t have the same to use as a backdrop, according to one person familiar with the conversation. For all the bluster, the war between Austin and Tallahassee is decidedly more cold than hot. Yet, the two governors’ policy moves antagonizing the Biden administration and the Democratic Party as a whole have been unfolding as an interstate call and response, with national repercussions. In August 2020, Mr. Abbott proposed legislation to punish cities in Texas that took funding away from police departments by preventing them from raising more property tax revenue. The following month, Mr. DeSantis went further, saying he would seek to cut state funding from municipalities that defunded the police. In February of this year, Mr. Abbott ordered state officials to open child-abuse investigations into medically accepted treatments for transgender youth, including hormones and puberty-suppressing drugs. Last month, Mr. DeSantis said doctors who “disfigure” young people with gender-affirming care should be sued. In June 2021, on the first day of Pride Month, Mr. DeSantis signed a bill into law that barred transgender girls from playing on female sports teams at public schools. Mr. Abbott followed suit with a similar measure that October. The competition between Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Abbott has more to do with their job descriptions than any personal animosity. Governors elected to lead megastates like Florida and Texas — two of America’s three largest states that accounted for 15 percent of the Republican presidential vote in 2020 — are automatically injected into the national political arena, where they are sized up and watched closely for signs of White House ambitions. “Love Florida. Love Texas. Love Florida more,” Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor with deep familial ties to Texas, said when asked about the rivalry between the two states. When Rick Scott was the governor of Florida and Rick Perry was the governor of Texas, the two Ricks shared a bromance even as both eyed the White House. From Florida, Mr. Scott spoke glowingly of his counterpart’s record of luring businesses. In Texas, Mr. Perry admired his rival’s refusal to accept federal stimulus money for railroads or to expand Medicaid. Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Abbott have lacked such camaraderie. Their brinkmanship has played out against the backdrop of their re-election bids. Both men are seeking additional four-year terms while facing challenges by well-known Democrats in contests that could help determine their presidential aspirations and the direction of the Republican Party for years to come. “No one has ever been elected governor of even a small state who didn’t, somewhere deep in their heart, start dreaming about being president,” said Chris Wilson, a pollster who has worked for both men. “So it’s not shocking to see both Abbott and DeSantis jockeying at least a little toward 2024 or beyond.” Mr. Abbott is the more institutional politician. He faced no opposition in his first primary election for attorney general in 2002, and was effectively unopposed inside the party when he ran to succeed Mr. Perry as governor in 2014. He has worked to maintain ties with business groups, social conservatives and fellow Republican governors. A former Texas Supreme Court justice, he is a rather lawyerly governor. Mr. DeSantis is more instinctual. He emerged from a six-way Republican primary in his first race for the House of Representatives in 2012. He was viewed as an underdog in the 2018 governor’s primary until he became separated from the pack, thanks to an endorsement — and constant promotion — from Mr. Trump. A former lawyer for the Navy at Guantánamo Bay, he is more pugilistic than judicial. Image Both Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Abbott are running for re-election this year and face challenges by well-known Democrats. Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times Still, Mr. DeSantis has positioned himself as something of a political loner. He has eschewed events coordinated by the tight-knit Republican Governors Association. Instead of joining a group of current and former Republican governors on the campaign trail this year to support fellow incumbents, Mr. DeSantis embarked on his own victory lap, promoting the migrant flights during campaign stops with Republican candidates for governor in Kansas and Wisconsin. Those events were organized not by the Republican Governors Association, but by Turning Point USA, a group of younger and more provocative conservative activists close to Mr. Trump and his family. In Tallahassee, the migrant flights had been discussed for more than a year and had, at one point, centered on relocating the migrants to the Hamptons, the popular Long Island destination for wealthy New Yorkers, according to people familiar with the talks. Initially, the proposal caused some division within Mr. DeSantis’s team. The contrasting styles of Mr. Abbott and Mr. DeSantis were on clear display last year in their handling of high-profile election bills. When Mr. Abbott signed a new round of voting restrictions, he traveled to Tyler, the hometown of one of the bill’s chief proponents, and was surrounded by Republican lawmakers, supporters and reporters. When Mr. DeSantis signed his state’s voting restrictions, he, too, was surrounded by fellow Florida Republicans, but the only network that was allowed to cover the event was Fox News, which aired the footage live on its program “Fox & Friends.” Image Mr. Abbott in Tyler, Texas, after signing an election bill last year that restricts voting.Credit…LM Otero/Associated Press The coronavirus pandemic has been a defining moment for both governors. Mr. DeSantis burnished his conservative bona fides by challenging Covid safety guidelines from public health officials. He lifted pandemic restrictions on businesses in Florida in September 2020, earlier than most governors. By contrast, Mr. Abbott found himself clashing with conservatives over the business restrictions and mask mandate that he had ordered. Some donors confronted Mr. Abbott, expressing their disappointment that he was not following Mr. DeSantis’s lead and suggesting that he could lose re-election if he did not move quicker to reopen businesses and return the state to normalcy, according to two Republicans who participated in the meeting. Mr. Abbott eventually lifted restrictions on businesses in March 2021, months after Mr. DeSantis did. “Governor Abbott and Governor DeSantis have a solid working relationship, having worked together on various initiatives through Republican governors organizations,” Renae Eze, Mr. Abbott’s press secretary, said. A spokeswoman for Mr. DeSantis did not respond to requests for comment about his relationship with Mr. Abbott and his remark about the border to donors last year. Last year, after the start of the Biden administration and as migrants arrived at the border in increasing numbers, Mr. Abbott and Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona sought assistance from other states to h...

US Sees Signs Russia Is ‘struggling,’ Has Warned Of Catastrophe If Putin Uses Nuclear Weapon: Sullivan – Deltaplex News https://digitalarizonanews.com/us-sees-signs-russia-is-struggling-has-warned-of-catastrophe-if-putin-uses-nuclear-weapon-sullivan-deltaplex-news/ (NEW YORK) — The U.S. is seeing evidence that Russia is “struggling” in its invasion of Ukraine and has warned Moscow that there would be “catastrophic consequences” if it were to use a nuclear weapon in its war against Kyiv, the White House national security adviser said Sunday. Jake Sullivan, in an interview with ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos, pointed both to the protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization of 300,000 reservists and to what Sullivan called “sham” annexation referendums in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine. “These are definitely not signs of strength or confidence. Quite the opposite: They’re signs that Russia and Putin are struggling badly,” Sullivan said while noting Putin’s autocratic hold on the country made it hard to make definitive assessments from the outside. “It will be the Russian people, ultimately, who make the determination about how Russia proceeds and the extent to which that there is resistance and pushback to what Vladimir Putin has tried to do, calling up these hundreds of thousands of young men,” Sullivan added. “Do you want them to rise up and replace Putin?” Stephanopoulos asked. “At the end of the day, the future of Russian politics is going to be dictated, not by Washington, not by anyone in Europe, but by the people inside Russia,” Sullivan responded. “And what you are seeing in the streets right now is a deep unhappiness with what Putin is doing.” His comments come amid escalating rhetoric from Putin as Russian forces have been forced to cede large swaths of northeast Ukraine while retreating from a Ukrainian counteroffensive this month. Last week, Putin called up reservists and suggested that tactical nuclear weapons could be used to change the course of the war, groundlessly accusing the West of threatening Russia’s territorial integrity. Since before attacking Ukraine in February, Putin has cast the invasion as a matter of Russian national security. “The territorial integrity of our homeland, our independence and freedom will be ensured, I will emphasize this again, with all the means at our disposal. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the prevailing winds can turn in their direction,” Putin said in a speech last week. “I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and some components are more modern than those of the NATO countries,” Putin added. On “This Week,” Sullivan declined to explain precisely what warnings have been communicated between Russia and the U.S. but he said that there would be dire repercussions if such a weapon were used. “We have communicated directly, privately, to the Russians at very high levels that there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia if they use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. We have been clear with them and emphatic with them that the United States will respond decisively alongside our allies and partners,” Sullivan said. “So that means taking the fight directly to Russia?” Stephanopoulos asked. Sullivan demurred: “We’ve been careful in how we talk about this publicly because, from our perspective, we want to lay down the principle that there would be catastrophic consequences but not engage in a game of rhetorical tit-for-tat.” Stephanopoulos also asked Sullivan if protests in Iran over the death of a woman who was not adhering to the country’s strict female dress code would be enough to topple the government in Tehran. “The United States … hasn’t necessarily over many decades had a great track record of perfectly predicting when protests turn into political change, and I can’t perfectly predict that sitting here today. What I can say is they do reflect a deep-seated and widespread belief among the population of Iran, the citizens abroad, the women of Iran, that they deserve their dignity and their rights,” Sullivan said. Stephanopoulos pressed, given the Iranian government’s actions, if the Biden administration should continue seeking to revive the Obama-era nuclear deal which President Donald Trump scrapped. Conservatives have repeatedly criticized those efforts. Sullivan said that the White House feels diplomacy and political pressure can go hand-in-hand. “The fact that we are in nuclear talks is in no way slowing us down from speaking out and acting on behalf of the people of Iran,” he said. “We’re not going to slow down one inch in our defense and advocacy for the rights of the women and citizens of Iran.” Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Trump Can’t ‘declassify Documents By Saying So,’ GOP Sen. Barrasso Acknowledges When Pressed – Deltaplex News https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-cant-declassify-documents-by-saying-so-gop-sen-barrasso-acknowledges-when-pressed-deltaplex-news/ (NEW YORK) — After Donald Trump suggested last week that as president “you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it,” Republican Wyoming Senator John Barrasso disagreed — but only after George Stephanopoulos pressed him on the issue twice on ABC’s “This Week.” During an interview on Sunday, Barrasso was asked by Stephanopoulos about Trump’s handling of classified material, which is under federal investigation as Trump denies wrongdoing. Trump claimed to Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week that while “different people see different things,” his view of this authority was absolute: “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified. Even by thinking about it.” Stephanopoulos asked if Barrasso agreed. The senator said that he had not heard about such an assertion and pivoted to criticizing the Department of Justice’s court-authorized search of Mar-a-Lago. Barrasso said that he had “never seen anything like that before,” referring to the FBI “raid” Trump’s home, and that it had “become political.” Stephanopoulos pushed back: “You know that a president can’t declassify documents by thinking about it. Why can’t you say so?” The senator, who also said that he isn’t versed in the rules of presidential declassification and wants to get a briefing from the DOJ on the investigation, then agreed with Stephanopoulos. He said, “I don’t think a president can declassify documents by saying so, by thinking about it.” That view lines up with what outside experts have told ABC News: The president must document his declassification process somewhere, whatever his process was. Barrasso spent much of his “This Week” appearance pushing back on President Joe Biden’s foreign policy, including addressing the potential revival of the 2015 nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran. Stephanopoulos opened up the interview by having Barrasso respond to Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser. Sullivan was also interviewed on “This Week” on Sunday and said nuclear negotiations — so Iran never has a weapon “they can threaten the world with” — could be effective at the same time the White House was putting public pressure on the country over its treatment of women and protesters. “Did you find his argument convincing for staying in the Iran nuclear talks?” Stephanopoulos asked Barrasso. “No deal with Iran, George, is a good deal … They continue to claim ‘death to America.’ We cannot allow them to have a nuclear weapon,” Barrasso said. Stephanopoulos also sought clarity from Barrasso on the GOP and Ukraine. Citing criticism of American’s continued aid to Ukraine by some Republicans, like Ohio Senate nominee J.D. Vance, Stephanopoulos asked Barrasso if Democrats were right to warn that the GOP may restrict future support if they retake Congress. “No. There continues to be bipartisan support in the House and in the Senate for weapons to Ukraine,” Barrasso said. He said he wanted the White House to be quicker in providing weapons to Ukraine and said “we ought to be producing more American energy to help our European allies” and American consumers who are dealing with the fallout of the conflict with Russia, a major energy provider. Stephanopoulos asked Barrasso, just as he asked Sullivan: “Do you believe that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s hold on power is secure?” “I’m not sure,” Barrasso, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said. “He is in a deep hole right now and he’s dug this hole. And I thought his statement to the country there really was desperate. It didn’t show really confidence or strength.” “The Foreign Relations Committee is going to have a hearing this Wednesday on what additional things we can do in terms of sanctions [on Russia],” Barrasso said. “And also we have a secure briefing on Thursday in the Senate to take a look right at what’s happening on the ground in Ukraine.” Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read More Here

US Forecast https://digitalarizonanews.com/us-forecast-23/ City/Town, State;Yesterday’s High Temp (F);Yesterday’s Low Temp (F);Today’s High Temp (F);Today’s Low Temp (F);Weather Condition;Wind Direction;Wind Speed (MPH);Humidity (%);Chance of Precip. (%);UV Index Albany, NY;64;54;69;50;A shower;S;9;71%;86%;2 Albuquerque, NM;83;57;81;58;Partly sunny;SE;5;37%;26%;6 Anchorage, AK;53;39;49;42;An afternoon shower;SSE;6;79%;95%;1 Asheville, NC;74;53;72;46;Mostly sunny;NNW;8;57%;17%;6 Atlanta, GA;81;62;80;54;Sunny and delightful;NNW;9;51%;2%;6 Atlantic City, NJ;75;63;76;59;Breezy;SW;14;55%;24%;5 Austin, TX;97;73;94;62;Breezy and hot;NNE;14;33%;2%;7 Baltimore, MD;80;63;79;59;Breezy in the a.m.;W;11;45%;14%;5 Baton Rouge, LA;95;72;91;61;Mostly sunny;NNE;8;57%;5%;7 Billings, MT;77;53;80;52;Sunshine, pleasant;E;8;36%;3%;4 Birmingham, AL;84;62;80;53;Sunny and nice;N;8;52%;4%;6 Bismarck, ND;68;41;72;42;Partly sunny, nice;N;6;45%;2%;4 Boise, ID;83;55;87;58;Mostly sunny, warm;ENE;7;21%;0%;4 Boston, MA;69;61;75;58;An afternoon shower;SSW;11;60%;51%;3 Bridgeport, CT;72;59;74;56;Sunny intervals;SW;11;60%;25%;3 Buffalo, NY;64;55;59;54;Windy with showers;W;19;82%;100%;1 Burlington, VT;59;55;68;52;A couple of showers;S;11;78%;90%;1 Caribou, ME;66;50;63;52;Downpours;S;6;87%;96%;1 Casper, WY;74;41;78;41;Sunny and beautiful;ENE;7;36%;5%;5 Charleston, SC;83;71;88;66;Sunny and warm;WSW;7;61%;44%;6 Charleston, WV;77;55;72;48;Variable cloudiness;SSW;8;56%;18%;4 Charlotte, NC;75;58;81;53;Mostly sunny, nice;NW;6;54%;9%;6 Cheyenne, WY;70;46;76;47;Sunny and nice;NNW;10;28%;3%;5 Chicago, IL;69;53;63;49;Windy;NW;20;56%;13%;5 Cleveland, OH;67;56;63;54;Windy with showers;W;19;76%;99%;1 Columbia, SC;86;64;88;56;Mostly sunny, nice;NW;7;51%;8%;6 Columbus, OH;70;53;66;49;Breezy;NW;18;53%;34%;4 Concord, NH;64;54;70;48;An afternoon shower;SW;8;72%;51%;2 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX;96;67;87;62;Plenty of sunshine;NNE;10;28%;0%;6 Denver, CO;76;49;81;52;Mostly sunny;NE;5;26%;4%;5 Des Moines, IA;75;48;68;47;Mostly sunny, breezy;NW;14;45%;0%;5 Detroit, MI;67;52;61;50;A couple of showers;W;19;74%;94%;1 Dodge City, KS;78;49;83;54;Mostly sunny;SE;7;40%;1%;5 Duluth, MN;66;47;58;40;Breezy in the a.m.;NNW;13;62%;5%;4 El Paso, TX;89;68;86;64;Partly sunny;ESE;10;45%;11%;6 Fairbanks, AK;53;34;46;35;Rain and drizzle;NNE;4;80%;95%;0 Fargo, ND;67;41;63;40;Partly sunny;ENE;8;60%;0%;4 Grand Junction, CO;82;51;83;54;Mostly sunny;ESE;6;29%;3%;5 Grand Rapids, MI;62;52;58;48;Brief showers, windy;NW;19;82%;96%;1 Hartford, CT;71;57;74;54;A t-storm around;SSW;9;64%;48%;3 Helena, MT;78;48;81;49;Mostly sunny, warm;SW;4;44%;0%;4 Honolulu, HI;87;75;89;75;Breezy in the p.m.;ENE;12;60%;14%;9 Houston, TX;96;75;92;66;Mostly sunny and hot;NE;9;49%;5%;7 Indianapolis, IN;69;53;67;47;Partly sunny, breezy;WNW;14;49%;28%;5 Jackson, MS;93;68;85;56;Sunshine, not as hot;NNE;8;42%;5%;6 Jacksonville, FL;89;70;91;73;Mostly sunny, warm;SSE;6;64%;36%;7 Juneau, AK;56;51;59;52;Rain, heavy at times;S;17;88%;100%;0 Kansas City, MO;80;51;74;50;Sunny and nice;WNW;9;41%;0%;5 Knoxville, TN;78;54;76;47;Sunny and nice;W;8;55%;15%;5 Las Vegas, NV;98;70;99;74;Sunny and hot;NW;5;11%;0%;6 Lexington, KY;78;55;71;47;Partly sunny, breezy;W;14;45%;14%;5 Little Rock, AR;93;59;84;54;Sunny and pleasant;N;8;36%;0%;6 Long Beach, CA;89;69;88;70;Warm with sunshine;S;6;56%;0%;6 Los Angeles, CA;89;69;94;70;Sunny and hot;SE;7;48%;0%;6 Louisville, KY;78;56;72;48;Sunny and breezy;WNW;13;42%;12%;5 Madison, WI;64;49;59;42;Breezy;NW;15;62%;7%;4 Memphis, TN;93;62;83;55;Sunny and nice;N;9;35%;0%;6 Miami, FL;90;79;85;77;A couple of t-storms;SE;8;81%;100%;2 Milwaukee, WI;66;52;63;46;Windy;NW;19;58%;22%;4 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN;70;49;62;43;Partly sunny, breezy;NNW;14;48%;1%;4 Mobile, AL;93;73;92;63;Warm with some sun;N;7;63%;30%;7 Montgomery, AL;90;67;82;57;Sunny and less humid;N;7;62%;10%;6 Mt. Washington, NH;40;38;41;33;Very windy;SW;33;98%;88%;1 Nashville, TN;86;55;76;47;Sunny and pleasant;NNW;8;42%;9%;5 New Orleans, LA;92;79;91;70;Clouds and sun;NNE;9;59%;15%;7 New York, NY;73;60;74;58;Breezy;SW;14;55%;21%;4 Newark, NJ;72;58;74;54;Clouds and sun;SW;10;54%;36%;3 Norfolk, VA;87;65;84;61;Mostly sunny;W;9;46%;19%;5 Oklahoma City, OK;87;57;83;57;Plenty of sunshine;SE;8;35%;0%;6 Olympia, WA;80;49;84;48;Mostly sunny;SSW;2;56%;3%;4 Omaha, NE;78;46;72;47;Mostly sunny;NNW;11;46%;0%;5 Orlando, FL;90;75;90;75;A stray p.m. t-storm;E;5;70%;75%;6 Philadelphia, PA;77;60;76;56;Breezy;WSW;13;50%;17%;5 Phoenix, AZ;103;79;104;82;Sunny and hot;E;7;23%;16%;6 Pittsburgh, PA;72;55;67;49;A shower or two;W;12;59%;85%;2 Portland, ME;65;57;68;55;A shower in the p.m.;SSW;11;77%;63%;2 Portland, OR;87;55;87;55;Sunlit and very warm;N;5;49%;3%;4 Providence, RI;70;60;73;56;An afternoon shower;SSW;10;64%;52%;3 Raleigh, NC;81;61;81;55;Sunshine, pleasant;NW;7;51%;13%;5 Reno, NV;85;54;86;56;Sunny and warm;WSW;6;28%;0%;5 Richmond, VA;84;59;80;53;Partly sunny, nice;NW;9;50%;17%;5 Roswell, NM;91;61;85;58;Partly sunny;SSW;7;38%;5%;6 Sacramento, CA;94;62;93;58;Sunny and very warm;S;5;42%;0%;5 Salt Lake City, UT;82;57;84;58;Sunny;ESE;7;30%;0%;5 San Antonio, TX;95;73;94;63;Breezy and very warm;NE;15;50%;3%;7 San Diego, CA;78;68;80;68;Lots of sun, humid;WNW;9;68%;0%;6 San Francisco, CA;69;59;72;58;Clouds, then sun;WSW;11;65%;0%;5 Savannah, GA;86;68;90;65;Warm with sunshine;SSW;5;63%;34%;6 Seattle-Tacoma, WA;77;54;80;55;Clouding up;N;5;54%;3%;4 Sioux Falls, SD;74;44;70;44;Partly sunny;NE;10;44%;0%;4 Spokane, WA;81;47;85;48;Mostly sunny;E;1;43%;0%;4 Springfield, IL;76;49;67;42;Sunny and breezy;WNW;13;47%;0%;5 St. Louis, MO;78;52;71;47;Sunny and nice;WNW;12;40%;2%;5 Tampa, FL;93;75;89;75;A stray p.m. t-storm;SSE;5;76%;91%;7 Toledo, OH;66;50;61;48;Windy with a shower;W;18;72%;84%;2 Tucson, AZ;98;74;97;74;Hot;ESE;12;33%;32%;7 Tulsa, OK;87;55;83;54;Plenty of sun;ENE;6;35%;0%;5 Vero Beach, FL;88;75;88;74;Humid with a t-storm;SE;7;81%;98%;5 Washington, DC;78;59;77;55;Partial sunshine;WNW;9;49%;11%;5 Wichita, KS;80;49;81;53;Sunny and beautiful;E;7;35%;0%;5 Wilmington, DE;77;59;76;55;Breezy;WSW;13;53%;15%;5 _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Read More Here

Canada Begins Long Cleanup After Fiona Sweeps Homes Out To Sea https://digitalarizonanews.com/canada-begins-long-cleanup-after-fiona-sweeps-homes-out-to-sea/ Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com PORT AUX BASQUES, Newfoundland, Sept 25 (Reuters) – It will take several months for Canada to restore critical infrastructure after the powerful storm Fiona left an “unprecedented” trail of destruction, officials said on Sunday, as crews fanned out in five provinces to restore power and clean up fallen trees and debris. “It’s like a complete war zone,” said Brian Button, mayor of Port aux Basques, one of the hardest hit towns on the southwest tip of Newfoundland with just over 4,000 residents. More than 20 homes were destroyed and the cost of damages “is in the millions (of dollars) here now,” Button said in an interview. No fatalities have been confirmed so far, but police in Newfoundland are searching for a 73-year-old woman they suspect was swept out to sea. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com “The woman was last seen inside (her) residence just moments before a wave struck the home, tearing away a portion of the basement. She has not been seen since,” police said in a statement. Fiona slammed into eastern Canada on Saturday, forcing evacuations as wind gusted up to 170 km per hour (106 miles per hour). While the full scale of Fiona’s devastation is not immediately clear, the storm could prove to be one of Canada’s costliest natural disasters. Scientists have not yet determined whether climate change influenced Fiona, but in general the warming of the planet is making hurricanes wetter, windier and altogether more intense. Canada’s federal government is sending in the armed forces on Sunday to help clear fallen trees and debris, which will in turn open the way for crews to restore power, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told Reuters. The province of Nova Scotia requested the troops and machinery to clear debris Saturday, “and we said yes, and so they’re being deployed today,” Blair said. Other provinces are also in discussions about federal aid, Blair said. The Canadian Hurricane Centre estimated that Fiona was the lowest-pressured storm to make landfall on record in Canada. In 2019, Dorian hit the region around Halifax, Nova Scotia, blowing down a construction crane and knocking out power. Fiona, on the other hand, appears to have caused major damage across at least five provinces. RCMP officers observe the destruction after the arrival of Hurricane Fiona in Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland, Canada September 25, 2022. REUTERS/John Morris “The scale of what we’re dealing with, I think it’s unprecedented,” Blair said on Sunday. “There is going to be… several months’ work in restoring some of the critical infrastructure – buildings and homes, rooftops that have been blown off community centers and schools,” he said. Hundreds of thousands of residents across Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Newfoundland, Quebec and New Brunswick remained without power on Sunday. Blair said hundreds of utility crews had already been deployed to restore power. “When it’s all said and done… Fiona will turn out to have caused the most damage of any storm we’ve seen,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told the CBC. Officials warned on Saturday that in some cases it would take weeks before essential services are fully restored. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had convened a meeting of his emergency response group for Sunday to coordinate the government’s response, according to a statement. “We do know that the damage is very extensive, quite likely the worst we have ever seen,” Dennis King, PEI premier, told reporters on Saturday. “Islanders … should know that our road to recovery will be weeks or longer. It will be an all-hands-on-deck approach,” he added. The storm also severely damaged fishing harbors in Atlantic Canada, which could hurt the country’s C$3.2 billion lobster industry, unless it is fully restored before the season kicks off in few weeks. “Those fishers have a very immediate need to be able to access their livelihood once the storm passes,” Dominic LeBlanc, minister of intergovernmental affairs of Canada, said on Saturday. ($1 = 1.3589 Canadian dollars) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting John Morris in Stephenville; Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa and Eric Martyn in Halifax; Writing by Steve Scherer; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Lisa Shumaker Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Letter: Vance Must Decide Whether To Accept Or Disavow QAnon https://digitalarizonanews.com/letter-vance-must-decide-whether-to-accept-or-disavow-qanon/ Poor J.D. Vance. Donald Trump announces that he is going to campaign in Ohio for him. A right-wing Republican’s dream, right? Not so fast. Almost immediately, the wheels start wobbling. They schedule a Trump-Vance rally in Youngstown for Sept. 17, right when the Ohio State Buckeyes were playing their in-state neighbors and patsies Toledo. (A game The Ohio State University won handily.) Then, at the rally, Trump announces: “J.D. is kissing my a***. Of course, he wants my support.” This is not an image that one would want to carry in one’s imagination. More importantly, it suggests that Vance is nothing more than a lackey, who only got the GOP nomination because he was adept at smooching the Boss’s posterior. (Ugh!) But wait, there’s more. As Trump sluggishly pronounces his litany of hellish consequences to a Biden administration, there is music playing. Now, I’ve seen dozens of clips of Trump speaking at his rallies. I’ve never seen one where music competes with his diatribe. I’d have thought that he is too much of an egoist to compete with background music. But this wasn’t just any background music. Numerous news outlets have pointed out the eerie similarity of the tune to the QAnon anthem. (They have an anthem you say? Who knew?) And if there was any doubt, almost immediately, hundreds, maybe thousands of his minions at the rally thrust their arms in the air holding one finger aloft. And no they weren’t giving The Donald “the finger.” That is a QAnon salute, symbolizing their motto, “Where we go one, we go all,” or Wwg1wga, which just happens to be the title of the song that is playing. So, you have the QAnon anthem, the QAnon motto and the QAnon hand salute. Could anything be clearer? If you support QAnon, you support Trump. And vice versa. If I’m Vance’s democratic rival, Tim Ryan, this is where I go for the jugular. Put Vance on the spot: does he accept QAnon’s support in this campaign? Or does he condemn QAnon as a paranoid conspiracy-ridden cult? If he accepts their support, this election campaign is over, IMHO. Joe Gerken Buffalo Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Read More Here

17 Yavapai County Residents Graduate From DEA Phoenix 2nd Citizen’s Academy – Signals AZ https://digitalarizonanews.com/17-yavapai-county-residents-graduate-from-dea-phoenix-2nd-citizens-academy-signals-az/ By Staff | on September 25, 2022 By Drug Enforcement Administration The CAST 11 Podcast Network is made possible by the 2022 Ultimate Holiday Guide. Promote your next event or holiday offering in the Ultimate Holiday Guide by calling Elicia at: 928-642-3552. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Phoenix Field Division Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Cheri Oz is pleased to announce the graduation of 17 Yavapai County community members from the DEA Phoenix Field Division Citizen’s Academy. This is the second ever DEA Citizen’s Academy held in Yavapai County. The community-based training program provided civilians from the local community with a first-hand understanding of the critical mission and work conducted every day by the men and women of DEA. The program was brought to Yavapai County through DEA’s Operation Engage, a community outreach initiative. Operation Engage is a comprehensive approach that targets the top local drug threat, bridging public safety and public health, in each of the participating DEA Field Divisions. The multi-week academy was held at the Hampton Inn Prescott, which covered a wide variety of topics, giving attendees an in-depth look at DEA operations. Attendees were welcomed by Phoenix Field Division Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Michael Burke, who conducted a brief introduction of the history and mission of the DEA. The academy curriculum included 14 hours of classroom training with DEA Special Agents on topics such as current drug trends, drug identification, undercover operations, firearms safety and emergency first aid. Classroom training was enhanced with four hours at a local gun range and four hours of simulation exercises and Narcan training. One of the group’s favorite training days was at a local gun range, where they learned firearms safety and familiarized themselves with shooting firearms from DEA’s firearms instructors. Each presenter shared real-world stories that provided an inside perspective of the dangers that DEA Special Agents and Task Force Officers face in the field. On Saturday, August 27th, SAC Cheri Oz spoke to attendees about their experience and asked them to share their new perspective of the work done by the men and women of DEA with their family, friends and neighbors. The graduation ceremony was held at Northern Arizona Regional Training Academy at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona, where SAC Oz presented the 17 participants with their graduation certificates. Congratulations! Catch up with more Local News Stories on Signals A Z.com. Promote your event with the Ultimate Holiday Guide! Contact Elicia Morigeau at 928-642-3552 or ads@signalsaz.com. If you like this story, consider subscribing to Signals Updates, Entertainment Events & News! Read More…

How Chris Loeffler Re-Shaped Downtown Mesa – AZ Big Media https://digitalarizonanews.com/how-chris-loeffler-re-shaped-downtown-mesa-az-big-media/ It takes guts to be an entrepreneur even during the best of times. Chris Loeffler, CEO and co-founder of Caliber, showed he’s got more than his fair share of chutzpah when he told his parents that he planned to quit his job to start a real estate company — in 2009. At the time, he was working as a senior associate in the audit and assurance practice for PwC in Phoenix, but he had always liked the idea of becoming an investor and saw an opportunity to pursue that path. More than a decade later, Caliber is a thriving business helping shape the ever-expanding Valley. One of the places Caliber has its fingerprints all over is Downtown Mesa. Loeffler says the city had a vision of a vibrant downtown area so Mesa residents wouldn’t have to go to Scottsdale, Tempe or Phoenix for those types of amenities and experiences. Prior to Caliber’s involvement, the buildings in Downtown Mesa had different owners, which meant that they were poaching tenants from one another and pursuing their own individual goals. “The reason why we were attracted to join was that our partner Bob Worsley had quietly organized the ability to purchase nine buildings at once so we could come in at scale and buy up about 30% of the square footage in Downtown Mesa in one single transaction,” he continues. “That allowed us to renovate all those buildings to a higher standard, which we felt would then lift the standards for everybody else.” READ ALSO: ASU MIX Center brings media students to Downtown Mesa Since the buildings were in an opportunity zone, it gave Caliber more flexibility to spend years turning the downtown area around instead of being bound to a tight timetable, which Loeffler says was necessary because the buildings were vacant for a while as Caliber figured out the right mix of tenants to create a unique identity and not simply be a carbon copy of what other cities had done. Loeffler adds that City of Mesa took a novel approach to revitalizing its downtown. Typically, someone like Loeffler will come in, buy some buildings and put together a plan to change the area. Afterwards, the city will step in to invest in infrastructure around the area. “Instead, the City of Mesa put $100 million into their performing arts center. They transformed Pioneer Park. They brought in [Arizona State University], supported light rail, did all the sidewalks, curb cuts, streetlights — everything was done,” Loeffler says. “That opened the door for us to think about Mesa in ways we probably wouldn’t have, had we not seen that.” Looking forward, Loeffler notes that there is turbulence in the market, but Arizona will manage it well. “We have some market forces that are creating a floor for how far things will come down,” he concludes. “With interest rates going up, there should be an expectation that property values are going down. But there’s a floor because there’s so much success going on with attracting businesses — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the Intel expansion, Virgin Galactic — and that’s attracting people from all over the country. If you’re trying to pick a place to invest, I would want to own as much Arizona real estate as I could.” Read More Here

Rep. Liz Cheney Says She Won't Vote For Harriet Hageman, The Trump-Endorsed Republican Who Defeated Her In The Wyoming GOP Primary https://digitalarizonanews.com/rep-liz-cheney-says-she-wont-vote-for-harriet-hageman-the-trump-endorsed-republican-who-defeated-her-in-the-wyoming-gop-primary/ Liz Cheney said she would not support Wyoming GOP House nominee Harriet Hageman in the November general election. Hageman, who was backed by Trump and a plethora of national Republicans, defeated Cheney 66%-29%. Cheney during her interview reaffirmed that her fight against election deniers was not over. Loading Something is loading. Rep. Liz Cheney on Saturday said that she would not vote for Harriet Hageman, the water rights attorney who is the new Republican nominee for Wyoming’s at-large congressional district. Hageman, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and a plethora of House Republicans, defeated Cheney in the August GOP primary 66%-29%. During a conversation at The Texas Tribune Festival, Cheney said that Hageman continued to spread debunked theories about the 2020 presidential election and in her opinion should not serve in public office. “Harriet is a member of the Wyoming State Bar and she’s sworn an oath to the Constitution as a member of the Wyoming State Bar,” Cheney told the media organization’s chief executive Evan Smith. “And she continues to make the assertion that somehow the 2020 election was stolen and has said many of the same things that have resulted in people like Rudy Giuliani having their license suspended and I know that she knows better.” “There are many people around this country who are making claims they know not to be true, and I don’t think anybody should vote for any of them,” she added. Cheney also pointed out Kari Lake, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arizona, as a candidate who has continued to question the results of the 2020 election. Lake is currently locked in a tight contest with Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. The congresswoman said that she would work to ensure sure that candidates like Lake are unsuccessful at the ballot box, even if it means campaigning with Democrats. “In this election, you have to vote for the person who actually believes in democracy,” she said. “And that is just crucial, because if we elect election deniers, if we elect people who said that they’re not going to certify results or who are going to try to steal elections, then we really are putting the Republic at risk.” Lake during an appearance on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures” responded to Cheney’s remarks, stating that the Wyoming lawmaker’s comments were a “gift.” “That might be the biggest, best gift I have ever received,” Lake told host Maria Bartiromo. “Liz Cheney probably should change her voter registration. Turns out she really is a Democrat after all,” she added. Read More Here

October 2022 Peninsula Event Calendar https://digitalarizonanews.com/october-2022-peninsula-event-calendar/ 1 October Saturday Art show “Brush of Giftedness,” an exhibit  of art by Heidi Dong is on display at Peninsula Center Library  through Oct. 17. The exhibit features Dong’s interpretations of famous artwork. Dong, a young woman with autism, has been a student of visual art and dance for many years and is the illustrator of Elizabeth Michele Cantine’s book, “Brush of Giftedness,” a collection of original poems about well-known artists. Outdoor Volunteer Day Join the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy and volunteer at the newest restoration site on a breathtaking Abalone Cove coastal reserve. Help eradicate invasive weeds that choke native species. 9 a.m.-noon. Sign up at pvplc.volunteerhub.com/. Guided Nature Preserve Walk You will be guided by a trained naturalist to discover a unique variety of wildlife in their canyon habitat with amazing views of the L.A. basin. Meet on the back deck of the George F Canyon Nature Center. Park in the Preserve lot located at 27305 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rolling Hills Estates. Reservations not required. Rain cancels. 10:30 a.m.  For more information, go to pvplc.org. Writing workshops The Palos Verdes Library District is hosting writing programs and lectures to celebrate National Writing Month. The month will culminate in the publication of an anthology made available to participants. Teens also have the opportunity to participate in a writing contest for a chance to win $50. PVLDWriMo is for teens and adults and all types of writers, from novelists to poets. Write-ins, workshops and lectures will be hosted at all library locations. Registration is open Oct. 1- 22 to participate in the anthology. Visit pvld.org for details.   5 October Wednesday RPV State of the City, Bohannon Lecture Series RPV Mayor David Bradley will present “The State of the City in Today’s Economic Climate.” Bradley has been mayor since 2019, and has focused on preserving RPV’s local control, maintaining its semi-rural atmosphere, and land use and development issues. 10:30a.m. at Fred Hesse Park in RPV. Call (310) 377-3003 for more info.  6 October Thursday Embroiders group The Azure Verde Chapter of the Embroiderers Guild of America meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. Francis Episcopal Church, 2200 Via Rosa, Palos Verdes Estates. The group will continue working on its year-long project. Visitors are welcome. Face masks required if not vaccinated. Square dance lessons A beginner square dance class starts on Oct. 6, 7 p.m., at Riviera Methodist Church, 375 Palos Verdes Drive, Redondo Beach. The first class is free. $8 per class thereafter. For more information, call (424) 262-7782. 7 October Friday, October The Seaside Beaders, a special interest group of the Azure Verde Chapter of the Embroiderers Guild of America, will meet at 9:30 a.m. at St. Francis Episcopal Church, 2200 Via Rosa, Palos Verdes Estates. The group will continue working on a beaded ring. Visitors welcome. Face masks required if not vaccinated. Sports luncheon The South Bay Athletic Club, now in its 57th year, meets weekly on Fridays at noon at H.T. Grill, 1701 S. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach. The group has speakers ranging from Rams public address announcer Sam Lagana to Palos Verdes High football coach Guy Gardner. The luncheon is open to the public. $30. 8 October Saturday Layla Paige and Friends Walk The annual Layla Paige and Friends Walk for TrinityKids Care, hosted by actor and musician Jack Black, is set for 8 to 11:30 a.m. at a new location: a private resort home overlooking Lunada Bay in Palos Verdes Estates. In addition to a walk along the bluffs, there will be entertainment, food, activity booths, raffle prizes and art created by TrinityKids Care patients and their families. $40 for adults and $15 for children ages 3-17. No charge for children under age 3. Proceeds benefit TrinityKids Care, a hospice and palliative care program for children in Los Angeles and Orange counties. To register, go to providence.org/LaylasWalk. Volunteer with Rapid Response Team Work alongside PV Land Conservancy field staff around the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve and help protect important wildlife habitat. Help with trail maintenance, fence building, installing signage and more. No experience needed. Ages 15 and up. Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon. Sign up at https://pvplc.volunteerhub.com/. Guided Nature Walk Take a walk with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. Walk Jack’s Hat Trail on the 191-acre reserve linking the Three Sisters and Portuguese Bend Reserves. This wildlife corridor boasts beautiful ocean views and native habitat. Moderate to strenuous.  at 9 a.m. Sign up at pvplc.org/calendar. Outdoor Volunteer Day Come help the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy restore habitat on the 22-acre Alta Vicente restoration site to create a home for rare cactus wrens and gnatcatchers. Enjoy beautiful views of Catalina Island. Oct. 8 and Oct. 29, 9 a.m.-noon. Sign up at pvplc.volunteerhub.com/. Malaga Cove Lawn Art Show Visit artists from the Palos Verdes Art Center, exhibiting paintings, jewelry, ceramics, photography, woodwork, wearable art and prints. October 8 and 9 are the last days of the year for the Malaga Cove Lawn Art shows. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  9 October Sunday  Hunter’s Moon yoga In celebration of the Hunter’s Moon, yoga enthusiasts of all levels are invited to practice yoga under the warm autumn night sky while the bright full moon shines above. Guests are encouraged to bring a yoga mat. $20 charitable donation in support of Cancer Support Community. 7 p.m. Space is limited. Reservations must be made by calling The Spa at Terranea Resort at 310-265-2740. Malaga Cove Lawn Art Show Sunday, Oct. 9 is the last day of the year for the Malaga Cove Lawn Art shows. Visit the artists exhibiting paintings, jewelry, ceramics, photography, woodwork, wearable art and prints. The show is presented by the Palos Verdes Art Center Artists. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay The Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay’s 40th season opens Oct. 9 with Anna Geniushene on piano performing works by Mozart, Beethoven and Mendelssohn. The season will continue with Boris Allakhverdyan, clarinet principal with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Nov. 13; Claire Huangci, piano, on Jan. 15; Marcia Dickstein on harp and Philip Vaiman on violin on March 5 and a concert titled, “Beethoven to Broadway,” on April 15. All concerts are at 7 p.m. at Norris Theatre, 27570 Norris Center Drive, Rolling Hills Estates. Tickets are $63, plus the facility fee. Subscriptions are available. For tickets, call (310) 544-0403 or visit palosverdesperformingarts.com.  12 October Wednesday Bohannon Lecture Series-Peninsula Seniors LA Opera’s community educator, Mary Johnston, returns to discuss the new season’s opera Lucia di Lammermoor in her talk “Marriage, Madness and Murder.” This “dramma tragico” by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti is the tale of Lucia, mourning her mother, tormented by her brother, and sold off into marriage to save the family’s finances. Lucia slips out of sanity as her wedding day approaches-and sees the unthinkable as her only way out. To take place at 10:30a.m. at Fred Hesse Park in RPV. Call (310) 377-3003 for more information.  15 October Saturday Wildlife Tracking Training with PVPLC Conservancy Dedicated volunteers are needed to monitor wild foxes and coyotes in the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve. Ages 16 and up. Oct. 15 and Oct. 22, 8:30–11:30 a.m. 30940 Hawthorne Blvd, Rancho Palos Verdes. Register at pvplc.volunteerhub.com. Guided Nature Walk Naturalists from the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy will guide you along a White Point preserve trail to discover a unique variety of wildlife in their coastal sage scrub habitat. Enjoy amazing views across to the ocean. Meet in front of the Nature Center. 10:30 a.m. Park in the lot at the dead-end of 1600 Paseo del Mar, San Pedro. Preserve parking available in a gravel lot at 1600 West Paseo del Mar, San Pedro. Reservations not required.  Ocean Trails Reserve walk Join Los Serenos de Point Vicente at the Ocean Trails Reserve for a guided tour led by group docents. The hike will take place through the Coastal Sage Scrub Habitat along the Western Bluff of Trump National Golf Course. Learn about local geology and fall blooming habitat. Stay to watch the sunset from Founders Park. The tour will be 1 1/2 to 2 hours long. Meet at 3 p.m. There will be a sign-in table on the sidewalk of the parking lot. This is a moderate hike which involves walking on some unstable surfaces and loose gravel. Wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes. Bring water as there are no drinking fountains on the trails. Park to the left of the Trump National ClubHouse in the public lot at end of Trump National Drive. For more information, call 310-544-5260 or visit losserenos.org/. 19 October Wednesday Terranea Marketing Director: Bohannon Lecture Andrea DeKoning, Experiential Marketing Director at Terranea Resort will discuss the upcoming fall and holiday festivities at the famous local resort, and recent organizational changes which will enhance the Terranea experience for local and visiting guests. 10:30 a.m. at Fred Hesse Park in RPV. Call (310) 377-3003 for more information.  26 October Wednesday Bohannon Lecture Series in Collaboration with PVAC-Peninsula Seniors Bruce Dalrymple, President of the Gardena High School Collection board, will discuss PV Art Center’s exhibition, “Gifted: Collecting the Art of California Gardena High School, 1919-1956.” He will chronicle the history of the school’s ambitious art endeavor, its effect on the wider cultural scene in Los Angeles, and the mission to conserve, restore and exhibit the collection, and preserve its unique history. A tour of the exhibit will follow the presentation. This special event will take place at 10:30...

Ian Could Become https://digitalarizonanews.com/ian-could-become/ Tropical Storm Ian was forecast to rapidly gain strength Sunday while racing across the Caribbean toward Cuba and threatening a big hit to Florida’s west coast later in the week. Ian was 540 miles southeast of Cuba early Sunday, cruising northwest at 12 miles an hour with 50 mph winds. The storm was forecast to reach hurricane status late Sunday, then roll across western Cuba Monday night and early Tuesday. As Ian approaches Florida, Accuweather said the storm could reach Category 4 status, which means sustained winds between130 mph and 156 mph. “In just a few days, Ian is likely to be a dangerous, major hurricane,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to load up on food, water, medicine, batteries and fuel. He said it was too soon to determine when or even if Ian will make landfall, but that evacuations may be ordered in coming days. “Expect heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge and even isolated tornadoes. Make preparations now,” he said Sunday. “Anticipate power outages. That is something that is likely to happen with a hurricane of this magnitude.” “Significant” wind and storm surge damage was expected across a wide swath of the Atlantic Basin, and the Cuban government upgraded the hurricane watch to warning. Such storms can cause “catastrophic” damage, with power outages that can last weeks or possibly months, according to the National Weather Service description. Areas can be uninhabitable for weeks or months, the weather service says.  “Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state,” DeSantis said. IAN COULD BE MAJOR HURRICANE SOON: Statewide emergency in Florida declared Storm could drive heavy rains all week Heavy rainfall may affect north Florida, the Florida panhandle and the southeast United States through Saturday, the weather service update said. Flooding and rising area streams and rivers across the region “can’t be ruled out” later this week, especially in central Florida due to already saturated conditions, the updated warned. East coast of Florida not in the clear Though the track had shifted westward, parts of the state’s east coast remained solidly within the edges of Ian’s forecast cone Sunday. Melbourne resident Pat Alderman wasn’t taking any changes, buying ten 50-pound bags of sand, along with 50 empty sandbags, at Lowe’s in West Melbourne to fortify her back patio door against floodwaters. She has a backyard pond, and her soils are saturated with recent rainfall.  Alderman, shopping at Lowe’s on Sunday, said she had a generator and roll-down shutters – no need to board her windows.  “This is from decades of living in Florida,” she said. ‘If you’ve lived here for a while, you need to have all these things. Transplants don’t understand.” In Tampa, stocking up on water and sandbags John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at hurricane center, said Floridians should begin preparations, including gathering supplies for potential power outages, he said. “For those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare,” he said. “I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it’s still time to get your supplies.”  Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said city sandbag sites were open. She urged residents to shop for several days of necessities now and to check family disaster kits and plans. “Are you #TampaReady?” she tweeted. “It’s never too early to prepare.” Residents agreed. Shoppers at a Walmart Supercenter Tampa were stocking up on supplies – and wiped out almost 1,000 cases of bottled water in a few hours Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported.  NASA postpones launch, considers stashing rocket NASA said Sunday that it was monitoring Tropical Storm Ian, but had not determined whether it would roll back the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the protection of the assembly building. The agency said it would “prioritize the agency’s people and hardware.” NASA managers, who canceled a launch set for Tuesday due to the storm, planned to meet Sunday night to evaluate whether to keep the vehicle at the launch pad to preserve an opportunity for a launch attempt on Oct. 2. The latest information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Space Force, and the National Hurricane Center indicated a “slower moving and potentially more westerly track of the storm than yesterday’s predictions showed, providing more time for the agency’s decision making process,” NASA said in a statement. Bethune-Cookman University orders evacuation Bethune-Cookman University canceled classes Monday and said they would reconvene remotely on Tuesday. “As a precaution, and in the interest of safety for members of our campus community, the university has issued a mandatory campus evacuation,” the school said in a statement on its website. The school, a private, historically black university in Daytona Beach, has about 2,750 undergraduate students. The school told its students that their smartphones are “computers” and that they should continue to use their cellphones to keep up with their studies in the event they do not have access to a tablet, laptop or desktop technology. Florida’s west coast could take rare hurricane hit AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that the storm could slam the west coast of Florida – an often-missed target. The U.S. database show that about 160 hurricanes, excluding tropical storms, that have affected Florida. Only 17 have made landfall on the west coast north of the Florida Keys. Most storms typically travel northeast or northwest, not up the coast, AccuWeather senior weather editorJesse Ferrell said. There is no record of a hurricane ever having tracked entirely up the west coast of Florida since records began in 1944. But Ian appears likely to take a “very unusual track,” he said. Florida has had recent storms that were hurricanes, but were downgraded to tropical storms before landfall, Ferrell said. Elsa in 2021 made landfall west of Tampa, and Eta in 2020 made landfall north of Tampa in Cedar Key. Neither had the firepower close to a Category 3 storm, however. DeSantis declares statewide state of emergency Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a pre-landfall state of emergency for all 67 counties late Saturday. The declaration came a day after DeSantis’ 24-county declaration.Florida National Guard members will be activated and on standby. “Floridians should remain vigilant and ensure their households are prepared for a potential impact,” DeSantis said. Ian will then either move inland somewhere over the southeast U.S., or could track near or along parts of the Eastern Seaboard late this week, The Weather Channel said, adding that i​t’s too soon to tell where Ian will end up, but there could be wind, flooding rain and other impacts extending into other parts of the East late next week. Biden authorizes FEMA to help President Joe Biden also declared an emergency for the state, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance to protect lives and property. Biden postponed a scheduled Sept. 27 trip to Florida due to the storm. Caymans, Cuba to see Ian’s fury first But Ian will do damage even before reaching Cuba. Hurricane conditions are expected to reach Grand Cayman by early Monday, with tropical storm conditions expected by Sunday night, the weather service said. Hurricane conditions are possible within the hurricane watch area in Cuba by Monday night or early Tuesday, with tropical storm conditions possible by late Monday. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the tropical storm watch area in Cuba Monday night and Tuesday. Contributing: Rick Neale, Florida Today; The Associated Press Read More Here

Neman: Why Lambert Airport Scored Poorly On A National Survey https://digitalarizonanews.com/neman-why-lambert-airport-scored-poorly-on-a-national-survey/ To be honest, the news was not much of a surprise. On Wednesday, J.D. Power released its annual survey of travelers’ attitudes toward U.S. and Canadian airports. Most airports fared worse this year than last, but St. Louis Lambert International Airport did even worse than most. Lambert landed 23rd on the list of 27 airports of its size — between 10 million and 32.9 million passengers a year. The difference, according to Michael Taylor, an analyst at J.D. Power specializing in travel, hospitality and retail, is investment. Airports that have spent up to multiple billions of dollars on improvements tended to score well. Lambert has not done so yet, but it does have a plan to make changes in the future. Before the coronavirus pandemic, Lambert saw about 16 million passengers, according to an open house presentation held in May. By 2040, it expects to see 21 million passengers, give or take a million. So the problems with crowds — and waits, and lines, and parking — will only get worse unless the airport can expand. A master plan for the airport currently proposes adding space onto what is now Terminal 1 to create a single, greatly expanded location for all flights, including at least 10 new gates. Other proposed changes include wider concourses, an improved security checkpoint, a less confusing system of roads into the airport and more. At a presentation held in May to discuss this plan, representatives of the airport acknowledged problems with crowds — and waits, and lines, and parking. And they pointed out some unique logistical challenges in dealing with these issues. Interstate 70 runs just in front of the airport, which makes expansion to the south impossible. And access could be improved by moving service roads, but any changes would have to be carefully planned to avoid adversely affecting nearby communities. The airport has done enough of that in the past. Which is presumably why it is trying so hard not to do it again now. The survey asked more than 26,000 travelers to rate the airports they had been to in the last 30 days. The six categories they were to make their ratings on, in descending order of importance, were terminal facilities, airport arrival and departure, baggage claim, security check, check-in and baggage check, and food, beverage and retail options. Lambert scored in the bottom one-third or one-quarter in each of the categories. Taylor said that travelers’ expectations for airports have changed. Airports used to be merely functional, places where people would go to get onto or off from an airplane. But now, he said, they are more of a destination in themselves. With increased delays and longer waits to make connections, travelers are spending more time in airports and would like them to be more pleasant. Airports that score well in satisfaction surveys tend to be open and airy, he said. They are more like a mall. They have a large selection of food and beverage choices, along with retail stores for varied interests. Ideally, he said, airports should have a mix of popular national chain restaurants (Lambert has a Burger King, a California Pizza Kitchen and a Chili’s, but no McDonald’s or KFC) and local restaurants to give the airport a local identity. That is where Lambert actually does well, I told him. Though the airport does not have as many places to eat as some others, most of the restaurants are local: The Pasta House, Mike Shannon’s Grill, Three Kings (and its Mexican offshoot, Tres Reyes), Schlafly, Urban Chestnut, several Anheuser-Busch places and more. But to people who don’t live here, none of these speaks especially of St. Louis. You can get crab cakes in Baltimore and barbecue in Dallas. But only St. Louisans know what it means to get an order of toasted ravioli at the airport Pasta House. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Read More Here

With “The Murdochs: Empire Of Influence,” CNN Has Its “Succession” https://digitalarizonanews.com/with-the-murdochs-empire-of-influence-cnn-has-its-succession/ If you think Rupert Murdoch has only been pushing mainstream journalism rightward and for the worse since 9/11, Maury Povich will avuncularly disabuse you of that notion in “The Murdochs: Empire of Influence.”  The one-time host of “A Current Affair” gleefully recalls flying to Germany to cover the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, to the bemusement of Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw – that era’s giants of TV journalism. “A Current Affair” was syndicated TV tabloid trash; what was it doing covering a world event? To answer that, Povich’s colleague Gordon Elliott ran to a local firehouse, procured a pickaxe and took a few theatrical digs at the great concrete symbol of communism. Then a local asked Elliott, “Oh, can I have that for a while?” The tabloid newsman hands the guy the axe, and he starts swinging. One enterprising photographer’s click later and boom – there he was on the cover of Newsweek. Compared to what Murdoch would wreak on the media landscape, political discourse and democracy on the whole, this is a cheeky detail. But it makes Povich’s point: If something is lacking in the landscape – whether that refers to a frame of history or the full scope of it – he will not only fill that gap but use that device to alter the full picture. Not only that, Povich adds, there’s no unplugging or overwriting what Murdoch’s done. “You can’t erase it,” he says at the top of the second episode. “It’s here to stay.”  Out of the tens of journalists, biographers and political consultants serving as on-camera experts in CNN’s seven-part series along with whatever species Roger Stone is classified as these days, Povich stands out as the guy who gets the joke. Why wouldn’t he? Murdoch made Povich a famous man by bankrolling one of the trashiest shows on TV. Even that was a stepping stone to bigger things. First, it was “A Current Affair,” then a broadcast network, Fox, then Fox News and . . . well. We’re living in the world Murdoch has wrought – something most of us would rather forget. If something is lacking in the landscape, Murdoch will not only fill that gap but use that device to alter the full picture. The producers know that, which is why they take a page from its subject in their shaping of it. Rupert Murdoch, like his henchman, the late Roger Ailes, made a fortune off of giving the audience what it wants. So although “The Murdochs” is based on the behemoth of a feature by New York Times journalists Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg, who serve as consulting producers and appear throughout, it looks, feels and struts along in the manner of “Succession.” Jesse Armstrong doesn’t exactly make a secret of having patterned the Roys after the Murdochs, along with the Hearsts, the Mercers, the Redstones and others. But it takes seeing a biographical, extensively sourced look at the baron’s family to appreciate the accuracy of his portraiture. The only detail Armstrong really fudges is the Roy children’s intelligence, but that’s on purpose. If Shiv, Kendall and Roman were as capable as Lachlan, James and Elisabeth, “Succession” wouldn’t be half as entertaining. It’s better for all of us that the Roy kids are mulling their place in a legacy that mirrors that of the Murdoch children, only with the brainpower of the Trumps. Rupert Murdoch accompanied by his sons James (right) and Lachlan (left) on March 5, 2016 in London, England. (John Phillips/Getty Images) “The Murdochs” is two stories presented in tandem, as Mahler explains. The first covers the rise and dominance of Rupert Murdoch, media mogul. The second is the story of Murdoch as a father. It opens with the near-death incident in 2018 that kicks the question of who will inherit the kingdom into overdrive, before stepping back to examine Rupert’s misshapen youth as the privileged son of a distant father he could never please. When Rupert realizes his parents’ modest media kingdom will not pass to him, he makes it his life’s mission to overshadow the modest legacy dad built. Murdoch’s steady empire expansion is common knowledge to those who care to know about such things. But “The Murdochs” excels at filling in the story’s emotional and psychological blanks, which is where the juice is. For a family that willingly gives away very little about themselves to the public, there’s a lot to be read in the moves Lachlan, James and Elisabeth make – and their father’s regular efforts to play them off of one another as a sort of Darwinist test of fitness. But the relationship between Rupert and his children is even stranger than that of their fictional counterparts because, by all accounts, he does seem to care about them. It’s just that he cares about his empire even more. Such grace notes of universal acknowledgment allow the viewer to find some way of respecting the tenacity fueling Murdoch’s monstrous nature. “The Murdochs” is even-handed in its examination, to the point that it enables a person to absorb insights from truly odious people with equanimity. Stone, for instance, has nothing but respect and admiration for Murdoch, of course. But that’s presented within a mix of folks who concede the bold ruthless of Murdoch’s business acumen even if they disagree with despise how he plays the game. That is to say, knowing what we know about Stone, if he admires the man, the show helps us to get it. Such grace notes of universal acknowledgment allow the viewer to find some way of respecting the tenacity fueling Murdoch’s monstrous nature. The story of an early kidnapping gone awry that led to a woman’s death opens our eyes to the family’s vulnerability before their paterfamilias built the fortress around them; they are human, after all. And yet, the head of this family also pushed thousands of journalists out of their jobs in one fell swoop to appease a prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who was not friendly to unions or labor organizing. This is merely one of the many obscenities Murdoch is blamed for orchestrating. The later episodes cover the one we know best and are still struggling to shake off – which is Donald Trump’s kingmaking.  “The Murdochs” stands on its own merits owing to its double-fisted servings of media insight on one hand and juicy biographical examination on the other. It is nimble and surefooted, illuminating, and above all, entertaining. Rupert Murdoch and wife Wendy Deng on February 27, 2005 in West Hollywood, California. (Mark Mainz/Getty Images) Along with puzzling through what drives Lachlan, James and Elisabeth, we’re also invited to contemplate what Anna did for Murdoch’s ego – and why that well ran dry by the time he met Wendi Deng, whom he married in 1999. They divorced in 2013, only for Murdoch to marry Jerry Hall in 2016. And she finalized her divorce from him last month. Nobody in the family agreed to participate in the making of the series, but the producers make an extensive effort to help us understand who Rupert Murdoch is and what spurs him onward.  By extension, we also come to understand why entities like Fox News and Murdoch’s newspapers are so devoted to catering to the darkest side of the human impulse – stirring up our fears and our hatreds, and steering governments into division and ruin. It’s all in service of his empire’s bottom line and the interests of his constituency, which consists of . . . him. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. Most documentary filmmakers are quick to point out that whatever parallels the audience finds in their work and current events are coincidental. In most cases that’s true. Ken Burns’ recent effort, “The U.S. and the Holocaust” points directly at the similarities between the nativist atmosphere in America and Germany before World War II and the anxieties that have gripped us since Jan. 6, 2021. Even so, he says, he and his co-producers began working on that project in 2015. Debuting “The Murdochs” six weeks out from the midterms, though, is a choice. It won’t impact the outcome of any races – nothing like that. But if CNN wants to make a vaguely admiring, audience-pleasing point about its rival as it lurches rightward to score some of its audience, this is a savvy way to do it. “The Murdochs: Empire of Influence” launches with a special two-episode premiere at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25 on CNN. Subsequent episode air at 10 p.m. Sundays on CNN. Read More Here

Red Flags For Arizona Republicans https://digitalarizonanews.com/red-flags-for-arizona-republicans/ Arizona Republicans are spiraling toward a series of major missed opportunities after nominating MAGA-aligned candidates in key races. Driving the news: A super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell withdrew over $9 million in ads from the state, leaving Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters at a significant financial disadvantage against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). A recent survey of Arizona voters conducted by Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio and Biden pollster John Anzalone for the AARP found Kelly leading Masters 50%-42%. Masters’ favorability rating stood at 37% (54% unfavorable), an unusually negative showing for a first-time candidate. Down the ballot: The Cook Political Report this week moved the ratings of two competitive Arizona House seats in the Democrats’ direction. Rep. Tom O’Halleran, one of the most vulnerable Democrats, whose seat was redrawn into a Trump +8 seat, is running more competitively than expected against Republican Eli Crane. The NRCC is spending nearly $1 million in the contest, despite the natural GOP advantage in the district. And GOP Rep. David Schweikert, who was reprimanded by the House Ethics Committee for misusing official funds, is in a race now rated as a “toss-up” against Democrat Jevin Hodge. Schweikert’s new district backed Biden by two points. But, but, but: Republican Kari Lake, despite her amplification of former President Trump’s election denial, is in a statistical tie with Democrat Katie Hobbs in the Arizona governor’s race, according to the AARP survey. And election-denying GOP Secretary of State nominee Mark Finchem narrowly leads Democrat Adrian Fontes, according to an OH Predictive Insight survey. One in four likely voters is unsure of who they’d vote for. The bottom line: Arizona will be the biggest test of whether far-right candidates embracing Trump’s conspiracy theories can win in a swing state. Read More Here

Jewish Encyclopedia Condenses Thousands Of Years Of History, Faith In One Volume https://digitalarizonanews.com/jewish-encyclopedia-condenses-thousands-of-years-of-history-faith-in-one-volume/ A new book published to coincide with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, claims to offer “the story of Judaism” in an unbiased approach using a variety of Jewish voices. “The Book of Jewish Knowledge,” a 497-page coffee-table volume published by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, based in Brooklyn, New York, differs from other encyclopedic works, even a 1964 effort with the same title found in many Jewish homes of the period. “A lot of them are very good books, and are very informative and give you a lot of information,” Rabbi Yanki Tauber, the new volume’s editor, said in a telephone interview. But, he added, “I felt there is room for something that has not been done yet,” a volume that synthesizes Jewish history, observances and teachings in an accessible manner. He said that making Jewish knowledge accessible has been a key facet of his career during the past 35 years. A member of the Chabad Lubavitch organization within Orthodox Judaism, Mr. Tauber began his editorial career creating English summaries of talks given by the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe whose teachings are prized within the movement as well as by other Jews. He then was a founding editor of the Chabad.org website, which conveys the group’s teachings in accessible articles and commentaries, and has drawn millions of page views over the years. But the new book is not a Chabad tract, the rabbi said. “We want to have something that’s sort of Judaism is speaking for itself through its original source texts, as opposed to people talking about Judaism or trying arguing about what Judaism should mean today,” he said. Other volumes offering an overview of Judaism tend to favor one perspective or point of view, Mr. Tauber said. “All of these books [give] me one person’s take on Judaism, one person’s perspective or at least a very narrow group of people’s perspectives. It might be an academic perspective, or it might be a religious perspective. And then depending on who this guy is, is he reform? Is he conservative? Orthodox? Is he modern Orthodox, is he [of] a more liberal point of view, is it a more traditionalist point of view, and so on,” the rabbi explained. This volume has a different goal. “I want the reader to read the source texts themselves, and decide what they mean, what the source texts mean to [them] in the 21st century, as opposed to having a bunch of 21st-century pundits arguing” about what a reader should think, Mr. Tauber said. He said treating every aspect of Judaism in depth might require a 30-volume work, so to contain the subject in one volume, he decided to give an overview while going in depth on only a few, such as five mitzvahs, or the commandments. He said the book covers “the broad range” of Judaism and “shows people how broad and how many different areas there are.” The volume gives “people at least a sample …  you only did it with a few parts of it, but you showed them how it really is,” he added. Among the innovations of the new volume, Mr. Tauber said, is the use of infographics, charts, and timelines — along with hundreds  of illustrations such as the recreation of an ancient Egyptian brickmaking mold — to convey information that would otherwise take pages to describe. The task of visual presentation fell to New York designer Baruch Gorkin, who has worked with Mr. Tauber on other projects and is also credited with creating the modern Arial-style Hebrew font used on Apple’s iPhone and other devices. The infographics detail how a mikvah, or ritual bath, is constructed, or how phylacteries, the small leather box with leather straps containing Hebrew texts worn by observant Jewish men during prayers, are constructed, Mr. Gorkin explained in an interview. The volume’s design is straightforward and internet-like with a modern accent. Mr. Gorkin agreed that “clean” would be a fair description of the book’s layout. “It’s also philosophically correct because we’re trying not to stand in the way between the information and the reader. I want the beauty to come forth from the function, which is really a modernist idea,” he said. A two-page listing of famous and notable Jews in history and the modern age may be one of the few places where one would find Simone Weil, Henry Kissinger and Barbra Streisand literally on the same page, along with former White House adviser Ivanka Trump, who converted to Orthodox Judaism when she married Jared Kushner. “The pages attracted some attention, but some of it is unfair, because this is not a statement other than the fact that they’re famous Jews,” Mr. Gorkin said. “It’s not an endorsement of anyone there.” The book, however, has had its share of endorsements, with Jonathan D. Sarna, Brandeis University’s professor of American Jewish History, calling it “a magnificent one-volume guide to Jewish history, teachings, and practices.” Rabbi Jeffrey R. Woolk of Israel’s Bar Ilan University deemed it “an invaluable treasure of Judaism to all, irrespective of background and affiliation.” The volume is sold by the Institute online. Read More Here

Schiff Says Any Criminal Referral For Trump By The January 6 Committee Should Be Decided Unanimously – ABC17NEWS https://digitalarizonanews.com/schiff-says-any-criminal-referral-for-trump-by-the-january-6-committee-should-be-decided-unanimously-abc17news/ By Daniella Diaz and Devan Cole, CNN US Rep. Adam Schiff, who serves on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, says that if the panel makes a criminal referral for former President Donald Trump related to the riot at the US Capitol, it should be made unanimously. “We operate with a high degree of consensus and unanimity,” the California Democrat told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday. “It will be certainly, I think, my recommendation, my feeling, that we should make referrals, but we will get to a decision as a committee, and we will all abide by that decision, and I will join our committee members if they feel differently.” CNN reported earlier this year that although the bipartisan committee was in wide agreement that Trump committed a crime when he pushed a conspiracy to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, panelists were split over what to do about it, including whether to make a criminal referral of Trump to the Justice Department, according to four sources connected to the committee. The internal debate spilled into plain view in June when the committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, repeatedly told a group of reporters at the Capitol that the panel would not be issuing any criminal referrals, a declaration that several of his fellow committee members were quick to push back on. Schiff said Sunday he wouldn’t disclose information about the focus of the select committee’s public hearing Wednesday, which will likely be its last until the panel releases its final report. “I think it’ll be potentially more sweeping than some of the other hearings, but it too will be in a very thematic — it will tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election,” he said. Rep. Jamie Raskin, another January 6 panelist, said Sunday that the upcoming public hearing would share “details” learned by the committee since its last hearing in August. The Maryland Democrat told NBC News that he expects Wednesday’s hearing to be the last presentation of its investigation, but he’s “hopeful” the committee will hold a hearing presenting recommendations to Congress. Raskin added that the goal of Wednesday’s hearing is for panelists to reveal the newest findings in the investigation to supplement the broader narrative they presented in earlier hearings. Schiff, when asked by Tapper about the committee obtaining Secret Service communications related to the riot, said the panel was still going through them. “We are still going through them because they are very voluminous. I will say they’re not a substitute for having the text messages that were apparently erased from those devices, and we are still investigating how that came about and why that came about. And I hope and believe the Justice Department on that issue is also looking at whether laws were broken and the destruction of that evidence,” Schiff said. “But we do have a mountain of information that we need to go through.” Thompson said earlier this month that the communications turned over to the January 6 committee included “a combination of a number of text messages, radio traffic, that kind of thing. Just thousands of exhibits.” He added that the texts that were handed over were “primarily” from the day before and during the riot. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, another member of the committee, reemphasized the panel’s desire to obtain further testimony from former US Secret Service Assistant Director Tony Ornato, who retired last month. “We remain deeply wanting to hear from him,” he said Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” Ornato has met with the committee twice but has not agreed to a meeting since former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told the committee Ornato had told her Trump was irate upon learning his security detail wouldn’t take him to the US Capitol the day of the insurrection. Lawmakers push back on Trump Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, added his voice Sunday to a growing group of lawmakers pushing back on Trump’s claim that he could simply declassify classified documents by “thinking about it.” “No, that’s not how it works. Those comments don’t demonstrate much intelligence of any kind,” he told Tapper. “If you could simply declassify by thinking about it, then frankly, if that’s his view, he’s even more dangerous than we may have thought.” He continued: “With that view, he could simply spout off on anything he read in a Presidential Daily Brief or anything he was briefed on by the CIA director to a visiting Russian delegation or any other delegation and simply say, ‘Well, I thought about it and therefore, when the words came out of my mouth, they were declassified.’” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican in the chamber, also rejected Trump’s claim on Sunday, telling ABC News that he doesn’t “think a president can declassify documents by saying so.” This story has been updated with additional reaction. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. CNN’s Aaron Pellish and Sonnet Swire contributed to this report. Read More Here

Poll: Most Dems Say Ditch Biden As https://digitalarizonanews.com/poll-most-dems-say-ditch-biden-as/ Sophie Jackman  |  Bloomberg A majority of U.S. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents want the party to replace President Joe Biden as its nominee in the 2024 presidential election, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll reported on Sunday. Just 35% of this group prefer Biden for the nomination, while 56% say the Democratic Party should pick someone else, according to the poll. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 47% back former President Donald Trump for the 2024 nomination and 46% prefer that it be someone else. In a head-to-head matchup, the survey found Biden and Trump essentially tied: Biden edged Trump by 2 percentage points, 48%-46%. Among registered voters, the numbers reversed to give Trump a 2-point advantage. Democrats’ preference for a candidate other than Biden at the top of the ticket in 2024 also was evident in a July survey by The New York Times and Siena College. In that poll, nearly two-thirds of Democratic respondents, 64%, said they would prefer a different candidate. Of that group, a third cited Biden’s age as the reason for their preference. At 79, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. Biden said in an interview this month with “60 Minutes” that he’ll decide whether to run for reelection after the November midterm elections, which will determine whether his party maintains its House and Senate majorities. “It’s much too early to make that kind of decision,” Biden said in the interview, which aired Sept. 18. “What I’m doing is I’m doing my job. I’m gonna do that job, and within the time frame that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.” The Washington Post-ABC News survey put Biden’s overall approval rating at 39%, with disapproval at 53%. On his handling of the economy, approval was at 36% and disapproval at 57%. Looking to the midterms, 47% of registered voters polled would cast their House district vote for a Republican and 46% for a Democrat, about the same result as in April, The Washington Post said. The poll was conducted between Sept. 18 and 21 on a random national sample of 1,006 U.S. adults, including 908 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Read More Here

Cash-Poor Trump May Have To Dump His Skyscrapers At 'fire Sale' Prices If He Loses NY Fraud Lawsuit: Biographer https://digitalarizonanews.com/cash-poor-trump-may-have-to-dump-his-skyscrapers-at-fire-sale-prices-if-he-loses-ny-fraud-lawsuit-biographer/ Appearing on MSNBC on Sunday afternoon, Donald Trump biographer and senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion, Tim O’Brien, claimed that, should the former president go head-to-head with New York Attorney General Letitia O’Brien and lose the $250 million lawsuit she has filed against him, he will likely have to liquidate his properties –and at fire sale prices. Speaking with MSNBC host Alex Witt, O’Brien suggested that Trump’s worth is wrapped up in his real estate portfolio and he doesn’t have access to enough cash to pay penalties and fines if he loses his court battle. “You say that James’ suit won’t land the Trumps in prison, only criminal convictions could do that,” host Witt prompted. “It seeks to bar the Trumps from running a business in New York state and might unravel the Trump organization. You just heard [former Trump lawyer] Michael Cohen say it could actually wipe Trump out. Is that the way you see it?” “Well, I think it depends on the extent of damage that the case inflicts and her prosecution inflicts on the Trump family and their businesses,” he replied. “Michael is completely right that he has never had a lot of cash on hand, he’s almost a debt addict, he has always heavily mortgaged the properties he owns.” RELATED: ‘He’s even more dangerous than we may have thought’: Adam Schiff questions Trump’s intelligence “Most of his wealth is tied up in a handful of skyscrapers in New York City,” he continued. “Tish James is seeking to bar him from doing business in the state of New York, so he’ll have to unload those if he gets convicted. And that is a fire sale, which means everyone who’s a buyer will know they won’t have to pay top dollar because he needs to get out of the property.” “She has made to two criminal referrals out of this case, one to the IRS and one to the US Attorneys’ office in the Southern District [of New York],” he elaborated. “So that is now hanging over his head. I think the family’s legacy is in New York, everything that Donald Trump stands on was built by Trump in New York. Trump has put those holdings in peril twice, the first time in the early 90’s when he gorged on debt and couldn’t repay the banks and again now when he has gotten on the wrong side of the law.” “I think this is an existential threat to his business and his financial well-being,” he added. Watch below or at the link: MSNBC 09 25 2022 12 45 33 youtu.be Read More Here

Fire Breaks Out At World's Biggest Produce Market In Paris https://digitalarizonanews.com/fire-breaks-out-at-worlds-biggest-produce-market-in-paris/ PARIS — A billowing column of dark smoke towered over Paris on Sunday from a warehouse blaze at a massive produce market that supplies the French capital and surrounding region with much of its fresh food and bills itself as the largest of its kind in the world. Firefighters urged people to stay away from the area in Paris’ southern suburbs, as 100 officers and 30 fire engines battled the blaze at the Rungis International Market. Capt. Marc Le Moine, a spokesman for the Paris fire service, said no one was injured. The fire was brought under control and there was no risk of it spreading from the soccer field-sized warehouse, covering an area of 7,000 square meters (1.7 acres), he said. The cause of the blaze was unknown but will be investigated, he added. The sprawling wholesale market is a veritable town unto itself, with more than 12,000 people working there and warehouses filled with fruit and vegetables, seafood, meats, dairy products and flowers from across France and around the world. Read More Here

James Robert “Jim” McDonald Obituary (2022) https://digitalarizonanews.com/james-robert-jim-mcdonald-obituary-2022/ James “Jim” R. McDonald of Gladwin, Michigan, formerly of Lansing and Saginaw Beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend passed away peacefully on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, at the Regency at Lansing West. He was 93 years old. James R. McDonald was born on July 25, 1929, in Saginaw, Michigan, to the late Duncan and Jennie (Lintz) McDonald. He was a proud 1947 graduate of Saginaw High School. Jim honorably served his country in the United State Army during the Korean War from March 1951 until his honorable discharge in February 1953. Through a friend, Jim began exchanging letters with the former Barbara Ann Smith. Upon his return from the army, they began dating, fell in love, and were united in marriage on February 4, 1956; she preceded him in death June 15, 2012. Jim was employed with General Motors Steering Gear as a machine operator and inspector, retiring after many years of loyal and dedicated service. He was a longtime member of Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church in Saginaw and a current member of Memorial Presbyterian Church in Midland. Jim was also a 32-year member of American Legion Post 439. He was a Michigan State University enthusiast and long-time season ticket holder for their football and basketball teams. Jim began the family tradition of tailgating, passing this down to his children and grandchildren. He was a gifted and talented woodworker and over the years he created beautiful furniture, rocking chairs, end tables, and bookcases. Jim could also fix anything, from simple and complex car repairs and home improvements, to construction and painting. He was the master at repairing all things. Jim’s little piece of heaven was spending time with his family on West Londo Lake near Hale. Above all, he loved and cherished his family, especially being the perfect grandfather to all his grandchildren. Jim will forever be remembered for his kind and gentle spirit, for being loyal, reliable, and selfless to anyone in need, and for truly living an amazing life filled with many beautiful memories and stories. Surviving are two sons and one daughter, Maxwell (Jean) McDonald of Gladwin; James (Patty) McDonald of Phoenix, AZ; Jodi (Kim) McDonald of Eagle; five grandchildren: Maxwell (Ashley) McDonald, Kathleen (Becca) Saag, Duncan (Adair) McDonald, Spencer (Drew) McDonald, Morgan (Marissa) McDonald; one great-grandson: Ezra James Saag; a brother and sister: Duncan (Gail) McDonald, Judy Langworthy; sister-in-law, Delores McDonald. He was preceded in death by his siblings, William (Hope) McDonald, Richard McDonald, George (Dolores) McDonald, Margaret “Toot” (Walt) Kirk, Donna McDonald and Janet McDonald; and a brother-in-law, Lee Langworthy. The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the staff at McLaren Hospice for all the love and care they provided to Jim and the family. A funeral service will take place at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, September 26, 2022, at the W. L. Case & Company, 201 N. Miller Road. Rev. Ted McCulloch will officiate. Military Honors and burial will follow at Roselawn Memorial Gardens under the auspices of the United States Army and American Legion Post #439. Friends are welcome to visit at the funeral chapel on Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on Monday from 11:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider memorials to McLaren Hospice or Memorial Presbyterian Church. Please share your thoughts and memories with the family at the funeral home or through www.casefuneralhome.com. Published by W.L. Case & Company Funeral Directors – Miller on Sep. 25, 2022. Read More…

Is A Beer Shortage On Tap? Inflation And Supply Chain Pressures On Brewers Are Intensifying https://digitalarizonanews.com/is-a-beer-shortage-on-tap-inflation-and-supply-chain-pressures-on-brewers-are-intensifying/ Beer makers are facing many challenges as inflation and supply chain issues raise cost of brewing and shipping. Shortages in aluminum cans and carbon dioxide, used in brewing, have hampered some brewers. For consumers, beer prices are rising – up 5% so far this year – but not as fast as on other goods including food, which rose about 11%. We have endured no shortage of shortages recently. There was toilet paper and computer chips, followed by tampons and baby formula. Could the next shortage involve beer? The potential arises as beer makers, big and small, are under pressure from a confluence of inflation and several supply chain issues. Some breweries have found it challenging to get carbon dioxide (CO2), which is used to clean tanks and carbonate beer. When they do get it, the price is often higher, sometimes twice what they used to pay. Also rising: the price of other ingredients such as malted barley and the cost to ship that and other products. All this could lead to higher beer prices. And, it could result in some of your favorite beers being out of stock or not on tap. “I don’t know if I can think of a scenario where there’d be no beer from a brewery, but I can understand a scenario where there would be a limited or smaller offering, as beer has a short shelf life,” said Chuck Aaron, owner and founder of Jersey Girl Brewing in Hackettstown, N.J. The environment is challenging enough that it could force some breweries to close. “This could certainly be a factor in closures,” Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers Association, told USA TODAY.  In a mid-year survey of the association’s membership – about 5,600 U.S. small and independent breweries – some brewers’ sentiments amounted to, “we’re selling as much beer as we were pre-pandemic, but making far less on that beer, and we’re unsure how long that is sustainable,” Watson said. Gas prices go up after declines: Here’s where gas is cheapest and most expensive What’s it mean for you?: Fed hikes interest rate 0.75 percentage point to tame inflation Why could there be a beer shortage? Because breweries, which are accustomed to some supply chain struggles, face a growing list of headaches. The price and availability of aluminum cans became increasingly volatile as cans became critical to breweries’ survival. Many had pivoted to curbside pickup and offsite distribution during the national shutdown brought on by COVID-19. Similarly, the supply of CO2 has “remained tight since the shortages in the Spring of 2020,” Watson said in a recent report. Breweries have often got less than they ordered – or worse, not had promised amounts delivered at all. Now, inflation has driven up the entire cost of breweries’ shopping list, just as it has for all Americans.  That means breweries are likely paying more for CO2, cans, paper goods, malt (grains needed for making beer), and hops. “What’s unprecedented is the number of areas where we are seeing challenges,” Watson told USA TODAY. Inflation: No more steak. Ordering out less. Here’s how inflation is squeezing American diets. Settle Down Easy Brewing Co. in Falls Church, Virginia hasn’t been hit hard by CO2 price increases, but is paying an additional two cents per can for its canning line, purchased during the pandemic, said co-owner Frank Kuhns. But other price increases have hit harder including $150-$300 “gas travel” fees for each delivery from suppliers, and labor and equipment costs of 30% to 40% more than originally budgeted, for the construction of a second Northern Virginia location a few miles away in Oakton, Virginia. So far, “we have made the decision to hold and not pass these increases onto the customer and instead look for new suppliers or cutting costs without sacrificing quality,” Kuhns said. Despite the dilemma, the nation’s beer taps won’t likely run dry. But they could be tempered, he said. “I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say there will be shortages. Individual producers may have issues, but this isn’t so widespread that you’re going to see empty beer shelves,” Watson said. “I think the beer brand that consumers want occasionally being out of stock is closer to accurate. And brewers might make different or fewer beers.” Why is carbon dioxide needed to make beer? Most beer lovers know that brewers use CO2 to carbonate beer. But CO2 also is used to clean fermentation tanks and keep oxygen out before they are refilled. “Oxygen is the devil of beer and will kill a beer if you have oxygen in it,” Aaron said. But many breweries have had a devil of a time getting the CO2 they need. A main contributor is that a natural source of CO2, the Jackson Dome, an extinct volcano in Mississippi, “is facing a contamination issue with the raw gas from the mine creating a significant decrease in available food grade CO,” Watson told brewers in a July report. High demand and some shutdowns at ammonia plants, which create and capture CO2 to sell to other industries, has compounded the shortage. So have rail disputes, which have disrupted deliveries, wrote Forbes columnist Richard Howells, a supply chain executive. “Yes, you heard right,” Howells wrote. “In this era, of trying to reduce emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere, we are actually going to have a shortage of the CO2 that provides the carbonation so loved by millions of concerned beer drinkers.” How are breweries coping with the CO2 shortage? Most have had to pay more for CO2, while many have had to find alternate suppliers. And if a brewer cannot get enough, that could lead to some beers not getting made, said Tomme Arthur, co-founder and chief operating owner of Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey in San Diego County, California. “I don’t expect the grocery aisles to be missing 18 packs of lager,” he said. “But your local craft brewer is certainly at risk for having to adjust brewing schedules and deliverables based on this lack of CO2 and the need for it in so many of the brewing practices.” At Jersey Girl Brewing, the cost has doubled over the the past year, from about 20 cents a pound to 44 cents. Aaron said he has been “watching the invoice price creep up and up and up as we fill” the brewery’s bulk tanks capable of holding 1,500 pounds of the gas. Aaron has also had to decide not to make some beers, such as a Helles lager, because the German grains needed were too costly with increased shipping prices. And some beers needing New Zealand International hops have not been produced.  “Hopefully once the prices come back in line, we’ll be able to reintroduce those into the market,” he said. Earlier this week, Axios reported that a “U.S. beer shortage looms with gap in carbon dioxide supply.” It also noted that some breweries have equipment to capture the CO2 emitted in the brewing process, but it is very expensive. Also vying for CO2: Other industries including carbonated beverage makers and food manufacturers.  “As we have learned, brewers are a relatively small user of CO2 in the grand scheme of things,” Watson said. What’s everyone talking about?: Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day Could beer become more expensive? It already has. The makers of Miller Lite and Coors Light, and Bud Light – as well as Stella Artois – have all raised prices recently. But beer prices are up far less than the cost of production. The price of beer purchased to drink at home had risen about 5% as of August 2022, compared to August 2021, according to the Consumer Price Index. That’s higher than whiskey (3%), wine (2.5%), and other spirits (1.2%).  Another barometer of pricing: The average cost to consumers for beer has risen 3.4%, over the past year for the equivalent of a 24-pack of 12 oz. cans, based on prices for the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, according to Nielsen IQ. Beer price increases have also remained below that of other consumer goods – overall, prices increased 8.3% compared to a year ago, and food rose 11.4%. Price hikes have not “stopped consumers from trading up to” craft beers, imported beers or canned cocktails and seltzers, said Bump Williams, a beverage industry consultant. Consumers have also been buying more 12-packs and single-serving cans as they have been “changing their purchase behavior with inflation going up, interest rates going up, gas prices going up, and a declining stock market turning 401k’s into 201k’s,” Williams said. “So folks are managing their affordable luxury expenditures a bit differently today.” Could the price of cans also affect beer supply? Probably indirectly, since aluminum prices are just one of several costs brewers see increasing. Costs of cans “are still much higher than they were and I believe once prices go up the way we’ve experienced them, you tend not to see them come back down,” Aaron said. While there has been less volatility recently, some breweries had to find a new supplier when Ball Corp., one of the nation’s largest can manufacturers, earlier this year raised its minimum requirements for customers, citing unprecedented demand.  “We were sent scrambling to find an alternative supplier,” which charges 1.5 cents more per unit, Arthur said. “A truck load of cans is approximately 156,000 units so the pennies add up,”  he said. “I have never seen this level of inflationary pressures combined with outright shortages. It’s bonkers to put it mildly,” Arthur said. “I suspect that nearly every brewery in town is being jammed on the same fronts.” Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider. Read More Here

Flagstaff History: Arson Was Suspected In Museum Club Fire https://digitalarizonanews.com/flagstaff-history-arson-was-suspected-in-museum-club-fire/ SUSANNAH CARNEY and BRUCE CARL ERTMANN Special to the Daily Sun 100 years ago 1922: Thompson brothers, the Belmont merchants, are the first airplane owners in this county. What are they going to do with it? One of the brothers says it will come in mighty handy coming to Flagstaff to get supplies from Babbitt’s, and D. G., the other brother, says after they get tired of flying or trying to fly, maybe they can hitch the dinged-up machine to the big saw. They had a Ford car hitched there last winter, and, in some way, it got started and pulled the saw halfway over to Kendrick Park before they could head it off. If the airplane breaks loose, with the saw hitched to its tail, there’s no telling what damage it will do. G. A. Porter landed too soon last week in the Flagstaff ballpark and smashed the plane, which he and his buddy Jordan, were flying from California where they had just been discharged from the Navy. They bought the bird for $500 to fly home to Longmont Colorado and “surprise paw and ma.” After a new propeller plane was installed, the plane was towed back to Belmont. Then it wouldn’t go up. Anxious to get home, they hocked it to the Thompson boys for enough to pay railroad fare. A young horse thief, figuring it all out how he could make his getaway more scientifically than the other two young horse thieves who failed a few weeks ago to make theirs and are now in the state penitentiary thinking it over, found out that no matter how well one’s plans are laid, something may go amiss. His name is A. L. Parker. He is about 30 and is silent about where he came from and why. He cooked for a while for a cattle outfit, then worked on the road. About two weeks ago he went up on the mesa west of Flagstaff and outfitted himself with a horse and a mare belonging to Ambrosio Gonzalez. He rode through town to Winslow, then struck south. Unfortunately for him, Jim Newenz saw him going through here then saw him again east of here and finally talked with some of the sheepherders with whom Parker had breakfasted the next day. Jim new the horses but thought nothing of it until he realized that the man was getting a long distance from town. Undersheriff and the deputy sheriff set out in a car after Parker. He had discarded the horse, which was old and not much good, out near George Ferrell’s ranch, but he kept right on with the mare. Two days later they came up on him in the forest, where he had accommodatingly crossed the line from Navajo back into this county. “I hate to be arrested for stealing this horse,” he said, “but if it wasn’t for such damn fools as me, you fellows wouldn’t have anything to do.” 75 years ago 1947: Tuesday, Sept. 30, the taxpayers of Flagstaff who are otherwise qualified voters will go to the polls to decide whether the city will issue bonds for several projects — all badly needed and of the utmost importance to the city and its future. Mayor Harold Sykes has been invited to submit his views on the various issues. Here is the first one. Advantages of the proposed new airport over the present one including location (less than half the distance from Flagstaff). It will be more accessible to a paved highway, availability of city water and power lines, better surrounding terrain, better possibility for ultimate extension of principal runway to more than 8,000 feet, if necessary, proximity of location to Fort Tuthill where the Arizona National Guard holds encampment. The runway into the prevailing southwest wind will be the most economical one to build. Flagstaff is acquiring the land for the new airport at no cost to Flagstaff. The value of Koch Field as farming land is considerable. Mayor Sykes also elaborated on Lake Mary and the reasons for constructing a gravity flow pipeline from upper Lake Mary to lower Lake Mary dam. An enormous amount of water is wasted without a pipeline through greater evaporation and directly into sink holes in the bottom of lower Lake Mary. Experts say that the geological formation of the lower lake, for the most part consisting of a thin layer of silt over a permeable strata of limestone, will preclude the possibility of permanent repairs to the bed of the lower lake. Increased population and water use will force Flagstaff to depend to a greater and greater extent on lake water in the future, even during wet years. The recommendation of Flagstaff’s water engineers is a combination of 15-inch and 18-inch centrifugally spun concrete pipe will not be a bottleneck in the supply system as it will carry more water by gravity at no cost for pumping. Tests of water from the two lakes have shown that the water from the upper lake is superior in quality to that from the lower. 50 years ago 1972: Flagstaff police and fire departments are investigating the possibility of arson in a blaze that damaged a landmark nightclub early today. Fire Chief Don Vorhies said structural damage to the colorful Museum Club was small, with the fire starting on the outside of the northeast corner of the building, and then spreading into the eaves and into the attic of the aging log structure. Flagstaff police reported a call shortly before 4 a.m. that the building was on fire. Police officers arrived in time to get inside the building and rescue the operators of the club. Two fire captains received injuries as a result of the blaze. There was found a bottle near the area where the blaze had apparently started, and the bottle smelled of flammable liquid. The owners of the club were unable to think of any possible enemies who would want to burn the building. Police also checked several service stations in the area of the fire to see if anyone had purchased a bottle of gasoline just prior to the fires breaking out. The investigation continues. Somebody is minus a banded pigeon and Kim Hope of 226 Campus Heights has it. Kim is a third-grader at the Beaver school, and she informed the Daily Sun today that she caught the pigeon Sunday afternoon at Campus Heights on the Northern Arizona University campus. She was able to catch him as he ran because “he can’t fly too good.” The number on the band is Aug. 72 F 5045. The pigeon can be claimed by calling Hope at 774-4835 after she gets home from school. The friendly bird is housed in a box and being fed bird seed and crumbs. 25 years ago 1997: Northern Arizona is battening the hatches today as the region awaits the biggest cloudburst in the area in years. National Weather Service officials in Flagstaff said 2 inches of rain are expected to fall today and Friday as a result of tropical storm Nora, downgraded from hurricane Nora at 8 a.m. today. But it could be more in some areas. The Weather Service said that in 1976, a similar storm took a similar path across Arizona and dumped 4.44 inches in some portions of northern Arizona. The Weather Service said the storm has not missed Flagstaff. It is still coming. Flash flood warnings are in effect around the area, with specific concern for steep canyons where walls of water can easily build. But even the urban areas are in jeopardy of sustaining heavy flooding. City crews were out Wednesday clearing debris from culverts. The City of Flagstaff is providing sand and bags as is the Kachina Village fire department. The residents will have to fill those bags themselves. The Africanized honeybee is believed responsible for the sharp rise in complaints about bee swarms this year in the Flagstaff region. Flagstaff and Doney Park officials have responded to about 665 calls this year, up from few or no calls in preceding years. The Doney fire department alone has responded to roughly 45 calls. An entomologist with the University of Arizona has confirmed that several bee samples from swarms in Flagstaff this summer have been Africanized, a year after the Africanized strain were first confirmed in Flagstaff. Experts attribute the increased swarm activity to abundant vegetation caused by the extended monsoon season and the fact that Africanized bees tend to move more often than their European cousins and defend their hives more aggressively when disturbed. Experts also believe the Africanized colonies wintered over in Flagstaff rather than migrating to warmer areas as had been expected after their discovery in the region last summer. The most serious incident involving Africanized bees was Aug. 2 when bees attacked two dogs and their owners. While the owners were not hurt, one dog died when the animal disturbed bees under a doghouse in the backyard. All events were taken from issues of the Arizona Daily Sun and its predecessors, the Coconino Weekly Sun and the Coconino Sun. 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Democrats Are Warming To A Biden 2024 Campaign. They're Just Not Sure If He'll Run. https://digitalarizonanews.com/democrats-are-warming-to-a-biden-2024-campaign-theyre-just-not-sure-if-hell-run/ (CNN)Many Democratic leaders, operatives and officials are cautiously warming to the idea of President Joe Biden running for reelection in 2024, dozens of high-ranking Democrats told CNN. The mood has notably shifted among top Democrats in recent months. During the depths of Biden’s political struggles in March, some party leaders from all over the country huddled in the hallways of the Hilton a few blocks from the White House for the annual Democratic National Committee meeting, according to four people involved in the conversations. Over drinks, while looking around to make sure no one overheard, they winced and grimaced and whispered: What could they do to stop Biden from running for reelection again? “There were people who were not certain he would be the right candidate,” said Jim Roosevelt, a top DNC member and the grandson of a president who ran for reelection more than any other. When those same state party chairs and executive directors returned to the capital for their fall meeting two weeks ago, the disposition had whipped around. Biden’s summer of successes has started to permeate. Fears of a radical Donald Trump restoration remain high, mounting legal problems regardless. A potentially bruising open primary would loom if Biden decided against seeking another term. “In New Mexico I’ve seen a radical shift after his speech in Philadelphia,” said the state’s Democratic Party chair Jessica Velasquez, referring to the President’s battle for the soul of democracy speech. “Part of that is he just keeps showing up.” A state party chair who asked not to be named added, “People were grumbling because nothing was passing. Now we’re getting the Biden we all voted for.” Inside the White House — both in the West Wing and in first lady Dr. Jill Biden’s offices — the last six weeks have renewed confidence of the President’s chances in a reelection run. They’ve developed a chip-on-the-shoulder underdog mentality, saying people doubt Biden and claim they’re not excited by him before he pulls it all together and comes out on top. He did it after he was counted out during the 2020 primaries, they say, he did it in going up against Trump and he did it again when his presidency was assumed to have sputtered out in the spring. Now they were ready to get on board — if he is. “If he feels he can do it,” Roosevelt said, “people would want him to do it.” Biden is already the oldest president ever and tends to keep a lighter public schedule than his predecessors, which has led to questions about how extensive a campaign he’d engage in. But even with those limited appearances recently, his poll numbers have been slowly moving upward. Already at his rally in Washington on Friday, Biden delivered another in what has become a series of much more energetic speeches, ripping into Republicans while pacing the stage on a handheld mic, and then walking off the stage to the beat of Daft Punk’s “One More Time.” But as much as most Democrats would love to be finished with the endless “Is he going to run?” discussion, Biden keeps stoking it. “My intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again. But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,” Biden said in his “60 Minutes” interview that aired last Sunday. Advisers dismissed that answer as simply trying to listen to lawyers’ warnings of not preemptively triggering Federal Elections Commission laws around fundraising and activity. Many others are not convinced. People in and around the President’s orbit would like him to make a decision by early 2023, after he comes back from his traditional Biden family Christmas, possibly by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “He will decide when he decides,” a top Democrat who speaks to the President told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a highly sensitive subject. “And rarely has he ever decided anything a minute sooner than he has to.” Even in-the-know supporters who say they’re completely gung-ho about Biden 2024 quickly add that of course he’ll have to talk with his family to see what’s right for him — and that more than anything, they know everything hinges on the first lady. No incumbent president has faced these kinds of continued doubts about running for reelection, which stretch from Pennsylvania Avenue to Pennsylvania. Dave Henderson, the executive director of AFSCME Council 13 in Pennsylvania — who as a union leader from Pittsburgh is about as core a Biden voter as exists — said he’d supported the President from the start of his 2020 campaign and remains enthusiastic, but paused when asked if he’d support Biden for reelection. “Tough question, because I’m not sure he’s going to run for reelection,” Henderson said. Told that Biden has said he intends to run, Henderson signed on immediately: “If he’s running, then I’ve got his back.” Sen. Chris Coons, the Delaware Democrat who holds Biden’s old seat and has stayed a confidant, told CNN the President “is seriously considering running,” and dismissed any static from the “60 Minutes” interview or elsewhere. “He beat Donald Trump before; he’ll beat Donald Trump again. If that’s the way this race plays out, I think Joe Biden is the best Democrat to beat Donald Trump in 2024,” Coons said. Standing on the White House driveway earlier this month after attending the Inflation Reduction Act celebration, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said that as one of the incumbent Democrats facing a strong GOP challenger in November, he’d be eager to have the President come campaign for him. “People have connected that it’s Democrats delivering,” Bennet said, “But I’d say it’s something more important than that: It reflects a very different ethic than the chaos of the Trump White House.” A family decision Those who know the first lady’s thought process, and are familiar with the strength of the Biden clan’s input, tell CNN that the last few months have also made them feel more open to another campaign. At times, they’ve expressed a little excitement at the prospect. Jill Biden “is still processing” the idea, says a person with knowledge of the first lady’s recent conversations on the topic. She was never sold on Biden’s running in 2016, when he ultimately didn’t. She was in favor of his running in 2020, when he did. “She will want to know if he can win, first and foremost. She will not want him put in a position where he could be embarrassed,” said one person who has worked for Biden for a long time and has witnessed the first lady’s tenacity with assessing data. “She will want to see a strategy for a primary and for a general (election).” With the exception of Hunter Biden’s toddler-aged son, the other five Biden grandchildren are old enough, and care enough, to have an opinion on whether their “Pop” should run again. The President himself has recently returned to recounting the input his grandchildren gave him about getting into the 2020 race. “Jill would make sure this decision would be made as a family — Hunter, Ashley, Val (Biden’s sister) and the grandchildren,” says the person who has worked with Biden. “She would want to know how they individually feel.” A senior Biden adviser insisted there’s no wavering. “The President has consistently said he intends to run for reelection and that is something both Dr. Biden and the family fully supports,” the adviser said. “The first lady will be an active campaigner for Democrats this fall and will carry a message of optimism and hope, focusing on the accomplishments of her husband’s administration. ‘Joe is delivering results’ will be a frequent message from her on the stump, name checking his achievements, and calling on voters to imagine what more he could do with larger majorities in Congress.” The questions over Biden’s age get a little quieter Biden is now a couple of months older than he was when many Democrats were gingerly trying to nudge him off the stage in the spring, but suddenly they’re insisting age is just a number for a man who’d be an unprecedented 86 years old by the end of his second term. “The age thing is a convenient place to go for people who had other reasons to say they didn’t want him to run,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania congressman who was rooting for Biden to run in 2016, attended the first fundraiser of his 2020 campaign and is eager to see him go again. “It will be unique to have someone that age running for president. It was two years ago. It was in 2016 with Trump.” Standing in a hallway in the Capitol, Boyle motioned toward the House floor, where all three top members of the Democratic leadership are already in their 80s. “I serve in Congress,” he said. “To me, Joe Biden is young.” Biden has always been sensitive about being seen as or called old, but he and others now say that all the talk over the summer that he wasn’t up to the moment and shouldn’t run for reelection was just Democrats voicing their despair that he and his White House seemed unable to get anything done. “First half of the administration, people were basically describing him as Johnny Carson in his retirement year,” said Quinton Lucas, the 38-year-old mayor of Kansas City. “What you are seeing now is someone who is very active, going on trips, engaging with different parts of the administration.” Getting results on “issues that not only are important for all Americans but issues the base has been talking about for a long time — guns, climate — that quells that discussion,” Lucas said. Sitting at a bar in the Pittsburgh suburbs, Summer Lee, the young outspoken progressive almost certainly headed to Congress to succeed a retiring Democrat, said she’s not ready to commit to Biden — but is ready to hear him out. “You can have a man for the moment, but it ...

Trump Reflects On Fame As Meaningful Part Of Being President https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-reflects-on-fame-as-meaningful-part-of-being-president/ Former President Trump reflects on his presidency and the question he gets asked more than any other: “If you had it to do again, would you have done it?” in an Atlantic excerpt from journalist Maggie Haberman‘s forthcoming book, “Confidence Man.” Driving point: “‘The answer is, yeah, I think so. Because here’s the way I look at it. I have so many rich friends and nobody knows who they are.’ He then went on to talk about how much easier his life would have been had he not run,” Haberman wrote. “Yet there it was: Reflecting on the meaning of having been president of the United States, his first impulse was not to mention public service, or what he felt he’d accomplished, only that it appeared to be a vehicle for fame, and that many experiences were only worth having if someone else envied them,” Haberman wrote. Haberman described the “candid admission” as “jarring as it was ultimately unsurprising.” She added in parenthesis: “When I asked him in a later interview about what he’d liked about the job, he replied, ‘Getting things done,’ and listed a few accomplishments.” The big picture: Trump, who faces legal peril in at least three different cases, also weighed in on the looming question of whether he took classified documents from the White House. “Nothing of great urgency, no,” he told Haberman, per the excerpt in The Atlantic. Go deeper… New York AG refers Trump family to federal prosecutors and IRS Read More Here

Schiff Says Any Criminal Referral For Trump By The January 6 Committee Should Be Decided Unanimously | CNN Politics https://digitalarizonanews.com/schiff-says-any-criminal-referral-for-trump-by-the-january-6-committee-should-be-decided-unanimously-cnn-politics/ 05:04 – Source: CNN Exclusive: Trump’s secret court fight to stop January 6 grand jury from getting information from his inner circle. CNN  —  US Rep. Adam Schiff, who serves on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, says that if the panel makes a criminal referral for former President Donald Trump related to the riot at the US Capitol, it should be made unanimously. “We operate with a high degree of consensus and unanimity,” the California Democrat told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday. “It will be certainly, I think, my recommendation, my feeling, that we should make referrals, but we will get to a decision as a committee, and we will all abide by that decision, and I will join our committee members if they feel differently.” CNN reported earlier this year that although the bipartisan committee was in wide agreement that Trump committed a crime when he pushed a conspiracy to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, panelists were split over what to do about it, including whether to make a criminal referral of Trump to the Justice Department, according to four sources connected to the committee. The internal debate spilled into plain view in June when the committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, repeatedly told a group of reporters at the Capitol that the panel would not be issuing any criminal referrals, a declaration that several of his fellow committee members were quick to push back on. Schiff said Sunday he wouldn’t disclose information about the focus of the select committee’s public hearing Wednesday, which will likely be its last until the panel releases its final report. “I think it’ll be potentially more sweeping than some of the other hearings, but it too will be in a very thematic – it will tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election,” he said. Rep. Jamie Raskin, another January 6 paneliist, said Sunday that the upcoming public hearing would share “details” learned by the committee since its last hearing in August. The Maryland Democrat told NBC News that he expects Wednesday’s hearing to be the last presentation of its investigation, but he’s “hopeful” the committee will hold a hearing presenting recommendations to Congress. Raskin added that the goal of Wednesday’s hearing is for panelists to reveal the newest findings in the investigation to supplement the broader narrative they presented in earlier hearings. Schiff, when asked by Tapper about the committee obtaining Secret Service communications related to the riot, said the panel was still going through them. “We are still going through them because they are very voluminous. I will say they’re not a substitute for having the text messages that were apparently erased from those devices, and we are still investigating how that came about and why that came about. And I hope and believe the Justice Department on that issue is also looking at whether laws were broken and the destruction of that evidence,” Schiff said. “But we do have a mountain of information that we need to go through.” Thompson said earlier this month that the communications turned over to the January 6 committee included “a combination of a number of text messages, radio traffic, that kind of thing. Just thousands of exhibits.” He added that the texts that were handed over were “primarily” from the day before and during the riot. Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, added his voice Sunday to a growing group of lawmakers pushing back on Trump’s claim that he could simply declassify classified documents by “thinking about it.” “No, that’s not how it works. Those comments don’t demonstrate much intelligence of any kind,” he told Tapper. “If you could simply declassify by thinking about it, then frankly, if that’s his view, he’s even more dangerous than we may have thought.” He continued: “With that view, he could simply spout off on anything he read in a Presidential Daily Brief or anything he was briefed on by the CIA director to a visiting Russian delegation or any other delegation and simply say, ‘Well, I thought about it and therefore, when the words came out of my mouth, they were declassified.’” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican in the chamber, also rejected Trump’s claim on Sunday, telling ABC News that he doesn’t “think a president can declassify documents by saying so.” Read More Here

LinkedIn Ran Social Experiments On 20 Million Users Over Five Years https://digitalarizonanews.com/linkedin-ran-social-experiments-on-20-million-users-over-five-years/ A study that looked back at those tests found that relatively weak social connections were more helpful in finding jobs than stronger social ties. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Researchers examined changes that LinkedIn had made to its “People You May Know” algorithm to test what sociologists call the “strength of weak ties.”Credit…Sundry Photography/Alamy By Natasha Singer Natasha Singer, a business reporter at The New York Times, teaches a tech accountability journalism course at The Times’s summer program for high school students. Published Sept. 24, 2022Updated Sept. 25, 2022, 11:10 a.m. ET LinkedIn ran experiments on more than 20 million users over five years that, while intended to improve how the platform worked for members, could have affected some people’s livelihoods, according to a new study. In experiments conducted around the world from 2015 to 2019, Linkedin randomly varied the proportion of weak and strong contacts suggested by its “People You May Know” algorithm — the company’s automated system for recommending new connections to its users. The tests were detailed in a study published this month in the journal Science and co-authored by researchers at LinkedIn, M.I.T., Stanford and Harvard Business School. LinkedIn’s algorithmic experiments may come as a surprise to millions of people because the company did not inform users that the tests were underway. Tech giants like LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, routinely run large-scale experiments in which they try out different versions of app features, web designs and algorithms on different people. The longstanding practice, called A/B testing, is intended to improve consumers’ experiences and keep them engaged, which helps the companies make money through premium membership fees or advertising. Users often have no idea that companies are running the tests on them. (The New York Times uses such tests to assess the wording of headlines and to make decisions about the products and features the company releases.) But the changes made by LinkedIn are indicative of how such tweaks to widely used algorithms can become social engineering experiments with potentially life-altering consequences for many people. Experts who study the societal impacts of computing said conducting long, large-scale experiments on people that could affect their job prospects, in ways that are invisible to them, raised questions about industry transparency and research oversight. “The findings suggest that some users had better access to job opportunities or a meaningful difference in access to job opportunities,” said Michael Zimmer, an associate professor of computer science and the director of the Center for Data, Ethics and Society at Marquette University. “These are the kind of long-term consequences that need to be contemplated when we think of the ethics of engaging in this kind of big data research.” The study in Science tested an influential theory in sociology called “the strength of weak ties,” which maintains that people are more likely to gain employment and other opportunities through arms-length acquaintances than through close friends. The researchers analyzed how LinkedIn’s algorithmic changes had affected users’ job mobility. They found that relatively weak social ties on LinkedIn proved twice as effective in securing employment as stronger social ties. In a statement, Linkedin said during the study it had “acted consistently with” the company’s user agreement, privacy policy and member settings. The privacy policy notes that LinkedIn uses members’ personal data for research purposes. The statement added that the company used the latest, “non-invasive” social science techniques to answer important research questions “without any experimentation on members.” LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, did not directly answer a question about how the company had considered the potential long-term consequences of its experiments on users’ employment and economic status. But the company said the research had not disproportionately advantaged some users. The goal of the research was to “help people at scale,” said Karthik Rajkumar, an applied research scientist at LinkedIn who was one of the study’s co-authors. “No one was put at a disadvantage to find a job.” Sinan Aral, a management and data science professor at M.I.T. who was the lead author of the study, said LinkedIn’s experiments were an effort to ensure that users had equal access to employment opportunities. “To do an experiment on 20 million people and to then roll out a better algorithm for everyone’s jobs prospects as a result of the knowledge that you learn from that is what they are trying to do,” Professor Aral said, “rather than anointing some people to have social mobility and others to not.” (Professor Aral has conducted data analysis for The New York Times, and he received a research fellowship grant from Microsoft in 2010.) Experiments on users by big internet companies have a checkered history. Eight years ago, a Facebook study describing how the social network had quietly manipulated what posts appeared in users’ News Feeds in order to analyze the spread of negative and positive emotions on its platform was published. The weeklong experiment, conducted on 689,003 users, quickly generated a backlash. The Facebook study, whose authors included a researcher at the company and a professor at Cornell, contended that people had implicitly consented to the emotion manipulation experiment when they had signed up for Facebook. “All users agree prior to creating an account on Facebook,” the study said, “constituting informed consent for this research.” Critics disagreed, with some assailing Facebook for having invaded people’s privacy while exploiting their moods and causing them emotional distress. Others maintained that the project had used an academic co-author to lend credibility to problematic corporate research practices. Cornell later said its internal ethics board had not been required to review the project because Facebook had independently conducted the study and the professor, who had helped design the research, had not directly engaged in experiments on human subjects. Image Whether most LinkedIn members understand that they could be subject to experiments that may affect their job opportunities is unknown.Credit…Linkedin The LinkedIn professional networking experiments were different in intent, scope and scale. They were designed by Linkedin as part of the company’s continuing efforts to improve the relevance of its “People You May Know” algorithm, which suggests new connections to members. The algorithm analyzes data like members’ employment history, job titles and ties to other users. Then it tries to gauge the likelihood that a LinkedIn member will send a friend invite to a suggested new connection as well as the likelihood of that new connection accepting the invite. For the experiments, LinkedIn adjusted its algorithm to randomly vary the prevalence of strong and weak ties that the system recommended. The first wave of tests, conducted in 2015, “had over four million experimental subjects,” the study reported. The second wave of tests, conducted in 2019, involved more than 16 million people. During the tests, people who clicked on the “People You May Know” tool and looked at recommendations were assigned to different algorithmic paths. Some of those “treatment variants,” as the study called them, caused LinkedIn users to form more connections to people with whom they had only weak social ties. Other tweaks caused people to form fewer connections with weak ties. Whether most LinkedIn members understand that they could be subject to experiments that may affect their job opportunities is unknown. LinkedIn’s privacy policy says the company may “use the personal data available to us” to research “workplace trends, such as jobs availability and skills needed for these jobs.” Its policy for outside researchers seeking to analyze company data clearly states that those researchers will not be able to “experiment or perform tests on our members.” But neither policy explicitly informs consumers that LinkedIn itself may experiment or perform tests on its members. In a statement, LinkedIn said, “We are transparent with our members through our research section of our user agreement.” In an editorial statement, Science said, “It was our understanding, and that of the reviewers, that the experiments undertaken by LinkedIn operated under the guidelines of their user agreements.” After the first wave of algorithmic testing, researchers at LinkedIn and M.I.T. hit upon the idea of analyzing the outcomes from those experiments to test the theory of the strength of weak ties. Although the decades-old theory had become a cornerstone of social science, it had not been rigorously proved in a large-scale prospective trial that randomly assigned people to social connections of different strengths. The outside researchers analyzed aggregate data from LinkedIn. The study reported that people who received more recommendations for moderately weak contacts generally applied for and accepted more jobs — results that dovetailed with the weak-tie theory. In fact, relatively weak contacts — that is, people with whom LinkedIn members shared only 10 mutual connections — proved much more productive for job hunting than stronger contacts with whom users shared more than 20 mutual connections, the study said. A year after connecting on LinkedIn, people who had received more recommendations for moderately weak-tie contacts were twice as likely to land jobs at the companies where those acquaintances worked compared with o...