Digital Arizona News

New Law Takes Effect, Changing Some AZ Teacher Training Requirements https://digitalarizonanews.com/new-law-takes-effect-changing-some-az-teacher-training-requirements/ TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) – Arizona is the fourth-worst state in the country for teachers, according to a study out this week from WalletHub. It takes into account things like pay, student ratio, and spending per student. So, it’s no surprise that the national teacher shortage is even more acute in our state. On Sept. 24, a new law goes into effect that the governor and supporters say will help expand Arizona’s teacher pool. Hoever, not everyone agrees it’s the best plan. When Governor Ducey signed SB 1159 last summer, it launched headlines relaying the message that educators no longer need a degree to begin teaching in Arizona public schools. That sparked some misunderstandings. The change only applies to beginning certain training programs. As this law takes effect, a bachelor’s degree is still required to be a certified teacher in Arizona. “They have to be enrolled in an accredited post secondary bachelor’s program. They’re not full time teachers, but they can start training with exceptional educators, much like they would in a teacher prep program,” said Emily Anne Gullickson, president of Great Leaders, Strong Schools. She explains, this law is for school districts running their own “alternative classroom-based preparation programs” and trainees must be supervised. Nine districts have been approved to by the state to grow their own teachers. Vail Unified Schools have an alternative pathway program, but told me those who enter their alternative pathway program must hold a bachelor’s degree. Gullickson said the law expands the applicant pool to include parents, former students, or people from other professions – creating new options for low income, rural, and border communities, as well as unique needs schools. “It’s not a mandate, it’s an option for people who see that aspiring teacher and instead of having to wait six years, can we start building their skills now?” Gullickson said. Not a mandate, but some current teachers would call it an insult. “It is a real slap in the face to teachers who do have their degrees,” said Margaret Chaney, Tucson Education Association President. She says the bill detracts from the real issues for teachers: things like pay, respect, resources, and politics. “It’s foolish to ignore the elephant in the room,” Chaney said, adding that Arizona already has excellent preparations programs and she doesn’t understand the need for this law. “There are still people interested in teaching. But, if your state has a shortage, then something, somewhere, is wrong – and maybe it’s the salary,” Chaney said. Pima County Schools Superintendent Dustin Williams acknowledges that the change in the law isn’t necessarily bad, but said that’s not the point if Arizona is trying to fix its teacher problem. “We have to have a conversation about a significant investment. A sustainable, significant investment,” said Williams, “Not through one cent sales tax and not through land deals and proposition 1-2-3. “We need to think about an investment in that base level funding that is going to get Arizona out of the bottom of the bracket across the nation and become a player.” Williams and Cheney agree that the real effort needs to be on keeping current teachers – with a more attractive wage, around $55,000. One thing all three of these educators agree on: something must be done about the teacher shortage. Almost all of the The Southern Arizona districts we contacted said they want only highly qualified teachers in the classroom, and most already partner with colleges. Catalina Foothills told us: “SB 1159 disrespects what is required to teach children well. We have no interest in hiring people who have not been trained to teach. It’s also what our parents expect.” However, Southern Arizona’s largest district, TUSD, is considering a change, saying in a statement to KOLD, “We are working to build a teacher training program at TUSD but it will be a year or two out.” Copyright 2022 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Kwasi Kwarteng Defends Massive Tax Cuts As Fair For All https://digitalarizonanews.com/kwasi-kwarteng-defends-massive-tax-cuts-as-fair-for-all/ By Joshua Nevett BBC News Media caption, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on his mini-budget: “Not a gamble at all” Kwasi Kwarteng has said massive tax cuts aimed at boosting economic growth are fair for all despite the highest earners gaining the most. The chancellor scrapped the top rate of income tax as part of the biggest package of tax cuts in 50 years. Labour and some Tory MPs have said it was wrong to cut taxes for the wealthy during a cost-of-living crisis. But Mr Kwarteng said he was “being fair” by reducing taxes right across the income bracket. The package of measures, which has been dubbed a mini-budget, will be paid for by a sharp rise in government borrowing amounting to tens of billions of pounds. Paul Johnson, director of the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the plans were a “big gamble”, with money being pumped into the economy when inflation remains high. There was an immediate reaction in financial markets, as the pound sunk and UK stocks fell. In an interview with BBC News political editor Chris Mason, the chancellor said: “I don’t think it’s a gamble at all. “What was a gamble, in my view, was sticking to the course we are on.” Mr Kwarteng insisted not cutting taxes and continuing to follow the path of the previous government – led by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson – was more risky. “So what we had to do was have a reboot, a rethink,” Mr Kwarteng said. He said his mini-budget was not an admission of failure, as Labour suggested in response to his statement, and a recession forecasted by the Bank of England was “not inevitable” But, he said, “we also recognise we could do things better”. He said his moves to reduce income tax, scrap a planned rise in National Insurance and support households with energy bills would “help the most vulnerable people in society get through a difficult time”. Asked whether the UK economy was now in recession, Mr Kwarteng said that while, “technically, the Bank of England said that there was a recession”, he thought it “would be shallow” and he hoped “we would rebound and grow”. When pressed, the chancellor said he did not acknowledge that the UK was in recession and that one was not inevitable. The Institute of Fiscal Studies said the richest 10% of households would gain the most from Mr Kwarteng’s measures, which undo the tax rises introduced by former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who left office in July. Labour’s shadow business secretary Seema Malhotra told BBC Two’s Newsnight: “What was really striking today in Parliament was the admission, effectively, of 12 years of failure of what the Conservatives have been doing. “And Kwasi Kwarteng and his colleagues failed to connect the fact that we’ve got high taxes because we’ve had low growth.” She added: “If you’re going to have a plan for growth, it’s got to be a proper plan. Even today wasn’t a proper plan. Today was a set of tax cuts that are supporting the wealthiest in our society.” Torsten Bell, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank, said those earning £1m annually will get a £55,000 tax cut next year. Conservative former cabinet minister Julian Smith said the chancellor’s decision to hand a “huge” tax cut to the wealthy at a time of national crisis was “wrong”. When Mr Smith’s concerns were put to the chancellor, he said the former chief whip “knows about party loyalty” and “lots of people feel we’ve got to get Britain moving”. Getting the economy moving will, according to Mr Kwarteng, require doing things differently, what he called “a new approach for a new era, focused on growth”. That new approach will be funded by borrowing, which economists think could climb to £120bn within three years. In Parliament, John Glen, a former junior finance minister, pointedly asked Mr Kwarteng about market reaction, saying “there is a clear concern” over the level of borrowing needed to afford these tax cuts. Prime Minister Liz Truss, who took office this month, has said she was prepared to make “unpopular decisions” to spur economic growth and support those struggling with the rising cost of living. She won the Tory leadership election on a platform of upending what she has called the economic “orthodoxy” of the Treasury and reversing tax hikes introduced by her predecessor. Now Mr Kwarteng is putting her economic agenda to the test. Read More Here

Trump Lawyers Argue To Limit White House Aides’ Testimony To Jan. 6 Grand Jury https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-lawyers-argue-to-limit-white-house-aides-testimony-to-jan-6-grand-jury/ Lawyers for former president Donald Trump have entered a high-stakes legal battle seeking to limit the scope of former top White House aides’ testimony to a federal grand jury that is investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 elections, according to people familiar with the matter. The action sets up a potentially precedent-setting struggle that could affect the Justice Department’s investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, and address the scope of a former president’s assertion of executive or attorney-client privilege to preserve the confidentiality of advisers’ communications. The specific contours of the fight, reported first by CNN, are unclear. One person familiar with the matter said that the dispute concerned the testimony of two top aides to former vice president Mike Pence — his former chief of staff, Marc Short, and former counsel, Greg Jacob. The men appeared before the grand jury in July and answered some, but not all, questions, based on Trump’s assertion of privilege, people familiar with the matter said. Grand jury matters are typically secret. However, the case spilled into light after Trump attorneys M. Evan Corcoran, John P. Rowley III and Timothy C. Parlatore were seen at federal court in Washington on Thursday with no publicly scheduled matters, along with a lead Jan. 6 federal prosecutor, Thomas Windom. A person with knowledge of the matter said Trump’s representatives were present for a Jan. 6-related proceeding. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation. Trump’s attorneys and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. said they could not comment on grand jury matters. Efforts to reach representatives for Short or Jacobs were not immediately successful Friday night. A dispute over executive privilege and compelling a witness’s testimony before a grand jury would typically be heard by Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell in Washington. While Howell has in the past moved quickly, any appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia would probably extend through the end of the year, and the arguments would be unlikely to be made public before then. A spokeswoman for Howell did not respond to a request for comment. In most fights over executive privilege — which are often between Congress and the executive branch — both sides usually compromise and settle their differences rather than risk a precedent-setting defeat for either branch of government. But the stakes of the criminal investigation into Trump’s actions during the presidential transition after he lost reelection in November 2020 may make negotiation more difficult. The Justice Department is questioning witnesses about conversations with Trump, his lawyers and others in his inner circle who sought to substitute Trump allies for certified electors from some states Joe Biden won, people familiar with the matter have said. Prosecutors have asked hours of detailed questions about meetings Trump led in December 2020 and January 2021 and his pressure on Pence to overturn the election. Those lines of inquiry are separate from the investigation into classified documents recovered from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home — though that case, too, has produced legal fighting over issues of executive and attorney client privilege. Both Short and Jacob have unique windows into those events. Both were with Pence on Jan. 6 at the Capitol. They testified with Pence’s approval before a House select committee conducting a parallel investigation, although the former vice president declined to do so himself. Jacob also told the committee that two days before the riot, private Trump attorney John Eastman conceded that the plot to have Pence help overturn the election was illegal. In other legal proceedings, attorneys for Trump have defended executive privilege claims, warning that rulings to the contrary could damage the presidency by weakening the confidentiality afforded to the conversations of top presidential advisers. They have argued that allowing a sitting president to waive executive privilege of a predecessor unilaterally also could politicize and defeat the purpose of the privilege. However, Trump’s legal options to withhold testimony may have been limited by a string of court decisions since Jan. 6. Courts have long held that White House claims of executive or attorney-client privilege are easier to overcome when the information is sought in a criminal proceeding rather than by Congress. The standard for prosecutors is whether they can show a witness is likely to possess information important to the criminal probe not readily available otherwise. And even though lawmakers must meet a higher bar, courts since January have sided with Congress and rejected an attempt by Trump to withhold thousands of pages of White House communications and records from the House Jan. 6 committee, and a similar effort by Eastman to do so claiming attorney-client confidentiality. Read More Here

Trump Allies Create A New Super PAC Called MAGA Inc. https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-allies-create-a-new-super-pac-called-maga-inc/ NEW YORK (AP) — Top allies of former President Donald Trump are creating a new super PAC that’s expected to serve as the main vehicle for his midterm spending and could become a key part of his campaign infrastructure should he move forward with a 2024 White House run. The political action committee, called MAGA Inc., will supersede Trump’s existing super PAC, Politico first reported. Paperwork for the new committee was filed Friday morning with the Federal Election Commission. The buildout comes as Trump, a Republican, is under mounting legal pressure on multiple fronts. The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into how hundreds of documents with classified markings ended up at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and state and federal officials are probing his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. And in New York, Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit this week claiming Trump’s namesake company engaged in decades of fraudulent bookkeeping, padding his net worth by billions of dollars and habitually misleading banks. News of the new super PAC also comes less than two months before the Nov. 8 midterm elections and as many Republican candidates have been struggling to raise money against well-funded Democrats. “President Trump is committed to saving America, and Make America Great Again, Inc. will ensure that is achieved at the ballot box in November and beyond,” said Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich, who will serve as the group’s executive director. Others joining the committee include Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, longtime Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio and communications aides Steven Cheung and Alex Pfeiffer. Until now, Trump’s Save America leadership PAC, which must abide by far stricter fundraising and spending limits and has come under its own scrutiny, has served as his chief political vehicle. Super PACs can raise unlimited money and spend it freely but are barred from coordinating directly with campaigns. Trump officials declined to say how much the notoriously thrifty former president intends to spend on his midterm efforts or how much he might try to transfer from his Save America PAC, which ended August with more than $90 million. The Associated Press previously reported that aides had been discussing the possibility of moving at least some of that money to a new or repurposed super PAC, though campaign finance experts are mixed on the legality of such a move. Trump has been under growing pressure to open his war chest and start spending on midterm races as Republicans have been outraised by Democrats heading into the final campaign stretch. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in particular, has urged candidates with Trump’s support to ask him to open his wallet. In the meantime, candidates, including some who presented themselves as McConnell antagonists during their primaries, have had to grovel to him and the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC he controls, which had $100 million in reserve at the end of June. Trump played a highly visible role during the GOP primaries, endorsing hundreds of candidates up and down the ballot, from Senate to governor to county commissioner. But some of those contenders are now struggling in their general election races, putting control of the evenly divided Senate up in the air. Trump is widely expected to launch another presidential run, but the timing of an announcement remains unclear. While he had once been keen to announce before the midterm elections, in part to try to stave off a long list of potential rivals who have been circling, some aides have urged him to wait, warning that announcing early could leave him open to blame if Republicans perform poorly in November. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Ayres: Good, Bad Came From Jan. 6 Ordeal https://digitalarizonanews.com/ayres-good-bad-came-from-jan-6-ordeal/ CHAMPION — Stephen Ayres remembers the day his life changed forever. It was a winter Monday morning in early 2021, and he was at his Carolewood Circle NW home with his 9-year-old son Waylon, who was in the basement doing school work over a Zoom application. A team of FBI agents then came to the door. “They put me in handcuffs… I can honestly say the FBI was very respectful with the handling of my son. Only one agent went down into the basement and sat with him until my seven-and-a-half-month pregnant wife was able to make it home from work that morning,” Ayres recalled in an email to this newspaper, about the day a few weeks after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Ayres said the agent never once told Waylon why the team of agents was at his home. “We broke that news to him about the time we went to D.C. for the Jan. 6th hearing,” Ayres said, noting his appearance this past summer testifying before the special House committee investigating the riot at the U.S. Capitol that disrupted the counting of the 2020 electoral vote by Congress. Ayres on Thursday was sentenced to two years of probation by a federal judge for his part in the riot. He and another man, Matthew Perna, from Sharpsville, Pa., made their way to Washington, D.C., to hear then-President Donald Trump address his supporters while Congress assembled at the Capitol to count the votes. Ayres avoided prison time but has to pay a $500 fine and do 100 hours of community service as part of his sentence handed down by U.S. Judge John Bates. “My wife Hayle and I are grateful that the judge recognized my sincere remorse for my actions on January 6th,” Ayres said in a separate, prepared statement released by his lawyer Eugene Ohm on Thursday night. “Now that I have been sentenced, I want to again say that it was wrong for me to be inside the Capitol and that I am sorry.” Ayres said he is not ashamed for going to the Trump rally or protesting, “but I should not have gone inside that building and become part of a mob that terrorized police officers who were just doing their job.” “That is not who I am. I am a God-fearing American, a family man who loves this country. Like so many others, I hung on every word Donald Trump said and he took advantage of us. My family and I have suffered — first for my bad judgment and then for speaking out. But if it helps this country get over this partisan and divisive (expletive) it will all be worth it. ” Ayres, in the email, said he can see the good that came out of this experience that ended with him pleading guilty to one count of committing disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restrictive building or grounds. He lost his job that he held for almost two decades. “But I now see it as a blessing in disguise as crazy as it may sound. The Lord got me away from (a regional cabinet manufacturer) which I became miserable with the supervisor position there,” he said ” I spent 17 years there working my butt off to become a supervisor… then I found out it’s not what I wanted after nearly 20 years.” He said his bosses let him go when he was charged. “So I believe the Lord blessed me in that sense and got me outta there.” Ayres said another good thing was that he is able to help raise his newborn son. “I never would of got the time to raise him … (family medical leave) only allows 12 weeks for a baby. So yes there has been some blessings.” There was also a lot of grief, Ayres said. ” I did lose my home and had to sell it. My wife had to take a year off from nursing school to help deal with all this, I lost a good friend Matthew Perna, who was my co-defendant. Which is one thing I still struggle with everyday. I think about him numerous times a day now. Wondering what if I did this or what if I did that. Would he still be here today?” Perna died in March from what his family said was a “broken heart” after he pleaded guilty in December. Ayres said he also thinks about the woman who lost her life during the Jan. 6 riot and those capitol officers who later died. “I believe in law enforcement! I have friends who are police officers. It breaks my heart to hear what some of these officers went through that day. Not to mention their family members who are still suffering from losing their loved ones. All because we blindly followed the leader of the free nation.” Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Georgia Voting Equipment Breach At Center Of Tangled Tale https://digitalarizonanews.com/georgia-voting-equipment-breach-at-center-of-tangled-tale-2/ By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The tale of breached voting equipment in one of the country’s most important political battleground states involves a bail bondsman, a prominent attorney tied to former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and a cast of characters from a rural county that rarely draws notice from outsiders. How they all came together and what it could mean for the security of voting in the upcoming midterm elections are questions tangled up in a lawsuit and state investigations that have prompted calls to ditch the machines altogether. Details of the unauthorized access of sensitive voting equipment in Coffee County, Georgia, became public last month when documents and emails revealed the involvement of high-profile Trump supporters. That’s also when it caught the attention of an Atlanta-based prosecutor who is leading a separate investigation of Trump’s efforts to undo his loss in the state. Since then, revelations about what happened in the county of 43,000 people have raised questions about whether the Dominion Voting Systems machines used in Georgia have been compromised. The public disclosure of the breach began with a rambling phone call from an Atlanta-area bail bondsman to the head of an election security advocacy group involved in a long-running lawsuit targeting the state’s voting machines. According to a recording filed in court earlier this year, the bail bondsman said he’d chartered a jet and was with a computer forensics team at the Coffee County elections office when they “imaged every hard drive of every piece of equipment.” That happened on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and two days after a runoff election in which Democrats swept both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats. The trip to Coffee County, about 200 miles south of Atlanta, to copy data and software from elections equipment was directed by attorney Sidney Powell and other Trump allies, according to deposition testimony and documents produced in response to subpoenas. Later that month, security camera footage shows, two men who have participated in efforts to question the results of the 2020 election in several states spent days going in and out of the Coffee County elections office. The footage also shows local election and Republican Party officials welcoming the visitors and allowing them access to the election equipment. The video seems to contradict statements some of the officials made about their apparent involvement. The new information has made Coffee County, where Trump won nearly 70% of the vote two years ago, a focal point of concerns over the security of voting machines. While there is no evidence of widespread problems with voting equipment in 2020, some Trump supporters have spread false information about machines and the election outcome. Election security experts and activists fear state election officials haven’t acted fast enough in the face of what they see as a real threat. The copying of the software and its availability for download means potential bad actors could build exact copies of the Dominion system to test different types of attacks, said University of California, Berkeley computer scientist Philip Stark, an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the voting machines lawsuit. “This is like bank robbers having an exact replica of the vault that they’re trying to break into,” he said. Stark said the risks could be minimized by using hand-marked paper ballots and rigorous audits. Dominion says its equipment remains secure. Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, the group that sued over the state’s voting machines, said the state has been slow to investigate. She was on the receiving end of the phone call from the bail bondsman. The state, she said, has been “repeatedly looking the other way when faced with flashing red lights of serious voting system security problems.” State officials say they’re confident the election system is safe. All Coffee County election equipment that wasn’t already replaced will be swapped out before early voting begins next month, the secretary of state’s office said Friday. State officials also noted they were deluged by false claims after the 2020 election. “In retrospect, you can say, well what about this, this and this,” said Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the Georgia secretary of state’s office. “In real time, no, there was no reason to think that.” In late January 2021, a few weeks after the computer forensics team visited, security video shows a secretary of state’s office investigator arriving at the Coffee County elections office. He and the elections supervisor walk into the room that houses the election management system server. Seconds later, Jeff Lenberg, who has been identified by Michigan authorities as being part of an effort to gain access to voting machines there, is seen walking out of that room. Asked whether Lenberg’s presence in the room with sensitive election equipment raised concerns for the investigator, secretary of state’s office spokesperson Mike Hassinger said the investigator was looking into an unrelated matter and didn’t know who Lenberg was. Security video also showed another man, Doug Logan, at the office in mid-January. Logan founded a company called Cyber Ninjas, which led a discredited review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, Arizona. In May 2021, Coffee County’s new elections supervisor raised concerns with the secretary of state’s office after finding Logan’s business card by a computer. The election supervisor’s concerns were referred to an investigator, but he testified that no one ever contacted him. Hassinger said the secretary of state’s office responds to allegations when they are raised but that “information about unauthorized access to Coffee County’s election equipment has been kept hidden” by local officials and others. Much of what is known was uncovered through documents, security camera video and depositions produced in response to subpoenas in the lawsuit filed by individual voters and the election security advocacy group. The suit alleges Georgia’s touchscreen voting machines are not secure and seeks to force the state to use hand-marked paper ballots instead. The recently produced evidence of a breach wasn’t the first sign of problems in Coffee County, which caused headaches for state election officials in the hectic weeks following the 2020 election. It’s likely that turmoil helped opened the door for Trump’s allies. In early December 2020, the county elections board declined to certify the results of a machine recount requested by Trump, saying the election system had produced inaccurate results. A video posted online days later showed the former county elections supervisor saying the elections software could be manipulated; as she spoke, the password to the county election management system server was visible on a note stuck to her computer. At the end of December, Cathy Latham, the Coffee County Republican Party chair who also was a fake elector for Trump, appeared at a state legislative committee hearing and made further claims that the voting machines were unreliable. Within days of that hearing, Latham said, she was contacted by Scott Hall, the bail bondsman, who had been a Republican observer during an election recount. Latham testified in a deposition that Hall asked her to connect him with the Coffee County elections supervisor (who later was accused of falsifying timesheets and forced to resign). A few days later, on Jan. 7, Hall met with a computer forensics team from data solutions firm SullivanStrickler at the Coffee County elections office. The team copied the data and software on the election management system server and other voting system components, a company executive said in a deposition. The company said it believed its clients had the necessary permission. Invoices show the data firm billed Powell $26,000 for the day’s work. “Everything went smoothly yesterday with the Coffee County collection,” the firm’s chief operating officer wrote to Powell in an email. “Everyone involved was extremely helpful.” Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More Here

Georgia Voting Equipment Breach At Center Of Tangled Tale https://digitalarizonanews.com/georgia-voting-equipment-breach-at-center-of-tangled-tale/ ATLANTA (AP) — The tale of breached voting equipment in one of the country’s most important political battleground states involves a bail bondsman, a prominent attorney tied to former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and a cast of characters from a rural county that rarely draws notice from outsiders. How they all came together and what it could mean for the security of voting in the upcoming midterm elections are questions tangled up in a lawsuit and state investigations that have prompted calls to ditch the machines altogether. Details of the unauthorized access of sensitive voting equipment in Coffee County, Georgia, became public last month when documents and emails revealed the involvement of high-profile Trump supporters. That’s also when it caught the attention of an Atlanta-based prosecutor who is leading a separate investigation of Trump’s efforts to undo his loss in the state. Since then, revelations about what happened in the county of 43,000 people have raised questions about whether the Dominion Voting Systems machines used in Georgia have been compromised. The public disclosure of the breach began with a rambling phone call from an Atlanta-area bail bondsman to the head of an election security advocacy group involved in a long-running lawsuit targeting the state’s voting machines. FILE – In this Jan. 7, 2021, image taken from Coffee County, Ga., security video, Cathy Latham, right, appears to take a selfie with a member of a computer forensics team inside the local elections office. Latham was the county Republican Party chair at the time. The computer forensics team was at the county elections office in Douglas, Ga., to make copies of voting equipment in an effort that documents show was arranged by attorney Sidney Powell and others allied with then-President Donald Trump. (Coffee County, Georgia via AP) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE – In this Jan. 7, 2021 image taken from Coffee County, Ga., security video, Cathy Latham, bottom, who was the chair of the Coffee County Republican Party at the time, greets a team of computer experts from data solutions company SullivanStrickler at the county elections office in Douglas, Ga. According to deposition testimony and documents produced in response to subpoenas, the trip to Coffee County to copy data and software from elections equipment was arranged by attorney Sidney Powell and other Trump allies. (Coffee County via AP) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks as he attends the National Association of Secretaries of State summer conference in Baton Rouge, La., July 8, 2022. An apparent breach of sensitive voting equipment data from a rural county in Georgia spilled into the public light last month when documents and emails produced in response to subpoenas in the lawsuit revealed the involvement of high-profile supporters of former President Donald Trump. Since then, a series of revelations about what happened in Coffee County has raised questions about whether the Dominion Voting Systems machines used throughout Georgia have been compromised. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Matthew Hinton PreviousNext According to a recording filed in court earlier this year, the bail bondsman said he’d chartered a jet and was with a computer forensics team at the Coffee County elections office when they “imaged every hard drive of every piece of equipment.” That happened on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and two days after a runoff election in which Democrats swept both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats. The trip to Coffee County, about 200 miles south of Atlanta, to copy data and software from elections equipment was directed by attorney Sidney Powell and other Trump allies, according to deposition testimony and documents produced in response to subpoenas. Later that month, security camera footage shows, two men who have participated in efforts to question the results of the 2020 election in several states spent days going in and out of the Coffee County elections office. The footage also shows local election and Republican Party officials welcoming the visitors and allowing them access to the election equipment. The video seems to contradict statements some of the officials made about their apparent involvement. The new information has made Coffee County, where Trump won nearly 70% of the vote two years ago, a focal point of concerns over the security of voting machines. While there is no evidence of widespread problems with voting equipment in 2020, some Trump supporters have spread false information about machines and the election outcome. Election security experts and activists fear state election officials haven’t acted fast enough in the face of what they see as a real threat. The copying of the software and its availability for download means potential bad actors could build exact copies of the Dominion system to test different types of attacks, said University of California, Berkeley computer scientist Philip Stark, an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the voting machines lawsuit. “This is like bank robbers having an exact replica of the vault that they’re trying to break into,” he said. Stark said the risks could be minimized by using hand-marked paper ballots and rigorous audits. Dominion says its equipment remains secure. Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, the group that sued over the state’s voting machines, said the state has been slow to investigate. She was on the receiving end of the phone call from the bail bondsman. The state, she said, has been “repeatedly looking the other way when faced with flashing red lights of serious voting system security problems.” State officials say they’re confident the election system is safe. All Coffee County election equipment that wasn’t already replaced will be swapped out before early voting begins next month, the secretary of state’s office said Friday. State officials also noted they were deluged by false claims after the 2020 election. “In retrospect, you can say, well what about this, this and this,” said Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the Georgia secretary of state’s office. “In real time, no, there was no reason to think that.” In late January 2021, a few weeks after the computer forensics team visited, security video shows a secretary of state’s office investigator arriving at the Coffee County elections office. He and the elections supervisor walk into the room that houses the election management system server. Seconds later, Jeff Lenberg, who has been identified by Michigan authorities as being part of an effort to gain access to voting machines there, is seen walking out of that room. Asked whether Lenberg’s presence in the room with sensitive election equipment raised concerns for the investigator, secretary of state’s office spokesperson Mike Hassinger said the investigator was looking into an unrelated matter and didn’t know who Lenberg was. Security video also showed another man, Doug Logan, at the office in mid-January. Logan founded a company called Cyber Ninjas, which led a discredited review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, Arizona. In May 2021, Coffee County’s new elections supervisor raised concerns with the secretary of state’s office after finding Logan’s business card by a computer. The election supervisor’s concerns were referred to an investigator, but he testified that no one ever contacted him. Hassinger said the secretary of state’s office responds to allegations when they are raised but that “information about unauthorized access to Coffee County’s election equipment has been kept hidden” by local officials and others. Much of what is known was uncovered through documents, security camera video and depositions produced in response to subpoenas in the lawsuit filed by individual voters and the election security advocacy group. The suit alleges Georgia’s touchscreen voting machines are not secure and seeks to force the state to use hand-marked paper ballots instead. The recently produced evidence of a breach wasn’t the first sign of problems in Coffee County, which caused headaches for state election officials in the hectic weeks following the 2020 election. It’s likely that turmoil helped opened the door for Trump’s allies. In early December 2020, the county elections board declined to certify the results of a machine recount requested by Trump, saying the election system had produced inaccurate results. A video posted online days later showed the former county elections supervisor saying the elections software could be manipulated; as she spoke, the password to the county election management system server was visible on a note stuck to her computer. At the end of December, Cathy Latham, the Coffee County Republican Party chair who also was a fake elector for Trump, appeared at a state legislative committee hearing and made further claims that the voting machines were unreliable. Within days of that hearing, Latham said, she was contacted by Scott Hall, the bail bondsman, who had been a Republican observer during an election recount. Latham testified in a deposition that Hall asked her to connect him with the Coffee County elections supervisor (who later was accused of falsifying timesheets and forced to resign). A few days later, on Jan. 7, Hall met with a computer forensics team from data solutions firm SullivanStrickler at the Coffee County elections office. The team copied the data and software on the election management system server and other voting system components, a company executive said in a deposition. The company said it believed its clients had the necessary permission. Invoices show the...

Trump Blasts Media Outlets For Ignoring Cayler Ellingson Killing In North Dakota https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-blasts-media-outlets-for-ignoring-cayler-ellingson-killing-in-north-dakota/ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Former President Donald Trump blasted major news networks for ignoring the apparent political killing of an 18-year-old in North Dakota.  Cayler Ellingson was killed early Sunday morning in McHenry, North Dakota after Shannon Brandt, 41, allegedly admitted to using his SUV to hit Ellingson, who later died at a local hospital. According to affidavit, Brandt said Ellingson was “threatening” him and that he believed the teenager was part of a “Republican extremist group.” “Just recently, a young 18-year-old man from North Dakota … was targeted and killed, run down in cold blood with an SUV by a radical left maniac,” Trump said at a rally in North Carolina Friday night. “This guy ran him down and not one mainstream media network has even mentioned this horrible crime. Think of it now. Think of it the other way. Think of it the other way. Supposing a mad person ran down somebody on the other side, it would be the biggest story you’ve ever seen. It’s a disgrace.” NORTH DAKOTA HIGH SCHOOL HOLDS MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR SLAIN CAYLER ELLINGSON DURING HOMECOMING FOOTBALL  During their homecoming game, the North Dakota high school that Cayler Ellingson recently graduated from held a moment of silence in remembrance of the 18-year-old who was killed on Sunday. (Adam Sabes/Fox News Digital and Facebook) LIBERAL NETWORKS AVOID NORTH DAKOTA TEEN KILLED BY MAN WHO DUBBED VICTIM A ‘REPUBLICAN EXTREMIST’ North Dakota Highway Patrol Captain Bryan Niewind told Fox News Digital on Thursday that there was “no evidence” supporting the claim Ellingson was part of an extremist group. “There is no evidence to support the claim Brandt made about Ellingson,” Niewind said. Ellingson’s death has received sparse attention from major news networks, despite an increase in stories about rising political violence.  Former President Donald Trump said it was a “disgrace” media outlets haven’t been covering the death of Cayler Ellingson, an 18-year-old from North Dakota who was hit by a driver in an SUV. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Site searches by Fox News on Friday evening showed that The New York Times has not run a single story about Elligson on its website. Neither has MSNBC. The Washington Post ran a story on Thursday night about North Dakota’s attorney general condemning the death, and a story from the Associated Press on Wednesday about the incident.  Former President Donald Trump speaks at a Save America Rally at the Aero Center Wilmington on September 23, 2022 in Wilmington, North Carolina. The “Save America” rally was a continuation of Donald Trump’s effort to advance the Republican agenda by energizing voters and highlighting candidates and causes.  (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images) CNN has also published a single story about the killing.  “You people should be ashamed of yourselves. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Trump continued. “And our hearts go out to the parents and the friends. This young boy, this was a young man. Wonderful, with a great future. And I’m just telling you, just so handsome and so beautiful and so great. And he got run down by a radical left nut job here.” Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report. Max Thornberry is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. You can reach him at [email protected] and on Twitter @Max_Thornberry  Read More Here

“At This Point, Challenge Donald Trump”: Millionaire WWE Legend Called Out Former Billionaire POTUS Once https://digitalarizonanews.com/at-this-point-challenge-donald-trump-millionaire-wwe-legend-called-out-former-billionaire-potus-once/ Donald Trump served as the 45th President of the United States of America. During his presidential campaign in 2016, he discussed various topics regarding the country.  ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad However, while Trump was in between his presidential campaign, a WWE legend invited him for a debate. Moreover, the invitation was for three days outside the United States.  ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad In 2016, the current Special Counsel of Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, called out Donald Trump for a debate in the UK. At the time he had three one-man shows in London, Manchester, and Glasgow with Inside The Ropes. Heyman called into Capital FM and challenged Trump on the air. He said, “I would like to at this point challenge Donald Trump to stay in Scotland. Await my invasion of Scotland and debate me.”  The Wiseman didn’t stop just after sending a challenge through the radio. He shared three tweets to remind the people and Trump about the challenge of the debate.  In the first tweet, he shared about having a debate over the 1,400 acres golf course with Donald Trump in Scotland. Moreover, he gave a date for the debate in his tweet.  He shared the second tweet right after he posted the above tweet. Heyman tweeted the third tweet the next day in which he said to have a debate on Brexit on 15th July of that year. They didn’t meet after all as Trump was busy with his presidential campaign. It seems Heyman was excited to have a debate with the former president over various ongoing matters in 2016.  We have seen the former Brock Lesnar’s Advocate having some great debates regarding professional wrestling. Heyman would have possibly had an interesting chat with Trump if given the chance at the time. Donald Trump once purchased and sold RAW within a week Donald Trump is close with WWE for a long time and was last seen in the company when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013. However, before becoming the Hall of Famer, Trump once purchased RAW from Vince McMahon and sold it within a week. In 2009, Mr. McMahon shared a huge announcement on RAW. Surprisingly, Trump appeared on the titantron and shared the news.  ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad DIVE DEEPER How Much Did Former President Donald Trump Earn For Shaving The Head of Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 23? 4 months ago He said, “Thanks Vince, You’ve finally put your ego aside and made a smart business move for a change. It’s true, Donald Trump, I’m now the sole owner of Monday Night RAW. You never really show any appreciation for the RAW audience.”  ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad The storyline ended when McMahon kayfabe purchased RAW from Trump at a high price the next week. This was the second encounter of Trump with McMahon after their infamous Battle of Billionaires at WrestleMania 23 in 2007.  Watch This Story: WWE Superstars With The Highest Number of WrestleMania Matches Read More Here

Injunction Placed On Arizona Abortion Ban Lifted, Adding To Confusion Over Legality Of Abortion https://digitalarizonanews.com/injunction-placed-on-arizona-abortion-ban-lifted-adding-to-confusion-over-legality-of-abortion/ Published September 23, 2022 3:57PM Updated 9:28PM Abortion law confusion in Arizona as judge lifts 1970s injunction on old abortion ban Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said a judge in Pima County has lifted an injunction that was placed on Arizona’s decades-old abortion statute, but with a less restrictive abortion restriction set to take effect on Sept. 24, it is adding to the confusion over the legality of abortion in Arizona. FOX 10’s Brian Webb reports. TUCSON. Ariz. – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said a judge in Pima County has lifted an injunction that was placed on Arizona’s abortion statute. “We applaud the court for upholding the will of the legislature and providing clarity and uniformity on this important issue. I have and will continue to protect the most vulnerable Arizonans,” read a portion of Brnovich’s tweet. According to the ruling, which was posted to the Arizona Attorney General’s website, Judge Kellie Johnson ruled that a judgment and injunction signed in 1973 in regards to a law known as ARS 13-3603 “no longer has any prospective application.” “The Court finds that because the legal basis for the judgment entered in 1973 has now been overruled, it must vacate the judgment in its entirety,” read a portion of the ruling. In June, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion ruling, Brnovich stated that his office has “concluded the Arizona Legislature has made its intentions clear regarding abortion laws.” “ARS 13-3603 is back in effect and will not be repealed in 90 days by SB1164,” the tweet read, in part. An appeal of the ruling is likely. Here’s what you should know about the Arizona law that is now no longer the target of an injunction. What is ARS 13-3603? (Related Video) Arizona faces complicated legal environment in post-Roe world ARS 13-3603 refers to a section of Arizona law that bans abortion in all cases except to save the woman’s life. The section reads: “The 1901 law is directed at someone who does supply provide or administer those drugs or medicine with the intent to induce a miscarriage, so it’s not directed at the pregnant woman herself,” said Emily Ward with law firm Fennemore Craig. According to the Associated Press, the old law was first enacted as part of the set of laws known as the “Howell Code” adopted by 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1864. Read More: Abortion now banned in most cases in Arizona, Attorney General says: Here’s what to know about ARS 13-3603 What led to the ruling, and what’s its impact? The decision from Johnson came more than a month after she heard arguments on Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s request to lift the injunction. The ruling by Johnson also means people seeking abortions will have to go to another state to obtain one. The abortion ban is set to take effect on Sept. 24, but so will a 15-week abortion ban that was passed by the legislature. The law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Doug Ducey in March was enacted in hopes that the U.S. Supreme Court would pare back limits on abortion regulations. It mirrored a Mississippi law that the high court was considering at the time that cut about nine weeks off the previous threshold. Ducey has argued that the new law he signed takes precedence over ARS 13-3603, but he did not send his attorneys to argue that before Johnson. “While there may be legal questions the parties seek to resolve regarding Arizona statutes on abortion, those questions are not for this Court to decide here,” read a portion of the ruling that was released on Sept. 23. What are some people saying about the ruling? “Today’s ruling by the Pima County Superior Court has the practical and deplorable result of sending Arizonans back nearly 150 years,” said Brittany Fonteno, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona. “No archaic law should dictate our reproductive freedom and how we live our lives today.” A physician who runs a clinic that provides abortions said she was dismayed but not surprised by the decision. “It kind of goes with what I’ve been saying for a while now –- it is the intent of the people who run this state that abortion be illegal here,” Dr. DeShawn Taylor said. “Of course we want to hold onto hope in the back of our minds, but in the front of my mind I have been preparing the entire time for the total ban.” An Arizona attorney also weighed in on the state’s conflicting abortion laws. “This ruling resolved one legal issue, but creates an even bigger one that either the Court of Appeals or voters are going to have to decide at some point,” said Jason Lamm. Lamm also noted the harsh penalties that is prescribed under the old abortion ban. “The safest bet for the providers is not to do anything, and wait for more guidance from the court,” said Lamm. Opponents of abortion also talked about the ruling on Sept. 23. An official with conservative group Center for Arizona Policy released a statement that reads, in part. “Arizona’s abortion law effectively affirms that life is a human right, and should not be sacrificed unless the mother’s life is at risk.” Politicians are also sounding off on the ruling, with the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, Kris Mayes, releasing a statement that reads: “I will immediately withdraw Attorney General Brnovich’s opinion supporting this outrageous 1901 law and substitute it with my own opinion that this law is blatantly unconstitutional.” We have reached out to the GOP candidate for the position, Abe Hamadeh, but he has yet to respond. More: How will the Maricopa County Attorney prosecute abortions? Read More…

China Says US Sending ‘dangerous Signals’ On Taiwan https://digitalarizonanews.com/china-says-us-sending-dangerous-signals-on-taiwan/ China has accused the United States of sending “very wrong, dangerous signals” on Taiwan after the US secretary of state told his Chinese counterpart on Friday that the maintenance of peace and stability over Taiwan was vitally important. Taiwan was the focus of the 90-minute, “direct and honest” talks between the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, on the margins of the UN general assembly in New York, a US official told reporters. “For our part, the secretary made crystal clear that – in accordance with our long-standing one-China policy, which again has not changed – the maintenance of peace and stability across the Strait is absolutely, vitally important,” the senior US administration official said. China’s foreign ministry, in a statement on the meeting, said the US was sending “very wrong, dangerous signals” on Taiwan, and the more rampant Taiwan’s independence activity, the less likely there would be a peaceful settlement. “The Taiwan issue is an internal Chinese matter, and the United States has no right to interfere in what method will be used to resolve it,” the ministry cited Wang as saying. Tensions over Taiwan have soared after a visit there in August by the US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi – which was followed by large-scale Chinese military drills – as well as a pledge by the US president, Joe Biden, to defend the self-governed island. Biden’s statement was his most explicit to date about committing US troops to the defend the island. It was also the latest instance of his appearing to go beyond a longstanding US policy of “strategic ambiguity”, which does not make it clear whether the US would respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan. The White House has insisted its Taiwan policy has not changed, but China said Biden’s remarks sent the wrong signal to those seeking an independent Taiwan. In a phone call with Biden in July, the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, warned about Taiwan, saying “those who play with fire will perish by it”. The state department had said earlier that Blinken’s meeting with Wang was part of a US effort to “maintain open lines of communication and manage competition responsibly”, and the senior official said Blinken had reiterated US openness to “cooperating with China on matters of global concern”. Blinken also “highlighted the implications” if China were to provide material support to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or engage in wholesale sanctions evasion, the official added. US officials have in the past said they had seen no evidence of China providing such support. Blinken “underscored that the United States and China and the international community have an obligation to work to counter the effects of that invasion and also to deter Russia from taking further provocative actions”, the official said. China sees Taiwan as one of its provinces. Beijing has long vowed to bring Taiwan under its control and has not ruled out the use of force to do so.Taiwan’s government strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s 23 million people can decide its future. Taiwan’s foreign ministry, responding to the meeting between Blinken and Wang, said China’s “recent provocative actions” had made the Taiwan Strait a focus of discussion, and China was trying to “confuse the international audience with arguments and criticisms that contradict reality.” Blinken’s meeting with Wang was preceded by one between the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the US, which issued a statement, referring to the Indo-Pacific, saying that “we strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the region”. Since Pelosi’s visit “China has taken a number of provocative steps that have by design acted to change the status quo”, the US official said. The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, will discuss Taiwan security during bilateral meetings with the leaders of US allies Japan and South Korea when she visits them next week, another US official said. Daniel Russel, the top US diplomat for Asia under president Barack Obama, said the fact Blinken and Wang had met was important after the turbulence brought by Pelosi’s visit, and hopefully some progress would have been made towards arranging a meeting between Xi and Biden on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in November, which would be their first in-person as leaders. “Wang and Blinken’s decision to meet in New York does not guarantee the November summit will go smoothly or that it will even occur,” said Russel, now with the Asia Society. “But had they been unable to meet, it would have meant the prospects for a summit in November were poor.” Read More Here

Tropical Depression Nine Strengthens In The Caribbean, Forecast To Hit Florida As Category 3 Hurricane https://digitalarizonanews.com/tropical-depression-nine-strengthens-in-the-caribbean-forecast-to-hit-florida-as-category-3-hurricane/ Video above: The latest tropical forecast from WPBF 25 News meteorologists. Tropical Depression Nine formed in the Caribbean Friday morning, and it is expected to strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane by the time it hits Florida next week. Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for 24 counties in Florida Friday.Informational: 2022 WPBF 25 First Warning Weather Hurricane Survival Guide This comes as Hurricane Fiona, Tropical Storm Gaston, Tropical Storm Hermine and other disturbances churn in the Atlantic. Those are not a threat to Florida at this time. As of 8 p.m. Friday, it is 410 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It has maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. Tropical Depression Nine is moving west-northwest at 15 mph. Weather | Radar | Hurricanes | Traffic | uLocal | Facebook | Twitter | InstagramOutlook: All of South Florida is in the cone for Tropical Depression Nine’s path as continues to strengthen in the Caribbean Sea. The next name for a storm is Ian.It is forecast to become a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall on the west coast of Florida. Watches and Warnings:There is a hurricane watch in effect for the Cayman Islands There is a tropical storm watch in effect for JamaicaStay Prepared: WPBF 25 News coverage on hurricanesOne of the models has the storm crossing from the west coast of Florida over Okeechobee County, according to WPBF 25 News meteorologists. South Florida could see tropical storm-force winds as early as Tuesday morning with possible watches as early as Sunday.WPBF 25 News meteorologist Glenn Glazer discussed the possibility of a tropical system hitting Florida during late September in the WPBF 2022 Hurricane Season Forecast.Video below: WPBF 25 News 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season ForecastStay updated on the latest weather updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here. Video above: The latest tropical forecast from WPBF 25 News meteorologists. Tropical Depression Nine formed in the Caribbean Friday morning, and it is expected to strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane by the time it hits Florida next week. Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for 24 counties in Florida Friday. Informational: 2022 WPBF 25 First Warning Weather Hurricane Survival Guide This comes as Hurricane Fiona, Tropical Storm Gaston, Tropical Storm Hermine and other disturbances churn in the Atlantic. Those are not a threat to Florida at this time. As of 8 p.m. Friday, it is 410 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It has maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. Tropical Depression Nine is moving west-northwest at 15 mph. Weather | Radar | Hurricanes | Traffic | uLocal | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Outlook: All of South Florida is in the cone for Tropical Depression Nine’s path as continues to strengthen in the Caribbean Sea. The next name for a storm is Ian. It is forecast to become a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall on the west coast of Florida. Watches and Warnings: There is a hurricane watch in effect for the Cayman Islands There is a tropical storm watch in effect for Jamaica Stay Prepared: WPBF 25 News coverage on hurricanes One of the models has the storm crossing from the west coast of Florida over Okeechobee County, according to WPBF 25 News meteorologists. South Florida could see tropical storm-force winds as early as Tuesday morning with possible watches as early as Sunday. WPBF 25 News meteorologist Glenn Glazer discussed the possibility of a tropical system hitting Florida during late September in the WPBF 2022 Hurricane Season Forecast. Video below: WPBF 25 News 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast Stay updated on the latest weather updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here. Read More Here

Trump Rally Security Tells Supporters To Stop The QAnon Finger Raising https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-rally-security-tells-supporters-to-stop-the-qanon-finger-raising/ Security personnel at Donald Trump’s rally on Friday night in Wilmington, North Carolina, attempted to get MAGA-loving supporters to lower their raised arms and single finger, which signifies their allegiance to the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon. “Confirmed with people at Trump rally who held 1 finger up that they meant it as a symbol of QAnon’s ‘Where We Go One We Go All,’” PBS News correspondent Lisa Desjardins tweeted from the event. “Security staff here fanned out and told people to take down their fingers.” The reporter noted that she had spoken with one rally-goer who has raised a finger representing ‘WWG1WGA’ who was “furious” over being told to lower his arm. “That’s my Constitutional right!” the rally-goer told Desjardins. A Trump spokesperson didn’t return The Daily Beast’s request for comment on Friday night. The rally controversy follows Trump sharing a video post on Truth Social late Thursday night “filled with references” to QAnon. One longtime Trump adviser told The Daily Beast on Friday: “Q stuff is so bizarre,” while adding that Trump sees it as a “controversial” media topic and as an opportunity to “gin up outrage.” Read More Here

Rocketman At The White House: Bidens Host Elton John For South Lawn Soiree | Entertainment https://digitalarizonanews.com/rocketman-at-the-white-house-bidens-host-elton-john-for-south-lawn-soiree-entertainment/ President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and about 2,000 fans on Friday basked in a performance at the White House by musical legend and activist Elton John, who is on a lengthy farewell tour in the United States. The British superstar performed hit songs such as “Rocketman,” “Your Song” and “Tiny Dancer” from the South Lawn, singing and playing piano in an open air structure set up for the performance, which at one point moved Biden to tears. “Like so many Americans, our family loves his music,” Biden said when introducing the singer. “It’s clear Elton John’s music has changed our lives.” John, who declined to play for former President Donald Trump’s inauguration, agreed to perform for the Bidens as one of a handful of mainstream celebrities who are returning to the White House after years of avoiding it. His performance was part of a celebration to honor people the White House called everyday heroes: nurses, emergency and mental health workers, teachers, LGBTQ+ advocates and activists. John said playing at the White House was “icing on the cake” after a career of performing in beautiful venues. In between songs he spoke of his fight against HIV/AIDS and praised former President George W. Bush, a Republican, for his efforts to combat AIDS in Africa through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. Former first lady Laura Bush was one of the guests at the performance. John noted that the fight against AIDS in the United States had support from Republicans and Democrats. “I just wish America could be more bipartisan,” he said. At the end of the evening, Biden moved John to tears by surprising him with the National Humanities Medal. “I’m flabbergasted,” John said. “I will treasure this.” The performance was paid for by A&E Networks and The History Channel, which is part of A&E, and will air at a later date. A&E Networks is a joint venture of Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst. The performance was called “A Night When Hope and History Rhyme,” drawn from a poem by Irish writer Seamus Heaney. Biden regularly quotes Heaney and is an aficionado of Irish sayings and poetry. Biden has a special relationship with John’s music. He wrote in his 2017 memoir “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship and Purpose” about singing “Crocodile Rock” to his son Beau as a child and again as an adult when Beau was dying from cancer. John included that song in his playlist on Friday. (This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Read More Here

Trump Peddles Conspiracies, Stokes Fear, As Republicans Hope For Election Turnout Boost https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-peddles-conspiracies-stokes-fear-as-republicans-hope-for-election-turnout-boost/ Former President Donald Trump delivered a dark assessment of the country Friday night at a rally North Carolina Republicans hope will boost GOP enthusiasm ahead of key elections. “We are a nation where free speech is no longer allowed,” Trump said, as ominous music played at the end of his speech. “Where crime is rampant like never before,” he said. “Where the economy has been collapsing.” Trump’s bleak description, less than two years after he left the presidency, touched almost every aspect of American life. He told the crowd that, if they want “the decline and fall of America,” they should vote for Democrats. He continued to pound the false conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. He called President Joe Biden and other Democrats “arsonists.” The event, held outside a private hangar at the Wilmington International Airport, wasn’t meant to convince undecided voters. Instead, it was aimed at increasing turnout among Republicans heading into the Nov. 8 elections. North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, and a key U.S. House race in the Triangle, may ultimately determine party control of the U.S. Congress. Political consultants on both sides acknowledged Trump as a double-edged sword. He remains a major draw for Republicans, but Democrats raised funds off the visit and trumpeted it as if they’d planned it themselves, hoping GOP candidates appearing with Trump — most prominently U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, are tied to him in the voting public’s mind. Morgan Jackson, who consults for most of the top Democrats in the state, called Trump “the most motivational force in modern political history.” He also called him “the largest unifying, motivating factor in turning Democrats out.” Trump won North Carolina in both 2016 and 2020, and the rally was held in Eastern North Carolina, an area Budd’s campaign has targeted. Trump is popular here, and a spread-out populace makes it more difficult to knock on doors and gather voters together. Thousands attended Friday’s rally. Security guards on site said they didn’t have a count, but the crowd was an eager one. People near the front of the line mid Friday afternoon said they’d been there since 7 a.m. Security said some people camped out the night before. When the gates opened the available chairs filled up quickly. Much of the crowd stood for hours on the concrete tarmac, and for much of the day lines were long for five food trucks and a stand selling water for $2 a bottle. One man said the barbecue on offer was good, but he had to wait an hour for it. Trump took the stage about 7:50 p.m. “You know there’s an expression,” Trump said at one point. “Trump was right about everything.” Trump endorses Smith, Robinson Eight North Carolina Republicans spoke from the stage, including state GOP Chairman Michael Whatley, Speaker of the North Carolina House Tim Moore, U.S. Rep. David Rouzer and Sandy Smith, the GOP candidate in Eastern North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, who, among other things, has been accused of domestic violence by two ex-husbands. Trump endorsed her Friday. Like other candidates, and many in the crowd, Smith blasted Biden over record inflation and immigration. “It seems like Joe Biden just wants us all to suffer,” she said. “Just as long as he gets his ice cream and his nap he’s fine.” Bo Hines, the GOP’s nominee in the 13th Congressional District, told the crowd that Republicans are “not winning the culture war.” He said compromise doesn’t always equate to progress,” and that conservatives are “about to compromise our way out of the country.” Among other things, Hines said former President Barack Obama “tried to tear apart the whole fabric of this country.” He promised to “go on offense” and defend free speech rights in online forums, 2nd Amendment rights everywhere and parents’ rights to have more say in what their children learn in school. Hines faces Democratic state Sen. Wiley Nickel in the 13th district, which is the state’s most competitive congressional district by far. It’s made up of southern Wake County along with all of Johnston County and parts of Harnett and Wayne counties. Nickel spokeswoman Abby May criticized Hines for “district hopping.” As state lawmakers, and a series of lawsuits, shifted North Carolina’s congressional lines earlier this year, Hines prepped for runs in different parts of the state before settling on the 13th district, which he moved to this summer. “North Carolinians know they can count on Bo Hines for one thing,” May said in a text message. “His unconditional allegiance to Donald Trump and the far right.” Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, expected to run for governor in 2024, introduced Budd, and the crowd perked up as Robinson hit the stage. Some who’d been resting on the concrete tarmac stood as Robinson, too, lit into Biden, calling him “weak, ineffective, incontinent.” But it will be OK, Robinson, told the crowd, comparing this moment in America to Pearl Harbor, 9.11 and the American Revolution. It’s OK, Robinson said, for the same reason it was OK all those times. “Because you were here,” he said. “Because you were here.” Robinson, along with Budd, got multiple mentions from the former president during his nearly hour-and-a-half speech. “Whatever you’re running for let me know, I want to give you a real early endorsement,” Trump told Robinson, calling the lieutenant governor “a friend of mine.” Trump told the crowd that his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who is from Wilmington and recorded a video message shown earlier in the day, decided not to run for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina this year because of Budd. “I said, ‘Lara, why don’t you run?’” Trump said. “She said, ‘Because Ted Budd is going to do a fantastic job.’” Budd got called up on stage during Trump’s speech. By then it was nearly 8:45 p.m., the night had turned chilly, and some people were headed for the exits. Hines, Rouzer, Smith, Whatley and Moore also got shout-outs, and Trump added Smith to his list of North Carolina endorsements. In his own speech before Trump arrived, Budd contrasted himself with his Democratic opponent, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, saying that she would “vote to continue each and every policy that has made life worse” and that he would vote against Biden’s agenda. “If you want to stop Joe Biden, you’ve only got one choice,” Budd said. Beasley spokeswoman Dory MacMillan said Budd “realizes he is losing this election and is trying desperately to pull out all the stops to salvage his flailing campaign.” “But voters know that he is too extreme for North Carolina with his career of undermining our democracy and even now refusing to commit to upholding this year’s election results,” MacMillan said in a text message. In recent weeks multiple media outlets have asked Budd, who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, whether he’d commit to accepting this year’s election results. At least three times his campaign declined to say. Then he told WRAL News at a campaign event that it was a non-issue. “Why wouldn’t I?” he said. “Unless the Democrats do something.” Conspiracy fears stoked Trump told the crowd that “every weapon of the deep state” has been used against him. He called his enemies “crazy … left-wing tyrants … the sick Washington establishment” and the “repulsive political class.” He called New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed a lawsuit this week against Trump and his family alleging hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud, a “disgusting human being.” Many in the crowd were prepared to embrace anything he said. “He’s the most honest president we’ve ever had,” said Michael Tevepaugh, a Trump supporter from Brunswick County who traveled to the rally with a friend. Historians have called Trump the most dishonest president in U.S. history, but Tevepaugh said he doesn’t believe it. He accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Justice of spreading lies about the former president, and he complained about the recent raid of Trump’s Florida home. The Department of Justice said it raided Trump’s home to collect classified documents after repeated requests that the former president return them. The saga angered many in attendance, and it was part of a video featured on the rally’s big screens ahead of the president’s speech. Renee Stevens, of Columbia, South Carolina, said Trump wanted the FBI to raid his home to set a precedent so that former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent in the 2016 race, can be raided later. Stevens said she let her seventh-grade son skip class to travel to the rally. Asked whether there’s anything she could hear that would change her mind about Trump, she shook her head. “No sir,” she said. Other issues that stoked anger in the crowd: Immigration, U.S. aid to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion, foreign aid in general and, over and over, inflation in the U.S., which is the highest in decades. “Everything is just going up,” said Michael Quinn, who owns a landscaping business and came from Ash. “I would have gotten here last night if I could.” Trump said Russia wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine if he’d remained president. He called the U.S. border with Mexico, “the worst border in, maybe, the world.” He said other countries wouldn’t allow such a flow of immigrants, that they’d “get out there with sticks and stones” if they had to. Trump called during his speech for the death penalty against drug dealers, saying he’d push for the change if re-elected, and that it would immediately lower crime rates. “And I think Ted Budd would head i...

NPR’s News Chief Announces Unexpected Departure After Four Years https://digitalarizonanews.com/nprs-news-chief-announces-unexpected-departure-after-four-years/ The top news executive at NPR announced Friday that she is leaving the organization, an unexpected departure that coincides with a shake-up in the nonprofit media giant’s management structure. Nancy Barnes, who took over NPR’s newsroom in 2018 as senior vice president and editorial director of the broadcasting and digital news operation, said she will leave the organization later this fall. She did not announce new plans, but said in a note to staff on Friday that she will “pursue other journalistic endeavors.” Her decision came hours after NPR’s chief executive, John Lansing, announced the creation of a new position that will oversee all of NPR’s programming — trademark news programs such as “All Things Considered” as well as podcasts and non-news programming such as “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me.” The new chief content officer position would have effectively created another tier of management over Barnes, who previously reported directly to Lansing. Barnes and Lansing did not respond to requests for comment. A highly regarded newspaper editor at the Houston Chronicle and Minneapolis Star Tribune, Barnes took over NPR’s newsgathering operations from an interim manager following the resignation of Michael Oreskes in 2017 amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment. NPR said it would conduct a search for Barnes’s successor, who will become the fourth person to run NPR’s news operations in the past five years. She leaves at a time of growing financial pressure on NPR, a nonprofit organization that is funded by primarily by fees from noncommercial radio stations and corporate sponsorships. For fiscal year 2021, NPR had revenue-after-expenses of $16.9 million — a swing from a deficit of $14.1 million the year before. Officials have indicated that the organization was hit hard by the pandemic, with daily listening and corporate support falling as fewer people listened to news reports while working from home. At one point in mid-2020, NPR imposed unpaid, week-long furloughs on most of its newsroom employees. Lansing announced the new chief content officer position in a staff memo Friday morning. Barnes announced her resignation that afternoon. She wrote in an internal memo that there is “increasingly overlap between the news and [non-news] programming divisions” and that she supported Lansing’s decision to add a new chief content officer. She called her departure “bittersweet.” NPR’s news division currently employs 481 people. The programming division employs an additional 183. Barnes supervised NPR’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election, the pandemic, social unrest following the murder of George Floyd and the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. She also created a climate desk, a disinformation team and a breaking news investigations team. She said she would remain on the job through the 2022 midterm elections. NPR won its first Pulitzer Prize under Barnes last year, in audio reporting, for an investigative podcast series called “No Compromise” about gun rights activists. A second NPR-produced series, “Throughline: Soleimani’s Iran,” about the assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, was a finalist for a Pulitzer last year. Read More Here

Maricopa County Attorney Candidates Recognize Growing Fentanyl Crisis, Plan Differing Prosecuting Approaches https://digitalarizonanews.com/maricopa-county-attorney-candidates-recognize-growing-fentanyl-crisis-plan-differing-prosecuting-approaches/ Current Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and Democratic candidate Julie Gunnigle are each running to finish out the late Allister Adel’s term. PHOENIX — Fentanyl is touching more and more Arizonans’ lives, as five people die every day from opioid overdoses in Arizona. According to the state health department, fentanyl is the most common drug involved in overdoses.  “It’s devastating,” Kim Humphrey, CEO of Parents of Addicted Loved Ones said.  The support and education group has seen the shift from methamphetamine and heroin to fentanyl.  “We see at least two-thirds, probably, of the people that are coming to the meeting and their loved one has had some issue with fentanyl,” Humphrey said.  The fentanyl crisis though is both a public health issue and a criminal justice one.  Drug cases and the court system In Erik Ignacio Hernandez’s latest case, he pleaded guilty to burglary, related to stealing catalytic converters to fuel his drug addiction.  “The behavior he’s choosing to support his addiction is escalating,” the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office prosecutor said at Hernandez’s sentencing earlier this year.  Looking back through court records, Hernandez’s history mostly involves drugs.  “He’s had a lot of contact with the system, he’s had chances for treatment, he’s had chances for probation, at getting his life together,” the prosecutor said.  Now, Hernandez is serving another prison sentence, this time for seven years.  It’s a sentence even his defense attorney agreed with in court.  “It’s appropriate in this instance because he’s had those chances,” Hernandez said. More cases involving fentanyl The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said they’re seeing more cases involving the synthetic opioid.  “What we’re seeing not only seeing more cases, but we’re seeing larger numbers of those pills,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said.  Across the state, law enforcement agencies have found the pills increasingly disguised as other things from other drugs to candy. The drug can take someone’s life with just one pill. Mitchell’s view Mitchell, who’s running against Democratic candidate Julie Gunnigle to finish out the late Allister Adel’s term says both crimes and addiction need to be addressed. For Mitchell, it’s a three-category issue: people who are addicted, those addicted and selling drugs and drug traffickers.  “We have people who are simply earning money off of transporting and selling fentanyl to very vulnerable people. And that’s a completely different category. And that needs to be treated much more severely than the first two,” Mitchell said.   Mitchell points to cases like Hernandez’s, that other crimes are committed to help fund someone’s drug addiction. “So to think that this is like a victimless crime, that really is just affecting the person who’s addicted, is completely wrong. It is affecting all of our community through a lot of property crime, and it’s serious and it needs to be addressed,” Mitchell said. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office adds a new felony diversion pilot program funded through marijuana tax revenue will address opioid use disorder as part of their Family Violence Bureau.  A spokesperson said that after one year, the office is hoping to expand it to all defendants.  Gunnigle’s view Gunnigle believes safer communities would come from treating the root cause.  “Addiction is a resource issue, and if they had the resources to get into treatment, that their whole community would be safer. And that’s what we mean when we talk about treating issues at the root cause,” Gunnigle said.  The focus for Gunnigle, should she win the election in November, would be on diversion, treatment and education.  “I suppose the biggest question is, how much incarceration does it take to make somebody not addicted?” Gunnigle said.  According to August data from the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry, nearly 82 percent of inmates have “significant substance abuse histories.” Currently, only 509 inmates are in an addiction treatment program out of more than 33,000 inmates. Gunnigle believes it’s less about the supply of the drug, as it is about those who are addicted to it.  “When you start getting at the demand through treatment programs, through diversion through deflection programs, and through real education efforts, that’s when you’re going to see progress,” Gunnigle said. Maricopa County parents forum For families like Humphrey’s, fentanyl is a people issue.  “There’s consequences for committing crimes, there’s consequences for bad actions. But there’s also hopefully, a part of you that understands that this individual needs some help this individual needs treatment, Humphrey said.  Humphrey added that the doesn’t know a parent that doesn’t talk to their kids about not taking drugs. His advice to parents is to help kids understand that there can be serious, even life-threatening consequences to decisions they make, especially with fentanyl.  With the growing issue of fentanyl, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is hosting a panel discussion on fentanyl.  It’s being held on Tuesday, September 27, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Independence High School’s Band Auditorium. Address: 6602 N. 75th Avenue Glendale, AZ 85303. Up to Speed Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. Read More…

Elton John Plays White House Lawn As Part Of Farewell Tour https://digitalarizonanews.com/elton-john-plays-white-house-lawn-as-part-of-farewell-tour/ WASHINGTON (AP) — Elton John said Friday that he’d played in some beautiful venues, but the stage in front of the White House, beneath a massive tent on a perfect autumn night, was “probably the icing on the cake.” Then he kicked off the show with “Your Song,” his first big international hit. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcomed the 75-year-old singer, talking about his activism, the power of his music and his all-around goodness. The event was dreamed up and paid for by A+E and the History Channel. “Seamus Heaney once wrote, and I quote, ‘Once in a lifetime, the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme,” Biden said. “Throughout his incredible career, Sir Elton John has been that tidal wave, a tidal wave to help people rise up and make hope and history rhyme.” The 2,000-person guest list included teachers, nurses, frontline workers and LGBTQ advocates, plus former first lady Laura Bush, civil rights advocate Ruby Bridges, education activist Malala Yousafzai and Jeanne White-Ginder, an AIDS activist and mother of Ryan White, who died from AIDS-related complications in 1990. The night, in fact, was called “A Night When Hope and History Rhyme,” a reference to the poem Biden quoted by Ireland’s Heaney. It was John’s first White House gig since he performed with Stevie Wonder at a state dinner in 1998 honoring British Prime Minister Tony Blair. At age 75, John is on a farewell tour after performing for more than 50 years. The show came together after A+E Networks and the History Channel, which footed the bill, asked the White House and John if they’d be up for a collaboration honoring “everyday history-makers” as well as John himself, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. It’s not clear whether the show will be broadcast. John has worked with A+E in the past on his global HIV/AIDS charity, the Elton John Foundation, which has raised more than $525 million to combat the virus around the world. John will be in town Saturday playing Nationals Park as part of his final tour. He opened the final leg of his North American farewell series in Philadelphia in July. The president and first lady are big fans. Biden wrote in a 2017 memoir about singing “Crocodile Rock” to his two young boys as he drove them to school, and again later to son Beau before he died of cancer at age 46. “I started singing the lyrics to Beau, quietly, so just the two of us could hear it,” Biden wrote. “Beau didn’t open his eyes, but I could see through my own tears that he was smiling.” John played the song Friday, saying someone told him Biden used to sing it. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, was also a fan of John. He tried to get John to perform at his 2017 inauguration but John declined, saying he didn’t think it was appropriate for a Brit to play at the swearing-in of an American president. The White House insisted Friday’s show wasn’t an effort to troll Trump, who has praised John in his books and has often featured John’s music — including “Rocket Man” and “Tiny Dancer” — in his pre-rally playlists over the years. Trump nicknamed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “rocket man” for his record of test-firing missiles. John did play “Tiny Dancer” Friday, to thunderous applause. Sir Elton — he was knighted in 1998 by Queen Elizabeth II — has sold over 300 million records worldwide, played over 4,000 shows in 80 countries and recorded one of the best-selling singles of all time, his 1997 reworking of “Candle In The Wind” to eulogize Princess Diana, which sold 33 million copies. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More Here

Budd Embraces Trump, Abortion Opposition In NC Senate Race https://digitalarizonanews.com/budd-embraces-trump-abortion-opposition-in-nc-senate-race/ Published Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 | 6:36 p.m. Updated 9 minutes ago RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In competitive races across the U.S., Republican candidates are distancing themselves from their party’s most controversial policies and people — namely, abortion and former President Donald Trump — as Election Day approaches. Not Ted Budd. The North Carolina GOP Senate nominee is leaning into support for abortion restrictions and amity with the former Republican president as Democrats fight for an elusive victory in the Southern swing state. Democratic optimism remains tempered given the state’s recent red tilt, but Democratic officials believe Budd, a low-profile congressman who emerged as the GOP’s Senate nominee largely because of Trump’s backing, gives them a real chance at flipping a seat — and holding the balance of power in Washington — this fall. Disregarding his critics, Budd appeared alongside Trump at a rally in Wilmington Friday night, where the former president praised the candidate as “a conservative, America First all-star in Congress” and urged his supporters to turn out to vote. Budd, in turn, thanked Trump for returning to the state. The Budd campaign was eager to welcome Trump when the former president’s team called, according to adviser Jonathan Felts. “Trump won North Carolina twice, and an in-person rally is helpful,” Felts said, suggesting Trump would help drive turnout, especially “with unaffiliated and/or undecided voters concerned about the economy.” Others aren’t so sure. “The more Trump emerges, the more Trump is in the news, the better for Democrats,” said David Holian, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Indeed, Trump remains overwhelmingly popular with Republican voters but is less appealing to the moderates and independents who often decide swing-state elections. Trump’s national favorable ratings have been roughly even with, or worse than, President Joe Biden’s in recent weeks. Still, some North Carolina Democrats are far from confident in a state where they have suffered painful losses in recent years. Democratic skepticism comes despite the apparent strength of their Senate nominee, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who has a decided fundraising advantage, a record of outperforming other Democrats in statewide elections and a moderate message. She would be the state’s first Black senator if elected. Yet Beasley is also running against negative perceptions of her party. Trump’s rise has fueled a growing sense among some voters in North Carolina, along with those in many other states, that the national Democratic Party has lost touch with the daily struggles of the working class and similar voting blocs. The Democratic-controlled Congress’ focus on climate change, for example, hasn’t helped inspire voters like Talmage Layton, a 74-year-old farmer from Durham. Layton said he doesn’t know whether a North Carolina Democrat can make a difference on Capitol Hill in lowering gas prices or pushing back against climate change policies that other Democrats have embraced. “That’s not anything against Cheri Beasley,” Layton said after a recent meeting with Beasley. “I’m a registered Democrat, and I would have no problem voting for a Democrat. But they’ve got to think about the little guy here.” Not long ago, it looked as if the Democratic Party was poised to take over North Carolina politics. In 2008, Obama carried the state, becoming the first Democrat to do so since 1976, and Democrat Kay Hagan upset GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Political experts predicted the Democratic Party would step to dominance as a result of increasing urbanization and out-of-state liberals moving in for tech jobs in the Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte regions. But Republicans took over the state legislature for the first time in over 140 years following the 2010 election and retained it thanks to support from exurban and rural voters and favorably drawn districts. A decade later, Trump became a two-time North Carolina winner, though he won the 2020 election by just 1 percentage point. While Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper managed to win reelection in 2020, Beasley was one of the party’s casualties. She lost a bid to remain chief justice to a Republican rival by just 401 votes. Her near-miss turned her into a rising candidate in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr. In one sign of strength, Beasley has consistently raised more money than Budd. And she appears to be generating momentum by seizing on abortion to energize women and independents, relying on the same playbook Democrats have used elsewhere. Budd, meanwhile, has been outspoken in his opposition to abortion. He co-sponsored a House version of a national 15-week abortion ban introduced by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham that even Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell distanced himself from. “My opponent has been in Congress for six years, and every opportunity he’s had to vote for North Carolina, he’s voted against us,” Beasley charged after meeting with farmers at a produce market in Durham before Graham’s bill introduction. Meanwhile, Republicans in competitive elections in states like Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada and Arizona have distanced themselves from their rigid anti-abortion stances in recent weeks. Others have stripped their websites of references to Trump or his favorite talking points. In Virginia, a Republican House candidate removed a Trump reference from her Twitter bio. In New Hampshire, Republican Senate nominee Don Bolduc abruptly reversed himself last week when asked about Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. After spending much of the last year echoing Trump’s lies, Bolduc told Fox News he had done more research and concluded, “The election was not stolen.” Meanwhile, Budd’s campaign refused this week to say whether he would accept the 2022 election results, having already voted to block certification of the 2020 election. Such positions will almost certainly appeal to Trump’s base, but political operatives say Budd needs sizable support from moderate, independent voters to be successful. Unaffiliated voters this year surpassed Democrats to become the largest bloc of registered voters in the state. “Regardless of what your faith background is, you’re dealing with skyrocketing energy prices. You’re dealing with high grocery costs. You’re dealing with high crime. You’re dealing with economic uncertainty,” Budd said after speaking to pastors recently in Greenville. “And so I want to make life better for all North Carolinians and people in our country by the things that I support.” As Budd has struggled to keep pace with Beasley’s fundraising, outside groups have come to his aid. The McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund and the National Republican Senatorial Committee have spent $17.3 million combined on advertising opposing Beasley, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The Senate Majority PAC, which supports Democratic candidates, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have spent close to $4 million in North Carolina while investing far more in high-profile contests in states like Pennsylvania and Arizona. “We’re committed to making sure voters continue seeing and hearing the truth about Ted Budd,” Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Veronica Yoo said. An arm of the pro-abortion-rights EMILY’s List announced this month spending $2.7 million to criticize Budd on abortion as well. During a recent stop at Perkins Orchard in Durham, Beasley chatted with farmers who gathered around picnic tables and near fresh pumpkins for sale. Some said afterward they were glad to see her interest in their plight. Jason Lindsay, 34, a first-generation Black farmer from Rocky Mount, said he’s been frustrated with the divisive political environment but is encouraged by Beasley. “Her temperament here today gave me the first sign of hope that I’ve had in a long time,” he said. ___ Peoples contributed from New York. Read More Here

Malliotakis, Rose Locked In A Rematch On Staten Island https://digitalarizonanews.com/malliotakis-rose-locked-in-a-rematch-on-staten-island/ Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said she believes she’ll win re-election with a larger margin than when she last faced Max Rose two years ago, helped by right-leaning Democrats in New York City’s only swing House district. “I’ve had Democrats come up to me that tell me this is the first time they’re voting Republican,” Malliotakis told NY1, adding of the 11th District: “This is the last bastion of conservatism in the city of New York.” What You Need To Know Incumbent Republican Malliotakis has the edge thanks to midterm election precedent and redrawn district But Democrat Rose is widely known around the district, having represented it before her Rose seeks to make fight for abortion rights key in the race Malliotakis says voters tell her they’re most worried about inflation and crime Between midterm election precedent and redrawn district boundaries, the odds do favor Republicans. “Oh, yeah?” Rose challenged. “I’m not worried about them for a second, OK? We’re building an incredible campaign.” Among the Democrat’s advantages, being widely recognized on Staten Island and in southern Brooklyn, having served the district before Malliotakis. “Can I give you a hug?” one passerby asked him on the North Shore. And being widely recognized as a veteran of the armed forces. “Go, Navy. Go, Navy,” a shopper chided Rose. “Aw, come on! Go, Army!” the combat veteran responded with a smile. Rose touted to NY1 his independence from his party. “I want to see a time where, very soon, where it’s not Biden running, it’s not Trump running,” he said. “We need a new generation of leadership.” Malliotakis again has former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. “When you compare the records between President Biden and President Trump, people want to have the economy that we had, they want to have the gas prices we had, they want to have the border security that we had,” she said, asked about whether she’s worried about aligning herself with him given his legal exposure. The incumbent, who has visited the U.S.-Mexican border, said she hears from constituents that inflation and crime are their top concerns. “People do not feel safe in New York City, because of the radical bail laws, because of the rhetoric coming out of some of the left-wing politicians, the lack of support for our law enforcement,” she said. Rose is also critical of state bail reform laws and called law enforcement officers heroes. But he seeks, like other Democrats in battleground districts, to draw attention to the fight for abortion rights. “And we’re at this moment where abortion is being banned in states and we see the Republican Party pushing a nationwide abortion ban as one of the pillars of their policy agenda,” he said recently alongside supporters, alleging silence from his rival on the issue. Malliotakis explained her position this way to NY1. “I certainly want to preserve a woman’s right to have an exception, for exceptions like a life of the mother and rape and incest,” she said. Asked by NY1 whether he supports limitations, Rose said such a question played into the hands of “the national extremism Republican Party.” Rose said he believes the decision is entirely between a woman and her doctor. And while Rose is a tireless campaigner, Malliotakis has a very devoted base. “You putting signs up or what are you doing?” she asked one volunteer. “Everything,” he responded. “Whatever you need.” Read More Here

Arizona Judge Rules State Can Enforce Near-Total Abortion Ban https://digitalarizonanews.com/arizona-judge-rules-state-can-enforce-near-total-abortion-ban/ (CNN)An Arizona Superior Court judge ruled Friday that a 1901 ban on nearly all abortions in that state can be enforced, a decision that is likely to see an appeal and is all but certain to galvanize female voters to turn out in greater numbers in the state’s closely contested US Senate and governor’s races. In ruling that Arizona’s near-total ban on abortion could take effect, Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson granted a request by the state’s Republican attorney general to lift a court injunction that had barred enforcement of Arizona’s pre-statehood ban on abortion after the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade in 1973. “The court finds that because the legal basis for the judgment entered in 1973 has now been overruled, it must vacate the judgment in its entirety,” Johnson wrote in the ruling released Friday. The case has thrust the issue of how restrictive abortion law should be in Arizona, a swing state that President Joe Biden carried by fewer than 11,000 votes. It’s a controversial topic that has divided Republicans in Arizona and is reflective of a pitched debate nationwide in the wake of the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in late June, with many GOP-led states passing increasingly restrictive measures that run the risk of alienating moderate voters. The judge’s ruling effectively outlaws all abortions in Arizona except when the procedure is necessary to save the mother’s life. The decision came a day before a 15-week ban on abortion was slated to go into effect in Arizona. That law was passed by Arizona lawmakers before the US Supreme Court decision. Conservative Arizona lawmakers included language in the bill banning abortion after 15 weeks stating that the new legislation would not override the 1901 law — which was passed before Arizona became a state and can be traced back to as early as 1864. In addition to barring abortion in all cases except when “it is necessary to save (the mother’s) life,” the pre-statehood law carries a prison sentence of two to five years for abortion providers. While fighting the attorney general’s move to allow the 1901 abortion ban to be enforced, abortion rights groups had argued that if both laws were to go into effect, it would create significant confusion for both abortion providers and women seeking care. But the judge said in her ruling that she was not weighing in on how the conflict between Arizona’s abortion laws would be settled. “While there may be legal questions the parties seek to resolve regarding Arizona statutes on abortion, those questions are not for this Court to decide here,” Johnson wrote in the decision. The ruling drew a swift rebuke from several Democratic groups that favor abortion rights and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs, who said she was “outraged and devastated” by the decision. “There’s no doubt in my mind that this draconian 1901 law will have dire consequences on the health and well-being of Arizona women and their families,” Hobbs said in a statement. “This cruel law effectively outlaws abortion in Arizona — with no exceptions for rape or incest — and risks women’s fundamental freedom to make their own health care decisions. … To make matters worse, this law mandates jail time for abortion providers. Medical professionals will now be forced to think twice and call their lawyer before providing patients with oftentimes necessary, lifesaving care.” Arizona GOP Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who led the legal process to try to get the state’s pre-statehood ban on abortion put back into effect after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in late June, tweeted that he was pleased by the decision: “We applaud the court for upholding the will of the legislature and providing clarity and uniformity on this important issue. I have and will continue to protect the most vulnerable Arizonans,” he tweeted. The disagreement over Arizona’s abortion laws has created a confusing legal landscape in Arizona for much of the summer that has unfolded against the backdrop of a shifting national political mood ahead of November’s midterm elections. While both historical trends and the nation’s sour mood about inflation had initially appeared to favor Republicans in their quest to take control of the US House and Senate this November, the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion has energized female voters all over the country — a dynamic that led to the surprising victory for proponents of abortion rights in Kansas and better-than-expected performances for Democrats in special elections for the US House since the Dobbs ruling. The ruling injects a new uncertainty into the marquee statewide races. Republicans, who need a net gain of just one seat to flip the Senate, are trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly as he runs for a full six-year term. And Democrats are trying to flip the governor’s mansion, currently held by term-limited Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. In the Arizona governor’s race, Hobbs has portrayed GOP opponent Kari Lake as “extreme” on abortion. Lake has repeatedly said she is opposed to the procedure and in an August news conference said that she would “uphold the laws that are on the books.” But she did not specify which laws she meant. “If people don’t like the laws on the books, then they need to elect representatives who will change the laws. I’m running for governor, not for God. So I don’t get to write the laws,” she said. Her campaign has not responded to CNN’s requests for clarification on her view of the pre-statehood law. Both Lake and GOP Senate nominee Blake Masters, who is challenging Kelly, have argued that their Democratic opponents have adopted positions that are too far out of the mainstream in favor of abortion rights. Masters removed language from his campaign website expressing support for a “federal personhood law” and other conservative anti-abortion stances after winning the GOP nomination last month. His campaign told CNN that Masters does support South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s proposal for a federal ban on abortion at 15 weeks, which would provide exceptions to protect the life of the mother and in cases of rape or incest. But before the ruling, Masters’ campaign did not respond to questions about his position on the pre-statehood law or the court case to enforce it. In a statement Friday, Kelly said the decision would “have a devastating impact on the freedom Arizona women have had for decades: to choose an abortion if they need one. Let’s be clear, this is exactly what Blake Masters wants, to completely ban abortions in Arizona and across the country — without even an exception for rape or incest. I will never stop fighting to restore these rights for Arizona women.” Planned Parenthood Federation of America fought Brnovich’s move in Pima County Superior Court — the court that handled the 1973 injunction. The group’s lawyers had argued that the court had a duty to “harmonize all of the Arizona Legislature’s enactments as they exist today.” In the post-Dobbs era, the group argued that the pre-statehood law could “be enforceable in some respects” but that it should not apply to abortions provided by licensed physicians — and instead that the ban should apply to anyone other than a licensed physician who attempts to provide abortion services. In a statement, Brittany Fonteno, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona, said Friday’s ruling “has the practical and deplorable result of sending Arizonans back nearly 150 years. No archaic law should dictate our reproductive freedom and how we live our lives today.” This story has been updated with additional details Friday. CNN’s Paradise Afshar contributed to this report. Read More Here

September 23, 2022 Newscast – Cronkite News – Arizona PBS https://digitalarizonanews.com/september-23-2022-newscast-cronkite-news-arizona-pbs/ Former Suns executive estimates what the Phoenix Suns and Mercury are worth, FDA rule allows hearing aids to be sold without prescription Staff News Reporter, Phoenix Arizona PBS Read More…

Michigan Governor Hopeful Makes Light Of Whitmer Kidnap Plot https://digitalarizonanews.com/michigan-governor-hopeful-makes-light-of-whitmer-kidnap-plot-3/ By: JOEY CAPPELLETTI and SARA BURNETT, Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP MODIFIED) — The Republican candidate for Michigan governor on Friday compared Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s policies to the 2020 plot to kidnap the Democratic incumbent, remarks that Democrats criticized as making light of a serious and dangerous crime. Tudor Dixon referred to the kidnapping plot at two separate events. “Sad thing is, Gretchen will tie your hands, put a gun to your head and ask if you’re ready to talk,” Dixon told a crowd at an event in Troy while speaking about the need to cut business regulations. “For someone so worried about being kidnapped, Gretchen Whitmer sure is good at taking business hostage.” Tudor Dixon draws backlash for comment referencing Whitmer kidnap plot At an event later Friday, Dixon referenced an appearance Whitmer made with President Joe Biden at the Detroit Auto Show. “I’ll tell you the look on her face, she was like: ‘Oh my gosh this is happening. I’d rather be kidnapped by the FBI,’” Dixon said. Tudor Dixon clarifies her comments made about Whitmer kidnapping plot Two men were convicted last month of plotting to kidnap Whitmer because they were angry about pandemic-related restrictions she imposed. Prosecutors said they were part of a group who conspired to abduct Whitmer at her vacation home and to blow up a bridge to disrupt police so they wouldn’t be caught. The FBI said it broke up the plot before it could occur. The jury’s conviction came in a second trial against the two men, Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox. At an earlier trial, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, while two other men were acquitted. Their lawyers argued the men were big talkers who were set up by the FBI and said there was no actual plot. The Democratic Governors Association called Dixon’s comments “utterly disqualifying for the role of Michigan governor,” while Whitmer’s campaign criticized Dixon for “dangerous rhetoric.” “Threats of violence are no laughing matter, and the fact that Dixon spent the day making joke after joke about it shows that she is absolutely unfit to serve in public office,” Whitmer campaign spokeswoman Maeve Coyle tweeted. Whitmer’s campaign released the following statement in response to Dixon’s remarks: “Threats of violence and dangerous rhetoric undermine our democracy and discourage good people on both sides of the aisle at every level from entering public service. Governor Whitmer has faced serious threats to her safety and her life, and she is grateful to the law enforcement and prosecutors for their tireless work. Threats of violence – whether to Governor Whitmer or to candidates and elected officials on the other side of the aisle – are no laughing matter, and the fact that Tudor Dixon thinks it’s a joke shows that she is absolutely unfit to serve in public office.” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel responded to Dixon’s comment on Twitter. This statement is repugnant. @GovWhitmer is the victim of a very serious plot to kidnap and assassinate her. Anyone who would make light of such an effort is not fit to hold public office at any level. https://t.co/CUSCbWBMsE — Dana Nessel (@dananessel) September 23, 2022 Dixon was endorsed by former President Donald Trump during the GOP primary and is now trailing Whitmer in fundraising and support. She campaigned Friday with Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr., who called the conspiracy to kidnap Whitmer “the fake kidnap plot orchestrated by the FBI.” Tudor Dixon and Donald Trump Jr. hold campaign rally in Muskegon Dixon criticized the media for not reporting on what she called attacks against her during Biden’s recent visit, saying he “called me all kinds of names and put my life in danger.” ___ Burnett reported from Chicago. ___ Joey Cappelletti is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sign up for the Morning Newsletter and receive up to date information. Read More Here

Marc Short, Former Top Aide To Mike Pence, Calls Trump https://digitalarizonanews.com/marc-short-former-top-aide-to-mike-pence-calls-trump/ Marc Short, top aide to former Vice President Mike Pence, called former President Trump’s assertion that presidents can declassify documents just by thinking about it “absurd.” Short made the comments in an interview with CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, after Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity this week that presidents can declassify documents “even by thinking about it.” Herridge asked Short if he shared that understanding of how declassification works.  “That’s absurd, obviously,” Short responded. “And I think it would make it very difficult for the intelligence community to have a classification system if that was the case.” Asked if he and Pence operated under that standard, Short replied, “Of course not.”  Federal investigators are reviewing the scores of documents with classification markings seized at Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago home last month.  “There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it,” Trump said of declassification to Hannity. “You know, there’s different people say different things, but as I understand, there doesn’t have to be — if you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified — even by thinking about it —because you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago or to wherever you’re sending it. And there doesn’t have to be a process. There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. You’re the president — you make that decision. So when you send it, it’s declassified. I declassified everything.”  Presidents do have sweeping authority to declassify records, but there is a process that is normally followed. Generally, a president’s instructions to declassify documents are first written down in a memo, typically drafted by White House lawyers, which the president would then sign. Relevant agencies are usually then consulted and when a final decision is made, the document would be marked, with its old classification level crossed out, and stamped, “Declassified on X date” by the agency in question.  Short also addressed the possibility of a Pence 2024 presidential bid. For now, he said the former vice president’s focus is traversing the country to make sure conservatives win House, Senate and gubernatorial races from coast to coast. Pence has a leadership PAC focused on electing conservative candidates and a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization focused on furthering conservative values.  A decision about whether he’ll run for office is one Pence will likely make next year, Short said.  “The last six weeks seems to be traveling all over the country these last 45 days, and I think that he has been for the last few weeks,” Short said, adding that “he’s going to be doing a lot of House races, in governors races. And I think that that’s where his focus is going to be.” “And I think again, at some point next year, he’ll figure out where he thinks that he’s being called to serve next,” Short said. “And if that’s the case that he feels that’s where he’s being called, then I think he’ll make an announcement at that time. But right now, his focus is on the midterm election cycle.” Asked if this is an environment in which Republicans can break through in November, Short replied, “Absolutely.”  He praised House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans for announcing their agenda Friday. It tells the voters, “If you elect us, here’s what we will do to help change the situation on the border. Here’s what we’ll do to help change the trajectory of our economy right now,” Short said.  In: Mike Pence marc short Kathryn Watson Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C. Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue Read More Here

Hillary Clinton Calls Trump's Handling Of Documents 'deeply Disturbing,' Says She Never Had Classified Info https://digitalarizonanews.com/hillary-clinton-calls-trumps-handling-of-documents-deeply-disturbing-says-she-never-had-classified-info/ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! AUSTIN, Texas — Hillary Clinton chimed in on the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago on Friday, calling former President Trump’s handling of documents “deeply disturbing” while denying that she ever had classified information on a private email server at her home.  “He’s gone from nothing was there, FBI planted it, then if stuff was there, I had I right to have it there, and now this latest claim, ‘I declassified it in my mind,'” Clinton told a crowd at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Friday.  “I’m sick about talking about my emails, but I do think it’s important to remember at the end of the day, after two parts of an FBI investigation, two separate State Department investigations – one under Tillerson and one under Pompeo, so the Trump years – they did not find one piece of paper of any kind marked classified. Zero.” Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State, speaks during The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas, US, on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022.  (Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Former FBI Director James Comey declined to recommend prosecution of the former secretary of state in 2016, but said at the time that “110 e-mails in 52 e-mail chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information,” including eight chains marked at the top secret level and 36 chains marked secret.  NEW YORK AG SUES TRUMP OVER FRAUD ALLEGATIONS Clinton accused Comey on Friday of upending the 2016 election by telling Congress just days before voters hit the polls that a new tranche of emails that may contain classified information were discovered on Anthony Weiner’s laptop. He sent a follow-up email two days before the election clearing her of any charges.  “If I were secretary of state again, I wouldn’t use another server. I would use the unsecured often-hacked-into state department servers. That’s what I would do,” Clinton said sarcastically on Friday.  Former President Donald Trump in New York City following the FBI raid at his Mar-a-Lago home.  (Felipe Ramales / Fox News Digital) The Department of Justice Inspector General later wrote in 2018 that an investigation found “81 email chains containing approximately 193 individual emails that were classified from the CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET levels at the time the emails were drafted on UNCLASSIFIED systems and sent to or from Clinton’s personal server.” DOJ ASKS 11TH CIRCUIT FOR PARTIAL STAY, ALLOWING ATTORNEYS TO USE CLASSIFIED DOCS DURING SPECIAL MASTER REVIEW The FBI said in court filings that it seized roughly 100 documents with classified information during a search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Aug. 8.  The Justice Department said that it is investigating the potential violation of federal laws concerning gathering, transmitting or losing defense information; concealment, removal, or mutilation; and destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations.  This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.  (Department of Justice via AP) Former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.  (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Judge Raymond Dearie was appointed as special master last week to conduct an independent review of those documents.  “I don’t know how you compare anything to what was found at Mar-a-Lago. I just don’t know how you compare it,” Clinton said Friday. “I don’t know what he’s doing with it, but I can’t help but believe that he thought there was some financial or political gain to him having it.” Paul Best is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Paul.best@fox.com and on Twitter: @KincaidBest.  Read More Here

Hurricane Fiona: Canada Braces For 'historic, Extreme Event' https://digitalarizonanews.com/hurricane-fiona-canada-braces-for-historic-extreme-event/ Media caption, Hurricane Fiona rips through the Caribbean Residents along Canada’s Atlantic Coast have been warned by officials to brace for impact as Hurricane Fiona heads north after pummelling Bermuda. The Canadian Hurricane Centre warned that Fiona – expected to reach Canada’s shores by Saturday morning – could be “a historic, extreme event”. Authorities have warned of potential coastal flooding, power outages and dangerous driving conditions. At least eight people in Fiona’s path through the Caribbean have died. Canadian forecasters said late on Friday that Fiona was packing maximum sustained winds up to 120 mph (195km/h), though this is projected to decrease as it makes landfall. “It’s going to be a bad one,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. “We encourage everyone to stay safe and to listen to the instructions of local authorities and hang in there for the next 24 hours.” Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and New Brunswick, as well as in parts of Quebec. The country’s eastern region could receive up to 10in (25cm) of rain, increasing the risk of flash flooding. In Nova Scotia, shelters have been prepared in Halifax and Cape Breton – where the storm is projected to make landfall – for people to take cover ahead of the storm. “We have been through these types of events before, but my fear is, not to this extent,” said Amanda McDougall, mayor of Cape Breton Regional Municipality. “The impacts are going to be large, real and immediate.” Severe hurricanes in Canada are rare, as storms lose their energy once they hit colder waters in the north and become post-tropical instead. But pressure in the region is predicted to be historically low as Hurricane Fiona hits, making way for a heavier storm. Nova Scotia was last battered by a tropical cyclone in 2003 with Hurricane Juan, a category two storm that killed two people and heavily damaged structures and vegetation. Meteorologist Bob Robichaud warned on Friday afternoon that Fiona will be bigger than Juan, and stronger than 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, which also reached the shores of Nova Scotia. “It is certainly going to be a historic, extreme event for Atlantic Canada.” Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Workers remove fallen trees from the highway in the northeast of the Dominican Republic after Hurricane Fiona on 21 September Heavy rain and winds lashed Bermuda early on Friday, forcing schools and offices to close, before the hurricane – now a category three storm – headed north. Fiona had already wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic earlier this week, with many still left without power or running water. A sick four-month-old infant whose mother was unable to get to the hospital due to blocked roads is among up to four casualties in Puerto Rico. A death was also recorded on the French island of Guadeloupe. Florida also faces a hurricane threat after a separate tropical cyclone formed in the Caribbean Sea. Tropical Depression Nine is in its early stages and is moving on a path that could bring it to Florida next week as Hurricane Hermine, according to the US National Hurricane Center. Read More Here

Marcia Wood Gallery Presents Mary Henderson: Being Together, Artist’s Atlanta Solo Debut – Digital Journal https://digitalarizonanews.com/marcia-wood-gallery-presents-mary-henderson-being-together-artists-atlanta-solo-debut-digital-journal/ Mary Henderson, Shift, 2022, oil on linen, 20 x 20 inches Marcia Wood Gallery is pleased to present Being Together, an exhibition of new paintings by Mary Henderson, on view from September 29 through October 29.  This is Philadelphia-based Henderson’s debut solo exhibition in Atlanta at Marcia Wood Gallery. https://www.marciawoodgallery.com/exhibitions/166-mary-henderson-being-together/  The opening of Being Together as well as the group exhibition Pique: New Work by Gallery Artists  coincide with the opening night of Atlanta Art Week September 29 – October 2. https://www.atlantaartweek.co Mary Henderson, Forward, 2021, oil on paper mounted on panel, 16 x 16 inches Mary Henderson is a visual artist living and working in Philadelphia. She teaches painting and drawing part-time at St. Joseph’s University; she is also a co-director for the Philadelphia site of the nonprofit network of artist-run spaces, Tiger Strikes Asteroid. She received an AB with honors in fine arts from Amherst College in Amherst, MA, and an MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Recent shows include her solo show, Public Views, at Lyons Wier Gallery (New York, NY), as well as group shows at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum (Mesa, AZ), Wilding Cran Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), the Woodmere Museum (Philadelphia, PA), and the Ringling College of Art and Design (Sarasota, FL). She was a finalist for the 2019 Bennett Prize and has been awarded a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship, a PCA SOS grant, and residencies at the Jentel Foundation and the Hambidge Center (where she was the Nena Griffith Distinguished Fellow). Her work has been featured or reviewed in Harper’s Magazine, L’Espresso (Italy), New American Paintings, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Art in America, among other publications. In 2017, Her recent curatorial projects include Sagas at Tiger Strikes Asteroid (Philadelphia, PA), Anachronism and Liberation at Tiger Strikes Asteroid (Philadelphia, PA) and LOCUM, at University City Arts League (Philadelphia, PA). Inspired by traditions of urban genre painting, Henderson creates impromptu portraits of people in public space, seen in unguarded instances of personal connection or synchronicity. Her hyperrealist paintings depict small moments of intimate connection between strangers and, at the end, large-scale expressions of collective identity and solidarity. Henderson presents the subjects of her compositions out of context, with minimal visual cues regarding location. By exploring and exploiting notions of diaspora as well as the purely visual beauty that the artist finds in images of mass gatherings, Henderson raises questions about the assumptions we make in interpreting group behaviors. Exhibition September 29 – October29, 2022. Opening Reception September 29, 7;00 – 9;00 pm https://www.marciawoodgallery.com/ Marcia Wood Gallery 764 Miami Circle NE, Ste 150, Atlanta, GA 30324 Tuesday – Friday 11:00 – 5:00, Saturday 12:00 – 5:00 Media Contact Company Name: Marcia Wood Gallery Contact Person: Marcia Wood Email: Send Email Country: United States Website: https://www.marciawoodgallery.com/ Read More Here

Trump News – Live: Trump Rallies In North Carolina After Embracing QAnon On Truth Social https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-news-live-trump-rallies-in-north-carolina-after-embracing-qanon-on-truth-social/ Former president Donald Trump claims he can declassify top secret documents just ‘by thinking about it’ Donald Trump took the stage on Friday for his latest campaign-style rally of 2022, this time in Wilmington, North Carolina. The former president is scheduled to be joined at the event by US representative Ted Budd, who is running for US Senate to fill Richard Burr’s seat. Ahead of the rally, Mr Trump appeared to fall further into the world of QAnon after he reposted a video on his own Truth Social network containing images and slogans associated with the fringe conspiracy. Scenes including a US Capitol building with lightening bolts and the words “It’s going to be biblical”, as well as the phrase “prepare for the storm”, were among the images featured along with “Q” symbols. Mr Trump has previously denied having knowledge of the conspiracy despite many of his supporters and Capitol rioters being connected to it. In other news, Mr Trump’s attorneys have been ordered to say one way or the other whether they actually believe the FBI planted incriminating evidence in the documents seized from Mr Trump’s home – or whether the former president is merely bluffing to save face. 1663975249 Follow our man on the ground for the latest from the Trump rally The Independent’s Eric Michael Garcia is on the ground in North Carolina for today’s Trump rally. Right now, per Eric, the crowd is watching a Fox News clip about the Mar-a-Lago raid. Josh Marcus24 September 2022 00:20 1663974802 South Korean president calls US lawmakers ‘idiots’ on hot mic Donald Trump is a man who famously values his image. He probably wouldn’t like the reviews of America coming out of the top levels of South Korea right now. The president of South Korea was been caught on camera calling US lawmakers “idiots” and saying that they could possibly embarrass US President Joe Biden if they don’t approve funding for global public health initiatives. Gustaf Kilander has the full story. Josh Marcus24 September 2022 00:13 1663971903 Trump says he threatened Taliban leader with satellite image of his house Donald Tump alleged that during his negotiations with the Taliban as US president he used a satellite image of a Taliban leader’s house to threaten the terrorist group. Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News this week, Mr Trump said he gave Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar a satellite image of his home as a veiled warning amid talks with the designated terrorist group. Gino Spocchia reports: Gino Spocchia23 September 2022 23:25 1663970103 Five key takeaways from New York’s $250m lawsuit against Trump and what it means for 2024 New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a massive civil suit on Wednesday accusing Donald Trump and his adult children of artificially inflating the value of multiple business entities. The suit seeks to bar them from doing business in New York state, where the family made their bones for decades. The extent and the detail of Mr Trump’s actions, with the assistance of Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, were not known until now. Eric Garcia breaks down the main takeaways from this new effort by state officials in New York to make Mr Trump answer for longstanding allegations of fraud: Gino Spocchia23 September 2022 22:55 1663967703 ICYMI: Gaetz wanted Trump pardon Following reports on Friday that Matt Gaetz will likely not face charges over an investigation into him by the Department of Justice, another report only last week revealed that the pro-Trump congressman had expressed a desire for the former president to issue a preemptive pardon before leaving office. Here’s Gustaf Kilander with the details: Gino Spocchia23 September 2022 22:15 1663965903 Trump PAC raises $40 in August Donald Trump’s super PAC raised only $40 in the month of August, in a sign that his name doesn’t have the fundraising pull it once did. Along with the low August numbers, the Make America Great Again, Again! super PAC only raised $351,000 in July and nothing in June. By comparison, in the final fundraising quarter of last year, the super PAC raised $4m to $5m. As Eric Garcia explains, the numbers come as the Save America political action committee foots the bill for Mr Trump’s legal fees, which last month came to a reported $3.8m are are likely to grow. Gino Spocchia23 September 2022 21:45 1663965199 Latest behind-the-scenes efforts in Trump legal case Attorneys for former president Donald Trump are reportedly engaged in a closed-door court fight to keep a federal grand jury from hearing testimony from the twice-impeached ex-president’s White House advisers as part of a probe into the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Andrew Feinberg23 September 2022 21:33 1663965134 Trump keeps ‘Truth’-ing In his latest peculiar post on Truth Social, Donald Trump shared an image from a supporter celebrating the former president as second “only” to Jesus. David Taintor23 September 2022 21:32 1663963503 ICYMI: Trump faced criticism for QAnon symbols at rally Donald Trump came under fire earlier this week following a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where he played a song associated with QAnon, wore a “Q” shaped pin, and referred to QAnon beliefs and slogans. “This is the week when Trump became Qanon,” wrote one analyst of the rally in support of Republican Senate candidate JD Vance. “This isn’t a political statement; it just is, however disturbing.” It remains to be seen if QAnon will again feature in North Carolina this evening. Gustaf Kilander has the details: Gino Spocchia23 September 2022 21:05 1663961103 Gates open at Wilmington International Airport Gates at the Aero Center at Wilmington International Airport, where Mr Trump is holding a rally tonight, were due to open at 2pm local time, ahead of his 7pm time slot. According to The Carolina Journal, North Carolina Lt Governor Mark Robinson, Rep David Rouzer, local GOP Chairman Michael Whatley, and Bo Hines, a Republican congressional candidate, are due to speak. While the rally is in support of Ted Budd, the Republican senate candidate for the state, most of the attention will likely be on the twice-impeached former president. Gino Spocchia23 September 2022 20:25 Read More Here

Some Investors Backing Out Of SPAC Merging With Trump's Media Firm https://digitalarizonanews.com/some-investors-backing-out-of-spac-merging-with-trumps-media-firm/ (Reuters) – Some investors are backing out of Digital World Acquisition Corp’s plan to acquire former U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media firm Truth Social, the blank-check firm said on Friday. Digital World said it had received termination notices from private investment in public equity (PIPE) investors ending nearly $139 million in investments out of the $1 billion commitment it had previously announced. Investors, who signed the PIPE commitment about one year ago, are free to move their money after the Sept. 20, 2022 deadline if the deal has not completed. Digital World did not disclose the investors that pulled out. Sources told Reuters Sabby Management, which had committed $100 million to the PIPE, is one of the investors who have terminated. Sabby Management declined to comment. More investors could pull out in the next few weeks, sources said, as they can terminate anytime after the deadline. Many are waiting for DWAC to propose more preferred terms to PIPE investors, sources added. The deal between the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which owns Truth Social, has been on ice due to civil and criminal probes into the circumstances around the agreement. TMTG did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The SPAC had been hoping the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is reviewing Digital World’s disclosures on the deal, would have given its blessing by now. Digital World said this month it would extend the deal’s life by three months after its bid for a 12-month extension from its shareholders fell short. (Reporting by Akash Sriram and Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru, Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Krystal Hu in New York; Editing by Maju Samuel and Josie Kao) Copyright 2022 Thomson Reuters. Read More Here

Jury Convicts QAnon Believer Who Thought He Was Storming The White House During The Capitol Riot https://digitalarizonanews.com/jury-convicts-qanon-believer-who-thought-he-was-storming-the-white-house-during-the-capitol-riot/ WASHINGTON — A federal jury on Friday convicted a QAnon believer who chased down U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman on Jan. 6, 2021, finding the defendant guilty on all charges against him. Doug Jensen, an Iowa man who was one of the first 10 rioters to enter the Capitol during the insurrection, went on trial this week and was found guilty on seven counts, including felony charges of civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16. Jensen’s wife, April, cried as the verdicts were read. Jensen has been in pretrial custody since last year. He had been released in a high-intensity pretrial program, but a judge ordered him detained again after he violated the conditions of his release by live-streaming an event hosted MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has promoted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. On Jan. 6, Jensen filmed videos from the base of the Capitol building, where he proclaimed — inaccurately, but with tremendous confidence — that he was at the White House. “Storm the White House! That’s what we do!” he said in one video. The government and Jensen’s defense team made their closing arguments Friday, before the jury of 10 men and two women began deliberating in the afternoon. Prosecutors argued that Jensen “was the rioter who would not back down” in his determination to the prevent the peaceful transfer of power. “Every barrier he encountered that day, he was ready to topple,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Arin Levenson Mirell said. He scaled a 20-foot wall to reach the Capitol, inhaled clouds of pepper spray “like it was oxygen,” and passed through police lines. Goodman, the USCP officer who testified at Jensen’s trial, had “no back-up” when he faced off with rioters, Mirell said. And the mob, “led by the defendant,” didn’t withdraw despite being asked to by authorities. “That was not a game of follow the leader,” Mirell said. Jensen was “weaponizing that mob.” In his closing statement, Jensen’s attorney, Christopher Davis, painted his client as a “confused man” and “lone wolf” who had fallen for QAnon conspiracy theories. The pandemic “did very strange things to people” and “apparently, Mr. Jensen was one of them,” he said. Davis said it took his client roughly 24 hours to figure out that he was at the Capitol, not the White House, adding, that “shows you how confused and how jumbled his head is.” He argued that his client did not lay a hand on anyone and denied that Jensen took part in some of the chaotic scenes on scaffolding as prosecutors have alleged. The government sought to dismiss those defenses in their rebuttal. The law does not require physical contact for the assault of an officer charge and if Jensen really was confused, he wouldn’t have been able to come so close to Vice President Mike Pence during the riot, prosecutors argued. “That doesn’t happen by confusion,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Allen said. After Friday’s verdict, Jensen’s lawyer spoke to reporters and said, “In my personal opinion, I think Mr. Jensen had a lot of issues, had a lot of problems back when all this occurred. And it’s just sad.” Davis described his client as a “typical Midwesterner,” and a “blue collar worker.” More than 850 people have been arrested and more than 350 convicted in connection with the Capitol attack. This week, the FBI arrested five individuals associated with the far-right America First movement, and a judge also sentenced a former Army reservist and Adolf Hitler enthusiast who stormed the Capitol to four years in prison. Liz Brown-Kaiser Liz Brown-Kaiser reports and produces for NBC News, based in Washington. Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News. Zoë Richards is the evening politics reporter for NBC News. Read More Here