Michigan Governor Hopeful Makes Light Of Whitmer Kidnap Plot
Michigan Governor Hopeful Makes Light Of Whitmer Kidnap Plot https://digitalarizonanews.com/michigan-governor-hopeful-makes-light-of-whitmer-kidnap-plot-2/
Tudor Dixon was in Troy this week on a campaign stop when she made a comment about the plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer.
LANSING, Mich. – 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.”
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.
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.
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.”
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 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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QAnon Follower Who Chased Officer Convicted In Jan. 6 Trial
QAnon Follower Who Chased Officer Convicted In Jan. 6 Trial https://digitalarizonanews.com/qanon-follower-who-chased-officer-convicted-in-jan-6-trial/
WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iowa man was convicted Friday of charges that he led a crowd of rioters in chasing a U.S. Capitol police officer up a staircase and accosting other officers guarding the Senate, one of the most harrowing scenes of the mob’s attack that day.
A federal jury deliberated for roughly four hours before convicting Douglas Jensen of felony charges that he obstructed Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021, and that he assaulted or interfered with police officers during the siege.
Jensen was convicted on all counts, including a charge that he engaged in disorderly conduct inside the Capitol while carrying a folding knife in his pocket.
During the trial’s closing arguments, a prosecutor accused Jensen of “weaponizing” rioters by taking the lead in chasing Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up a staircase. A reporter’s video of the confrontation went viral.
“The defendant wasn’t just leading the mob. He was weaponizing it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Mirell told jurors. “He knew he had the numbers, and he was willing to use them.”
FILE – This photo provided by Polk County (Iowa) Jail shows Douglas Jensen. The Iowa man was “weaponizing” rioters who joined him in chasing a police officer up a staircase during one of the most harrowing scenes from a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, a prosecutor told jurors on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the close of his trial. (Polk County (Iowa) Jail via AP, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE – Smoke fills the walkway outside the Senate Chamber as supporters of President Donald Trump, including Douglas Jensen, center, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers, Jan. 6, 2021, inside the Capitol in Washington. The Iowa man was “weaponizing” rioters who joined him in chasing a police officer up a staircase during one of the most harrowing scenes from a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, a prosecutor told jurors on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the close of his trial. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Manuel Balce Ceneta
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Jensen, a construction worker from Des Moines, Iowa, was wearing a T-shirt with a large “Q” expressing his adherence to the QAnon conspiracy theory. One of the most memorable images from the Jan. 6 attack captured Jensen with his arms extended as he confronted a line of police officers near the Senate chambers.
“Go arrest the vice president,” Jensen told one of the officers, according to prosecutors.
QAnon has centered on the baseless belief that former President Donald Trump was secretly fighting a Satan-worshipping cabal of “deep state” enemies, prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites. Jensen believed the conspiracy theory’s apocalyptic prophesy that “The Storm” was coming and would usher in mass arrests and executions of Trump’s foes, including Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence was presiding over the Senate on Jan. 6 as a joint session of Congress was convened to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Before the riot, Trump and his allies spread the falsehood that Pence somehow could have overturned the election results.
After scaling the outer walls of the Capitol, Jensen climbed through a broken window to enter the building. Prosecutors said Jensen learned from a friend’s text message that Pence was about to certify the election results.
“That’s all about to change,” Jensen replied.
Jensen didn’t testify at his trial, which started Tuesday. Goodman was a key witness for prosecutors.
Before running upstairs, Goodman approached Jensen and other rioters with his hand on his gun. Fearing for his life, Goodman retreated upstairs and found backup from other officers guarding an entrance to the Senate, where senators were being evacuated, according to prosecutors.
At least 880 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. About 400 of them have pleaded guilty. Juries have convicted eight Capitol riot defendants after trials. None of the defendants who had jury trials was acquitted of any charges.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Debra Arlene Beezhold Obituary (2022) https://digitalarizonanews.com/debra-arlene-beezhold-obituary-2022/
Debra Beezhold’s passing has been publicly announced by Hansen Mortuary Chapel – Phoenix in Phoenix, AZ.
According to the funeral home, the following services have been scheduled: Visitation, on October 1, 2022 at 4:00 p.m., ending at 5:00 p.m., at Hansen Chapel, 8314 N 7th Street, Phoenix. Service, on October 1, 2022, at Hansen Chapel, 8314 N 7th Street, Phoenix.
Legacy invites you to offer condolences and share memories of Debra in the Guest Book below.
The most recent obituary and service information is available at the Hansen Mortuary Chapel – Phoenix website.
Published by Hansen Mortuary Chapel – Phoenix on Sep. 23, 2022.
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Thousands Gather As Former President Trump Heads To Wilmington WWAYTV3
Thousands Gather As Former President Trump Heads To Wilmington – WWAYTV3 https://digitalarizonanews.com/thousands-gather-as-former-president-trump-heads-to-wilmington-wwaytv3/
Thousands gather at Aero Wilmington to hear former President Donald Trump speak on September 23, 2022 (Photo: WWAY)
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) –Former President Donald Trump is on his way to the Cape Fear.
He will be speaking at a rally in Wilmington to support various GOP candidates, including Senate candidate Ted Budd.
Doors opened at 2:00 p.m. with the chair of the North Carolina Republican party kicking things off just after 4:00 p.m.
Attendees have traveled from different parts of North Carolina and South Carolina, all to hear the former President speak. Trump is here to endorse Budd for US Senate, but those we spoke to said they’re expecting to hear much more than an endorsement of Budd, they hope the former President will announce plans to run for office again in 2024 as well as addressing issues like inflation, crime, immigration, gas prices and more.
Mr. Trump is expected to speak around 7:00 p.m. at Aero Wilmington. WWAY will livestream it here.
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Michigan Governor Hopeful Makes Light Of Whitmer Kidnap Plot
Michigan Governor Hopeful Makes Light Of Whitmer Kidnap Plot https://digitalarizonanews.com/michigan-governor-hopeful-makes-light-of-whitmer-kidnap-plot/
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
FILE – Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon appears at a primary election party in Grand Rapids, Mich., Aug. 2, 2022. The Republican candidate for Michigan governor has compared Gov. Gretchen Whitmers policies to the 2020 plot to kidnap the Democratic incumbent. Dixon’s remarks at two events Friday, Sept. 23, immediately drew criticism from Democrats who said she was making light of a serious and dangerous crime. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
LANSING, Mich. – 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.”
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.
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.
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.”
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 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Obituaries In Phoenix, AZ | The Arizona Republic https://digitalarizonanews.com/obituaries-in-phoenix-az-the-arizona-republic-25/
DONALD ANDREW ECKERT 68, of MESA, AZ passed away on 08/05/2022. If you have any information regarding this person, please call Maricopa County Indigent Decedent Services at 602-372-0535, select option #5.
Posted online on September 23, 2022
Published in The Arizona Republic
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Hurricane Fiona Likely To Be 'extreme Weather Event' As It Barrels Toward Eastern Canada Forecasters Warn
Hurricane Fiona Likely To Be 'extreme Weather Event' As It Barrels Toward Eastern Canada, Forecasters Warn https://digitalarizonanews.com/hurricane-fiona-likely-to-be-extreme-weather-event-as-it-barrels-toward-eastern-canada-forecasters-warn/
(CNN)Deadly Hurricane Fiona has weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm but is still packing forceful winds of 125 mph as it barrels toward Canada’s Atlantic coast.
It’s expected to bring hurricane conditions to the region Friday night, the National Hurricane Center said.
It’s on track to be an “extreme weather event” in eastern Canada, threatening powerful winds, dangerous storm surge and about two months’ worth of rainfall, forecasters with the Canadian Hurricane Centre warned Friday afternoon. And some parts, like the Canadian Maritimes, will likely begin feeling it effects Friday evening, the centre said.
“This could be a landmark event for Canada in terms of intensity of a tropical cyclone,” and it could even become Canada’s version of Superstorm Sandy, said Chris Fogarty, Canadian Hurricane Centre manager. Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states and all of the eastern seaboard, causing an estimated $78.7 billion in damage.
Officials in Canada’s Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island urged those in the storm’s path to be on high alert and prepare for the impact of the hurricane, which has already claimed the lives of at least five people and shut off power for millions this week as it battered multiple Caribbean islands.
Fiona strengthened to a Category 4 storm early Wednesday over the Atlantic after passing the Turks and Caicos, and remained so until Friday afternoon.
The National Hurricane Center said in a 5 p.m. ET advisory the storm weakened slightly but still whipped powerful, hurricane-force winds extending more than 100 miles out from its center and even stronger gusts. Its center was about 370 miles south-southeast of Halifax.
“Although gradual weakening is forecast during the next couple of days, Fiona is expected to be a powerful hurricane-force cyclone when it moves across Atlantic Canada,” the center said.
Hurricane warning in parts of Nova Scotia
In Canada, hurricane warnings were in place for Nova Scotia from Hubbards to Brule and in Newfoundland from Parson’s Pond to Francois. Prince Edward Island and Isle-de-la-Madeleine are also under warnings.
“It has the potential to be very dangerous,” said John Lohr, the minister responsible for the Emergency Management Office for Nova Scotia. “Impacts are projected to be felt across the province. Every Nova Scotian should be preparing today,” Lohr added during an official update Thursday.
Residents should brace for damaging winds, high waves, coastal storm surge and heavy rainfall, which may lead to prolonged power outages, Lohr said. Emergency officials have encouraged people to secure outdoor items, trim trees, charge cell phones and create a 72-hour emergency kit.
The area has not seen a storm this intense for about 50 years, according to Chris Fogarty, manager for Canadian Hurricane Centre.
“Please take it seriously because we are seeing meteorological numbers in our weather maps that are rarely seen here,” Fogarty said.
Utility company Nova Scotia Power activated an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Friday morning which will serve as the central coordination area for outage restoration and response, according to a news release.
The company will also be working closely with the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office.
“We are taking every precaution and will be ready to respond to Hurricane Fiona as safely and efficiently as possible,” Sean Borden, the storm lead coordinator for Nova Scotia Power, said in the release.
Across Atlantic Canada, winds could be around 100 mph (160 kph) as Fiona is expected to weaken a little before it makes landfall on Nova Scotia, CNN meteorologists Rob Shackelford and Taylor Ward said.
Prince Edward Island officials implored residents to prepare for the worst as the storm looms.
Tanya Mullally, who serves as the province’s head of emergency management, said one of the most pressing concerns with Fiona is the historic storm surge it is expected to unleash.
“Storm surge is certainly going to be significant. … Flooding that we have not seen nor can we measure against,” Mullally said Thursday during an update.
Canadian Hurricane Center modeling suggests the surge “depending on the area, could be anywhere from 1.8 to 2.4 meters (6-8 feet),” said Bob Robichaud, a meteorologist with the center.
The northern portion of the island stands to bear the brunt of the storm due to the direction of the winds, which will likely cause property damage and coastal flooding, Mullally said.
All provincial campgrounds, beaches and day-use parks as well as the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park closed Friday, the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office said.
Fiona’s power outages continue
Earlier this week, Fiona damaged homes and upended critical power and water infrastructure for millions of people across Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos.
Days after Puerto Rico experienced an islandwide blackout as Fiona made landfall Sunday, only 41% of customers had their power restored Friday, according to numbers from power grid operator LUMA Energy posted on the island’s emergency portal system.
The mass power outage is happening as much of Puerto Rico endures extreme heat, which caused temperatures to feel as hot as 112 degrees on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures remained in the 80s and 90s on Friday, according to CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward.
Daniel Hernández, director of renewable projects at LUMA, explained critical places including hospitals will be prioritized before repairs can begin on an individual level.
“This is a normal process. The important thing is that everyone is calm … we are working to ensure that 100% of customers have service as soon as possible,” Hernández said.
And more than a quarter of clients on the island did not have water service or had intermittent service, according to the emergency portal system.
In the Dominican Republic, Fiona affected more than 8,00 households and destroyed 2,262 homes, according to the nation’s head of emergency operations, Maj. Gen. Juan Méndez García.
He said more than 210,000 homes and businesses were still in the dark Thursday morning, and another 725,246 customers were without running water.
“This was something incredible that we’ve never seen before,” Ramona Santana in Higüey, Dominican Republic, told CNN en Español this week. “We’re in the streets with nothing, no food, no shoes, clothes, just what’s on your back. … We don’t have anything. We have God, and the hope help will come.”
Fiona also menaced parts of the Turks and Caicos Tuesday, and areas of the British territory were still without power earlier this week, namely on Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, North Caicos and Middle Caicos, said Anya Williams, acting governor of the islands.
CNN’s Allison Chinchar, Melissa Alonso, Ana Melgar Zuniga, and Amanda Musa contributed to this report.
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Which Professions Can Afford To Buy A Home In Arizona? AZ Big Media
Which Professions Can Afford To Buy A Home In Arizona? – AZ Big Media https://digitalarizonanews.com/which-professions-can-afford-to-buy-a-home-in-arizona-az-big-media/
Arizona’s current popularity may have caused home price increases and limited inventory, but homebuying is still affordable for many professionals in metropolitan areas. Tucson lets you save up for a down payment relatively quickly, while Phoenix’s healthcare practitioners are particularly well placed to buy a home in Arizona.
A recent study by StorageCafe found that workers in many trending occupations can afford to comfortably buy an average home on an average wage in the Arizonan metros, with Tucson letting more of them do so than in Phoenix. Affordability is calculated based on earning at least a ‘qualifying income’ — 30% of which is enough to make monthly mortgage payments — and the ability to save up a down payment in less than 5 years using 20% of your income.
READ ALSO: Ranking Arizona: Top 10 best places to live for 2022
READ ALSO: Where Should I Move? The Best (and Worst) Places to Live
Despite Phoenix leading the country in terms of home price increases in recent times, salaries have not necessarily kept up. Tech and media hubs in places such as California and New York may still pay more. Consequently, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2021, the average income across all the 58 trending professions considered — those that are increasing in numbers — is $62,262 in The Valley of the Sun, around 10% less than the national average. The equivalent average wage in Tucson is $56,705, about 19% less than the national figure.
Phoenix Favors Healthcare Workers and Engineers
In Metro Phoenix, 11 groups of trending professions can comfortably afford to buy a home in Arizona. These include top executives, engineers, healthcare professionals, mathematical experts and managers in fields such as advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations and sales. And this is despite their average wages generally being less than national figures.
However, the group of professions that includes many medics, nurses and therapists excels in Phoenix. With an average salary of $111,495, they earn slightly more than the national average and could save for a down payment in 3.9 years. By contrast, they cannot afford to easily buy a home in Seattle and the large Californian metros or even in up-and-coming Utah metros, Denver, Colorado, or Boise, Idaho — in all cases they would need more than five years to save a down payment.
Metro Phoenix also pays its engineers well, offering an average income of $105,980 — only marginally lower than the national figure — letting them save a down payment in 4.1 years. For engineers, the usual suspects for unaffordability are joined by the Boston and New York City metropolitan areas. Air Transportation workers are another group in PHX with salaries close to the national figure, and for these workers, Connecticut metros are added to the list of unaffordable places, while in Phoenix they would need just 3.7 years to save up a down payment.
Tucson Lets You Save a Down Payment More Quickly
No fewer than 20 groups of professions can buy a home fairly comfortably in Tucson. These include, in addition to those professionals who could buy in Phoenix, architects, financial specialists, business experts, some types of scientists and supervisors of workers in a wide variety of sectors.
Life scientists are a group that does well in Tucson, earning an average of $91,758. Although that is still about 8.6% below the national average, they can save a down payment for an average home in the area in just 3.4 years. As in Phoenix, a wide range of healthcare professionals, who earn an average of $98,340 in Tucson — which is about 10% less than the national figure — can get the down payment together quickly, in fact in just 3.2 years.
Average salaries across the trending occupations in Tucson are about 9% less than in Metro Phoenix, but the average home price in Tucson more than offsets that. According to figures from Zillow, it is $313,199, about 27% less than in the Valley of the Sun and around 15% less than the national average. Across all the trending profession groups, the average time needed to save up the down payment in Tucson is about 5.5 years, whereas in Metro Phoenix the equivalent figure is almost 7 years.
Added to all the benefits drawing people to large Arizonan cities, it is still possible for many professionals to buy a home in Arizona. If downtown areas prove too pricey, there are of course the PHX suburbs and feeder towns, and Tucson generally lets you save up more quickly. If you have to buy a place that is smaller than ideal, self storage in Tucson and Phoenix will give extra storage space nearby at reasonable cost. And if you are making career decisions right now, consider the professions that are trending and that will let you live the homeownership dream in Arizona.
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Capital Wealth Alliance, LLC B – GuruFocus.com https://digitalarizonanews.com/capital-wealth-alliance-llc-b-gurufocus-com/
Capital Wealth Alliance, LLC recently filed their 13F report for the second quarter of 2022, which ended on 2022-06-30.
The 13F report details which stocks were in a guru’s equity portfolio at the end of the quarter, though investors should note that these filings are limited in scope, containing only a snapshot of long positions in U.S.-listed stocks and American depository receipts as of the quarter’s end. They are not required to include international holdings, short positions or other types of investments. Still, even this limited filing can provide valuable information.
17015 North Scottsdale Road Scottsdale, AZ 85255
As of the latest 13F report, the guru’s equity portfolio contained 129 stocks valued at a total of $140.00Mil. The top holdings were PSLV(8.63%), PHYS(8.31%), and ABT(5.68%).
According to GuruFocus data, these were Capital Wealth Alliance, LLC’s top five trades of the quarter.
iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF
Capital Wealth Alliance, LLC reduced their investment in ARCA:IWP by 17,680 shares. The trade had a 1.08% impact on the equity portfolio. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average price of $87.21.
On 09/23/2022, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF traded for a price of $79.21 per share and a market cap of $11.10Bil. The stock has returned -32.71% over the past year.
There is insufficient data to calculate the stock’s financial strength and profitability ratings.
In terms of valuation, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has a price-earnings ratio of 23.41 and a price-book ratio of 6.10.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund
During the quarter, Capital Wealth Alliance, LLC bought 15,377 shares of ARCA:XLE for a total holding of 37,869. The trade had a 0.79% impact on the equity portfolio. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average price of $79.39.
On 09/23/2022, The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund traded for a price of $70.48 per share and a market cap of $32.41Bil. The stock has returned 44.28% over the past year.
There is insufficient data to calculate the stock’s financial strength and profitability ratings.
In terms of valuation, The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund has a price-earnings ratio of 9.32 and a price-book ratio of 2.23.
First Trust Indxx Global Natural Resources Income
The guru established a new position worth 72,698 shares in NAS:FTRI, giving the stock a 0.69% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares traded for an average price of $15.19 during the quarter.
On 09/23/2022, First Trust Indxx Global Natural Resources Income traded for a price of $12.13 per share and a market cap of $198.33Mil. The stock has returned -3.19% over the past year.
There is insufficient data to calculate the stock’s financial strength and profitability ratings.
In terms of valuation, First Trust Indxx Global Natural Resources Income has a price-earnings ratio of 5.18 and a price-book ratio of 1.52.
GAMCO Natural Resources, Gold & Income Trust
The guru established a new position worth 206,033 shares in NYSE:GNT, giving the stock a 0.69% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares traded for an average price of $5.31 during the quarter.
On 09/23/2022, GAMCO Natural Resources, Gold & Income Trust traded for a price of $4.27 per share and a market cap of $76.24Mil. The stock has returned -10.27% over the past year.
GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 8 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 2 out of 10.
In terms of valuation, GAMCO Natural Resources, Gold & Income Trust has a price-book ratio of 0.77.
FIRST TR EXCH VII
During the quarter, Capital Wealth Alliance, LLC bought 32,642 shares of NAS:FTGC for a total holding of 46,647. The trade had a 0.63% impact on the equity portfolio. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average price of $28.99.
On 09/23/2022, FIRST TR EXCH VII traded for a price of $25.56 per share and a market cap of $4.17Bil. The stock has returned 14.88% over the past year.
There is insufficient data to calculate the stock’s financial strength and profitability ratings.
Please note, the numbers and facts quoted are as of the writing of this article and may not factor in the latest trading data or company announcements.
Want to provide feedback on this article? Have questions or concerns? Get in touch with us here, or email us at [email protected]!
This article is general in nature and does not represent the opinions of GuruFocus or any of its affiliates. This article is not intended to be financial advice, nor does it constitute investment advice or recommendations. It was written without regard to your individual situation or financial goals. We aim to bring you fundamental, data-driven analysis, The information on this site is in no way guaranteed for completeness, accuracy or in any other way.
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WSJ News Exclusive | Fords Latest Supply-Chain Problem: A Shortage Of Blue Oval Badges
WSJ News Exclusive | Ford’s Latest Supply-Chain Problem: A Shortage Of Blue Oval Badges https://digitalarizonanews.com/wsj-news-exclusive-fords-latest-supply-chain-problem-a-shortage-of-blue-oval-badges/
Ford showed its seventh-generation Mustang sports car at the Detroit auto show on Wednesday. The company said the new model will stick with a gas engine, a strategy that contrasts with some of its rivals that are going electric. Photo: Rebecca Cook/Reuters
Updated Sept. 23, 2022 5:30 pm ET
Ford Motor Co. has delayed deliveries of certain vehicles because it didn’t have the blue oval badges that go on them, in another example of how supply-chain challenges have hit auto makers.
The car company has run into supply constraints with the brand-name badges and the nameplates that specify the model, according to people familiar with the matter. Both parts are affixed to the vehicle’s exterior and are important identifiers for the auto maker’s products. A company spokesman confirmed it has held some vehicle shipments because of a lack of badges.
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Georgia To Replace Voting Machines In Coffee County After Alleged Security Breach
Georgia To Replace Voting Machines In Coffee County After Alleged Security Breach https://digitalarizonanews.com/georgia-to-replace-voting-machines-in-coffee-county-after-alleged-security-breach/
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Friday that he intends to replace some election equipment in a south Georgia county where forensics experts working last year for pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell copied virtually every component of the voting system.
Raffensperger (R) said his office will replace machines in Coffee County “to allay the fears being stoked by perennial election deniers and conspiracy theorists.” He added that anyone who broke the law in connection with unauthorized access to Coffee County’s machines should be punished, “but the current election officials in Coffee County have to move forward with the 2022 election, and they should be able to do so without this distraction.”
Some election-security experts have voiced concerns that the copying of the Coffee County software — used statewide in Georgia — risks exposing the entire state to hackers, who could use the copied software as a road map to find and exploit vulnerabilities. Raffensperger’s office has said that security protocols would make it virtually impossible for votes to be manipulated without detection.
The move comes after Raffensperger’s office spent months voicing skepticism that such a security breach ever occurred in Coffee County. “There’s no evidence of any of that. It didn’t happen,” Gabe Sterling, Raffensperger’s chief operations officer, said at a public event in April.
Since then, the fact that outsiders accessed county voting machines — and copied sensitive software and data — has been confirmed by sworn depositions, video surveillance footage from inside and outside of the county elections office and other documents turned over to plaintiffs in long-running civil litigation over election security in Georgia. The plaintiffs argue that the state should replace touch-screen voting machines with hand-marked paper ballots. Raffensperger and other Georgia officials are defendants in that case. They deny that the voting system is insecure.
The announcement said that Coffee County would receive new “ballot-marking devices,” the touch-screen voting machines that voters use to make their selections; printers for paper ballots with voters’ selections; ballot scanners used in precincts; electronic poll pads used to check in voters at polling places; and flash cards and thumb drives.
Two pieces of equipment that were accessed by the forensic experts in Coffee County — a central ballot scanner and the election management system server used to tally results — had already been replaced by Raffensperger’s office in June 2021.
Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, a plaintiff in the civil litigation, said leaving those two pieces of equipment in place is “wildly ineffective.” They have been used during elections with the “presumably contaminated” devices that are now being replaced, and now could be contaminated themselves, she said.
Before the announcement, Susan Greenhalgh, a senior adviser for election security for the nonprofit Free Speech for People and a consulting expert for the Coalition for Good Governance, said that replacing the machines in Coffee County is necessary but not sufficient to stem the risk to election security in Georgia.
“You still have the overall problem that the software has been released into the wild to countless individuals who may have ill intent and who may be using it to figure out ways to manipulate an election,” Greenhalgh told reporters at a news briefing earlier this week.
Video footage shows that a team from Atlanta-based SullivanStrickler spent about eight hours at the county elections office on Jan. 7, 2021, copying software from Dominion Voting Systems equipment and data from multiple memory sticks and other devices.
The county elections supervisor at the time told The Washington Post earlier this year that she allowed the team into the office to help find proof that the election “was not done true and correct.” The video footage also shows that Cathy Latham, then the chairwoman of the county Republican Party, greeted the SullivanStrickler team at the elections office and introduced them to local officials. Her lawyers have denied that she participated in the Jan. 7 copying or did anything improper or illegal.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said it is investigating a suspected computer trespass of a Coffee County elections server that day. A special grand jury in Atlanta, which was already examining the “fake elector” scheme to keep President Donald Trump in power using bogus electoral certificates, has recently expanded its inquiry to take in the Coffee County episode.
The grand jury has issued subpoenas including to Powell and to SullivanStrickler. The firm said in a statement to The Post that it was not a target of the investigation and that the company and its employees were witnesses in the case.
SullivanStrickler has said it believed the attorneys it was working for were authorized to access the voting machines, and that the firm had no reason to think the attorneys would ask it to do anything illegal or improper. “We are confident that it will quickly become apparent that we did nothing wrong and were operating in good faith at all times,” it said in a statement.
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Voting Equipment To Be Replaced After https://digitalarizonanews.com/voting-equipment-to-be-replaced-after/
Sep. 23, 2022Updated: Sep. 23, 2022 3:47 p.m.
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1of6This Jan. 7, 2021, image taken from Coffee County, Ga., security video, appears to show Cathy Latham (center, long turquoise top), introducing members of a computer forensic team to local election officials. 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 Sidney Powell and others allied with then-President Donald Trump. (Coffee County, Georgia via AP)APShow MoreShow Less
2of6In 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 Sidney Powell and others allied with then-President Donald Trump. (Coffee County, Georgia via AP)APShow MoreShow Less
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4of6In this Jan. 7, 2021, image taken from Coffee County, Ga., security video, Cathy Latham (center) is seen in the local elections office in Douglas, Ga., while a computer forensics team was there to make copies of voting equipment. Latham was the county Republican Party chair at the time. Documents show that the effort to copy the elections equipment software and data was arranged by Sidney Powell and others allied with then-President Donald Trump. (Coffee County, Georgia via AP)APShow MoreShow Less
5of6FILE – In this image taken from Coffee County, Ga., security video, Cathy Latham, bottom, chair of the Coffee County Republican Party, greets a team of computer experts from data solutions company SullivanStrickler at the county elections office in Douglas, Ga., on Jan. 7, 2021. Lawyers investigating a breach of voting system data that potentially has put Georgia’s election system at risk are asking a judge to order former Republican Party chair Latham to turn over data from her personal devices, which they say could help determine what happened to the breached data and who orchestrated the scheme. (Coffee County via AP, File)APShow MoreShow Less
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ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s secretary of state on Friday announced plans to replace election equipment in one county following “unauthorized access” to the equipment that happened two months after the 2020 election.
A computer forensics team hired by allies of then-President Donald Trump traveled to Coffee County, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, on Jan. 7, 2021. A company representative has said they made complete copies of the election management system server and other election system components. Later that month, two men who have been involved in efforts to discredit the 2020 election results also spent hours inside the elections office with access to the equipment.
Trump and his supporters pushed false claims about certain voting machines after he lost his bid for reelection. Authorities have said there was no evidence of widespread problems with voting equipment.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said an investigation into the unauthorized access to the equipment by former Coffee County election officials continues.
“Anyone who broke the law should be punished to its full extent,” Raffensperger said in a news release. “But the current election officials in Coffee County have to move forward with the 2022 election, and they should be able to do so without this distraction.”
Footage from security cameras shows “former election officials in Coffee County permitting access by unauthorized individuals to equipment that under Georgia law should have been secured,” the release said. The footage was produced in response to subpoenas issued by plaintiffs in a long-running lawsuit against state election officials that claims the state’s touchscreen voting machines aren’t secure.
The county’s election management server and central scanner workstation were previously replaced in June 2021, officials have said. The county will receive 100 new touchscreen voting machines, 100 printers, 10 precinct scanners, 21 tablets used to check in voters and new flash cards and thumb drives to be installed and tested before early voting begins next month.
Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, a plaintiff in the voting machine lawsuit, said the election management server and central scanner workstation should also be replaced. She said that’s because they were used with the other potentially contaminated equipment in elections since their replacement last year.
Separately, election officials in the state’s most populous county, in and around Atlanta, said Friday that they had fired a worker after learning that “personally identifiable information was shared with an individual outside the organization,” news outlets reported.
“The individual responsible for the incident no longer works with Fulton County,” the county said in a news release. “Fulton County is committed to the safety and security of all citizens and employees. Each individual affected by this incident will be notified and will receive credit monitoring services.”
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Legal Experts See More Challenges For Trump In Records Dispute
Legal Experts See More Challenges For Trump In Records Dispute https://digitalarizonanews.com/legal-experts-see-more-challenges-for-trump-in-records-dispute-2/
Former President Donald Trump’s court battle over presidential records he claims to have declassified was dealt another blow by the Eleventh Circuit this week and some legal experts doubt the former president will get the legal recourse he seeks.
Former Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal said he thinks the Eleventh Circuit decision granting the government’s motion to keep using the roughly 100 records it identified as classified in its criminal probe while the appeal plays out is “extremely strong.”
“It’s really hard to lose an appeal more decisively than Trump just did,” Katyal said.
The ruling, he said, is “not only a straight repudiation of every legal claim Trump has made since Mar a Lago [was] searched, it’s a boomerang.”
Katyal highlighted the appellate panel’s finding that Trump has not even tried to show he has a “need to know” the information contained in the purportedly classified documents, and that “even if he had, that, in and of itself, would not explain why plaintiff has an individual interest in the classified documents.”
He said the circuit judges “powerfully” explain in their ruling why criminal and national security implications related to the records dispute “are so massive.” And he notes that the 29-page opinion was unanimously agreed upon by an Obama appointee and two Trump-appointed judges.
Wednesday’s Eleventh Circuit ruling comes after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound on Aug. 8 and seized more than 11,000 documents, including at least 103 documents with classification markings, according to records unsealed by the court last month.
The former president brought a motion for judicial oversight of the government’s review of the seized materials last month and U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted his request for a special master on Sept. 5 — prompting a swift appeal to the Eleventh Circuit by the Department of Justice, which also filed a motion to stay part of her order.
Trump argued in court filings that the Atlanta-based appellate court lacks jurisdiction over the appeal. But the circuit judges agreed with the government’s argument that Cannon likely erred in her finding that the southern Florida federal court had jurisdiction over Trump’s motion for judicial oversight.
“The absence of this ‘indispensab[le]’ factor,” the circuit judges wrote, “is reason enough to conclude that the district court abused its discretion in exercising equitable jurisdiction here.”
Laurence Tribe, a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, said it was “refreshing” to read the Eleventh Circuit opinion, which he described as a “demolition” of both Trump and Judge Cannon’s arguments that he describes as “ludicrous evasions of settled law and indisputable fact.”
“It reads a lot like a stern but polite reprimand of a child caught red handed who needs to be read the riot act,” he said,
Katyal highlighted part of the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling, in which the judges found that Cannon erred when she determined Trump had an interest in some of the seized materials because it included “medical documents, correspondence related to taxes, and accounting information.”
The appellate panel found that “none of those concerns apply” to the approximately 100 purportedly classified documents at issue.
“In any event, at least for these purposes, the declassification argument is a red herring because declassifying an official document would not change its content or render it personal,” the judges wrote. “For our part, we cannot discern why plaintiff would have an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings.”
U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, who is tasked with reviewing the materials uncovered in the FBI raid, released his case management plan on Thursday following the 11th Circuit decision.
Under the plan, he has asked Trump for a detailed list of the seized items and annotations to support any claims the items fall under attorney-client privilege, executive privilege or the Presidential Records Act.
Katyal said the circuit judges’ ruling “says what all of us have been saying, the whole declassification thing is a red herring.”
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Courthouse News last week the classification dispute was a red herring that would not impact potential charges under the Espionage Act or Presidential Records Act.
“Attorney General Merrick Garland will … need to make the ultimate decision of whether to charge Trump or not,” Rahmani said.
As Katyal sees it, the appeals court ruling “justified a prosecution.”
Trump is under investigation for removing government records from the White House at the end of his single term as president on Jan. 20, 2021, and storing them at his 12-acre Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach.
Trump, for his part, denies any wrongdoing and he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday night that, “if you’re 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 wherever you’re sending it.”
Katyal meanwhile said, “Trump can try to go to the U.S. Supreme Court but it’s a loser every day of the week.”
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Why Experts Expect Phoenix Hotels To Surpass Pre-Pandemic Levels AZ Big Media
Why Experts Expect Phoenix Hotels To Surpass Pre-Pandemic Levels – AZ Big Media https://digitalarizonanews.com/why-experts-expect-phoenix-hotels-to-surpass-pre-pandemic-levels-az-big-media/
CBRE is raising its forecast for hotel performance both from Phoenix hotels and nationally on the heels of industry gains in Q2 2022 and the expectation of slightly positive GDP growth in 2023.
READ ALSO: Here’s how Ron Price and Visit Phoenix are driving tourism
READ ALSO: Ranking Arizona: Top 10 resorts for 2022
Phoenix hotels
In Phoenix, the average daily rate (ADR) is expected to increase 23.3 percent to $161.06 in 2022 and is forecasted to increase 3.2 percent to $166.29 in 2023, passing pre-pandemic levels and up from CBRE’s previous 2022 and 2023 projections of $154.46 and $161.47, respectively.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) is expected to increase 35.6 percent to $109.31 in 2022 and is also expected to pass pre-pandemic levels with a 7 percent increase to $116.93 in 2023. This forecast is an increase from the original 2022 and 2023 projections of $100.32 and $110.81, respectively.
Occupancy is expected to increase 9.9 percent in 2022 to 67.9 percent, up from the previous 2022 forecast of 64.9 percent. Occupancy is also expected to approach pre-pandemic levels in 2023 with a 3.6 percent increase to 70.3 percent.
“The Phoenix lodging market is on track to finish 2022 stronger than CBRE had forecasted earlier in the year due to better than anticipated performance in Q2, with ADR and RevPAR expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels this year,” said Branden T. White, MRICS, ASA, Vice President in the West Division of CBRE Hotels. “The pace of growth is projected to slow considerably in 2023; however, as demand growth continues to outpace supply growth over the near term, occupancy is anticipated to recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, one year sooner than the national forecast.”
Nationally
CBRE has revised its forecast for the second half of 2022 to a gain in RevPAR of 14.7 percent year-over-year, up from the previous projection of 13.1 percent year-over-year. The revision is predicated on a 3.5 percentage point increase in expected ADR growth compared to the previous forecast issued in May 2022, as well as a 2.2 percentage point reduction in CBRE’s demand forecast.
U.S. hotel industry performance was stronger than expected in Q2 despite a decline in GDP and the highest inflation in more than 40 years. Strength in the quarter was the result of continued improvements in group business, inbound international travel, and what may have been a peak in leisure travel this cycle.
Q2 RevPAR reached $98.84, up 38 percent year over-year, and an all-time quarterly high at 106 percent of 2019’s level. RevPAR growth was driven mainly by ADR (up 25.5 percent), followed by occupancy (up 9.9 percent), demonstrating travelers’ limited price sensitivity in many peak demand markets.
CBRE’s baseline-scenario forecasts do not contemplate an international war, a pervasive recession, or a more acute COVID variant. CBRE also produces forecasts based on upside and downside scenarios.
“As we progress through the third quarter, it is worth noting that the brisk pace of demand recovery has begun to slow. We are seeing a pullback in ADRs in select record-setting markets,” said Rachael Rothman, CBRE’s Head of Hotel Research & Data Analytics. “Despite the slowing pace of growth, we expect the continued recovery in travel demand to be driven by incremental group and inbound international travel, followed by a modest uptick in transient business.”
Inflation continues to bolster top-line growth, but it is also a headwind to margin expansion given rising wages, utilities, food and beverage costs, insurance and capital expenditure (CapEx) increases. Historically, luxury hotels have had the greatest ability to increase room rates to offset inflation.
Longer term, muted supply growth will bolster top-line growth. High construction material prices, including lumber, steel and labor, make the development of new projects too expensive in some cases. CBRE forecasts that hotel supply will increase at a 1.1 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years, below the industry’s 1.8 percent long-term historical average.
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Stock Market Today: Dow Loses 400 Points Touches New 2022 Low As Indexes Dropped Friday
Stock Market Today: Dow Loses 400 Points, Touches New 2022 Low, As Indexes Dropped Friday https://digitalarizonanews.com/stock-market-today-dow-loses-400-points-touches-new-2022-low-as-indexes-dropped-friday/
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Russia Has Committed War Crimes In Ukraine Say UN Investigators
Russia Has Committed War Crimes In Ukraine, Say UN Investigators https://digitalarizonanews.com/russia-has-committed-war-crimes-in-ukraine-say-un-investigators/
The United Nations has said its investigators have concluded that Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine, including bombings of civilian areas, numerous executions, torture and horrific sexual violence.
The UN has made the investigation of human rights violations in the war a priority and in May its top human rights body mandated a team of experts to begin work in the country.
Since then, UN investigators, have risked their lives to collect evidence of crimes perpetrated against civilians, including in areas still threatened by enemy forces or laid with mines.
The team of three independent experts on Friday presented their first oral update to the UN human rights council, after it launched initial investigations looking at the areas of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy regions, adding that it would broaden its inquiries.
Speaking a day before the seven-month anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, Erik Mose, the head of the investigation team, told thecouncil that, based on the evidence gathered by the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, “it has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine”.
The team of investigators visited 27 towns and settlements, as well as graves and detention and torture centres; interviewed more than 150 victims and witnesses; and met with advocacy groups and government officials.
Mose said the team had been especially “struck by the large number of executions in the areas that we visited”, and the frequent “visible signs of executions on bodies, such as hands tied behind backs, gunshot wounds to the head, and slit throats”.
He added it was investigating such deaths in 16 towns and settlements, and had received credible allegations regarding many more cases that it would seek to document. The investigators had also received “consistent accounts of ill-treatment and torture, which were carried out during unlawful confinement”, the council was told.
In the settlements of Bucha, Hostomel and Borodianka, occupied for about a month by Russian troops, Ukrainian investigators found dozens of mass graves where the bodies of civilians, tortured and murdered, had been buried.
Since the Russians withdrew from the area, a group of young volunteers worked tirelessly to exhume the bodies and send them to forensic doctors who have been collecting evidence of crimes perpetrated by Russian troops.
Some of the victims had told the investigators they were transferred to Russia and held for weeks in prisons. Others had “disappeared” after such transfers. “Interlocutors described beatings, electric shocks and forced nudity, as well as other types of violations in such detention facilities,” Mose said.
Mose said the team had also “processed two incidents of ill-treatment against Russian Federation soldiers by Ukrainian forces”, adding that “while few in numbers, such cases continue to be the subject of our attention”.
He said investigators had also documented cases of sexual and gender-based violence, in some cases establishing that Russian soldiers were the perpetrators.
“There are examples of cases where relatives were forced to witness the crimes,” he said. “In the cases we have investigated, the age of victims of sexual and gendered-based violence ranged from four to 82 years.”
The commission had documented a wide range of crimes against children, Mose added, including children who were “raped, tortured, and unlawfully confined”.
In April, forensic doctors told the Guardian they had found evidence that some women were raped before being killed by Russian forces. “We already have a few cases which suggest that these women had been raped before being shot to death,” Vladyslav Perovskyi, a Ukrainian forensic doctor who has carried out dozens of autopsies on people from Bucha, Irpin and Borodianka, told the Guardian.
At least two men in a list of accused Russian war criminals released by Ukrainian prosecutors are accused of sexual assault and rape.
Mose, in his report to the council, also pointed to “the Russian Federation’s use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas”, which he said was “a source of immense harm and suffering for civilians”.
The UN highlighted that a number of attacks the team had investigated “had been carried out without distinguishing between civilians and combatants”, including attacks with cluster munitions, banned by most of the world under a 2008 treaty.
Since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion, Russian troops have been accused of having used a number of illegal weapons that have killed hundreds of civilians in the Ukrainian region of Kyiv, including extremely powerful unguided bombs in populated areas, which have destroyed at least eight civilian buildings.
According to evidence, cluster munitions were unleashed in areas where there were no military personnel and no military infrastructure.
The commission’s work could ultimately contribute to the work of international criminal court prosecutors who could bring charges over war crimes in Ukraine, although it remains uncertain whether Russia or other alleged perpetrators would ever face justice.
In a separate development, on Friday, Ukrainian officials said they had exhumed about 436 bodies from a burial site in the recently recaptured city of Izium and that at least 30 of them showed signs of torture.
Mose said: “This is of course a novel incident but we certainly intend to look into the Izium event as well.”
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Dobson Loses To Perry 54-13 In 6A Battle https://digitalarizonanews.com/dobson-loses-to-perry-54-13-in-6a-battle/
Dobson huddles up after a tough loss to Perry Thursday night in Mesa. (Justin de Haas photo/AZPreps365)
Justin de Haas is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Dobson High School for AZPreps365.com
The Dobson Mustangs could not keep up with the Perry Pumas Thursday night in Mesa. Perry came away with a 53-13 win, dropping Dobson to 0-4 on the season.
Perry had a successful opening drive. Senior quarterback Jack Amer rushed 38 yards for the touchdown. The Pumas failed to convert on a two-point conversion and lead 6-0.
On Dobson’s second drive, senior quarterback Jordan Legg dropped back to pass and threw his first and only interception of the game. This turnover was costly. It eventually resulted in the Pumas scoring a touchdown on their second drive. Amer threw a 10-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jordan Kimling to expand the lead to 13-0.
It looked like Perry was going to put the nail in the coffin, but Amer threw an interception in the end zone as senior Mustangs cornerback Blake Cameron picked it off. Dobson was unable to take advantage of the turnover and punted the ball. Perry avenged its interception by scoring on a 19-yard rushing touchdown by junior running back Don Tinsley to increase its lead to 27-0.
Dobson seemed to generate some momentum, scoring on its sixth drive of the game. Legg threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Brody Shaugnessy to cut the deficit to 27-6. Dobson failed to score on its two-point conversion and kept its points total at six.
Amer responded to Dobson’s score by throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass for his third of the game. That touchdown put Perry ahead, 34-6, which was also the halftime score.
Dobson drove down the field and got the ball to the 1-yard line. Legg ran the ball in to score his second touchdown and inch the score to 47-13.
With the backups now in for both teams, Perry scored one more time as junior running back Nate Duerksen ran it in for the touchdown and finalized the score at 54-13.
Dobson head coach Bill Godsil said a positive of the game was that the Mustangs “can fight with a big, bruising team.”.
“The score was 54-13, but we hung with them for a while and when we started getting banged up, that’s when they started pulling away from us,” Godsil said. “We did some good things offensively and had some young guys step up on the offensive line and they held their own.”
Dobson was without senior running back Jashawn Kinney, who suffered an AC Joint separation in Dobson’s last game against Betty H. Fairfax.
“He’s one dog and he’s a big loss to our program,” Legg said of Kinney. “I’m excited to get him back, but Allen [Wallace] filled some big shoes today, but [Kinney is] a big miss for sure. We definitely would need him a lot on defense and on offense.”
Junior running back Allen Wallace usually splits the workload with Kinney, so he received a lot more work without him. Wallace was the bell cow of the offense, carrying the ball 18 times for 57 yards.
Dobson (0-4) will be on the road next, traveling to Skyline High School in Mesa Thursday, September 29, for a 7 p.m. matchup.
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Camp Verde Runs Through Bourgade Catholic https://digitalarizonanews.com/camp-verde-runs-through-bourgade-catholic/
The Bourgade Catholic volleyball team prepare to return a serve during a match against Camp Verde on Thursday. (Janaé Bradford photo/AZPreps365)
Jenae Bradford is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Bourgade Catholic for AZPreps 365.
Camp Verde held Bourgade Catholic to 25 total points at home in a three-set sweep (25-8, 25-7, 25-10) at Thursday night’s volleyball game.
The Golden Bears (1-7, 1-6) struggled returning serves, allowing 20 aces in the first two sets alone. They lost their largest lead of the match in the first set when the Cowboys (6-2, 3-2) went on a 12-0 run.
Camp Verde junior Marisol Salas-Zorrilla finished with five aces in that run, and senior setter Reagen Warren added four more aces to the set. Six different players delivered a total of eight kills to help keep the Cowboys’ runs alive.
“These girls have really great chemistry.” Camp Verde coach Britney Armstrong said. “We’ve been fortunate because they’ve been playing together for the last three years with club and school. They really love each other and tonight it was evident.”
The Cowboys finished that first set with a 6-0 run. Warren continued to dominate with four aces to seal the win.
The energy translated immediately into the second set when Warren kicked it off with five consecutive aces in another 6-0 run.
Bourgade fought hard to close in the lead in a quick third set holding three runs to four points each. Both teams made serving and attack errors keeping the score close.
“We changed our whole lineup.” Golden Bears coach Raeleen Naki-Bajet said. “I think that our first two lineups couldn’t pull it together. There was no chemistry or flow, so we tried to do a different approach. We took some people out that were already starters. The chemistry was there but we just couldn’t pull it together.”
It was Warren who shifted the energy again in the third set with a kill and two aces consecutively to make the score 16-8. The Cowboys maximized that effort with an 8-0 run to finish the sweep. Senior libero Jaydyn Rayburn led this stretch with five consecutive aces, all to the left back zone.
“Even though we might be down and have a lot of negative energy on the court, we have to keep going either way,” sophomore Emily Bonilla said. “If we give up, that’s a loss for us, but we are still representing our school, team and coach.”
As the halfway point of the season approaches, Bourgade Catholic has struggled to win a set since Sept. 12 and a match since Sept. 6. They have an opportunity to turn things around at their first tournament of the season.
“We need to have a clear mindset,” Naki-Bajet said. “We need to bring some tenacity. We also need to just play and have fun. I think a lot of these girls think about the errors so much that they forget that volleyball is a sport that they love. They have to have fun while doing it.”
The Golden Bears must rest for the Epic Tourneys Chandler Prep Volleyball Invite Friday and Saturday at the Sun Devil Fitness Complex in Tempe. The Cowboys will host the Wickenburg Wranglers on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
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Jurors Deliberating In QAnon Follower's Capitol Riot Trial
Jurors Deliberating In QAnon Follower's Capitol Riot Trial https://digitalarizonanews.com/jurors-deliberating-in-qanon-followers-capitol-riot-trial/
WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iowa man was “weaponizing” rioters who joined him in chasing a police officer up a staircase during one of the most harrowing scenes from a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, a prosecutor told jurors on Friday at the close of the man’s trial.
Douglas Jensen had a folding knife in his pocket and was wearing a T-shirt expressing his adherence to the QAnon conspiracy theory when he joined the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. One of the videos that went viral after the siege captured Jensen at the front of the crowd that followed Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up the stairs.
“The defendant wasn’t just leading the mob. He was weaponizing it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Mirell said during closing arguments for Jensen’s trial. “He knew he had the numbers, and he was willing to use them.”
Jurors began deliberating in the case against Jensen, a construction worker who is among hundreds of people charged with federal crimes for their conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Jensen’s shirt — which depicted a large “Q” and a bald eagle along with two QAnon slogans — made him stand out from the crowd of rioters.
Defense attorney Christopher Davis said the shirt was a symbol of Jensen’s adherence to QAnon, which centered on the baseless belief that former President Donald Trump was secretly fighting a Satan-worshipping cabal of “deep state” enemies, prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites. During Trump’s time in the White House, QAnon spread beyond the internet’s fringes to influence mainstream Republican circles.
FILE – This photo provided by Polk County (Iowa) Jail shows Douglas Jensen. The Iowa man was “weaponizing” rioters who joined him in chasing a police officer up a staircase during one of the most harrowing scenes from a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, a prosecutor told jurors on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the close of his trial. (Polk County (Iowa) Jail via AP, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE – Smoke fills the walkway outside the Senate Chamber as supporters of President Donald Trump, including Douglas Jensen, center, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers, Jan. 6, 2021, inside the Capitol in Washington. The Iowa man was “weaponizing” rioters who joined him in chasing a police officer up a staircase during one of the most harrowing scenes from a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, a prosecutor told jurors on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the close of his trial. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Manuel Balce Ceneta
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“The (COVID-19) pandemic did weird things to us. It did weird things to everyone,” Davis said. “Apparently, Mr. Jensen was one of them.”
Jensen believed the conspiracy theory’s apocalyptic prophesy that “The Storm” was coming and would usher in mass arrests and executions of Trump’s foes, including Vice President Mike Pence. Before the riot, Trump and his allies spread the false narrative that Pence somehow could have overturned the results of the 2020 election.
After scaling the outer walls of the Capitol, Jensen climbed through a broken window to enter the building. Prosecutors said Jensen learned from a friend’s text message that Pence was about to certify the election results.
“That’s all about to change,” Jensen replied.
Pence was presiding over the Senate on Jan. 6 as a joint session of Congress was convened to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Photographs showed Jensen with his arms extended as he confronted a line of police officers near the Senate chambers.
“Go arrest the vice president,” Jensen told one of the officers, according to prosecutors.
“This was a terribly confused man on Jan. 6,” Davis said of his client.
The defense lawyer urged jurors to judge Jensen by his own actions and not by what others did at the Capitol.
“Jan. 6 is not sitting at that table. Douglas Jensen is,” Davis said, pointing to his client.
Jensen didn’t testify at his trial, which started Tuesday. Goodman was a key witness for prosecutors.
Before running upstairs, Goodman approached Jensen and other rioters with his hand on his gun. Fearing for his life, Goodman retreated upstairs and found backup from other officers guarding an entrance to the Senate, where senators were being evacuated, according to prosecutors.
“That was not a game of follow the leader. That was Officer Goodman in survival mode,” Mirell said.
Jensen is charged with seven counts, including charges that he obstructed Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote, that he assaulted or interfered with police officers and that he engaged in disorderly conduct inside the Capitol while carrying his knife. He isn’t accused of brandishing the knife.
“Doug Jensen would not be stopped on Jan. 6 until he got what he came for, and that was to stop the peaceful transfer of power,” Mirell said.
Davis said Jensen didn’t forcibly assault Goodman or anybody else.
“It’s all on video,” he said. “He never did it.”
Mirell argued that Jensen didn’t have to physically touch Goodman to be found guilty of an assault charge.
“Just a threat to use force,” she said.
Jenson drove back home to Des Moines, Iowa, a day after the riot. The following day, he walked six miles to a police station and showed up unannounced, saying he was probably a wanted man. But there weren’t any warrants for his arrest when two FBI agents questioned him at the station.
Jensen told the agents he considered himself a “digital soldier” who was “religiously” following QAnon. He said he worked his way to the front of the crowd because he “wanted Q to get the attention.”
“I basically intended on being the poster boy, and it really worked out,” he said, according to a transcript of the interview on Jan. 8, 2021.
At least 880 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 400 of them have pleaded guilty. Juries have convicted eight Capitol riot defendants after trials. None of the defendants who had jury trials was acquitted of any charges.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Storm Forming In Caribbean Is Forecast To Hit Florida As Hurricane
Storm Forming In Caribbean Is Forecast To Hit Florida As Hurricane https://digitalarizonanews.com/storm-forming-in-caribbean-is-forecast-to-hit-florida-as-hurricane/
Confidence is increasing that a tropical weather system developing in the Caribbean will intensify into a hurricane by Monday and strike Florida around Wednesday.
The system does not yet have a name, but the National Hurricane Center declared that a tropical depression, the precursor to a tropical storm, formed Friday morning about 600 miles east of Jamaica. Meteorologists are expecting it to quickly intensify this weekend before striking Cuba late Monday into Tuesday and then barreling north — probably toward the west coast of Florida.
The storm could be as strong as a Category 2 or 3 hurricane when it approaches Florida on Tuesday into Wednesday, although the intensity forecast is uncertain.
As soon as early Tuesday, tropical storm conditions could begin over the Florida Keys and South Florida.
The storm has the potential to produce “significant impacts from storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and heavy rainfall,” the Hurricane Center wrote Friday. “Residents … should ensure they have their hurricane plan in place and closely monitor forecast updates through the weekend.”
The storm could be called Hermine or Ian, depending on whether this depression or another one, just west of Africa, organizes first.
It appears likely that this system will become the first hurricane to strike the mainland United States this year, and watches are possible by the end of the weekend for parts of Florida and the Florida Keys.
For now, the storm is still about 72 hours away from its first landfall in Cuba. Ahead of the storm’s approach, National Weather Service offices in the central and eastern United States are launching extra weather balloons to draw in added data to improve forecasts.
On Friday morning, the depression was about 500 miles east of Jamaica. Winds were around 35 mph, or below the 39 mph threshold needed for the system to earn a name as a tropical storm.
An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance aircraft was dispatched Friday morning to fly into and investigate the fledgling system.
On visible satellite, it’s evident that all the storminess is displaced to the west of a low-level swirl that has become the system’s de facto center of circulation. This is due to wind shear, or a change of wind speed and/or direction with height. Easterly winds become stronger with altitude, so the system is somewhat tilted.
That shear is stemming from “outflow,” or exhaust, from Hurricane Fiona a few thousand miles to the northeast. Until that shear relaxes on Sunday, the tropical depression will be teetering off-kilter and won’t be able to fully develop. Thereafter, however, conditions will become much more favorable for intensification.
On Sunday, shear buffeting the tropical depression will weaken markedly. At the same time, the system will slip beneath a zone of clockwise-spinning high pressure aloft. That will help to evacuate air away from the system’s center at high attitudes, enhancing upward motion within the developing storm and fostering additional strengthening. That also means more moisture-rich air in contact with the sea surface will be able to enter the storm from below.
The waters of the northwestern Caribbean are very warm, replete with thermal energy to fuel potentially explosive strengthening. That could easily help the system intensify to a Category 2 or stronger hurricane before it strikes Cuba. At present, the National Hurricane Center is predicting landfall early Tuesday west of Havana.
Before reaching Cuba, the storm is forecast to pass just south and then west of Jamaica, where four to eight inches of rain could fall and trigger flash flooding and mudslides.
As the storm crosses Cuba on Tuesday, some weakening is probable before the storm curves toward the northeast over the warm waters of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, where it should regain some strength.
While the gulf is extremely warm, its possible some dry air and wind shear in the storm’s vicinity could limit the storm’s intensification. Still, the Hurricane Center projects that the storm will be a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday morning while centered very near Florida’s west coast.
It is too soon to say exactly where along Florida’s coast the storm might strike. It is still five days away, and track forecasts this far in advance have large errors. There is still an outside chance that the storm track shifts west, more toward the central gulf, or toward the southern tip of Florida or even offshore to the peninsula’s east.
After the storm potentially strikes Florida, it could then move up the Eastern Seaboard or just offshore, affecting coastal areas of the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and even the Northeast later in the week. But there is much lower confidence in the forecast beyond Wednesday.
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Ahead Of Donald Trump https://digitalarizonanews.com/ahead-of-donald-trump/
While hundreds lined up at the Wilmington International Airport anticipating former President Donald Trump’s arrival, more than two dozen gathered at 1898 Memorial Park Friday afternoon protesting his visit.
The counter-rally, dubbed “This Budd’s Not For North Carolina” and organized by the North Carolina Democratic Party, featured democrats Marcia Morgan, District 7 candidate for N.C. Senate; Charles Graham, District 7 congressional candidate; and Amy Block DeLoach, candidate for N.C. House District 20. The three expressed concern over Trump’s upcoming rally.
Trump is expected to attend a “Save America” rally at the Aero Center Wilmington on the airport grounds to express his support for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ted Budd. Doors opened at 2 p.m. and Trump is set to speak at 7 p.m.
More:Live updates of Donald Trump visit – Man travels 12 hours to Wilmington for 55th Trump rally
“Our message today is, these communities need voices in Washington that will stand up for working people, that will stand up for environmental issues. We need voices that will stand up for our children, our public education system. We know exactly what their message is going to be: standing up for corporate greed — obviously — standing up for uplifting the most wealthiest citizens in our country, and promoting policies that are going to take away our voting rights, that are going to not uplift human dignity, and that’s what their message is going to be,” Graham said. “Everyone needs to be alarmed at what’s coming.”
Morgan, a veteran, said she believes the greatest threat to American democracy and fair elections is here at home.
“Congressman Budd and North Carolina Republicans standing with Trump today are a direct threat to our democracy and, if elected, will continue to put the American values that so many veterans fought for in danger,” she said.
Block DeLoach echoed Morgan’s sentiments, condemning the Jan. 6 attack and reiterating that the 2020 election was fair and not stolen, as Trump and other Republicans claimed.
“We the people decide elections,” she said.
The 1898 Memorial Park is located on Third Street in downtown Wilmington and commemorates the coup d’état in which prominent, armed white citizens overthrew the city’s elected biracial government and Black-owned newspaper in November 1898. As many as 300 Black Wilmingtonians died in the insurrection.
Sonya Bennetone-Patrick, chair of the 7th Congressional District Democratic Party, shared the significance of the using that location for Friday’s counter-rally, citing similarities between 1898 and the insurrection of Jan. 6 and saying government powers were not held accountable in either event.
“We cannot let history repeat itself,” Bennetone-Patrick said.
Jamey Cross is the public safety reporter at the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross.
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Trump's Legal Woes Mount Without Protection Of Presidency
Trump's Legal Woes Mount Without Protection Of Presidency https://digitalarizonanews.com/trumps-legal-woes-mount-without-protection-of-presidency-2/
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Sept. 3, 2022. Trump’s latest legal troubles – sweeping fraud allegations by New York’s attorney general and an appellate court’s stark repudiation by judges he appointed – have laid bare the challenges ahead as the former president operates without the protections afforded by the White House. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File
Stark repudiation by federal judges he appointed. Far-reaching fraud allegations by New York’s attorney general. It’s been a week of widening legal troubles for Donald Trump, laying bare the challenges piling up as the former president operates without the protections afforded by the White House.
The bravado that served him well in the political arena is less handy in a legal realm dominated by verifiable evidence, where judges this week have looked askance at his claims and where a fraud investigation that took root when Trump was still president burst into public view in an allegation-filled 222-page state lawsuit.
In politics, “you can say what you want and if people like it, it works. In a legal realm, it’s different,” said Chris Edelson, a presidential powers scholar and American University government professor. “It’s an arena where there are tangible consequences for missteps, misdeeds, false statements in a way that doesn’t apply in politics.”
That distinction between politics and law was evident in a single 30-hour period this week.
Trump insisted on Fox News in an interview that aired Wednesday that the highly classified government records he had at Mar-a-Lago actually had been declassified, that a president has the power to declassify information “even by thinking about it.”
A day earlier, however, an independent arbiter his own lawyers had recommended appeared perplexed when the Trump team declined to present any information to support his claims that the documents had been declassified. The special master, Raymond Dearie, a veteran federal judge, said Trump’s team was trying to “have its cake and eat it” too, and that, absent information to back up the claims, he was inclined to regard the records the way the government does: Classified.
On Wednesday morning, Letitia James, the New York State attorney general, accused Trump in a lawsuit of padding his net worth by billions of dollars and habitually misleading banks about the value of prized assets. The lawsuit, the culmination of a three-year investigation that began when he was president, also names as defendants three of his adult children and seeks to bar them from ever again running a company in the state. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
Hours later, three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit — two of them Trump appointees — handed him a startling loss in the Mar-a-Lago investigation.
The court overwhelmingly rejected arguments that he was entitled to have the special master do an independent review of the roughly 100 classified documents taken during last month’s FBI search, and said it was not clear why Trump should have an “interest in or need for” those records.
That ruling opened the way for the Justice Department to resume its use of the classified records in its probe. It lifted a hold placed by a lower court judge, Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee whose rulings in the Mar-a-Lago matter had to date been the sole bright spot for the former president. On Thursday, she responded by striking the parts of her order that had required the Justice Department to give Dearie, and Trump’s lawyers, access to the classified records.
Dearie followed up with his own order, giving the Justice Department until Sept. 26 to submit an affidavit asserting that the FBI’s detailed inventory of items taken in the search is accurate. Trump’s team will have until Sept. 30 to identity errors or mistakes in the inventory.
Between Dearie’s position, and the appeals court ruling, “I think that basically there may be a developing consensus, if not an already developed consensus, that the government has the stronger position in a lot of these issues and a lot of these controversies,” said Richard Serafini, a Florida criminal defense lawyer and former Justice Department prosecutor.
To be sure, Trump is hardly a stranger to courtroom dramas, having been deposed in numerous lawsuits throughout his decades-long business career, and he has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to survive situations that seemed dire.
His lawyers did not immediately respond Thursday to a request seeking comment.
In the White House, Trump faced a perilous investigation into whether he had obstructed a Justice Department probe of possible collusion between Russia and his 2016 campaign. Ultimately, he was protected at least in part by the power of the presidency, with special counsel Robert Mueller citing longstanding department policy prohibiting the indictment of a sitting president.
He was twice impeached by a Democratic-led House of Representatives — once over a phone call with Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the second time over the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol — but was acquitted by the Senate on both occasions thanks to political support from fellow Republicans.
It remains unclear if any of the current investigations — the Mar-a-Lago one or probes related to Jan. 6 or Georgia election interference — will produce criminal charges. And the New York lawsuit is a civil matter.
But there’s no question Trump no longer enjoys the legal shield of the presidency, even though he has repeatedly leaned on an expansive view of executive power to defend his retention of records the government says are not his, no matter their classification.
Notably, the Justice Department and the federal appeals court have paid little heed to his assertions that the records had been declassified. For all his claims on TV and social media, both have noted that Trump has presented no information to support the idea that he took any steps to declassify the records.
The appeals court called the declassification question a “red herring” because even declassifying a record would not change its content or transform it from a government document into a personal one. And the statutes the Justice Department cites as the basis of its investigation do not explicitly mention classified information.
Trump’s lawyers also have stopped short of saying in court, or in legal briefs, that the records were declassified. They told Dearie they shouldn’t be forced to disclose their stance on that issue now because it could be part of their defense in the event of an indictment.
Even some legal experts who have otherwise sided with Trump in his legal fights are dubious of his assertions.
Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor who testified as a Republican witness in the first impeachment proceedings in 2019, said he was struck by the “lack of a coherent and consistent position from the former president on the classified documents.”
“It’s not clear,” he added, “what Jedi-like lawyers said that you could declassify things with a thought, but the courts are unlikely to embrace that claim.”
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Rep. Ted Budd Embraces Trump Abortion Opposition In N.C. Senate Race
Rep. Ted Budd Embraces Trump, Abortion Opposition In N.C. Senate Race https://digitalarizonanews.com/rep-ted-budd-embraces-trump-abortion-opposition-in-n-c-senate-race/
RALEIGH, N.C. — In competitive races across the U.S., Republican candidates are distancing themselves from their party’s most controversial policies and people — namely, abortion and former President Donald Trump — as Election Day approaches.
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 is set to appear alongside Trump on Friday night at a rally in Wilmington. The Budd campaign was eager to welcome Trump when the former president’s team called, according to adviser Jonathan Felts.
“Trump won North Carolina twice, and an in-person rally is helpful,” Felts said, suggesting Trump would help drive turnout, especially “with unaffiliated and/or undecided voters concerned about the economy.”
Others aren’t so sure.
“The more Trump emerges, the more Trump is in the news, the better for Democrats,” said David Holian, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Indeed, Trump remains overwhelmingly popular with Republican voters but is less appealing to the moderates and independents who often decide swing-state elections. Trump’s national favorable ratings have been roughly even with, or worse than, President Joe Biden’s in recent weeks.
Still, some North Carolina Democrats are far from confident in a state where they have suffered painful losses in recent years.
Democratic skepticism comes despite the apparent strength of their Senate nominee, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who has a decided fundraising advantage, a record of outperforming other Democrats in statewide elections and a moderate message. She would be the state’s first Black senator if elected.
Yet Beasley is also running against negative perceptions of her party.
Trump’s rise has fueled a growing sense among some voters in North Carolina, along with those in many other states, that the national Democratic Party has lost touch with the daily struggles of the working class and similar voting blocs. The Democratic-controlled Congress’ focus on climate change, for example, hasn’t helped inspire voters like Talmage Layton, a 74-year-old farmer from Durham.
Layton said he doesn’t know whether a North Carolina Democrat can make a difference on Capitol Hill in lowering gas prices or pushing back against climate change policies that other Democrats have embraced.
“That’s not anything against Cheri Beasley,” Layton said after a recent meeting with Beasley. “I’m a registered Democrat, and I would have no problem voting for a Democrat. But they’ve got to think about the little guy here.”
Not long ago, it looked as if the Democratic Party was poised to take over North Carolina politics.
In 2008, Obama carried the state, becoming the first Democrat to do so since 1976, and Democrat Kay Hagan upset GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Political experts predicted the Democratic Party would step to dominance as a result of increasing urbanization and out-of-state liberals moving in for tech jobs in the Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte regions.
But Republicans took over the state legislature for the first time in over 140 years following the 2010 election and retained it thanks to support from exurban and rural voters and favorably drawn districts. A decade later, Trump became a two-time North Carolina winner, though he won the 2020 election by just 1 percentage point.
While Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper managed to win reelection in 2020, Beasley was one of the party’s casualties. She lost a bid to remain chief justice to a Republican rival by just 401 votes.
Her near-miss turned her into a rising candidate in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr.
In one sign of strength, Beasley has consistently raised more money than Budd. And she appears to be generating momentum by seizing on abortion to energize women and independents, relying on the same playbook Democrats have used elsewhere.
Budd, meanwhile, has been outspoken in his opposition to abortion. He co-sponsored a House version of a national 15-week abortion ban introduced by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham that even Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell distanced himself from.
“My opponent has been in Congress for six years, and every opportunity he’s had to vote for North Carolina, he’s voted against us,” Beasley charged after meeting with farmers at a produce market in Durham before Graham’s bill introduction.
Meanwhile, Republicans in competitive elections in states like Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada and Arizona have distanced themselves from their rigid anti-abortion stances in recent weeks. Others have stripped their websites of references to Trump or his favorite talking points.
In Virginia, a Republican House candidate removed a Trump reference from her Twitter bio. In New Hampshire, Republican Senate nominee Don Bolduc abruptly reversed himself last week when asked about Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. After spending much of the last year echoing Trump’s lies, Bolduc told Fox News he had done more research and concluded, “The election was not stolen.”
Meanwhile, Budd’s campaign refused this week to say whether he would accept the 2022 election results, having already voted to block certification of the 2020 election.
Such positions will almost certainly appeal to Trump’s base, but political operatives say Budd needs sizable support from moderate, independent voters to be successful. Unaffiliated voters this year surpassed Democrats to become the largest bloc of registered voters in the state.
“Regardless of what your faith background is, you’re dealing with skyrocketing energy prices. You’re dealing with high grocery costs. You’re dealing with high crime. You’re dealing with economic uncertainty,” Budd said after speaking to pastors recently in Greenville. “And so I want to make life better for all North Carolinians and people in our country by the things that I support.”
As Budd has struggled to keep pace with Beasley’s fundraising, outside groups have come to his aid.
The McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund and the National Republican Senatorial Committee have spent $17.3 million combined on advertising opposing Beasley, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The Senate Majority Fund, which supports Democratic candidates, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have spent close to $4 million in North Carolina while investing far more in high-profile contests in states like Pennsylvania and Arizona.
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“We’re committed to making sure voters continue seeing and hearing the truth about Ted Budd,” Senate Majority Fund spokesperson Veronica Woo said.
An arm of the pro-abortion-rights EMILY’s List announced this month spending $2.7 million to criticize Budd on abortion as well.
During a recent stop at Perkins Orchard in Durham, Beasley chatted with farmers who gathered around picnic tables and near fresh pumpkins for sale. Some said afterward they were glad to see her interest in their plight.
Jason Lindsay, 34, a first-generation Black farmer from Rocky Mount, said he’s been frustrated with the divisive political environment but is encouraged by Beasley.
“Her temperament here today gave me the first sign of hope that I’ve had in a long time,” he said.
___
Peoples contributed from New York.
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Major Covid Holdouts In Asia Drop Border Restrictions
Major Covid Holdouts In Asia Drop Border Restrictions https://digitalarizonanews.com/major-covid-holdouts-in-asia-drop-border-restrictions/
Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan have relaxed their pandemic rules, as they look to bolster their economies and play catch-up with much of the world.
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Tourists in the Asakusa district of Tokyo this month.Credit…Kimimasa Mayama/EPA, via Shutterstock
Sept. 23, 2022Updated 2:13 p.m. ET
HONG KONG — After two and a half years of tight pandemic controls, some of Asia’s last holdouts are opening their borders, as they move to bolster their economies and play catch-up with a world that has largely learned to live with Covid.
Hong Kong said on Friday that it would abandon mandatory hotel quarantine for people coming to the city starting next week, following a similar move by Taiwan. Japan said it would drop its daily limit on arrivals and fully open its doors to tourists on Oct. 11.
The flurry of moves this week have left just one major country with strict border controls: China, where the ruling Communist Party still clings to its “zero Covid” policy. Those who travel to China, mainly residents, still face 10 days of hotel quarantine at their own expense.
When the pandemic swept across the world in early 2020, many governments in Asia were quick to shut their borders, with most places locking out anyone who wasn’t a resident. Reopening has been a grinding and slow process, as officials fretted over the vulnerability of their older populations and feared their health systems would buckle.
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Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Japan’s reopening could unleash a flood of pent-up travel demand.Credit…Franck Robichon/EPA, via Shutterstock
But the isolation has become difficult to bear, especially as much of the rest of the world has fully reopened. Cut off from big-spending tourists and facing economic headwinds, business leaders have increasingly pressured officials in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan to rethink their policies.
Over the past two years, Japan and Hong Kong have missed out on hosting major global gatherings, the type that are central to their identities as important hubs in the region.
The Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled for August 2020, were held a year later, but only for domestic spectators. Big, splashy events in Hong Kong like Art Basel, the Rugby Sevens and regional financial conferences were canceled as the city remained closed off to nonresidents.
The pandemic perspective is shifting. Even as Covid cases have spiked in many parts of Asia, hospitalizations and deaths have fallen as more recent strains of Covid-19 prove to be milder. In many places, authorities have tolerated higher case numbers as their vaccination rates have increased.
Last week, the World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the end of the pandemic was “in sight,” underscoring the collective readiness of many governments to begin to imagine a world beyond Covid-19.
“I’m conscious of the fact that, while we need to control the spread of Covid, we also need to ensure that there will be maximum activities in society and economic activities for society to carry on,” John Lee, Hong Kong’s top leader, said this week before the relaxation of the rules on Friday.
It was the starkest admission yet that the strict rules, tied closely to mainland China’s pandemic policy, had come at a cost that officials were no longer willing to tolerate.
Hong Kong had one of the strictest quarantine requirements for much of the pandemic, with 21 days of mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals at one point. On Friday, officials announced a policy, to take effect next week, that will require visitors to do only several days of P.C.R. testing and health monitoring.
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“While we need to control the spread of Covid, we also need to ensure that there will be maximum activities in society and economic activities for society to carry on,” John Lee, Hong Kong’s top leader, said this week.Credit…Isaac Lawrence/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, acknowledged the importance of international tourists for the country’s survival.
“People around the world have been asking, ‘When can we travel to Japan?’” Mr. Kishida said on Wednesday, before the new rules were announced, according to the public broadcaster NHK. “Now, I hope they’ll make plans to visit Japan and get a taste of Japanese cuisine.”
In Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen said people were ready to reconnect to the rest of the world.
“It has finally come to the final moment of the pandemic,” Ms. Tsai wrote on her Facebook page. “Now, we must make every effort to revive tourism, stimulate the economy and lead Taiwan’s economy to develop by leaps and bounds.”
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The arrivals hall at Hong Kong International Airport in March.Credit…Jerome Favre/EPA, via Shutterstock
With borders restricted, tourism has been slow to come back in much of the region. Once a top aviation hub, Hong Kong was “effectively off the map now,” Willie Walsh, the director general of the International Air Transport Association, said in April. Hong Kong International Airport reported just 5,080 passenger flights in August, compared with 30,000 in the same month of 2019.
In 2019, Japan took in around $46.1 billion from foreign tourism, according to the Japan External Trade Organization. Virtually all of that disappeared after the pandemic began.
Before its latest move, Japan had tried in fits and starts to get tourism going. In June, the government changed the border rules, letting in tourists who agreed to participate in guided tours booked through travel agencies. In September, it changed the rules again, but still kept visitors on a tight leash.
Things got off to a slow start: Only 12,405 tourists entered the country in June, according to government data.
Japan’s reopening could unleash a flood of pent-up travel demand, providing a much-needed boost to the country’s travel and hospitality sectors. Almost 32 million international tourists visited Japan in 2019, triple the number from six years before, according to government data.
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Before its latest move, Japan had tried in fits and starts to get tourism going.Credit…Yuichi Yamazaki/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
But inbound tourism is unlikely to approach prepandemic levels anytime soon. Chinese visitors, who accounted for around 30 percent of Japan’s inbound traffic in 2019, are severely limited in their ability to travel under Beijing’s strict Covid policies.
Domestically, Japan plans to encourage tourism by offering government-subsidized discounts to Japanese residents for hotels, restaurants and some kinds of entertainment, Mr. Kishida said. It is a revival of a plan, known as “Go to Travel,” that his predecessor introduced in an effort to increase domestic tourism after it was wiped out in the pandemic’s early months.
Hong Kong, too, will find it difficult to rebound quickly. It is stuck in a balancing act between the demands of Beijing, which has ultimate say over what the city does, and the international community. So it can’t go as far as its neighbors in opening up.
While the new rules are a major change, they will still prevent visitors from going to restaurants and bars during three days of mandatory health monitoring, raising questions about whether they will be enough to attract tourists coming for a short visit.
The approach will be tested in the coming weeks, when heads of global banks are expected to converge at a summit promoted as evidence that Hong Kong is still worthy of its self-appointed title as “Asia’s World City.” It will also host a fintech conference and the Rugby Sevens in November, an annual tournament that was one of the city’s biggest events before the pandemic.
Whether the mainland changes its tough rules, though, will matter most for the many small businesses that have come to depend on Chinese tourists.
“The policy won’t really help us, because our business is largely affected by mainland tourists, whose consumption power is stronger than those from Europe and America,” said Wang Tat, 50, who owns a seafood restaurant on Lamma Island with local delicacies, like crab fried with ginger and clams in black bean sauce.
“I expect more European and American tourists to come and our business will be better, but our revenue probably won’t recover back to the prepandemic era,” Mr. Wang said, adding that he has lost most of his business during the pandemic.
The Asian governments are all in need of the economic help.
Japan’s economy has slowly begun to bounce back, with shoppers filling malls and families dining out. But the plunge in the yen, which is hovering around its weakest level in nearly 25 years, has been painful for domestic consumers.
In Hong Kong, thousands of small businesses have closed, unable to recover from several rounds of social distancing measures that forced restaurants and bars to remain shut for weeks or months. The tough measures, together with a crackdown on opposition in the former British colony, have prompted young Hong Kongers, expatriates and multinational companies to leave the city permanently.
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Japan’s economy has slowly begun to bounce back, with shoppers filling malls and families dining out. But the plunge in the yen has been painful for domestic consumers.Credit…Kimimasa Mayama/EPA, via Shutterstock
While Taiwan’s economy has remained relatively healthy thanks to its semiconductor industry, tourism has suffered. Taiwan capped the number of arrivals during the pandemic, and for a while nonresidents couldn’t go there at all. In 2019, 11.8 million tourists visited Taiwan, compared with 140,479 last year.
“The dark days of waiting to travel abroad have finally come to an end,” said April Lin, 36, a Taiwanese tour guide in the central city of Taichung. “It’s a much-needed ...
LIVE: Chairman Powell And The Federal Reserve Board Talk Post-Pandemic Economy 9/23/2022
LIVE: Chairman Powell And The Federal Reserve Board Talk Post-Pandemic Economy — 9/23/2022 https://digitalarizonanews.com/live-chairman-powell-and-the-federal-reserve-board-talk-post-pandemic-economy-9-23-2022/
LIVE: Chairman Powell and the Federal Reserve Board talk post-pandemic economy — 9/23/2022 CNBC Television
Fed Chair Powell, and other Fed officials, are speaking on Friday 23 September 2022 ForexLive
Fed Listens: Transitioning to the Post-pandemic Economy September 23, 2021 Federal Reserve
Fed Listens: Transitioning to the Post-pandemic Economy Forex Factory
Fed Listens: Transitioning to the Post-pandemic Economy, September 23rd | Benzinga Benzinga
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Dave Mason Announces Fall Tour Dates https://digitalarizonanews.com/dave-mason-announces-fall-tour-dates/
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason kicks off his Fall tour on Saturday, October 29th in Thousand Oaks, CA, and continues North to Seattle, WA and then heads Southwest with a performance in Tucson on Sunday, November 29th at the Tucson Music Hall.
This continuing world tour is a testament to Dave Mason’s six decade enduring role as an icon in rock history as well as the unrelenting support of his music loving fans the world over. Mason enjoyed a successful cross country run over the summer and is thrilled to get back out on the road to see his friends and fans – “There is nothing quite like performing live. I love it!” exclaimed Mason.
Joining Mason on this run are longtime band members Johnne Sambataro on guitar and vocals, Alvino Bennett on drums, and exciting new additions Bill Mason on keyboard and vocals, and Ray Cardwell on bass and vocals. This new lineup will perform Mason’s most loved and iconic songs as well as deep tracks and fans can always count on a few surprises.
In 2020 Dave Mason reimagined his iconic album Alone Together with the release of Alone Together Again. The album is available through Mason’s online store, and on all digital platforms, via Shelter Records.
Written when he was only 20 years old, Dave Mason is likely best known for “Feelin’ Alright?”, one of the most beloved and covered rock anthems since its release in 1968. The timeless song continues to be a powerful and enduring moment of rock and roll history, featured in dozens of films and TV commercials as well as interpretations by artists as diverse as Joe Cocker, Three Dog Night, Grand Funk Railroad, ELO, Coldplay, The 5th Dimension and so many more.
A new version of this classic was re-recorded and released in July 2020 featuring Mason alongside Mick Fleetwood, Sammy Hagar, Michael McDonald and The Doobie Brothers: John McFee, Tom Johnston, John Cowan and Pat Simmons.
Mason has been respectfully called a musical “gunslinger” for a reason; having worked with some of the biggest names in music, his trademark guitar licks and musical touches are all over beloved classic hits. Early next year will see the release of his first ever autobiography Only You Know & I Know, where Dave will share some of the great untold tales in rock and roll.
Dave has a unique and rare viewpoint as he; recorded an album with Mama Cass, played rhythm guitar on “All Along the Watchtower” with Jimi Hendrix, was a founding member of Traffic, recorded with Paul McCartney , George Harrison and The Rolling Stones, was part of Fleetwood Mac for a spell, as well as a guitar designer and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee …. Yep, that’s Dave Mason.
Dave Mason on Tour 2022
OCT 29 – Thousand Oaks, CA – Fred Kavli Theatre – Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
OCT 31 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up –
NOV 1 – San Juan Capistrano, CA – Coach House Concert Hall
NOV 4 – Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
NOV 5 – Napa, CA – Uptown Theatre Napa
NOV 6 – Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
NOV 11 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater –
NOV 12 & 13 – Seattle, WA – Triple Door
NOV 15 – Redding, CA – Cascade Theatre
NOV 16 – Sacramento, CA – Crest Theatre –
NOV 19 – Phoenix, AZ – Celebrity Theatre
NOV 20 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Music Hall
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North Carolina Democrats Hope Former Judge Can Halt Senate Losing Streak In Pro-GOP Environment KVIA
North Carolina Democrats Hope Former Judge Can Halt Senate Losing Streak In Pro-GOP Environment – KVIA https://digitalarizonanews.com/north-carolina-democrats-hope-former-judge-can-halt-senate-losing-streak-in-pro-gop-environment-kvia/
By Dan Merica and Michael Warren, CNN
The race for North Carolina’s open Senate seat features two leading candidates who have taken opposing paths in their bids for higher office.
Democrat Cheri Beasley, the first Black woman to be a major-party Senate nominee in North Carolina, has served for two decades as a judge and state Supreme Court justice, positions she has used to distance herself from politics-as-usual. Her candidacy has given Democrats hope in a state that former President Donald Trump carried twice, though even the most upbeat members of her party acknowledge she faces long odds.
Republican Ted Budd, by comparison, has a familiar political résumé — going from owning a small business to winning a seat in the US House of Representatives to seeking statewide office. Aided by a Trump endorsement in the primary, Budd is now running what Republicans believe is a cautious campaign, largely relying on the state’s red tilt and a favorable national environment for his party.
With control of the evenly divided Senate on the line, the differences between the candidates reflect the parties’ divergent theories on how to win in North Carolina. Like many recent statewide contests, the race is expected to be tight, operatives from both sides acknowledge, with both Beasley and Budd trying to appeal to the minute, but crucial, sliver of persuadable voters while also mobilizing the party bases.
“The number of independents is ever-shrinking,” said Doug Heye, a Washington-based Republican operative originally from North Carolina. “Those folks are not going to decide until the last four weeks or so. So every poll is going to have it within the margin of error or close enough.”
Beasley, whose nomination follows decades of North Carolina Democrats picking White nominees for Senate, is counting on her non-politician profile and the potency of the abortion issue to attract more minority voters and suburban women. Budd, on the other hand, has tried to run as a no-drama, generic Republican, seeking to ride the current of dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden‘s stewardship of the economy while avoiding unforced errors that have plagued GOP Senate candidates in other states. He’ll get a boost Friday, when Trump travels to the state for a rally with Budd and other North Carolina Republicans.
Democrats are worried Budd is largely getting a pass, despite voting against certifying Biden’s 2020 electoral victory and his campaign declining to say whether he would accept the results of the 2022 midterms. And by avoiding issues that have hampered Republican Senate nominees in states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona, he has so far escaped the national glare or any elevation of his more conservative positions.
Michael Bitzer, a politics professor at Catawba College, said Budd has been “leaning on the fundamentals.”
“Registered Republicans will have a higher turnout rate than Democrats, the midterm environment is generally against the President’s party,” Bitzer told CNN. “And I think he is counting on those fundamentals to stay at work until November 8.”
‘Voters don’t think judges are politicians’
Central to Beasley’s campaign is her title: Judge.
Her events and press releases are littered with references to her judicial background. When she attacked Budd for voting against legislation that would make it harder to overturn a presidential election, she said, “As a judge who upheld the Constitution for over two decades, I will stand up against attacks on our democracy.” When South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham proposed a federal abortion ban earlier this month, Beasley slammed it, noting that “as a judge for over two decades I protected these constitutional rights, and I will not hesitate to vote to protect these freedoms in the U.S. Senate.”
And her campaign rolled out an ad earlier this month that highlighted a slew of Republican, independent, and Democratic judges backing Beasley’s candidacy.
“As judges, our job is not about politics. It’s about standing up for what’s right,” the judges say in the spot.
“Voters don’t think judges are politicians,” said Morgan Jackson, a longtime Democratic strategist in North Carolina. “And what Beasley has been able to do on her campaign and her paid ads is say, ‘I have spent my career looking unbiased at an issue and making a decision based on law.’ That is something voters are craving in this environment of polarization.”
After graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1991, Beasley spent a few years as a public defender in Cumberland County, North Carolina, before working her way up the judicial ladder as a district court judge in the county.
Beasley’s first run for a statewide judicial position came in 2008 when she successfully ran for the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Four years later, Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue appointed her to the North Carolina Supreme Court and Beasley successfully won a full term on the bench in 2014. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper named her chief justice of the high court in 2019, making her the first Black woman to serve in the position. And Beasley’s first run as a Democrat came in 2020, when she unsuccessfully sought a full term as chief justice, losing by just 401 votes.
Jackson said this background, coupled with a focus on an issue like abortion that is motivating Democrats across the country after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, “opens up an avenue for Beasley to swing voters and even some more moderate Republicans that Democrats have not had a chance to reach.”
Budd’s allies, in a sign that they recognize her appeal, have responded by tying Beasley to special interests and using her judicial decisions to allege that she is soft on crime.
Republicans are hopeful that this strategy — coupled with concerns about all-Democratic control of Washington — could sink Beasley, even if she is running a strong campaign.
“Here’s the problem for her, and this is the problem for Democrats across the board: Suburban-based unaffiliated voters are split between the economy and between the social issues around abortion,” said Paul Shumaker, a veteran Republican strategist in North Carolina. “The voters Democrats have a turnout problem with are minorities and young people, who are most affected by inflation.”
Beasley’s campaign has argued that, as a history-making candidate, she is uniquely positioned to turn out Black voters across the state. A key aspect to this operation has been Beasley’s focus on turning out rural Black voters, many of whom are more likely to vote in presidential cycles.
In a statement to CNN, Beasley’s campaign said she was focused on protecting the rights of “all North Carolinians, in every part of the state, of every political party.” The campaign, along with the Democratic coordinated campaign in the state, has prioritized Black outreach through churches, historically Black colleges and universities, and the “Divine Nine” historically Black sororities and fraternities.
But Democrats have been here before in North Carolina — buoyant about a statewide candidate appearing well positioned to win, only for that candidate to narrowly lose on Election Day. That includes 2020, when Democratic Senate nominee Cal Cunningham was sunk by a sexting scandal. Democrats haven’t won a US Senate election in the state since 2008.
So far, the race has flown under the national radar, something that concerns Democrats.
“What worries me is the fact that Budd right now, because he is not Herschel Walker, because he is not Blake Masters, because he is not (Mehmet) Oz, and because he is so quiet and has been in hiding, he is just not getting that attention and that negative notoriety,” a North Carolina Democratic operative close to the Beasley campaign said, comparing Budd to the GOP Senate nominees in Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
The operative added: “Budd’s calculation is I can ride this out and stay quiet.”
‘Sometimes boring and reliable is the way to win’
In Budd, North Carolina may have the closest candidate to a generic Republican.
The 50-year-old former gun range owner, who was first elected to the House in 2016, represents a district that stretches up and down Interstate 85 and encompasses suburbs of both the Charlotte and the Piedmont Triad regions. In Congress, he has aligned himself with Trump and the pro-Trump Freedom Caucus, acquiring a conservative voting record but not one distinguishable from other members of the Republican Conference.
Budd’s low-key approach to his Senate bid is seen as an asset in a large and politically split state like North Carolina.
“Sometimes boring and reliable is the way to win,” said a person close to the campaign.
It’s also something of a necessity for Budd, who has raised far less money than Beasley — the Democrat had raised about $16 million through June 30, compared with around $6.3 million for Budd. That limited his campaign’s presence on the TV airwaves, a space Beasley dominated through much of the summer.
Budd has since received help from outside groups, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, reserved $27.6 million in TV ads between Labor Day and Election Day.
Budd’s first general-election ad for TV — which was paid for by the NRSC — features the congressman in a grocery store, blaming “Biden’s reckless spending” for “record inflation that’s crushing working families in North Carolina.”
In addition to these well-funded pitches to undecided voters, Budd will need to run up the numbers with the Republican base. He’ll have help in that effort when Trump arrives Friday in Wilmington for a rally with him and a slate of other Re...
