New Interactive Map Helps Pima County Families Find Parks Playgrounds To Enjoy
New Interactive Map Helps Pima County Families Find Parks, Playgrounds To Enjoy https://digitalarizonanews.com/new-interactive-map-helps-pima-county-families-find-parks-playgrounds-to-enjoy/
Pima County offers an interactive map showing all of its parks and park amenities.(Pima County)
Published: Sep. 16, 2022 at 5:49 AM MST|Updated: 57 minutes ago
TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) – Pima County has a new tool to make it easier for families to find nearby recreational options.
Simply type in your address to find the locations near you where your kids can play.
The interactive map show locations for several amenities, attractions, courts, fields and special events. You can even enter a search for “Playgrounds with shade.”
Once the results are displayed, clicking on the name of the park zooms the map to a closer view of the neighborhood and a list of the park’s amenities pops up.
Copyright 2022 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.
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Judge Names Special Master In Trump Probe; Same-Sex Marriage Vote Delayed | Hot Off The Wire Podcast
Judge Names Special Master In Trump Probe; Same-Sex Marriage Vote Delayed | Hot Off The Wire Podcast https://digitalarizonanews.com/judge-names-special-master-in-trump-probe-same-sex-marriage-vote-delayed-hot-off-the-wire-podcast/
A federal judge has appointed a veteran New York jurist to serve as an independent arbiter in the criminal investigation into the presence of classified documents at Donald Trump’s Florida home. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has also refused to permit the Justice Department to resume its use of the highly sensitive records seized in an FBI search last month. Cannon on Thursday empowered the newly named special master, Raymond Dearie, to review all the documents taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago and set a November deadline for his work.
Republican governors are escalating their practice of sending migrants without advance warning to Democratic strongholds, including a wealthy summer enclave in Massachusetts and the Washington, D.C., home of Vice President Kamala Harris. The White House is calling the practice a “cruel, premeditated political stunt.”
Ukrainian authorities are expected to begin recovering bodies from a mass burial site in a forest recaptured from Russian forces. It’s a delicate task that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said would help show the world “what the Russian occupation has led to.” It was discovered close to Izium after a rapid counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces retook the northeastern city and much of the Kharkiv region.
People are being told not to join the line to view Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin after a surge in numbers. British officials said Friday morning that the organized line was at capacity and no one will be allowed to join it for at least six hours.
Medical centers around the country say fires, flooding, heat waves and other extreme weather are increasingly jeopardizing medical services, damaging health care facilities and forcing patients to flee their hospital beds. That’s according to findings released Thursday in a report from the House Ways and Means Committee.
In a memoir Anne Heche worked on last year, the actor shared candid thoughts on her 3-year relationship with Ellen DeGeneres in the late 1990s, when they were among Hollywood’s first openly gay couples.
Democrats are punting a vote to protect same-sex and interracial marriages until after the November midterm elections, pulling back just days after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to put the Senate on the record on the issue “in the coming weeks.”
In sports, the Chiefs were three points better than the Chargers, the Twins and White Sox inched closer to the Guardians, the Rays made MLB history, the Mets ended their skid, a tennis great retired and the WNBA Finals will stretch into the weekend.
Rail companies and their workers reached a tentative agreement to avert a nationwide strike that could have shut down the nation’s freight trains and devastated the economy less than two months before the midterm elections. President Joe Biden announced the deal Thursday.
Biden plans to meet at the White House on Friday with the families of WNBA star Brittney Griner and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, both of whom remain jailed in Russia. The meetings are to be the first in-person encounter between Biden and the families and come amid sustained but so far unsuccessful efforts by the administration to secure the two Americans’ release.
A boil-water notice has been lifted in Mississippi’s capital city after nearly seven weeks. Gov. Tate Reeves and Jackson officials made the announcement Thursday.
A Virginia man who stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing an antisemitic “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt over a Nazi-themed shirt has been sentenced to 75 days of imprisonment. Photographs of Robert Keith Packer wearing the sweatshirt went viral after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Thousands of mourners are waiting for up to nine hours in line to file past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as she lies in state at Westminster Hall. The queue to pay respects to the late monarch stretched for 4.4 miles past Tower Bridge on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for his “balanced” approach to the Ukrainian crisis and blasted Washington’s “ugly” policies at a meeting that followed a major setback for Moscow in the war.
Roger Federer has announced that he is retiring from professional tennis at the age of 41 after winning 20 Grand Slam titles. Federer has not competed since Wimbledon in July 2021.
Two minutes of silence will be observed Monday across the United Kingdom at the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey. That’s to give the British public a chance to pay their respects to the late monarch. Buckingham Palace released details Thursday of the state funeral and a ceremony at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor ahead of her private interment later Monday.
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates climbed over 6% this week for the first time since the housing crash of 2008, threatening to sideline even more homebuyers from a rapidly cooling housing market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate rose to 6.02% from 5.89% last week.
President Joe Biden’s popularity has improved substantially from his lowest point this summer, but concerns about his handling of the economy persist. That’s according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Support for Biden recovered from a low of 36% in July to 45%, driven in large part by a rebound in support from Democrats just two months before the November midterm elections.
Newly revealed text messages show how deeply a Mississippi governor was involved in the state paying more than $1 million in welfare money to Brett Favre to help pay for one of the retired NFL quarterback’s pet projects. Instead of the money going to help low-income families in one of the nation’s poorest states, as intended, it was funneled through a nonprofit group to Favre and was spent on a new volleyball facility at a university both men attended.
Here’s a look at the latest news and most interesting developments today.
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Judge Blocks DOJ From Some Mar-A-Lago Trump Documents
Judge Blocks DOJ From Some Mar-A-Lago Trump Documents https://digitalarizonanews.com/judge-blocks-doj-from-some-mar-a-lago-trump-documents/
A federal judge in Florida who appointed a special master in the case has ruled that the Department of Justice cannot review some seized Trump Mar-a-Lago records.
Author: 11alive.com
Published: 8:09 AM EDT September 16, 2022
Updated: 8:09 AM EDT September 16, 2022
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New York Judge Named As Special Master In Trump Mar-A-Lago Probe
New York Judge Named As Special Master In Trump Mar-A-Lago Probe https://digitalarizonanews.com/new-york-judge-named-as-special-master-in-trump-mar-a-lago-probe/
Raymond Dearie, a former federal prosecutor who served as the chief judge of the federal court based in Brooklyn, had approval from both DOJ and Trump lawyers.
Author: wfaa.com
Published: 5:45 AM CDT September 16, 2022
Updated: 5:45 AM CDT September 16, 2022
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Oz Fetterman Both Target Suburbs In Key Pa. Senate Race
Oz, Fetterman Both Target Suburbs In Key Pa. Senate Race https://digitalarizonanews.com/oz-fetterman-both-target-suburbs-in-key-pa-senate-race/
News
With the fall campaign election season in high gear, Democrat John Fetterman and his Republican rival for U.
By MARC LEVY
Associated Press
BLUE BELL, Pa. (AP) — In a community college gymnasium in an affluent Philadelphia suburb, John Fetterman strode on to a makeshift stage to cheers and stood at a podium beneath a massive “Women for Fetterman” banner.
As the crowd of mostly women looked on, Fetterman unfurled a pink T-shirt emblazoned with his Democratic Senate campaign’s familiar industrial-style lettering.
“My name is John —” he shouted, craning his neck to read the front of the shirt — “Fetterwoman!” The crowd roared in appreciation.
With the fall campaign election season kicking into high gear, Fetterman and his Republican rival, Dr. Mehmet Oz, are making a beeline for Philadelphia’s heavily populated suburbs. The candidates in one of the nation’s premier Senate races are holding rallies, bringing in surrogates and launching hard-edged TV ads aimed at wooing influential swing voters, particularly women.
For decades, Philadelphia’s suburbs have been an important indicator of success for statewide candidates in the presidential battleground state, with the large number of swing voters there.
For Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon and the former host of the daytime TV show “The Dr. Oz Show,” turning around Trump’s suburban slump and gaining ground with moderates is critical: Polls show he is not just trailing Fetterman, but also other down-ballot Republican candidates, campaign strategists say.
A few days after rallying with Trump in northeastern Pennsylvania, Oz appeared with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, at a “Dose of Reality” town hall in Delaware County.
Besides airing a laundry list of grievances with national Democrats and Biden, Haley, Oz and other speakers at the Springfield banquet hall warned the crowd that Fetterman wanted to make their communities less safe.
“He’s out trying to release people who’ve been convicted by a jury and sentenced by a judge for murder,” Oz said.
They lampooned Fetterman’s typical choice of dress — shorts and a hoodie — and suggested that Fetterman is avoiding reporters and debates because he is lying about the severity of the stroke’s effects.
“If he can’t live up to 110% of the job, he should have the courage to step out and say, ‘I can’t do it,’” Haley said. “But let me tell you someone who can do it,” she said, calling Oz a “pro-family, pro-child, pro-parent, pro-education, pro-business freedom fighter.”
Fetterman’s campaign maintains that he is expected to make a full recovery — he still speaks haltingly and struggles to quickly respond to words he hears — and that Oz is desperately trying to find anything to help him make up ground in polls.
Meanwhile, as Oz tries to shift the focus of the campaign away from abortion rights, the issue shows no sign of waning from voter’s minds. On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina proposed a federal 15-week abortion ban bill, which Democrats seized on as an example of the extreme policies that Republicans will pursue if they win control of Congress in November.
In a statement issued after Graham’s proposal, Oz — who has said he opposes abortion from conception, but with exceptions to protect the life of the mother and in cases of rape and incest —sidestepped a direct answer on what he thought of the bill.
“As a senator, he’d want to make sure that the federal government is not involved in interfering with the state’s decisions on the topic,” Oz’s campaign said in the statement.
Noting Oz avoided saying whether he would support Graham’s bill, Fetterman suggested that Oz’s position of leaving the issue up to the states would result in far stricter bans in some places.
Fetterman’s campaign says the abortion issue will be decisive in November — helping counter inflation and national political headwinds for Democrats — and featured it at Sunday’s “Women for Fetterman” event in the gymnasium of Montgomery County Community College.
“Women are the reason we can win,” Fetterman told the cheering crowd. “Let me say that again. Women are the reason we win. … Don’t piss women off!”
In interviews in suburban Philadelphia, voters who support abortion rights said they would vote for Fetterman.
For Sheila Dougherty, 50, a registered Democrat from Clifton Heights, Oz’s position on abortion is a nonstarter.
“I’ll always vote for the candidate who is for women’s rights, so I won’t be voting for a Republican,” Dougherty said.
Donna McMenamin, 66, a Republican from Folsom who supports abortion rights, said she was worried by one attack ad she saw on TV that claims Fetterman wants to release state prison inmates who are hardened criminals — which Fetterman’s campaign has called a lie. He has endorsed recommendations by prison reformers that the state can release more geriatric or rehabilitated prisoners without harming public safety.
Still, she said the most important factor in her vote was rejecting any candidate aligned with Trump, whom she detests. Instead, she will vote for Fetterman this year “because he’s not a Republican.”
For Oz supporters in the suburbs, his stance on crime and abortion — and whether they agree with it — is less important than other issues.
Steve Erfle, 51, a Republican from Blue Bell, said he will vote for Oz and other Republicans on the ballot — regardless of any other disagreements he has with them — because he wants smaller government and worries that “things have gone a little far left.”
“They’re not my best friends, I just want their policies,” he said.
Diane Wysocki, 50, leaving Oz’s event in Springfield with an Oz lawn sign under her arm, said she agrees with Oz’s stance on abortion. But more than that, she appreciated Trump’s endorsement of Oz and sees Oz as savvy and genuine.
Still, she worried about whether her fellow suburbanites will embrace Oz, noting that many of her neighbors are Democrats and that even some Republicans she knows think that Oz — a recent New Jersey transplant — is just running because he’s wealthy.
“If I put this out on my lawn,” Wysocki said, motioning to her Oz sign, “this is very scary to people.”
Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timelywriter.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Dow Futures Tumble 250 Points After FedEx Recession Warning Continuing Big Losses For The Week
Dow Futures Tumble 250 Points After FedEx Recession Warning, Continuing Big Losses For The Week https://digitalarizonanews.com/dow-futures-tumble-250-points-after-fedex-recession-warning-continuing-big-losses-for-the-week/
U.S. stock futures fell Friday as Wall Street headed toward a losing week, and traders absorbed an ugly earnings warning from FedEx.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped by 273 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.9% and 1%, respectively.
Shares of FedEx plunged 19% after the shipments company withdrew its full-year guidance and said it will implement cost-cutting initiatives to contend with soft global shipment volumes as “macroeconomic trends significantly worsened.”
The three major averages were on pace to notch their fourth losing week in five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined 3.70% this week, while the S&P 500 is 4.08% lower. The Nasdaq Composite is down 4.62%, headed toward its worst weekly loss since June.
On Thursday, the Dow dropped 173 points, or 0.56%, for its lowest close since July 14. The Nasdaq Composite slid 1.43%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.13%.
Traders are concerned that markets will retest June lows after a surprisingly hot reading in August’s consumer price index report indicated an increasingly difficult pathway to bring down inflation by the Federal Reserve.
“They might have a hard choice to make,” iCapital’s Anastasia Amoroso said Thursday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.”
“Before they were saying, we’re going to try to have a soft landing and bring down inflation. Now they may have to make a choice. It’s either a soft landing or bringing down inflation. In other words, they may have to engineer more of a crackdown on economic growth to bring down inflation,” she added.
On the economic front, traders are expecting the latest consumer sentiment data on 10 a.m. ET Friday.
Analysts bail on FedEx
FedEx’s earnings warning led to several analysts downgrading the stock, including JPMorgan’s Brian Ossenbeck.
“Against a backdrop of weaker economic activity and slower e-commerce growth with inconsistent execution, we believe FDX will continue trading at a depressed multiple until earnings stabilize with some potential help from cost saving initiatives,” Ossenbeck wrote as he downgraded the stock to neutral.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Sam Subin
Sterling falls to fresh 37-year low against dollar
The British pound has dropped below $1.14 for the first time since 1985.
Sterling fell as low as $1.135 at 8:50 a.m. London before rising slightly to $1.137.
The pound has plummeted against the greenback this year on a combination of dollar strength and U.K. recession warnings. Data published Friday morning showed U.K. retail sales fell more than expected in August.
— Jenni Reid
European markets slide 1% as recession, energy fears persist
European markets fell sharply in early trading as recession warnings, expectations for further rate hikes and continued volatility in the energy market weighed on stocks.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 1.2% in the first hour, and U.K., French and German indexes all fell.
All sectors were in the red as energy, industrial and auto stocks dropped more than 2% each.
Read more here.
— Jenni Reid
U.S. 2-year Treasury yield briefly touches 3.9%
CNBC Pro: Top tech investor Paul Meeks picks between Apple and Samsung
Tech stocks suffered yet another sell-off this week as investors digested a hotter-than-expected August inflation report.
Amid a tough year for the sector, some investors are seeking refuge in the relative safety of mega-cap stocks. Top tech investor Paul Meeks weighs in on two such stocks and reveals which he prefers in the current environment.
Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Zavier Ong
China’s retail sales, industrial production for August beat estimates
China’s latest economic data release showed growth accelerated in August.
Retail sales increased 5.4% in August from the same period last year, much higher than July’s 2.7% and also above the Reuters forecast of 3.5%.
Industrial production grew 4.2% last month compared with a year ago, topping the prediction of 3.8% in a Reuters poll. Industrial output came in at 3.8% in July.
Fixed asset investment for January to August this year increased by 5.8%, beating the 5.5% estimate from Reuters.
— Abigail Ng, Evelyn Cheng
Major averages on pace for fourth losing week in five
All three major averages are on track to post their fourth losing week in five. Here are where markets stand through Thursday:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3.7%
The S&P 500 is down 4.08%
The Nasdaq Composite is down 4.62%, heading toward its worst week since June 17
— Sarah Min
FedEx shares plunge after withdrawing guidance
Shares of FedEx tumbled 15.3% in after hours trading after the transport company withdrew its full-year guidance, and said it will implement cost-cutting initiatives to contend with a worsening macro.
“Global volumes declined as macroeconomic trends significantly worsened later in the quarter, both internationally and in the U.S. We are swiftly addressing these headwinds, but given the speed at which conditions shifted, first quarter results are below our expectations,” FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam said in a statement.
The company said it is closing 90 office locations, shutting down five corporate office facilities and pausing hiring efforts, as part of those cost-cutting measures.
— Sarah Min
Stock futures open lower
U.S. stock futures opened lower on Thursday night as Wall Street headed toward its fourth losing week in five.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped by 137 points, or 0.44%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.51% and 0.60%, respectively.
— Sarah Min
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GOP Lawmaker Calls Witness boo At Hearing Prompts Ocasio-Cortez Apology
GOP Lawmaker Calls Witness ‘boo’ At Hearing, Prompts Ocasio-Cortez Apology https://digitalarizonanews.com/gop-lawmaker-calls-witness-boo-at-hearing-prompts-ocasio-cortez-apology/
It was a House Oversight Committee hearing meant to examine how fossil fuel companies campaigned to stymie climate action. But Thursday’s debate took a turn after a contentious exchange between Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) and a witness prompted another lawmaker to apologize in a moment that made waves on social media.
What eventually became a shouting match with phrases such as “boo” and “young lady” being tossed, started with a question about petrochemicals. Higgins — who calls fossil fuels “the lifeblood of our modern society” — asked Raya Salter, the founder of the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center, a public interest law firm, what her plan was to deal with the abundance of products that are made with chemical compounds derived from fossil fuels.
“Everything you have. Your clothes, your glasses, the car you got here on, your phone, the table you’re sitting at, the chair, the carpet under your feet, everything you’ve got is petrochemical products. What would you do with that? Tell the world!” Higgins told Salter, who is also a member of the New York State Climate Action Council, a state government-affiliated environmental body.
Salter responded by saying, “If I had that power, actually I don’t need that power because what I would do is ask you, sir, from Louisiana … ” before Higgins interrupted.
The next two and a half minutes were marked by a tense back-and-forth in which Higgins and Salter attempted to speak over each other.
Salter asked Higgins to “search your heart and ask your God what you’re doing to the Black and poor people in Louisiana,” who she said were some of the most impacted by the pollutants released by petrochemical plants.
The Republican lawmaker responded by saying, “My good lady, I’m trying to give you the floor, boo,” and asking, “Okay, but what would you do?”
“You’ve got no answer do you, young lady? About what to do with petrochemical products? So move on,” Higgins continued.
“We need to move away from petrochemicals, we need to shut down the petrochemical facilities in your state and move away from plastic,” Salter replied.
Louisiana produces more natural gas than all but two states nationwide, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The state’s 16 oil refineries, which are able to process some 3.2 million barrels of crude oil a day, make up about 20 percent of the country’s refining capacity. Much of that infrastructure is concentrated along Louisiana’s Gulf of Mexico-facing southern region — which forms part of the district Higgins represents.
Higgins noted that the liquefied natural gas projects in his district help reduce carbon emissions. LNG has been hailed as a transitional source of energy in the move toward carbon neutrality, and amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Biden administration is ramping up natural gas deliveries to Europe in hope of controlling the energy crisis. But while LNG produces less carbon emissions than fossil fuels such as coal and oil, it isn’t totally clean, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environment nonprofit.
The oil and gas industries ranked among the top five contributors to Higgins’s campaign in the 2021-2022 election cycle, according to data from OpenSecrets, a campaign finance watchdog. The Republican lawmaker has also advocated for the economic importance of fossil fuel. Last year he introduced a resolution challenging the Biden administration to operate the White House without using petrochemical-derived products. The bill was referred to a House subcommittee in February 2021 and hasn’t been discussed since.
“Modern life is not possible without the oil and gas industry. These energy sources fuel the world, and petroleum-based products are found in virtually everything everywhere,” Higgins said in a statement at the time.
That was the point he was trying to make Thursday — but the way he delivered his remarks shocked some Democratic members of Congress. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) went as far as apologizing for the “conduct of this committee and what we just witnessed.”
“I just want you to know that in the four years that I’ve sat on this committee, I have never seen members of Congress — Republican or Democrat — disrespect a witness in the way I have seen them disrespect you today,” Ocasio-Cortez said to Salter. “I do not care what party they are in. I’ve never seen anything like that. For the gentleman of Louisiana and the comfort he felt in yelling at you like that, there’s more than one way to get a point across.”
“Frankly, men who treat women like that in public, I fear how they treat them in private,” Ocasio-Cortez added.
Higgins’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday. However, he told the Hill in a statement that he wasn’t going to let “leftist activists” run over him.
“When radicals show up in front of my Committee with an attitude talking anti-American trash, they can expect to get handled. I really don’t care if I hurt anybody’s feelings while I’m fighting to preserve our Republic,” he told the outlet.
Video footage of Ocasio-Cortez’s critical remarks — which were broadly echoed by liberals online — and the verbal back-and-forth trended on social media Thursday. One clip showing the exchange between Higgins and Salter had racked up more than 560,000 views on Twitter by early Friday.
On Thursday afternoon, the GOP lawmaker doubled down on what he said, sharing a video of the back-and-forth and urging his followers to “watch my exchange with an unhinged climate activist from today’s [House Oversight] Committee hearing.”
Salter was unscathed, she said.
“Thanks for the support! I’m unbothered by fossil fuel cronies!!!” she wrote on Twitter.
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Watch Live: King Charles Attends Service Of Prayer And Reflection In Wales
Watch Live: King Charles Attends Service Of Prayer And Reflection In Wales https://digitalarizonanews.com/watch-live-king-charles-attends-service-of-prayer-and-reflection-in-wales/
Watch live: King Charles attends service of prayer and reflection in Wales Sky News
King Charles to host world leaders ahead of Queen’s funeral Reuters UK
HM the King in Wales – BBC BBC
King Charles’ Rolls Royce seen arriving in Cardiff park Wales Online
WATCH LIVE: King Charles III visits Wales PBS NewsHour
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Miles VandenHeuvel: Chaptown's Field General https://digitalarizonanews.com/miles-vandenheuvel-chaptowns-field-general/
Firebird Stadium, the home of Chaparral Football and quarterback Miles VandenHeuvel (Photo by: Dominic Contini / AZPreps365)
Dominic Contini is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chaparral High School for AZPreps365.com
A well-known athlete around the Chaparral community would be an understatement for senior quarterback Miles VandenHeuvel.
He is a dual-threat quarterback, baseball player, leader and an all-around great friend.
As VandenHeuvel begins his senior year he wants to end his career with a bang.
“I want to win state with this team,” VandenHeuvel said.
VandenHeuvel, the field general, and the Chaparral High Firebirds travel to Mountain Pointe High School Friday to try and respond after a tough loss to Williams Field last week.
Chaparral is used to success with their football program. The Firebirds have won seven state titles, but the they have not been to the top recently for a few seasons.
The last time the Firebirds won the 6A Arizona State was in 2020.
If VandenHeuvel could get this team back to the top, his legacy would stay around Firebird Stadium for years to come.
On game days, VandenHeuvel starts to prepare for kickoff at the beginning of the day. Music is very important to his preparation.
“I like to start it off chill throughout the day, country music, and throwback music,” VandenHeuvel said. “Then closer to game time, 10-15 minutes before game time, I like to get some rap going, Eminem, and Jay-Z for sure.”
A chill quarterback, but as a senior, VandenHeuvel has taken the step up to be a leader.
“I like to be a leader by example but if guys are not doing something right, I’ll get on them a bit, being vocal,” VandenHeuvel said.
VandenHeuvel’s teammates emphasized how great his leadership is on and off the field.
“He’s a great leader, he’s always leading the team, always making sure everyone is doing their job,” sophomore quarterback Byrce Herges said. “He competes really hard, he is always the hardest worker on the field. It’s fun to learn from him for sure.”
As VandenHeuvel is more of a runner while Herges has a great arm, the two correspond with one another very well. Coach Brent Barnes gives them the plan and then VandenHeuvel plays as that big brother to Herges.
“Coach Barnes teaches us and Miles just helps me with it and he’s only been like an older brother and a great friend to have too,” Herges said.
VandenHeuvel is someone his teammates want at the helm of the football program as he is very vocal and a winner.
“He’s a great leader, I think he can do a lot for this team and help us win in a great way,” sophomore wide receiver Gavin Mesa said.
VandenHeuvel’s quarterback ability translates with his arm from playing baseball.
“Definitely the throwing aspect translates the most from baseball and just being an athlete, just going out there and being a dog,” VandenHeuvel said.
The dog mentality, the leadership and friendship that VandenHeuvel has with this Chaarral squad can definitely lead them to great heights this season and cap off his senior year with championship memories.
“Overall, I just want to have fun and make memories with these guys and make Chaptown, this up and coming football team a lot better,” VandenHeuvel said.
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John Joseph Gilabert Obituary (2022) https://digitalarizonanews.com/john-joseph-gilabert-obituary-2022/
Obituary of John Joseph Gilabert
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Joan (aka John, Juan) J. Gilabert died at home on September 9, 2022, following a long, courageous struggle with numerous serious health challenges. He is survived by his wife Nancy, daughter Nuria and son Jordi, brother-in-law Ross and sister-in-law Barbara Johnson, and care provider Luis Batres.
Joan was born April 2, 1941, in Barcelona, Spain, during a difficult period in post-civil war Spain. He excelled in school and, like many Catalan youths of that time, left home to seek his fortune that is, to continue his studies and find work. After a year in France he continued on to Munich, Germany. There he joined a group of Catalan young men who became life-long friends. In Munich he held a variety of jobs including telegram delivery boy, a milkman to U.S. GI families, a hotel manager, and interpreter for Siemens. His father had recommended that he study economics, but he found the humanities much more interesting and thus focused on history and philosophy. He also became an avid bicyclist, making his epic trip alone from Germany, through Scandinavia as far as Nordkapp with his return via Finland. In 1966 he determined to study for his doctorate in the U.S., which he began at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and completed at Washington University (St. Louis).
Soon after arriving in Madison, he met Nancy in class; they married the following year. After completing his doctorate; Joan taught for several years at Kenyon College in Ohio, where the family doubled in size. In 1977, they made the move to Tucson AZ when he accepted a position teaching language, literature, history and philosophy in the department of Spanish and Portuguese of the University of Arizona, which he continued until retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2011. John loved teaching and mentoring his students, considered the bicycle the only acceptable form of personal transportation, and was dedicated to the regreening of America by planting hundreds of trees wherever he could.
Joan did not want a memorial service but will have his ashes spread beneath the pines on Mt. Lemmon. A gift in his memory to the Arbor Day Foundation is suggested.
Published by Legacy on Sep. 16, 2022.
Legacy.com reports daily on death announcements in local communities nationwide. Visit our funeral home directory for more local information, or see our FAQ page for help with finding obituaries and sending sympathy.
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Misinformation Isnt A One-Way Street. Republicans Say Democrats Escape Scrutiny
‘Misinformation Isn’t A One-Way Street.’ Republicans Say Democrats Escape Scrutiny https://digitalarizonanews.com/misinformation-isnt-a-one-way-street-republicans-say-democrats-escape-scrutiny/
A poll by WPA Intelligence found that 59% of Democrats believe Hispanic voters are becoming more likely to support Republicans due to misinformation. Republicans say the controversy around misinformation and disinformation is political. Bianca Padró Ocasio bpadro@miamiherald.com
Republicans say concerns about Spanish-language disinformation having an impact on elections are one-sided and part of a Democratic propaganda campaign to help stem that party’s losses among Hispanic voters.
Last week, operatives with the Republican Party — which has widely embraced Donald Trump’s falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen from him — highlighted a new poll by Republican consulting firm WPA Intelligence that found that 45% of Democrats believe the 2016 election “was stolen” from Hillary Clinton by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The poll, a survey of 1,000 Democrats conducted in late August, also found that more than half the party’s voters believe the U.S. Supreme Court struck down legal abortion when it overturned Roe v. Wade in June. Republicans point out that the ruling shifted the decision to individual states on whether to make abortion illegal.
“Misinformation isn’t a one-way street,” the firm stated on one slide promoting the results of the poll, which also asked about whether Florida banned the word “gay” from public schools or forced teachers to disclose their political beliefs.
Chris Wilson, CEO and founder of WPA Intelligence, told the Miami Herald that the firm conducted the poll because there has “been a great deal of coverage in the past year to misinformation and disinformation with nearly all of it focused on right-leaning sources and voters.”
“As researchers, we suspected this has painted an incomplete picture and we wanted to test our hypothesis and study the matter further,” Wilson said.
The emphasis of the poll and Republican reaction to it provides a window into how the GOP is combating studies and media reports that have found misinformation and disinformation spreading on conservative mass media and online platforms — and perhaps why it may be difficult for those warning about the problem to make much headway.
Republicans argue that that the media is ignoring bad information coming from the left, and that the issue is political. They point to WPA’s findings, for instance, that 59% of Democrats believe Hispanic voters are becoming more likely to support Republicans due to misinformation, as opposed to their social views, concerns about the economy and illegal immigration or Trump’s aggressive Hispanic-outreach program.
“This is insulting and it explains why Democrats are losing Hispanic voters,” tweeted Danielle Alvarez, the Cuban-American communications director for the Republican National Committee.
TRUTH OR POLITICS?
It’s true that many of the calls to fight disinformation come from the left. And while Republicans have at times highlighted what they argue is disinformation from their opponents, they often dismiss disinformation as a non-issue exaggerated by Democrats and talk about efforts by the government and press to stop the spread of bad information as attempts to control free speech.
“There is not a definition of disinformation because it’s not a thing. It’s a farce,” said David Custin, a Hispanic GOP consultant who said Democrats began making an issue of disinformation in Spanish-language media when they realized Trump had significantly improved his standing among Latino voters, particularly in Miami-Dade County.
“It’s a defensive mechanism for branding purposes because they’re getting their clocks cleaned in the Hispanic community.”
Sources who spoke to the Miami Herald for this article pointed to false and misleading claims about COVID vaccines as an unambiguous example of the dangers of inaccurate content. One oft-debunked claim about the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines was that they would alter the DNA of the inoculated.
With the November elections approaching, the discussion around misinformation and disinformation is becoming more of a campaign issue.
“Disinformation is inherently political,” said Jose Dante Parra, a Democratic consultant involved in a study last year that found that conservative radio hosts on Miami’s Spanish-language radio spread lies around the Jan. 6 insurrection.
And that, Parra said, makes progress more difficult.
“The moment you start attacking disinformation you’ll be labeled as the left. Or worse, a socialist,” said Parra, who advised the late-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and more recently the Florida Democratic Party.
Victoria McGroary, the executive director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ Political Action Committee, which says it has invested six figures in fighting Spanish-language disinformation with a fact-checking YouTube channel, said the people calling misinformation a political issue are the ones doing the politicizing.
“Misinformation gets to the heart of the safety and well-being of our families and our communities. It is very dangerous and it is very important that Democrats push back against that,” she said. “It’s the same people who are perpetrating this misinformation that’s targeting our communities that are saying that it’s not a problem.”
BREAKDOWN IN COMMUNICATION
Two Florida International University professors told the Miami Herald that loose definitions about misinformation and disinformation have contributed to the politicization of the issue, as has the increasingly extreme nature of political debate.
Eduardo Gamarra, a politics and international relations professor, said both Republicans and Democrats are responsible for spreading misinformation and both should be addressed, which is hard to do in a highly polarized political environment. Gamarra said the media has also complicated the issue by at times unintentionally spreading bad information which has harmed their efforts to highlight problems and exacerbated Republicans’ allegations that mainstream media outlets are biased.
“The media has a responsibility to fact check everything,” Gamarra said. “And sometimes you reproduce material that you don’t know is false. That’s why I think fact checking is such a crucial dimension of this.”
Very often, when misinformation is spread on either social media or Spanish-language radio, it comes in the form of exaggeration, Gamarra added. The person spreading this information will take something small that is true and exaggerate it to make the problem seem much bigger than it actually is, he said. Then the information will become the popular belief.
It’s also crucial to remember the difference between misinformation and disinformation, he added, saying the two are sometimes conflated in problematic ways. Misinformation is when the spread of the information is not intentional, it’s accidental. Disinformation is when the person spreads false information with the intent to deceive others.
Political science Professor Dario Moreno said the coarsening of political discourse has made it more difficult for people of different political persuasions to agree on basic facts. The Republican Party’s mass characterization of Democrats as socialists — something Democrats have called disinformation — is a good example, he said.
“I think one of the things that arose out of the 2020 campaign in the Hispanic community is that Democratic candidates were being labeled as socialist and as far-left,” said Moreno. “But how is that different from the president [Joe Biden] calling the Republicans fascists? It’s the result of polarization. Our political discourse is so bad that the line has been blurred between legitimate information or criticism about your opponent and things that are just outrageous.”
The GOP, he added, used events of the 2020 election to stoke Hispanic immigrants’ fears and insecurities about authoritarian governments and socialism in places like Venezuela and Cuba. The defund the police movement and Bernie Sanders running as a democratic socialist were ideas Republicans exploited.
“Maybe there was misrepresentation,” he said, “but that’s politics as usual.”
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U.S. Senate Republicans Pan Democrats On Crime Say Theyll Introduce Their Own Bill Ohio Capital Journal
U.S. Senate Republicans Pan Democrats On Crime, Say They’ll Introduce Their Own Bill – Ohio Capital Journal https://digitalarizonanews.com/u-s-senate-republicans-pan-democrats-on-crime-say-theyll-introduce-their-own-bill-ohio-capital-journal/
WASHINGTON — A small group of U.S. Senate Republicans sought to draw attention to U.S. crime rates Wednesday, saying they plan to introduce a bill that would direct more resources to state and local police departments as well as require the Government Accountability Office to study the amount of time it takes crime labs to process rape kits.
“We are offering solutions to combat this violent crime wave that is plaguing our nation and our cities,” said Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn during an afternoon press conference.
Blackburn was joined by fellow Republican Sens. Mike Braun of Indiana, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and John Kennedy of Louisiana. Grassley, Johnson and Kennedy are up for reelection in November’s midterm elections in which Republicans are seeking to make Democrats’ record on crime a major issue.
The yet-to-be released bill, Blackburn said, would create a grant program for local and state police departments to hire more officers and detectives to focus on violent crimes as well as increase resources for police departments to address drug crimes.
Funding for federal law enforcement as well as grants for state and local police departments are typically handled through Congress’ annual appropriations process, not one-off bills such as the one the Republicans detailed. And it was unclear Wednesday if the legislation the Republicans plan to introduce at some point would garner the bipartisan support needed to get past the chamber’s 60-vote legislative filibuster, especially with little time left in the legislative session before lawmakers leave to campaign.
The most recent federal spending package, enacted in March with broad bipartisan support, appropriated $3.88 billion for grants from the U.S. Department of Justice to local and state law enforcement agencies, a 15% increase over the prior fiscal year’s bill, and $575 million for the Office on Violence Against Women grants, the highest funding level ever for that program.
The funding package also included $201 million for State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance and Community Oriented Policing Services, a program intended to improve relationships between police departments and the communities they serve. That represented a 31% boost in funding over the previous year’s level.
Crime details
The GOP senators on Wednesday, in pushing for their future bill, recounted graphic details from numerous crimes, including the names of victims, before chastising Democratic lawmakers for their approach to police funding and police accountability.
Hagerty called on President Joe Biden to take unilateral action to address crime throughout the country, suggesting he’d like the White House to do something akin to so-called Operation Legend during the Trump administration.
That effort sent law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Marshals Service to Kansas City, Missouri, and several other cities during the summer of 2020 to address violent crime.
The initiative was hailed by then-President Donald Trump, who was in the final months of what would become a failed reelection campaign that led to a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump refused to accept his electoral loss.
Hagerty on Wednesday urged Biden, the current president, to follow Trump’s example on federal law enforcement operations.
“We’ll work on it through legislation, but the president has the ability to step up right now, to help us address this,” Hagerty said. “We’re calling on him to do that.”
Kennedy of Louisiana said he believed the pathway to reducing crime will be through hiring more police officers, “to stop the retirements among our police officers” and to improve police morale.
He did, however, say that violent police should be held accountable—an issue Democrats have been calling on all police departments to address for years.
“I want to choose my words carefully. No one supports police abuse,” Kennedy said. “Do we have some bad cops? Sure. And when a cop intentionally breaks the law himself or herself and hurts somebody else, they should be punished, and in most cases they are.”
“But on the other hand, cops are not guilty until proven innocent,” Kennedy added.
Crime rates
Crime statistics vary throughout the United States with rates for various crimes rising at different levels in different cities or states, but on average violent crimes increased during 2020 compared to 2019, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Violent crime rates increased by more than 5% with the murder rate increasing by 29% and aggravated assault rates increasing by 12%, though the center’s analysis of 2020 crime statistics show rape rates decreased by 12% and robbery rates decreased by 10%.
Murders within cities rose by about 30% while murders in suburban and rural areas increased by about 20%, according to the Brennan Center’s analysis.
Property crimes, on average, decreased during 2020 by 8% with both burglary and larceny rates dropping, though motor vehicle theft increased by 11%.
“Despite politicized claims that this rise was the result of criminal justice reform in liberal-leaning jurisdictions, murders rose roughly equally in cities run by Republicans and cities run by Democrats,” according to the Brennan Center’s analysis, which it released in July. “So-called ‘red’ states actually saw some of the highest murder rates of all.”
The analysis notes that crime data “makes it difficult to pin recent trends on local policy shifts and reveals the basic inaccuracy of attempts to politicize a problem as complex as crime. Instead, the evidence points to broad national causes driving rising crime.”
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French Inquiry Censures Lab That Promoted Hydroxychloroquine To Treat Covid
French Inquiry Censures Lab That Promoted Hydroxychloroquine To Treat Covid https://digitalarizonanews.com/french-inquiry-censures-lab-that-promoted-hydroxychloroquine-to-treat-covid/
A probe instigated by the French health ministry has found ‘serious malfunctions’ in the laboratory of Didier Raoult, a microbiologist who rose to prominence after suggesting hydroxychloroquine could treat for Covid-19.
Based on Raoult’s small March 2020 study, the then US President Donald Trump repeatedly endorsed hydroxychloroquine, a decades-old cheap malaria drug as a treatment for Covid-19. The study soon came under scrutiny when the International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, which runs the journal that published the study, distanced itself from it.
Now the new report has also raised questions about the hydroxychloroquine study. ‘Many of us already suspected that some of the results have not been obtained honestly, [and] that there were differences whenever he did an investigation of a treatment group and a control group,’ says Elisabeth Bik, a microbiologist-turned-scientific-integrity-consultant in California who initially raised the alarm on the hydroxychloroquine study.
‘His papers and his pushing of the [hydroxy]chloroquine as a Covid-19 remedy contribute to the idea that vaccines were unnecessary and that the disease was a minor problem, well under control with a cheap pill. Politicians like Bolsonaro and Trump weaponise [these] sort of ideas, further spreading dangerous misinformation,’ says Enrico Bucci, a biologist at Temple University in Philadelphia.
According to media reports, a criminal investigation is now underway against Raoult, who was the head of the Hospital-University Institute Mediterranean Infection (IHU) from 2011 until he retired this summer. In June, Raoult’s lab was also sanctioned by France’s National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products for breaches and non-compliance with regulations covering research on human subjects.
In 2006, Raoult and four of his co-authors were banned from publishing in journals run by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) for one year after being accused of image manipulation – a charge that Raoult has vehemently denied over the years.
Last week, six more papers co-authored by Raoult that were published in ASM journals were flagged with expressions of concern notices. All of the notices state that the paper in question ‘is being reviewed as part of a ‘scientific misconduct investigation’ by the University of Aix Marseille. This expression of concern is issued pending the outcome of the investigation and will be updated accordingly thereafter.’
The new report found that for many of the IHU studies documenting the health of homeless people, ethical consent was not sought in the participant’s own language. ‘Some of these patients were people who didn’t speak French – foreigners or homeless or migrants – and so those people, according to the French rules, should have been properly informed in their own language,’ Bik explains.
Last August, Bik penned a blog post highlighting the problems with the research, where she noted that 17 papers spanning 10 years of research at the IHU on homeless people in Marseille, appear to use the same ethical review board approval numbers – another problem also highlighted by the new investigation.
According to Bik, the new report finds evidence of ‘bullying, verbal violence, humiliation, devaluation, misogynistic remarks, angry behaviour on the part of some heads of department towards students but also staff’ on the part of IHU leadership.
On 29 April 2021, Raoult filed a criminal complaint against Bik on the basis of attempted blackmail, attempted extortion and aggravated moral harassment. One year on, nothing has come of the complaint, Bik says.
‘This is the description of a toxic professional environment, able to substantially pollute science on a vast scale,’ adds Bucci. ‘After reading the report, I would like to use the words of Professor Pierre Tattevin, president of the French Infectious Diseases Society, who said in 2021 that IHU, referred to as “like a sect”, had “lost so much, in terms of scientific dignity, that we hardly see how they could recover”.’
The report made 16 recommendations including updating the rules governing the appointment and oversight of the institute’s director, strict compliance with these rules and training to preventing harassment.
Chemistry World approached Raoult for comment.
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Opinion | Michael Beschloss Has Been Radicalized https://digitalarizonanews.com/opinion-michael-beschloss-has-been-radicalized/
With his sonorous baritone and his taut jawline and his impeccably gracious manner all still intact, Beschloss today may be the greatest example (or at least the one whose living room backdrop has the highest Room-Rater score) of a contemporary Washington phenomenon: The radicalized establishmentarian.
You can see the radicalism when you peruse his Twitter feed, an oddly compelling stream of archival images that turns ten years old next month and now has a touch more than 800,000 followers. Though the feed’s early years focused on images connected to mostly anodyne milestones, over the the years the feed, like his TV appearances, has become increasingly peppery: Photos of Mussolini and Hitler, allegations of fascism and racism, insinuations of ex-presidential criminality.
But you can see the establishmentarianism when you ask him about it and the first thing he does is assure you — with a suitably generous preamble — that he’s no angry yahoo. “Let me say what I assume I should not need to,” he says. “I was not suggesting that Donald Trump be executed. I was doing a historical tweet about the most famous nuclear secrets case in American history.”
Longtime Beschloss-watchers will also be relieved to know that he hasn’t become some kind of partisan, either.
“I was going through life happily, not spouting any views I might have on healthcare and taxes, which are still not well-developed, because I’m not by nature a very partisan person.” But what are those views? “I don’t really have many elaborate, strong views on a lot of current political issues. I have carefully-developed views on historical subjects that I have studied, and I certainly have strong convictions about democracy. But beyond that, partisanship is just not my professional focus.”
Attempts to get Beschloss to spill the beans on his own voting history are similarly unsuccessful. “I’ve been a registered Independent for decades. I think the last time I gave any money to a candidate was a modest donation in 1988 to Al Gore, who that year was one of the most centrist candidates — and to my home state Senator, Paul Simon of Illinois. In both cases, friends asked me. None of that suggests much about ideology.”
But the display of dispassion comes to an end when the subject turns to American democracy.
“The point I’m trying to make is that, until roughly 2017, I was not inclined to take public positions on current events. And that is because I did not feel that democracy was under immediate and serious threat. But if you and I had talked earlier, and we had been told that in the near future, democracy was going to be in danger and a President might be eager to tear apart just about every major institution of democracy that you care about, including free and fair elections as well as the rule of law — would you speak out? I would have said yes, I certainly would.”
As it happens, this question is one of the big divides in American media and politics right now: Whether to view the constellation of issues Beschloss puts under the threats-to-democracy rubric as simple political disagreements where the obligation to impartiality holds sway, or to treat them as something outside the bounds of partisan politics, a subject where it’s quite all right to root for one side. Beschloss has picked the latter option.
“Before 2017, discussing whether the United States should continue as a democracy was not a controversial subject,” he says. “Same with whether we should strictly preserve our rule of law. Both of those things are totally up in the air in 2022, as we speak.”
As the agita over the forced departures of outspoken CNN figures like Brian Stelter show, the behavior codes around this topic are awfully unclear and subject to change. Beschloss, for his part, says he’s never gotten any pushback from programming higher-ups.
It helps, of course, that as a guy called on to talk about history — he’s currently the in-house presidential historian of NBC news — he can draw on bygone parallels instead of tendentiously fulminating against the Trump crowd. At one point, I suggest that his diagnosis of an imperiled democracy might perhaps mean the network ought to bring in a historian of Germany or Argentina or some other country instead of an Americanist like him. No need, says Beschloss. For much of the next half-hour we’re walking through the past with the likes of the segregationist demagogue George Wallace, the reactionary, anti-Semitic radio priest Charles Coughlin, the red-baiting extremist General Edwin Walker, the Oklahoma City bombers, and other no-longer-quite-so-fringey-seeming characters from the American mists.
But it also raises the question of whether Beschloss was talking about the wrong stuff over all those years before Trump.
As American politics hardened during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama eras, should he and his colleagues have been offering more lessons from the 1850s or 1940s? Did focusing on our largely lucky country’s presidential past cause him to miss something about the present?
“Many of us did,” Beschloss says. “I think what I missed, I don’t want to talk about other people, is this point of view, which is conspiracy theories, bring down the temples of government including rule of law and institutions of democracy — that’s been there consistently all this time. This was an important, urgent danger and we might see it explode during our lifetimes.”
What he now sees as the historical antecedents of Trumpism, Beschloss says, “were too often treated by scholars, including myself, as isolated flareups, rather than alarms that showed an abiding historical movement that was present and rising through the past seventy years. We certainly knew, and know now, that this way of thinking has a long tradition that goes back to the start of American history…In the old days, many Americans too often saw these movements not as an immediate threat to our democracy but as angry people handing out handbills on street corners and going home to mutter to themselves into the night.”
Educated at Andover and Williams — where his senior thesis about FDR and Joe Kennedy eventually became a book — Beschloss hasn’t spent huge chunks of his career amid angry radicals handing out flyers on the sidewalk. He first came to the capital as part of a political internship program sponsored by his boarding school, then made it his permanent home after coming to work at the Smithsonian. He never went the academic route, instead settling into a life in the bosom of Washington’s elite, with a string of books depicting largely well-intentioned political leaders, a variety of board seats, and lucrative speaker’s fees. He comes by his reverence honestly. “I am deeply conservative in terms of preserving institutions of democracy,” he says.
His current sound-the-alarms posture still can feel odd. Until a few years ago, he pretty much never engendered hostility, except maybe from the career academics who were annoyed that a non-PhD working in the nonexistent field of presidential history could become TV’s favorite historian. “I went to college in the mid-1970s, a period where some progressives would fling around the word fascist to describe someone who was insufficiently liberal,” he says. But there he was on January 6, tweeting photos of the Munich Beer Hall Putsch and the Reichstag Fire and urging people to watch out lest Trump seek a pretext to declare martial law. It’s been a long few years.
This summer, Beschloss was among the group of historians who sat with President Joe Biden. He’s taken part in similar pow-wows going back to the George H.W. Bush presidency. Interestingly, the assembled historians this time included Anne Applebaum, a historian of fascism whose work has mostly not focused on the country Biden leads. Beschloss won’t say what they talked about — it was off the record, and this is a man who respects confidences — but the gathering’s proximity to Biden’s Philadelphia speech about democracy seems no accident.
But where Biden, as a politician, balanced the dire warnings with expressions of optimism about America, a talk with Beschloss these days features some grim notes. “For decades, I have believed that Presidents are too powerful,” he says. “The Founders made us too dependent on dumb luck that we will just happen to elect someone of good character that will keep him or her from abusing the power of the presidency. The safeguards against such abuse have never been strong enough. I have worried since Watergate that our luck would one day run out in a way that made Richard Nixon look like a Boy Scout. Now, in our own time, our luck did run out, and it may soon run out again.”
It’s a strange note from someone who’s been a part of the local cottage industry of presidential obsession. As the conversation drifts back to his sense of peril, he seems to catch himself. And, of course, wants to make sure once again that I know that he’s not a partisan or anything. He would rather be America’s father’s-day historian than a combatant.
“I’ve been radicalized only in my love for democracy and my dread that it is in grave danger. If that threat disappeared tomorrow, I would be more than happy to talk about subjects that are less controversial.”
As if on cue, as we get from our lunch at Martin’s, the venerable Georgetown haunt that was once a Kennedy hangout. Beschloss spies the booth where the future is said to have proposed to Jackie. He tells me he suspects the tavern’s presidential-engagement legend might be a tall tale. He stops for a moment and stares at the plaque decorating table. Nope, he says. It couldn’t be. Look at how straight and uncomfortable the booth’s benches are. JFK’s back could never have taken it.
Now if only the news environment could be such that Beschloss gets to talk about things like that on TV again.
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Migrants Flown To Martha's Vineyard By Florida Governor Say They Were Misled
Migrants Flown To Martha's Vineyard By Florida Governor Say They Were Misled https://digitalarizonanews.com/migrants-flown-to-marthas-vineyard-by-florida-governor-say-they-were-misled/
MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass., Sept 15 (Reuters) – Some migrants who were flown to the wealthy island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, said on Thursday they were duped about their destination, and Democratic leaders called for a probe of the move by Florida’s Republican governor to send them there from Texas.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is up for re-election in November and seen as a possible presidential contender in 2024, took credit for the two flights, which originated in San Antonio, Texas, and stopped in Florida on the way to Martha’s Vineyard.
The White House and residents of the vacation enclave called it a “political stunt,” as DeSantis joins Republican governors from Texas and Arizona in sending migrants north. The governors have sought to highlight the two parties’ differences on immigration policy and shift the burden of caring for immigrants to Democratic areas.
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For months Texas and Arizona have sent busloads of migrants to the Democratic-run cities of New York, Chicago and Washington.
Florida now joins the campaign. Details of how the flights were arranged and paid for remain unclear, as well as an explanation as to why Florida was moving migrants in Texas. The Florida legislature has appropriated $12 million to transport migrants from the state to other locations.
The two flights on Wednesday carried about 50 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, a Martha’s Vineyard Airport official said.
Hours after the planes landed, two buses sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, another Republican facing re-election, dropped off migrants in a Washington neighborhood not far from Vice President Kamala Harris’ official residence on Thursday.
One Venezuelan migrant who arrived at Martha’s Vineyard identified himself as Luis, 27, and said he and nine relatives were promised a flight to Massachusetts, along with shelter, support for 90 days, help with work permits and English lessons. He said they were surprised when their flight landed on an island.
He said the promises came from a woman who gave her name as “Perla” who approached his family on the street outside a San Antonio shelter after they crossed from Mexico and U.S. border authorities released them with an immigration court date.
He said the woman, who also put them up in a hotel, did not provide a last name or any affiliation, but asked them to sign a liability waiver.
“We are scared,” he said, adding he and others felt they were lied to. “I hope they give us help.”
Residents of Martha’s Vineyard rallied to aid the confused migrants and offered housing at St. Andrews Episcopal Church.
Martha’s Vineyard is best known as a summer retreat populated mostly by affluent liberal Americans, including former President Barack Obama, a Democrat who owns a multimillion-dollar vacation home there.
Migrants gather after being flown in from Texas on a flight funded by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at Edgartown, Massachusetts, U.S. September 15, 2022. Vineyard Gazette/Handout via REUTERS.
Locals stopped by to donate money and children’s toys, while attorneys mobilized to offer free legal help.
“It’s a stunt to make political points and not caring about who gets hurt,” said Mike Savoy, 58, a nurse at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
DeSantis defended the flights, telling a news conference that Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden “has refused to lift a finger” to secure the border.
“We’ve worked on innovative ways to be able to protect the state of Florida from the impact of Biden’s border policies,” DeSantis said.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Republican governors were using migrants as “political pawns.”
LEGAL QUESTIONS
Several Democrats, including Charlie Crist, DeSantis’ opponent in Florida, and California Governor Gavin Newsom, called on federal authorities to investigate.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said at a news conference her office would be “looking into that case” and speaking with the Justice Department.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security developed a plan last year to fly migrants to interior cities in coordination with aid groups to ease pressure on border regions, a Biden administration official told Reuters, requesting anonymity to discuss internal planning.
The White House never adopted the idea, according to a second U.S. official familiar with the matter.
The use of resources from Florida to move migrants from Texas to Massachusetts raises legal concerns, including about what information was relayed to the migrants before they boarded and whether they were coerced, said immigration law expert Pratheepan Gulasekaram of Santa Clara University School of Law.
U.S. border agents have made 1.8 million migrant arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border since last October. Many are quickly expelled to Mexico or other countries under a public health rule implemented in 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19.
But hundreds of thousands Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and others cannot be expelled because Mexico refuses to accept them, or because they can pursue asylum claims. read more
Many migrants who are released from U.S. custody in border states seek to move elsewhere to join relatives or find jobs. They often must check in with U.S. immigration authorities or attend court hearings to obtain legal status.
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Reporting by Jonathan Allen in Martha’s Vineyard, Rich McKay in Atlanta and Ted Hesson in Washington; Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago, Andrea Shalal and Mike Scarcella in Washington, Nate Raymond in Boston and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; Editing by Mica Rosenberg, Aurora Ellis, David Gregorio and Gerry Doyle
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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James R. Thompson Obituary (2022) The Pantagraph https://digitalarizonanews.com/james-r-thompson-obituary-2022-the-pantagraph/
James R. (Jim) Thompson
Feb. 13, 1958 – Sept. 11, 2022
NORMAL – Jim Thompson of Normal, IL, passed away on September 11, 2022, at the age of 64, due to Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a devastating, fast moving Prion Disease.
Jim is survived by his wife, Aprile; and three daughters: Kylie (Paul) of St. Louis, MO, Erin, of Normal, IL and Marissa, of Decatur, IL. He is also survived by his brothers: Bill (Jenny) of Atlanta, GA, and Bob (Barb) of Chandler, AZ. He also leaves behind his nieces and nephews: Bethany, Ben, Bonnie, Sydney and Jim and their families; as well as many cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Lenora Thompson; as well as three Airedale Terriers that he loved dearly.
Jim attended ISU earning his BS and Masters Degree in Special Education and Educational Psychology. He worked at La Paz School in Chicago, the Adler Center in Champaign, and at District 150 in Peoria. He left Peoria in 1990, to attend the University of Minnesota, earning his PhD in Educational Psychology. He was a Professor and Department Head in the Special Education Department at ISU for over 20 years. He retired in 2015, and came to the University of Kansas as a Professor in the Special Education Department and served as a Senior Scientist at the Beach Center on Disability and an Associate Director of the KU Center on Developmental Disabilities. He was also very active in the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) having served as President and Editor of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Journal.
Jim was especially proud of his work on the Supports Intensity Scale through AAIDD, which was one of the first valid and reliable means of assessing support for people with intellectual disabilities. It has been adopted world wide and Jim has made many friends of practitioners and families in the US and around the world due to his travels pertaining to the scale.
Jim loved to spend time with his family and loved to be outdoors. He especially loved to bike and hike to beautiful waterfalls. He was a staunch supporter of the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago White Sox and loved to listen to John Prime. He loved to travel and cherished the sights and people he met on these travels. We have chosen to honor his love of the outdoors as we celebrate him.
A Celebration of Life will be held on October 1, 2022, at Underwood Park at 900 S. Linden Street from 11:00 – 2:00 p.m. Please feel free to wear Green Bay Packer or White Sox attire.
Memorials may be made to: AAIDD to establish a student scholarship fund in his name at https://www.aaidd.org/about-aaidd/donations or The National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center at Case Western Reserve University.
Special thanks to friends and faculty at ISU, KU, Pontiac 429, and our neighbors and friends for all the love and support. A huge thank you to Heritage Manor of Bloomington and Carle Hospice for the loving care provided.
Published by The Pantagraph on Sep. 16, 2022.
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Lifeguard Dives Headfirst Into Career https://digitalarizonanews.com/lifeguard-dives-headfirst-into-career/
Kevin Goodrich has put down deep roots in Marana. They’re so deep he supervises the pool where he learned to swim as a boy.
As aquatics supervisor for the town of Marana, he has his hands full, training lifeguards and overseeing maintenance of its swimming pool and two splash parks.
Last month, Goodrich achieved designation as an aquatics professional by the Association of Aquatics Professionals (AqP). The designation means he has the education, background and training for what the Association of Aquatic Professionals believes describes an aquatic pro.
Goodrich, 34, has been a town employee for 15 years and has been aquatics supervisors for six years.
“It’s a fun job and I love it,” he said in an interview at the 50-year-old swimming pool. “I’m very happy to have it. I’m super proud of the (AqP) designation.”
Goodrich grew up in Picture Rocks and has good memories about hanging out at the Marana pool. He later worked for the town parks and recreation department and became lifeguard certified.
In 2006, he graduated from Marana High School and went on to earn a two-year degree in fitness and sports science at Pima Community College. Before becoming aquatics supervisor, Goodrich worked in the town’s recreation sports division.
When Goodrich came on board, there weren’t many aquatics programs, he said. He’s proud of the activities the town has added. They include swimming lessons, junior lifeguarding and a youth swimming team. His own children, a son and a daughter, are involved in town aquatics programs.
“In the last two years,” he said, “I started a drowning awareness campaign to prepare people for response to a drowning.”
Goodrich keeps up his lifeguard certification and rotates shifts with the eight lifeguards and one head lifeguard on duty during the months the pool is open (Memorial Day through Labor Day). “I see that as very important,” he said.
Every week during the summer lifeguards go through rigorous training in CPR and lifeguarding skills. Goodrich also is working with the Marana Police Department on CPR and first aid training.
The town aquatics staff and programs are the on cusp of a major expansion. Marana is going to build an indoor aquatics building. The project is in the design stage.
“We’re excited for the new one,” Goodrich said. “It will be open year-round.” He said he was not sure whether the current pool will remain open when the new facility is completed.
When the pool is closed for the year Goodrich remains busy. He oversees an aquatics maintenance employee and a parks and recreation worker.
“I love my job,” Goodrich said. “I get to work in a space where people enjoy being. I’m very humbled to get to be here. It’s very rewarding.”
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VSP Vision Premier Programs Annual SHiFT Conference Returns To In-Person Format
VSP Vision Premier Program’s Annual SHiFT Conference Returns To In-Person Format https://digitalarizonanews.com/vsp-vision-premier-programs-annual-shift-conference-returns-to-in-person-format/
(PRESS RELEASE) RANCHO CORDOVA, CA — In the spirit of bringing doctors across the nation together, VSP Vision announced its Premier Program annual meeting, SHiFT, will return to an in-person event this year. The exclusive event for eligible doctors participating in the VSP Vision Premier Program will be held Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, 2022, in Scottsdale, AZ, for the first time live since 2019. SHiFT was delivered virtually in 2021 after being postponed in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the course of three days, SHiFT’22 will deliver best-in-class speakers and content, early access to new offers and initiatives, robust peer-to-peer networking opportunities, and exclusive educational opportunities for eligible doctor-owners.
“We are grateful and excited to be able to bring doctors together and celebrate their professional and personal achievements,” said VSP Vision Chief Marketing Officer Wendy Hauteman. “We are looking forward to offering an exciting event where they can feel inspired to learn, connect, and grow.”
What To Expect at SHiFT:
World-renowned keynote speakers. Hear from CNBC senior analyst and economist Ronald G. Insana; co-founder and first CEO of Netflix, Marc Randolph; and top change and transformation speaker and Founder & CEO of Change Enthusiasm Global, Cassandra Worthy.
Practice-enhancing Premier Program updates. Learn about ongoing support and value for Premier Program practices and have opportunities to provide input that will help shape future offerings.
New, complimentary education and training from Premier Academy360. In addition to exclusive event content, the Premier Program and SECO International have partnered to deliver three hours of complimentary CE.
Peer-to-peer networking. Attendees can network with peers through special social events and breakout sessions.
Plus, take advantage of event exclusives and access to special offers and gifts from Premier Program Partners and VSP.
“SHiFT is just one of the many ways the VSP Vision Premier Program invests in network practices,” said VSP Vision Chief Growth Officer Michelle Skinner. “We continue to deliver business-building benefits that support patient flow and opportunities for increased profitability, so doctors can focus on what matters most – delivering great patient care.”
Premier Program benefits include complimentary marketing support, continuing education and training, career resources, and cost savings on products and services. To learn more about the benefits and business-building tools, resources, and training available to help you realize your practice vision, visit here.
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Trump-Picked Judge Named Special Master In Mar-A-Lago Raid Case | World
Trump-Picked Judge Named Special Master In Mar-A-Lago Raid Case | World https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-picked-judge-named-special-master-in-mar-a-lago-raid-case-world/
Washington: US district judge Aileen Cannon has rejected the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to revive the criminal probe against Donald Trump in the classified documents case and instead appointed a judge picked by the former President as special master to review the documents seized by the FBI on August 8 from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Raymond Dearie, a Brooklyn-based federal judge, was selected on Thursday to serve as an independent arbiter to review the materials seized during the surprise search.
His name was put forward as a possible candidate for the special master’s role by Trump, CNN reported.
The special master will be a Senior Judge who had sued in court to obtain the review.
The DOJ also endorsed Dearie’s appointment.
Trump claims he declassified Mar-a-Lago docs, but his lawyers avoid making that assertion, CNN said.
Judge Cannon’s rejection of the DOJ’s bid to revive its criminal investigation into the classified has set the stage for the Department’s dispute with Trump over the search to move quickly to an appeals court and potentially the Supreme Court.
Cannon gave the special master a deadline of November 30 to complete his review.
The schedule puts the review ending after the mid-term congressional elections — essentially guaranteeing the Mar-a-Lago investigation will move slowly for the next two months, unless a higher court steps in, CNN said.
This means Trump gets a reprieve, unless blocked by a higher court, and enough time to campaign for his candidates for the midterms, a sort of victory for him.
Trump backed candidates initially won the primaries but, after President Joe Biden announced the inflation reduction act and signed an Executive Order on abortion rights, the former President’s candidates started losing the primaries in important states.
Judge Dearie, a Ronald Reagan appointee and picked by Trump now takes centre stage.
He sits on the district court for the Eastern District of Brooklyn, where he has taken senior status — meaning his workload has been lightened significantly as he nears the end of his time on the federal bench.
Dearie was appointed as a judge in 1986 and was for a time the chief judge of the Brooklyn-based district court. He also served a seven-year term, concluding in 2019, on the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), CNN said.
In his role as a FISC judge, Dearie was one of the judges who approved one of the DOJ’s requests to surveil former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page, as part of the federal inquiry into Russia 2016 election interference.
(IANS)
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AP News Summary At 3:36 A.m. EDT https://digitalarizonanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-336-a-m-edt/
Ukrainian president: Mass grave found near recaptured city
IZIUM, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities have found a mass burial site near a recaptured northeastern city previously occupied by Russian forces. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the discovery late Thursday in his nightly address to the nation. The grave was found close to Izium in the Kharkiv region. Associated Press journalists saw the site in a forest. Amid the trees were hundreds of graves with simple wooden crosses, most of them marked only with numbers. A larger grave bore a marker saying it contained the bodies of 17 Ukrainian soldiers. Investigators with metal detectors were scanning the site for hidden explosives. Zelenskyy said more information would be made public Friday.
Veteran NY judge named as arbiter in Trump Mar-a-Lago probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has appointed a veteran New York jurist to serve as an independent arbiter in the criminal investigation into the presence of classified documents at Donald Trump’s Florida home. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has also refused to permit the Justice Department to resume its use of the highly sensitive records seized in an FBI search last month. Cannon on Thursday empowered the newly named special master, Raymond Dearie, to review all the documents taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago and set a November deadline for his work. The sharply worded order from Cannon sets the stage for a challenge to a federal appeals court.
LONDON DIARY: Reflections from the queue to mourn the queen
LONDON (AP) — Waiting in line to bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II is a singular event — no matter who you are. AP correspondent Samya Kullab was No. 3,017 in the queue one day this week outside Westminster Hall. The line was full of people touched by the queen’s death in different ways. And as they wait in line and chat, they find things they have in common — and realize that they’d have never met if it were not for this singular event. In nearly eight hours in line, Kullab is able to make a bit more sense of the outpouring that the monarch’s death brought to Britain.
Charles’ history with US presidents: He’s met 10 of past 14
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hanging out with Richard Nixon’s daughter. Swapping horseback riding stories with Ronald Reagan. Bending the ears of Donald Trump and Joe Biden on climate change. King Charles III over the years has made the acquaintance of 10 of the 14 U.S. presidents who served during his lifetime. Charles met Dwight Eisenhower when he was just 10 years old. He has recalled his first visit to the Nixon White House in 1970 as the time that “they were trying to marry me off to Tricia Nixon.” Charles met Joe Biden last year. He did not meet four presidents who held office during his lifetime: Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy.
Florida, Texas escalate flights, buses to move migrants
EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — Republican governors are escalating their practice of sending migrants without advance warning to Democratic strongholds, including a wealthy summer enclave in Massachusetts and the Washington, D.C., home of Vice President Kamala Harris. They are taunting leaders of immigrant-friendly “sanctuary” cities and highlighting their opposition to Biden administration border policies. The governors of Texas and Arizona have sent thousands of migrants on buses to New York, Chicago and Washington in recent months. But the latest surprise moves — which included two flights to Martha’s Vineyard Wednesday paid for by Florida’s governor — were derided by critics as inhumane political theater.
EXPLAINER: States scramble as US abortion landscape shifts
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Almost three months after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the landscape of abortion access is still shifting significantly in some states, sometimes very quickly. Changing restrictions and litigation in neighboring Indiana and Ohio this week illustrate the whiplash for providers and patients navigating sudden changes in what is allowed where. As of Thursday, 13 states have current bans on abortion at any point in pregnancy and one more, Georgia, with a ban on abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected — usually around six weeks, often before women realize they’re pregnant.
Biden, S. African leader to discuss Ukraine, trade, climate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidents Joe Biden and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa are set for White House talks on Russia’s war in Ukraine, climate issues, trade and more. Biden will play host to Ramaphosa on Friday. He is among African leaders who have maintained a neutral stance in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with South Africa abstaining from a United Nations vote condemning Russia’s actions and calling for a mediated settlement. South African officials said Ramaphosa would emphasize the need for dialogue to find an end to the conflict during his meeting with Biden and in separate talks with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Warming, other factors worsened Pakistan floods, study finds
A new study says human-caused climate change juiced the rainfall that triggered Pakistan’s floods by up to 50%. But the authors of Thursday’s study say other societal issues that make the country vulnerable and put people in harm’s way are probably the biggest factor in the ongoing humanitarian disaster. Still, they say climate change made it a lot worse. Researchers used the scientifically accepted technique of comparing what happened to computer simulations of a world without heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. The study from World Weather Attribution is not yet peer reviewed.
Palestinian farmer discovers rare ancient treasure in Gaza
BUREIJ, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Palestinian farmer in the Gaza Strip has discovered a rare mosaic on his property. The man says he stumbled upon it while planting an olive tree last spring and quietly excavated it over several months with his son. Experts say the discovery of the mosaic — which includes 17 well-preserved images of animals and birds — is one of Gaza’s greatest archaeological treasures. They say it’s drawing attention to the need to protect Gaza’s antiquities, which are threatened by a lack of resources and the constant threat of fighting with Israel. The mosaic was discovered just one kilometer, or about half a mile, from the Israeli border.
Federer, Serena retire; tennis moves on to Alcaraz, Swiatek
The timing of it all hardly could be more symbolic: All within a span of two weeks, Serena Williams plays what is believed to be her last match at age 40, Roger Federer announces he’ll be retiring at 41, Iga Swiatek wins her third Grand Slam title at 21, and Carlos Alcaraz gets his first at 19. After so much handwringing in recent years about what would become of tennis once transcendent superstars such as Williams and Federer leave the game, the sport does seem to be in good hands as it prepares to move on. Federer said Thursday he will exit after the Laver Cup next week. Williams lost in the third round of the U.S. Open on Sept. 2.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Friday Morning News: September 16, 2022 https://digitalarizonanews.com/friday-morning-news-september-16-2022/
WORLD Radio – Friday morning news: September 16, 2022
Railroad companies and unions reached an agreement to avoid a strike, a federal judge has named the independent legal expert who will review the documents the FBI took during a raid of Mar-a-Lago, the United States is reportedly set to send another big military aid package to Ukraine, the head of the World Health Organization says the pandemic is not over but the end is in sight, the government of Hungary now requires abortion providers to show signs of life to mothers seeking an abortion
Freight train cars sit in a Norfolk Southern rail yard on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Atlanta Associated Press Photo/Danny Karnik
For WORLD Radio, I’m Kent Covington.
Railway contract » The trains will keep moving today. Railroad companies and unions reached an agreement on Thursday to avoid a strike ahead of today’s deadline.
A rail stoppage could have caused supply chain chaos across the country less than two months before midterm elections. That has the White House is breathing a sigh of relief. President Biden told reporters…
BIDEN: I am very pleased. This agreement is a big win for America, and for both, in my view.
The deal, which includes a 24% pay raise, will go to union members for a vote after a cooling-off period of several weeks.
Special master » A federal judge has named the independent legal expert who will review the documents the FBI took during a raid of Donald Trump’s Florida home.
Former federal prosecutor Raymond Dearie will serve as special master.
He’ll sift through the documents and potentially weed out any records that may be protected by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.
Trump’s legal team gave Dearie the thumbs up. And the Justice Department did also, though it opposed naming a special master in the case.
Ukraine aid, Russia sanctions » The United States is reportedly set to send another big military aid package to Ukraine and hit Russia with more sanctions. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.
KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The United States is rushing more weapons to fuel Kyiv’s counteroffensive, which has reclaimed large parts of eastern Ukraine from Russia.
The Biden administration was expected to announce $600 million in additional aid. The package will include more heavy equipment and ammunition.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian authorities found a mass burial site near the recently recaptured city of Izium.
The State Department also slapped sanctions on dozens of Russian companies and officials—and some Ukrainian officials—for human rights abuses and the theft of Ukrainian grain.
For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.
Putin-China concerns » Vladimir Putin conceded publicly for the first time Thursday that China has concerns about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Putin sat face to face with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a meeting room in Uzbekistan.
Putin said, “We understand your questions and your concerns in this regard, and we certainly will offer a detailed explanation of our stand on this issue.”
The White House finds the continued alliance of Russia and China troubling.
PIERRE: We’ve made clear our concerns about the depth of China’s alignment with Russia, even as Russia prosecutes a war of aggression in Ukraine, a brutal war. This meeting is an example of that alignment.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre heard there.
Putin thanked Xi Jinping on Thursday for his—quote—“balanced” approach to the Ukrainian crisis.
China worries about the war making oil prices more volatile and economic uncertainty worse.
WHO: pandemic end ‘in sight’ » The COVID-19 pandemic is not over, but “the end is in sight.”
That’s the word from the head of the World Health Organization.
At a press briefing in Geneva, Tedros Ghebreyesus told reporters…
GHEBREYESUS: Last week, the number of weekly reported deaths from COVID-19 was the lowest since March, 2020. We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic.
But Ghebreyesus compared the fight against the virus to a marathon. He said, “Now is the worst time to stop running.”
In its weekly report, the WHO said COVID deaths fell by 22% in the past week, at just over 11,000 reported worldwide.
Hungary abortion » The government of Hungary now requires abortion providers to show signs of life to mothers seeking an abortion. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.
JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The decree issued on Monday states that abortionists must provide pregnant women with an “indication of fetal vital signs” before proceeding with an abortion. The rule took effect on Thursday.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry said that “nearly two-thirds of Hungarians associate the beginning of a child’s life with the first heartbeat.”
It added that the measure is intended to give mothers more information before making a decision.
Abortion laws in Hungary remained largely the same since the procedure was legalized during the country’s socialist period in 1953.
The government enshrined in Hungary’s 2011 constitution that “the life of a fetus will be protected from conception,” yet it hasn’t sought to significantly tighten abortion laws.
Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.
I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.
WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.
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AP News Summary At 2:26 A.m. EDT https://digitalarizonanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-226-a-m-edt/
Ukrainian president: Mass grave found near recaptured city
IZIUM, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities have found a mass burial site near a recaptured northeastern city previously occupied by Russian forces. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the discovery late Thursday in his nightly address to the nation. The grave was found close to Izium in the Kharkiv region. Associated Press journalists saw the site in a forest. Amid the trees were hundreds of graves with simple wooden crosses, most of them marked only with numbers. A larger grave bore a marker saying it contained the bodies of 17 Ukrainian soldiers. Investigators with metal detectors were scanning the site for hidden explosives. Zelenskyy said more information would be made public Friday.
Veteran NY judge named as arbiter in Trump Mar-a-Lago probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has appointed a veteran New York jurist to serve as an independent arbiter in the criminal investigation into the presence of classified documents at Donald Trump’s Florida home. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has also refused to permit the Justice Department to resume its use of the highly sensitive records seized in an FBI search last month. Cannon on Thursday empowered the newly named special master, Raymond Dearie, to review all the documents taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago and set a November deadline for his work. The sharply worded order from Cannon sets the stage for a challenge to a federal appeals court.
LONDON DIARY: Reflections from the queue to mourn the queen
LONDON (AP) — Waiting in line to bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II is a singular event — no matter who you are. AP correspondent Samya Kullab was No. 3,017 in the queue one day this week outside Westminster Hall. The line was full of people touched by the queen’s death in different ways. And as they wait in line and chat, they find things they have in common — and realize that they’d have never met if it were not for this singular event. In nearly eight hours in line, Kullab is able to make a bit more sense of the outpouring that the monarch’s death brought to Britain.
Charles’ history with US presidents: He’s met 10 of past 14
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Watch: Royal Guard Collapses Faceplants In Front Of Queens Coffin
Watch: Royal Guard Collapses, Faceplants In Front Of Queen’s Coffin https://digitalarizonanews.com/watch-royal-guard-collapses-faceplants-in-front-of-queens-coffin/
As Queen Elizabeth II lay in state in Westminster Hall on Wednesday, one guard fainted off the coffin’s regal platform—known as a catafalque—shocking somber lines of mourners filing through the medieval hall to pay their respects. The BBC’s live stream captured the moment in which the unidentified man is seen collapsing, landing face-first on the stone floor. Aides at the ceremony then rush over to help him to his feet. The BBC then cut away to an exterior shot of the building, before the stream was briefly suspended. It was not immediately clear why the guard fell. The queue to view the Queen stretched more than two miles on Wednesday, with would-be well-wishers waiting for hours. Elizabeth II will lie in state until her state funeral on Monday, with guards standing around her coffin 24 hours a day, switching places every 20 minutes.
Read it at Daily Mail
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AP News Summary At 2:26 A.m. EDT https://digitalarizonanews.com/ap-news-summary-at-226-a-m-edt-2/
Ukrainian president: Mass grave found near recaptured city
IZIUM, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities have found a mass burial site near a recaptured northeastern city previously occupied by Russian forces. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the discovery late Thursday in his nightly address to the nation. The grave was found close to Izium in the Kharkiv region. Associated Press journalists saw the site in a forest. Amid the trees were hundreds of graves with simple wooden crosses, most of them marked only with numbers. A larger grave bore a marker saying it contained the bodies of 17 Ukrainian soldiers. Investigators with metal detectors were scanning the site for hidden explosives. Zelenskyy said more information would be made public Friday.
Veteran NY judge named as arbiter in Trump Mar-a-Lago probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has appointed a veteran New York jurist to serve as an independent arbiter in the criminal investigation into the presence of classified documents at Donald Trump’s Florida home. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has also refused to permit the Justice Department to resume its use of the highly sensitive records seized in an FBI search last month. Cannon on Thursday empowered the newly named special master, Raymond Dearie, to review all the documents taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago and set a November deadline for his work. The sharply worded order from Cannon sets the stage for a challenge to a federal appeals court.
LONDON DIARY: Reflections from the queue to mourn the queen
LONDON (AP) — Waiting in line to bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II is a singular event — no matter who you are. AP correspondent Samya Kullab was No. 3,017 in the queue one day this week outside Westminster Hall. The line was full of people touched by the queen’s death in different ways. And as they wait in line and chat, they find things they have in common — and realize that they’d have never met if it were not for this singular event. In nearly eight hours in line, Kullab is able to make a bit more sense of the outpouring that the monarch’s death brought to Britain.
Charles’ history with US presidents: He’s met 10 of past 14
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hanging out with Richard Nixon’s daughter. Swapping horseback riding stories with Ronald Reagan. Bending the ears of Donald Trump and Joe Biden on climate change. King Charles III over the years has made the acquaintance of 10 of the 14 U.S. presidents who served during his lifetime. Charles met Dwight Eisenhower when he was just 10 years old. He has recalled his first visit to the Nixon White House in 1970 as the time that “they were trying to marry me off to Tricia Nixon.” Charles met Joe Biden last year. He did not meet four presidents who held office during his lifetime: Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy.
Florida, Texas escalate flights, buses to move migrants
EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — Republican governors are escalating their practice of sending migrants without advance warning to Democratic strongholds, including a wealthy summer enclave in Massachusetts and the Washington, D.C., home of Vice President Kamala Harris. They are taunting leaders of immigrant-friendly “sanctuary” cities and highlighting their opposition to Biden administration border policies. The governors of Texas and Arizona have sent thousands of migrants on buses to New York, Chicago and Washington in recent months. But the latest surprise moves — which included two flights to Martha’s Vineyard Wednesday paid for by Florida’s governor — were derided by critics as inhumane political theater.
Biden, Dems see both political, economic wins in rail deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is hailing a labor agreement that avoided a strike that would have shut down railroads across the country as a win for America. It’s also a win for him politically, allowing Democrats to sidestep what could have been an economic debacle before November’s midterm elections. Pressured to choose between labor and business, Biden lobbied them to work together. By keeping the trains running, Biden overcame a major economic threat that doubled as a political risk. His fellow Democrats face an uphill climb to maintain their narrow hold on power in Congress amid soaring inflation and as Biden’s approval rating is improving, but still remains underwater.
EXPLAINER: States scramble as US abortion landscape shifts
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Almost three months after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the landscape of abortion access is still shifting significantly in some states, sometimes very quickly. Changing restrictions and litigation in neighboring Indiana and Ohio this week illustrate the whiplash for providers and patients navigating sudden changes in what is allowed where. As of Thursday, 13 states have current bans on abortion at any point in pregnancy and one more, Georgia, with a ban on abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected — usually around six weeks, often before women realize they’re pregnant.
Biden, S. African leader to discuss Ukraine, trade, climate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidents Joe Biden and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa are set for White House talks on Russia’s war in Ukraine, climate issues, trade and more. Biden will play host to Ramaphosa on Friday. He is among African leaders who have maintained a neutral stance in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with South Africa abstaining from a United Nations vote condemning Russia’s actions and calling for a mediated settlement. South African officials said Ramaphosa would emphasize the need for dialogue to find an end to the conflict during his meeting with Biden and in separate talks with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Warming, other factors worsened Pakistan floods, study finds
A new study says human-caused climate change juiced the rainfall that triggered Pakistan’s floods by up to 50%. But the authors of Thursday’s study say other societal issues that make the country vulnerable and put people in harm’s way are probably the biggest factor in the ongoing humanitarian disaster. Still, they say climate change made it a lot worse. Researchers used the scientifically accepted technique of comparing what happened to computer simulations of a world without heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. The study from World Weather Attribution is not yet peer reviewed.
Palestinian farmer discovers rare ancient treasure in Gaza
BUREIJ, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Palestinian farmer in the Gaza Strip has discovered a rare mosaic on his property. The man says he stumbled upon it while planting an olive tree last spring and quietly excavated it over several months with his son. Experts say the discovery of the mosaic — which includes 17 well-preserved images of animals and birds — is one of Gaza’s greatest archaeological treasures. They say it’s drawing attention to the need to protect Gaza’s antiquities, which are threatened by a lack of resources and the constant threat of fighting with Israel. The mosaic was discovered just one kilometer, or about half a mile, from the Israeli border.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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U.S. Judge Names special Master To Review Seized Items In Trump
U.S. Judge Names “special Master” To Review Seized Items In Trump https://digitalarizonanews.com/u-s-judge-names-special-master-to-review-seized-items-in-trump/
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — A federal judge named a “special master” on Thursday to review items seized by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
In a court order, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida Aileen Cannon appointed Raymond Dearie, a senior U.S. District Judge of the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, to serve as an independent arbiter, or special master.
In his role as a special master, Dearie will be responsible for reviewing the records taken by the FBI during last month’s search at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, for personal items and documents, as well as materials that may be potentially subject to claims of attorney-client or executive privileges.
Cannon gave Dearie a deadline of Nov. 30 to complete a review of the seized materials and said that Trump is responsible for “the professional fees and expenses of the special master and any professionals, support staff, and expert consultants engaged” in his request.
Dearie, 78, was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and served as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York from 2007 to 2011. In 2011, he assumed senior status, a form of semi-retirement that allows judges to maintain a reduced caseload.
The U.S. Depart of Justice (DOJ) is investigating whether Trump mishandled presidential and government records — some of them allegedly highly classified — when and after leaving office.
Federal agents searched Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 8 and seized 33 groups of items, including documents bearing classification markings, according to court filings.
Trump has lambasted the Mar-a-Lago “raid” as well as the DOJ probe and denied any wrongdoing. ■
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Desert Mtn. Football Stays Unbeaten https://digitalarizonanews.com/desert-mtn-football-stays-unbeaten/
September 15, 2022 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365
Desert Mountain’s Dylan Tapley (3) grabs a pass from QB Brady McDonough on his way to the game-winning TD on Thursday night. (Azpreps365 photo)
Desert Mountain’s football team was tested Thursday night in its bid for a third straight win in 2022. A fourth-quarter touchdown proved the difference as the Wolves posted a 34-29 win over Mesa Mountain View at Toro Stadium.
Desert Mountain quarterback-receiver combo Brady McDonough and Dylan Tapley teamed up for two scores – the second from 18 yards out with 7:27 to play – for the winning tally. Desert Mountain improved to 3-0 and Mountain View is now 1-2.
Desert Mountain led virtually the entire night, but the winning score came almost a quarter after Mountain View had taken its only lead at 29-28 with 4:57 left in the third quarter. The Wolves decisive march covered 55 yards in five plays. McDonough and Tapley connected twice among the five plays for 36 yards.
Tapley finished the game with five catches for 111 yards. McDonough completed 15 of 27 passes for 266 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. McDonough also added 83 yards rushing on 12 carries. Tapley finished the game intercepting Mountain View quarterback Jack Germaine in the Toros desperate attempt to produce a game-winning drive in the final two minutes.
Desert Mountain led 28-15 at halftime with McDonough tossing two of his TD passes and defensive back Santana Wilson helping with 52-yard interception-return TD. Mountain View took its only lead thanks to a pair of consecutive touchdowns just two minutes apart midway through the third quarter.
Germaine, who completed 20 of 36 passes for 256 yards, three TDs and two picks, tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Mikey Sumko at the 7:04 mark of the third. The Toros followed nabbed their only lead at 29-28 thanks to 40-yard interception return TD by Dwight Culpepper with 4:57 to play.
Mountain View and Basha both play on the road next Friday (Sept. 23) – Mountain View at Basha (2-0) and Desert Mountain at Chaparral (1-1).
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