Digital Arizona News

US Supreme Court Justice’s Wife Questioned By January 6 Panel https://digitalarizonanews.com/us-supreme-court-justices-wife-questioned-by-january-6-panel/ Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas, a conservative activist, meets with committee investigating last year’s US Capitol riot. Published On 29 Sep 202229 Sep 2022 Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has been interviewed by the January 6 committee investigating last year’s riot at the United States Capitol. Thomas, a conservative activist, appeared on Capitol Hill on Thursday for a voluntary interview with the Congressional panel, which has sought an interview with her for months. Her lawyer said last week that Thomas was “eager to answer the committee’s questions to clear up any misconceptions about her work relating to the 2020 election”. Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson, who chairs the committee, told reporters that Thomas was answering some questions and had reiterated her belief that the 2020 US presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. Thomas has said she attended a pro-Trump rally on January 6, 2021, during which the former US president made an incendiary speech alleging widespread voter fraud shortly before a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol. But she said she “played no role” in planning what happened that day, CNN reported earlier this year. The January 6 panel, which has interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses in its investigation into the riot in Washington, DC, had hoped to interview Thomas before wrapping up its work. The Washington Post reported in March that Thomas “repeatedly pressed” former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the weeks after the 2020 elections that Trump lost to President Joe Biden, urging him to continue to fight to overturn the results. Trump’s legal team had filed a series of lawsuits seeking to invalidate the results on the basis of his false voter fraud claims – but several US courts rejected those allegations as unfounded. The Post cited a November 10, 2020, text in which Thomas wrote to Meadows, “Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!! … You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America’s constitutional governance at the precipice.” In that same text, Thomas promoted Trump’s fraud allegations, stating that “Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History”. The Associated Press news agency also obtained emails from Thomas urging two lawmakers in Arizona to choose “a clean slate of Electors” and “stand strong in the face of political and media pressure”. Thomas has maintained that her political activities are not a conflict of interest for her husband. “Like so many married couples, we share many of the same ideals, principles, and aspirations for America. But we have our own separate careers, and our own ideas and opinions too. Clarence doesn’t discuss his work with me, and I don’t involve him in my work,” she told the Washington Free Beacon in March. Her husband, Clarence Thomas, was the only member of the US Supreme Court to object to a ruling that allowed the January 6 panel access to presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts and handwritten notes relating to the riot. Thomas has been actively critical of the January 6 committee and signed a letter calling on House Republicans to expel Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their involvement in the panel. Thomas did not answer questions when she arrived for the interview with the panel on Thursday, the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies reported. But she told reporters she was looking forward to answering questions from the members of the committee, the AP said. The January 6 committee was expected to hold a televised hearing on Wednesday, but it was postponed due to a massive storm, Hurricane Ian, which has battered the state of Florida. Source : Al Jazeera and news agencies Read More Here

Emails Reveal Trump White House Ordered USS McCain Hidden During 2019 Japan Trip https://digitalarizonanews.com/emails-reveal-trump-white-house-ordered-uss-mccain-hidden-during-2019-japan-trip/ Emails reveal Trump White House ordered USS McCain hidden during 2019 Japan trip  KOMO News Read More Here

2022 Elections: Candidate Questionnaire: Sandra Kennedy For Corporation Commissioner https://digitalarizonanews.com/2022-elections-candidate-questionnaire-sandra-kennedy-for-corporation-commissioner/ Basic biographical information: Name: Sandra Kennedy Office they are seeking: Corporation Commissioner Age: 67 City of residence: Phoenix Occupation: corporation commissioner Education: four years of college Previous elected office: corporation commissioner 2019-present; corporation commissioner 2009-2013; six years state representative 1988-1992; six years state senator 1993-1999; Phoenix Union High School Governing Board 1990-1994 Other relevant qualifications: Tutor, Valley Christian Center and Valle Del Sol (grades 5-8); Board member, Arizona Cactus Pine Girl Scout Council; ex-Officio Member, Phoenix Community Alliance; Board member, Community Excellence Project; Member, First Institutional Baptist Church. 1. What do you see as the most important issue to address and how would you address it? Ratepayers are seeing their electric bills spiking because of added fuel charges due to spiking natural gas and oil prices, and this will only get worse a world-wide shortages occur. Now that solar energy costs half to one third of natural gas and coal energy costs, it is time to move to a rapid conversion of Arizona’s electric power to solar energy and save ratepayers money. Also, the conversion to solar means prices will go lower, then stabilize. It also means the beginning of a sustained economic boom unprecedented in Arizona history, a Solar Renaissance, as Arizona becomes a national source of solar-powered electricity, producing endless amounts of energy, and bringing unlimited prosperity to the state. This also means plentiful, sustainable, solar jobs with good wages that will never go away. 2. Why should voters choose you, rather than other candidates? I have the years of experience as a commissioner to be effective at watching over utilities, and the integrity to always be a consumer advocate for the people of Arizona. I have fought against corruption at the Corporation Commission and have required utilities to come clean about their spending to influence the corporation commission elections as well as others, using my subpoena power as a commissioner. I want to find the best way for people in Arizona to have reliable and affordable electricity. I am a Clean Elections candidate, and never take money from corporations. 3. Could you please provide a list of the people and organizations that have endorsed you? AZAFL-CIO Carpenters Local Union 1912 UA Local 469 Plumbers, Pipefitters, & HVAC Techs Communication Workers of America Ironworkers Local 75 Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club Arizona Stonewall Democrats Equality AZ Sara Brown, Opinion Coordinator at the Arizona Daily Star Newsroom working with editorial, features, business and metro. sbbrown@tucson.com, 520-807-8466. Twitter: @sbrownarizona. Facebook: sbrownarizona. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Read More Here

Newly Revealed Private Texts Show Jack Dorsey Tried To Get Elon Musk Involved With Twitter At Least A Year Before The $44 Billion Deal. 'I Trust You,' Dorsey Wrote. https://digitalarizonanews.com/newly-revealed-private-texts-show-jack-dorsey-tried-to-get-elon-musk-involved-with-twitter-at-least-a-year-before-the-44-billion-deal-i-trust-you-dorsey-wrote/ Text messages between Elon Musk and various notables in tech and business have been released. In several private exchanges, Musk and Jack Dorsey discussed the platform and Musk’s involvement.  “I trust you,” Dorsey said in one text to Musk. Loading Something is loading. Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey texted privately about Twitter several times before and after the Tesla billionaire became financially involved in the company, newly revealed court records show. Dorsey, a Twitter co-founder and former CEO, first texted Musk on March 26, according to a text log filed as part of Twitter’s ongoing lawsuit against Musk.  In his initial text to Musk about Twitter, Dorsey said “A new platform is needed. It can’t be a company. That’s why I left.” Musk quickly responded, according to the text log, asking “What should it look like?” Dorsey proceeded to explain what he has said publicly, that Twitter should become an “open-sourced protocol” that looks “a bit like what Signal has done,” referencing the encrypted messaging app. Dorsey also said that Twitter “cant have an advertising model.” Advertising is currently the central business model of social media companies. Musk told Dorsey, “I’d like to help if I’m able.” Dorsey proceeded to tell Musk that he’d actually pushed for his addition to Twitter’s board a year earlier, but Twitter’s board “said no.” He added the Twitter board saw Musk “as more risk, “Which i thought was completely stupid and backwards.” “That’s about the time I decided I needed to work to leave, as hard as it was for me,” Dorsey continued. This was also the time activist investor Elliot Management got involved in Twitter, demanding a number of changes to the company’s business toward growth and profitability. While Dorsey’s contact with Musk on March 26 was referenced in a later filing with the SEC about Musk’s eventual offer to acquire Twitter for $44 billion, the detail of the exchanges was not divulged. Subsequent texts at later dates were also not mentioned. When Musk eventually made a deal on April 5 with Twitter to join its board, the day after his more than 9% stake in the company became public, Musk texted Dorsey to set up a time to “speak confidentially.” A couple of hours later, the two texted referencing the call. Dorsey told Musk that he “couldn’t be happier you’re doing this.” “I’ve wanted it for a long time,” Dorsey added. “Got very emotional when I learned it was finally possible.” When Musk asked Dorsey to advise him if ever he was doing or not doing “something dumb,” Dorsey replied: “I trust you but def will do.” Are you a Twitter employee or someone with insight to share? Contact Kali Hays at khays@insider.com, on secure messaging app Signal at 949-280-0267, or through Twitter DM at @hayskali. Reach out using a non-work device. Read More Here

Commercial Litigator Philip Overcash Returns To Kutak Rock https://digitalarizonanews.com/commercial-litigator-philip-overcash-returns-to-kutak-rock/ , /PRNewswire/ — Kutak Rock is pleased to announce that Philip Overcash, a seasoned litigator with more than 20 years of complex commercial and real estate litigation experience, has rejoined its commercial litigation practice group in the firm’s Scottsdale, AZ office. “Philip is an accomplished and highly regarded attorney known for his creative approach to litigation strategy,” said Paul Gerding, Jr., Regional Co-Chair of the Litigation Department in Scottsdale. “His substantial trial experience deepens our litigation bench as we continue to rapidly expand our commercial litigation practice in Scottsdale to meet growing client demand. We are pleased to welcome Philip back to Kutak Rock.” Mr. Overcash focuses his practice on complex civil, commercial and real estate litigation. He has successfully represented a wide array of clients in legal disputes involving contracts, real estate, construction defects, insurance coverage and bad faith, employment law, trademarks and trade secrets, and appeals. “I am very excited to return to Kutak Rock, where I spent over 11 years as a partner in the Scottsdale office,” said Mr. Overcash. “I look forward to again working alongside my colleagues in Scottsdale and across the country to continue to position our clients for success. It’s great to be back!” Mr. Overcash received a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is admitted to practice in Arizona and Oregon, in addition to the U.S. District Court for the Districts of Arizona and Oregon and the United States District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. About Kutak Rock LLP With a footprint spanning 19 offices in 14 states and the District of Columbia, Kutak Rock’s 550+ attorneys work seamlessly to provide clients excellent, responsive legal services. The firm’s multidisciplinary practice comprises more than 25 areas of focus and dozens of discrete specialties. For more information, see www.KutakRock.com. SOURCE Kutak Rock LLP Read More Here

GCU Men’s Soccer Coach Mike Kraus Adjusting Well In First Year https://digitalarizonanews.com/gcu-mens-soccer-coach-mike-kraus-adjusting-well-in-first-year/ Mike Kraus secured a signature win against nationally-ranked UCLA on Sept. 5, in his debut season as GCU men’s soccer coach. (Photo by Austin Ford/Cronkite News) The GCU men’s soccer team, featuring 13 freshmen and six transfer players this season, aims to improve to 4-4-1 against Utah Tech. (Photo by Austin Ford/Cronkite News) PHOENIX – In the span of just a few months, Mike Kraus, the new head coach of GCU’s men’s soccer team, has dealt with a variety of unique experiences. For starters, he had to figure out a way to build chemistry between 19 new players and the team’s returners. Then he witnessed the Antelopes’ stunning upset win over a highly-ranked team. And then came another anomaly. In a non-conference home match against Santa Clara, Kraus dealt with an uncommon weather occurrence in Arizona: lightning. Lightning in the area surrounding GCU Stadium on Sept. 9 produced a 90-minute show in the sky and delayed the game’s start time while keeping both teams in their locker rooms. As time passed – along with the storm – fans emerged from cover to witness the unphased GCU warming up. Coming off the program’s first win over a top-five opponent in history to start the season 3-4-1, nothing shocks the Antelopes, especially with the poised Kraus at the helm giving the team calm leadership through different situations. In his first season as GCU’s coach, Kraus has relied on his rich experience as a longtime youth coach in the Phoenix area and as a former MLS player to weather the challenges of this season – the most difficult being the time crunch at the collegiate level. At Real Salt Lake Academy, where he spent 12 seasons, he had more time to develop players and longer seasons. At GCU, he has shorter seasons and less time overall. Kraus said at Real Salt Lake-AZ, where he worked with 12-to-19-year-old players, long-term plans were more of the focus. “You’re talking about what the development of a player is over 24, 48, 36 months,” Kraus said. “Three years and beyond are the plans that you’re looking to hopefully come into fruition.” In college, though, time is a valuable commodity in short supply. GCU’s regular season takes just over two months to complete. Yet the goal for Kraus remains the same: preparing players for professional soccer. His development of players involves improving their technical and tactical skills. He focuses on the finer points of the game to make his players better. “(It’s) those little details of deceptiveness and the cleverness of how you disguise your intentions and what you’re trying to do, not only individually but collectively,” said Kraus, who was hired after GCU’s previous head coach, Leonard Griffin, took the head coaching job at California. “I think that’s one of the separators to get you to the top level.” Comparing the academy to collegiate athletics, another adjustment for the GCU coach is the differences in physique and the secrets to building a successful team. “At the youth level, I think ideas are rewarded,” Kraus said. “At this level, college and pro, it’s the execution that’s rewarded.” Kraus believes in executing an aggressive style of play, particularly on defense, and wants his players to seek the ball in the attacking half rather than playing conservative defense. This style was a stark difference for senior forward Cameron Weller. “Some coaches we’ve had in the past have been defense oriented where we start the game playing for a 0-0 tie,” Weller said. Mistakes often happen anytime a new coach implements a different playing strategy. When things go wrong, Kraus shows patience with his players – another major change for Weller from previous seasons. “That was a big thing, especially for me, because I’ve had coaches in the past where you’re scared to make a mistake because you might get pulled off the field,” Weller said. “That messes with your head and messes with your emotions.” Kraus’ patience and detailed-oriented approach extend far beyond the soccer field. He wants his players to be unified in focusing on the finer points of everything they do. The details shine through in the culture he has established of having his players give back to the community and their fellow teammates. “If you take shortcuts in one part of your life, you’re going to take quick shortcuts in the other (parts), and the team is going to suffer because of it,” Kraus said. “(Giving back is) at the heart of our values of our team that we’ve looked to instill and continue to develop. The soccer stuff can continue to get better and improve every single day, but if that foundation isn’t there for us, then we’ve got bigger problems.” Senior midfielder Alex LaBarge said Kraus takes an active role in making sure the program’s culture is upheld. “Every team talks about culture, but he’s definitely one to make sure that we’re all together,” LaBarge said. The GCU men’s soccer team, featuring 13 freshmen and six transfer players this season, aims to improve to 4-4-1 against Utah Tech. (Photo by Austin Ford/Cronkite News) The task of getting the team together and building chemistry was tougher than it may seem. GCU brought in 19 new players this season, including 13 freshmen and six transfers. LaBarge said Kraus made that a priority immediately. “We had a really good first impression with him as he wanted the team to be super close together,” LaBarge said. “We’re constantly doing team-bonding stuff. We’re always hanging out.” Said Kraus: “If we’re going to be a team, you have to be able to enjoy each other’s company. You have to be able to like each other and to bond with each other off the field so that when it does come time to go to battle, you are ready to go to battle with somebody that you trust.” Kraus’s coaching style and a great bond among the players have led to success against major conference opponents. GCU started its season with a 1-0 win over Virginia Tech. The Lopes found an even bigger win just 10 days later with a 3-2 upset win over then-No.4 UCLA. “We can’t just look up and we can’t respect other teams,” LaBarge said. “They’re all the enemy, and it doesn’t matter how good they are or what rank they are. It’s the other team, and we don’t need to give them respect.” The Lopes failed to produce the same success Saturday against No. 2 Washington, coming up short in a 4-1 loss. GCU now turns its focus to nine games of WAC competition, where pressure will be on the Lopes to defend their regular-season conference championship. If the Lopes will succeed in that quest, Kraus said his team’s patience while playing aggressively will be key. The test starts Friday against Utah Tech. “We don’t want to just be a team that’s sitting back and defending,” Kraus said. “We want to be dangerous in the attack and a lot of times that means pumping the brakes sometimes and being a little bit more patient and being a little bit safer with our passes.” Follow Cronkite News: Phoenix Sports on Twitter. Read More…

Trump Will Be Indicted. The GOP Should Cut Him Loose Now https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-will-be-indicted-the-gop-should-cut-him-loose-now/ Former President Donald Trump listens to applause from the crowd as he steps up to the podium at a rally Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in Wilmington, N.C. Chris Seward AP The handwriting is now, at the least, on the wall. I know a lot of Tar Heels don’t want to hear this — but Donald Trump is, in the months ahead, going to be indicted. His lawbreaking is so habitual, so overt, so pervasive, so foundational, and so rule-of-law decimating, that it simply won’t be possible for the Department of Justice and law enforcement officials in Georgia and, likely, New York, to ignore it. Perhaps Trump couldn’t help himself. Maybe it’s like his lying — a lifelong, all-consuming practice. He can’t shake it. Or even try. Old dog. Old tricks. He’s the don, not just The Donald. And when the indictments come, what’s going to happen? Sadly, we know this too. Trump has opened his mind, or at least his mouth. He told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that “the people of the United States won’t stand for it.” Filing charges against him would lead to “problems in this country, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.” Gene Nichol When asked what he meant by “problems,” Trump explained in barely-coded language: “Big problems. Big problems. I don’t think they’ll stand for it.” As George Conway explained: “he’s saying ‘what a nice country you have here, too bad if something would happen to it’.” He called out the armed insurrectionists on January 6th. This’ll make that look like child’s play. Now, I’ll concede some portion of Trump’s base will welcome the summoned bloodshed. I don’t know how big. Ten percent? Twenty-five? Larger? We’ll likely see. But I wonder about the rest. A USA Today/Ipsos poll last month found that “four in five Republicans (82%) believe Trump can win the next presidential election” and “three in five believe he should be the nominee in 2024.” Liz Cheney famously reported a Republican House colleague saying, as he signed on to an attempt to overthrow the 2020 election, “the things we do for orange Jesus.” But how far will it go? Will they embrace armed revolt? Will white Christian evangelicals remain so taken with their victorious efforts to produce a sectarian, gun-lionizing, racialized Supreme Court that they’ll discard the American democratic experiment to assure their (this-worldly) political power? Will the Wall Street, wealth-worshipping, big-capital folks run the risk of economy-destroying anarchy in order to assure a government regime that brutalizes poor people and gives a “deserved” permanent ascendancy to the investor class? Will a big portion of the libertarian crowd hang onto Trump and his friends in order to press their potently-subsidized version of liberty? Will “quiet” white supremacists show their actual colors rather than accept the implementation of pluralist democracy? Or, will some, or most, disenthrall? Disenthrall now, before the onset of the nearing horizon’s violence? Perhaps you think I overstate the peril. (I get that sometimes.) But do these various folks described above actually think that the other 60% or so of Americans will simply cower in the corner, surrendering their human rights and our nation’s long-declared meaning, because the MAGA coalition may be fueled by hatred and replete with arms? I wouldn’t bet on it. There’s a lot more courage and commitment out here in the rest of the land than the Trumpists imagine. They make the same mistake Putin made about Ukraine. Democracy has its steel. Even if it’s hard to arouse. Won’t it be easier, even if unnerving, for the Republican Party to turn Trump loose now, than it will be after he again summons the gun thugs? Contributing columnist Gene Nichol is the Boyd Tinsley Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina. Read More Here

Biden’s Brain Farts Should Scare The Hell Out Of Anyone Who Doesn’t Want Trump Back In The White House https://digitalarizonanews.com/bidens-brain-farts-should-scare-the-hell-out-of-anyone-who-doesnt-want-trump-back-in-the-white-house/ “Where’s Jackie?” That was the question on Joe Biden’s mind (and only Joe Biden’s mind) on Wednesday, as the president searched in vain for Rep. Jackie Walorski at a White House conference on hunger and nutrition. Unfortunately, the Indiana lawmaker died in a car crash last month. So no, Jackie Walorski was not going to be walking through that door (though if she did, that would truly be newsworthy). Coming on the heels of a speech at the Global Fund Conference in which Biden appeared to look “dazed and confused” afterward, this latest boner has reignited speculation about the possibility that Biden, 79, might be suffering from some form of cognitive decline. But at the very least, it’s clear that he has lost a step. The real question may be “Where’s Biden?” Of course, there are other plausible (and slightly less worrisome) excuses that might explain Biden’s behavior. After Rep. Walorski’s death, the White House put out a statement from Biden saying he was “shocked and saddened” by her death. But is it possible that Biden was never actually notified—that his staff simply put out the release without his knowledge? This seems unlikely, and a president who is that out-of-the-loop regarding the recent death of a congresswoman (whom he personally knew) that got a lot of media coverage would not be a great excuse. Of course, we all commit brain farts. Presidents give countless speeches. They are on camera all the time. And there are 535 members of Congress to keep tabs on (not to mention all the other elected officials in America). And, oh yeah, he has a lot of other things to worry about (including Russia and China). It’s also true that Biden has always had a penchant for making gaffes. The most similar example involved a 2008 campaign speech where Biden asked a paraplegic state senator in the audience to “stand up.” The problem with the comparison is that if you watch the video from 2008, Biden quickly realizes his embarrassing mistake. Indeed, his quick-witted response—“stand up for Chuck!”—was, considering the circumstances, impressive. “ Regardless of whether Biden is suffering from cognitive decline (that’s for the doctors to decide), it’s very clear that—putting it kindly—he is long past his prime. ” The same could not be said for this most recent mistake. Biden seemed old and confused. Not only could this bad look have staying power, it’s coming at a bad time for the president and his party. In recent months, Biden seemed to have turned a corner. After a rough year that started in the aftermath of his ill-fated 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, Biden was starting to get his mojo back, as evidenced by his rising approval ratings, and midterm prognostications looking increasingly optimistic for Democrats. And while the calls to replace Biden on the 2024 ticket never really subsided, this latest flub is sure to renew and accelerate the desperate search for a successor, once the midterms are over in six weeks. Making matters worse, the gaslighting put forth by Biden’s White House press secretary only angered the press corps. As The New York Times put it, “Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, refused to acknowledge that Mr. Biden had misspoken or that he had forgotten that Ms. Walorski had died.” It was an almost Sean Spicer-esque spin from a WH press secretary, which makes me wonder what kind of attention this would be receiving if Donald Trump had made a similar mistake (and if his team refused to accept it). It would likely be the West Point ramp controversy—on steroids. But this is not a story about media bias or hypocrisy. Regardless of whether Biden is suffering from cognitive decline (that’s for the doctors to decide), it’s very clear that—putting it kindly—he is long past his prime. We should at least be willing to honestly admit that. Moreover, we should be honest about the fact that this transcends Biden. America effectively has a gerontocracy right now. Now, there’s a good (and very simple) reason why almost nobody outside of the Republican Party wants to probe too deeply here: Joe Biden is the only person standing between us and another four years of Donald Trump. Seriously, Biden was probably the only Democrat who (a) could have won the Democratic nomination in 2020, and (b) could have defeated Donald Trump. And in the intervening years, there is little reason to believe that—even with Biden’s obvious deficiencies—anyone else who is likely to run would stand a better chance in 2024. This is not a criticism of Biden. Indeed, if you view Trump as an existential threat, then you owe Biden a debt of gratitude for spending his golden years at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But the fact that—at this point—America is still turning its lonely eyes to Joe Biden to be our savior is an indictment on the Democratic Party and modern American politics, writ large. Biden’s ostensible heir apparent, Vice President Kamala Harris, has not risen to the occasion. But pushing her aside in favor of someone like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would look like a slap in the face to a large portion of the Democratic Party’s base. So we are basically caught in this scary Catch-22. It’s either the confused old guy or the dangerous old guy. Welcome to modern America. Read More Here

Trump Argues He Shouldn't Have To Comment On Accuracy Of DOJ Inventory – Mountain Top Media https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-argues-he-shouldnt-have-to-comment-on-accuracy-of-doj-inventory-mountain-top-media/ Trump argues he shouldn’t have to comment on accuracy of DOJ inventory mountain top media Article Updated: September 29, 2022 Leave a comment Former President Donald Trump argued in a new court filing that he should not have to declare in court whether or not the Justice Department’s updated inventory of the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago is accurate. Post navigation Previous post ‘American Horror Story: NYC’ to premiere on FX in October Posted in: Global News More Articles By the same author Death toll reaches 11 from sunken Japanese tour boat; 15 missing mountain top media Apr 25, 2022 Bad weather and engine failure could have contributed to the sinking of a Japanese tour boat that sunk… Iowa St. reaches 1st Big 12 title game; OU awaits mountain top media Dec 6, 2020 No. 9 Iowa State will make its first Big 12 championship game appearance in program history against… Medical debt affects 1 in 5 American households mountain top media Sep 19, 2022 More than one in 10 American adults and nearly one in five U.S. households have medical debt, a new… Watergate 50th Anniversary: 5 shows, films inspired by the scandal mountain top media Jun 17, 2022 Friday marks the 50th anniversary of Watergate. These 5 shows and films were inspired by the scandal.… DeRozan on home intruder: ‘Been through worse’ mountain top media Dec 5, 2020 Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan said he and family are doing well after a home invasion scare at his Los Angeles-area… ARH in talks to buy Saint Joseph Martin mountain top media Dec 19, 2017 LEXINGTON, Ky. – KentuckyOne Health and Appalachian Regional Healthcare confirmed today they have… Source: Rangers fire GM, prez in shocking move mountain top media May 5, 2021 The New York Rangers fired general manager Jeff Gorton and president John Davidson on Wednesday, a source… ‘Wonder Years’ reboot to premiere Sept. 22 on ABC mountain top media Aug 23, 2021 ABC’s new reboot of “The Wonder Years” will premiere on Sept. 22 at 8:30 p.m. EDT, the network announced… Jan. 6: Cipollone testimony ‘reinforced’ reports of Trump misconduct; Bannon to testify mountain top media Jul 10, 2022 Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone reinforced reports of former President Donald Trump’s misconduct… Read More Here

Florida Confronts Devastating Damage As Tropical Storm Ian Intensifies On Path To South Carolina | CNN https://digitalarizonanews.com/florida-confronts-devastating-damage-as-tropical-storm-ian-intensifies-on-path-to-south-carolina-cnn/ Editor’s Note: Affected by the storm? Use CNN’s lite site for low bandwidth. You also can text or WhatsApp your Ian stories to CNN +1 332-261-0775. CNN  —  Rescuers pulled people from roofs, flooded homes and submerged vehicles across Florida on Thursday, a day after Hurricane Ian brought high winds, heavy rain and catastrophic storm surge to the state. And the storm’s path of destruction is not over: Ian, now a tropical storm, is dropping more heavy rain on central and northeast Florida throughout Thursday and is forecast to strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane and make a second landfall in South Carolina on Friday, the National Hurricane Center said. In southwest and central Florida, about a dozen people were reported dead so far due to the storm. One person who was in hospice care died in Osceola County, Emergency Management Director Bill Litton said; about five people are believed to have died in Lee County, the sheriff said; and six deaths were reported in Charlotte County, commissioner Chris Constance told CNN’s John King on Thursday. Survey crews, photos and videos of the region show collapsed buildings, flooding, downed power lines and impassable roads, including a key bridge connecting Sanibel and Captiva islands to Florida’s mainland that has been washed out. In all, more than 2.6 million customers have no power Thursday, according to PowerOutage.US, and some drinking water systems have broken down completely or have boil notices in effect. “I just literally got out of a helicopter where I was able to take a complete tour of the entire county and there’s really no words that I can say to tell you what I’ve seen,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marcino said on CNN Thursday. “The Fort Myers Beach area, buildings, major, major homes and buildings completely washed away with vehicles in the water, vehicles in the bay, boats are upside down.” There are many people who need to be rescued in southwest Florida’s Fort Myers area, FEMA chief Deanne Criswell said Thursday morning. The nearby Naples area was similarly slammed, with feet of water submerged streets, nearly swallowing vehicles and rushing into the first floors of homes and businesses. The Coast Guard and National Guard were “pulling people off of roofs in Fort Myers” with aircraft Thursday morning, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson told CNN. Coast Guard crews have conducted 28 rescues on Thursday, the service said. Still, much about the misery remains unknown: how many lives Ian may have ended, how many people remain trapped, how many homes were wrecked beyond repair and how long it might take to restore a semblance of ordinary life. The rescue efforts come a day after Ian came ashore near Cayo Costa as a Category 4 hurricane as one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall on Florida’s west coast. The storm has since weakened to a tropical storm with 70 mph sustained winds, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm cut a path from near Fort Myers in the southwest across to the eastern part of the state, and its combination of wind, rain and storm surge caused flooding that Gov. Ron DeSantis called “a 500-year flood event.” Here are the latest developments: • Downgraded to a tropical storm: Ian weakened to a tropical storm Thursday with winds of 70 mph, and the center of the storm was about 25 miles north-northeast of Cape Canaveral around 11 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said. Based on wind speed, Ian tied with 2004’s Hurricane Charley as the strongest storm to make landfall on the west coast of the Florida Peninsula, both with 150-mph winds at landfall. • Hurricane warnings for South Carolina: Hurricane warnings are in place for the entire coast of South Carolina. In addition, Tropical Storm warnings are in place from Jupiter, Florida, up the east coast to Duck, North Carolina. • Record-high storm surges: Ian’s storm surge hit up to 12 feet in some places in western Florida. On Thursday morning, a storm surge warning – meaning life-threatening surges could hit – was in place for a coastal stretch from northeastern Florida into an area north of Charleston, South Carolina. • More than a foot of rainfall: Lehigh Acres near Fort Myers got 14.42 inches of rain, and Warm Mineral Springs near Port Charlotte got 11.05 inches. Up to 30 inches of rain may have fallen in parts of Florida by storm’s end, forecasters say. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images A man takes photos Thursday, September 29, of boats that were damaged by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Joe Raedle/Getty Images Stedi Scuderi looks over her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Wilfredo Lee/AP This aerial photo shows damaged homes and debris in Fort Myers on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/Zuma Fort Myers residents explore damage on Fort Myers Beach on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images A boat lies partially submerged in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Win McNamee/Getty Images Tom Park begins cleaning up in Punta Gorda on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Wilfredo Lee/AP A causeway to Florida’s Sanibel Island is seen on Thursday. A portion of the causeway was washed away by storm surge, according to live video from CNN affiliate WBBH. The causeway is the only way to get to or from Sanibel and Captiva Islands to Florida’s mainland. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Chris O’Meara/AP People survey damage to their home in Valrico, Florida, on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images Debris litters a street in Punta Gorda on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Joe Raedle/Getty Images Brenda Brennan sits next to a boat that pushed up against her apartment building in Fort Myers on Thursday. She said the boat floated in around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Joe Raedle/Getty Images Vehicles make their way through flooded streets in Fort Myers on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Joe Raedle/Getty Images Stefanie Karas stands in her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. She is an artist and was salvaging what she could from her home. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Orange County Fire Rescue’s Public Information Office via AP Firefighters help stranded people in Orange County, Florida, early on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Presss A spiral staircase lies next to a damaged pickup truck in Sanibel, Florida, on Thursday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Marco Bello/Reuters A flooded street is seen in downtown Fort Myers after Ian made landfall on Wednesday, September 28. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Marco Bello/Reuters A woman surveys damage through a door during a power outage in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida NOAA/NASA A satellite image shows the hurricane making landfall on the southwest coast of Florida on Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Naples Police The streets of Naples, Florida, are flooded on Wednesday. City officials asked residents to shelter in place until further notice. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A woman is helped out of a muddy area Wednesday in Tampa, Florida, where water was receding due to a negative storm surge. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images Strong winds hit Punta Gorda on Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A woman holds an umbrella inverted by the wind in Tampa on Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS/Abaca/Reuters Sailboats anchored in Roberts Bay are blown around in Venice, Florida, on Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Crystal Vander Weit/TCPalm/USA Today Network Melvin Phillips stands in the flooded basement of his mobile home in Stuart, Florida, on Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network Damage is seen at the Kings Point condos in Delray Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Marco Bello/Reuters A TV crew broadcasts from the beach in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/AP Utility trucks are staged in a rural lot Wednesday in The Villages, a Florida retirement community. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Highways in Tampa are empty Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Ian making landfall. Several coastal counties in western Florida were under mandatory evacuations. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Wilfredo Lee/AP An airplane is overturned in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP Zuram Rodriguez surveys the damage around her home in Davie, Florida, early on Wednesday. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Florida Ramon Espinosa/AP People play dominoes by flashlight during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday. Crews in Cuba have been working to restore power for millions after the storm battered the western region with high winds and dangerous storm surge, causing an islandwide blackout. Photos: Hurricane Ian pummels Fl...

Russians Rebel As Putin Drafts More People In Battle For Ukraine https://digitalarizonanews.com/russians-rebel-as-putin-drafts-more-people-in-battle-for-ukraine/ September 29, 2022 at 11:18 a.m. EDT President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization of Russian men to fight in Ukraine has brought home the reality of war to ordinary Russian families. For months, Russian voices of dissent were largely silent. Initial antiwar demonstrations were quickly crushed and there were only small displays of defiance in major cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg. But that all changed after Putin’s announcement on Sept. 21. Through angry protests, acts of violence and an exodus of more than 200,000 citizens, Russians are rebelling against the prospect of further escalation of the war and the steep price they will probably pay. Kremlin officials have downplayed the turmoil but the scenes coming out of Russia tell a different story, one of widespread opposition against a government known for quashing it. Dissent has been documented across the country even in areas that were previously quiet. Videos and images verified by The Washington Post show Russians are angry and afraid for their lives. Dozens of protests broke out in large cities and rural areas that have already lost many men to the war in Ukraine. Some took to violence, while others chose to escape: Miles-long lines of cars waited to cross land borders out of the country and international flights out of Moscow were full of fighting-age men. On Sunday, demonstrations erupted in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in the North Caucasus. Soldiers from the region have suffered disproportionately high casualties during the Ukraine invasion. In protests in the regional capital of Makhachkala on Sunday and Monday, women confronted, even chased, local authorities. “We are for peace,” they chanted in one widely shared video. Security forces responded harshly, violently detaining both women and men. Some 120 people were arrested in Makhachkala, according to OVD-Info, an independent group monitoring protests. The head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, has blamed the unrest on foreign influence “trying to escalate the situation inside the country” and has vowed that the republic will fulfill its part of the mobilization. In Endirey, a village of around 8,000 people located northwest of Makhachkala, video taken Sunday showed police firing into the air. According to local Telegram channels, 110 men had been called up there. There were more protests Monday in Makhachkala and security forces again clashed with locals. Within hours of Putin’s announcement, protesters took to the streets in several large cities including St. Petersburg, Perm, Yekaterinburg and Moscow. Police, as they did months earlier, responded with beatings and mass arrests. Protesters also came out in western Siberia. A video posted Sept. 21 showed people standing in Novosibirsk’s central square. “I don’t want to die for Putin,” one shouted before being pulled away by police. Police surrounded demonstrators in a main square of the Siberian city of Tomsk on Sept. 21. One protester was led away holding a sign that said, “give me a hug if you’re also afraid.” In the eastern cities of Siberia, protesters fought with police shortly after Putin’s announcement and continued demonstrating through the weekend. In a video posted Sunday on Telegram from the far eastern city of Yakutsk, an impoverished area where ethnic minorities have also borne the brunt of casualties in the war, women surrounded police and chanted, “Let our children live!” There have also been attacks against military recruitment offices. More than a dozen incidents of violence have been reported across the country against military commissariats since the mobilization announcement. On Monday morning at a recruitment center in Ust-Ilimsk, 25-year-old Ruslan Zinin shot and critically wounded the chief recruitment officer, Alexander Eliseev, in charge of conscription. The shooter was detained and a criminal case was opened against him, according to Russian News Agency Tass. A video posted Monday to Telegram showed a person throwing a Molotov cocktail at an enlistment office in the town of Uryupinsk, part of the oblast or province of Volgograd in southwest Russia. In a statement from the administration of Uryupinsk posted on the Russian social media channel VK, the office confirmed the enlistment building was set on fire and that “the person at fault has been detained.” The administration said that there was minimal damage and no injuries. A military recruitment office in Tomsk was evacuated following a bomb threat just hours after Putin’s announcement, media in Tomsk reported. Rather than engaging in attacks or protests, many more young men seeking to avoid the war have opted to flee the country. Social media posts and satellite imagery showed miles of cars lined up at Russian border crossings as neighboring nations reported influxes of Russian migration. Lines of cars stretched back at least nine miles from the Upper Lars checkpoint on the border with Georgia, far longer than the usual backup, according to Stephen Wood, senior director at Maxar Technologies. The traffic jams are visible both in satellite images and videos posted online. For Yana and her boyfriend, crossing into Georgia took days. The 28-year-old, who only gave her first name because she didn’t want to be identified by authorities, described a desperate scene at the border. “People had been standing there for three or four days already,” she said. “Online help chats are being created, people asking for water, food, diapers, gasoline.” “I’ve seen a lot of things at the border but never the mayhem such as this,” a tour guide said in a video posted on Sept. 22. Georgia’s interior minister said there had been a 40 to 45 percent increase in Russians crossing the border daily since the mobilization announcement. After days of waiting, the couple made it across on Tuesday. “He hadn’t received a summons yet,” Yana said of her boyfriend. “Once it arrives it’s too late to leave.” Satellite imagery captured by Maxar Technologies on Friday showed a line of vehicles nearly a half-mile long waiting to cross from the Russian republic of Buryatia into Mongolia. “There are definitely more vehicles trying to leave,” Wood said. Images from Aug. 15, which he said were typical of traffic volumes before the mobilization, contained only a handful of trucks on the Russian side of the border. Satellite imagery taken in the week since Russia’s announcement also indicated extensive delays at several land crossings into Kazakhstan. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev estimated Tuesday some 98,000 Russians had entered the country since Sept. 21. “Most of them are forced to leave because of the current hopeless situation,” he said in a speech. “We must take care of them and ensure their safety.” Video taken at the Mashtakovo border crossing into Kazakhstan and posted Sept. 22 also showed cars lined at the checkpoint and men on foot. Footage recorded late Sunday showed large numbers of men still at the border. “There are many refugees, I feel sorry for them,” Aidos Kairzhanov, who shared the videos with the Post and said he helped transport some Russians from the border. Many also scrambled to fly out of Russia. “The decision to leave was a very hard one,” said Alexander, 27, who gave only his first name for fear of reprisals. He left behind his family, girlfriend, mortgage and job, and booked a flight to Kazakhstan when he heard of the mobilization. At first he was nervous and confused, but he made friends on the flight — young Russian men who were also escaping. “I’m happy I left and have no regrets. But the future is very unclear,” he said. Robyn Dixon and Natalia Abbakumova contributed to this report from Riga, Latvia and Atthar Mirza contributed from Washington DC. Mariya Manzhos provided translations. War in Ukraine: What you need to know The latest: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” of troops in an address to the nation on Sept. 21, framing the move as an attempt to defend Russian sovereignty against a West that seeks to use Ukraine as a tool to “divide and destroy Russia.” Follow our live updates here. The fight: A successful Ukrainian counteroffensive has forced a major Russian retreat in the northeastern Kharkiv region in recent days, as troops fled cities and villages they had occupied since the early days of the war and abandoned large amounts of military equipment. Annexation referendums: Staged referendums, which would be illegal under international law, are set to take place from Sept. 23 to 27 in the breakaway Luhansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine, according to Russian news agencies. Another staged referendum will be held by the Moscow-appointed administration in Kherson starting Friday. Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work. How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating. Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? 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Porsche Shares Flat At Close After Landmark $72 Bln Listing https://digitalarizonanews.com/porsche-shares-flat-at-close-after-landmark-72-bln-listing/ Shares priced at top of indicated range at 82.50 euros Biggest listing in Germany since 1996 Shares flat at market close after peaking at 86.54 euros IPO unlikely to reopen frozen markets -banker FRANKFURT, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Porsche AG shares had a see-saw start on Thursday, after Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) defied volatile markets to list the sports car brand at a valuation of 75 billion euros ($72 billion) in Germany’s second-biggest market debut. The shares closed at 82.50 euros ($80.74), returning to their issue price from the session high of 86.76 euros. Volkswagen priced Porsche AG shares the top end of the indicated range, and raised 19.5 billion euros via the listing to fund the group’s electrification drive. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Cornerstone investors including Qatar Investment Authority, T. Rowe Price, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and Abu Dhabi’s laid claim to 40% of the share offering. Some 25% plus one ordinary share went to the Porsche and Piech families via Porsche SE, Volkswagen’s largest shareholder which now has a blocking minority on the sportscar brand. The shares peaked at 86.76 in late morning. The share performance puts Porsche AG’s valuation at about 75.43 billion euros, only slightly below former parent Volkswagen, which is worth around 80.1 billion euros, and ahead of rivals such as Ferrari (RACE.MI). It is Germany’s biggest listing since Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) in 1996. Shares in Porsche SE (PSHG_p.DE), Volkswagen’s largest shareholder, which now also owns a blocking minority in the sportscar brand, were down by 10.9% as investors switched across. Volkswagen’s shares were down 6.9% from Thursday’s open to 128.5 euros. Traders said some investors who bought Volkswagen and Porsche SE as an IPO play could be unwinding their positions and switching into Porsche AG, undermining Volkswagen’s aim of bumping up its capitalisation by showcasing the value of just one of its brands. “Porsche was and is the pearl in the Volkswagen Group,” said Chris-Oliver Schickentanz, chief investment officer at fund manager Capitell. “The IPO has now made it very, very transparent what value the market brings to Porsche.” Volkswagen CEO Arno Antlitz told Reuters the listing had done its part in helping to fund the carmaker’s electrification drive. Of the 19.5 billion euros raised from the IPO, around 9.6 billion will go to Volkswagen – just under a fifth of the 52-billion euro budget needed for electrification plans – with the rest distributed among shareholders as a special dividend. “We are well set-up financially have strong cash flows to fund our electromobility strategy ourselves,” the chief financial officer said. ‘NOT A DREAM ENVIRONMENT’ Cars of German manufacturer Porsche are parked outside the stock exchange prior to Porsche’s IPO in Frankfurt, Germany, September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Volkswagen priced Porsche AG shares at the top of the range despite broadly weaker stock markets after red-hot German inflation data and general market turmoil stirred by rising interest rates. “This is not exactly a dream environment for an IPO today,” said QC Partners wealth manager Thomas Altmann. Volkswagen has said the market’s volatility was precisely why fund managers were sorely in need of a stable and profitable business like Porsche AG in which to invest. A banker involved in the transaction described the Porsche listing as a one-off, predicting the market would freeze over again very soon. The listing broke records, reaping the highest amount since Deutsche Telekom in 1996. But Porsche is trading at a multiple of around 7.2 times its earnings – far below Ferrari’s (RACE.MI) multiple of 40. Companies in the region have raised $44 billion from equity capital markets deals up to Sept. 27, Refinitiv data shows, with only $4.5 billion from initial public offerings. “There’s a lot to like about the company, with its aggressive electrification plans, expected strong cashflow generation and premium brand positioning in the market,” Chi Chan, Portfolio Manager European Equities at Federated Hermes Limited, told Reuters. “However, it is coming to market at a time of unprecedented turmoil and consumer confidence is falling.” Porsche vs rivals Porsche AG Chief Executive Blume, whose dual role as the new head of Volkswagen has drawn criticism from some investors, hailed the listing as an “historic moment” and dismissed the idea that he would at some point give up one of the two positions. Up to 113,875,000 Porsche AG preferred shares, carrying no voting rights, were sold in the initial public offering. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan worked as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners on the deal, while Mediobanca acted as financial adviser to Porsche. ($1 = 1.0218 euros) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Emma-Victoria Farr, Hakan Ersen, Christoph Steitz, Alexander Huebner, Sinead Cruise and Pamela Barbaglia; Writing by Victoria Waldersee and Matthias Williams; Editing by Jane Merriman, Mark Potter and David Goodman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Emma-Victoria Farr Thomson Reuters Reports on European M&A with previous experience at Mergermarket, Bloomberg The Daily Telegraph and Deutsche Presse Agentur. Read More Here

How To Treat Your Breast Surgery Scars From Day One https://digitalarizonanews.com/how-to-treat-your-breast-surgery-scars-from-day-one/ What do breast lifts, breast reductions, breast augmentations and breast reconstructions all have in common? You can’t avoid having a scar somewhere. Even with techniques that hide incision points underneath the breast fold or under the arm—there’s still skin and tissue that needs to heal and close—how you treat it helps determine the outcome. Here, breast surgery experts share their best advice for minimizing every type of breast scar. 1 / 5 For the first few weeks after surgery, the name of the game is healing. It’s only after the skin begins to do its thing and new skin begins to form that you can start to treat the incision scars. “I usually start around four to five weeks as long as all incisions are completely sealed,” says Las Vegas plastic surgeon Mary C. Herte, MD. The recommended approach? “A silicone-based scar cream or gel. A little goes a long way!” Skinuva Scar gel ($105) is silicone-based with highly selective growth factors. We recommend grabbing a larger bottle as clinical trials have shown it to be twice as effective as scar cream. 2 / 5 For those with darker skin tones, New York plastic surgeon William Lao, MD says how scars heal can be very worrisome. “When the skin pigment is darker, the scar can tend to be more obvious and also tend to be more hypertrophy and raised rather than flat.” Rejuvaskin Scar FX Silicone Sheeting ($100) comes in a variety of shapes to match your exact scar—like the anchor scar sheet shown here—and helps improve color and flatten raised scars. 3 / 5 Skintensive Bruise & Scar Cream ($28) with arnica and vitamins K and E can help treat scars from your nightstand when used as a nightly massage aid. “For lumpy, raised or ropey scars I recommend applying pressure to help trigger the flattening process,” says Dr. Herte. “Slow, steady pressure directly on the scar without rubbing or friction. Any friction can cause irritation of the scar and that can undermine the scar resolution process.” 4 / 5 The recipe for seamless healing is massaging twice a day and keeping the delicate skin and tissue out of the sun. While covering up may not always be possible, it’s a must the first few months after a procedure. When you do go outside, the experts recommend a scar cream with SPF like the Derma-E Scar Cream Sun Protectant SPF 35 ($21). “The key to optimal scars is to treat the scar early, appropriately and consistently,” says Scottsdale, AZ plastic surgeon Bryan W. Gawley, MD. 5 / 5 “The use of proactive skin serums that have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and pro-healing components is essential,” adds Dr. Gawley. “Patients must understand that scars mature and change for at least a year after surgery. Therefore, patience and a consistent routine is essential.” ESTAS Beauty takes the guesswork out of following a regimen. With a Daily Dose Scar Cream Serum ($65), Morning Massage ($35) and Sleep Salve ($65), the line of scar solutions has you covered day to night. It’s Personal At NewBeauty, we get the most trusted information from the beauty authority delivered right to your inbox Find a Doctor Find a NewBeauty “Top Beauty Doctor” Near you Select a state Select a state Select a state Read More Here

Phoenix Ranks No. 3 Among Top Buyers Markets In U.S. – AZ Big Media https://digitalarizonanews.com/phoenix-ranks-no-3-among-top-buyers-markets-in-u-s-az-big-media/ The housing market has changed considerably in recent months as higher mortgage rates, rising inflation and economic uncertainty have sidelined many buyers. At the same time, sellers still have the upper hand in most markets throughout the U.S., according to this month’s Knock Buyer-Seller Market Index, which analyzes key housing market metrics to measure the degree to which the nation’s 100 largest markets favor home buyers or sellers. So, what are the top sellers markets and what are the top buyers markets in the U.S.? READ ALSO: 11 best neighborhoods in Phoenix for housing investments READ ALSO: What do you need to know about higher interest rates as a buyer? Although home sales were down 38%, inventory was up 5.5% and days on market increased 50% in August compared to a year ago, the Index showed 71 of the nation’s 100 largest housing markets remained sellers’ markets. Meanwhile, the number of buyers’ markets more than doubled to seven from three in July, spreading from California into Arizona and Utah, two popular relocation destinations during the pandemic. The rest were neutral markets, areas offering no advantage to either sellers or buyers. “Although the general consensus is the housing market is undergoing a much-needed reset, which is welcome news to many home shoppers who will have more choices and less competition for the foreseeable future, not all markets are seeing the same trends,” said Knock Co-Founder and CEO Sean Black. “In reality, there’s a great housing divide taking place in the U.S., especially in the East and South, where despite a slowdown in sales and slower home price growth, many markets continue to favor sellers.” The nation’s Top 10 sellers markets Of the 10 markets most favorable to sellers in August, half are in the South, three are in the East and two are in the Midwest. For the second month in a row, Fayetteville, North Carolina, ranked as the most favorable seller’s market in the nation. Akron, Ohio, came in second place, followed by Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Cleveland; Syracuse, New York; Rochester, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; Greensboro, North Carolina; El Paso, Texas and Columbia, South Carolina. The most resilient housing markets are those with some of the lowest home prices in the nation. In eight of the top 10 sellers’ markets, the median home price was $250,000 or less, considerably lower than the U.S. median home price of $390,000. With the exception of Hartford, Connecticut (23 days), and Columbia, South Carolina (18 days), the time a home spends on the market is well below the national average of 18 days. With a median sale price of $225,000, Fayetteville ranks among the lowest priced housing markets in the nation. It is among the nation’s hottest with homes selling in an average of seven days in August. Fayetteville also saw a 56% increase in home sales in August year-over-year, bucking the national trend of double-digit sales declines. Fayetteville’s housing inventory dropped 21% over last August to 447 — nearly the lowest housing inventory of any large housing market. Bucking the national cooling trend, Akron and Cleveland were more favorable to sellers this August compared to last August. Top 10 Sellers’ Markets Cooling in the West spreads beyond California to relocation hot spots Once home to some of the most favorable housing markets for sellers the nation has ever seen, the West continued to cool in August. In fact, nine markets in the Western United States [San Francisco (#1); Salt Lake City (#2); Phoenix (#3); San Diego (#4); San Jose, California (#5); Los Angeles (#6); Fresno, California (#7); Las Vegas (#8) and Boise, Idaho (#9) ] were among the 10 most favorable buyers’ markets in August. New Orleans ranked as the tenth most favorable buyers’ market. San Francisco was the only market among the Top 10 buyers’ markets, and one of only four nationwide, to see home prices decline in August (-5.3%). At $1.1 million, San Francisco still has the second highest median home prices of any large city. In the rest of the top buyers’ markets, home prices rose slower than the national average increase of approximately 8%. In another sign of favoring buyers, days on market in all but one of the top 10 buyer’s markets (Fresno, California) exceeded the national median of 18 days on market. In San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and San Jose, the time a home spent on the market doubled from last August. Buyers could see the most favorable housing in recent years Based on the forecast component of the Index, the U.S. housing market is projected to equally favor sellers and buyers in August 2023. For home buyers, this could mean that they may see the most favorable national market in recent years. For sellers, the most favorable months to list their home in 2023 are likely to be March, April and May, before the market dips into neutral territory in June. While the national index value for March is projected to be slightly more favorable to sellers overall than it was in August, more markets will favor buyers starting June next year. Nineteen of the 100 largest housing markets are projected to favor buyers in August 2023, meaning sellers are more likely to accept a lower price than they listed their houses for. Those markets are: Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Charleston, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Denver; Fresno, California; Jacksonville, Florida; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans; Phoenix; Portland, Oregon; Riverside, California; Salt Lake City; San Diego; San Jose, California and San Francisco. An additional 17 more, a majority of which are in Florida, are expected to move to neutral territory, where neither buyers nor sellers are favored. Those markets are: Atlanta; Cape Coral, Florida; Columbus, Ohio; Crestview, Florida; Dallas; Deltona, Florida; Detroit; Greenville, South Carolina; Lakeland, Florida; Naples, Florida; North Port, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Palm Bay Florida; San Antonio; Tampa, Florida; Tucson, Arizona and Washington, D.C. As more markets slowly shift toward favoring buyers, U.S. median home price is expected to bottom out in January 2023 at over $385,000. It is then projected to begin rising again, reaching $401,000 in June 2023. Even with prices projected to fall slightly over the remaining months of next summer, the national median sale price in August 2023 will rise over this August to approximately $397,000. To view the full report, including rankings of the current and forecasted top 25 buyers’ and sellers’ markets, charts and metro-level data for the 100 largest markets, please visit: https://www.knock.com/blog/the-great-housing-divide-south-and-east-remain-seller-strongholds-west-coast-cool-off-spreads-beyond-california/ Read More Here

What Joe Biden https://digitalarizonanews.com/what-joe-biden/ opinion I shuddered when I learned that President Joe Biden had called out to a crowd in search of a congresswoman who died nearly two months ago in an automobile accident. He’s going to turn 80 in November and let’s face it, this seemed like a memory fail – a particularly embarrassing one. Yet there’s another way to look at this: Biden was trying to credit the late Indiana Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski – a lawmaker who voted on Jan. 6, 2021, to object to his presidential victory in Arizona and Pennsylvania and who this March labeled his agenda “radical & reckless” – for her good work on nutrition and hunger. It’s unfortunate that he made the mistake. At the same time, it demonstrated a generosity and professionalism that was also present in Biden’s Tuesday conversation with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a frequent and harsh Biden critic, as Hurricane Ian bore down on his state.  White House Conference on Hunger: Biden has lofty plan to ‘end hunger.’ But president must address Americans’ urgent needs. The two men “committed to continued close coordination,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said after they talked. “I spoke with Gov. DeSantis for some time,” Biden added Wednesday. “I made it clear to the governor and the mayors that the federal government is ready to help in every single way possible.”  No blue or red states, just the United States This what we normally expect from national leaders. “There are no red states or blue states, just the United States,” President Barack Obama tweeted during his 2012 reelection campaign.  Later, his vice president – Biden – revived the theme in his own 2020 presidential campaign: “I’m running as a proud Democrat, but I will govern as an American president. No red states, no blue states, just the United States. I promise you. I’ll work as hard for those who don’t support me as those who did. That’s the job of a president, a duty to care, to care for everyone in America.”  Midterm elections: If you care about your country and your rights, don’t vote for any Republicans in 2022 The contrast with former President Donald Trump is glaring. If he intuited “a duty to care,” he conveyed that strangely by, for instance, throwing paper towels at a crowd of Puerto Ricans in 2017 after the island had been devastated by Hurricane Maria. “It showed such a lack of empathy,” chef José Andrés told The Washington Post a year later. By then, he and his World Central Kitchen had served 3.6 million meals in Puerto Rico. This month, two days before the fifth anniversary of Maria and still struggling to recover, Puerto Rico was battered by Hurricane Fiona. Biden’s response: “We are with you. We’re not going to walk away. We mean it.” Then he told Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, “You have the phone number. You can call me, personally, anytime. And I mean it.”  Trump repeatedly blamed California for its catastrophic wildfires, dismissed the impact of climate change and drought, and threatened to withhold money because the state didn’t follow his advice to “clean” its forest floors. “Maybe we’re just going to have to make them pay for it because they don’t listen to us,” he said.  Crisis of caregivers: COVID Great Reckoning hastens a shortage care for older adults ‘We still don’t have water or electricity’: Voices from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona And then came the COVID-19 crisis and a new wave of blue-state blaming from “an unpredictable president with a love for cable news and a penchant for retribution,” as The Associated Press put it. Trump warned Democratic governors at the outset to be “appreciative” or his administration would not be responsive, singling out Washington’s Jay Inslee and Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer as particular offenders in the appreciation department.  He also blamed governors for failing to handle their own problems and forcing the federal government to get involved. As if national leadership was optional during a terrifying global pandemic.  By fall 2020, Trump was bragging that the U.S. death rate had fallen dramatically despite “tremendous death rates” in blue states. “If you take the blue states out, we’re at a level that I don’t think anybody in the world would be at,” he said. “We’re really at a very low level. But some of the states, they were blue states and blue-state-managed.”  Jackson’s water crisis isn’t just a moment: It’s a systemic catastrophe Lock them up? Throw them out? Take his red states and secede? COVID soon took hold in red states, of course. It played no favorites. But Trump did. He never saw himself as everyone’s president. Memory lapses are part of aging When Walorski died on Aug. 3, Biden offered condolences to her family and a tribute to her work. He noted in a White House statement that she was co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus and said, “I appreciated her partnership as we plan for a historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health this fall that will be marked by her deep care for the needs of rural America.”  So yes, Biden not only seemed to blank on Walorski’s tragic death, he also did it at the very conference he cited in his statement after she died. As so many of us know from our own lives, with age come memory lapses, and that’s often the least of it.  I am already on record as a fan of Biden’s presidency while at the same time hoping he won’t run for reelection in 2024. But let’s put this moment in perspective. You need only look back a couple of years to remember that some things are more important than age and a perfect memory. Jill Lawrence is a columnist for USA TODAY and author of “The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock.” Follow her on Twitter: @JillDLawrence More from Jill Lawrence: Joe Biden shouldn’t run for reelection in 2024, for the good of the nation and his party Republicans can’t erase diversity or history, but they’re trying so hard it hurts GOP would investigate Biden or even impeach him. Is that what 2022 voters want? Read More Here

EXPLAINER: Rare Sedition Charge At Center Of Jan. 6 Trial – Wilmington News Journal https://digitalarizonanews.com/explainer-rare-sedition-charge-at-center-of-jan-6-trial-wilmington-news-journal/ WASHINGTON (AP) — The founder of the Oath Keepers and four associates are on trial in the Capitol attack on charges that include seditious conspiracy — a rarely used Civil War-era accusation that strikes to the heart of what prosecutors say happened that day. Stewart Rhodes and his followers are the first Jan. 6 defendants to stand trial on such a charge for what prosecutors say was not a suddenly ignited riot but a coordinated plot to stop the transfer of presidential power. The stakes are high for the Justice Department, which hasn’t tried a seditious conspiracy case in a decade and hasn’t won a guilty verdict since the 1995 prosecution of Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks. Prosecutors say Rhodes and his far-right extremist group spent weeks preparing to use violence to stop Biden from becoming president. Rhodes, a Texan, recruited members to come to Washington, amassed weapons and organized armed teams to be on standby outside the city in case they were needed, authorities say. The plot came to a head, prosecutors say, on Jan. 6 when Oath Keepers were captured on camera shouldering their way through the mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters and storming the Capitol in military-style stack formation. The Oath Keepers, for their part, have said their preparations, training, gear and weapons were to protect themselves against potential attacks from left-wing antifa activists, or to be ready if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act to call up a militia to support his bid to stay in power. Rhodes has said there was no plan to attack the Capitol and the members who went inside went rogue. Jury selection started on Tuesday for the trial that is expected to last several weeks. Here’s a look at the charge of seditious conspiracy and its history: ___ WHAT IS SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY? The law was enacted after the Civil War to arrest Southerners who might keep fighting the U.S. government. In order to win a seditious conspiracy case, prosecutors have to prove that two or more people conspired to “overthrow, put down or to destroy by force” the U.S. government or bring war against it, or that they plotted to use force to oppose the authority of the government or to block the execution of a law. Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell aren’t charged with conspiring to overthrow the government or levy war. Instead, prosecutors charge that they conspired to forcibly oppose the authority of the federal government and forcibly block the execution of laws governing the transfer of presidential power. Specifically, the Oath Keepers are accused of conspiring to forcibly obstruct the execution of the Electoral Count Act and the Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution, which address the counting of electoral votes. Seditious conspiracy calls for up to up to 20 years behind bars, if convicted. Rhodes and his associates also face several other serious charges. WHY CAN IT BE DIFFICULT TO PROVE? The charge has rarely been brought in recent memory, and with mixed results. It’s not enough to merely show the defendants advocated the use of force — prosecutors must show they conspired to use force. Seditious conspiracy cases are legally complex, and prosecutors are sometimes reluctant to file the charges because they can be difficult for juries to grasp. “Juries don’t understand them, then when you want to communicate that idea to a larger audience, the public doesn’t really understand,” said Jeffrey Ian Ross, a criminologist at the University of Baltimore. While seditious conspiracy has a broad definition, “sometimes juries want more than simple use of force against the government, because the term ‘sedition’ conjures an image of overthrowing the government,” said Barbara McQuade, who was U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan when a judge there cleared militia members of the charge in 2012. “In the case of Jan. 6, however, because the attack against the government took place at the U.S. Capitol, while it was certifying a presidential election, even these high expectations can be met,” McQuade, now a University of Michigan Law School professor, said in an email. Alan Rozenshtein, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, also said prosecutors shouldn’t have a difficult time proving seditious conspiracy in the Oath Keepers’ case. “If this is not sedition, I don’t know what is,” he said. WHO HAS FACED THE CHARGE BEFORE? The last time the Justice Department tried a seditious conspiracy case was in 2010 in an alleged Michigan plot by members of the Hutaree militia to incite an uprising against the government. A judge ordered acquittals of the sedition conspiracy charges at a 2012 trial, saying prosecutors relied too much on hateful diatribes protected by the First Amendment and didn’t, as required, prove the accused ever had detailed plans for a rebellion. Lawyer William Swor, who represented Hutaree militia leader David Stone, has said that prosecutors in the case failed to prove that group members were “more than just talking” and were “actively planning to oppose the government.” Stone’s “diatribes evince nothing more than his own hatred for — perhaps even desire to fight or kill — law enforcement; this is not the same as seditious conspiracy,” the judge said. The last successful seditious conspiracy trial was in the 1995, when Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine followers were convicted in plot to blow up the United Nations, an FBI building, and two tunnels and a bridge linking New York and New Jersey. Abdel-Rahman, known as the “Blind Sheikh,” argued on appeal that he was never involved in planning actual attacks and his hostile rhetoric was protected free speech. He died in federal prison in 2017. Prosecutors also secured seditious conspiracy convictions in another, now largely forgotten storming of the Capitol building in 1954. Four pro-independence Puerto Rican activists rushed the building and opened fire on the House floor, wounding several representatives. Also, Oscar Lopez Rivera, a former leader of a Puerto Rican independence group that orchestrated a bombing campaign that left dozens of people dead or maimed in New York, Chicago, Washington and Puerto Rico in the 1970s and early 1980s, spent 35 years in prison for seditious conspiracy before President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in 2017. And in 1988, jurors in Fort Smith, Arkansas, acquitted white supremacists charged with seditious conspiracy. The defendants were accused of plotting to overthrow the federal government and establish an all-white nation in the Pacific Northwest, and conspiring to kill a federal judge and FBI agent. WHO FACES SIMILAR CHARGES IN THE JAN. 6 ATTACK? A total of nine members or associates of the Oath Keepers are fighting seditious conspiracy charges. A second trial for the other Oath Keepers charged in the case is to begin at the end of November. Three other Oath Keepers have already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, are cooperating with investigators and could testify against Rhodes at trial. Rhodes’ lawyers have claimed in court documents that those Oath Keepers are lying and pleaded guilty only because they were pressured by the government and hoped to get lighter sentences. Several members of another far-right extremist group, the Proud Boys, have also been charged with the crime, including former chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio. They are scheduled to stand trial in December. ____ Richer reported from Boston. Thomas Caldwell of Berryville, Va., a defendant charged with seditious conspiracy in one of the most serious cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, arrives at the federal courthouse, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) FILE – Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, June 25, 2017. Jury selection is expected to get underway Tuesday in one of the most serious cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol against the founder of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates charged with seditious conspiracy.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) Edward Tarpley the attorney of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, arrives to the federal courthouse in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Read More Here

DeSantis Will Beat Trump, Assuming Trump Even Runs. But Someone Else Could Beat DeSantis https://digitalarizonanews.com/desantis-will-beat-trump-assuming-trump-even-runs-but-someone-else-could-beat-desantis/ The betting odds and most polls favor the two-time vote loser over Ron “Death to Dems” DeSantis in 2024. But that assumes Trump makes it to the starting line and that the situation remains the same in 16 months. The most significant issue in Trump’s future is his legal situation. Constitutionally, financial and election crimes are no bar to his running for President. However, some suggest that one obscure criminal law, Section 2071 of Title 18 of the United States Code, may bar him from the campaign. This law states that anyone with custody of government documents who “willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates or destroys… any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited … in any public office” can be fined or imprisoned for up to three years. And that anyone convicted under that law shall “be disqualified from holding” federal office. However, Trump would undoubtedly appeal that law to the Supreme Court, which would likely decide that it is constitutionally impermissible. So for the sake of argument, let us say Trump will have no legal bar to running. Would criminal convictions turn off the base? I suspect it would be quite the opposite. America’s biggest crybaby would have a gold mine of new whines to entertain the crowds at his pity-fests, aka rallies. You can see the PR now. “American hero attacked by the Deep State and out of control, politically-motivated prosecutors in cahoots with unelected, unAmerican judges.” It is the kind of bullshit that is manna to his MAGA mob. Even if he were convicted and sentenced to prison, the appeals would leave him a free man until the primary season. I feel confident that Trump’s paid-for SCOTUS would stay any sentence until he completed his term — should he be elected. Or even if he is just a declared candidate. And I bet that should a trial occur and the jury got the case, he would announce his candidacy before it rendered its decision. Considering this, it is safe to say that his criminality would not keep Trump out of office. The only way to stop him would be to beat him in the primaries or the general election. I cannot begin to speculate about what will happen in the general. We do not even know who the Democrat candidate or their running mate will be. Biden has gone from ‘of course’ to ‘we’ll see.’ And Harris, who Biden gave the impossible portfolio of promoting the administration’s voting-rights efforts and solving the refugee crisis on the southern border, may well become a sacrificial lamb. Or just too damaged to run if Biden opts not to. On the other hand, she is a tough and smart politician and the primaries are a great time to create a victorious narrative. Look at Trump. He convinced the base that repeatedly going bankrupt was a sign of fiscal genius. So, let us look at the GOP side of the race. Trump’s main competition is Ron DeSantis, a sociopathic shark — with the personality of paper — and a willingness to do whatever it takes. Trump will no doubt use the strategy of insult and belittlement that served him so well in 2016. However, he will no longer have the advantage of novelty. DeSantis has seen the act and will not be blindsided as his predecessor as Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, was. Desantis will also have the advantage over any of the other 2016 candidates who choose to run. He has not lost to Trump. Most of that sorry lot — notably Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio — not only lost but ended up kissing the winner’s ring. And Trump enjoys nothing more than rubbing people’s craven toadying in their faces. Just ask J.D. Vance. Trump told the Ohioan crowd at his rally promoting the hillbilly candidacy that Vance is “in love” with him and “kissing my ass” for support. Before likening the GOP candidate’s change of heart toward him to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s volte-face. DeSantis, who probably owes his governorship to Trump — he was trailing badly in the 2018 GOP primary before Trump anointed him — has been notable low key in showing his appreciation to his benefactor. His only acknowledgment of the assist was a pro forma thanks in his victory speech. This has pissed Trump off. And an angry Trump is a weaker candidate than a smug one. Don has made his feelings about Ron’s lack of gratitude plain. He has told the poor people who have to listen to his ceaseless complaints that DeSantis is “overrated, disloyal, and a know-nothing” Proving again that there is no more potent force in conservatism than projection. DeSantis’s opinion of Trump is equally dismissive. In private, he has told people that the former reality star is “a TV personality and a moron who has no business running for president.” This, of course, is quite accurate. By dint of his attacks on all things Democratic, the LGBTQ+ community, minorities, and medical commonsense, DeSantis has endeared himself to the base. More tellingly, he has replaced Trump as Ruppert Murdoch’s favorite Republican. And he is now a far greater presence on Fox TV. Even Trump’s unofficial Chief of Staff and biggest media proponent, Sean Hannity, seems to be wobbling on whether the ex-Pres is sane. His reaction to Trump’s claim the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago to recover Hillary’s emails is best described as incredulous. And Trump’s support is starting to fracture. More than half of the Republicans in an NYT/Siena poll said they preferred someone other than Trump in 2024. And his support was strongest among elderly ill-educated conservatives — some of whom will not be around in a year. Another poll shows that DeSantis has overtaken Trump in Florida. And there is plenty of reason to believe that, as DeSantis starts his national coming-out tour, he will see his numbers improve in other states. DeSantis has also proved to be a canny politician. He has kept relatively quiet about abortion – Florida still generally permits it for up to 15 weeks. Ande has said nice things about Biden during the Hurricane Ian saga. Neither will bolster him with the base. But they will make him more appealing — or at least less toxic — in the general election. All of this is good news for DeSantis, especially as the other GOP contenders are seeing little interest in their potential bids. However, do not discount the dark horse. Who saw the rise of Obama? Who had heard of Bill Clinton in 1990? On the flip side, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson looked good in 2008. But they made little impression. I do not suggest that DeSantis is likely to disappear. Unlike those two dilettantes who thought name recognition was their golden ticket, DeSantis is a driven politician with his eye on the prize. However, DeSantis has yet to feel the intense glare of a Presidential campaign. And he has not gone head to head with Trump. He thinks he will do well by attacking TFG’s failure to build his wall, cancel Obamacare, and fire Fauci. Perhaps he will succeed, but others have tried — 16 in 2016 — and they hardly bloodied the guy. So who knows?   Read More Here

Best Twitter Account – AZ Right Wing Watch https://digitalarizonanews.com/best-twitter-account-az-right-wing-watch/ It wasn’t detectives who found Luka Magnotta, a murderer on Interpol’s most wanted list, 10 years ago. It was social media users with a little free time and a penchant for amateur sleuthing. AZ Right Wing Watch has pledged to do the same here in the Grand Canyon State. The 2020 presidential election was the most-followed American election in history, and Arizona was at the center of the political paradigm shift that ensued. As the alt-right drifted further toward radicalism, AZ Right Wing Watch wasn’t the hero Arizona asked for, but it became the hero we needed. With the entire world abuzz about American politics, the anonymous tweeter established their successful watchdog operation on Twitter, an account that has now amassed more than 15,000 followers. The self-styed “unprofessional” and “random local” claims to be from “The Fiery Infernos of Hell, Arizona.” Apparently, said fiery infernos are rife with great tips about right-wing corruption for journalists across Arizona. Keep doing God’s work, soldier. Our fair state is a wonderland of stunning natural beauty, from the red rocks of Sedona and the epic Grand Canyon to the brown-hued Grand Falls and the simple joys of wildflower season in the desert. Not that we get to see much of it in person, what with metro Phoenix being the concrete jungle it is. But when we get tired of setting our sights on buildings and freeways, we check in with the Instagram account of the Arizona Highways, the venerable magazine that’s been showing our best features off to the world since 1925. There, we can feast our eyes on everything from storm photography to snow-dusted images of the high desert in winter. It not only gives us inspiration for our next weekend getaway, it makes us truly appreciative of all Arizona has to offer. TikTok, like any social media platform, can be used for good, for evil, or simply as a distraction. Scroll on the app long enough, and you’ll run across countless local influencers (legit and wannabe) just dying to tell you about Scottsdale’s hottest new restaurant. That’s fine, we suppose, but when we think about a local TikToker who we truly respect and want to keep up with, we think of the woman behind the Leftover Gains account. She goes by Lefty, she’s a veteran, and her content is part accountability, part call to action about local police and the ongoing challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness in metro Phoenix. Whether she’s filming the sweeps that Phoenix Police routinely do in the Zone (a homeless encampment downtown), or chronicling her frequent trips around town to stock free community refrigerators, she advocates for some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens with passion and intelligence. We can find the next cool bar on our own, thank you very much. We’d much rather have our FYP filled with people trying to make Phoenix a better place. Head to Old Town Scottsdale any night of the week, and you can’t miss them: roving packs of young women, often identifiable as a bride-to-be and her friends by matching sashes, themed T-shirts, and/or coordinating cowboy hats. The uptick in bachelorette getaways held in Scottsdale was noticed by no less than the New York Times, which published an article in June about the phenomenon. As of 2021, Scottsdale was the second-most-popular destination for brides and their bridesmaids (just behind Nashville), sparking a cottage industry of people who decorate the incoming women’s Airbnbs with wedding-themed decor and bachelorette-specific events companies. Though we’ve heard some longtime Old Town barflies complain about the bachelorettes, we don’t mind when we see a group walk through the door of our watering hole du jour: They pump money into the local economy, they bring good energy to even the emptiest bars, and if nothing else, the people-watching is epic. Arizona has produced its fair share of celebrities, but not many can say they’ve won the highest honor in the world of cinema. The latest is Mesa native Troy Kotsur, whose revelatory performance as a struggling fisherman in the 2021 film CODA earned him the 2022 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Kotsur is the second Arizona native to win an acting Oscar (the first was Emma Stone for La La Land in 2017), and more importantly, he’s the first deaf man to win one. In his signed acceptance speech, Kotsur thanked his “hometown of Mesa, Arizona,” and declared, “This is dedicated to the deaf community, the CODA community [besides being the name of the film, CODA stands for children of deaf adults], and the disabled community. This is our moment!” Since his win, Kotsur’s face has appeared on banners in downtown Mesa and Mayor John Giles gave him the key to the city, solidifying his status as the east Valley city’s favorite son. We who live in metro Phoenix already knew the good work that Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson was doing in the field of the arts. Until late last year, she was an Institute Professor in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, where she founded the Studio for Creativity, Place, and Equitable Communities, where students learn how to integrate arts, culture, and design into community planning. Then, in December 2021, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 13th chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, the federal agency that grants money to arts and culture programs across the country. Jackson is the first African-American and first Mexican-American to serve in the role, and credits her parents for instilling in her a love for the arts. “I’m definitely going to tap into that sense of the arts being critical to healthy communities and to a healthy society,” she told the Washington Post in her first interview after being confirmed. She added, “There is a power of the arts that allows us to, encourages us to, be curious, to hold nuance, to have the kinds of thoughtful deliberations and a view on humanity that I think is so critically important.” We couldn’t agree more, and we can’t wait to see what Jackson does in her new role. Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art stands out for consistently delivering the unexpected, whether it’s the replica of an artist’s living room or a mobile home trailer purchased by an artist at a local swap meet. The museum excels at introducing metro Phoenix audiences to creatives working in other cultural hubs while also spotlighting works by artists with Arizona roots or artists working in Arizona. Curators strike a delightful balance of showing works by emerging and established creatives, and the museum has demonstrated by its exhibitions a commitment to elevating the voices of women artists and BIPOC artists. The museum also creates and hosts fun community experiences, such as trivia nights, screenings of films by ASU students, and artist talks, fostering a sense that the museum is a community space for learning, growth, and creativity rather than a building designed to merely house and show works of art. 7374 E. Second St., Scottsdale, 85251 Map 480-994-2787 www.smoca.org Galleries get a bad rap in some circles, especially from those who assume that traditional art venues are stuffy places filled with art that’s hard to understand and impossible to afford. Art One gallery in Old Town Scottsdale counters that model by presenting an eclectic assortment of affordable artworks in a casual, friendly setting where you don’t have to worry about being intimidated because you’re not an art expert. The gallery has a large storefront window, so passersby can always see art as they walk down the street, and more pieces are often displayed outside the gallery during the day, which makes art feel even more relatable. Art One is the best place to see works by emerging and established artists, including many you won’t see on the beaten path of Phoenix’s downtown arts scene. On any given day, you might see a work by one of the Valley’s most prolific muralists, a piece by a well-known local artist that differs radically from their typical style, or a piece created by a talented high school or college student. The gallery also shows works by students at Autism Academy. It’s a perfect place to discover local talents before they hit the big time. 4130 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, 85251 Map 480-946-5076 www.artonegalleryinc.com For more than two decades, the “Chaos Theory” exhibition has been one of Phoenix’s best-loved arts traditions, in part because it brings together a stellar lineup of some of the Valley’s most renowned artists for a night of not just artwork, but also vibrant conversations and pop-up music performances. It’s typically held on First Friday in October, but that didn’t happen in 2020 when, like everything else, it was canceled due to the pandemic. But organizer and artist Randy Slack brought “Chaos Theory” roaring back in October 2021 with works by more than 70 artists, most of whom are already part of the unwritten “who’s who” list of metro Phoenix creatives (or rapidly rising stars). It’s a night when artists take time to appreciate each other’s work and people from art bigwigs to the merely art-curious gather in one place to celebrate the city’s creative side — without having to pay a dime for the experience. After all that COVID-19 isolation, “Chaos Theory” was an exhilarating way to reenergize the Phoenix creative scene. Odds are, you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how art influences or reflects the world around you, or how it affects your own perceptions and perspective. ASU Art Museum gave visitors a compelling glimpse of the ways historical images have fostered and reinforced ideas, policies, and practices related to incarceration with this exhibition featuring works by a dozen artists who drew from carceral culture in their own communities in and beyond Arizona. The exhibition perfectly meets the curre...

Yavapai College Volleyball Battles Eastern AZ – Signals AZ https://digitalarizonanews.com/yavapai-college-volleyball-battles-eastern-az-signals-az/ By D.J. Irwin, Coordinator of Athletic Communication The CAST 11 Podcast Network is made possible by the 2022 Ultimate Holiday Guide. Promote your next event or holiday offering in the Ultimate Holiday Guide by calling Elicia at: 928-642-3552. The Yavapai College volleyball team headed south on Wednesday, Sept 28, 2022, for a matchup against the Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters who are currently receiving votes in the NJCAA DI Volleyball Rankings. In their first region action of the season, the Roughriders battled all the way to the end, only to suffer a narrow five-set defeat against Eastern Arizona to bring their overall record to 4-8 and conference record to 2-2. By Chris Henstra In set one, freshman outside hitter Abby Whatton tallied a kill and was followed by an ace from freshman setter Anna Bolich to tie things up at 6-6. From there, it was all EAC as the Gila Monsters went up 18-10 and eventually won 25-15. The second set of the night saw a red-hot start from YC as it raced out to a 6-0 lead, forcing an EAC timeout. The teams then went back-and-forth until the Gila Monsters tied things up at 22-22. After the tie, sophomore middle blocker Keyaira Gravitt spiked one into the ground for a 23-22 lead, paving the way for a 25-22 Roughrider win, tying the match score at 1-1. Set three was close the entire way as the teams found themselves tied at 9-9, before EAC started to gain some momentum and kept a three-point lead for most of the set. Sophomore outside hitter Kate Allan then started to get hot and tallied a big kill to cut the deficit to just 21-19. From there, the Gila Monsters took a 24-19 lead and eventually won set three with a score of 25-21. With their backs against the wall in set four, the Roughriders fought back, as they did throughout the night. Up 8-4, the aforementioned Whatton aced one over the net, forcing EAC to take a timeout. Things didn’t get any easier from there for Eastern Arizona as later in the set, Whatton tallied back-to-back-to-back kills to give YC a 20-14 lead while forcing another timeout. The big lead proved to be enough for YC to take the set 25-21, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set. In set five, the teams went back-and-forth and the Roughriders got huge kills from Whatton, Gravitt and Allan down the stretch. As fate would have it, this incredible battle came down to a 15-15 tie with each team needing to beat the other by two points to secure the victory. Unfortunately for the Roughriders, the Gila Monsters were able to convert two consecutive points for the 17-15 set victory and 3-2 match victory. The Roughriders will face the Gila Monsters two more times this season in what will surely be entertaining matches. Both will take place in Prescott, Arizona, inside of Walraven Gymnasium. Up Next The Roughriders are back in action on Friday, September 30, in Mesa, Arizona, where they will face the Mesa Community College Thunderbirds with gametime set for 7 p.m. Read more stories in Sports on Signals A Z.com. Promote your event with the Ultimate Holiday Guide! Contact Elicia Morigeau at 928-642-3552 or ads@signalsaz.com. If you like this story, consider subscribing to Signals Updates, Entertainment Events & News! Read More Here

Virginia Thomas Appears For Interview With Jan. 6 Panel https://digitalarizonanews.com/virginia-thomas-appears-for-interview-with-jan-6-panel/ WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative activist Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, appeared on Thursday for a voluntary interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin in the weeks after the election. Thomas’ appearance on Capitol Hill was confirmed by two people familiar with the committee’s work who were not authorized to discuss it publicly. She did not answer questions when she arrived for the interview or later when she briefly left for a break. But Thomas did tell reporters she was looking forward to answering questions from the members of the committee. The testimony from Thomas — known as Ginni — was one of the remaining items for the panel as it eyes the completion of its work. The panel has already interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses and shown some of that video testimony in its eight hearings over the summer. Thomas’ attorney, Mark Paoletta, said last week that Thomas had agreed to meet with the panel and is “eager to answer the committee’s questions to clear up any misconceptions about her work relating to the 2020 election.” The extent of her involvement in the Capitol attack is unclear. In the days after The Associated Press and other news organizations called the presidential election for Biden, Thomas emailed two lawmakers in Arizona to urge them to choose “a clean slate of Electors” and “stand strong in the face of political and media pressure.” The AP obtained the emails earlier this year under the state’s open records law. She has said in interviews that she attended the initial pro-Trump rally the morning of Jan. 6 but left before Trump spoke and the crowds headed for the Capitol. Thomas, a Trump supporter long active in conservative causes, has repeatedly maintained that her political activities posed no conflict of interest with the work of her husband. “Like so many married couples, we share many of the same ideals, principles, and aspirations for America. But we have our own separate careers, and our own ideas and opinions too. Clarence doesn’t discuss his work with me, and I don’t involve him in my work,” Thomas told the Washington Free Beacon in an interview published in March. Justice Thomas was the lone dissenting voice when the Supreme Court ruled in January to allow a congressional committee access to presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts and handwritten notes relating to the events of Jan. 6. Ginni Thomas has been openly critical of the committee’s work, including signing onto a letter to House Republicans calling for the expulsion of Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois from the GOP conference for joining the Jan. 6 congressional committee. ___ Associated Press video journalist Rick Gentilo contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP’s coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More Here

Tom Ridge Backs Dr. Oz In The U.S. Senate Race And Is Impressed By His https://digitalarizonanews.com/tom-ridge-backs-dr-oz-in-the-u-s-senate-race-and-is-impressed-by-his/ Former Gov. Tom Ridge on Thursday threw his support behind fellow Republican Mehmet Oz in the race for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat. Ridge, an Erie native and the nation’s first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that he’s met with Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon, several times over the past year. “The issues facing Pennsylvania and our nation are significant,” Ridge, who turned 77 in late August, said in a statement released by the Oz campaign. “It will require smart leaders who are passionate about finding creative solutions. “We discussed those issues, and I had an opportunity to hear from him directly about why he’s chosen to step into the political arena,” Ridge said about his discussions with Oz. “I was most impressed by his intellect and his desire to serve our Commonwealth and nation with energy and passion. I wholeheartedly support his bid to become our next senator.” Oz faces off against Fetterman Oz is running against Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, but has trailed the former Braddock mayor in nearly every poll since the May 17 primary. Oz and Fetterman are vying for the seat currently held by incumbent Republican Pat Toomey, who opted not to seek re-election after two terms. It’s one of the key races in the midterms for control of the U.S. Senate and could help or hinder President Joe Biden’s and Democrats’ agenda for the next two years. Oz visited Erie Thursday to tour Parade Street and discuss crime and safety with Bishop Dwane Brock, pastor of the Victory Christian Center and chief executive of Eagle’s Nest Leadership Corp. Oz also spoke to energy industry leaders at the Bayfront Convention Center for the Shale Insight conference hosted by the Marcellus Shale Coalition. More:John Fetterman has reforged every political office he’s held. Now what? More:Americans trusted Dr. Oz on health. But will PA voters trust him on politics? Ridge, who has vehemently rejected former President Donald Trump and who supported Biden in the 2020 presidential election, has been a moderate voice in a party that’s grown more conservative under Trump. Ridge has supported COVID-19 mitigation efforts enacted by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf during the pandemic. He’s also been a proponent of mail-in voting. In 2020, Ridge backed Biden over Trump for president. “Governor Ridge has dedicated the greater part of his life to serving the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and our country both in our Armed Forces and the public sector,” Oz said in a statement. “The depth of his commitment to honor, duty, and service is not easily matched, and I have benefited from his counsel — including his deep understanding of our commonwealth and the challenges we are facing.” Oz said he will “bring together people regardless of party and speak boldly for the innovative solutions that benefit all Pennsylvanians.” More:In campaign return, Fetterman says ‘if you can’t win Erie, you can’t win Pennsylvania’ More:Dr. Oz holds roundtable discussion with PA farmers at North East winery and fruit farm More:GOP Senate nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz talks to veterans at American Legion in Wesleyville Both Fetterman and Oz have eyed Erie County throughout the Senate race. Oz held a roundtable discussion in North East with area farmers in June and addressed a group of veterans in Wesleyville in early August, for example. Fetterman, who has visited Erie many times since first running for the Senate seat in 2016, chose Erie in August to hold his first campaign rally since suffering a stroke in May, just days before the primary. Fetterman often refers to Erie County’s bellwether status in determining the outcome of elections. Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com or on Twitter at @ETNRink. Read More Here

A Hurricane Hunter Shot Video As He Flew Into The Center Of Ian https://digitalarizonanews.com/a-hurricane-hunter-shot-video-as-he-flew-into-the-center-of-ian/ Nick Underwood flies through hurricanes for a living. Over the past six years, the aerospace engineer has made 76 passes through more than 20 of them, none rougher than the one he endured Wednesday morning. “This flight … was the worst I’ve ever been on,” Underwood said in a tweet after flying into the center of Hurricane Ian. “I’ve never seen so much lightning in an eye.” And he caught it all on video — in a matter of hours, one of the clips had been viewed 1.2 million times. Underwood, 30, was filming around 6 a.m. Wednesday when the aircraft he was aboard flew into Ian as the Category 4 storm approached Florida’s Gulf Coast. He is part of a crew of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane hunters that collects data that forecasters use to predict where storms like Ian will go next and how strong they will be when they get there. Since 2016, Underwood has made more than six dozen hurricane penetrations, or “pennies,” through 22 or 23 hurricanes — he is not sure of the exact number. “I’ve personally lost count,” he told The Washington Post. “I need to update my spreadsheet.” None of them gave him a gnarlier ride than the one Ian offered up Wednesday morning. “When I say this was the roughest flight of my career so far, I mean it. I have never seen the bunks come out like that,” he said on Twitter, referring to crew members’ beds at the back of the plane being tossed around. “There was coffee everywhere. I have never felt such lateral motion.” About nine hours after Underwood flew into Ian, the hurricane made landfall near Fort Myers as a Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds. Early Thursday, Ian weakened into a tropical storm as it spiraled northeast, but NOAA warned that it will leave life-threatening, catastrophic flooding in parts of central Florida. Forecasters are predicting Ian will soon kick north, causing considerable flooding in the northern part of the state, southeastern Georgia and eastern South Carolina through the end of the week. Underwood and his fellow hurricane hunters took off from Houston around 4 a.m. and flew Kermit, their Lockheed WP-3D Orion turboprop plane, a little less than two hours to reach Florida’s coast. Before arriving, their military counterparts reported what they’d encountered having just flown through the storm, Underwood told The Post. “They said, ‘Hey guys, this ride was not fun,’ and so we kind of knew what we were getting into.” The NOAA hurricane hunters secured everything they could, strapped themselves in and dropped Kermit to roughly 8,000 feet before entering the hurricane. Traveling through the storm’s outer bands, they hit a “hefty amount” of turbulence. Underwood started recording as they approached the eyewall, the strongest part of the storm. Jolts of turbulence sent bunks, coffee, shoes and Underwood himself flying, along with some choice words. “You’re getting bounced around. Parts of it are, you know, it’s fun. It’s kind of like being on a roller coaster at some point,” he said. “But then other times, you’re hearing the aircraft shake and vibrate, and that can be a little unnerving.” What stood out for Underwood was the lightning. He said he has never seen so much of it and pointed to a photo he took during Wednesday’s mission, one that appears to have been taken during the day. “It looks like it’s like 11 a.m. outside. It looks like the sun’s up,” he told The Post. “But it was completely dark, and that’s just a lightning bolt that was so close to us and so bright that it just lit up the whole eye.” Born and raised in West Virginia, Underwood started working at NOAA in August 2016, he said. Two months later, he flew into his first hurricane — Matthew, which became a Category 5 storm that raked Florida’s Atlantic coastline. While the first two hours of his debut mission were fine, he spent the next six being as sick as he ever had been. Still, he was hooked. “It was all about that mission of gathering this data that, at the end of the day, is going to save lives and is going to save dollars. That is what really drew me in,” he said. There have been many storms since. Irma, Maria and Harvey in 2017. Florence the next year. Dorian and Lorenzo in 2019, followed by Laura, Eta “and so many other storms” in 2020. Before Ian, Underwood’s toughest flight was through Hurricane Florence. Underwood said he enjoys his work but stressed that hurricane hunters do not fly into storms just for fun. They are collecting data on temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed and direction inside a storm, all so the National Hurricane Center can pump them into forecasting models. More data means better forecasts. “And that means the earlier you can warn people that they need to get out of the way, that they need to secure their homes, whatever they need to do,” Underwood said. “And so the whole mission is really just about protecting life and property.” Read More Here

Trump Pushing Back On Special Master's Request For Him To Declare In Court Whether DOJ Inventory Is Accurate https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-pushing-back-on-special-masters-request-for-him-to-declare-in-court-whether-doj-inventory-is-accurate/ By Tierney Sneed and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Former President Donald Trump is pushing back against a plan from the special master overseeing the review of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago that would require Trump to declare in court whether the Justice Department’s inventory from the search is accurate. The requested declaration would force the former President to go on the record in court about his suggestion that the FBI may have planted evidence during the search on August 8. Trump’s objection to the request for the declaration was made public Wednesday night in a court filing from his lawyers, after the Justice Department discussed his opposition vaguely in a public submission to US District Judge Raymond Dearie, who is serving as special master, Tuesday evening. Trump’s team argued the court order appointing Dearie made mention only of a declaration from a government official verifying the Justice Department’s search inventory, and that there was no such reference to a declaration from the Trump side. In the newly-public filing, which was a letter sent privately to Dearie Sunday, Trump said he had to object to the requirement “because the Special Master’s case management plan exceeds the grant of authority from the District Court on this issue.” “Additionally, the Plaintiff currently has no means of accessing the documents bearing classification markings, which would be necessary to complete any such certification by September 30, the currently proposed date of completion,” Trump said. The former President’s team also claimed that Dearie is exceeding his authority by asking that the documents from the search be logged in categories more specific than what US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who granted Trump’s request for the review, contemplated in her appointment order. Trump expressed his opposition as well to providing a briefing to Dearie on whether certain legal motions related to the search were best left to the magistrate judge who approved the warrant. The Sunday objection letter to Dearie was made public with a Wednesday submission from the Trump team, in which they told the special master that documents from the search amount to 200,000 pages of material. The amount of material seized has not grown significantly since prosecutors first worked through it on the day of the search — but the Trump team, now grasping the number of pages within each document, is alarmed at how quickly they’ll have to work through the collection. The Trump team wants extra time to work through the large volume of documents — after they had been characterized earlier as 11,000 items or documents by the Justice Department, three of Trump’s lawyers wrote in a letter to Dearie on Wednesday. The Justice Department is investigating whether a crime was committed or the nation’s security was harmed because Trump and others had federal and classified government records among the hundreds of thousands of unsecured pages at the Florida beach club after he left the presidency. In recent days, the special master process has prompted the Trump team and the Justice Department to try to hire a service that can host the documents digitally, so they can be worked through. Earlier this week, the department said in a court filing that Trump’s team had indicated the data hosting companies didn’t want to work with the former President. His team now says the issue is the size of the evidence collection. “In conversations between Plaintiff’s counsel and the Government regarding a data vendor, the Government mentioned that the 11,000 documents contain closer to 200,000 pages. That estimated volume, with a need to operate under the accelerated timeframes supported by the Government, is the reason why so many of the Government’s selected vendors have declined the potential engagement,” Trump’s team wrote on Wednesday. Trump, in his Wednesday letter to Dearie, also complained that attorneys working on the investigation may have been exposed to a small number of confidential attorney-client communications before either the department’s filter team or the special master could review. The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Stock Market News Today: Dow Slides More Than 500 Points; Bond Selloff Resumes https://digitalarizonanews.com/stock-market-news-today-dow-slides-more-than-500-points-bond-selloff-resumes/ About this page Last Updated: Sep 29, 2022 at 11:45 am ET The Wall Street Journal’s full markets coverage. Read More Here

First Weekend Of October: Dinosaurs, Suns Open Practice, Park West Market Returns https://digitalarizonanews.com/first-weekend-of-october-dinosaurs-suns-open-practice-park-west-market-returns/ PHOENIX — Say “hello” to October with a weekend of fun right here in the Valley! The popular ‘Dinosaurs in the Desert’ exhibit debuts on Saturday, get ready to Rally the Valley at a FREE open practice at Footprint Center, and take the family to the Park West Market! Here’s your rundown on what’s happening this weekend. PARK WEST MARKET Expect to see and shop from over 115 vendors! According to event officials, there’ll also be food trucks, live music, face painting and more. LOCATION: 9744 W Northern Ave in Peoria, AZ 85345 WHEN: Every Saturday starting October 1 from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. ‘DINOSAURS IN THE DESERT’ This exhibit will have new creatures including the gigasaurus, troodon, allosaurus, a giant bear, sea scorpion, terror bird, and more. According to the Phoenix Zoo, educational signage will be found with each dinosaur “highlighting size and interesting facts” about it. The exhibit will run from October 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. COST: The exhibit is included with the general Zoo admission and it’s free for Zoo Members. LOCATION: Phoenix Zoo [455 North Galvin Parkway]. THE IMMERSIVE KING TUT WHEN: The exhibit is open beginning September 30! COST: Tickets start at $29.99. LOCATION: Lighthouse ArtSpace Phoenix [4301 N. Scottsdale Road]. HAUNTED BREWERY TOURS Spooky season is amongst us and those who are over 21 years of age will want to check this out! Four Peaks is hosting their ‘Haunted Brewery Tours!’ Tickets are $35; it includes the tour, a souvenir t-shirt and a 32oz. of beer. Tickets are available online. Tour dates: From September 26 – November 2: every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Plus, October 30. GRAND OPENING EXTRAVAGANZA “The evening’s line-up will include an impressive showing of local talent. The Rhythm Edition Band will kick off the evening, performing some of their comedy tribute skits, followed by the Beth Lederman Trio,” reads a press release sent to ABC15. WHEN: Sunday, October 2 at 6:45 p.m. COST VARIES. LOCATION: Mesa Jazz & Blues Theater [5255 E Brown Rd.] MONSTER JAM WHEN: Saturday, October 1, at 7 p.m. COST: Tickets as low as $28 LOCATION: State Farm Stadium [1 Cardinals Drive] in Glendale THE SANDLOT & COMICX  Meet some of the cast members of The Sandlot; Tom Guiry, Marty York and Victor DiMattia. WHEN: Sunday, October 2 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. LOCATION: ComicX [21001 N. Tatum Blvd. #95] in Phoenix COST: “Autograph signings are $40 per actor and photos are $40 per actor. For a combination of an autograph and photo, the pricing is $60 per actor. To take a photo and receive autograph signings from all three actors, pricing is $150. There is no admission fee; autographs and photos are sold separately from ComicX,” reads a press release sent to ABC15. SUNS OPEN PRACTICE  WHEN: Saturday, October 1; doors open at 10 a.m. and “practice begins at approximately 11 a.m.” COST: FREE, but Tickets are required for entry and are first come first serve! Click here to register. LOCATION: Footprint Center [201 E Jefferson St] 23RD ANNUAL MARIACHI AND FOLKLÓRICO FESTIVAL C.A.L.L.E. de Arizona and Maestra Vanessa Ramirez present this festival that features Mariachi Los Camperos, Mariachi Estrella de Mexico, which showcases folklorico dancers from Ballet Folklorico Quetzalli-AZ. COST: Tickets range from $48 – $78 WHEN: October 1 at 7 p.m. WHERE: Chandler Center for the Arts [250 NORTH ARIZONA AVENUE] GUELAGUETZA WHEN: October 1 & 2 from 12p.m. – 6 p.m. COST: Event is included with the membership or garden admission. WHERE: Desert Botanical Garden [1201 N. Galvin Parkway] in Phoenix. NATIONAL SAMBA QUEEN AND KING COMPETITION WHEN: Saturday, October 1, at 9 p.m. COST: $25 LOCATION: 411 S. Mill Ave #201 in Tempe 2022 DTPHX URBAN ALE TRAIL WHEN: Saturday, October 1, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. ARIZONA STATE FAIR IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN! The Arizona State Fair kicked off on September 23 and runs until October 30. What’s new? Well, there are circus acts, monster truck shows, ‘tribute’ concerts, new food, and more! Here’s the full rundown. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sign up for the Headlines Newsletter and receive up to date information. Read More Here

Ryan Freeburg Selected As Glendale’s Fire Chief – Signals AZ https://digitalarizonanews.com/ryan-freeburg-selected-as-glendales-fire-chief-signals-az/ The CAST 11 Podcast Network is made possible by the 2022 Ultimate Holiday Guide. Promote your next event or holiday offering in the Ultimate Holiday Guide by calling Elicia at: 928-642-3552. Glendale is pleased to announce that Ryan Freeburg will be the new chief for Glendale’s Fire Department. For the past 10 years, Freeburg has been the Assistant Fire Chief in Scottsdale. He is a seasoned firefighter and leader who comes to Glendale with 26 years of fire service experience. Glendale’s Fire Chief directs the administrative and managerial staff involved in the daily operations of the department. The Chief sets goals, policies, procedures and represents the city in relationships with outside agencies as well as with community groups and the public. The city held a national search for this position and Freeburg was selected from a field of top candidates from across the country who wanted to be part of Glendale’s team. City Manager Kevin Phelps said during the interview process, Freeburg demonstrated his leadership experience, a passion for innovative thinking and the strategic planning skills that the city expects from its next fire chief. “Public safety is a key service we provide and Ryan’s experience matches well with how we respond to those important calls we get from people who need help with a fire or medical emergency,” said Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps. “He knows the automatic aid system and already has good relationships with other fire chiefs and stakeholders in the area. His experience in Scottsdale with the WM Phoenix Open and Barrett Jackson special events shows that he understands the complex planning and dedication of resources needed for NFL games, large concerts, NCAA Men’s Final Fours and Super Bowls that Glendale hosts.” Freeburg was drafted by the Colorado Rockies baseball organization following his time at Grand Canyon University. He spent three seasons in the Rockies minor league system before transitioning from the ball field to the firehouse. Freeburg says it was the team camaraderie aspect of sports that he enjoyed most. Being able to be part of a public safety team plus serving a mission bigger than himself was what drew him to the fire service. He spent the early years of his career as a field firefighter, first joining Rural Metro Corporation in 1996 as a reserve firefighter before becoming a full-time firefighter and paramedic. Freeburg developed a deep understanding of the fire service and emergency response models and would later receive a promotion to captain. At that time, Rural Metro Corporation was the primary fire service provider contracted with the city of Scottsdale. When the city created its own municipal fire department in 2005, he became a charter member of Scottsdale’s team. While there, Freeburg rose through the ranks, serving as battalion chief and deputy chief before becoming assistant chief. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead the Glendale Fire Department and to serve residents,” said Ryan Freeburg. “The men and women of the Glendale Fire Department are recognized for their bravery and dedication with protecting lives and properties in our community. Under my leadership, we will continue to build a culture of professionalism, innovation and accountability.” Freeburg holds a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix, a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Safety Administration from Grand Canyon University, an Associate of Science degree in Advanced EMT from Scottsdale Community College and an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science from Scottsdale Community College. Freeburg’s first day as Glendale’s Fire Chief is Monday, October 10. Read more stories from the Phoenix Area on Signals A Z.com. Promote your event with the Ultimate Holiday Guide! Contact Elicia Morigeau at 928-642-3552 or ads@signalsaz.com. Read More Here

Flurry Of N Korea Missiles For Kamala Harris Visit https://digitalarizonanews.com/flurry-of-n-korea-missiles-for-kamala-harris-visit/ By Jean Mackenzie in Seoul and Frances Mao in Singapore BBC News Image source, Reuters Image caption, The US vice-president visited the zone separating both Koreas North Korea carried out another banned missile test, just hours after a visit by US Vice-President Kamala Harris, South Korea’s military says. Two short-range ballistic missiles were fired into the sea off the North’s east coast, it said, in the third such breach of UN sanctions this week. It follows a visit by Ms Harris to the demilitarised zone dividing the Koreas. This has been a record year for missile tests in North Korea and the latest launches are timed to send a message. They come as the US and South Korea held joint naval drills this week around the Korean peninsula. Earlier on Thursday, Ms Harris met South Korea’s leader Yoon Suk-yeol shortly after her arrival in the capital Seoul. Both condemned Pyongyang’s actions. In a White House statement, the two leaders criticised Pyongyang’s “provocative nuclear rhetoric and ballistic missile launches”, and “reaffirmed [their] alignment… and goal of the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”. The vice-president also “underscored that the United States is committed to defending [South Korea]… and welcomed [their] close co-operation”. With denuclearisation talks between the North and the US long stalled, these launches are part of a wider pattern of escalation, with Pyongyang continuing to build and refine its weapons, while Washington strengthens its defences. This week’s missiles – the first fired on Sunday before the naval drills began, followed by two on the eve of Ms Harris’s visit and the last two hours after she left – are the first since early June, but North Korea has test-launched more than 30 weapons so far in 2022, more than in any other single year. Experts believe the launches are in retaliation to the joint naval drills as Washington and Seoul bolster their defence of South Korea – the four-day joint drills are the first involving a US aircraft carrier to be held since 2017. In a speech to the General Assembly earlier this week, Pyongyang’s ambassador to the UN Song Kim criticised the US and South Korea for their military exercises, saying they were bringing the peninsula to “the brink of war”. He said the United States’ “hostile policy” towards North Korea was the reason the world was now “heading into a much more dangerous phase”. South Korea and the US have long defended their joint exercises, which they say are aimed at stabilising the region. The secretive Communist state’s assertiveness over its possession of nuclear weapons is growing – and that worries the US and South Korea. Earlier this month, North Korea passed a law declaring itself to be a nuclear weapons state. Leader Kim Jong-un vowed his country would never give up their weapons or engage in nuclear disarmament talks. The law also allows the North to fire first, in a wide range of scenarios. Until recently it had always claimed its weapons were a deterrent, aimed at preventing a war. For months intelligence from the US and South Korea has suggested the North is ready to test a nuclear weapon but is waiting for the opportune political moment. This would be its seventh nuclear test and its first for five years. On Wednesday South Korea’s spy agency told politicians that the nuclear test could happen between mid-October and early November, likely seizing on a window between the Chinese Communist Party congress and before the US mid-term elections. President Yoon, who took office in May, has focused on strengthening South Korea’s alliance with the United States to tackle the threat posed by North Korea. Read More Here

In Minnesota, Abortion Issue Is Key To Keith Ellison’s 2nd Term Hopes https://digitalarizonanews.com/in-minnesota-abortion-issue-is-key-to-keith-ellisons-2nd-term-hopes/ MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Keith Ellison gave up a safe seat in Congress to run for Minnesota attorney general, saying it was his best chance to push back against the policies of Donald Trump. Now locked in a tough reelection fight, he’s arguing that he’s been far less of a partisan warrior than his critics claim. Ellison squeaked into office in 2018, taking a post that Democrats had traditionally won easily. But he was a polarizing figure in the eyes of some voters. The outspoken progressive came from the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, and Republicans tried to draw attention to his past associations with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, though Ellison had publicly renounced Farrakhan when he first ran for the U.S. House in 2006. His bid for a second term as attorney general comes after four tumultuous years that put Minnesota in the world spotlight over the police killings of George Floyd and other Black men. His Republican opponent, hedge fund lawyer Jim Schultz, says Ellison deserves much of the blame for the surge in violent crime that followed. To fight back, Ellison has used this summer’s U.S. Supreme Court decision rolling back abortion rights to rally Democrats and suburban swing voters. He’s also urged those voters to look at his work on more everyday issues such as affordable health care and prescription drugs, consumer and business fraud protections and protections for workers against wage theft — all things that belie his image, he said. “They think I’m going to be a firebrand and I end up being a fairly pragmatic guy,” Ellison said in an interview. “That’s true of my entire service.” Ellison was already leading a major initiative for greater police accountability when Floyd died under the knee of former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin in 2020. Ellison went on to lead the prosecution team that got Chauvin convicted of murder the next year, a verdict that potentially averted another eruption of violence. Ellison also took a step that his Republican critics are now trying to use against him. He strongly backed a charter amendment in Minneapolis that arose from the “defund the police” movement. It would have replaced the city’s police department with a loosely defined department of public safety, with details to be worked out later. Voters rejected it. On the campaign trail, Schultz depicts Ellison as being “at the forefront of the defund-the-police movement” and blames that movement for the departures of hundreds of dispirited police officers in Minneapolis and elsewhere. And he blames those losses for the spike in gun violence, carjackings and other crimes since the pandemic. “Far left, extreme politicians like Keith Ellison have gotten behind really reckless policies like defunding the police,” Schultz said in an interview. “It’s deeply wrong. It’s immoral.” Violent crime has been rising across Minnesota since the pandemic began, with Minneapolis accounting for much of the increase, while its police force has fallen about 300 officers short of its authorized strength. Minnesota saw a 21.6% statewide increase in violent crime in 2021 from 2020, with violent crime in greater Minnesota rising by 16% and by 23.9% in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Ellison said he doesn’t regret supporting the charter amendment, but he said he never supported “defunding the police” and said it didn’t accurately describe the amendment. He also dismissed Schultz’s claim that he’s hostile to police, saying he regards policing as a noble profession and that Chauvin did more to invite scorn and demoralize officers than anything he ever did. “I’m the one who prosecuted him for killing George Floyd,” Ellison said. “So I’m the one trying to restore the honor and dignity of policing.” Ellison also led the prosecution of former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter, who said she confused her gun for her Taser when she killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop last year. She was convicted of manslaughter in December. Schultz has said he would support commuting her two-year sentence. Crime isn’t the only issue that has Schultz, a 36-year-old political newcomer, hopeful of being the first Republican to occupy the attorney general’s office since 1971. He also accuses Ellison of “unbelievable incompetence” for failing to stop a massive fraud scheme in its early stages, with 49 people charged so far with stealing at least $250 million from federal programs administered by the state to provide low-income children with nutritious meals during the pandemic. Ellison has countered that his office helped uncover the fraud. If Ellison is to survive both that attack and the policing criticism to win a second term, abortion rights is likely to be the issue that does it. Schultz vowed this spring to do everything in his power as attorney general to aggressively defend the unborn. After Roe’s reversal, he joined many other Republicans trying to pivot away from abortion and back to crime in a state where abortion rights are protected under the state constitution. Meanwhile, Ellison brought New York Attorney General Letitia James to Minnesota in early September to raise money from abortion rights supporters in the legal community. Soon after, he visited an abortion clinic in Moorhead that moved across the border from Fargo, North Dakota, to escape a trigger ban on abortion. Ellison vowed early on that his office won’t cooperate if other states seek to prosecute women who come to Minnesota for abortions. Ellison said the election is about more than abortion rights or crime. Trump’s rhetoric, the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Supreme Court’s abortion decision and the rise of “MAGA Republicans” have put democracy in doubt, he said. “Here’s what we can’t do,” Ellison said. “We can’t tell people we got this. Quite frankly, I’m glad people see my race as close because it means they’re going to show up.” Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Read More Here

FBI Insiders Say Agents Who Took A Knee During BLM Protests Were Rewarded https://digitalarizonanews.com/fbi-insiders-say-agents-who-took-a-knee-during-blm-protests-were-rewarded/ The politicization of the FBI is being implemented by the promotion of liberal agents into positions of authority, and the punishment or dismissal of agents who support conservative causes, FBI insiders told The Washington Times. They say this institutionalizes a liberal bias in the upper ranks of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency. In one high-profile example, an FBI agent who while on duty demonstrated solidarity with Black Lives Matter marchers in Washington by “taking a knee” as the protesters passed was later rewarded with a promotion to a supervisor rank. The BLM march in Washington occurred in 2020, when similar protests and riots swept across the country in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Some law enforcement officials began kneeling with BLM protesters, including officers in Austin, Portland, Los Angeles, Coral Gables and Buffalo. In Washington, among six on-duty agents in full FBI gear who “took a knee” for BLM protesters was a female agent who later was promoted to the No. 2 supervisory post at the Washington Field Office. Immediately after the BLM march, Washington Field Office Counter Terrorism Special Agent in Charge Larissa Knapp lauded the six agents, The Times has learned, saying the kneeling agents de-escalated a confrontation that could have turned violent. Other agents on the scene chose not to kneel. FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin, who has been suspended from his job at the bureau, said he witnessed Ms. Knapp shower praise upon the agents when all the employees gathered in the Assistant Director in Charge’s conference room to discuss “presence patrols” following the BLM protest. Each agent within the group of “kneeling agents” was hugged by Ms. Knapp and received gift cards from her for their action at the protest, Mr. Seraphin said, who added that he was shaking his head in disbelief before Ms. Knapp began yelling at him. “So she focused her tirade about how ‘they were heroes … saved lives and they did the right thing. I called [Director Christopher A. Wray] to say how proud I was they de-escalated things. I don’t want to see anyone looking sideways at them,’” Mr. Seraphin recalled her saying. Another former FBI official who spoke on the condition of anonymity also recalled the events in the conference room. “Some people were like, ‘That’s pretty disgraceful what they did. We’re not supposed to take sides,’” said the former official. Mr. Seraphin said that joining the BLM protest should have been viewed as a policy violation of the Hatch Act, a law that prevents federal workers from engaging in political activity while on duty, in a federal facility or using government resources. “There were plenty of other agents who were at the scene who did not take a knee and they said, ‘Look, we didn’t feel threatened,’” he said. According to the Justice Department, “Political activity is activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group. The statute carries serious penalties including REMOVAL from federal employment.” However, several FBI agents noted a stark difference in how the Justice Department views Black Lives Matter protesters and Trump supporters who attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally in Washington. The DOJ is still prosecuting those who clashed with U.S. Capitol Police that day, charging individuals for a range of crimes from trespassing to assault to obstruction of an official proceeding, but the Justice Department recently settled with Black Lives Matter activists and others who clashed with the Secret Service and Park Police in Lafayette Park in June 2020. Mr. Seraphin and the former bureau employee note that the bureau punished some FBI employees for going to former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021. Those employees stopped short of joining supporters of Mr. Trump’s, who breached the capitol and rioted to protest the certification of President Biden’s certification, however, the bureau eliminated their security clearances. “The entire world has changed in the last year and a half after June 6, and news started to come out about FBI employees who simply attended a rally having their clearances pulled,” a former FBI employee said, adding that the bureau would pull any string to connect an employee to the “insurrection” who was close to the capitol that day. The FBI provided this statement to The Times in response to questions about the apparent disparate treatment of agents participating in BLM protests and protests linked to former President Donald Trump: “While the FBI does not comment on specific personnel matters, under no circumstances would we take action against employees for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.  All FBI employees understand that adherence to rigorous security policies and the highest standards of integrity are critical to fulfilling our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution of the United States.” The FBI also noted that all FBI employees are subject to the Hatch Act. Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Read More Here

Tracker: Evidence Of Trump's Knowledge And Involvement In Retaining Mar-A-Lago Documents https://digitalarizonanews.com/tracker-evidence-of-trumps-knowledge-and-involvement-in-retaining-mar-a-lago-documents/ A central question in the Mar-a-Lago espionage and stolen documents investigation involves former President Donald Trump’s knowledge and involvement in retaining government records. We have compiled a comprehensive account of the publicly available information that addresses that question. Especially significant findings are highlighted in red text.  Readers should decide for themselves what conclusions they reach based on the record below. On our view, the record as a whole points to Trump’s culpability based on evidence that Trump was warned in late 2021 by his former White House lawyer that it was unlawful to retain the documents, especially classified information; Trump personally sorted through the documents in late 2021; Trump’s personal knowledge and possession, access, and control of the documents is indicated by the quantity, content, and location of documents with classified markings (including intermingled with personal belongings) and by his admissions on Truth Social; Trump repeatedly stated privately that the documents were his to possess and he was not willing to deliver them to the government; Trump aides repeatedly tried to get him to return the documents to the government; Trump was repeatedly put on notice by Archives and Justice Department that his retention of the documents were unlawful and a potential threat to national security;  Trump was apparently involved in obstructive acts of trying to conceal documents from the government after receiving a subpoena.  I. Undated Trump’s direct knowledge of documents: “Several of the documents [retrieved by the Archives on Jan. 18, 2022] also contained what appears to be FPOTUS’s handwritten notes.” [FBI Affidavit accompanying search warrant application] “Multiple documents [retrieved by DOJ and FBI on June 3, 2022 under subpoena] also contained what appears to be FPOTUS’s handwritten notes.”[FBI Affidavit (less redacted) accompany search warrant application, Aug. 5, 2022 (less redacted version released Sept. 13, 2022)] II. During Presidency As President, Trump held onto classified documents: “Trump had a habit of grabbing intelligence documents,” said [John] Bolton, who has been a sharp critic of the former president. “God knows what he did with it.’” [NBC News] “Trump seemed especially fond of his correspondence from Kim. Bolton, in an interview, mentioned a letter that Trump had gotten from the North Korean leader and said that ‘John Kelly took it from him and we put it back in the right place.’ (Kelly confirmed the account). ‘We gave Trump a copy of it back. He had a habit of taking stuff and you’d never see it again.’” [NBC News] “‘Intelligence briefers used to find a way to get inside his head and would bring along a picture – a chart or a graph or something like that – and hand it to him across the Resolute Desk,’ said John R. Bolton, a former national security adviser to Mr. Trump. ‘Sometimes he would say: ‘Hey, this is interesting. Can I keep this?’’”[New York Times] “Not every official could successfully retrieve a document that Mr. Trump took an interest in, former officials said.” [New York Times] “‘Any documents that made it to the White House residence were these boxes Trump carried around with him,’ explained Stephanie Grisham, a former senior White House staffer. ‘Usually the body man would have brought them upstairs for Trump or someone from the outer-Oval at the end of the day. They would get handed off to the residence and just disappear.’” [Washington Post] “Mr. Trump repeatedly had material sent up to the White House residence, and it was not always clear what happened to it. He sometimes asked to keep material after his intelligence briefings, but aides said he was so uninterested in the paperwork during the briefings themselves that they never understood what he wanted it for.” [New York Times] “Several former officials interviewed for this article who remembered Mr. Trump occasionally taking a document from a classified briefing or requesting a document from the National Security Council staff said the material he collected in those instances could not have added up to the hundreds of pages in dozens of boxes retrieved by the government from Mar-a-Lago.” [New York Times] Trump’s top aides stated attempts to return documents to Archives: Late 2020: “Notes from conversations among White House staff members indicate that there are discussions about material that Mr. Trump had been amassing, and how to get it back and make sure the documents are properly handled. Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, tells others he will take care of it, according to people familiar with the matter.” [New York Times] Note: The New York Times adds that “it is unclear whether [Meadows] ever talks to Mr. Trump” about this matter. Trump’s top legal counsel assessment of need to return documents to Archives: “The Archives battle to secure records from Trump began while he was still president, according to records reviewed by The Post. Gary M. Stern, the agency’s top lawyer, began asking the former president’s attorneys to return two dozen boxes in the residency of the White House before he left. In an email Stern wrote to others, Trump’s counsel, Pat Cipollone, agreed with him. But Trump did not return them.” [Washington Post] “‘It is also our understanding that roughly two dozen boxes of original presidential records were kept in the Residence of the White House over the course of President Trump’s last year in office and have not been transferred to NARA, despite a determination by Pat Cipollone in the final days of the administration that they need to be,’ wrote Gary Stern, the agency’s chief counsel, in an email to Trump lawyers in May 2021, according to a copy reviewed by the Washington Post.” [Washington Post] Note: It is unknown whether Cipollone communicated his views to President Trump and/or Mark Meadows. III. Post-Presidency (unspecified dates) Evidence of knowledge: Large volume of classified documents: The following documents were retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in 2022. 14 of 15 boxes contained documents bearing classification markings 184 unique documents bearing classification markings 67 documents marked as Confidential 92 documents marked as Secret 25 documents marked as Top Secret “FBI agents observed markings reflecting that the documents were subject to sensitive compartments and dissemination controls used to restrict access to material in the interest of national security” including HCS, FISA, ORCON, NOFORN, and SI. [Government response to Trump motion for return of property and Special Master (Aug. 30, 2022); FBI Redacted Affidavit for search warrant (Aug. 5, 2022)] June 3, 2022: DOJ officials meet at Mar-a-Lago and retrieve documents pursuant to a subpoena: Trump’s counsel provide a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape Trump’s counsel “indicated that the documents had come from boxes inside of a storage room at Mar-a-Lago.” 38 unique documents bearing classification markings 5 documents marked as Confidential 16 documents marked as Secret 17 documents marked as Top Secret “FBI agents observed markings reflecting the following caveats/compartments, among others: HCS, SI, and FISA.” [Government reply to Trump motion for return of property and Special Master, Aug. 30, 2022; Justice Department application for disclosure of subpoena; FBI Affidavit (less redacted) accompany search warrant application, Aug. 5, 2022 (less redacted version released Sept. 13, 2022)] August 8, 2022: FBI retrieves documents pursuant to a search warrant:  Documents located in storage room and Trump’s office (including desk drawer and containers in office closet) 102 unique documents bearing classification markings The Office contains: 27 documents bearing classification markings 3 documents marked as Confidential 17 documents marked as Secret 7 documents marked as Top Secret 43 empty folders with classified banners 28 empty folders labeled “return to staff secretary/military aide” Several documents have colored cover sheets showing their classification status 3 classified documents were located “in the desks in the ‘45 Office’” The Storage Room contains: 76 documents bearing classification markings 28 documents marked as Confidential 37 documents marked as Secret 11 documents marked as Top Secret (including SCI) 3 empty folders with classified banners 14 empty folders labeled “return to staff secretary/military aide” In at least 15 boxes in both the office and storage room, documents marked as classified are comingled with personal and other items including magazines, newspapers, press articles, and other printed media [Justice Department application for disclosure of subpoena; Revised Detailed Inventory of Aug. 8 search, Sept. 26, 2022; Government reply to Trump motion for return of property and Special Master, Aug. 30, 2022] The highly classified documents retrieved on Aug. 8 reportedly include at least one on a foreign country’s nuclear weapons readiness. [Washington Post] Trump’s willful retention: “Mr. Philbin tried to help the National Archives retrieve the material, two of the people familiar with the discussions said. But the former president repeatedly resisted entreaties from his advisers. ‘It’s not theirs; it’s mine,’ several advisers say Mr. Trump told them.” [New York Times] “Two former White House officials, who had been designated as among Mr. Trump’s representatives with the archives, received calls and tried to facilitate the documents’ return. Mr. Trump resisted those calls, describing the boxes of documents as ‘mine,’ according to three advisers familiar with his comments.” [New York Times] “Trump resisted handing over some of the boxes for months...