Digital Arizona News

January 6 Hearings Live Updates: Day 9 To Focus On Former President Trump https://digitalarizonanews.com/january-6-hearings-live-updates-day-9-to-focus-on-former-president-trump/ Here are some of the biggest revelations from previous hearings Former White House aide said Trump knew his supporters at “Stop the Steal” rally were armed Cassidy Hutchinson, who served as an aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified at a public hearing in June that Trump was told that some of his supporters refused to come through metal detectors because they were armed. “I don’t f—ing care that they have weapons,” Trump railed, according to Hutchinson’s testimony. “They’re not here to hurt me. Take the f—ing mags away.” Witnesses testified about a “heated exchange” between Trump and Secret Service Hutchinson recalled in testimony before the House committee that she was told by a top White House staffer that Trump desperately wanted to join his supporters at the Capitol and became irate when his security detail declined his request due to safety concerns. Trump “said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the f-ing president, take me up to the Capitol now,’” Hutchinson said, relaying a conversation she said she had with Tony Ornato, White House deputy chief of staff for operations, and Bobby Engel, the head of Trump’s security detail. She said Ornato told her Trump reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel and then lunged toward Engel. A source close to Ornato disputed the account and said he would be willing to do so under oath, but committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told CNN in September that he had yet to do so. Pence was only 40 feet away from rioters who endangered his life Then-Vice President Mike Pence remained in an underground secure location inside the Capitol for more than four hours on Jan. 6, the committee revealed during a hearing in June. Committee member Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said Pence’s location in the bunker was a mere 40 feet away from rioters who stormed the Capitol and chanted, “Hang Mike Pence.” Former top Trump campaign aide testified that Giuliani was ‘definitely intoxicated’ at an election night party Jason Miller, a former top campaign aide to Trump, testified to the Jan. 6 committee in June that Rudy Giuliani was “definitely intoxicated” at the White House’s election night party and advised Trump to just declare victory. Giuliani was “definitely intoxicated, but I did not know his level of intoxication when he talked” with Trump, Miller said. (Giuliani at the time denied that he was intoxicated through his attorney.) GOP lawmakers sought Trump pardons after Jan. 6 The Jan. 6 committee revealed that multiple Republican lawmakers had asked Trump for pardons for their roles in the effort to overturn the 2020 election. The list included several of Trump’s closest congressional allies: Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Rep. Stephanie Murphy on probe: ‘We keep finding new information’ Jan. 6 committee member Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., in an interview with MSNBC on Thursday shed light on the future of the investigation and left open the door to the possibility of more hearings. The investigation “has its own life,” she said, “and we keep finding new information.” “This hearing allows us to go a little deeper into what people knew, when they knew it, and what decisions they made based on that information,” she said about the planned presentation Thursday. Murphy said that the committee is “still processing all of the data” surrounding Trump and Jan. 6, and the panel hasn’t “yet called some of the original witnesses back in to talk to them — but we will do that in time.” The Jan. 6 committee is moving into its final stage After a long hiatus, the House Jan. 6 committee appears to be winding down an investigation that made and broke political careers among the nine members while providing the fullest account yet of what happened the day the peaceful transfer of power was nearly subverted. Members haven’t explicitly said Thursday’s hearing will be their last. They still need to produce a written report on their findings over the past 14 months. But with the Justice Department now ramping up its criminal investigation into the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, the committee’s relevance has begun to fade, one of its members acknowledged. “We’re really transitioning here into, ‘We need to get this report written,’” the member said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the panel’s thinking. “I see it as, look, we did a great job and at some point, it’s like, take the victory and now it’s in DOJ’s hands.” What to expect from Thursday’s hearing Jan. 6 panel set to hold final hearing before midterm elections The Jan. 6 committee’s ninth and likely final investigative hearing Thursday will feature new testimony and evidence, including Secret Service records and surveillance video. The hearing, set for 1 p.m. ET, will not include any live witnesses, a committee aide said. And unlike earlier hearings that focused on a specific aspect of the GOP plot to overturn the 2020 election and keep then-President Donald Trump in power, Thursday’s presentation will take a more sweeping view of what happened before, during and after the Jan. 6 attack. “Tomorrow, what we’re going to be doing is taking a step back and we’re going to be looking at that entire plan, the entire multipart plan to overturn the election. We’re going to be looking at it in a broader context and in a broader timeline as well,” a committee aide said on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday. “We’re going to bring a particular focus on the former president’s state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded,” the aide added. “What you’re going to see is a synthesis of some evidence we’ve already presented with that new, never-before-seen information to illustrate Donald Trump’s centrality to the scheme from the time prior to the election.” Read more about what to expect here. Read More Here

Biden Administration Asked Saudi Arabia To Postpone Its OPEC Decision By A Month, Saudis Say https://digitalarizonanews.com/biden-administration-asked-saudi-arabia-to-postpone-its-opec-decision-by-a-month-saudis-say/ US President Joe Biden being welcomed by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Alsalam Royal Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 15, 2022. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Biden administration asked Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of oil producer group OPEC, to delay its decision on oil output by a month, the kingdom said in a statement. The Saudis declined, and in early October OPEC+ — which includes non-OPEC oil exporters like Russia — announced its largest supply cut since 2020, to the tune of 2 million barrels per day starting from November. That means tighter supplies and higher prices at a time of already high inflation and worries of global recession, which angered U.S. lawmakers who are now calling for a “reevaluation” in relations with the Saudi kingdom. Notably, Biden’s request would have delayed the decision until after the U.S. midterm elections. In a statement dated Wednesday, the Saudi government defended its move and said all OPEC decisions are based on economic forecasts and needs. “The Government of the Kingdom clarified through its continuous consultation with the US Administration that all economic analyses indicate that postponing the OPEC+ decision for a month, according to what has been suggested, would have had negative economic consequences,” the statement read. Responding to the Saudi claims, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby reframed the exchange and accused the kingdom of aiding Russia’s revenues and hampering the impact of Western sanctions on Moscow for its war in Ukraine. “In recent weeks, the Saudis conveyed to us – privately and publicly – their intention to reduce oil production, which they knew would increase Russian revenues and blunt the effectiveness of sanctions. That is the wrong direction,” Kirby said. “We presented Saudi Arabia with analysis to show that there was no market basis to cut production targets, and that they could easily wait for the next OPEC meeting to see how things developed.” Kirby claimed, without giving examples, that other OPEC members opposed Saudi Arabia’s move, and reiterated the Biden administration’s vow to reexamine its relationship with Riyadh. “Other OPEC nations communicated to us privately that they also disagreed with the Saudi decision, but felt coerced to support Saudi’s direction,” he said. “As the President has said, we are reevaluating our relationship with Saudi Arabia in light of these actions, and will continue to look for signs about where they stand in combatting Russian aggression.” On Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that there would be “consequences” for Saudi Arabia’s oil production cut, which the kingdom is carrying out in coordination with other OPEC members and non-OPEC allies like Russia. Many in Washington saw this as a snub and a blatant display of siding with Moscow. U.S. lawmakers have urged the cutting of military sales to Saudi Arabia, America’s top weapons buyer, and are encouraging the passing of anti-trust legislation that would go after OPEC. Riyadh rejected the accusations of making any politically-motivated moves. “The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would first like to express its total rejection of these statements that are not based on facts, and which are based on portraying the OPEC+ decision out of its purely economic context. This decision was taken unanimously by all member states of the OPEC+ group,” the Saudi government statement said. “The Kingdom affirms that the outcomes of the OPEC+ meetings are adopted through consensus among member states, and that they are not based on the unilateral decision by a single country. These outcomes are based purely on economic considerations that take into account maintaining balance of supply and demand in the oil markets.” The developments spotlight the growing tensions in the nearly 80-year-old U.S.-Saudi relationship, as both parties suggest the other is failing to uphold their end of the bargain in a friendship broadly based on the principle of energy for security. They also highlight how little control Washington has on Saudi and OPEC energy policy. “The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US has soured after OPEC+ opted to cut oil quotas – Saudi Arabia is clearly leaning away from the US orbit,” James Swanston, Middle East and North Africa economist at London-based consultancy Capital Economics, said in a client note Thursday. Still, the Saudi government stressed the continued importance of its relationship with the U.S. “The Kingdom affirms that it [views] its relationship with the United States of America as a strategic one that serves the common interests of both countries,” it said in its statement. “The Kingdom also stresses the importance of building on the solid pillars upon which the Saudi-US relationship had stood over the past eight decades. These pillars include mutual respect, enhancing common interests, actively contributing to preserve regional and international peace and security, countering terrorism and extremism, and achieving prosperity for the peoples of the region.” Read More Here

Tropical Storm Karl Begins To Turn Southeast https://digitalarizonanews.com/tropical-storm-karl-begins-to-turn-southeast/ WHEN THAT HAPPENS RIGHT HERE ON WESH 2. JASON: IT IS 6:09. THIS MORNING, WE ARE TRACKING THE TROPICS. MEREDITH: METEOROLOGIST CAM TRAN JOINS US. CAM: TROPICAL STORM KARL IS MEANDERING. WINDS OF 50 MILES PER HOUR. THE SYSTEM WILL NOT HAVE ANY IMPACT ON CENTRAL FLORIDA BECAUSE WHERE IT WILL GO IS TOWARD THE SOUTH. IT WILL MAKE LANDFALL LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SATURDAY MORNING OVER SOUTHERN AREAS OF MEXICO, BRINGING IN HEAVY RAINFALL. WE ARE ALSO TRACKING ANOTHER TROPICAL WAVE THAT HAS JUST DEVELOPED. THIS IS A VERY LOW CHANCE OF DEVELOPMENT, JUST 20%. WE ARE TRACKING SOME RAIN THAT WILL BE IN THE FORECAST TODAY. I WILL SHO Tropical Storm Karl begins to turn southeast Tropical Storm Karl was moving south-southeast Thursday morning and was expected to make a shift soon. The storm was 245 miles north of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Karl had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving south-southeast at 5 mph. “Karl is expected to turn southward or south-southwestward over the Bay of Campeche on Friday, and this motion should continue through early Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Karl should reach the coasts of Tabasco or Veracruz states in Mexico late Friday night or early Saturday,” the National Hurricane Center said. “Karl is forecast to gradually lose some strength later today or on Friday while it approaches the Bay of Campeche coast of Mexico.”Karl is not expected to pose a threat to Florida.Karl is the 11th named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.Additionally, a new tropical disturbance has been identified.SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…* Alvarado to Ciudad del CarmenA Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours. KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN A HURRICANE WATCH IS ISSUEDStay tuned to WESH 2 News, WESH.COM, or NOAA Weather Radio for storm updates.Prepare to bring inside any lawn furniture, outdoor decorations or ornaments, trash cans, hanging plants, and anything else that can be picked up by the wind.Understand hurricane forecast models and cones.Prepare to cover all windows of your home. If shutters have not been installed, use precut plywood.Check batteries and stock up on canned food, first-aid supplies, drinking water, and medications.The WESH 2 First Warning Weather Team recommends you have these items ready before the storm strikes.Bottled water: One gallon of water per person per dayCanned food and soup, such as beans and chiliCan opener for the cans without the easy-open lidsAssemble a first-aid kitTwo weeks’ worth of prescription medicationsBaby/children’s needs, such as formula and diapersFlashlight and batteriesBattery-operated weather radioWHAT TO DO WHEN A HURRICANE WARNING IS ISSUEDListen to the advice of local officials. If you are advised to evacuate, leave.Complete preparation activities.If you are not advised to evacuate, stay indoors, away from windows.Be alert for tornadoes. Tornadoes can happen during a hurricane and after it passes over. Remain indoors, in the center of your home, in a closet or bathroom without windows.HOW YOUR SMARTPHONE CAN HELP DURING A HURRICANEA smartphone can be your best friend in a hurricane — with the right websites and apps, you can turn it into a powerful tool for guiding you through a storm’s approach, arrival and aftermath.Download the WESH 2 News app for iOS | AndroidEnable emergency alerts — if you have an iPhone, select settings, then go into notifications. From there, look for government alerts and enable emergency alerts.If you have an Android phone, from the home page of the app, scroll to the right along the bottom and click on “settings.” On the settings menu, click on “severe weather alerts.” From the menu, select from the most severe, moderate-severe, or all alerts.PET AND ANIMAL SAFETYYour pet should be a part of your family plan. If you must evacuate, the most important thing you can do to protect your pets is to evacuate them too. Leaving pets behind, even if you try to create a safe space for them, could result in injury or death.Contact hotels and motels outside of your immediate area to see if they take pets.Ask friends, relatives and others outside of the affected area whether they could shelter your animal. ORLANDO, Fla. — Tropical Storm Karl was moving south-southeast Thursday morning and was expected to make a shift soon. The storm was 245 miles north of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Karl had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving south-southeast at 5 mph. “Karl is expected to turn southward or south-southwestward over the Bay of Campeche on Friday, and this motion should continue through early Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Karl should reach the coasts of Tabasco or Veracruz states in Mexico late Friday night or early Saturday,” the National Hurricane Center said. “Karl is forecast to gradually lose some strength later today or on Friday while it approaches the Bay of Campeche coast of Mexico.” Karl is not expected to pose a threat to Florida. Karl is the 11th named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. Additionally, a new tropical disturbance has been identified. SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT: A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for… * Alvarado to Ciudad del Carmen A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours. KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN A HURRICANE WATCH IS ISSUED Stay tuned to WESH 2 News, WESH.COM, or NOAA Weather Radio for storm updates. Prepare to bring inside any lawn furniture, outdoor decorations or ornaments, trash cans, hanging plants, and anything else that can be picked up by the wind. Understand hurricane forecast models and cones. Prepare to cover all windows of your home. If shutters have not been installed, use precut plywood. Check batteries and stock up on canned food, first-aid supplies, drinking water, and medications. The WESH 2 First Warning Weather Team recommends you have these items ready before the storm strikes. Bottled water: One gallon of water per person per day Canned food and soup, such as beans and chili Can opener for the cans without the easy-open lids Assemble a first-aid kit Two weeks’ worth of prescription medications Baby/children’s needs, such as formula and diapers Flashlight and batteries Battery-operated weather radio WHAT TO DO WHEN A HURRICANE WARNING IS ISSUED Listen to the advice of local officials. If you are advised to evacuate, leave. Complete preparation activities. If you are not advised to evacuate, stay indoors, away from windows. Be alert for tornadoes. Tornadoes can happen during a hurricane and after it passes over. Remain indoors, in the center of your home, in a closet or bathroom without windows. HOW YOUR SMARTPHONE CAN HELP DURING A HURRICANE A smartphone can be your best friend in a hurricane — with the right websites and apps, you can turn it into a powerful tool for guiding you through a storm’s approach, arrival and aftermath. Download the WESH 2 News app for iOS | Android Enable emergency alerts — if you have an iPhone, select settings, then go into notifications. From there, look for government alerts and enable emergency alerts. If you have an Android phone, from the home page of the app, scroll to the right along the bottom and click on “settings.” On the settings menu, click on “severe weather alerts.” From the menu, select from the most severe, moderate-severe, or all alerts. PET AND ANIMAL SAFETY Your pet should be a part of your family plan. If you must evacuate, the most important thing you can do to protect your pets is to evacuate them too. Leaving pets behind, even if you try to create a safe space for them, could result in injury or death. Contact hotels and motels outside of your immediate area to see if they take pets. Ask friends, relatives and others outside of the affected area whether they could shelter your animal. Read More Here

Trump Truth Social Play Store Approval | Silicon UK Tech News https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-truth-social-play-store-approval-silicon-uk-tech-news/ Return of the Donald? Truth Social app from former US President gains approval for release on Google Play Store Alphabet’s Google has approved Truth Social, the social media app from former US President Donald Trump, for its Play Store. Last month Google had continued to refuse to approve it, because the app violated the Play store’s standards due to its insufficient content moderation. Following that, Truth Social moved to implement stronger content moderation policies, leading to Google’s approval. Truth Social will now be downloadable to Android smartphones via Google’s Play Store. Truth Social The delayed arrival on the Play Store comes after the app was launched on the Apple App Store back in February this year. Android is the world’s largest mobile operating system, but in the United States Android phones only account for 40 percent of the smartphone market. And despite its delay appearance on the Google Play Store, Truth Social was available for download for Android users in the US from other sources. Those other sources where the Android version could be found included non-Google sources, such as the Samsung Galaxy store. On Wednesday, a Google spokesperson told CNN the content moderation standards for Truth Social had now been met. “Apps may be distributed on Google Play provided they comply with our developer guidelines,” the spokesperson said, “including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those that incite violence.” Under Truth Social’s policies, user content that encourages violence “may result in” that content, or the account creating that content, being removed from the platform. Truth Social has agreed to enforce its policies against incitement, Google added. Website launch, closure Truth Social was Trump’s latest effort to create an online presence for himself following his ban from most mainstream social media platforms after the deadly 6 January, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. After leaving office and faced with an ongoing social media ban, Donald Trump launched his own website to publish content ‘straight from the desk’ of the former president. But after only one month of operation, Donald Trump closed down that website. Trump has lashed out repeatedly against the social networking bans and has previously asked a US judge to order Twitter to restore his account. Trump’s return? But Trump’s ban on social networking platforms could be nearing an end. Yesterday it was reported that Twitter was reviewing its policies around permanently banning users. However that review would unlikely pave the way for a return to Twitter for Donald Trump, as removing bans for breaching of its policy against inciting violence was not under consideration. Trump is banned on Facebook for two years, until 7 January 2023, after which the company will review his suspension. YouTube and Twitter also initially banned Trump for a limited period of time, but YouTube then also suspended Trump’s account for a two year period. Twitter however opted to permanently ban Trump from its platform. Facebook and YouTube’s bans are due to be reviewed in January 2023, and could be lifted if and when the risk of violence has decreased. And Twitter’s permanent ban on Trump could be reversed by Elon Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, if he completes his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. In May Musk said he would reverse the “stupid” ban on Trump. Read More Here

On Christian Nationalism | Cal Thomas https://digitalarizonanews.com/on-christian-nationalism-cal-thomas/ The subject of “Christian nationalism” has again appeared in our political life, establishing residence in the Republican Party. It is nothing new, though, having taken many forms in the past, including Moral Rearmament, Prohibition, Christian Reconstructionism, Moral Majority, and the Christian Coalition. In each incarnation, people have been told that something approaching Heaven on Earth can be accomplished through the political system and through a government led by folks who believe as they do. Each time the push has failed to achieve its stated goals. Leaving aside for a moment the flaw in Christian nationalist theology, let’s apply some pragmatism to these movements, including the latest called “ReAwaken America,” led by former Donald Trump National Security Adviser (for 22 days), Gen. Michael Flynn (retired). As the respected Pew Research Center has noted, “The decline of Christianity continues at a rapid pace.” That is reflected in the profile of people who are attending Gen. Flynn’s rallies. They appear to be mostly older and white, hardly the image of an America that will follow their generation. Several polls have shown that when asked their religious affiliation, millennials make up the highest percentage (32 percent) of “nones.” According to Pew, “sixty-five percent of Americans” self-identify as Christians, but it is a diverse group. Among them are Mainline Protestants, who generally vote for Democrats. Among Evangelicals, there are also divisions, with some voting for Democrats and others favoring Republicans. Roman Catholics, too, are divided, especially on social issues such as abortion. They also pledge allegiance to competing political parties or identify as Independents. The question then becomes: how does this minority within a minority within an even smaller minority expect to win elections in sufficient numbers to pass legislation that will reverse what they see as a moral and cultural decline? If it could be done, would it not have been done by the previously mentioned movements which enjoyed a larger percentage of like-minded people? Oklahoma entrepreneur Clay Clark heads the ReAwaken America organization. An Associated Press story about a recent rally in Batavia, New York, quotes him: “I want you to look around and you’ll see a group of people that love this country dearly. At this ReAwaken America Tour, Jesus is King (and) President Donald J. Trump is our president.” That comment sums up the attempted fusion of faith with politics. This ideology, this misplaced faith that a fallen humanity can – or should – impose a worldview through government that a majority do not share goes back to at least the time of Jesus. In the Book of Acts, the Disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” (Acts 1:6 NLT). They were looking for an earthly kingdom with themselves in charge. They wanted to throw off the Roman occupation and “take over.” Make Israel great again! Later, Jesus would respond to Pontius Pilate who asked Him if He was a king: “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36 NLT). That statement is a powerful rebuke to those who seek a kingdom that would be as flawed as they are if it ever came to fruition. I have always appreciated this observation from C.S. Lewis, which speaks to the current and past movements of “Christian soldiers” wishing to transform America into their image: “Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth ‘thrown in’; aim at Earth and you will get neither.” Perhaps these well-intentioned but misguided Christian nationalists should obey the commands of the One they claim to follow (and I don’t mean Donald Trump). When that was the priority for Christians in the past, culture changed. A re-awakened America won’t come through politics and government no matter how strongly Christian nationalists wish for it. Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “America’s Expiration Date: The Fall of Empires and Superpowers and the Future of the United States” (HarperCollins/Zondervan). Read More Here

Jan. 6 Hearing Promises “Surprising” Details Before Election https://digitalarizonanews.com/jan-6-hearing-promises-surprising-details-before-election/ WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee is set to unveil “surprising” details including evidence from Donald Trump’s Secret Service about the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol in what is likely to be its last public hearing before the November midterm elections. The hearing Thursday afternoon, the 10th public session by the panel, is expected to delve into Trump’s “state of mind” and the central role the defeated president played in the multipart effort to overturn the election, according to a committee aide who discussed the plans on condition of anonymity. The committee is starting to sum up its findings: Trump, after losing the 2020 presidential election, launched an unprecedented attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory. The result was the deadly mob siege of the Capitol. “The mob was led by some extremist groups — they plotted in advance what they were going to do,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., a committee member, told CNN. “And those individuals were known to people in the Trump orbit.” Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., is poised to gavel in Thursday’s session at an otherwise empty Capitol complex, with most lawmakers at home campaigning for reelection. Several people who were among the thousands around the Capitol on Jan. 6 are now running for congressional office, some with Trump’s backing. The session will serve as a closing argument by the panel’s two Republican lawmakers, Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who have essentially been shunned by Trump and their party and will not be returning in the new Congress. Cheney lost her primary election and Kinzinger decided not to run. Another committee member, Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., a retired Naval commander, is ina tough reelection bidagainst state Sen. Jen Kiggans, a former Navy helicopter pilot. Unlike past hearings, this one is not expected to feature live witnesses, though the panel is expected to share information from its recent interviews — including testimony from Ginni Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She was in contact with the White House during the run-up to Jan. 6. Fresh information about the movements of then-Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 and was rushed to safety, is also expected, according to a person familiar with the committee’s planning who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and requested anonymity. For weeks the panel has been in talks with the U.S. Secret Service after issuing a subpoena to produce missing text messages from that day. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson described being told by a White House aide about Trump angrily lunging at the driver of his presidential SUV and demanding to be taken from his rally to the Capitol as the mob formed on Jan. 6. Some in the Secret Service have disputed Hutchinson’s account of the events, but it is unclear if the missing texts that the agency has said were deleted during a technology upgrade will ever be recovered. The hearing is expected to reveal fresh details from a massive trove of documents and other evidence provided by the Secret Service. The committee plans to show new video footage it received from the Secret Service of the rally on the White House Ellipse. Trump spoke there before encouraging his armed supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell.” The hearing also will include new documentary footage captured from the day of the attack. The Secret Service has turned over 1.5 million pages of documents and surveillance video to the committee, according to agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. Lofgren said that as she learned the information being presented Thursday she found it “pretty surprising.” The committee, having conducted more than 1,500 interviews and obtained countless documents, has produced a sweeping probe of Trump’s activities from his defeat in the November election to the Capitol attack. “He has used this big lie to destabilize our democracy,” said Lofgren, who was a young House staff member during the Richard Nixon impeachment inquiry in 1974. “When did that idea occur to him and what did he know while he was doing that?” This week’s hearing is expected to be the final investigative presentation from lawmakers before the midterm elections. But staff members say the investigation continues. The Jan. 6 committee has been meeting for more than a year, set up by the House after Republican senators blocked the formation of an outside panel similar to the 9/11 commission set up after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Even after the launch of its high-profile public hearings last summer, the Jan. 6 committee continued to gather evidence and interviews. Under committee rules, the Jan. 6 panel is expected to produce a report of its findings, due after the election, likely in December. The committee will dissolve 30 days after publication of that report, and with the new Congress in January. House Republicans are expected to drop the Jan. 6 probe and turn to other investigations if they win control after midterm elections, primarily focusing on Biden, his family and his administration. At least five people died in the Jan. 6 attack and its aftermath, including a Trump supporter shot and killed by Capitol Police. Police engaged in often bloody, hand-to-hand combat, as Trump’s supporters pushed past barricades, stormed the Capitol and roamed the halls, sending lawmakers fleeing for safety and temporarily disrupting the joint session of Congress certifying Biden’s election. More than 850 people have been charged by the Justice Department in the Capitol attack, some receiving lengthy prison sentences for their roles. Several leaders and associates of the extremist Oath Keepers and Proud Boys have been charged with sedition. Trump faces various state and federal investigations over his actions in the election and its aftermath. ____ BY LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK and FARNOUSH AMIRI, The Associated Press Read More Here

The Jury Has Reached A Decision In The Death Penalty Trial Of The Parkland School Shooter | CNN https://digitalarizonanews.com/the-jury-has-reached-a-decision-in-the-death-penalty-trial-of-the-parkland-school-shooter-cnn/ CNN  —  [Breaking news update, published at 9:40 a.m. ET] The jury in the death penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, 24, has reached a decision on whether to sentence the Parkland school shooter to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The jury’s recommendation is expected to be read in court at 10:30 a.m. ET. Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for the February 2018 shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in which 14 students and three school staff members were killed, and 17 others were injured. Jurors must be unanimous to recommend a death sentence under Florida law, or Cruz will receive a sentence of life in prison. If they recommend death, the ultimate decision on Cruz’s sentence would go to Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who could choose to either follow the jury’s guidance or sentence the gunman, now 24, to life in prison. [Original story, published at 8:56 a.m. ET] The 12-person jury tasked with recommending a death sentence or life in prison for the Parkland, Florida, school shooter will be allowed to examine the AR-15 he used in the 2018 massacre as jurors undertake their second day of deliberations Thursday, the judge said. The weapon that Nikolas Cruz, now 24, used to kill 17 people in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School would be sent to the jury room, Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said Thursday morning, after saying a day earlier that she couldn’t allow it because of “security reasons.” After the panel asked to see the weapon shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday, Scherer indicated the Broward County Sheriff’s Department did not want to take the unloaded, inoperable firearm back to the jury room at that time. The issue was rectified by Thursday morning, however, with Scherer saying the jury would view the weapon without its firing pin. The gun would otherwise appear as it did when Cruz used it, Scherer said. Neither side objected. Cruz pleaded guilty last October to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in connection with the – the deadliest at a US high school – and his trial proceeded directly to the sentencing phase as a result. Jurors must decide whether to recommend Cruz receive the death penalty – a decision that would need to be unanimous – or life in prison without the possibility of parole. To make their decision, jurors must weigh the aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances – reasons why Cruz should or should not be put to death – presented by the prosecution and defense during trial. The state argued Cruz’s decision to carry out the shooting was not only especially heinous or cruel, but premeditated and calculated and not, as the defense contends, related to any neurological or intellectual deficits. To illustrate their point, prosecutors detailed Cruz’s thorough planning for the shooting, as well as comments he made online expressing his desire to commit a mass killing. In their case, the shooter’s defense attorneys said Cruz had neurodevelopmental disorders stemming from prenatal alcohol exposure, and presented evidence and witnesses claiming his birth mother had used drugs and drank alcohol while pregnant with him. Cruz’s adoptive mother was not open about this fact with medical and mental health professionals or educators, preventing him from receiving the appropriate interventions, the defense claimed. The jury received instructions from Scherer in court Wednesday morning, about six months after jury selection first began. Opening statements for the sentencing trial began in July. Jurors are sequestered during deliberations. If the jurors do not unanimously recommend Cruz get a death sentence, he will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. If the jury does recommend death, the final decision rests with Scherer, who could choose to follow the recommendation or sentence Cruz to life. To recommend death, all 12 jurors must agree on several things: First, that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt there was at least one aggravating factor, and that the factor is sufficient to warrant a possible death sentence. The jurors would then need to unanimously agree that the aggravators outweigh the mitigating circumstances. Finally, if the jury agrees to those things, they still would need to unanimously find that Cruz should be put to death. Jurors will consider these questions for each of the 17 murder counts. Cruz would serve life in prison if the jury cannot unanimously agree on death for any of the counts. The first day of deliberations saw jurors asking for a readback of at least some testimony from an expert who testified across multiple days. When Judge Scherer agreed to the readback, jurors were called back into the courtroom. A court reporter then read the cross examination of Dr. Paul Connor, an expert on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), who testified for the defense that Cruz has the disorder, along with deficits in IQ, motor skills, executive functioning and memory – elements that would support the defense’s mitigators and a life sentence. During the cross examination in September, prosecutors pressed Connor on his testing of Cruz and questioned his assessment of Cruz’s capabilities, particularly his visual-spatial skills. Lead prosecutor Michael Satz pointed to a sharpshooter badge Cruz earned while on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas JROTC team, which required him to fire a pellet and hit increasingly smaller targets from 10 meters away. “Were you aware,” Satz asked Conner in September, “that the defendant in this case won a sharpshooter badge?” “No,” Connor responded. The jury also initially asked to rehear the testimony of Dr. Robert Denney, a clinical neuropsychologist who testified during the state’s rebuttal that Cruz does not meet the criteria for FASD, but does have anti-social personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. But after rehearing Connor’s cross examination, the jury decided it no longer needed to rehear Denney’s testimony. The jurors were once again excused to deliberate in private. In closing arguments Tuesday, prosecutors argued Cruz’s decision to commit the shooting was deliberate and carefully planned, while Cruz’s defense attorneys offered evidence of a lifetime of struggles at home and in school. “What he wanted to do, what his plan was and what he did, was to murder children at school and their caretakers,” Satz said Tuesday. “The appropriate sentence for Nikolas Cruz is the death penalty,” he concluded. However, defense attorney Melisa McNeill said Cruz “is a brain damaged, broken, mentally ill person, through no fault of his own.” She pointed to the defense’s claim that Cruz’s mother used drugs and drank alcohol while his mother was pregnant with him, saying he was “poisoned” in her womb. “And in a civilized humane society, do we kill brain damaged, mentally ill, broken people?” McNeill asked Tuesday. “Do we? I hope not.” Read More Here

Man Who Claimed ‘Antifa’ Set Property Ablaze Over Trump Flag Admits To Starting Fire Himself https://digitalarizonanews.com/man-who-claimed-antifa-set-property-ablaze-over-trump-flag-admits-to-starting-fire-himself/ A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty in connection with staging a fire and falsely blaming it on, among other conservative boogeymen, “Antifa.” The fire in question, per a regional report from KSTP, was first reported to authorities in September 2020. At the time, 30-year-old Denis Vladmirovich Molla claimed to local law enforcement officials that a group of what he described as “three unknown males” had been spotted on his property. In a Department of Justice press release citing court documents, further details are provided, including that Molla falsely claimed to police that “someone had lit his camper on fire” and vandalized his garage door. Among the instances of vandalism were spray painted tags of “Biden 2020” and “BLM,” as well as what authorities called “an Antifa symbol.” At the time, Molla said his property had been targeted due to his public support of former Apprentice host Donald Trump. More specifically, Molla had linked the fire to his display of a Trump flag. “In reality,” the DOJ release notes, “Molla started his own property on fire and spray painted the graffiti on his own garage.” Related Stories STORY CONTINUES BELOW Following the fire, Molla is said to have made multiple insurance claims in connection with damage to his property. When several claims were turned down, Molla is said to have threatened to have complained about the insurance company to both the Department of Commerce and the Attorney General. He also started, as well as allowed other individuals to start, GoFundMe accounts aimed at raising a fire recovery funds. On Tuesday, Molla pleaded guilty to wire fraud. As part of the staged fire, which he himself started, Molla is reported to have submitted over $300,000 in fraudulent claims, ultimately receiving an estimated $61,000 from the insurance company. Additionally, Molla-focused fundraising efforts resulted in another $17,000. Read More Here

Stocks Sink After An Annual Inflation Measure Returns To 40-Year High | CNN Business https://digitalarizonanews.com/stocks-sink-after-an-annual-inflation-measure-returns-to-40-year-high-cnn-business/ Clarida: We got it wrong on inflation 04:40 A key US inflation report showed prices remain stubbornly high. Although falling gas prices have helped bring overall inflation lower, prices of food and other essentials like housing keep rising with no end in sight. By one measure, inflation returned to its highest level since August 1982 last month. The Fed and other central banks around the globe may be losing the war on inflation. Historic rate hike after historic rate hike have done little to tame prices. And OPEC’s oil supply cuts won’t help gas and fuel prices, which have been one of the few pieces of good inflation news in recent months. Stocks fell sharply after inflation came in hotter than expected. Social Security recipients will receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment of 8.7% next year, the largest increase since 1981, the Social Security Administration announced Thursday. The spike will boost retirees’ monthly payments by $146 to an estimated average of $1,827 for 2023. The hefty increase, which follows a 5.9% adjustment for this year, is aimed at helping Social Security’s roughly 70 million recipients contend with the high inflation that’s been plaguing the US since last year. “Will the COLA be enough to keep up with inflation? It’s too early to say,” said Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group. “It depends on what inflation is going to do from October onwards.”  The adjustment is the highest that most current beneficiaries have ever seen, but that’s because it is based on an inflation metric from August through October, which is also around 40-year highs.  A related metric, the Consumer Price Index, increased 8.2% in September, compared with a year ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Thursday.  Read more The New York Stock Exchange seen on September 23. (Mary Altaffer/AP) US stocks opened lower on Thursday after new inflation data came in higher than Wall Street had expected.  The consumer price index, or CPI, rose 0.4% in September from the previous month, more than the 0.2% estimate from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. On an annual basis, inflation was up 8.2%. CPI is an inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve. The elevated number stoked investor fears that the Fed is likely to continue its aggressive regimen of interest rate hikes at its meeting in November, bringing more pain to the economy and weighing on markets.  The Dow fell 556 points, or 1.9%, on Thursday morning. The S&P 500 was down 2.2%. The Nasdaq Composite was 3% lower. So much for the Federal Reserve being able to slow down those interest rate hikes. Following a red-hot CPI report, which showed no sign of inflation abating, fed funds futures are now pricing in a 97% chance of a fourth straight increase of three-quarters of a point at its November 2 meeting…and a 3% probability of a full point hike. That would bring rates to a level of 4% to 4.25%. Investors are betting on another massive hike in December, too. Futures are pricing in a 66% likelihood that rates will be in a range of 4.5% to 4.75% after the December 14 meeting and a 2% chance that rates will hit 4.75% to 5%. (So long, year-end Santa Claus market rally? Stocks tanked Thursday after the CPI report.) “This is the Fed’s nightmare scenario,” said Jan Szilagyi, CEO and co-founder of Toggle AI, an investment research firm in a report Thursday morning. A key measure of inflation came in hotter than investors had hoped, giving the Fed more leeway to hike rates by a historic level. Dow futures tumbled more than 400 points, or 1.5%. S&P 500 futures fell 1.8% Nasdaq futures were 2.6% lower. People shop at a supermarket in Santa Monica, California, on September 13. (Apu Gomes/AFP/Getty Images) American consumers continue to be punished by high prices, despite lower gas costs and unprecedented action from the Federal Reserve to tame inflation, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Annual inflation rose by 8.2% in September, a slower increase than the 8.3% rise seen in August, according to the Consumer Price Index, which measures the changes in prices for a basket of consumer goods and services. Economists had projected the pace of price increases would slow to 8.1% last month. On a monthly basis, overall consumer prices increased by 0.4% from August. Read more BlackRock, the owner of the super popular iShares family of exchange-traded funds and biggest asset management firm on the planet, is not immune to the market madness on Wall Street. BlackRock reported a 15% drop in revenue for the third quarter. The company blamed the weakness on “the impact of significantly lower markets and dollar appreciation.” The company’s earnings and revenue did beat Wall Street’s estimates, helping to send shares of BlackRock (BLK) up a bit in premarket trading. But volatility on Wall Street is clearly making investors nervous. That is hurting BlackRock. The company’s assets under management, which topped $10 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, have steadily slid this year. The trend continued in the third quarter, with BlackRock reporting assets under management of just under $8 trillion…down from $8.5 trillion at the end of June. One bright spot: The Federal Reserve’s rate hikes have lifted bond yields, which pushed more investors away from stocks and into fixed income assets. BlackRock said that it had $37 billion in net inflows to its bond ETFs. Delta Air Lines posted record revenue of $14 billion, up 11% from the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, and it did so with only 83% of the seat capacity it had at that time. Income of $1.3 billion fell just short of forecasts but the shortfall was less than the impact of Hurricane Ian on its operations, as the airline said the storm cost it about 3 cents a share, or $19.4 million. But what sent shares of Delta climbing 4% in premarket trading was its guidance of earnings per share of between $1 to $1.25 in the fourth quarter. While that was down from the $1.51 a share in the third quarter, it was well above forecast of 79 cents a share by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. The guidance helped lift shares of rivals American, United and Southwest Airlines as well. CEO Ed Bastian, in an interview Thursday on CNBC, said he believes there’s enough pent-up demand for travel to fill seats into early next year, even if the US economy falls into recession as many now fear. “One busy summer isn’t going to quench all the demand for travel that we’ve seen,” he said. “Our planes have been 90% full, or more full, since the first of April. And that continues into the fourth quarter as well. The holiday booking period is strong. Business bookings are continuing to improve. I think it’s going to be a terrific tailwind into the new year.” Bastian said Delta solved its reliability problems that angered passengers earlier in the year, problems that caused widespread cancellations and prompted Bastian to apologize to customers three months ago. But he said in the second half of the third quarter, out of 120,000 flights on its mainline operations, it had only 108 cancelled flights, not counting the three days affected by Hurricane Ian. Stocks: US stock futures were somewhat higher Thursday ahead of another key inflation report that is expected to show consumer prices returned to a 40-year high by one measure. Stocks spent yet another day in the red Wednesday. Dow futures were up 140 points or 056%. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq was 0.2% higher. CNN Business Fear & Greed Index: 19 = Extreme Fear Oil & gas: US oil was flat at $87 a barrel. Average US gas prices fell to $3.91 a gallon. Jerome Powell and other members of the Federal Reserve are obsessed with choking off inflation once and for all, even if the Fed’s series of aggressive rate hikes slow the economy to a crawl. That could be bad news for consumers, investors and Corporate America. What’s more, many market experts and economists note that the rate of inflation, while still uncomfortably high, is falling and should continue to decline – but there is a noted lag effect. Fed vice chair Lael Brainard admitted as much in a speech Monday, saying that “policy actions to date will have their full effect on activity in coming quarters.” Still, the Fed isn’t done raising rates. Investors are pricing in the strong probability of a fourth consecutive three-quarters of a percentage point hike at the Fed’s next meeting on November 2. And the chances of a fifth straight hike of that magnitude at the Fed’s December 14 meeting are also on the rise. It seems that Powell wants to atone for his mistake of repeatedly calling inflation “transitory” for much of last year. So the Fed is going to keep raising rates to prove that it is taking inflation seriously, even if that leads to a bigger pullback in stocks…and tipping the economy into a recession. Needless to say, that’s a problem. Especially since the Fed has two mandates: price stability and maximum employment. That means the jobs market might get hit due to the Fed’s laser-like focus on inflation. Read more We’ll get another look at consumer inflation Thursday at 8:30 am ET. Yesterday, a different measure of inflation increased faster than expected in September, raising concerns that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes are having limited impact in bringing inflation under control. The US Producer Price Index, which tracks what America’s producers get paid for their goods and services, rose at an annual pace of 8.5% in September, down slightly from the 8.7% rise in August, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. But the report showed prices rose 0.4% month-over-month. Economist...

Oath Keepers Jury Hears About Massive Weapon Cache On Jan. 6 https://digitalarizonanews.com/oath-keepers-jury-hears-about-massive-weapon-cache-on-jan-6/ WASHINGTON — A member of the Oath Keepers who traveled to Washington before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol testified Wednesday about a massive cache of weapons the far-right extremist group stashed in a Virginia hotel room. Taking the stand in the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates, Terry Cummings showed jurors an AR-15 firearm and an orange box for ammunition that he contributed to the so-called quick reaction force the Oath Keepers had staged at the hotel outside of Washington in case they needed weapons. “I had not seen that many weapons in one location since I was in the military,” said Cummings, a veteran who joined the Oath Keepers in Florida in 2020. Prosecutors have said teams of Oath Keepers guarded the arsenal of firearms and were prepared to rush them into the hands of extremists in the capital if needed. The alleged teams and the cache of weapons are a central piece of the Department of Justice’s case against Rhodes and four associates charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6 attack. Members of the Oath Keepers stashed the firearms just outside Washington district limits, given the capitol’s tougher gun laws. Authorities have alleged the teams and the stockpile of arms were designed to get weapons into Oath Keepers’ hands quickly if they were needed to support a plot to stop the transfer of power from Republican Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden. Cummings’ testimony came in the second week of the trial that is expected to last several weeks. The others on trial are Thomas Caldwell of Berryville, Virginia; Kenneth Harrelson of Titusville, Florida; Jessica Watkins of Woodstock, Ohio; and Kelly Meggs of Dunnellon, Florida. Defense lawyers have not denied the existence of the quick reaction teams but noted that they were never deployed on Jan. 6. They have accused prosecutors of falsely portraying them as an invasion force. Defense lawyers have said the Oath Keepers often set up quick reaction forces for events, but insist they were defensive forces only to be used to protect against violence from antifa activists or in the event Trump invoked the Insurrection Act. They are not facing any gun charges for bringing the weapons to Virginia. Rhodes’ lawyers have said they will argue that cannot find him guilty of seditious conspiracy because all the actions he took before Jan. 6 were in preparation for orders he anticipated from Trump under the Insurrection Act, which gives presidents wide discretion to decide when military force is necessary. Cummings told jurors that he traveled to Washington on Jan. 6 with other Oath Keepers to be part of a VIP security detail for Trump’s rally at the Ellipse. He said he saw it as an opportunity to “express my First Amendment rights” and see a sitting president speak, which he had never done. Cummings said his understanding was the quick reaction forces “would potentially be used not as an offensive situation, but more as a show of force.” Cummings said he was part of a group that acted as a security team for a VIP at Trump’s rally before the riot. Cummings and other Oath Keepers left before Trump’s speech was finished and went toward the Capitol. He recalled Meggs talked about entering the Capitol – something Cummings didn’t think was a good idea. He then split off to find a bathroom, and when he returned the group was gone. The group entered the Capitol while he was away, he said. Up to an hour later, Cummings rejoined fellow Oath Keepers from Florida, and eventually Rhodes appeared as well. Cummings said he did not hear any talk about plans to storm or attack the Capitol, though he also said he wasn’t in a position of leadership. He has not faced criminal charges, was subpoenaed to testify for the government and acknowledged on the stand that he has contributed to the legal defense fund of some of the defendants. Authorities have said that Meggs and the Florida Oath Keepers on Jan. 5 brought gun boxes, rifle cases and suitcases filled with ammunition to the Virginia hotel that served as the home for the quick reaction force. Another team from Arizona brought weapons, ammunition, and supplies to last 30 days, according to court papers. A team from North Carolina had rifles in a vehicle parked in the hotel lot, prosecutors have said. Prosecutors have described surveillance footage that they say shows Oath Keepers rolling bags, large bins and what appears to be at least one rifle case into the hotel. Over several days in early January, Rhodes spent $15,500 on guns, including an AR-platform rifle, magazines, mounts, sights and other equipment, prosecutors have said. Caldwell, in one message, suggested getting a boat to ferry “heavy weapons” across the Potomac River into the Oath Keepers’ “waiting arms.” A former Oath Keeper from North Carolina last week described setting up a quick reaction force for the “Million MAGA March” in Washington on Nov. 14, 2020, in case Trump invoked the Insurrection Act. Thousands of Trump supporters that day gathered at Freedom Plaza along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington to rally behind Trump’s false election claims. The former Oath Keeper, John Zimmerman, told jurors that the Oath Keepers stashed at least a dozen rifles and several handguns in his van parked at Arlington National Cemetery to serve as the quick reaction force on that occasion. He said they never took the guns into Washington. ___ Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report. Show Full Article © Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

Dixon Looks To Gain On Whitmer At Michigan Governor Debate https://digitalarizonanews.com/dixon-looks-to-gain-on-whitmer-at-michigan-governor-debate-2/ GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The candidates for governor of Michigan are having their first debate on Thursday, as Republican challenger Tudor Dixon looks to use the primetime appearance to narrow her gap with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Dixon is a former commentator for a conservative online program who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. She has never held public office and is still working to introduce herself and her ideas to voters — some of whom may be seeing her in action for the first time at Thursday’s debate. For months, Whitmer and fellow Democrats have been airing attack ads portraying the Republican as too extreme on issues such as abortion, noting Dixon’s opposition to the procedure even in cases of rape or incest. Those ads have largely gone unanswered as Dixon has struggled to raise money to compete with Whitmer’s multimillion-dollar campaign fund. But with just weeks to go before the Nov. 8 election, Dixon is expected to fire back at Whitmer during the debate in Grand Rapids. She has described the governor’s views as “radical” on issues such as education, abortion and criminal justice. Dixon also has criticized Whitmer on the campaign trail for her approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying lockdowns she imposed hurt the state’s economy. Whitmer is seeking her second term as governor after serving in leadership in the Michigan Legislature, where in 2013 during a debate over insurance coverage of abortion she publicly shared her story of being raped. She has since said she will “fight like hell” to protect abortion rights, including filing a lawsuit earlier this year to block a 1931 ban from taking effect in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Abortion has been a particularly prominent issue in Michigan this year because voters in November also will decide whether to enshrine the right to the procedure in the state constitution. Dixon has said she supports abortion only to save the life of the mother, and she has been endorsed by anti-abortion groups, including Right to Life of Michigan. She has had support from the family of Betsy DeVos, the former Education Secretary under Trump, and a well-known member of the state’s GOP establishment. Her campaign said she was getting help preparing for the debate from another endorsee, former Gov. John Engler. Dixon emerged from a five-candidate Republican primary after receiving Trump’s endorsement. She said during the primary that she believed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, whose loss to Joe Biden in Michigan by some 154,000 votes was confirmed through multiple investigations and lawsuits. The mother of four has criticized Whitmer over education in the state, saying parents should have more rights in regard to what is taught to children. The two candidates are scheduled to debate again on Oct. 25 at Oakland University in Rochester. ___ Joey Cappelletti is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. ___ Burnett reported from Chicago. Read More Here

Russia's War In Ukraine | CNN https://digitalarizonanews.com/russias-war-in-ukraine-cnn-3/ Ukraine official has a very different view of Putin than Biden 03:22 Moscow’s deadly strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine continued Thursday, including a “kamikaze” drone attack on the Kyiv region and shelling of residential buildings in the southern city of Mykolaiv. New satellite images show some traffic has resumed on a key bridge in annexed Crimea after Russian state media said eight people had been arrested in connection with the massive explosion that damaged the structure. US President Joe Biden said “the world has sent a clear message,” after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution telling Russia its annexation of four Ukrainian zones is illegal and not valid. NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels have reaffirmed their commitment to support Ukraine with military aid following Russia’s recent wave of attacks. Twenty captured Russian soldiers were returned from Ukrainian captivity on Thursday as a result of a “negotiation process” with Kyiv, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement. “As a result of the negotiation process on the exchange, today 20 Russian servicemen have been returned from the territory of Ukraine controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the statement said. “All released servicemen are provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance.” The statement did not mention the terms of the negotiation deal with Kyiv for the release of the soldiers. A US citizen recently died in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, a US State Department spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. “We are in touch with the family and are providing all appropriate assistance,” the spokesperson said. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add.” The State Department did not indicate the manner of the death. CNN is working to confirm the identity of the American. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested a “gas hub” plan to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday, saying if there was interest from Turkey, they would consider its feasibility.  “If there is interest from Turkey and our potential buyers from other countries, we could consider the possibility of building another gas pipeline system and creating a gas hub in Turkey to sell to other countries — to third countries, primarily, of course; the European ones, if they are interested,” Putin said on the side lines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia summit in Astana in Kazakhstan. If the hub was to go ahead, it would be a platform not only to supply but also to determine prices, Putin added. “These prices are outrageous today. We could calmly regulate [them] at a normal market level without any political overtones,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers key speech during Russian Energy Week 2022 on October 12, in Moscow, Russia. (Getty Images) On Wednesday, Putin mentioned the prospect of a gas hub based in Turkey during Russia’s energy summit in Moscow, saying Moscow could redirect supplies intended for the damaged Nord Stream pipelines to the Black Sea to create it. “We could move the lost volumes from the Nord Streams along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea region and thus make the main routes for the supply of our fuel, our natural gas to Europe through Turkey, creating the largest gas hub for Europe in Turkey,” Putin said. “That is, of course, if our partners are interested in this. And economic feasibility, of course.” Moscow and Kyiv are blaming each other for the damage inflicted on a residential building on Thursday in the Russian city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine. Russian officials blamed the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to social media posts. However, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Russia launched missiles towards Kharkiv and missed its target. “Around 12:40 p.m. local time, an unidentified object fell on the residential building at 42 Gubkina Street as the result of an air defense operation. Now, destruction on the top floor is visible on the spot, two cars are damaged by debris. At the moment, there is no information about the victims,” Belgorod mayor Anton Ivanov said in a video message posted on his Telegram. Residents were relocated to a hotel, Ivanov added.  Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov blamed the Ukrainian Armed Forces for shelling the residential building.  “Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled Belgorod. The air defense at work. There is destruction in a residential apartment building on Gubkin Street. Information about the victims is being specified,” the governor said in a Telegram post.  However, Podolyak denied the accusation, saying it was Russia’s own mistake. “Russia launched a missile towards Kharkiv, but something went wrong and it hit a residential building in Belgorod, Russia. Will there be an investigation? Or punishment? No, Putin does not care who to kill: Ukrainians or Russians. Propagandists will quickly find a fake explanation,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Podolyak said on Twitter. Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, meets Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana, Kazakhstan, on October 13. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) Russian President Vladimir Putin said to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday that Turkey was the “most reliable route” for gas to European countries. “As for other hydrocarbon energy, including gas, our deliveries are in full volume in accordance with your requests,” Putin said on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. “We also carry out transit through Turkey to European countries. Turkey turned out to be the most reliable route for gas supplies to Europe today.” In the same bilateral meeting, Erdogan told Putin that Turkey can help transport Russian grain and fertilizer to less developed countries. “We can work together on coming up with the list of these countries because more so than the developed countries, we need to look out for the poorer countries,” Erdogan said. “While the steps Turkey and Russia take on this may discomfort some circles, it will make less developed countries happy.” Some context: Russia has been using its natural gas resources to exert economic pressure on European countries, worsening the energy crisis. Moscow has been toying with supply via key pipelines, and last month there were unexplained leaks in two Russian gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark. For its part, Turkey played an important role in brokering a deal that saw Russia allow grain exports from key Ukrainian ports to restart in August. Russian strikes continue, with “kamikaze” drones targeting the Kyiv region and at least two dead in the southern city of Mykolaiv, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again calls for more air defenses from Western allies. Here are the latest headlines: Mykolaiv attacked overnight: The southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv was “massively shelled” overnight, the city’s mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said on Telegram early Thursday. At least seven people are reported missing, with two bodies recovered so far. Drones target Kyiv region: “Kamikaze” drones carried out attacks targeting infrastructure facilities in the Kyiv region. Thursday’s “kamikaze” drone attacks come after three consecutive days of deadly Russian strikes on civilian targets across Ukraine, including the capital region. Zelensky pleads for air defenses: Ukraine’s president reiterated his plea for more air defense capacities, saying Kyiv has only about 10% of what it needs to combat Moscow’s blitz. “We are fighting a large country that has a lot of equipment and lots of missiles,” Zelensky said Thursday during a virtual address at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly session. Scholz likens Putin’s invasion to “crusade”: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is “a crusade against what Putin calls the collective West,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday. “All along Vladimir Putin and his enablers have made one thing very clear, this war is not only about Ukraine, they consider the war against Ukraine as part of a larger crusade,” Scholz said in a pre-recorded virtual speech at the Progressive Governance Summit. Heating to come on as normal despite attacks: Ukraine’s heating season will begin as planned, and the Ukrainian electricity company Ukrenergo said power cuts “were not applied” in Kyiv, the Kyiv region and the entire central region of the country, despite ongoing Russian attacks on electricity infrastructure. Turkey pushes for peace: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his calls Thursday for an end to the war in Ukraine while speaking at a conference in Kazakhstan, where Putin is in attendance. “Each of us is feeling the regional and global impact of the crisis in Ukraine … Despite these difficulties on the ground, our priority is to end the bloodshed as soon as possible,” Erdoğan said while delivering remarks. Kyiv receives funds from IMF: Ukraine has received additional emergency funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to the Ukrainian prime minister. “Ukraine received $1.3 billion of additional emergency financing support from the International Monetary Fund. The funds will be used to finance priority needs: Strengthening defense capabilities, paying pensions, social programs and supporting the economy,” said Denys Shmyhal. Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged by a Russian military strike in Mykolaiv, on October 13. (Viktoriia Lakezina/Reuters) The bodies of a 31-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman have been found by first ...

Zoned Properties Announces Upcoming Conference & Events Participation With Executive Presentations On Commercial Real Estate Investment https://digitalarizonanews.com/zoned-properties-announces-upcoming-conference-events-participation-with-executive-presentations-on-commercial-real-estate-investment/ SCOTTSDALE, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / October 13, 2022 / Zoned Properties®, Inc. (“Zoned Properties” or the “Company”) (OTCQB:ZDPY), a leading real estate development firm for emerging and highly regulated industries, including legalized cannabis, today announced the Zoned Properties executive team has accepted invitations to speak at and participate in multiple industry and investor events through the end of 2022. Bryan McLaren, Chairman and CEO at Zoned Properties, will present at the following conferences: The KCSA Cannabis Virtual Investor Conference on October 27, 2022. McLaren is scheduled to present at 2 p.m. ET, and share insights on the fast-growing cannabis industry and real estate investment opportunities. The BISNOW National Cannabis CRE virtual event on November 30, 2022. McLaren will join other industry executives at 1 p.m. ET, to discuss investment, ownership, and the impact of policy on cannabis commercial real estate. MJBizCon, November 15-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Zoned Properties team will host an in-person, off-site event at The Palms, in partnership with the Temeka Group, Sapphire Risk Advisory Group, and Blaze Cannabis Software on November 17th. The Planet MicroCap Showcase virtual event, December 6-8, 2022. McLaren will lead a webcast presentation and participate in a CEO interview during the multi-day, premier virtual event in MicroCap Finance. The GlobeSt. Industrial conference, December 8-9, 2022, in Scottsdale, Arizona. McLaren will participate in a panel on “Regulatory Challenges Impacting Industrial CRE,” at 12 p.m. ET, on December 9th. “Zoned Properties looks forward to connecting with a wide range of retail and institutional investors both virtually and in-person to share our cannabis expertise and market insights through a commercial real estate lens. With half a dozen cannabis ballot initiatives up for vote this fall and the prospect of federal regulatory reform, this is a pivotal time for the industry and investment opportunities,” stated McLaren. McLaren and representatives from Zoned Properties’ advisory and brokerage divisions will be available for in-person meetings at MJBizCon and the GlobeSt. Industrial Conference. Investors and industry operators interested in scheduling a one-on-one meeting are encouraged to email Investors@zonedproperties.com or Clients@zonedproperties.com. For more information on Zoned Properties, visit www.ZonedProperties.com. About Zoned Properties, Inc. (OTCQB:ZDPY): Zoned Properties is a leading real estate development firm for emerging and highly regulated industries, including legalized cannabis. The Company is redefining the approach to commercial real estate investment through its integrated growth services. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Zoned Properties has developed a full spectrum of integrated growth services to support its real estate development model; the Company’s Property Technology, Advisory Services, Commercial Brokerage, and Investment Portfolio collectively cross-pollinate within the model to drive project value associated with complex real estate projects. With national experience and a team of experts devoted to the emerging cannabis industry, Zoned Properties is addressing the specific needs of a modern market in highly regulated industries. Zoned Properties is an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the Forbes Business Council. Zoned Properties does not grow, harvest, sell or distribute cannabis or any substances regulated under United States law such as the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, as amended (the “CSA”). Zoned Properties corporate headquarters are located at 8360 E. Raintree Dr., Suite 230, Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information, call 877-360-8839 or visit www.ZonedProperties.com. Twitter:@ZonedProperties LinkedIn:@ZonedProperties Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “potential,” “continue” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors, risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company’s control which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company’s current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Media Relations Proven Media Neko Catanzaro Tel (401) 484-4980 neko@provenmediaservices.com Investor Relations Zoned Properties, Inc. Bryan McLaren Tel (877) 360-8839 Investors@zonedproperties.com www.zonedproperties.com SOURCE: Zoned Properties, Inc. Read More Here

The Black Keys Electrify Phoenix With Throwback Cuts At Ak-Chin Pavillion (SHOW REVIEW) – Glide Magazine https://digitalarizonanews.com/the-black-keys-electrify-phoenix-with-throwback-cuts-at-ak-chin-pavillion-show-review-glide-magazine/ If you ask any long-time fan how they want to see The Black Keys, they’ll reminisce about days of old; small venues, hidden clubs, a tiny stage in the corner of a bar where they are the house band just jamming out their instant classics. That’s the dream anyway, but it’s been 18 years since they rocked the small stage at ‘The Mason Jar’ (now ‘The Rebel Lounge’) here in Phoenix, AZ, and the band has been playing arenas and sheds for over a decade now. That early fan would certainly have doubts about how Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach could somehow level up to an amphitheater-size concert experience such as October 10th, where Akron’s favorite duo hit Phoenix’ Ak-Chin Pavillion near the end of their long-awaited Dropout Boogie Tour. Well, with a backup band of four and two guests (Kenny Brown (guitarist for RL Burnside) and Eric Deaton (bassist for Junior Kimbrough), who were the catalysts for the group’s interest in blues and played on the Black Keys’ Delta Kream album), along with some of the most professional and creative lighting and video design this side of the Mississippi, Phoenix was left in awe.  Before we even get into the setlist, let’s set the stage and talk about the next level of visual design and art direction that held the crowd’s attention throughout the entire show. While The Black Keys waxed poetic, the gorgeously choreographed lighting & video design helped create dramatic arcs of its own, surprising the audience with something new for every song; like when the video wall would suddenly be revealed to be transparent – revealing a giant grid of bright stage lights, or when just the backlights were used, dimmed down, to create a twilight effect as ballads played on. The stage continued to impress with impressive video montages of their live performance mixed with abstractions and graphics throwing nods and winks to both their album art and blues albums of old. The Black Keys started their set Monday evening throwing it back to the early aughts with “I Got Mine” from their 2008 album, Attack & Release, and then “Howlin’ For You” from their 2010 album Brothers. While the two original members from Akron, Ohio, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney were front and center, the four touring members including percussion, bass, keys, and guitarist helped fill the outdoor venue with electrifying sound.  The set continued for a total of 22 songs from their entire discography, sure to please fans from all stages of their 21 years as a band.  “Everlasting Light” had everyone dancing as the bright stage lights flew overhead, swayed back and forth with the hips, and synched to claps and snaps. Love filled the air in more ways than one. There was no better way to follow up the Brothers album opener than with the second song off the five-time nominated Grammy album. “Next Girl,” the biggest breakup song of 2010 paired gritty psychedelic visuals and a darker stage to help create a beautifully spiteful, yet joyous sing-along that everyone could get behind. A magical delight and well-welcomed pause happened as the lights dimmed low and Kenny Brown, slide guitar master, who played along RL Burnside along with Eric Deaton took over for the backup band and joined Carney and Auerbach in five cover songs off their Delta Kream album (2021) and “Have Love, Will Travel” off 2003’s Thickfreakness. Mixing the past and present with a multi-generational musical pitch has been The Black Keys’strength, as this Valley of the Sun effort proved that the populist formula still sticks. Photos by Justin Katz Read More…

These Tucson Leaders Will Be Honored At The 40 Under 40 Awards https://digitalarizonanews.com/these-tucson-leaders-will-be-honored-at-the-40-under-40-awards/ Arizona Daily Star Forty young Tucson-area leaders will be honored for their work in the community at the annual 40 Under 40 Awards. The Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce event, presented by Snell & Wilmer in partnership with the Arizona Daily Star, will be held Dec. 6. “We’re so pleased with the diversity and variety of professions amongst our honorees this year,” said Rob Elias, President/CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Tickets start at $125 per person if purchased before Nov. 22. For more information, visit TucsonHispanicChamber.org. The honorees are: Jessie Allen, director of marketing and strategic communications at Tucson Airport Authority Nathaniel Arana, founder and CEO at NGA Healthcare Veronica Atondo, assistant director of undergraduate engagement at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management Ricardo Morales Bermudez, community organizer at Chicanos Por La Causa David Brown, associate professor of finance at the UA’s Eller College of Management Alexis Chavez, Realtor at Realty Executives (Arizona Region) Chris Cornelison, deputy town manager for the Town of Oro Valley Gustavo Corte, financial advisor at Schaefer Present Investment Group/RBC Jessica Cox, pilot at Jessica Cox Motivation Mathew Craft, principal of Billy Lane Lauffer Middle School in the Sunnyside Unified School District Samuel Credio, director of transportation and mobility at the city of Tucson Karla Cruze-Silva, associate director of Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives at the UA Keith Murfee-DeConcini, podcast host and office tech consultant at EMC Company Teresa Areli Durazo, assistant principal of curriculum and instruction at Sabino High School in the Tucson Unified School District Brandi Durmic, curriculum coordinator at Vail Unified School District Sara Feld, business and legal analysis for Community Investment Corporation Dr. Elisa Nicole Gumm, medical director of addiction medicine for the Southern Arizona Veterans’ Administration Erika Hamden, assistant professor at the UA Noel Hennessey, director of Engaged in the UA’s College of Engineering Kristen Garcia Hernandez, CEO of Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona Nick Hilton, assistant director of local and community relations at the UA Nicole Kontak, assistant dean of curricular and academic affairs at the UA’s College of Applied Sciences & Technology Namoonga Mantina, research administrator for the UA Cancer Center Magie McCane, licensed clinical social worker in advanced trauma therapy at Bayless Integrated Healthcare Meghan McGovern, co-founder of Az Technica Samantha Miller, vice president of the corporate work study program at San Miguel High School Michael Miller, project manager at Sundt Construction Gabrielle Morlock, associate attorney at Snell & Wilmer Bill Owenby, therapist clinical support at CODAC Health Recovery Juan M. Peralta Jr., pastoral care at Gospel Rescue Mission Denzil Ross, CEO Northwest Medical Center, Houghton Emily Ross, executive director of recruitment and enrollment at the UA Jenny Stash Rothschild, principal assistant city attorney for the city of Tucson Carolina Silva, executive director of Scholarship A-Z Jamie Snyder, CEO of Our Family Services Ashley Stewart, commercial insurance advisor of the Mahoney Group Carlos J. Vargas, assistant astronomer and assistant professor at the UA Bruce D. Ward, vice president at Goldman Sachs Reyna Andrade Ward, financial consultant at Fidelity Investments Adana Enriquez Williams, director, technical account manager at Nextrio The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Read More Here

FCP WELCOMES ERIC MATHIAS AS VP FOR COMMERCIAL INVESTMENTS https://digitalarizonanews.com/fcp-welcomes-eric-mathias-as-vp-for-commercial-investments/ , /PRNewswire/ — FCP® welcomes Eric Mathias as Vice President for Commercial Investments, a new position that will provide a dedicated professional to source and execute FCP’s commercial investments and developments throughout the Southwest U.S.  FCP’s current projects in these markets include several adaptive reuse and development assets in Dallas’ burgeoning Design District submarket, including 1333 Oak Lawn, as well as CoRE, a purpose-built life science asset located outside Boulder, CO; mixed-use project Heritage Park in Gilbert, AZ, and Southbridge in Scottsdale, AZ. Eric Mathias has joined FCP as Vice President for Commercial Investments, a new position that will provide a dedicated professional to source and execute FCP’s commercial investments and developments throughout the Southwest U.S. “We are thrilled to welcome Eric to FCP where he will leverage his existing relationships and execution experience to oversee our growing portfolio in major Southwest markets,” said FCP Principal, Erik Weinberg. “The S.W. region is an area of focus and growth for FCP across all our sectors due to our belief that current demographic and job-growth trends will continue to benefit these markets.” “I’m excited to join FCP and to grow the firm’s commercial portfolio in the Southwest,” said Eric Mathias. “The firm has been active in the region for several years so I believe we are well-positioned to execute on new opportunities with our existing partners and to establish new partnerships with best-in-class regional operators and developers.” Prior to joining FCP, Mr. Mathias was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs based in New York focused on investing in real estate secondaries and co-investments. Mr. Mathias began his career on the real estate debt capital markets team at Goldman Sachs, where he was primarily responsible for sourcing and structuring financing for principal real estate investments. Mr. Mathias graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Wagner College. About FCP FCP® is a privately held real estate investment company that has invested in or financed more than $9.3 billion in assets since its founding in 1999. FCP invests directly and with operating partners in commercial and residential assets. The firm makes equity and mezzanine investments in income-producing and development properties. Based in Chevy Chase, MD, FCP invests both its commingled, discretionary funds and separate accounts targeted at major real estate markets in the United States. For further information on FCP, please visit www.fcpdc.com. Media Contact: Karen Widmayer  KW Communications, LLC                                    karenwidmayerpr@gmail.com 301-661-1448 FCP is a privately held real estate investment company that has invested in or financed more than $8.3 billion in assets since its founding in 1999. FCP invests directly and with operating partners in commercial and residential assets. The firm makes equity and mezzanine investments in income-producing and development properties. www.fcpdc.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fcp-welcomes-eric-mathias-as-vp-for-commercial-investments-301648604.html SOURCE FCP Read More Here

The Capitol Riot Was A Family Affair For The Munns — And Now So Are The Punishments https://digitalarizonanews.com/the-capitol-riot-was-a-family-affair-for-the-munns-and-now-so-are-the-punishments/ In early January 2021, the Munn family hitched their camper to the back of a pickup truck, loaded it, and set out from their hometown of Borger, Texas, for a trip back east. The family outing was to be less vacation and more of a field trip, focusing on civics. Former President Donald Trump had called his supporters to Washington DC to protest the results of what he deemed a stolen election, and the Munns counted themselves among his loyal followers. With dreams of an alternate reality guiding them — one in which Mr Trump retained power and the Democrats were ousted from the White House — the Munns began their journey. Signs taped to the back of their camper proclaimed with pride — “We Are Q.” The Munns would go on to make history, though not as successful patriots taking back their country after an allegedy rigged election, but instead as what may be the first family to be sentenced for participating in the Capitol riot. The members were handed their sentences on Wednesday by DC District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell. Prosecutors sought a month of prison time for the parents, Dawn and Thomas Munn, and 21 days of jail for their three adult children. A fourth Munn child — a minor — also entered the Capitol with the rest of the family, but Ms Howell declined to sentence the child according to CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane. Ultimately, Ms Howell sentenced Kristi Munn, the oldest of the adult children, to three years of probation with home detention. The other two adult children, Josh Munn and Kayli Munn, were also sentenced to three years probation but were spared home detention. The Munn parents were both sentenced to 14 days in jail, three years of probation and 90 days of home confinement. All of the sentenced Munns pleaded guilty to a single charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. If the Munns felt remorse for taking part in the Capitol riot, they were not making a show of it during their sentencing hearing. While pleading for leniency, Dawn Munn continued to parrot claims that the US election system is not secure, and lamented that the “country has been divided between conservative and non-conservative values.” “I do not understand why our election is not secure,” she said. “We have an election coming. I hope and pray people can feel safe in it.” Ms Howell — who called the Capitol riot a “catastrophic security breach of the Capitol building — scolded the mother for trying to undermine the security of an election process she claimed to want to protect. “You do not enter the Capitol through a broken window in a mob that stopped the democratic process,” she said. Dawn’s husband, Thomas, an Army veteran, explained that he and his family had been riled up by what they were seeing on “the news.” The Munn family camper adorned with the proclamation ‘DC Bound We Are Q’ (Justice Department) “I got myself overwhelmed,” he told Ms Howell. “I’ve never been political before. I just kept watching what was happening on the news.” When asked what news programming he watched, he replied “Fox News,” and admitted the rest of his information came from internet research. Ms Howell chastised Mr Munn, saying he “should’ve known better before leading the family into a chaotic situation.” The family’s adult daughters, Kristi and Kayli, insisted to Ms Howell that their parents raised them “to do right.” Kayli, 20, went on to explain that she and her family were fully convinced that their actions were just when they entered the Capitol on 6 January, 2021. “We had an idea in our heads that we were fighting a monster,” she said. Kristi Munn, 30, inside the Capitol building on 6 January, 2021 (Justice Department) When asked to clarify who or what the “monster” was, she avoided a clear answer. However, she did present a morsel of regret, saying she wished that everyone “would have stopped” during Mr Trump’s Stop the Steal rally and refrained from entering the Capitol. That being said, it was also Kayli, the youngest of the family’s adult children, who, according to Ms Howell, told FBI agents that she saw members of “antifa” infiltrating the crowd on the day of the riot. The demeanours of the family were notably more sombre on the day of their sentencing than in the days before and after the riot. The aforementioned QAnon trailer was shared with pride to Thomas’s Facebook page, and upon returning to Texas he sent social media messages to a friend describing how he and his family crawled into the Capitol through a broken window. He described it as “super cool.” His friend replied “oh so u broke in?” Dawn Munn was anything but shy about her involvement. In at least two messages to different friends Ms Munn bragged about participating in the failed insurrection. The Munn family appears on surveillance footage walking around the interior of the Capitol building (Justice Department) “We went in and stormed capital [sic],” she wrote to her friend. To the other, she revealed that “we were in capital [sic] … I do mean IN the building!!” In the weeks and months — and now more than a year — since the Capitol riot, federal agents have been sweeping across the country to arrest and charge participants with a variety of crimes ranging from parading to seditious conspiracy. According to The New York Times, a tipster turned the FBI onto the Munns, and agents were able to quickly ascertain that the family had breached the Capitol on 6 Jaunary. Members of the family appear in surveillance video taken from the Capitol interior on the day of the attack. In one photo, Kristi Munn can be seen inside the building wearing a green hoodie, camouflage pants, and a Trump banner wrapped around her neck like a cape. Another snippet of surveillance footage captured the entire family walking through a mostly empty hallway in the Capitol building. The family was not accused of participating in any violence while inside the Capitol and reportedly did not break anything, though Thomas can be seen smoking a cigarette inside the building. Read More Here

The Whole Truth: What The Jan. 6 Committee Hearings Have Revealed https://digitalarizonanews.com/the-whole-truth-what-the-jan-6-committee-hearings-have-revealed/ In eight hearings during June and July, the bipartisan House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6th Attack on the United States Capitol laid out the hard evidence, from sworn witnesses and documented records, that the putsch to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory was a planned and organized conspiracy to hijack the election. Law and order. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) It all leads to one man, the beneficiary of the larceny: Donald Trump. “Stop the steal!” was a less bloodthirsty but no more honorable slogan than “Hang Mike Pence!” for the criminals, from the thief-in-chief down to the snarling felons who smashed windows and assaulted police officers in the name of their leader. Today, the Jan. 6 panel resumes its public work, showcasing some of the work done in private over the summer, when they interviewed a number of Trump cabinet secretaries and Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and collected new evidence related to the undermining of American democracy orchestrated by the one person most responsible for protecting it. What also happened since July was that Vice Chair Liz Cheney lost her Wyoming Republican primary for reelection. She will not return to the Capitol when the 118th Congress convenes on Jan. 3. Her perseverance in pursuing the truth and speaking out on the danger Trump poses to the Constitution cost her her seat. It was a price worth paying. Also over the summer, the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, seeking highly classified and secret materials that Trump had either stolen from the government or improperly borrowed without permission. Unlike when loyal Republican White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson relayed to the nation the insanity emanating from the Oval Office and the president’s private dining room, there will be no live witnesses at today’s session. Nevertheless, video depositions and questioning promise to bring it back to where it started: Trump. He still refuses to accept that he lost and he has a legion of brainwashed Republican candidates parroting that lie. The only way to protect our democracy is to tell the truth and purge the poison. Read More Here

Trump Lashes Out After Deposition Ordered In E Jean Carroll Lawsuit https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-lashes-out-after-deposition-ordered-in-e-jean-carroll-lawsuit/ Donald Trump lashed out angrily on Wednesday, calling the US legal system a “broken disgrace” after a judge ruled he must answer questions under oath next week in a defamation lawsuit lodged by a writer who says he raped her. He also called the 2019 lawsuit by E Jean Carroll, a longtime advice columnist for Elle magazine, “a hoax and a lie”. The outburst came hours after a US district judge in Manhattan, Lewis A Kaplan, rejected a request by Trump’s lawyers to delay a deposition scheduled for 19 October. Carroll says Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman store in the mid-1990s. He called the lawsuit “a complete con job”. “I don’t know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it seems she got a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a celebrity charity event,” Trump said. “She completely made up a story that I met her at the doors of this crowded New York City Department Store and, within minutes, ‘swooned’ her. It is a Hoax and a lie, just like all the other Hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years. “Now all I have to do is go through years more of legal nonsense in order to clear my name of her and her lawyer’s phony attacks on me. This can only happen to ‘Trump’!” Carroll is scheduled to be deposed on Friday. Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, said she looked forward to filing new claims next month “and moving forward to trial with all dispatch” after New York state passed the Adult Survivors Act, allowing Carroll to sue for damages for the alleged rape without the statute of limitations blocking it. A spokesperson for Kaplan’s firm said the “latest statement from Donald Trump obviously does not merit a response”. Trump’s lawyers have tried various tactics to delay the lawsuit and stop him being questioned by Carroll’s attorneys. But Kaplan wrote that it was time to move forward, especially given the “advanced age” of Carroll, 78, and Trump, 76, and perhaps other witnesses. “The defendant should not be permitted to run the clock out on plaintiff’s attempt to gain a remedy for what allegedly was a serious wrong,” he wrote. Carroll’s lawsuit claims Trump damaged her reputation when he denied raping her. Trump’s legal team has argued that he was just doing his job as president when he denied the allegations, including when he dismissed his accuser as “not my type”. On Wednesday, Trump said: “And, while I am not supposed to say it, I will. This woman is not my type! She has no idea what day, what week, what month, what year, or what decade this so-called ‘event’ supposedly took place. The reason she doesn’t know is because it never happened, and she doesn’t want to get caught up with details or facts that can be proven wrong.” If Trump was acting within the scope of his duties as a federal employee, the US government would become the defendant in the original lawsuit. The second US circuit court of appeals said last month Trump was a federal employee when he commented on Carroll’s claims. But it asked another court in Washington to decide whether the public statements occurred during the scope of his employment. Kaplan said Trump had repeatedly tried to delay the collection of evidence. “Given his conduct so far in this case, Mr Trump’s position regarding the burdens of discovery is inexcusable,” he wrote. “As this court previously has observed, Mr Trump has litigated this case since it began in 2019 with the effect and probably the purpose of delaying it.” The judge noted that the collection of evidence for the lawsuit to go to trial was virtually concluded, except for depositions of Trump and Carroll. “Mr Trump has conducted extensive discovery of the plaintiff, yet produced virtually none himself,” Kaplan said. “Completing these depositions – which already have been delayed for years – would impose no undue burden on Mr Trump, let alone any irreparable injury.” The judge also said the deposition could be useful when Carroll’s lawyer next month files the new lawsuit. Whether the rape occurred is central to the defamation claims, as well as the anticipated new lawsuit, the judge said. Read More Here

Google Allows Donald Trump's Truth Social In Play Store https://digitalarizonanews.com/google-allows-donald-trumps-truth-social-in-play-store/ Google on Wednesday said it has allowed Donald Trump’s Truth Social app in its Play Store for Android devices — after receiving assurances the app would meet the platform’s standards for moderating harmful content. The app — which Trump launched after being barred from Twitter over the 2021 Capitol riot — had been kept out of Google’s store over its lack of moderation tools, including for violent threats. Google said Truth Social has since been updated to comply with its policies barring objectionable posts and has built-in effective systems for reporting and removing unwanted content as well as blocking abusers. “Apps may be distributed on Google Play provided they comply with our developer guidelines, including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those that incite violence,” a Google spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry. Developers can make Android apps available elsewhere on the internet, but the Play Store is the main source of content for users. A Truth Social app for Android devices is available on the social network’s website and other venues that may not have Google’s content moderation rules, according to the Alphabet-owned tech titan. “It’s been a pleasure to work with Google, and we’re glad they helped us to finally bring Truth Social to all Americans, regardless of what device they use,” Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) chief executive said in a released statement. TMTG early this month announced today that a Truth Social app was freshly available for people in the United States who use Samsung smartphones, which are powered by customized Android software and have their own app shop. Samsung’s share of the US smartphone market is about 30 percent, according to industry analysis firm Counterpoint. A version of Truth Social tailored for Apple mobile devices is available at the App Store, which also enforces rules about content moderation. – Trump take on Twitter – Google said in August that it had notified Truth Social that its app violated Play policies and required “effective systems for moderating user-generated content” in order to be offered on the platform. The online giant said at the time that Trump’s app broke rules barring content that incites physical threats and violence, but was working on addressing those issues. Truth Social was conceived as Trump’s answer to Twitter — from which he was ejected in January 2021, days after a mob of his supporters refused to accept his election defeat to Joe Biden stormed the US Capitol. Billionaire Elon Musk, who has made a $44-billion deal to buy Twitter, has said he would likely allow the former US leader back on the platform. After trying to walk away, Musk now says the troubled deal is back on and could close by the end of this month. Meanwhile, a merger between TMTG and a blank check company named Digital World Acquisition Corp — intended to bring in fresh funding for the Trump platform — has yet to take place. Digital World shares were up more than seven percent to just over $17 in after-market trades in the wake of the Play Store news. – QAnon – Excluded from major social networks, Trump has regained only a fraction of his followers on Truth Social. Trump has 4.18 followers at Truth Social, compared to the 88.8 million he had on Twitter and the 35.4 million he had on Facebook before being booted for encouraging real-world violence such as the deadly attack on the US Capitol. Truth Social has become an online haven for QAnon fans to share conspiracy theories such as prominent members of the Democratic Party being involved with satanists or pedophiles. Misinformation watchdog NewsGuard has reported finding scores of Truth Social accounts sharing QAnon content, with Trump among those resharing posts. Read More Here

January 6 Committee Returns From Hiatus, Presents New Evidence https://digitalarizonanews.com/january-6-committee-returns-from-hiatus-presents-new-evidence/ The House committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will hold what could be its final hearing today at 1 p.m. ET. The hearing was initially scheduled for late September but was pushed back two weeks due to Hurricane Ian. This meeting will mark the committee’s first hearing in nearly three months and its first since federal investigators conducted a raid at President Donald Trump’s Florida residence. Rep. Zoe Lofgren told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that the hearing will include a mix of new evidence and items already made public. “We’re going to be going through, really some of what we’ve already found, but augmenting with new material that we’ve discovered through our work throughout this summer,” she said. Since postponing the late-September hearing, the committee spoke with Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Reports indicate that Thomas communicated with various state officials in hopes of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. The committee is expected to finish its work before the midterm election next month. Several key committee members, including Vice Chair Liz Cheney, will no longer be in Congress at the start of 2023. “It’s really demonstrated the breadth and the depth of the effort to overturn the election and to stop the peaceful transfer of power,” Cheney told Fortune about the committee’s work. “And it was an effort that at every step of the way, the former president was deeply involved in, personally engaged in.” Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sign up for the Breaking News Newsletter and receive up to date information. Read More Here

A Trump Aide Is Talking To The FBI About The Mar-A-Lago Docs, Reports Say, Appearing To Confirm Suspicions Of An Informant https://digitalarizonanews.com/a-trump-aide-is-talking-to-the-fbi-about-the-mar-a-lago-docs-reports-say-appearing-to-confirm-suspicions-of-an-informant/ The rumor of an informant in Trump’s orbit was fueled by new reports Wednesday.  WaPo and CNN said a Trump employee was talking to the FBI over the Mar-a-Lago documents.  Trumpworld has long been paranoid abut the prospect of someone secretly working against him. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Reports that an employee of former President Donald Trump has been helping the FBI to investigate him in the Mar-a-Lago case added weight to long-running suspicions of an informant in his orbit.  On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that a Trump employee had testified to the FBI of having been ordered by Trump to move boxes of documents to the former president’s own residence in the complex. The Post said that the employee’s testimony helped justify the decision to raid Mar-a-Lago in August, when agents seized hundreds of documents, many with the highest levels of classification. The witness account was backed by security footage showing people moving the boxes, The Post said. A source familiar with the witness’ description confirmed the account to CNN the same day.  The Post’s reporting was on the basis of people familiar with the federal investigation. Those people, The Post said, described the witness as a Trump employee who is a key informant who had given multiple interviews to investigators. Aside from providing further insight into Trump’s moves throughout the lengthy negotiations to return presidential records, the report sheds new light on ongoing rumors that someone near Trump is working against him. Some commentators, including aides, Trump’s niece Mary Trump and former White House chief of staff under Trump Mick Mulvaney, have suggested that it could even be a member of Trump’s own family.  Mary Trump speculated that it could be Jared Kushner — something he firmly denied — while Mulvaney said it would have to be “one of six to eight people” in Trump’s inner circle.   Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich did not respond directly to The Post, but accused the Biden administration of weaponizing law enforcement, saying the investigation is “a desperate attempt to retain political power.” Read More Here

2 Police Officers Are Killed In Connecticut Shooting https://digitalarizonanews.com/2-police-officers-are-killed-in-connecticut-shooting/ A third officer was seriously wounded in the shooting in Bristol, Conn., the state police announced early Thursday. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Police and emergency vehicles at the site of a shooting in Bristol, Conn., on Wednesday.Credit…NBC Connecticut Oct. 13, 2022Updated 7:25 a.m. ET Two police officers were killed and another was seriously wounded in a shooting in Bristol, Conn., the authorities said early Thursday. The Connecticut State Police announced the deaths on Twitter. No other information was given, including the identities of the officers, their departments or the circumstances under which they were working. “We are still working diligently to gather accurate information from our investigators and all that are involved,” the state police said, and later shared that a procession would escort the two killed officers from Bristol Hospital to the medical examiner’s office in Farmington. A procession is occurring now where the 2 Bristol officers who tragically lost their lives will be escorted from Bristol Hospital to the OCME in Farmington. They will be traveling on Route 6 then to Route 4. — CT State Police (@CT_STATE_POLICE) October 13, 2022 The state police and the Bristol Police Department declined to give more information on Thursday morning. The shooting occurred late Wednesday in a residential neighborhood in the Redstone Hill Road area of Bristol, a town in central Connecticut about 80 miles northeast of New York City, the television station WFSB reported. One witness told an NBC reporter at the scene that he heard multiple rounds of gunshots and later heard a helicopter over the area. This is a developing story. Read More Here

Walgreens Beats Sales Expectations, As It Expands Its Health-Care Business https://digitalarizonanews.com/walgreens-beats-sales-expectations-as-it-expands-its-health-care-business/ Walgreens Boots Alliance on Thursday exceeded fiscal fourth quarter sales and earnings expectations, as the drugstore chain turns itself into a more health-care focused company. The company said it anticipates full-year adjusted earnings per share of $4.45 to $4.65 in the coming fiscal year, which is about in line with what Wall Street expected. Yet Walgreens said its business growth will face tough comparisons as it laps strong demand for Covid vaccines and gets hits by the strength of the dollar. Shares were up about 7% in premarket trading. Here’s what the company reported compared with what analysts were expecting for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Aug. 31, based on Refinitiv data: Earnings per share: 80 cents, adjusted, vs. 77 cents expected Revenue: $32.45 billion vs. $32.09 billion expected Sales declined from the previous year’s quarter. Including certain costs, Walgreens swung to a loss in the three-month period. Its net loss was $415 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with a net income of $627 million, or 72 cents per share, a year earlier. The company said its profits took a hit from a non-cash impairment charge in its Boots UK business and from its long-term cost management program. A year ago, Walgreens laid out a cost savings goal of $3.3 billion by 2024. Walgreens has made significant investments to transform from a major drugstore chain to a large health-care company. It is opening hundreds of doctor offices with VillageMD. It invested $5.2 billion to become majority owner of the primary-care company. It recently announced plans to accelerate acquisitions of two other companies: CareCentrix, which coordinates care and benefits for at-home care, and Shields Health Solutions, a specialty pharmacy company. Walgreens CEO Roz Brewer said in a news release that the coming fiscal year “will be a year of accelerating core growth and rapidly scaling our U.S. Healthcare business.” At the end of the quarter, Walgreens had a total of 334 doctor offices with VillageMD. The clinics, called Village Medical, are located next to its drugstores. It also has 70 stores with Health Corners, a designated space where a registered nurse or pharmacist can schedule a mammogram, screen a patient for high blood pressure or diabetes or help with other health-care needs. Covid vaccines, which boosted Walgreens’ sales and foot traffic, have fallen off significantly. In the fourth quarter, the drugstore chain administered 2.9 million vaccinations. That’s a decline from 4.7 million vaccines in its fiscal third quarter, and a sharp drop from the 15.6 million vaccines in the first quarter and the 11.8 million in the second quarter. Sales in Walgreens’ retail and pharmacy division in the U.S. decreased by 7.2% to $26.7 billion in the fourth quarter compared with the year-ago period. Comparable sales rose 1.6%, however. Its international business took a big hit from currency headwinds. It had fourth quarter sales of $5.1 billion, a drop of 6.6% from the year-ago period. That included a 13.3% adverse currency impact. As customers come back to stores, Walgreens also said it is investing in its workforce to return to normal operating hours. However, it has continued to see some changes in shopping habits. Its U.S. digital sales growth grew 14% in the fourth quarter, on top of an 82% increase in the year-ago period. On Thursday, the company raised its outlook for the health care division. It said it now anticipates a sales target of $12 billion, rather than $11 billion, for fiscal 2025. As of Wednesday’s close, Walgreens shares are down nearly 39% so far this year. That trails behind the S&P 500, which is down about 25%. Shares of Walgreens closed Wednesday at $31.94, down about 2%. Read the company’s earnings release here. This story is developing. Please check back for updates. Read More Here

Ukraine Says It Will Take Weeks To Fully Restore Power After Attacks https://digitalarizonanews.com/ukraine-says-it-will-take-weeks-to-fully-restore-power-after-attacks/ Image Crews working on Tuesday to repair an electrical system in Kyiv damaged by the missile strikes.Credit…Finbarr O’Reilly for The New York Times KYIV, Ukraine — Rolling blackouts are plaguing towns and cities across Ukraine after widespread Russian attacks this week that officials say damaged about 30 percent of the country’s electrical infrastructure. While experts say the country had prepared for such strikes, officials have urged people to conserve energy, and it could be weeks before repairs to the system are finished. Many in the country — a supplier of electricity to Western Europe — believe that more must be done to secure the supply heading into winter. Assaults on the country’s energy system continued on Wednesday, with reports of strikes on power infrastructure in Kamianske, an industrial city on the Dnipro River in eastern Ukraine. “There is a serious fire and destruction; rescuers are taming the flames,” Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the regional military administration, wrote in a statement on Telegram. “Then the power engineers will try to restore the equipment.” The recent attacks damaged energy facilities in 12 regions and in the capital, Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Wednesday. He added that “the technical capability of electricity supply” had been fully restored in all but four regions, and thanked local officials and citizens for reducing energy consumption. The mass strikes are the first time since the start of the war that Russian forces have targeted the energy infrastructure so broadly, officials say. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia described the attacks as retaliation for an explosion that brought down part of a bridge between Russia and Crimea and that he blamed on Ukraine. Ukraine has been preparing as much as possible for a scenario in which energy infrastructure was targeted, by ensuring that extra equipment and other contingency plans are in place, officials say. Power stations can operate independently, so the country can be “divided into islands of energy supply,” even when connections between them are damaged, noted Ivan Plachkov, a former energy minister for Ukraine. The system has some resilience and some reserve, and it will be repaired, said Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska, an expert on the country’s energy system who is a former member of Ukraine’s Parliament and founder of the Ukrainian Sustainable Fund. “But we think it will take a few weeks.” The government said it would halt energy exports after Monday’s strikes, disrupting a source of income that has been a boost to Ukraine’s economy during months of war. Speaking to the boards of governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on Wednesday, Mr. Zelensky asked for $57 billion to address the gloomy financial situation in Ukraine, including $2 billion allotted toward expanding exports to Europe and restoring energy infrastructure. During the Soviet era in the 1970s and early ’80s, the country became a center of electrical generation. Numerous nuclear plants and coal plants were created, hydropower systems were developed and transmission lines were built to sell power to Western Europe. In a typical year, before the pandemic shifted consumption habits, the country was producing nearly twice as much energy as was needed for domestic consumption, experts said, with much of that being sold to Europe. Ukraine’s renewable energy sources have also been affected by the war. Twelve percent of its overall power supply used to come from renewables, like solar and wind power, Ms. Katser-Buchkovska said. But since the war began, and parts of the south and east have been besieged, that amount has been cut in half. She said she hoped to see more resilient decentralized regeneration, allowing for more homes to have access to electricity even if their local power plant is knocked out, become part of those plans, as well as the use of more sustainable energy sources, to make the country less vulnerable to attacks. “We need to rebuild not in an old-fashioned style, but to make it more efficient, more decentralized and sustainable,” she said. “Energy has always been used as a weapon by the Russian Federation, so when we are restoring and rebuilding we need to take that into account.” Ben Shpigel contributed reporting. Image An apartment building damaged by a Russian military strike in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, early Thursday.Credit…Viktoriia Lakezina/Reuters At least seven people were missing in the rubble after missiles struck an apartment building in the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine early Thursday, the latest in the broad assault on civilian targets that Russian forces have unleashed on cities across Ukraine this week. Eight missiles landed overnight in the city, which is near the Black Sea coast, the mayor, Vitaly Kim, wrote on Telegram. An 11-year-old boy was rescued after spending six hours buried in the crumbled five-story building, according to the mayor. This week’s attacks, which have been some of the most widespread and indiscriminate since the start of the war, have shattered a sense of normalcy for Ukrainians away from the front lines and severely damaged electrical infrastructure in various parts of the country. Recent attacks have involved widespread use of self-destructing drones supplied by Iran. Early Thursday, the Kyiv region was hit with drone attacks, a regional military official said as air raid sirens went off across a swath of central and western Ukraine. Image NATO’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, right, and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III at a news conference at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.Credit…Stephanie Lecocq/EPA, via Shutterstock BRUSSELS — NATO’s secretary general vowed on Thursday that Kyiv’s allies would “stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes” and that NATO would provide “more air defense systems” to allow Ukraine to continue countering Russian cruise missiles and drones. The official, Jens Stoltenberg, made the comments in brief remarks with Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III at a press event at the start of a daylong meeting of defense ministers from member states aimed at reaffirming support for Ukraine. The ministerial meeting follows discussions held Wednesday during the sixth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a grouping of about 50 nations that are supporting Kyiv with military and humanitarian aid. “We need to stand up for a rules-based international order, for our core values, and again, the U.S. mission in NATO and the international community is essential,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. Mr. Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to NATO’s mutual-defense provision under Article 5 of the alliance’s charter, and reaffirmed support for expanding the alliance by adding Finland and Sweden, which applied for membership this year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Image Outside a building destroyed in a Russian attack using an Iranian-made drone in Bila Tserkva, southwest of Kyiv, last week.Credit…Gleb Garanich/Reuters KYIV, Ukraine — The Kyiv region of Ukraine was hit by an airstrike early Thursday that is believed to have been delivered by so-called kamikaze drones, a regional official said, adding to concerns about Russia’s increasing use of the self-destructing weapons. There were no injuries, according to the region’s governor, Oleksiy Kuleba, who did not specify the locations that were hit, citing security concerns. But the use of such weapons has left many people on edge in an area of Ukraine that until this week had largely been spared since the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February. Mr. Kuleba said on the Telegram social media app that three “kamikaze,” or self-destructing, drones had been used in the attack. Rescuers were working at the scene, he added, urging people to remain in shelters until an alert was lifted, which came later on Thursday morning. Russia has been deploying dozens of Iranian-made drones as part of a scaled-up offensive on civilian and infrastructure targets far from the front lines. Ukraine’s military said this week that its air defenses were managing to shoot down a significant number, but not all, of the drones. Britain’s Defense Ministry said in an intelligence assessment on Wednesday that the drones were not fulfilling Russia’s war aims, because they are “slow” and “easy to target.” But they are still causing destruction and sowing fear. Last week, drones landed in Bila Tserkva, a town about 50 miles south of Kyiv, hitting civilian infrastructure. Ukraine’s Center of National Resistance, a government website that offers guidance on how to help the war effort, said this week that Russia had brought Iranian instructors into occupied areas of Ukraine to instruct Moscow’s forces in the use of the drones. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research group, said the instructors were probably members or affiliates of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the primary operator of Iran’s drone inventory. In the region around Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, air-raid sirens rang out repeatedly on Tuesday and Wednesday, signaling that a missile or drone with the capacity to hit the area was in the air. The capital had not been hit by a strike since Monday, but the sudden targeting of the city and other sites that day left many people scrambling for shelters in a way that they had not done in months. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said that critical infrastructure facilities had been hit by the drones on Thursday. The strikes have wrought significant damage on Ukraine’s electrical system as a number of vital power connections have been hit. Image Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Aus...

Here Is Today https://digitalarizonanews.com/here-is-today-17/ Hot temperatures are predicted today. It should reach a warm 89 degrees. Expect a drastic drop in temperatures though, with a low reaching 62 degrees. The Tucson area should see a light breeze, with forecast showing winds from Southeast, clocking in at 7 mph. This report is created automatically with weather data provided by TownNews.com. Visit tucson.com for more weather updates. Local Weather Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox! Tucson folks should be prepared for high temperatures. It looks to reach a balmy 84 degrees. 64 degrees is today’s low. The Tucson area should… The Tucson area can expect a hot day. It looks to reach a warm 83 degrees. We’ll see a low temperature of 62 degrees today. The Tucson area sh… Tucson folks should be prepared for high temperatures. It should reach a balmy 85 degrees. 62 degrees is today’s low. The Tucson area should s… Tucson folks should be prepared for high temperatures. It looks like it will be a balmy 83 degrees. We’ll see a low temperature of 62 degrees … The forecast is showing a hot day in Tucson. It looks to reach a balmy 86 degrees. Today’s forecasted low temperature is 61 degrees. The area … For the drive home in Tucson: Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Friday, Tucson… Tonight’s weather conditions in Tucson: A clear sky. Low 62F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Hot temperatures are predicted tomorrow. It looks like… Tucson’s evening forecast: Partly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Saturday, Tucson folks should be prepared for high temperatures.… Tucson’s evening forecast: Mostly clear. Low 62F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. The forecast is showing a hot day in Tucson Sunday. It looks to re… Tucson’s evening forecast: Clear skies. Low 62F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Looking ahead, the Tucson area can expect a hot day tomorrow. It sho… Read More Here

Bizarre Video Claiming Donald Trump And His Son Barron Trump Are Time Travelers Goes Viral On TikTok https://digitalarizonanews.com/bizarre-video-claiming-donald-trump-and-his-son-barron-trump-are-time-travelers-goes-viral-on-tiktok/ The video claimed that the 1890s book ‘Barron Trump’s Marvelous Underground Adventures’ has ‘too many coincidences’ with the family of the former US president The video by TikToker Lindsay Ivan has garnered more than 3,000 likes (@lindsayivan/TikTok) A video claiming that a book from the 1890s could be proof that Donald Trump and his son Barron are time travelers has been doing the rounds on TikTok. TikToker Lindsay Ivan, who goes by @lindsayivan, claimed that Ingersoll Lockwood’s book ‘Barron Trump’s Marvelous Underground Adventures’ has “too many coincidences” with the family of the former US president. The video has garnered more than 3,000 likes. Lindsay said, “Donald Trump and his son are time travelers, and I’m about to show you why. First starters, let’s take a look at this book from the 1890s. It’s called Barron Trump’s Marvelous Underground Adventures. The book is about a young boy named Barron Trump, who finds a portal and time travels.” ADVERTISEMENT READ MORE Inside Donald Trump and ex-wife Ivana’s marriage, how she raised Don Jr, Eric and Ivanka ALONE ‘All very worrying’: Joe Biden sparks concerns as he appears lost and confused while walking off stage at NY ADVERTISEMENT The Tiktoker continued, “Donald Trump’s son is named Barron Trump. Not only that, in the book, Barron is guided by a man named Don – Donald Trump. But wait, there’s more in another book by the same author. It’s about an unlikely presidential candidate that won the election. Not only that, but the book talks about the Fifth Avenue Hotel. The address in the book is the same address where the Trump towers currently stand.” ADVERTISEMENT Former President Donald JTrump, Melania Trump, and Barron Trump exit the funeral of Ivana Trump at St Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church on July 20, 2022, in New York City (Alexi J Rosenfeld/Getty Images) The user added, “Like what are the odds? This is too weird. In the book, there’s also a character named Laugh Pence, aka. Similar to Mike Pence. What’s going on? There’s way too many eerie coincidences here.” ADVERTISEMENT Many users agreed with her, drawing passages from the book to support her claim. One user said, “She’s correct do the research.” Another added, “I’ve been saying this for years. It is a lot of similarities.” A third commented: “Too many coincidences indicate no coincidences at all.” Meanwhile, Trump has been in the news due to the FBI raiding his Mar-a-Lago home, reportedly as part of an investigation into whether he took classified documents with him when he left the White House. He was seen leaving Trump Tower in New York on Monday, August 8, 2022, giving a thumbs up to those who were gathered. ADVERTISEMENT In his announcement about the FBI raid, Trump did not specifically mention what the agents were looking for, but said that his home was “under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.” “They even broke into my safe!” he said. The investigation focuses on material that Trump brought with him to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, the New York Times reported. The FBI was specifically trying to find out if he has classified information in his private possession, which would be a violation of federal law. Trump reportedly took 15 boxes of material with him in January 2021 after leaving Washington, DC, but the boxes were returned to the National Archives in January 2022. The FBI still tried to find out if the former president had additional presidential records or any classified documents at his South Florida estate. ADVERTISEMENT This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online. Read More Here

In First Debate, Healey And Diehl Clash Over The Economy, Abortion And Trump https://digitalarizonanews.com/in-first-debate-healey-and-diehl-clash-over-the-economy-abortion-and-trump/ With less than a month to go before Massachusetts voters elect a new governor, Democrat Maura Healey and Republican Geoff Diehl traded jabs Wednesday night in their first debate, sparring over the economy, immigration and abortion rights. For much of the debate, which was hosted by NBC10 Boston, Telemundo Boston and NECN, it felt like a third candidate was on the ballot: Donald Trump. From the start, Healey sought to link Diehl to the former president, who remains deeply unpopular in Massachusetts. “My opponent has said that he backs Donald Trump 100% of the time,” Healey said of Diehl, accusing him of running his campaign “from the Trump playbook” and of wanting to bring “Trumpism” to Massachusetts. Healey, a Democrat who lives in Boston’s South End, repeated the attack more than once, calling Diehl “extreme,” “dangerous” and “unqualified to be the next governor.” Diehl, a former state representative from Whitman, was one of the state’s first Republicans to endorse Trump when he ran for President in 2015. He has remained loyal to him ever since, embracing the former president’s support in his run to become the state’s next governor. By contrast, Democrat Maura Healey spent much of her tenure as the state’s attorney general suing the Trump administration. But in Wednesday night’s debate, Diehl called the Trump references a distraction. “It’s Halloween time and that’s her boogeyman,” he said. Diehl presented himself as a fiscal conservative who supports parental rights and law and order, while backing stricter immigration laws. And he sought to tie Healey to high inflation, rising energy prices and President Biden. “Joe Biden, the person that you supported, is leading us into economic disaster just two years into the job,” Diehl declared. Diehl, who co-chaired Trump’s 2016 campaign in Massachusetts, has pushed the former president’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. When asked last night if he still believes the election was stolen, he at first appeared to edge away from that unfounded claim. “Obviously Joe Biden won the election,” Diehl said, before adding, “Look at how bad the economy is right now.” Diehl went on to claim there were irregularities in 2020, and insisted that mail-in voting makes election fraud more likely, even in Massachusetts. And he said a law that gives undocumented immigrants in the state access to driver’s licenses automatically enrolls them to vote. In fact, the law doesn’t do that. (Diehl is leading an effort to repeal the law, which will be on the ballot in November.) Healey, who backs the law, said it promotes public safety and pointed out that a number of Massachusetts’ police chiefs support it as well. “You want to know who is actually driving on our roads,” she said. “You want to know that they’ve received instruction and training through a drivers’ ed program.” But the sharpest clash by far came over abortion. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to end federal abortion rights, Healey said, “Massachusetts needs a governor who will protect a woman’s freedom to make a decision for herself.” “I will. He won’t. It’s as simple as that,” she said. While Diehl opposes abortion, he said that as governor, he would respect Massachusetts’ Roe Act, which codifies abortion rights in state law. And then he shifted the argument to vaccine mandates, accusing Healey of turning her back on state workers, including police troopers, who lost their jobs for refusing to get vaccinated. “That’s really shameful,” Diehl said, pledging to respect people’s freedom to decide for themselves whether to get vaccinated. “A lot of people lost jobs.” Healey shot back that what’s shameful is “all the talk of freedom, except when it applies to women.” Polls suggest Diehl is running well behind Healey. It’s not clear if he managed to close any of that margin Wednesday night, but he will have have another chance on Oct. 20, when the two debate again. Read More Here

LIVE: MoS External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi Speaks At CICA Summit In Kazakhstan https://digitalarizonanews.com/live-mos-external-affairs-meenakshi-lekhi-speaks-at-cica-summit-in-kazakhstan/ Live Updated on Oct 13, 2022 04:14 PM IST Breaking news October 13, 2022, live updates: Get latest news, breaking news, latest updates, live news, top headlines, breaking business news and top news of the hour. Get latest news, breaking news, latest updates, live news, top headlines, breaking business news and top news of the hour. Welcome to hindustantimes.com updates platform where you can find breaking news from India and across the world. Find fast updates about the latest news as it breaks. Follow all the updates here: Oct 13, 2022 04:09 PM IST Watch | Vehicals catch fire in Noida Oct 13, 2022 04:00 PM IST RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani visits Badrinath, Kedarnath temples Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani visited Badrinath Dham and Kedarnath Dham on Thursday. The industrialist performed pooja and donated ₹5 crores to the Badri-Kedar Temple Committee (BKTC). Oct 13, 2022 03:56 PM IST MoS External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi speaks at CICA Summit in Kazakhstan Ministry of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi at Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Summit in Kazakhstan said Pakistan should shut down its infrastructure of terrorism and India desires normal relations with our neighbours including Pakistan. Oct 13, 2022 03:26 PM IST Bombay HC tells BMC to accept resignation of Rutuja Latke for Andheri bypoll In relief for Uddhav faction, Bombay HC tells civic body BMC to accept resignation of party candidate for crucial Andheri bypoll. Rutuja Latke will be Shiv Sena candidate in Andheri East assembly constituency by-election, announces Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab after HC directed Mumbai civic body to clear her resignation by 11 am tomorrow. Read more Oct 13, 2022 02:42 PM IST AAP Gujarat chief Gopal Italia detained from NCW office in Delhi Aam Aadmi Party Gujarat chief Gopal Italia detained on Thursday from National Commission for Women (NCW) office in Delhi. Read more Oct 13, 2022 02:33 PM IST Army dog Zoom under treatment passes away  Army dog Zoom, under treatment at 54 AFVH (Advance Field Veterinary Hospital ), passed away around 12 noon today Amry officials confirmed. They said that he was responding well till around 11:45 am when he suddenly started gasping and collapsed. He had received 2 gunshot injuries in an operation in J&K on Monday. Oct 13, 2022 02:32 PM IST Ernakulam court orders 12-day police custody for accused in ‘human sacrfice case’ in Kerala Ernakulam First Class Magistrate Court sends all three accused in Kerala ‘human sacrifice case’ to 12-day Police custody till Oct 24. In the custody application filed before a local court here on Thursday, police said the accused need to be further interrogated to probe whether there was any other reason behind the human sacrifice. The police said they need to investigate whether there are more victims of this horrific crime. Oct 13, 2022 01:47 PM IST ED files charge sheet against Rana Ayyub The ED on Thursday filed a charge sheet against journalist Rana Ayyub on the basis of an FIR lodged by the Indirapuram Police Station, Ghaziabad, UP, in a money laundering case.  It mentioned that she illegally acquired funds from general public in the name of charity by launching fund-raiser campaigns on an online crowd funding platform. Oct 13, 2022 12:45 PM IST ‘No enmity’: Shashi Tharoor on going against Kharge in Cong prez polls Do you want party to go with change or are you satisfied with everything? If you think everything is fine, don’t vote for me as I want such a change in the party that would bring back voters who didn’t remain with us in 2014 & 2019: Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor pic.twitter.com/ofXFnBlfcf — ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2022 Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Thursday shunned any possibility of enmity between him and opponent Mallikarjun Kharge as the polls approach. Calling Kharge a “senior leader”, the Thiruvananthapuram MP stated that the election is about two colleagues “seeing how to work to strengthen the party”, news agency ANI reported. Oct 13, 2022 12:30 PM IST PM Modi takes jibe at past Cong govt in Himachal Pradesh PM Modi on Thursday took a sharp swipe at the previous Congress regime in Himachal Pradesh saying they did not contribute in bettering the higher education facilities in the northern hill state. “We are changing that tradition,” he added. Read more. Oct 13, 2022 11:01 AM IST ‘Diwali arrived early for Una’: PM after flagging off Vande Bharat train In Himachal Pradesh’s Una, PM Narendra Modi on Thursday said that Diwali has arrived early in the region after he flagged off the inaugural Vande Bharat Express. Oct 13, 2022 10:40 AM IST In SC, split verdict given in Karnataka hijab ban case In Supreme Court on Thursday, split verdict was given on Karnataka hijab ban case. Justice Hemant Gupta affirmed the Karnataka HC order that banned hijab in educational institutions, while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia quashed the state government’s order and removed the ban. The hijab ban has now been referred to the CJI for constituting a larger bench. Oct 13, 2022 10:00 AM IST PM Modi flags off Una-Delhi Vande Bharat Express Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday flagged off Una-Delhi Vande Bharat Express in Himachal Pradesh. This is the fourth Vande Bharat Express to be launched in the country. Oct 13, 2022 09:23 AM IST President Murmu & Tripura CM flag off trains in Agartala Tripura | President Droupadi Murmu and CM Manik Saha flag off from Agartala Railway Station the extension of Guwahati-Kolkata-Guwahati train up to Agartala and extension of Agartala-Jiribam-Agartala Jan Shatabdi Express up to Khongsang, Manipur pic.twitter.com/NsOQLJz9eK — ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2022 President Droupadi Murmu and Tripura chief minister Manik Saha on Thursday flagged off from Agartala Railway Station the extension of Guwahati-Kolkata-Guwahati train up to Agartala and extension of Agartala-Jiribam-Agartala Jan Shatabdi Express up to Khongsang, Manipur. Oct 13, 2022 09:11 AM IST At 2,786 infections, India’s daily Covid caseload sees slight jump India on Thursday logged 2,786 new Covid cases, which is a slight increase from Wednesday numbers (2,139), according to the morning bulletin of the health ministry. The active case count rose to 26,509, while the total number of recovered patients reached 44,0,65,963 after 2,557 people recuperated in the last 24 hours. The death toll stands at 528,847 with six new fatalities recorded, the bulletin added. Oct 13, 2022 08:36 AM IST Fire breaks out in Kolkata, brought under control after 15 fire tenders reach spot Fire broke out at the studio of Eskay Movies in south Kolkata’s Kudghat area on Thursday. As many as 15 fire tenders rushed to the spot, and brought the blaze under control, ANI reported citing the fire department. Oct 13, 2022 07:20 AM IST Google allows Trump’s ‘Truth Social’ app on Play Store Google said on Wednesday that it has permitted former US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social app on its Play Store for Android devices, after receiving assurances that it would meet the platform’s standards for moderating harmful content, AFP reported. Launched by Trump after he was barred from Twitter over the 2021 Capitol riot, the Truth Social app has been kept out of the Play Store owing to its lack of moderation tools, including violent threats Oct 13, 2022 05:32 AM IST Biden says UNGA vote on Ukraine sends ‘clear message’ to Russia After the UN general assembly voted to adopt a resolution condemning the annexation of four Ukrainian regions by Russia, US President Joe Biden said the decision sends a “clear message” to Russia, AFP reported citing The White House. He also slammed Russia saying that by attacking the “core tenets of the UN charter”, the nation is tearing at the “very foundations of international peace and security”, Reuters reported. Subscribe to our best newsletters Army assault dog Zoom, wounded in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir, dies Updated on Oct 13, 2022 04:14 PM IST Army assault dog, Zoom, got two gunshot wounds during an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Monday in which two terrorists were killed and two security forces personnel sustained injuries Zoom passed away due to some complications despite responding to the treatment at the Army Veterinary Hospital in Srinagar. (File Photo/Twitter) Justice Ali M Magray takes oath as new chief justice of J&K and Ladakh HC Updated on Oct 13, 2022 03:42 PM IST The elevation of Justice Magray to the chair of chief justice of J&K and Ladakh comes owing to the transfer of Justice Pankaj Mithal to Rajasthan high Court NCW chief tweets on stir by AAP members: ‘…Outside my office creating ruckus’ Updated on Oct 13, 2022 03:03 PM IST A viral video, that drew the ire of several BJP leaders, showed Italia purportedly asking women to avoid temples and “kathas” (holy speeches) because they are “hubs of exploitation.” Days prior, in yet another viral video, he was accused of making an objectionable comment about PM Modi. ‘Do you not see…?’: Tharoor on ‘uneven playing field’ in Congress prez poll Updated on Oct 13, 2022 02:32 PM IST Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that his remarks were not against the party’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry but about some “shortcomings in the system.” Senior Congress office-bearers can’t vote from state assigned to them: Mistry Updated on Oct 13, 2022 01:53 PM IST In a statement, Congress’ Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry asked senior office-bearers to vote at booths in their home states or AICC offices Union minister approves 111 new members in IIPA, incudling 9 IAS officers Published on Oct ...

Donald Trump Has Learned How To Manipulate White Rage — That https://digitalarizonanews.com/donald-trump-has-learned-how-to-manipulate-white-rage-that/ American democracy is in peril, teetering between democracy and authoritarianism and under siege by Donald Trump, the Republican Party and the larger white right. To call them “conservative” is an insult to language. In a recent Salon essay, historian Robert McElvaine addressed this directly, calling out “the media’s ingrained tendency to aid and abet the enemies of democracy through the careless use of language,” and especially “the ubiquitous use of the word ‘conservative’ to describe extreme right-wing radicals and their beliefs, which only seek to conserve white supremacy — and more specifically the class or caste supremacy of a small minority of wealthy and nominally Christian white men.”  Even President Biden, a career politician and a conflict-averse lifelong moderate who still yearns to “unite” America, has publicly warned that the “MAGA Republicans” — which at this point means nearly all Republicans — are the greatest internal threat to the country since the civil war.   America’s democracy crisis is a drama of raw political power, and a nationwide campaign by the Republican fascists to end America’s multiracial democracy. If they prevail, Black and brown people, most women, LGBTQ people, those with disabilities, non-Christians (or liberal Christians), immigrants, poor people and anyone else targeted as the Other more generally (and thus deemed “un-American”) will literally become second-class citizens both under the law and in daily life. Many Americans who believe they are safe from American fascism because of the color of their skin, their money or other forms of privilege will rapidly learn that their freedom, safety and quality of life will be greatly diminished as well. In a recent Salon interview, author and activist Brynn Tannehill summarized this harsh reality: Everybody who watches a zombie movie assumes that they’re going to be part of the resistance and not part of the shambling, undead brain-eating horde. All these people assume that under a fascist system they are going to be among the winners. There are many more losers in a fascist system than winners. The winners make sure that their people get taken care of first, and if you’re not near the front of the line for the goodies you aren’t going to get them. The vast majority of Americans are not going to be rewarded by fascism. American fascism is not a foreign import or unimaginably alien. It is in our soil, and in many ways a continuation of this continent’s long history of white supremacy and racism going back to the 17th century. Trump and the other neofascists are like political necromancers: They summoned up these dark, lingering energies and are now using them for their own purposes. Trumpism, like other forms of neofascism and fake right-wing populism, is based on a cult of personality and pathological feelings of shared identity between the leader and the follower. Any criticism of the leader is experienced as an attack on the follower, and an existential threat to one’s racial identity and core sense of self. Trump’s anger is rooted in the assumption that a rich white man is above the law — and that it’s a violation of the natural order for a Black woman to have any power over him. As Donald Trump faces the real possibility of finally being held accountable for his many obvious crimes, whether those be fraud, seditious conspiracy or violations of the Espionage Act, he will incite and channel even more white rage and white tribalism. He will urge his acolytes and followers to tear the country down rather than see him face justice. He will urge them to do so again if he or his party are somehow defeated at the polls in the upcoming midterms or the 2024 presidential election. Words presage action; depending on the context, words and language can be a type of violence. Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the prosecutors who are investigating him for alleged crimes in New York and Georgia — all three happen to be Black — are “racist,” “horrible” and “mentally sick” people who are unfairly targeting him, and by extension his overwhelmingly white followers.  The assumption here is that white people, especially rich white men, are above the law and moreover that it is a violation of the natural order of things, or American “tradition,” that Black people (and Black women in particular) could in any way potentially have so much power. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. AP reporter Bobby Calvan interviewed a communications scholar about how “Trump’s rhetoric has escalated, perhaps because he recognizes that some among his base are receptive to more overt racism”: “It intensifies that discourse and makes it explicitly racial,” said Casey Kelly, a communications professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who for years has pored over transcripts of Trump’s speeches. At a recent rally in Arizona, he said — falsely — that white people in New York were being sent to the back of line for antiviral treatments. And now Trump is using the investigations against him — and the prosecutors behind them — as “evidence of a larger systemic pattern that white people don’t have a place in the future of America and he’s the only one that can fight on their behalf,” Kelly said. Michael Steele, who more than a decade ago was the first African American to chair the Republican National Committee, said Trump was being Trump. “If he can race bait it, he will. These prosecutors, these Black people are coming after me — the white man,” Steele said…. Trump is questioning their legitimacy, said Diana Becton, another Black district attorney who serves in Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay area. “His accusations are certainly not subtle. They’re frightening,” Becton said. “It’s like saying, we are out of our place, that we’re being uppity and we are going to be put back in our place by people who look like him.” At the National Hispanic Leadership Conference last Wednesday in Miami, Trump continued with his racist victimology, telling attendees that “No other president has been harassed and persecuted like we have.” He also attempted to compare the FBI search of his redoubt at Mar-a-Lago for classified documents with the compounds of drug cartels in Mexico: They raided Mar-a-Lago, but the cartels, they have their own Mar-a-Lagos — those are fine….Leave them alone. Let them continue to destroy our country.  Think how sick it is — what’s happening in this country….We’re a country of investigations. We don’t talk about greatness anymore. Everybody gets investigated. … The cartels — nothing’s happening to them. But they go after politicians! Trump’s fundraising and other political emails repeatedly emphasize the fictional narrative that his supporters and other “real Americans” are being victimized and are under attack by “Democrats” and their supporters, including Black Lives Matter activists and “elites” who want to destroy American heritage, values, culture and traditions. (All of which are understood as white by default.) Trump’s fundraising repeatedly emphasizes the narrative that his supporters are under attack from “elites” who want to destroy American heritage, values, culture and traditions. Such language is not a racial dog whistle or coded appeal. These are blaring sirens. Public opinion polls and other research have consistently shown that a high percentage of white Republicans believe that white people are the real “victims” of racism in America and are somehow oppressed or otherwise discriminated against because of their skin color, religion or cultural values and beliefs. There is no evidence to support such delusional fantasies. In reality, American society from before the founding and through to the present is based upon the creation, protection, perpetuation and expansion of white privilege and other unearned advantages for those deemed to be white by birth or otherwise identified with whiteness and white power. Yet the compulsion toward white victimology and white grievance-mongering is so powerful in the Age of Trump that a majority of Republicans and Trump supporters now believe in some version of the antisemitic “great replacement” conspiracy theory. In a previous essay for Salon, I wrote: Did Republicans and Trump supporters feel shame and disgust about themselves when they learned that the terrorist who killed 10 black people in Buffalo shared their delusional beliefs about white people being “replaced” or “oppressed” in America? Of course not. If anything, the Buffalo attack appears to have reinforced their commitment to protecting white privilege and white power by any means necessary. A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted … only days after the Buffalo killings found that 61% of Trump voters believed in the central claim of the “great replacement” theory that “a group of people in this country are trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants and people of color who share their political views.” … According to this poll, almost three-fourths of Trump voters and more than 60% of Republicans believed the fantastical claim that “discrimination against white people has become as big a problem as discrimination against Black people in the U.S.” … Another new poll, this one conducted in April by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Tulchin Research, found that while a plurality of Americans had “a positive view of the country’s changing demographics,” that was not true for Republicans, “a majority of whom viewed those changes not only negatively, but as a threat to white Americans.” The white supremacist mass shooting earlier this year in Buffalo represents a much larger trend in American history: White racial paranoia and feelings of white grieva...