FBI Doesnt Play: Morning Joe Says Trump Lawyers Finding Out The Hard Way That Rules Apply To Them
‘FBI Doesn’t Play’: Morning Joe Says Trump Lawyers Finding Out The Hard Way That Rules Apply To Them https://digitalarizonanews.com/fbi-doesnt-play-morning-joe-says-trump-lawyers-finding-out-the-hard-way-that-rules-apply-to-them/
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Inflation Relief Checks Live Online Updates By State: California Florida | Payments Who Qualifies & Amounts
Inflation Relief Checks Live Online Updates By State: California, Florida… | Payments, Who Qualifies & Amounts https://digitalarizonanews.com/inflation-relief-checks-live-online-updates-by-state-california-florida-payments-who-qualifies-amounts-3/
inflation relief checks: latest updates
$850 inflation relief check for Maine residents
A initiative introduced by Maine Governor Janey Mills will see $850 checks sent to an estimated 858,000 Mainers to help ease the pain caused by inflation. To be eligible Maine residents must file a 2021 state individual income tax return before 31 October 2022.
A statement on Gov. Mills’ website explains: “While the Governor cannot control the impact of COVID-19 on global markets, she can make sure that we deliver to Maine people the resources they need to deal with these higher costs.”
Emergency energy and heating relief for New Hampshire residents
State lawmakers in New Hampshire passed legislation in September to provide Granite State families with financial assistance to cover the rising heating and energy costs this fall and winter.
Families who make 60-75% of the state median income will receive a one-time payment of $650, $450 dollars in heating assistance, and $200 in electrical assistance, in addition to funding passed earlier this year.
Households that bring in less than 60% of the state’s median income are eligible for LIHEAP and EAP assistance and will receive an extra $405.
Virginians, don’t forget to file tax return to receive inflation relief tax rebate
The State of Virginia pass a one-time tax rebate of $250 for individual taxpayers and $500 for married couples that file jointly. In order to qualify residents will have to file tax return in by 1 November 2022 and have a tax liability.
Georgia begins sending checks
Gov. Brian Kemp, facing stanch competition for his seat, has decided to send inflation relief payments to many across his state.
The first batch of payments was sent in late September and are worth $350.
The payments are being sent to those on SNAP, social security, and other government benefit programs.
“Global inflation. Rising costs. It’s hard out there and we know it. So, we’re giving you $9.5 billion back. MILLIONS of Californians– 23 million to be exact – will benefit from up to $1,050, as soon as October!”
US NEWS
Inflation relief checks: What to do to get your relief check in October
In an effort to aid residents, a number of US states are issuing inflation relief payments to ensure that households across the country are still able to cover the cost of essentials. Others are simply offering additional tax rebates to provide financial support more generally.
The amount on offer varies between states from a couple of hundred dollars to more than $1,000 per taxpayer, a significant amount in tough economic circumstances.
We take a look at the states offering direct payments, and what residents need to do to ensure that they don’t miss out on their entitlement…
Latest News
California Inflation Relief Check: do I qualify according to my filing status?
The amount of money that will be distributed to households for the Middle-Class Tax Refund depends on income and tax filing status.
The state allocated around $9.5 billion for the refund and hopes that families will be able to use the payments to keep up with prices. The state leads the country in the cost of gas and after a brief period of relief from high prices from July to September, they are on the climb once again.
The payments for the tax refund are worth anywhere between $200 and $1,050, and you can read our full coverage to determine your eligibility and payment amount.
The IRS offers support to victims of Hurricane Ian
For those who were impacted by Hurricane Ian, there may be relief available through the IRS. The IRS can help victims rebuild their financial records and more.
FEMA is also offering support as the destruction down by Hurricanes Ian and Fiona left thousands without homes. Unemployment and other benefits are available to those who have lost homes and jobs.
Hello, and welcome to AS USA
Welcome to the AS USA live blog on financial payments being sent by states to assist residents as inflation continues to rock the economy.
Last week, California sent out its first batch of payments for the Middle Class Tax Refund, which will send checks worth up to $1,050 to millions of households across the state. Direct deposit payments will be made first.
Additionally, this week, the Social Security Administration will announce the 2023 Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that will be made to payments in January.
Follow along for more news on the payments being sent in other states, as well as support that may come from the federal level.
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Ukraine Leader To Ask G7 For Air Defence Weapons After Russian Strikes
Ukraine Leader To Ask G7 For Air Defence Weapons After Russian Strikes https://digitalarizonanews.com/ukraine-leader-to-ask-g7-for-air-defence-weapons-after-russian-strikes/
G7 leaders to discuss Ukraine later on Tuesday
Expected to review Kyiv’s request for air defence systems
May also warn Belarus against closer involvement
Russia says it will respond to greater Western aid
KYIV, Oct 11 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will ask the leaders of the G7 group of nations to urgently supply Ukraine with air defence weapons on Tuesday, after Russia rained down cruise missiles on cities across the country.
New missile strikes killed at least one person in the southeastern town of Zaporizhzhia and left part of the Western city of Lviv without power, officials said, after Ukraine woke up to the wailing of air raid sirens for a second day.
Other parts of the country remained blacked out after the cruise missile attacks on Monday which officials said killed 19 people in the biggest air raids since the start of the war.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, under domestic pressure to ramp up the conflict as his forces have lost ground since the start of September, said he ordered the strikes as revenge for an explosion that damaged Russia’s bridge to annexed Crimea.
Kyiv and its allies condemned Monday’s attacks, which mainly hit civil infrastructure such as power stations. Missiles also landed in parks, tourist sites and busy rush hour streets.
U.S. President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders will convene virtually later on Tuesday to discuss what more they can do to support Ukraine and to listen to Zelenskiy, who has called air defence systems his “number 1 priority”. Biden has already promised more air defences.
The broad avenues of the capital Kyiv were largely deserted after air raid sirens resounded as the morning rush hour was beginning – the same time that Russian missiles struck on Monday. Residents took cover again deep in the underground Metro, where trains were still running.
Viktoriya Moshkivski, 35, her husband and their two sons were among hundreds of people waiting for the all-clear in the Zoloti Vorota station, near a park where a missile ripped a crater next to a playground on Monday.
“(Putin) thinks that if he scares the population, he can ask for concessions, but he is not scaring us. He is pissing us off,” she said as her sons, Timur, 5, and Rinat, 3, sat by her side on a sleeping bag, the younger playing with a King Kong action figure.
MORE STRIKES
Russia said it continued to launch long-range air strikes on Ukraine’s energy and military infrastructure on Tuesday, although the attacks did not seem as intense as the day before.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the main targets were energy facilities.
“They’ve hit many yesterday and they hit the same and new ones today. These are war crimes planned well in advance and aimed at creating unbearable conditions for civilians — Russia’s deliberate strategy since months,” he wrote on Twitter.
The governor of the southern town of Mykolayiv said Russia seemed to have changed tactics.
“They launch rockets more than once so that our people can wait and our air defence can work, but at intervals they launch significantly fewer rockets and keep people in shelters. What is this if not terror?” he said on national television.
People shelter inside a subway station during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine October 11, 2022. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi
In Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s sixth-largest city, apartment blocks have been struck overnight at least three times in the past week, killing civilians while they slept. Moscow has denied intentionally targeting them.
The city remained under Ukrainian control after Russia occupied most of the surrounding province, among four partially occupied regions that Moscow claims to have annexed this month.
In an overnight video address from the scene of one of the attacks in Kyiv, Zelenskiy promised that Ukraine would keep fighting.
“We will do everything to strengthen our armed forces. We will make the battlefield more painful for the enemy.”
As many as 301 settlements in the regions of Kyiv, Lviv, Sumy, Ternopil and Khmelnytsky remained without electricity on Tuesday.
Faced with blackouts, Ukraine has halted electricity exports to neighbouring Moldova and the European Union, at a time when the continent already faces surging power prices.
BELARUS FEARS
G7 leaders are also expected to issue a warning to Belarus, Moscow’s closest ally, after Minsk said on Monday it was deploying soldiers with Russian forces near Ukraine in response to what it called a threat from Kyiv and its Western allies.
Belarus, whose troops have not yet crossed into Ukraine, could face more sanctions if it gets more involved in the Ukraine conflict, French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna told French radio. Russia had violated the rules of war with Monday’s attacks, she added.
Moscow has accused the West of escalating the conflict by supporting Ukraine.
“We warn and hope that they realise the danger of uncontrolled escalation in Washington and other Western capitals,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by RIA news agency on Tuesday.
Since Ukrainian forces broke through Russia’s front lines in September, Putin has not only announced the annexation of Ukrainian territory but also called up hundreds of thousands of reservists and repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons.
The director of Britain’s GCHQ spy agency said it would expect to see signs if Russia was considering deploying nuclear arms but that its ground forces were running out of supplies.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would not turn down a meeting between Putin and Biden at a forthcoming G20 meeting and would consider the proposal if it receives one.
Putin on Tuesday met the president of the United Arab Emirates, a member of the group of oil producers known as OPEC+ that rebuffed the United States last week by announcing steep production cuts.
State news agency WAM had said President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan would push for “military de-escalation”.
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Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Stephen Coates, Andrew Osborn, Peter Graff; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Nick Macfie
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Nissan Takes $687 Mln Loss As Sells Russian Business For 1 Euro
Nissan Takes $687 Mln Loss As Sells Russian Business For 1 Euro https://digitalarizonanews.com/nissan-takes-687-mln-loss-as-sells-russian-business-for-1-euro/
A view shows an automobile assembly plant of the Japanese carmaker Nissan in Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 11, 2022. REUTERS/Igor Russak
Sale to Russian state-owned entity NAMI
Nissan has right to buy back business within six years
Renault sees 331 mln euro hit to H2 net income from move
TOKYO, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) will hand over its business in Russia to a state-owned entity for 1 euro ($0.97), it said on Tuesday, taking a loss of around $687 million in the latest costly exit from the country by a global company.
The Japanese automaker transfer its shares in Nissan Manufacturing Russia LLC to state-owned NAMI, it said. The deal will give Nissan the right to buy back the business within six years, Russia’s industry and trade ministry said.
The deal makes Nissan the latest major company to leave Russia since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February. It also mirrors a move by Nissan’s top shareholder, French automaker Renault (RENA.PA), which sold its majority stake in Russian carmaker Avtovaz (AVAZI_p.MM) to a Russian investor in May.
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The sale to NAMI will include Nissan’s production and research facilities in St Petersburg as well as its sales and marketing centre in Moscow, the ministry said.
Nissan said it expected an extraordinary loss of around 100 billion yen ($687 million), but maintained its earnings forecast for the financial year ending in March.
Renault, which owns 43% of Nissan, estimated the decision by its Japanese partner would lead to a 331 million euro hit to its net income for the second half of 2022.
Nissan had suspended production at its St. Petersburg plant in March due to supply chain disruptions. Since then, the company and its local unit had been monitoring the situation, it said. But there was “no visibility” of a change to the external environment, Nissan said, prompting it to decide to exit.
Junior alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) is also considering exiting Russia, the Nikkei newspaper said. A spokesperson for Mitsubishi said nothing had been decided.
The exit comes as Nissan has embarked on a major shift in its relationship with Renault. The two said on Monday they were in talks about the future of their alliance, including Nissan considering investing in a new electric vehicle venture by Renault.
Those talks, which could prompt the biggest reset in the alliance since the 2018 arrest of long-time executive Carlos Ghosn, have also included the possibility of Renault selling some of its controlling stake in Nissan, two people with knowledge of the talks have told Reuters.
Renault reportedly sold its stake in Avtovaz for one rouble ($0.02).
The Nissan deal was “of great significance for the industry,” Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in a statement.
($1 = 145.6200 yen)
($1 = 63.8500 roubles)
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Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov, Caleb Davis and Satoshi Sugiyama; Writing by Alexander Marrow and David Dolan; Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Class A Office Space Still Rules In Phoenix Report Shows AZ Big Media
Class A Office Space Still Rules In Phoenix, Report Shows – AZ Big Media https://digitalarizonanews.com/class-a-office-space-still-rules-in-phoenix-report-shows-az-big-media/
Metro Phoenix Class A office space realized 317,341 square feet in occupancy gains during the third quarter, according to JLL’s Q3 2022 Phoenix Office Insight. The gains point to an ongoing shift toward well-amenitized product as employers work to retain talent and encourage a return to the office.
Across all product types, the metro Phoenix office vacancy rate is holding relatively steady at 21.7 percent, dampened still by an influx of sublease space that keeps the Valley at an overall negative net absorption.
READ ALSO: Here’s the CRE industry outlook from NAIOP Developing Leaders
“New leases and Class A deals made up 66 percent and 67 percent, respectively, of our total leasing volume during the third quarter,” said Timpani. “That tells a story of tenants who would rather relocate to a new building – usually making a flight to quality – versus remain in their current location.”
The success this is bringing to Metro Phoenix Class A office space caused overall vacancy rates in this sector to drop 90 basis points over the quarter, as new Class A buildings are being delivered at or near full occupancy.
“The leasing success of new-vintage office product is a trend happening across the U.S. and even across the world,” said JLL Managing Director Ryan Timpani. “Sunbelt markets like Phoenix are tending to benefit from a larger-than-average portion of these leases, thanks to our friendly tax climate, low cost environment and high quality of life. The combination continues to attract businesses to Phoenix, as well as new residents who are now able to work from home from any location they chose.”
The Scottsdale Airpark and technology-heavy Tempe submarkets were the top two most active submarkets in Q3, as they posted the highest total absorption and were among the highest in asking rent growth. Conversely, the Airport submarket generated the greatest volume of negative net absorption and held the highest amount of available sublease space.
The abundance of sublease space on the metro Phoenix market, now at an unprecedented 6.0 million square feet, continues to promote tenant-favorable scenarios. However, even as this occurs, newer Class A office space is expected to thrive, serving as a solid lease and investment choice as older, lower-quality spaces become functionally obsolete.
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From Students Walking Out Due To Anti-LGBT Laws To 'Trevor Project' Refunding Donations After Investigation This Week In Across The Country
From Students Walking Out Due To Anti-LGBT Laws To 'Trevor Project' Refunding Donations After Investigation, This Week In Across The Country https://digitalarizonanews.com/from-students-walking-out-due-to-anti-lgbt-laws-to-trevor-project-refunding-donations-after-investigation-this-week-in-across-the-country/
Students in Arizona did a walk-out due to anti-LGBT laws, and “The Trevor Project” is refunding donations after an LGBT bias investigation came to light.
Anti-LGBT Laws Led to Students Walking Out
The state of Arizona is currently GOP-controlled since the 2020 election.
Since then, the legislature has proposed countless numbers of anti-LGBT laws and hundreds of high school students had something to say about it.
“They are killing our peers. We do not need any more students hurt by your actions. We aren’t out here missing our school day and interrupting our education because we want to. We have been forced into it,” said organizer and 16-year-old Hamilton High School student, Dawn Shim, according to The AZ Mirror.
The law targeting transgender youth prompted Shim to create Support Equality Arizona Schools. Though the organization is run by 10 students in Chandler, other cities like Gilbert, Tucson, and Flagstaff have all shown support for the mission they are trying to achieve.
“It is embarrassing that we live in a state and a country where people are at risk simply for being who they are and loving who they want,” Blues Patrick, a senior at Hamilton, told AZ Mirror.
‘The Trevor Project’ to Refund Donation After LGBT Bias Investigation Comes Out
In an investigation by The 74, the organization reported that “The Trevor Project” would be giving back up $25,000 in donations because of the controversy surrounding their now severed partnership with Gaggle. In the original reports, The 74 found that the student surveillance company had been LGBT-biased.
Gaggle used “artificial intelligence and human content moderators to sift through billions of student chat messages and homework assignments each year in search of students who may harm themselves or others,” reported The 74.
“We’re disappointed that The Trevor Project has decided to pause our collaboration,” said Gaggle spokesperson Paget Hetherington. “However, we are grateful for the opportunity we have had to learn and work with them and will continue with our mission of protecting all students regardless of how they identify.”
The partnership between Gaggle and The Trevor Project came about when the surveillance company donated between $25,000 to $50,000 to the company.
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Analysis | Biden Faces New Tests On Ukraine https://digitalarizonanews.com/analysis-biden-faces-new-tests-on-ukraine/
Good morning, Early Birds! Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will sit down with CNN’s Jake Tapper tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Who plans on watching? Oh yeah, he’s also talking to President Biden. Tips: earlytips@washpost.com. Thanks for waking up with us.
In today’s edition … Isaac Stanley-Becker and Josh Dawsey examine how Trump’s legal expenses consumed GOP donor money … Ryan and Vance squared off in a fiery debate … What we’re watching: The Court is back in session today … but first …
Biden works to maintain coalition on Ukraine as Russia escalates its attacks
The war in Ukraine is at a critical inflection point as Russian President Vladimir Putin attempts to escalate the conflict despite a hampered military, with Ukraine’s allies skittish about high energy prices ahead of winter and the United Nations set to vote on a draft resolution condemning Russia.
President Biden will attend a virtual meeting of the Group of Seven — Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Canada and the United States — today to discuss Russia’s latest aggressions and to renew support for Ukraine.
Biden is “pushing hard to hold together what has become a central mission of his presidency: maintaining the global and domestic coalition supporting Ukraine. As the war heads into its first winter, probably a bitter and brutal one, some U.S. allies face economic head winds fueled by the war, while at home some Republicans voice skepticism about the billions in aid going to Ukraine.” our colleagues Yasmeen Abutaleb and John Hudson report.
Biden’s “efforts face a major test Wednesday when the United Nations votes on a draft resolution condemning Russia’s annexation of four parts of Ukraine. Biden and U.S. officials have been working to convince nonaligned countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa to refrain from taking a neutral position and condemn the Kremlin outright, an effort analysts said might be bolstered by Russia’s barrage of missile attacks Monday on Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities,” Yasmeen and John write.
The challenges for Biden aren’t just abroad: “cracks are showing in political support at home for the billions in aid the United States is sending Ukraine. Those fissures are likely to widen significantly if Republicans recapture the House on Nov. 8.”
“So far, the White House has been able to maintain bipartisan support for several multibillion-dollar aid and weapons packages to Ukraine, but some Republicans aligned with former president Donald Trump have begun raising questions about why the United States is spending so much money on a distant war overseas. And a decision last week by a Saudi- and Russian-led coalition to slash oil production is likely to send gas prices climbing again, which could sour the public even further.”
Biden’s coalition strengthening efforts comes as Ukraine is pushing for more military support after a series of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, including the capitol Kyiv on Monday where at least 14 people have been killed. Putin has said it was in retaliation for the explosion of a key bridge.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an address to his nation Monday night where he said 84 missiles hit Ukrainian cities and he reassured Ukrainians “that the country was working to get modern air-defense systems and strengthen its forces,” The Post’s Praveena Somasundaram reports. “Ukraine cannot be intimidated,” he said. “We are united even more instead.”
Zelensky will also address the G7 virtual meeting today, and “Ukraine’s calls for additional military aid are also set to be discussed this week at two meetings in Brussels, one involving NATO defense ministers and the other the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a collection of about 50 countries created to provide assistance to Ukraine,” The Post’s Emily Rauhala, Rick Noack, Loveday Morris and Alex Horton report.
The New York Times‘ Valerie Hopkins and Anton Troianovski write: “With his escalation, Putin is also betting that Russian elites — and the public at large — do indeed see it as a sign of strength rather than a desperate effort to inflict more pain on Ukrainian civilians in a war that Russia appears to be losing militarily.”
How Trump’s legal expenses consumed GOP donor money
Follow the money: “Donald Trump’s political operation has spent more money since he left office on lawyers representing the former president and a pair of nonprofits staffed by former Cabinet members than it has on Republican congressional campaigns,” according to financial filings reviewed by our colleagues Isaac Stanley-Becker and Josh Dawsey.
“Trump’s leadership PAC, Save America, has blitzed supporters in recent days with fundraising solicitations that focus on next month’s high-stakes contest for control of Congress.” “It is IMPERATIVE that we win BIG in November,” blared an email last week.
“The group has contributed about $8.4 million so far directly to Republican campaigns and committees, while devoting $7 million to Trump’s lawyers and another $2 million to the nonprofits, which employ former members of his administration, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Legal fees are expected to climb, Trump advisers say, as he employs a growing retinue of lawyers to fend off federal, state and county-level investigations.”
Save America sent — $3-million — its single biggest check in the last 20 months “to a Florida law firm representing the former president in the Justice Department’s investigation of his handling of government documents at Mar-a-Lago and its probe of the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, aimed at keeping Trump in power.”
Ryan and Vance square off in fiery debate
Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance aggressively attacked each other in a much anticipated Senate campaign debate Monday night over abortion, the border and Vance’s charity.
“Vance said Ryan had supported policies that led to a 10-year-old girl in Ohio being raped. Ryan said Vance had started a “fake nonprofit” to help people overcome addiction issues. The two accused each other of being beholden to their party, with Ryan echoing a comment from former president Donald Trump in calling Vance an “a — kisser” and Vance saying Ryan’s 100% voting record with President Biden means he’s not the reasonable moderate he says he is,” Julie Carr Smyth of the Associated Press writes.
Partisans on Twitter reacted to the back and forth like professional wrestling fans amazed at the rehearsed attack lines they were witnessing:
Holy shit, @JDVance1 just KO’d Tim Ryan!!!
“You voted so many times against border wall funding…If you had done your job, she would have never been raped in the first place. Do your job on border security, don’t lecture me about opinions I don’t actually have.” #OHSenDebate pic.twitter.com/MzDLevzKeI
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 10, 2022
From The Post: “During a heated exchange at a debate Monday night, [Ryan] accused [Vance] of ‘running around’ with extremists and supporting rioters who broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 … ‘You’re running around with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is the absolute looniest politician in America,’ Ryan added. ‘This is a dangerous group.’”
The congressman also said Vance fundraised for “the insurrectionists.” “Those people are election deniers, who call into question the most fundamental act we have — the foundation of this country,” Ryan said. “He’s called into question the presidential election. That’s a threat to our democracy.”
Vance attempted to link the abortion and border security debates in an attack on Ryan. “ “Vance agreed with Ryan that a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim should not have had to leave the state for an abortion, but he said the fact the suspect was in the country illegally was a failure of weak border policies. ‘You voted so many times against the border wall funding, so many times for amnesty, Tim,’ Vance said. ‘If you had done your job, she would have never been raped in the first place,’ Smyth writes.
Ryan went after Vance’s charity, questioning whether it did any good or was a cynical attempt to boost his profile. Our former colleague David A. Fahrenthold looked into the charity recently for another news organization.
The Supreme Court is back after a holiday weekend and will hear two cases today:
Reed v. Goertz: The case, which considers an appeal from Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed, focuses on the statute of limitations for DNA testing of crime-scene evidence.
National Pork Producers v. Ross: This case revolves around animal welfare and how farmers should raise their pigs. “A Supreme Court ruling in favor of the pork producers could more broadly undermine states’ rights,” per E&E News’s Niina H. Farah.
Russia’s nuclear weapons, visualized: “As Russia’s military retreats on the battlefield, Putin’s rhetoric about using nuclear weapons is escalating,” our colleague Karoun Demirjian reports.
“It is very unlikely that Russia would use its most powerful nuclear weapons to settle scores with Kyiv; Moscow is far more likely, experts agree, to use a smaller nuclear weapon in the hopes of achieving a specific battlefield objective … [that] likely candidate is the 9K720 Iskander missile system, classified by NATO as the SS-26, which is a ground-based ballistic missile.”
Early reeeads
While you were asleep – maybe
Thanks for reading. You can also follow us on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer and @LACaldwellDC.
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Alabama House Leader Says Tubervilles View On Reparations insane
Alabama House Leader Says Tuberville’s View On Reparations ‘insane’ https://digitalarizonanews.com/alabama-house-leader-says-tubervilles-view-on-reparations-insane/
The Democratic leader in the Alabama House of Representatives condemned Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s claim that Democrats want reparations for Black Americans because they support compensation for criminals, calling the Republican senator’s assertions “insane.”
Rep. Anthony Daniels of Huntsville joined fellow Democrats in denouncing statements Tuberville made at a rally with former President Donald Trump in Nevada on Saturday night.
“If Sen. Tuberville truly believes what he said about reparations, it’s time for him to be put into concussion protocol and taken off the playing field,” Daniels said. “No one in their right mind could make such an insane statement about an issue that means so much to so many.
“As a former coach, he more than most should understand the importance of fighting for a level playing field. We will continue our march until we get there.”
Tuberville, the former head football at Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati, joined Trump and others to speak at a rally in support of Nevada’s Republican candidates in the Nov. 8 election. Tuberville was talking about the Democratic party’s response to crime.
“They’re not soft on crime,” Tuberville said “They’re pro-crime. They want crime. They want crime because they want to take over what you got,” Tuberville said. “They want to control what you have. They want reparation because they think the people that do the crime are owed that.”
Former Sen. Doug Jones, who lost his seat to Tuberville in the 2020 election, called Tuberville’s comments a “racist rant.” Former state Democratic Party Chair Chris England called Tuberville’s words racist and said they did not make sense. Karlos Dansby, who played under Tuberville at Auburn before a long NFL career, called Tuberville’s statements “unnecessary, dead wrong, ugly.”
Alabama Republican Party Chair John Wahl said he did not know the context of Tuberville’s statements but defended the senator, saying he has a history of working well with people of all backgrounds.
“His record and respect of others speaks volumes about his integrity and character,” Wahl said.
On Monday, Tuberville’s press office did not respond to a request for comment about the response to his statements. Two of the state’s other top elected Republicans, Gov. Kay Ivey and Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, did not respond to requests for comment about what the Republican senator said. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon and House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter declined comment.
University of Alabama political science professor Richard Fording said Tuberville’s statements were disappointing.
“Obviously those comments are not truthful and even ridiculous,” Fording said. “I think anyone who has an education and follows politics would know that is just not true.”
Fording, co-author of the book, “Hard White: The Mainstreaming of Racism in American Politics,” said Tuberville’s mixing of the issues of crime and reparations sends a message.
“When you use the term reparations in the context of crime and Democrats, there’s no other conclusion. Everyone knows you’re talking about African Americans,” Fording said.
According to the Associated Press, the Democratic Party has not taken a stance on reparations for Black Americans to compensate for years of unpaid slave labor by their ancestors, though some leading Democrats, including President Joe Biden, back the creation of a commission to study the issue.
“It seems he was trying to appeal to the MAGA wing of the Republican Party and rile up the base, supposedly white voters who have a strong sense of racial resentment,” Fording said “And Donald Trump has been accused of that many times. It’s kind of become like a new sort of playbook for many who try to follow in the path of Donald Trump and try to appeal to his supporters.”
Fording said Tuberville’s comments lacked the subtlety of appeals to certain white voters and groups who are receptive to racist messages, appeals sometimes called “dog whistles.”
“There’s a lot of research on this kind of rhetoric and it’s a big turnoff for a lot of people,” Fording said. “The dog whistle works because it’s a dog whistle and subtle and not very explicit. So, yes, he went over the line in a lot of ways.”
The Alabama Republican Party has launched a campaign to reach conservative Black voters who do not take an active role in politics. Rep. Kenneth Paschal of Shelby County, the only Black Republican in the Legislature and the leader of that effort, did not respond to a request for comment about Tuberville’s statements.
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HKW Announces Sale Of Telematics Solutions Provider Certified Tracking Solutions
HKW Announces Sale Of Telematics Solutions Provider Certified Tracking Solutions https://digitalarizonanews.com/hkw-announces-sale-of-telematics-solutions-provider-certified-tracking-solutions/
INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct 11, 2022–
HKW, a middle-market private equity firm focused on growth-oriented companies, has sold Certified Tracking Solutions to GPS Insight, an Accel-KKR portfolio company. Certified Tracking Solutions, headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, provides cloud-based software to support GPS tracking solutions, fleet tracking and management, and workflow optimization. Earlier this year, Certified Tracking Solutions became the first company to obtain Canadian Electronic Logging Device ( ELD ) certification by the acclaimed CSA Group, representing several industry breakthroughs.
“HKW was the right partner at the right time, being instrumental as a resource for building our structure for the next growth phase. They were also tacticians in providing the perfect balance of oversight and guidance as we scaled the team,” said Ben Jensen, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Certified Tracking Solutions. “HKW has exemplified what a true partner is at every stage of our journey, always going above and beyond.”
HKW partnered with Certified Tracking Solutions in April of 2018, attracted to CEO Ben Jensen’s passion for the business, scalable, recurring revenue model, and diverse customer base. Certified Tracking Solutions completed one add-on acquisition, CAMS, a specialized municipal vehicle tracking software, during the investment period. Certified Tracking Solutions also opened a US-based office in Scottsdale, AZ.
“HKW is thankful for the opportunity to partner with the Certified Tracking Solutions team. Ben Jensen has been a great leader in a business that competes in an extremely challenging industry. Despite intense competition from fast-scaling competitors, Ben found ways to leverage the HKW relationship effectively to add talent to the executive team, build geographic scale, and transition Certified Tracking Solutions to a true SaaS-based metric-driven company. We wish the team all the best for their next level of growth,” said Kent Robinson, former Chairman of the Board of Certified Tracking Solutions and Partner at HKW.
DC Advisory served as the financial advisor. Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP (“Taft”) served as legal counsel to HKW.
About HKW
HKW is a middle-market private equity firm investing in companies with talented management teams in the US and Canada. HKW targets companies in the technology, health & wellness, and business services sectors. Since 1982, HKW has sponsored 67 platform transactions of lower middle-market companies throughout North America and 73 add-on acquisitions. For more information on HKW, please visit hkwinc.com.
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221011005196/en/
CONTACT: Michelle Ball
mab@hkwinc.com
317-705-8734
KEYWORD: INDIANA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: DATA MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY TRANSPORT LOGISTICS/SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT MOBILE/WIRELESS SOFTWARE
SOURCE: HKW
Copyright Business Wire 2022.
PUB: 10/11/2022 06:00 AM/DISC: 10/11/2022 06:03 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221011005196/en
Copyright Business Wire 2022.
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Lebanon Israel Clinch Maritime Border Deal Israel Says
Lebanon, Israel Clinch Maritime Border Deal, Israel Says https://digitalarizonanews.com/lebanon-israel-clinch-maritime-border-deal-israel-says/
People walk as Israeli navy boats are seen in the Mediterranean Sea as seen from Rosh Hanikra, close to the Lebanese border, northern Israel May 4, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
U.S. envoy has been holding indirect contacts to seal deal
Lebanon and Israel have history of conflict
Deal would allow for energy exploration, ease source of tension
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Lebanon and Israel have reached a historic agreement demarcarting a disputed maritime border between them following years of U.S.-mediated negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Tuesday.
While limited in scope, a deal would mark a significant compromise between states with a history of war and hostility, opening the way for offshore energy exploration and easing a source of recent tensions.
“This is a historic achievement that will strengthen Israel’s security, inject billions into Israel’s economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border,” Lapid said in a statement.
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In Lebanon, President Michel Aoun said the terms of the final U.S. proposal were satisfactory and he hoped the deal would be announced as soon as possible.
The agreement is meant to resolve a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean sea in an area where Lebanon aims to explore for natural gas. Israel is already producing natural gas at fields nearby.
It sets a border between Lebanese and Israeli waters for the first time and also establishes a mechanism for both countries to get royalties from an offshore gas field that straddles the boundary.
The deal does not touch on their shared land border.
Lebanese negotiator Elias Bou Saab told Reuters that the latest draft “takes into consideration all of Lebanon’s requirements and we believe that the other side should feel the same.”
It was also endorsed by the heavily armed, Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which until recently has threatened to attack Israeli gas facilities, according to two officials.
A senior Lebanese government official and an official close to Hezbollah said the group had agreed to the terms of the deal and considered negotiations “over.” Hezbollah has yet to formally comment.
While Israel has moved ahead with production and export of natural gas, Lebanon’s efforts have been hamstrung by political dysfunction.
A gas find would be a major boon for Lebanon, which has been mired in financial crisis since 2019, and could fix Lebanon’s long-standing failure to produce adequate electricity for its population.
Lapid, who faces a Nov. 1 election, plans to seek approval on Wednesday for the deal from his security cabinet and then the government, before it is reviewed by parliament. An Israeli official said final approval was expected within the next three weeks.
The Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv University think tank, called the deal a “win-win situation.”
“An agreement between Israel and Lebanon will mark a fundamental positive change in relations between the two countries … and it may open the door to further changes in the future relationship between them,” it said in a report.
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Reporting by Timour Azhari and Laila Bassam in Beirut; Ari Rabinovitch and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Writing by Timour Azhari, Tom Perry and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Leslie Adler, Chris Reese, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Philippa Fletcher and Tomasz Janowski
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Iran Protesters Shot By Police So Afraid To Go To Hospitals They
Iran Protesters Shot By Police So Afraid To Go To Hospitals They https://digitalarizonanews.com/iran-protesters-shot-by-police-so-afraid-to-go-to-hospitals-they/
As Iranians’ anger at their theocratic leaders raged into a fourth week, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said on Saturday the death toll had risen to at least 185, including at least 19 children. Some Iranians joining the protests have been killed instantly by security forces as they wage a massive crackdown to quell the upheaval, while others have died later from their injuries.
Many Iranians wounded by the security forces amid the protests are too afraid to go to a hospital for treatment, because some protesters seeking medical help have been detained, according to several accounts shared with CBS News, from both inside and outside Iran.
News reports have claimed that Iran’s morality police — the very force accused of torturing and killing 22-year-old Mahsa Amini almost a month ago, sparking the current unrest — are even using ambulances in the capital city of Tehran to transport injured protesters directly to police stations.
Women lead anti-government protests in Iran, now in fourth week 02:23
“As soon as they enter the hospital, there are intelligence agents and members of Revolutionary Guards who record their names,” one doctor in Iran told CBS News on condition of anonymity. “We have seen cases when the injured patients have had surgery at hospitals and were later discharged and then arrested.”
That is why, the doctor explained, many injured protesters stay home and appeal to physicians like him for help privately. He said he’s seen a wide range of wounds, from a wide range of weapons.
Images shared with CSB News by Dr. Kayvan Mirhadi, chief of internal medicine at the Clifton Springs Hospital in New York, are typical of the photos he receives every day from Iranians wounded by Iranian security forces, showing everything from bullet and pellet wounds, to blunt force trauma. Dr. Kayvan Mirhadi/Twitter/@_dr.kay_
“[The security forces] use a variety of weapons to suppress the people — from plastic to lead pellets to Kalashnikovs, even sniper fire,” the doctor told CBS News. “We had a case of someone who was shot but preferred to go blind rather than to be admitted to the hospital.”
The physician said he and other medical professionals who’ve been treating injured protesters in secret have been threatened constantly by Iranian authorities, and some have been pressured to sign written pledges to refrain.
On Monday, a Kurdish group called the Hengaw Orgnanization for Human Rights reported that plainclothes security agents had severely beaten and detained an Iranian doctor for treating wounded protesters in Amini’s hometown of Saqqez.
Despite the dangers, the doctor who spoke to CBS News said he was continuing his work, because many protesters attempt to treat themselves at home, “somehow,” out of fear of arrest if they go to a hospital.
Other Iranian medical professionals who also did not want to be identified out of concern for their safety told CBS News they felt a duty to help the wounded. One was an Iranian nurse who said she treated two protesters whose skulls had been fractured.
X-ray images provided to CBS News by health care workers inside Iran on October 11, 2022, amid nationwide anti-government protests, show a protester’s head and torso riddled with what appeared to be lead shotgun pellets. CBS News
“They were afraid to go to the hospital,” she said, adding that she had to tend to their wounds on the street, in the midst of the unrest, so she didn’t have time to sanitize their injuries properly.
“There truly isn’t even a chance to observe basic principles,” said the nurse. “I don’t know how they’re doing… I’m still truly worried about them.”
The risk of arrest to injured protesters is real, according to another Iranian nurse and emergency call operator.
“We are required to report all gunshot cases to the police because all of the phone calls are recorded,” she said.
She described what happened when an ambulance was called to help one 14-year-old protester who was shot after school.
“The police arrived… they took the boy away with the catheter still in his hand,” the nurse said. “Please let people know they shouldn’t call 115 [Iran’s emergency number] and instead go to trusted private clinics if their problem is not severe.”
The desperation of wounded protesters who want to avoid hospitals is clear, said Dr. Kayvan Mirhadi, an Iranian American and chief of internal medicine at the Clifton Springs Hospital in New York. Mirhadi said he receives around 500 Instagram messages daily from wounded protesters in Iran, begging him for medical advice.
“So, a person who is bleeding out of their leg from like, a gunshot wound, is just waiting for my response on the phone,” he told CBS News. “It’s just a horrible situation… because they’re so scared… They’re kind of just waiting for me to tell them what to do.”
He said he first attempts to refer them to doctors he trusts in Iran, but if they fail to find one, he tries to walk them through the best home remedies he can recommend. Their injuries range from fractures and significant head injuries due to physical combat, to second- and third-degree burns from electric batons, as well as bullet and pellet wounds.
Protests continue amid brutal crackdown in Iran 01:46
Those accounts correspond with what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called an “excessive and lethal” use of force by Iranian authorities during the protests. Iran’s security forces use of shotguns and assault rifles on protesters is in breach international norms, Tara Sepehri Far, a senior Iran researcher at HRW, told CBS News.
“The pattern points to those being killed by bullets, often in areas that is above their chest,” she said.
“I have step-by-step kind of instructions on what to do with burns, with bullets,” said Mirhadi. He has also been posting treatment suggestions to his Instagram page, including how to treat gunshot wounds to the chest and eyes.
A photo shared with CBS News by Iranian-American physician Dr. Kayvan Mirhadi, chief of internal medicine at the Clifton Springs Hospital in New York, shows what he said appeared to be a young woman with pellet wounds in her back sustained during Iranian authorities’ crackdown on ongoing protests. Dr. Kayvan Mirhadi/Twitter/@_dr.kay_
Mirhadi said he receives many photos like the one on the left, which he said appeared to show a teenage girl with numerous birdshot wounds to her back. He recommended that she use tweezers to pick out the pellets and then disinfect the wounds with Betadine, a topical antiseptic.
“I never give recommendations on antibiotics through Instagram, but I had to, because this girl could get septic [shock] because she said, ‘There’s no way I’m going to the hospital with this. If I go, I’m going to prison,'” Mirhadi told CBS News.
The New York doctor first gained a large social media following in Iran by providing medical advice on COVID-19.
“I feel very responsible,” he added. “The things I do in a hospital with others and nurses, I’m doing on Instagram with a patient’s family, and hoping that somebody comes in and helps.”
Another Iranian-American doctor, Dr. Kamiar Alaei, and his brother Dr. Arash Alaei, who is also in the U.S., have started remotely training medical professionals in Iran to formally document the injuries and deaths of protesters. Both of the brothers are former Iranian political prisoners. They were jailed after being accused of trying to foment a soft revolution through their work addressing HIV/AIDS in the country — a charge they both denied. Both men are also being inundated with pleas for help from injured protesters in Iran.
“There are different kinds of injuries to different parts of the body, particularly the head and hands due to baton [strikes] and shotgun [pellets] at different parts of the body, mainly back and face,” Kamiar Alaei told CBS News, adding that he’d never seen anything like the “scale of injuries and the number of people who were shot, including underage people and girls” in Iran.
“The regime aims to undermine the scale and significance of damages by reducing the [official] number of people who got killed, because they think all the injuries will not be detectable later,” he said. “We aim to document them to show the scale of the torture and the significance of physical and mental injuries… to make the regime accountable in front of international bodies.”
Iranian authorities haven’t updated the death toll in weeks as their crackdown has continued. They stopped counting at 41.
Mirhadi said he feels almost “hopeless,” because he can’t keep up with all the “SOS messages” he receives.
He does, however, have a message for Iran’s rulers: “These are your people. You are hurting them for being out there to protest for their own rights. At least let the doctors treat them. Don’t take the ambulances to detention centers.”
“These are very basic things,” he added. “It should be a basic human right to allow them to do that.”
Mirhadi said he knew of a doctor in Iran who was arrested for helping protesters, and he hasn’t been able to find out what happened to him.
In:
Iran
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Babytsuka (Dwagon) Reached An Exponential Move Of 100x Within 48 Hours Of Its Launch Date On September 23
Babytsuka (Dwagon) Reached An Exponential Move Of 100x Within 48 Hours Of Its Launch Date On September 23 https://digitalarizonanews.com/babytsuka-dwagon-reached-an-exponential-move-of-100x-within-48-hours-of-its-launch-date-on-september-23/
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BABYTSUKA emerged on the Ethereum Blockchain on September 23, 2022, outperforming all other tokens within two days of origination
Tuscon, Arizona–(Newsfile Corp. – October 11, 2022) – Only 48 hours after launching on the Ethereum Blockchain, BABYTSUKA (Dwagon), enthusiastically reached an all time high market cap of 3.8 million Dollars, over 1,000 holders and was trending on DexTools, exemplifying every crypto token holder’s dreams.
Since the remarkable day on September, 23, 2022, the team behind BABY TSUKA (Dwagon) has been working hard to continue the tokens upward momentum by researching NFT staking possibilities, fine tuning the tokenomics of BABY TSUKA to fund the project, and supporting TSUKA, which thus far has received 60 Ethereum, the equivalent of $79,000 USD in today’s current price, from BABY TSUKA.
Currently, four percent of every transaction goes to marketing, buybacks, and NFT development, while the other two percent is sent directly to the TSUKA deployer wallet to assist with its small liquidity pool and marketing.
The full tax breakdown for BABYTSUKA is as follows:
Ï 2% of transactions are automatically forwarded to the TSUKA deployer wallet
à 2% of transactions are sent towards buybacks and burns plus adding to liquidity
à 2% of transactions are used towards marketing and NFT development
BABYTSUKA was created to help solve TSUKA’s issue with its small liquidity pool. Since its creation, the development team has achieved more than 15 Ethereum in buybacks and has added those gains to its liquidity pool. In October the team premiered its first of two NFT collections featuring adorable, colorful and charming baby dwagons. In only 48 hours, the 250 limited edition NFTs sold out, a premonition of what is to come with the second NFT launch. BABYTSUKA has and will continue using the proceeds of the NFT mints to benefit future plans being made for the project, which may include buybacks, marketing and adding to the liquidity pool.
Today, the platform looks forward to including NFT staking along with other utilities soon to be announced on its social platforms. BABYTSUKA is currently listed on CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko as well as other websites that provide aggregated cryptocurrency market data. For further information, intending holders can visit the following links:
Website | Telegram | Twitter | Medium
Media Details:
Company Name: Baby Tsuka
Contact Person: Jeremiah Stephens
Company Email: [email protected]
Address: 5051 E Broadway, Tucson, AZ, 85730
About $BABYTSUKA
BABYTSUKA (Dwagon) was created initially to support his daddy, TSUKA, but the baby dragon, or as it likes to be called dwagon, has taken on a life of its own. Since his creation, two percent of each transaction has gone directly to the TSUKA deployer wallet and to this date the development team has sent over 60 Ethereum. Recently the development team released its first of two NFT collections of 250 dwagons. BABYTSUKA will continue supporting TSUKA, while at the same time developing use cases for their Dwagonites.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/140007
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Donald Trump Is ‘attacking’ Joe Biden ‘relentlessly’ https://digitalarizonanews.com/donald-trump-is-attacking-joe-biden-relentlessly/
Sky News host Chris Kenny says former US president Donald Trump is “attacking” Joe Biden relentlessly.
“Showing a video of the President’s stumbles, the sort of thing many people might not have seen very often if they’re relying on the so-called mainstream media,” Mr Kenny said.
Mr Kenny discussed Trump’s “bumbling Biden road show” with The Hill columnist Kristin Tate.
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Trump Is ‘making Himself Relevant’ https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-is-making-himself-relevant/
The Hill columnist Kristin Tate says former US president Donal Trump is making himself “relevant”.
“He is elevating himself to the same level as Joe Biden, kind of creating that head-to-head match up that we saw in 2020 again now,” Ms Tate told Sky News host Chris Kenny.
“The guy has so much energy at his age, it’s insane.
“I used to think as of a few months ago Trump was kind of dwindling in his relevance, and people were kind of talking about Ron DeSantis, who’s the Governor of Florida, saying ‘oh he’s got to be the GOP nominee’ but now I’m thinking, you know, it could be Trump again.”
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The Feds Powell Is Risking A Recession To Crush Inflation. A Lot Of Democrats Are Ok With That.
The Fed’s Powell Is Risking A Recession To Crush Inflation. A Lot Of Democrats Are Ok With That. https://digitalarizonanews.com/the-feds-powell-is-risking-a-recession-to-crush-inflation-a-lot-of-democrats-are-ok-with-that/
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is slamming the brakes on the U.S. economy harder than any Fed chief in more than 40 years to kill raging inflation.
Yet, while a recent survey shows Americans are evenly divided over his efforts, there’s been little public criticism among Democrats in Congress — even though they’re the ones most likely to pay a political price if soaring interest rates send the economy into a recession.
In interviews with key lawmakers on Capitol Hill, House and Senate Democrats mostly responded to Powell’s campaign to quash inflation with resignation and a note of caution. Few have been willing to admonish him — including in multiple hearings — with some exceptions such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has torched Powell as “reckless and dangerous” for risking the jobs of millions of workers.
“I don’t have a lot of thoughts on what the Fed does,” Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a progressive Warren ally on many issues, told POLITICO when asked whether he was worried that Powell might raise rates too high. “We have no control over that,” said Brown, whose committee oversees the Fed.
The extraordinary show of bipartisan support — Powell’s policies are widely backed by Republicans — is a reflection of both the years he has spent cultivating relationships on Capitol Hill and an acknowledgment that rising prices are also a huge political liability that lawmakers can’t easily address themselves.
That broad acceptance of his mission may not last forever if the economy enters a slump, as many analysts expect.
“The inflation pain is there and ever-present; the unemployment pain is in the future,” said former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Donald Kohn. “I suspect that as the unemployment rate rises and once companies begin to do a little less hiring and more laying off, there will be more blowback. But that hasn’t happened yet.”
Central bank officials have raised their benchmark federal funds rate by an astonishing 3 percentage points in just six months, sending mortgage rates and bond yields surging and stocks tumbling.
For now, the tighter financial conditions have done little to cool the labor market, which has been a boon for Democrats in an otherwise faltering economy. That has given Powell and his colleagues political cover to plow ahead with rate increases that they see as essential to curbing inflation before it becomes entrenched.
While monthly employment gains have slowed, Friday’s report showed that employers still added 263,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate remained near a 50-year low at 3.5 percent.
“It’s really important that they not choke off the job recovery,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said of Fed officials in an interview. “We want people to continue to be able to find jobs and have good wages. So there is always a sort of razor’s edge.”
“So far, they’ve been successful,” he added.
Brown argued that Congress has a role in this fight, too, saying it should continue to focus on what it can do to help ease price pressures. Those pressures have been exacerbated by corporate profiteering, he said, a point that Warren and other progressives have also hammered on.
Despite Powell’s efforts, however, inflation has barely budged from its elevated levels and has spread more deeply into areas like housing and medical services. Consumer prices decelerated in August from a year earlier to 8.3 percent but rose sharply from the previous month when excluding food and energy costs. The Labor Department will release updated numbers on Thursday.
That has prompted Fed officials to pencil in even higher rates this year and next. They now expect the fed-funds rate to reach 4.4 percent by the end of the year and 4.6 percent at the end of 2023, according to their most recent projections, which also showed slower growth and higher unemployment.
That outlook has raised the odds next year of a recession that could throw people out of work and send U.S. growth plunging, economists say.
Powell acknowledged the risks at a press conference following the Fed’s policy meeting last month. “We have always understood that restoring price stability while achieving a relatively modest increase in unemployment and a soft landing would be very challenging,” he said. But he vowed to keep at it until inflation is under control.
His promise to stay the course has fueled anxiety and scrutiny from Wall Street and progressive groups worried that the central bank will overcompensate, raising rates too high and causing a painful downturn. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) earlier this month blasted the Fed chief’s “failed policy” and blamed him for allowing inflation to swell in the first place.
Yet, apart from a handful of progressive lawmakers, most Democrats have held their fire.
Several acknowledged Powell is in a difficult position.
“The Fed has this one tool, which is raising rates, and it’s not a tool that is actually all that effective for some of the most significant inflationary pressures that we’re facing,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said, echoing a Warren complaint. “Having said that, I think that they’re faced with this decision of how to use the one tool that they have in order to break the cycle of inflation, which is in some ways driven by people’s expectations.”
But Smith made clear, “I’m not criticizing the chair.” Though she hears from constituents who are worried about housing affordability, she said they don’t blame the Fed, nor should they.
“This is why we have the Federal Reserve chair,” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) — who spoke privately with Powell in April, according to his public calendars — said of his inflation-fighting campaign. “He’s doing the best he can.”
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) said Powell could “ease off the brake a little bit,” pointing to market-based measures that show investors expect inflation to return to normal in the not-too-distant future. And he thinks the central bank should set its inflation target slightly higher, around 2.25 percent, rather than 2 percent.
He disagreed, though, with those who have warned that Powell is driving the economy off a cliff.
“The fact is, if we do nothing, we go off the cliff of permanent, incredible inflation,” Sherman said. “You do need to get inflation under control.”
A majority of Americans say rising prices are causing financial hardshipfor their households — 56 percent, up from 45 percent in November, according to an August Gallup poll.
But a recent study from the Harris Poll found Americans are split over what to do about it, according to Bloomberg. Half want to tame inflation quickly, even if it means causing a recession, while the other half would prefer avoiding a downturn even if inflation edges higher. Two-thirds cited worries about potential job cuts, and three-quarters of Americans who are paying interest on debt said they worried about the budget crunch from higher rates.
The divergence highlights that Fed officials will likely face more intense political and public blowback at some point from both sides.
Until then, it’s much easier for Powell and the Fed to make tough policy choices if they have support from Congress, said Sarah Binder, a senior Brookings Institution fellow who has studied the Fed’s relationship with Congress and the White House.
Powell has worked overtime to build relationships with a broad range of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. That proved invaluable during the previous administration when Republicans supported him in the face of withering criticism from then-President Donald Trump, who wanted Powell to lower interest rates. And it appears to be helping now.
Still, lawmakers are always fair-weather friends, Binder warned, calling this period “the quiet before the storm.”
“When the economy is doing well, it’s easy to support the Fed chair,” she said. “But when the economy sinks, lawmakers have little electoral incentive to stick out their necks in favor of the Fed and the chair.”
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They're All Hands On Deck': Coroner Releases Some Victims' Names In Quintuple Homicide
They're All Hands On Deck': Coroner Releases Some Victims' Names In Quintuple Homicide https://digitalarizonanews.com/theyre-all-hands-on-deck-coroner-releases-some-victims-names-in-quintuple-homicide-2/
An Upstate coroner released two names of the five people killed at a home Sunday night.Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger released the names of Thomas Ellis Anderson, 37, and Adam Daniel Morley, 32, both of Bobo Drive, in Inman.Both were found dead inside the house, Clevenger said.Three hours later, Clevenger identified another victim as 59-year-old Mark Allen Hewitt. According to Clevenger, Hewitt was staying at the home at the time of his death and was pronounced dead at the scene.Law enforcement is still investigating the quintuple homicide that happened Sunday night at the home on Bobo Drive.On Monday afternoon, Clevenger confirmed the five people dead. He said four people were found dead inside the house, each in a different room. One person suffering from a gunshot wound was found still alive, according to Clevenger.They were taken to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, where they later died during surgery, he said. The coroner confirmed all the victims died from gunshot wounds, and some had been shot multiple times.Clevenger said no children were involved, and none of the victims was related to one another.The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation continues. They responded to the scene just before 8 p.m. Sunday.A family member of a potential victim said a neighbor found the scene and called 911. Neighbors said they were in shock that something this tragic happened in their community. “I don’t expect nothing like this, no one expects something like this,” Christopher Willis. “I come here and there’s police everywhere and detectives. They told us about the killing. I don’t know, I don’t know what to say.”While they continue their investigation, Clevenger was still working to identify the rest of the victims.”Public needs to understand, the sheriff’s office, my office, nobody’s going to let up on this, even the prosecutor’s office, we’re not going to let up on this,” Clevenger said. “They’re all hands on deck, everybody is really working hard on this. The public needs to understand this may be shocking, but the Sheriff and his men, prosecutors’ office, my folks, we’re going to stay with it until this gets solved.”However, Willis believes it might be too late for their quiet neighborhood. “Like they say, when stuff gets to more building, more money, more in the area, crime is going to go up. That’s another thing I worry about living back here in this area,” Willis said.Anyone with information is asked to call the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.WYFF News 4 reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment. They did not provide more information, citing an active investigation.
INMAN, S.C. —
An Upstate coroner released two names of the five people killed at a home Sunday night.
Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger released the names of Thomas Ellis Anderson, 37, and Adam Daniel Morley, 32, both of Bobo Drive, in Inman.
Both were found dead inside the house, Clevenger said.
Three hours later, Clevenger identified another victim as 59-year-old Mark Allen Hewitt.
According to Clevenger, Hewitt was staying at the home at the time of his death and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Law enforcement is still investigating the quintuple homicide that happened Sunday night at the home on Bobo Drive.
On Monday afternoon, Clevenger confirmed the five people dead.
He said four people were found dead inside the house, each in a different room.
One person suffering from a gunshot wound was found still alive, according to Clevenger.
They were taken to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, where they later died during surgery, he said.
The coroner confirmed all the victims died from gunshot wounds, and some had been shot multiple times.
Clevenger said no children were involved, and none of the victims was related to one another.
The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation continues. They responded to the scene just before 8 p.m. Sunday.
A family member of a potential victim said a neighbor found the scene and called 911.
Neighbors said they were in shock that something this tragic happened in their community.
“I don’t expect nothing like this, no one expects something like this,” Christopher Willis. “I come here and there’s police everywhere and detectives. They told us about the killing. I don’t know, I don’t know what to say.”
While they continue their investigation, Clevenger was still working to identify the rest of the victims.
“Public needs to understand, the sheriff’s office, my office, nobody’s going to let up on this, even the prosecutor’s office, we’re not going to let up on this,” Clevenger said. “They’re all hands on deck, everybody is really working hard on this. The public needs to understand this may be shocking, but the Sheriff and his men, prosecutors’ office, my folks, we’re going to stay with it until this gets solved.”
However, Willis believes it might be too late for their quiet neighborhood.
“Like they say, when stuff gets to more building, more money, more in the area, crime is going to go up. That’s another thing I worry about living back here in this area,” Willis said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
WYFF News 4 reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment.
They did not provide more information, citing an active investigation.
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Taiwan Stocks Down More Than 4% In Mixed Asia Trade As TSMC Plunges 8%
Taiwan Stocks Down More Than 4% In Mixed Asia Trade As TSMC Plunges 8% https://digitalarizonanews.com/taiwan-stocks-down-more-than-4-in-mixed-asia-trade-as-tsmc-plunges-8/
Pedestrians cross a street in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, operated by Japan Exchange Group, in Tokyo, Japan.
Toru Hanai | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday, while Taiwan’s benchmark index fell 4.35% to 13,106.03 on its return to trade after a holiday, as investors weighed the impact of new U.S. rules on chipmaker TSMC.
Japan and South Korea’s markets also resumed trading after a holiday on Monday. The Nikkei 225 fell 2.64% to 26,401.25 and the Topix lost 1.86% to 1,871.24. In South Korea, the Kospi fell 1.83% 2,192.07 and the Kosdaq shed 4.15% to 669.50.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 2% in the final hour of trade and the Hang Seng Tech index dropped 3.16%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gave up earlier gains to closed 0.34% lower at 6,645.
Mainland China markets bucked the trend regionally, with the Shanghai Composite gaining 0.19% and the Shenzhen Component rising 0.529%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell around 2%.
“Equities continue to sell off as the impact of tighter monetary policy spooks investors,” ANZ Research analysts wrote in a note Tuesday.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite closed at its lowest since July 2020, down 1.04% at 10,542.10, dragged lower by a slump in semiconductor stocks.
The S&P 500 also slipped 0.75% to 3,612.39, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 93.91 points, or 0.32%, to close at 29,202.88.
— CNBC’s Carmen Reinicke and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
‘Cash is king’ when financial assets are so volatile, strategist says
Now is not a good time to own financial assets as stocks, fixed income and currencies have registered “extreme levels of volatility” this year, according to Mehvish Ayub, a senior investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors.
“We typically tend to use a variety of asset classes for diversification purposes — and the issue that we’re faced with is, what do we own for diversification at the moment?” she said.
Commodities and bonds are not options, she added.
“That is why cash is king, we are still very defensive.”
— Abigail Ng
Japan may not intervene even if the yen weakens past levels seen in previous intervention
Authorities in Japan may not step in even if the yen weakens past 145.89 — the level at which they intervened in September, according to Carol Kong, an economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
She wrote in a note that Japanese officials have recently reiterated that “it is the speed of change rather than the level,” that will trigger intervention. The yen touched 145.86 against the dollar on Tuesday, but last changed hands at 145.65.
However, Kong pointed out this week’s inflation data in the U.S. is a “key event risk.” If the consumer price index remains high, U.S. Treasury yields could jump and the dollar-yen could pop.
“The BOJ may intervene to buy JPY if the sell-off is considered excessive. But we maintain any intervention-induced moves in USD/JPY will be unwound within a few weeks,” Kong said.
Japan’s yen has weakened sharply as it keeps interest rates extremely low, while the U.S. Fed aggressively hikes rates. But authorities have signaled a willingness to stick with loose monetary policy. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the Financial Times that the Bank of Japan should maintain its policy until wages rise.
— Abigail Ng
Japan may not intervene even if the yen weakens past levels seen in previous intervention
Authorities in Japan may not step in even if the yen weakens past 145.89 — the level at which they intervened in September, according to Carol Kong, an economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
She wrote in a note that Japanese officials have recently reiterated that “it is the speed of change rather than the level,” that will trigger intervention. The yen touched 145.86 against the dollar on Tuesday, but last changed hands at 145.65.
However, Kong pointed out this week’s inflation data in the U.S. is a “key event risk.” If the consumer price index remains high, U.S. Treasury yields could jump and the dollar-yen could pop.
“The BOJ may intervene to buy JPY if the sell-off is considered excessive. But we maintain any intervention-induced moves in USD/JPY will be unwound within a few weeks,” Kong said.
Japan’s yen has weakened sharply as it keeps interest rates extremely low, while the U.S. Fed aggressively hikes rates. But authorities have signaled a willingness to stick with loose monetary policy. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the Financial Times that the Bank of Japan should maintain its policy until wages rise.
— Abigail Ng
Japan’s current account surplus shrinks in August
Japan’s current account surplus for August shrank to 58.9 billion yen ($404 million), data from the finance ministry showed. That’s a 96.1% plunge from the same period a year ago.
Economists polled by Reuters expected a surplus of 121.8 billion yen in August. The current account surplus stood at 229 billion yen in July.
Imports grew at a faster pace than exports, with the weaker yen causing import prices to surge.
Read more here.
— Abigail Ng
CNBC Pro: Is it time to buy gold? Wall Street pros weigh in as prices fall
Gold has come under pressure this year, with the dollar’s big gain weighing on gold prices.
Spot gold was trading down 1% at $1,676 per ounce Monday — near a 2.5-year low. So is now the time to buy? CNBC Pro asked several market watchers for their thoughts.
Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Zavier Ong
Currency check: Australian dollar facing ‘perfect storm,’ Japanese yen close to intervention levels
The Australian dollar has been facing “something of a perfect storm” since the start of the week, according to Rodrigo Catril, a currency strategist at the National Australia Bank.
The currency, which is highly sensitive to China’s economic fortunes, has lost ground following China’s weak purchasing managers’ index data and new U.S. rules on chip exports to China. It last lost about 0.6% and is trading at $0.6266.
China’s onshore and offshore yuan also weakened and last changed hands at 7.19 per dollar.
Meanwhile, Japanese yen weakened against the U.S. dollar to trade at 145.70. That’s hovering close to this year’s low of 145.89 per dollar, which prompted intervention from authorities in September.
The Japanese currency strengthened to 140-levels following the intervention, but has since largely weakened.
— Abigail Ng
CNBC Pro: China’s tech stocks are tumbling, but short sellers have a different sector in their sights
Chinese tech stocks are down by 20% this year — but short sellers are targeting a different sector.
Some $742 million of new bearish bets were placed on one Chinese sector in particular in the third quarter. That compares to a reduction of around $150 million in shorts on the tech sector.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
TSMC shares plunge 7% on U.S. export limits
Market intelligence company TrendForce wrote that the U.S. rules will affect non-Chinese firms such as TSMC, Samsung and SK Hynix.
“In the future, whether the situation is American factories no longer being able to export to the Chinese market or Chinese factories being unable to initiate projects and mass produce wafer starts, it will all have a negative impact on the future purchase order status of TSMC’s 7 [nanometer] and 5nm processes,” a press release on TrendForce’s website said.
Samsung Electronics’ shares lost 3.9% and SK Hynix shed 3.5% at session lows.
— Abigail Ng
U.S. Treasury yields climb, 30-year hits highest level since 2013
The yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury note climbed as high at 3.941%, reaching its highest level in nine years.
The 10-year yield rose to 3.963% and the 2-year yield inched higher to 4.318%. Rates fell earlier this month but started to rise again after positive economic data in the U.S. led investors to increase bets on further rate hikes by the Fed.
Bond yields move inversely to prices and one basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.
— Abigail Ng
CNBC Pro: Wall Street is bullish on some corners of tech again, as Citi gives one stock 115% upside
Some Wall Street banks have started making the case for buying into tech again, naming specific sectors they are bullish on.
Citi and Morgan Stanley both said they have upgraded tech to overweight.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the areas they are looking at and the global stocks to buy.
— Weizhen Tan
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Putin Unleashes Deadly Strikes Across Ukraine After Crimea Bridge Blast
Putin Unleashes Deadly Strikes Across Ukraine After Crimea Bridge Blast https://digitalarizonanews.com/putin-unleashes-deadly-strikes-across-ukraine-after-crimea-bridge-blast/
After a series of humiliating battlefield setbacks that have piled pressure on Putin, the attacks were a sudden escalation that showed Moscow retained the capacity to terrorize Ukraine’s population, if not defeat its military. They shattered months of relative calm in Kyiv and other areas far from the front lines.
At least six people were killed and 51 others were injured in the capital, the city’s military administration said. Across the country, at least 19 people were dead and 105 were others injured as of early Tuesday, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
NBC News has not verified the numbers.
Russia used missiles and Iranian-built drones to target civilians and energy facilities throughout the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a recorded video.
“They want panic and chaos. They want to destroy our energy system. They are hopeless,” he said.
Critical infrastructure facilities were damaged in Kyiv and 12 regions of the country, Ukraine’s state emergency services said, with electricity supply partly disrupted in 15 regions. Significant internet outages were also reported across the country by the monitoring group NetBlocks.
The blasts came hours after Putin first accused Ukraine of “terrorism” over the huge explosion that severely damaged the bridge connecting Russia and annexed Crimea on Saturday, dealing a strategic and symbolic blow to his campaign. Kyiv has not taken responsibility for the incident, which the Russians said killed at least three people and was caused by a truck bomb.
A series of failures on the battlefield and the chaotic call-up of hundreds of thousands of military reservists have led to growing criticism of the Kremlin at home, with some prominent figures urging escalation to reverse the course of the conflict.
Ukraine was braced for retribution, which soon arrived.
NBC News heard a number of blasts in the center of Kyiv early Monday. Smoke rose off buildings, while images and videos verified by NBC News showed incinerated cars and a crater near a playground in a city park. Residents scrambled for shelter in underground subway stations, while air raid sirens sounded in other major cities across the country.
Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, said the explosions occurred in the central distinct of Shevchenko, where several key government offices are. He later said that some of the city’s critical infrastructure was hit and that the threat of new strikes remained.
Kyiv’s authorities also warned of possible power and water supply interruptions and urged people to charge their phones and stock up on water.
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Premium Plumbing Company In Mesa AZ Digital Journal
Premium Plumbing Company In Mesa, AZ – Digital Journal https://digitalarizonanews.com/premium-plumbing-company-in-mesa-az-digital-journal/
Plumbing services are essential. They should be sought immediately when necessary, especially if repairs are involved. People should work with a premium plumbing company for the best results.
(Mesa, AZ October 2022) Travis & Sons Plumbing & Rooter is a professional plumbing company with years of experience. The team offers a wide range of services and has an excellent track record, having served thousands of clients. The company’s primary goal is to give people viable plumbing solutions and 100% satisfaction. The plumbers are highly rated and the community’s go-to team.
Mesa Arizona emergency plumbing is one of the reasons that Travis & Sons Plumbing & Rooter is popular. Burst pipes, leaks, and other plumbing issues can randomly occur. Such problems should be dealt with immediately as they often lead to issues such as water damage. The company offers emergency services ensuring that the correct fix is applied promptly.
Travis & Sons Plumbing & Rooter also offers affordable Mesa plumbing. The company has no hidden costs and charges reasonable prices. The nature of many plumbing services is emergencies, and having to spend too much on an unbudgeted expense can be frustrating. Count on these plumbers to do a fantastic job at reasonable prices.
Travis & Sons Plumbing & Rooter offers a wide range of services. Any plumbing needs that a person may have, the team can expertly handle them. Some top services offered include sewer line repair, leak detection, toilet repair and installation, new plumbing installation, camera inspection and drain cleaning. They are the trusted Mesa plumber.
About Travis & Sons Plumbing & Rooter
Travis & Sons Plumbing & Rooter has many years of experience and skilled technicians for their plumbing services. The company is affordable and offers camera inspection. The team is known for quality products and repair services. The company is in Fountain Hills, Mesa, Rio Verde, Scottsdale, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Media Contact
Company Name: Travis & Sons Plumbing & Rooter
Contact Person: Matt Howard
Email: Send Email
Address:1410 S Jackson Circle,
City: Mesa,
State: AZ
Country: United States
Website: https://travisandsonsplumbing.com/
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Trump Shares Bizarre Nature Documentary Video About Himself
Trump Shares Bizarre Nature Documentary Video About Himself https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-shares-bizarre-nature-documentary-video-about-himself/
Donald Trump has shared a bizarre video clip of himself during his presidential days – but with a voiceover imitating a nature documentary valorising the lion.
The clip, roughly one minute and 20 seconds long, was posted on his Truth Social account late on Monday and shows him waving to people while the narrator can be heard saying, “This lion, he’s the king of the jungle… huge mane, he’s so big, he’s so hot”.
“Now when the lion comes, they start messing with him, biting his tail, biting his ears. He doesn’t do anything. The lioness, she starts messing with him, coming over, making trouble. Still, nothing,” the voiceover continues, as the clip shows Melania Trump with him during his oath-taking ceremony.
“Now, the other animals, they notice this. They start to move in. The Jackals. Hyenas. Barking at him. Laughing at him,” the narrator continues as footage is shown of Democrat leaders, including of Nancy Pelosi tearing up Mr Trump’s State of the Union address in early 2020.
“One day the lion gets up and scares the shit out of everybody. Runs like the wind. Eats everything in his path. ‘Cause every once in a while, the lion has to show the jackals who he is.”
This comes after the one-time US president claimed that former president George HW Bush “took millions and millions of documents to a former bowling alley pieced together with what was then an old and broken Chinese restaurant”.
Mr Trump’s comment on Bush senior drew a sharp response on Twitter from his son, Jeb Bush.
“I am so confused,” he said. “My dad enjoyed a good Chinese meal and enjoyed the challenge of 7 10 split. What the heck is up with you?” he tweeted, resharing a clip of Trump making the accusatory remarks.
A 7-10 split is a bowling term that describes when a player takes out all but the last two pins in the line-up.
Meanwhile, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson is reportedly cooperating in an investigation into Mr Trump and his allies’ effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Ms Hutchinson, a key witness during the hearing for the House Select Committee investigating the 6 Jan insurrection at Capitol Hill, is cooperating with the inquiry led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, CNN reported, citing sources.
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The Supreme Court Is Poised To Redefine Protected Waters
The Supreme Court Is Poised To Redefine Protected Waters https://digitalarizonanews.com/the-supreme-court-is-poised-to-redefine-protected-waters/
If you want to cross the Rillito River in Tucson, Arizona, anytime between October and July, you probably won’t need a boat, a bridge, waders, or even waterproof shoes. During most of the year, the river is an arroyo, a curvy strip of dry sand that holds no more than the memory of water: braided serpentine patterns in the sand, erosion-smoothed stones, debris wrapped around the trunks of the few hardy deciduous trees.
But when the Rillito springs to life, as it did on multiple occasions this summer, it becomes a river like any other, swelling up to 5,000 cubic feet per second or more, and rivaling the Southwest’s largest, fastest streams. The river carries silt and stones and seeds, chunks of wood and leaves, bugs and animal carcasses, not to mention all the garbage and whatever else has been dumped into the arroyo, tumbling all the way down to the Santa Cruz River. Folks have been known to kayak the Rillito in waters so tempestuous that helicopters are occasionally needed to rescue them.
On October 3, the Rillito River and thousands of other ephemeral or intermittent rivers, streams, arroyos, gullies, wetlands, marshes, and prairie potholes went to court — the Supreme Court. The justices heard Sackett vs. Environmental Protection Agency, and their decision could yank many of the Southwest’s waterways out from under federal jurisdiction, ripping the guts out of the Clean Water Act just in time for its 50th birthday this year.
The specific case dates back to 2007, when EPA officials ordered Chantell and Michael Sackett to stop backfilling their soggy half-acre lot on the shores of Idaho’s Priest Lake, where they wanted to build a cabin. The EPA had determined the wetlands were “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, and therefore protected by the Clean Water Act. The Sacketts disagreed and took the feds to court. As the case wound its way through the legal system, the Sacketts’ cabin site transformed into the front line of a 50-year ideological battle over the definition of what constitutes legally decreed “waters.” The court’s decision — expected early next year — will have especially weighty implications for the arid West.
For years, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — the agencies charged with enforcing the Clean Water Act — agreed that everything from arroyos to prairie potholes to sloughs to mudflats fell under the heading of WOTUS, as long as their destruction or degradation might ultimately affect the nation’s traditionally navigable waters. It was a broad definition, and it gave the agencies latitude to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters,” as Congress mandated when it passed the Clean Water Act in 1972.
But developers, big agriculture, extractive industries, and private property-rights ideologues have long pushed back, arguing that the definition is too broad.
SCOTUS has considered WOTUS a handful of times over the decades, tinkering with the definition in ways that have sometimes only further muddied the waters. The EPAs of various presidential administrations made their own adjustments based on their political leanings: Industry-friendly folks tended to exclude as much as they possibly could, while greener ones took a more inclusive tack.
Then, in 2006, the High Court handed down a divided, albeit landmark, decision in the Rapanos v. United States case, which started in 1989, when a Michigan developer drained and backfilled 22 acres of wetlands to build a shopping mall. He never applied for a permit and ignored federal and state officials’ cease-and-desist orders, arguing that the wetlands were immune from the Clean Water Act because they were not traditionally navigable waters.
The High Court’s 4-1-4 decision remanded the case back to the Appeals Court, so was not in itself definitive. But the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s plurality opinion sent ripples throughout the water world. He wrote that it was “beyond parody” to include “‘ephemeral streams,’ ‘wet meadows’ … and dry arroyos in the middle of the desert” under “waters of the United States.” He argued that WOTUS should only include “geographic features that are described in ordinary parlance as streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes.”
Scalia’s opinion not only confirmed his partiality towards the agriculture industry and real estate developers, many of who would gladly do away with the Clean Water Act altogether, but also his hostility toward what he called the “immense arid wastelands” of the Western U.S. His pronouncement was interpreted as meaning that scores of Southwestern rivers, streams, and arroyos were not worthy of protection, even if they were as important to the communities and landscapes through which they ran as the mighty rivers of the Midwest or Northwest.
The Sacketts’ cabin site transformed into the front line of a 50-year ideological battle over the definition of what constitutes legally decreed “waters.”
Justice Anthony Kennedy worried that Scalia’s arroyo-phobic definition would leave even major tributaries of the Los Angeles River without protection. He argued that a body of water needed only a “significant nexus” with a navigable stream to put it under federal jurisdiction. Justice John Paul Stevens noted that Scalia’s interpretation would allow agencies to go after polluters that damaged year-round streams. But any polluter who dumped into such a stream’s tributary — one that flowed only 290 days of the year, say — would get off scot-free, even if the pollution would affect the year-round stream equally.
Still, the anti-regulation crowd took Scalia’s definition and ran with it. George W. Bush’s EPA issued a rule excluding most ephemeral streams and isolated wetlands. The Obama administration later replaced it with a broader rule, but in 2020, the Trump administration released its own rule, which reverted to Scalia’s reading of WOTUS. Most significantly, it excluded ephemeral features, such as arroyos that “contain water only during or in response to rainfall,” as well as isolated wetlands and groundwater — thereby removing up to 94 percent of Arizona’s and 66 percent of California’s streams and rivers from federal oversight. Now the Biden administration is working on a new rule to replace Trump’s, even as the court decision looms.
The plaintiffs in Sackett, represented by the far-right Pacific Legal Institute, want Scalia’s definition to be set in stone, leaving it up to the states to decide whether to stop industry and developers like the Sacketts from dredging, filling and polluting arroyos and wetlands. Given the Supreme Court’s recent rulings, there’s a good chance it will follow Scalia’s lead — and maybe even go further. That kind of ruling would make it far easier to build the sprawling housing developments planned for the Arizona desert, such as Superstition Vistas outside of Phoenix or the Villages at Vigneto in the southeastern corner of the state, allowing developers to fill in or pave over arroyos, gullies, and washes without even bothering to apply for a permit.
From the air, the arroyo networks of the West resemble circulatory systems, with tiny capillaries leading to veins and arteries, and all of it carrying lifeblood to the great body of the desert, even when they are temporarily dry. After the rains, the Rillito carries water and nutrients and elements through a riverside park in northern Tucson to the Santa Cruz River. The Santa Cruz, which drains 8,200 square miles in Arizona and Mexico, was once a year-round stream, the land along its banks lush and shaded by towering leafy trees and mesquite forests, the waters sustaining the Hohokam people for millennia. Then the white settlers arrived, drilled groundwater wells and bled the river dry. Now, the often-dusty arroyo no longer makes it to its mother river, the Gila, thanks to all the diversions and development and depleted aquifers.
Jonathan Thompson reports for High Country News.
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Donald Trump-Linked SPAC Delays Shareholder Vote Once Again
Donald Trump-Linked SPAC Delays Shareholder Vote Once Again https://digitalarizonanews.com/donald-trump-linked-spac-delays-shareholder-vote-once-again/
The acquisition firm that agreed to merge with Donald Trump’s social media company postponed its shareholder vote until 3 November after failing to gain enough support.
At least 65% of shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp need to agree to a 12-month extension.
After it failed to secure enough votes, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) opted to push back the deadline to find more votes, according to Reuters.
This is not the first time the SPAC has pushed back the vote, having failed to secure the required votes several times this past month.
Trump’s social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), stands to receive over US$1bn private investment in public equity after Digital World inked a go-public deal with the social media firm last October.
Last month, Digital World said it received termination notices from investors who were pulling out nearly US$139mln.
The deal is currently on hold due to criminal and civil investigations surrounding the agreement, with Digital World yet to receive approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Digital World is set to liquidate on 8 December, after managing to extend its life by three months in September, said Reuters.
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HLC Final Draft: Pima Community College Requires Monitoring
HLC Final Draft: Pima Community College Requires Monitoring https://digitalarizonanews.com/hlc-final-draft-pima-community-college-requires-monitoring/
TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) – Controversy and conflict continues at Pima Community College.
The HLC’s draft report cited a “rift in governance that’s putting the college’s mission at risk”.
The final report was issued a week ago, but we’re just now learning about it.
The HLC told KOLD it doesn’t release reports to the public.
KOLD asked PCC for it and they responded that the chancellor will release it at a news conference on Tuesday, Oct. 11.
But we do have a glimpse into what the HLC determined and it’s once again a problem for PCC leadership.
The draft HLC report is now final and PCC is being monitored by the HLC.
The commission reviewed the focused visit team report and determined the teams findings were warranted.
Monitoring requirements have been modified with some providing more “specificity and clarity” while others have been removed for lack of evidence.
No more details are given.
Just as it finalized that report, the HLC has two new complaints citing serious policy violations.
Those complaints filed by the PCC Education Association and the All Employee Representative Council.
The AERC complained the board adopted new salary structures without direct staff input, which violates college policy.
It’s placing much of the blame on Chancellor Lee Lambert, who was given unilateral power by the board years ago.
PCC sent KOLD this statement after requesting an interview with Chancellor Lambert.
The PCC spokesperson wrote, “The administration met with various faculty and employee groups, which includes the AERC, about the employee pay structure more than 100 times before the board passed the new policy.”
The PCCEA’s complaint focuses on how staff is treated.
They complained PCC creates “fear and hopelessness by harassing’s, intimidating, and retaliating against staff who criticize the college”.
That group’s president, Makyla Hayes, said the groups are asking the HLC to hold the college accountable for fixing and following policy without risk to accreditation.
“Faculty at Pima Community College are committed to the success of our students and community, including improving PCC’s reputation. Shared governance and policy in higher education institutions are designed to ensure that the voices of those working closest to students are included in decision making. The college must follow these policies,” Hayes said.
In a news release, The Arizona Education Association states it’s standing in solidarity with the PCCEA.
They’re demanding that faculty and staff at PCC be treated fairly and with respect.
“They have attempted to resolve this issue through appropriate College channels without success,” wrote AEA President Marisol Garcia, “This complaint seeks to address calculated, systemic behavior designed to silence and disempower faculty and staff at the college.”
PCC responded, “It is the College’s practice not to comment on complaints sent to the Higher Learning Commission until the HLC issues a final determination, as many facts contained in an initial letter can be inaccurate or unsupported by evidence.”
Click here for HLC Final Report Description
Copyright 2022 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.
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Ohio Senate Debate With Ryan Vance Descends Into Attacks
Ohio Senate Debate With Ryan, Vance Descends Into Attacks https://digitalarizonanews.com/ohio-senate-debate-with-ryan-vance-descends-into-attacks/
COLUMBUS (AP) — The first debate between Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican JD Vance descended quickly into attacks Monday, with the candidates for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat accusing each other of being responsible for job losses and putting party loyalty ahead of voters’ needs.
Vance said Ryan had supported policies that led to a 10-year-old girl in Ohio being raped. Ryan said Vance had started a “fake nonprofit” to help people overcome addiction issues. The two accused each other of being beholden to their party, with Ryan echoing a comment from former President Donald Trump in calling Vance an “a– kisser” and Vance saying Ryan’s 100 percent voting record with President Joe Biden means he’s not the reasonable moderate he says he is.
The face-off between Ryan, a 10-term congressman, and Vance, a venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” for the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman was one of the most contentious debates of the general election season so far. The race is one of the most expensive and closely watched of the midterms, with Democrats viewing it as a possible pickup opportunity in November.
Both candidates sought to tailor their messages to the working-class voters who could determine the election in an evening peppered with barbs and one-liners.
Ryan sought to paint Vance as an extremist, someone who associates with “crazies” from his party who falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen, support national abortion restrictions and contributed to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“You’re running around with Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, who wants to ban books. You’re running around with (Sen.) Lindsey Graham, who wants a national abortion ban. You’re running around with (Rep.) Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s the absolute looniest politician in America,” Ryan said.
Vance suggested Ryan’s focus on allegation of extremism was meant as a distraction from pocketbook issues important to voters, such as inflation and the price of groceries.
“It’s close to Halloween and Tim Ryan has put on a costume where he pretends to be a reasonable moderate.” Had he been, Vance said, “Youngstown may not have lost 50,000 manufacturing jobs during your 20 years.”
Ryan said: “I’m not gonna apologize for spending 20 years of my adult life slogging away to try to help one of the hardest economically hit regions of Ohio and dedicating my life to help that region come back. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, JD. You went off to California, you were drinking wine and eating cheese.”
Vance countered that he left Ohio at 18 to join the Marines, and after working in Silicon Valley, he returned to Ohio to raise his family and start a business.
During questioning about China, Ryan said Vance invested in China as a venture capitalist, the type of business move that exacerbated job losses in Ohio’s manufacturing base. “The problem we’re having now with inflation is our supply chains all went to China, and guys like him made a whole lot of money off that,” Ryan said.
Vance said it is Democratic economic policies that have harmed manufacturing, saying, “They have completely gone to war against America’s energy sector.” He said he could not remember investing in China.
On abortion, Vance did not answer whether he would support Graham’s proposed national ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Vance said he thinks different states would likely want different laws but “some minimum national standard is totally fine with me.”
He called himself “pro-life” but said he has “always believed in reasonable exceptions.”
Ryan said he supports codifying the abortion rights established in Roe v. Wade, which was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June. He said he opposes Ohio’s law banning most abortions after fetal cardiac activity has been detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy, which was blocked Friday.
Vance agreed with Ryan that a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim should not have had to leave the state for an abortion, but he said the fact the suspect was in the country illegally was a failure of weak border policies.
“You voted so many times against the border wall funding, so many times for amnesty, Tim,” Vance said. “If you had done your job, she would have never been raped in the first place.”
On foreign policy, the pair parted ways on what the U.S. response should be if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to launch nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Ryan said the U.S. should be prepared with a “swift and significant response,” while Vance countered that the United States needs a “foreign policy establishment that puts the interests of our citizens first.”
Ryan responded: “If JD had his way, Putin would be through Ukraine at this point. He’d be going into Poland.”
“If I had my way,” Vance retorted, “you’d put money at the southern border, Tim, instead of launching tons of money into Ukraine.” It echoed comments Vance had made in an interview before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying he didn’t “really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another” because he wanted to see Biden focus on his own country’s border security.
Vance said, however, that Taiwan was a “much different situation” than Ukraine because of its importance to U.S. national security. “The reason why Taiwan is different is because they make so many of our semiconductors, our computer chips. The entire modern economy would collapse without it,” Vance said.
Ryan sought at points to put some distance between himself and his party, repeating his earlier comments that Biden shouldn’t run for a second term in 2024 and calling Vice President Kamala Harris “absolutely wrong” to say that the southern border was secure.
“I’m not here to just get in a fight or just tiptoe the Democratic Party line,” Ryan said. “I’m here to speak the truth.”
Ryan said Vance didn’t have the courage to stand up to people in his own party, noting that during an Ohio rally last month, Trump, who endorsed Vance, said, “JD is kissing my a–, he wants my support so (much).”
Vance retorted: “I’m not going to take lessons on dignity and self-respect from a guy caught on video kissing up to Chuck Schumer and begging him for a promotion to his next job. That’s the kind of guy Tim Ryan is.”
While the general election debate between Ryan and Vance was acrimonious, it didn’t lead to a near-physical altercation, as an Ohio GOP Senate debate back in March during the primary season did. Former state Treasurer Josh Mandel and investment banker Mike Gibbons found themselves face to face on the debate stage, shouting at each other, while Vance told the two to stop fighting.
“Sit down. Come on,” Vance said, sitting in a row with the remaining candidates. “This is ridiculous.”
At the end of Monday’s debate, Vance and Ryan shook hands.
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FBIs Handling Of Hunter Biden Laptop Scandal Reveals US Has A Two-Tiered Justice System Delaware State Rep Says
FBI’s Handling Of Hunter Biden Laptop Scandal Reveals US ‘Has A Two-Tiered Justice System,’ Delaware State Rep Says https://digitalarizonanews.com/fbis-handling-of-hunter-biden-laptop-scandal-reveals-us-has-a-two-tiered-justice-system-delaware-state-rep-says/
DEWEY BEACH, Del.—Computer repair store owner, John Paul Mac Isaac—who was caught up in the Hunter Biden laptop scandal—was unable to attend the Freedom Festival Banquet at the Rusty Rudder restaurant on Friday due to health concerns. Those who were at the event were sorry for missing him but admired what he had done for the country.
Ruth Briggs King, GOP state representative from the 37th District, said Isaac did the right thing in bringing to light the content from Hunter Biden’s laptop that allegedly included shady financial dealings and overseas exploits.
“I appreciate very much that he realized this is unlawful,” she said referring to the alleged laptop content. “I think that in many ways he should be considered a true hero for America and for others as well for him doing what he did, and keeping that and realizing something’s not right here.”
Isaac said that a man whom he believed was Hunter Biden dropped off three laptops in April 2019. The customer didn’t return for the laptops within 90 days, and Isaac was unable to get in contact with him despite several attempts.
Before the scandal became public knowledge, Isaac contacted the FBI, U.S. Congressional staff members, and a lawyer for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani over the laptops’ content from late July 2019 to Oct. 14, 2020, according to court documents (pdf).
Two months later the FBI later required him to turn over the laptop and hard drive, which he did, and he also provided a copy of the recovered data to Giuliani’s lawyer, the documents said. A lawyer for Hunter Biden contacted Isaac in mid-October 2020 enquiring if he was still in possession of the laptops. The next day the New York Post ran an expose on the laptops’ alleged content.
Hunter Biden, left, and then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden cheer on stage during a rally in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 7, 2020. (Jim Bourg/Reuters)
Since then the FBI has been accused by GOP senators of having an animus against former President Donald Trump and raiding his Mar-a-Lago in August, but slow-walking the Hunter Biden investigation. People at the Freedom Festival Banquet shared the same concern.
“It shows that our whole country has a two-tiered justice system,” state Rep. Richard G. Collins (R-41st District) said. “Now you have one side for the politically favored, and you have another side that is on the back end of everything.”
If you’re a Democrat, you can do almost anything, and you’re fine, Collins said.
However, “if you are Republican, especially anywhere near Trump, you’re running into real risk of being arrested and having the FBI show up at your door with 20 or 30 agents. It is truly a dangerous time in America.”
FBI Leadership ‘Not Well Regarded’
M. Jane Brady, chair of the Delaware Republican Party, a former Delaware attorney general, and a former Delaware Superior Court judge, said that she was a prosecutor for 12 and a half years.
“I worked wiretaps and other things with the FBI. I know how they work and what they’ve done with that laptop is not how they usually work,” she said.
Brady said a number of friends who are FBI agents told her of their dissatisfaction over the FBI’s handling of the laptop scandal.
“They’re embarrassed at the disparity and the difference in the way the FBI is conducting investigations, the priorities that the FBI has adopted, [that] follow a political agenda, not a law enforcement purpose,” she said.
“And the leadership in the FBI is not very well regarded by many of the people within the agency.”
“I believe that it is very politically sensitive to be looking at the president’s son, and I give credit to our USA attorney’s office who seems to be trying to diligently work through what they have,” said Brady.
“But the FBI in Washington had that laptop. And when you hear what Tony Bobulinski says he told them years ago, you wonder why nothing has happened yet.”
Bobulinski, a former Hunter Biden associate, recently told Fox News that former FBI agent Timothy Thibault never followed up with him on the Hunter Biden investigation. In the interview, Bobulinski asserted again that President Joe Biden was highly involved in his son’s overseas business operations.
‘One of the Great Scandals of Our Time’
Stephen Moore, former senior economic advisor to President Trump and senior economist at FreedomWorks, said a fair investigation into what happened is needed.
“The Biden administration has covered up Hunter Biden’s pay-for-play. And I think this goes right up to the big guy, Joe Biden. And so this could be one of the great scandals of our time,” he said.
Moore hopes when Republicans take over Congress, they will investigate what occurred.
“When we get to the bottom of it, we cannot have a president who’s in the hip pocket and on the payroll of the Chinese,” he said.
“I simply say that the laptop has incredible incriminating evidence that really shows that it’s not just about Hunter Biden, it’s about Joe Biden, that these two were in cahoots in partnership, taking money from foreign governments and foreign companies, and that compromises his position as a leader of our country.”
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Lily Sun is an Epoch Times reporter who covers the tri-state of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
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Trump News Live: Cassidy Hutchinson cooperating With Probe As Ex-President Claims Bill Clinton Lost Nuclear Codes
Trump News – Live: Cassidy Hutchinson ‘cooperating’ With Probe As Ex-President Claims Bill Clinton Lost Nuclear Codes https://digitalarizonanews.com/trump-news-live-cassidy-hutchinson-cooperating-with-probe-as-ex-president-claims-bill-clinton-lost-nuclear-codes/
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson is reportedly cooperating in an investigation into former president Donald Trump and his allies’ effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Ms Hutchinson, who was a key witness during the hearing for the House Select Committee investigating the 6 January insurrection at Capitol Hill, is cooperating with the inquiry led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, CNN reported, citing sources.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump defended keeping classified documents at his Florida resort by accusing former president George HW Bush of doing the same, saying the 41st president “took millions and millions of documents to a former bowling alley pieced together with what was then an old and broken Chinese restaurant”.
Mr Trump’s comment drew a sharp response on Twitter from Bush’s son, Jeb Bush.
“I am so confused,” he said: “My dad enjoyed a good Chinese meal and enjoyed the challenge of 7 10 split. What the heck is up with you?”
Key points
Cassidy Hutchinson is ‘cooperating’ with Atlanta judge’s probe of Trump
Trump claims Bill Clinton ‘lost’ the nuclear codes
Report: Trump lawyer Christina Bobb cooperating with Justice Department
Donald Trump accuses George HW Bush of hiding classified documents
FBI probing whether Trump stashed classified documents at his home
Trump supporter throws beer can at comedian for voting for Biden
06:27 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A Donald Trump supporter in New Jersey threw a can of beer at a comedian while she was performing over the weekend after discovering that she hadn’t voted for the former president in 2020.
Ariel Elias shared a video clip of the viral incident on her personal Twitter account, which occurred on Saturday night when she was doing a set at Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club in Point Pleasant Beach.
“To answer the most obvious question, yes, I did pick up what was left of the beer and chug it,” tweeted the New York City-based comedian, who describes herself in her online bio as a “Kentucky Jew”.
Johanna Chisholm has more.
Comedian who was attacked by Trump supporter mid-set has perfect clapback moment
Ex-White House aide reportedly cooperating in Trump probe
06:08 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson is reportedly cooperating in an investigation into former president Donald Trump and his allies’ effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Ms Hutchinson, who was a key witness during the hearing for the House Select Committee investigating the 6 January insurrection at Capitol Hill, is cooperating with the inquiry led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, CNN reported, citing sources.
Marjorie Taylor Greene: From fringe to front row
06:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Once shunned as a political pariah for her extremist rhetoric, the Georgia congresswoman who spent her first term in the House stripped of institutional power by Democrats is being celebrated by Republicans and welcomed into the GOP fold. If Republicans win the House majority in the November election, Greene is poised to become an influential player shaping the GOP agenda, an agitator with clout.
Read more:
From fringe to front row: Congresswoman Greene rises in GOP
Donald Trump claims he ‘destroyed’ Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert
05:15 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Donald Trump claimed that he’s behind the decreasing ratings of late-night programmes hosted by the likes of Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Trevor Noah, and congratulated Greg Gutfeld, Fox News’ late-night host, for his recent viewing figures.
“It was my great honour to have destroyed the ratings of Late Night ‘Comedy’ shows. There is nothing funny about the shows, the three hosts have very little talent,” Mr Trump wrote of the hosts of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show, and The Daily Show.
Mr Trump didn’t name the hosts or shows, but his post on his social media platform Truth Social was connected to a Fox News story featuring the three hosts.
The former president’s mockery came shortly after Mr Noah announced his departure from Comedy Central to spend more time doing stand-up.
Gustaf Kilander has more.
Trump takes credit for a late night host’s success, claims he ‘destroyed’ Colbert
Trump claims Bill Clinton ‘lost’ the nuclear codes in Truth Social post
04:16 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Donald Trump claimed Bill Clinton lost the nuclear codes while in office as federal investigators continue to probe which White House materials the 45th president took to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
On Monday evening, Mr Trump reposted a statement on Truth Social from former Clinton military aide Robert “Buzz” Patterson, who wrote: “Just a reminder, but Bill Clinton actually LOST the nuclear codes during my tenure with him. We weren’t raided.”
Mr Patterson, as well as former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, both claimed in books they wrote that the “biscuit,” an ID card used to access the “football,” an attache case carrying the nuclear codes, was misplaced during the Clinton administration, though the former claims the incident occured in 1998 and the latter in 2000.
Josh Marcus reports.
Donald Trump claims Bill Clinton ‘lost’ the nuclear codes
Can Trump run again in 2024?
04:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump made history in becoming the first president in US history to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives. But while losing to Joe Biden in November 2020 may have dented the one-term president’s pride and fuelled 18-months of lies about rigged ballot boxes, it now seems almost certain that Mr Trump will run again for the White House in 2024.
Graeme Massie takes a look at what, if anything, could stop him.
Can Trump run again in the 2024 election?
Poll: Trump foe Gretchen Whitmer on course for easy reelection victory
03:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Democrats are on course to hold on to the governor’s mansion in Michigan as Tudor Dixon’s campaign is failing to pick up steam in the race’s crucial home stretch, a CBS New/YouGov poll finds.
The poll, published on Sunday, shows Gretchen Whitmer six points ahead of her GOP opponent. It mirrors other polls of the race, including one from the GOP-aligned Trafalgar Group in late September which found the same gap between the candidates. Other recent surveys have even shown Ms Whitmer’s lead to be in the double digits as recently as late last month.
John Bowden has the details.
Gretchen Whitmer on course for easy reelection victory, poll finds
Trump brags about his crowd size on January 6
02:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump boasted about the size of the crowd that gathered to hear him speak on January 6 during a campaign rally on Saturday night.
“You know the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen? January 6. And you never hear that,” the former president told the rally in Minden, Nevada. “They were there largely to protest a corrupt and rigged and stolen election.”
Bevan Hurley reports.
Trump brags about his crowd size on January 6: ‘The biggest crowd I’ve ever seen’
JD Vance diverts debate question on abortion of Ohio rape victim, 10, by blaming ‘illegal’ migrant
01:45 , Josh Marcus
Republican Senate candidate JD Vance diverted when he was asked in a debate on Monday evening about a ten-year-old who was raped in Ohio who sought an abortion and blamed illegal immigration for the girl being raped.
Moderators asked Mr Vance and Representative Tim Ryan, the Democratic nominee, a story that made national headlines wherein a ten-year-old girl was raped and had to go to Indiana to seek an abortion. Ohio limits abortion after six weeks and at the time, Indiana had more lax abortion laws.
“I have said repeatedly on the record, that I think that that girl should be able to get an abortion if she and her family soon choose to do so,” Mr Vance said.
But Mr Vance diverted the question and focused on the person who allegedly committed the rape.
Eric Garcia has the full story.
Vance diverts question on abortion of Ohio rape victim, 10, blames ‘illegal’ migrant
New Hampshire GOP candidate says women’s reproductive choices belong to lawmakers
01:15 , Oliver O’Connell
A Republican Senate nominee told supporters that women’s reproductive choices belong to lawmakers at the state level.
Don Bolduc, the GOP Senate candidate for New Hampshire, made the controversial remarks at a town hall on Wednesday in Auburn, the HuffPost first reported.
Andrea Blanco reports.
NH GOP Senate nominee says women’s reproductive choices ‘belong to state lawmakers’
Donald Trump claims Bill Clinton lost nuclear codes in office
Tuesday 11 October 2022 00:53 , Josh Marcus
As scrutiny continues to escalate over Donald Trump’s handling of top secret documents he took to Mar-a-Lago, the former president is hitting out at his predecessor Bill Clinton’s handling of sensitive materials.
(Truth Social)
On Monday evening, Mr Trump reposted a statement from former Clinton military aide Robert ‘Buzz’ Patterson, who wrote on Truth Social that, “Just a reminder, but Bill Clinton actually LOST the nuclear codes during my tenure with him. We weren’t raided.”
Mr Patterson, as well as former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, both claimed that the “biscuit,” an ID card used to access the “football” briefcase containing the nuclear codes, was misplaced during the Clinton administration, though the former claims the incident occured in 1998 and the latter in 2000.
The White House has not confirmed whether the codes were lost, and Mr Clinton has since declined to comment on media reports about the alleged loss of the codes.
One key difference here between the Trump and Clinton scandals is that the federal government is investigating whether Mr Trump in...
Ukraine War: US Condemns 'brutal' Russian Strikes On Ukraine
Ukraine War: US Condemns 'brutal' Russian Strikes On Ukraine https://digitalarizonanews.com/ukraine-war-us-condemns-brutal-russian-strikes-on-ukraine/
Media caption,
Watch: Ukraine’s day of missile strikes in a minute
By Paul Adams in Kyiv and Elsa Maishman and Oliver Slow in London
BBC News
Russia has been widely condemned after bombarding cities across Ukraine, including launching missile strikes on the centre of Kyiv for the first time.
The US said the “brutal” attacks had hit non-military targets, including a university and children’s playground, and promised further military aid.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply shocked”.
Vladimir Putin said the attacks were retaliation for Saturday’s explosion on a key bridge linking Russia to Crimea.
Ukraine says 83 missiles were launched, of which more than 43 were shot down.
In a defiant video, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “Ukraine cannot be intimidated. It can only be more united.”
The deadly barrage included strikes on the cities of Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, and were some of the worst Ukraine has seen for months.
At least 14 people were killed and scores more were injured, officials said.
Several regions were left without electricity and water after missiles hit energy infrastructure.
Residents in the capital Kyiv said Russia appeared to be targeting civilian areas which were busy with Monday morning commuters, including a children’s playground, a university and the popular Taras Shevchenko park.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Monday’s strikes saw central Kyiv targeted for the first time
Mr Guterres described the strikes as “another unacceptable escalation of the war” for which civilians were paying the highest price.
The EU said a war crime had been committed, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia stood for “terror and brutality”.
US President Joe Biden was one of many foreign leaders to speak with President Zelensky, and he “pledged to continue providing Ukraine with the support needed to defend itself, including advanced air defence systems”, the White House said.
Mr Biden said the attacks demonstrated “the utter brutality” of Putin’s “illegal war”.
After the phone call, President Zelensky vowed to strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces and “make the battlefield even more painful for the enemy”.
China and India, which have not condemned the war, called for a de-escalation.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the body, said his family had been in a residential area in Ukraine when it was attacked by the latest Russian missiles and they were unable to go to a bomb shelter.
He said Russia had already killed some of his relatives, calling it “a terrorist state” that must be deterred in the strongest possible ways to prevent further atrocities. He added that Moscow’s delegation to the UN left “a trail of blood” whenever it entered the General Assembly hall.
The General Assembly is holding an emergency meeting following Russia’s latest attacks. Although the session was convened because of the Kremlin’s annexation of four partly-occupied Ukrainian regions following sham referendums, it has been overshadowed by Monday’s attacks.
Image source, EPA
Image caption,
Putin said the attacks were retaliation for Saturday’s explosion on a key bridge linking Russia to Crimea
Russian missiles began hitting targets across Ukraine around the morning rush hour on Monday, in the most widespread bombardment of the war.
Mr Putin warned he was ready to authorise more “severe” attacks, while deputy head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that “the first episode has been played. There will be others”.
Meanwhile, Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko – a close ally of Mr Putin – has agreed to deploy his forces to link up with Russian soldiers at Belarus’ border with Ukraine in response to what he said was a threat to his country from Kyiv.
“We need to figure out what else needs to be done to strengthen the security of our state, given the rapidly changing environment,” he said according to comments carried in the state-run Belta news agency.
Mr Lukashenko, who held a one-on-one meeting with President Putin in St Petersburg, said he had been informed through unofficial channels of a “Crimean Bridge 2” being planned against Belarus, a reference to Saturday’s explosion on a key bridge linking Russia with Crimea.
Without providing any evidence, he said: “Ukraine is not just contemplating, but planning strikes on the territory of Belarus,” adding that Kyiv was being “pushed by their patrons to unleash a war against Belarus” and Russia at the same time.
“We saw it, we knew it, we created battalion tactical groups, we practiced the defence of the southern border, which we are doing now,” he said.
Mr Lukashenko has become increasingly reliant on Russia for economic, political and military support in recent years, and Russian forces used Belarus as a base when it began its invasion of Ukraine in February.
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Second Annual HardRock Summit Presents Gem And Mineral Treasures Plus Educational Experiences
Second Annual HardRock Summit Presents Gem And Mineral Treasures Plus Educational Experiences https://digitalarizonanews.com/second-annual-hardrock-summit-presents-gem-and-mineral-treasures-plus-educational-experiences/
HardRock Summit/Photography G
Featuring gemstone, mineral and jewelry exhibitors from over 25 countries, trade-oriented and academic lectures plus museum-quality exhibits and children’s activities, the second edition of HardRock Summit concluded its 2022 event with a 50% increase in total attendance over 2021’s figures.
HardRock Summit/Photography G
The four-day event ran from September 8-11, 2022 at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center, and according to Wolter Mehring, one of the two co-founders of the HardRock Summit, “Building on the momentum of last year’s event, we expanded our reach and welcomed a wider range of attendees to our show. These included independent boutiques and specialty stores, along with big box, online, and key regional retailers.” While the show’s dynamic programming and access to members of the trade made it an unparalleled event for the public, the multi-modal show also served retailers looking to stock up in advance of the holiday shopping season.
HardRock Summit/Photography G
During the summit, over 6,000 people engaged with companies exhibiting fine jewelry, antique jewelry, gemstones, minerals, meteorites, antique coins and more. Along with first-rate gemstone, mineral and jewelry sourcing opportunities, the Summit also offered attendees of all ages the chance to view museum-quality exhibits, while educational gemstone, gold and diamond-themed seminars were open to those 14 and up. A trade show and interactive educational experience all in one, the HardRock Summit featured three key areas for attendees to explore.
For example, the Evolution realm offered some of the rarest and finest minerals and gems ever unearthed from an international array of dealers. Sparkle & Joy presented fine jewelry, high jewelry, artisanal jewelry designs and high-grade gemstones with the cooperation of AGTA GemFair Denver and Brazil’s IBGM.
HardRock Summit/Photography G
The Denver Gem & Mineral Show (DGMS) featured gems, minerals, fossils, jewelry, beads, décor and metaphysical products. For decades, the DGMS has presented educational exhibits and this year’s offering included interactive activations designed for families, such as live gemstone cutting demos, a black-lit fluorescent mineral exhibit room plus for children, there were rock hunting games and a gold panning room where little ones worked in simulated river conditions to search for gold.
HardRock Summit/Photography G
“While this year’s Summit included many more designers, museum curators and collectors looking to buy and source,” Mehring said, “it also attracted scores of gemology enthusiasts, rock hounds and families who viewed and/or purchased some of the rare and precious gems, jewelry and minerals on view.” The HardRock Summit’s environmental, consumer, cultural and international networking offerings makes it one of the world’s more relevant and worthwhile jewelry trade shows in many respects.
For example, one of the more intriguing talks presented during the HardRock Summit included “Gem Legacy: A nonprofit’s story and successes supporting development for East African artisanal gem mining communities,” presented by Rachel Dery-Merisheki. Gem Legacy is a Michigan-based, non-profit organization of jewelers, jewelry designers and others who are committed to supporting artisanal colored gemstone mining regions.
HardRock Summit/Photography G
A key force in the realm of sustainable and ethical gemstone mining, Gem Legacy was founded on the belief that gems possess the potential to change lives for the better, and thus positively affect the communities where they are mined and cut. Thus, Gem Legacy works to improve working conditions and wages for miners and their families. What’s more, it also expands the natural benefits of gemstone mining on surrounding communities through long-term support to children, education, and entrepreneurship for miners and their families. While 100% of Gem Legacy donations are returned directly to the communities, the organization’s donors include U.S. jewelers such as Pocatello, Idaho-based Parlé, which was also exhibiting at the HardRock Summit.
HardRock Summit/Photography G
Other important and value-added talks included those presented by John Pollard of the International Gemological Institute (IGI), a diamond-grading, colored gemstone grading and finished jewelry grading laboratory that operates 20 grading facilities and 14 gemology schools around the world. Pollard, who is IGI’s Senior Director of Education, delivered one presentation on the marketing of natural diamonds and another regarding lab-grown diamonds, which though relatively less expensive than naturally mined diamonds, can vary widely in terms of quality, environmental impact, and of course, price. (In 2005, IGI was the first laboratory to start grading lab-grown diamonds and furnish reports on same.)
HardRock Summit/Photography G
Regarding the exhibitor experience, AGTA member Robert Bentley, owner of New York-based Bentley Gemstones, enthused, “I am having quite a good time at this show because it is well-timed in the calendar year. I have also have made some new client connections with those who appreciate the unusual gemstones that I offer.” Justin Thomas and Ruth Benjamin-Thomas, co-owners of the heritage company Black Opal Direct, came all the way from Australia to show their Lightning Ridge opals, which possess such superbly beautiful and striking attributes that this writer had difficulty tearing herself away from the Black Opal Direct booth. “We are thrilled to be here as we are always looking to expand our global wholesale and retail business,” said Benjamin-Thomas.
HardRock Summit/Photography G
Poetry In Stone’s Tarun Adlakha journeyed from Delhi, India to show his varied and highly valuable collections. These included rare asteriated hydrogen-rich diamonds, which embody very fine yet highly graphic star and cross designs deep inside them. Along with dendritic agates, which appear to contain miniature landscapes, forests and other natural features within their depths, Adlakha also showed fossilized spiralite gem shells, which embody crystals, gems, fossils and shells all in one natural artifact. “These I found myself while hiking,” Adlakha related, marveling at his excellent luck. Along with being a published author, Adlakha also deals in various Indian antiquities and pure gold, ancient Indian coins from great eras of Indian history.
Coming from Canada, Ashkan Asgari, Founder & CEO of Misfit Diamonds, presented a vast variety of naturally mined diamonds, including those that are repurposed, having been extracted from vintage jewelry, along with those hailing from Canadian mines. (Because Canada has some of the world’s most stringent environmental regulations, their mining industry is relatively less eco-damaging than many other diamond mines in various nations.) Misfit Diamonds is notable for embodying an environmentally responsible and ethically concerned mission. As Asgari relates, “It’s a matter of public record that most diamonds in the supply chain lack a documented proof of origin. Although the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, established in 2003, was created to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the global supply chain,” he explains, “it still never addresses diamond origin, mining labor practices or the environmental standards at any and all mines.”
According to Asgari, who is soon to open a London branch, “At Misfit we believe establishing documented origin is one of the first steps to creating transparency in the diamond industry. We offer our customers diamonds that have evidence to support their points of origin and we are pursuing the possibility of stocking third-party certified, sustainability-rated diamonds.”
Another exciting booth in the HardRock Summit happened to be that of Mason-Kay, a Colorado-based jeweler. Based in Centennial, Mason-Kay specializes in jade and is a second-generation, family-owned company that deals only in natural, untreated jade of spectacularly high quality. This writer spoke with co-owners Jeff and Kristina Mason, who between them have over 60 years combined experience in the jade jewelry business. “The HardRock Summit has been great for us as our store is conveniently close to Denver. This show brings us in contact with retailers, designers, jewelers and media from all over the world,” said Kristina Mason. The Mason-Kay range of precious lavender jade, white jade and apple green jadeite jewelry gave attendees the chance to view and buy museum-quality carved jade pendants, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings.
One of the most compelling aspects of the Summit involved a special exhibit of more than 60 California Gold Rush-era gold and gemstone rings, gold nugget stick pins and gold quartz cuff links that were recovered from the 1857 shipwreck of the S.S. Central America. This steam ship sank 7,200 feet to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off the North Carolina coast during a hurricane in 1857. Voyaging from Panama to New York carrying tons of California gold coins, ingots, and gold dust from Northern California, the Central America wreck took the lives of 425 of the ship’s 578 passengers and crew members. What’s more, the loss of gold cargo triggered the USA’s economically devastating financial panic of 1857. (In 1988, over 7,000 gold coins were recovered from the S.S. Central America, 131 years after it sank. The Central America’s recovered artifacts are being offered in public auctions in October and November 2022 by Holabird Western Americana Collections.)
HardRock Summit/Photography G
As Christoph Keilmann, a co-founder of the HardRock Summit related, “We love being able to offer attendees the chance to meet with internati...
