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GOP Lawmakers Introduce Mandatory Minimum Illegal Firearms | Five For The Weekend – Pennsylvania Capital-Star https://digitalarkansasnews.com/gop-lawmakers-introduce-mandatory-minimum-illegal-firearms-five-for-the-weekend-pennsylvania-capital-star/ Government & Politics For a first offense, the bill proposes a sentence be a minimum of eleven months but under two years Happy weekend, all.  Two Bucks County lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation that would establish a mandatory minimum sentence for the illegal possession of firearms. Republican state Reps. Frank Farry and Kathleen “K.C.” Tomlinson joined law enforcement officials in Bensalem Township on Friday to announce the new legislation.  “This legislation will send a message across the Commonwealth that felons who possess firearms will not walk away unpunished,” Farry said. “And we don’t just need to take that firearm out of the felon’s hands. We need to take the felon off the street.” The legislation would establish a new mandatory minimum sentence for previously convicted offenders. For a first offense, the bill proposes a sentence be a minimum of eleven months but under two years. According to lawmakers, the bill would then increase the mandatory minimum sentence for each subsequent offense. “Our legislation creates serious punishment to hold these criminals accountable and hopefully send the message that these kind[s] of violent acts will not be tolerated,” Tomlinson said. CeaseFire PA Executive Director Adam Garber expressed concern the bill wouldn’t target the source of illegal firearms – traffickers and some gun stores. “For years, we have tried to only arrest our way out of a gun violence problem that has spiraled out of control,” Garber said. “The evidence makes it clear it hasn’t worked. While we must hold violent offenders accountable, until Rep. Tomlinson and Rep. Farry get serious about going after the source of illegal guns, we will continue to lose lives.” As always, the top five stories from this week are below.  1. New Pa. poll points to trouble for Republicans on abortion | Mark O’Keefe There are surprises in just about every political poll, but some numbers from the recent Franklin and Marshall College poll showed particularly astounding results. In the poll conducted by Franklin & Marshall College’s Center for Opinion Research, John Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, leads GOP candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz 43 percent to 30 percent in the Senate race with 20 percent undecided, while Josh Shapiro leads GOP state Sen. Doug Mastriano 44 percent to 33 percent in the race for governor with 19 percent undecided. Nothing was surprising in those numbers. Both Fetterman and Shapiro jumped out to early leads and have continued to enjoy comfortable leads in both races. Lt; Gov. John Fetterman in his Capitol office (Capital-Star photo by John L. Micek) 2. No, John Fetterman isn’t wearing a tie. And you need to stop talking about that | John L. Micek So, this isn’t a “John Fetterman” column. And you know what we’re talking about here. After more than two years on the statewide political stage, there’s already a well-established journalistic shorthand for Pennsylvania’s new lieutenant governor. It’s the lather, rinse, repeat formula of “black clothes, bald head, tattoos, gosh he’s tall but skinnier, cheerleader for the struggling steel town of Braddock, Pa.” that’s launched a thousand profiles — including a recent one by NYMag.com. And while all that’s true about Fetterman, it often feels like the media branding of Gov. Tom Wolf’s second-in-command overshadows the actual human behind it. Supporters of former President Donald Trump have threatened violence against the FBI after the law enforcement agency executed a search warrant at the former president’s residence in Florida (Getty Images). 3. Trump isn’t going to jail. And that’s good news for Democrats | Bruce Ledewitz Democrats are aware that the search of former President Donald Trump’s home by the FBI hurt the Party politically. This Aug. 17 headline from The New York Times, referencing the Inflation Reduction Act, says it all: President Takes a Bow, but Spotlight Stays on His Predecessor. Yet, even with this knowledge, 88 percent of Democrats want Trump charged for fomenting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Slightly over half of Democrats think he will be. Undoubtedly, Democrats are also hoping that state criminal investigations into financial improprieties and election interference will lead to prosecutions. And now there is concrete evidence from the search of his home that Trump broke the law by possessing “top secret” documents. Since no one is above the law, surely now there must be a criminal case. Democratic U.S. Senate nominee John Fetterman (L) and Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mehmet Oz (R) Campaign file photos 4. Oz clarifies abortion views, Fetterman capitalizes on conflicting views in Senate race Pennsylvania’s position as an abortion battleground state is taking shape in the U.S. Senate race, with John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee, capitalizing on conflicting statements from Mehmet Oz, his Republican opponent, in the high-profile contest. Fetterman, who said he would support codifying Roe v. Wade if elected, has recently focused on Oz, who clarified his stance on abortion this month, and his views on reproductive health. Oz told reporters at a press conference in Philadelphia this month that he would not support criminal penalties for people who sought or doctors who performed abortions. Describing himself as “strongly pro-life,” he added that he supports exceptions for rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is at risk. Tori Tambellini, former Starbucks employee and current organizer with Workers United (Pittsburgh City Paper photo). 5. From steelworkers to baristas: the new face of Pittsburgh’s evolving labor movement Six months ago, Tori Tambellini barely knew what a union was; now, the recent college graduate wants to devote her career to the labor movement. Having worked as a barista throughout the coronavirus pandemic years, Tambellini helped found the union for Starbucks’ Market Square location this spring, after organizers from other shops convinced her it could give staff a voice in workplace issues they’d long felt excluded from. She was fired six weeks later in a move she sees as thinly disguised retribution from her employer. Instead of feeling cowed, though, Tambellini said she feels confident and energized. And that’s the week. We’ll see you back here next week. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. Read More Here

The Lookout: A Roundup Of News From The Sierra Club https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-lookout-a-roundup-of-news-from-the-sierra-club/ By the Numbers 421 parts per million: The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured in May. That’s 50 percent higher than CO₂ levels before the Industrial Revolution and a level Earth hasn’t seen in millions of years.   35: The percent increase in monarch butterflies that overwintered in Mexico last winter compared with the previous year.   0: The carbon budget left to accommodate new coal plants, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. To limit global temperature rise to 2.7°F, coal use needs to fall by 75 percent by 2030.   6,200: The number of new union jobs created by Ford and the United Auto Workers in their push to manufacture electric vehicles. Alerts Earth Comes First Despite local opposition, the Federal Aviation Administration approved a license for the biggest rocket in history, SpaceX’s Starship. The project will expand operations in Boca Chica, Texas, an unincorporated community on the Gulf of Mexico. Explosions, fires, and water contamination from SpaceX threaten nearby communities as well as sensitive coastal ecosystems that are home to endangered species, including the ocelot and the snowy plover. » Read more: sc.org/spacex Invisible but Deadly A recent inspection by air above Bakersfield, California, revealed that two idle oil wells, located 370 feet from a residential neighborhood, are leaking massive amounts of methane, with concentrations of 50,000 parts per million and 20,000 ppm, respectively. Methane is a greenhouse gas that, in the short term, has 80 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Oil and gas wells also leak a cocktail of chemicals called volatile organic compounds that are associated with asthma, cancer, and nervous-system damage. » Read more: sc.org/bakersfield Clean Schools The Biden-Harris administration approved a program to replace diesel school buses. This year, under the new program, the EPA will distribute $500 million for schools to purchase electric buses. The program also allocates $4.5 billion for future years. Diesel engines are the single largest source of black carbon, a potent driver of global warming that is also terrible for public health; it’s associated with cancer, heart and lung disease, and asthma. Victories Win for Wildlife In a major legal victory in July, a federal district court restored comprehensive Endangered Species Act protections for hundreds of species and their habitats when it threw out harmful regulations put in place by the Trump administration. The case involved a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, joined later by a group of states. “In the midst of a global extinction crisis,” said Sierra Club attorney Karimah Schoenhut, “the court’s decision to vacate the rules will help ensure that imperiled species receive the protections they desperately need.” Clean Air for All Following extensive organizing by the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, Environmental Law Program, and Grand Canyon Chapter, the Arizona Corporation Commission voted to reject a proposal from the Salt River Project to expand the gas-fired Coolidge Generating Station. The proposed expansion included 16 new gas turbines and would have polluted the historically Black community of Randolph, which already suffers the environmental and health impacts of the Coolidge plant. Don’t Try That on Us The Kern County Superior Court has prevented the county from fast-tracking tens of thousands of new oil and gas wells. The court ruled that the attempt, which was based on a single environmental review, failed to meet the minimum requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act. Most important in that ruling was the fact that the review failed to disclose the magnitude of effects on marginalized communities and didn’t address the impact of the wells on productive agricultural land. Chapter Corner No More Gaslighting A new law in Colorado requires oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals used in oil and gas production—information chemical manufacturers have long been able to hide, citing trade secrets. It also bans the use of PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” in these operations. The first-in-the-nation bill originated with and was drafted by the Sierra Club’s Colorado Chapter. To build support for it, leaders of the chapter worked hard to develop close relationships with key legislators, while members were persistent in calling and writing letters to their representatives. “Knowing that a particular list of chemicals is being used would be helpful for first responders, researchers, and public health officials,” said Ramesh Bhatt, the chapter’s conservation chair. “Hopefully this will force the industry to think about what they’re using.” Leave the Ocean Alone For 15 years, volunteers at the Angeles Chapter have rallied alongside Sierra Club California and ally organizations to stop a proposed desalination plant in Huntington Beach. In June, they achieved a major win when the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to deny development company Brookfield-Poseidon permits to begin construction. Concentrated brine from the plant would have created a marine dead zone, and emissions from the energy-intensive desalination process would have the potential to exacerbate the climate crisis, said Charming Evelyn, chair of the Angeles Chapter’s water committee. “California is saying we want to be carbon neutral, yet here we are building a plant that would put a bunch of greenhouse gases into the air,” she said. Get Plugged In Sierra Club members get free access to Sierra’s digital edition. Just log in to My Account at sc.org/login. To receive action alerts about Sierra Club priority campaigns, visit sierraclub.org/take-action. Campaign Updates Making Electric Vehicles More Accessible Lack of access to convenient charging is a major reason why people hesitate to adopt electric vehicles. In June, following months of advocacy from the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration said it would establish minimum standards for EV charging. “These will make the charging experience more convenient, in turn driving up EV demand,” said Hieu Le, a senior campaign representative for Clean Transportation for All. Justice for Pueblo Colorado’s newest and largest coal plant is set to retire early, thanks in part to efforts from the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. In June, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission concluded deliberations for a settlement with XCel Energy, the company that owns the Comanche 3 coal plant. Based on this new settlement, the plant will retire no later than January 1, 2031. “This victory really can’t be understated,” said Anna McDevitt, a senior representative for Beyond Coal. “This is a plant that was built with the anticipation that it would operate until 2070.” Comanche 3 is located in Pueblo, a majority-Latino community, which has suffered from air pollution and groundwater contamination as a result of the plant. This settlement forces XCel Energy to pay taxes to Pueblo every year through 2040. “Pueblo community members are literally going to be able to breathe easier after 2030,” McDevitt said. Read More Here

AOC Doubles Down After Republicans Transport Migrants To Washington, DC: ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ https://digitalarkansasnews.com/aoc-doubles-down-after-republicans-transport-migrants-to-washington-dc-crimes-against-humanity/ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday doubled down on her criticism of the transportation of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to various areas across the country. In a tweet, the New York Democrat called recent actions by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott “appalling” and likened them to “trafficking.” Without naming the two governors, Ocasio-Cortez also said Republicans were guilty of “crimes against humanity.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 8, 2022.  (ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) “It’s appalling that far-right politicians seem to have decided that fall before an election is their regularly scheduled time to commit crimes against humanity on refugees,” she tweeted. AOC SUGGESTS TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT SHOULD RETIRE AFTER TRANSPORTING MIGRANTS TO WASHINGTON DC Ocasio-Cortez added: “Don’t normalize this. Lying to & trafficking people for TV and clicks isn’t politics as usual. It’s abuse.” In a pair of other posts, the Bronx native suggested people should refrain from calling migrants “illegal” as “most US families” at one time migrated to the country. “By today’s standards, most US families would have be deemed undocumented or trafficked at some point in their family history,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “For the most part, people didn’t need lawyers and years of processing to come to this US until immigration became a racialized issue.” BIDEN SAYS REPUBLICANS ARE ‘PLAYING POLITICS’ AFTER TRANSPORTING MIGRANTS TO MARTHA’S VINEYARD, VP’S HOME The tweets come as Abbott orchestrated the transportation of two buses full of migrants to the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. DeSantis also sent planes of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. Previously, Abbott bused migrants to New York and other areas. The convoys suggest the governor is “struggling” to run his own state and maybe he should consider other employment, she said. “I remember how folks stepped up to help Texans when you left them cold and hungry during the freeze. We will welcome these families too. They have so much to offer,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referencing the February 2021 power crisis caused by three severe winter storms. Two buses arrived in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. (Fox News Channel) prev next Migrants arrived from Del Rio, Texas, outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, D.C., Thursday. (Tyler Olson/Fox News Digital) Two buses carrying migrants from Del Rio, Texas, arrived near Vice President Kamala Harris’ Naval Observatory residence in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. (Fox News Channel) “You do seem to be struggling at your job, though. Maybe you should consider if this is the right work for you,” she concluded. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Abbott defended his decision to send the migrants as senior Biden administration officials, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, have repeatedly denied a border crisis.  Read More Here

Prosecutor: Pulaski County Deputies Not At Fault In Death Of Arrested Man Who Suffered From Rare Condition https://digitalarkansasnews.com/prosecutor-pulaski-county-deputies-not-at-fault-in-death-of-arrested-man-who-suffered-from-rare-condition/ FILE – A Pulaski County sheriff’s office vehicle is shown in this file photo. A man who died in the custody of Pulaski County deputies in December after a struggle at a Little Rock movie theater likely succumbed to a rare sickle cell disease-related ailment, and the officers involved behaved properly and could not have known the seriousness of his condition, or helped him if they had, a county prosecutor wrote in a Friday letter summing up his review of the incident. The actions taken Dec. 10 by Capt. Mark Swagerty, an off-duty Pulaski County deputy working security at the Movie Tavern at 11300 Bass Pro Parkway in Little Rock, and other officers involved in the arrest of Terence Caffey, 30, of Little Rock were within the limits of the law, wrote Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for the 6th Judicial District, in a letter to Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins. In the letter, which was released by the Pulaski County sheriff’s office at 5 p.m. Friday, Jegley misspells Caffey’s first name, and sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Cody Burk said the letter misstates Swagerty’s rank as sergeant. Higgins was at an event Friday evening and was unavailable to comment on the letter, Burk said. Earlier this year, the chief medical examiner at the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory ruled that Caffey died of “Sickle Cell Trait-Related Sickling Crisis during Exertion, Struggle and Restraint,” and that the death was a homicide, Jegley wrote. The examiner noted in the autopsy that ruling the death a homicide doesn’t imply criminal liability. The autopsy confirmed that Caffey had sickle cell disease with “readily identifiable sickled red blood cells,” Jegley wrote. However, the diagnosis would not have been nearly as clear to the officers at the theater that night or the paramedics that arrived, Jegley wrote. [CAUSE OF DEATH: Read Jegley’s letter » arkansasonline.com/917caffey/] Caffey suffered no other fatal trauma during the course of the incident, which began around 9:57 p.m. when he allegedly attacked a theater employee and ended sometime after 11 p.m. when he was pronounced dead after an hour of CPR, Jegley wrote, citing the medical examiner’s findings. It was still not clear what led Caffey to attack the employee, but he was behaving oddly immediately before the altercation, asking an employee if they had a gun and then sitting on the floor and emptying his pockets on the ground, Jegley wrote. Footage of the incident, including security camera footage from the theater and body-worn cameras, like one worn by Swagerty, was repeatedly referenced in the letter but not released with it. Burk said the video would be available next week, citing that there were numerous videos of the nine-month-old incident to upload. Caffey and Swagerty fought while the deputy was trying to arrest Caffey, with Swagerty restraining Caffey on the ground using his body weight for around seven minutes, Jegley wrote. But, the prosecutor continued, Caffey was the aggressor and never tried to withdraw from the fight or give up, and Swagerty did not Tase, pepper spray or strike Caffey. “At no time did any officer use more … physical force to restrain Mr. Caffey than which is required by law,” Jegley wrote. Under those circumstances, Jegley determined that Swagerty committed no criminal wrongdoing. Swagerty has been back on full duty for several months after a period of administrative leave immediately after the incident and a return to limited duties in late January, Burk said Friday. Three other deputies involved were also placed on leave but returned to regular duty in January, Burk said at that time. Little Rock police also responded to the scene, but their actions were within the bounds of the law as well, Jegley wrote. Jegley did, however, point out that MEMS paramedics did not treat Caffey when they arrived on the scene around 10:11 p.m., choosing instead to go into the theater and treat employees who suffered minor injuries scuffling with Caffey. Swagerty called for MEMS on the radio after Caffey, who had been handcuffed and sat down against a wall, repeatedly slumped over on the floor and could not remain upright, Jegley wrote. Between that time and when EMTs first saw Caffey, he was having trouble breathing and could not walk, requiring officers to carry him to the front of the theater. Caffey can be heard on camera saying “I can’t breathe. I’m dead,” Jegley wrote. Caffey was placed into the back of a Pulaski County patrol vehicle around 10:19 p.m., at which time he had no control over his head or legs. First responders did not begin treating Caffey until around 10:24 p.m., when a deputy noticed Caffey was unconscious in the back seat and a Little Rock firefighter stated that Caffey was not breathing. At that time, he was shocked with a defibrillator three times and given epinephrine and amiodarone, as well as NARCAN, all of which had no effect. The “level of care” Caffey received from first responders was “disturbing in light of the tragic outcome,” Jegley wrote. Despite that, Jegley wrote that the rarity of the condition identified post-mortem by the medical examiner prevented him from declaring the failure to diagnose and treat Caffey was “a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in law enforcement’s situation.” The prosecutor did not cast doubt on the cause of death determined by the medical examiner, but called the diagnosis “cutting edge, if not somewhat controversial,” citing a May 2021 paper by the American Society of Hematology that stated the condition was unlikely to cause death where other traumas were present. “More compassion on the part of the involved parties might have provided Mr. Caffey with some measure of comfort in his final moments, but palliative care would not have reversed or treated his fatal medical crisis,” Jegley wrote. In March, attorney Ben Crump, known for representing civil rights cases, and members of Caffey’s family called for the release of footage of the incident, accusing deputies of using excessive force that led to his death. Crump compared Caffey’s death to that of George Floyd. A call placed with Crump’s office Friday evening was not returned, and it was not immediately clear if Crump had made any legal filings involving Caffey’s death. Read More…

US Vows To Continue Deployment Of Strategic Assets To S Korea After N Korea New Nuclear Policy https://digitalarkansasnews.com/us-vows-to-continue-deployment-of-strategic-assets-to-s-korea-after-n-korea-new-nuclear-policy/ The United States and South Korea have resumed high-level talks on military cooperation amid US pledges of a continued flow of strategic weapons to the Korean Peninsula. The vice ministerial-level meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) opened on Friday in the US capital, Washington, DC, after a years-long hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, denouncing North Korea’s recent first-use nuclear doctrine unveiled this month as “escalatory and destabilizing”. In his opening remarks, Seoul’s Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong criticized Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs as a “serious threat” to peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the overall Indo-Pacific region, saying the resumption of the EDSCG conveyed a “strong” message to Pyongyang. Last week, North Korea announced a new nuclear policy, asserting that it will never surrender its nuclear weapons to its enemies, or use the nation’s nuclear capability as a bargaining chip for denuclearization with the US. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un asserted that the new policy makes the country’s nuclear status “irreversible”, ending denuclearization talks. In a joint statement after the EDSCG meeting, Seoul and Washington vowed to further strengthen their military cooperation. “The United States committed to strengthen coordination with the ROK [Republic of Korea] to continue to deploy and exercise strategic assets in the region in a timely and effective manner to deter and respond to the DPRK [North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)] and enhance regional security,” it said. The United States and South Korea warned that North Korea’s resumption of nuclear testing “would be met with a strong and resolute whole-of-government response.”  The two countries reaffirmed that they will “stand ready for all possible scenarios,” the statement added. Observers say Pyongyang appears to be preparing to resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017, after historic summits with then-US President Donald Trump in 2018 failed to persuade Kim to surrender the nation’s nukes. North Korea remains concerned by the US military presence in South Korea, and for that Pyongyang says it reserves the right to defend itself in case of a potential attack or invasion. Read More Here

“We're Talking About Gold Diggers From The Nightlife Scene” – Former Arsenal Star Nicklas Bendtner Says Premier League Footballers Prefer Paying For Sex Workers Than Indulging In One-Night Stands  https://digitalarkansasnews.com/were-talking-about-gold-diggers-from-the-nightlife-scene-former-arsenal-star-nicklas-bendtner-says-premier-league-footballers-prefer-paying-for-sex-workers-than-indulging-in-one-night-stands/ According to former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, Premier League players prefer to hire sex workers rather than go out and hook up with random girls. The Danish forward made the explosive revelation in his 2020 autobiography titled ‘Both Sides’, culled by the DailyStar. In his write-up, the ex-Arsenal star explained that Premier League players, especially the elite ones, are wary of getting blackmailed. As a result, they choose to hire sex workers instead of going out and having one-night stands with girls. ‘I know about loads of incidents involving prostitutes’Nicklas Bendtner says many footballers PREFER to hire sex workerstrib.al/nHzfPWu “Believe me, everyone in my industry has heard of someone who’s been at it, especially in England where it’s a grand old tradition to share your c**k-and-ball stories with a full audience,” Bendtner wrote. He continued: “It’s less risky than picking up girls while out on the town. You hardly dare do the deed with a ‘civilian’ any longer, not when you’re a famous footballer. I know about loads of incidents involving prostitutes. But I know of just as many stories about extortion via social media.” Talking about ‘gold diggers’ from the ‘nightlife scene’, Bendtner said: “We’re talking about gold diggers from the nightlife scene who are up for a f*** and then take a photo of you sleeping it off while you’re starkers. With those photos as their trump card, they can demand stuff to keep their mouths shut. And they do.” The former Arsenal forward proceeded to reveal how he was forced to pay for a girl’s b**b job after she got in touch, with the girl claiming he had impregnated her. “One of the girls I’ve been with comes back and claims I’ve got her pregnant. That there’s a price if she’s going to do something about it,” he continued. “http://www.sportskeeda.com/”And what does that mean?’ I ask. ‘It means you’ve got to pay for a pair of new boobs for me. I want my t*****s fixed,’ she says. So I end up paying for her trip to the cosmetic surgeon.” Nicklas Bendtner’s record with Arsenal Arsenal at both youth and senior-team level between 2004 and 2014. There were loan spells with Birmingham, Sunderland and Juventus interspersed in between. During his time with the senior team, he made 171 appearances across competitions, recording 47 goals and 22 assists. Bendtner won the FA Cup with the Gunners in 2014 before leaving for German club VFL Wolfsburg that summer. He later represented Nottingham Forest, Rosenborg and Copenhagen before retiring last year. Paul Merson has predicted Brentford vs Arsenal and other Premier League GW 8 fixtures! Click here Rate this story! ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Thank You! Read More Here

Stand For Others https://digitalarkansasnews.com/stand-for-others/ There is a strange sense of loss that comes with progress. We let go of the past a little as we move forward, and that’s mostly a good thing. Evidenced by the optimism of last month’s first-day-of-school pictures tempered by the feeling that we can’t get those days back, it’s a natural evolution. When my wife and I dropped our son at college in August, I felt it. We embraced him, wrapping him in good wishes and the optimism of the new experience, then let him go. Returning home, I walked by his empty bedroom and felt that familiar pang of loss and that prayer that he’d be okay. Of course, I’ll see him when family weekend rolls around. This is in stark contrast to the August experience of another young man, a Syrian activist named Omar Alshogre who now works for the Arkansas-connected Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF). In 2011, Omar, filled with the vitality and confidence of youth, joined his friends in protesting the brutal Bassar al-Assad regime near Aleppo, Syria. Arrested by government forces several times during his teens, Omar made it home every time. Then, in 2012, armed militiamen loyal to Assad stormed his village, took Omar and his cousins from their mothers and dropped them in dank prisons. No doubt, Omar thought his release would come quickly. When it didn’t, he began to worry. As did his family. Taken to Branch 215, a military prison near Damascus, Omar endured daily torture. Imagine the worst man has to offer; that’s what Omar endured, barely surviving each day. He had one job in prison: remove dead prisoners’ bodies and catalog them by marking their foreheads with a number. Brutal. His cousins died from torture. Omar wept in despair and in want for his family. In August 2014, the same time I was taking my oldest son to college, Omar was transferred to Sednaya Prison, an institution that made Branch 215 look easy. Executions happened for the slightest offense. Yet, there, in that terrible place, he found hope. Many of the prisoners at Sednaya were doctors and lawyers, teachers and engineers. There, Omar continued his education as he quietly sought instruction from his fellow inmates. They taught him. They inspired him. They gave him hope. At the same time so many youth here headed back to school, Omar gave his own education a name: The University of Whispers. Back in the U.S., a Syrian-born young man graduated from the University of Central Arkansas and, moved with sorrow for his former countrymen, became an outspoken advocate for their travails. This young man, Mouaz Moustafa, created the Syrian Emergency Task Force. The organization supports The Wisdom House in Idlib, Syria, which operates as a school for orphans in rebel-held land. SETF also runs the Tomorrow’s Dawn Women’s Center that teaches women to become economically independent, and the Letters of Hope campaign that sends notes of encouragement to Syrian children living under siege. One of SETF’s greatest contributions occurred when it helped a Syrian military photographer with almost 55,000 images of civilians killed by the Assad regime escape to the U.S. The photographer’s code name is Caesar and his photographs documented war crimes committed by the regime in horrifically graphic detail. SETF facilitated the release of the photos and soon Congress passed the bipartisan Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act sanctioning those who committed war crimes against civilians there. President Trump signed the bill into law in 2019. Omar Alshogre’s mother fled to Turkey during his incarceration. There, she sold everything she had to raise $20,000 as a bribe to free her son. Cruelly, Omar’s Syrian captors made him believe he was to be executed. Standing before a firing squad, his thoughts flashed to his family and he braced for the impact of bullets. A rifle cracked and he fell. Unbeknown to him at the time, his mother’s resilience had saved him. He was alive. With the help of a bribed guard, his mother had arranged for Omar’s escape to Europe. He weighed 74 pounds when he arrived. It wasn’t long before he met Mouaz and the work that began in Arkansas. Now, Omar is Director for Detainee Affairs for SETF and is finishing undergraduate work at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., while traveling the world to share his story. Omar’s journey is riveting. It’s a reminder that while the pains we feel as parents here in Arkansas are real, there is much suffering elsewhere. The Syrian Emergency Task Force is hosting the Caesar Exhibit–a sample of the photographs and the tragic story of Syrian abuse–at UALR on Sept. 23. The event is open to the public and serves as a vehicle for awareness and education. In an intriguing mixture of higher education–UCA, UALR, The University of Whispers–and a reminder that the dusty byways of the world always find one another, linking in tragedy and triumph, destruction and dignity. Omar will be there, telling the story of how his mother never gave up hope, how she held him fast through prayer and work. He’ll tell the story of his fellow inmates, of Caesar, of those still there. And he will relate how his ultimate education unfolded. Every parent–regardless of country or culture–feels the pang of loss when they let go of their children. First days of school are important. Dropping daughters and sons at college or at boot camp is important. Seeing our children into the arms of their chosen vocation is important. And standing for the children of others is important. For more information on the event, go to bit.ly/CaesarPanel. Steve Straessle is the principal of Little Rock Catholic High School for Boys. You can reach him at [email protected] Find him on Twitter @steve_straessle. “The Strenuous Life” appears every other Saturday. Read More Here

Letters To The Editor Saturday, Sept. 17 – The Daily Gazette https://digitalarkansasnews.com/letters-to-the-editor-saturday-sept-17-the-daily-gazette/ Saturday, September 17, 2022 When credibility matters Capital Region Accept truth about Trump’s misdeeds OMG, in response to Dave Dankanich’s Sep. 9 letter (“Set aside Trump hate and seek truth.”) Did President Trump’s administration do some good things, sure. But the average American (Red, Blue, whatever) cannot dismiss that Trump is a liar and did some criminal things that a regular citizen would already be in jail for. Truth 1: Trump pressured a foreign leader to turn on a political rival and should have been impeached and convicted for that. Truth  2: Trump starts building the “Big Lie” well before the election. Then, even when all the courts, his attorney general and close advisers tell him he lost fair and square, he stirs up a mob to storm the Capitol. He should have been impeached and convicted for that too — the first president in history to not hand over the office peacefully. Truth 3: Trump takes top secret documents that should only be handled in a specialized secure location. He tells the Justice Department that all documents have been returned, but then has over 25 Top Secret documents seized. Again, no other president in history has ever done this. This is the best part from Mr. Dankanich’s letter, “They use their media partners to ensure their radical followers are told what to think.” Really? You don’t need the media, not mentioning Fox News, as Trump and his allies feed you lies every day, and you blindly accept them. Trump is a liar and only cares about himself. Damn the Republic; follow me! Fred Haefeli Niskayuna Kids need chance to learn from playing I often tell others that I had the best job in the whole wide world as an early childhood educator and administrator for 41 years. I felt humbled and honored to have cared for while teaching other parents’ young children each and every day. At the heart of my philosophy was providing daily opportunities for play both inside the classroom and outside on the playground. Mister Rogers said it best: “For children, play is serious learning. Play is a way to cope with life and to prepare for adulthood. Playing is a way to solve problems and express feelings. Play is the real work of childhood.” Will your child have had the opportunity to play today? I sincerely hope so. Norm Griffin Mosherville EMT Pathway sets course for careers This past week, six volunteer high school students completed a first-of-its-kind EMT Career Pathway program, funded by Saratoga County. It helped the students come one step closer to becoming certified emergency medical technicians. They earned seven college credits from Hudson Valley Community College. The program involved a number of partners — the town of Clifton Park, Career Jam, the Shenendehowa Central School District, and the Clifton Park & Halfmoon Emergency Corps. The experiences provided by the Emergency Corps under the leadership of Alan Bell, executive director, are deserving of widest community support. The success of this program and its continuation in future years will mean that high school students interested in front-line emergency work will have an entry-level career option in the field of health service that otherwise would not have been available. The devotion of the volunteer students deserves special commendation, as they sacrificed their entire summer to do the necessary coursework and engage in the required fieldwork experiences. On the other hand, I am sure that it will be a summer that will always be remembered and may even result in some lasting friendships. Career education is a necessity, especially, with respect to first responder occupations. I hope that Schenectady County and its community resources will follow suit with similar programs. This can readily be done with respect to the fields of humane law enforcement work as well as emergency disaster response. Martin Alan Greenberg Niskayuna Honor true heroes: firefighters, police As we commemorated the 21st anniversary of the destruction of the Twin Towers, I find it ironic that as a former transplanted New Yorker to the not-so-great state of Texas with one of the most liberal (no pun) gun-owning laws in the country, 19 students and two teachers were killed in Uvalde while 25 police officers, numerous border patrol agents, and a SWAT team languished in the hallway and did nothing to stop the shooting before those poor souls were executed. Conversely, the bravery of the first responders at the Twin Towers who rushed into a burning inferno without regard for their lives is in sharp contrast to the incompetence and utter cowardice of the officers in Uvalde. We New Yorkers should thank our firefighters and police since they actually do “Protect and Serve.” James Brodie Schenectady CTDA in Amsterdam making a difference I’m so excited to see the long-awaited CDTA bus service up and running in Amsterdam. I want to publicly thank Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara for all the work he did to make this a reality for city residents, including securing the funding in the state budget. Now that we have it, it truly feels like a whole new world has opened up in Amsterdam. I can already see how CDTA has affected every part of our community. Especially as people are getting back to work or looking for a new job, having dependable transportation like CDTA will make all the difference. Beyond that, students can get to their after school programs reliably and safely. And for seniors and the disabled, having reliable public transportation that you can count on every day of the week, with all the accommodations of a CDTA bus, opens up a whole new world for many that were simply stuck at home. Public transportation is so important in many ways and something that had been missing for far too long in our community. I’ve been following The Daily Gazette coverage leading up to the start of service, and I know it wasn’t easy to get this project done. Mario Vazquez Amsterdam Tedisco is a strong advocate for people The town of Charlton has a great advocate in Sen. Jim Tedisco. When Charlton needed to replace an aging highway maintenance vehicle, Sen. Tedisco worked hard to secure a $100,000 state grant to purchase a truck to help maintain our local roads. Sen. Tedisco is always thinking of innovative ways to help taxpayers and local governments. He’s been a strong proponent of investments in our infrastructure with his Safe Water Infrastructure Action Program. Tedisco’s SWAP program helps to repair and maintain local drinking water supplies and other infrastructure to save tax dollars by avoiding costly repairs as systems age. Beyond his strong leadership in Albany, Sen. Tedisco has been a strong advocate for Charlton and our way of life; supporting small government, fiscal conservatism and our rural character. He is helping communities control traffic speeds by supporting recent legislation giving more power to towns to set speed limits that are right for their community. Whether it’s a fire department banquet, Charlton’s Founder’s Day, or celebrating a special birthday, Sen. Tedisco shows up and is there for the people. I support Sen. Tedisco for the 44th Senate District and encourage others to support him just as he always does for us. Joe Grasso Charlton The writer is the Charlton town supervisor. Fonda fair needs more disabled accessibility The Fonda Fair is lacking handicapped accessibility in a very big way. They don’t have wheelchairs and scooters to rent like almost every other area fair. When I went there with my mom on a recent weekend, she couldn’t walk around and there were no wheelchairs, so she had to sit on a bench, which is unacceptable. Another problem is not enough handicapped parking spaces. Many people come to that fair, and the handicapped parking in the front is not good enough. Last but certainly not least, the grandstands are not accessible. They created a very small area that isn’t part of the grandstands with a ramp, but there are only two benches for maybe six people to sit there. They need to be more accommodating because the fair gets really crowded. Joseph Farina Schenectady Alzheimer’s group helps Hispanics cope As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I’m proud to have joined the Alzheimer’s Association Northeastern New York chapter as community outreach manager focusing on DEI initiatives. Of note, Hispanics are the fastest-growing population in the United States. By 2050, the number of Hispanic elders with Alzheimer’s and other dementias could increase more than six-fold, from nearly 200,000 today to as many as 1.3 million. We know that Hispanic Americans are about 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s and other dementias as older Whites. And while we need more research to understand why that is, our local chapter is committed to ensuring all local families have access to Alzheimer’s care and support services, even if English isn’t their first language. As a Spanish-speaking member of the team, I’m looking forward to forming relationships with community organizations to learn what our community needs and how we can meet those needs. In addition to celebrating and honoring the many contributions of Hispanic Americans, let’s also raise awareness and start important dialogue about Alzheimer’s during Hispanic Heritage Month. For information on our free programs and services, visit the Alzheimer’s Association website at alz.org or alz.org/espanol. Debbie Abréu Cohoes Unions, workers not always on same page John Figliozzi’s Sept. 4 column in The Gazette (“Workers today need more than just a holiday”) was timed for this Labor Day but seems to have been written for 1932 or even 1972. He doesn’t seem to have any useful suggestions as to what workers need in addition to Labor Day as he works his way through the usual...

Lewiston Council To Take Up Resolution In Response To Paul LePage Election Comment https://digitalarkansasnews.com/lewiston-council-to-take-up-resolution-in-response-to-paul-lepage-election-comment/ Sep. 17—LEWISTON — The City Council will vote Tuesday on a resolution reaffirming its support and faith in local elections, after former Gov. Paul LePage questioned election integrity in larger communities. The resolution, brought forward by Councilor Linda Scott, states that “public support for — and trust in — free and fair elections are necessary to ensure popular support and legitimacy for those who make governmental decisions,” and that a “prominent political figure” had recently called into question election integrity “despite offering no evidence to support this charge.” LePage, the Republican gubernatorial contender, reportedly made the comments during a recent GOP event in Mount Vernon, where he said he has “great confidence in small towns,” but that larger cities like Bangor, Rockland, Lewiston, Portland, and South Portland “are areas you got to be a little bit more careful.” The Lewiston resolution states that the mayor and City Council “wholeheartedly support and have full faith and confidence in the Lewiston City Clerk, city clerk staff, and other election officials and volunteers to conduct Lewiston’s elections with honesty, integrity and impartiality.” It’s not the first time LePage has called election matters into question. He supported Donald Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election and regularly insisted that college students in Maine who come from other states shouldn’t be allowed to vote here. Lewiston, the second largest city in Maine and home to Bates College, has also been a previous target of election-related political moves. In 2016, anonymous flyers were distributed at Bates College that warned students they could face legal jeopardy if they register and vote without taking other steps to become Maine residents, such as changing to a Maine driver’s license and reregistering their vehicles in Maine. Two years later, then-Mayor Shane Bouchard issued a letter to more than 200 people who had registered to vote during the previous year’s election and mayoral runoff. In it, he laid out the state’s requirements for when someone declares residency in Maine, including getting a Maine driver’s license and vehicle registration. At the time, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap called the letter a “disservice to the public discourse,” and said that not updating a driver’s license or failing to register a vehicle doesn’t prevent one from voting. “Most importantly, those requirements were not crafted with the intent to pose as barriers that must be overcome before a citizen can exercise the right to vote,” he said. Mayor Carl Sheline on Friday said “any suggestion that Lewiston’s elections are anything but free, fair and accurate is wrong. However, it’s important for us as a council to stand behind city staff and the volunteers who make our city’s elections possible.” City Clerk Kathy Montejo, who oversees local elections, has been a municipal clerk for 30 years and has won multiple awards. Read More Here

State Unemployment Rises To 3.4% https://digitalarkansasnews.com/state-unemployment-rises-to-3-4/ People wait in line to file for unemployment Friday, May 22, 2020, at the Little Rock office of the state Division of Workforce Services. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford) Unemployment in Arkansas increased by one-tenth of a percentage point in August, rising for the second consecutive month, to 3.4% while remaining just below the U.S. rate of 3.7%. The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services reported Friday there were 2,648 fewer Arkansans employed and just more than 1,000 unemployed in August. Nonfarm payrolls added 4,000 jobs, reaching 1.3 million employed Arkansans. Five major industry sectors added workers, boosted by a 3,800 increase in government jobs as teachers and support staff returned to the classroom. Arkansas generated “strong job numbers in key sectors,” Commerce Secretary Mike Preston said Friday. “Overall, the numbers are still positive for Arkansas.” Preston highlighted the year-over-year job improvements across most industry sectors. “We still have more than 28,000 Arkansans employed today,” he said. “There’s progress from [where] we were in last year.” The trade, transportation and utilities sector registered the biggest decrease in August, dropping 1,900 jobs. Another key metric, the state’s labor force, dropped by 1,628. Year-over-year, the labor pool is up 0.4% to 56.8%, still about five points lower than the national average. “That’s the big hurdle,” Preston said of the labor force decline in August. “If we could just get ourselves up to the national average that would fill at least 70,000 to 80,000 jobs we have open in our state.” The downward shift in the number of employed to 2,648 was the first monthly decline since December, according to Michael Pakko, chief state economist with the Arkansas Economic Development Institute at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. However, the change is not alarming, Pakko said Friday. “Basically there was seven months of growth and one month of mild decline,” he added. “One month doesn’t bother me; that stuff happens all the time. One month different in itself is not meaningful.” Leisure and hospitality achieved significant job gains year-over-year, Pakko said, with the sector adding 7,300 jobs across all subsectors, including accommodation and food services and arts, entertainment and recreation. “It’s good that we’re seeing continued recovery in the leisure and hospitality sector,” Pakko said. “That was one of the hardest hit areas 2½ years ago and it’s still not all the way back to where it was before the pandemic. We had a really strong month and generally it’s coming back pretty good.” Manufacturing also delivered robust growth over the past year, adding 7,400 jobs. “Manufacturing is an area that continues to be strong for Arkansas,” Preston said. He said Arkansas’ central location in the United States showcases the state’s solid transportation infrastructure. “Because of supply chain issues, a lot of companies are looking domestically more for production needs as opposed to waiting for it to come from China,” Preston said. “We’ve benefited from that.”     Graphs and information about the Arkansas and U.S. joblessness rates.    Read More…

'The Issue Is' Exclusive: Rep. Karen Bass Talks Home Break-In, Stolen Guns https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-issue-is-exclusive-rep-karen-bass-talks-home-break-in-stolen-guns/ Published September 16, 2022 11:52PM The Issue Is: Karen Bass and Dennis Prager This week, Elex is joined by LA Mayoral Candidate and Congresswoman Karen Bass as she discusses the break-in at her home and public safety in Los Angeles. Dennis Prager also stops by to discuss the state of the Republican Party in California and his nonprofit “Prager U.” This week, an unexpected turn in the race for Los Angeles Mayor. The home of front-runner Karen Bass was broken into, the suspects, now in police custody, taking off with nothing but two guns belonging to the Congresswoman. In her first on-camera comments about the burglary, Bass sat down with Elex Michaelson for an exclusive interview on The Issue Is. Bass, currently leading opponent Rick Caruso by roughly 12-points heading into November, addressed the ordeal, how her previous feelings of safety were “shattered,” and criticism that her firearms were not properly stored. This, before she discussed the hot-button issue of abortion, her recently-passed legislation helping victims of human trafficking, and strategy heading into the final weeks of the campaign. Michaelson is also joined on The Issue Is this week by Dennis Prager, the conservative broadcaster and co-founder of the non-profit PragerU. Prager discusses the Republican party’s place in deep blue California and takes viewers behind the scenes of PragerU, which has become one of the most successful conservative content organizations in the country with more than a billion views. THE ISSUE IS: THE BURGLARY AT THE HOME OF CONGRESSWOMAN BASS REP. BASS’ CENTRAL TAKE: “Well, I came home one evening to see my house in disarray, and it was very traumatic… [the guns] were registered. They were locked in a safe box. And they were stashed away in a closet… you know, Angelinos all around the city are not feeling safe, and I did feel safe until my safety was shattered like so many Angelinos… I don’t know that it makes me think any different, because I thought from the beginning that the number one job of the mayor is to make sure that Angelinos are safe. In many neighborhoods, people don’t feel safe, they would like to see an increased presence of police officers. My position then, and my position no, is that for those neighborhoods that want to see an increased presence, then the quickest way to get officers on the street is to get them from behind the desk. It takes a long time to hire – we definitely need to hire – but we need to get officers on the street as fast as possible…” THE ISSUE IS: GUN CONTROL AND OWNERSHIP REP. BASS’ CENTRAL TAKE: “I had guns for personal safety, as do many people. I think that gun control is extremely important, but I have never believed that people, if they wanted to have guns, should not have them… My guns were registered. They were stored properly in a safe box. That’s my response…” THE ISSUE IS: ABORTION RIGHTS REP. BASS’ CENTRAL TAKE: “I know that Angelenos care about this issue, and I have supported, as a woman, a woman’s right to choose my entire life. And so the difference between [myself and Rick Caruso] will be clear: someone who has always stood for a woman’s right to choose and a woman’s right and access to abortion versus someone who has recently come into that position… That is why it is so important that we pass this proposition that voters will have an opportunity to vote on – I believe it will be Proposition 1 – and that will enshrine a woman’s right to choose in our state constitution. What Lindsey Graham proposed doing yesterday makes it all the more important, gives a sense of urgency, because we know we have the right to choose in California, but if we learned anything from the last administration, the Trump administration, you can’t take anything for granted. I mean, for 50 years we’ve had this right, it was taken away from us, so we cannot just say ‘this is California, we don’t have to worry about it,’ that’s why we have to all go out and vote…” THE ISSUE IS: SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING REP. BASS’ CENTRAL TAKE: “The President, hopefully, will sign it any day… It basically provides resources for human trafficking victims, and this is an issue that I’ve worked on for many, many years. I had another bill pass out of the House on human trafficking as well, so this one adds to it and it provides resources, financial resources to those community organizations who do the work, supporting victims as well as the victims themselves…” ————— THE ISSUE IS: RICK CARUSO, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN? REP. BASS’S CENTRAL TAKE: “I think [Caruso] is the GOP’s choice. I think that he has been a Republican the majority of his life. He’s flipped back-and-forth, and I think when one flips back-and-forth, you do have to wonder exactly who they are… This is a Democratic city. So, 60% of the voters in Los Angeles are Democrats. But even more important than that, if you want to solve the issues of our city, we have a democracy, you have to work with the people who are elected in office, and they are Democrats. So that’s why I am proud of the fact that I have support from the elected officials on every level of government, and I systematically pursued their endorsement because everybody that has endorsed me will be a decision maker in the most important issues in Los Angeles. So you can disparage those people who are in office and who make decisions, but then how are you going to work with them?…” ————— The Issue Is: with Elex Michaelson is California’s only statewide political show. For showtimes and more information, go to TheIssueIsShow.com.  Read More Here

Trump: Justice Department Appeals, Requests Access To Classified Documents For Investigators https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-justice-department-appeals-requests-access-to-classified-documents-for-investigators/ The US Justice Department on Friday partially appealed a federal judge’s decision to authorize the appointment of an independent expert to review documents seized by the FBI during a search of Donald Trump’s home that classified as classified. The investigation is going on around the classified documents. Since last week federal investigators have been barred from reviewing thousands of documents seized from the former president’s home on Aug. 8, after a judge decided to appoint an independent arbitrator to do as lawyers want. . The Justice Department argued Friday night that Judge Eileen Cannon “made a fundamental error in appointing an expert” and fixed this injunction, but marked the “hundred or so documents recovered from Mr. Trump’s property (+ classified + )” limited to . The Justice Ministry said delaying the investigation of classified documents, which the ministry says are government property, “hurdles the government’s efforts to ensure the nation’s security.” “It causes irreparable damage to the government by blocking important steps in the ongoing criminal investigation and by unnecessarily forcing the disclosure of highly sensitive documents, including those of plaintiffs’ lawyers,” the department said. The appeal will be considered by a panel of three judges. Ultimately the Supreme Court may have to decide. On August 8, the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, the residence of Donald Trump in Florida, and confiscated boxes of confidential documents that Republicans had not returned after leaving the White House despite several requests. Federal investigators suspect that Republicans have thus violated a US law on espionage that very strictly regulates the possession of confidential documents. Donald Trump assured that these documents have been made public. Donald Trump, who openly plans to run for president in 2024, has since come under storm against a finding he considers “illegal and unconstitutional” and reiterates that he was targeted for political reasons. Nation World News Deskhttps://nationworldnews.com Nation World News is the fastest emerging news website covering all the latest news, world’s top stories, science news entertainment sports cricket’s latest discoveries, new technology gadgets, politics news, and more. Read More Here

Bank Holdups Snowball In Lebanon As Depositors Demand Their Own Money https://digitalarkansasnews.com/bank-holdups-snowball-in-lebanon-as-depositors-demand-their-own-money/ Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Five more depositors hold up banks to access their money Depositors cash out $60,000, only some in custody Banks announced three-day closure over security concerns Frustration over frozen savings, spiralling crisis BEIRUT, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Five Lebanese banks were held up by depositors seeking access to their own money frozen in the banking system on Friday, in a spiralling spate of holdups this week spurred by frustration over a financial implosion with no end in sight. Seven banks have been held up since Wednesday in Lebanon, where commercial banks have locked most depositors out of their savings since an economic crisis took hold three years ago, leaving much of the population unable to pay for basics. On Friday morning, an armed man identified as Abed Soubra entered BLOM Bank in the capital’s Tariq Jdideh neighbourhood demanding his deposit, the bank told Reuters. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com He later handed his gun to security forces but remained locked in the bank past sunset, negotiating with bank officials to withdraw his $300,000 in savings in cash, he told Reuters. Soubra eventually left the bank with no money as part of a settlement negotiated by an influential sheikh, local media reported. He was not taken into custody. Throughout the day, he had been cheered on by a large crowd of people gathered outside, including Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, who carried out a hold-up in August to get his own deposits from his bank, which dropped charges against him. “We’re going to keep seeing this happen as long as people have money inside. What do you want them to do? They don’t have another solution,” said Hussein. BANKS ARE ‘WORTH MY SHOE’ The Depositors’ Union, an advocacy group established to help clients get access to their funds, described Friday’s hold-up spree as “the depositors’ uprising” and a “natural and justified reaction” to banks’ restrictions. Lebanon’s banks association announced a three-day closure next week over security concerns and urged the government to pass laws to deal with the crisis. A man walks outside a closed Byblos Bank branch, where a man, according to security source, was detained after holding up the bank to access his own savings, in the southern city of Ghazieh, Lebanon September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Authorities have been slow to pass reforms that would grant access to $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund, and on Friday failed to pass a 2022 budget. Without a capital controls law, banks have imposed unilateral limits on what most depositors can retrieve each week in U.S. dollars or the Lebanese lira, which has lost more than 95% of its value since 2019. The four other hold-ups on Friday concluded in partial pay-outs with a total of $60,000 cash given to the assailants, most of whom were arrested while one went into hiding. Jawad Slim entered a branch of LGB Bank in Beirut’s Ramlet al-Bayda area on Friday morning. By nightfall, he agreed with the bank to leave with $15,000 in U.S. dollars and a cheque for $35,000 which he could cash in at a haircut, his brother told local media. Security forces took him into custody but it was not immediately clear what charges would be pressed. Separately, Lebanese citizen Mohammad al-Moussawi got $20,000 in cash from his account at the Banque Libano-Francaise bank after threatening employees with a fake gun. “This banking system is tricking us and it’s worth my shoe,” he said, telling Reuters he would be going into hiding. BLF confirmed the incident took place. In the fifth incident on Friday afternoon, a former member of the military got $25,000 in cash from his account at a BankMed branch outside of Beirut after firing shots inside the branch and threatening to commit suicide if he did not get the full amount, an industry source told Reuters. The source said the man handed the money to his mother and was subsequently detained by security forces. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Timour Azhari, Laila Bassam and Issam Abdallah; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Mark Heinrich, William Maclean, Toby Chopra and Richard Chang Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Lions Roar Back To Spoil LCU's Conference Opener – Lubbock Christian University Athletics https://digitalarkansasnews.com/lions-roar-back-to-spoil-lcus-conference-opener-lubbock-christian-university-athletics/ Match Information Score: Arkansas Fort Smith 3, Lubbock Christian 2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-11) Records: Lubbock Christian (4-8), UAFS (7-5) Location: Rip Griffin Center – Lubbock, Texas Highlights Lubbock Christian University had a 2-0 match lead and was leading the third set 10-4, but Arkansas Fort Smith rallied back and defeated LCU to spoil their Lone Star Conference opener inside Rip Griffin Center. LCU fell despite 14.0 team blocks and a career outing by Kalli Dalland, who posted 13 kills and nine blocks. Sage Chain and Aaliyah Gray each had 11 kills to join Dalland in double figures. Chyra Thompson (17) and Caelyn Gunn (16) combined for 36 kills, as the two helped UAFS have a 67-53 advantage in kills. Gunn added 16 digs to have a double-double performance.    How It Happened Set One: LCU won the opening set despite UAFS having a 15-13 advantage in kills. The first set featured the scor tied at 10 different times. LCU appeared as if they would cruise in the set after a 6-0 run led them to an 18-13 advantage, but UAFS rallied with a 7-1 advantage to take a 20-19 lead. Four different Lady Chaps had a kill during a 6-2 Lady Chaps run to close the set. Hannah Holland led UAFS with five kills in the set. Kendall Mahaney produced eight digs for LCU and Aaliyah Gray had a trio of kills and a block to lead them with 3.5 points in the frame.  Set Two: The second set had another neck-and-neck start, with the score tied 12-12 before a UAFS serving error and three attack errors led to LCU taking a 16-12 lead. Kalli Dalland mixed in a pair of kills and it turned into a 9-1 LCU run for a 20-13 lead. LCU won the set 25-19 behind four kills from Sage Chain. Set Three: A solo block by Kalli Dalland put LCU up 10-4 in the third set, but the Lions roared back. An 8-2 Lions rally tied the set 12-12. The set was tied as late as 16-16 and LCU trailed 22-21 before UAFS closed the set on a 3-1 run for a 25-22 set win. UAFS hit .297 in the set, with Caelyn Gunn producing five kills in the frame. The two teams combined for 7.0 kills in the set, with UAFS leading with 4.0.   Set Four: UAFS began separating themselves once tied 9-9, as they sprinted out to a 9-2 scoring surge for an 18-11 lead. They closed out the set with a 6-2 outburst to win the set 25-16 and force a decisive fifth set. LCU was held to 10 kills in the set, with Gray producing four of the 10 (Dalland had three, as they combined for seven of the 10).     Set Five: Trailing 2-0, the Lions went on a 7-1 run (Paola Fragalla had a trio of kills in the run) and took a 7-3 lead, but LCU responded a 7-3 run of their own to tie the set 10-10. Chya Thompson had a kill for the Lions to end LCU’s run. It sparked a 5-1 run to close the match with a 15-11 set win. Thompson finished with five kills in the final frame.   Inside the Numbers: 4 LCU, matching their loss total from last season (8), have not had four consecutive losses since the 2020 season. The loss places them with a 4-8 record. 24-4 The Lady Chaps moved to 24-4 all-time in conference openers. Their loss was their first loss when opening a LSC conference schedule, and their first for a conference opener since Sept. 21, 2017. Ironically for LCU, that contest was also against UAFS. 9 Kalli Dalland had career highs in kills (13) and blocks (9), with her nine blocks matching the third-highest single-match total by a Lady Chap since 2008 (tied for the highest for a five-set match over the same span for LCU). The block total is LCU’s highest since Sage Chain had 9 on Oct. 23, 2021. 14 LCU posted a season-best 14 team blocks. It is the most since they had 14 against UT Tyler last season (Sept. 22, 2021) and the mark ties for the sixth-most in a match for LCU since 2008. 1-1 The win placed LCU with a 1-1 record in games decided in five sets this season. LCU went 4-1 last season in five-set matches and are 5-2 under head coach Keith Giboney in five-set results. The loss at home marked the first time dropping a five-set match at home since Sept. 28, 2019 (against UTPB). 5-2 UAFS improved to 5-2 against LCU in Lubbock and they are 13-3 all-time against LCU.   Next LCU remains home Saturday to face Oklahoma Christian for a 1 p.m. LSC contest inside Rip Griffin Center.   Read More Here

Voter Challenges, Records Requests Swamp Election Offices https://digitalarkansasnews.com/voter-challenges-records-requests-swamp-election-offices/ NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Associated Press Sep. 16, 2022Updated: Sep. 16, 2022 11:55 p.m. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 1of6Gwinnett County elections supervisor Zach Manifold looks over boxes of voter challenges on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Lawrenceville, Ga. Manifold estimated his office has a month to log and research the challenges, before mail ballots go out for the November elections. “It is a tight window to get everything done,” he said.John Bazemore/APShow MoreShow Less 2of6Gwinnett County elections supervisor Zach Manifold looks over boxes of voter challenges on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Lawrenceville, Ga. Manifold estimated his office has a month to log and research the challenges, before mail ballots go out for the November elections. “It is a tight window to get everything done,” he said.John Bazemore/APShow MoreShow Less 3of6 4of6Rachel Rodriguez, left, the elections management specialist for Dane County, Wis., looks over a table of ballots being tested before being sent to more than 200 voting locations across the state’s second-largest county on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Madison, Wis. Her office is among those that have been hammered with requests by what appear to be coordinated campaigns by groups who reject the results of the 2020 presidential election.Scott BauerShow MoreShow Less 5of6Rachel Rodriguez, left, the elections management specialist for Dane County, Wis., looks over a table of ballots being tested before being sent to more than 200 voting locations across the state’s second-largest county on Sept. 14, 2022, in Madison, Wis. Her office is among those that have been hammered with requests by what appear to be coordinated campaigns by groups who reject the results of the 2020 presidential election.Scott BauerShow MoreShow Less 6of6 Spurred by conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, activists around the country are using laws that allow people to challenge a voter’s right to cast a ballot to contest the registrations of thousands of voters at a time. In Iowa, Linn County Auditor Joel Miller had handled three voter challenges over the previous 15 years. He received 119 over just two days after Doug Frank, an Ohio educator who is touring the country spreading doubts about the 2020 election, swung through the state. In Nassau County in northern Florida, two residents challenged the registrations of nearly 2,000 voters just six days before last month’s primary. In Georgia, activists are dropping off boxloads of challenges in the diverse and Democratic-leaning counties comprising the Atlanta metro area, including more than 35,000 in one county late last month. Election officials say the vast majority of the challenges will be irrelevant because they contest the presence on voting rolls of people who already are in the process of being removed after they moved out of the region. Still, they create potentially hundreds of hours of extra work as the offices scramble to prepare for November’s election. “They at best overburden election officials in the run-up to an election, and at worse they lead to people being removed from the rolls when they shouldn’t be,” said Sean Morales-Doyle of The Brennan Center for Justice, which has tracked an upswing in voter challenges. The voter challenges come as activists who believe in the election lies of former President Donald Trump also have flooded election offices across the country with public records requests and threats of litigation, piling even more work on them as they ready for November. “It’s time-consuming for us, because we have to consult with our county attorneys about what the proper response is going to be,” said Rachel Rodriguez, an elections supervisor in Dane County, Wisconsin, which includes Madison, the state capital. She received duplicate emails demanding records about two weeks ago: “It’s taking up valuable time that we don’t necessarily have as election officials when we’re trying to prepare for a November election.” Michael Henrici, the Democratic commissioner of elections in New York’s Otsego County, received a single-line email last week warning of unspecified “election integrity” litigation, then a follow-up complaining he hadn’t responded. “These aren’t people with specific grievances,” Henrici said. “They’re getting a form letter from someone’s podcast and sometimes filling in the blanks.” Multiple investigations and reviews, including one by Trump’s own Department of Justice, found no significant fraud i n the 2020 presidential election, and courts rejected dozens of lawsuits brought by Trump and his allies. But Trump has continued to insist that widespread fraud cost him re-election. That has inspired legions of activists to become do-it-yourself election sleuths around the country, challenging local voting officials at every turn. In Linn County, Iowa, which includes the city of Cedar Rapids, Miller said he and the auditors who run elections in the state’s other 98 counties have been deluged with both records requests and voter challenges. “The whole barrage came in a two-week period,” Miller said, following the tour by Frank, who uses mathematical projections to make claims of a vast conspiracy to steal the election from Trump, “and it’s happening to auditors across the state.” Election offices routinely go through their voter rolls and remove those who have moved or died. Federal law constrains how quickly they can drop voters, and conservative activists have long complained that election officials do not move swiftly enough to clean up their rolls. The recent challenges stem from activists comparing postal change-of-address and other databases to voter rolls. Election officials say this is redundant, because they already take the same steps. Sometimes the challenges come after election conspiracists go door-to-door, often in heavily minority neighborhoods, seeking evidence that votes were cast improperly in 2020. Texas’ heavily Democratic Harris County, which includes Houston, received nearly 5,000 challenges from a conservative group that went door-to-door checking voter addresses. The election office said it dismissed the challenges it legally had to review before the election and will finish the remainder after Nov. 8. Activists in Gwinnett County, which stretches across the increasingly Democratic northern Atlanta suburbs, spent 10 months comparing change-of-address and other databases with the county’s voter rolls. They submitted eight boxes of challenges last month. About 15,000, they said, were complaints that specific voters improperly received mail ballots in 2020. Another 22,000 were for voters they contend are no longer at their registered address. There are so many challenges that election officials have yet to even count them all. But Zach Manifold, Gwinnett’s election supervisor, said that, in every single mail ballot complaint the office has sampled, the voter properly received a mailed ballot. But if any of the address-challenged voters do try to cast a ballot in November, the county’s elections board will need to decide whether that vote should count. They’ll only have six days to make a decision, as they have to certify their vote total by the Monday after Election Day under Georgia law. Manifold estimated his office has a month to log and research the challenges, before mail ballots go out for the November elections: “It is a tight window to get everything done,” he said. Many of the large counties facing voter roll challenges are places where President Joe Biden beat Trump in 2020, including Gwinnett and Harris. Yet those behind the effort dispute the notion that they are targeting Democratic-leaning counties and say they’re working on behalf of all voters. In Florida’s Nassau County, for example, Trump won with more than 72% of the vote. “They should be glad that the voter rolls are being cleaned up so they can make sure their votes count,” said Garland Favorito, a conservative activist who has teamed up with supporters of Trump’s election lies and is helping with voter challenges in Georgia. Favorito said more challenges are coming in other Georgia counties. Under legislation passed last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature, there are no limits on the number of voter challenges that can be filed in Georgia. Most states implicitly set restraints on challenges, said Morales-Doyle of the Brennan Center. They require a complainant to have specific, personal information about the voters they target and establish penalties for making frivolous challenges. Florida is an example. Its voter challenge law only permits the filing of challenges 30 days before an election, requiring election officials to contact each voter challenged before Election Day. It is a misdemeanor to file a “frivolous” challenge. But voter challenges almost derailed Florida’s primary last month in heavily-Republican Nassau County, in the northeastern part of the state. Two women who belonged to a conservative group, County Citizens Defending Freedom, dropped off the nearly 2,000 challenges at the county elections office six days before the Aug. 23 primary. Luckily for the office, the challenges were filed in an incorrect format. Elections Supervisor Janet Adkins told the activists they would review them, anyway — after the primary. “To take away a person’s right to vote is a very serious thing,” Adkins said. —- Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 12:41 A.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1241-a-m-edt-2/ Trump openly embraces, amplifies QAnon conspiracy theories Donald Trump is increasingly embracing and endorsing the QAnon conspiracy theory, even as the number of frightening real-world events linked to the movement rises. Using his Truth Social platform, Trump this week reposted an image of himself overlaid with the words “the Storm is Coming.” In QAnon lore, the storm refers to Trump’s final victory, when his opponents supposedly will be tried and possibly executed. It’s among dozens of recent Q-related posts from the Republican former president, who also ended a rally with a QAnon song. Experts who study QAnon say Trump may be trying to rally his most stalwart supporters as investigations into his conduct escalate. Ukrainian president: Burial site contains torture victims IZIUM, Ukraine (AP) — Investigators searching through a mass burial site in Ukraine have found evidence that some of the dead were tortured, including bodies with broken limbs and ropes around their necks. That’s according to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy, who spoke Friday. The site near Izium was recently recaptured from Russian forces. It appears to be one of the largest of its kind discovered in Ukraine. Zelenskyy rushed out a video statement just hours after the exhumations began, apparently to underscore the gravity of the discovery. US asks appeals court to lift judge’s Mar-a-Lago probe hold WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to lift a judge’s order that temporarily barred it from reviewing a batch of classified documents seized during an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home last month. The department made the request Friday with the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta. It says the judge’s hold is impeding the “government’s efforts to protect the nation’s security” and interfering with its investigation into the presence of top-secret information at Mar-a-Lago. It says the hold needs to be lifted immediately so work can resume. Military intel chief says Putin can’t achieve Ukraine goal WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon’s intelligence chief says Russian forces have shown themselves incapable of achieving President Vladimir Putin’s initial objectives in Ukraine, as things stand now. Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier spoke on Friday to an intelligence and national security forum outside Washington. He said Putin is at a point where he will have to revise his initial aims in invading Ukraine. Berrier said what Putin decides next will determine how long the conflict continues. His comments followed Russian forces latest major setback, a Ukrainian offensive that drove Russians out of a large swath of northeast Ukraine. Putin on Friday vowed to keep pressing his offensive. Surprise is key part of migrant travel from Florida, Texas EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took the playbook of a fellow Republican, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, to a new level by catching officials flat-footed in Martha’s Vineyard with two planeloads of Venezuelan migrants. An immigration attorney says the migrants had “no idea of where they were going or where they were.” Providing little or no information is part of the plan. On Friday, the migrants were being moved voluntarily to a military base on nearby Cape Cod. Before going to the wealthy Massachusetts island, a woman in San Antonio showered them with gifts and promised jobs and housing. King stands vigil; Wait to see queen’s coffin hits 24 hours LONDON (AP) — A surging tide of people — ranging from London retirees to former England soccer captain David Beckham — have lined up to file past Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as it lies in state at Parliament. So many have shown up that authorities called a temporary halt Friday to others joining the miles-long queue. The waiting line reopened late Friday afternoon. Still the British government warned the waiting time to see the queen’s coffin had climbed to more than 24 hours. King Charles III on Friday visited Llandaff Cathedral in Wales for a prayer service in honor of his late mother. Later in the evening, Charles and his three siblings stood vigil around queen’s flag-draped coffin in London. Breaches of voting machine data raise worries for midterms ATLANTA (AP) — The revelation earlier this week that federal prosecutors are involved in investigations of suspected voting system breaches across the U.S. is fueling questions about the security of voting machines just two months before the midterm elections. Security breaches at election offices in Colorado, Georgia and Michigan have been sometimes aided by local officials who allowed unauthorized access to people who copied software and hard drive data, and in several cases shared it publicly. Security experts say the breaches by themselves have not necessarily increased threats to the November elections, but say they increase the possibility that rogue election workers could access election equipment to launch attacks. Biden meets with families of Whelan, Griner at White House WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden met with family members of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American detained in Russia, Paul Whelan. The meetings Friday at the White House are the first face-to-face encounter between the president and the relatives of Griner and Whelan. Administration officials say the sessions are meant to underscore Biden’s commitment to bringing home Americans held overseas and to establish a personal connection, but are not an indication that negotiations with Russia for their release have reached a breakthrough. A national security spokesman told reporters Friday that the U.S. had made a serious offer to get the Americans home but the Russians had not responded to that offer. Abrams’ strategy to boost turnout: Early voting commitments DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is launching an intensive effort to get out the vote by urging potential supporters to cast in-person ballots the first week of early voting as she tries to navigate the state’s new election laws. The strategy, outlined to The Associated Press by Abrams’ top aides, is a shift from 2018, when she spent generously in her first gubernatorial bid to encourage voters to use mail ballots. It also moves away from Democrats’ pandemic-era emphasis on mail voting, a push that delivered Georgia’s electoral votes to President Joe Biden and helped Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win concurrent U.S. Senate runoffs. Alaska braces for floods, power outages as huge storm nears JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Residents on Alaska’s vast and sparsely populated western coast braced for what forecasters said could be one of the worst in recent history, accompanied by strong winds and high surf that could knock out power and cause flooding. The storm is the remnants of Typhoon Merbok. Warnings anticipate winds reaching hurricane-force speeds in places, water levels reaching up to 18 feet above normal high tide in some communities and widespread power outages and areas of flooding and erosion. The storm also is influencing weather patterns far from Alaska — a rare late-summer storm is expected to bring rain this weekend to drought-stricken parts of California. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

High School Scores, Summaries And Schedules For Sept. 16, 2022 | Trib HSSN https://digitalarkansasnews.com/high-school-scores-summaries-and-schedules-for-sept-16-2022-trib-hssn/ By: HSSN Staff Saturday, September 17, 2022 | 12:33 AM High schools Football Friday’s results WPIAL Class 6A Mt. Lebanon 17, Central Catholic 16 Class 5A Allegheny Six Peters Township 42, South Fayette 28 Big East Franklin Regional 16, Gateway 7 Plum 42, Norwin 13 Northeast Woodland Hills 14, North Hills 0 Class 4A Big Seven McKeesport 33, Laurel Highlands 0 Thomas Jefferson 31, Latrobe 21 Trinity 35, Connellsville 14 Greater Allegheny Hampton 38, Kiski Area 0 Highlands 17, North Catholic 7 Mars 37, Indiana 0 Parkway Aliquippa 33, Montour 0 Blackhawk 31, Ambridge 14 Central Valley 58, Chartiers Valley 13 West Allegheny 52, New Castle 14 Class 3A Western Hills Avonworth 50, Hopewell 0 Beaver 25, South Park 7 Quaker Valley 40, Seton LaSalle 22 Class 2A Allegheny Ligonier Valley 28, Apollo-Ridge 14 Serra Catholic 38, Burrell 20 Steel Valley 56, Imani Christian 6 Yough 13, Derry 10 Century Keystone Oaks 47, Waynesburg Central 13 McGuffey 56, Brentwood 0 Sto-Rox 82, Charleroi 7 Midwestern Beaver Falls 48, New Brighton 0 Freedom 28, Ellwood City 0 Riverside 32, Mohawk 28 Class A Big 7 South Side 49, Northgate 0 Black Hills Bishop Canevin 38, Burgettstown 17 Fort Cherry 41, Chartiers-Houston 14 Cornell 48, Avella 0 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 55, Carlynton 0 Eastern Jeannette 60, Frazier 14 Leechburg 77, Springdale 0 Tri-County South California 44, Jefferson-Morgan 6 Carmichaels 46, West Greene 27 Mapletown 43, Beth-Center 14 Monessen 42, Bentworth 9 Nonconference Armstrong 49, Freeport 7 Bethel Park 36, Canon-McMillan 28 Butler 40, Hollidaysburg 20 East Allegheny 33, South Allegheny 14 Elizabeth Forward 42, Shady Side Academy 21 Greensburg Salem 28, Deer Lakes 14 Hempfield 48, Shaler 7 Mt. Pleasant 40, Valley 13 North Allegheny 53, Baldwin 7 Penn Hills 35, Moon 0 Penn-Trafford 14, Belle Vernon 13 Seneca Valley 13, Pine-Richland 3 Southmoreland 33, Knoch 24 Upper St. Clair 49, Fox Chapel 7 Washington 55, Greensburg Central Catholic 27 West Mifflin 35, Ringgold 0 Independent Albert Gallatin 12, Uniontown 0 Carrick 42, Brownsville 8 City League Allderdice 40, Perry 6 Nonconference Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Md. 54, Brashear 0 Saturday’s schedule WPIAL Class 2A Midwestern Neshannock at Western Beaver, 12:30 p.m. Class A Big 7 Rochester at Summit Academy, 12:30 p.m. Union at Shenango, 7 p.m. Eastern Clairton at Riverview, noon Friday’s summaries Class 6A Mt. Lebanon 17, Central Catholic 16 Mt. Lebanon 0 0 0 17 —17 Central Catholic 0 9 7 0 —16 CC: Peter Gonzalez 4 pass from Payton Wehner (kick failed) CC: Billy Lech 22 field goal M: Fred LaSota 26 pass from David Shields (J.P. Walters pass from Shields) M: Michael Beiersdorf 39 interception return (pass failed) M: Ben McAuley 18 field goal Class 5A Allegheny Six Peters Township 42, South Fayette 28 South Fayette 13 8 0 7 —28 Peters Township 14 0 14 14 —42 PT: Rich Woods 1 run (Joe Bedillion kick) SF: Nate Deanes 34 run (Tyler Nicholson kick) SF: Dom Monz 67 pass from Nico Lamonde (kick failed) PT: Brendan McCullough 24 pass from Chris Cibrone (Bedillion kick) SF: Spence Hondru 91 interception return (Wesmyn Wright pass from Lamonde) PT: Reston Lehman 35 pass from Cibrone (Bedillion kick) PT: Lehman 14 fumble recovery (Bedillion kick) PT: Cibrone 2 run (Bedillion kick) SF: Deanes 1 run (Nicholson kick) PT: Cibrone 9 run (Bedillion kick) Rushing leaders: PT, Rich Woods 22-224, TD. Passing leaders: SF, Nico Lamonde 14-23-262-1TD-2INT. PT, Chris Cibrone 17-32-296-2TD-4INT. Receiving leaders: PT, Brendan McCullough 8-147, TD. Big East Franklin Regional 16, Gateway 7 Gateway 7 0 0 0 —7 Franklin Regional 3 7 3 3 —16 G: Leonard Sherrod 16 pass from Brad Birch (Cole Plaskon kick) FR: Joseph Bayne 27 field goal FR: Zach Bewszka 8 run (Bayne kick) FR: Bayne 34 field goal FR: Bayne 22 field goal Rushing leaders: FR, Zach Bewszka 29-142, TD; Roman Sarnic 28-126. Northeast Woodland Hills 14, North Hills 0 North Hills 0 0 0 0 —0 Woodland Hills 7 0 7 0 —14 WH: DeVaughn McClinton 1 pass from Cameron Walter (Jacob Mroz kick) WH: Frankie Keyes 8 run (Mroz kick) Passing leaders: NH, John Green 11-25-109-0TD-2INT. WH, Cameron Walter 11-17-110-1TD-1INT. Class 4A Big Seven McKeesport 33, Laurel Highlands 0 McKeesport 14 0 6 13 —33 Laurel Highlands 0 0 0 0 —0 M: Larry Gibson 8 run (Milton Campos kick) M: Jahmil Perryman 3 run (Campos kick) M: Gibson 10 run (Aemond Knight run failed) M: Caiden Holtzman 14 run (Campos kick) M: Garrett Tarker 4 run (Perryman run failed) Rushing leaders: M, Larry Gibson 20-144; Jahmil Perryman 16-132. Thomas Jefferson 31, Latrobe 21 Latrobe 7 7 7 0 —21 Thomas Jefferson 14 14 0 3 —31 TJ: Ryan Lawry 46 pass from Brody Evans (Andrew Graham kick) L: Robert Fulton 64 run (Vinny Oddo kick) TJ: Aidan Whalen 21 pass from Evans (Graham kick) TJ: Lawry 19 pass from Evans (Graham kick) L: Corey Boerio 34 pass from John Wetzel (Oddo kick) TJ: Elias Lippincott 1 run (Graham kick) L: Fulton 74 run (Oddo kick) TJ: Graham 30 field goal Rushing leaders: TJ, Aidan Whalen 19-112, TD. Passing leaders: TJ, Brody Evans 13-19-213-3TD-1INT. Trinity 35, Connellsville 14 Connellsville 0 0 0 14 —14 Trinity 0 35 0 0 —35 T: Andrew Durig 78 run (Andy Palm kick) T: Joey Hello 26 run (Palm kick) T: Durig 40 run (Palm kick) T: Roderick Moore 1 run (Palm kick) T: Durig 67 pass from Jonah Williamson (Palm kick) C: Grayden Gillott 15 run (kick failed) C: Xavier Malone 4 run (Gillott kick) Rushing leaders: T, Andrew Durig 7-138, 2 TDs. Passing leaders: T, Jonah Williamson 7-10-127-1TD-0INT. Greater Allegheny Hampton 38, Kiski Area 0 Hampton 7 7 14 10 —38 Kiski Area 0 0 0 0 —0 H: Benny Haselrig 25 pass from Joey Mayer (Luke Fiscus kick) H: Benny Haselrig 15 pass from Mayer (Fiscus kick) H: Brock Borgo 15 run (Fiscus kick) H: Benny Haselrig 26 pass from Adrian Midgley (Fiscus kick) H: Borgo interception return (Fiscus kick) H: Fiscus 37 field goal Rushing leaders: H, Brock Borgo 22-174, TD. Highlands 17, North Catholic 7 North Catholic 0 0 0 7 —7 Highlands 7 3 7 0 —17 H: Luke Bombalski 4 run (Burton Babinsack kick) H: Burton Babinsack 29 field goal H: Landan Signorella 64 pass from Chandler Thimons (Burton Babinsack kick) NC: Luke Baker 38 pass from Jason Siket (Rylee Kumer kick) Rushing leaders: H, Luke Bombalski 22-110, TD. Passing leaders: NC, Jason Siket 8-16-120-1TD-2INT. H, Chandler Thimons 7-14-113-1TD-0INT. Parkway Aliquippa 33, Montour 0 Aliquippa 0 14 6 13 —33 Montour 0 0 0 0 —0 A: Tiqwai Hayes 1 run (kick failed) A: Cameron Lindsey 1 run (Isaiah Martinez run) A: Hayes 13 run (kick failed) A: Martinez 2 run (Malachi Shegog kick) A: DeMarkus Walker 35 pass from Marques Council Rushing leaders: A, Tiqwai Hayes 22-165. Passing leaders: A, Quentin Goode 22-29-174-0TD-0INT. Central Valley 58, Chartiers Valley 13 Chartiers Valley 0 0 6 7 —13 Central Valley 21 30 0 7 —58 CV: Jayvin Thompson 5 run (Serafino DeSantis kick) CV: Jayvin Thompson 20 pass from Antwon Johnson (DeSantis kick) CV: Bret Fitzsimmons 3 run (DeSantis kick) CV: Matt Gerovac 8 pass from Antwon Johnson (DeSantis kick) CV: Deniro Simpson 13 run (DeSantis kick) CV: Jayvin Thompson 36 run (Benjamin Schurr kick) CV: safety CV: Fitzsimmons 83 kickoff return (Schurr kick) CV: Austin Efthimiades blocked punt (kick failed) CV: Aaron Lawson 12 pass from Steven Rutherford (Schurr kick) CV: Tayshaun Lewis 66 run (Julius Best kick) Rushing leaders: CV, Tayshaun Lewis 8-104. CV, Bret Fitzsimmons 11-190. West Allegheny 52, New Castle 14 New Castle 6 0 8 0 —14 West Allegheny 10 21 14 7 —52 WA: Brayden Lambert 31 field goal NC: Tyler Leekins 98 kickoff return (kick failed) WA: Nick Longo 21 pass from Gage Upton (Lambert kick) WA: Brock Cornell 1 run (Lambert kick) WA: Roman Police 67 pass from Upton (Lambert kick) WA: Nico Taddy 45 from Upton (Lambert kick) WA: Police 52 (Lambert kick) NC: Isaiah Jefferson 10 pass from Kyrell Harris WA: Cornell 9 (Lambert kick) WA: Police 3 (Lambert kick) Rushing leaders: WA, Brock Cornell 23-116, 2 TDs; Roman Police 5-105, TD. Passing leaders: WA, Gage Upton 8-10-197-3TD-1INT. Class 3A Western Hills Avonworth 50, Hopewell 0 Avonworth 21 17 6 6 —50 Hopewell 0 0 0 0 —0 A: Luke Hilyard 4 run (Mike Osekowski kick) A: Peyton Faulkner 15 pass from Nate Harper (Osekowski kick) A: Hilyard 3 run (Osekowski kick) A: Gabriel Bonnet blocked punt return (Osekowski kick) A: Andrew Kuban 42 pass from Nate Harper (Osekowski kick) A: Osekowski 27 field goal A: Luke Hollywood 2 run (run failed) A: Atticus Kardell 47 run (run failed) Rushing leaders: A, Luke Hilyard 13-100. Passing leaders: A, Nate Harper 10-12-150-0TD-0INT. Beaver 25, South Park 7 Beaver 6 9 10 0 —25 South Park 7 0 0 0 —7 B: Gerrell Leeper 28 pass from Isaac Tupi (kick failed) SP: Eric Doerue 3 run (Kaden Kostelnik kick) B: Josiah Santiago 20 pass from Tupi (pass failed) B: Evan Baker 32 field goal B: Liam Gibson 2 run (Baker kick) B: Baker 32 field goal Passing leaders: B, Isaac Tupi 8-15-127-2TD-0INT. Quaker Valley 40, Seton LaSalle 22 Seton LaSalle 0 7 13 2 —22 Quaker Valley 6 14 14 6 —40 QV: Logan Benedict 5 pass from Troy Kozar (kick failed) QV: Kozar 50 run (Benedict pass from Kozar) S-LS: Aric White 51 pass from Ty Tamborino (Nick Cherry kick) QV: Jakub Pickett 35 pass from Kozar (pass failed) QV: Kozar 2 run (pass failed) S-LS: Logan Walsh 3 pass from Michael Pastinik (kick failed) QV: Pickett 56 pass from Kozar (Gavin Eshenbaugh pass from Kozar) S-LS: Damondtae Stevenson 34 pass from Tamborino (Cherry kick) QV: Eshenbaugh 5 run (pass failed) S-LS: safety Rushing leaders: QV, Gavin Eshenbaugh 28-123, TD. ...

Justice Dept. Appeals Judge’s Rulings On Classified Material In Mar-A-Lago Case https://digitalarkansasnews.com/justice-dept-appeals-judges-rulings-on-classified-material-in-mar-a-lago-case/ The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court Friday night to override parts of a judge’s order appointing a special master to review documents seized from former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and club, arguing that some of the terms hamper a critical national security investigation. The appeals court filing comes a day after U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon appointed another federal judge, Raymond J. Dearie, to serve as special master and review the almost 11,000 documents seized in the FBI’s Aug. 8 search. The new filing from the Justice Department notes that it disagrees with that decision but for the time being is asking the appeals court to intercede on two parts of Cannon’s ruling — one barring criminal investigators from using the seized material while the special master does his work, and another allowing the special master to review the roughly 100 classified documents seized as well as the nonclassified material. The government filing asks for a stay of “only the portions of the order causing the most serious and immediate harm to the government and the public,” calling the scope of their request “modest but critically important.” It’s unclear how long the special master review, or the appeals, might take, but the new filing asks the appeals court to rule on their request for a stay “as soon as practicable.” Cannon ordered Dearie to complete his review by Nov. 30. She said he should prioritize sorting through the classified documents, though she did not provide a timeline as to when that portion must be completed. The Justice Department had asked in a previous court filing for the review to be completed by Oct. 17. And Trump’s lawyers had said a special master would need 90 days to complete a review. Dearie, 78, was nominated to the bench by President Ronald Reagan (R) after serving as a U.S. attorney. Fellow lawyers and colleagues in Brooklyn federal court describe him as an exemplary jurist who is well suited to the job of special master, having previously served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which oversees sensitive national security cases. The appeals court filing also argues that the very premise of Cannon’s order, as it relates to the classified material, makes little sense because classified documents are by definition the property of the government, not a former president or a private club. Trump “has no claim for the return of those records, which belong to the government and were seized in a court-authorized search. The records are not subject to any possible claim of personal attorney-client privilege,” prosecutors wrote, adding that Trump has cited no legal authority “suggesting that a former President could successfully invoke executive privilege to prevent the Executive Branch from reviewing its own records.” The Justice Department contends that Cannon’s instruction for intelligence officials to continue their risk assessment of the Mar-a-Lago case, while criminal investigators could not use that same material in their work, is highly impractical because the two tasks are “inextricably intertwined.” That order “hamstrings that investigation and places the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) under a Damoclean threat of contempt should the court later disagree with how investigators disaggregated their previously integrated criminal-investigative and national-security activities,” the filing argues. “It also irreparably harms the government by enjoining critical steps of an ongoing criminal investigation and needlessly compelling disclosure of highly sensitive records, including to” Trump’s lawyers. Prosecutors have also said the judge’s restriction on further investigation prevents them from determining if any other classified documents remain to be found — a potential ongoing national security risk — and the appeals filing says it also makes it harder for the FBI to determine if anyone accessed the documents they did recover. “The court’s injunction restricts the FBI … from using the seized records in its criminal-investigative tools to assess which, if any, records were in fact disclosed, to whom, and in what circumstances,” the new filing says. Similar arguments did not sway Cannon, who repeatedly expressed skepticism about the Justice Department claims, even on the question of whether the roughly 100 documents at the core of the case were classified. In her ruling Thursday, she rejected the argument that her decision will cause serious harm to the national security investigation. Evenhanded application of legal rules “does not demand unquestioning trust in the determinations of the Department of Justice,” the judge wrote. Cannon, a Trump appointee confirmed by the U.S. Senate just days after Trump lost his bid for reelection, added that she still “firmly” believes that the appointment of a special master, and a temporary injunction against the Justice Department using the documents, is in keeping “with the need to ensure at least the appearance of fairness and integrity under unprecedented circumstances.” The Justice Department is investigating Trump and his advisers for possible mishandling of classified information, as well as hiding or destroying government records — a saga that began last year when the National Archives and Records Administration became concerned that some items and documents that were presidential records, and therefore government property, were instead in Trump’s possession at his Florida club. After months of discussions, Trump aides turned over about 15 boxes of material to the archives, and a review of those boxes turned up what officials say were 184 documents with classification markings, including some that were top secret. After the FBI and Justice Department opened a criminal investigation, a subpoena was sent in May seeking the return of all documents marked classified. In response, a lawyer for Trump turned over 38 additional classified documents, and another Trump aide signed a document claiming they had conducted a diligent search for any remaining sensitive documents, prosecutors said. “The FBI uncovered evidence that the response to the grand-jury subpoena was incomplete, that classified documents likely remained at Mar-a-Lago, and that efforts had likely been undertaken to obstruct the investigation,” the filing says in describing the decision to get a court order to search Mar-a-Lago. That search, officials said, turned up roughly 100 more classified documents, including some that were at the highest level of classification. Two weeks after that search, Trump’s lawyers filed court papers seeking the appointment of a special master to review the seized material and hold aside any documents covered by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege. Executive privilege is a loosely defined legal concept meant to safeguard the privacy of presidential communications from other branches of government, but in this case Trump’s legal team has suggested the former president can invoke it against the current executive branch. The government’s appeals argument also tries to demolish the suggestion that Trump may have declassified the material while he was president, noting that his legal team has never claimed he did so at any point in the long months of negotiating the return of the documents, and since the raid has only suggested he might have or could have declassified them. In buying that reasoning, Judge Cannon “erred in granting extraordinary relief based on unsubstantiated possibilities,” the Justice Department lawyers wrote. Read More Here

Will This Campaign Strategy Work Or Will It Backfire? https://digitalarkansasnews.com/will-this-campaign-strategy-work-or-will-it-backfire/ The Democrats have chosen what seems like a brilliant strategy, looking at it afar while traveling in Israel. They are running against Donald Trump. He is the candidate. In fact, he is every candidate at every level. The Democrats have done their polling and they believe that being as outrageous about Trump as he was about every Democrat is what the American people want! Let us be honest about all of this. The pollsters, the psychologists and the advisors understand that the voter and Americans in general want red meat. And they are getting it! Trump rose to national prominence by being as obnoxious, unpleasant and dramatically aggressive as possible. It was a new low in American politics. However, in the eyes of Democrats, it worked. Not only did it give Trump the Electoral College, but it brought along lots of Republican officeholders throughout the country. Now, fast forward to 2022, post Covid, and Joe Biden is being used as Mouthpiece in Chief to excoriate Trump and the Republicans, those awful Make American Great Again people, just the way Trump dumped on the Democrats. It worked for the Republicans and therefore why should it not work for the Democrats? What is the Republican response to all this? To cry foul, to whine and to do exactly what the Democrats did when they were being attacked by Trump. The Republicans are saying that Democrats do not like or believe in democracy. There is something funny and almost pathetic looking at the American electoral scene from afar. Each party is claiming that the other does not believe in democracy. Both sides are claiming that the represent the true America and that the opposition are about as alien and dangerous as invaders from Mars. It matters not that the majority of Americans are still fairly moderate and in the middle. Most Americans, like most people in the world, want good jobs, economic security, education for their children, health care and a safe place to live and to grow. However, civil wars have a way of ramping up enthusiasm among voters. All the talk in America, says the Israeli press, is about civil war. The concept of civil war as motivating Americans has gained some traction. What is it that Americans like about civil wars? We waged one from 1860 to 1865 or thereabouts and, of course, during reconstruction, we waged another civil war. We waged a civil war between labor and big business during the industrial revolution. We waged a civil war even before the real civil war which was a split between north and south over economic and governmental control issues. So, another civil war is not so crazy or unusual in America. In fact, it seems like the American way. Given that American politics has a way of spreading, like a virus, to other nations, the question for Israelis and others is whether their civil war mentality will spread throughout the world? Israel is now locked in an electoral process between leftwing and rightwing. It is a little difficult to figure out what Israeli politicians believe, since there are so many parties and many of the Israeli politicians are given to party hopping at the drop of a feather. Benjamin Netanyahu, seems wed to Likud. There are those that see Likud as a washed out, middle of the road party that talks like conservatives and acts like liberals. There are lots of parties in this country to the left and to the right of Likud. Slogans and trashing opponents is certainly not unique to the American system. The parliamentary system, with its multiplicity of parties, identification with issues rather than persons and lack of gigantic sums of money infused into campaigns has something of a different goal. Most individuals run as party animals and the party, in Israel, is about ideology. In America, ideology seems to have slipped away and the issue is all about personalities and who is more dangerous for our longstanding and generally healthy democracy. I had a friend who served as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. for 10 years. He then moved to Israel and served as a lobbyist in the Holy Land for about 10 years. At lunch, I asked him how the two systems were different. He said he had never thought about that. He gave it a few minutes of contemplation. He said that in the United States, it was all about money. Whoever had the biggest pocketbook, got the attention of the politicians. In Israel, it was all about personalities and “who you know.” In Israel money is not permitted to exercise a vote, as it does according to the United States Supreme Court. Our highest court has equated the spending of money with free speech. Not so Israel. As a result, relationships become much more important than money, although money certainly has its place and position in the Israeli scheme of things. I asked my friend which he thought was more corrosive, the influence of money or the influence of internal power politics? He said that without question, the damage which money causes to democratic principles and institutions is more dangerous than connections based upon personal relationships. The latter is how people work generally. Everything in life is about our relationships with other people. However, when money controls who runs and who wins, then the ideology of a republican form of government based upon democratic principles eviscerates. America, as Israelis tend to call the United States, is no longer the positive example to the world that it once was. It is now seen as a wealthy country smitten by internal disputes and vicious attacks by and between politicians which are destroying the American dream. Our leadership has waned, and our principles have been sidelined. We in America need to realize that our emphasis on money in electoral campaigns and destructive attacks on one another is leading our great nation down the path of irrelevancy. Let us wake up, America, and reclaim our moral and philosophical high ground. We have lots of threats external, much to do to rebuild our nation internally and little time for destructive disputes between ambitious politicians. Clifford A. Rieders is a board-certified trial advocate in Williamsport. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

Fort Smith VFW Holds Ceremony For POW/MIA https://digitalarkansasnews.com/fort-smith-vfw-holds-ceremony-for-pow-mia/ FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – On national POW/MIA Recognition Day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8845 in Fort Smith hosted a ceremony in honor of those lost and those who were lost and have returned. The ceremony began with a table reading. The post commander described what each item on the ceremonial table symbolized. The lemon represents the bitterness of their fate, salt represents the tears shed by family members, the white cloth represents purity, a red rose for family and friends of those lost and an upside down glass. Frank Hurst was in attendance at Friday’s ceremony. He served for 20 years. He was in Berlin, Germany from 1964-1969 when the wall was built and worked in Northern Germany in 1989, when the wall came down. Hurst couldn’t imagine being a family member of a prisoner of war or someone missing in action. “You’re worried about what’s going on, what they’re doing, how they’re being treated, especially if they’re a prisoner,” said Hurst. Hurst said when he lived in California, his VFW post would travel around educating schools on what POW/MIA Recognition Day means. “They didn’t know, and I think it was eye-opening to them. It really made us feel good to go around and do that,” said Hurst. Post Commander, Leroy Farmer, hopes the POW’s and MIA’s are eventually accounted for. “We want to either be able to bring back their remains to give them a final resting place or to be able to repatriate them so they can come back to their home,” said Farmer. Read More Here

2022 SEC Football Predictions | Week 3 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/2022-sec-football-predictions-week-3/ Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 #1 Georgia (2-0, 0-0 SEC) at South Carolina (1-1, 0-1 SEC) Noon ET | Columbia, SC | ESPN It’s still a little early for Beamer Ball to be in full effect. It’s up and running, but Georgia loves serving reality checks to teams who feel they are on the rise (see 2021 Arkansas game in Fayetteville). The Gamecocks need to look for the small victories to build on and scoring a touchdown against Georgia’s defense will be a legit building block. PREDICTION:  Georgia 27, South Carolina 10 — Youngstown State (2-0) at #9 Kentucky (2-0, 1-0 SEC) Noon ET | Lexington, KY | SEC Network Expect the entire Stoops family tree to be in attendance for this game. Kentucky is ranked No. 9 in the country and coming off a huge win last week in Gainesville. Youngstown State will frustrate the Wildcats in a game that will resemble the opening week win over THE Miami University of Ohio. PREDICTION:  Kentucky 31, Youngstown State 20 — Abilene Christian (2-0) at Missouri (1-1, 0-0 SEC) Noon ET | Columbia, MO | ESPN+/SECN+ The only team trying to beat up a school with the name “Christian” in it is Missouri. That’s a brave move when you’re playing in the Bible Belt SEC. PREDICTION:  Missouri 34, Abilene Christian 6 — #20 Ole Miss (2-0, 0-0 SEC) at Georgia Tech (1-1) 3:30 pm ET | Atlanta, GA | ABC This is a fun game for football fans who are old enough (and/or just love the history of the SEC) to remember Georgia Tech was a member of the SEC. I know it’s hard for some of the young’uns out there to comprehend that Georgia Tech is anything more than the alma mater of Jeff Foxworthy. Lane and Juice Kiffin will bring a high-powered Rebels offense to Bobby Dodd Stadium and leave a winner. PREDICTION:  Ole Miss 41, Georgia Tech 21 — #22 Penn State (2-0) at Auburn (2-0, 0-0 SEC) 3:30 pm ET | Auburn, AL | CBS I know it sounds crazy, but underperforming Auburn teams love to put together a great show at home at least once per season (See Iron Bowl 2021. See Iron Bowl 2019. See Iron Bowl 2017). Don’t be surprised when the defense starts swinging that pressure treated YellaWood pine on James Franklin and the visiting Nittany Lions of Penn State. PREDICTION:  Auburn 17, Penn State 13 — Vanderbilt (1-1, 0-0 SEC) at Northern Illinois (1-1) 3:30 pm ET | DeKalb, IL | CBSSN You read that right. Vanderbilt is traveling to DeKalb, Illinois, this weekend to take on Northern Illinois. Here’s some history on DeKalb according to Wikipedia: The city is named after decorated Franconian-French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War.  So, there you have it. Nobody comes into Johann de Kalb’s house and pushes the Huskies around. Well, some might, but Vanderbilt will not. PREDICTION:  Northern Illinois 35, Vanderbilt 32 — Louisiana-Monroe (1-1) at #2 Alabama (2-0, 0-0 SEC) 4:00 pm ET | Tuscaloosa, AL | SEC Network Will Alabama ever be Alabama again after having the audacity to only win by one point in Austin, Texas? PREDICTION:  Alabama 52, Louisiana-Monroe 0 — Mississippi State (2-0, 0-0 SEC) at LSU (1-1, 0-0 SEC) 6:00 pm ET | Baton Rouge, LA | ESPN Brian Kelly and the talent crawling all over the LSU sideline can’t look mediocre every week. Expect the college football world to crown Brian Kelly king of football after beating the Bulldogs Saturday night in Baton Rouge. PREDICTION:  LSU 42, Mississippi State 27 — Missouri State (2-0) at #10 Arkansas (2-0, 1-0 SEC) 7:00 p.m. | Fayetteville, AR | ESPN+/SECN+ Arkansas is finally living up to the hype I’ve been throwing their way for the last five years. Sam Pittman has the Hogs oinking like some bosses. PREDICTION:  Arkansas 34, Missouri State 6 — Akron (1-1) at #15 Tennessee (2-0, 0-0 SEC) 7:00 pm ET | Knoxville, TN | ESPN+/SECN+ Y’all seeing Tennessee over there in Knoxville? Well, you better. PREDICTION:  Tennessee 47, Akron 13 — South Florida (1-1) at #18 Florida (1-1, 0-1 SEC) 7:30 pm ET | Gainesville, FL | SEC Network Florida gets back on track after losing to Kentucky again last week. PREDICTION:  Florida 31, South Florida 10 — #13 Miami (2-0) at #24 Texas A&M (1-1, 0-0 SEC) 9:00 pm ET | College Station, TX | ESPN Want to spend $1.5 million and lose a home football game? There’s an App (State) for that. The U sends College Station into an absolute frenzy of hatred for its head coach and the program that some had predicted would be in the College Football Playoff at season’s end. PREDICTION:  Miami 28, Texas A&M 24 Read More Here

Breaches Of Voting Machine Data Raise Worries For Midterms https://digitalarkansasnews.com/breaches-of-voting-machine-data-raise-worries-for-midterms-3/ A worker returns voting machines to storage at the Fulton County Election preparation Center on Nov. 4, 2020, in Atlanta. The list of security breaches at local election offices since the 2020 election keeps growing, with investigations ongoing in at least three states, Colorado, Georgia and Michigan. Security experts say the breaches by themselves have not necessarily increased threats to the November elections, but say they increase the possibility that rogue election workers could access election equipment to launch attacks. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File) ATLANTA — Sensitive voting system passwords posted online. Copies of confidential voting software available for download. Ballot-counting machines inspected by people not supposed to have access. The list of suspected security breaches at local election offices since the 2020 election keeps growing, with investigations underway in at least three states — Colorado, Georgia and Michigan. The stakes appeared to rise this week when the existence of a federal probe came to light involving a prominent loyalist to former President Donald Trump who has been promoting voting machine conspiracy theories across the country. While much remains unknown about the investigations, one of the most pressing questions is what it all could mean for security of voting machines with the midterm elections less than two months away. Election security experts say the breaches by themselves have not necessarily increased threats to the November voting. Election officials already assume hostile foreign governments might have the sensitive data, and so they take precautions to protect their voting systems. The more immediate concern is the possibility that rogue election workers, including those sympathetic to lies about the 2020 presidential election, might use their access to election equipment and the knowledge gained through the breaches to launch an attack from within. That could be intended to gain an advantage for their desired candidate or party, or to introduce system problems that would sow further distrust in the election results. In some of the suspected security breaches, authorities are investigating whether local officials provided unauthorized access to people who copied software and hard drive data, and in several cases shared it publicly. After the Georgia breach, a group of election security experts said the unauthorized copying and sharing of election data from rural Coffee County presented “serious threats” to the November election. They urged the state election board to replace the touchscreen devices used throughout the state and use only hand-marked paper ballots. Harri Hursti, a leading expert in voting security, said he is concerned about another use of the breached data. Access to the voting equipment data or software can be used to develop a realistic looking video in which someone claims to have manipulated a voting system, he said. Such a fake video posted online or to social media on or after Election Day could create chaos for an election office and cause voters to challenge the accuracy of the results. “If you have those rogue images, now you can start manufacturing false, compelling evidence — false evidence of wrongdoing that never happened,” Hursti said. “You can start creating very compelling imaginary evidence.” There has been no evidence that voting machines have been manipulated, either during the 2020 election or in this year’s primaries. But conspiracy theories widely promoted among some conservatives have led to calls for replacing the machines with hand-marked and hand-counted ballots and raised concerns that they could be targeted by people working inside election offices or at polling places. The suspected breaches appear to be orchestrated or encouraged by people who falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. In several of the cases, employees of local election offices or election boards gave access to voting systems to people who were not authorized to have it. The incidents emerged into public view after the voting system passwords for Mesa County, Colorado, were posted online, prompting a local investigation and a successful effort to replace the county clerk from overseeing elections. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has organized or attended forums around the U.S. peddling conspiracy theories about voting machines, said this week that he had received a subpoena from a federal grand jury investigating the breach in Colorado and was ordered to hand over his cellphone to FBI agents who approached him at a fast-food restaurant in Minnesota. “And they told me not to tell anybody,” Lindell said in a video afterward. “OK, I won’t. But I am.” Lindell and others have been traveling the country over the past year, holding events where attendees are told that voting machines have been corrupted, that officials are “selected” rather than elected and that widespread fraud cost Trump the 2020 election. In an interview with the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, Lindell said FBI agents questioned him about the Colorado breach and Dominion Voting Systems. The company provides voting equipment used in about 30 states and has had its machines targeted in the Colorado, Georgia and Michigan breaches. When agents asked him why he flies between different states, Linden told them, “I’m going to attorney generals and politicians, and I’m trying to get them to get rid of these voting machines in our country.” The Justice Department did not respond when asked for details about its investigation. Dominion has sued Lindell and others, accusing them of defamation. In a statement this week, the company said it would not comment about ongoing investigations but said its systems are secure. It noted that no credible evidence has been provided to show that its machines “did anything other than count votes accurately and reliably in all states.” The scope of the federal grand jury probe in Colorado isn’t known, but local authorities have charged Mesa County clerk Tina Peters in what they described as a “deceptive scheme which was designed to influence public servants, breach security protocols, exceed permissible access to voting equipment and set in motion the eventual distribution of confidential information to unauthorized people.” Peters has pleaded not guilty and said she had the authority to investigate concerns that the voting equipment had been manipulated. She has appeared at numerous events with Lindell over the past year, including Lindell’s “cybersymposium” last August in which a digital copy of Mesa County’s election management system was distributed. David Becker, a former U.S. Justice Department attorney who now leads the Center for Election Innovation & Research, notes the irony of those who raise alarms about voting equipment being involved in allegations of breaches of the same systems. “The people who have been attacking the integrity of elections are destroying the actual integrity of elections,” he said. —— Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report. MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell, speaks to reporters outside federal court June 24, 2021, in Washington. Lindell, who has organized or attended forums around the U.S. peddling conspiracy theories about voting machines, said earlier this week that he had received a subpoena from a federal grand jury investigating the breach in Colorado and was ordered to hand over his cell phone to FBI agents who approached him at a fast-food restaurant in Minnesota. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) Read More Here

Trump Openly Embraces, Amplifies QAnon Conspiracy Theories https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-openly-embraces-amplifies-qanon-conspiracy-theories/ A QAnon conspiracy theory button sits affixed to the purse of an attendee of the Nebraska Election Integrity Forum on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, in Omaha, Neb. Former President Donald Trump is increasingly embracing and endorsing the QAnon conspiracy theory, even as the number of frightening real-world incidents linked to the movement increase. On Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, using his Truth Social platform, Trump reposted an image of himself — wearing a Q lapel pin — overlaid with the words “The Storm is Coming.” (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, File) After winking at QAnon for years, Donald Trump is overtly embracing the baseless conspiracy theory, even as the number of frightening real-world events linked to it grows. On Tuesday, using his Truth Social platform, the Republican former president reposted an image of himself wearing a Q lapel pin overlaid with the words “The Storm is Coming.” In QAnon lore, the “storm” refers to Trump’s final victory, when supposedly he will regain power and his opponents will be tried, and potentially executed, on live television. As Trump contemplates another run for the presidency and has become increasingly assertive in the Republican primary process during the midterm elections, his actions show that far from distancing himself from the political fringe, he is welcoming it. He’s published dozens of recent Q-related posts, in contrast to 2020, when he claimed that while he didn’t know much about QAnon, he couldn’t disprove its conspiracy theory. Pressed on QAnon theories that Trump allegedly is saving the nation from a satanic cult of child sex traffickers, he claimed ignorance but asked, “Is that supposed to be a bad thing?” “If I can help save the world from problems, I’m willing to do it,” Trump said. Trump’s recent postings have included images referring to himself as a martyr fighting criminals, psychopaths and the so-called deep state. In one now-deleted post from late August, he reposted a “q drop,” one of the cryptic message board postings that QAnon supporters claim come from an anonymous government worker with top secret clearance. A Trump spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Even when his posts haven’t referred to the conspiracy theory directly, Trump has amplified users who do. An Associated Press analysis found that of nearly 75 accounts Trump has reposted on his Truth Social profile in the past month, more than a third of them have promoted QAnon by sharing the movement’s slogans, videos or imagery. About 1 in 10 include QAnon language or links in their profile bios. Earlier this month, Trump chose a QAnon song to close out a rally in Pennsylvania. The same song appears in one of his recent campaign videos and is titled “WWG1WGA,” an acronym used as a rallying cry for Q adherents that stands for “Where we go one, we go all.” Online, Q adherents basked in Trump’s attention. “Yup, haters!” wrote one commenter on an anonymous QAnon message board. “Trump re-truthed Q memes. And he’ll do it again, more and more of them, over and OVER, until (asterisk)everyone(asterisk) finally gets it. Make fun of us all you want, whatever! Soon Q will be everywhere!” “Trump Sending a Clear Message Patriots,” a QAnon-linked account on Truth Social wrote. “He Re-Truthed This for a Reason.” The former president may be seeking solidarity with his most loyal supporters at a time when he faces escalating investigations and potential challengers within his own party, according to Mia Bloom, a professor at Georgia State University who has studied QAnon and recently wrote a book about the group. “These are people who have elevated Trump to messiah-like status, where only he can stop this cabal,” Bloom told the AP on Thursday. “That’s why you see so many images (in online QAnon spaces) of Trump as Jesus.” On Truth Social, QAnon-affiliated accounts hail Trump as a hero and savior and vilify President Joe Biden by comparing him to Adolf Hitler or the devil. When Trump shares the content, they congratulate each other. Some accounts proudly display how many times Trump has “re-truthed” them in their bios. By using their own language to directly address QAnon supporters, Trump is telling them that they’ve been right all along and that he shares their secret mission, according to Janet McIntosh, an anthropologist at Brandeis University who has studied QAnon’s use of language and symbols. It also allows Trump to endorse their beliefs and their hope for a violent uprising without expressly saying so, she said, citing his recent post about “the storm” as a particularly frightening example. “The ‘storm is coming’ is shorthand for something really dark that he’s not saying out loud,” McIntosh said. “This is a way for him to point to violence without explicitly calling for it. He is the prince of plausible deniability.” Bloom predicted that Trump may later attempt to market Q-related merchandise or perhaps ask QAnon followers to donate to his legal defense. Regardless of motive, Bloom said, it’s a reckless move that feeds a dangerous movement. A growing list of criminal episodes has been linked to people who had expressed support for the conspiracy theory, which U.S. intelligence officials have warned could trigger more violence. QAnon supporters were among those who violently stormed the Capitol during the failed Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. In November 2020, two men drove to a vote-counting site in Philadelphia in a Hummer adorned with QAnon stickers and loaded with a rifle, 100 rounds of ammunition and other weapons. Prosecutors alleged they were trying to interfere with the election. Last year, a California man who told authorities he had been enlightened by QAnon was accused of killing his two children because he believed they had serpent DNA. Last month, a Colorado woman was found guilty of attempting to kidnap her son from foster care after her daughter said she began associating with QAnon supporters. Other adherents have been accused of environmental vandalism, firing paintballs at military reservists, abducting a child in France and even killing a New York City mob boss. On Sunday, police fatally shot a Michigan man who they say had killed his wife and severely injured his daughter. A surviving daughter told The Detroit News that she believes her father was motivated by QAnon. “I think that he was always prone to (mental issues), but it really brought him down when he was reading all those weird things on the internet,” she told the newspaper. The same weekend a Pennsylvania man who had reposted QAnon content on Facebook was arrested after he allegedly charged into a Dairy Queen with a gun, saying he wanted to kill all Democrats and restore Trump to power. Major social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have banned content associated with QAnon and have suspended or blocked accounts that seek to spread it. That’s forced much of the group’s activities onto platforms that have less moderation, including Telegram, Gab and Trump’s struggling platform, Truth Social. Read More Here

Phony Document Lands On Court Docket In Trump Search Case https://digitalarkansasnews.com/phony-document-lands-on-court-docket-in-trump-search-case/ President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate Aug. 31, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. A document purporting to be from the U.S. government and claiming the Treasury Department had information related to the search at Mar-a-Lago was a fabrication. A review of court documents and interviews by The Associated Press shows identical documents were filed in a separate case brought by a federal inmate at a prison medical center in North Carolina. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) WASHINGTON — When a government document mysteriously appeared earlier this week in the highest profile case in the federal court system, it had the hallmarks of another explosive storyline in the Justice Department’s investigation into classified records stored at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. The document purported to be from the U.S. Treasury Department, claimed that the agency had seized sensitive documents related to last month’s search at Mar-a-Lago and included a warrant ordering CNN to preserve “leaked tax records.” The document remained late Thursday on the court docket, but it is a clear fabrication. A review of dozens of court records and interviews by The Associated Press suggest the document originated with a serial forger behind bars at a federal prison complex in North Carolina. The incident also suggests that the court clerk was easily tricked into believing it was real, landing the document on the public docket in the Mar-a-Lago search warrant case. It also highlights the vulnerability of the U.S. court system and raises questions about the court’s vetting of documents that purport to be official records. The document first appeared on the court’s docket late Monday afternoon and was marked as a “MOTION to Intervene by U.S. Department of the Treasury.” The document, sprinkled with spelling and syntax errors, read, “The U.S. Department of Treasury through the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Marshals Service have arrested Seized Federal Securities containing sensitive documents which are subject to the Defendant Sealed Search Warrant by the F.B.I. arrest.” It cited a federal statute for collecting financial records in federal investigations. The document also included the two supposed warrants, one that claimed to be sent to CNN in Atlanta and another to a towing company in Michigan. Those supposed warrants, though, are identical to paperwork filed in another case in federal court in Georgia brought by an inmate at the prison medical center in Butner, North Carolina. The case was thrown out, as were the array of other frivolous lawsuits the man has filed from his prison cell. The man has been in custody for several years since he was found not competent to stand trial after an arrest for planting a fake explosive outside the Guardian Building, a skyscraper in Detroit. Since his incarceration, he has filed a range of lawsuits and has impersonated the Treasury Department, claimed to be a federal trustee and claimed to be a lawyer for the Justice Department, a review of court records shows. In the Georgia case, the man alleged that Trump and others had “acquired ‘millions of un- redacted classified tax returns and other sensitive financial data, bank records and accounts of banking and tax transactions of several million’ Americans and federal government agencies,” court documents say. The judge in that case called his suit “fanatic” and “delusional,” saying there was no way to “discern any cognizable claim” from the incoherent filings. The man has repeatedly impersonated federal officials in court records and has placed tax liens on judges using his false paperwork, two people familiar with the matter told the AP. Because of his history as a forger, his mail is supposed to be subjected to additional scrutiny from the Bureau of Prisons. It’s unclear how the documents — the fake motion and the phony warrants — ended up at the court clerk’s office at the courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida. A photocopy of an envelope, included in the filing, shows it was sent to the court with a printed return address of the Treasury Department’s headquarters in Washington. But a postmark shows a Michigan ZIP code, and a tracking number on the envelope shows it was mailed Sept. 9 from Clinton Township, Michigan, the inmate’s hometown. The AP is not identifying the inmate by name because he has a documented history of mental illness and has not been charged with a crime related to the filing. “There is simply nothing indicating that he has any authorization to act on behalf of the United States,” the judge in the Georgia case wrote. But despite the clear warning signs — including a stamp noting the Georgia case number on the phony warrants — the filing still made its way onto the docket. Spokespeople for the Justice Department and the Treasury Department would not comment. They declined to answer on the record when asked if the document was false and why the government had not addressed it. Representatives in the court clerk’s office and the magistrate judge overseeing the search warrant case did not respond to requests for comment. —— Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Fatima Hussein in Washington, Kate Brumback in Atlanta and Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed to this report. 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US Asks Appeals Court To Lift Judge's Mar-A-Lago Probe Hold – KTVZ https://digitalarkansasnews.com/us-asks-appeals-court-to-lift-judges-mar-a-lago-probe-hold-ktvz/ By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court Friday to lift a judge’s order that temporarily barred it from reviewing a batch of classified documents seized during an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home last month. The department told the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta that the judge’s hold, imposed last week, had impeded the “government’s efforts to protect the nation’s security” and interfered with its investigation into the presence of top-secret information at Mar-a-Lago. It asked the court to remove that order so work could resume, and to halt a judge’s directive forcing the department to provide the seized classified documents to an independent arbiter for his review. “The government and the public would suffer irreparable harm absent a stay” of the order, department lawyers wrote in their brief to the appeals court. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s appointment of a so-called special master to review the documents, and the resulting legal tussle it has caused, appear certain to slow by weeks the department’s investigation into the holding of classified documents at the Florida property after Trump left office. The Justice Department has been investigating possible violations of multiple statutes, including under the Espionage Act, but it remains unclear whether Trump — who has been laying the groundwork for a potential presidential run — or anyone else might be charged. The FBI says it took about 11,000 documents, including roughly 100 with classification markings found in a storage room and an office, while serving a court-authorized search warrant at the home on Aug. 8. Weeks after the search, Trump lawyers asked a judge to appoint a special master to conduct an independent review of the records. Cannon granted the request last week, assigning a special master to review the records and weed out any that may be covered by claims of attorney-client or executive privilege. She directed the department to halt its use of the classified documents for investigative purposes until further court order, or until the completion of the special master’s work. On Thursday night, she assigned Raymond Dearie, the former chief judge of the federal court based in Brooklyn, to serve in the role. She also declined to lift her earlier order, citing ongoing disputes about the nature of the documents that she said merited a neutral review by an outside arbiter. “The Court does not find it appropriate to accept the Government’s conclusions on these important and disputed issues without further review by a neutral third party in an expedited and orderly fashion,” she wrote. The Justice Department on Friday night told the appeals court that Cannon’s injunction “unduly interferes with the criminal investigation,” prohibiting investigators from “accessing the seized records to evaluate whether charges are appropriate.” It also prevents the FBI from using the seized records in its criminal investigation to determine which documents, if any, were disclosed and to whom, the department said. Though Cannon has said investigators are free to do other investigative work that did not involve a review of the documents, the department said Friday that that was largely impractical. Noting the discovery of dozens of empty folders at Mar-a-Lago marked classified, it said the judge’s hold appeared to bar it from “further reviewing the records to discern any patterns in the types of records that were retained, which could lead to identification of other records still missing.” The department also asked the appeals court to reject Cannon’s order that it provide the newly appointed special master with the classified documents, suggesting there was no reason for the arbiter to review highly sensitive records that did not involve questions of legal privilege. “Plaintiff has no claim for the return of those records, which belong to the government and were seized in a court-authorized search,” department lawyers wrote. “The records are not subject to any possible claim of personal attorney-client privilege. And neither Plaintiff nor the court has cited any authority suggesting that a former President could successfully invoke executive privilege to prevent the Executive Branch from reviewing its own records.” Cannon has directed Dearie to complete his work by Nov. 30 and to prioritize the review of the classified documents. She directed the Justice Department to permit the Trump legal team to inspect the seized classified records with “controlled access conditions” — something government lawyers said Friday was needless and harmful. On Friday, Dearie, a former federal prosecutor, scheduled a preliminary conference with Trump lawyers and Justice Department lawyers for Tuesday afternoon. _____ Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report. Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP Read More Here

Breaches Of Voting Machine Data Raise Worries For Midterms https://digitalarkansasnews.com/breaches-of-voting-machine-data-raise-worries-for-midterms-2/ ATLANTA (AP) — Sensitive voting system passwords posted online. Copies of confidential voting software available for download. Ballot-counting machines inspected by people not supposed to have access. The list of suspected security breaches at local election offices since the 2020 election keeps growing, with investigations underway in at least three states — Colorado, Georgia and Michigan. The stakes appeared to rise this week when the existence of a federal probe came to light involving a prominent loyalist to former President Donald Trump who has been promoting voting machine conspiracy theories across the country. While much remains unknown about the investigations, one of the most pressing questions is what it all could mean for security of voting machines with the midterm elections less than two months away. Election security experts say the breaches by themselves have not necessarily increased threats to the November voting. Election officials already assume hostile foreign governments might have the sensitive data, and so they take precautions to protect their voting systems. The more immediate concern is the possibility that rogue election workers, including those sympathetic to lies about the 2020 presidential election, might use their access to election equipment and the knowledge gained through the breaches to launch an attack from within. That could be intended to gain an advantage for their desired candidate or party, or to introduce system problems that would sow further distrust in the election results. In some of the suspected security breaches, authorities are investigating whether local officials provided unauthorized access to people who copied software and hard drive data, and in several cases shared it publicly. After the Georgia breach, a group of election security experts said the unauthorized copying and sharing of election data from rural Coffee County presented “serious threats” to the November election. They urged the state election board to replace the touchscreen devices used throughout the state and use only hand-marked paper ballots. Harri Hursti, a leading expert in voting security, said he is concerned about another use of the breached data. Access to the voting equipment data or software can be used to develop a realistic looking video in which someone claims to have manipulated a voting system, he said. Such a fake video posted online or to social media on or after Election Day could create chaos for an election office and cause voters to challenge the accuracy of the results. “If you have those rogue images, now you can start manufacturing false, compelling evidence — false evidence of wrongdoing that never happened,” Hursti said. “You can start creating very compelling imaginary evidence.” There has been no evidence that voting machines have been manipulated, either during the 2020 election or in this year’s primaries. But conspiracy theories widely promoted among some conservatives have led to calls for replacing the machines with hand-marked and hand-counted ballots and raised concerns that they could be targeted by people working inside election offices or at polling places. The suspected breaches appear to be orchestrated or encouraged by people who falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. In several of the cases, employees of local election offices or election boards gave access to voting systems to people who were not authorized to have it. The incidents emerged into public view after the voting system passwords for Mesa County, Colorado, were posted online, prompting a local investigation and a successful effort to replace the county clerk from overseeing elections. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has organized or attended forums around the U.S. peddling conspiracy theories about voting machines, said this week that he had received a subpoena from a federal grand jury investigating the breach in Colorado and was ordered to hand over his cellphone to FBI agents who approached him at a fast-food restaurant in Minnesota. “And they told me not to tell anybody,” Lindell said in a video afterward. “OK, I won’t. But I am.” Lindell and others have been traveling the country over the past year, holding events where attendees are told that voting machines have been corrupted, that officials are “selected” rather than elected and that widespread fraud cost Trump the 2020 election. In an interview with the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, Lindell said FBI agents questioned him about the Colorado breach and Dominion Voting Systems. The company provides voting equipment used in about 30 states and has had its machines targeted in the Colorado, Georgia and Michigan breaches. When agents asked him why he flies between different states, Linden told them, “I’m going to attorney generals and politicians, and I’m trying to get them to get rid of these voting machines in our country.” The Justice Department did not respond when asked for details about its investigation. Dominion has sued Lindell and others, accusing them of defamation. In a statement this week, the company said it would not comment about ongoing investigations but said its systems are secure. It noted that no credible evidence has been provided to show that its machines “did anything other than count votes accurately and reliably in all states.” The scope of the federal grand jury probe in Colorado isn’t known, but local authorities have charged Mesa County clerk Tina Peters in what they described as a “deceptive scheme which was designed to influence public servants, breach security protocols, exceed permissible access to voting equipment and set in motion the eventual distribution of confidential information to unauthorized people.” Peters has pleaded not guilty and said she had the authority to investigate concerns that the voting equipment had been manipulated. She has appeared at numerous events with Lindell over the past year, including Lindell’s “cybersymposium” last August in which a digital copy of Mesa County’s election management system was distributed. David Becker, a former U.S. Justice Department attorney who now leads the Center for Election Innovation & Research, notes the irony of those who raise alarms about voting equipment being involved in allegations of breaches of the same systems. “The people who have been attacking the integrity of elections are destroying the actual integrity of elections,” he said. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

US Justice Department Appeals Halt Of Trump Classified Docs Review https://digitalarkansasnews.com/us-justice-department-appeals-halt-of-trump-classified-docs-review/ This undated file photo released by the US Department of Justice on August 31, 2022 shows a photo of documents allegedly seized at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort spread over a carpet. Photo: Handout / US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE/AFP/File Source: AFP The US Justice Department on Friday appealed in part a judge’s decision to halt the review of seized documents from former president Donald Trump’s Florida estate, asking to continue its investigation of those materials marked as classified. Federal investigators have been blocked since last week from reviewing thousands of documents taken by the FBI from Trump’s seaside mansion, after a judge sided with the former president and decided to appoint an independent arbiter to sort through the files. The Justice Department, in its filing Friday evening, argued that Judge Aileen Cannon “fundamentally erred in appointing a special master and granting injunctive relief,” but would limit its appeal to just the “roughly 100 records bearing classification markings,” recovered from Trump’s estate. Delaying the review of the classified documents, which it argues are government property, “impedes the government’s efforts to protect the Nation’s security,” the Justice Department said. “It also irreparably harms the government by enjoining critical steps of an ongoing criminal investigation and needlessly compelling disclosure of highly sensitive records, including to Plaintiff’s counsel,” the filing added, referring to Trump’s lawyers. Trump is facing mounting legal pressure, with the Justice Department saying top-secret documents were “likely concealed” to obstruct an FBI probe into his potential mishandling of classified materials. PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram – get the most important news directly in your favourite app! He has denied all wrongdoing, and said the raid on his mansion was “one of the most egregious assaults on democracy in the history of our country,” while making it a major talking point at his political rallies. The appeal will be heard first by a three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit, but could ultimately wind up at the Supreme Court. On Thursday, Judge Cannon appointed Raymond Dearie to review the files, as the so-called special master. The 78-year-old senior federal judge in New York was one of two people proposed by Trump’s legal team. Dearie issued an order on Friday for Trump’s lawyers and the Justice Department counsel to meet with him in New York early next week. Agenda items for the Tuesday meeting are to be submitted by either side by the close of business on Monday, Dearie ordered. In addition to the documents probe, Trump faces investigations in New York into his business practices, as well as legal scrutiny over his efforts to overturn results of the 2020 election, and for the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. Source: AFP Read More Here

Who Won Jeopardy! Tonight? September 16, 2022, Friday https://digitalarkansasnews.com/who-won-jeopardy-tonight-september-16-2022-friday/ Season 39 of Jeopardy! aired a new episode on Friday, September 16, 2022, featuring the return of five-day champion Luigi de Guzman. The attorney from Arlington, Virginia, started his journey on the game show on the finale episode of Season 38, which aired on July 29. After winning that episode, he got the opportunity to return to the premiere of the latest season. Luigi continued with his winning streak in the new season, making him a five-time winner by the end of the September 15 episode of Jeopardy! In the subsequent episode, which aired on September 16, he was finally dethroned by Emmett Stanton. In the latest episode, which aired on September 16, Luigi participated in the game against two new players — Melissa Woodall and Emmett Stanton. Melissa is a homemaker from Fort Smith, Arkansas, whereas Stanton is a freelance writer from Baltimore, Maryland. Today’s Jeopardy! winner, Emmett Stanton The first round included multiple categories, including “Herstory, Texting Abbrev., 2022 Geogra-Fee, Freds Up, Magazine Covers, Help Me Move My Stuff?” Freelancer Emmett started to showcase his intelligence from the beginning of the game itself. He won the first round with a big lead as he banked $8,200 by correctly answering 24 questions. The second place went to five-day champion Luigi who managed to give 12 correct answers and scored $3,200. Melissa Woodall landed in third place with just $400 in her pocket. The categories for the second round were “British Literature, Magnets!, Think Fast, Television, Explorers, Beyond The Pale.” Luigi took back his lead in this round, surpassing Emmett’s total earnings by correctly answering 26 questions and banking $18,000. Emmett, on the other hand, scored $15,800 for 22 right responses. Melissa’s position didn’t change in this round as well, she was in third place with $2,800 earnings. In the Final Jeopardy round, Luigi seemed a bit overconfident, thinking that Emmett would not deliver the right answer to the final question. Both Luigi and Emmett gave correct answers, thus, winning their wagered amount. While betting money, Emmett took a big leap by wagering $10,000, while Luigi bet only $1,551. After the final calculation, Emmett’s total earnings crossed Luigi’s. Hence, Emmett Stanton won Jeopardy! today. five-day winner Luigi in the latest episode. Although Luigi lost the game, he took home his five-day earnings ($140,700) as well as today’s amount ($19,551), resulting in a total of $160,251. That apart, he has already qualified for the Tournament of Champions 2023. Meanwhile, today’s winner Emmett will return to defend his win in the next episode. Hosted by Ken Jennings, the new episode will air on Monday, September 19, 2022. Rate this story! ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Thank You! Read More Here

Some Bodies Found At Mass Burial Site In Izium Show 'signs Of Torture,' Ukraine Says https://digitalarkansasnews.com/some-bodies-found-at-mass-burial-site-in-izium-show-signs-of-torture-ukraine-says/ Izium, Ukraine (CNN)Even the heavy rainfall couldn’t erase the smell of death in the pine forest in Izium on Friday afternoon, as Ukrainian investigators worked their way through a mass burial site found in the eastern Ukrainian city after its recapture from Russian forces. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said at least 440 “unmarked” graves were found in the city in recent days. The country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that some of the bodies found in Izium showed “signs of torture,” blaming Russia for what he called “cruelty and terrorism.” Izium was subject to intense Russian artillery attacks in April. The city, which sits near the border between the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, became an important hub for the invading military during five months of occupation. Ukrainian forces took back control of the city on Saturday, delivering a strategic blow to Russia’s military assault in the east. When CNN arrived to the mass burial site on Friday afternoon, officials were transporting body bags, including one that appeared to be holding something very small, into a refrigerated truck. Most graves at the burial site are individual graves, with wooden crosses placed at the head of the dirt mounds. Some with names and numbers handwritten on them. One had a number as high as 398. Another with the name of an 82-year-old man. One official at the site told CNN that investigations would have to determine when these people died. Further down in the forest lies what appeared to be a former military position, with tank positions dug deep into the ground. A policeman at the scene told CNN that the spot is a mass grave where 17 bodies were found. “Here are civilian bodies and military ones further along,” Igor Garmash, an investigator at the scene said of the specific part of the site he was examining, pointing to a location nearby. “Over 20 bodies have been examined and sent for further investigation,” he told CNN. Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications said on Thursday that some of the graves discovered at Izium were “fresh,” and that the corpses buried there were “mostly civilians.” Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a video statement from the site that “there is a whole family right next to me… This is a young family… The father was born in 1988, the wife was born in 1991, their little daughter was born in 2016.” He said local people told the investigators that the family had died in a Russian airstrike. “Also we saw here a mass burial of servicemen of the Ukrainian army. The way they were buried — you will see evidence that their hands were tied, they were killed at close range,” Lubinets said. An Izium resident living across the street from the mass burial site told CNN the Russians first hit a nearby city graveyard with an airstrike and then moved in. “They brought their special machines. They dug some trenches for their vehicles. We only heard how they were destroying the forest,” Nadezhda Kalinichenko told CNN. She said she tried not to go out during the time the city was under the Russian occupation because she was too scared. “When they left, I don’t know if there was fighting or not. We just heard a lot of heavy trucks one night a week ago,” she said. ‘Bloody brutal terror’ Zelensky said during his address on Thursday that Russia must be held accountable for deaths there, and in other cities where large numbers of bodies had been found. “Bucha, Mariupol and now, unfortunately, Izium… Russia leaves death everywhere. And must be responsible for it. The world must hold Russia to real responsibility for this war. We will do everything for this,” he added. The Governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said that “the scale of the crimes committed by the invaders in Izium is enormous. This is bloody brutal terror.” Syniehubov said that “450 bodies of civilians with traces of violent death and torture were buried in a forest belt. It is difficult to imagine something like this in the 21st century, but now it is a tragic reality in Izium.” Syniehubov said that among the bodies exhumed on Friday “99 percent showed signs of violent death.” “There are several bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, and one person is buried with a rope around his neck. Obviously, these people were tortured and executed. There are also children among the buried,” he said. Meanwhile, Oleh Kotenko, Ukraine’s commissioner for missing persons, said in a Telegram post that search operations for the remains of “fallen heroes” were proceeding cautiously throughout the region. “The biggest problem is that some areas are still mined. Despite this, we continue to work, because we have to return each hero home so that the families can honor the memory of the soldiers who died for Ukraine in a dignified manner as soon as possible,” Kotenko said. Zelensky visited Izium on Wednesday and told journalists he was “shocked” by the number of “destroyed buildings” and “killed people” left in the wake of the Russian occupation. In his nightly address on Friday, Zelensky said exhumation of the bodies at the mass burial site was continuing and it was still “too early to speak about the total number of people buried there.” He added that investigations were taking place in all areas of the country that had been recaptured from Russian forces and that a number of civilians, including foreigners, who had been held captive in occupied cities and towns had been found alive. Among the foreigners rescued were seven students from Sri Lanka, he said. They were studying in Kupyansk Medical College but were captured by Russian soldiers back in March and held in a basement. “Only now, after the liberation of Kharkiv region, these people were rescued and are being provided proper medical care,” Zelensky said. A United Nations source has told CNN that a team from the UN’s human rights monitoring agency — the OCHR — would be going to Izium and areas around it as soon as possible. The War Crimes investigation team may follow after that, the source said. Their specific destination remains unclear at this time. Moscow was using Izium as a launching pad for attacks southward into the Donetsk region and Kupyansk, some 48 kilometers (30 miles) to the north of Izium, and as a rail hub to resupply its forces. Zelensky also thanked foreign governments for sending investigators and prosecutors to investigate alleged human rights abuses by occupying forces in Ukraine, adding that all occupied areas would eventually return. Ukrainian forces have been on a sustained military offensive, particularly in the country’s northeast and southern regions. Zelensky said on Tuesday that 8,000 square kilometers (3,088 square miles) of territory had now been liberated by Ukrainian forces so far this month, with roughly half the area still undergoing “stabilization” measures. Read More Here

Tigers Sweep Pine Bluff And Central Arkansas On Day One Of The Bluff City Showdown – University Of Memphis Athletics https://digitalarkansasnews.com/tigers-sweep-pine-bluff-and-central-arkansas-on-day-one-of-the-bluff-city-showdown-university-of-memphis-athletics/ MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis Volleyball (8-3) extended its home win streak to seven on Friday. Sweeping both Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Central Arkansas. The Tigers have dropped just one set in their last five matches   Memphis 3, Pine Bluff 0   The lady Tigers cruised to a 3-0 victory over Pine Bluff (2-10) sweeping the Golden Lions 25-15,25-18,25-13 in their first match Friday.   Memphis played a complete game, committing a season-low 11 errors while posting a season-best 22 blocks. Pine Bluff had a .000 hitting percentage, including a -0.81 during the third set.   Notables Senior Gigi Crescenzo led the way for Memphis with eight kills on a .471 hitting percentage Sophomores Lexi Lewis and Jasmyn Tate each had a match-high six blocks. For Lewis, it was a career best. The Tigers 22 blocks were the most since 9/10/21 when they had 24 against Southeast Missouri.     Memphis 3, Central Arkansas 0   After defeating Little Rock 3-0 on Friday morning, the Sugar Bears looked to be a challenge to the Tigers. Central Arkansas played tough but fell 25-22,25-15,25-23 to Memphis.     Notables Memphis is on a five-match win streak and has not dropped a set in four matches. The Tigers moved to 8-1 at home with their two wins on Friday. Senior Gigi Crescenzo had a match high 12 kills and served up two aces against the sugar Bears   Up Next The Tigers face Little Rock tomorrow at noon in their final match before conference play begins. Match live stats will be available on memphisstats.com   How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tigers Volleyball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team’s social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.   Read More…