Names And Faces https://digitalarkansasnews.com/names-and-faces/
FILE – Bruce Springsteen performs at Stand Up For Heroes in New York on Nov. 1, 2016. Springsteen’s new album “Only the Strong Survive” will be released on Nov. 11. (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP, File)
• Bruce Springsteen takes on the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Supremes, Jimmy Ruffin and other soul legends in an album of cover songs due out next month. The disc “Only the Strong Survive” is named for the Jerry Butler song, one of the 16 covers to be released Nov. 11. “I wanted to make an album where I just sang,” Springsteen said. “And what better music to work with than the great American songbook of the Sixties and Seventies? I’ve taken my inspiration from Levi Stubbs, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, the Iceman Jerry Butler, Diana Ross, Dobie Gray and Scott Walker, among many others.” Those who’ve seen Springsteen perform live know that he’ll frequently pull out some soul covers. The disc arrives three months before the beginning of a new tour with the E Street Band. Among the songs he tackles are the Commodores’ “Nightshift,” The Walker Brothers’ “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” and the Four Tops’ “When She Was My Girl.” Also featured are “I Wish It Would Rain” by The Temptations and “Someday We’ll Be Together” by Diana Ross and The Supremes. Soul legend Sam Moore sings on two of the cuts.
• The husband of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has filed for divorce, stating his marriage is “irretrievably broken.” According to the divorce petition filed Wednesday in the Georgia Superior Court of Floyd County, the couple had already separated. Perry Greene, who married Marjorie Taylor in 1995 while they were at the University of Georgia, asks for an equitable division of assets and debt, and that all future filings in the case be sealed — “because the parties’ significant privacy interest in sealing the records outweighs the public’s minuscule interest in access to said records,” the motion says. The lawmaker, one of former President Donald Trump’s top allies, has often stressed her traditional values and angered many for her far-right political leanings. “Marriage is a wonderful thing and I’m a firm believer in it,” she told Fox News. “Our society is formed by a husband and wife creating a family to nurture and protect. Together, Perry and I formed our family and raised three great kids. He gave me the best job title you can ever earn: Mom.” She added, “I’ll always be grateful for how great of a dad he is to our children.” Perry Greene said his wife had been an “amazing” mother and friend. “Our family is our most important thing we have done,” he said. “As we go on different paths we will continue to focus on our 3 incredible kids and their future endeavors and our friendship.”
This cover image released by Columbia Records shows “Only the Strong Survive” by Bruce Springsteen, releasing Nov. 11. (Columbia Records via AP)
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New Lawyer For Jan. 6 Defendant From Yellville Says Plea Offer Being Considered
New Lawyer For Jan. 6 Defendant From Yellville Says Plea Offer Being Considered https://digitalarkansasnews.com/new-lawyer-for-jan-6-defendant-from-yellville-says-plea-offer-being-considered/
The new attorney for a Yellville man charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot said Thursday that he will decide soon whether his client should take a plea offer or go to trial.
Joseph William Allen of Branson filed a notice Sept. 14 in federal court in the Distinct of Columbia indicating he would be serving as attorney for Jon Thomas Mott, 39, of Yellville.
Mott was previously represented by Michelle M. Peterson, a public defender in Washington, D.C.
Mott faces four misdemeanor charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol: Entering and remaining in a restricted building; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building; violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
In a teleconference status hearing Thursday from federal court in the District of Columbia, Assistant U.S. Attorney Graciela Rodriguez Lindberg said a plea offer was extended to Mott last year.
“I don’t mind leaving that offer open or at least getting another offer on the table,” she said. “That one has technically expired, but we can work on that.”
Lindberg said that since Allen is new on the case, he may need some time to pore over the extensive discovery related to the Capitol riot.
“Just for the record, as of September 16 of this year … we have over 3.37 million files related to the Capitol riot discovery in the defense Relativity workspace,” Lindberg told U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth during Thursday’s hearing.
She said the video footage alone would take 100 days to watch straight through without taking a break.
“I’m aware of the larger discovery available,” Allen told the judge. “Of course I’m new to the case. However, I’ve been trying to focus on peeling back the layers of discovery as it is specific to Mr. Mott’s case. So I believe that I am pretty well up to speed and I do have access to the discovery.”
Allen said he has spoken extensively with Mott and has been in contact with attorneys for the federal government.
Allen said he needed a little more time, so Lamberth set the next status hearing for Nov. 17. If both sides come to an agreement regarding a plea, a court date can be set earlier, Lamberth said.
If the case goes to trial, Lindberg estimated it would take a week including jury selection.
Last Friday, Allen asked the judge to allow Mott to use his legally owned guns to go hunting.
“For the majority of his life, Defendant has participated in the Conservation efforts of wildlife management by engaging in the practice of subsistence hunting,” Allen wrote in the motion. “This practice also contributes toward supplementing the monies spent by the Defendant toward groceries for an average annual estimate of $5,000.00 in savings.”
Lamberth granted that request Monday, but Mott isn’t allowed to keep firearms or ammunition at his home or workplace. One condition of Mott’s pretrial release was that he not possess firearms.
The Jan. 6 riot escalated from a “Stop the Steal” rally when some supporters of then-President Donald Trump entered the U.S. Capitol and attempted to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote indicating that Joe Biden had won the presidential election.
Richard “Bigo” Barnett, 62, of Gravette, and Peter Francis Stager, 43, of Conway face felony charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Stager remains in the District of Columbia jail. He is the only Jan. 6 defendant from Arkansas still incarcerated.
Mott, Barnett and Stager have all pleaded innocent.
Robert Thomas Snow, 78, of Heber Springs pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for “parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol building.” He was sentenced to probation and community service.
Print Headline: D.C. riot suspect weighs plea offer
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David Treadwell: Sen. Collins Your Slips Are Showing
David Treadwell: Sen. Collins, Your Slips Are Showing https://digitalarkansasnews.com/david-treadwell-sen-collins-your-slips-are-showing/
Senator Collins, we need to have a talk. You keep making errors in judgment, oblivious to your past mistakes. Let me explain.
After President Trump’s first impeachment trial, you suggested that he had learned his lesson. Poppycock. Anyone who’s followed Trump’s lifelong habit of conning and lying knows that he is incorrigible. He blusters and bullies and sues his way out of every fix in which he finds himself. Consider the most recent legal rulings about his fraud-laden corporate career. Maybe you didn’t get the memo. Or maybe you didn’t want to admit that the unofficial head of your political party is a two-bit narcissist, a con man to the core, a quack to the quick.
And what about the naiveté you displayed after interviewing Brett Kavanaugh for a position on the United States Supreme Court. He convinced you that he would not try to overturn settled law. You proudly gave a speech about your vote to confirm Kavanaugh, a move which, while against the will of most Mainers, elevated your status in right-wing circles, especially members of the Federalist Society. And then, oops, the Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade. You were shocked and surprised. You’d been duped yet again.
The second duping, the Kavanaugh fiasco, may sink Republican chances for flipping the Senate and will surely hurt in many House contests. Don’t be shocked if that happens; just look in the mirror to find one of the explanations.
And then came the January 6 insurrection, the horrendous event when Trump’s diehard supporters invaded the Capital. And, oh yes, Trump began spreading the Big Lie, a con act believed by the majority of Republican voters. And how about all of Trump’s efforts to overturn the election by any means possible: fake elector slates, bullying phone calls to state election officials and on and on. Do you still think Trump is capable of learning from his mistakes?
And then came the case of the missing documents, many of them highly classified. Trump had no right to those documents. Period. Not only did he take them to Mara Lago, but his lawyers claimed that they had all been turned back to the Justice Department. Now that was the definition of a “big lie.”
After futile attempts to get Trump to turn over all the documents and proof that many of them remained in Mara Lago, the Justice Department took the justified step of going to the hotel to get the documents.
Your response was classic Collins, a masterpiece of naive spluttering and faux outrage. You claimed to be “shocked.” You said, “It was unprecedented for there to be a raid on a former president’s home over an issue involving disputed documents.” I know you didn’t want to offend Trump supporters, Senator Collins, but that dog won’t hunt. If Trump hadn’t stolen documents (including many highly classified ones) his hotel would never have been raided. What is “unprecedented” is Trump’s horrendous behavior on this matter and several others over the last six years.
One might think that by this time you would have mustered up the courage to speak out against Trump and Trumpism. But then, you are no Margaret Chase Smith. No Olympia Snowe. No Liz Cheney. Moreover, you have refused to rule out voting for Trump in 2024.
And here’s the bigger more immediate issue. You have come out in full support of Paul LePage and his bid to take back the governor’s seat in the coming election. Do you remember when LePage bragged that he was “Trump before Trump?” He wore that as a badge of honor. Do you wear your support of LePage as a badge of honor? Asking for a friend.
Ever the political opportunist and never the principled legislator, you have chosen to remain on the Trumpian side of today’s political divide. Your support didn’t surprise sage political supporters or people such as myself who caught on to your game long ago. I can only hope that, years from now when you’re looking back over your long career in the Senate, you stop and ask yourself, “What was I thinking?”
David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future Just a Little Old columns.
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European Markets Climb Looking For Relief Rally After Global Sell-Off; Stoxx 600 Up 1%
European Markets Climb, Looking For Relief Rally After Global Sell-Off; Stoxx 600 Up 1% https://digitalarkansasnews.com/european-markets-climb-looking-for-relief-rally-after-global-sell-off-stoxx-600-up-1/
LONDON ― European markets advanced on Friday, gaining some respite from a torrid week as the third quarter drew to a close.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 added 1% in early trade, with oil and gas stocks climbing 2.2% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses entered positive territory.
Global stocks struggled in recent sessions amid fears over slowing growth and aggressive monetary policy tightening.
The widespread sell-off on Wall Street continued on Thursday, with all three major averages falling sharply as investors assessed the outlook for future rate-hiking decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve and their impact on the markets. The S&P 500 hit a fresh low for the year. Stock futures were mixed in early premarket trade on Friday.
Shares in Asia-Pacific also retreated on Friday following the overnight plunge stateside, though new data showed Chinese factory activity unexpectedly expanded in August.
Investor focus in Europe on Friday will shift to initial euro zone inflation figures for September, due at 10 a.m. London time, with economists expecting annual consumer prices to have increased by a fresh record high of 9.7%.
Volatility continues in U.K. markets after the Bank of England intervened in the bond market on Wednesday in order to shore up the country’s financial stability, after a historic sell-off in long-dated gilts. Sterling also hit an all-time low on Monday following the new government’s widely condemned fiscal policy announcements, but has staged a significant rally in recent days.
Stateside, several Fed officials are due to speak on Friday afternoon, and the markets will be watching closely for indications as to the pace of future rate hikes from the central bank.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss to have emergency talks with budget forecasters
Stocks on the move: Clariant up 6%, Wise down 5%
Clariant shares climbed 6.4% in early trade to lead the Stoxx 600 after Credit Suisse upgraded the Swiss chemicals company’s stock to “outperform” from neutral and upped its price target.
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, London-based fintech company Wise slid 5% following the publication of its earnings report on Thursday.
– Elliot Smith
Here are the opening calls
Britain’s FTSE 100 is expected to open around 13 points lower at 6,869, Germany’s DAX is set to gain around 9 points to 11,984 and France’s CAC 40 is seen around 6 points higher at 5,683.
CNBC Pro: Is the Fed on the right track? Wall Street veteran Ed Yardeni says this is what it should do next
The U.S Federal Reserve announced yet another 75 basis point hike earlier this month, sending the federal funds rate up to a range of 3% to 3.25%. The central bank also signaled it may raise interest rates up to as high as 4.6% in 2023 to control inflation.
Ed Yardeni, the economist who coined the term “bond vigilantes,” gives his take as the Fed’s response to inflation comes under intense scrutiny.
Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Zavier Ong
CNBC Pro: Here’s how to trade the UK’s political and market turmoil, fund managers say
Markets in London have been in turmoil ever since the U.K. government announced its so-called “mini-budget.”
The chaos driven by recent political events has seen the Sterling tank to new historic lows against the dollar as many overseas investors pulled out of the country.
Three fund managers have named stocks and sectors that may benefit from the sell-off in the country’s currency.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
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Panthers ‘handle Business’ In Rout https://digitalarkansasnews.com/panthers-handle-business-in-rout/
Cabot quarterback Abe Owen (12) scores a first-half touchdown in Thursday’s 41-0 victory over Little Rock Southwest. Owen also passed for three touchdowns as the Panthers improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in 7A-Central. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/930football/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)
It may have been homecoming for Little Rock Southwest, but Cabot made itself plenty comfortable at Gryphon Stadium in Little Rock on Thursday night.
The fifth-ranked Panthers got three touchdown passes from quarterback Abe Owen to power their way to a convincing 41-0 victory.
Owen, a 6-0 senior, also ran for a score for Cabot (4-1, 2-0 7A-Central), which has eclipsed 30 points in each of its four wins on the season. But it took just one half for the Panthers to reach that point total and essentially ruin Southwest’s festivities.
Cabot stormed out to a 34-0 lead after two quarters and coasted thereafter.
“Efficient is a good word for this one,” Cabot Coach Scott Reed said. “We didn’t have any turnovers and hardly had any penalties, either. It was a pretty clean game for us. I kind of challenged them to play at our level, and I thought the guys did.
“Honestly, Southwest competed hard, too. They’re on the way up. It takes a while. But I was just really pleased with the way our kids handled business.”
The Panthers handled things on both sides of the ball to remain perfect in conference play.
Owen didn’t pass much, but he was effective when he did. He finished 6 of 8 for 56 yards, with both of his incompletions coming on pass break-ups.
Three running backs had more than 40 yards rushing as well for Cabot. Evion Jimerson carried 8 times for 60 yards and a touchdown, while Owen Horn added 47 yards on 8 carries and a score. Keegan Vest also had 45 yards on 8 attempts.
Defensively, the Panthers allowed less than 100 yards of offense and never let their league counterparts cross midfield.
Southwest (1-4, 0-2) has now been outscored 144-31 in its past three games since knocking off Rogers Heritage 30-29 on Sept. 9. But self-inflicted wounds hurt its chances Thursday night.
Cabot didn’t have to travel far on any of its five first-half scoring possessions. The Panthers’ average starting field position was the Gryphons’ 36 due to a myriad of mistakes.
The Panthers recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff at the Southwest 22 and scored five plays later when Owen found Austin Robertson for a 1-yard touchdown with 9:58 to go in the first quarter.
The Gryphons had a punt partially blocked on their next possession, which set up Cabot at Southwest’s 37. Jimerson would eventually score from 4 yards out to push the Panthers’ lead to 13-0.
The next three Southwest drives ended with 12-, 20- and 23-yard punts, all of which landed deep in its territory. The short kicks also led directly to Cabot scores, with Owen sprinting in for a 7-yard touchdown with 10:18 remaining in the second quarter before connecting with Hayes Cox on a 23-yard score a little more than three minutes later.
Owen would throw his third touchdown pass — a 7-yarder — to Gavin Reardon with 3:58 showing to give Cabot its 34-point halftime lead.
“You always kind of worry that things can go wrong,” Reed said. “But our group has been pretty mature with the way they’ve handled things. They’ve been mature-acting, and they showed it again.”
Cabot put the finishing touches on the rout in the third quarter on Horn’s 1-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left.
“I’m sure I’ll watch some film and find a couple of things that we can do better,” Reed said with a smile. “But I really, really pleased with our kids. It was a nice atmosphere, great place to play.”
Gallery: SWHS-Cabot Football
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Live Updates: Hurricane Ian Barrels Toward South Carolina After Slamming Florida
Live Updates: Hurricane Ian Barrels Toward South Carolina After Slamming Florida https://digitalarkansasnews.com/live-updates-hurricane-ian-barrels-toward-south-carolina-after-slamming-florida/
1 min ago
Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tom Brady and team owners to make donations toward relief efforts
From CNN’s Ben Morse and Jacob Lev
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and the team’s owners, the Glazer family, both announced on Thursday that they will make donations towards Hurricane Ian relief efforts.
“Happy were able to head home for Sunday night, but so many people in Florida won’t be able to do the same,” Brady said in a tweet.
“I’ll be making a donation to the Florida Disaster Fund to get things started, and I’m hoping the rest of the NFL family in our state will follow suit.”
The Glazer family announced it will donate $1 million to “organizations that are providing support to those who have been most impacted” throughout the state.
Read more about the Bucs’ plan to play in Tampa on Sunday here:
1 hr 1 min ago
Nearly 2.2 million customers are without power across Florida
From CNN’s Melissa Alonso
Police officers direct the traffic during a power outage after Hurricane Ian passed through Bartow, Florida on September 29. (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
Nearly 2.2 million homes and businesses in Florida were still without power as of 2:40 a.m. ET Friday, according to PowerOutage.us.
Earlier on Thursday, the amount of customers reported to be in the dark reached as high as 2.6 million.
Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest energy provider, said in a tweet that storm conditions are making repairs difficult.
“Downed trees, high winds and flooding are posing challenges but we’re working around the clock to repair and restore all areas,” the utility said, noting in a separate statement that especially bad conditions in southwest Florida may delay repairs further.
Almost 20% of Florida Power & Light’s tracked customers were without electricity early Friday, according to PowerOutage.us.
1 hr 30 min ago
Florida contends with ruinous damage from Hurricane Ian
From CNN’s Elizabeth Wolfe and Amanda Musa
Hurricane Ian’s destructive crawl across Florida brought extraordinary flooding and storm surges, prompting the largest emergency response in the state’s history, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis told CNN Thursday.
Multiple communities have been wiped out by the storm. In Fort Myers Beach along the state’s southwestern coast, some homes have been reduced to nothing but concrete slabs, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, calling the damage in parts of the state “indescribable.”
Patronis, who also serves as the state’s fire marshal, compared the devastation in the Fort Myers area to the damage left behind by Hurricane Michael, which slammed the Florida Panhandle in 2018 as a Category 5 storm.
“Fort Myers Beach … very similar to Mexico Beach with Hurricane Michael. A much older community, older infrastructure built with older building codes. So, the devastation there is very similar to what we’re seeing with Hurricane Michael and Bay County,” he said.
When all is said and done, Ian’s storm system will likely have left behind lasting changes in its wake.
Track Ian’s path as well as power outages and the storm’s impact in Florida here:
1 hr 56 min ago
North Port in Florida enacts overnight curfew as emergency crews work through 911 call backlog
From CNN’s Melissa Alonso
First responders rescue residents who were in need of assistance in North Port on Thursday September 29. (Thomas Bender/Herald-Tribune/USA Today Network)
Officials in North Port, Florida, issued a citywide curfew for residents Thursday night amid flooding from Hurricane Ian.
Residents are asked to shelter in place from 8 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday ET, the city said in an update.
“There is a strong potential for the water levels throughout the City to continue rising over the days ahead as the rainwater Hurricane Ian dumped to the north of us flows south,” the city said.
North Port is in Sarasota County, which was battered by Hurricane Ian as it made landfall Wednesday.
Fire rescue crews were working through a “backlog of priority calls” Thursday night, the update said, but residents were still encouraged to call 911 with emergencies.
City water service has been restored, but for the next three days residents should still continue to boil water before consuming it, the city said.
3 hr 15 min ago
Here are the latest developments as Hurricane Ian approaches South Carolina
As Hurricane Ian strengthens in the Atlantic and veers toward the South Carolina coast, officials are assessing the destruction wrought in Florida that is being characterized as likely the largest natural disaster in the state’s history.
At least 19 people have died in the US due to the storm, which made landfall in southwestern Florida as a Category 4 hurricane Wednesday afternoon. Weakening to a tropical storm as it crossed the Florida peninsula, Ian has since intensified into a Category 1 storm packing nearly 85 mph sustained winds after reaching open waters.
Here are the latest developments:
Florida island residents unable to access mainland: Significant breaches to the causeway to Sanibel Island — an island off the Florida mainland near Cape Coral — has stranded residents who did not or were not able to evacuate, necessitating contact and rescue by first responders via helicopter. The bridges to nearby Pine Island have failed, and Matlacha, a tiny island also near Cape Coral, is reportedly completely cut off.
More than 2 million are without power: While outages in Florida are slowly being repaired, more than 2.2 million customers remain in the dark as of early Friday, according to PowerOutage.us. The southwestern counties of Hardee, Charlotte, Lee and Highlands are among the most heavily damaged, and Volusia and Seminole counties by the Atlantic shore are also reporting substantial power loss.
Hazards remain after the storm: Search crews have begun going door-to-door in the hardest-hit parts of the state to perform wellness checks after floodwaters initially sidelined first responders. Residents who stayed during the storm have been urged to beware of power lines that are mixed inside fallen trees and warned of possible electrified standing water.
Hundreds, if not more, have required rescue: More than 500 individuals have been rescued in Charlotte and Lee counties as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Teams from Orange County made rescues for people and pets in waist-high water. The US Coast Guard performed 28 rescues in the early morning hours Thursday from Fort Myers to St. Petersburg, an official told CNN, and included both maritime rescues as well as roof rescues.
Heavy flooding in central Florida: Areas in and around Orlando face “historic flooding” in parts of the city and high water levels may remain for some time. “Unfortunately the only way the water is going to go down is to recede naturally,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said. Kissimmee – 18 miles south of Orlando – saw an unprecedented amount of flooding and one of its hospitals during the storm was surrounded by floodwaters, officials said.
South Carolina may be hit during high tide: Forecasts have Ian making landfall midday Friday, potentially at high tide which may exacerbate storm surges. In Charleston, a city that is especially vulnerable to coastal flooding, the high tide is at 11:41 a.m. ET. In Myrtle Beach, high tide is at 11:18 a.m. ET.
3 hr 15 min ago
Track Ian’s path
3 hr 15 min ago
Hurricane Ian has strengthened and shifted to the east ahead of South Carolina landfall
From CNN’s Robert Shackelford
An Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft has indicated that Ian’s maximum winds have increased to nearly 85 mph, according to a special update from the National Hurricane Center.
Ian is located about 185 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, with a track that has shifted slightly to the east, the hurricane center said.
Landfall is now expected just west of Myrtle Beach.
Storm surge, high winds and life-threatening flooding are still expected for much of the Carolinas on Friday, the advisory said.
2 hr 47 min ago
“I’d say 90% of the island is pretty much gone,” Fort Myers Beach council member says
From CNN’s Amanda Musa
Homes damaged by Hurricane Ian are seen in Fort Myers Beach on September 29. (Greg Lovett/USA Today Network)
The city of Fort Myers Beach on Florida’s southwest coast was leveled by Hurricane Ian, a local politician said late Thursday.
“I made it about two-thirds down the island and I’d say 90% of the island is pretty much gone,” Fort Myers Beach Town Councilman Dan Allers tells CNN’s Don Lemon. “Unless you have a high-rise condo or a newer concrete home that is built to the same standards today, your house is pretty much gone.”
The city, with a population of around 5,600 people, is on Estero Island in the Gulf of Mexico.
Many people struggled to get to higher ground amid the storm surge, Allers said.
“I’ve heard stories of people getting in freezers and floating the freezers to another home … and being rescued by higher homes,” Allers said.
Instead of where homes stood, there’s only rubble, the council member said.
“Every home pretty much on the beach is gone,” Allers said. “Some of the homes on the side streets are completely gone, and there’s nothing but a hole with water,” he said.
Allers, who evacuated to higher ground during the storm, later discovered that his own home was lost.
“Everything obviously inside was gone,” he said, although the structure survived. “We might be able to rebuild,” he added.
3 hr 14 min ago
Hurricane Ian could hit South Carolina around high tide Friday, worsening flood dangers, forecasts say
From CNN’s Taylor Ward
Hurricane Ian is intensifying as it moves toward the coast of South Carolina and, according to NOAA Tides and Currents, it could hit the sta...
Denver Big Men Make Return Visit https://digitalarkansasnews.com/denver-big-men-make-return-visit/
The long anticipated official visits of ESPN 5-star prospect Baye Fall and 4-star Assane Diop to the University of Arkansas men’s basketball program is over as they’re expected to arrive in Fayetteville around 5 p.m today.
Fall, 6-11, 217 pounds, and Diop, 6-10, 194, of Denver Accelerated Schools, made unofficial visits to Arkansas for the Hogs’ 75-73 victory over Kentucky on Feb. 26.
Fall was a standout at the prestigious NBPA top 100 camp in late June and early July by leading the event in scoring with 14.9 points per game in seven games and had a camp leading 9.4 rebounds per game. He also averaged an event-leading 4.9 offensive rebounds per game.
He along with Arkansas point guard commitment Layden Blocker made the 10-man All Star squad for the event. It was Fall’s second consecutive time to be named to the team.
South Carolina freshman big man Gregory Jackson, who reclassified from the 2023 class to 2022 class in late July, was named MVP of the camp. He was second in scoring with 13.7 points and tied Fall as the leading rebounder but did so while averaging 35.3 minutes per game. Fall averaged 28.9 minutes per game.
Fall also averaged a blocked shot per game and shot 62.7% from the field and 83.3% from the free throw line.
ESPN national director of recruiting Paul Biancardi attended the NBPA top 100 camp. He rates Fall as the No. 3 center and No. 20 overall prospect in the nation for the 2023 class.
“Fall makes his mark by outworking his opponent,” Biancardi said. “His game is productive on the glass and scoring paint points in a variety of ways. Could be a tenacious offensive put-back threat as well as finishing drop off passes or as a lob catcher. When he get an angle to the rim, he is a force. A long frame that has vertical explosion and lateral agility.
“His shooting touch is coming along and his three-point shot is capable at this point.”
The cousins moved to the United States a few years ago from Senegal. They played for the Colorado Hawks in the spring and summer under the direction of Hawks director Greg Willis, who’s a Fort Smith native.
Willis and Razorbacks great Ron Brewer led Fort Smith Northside to a 30-0 season in 1974 and an overall state championship.
Diop is rated as ESPN’s No. 10 power forward and No. 57 overall prospect in the nation for the 2023 class. He averaged 5.8 points and 5 rebounds at the camp.
“He handles the ball quite well at his size,” Biancardi said. “It’s impressive to see him in the open floor or the half court being comfortable and confident with the ball in his hands. He can score from the wing position with touch and length, while occasionally making the assist. He has improved at a steady rate and we are starting to see the combination of physical tools and skill merge together.”
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Baye Fall highlights
arkansasonline.com/930fall/
Baye Fall
Assane Diop
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Virginia Updates How It Conducts Risk-Limiting Audits For Election Results
Virginia Updates How It Conducts Risk-Limiting Audits For Election Results https://digitalarkansasnews.com/virginia-updates-how-it-conducts-risk-limiting-audits-for-election-results/
By CHARLOTTE RENE WOODS Richmond Times-Dispatch
On Tuesday the Virginia Board of Elections approved a new risk-limiting audit manual ahead of the general election this November. Though election officials were already conducting risk-limiting audits in Virginia, they are now going to happen before state election officials certify election results.
That’s because the General Assembly passed legislation that repealed and replaced previous state code relating to the audits.
Risk-limiting audits are “a type of post-election audit that utilizes statistical methods and a manual review of paper ballots to confirm that the voting equipment accurately reported the correct outcome of an election,” the manual reads.
The audits analyze a random sample of hand-counted ballots to confirm election results along with using auditing software called Arlo. The process helps confirm that voting accurately reported election results.
“Now it’s going to be done prior to the certification of the election, whereas before we did it in the months after the election,” said former elections commissioner Chris Piper.
For instance, the most recent such audit took place this past January – two months after the 2021 elections– and analyzed the results of the 13th and 75th House of Delegates districts.
In District 13, Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, defeated Republican Christopher Stone. In District 75, Republican Otto Wachsmann defeated Del. Roslyn Tyler, D-Sussex.
According to the 2022 legislation, every locality must conduct a risk-limiting audit at least once every five years, under the supervision of the Department of Elections.
Also, at least one randomly selected General Assembly contest must be audited. This year, the board will choose an election in one of the state’s Congressional districts to be audited. The manual states that the State Board of Elections will meet the second Wednesday after an election to do this.
Aside from the randomly selected audits, election workers have a detailed process called “canvassing” ahead of certifying election results. This is where election workers upload results to the Virginia Election Registration and Information System, which is the repository for voter records in Virginia.
The state’s Board of Elections later meets on the first Monday of December to ascertain the results.
“Election results are checked at the precinct level, locality level and state level before being certified,” said Susan Beals, commissioner of the Department of Elections. “Virginia voters can have confidence in processes and safeguards in place to protect their vote.”
But some have expressed concerns in recent years—largely members of the Republican Party. President Donald Trump allies claimed that he won the 2020 election and that the contest had been “stolen” from him—assertions that multiple judges rejected. Some of his supporters carried out a deadly insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
In February the Virginia Senate rejected a proposal by Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, to spend $70 million in state tax funds on a “forensic audit” of the 2020 presidential election in Virginia, in which Biden beat Trump by 10 percentage points.
More recently, Attorney General Jason Miyares announced the formation of an election integrity unit. Composed of more than 20 attorneys, investigators and paralegals, the unit will provide legal advice to the Department of Elections as well as investigate and prosecute violations of state election law.
When casting her own vote last week on the first day of early voting, Beals said that she has faith in Virginia’s elections and urged anyone with questions to reach out to election officials.
“Seek out an election official and ask them how the process works,” she told Virginia Mercury at the time. “Because most of them would be very happy to tell you.”
Piper commends Beals for her comment and added that he believes more election workers should speak out about the process and offer to answer questions.
“We’ve always been happy to sink in the background,” Piper said. “We’ve always wanted people to come get their ballot, cast their ballot, go home, watch the results, and now have given a second thought to how elections are conducted—because if we aren’t the story that means that we did our job.”
But amid ongoing questions about legitimacy or how the process works in recent years, he said “it’s incumbent upon election officials to begin to speak out to talk more about the process.”
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LETTER: Trump https://digitalarkansasnews.com/letter-trump/
Trump’s America, Nazi Germany have striking parallels
Editor, The Transcript:
I have just “enjoyed” watching the very powerful mini series by Ken Burns, “The USA and the Holocaust.” It is a sad but true story of persecution of Jewish people before, during and after World War II.
Done in the normal style of Ken Burns, it is both educational and damning of people that worked to destroy the Jewish population and of countries that helped or refused to help them.
As I watched, I was struck by the similarities between Germany in the ‘30s and Trump’s America today! First, Hitler courted support by blaming all that troubled Germany on Jews, Catholics, homosexuals, and Gypsies.
Trump did the same by blaming his perceptions of America’s problems on immigrants, Muslims, Mexicans, liberals, LGBTQ people and socialists. In Germany, Hitler led people to believe he could solve all their problems and restore Germany to previous glory and power.
In America, Trump claimed that he and he alone could fix America’s problems and restore us to his perception of greatness.
The Nazi leader promoted bullying, segregation and violence to achieve his ends. Nazi supporters are accused of setting the Reichstag Fire (German Parliament) and blaming it on the Jews.
Trump, here in America, encouraged his supporters to “knock the crap out of them” if anyone heckled him at rallies and gatherings.
A rally in Charlottesville was launched by Neo-Nazis in uniforms carrying tiki torches and weapons, chanting “Jews will not replace us” as they marched.
The next day, at a Unite the Right rally, a radical right-wing nut drove a car into the peaceful gathering of counter protesters, killing one woman and injuring countless others.
When confronted with the tragedy, Trump said, “There are some very good people on both sides.”
Hitler claimed that the newspapers and media were against him and closed all but friendly media when he had the power. He also banned books and held book burnings.
Trump has and is claiming that the media, TV, print, etc. are all against him and are the enemy. He shouts “fake news” to any report that reveals his true activities and beliefs.
Just as Hitler promoted “Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass” when his thugs and soldiers broke the windows of Jewish homes and businesses; Trump stoked the fires of revenge and mayhem on January 6th, to urge the mob he had assembled to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell” to take back our country.
They were trying to stop the counting of electoral votes about to take place.
He wanted his followers to stop the counting, so he could continue to hold on to the Presidency.
When the crowd of insurrectionists tried to find Vice President Mike Pence, they exclaimed, “hang Mike Pence!” Trump later stated, “Well, maybe he had it coming.”
Sadly, here in Oklahoma, far too many Republican candidates — such as Kevin Stitt, Ryan Walters and Markwayne Mullen — have bragged about their close association with the losing president, Donald Trump.
Some of our local candidates support banning certain books and education material.
I think there are many more parallels that could be listed. I was struck by Trump’s comment at his rally in Ohio, when he proclaimed, “God Bless America and God Bless us.”
It made me think of a Bible verse where Jesus was talking to the Pharisees,
He said that many would call his name, proclaiming “Lord, Lord,” but Jesus said, “I don’t know you”!
If that shoe fits, wear it.
WALLACE COLLINS
Norman
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Stephen Colbert Exposes Trump-Backed Candidate https://digitalarkansasnews.com/stephen-colbert-exposes-trump-backed-candidate/
Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement doesn’t have the same punch as it used to. On Thursday, Stephen Colbert pointed to one MAGA candidate who is struggling: Doug Mastriano.
Mastriano, the Trump-backed Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, is down by 10 points in the FiveThirtyEight average, and “The Late Show” host broke the candidate’s problem down to just two words.
“He suuuuuucks!” Colbert said, stretching out that second word as the audience cheered.
“Among the ways that he sucks, he attended the Jan. 6 riot, has a long-standing association with Christian nationalist ideas, proposed charging women who violate an abortion ban with murder, is connected to a social media site run by a notorious anti-Semite and was photographed wearing a Confederate uniform.”
“Because historically, nothing projects winner like a Confederate soldier in Pennsylvania,” Colbert added.
Mastriano’s tanking popularity also led to an embarrassing moment this week when he held a rally and almost nobody came.
See more in Colbert’s Thursday night monologue:
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Biden Declares South Carolina State Of Emergency Follow Hurricane Ian Updates
Biden Declares South Carolina State Of Emergency – Follow Hurricane Ian Updates https://digitalarkansasnews.com/biden-declares-south-carolina-state-of-emergency-follow-hurricane-ian-updates/
Hurricane Ian: Waves flood roads in Key West as storm strengthens to category 4
After spending most of Thursday as a tropical storm, Ian has now been upgraded to a hurricane again as it takes aim at the South Carolina coastline.
President Joe Biden has issued an emergency declaration for the state.
Ian is forecast to make landfall somewhere near Charleston, South Carolina, at about 2pm today. It will produce life-threatening flooding, storm surge and strong winds across parts of Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Ian could slightly strengthen before landfall, and is forecast to rapidly weaken over the southeastern United States late Friday into Saturday,” an advisory said.
Meanwhile, dozens of rescue operations have been taking place across Florida after unprecedented flooding from one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the United States.
Thousands of people are stranded across the state as coastguard helicopters were seen plucking people from roofs after several feet of water surged into neighbourhoods. Some 2.5 million people remain without power.
The damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Ian could amount to as much as $120bn, according to the latest estimate.
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Arkansas Postcard Past https://digitalarkansasnews.com/arkansas-postcard-past-2/
Little Rock, circa 1910: “Solid Express Car Train of Arkansas Peaches — Shipment of Ten Solid Cars of Arkansas Peaches in Wells-Fargo & Co. Special Refrigerator Cars at Little Rock, en route for Chicago, New York and Boston.”
Little Rock, circa 1910: “Solid Express Car Train of Arkansas Peaches — Shipment of Ten Solid Cars of Arkansas Peaches in Wells-Fargo & Co. Special Refrigerator Cars at Little Rock, en route for Chicago, New York and Boston.” Where in Arkansas the peaches came from isn’t noted. The train depot shown would lose its peaked roof to fire in 1920 and be rebuilt to look as it does today.
Arkansas Postcard Past, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, AR 72203
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Fear Vs. Reality Which One Will Prevail In November?
Fear Vs. Reality – Which One Will Prevail In November? https://digitalarkansasnews.com/fear-vs-reality-which-one-will-prevail-in-november/
Democrat leaders have failed to do their basic job of passing a budget and spending/appropriations bills via Regular Order or for that matter even as a Continuing Resolution once again. It is quite apparent that Democrats are just too busy with other pressing matters like producing the “Trump Reality Show.”
Watch out for that “can”! The Democrats are about to kick the proverbial “can” down the road once again. Failure prevails yet Democrats want to retain control of Congress. Despite a September 30 due date for completion of the 12 spending/appropriation bills, do not expect them to act until after the midterm elections. This has become our reality.
Republicans in the 21st century have also been derelict here. However, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi holds the dubious distinction of failing at the most basic aspect of her job – passing these basic but vital measures via Regular Order – for more years than any other Speaker of the House in America’s 246-year history. Prior to the 21st century every single Congress was able to accomplish this basic expectation.
How Congress “makes sausage” (passes legislation) is one of the most important aspects of governing. Today, Congress puts the already made sausage in the microwave, warms it up, and gives it to the public. It repeats this same process over and over again.
Yet most Americans are clueless about this fact. On this ground alone we should fire the Democrats and say to the Republicans that if you fail at the basic parts of your job, you’ll be gone in two years too.
The Democrats have been selling fear because their record has received a failing grade – both for Biden and the Democrat-controlled Congress. Even Biden’s former press secretary conceded recently that the Democrats know they cannot win in the midterms if Biden’s record is in the spotlight.
But, can the use of fear actually win an election?
Barry Goldwater, the Republican Party nominee for president in 1964, lost by the largest landslide victory for a Democrat in my lifetime when his opponent, incumbent Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson, scared the American people into believing we could be in for a nuclear war with Russia should Goldwater get elected. Johnson actually used a little girl and the detonation of a nuclear bomb in a TV ad to illustrate his point. The result? Goldwater won only six states.
The economy is at record lows with skyrocketing prices due to record high inflation, along with rapidly rising interest rates and a plummeting stock market.
And we live in a less safe America at home and abroad. Crime is rampant in our cities. We are not protecting our border adequately. And our foes, Russia and China, are more united today than ever before.
This is America’s reality.
Democrats do not want you to see this. They change the subject to fear. They have been telling us that the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by MAGA supporters can destroy democracy, abortion decisions can hurt women, and “deplorable” Republicans are bad for America.
Their idea is to scare America, as if reality is not scary enough under their one-party rule.
Let’s not forget their assertions and then the resulting blunders we had to endure.
Here are the biggies: Sanctions will prevent Russia from invading Ukraine (now we are in month seven of war in Eastern Europe); there is zero inflation (which is still a 40-year high of 8.3%); we can tax and spend our way out of a possible recession (a stock market decline putting us into a Bear market); and the border is secure according to Vice President Kamala Harris (although we have had a record 2 million encounters and nearly 1 million illegal invaders). All of this is our reality today.
First, they threw at us the threat-to-our-Democracy argument. The Democrats’ logic is bogus. What is true is that they are so out of step with the majority population: white Americans, especially white males that it should be of concern to everyone.
In the last four presidential elections Democrats have lost the white vote by around 20 points. This is a true danger to our democracy: the vast majority of the population (white people) choosing the Republican candidate for president while the Republicans lost three of the last four elections.
Lastly, in the “you cannot make this stuff up” category, Biden declared the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Yet Pelosi said that due to COVID being present, members of Congress do not need to be “present” to vote in the House Chambers. I guess that means they can vote from their beds if they choose to. (It should be noted that the U.S. Senate prohibits proxy voting).
This is reality. Instead of fearing change, we must embrace it in November.
Author: “With God, For God, and For Country.” @GaryFranks
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Putin To Host Kremlin Ceremony Annexing Parts Of Ukraine
Putin To Host Kremlin Ceremony Annexing Parts Of Ukraine https://digitalarkansasnews.com/putin-to-host-kremlin-ceremony-annexing-parts-of-ukraine/
A view shows a screen, set up ahead of an expected ceremony and concert to declare four Ukraine’s self-proclaimed regions part of Russia following recent referendums, near St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower in central Moscow, Russia September 29, 2022. A slogan on the screen reads: “Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson – Russia!” REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
Russian annexation of four regions condemned worldwide
Move is ‘dangerous escalation’ jeopardising peace – U.N. chief
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says for war to end Putin must be stopped
Zelenskiy summons emergency meeting on security, defence
Sept 30 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to host a ceremony on Friday for the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, while his Ukrainian counterpart said Putin would have to be stopped if Russia was to avoid the most damaging consequences of the war.
Russia’s expected annexation of the Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia has been widely condemned in the West. U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said it was a “dangerous escalation” that would jeopardise prospects for peace.
“It can still be stopped. But to stop it we have to stop that person in Russia who wants war more than life. Your lives, citizens of Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Thursday evening address.
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The four regions cover some 90,000 square km, or about 15% of Ukraine’s total area – about the size of Hungary or Portugal.
Russian government officials have said that the four regions will fall under Moscow’s nuclear umbrella once they have been formally incorporated into Russia. Putin has said he could use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory if necessary.
Ukraine has said it will seek to take back its territory.
“Referendums have no legal value, under international law the regions are and remain territories of Ukraine and Ukraine is ready to do anything to take them back,” Mikhailo Podolyak, Zelenskiy’s adviser, told Italian La Repubblica.
“They were sham votes, in which few people participated. To those who went to vote they pointed their rifles in their faces ordering, ‘Vote!’.”
Zelenskiy promised a strong response to the annexations and summoned his defence and security chiefs for an emergency meeting on Friday where “fundamental decisions” will be taken, an official said.
‘NO LEGAL VALUE’
On the eve of the annexation ceremony in the Georgievsky Hall of the Great Kremlin Palace and a concert in Red Square, Putin said that “all mistakes” made in a call-up announced last week should be corrected, his first public acknowledgment that it had not gone smoothly.
Thousands of men have fled from Russia to avoid a draft that was billed as enlisting those with military experience and required specialities but has often appeared oblivious to individuals’ service record, health, student status or even age.
At Friday’s event, Putin will give a speech, meet leaders of the self-styled Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic as well as the Russian-installed leaders of the parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia that Russian forces occupy.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not say whether Putin would attend the concert, as he did a similar event in 2014 after Russia proclaimed it had annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region.
A stage has been set up in the Moscow square with giant video screens and billboards proclaiming the four areas part of Russia.
U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States would never recognise Russia’s claims on Ukraine’s territory, denouncing the referendums.
“The results were manufactured in Moscow,” Biden said at a conference of Pacific Island leaders on Thursday.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pressed Putin in a call to take steps to reduce tensions in Ukraine.
U.N. Secretary General Guterres told reporters: “Any decision to proceed with the annexation … would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned.”
FIGHTING
The United States and the European Union are set to impose additional sanctions on Russia over the annexation, and even some of Russia’s close traditional allies, such as Serbia and Kazakhstan, say they will not recognise the take over.
What Russia is billing as a celebration comes after it has faced its worst setbacks of the seven-month-old war, with its forces routed in Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region.
Heavy fighting continues in the four disputed regions.
Russian forces launched a rocket attack on a humanitarian convoy on the road out of Zaporizhzhia and there were dead and wounded, said Oleksandar Starukh, the governor of the region.
Starukh said people were queuing to bring aid to relatives in Russian-controlled territory and pick up their relatives when the attack occurred. He did not specify the location.
Reuters could not verify battlefield reports.
Some military experts say Kyiv is poised to deliver another major defeat, gradually encircling the town of Lyman, Russia’s main remaining bastion in the northern part of Donetsk province. Its capture would open the way into the Luhansk region.
In the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s military said it had killed 43 Russian servicemen and destroyed two Russian Su-25 aircraft, four tanks, four large-calibre howitzers, two self-propelled cannons and one reconnaissance drone.
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Reporting by Reuters bureaux; writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Robert Birsel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Compromised Talking Heads https://digitalarkansasnews.com/compromised-talking-heads/
War and Spy Masters for Democracy
It’s instructive to look behind the veil of people that liberal media bring forward as champions of democracy on cable news. Look at some of the imperial war and spy masters that MSNBC has long featured in denouncing the crimes of Donald Trump and his Republic-fascist allies as well as Vladimir Putin. “Left” MSNBC’s roster includes former Central Intelligence Director John Brennan, who oversaw and lied about the United States drone war program under Barack Obama. Another MSNBC favorite is Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who in 2013 perjuriously told a congressional committee hearing that the National Security Agency did not collect data on millions of Americans. Then there’s frequent MSNBC guest retired General Barry McCaffery, who ordered the criminal slaughter of retreating and surrendered Iraqi troops in after the ceasefire had been declared in Operation Desert Storm and who then failed to properly investigate his troops’ reported massacre of hundreds of Iraqi POWs.
MSNBC talking heads often bring on US House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff (D-CA). A centrist Democrat who has accumulated a net worth of $60 million across a 22-year Congressional career, Schiff voted for the monumentally criminal, petro-imperialist, and mass-murderous US invasion of Iraq in 2003. He supported the US-backed Saudi Arabian invasion of Yemen in 2015, cause of an epic humanitarian disaster.
Neal Katyal: Corporate Rainmaker and Promoter of Christian Fascist “Justices”
An especially ubiquitous talking head on MSNBC these days is the big money attorney Neal Katyal, a self-described “extremist centrist.” Katyal waxes semi-eloquent on the many crimes and legal troubles of Trump and his allies while serving as the $2,465-an-hour lead attorney heading the sinister drug giant Johnson & Johnson’s maneuver to escape its obligation to properly compensate people suffering from cancer caused by company’s baby powder and other talc-based products. Under Katyal’s direction last October, J&J assigned tens of thousands of talc lawsuits to a new subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, and placed the invented firm in bankruptcy to protect the company’s leading investors from potentially damaging payouts.
According to Reuters, “Katyal’s hourly rate would rank among the highest publicly available figures in the legal industry…Lynn LoPucki, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law who tracks bankruptcy cases, said Monday that Katyal’s rate of nearly $2,500 is the highest he has seen.”
He makes more money in one hour than most of us make in a month thanks to his special skill of helping really rich folks stay that way. Known for his success representing corporate interests with the powerful law firm Hogan Lovell at the US Court of Appeals, Katyal is what is what corporate law circles call “a rainmaker” – a bringer of windfalls to big capital. He’s filed briefs that took anti-union positions in two Supreme Court cases, Janus v. AFSCME. and Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, both major wins for employers.
He’s an expert in (among other things) Chapter 11 corporate bankruptcy, whereby wealthy investors and top managers avoid personal financial penalty for their crimes and “mistakes.” It’s a Trump favorite: the former president has escaped personal liability and retained his fortune party through four major cases in the dark Chapter 11 arts: Taj Mahal Atlantic City in 1991, Trump Plaza Hotel Atlantic City in 1992, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts in 2004, and Trump Entertainment Resorts in 2009.
Soulless amorality is part of the game. In 2020, “Big Kat” – as Katyal is known in the legal profession – represented the two giant food companies Nestle and Cargill at the Supreme Court, defending them against a lawsuit over their aiding and abetting of child slavery in the Ivory Coast. His legal argument? That Nestle and Cargill should not be held liable for their use of child slave labor because the corporation that supplied Zyklon B to the Nazis to kill Jews and other minorities in extermination camps was not indicted at the Nuremberg trials.
I wonder if MSNBC hosts Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow, Stephanie “Class” Ruhle (who preceded her MSNBC employment by making millions in the parasitic global derivatives trade), or Lawrence O’Donnell want to bring that up the next time they decide to feature “Big Kat” on the dangers of Chapter 11 poster boy Donald Trump and Trumpian fascism.
Katyal’s “extremist centrism” leans Republifascist. He published a New York Times op-ed endorsing Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court (the newspaper’s public editor criticized the op-ed for failing to disclose that Katyal had cases actively before the Court). He introduced Judge Gorsuch at his Senate confirmation hearing. And he gushed with praise for President Trump’s nomination of the accused rapist Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. During a panel on Kavanaugh’s nomination sponsored by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, Katyal claimed that “it’s very hard for anyone who has worked with him, appeared before him, to frankly say a bad word about him.” In tweets cited by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to back Kavanaugh’s appointment, Katyal praised Kavanaugh’s “hardworking nature” and described Kavanaugh as “incredibly likeable” and “very gracious” while claiming that his “mentoring and guidance” of female law clerks was “a model for all of us in the legal profession.”
During its last session, the Gorsuch-Kavanaugh (and Alito, Thomas, and Coney-Barrett) Court smacked majority public opinion in the face by: shooting down women’s half-century constitutional right to an abortion (the first time a constitutional right had been thoroughly reversed in US history); taking away the Environmental Protection Agency’s right to regulate carbon emissions; rolling back arrestees’ Miranda rights; crippling Indian Country’s right to prosecute white people; chipping away at public gun safety in a nation plagued by epidemic mass firearms violence.
The Court June 24th anti-abortion Dobbs v. Jackson decision violated longstanding legal precedent and arguably overturned previously normative rule of law considerations by failing to make any serious stare decisis case (there was none to be made) for showing what historical circumstances had changed to justify undoing previously settled law.
By signing on to the bloody end of Roe v. Wade in crass defiance of what they claimed in their Senate confirmation hearings (same with the open Handmaid Amy Coney-Barrett, Trump’s third appointee), the two right-wing “justices” Katyal helped shepherd into high state power have inflicted on untold millions of US-American women and girls the sexist and medical horror that I described at length in my last Substack.
“Big Kat” might not be the best person to promote democracy and the rule of law against fascism.
Not-So “Pro-Choice” MSNBC Darling Patrick Ryan
But let’s venture well down the ruling class feeding chain to examine the curious case of Patrick Ryan, a proud officer-level Iraq Invasion veteran and dedicated, Georgetown University-certified imperial strategist who last August won a special Congressional election (after two previous tries) in New York’s Hudson Valley. MSNBC’s Reid, who makes regular but generally passing and vague references to Republican fascism (normalizing that existential menace to “American democracy” by failing to dig in on the meaning of the term and treating fascism as just another part of why we need to vote against “those crazy Republicans”[1]), loved that the anti-progressive Third Way Democrat Ryan appeared to have used pro-abortion backlash against Dobbs v. Jackson to win his seat in a “bellwether” contested district.
Reid and other MSNBC talking heads’ gushing accolades for the young imperialist naturally included no reference to the cynicism of a Democratic Party that refused to significantly resist in advance the well-telegraphed Dobbs decision. The refusal reflected the dismal Dems’ cynical calculation that the ruling would redound to their electoral advantage in the coming mid-term elections.
The liberal cable Ryan cheerleaders also made no mention of what the Hudson Valley resident and prolific anti-imperialist podcaster Eric Draitser rightly calls Clark’s history as “an intelligence spook & snitch whose every professional move is aimed at attacking the Left.” A 2018 Intercept investigation by Lee Fang reported that in 2011, Ryan, then employed by a snooping firm called Berico Technologies:
“compiled a plan to create a real-time surveillance operation of left-wing groups and labor unions, hoping business lobbyists would pay top dollar to monitor and disrupt the actions of activist groups across the country. The proposal included the idea to spy on the families of high-profile Democratic activists and plant fake documents with labor unions in a bid to discredit them. The pitch, a joint venture with a now-defunct company called HBGary Federal and the Peter Thiel-backed company Palantir Technologies, however, crumbled in 2011 after it was exposed in a series of news reports.”
Ryan subsequently signed on with Dataminr, a “data analytics company” that used “financial support from the CIA’s venture capital arm” to help the FBI, LAPD, NYPD, and other law enforcement agencies track the activities of Black Lives Matter. A Dataminr email to the LAPD boasted that its anti-left “social media tracking tools” were “highly valued by our clients at FBI CTD, NYPD, DoD and all ‘big five’ intel agencies.”
“Pro-choice” MSNBC darling Patrick Clark has a long history of working for capital and the police and surveillance state to deny ordinary US people the choice to live in a decent society where worker and civil rights are honored and advanced.
Ryan’s “history of spying on progressiv...
Stacey Abrams Looks To Win Black Men In Bid For Ga. Governor KESQ
Stacey Abrams Looks To Win Black Men In Bid For Ga. Governor – KESQ https://digitalarkansasnews.com/stacey-abrams-looks-to-win-black-men-in-bid-for-ga-governor-kesq/
By JEFF AMY and BILL BARROW
Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Stacey Abrams was on stage for an hour with radio and television host Charlamagne tha God and rapper 21 Savage when she faced a question from a skeptical audience member.
“A lot of politicians speak about their plan and what they plan to do, but I also notice that I never hear a clear turnaround of when their plan will go into effect,” said Soheem Perry, who lives in suburban Atlanta. “If it doesn’t happen within the time that’s been promised, how should we feel about our vote?”
Perry captured the alienation some Black Americans feel about the political process. Democrats court their votes every election year yet sometimes struggle to deliver on certain promises. But in her bid to become America’s first Black woman governor, Abrams needs support even from disillusioned voters.
The concern is especially acute when it comes to Black men, who some analysts suggest have trickled recently to Republicans. A large majority of Black men have still cast votes for Democrats in recent elections, meaning the bigger fear in a tight race is that they won’t vote at all.
Abrams acknowledges the possibility. She built her national profile by insisting Democrats can compete in Georgia, a longtime Republican stronghold, if they attract marginal or disaffected voters, including Black men.
“If Black men turn out in the numbers and support me at the levels they’re capable of, I can win this election, because we know Black men sometimes punch below their weight class,” Abrams said at the event. “They’ve got reasons to be distrustful, and they’ve got reasons to be disconnected. And it is not only disingenuous, it would be bad practice, for me to not do the work to show that I understand.”
To maximize Black male support, Abrams has held a series of events targeting them. A recent gathering in an un-air-conditioned warehouse featured free food and T-shirts.
Abrams delivered bits of her standard speech in response to questions from Charlemagne, 21 Savage and civil rights lawyer Francys Johnson. But the topics were tilted toward the audience, with discussions of how Abrams opposes letting prosecutors use rap lyrics in gang prosecutions, how she wants to decriminalize — but not legalize — marijuana because she fears federal criminal charges, and how she believes Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has abandoned efforts to make Georgia’s criminal justice system less punitive.
“We need leadership that sees us, that serves us and that believes in us,” Abrams said. “The current governor has proven on every one of those metrics that he does not care.”
Black voters made up 29% of the general electorate during Abrams’ 2018 gubernatorial bid, according to Georgia voting records.
Abrams won 94% of Black votes, according to AP VoteCast data, and still lost to Kemp by about 55,000 votes out of 4 million cast. In 2020, President Joe Biden topped Donald Trump in Georgia by less than 12,000 votes out of 5 million. Strong turnout among white voters meant Black voters accounted for 27% of that electorate, with VoteCast showing that Biden won 92% of the Black vote.
In Georgia’s 2021 runoffs, which elected two Democrats to the U.S. Senate, Black voters cast 28% of ballots.
Yet in these and other elections, a significantly larger share of Black women voted than Black men.
Abrams’ team identifies 3.9 million Georgia voters as its universe of potential support, but knows she won’t get them all, said campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo. About 2.5 million are Black, Groh-Wargo said. Biden, at almost 2.5 million votes in 2020, won more votes than any Democrat ever before in Georgia. Abrams got 1.92 million votes in 2018.
A subtext in Abrams’ effort is that Black men may be overshadowed in the Democratic Party by Black women.
Black women have long been an anchor of Democrats’ coalition. They were credited with putting Alabama Democrat Doug Jones over the top in an upset U.S. Senate victory in 2017. Abrams’ 2018 near-miss forced a rethinking by white-dominated donor circles and media about Black women’s viability as statewide candidates.
Biden’s path to the White House further affirmed Black women’s political power. In the Democratic primaries, Biden lost badly in overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire before surging to the nomination largely by sweeping Southern states with larger Black populations, driven by strong turnout in particular from Black women.
With that in mind, Biden, as president, has elevated women of color. Kamala Harris, his vice president, is Black and of Jamaican and Indian descent, and the first woman to hold the office. Biden also delivered on a campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, resulting in Ketanji Brown Jackson becoming the court’s 116th justice.
Nsé Ufot, who leads the New Georgia Project, a voting rights group Abrams founded as a state lawmaker, said it would be “disingenuous” to say the newfound attention on Black women is “not a factor” in how some Black men view politics currently. But Ufot said any resentments “are not as big a deal as the hand-wringing class” might think. “The question is whether she can make the hard sell, taking the case directly to Black men.”
Abrams herself disputes any characterization that her focus on Black men reveals a “weakness” in her campaign.
“Every candidate, every campaign has to work hard to make certain that people believe it’s worth voting, and that’s what I’m doing,” she told a gathering of Black journalists this week in Washington, adding that she’s trying to address “distrust and despair” among voters who “are not seeing the results they thought they would see.”
Indeed, it’s not that Black men aren’t overwhelmingly faithful Democrats, said Leah Wright Rigueur, a Johns Hopkins University expert on African American political power.
“The majority of Black men are exactly where they were a couple of years ago, which is that they’re consistent and loyal and partisan voters and supporters of Democratic candidates,” she said.
But Wright Rigueur said former President Barack Obama maxed out support from Black men, drawing some Black Republicans who’ve since moved back toward the GOP. She also said others are frustrated that previous Democratic victories haven’t had a big impact on their lives.
“There is a cross section of Black men that manifest their frustration with failures of the Democratic Party by saying, ‘You have to earn my vote,’” she said.
One of those is Tim Black, a Washington commentator who says he’s an independent. He warned in a recent video that it would a be a “slap in the face” to blame Black men if Abrams loses, and that no one has an “obligation” to back her.
“We’re tired as hell of being talked down to,” Black said. “Here’s a radical idea: Instead of telling us who to vote for, give us some tangible reasons to vote for you.”
Abrams seemed to sense that criticism at her event, holding up her policy ideas as ways to help people directly. “There’s a Twitter universe that presumes that if you don’t say exactly what they want to hear, you don’t have an agenda for Black men. I get it,” Abrams said. “It just so happens that I know that if the agenda for Black men works, it works for everyone.”
Groh-Wargo described voters overall as “exhausted” by the 2020 campaign, including the Senate runoffs two months after the presidential election. She acknowledged frustrations among less habitual Democratic voters who “showed up” to defeat Trump only to face a pandemic economy, inflation and nonstop campaigning.
“There’s a Black men’s Democratic problem in California. It’s not just us,” Groh-Wargo said. “There is softness because Black voters in America are having this collective experience. … People do not feel seen and heard.” But, she insisted, “They don’t feel that way about Stacey,” because Abrams is “showing up.”
For Perry, the voter who asked whether Abrams could keep her promises, that may be enough. He said Abrams didn’t fully answer his question, but his “gut feeling about her … is genuineness.” And, he added, “That’s what I normally feel like I don’t feel from politicians.”
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The Stunning Building In Arkansas That Looks Just Like Hogwarts
The Stunning Building In Arkansas That Looks Just Like Hogwarts https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-stunning-building-in-arkansas-that-looks-just-like-hogwarts/
Posted in Arkansas Attractions September 30, 2022 by Melanie Johnson
Calling all Potter fans. Hop on board the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 ¾ at the Kings Crossing Station. We are about to venture to a gorgeous castle in Arkansas that looks just like something from Hogwarts. A secluded castle on a hill in Fayetteville, where you’ll experience the magic and wizardry of the Harry Potter fantasy.
Whether you’re team Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw, you’ll absolutely love Castle Dromborg, which is a private residence nestled on top of a hill in Fayetteville.
Similar to Hogwarts that is surrounded by mountains, this luxurious castle is situated in a picturesque setting overlooking the gorgeous Ozark Mountains in the distance.
Built in 2008 by owners Bruce and Joan Johnson, the Dromborg was constructed using over 4,000 tons of Arkansas rock.
And due to its gorgeous architecture, this incredible residence is considered a Landmark Heritage Property.
This beautiful 12,000-square-foot structure is an architectural wonder that was inspired by Scottish castles and cathedrals from around the world.
At the top of a 4-story tower there’s a 70-foot observation deck overlooking the courtyard, with panoramic views of the mountains in the distance.
Can’t you imagine standing on the deck watching Harry Potter and his friends practicing their wizardry, while flying on their broomsticks around this castle?
Or perhaps cheering while they engage in an intense game of quidditch around the property.
While the exterior of the castle is breathtaking, the interior will leave you speechless. The design is reminiscent of English Gothic architecture complemented with Corinthian and Tuscan orders.
From the vaulted ceilings to the many chandeliers to the gargoyles sculptures, all the intricate details of this castle will remind you of something from a Harry Potter book.
Not to mention the study with dark wood finishes, exposed beams, and pillars with the intricate details.
Though this bedroom is shabby chic, the simplicity of the design can be compared to that of the dorms in the Harry Potter novels. Down to the wooden floors and the windows on either side of the bed.
One thing’s for sure, this gorgeous castle has everything to make your Harry Potter fantasies of witchcraft and wizardry come to life.
So, what do you think about Castle Dromborg? Does this gorgeous castle in Arkansas remind you of something from Hogwarts? Or do you think there’s another structure in Arkansas that looks like it could be in a Harry Potter novel. Tell us in the comments below.
And if you would like to read more about Castle Dromborg, visit the website or Facebook page.
Address: Dromborg Castle, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
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University Of Arkansas Latin American Ensemble To Perform At U Of A Fort Smith
University Of Arkansas Latin American Ensemble To Perform At U Of A Fort Smith https://digitalarkansasnews.com/university-of-arkansas-latin-american-ensemble-to-perform-at-u-of-a-fort-smith/
Fernando Valencia
Latin American Ensemble
The University of Arkansas Latin American Ensemble will give a special performance at UA Fort Smith at 6:30 p.m. today, Monday, Oct. 3, in the Campus Center Reynolds Room. This performance, in partnership with the World Languages Department at UA Fort Smith, is part of the institution’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.
“Taking the ensemble to perform off-campus and for varied audiences is at the core of the planning and mission of the class. Many times, student performers are fascinated at how the Latino and non-Latino audiences enjoy and even dance to the music they play,” Fernando Valencia, director of the ensemble, said. “U of A in Fort Smith has an important number of Hispanic students, and it has always been a pleasure to perform there.”
The Latin American ensemble at the University of Arkansas explores the richness and diversity of the music of Latin America and the Caribbean, encompassing a wide range of styles from son, danzón, cha-cha-cha and mambo to Latin jazz, salsa, and timba. “The Latin American Ensemble is an incredible group that not only anchors our jazz program in these important styles but enriches and diversifies the offerings of the entire department,” said Jake Hertzog, jazz area coordinator.
The Latin American Ensemble officially began as a course in the Department of Music in 2012 and is open to students of all majors and all instruments by audition. As one of the department’s active groups, the Latin American Ensemble has performed frequently around the Northwest Arkansas region and released several recordings and videos.
The performance at UA Fort Smith will be free and open to the public.
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AP News Summary At 12:48 A.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1248-a-m-edt/
Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has regained some strength after exiting Florida and taking aim at South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said the storm spent only a few hours as a weakened tropical storm over Florida before it spun up into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews were wading through water and using boats to rescue Florida residents stranded in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The Orange County fire department posted photos of crews in a flooded neighborhood in the Orlando area. At least four people in Florida were confirmed dead on the state’s eastern coast. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for coastal South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina ahead of another landfall Friday.
Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council.
Russia opens more border draft offices amid call-up exodus
Russian authorities are opening more military enlistment offices near Russia’s borders in an apparent effort to intercept Russian men of fighting age who are trying to avoid getting called up to fight in Ukraine. Saratov regional officials said a new draft office opened Thursday at a checkpoint on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. Another military enlistment center was to open at a crossing in the Astrakhan region, also on the border with Kazakhstan. Earlier this week, makeshift Russian draft offices were set up near a border crossing into Georgia and on Russia’s border with Finland. Russian officials say they would hand call-up notices to all eligible men who were trying to leave the country.
1/6 chairman: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims
WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That is according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin after the election. Thomas’ attorney says his client was solely focused on ensuring reports of voter fraud and irregularities were investigated.
Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cars are left abandoned where they stalled on the road into Fort Myers Beach when Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded their engines and their drivers couldn’t continue. Broken trees, boat trailers and other debris litter the path. It’s even worse in the seaside tourist town, much of which was flattened by the fierce winds and powerful storm surge generated by the Category 4 hurricane. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famed for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. They took major hits from Ian when it came ashore Wednesday and residents tried to salvage what they could Thursday.
Trump records probe: Tensions flare over special master
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate has spawned a parallel “special master” process that has slowed the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and exposed simmering tensions between department prosecutors and lawyers for the former president. The probe into the presence of top secret information at Mar-a-Lago continues. But barbed rhetoric in the past week’s court filings has laid bare deep disagreements related to the special master’s work and made clear that a process the Trump team initially sought has not been playing to the president’s advantage. The special master, Raymond Dearie, is a former federal prosecutor and served as a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn.
S. Korea, US and Japan hold anti-N. Korean submarine drills
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea, U.S. and Japanese warships have launched their first anti-submarine drills in five years, after North Korea renewed ballistic missile tests this week. South Korea says Friday’s one-day trilateral training off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast is meant to cope with a North Korean push to advance its ability to fire missile from submarines. North Korea has been building bigger submarines including a nuclear-powered one and testing sophisticated missiles that can be fired from them in recent years. The North’s recent five missiles launches, the first such tests in a month, also came before and after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Korea.
Civil rights lawyer John Burris confronts police narratives
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Civil rights lawyer John Burris is Northern California’s go-to attorney when it comes to police brutality. At age 77, he continues to travel the state to appear with victims big and small to allege violations against law enforcement. Burris helped Rodney King win a $3.8 million jury verdict in 1994 for the brutal beating he received by four LAPD officers. The beating was captured on video and opened mainstream America to what was a common occurrence in Black America. The Oakland attorney marvels at the changes in the public’s attitude toward police but says people still need to press for reform.
Study finds that climate change added 10% to Ian’s rainfall
A quick study by two scientists calculates that climate change made Hurricane Ian 10% rainier than it would have been if there were no such thing as global warming. Thursday’s analysis, which was not peer reviewed, is based on 20 computer simulations of a world with no climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Scientists then compared those scenarios to what was playing out in real time with Hurricane Ian. The authors compared the highest rainfall rates over three hours.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa stretchered off with head injury
CINCINNATI (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained neck and head injuries after being slammed to the ground Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, and was stretchered from the field. The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious and had movement in all his extremities after being taken by stretcher from the field and to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The Dolphins said after their 27-15 loss to the Bengals that Tagovailoa was expected to be released from the hospital and fly home with the team. Miami coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa sustained a concussion when was chased down and sacked by Josh Tupou with about six minutes left in the first half. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded on a backboard and removed via stretcher.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For Related Stories: Hurricane Ian
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AP News Summary At 12:48 A.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1248-a-m-edt-2/
Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has regained some strength after exiting Florida and taking aim at South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said the storm spent only a few hours as a weakened tropical storm over Florida before it spun up into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews were wading through water and using boats to rescue Florida residents stranded in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The Orange County fire department posted photos of crews in a flooded neighborhood in the Orlando area. At least four people in Florida were confirmed dead on the state’s eastern coast. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for coastal South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina ahead of another landfall Friday.
Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council.
Russia opens more border draft offices amid call-up exodus
Russian authorities are opening more military enlistment offices near Russia’s borders in an apparent effort to intercept Russian men of fighting age who are trying to avoid getting called up to fight in Ukraine. Saratov regional officials said a new draft office opened Thursday at a checkpoint on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. Another military enlistment center was to open at a crossing in the Astrakhan region, also on the border with Kazakhstan. Earlier this week, makeshift Russian draft offices were set up near a border crossing into Georgia and on Russia’s border with Finland. Russian officials say they would hand call-up notices to all eligible men who were trying to leave the country.
1/6 chairman: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims
WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That is according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin after the election. Thomas’ attorney says his client was solely focused on ensuring reports of voter fraud and irregularities were investigated.
Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cars are left abandoned where they stalled on the road into Fort Myers Beach when Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded their engines and their drivers couldn’t continue. Broken trees, boat trailers and other debris litter the path. It’s even worse in the seaside tourist town, much of which was flattened by the fierce winds and powerful storm surge generated by the Category 4 hurricane. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famed for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. They took major hits from Ian when it came ashore Wednesday and residents tried to salvage what they could Thursday.
Trump records probe: Tensions flare over special master
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate has spawned a parallel “special master” process that has slowed the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and exposed simmering tensions between department prosecutors and lawyers for the former president. The probe into the presence of top secret information at Mar-a-Lago continues. But barbed rhetoric in the past week’s court filings has laid bare deep disagreements related to the special master’s work and made clear that a process the Trump team initially sought has not been playing to the president’s advantage. The special master, Raymond Dearie, is a former federal prosecutor and served as a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn.
S. Korea, US and Japan hold anti-N. Korean submarine drills
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea, U.S. and Japanese warships have launched their first anti-submarine drills in five years, after North Korea renewed ballistic missile tests this week. South Korea says Friday’s one-day trilateral training off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast is meant to cope with a North Korean push to advance its ability to fire missile from submarines. North Korea has been building bigger submarines including a nuclear-powered one and testing sophisticated missiles that can be fired from them in recent years. The North’s recent five missiles launches, the first such tests in a month, also came before and after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Korea.
Civil rights lawyer John Burris confronts police narratives
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Civil rights lawyer John Burris is Northern California’s go-to attorney when it comes to police brutality. At age 77, he continues to travel the state to appear with victims big and small to allege violations against law enforcement. Burris helped Rodney King win a $3.8 million jury verdict in 1994 for the brutal beating he received by four LAPD officers. The beating was captured on video and opened mainstream America to what was a common occurrence in Black America. The Oakland attorney marvels at the changes in the public’s attitude toward police but says people still need to press for reform.
Study finds that climate change added 10% to Ian’s rainfall
A quick study by two scientists calculates that climate change made Hurricane Ian 10% rainier than it would have been if there were no such thing as global warming. Thursday’s analysis, which was not peer reviewed, is based on 20 computer simulations of a world with no climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Scientists then compared those scenarios to what was playing out in real time with Hurricane Ian. The authors compared the highest rainfall rates over three hours.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa stretchered off with head injury
CINCINNATI (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained neck and head injuries after being slammed to the ground Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, and was stretchered from the field. The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious and had movement in all his extremities after being taken by stretcher from the field and to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The Dolphins said after their 27-15 loss to the Bengals that Tagovailoa was expected to be released from the hospital and fly home with the team. Miami coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa sustained a concussion when was chased down and sacked by Josh Tupou with about six minutes left in the first half. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded on a backboard and removed via stretcher.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Seven Weeks Out Connecticut Governors Race Heats Up At Debate
Seven Weeks Out, Connecticut Governor’s Race Heats Up At Debate https://digitalarkansasnews.com/seven-weeks-out-connecticut-governors-race-heats-up-at-debate/
GOP nominee Bob Stefanowski faces incumbent Democrat Ned Lamont this November.
Yash Roy
Staff Reporter
Yash Roy, Contributing Photographer
With seven weeks to go before the midterms elections, GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski faced off against incumbent Democratic governor Ned Lamont in the race’s first debate.
The sparring came one week after Stefanowski swept into deep-blue New Haven to unveil his tax plan and tout his city roots.
Recent polling shows Lamont running a comfortable 15 points ahead of Stefanowski; in their last matchup in 2018, Lamont beat Stefanowski by just three. The Republican has used his time on the campaign trail emphasizing his upbringing in a working-class neighborhood and subsequent rise to riches.
“People like to say two rich guys are running for governor, but I came up from Newhallville, while my opponent comes from Greenwich,” Stefanowski said.
In what some theorize is a Republican-friendly political environment nationwide, Stefanowski’s backers are hoping to surprise in a heavily Democratic state, especially as state Republicans have typically outperformed their national counterparts. A string of scandals in the Lamont administration could also open the door for an upset.
Stefanowski’s hometown has proved unfriendly territory, however; Lamont and local Democrats have sought to paint Stefanowski as out-of-touch with the state’s economic needs, launching pointed criticism at his newly-released tax cuts plan that would include a tax credit for property owners, extension of the federal gas holiday and a reduction in state sales tax.
Stefanowski’s plan — Connecticut FIRST — would also halve the state’s $6 billion rainy day fund, which acts as a stabilizer for when the state’s tax revenue dips.
“It’s unconscionable that the state is sitting on a $6 billion reserve while this happens,” Stefanowski said during Tuesday’s debate.
Connecticut has historically experienced rapid fluctuations in tax revenue, in large part because a portion of the state’s workforce derives income from financial markets.
Stefanowski claims his plan would ultimately return an average of $2,000 to households a year amid elevated inflation.
At the debate, Lamont blasted the plan, declaring that “right now is exactly the wrong time to be playing games with how we save money.”
“The simple truth is that Bob appears determined to drag our economy back to the endless cycle of budget deficits and fiscal malfeasance,” Lamont campaign spokesperson Jake Lewis wrote in an email to the News.
New Haven Democrats say that Stefanowski’s plan would severely harm the city’s spending abilities. Mayor Justin Elicker said that the current sales tax has helped stabilize the city’s coffers and predicted that reducing the tax would actually “force municipalities like New Haven to raise taxes.”
The mayor further criticized the “evisceration” of the state’s rainy day fund, claiming that it would “cause many challenges financially for our municipality.” Elicker said that in years past, the state’s budget issues have caused it to cut its contribution to cities like New Haven at the eleventh hour of budget negotiations.
Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers likened the Republican’s proposal to a “page out of Trump’s economic plan” that would do little to help a city with a high percentage of renters.
“I’d like to see Mr. Stefanowski do better,” Elicker said at a conference called in response to Stefanowski saying New Haven could do better. “I’ve seen him in this city once in the past two and a half, almost three years since I’ve been mayor. And he’s never reached out to me to be a partner to address our problems in the city.”
Though he has publicly blasted the polls — claiming that internal polls show the race within the margin of error — Stefanowski quietly replaced his campaign manager and chief strategist in August.
Despite his trailing numbers, Stefanowski’s financial backers are pouring funds into the race, purchasing $3 million in advertisements attacking Lamont on television, radio and online.
As of last quarter’s filing information, the spending in the race has totaled $14.6 million, with a fairly even split in spending: Republicans at $7.4 million and Democrats at $7.2 million.
The Lamont campaign declined to comment on the campaign’s fundraising. As of July, Lamont had raised roughly $275,000 in individual contributions and spent roughly $6.5 million.
Both candidates have said they are investing their significant personal wealth; Stefanowski has plunged $10 million into the race; the Lamont campaign has not yet disclose his self-contribution.
The next FEC deadline is Sept. 30, with filings published on Oct. 15.
Yash Roy | yash.roy@yale.edu
YASH ROY
Yash Roy covers City hall, local politics, and the state for the News. He is also a Production & Design editor. Originally from Princeton, New Jersey, he is a sophomore in Timothy Dwight College double majoring in Economics and American Studies.
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Stock Futures Inch Lower Following Thursdays Broad Sell-Off
Stock Futures Inch Lower Following Thursday’s Broad Sell-Off https://digitalarkansasnews.com/stock-futures-inch-lower-following-thursdays-broad-sell-off/
Stock futures were lower on Friday morning following a sharp sell-off that brought the S&P 500 to a new 2022 low.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 were down 0.25%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 0.36% or 106 points. Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.26% lower.
The 2022 sell-off resumed in full force during regular trading on Thursday as investors weighed concerns over future rate-hiking decisions from the Federal Reserve and the impact on the market.
Apple led Thursday’s decline, closing down 4.9% as the tech giant has faced reports of declining demand for its new products, specifically the iPhone 14 series. Bank of America also downgraded the tech giant, which pressured shares.
At the end of regular trading on Thursday, the S&P 500 dropped 2.1% to 3,640.47. The Dow was down 1.54% to 29,225.61, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.84% to 10,737.51.
The major indexes are also on track to end the week — and September — sharply in the red. The S&P 500 is off 1.4% for the week, while the Dow and the Nasdaq are each down 1.2%. For September, the S&P 500 is down 7.9%, and the Dow is off 7.2%. The Nasdaq is on track for a loss of 9.1% for the month.
“The market stinks,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner of Harris Financial Group. “But that’s basically what the Fed wants: tighten financial conditions, and they believe that that will help bring down inflation to the levels that they find acceptable. And they’re using the transmission mechanism of the market to make that happen.”
Nike shares fell in after-hours trading after the company reported that sales increased, but supply chain and inventory issues hampered the bottom line in its fiscal first quarter. Meanwhile, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals‘ shares spiked after the Food and Drug Administration approved its drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease.
On the economic data front, investors will watch for personal income and spending and consumer spending Friday morning. The Federal Reserve’s favorite measure of inflation, the PCE deflator, is also due for August.
China reports better-than-expected factory activity for September
China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index surprisingly grew in September to 50.1, much higher than the 49.6 predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll.
The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction. PMI prints compare activity from month to month.
Meanwhile, the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, a private survey of factory activity — reported a contraction with a reading of 48.1.
“Subdued demand conditions and lower production requirements led firms to cut back on their purchasing activity in September, with the rate of decline the quickest in four months,” the Caixin press release said.
The official non-manufacturing PMI came in at 50.6 in September, down from 52.6 in August.
— Abigail Ng
CNBC Pro: Is the Fed on the right track? Wall Street veteran Ed Yardeni says this is what it should do next
The U.S Federal Reserve announced yet another 75 basis point hike earlier this month, sending the federal funds rate up to a range of 3% to 3.25%. The central bank also signaled it may raise interest rates up to as high as 4.6% in 2023 to control inflation.
Ed Yardeni, the economist who coined the term “bond vigilantes,” gives his take as the Fed’s response to inflation comes under intense scrutiny.
Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Zavier Ong
Nike, Amylyx move in post-market trading
Nike and Amylyx Pharmaceuticals are moving after hours.
The sportswear giant Nike was down about 9.2% in after-hour trading Thursday after reporting first-quarter earnings after the bell. Despite beating revenue expectations, the company said supply chain and inventory issues hurt the bottom line.
On the other hand, Amylyx saw shares up nearly 10% in extended trading. The pharmaceutical company received approval from the Food and Drug Administration late in the afternoon for its controversial new drug expected to slow the progress of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
— Alex Harring
Indices slide week to date, month to date
The three major indices are all on pace to slide this week.
The Dow is down about 1.23% week to date, putting it on track for its sixth negative week out of the last second. It dropped 7.25% so far this month, which places it on pace for its worst month since March 2020 – when the pandemic began.
The S&P 500 was also on track for its sixth negative week out of the last seven, notching down 1.43% so far this week. It has fallen 7.95% month to date, which would be its worst month since June if it remains at that level.
Also heading toward its sixth negative week out of the last seven, the Nasdaq slid 1.2% so far this week. It is down 9.13% month to date, meaning it is on track for its worst monthly performance since April.
— Alex Harring
Futures tick up slightly in first hour
Futures ticked up slightly after open Thursday evening following a day of sell-offs as nervous investors continue wondering how the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation will impact markets.
Futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.33%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up slightly less at 0.23%. Nasdaq 100 futures followed closely, up 0.21%.
— Alex Harring
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Ginni Thomas Falsely Asserts To Jan. 6 Panel That Election Was Stolen Chairman Says
Ginni Thomas Falsely Asserts To Jan. 6 Panel That Election Was Stolen, Chairman Says https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ginni-thomas-falsely-asserts-to-jan-6-panel-that-election-was-stolen-chairman-says-2/
Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, reiterated her belief that the 2020 election was stolen during her interview Thursday with the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to the panel’s chairman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.).
Her false assertion, nearly two years after Joe Biden’s victory, came during a five-hour closed-door interview with the committee.
Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist, drew the attention of the committee after investigators obtained emails between her and lawyer John Eastman, who had advocated a fringe legal theory that Vice President Mike Pence could block the congressional certification of Biden’s electoral college win.
She also repeatedly pressed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to find ways to overturn the election, according to messages she sent to him weeks after the election. The messages represent an extraordinary pipeline between Thomas and one of Trump’s top aides as the president and his allies were vowing to take their efforts all the way to the Supreme Court.
The committee says it may use clips from her appearance, if they are warranted, in a future hearing. But lawmakers have not yet scheduled their next hearing as lawmakers head back home for recess on Friday.
Mark Paoletta, an attorney for Thomas, said in a statement that she appeared before the panel “to clear up the misconceptions about her activities surrounding the 2020 elections.”
“As she has said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas had significant concerns about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election,” the lawyer said. “And, as she told the Committee, her minimal and mainstream activity focused on ensuring that reports of fraud and irregularities were investigated. Beyond that, she played no role in any events after the 2020 election results.”
The panel had previously contemplated issuing a subpoena to compel her testimony.
In an opening statement provided to the committee and obtained by The Washington Post, Thomas denied discussing her post-election activities with her husband. She also denied that he has ever discussed his work at the court with her.
“I can guarantee that my husband has never spoken with me about pending cases at the Court. It’s an iron clad rule in our home,” Thomas added. “Let me also add, it is laughable for anyone who knows my husband to think I could influence his jurisprudence — the man is independent and stubborn, with strong character traits of independence and integrity.”
Addressing her text messages to Meadows in the statement, Thomas claimed that her husband was “completely unaware” of her communications with the White House chief of staff “until this Committee leaked them to the press while he was in a hospital bed fighting an infection.”
She also described her post-election activities as “minimal.” The Post has previously reported that Thomas emailed state lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin in November and December of 2020.
In emails sent via FreeRoots, an online platform that allowed people to send prewritten emails to multiple elected officials, Thomas urged the lawmakers to ignore Biden’s popular-vote victory and “choose” their own presidential electors.
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Germany Will Borrow Nearly $200 Billion To Cap Consumers' Energy Bills | CNN Business
Germany Will Borrow Nearly $200 Billion To Cap Consumers' Energy Bills | CNN Business https://digitalarkansasnews.com/germany-will-borrow-nearly-200-billion-to-cap-consumers-energy-bills-cnn-business/
London CNN Business —
The German government announced plans to borrow €200 billion ($195 billion) to cap natural gas prices for households and businesses. That’s a bigger price tag than the £150 billion ($165 billion) the UK government is expected to borrow to finance its own price cap.
Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, is trying to cope with surging gas and electricity costs caused largely by a collapse in Russian gas supplies to Europe. Moscow has blamed these supply issues on the Western sanctions that followed its invasion of Ukraine in February.
“Prices have to come down, so the government will do everything it can. To this end, we are setting up a large defensive shield,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday.
Under the plans, which are set to run until spring 2024, the government will introduce an emergency price brake on gas, the details of which will be announced next month. It is also scrapping a planned gas levy meant to help firms struggling with high spot market prices.
A temporary electricity price brake will subsidize basic consumption for consumers and small and medium-sized companies.
Sales tax on gas will fall sharply to 7% from 19%.
The package will be financed with new borrowing this year, as Berlin makes use of the suspension of a constitutionally enshrined limit on new debt of 0.35% of gross domestic product.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner has said he wants to comply with the limit again next year.
Lindner, of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) who share power with Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens, said on Thursday the country’s public finances were stable.
“We can put it no other way: We find ourselves in an energy war,” said Lindner. “We want to clearly separate crisis expenditure from our regular budget management. We want to send a very clear signal to the capital markets.”
Lindner also said the steps would act as a brake on inflation, which has hit its highest level in more than a quarter century.
Consumer prices rose 10.9% in the year through September, provisional data from the country’s statistics office showed on Thursday.
Germany has historically relied on Russian natural gas exports to fuel its homes and heavy industry. But a sharp drop in Moscow’s gas shipments since the start of the war has pushed some of Germany’s manufacturers to the brink.
“The Russian attack on Ukraine and the resulting crisis on the energy markets are leading to a noticeable slump in the German economy,” Torsten Schmidt, head of economic research at RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, said in a Thursday report coauthored with three other top German economic institutes.
While German GDP is expected to rise by 1.4% this year, it is likely to fall by 0.4% in 2023, the report predicts.
The report said that, while tight gas supplies should ease over the medium-term, prices are likely to remain “well above pre-crisis levels.”
“This will mean a permanent loss of prosperity for Germany,” it said.
Industry groups welcomed the government’s plans.
“This is important relief,” said Wolfgang Grosse Entrup, head of the chemicals industry trade group VCI. “Now we need details quickly, as firms increasingly have their backs to the wall.”
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A Closer Look At Mental Health Aid Available In Arkansas
A Closer Look At Mental Health Aid Available In Arkansas https://digitalarkansasnews.com/a-closer-look-at-mental-health-aid-available-in-arkansas/
The pandemic has given us time to realize that our mental health could use improvement— but what if the mental health assistance you need isn’t readily available?
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The pandemic has given many of us time to get in touch with ourselves and realize that our mental health could use improvement— but what if the mental health assistance you’re looking for isn’t readily available?
That also raised the question of how likely you are to get the help you need during a crisis.
“The mental health system is broken in Arkansas,” said Dr. Buster Lackey, executive director of NAMI Arkansas.
He said that the need for mental health assistance has become dire in the state— but he added that help may not be easy to find for some.
“In some of the rural counties, you have to drive back into one of the bigger cities,” Dr. Lackey said.
Many people in rural communities usually have to commute to Little Rock, or another larger city, to get the help they need.
UAMS, the state’s largest hospital, created a mental health clinic known as “AR ConnectNow” back in 2020.
Dr. Tony Boaz with UAMS said that the clinic gives people facing behavioral health challenges a chance at getting help.
“Anyone in the state can access care through us with video sessions [and] it’s free,” Boaz said.
Boaz added that the reality is, even with virtual options available, there are still not enough mental health providers statewide.
“I think 72 of the 75 counties in the state are experiencing a shortage,” Boaz said.
The demand for mental health professionals has also created longer wait times— up to an average of about a week.
“Anxiety and depression, there’s been such a huge jump in that. I just don’t think that professional schools can get people out quick enough to meet the needs,” Boaz said.
The Department of Human Services has mental health centers spread across Arkansas’ 75 counties, but Dr. Lackey added that even those services are limited.
He’s noticed a movement among health professionals to create a one-stop shop in clinics.
“In primary health care offices, we are putting counselors and mental health providers,” Dr. Lackey said.
He believes that this could help combat the problem of long wait times.
“You’ve got a splinter in your finger and you’re coming in to get it removed and you’re talking to your doctor about depression. Well, you now you have a provider than can either see you or get you in a pretty quickly,” Dr. Lackey said.
State organizations have continued to address this dire issue.
Last year, the Blue and You Foundation granted $5.29 million to at least six behavioral health programs in Arkansas, while The Centers for Youth and Families got $5 million.
Most recently, lawmakers made improvements to the state’s suicide prevention hotline.
“Our state legislature mandated that the Arkansas Department of Health, create and maintain the Arkansas Lifeline Call,” said Jacob Smith with ADH.
One of the problems Smith mentioned was that the National Suicide Prevention hotline previously had no connection to Arkansas.
“It might be going to Oklahoma or Memphis, maybe Ohio and they just don’t know the resources here in Arkansas,” Smith said.
Since the switch to the three-digit lifeline ‘988’ back in July 2022, when you dial, you’ll now be connected to one of three call centers in the state.
On the phone will be a trained ADH employee who evaluates the severity of the call’s situation.
“We can see what kind of resources they need [and] if it’s a lethality type of call or if it’s just a crisis call,” Smith said.
Another improvement to the Arkansas Lifeline Center is that ADH will follow up with another call to see how you are doing after the initial call.
Overall, there has been a big shift to enhance the resources of mental health aid in the natural state.
Dr. Lackey said that this is something that must continue.
“To build those stronger mental health systems that provide the care support and services needed to help people,” Dr. Lackey said.
Dr. Lackey added that moving forward, he’d like to see 24-hour emergency mental health clinics that are similar to urgent care centers.
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Arkansas State Vs ULM Prediction, Game Preview https://digitalarkansasnews.com/arkansas-state-vs-ulm-prediction-game-preview/
Arkansas State vs ULM prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 5, Saturday, October 1
Arkansas State vs ULM How To Watch
Date: Saturday, October 1
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro, AR
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: Arkansas State (1-3), ULM (2-2)
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Arkansas State vs ULM Game Preview
Why ULM Will Win
So is that the ULM we’re going to get for the rest of the year?
It got rolled by Texas and Alabama – no shame there – and beat up Nicholls State. None of that was surprising, but taking out Louisiana 21-17 for the rivalry win – now it might be time to recalibrate.
The Warhawks ran well against the Ragin’ Cajuns, the run defense has been fantastic in the two wins, and now they go against an Arkansas State team that can’t run the ball because it’s having an impossible time keeping defenses out of the backfield.
– NFL Expert Picks, Week 4
Why Arkansas State Will Win
Is this when we see what Arkansas State can do for the rest of the year?
It lost a tough one on the road to Old Dominion, dropped a good battle at Memphis, and lost at Ohio State. None of that was surprising.
However, in all four games this season the passing game has been solid, the run defense was more than fine against ODU and in the opener against Grambling State, and the offensive weapons are there to push the ULM secondary.
– Schedules, Previews College | NFL
What’s Going To Happen
Neither team has a problem with penalties and turnovers, but can each offense do what it wants?
ULM’s pass defense isn’t going to come up with enough stops, Arkansas State QB James Blackman will continue to be great, and the Red Wolves will get a solid win at home to try getting their season going.
– CFN Expert Picks, Week 5
Arkansas State vs ULM Prediction, Line
Arkansas State 26, ULM 20
Line: Arkansas State -7, o/u: 59
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Arkansas State vs ULM Must See Rating (out of 5): 2
– Predictions of Every Game
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Story originally appeared on College Football News
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AP News Summary At 10:53 P.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-1053-p-m-edt-2/
Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has regained some strength after exiting Florida and taking aim at South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said the storm spent only a few hours as a weakened tropical storm over Florida before it spun up into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews were wading through water and using boats to rescue Florida residents stranded in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The Orange County fire department posted photos of crews in a flooded neighborhood in the Orlando area. At least four people in Florida were confirmed dead on the state’s eastern coast. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for coastal South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina ahead of another landfall Friday.
Russia to annex more of Ukraine on Friday at the Kremlin
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is planning to annex more of Ukraine on Friday. The move represents an escalation of the seven-month war that is expected to isolate the Kremlin further, draw more international punishment and bring extra support to Ukraine. An annexation ceremony is planned in the Kremlin. The annexation would come just days after voters supposedly approved Moscow-managed “referendums” that Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced as illegal, forced and rigged. In an apparent response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting Friday of his National Security and Defense Council.
Russia opens more border draft offices amid call-up exodus
Russian authorities are opening more military enlistment offices near Russia’s borders in an apparent effort to intercept Russian men of fighting age who are trying to avoid getting called up to fight in Ukraine. Saratov regional officials said a new draft office opened Thursday at a checkpoint on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. Another military enlistment center was to open at a crossing in the Astrakhan region, also on the border with Kazakhstan. Earlier this week, makeshift Russian draft offices were set up near a border crossing into Georgia and on Russia’s border with Finland. Russian officials say they would hand call-up notices to all eligible men who were trying to leave the country.
1/6 chairman: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims
WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That is according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin after the election. Thomas’ attorney says his client was solely focused on ensuring reports of voter fraud and irregularities were investigated.
Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cars are left abandoned where they stalled on the road into Fort Myers Beach when Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded their engines and their drivers couldn’t continue. Broken trees, boat trailers and other debris litter the path. It’s even worse in the seaside tourist town, much of which was flattened by the fierce winds and powerful storm surge generated by the Category 4 hurricane. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famed for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. They took major hits from Ian when it came ashore Wednesday and residents tried to salvage what they could Thursday.
Trump records probe: Tensions flare over special master
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate has spawned a parallel “special master” process that has slowed the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and exposed simmering tensions between department prosecutors and lawyers for the former president. The probe into the presence of top secret information at Mar-a-Lago continues. But barbed rhetoric in the past week’s court filings has laid bare deep disagreements related to the special master’s work and made clear that a process the Trump team initially sought has not been playing to the president’s advantage. The special master, Raymond Dearie, is a former federal prosecutor and served as a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn.
S. Korea, US and Japan hold anti-N. Korean submarine drills
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea, U.S. and Japanese warships have launched their first anti-submarine drills in five years, after North renewed ballistic missile tests this week. South Korea says Friday’s one-day trilateral training off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast is meant to cope with a North Korean push to advance its ability to fire missile from submarines. North Korea has been building bigger submarines including a nuclear-powered one and testing sophisticated missiles that can be fired from them in recent years. The North’s recent five missiles launches, the first such tests in a month, also came before and after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Korea.
Dolphins QB Tua stretchered off with head, neck injuries
CINCINNATI (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained neck and head injuries after being slammed to the ground in Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and was stretchered from the field. The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious and had movement in all his extremities after being taken by stretcher from the field. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Tagovailoa was chased down and sacked by Josh Tupou with about six minutes left in the first half. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded on a backboard, stabilized and removed via stretcher. Dolphins players gathered around as he was rolled off the field and the crowd chanted “Tua! Tua!.”
Study finds that climate change added 10% to Ian’s rainfall
A quick study by two scientists calculates that climate change made Hurricane Ian 10% rainier than it would have been if there were no such thing as global warming. Thursday’s analysis, which was not peer reviewed, is based on 20 computer simulations of a world with no climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Scientists then compared those scenarios to what was playing out in real time with Hurricane Ian. The authors compared the highest rainfall rates over three hours.
Biden vows US commitment to Pacific Islands at summit
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has told visiting leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries that the U.S. is committed to bolstering its presence in their region and becoming a more collaborative partner as they face the “existential threat” of climate change. The president on Thursday addressed the leaders who gathered in Washington for a summit as the White House looks to improve relations in the Pacific amid heightened U.S. concern about China’s growing economic and military influence. Biden hosted the leaders for a dinner at the White House on Thursday evening.
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