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EBay Motors Launches The Ultimate Road Trip To Celebrate Car Culture Across America https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ebay-motors-launches-the-ultimate-road-trip-to-celebrate-car-culture-across-america/ ‘Parts of America’ tour will stop in small towns throughout the country, partnering with builders to assemble a full collection of rides that represents the best of car culture in the US , /PRNewswire/ — Today, eBay Motors, the parts and accessories destination used by millions of car lovers, builders, restorers and mechanics, kicks off a cross-country tour to explore America’s unique car cultures. The ‘Parts of America’ tour will take eBay Motors to twelve automotive enthusiast events across the country – from car meets and cruises to tractor pulls and rock crawls. At each stop, eBay Motors will feature one-of-a-kind vehicles that bring to life the local car culture and the passionate builders behind these remarkable rides. The eBay Motors ‘Parts of America’ hauler is stopping in small towns across the country to pick up eight rides, customized by partner builders with parts from eBay, which represent the best of US car culture. At today’s first ‘Parts of America’ tour stop in Michigan, eBay Motors will feature a modern classic muscle truck – a unique 2002 Ford SVT Lightning in a rare, one-year-only “True Blue Metallic” colorway and fitted with a giant Whipple supercharger sourced on eBay Motors. The eBay Motors ‘Parts of America’ tour will travel to historic Route 129 along the Tennessee-North Carolina border for its second stop, where it will spotlight a 2012 Audi R8 modified to look – and drive – like an oversized go-kart. “Just as every region of the country has its own iconic landmarks or local food with unique flavors, America’s car culture is just as diverse,” says Ron Jaiven, GM of Parts & Accessories, eBay Motors. “Any serious gearhead can speak to the distinct regional differences of their hometown and debate why it belongs on the automotive map. ‘Parts of America’ celebrates the passion of these communities.” Throughout the tour, eBay Motors’ hauler will collect and transport eight bespoke vehicles that show what’s possible using parts and accessories from eBay Motors, and represent America’s diverse and remarkable auto cultures. The tour will culminate at the LA Auto Show, where these unique builds will be on display – with many ultimately listed on eBay. Rising inflation and lack of inventory are driving more and more Americans to update and mod their existing vehicles rather than purchase a new one. To provide ideas and inspiration, ‘Parts of America’ is taking these custom rides on the road, along with the builder enthusiasts who created them. ‘Parts of America’ Route eBay Motors ‘Parts of America’ tour will kick off Sept. 21 in Hickory Corners, MI, at the Gilmore Car Museum’s Wednesday Night Cruise-In. Here, experienced street rodder Alex Palmeri of @LegitStreetCars will showcase a 2002 Ford SVT Lightning in a rare, one-year-only “True Blue Metallic” colorway that he’s fitted with a giant Whipple supercharger sourced on eBay Motors. From there, the tour will continue west – stopping at iconic sites like North Carolina’s infamous “Tail of the Dragon” on Route 129 and red rocks of Moab, Utah, all while featuring American sports cars, imports, trucks and bikes along the way. To follow the eBay Motors hauler as it stops at iconic automotive towns across America, visit the eBay.com/PartsofAmerica – a single destination to learn about the events, modders and rides featured throughout the tour, as well as stories from the road and tips for updating your own ride. Event Schedule Sept. 21: Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI Sept. 24: Tail of the Dragon in Deals Gap, NC Oct. 1: Renaissance Euro Fest in Ridgeland, MS Oct. 4: Cruisin’ for a Cure in Bowling Green, KY Oct. 7-8: Bikes Blues & BBQ in Rogers, AR Oct. 16: Brazos Valley Fair in Bryan, TX Oct. 23: Midwest Super Show in Wichita, KS Oct. 28: Jeep Jamboree 24 in Moab, UT Nov. 1-4: SEMA in Las Vegas, NV Nov. 11: Mongollon Mountain UTV Fest in Payson, AZ Nov. 13: SCTA at El Mirage, CA Nov. 17: Los Angeles, CA eBay Motors by the Numbers eBay Motors Parts & Accessories generate over $10B in annual GMV One out of every three eBay shoppers buys parts and accessories In the first half of 2022, the following high-tech and regular maintenance P&A categories saw particularly notable GMV increases YoY: Categories with strong double-digit growth included: Electric, Hybrid & PHEV Specific Parts Charging & Starting Systems Fluids & Chemicals Categories with triple-digit growth: Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Filters Follow @eBayMotors on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook for the latest on the ‘Parts of America’ tour and more. About eBay eBay Inc. ( Nasdaq: EBAY) is a global commerce leader that connects people and builds communities to create economic opportunity for all. Our technology empowers millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world, providing everyone the opportunity to grow and thrive. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, California, eBay is one of the world’s largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2021, eBay enabled over $87 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com. SOURCE eBay Inc. Read More Here

The Christian Nationalist Boot Camp Pushing Anti-Trans Laws Across America – Type Investigations https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-christian-nationalist-boot-camp-pushing-anti-trans-laws-across-america-type-investigations/ Image: Lia Liao/Insider In April, Robin Lundstrum, a Republican lawmaker in the Arkansas House of Representatives, traveled to Missouri to testify in support of a bill that would ban doctors from providing or referring transgender and gender non-conforming minors for gender-affirming health care. Citing the Women’s Liberation Front, a radical feminist group that opposes trans rights, Lundstrum suggested that trans kids think they are trans just because they are not fitting in with their peers. “Maybe these kids just need time to grow up. Adolescence stinks. Nobody wants to go back to junior high, I’ve never met a single person in my entire life that says let’s go back to junior high,” Lundstrum told lawmakers. “It doesn’t mean you’re transgender, it doesn’t mean anything, it just means you’re going through adolescence.”  The Missouri bill was modeled on the Arkansas Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act, or SAFE Act—Lundstrum’s signature achievement, which helped make her a minor celebrity on the Christian right. Last year, Lundstrum shepherded the bill to passage in just six weeks, including an override of a veto by the state’s Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson. (A temporary federal court injunction has prevented the SAFE Act from going into effect.) Nineteen other states have taken up similar bills aimed at banning gender-affirming care. As a high-profile evangelist for these laws, Lundstrum has been part of a growing cohort of right-wing lawmakers and Christian nationalist groups that are working to pass some of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion measures in the nation. These bills are often based on false claims that gender-affirming care is a ghoulish medical experiment that causes lifelong harm to kids, when in fact doctors and professional medical organizations have established that such treatment is vital to supporting the health and well-being of trans kids. Lundstrum, who did not respond to requests for an interview for this story, was first elected to her northwest Arkansas seat in 2014. She presents herself as an empathetic and energetic small business owner, wife, and mother who is committed to keeping her community and its children safe. She is staunchly opposed to abortion and has sponsored numerous anti-abortion bills, including Arkansas’ trigger law that made nearly all abortions in the state illegal when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year. In 2021, she sponsored an unsuccessful bill banning COVID vaccine requirements, and tweeted in support of a controversial doctor who had given people incarcerated at an Arkansas jail the discredited COVID treatment Ivermectin. Lundstrum, an evangelical Christian and member of an influential Southern Baptist Church, has said that “it’s our duty as Christians to take care of our Christian nation,” and “our Constitution came out of the Bible.” The SAFE Act flies in the face of how doctors treat their trans patients. The health care Lundstrum and her acolytes seek to outlaw, including gender-affirming mental health care, puberty blockers, and hormone treatments, represents the established standards for minor patients experiencing gender dysphoria, or a disconnect between their gender identity and their sex assigned at birth. These standards of care have been adopted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and other mainstream medical organizations. Despite the consensus of the medical community, SAFE Act proponents persist in falsely claiming these treatments are “experimental” and that they “disfigure” children. The SAFE Act also purports to ban gender-affirming surgeries, but doctors do not perform such surgeries on minors in Arkansas, and the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend such surgeries on patients under the age of 18 anywhere. Rep. Robin Lundstrum watches a vote in the House chamber at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, AR, on March 24, 2015. Image: Danny Johnston/AP Photo In a heated exchange during the hearings on Lundstrum’s Arkansas bill, Dr. Gary Wheeler, then the president of the Arkansas chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, testified that it was extraordinary for politicians to decide whether well-established medical procedures should be allowed. Lawmakers had limited the testimony of respondents to two minutes, and Wheeler used his time to call out the bill’s supporters for relying on “misinformation.” The American Academy of Pediatrics issued its own statement condemning attempts to ban gender-affirming care as having “the sole purpose of threatening the health and well-being of transgender youth.”  But Lundstrum’s bill didn’t take the views of these medical experts into account. Instead, the bill relied on two powerhouses of Christian nationalist political advocacy: the Family Research Council and the Arkansas affiliate of the Family Policy Alliance, the political arm of Focus on the Family. Founded in 1977 by the anti-LGBTQ psychologist James Dobson, Focus on the Family has worked to shape the views of tens of millions of U.S. evangelicals on sexuality and gender—and how they should engage politically in order to ensure that that government be guided by a “biblical worldview.”  This religious view—which does not represent all Christians, and only a minority of Americans—maintains that the law must be consistent with sex and gender strictures ordained by God. It has shaped the decades-long assault on abortion rights, culminating in the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, and a growing backlash against contraception and LGBTQ rights. The Christian right has targeted trans rights in particular because they contend—contrary to established medical and scientific evidence—that a person cannot deviate from “God’s design” for men and women. In rejecting the medical establishment in favor of this anti-scientific religious ideology, Lundstrum’s SAFE Act represents an escalation in Republican legislative attacks on trans kids, ramping up from barring them from bathrooms and sports consistent with their gender identity to making the basic health care they need illegal. It is a template for how Christian nationalist organizations and lawmakers plan to drastically restrict the rights of trans people in states across the country, and one they are increasingly intent on making into law. Training state lawmakers to implement this ideology has become a top priority of the Family Policy Alliance, which has hailed the SAFE Act as a critical step to protect children from “dangerous medical experiments” that amounted to “manipulation, malpractice, and abuse.”  In 2016, it launched the Statesmen Academy, a program which “provides pro-family legislators early in their career with the training, mentorship, support and coordination necessary for effective, Christ-centered public service,” according to its website.  Lundstrum is one of the Academy’s most celebrated graduates, and she’s part of a growing network of right-wing Christian legislators around the country who are tapping into the group’s resources.  Dylan Brandt speaks at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Little Rock, AR, on July 21, 2021. Brandt has been receiving hormone treatments and is among several transgender youth who challenged a state law banning gender confirming care for trans minors. A federal appeals court on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, said Arkansas can’t enforce its ban on transgender children receiving gender affirming medical care. Image: Andrew DeMillo/AP Photo The Family Policy Alliance does not publish a complete list of Statesmen Academy alumni, but Insider and Type Investigations were able to identify 55 alumni of the program based on Family Policy Alliance blog posts and other public statements, social media posts, and lawmakers’ public disclosure records. The alumni include far-right members of state legislatures around the country who have sponsored or co-sponsored controversial anti-trans legislation, including health care bans and prohibitions on trans athletes participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity.  To gain admission to the Statesmen Academy, applicants are urged to obtain a reference from their pastor, and they must agree to a statement of faith. The week-long program features media training, worship and devotions, and lectures by figures well-known to the evangelical right. Speakers have included Joe Kennedy, the former high school football coach who this year won a Supreme Court case holding that his on-field prayers did not violate the separation of church and state; and Matthew Spalding, a professor at the far-right Hillsdale College who served as executive director of President Donald Trump’s roundly criticized 1776 Commission, which asserted that America’s heritage was under attack by “identity politics” which “sees politics as the realm of permanent conflict and struggle among racial, gender, and other groups.”  Afterwards, graduates “receive ongoing training and resources including model legislation, talking points, research and polling, and media interview preparation,” according to the Family Policy Alliance website. “A private Facebook page, monthly e-newsletters, policy calls and periodic alumni events help facilitate this community.”  The Statesmen Academy elevates the profiles of these legislators and helps them promote legislation rooted in baseless distortions of science and medicine, particularly with regard to reproductive and trans rights.  Amanda Banks has been the Academy’s director since 2019. At an online conference hosted...

Post Politics Now: Biden To Offer ‘firm Rebuke’ Of Russia’s War On Ukraine During Address To U.N. https://digitalarkansasnews.com/post-politics-now-biden-to-offer-firm-rebuke-of-russias-war-on-ukraine-during-address-to-u-n/ Today, President Biden will deliver a “firm rebuke” of Russia for its “unjust war” on Ukraine during an annual address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to a preview of the speech offered to reporters by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Biden is expected to urge other world leaders “to continue to stand against the naked aggression” by a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, Sullivan said. He is also expected to call for better preparation ahead of future pandemics. The morning speech is part of a busy day in New York for Biden. His schedule also includes meetings with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres. Your daily dashboard 10:35 a.m. Eastern: Biden delivers remarks before the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Watch live here. 11:45 a.m. Eastern: Biden holds a bilateral meeting with Guterres. 1:15 p.m. Eastern: Biden hosts a bilateral meeting with Truss. 4 p.m. Eastern: Biden delivers remarks at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment Conference in New York. Watch live here. 7 p.m. Eastern: Biden hosts a reception for world leaders in New York. Got a question about politics? Submit it here. After 3 p.m. weekdays, return to this space and we’ll address what’s on the mind of readers. On our radar: Biden meeting with new British prime minister in New York Return to menu Aside from his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, President Biden has a busy schedule in New York on Wednesday, including a bilateral meeting with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss. Biden was initially on a list of foreign leaders expected to meet with Truss ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London, but the White House said Saturday that the meeting would instead take place this week while Truss is attending the United Nations General Assembly. Biden and Truss are expected to talk about the economic relationship between the United States and United Kingdom, including prospects for a trade deal, as well as Russia’s war on Ukraine. On our radar: Check the voter registration deadline in your state Return to menu Voters in more than half of the states will need to register before Election Day to cast a ballot in the 2022 midterm elections. The Post has compiled a list of registration deadlines to help you participate. You can read the full list here. Noted: Security Council reform is on Biden’s radar, national security adviser says Return to menu President Biden is expected to discuss U.N. Security Council reform during his visit to New York, but U.S. officials have not yet determined whether he will do so publicly or privately, the president’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters Tuesday. Since its inception, the Security Council has given veto power to five nations: the United States, China, Britain, France and, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia, The Post’s John Hudson, Missy Ryan and Yasmeen Abutaleb note. Analysis: Biden hopes Fed can tame inflation without a recession, but it’s a challenge Return to menu While President Biden is in New York on Wednesday, another event will be playing out in Washington with implications for his presidency: The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates again. Writing in The Early 202, The Post’s Theodoric Meyer and Leigh Ann Caldwell note that the central bank’s moves to bring down inflation risk derailing the Biden administration’s efforts to keep unemployment low and avoid a recession. The Fed is expected to raise rates by three-quarters of a percentage point Wednesday at the end of its two-day policy meeting. Some market analysts say the Fed could hoist rates by a full percentage point after federal inflation data came in unexpectedly hot last week. On our radar: Biden expected to touch on pandemic preparation in U.N. speech Return to menu In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, President Biden is expected to urge fellow world leaders to be better prepared for the next pandemic. “One of the core things that the president wants to communicate when it comes to global health is that from the point of view of dealing with pandemics, what covid-19 should teach all of us is that we darn well better be much better prepared for the next one,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday in previewing Biden’s speech. Our our radar: Biden to deliver ‘firm rebuke of Russia’s unjust war in Ukraine’ Return to menu President Biden will deliver “a firm rebuke of Russia’s unjust war in Ukraine” when he speaks Wednesday at the United Nations, and he will encourage world leaders to continue their opposition to Russia’s “naked aggression,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Biden will highlight that Russia, “a permanent member of the Security Council” of the United Nations, “has struck at the very heart” of the U.N. charter “by challenging the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty.” The latest: U.N. chief says world is ‘gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction’ Return to menu U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said Tuesday that a breakdown in global cooperation amid Russia’s war in Ukraine is exacerbating the top threats to human existence, including food insecurity and climate change. Guterres said problems such as poverty, indebtedness, online hate and harassment, and a loss of biodiversity are resulting from the international system’s failure to function, The Post’s John Hudson, Missy Ryan and Yasmeen Abutaleb report. Per our colleagues: “Divides are growing deeper. Inequalities are growing wider. Challenges are spreading farther,” Guterres said at the annual gathering of leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “We have a duty to act. And yet we are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction,” he said. The diagnosis was echoed by some of the more than 100 leaders attending the week-long event, but very little consensus emerged over how to bridge divides among nations deeply conflicted about how to respond to the war in Ukraine. President Biden is scheduled to address the gathering in New York on Wednesday. Noted: Garland meets Ukraine’s prosecutor general amid new signs of Russian atrocities Return to menu Attorney General Merrick Garland and his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Kostin, signed an agreement Tuesday aimed at formalizing cooperation over joint efforts to prosecute alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces in the war in Ukraine. The Post’s David Nakamura reports that the two men signed the memorandum of understanding after meeting at Justice Department headquarters in Washington, a show of partnership to step up international pressure amid evidence of new mass atrocities discovered after Ukrainian forces took back wide swaths of territory in recent weeks. Per our colleague: The latest: GOP attorneys general back Trump in court fight over Mar-a-Lago documents Return to menu Texas’s Ken Paxton and 10 other GOP state attorneys general came to the defense of former president Donald Trump on Tuesday in his legal fight over documents seized by the FBI last month, filing an amicus brief in a federal appellate court that argued the Biden administration could not be trusted. The Post’s Andrew Jeong and Amy B Wang report that in a 21-page document that repeated numerous right-wing talking points but that experts said broke little new legal ground, the officials accused the Biden administration of “ransacking” Mar-a-Lago, the Florida home of the former president, during an Aug. 8 court-authorized FBI raid and of politicizing the Justice Department. Per our colleagues: McConnell-linked super PAC pulls out of Senate race in Arizona Return to menu A super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has canceled nearly $10 million it had reserved for television ads in Arizona, an official with the group said Tuesday, pulling out of a battleground state where Republican challenger Blake Masters trails Sen. Mark Kelly (D) in the polls. The Post’s Hannah Knowles and Azi Paybarah report that the spending cuts — which slash all of the super PAC’s remaining ad investments in Arizona — are another blow to a GOP candidate who has been significantly outraised by his Democratic opponent and outmatched on the airwaves. Per our colleagues: Read More Here

House To Vote On Election Law Overhaul In Response To Jan. 6 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/house-to-vote-on-election-law-overhaul-in-response-to-jan-6/ Wednesday, September 21st 2022, 7:46 am By: Associated Press WASHINGTON – The House will vote on an overhaul of a centuries-old election law, an effort to prevent future presidential candidates from trying to subvert the popular will. The legislation under consideration Wednesday is a direct response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and former President Donald Trump’s efforts to find a way around the Electoral Count Act, an arcane 1800s-era law that governs, along with the U.S. Constitution, how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential election winners. While that process has long been routine and ceremonial, Trump and a group of his aides and lawyers tried to exploit loopholes in the law in an attempt to overturn his defeat. The bill would set new parameters around the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress that happens every four years after a presidential election. The day turned violent last year after hundreds of Trump’s supporters interrupted the proceedings, broke into the building and threatened the lives of then-Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress. The rioters echoed Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud and wanted Pence to block Democrat Joe Biden’s victory as he presided over the joint session. The legislation intends to ensure that future Jan. 6 sessions are “as the constitution envisioned, a ministerial day,” said Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican who co-sponsored the legislation with House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Both Cheney and Lofgren are also members of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. “The American people are supposed to decide an election, not Congress,” Lofgren said. The bill, which is similar to legislation moving through the Senate, would clarify in the law that the vice president’s role presiding over the count is only ceremonial and also sets out that each state can only send one certified set of electors. Trump’s allies had unsuccessfully tried to put together alternate slates of illegitimate pro-Trump electors in swing states where Biden won. The legislation would increase the threshold for individual lawmakers’ objections to any state’s electoral votes, requiring a third of the House and a third of the Senate to object to trigger votes on the results in both chambers. Currently, only one lawmaker in the House and one lawmaker in the Senate has to object. The House bill would set out very narrow grounds for those objections, an attempt to thwart baseless or politically motivated challenges. The legislation also would require courts to get involved if state or local officials want to delay a presidential vote or refuse to certify the results. The House vote comes as the Senate is moving on a similar track with enough Republican support to virtually ensure passage before the end of the year. After months of talks, House Democrats introduced the legislation on Monday and are holding a quick vote two days later in order to send the bill across the Capitol and start to resolve differences. A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation this summer and a Senate committee is expected to vote on it next week. While the House bill is more expansive than the Senate version, the two bills cover similar ground and members in both chambers are optimistic that they can work out the differences. While few House Republicans are expected to vote for the legislation — most are still allied with Trump — supporters are encouraged by the bipartisan effort in the Senate. “Both sides have an incentive to want a set of clear rules, and this is an antiquated law that no one understands,” said Benjamin Ginsburg, a longtime GOP lawyer who consulted with lawmakers as they wrote the bill. “All parties benefit from clarity.” House GOP leaders disagree, and are encouraging their members to vote against the legislation. They say the involvement of courts could drag out elections and that the bill would take rights away from states. Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, Lofgren’s GOP counterpart on the House Administration Committee, said Tuesday that the bill would trample on state sovereignty and is “opening the door to mass litigation.” Democrats are “desperately trying to talk about their favorite topic, and that is former president Donald Trump,” Davis said. Cheney, a frequent Trump critic who was defeated in Wyoming’s GOP primary last month, says she hopes it receives votes from some of her Republican colleagues. The bill would “ensure that in the future our election process reflects the will of the people,” she said. Read More Here

Former Pakistani Government Minister Visits Israel https://digitalarkansasnews.com/former-pakistani-government-minister-visits-israel/ ISLAMABAD — A delegation of Pakistanis, including a former government minister, met Israeli Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the leader of the group and trip organizers said. Pakistan is among the countries that has no diplomatic relations with Israel because of the lingering issue of Palestinian statehood, and says no government delegation has visited Israel. The trip organizer says the delegation also included representatives from the American Muslims and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council and Sharaka, a U.S.-based non-government group founded in the wake of the Abraham Accords, which was brokered by the Trump administration in 2020 and normalized relations between Israel and four Arab countries — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. “Yes, I am in Jerusalem with a delegation to promote interfaith harmony,” Nasim Ashraf, the head of the delegation, told The Associated Press by phone. He refused to give any further details about other members of the delegation. Ashraf used to be Pakistan’s development minister and the chairman of the Pakistani Cricket Board. The trip comes more than three months after journalist Ahmed Quraishi, who also traveled to Jerusalem to promote interfaith harmony, was taken off the air by Pakistan Television after his visit. Anila Ali, a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen who lives in the United States and is one of the trip organizers, told the AP that Ashraf was in Jerusalem to promote interfaith harmony. She urged Pakistan to establish diplomatic ties with Israel that would be in its best national interest. She said Turkey was a good example for Pakistan, as Turkish leadership established diplomatic ties with Israel in their national interest. “If Turkey can do it, then why cannot we do it,” she asked. Ali said Israel could guide and help Pakistan in improving the country’s irrigation system in the wake of the latest flooding, which has caused 1,569 deaths since mid-June. Read More Here

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes Joins Effort To Support Donald Trump’s Legal Battle Over Classified Documents https://digitalarkansasnews.com/utah-attorney-general-sean-reyes-joins-effort-to-support-donald-trumps-legal-battle-over-classified-documents/ The Texas-led court filing accuses the Biden administration of “ransacking the home of its one-time — and possibly future — political rival.” (Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes speaks in his office about a lawsuit filed by Utah and other states against Google, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. On Sept. 20, 2022, Reyes joined Texas and ten other states in a court filing supporting former President Donald Trump’s battle over classified documents seized from his Florida residence.   | Sep. 21, 2022, 11:00 a.m. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes threw his support behind former President Donald Trump’s legal fight with the Department of Justice on Tuesday over classified documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Reyes, and 10 other attorneys general, signed on to a friend of the court brief filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, arguing the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should block the Biden administration from using the materials as part of an investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents until the court-appointed special master reviews them, according to a copy of the brief obtained by Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney. Trump may be getting support in his legal fight from AGs in a bunch of Republican-led states. The Texas AG’s office indicates it will be filing an amicus brief on behalf of: TX, FL, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Louisiana, S. Carolina, Utah, W. Virginia pic.twitter.com/IlqVI3JiN8 — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 20, 2022 Attorneys general from Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Louisiana, South Carolina and West Virginia also joined Paxton’s filing. Several of those states supported Texas’ baseless lawsuit seeking to throw out the 2020 election results in a handful of states Trump lost. Tuesday’s legal filing suggested the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago was motivated, in part, by political considerations, referring to the “unprecedented nine-hour search” of Trump’s residence and the “extraordinary circumstance of a presidential administration ransacking the home of its one-time — and possibly future — political rival.” The filing goes on to allege that the coalition of states have been frequent opponents of the Biden administration in court, highlighting what they claim is misconduct by the federal government in those cases. “The administration’s conduct in connection with this case is of a piece with the gamesmanship and other questionable conduct that have become the hallmarks of its litigating, policy-making, and public relations efforts. At a minimum, this Court should view the Administration’s assertions of good faith, neutrality, and objectivity through jaundiced eyes,” they argued. A federal judge agreed with Trump’s request to approve an independent special review of the documents taken during the early-August search. The Justice Department is appealing part of that ruling to regain access to highly classified materials in Trump’s possession. Reyes has become a staunch ally of Trump. He traveled to Wyoming for a speaking slot during Trump’s rally in Casper in May. Trump has reportedly urged Reyes to launch a bid for U.S. Senate in 2024, possibly challenging Sen. Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination in two years. Reyes’ office declined to comment about the brief. Read More Here

This Morning https://digitalarkansasnews.com/this-morning-5/ This morning’s top headlines: Wednesday, Sept. 21 (9) updates to this series since 2 min ago Venezuelan migrants flown from San Antonio to the upscale Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard have sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his transportation secretary for engaging in a “fraudulent and discriminatory scheme” to relocate them. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Boston. It alleges that migrants were falsely told they were going to Boston or Washington and were induced with $10 McDonald’s gift certificates. DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, which includes San Antonio, opened an investigation into the flights but didn’t say what laws may have been broken. The House is preparing to vote on an overhaul of a centuries-old election law in an effort to prevent future presidential candidates from trying to subvert the popular will. The legislation under consideration Wednesday is a direct response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and former President Donald Trump’s efforts to find a way around the Electoral Count Act. That arcane 19th century law governs, along with the U.S. Constitution, how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential election winners. Trump and a group of his aides and lawyers tried to exploit loopholes in the law to overturn his defeat. President Joe Biden is ready to make the case at the U.N. General Assembly that Russia’s “naked aggression” in Ukraine is an affront to the heart of what the international body stands. In his address Wednesday morning, the American president is looking to rally allies to continue to back the Ukrainian resistance. Biden also plans to meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss and announce a global food security initiative. But White House officials say the crux of Biden’s visit to the U.N. this year will be a full-throated condemnation of Russia as its brutal war nears the seven-month mark. Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia. It’s the first mobilization in Russia since World War II. The measure appeared to be an admission that Moscow’s war against Ukraine is not going according to plan after nearly seven months of fighting and amid recent battlefield losses for the Kremlin’s forces. The Russian leader also warned the West that he is not bluffing over using all the means at his disposal to protect Russia’s territory, in what apparently was a veiled reference to Russia’s nuclear capability. Officials said the number of reservists to be called up is around 300,000. The independent arbiter tasked with inspecting documents seized in an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home says he intends to push briskly through the review process. Raymond Dearie, the veteran Brooklyn-based judge, also appeared skeptical of the Trump team’s reluctance to say whether it believed the records had been declassified. The purpose of Tuesday’s meeting was to sort out next steps in a review process expected to slow by weeks, if not months, the criminal investigation into the retention of top-secret information at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to raise its key short-term rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for the third consecutive time. Many Fed watchers will be paying particular attention to Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks at a news conference afterward. When Powell spoke at an economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, last month he issued a blunt warning. He said the Fed’s drive to curb inflation by aggressively raising interest rates, he said, would “bring some pain” for Americans. Americans will likely get a better idea of how much pain could be in store. A former Minneapolis police officer who pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday. Thomas Lane is already serving a 2 1/2-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights. When it comes to the state’s case, prosecutors and Lane’s attorneys agreed to a recommended sentence of three years, and prosecutors agreed to allow him to serve that penalty at the same time as his federal sentence, and in a federal prison. Lane is expected to appear at his sentencing remotely from a federal prison in Colorado. Travis d’Arnaud broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the fourth inning, Dansby Swanson went deep in the eighth, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 and clinched a playoff berth. The defending World Series champion Braves secured their trip to the postseason when Milwaukee lost to the New York Mets 7-5 less than 30 minutes later. Atlanta (93-55) is also vying for its fifth consecutive division title, but remained in second place, one game behind the Mets in the NL East. Swanson added his 21st homer in the eighth off Kyle Finnegan. The Braves have won 10 straight games at home, outscoring opponents 47-15 over this stretch. Aaron Judge hit his 60th home run and Giancarlo Stanton followed minutes later with a game-ending grand slam, completing the New York Yankees’ stunning five-run, ninth-inning rally to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-8. Judge moved within one of Roger Maris’ American League record when he turned on a sinker from right-hander Wil Crowe and drove it 430 feet into the left-field bleachers, pulling New York within 8-5. Judge matched the 60 home runs Babe Ruth hit for the 1927 Yankees to set a big league record that stood for 34 years. Read More Here

How Fla Gov. DeSantis Decision To Send Migrants To Blue States Could Help A 2024 Showdown With Trump https://digitalarkansasnews.com/how-fla-gov-desantis-decision-to-send-migrants-to-blue-states-could-help-a-2024-showdown-with-trump/ While former President Donald Trump has been embroiled in legal fights, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has emerged as a Republican leader on immigration. Recently, he moved migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. Source says DeSantis moving migrants is “almost entirely about 2024.” Another source said DeSantis is “out-Trumping Trump.” A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll shows DeSantis leading Trump in Florida. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently sent planes full of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, but his real target may have been 2024.  The timing of his recent political maneuver comes as Republicans need to motivate their voters to the polls in the midterms, after losing some ground to Democrats over the abortion issue, and also as DeSantis vaults past former President Donald Trump as the top GOP presidential candidate in Florida.  If DeSantis and Trump were both on the presidential ballot in Florida, DeSantis would  win among Republican voters in the Sunshine State, according to the latest USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll. The poll showed an 8-point swing in the governor’s favor since the previous one in January, though neither have declared their candidacy for a presidential run.  As DeSantis gets more media attention, increases his favorability among voters and leads on an immigration issue from which Trump launched a successful 2016 campaign, it may be setting up “a showdown” between the governor and former president, according to Charles Zelden, a historian and political science professor at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.  “DeSantis is doing all of this out of state. It’s not about the governor’s race. It’s almost entirely about 2024,” he said. DeSantis, Trump and immigration Just as Trump has been a kingmaker in Republican primaries this year, he also helped DeSantis climb the political ladder. Trump endorsed DeSantis in 2018, ushering him to the nomination over the more well-known and well-funded Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, an establishment favorite. DeSantis then narrowly defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum in the general election.  But now the teacher could be bested by the student.  Trump has been the face of the Republican Party and owned immigration and border security since he descended the golden escalator at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015 to announce his candidacy for president and accused Mexico of sending “rapists” to the U.S.  Now, DeSantis is becoming a hero in the party for sending two planes full of Venezuelan migrants on Sept. 14 to Martha’s Vineyard, a posh vacation destination in Massachusetts frequented by Democrats, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.  “There may be more flights. There may be buses,” the governor said during a news conference Friday in Daytona Beach, Florida.  His words were met with cheers in Florida, where DeSantis has a lot of support and signals to analysts his migrant moves are less about 2022 and more about 2024.  “The migrant move is not something we would see if it was solely about facing voters in Florida,” said Sean Freeder, assistant political science professor at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. “Given that Florida has a high Venezuelan population, if anything, this is drawing unnecessary attention.” Trump won Florida partially because of his support among Miami Cubans, and the Hispanic vote is always important in Florida. If DeSantis was worried about Florida, he wouldn’t be making these moves, Freeder said. “I read this as DeSantis sees the polls that show him up 6 to 9 points against (former Gov. Charlie) Crist, and thinks he’s got the money advantage and his polls look good. He’s on track to being reelected and he’s using this time to make a national name,” he said. “He’s out-Trumping Trump.” ‘I simply feel misled’: Migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard speak out; DeSantis vows to keep relocating migrants How DeSantis pulled ahead, Trump fell behind When Trump was president, he talked about transporting migrants from red states to blue states.  “DeSantis is actually doing it,” Freeder said. “While Trump continues his litigation of 2020, DeSantis is getting stuff done.”  That contrast is helping DeSantis pull ahead and causing Trump to fall behind, he said.  DeSantis is coming off a big legislative run, in which he took on Disney, “wokeism” and became a champion for conservative parents who wanted more of a say in school curriculum.  Meanwhile, Trump has been embroiled in multiple legal fights.  Though many Florida Republicans are not likely to be swayed against Trump because of the Mar-a-Lago search, they do see him as someone with a lot of “political baggage,” Freeder said.  DeSantis has probably become the favorite because he seems like a winner, he said.  “It just goes to show Trump is vulnerable with all of his legal problems,” Zelden said. “And we don’t know for sure if DeSantis is running for president, but he’s sure acting like it.” Trump’s troubles: Investigations may help Donald Trump politically — and that may hurt the Republican Party Immigration and 2024 DeSantis isn’t just sticking to Florida, Texas and red states. He’s been campaigning for Republicans in battleground states.  Recently, he stopped in Pennsylvania to stump for Doug Mastriano, a Trump-backed candidate for governor. But DeSantis spent most of his Aug. 19 speech in Pittsburgh touting his own accomplishments, including how he fought against federal COVID guidelines.  “You ain’t running over this governor. I’m punching back,” he said.  The stop was another example of DeSantis reaching out to a national Republican audience, according to Terry Madonna, a political analyst at Millersville University who has decades of experience polling Pennsylvania voters.  “This is not about the Florida election. It’s about the presidential election,” he said.  And Madonna thinks immigration is rising in terms of its significance and could be one of the top three or four issues in the 2024 election – though he’s careful to note political winds can always change quickly. The border situation is more intense today than it was when Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016 by 40,000 votes with his rally promises of “the wall.” So far this year, a record 2 million migrants have crossed the U.S. border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  “The salience of this issue will be a lot greater in 2024 if Congress and President Biden don’t deal with it nationally,” Madonna said.  Moving migrants: Free bus rides for migrants to Washington, New York and Chicago begin in Texas border town Candy Woodall is a Congress reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at cwoodall@usatoday.com or on Twitter at @candynotcandace. Read More Here

ArDOT To Hold Meeting On MH Bridge Project https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ardot-to-hold-meeting-on-mh-bridge-project/ The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) will soon present a proposed plan to replace a bridge in Mountain Home to the public. An in-person public involvement meeting addressing the Hicks Creek bridge on Arkansas Highway 5 will be held Thursday from 4 to 7 at East Side Baptist Church. The public will be able to view meeting materials and provide written comments through Oct. 6 at 4:30. A pre-recorded presentation will be available here. The site with provide the same project information and handouts available at the in-person meeting, and a Spanish translation will also be available. In addition to online forms, residents can print a form and mail it to ArDOT Environmental Division, 10324 Interstate 30, Little Rock, AR 72209. Anyone seeking further information about the project can contact Karla Sims at 501-569-2949 or karla.sims@ardot.gov. WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI Read More…

Hurricane Fiona Reaches Powerful Category 4 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/hurricane-fiona-reaches-powerful-category-4/ ROUGH SURF. INVEST 98 AND THIS SYSTEM IS OF INTEREST. IT IS EXPECTED TO WORK INTO THE CARIBBEAN. 70% CHANCE OF LIKELIHOOD THAT IT WILL GET GOING IN THE NEXT TWO DAYS. IT WILL MOVE SOUTH OF PUERTO RICO ON FRIDAY AS A TROUBLED RUSSIAN. AROUND JAMAICA SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY AND THEN MODELS SHOW THAT IT WILL STRENGTHEN. THEN IT MOVES INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO. Hurricane Fiona reaches powerful Category 4 Hurricane Fiona had become a powerful Category 4 storm by Wednesday morning.Fiona was 105 miles north of Caicos Island and 755 miles southwest of Bermuda. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was moving north at 8 mph. “A turn toward the north-northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected by Thursday. On the forecast track, the center of Fiona will continue to move away from the Turks and Caicos today, and approach Bermuda late on Thursday,” the National Hurricane Center said. “Fiona is a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Additional strengthening is forecast through tonight. Some fluctuations in intensity are possible tonight and Thursday.”Increasing swells from Fiona will lead to a high risk of dangerous rip currents and hazardous boating conditions over the east central Florida coastal waters into late week and through the weekend. The government of the Bahamas has discontinued all warnings for Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas. SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…* BermudaOther tropical disturbancesThe National Hurricane Center is tracking two other disturbances.One is Tropical Depression 8, and is not expected to pose a threat to land.However, meteorologists say Invest-98L is one to watch closely:KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN A HURRICANE WATCH IS ISSUEDStay tuned to WESH 2 News, WESH.COM, or NOAA Weather Radio for storm updates.Prepare to bring inside any lawn furniture, outdoor decorations or ornaments, trash cans, hanging plants, and anything else that can be picked up by the wind.Understand hurricane forecast models and cones.Prepare to cover all windows of your home. If shutters have not been installed, use precut plywood.Check batteries and stock up on canned food, first-aid supplies, drinking water, and medications.The WESH 2 First Warning Weather Team recommends you have these items ready before the storm strikes.Bottled water: One gallon of water per person per dayCanned food and soup, such as beans and chiliCan opener for the cans without the easy-open lidsAssemble a first-aid kitTwo weeks’ worth of prescription medicationsBaby/children’s needs, such as formula and diapersFlashlight and batteriesBattery-operated weather radioWHAT TO DO WHEN A HURRICANE WARNING IS ISSUEDListen to the advice of local officials. If you are advised to evacuate, leave.Complete preparation activitiesIf you are not advised to evacuate, stay indoors, away from windows.Be alert for tornadoes. Tornadoes can happen during a hurricane and after it passes over. Remain indoors, in the center of your home, in a closet or bathroom without windows.HOW YOUR SMARTPHONE CAN HELP DURING A HURRICANEA smartphone can be your best friend in a hurricane — with the right websites and apps, you can turn it into a powerful tool for guiding you through a storm’s approach, arrival and aftermath.Download the WESH 2 News app for iOS | AndroidEnable emergency alerts — if you have an iPhone, select settings, then go into notifications. From there, look for government alerts and enable emergency alerts.If you have an Android phone, from the home page of the app, scroll to the right along the bottom and click on “settings.” On the settings menu, click on “severe weather alerts.” From the menu, select from most severe, moderate-severe, or all alerts.PET AND ANIMAL SAFETYYour pet should be a part of your family plan. If you must evacuate, the most important thing you can do to protect your pets is to evacuate them too. Leaving pets behind, even if you try to create a safe space for them, could result in injury or death.Contact hotels and motels outside of your immediate area to see if they take pets.Ask friends, relatives and others outside of the affected area whether they could shelter your animal. ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Fiona had become a powerful Category 4 storm by Wednesday morning. Fiona was 105 miles north of Caicos Island and 755 miles southwest of Bermuda. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was moving north at 8 mph. “A turn toward the north-northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected by Thursday. On the forecast track, the center of Fiona will continue to move away from the Turks and Caicos today, and approach Bermuda late on Thursday,” the National Hurricane Center said. “Fiona is a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Additional strengthening is forecast through tonight. Some fluctuations in intensity are possible tonight and Thursday.” Increasing swells from Fiona will lead to a high risk of dangerous rip currents and hazardous boating conditions over the east central Florida coastal waters into late week and through the weekend. The government of the Bahamas has discontinued all warnings for Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas. SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT: A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for… * Bermuda Other tropical disturbances The National Hurricane Center is tracking two other disturbances. One is Tropical Depression 8, and is not expected to pose a threat to land. However, meteorologists say Invest-98L is one to watch closely: This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN A HURRICANE WATCH IS ISSUED Stay tuned to WESH 2 News, WESH.COM, or NOAA Weather Radio for storm updates. Prepare to bring inside any lawn furniture, outdoor decorations or ornaments, trash cans, hanging plants, and anything else that can be picked up by the wind. Understand hurricane forecast models and cones. Prepare to cover all windows of your home. If shutters have not been installed, use precut plywood. Check batteries and stock up on canned food, first-aid supplies, drinking water, and medications. The WESH 2 First Warning Weather Team recommends you have these items ready before the storm strikes. Bottled water: One gallon of water per person per day Canned food and soup, such as beans and chili Can opener for the cans without the easy-open lids Assemble a first-aid kit Two weeks’ worth of prescription medications Baby/children’s needs, such as formula and diapers Flashlight and batteries Battery-operated weather radio WHAT TO DO WHEN A HURRICANE WARNING IS ISSUED Listen to the advice of local officials. If you are advised to evacuate, leave. Complete preparation activities If you are not advised to evacuate, stay indoors, away from windows. Be alert for tornadoes. Tornadoes can happen during a hurricane and after it passes over. Remain indoors, in the center of your home, in a closet or bathroom without windows. HOW YOUR SMARTPHONE CAN HELP DURING A HURRICANE A smartphone can be your best friend in a hurricane — with the right websites and apps, you can turn it into a powerful tool for guiding you through a storm’s approach, arrival and aftermath. Download the WESH 2 News app for iOS | Android Enable emergency alerts — if you have an iPhone, select settings, then go into notifications. From there, look for government alerts and enable emergency alerts. If you have an Android phone, from the home page of the app, scroll to the right along the bottom and click on “settings.” On the settings menu, click on “severe weather alerts.” From the menu, select from most severe, moderate-severe, or all alerts. PET AND ANIMAL SAFETY Your pet should be a part of your family plan. If you must evacuate, the most important thing you can do to protect your pets is to evacuate them too. Leaving pets behind, even if you try to create a safe space for them, could result in injury or death. Contact hotels and motels outside of your immediate area to see if they take pets. Ask friends, relatives and others outside of the affected area whether they could shelter your animal. Read More Here

Russian Mercenaries Bombard Bakhmut As Moscow Searches For A Win | CNN https://digitalarkansasnews.com/russian-mercenaries-bombard-bakhmut-as-moscow-searches-for-a-win-cnn/ Bakhmut, Ukraine CNN  —  In the ruins of an apartment block tarred with soot and clouded in dust amid constant shelling, a small group of Ukrainian soldiers are face to face with a new type of Russian enemy: mercenaries, some of whom may be convicts sent to the front line. The battle is as heated as it is crucial around the city of Bakhmut. Russian positions are within 200 meters of the Ukrainian military unit that CNN has joined. The unit is caught in a gruesome artillery duel, sheltering in basements, and using commercially purchased drones as the best line of defense and intelligence. Through broken windows, from inside rooms littered with rubble, Ukrainian soldiers look across the neighboring field, pockmarked with countless blackened craters from artillery impacts. “They can see us here,” said one Ukrainian soldier, pointing into the distance. This is a new type of fighter on the front line. Moscow’s manpower has dwindled after as many as 80,000 casualties, according to US officials, leading Moscow to turn to the country’s sprawling private sector of mercenaries, namely the Wagner group. The Wagner group is allegedly run by the man known as “Putin’s Chef”, Yevgeny Prigozhin. A man matching Prigozhin’s appearance recently appeared in a video in a Russian prison yard, extolling to prisoners the virtues of joining his Wagner group and fighting on the front line. Here in Bakhmut is where that system is put into ruthless action. This city has been the focus of Russian forces in the past weeks, even as they abandon positions around Kharkiv and appear to struggle to hold ground elsewhere. Wagner mercenaries have been deployed to that fight, according to multiple reports from Russian media, and have been making gains around the eastern edges of the city. The mercenaries’ attacks are often devastatingly callous: the Ukrainians tell CNN that the Wagner fighters rush at them with small arms attacks, causing the Ukrainians to fire at them to protect their positions. The gunfire then gives away where the Ukrainians are, allowing the Russian artillery to target with greater accuracy. The attacks are regular, and the shelling is almost constant. “We see an enemy mortar unit. They’re preparing to fire at us,” a drone operator said, looking into his monitor. During CNN’s time with this unit on Tuesday, shells landed intermittently nearby, at one point shaking the walls of the basement shelter. Here, a Ukrainian officer, known by his call sign “Price”, tells CNN about the last Russian they took prisoner. “We are fighting a bit with those musicians,” he said, referencing the Wagner group, named after the composer. “There was one Wagner guy we caught. He was a convict, from Russia – I don’t remember exactly where from. It was get shot or surrender for him. They act professionally, not like usual infantry units,” he said. “The real problem is artillery, it is really precise,” he added. As he spoke, another shell slammed near the shelter. Bakhmut’s city center is now littered with large craters from Russian shelling, with main streets torn up, and the stadium’s seating torn in two. Analysts believe the city could provide Moscow with a strategic position in the Donbass from which to advance further north towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk – and offer a badly needed strategic victory at a time of spiraling losses. At a series of trenches at another front line, buried in the forests, Martyn, another Ukrainian officer, agreed. “[The Russians] retreated elsewhere and they need a victory, something significant, so they throw forces here,” he said. “Of course we have casualties, not today in our unit. But you can’t avoid dead or wounded, sometimes heavily injured.” These losses have been intensely personal. “I lost my close friend, five days after we came here. His nickname was Dancer,” he said. Like with so many call signs or nicknames, Martyn has no idea why his friend got this one. Around the city, local life is punctuated with massive blasts from the shelling. One local, Andrei, has eyes forlorn and dark that speak to the explosions, the lack of electricity, water and calm. Still, he said of his street, “It’s not too bad, only every second house is ruined.” Helping many eke out a life is Natalia, selling potatoes – half a ton of them in this one morning alone. “Who knows where the shelling is coming or going,” she said, as another loud blast caused her to laugh nervously. “Don’t be scared,” she added. On Wednesday, Bakhmut’s streets appeared emptier and the shelling appeared to intensify on the eastern edge of the city, with Ukrainian guns targeting Russian positions, it seemed. An apartment block, hit once already, was still smoking after another rocket tore through all four floors. Soldiers anxiously milled on the street outside, inspecting the damage. Military vehicles whizzed along the streets. Slower, walking home with food in a trolley with loud and squeaky wheels, was pensioner Maria, her eyes covered by large sunglasses. “With God you have no fear. And on your own land you cannot feel fear either,” Maria said. More blast noises broke through the shrill squeak of her rusty wheels. Read More Here

On Tap https://digitalarkansasnews.com/on-tap-3/ ON TAP (Editor’s Note: Area coaches, please report schedule changes and game results to the Siloam Springs Herald-Leader. Phone (479) 202-9255, FAX (479) 202-9309, or e-mail sports editor Graham Thomas at [email protected] Wednesday’s games HIGH SCHOOL GOLF at Big Creek, Mountain Home Class 5A State Tourn.9 a.m. Thursday’s games COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL Mid-America Christian (Okla.) at JBU1 p.m. HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS Siloam Springs at Greenwood3:30 p.m. HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL Siloam Springs at Van Buren6 p.m. JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL VB Northridge at Siloam Springs 7th5:30 p.m. VB Northridge at Siloam Springs 8th7 p.m. JUNIOR HIGH VOLLEYBALL Siloam Springs 7th at VB Butterfield4/4:30 p.m. Siloam Springs 8th at VB Butterfield5:30 p.m. Siloam Springs 9th at Van Buren6:30 p.m. Friday’s games HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Siloam Springs at Lake Hamilton7 p.m. Quapaw at Colcord7 p.m. Sperry at Kansas7 p.m. Oaks at Wesleyan Christian7 p.m. Watts at South Coffeyville7 p.m. Saturday’s games COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL Science & Arts (Okla.) at JBU1 p.m. COLLEGE SOCCER William Woods (Mo.) at JBU women3:30 p.m. HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL Siloam Springs at Carl Junction (Mo.) Tourn.TBA JUNIOR HIGH VOLLEYBALL Siloam Springs 7th at Fort Smith Tourn.TBA Siloam Springs 9th at Smackdown Tourn.TBA Monday’s games HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Siloam Springs JV at Van Buren7 p.m. HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS 5A-West Conf. Tourn.TBA JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL Siloam Springs 8th at VB Butterfield5:30 p.m. JUNIOR HIGH VOLLEYBALL Siloam Springs 7th at Alma4/4:30 p.m. Siloam Springs 8th at Alma5:30 p.m. Siloam Springs 9th at Alma6:30 p.m. Tuesday’s games HIGH SCHOOL GOLF at Russellville Country Club Class 5A State Tourn.9 a.m. HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS at Russellville/Arkansas Tech 5A-West Conf. Tourn.TBA HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL Harrison at Siloam Springs5:30 p.m. The sports editor is responsible for the writing and display of the news and features in the sports section of the Siloam Springs Herald-Leader. If you have any questions or suggestions or to report scores or calendar listings, call (479) 202-9255. To fax, dial (479) 202-9309. To write, mail to the Siloam Springs Herald-Leader sports department, 151 Highway 412 E. Suite B, Siloam Springs, AR 72761. When reporting scores, please leave a phone number. Read More Here

The Conversation: Biden Again Indicates That US Will Defend Taiwan ‘militarily’ – Does This Constitute A Change In Policy? https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-conversation-biden-again-indicates-that-us-will-defend-taiwan-militarily-does-this-constitute-a-change-in-policy/ THE CONVERSATION — President Joe Biden has – not for the first time – suggested that the U.S. would intervene “militarily” should China attempt an invasion of Taiwan. In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sept. 18, 2022, Biden vowed to protect the island in the face of any attack. Pressed if that meant the U.S. getting “involved militarily,” the president replied: “Yes.” The comments appear to deviate from the official U.S. line on Taiwan, in place for decades. But White House officials said the remarks did not represent any change in Taiwan policy. Meredith Oyen, an expert on U.S.-China relations at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, helps explain the background to Biden’s comments and untangles what should be read into his remarks – and what shouldn’t. What did Biden say and why was it significant? In an exchange on “60 Minutes,” Biden was asked directly if the U.S. would “come to Taiwan’s defense” if it were attacked by China. He replied: “Yes, we have a commitment to do that.” He also confirmed that U.S. intervention would be military. By my count, this is the fourth time Biden as president has suggested that the U.S. will come to Taiwan’s aid militarily if the island is attacked. In 2021 he made similar remarks in an interview with ABC News and then again while taking part in a CNN town hall event. And earlier this year he said something similar while in Japan, marking the first time he has made the assertion while in Asia. On each occasion he has made such a comment, it has been followed quite quickly by the White House’s walking back the remarks, by issuing statements along the lines of “what the president actually means is …” and stressing that this isn’t a shift away from the official U.S. policy on China or Taiwan. But I think that with each incident it is harder to prevaricate about Biden’s comments being an accident, or suggest that he in some way misspoke. I think it is clear at this point that Biden’s interpretation of the Taiwan Relations Act – which since 1979 has set out the parameters of U.S. policy on the island – is that it allows for a U.S. military response should China invade. And despite White House claims to the contrary, I believe that does represent a departure from the long-standing policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan. What does ‘strategic ambiguity’ mean? Strategic ambiguity has long been the U.S. policy toward Taiwan – really since the 1950s, but certainly from 1979 onward. While it does not explicitly commit the U.S. to defending Taiwan in every circumstance, it does leave open the option of American defensive support to Taiwan in the event of an unprovoked attack by China. Crucially, the U.S. hasn’t really said what it will do – so does this support mean economic aid, supply of weapons or U.S. boots on the ground? China and Taiwan are left guessing if – and to what extent – the U.S. will be involved in any China-Taiwan conflict. By leaving the answer to that question ambiguous, the U.S. holds a threat over China: Invade Taiwan and find out if you face the U.S. as well. Traditionally, this has been a useful policy for the U.S., but things have changed since it was first rolled out. It was certainly effective when the U.S. was in a much stronger position militarily compared with China. But it might be less effective as a threat now that China’s military is catching up with the U.S. Leading voices from U.S. allies in Asia, such as Japan, believe that “strategic clarity” might be a better option now – with the U.S. stating outright that it would defend Taiwan if the island were attacked. What is the history of US relations with Taiwan? After the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, the defeated Republic of China government withdrew to the island of Taiwan, located just 100 miles off the shore of Fujian province. And until the 1970s, the U.S. recognized only this exiled Republic of China on Taiwan as the government of China. But in 1971, the United Nations shifted recognition to the People’s Republic of China on the mainland. In 1972, President Richard Nixon made a now-famous trip to China to announce a rapprochement and sign the Shanghai Communique, a joint statement from Communist China and the U.S. signaling a commitment to pursue formal diplomatic relations. A critical section of that document stated: “The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government does not challenge that position.” The wording was crucial: The U.S. was not formally committing to a position on whether Taiwan was part of the China nation. Instead, it was acknowledging what the governments of either territory asserted – that there is “one China.” Where does US commitment of military support for Taiwan come from? After establishing formal diplomatic relations with China in 1979, the U.S. built an informal relationship with the ROC on Taiwan. In part to push back against President Jimmy Carter’s decision to recognize Communist China, U.S. lawmakers passed the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979. That act outlined a plan to maintain close ties between the U.S. and Taiwan and included provisions for the U.S. to sell military items to help the island maintain its defense – setting the path for the policy of strategic ambiguity. What has changed recently? China has long maintained its desire for an eventual peaceful reunification of its country with the island it considers a rogue province. But the commitment to the principle of “one China” has become increasingly one-sided. It is an absolute for Beijing. In Taiwan, however, resistance to the idea of reunification has grown amid a surge of support for moving the island toward independence. Beijing has become more aggressive of late in asserting that Taiwan must be “returned to China.” Domestic politics plays a role in this. At times of internal instability in China, Beijing has sounded a more belligerent tone on relations between the two entities separated by the Taiwan Strait. We have seen this over the past year with Beijing sending military aircraft into Taiwan’s Air Defense Zone. Meanwhile, Chinese assertion of increased authority over Hong Kong has damaged the argument for “one country, two systems” as a means of peaceful reunification with Taiwan. How has the US position shifted in the face of Beijing’s stance? Biden has definitely been more openly supportive of Taiwan than previous presidents. He officially invited a representative from Taiwan to his inauguration – a first for an incoming president – and has repeatedly made it clear that he views Taiwan as an ally. He also didn’t overturn the Taiwan Travel Act passed under the previous administration of Donald Trump. This legislation allows U.S. officials to visit Taiwan in an official capacity. In August 2022, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, making her the highest-profile U.S. politician to go to the island in decades. Meanwhile, for the second time, Biden in his “60 Minutes” interview indicated a belief that it was up to Taiwan to decide its future, departing slightly from the usual line that the U.S. doesn’t support changes to the status quo. However, Biden has also said he does not support a unilateral declaration of independence from Taiwan. So there has been a shift to a degree. But the White House is keen not to overstate any change. At heart, there is a desire by the U.S. to not stray from the Shanghai Communique. So is an invasion of Taiwan likely? The current rhetoric from the U.S. and response from China do raise the risk of conflict, but I don’t think we are at that point yet. Any invasion across the Taiwan Strait would be militarily complex. It also comes with risks of backlash from the international community. Taiwan would receive support from not only the U.S. – in an unclear capacity, given Biden’s remarks – but also Japan and likely other countries in the region. Meanwhile, China maintains that it wants to see reintegration through peaceful means. As long as Taiwan doesn’t force the issue and declare independence unilaterally, I think there is tolerance in Beijing to wait it out. And despite some commentary to the contrary, I don’t think the invasion of Ukraine has raised the prospects of a similar move on Taiwan. In fact, given that Russia is now bogged down in a monthslong conflict that has hit its military credibility and economy, the Ukraine invasion may actually serve as a warning to Beijing. Read More Here

Biden At UN To Call Russian War An Affront To Body's Charter – Local News 8 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/biden-at-un-to-call-russian-war-an-affront-to-bodys-charter-local-news-8/ By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to make the case to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly that Russia’s “naked aggression” in Ukraine is an affront to the heart of what the international body stands for as he looks to rally allies to stand firm in backing the Ukrainian resistance. Biden, during his time at the U.N. General Assembly, also planned to meet Wednesday with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss, announce a global food security initiative and press allies to meet an $18 billion target to replenish the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. But White House officials say the crux of the president’s visit to the U.N. this year would be a full-throated condemnation of Russia as its brutal war nears the seven-month mark. “He’ll offer a firm rebuke of Russia’s unjust war in Ukraine and make a call to the world to continue to stand against the naked aggression that we’ve seen these past several months,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in previewing the president’s address. “He will underscore the importance of strengthening the United Nations and reaffirm core tenets of its charter at a time when a permanent member of the Security Council has struck at the very heart of the charter by challenging the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty.” The address comes as Russian-controlled regions of eastern and southern Ukraine have announced plans to hold Kremllin-backed referendums in days ahead on becoming part of Russia and as Moscow is losing ground in the invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial mobilization to call up 300,000 reservists and accused the West of engaging in “nuclear blackmail.” Biden is confronting no shortage of difficult issues as leaders gather this year. In addition to the Russian war in Ukraine, European fears that a recession could be just around the corner are heightened. Administration concerns grow by the day that time is running short to revive the Iran nuclear deal and over China’s saber-rattling on Taiwan. When he addressed last year’s General Assembly, Biden focused on broad themes of global partnership, urging world leaders to act with haste against the coronavirus, climate change and human rights abuses. And he offered assurances that his presidency marked a return of American leadership to international institutions following Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy. But one year later, global dynamics have dramatically changed. Stewart Patrick, senior fellow and director of the Global Order and Institutions Program at the Washington think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in an analysis that Biden’s task this year is “immense” compared to his first address to the U.N. as president. “Last year, the U.S. leader won easy plaudits as the ‘anti-Trump,’ pledging that ‘America was back,’” Patrick said. “This year demands more. The liberal, rules-based international system is reeling, battered by Russian aggression, Chinese ambitions, authoritarian assaults, a halting pandemic recovery, quickening climate change, skepticism of the U.N.’s relevance, and gnawing doubts about American staying power.” Beyond diplomacy, the president is also doing some politicking. This year’s gathering comes less than seven weeks before pivotal midterm elections in the United States. Shortly after arriving in Manhattan on Tuesday night, Biden spoke at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser for about 100 participants that raised nearly $2 million, and he’s set to hold another fundraiser on Thursday before heading back to Washington. His Wednesday address comes on the heels of Ukrainian forces retaking control of large stretches of territory near Kharkiv. But even as Ukrainian forces have racked up battlefield wins, much of Europe is feeling painful blowback from economic sanctions levied against Russia. A vast reduction in Russian oil and gas has led to a sharp jump in energy prices, skyrocketing inflation and growing risk of Europe slipping into a recession. Biden’s visit to the U.N. also comes as his administration’s efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal appears stalled. The deal brokered by the Obama administration — and scrapped by Trump in 2018 — provided billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for Iran’s agreement to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open its facilities to extensive international inspection. Sullivan said no breakthrough with Iran is expected during the General Assembly but Biden would make clear in his speech that a deal can still be done “if Iran is prepared to be serious about its obligations.” He added that administration officials would be consulting with fellow signatories of the 2015 deal on the sidelines of this week’s meetings. This year’s U.N. gathering is back to being a full-scale, in-person event after two years of curtailed activity due to the pandemic. In 2020, the in-person gathering was canceled and leaders instead delivered prerecorded speeches; last year was a mix of in-person and prerecorded speeches. Biden and first lady Jill Biden were set to host a leaders’ reception on Wednesday evening. China’s President Xi Jinping opted not to attend this year’s U.N. gathering, but his country’s conduct and intentions will loom large during the leaders’ talks. Last month, the U.N. human rights office raised concerns about possible “crimes against humanity” in China’s western region against Uyghurs and other largely Muslim ethnic groups. Beijing has vowed to suspend cooperation with the office and blasted what it described as a Western plot to undermine China’s rise. Meanwhile, China’s government on Monday said Biden’s statement in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview that American forces would defend Taiwan if Beijing tried to invade the self-ruled island was a violation of U.S. commitments on the matter, but it gave no indication of possible retaliation. The White House said after the interview that there has been no change in U.S. policy on Taiwan, which China claims as its own. That policy says Washington wants to see Taiwan’s status resolved peacefully but doesn’t say whether U.S. forces might be sent in response to a Chinese attack. ___ Follow AP coverage of the U.N. General Assembly at https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly Read More Here

Pa. Election 2022: A Basic Guide To Vetting Candidates For U.S. Senate, Governor, And More | Spotlight PA https://digitalarkansasnews.com/pa-election-2022-a-basic-guide-to-vetting-candidates-for-u-s-senate-governor-and-more-spotlight-pa/ Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — All eyes will be on Pennsylvania this November election as a number of contentious races on the ballot will determine the state’s political future. In the race for governor, voters will pick between Democrat Josh Shapiro, the state’s attorney general; Republican Doug Mastriano, a state senator; and a handful of third-party candidates. In the U.S. Senate, where Democrats’ slim margin hangs in the balance, voters here could determine which party controls the chamber in 2023. Representing them will be either Democrat John Fetterman, the current lieutenant governor, or Republican Mehmet Oz, a retired surgeon and TV personality. While those races may be getting the most media attention, Pennsylvanians will also vote for their U.S. House representatives and lawmakers in the state legislature, where Democrats seek to chip away at the Republican majority in both the state House and Senate. It’s vital to thoroughly research the candidates on your ballot, and we’re here to help. Here are a few steps you can take to prepare for Nov. 8: Contents Find who is on your ballot Read about the candidates Learn the basics See their legislative history Find out who is funding their campaign 2022 general election deadlines: Oct. 24, 2022: Last day to register to vote Nov. 1, 2022: Last day to request a mail ballot Nov. 8, 2022: Election day Read everything you need to know about voting by mail. Voting in person? Use this tool to find your polling place. Find who is on your ballot All voters, regardless of where they live, will see the same candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and U.S. Senate on their ballot. Governor: Josh Shapiro (D), Website | Facebook Doug Mastriano (R), Website | Facebook Christina Digiulio (G), Website | Facebook Joe Soloski (Keystone Party of Pennsylvania), Website | Facebook Matt Hackenburg (L), Website | Facebook Lieutenant governor: Austin Davis (D), Website | Facebook Carrie DelRosso (R), Website | Facebook Michael Bagdes-Canning (G), Website | Facebook Nicole Shultz (Keystone Party of Pennsylvania), Website | Facebook Tim McMaster (L), Website | Facebook U.S. Senate: John Fetterman (D), Website | Facebook Mehmet Oz (R), Website | Facebook Richard Weiss (G), Website | Facebook Daniel Wassmer (Keystone Party of Pennsylvania), Website | Facebook Erik Gerhardt (L), Website | Facebook At least two people are running write-in campaigns for U.S. Senate: Ron Johnson of the Constitution Party and Independent Everett Stern. All voters will also choose their representative to Congress and to the state House. Half of the lawmakers who serve in the state Senate — those in even-number districts — will be up for reelection. Pennsylvania’s Department of State has a tool that allows you to find your congressional, state House, and state Senate districts. All users need to do is enter their county and address. Some counties, such as Montgomery County, publish sample ballots. Check with your county election office to get one (see a list of offices here). BallotReady and the League of Women Voters’ Vote411 initiative also provide sample ballots based on your address. Read about the candidates News articles can offer an in-depth look at a candidate, detail how a community perceives them, and raise any potential red flags about the candidate’s beliefs or affiliations. But it’s important to vet the trustworthiness and accuracy of the news source. To learn how to vet your sources, read this guide to spotting false information by Cornell University, and this guide to analyzing a news source by Melissa Zimdars, a communications professor who researches misinformation. Spotlight PA has compiled a guide to the governor’s race that breaks down where the candidates stand on key issues. We will also be examining a host of specific issues and the candidates’ positions on them here. The following stories also explore their stances: AP: Shapiro breaks with Dems on COVID policies in Pa. gov race Capital-Star: Josh Shapiro on the death penalty, climate and Harrisburg Capital-Star: Shapiro unveils economic plan to grow businesses, train workers, and expand energy industry City & State PA: Mastriano releases goals for first 100 days if elected governor Inquirer: Here’s what we know about Doug Mastriano’s attempts to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 loss in Pennsylvania USA Today: Who is Doug Mastriano, the state senator running for Pa. governor? WHYY: Pa. gov. candidates have hugely different education plans For the U.S. Senate race, here are stories that dive into the candidates’ stances: Inside Climate News: John Fetterman’s evolution on climate change, fracking and the environment Inside Climate News: As a Senate candidate, Mehmet Oz supports fracking. But as a celebrity doctor, he raised significant concerns Inquirer: Is Mehmet Oz really a conservative? We looked at the Pa. Senate candidate’s record. Inquirer: Oz is accusing Fetterman of being soft on crime. Some of his claims are inaccurate. Inquirer: Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz indicates he’d vote yes on same-sex marriage bill Inquirer: Where Pa.’s 2022 candidates for Senate stand on abortion Post-Gazette: Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidates’ approaches toward crime, justice are often blurred and complicated WHYY: How Pa. Sen. candidates compare on jobs and labor WHYY: Sentencing reform, or getting tough on crime? Oz and Fetterman on criminal justice Learn the basics Use candidates’ names and a search engine to learn more about them. Campaign websites usually provide background on a candidate, list their platform, and detail endorsements they’ve received. Social media accounts sometimes give a more personal look into a candidate’s views and why they’re running for office. Candidates often use social media to engage with voters like you and dive deeper into the policies they support. To find a social media account, search for a candidate’s name plus a social media platform, typing a phrase such as “Jane Smith Twitter” or “Jane Smith Facebook.” You can also use Facebook’s ad library to explore how candidates or political groups boost their messages across the platform. See their legislative history You can look up the legislative history of current and former state lawmakers — the bills they’ve authored, supported by becoming a co-sponsor, or voted for — to get an idea of their values and priorities. Users can search using the legislature’s “Bills by Sponsor” page, selecting the chamber, session, and lawmaker’s name. Sessions refer to the two-year periods between elections. For example, the current legislative session is from January 2021 to November 2022. To find a lawmaker’s profile page, you can find their name from the roster pages for the state House and Senate. Find out who is funding their campaign Under federal and state campaign finance laws, all candidates are required to regularly file paperwork that shows who has given them money and how they spent it. Donations from political committees, organizations, or even individuals can be an indicator of who influences the candidate, and the policies they might support once elected. Pennsylvania’s Department of State publishes the financial filings for the governor, lieutenant governor, and legislative candidates. The agency has a special website for people to search for and view filings for candidates and political committees. Using the search function, people can search for specific candidates or committees and choose an election year or filing deadline, called cycles, to view. Candidate profile pages have all the documents they filed to run for office. From there, you can select their committee, and view all of their financial information. The campaign finance filings list donors, split between small donations and large donations (greater than $250) from individuals and other political committees, plus a list of the campaign’s expenses during that filing period. For governor, lieutenant governor, and state legislature candidates, the last filing deadline before the election is in late October. For U.S. Senate and congressional races, candidates’ finances are available on the Federal Election Commission’s website, which also has a searchable database of candidates and committees. The candidate’s profile lists political committees affiliated with them and a breakdown of their finances. Viewers can click on the committee to view the committee’s finances and their campaign finance reports. Here are the pages for some of the top candidates in the general election: Governor: Josh Shapiro (D), Profile | Committee | Annual totals Doug Mastriano (R), Profile | Committee | Annual totals Lieutenant governor: Austin Davis (D), Profile | Committee | Annual totals Carrie DelRosso (R), Profile | Committee | Annual totals U.S. Senate: John Fetterman (D), Profile | Committee Mehmet Oz (R), Profile | Committee MORE ELECTION 2022 COVERAGE FROM SPOTLIGHT PA: How Spotlight PA will cover Pennsylvania’s 2022 election Your complete guide to the candidates for governor Where Mastriano, Shapiro stand on LGBTQ rights WHILE YOU’RE HERE… If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. Read More Here

Putin Announces Partial Mobilization Of Russian Military https://digitalarkansasnews.com/putin-announces-partial-mobilization-of-russian-military/ Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilization of his country’s military Wednesday, calling up reservists in a significant escalation of his war in Ukraine after battlefield setbacks left the Kremlin facing growing pressure to act. In a rare national address, the Russian leader also backed plans for Russia to annex occupied areas of southern and eastern Ukraine, appearing to threaten nuclear retaliation if Kyiv continues its efforts to reclaim that land. The speech came just a day after after four Russian-controlled areas announced they would stage votes this week on breaking away from Ukraine and joining Russia, in a plan Kyiv and its Western allies dismissed as a desperate “sham” aimed at deterring a successful counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops.  Vowing that Russia would use all the means at its disposal to protect what it considers its territory, Putin accused the West of nuclear blackmail and warned: “I am not bluffing.” The Russian leader’s words came hours after he was widely expected to speak Tuesday night. It wasn’t clear why his speech was delayed. Speaking after Putin, defense minister Sergei Shoigu said an initial 300,000 reservists would be called up. Only Russian citizens who are currently in reserve and have previous military experience will be subject to mobilization, Putin said. Those called up will also undergo additional training, he added, with the mobilization starting immediately. Servicemen watch Vladimir Putin addressing the nation, in Donetsk People’s Republic on Sept. 21, 2022. Sputnik via AP Bridget Brink, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said in response: “Sham referenda and mobilization are signs of weakness, of Russian failure.” “The United States will never recognize Russia’s claim to purportedly annexed Ukrainian territory, and we will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” she said. Putin has resisted calls from nationalist supporters and pro-military bloggers for a general mobilization since launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. On Wednesday, the Russian leader stopped short of that step — which could have significantly boosted his ailing forces, but would likely take time and could also have proven unpopular with a public the Kremlin has sought to insulate from the effects of the war.   It remains to be seen how the announcement of partial mobilization will be received by regular Russians. ‘Sham’ votes The sudden flurry of activity signaled that the Kremlin intends to not just dig in but to ramp up its efforts in a conflict that has dragged on for nearly seven months and recently tilted away from its forces. Its public backers have delighted in the prospect of an “all-out war” and a new confrontation with the West. Luhansk People’s Republic councillors holding a referendum on the republic’s accession to Russia on Sept. 20, 2022.Alexander Reka / Zuma Press Russian-backed separatist officials in the eastern areas of Luhansk and Donetsk, as well as the southern Kherson region and the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia, announced Tuesday that they would hold votes on formally joining Russia over four days starting Friday. It wasn’t clear if the proposed annexation would cover the entire territory of the provinces or only the areas currently occupied by Russian forces. Russia’s parliament also approved a bill to toughen punishments for a host of crimes, including desertion and surrender, if they are committed during periods of mobilization or martial law. The swift developments came just a week after Ukraine successfully reclaimed swaths of territory in its northeast, in what many observers said could be a decisive shift in the conflict. Kyiv’s military has been pressing to make further gains in Luhansk and Donetsk, which together form the industrial Donbas region that Moscow has made its primary goal since failing to seize the capital, Kyiv. And it has also been waging a simultaneous second counteroffensive in the south in an effort to wear down gathered Russian forces around the strategically important city of Kherson and the Black Sea coast. The Kremlin has insisted that what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine is going according to plan, but military observers have said Russian forces are depleted and increasingly dispirited.  Under growing pressure, Putin has now acted — though it was unclear how the moves will have an immediate impact on the ground. Kyiv has been boosted by Western-supplied weapons, including long-range rocket systems supplied by the U.S., leading voices on Russian state media to argue that the country is fighting not just Ukraine but NATO as well. Washington and its allies vowed to stand by Kyiv on Tuesday and condemned the planned votes as a “sham” they would never recognize. Russia held a vote to annex the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, with most of the international community rejecting the results.  But this time, the referendums come amid a full-scale invasion with which Putin seems determined to press ahead. Read More Here

Trump To Face Sexual Battery Suit Under New ‘Survivors’ Law https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-to-face-sexual-battery-suit-under-new-survivors-law/ E. Jean Carroll, the journalist who claims she was raped by Donald Trump decades ago in a New York department store, is planning to sue him for sexual battery under the state’s new “survivors” law later this year—and her attorneys now want to question Trump under oath. In an August letter to a New York federal judge that was just made public Tuesday, Carroll’s lawyer notified the court that severe legal action was on the horizon. The issue was brought up in court filings related to Carroll’s current lawsuit against the former president. She sued Trump while he was still at the White House, claiming she was defamed when Trump said the journalist’s revelations in her memoir were lies, adding a piggish line about how “she’s not my type.” Although the underlying accusations deal with sexual assault claims against the real estate billionaire, the nature of the legal dispute wasn’t primed to go after Trump for the actual alleged assault. That’s changed. Roberta A. Kaplan, the journalist’s lawyer, explained in her letter to the judge that Carroll is now preparing to file a separate lawsuit under New York’s Adult Survivors Act “on the earliest possible date,” which is Nov. 24. Kaplan also explained that Trump—as he has done in nearly every court case of late—is refusing to turn over court-mandated evidence. Trump “remains unwilling to produce any documents in discovery,” not “a single document,” Kaplan wrote. That’s why, she said, Trump should be dragged into a room for a deposition that will question him under oath—an embarrassing exercise that could elicit damning information from the former president. And given that it’s a civil case, any question Trump refuses to answer can be interpreted in the worst light possible—even as an admission. Kaplan’s letter was written to another Kaplan: U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is overseeing the defamation case and had previously instructed both parties to share information with each other. (There is no known relation between the two.) In a pithy response on Aug. 11, Trump lawyer Alina Habba accused Carroll’s lawyer of misleading the judge in the way she “repeatedly mischaracterizes the discovery efforts that have been undertaken by the parties to date.” “Indeed, the letter contains numerous misstatements which are seemingly intended to make it appear as if [Trump] is not complying with his discovery obligations,” Habba wrote. “This is simply not the case.” However, Habba’s letter revealed that—once again—Trump is hiding behind the presidential seal and waiving around expired credentials to keep evidence out of the public’s hands. Habba defended Trump’s use of “executive privilege” to prevent Carroll from obtaining some documents related to the way he verbally attacked her character while he was at the White House. Carroll’s next lawsuit could have a dramatically different—and more serious—result than the current defamation case. In the current legal fight, Trump managed to employ the Department of Justice to defend him, leaving taxpayers on the hook for what was clearly a personal battle. However, any lawsuit under New York’s rape survivor law would target him directly while he’s no longer in office. Read More Here

Opening Statements Set For Trial Against Close Trump Ally | News Channel 3-12 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/opening-statements-set-for-trial-against-close-trump-ally-news-channel-3-12/ TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When Donald Trump sought the presidency in 2016, a California billionaire named Tom Barrack made sure to get in the mix. The pair had been close friends for decades before Barrack emerged as an informal campaign advisor. He later became the chair of Trump’s inaugural committee. The problem, federal prosecutors say, is that Barrack was also secretly working at the same time as an agent for the United Arab Emirates, an energy-rich U.S. ally. The allegation has landed the defendant in federal court in Brooklyn. The trial is expected to illuminate his relationship with Trump, and how Barrack sought to leverage that relationship to protect the interests of, and feed intelligence to, the UAE. Before being indicted, Barrack drew attention by raising $107 million for Trump’s inaugural celebration following the 2016 election. The event was scrutinized both for its lavish spending and for attracting foreign officials and businesspeople looking to lobby the new administration. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan and lawyers are expected to complete jury selection on Wednesday morning. Opening statements would follow. The judge has asked potential jurors who expressed anti-Trump sentiments if they could set them aside and remain neutral. Some were dismissed when they said they couldn’t. During his questioning, the judge told prospective jurors that they may be hearing testimony from former Trump administration officials, and maybe even Trump himself. The 75-year-old Barrack — who was arrested last year and released on $250 million bail — has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, obstruction of justice and making false statements. The Los Angeles-based private equity manager was a key figure in UAE investments in a tech fund and real estate totaling $374 million. Prosecutors say that while he was nurturing those business deals, Barrack helped UAE leaders influence Trump during his campaign for president and after he was elected. Those efforts included drafting a speech for Trump that praised a member of the country’s royal family, passing information back to the Emiratis about how senior U.S. officials felt about a boycott of Qatar, and promising to advance the interests of the UAE if he were appointed as an ambassador or envoy to the Middle East. Such an appointment “would give ABU DHABI more power!” Barrack wrote in one message obtained by federal prosecutors, referring to the capital of UAE, which commands tens of billions of dollars in wealth funds from its oil and gas deposits. The U.S. government is seeking to present evidence at trial that Barrack was in close communication with the UAE’s director of national intelligence, Ali al-Shamsi. “Al Shamsi was one of the most important UAE government officials that the defendants communicated with as part of the charged scheme, particularly given his senior role in UAE intelligence operations, and testimony regarding his role and responsibilities is central to this case,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. The defense has sought to exclude evidence of Barrack’s lavish lifestyle, arguing in court papers that it would invite the jury to convict Barrack “based on improper emotional appeals and creates a substantial risk of class bias.” Barrack has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers said his contacts with the Emirates were not a secret and had been disclosed to Trump’s campaign and administration. He told reporters as he left the courthouse on Tuesday that watching the jury selection process gave him faith he will be cleared. “It’s an amazing system,” he said. Read More Here

AP News Summary At 2:53 A.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-253-a-m-edt/ Putin sets partial mobilization in Russia, threatens enemies KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a partial mobilization in Russia as the fighting reaches nearly seven months. Putin’s address to the nation on Wednesday comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia. The Kremlin-backed efforts to swallow up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following Ukrainian successes on the battlefield. The referendums, which have been expected to take since the first months of the war, will start Friday in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. Biden at UN to call Russian war an affront to body’s charter NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to make the case at the U.N. General Assembly that Russia’s “naked aggression” in Ukraine is an affront to the heart of what the international body stands. In his address Wednesday morning, the American president is looking to rally allies to continue to back the Ukrainian resistance. Biden also plans to meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss and announce a global food security initiative. But White House officials say the crux of Biden’s visit to the U.N. this year will be a full-throated condemnation of Russia as its brutal war nears the seven-month mark. US, Iran to speak at UN; Zelenskyy to appear from Ukraine UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and Iran President Ebrahim Raisi are among those taking the spotlight on the second day of the world body’s first fully in-person meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began. But perhaps one of the biggest draws on Wednesday will be Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskky, who will be heard but not seen in the flesh. The 193-member assembly voted last week to allow Zelenskky to deliver a pre-recorded address because of his need to deal with Russia’s invasion, making an exception to its requirement that all leaders speak in person. Unsurprisingly, Ukraine has been the center of attention at the U.N. assembly, with world leader after world leader condemning Russia for attacking a sovereign nation. Man sets himself on fire in apparent protest of Abe funeral TOKYO (AP) — A man has set himself on fire near the Japanese prime minister’s office in Tokyo in apparent protest of the state funeral for former leader Shinzo Abe. Kyodo News agency reported the man sustained burns but told police he set himself on fire with oil and a note found with him proclaimed his opposition to the Abe state funeral. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly meeting. The planned state funeral for Abe has become increasingly unpopular among Japanese as more details emerge about the ruling party’s and Abe’s links to the Unification Church, which built close ties with ruling party lawmakers over their shared interests in conservative causes. EXPLAINER: Woman’s death in custody sparks Iran protests Protests have erupted across Iran in recent days after a 22-year-old woman died while being held by the morality police for violating the country’s strictly enforced Islamic dress code. Anger has seen women remove their mandatory headscarves, or hijabs, from covering their hair after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was picked up by morality police over her allegedly loose headscarf. Amini’s death has angered many Iranians, particularly the young, who have come to see it as part of the Islamic Republic’s heavy-handed policing of dissent and the morality police’s increasingly violent treatment of young women. Fiona threatens to become Category 4 storm headed to Bermuda SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Fiona is threatening to strengthen into a Category 4 storm as it lashes the Turks and Caicos Islands and was forecast to squeeze past Bermuda later this week. The storm was blamed for causing at least four direct deaths in its march through the Caribbean, where it unleashed torrential rain in Puerto Rico, leaving a majority without power or water as hundreds of thousands of people scraped mud out of their homes following what authorities described as “historic” flooding. Power company officials initially said it would take a couple of days for electricity to be fully restored but then appeared to backtrack late Tuesday night. House to vote on election law overhaul in response to Jan. 6 WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is preparing to vote on an overhaul of a centuries-old election law in an effort to prevent future presidential candidates from trying to subvert the popular will. The legislation under consideration Wednesday is a direct response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and former President Donald Trump’s efforts to find a way around the Electoral Count Act. That arcane 19th century law governs, along with the U.S. Constitution, how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential election winners. Trump and a group of his aides and lawyers tried to exploit loopholes in the law to overturn his defeat. At UN, hope peeks through the gloom despite a global morass UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Hope can be hard to find anywhere these days. That goes double for the people who walk the floors of the United Nations, where shouldering the weight of the world is a core part of the job description. And when world leaders are trying to solve some of humanity’s thorniest problems, it’s easy to lose sight of hope. And yet at the U.N. General Assembly this year, while there is lots of misery and pessimism, there are also signs of brightness poking through like clovers in the sidewalk cracks. The U.N. secretary-general says hope is an increasingly rare commodity, but he also says it persists. Some 230 whales beached in Tasmania; rescue efforts underway HOBART, Australia (AP) — About 230 whales are stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just two days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island nearby. The pod stranded on Ocean Beach appears to be pilot whales. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said Wednesday that at least half of them are presumed to still be alive. The department says a team was assembling whale rescue gear and heading to the area. Two years ago, about 470 long-finned pilot whales were found beached on Tasmania’s west coast in the largest mass-stranding on record in Australia. The pilot whale is notorious for stranding in mass numbers, for reasons that are not entirely understood. The Muscogee get their say in national park plan for Georgia MACON, Ga. (AP) — Hundreds of Native Americans returned to their historic capital in Macon, Georgia, this weekend for the 30th annual Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration. Nearly 200 years after the last Creek Indians were forcibly removed to Oklahoma to make way for slave labor in the Deep South, citizens of the Muscogee Creek Nation are celebrating their survival. They’re also supporting an initiative to put the National Park Service in charge of protecting the heart of the Creek Confederacy. A federal review is nearly complete, meaning Interior Secretary Deb Haaland could soon ask Congress to create the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

Pa. Man Pleads Guilty In Capitol Breach https://digitalarkansasnews.com/pa-man-pleads-guilty-in-capitol-breach/ PITTSBURGH — Ken Grayson of Bridgeville pleaded guilty Tuesday to breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of then-President Donald Trump’s election lies. Grayson, 53, became a federal felon in pleading in the District of Columbia to interfering with police during a civil disorder. Grayson, a QAnon believer who wore a big yellow Q on his jacket, had stormed the Capitol with Jennifer Heinl, the former wife of a Shaler police officer who was previously sentenced for her role in the insurrection. Grayson admitted that he attended the Trump rally and then illegally entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing doors at about 2:20 p.m. and proceeded to the crypt. He also entered the rotunda area, where the mob was confronting police. The rioters began pushing against the officers and Grayson joined them. He livestreamed video of his conduct on his Facebook account and left at 3:07 p.m. Some of his pals back home told him to get out of there, but others encouraged him to steal items. The FBI arrested him a few weeks later. In previous court papers, prosecutors said Grayson had traveled to D.C. for other Trump rallies in November and December and boasted online about beating up “commies” there. He had also talked to his family and friends about what he intended to do on Jan. 6, saying he would go to celebrate “after Pence leads the Senate flip,” referencing then-Vice President Mike Pence. He said that if Trump told his supporters to storm the Capitol, he would obey. He also indicated he wanted to kill Joe Biden, according to the government. Grayson will be sentenced in December and faces a possible maximum term of five years in federal prison. He is among two dozen defendants from western Pennsylvania charged in the insurrection. The FBI has arrested some 870 people in all and the investigation is continuing. Read More Here

Russia's Putin Announces Partial Military Mobilization https://digitalarkansasnews.com/russias-putin-announces-partial-military-mobilization/ Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting on the military-industrial complex at the Kremlin, September 20, 2022, in Moscow, Russia. Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial military mobilization in Russia, putting the country’s people and economy on a wartime footing as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues. In a rare pre-recorded televised announcement, Putin said the West “wants to destroy our country” and claimed the West had tried to “turn Ukraine’s people into cannon fodder,” in comments translated by Reuters, repeating earlier claims in which he has blamed Western nations for starting a proxy war with Russia. Putin said “mobilization events” would begin Wednesday without providing many further details, aside from saying that he had ordered an increase in funding to boost Russia’s weapons production. A partial mobilization is a hazy concept, but it could mean that Russian businesses and citizens have to contribute more to the war effort. Russia has not yet declared war on Ukraine, despite having invaded it in February, and it calls its invasion a “special military operation.” In what was immediately greeted as an escalatory address, Putin also accused the West of engaging in nuclear blackmail against Russia and warned again that the country had “lots of weapons to reply” to what he said were Western threats — adding that he was not bluffing. Putin has alluded to Russia’s nuclear weaponry at various points during the conflict with Ukraine but there are doubts over whether Moscow would actually resort to deploying such a weapon, with analysts saying it could be tantamount to starting a third world war. British Foreign Office Minister Gillian Keegan told Sky News immediately after the speech that Putin’s comments should not be taken lightly. “Clearly it’s something that we should take very seriously because, you know, we’re not in control — I’m not sure he’s in control either, really. This is obviously an escalation,” she said. Russia under pressure Putin’s comments come as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in late February, approaches the winter period with momentum appearing to be on Ukraine’s side after it launched lightning counteroffensives in the northeast and south to reclaim lost territory. Speculation mounted Tuesday that Putin could be about to announce a full or partial mobilization of the Russian economy and society, paving the way for possible conscription of Russian men of fighting age, after Moscow-installed officials in occupied areas of Ukraine announced plans to stage immediate referenda on joining Russia. The votes — set to take place in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia this weekend and with the results widely expected to be rigged in favor of joining Russia — would enable the Kremlin to claim, albeit falsely, that it was “defending” its own territory and citizens. Plans to hold such votes were widely condemned by Ukraine and its Western allies who said they would not recognize the ballots and efforts to annex more of Ukraine, as Russia did with Crimea in 2014. Putin on Wednesday repeated earlier claims from Moscow that Russia’s aim is to “liberate” the Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine in which there are two self-proclaimed, pro-Russian republics, and said he had ordered the government to give legal status to volunteers fighting in the Donbas, Reuters reported. Read More Here

Fayetteville Council Votes To Rename Archibald Yell Boulevard To Honor Enslaved Man https://digitalarkansasnews.com/fayetteville-council-votes-to-rename-archibald-yell-boulevard-to-honor-enslaved-man/ Traffic passes Sept. 1 along Archibald Yell Boulevard in Fayetteville. The City Council on Tuesday voted 7-1 to rename Archibald Yell Boulevard to Nelson Hackett Boulevard. Hackett escaped slavery and fled to Canada in 1841 but was the first and only person extradited back to the United States, prompting the British government to make extradition of those fleeing slavery to Canada nearly impossible. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe) FAYETTEVILLE — Archibald Yell Boulevard will be renamed Nelson Hackett Boulevard by next Juneteenth. The City Council voted 7-1 Tuesday to rename the street. It was the second time the council had taken up the proposal. Hackett was an enslaved man who fled Fayetteville in 1841 seeking freedom, making his way to Canada, according to Michael Pierce, associate history professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The man who claimed to own Hackett demanded extradition. Yell, who served as Arkansas governor at the time, wrote a letter to the colonial governor of Canada requesting Hackett be returned. The request was granted. Hackett was brought back to Fayetteville in summer 1842. He was publicly whipped several times, tortured and sold back into slavery in Texas, according to Pierce’s research. He escaped again, and his fate remains unknown. Abolitionists worried slave owners could have used accusations of theft or other offenses to extradite enslaved people. The British government subsequently made laws preventing such extradition, according to Pierce’s research. The city is in the middle of a project to repave Archibald Yell Boulevard, overhaul the intersection with Rock Street and College Avenue and reduce traffic to three lanes. Crews also will install a traffic signal at South Street and add pedestrian crossings. Work is scheduled to wrap in February. Council member D’Andre Jones sponsored the renaming measure, saying it was not about erasing history or appeasing “woke” culture. The move falls in line with the city’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, he said. An amendment the council approved 8-0 will have the name change take effect June 19, the federal holiday commemorating the freedom of enslaved people in the United States after the Civil War. Four people spoke during the public comment portion of the item, with three expressing support and one saying it would erase history. Former council member Sarah Marsh said the renaming and ongoing work on the street will help knit that section of town socially and physically. “Archibald Yell Boulevard is a physical manifestation of racist urban planning policies,” she said. “We have a responsibility to fix this.” Attorney Joey McCutchen of Fort Smith said he viewed replacing the name as divisive and exclusive. He suggested renaming an intersecting street for Hackett because his and Yell’s lives intersected in history. “We’re for all history here,” McCutchen said. “But it shouldn’t be told at the expense of erasing the accomplishments of Archibald Yell.” Council member Mike Wiederkehr cast the sole no vote. He said he had no issue with naming the street after Hackett but felt the proposal presented an all-or-nothing situation pitting people of different perspectives against one another. “We can arrive at a good thing, but there are challenges to the way we arrived at it,” Wiederkehr said. “Everyone matters, or no one matters.” Council member Sloan Scroggin suggested adding an amendment that would reimburse business owners for expenses related to changing the street name. He rescinded the amendment after administrators and other council members raised questions over a potential dollar amount and what specific expenses would be addressed. Mayor Lioneld Jordan said he would have supported the name change if the council vote ended in a tie. He said he never had any doubt about whether to support it. In other business, the council voted 7-0 to support spending $557,298 in leftover Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds. Scroggin recused from the vote. The money will be split between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Community Clinic. UAMS will receive $483,430 for a mobile wellness unit to specifically serve the city, while Community Clinic will get $73,868 to buy equipment and supplies related to covid-19 at the clinic’s locations in the city. Additionally, the council voted 5-3 to hold until Oct. 4 a $212,257 proposed contract with Miller Boskus Lack Architects to come up with optional, preapproved designs for homes. Council member Teresa Turk said she wanted more information on similar programs in other cities and also expressed concern over the dollar amount of the contract. Read More Here

Germany Nationalizes Energy Giant Uniper As Russia Squeezes Gas Supplies https://digitalarkansasnews.com/germany-nationalizes-energy-giant-uniper-as-russia-squeezes-gas-supplies/ Uniper has received billions in financial aid from the German government as a result of surging gas and electric prices following Russia’s war in Ukraine. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images The German government on Wednesday agreed to the nationalization of utility Uniper as it strives to keep the industry afloat in the wake of a worldwide energy crisis. Having already accepted in July to bail out the major gas importer with a 15 billion euro ($14.95 billion) rescue deal, the state will now buy out the 56% stake of Finland’s Fortum for a 0.5 billion euros. The German state is set to own around 98.5% of Uniper. “Since the stabilisation package for Uniper was agreed in July, Uniper’s situation has further deteriorated rapidly and significantly; as such, new measures to resolve the situation have been agreed,” Fortum announced in a statement on Wednesday morning. Uniper is Germany’s largest importer of gas, and has been squeezed by vastly reduced gas flows from Russia, which have sent prices soaring. Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom earlier this month indefinitely halted gas flows to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a move Uniper CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach told CNBC would exacerbate the company’s struggles. Fortum will deconsolidate Uniper as of the third quarter of 2022, the company said Wednesday, while Fortum’s 4 billion euro loan to Uniper will be repaid and the Finnish company will be released from a 4 billion euro parent company guarantee. “Under the current circumstances in the European energy markets and recognising the severity of Uniper’s situation, the divestment of Uniper is the right step to take, not only for Uniper but also for Fortum,” said Fortum CEO Markus Rauramo. “The role of gas in Europe has fundamentally changed since Russia attacked Ukraine, and so has the outlook for a gas-heavy portfolio. As a result, the business case for an integrated group is no longer viable.” This is a breaking news story. Please check back for more. Read More Here

Trump Urges Appeals Court To Keep Shielding Records From Justice Department https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-urges-appeals-court-to-keep-shielding-records-from-justice-department/ Washington — Former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Tuesday urged a federal appeals court to turn down a request from the Justice Department to allow investigators to regain access to a tranche of roughly 100 documents with classification markings seized from his Florida estate, claiming the government has “criminalized a document dispute” and is objecting to a “transparent process that simply provides much-needed oversight.”  “This investigation of the 45th President of the United States is both unprecedented and misguided,” James Trusty and Christopher Kise, Trump’s lawyers, wrote in their response. “In what at its core is a document storage dispute that has spiraled out of control, the government wrongfully seeks to criminalize the possession by the 45th President of his own Presidential and personal records.” In their 40-page filing, Trump’s lawyers told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit that the FBI’s seizure of documents from Trump’s South Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, presents “extraordinary circumstances that warrant review by a neutral third party,” and said the Justice Department has not proven that the documents at the crux of its request to the appeals court are classified.  “Ultimately, any brief delay to the criminal investigation will not irreparably harm the government,” Trusty and Kise wrote. “The injunction does not preclude the Government from conducting a criminal investigation, it merely delays the investigation for a short period while a neutral third party reviews the documents in question.” A detailed property list from the FBI made public this month shows that federal agents seized 33 items, boxes or containers from a storage room and from desks in Trump’s office that contained 103 documents marked “confidential,” “secret” or “top secret” during the FBI’s Aug. 8 search at the South Florida property. Last Friday, the Justice Department turned to the 11th Circuit after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon rejected its request to restore access to the tranche of records marked classified that were among the material seized. Cannon barred the Justice Department from using the documents in its ongoing criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of sensitive government records, pending a review by a third-party arbiter known as a special master. In their filing to the 11th Circuit asking the court to stay Cannon’s order keeping the subset of sensitive record off-limits to investigators, federal prosecutors argued the decision “hamstrings” its criminal probe and “irreparably harms the government by enjoining critical steps of an ongoing criminal investigation and needlessly compelling disclosure of highly sensitive records,” including to Trump’s lawyers. By blocking the review and use of the records for investigative purposes, the ruling “impedes the government’s efforts to protect the nation’s security,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in their 29-page filing. In addition to keeping in place her order stopping federal investigators from using the sensitive documents, Cannon, appointed to the federal bench by Trump, also named Judge Raymond Dearie to serve as the special master. Dearie is tasked with reviewing the roughly 11,000 documents recovered by the FBI from a storage room and Trump’s office at Mar-a-Lago for personal items and records, as well as material that may be potentially subject to attorney-client or executive privileges.  Dearie, a longtime judge on the federal district court in Brooklyn, met with Justice Department lawyers and Trump’s legal team Tuesday afternoon. He’d asked the parties to submit proposed agenda items in advance.  In a letter on Monday, federal prosecutors suggested the conference focus on the “precise mechanics” of how the documents should be reviewed, aspects of the order appointing Dearie as special master and future progress reviews. In a separate letter to Dearie, Trump’s lawyers pushed back on the Oct. 7 deadline proposed by Dearie for the two sides to finish sifting through and labeling the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago. They also objected to a request from Dearie that Trump disclose information regarding any potential declassification of the sensitive materials taken from his South Florida residence, arguing that doing so would force Trump to “fully and specifically disclose a defense to the merits of any subsequent indictment without such a requirement being evident in the district court’s order.” Read More Here

The Drop Box “Problem”: Election Truthers’ Fictional Claim Gains Traction – WhoWhatWhy https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-drop-box-problem-election-truthers-fictional-claim-gains-traction-whowhatwhy/ Listen To This Story In a recent campaign video, Kim Crockett, the Republican nominee for Minnesota secretary of state, focuses on a ballot drop box to cast doubt on their security — and question the need for them in the first place. Crockett is one of dozens of 2020 election deniers nationwide currently running for statewide offices where they would be responsible for overseeing elections. With a handful of exceptions, they are Republicans closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly claimed the 2020 election was stolen.  Crockett faces incumbent Democrat Steve Simon in what is shaping up to be a surprisingly competitive race. She trailed Simon by only 4 points in a recent poll. The “drop box” video opens with Crockett standing in front of the Law Enforcement Center in Two Harbors in Lake County, located between the northern shore of Lake Superior and the Canadian border. “I have some good news, and some bad news,” she says.  She applauds Lake County for “bringing election judges together, Democrats and Republicans to work together on the ballot board.” Then, placing her arm over a  ballot drop box in front of the center, she drops the bad news. “Lake County has kept its ballot box, its drop box for absentee ballots,” she says. “I just don’t know why they would have them here or why Minnesota has them at all.” Crockett reads a sign instructing voters to use the box to return only their own ballot and call a number if they’re dropping off someone else’s. She questions whether people can be trusted to follow the rules — and, noting that a security camera monitors the box, asks whether anyone is even watching. She ends the video after again asking why ballot drop boxes exist in Minnesota.  Ballot drop boxes are a bad idea. Video surveillance means nothing if the law doesn’t require live monitoring of them 24/7.https://t.co/33jwaZDIxN pic.twitter.com/AoumhtlsHj — Kim Crockett (@KimCrockettSOS) August 10, 2022 Long Track Record and Many Advantages Ballot drop boxes have been used in the US for many years. They have been shown to modestly increase voter turnout and they have other advantages.  A voter does not have to risk the chance that a mail-in ballot will not be received by the required date, an especially important consideration for voters concerned by the Postal Service’s spotty performance in 2020.  In rural areas where voters must travel long distances from their homes to the nearest polling place — such as Lake County — drop boxes can be used by the voter at their convenience.  And as was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when cases spiked in areas with in-person voting, drop boxes allow citizens to vote in a medically safe and secure manner.  Drop boxes are also more secure than postal boxes because they are generally built more solidly and they are usually, as Crockett acknowledges, under video surveillance to thwart stuffing or tampering.  Yet, perhaps because they increase turnout, drop boxes have become a frequent target of Crockett and other 2020 election deniers.  Tamping Down Turnout Minnesota’s 80 percent turnout of eligible voters in 2020 was the highest in the country. Whether that is cause for celebration, however, is in the eye of the beholder.  As higher turnout is perceived to advantage Democratic candidates, it predictably inspires — in lawmakers and candidates like Crockett — proposals to restrict if not outright ban, as in neighboring Wisconsin, such enfranchising conveniences as drop boxes. The unsupported allegation that drop boxes facilitate massive “voter fraud” has been most notoriously promoted in the widely viewed — and thoroughly debunked — 2022 Dinesh D’Souza documentary 2000 Mules, which seems to have given impetus to Crockett’s attack. Crockett’s complaint about drop boxes is consistent with some of her other stances regarding election integrity. On her campaign website, she also advocates for mandatory photo ID for all voters, a proof-of-citizenship requirement to vote, reducing the number of mail-in balloting precincts, and a reduction in the 46-day early-voting period in Minnesota.  All of these policies would likely result in lower voter turnout. With Crockett and in nine other states with election deniers running to oversee state elections — including key swing states like Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada — voters will have the option of voting for officeholders whose principal agenda appears to be to make it more difficult for many of them to vote. A Biblical Worldview Election Denier organization includes early voting, 25 percent new voters, and #1 turnout among grounds for suspecting election results. Photo credit: Facebook A political neophyte who worked as an attorney and as a policy analyst at right-wing think tanks that advocate for pet conservative issues like “school choice” and banning critical race theory, Crockett is no stranger to controversy. She describes the 2020 election as “rigged” and “illegitimate” and “our 9/11.” She has also called on voters to exercise “biblical citizenship,” a theory that suggests the Constitution and the Bible are intertwined and that America was founded on Christian values.  Critics call this idea part of the bedrock for the far-right “Christian nationalism” that inspired the January 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol.  Crockett also opposes the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would have restored the power of the federal government to prevent discrimination against voters of color.  In a statement to CNN, the Crockett campaign defended calling the election rigged but declined to address any of her other assertions. “There are so many important policy issues we should be discussing right now so that Minnesotans can make an informed choice when they vote,” she complained. “Instead, most of the media is intent on character assassination.” A Breakdown in Trust Crockett’s allegations persist in the face of numerous recounts and audits in multiple states that failed to provide a dram of evidentiary support that the 2020 election was suspect.  The Department of Homeland Security declared the 2020 election “the most secure” in American history, saying there was no evidence votes were compromised. Challenges asserting otherwise have been greeted by near-universal rejection by courts at every level, including in cases presided over by Trump-appointed judges.  However, given legitimate security threats posed by barcode voting machines, touch screens, and wireless modems, politicians like Crockett will continue to have fertile ground to question the security of US elections.  And Americans’ faith in the integrity of elections has plummeted since January 2021, with a majority now questioning the process — a fact Crockett has seized upon. If this many people lacked confidence in the security of our banking system, there would be a run on the banks! Star Tribune poll this morning on the SOS race shows FAR TOO MANY MINNESOTANS ARE NOT CONFIDENT IN OUR ELECTIONS. pic.twitter.com/LQ4R1yOexj — Kim Crockett (@KimCrockettSOS) September 19, 2022 In response to the breakdown in trust, lawmakers and election officials might move to fortify the voting and counting processes with transparency measures, such as rigorous precertification audits. Others, like Crockett, instead seem intent on stoking fears of voter fraud and making it harder and harder to vote.  Crockett’s Trump-echoing remarks about election integrity raise many questions among potential voters. Whether they are gaining traction is a question voters will have the chance to answer in November. Read More Here

Trial Opens For QAnon Follower Who Chased Officer At Capitol https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trial-opens-for-qanon-follower-who-chased-officer-at-capitol-2/ AP PHOTO Trump supporters, including Doug Jensen, center, confront U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. A trial is set to open for Jensen, who ran after a police officer retreating up a flight of stairs during a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, a harrowing encounter captured on video. WASHINGTON — An Iowa man who was part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol believed a conspiracy theory that law enforcement officers would be arresting “all the corrupt politicians,” starting that day with then-Vice President Mike Pence, a defense attorney told jurors Tuesday. Doug Jensen wore a shirt bearing the letter “Q” to express his adherence to the QAnon conspiracy theory when he joined the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A viral video recorded by a reporter’s cellphone showed Jensen running after a Capitol Police officer who was retreating from a crowd of rioters up a flight of stairs. A federal prosecutor showed jurors the video at the start of Jensen’s trial. They also saw a photograph of Jensen with his arms extended as he confronted a line of police officers near the Senate chambers, one of the most memorable images from the riot. “This is not a whodunit case,” defense attorney Christopher Davis said during the trial’s opening statements. “Literally, the whole case is on video.” But he stressed that none of the video shows Jensen engaging in any violence or property damage. “You will not see this man lay a hand on anyone,” Davis said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Allen told jurors they will hear testimony by Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman. Jensen was at the front of a group of rioters who followed Goodman as the officer ran up the stairs. Goodman “approached them with his hand on his gun because he had no way of knowing what they were capable of doing,” Allen said. “And he knew that he was desperately outnumbered and alone.” Davis said Jensen, a construction worker, was motivated by his “100%” belief in QAnon, a conspiracy theory that spread beyond the dark fringes of the internet to penetrate mainstream Republican politics. QAnon has centered on the baseless notion that former President Donald Trump was secretly fighting a Satan-worshipping cabal of “deep state” enemies, prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites during his time in the White House. Another core tenet of QAnon is the apocalyptic prophesy that “The Storm” was coming and would usher in mass arrests and executions of Trump’s foes. Before the riot, Trump and his allies spread the false narrative that Pence somehow could have overturned the results of the 2020 election. Davis told jurors they will hear Jensen implore police officers to “do their job” and arrest Pence, who was presiding over the Senate on Jan. 6. “He believed they were obligated to do it,” Davis said. “He believed that martial law was going to be instituted.” After scaling the outer walls of the Capitol, Jensen climbed through a broken window to enter the building. He was one of the first 10 rioters to enter the building, according to prosecutors. Allen said Jensen learned from a friend’s text message that Pence was about to certify the election results. “That’s all about to change,” Jensen replied. Jensen is charged with seven counts, including charges that he obstructed the joint session of Congress to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, that he interfered with police and that he engaged in disorderly conduct inside the Capitol while carrying a knife in his pocket. Allen said Jensen “got what he came for” in Washington on Jan. 6. “The proceedings in Congress stopped,” she said. “That’s why he was there.” Jenson drove back home to Des Moines, Iowa, a day after the riot. The following day, he walked six miles to a police station and showed up unannounced, saying he was probably a wanted man. But there weren’t any warrants for his arrest when two FBI agents questioned him at the station. Jensen told the agents he considered himself a “digital soldier” who was “religiously” following QAnon. He said he worked his way to the front of the crowd because he “wanted Q to get the attention.” “I basically intended on being the poster boy, and it really worked out,” he said, according to a transcript of the interview on Jan. 8, 2021. Jensen told the FBI agents his belief in QAnon cost him friends and family members who think he is “insane.” One of the agents asked him if he had any regrets about his actions on Jan. 6. “I don’t know. It depends on if the outcome I wanted happens, then it would have been worth it. But if nothing happens except for negativity from this, and I’m a rioter, then, yeah, I completely regret it,” he said. Jensen asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly to suppress statements he made to the FBI and the evidence seized from his cellphone. The judge denied his request earlier this month. The first government witness for Jensen’s trial is scheduled to testify Wednesday. Kelly said the trial could conclude later this week. More than 870 people have been charged with federal crimes for their conduct on Jan. 6. Approximately 400 of them have pleaded guilty. Juries have convicted eight Capitol riot defendants after trials. None of the defendants who had jury trials was acquitted of any charges. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

AP News Summary At 1:49 A.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-149-a-m-edt/ US, Iran to speak at UN; Zelenskyy to appear from Ukraine UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and Iran President Ebrahim Raisi are among those taking the spotlight on the second day of the world body’s first fully in-person meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began. But perhaps one of the biggest draws on Wednesday will be Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskky, who will be heard but not seen in the flesh. The 193-member assembly voted last week to allow Zelenskky to deliver a pre-recorded address because of his need to deal with Russia’s invasion, making an exception to its requirement that all leaders speak in person. Unsurprisingly, Ukraine has been the center of attention at the U.N. assembly, with world leader after world leader condemning Russia for attacking a sovereign nation. Biden at UN to call Russian war an affront to body’s charter NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to make the case at the U.N. General Assembly that Russia’s “naked aggression” in Ukraine is an affront to the heart of what the international body stands. In his address Wednesday morning, the American president is looking to rally allies to continue to back the Ukrainian resistance. Biden also plans to meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss and announce a global food security initiative. But White House officials say the crux of Biden’s visit to the U.N. this year will be a full-throated condemnation of Russia as its brutal war nears the seven-month mark. 4 Ukrainian regions schedule votes this week to join Russia KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The separatist leaders of four Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine say they are planning to hold referendums this week for the territories to become part of Russia as Moscow loses ground in the war it launched. The votes will be held in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. The announcement of the balloting starting Friday came after a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that they were needed. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also said that folding Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine into Russia itself would make their redrawn frontiers “irreversible” and enable Moscow to use “any means” to defend them. Man sets himself on fire in apparent protest of Abe funeral TOKYO (AP) — A man has set himself on fire near the Japanese prime minister’s office in Tokyo in apparent protest of the state funeral for former leader Shinzo Abe. Kyodo News agency reported the man sustained burns but told police he set himself on fire with oil and a note found with him proclaimed his opposition to the Abe state funeral. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly meeting. The planned state funeral for Abe has become increasingly unpopular among Japanese as more details emerge about the ruling party’s and Abe’s links to the Unification Church, which built close ties with ruling party lawmakers over their shared interests in conservative causes. Fiona threatens to become Category 4 storm headed to Bermuda SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Fiona is threatening to strengthen into a Category 4 storm as it lashes the Turks and Caicos Islands and was forecast to squeeze past Bermuda later this week. The storm was blamed for causing at least four direct deaths in its march through the Caribbean, where it unleashed torrential rain in Puerto Rico, leaving a majority without power or water as hundreds of thousands of people scraped mud out of their homes following what authorities described as “historic” flooding. Power company officials initially said it would take a couple of days for electricity to be fully restored but then appeared to backtrack late Tuesday night. House to vote on election law overhaul in response to Jan. 6 WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is preparing to vote on an overhaul of a centuries-old election law in an effort to prevent future presidential candidates from trying to subvert the popular will. The legislation under consideration Wednesday is a direct response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and former President Donald Trump’s efforts to find a way around the Electoral Count Act. That arcane 19th century law governs, along with the U.S. Constitution, how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential election winners. Trump and a group of his aides and lawyers tried to exploit loopholes in the law to overturn his defeat. At UN, hope peeks through the gloom despite a global morass UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Hope can be hard to find anywhere these days. That goes double for the people who walk the floors of the United Nations, where shouldering the weight of the world is a core part of the job description. And when world leaders are trying to solve some of humanity’s thorniest problems, it’s easy to lose sight of hope. And yet at the U.N. General Assembly this year, while there is lots of misery and pessimism, there are also signs of brightness poking through like clovers in the sidewalk cracks. The U.N. secretary-general says hope is an increasingly rare commodity, but he also says it persists. High inflation in sight, Fed to signal more rate hikes ahead WASHINGTON (AP) — Last month, when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke at an economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he issued a blunt warning: The Fed’s drive to curb inflation by aggressively raising interest rates, he said, would “bring some pain” for Americans. When the Fed ends its latest meeting Wednesday and Powell holds a news conference, Americans will likely get a better idea of how much pain could be in store. The central bank is expected to raise its key short-term rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for the third consecutive time. Many Fed watchers, though, will be paying particular attention to Powell’s remarks at a news conference afterward. Some 230 whales beached in Tasmania; rescue efforts underway HOBART, Australia (AP) — About 230 whales are stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just two days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island nearby. The pod stranded on Ocean Beach appear to be pilot whales. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said Wednesday that at least half of them are presumed to still be alive. The department says a team was assembling whale rescue gear and heading to the area. Two years ago, about 470 long-finned pilot whales were found beached on Tasmania’s west coast in the largest mass-stranding on record in Australia. After a weeklong effort, 111 of those whales were rescued but the rest died. The Muscogee get their say in national park plan for Georgia MACON, Ga. (AP) — Hundreds of Native Americans returned to their historic capital in Macon, Georgia, this weekend for the 30th annual Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration. Nearly 200 years after the last Creek Indians were forcibly removed to Oklahoma to make way for slave labor in the Deep South, citizens of the Muscogee Creek Nation are celebrating their survival. They’re also supporting an initiative to put the National Park Service in charge of protecting the heart of the Creek Confederacy. A federal review is nearly complete, meaning Interior Secretary Deb Haaland could soon ask Congress to create the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

Video Shows Apparent Election Breach https://digitalarkansasnews.com/video-shows-apparent-election-breach/ ATLANTA — A Republican Party official in Georgia told a computer forensics team to copy components of the voting system at a rural elections office two months after the 2020 election and spent nearly all day there, contradicting her sworn deposition testimony about her role in the alleged breach of the equipment, a new court filing says. The filing late Monday is part of a broader lawsuit challenging the security of the state’s voting machines that has been drawn into a separate investigation of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss in Georgia. The apparent breach happened on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to stop the certification of the election. Interior security camera video from the Coffee County elections office shows Cathy Latham, the county Republican Party chair at the time, welcomed the computer forensics team when it arrived, introduced the team to local election officials and spent nearly all day there. She also instructed the team what to copy, which turned out to be “virtually every component of the voting system,” the filing says. The video directly refutes Latham’s testimony in a sworn deposition and her representations in filings with the court, the document states. The filing comes in response to Latham’s attorneys’ attempt to quash subpoenas for her personal electronic devices, including any cellphones, computers and storage devices. Robert Cheeley, an attorney for Latham, did not respond to an email seeking comment. He previously said his client doesn’t remember all the details of that day. But he said she “would not and has not knowingly been involved in any impropriety in any election” and “has not acted improperly or illegally.” Latham said in a deposition last month that she moved to Texas over the summer. In January 2021, she was chair of the Coffee County Republican Party and was the state party caucus chair for more than 125 of Georgia’s smaller counties. Latham also was one of 16 Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate in December 2020 stating that Trump had won the state and declaring that they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors. Trump lost Georgia by nearly 12,000 votes to Democrat Joe Biden. The investigation into Trump’s efforts to change the results includes a phone call he made to the Georgia secretary of state, a fellow Republican, suggesting he could “find” just enough votes to make Trump the winner. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat who’s leading that investigation, has notified Latham and the other fake electors that they could face criminal charges. The Georgia secretary of state’s office has described the copying of data from Coffee County’s election system as an “alleged unauthorized access” and last month asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to get involved. It’s the latest of several suspected breaches of voting system data around the country tied to Trump allies since his election loss. Attorney Sidney Powell and other Trump allies were involved in arranging for the copying of the election equipment in Coffee County — which is home to 43,000 people and voted overwhelmingly for Trump — as part of a wider effort to access voting equipment in several states, according to documents produced in response to subpoenas in the long-running lawsuit over Georgia’s voting machines. Latham’s “data likely will reveal additional details about the work performed and information obtained in the breach, what was done with the compromised software and data, and the people involved in planning and orchestrating the breach, which puts voters and future elections at enormous risk,” the filing says. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox Read More Here

JANET INGOLD https://digitalarkansasnews.com/janet-ingold/ Janet Carol Ingold age 83 of Russellville, AR, formerly of New Martinsville, passed away Thursday, September 15, 2022, in Little Rock, AR. She was born November 6, 1938, in Jacksonburg, WV, daughter of the late Clarence Edward and Ruby Ireta Snyder Jackson. Janet was a member of the Church of Christ Latter Day Saints, in New Martinsville. In addition to his parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Donald Lewis Ingold Sr and a son Cecil Dewayne Ingold. Survivors include 7 children, Lewis Edward (Angela) Ingold of Dover, AR, Donna Lucinda Ingold of NE, Donald Lewis (Nicole) Ingold Jr, of TX, Joseph Bryan (Tabitha) Ingold of Martinsburg, WV, Jeremiah Joseph (Stephanie) Ingold of GA, Cherri (Chris) Spitzer of New Martinsville, WV, Eugenia Kitty Richbourg of TX; 2 brothers, Dale Jackson of FL and Jesse (Linda) Jackson of Wetzel Co; 21 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, 3 great-great grandchildren. Family will receive friends on Thursday from 5-7 pm at Grisell Funeral Home & Crematory, 751 Third Street, New Martinsville. Funeral will be celebrated on Friday at 1:00 pm at Church of Christ Later Day Saints, 130 Paddock Green Drive, New Martinsville with President Joseph Ingold officiating. Entombment will follow at Northview Mausoleum, New Martinsville. Sympathy expressions at grisellfuneralhomes. com Read More…

Trump's Lawyers Get Rapped By Special Master In Mar-A-Lago Case: 'You Can't Have Your Cake And Eat It' – Digital World Acq (NASDAQ:DWAC) https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trumps-lawyers-get-rapped-by-special-master-in-mar-a-lago-case-you-cant-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-digital-world-acq-nasdaqdwac/ Donald Trump’s lawyers faced questions from the special master tasked with reviewing the papers recovered from Mar-a-Lago, the Florida estate of the former president. What Happened: Judge Raymond Dearie quizzed the lawyers in the first hearing on the seized materials on Tuesday and took them up on their claims that Trump declassified the records discovered at Mar-a-Lago, reported Politico. Dearie was appointed by Florida Federal Judge Aileen Cannon as a special master earlier in the month. “My view of it is: you can’t have your cake and eat it,” said Dearie, according to the report. The special master indicated that Trump’s “litigation strategy” would not interfere with the review of the documents. The senior judge reportedly asked what his role would be if the government asserts that certain documents are classified while Trump’s team disagrees but doesn’t offer proof to challenge it. “What am I looking for?… As far as I am concerned, that’s the end of it,” said the judge, according to Politico. One of Trump’s lawyers said it was “premature” for Dearie to ponder the question of declassification, adding that his side was not in a position to “fully disclose a substantive defense.”  “We shouldn’t have to be in a position to have to disclose declarations and witness statements,” he was quoted as saying by Politico. See Also: How To Buy TMTG IPO Stock  Why It Matters: Dearie shot back when the Trump lawyer suggested the special master was “going a little beyond what Judge Cannon contemplated in the first instance.” The tension between Trump’s lawyer and Dearie was construed as an “ominous sign” by Politico. However, a concession was reportedly forthcoming for Trump’s team as Dearie allowed them until Friday to pick a contractor to scan the 11,000 documents, the costs for which will be borne by Trump. The judge said he’s determined to go through the documents and make his recommendations to Cannon through her set timeline of end-November, according to Politico.  Trump faces less friendly courtrooms than Cannon’s, including fighting an appeal by the U.S. Department of Justice in the 11th Circuit. Trump recently went back to Mar-a-Lago, and said on Truth Social that he had a “detailed chance to check out the scene of yet another government ‘crime’.”  Truth Social is a part of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) — a company set to go public through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC. Read Next: Trump’s Legal Woes Deepen As Woman Who Accused Him Of Rape To Sue For Sexual Battery © 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Read More Here