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LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl Served With Search Warrant In Public Corruption Investigation https://digitalarkansasnews.com/la-county-supervisor-sheila-kuehl-served-with-search-warrant-in-public-corruption-investigation/ Published September 14, 2022 7:45AM Updated 2:47PM Warrant served at LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s home The supervisor told FOX 11 the raid was “part of a bogus non-investigation” and that she has never committed a felony. LOS ANGELES – A search warrant was served Wednesday morning at the Santa Monica home of Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl amid what the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is calling “an ongoing public corruption investigation.” The raid was executed around 7 a.m. by the LASD and federal law enforcement. The LASD confirmed it was also serving search warrants at other locations including the home of LA County Civilian Oversight Commissioner Patricia Giggans, as well as the LA County Hall of Administration, Peace Over Violence Headquarters, and LA Metro Headquarters.  In an exclusive live interview with FOX 11, Kuehl said the warrant to search her home “has no information on it” and was “signed by the judge who is a friend of the sheriff.” She  denied any wrongdoing. SUGGESTED: LA Metro hotline costing taxpayers thousands per call; whistleblower alleges cronyism “This is a bogus non-investigation,” Kuehl said. “There’s no investigation going on that would support this warrant.” Video shows Kuehl being led from the front door of her home outside and speaking with law enforcement.  Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl was served with a search warrant at her Santa Monica home on Wednesday morning. (FOX 11) Kuehl said this could possibly be related to a disgruntled Metro employee with contracts, adding that “Metro is also being searched.”  Kuehl said the investigation is based “on an old obsession by a Metro employee.” According to Kuehl, the Metro employee in question worked with the department “years ago” and when she was let go, became invested in a contract over the LA Metro hotline and claimed Kuehl was involved. “Between the years of 2014-2020, a series of `sole source’ contracts were awarded by the MTA to the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization Peace Over Violence totaling over $890,000,” according to the affidavit. “A sole source contract is a non-competitive procurement that allows a single supplier to fulfill the contractual obligations and requirements from, in this case, a public entity/government contractor (MTA).” Although the sheriff’s department declined to comment on the investigation, it released a redacted copy of the affidavit that led to the warrants. That document states the case is a probe into “an allegation of criminal conduct” by Kuehl and three “sole source contracts awarded to a nonprofit organization operating under the name Peace Over Violence” to operate a sexual harassment tip line for employees and riders on the Metro transit system. The affidavit documents the long history of friendship between Kuehl and Giggans, noting that Kuehl officiated Giggans’ wedding in 2004 when she was a state senator. It also noted that Kuehl — who serves on the Metro Board of Directors — is a member of the advisory board of Peace Over Violence and that Kuehl appointed Giggans to the Civilian Oversight Commission. A previous FOX 11 investigation revealed that Peace Over Violence’s operation of the sex-harassment hotline was costing taxpayers more than $8,000 per phone call. Although the line was purported to have received 1,300 calls between 2017 and 2020, very few of them turned out to be legitimate, with the vast majority being hang-ups, tests or not applicable to the line’s purpose. In October 2019, only eight of 29 calls reported by Metro turned out to be legitimate harassment reports. Of the 349 calls to the line in 2019, 260 were wrong numbers or hang-ups. Through August of 2017, only 13 legitimate sexual-harassment-related calls were received on the line, equating to a per-call cost of $8,450. The investigation was based on allegations made by Jennifer Loew, a former Metro project manager who also alleged that Kuehl had steered the no-bid contracts to Giggans and Peace Over Violence. Loew was not formally identified in the search warrant affidavit, which only cites an unnamed “witness” who raised the allegations. Loew sued Metro for retaliation. Supervisor Kathryn Barger speaks on Kuehl home search warrant Supervisor Kathryn Barger of Los Angeles County’s 5th District shares her thoughts following news that the home of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl was being searched by the LA County Sheriff’s Department Wednesday morning. Kuehl said she was notified by an attorney for the county Tuesday night that the sheriff’s department was planning to show up at her home Wednesday morning. SUGGESTED: LA County Supervisor dines at restaurant hours after voting to ban outdoor dining “I have never committed a felony,” she said. Kuehl maintains she had no knowledge of the no-bid contract, which was worth $494,000, just under the $500,000 threshold that would have mandated a vote from Metro. The Board of Supervisors has had a turbulent relationship with LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Sheila Kuehl: Search warrant executed at LA County Supervisor’s Santa Monica home Kuehl believes the warrant was served in connections with allegations of corruption. “I think the sheriff’s department going along with this Metro employee indicates the sheriff’s department is complicit in this,” she said. “Alex [Villanueva] I’m told recused himself from this… if he doesn’t know about it, that means there’s a rogue element within the sheriff’s department and either way it’s totally out of control.” Villanueva has not commented on the search warrants. The search warrant affidavit notes that Villanueva has in fact recused himself from any involvement in the investigation to avoid any appearance of conflict. The sheriff is in the midst of a contentious re-election campaign, squaring off in November against former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna. SUGGESTED: LA County Supervisors move to take COVID vaccine enforcement out of Villanueva’s hands Mike Bonin, Councilmember for the 11th District of Los Angeles, released a statement in support of Kuehl following the LASD raid. He said in part, “A corrupt sheriff with a track record of abusing his power and trying to silence and intimidate his critics is conducting a bogus, vindictive, politically motivated witch hunt against @SheilaKuehl, a public official of the highest integrity.” City News Service contributed to this report. Read More Here

Rail Systems Brace For Shutdowns, Amtrak Cancels Routes As Strike Threat Nears https://digitalarkansasnews.com/rail-systems-brace-for-shutdowns-amtrak-cancels-routes-as-strike-threat-nears/ Transit systems across the country were on edge Wednesday amid the threat of a freight rail worker strike, making preparations ahead of possible travel disruptions that could affect hundreds of thousands of rail customers. Amtrak said it is canceling all of its long-distance trains starting Thursday. Some regional transit agencies said they are preparing for service stoppages as early as Thursday evening ahead of a possible 12:01 a.m. Friday shutdown. They are wrapping up plans to communicate with commuters if a strike is not averted, and some are working with other agencies to direct people to bus alternatives. The disruptions to passenger systems that operate on freight lines would be felt across several major metropolitan areas, including Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles. The strike threat also eliminated most Amtrak service outside the Northeast Corridor, forcing travelers to find other modes of transportation or cancel plans at the last minute. Amtrak canceled service on all of its long-distance routes beginning Thursday, most of which have a daily trip in each direction and provide cross-country connections for thousands of Americans. Between 24 and 28 daily trains will not operate while service is suspended. “One can just hope that there is some resolution before Friday,” said Karen Finucan Clarkson, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Railway Express, which carries commuters from Northern Virginia suburbs into the nation’s capital. “We are truly hoping that we can run a service on Friday. That would be the best for the region.” A strike would involve workers for the two private railroads that host VRE trains — CSX and Norfolk Southern — and result in the suspension of all service. Several commuter rail agencies and the vast majority of Amtrak routes operate on tracks owned by freight railroads whose workers are threatening to strike. Freight railroads and unions representing their workers have been negotiating a new contract as part of a longtime dispute over pay and working conditions, but have not come to an agreement. A federally mandated “cooling-off” period ends Friday, opening the possibility of a strike or lockout. The Biden administration has sought to resolve the labor conflict to avert the possibility of one of the most disruptive strikes in recent U.S. history. The Association of American Railroads estimates a shutdown could cost the economy more than $2 billion a day and “could idle more than 7,000 trains daily and trigger retail product shortages, widespread manufacturing shutdowns, job losses and disruptions to hundreds of thousands of passenger rail customers.” The labor dispute began taking a hit on intercity operations early in the week. Hundreds of Amtrak passengers had to change or cancel plans as the railroad cut cross-country trains on 10 of its 14 long-distance routes before expanding the service suspension Wednesday. The carrier said the changes on those multiday trips, ahead of a possible strike, were necessary to avoid passenger disruptions during a route. The D.C.-to-Boston corridor, the nation’s busiest, would be mostly unaffected by a strike because Amtrak owns the tracks. But Amtrak said more cancellations are likely, including on state-funded, short-haul service that runs on freight lines. Amtrak operates most of its 21,000 route-miles on track owned, maintained and dispatched by freight railroads. Major regional train systems Wednesday continued to encourage passengers to plan for alternate travel later this week. Chicago’s Metra service said customers could see disruptions starting Thursday night on lines that run on freight tracks. The agency said BSNF Railway and Union Pacific are planning to begin curtailing service during the Thursday evening rush in preparation for a work stoppage. Four lines that have service contracted through freight rails would be affected. Metrolink, a network of seven lines serving Los Angeles and other Southern California communities, has been warning customers since last week of the potential for disruptions, saying Wednesday that some disruptions will likely begin Thursday night. Five of the system’s seven lines use tracks owned by freight railroads, meaning as many as 70 percent of customers could be affected. “We are coordinating with our rail partners to provide as much alternative service as possible, but there may be complete service cancellations on some lines,” the agency said in a service update. The Maryland Department of Transportation continued to issue alerts Wednesday to passengers on the potential of an “immediate suspension” of all service on two of its three MARC commuter lines serving the District — one to Baltimore and another to Martinsburg, W.Va. State transportation officials said MARC is providing passengers a list of bus and other transit alternatives. “MARC Train is prepared to run regular scheduled service on the Camden and Brunswick lines should CSX not experience a labor strike by their unions,” said Veronica Battisti, a spokeswoman with the Maryland Transit Administration. In Virginia, the suspension of VRE service is likely to affect as many as 10,000 daily commuters. The railroad, which until recently was carrying about 5,200 passengers — down about 70 percent from pre-pandemic levels — saw a spike in ridership after Labor Day as some Metro commuters transition to the system amid a weeks-long shutdown of several Metro stations south of Reagan National Airport. “If there is a rail strike, it means for those Blue and Yellow line riders as well as VRE riders, there will be no rail service as an option into the District,” Clarkson said. VRE is preparing announcements it will run at its stations Friday if the system is forced to shut down. The agency is also coordinating with commuter and local bus systems in Northern Virginia that could be used as alternatives. As of Wednesday afternoon, officials said, the prospects for a strike were still unclear and the hopes were for no effects come Friday. “On Thursday afternoon, we will have to make a decision,” Clarkson said. “If it goes down to the wire, then it may be the wee hours of [Friday] morning before we can get something out … Then we will send out alerts.” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), an advocate for rail infrastructure, called the unions’ demands “reasonable” and urged railroads to work toward an agreement that avoids a strike and significant effects on commerce and transportation. “Given the fact that Amtrak has already preemptively canceled a number of its long-distance trains in anticipation of a strike, it doesn’t take much imagination to predict the mess a strike would cause,” he said. Read More Here

U.S. Senators Introduce Bill To Designate Russia State Sponsor Of Terrorism https://digitalarkansasnews.com/u-s-senators-introduce-bill-to-designate-russia-state-sponsor-of-terrorism/ U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) speak during an interview with Reuters, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 7, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Democratic and Republican U.S. senators introduced legislation on Wednesday that would designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, a label pushed for by Ukraine but opposed by President Joe Biden’s administration. “The need for this measure is more pressing now than ever before,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, one of the bill’s sponsors, told a news conference, citing the killings of civilians and other “brutal, cruel oppression” in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, another bill sponsor, said the designation would send a strong signal of support for Ukraine to Kyiv but also to U.S. allies, while imposing stiff penalties on Russia like allowing it to be sued in U.S. courts for its actions in Ukraine and tightening sanctions. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com It was not immediately clear when or whether the measure might come up for a vote. But the two senators have been advocating for the designation for months, visiting Kyiv in July to promote it. read more They have been joined by other lawmakers in voicing support for the idea. Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in July the designation was “long overdue.” Biden has said he does not plan such a designation for Russia. Administration officials say they do not feel that the designation is the most effective way to hold Russia accountable and that it could hinder deliveries of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news briefing that the administration was discussing with lawmakers measures “analogous” to those that would be imposed on Russia’s economy by the designation. read more “We have to take into account the consequences, intended and unintended” by such a designation, he said. “We are engaging with Congress on tools that would continue to have analogous implications for the Russian economy, for the Russian government, that would not have those unintended consequences.” Moscow has told Washington that diplomatic ties would be badly damaged and could even be broken off if Russia were added to the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, which currently includes Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Syria. Blumenthal and Graham’s bill includes a provision that would allow a U.S. president to waive the designation for national security reasons after certifying to Congress that Russia is no longer supporting acts of international terrorism. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; additional reporting by Jonathan Landay and Simon Lewis; Editing by Bill Berkrot Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Why Aren’t More Americans Defending Free Speech And The Rule Of Law? https://digitalarkansasnews.com/why-arent-more-americans-defending-free-speech-and-the-rule-of-law/ OPINION: It has been suggested that those on the right have been a bit too energetic in defending the previous president. There can be no doubt that many of President Donald J. Trump’s defenders are aggressive and voluble. There can also be no doubt that in many instances, people conflate defending important elements of the American political and judicial systems with defending Mr. Trump himself. Let’s clear up the confusion. Noting the obvious and troubling fact that the FBI and the DOJ are either unwilling or unable to police their own employees is not defending Mr. Trump. Faced with the reality that agents lied to obtain warrants used to surveil campaigns and members of the media, silence seems a lot like a vitiation of the oath that many of us have taken to the Constitution. It is certainly contrary to the oath that every lawyer has taken as well. Pointing out that no one associated with January 6th has even been charged with, let alone found guilty of, insurrection is not defending Mr. Trump. It is, rather, defending both the utility and primacy of the judicial process in the United States. It is a simple assertion of the foundational understanding that innocence is assumed until guilt is proven. It is alarming to see how many lawyers – officers of court all – have no confidence in the ability of their own system to find facts, ascertain guilt, and assign punishment and remediation in this instance. If you are a lawyer, and are happy to see what is essentially a criminal matter politicized (think the January 6th Committee), that is a problem. Listing off a few of the ways that Team Biden has failed the United States (Afghanistan, inflation, energy prices, regressive policies like the student loan debt fiasco, etc.), is also not defending Mr. Trump or Trumpism. It is simply acknowledging the facts as we know them. President Joe Biden understands them to be facts as well. He has been reduced to calling his opponents’ fascists not because they are, but because he and his party have nothing else to run on in the 2022 elections. Suggesting that a sitting president should not call his opponents (about one-third of all American adults) fascists and threats to the Republic is not defending Mr. Trump. It is simply a practical restatement of the notion that once you place certain people outside the realm of the acceptable, you greatly increase societal entropy and the chances of violence. When people cannot or will not be heard through peaceful channels, the historical answer is usually violence. That’s why the First Amendment is essential; free speech is the first and best bulwark against political violence. Speaking of that… saying that a United States Senator (Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY) should not threaten violence against Supreme Court justices has nothing to do with Mr. Trump. Nor does pointing out that in the last couple of years dozens of churches, pregnancy centers, and Republican Party offices have been firebombed or otherwise damaged. Again, if you’ve taken an oath – either to the Constitution or to preserve the rule of law as an officer of the court — you should oppose and be vocal about opposing all of those instances of violence and threats. To date, the left has said nothing about these ongoing episodes of political violence. Finally, pointing out that there seems to be two kinds of justice in the United States nowadays — one in which a leader of one political party (Mr. Trump) is hounded pretty relentlessly by federal law enforcement and one in which the previous presidential nominee and the son of the current president are essentially ignored by law enforcement – is, again, not defending Mr. Trump. It is, rather, noting what is obvious to everyone: That the rule of law is being routinely traduced by those who are part of the legal system. It is small wonder that few citizens retain confidence in federal law enforcement. Rather than asking why some defend Mr. Trump, perhaps the more important question is, why aren’t more people defending free speech, the rule of law, the judicial process, the citizenry from political violence, judges from political attacks, and federal law enforcement from those who would weaponize it against their political rivals. • Michael McKenna, a columnist for The Washington Times, co-hosts “The Unregulated” podcast. He was most recently a deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the White House. Read More Here

‘Mike Committed Political Suicide’: Trump Says Pence Won’t Be His Running Mate In 2024 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/mike-committed-political-suicide-trump-says-pence-wont-be-his-running-mate-in-2024/ Former President Donald Trump has said that Mike Pence will not be his running mate should he run for the presidency again in 2024. “Mike committed political suicide,” Trump opined while speaking to Peter Baker and Susan Glassner. Trump is expected by many observers to launch a third campaign for the presidency in 2024. Former President Donald Trump said it “would be totally inappropriate” for former Vice President Mike Pence to be his running mate should he run for the presidency again in 2024, according to an interview released Wednesday. “Mike committed political suicide,” Trump said during the interview, conducted by New York Times Chief White House Correspondent Peter Baker and New Yorker Staff Writer Susan Glassner for their upcoming book – The Divider – about the Trump presidency. The Guardian obtained an advanced copy of the book, due to be published on Sept. 20. Trump’s claims stem from Pence’s rejection of pressure from Trump to not certify the Electoral College votes of Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia – which President Joe Biden won in the 2020 presidential election – sent to Congress under provisions of the 12th Amendment. Pence, as Vice President and ex-officio President of the Senate, was the presiding officer of the Joint Session of Congress that convened to certify the electoral votes of states, the final constitutional step before then-President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris could be sworn into office. As Trump sought to contest the results of the election, a legal theory was proposed by Trump’s allies that Pence could reject the states’ electoral votes, even if a formal objection was not sustained by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The theory was overwhelmingly dismissed by legal experts. A federal lawsuit filed by Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas that sought to overturn the Electoral Count Act as unconstitutional, using the 12th Amendment and Trump’s theory as an argument, was denied review by the Supreme Court. Break: SCOTUS spurns Sidney Powell case Gohmert v. Pence. Order: pic.twitter.com/4HHq5bAAwf — Mike Scarcella (@MikeScarcella) January 7, 2021 Despite the advice of legal experts, Trump called on Pence to reject the states’ votes in accordance with his wishes. Presumably, this would have left the Electoral College of both candidates below the required 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, thereby submitting the election to the House of Representatives under the 12th Amendment’s provisions. The last time a president was elected by the House under this law was in 1824 when John Quincy Adams defeated Andrew Jackson. Pence, in advance of the scheduled joint session on Jan. 6, 2021, sent a letter to all Members of Congress claiming that he lacked the authority that Trump and Powell suggested. This outraged Trump and his supporters. “If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election,” Trump said at a Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse. “If he doesn’t, that will be a sad day for our country because you’re sworn to uphold our Constitution.” Trump supporters later stormed the U.S. Capitol and disrupted the Joint Session for many hours. Many protesters were heard chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” while a gallows was erected on the Capitol grounds. After the count had been completed, Trump was later impeached for a second time by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate following the expiration of his term. It is expected by many allies of Trump that he will seek the presidency in 2024. 53% of GOP voters would back Trump in a 2024 Republican presidential primary, a June MorningConsult poll showed. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida came in second at 16%. Pence, who has also been mentioned as a potential candidate, placed third with 13%. The poll had a margin of error of 4%. Baker, Glassner, and Pence have not responded to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. Read More Here

Recapping The 2022 Primaries: The Environment Got Better For Dems — But Voters Still Have Concerns https://digitalarkansasnews.com/recapping-the-2022-primaries-the-environment-got-better-for-dems-but-voters-still-have-concerns/ After Tuesday’s elections in Delaware, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, the six-month-long 2022 primary season has finally come to a close — and the party nominees now turn their attention to the eight weeks before November’s midterms. A lot can change in the close of the campaign — just as a lot has changed throughout this year’s primaries. Democrats braced at the beginning of the cycle for an expected wave of Republican success, given historical trends, President Joe Biden’s unpopularity and the drag of economic news, including gas prices and inflation. At the beginning of June, FiveThirtyEight projected Democrats would lose an average of 20 House seats — more than enough to flip the chamber to the GOP. Now, according to FiveThirtyEight’s forecast, Democrats are projected to lose an average of 13 seats. And FiveThirtyEight assesses that they are favorites to hold the Senate — albeit narrowly — in another reversal since June. What shifted? Here’s a breakdown of key dynamics during the 2022 primary season and what it may mean ahead of the midterms. The overturning of Roe v. Wade The overturning Roe v. Wade in June gave a new focus for Democrats on the trail as they increasingly campaigned on abortion rights, which the Supreme Court had ruled should be left up to individual states. The first major litmus test of how Americans felt about abortion after the dismantling of Roe came in the historically red state of Kansas, where in August voters rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that said there was no right to an abortion. More than 900,000 Kansans went to the polls to vote, the biggest turnout for a primary election in the state’s history. An ABC News/Ipsos poll released in August asked voters which candidate they would support if one favored keeping abortion legal and available and the other candidate supported limiting abortion except to protect the mother’s life. About half of Americans (49%) said they would be more likely to support the candidate who would keep access to abortion legal compared to the 27% of Americans who would be more likely to support the candidate who favored limiting abortion. While anti-abortion voters are a core part of the Republican base, leading conservatives remain divided on the issue — some push for stricter restrictions nationwide while others argue for a more moderate position. PHOTO: Senator Lindsey Graham unveils a nationwide abortion bill with new abortion restrictions, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept., 13, 2022. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) On Tuesday, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced legislation that would impose a federal ban on most abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell downplayed prospects for such legislation if his party retakes power, saying, “I think most of the members of my conference prefer this be dealt with at the state level.” And some Republican candidates in tight races in swing states distanced themselves from a national ban. In Pennsylvania, Dr. Mehmet Oz’s campaign released a statement suggesting he would not support Graham’s legislation. “Dr. Oz is pro-life with three exceptions: life of the mother, rape and incest. And as a senator, he’d want to make sure that the federal government is not involved in interfering with the state’s decisions on the topic,” spokeswoman Brittany Yanick told ABC News. McConnell acknowledges “candidate quality” Former President Donald Trump continues to be an influential figure for Republican voters, even as others in his party suggested his endorsements were sometimes jeopardizing their general election prospects. While Trump received mixed results with his endorsed candidates this primary cycle, one fact sticks out: In nearly every battleground Senate race, a candidate he endorsed or with whom he aligns won their primary, sometimes beating more moderate options. Some exceptions prove that rule: In the Colorado Senate primary, where Trump did not make an endorsement, the candidate who won the primary, Joe O’Dea, has cast himself as a moderate Republican hoping to garner more voters in the purple state. PHOTO: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell walks to the Senate Chamber during a roll call vote at the Capitol, Sept. 14, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) In August, McConnell predicted the House had a greater likelihood of flipping than the Senate, citing “candidate quality” in the Senate races — a veiled remark that many, including Trump himself, took to be about some of the GOP nominees backed by the former president. Heading into primary season, the party had also failed to recruit some popular names like Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu to target vulnerable Democratic incumbents. MORE: McConnell to host GOP Senate candidates Walker, Oz after ‘candidate quality’ comments Instead, Blake Masters in Arizona, Herschel Walker in Georgia and Oz in Pennsylvania are some of the first-time Senate candidates running in races that are either rated lean Democrat or toss-up by FiveThirtyEight. (McConnell has since publicly fundraised for Oz and Walker.) In Maryland and New Hampshire, meanwhile, the Trump-aligned nominees Dan Cox and Don Bolduc triumphed over candidates backed by Hogan and Sununu, who won their blue states with more moderate coalitions. Cox and Bolduc energized their supporters in part by campaigning in Trump’s style, which included baseless attacks on the 2020 race. Biden’s legislative success President Biden’s approval rating consistently fell for much of the primary season, according to FiveThirtyEight — until gas prices began to fall in the summer and he notched a series of wins in Congress, which Democratic lawmakers have been happy to campaign on while on the trail. Among the bills that were passed and signed — most of them by bipartisan majorities in Congress — were gun-safety reforms, veterans’ health care and domestic computer chip funding and, along party lines, the climate, health and tax package known as the Inflation Reduction Act. In August, over Republican objections, Biden also announced he was fulfilling a campaign promise and would be forgiving up to $10,000 of federal student debt and an additional $10,000 in debt for those who received Pell grants. PHOTO: President Joe Biden attends an event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Sept. 13, 2022. (Bloomberg via Getty Images) His approval rating has rallied since a nadir in late July, according to FiveThirtyEight. As one example, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released in August, 40% of Americans approved of the job Biden has been doing compared to 52% who did not approve. This is up 9% from the last month. Trump’s revenge tour succeeded The former president made clear that he would use his endorsements during the primaries to try and oust the House Republicans who voted to impeach him after Jan. 6 — and he largely succeeded. Of the 10 Republicans who voted for impeachment, four retired, four lost their primaries to Trump-backed challengers and only two will move onto the general election. The two Republicans who survived their primarys are Reps. David Valadao of California and Dan Newhouse of Washington state. Trump’s biggest target was Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, his biggest Republican critic and one of the lawmakers who has led the charge to prevent Trump from, in her words, ever holding office again. Cheney was handily defeated last month by Trump’s pick, attorney Harriet Hageman. Democratic candidates dance around Biden Even though Biden has seen notable improvement in his approval ratings, some Democratic candidates in battleground states still hesitated to campaign with the president. In Ohio, Rep. Tim Ryan’s campaign told ABC News that they had not asked Biden or anyone from the White House to campaign with them. In Wisconsin over the Labor Day weekend, Democratic Senate nominee and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes was absent as President Biden touted the power of union workers at a “Laborfest” in Milwaukee. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democrat running for governor, did not join Biden when he visited Pittsburgh during his Labor Day stop after appearing with Biden at an official White House event in Wilkes-Barre the previous week. In May, Shapiro told CNN that he would “welcome” Biden in Pennsylvania to campaign for him, adding that he was “focused on running a race here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, listening to the people of Washington County, not Washington, D.C.” Inflation is still a major problem for voters Trouble continued to brew for Biden with the latest inflation report, which showed prices were 8.3% higher in August compared to a year ago — higher than expected. Food, shelter, medical care and education were among the categories that increased over the month. But the price of gasoline did fall, alleviating what voters have said is a major concern. Republicans seized on the persistently high inflation as Biden released a statement that responded to the report, contending that “it will take more time and resolve to bring inflation down.” PHOTO: President Joe Biden attends an event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Sept. 13, 2022. (Bloomberg via Getty Images) The same day, Senate Republicans blasted the White House for celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act while inflation rates kept rising over last year. “So they may be taking a victory lap at the White House but I can tell you one thing: The American people are not, because they are feeling the direct impact of this every single day,” Republican Whip John Thune...

Dr. John Zade, M.D.: This Miami-Trained Doctor Has Hand Formulated A New Product For Wounds https://digitalarkansasnews.com/dr-john-zade-m-d-this-miami-trained-doctor-has-hand-formulated-a-new-product-for-wounds/ FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, UNITED STATES, September 14, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Injuries and wounds are unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean anyone have to be hopeless when they get them. Known for his refined hand-formulated products and skincare line, Miami-trained Doctor. Dr. John Zade, M.D. is blessing the beauty and healthcare industry with his latest product that is perfect for wounds and cuts. In the routine lives, people often injure themselves. It can be a small paper cut, a road rash or a surgical wound. They encounter these kinds of injuries every day. No matter what preventive measures they take, scars are just unavoidable. The skin acts as a barrier to the outside world and infections, and when that barrier is broken with a wound you have a significant increased risk of getting infections. Dr. John Zade, a highly qualified dermatologist and skin expert, is coming up with a new liquid spray that he personally creates for his patients to put on both small and large wounds. With his comprehensive research and years of experience in the field of dermatology, this board-certified doctor has hand formulated a product for open wounds. His product is also extremely beneficial to those with eczema and rosacea. One of the major triggers for eczema is the bacterial load of staph on the skin; and although bacteria can’t be seen and there may be no infection, it prolongs the eczema rashes from healing. In his practice, he advises his patients to use his wound spray on eczema rashes to decrease the bacterial load and help return the skin back to normal. This hand-formulated liquid spray is designed quite professionally and has Hypochlorous acid in it. This acid already exists in our bodies, produced by white blood cells to combat bacteria and infections. Hypochlorous acid is nontoxic and guards your skin while being incredibly mild on its surface. That gentleness is a byproduct, as it is produced naturally in our body’s immune system. Because of its composition, the product functions on a molecular level. Another standout quality of this wound spray is that it is effective and safe for diabetic people as the product contains a naturally produced acid, so anyone with any skin type can use it. The product is highly affordable and can be used without a prescription. If left untreated, nonhealing wounds can cause serious problems for anyone. They can lead to complications like infections and hospitalization, disturbing the quality of your life. Because of bacteria, wounds take much longer to heal, leading you towards such complications. This magnificent product by a highly experienced individual, Dr. John Zade, will surely end the anguish of this world’s wound problems. John Zade The Dermatology Center email us here Visit us on social media: Facebook LinkedIn Other You just read: EIN Presswire’s priority is source transparency. We do not allow opaque clients, and our editors try to be careful about weeding out false and misleading content. As a user, if you see something we have missed, please do bring it to our attention. Your help is welcome. EIN Presswire, Everyone’s Internet News Presswire, tries to define some of the boundaries that are reasonable in today’s world. Please see our Editorial Guidelines for more information. Submit your press release Read More Here

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Announces Winter 2022 Touring Plans https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trans-siberian-orchestra-announces-winter-2022-touring-plans/ The holiday spectacle that is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be performing across North America once again, announcing a sprawling run of shows from mid-November… The holiday spectacle that is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be performing across North America once again, announcing a sprawling run of shows from mid-November through the end of 2022. The tour, dubbed The Ghosts of Christmas Eve – The Best of TSO and More, will hit 60 cities with a total of 101 shows, split between two touring operations on each coast. “People think we have transporters, like the Starship Enterprise,” jokes TSO musical director and guitarist Al Pitrelli, who performs with the West Coast group. Each crew has about 100 when performing at full strength, and practices together at an arena in Iowa before each tour begins. “My job is to maintain the musical integrity of the shows,” Pitrelli continued. “If you go to your favorite steakhouse, you cant exactly what you like every time.” Council Bluffs is one of the opening shows on the 2022 tour for the TSO, with the other group performing in Green Bay when the tour kicks off on November 16. Shows run at high frequency for both crews through closing shows on December 30 in Cleveland and San Antonio – often two performances in a single day. Other cities along the way include Denver, Seattle, Albany, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Chicago, Tampa. Dallas, and Houston. The full touring run is included below. Tickets for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s 2022 tour dates are on sale to the general public beginning Friday, September 16. There was already a fan club/Verified Fan presale that opened this week, and there is another presale – with code GHOSTS – launching on Thursday, September 15. There are also going to be some special lower-priced options available through that “best of TSO” presale on Thursday. Trans-Siberian Orchestra Ticket Links Tickets at MEGASeats.com | No Service Charge/Free Shipping – 10% Off Using Code TICKETNEWS Tickets at Event Tickets Center Tickets at Scorebig Tickets at StubHub Tickets at Ticket Club | Free Membership Offer Tickets at TicketNetwork Tickets at TickPick Tickets at TicketSmarter Trans-Siberian Orchestra Tour Dates Nov 16 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Nov 16 – Council Bluffs, IA – Mid-America Center – 7:00 PM Nov 17 – Wichita, KS – INTRUST Bank Arena – 7:00 PM Nov 18 – Fort Wayne, IN – Allen County War Memorial Coliseum – 7:00 PM Nov 19 – Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Nov 19 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena – 3:00 PM & 8:00 PM Nov 20 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre – 3:00 PM & 8:00 PM Nov 20 – Colorado Springs, CO – World Arena – 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM Nov 22 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Nov 23 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena – 3:00 PM & 8:00 PM Nov 25 – Manchester, NH – SNHU Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Nov 25 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena – 7:30 PM Nov 26 – Worcester, MA – DCU Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Nov 26 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Nov 27 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Nov 27 – Eugene, OR – Matthew Knight Arena – 4:00 PM Nov 28 – Portland, OR – Moda Center – 7:00 PM Nov 30 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena – 7:00 PM Dec 1 – Rochester, NY – Blue Cross Arena – 7:00 PM Dec 1 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center – 7:00 PM Dec 2 – Toledo, OH – Huntington Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 2 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 3 – Dayton, OH – Nutter Center – 3:00 PM & 8:00 PM Dec 3 – Ontario, CA – Toyota Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 4 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 4 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 7 – Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena – 7:00 PM Dec 7 – Austin, TX – Moody Center – 7:00 PM Dec 8 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena – 7:00 PM Dec 8 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center – 7:00 PM Dec 9 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 9 – Little Rock, AR – Simmons Bank Arena – 7:30 PM Dec 10 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 10 – St Louis, MO – Enterprise Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 11 – Atlanta, GA – Gas South Arena – 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM Dec 11 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 14 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena – 7:00 PM Dec 14 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena – 7:00 PM Dec 15 – Charlottesville, VA – John Paul Jones Arena – 7:00 PM Dec 15 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC – 7:00 PM Dec 16 – Allentown, PA – PPL Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 16 – Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena – 7:30 PM Dec 17 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 17 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 18 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena – 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM Dec 21 – Hershey, PA – Giant Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 21 – Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena – 3:00 PM & 8:00 PM Dec 22 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 22 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 23 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 23 – St Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 26 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 26 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center – 3:00 PM & 8:00 PM Dec 27 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 28 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 29 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 29 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 30 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Dec 30 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Last Updated on September 14, 2022 by Dave Clark Read More…

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Others Seek Puerto Rico Silver Lining | 790 KGMI https://digitalarkansasnews.com/lin-manuel-miranda-others-seek-puerto-rico-silver-lining-790-kgmi/ September 14, 2022 3:47 pm By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Five years after Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico and exposed the funding problems the Caribbean island has long faced, philanthropists warn that many of those issues remain unaddressed, just like the repairs still needed for the American territory’s physical infrastructure. The Category 4 storm, with winds reaching 155 miles per hour (250 kilometers per hour), killed dozens immediately on Sept. 20, 2017 and researchers estimate thousands more died in the aftermath due to the lack of permanent shelter and power. According to a Hispanic Federation report released Wednesday, Hurricane Maria did an estimated $90 billion in damage to the island. “It was just such a scary moment,” said “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who helped mobilize millions in aid for Puerto Rico. “But one of the silver linings has been the coalition building between the diaspora and residents on the island that was really formed out of those challenges.” That coalition building was sorely needed, because Puerto Rico and its residents have an unusual image problem in philanthropy, said Hispanic Federation President and CEO Frankie Miranda. International nonprofits generally left it out of donations given to the neediest populations because it is part of the United States, while American nonprofits often left it out of programs by earmarking donations only for the 50 states. That long-running problem was intensified by what critics say was former President Donald Trump’s administration’s slow response to Hurricane Maria, which extended the impact of the storm, including the longest blackout in American history. “It was about fairness,” said Frankie Miranda, adding that some federal recovery funds are only getting to Puerto Rico now. “It was about equity. We were not getting the fair share for people on the island compared to other disasters happening in the United States. So we needed to act.” Frankie Miranda will lead a delegation from the Hispanic Federation — including Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is not related — to Puerto Rico on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of Hurricane Maria and survey what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done. For Lin-Manuel Miranda, the storm was personal. He had family on the island who he couldn’t reach because phone service was knocked out. He remembered learning that his uncle survived the storm from a photo on Facebook showing his uncle volunteering help. However, his most successful initial fundraising campaign was not planned. Lin-Manuel Miranda, known for being level-headed and upbeat almost as he is known for his creativity, got mad about Trump’s reaction to the suffering he saw in Puerto Rico. “You’re going straight to hell, @realdonaldtrump,” he tweeted, along with a link to the Hispanic Federation’s fund for Puerto Rico. The reaction was fast and intense. Donations skyrocketed, eventually topping more than 200,000 separate gifts, as did attention for the victims of the hurricane. The next day, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s photo and tweet was on the front page of the New York Daily News next to Trump. “I didn’t anticipate any of that,” he said. “But, anger can be a galvanizing force. And the widespread frustration with that president’s inability to engage with reality, sort of galvanized a lot of donations. That was the biggest moment in terms of fundraising.” Lin-Manuel Miranda then worked to keep the momentum going. “I burned up my Rolodex to make that almost like praying,” he said, as he sought donations. “And then I burned up my Twitter DMs for people I didn’t know. The first six months it basically became our entire lives. I just put everything else in our lives on hold.” Initially, the focus was on the “really nitty gritty things, like food, water, basic recovery supplies.” Then, he began to expand the scope of the aid, eventually bringing a production of “Hamilton” to the island as a fundraiser. Proceeds from those shows helped launch the Flamboyan Arts Fund, which helps preserve and support the arts in Puerto Rico with support from major nonprofits, including Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Mellon Foundation. “We realized that the arts never get included in recovery efforts,” the “In the Heights” star said. “Yet, when you think about this tiny part of the world 100 miles across and how much it has given to the arts — it’s absurd how much Puerto Rican artists have enriched global culture. The No. 1 artist in the world, Bad Bunny, is from the island. So we need to protect Puerto Rican culture and Puerto Rican art on the island.” Working with the Hispanic Foundation, Lin-Manuel Miranda also helped support the Puerto Rican coffee industry, long a point of pride for the island because it could count popes and royalty among its customers. “Coffee plants aren’t sunflowers — they don’t grow back in a season,” he said, adding that about 85% of the coffee crop was wiped out by Hurricane Maria. “We talked to anybody who was in the coffee business, in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, to figure out how to jumpstart this and also empower coffee growers. And now, at the five-year mark, coffee is back and exceeding pre-Hurricane Maria levels in terms of production.” Sara Lomelin, CEO of Philanthropy Together, a nonprofit that uses grassroots giving to diversify donations, said she worried that the underfunding of Puerto Rico by major donors would return once the emergencies caused by Hurricane Maria had passed. “Everybody responds to disasters because you are seeing the direct effect,” Lomelin said. “What people forget is that when there is a disaster like Hurricane Maria or the wildfires in California or the pandemic, is that you can’t just put a Band-Aid on it. These things take years. And the problem is people move to the next disaster or move to the next issue after a couple of weeks or months and they forget the problem is still there.” However, she said the current mix of medium-term and long-term donations in Puerto Rico gives her hope and that attention tied to the anniversary and Hispanic Heritage Month, which starts on Sept. 15, will provide momentum. “I love that the Hispanic Federation has these initiatives right now, where they are focusing on long-term things that need to happen,” she said. “I do believe that disasters can be the perfect time for people to get organized.” Lomelin said that works best when donors listen to the communities receiving the funds. And that’s something that Hispanic Federation’s Frankie Miranda believes in and has invested more than $50 million in the island so far. “There is so much that philanthropy can do,” he said. “But we also can be advocates so that organizations in Puerto Rico continue to be part of a participatory process, ensuring that the funds go to the neediest cases. Puerto Rico needs to remain on the philanthropy map for all of these major institutions.” ____ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. Read More Here

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Says FBI Seized His Phone At Hardee’s Drive-Through https://digitalarkansasnews.com/mypillow-ceo-mike-lindell-says-fbi-seized-his-phone-at-hardees-drive-through/ MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell at a Conservative Political Action Conference gathering in Dallas on Aug. 5, 2022. (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg) MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell, an outspoken supporter of former president Donald Trump and his discredited theories about the 2020 election, said the FBI seized his mobile phone Tuesday while he was pulled over at a Hardee’s drive-through in Mankato, Minn. “I said to my buddy, I said, ‘That’s either a bad guy or it’s FBI,’” he recounted on his podcast, “The Lindell Report.” After he was approached, Lindell said, officers told him they had “some bad news” and presented him with a search warrant for his phone. Lindell is the latest Trump confidant to have his phone taken. Last week the Justice Department seized phones from Trump lawyer Boris Epshteyn and Mike Roman, a campaign strategist who directed Election Day operations for the Trump campaign in 2020, according to the New York Times. In addition, subpoenas were recently sent to dozens of campaign operatives and Trump allies, including former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik. On his podcast, Lindell — who has said he spent $25 million pushing claims the 2020 election was stolen — said officials questioned him about topics including Dominion Voting Systems and Tina Peters, a county clerk in Colorado who has been accused of tampering with voting machines. Lindell has been one of Trump’s most steadfast allies since the 2020 election. In May, a federal judge ordered Lindell to pay legal fees and costs incurred by a voting technology company he accused in a “frivolous” lawsuit of rigging the 2020 presidential election. Lindell filed his lawsuit after Dominion and Smartmatic Corp. sued him for alleged defamation over his election-fraud claims. FBI officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after normal business hours. Read More Here

Opinion | Judge In Mar-A-Lago Document Case Should Protect National Security https://digitalarkansasnews.com/opinion-judge-in-mar-a-lago-document-case-should-protect-national-security/ Close scrutiny of the major issues on which the Justice Department and lawyers for former president Donald Trump disagree involving the appointment of a special master reveals that Mr. Trump primarily seeks to prolong resolution of disputes about the documents. For example, Mr. Trump claims that the special master should review more than 10,000 documents, and the Justice Department wants review of substantially fewer. Mr. Trump claims the special master needs 90 days to review the documents that the Justice Department says can be reviewed in 30. Mr. Trump wants to be allowed to assert executive privilege, which the Justice Department argues former presidents cannot do. Judge Aileen M. Cannon should resolve this dispute in ways that protect national security and national defense by narrowing the document review and carefully reconsidering her earlier ruling, lifting the injunction that she imposed on the critical investigation of Mr. Trump’s failure to comply with requirements that govern protection of documents related to national security and defense. Read More Here

Anti-Immigrant Party Helps Defeat Sweden’s Government https://digitalarkansasnews.com/anti-immigrant-party-helps-defeat-swedens-government/ GOTHENBURG, Sweden — A loose coalition of right-wing parties has narrowly defeated Sweden’s center-left government in a general election, a victory that promises to upend Swedish politics and the country’s reputation as a haven for progressive, pluralistic ideals. Victory for the right came after strong support for the Sweden Democrats, a once-fringe anti-immigrant party that will now be the second-largest party in the legislature and the strongest voice from the right. The SD, led by 43-year-old lawmaker Jimmie Akesson, and the Moderate, Christian Democrat and Liberal parties won 176 seats, according to the latest tally, giving them a three-seat lead over the Social Democrats of Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and their Left, Center and Environment allies. Andersson conceded Wednesday evening ahead of the final results. It could still take weeks to form a government. “It is time to make Sweden good again,” Akesson wrote on Facebook. The closely watched election has already reshaped Sweden’s political discourse, pushing anti-immigrant and tough-on-crime rhetoric into the political mainstream and deepening fears here about the polarization — or “Americanization” — of Swedish politics. The European far right has welcomed the SD’s strong showing. “Everywhere in Europe, people aspire to take their destiny back into their own hands!” tweeted Marine Le Pen, France’s far-right firebrand, this week. The result could also shape Sweden’s standing on the world stage as the country works with partners to respond to the war in Ukraine, seeks NATO membership and takes up the rotating presidency of the European Union in 2023. “When you are holding on to power with one seat, it’s a cause of instability,” said Eric Adamson, a Stockholm-based project manager at the Atlantic Council’s Northern Europe office. “This may make it harder for Sweden to take on a leadership role in northern Europe, in the E.U. or in NATO.” The SD gained support by taking a tougher stance on crime, particularly against the rising rates of gun violence in Sweden, and publishing a 30-point plan aimed at making Sweden’s immigration rules among the most restrictive in the E.U. They want to be able to reject asylum seekers based on religion, for instance, or based on gender or sexual identity. A decade ago, Sweden’s liberal immigration policies were not a major political issue. The influx of migrants to Europe in 2015 started to change this. At that time, Sweden took more than 150,000 asylum seekers, including many newcomers from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. In the years since, concerns about immigration and their integration have come to the fore. The Social Democrats maintain that they have reduced asylum claims by making it harder for migrants to get into the country and apply, stepped up the deportation of asylum seekers whose applications were rejected and insisted that Sweden receive no more asylum seekers than other E.U. countries. Party leaders also pledged to dilute the numbers of “non-Nordic” immigrants in areas where large numbers of immigrants live, promising an end to “Somalitowns,” “Chinatowns” and “Little Italies.” Even a few years ago, the Sweden Democrats’ ascent would have seemed far-fetched. Formed in 1988 by right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis, the Sweden Democrats did not manage enough votes to win seats in parliament until 2010. After that breakthrough, leaders began to exclude the most extreme members from the party. Other parties and the media have kept their distance from the SD, refusing to talk to it or give it a platform. But support for the party grew rapidly over the past dozen years, culminating in its election showing Sunday. Boycotted for so long by the mainstream media, the party has developed its own online news sites and is extremely effective on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. The Moderates, the largest of the center-right parties, once shunned the SD. But it eventually opted to establish ties, with the aim of upending the political status quo and unseating the Social Democrats. “If you want a government that is not based on the Social Democrats you need to cooperate with the SD,” said Anders Borg, a former finance minister for the Moderates. “I cannot see any other viable election strategy.” “In Sweden,” he said, “we isolated the SD and yet they grew to 20 percent as a lot of ordinary voters drifted towards them. At the same time, the SD has moved away from a fringe position towards being a more ordinary political party.” Whether the SD is now an “ordinary party” is up for debate. Though the party has distanced itself from its neo-Nazi roots and has stepped away from some of its previous positions, its platform remains exclusionary. Members want to end immigration from outside Europe and return Muslims to their countries of origin. A month before the election, an SD spokesman tweeted a photo of a subway train in the party’s blue and yellow colors with the words: “Welcome aboard the repatriation express. Here’s a one-way ticket. Next stop, Kabul!” “They don’t include Islam in Swedishness,” said Andrej Kokkonen, a professor of politics at Gothenburg University who studies anti-immigrant parties. “You don’t get to be a Swede and a Muslim at the same time.” Sweden Democrat voters tend to live in small towns and rural areas, and most are men, according to Ann-Cathrine Jungar, a professor at Sodertorn University who studies populist radical right parties. They are less educated than the average voter, Jungar said, but many are small-scale entrepreneurs. The party has also attracted votes from the traditional working class and is increasing its support among the young. “These voters have lower trust in the media — they believe there is biased information on their core issue of immigration,” Jungar said. “The SD use the populist rhetoric that there is a ‘left-liberal establishment,’ an elite that doesn’t understand the people.” The party has cultivated links with Trump supporters and the alt-right in the United States, she said: “Previously it was the Moderates who had contacts with the Republicans, but now it is the SD who has taken over and the Moderates are connected with the Democrats.” “There is concern here that we are becoming more like America with polarization and intense rhetoric,” said Adamson, of the Atlantic Council. “Where every battle becomes an existential one.” Rauhala reported from Brussels Read More Here

Stocks Waver After Suffering Worst Day Since June 2020 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/stocks-waver-after-suffering-worst-day-since-june-2020/ By Caitlin McCabe, Hannah Miao and Dave Sebastian Updated Sept. 14, 2022 3:17 pm ET U.S. stocks wobbled between small gains and losses Wednesday, coming off a wild day of trading spurred by a stronger-than-expected inflation report. The S&P 500 dropped 0.1%, a day after the benchmark index plummeted 4.3% in its worst selloff since June 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1%. Continue reading your article with a WSJ membership View Membership Options Already a member? Sign In Sponsored Offers ASOS: ASOS Promo Code: 15% OFF selected styles Expedia: September Sales Event – Members save 20% or more Ballard Designs: Sign up for email and receive 20% off at Ballard Designs Chase: Check your credit score for FREE Postmates: Save $5 on first 5 orders using Postmates promo code Sephora: Beauty Insider Event: 20% off all purchases with Sephora coupon code Read More Here

Judge Irate As Defense Abruptly Rests In Parkland School Shooting Trial https://digitalarkansasnews.com/judge-irate-as-defense-abruptly-rests-in-parkland-school-shooting-trial/ The defense team abruptly rested its case in the Parkland school shooter sentencing trial Wednesday, triggering an outburst from Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer. “We’re not playing chess,” she said. “I just want to say this is the most uncalled for, unprofessional way to try the case.” As soon as the jury was about to enter the courtroom Wednesday morning, a member of the defense team, Melisa McNeill, stood up and said, “the defense rests.” The judge stopped the 12 jurors and 10 alternates from entering and addressed the defense team. “You all knew about this, and even if you didn’t make your decision until this morning, to have 22 [jurors] plus all of this staff and every attorney march into court and be waiting as if it’s some kind of game,” said an apparently exasperated Scherer. “Now I have to send them home, the state’s not ready, they’re not going to have a witness ready [for rebuttal], we have another day wasted,” she added. “Honestly, I have never experienced a level of unprofessionalism in my career. It’s unbelievable.” Click here for complete coverage of the Parkland school shooting sentencing McNeill started to respond to Scherer but was cut off. Local “I have been practicing in this county for 22 years…” McNeill started to say. “You know what, I don’t want to hear it,” Scherer said. Judge Elizabeth Scherer and defense attorney Melisa McNeil have a testy exchange as the defense rests in the Parkland school shooting trial. “Well judge you’re insulting me on the record in front of my client and I believe that I should be able to defend myself,” McNeill responded. “You can do that later, you can make your record later but you’ve been insulting me the entire trial, blatantly, taking your headphones off, arguing with me, storming out, coming late intentionally if you don’t like my rulings, so quite frankly this has been long overdue,” Scherer said. The judge proceeded to ask Cruz if he was satisfied with his defense after a list of names of potential witnesses who would not be called to testify was read into the court record. Among the names was his brother Zachary Cruz. “Are there any of those people that you feel need to be called [to testify] before you rest?” Scherer asked Cruz. “I don’t know who those people are,” Cruz answered. After some clarification, Cruz said, “No, I think we’re good.” When jurors were brought into the courtroom about 11:25 a.m., the defense rested its case officially and the judge instructed the jurors on the schedule going forward. As it stands, the state’s rebuttal is tentatively scheduled to begin Sept. 27 and end Oct. 7. A court hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday so the defense team can ask the judge to shorten the amount of time the state spends on its rebuttal. Closing arguments can begin Oct. 10. Jurors were told they will be sequestered during their deliberations. Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty, last October, to 17 murders and 17 attempted murders at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. The defense team called 25 witnesses over 11 days trying to show Cruz is deserving of a life prison term because of a lifetime of physical, mental, and emotional instability. The state is seeking the death penalty. Read More Here

What??? KJP Says Biden's Doing More Than Trump To Secure The Border https://digitalarkansasnews.com/what-kjp-says-bidens-doing-more-than-trump-to-secure-the-border/ 14 Sep 2022 The Biden White House threw a party to celebrate a law that’s only making historic inflation worse in the midst of a stock market crash. Fox News interrupts Biden’s speech to deliver a “hard, cold dose of reality” as stocks tank amid worrying inflation. pic.twitter.com/wsOSzkE1p3 — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 13, 2022 In the same way they deny reality on the recession, their spokeswoman is staring you right in the face and lying about the border. Karine Jean-Pierre claims Biden is “doing a lot” to secure the border. Over 800,000 “gotaways” have crossed the border and escaped into the U.S. since Biden took office.pic.twitter.com/OWJmuUJ58H — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 13, 2022 This is a slap in the face to every community struggling with this. Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden is filling in major gaps in the border wall isn’t “finishing the wall” and that they are “trying to save lives”. They don’t want to admit Trump was right. pic.twitter.com/aDbLQHdTqx — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 1, 2022 Drugs, criminals, terrorists and guns are flooding across the border, and this is the sort of absurdity we get from our leadership. BREAKING: One of the most massive single groups we have ever witnessed cross illegally at the border is crossing into Eagle Pass, TX right now. The line of people went so far into the trees it’s hard to get a count. Hundreds upon hundreds. Coyotes guiding them in water. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/ZjZIygarAv — Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) July 13, 2022 Read More Here

AP News Summary At 2:38 P.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-238-p-m-edt/ Disabled voters win in Wisconsin; legal fights elsewhere MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin voters with disabilities are celebrating a win after a federal judge, citing the Voting Rights Act, ruled that they may get assistance returning their ballots. Several voters sued after a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that cast doubt on whether they could. While that resolved the issue in Wisconsin, disabled voters elsewhere may not be so lucky. As Republicans have pushed to tighten voting restrictions amid former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen 2020 election, the voting rights of people with disabilities have sometimes been harmed. They are pushing back, with legal challenges in at least eight states that make it difficult or impossible for people with certain disabilities to vote. Queen Elizabeth II lies in state after solemn procession LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has left Buckingham Palace for the last time, her casket borne to Westminster Hall by a horse-drawn gun carriage. Her son, King Charles III, and his siblings and sons marched behind the coffin, which was topped by a wreath of white roses and her crown resting on a purple velvet pillow. The military procession from the palace was designed to underscore the queen’s seven decades as head of state as the national mourning shifted to the boulevards and landmarks of London. Eight pall bearers carried the coffin into the historic hall and placed it on a raised platform. The queen will lie in state for four days until her funeral on Monday. Ukraine’s Zelenskyy visits retaken strategic city IZIUM, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a rare foray outside Ukraine’s capital and highlighted Moscow’s embarrassing retreat from a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Hand on heart, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy watched his country’s flag rise above the recaptured city of Izium on Wednesday. Russian forces left the city last week as Kyiv’s soldiers advanced in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Prosecutors found six bodies with traces of torture in recently retaken villages there. Moscow’s rout was its largest military defeat since Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv area early in the war. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin he sees no signs from the Kremlin of any regrets. One union rejects deal days ahead of rail strike deadline Read More Here

Michael Cohen Urges Trump’s Lawyers To Flee Before They ‘become Entrenched In His Lies And Illegalities’ https://digitalarkansasnews.com/michael-cohen-urges-trumps-lawyers-to-flee-before-they-become-entrenched-in-his-lies-and-illegalities/ Read More Here

Big Thief Announces Spring 2023 Tour Dates In U.S. & Europe – Pollstar News https://digitalarkansasnews.com/big-thief-announces-spring-2023-tour-dates-in-u-s-europe-pollstar-news/ BERLIN, GERMANY – JULY 04: (L-R) Alexander Buckley Meek, James Krivchenia, Max Oleartchik and Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker of Big Thief perform live on stage during a concert at the Huxleys on July 4, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Frank Hoensch/Redferns) Big Thief will be traveling across North America and Europe as the band announces their 2023 tour dates. The newly announced dates follow the release of the band’s album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, which is now available via 4AD. The first leg of Big Thief’s upcoming dates begin at Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont on Jan. 31. From there, the tour will see stops in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Nasvhille, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta and more before wrapping up at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on March 2. The second leg is set to take place in Europe beginning on April 5 in Gateshead, UK at Sage Gateshead. The band will tour across the UK with shows in Edinburgh, Manchester, Cardiff and two nights in London before heading to the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and more. Their European dates will wrap up on April 29 at LAV in Lisbon, Portugal. This past summer also saw the band heading to Europe, with their July 4 date at Huxleys Neue Welt in Berlin selling 1,610 tickets and grossing $47,128. The group also performed at several festivals including Primavera Sound, Tempelhof Sounds, Roskilde Festival and Rock Werchter Festival. In the spring, the band set off across North America with their two nights at Oakland, California’s Fox Theater selling a total 5,506 tickets and grossing $192,790. Tickets for Big Thief’s upcoming tour dates will go on sale starting Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. local time. A 24-hour Spotify presale period is now open. Big Thief 2023 Tour Dates 1/31 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT 2/03 – College Street Music Hall – New Haven, CT 2/04 – Franklin Music Hall – Philadelphia, PA 2/05 – Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA 2/07 – The Ryman – Nashville, TN 2/09 – Lyric Oxford – Oxford, MS 2/10 – George’s Majestic Lounge – Fayetteville, AR 2/11 – Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OK 2/15 – ACL at Moody Theatre – Austin, TX 2/16 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX 2/17 – Orpheum Theater – New Orleans, LA 2/18 – Iron City – Birmingham, AL 2/20 – Beacham Theatre – Orlando, FL 2/21 – North Beach Bandshell – Miami, FL 2/24 – The Eastern – Atlanta, GA 2/25 – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium – Asheville, NC 3/02 – Radio City Music Hall – New York, NY 4/05 – Sage Gateshead – Gateshead, UK 4/06 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh, UK 4/07 – O2 Apollo Manchester – Manchester, UK 4/08 – Great Hall – Cardiff, UK 4/11 – O2 Academy Brixton – London, UK 4/12 – Eventim Hammersmith Apollo – London, UK 4/15 – Rotterdamse Schouwburg – Rotterdam, NL 4/16 – De Oosterpoort – Groningen, NL 4/18 – De Roma – Antwerp, BE 4/22 – Muffathalle – Munich, DE 4/23 – Alcatraz – Milan, IT 4/26 – Sala Razzmatazz – Barcelona, ES 4/27 – Sala Moon – Valencia, ES 4/28 – La Riviera – Madrid, ES 4/29 – LAV – Lisbon, PT Read More Here

2022 Hispanic Heritage Month To Feature Salsa, Service, And Student Perspectives https://digitalarkansasnews.com/2022-hispanic-heritage-month-to-feature-salsa-service-and-student-perspectives/ Events | FeaturedSeptember 14, 2022 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month to feature Salsa, Service, and Student Perspectives This Thursday, the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith will begin a month-long slate of events celebrating Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 through October 15. The events, which include a kick-off event for all ages at the Fort Smith Public Library, salsa dancing under the Bell Tower, a Spanish-language university recruitment event, and a public open forum discussion, are hosted by the university’s Hispanic Heritage Month Planning Committee. Each of the events will feature snacks, foods and drinks that celebrate Hispanic culture in addition to planned activities.   “Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity for everyone to learn about people who may look differently or speak differently than themselves. It’s a chance to learn about Hispanic culture, to meet in the middle, talk, and enjoy good food and good laughter,” said Cristina Castorena, a professional advisor with the R.O.A.R. First-Year Advising Center, “It’s important that the students who identify as Hispanic or identify with Latin culture feel included and celebrated, and at UAFS, that’s the honest truth. And beyond celebrating our students and employees, Hispanic Heritage Month is also about exposing people who don’t identify as Hispanic to our culture and welcoming them into conversations.” Beyond the active events, the UAFS campus will celebrate Hispanic Heritage visually with flags lining the Smith Pendergraft Campus Center and displays in the Boreham Library. The university will also highlight Hispanic students, faculty, staff, and alumni on its social media pages through day-in-the-life takeovers throughout the month. “This goes for any every type of community, but particularly Hispanic students can sometimes feel excluded, so It’s important that we bring people together so they can enjoy their time, but also know that they are a part of something bigger,” Castorena said.  “And when we’re recruiting, it’s important that we show our Hispanic students and their families that college is doable, its affordable, it can happen and it’s right here in your city.” The Sí Se Puede en UAFS event will bring together resources from across the university campus including financial aid, academic advising, enrollment management, and student-led clubs and organizations, all with Spanish-speaking representatives to break down language barriers and help parents and students feel equally involved in the university admissions process. “It’s so important to show that once you get here, you’re not doing it alone,” she continued. “That’s the key. We have a whole group of people or staff and faculty that are ready to help.” The full slate of events includes: Chisme in the Breezeway September 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Campus Center Breezeway Hispanic Heritage Month Kick-off September 15 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library – Main Library Cafecito y Pan Dulce: Coffee, Culture, and Conversation September 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Campus Center Fireplace Sí Se Puede en UAFS: Yes We Can at UAFS September 29 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Campus Center Reynolds Room Second-Annual Salsa at the Bell Tower October 6 from 6:30-9 p.m. UAFS Bell Tower Breaking Generational Stereotypes: Learning More About the Hispanic Student Perspective (A Student Open Forum) October 13 from 12:15-1:30 p.m. Windgate Theater Read More Here

Little Rock Man Gets 25-Year Federal Sentence For 2021 Shooting, Chase https://digitalarkansasnews.com/little-rock-man-gets-25-year-federal-sentence-for-2021-shooting-chase/ by: Alex Kienlen Posted: Sep 14, 2022 / 12:39 PM CDT Updated: Sep 14, 2022 / 12:39 PM CDT LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Little Rock man is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty of a 2021 Arkansas shooting. Bradley Clayton Walker, 39, was sentenced to 300 months in prison, and five years supervised release to follow, after a January 2021 incident where he shot a man in Bryant and then fled to Conway. According to a statement from the United States Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Arkansas, police recognized Walker’s pickup truck as he fled the Bryant shooting and were waiting for him when he reached Conway. In Conway, the release continued, Walker spotted police and tried to speed away, reaching 80 mph as he drove through Conway neighborhoods. He was ultimately stopped in nearby Perry County and arrested. When officers searched Walker’s pickup, they found a 9mm pistol with 23 rounds of ammunition in its extended magazine. According to the U.S. Attorney’s release, this was the gun used in the Bryant shooting. Police also found an empty magazine under the driver’s seat, as well as 50 grams of methamphetamine. Walker had a prior federal conviction for felon in possession of a firearm and previous convictions for cocaine possession, aggravated battery and robbery, and other offenses. His sentence for the Bryant shooting was based upon him being an armed career criminal, which increased his sentencing range, the attorney’s office stated.   Read More…

Four Takeaways From New Hampshire And Rhode Island Primaries https://digitalarkansasnews.com/four-takeaways-from-new-hampshire-and-rhode-island-primaries/  (CNN) — New Hampshire state Senate President Chuck Morse conceded the Republican Senate primary Wednesday morning to Don Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general and election denier who has embraced former President Donald Trump’s approach to politics — a letdown for the GOP establishment in the race to take on Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan. Bolduc joins a list of candidates national Republicans worry won’t be able to appeal to the broader November electorate. The race was the final puzzle piece as 2022’s primary calendar wrapped up, with the eight-week sprint to November’s midterm elections now underway. New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware held their primaries Tuesday. The stakes are high, with a Senate split 50-50 on the line and Republican candidates in Arizona, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania also struggling. The GOP hopes that New Hampshire, where Hassan won by around 1,000 votes six years ago, will be added to the list of battleground states in November. Meanwhile, the fields were set for two of New England’s most competitive House races on Tuesday, as well — including one in New Hampshire, where a former Trump White House aide who has also parroted the former President’s lies about election fraud defeated an establishment-backed candidate, further complicating the GOP’s efforts to win control of the House. Here are four takeaways from the final night of 2022’s primary season: Trump-aligned candidate triumphs in New Hampshire Senate primary Morse was backed by establishment Republicans, including moderate Gov. Chris Sununu, and was boosted by a super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, which pumped more than $4 million into the race in an attempt to stop Bolduc from winning the primary. Bolduc aligned himself closely with Trump. He said he “concurred with Trump’s assessment” about the 2020 election — that is, Trump’s lie that President Joe Biden’s victory came as a result of widespread fraud. “I signed a letter with 120 other generals and admirals saying Trump won the election, and damn it, I stand by” that letter, Bolduc said in an August primary debate. Bolduc has called Sununu, the Republican governor whom national figures had attempted to recruit into the race, “a Chinese communist sympathizer.” Sununu had repeatedly lambasted Bolduc and penned an op-ed in the New Hampshire Union Leader urging voters to back Morse. Bolduc has also said he would repeal the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution, which requires states to directly elect their senators, and raised the prospect of abolishing the FBI. What was missing from New Hampshire’s GOP primary was Trump. His decision not to endorse a candidate was a departure from the former President’s approach to most Senate primaries this year. In his concession posted on Twitter, Morse noted that it had “been a long night & we’ve come up short.” “I want to thank my supporters for all the blood, sweat & tears they poured into this team effort. I just called and wished all the best to @GenDonBolduc. The focus this fall needs to be on defeating Maggie Hassan,” he wrote. Hassan enters the general election campaign having already raised more than $31 million and launched television ads. Bolduc, meanwhile, had raised only about $600,000 by the end of the most recent fundraising period on August 24. Trump’s style trumps his substance in New Hampshire Mimicking Trump’s brash style and parroting his election denialism again proved more potent in a Republican primary than embracing the policy substance of his tenure in the White House. That’s the lesson from the Republican primary in New Hampshire’s 1st District, where 25-year-old political newcomer Karoline Leavitt, a former Trump aide who more closely mimicked the brand of politics that has defined Trump’s orbit of political acolytes, defeated Matt Mowers, another former Trump administration official but one who was more cautious on issues like the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from the former President. Mowers fully embraced aspects of Trump’s tenure. His website was full of positions that defined the former President, and Mowers touted the fact that Trump endorsed him in his failed attempt to win the seat in 2020. Rhetorically and stylistically, however, the two were dramatically different. Where Mowers had “confidence in New Hampshire elections,” Leavitt said she believed “the 2020 election was undoubtedly stolen from President Trump.” Where Mowers suggested hearings to determine whether Biden should be impeached, Leavitt unequivocally said the President should be impeached. And where Mowers said he “supports science” when asked about the newly rolled out coronavirus vaccine, Leavitt said it was “none of your business.” Mowers’ restraint effectively opened the door for someone like Leavitt to win over Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, many of them who still support the former President. As polls showed Leavitt rising in the closing days, outside groups like the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund and Defending Main Street spent millions on ads looking to help Mowers beat back the challenge from the right. But the money was largely for naught — and now Republicans are saddled with a more complicated nominee in a race against Rep. Chris Pappas, one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country. Leavitt is one of the first Gen Z candidates to ever win a primary. Meanwhile, Republicans will nominate a Trump-aligned candidate in the 2nd District to take on Democratic Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, CNN projects. Former Hillsborough County Treasurer Robert Burns will defeat Keene Mayor George Hansel in the GOP primary. Kuster was unopposed in her primary. Rhode Island picks candidates in competitive House race The field is set for what’s expected to be one of New England’s most competitive congressional races this fall, after Rhode Island state treasurer Seth Magaziner won the 2nd District’s Democratic primary, CNN projected. He is now set to face Republican Allan Fung, the Cranston mayor, in the district where long-time Rep. Jim Langevin is retiring. Langevin, a Democrat, has won his races without serious competition since 2001, and President Joe Biden won there by 14 percentage points in 2020. But Republicans believe the seat is winnable. Fung was the Republican candidate for governor in 2014 and 2018, losing twice to former Gov. Gina Raimondo but performing well in the district, which covers the western half of the state. Magaziner defeated Sarah Morgenthau, who was the director of the Peace Corps Response under former President Barack Obama; David Segal, who once served in the state legislature and ran a failed congressional race in 2010; and Joy Fox, who worked as communications director for Langevin and Raimondo. McKee hangs on in Rhode Island One of the least popular governors in the country, Rhode Island’s Dan McKee faced four primary challengers as he seeks his first full, elected term in office. But McKee, who took over as governor last year when Raimondo left the job to join the Biden administration, is no stranger to tough primaries — he almost lost his bid for renomination as lieutenant governor in 2018. In the end, though, despite being weighed down by a federal investigation into the controversial awarding of a state contract to a firm with ties to an old ally — an episode in which McKee has denied any wrongdoing — he emerged from the packed field, likely benefiting from a split among the anti-incumbent vote. Both of his closest rivals, former CVS executive Helena Foulkes and Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, ran as reformers with pledges to clean up government. Foulkes, who promised not to run for reelection if she didn’t revitalize Rhode Island schools, was endorsed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The race was a bust for progressive favorite Matt Brown, the Bernie Sanders-endorsed former secretary of state, who trailed the leaders four years after losing a primary challenge to Raimondo. (Copyright (c) 2022 CNN. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.) Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox Read More Here

Tribes Say North Dakota Is Tampering With Mineral Royalties https://digitalarkansasnews.com/tribes-say-north-dakota-is-tampering-with-mineral-royalties/ FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation is accusing North Dakota officials of tampering with the tribes’ efforts to collect royalties from oil and gas production underneath a riverbed on the Fort Berthold Reservation. The state says the tribes have no legal claim. The latest grievance is part of an ongoing dispute that has seen the rights for minerals exchange hands four times in the last five years, the last time in February when the Biden administration ruled that the royalties belonged to the Three Affiliated Tribes. The money has been held in a trust fund. The U.S. Department of Interior, which is overseeing the trust, gave the energy companies until the middle of August to provide a detailed account of royalties and bonuses from mineral production. The state responded with a letter to oil companies dismissing the ruling and title. “Please be advised, however, that North Dakota owns and asserts its title to the historical bed of the river, and to the revenues from mineral production therefrom, and no authority to date defeats that title,” North Dakota Solicitor General Matthew Sagsveen wrote to an oil company in an Aug. 24 letter obtained by The Associated Press. Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Chairman Mark Fox said the state is attempting to undermine the lawful rights of the tribes. “The State of North Dakota continues to show their lack of respect for the legal precedents and people who have paid with their lives to preserve these fragments of our ancestral lands and water,” Fox said in a statement. At stake is an estimated $100 million in unpaid royalties held in trust and future payments certain to come from oil drilling beneath the river, which was dammed by the federal government in the 1950s. That flooded more than a 10th of the 1,500-square-mile (3,885-square-kilometer) Fort Berthold Reservation to create Lake Sakakawea. It’s unclear how many of the oil companies have responded to the Department of Interior’s request. Timothy LaPointe, regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Great Plains Region, did not immediately respond to an email request seeking comment. Sagsveen’s letter to the oil companies notes that North Dakota has filed court documents asking that the state be allowed to intervene in an unresolved part of the suit regarding the payout of royalties from the federal government to the tribes. “No court to date has ruled that the MHA Nation owns the riverbed mineral interests at issue,” the letter states. North Dakota has argued it assumed ownership of the riverbed when it became a state in 1889, citing cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court has held that submerged lands were not reserved by the federal government. The Three Affiliated Tribes bases its premise on three previous federal opinions dating back to the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie that confirms the tribes’ ownership of the riverbed. The February memo marked the fourth time the Interior Department had addressed the issue since January 2017, including reversals by both the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations. The Trump ruling favored the state over the tribes. Read More Here

Conservative Donald Bolduc Wins New Hampshire's GOP Senate Primary https://digitalarkansasnews.com/conservative-donald-bolduc-wins-new-hampshires-gop-senate-primary/ CONCORD, N.H. — Retired Army Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc won New Hampshire’s Senate Republican primary on Wednesday and will face potentially vulnerable Democratic incumbent Maggie Hassan in November – setting up another test of whether a fierce conservative can appeal to more moderate general election voters. Bolduc wasn’t formally endorsed by former President Donald Trump but has said he believes Trump won the 2020 election and has espoused conspiracy theories about vaccines. The former president called him a “strong guy, tough guy.” That has some in Bolduc’s own party questioning whether he can broaden his appeal beyond the GOP base in November enough to beat Hassan in a race that could help determine Senate control. Primaries in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware on Tuesday capped the nation’s primary season just eight weeks before Election Day, when majorities in both chambers of Congress, key governorships and scores of important state offices will be up for grabs. Dozens of candidates around the country who were openly championed by Trump — or at least hewed closely to his brand — helped extend his hold on the national GOP. They notched primary wins up and down the ballot from Maryland to Arizona, Florida to Michigan. Some defeated Republican incumbents who had been open Trump antagonists. The former president and the larger movement of Trumpism, which President Joe Biden and other top Democrats have decried as presenting a major threat to American democracy, didn’t win every major race of the primary cycle. But those candidates who used the former president’s support to win GOP nominations now will likely have to prove they can appeal to a broader swath of the electorate in general elections, where larger numbers of voters tend to be more moderate than those who turn out for primaries. The results of Tuesday’s primaries mean the general election for Senate in New Hampshire should provide another such test. Biden carried the state by more than 7 percentage points. Republican primary voters also picked conservative candidates this year in moderate or Democratic-leaning states including Massachusetts, potentially putting competitive races out of the party’s reach. Bolduc’s victory likely reignites disappointment among some in the national party that Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, a relatively popular moderate who might have posed more of a threat to Hassan, chose instead to run for reelection. In his primary, Bolduc defeated New Hampshire state Senate President Chuck Morse, a mainstream Republican endorsed by Sununu, who called Morse “the candidate to beat Sen. Hassan this November and the candidate Sen. Hassan is most afraid to face.” By contrast, Sununu called Bolduc a conspiracy theorist and suggested he would have a tougher time in the general election. Bolduc wasn’t bothered by Sununu’s criticism, calling the governor “a Chinese communist sympathizer.” Some Democratic groups, meanwhile, sponsored primary ads promoting Bolduc, predicting he’d make an easier opponent for Hassan. That’s consistent with Democratic-aligned organizations backing pro-Trump candidates in key races around the country — a strategy some have criticized, arguing that it could backfire if those candidates go on to win their general elections. “Our campaign overcame the odds and millions of dollars in spending from outside special interest groups because we built a true bottom-up grassroots campaign,” Bolduc tweeted in the wee hours of Wednesday. “Throughout the primary, I have felt the concerns of the voters, and heard time and again we need to send an outsider to Washington.” New Hampshire, known for kicking off the primary season during presidential campaigns, instead concluded the nominating process for this year’s midterms. The races were less high profile in Rhode Island and Delaware, where Biden traveled late Tuesday to cast his ballot. The final primary contests unfolded at a dramatic moment in the midterm campaign. Republicans have spent much of the year building their election year message around Biden and his management of the economy, particularly soaring prices. But Democrats are now entering the final stretch with a sense of cautious optimism as Biden’s approval rating steadies and inflation has slowed for the second straight month, even as it remains high. The Supreme Court’s decision overturning a constitutional right to an abortion may provide Democrats with the energy they need to turn back the defeats that historically accompany a new president’s first midterms. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged the challenge last month, saying his party may be more likely to end Democrats’ narrow control of the House than the Senate. He bemoaned “candidate quality” as a factor that could sway some outcomes in his chamber. Many of the same dynamics swirling around the former president were also at work Tuesday in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, where Karoline Leavitt, who worked in the Trump White House’s press office, topped some more experienced Republicans with ties to the former president. She’ll square off against Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas in another November contest that could be close. Leavitt said she was “sending a strong and clear message to the Washington, D.C., establishment, and our Democratic opponent that our votes cannot be bought, our conservative voices can not be silenced.” She also laced into Pappas, saying he “has campaigned his entire political career as a moderate, bipartisan voice for our district. But he has voted as a far left socialist Democrat.” Pappas also wasted little time going on the offensive against Leavitt, saying, “I will fight with everything I’ve got to stop extreme politicians like Karoline from hijacking our democracy.” In New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, pro-Trump candidate Bob Burns won the Republican nomination to face five-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster in a general election race the GOP sees as potentially very competitive. ___ Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report. Story by Will Weissert and Holly Ramer Read More Here

Stock Market News Today: Dow, S&P 500 Inch Up After Tuesday https://digitalarkansasnews.com/stock-market-news-today-dow-sp-500-inch-up-after-tuesday/ About this page Last Updated: Sep 14, 2022 at 1:36 pm ET Follow The Wall Street Journal’s full markets coverage. Read More Here

FBI Seizes Mike Lindell’s Phone In Probe Of Colo. Voting Machine Breach https://digitalarkansasnews.com/fbi-seizes-mike-lindells-phone-in-probe-of-colo-voting-machine-breach/ FBI agents seized a cellphone belonging to Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and prominent election denier, as part of a federal investigation into an alleged breach of voting machines in Colorado, according to Lindell. The agents served Lindell with a search warrant and grand jury subpoena Tuesday afternoon in the drive-through area of a Hardee’s restaurant in Mankato, Minn., he said on his online TV show. Lindell said the agents questioned him about Tina Peters, the Mesa County, Colo., clerk who was indicted in March on charges that she helped an outsider copy sensitive data from the county’s elections systems in May 2021. The FBI acknowledged that a warrant was served but declined to elaborate. “Without commenting on this specific matter, I can confirm that the FBI was at that location executing a search warrant authorized by a federal judge,” a spokesperson for the bureau’s Denver field office said in an email. Lindell said the FBI agents also asked him about an image copied from a Mesa County voting machine that was published on his website, Frank Speech. In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Lindell told The Washington Post that he was not involved in the copying of Mesa County’s election management system and did not meet Peters until she attended a “cyber symposium” he held in South Dakota in August 2021. “I have no idea what went on then,” Lindell said. “I have nothing to do with it.” The FBI’s action against Lindell, who has used his multimillion-dollar pillow fortune to finance high-profile films, conferences and other media promoting disinformation about elections, points to a widening of the federal investigation into the alleged breach in Mesa County. The probe is one of multiple investigations underway into alleged security breaches of local elections offices in states also including Michigan and Georgia. Efforts to access sensitive voting equipment — in some cases with the help of like-minded local officials — were aimed at finding evidence that the machines were used to rig the 2020 election. Access to such equipment is intended to be tightly controlled. Other Trump allies have recently received subpoenas from federal investigators who are conducting investigations into events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the election. Lindell told The Post he has not received any subpoena from a grand jury investigating Jan. 6. A document that Lindell displayed on his show, which he said was a copy of the search warrant, stated that the FBI was seeking information relating to tampering with Dominion Voting Systems equipment, the type used in Mesa and many other counties nationwide. Dominion has come under attack from former president Donald Trump and others promoting false conspiracy theories about election fraud. The company is suing Lindell, Fox News and prominent election deniers for defamation. The document said authorities were seeking evidence of possible violations by Lindell, Peters and several others of federal laws against identity theft and intentional damage to a protected computer. Lindell also displayed a grand jury subpoena, dated Sept. 7, which he said the FBI agents gave him. The subpoena called for testimony before a federal grand jury in Grand Junction, Colo., on Nov. 3, but it was not clear from the document whether Lindell was required to testify or to merely provide his phone. Lindell also showed The Post a copy of the subpoena. Peters and two other Mesa officials were previously indicted by a state grand jury on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation. Prosecutors accuse them of participating in a scheme to allow Conan Hayes, a former pro-surfer who reinvented himself as a data expert, to gain access to Mesa County election systems and copy sensitive files in May 2021. Peters has pleaded not guilty while her former deputy, Belinda Knisley, agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges and testify “at any trials in any venue” involving Peters or others involved in the alleged Mesa County breach, according to the plea agreement. Speaking on his show, Lindell said he had advised the FBI agents to check his website for the voting machine image. “They wanted to know about the image. I said, ‘You guys can see the image right here on Frank Speech — we’ve got the whole evidence right up here for you,’ ” Lindell said. In the interview on Wednesday morning, Lindell claimed he was being targeted because of his efforts to get rid of electronic voting machines. “Do you think I’m going to quit now?” he said, scoffing. He said he would welcome the chance to speak with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, but claimed “they won’t have me because I’d bring the evidence … that the election was stolen.” Dozens of judges rejected post-election challenges by Trump and his allies, while multiple local, state and federal officials said that claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election were baseless. Lindell sent his private plane last year to pick up Peters in Colorado and take her to his symposium, according to an email Peters wrote. Lindell previously told The Post that he had paid for Peters’s lodging, security and lawyers after her appearance at the event triggered an investigation by state and federal officials. Hayes, who has not been charged, was among the five people named on the federal search warrant served on Lindell. A phone number listed for Hayes in law enforcement documents is no longer working. He did not respond to several requests for comment from The Post in recent months about his alleged involvement in the Mesa scheme and alleged breaches of voting machines in other states. The document displayed by Lindell also named Douglas Frank, a longtime math and science teacher in Ohio who claims to have discovered secret algorithms used to rig the 2020 election. Frank met with Peters at her office in April 2021 and “showed her how her election was hacked,” The Post has previously reported. He told her that an upcoming Dominion software update could erase data needed to show that the election was stolen and relayed to others her request for technical help copying that data. “I did nothing illegal,” Frank told The Post via text message Wednesday morning. He said the FBI has not served him with a search warrant. On his show, Lindell also displayed a grand jury subpoena dated Sept. 7, which he said the FBI agents gave him. The subpoena sought “documents/objects” for a federal grand jury hearing in Grand Junction, Colo., on Nov. 3. Lindell showed The Post a copy of the subpoena and said his understanding was that it did not require him to testify. “As a subpoena recipient, you are not under an obligation of secrecy,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Teitelbaum wrote. “However, we request that you not disclose the existence of this subpoena for an indefinite period of time.” Bryan Pietsch and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report. Read More Here

Ukraine Live Briefing: Zelensky Visits Reclaimed Izyum; E.U. Moves Ahead With Emergency Measures On Energy https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ukraine-live-briefing-zelensky-visits-reclaimed-izyum-e-u-moves-ahead-with-emergency-measures-on-energy/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit Wednesday to Izyum, a strategic town in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where he thanked troops for liberating the area from Russian forces and vowed that the country’s blue-and-yellow flag would fly again “in every Ukrainian city and village.” Ukrainian troops retook much of the region as part of a stunning counteroffensive that has routed Russian forces and revealed the potential limits of Russia’s military for the foreseeable future, analysts said. Ukraine has made “significant progress” in the war, according to President Biden, but he cautioned: “I think it’s going to be a long haul.” Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe. Return to menu The European Union will push ahead with emergency measures to tackle the energy crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday, adding that she plans to visit Kyiv next week. She accused Russia of “actively manipulating” the bloc’s energy market but vowed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will fail, and Europe will prevail.” The proposed measures include a windfall tax on some energy companies and binding targets to reduce consumption. Ukraine’s creditors agreed to defer debt service for the war-torn country, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement Wednesday, to allow the Ukrainian government “to direct additional resources toward its domestic needs and the welfare of the Ukrainian people.” The United States was among a group of creditor countries that will suspend Ukraine’s debt service repayment obligations through the end of 2023. Another Russian businessman has died under strange circumstances. The Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic announced the “tragic death” of Ivan Pechorin, the company’s managing director for the aviation industry, in a statement Monday. Pechorin reportedly drowned after falling off a boat on Saturday during “a pleasure boat trip” with friends, Russia’s Pravda news outlet reported. His body later washed ashore on Russky Island in the Sea of Japan. Pechorin is at least the ninth high-profile Russian businessman to die unexpectedly since January, reportedly in accidents or by suicide. Many of the businessmen had links to the energy industry. Return to menu Videos and photos posted on social media have provided a glimpse into what Russian troops left behind during their hasty retreat from the Kharkiv region. Russia likely deployed Iranian drones in Ukraine for the first time, the U.K. Defense Ministry said Wednesday. The ministry cited a report from Ukraine’s military that said its forces shot down an Iranian-made Shahed-136, a kamikaze-style drone with a purported range of about 1,500 miles. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the weapon remnants featured in photos shared by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry appear to match published images of wingtips from intact Shahed-136 drones. U.S. officials said Russian cargo planes began picking up shipments of Iranian-made combat drones for use in Ukraine last month. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that some 5,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained in the United Kingdom as part of a program called Operation Interflex. Return to menu Pope Francis called for “dialogue and patient negotiations” to end the war during a religious conference in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. He has criticized Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has been a vocal supporter of Russia’s war, warning him not to be “Putin’s altar boy.” The United States issued visas for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and some members of his delegation to travel to New York for the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 20, Russia’s official Tass news agency reported. Russia’s Foreign Ministry previously accused the U.S. government of delaying the visa process. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss Ukraine and Taiwan when they meet this week in Uzbekistan, an aide to Putin said Tuesday, according to Tass. Return to menu Ukrainian offensive thwarted Russia’s annexation plans in Kharkiv: As Ukrainian forces secretly prepared a counteroffensive to expel occupying Russian soldiers from the Kharkiv region, Moscow was so sure of its control of the area that it began imposing Russian curriculums in some schools, Siobhán O’Grady, Isabelle Khurshudyan and Anastacia Galouchka report from northeastern Ukraine. With that land and those schools back under the authority of the Ukrainian military after lightning-fast advances this month, Ukraine said it had arrested Russian teachers left behind by retreating Russian soldiers. They face up to 12 years in prison on charges of violating laws and customs of war, according to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. Read More Here

10 Arkansas High School Football Games To Watch For Week 3 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/10-arkansas-high-school-football-games-to-watch-for-week-3/ By Kyle Sutherland | Photo by Sadie Rucker   It will be a much lighter slate of games with multiple byes on the schedule for Week 3, but that does not mean there are not some great matchups. Thursday night expects to be possibly the top overall game of the week from the 4A-8 conference, along with a great 5A contest in South Arkansas between two smashmouth programs, and a Top 20 matchup at War Memorial Stadium.  Here are 10 games to watch in Arkansas high school football for Week 3.  Star City (3-0) vs. Warren (1-1) (Thursday) There is a strong case for this one to be the overall Game of the Week, but regardless it will be a great way to kick off Week 3 on a Thursday night at Bulldog Stadium. Star City has a great opportunity to add another solid win to their resume having played a good schedule up to this point, along with getting a step ahead in the 4A-8 over Warren, the defending league champion. The Bulldogs have showcased a dominant ground game averaging 45 points per game, while Warren is coming off a bye week. It is early, but the Lumberjacks are still trying to put their first complete game tougher after suffering a loss to Stuttgart to open the season before earning a come-from-behind win over White Hall in Week 1. Booneville (2-0) vs. Harding Academy (2-0) This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools, but the first with Harding Academy as a member of Class 4A. The previous three times were all in the playoffs (‘15, ‘20, and ‘21) and dominated by the Wildcats by a combined score of 161-69 as they went on to win a state championship each of those years. The Bearcats have looked solid through two games scoring 71 points while allowing just 13, but Harding Academy is without question the toughest team they will see the rest of this year. The Wildcats were projected to possibly take a step back after former quarterback Kade Smith decided to focus on baseball, but sophomore Owen Miller has adjusted nicely, currently completing 85% of his passes. Catholic (2-0) vs. Benton (1-1) (War Memorial Stadium) Two teams coming off conference-opening wins will square off at War Memorial Stadium to make an early statement, as the winner will be at the top of the 6A-East. Catholic continued to click on all cylinders at Greene County Tech coming off a bye week, while Benton looked good in all three phases of the game in their 34-point win over Sylvan Hills. Both teams are new members of the 6A-East-Benton won the West last season and Catholic moved down from 7A-but did compete in non-conference action the past two years with Catholic winning 35-28 in 2020 and Benton returned the favor with authority last year 40-7. Charleston (2-0) vs. Nashville (2-1) One of multiple Class 3A/4A showdowns this week, this will be a good final non-conference challenge for both teams as Charleston gets an opportunity to best an upper-class squad while the Scrappers strive to turn the page from how last year’s identical 2-1 start turned out as they finished the season 2-5. Charleston is a contender once again in Class 3A and are focused on putting last season behind them after suffering a second round playoff exit following a bye. Expect a chess match between both quarterbacks in Charleston’s two-time all-state performer Brandon Scott and Nashville’s Sloan Perrin, as there should be plenty of points scored. Shiloh Christian (1-1) vs. Lincoln Christian (Okla.) (3-0) The Saints are back at Champions Stadium this week and will square off against an out-of-state team for the second week in a row as they close out non-conference play against Lincoln Christian out of the Tulsa area. The Shiloh offense was seemingly unstoppable in Week 2 and the goal for the Saints is to keep up that consistency with league play starting next week as new members of 5A-West conference. Lincoln Christian has been a highly successful program, winning a state championship in 2019 with runner-up finishes in 2020-21. The Bulldogs have also won their district for the past four years in a row. Magnolia (2-0) vs. Wynne (2-0) Without question this game will be the smashmouth football game to watch for Week 3 as it features two squads who expect to challenge for the top spot in their respective conferences. After traveling across the state to Fort Smith last week, Wynne has another long haul ahead to South Arkansas. Expect an intense contest that features two great flexbone attacks, along with two state championship coaches in Magnolia’s Mark King and Wynne’s Van Paschal. Magnolia is coming off a bye hoping to earn its first statement win of the season on their home field. Prairie Grove (2-0) vs. Metro Christian (Okla.) (2-0)  Year 30 under Danny Abshier, who is the state’s longest-tenured head coach at one school, at Prairie Grove is off to a strong start though the Tigers have only played 4A teams as a new member of Class 5A. With one more game before adapting to life in the 5A-West, the Tigers welcome the Metro Christian Patriots (Okla.) to town. The Patriots have a very successful program among the Oklahoma small school ranks, winning back-to-back Class 2A state championships in 2019-20. Hoxie (2-1) vs. Melbourne (3-0) Despite undergoing a coaching change, Melbourne has looked promising in three wins over Class 4A competition, including a 34-33 nail biter over Lonoke. Hoxie, on the other hand, has been one of the top 3A teams in recent memory winning 33 games over the past three seasons hoping to continue to build on that success with many new faces. This will be a great early season test to find out which team is one of the true contenders in Class 3A. White Hall (2-1) vs. Beebe (2-1) These are two teams who have really competed hard through the first quarter of their respective seasons and have seemed to be ahead of schedule. Under the direction of former Razorback star quarterback Ryan Mallett, White Hall has raised some eyebrows winning two of its first three games after returning just three starters from a state finals runner-up team. Meanwhile, Beebe needs just one more win to match its total from last season and plans on snagging one from the Bulldogs to avoid starting 0-2 in 5A-Central league play. Glen Rose (1-1) vs. Fordyce (1-2) According to both coaching staffs, this is a matchup of teams who are currently trying to find identities and exactly what athletes are the best fit in certain spots. Fordyce is relying on multiple freshmen and sophomores to contribute for them after graduation depleted essentially all the remaining starters from the three-year run of state finals appearances, winning two of those championships in 2019-20. The Beavers have had back-to-back deep postseason finishes and there is no reason to believe they cannot do it again. There were brief flashes shown on what this team can be as they had a very good Class 4A Malvern squad on the ropes before letting the game get away in the second quarter.  Read More Here

Developers Plan $70M Upscale Apartment Complex On Arkansas River https://digitalarkansasnews.com/developers-plan-70m-upscale-apartment-complex-on-arkansas-river/ Three development groups on Wednesday announced plans to build a $70 million, 360-unit upscale apartment complex along the Arkansas River in North Little Rock. Construction on the Resort at Rockwater, at 1120 Rockwater Blvd., is scheduled to begin “immediately” and be complete by fall 2024. The project is led by commercial real estate company Moses Tucker Partners of Little Rock; Terraforma LLC of Maumelle, led by Doug Meyer and Dave Bruning; and husband-and-wife team Jim Jackson and Lisa Ferrell. Arkansas Business was first to report early word of the project in July. It’s another part of the growing Rockwater Village residential development along the river. “This will be an amenity-rich property, unlike any other in Arkansas,” Chris Moses, president and CEO of Moses Tucker Partners, said in a news release. “In addition to stunning views of the riverfront and downtown Little Rock, the Resort at Rockwater will include 24/7 concierge service, plus feature a resort-style pool, fitness center (with a fitness and yoga coordinator), cycle studio and smart technology. Each unit will have a unique floor plans with upscale finishes.” The project’s near-8-acre site is at the southwest corner of Rockwater Boulevard and old Pike Avenue. Moses said the complex will bring “upwards of 500 new residents to downtown North Little Rock.” “The unparalleled location fronting the Arkansas River will also feature direct access to the river trail system and Rockwater’s full-service marina,” Moses said. “The Resort will have bike, kayak and electric scooter rentals available to residents.” Ferrell said the project “will build on the vibrant urban cores of both Little Rock and North Little Rock.” Site work begins this week at the property. Other companies involved in construction include Central Construction Group of Little Rock, WDD Architects of North Little Rock, Thomas Engineering Co. of North Little Rock and Ecological Design Group Inc. of Rogers. Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff is providing construction financing. Attorneys by trade, Jackson and Ferrell began assembling land for Rockwater Village in 2004. Construction finally began in 2015 on its first phase, the Residences at Rockwater. Prices for that phase’s single-family homes, which have a traditional Southern look, ranged between $450,000 and $1.6 million. Construction on the second phase, the Porches at Rockwater, at the northwest corner of Parker Street and Rockwater Boulevard, began two years later. Those three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes cost about $270,000. Work on a third phase, the Gardens at Rockwater, began in 2019. Homes in that phase started at around $350,000. Read More…

Dems Warn Trump And GOP Have Put Federal Workers In ‘Grave Danger’ https://digitalarkansasnews.com/dems-warn-trump-and-gop-have-put-federal-workers-in-grave-danger/ The increasingly caustic rhetoric aimed at the FBI, IRS, and other government agencies by former President Donald Trump and Republicans is putting everyday workers “in grave danger and at risk of violence,” warn top Democrats on two congressional committees. On Wednesday morning, the chairs of the House Oversight Committee and its National Security Subcommittee issued a stark letter to the law enforcement agency tasked with protecting government employees, asking what it’s doing to deal with the onslaught of threats from right-wing extremists and the MAGA crowd. “We are alarmed that leaders in the Republican Party have promoted false conspiracy theories and fueled violent threats against federal workers, putting the lives of law enforcement officials and other patriotic public servants at risk,” it reads. The letter is signed by U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), who leads the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), who chairs the National Security subcommittee. It is addressed to the Department of Homeland Security’s uniformed police division, the Federal Protective Service. Powerful Republicans have spent weeks making regular appearances on Fox News and other conservative news outlets to scare Americans about armed IRS agents suddenly storming their homes, and they keep claiming that the Justice Department’s investigation into the former president’s mishandling of classified information is a political persecution that could spark a second civil war. Meanwhile, Trump continues to fuel the fire by angrily posting on social media by directing anger against the FBI itself. His MAGA adherents make up the most boisterous contingent of the GOP and his movement serves as a Republican loyalty litmus test. The letter cites nine examples, several of which it describes as “demonizing federal law enforcement officers and even hinting at possible violence.” Topping the list is Trump’s recent speech in which he called the DOJ and FBI “vicious monsters” and warned about “a backlash the likes of which nobody has ever seen before,” an ominous warning that parallels his comments before the Jan. 6 insurrection he helped foment. The letter also notes how Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) claimed on Fox News that “riots in the street” would follow if the DOJ were to prosecute Trump for illegally keeping Top Secret documents at his oceanside Mar-a-Lago estate. It notes that Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) recently tweeted that “we must destroy the FBI,” and Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) tweeted that “if they can do it to a former President, imagine what they can do to you.” “The Committee is extremely concerned that this volatile threat environment puts federal employees in grave danger and at risk of violence,” the letter warns the DHS police agency. “We are also concerned that the financial resources available to FPS for its investigative and facility security functions… may not be sufficient to address current heightened threats against federal employees.” The letter on Wednesday follows another Oversight Committee action by Maloney on Tuesday, when she made public a letter to the National Archives and Records Administration that revealed archivists still aren’t sure they’ve recovered all of Trump’s presidential records—even after the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago. “This is important. The American people need to know that the nation’s secrets are safe,” the congresswoman told The Daily Beast. “We want to find the documents. We want to know if Mr. Trump knows where they are.” Read More Here

Trump Fully Embraces QAnon On Truth Social — Hours After Obsessed Supporter Allegedly Killed Wife https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-fully-embraces-qanon-on-truth-social-hours-after-obsessed-supporter-allegedly-killed-wife/ Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr) In his one-term presidency, Donald Trump pushed out a number of notorious conspiracy theories tied to voter fraud, climate change and vaccines, but it wasn’t until recently that Trump expressed his explicit support for QAnon – which promotes the idea that Trump is the savior of the American people. Despite the dangers of endorsing a movement the FBI has labeled a domestic terror threat, Trump posted a picture of himself wearing a Q lapel pin, with the QAnon catchphrases “The Storm is Coming” and “WWG1WGA,” on his Truth Social account earlier this week. He shared the post after an account called “Patriots in Control” originally published the photo on the platform. His latest embrace of QAnon comes as no surprise since Trump spent much of his presidency praising followers who were a part of the movement and even endorsed a Republican candidate for congress who is a prominent QAnon supporter. He has previously defended the movement saying it consists of people who “basically believe in good government.” But what makes his recent endorsement especially disturbing is that it came hours after a man obsessed with the QAnon conspiracy theory allegedly killed his wife and seriously injured one of his children. After Trump lost in the presidential election in 2020, Igor Lanis became obsessed with QAnon and the false idea that Joe Biden stole the election. His daughter, Rebecca Lanis, blamed her father’s worsening mental health on extremism and conspiracy theories he encountered online, according to the Daily Beast. Lanis represents just one example among thousands of other QAnon supporters who believe that Trump is fighting against a cabal of Democrats and other elites that are operating a global child sex trafficking ring. The narrative originated in 2017 after a YouTuber and two moderators from the 4chan website banded together, giving credibility to posts by a user called “Q”, who claimed to be a high-ranking military officer. Eventually, the theory they espoused became known as Qanon. In the years since, the movement has grown and become tied to a number of violent incidents, including the killing of two infants by their father, who told investigators that his belief in QAnon made him do it, a man ramming his pickup truck filled with guns through the gates of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s home and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. And as social media platforms like Twitter have banned accounts linked to QAnon, the movement’s supporters have shifted to Truth Social, which brands itself as a free-speech haven. Users have continued to post content that espouses violence and Trump has promoted these messages. In the past, Trump has “re-Truthed” a post calling for “civil war” and pushing claims that the 2020 presidential election was a “coup,” according to a report by NewsGuard. More recently, he has posted and reshared posts that included conspiracy theories about the Department of Justice, former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and also boosted QAnon accounts that attacked President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. Trump’s recent posting of his photo with the phrase “The Storm is Coming” days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II has led some QAnon supporters to believe that a “storm” really is coming. “The storm” refers to the day when Trump would ostensibly expose the pedophilic cabal of the deep state and the elites and also issue mass arrests of his political rivals. And as part of their role in this “Great Awakening”, QAnon believers would educate the public about the movement ahead of these arrests. Ultimately, the “storm” would trigger their “savior” Trump’s return to power. The “storm” was originally supposed to strike when QAnon supporters marched on the Capitol on Jan. 6, but instead, the siege led to mass arrests and several QAnon believers losing faith after President Joe Biden was inaugurated. However, Trump’s recent support of QAnon is enabling a QAnon renaissance, which poses the same dangers as the spread of disinformation on social media prior to the insurrection. Read More Here