Pope County Man Sentenced To More Than 11 Years For Methamphetamine Distribution
Pope County Man Sentenced To More Than 11 Years For Methamphetamine Distribution https://digitalarkansasnews.com/pope-county-man-sentenced-to-more-than-11-years-for-methamphetamine-distribution/
A Pope County man was sentenced Tuesday by a federal judge to spend the next 11 years, seven months in prison following his guilty plea earlier this year to conspiracy to distribute as much as 11 pounds of methamphetamine in the Central Arkansas area.
Benny Ray Pierce, 47, of Atkins, pleaded guilty to the charge last April before U.S. District Judge Brian Miller in exchange for the government’s agreement to dismiss three counts of methamphetamine distribution, one count of possession of methamphetamine and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Under U.S. sentencing statutes, Pierce could have been sentenced to life in prison and a $10 million fine.
According to Pierce’s plea agreement, investigators made three controlled buys of methamphetamine — two in Atkins and one in Russellville — between Dec. 12, 2018 and Dec. 19, 2019, resulting in the purchase of just over two ounces of methamphetamine. According to the agreement, Pierce was pulled over by Arkansas State Police on two occasions; April 12, 2019 and Oct. 14, 2020. During the April 2019 traffic stop, which occurred in Pope County, court records said, the arresting officer saw a handgun sitting between Pierce’s legs. After receiving information that Pierce had a prior felony conviction, his vehicle was searched, resulting in the discovery of a digital scale containing methamphetamine residue and a syringe inside the vehicle console.
According to the plea agreement, Pierce initially denied ownership of the weapon — a Hi-Point .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol — but admitted ownership after other passengers in the vehicle were questioned.
On Oct. 14, 2020, Pierce’s plea agreement said he was stopped by Arkansas State Police in Faulkner County after investigators were advised that a vehicle matching the description of the one Pierce was driving would deliver about 5 pounds of methamphetamine on that date. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Faulkner County Circuit Court following Pierce’s arrest, he was pulled over driving a blue Ford F-350 pickup truck on Interstate 40 westbound at the 130 mile marker.
The affidavit said Pierce initially gave the arresting officer a fake name after telling him he did not have a driver’s license with him and said he was traveling to Morrilton to work on a truck. After determining that one of Pierce’s passengers was on parole and had a search waiver on file, the affidavit said, the arresting officer searched the truck, discovering approximately two grams of suspected cocaine in the driver’s side door and approximately 4.2 pounds of suspected methamphetamine along with a syringe filled with suspected methamphetamine inside a black trash bag in the bed of the truck. After questioning by two agents with the 20th Judicial District Drug Task Force, the affidavit said, Pierce admitted that the drugs were his and that he had purchased the methamphetamine for $15,000.
In addition to Pierce’s 139-month prison sentence, Miller ordered him to serve five years supervised release after he leaves prison.
Pierce was represented by Molly Sullivan with the Federal Public Defenders Office in Little Rock. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Mazzanti.
Read More…
Court Rehears Fight Over Vaccine Mandate For Federal Workers
Court Rehears Fight Over Vaccine Mandate For Federal Workers https://digitalarkansasnews.com/court-rehears-fight-over-vaccine-mandate-for-federal-workers/
Wednesday, September 14th 2022, 3:54 am
By: Associated Press
President Joe Biden has the same authority to impose a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on federal workers that private employers have for their employees, an administration lawyer told a federal appeals court Tuesday.
A lawyer for opponents of the vaccine requirement, which has been blocked nationwide by a federal judge in Texas, said the requirement imposes an “unconstitutionally intolerable choice” for executive branch workers — taking a vaccine they don’t want or losing their jobs.
Judges on the appeals court meanwhile questioned how far the chief executive’s authority goes, asking, theoretically, whether the president could require employees to meet certain healthy body weights or forbid them from smoking at home.
It was the second time arguments on the issue were heard before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of the same court had upheld the Biden requirement for executive branch workers, overturning the Texas judge.
But the full appeals court, currently with 16 active members, vacated the panel ruling and agreed to rehear the case. There was no indication when the court would rule.
Administration lawyers argue that the employees opposing the mandate should have taken their objections not to federal court but to a federal review board, in accordance with the Civil Service Reform Act. The administration also argues that the president has the same authority, under the Constitution, as the CEO of a private corporation to require that employees be vaccinated.
Arguing for the government, Charles Scarborough of the Department of Justice, said the statute provides employees with “robust” remedies if they successfully challenge the requirement through the review board, including back pay if they are dismissed for not complying.
Addressing whether the president could impose body weight requirements on federal employees, Scarborough said the vaccine requirement is part of a mainstream effort to reduce the incidence of serious COVID-19 cases in the workplace, while a body weight requirement would be among “hypotheticals at the extremes.”
Opponents say the policy is an encroachment on federal workers’ lives that neither the Constitution nor federal statutes authorize. And they argued that a case involving a policy that could cost some workers their jobs if they don’t agree to a medical procedure is not the type of work policy that belongs before a civil service review board.
Biden issued an executive order Sept. 9 ordering vaccinations for all executive branch agency employees, with exceptions for medical and religious reasons. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas by then-President Donald Trump, issued a nationwide injunction against the requirement in January.
There came a series of varying rulings at the 5th Circuit.
One three-judge panel refused to immediately block the law.
But, a 2-1 ruling on the merits of the case by a different panel upheld Biden’s position. Judges Carl Stewart and James Dennis, both nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton, were in the majority. Judge Rhesa Barksdale, a senior judge nominated by President George H.W. Bush, dissented, saying the relief the challengers sought does not fall under the Civil Service Reform Act cited by the administration.
A majority of the full court voted to vacate that ruling and reconsider the case, resulting in Tuesday’s hearing.
Twelve of 16 active judges at the 5th Circuit were nominated to the court by Republicans, including six Trump appointees. Senior judges do not routinely take part in full-court hearings but Barksdale participated in the hearing Tuesday because he had been on the earlier panel.
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The Stakes For The Midterm Elections Could Scarcely Be Higher
The Stakes For The Midterm Elections Could Scarcely Be Higher https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-stakes-for-the-midterm-elections-could-scarcely-be-higher/
We are now less than two months from the midterm elections. At the beginning of the summer, as gas prices skyrocketed and President Joe Biden’s approval rating dropped to a low of 38%, Democrats feared they were going to get clobbered. Historically, the party that controls the White House loses seats in the midterm elections and this year looked to be no exception.
Then, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, energizing a part of the Democratic Party base. The Democrats overperformed in several special elections. I filled my gas tank for less than $60 the other day for the first time in months. Republicans nominated some extreme candidates and others who were just lousy. Democrats’ prospects appeared to improve, even if the chances of them holding on to both chambers were exceedingly dim.
Now, The New York Times’ polling genius Nate Cohn has started to zero in on the midterm polling and he is flashing a big yellow caution light to Democrats. Cohn starts his analysis by recalling the way he and his team calculated the 2020 polling data, and the fact that they created a chart that took 2020 polling data and then asked: What would the numbers be if they were as wrong as the 2016 polling numbers had been? “Early in the 2020 cycle, we noticed that Joe Biden seemed to be outperforming Mrs. [Hillary] Clinton in the same places where the polls overestimated her four years earlier,” he writes.
You will recall that almost no one predicted Clinton would lose to Donald Trump in 2016. The pollsters badly misjudged the race in several key states. Applying the margin by which they got it wrong in 2016 to the numbers coming in in 2020, Cohn said the revised numbers proved “eerily prescient.”
For example, in Wisconsin in 2020, the polls had Biden winning by 10 points. When Cohn factored in the degree to which the polls for the Badger State had been wrong in 2016, Biden’s lead dropped to 4 points. Biden ended up winning by less than one percentage point. 2020 polls had Biden up by 2 points in Florida, factoring in the 2016 mistakes dropped that lead to less than one point, and Trump ended up winning the state by 3 points.
In short, pollsters continued to undercount support for Trump. Why? Pollsters have to create a model of the electorate: Whom do they think will turn out and vote? Trump had the ability to get people who felt alienated from the system and had not cared to vote previously to turn out for him. On Election Day in 2016, friends on the Clinton campaign told me that their field staff reported meeting their targets. The problem was that those targets, like the polls, failed to predict that Trump could get so many people who had not voted in years to turn out for him.
According to Cohn, the worry with polls this year is that “Democratic Senate candidates are outrunning expectations in the same places where the polls overestimated Mr. Biden in 2020 and Mrs. Clinton in 2016.” On the other hand, in some states like Georgia, where the polling was accurate in 2020, the Democratic candidates are lagging, that is to say, they are predicting this will be a typical midterm election in which the Democrats will lose.
There is something scandalous in the middle of this story. Cohn writes, “Most pollsters haven’t made significant methodological changes since the last election. The major polling community post-mortem declared that it was ‘impossible’ to definitively ascertain what went wrong in the 2020 election.” Can you imagine if NASA had adopted this attitude after the Challenger space shuttle exploded? Or the Pentagon had taken such a stance after the Vietnam War?
Polls are, at best, a snapshot in time, and time marches on. Events, some unplanned, will continue to shape not only the mood of the electorate, but the shape of it. People who are angry tend to show and vote in midterms, which is why the party out of power usually does well in a midterm, but the whole country seems to have something to be angry about these days.
Candidates are mostly just beginning to launch their ad campaigns and the negativity of those ads usually works, especially if the electorate is in a foul mood.
The good news from the front in Ukraine might cause Russia to cut off more oil and gas supplies, just as Europe heads into winter. That could cause gas prices to rise again, hurting Democrats’ chances.
The backlash against the Supreme Court abortion decision seems to have taken Republicans by surprise and some candidates, like Blake Masters in Arizona, are moderating their positions as fast as they can. Will that really attract moderates or just turn off the GOP base which remains resolutely pro-life?
In the weeks ahead, I will be following the polls to be sure. They are to politics what cotton candy is to the state fair; you just can’t pass it by. But Cohn’s caution should be heeded by Democrats. Polling is an inexact science and always was. This much is clear: A lot of races are close and the stakes, especially for control of the machinery of elections, could scarcely be higher.
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Petrino Has Paid For Mistake https://digitalarkansasnews.com/petrino-has-paid-for-mistake/
Published: Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Bobby Petrino made a mistake when he was at the University of Arkansas.
He’s paid for it dearly.
Three years ago, he waived a speaking fee and paid his own way to speak to the Little Rock Touchdown Club.
His message was heavy on his heart.
He wanted to apologize.
Not just to the LRTDC and not just the UA, but to the great Razorback fans, and he thanked them for the way they treated him and his family.
Petrino’s judgement error was personal.
There’s really no need to discuss his April Fool’s Day folly.
He made a personal mistake and he tried to cover it up.
It only affected the football program because John Smith was named the interim.
It didn’t affect anyone more deeply than it did Petrino and his wife.
By all accounts, he learned a valuable lesson.
This is what he told our man Tom Murphy, who drove to Springfield, Mo., on Monday to attend Petrino’s weekly news conference and visit with the Missouri State head coach for a few minutes:
“I’m doing great,” he said. “I’m having as much fun as I’ve ever had coaching. I’ve got eight grandkids around me all the time. So I’m big smiling and enjoying life.’
His son Nick is his offensive coordinator, and his son-in-laws are defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.
Petrino is valuing his family.
To err is human, to forgive divine.
Almost since it was announced Missouri State and Petrino would play the Razorbacks this Saturday, there have been conversations.
Will Petrino get booed? Will people make signs?
It is doubtful Petrino is really concerned about his reception as much as how many receptions can his receivers grab from talented quarterback Jason Shelley.
What is certain is in four seasons he led the Razorbacks back to the national scene.
He resigned as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons before the season ended to get the Arkansas job and try to recruit a few players.
The Razorback program was fractured.
Some of the fans loved Houston Nutt, who was forced to resign, and some didn’t.
Petrino’s first season he was 5-7, but four of the losses were by a touchdown or less. The next year he was 8-5 and won the Liberty Bowl.
In his third season the Razorbacks were 10-3, played Ohio State in the BCS Sugar Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 8 in the country.
Petrino’s final season was 11-2, beat Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl and was ranked No. 5 in the nation.
A few months later, then athletic director Jeff Long announced on statewide TV that Petrino had been terminated for lying about his mistake.
Petrino was out of football for a season then landed the Western Kentucky job where he went 8-4. He got him an encore performance as head coach at Louisville, where he was 77-35 but was terminated with one game left in the 2018 season.
The Cardinals were 2-8, and he got a vote of no confidence and a big pay day.
He was out of football for another season and then was hired by the Bears and is currently 15-9 and 11-3 in Missouri Valley Conference games.
His overall record as a head coach is 134-65, including 34-17 at Arkansas, 21-5 during his final two seasons.
Now 61 years old, Petrino is at peace with life. He’s paid the price for his mistake.
He’s still a fierce competitor, always was and always will be. He has a brilliant unconventional offensive mind.
Saturday night he’ll play to win from start to finish. He’ll use every weapon in his arsenal.
Not because it is Arkansas, but in spite of it being a place he realized too late that he loved.
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Australia News LIVE: Queen Elizabeth IIs Coffin Arrives At Buckingham Palace; PM Extends Pandemic Leave Beyond September
Australia News LIVE: Queen Elizabeth II’s Coffin Arrives At Buckingham Palace; PM Extends Pandemic Leave Beyond September https://digitalarkansasnews.com/australia-news-live-queen-elizabeth-iis-coffin-arrives-at-buckingham-palace-pm-extends-pandemic-leave-beyond-september/
Key posts
1 of 4
4.53pm
Victorian health minister: ‘miscommunication’ made mother go to Adelaide for urgent scan
By Lachlan Abbott
Circling back to the Victorian health minister’s press conference, Mary-Anne Thomas also said a hospital miscommunication caused a mother to travel to South Australia for an urgent medical scan.
Mother of two Kylie Hennessy, who needed the scan ahead of surgery on a brain tumour, was forced to travel to Adelaide last week after being told she faced a months-long wait for a “functional MRI” scan in Melbourne.
However, Thomas told reporters two of Victoria’s four specialist FMRI machines were fully functional and arrangements were previously being made to provide Hennessy with access to another machine at the Florey Institute in Melbourne.
“Unfortunately due to miscommunication from the hospital to Ms Hennessy, the work that was being done to ensure that Ms Hennessy could receive the FMRI at the Florey Institute was not communicated to her in a timely way,” she said.
Thomas also said she had spoken with Victorian Education Minister Natalie Hutchins, who has apologised after she responded to a question about Hennessy’s experience earlier today and said that sometimes equipment is not available and that, from her own personal experience in the healthcare system, patients sometimes had to “roll with the punches”.
Thomas said Hutchins’s comment was based on her own personal experience in caring for her late husband through cancer and treatment.
“I don’t want anyone leaving this press conference thinking that we have anything but great sympathy for the experience Ms Hennessy has had during what is already an incredibly stressful time,” Thomas said.
4.48pm
Albanese’s bid to host UN climate conference ‘hypocritical’: Pacific statesmen
By Mike Foley
The Albanese government would look hypocritical leading a Pacific nations bid to host a United Nations climate conference, according to regional statesmen, as Australia’s own emissions’ reduction target falls short of what is needed to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Former Kiribati president Anote Tong and former Palau president Thomas Remengesau, who represent the Pacific Elders Voice group, said the Australian government’s target to cut greenhouse gases 43 per cent by 2030 didn’t meet the standard required of a signatory of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Former Kiribati president Anote Tong and former Palau president Thomas Remengesau at parliament in Canberra on Wednesday.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen.
Australia has pledged emissions reduction levels consistent with limiting global warming as close as possible to 1.5 degrees. Labor’s 43 per cent target, passed into law on September 8, is consistent with 2 degrees warming or more.
The Albanese government has said it would support new coal and gas projects if the economic and environmental cases stack up.
Warnings from Pacific leaders follow a report from the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organisation on Wednesday that said the current emissions reduction commitments from nations around the world must be seven times higher to get global warming on track to be limited to 1.5 degrees.
Pacific nations will need to endorse the Albanese government’s bid to the UN to host the next climate conference, known as the Conference of the Parties (COP), which will set the next benchmark for global emissions targets. But Tong said it would be hypocritical for Australia to lead a bid to host the conference while it was supporting new fossil fuel projects.
“It would appear to be a contradiction, wouldn’t it? I mean, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.
“We support Australia hosting because it would be in our part of the world, we would be part of it. But to be part of something that’s not doing the right thing is wrong.”
Read more here.
4.35pm
Pay jump for WA’s public servants as government caves to unions
By Hamish Hastie
The West Australian government has caved to pressure with an improved pay deal that could avoid further industrial action by the public sector union but has been described as “envy politics” by the opposition.
Rather than percentage increases across the board, the new pay offer will mean lower-paid government workers receive bigger salary jumps than their colleagues on more money.
WA public sector workers at a demonstration last month.Credit:Peter de Kruijff
Public sector workers earning less than $104,000 will be offered a $3120 increase in their salary each year over the next two years, as well as a $3000 one-off bonus.
Workers earning more than $104,000 will receive the bonus as well as a 3 per cent yearly increase over the next two years.
The new pay deal, the third since December, will see much bigger paychecks for lower-paid workers compared to the previous offer, which was 3 per cent for all workers and a $2500 bonus.
Read more here.
4.28pm
‘Nothing normal’: Midterm elections are a battle for America’s new reality
By Farrah Tomazin
Not only is Congress up for grabs, but positions that control the election process, too. Biden and Trump may not be on the ballot, but their deeply contrasting world views are.
In less than two months, millions of Americans will head to the polls to vote in the 2022 midterm elections, determining who controls the US Congress, the fate of Joe Biden’s policy agenda, and the leadership of states across the country.
The highly anticipated event is a crucial barometer of the national mood halfway into a presidential term, and almost always a referendum on the incumbent administration.
Large numbers of women are expected to vote in the midterms, after the Supreme Court rolled back abortion protections.Credit:AP
But the 2022 midterms won’t just be the first electoral chance voters have to express their satisfaction or anger with Biden’s performance.
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This election is also a battle between realities. On the one side, Biden and the Democrats have finally gotten traction on Capitol Hill for a series of long-sought reforms on the economy, climate change, manufacturing and even unions. In Biden’s words, the Democrats seek to “build back better” after not only the impact of coronavirus but years of political neglect on domestic issues.
On the other side, Donald Trump has overseen a transformation of the GOP that has upended America’s political culture. Even after being impeached twice and subject to numerous lawsuits and investigations, for many, the effort to “make America great again” recasts politics as a fight against “woke” liberals, Washington elites, and perceived witch-hunts against the former president.
Read more here.
4.18pm
Victorian health minister ‘confident’ soaring inflation won’t hurt health funding
By Lachlan Abbott
Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas says she is “confident” the state’s health system has sufficient funding, despite fears higher inflation will cut into its budget in real terms.
Thomas said she believed cost increases in the health sector were not as significant as other areas in the economy.
Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas.Credit:Penny Stephens
The Age reported on Wednesday that inflation could slash Victoria’s health budget by more than 13 per cent in real terms this financial year, leaving doctors warning of worse outcomes for patients as record-breaking demand continues.
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Here is Thomas’s full response after being asked about health funding:
“So, funding that’s been made available to Victoria healthcare services here has increased by 7 per cent over the last year, which is above the inflation rate that is being experienced in the healthcare system.
“So, obviously, we know that costs are increasing across a range of sectors. Fortunately, those costs are not increasing as quickly in health as they are in other sectors, and I’m confident that we are continuing to provide the funding that our healthcare services need in order to deliver the very best patient care to all Victorians.
“It’s important also to recognise that our government has increased year-on-year in the funding that is available to health services. And indeed the latest budget has invested $12 billion into our pandemic repair plan. This is a significant commitment to ensure that we are bringing on the healthcare workforce that our health services need.”
4.00pm
Watch: RTBU press conference
The RTBU updated reporters on Fair Work Commission proceedings and upcoming protected industrial action, this afternoon. You can watch an edited version of the press conference below.
3.58pm
Victorian Health Minister press conference issues
By Nigel Gladstone
Our live stream of the Victorian Health Minister addressing the media in Melbourne has got some technical issues, unfortunately.
We apologise for this and we’ll have an edited clip of the press conference up shortly. Thanks for your patience.
3.28pm
Victorian minister apologises for comment
By Melissa Cunningham
A senior Andrews government minister has apologised for a comment she made at a Melbourne press conference after a Melbourne woman was forced to make a 1600km round trip to Adelaide for an urgent medical procedure.
Mother of two Kylie Hennessy, who needed the scan ahead of surgery on a brain tumour, was forced to travel to Adelaide last week after being told she faced a months-long wait for a “functional MRI” scan in Melbourne.
Victorian Education Minister Natalie Hutchins.Credit:Luis Ascui
Asked about Hennessy’s plight, first reported in the Herald Sun, Education Minister Natalie Hutchins said that she know from time to time from personal experience that equipment isn’t available.
“Anyone battling or potentially battling cancer and having to undergo th...
Who Won And Lost In New Hampshire Rhode Island And Delaware
Who Won And Lost In New Hampshire, Rhode Island And Delaware https://digitalarkansasnews.com/who-won-and-lost-in-new-hampshire-rhode-island-and-delaware/
Politics|Who Won and Lost in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/us/politics/winners-losers-primary-elections-nh-ri-de.html
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Don Bolduc, a retired Army general, cheered with supporters during his campaign watch party in Hampton, N.H.Credit…John Tully for The New York Times
Sept. 14, 2022, 2:49 a.m. ET
The primary season ended on Tuesday with elections in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware.
While results are still being tallied in the night’s marquee matchup, the Republican Senate primary to determine who will challenge Senator Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire this fall, most other races have been called.
Here is a rundown of some of the most important wins and losses.
New Hampshire
Karoline Leavitt, a former press aide in Donald J. Trump’s White House, defeated Matt Mowers, a former State Department adviser, in a Republican primary that pitted two Trump administration alumni against each other. Ms. Leavitt — who recently turned 25, the minimum age to serve in the House — will face Representative Chris Pappas, a Democrat, in the First Congressional District. She could be one of the first two members of Generation Z to serve in Congress, alongside Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who won a Democratic House primary in Florida last month.
Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican seeking a fourth two-year term, easily won his primary, in which he had only nominal competition. He will face Tom Sherman, a state senator who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Rhode Island
Gov. Dan McKee won a tight Democratic primary as he seeks his first full term after rising from the lieutenant governorship to replace former Gov. Gina Raimondo, who left to serve in the Biden administration. He defeated Helena Buonanno Foulkes, a businesswoman; Nellie Gorbea, the Rhode Island secretary of state; and two others. Mr. McKee will face Ashley Kalus, a businesswoman who won the Republican primary, in November.
Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, who is seeking her first full term after being appointed by Mr. McKee, won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor. Her Republican opponent will be Aaron Guckian, a former development officer at the Rhode Island Foundation.
Gregg Amore, a state representative, won the Democratic nomination for secretary of state and will face Pat Cortellessa, a security company supervisor who volunteered for the Trump campaign in 2016.
Seth Magaziner, the state’s general treasurer, is the Democratic nominee to replace Representative Jim Langevin, a Democrat who is retiring. He topped a six-candidate field and will face former Mayor Allan Fung of Cranston in November.
Delaware
Lydia York, a lawyer and former corporate accountant, won the Democratic primary for auditor of accounts, the office responsible for supervising Delaware’s use of taxpayer money. She defeated the incumbent, Kathleen K. McGuiness, who had been convicted of misdemeanors in a misconduct case related to hiring her daughter.
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Asian Shares Extend Global Rout Yen Perks Up On Intervention Hints
Asian Shares Extend Global Rout, Yen Perks Up On Intervention Hints https://digitalarkansasnews.com/asian-shares-extend-global-rout-yen-perks-up-on-intervention-hints/
An electronic stock quotation board is displayed inside a conference hall in Tokyo, Japan November 1, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato
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Nikkei tumbles 2.3%, S&P 500 futures stabilise
Dollar falls 0.6% on yen on news of rate check from BoJ
2-yr U.S. yields scale new 15-yr high of 3.8040%
U.S. yield curve remains deeply inverted
SYDNEY, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Asian stocks tumbled on Wednesday as U.S. data dashed hopes for an immediate peak in inflation, although the dollar paused its relentless run against the yen as Japan gave its strongest signal yet it was unhappy with the currency’s sharp declines.
Data on Tuesday showed the headline U.S. consumer price index gained 0.1% on a monthly basis versus expectations for a 0.1% decline. In particular, core inflation, stripping out volatile food and energy prices, doubled to 0.6%. read more
Wall Street saw its steepest fall in two years, the safe-haven dollar posted its biggest jump since early 2020, and two-year Treasury yields, which rise with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, jumped to the highest level in 15 years.
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The stock rout is set to hit European markets, with the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures , German DAX futures and FTSE futures off more than 0.7%.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 2.2% on Wednesday, dragged lower by a 2.4% plunge in resources-heavy Australia (.AXJO), a 2.5% drop in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (.HSI) and a 1.5% fall in Chinese bluechips (.CSI300).
Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) tumbled 2.6%.
After a heavy equity selloff overnight, both the S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures rose 0.2%.
“Markets have reacted violently to what I would consider to be a modest miss in U.S. CPI,” said Scott Rundell, chief investment officer at Mutual Limited.
“Futures have stabilised, so we might see a dead-cat bounce tonight.”
Financial markets now have fully priced in an interest rate hike of at least 75 basis points at the conclusion of the Fed’s policy meeting next week, with a 38% probability of a super-sized, full-percentage-point increase to the Fed funds target rate, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
A day earlier, the probability of a 100 bps hike was zero.
“USD rates are now pricing in a Fed funds rate of 4.25% by end-2022 (75bps, 75bps, 25bps for the remaining three meetings). Decent odds of a 4.5% peak early 2023 is also reflected,” said Eugene Leow, senior rates strategist at Deutsche Bank.
“While resilient growth and slowing inflation can make for a better risk taking environment, the U.S. economy now looks too hot still. With no clear signs of the labour market slowing and inflation still problematic, a downshift from the Fed looks set to be delayed again.”
The strength of the U.S. dollar had pressured the rate sensitive Japanese yen close to its 24-year low at 149.96 yen before giving up some of the gains on news that the Bank of Japan has conducted a rate check in apparent preparation for currency intervention. read more
Yen-buying intervention is rare. The last time Japan intervened to support its currency was in 1998, when the Asian financial crisis triggered a yen sell-off and rapid capital outflows.
Earlier in the day, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said that currency intervention was among options the government would consider. read more
The dollar now hovered at 143.7 yen , down 0.6% for the day.
Many traders remained doubtful that intervention was imminent, but the jump in the yen pointed to rising nerves. The timing of the BOJ’s move also suggests that 145 per dollar will be an important level for markets and the authorities.
The two-year U.S. Treasury yield scaled a new 15-year high of 3.8040% on Friday before retreating to 3.7629%, and its curve gap with the benchmark 10-year yields widened to around 34 basis points, compared with just 16 basis points a week ago.
The yield curve inversion is usually treated as a warning of recession.
The 10-year Treasury note yield held steady at 3.4178%.
Oil prices edged lower on Friday. U.S. crude settled down 0.6% at $86.82 per barrel and Brent eased by a similar margin at $92.65.
Gold was slightly higher. Spot gold was traded at $1703.02 per ounce.
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Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Stephen Coates, Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Sam Holmes
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Package Explodes On Boston School's Campus Injuring Staff Member
Package Explodes On Boston School's Campus, Injuring Staff Member https://digitalarkansasnews.com/package-explodes-on-boston-schools-campus-injuring-staff-member/
A Northeastern University staff member is being treated for minor injuries after a package delivered to the Boston campus detonated while they were opening it, according to the school.A spokesperson for Northeastern said the explosion happened shortly after 7 p.m. at Holmes Hall, home to the university’s creative writing program.No students were injured in the explosion, according to the university.Boston police said they responded to 39 Leon St., the listed address for Holmes Hall, shortly before 7:20 p.m. after being notified of the package explosion.”We first saw two policemen kind of walking quickly into the building,” said Northeastern student Jacob Isaacs. “The police started putting up tape.”Boston firefighters also responded to the scene and helped police evacuate some of the buildings on campus, according to Boston police Commissioner Michael Cox.”One of the ladder trucks hoisted a ladder up to the roof of the building and a firefighter, with what I believe was an ax, went up on top of the building,” said student Ryan Dicorpo.Responding police officers and Boston Emergency Medical Services personnel found the staff member, a 45-year-old man, suffering from minor hand injuries. That man was transported to an area hospital for treatment.”I take very seriously that this city is home to everyone’s young people, from our littlest learners up to our college students and university staff,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “So we want to make sure we emphasize that this is of the utmost priority: the safety and well-being of all of our young people here.”A search revealed a second similar package that was ultimately rendered safe by the Boston Police Department’s bomb squad.Cox said the Boston Police Department is working with its law enforcement partners at Boston Regional Intelligence, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).”We are going to be working and continue to work with all our campus security partners, as well, to make sure all the students here are safe — as well as the rest of the residents in the city,” the commissioner said.The FBI’s Boston Division confirmed that it is offering its full support to its partners, especially Boston police, including the full resources of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, evidence response team and special agent bomb technicians.”We’re fully integrated with our partners and remain committed to resolving the incident safely,” said FBI Boston Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jason Cromartie.Holmes Hall was evacuated and a notification was sent to the Boston campus at 7:55 p.m. urging people to avoid the area.”We’re also right across the street from a residence hall, so no one has been able to go in and out,” said student Susanna Maize.Shortly after 8:30 p.m., the university notified Northeastern students that evening classes at the Behrakis Health Sciences Center, Shillman Hall, Ryder Hall, Kariotis Hall, Dockser Hall and West Village F are canceled due to the ongoing investigation. 5 Investigates reporter Mike Beaudet said he was teaching a journalism class at Northeastern University at the time. He said his class was moved outside but that neither he nor any of his students heard any explosions.”I didn’t hear any explosions. I don’t think any of the other students did,” Dicorpo said. “But we heard the fire alarm and so we assumed we should leave.””It’s pretty late at night. Our class was an exception. Most students are home for the day. There’s not a lot of classes going on,” Maize said.At about 10 p.m., NewsCenter 5’s Nathalie Pozo received an alert from the university stating that the scene at Holmes Hall was contained and the campus was secured.Pozo then received an alert at about 11:30 p.m. that stated Northeastern’s Boston campus is expected to be open and fully operational on Wednesday.”It’s very important to note that our campus is secure and we will maintain a secure campus in perpetuity,” said Northeastern University police Chief Michael Davis. “That’s our work and that’s what we continue to do, and we’ll be working with our partners here to get this resolved.”In the wake of the incident at Northeastern, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in Cambridge, are urging all members of the campus communities to be cautious and report any suspicious packages.Boston police told NewsCenter 5 that they received a 911 call shortly before 8:30 p.m. regarding a suspicious package behind the Museum of Fine Arts, which is less than a mile away from Holmes Hall. A Massachusetts State Police official said the package behind the MFA was quickly determined to be trash and not a hazard.Boston University, meanwhile, notified its students late Tuesday night that deliveries from BU Mail Services have been suspended following the Northeastern package explosion. BU said direct courier deliveries are still allowed, but campus police reminded all members of the school community to be cautious about deliveries.No arrests have been announced in connection with the package explosion at Northeastern University. Boston police, Northeastern police and FBI Boston continue to investigate the incident.
BOSTON —
A Northeastern University staff member is being treated for minor injuries after a package delivered to the Boston campus detonated while they were opening it, according to the school.
A spokesperson for Northeastern said the explosion happened shortly after 7 p.m. at Holmes Hall, home to the university’s creative writing program.
No students were injured in the explosion, according to the university.
Boston police said they responded to 39 Leon St., the listed address for Holmes Hall, shortly before 7:20 p.m. after being notified of the package explosion.
“We first saw two policemen kind of walking quickly into the building,” said Northeastern student Jacob Isaacs. “The police started putting up tape.”
Boston firefighters also responded to the scene and helped police evacuate some of the buildings on campus, according to Boston police Commissioner Michael Cox.
“One of the ladder trucks hoisted a ladder up to the roof of the building and a firefighter, with what I believe was an ax, went up on top of the building,” said student Ryan Dicorpo.
Responding police officers and Boston Emergency Medical Services personnel found the staff member, a 45-year-old man, suffering from minor hand injuries. That man was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
“I take very seriously that this city is home to everyone’s young people, from our littlest learners up to our college students and university staff,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “So we want to make sure we emphasize that this is of the utmost priority: the safety and well-being of all of our young people here.”
A search revealed a second similar package that was ultimately rendered safe by the Boston Police Department’s bomb squad.
Cox said the Boston Police Department is working with its law enforcement partners at Boston Regional Intelligence, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“We are going to be working and continue to work with all our campus security partners, as well, to make sure all the students here are safe — as well as the rest of the residents in the city,” the commissioner said.
The FBI’s Boston Division confirmed that it is offering its full support to its partners, especially Boston police, including the full resources of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, evidence response team and special agent bomb technicians.
“We’re fully integrated with our partners and remain committed to resolving the incident safely,” said FBI Boston Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jason Cromartie.
Holmes Hall was evacuated and a notification was sent to the Boston campus at 7:55 p.m. urging people to avoid the area.
“We’re also right across the street from a residence hall, so no one has been able to go in and out,” said student Susanna Maize.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m., the university notified Northeastern students that evening classes at the Behrakis Health Sciences Center, Shillman Hall, Ryder Hall, Kariotis Hall, Dockser Hall and West Village F are canceled due to the ongoing investigation.
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5 Investigates reporter Mike Beaudet said he was teaching a journalism class at Northeastern University at the time. He said his class was moved outside but that neither he nor any of his students heard any explosions.
“I didn’t hear any explosions. I don’t think any of the other students did,” Dicorpo said. “But we heard the fire alarm and so we assumed we should leave.”
“It’s pretty late at night. Our class was an exception. Most students are home for the day. There’s not a lot of classes going on,” Maize said.
At about 10 p.m., NewsCenter 5’s Nathalie Pozo received an alert from the university stating that the scene at Holmes Hall was contained and the campus was secured.
Pozo then received an alert at about 11:30 p.m. that stated Northeastern’s Boston campus is expected to be open and fully operational on Wednesday.
“It’s very important to note that our campus is secure and we will maintain a secure campus in perpetuity,” said Northeastern University police Chief Michael Davis. “That’s our work and that’s what we continue to do, and we’ll be working with our partners here to get this resolved.”
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Update 10:15pm: Northeastern says the scene is contained & the campus is secured. One staff member sustained minor injuries due to an explosion....
New Bilingual Preschool Sets Fort Smith School Apart Arkansas Catholic September 14 2022
New Bilingual Preschool Sets Fort Smith School Apart – Arkansas Catholic – September 14, 2022 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/new-bilingual-preschool-sets-fort-smith-school-apart-arkansas-catholic-september-14-2022/
IC is Arkansas’ only preschool program listed on the national dual language registry
Published: September 14, 2022
By Maryanne Meyerriecks
Fort Smith Correspondent
Katie Kratzberg
Amber Clifton, lead pre-K4 teacher, reads a bilingual book to students at Christ the King School in Fort Smith Aug. 29.
This fall Christ the King School’s preschool became the only preschool program in Arkansas listed on the national dual language registry.
The language immersion program is open to children 18 months to 4 years old.
Principal Myndi Keyton and assistant principal Katie Kratzberg have been attending the Latino Enrollment Institute at the University of Notre Dame for three years, exploring ways to assimilate students from distinct cultures and help all students experience the richness of multiculturalism.
The school’s entrance bears a sign saying “Welcome” in Persian, Lebanese, Greek, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and English, representing all the languages spoken in students’ homes. Each year it holds a culture day, inviting students to wear clothes and share items from their ancestral country. Last year Vietnamese students, taught by their parents, performed a dragon dance at a special multicultural assembly.
“Parents were so excited that their children would have the opportunity to learn a second language,” Keyton said. “Notre Dame says knowing a second language is like a superpower.”
“We learned at Notre Dame that it’s important for teachers to know their Spanish-speaking student’s background might be Mexican, Central or South American, and we have been learning so many beautiful things about different cultures,” Kratzberg said. “The more students learn about their friends’ cultures the more sensitivity we have in the school building, and it continues to grow.”
When Kratzberg heard about bilingual preschools at one of the Notre Dame workshops, she and Keyton explored the idea and agreed it could be done. They were able to adapt their program with their eight existing staff members — five teachers and three aides — several who are bilingual. They spent the summer researching materials and devising a curriculum with teachers.
The preschool currently has 70 students divided into six classes.
“Half of each instructional day is done in English and half in Spanish,” Keyton said. “Some preschoolers are primarily Spanish-speaking, and some primarily English-speaking. We use modeling, sometimes making a statement in both languages. We use lots of pictures, label everything in the classroom in Spanish and have Spanish and English calendars, words for colors and numbers.”
Special subjects such as library, art, music and PE are taught in English.
As soon as the program was announced on social media, the school began getting calls, and some classes have waiting lists.
“Parents were so excited that their children would have the opportunity to learn a second language,” Keyton said. “Notre Dame says knowing a second language is like a superpower.”
Teachers said they notice children speaking both languages, and parents post videos on social media of their children naming the colors in Spanish.
“I’m beyond thrilled that our daughters will get to absorb another language while they are at the perfect age for language development,” preschool parent Allison Cross said, “and we also love that they will have a connection to another community and a larger part of the world.”
Christ the King has always had a large Vietnamese student body, so some preschoolers also may be exposed to the Vietnamese language at home.
“Most of our Vietnamese parents now are second generation,” Keyton said, “but their grandparents may speak primarily Vietnamese. We have three Vietnamese people on staff to help bridge that.”
Anahi Aleman, lead teacher of the 18-month-old class, said, “It is so wonderful that we are able to provide dual language immersion to our students. We have always prided ourselves on our amazing preschool program, and this makes it better. I am proud to be able to teach bilingually to our students and help them develop language skills in both English and Spanish.”
While their educational mission is to promote bilingualism, bi-literacy, cross-cultural awareness and high academic achievement, the preschool’s tagline speaks to its heart: “We are family. Somos familia.”
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Yankee Ingenuity: Ukraine’s Powerful Weapon https://digitalarkansasnews.com/yankee-ingenuity-ukraines-powerful-weapon/
Authoritarians control their flock with flattery about their inborn goodness and fear-mongering about the outside forces threatening it. There’s an underlying laziness to all this. It frees the followers from thinking things through since the strongman is going to protect them. And it frees the strongman from winning them over with real improvements.
Vladimir Putin railed that the West was using gay rights to weaken Russia, a charge moderns find laughable. Putin would have better spent that time investigating the debased state of his military. But leaders running on hot air tend not to burden themselves with details.
Putin accused Ukrainians of “mindlessly emulating foreign models.” A more accurate word would have been “mindfully.” Ukraine’s growing affinity with the West is why its people — softened by consumerism, according to the mythology — have so far beaten back Russia’s far bigger brute forces. And contrary to the stories Putin keeps telling his public and probably himself, Ukrainians’ desire to unite with their Russian brethren appears close to nonexistent.
West-facing Ukrainians are outmaneuvering the Russian invaders with technology and inventiveness, what some would call Yankee ingenuity. The term originally referred to New Englanders’ ability in the 19th century to marry know-how with the materials at hand. The result, the Industrial Revolution, was forced on a region with few natural resources other than resourcefulness.
Though Ukraine enjoys enormous support from the United States and others, military experts are astounded at how its fighters jury-rigged slow Turkish-made Bayraktar attack drones to drop grenades on Russian assets. They gussied up an old Soviet anti-ship missile design by adding modern electronics. They loaded the renamed “Neptune” missiles on a truck, drove it within range of Russia’s flagship, and down went the Moskva to the bottom of the Black Sea.
U.S. military experts have updated the concept of Yankee ingenuity with a reference to the ’80s TV series “MacGyver.” They said Ukrainians had “MacGyvered” these weapons systems. In the show, action hero Angus MacGyver gets out of close scrapes by cleverly putting ordinary things to new uses. His “weapons” were a Swiss Army knife and his brains, not a gun. In one episode, he blew through a stone wall using steam pressure and spare pipe that was lying around. (A plumber friend tells me that this, actually, would not work.)
One recalls the native ingenuity of U.S. soldiers in World War II. A famous scene in “Saving Private Ryan” shows Americans just landed on Omaha Beach creating a makeshift periscope by attaching a shaving mirror to a bayonet blade with chewing gum.
Shortly after the landing, American tanks suffered losses as they rolled over the hedgerows lining roads in Normandy, thus exposing their undersides to attack. Then tank commander Curtis Culin fixed sheets of steel to the front of the tanks, creating a hedge cutter that could plow right through the dense growth. Where did he get the steel? From a German roadblock.
No discussion about brain-freezing authoritarianism should leave out Donald Trump. When Putin first invaded Ukraine, Trump called him a “genius” and declared with trademark childlike wonder, “There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen!” Trump didn’t bother with deeper analysis, so busy he was trying to undermine American democracy.
Authoritarian blowhards talk much the same way. “No matter who tries to stand in our way,” Putin said with Trumplike fire and fury, “must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.”
Ukraine’s leaders, meanwhile, are enjoying real-world victories by working their creative thoughts rather than their mouths. Yankee ingenuity could be Ukraine’s most powerful weapon.
Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com.
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Commentary: Elwood Watson Biden Angers But He Isnt Wrong
Commentary: Elwood Watson — Biden Angers, But He Isn’t Wrong https://digitalarkansasnews.com/commentary-elwood-watson-biden-angers-but-he-isnt-wrong/
Predictably, many Republicans melted into volcanic spasms and hissy fits after President Biden delivered his speech in Philadelphia a few weeks ago.
In one of his rare prime time addresses to the nation, Biden declared in clear and no uncertain terms that the American democratic experiment is in serious danger due to Donald Trump and those in the GOP who remain his steadfast allies.
Former South Carolina governor and ex-U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley said she was disturbed by the “dark imagery” surrounding the president. The habitually shameful Marjorie Taylor Greene referred to Biden as “demented.” Equally horrendous Fox News host Tucker Carlson compared the background accompanying the president’s message to Nazism. Monica Crowley, a former Fox News contributor and Trump administration official, referred to the event as “nothing short of satanic.”
No one should be surprised by such juvenile political histrionics coming from the more extreme corners. After all, such routine overzealousness is their stock and trade.
For all the chest thumping and disingenuous ranting and raving, did Biden say anything that was false? For those who claim the speech was angry, divisive, or hateful, the reality is that many extremists epitomize those same traits. By and large, these extremists do not have any genuine regard for the Constitution, spit in the face at the rule of law, disregard the will of the American people and refused to accept the results of a free, fair and equitable election.
Indeed, many of their faithful — from politicians to ordinary citizens — were supportive of Trump’s determination to overturn his election defeat in November 2020. Who doesn’t remember many rioters (I will not call them protesters) ferociously yelling chilling chants to “Hang Mike Pence!”
Trump, in ever Machiavellian fashion, said in a radio interview that if he was elected again in 2024, he would “look very, very favorably” at pardoning the Capitol insurrectionists. Let’s not forget, Trump-worshiping sycophant Lindsey Graham promised there will be “riots in the streets” if Trump is criminally charged for hoarding top-secret documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Relatedly, you have Republican elected officials in numerous states aiming to place themselves in positions of power to manipulate and control voting machines and other equipment in future elections in an effort to potentially disregard any Democratic wins as null and void.
In response, a number of prominent historians met with president Biden earlier this summer and discussed their concerns over what they see as a democracy potentially teetering on the brink of collapse. As someone who is a historian by training, not since the 1850s has this nation been so politically and culturally volatile or vulnerable.
To be sure, the president made it clear he was not speaking of all Republicans — just the right-wing MAGA types. In the true bipartisan fashion that has been one his primary attributes, Biden proudly discussed how he has productively worked with a number of those on the other side of the political aisle, crafting and passing legislation for the betterment of the nation. Such an image is a far cry from the wanton, retrograde MAGA forces that currently dominate and control the party.
There was considerable talk across the political spectrum of Biden having two uniformed Marines in the background as he delivered his speech. Such imagery seemed ominous, but given the theme of his speech, their inclusion seemed most fitting and appropriate. Biden unequivocally stated, “We are in a battle for the soul of this nation,” pitting democracy against autocracy. I concur with such sentiment.
Most rational minded people can probably only shudder at the prospect of a 2024 presidential election in which a MAGA-controlled Congress propels the reactionary agenda of a dictator-in-waiting, whether it be Trump or some wannabe MAGA clone. Such a situation would likely make martial law seem benign in comparison.
Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.
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AP News Summary At 1:17 A.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-117-a-m-edt/
Ukrainian troops keep up pressure on fleeing Russian forces
KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops are piling pressure on retreating Russian forces, pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of their counteroffensive. The advance has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow’s military prestige. As the push continued Tuesday, Ukraine’s border guard services said the army took control of Vovchansk — a town just 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Russia seized on the first day of the war. Russian troops were also pulling out of the southern city of Melitopol and heading toward Moscow-annexed Crimea. That’s according to the city’s pre-occupation mayor. His claim could not be verified. Melitopol is the second-largest city in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region.
Casket of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Buckingham Palace
LONDON (AP) — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II has returned to Buckingham Palace, moving through a drizzly London as crowds lined the route for a glimpse of the hearse and to bid her farewell. People parked their cars along a normally busy road, got out and waved as the hearse, with lights inside illuminating the flag-draped coffin, made its way into London. In the city, people pressed in on the road and held their phones aloft as it passed. Thousands outside the palace shouted “God save the queen!” and clapped as the hearse swung around a roundabout in front of the queen’s residence and through the wrought iron gates. King Charles III and other immediate family members waited inside.
Driven by consumers, US inflation grows more persistent
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation is showing signs of entering a more stubborn phase that will likely require drastic action by the Federal Reserve, a shift that has panicked financial markets and heightens the risks of a recession. Some of the longtime drivers of higher inflation — spiking gas prices, supply chain snarls, soaring used-car prices — are fading. Yet underlying measures of inflation are actually worsening. And the ongoing evolution of the forces behind an inflation rate that’s near a four-decade high has made it harder for the Fed to wrestle it under control.
Asian shares fall, tracking Wall St dismay over price data
Asian markets have skidded lower after Wall Street fell the most since June 2020 as a report showed inflation has kept a surprisingly strong grip on the U.S. economy. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.8% in early trading Wednesday, while Seoul’s Kospi declined 2.5%. On Tuesday, the Dow lost more than 1,250 points and the S&P 500 sank 4.3%. The hotter-than-expected report on inflation Tuesday has traders bracing for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates still more, adding to risks for the economy. Still, the drop didn’t quite knock out the market’s gains over the past four days.
Close New Hampshire Senate primary tests direction of GOP
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Republican contest for Senate in New Hampshire is emerging as a tight race between conservative Donald Bolduc and the more moderate Chuck Morse as the final primary night of the midterm season again tests the far right’s influence over the GOP. Republicans see Democratic incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire as beatable in the general election. But a strong competitor in the GOP contest is Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who some in the party believe is too far to the right for swing voters. Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines.
Car guy Biden to tout electric vehicles at Detroit auto show
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will showcase his administration’s efforts to promote electric vehicles during a visit to the Detroit auto show. Biden is a self-proclaimed gearhead who owns a 1967 Corvette Stingray. He may get the chance to slide behind the wheel of a snazzy new vehicle when he visits the auto show on Wednesday. But he’s mostly going there to talk shop — to highlight the new climate, tax and health care law that offers tax incentives for buying electric vehicles. Most of the recent electric vehicle battery and assembly plant announcements were in the works long before Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act last month.
Judge unseals additional portions of Mar-a-Lago affidavit
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has unsealed additional portions of an FBI affidavit laying out the basis for a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. The document shows how agents obtained a hard drive after issuing a subpoena for surveillance footage recorded inside Mar-a-Lago. A heavily redacted version of the affidavit was made public last month, but the Justice Department requested permission to show more of it after lawyers for Trump revealed the existence of a June grand jury subpoena that sought video footage from cameras in the vicinity of the Mar-a-Lago storage room.
Ken Starr, whose probe led to Clinton impeachment, dies
Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment, died Tuesday at age 76, his family says. A former colleague, attorney Mark Lanier, says Starr died at a hospital of complications from surgery. In a probe that lasted five years during the 1990s, Starr looked into a number of matters involving Clinton, including the president’s sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. House Republicans impeached Clinton, but he was acquitted in a Senate trial. In 2020, Starr was recruited to help represent Donald Trump in the nation’s third presidential impeachment trial.
Package explodes on Boston campus; 1 injured, FBI involved
BOSTON (AP) — A package has exploded on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston, and the college says a staff member suffered minor injuries. Authorities say another suspicious package was found near a prominent art museum Tuesday evening, and the FBI was assisting with the investigation. Boston’s bomb squad is at the scene of the second package near the city’s prestigious Museum of Fine Arts, on the outskirts of the Northeastern campus. NBC Boston reports that the package that exploded went off as it was being opened near the university’s Holmes Hall, which is home to the university’s creative writing program. The FBI is assisting the investigation.
Iowa teen who killed rapist sentenced, ordered to pay $150K
A teenage human trafficking victim who was initially charged with first-degree murder after she stabbed her accused rapist to death has been sentenced to five years’ probation and ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man’s family. Seventeen-year-old Pieper Lewis was sentenced Tuesday after she pleaded guilty last year to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury in the June 2020 killing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks. Lewis was 15 when she stabbed Brooks more than 30 times in a Des Moines apartment. Lewis has maintained that she was trafficked against her will to Brooks for sex multiple times and stabbed him in a fit of rage after he had raped her yet again. Police and prosecutors have not disputed that Lewis was sexually assaulted and trafficked.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Archives Not Sure All Docs Recovered https://digitalarkansasnews.com/archives-not-sure-all-docs-recovered/
WASHINGTON — The National Archives is still not certain that it has custody of all Donald Trump’s presidential records even after the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago club, a congressional committee said in a letter Tuesday.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform revealed that staff at the Archives on an Aug. 24 call could not provide assurances that they have all of Trump’s presidential records. The committee in the letter asked the Archives to conduct an assessment of whether any Trump records remain unaccounted for and potentially in his possession.
“In light of revelations that Mr. Trump’s representatives misled investigators about his continued possession of government property and that material found at his club included dozens of ’empty folders’ for classified material, I am deeply concerned that sensitive presidential records may remain out of the control and custody of the U.S. Government,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the Oversight Committee, wrote in the letter.
The House committee has jurisdiction over the Presidential Records Act, a 1978 law that requires the preservation of White House documents as property of the U.S. government. The request is the latest development in a monthslong back-and-forth between the agency and the committee, which has been investigating Trump’s handling of records.
The request also comes weeks after the FBI recovered more than 100 documents with classified markings and even more than 10,000 other government documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The search came after lawyers for Trump provided a sworn certification that all government records had been returned.
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Karoline Leavitt Projected Winner In Fierce GOP Congressional Primary In Battleground New Hampshire
Karoline Leavitt Projected Winner In Fierce GOP Congressional Primary In Battleground New Hampshire https://digitalarkansasnews.com/karoline-leavitt-projected-winner-in-fierce-gop-congressional-primary-in-battleground-new-hampshire/
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The Associated Press projects that Karoline Leavitt will win the Republican primary in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District, which has long been a highly contested swing House district.
Leavitt will now face-off in November’s midterm elections with two-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, whom Republicans view as vulnerable amid a political climate that for the past year had favored the GOP.
Republicans need a net gain of just five seats in the 435-member House in November to take back the chamber’s majority they lost in the 2018 elections, and they’re heavily eyeing New Hampshire’s First District, which stretches from the Massachusetts border, Manchester, and the Seacoast region, up through the Lakes region and into the White Mountains.
The 25-year-old Leavitt – a New Hampshire native who worked in Trump’s White House press shop and later for GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who is now the number three ranking House Republican – will become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress if she wins in November.
2022 PRIMARY SEASON ENDS WITH FIERY REPUBLICAN FACE-OFFS IN BATTLEGROUND NEW HAMPSHIRE
Republican congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt of New Hampshire campaigns in Londonderry, N.H. on Sept. 8, 2022. (Fox News)
“I’m proud to be the home-grown America First candidate in this race,” Leavitt told Fox News last week.
Leavitt topped Matt Mowers, a former New Hampshire GOP executive director who worked on former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and served in the State Department during the Trump administration, who was making his second straight bid for Congress.
Mowers easily captured the 2020 congressional nomination in the district before losing to Pappas by five points in the general election.
THESE 11 SENATE RACES WILL DECIDE THE CHAMBER’S MAJORITY
The battle between Leavitt and Mowers became one to the right, with both showcasing their Trump administration experience. However, Mowers did not go as far as Leavitt when it comes to Trump’s 2020 election loss to President Biden. Leavitt is a firm supporter of the former president’s unproven claims that the last election was “rigged” with “massive voter fraud” and “stolen.” Mowers, with more pragmatic language, has said that he continues to have concerns about voting “irregularities around the country.”
Republican U.S. House candidate Matt Mowers, who’s running in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, speaks with state Sen. Regina Birdsell at the English Muffin diner in Hampstead, N.H., on Sept. 12, 2022 (Fox News)
Trump, who endorsed Mowers two years ago, stayed neutral in this year’s showdown.
Leavitt was endorsed by Stefanik, as well as other major figures in the GOP who are allied with Trump — such as Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.
She also enjoyed the backing for conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who traveled to New Hampshire last week to campaign with Leavitt.
Mowers — who in June was endorsed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who are the top two Republicans in the chamber — was backed by a seven-figure ad buy from the Congressional Leadership Fund, a powerful super PAC aligned with the House GOP leaders. Additionally, another outside Republican group, the more moderate Defending Main Street Super PAC, spent more than $1 million to blast Leavitt on the airwaves.
Asked about the big bucks flooding into the district, Mowers said “it tells me that folks know we’re the one who’s going to win this race and defeat Chris Pappas… this is the seat that is going to determine whether Nancy Pelosi is speaker of the House again.”
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But Leavitt told Fox News “the people are with me” and charged that “the establishment in Washington is viciously smearing me with $5 million in negative attack ads.”
The crowded GOP primary field also included Gail Huff Brown, a former longtime TV news reporter and wife of former Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during the Trump administration; former state senator and executive councilor Russell Prescott; and state Rep. Tim Baxter — in single digits.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.
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Former Trump Aide Wins New Hampshire GOP House Primary To Take On Pappas
Former Trump Aide Wins New Hampshire GOP House Primary To Take On Pappas https://digitalarkansasnews.com/former-trump-aide-wins-new-hampshire-gop-house-primary-to-take-on-pappas/
ABC News reports that Karoline Leavitt is projected to win Tuesday’s GOP primary to take on Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., setting up a general election matchup in one of the nation’s most competitive House races.
Leavitt, a former White House press staffer under President Donald Trump, defeated Matt Mowers, another Trump administration aide, and Gail Huff Brown, the wife of former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. With about 57% of the expected vote in, Leavitt led the field with 34% of the vote, compared with 25% for Mowers in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.
The results conclude what morphed into a bitter battle between two ideologically aligned foes who found a sliver of difference within the GOP’s right flank.
Both Leavitt and Mowers cast themselves as staunch Trump allies and had big name Republican backers to boot: New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz backed Leavitt while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana were among those supporting Mowers.
Voters cast their ballots in the state’s primary elections at a polling location in Littleton, N.H., Sept. 13, 2022.
John Tully/The New York Times via Redux
Yet where Mowers called for audits the 2020 presidential race, Leavitt adamantly — and baselessly — denied the results. And while Mowers has said he would examine a push to impeach President Joe Biden, Leavitt has said she would support impeachment.
The result marks a setback for McCarthy, who is setting himself up to serve as speaker if Republicans flip the House in November. The affiliated Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC spent more than $1.3 million supporting Mowers, who said he would back a McCarthy speakership bid. Leavitt, meanwhile, initially said she would support Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as speaker before changing to say she’d support McCarthy.
Leavitt will now face Pappas in one of Republicans’ top flip opportunities. Pappas defeated Mowers in the 2020 election by 5 points, though the district has flipped between the two parties five times since the start of the century.
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Damage Reported After Two Quakes Magnitudes 4.4 And 3.9 Jolt The S.F. Bay Area
Damage Reported After Two Quakes — Magnitudes 4.4 And 3.9 — Jolt The S.F. Bay Area https://digitalarkansasnews.com/damage-reported-after-two-quakes-magnitudes-4-4-and-3-9-jolt-the-s-f-bay-area/
Two quakes struck the Bay Area within a minute of one another — a magnitude 4.4 and a 3.9 aftershock — knocking frames off walls and rattling nerves on Tuesday night. The first quake struck at 6:39 p.m. and the second at 6:40 p.m. and both had an epicenter in Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa Assistant Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal said crews were sent to reports of stuck elevators at senior housing buildings and at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. He had no information yet about whether there were people needing rescue inside.
Across central Santa Rosa, Residents reported broken gas lines and water pipes, sending firefighters across town to investigate the damage.
Lowenthal, who lives near the epicenter in a neighborhood rebuilt after the 2017 fires, said he was cooking dinner when the quake hit. Things fell off the walls, light fixtures broke.
“I turned off the stove and said, ‘Guess I’m going to work,’” he said.
People in Santa Rosa reported feeling two big jolts and the U.S.G.S. said the shaking was felt as far north as Mendocino County and as far south as Santa Clara County. The ShakeAlert early warning system sent out alerts that reached people moments before the first temblor.
“Bravo to the CA earthquake early warning system,” a Twitter user named Amanda Stupi wrote. “Had enough time to get my kid and I under the kitchen table. Husband had enough time to text us and make sure we saw alert. My mind is kind of blown.”
The U.S.G.S. said that by the time the ShakeAlert warning went out on people’s cell phones, the quakes had already been felt in a 9-mile radius from the epicenter. People in Vallejo had an 11.4-second warning before the quakes hit; San Francisco got an 18.8-second warning and Oakland residents got a 19.2-second warning. ShakeAlert had warned that the quake could be as big as a magnitude 5.0.
Jana Pursley, a geophysicist for the U.S.G.S., said the second of the two quakes was an aftershock.
“Aftershocks happen in reaction to motion around the fault, it’s like the fault’s way of rearranging itself after a bigger event,” she said.
At home near downtown Santa Rosa, Brooks Anderson was gathering garbage to put out on trash night when he heard a rumble then felt a slam – as if a semi truck had hit the house. A group of his oil paintings featuring the Maine Coast fell off the walls.
“I wasn’t sure if a plane had gone down nearby – it was so loud,” said Anderson, an artist.
Then moments later the second slam hit. More fell of Anderson’s works fell off the wall. Again, another set depicting Maine.
His home, built in 1876, has been through two damaging earthquakes that have struck the Bay Area. The 1906 quake that devastated San Francisco and twin tremors in 1969 that hit the North Bay.
“It’s been through some doozies,” Anderson said. “What did this earthquake have against Maine?”
Tyler Silvy, 36, was at home in Santa Rosa when the shaking began. Silvy, who moved to California in 2019, said he was afraid because he’d never experienced anything like it. Silvy said that he’s only encountered one earthquake before this in Oklahoma but that it paled in comparison to this one.
“Before I got the notification, I thought someone was running aggressively up our apartment stairs. It was two intense, sharp rounds of shaking,” he said.
Silvy said his main priority was the safety of his kids and that he had them crouch near the couch in his house away from the walls away from hanging decorations.
“I’d prefer not to experience another one (earthquake),” Silvy concluded about his experience.
Police in Santa Rosa said they did not receive reports of major injuries.
Santa Rosa city councilwoman Victoria Fleming was canvassing for her re-election campaign in a neighborhood near the epicenter when she felt the first jolt and hit the ground. Her volunteer was getting up but she pulled her back down in time for the aftershock.
“People came out of their houses and said, ‘Victoria, what’s your policy on earthquakes?’” Fleming said. “I said, ‘If re-elected I will ban them.’”
Tuesday’s quakes were the second and third to rattle the S.F. Bay — on Sunday, a 2.9 magnitude quake shook up the East Bay.
Check out The Chronicle’s earthquake tracker for more information about recent seismic events.
Julie Johnson (she/her) and Jordan Parker (he/him) are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: julie.johnson@sfchronicle.com, jordan.parker@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @jparkerwrites @juliejohnson
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Russia Spent Millions On Secret Global Political Campaign U.S. Intelligence Finds
Russia Spent Millions On Secret Global Political Campaign, U.S. Intelligence Finds https://digitalarkansasnews.com/russia-spent-millions-on-secret-global-political-campaign-u-s-intelligence-finds/
Russia has secretly funneled at least $300 million to foreign political parties and candidates in more than two dozen countries since 2014 in an attempt to shape political events beyond its borders, according to a new U.S. intelligence review.
Moscow planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more as part of its covert campaign to weaken democratic systems and promote global political forces seen as aligned with Kremlin interests, according to the review, which the Biden administration commissioned this summer.
A senior U.S. official, who like other officials spoke to reporters Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings, said the administration decided to declassify some of the review’s findings in an attempt to counter Russia’s ability to sway political systems in countries in Europe, Africa and elsewhere.
“By shining this light on Russian covert political financing and Russian attempts to undermine democratic processes, we’re putting these foreign parties and candidates on notice that if they accept Russian money secretly we can and we will expose it,” the official said.
Countries where such activities were identified included Albania, Montenegro, Madagascar and, potentially, Ecuador, according to an administration source familiar with the matter.
Officials pointed to one Asian country, which they declined to name, where they said the Russian ambassador gave millions of dollars in cash to a presidential candidate. They said that Kremlin-linked forces have also used shell companies, think tanks and other means to influence political events, sometimes to the benefit of far-right groups.
The senior official said the U.S. government detected an uptick in Russian covert political financing in 2014. The review did not address Russian activities within the United States.
Assessments by both U.S. spy agencies and a bipartisan Senate investigation concluded that Russia under President Vladimir Putin launched a campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to assist then-candidate Donald Trump.
The publication of details about the Kremlin’s alleged political influence campaign comes as the United States expands its military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, now in its seventh month.
Since early this year the White House has taken the unusual step of repeatedly releasing declassified intelligence related to Moscow’s intentions and actions related to Ukraine, part of an attempt to push back on Putin’s ambitions there and counteract what U.S. officials have described as Russian disinformation operations.
A State Department démarche Monday to U.S. embassies in more than 100 countries described the alleged Russian activities and suggested steps the United States and its allies can take to push back, including sanctions, travel bans or the expulsion of suspected Russian spies involved in political financing activities.
The cable, which officials provided to reporters, said that Russian political financing was sometimes overseen by Russian government officials and legislators, and had been executed by bodies including Russia’s Federal Security Service.
The démarche also named Russian oligarchs it said were involved in “financing schemes,” including Yevgeniy Prigozhin and Aleksandr Babakov.
Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s chef” after making vast sums in Russian government catering contracts, was charged by U.S. officials in 2018 with attempting to interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections. He has been linked to the private military firm Wagner and is wanted by the FBI.
Babakov is a Russian lawmaker allegedly involved in a financing a far-right party in France.
Moscow has used cryptocurrency, cash and gifts to shape political events in other countries, often employing accounts and resources of Russian embassies to do so, the cable said.
“In the coming months, Russia may increasingly rely on its covert influence toolkit, including covert political financing, in Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia in an attempt to undermine the efficacy of international sanctions and maintain its influence in these regions amid its ongoing war in Ukraine,” it said.
U.S. diplomats are briefing counterparts in other countries about the activities, which American officials believe could go far beyond the nations and sums that have been identified.
“We think this is just the tip of the iceberg,” the senior official said. “So rather than sit on the sidelines, we are sharing these response measures.”
U.S. officials are also asking partner nations to share their own information about Russian financing to help the U.S. government attain a fuller picture of what Russia is doing.
While the review did not address Russian influence efforts in the United States, the senior official acknowledged that issue remains a major challenge requiring continued work to safeguard the U.S. political system and elections.
“There’s no question that we have this vulnerability as well,” the official said.
Paul Sonne in Washington contributed to this report.
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The latest: Grain shipments from Ukraine are gathering pace under the agreement hammered out by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports had sent food prices soaring and raised fears of more hunger in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including loads of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed.
The fight: The conflict on the ground grinds on as Russia uses its advantage in heavy artillery to pummel Ukrainian forces, which have sometimes been able to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukrainian hopes rest on liberating the Russia-occupied Kherson region, and ultimately Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014. Fears of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station remain as both sides accuse each other of shelling it.
The weapons: Western supplies of weapons are helping Ukraine slow Russian advances. U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) allow Ukrainian forces to strike farther behind Russian lines against Russian artillery. Russia has used an array of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts.
Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the very beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work.
How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating.
Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video.
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Travs Rally To Win Final Series Opener https://digitalarkansasnews.com/travs-rally-to-win-final-series-opener/
North Little Rock, AR- A five run eighth inning propelled the Arkansas Travelers to a 6-2 come from behind win over the Corpus Christi Hooks on Tuesday night. It gave the Travs a win in the series opener of the final series of the season. Emerson Hancock pitched the first five innings, allowing just one run on two hits while matching a career high with nine strikeouts. Jake Scheiner drove in a pair of runs including the tying run in the eighth. Joe Rizzo reached base three times including a double and scored a pair of runs.
Moments That Mattered
* Scheiner tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the eighth and then a couple batters later, Zach DeLoach raced home on a wild pitch for the go-ahead run.
* Arkansas put the game away with back-to-back home runs from Kaden Polcovich (2-run) and Jose Caballero.
Notable Travs Performances
* 3B Joe Rizzo: 2-3, BB, 2 runs, 2B
* RHP Emerson Hancock: 5 IP, 2 H, R, 3 BB, 9 K, HR
News and Notes
* Arkansas improved to 10-2 in home series openers.
* Scheiner raised his league leading RBI total to 103.
Up Next
The series continues on Wednesday night with right-hander Stephen Kolek pitching against righty Jayden Murray. It is the final Dog Day of the season with first pitch set for 6:35. The game will also be broadcast on 93.3 The Fish, the First Pitch App and milb.tv.
Watson Delivers Solid Start as Missions Drop Game One to Amarillo – San Antonio Missions
Centeno Leads Charge in 4-3 Win Over Missions – Amarillo Sod Poodles
Travs Rally to Win Final Series Opener – Arkansas Travelers
Travs Plate Five in Eighth, Win Opener – Corpus Christi Hooks
Betts Powers Drillers Past Cardinals – Tulsa Drillers
Surge Win, Clinch Division – Wichita Wind Surge
CC Movie Nights Return to Whataburger Field – Corpus Christi Hooks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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Major Asia-Pacific Markets Drop 2% Following Wall Street Plunge On Hot Inflation Report; Yen Near 24-Year Low
Major Asia-Pacific Markets Drop 2% Following Wall Street Plunge On Hot Inflation Report; Yen Near 24-Year Low https://digitalarkansasnews.com/major-asia-pacific-markets-drop-2-following-wall-street-plunge-on-hot-inflation-report-yen-near-24-year-low/
A pedestrian walks past an electronic quotation board displaying share prices of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on June 16, 2020.
Kazuhiro Nogi | AFP | Getty Images
Shares in the Asia-Pacific dropped sharply on Wednesday after indexes on Wall Street fell sharply following a higher-than-expected U.S. consumer price index report for August.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.28%, and the Topix index fell 1.63%. The Japanese yen traded at 144.43 per dollar, hovering around weakest levels since September 1998.
The Kospi in South Korea lost 1.66% and the Kosdaq declined 2%. The South Korean won passed the 1,390-mark against the greenback and was last trading at 1,392.24 against the dollar, around the weakest levels since March 2009.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped 2.44%, while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.89% and the Shenzhen Component fell 1.3%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 2.79%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.1% .
The U.S. 2-year Treasury yield also reached 3.79%, the highest level since 2007. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,276.37 points, or 3.94%, to close at 31,104.97. The S&P 500 shed 4.32% to 3,932.69, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 5.16% to end the session at 11,633.57.
“What is perhaps most disconcerting in all this is that the strength in core inflation is very much service sector-led categories,” said Ray Attrill, National Australia Bank’s head of FX strategy, wrote in a note, adding the sector is primarily wage inflation-driven.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Jesse Pound and Carmen Reinicke contributed to this report.
Japan’s machinery orders grow again in July, beats expectations
Core machinery orders in Japan jumped 5.3% in July from the previous month, beating expectations for a 0.8% contraction in a Reuters poll. That figure grew 0.9% in June.
Compared to July 2021, core orders increased more than 12%, beating a 6.6% growth prediction forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.
— Abigail Ng
CNBC Pro: Morningstar says this is ‘one of the best’ value-focused funds
Traders are now split between a 75 basis point or 100 basis point Fed hike
Some traders are now expecting a full point rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve at its September meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tracker of Fed funds futures bets.
The probability of a 100-basis-point rose to 33% from 0%, and the chance for a three-quarter point hike fell to 67% from 91% a day earlier.
Economists at Nomura now also expect to see a full percentage hike.
— Abigail Ng
Sign up for CNBC’s newsletter here:
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Top 10 Fort Smith Area High School Football Games For Week 3 And Predictions
Top 10 Fort Smith Area High School Football Games For Week 3 — And Predictions https://digitalarkansasnews.com/top-10-fort-smith-area-high-school-football-games-for-week-3-and-predictions/
It’s only Week 3, but many unbeaten teams will pick up their first loss in some nonconference bouts or early league contests this week.
Harding Academy (2-0) at Booneville (2-0)
Both teams had the week off to prepare for the Class 3A state semifinal rematch.
Harding has outscored opponents 92-49 in its first two games. Booneville has only given up about 300 total yards and 13 points in its first two wins.
Booneville (No. 2 in Class 3A) has 659 yards of offense this season, with Dax Goff accruing 245 of them on the ground with three touchdowns.
The Wildcats (No. 4 in Class 4A) have 962 yards of offense, most of them through the air. Sophomore quarterback Owen Miller has completed 85% of his passes for 705 yards and eight touchdowns. Harding Academy has three receivers with over 200 yards each.
Last season the Wildcats defeated Booneville, 56-27, on their way to a third consecutive Class 3A state title.
Prediction: Booneville 36, Harding Academy 34
WEEK 3 STATE RANKINGS:Arkansas high school football statewide rankings for Week 3
Mount Ida (2-0) at Lavaca (2-0)
The Golden Arrows knocked out Horatio last week, 40-8, while the Lions defeated Jessieville, 35-0. Mount Ida is No. 2 in the Class 2A rankings, and Lavaca received votes for Class 3A.
Lavaca and Mount Ida were regular nonconference opponents from 2008-13, with Mount Ida leading the series 4-2.
Prediction: Lavaca 24, Mount Ida 7
Nashville (2-1) at Charleston (2-0)
Nashville defeated DeQueen, 50-21 last week, and Charleston took home the Franklin County trophy by defeating Ozark, 34-20. Charleston is No. 3 in the Class 3A rankings.
This is the first meeting between the two teams in recent memory.
Prediction: Charleston 42, Nashville 36
LITTLE JOHNS CANCELS SEASON:Danville cancels remainder of 2022 varsity football season
Muldrow (3-0) at Spiro (2-0)
Both teams picked up wins last week as Spiro defeated Pocola, 35-8, and Muldrow beat Sallisaw, 38-17.
Last season, Spiro defeated Muldrow 41-35.
Prediction: Muldrow 20, Spiro 17
Stigler (3-0) at Stilwell (2-0)
After starting last season 0-6, Stilwell has won four of its last five games, including a win over Parkhill Keys, 36-16, last week. Stigler defeated Blackwell, 52-0 last week.
Prediction: Stigler 36, Stilwell 16
WEEK 2 TOP FOOTBALL PERFORMERS:The top football performers for Week 2 in Arkansas and Oklahoma
Bauxite (2-1, 1-0 4A-4) at Lamar (3-0, 1-0)
A win for either team will go a long way to assert early dominance in the 4A-4 Conference for these new league opponents.
This is the first meeting between the two teams in recent memory. Bauxite was 2-8 last season, while Lamar finished 10-3 and reached the third round of the playoffs.
Prediction: Lamar 36, Bauxite 19
Waldron (2-1) at Mansfield (2-0)
The Tigers are looking for their second 3-0 start in four years, while Waldron has begun the season 2-1 or better only four times in the past 21 seasons.
Both teams were conference foes, but since Waldron moved to a higher classification, Mansfield has dominated 12-3. However, Waldron has won three of these last five games.
Prediction: Mansfield 33, Waldron 19
LAST WEEK’S TOP PERFORMERS:Fort Smith area top performers in high school sports for the week of Sept. 5
GREENWOOD RALLIES TO BEAT GRIZZLIES:How Greenwood high school football erased 2-touchdown deficit in last 1:19, beat Northside
Poteau (1-1) at Chandler (2-0)
Chandler and Poteau did not face each other last season. Chandler reached the first round of the playoffs in 2021 and finished with an 8-3 record. Poteau was 11-2 and reached the Class 4A semifinals.
Last week, Chandler (Class 2A) held on to beat Bristow 23-16 in overtime, and Metro Christian defeated Poteau (Class 4A), 35-31.
Prediction: Chandler 31, Poteau 28
Pocola (2-1) at Mena (2-1)
This is the first meeting between these two teams. Last week, Mena (Class 4A) held off Lincoln, 31-28. Pocola (Class A) had its first loss as Spiro won 35-8.
This is the first meeting between the two teams in recent memory. Pocola was 1-7 last season, while Mena was 5-6.
Prediction: Pocola 32, Mena 22
Cedarville (1-1) at Green Forest (0-2)
Cedarville is looking for its fourth straight start at 2-1 or better, while Green Forest hasn’t had a winning record since 2013.
Greenland defeated Green Forest 51-9 on Sept. 2, and Cedarville beat Mountainburg, 36-6.
Cedarville opened the 2021 season with a 16-0 win at Green Forest. The teams are tied 3-3 in contests over the past 21 years, with Cedarville winning the last three.
Prediction: Cedarville 34, Green Forest 6
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WATCH: Arkansas Players Preview Missouri State Matchup
WATCH: Arkansas’ Players Preview Missouri State Matchup https://digitalarkansasnews.com/watch-arkansas-players-preview-missouri-state-matchup/
FAYETTEVILLE, Ar. (KNWA) – The No. 10 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks are getting ready to take on Missouri State this Saturday.
With Missouri State coming to town, it also means the return of former Hogs coach, Bobby Petrino.
Hear what Isaiah Nichols, Chris Paul Jr., Brady Latham and AJ Green had to say about the upcoming matchup in the videos below.
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Close New Hampshire Senate Primary Tests Direction Of GOP
Close New Hampshire Senate Primary Tests Direction Of GOP https://digitalarkansasnews.com/close-new-hampshire-senate-primary-tests-direction-of-gop/
CONCORD, N.H. — The Republican contest for Senate in New Hampshire emerged Tuesday as a tight race between conservative Donald Bolduc and the more moderate Chuck Morse as the final primary night of the midterm season again tested the far right’s influence over the GOP.
Republicans see Democratic incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire as beatable in the general election, now just eight weeks away. But a strong competitor in the GOP contest is Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who some in the party believe is too far to the right for some swing voters in the general election. Morse, the president of the state Senate, has been backed by the Republican establishment.
The state’s senate seat could prove pivotal for whichever party controls the chamber after November. President Joe Biden carried New Hampshire by more than 7 percentage points and Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines.
Hassan clinched her party’s nomination against only token opposition while Gov. Chris Sununu won the Republican party’s nomination for another term. He’s heavily favored against Democrat Tom Sherman, who was unopposed for his party’s governor’s nomination.
Sherman, a state senator and physician, was quick to remind voters that Sununu signed a late-term abortion ban into law last year. “As governor I will stand up for our freedoms and protect a woman’s right to choose, not cave to extremists like Chris Sununu,” he said.
Sununu countered in a statement that the “stakes are too high this November to change direction now.”
Still, a Bolduc victory might reignite disappointment among some national Republicans that Sununu, a relatively popular moderate who likely could have posed more of a threat to Hassan, chose instead to run for reelection. The GOP is grappling with the possibility of again nominating a candidate who is popular with the party’s base but struggles to broaden support ahead of the November general election.
Republican primary voters have similarly chosen conservative candidates this year in moderate or Democratic-leaning states including Massachusetts and Maryland, potentially putting competitive races out of the party’s reach.
Neil Levesque, director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, said Bolduc is a type of candidate who would have struggled to succeed in GOP politics before Trump’s rise. He’s never held elected office and had just $75,000 in cash on hand last week. Bolduc has nonetheless been able to make inroads by positioning himself as an ally of Trump and his election falsehoods.
“That is because the theme of his campaign and messaging is very similar to former President Trump,” Levesque said. “If it mirrors the former president, it’s been effective.”
Federal and state officials and Trump’s own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president’s allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.
Known for kicking off the primary season during presidential campaigns, New Hampshire is instead concluding the nominating process for this year’s midterms. There are also primaries Tuesday in Rhode Island and Delaware, where President Joe Biden traveled late Tuesday to cast his ballot.
But New Hampshire’s Senate race is perhaps most revealing about the direction of the GOP. Morse has been endorsed by Sununu, who called him “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 could have a tougher time winning the general election.
Bolduc wasn’t bothered by Sununu’s criticism, calling the governor “a Chinese communist sympathizer.” Bolduc wasn’t formally endorsed by Trump, who propelled many primary candidates to victory in key races throughout the summer. But the former president has called Bolduc a “strong guy.”
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 approval of Biden steadies and inflation has slowed for the second straight month, even as it remains high.
The Supreme Court’s decision overturning a woman’s 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.
Some Democratic groups, meanwhile, have sponsored primary ads promoting Bolduc, predicting he’ll make an easier November 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.
Republicans in New Hampshire and around the country scoff at the notion that being a Trump loyalist — or not — could be a deciding general election factor, noting that the still unpopular Biden will be a drag on his party regardless.
The New Hampshire Republican Party has tweeted that Hassan “votes with Joe Biden 96.4% of the time.”
Many of the same dynamics swirling around the former president are at work in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, where pro-Trump candidate Bob Burns is among several Republicans vying for the party’s nomination to face five-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster.
In New Hampshire’s other congressional district, which encompasses Manchester and the southeastern part of the state, several Republicans are vying to challenge Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who could also face a potentially close general election reelection contest — once he learns who his opponent will be.
The GOP field includes former TV broadcaster Gail Huff Brown, wife of Scott Brown, a former U.S. senator from Massachusetts and ambassador to New Zealand during the Trump administration. Also running is Matt Mowers, who won the district’s congressional 2020 Republican nomination and was a Trump administration State Department adviser.
But the candidate closest to Trump may be Karoline Leavitt, who worked in his White House’s press office and has also campaigned with Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
“Her compass always points to Trump,” said Dante Scala, a University of New Hampshire political science professor. He added, in reference to the former president’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan, “She, in a very kind of crisp, sharp, confident way, will say the most MAGA thing that can be said in any situation.”
___
Weissert reported from Washington.
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AP News Summary At 9:50 P.m. EDT https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ap-news-summary-at-950-p-m-edt/
Ukrainian troops keep up pressure on fleeing Russian forces
KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops are piling pressure on retreating Russian forces, pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of their counteroffensive. The advance has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow’s military prestige. As the push continued Tuesday, Ukraine’s border guard services said the army took control of Vovchansk — a town just 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Russia seized on the first day of the war. Russian troops were also pulling out of the southern city of Melitopol and heading toward Moscow-annexed Crimea. That’s according to the city’s pre-occupation mayor. His claim could not be verified. Melitopol is the second-largest city in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region.
Casket of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Buckingham Palace
LONDON (AP) — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II has returned to Buckingham Palace, moving through a drizzly London as crowds lined the route for a glimpse of the hearse and to bid her farewell. People parked their cars along a normally busy road, got out and waved as the hearse, with lights inside illuminating the flag-draped coffin, made its way into London. In the city, people pressed in on the road and held their phones aloft as it passed. Thousands outside the palace shouted “God save the queen!” and clapped as the hearse swung around a roundabout in front of the queen’s residence and through the wrought iron gates. King Charles III and other immediate family members waited inside.
Close New Hampshire Senate primary tests direction of GOP
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Republican contest for Senate in New Hampshire is emerging as a tight race between conservative Donald Bolduc and the more moderate Chuck Morse as the final primary night of the midterm season again tests the far right’s influence over the GOP. Republicans see Democratic incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire as beatable in the general election, now just eight weeks away. But a strong competitor in the GOP contest is Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who some in the party believe is too far to the right for swing voters in the general election. Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines.
GOP’s Graham unveils nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has introduced a bill calling for a nationwide abortion ban. The bill would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the physical health of the mother. The legislation introduced Tuesday is sending shockwaves through both parties with just weeks before voters go to the polls. Graham’s own Republican colleagues did not immediately embrace his abortion ban bill, which has almost no chance of becoming law in the Democratic-held Congress. Democrats reject it as extreme and an alarming signal of where Republicans are headed if they win control of the House and Senate in November.
Asian markets open lower after price data slam Wall Street
Asian markets have skidded lower after Wall Street fell the most since June 2020 as a report showed inflation has kept a surprisingly strong grip on the U.S. economy. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.7% in early trading Wednesday, while Seoul’s Kospi declined 2.5%. On Tuesday, the Dow lost more than 1,250 points and the S&P 500 sank 4.3%. The hotter-than-expected report on inflation Tuesday has traders bracing for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates still more, adding to risks for the economy. Still, the drop didn’t quite knock out the market’s gains over the past four days.
Ken Starr, whose probe led to Clinton impeachment, dies
Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment, died Tuesday at age 76, his family says. A former colleague, attorney Mark Lanier, says Starr died at a hospital of complications from surgery. In a probe that lasted five years during the 1990s, Starr looked into a number of matters involving Clinton, including the president’s sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. House Republicans impeached Clinton, but he was acquitted in a Senate trial. In 2020, Starr was recruited to help represent Donald Trump in the nation’s third presidential impeachment trial.
Armenia, Azerbaijan report 99 troops killed in border clash
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan has killed about 100 troops and fed fears of broader hostilities between the longtime adversaries. Armenia’s Defense Ministry said the fighting erupted early Tuesday with Azerbaijani forces unleashing an artillery barrage and drone attacks. The ministry said fighting continued during the day despite Russia’s attempt to broker a quick cease-fire. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said the country was responding to a “large-scale provocation” by Armenia. It said Armenian troops planted mines and fired on Azerbaijani military positions. The two countries have been locked in conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. The international community urged calm.
Judge unseals additional portions of Mar-a-Lago affidavit
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has unsealed additional portions of an FBI affidavit laying out the basis for a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. The document shows how agents obtained a hard drive after issuing a subpoena for surveillance footage recorded inside Mar-a-Lago. A heavily redacted version of the affidavit was made public last month, but the Justice Department requested permission to show more of it after lawyers for Trump revealed the existence of a June grand jury subpoena that sought video footage from cameras in the vicinity of the Mar-a-Lago storage room.
Woman’s rape cries go unheard in unmonitored drug sting
ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) — An Associated Press investigation found a woman informant was allegedly raped twice during an undercover drug sting last year in which her law enforcement handlers left her unmonitored and unprotected. Details of the sting conducted by sheriff’s deputies in the central Louisiana city of Alexandria showed authorities never considered such an attack could happen, didn’t provide the woman with recording devices that could transmit in real time and continued to charge her with drug crimes despite her cooperation. The case highlights the perils police informants face around the country seeking to “work off” charges in often loosely regulated, secretive arrangements.
Ancient skeleton found in Mexico cave threatened by train
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A cave-diving archaeologist on Mexico’s Caribbean coast says another prehistoric human skeleton has been found in a cave system that was flooded as seas rose 8,000 years ago. Archaeologist Octavio del Rio says the shattered skull and skeleton collapsed are partly covered by sediment. Given the distance from the cave entrance, it couldn’t have gotten there without modern diving equipment, so it must be over 8,000 years old, Some of the oldest human remains in North America have been discovered in the sinkhole caves that experts say are threatened by the Mexican government’s project to build a high-speed tourist train through the jungle.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Package Explodes At Northeastern University Injuring 1 School Officials Say
Package Explodes At Northeastern University, Injuring 1, School Officials Say https://digitalarkansasnews.com/package-explodes-at-northeastern-university-injuring-1-school-officials-say/
One person was taken to the hospital Tuesday evening after a package delivered to a building at Northeastern University exploded when it was opened, school officials confirmed.
Northeastern University said the package was delivered to Holmes Hall on Leon Street around 7 p.m. and detonated when a staff member opened it. That person suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital.
The Boston Bomb Squad, Boston police, Boston fire and Boston EMS have all responded and the building has been evacuated. Additionally, an FBI spokesperson says they are assisting the Boston Police Department in an investigation at Northeastern University.
Boston police are also responding to a report of another suspicious package on Huntington Avenue, in the area of the Museum of Fine Arts, while Cambridge police were responding to a report in the 1100-block of Cambridge Street. Police have not confirmed either of these packages as threats at this time.
Authorities were investigating Tuesday night after a package delivered to the building exploded.
Jacob Isaacs said he was in class in the building, Holmes Hall, when they were evacuated.
“We were in class and then we saw two policemen walk through the building and then as soon as we look out the window, we see a fire truck with the lights on blazing, and then our teacher is like ‘I gotta see what’s going on,’ and he sees that the fire truck is going and there’s a police car outside and as that happened, instantly the fire alarm starts going off,” he said.
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Isaacs added that they did not hear anything that sounded like an explosion before they saw first responders arrive.
Northeastern’s evening classes at Behrakis, Shillman, Ryder, Kariotis, Dockser and West F have all been canceled.
The scene remains active and people are warned to avoid the area.
NBC10 Boston & NECN have a crew on scene and will provide updates as they come into the newsroom.
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Houston Parents Faced Anxiety Confusion After A False School Shooting Report
Houston Parents Faced Anxiety, Confusion After A False School Shooting Report https://digitalarkansasnews.com/houston-parents-faced-anxiety-confusion-after-a-false-school-shooting-report/
Shannon Velasquez burst into tears on Tuesday afternoon as she waited on the sidewalk near Height High School, where her daughter and hundreds more students were locked down in their classrooms after someone made a false report about a mass shooting.
The mother knew her daughter was fine — she had spoken with the sophomore student on FaceTime as she sped to school from work.
Still, she could not shake a horrible feeling, and her frustration bubbled over as she heard conflicting information from parents and officers about where she should go to reunite with her child.
“As if this isn’t bad enough?” she said. “I just can’t wait to put my arms around my kid.”
MORE: Hoax call of 10 people shot at Heights High School prompted active shooter scare, Finner says
Anxiety, panic and confusion erupted on Tuesday afternoon in the residential streets surrounding Heights High School. Personnel from at least eight law enforcement agencies sped to the scene with lights and sirens. Panicked parents rushed from jobs and lunch appointments. Some drivers ditched their cars on the grassy median along Heights Boulevard, and walked or ran several blocks to the school.
Parents gathered information from their children, other parents, news reports and officials, eventually learning that their kids were safe and the massive frenzy actually stemmed from a false alarm.
Still, some parents said they were frustrated by sparse communication from the school, district or law enforcement agencies, although HISD and law enforcement agencies have defended their response.
Julie Osterman learned about the situation from her daughter, who thought the lock down was a drill until helicopters and law enforcement officers swarmed the school.
Osterman said she got more updates from a group text with other parents before the school district sent a call and email with minimal information.
“I found out more information from the news than I did from the school,” she said.
Another parent, Angel Perez, said she first learned about the situation from family members and news reports.
“The alert was so late,” she said about the school’s notification. “Their response should be a whole lot better in letting the parents know what’s going on.”
EDITORIAL: The Heights active shooter call was fake. The fear was real.
Luis Morales, HISD spokesman, said notifications went out to parents 23 minutes after the district became aware of the situation.
“We were able to get that out a quicker than we have before,” Morales said, adding that the district must verify information before sending out notifications.
Chief Troy Finner said during a news briefing on Tuesday afternoon that he sympathized with parents who were frustrated. But safety comes before notifications, he said.
“We have to search the school. That is the most important thing — to stop the threat if there’s a threat,” he said. “We don’t have time to call. Once we make it safe, we start making those calls.”
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena said more than two dozen units from HFD responded to the scene. The first unit arrived two minutes after HFD received the call, he said, and quickly began coordinating a rescue team with police.
“The community expects the first responders to get on scene quickly, to get on scene and coordinate and start taking action as soon as they get on scene,” he said. “That’s exactly what we did.”
False reports are “not acceptable,” said Pena, because of the strain on resources and emotional toll on parents and community members.
Officials said the person who made the false report will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Police believe the call came from outside the school.
“We’re going to trace it down and we’re going to hold them accountable,” Finner said.
YOUTH GUN VIOLENCE: As Texas reels from Uvalde, these 19 Houston-area kids are a reminder gun violence happens every day
The situation began shortly after 1 p.m. when someone called Precinct 1 dispatch and falsely reported that ten people had been shot in a classroom at Heights High School, the police chief said.
Law enforcement agencies arrived within minutes, breached a locked door at the school and began searching the building. They found no shooter or injured persons.
Meanwhile, HISD police, which has its own dispatch, initially received a call about a fight in progress, not an active shooter, said assistant police chief Lucretia Rogers. On-campus officers immediately started searching the building and were soon joined by other law enforcement agencies.
Officials confirmed that there there was a fight between two students but no one was injured.
Schools have a responsibility to treat all threats seriously and investigate them thoroughly – even if they seem like possible hoaxes, said Ken Trump, a school security and emergency preparedness expert. Types and methods of threat-making have grown in number over the years, and safety officials have to assess all of them to completely ensure that children are safe, he said.
The panic that understandably results can cause issues in communicating with parents, Trump added. Administrators typically use mass notification systems to inform parents about unfolding situations, he said, and multiple people should be trained in how to use them in the event the designated person isn’t available.
While administrators need to be quick to inform parents, Trump said there’s no magic number on how fast information should be disseminated. Schools are simultaneously trying to protect their children, and administrators are usually trained to release information as they get it. In unfolding situations, principals should typically send an initial email about the threat or shooting, with updates pushed out as quickly and reasonably as possible, Trump said.
“Because of our digital world, parents feel that messaging has been delayed if they don’t get it within two minutes after it occurred,” he said. “You have the potential crisis incident itself … and you have the communications crisis. The pressure is on administrators and school safety officials to manage those simultaneously, and that’s a very difficult tightrope to walk.”
SCHOOL SAFETY: HISD board OKs the purchase of gear for district police expected to help in active shooter scenario
Other parents, meanwhile, were pleased with the response to the situation and the communication from officials.
Victor Aceves learned that his freshman daughter was OK after exchanging texts with her. He encountered a heavy police presence at the school, and said the quick law enforcement response made him feel better.
“I’m concerned about my daughter’s safety, but I understand that in the situation that they’re not able to communicate,” he said.
As students trickled out of the school and hugged their waiting parents, Chasidy Moren stood with her wedge sandals in her hand on the sidewalk across from the school. At last, her daughter came walking across the street, and she was felt absolute relief.
It was a scary day, Moren said, but she was happy with the law enforcement presence and flow of communication from the school, district, parents and her daughter.
“I don’t think they could’ve handled this any better,” she said. “They did a great job.”
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Asian Markets Open Lower After Price Data Slam Wall Street
Asian Markets Open Lower After Price Data Slam Wall Street https://digitalarkansasnews.com/asian-markets-open-lower-after-price-data-slam-wall-street/
Asian markets skidded lower on Wednesday after Wall Street fell the most since June 2020 as a report showed inflation has kept a surprisingly strong grip on the U.S. economy.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.8% in early trading Wednesday, to 27,816.58, while Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 2.5% to 6,834.80. In Seoul, the Kospi lost 2.6% to 2,386.29.
U.S. futures edged higher, with the contracts for the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 up 0.1%. European futures also declined.
On Tuesday, the Dow lost more than 1,250 points and the S&P 500 sank 4.3%. Tuesday’s hotter-than-expected report on inflation has traders bracing for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates still more, adding to risks for the economy.
The steep sell-off didn’t quite knock out the market’s gains over the past four days, but it ended a four-day winning streak for the major U.S. indexes and erased an early rally in European markets.
The S&P 500 sank 4.3% to 3,932.69. The Dow fell 3.9% to 31,104.97 and the Nasdaq composite closed 5.2% lower, at 11,633.57.
Bond prices also fell sharply, sending their yields higher, after a report showed inflation decelerated only to 8.3% in August, instead of the 8.1% economists expected.
The yield on the two-year Treasury, which tends to track expectations for Fed actions, soared to 3.74% from 3.57% late Monday. The 10-year yield, which helps dictate where mortgages and rates for other loans are heading, rose to 3.42% from 3.36%.
The hotter-than-expected reading has traders bracing for the Federal Reserve to ultimately raise interest rates more than expected to combat inflation, with all the risks for the economy that entails.
“Right now, it’s not the journey that’s a worry so much as the destination,” said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments. “If the Fed wants to hike and hold, the big question is at what level.
All but six of the stocks in the S&P 500 fell. Technology and other high-growth companies fell more than the rest of the market because they’re seen as most at risk from higher rates.
Most of Wall Street came into the day thinking the Fed would hike its key short-term rate by a hefty three-quarters of a percentage point at its meeting next week. But the hope was that inflation was falling back to more normal levels after peaking in June at 9.1%.
Such a slowdown might let the Fed reduce the size of its rate hikes through the end of this year and then potentially hold steady through early 2023.
Tuesday’s report dashed some of those hopes. Many of the data points were worse than economists expected, including some the Fed pays particular attention to, such as inflation outside of food and energy prices.
Markets honed in on a 0.6% rise in such prices during August from July, double what economists expected, said Gargi Chaudhuri, head of investment strategy at iShares.
Traders now see a one-in-three chance the Fed will hike the benchmark rate by a full percentage point next week, quadruple the usual move. No one in the futures market was predicting such a hike a day earlier.
The Fed has already raised its benchmark interest rate four times this year, with the last two increases by three-quarters of a percentage point. The federal funds rate is currently in a range of 2.25% to 2.50%.
Higher rates hurt the economy by making it more expensive to buy a house, a car or anything else bought on credit. Mortgage rates have already hit their highest level since 2008, creating pain for the housing industry. The hope is that the Fed can pull off the tightrope walk of slowing the economy enough to snuff out high inflation, but not so much that it creates a painful recession.
Tuesday’s data casts doubt on hopes for such a “soft landing.” Higher rates also hurt prices for stocks, bonds and other investments.
Investments seen as the most expensive or the riskiest are the ones hardest hit by higher rates. Bitcoin tumbled 9.4%.
Expectations for a more aggressive Fed also helped the dollar add to its already strong gains for this year. The dollar has been surging against other currencies in large part because the Fed has been hiking rates faster and by bigger margins than many other central banks.
The dollar bought 144.59 Japanese yen, up from 144.57 yen late Tuesday. The euro rose to 0.9973 cents, up from 0.9969 cents.
Oil prices rose. U.S. benchmark crude added 38 cents to $87.69 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 47 cents to $87.31 on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international pricing standard, climbed 38 cents to $93.55 per barrel.
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AP Business Writers Stan Choe, Alex Veiga and Damian J. Troise contributed.
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Ukraine To Germany: Send Armored Vehicles To Keep Pressure On Russia
Ukraine To Germany: Send Armored Vehicles To Keep Pressure On Russia https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ukraine-to-germany-send-armored-vehicles-to-keep-pressure-on-russia/
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s ability to expel Russian forces from its country as soon as possible now depends largely on Germany and its willingness to send desperately needed armor, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday.
But Germany is balking, causing deep frustration in Kyiv. It is an echo of the earliest days of the invasion, when Berlin was derided for offering helmets when Ukraine needed heavy weapons.
“Germany needs to understand that the timeline for the end of the war is dependent on its position,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Zelensky, told The Washington Post in an interview on Tuesday.
A sweeping counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region has forced Russian soldiers into a hasty retreat and returned more than 1,100 square miles to Ukrainian control, a potential turning point more than six months into the war.
Kyiv believes the requested heavy armor — including battle tanks and personnel carriers — could help shift that turning point into a tipping point. Ukrainian officials are now urging their Western partners to provide them with more weapons immediately.
“The faster we receive this or that weapon from Germany, the faster Germany finally breaks this feeling of closeness with Russia, the faster the war will end,” Podolyak said. He said that Ukraine is specifically asking for armored personnel vehicles and tanks to be able to support its battlefield momentum.
But Germany, so far, has been unwilling to grant the request. The German government did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday night, but has emphasized it is coordinating its response with allies.
“No country has delivered Western-built infantry fighting vehicles or main battle tanks so far,” German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said in an event in Berlin this week. “We have agreed with our partners that Germany will not take such action unilaterally.”
In a Monday news conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Chancellor Olaf Scholz listed what he called “extensive” German weaponry already supplied, saying it had been crucial in the success of the counteroffensive.
Virtually no outside nations have provided tanks to Ukraine, instead sending aging models such as the M113, an armored personnel carrier with tracks that was first fielded by the United States in the 1960s. Denmark provided 54 M113s that were upgraded by Germany and then sent to Ukraine, according to the German defense ministry.
Poland and the Czech Republic have sent a few hundred Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukraine, with Germany promising to backfill their supplies. There is little doubt now that Ukraine could make use of more modern equipment, even if it would require further training.
On Monday, a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon, said that the Ukrainians have shown in their counteroffensive that they are “quite effective” while using armored vehicles.
“So clearly, that kind of capability is important,” the defense official said, adding that the United States does not have any “specific plans about a specific capability at this point.”
Since the first days of Russia’s military offensive, Germany has been accused of dragging its feet on arms deliveries to Kyiv. Initially, as Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s borders, Berlin said its unique world war history, and long-standing policy, meant it could not send weapons.
Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, as part of what was seen as a sea-change in the country’s defense policy, Germany said it would send arms. But the government, led by Scholz, a social democrat, has still agonized over sending heavier weapons, and since then has been criticized for the speed and scope of deliveries.
Under public and political pressure, Berlin in April announced that it had approved shipping German-made self-propelled antiaircraft guns to Ukraine, with 24 sent so far. But it has resisted calls to send tanks, including the German-made Leopard 2.
According to German media reports, the manufacturer has 100 ready to send.
During a visit to Kyiv on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the Yalta European Strategy conference that Germany is “150 percent at the side of Ukraine and the people of Ukraine.”
But in a joint news conference with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, Baerbock did not commit to supplying the equipment that Kyiv has been requesting. “As the situation on the ground changes, we are reexamining our support and will discuss further steps,” she said.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Kuleba echoed Podolyak, adding that Ukraine was also hoping for Marder infantry fighting vehicles. The Leopard is a tank operated by numerous NATO allies, including Canada, Poland and Turkey, while the Marder is an armored vehicle with tracks that carries infantrymen and does not have a large-caliber “main gun.”
“Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now — to liberate people and save them from genocide,” Kuleba wrote. “Not a single rational argument on why these weapons cannot be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?”
Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats have historically espoused a policy of detente toward Russia, while the chancellor himself is known for an extremely cautious public style.
His government has voiced various arguments for resisting pressure to expand arms deliveries — from not wanting to trigger World War III, to saying Ukrainian troops would need training in order to operate modern weaponry. But often the statements have been contradictory.
Germany had initially said it could not spare any of its Marder infantry fighting vehicles, but later pursued a deal to send them to Slovenia so the eastern European country could send its own Soviet-era tanks onto Ukraine. Berlin entered into a similar arrangement with Poland and the Czech Republic, a swap system meant to get tanks to Ukrainian forces more quickly, but those efforts have largely stalled.
Scholz says he is carefully coordinating deliveries with western partners. And in a 90-minute call with Putin on Tuesday, Scholz said he stressed that Russia must withdraw its troops and respect Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty. But even among NATO allies there appears to be some frustration with Berlin.
In an interview with German television station ZDF on Monday, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said she welcomed Germany’s efforts in support of Ukraine but “my expectations are even higher.”
The war in Ukraine has posed a challenge to Germany’s standing in Europe.
In the early days of the war, Germany, long dependent on Russian fossil fuel, was a notable sanctions holdout, particularly on energy. The Baltic nations and Poland called for a full and immediate energy embargo. Germany and others opposed the idea, arguing it would hurt Europe more than the Kremlin.
Though evidence of Russian atrocities in Bucha helped get Germany and the rest of the bloc to phase out most oil imports from Russia, frustration with Berlin has lingered, particularly in Ukraine and among central and eastern European states.
In April, Zelensky rebuffed the offer of a visit from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has a complicated history with Ukraine because of his role in the failed Minsk peace accords.
In a recent interview with Der Spiegel, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called out German energy policy and said that on Ukraine, “Berlin’s hesitation, its inaction, seriously calls into question the value of the alliance with Germany.”
“And we are not the only ones saying that,” he continued. “I am hearing this from quite a few other heads of government in Europe as well.”
Ukraine’s current pressure campaign on Germany comes after the latest meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of dozens of nations organized by the Pentagon. Ukrainian officials, including Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, attended and briefed the group, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Germany has defended its record and called attention to its financial and military assistance to Ukraine. In diplomatic and policy circles, however, there is still much talk of Germany’s fading leadership within the European Union and in European security more broadly.
The question now is whether Ukraine’s most recent offensive will change Berlin’s calculus, spurring another major foreign policy shift.
“I understand that there is still a certain conservative thinking, there are certain fears, and there is a certain regret about the missed opportunities in the energy sector with the Russian Federation,” Podolyak said. “We all understand this, but there will be no return to the past. And now, in my opinion, is coming a critical moment for Germany when it is necessary to express its real position, the position of the European leader.”
Morris reported from Berlin, Rauhala from Brussels and Lamothe from Washington. Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The latest: Grain shipments from Ukraine are gathering pace under the agreement hammered out by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports had sent food prices soaring and raised fears of more hunger in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including loads of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed.
The fight: The conflict on the ground grinds on as Russia uses its advantage in heavy artillery to pummel Ukrainian forces, which have sometimes been able to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukrainian hopes rest on liberating the Russia-occupied Kherson region, and ultimately Cri...
Nichols, Paul Helping Lead Arkansas’ To 2-0 Start https://digitalarkansasnews.com/nichols-paul-helping-lead-arkansas-to-2-0-start/
FAYETTEVILLE — Redshirt senior defensive tackle Isaiah Nichols and redshirt freshman linebacker Chris Paul have been key members of the No. 10 Arkansas’ start to season.
Isaiah Nichols has been at Arkansas for what is now his fifth football season, but growing up in Arkansas he was very familiar with Bobby Petrino who was 34-17 in four seasons with the Hogs. Following Tuesday’s practice, Nichols talked about now facing Petrino and Missouri State.
“Most definitely,” Nichols said. “Growing up in this state, living in Arkansas and growing up in Arkansas, everybody looks up to Arkansas football. Growing up on Saturdays watching the Hogs, I was around 10 or 11 around those years, and growing up watching that kind of makes you want to play football. That’s part of the reason why I fell in love with football just seeing them play and play hard having those two seasons with 22 wins in those seasons. I remember growing up watching the Cotton Bowl and stuff like that. I would say most definitely growing up here and looking up to those guys and seeing the brand of football they played, I enjoy keeping up that tradition of Arkansas football.”
Paul said the fact Petrino was very successful at Arkansas came up when he was being recruited by Sam Pittman.
“Yes, definitely,” Paul said. “Throughout my whole recruitment process with Coach Pittman and Arkansas, all he talked about was those past years. We kind of fell off a little bit, but Coach Pittman wanted to work us back to the winning program that we are. That was definitely every visit, every phone call, every time he could bring it up, he would.”
Paul played well against South Carolina. With Bumper Pool and Drew Sanders at linebacker Paul is still getting extensive action.
“I just take it one day at a time,” Paul said. “I take it as a way to get better. I’ve got two great guys in front of me in Drew Sanders and Bumper Pool, and I just feed off their energy and learn as much as I can from the two vets that have played in the SEC and things like that. Like I said, I just take it one day at a time and get better.”
Deke Adams has rotated his defensive line and that is something pleasing to Nichols. Even with a night game on Saturday the temperatures are starting to creep up again in Northwest Arkansas.
“It’s great,” Nichols said. “There was a point in the game, I think it was maybe towards the end of the first quarter, and Coach Adams said, ‘Nobody that’s played so far has gotten over eight snaps.’ I that really helps us being able to give 100% every play throughout the whole game. Having a coach like Coach Adams, he’s a seasoned veteran. He knows what he’s doing. He knows the game of football and he knows what it takes to have a successful D-line.
“So I think it’s great. Especially being a defensive lineman, you have to be able to give everything you’ve got and play on the offensive side on the line of scrimmage. So being able to rotate and knowing you have guys going in that can get the job done just as good as you can. Everybody has their own thing they bring to the game. I really enjoy not having the weight of the whole game on myself or any of the other guys by themselves. It’s good knowing we have depth and guys that can go in and get the job done.”
In the offseason, Arkansas brought in defensive tackle Terry Hampton (Arkansas State) and ends Jordan Domineck (Georgia Tech) and Landon Jackson (LSU). They have impressed Nichols.
“I think bringing new guys in, it’s not a thing where I feel threatened,” Nichols said. “I don’t feel threatened in the sense where, ‘Aw, they don’t believe in me, and this and this and that.’ It’s like, if we need help, we need help. If I start or don’t play and those guys are ahead of me and they’re playing more than me, then that’s on me.
“I have to go out and put the work in. I have to show Coach that he can trust me to be in the game and do my job and do it efficiently, at the highest level possible. So I’m all for bringing more guys in, because obviously we wouldn’t bring people in if we didn’t need them. All the new guys we brought in, we have a good brotherhood in the D-line room. We all get along together well. We all feed off each other. I think they all play a very vital, key role in this defense.”
Arkansas (2-0) will play host to Missouri State (2-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 on ESPN+/SECN+.
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