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Comedian Ariel Elias Goes Viral For Chugging Beer Thrown At Her By Drunk MAGA Heckler https://digitalarkansasnews.com/comedian-ariel-elias-goes-viral-for-chugging-beer-thrown-at-her-by-drunk-maga-heckler/ A Jewish comedian turned an awful moment into a pretty hilarious one when she showed how to deal with drunk hecklers yelling at her about Joe Biden on a touring comedy show. The incident occurred at Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club at Point Pleasant, New Jersey while Ariel Elias was performing. She confirmed the incident was real online and posted a full video of the ordeal. Elias, who was accompanied by fellow stand-up Gianmarco Scoresi told Buzzfeed News that a group of about 20 was drinking heavily upon their arrival, and apparently attracted their attention because they were all wearing slightly offensive Mexican-themed outfits. She apparently did a few minutes of material before launching into a Q&A segment to allow for some audience participation. This is when the video begins, and the heckler is heard offscreen asking Elias “Did you vote for Donald Trump?” The woman apparently already knew the answer to her own question, because she responded “No,” when Elias asked what she thought. “Why would you ask me that in here, knowing I’m the only Jew in this room? Are you trying to get me killed? If it makes you feel any better, I voted in New York, so it doesn’t matter there,” Elias said. “I don’t care who you voted for, I’m just happy we’re all here together,” Elias said, trying to deescalate, but the woman quickly interjects with a, “So you voted for Biden?” “I could just tell by your jokes you voted for Biden,” the heckler said. “I can tell by the fact that you’re still talking when nobody wants you to that you voted for Trump,” the comic hit back. “Make some noise if you want her to shut up,” Elias added soon after, to loud applause from the rest of the audience. She then reflects that she started the Q&A segment, joking, “That’s on me for thinking I can have a human interaction with somebody.” As she tries to go back into her routine, a beer can collides with the wall next to her, and Elias looks shocked for a moment. A security worker is heard saying, “Come on buddy, you can’t do that,” and another voice offscreen says in an annoyed tone, “I’m never coming out with these people ever again.” Ariel then broke the tension in a hilarious way: by grabbing the beer can thrown at her and drinking the rest of it to cheers from the crowd. The comedy club owner Dino Ibelli confirmed he had been in contact with the police and that the people who heckled Elias and threw the beer can were reportedly a male and female couple. They left the venue after the incident, but it should not have been allowed to escalate that far. Here’s the clip pic.twitter.com/soeG3dixP4 — Ariel Elias (@Ariel_Comedy) October 9, 2022 Following the incident, plenty of famous comedians including Patton Oswalt, Whitney Cummings and Jimmy Kimmel have voiced their support for her. She may even have secured her first late-night TV appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! thanks to this situation. Jimmy Kimmel tweeted out Ariel Elias’ awful heckler clip and this happened. Those rancid hecklers have hopefully blown her career up: pic.twitter.com/tInSmWnkcR — Kirsty Webeck (@KirstyWebeck) October 10, 2022 I’d really appreciate it if anyone could please just let my teachers know that chugging a beer has in fact been great for my career. — Ariel Elias (@Ariel_Comedy) October 9, 2022 Read more about: Read More Here

Facts Matter: Musk Didn https://digitalarkansasnews.com/facts-matter-musk-didn/ Elon Musk’s on-and-off deal to purchase Twitter actually could be finalized as the billionaire and SpaceX founder has expressed renewed interest in making it happen at a price of nearly $44 billion. Although it’s not a done deal and could fall apart again, some social media users claimed Musk already was in charge and making changes. “Donald Trump is back on Twitter and he made sure to thank Elon Musk,” read an Oct. 9 Facebook post, which included a screenshot of a tweet that appeared to be written by Trump, reading, “Thank you Elon Musk, I’m Back!!” But that tweet didn’t come from the former president, according to PolitiFact. Trump’s Twitter account was shut down permanently for violating the platform’s policy against inciting violence following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol building. His account remains suspended. The tweet supposedly sent by Trump came from an account with a name different from the Twitter name the former president used before the ban. While talking about his plan to buy Twitter, Musk has criticized the platform’s policies about banning some accounts and said he would restore Trump’s account because the suspension was “a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme.” Inflation didn’t drop drastically A Twitter user recently shared information that could be good news for consumers, and for the president. “BREAKING: New data has dropped that inflation has dropped to half of what it was a year ago. That’s a Biden Win!” read the Oct. 3 tweet. But that claim doesn’t match the actual data, according to The Associated Press. Although inflation has slowed, prices continue to rise. Johns Hopkins Carey Business School professor of economics Alessandro Rebucci told the AP there has not been a “decisive turnaround” regarding inflation. “There is no hard evidence of either inflation falling sharply on a monthly basis, on a quarterly basis, on a semiannual basis, on a yearly basis, or announcement of any substantial revision of official statistics,” Rebucci said. A drop in gas prices slowed the rate of inflation in July and August but most other prices continued to rise and the increase in core prices “outpaced expectations,” the AP said. Judge Cannon still on bench U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision to allow Trump’s request for a special master has received widespread media coverage and scrutiny from others in the legal profession. By her order, a special master is reviewing documents seized from Trump’s Florida residence during an FBI search. Trump, while president, nominated Cannon for that position in the Southern District of Florida. Since her ruling, some social media posts have claimed Cannon is facing repercussions for her decision. “Trump’s corrupt judge loses her license after major scandal,” read a Sept. 30 Facebook post. An Oct. 1 Facebook post takes it a bit further. “Trump betrays Judge Cannon and police have just taken her away, she was being used by Trump,” the Oct. 1 post read. But Cannon hasn’t been removed from the bench or arrested, according to PolitiFact. The judge’s license is in good standing and she has had no disciplinary history since she was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2012. Cannon’s ruling has been frowned upon by some in the law community. “(Her decision is) an unprecedented intervention by a federal district judge into the middle of an ongoing federal criminal and national security investigation,” University of Washington law professor Stephen Vladeck told The New York Times. Facial data doesn’t leave cellphone Facial recognition technology is used to unlock phones, and Snapchat offers filters for users to change their facial appearance by adding features such as dog ears, sunglasses and mustaches. Some social media users are claiming there is more to the technology. “Snapchat filters are a facial recognition database created by the FBI. You don’t believe me? Google: Patent US9396354,” read an Oct. 3 Facebook post. That’s false, according to USA Today. The technology doesn’t collect data that can be used to identify a person. A spokesperson for Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, told USA Today that data used for the filters doesn’t leave the user’s device and is never sent to the company’s servers. As for the patent, Milwaukee School of Engineering professor Derek Riley told USA Today it was a “big red flag,” and has nothing to do with the FBI database. The patent actually is for technology that alters a person’s image to protect that individual’s privacy, he said. “For example, if a celebrity was on a privacy blocking list, this could be used to obscure his or her face in images taken without permission prior to that image being shared on social media,” Riley said. • Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com. Read More Here

OKC Thunder Sign Isaiah Joe To A Multi-Year Deal, Firm Up Roster https://digitalarkansasnews.com/okc-thunder-sign-isaiah-joe-to-a-multi-year-deal-firm-up-roster/ Isaiah Joe #7 of the Philadelphia 76ers poses at 76ers Training Complex on September 26, 2022 in Camden, New Jersey. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) The Oklahoma City Thunder have made yet another transaction ahead of the 2022-23 NBA regular season, which tips off for the league Tuesday with OKC starting their season on Wednesday. The NBA mandates that teams get their roster down to 17 players, including two two-way deals, by Monday, October 17th. Today, the Thunder signed Isaiah Joe to a multi-year deal, firming up their roster ahead of the season. Isaiah Joe was selected with the 19th pick of the second round in the 2020 NBA draft, 49th overall, out of the University of Arkansas. The 23-year-old guard has shown flashes of being an NBA-caliber player on the contending 76ers, playing in 96 games in his NBA career thus far. The Oklahoma City Thunder have inked Isaiah Joe to a multi-year deal ahead of the 2022-23 NBA Regular season, setting their roster up for the start of the season The Oklahoma City Thunder signing Isaiah Joe to a multi-year deal is a little more complicated than it sounds. The Thunder and Joe might have technically agreed with Joe on a multi-year deal, but each year past the 2022-23 season will have some language such as non-guarantees or opt-outs to make it easy for the organization to get out of should they so choose. No matter what you call the deal, it boils down to a “prove it” contract, Joe will have a shot at more NBA time, especially in the second half of this season, to showcase his skillset without a true long-term commitment from OKC. To his point in his career, Joe has played in 96 games, making two starts on his way to averaging three points and a rebound per game while shooting 33 percent. His numbers extend to 12 points, three rebounds, and as many assists with a steal per game if you look at his per 36 numbers. From Fort Smith Arkansas, Joe shares the same hometown and University as Jaylin Williams who the OKC Thunder selected with the 34th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. With this move, the Oklahoma City Thunder will need to waive David Nwaba, Scotty Hopson, Trey Burke, and Marquese Chriss to get within roster compliance. The Houston Rockets have already waived each player they received from the OKC Thunder, now the Thunder will do the same by Monday. Read More Here

Suspected Stockton Serial Killer Caught With Gun While ‘out Hunting’, Police Chief Says https://digitalarkansasnews.com/suspected-stockton-serial-killer-caught-with-gun-while-out-hunting-police-chief-says/ A Stockton man has been arrested in connection to a series of killings in Stockton and one in Oakland, authorities announced on Saturday. He could face charges for the murders of six men. Wesley Brownlee, 43, of Stockton was arrested this morning “while out hunting,” police Chief Stanley McFadden said at a news conference with City Manager Harry Black, Mayor Kevin Lincoln and San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar.McFadden believes they “stopped another killing.” The police chief said the arrest was made possible thanks to community tips and the work of the police department.”Our surveillance team followed this person while he was driving. We watched his patterns and determined early this morning he was on a mission to kill. He was out hunting,” McFadden said. He was caught around 2 a.m. on Saturday at Winslow Way and Village Green Drive and was wearing dark clothing with a mask around his neck and armed with a firearm.Stockton’s mayor said the city will be able to get past this and that public safety is their number one priority.”I want to make this very very clear, to the people of Stockton, to the United States and around the world. When the people of Stockton come together and we unite we can get things done. Stockton will be a place where people can live, raise a family and grow a business,” Mayor Kevin Lincoln said.Salazar on the arrest of Brownlee said, “The crime was solved because we’re Stockton. You don’t come to our house and bring this reign of terror.” Video below: San Joaquin County DA speaks on arrestBrownlee will appear in court on Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Salazar said the district attorney’s office is working to determine the charges against him.Officials are still unsure what the motive behind the killings are, but said his patterns were consistent. | MORE | What we’re learning about victims of the Stockton serial killingsSix men were killed — five in Stockton this year and one in Oakland last year. The victims were identified by police as:35-year-old Paul Alexander Yaw43-year-old Salvador William Debudey Jr.21-year-old Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez52-year-old Juan Cruz52-year-old Lorenzo LopezThe victim in Oakland was a 40-year-old Hispanic man. Affiliate KTVU reported that the coroner identified the man as Juan Miguel Vasquez Serrano.A 46-year-old Black woman is the only known survivor of the shootings. Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said the woman biked to an encampment at Park and Union streets in Stockton where she was shot on April 16, 2021, at around 3:30 a.m.The woman was by a tent when she saw a man, dressed in all dark clothing, wearing a dark face mask and a dark jacket. She said the man was anywhere between 5 foot 10 inches to 6 foot 2 inches.The woman told police that no words were exchanged between them and that she tried defending herself by advancing toward him. She was hit multiple times by gunfire.Where did the shootings happen?Most of the deadly shootings happened in Stockton within a four-mile radius of one another. The shooting where the woman survived happened to the south of the five deadly shootings.Here’s a map with more information:Authorities ask for people to continue to send in tipsMcFadden said it is still a “very active investigation.” “Just because an arrest was made, does not mean the investigation stops,” McFadden said. He said they still need more tips to come in. A tip line will remain open for people to submit information at 209-937-8167. People can email tips to at policetips@stocktonca.gov. Video surveillance can be submitted to Stocktonpdca.evidence.com. This is a developing story, stay with KCRA 3 for the latest.-KCRA 3’s Hilda Flores contributed to this report. STOCKTON, Calif. — A Stockton man has been arrested in connection to a series of killings in Stockton and one in Oakland, authorities announced on Saturday. He could face charges for the murders of six men. Wesley Brownlee, 43, of Stockton was arrested this morning “while out hunting,” police Chief Stanley McFadden said at a news conference with City Manager Harry Black, Mayor Kevin Lincoln and San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar. McFadden believes they “stopped another killing.” The police chief said the arrest was made possible thanks to community tips and the work of the police department. “Our surveillance team followed this person while he was driving. We watched his patterns and determined early this morning he was on a mission to kill. He was out hunting,” McFadden said. He was caught around 2 a.m. on Saturday at Winslow Way and Village Green Drive and was wearing dark clothing with a mask around his neck and armed with a firearm. 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. Stockton’s mayor said the city will be able to get past this and that public safety is their number one priority. “I want to make this very very clear, to the people of Stockton, to the United States and around the world. When the people of Stockton come together and we unite we can get things done. Stockton will be a place where people can live, raise a family and grow a business,” Mayor Kevin Lincoln said. Salazar on the arrest of Brownlee said, “The crime was solved because we’re Stockton. You don’t come to our house and bring this reign of terror.” Video below: San Joaquin County DA speaks on arrest Brownlee will appear in court on Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Salazar said the district attorney’s office is working to determine the charges against him. Officials are still unsure what the motive behind the killings are, but said his patterns were consistent. | MORE | What we’re learning about victims of the Stockton serial killings Six men were killed — five in Stockton this year and one in Oakland last year. The victims were identified by police as: 35-year-old Paul Alexander Yaw 43-year-old Salvador William Debudey Jr. 21-year-old Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez 52-year-old Juan Cruz 52-year-old Lorenzo Lopez The victim in Oakland was a 40-year-old Hispanic man. Affiliate KTVU reported that the coroner identified the man as Juan Miguel Vasquez Serrano. A 46-year-old Black woman is the only known survivor of the shootings. Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said the woman biked to an encampment at Park and Union streets in Stockton where she was shot on April 16, 2021, at around 3:30 a.m. The woman was by a tent when she saw a man, dressed in all dark clothing, wearing a dark face mask and a dark jacket. She said the man was anywhere between 5 foot 10 inches to 6 foot 2 inches. The woman told police that no words were exchanged between them and that she tried defending herself by advancing toward him. She was hit multiple times by gunfire. Where did the shootings happen? Most of the deadly shootings happened in Stockton within a four-mile radius of one another. The shooting where the woman survived happened to the south of the five deadly shootings. Here’s a map with more information: Authorities ask for people to continue to send in tips McFadden said it is still a “very active investigation.” “Just because an arrest was made, does not mean the investigation stops,” McFadden said. He said they still need more tips to come in. A tip line will remain open for people to submit information at 209-937-8167. People can email tips to at policetips@stocktonca.gov. Video surveillance can be submitted to Stocktonpdca.evidence.com. This is a developing story, stay with KCRA 3 for the latest. -KCRA 3’s Hilda Flores contributed to this report. Read More Here

Biden, Campaigning For Oregon's Kotek, Warns About Trump's Impact On States https://digitalarkansasnews.com/biden-campaigning-for-oregons-kotek-warns-about-trumps-impact-on-states/ By Jeff Mason PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden warned that former President Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican Party would spill into state government on Saturday during an event to boost Democrat Tina Kotek in Oregon’s tight race for governor. Biden, who is finishing a western travel swing that included stops in Colorado and California, came to Oregon in part to help Kotek, who supporters hope will keep the governorship in Democratic hands in a state the president won handily in 2020. Kotek is running against Republican Christine Drazan and an independent candidate, Betsy Johnson, a former Democrat who is financially backed by Nike co-founder Phil Knight. Recent public opinion polls suggest Drazan has pulled into the lead. Biden, a Democrat, praised Kotek as an “articulate, tough, committed woman” and emphasized the stakes of state leadership contests. “As long as Trump controls the Republican Party, he’s going to have incredible impact on state legislative bodies,” and state government, Biden said at a reception for Kotek. He said the role of governors in the country was increasing exponentially and said Kotek’s race mattered well beyond Oregon. “She’s rational. She’s smart,” he said of Kotek. Thirty-six of the 50 U.S. states will elect governors in November’s U.S. elections, with potential impact on abortion access, transgender rights, education and future state elections. Trump has falsely asserted that the 2020 presidential election he lost was marred by widespread fraud. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Paul Simao) Copyright 2022 Thomson Reuters. Read More Here

’My Dear Andrew’: Convicted Sex Trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell Gives Bombshell Interview https://digitalarkansasnews.com/my-dear-andrew-convicted-sex-trafficker-ghislaine-maxwell-gives-bombshell-interview/ Ghislaine Maxwell has spoken for the first time from jail about her “dear friend” Prince Andrew. In a world exclusive interview from the prison where she is serving 20 years for trafficking teenage girls, she confessed: “I feel so bad for him. I follow what is happening to him.’’ Maxwell, 60, appeared shaken when told the Prince’s lawyers had claimed they were never close, before adding sadly: “I accept that this friendship could not survive my conviction. “He is paying such a price for the association. I consider him a dear friend. I care about him.” It comes as the Duke of York struggles to rescue his image in the face of hostile public opinion and the heartbreak of his mother the Queen’s death, The Sun reports. In two explosive interviews, one of which was conducted face-to-face in prison, Maxwell even told how she is now convinced Andrew is a victim of faked evidence. She also spoke for the first time of her close friendships with former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and her association with “the greatest regret of my life’’, paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Our first meeting, conducted as part of an upcoming CBS-Paramount Plus special, took place in June this year inside New York’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Centre, followed by another lengthy interview conducted remotely from her current jail in Florida. Speaking for the first time since her arrest in July 2020, Maxwell talked of her regrets over her association with billionaire financier and sex abuser Epstein, claiming it had turned her into a “wicked witch” hate figure and damaged those she loved. And she revealed she longs to turn back the clock. “I said in my court statement that meeting Epstein was the greatest mistake of my life,” Maxwell admits. “And obviously, if I could go back today, I would avoid meeting him, and I would make different choices.” Andrew was not the only friend she lost over her links to the tycoon, who was found dead in his cell, aged 66, in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Former US President Bill Clinton, who travelled on the tycoon’s “Lolita Express” private jet, was another relationship she valued. “It was a special friendship, which continued over the years,” she said. “We had lots in common. I feel bad that he is another victim, only because of his association with Jeffrey. I understand he, like others, can no longer consider me as a friend.” Heavy price One of the few people to have shown her any loyalty, she says, is former President Donald Trump. “We knew each other and mingled in the same circles, in New York, Palm Beach. I was very grateful when he wished me well after (the arrest). He got bad media for it, but he dared, while others didn’t. “I was honoured he remembered me. Well, he is known to say what he thinks. It gave me a big boost.” Maxwell complained friends were “cancelled” just for knowing her. “There are many people who have been impacted by this story,” she said. “Friends of mine who never even met Epstein lost their jobs. People who literally had nothing to do with him whatsoever have been cancelled. “For all those people …  I think it’s been a very heavy price that has been paid by the cancel culture. It’s been very difficult for a lot of people.” Despite that, she admitted she was hurt by the lack of loyalty from so-called friends once desperate for a place in her social circle. “There are people who have disappointed me and there are people I’m surprised have not, you know, been a little more proactive,” she said. “I completely understand people have livelihoods to protect … children to protect. “But having said that, there are people who have stood by me privately. Quite a few, actually, and I’m extremely appreciative of their private support. “I have friends who I have literally known my entire life since I was at kindergarten. It’s good to know there are people out there who know who I am, really.” As for the others, Maxwell believes they have accepted a false version of her as the “Wicked Witch” in Epstein’s story. “All this is a fictional version of me,” she said. “It has been created to fit the storyline. It has absolutely nothing to do with who I am. “I find it curious that so many people choose to contribute to the fake, created version, sort of like a Disney character, the Wicked Witch, if you will. The real people who know me and still love me have never spoken.” An intelligent woman who graduated from Oxford University with a modern languages degree — and says she has worked all her life — Maxwell hates to show weakness. She said: “I think there are many women who can identify with my story. Many have either fallen in love with or had relationships with men that in hindsight they look back on and say, ‘What was I thinking?’ I imagine there’s not a woman on the planet who would not think that about one or other of their boyfriends.” But she said she would not discuss individuals — Epstein, Prince Andrew or Scott Borgerson, the husband who reportedly dumped her in a prison phone call — until her appeal has been heard. Maxwell even refused to deny reports she and Andrew were once a couple, claiming: “I have read and seen and heard and had reported to me so many monstrous inaccuracies that I can’t even start to pick apart all of them. “If I pick apart one and don’t address all the others, it’s going to be, ‘Well, she said no to this. What about all those others?’ “So I’m not going to discuss anything of that nature. After the appeal, I’m going to be super-happy to address with you any of those things.” But could they become friends in the future? She said: “I don’t have an expectation. People who I have been friends with — and very close friends with … I can’t think about what they will want to do or not do.” In an astonishing U-turn, Maxwell branded one of the most damaging exhibits in the case against Andrew a forgery  … the infamous photo of him with his hand clutching teenage sex slave Virginia Giuffre’s bare midriff. ‘This photo is not real’ Said to have been taken at Maxwell’s London home in March 2001, it shows her standing in the background, grinning broadly. “This photo is not real,” she insisted, backing Andrew’s earlier claim. “There was never an original one produced.” She refused to say more on Giuffre — who sued the Prince for sex abuse and accepted a reported $12 million in damages earlier this year — adding, with a dismissive wave: “I don’t even want to start talking about Virginia.” The Prince dropped his defence against Giuffre’s lawsuit and agreed to pay up — turning him into the Palace pariah, banned from royal duties — after a damaging 2015 email from Ghislaine emerged. Epstein’s lawyer Alan Dershowitz had asked her if the picture was real. She replied: “It looks real. I think it is.” Challenged on that now, Maxwell insisted: “I don’t recognise that picture and I don’t believe it is a real picture.” Then she claimed that all she meant to say in that email was that she recognised her own house. “I said, it is that image that, whatever it is, I recognise it as my house,” she explained in a rambling response. “But I have come to discover that image I don’t believe is true. And the original has never been produced because it doesn’t exist. I don’t believe that image is a true image.” So did she reply to Dershowitz without thinking? “If you see a photograph and it’s a photograph of you in your home, and someone says to you, is that a picture of you? So you don’t question. It would never occur to me that at that time that somebody would have created a photograph or, you know, done something with a picture …  I recognised the surroundings of that photograph, nothing more than that.” Maxwell claims there are “over 50 problems with the picture” that led her to come to the conclusion that it was a fake. This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission Read related topics:Prince Andrew Read More Here

Former Trump Attorney: Trump Doesn't Want To Be President. He Wants To Be Dictator https://digitalarkansasnews.com/former-trump-attorney-trump-doesnt-want-to-be-president-he-wants-to-be-dictator/ Found the story interesting? Like us on Facebook to see similar stories Read More Here

October 15, 2022 Russia-Ukraine News | CNN https://digitalarkansasnews.com/october-15-2022-russia-ukraine-news-cnn/ See new ‘kamikaze’ drones used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine 02:41 – Source: CNN Two gunmen opened fire on recruits at a Russian military training ground, killing at least 11 people Saturday, according to Russia’s state media. The shooters were said to be from former Soviet states. A UN envoy accused Russia of using rape as a “military strategy” in Ukraine, saying there are dozens of documented sexual violence cases involving troops. Russian forces launched hundreds of missile strikes at civilian targets in Ukraine this week, a US military official said. More came Saturday, damaging an energy facility near Kyiv and pounding Zaporizhzhia. Moscow announced evacuations from the occupied Kherson region, where a Russia-backed official said the Ukrainian counteroffensive has intensified. Our live coverage has ended for the day. You can scroll through the updates below or click here for more on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Two gunmen opened fire on Russian military recruits at a training ground in Russia’s Belgorod region, killing at least 11 people and wounding another 15, Russia’s state news agency TASS reports. The attack happened Saturday during a training session at the Western Military District, according to TASS, which cited the Russian Defense Ministry. The gunmen were said to be from former Soviet states. Russian officials have branded the attack an act of terrorism. “As a result of a terrorist attack at a military training ground in the Belgorod region, 11 people were killed, 15 were injured and are receiving medical assistance,” TASS reported. “The incident occurred during a shooting training session with volunteers preparing for a special operation. The terrorists attacked the personnel of the unit with small-arms fire.” According to TASS, two individuals who committed the “terrorist act” were killed in retaliatory fire at the training ground. The Belgorod region is in western Russia on the border with Ukraine. Very fierce battles are taking place around the eastern Donetsk region, and the Ukrainian military is holding its position there, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Saturday. “Active operations continue in various areas of the front. A very difficult situation persists in Donetsk region and Luhansk,” Zelensky said, referring to another eastern region that has been occupied by Russian troops for months. “The most difficult is the Bakhmut direction, as in the previous days. We hold our positions.” Bakhmut is located in the northern portion of Donetsk region. Work still to do on recaptured land: Zelensky also gave an update on the efforts to reconnect services to regions of Ukraine recently liberated from Russian forces. He said homes in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Izium, which was under Russian occupation for six months before being liberated in September, are having their supply of natural gas restored. “The first 500 families of the city already have gas in their homes again,” he said. “Just yesterday, more than 3,000 houses in the Izium, Kupiansk, Chuhuiv and Kharkiv districts of Kharkiv region were connected to the gas supply. Work is ongoing in other directions as well.” Weeks after SpaceX said the company could not keep funding the Ukrainian military’s use of its satellite services, US billionaire Elon Musk seemed to reverse course on Twitter today — though it wasn’t clear if the issue was actually settled. “The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free,” a tweet from Musk’s verified account read Saturday. If you haven’t been following this: Starlink is the name of a satellite system, made by Musk’s SpaceX, which has been a vital source of communication for Ukraine’s military. The company’s internet terminals have allowed troops to stay connected even as cellular phone and internet networks have been destroyed in the war with Russia. SpaceX has warned the Pentagon it may stop funding the service in Ukraine unless the US military kicks in tens of millions of dollars per month. The company also requested the Pentagon take over funding for Ukraine’s government and military use of Starlink, which SpaceX claims would cost more than $120 million for the rest of the year and could cost close to $400 million for the next 12 months. A Pentagon spokesperson said Friday it had been in communication with SpaceX over the funding of the Starlink satellite communication product.  “No good deed goes unpunished,” Musk said in response to a follower who replied to his tweet Saturday. “Even so, we should still do good deeds.” Ukrainian officials voice support: The situation involving Musk’s Starlink was complicated further when he publicly shared a Russia-Ukraine peace proposal this month. He faced withering criticism in Ukraine for the plan because it would see Kyiv surrender Crimea and agree to neutrality status. However, some Ukrainian officials have since extended an olive branch. Yegor “George” Dubynskyi, Ukraine’s deputy minister of digital transformation, told CNN Saturday that Starlink is crucial in newly liberated territories so that Ukrainian officials can communicate. Ukraine continues to talk with donors such as the Polish and US governments on how to continue funding Starlink, Dubynskyi said. He had no immediate response to Musk’s tweet. CNN’s Sean Lyngaas contributed to this report. The war in Ukraine, which for months appeared to be descending into a slow and painful grind, has erupted once again as winter nears. The conflict is teetering toward an unpredictable new phase. “This is now the third, fourth, possibly fifth different war that we’ve been observing,” said Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Programme. An onslaught of Russian missile attacks this week was followed by steady Ukrainian ground gains and a huge explosion on the Kerch bridge, the only crossing between the annexed Crimean peninsula and Russia. That blast bruised the Russian psyche and handed Ukraine a significant strategic boost. With the cold months nearing and likely bringing a slowdown in ground combat, experts say the next weeks of the war will be vital. “What seemed a distant prospect for anything that could be convincingly described as a Ukraine victory is now very much more plausible,” Giles said. “The response from Russia is likely to escalate further.” “Playing for the whistle”: Russia said Thursday its forces would help evacuate residents of occupied Kherson as Ukraine makes more gains in the region. The successful offensive has shifted the momentum of the war and disproved a suggestion, built up in the West and in Russia last summer, that while Ukraine could stoutly defend territory, it lacked the ability to seize ground. “The Russians are playing for the whistle – (hoping to) avoid a collapse in their frontline before the winter sets in,” Samir Puri, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the author of “Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine,” told CNN. “If they can get to Christmas with the frontline looking roughly as it is, that’s a huge success for the Russians given how botched this has been since February.” You can read Rob Picheta’s complete analysis here. Ukrainian officials say Russia has been deploying an increasingly familiar weapon in its attacks: “kamikaze drones.” Most recently, the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia was hit with four strikes by kamikaze drones overnight Saturday. Authorities said Moscow has also used them in assaults against Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Odesa and other cities across Ukraine in recent weeks. Ukrainian officials have pleaded with Western countries to step up their assistance in the face of the new challenge, in addition to developing its own technology to counter the strikes. Kamikaze drones, or suicide drones, are a type of aerial weapon system. They are known as a “loitering munition” because they are capable of waiting in an area identified as a potential target and only strike once an enemy asset is identified. The drones are capable of carrying precision-guided missiles and have a payload of approximately 50 kilograms (110 pounds). They are small, portable and can be easily launched — but their main advantage is that they are hard to detect and can be fired from a distance. The name “kamikaze” refers to the fact the drones are disposable. They are designed to hit behind the enemy lines and are destroyed in the attack – unlike the more traditional, larger and faster military drones that return home after dropping missiles. Ties to Iran: The Ukrainian military and US intelligence say Russia is using Iranian-made attack drones. US officials told CNN in July that Iran had begun showcasing Shahed series drones to Russia the previous month. US officials later said Russia bought the drones and was training its forces how to use them. According to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has ordered 2,400 Shahed-136 drones from Iran. CNN’s Josh Pennington contributed to this report. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Russian Armed Forces service personnel who took part in operations in Syria, including Sergey Surovikin, at the Kremlin on December 28, 2017. Russian Presidency There’s a new general in charge of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s devastating war on Ukraine — and he has a reputation for brutality. After Ukraine made gains in its counteroffensive in recent weeks, Russia’s Ministry of Defense named Sergey Surovikin its new overall commander for operations in the war. Notably, he previously played an instrumental role in Russia’s operations in Syria as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. During these operations Russian combat aircraft caused widespread devastatio...

Return Wyden For Another Term https://digitalarkansasnews.com/return-wyden-for-another-term/ Oregon’s senior U.S. senator, Democrat Ron Wyden, began his political career by upsetting veteran Bob Duncan in Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District in 1980. He was just 31 at the time. He cruised to overwhelming re-election in the House until 1996, when he edged Gordon Smith for the right to succeed Republican Bob Packwood in the Senate. He has since accumulated seniority to the point he is now chairing the powerful Senate Finance Committee. A tireless campaigner, famous for holding town halls in every county in the state, he has proven so formidable that he has never faced a serious challenge since the Smith race. And Jo Rae Perkins certainly doesn’t figure to give him one this year. Wyden was born in Kansas to Jewish refugees uprooted by the Nazi takeover in their native Germany. He grew up in Palo Alto, California, where he went on to earn a degree in political science at Stanford University. He came north to earn a law degree at the University of Oregon. Afterward, he became a champion of the elderly, using that as a springboard for public office. A financial adviser, Perkins holds an A.A. from Linn-Benton Community College and B.A. from Oregon State University. A vocal election denier and QAnon advocate from Albany, she operates on the Oregon Republican Party’s extreme right fringe. She was among Jan. 6 protesters in Washington, D.C., but says she did not enter the Capitol and blamed the violence on Antifa infiltrators. Perkins has become something of a perennial candidate, mounting campaigns for U.S. Senate in 2014 and 2020 and 4th District Congress in 2016 and 2018. Upon winning the GOP Senate nomination in 2020, she said, “I stand with President Trump. I stand with Q and the team.” Five days after losing badly to Jeff Merkley, she announced her 2022 Senate campaign at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Salem. Perkins’ personal life has been as checkered as her political life. She filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and 2009. In 2008, she was fired by an investment firm for violating company policy. In 2010, she was stripped of Certified Financial Planner status by the issuing agency. She was arrested in 2005 on charges of harassment and hindering prosecution. Allegedly covering up for a son attempting to evade law enforcement after being stopped for speeding, she pleaded no contest, an admission the charges could likely be proven at trial. Perkins is an embarrassment. She is not remotely deserving of a seat in the U.S. Senate. Read More Here

Whistleblower Says Trump Media Allegedly Violated US Securities Laws – Reports – UrduPoint https://digitalarkansasnews.com/whistleblower-says-trump-media-allegedly-violated-us-securities-laws-reports-urdupoint/ WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 16th October, 2022) Trump Media & Technology Group Corporation could have violated securities laws, and Former US President Donald Trump, who is the majority owner of Trump Media, allegedly pressured company executives with respect to their company shares, one of the first employees of Trump Media told The Washington Post. Will Wilkerson, who was one of the original founders of Truth Social, Trump‘s social media platform that was established shortly after the former president’s permanent suspension from Twitter, was an executive at Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social. Wilkerson filed a whistleblower complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August, and also shared internal documents with The Washington Post, which reported on his complaint on Saturday. According to the newspaper, Wilkerson alleges that Trump Media violated securities laws and that Trump pressured executives to hand over their shares to his wife, Melania. Trump allegedly threatened to “blow up the company” if his demands were not met, according to an email Wilkerson and his attorneys shared with The Washington Post. Wilkerson and his attorneys also allege that Trump Media‘s bid to raise money via an investment vehicle known as a special purpose acquisition company relied on “fraudulent misrepresentations … in violation of Federal securities laws.” Wilkerson also told The Washington Post that “bitter infighting, technical failures and a chaotic jockeying for power among Trump allies” had undermined Trump Media‘s potential and “left some employees crying at their desks.” Wilkerson was fired from his job as a senior vice president of operations at Trump Media on Thursday, after he spoke to The Washington Post, the newspaper said, adding that the company had cited Wilkerson’s “unauthorized disclosures.” Trump was banned from Twitter and Facebook (prohibited in Russia) following the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The platforms deemed that his activities in relation to the event violated their policies. The former president later launched a new social network Truth Social to fight Big Tech censorship and protect the right of free speech and expression. Read More Here

Maxwell Speaks For First Time On Her Close Friendships With Clinton & Trump https://digitalarkansasnews.com/maxwell-speaks-for-first-time-on-her-close-friendships-with-clinton-trump/ GHISLAINE Maxwell has spoken for the first time from jail about her “dear friend” Prince Andrew. In a world exclusive interview from the prison where she is serving 20 years for trafficking teenage girls, she confessed: “I feel so bad for him. I follow what is happening to him.’’ 7 Ghislaine Maxwell – pictured with Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Clinton – said of the former US President ‘It was a special friendship, which continued over the years’Credit: William J. Clinton Presidential Library 7 Donald Trump and Ghislaine attending a New York Fashion Show in 2000 – she said of Trump ‘I was very grateful when he wished me well’Credit: Getty 7 Jailed sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has given a world exclusive interview from prison Maxwell, 60, appeared shaken when told the Prince’s lawyers had claimed they were never close, before adding sadly: “I accept that this friendship could not survive my conviction. “He is paying such a price for the association. I consider him a dear friend. I care about him.” It comes as the Duke of York struggles to rescue his image in the face of hostile public opinion and the heartbreak of his mother the Queen’s death. In two explosive interviews, one of which was conducted face-to-face in prison, Maxwell even told how she is now convinced Andrew is a victim of faked evidence. She also spoke for the first time of her close friendships with former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and her association with “the greatest regret of my life’’, paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Our first meeting, conducted as part of an upcoming CBS-Paramount Plus special, took place in June this year inside New York’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Centre, followed by another lengthy interview conducted remotely from her current jail in Florida. Speaking for the first time since her arrest in July 2020, Maxwell talked of her regrets over her association with billionaire financier and sex abuser Epstein, claiming it had turned her into a “wicked witch” hate figure and damaged those she loved. And she revealed she longs to turn back the clock. “I said in my court statement that meeting Epstein was the greatest mistake of my life,” Maxwell admits. 7 Virginia Giuffre photographed with Prince Andrew and Maxwell in early 2001 as the sex trafficker insisted ‘This photo is not real’Credit: Collect 7 Maxwell – pictured at a wedding in 2000 with AndrewCredit: Camera Press 7 Sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell said Prince Andrew is a ‘dear friend’Credit: Jon Bond 7 Andrew with Maxwell, who is serving 20 years for trafficking teenage girls, at Royal Ascot in 2000Credit: Rex Features “And obviously, if I could go back today, I would avoid meeting him, and I would make different choices.” Andrew was not the only friend she lost over her links to the tycoon, who was found dead in his cell, aged 66, in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Former US President Bill Clinton, who travelled on the tycoon’s “Lolita Express” private jet, was another relationship she valued. “It was a special friendship, which continued over the years,” she said. “We had lots in common. I feel bad that he is another victim, only because of his association with Jeffrey. I understand he, like others, can no longer consider me as a friend.” Heavy price One of the few people to have shown her any loyalty, she says, is former President Donald Trump. “We knew each other and mingled in the same circles, in New York, Palm Beach. I was very grateful when he wished me well after (the arrest). He got bad media for it, but he dared, while others didn’t. “I was honoured he remembered me. Well, he is known to say what he thinks. It gave me a big boost.” Maxwell complained friends were “cancelled” just for knowing her. “There are many people who have been impacted by this story,” she said. “Friends of mine who never even met Epstein lost their jobs. People who literally had nothing to do with him whatsoever have been cancelled. “For all those people . . .  I think it’s been a very heavy price that has been paid by the cancel culture. It’s been very difficult for a lot of people.” Despite that, she admitted she was hurt by the lack of loyalty from so-called friends once desperate for a place in her social circle. “There are people who have disappointed me and there are people I’m surprised have not, you know, been a little more proactive,” she said. “I completely understand people have livelihoods to protect . . . children to protect. “But having said that, there are people who have stood by me privately. Quite a few, actually, and I’m extremely appreciative of their private support. “I have friends who I have literally known my entire life since I was at kindergarten. It’s good to know there are people out there who know who I am, really.” As for the others, Maxwell believes they have accepted a false version of her as the “Wicked Witch” in Epstein’s story. “All this is a fictional version of me,” she said. “It has been created to fit the storyline. It has absolutely nothing to do with who I am. There are many people who have been impacted by this story. “I find it curious that so many people choose to contribute to the fake, created version, sort of like a Disney character, the Wicked Witch, if you will. The real people who know me and still love me have never spoken.” An intelligent woman who graduated from Oxford University with a modern languages degree — and says she has worked all her life — Maxwell hates to show weakness. She said: “I think there are many women who can identify with my story. Many have either fallen in love with or had relationships with men that in hindsight they look back on and say, ‘What was I thinking?’ I imagine there’s not a woman on the planet who would not think that about one or other of their boyfriends.” But she said she would not discuss individuals — Epstein, Prince Andrew or Scott Borgerson, the husband who reportedly dumped her in a prison phone call — until her appeal has been heard. Maxwell even refused to deny reports she and Andrew were once a couple, claiming: “I have read and seen and heard and had reported to me so many monstrous inaccuracies that I can’t even start to pick apart all of them. “If I pick apart one and don’t address all the others, it’s going to be, ‘Well, she said no to this. What about all those others?’ “So I’m not going to discuss anything of that nature. After the appeal, I’m going to be super-happy to address with you any of those things.” But could they become friends in the future? She said: “I don’t have an expectation. People who I have been friends with — and very close friends with . . . I can’t think about what they will want to do or not do.” In an astonishing U-turn, Maxwell branded one of the most damaging exhibits in the case against Andrew a forgery  . . . the infamous photo of him with his hand clutching teenage sex slave Virginia Giuffre’s bare midriff. ‘This photo is not real’ Said to have been taken at Maxwell’s London home in March 2001, it shows her standing in the background, grinning broadly. “This photo is not real,” she insisted, backing Andrew’s earlier claim. “There was never an original one produced.” She refused to say more on Giuffre — who sued the Prince for sex abuse and accepted a reported $12million in damages earlier this year — adding, with a dismissive wave: “I don’t even want to start talking about Virginia.” The Prince dropped his defence against Giuffre’s lawsuit and agreed to pay up — turning him into the Palace pariah, banned from royal duties — after a damaging 2015 email from Ghislaine emerged. Epstein’s lawyer Alan Dershowitz had asked her if the picture was real. She replied: “It looks real. I think it is.” Challenged on that now, Maxwell insisted: “I don’t recognise that picture and I don’t believe it is a real picture.” Then she claimed that all she meant to say in that email was that she recognised her own house. “I said, it is that image that, whatever it is, I recognise it as my house,” she explained in a rambling response. “But I have come to discover that image I don’t believe is true. And the original has never been produced because it doesn’t exist. I don’t believe that image is a true image.” So did she reply to Dershowitz without thinking? “If you see a photograph and it’s a photograph of you in your home, and someone says to you, is that a picture of you? So you don’t question.  It would never occur to me that at that time that somebody would have created a photograph or, you know, done something with a picture . . .  I recognised the surroundings of that photograph, nothing more than that.” Maxwell claims there are “over 50 problems with the picture” that led her to come to the conclusion that it was a fake. The first worldwide glimpse of Daphne’s TV special will air on CBS news and ITV news at 6.30pm on Monday. Daphne’s best-selling book Saving Amy, based on her months filming with Amy Winehouse and her family, is being adapted into a scripted eight-part TV series by Halcyon Studio, with the help of British writer Mal Young. Read More Here

Sunday Shows Preview: Jan. 6 Committee Votes To Subpoena Trump; Inflation Accelerates In September https://digitalarkansasnews.com/sunday-shows-preview-jan-6-committee-votes-to-subpoena-trump-inflation-accelerates-in-september/ Getty Images/Pool The House Jan. 6 committee holds a hearing on Thursday, October 13, 2022 to focus on former President Trump’s efforts to remain in power following his 2020 election defeat. The Jan. 6 committee’s vote to subpoena former President Trump and September’s inflation report will likely dominate the Sunday talk shows this week. The committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol unanimously voted to subpoena Trump during what may have been its final public hearing on Thursday.  “He is the one person at the center of the story of what happened on Jan. 6,” Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said at the hearing. “So, we want to hear from him.” However, the “serious and extraordinary action” — as Thompson described it — is unlikely to produce testimony from the former president, who has fought the committee from its inception. Trump immediately turned to social media to criticize the subpoena announcement on Thursday. “Why didn’t the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago?” Trump wrote on Truth Social soon after the committee wrapped. “Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting?” The vote to subpoena Trump came at the very end of Thursday’s chock-full hearing. The committee released never-before-seen footage from the day itself, showing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) making urgent calls from a secure location in an effort stop the riot. Testimony and recently obtained communications from the Secret Service also underscored previous testimony that Trump sought to travel to the Capitol on Jan. 6, as his supporters converged on the building. Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), two of the committee’s nine members, are set to join ABC’s “This Week” and NBC’s “Meet the Press” respectively on Sunday. The September inflation report will likely also be a topic of discussion on the Sunday show circuit, as inflation continued to accelerate for the second month in a row. Inflation rose by 8.2 percent over the last 12 months, driven by housing, food and medical costs, according to the report released on Thursday.  The Federal Reserve is expected to continue raising interest rates as a result. The interest rate hikes are meant to slow the economy but also risk triggering a recession. President Biden on Thursday acknowledged that “prices are still too high” but touted his administration’s “progress in the fight against higher prices.” However, with the midterm elections just weeks away, Thursday’s report represents bad news for Democrats, who had hoped inflation would begin to subside by the election. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is set to discuss inflation, the U.S. jobs report and recession fears with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, while White House economic advisors Cecilia Rouse and Jared Bernstein chat with CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday” respectively. Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this week’s Sunday talk shows:  ABC’s “This Week” — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.); Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.); Evan McMullin, independent candidate for Senate in Utah CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Buttigieg; Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova; Betsey Stevenson, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan CNN’s “State of the Union” — National security adviser Jake Sullivan; White House economic adviser Cecilia Rouse; Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.); the nominees for Arizona governor, Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Katie Hobbs; Joe O’Dea, Republican nominee for Senate in Colorado “Fox News Sunday” — Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.); White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.); former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), Republican candidate for governor in New York; Kiyan Michael, Republican candidate for Florida House of Representatives; Trump Media CEO and former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) Read More Here

Soon After News Broke That The FBI Had Executed A Search Warrant At Trump https://digitalarkansasnews.com/soon-after-news-broke-that-the-fbi-had-executed-a-search-warrant-at-trump/ The latest Tweet by snopes.com states, ‘Soon after news broke that the FBI had executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, this quote spread like wildfire on social media. But did the former president really say it? Here’s what we found. …’ Socially Team Latestly| Oct 16, 2022 02:19 AM IST Soon after news broke that the FBI had executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, this quote spread like wildfire on social media. But did the former president really say it? Here’s what we found. https://t.co/B66xBJY49L— snopes.com (@snopes) October 15, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user’s social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) Read More Here

The GOP's Not-So-Secret Plot To Sabotage The Economy If They Gain Control Of Congress https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-gops-not-so-secret-plot-to-sabotage-the-economy-if-they-gain-control-of-congress/ With the 2022 midterm election now less than a month away, this may be a good time to ponder what the Republican Party would do should they manage to win a majority in the House, the Senate, or both. And in some respects they have been helpfully candid as to their plans should their aspirations come to pass. Click here to Tweet this article It isn’t exactly a pretty picture. Among the more brazenly shameless admissions on the the part of leading Republicans have been Sen. Lindsey Graham’s promise to advance legislation to ban abortion nationwide, and Sen. Rick Scott’s agenda proposing to sunset Social Security and Medicare. RELATED: Rick Scott is the Best Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee the Democrats Ever Had However, the most harrowing scenario cooked up by the power mad GOP is their plan to take the nation’s economy hostage by demanding that Democrats submit to their policy demands or else they will refuse to negotiate the debt ceiling. Those GOP proposals include cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy, and slashing benefits for seniors and healthcare recipients. To be clear, the debt ceiling defines the government’s limits on issuing credit in order to pay its bills. If it isn’t appropriately adjusted, the result would be the U.S. government falling into default. That would create an economic crisis in the U.S. and around the world. It is the equivalent of the “nuclear” option for the economy. And Republicans are threatening to drop that bomb if they don’t get their way. This isn’t idle speculation. Leading Republicans in Congress have openly expressed their intentions to deploy this political weapon. Bloomberg News reports that “‘The debt limit is clearly one of those tools that Republicans — that a Republican-controlled Congress — will use… ‘ said Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.).” And that… “House Republicans are openly threatening to cause an economic catastrophe in order to realize their obsession with slashing Medicare and Social Security,” Henry Connelly, a Pelosi spokesman, said in a Tuesday statement to Bloomberg Government.” It should come as no surprise that this economic terrorism is being ignited by the GOP cult messiah, Donald Trump. For months he has been chastising Republican Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, for not issuing debt ceiling threats to allow a default. As recently as last month Trump whined on his floundering social media scam, Truth Social, that… “Mitch McConnell is giving the Democrats everything they want. He is their lapdog! He didn’t stop trillions of dollars in spending by refusing to use the Debt Ceiling as a negotiating tool. He gave it up for nothing. […] in order to destroy America.” Republicans have already been acting to tank the economy. They have voted against several bills that would have eased inflation, and lowered the costs of gas and healthcare. The threat of that betrayal, and the devastating default that Republicans are embracing, has not been getting the media attention that such catastrophes merit. Virtually the only recent television coverage has been on MSNBC by Chris Hayes, who warned that… “If the economy is the number one issue to voters, then there is one party that will have an incentive to make it better. And that party is the one that has the presidency. The Democrats. “The other side, the Republicans, have an explicit incentive to make the economy worse. And I will tell you, having covered the Tea Party Congress of 2011, amidst the recovery from the financial crisis, i feel confident in predicting that if Republicans win control of one or both houses of Congress, they will do everything in their power to sabotage the economy to best set them up to retake the White House in 2024.”

Co-Founder Of Trump’s Media Company Details Truth Social’s Bitter Infighting https://digitalarkansasnews.com/co-founder-of-trumps-media-company-details-truth-socials-bitter-infighting/ Will Wilkerson, then an executive at former president Donald Trump’s start-up Trump Media & Technology Group, was at a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., coffee shop with company co-founder Andy Litinsky last October when Trump called Litinsky with a question: Would he give up some of his shares to Trump’s wife, Melania? Trump Media, the owner of the fledgling social network Truth Social, had just been boosted by a huge merger agreement and a flood of investment that had made the stake worth millions of dollars. Trump had already been given 90 percent of the company’s shares in exchange for the use of his name and some minor involvement, leaving everyone else to split the rest. Litinsky tried to brush it off, telling Trump “the gift would have meant a huge tax bill he couldn’t pay,” Wilkerson said in an interview. “Trump didn’t care. He said, ‘Do whatever you need to do.’ ” Five months later, Litinsky, who first met Trump in 2004 as a contestant on the TV show “The Apprentice,” was abruptly removed from the company’s board. Wilkerson said he believes it was payback for his refusal to turn over a small fortune to the former president’s wife. Litinsky thought so, too, according to an email Wilkerson and his attorneys shared with The Washington Post and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In that email, Litinsky complained that Trump was “retaliating against me” by threatening to “ ‘blow up the company’ if his demands are not met.” Litinsky did not respond to emails and phone messages. It is unknown whether he still retains his shares. The email — one of hundreds of previously unreported company messages, documents, photos and audio recordings that Wilkerson has provided to the SEC in connection with a whistleblower submission — reveals a stunning portrait of the animosity that has built up inside Trump Media since its high-profile debut last year. Promoted as the centerpiece of Trump’s post-presidential business ambitions, the company had marketed itself as a budding media empire, with enterprises planned in social media, video streaming, live events and online payments — a powerful rival not just to Twitter but Disney, Google and Amazon. But inside the company, Wilkerson said, those plans gave way to bitter infighting, technical failures and a chaotic jockeying for power among Trump allies that undermined its potential and left some employees crying at their desks. Wilkerson, who was fired from his job Thursday as a senior vice president of operations at the company after he spoke to The Post, filed the whistleblower complaint with the SEC in August. The complaint, drafted by Wilkerson’s attorneys, alleges that the company’s bid to raise money via an investment vehicle known as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, relied on “fraudulent misrepresentations … in violation of federal securities laws.” The SEC, a federal watchdog agency, allows members of the public to submit tips, complaints and referrals about suspected financial wrongdoing via a document the agency calls a Form TCR. Whistleblowers can be granted confidentiality protections and, in some cases, financial awards. Litinsky did not join in the complaint. Wilkerson is cooperating with investigations into Trump Media by the SEC and federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, said his attorneys, Phil Brewster, Patrick Mincey and Stephen Bell. Among the materials he filed with the SEC’s whistleblower office is a detailed, day-to-day computer log compiled by company co-founder Wes Moss, Litinsky and Wilkerson about their daily company-related activities. He also provided to The Post a copy of that log as well as numerous other memos, photographs and videos that chronicled the creation of Trump Media. All of the materials Wilkerson shared with The Post were previously provided to government investigators, his attorneys said. The SEC and the SDNY declined to comment. In an SEC filing in December, Digital World acknowledged that the SEC was investigating and had sought documents related to the merger with Trump Media. In another filing in June, Digital World said it had become aware that a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York had issued subpoenas to its board members seeking documents related to its initial public offering filings and “communications with or about multiple individuals.” The investigations, the company said, could “impede or prevent” the merger. Wilkerson said he was still working for the company on Oct. 6 when his SEC complaint was first reported by the Miami Herald. A Trump Media attorney sent Wilkerson a letter that night suspending him for what the lawyer said was a “blatant violation” of his nondisclosure agreement. After interviewing Wilkerson alongside his attorneys, The Post on Wednesday sent a detailed list of claims and questions raised by Wilkerson’s allegations to representatives for Trump, Trump Media and the Trump Organization, Trump’s long-running family business. Only Trump Media responded, saying in a statement that Trump, as company chairman, had hired former congressman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) as CEO to “create a culture of compliance and build a world-class team to lead Truth Social.” The company said it was already a success, having launched on the Apple and Google app stores, “executed multiple feature updates” and attracted millions of users. “Ignoring these achievements, The Washington Post sent us an inquiry rife with knowingly false and defamatory statements and other concocted psychodramas.” The statement did not directly address any of Wilkerson’s claims. Trump Media fired Wilkerson on Thursday, citing his “unauthorized disclosures” to The Post. Brewster, his attorney, called the termination “patent retaliation against an SEC whistleblower of the worst kind.” Digital World Acquisition, the SPAC that is pushing to take Trump Media public, has asked shareholders to give the company more time to finalize the merger, which would unlock hundreds of millions of dollars for Trump Media but is effectively frozen pending the outcomes of the federal investigations. Digital World and its chief executive, Patrick Orlando, did not respond to requests for comment. The revelations to the SEC from Wilkerson, the most prominent company official to speak publicly about its operations, come at a turbulent time for Trump Media’s business. Investors, discouraged by the halted merger, have sent the SPAC’s share price plunging from a high of $175 to less than $18 on Friday. Roughly 4 million users follow Trump on the company’s sole product, Truth Social — far below his Twitter peak of 88 million. The company has pledged to investors it would surpass 50 million total users by 2024. In past public statements, Nunes, Orlando and Trump have argued that Trump Media will ultimately prove to be a successful business. But Wilkerson said he expects its internal problems could lead the company to fall apart. “We weren’t trying to be Trump Org 2.0,” he said. “We always saw Trump as the rocket fuel to send this thing to space. I wanted this to succeed more than anything. … But these are glaring issues, and they’re threatening me now for calling them out. I couldn’t stay quiet anymore.” Wilkerson, 38, isn’t a traditional Trump critic. When Litinsky and Moss, another former “Apprentice” contestant, first started discussing the idea of a multipronged Trump media business after Trump’s November 2020 election loss, the men had asked for his help developing the business, Wilkerson said. A former executive producer for Litinsky’s conservative radio show, Wilkerson was excited about monetizing the following of a person he considered a master marketer with 40 years as a political and household name. Wilkerson shared a photo from that time of the men sketching the original concept on a whiteboard, titled “Trump’s New Media Empire,” that would ultimately compose the company’s public pitch, including new business lines (“Trump Digital Subscription,” “Trump Documentaries”) and a chain of “Trump technologies,” including in servers and online payments. After Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and Trump was banned from major social networks, the men drew up plans for a tech platform that would be “resilient to cancel culture and the impact of bias against the right,” according to the daily log Wilkerson shared with The Post and the SEC. To meet with Trump, the men sought help from another “Apprentice” contestant, Bradford Cohen, a Florida criminal-defense attorney who represented two rappers, Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, to whom Trump had granted clemency on his final day in the White House. In late January, three weeks after the riot, Cohen, Litinsky and Moss met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his opulent home and club in Palm Beach, Fla., to discuss the idea. Over cheeseburgers, Diet Cokes and ice cream, the men offered to build Trump a media company that he would own 90 percent of without putting in any of his own money, Wilkerson said. He was interested, and Trump Media was born. Cohen and Moss did not respond to requests for comment. Raising money, however, proved to be a major challenge. The investment bankers they called rejected them because of fears over Trump’s post-election behavior, Wilkerson said. So they started cold-calling SPACs. Known as “blank-check companies,” SPACs sell shares to investors before merging with a private company, allowing the combined business to make money on the stock market without abiding by the traditional transparency requirements of a public listing. They ultimately found a willing partner in Orlando, a financier in Miami who had recently launched a SPAC, Benessere Capital Acquisition, with $100 million in its coffers. In late February, Orlando, Wilkerson a...

D.A. To Charge Raleigh Shooting Suspect As An Adult As Chilling 911 Calls Describe Chaos, Bodies On The Ground https://digitalarkansasnews.com/d-a-to-charge-raleigh-shooting-suspect-as-an-adult-as-chilling-911-calls-describe-chaos-bodies-on-the-ground/ RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina district attorney said Friday that she intends to charge the 15-year-old suspected in a mass shooting that killed five people in Raleigh as an adult.  Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said that her office had filed petitions to transfer the case “to Superior Court and to proceed against the individual as an adult.” The suspect, who has not been identified, remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday, authorities said.  Freeman’s announcement came as a neighborhood northeast of Raleigh was left reeling and families of those killed mourned their loss. In 911 calls released Friday, several people described seeing bodies on the ground and begged the operators to send help. “There’s people out front,” one man said. “I think someone just got shot. I think I heard three or four gunshots. There were people screaming.” Another caller said that two of her neighbors had been shot and that one was lying in a bush and the other on a porch. “We heard the shots and we heard them screaming,” she said. “And so we got down.” In another call, a man said an off-duty officer had been shot in the chest and described the shooter as wearing “all camouflage.” The massacre unfolded Thursday evening on the street and then along the Neuse River Greenway as people were walking their dogs or out for a run, police said. The victims ranged in age from 16 to their 50s and have been identified as Nicole Connors, 52; Susan Karnatz, 49; Mary Marshall, 35; Gabriel Torres, 29, an off-duty Raleigh police officer who was on his way to work; and James Thompson, 16.  Two people were injured in the attack: Raleigh Police Officer Casey Clark, 33, who was treated and released from a hospital, and Marcille Gardner, 59, who was listed in critical condition. Saynya Jones described her family’s harrowing encounter with the gunman. “My family was outside actually walking back on the greenway where he walked down and they had to run into somebody’s house,” Jones, 32, said Friday. Jones lives a few houses down from Torres, one of the victims. “He shot somebody in the park and then came down and shot my neighbor while he was coming out to get something in the car.” “Why did a 15-year-old have access to stuff like that?” she said of the suspect’s weapon. Officials said the suspect was taken into custody after a “long standoff” with police and was in critical condition. Nicole Connors and her dog, Sami, were shot and killed.Courtesy Tracey Howard Connors was killed alongside her dog, Sami, a roughly 13-year-old Jack Russell mix. Her husband remembered her Friday as a “go-getter” and a caring person who always “looked out for” others. She was a “caregiver” who left a job in human resources to care for her mother after she had a stroke, her husband, Tracey Howard, told NBC News on Friday morning. She always knew how to “take charge of everything” in order to help her loved ones, Howard said, his voice heavy with emotion. “I always thought it would be me to go before she went,” he said. Mary Marshall, 35, was to be married at the end of the month.Mary Marshall via Facebook / via Facebook Marshall, another victim of the shooting, was set to be married in two weeks, Oct. 29, her sister Meaghan McCrickard said on Friday.  “Her fiancé Rob, he was just the love of her life,” McCrickard said. “I think we’re going to still do a celebration of life, that’s the plan, for the date of the wedding.” “She is just a light. She loved everyone. The most loyal, loving person I’ve ever known. And we just want people to know that about her,” McCrickard said. But the family is still “numb” and in “disbelief.”  Ginny Marshall, Marshall’s mother, sobbed as she spoke about the loss of her daughter.  “Mary’s birthday is next week and she was going to be married in two weeks,” she said with tears running down her cheeks. “We don’t know what to do.” McCrickard said she wants the shooter to survive his injuries and face justice.  “I want him to know what he did and how he completely shattered our lives and we are never going to be the same. I don’t want him to get off,” she said. Susan Karnatz had three boys and loved nature, her sister said.Sue Butler Karnatz via Facebook Karnatz, a wife and mother to three boys, “loved life and nature, and had the most gentle of hearts,” her sister, Sharon Butler Kaivani, wrote in a post on Facebook. “She loved her family fiercely and there is a big hole there now,” she wrote. “As is the case for so many who lose loved ones too soon, the tragedy seems so very senseless, and I just can’t understand it.”  “I know that this loss is one of many yesterday, affecting so many people. Profoundly. Other families are aching just as we are,” she wrote. Tom Karnatz, Susan’s husband, wrote a tribute to his wife describing “plans together for big adventures” and “plans together for the mundane days in between,” plans with their three children and plans to grow old together. “Now those plans are laid to waste,” he wrote.  Instead, the couple now has “memories together of joyous occasions” and “memories together of plain times in between,” memories from before their children were born and “many memories together” with their boys. Keith Richardson, principal of Knightdale High School, said in a statement Friday that Thompson, the youngest victim, was a junior at the school. “This is an incredibly difficult time for our school community as well as the broader Raleigh community,” Richardson wrote in a statement. “Our condolences, thoughts, and prayers go out to James’ family, the other victims, their families and all who have been impacted by yesterday’s events.” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called the shooting spree “the nightmare of every community.” President Joe Biden said Friday that he was grieving alongside the families of loved ones killed “in yet mass shooting in America” and called for a ban on assault weapons. “We are thinking of yet another community shaken and shattered as they mourn the loss of friends and neighbors, including an off-duty police officer,” Biden said in a statement. Daniella Silva and Marlene Lenthang reported from New York, and Jo Yurcaba reported from North Carolina. Read More Here

Evin Prison Fire: Gun Shots And Sirens Heard At Notorious Detention Centre https://digitalarkansasnews.com/evin-prison-fire-gun-shots-and-sirens-heard-at-notorious-detention-centre/ Image source, Twitter Image caption, Images posted online appear to show a fire at Evin prison. A fire has broken out at Iran’s notorious Evin prison, with footage posted online showing flames and smoke billowing from the area. Gun shots and alarms have been reported as coming from the jail, the primary site for detaining political prisoners. An official quoted by state media said “troubles” involving “criminal elements” were to blame for the blaze. The fire comes as Iran continues to be rocked by its most intense unrest in decades. Protests have been taking place in at least a dozen cities across the country once again on Saturday. They first erupted last month when anger over the death in police custody of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini boiled over. Officials say she died from an underlying health condition, but her family say she died after being beaten by morality police. Hundreds of those detained during the protests have reportedly been sent to Evin. Anti-government monitoring group 1500tasvir posted videos of the fire online, in one of which chants of “death to the dictator” – one of the main slogans of the anti-government protest movement – could be heard in the background. The state news agency said that the inmates in one of the wings had set fire to one of the storage rooms of the prison, however, the BBC is unable to independently confirm this report. Official news agency IRNA also said the unrest which led to the fire was over and quoted an unnamed official as saying that “troubles” erupted between inmates and guards in the section of the prison holding “thugs”, appearing to suggest that political prisoners were not involved. “The situation is currently completely under control,” IRNA quoted the unnamed source as saying. Riot police were seen entering the prison and state media also reported that firefighters are at the scene, while there are reports that special forces have been deployed to the area. Security forces are also reported to have closed the roads leading to the prison. A witness told Reuters news agency that “families of prisoners have gathered in front of the main door”. They added: “I can see fire and smoke. Lots of special forces. Ambulances are here too.” As well as political prisoners, journalists, and many dual and foreign nationals are also imprisoned in Evin. British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were both held on spying charges, which they denied, before their release earlier this year. They were imprisoned for six and five years respectively. The prison has long been criticised by Western rights groups. Human Rights Watch has accused authorities at the prison of using threats of torture and of indefinite imprisonment, as well as lengthy interrogations and denial of medical care for detainees. A group of hackers calling themselves Edalat-e Ali (Ali’s Justice) posted videos in August last year of leaked surveillance footage from Evin prison showing guards beating or mistreating inmates. Read More Here

A History Lesson For Donald Trump https://digitalarkansasnews.com/a-history-lesson-for-donald-trump/ I take a page from history. On Thursday, the Committee (you know which one) voted 9-0 to subpoena the former president. Of course, he might refuse to comply with the subpoena. What then? Here’s one scenario, per CNN: “Contempt. The full House, which is controlled by Democrats until at least January, could vote to hold him in contempt of Congress, something it’s done with several other uncooperative witnesses “Referral. After a contempt of Congress referral, the Justice Department could then prosecute, as it did with Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon and plans to do with his once economic… I take a page from history. On Thursday, the Committee (you know which one) voted 9-0 to subpoena the former president. Of course, he might refuse to comply with the subpoena. What then? Here’s one scenario, per CNN: “Contempt. The full House, which is controlled by Democrats until at least January, could vote to hold him in contempt of Congress, something it’s done with several other uncooperative witnesses “Referral. After a contempt of Congress referral, the Justice Department could then prosecute, as it did with Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon and plans to do with his once economic advisor Peter Navarro “Prosecution. If found guilty, as Bannon was, Trump could theoretically face a minimum of thirty days in jail. Bannon will be sentenced for failing to comply with the House subpoena later this month” Experts — I mean “experts” — say this this is unlikely but who knows? The New York Times reported another scenario. The former president, they wrote in a front page story, “declined yesterday to comply with the subpoena served” on behalf of the House Committee. “At a tense and crowded news conference,” they reported, the former president “said his position was based on ‘universally recognized constitutional doctrine.’” He went on to say that “In spite of my personal willingness to cooperate with your committee, I feel constrained by my duty to the to the people of the United States to decline to comply with the subpoena.” The former president then cited sixteen previous presidents, Democrats as well as Republicans, who had declined to respond to congressional subpoenas. He also, the Times reported, insisted that “if the doctrine of the separation of powers — and the independence of the presidency — was to have ‘any validity at all,’ it must apply equally to a president in office and to one who had left office — assuming the inquiry related to matters connected to his administration.” According to the Times, he went on to observe that the principle of the separation of powers would fail and “the presidency shrink to a mere arm of the legislative branch — ‘contrary to our fundamental theory of constitutional government’ — if the president should feel during his term that his ‘every act might be subject to an official inquiry and possible distortion for political purposes.’” To this point, he quoted Andrew Jackson who, faced with a similar demand from Congress, said, “For myself, I shall repel all such attempts as an invasion of the principles of justice as well as of the Constitution, and I shall esteem it my sacred duty to the people of the United States to resist them, as I would the establishment of a Spanish Inquisition.” Constitutional experts were divided in their response to the former president’s refusal to cooperate with the Committee’s subpoena, but the Committee let it be known that it would not act against the former president. The Committee, by the way, was the House Committee on Un-American Activities — a good name, now that I think of it, for Liz Cheney’s last hurrah on Capitol Hill — and the president was Harry Truman. Donald Trump and his supporters might want to take a page from Truman’s robust response to that earlier example of congressional overreach and disgusting, megalomaniacal insanity on the part of rogue legislators. The Times story from November 13, 1953 has some revelatory details. Read More Here

Marin Green Home Tour Set For October 19-20 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/marin-green-home-tour-set-for-october-19-20/ By Emil Guillermo In communities of color, athletes in the U.S. are practically royalty. They don’t call Lebron “King James” for nothing. Star athletes can do no wrong. Until they do. Just ask O.J. But when athletes steer clear of any of that, generally they are treated like gods who live above the rim. After all, they are our heroes because they’re winners. They may have started out regular, like the rest of us, but their god-given talents have made them rise above it all. And that makes it difficult when they start to behave like mere mortals who do some pretty regrettable things. Just look at Herschel Walker or Draymond Green. Let’s take Walker first. If you’re a Bay Area guy like me, Georgia’s Walker is not the greatest running back ever. Give me Marcus Allen. Or even Texas’ Earl Campbell. Both of them would rather run over linebackers, not Democrats. Walker is different. We know that Walker denies giving money to pay for a former partner’s abortion. But now the same female partner claims Walker wanted her to have a second abortion, though she declined and had the child. Mind you, I’m choosing to skip all the accusations about Walker’s general hypocrisy from his son, Christian. It’s important, but I’ll give Walker the benefit of the doubt considering his grandstanding son. But the woman who claims Walker has consulted her on abortion isn’t grandstanding. She’s provided proof to the news site, the Daily Beast, and appears credible. All this shouldn’t even be political talk, but Walker is running as an anti-abortion, pro-life fundamentalist. The truth is relevant if it makes Walker out to be a liar. But maybe that’s good for a politician? Coming to Walker’s defense is no less than Donald Trump, who told the NY Times’ Maggie Haberman about Walker’s abundant qualities. “He was the best football player in the nation by far,” Trump said of Walker. When asked about his “complicated personal history,” Trump was quick to dismiss any criticism. “Ten years ago would be a problem, twenty years ago a bigger problem. I don’t think it’s a problem today,” Trump said. Haberman asked “why?” Because the world is changing. In other words, outright liars are rewarded in today’s corrupt Republican politics led by Godfather Trump. Anything goes, as long as you win. Trump’s blessing has opened the way for millions in political contributions and support from conservatives who shamelessly back the unqualified and truth-compromised Walker. But this is the kind of Black man Republicans want. Controllable. Who will do what they want. Run over Democrats with political athleticism! Doesn’t seem to stack up against the incumbent Senator, Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat and the current preacher of MLK’s Ebenezer Baptist church. If Walker wins, we will feel the impact in California. Democrats can rely on Kamala Harris to break a tie on upcoming legislation on key issues like gun control, immigration, voting rights, LGBTQ rights. Oh, and there’s abortion. But there will be no heroics from Harris if Republicans gain the majority and have Herschel Walker in their pocket. He will do anything they say. He’s their star athlete. He can do no wrong. At Least Draymond Green Doesn’t Want to Be Senator Draymond Green says he’s going to take some time away from the Golden State Warriors. He’s already taken some of their credibility. Of course, you’ve seen the video of Green punching his teammate Jordan Poole at a recent Warriors practice. The Warriors are mostly upset that video of the punch found its way to the public. But at least we got the truth. The punch was a clear battery, and chargeable. The Warriors preferred to keep it in house. Keep it in house? That sounds like Jeffrey Dahmer. The video shows undeniable workplace violence. Green, who is 6-ft-6-inches, 230 pounds, is punching the smaller Poole, who is two inches shorter and almost 40 pounds lighter. Sports commentators downplay the punch, saying these are men playing an aggressive game, and it’s to be expected. Not when the gym is your workplace. Punch your boss and you’ll get fired. Or sued. Is this the NBA’s message, that physical bullying is OK? Two weeks ago, the NBA fined Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver $10 million and banned him from the game for one year for “workplace misconduct,” involving anti-Black racism, as well as misogynistic and sexual comments. Is that worse than punching a teammate in practice? Green has apologized and said he’s going to take time to “work on himself.” But it’s going to take a lot more than using that meditation app LeBron James pushes. For the NBA and the Golden State Warriors, the action that must be taken is clear. They must condemn workplace violence by athletes unequivocally. Athletes shouldn’t be treated as winners when they act like losers. Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a talk show on www.amok.com Read More Here

Trump Aide Caught On Security Camera Moving Boxes At Mar-A-Lago https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-aide-caught-on-security-camera-moving-boxes-at-mar-a-lago/ Security cameras at former President Donald Trump’s residence, Mar-A-Lago, have captured footage of Trump’s aide moving boxes out of a storage room, the New York Times reported.  The newspaper reported Trump’s aide moved boxes before and after the Justice Department issued a subpoena asking to return all the government classified documents.  The Justice Department is investigating whether Trump kept National Security records after he left the White House and obstructed the government’s repeated efforts to get them back. The outlet reported that the Justice Department has spoken to Trump’s aide Walt Nauta about handling his documents, but he is not cooperating with the investigations.   The FBI also interviewed Nauta several times before it raided Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8. One of Trump’s spokesmen told the NYT that the Biden administration was “colluding with the media through targeted leaks in an overt and illegal act of intimidation and tampering.” Also Read: Lindsey Graham Called Trump A Liar, But The Ex-President Was Also ‘A Lot Of Fun To Hang Out With’ The Washington Post reported Trump directed an employee to move boxes at Mar-a-Lago, but it is unclear whether that employee was Nauta.  Last week, the National Archives said that some White House staff used non-official electronic systems to conduct official business that wasn’t shared with their official electronic accounts. It had been unable to obtain various other records from several former officials working in the Trump administration. Late last year, former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann warned Trump of the potential legal consequences of not returning the government documents he took while in office. In January, Trump returned to the National Archives 15 boxes of material he had taken from the White House, which included 184 classified documents. Photo: Gage Skidmore on Flickr Creative Commons © 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Home Is Where The Hog Is: The Isaiah Nichols Story https://digitalarkansasnews.com/home-is-where-the-hog-is-the-isaiah-nichols-story-2/ FAYETTEVILLE, Ar. (KNWA/KFTA) – Just nine miles down the road from Razorback Stadium at George Junior High, it was there in the front office where Hogs defensive lineman Isaiah Nichols was asked a question that would change his life. “That’s where his story really starts, here in Springdale. The staff asked if he had ever played football and she went and got the coach, and brought the coach and he said sure you can play. For me that was it,” Susan Nichols, Isaiah’s mom said. However, Isaiah’s first practice with the team didn’t really go according to plan. “Coach Clark tells the story of his first practice and saying they hike the ball and Isaiah didn’t know, he was like what do I do, which way do I go? He said it was funny to watch, he could tell Isaiah had some potential, but he just had no clue,” Susan said. It didn’t take long for that to change and Isaiah to turn heads all around the area and beyond. “It was surreal because like I said I had never thought about how much of a future he might have in football, I just wanted him to be happy, whatever he did,” Susan said. Isaiah was then recruited by multiple Division I programs and he wanted to go to Arkansas, but he did like another coach that was recruiting him. “Missouri was the first visit he took, it might have been an unofficial visit I don’t know but Coach Odom wanted him to come see their program and take a look at what they had going on. He really liked Coach Odom when he met him but decided to go to Arkansas. But he was really excited when he found out Coach Odom was coming to Arkansas and I’m sure they had a great reunion, hey how you doing? He loves Coach Odom,” Susan said. The rest is history. The redshirt senior has made his impact on the defensive line. Last season, he racked up 21 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble. So far this year, he has 8 total tackles through six games, but this year at the university might be the most special of them all as his mom is getting her degree at Arkansas as well. “I was sitting on a bench at Kimble Hall waiting for my class to start and I think I was reading something, I saw these feet stop in front of me and I looked up and it was Isaiah. It was such a special moment to me, I almost cried cause I got to see Isaiah on my first day of class,” Susan said. For all the accomplishments Isaiah has on the field, his mom is just grateful for how the game has shaped the person he is today. “I’m really proud of Isaiah for the man he’s become I really am he’s kind and considerate and selfless and he’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever known,” Susan said. Read More Here

Home Is Where The Hog Is: The Isaiah Nichols Story https://digitalarkansasnews.com/home-is-where-the-hog-is-the-isaiah-nichols-story/ by: Courtney Mims Posted: Oct 15, 2022 / 02:05 PM CDT Updated: Oct 15, 2022 / 02:05 PM CDT FAYETTEVILLE, Ar. (KNWA/KFTA) – Just nine miles down the road from Razorback Stadium at George Junior High, it was there in the front office where Hogs defensive lineman Isaiah Nichols was asked a question that would change his life. “That’s where his story really starts, here in Springdale. The staff asked if he had ever played football and she went and got the coach, and brought the coach and he said sure you can play. For me that was it,” Susan Nichols, Isaiah’s mom said. However, Isaiah’s first practice with the team didn’t really go according to plan. “Coach Clark tells the story of his first practice and saying they hike the ball and Isaiah didn’t know, he was like what do I do, which way do I go? He said it was funny to watch, he could tell Isaiah had some potential, but he just had no clue,” Susan said. It didn’t take long for that to change and Isaiah to turn heads all around the area and beyond. “It was surreal because like I said I had never thought about how much of a future he might have in football, I just wanted him to be happy, whatever he did,” Susan said. Isaiah was then recruited by multiple Division I programs and he wanted to go to Arkansas, but he did like another coach that was recruiting him. “Missouri was the first visit he took, it might have been an unofficial visit I don’t know but Coach Odom wanted him to come see their program and take a look at what they had going on. He really liked Coach Odom when he met him but decided to go to Arkansas. But he was really excited when he found out Coach Odom was coming to Arkansas and I’m sure they had a great reunion, hey how you doing? He loves Coach Odom,” Susan said. The rest is history. The redshirt senior has made his impact on the defensive line. Last season, he racked up 21 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble. So far this year, he has 8 total tackles through six games, but this year at the university might be the most special of them all as his mom is getting her degree at Arkansas as well. “I was sitting on a bench at Kimble Hall waiting for my class to start and I think I was reading something, I saw these feet stop in front of me and I looked up and it was Isaiah. It was such a special moment to me, I almost cried cause I got to see Isaiah on my first day of class,” Susan said. For all the accomplishments Isaiah has on the field, his mom is just grateful for how the game has shaped the person he is today. “I’m really proud of Isaiah for the man he’s become I really am he’s kind and considerate and selfless and he’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever known,” Susan said. Pig Trail Video HOGSCHEDULE SECSTANDINGS Read More Here

Kimutai, Lions Claim Titles At Dallas Baptist https://digitalarkansasnews.com/kimutai-lions-claim-titles-at-dallas-baptist/ GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — The nationally-ranked Missouri Southern men’s cross country team took home the team and individual as the Lions competed at the Old Glory Gallop on Saturday hosted by Dallas Baptist University at Lynn Creek Park. Gidieon Kimutai took home the individual title and the ninth-ranked Lions defeated East Central by four points as Southern placed four runners in the top ten spots. Kimutai bested his previous PR time in the 8k as he crossed the finish line in a time of 23 minutes, 22 seconds — 15 seconds faster than his finish at the Southern Stampede. Kimtai was nearly 26 seconds in front of his nearest competitor. JP Rutledge and Ryan Riddle finished fifth and sixth, respectively, as Rutledge crossed the line in a time of 24:22.7 and Riddle in 24:31.7. Riley Simpson was 10th in a time of 24:56.7 Jaden Deaton and Kelton Sorrell were 14th and 16th in times of 25:15.3 and 25:23.8, while Kaden Cole (25:37.2) was 21st and Zachary Finley (25:40.5) was 24th. Geordan Patrylak was 42nd in a time of 26:33.7. The Lions were first, followed by East Central, Dallas Baptist, St. Edward’s, Texas A&M International, Hill College, Ouachita Baptist, Texas-Dallas, Wayland Baptist, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Hardin-Simmons, Southwestern Assemblies of God, Dallas and Mary Hardin Baylor to round out the team scores. WOMEN The Missouri Southern women’s cross country team placed third and freshman Lilah Genel was fifth individually. The Lions had three runners in the top 12 as Genel crossed the 5k finish line in a time of 18 minutes, 5 seconds. Kellie Henderson placed ninth in a time of 18:25.1, while Kayanna Gaines was 12th in a time of 18:27.0. Riley Hawkins was 30th in a time of 19:01.4, while Alana Bundy finished 67th in a time of 20:11.4. Alyssa Elliott finished in a time of 20:32.8, while Zoe Nelson crossed at 20:46.3 and Grace Scott at 20:50.7. Ninth ranked Dallas Baptist took the team title with 28 points, while Arkansas Tech was second and the Lions finished third. Ouachita Baptist was fourth, followed by St. Edward’s, Midwestern State, Texas A&M International, East Central, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Cameron, Southeastern Oklahoma, Texas-Dallas, Mary Hardin Baylor, Southwestern Assemblies of God, Dallas and North American to round out the team scores. The Lions will be back at home as Southern plays host to the 2022 MIAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 5 at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course. Read More Here

Will Trump Comply With Jan. 6 Committee Subpoena? What’s Next After Thursday’s Hearing https://digitalarkansasnews.com/will-trump-comply-with-jan-6-committee-subpoena-whats-next-after-thursdays-hearing/ A video showing then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., talking with then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen is played as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press WASHINGTON — After closing out what could be the final installment in a series of high-profile hearings, the House’s Jan. 6 select committee is left with decisions to make in its remaining weeks that could have profound effects for years to come. The committee will need to square whether it will play a role in the Justice Department’s investigation and determine how the raw information it has collected will be preserved and disseminated. But ultimately the panel’s largest decisions will be about what recommendations to make and what information its final report should contain. Republican leaders had fought the creation of an independent commission to review the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and what led to it. The House panel is the only government entity tasked with the inquiry, and is compiling what is expected to be the definitive historical record of what led to the insurrection. What the committee produces is likely to become the bedrock evidence in criminal and civil cases, and will be examined by historians and studied in schools much like the 9/11 commission report has been, said Grant Tudor, a policy advocate for Protect Democracy. “These types of evidence-gathering and truth-telling exercises have ramifications for other accountability efforts long after they’re done,” Tudor said. Prosecutors, journalists and government watchdog groups are clamoring for access to the more than 1,000 depositions, hundreds of hours of video and hundreds of thousands of pages of documents collected in the investigation. The committee has been guarded about how much material might be made public. “While we’re obviously anticipating this final report, that’s not the same as anticipating access to the vast body of evidence that’s gathered and the analysis of that evidence,” Tudor said. “It seems really likely that it’s going to take a pretty intentional editing hand in deciding what to include and what not to include. The committee has collected this staggering volume of records and troves of witness testimonies.” The report is all but certain to provide more detail than was possible in a hearing format. Despite early signals of what the panel intended to scrutinize, such as who was behind fundraising for the rally where then-President Donald Trump spoke before the attack, the committee ultimately focused on Trump’s role in the events and his mindset around Jan. 6, pushing some issues to the back burner. Topics raised in hearings were often not completely followed. Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, holds a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday. Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., is left. J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press The committee’s hearings barely touched on information it had gathered on several topics key to understanding the events on and around Jan. 6, including what failures in law enforcement intelligence gathering allowed the insurrection to happen, who funded efforts to find evidence of fraud in the election, and who paid for some Trump supporters to travel to Washington to march on the Capitol. “There is potentially a huge wealth of evidence that could be coming,” Debra Perlin, policy director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told reporters Friday. Along with an account of the plans to keep Trump in power that led to the violence on Jan. 6, the report is expected to include recommendations for legislation or action by federal agencies, and possibly by state and local governments. But the potential outcome most are watching for is whether the committee will recommend criminal charges against Trump or others. Its members have been divided on whether it is appropriate to recommend criminal charges to the Justice Department, or whether the panel should refrain from doing so to prevent the potential appearance of politicizing a decision that the department is supposed to make based on facts alone. The panel has so far held itself apart from the efforts of prosecutors, including refusing requests to share depositions and other evidence with them. “We think we very, very much proved the case in a compelling way by the end of that hearing series,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told Politico. “And now, frankly, on the criminal side, because we’re not the criminal committee, it’s up to the [Justice Department]. … They have the torch, and we’ll see where they go with it.” Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said at Thursday’s hearing that criminal referrals for multiple individuals were likely, but did not elaborate. In the spring and summer, members of the House committee publicly criticized U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, saying he was moving tentatively compared with their proceedings. But the Justice Department made increasingly aggressive moves over the summer, and appears to be conducting multiple investigations at once. Agents have seized cellphones, brought dozens of high-ranking Trump confidants before a grand jury and conducted court-approved searches of private homes, including executing a warrant at the home of former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, whom they left handcuffed outside without pants. Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing Thursday, on Capitol Hill in Washington, as Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., look on. J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press The department has been careful not to indicate whether indictments are coming, and traditionally it doesn’t make moves in the weeks before an election so as not to potentially influence the outcome. Many legal experts have expressed confidence that charges will come after the midterm elections next month. Duke University professor Asher Hildebrand, a former high-ranking Capitol Hill staffer, said regardless of whether a criminal referral comes from the committee, the hearings show the panel has done its job. “It does feel like the Jan. 6 committee’s contribution to the broader consideration of what happened on Jan. 6, and leading up to it, what crimes were committed by the president … that contribution is sort of secure. And that, at this point, is really a question of whether, when and how the Justice Department and other law enforcement authorities act on all of this information,” he said. As the report is poised to assume center stage, the committee’s investigation is ongoing. On Thursday, its members voted unanimously to subpoena Trump for documents and testimony, saying he has an obligation to answer for his actions. In a rambling 14-page response Friday, Trump didn’t commit to an interview or to sharing documents. Instead he reiterated baseless claims of election fraud and shared photos of the crowd at his rally that day. “You have not gone after the people that created the fraud, but rather great American patriots who questioned it, as is their constitutional right,” he wrote. “These people have had their lives ruined as your committee sits back and basks in the glow.” Trump is likely to fight the subpoena, or ignore it completely. With just more than two months left before the committee is set to disband, it will need to decide how much time to spend pushing for Trump to comply, or whether to consider the subpoena to be largely symbolic. The panel will also need to determine which ongoing fights for records and testimony are still worth pursuing. More than a dozen witnesses have sued to block the committee from gaining access to cellphone or email records, and others are fighting subpoenas to testify in court. Some of the cases have been ongoing for more than a year, in part because the committee has sought more time to craft a strategy. How the committee will present its final report is unclear. All that is required to issue it is a vote of its members, but after nine carefully orchestrated hearings this year, a visual presentation of some kind is expected. “It seems unlikely that it will just drop a large bound book and not say anything about it or not use it as a public platform to also make a series of closing arguments,” Tudor said. “Even if it’s out of the context of a formal hearing.” Invalid username/password. Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration. 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Bid To Overturn 2020 Election Looms Over Race For Lieutenant Governor https://digitalarkansasnews.com/bid-to-overturn-2020-election-looms-over-race-for-lieutenant-governor/ ATLANTA – State Sen. Burt Jones was among 16 Republicans who participated as alternate electors in a bid to help then-President Donald Trump overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. While Jones’ role in those efforts took place almost two years ago, the episode is front and center in this year’s race for lieutenant governor between Jones and Democrat Charlie Bailey. “You can’t have a more un-American act than to come in and say the people of Georgia don’t get to decide who represents them,” said Bailey, who made the ill-fated attempt to change the outcome of the election a theme of a campaign ad. Jones dismisses the assembling of a slate of alternate electors in December 2020 as a “procedural” move, essentially a place saver prompted by a series of ultimately unsuccessful lawsuits challenging the election results in Georgia. “The substitute electors were only going to have any weight to them if the court cases moved forward,” he said. “As I go around the state, rank and file Georgians aren’t asking about it.” Trump’s attempt to enlist supporters in his attempt to overturn the election in Georgia is responsible for who’s on the ballot for lieutenant governor. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who became the most outspoken Republican critic of Trump’s Georgia strategy, subsequently opted not to seek a second term. That paved the way for a spirited GOP primary for the open seat, with Jones defeating Georgia Senate President Pro Tempore Butch Miller and two other opponents last May to win the Republican nomination. Bailey, originally intending to reprise his 2018 run for attorney general, signed up instead to run for lieutenant governor. With a crowded Democratic field in the primary contest, he had to survive a June runoff to capture his party’s nomination over former Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall. While Jones’ role in the aftermath of the presidential election is a unique element in the race for lieutenant governor, the two candidates are taking the typical stances of their respective parties on issues including taxing and spending, abortion, guns, voting rights, and Medicaid expansion. Jones goes further than some Republican leaders in his call for eliminating the state income tax. Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, and others expressed concern that getting rid of the tax entirely would blow a hole in the state budget. Jones noted the General Assembly already is well on its way toward phasing out the tax. This year, lawmakers passed a bill backed by Gov. Brian Kemp that will gradually reduce the state income tax rate from 5.49% to 4.99% over six years, starting with the 2024 tax year. “I never said you could do it in one year,” Jones said. “We need to work toward it.” Bailey said 20 years of Republican leadership in Georgia have led to a reduction in core government services. Examples include a starting salary for teachers that’s less than their peers make in Mississippi and a growing backlog in forensics testing that hampers criminal investigations, he said. “I don’t think the people of Georgia are getting out of their tax dollars what they’re putting in,” Bailey said. On abortion, Jones said he supports the “heartbeat” bill the legislature passed in 2019 banning the procedure after a fetal heartbeat has been detected, typically about six weeks into pregnancy. “It has exceptions to it: rape, incest, and the health of a woman,” Jones said. Bailey said if elected he would push to repeal the heartbeat law, pointing to public opposition to banning abortion that has surfaced in recent polls. “That’s not what the people of Georgia believe,” he said. “It’s dangerous.” Likewise, Bailey opposes legislation the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed this year allowing Georgians to carry concealed firearms without a permit. “There’s dangerous folks who have guns now who wouldn’t but for this law,” he said. “It makes our communities less safe.” Jones, who voted for the bill, said criminals are going to carry firearms regardless of what the law says. “[The law] makes it easier for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves,” he said. The two candidates also disagree on election reform legislation the General Assembly passed last year. Jones bristled at the bill being characterized as putting additional “restrictions” on voting by absentee ballot. He said “verification” was the purpose of the law. The legislation requires a photo ID to cast an absentee ballot and limits the number of ballot boxes counties may place to collect absentee ballots. “We wanted to verify that people asking for absentee ballots were these people,” Jones said. Bailey described the new law as “a solution in search of a problem” that doesn’t exist. “We don’t have voting issues in Georgia,” he said. “[Republicans] have put government in the way of the people and their right to exercise the franchise.” Bailey said it’s past time for Georgia to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act a Democratic Congress passed in 2010. Not to do so simply means Georgians through their federal taxes are helping fund expanded health-care coverage in other states while getting nothing in return. “Not only do we have 600,000 Georgians without health insurance …. we’ve had eight rural hospitals close in the last 12 years,” Bailey said. Jones said Kemp has sought to expand Medicaid coverage with a Georgia-centric plan but was turned down by the Biden administration. The governor has rejected the Obamacare version of Medicaid expansion as too expensive. “Just throwing money at something without a plan isn’t helpful,” Jones said. “That’s what the Democrats want to do.” The two candidates broadly agree on the need to boost funding for education by updating the decades-old per-pupil student funding formula and the need to raise salaries for law enforcement officers. Specifically, Jones called for an end to no-cost bail. Bailey said Georgia needs more prosecutors, judges, and public defenders. Libertarian Ryan Graham is a third candidate in the race for lieutenant governor. This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation. Read More Here

Voters Care About Spiking Living Costs More Than Abortion Access, Poll Shows https://digitalarkansasnews.com/voters-care-about-spiking-living-costs-more-than-abortion-access-poll-shows/ October 15, 2022 01:37 PM Inflation and gas prices are more pressing concerns for midterm election voters than abortion, a fact Republicans hope will boost them into the majority in Congress, as the parties are neck and neck weeks before the midterm elections, a recent poll showed. Though Democrats made gains in fundraising and voter enthusiasm following the Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protections for abortion, persistently rising inflation and gas prices are higher priorities for a majority of voters when picking candidates than the issue of abortion. The NBC News poll found that 59% of voters are most concerned with what candidates will do to address the cost of living, while 37% say a candidate’s abortion position is their tipping point. To be sure, one poll in isolation doesn’t indicate how an election will turn out. Trend lines over weeks and months are important, and voter priorities can change until the moment they cast ballots. PENCE URGES REPUBLICANS NOT TO BACK DOWN FROM ABORTION ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL Stephen Parlato of Boulder, Colo., holds a sign that reads “Hands Off Roe!!!” as abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion protesters demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Washington, as the court hears arguments in a case from Mississippi, where a 2018 law would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, well before viability. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Andrew Harnik/AP Still, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told the Washington Examiner that the survey’s finding bodes well for his party in the midterm elections. House Republicans need to net five seats in the 435-member chamber to gain a majority for the first time since the 2018 elections. “It’s a security election. It’s your economic security, and it’s your physical security,” Emmer said, alluding to crime, another major issue for voters. “Democrats failed at both.” Inflation is hitting voters hard, making them more likely to vote for House Republicans, Emmer said. “On the economic security front, every American family that is not part of the political elite, that is not part of the uber-wealthy, that is just trying to raise a family and chase their American dream, has to make a choice every day right now between buying groceries versus putting gas in the tank,” Emmer continued. “And these guys actually think here in this bubble called Washington, D.C., that they can make this argument that ‘Oh, gas prices have actually dropped.'” The NBC poll, which was conducted between Sept. 9 and 13 among 1,000 registered voters with a margin of error of 3.1%, also found that the parties are tied on a generic ballot. Each party has 46% of voters favoring Republican or Democratic control of Congress after the midterm elections. When Democratic candidates talk about the economy, which is rare, they emphasize the small improvements in recent months. Gas prices have dropped, that’s true, and the August inflation rate decreased to 8.3% from a whopping 9.1% in June. They’ve also emphasized a commitment to abortion access. Candidates such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman are banking on their bases and independents turning out to vote en masse, with abortion as their primary motivator. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER But those concerns may fall short against GOP messaging on the economy. Republicans often point out that people have lost an entire month of income to increased costs of living. Gas prices, though not as frighteningly high as $5, $6, or even $7 a gallon, as they were this summer, are still hovering around $3.70 a gallon — well over the $2.20 average in September 2020 under former President Donald Trump. Families have lost an average of $6,800 in real annual income this year. “You could buy gas across this country at a buck eighty-five to $2.20 a gallon when Joe Biden took office,” Emmer said. “This idea that somehow, now we can buy it at $3 to $4.50 a gallon, by the way, not all states — you’re paying a lot more than that still in California and the northwest. Plus, think about what’s about to hit: Home heating costs are up, I think, close to 70%, and that’s hitting right now. On economic security, they have completely failed the American family right now.” GOP lawmakers no longer talk of a red wave sweeping Republicans to majorities in the House and Senate. But Democratic political momentum over the summer may also be fading. Just because inflation and gas prices aren’t getting worse month to month doesn’t mean they won’t make a meaningful difference in voters’ wallets — at least by Election Day. Juliegrace Brufke contributed to this report. Read More Here

Why Is Britain Comparing Its Prime Minister To A Lettuce? https://digitalarkansasnews.com/why-is-britain-comparing-its-prime-minister-to-a-lettuce/ LONDON — What do British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s political tenure and a wilting head of lettuce have in common, you might ask? They both have an expiration date. Installed by her party just last month after her predecessor Boris Johnson was dramatically ousted, Truss has been in office less than six weeks. But already some pundits say her days in the job are numbered, as she clings to her political life on a dizzying economic roller coaster she has been largely blamed for. She has also become the butt of quintessentially British jokes — most notably by being compared to a head of lettuce by both The Economist newspaper (considered one of the world’s preeminent news journals) and The Daily Star, an entertainment-focused tabloid that brands itself the “home of fun stuff” and regularly features photos of scantily-clad celebrities. The gag began in an article by The Economist which earlier this week dubbed Truss “The Iceberg Lady,” bluntly predicting her career has “the shelf-life of a lettuce.” By Friday, the Daily Star was offering its readers a live stream of a store-bought head of lettuce (worth 60 pence — just under a dollar — and with a shelf-life of around 10 days), positioned next to a framed photograph of Truss, accompanied by the question: “Day one: Which wet lettuce will last longer?” The live-streamed decay has since attracted more than 350,000 viewers, as people tune in to see whether Truss’s political career or the salad staple (which briefly donned a wig and googly eyes) will expire faster. The Daily Star accused Truss of being a “lame duck PM” following a “shambolic day,” on Friday as she fired her finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, after just 38 days in office and u-turned on tax policies, in a bid to steady the wobbling economy. Kwarteng, who will go down in history books as Britain’s second shortest-serving chancellor of the exchequer, was also subject to jokes from the British press — who pointed out that the shortest-serving chancellor had died (Iain Macleod in 1970 after 30 days in the job) rather than being ousted. On social media Saturday the hashtag “#lettuceliz” was gaining steam, with users unsure whether to laugh or cry at the state of national affairs. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” wrote one person on Twitter. “Brilliant,” wrote another. Some online complained they had cheese in the fridge that had lasted longer than Kwarteng’s spell in office, while one trans-Atlantic observer quipped: “In the US we measure such things in Scaramuccis,” referring to Anthony Scaramucci — the short-serving White House communications director, who lasted less than a week in the Trump administration. The British prime minister also faced criticism for holding an abnormally brief news conference after announcing Kwarteng’s departure on Friday, lasting just eight minutes and 21 seconds. The Daily Mail newspaper called the news conference a “car crash,” the Guardian front page decried “A day of chaos,” while the Mirror tabloid simply said “Time’s up.” Britain’s opposing political parties, meanwhile, are calling for a general election. “Changing the Chancellor doesn’t undo the damage made in Downing Street. Liz Truss’ reckless approach has crashed the economy, causing mortgages to skyrocket, and has undermined Britain’s standing on the world stage,” said Labour leader Keir Starmer, whose party is enjoying a boost in opinion polls. “We need a change in government.” The smaller Liberal Democrat Party echoed a similar sentiment: “Enough is enough. It started with Boris Johnson failing our country, and now Liz Truss has broken our economy. It is time for the people to have their say.” Truss’s promise to simultaneously slash taxes and maintain social programs without deep borrowing has left the market and her party members reeling over the last few weeks, plunging the pound and forcing the Bank of England to take unprecedented interventions to quell the financial revolt. She swiftly replaced Kwarteng (who had been attending a meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington before frantically flying back to the U.K.), with a former foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, who pledged Saturday to restore economic credibility. Hunt lost the Conservative Party leadership race to Johnson in 2019. Truss also walked back one of her top campaign pledges — and will now allow corporate taxes to rise from 19 percent to 25 percent in April 2023, she said. Like other nations in Europe, Britain is grappling with rising inflation, a cost of living crisis and multiple worker strikes from transport to health and postal sectors, with some predicting a possible winter of discontent on the horizon. The average price of lettuce, at least, hasn’t gone up too badly. Karla Adam and William Booth contributed to this report. Read More Here

Women's Golf Headed To Hot Springs Village For Little Rock Golf Classic – Southern Illinois University Athletics https://digitalarkansasnews.com/womens-golf-headed-to-hot-springs-village-for-little-rock-golf-classic-southern-illinois-university-athletics/ This Week  The Southern Illinois women’s golf team will compete in its final tournament of the fall season on Monday-Tuesday when they compete in the Little Rock Golf Classic, hosted by Arkansas-Little Rock in Hot Springs Village. The Salukis will play at the Diamante Country Club.  Last Time Out  SIU finished fourth at the Saluki Invitational a week ago at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo, with junior Janie Samattiyadeekul finishing fifth overall.  Salukis Lineup  The Salukis lineup will consist of junior Janie Samattiyadeekul, senior Ayanna Habeel, sophomore Kylee Vaughan, freshman Ella Overstreet and sophomore Morgan Gindler. Senior Secilia Ho will compete as an individual for Southern.  Hear from Head Coach Cindy Bodmer Southern Illinois Head Coach Cindy Bodmer said she’s hoping her team will make better decisions on the course going into the final tournament of the fall and their home tournament provided a good springboard into Little Rock.  “Dalhousie provided a wonderful experience. We had two days of good scores for a course that was difficult but with better decision making we would be moving closer to our team goals.” Junior Janie Samattyadeekul is coming off of another tournament where she was the top player for the Salukis as she finished on the all-tournament team.  “We feel she is maturing as a player and with continued improvement, we feel postseason awards are attainable.” Now that she has a few tournaments under her belt with this roster, Bodmer said it’s been a process for the coaches, as well as the players but the future is bright.  “It has been a learning experience for us learning their game and them learning ours. We will continue to build a bond of trust that will allow us to get better in all aspects.” The Course  There are an abundance of Hot Springs Village golf courses promising great golf but there is only one private club in Hot Springs Village that offers 18 holes of award-winning, championship golf – Diamante Country Club. Consistently ranked among the best in Arkansas and the region as one of the most enjoyable, yet flexible golf courses ever built. The golf experience at Diamante Country Club is one unrivaled in Arkansas. Opened in 1995, Diamante Country Club is an Aulte & Clark design that features panoramic rolling fairways and immaculately maintained bent grass greens along with newly renovated “Better Billy Bunkers.” Host to multiple collegiate and professional events in its esteemed history, Diamante is a treat to play on a daily basis. No other Hot Springs Village golf course offers the enjoyment, conditioning, beauty and exclusivity found at Diamante. With seven sets of tees, ranging in distance from 4,650 yards all the way to 7,560 yards, this Hot Springs Village private club layout is a joy for both low and high handicappers. Golf Digest ranked Diamante as the number one golf course in Arkansas from 1997 through 2000 and it is currently ranked #3 in the state. In 2006, hole No. 17 was voted as the Arkansas Democrat Gazette readers’ favorite par four hole in the state of Arkansas. Participating Teams  The 16-team field consists of Southern Illinois with Little Rock, Ball State, Belmont, Georgia State, Houston Christian, Idaho State, Missouri State, Southern Indiana, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, Texas A&M-Commerce, Troy, Louisiana-Monroe, UT Arlington and Wichita State.  Tournament Schedule  The 54-hole tournament opens with two rounds on Monday starting at 8 a.m. and the final round on Tuesday at 8 a.m.  Stay Social  For the latest on Southern Illinois Women’s Golf, follow the team on Twitter (@SIU_WGolf), Instagram (@SIU_WGolf), and like the team’s official Facebook page (SalukiWGolf).  Players Mentioned Ayanna Habeel 5′ 7″ Junior Secilia Ho 5′ 4″ Junior Janie Samattiyadeekul 5′ 4″ Sophomore Kylee Vaughan 5′ 2″ Freshman Morgan Gindler 5′ 3″ Freshman Ella Overstreet Freshman Players Mentioned Ayanna Habeel 5′ 7″ Junior Secilia Ho 5′ 4″ Junior Janie Samattiyadeekul 5′ 4″ Sophomore Kylee Vaughan 5′ 2″ Freshman Morgan Gindler 5′ 3″ Freshman Ella Overstreet Freshman Read More…

Documents Show Top DeSantis Officials Were Personally Involved In Martha's Vineyard Flights https://digitalarkansasnews.com/documents-show-top-desantis-officials-were-personally-involved-in-marthas-vineyard-flights/ “Very good,” Uthmeier texted. “You have my full support. Call anytime.” “Copy. Thanks,” Keefe responded. On the day of the first flight from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Keefe texted Uthmeier: “Wheels up” and “Should be in contact again around 1100 eastern.” The documents provide the clearest picture yet of the extent to which DeSantis’ top officials were involved in the planning and execution of the flight. They include nearly 150 pages of material such as text messages, photos of migrants boarding private planes and partially-redacted Department of Homeland Security waivers signed by migrants taking the flights. Names of individual migrants are blacked out of the waiver documents but most list Venezuela as the country of origin. DeSantis for nearly a year had championed the program and convinced the Republican-led Legislature to give him $12 million of initial funding for the overall effort to transport migrants. DeSantis’ flight caused outrage from Democrats, who accused DeSantis of human trafficking and using vulnerable asylum seekers as political props. Republicans, however, applauded DeSantis, saying he brought attention to the steep increase in immigration along the southern border. The DeSantis administration is facing multiple lawsuits over the program, including one filed last Monday by The Florida Center for Government Accountability alleging DeSantis was not releasing records related to the flights. The Treasury Department’s watchdog is looking into whether the Florida governor improperly used money connected to federal Covid-19 relief funds to pay for the flights while a sheriff in Texas is probing whether the flights broke any laws. DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin said on Saturday that the release of documents was not related to the Florida Center for Government Accountability’s lawsuit, but rather part of “ongoing records requests.” He did not respond to questions about other aspects of the flight, or the records themselves. Michael Barfield, director of public access with the Florida Center for Government Accountability, called the release “piecemeal.” “The Governor’s Office continues to play fast and loose with the right of Florida citizens to know what their government is doing,” he said in a statement. “These records should have been produced within a day or two of the initial request. Instead, 25 days later we continue to get a piecemeal release of records.” Text messages between Keefe and Uthmeier on Sept. 5 also indicate that officials in Texas were aware of Florida’s program and knew the flights were coming. “TX is aware of Dash, FYI,” Uthmeier wrote on Sept. 5. “No worries here.” “Texas is aware and good with Dash?” Keefe responds. “Please confirm.” “Call when convenient,” Uthmeier responded. It’s unclear who or what “dash” is and questions to DeSantis’ office for clarification were not returned. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said he was not involved in DeSantis’ flights from his state to Martha’s Vineyard. But his administration has bused thousands of migrants from the southern border to blue strongholds, including New York City and Chicago. Abbott has also bused dozens of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ Washington, D.C. residence. His office did not respond to requests for comment about the Texas messages indicating Texas was “aware” of some version of the Florida plans. While DeSantis has only executed one transport, his administration on Sept., 20 appeared to be organizing another flight of migrants, this time to President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware, which was first reported by the Miami Herald. Records at the time showed a flight operated by the same vendor as the Martha’s Vineyard flights was headed to Nashville, then New Jersey, which set off immigration groups in those cities to rush to the airport to provide any services the migrants might need. Flight records at the time showed a flight operated by the same vendor as the Martha’s Vineyard flights were headed to Delaware. That flight, though, was canceled, stranding migrants that had been recruited for the flight stranded in Texas. The Miami Herald reported that a woman identified as “Perla” was the one who showed up at a hotel in San Antonio to recruit them for the flights, and ultimately later abruptly informed them of its cancellation. The New York Times identified “Perla” as Perla Huerta, a military veteran who spent two decades in the U.S. Army. “Perla’’ also shows up in screenshots of What’s App messages that were sent to Keefe included in the most recent trove of released documents. “They will hate me today, but this opportunity no one would have given them,” read one message, written in Spanish, in response to a message that directly referenced “Perla.” In another message, at least one migrant seemed to express gratitude for being part of the program, saying they feel like they were put in a “bed of gold.” Keefe was hired by DeSantis in Sept. 2021 to serve as Florida’s first-ever public safety czar, a position DeSantis immediately framed as focusing on illegal immigration. Keefe previously was a named partner at an Okaloosa County law firm that is among the biggest in the region and on multiple occasions represented Vertol Systems, the vendor the DeSantis administration has so far paid $1.5 million tied to the migrant flight program. Gary Fineout contributed to this story. Read More Here

Meta Documents Show Main Metaverse Is Losing Users And Falling Short Of Goals, Report Says https://digitalarkansasnews.com/meta-documents-show-main-metaverse-is-losing-users-and-falling-short-of-goals-report-says/ Horizon Worlds, Meta‘s flagship metaverse for consumers, is failing to meet internal performance expectations, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reviewed internal company documents. Meta initially aimed to reach 500,000 monthly active users in Horizon Worlds by the end of the year, but the current figure is less than 200,000, according to the report. Additionally, the documents showed that most users didn’t return to Horizon after the first month on the platform, and the number of users has steadily declined since spring, the Journal said. Only 9% of worlds are visited by at least 50 people, and most are never visited at all, according to the report. The report comes as the company’s stock falls, user numbers decline and advertisers cut spending. Meta shares are down 62% so far this year. Meta rebranded from Facebook last year in order to reflect the company’s ambitions beyond social media. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has specifically been interested in building out the metaverse, which is a virtual world that allows users to work and play together. As a result, Meta created Horizon Worlds, which is a network of virtual spaces where users can engage with one another as avatars. Individuals can access Horizon through Meta’s Quest virtual-reality headsets. In an effort to drum up some excitement around the metaverse, Zuckerberg unveiled his company’s newest virtual reality headset, dubbed the Meta Quest Pro, at Meta’s Connect conference Tuesday. The device costs $1,500 and contains new technologies, such as an advanced mobile Snapdragon computer chip. A Meta spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that the company continues to make improvements to the metaverse, which was always meant to be a multiyear project. Representatives for Meta didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Meta has said it will release a web version of Horizon for mobile devices and computers this year, but the spokesman didn’t have any launch dates to disclose. Read the full Journal report here. Read More Here