Duke Gill In Contest For Northwest Benton Countys House District 12 Seat
Duke, Gill In Contest For Northwest Benton County’s House District 12 Seat https://digitalarkansasnews.com/duke-gill-in-contest-for-northwest-benton-countys-house-district-12-seat/
Republican nominee Hope Duke (left) faces Michael Gill of the Libertarian Party in the state House race for northwest Benton County’s District 12.
GRAVETTE — Republican nominee Hope Duke faces Michael Gill of the Libertarian Party in the state House race for extreme northwest Benton County’s District 12.
Duke’s brother, Sen. Jim Hendren of Sulphur Springs, became one of 12 Republicans in the 100-member state House when he first won election in the same region in 1994. Only Republicans — and Hendrens — have represented Benton County’s northwest corner since. Duke’s father, Kim, and her sister, Gayla McKenzie of Gravette, also served. McKenzie is leaving the House at the end of her current term after an unsuccessful bid for state Senate.
Republicans make up a 76-member majority in the House now, but only gained a majority in 2012.
District 12 includes Gravette, Decatur and parts of Bella Vista. It reaches the state line on both the north and the west. State representatives serve two-year terms and receive a base salary of $44,357. Early voting begins Oct. 24. Election Day is Nov. 8.
“I think I’ve learned a lot in my six years on the Gravette School Board, going through covid and dealing with virtual learning,” Duke said. “The most important things I’ve learned is how to represent people, and that I still have a lot to learn.”
“I held an at-large position on the School Board so I represented a lot of people,” Duke said. “They want local control in education and in their everyday life. They want government to help with things they can’t handle by themselves, but not to interfere otherwise.”
One of the things locals cannot handle by themselves are traffic issues, she said. All the towns in the district are trying to cope with congestion, she said.
Children in foster care and special-needs children also need more state support, she said. “They don’t get the attention they need,” she said. “The people who need representation the most are those who can’t represent themselves.” State government gets too involved in things better left to locals at the expense of things where it could really help, she said.
Gill said he wants to run as a voice “for those who don’t look to the government first as a solution but as the solution of last resort.” The Republican Party is dominant now and voters need more than one choice, he said.
Gill supports more options for school choice, he said.
“My kids love the Bentonville School District,” he said. “But the Bentonville district is a world away from the Helena School District” in east Arkansas. If parents had more choice in which districts their children — and the state money that goes with students — went to, the best schools would thrive, he said.
District 12 “has farmer families who have been here back to the Civil War and transplants who’ve been here a year,” Gill said. “That makes pigeonholing this district into one category or another difficult. The one thing they have in common is that they look at Little Rock the same way they look at Washington, D.C. They don’t want the government coming to them. Keep Little Rock in Little Rock and don’t bring their dictates here.”
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Russian Official Warns Of World War Three If Ukraine Joins NATO
Russian Official Warns Of World War Three If Ukraine Joins NATO https://digitalarkansasnews.com/russian-official-warns-of-world-war-three-if-ukraine-joins-nato/
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends the NATO summit via video link, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 29, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – If Ukraine is admitted into the U.S.-led NATO military alliance, then the conflict in Ukraine would be guaranteed to escalate into World War Three, a Russian Security Council official was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin formally proclaimed the annexation of up to 18% of Ukraine on Sept. 30, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a surprise bid for fast-track membership of NATO.
Full NATO membership for Ukraine is far off because all the alliance’s 30 members would have to give their consent.
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“Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to World War Three,” TASS quoted Alexander Venediktov, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, as saying.
Venediktov, who is deputy to Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a powerful Putin ally, said he felt Ukraine’s application was propaganda as the West understood the consequences of Ukrainian membership of NATO.
“The suicidal nature of such a step is understood by NATO members themselves,” he said.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly railed against the United States for driving NATO’s eastward expansion, especially its courting of ex-Soviet republics such as Ukraine and Georgia which Russia regards as part of its own sphere of influence.
Putin on Sept. 21 warned the West he was not bluffing when he said he would be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia against what he said was “nuclear blackmail” from major Western powers.
U.S. President Joe Biden has said the world faces the biggest risk of nuclear Armageddon since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. NATO is due to hold an annual nuclear preparedness exercise dubbed “Steadfast Noon” next week.
Russia and the United States are by far the biggest nuclear powers: they control about 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads.
Venediktov said Zelenskiy’s call for preventive strikes against Russia was dangerous, cautioning that nuclear war would have catastrophic consequences for the world.
“We must remember: a nuclear conflict will affect absolutely the whole world — not only Russia and the collective West, but every country on this planet,” Venediktov said. “The consequences would be disastrous for all mankind.”
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Reporting Lidia Kelly and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Robert Birsel and Toby Chopra
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Trump Aide Was Seen On Security Footage Moving Boxes At Mar-A-Lago
Trump Aide Was Seen On Security Footage Moving Boxes At Mar-A-Lago https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-aide-was-seen-on-security-footage-moving-boxes-at-mar-a-lago/
Politics|Trump Aide Was Seen on Security Footage Moving Boxes at Mar-a-Lago
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/us/politics/trump-mar-a-lago-walt-nauta.html
The aide, Walt Nauta, moved the boxes from a storage room before and after the Justice Department issued a subpoena demanding the return of all classified documents held by the former president.
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The Justice Department had subpoenaed security camera footage from former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla.Credit…Saul Martinez for The New York Times
Published Oct. 12, 2022Updated Oct. 13, 2022, 2:55 a.m. ET
A long-serving aide to former President Donald J. Trump was captured on security camera footage moving boxes out of a storage room at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s residence in Florida, both before and after the Justice Department issued a subpoena in May demanding the return of all classified documents, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The footage showed Walt Nauta, a former military aide who left the White House and then went to work for Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, moving boxes from a storage room that became a focus of the Justice Department’s investigation, according to the people briefed on the matter. The inquiry has centered on whether Mr. Trump improperly kept national security records after he left the White House and obstructed the government’s repeated efforts to get them back.
As part of its investigation, the Justice Department has interviewed Mr. Nauta on several occasions, according to one of the people. Those interviews started before the F.B.I. executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 and carted off more than 11,000 documents, including about 100 that bore classification markings. Mr. Nauta has answered questions but is not formally cooperating with the investigation of Mr. Trump’s handling of the documents.
His lawyer, Stanley Woodward Jr., declined to comment. Taylor Budowich, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, accused the Biden administration of “colluding with the media through targeted leaks in an overt and illegal act of intimidation and tampering.”
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Mr. Trump directed an employee who had been interviewed by the F.B.I. to move boxes at Mar-a-Lago. It is not clear whether that employee was Mr. Nauta, and a person familiar with the matter and with Mr. Trump’s orbit said it could be a different staff member.
A top Justice Department official told Mr. Trump’s lawyers in recent weeks that the department believed he had still not returned all the documents. It is unclear if the boxes that were moved were among the material later retrieved by the F.B.I.
The National Archives, the federal agency that oversees presidential records, spent much of 2021 attempting to retrieve boxes of records that its officials had been told were in the White House residence at the end of the Trump presidency.
Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers tried to facilitate their return; one lawyer for Mr. Trump, Alex Cannon, told Mr. Trump to ship the boxes back as they were, instead of going through them, and that the archivists would return whatever was personal property, two people briefed on the matter said. Mr. Cannon told Mr. Trump’s aides not to go through the boxes because it was unclear what was in them, and the materials might require security clearances.
Mr. Trump instead went through the boxes himself in December, according to a person familiar with the move, and the archives sent people to retrieve 15 of them a month later. When they got the boxes, they found 184 classified documents, prompting alarm.
The Justice Department subsequently began an investigation and quickly concluded that Mr. Trump might not have returned all the material in his possession when he turned over the 15 boxes in January.
In a court filing in August, prosecutors said they had evidence that “government records were likely concealed and removed” from the Mar-a-Lago storage room even after the Justice Department had sent Mr. Trump’s office a subpoena for any remaining documents bearing classified markings. That led prosecutors to conclude that “efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation,” the government filing said.
The Justice Department’s effort to recover documents from Mr. Trump began in May, after the F.B.I. examined the 15 boxes of records the National Archives retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in January.
On May 11, lawyers for Justice Department obtained a subpoena to retrieve all materials marked as classified that had not already been turned over by the former president. In response to the subpoena, Mr. Trump’s team presented F.B.I. agents on June 3 with 38 additional documents bearing classified markings. Among them were 17 labeled top secret.
Image
The documents seized during the Aug. 8 F.B.I. search of Mar-a-Lago included many bearing classified markings.Credit…Department of Justice
But one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers present during that visit “explicitly prohibited government personnel from opening or looking inside any of the boxes that remained in the storage room, giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained,” the Justice Department filing in August said.
Mr. Trump’s team also provided the department’s national security division in June with a written statement on behalf of his office by one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers who was serving as the formal “custodian” of the files. While that person’s name has been redacted in government filings, multiple people have identified her as Christina Bobb.
The Justice Department subsequently obtained a subpoena for security camera footage from inside Mar-a-Lago, and documents filed in the case disclosed that the department had been working with “multiple civilian witnesses” before it sought the search warrant used to carry out the search of Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8.
During the search, F.B.I. agents found three classified documents in desks in Mr. Trump’s office, with more than 100 documents in 13 boxes or containers with classification markings in the residence, including some at the most restrictive levels, according to the Justice Department filing in August.
The investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of the documents is just one of an array of legal problems he faces. The Justice Department is separately investigating the efforts by Mr. Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election and the events that led to the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. The district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., is also conducting a broad inquiry into attempts by Mr. Trump and several of his allies to overturn Mr. Trump’s defeat in the election.
On Thursday, the House committee investigating Jan. 6 is scheduled to hold what is likely to be its last full-scale public hearing. The panel has said it plans to disclose new information about Mr. Trump’s state of mind in the chaotic postelection period and his central role in the effort to remain in power despite his loss to Joseph R. Biden Jr.
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ENTERTAINMENT NOTES: Gruel-Ty At Wildwood Celtic Festival At Burns Park
ENTERTAINMENT NOTES: ‘Gruel-Ty’ At Wildwood, Celtic Festival At Burns Park https://digitalarkansasnews.com/entertainment-notes-gruel-ty-at-wildwood-celtic-festival-at-burns-park/
Hope Hinton (foreground) splits the title role with Jaydon Clark in “Oliver!” at Wildwood Park for the Arts. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts this weekend:
THEATER: ‘If you please, sir …’
Wildwood Park for the Arts and Praeclara are staging “Oliver!” (music, lyrics and book by Lionel Bart, based on Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist”), 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Oct. 21-22 and 3 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 23 in the Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theatre at Wildwood, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock. Tickets are $35. Call (501) 821-7275 or visit wildwoodpark.org.
‘American Voices’
Ozark Living Newspaper Theatre Company stages “American Voices: Shepherd, Chaikin, Wilson, Kushner,” a collection of short pieces by American playwrights, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 20-22 and 2 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 23 at New Deal Studio and Gallery, 2003 Louisiana St., Little Rock. Adam Frank is directing Sam Shephard’s one-act play “Chicago” and a scene from Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America, Part I.” Steven Jones directs the Shephard/Joseph Chaikin collaboration “Savage/Love” and Keith Harper directs August Wilson’s short play “The Janitor” and a scene from his “Fences.” Admission is pay what you can (suggested $15 donation). Visit OzarkLivingNewspaper.org.
‘Tomorrow’ Jr.
Jonesboro’s Foundation of Arts stages “Annie Jr.” (a shortened adaptation of the full-scale musical, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, book by Thomas Meehan, based on the comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”), 6 p.m. Friday, 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Forum Theatre 115 E. Monroe Ave., Jonesboro. Sponsor is Centennial Bank. Tickets are $15 and $16, $13 and $14 for children, senior citizens, military and Arkansas State University students, faculty and staff; the Sunday matinee is “pay what you can.” Call (870) 935-2726 or visit foajonesboro.org.
FUN: Celtic Festival
The Little Rock Celtic Festival celebrates Celtic culture, including an Irish hurling tournament, Scottish Highland Games and a 7-on-7 soccer tournament, music and Irish dancing, 7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Burns Park Soccer Complex, 1 Soccer Ave., North Little Rock. There will also be food trucks and Diamond Bear will set up a beer tent. Visit facebook.com/LRCelticFestival.
Comedic Preacher
Comedian Preacher Lawson, who made it to the final rounds in season 12 of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. Tickets are $30-$40, $10 for students. Call (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit uca.edu/reynolds.
MUSIC: ‘Life, Love & Light’
The Arkansas Chamber Singers open their 2022-23 season with a program titled “Life, Love and Light,” 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday at St. James United Methodist Church, 321 Pleasant Valley Drive, Little Rock. Lorissa Mason, director of choral activities at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, conducts. Tickets are $15, $10 students in advance, $18 and $12 at the door. Call (501) 377-1121 or visit ar-chambersingers.org.
‘Song and Dance’
The Little Rock Winds open their 2022-23 season, 7:30 p.m. today at Little Rock’s Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive. Israel Getzov conducts a program titled “Song and Dance,” including the Suite No. 2 in F major by Gustav Holst. Tickets are $15, free for students. Call (501) 666-0777 or visit lrwinds.org.
Brass band
The Natural State Brass Band will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday at Immanuel Baptist Church, 501 N. Shackleford Road, Little Rock. Jessica Payne, euphonium, solos in Philip Sparke’s “Pantomime” and Heather Thayer, tenor horn, in Roy Newsome’s “The Carousel.” The program also includes as a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II an adaptation for brass band by Rico Belotti of Stan Kenton’s arrangement of “God Save the Queen.” Nevada Mills conducts. Admission is free. Call (501) 758-2576 or visit nsbb.org.
The Lovestruck Balladeers perform at 8:30 p.m. Friday and 1:45 p.m. Saturday as part of the Stringband Music & Arts Festival at Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Stringband Festival
Ozark Folk Center State Park, 1032 Park Ave., Mountain View, hosts the Stringband Music & Arts Festival, 10 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Acts appearing in music and dance shows, 6-10 p.m. Friday and 1-10 p.m. Saturday, include the Lovestruck Balladeers, Sad Daddy, and Mountain View-area performers, among them veteran fiddler Roger Fountain, folksinger-songwriter Grace Stormont, Blackberry Summer and Love Holler, and many of the region’s best square dancers. Sponsors are Stone Bank and the Arkansas Arts Council. Tickets are $50 both days, $25 (Friday only) and $35 (Saturday only) — save $5 by ordering in advance — and include all-day admission to the park’s craft shops, gardens and entertainment in the Craft Village, open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Family passes (two adults and anyone under 18) are available. Visit tinyurl.com/48nw9zem.
ART & EXHIBITS: ‘Moments & Memories’
“Moments and Memories,” photographs that Arkansas native Ray Scott describes as capturing “ordinary subjects or scenes in creative ways,” goes on display with a 5-7 p.m. reception Friday in the Parish House Gallery at Christ Episcopal Church, 509 Scott St., Little Rock. The exhibition will remain up through the end of December; hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-noon Friday (call the church office at (501) 375-2342 to confirm office personnel are available for building access) and 7:30 a.m.-noon Sunday. Email [email protected]
‘Plein on Main’
Artists from around the state will create works in their medium of choice in Batesville’s Main Street residential and business districts as Gallery 246, 243 E. Main St., Batesville, holds the the fifth annual “Plein on Main” open-air art competition Friday and Saturday. The gallery is offering more than $1,500 in cash prizes. Abigail Smithson, a faculty member at Lyon College, will be the judge. Call (870) 262-8066.
Also in Batesville, artifacts, history and stories from Independence County and surrounding counties, will be on display Friday-Oct. 23 at the Old Independence Regional Museum, 380 S. Ninth St., Batesville, marking Lyon College’s sesquicentennial celebrations. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is $5, $3 for senior citizens over 55 and military, $2 for children over 6, free for kids 6 and younger. Call (870) 793-2121 or visit oirm.org.
ETC.: Pride Parade
The 2022 Pride Parade, noon Saturday through North Little Rock’s Argenta district, starts east of Dickey Stephens Stadium and proceeds west on West Broadway to Maple Street, north on Maple to West Sixth Street and east to Main Street. It concludes at Argenta Plaza, where a festival will feature food trucks, vendors, music and drag performances. Sign up at tinyurl.com/4cuhnyeh.
Arts and finances
Elaine Grogan Luttrull, founder of Minerva Financial Arts, a company that builds financial literacy and empowerment through education and coaching, will lecture on “Financial Wellness in the Arts,” 6 p.m. Friday in Room 101 of the Windgate Center of Art and Design at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. It’s is part of the UALR art and design department’s artWORKS 2022 lecture series. Visit facebook.com/ualrart.
Poets Roundtable
Tyrone Jaeger, winner of the Porter Fund Literary Prize and a faculty member at Hendrix College, will be the featured speaker at Poets Roundtable of Arkansas’ annual Poetry Day Conference, Saturday at Parkview United Methodist Church, 514 N. Border St., Benton. Registration begins at 9 a.m.; the conference starts at 9:30. There is no registration fee. An $8.50 barbecue lunch will be available. Call (501) 305-9972, email [email protected] or visit poetsroundtableofarkansas.org.
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Moses Lake Sees Strong Swim Season https://digitalarkansasnews.com/moses-lake-sees-strong-swim-season/
Oxygen
Missouri Woman Escapes Weeks-Long Rape, Torture After Alleged Captor Took Child To School
A Missouri man is in custody after a woman allegedly escaped his captivity and alerted neighbors for help. Timothy Marrion Haslett Jr., 40, was charged Friday night with the kidnapping and rape of an unnamed woman in Excelsior Springs, Missouri — about 30 miles northeast of Kansas City — according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s deputies responded to initial witness reports came around 7:47 a.m. on Friday that a woman was banging on doors and screaming for help. Neighbors told new
Reuters
Former Trump employee tells FBI Trump ordered Mar-a-Lago boxes to be moved -report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A former employee of Donald Trump has told federal agents the former president asked for boxes of records to be moved within his Florida residence after receiving a government subpoena demanding their return, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The testimony of the key witness, coupled with surveillance footage the Justice Department also obtained, represent some of the strongest known evidence to date of possible obstruction of justice by the former Republican president. The FBI conducted a court-approved search on Aug. 8 at Trump’s home at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, seizing more than 11,000 documents including about 100 marked as classified.
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FYI: An Entertainment Calendar Including Art On The Bricks
FYI: An Entertainment Calendar Including Art On The Bricks https://digitalarkansasnews.com/fyi-an-entertainment-calendar-including-art-on-the-bricks/
Art on the Bricks — Including a showcase of artwork from the Museum of Native American History in the gallery at Arkansas Public Theatre, 4:30-7:30 p.m. today, downtown Rogers. Free. monah.org, arkansaspublictheatre.org, RogersLowell.com.
Today
The War Eagle Fair — Called the granddaddy of them all, founded in 1954, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 13-15 and until 4 p.m. Oct. 16, 11037 High Sky Inn Road near Hindsville. Free.
War Eagle Mill Craft & Culinary Fair — 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 13-15 and until 4 p.m. Oct. 16, War Eagle Mill across the creek from the War Eagle Fair, 11045 War Eagle Road in Rogers. Free.
Sharp’s Show at War Eagle — 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 13-15 and until 4 p.m. Oct. 16, behind War Eagle Mill. Free.
Ozark Regional Arts & Crafts Festival — 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 13-15 at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Fayetteville. Free.
It’s Fall Y’All Craft Fair — 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 13-15, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 16, Benton County Fairgrounds in Bentonville. Free.
Northwest Arkansas Mall Craft Fair — 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Oct. 13-15 and noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 16, Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville. Free.
Crimes & Clues Book Club — “Line of Sight” by James Queally, 9:30 a.m., Fayetteville Public Library. Free. faylib.org.
Authors in the Afternoon — With Tommy B. Smith, author of “New Era,” 4-6 p.m., Fort Smith Main Library. Free. fortsmithlibrary.org.
CB to You Mobile Art Lab — Welcome celebration, 4:30-7:30 p.m., Springdale Public Library. Presented by Crystal Bridges Museum. Free. crystalbridges.org.
The Book Was Better Book Club — Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None,” 5 p.m., Bella Vista Public Library. Free. bvpl.org.
Hispanic Heritage Month Book Club — “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, 6 p.m., Azul Tequila Mexican Cuisine in Springdale. Hosted by Springdale Public Library. Free. springdalelibrary.org.
KUAF Presents the “R” Word — Discussion of “How to Fight Racism” with the author, Jemar Tisby, 6 p.m., Fayetteville Public Library. Free. faylib.org.
Innovations: An Investigation of Breakthroughs — Arkansas Philharmonic with cellist Anita Graef, 7 p.m., Great Hall at Crystal Bridges Museum. $40. Reservations at arphil.org.
AACLive! — With Rory Block, 7:30 p.m., 801 Media Center, 801 N. “A” St. in Fort Smith. $52.50. aaclive.com.
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Friday
Wishing Spring Gallery Fall Crafts Fair — 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 14-15, Wishing Spring Gallery in Bella Vista. Free.
Ozark Regional Arts & Crafts Festival — 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Oct. 14 and 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale. Free.
Pumpkin Patch Arts & Crafts Festival — 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Oct. 14 and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 15, United Lutheran Church at the corner of Cooper Road and Forest Hills Boulevard in Bella Vista. Free.
Tarot Card 101 — 6:30-8 p.m., Fort Smith Main Library. Free. Register at fortsmithlibrary.org.
“Legally Blonde: The Musical” — 8 p.m. Oct. 14, 2 & 8 p.m Oct. 15, 2 p.m. Oct. 16, Walton Arts Center St. in Fayetteville. $33 & up. waltonartscenter.org; 443-5600.
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Saturday
Fiber Fest — With demonstrations of weaving, felting, lace making, spinning and more, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 15-16, Ozark Folkways in Winslow. Free. ozarkfolkways.org.
Highfill Fall Festival — With a parade starting at 10 a.m. from the fire station to the city park, merchants, music, children’s activities and more until 3:30 p.m. Free. Email [email protected]
World Bazaar — 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Bentonville Public Library. Free. bentonvillelibrary.org.
Record Painting — Noon-2 p.m., Fort Smith Main Library. Free. fortsmithlibrary.org.
CB to You Mobile Art Lab — 12:30-4:30 p.m., Arkansalsa Festival at Shiloh Square in Springdale. Presented by Crystal Bridges Museum. Free. 657-2335 or crystalbridges.org.
Literature Comes to Life — “Dracula” with Ballet Arkansas, 1 p.m., Event Center at Fayetteville Public Library. Free. faylib.org.
Gallery Conversation — Celebrating LGBTQ+ Artists, 1 p.m., Contemporary Art Gallery at Crystal Bridges Museum. Free. 657-2335 or crystalbridges.org.
Flux: A Carnatic Crossover Experience — With Roopa Mahadevan, 3-5 p.m., Walker Landing at Crystal Bridges Museum. Free. Get tickets at 657-2335 or crystalbridges.org.
Outdoor Performance — Trillium Salon presents Craig Colorusso and Jon Mueller, 4 p.m., Orchard Trail at Crystal Bridges Museum. Free. 657-2335 or crystalbridges.org.
“Symphonic Superheroes” — With the Fort Smith Symphony, 7 p.m., ArcBest Performing Arts Center in Fort Smith. $25-$45. fortsmithsymphony.org.
— Becca Martin-Brown
[email protected]
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LIVE MUSIC IN ARKANSAS: Amy LaVere At White Water; Brian Nahlen At Hub
LIVE MUSIC IN ARKANSAS: Amy LaVere At White Water; Brian Nahlen At Hub https://digitalarkansasnews.com/live-music-in-arkansas-amy-lavere-at-white-water-brian-nahlen-at-hub/
Memphis musician Amy LaVere with Will Sexton performs Friday at White Water Tavern in Little Rock. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
■ ■ ■ TODAY ■ ■ ■
LITTLE ROCK
Camp Taco, 822 E. Sixth St.; (501) 353-0884
7 p.m.: Parker Francis Band
Fassler Hall, 311 E. Capitol Ave.; (501) 246-4757
8 p.m.: Sad Daddy
The Hall, 721 W. Ninth St.; (501) 406-1364
9 p.m.: Shrek Rave ($15-$35)
Rev Room, 300 President Clinton Ave.; (501) 398-1323; revroom.com
8 p.m.: Moonshine Bandits ($15 advance, $18 day of show)
Vino’s, 923 W. Seventh St.; (501) 375-8466; vinosbrewpub.com
8-9 a.m.: Rickshaw Billy’s Burger Patrol
White Water Tavern, 2500 W. Seventh St.; (501) 375-8400; whitewatertavern.com
8 p.m.: The Prescriptions, SonicFUZZ, House Treehouse ($10)
NORTH LITTLE ROCK
Simmons Bank Arena, 1 Simmons Bank Arena Drive; (501) 340-5660
8 p.m.: Kevin Gates ($39.50-$89.50)
CAMDEN
Native Dog Brewing, 125 Madison Ave. SE; (870) 231-3451; nativedogbrewing.com
7 p.m.: Brooks Walthall
EL DORADO
Mulekick at MAD, 101 E. Locust St.; (870) 444-3008; mulekickatmad.com
7-10 p.m.: Randall Shreve
HOT SPRINGS
Central Theater, 1008 Central Ave.; (501) 859-9148
8 p.m.: Patti Savage & The OG Crew
Jose’s Mexican Grill & Cantina, 5361 Central Ave.; (501) 525-9797; josesmexicangrill.com
6-9 p.m.: Jacob Flores
Malco Lounge, 817 Central Ave.; (501) 623-6200
7-10 p.m.: Open mic night hosted by Hillestad
Rolando’s, 210 Central Ave.; (501) 318-6054
5:30 p.m.: Christine DeMeo
JONESBORO
First National Bank Arena, 217 Olympic Drive; (870) 972-2781
7:30 p.m.: Travis Tritt, Chris Janson, War Hippies ($45-$95)
ROGERS
Walmart AMP, 5079 W. Northgate Road; (479) 443-5600
7 p.m.: The Black Keys, with Band of Horses, The Velveteers ($59.50-$225)
■ ■ ■ FRIDAY ■ ■ ■
LITTLE ROCK
Aloft + WXYZ Bar, 716 Rahling Road; (501) 791-9999
8-11 p.m.: Hillestad
Charlie’s Place, 8624 Interstate 30; (501) 952-6029
7 p.m.-2 a.m.: Shirley Jones, Stacii Addams, T. Lyons, Just’n, Al Chauncey and Ms. Lady Blues ($30-$450)
Hibernia Irish Tavern, 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road; (501) 246-4340; hiberniairishtavern.com
7-10 p.m.: Still Married
Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St.; (501) 324-9351
5 p.m.: Fire and Brimstone
JJ’s Grill, 12111 W. Markham St.; (501) 414-0848; jjsgrill.com
6-8 p.m.: Covington Creek
Midtown Billiards, 1316 Main St.; (501) 372-9990
1 a.m.: Casey Sparks
Rev Room
8 p.m.: Kameron Marlowe ($15; $79 VIP)
Second Friday Art Night, Old State House Museum, 300 W. Markham St.; (501) 324-9685
5-8 p.m.: Zakk & Greg “Big Papa” Binns
Shooters Bar and Grill, 9500 Interstate 30; (501) 565-4003
8 p.m.: Hernandos Vega Jr. – Paco Barron
South on Main, 1304 Main St.; (501) 244-9660; southonmain.com
8-10 p.m.: Jason Lee Hale & The Personal Space Invaders
Sullivan’s Steakhouse, 17707 Chenal Parkway; (501) 817-3971
6-9 p.m.: The Eric Ware Trio
Vino’s
7-11 p.m.: Princeaus, Mvk Loui$
White Water Tavern
8 p.m.: Amy LaVere & Will Sexton ($20)
Willy D’s, 322 President Clinton Ave.; (501) 244-9550
8 p.m.: Cliff & Susan
NORTH LITTLE ROCK
Four Quarter Bar – Dogtown Throwdown, 415 Main St.; (501) 313-4704
9:30 p.m.: Just Cuz (free)
Brian Nahlen performs Friday at the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub in North Little Rock for “One Night’s Stand,” a benefit for The Van’s Back 5 Fields project. Back 5 Fields is a farm dedicated to helping people without homes to find sustainable and attainable work while also growing food. Get tickets at The Van’s Facebook page. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
The Innovation Hub, 204 E. Fourth St.; (501) 907-6570; arhub.org
6-8 p.m.: “One Night’s Stand” with Brian Nahlen ($20; benefit for Back 5 Fields)
SHERWOOD
Area 51, 6511 Warden Road; (501) 835-5510
8 p.m.: Modeling, Bootleg Royale, Cosmic Cream
MAUMELLE
Tavern Round the Bend, 26611 Arkansas 365; (501) 800-1123
9 p.m.: Ryan Harmon
CAMDEN
Native Dog Brewing
7 p.m.: Reagan Harvill
CONWAY
JJ’s Grill, 1010 Main St.; (501) 336-0100; jjsgrill.com
8:30 p.m.: Jack Fancy
Kings Live Music, 1020 Front St.; (501) 205-8512; kingslivemusic.com
8:30-11:30 p.m.: Hayefield ($5)
Skinny J’s, 2235 Dave Ward Drive; (501) 358-6586; skinnyjs.com
7-10 p.m.: Perry Mason Project
TC’s Midtown Grill, 1611 Oak St., Suite 19; (501) 205-0576
9 p.m.-1 a.m.: Joseph Logue Band
EL DORADO
Mulehead @ MAD
7-10 p.m.: Matthew Szlachetka
HOT SPRINGS
Arlington Hotel & Spa, 239 Central Ave.; (501) 321-4747
7 p.m.: “Finding Her Beat” – film and Taiko (Japanese) drumming featuring all women
The Big Chill, 910 Higdon Ferry Road; (501) 624-5185; chillhotsprings.com
9 p.m.: The Shari Bales Band
J&S Italian Villa, 4332 Central Ave., Suite B; (501) 525-1121
6:30-9:30 p.m.: Jacob Flores
Ohio Club, 336 Central Ave.; (501) 627-0702; ohioclub.com
8 p.m.-12 a.m.: Christine DeMeo
Pop’s Lounge at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, 2705 Central Ave.; (501) 363-4784; oaklawn.com
9 p.m-1 a.m.: Parker Francis Band
Splash Wine Bar, 325 Ouachita Ave.; (501) 701-4544
7:30-11 p.m.: Mama Tryde
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE
The Beehive, 220 Minorca Road; (501) 777-8176; beehivehsv.com
7-9 p.m.: Jonivan Jones
MAGNOLIA
Mulekick, 2158 N. Jackson; (870) 562-2800; mulekickmag.com
7-10 p.m.: Randall Shreve
MORRILTON
Cedar Lounge Bar and Grill, 1222 E. Broadway St. (U.S. 64); (501) 354-8937
8p.m.: Mr. Lucky
■ ■ ■ SATURDAY ■ ■ ■
LITTLE ROCK
Bernice Garden, 1401 Main St.; (501) 410-3938; thebernicegarden.org
10-11 a.m.: Acoustic Music Mornings; musical instruments and chairs welcome.
Cannibal and Craft, 307 President Clinton Ave.; (501) 414-8870
9 p.m.: DaLock Band ($10)
Dugan’s, 401 E. Third St.; (501) 244-0542
9 p.m.: The Karla Case Band
The Hall
8 p.m.: Trap Karaoke ($24-$44)
Midtown Grill
1 a.m.: Brass Tacks
Rev Room
8:30 p.m.: Jet 420, with A.Z.R.O. featuring Rick Martin of Tragikly White ($10)
South on Main
8-10 p.m.: Tonya Leeks
Sullivan’s Steakhouse, 17707 Chenal Parkway; (501) 817-3971
6-9 p.m.: The Clyde Pound Trio
Vino’s
7-11 p.m.: CrashCast Show
White Water Tavern
9 p.m.: Kobraroxx, Diamond States ($10)
NORTH LITTLE ROCK
The Filling Station, 3623 John F. Kennedy Blvd.; (501) 246-9750
2:30 p.m.: Missy Harris and the MissFits
Four Quarter Bar – Dogtown Throwdown
7 p.m.: The Stolen Faces (free)
CADDO VALLEY
Betty’s Big Country Dance Hall, 102 Crystal Palace Drive; (870) 403-0373; bettysbigcountrydance.com
8 p.m.: Mike Mayberry & the Slow Hands
CONWAY
Kings Live Music
8:30-11:30 p.m.: Friends of the Phamily tribute to the Grateful Dead ($5)
Skinny J’s
7-10 p.m.: Arkansas Brothers
TC’s Midtown Grill
9 p.m.-1 a.m.: Lypstick Hand Grenade
Toad Suck Buck’s, 11 Roaring River Loop; (501) 759-2067
6 p.m.: The Arkadelics
EUREKA SPRINGS
Chelsea’s, 10 Mountain St.; (479) 253-8231
9:30 p.m.: Brick Fields Blues Therapy
HOT SPRINGS
Arlington Hotel & Spa
7:30 p.m.: HSDFF closing night gala: “The Return of Tanya Tucker” (film featuring Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings) ($20-$75)
420eats, 420 Malvern Ave.; (501) 420-3286
6-9 p.m.: Austin Handley
The Big Chill
9 p.m.: Shari Bales Band
Boogie’s Bar & Grill, 1010 E. Grand Ave.; (501) 624-5455
9 p.m.-5 a.m.: Aaron Owens
Ohio Club
8 p.m.: Christine DeMeo
Pickin’ in the Pines, 4010 Park Ave.; (501) 318-9840
11 a.m-2 p.m.: Lay Arredondo & Encore ($3; free for children 12 and under)
Pop’s Lounge at Oaklawn
9 p.m-1 a.m.: Parker Francis Band
South Haven Tavern, 5590 Central Ave.; (501) 701-4283
12 p.m.: McCuin, MunkyThumb, Maynium, Recognizer, Luke Shoemaker, Dan From Day One, Tantric ($25)
Splash Wine Bar
9:30-11 p.m.: Jacob Flores
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE
Balboa Pavilion, 476 Ponce de Leon Drive; (501) 922-5560
5 p.m.: GMG Band II
The Beehive
7-10 p.m.: Fonky Donkey
MAGNOLIA
Mulekick
7-10 p.m.: Chase Rains
MORRILTON
Cedar Lounge Bar and Grill
8 p.m.: Joseph Logue Band
MOUNTAIN HOME
Rapp’s Barren Brewery, 601 S. Baker St.; (870) 424-7277; rappsbarrenbrewing.com
7-9 p.m.: Erin Walters
RISON
Rison in the Fall Festival, FBT Park, 208 Main St.; (870) 510-2433
1 p.m.: Johnny Cash tribute, with statue presentation from Kevin Kresse and performance by Erin Enderlin
4:30 p.m.: Austin-Hendricks Band
6:30 p.m.: Vintage
7:30 p.m.: Erin Enderlin
9 p.m.: Julie Roberts
■ ■ ■ SUNDAY ■ ■ ■
LITTLE ROCK
Camp Taco
3 p.m.: Some Guy Named Robb
Hibernia Irish Tavern
2:30 p.m.: Traditional Irish session
South on Main
11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Jason Lee Hale
Vino’s
6-10 p.m.: Morbid Visionz, Left to Rot, B.L.A.S.T., Disregard the Moldy Cheese
White Water Tavern
5 p.m.: Early Times ($12)
MAUMELLE
Tavern Round the Bend
8:30-11 p.m.: Nolan McNeil
HOT SPRINGS
Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Jacob Flores
Central Cabaret & Nightclub, 1008 Central Ave.; (501) 859-9148
2 p.m.: Kathy & the Kidz ($5-$250)
■ ■ ■ MONDAY ■ ■ ■
LITTLE ROCK
Vino’s
7-11 p.m.: Combust, Moon Mayne, Open Kasket
■ ■ ■ TUESDAY ■ ■ ■
LITTLE ROCK
JJ’s Grill
8 p.m.: Jason Campbell
CONWAY
JJ’S Grill
8 p.m.: Chuck & Justin
HOT SPRINGS
Central Cabaret & Nightclub
7 p.m.: Jazz night with the Timothy Woods Jazz Quintet
El Padrino’s, 1607 Albert Pike Ave.; (501) 525-1121
6-9 p.m.: Jacob Flores
■ ■ ■ WEDNESDAY ■ ■ ■
LITTLE ROCK
Rev Room
8 p.m.: The Melvins, with We Are the Asteroid ($25)
CABOT
Fire & Stone, 2541 W. Main St.; (501) 843-3337
7-10 p.m.: Shaw Revolver
FAYETTEVILLE
Milo Schultz Ag Center, Farmers for Tomorrow Fund, 1005 Meade Ave.; (479) 575-2798; FarmersForTomorrow.org
5-7:30 p.m.: The Creek Rocks ($65; tables for six: $1,200)
Morano’s, 2179 Martin Luther King Blvd.; (479) 935-4800
6-9 p.m.: Brick Fields ($5)
HOT SPRINGS
Garland County Library, 1427 Malvern Ave.; (501) 623-4161
6-7:30 p.m.: Blues Summit, with Kathy Kidd on bass, Greg “Big Papa” Binns on guitar and J.D. Lowe...
Australia News LIVE: Medibank Private Hit By cyber Incident; PM Confirms Spending Cuts In October Budget
Australia News LIVE: Medibank Private Hit By ‘cyber Incident’; PM Confirms Spending Cuts In October Budget https://digitalarkansasnews.com/australia-news-live-medibank-private-hit-by-cyber-incident-pm-confirms-spending-cuts-in-october-budget/
Key posts
1 of 5
5.57pm
Labor’s new plan to slash consultancy bill
By Poppy Johnston
The Albanese government will take an axe to costly private consultancy fees as it continues a blitz on “wasteful” spending ahead of its first budget.
The government plans to set up an internal consulting hub to provide more of its needs in-house.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher plans to shake up the way consultants work with the federal government.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Speaking at the Institute of Public Administration Australia, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the model would give public servants the opportunity to develop their expertise further as well as reduce costs.
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In the lead-up to the election, Labor said spending on private consultants had ballooned and promised to slash spending on contractors and labour hire.
It expects a 10 per cent reduction in external labour will save $3 billion over four years.
Labor also promised to reinvest more funds back into the public service and hire more frontline staff.
AAP
5.56pm
The Wrap: ASX wipes gains to close flat as investors await US inflation figures
By Carla Jaeger
Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day, and how the experts saw it.
The numbers: The Australian sharemarket finished flat on Thursday, erasing the morning’s gains to end 4.9 points, or 0.07 per cent, down to 6642.6.
Financial stocks again lifted the market, adding another 1.4 per cent to Wednesday’s gains. Consumer discretionary was the only other sector to finish higher, with real estate the biggest drag, falling 1.9 per cent.
The lifters: Qantas shares soared 8.7 per cent after the airline flagged it would return to profit by year’s end; transport operator Kelsian Group up 6.3 per cent; and Westpac up 2.95 per cent as the big four banks rallied.
The laggards: Health insurer NIB shed 12 per cent after completing a $135 million institutional placement; GrainCorp down 6.3 per cent; and lithium player Allkem down 4.1 per cent.
The lowdown: A rally from the banks helped limit losses on the ASX on Thursday as investors await CPI data from the US. The big four banks all gained ground again.
Financial stocks were helping lift the ASX on Thursday.Credit:Nick Moir
Craig Sidney, senior investment adviser at Shaw and Partners, said there was renewed interest in the banks after BoQ’s results, while the broader market was awaiting US CPI data overnight and US quarterly results, which will begin to filter through this week.
“The market’s really waiting for the CPI read out of the US tonight,” he said. “That’ll set the scene for tomorrow, those figures and how the market reacts to them.”
Qantas shares soared by 8.7 per cent after the airline revealed in a trading update it expected to be back in profit by the end of the year.
Read more here.
5.44pm
WorkSafe to take ‘no further action’ on ex-Labor MP’s bullying claims
By Callum Godde
Victoria’s work safety regulator has closed its case into a former state Labor MP’s claims she was bullied by the premier and others.
WorkSafe Victoria has completed its investigation into allegations Labor-turned-independent upper house MP Kaushaliya Vaghela was bullied, it announced on Thursday.
Kaushaliya Vaghela with Premier Daniel Andrews.Credit:Facebook
Its probe focused on Premier Daniel Andrews, some employees of his private office, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and members of the public, and used coercive powers to obtain information.
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“On the basis of the evidence, and taking into account WorkSafe’s general prosecution guidelines, WorkSafe will not take further action on this matter at this time,” a statement read.
“WorkSafe will not comment further on this matter as avenues of independent review remain open.”
After crossing the floor to vote against Labor on a contentious motion in February and resigning from the party, Vaghela accused Andrews and Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams of bullying her.
Under parliamentary privilege, she said she was “systematically targeted” for switching from Andrews’ Socialist Left to the right faction, then led by disgraced former powerbroker Adem Somyurek, before the 2018 state election.
Vaghela alleged Williams sent her an “angry” text after she changed factions, questioning her integrity and demanding an explanation.
Read more here.
AAP
5.25pm
Qld hospital reviews staff complaints but not workplace culture
By Marty Silk
A major Queensland hospital has reviewed its staff complaints process, but not its workplace culture, the state’s health minister says.
Yvette D’Ath was perplexed when asked about a cultural probe at the Caboolture Hospital by the opposition in parliament on Thursday.
Queensland’s Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has responded to a damning report into Mackay Base Hospital where three infants died as a result of healthcare failures.
The minister later clarified there had not been a review of workplace culture, but the Caboolture Hospital and Health Service had probed its public interest disclosure (PID) process for staff complaints.
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“I’m still seeking further clarification but already the information I’m getting shows that the LNP’s comments today are not completely accurate,” the minister told reporters.
“But there is work that has been commissioned, externally, around how the HHS can improve their processes around PID complaints.
“So not cultural behaviour, PID complaints.”
An inquiry last year into the hospital, north of Brisbane, found at least one preventable death occurred there due to surgical negligence between 2015 and 2020.
The inquiry report, handed down in November, said a “negative workplace culture and destabilised governance structure” could be putting safety at risk.
Read more here.
4.59pm
Former RBA deputy flags Australia’s risks of slow start on green energy
By Colin Kruger
Former Reserve Bank deputy Guy Debelle says Australia is well-placed to become a green energy superpower, but warns we risk having “the rug pulled from under us” without incentives to attract the level of infrastructure investment needed.
The energy crisis in Europe, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has ensured huge demand for renewable energy, says Debelle, who now heads billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries in its green hydrogen push.
“We’re lucky again as a country because we have some of the best renewable resources in the world,” Debelle told Citi’s Australia & New Zealand Investment Conference on Thursday.
“We’re lucky again as a country”: Former Reserve Bank deputy governor Guy Debelle.Credit:Dion Georgopoulos
“We have the comparative advantage in this stuff, but we can have the rug pulled from under us if other countries get there first,” he said.
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The US Emissions Reduction Act is already boosting investment in sectors such as green hydrogen, according to Debelle, who said Australia could not afford to lag on the incentives needed to attract the capital now flowing to the US.
“The question is, how do you accelerate that investment in scale? And that’s where there is opportunity for policy.”
Debelle shocked the RBA in March this year when he resigned to become chief financial officer of Fortescue Future Industries (FFI).
Forrest’s Fortescue unveiled FFI in 2020 with a target to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030, the same year the miner plans to hit net-zero emissions.
Last month, FFI announced plans to invest $US130 million ($200 million) with Tree Energy Solutions, known as TES, to become a partner in a gas import terminal and planned green energy hub in Germany.
Read more here.
4.50pm
Former minister Linda Reynolds to give evidence in Lehrmann trial
By Angus Thompson
Former Coalition minister Linda Reynolds will give evidence in the rape trial of her former adviser Bruce Lehrmann on Tuesday.
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who also worked for the senator when she was minister for defence industries, alleges Lehrmann sexually assaulted her in Reynolds’ office in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after a night out drinking with colleagues.
Former Coalition minister Linda Reynolds will give evidence in the trial next week.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to a count of sexual intercourse without consent, being reckless as to whether Higgins was consenting. He denies ever having sex with Higgins.
Higgins will return on Friday to continue giving evidence after being unavailable most of the week. There is a non-publication order over other evidence in the proceedings in her absence.
The trial is expected to run until the end of next week after prosecutor Shane Drumgold, SC, told ACT Supreme Court judge Lucy McCallum the case was running “much ahead of schedule”.
Read more here.
4.38pm
Second WA mining death this week
By Peter Milne
A worker has died at a Pilbara mine site on Thursday, two days after a fatality at Gold Fields’ Saint Ives mine near Kambalda.
WorkSafe WA commissioner Darren Kavanagh said any work-related death was a tragedy and conveyed his condolences to the worker’s family, friends and co-workers.
Another worker has died at a West Australian mine.
Mine safety inspectors are travelling to the site to investigate the incident. WA Police are also attending the scene.
The regulator said it was unable to provide further details of either incident at this time.
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The two tragedies this week are the first fatalities in WA’s mining sector since industrial manslaughter legislation came into effect in March 2022.
A worker died late Tuesday after an accident at the Hamlet underground mine at Gold Fields’ Saint Ives operation near Kambalda.
Gold Fields execut...
Man Arrested On Rape Charge https://digitalarkansasnews.com/man-arrested-on-rape-charge/
JONESBORO — A Jonesboro man was arrested on suspicion of rape, second-degree battery and aggravated assault Tuesday after a woman accused him of touching her sexually and hitting her with a baseball bat, according to a Jonesboro police report.
Daryl Scales, 56, of the 200 block of East Gee Street, hit the 38-year-old woman in the back of the head, on her hand and the back of her thigh, the report said.
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Toshiba Shares Jump On Report Of Possible $19 Bln Buyout
Toshiba Shares Jump On Report Of Possible $19 Bln Buyout https://digitalarkansasnews.com/toshiba-shares-jump-on-report-of-possible-19-bln-buyout/
TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Shares in Toshiba Corp (6502.T) on Thursday surged on a report that a domestic investor-led group was looking at a $19 billion bid – a potential deal that would likely lead to foreign activist shareholders being bought out after years of tension.
A consortium led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners and which also includes Chubu Electric Power Co (9502.T) has been given preferred bidder status in the second round of bidding, Kyodo news agency and other media have reported.
The 2.8 trillion yen figure cited by Kyodo would mark a 26% premium to Wednesday’s closing price.
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The shares were up 7% in afternoon trade, on track for their biggest one-day gain in more than a year. They have risen some 17% this year.
Once a storied conglomerate, Toshiba has been weakened by accounting and governance scandals. Attempts to turn itself around have been overshadowed in recent years by discord between management and its many activist shareholders.
The consortium will put up around 1 trillion yen in equity, with the rest of the money likely to come from bank loans, Kyodo said, adding that financing talks were ongoing and the offer value could change depending on future movements of Toshiba’s stock price.
Toshiba has declined to comment on the report.
It was not immediately clear how many bids Toshiba is seriously considering but the contest to take over the company is likely still an open race between Japan Industrial Partners and state-backed Japan Investment Corp, said Travis Lundy, a Quiddity Advisors analyst who publishes on the Smartkarma platform.
The two had previously joined forces to bid for Toshiba but have since gone their separate ways, sources have said. Japan Investment Corp has since been in talks with private equity firm Bain Capital, one of several overseas funds that passed the first round of bidding, local media have reported.
Toshiba and activist shareholders have been at odds over the direction of the company, with several large foreign funds pushing the conglomerate to consider private equity bids.
Tensions culminated last year when a shareholder-commissioned investigation concluded management had colluded with Japan’s trade ministry – which sees the company’s nuclear and defence technology as a strategic asset – to block overseas investors from gaining influence at its 2020 shareholder meeting.
“The only way to get rid of the activists is to buy them out,” Lundy said.
($1 = 146.8300 yen)
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Reporting by Sam Byford; Editing by David Dolan and Edwina Gibbs
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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US Capitol Riot Panel To Get Inside Trumps Head Say Aides
US Capitol Riot Panel To Get Inside Trump’s Head, Say Aides https://digitalarkansasnews.com/us-capitol-riot-panel-to-get-inside-trumps-head-say-aides/
Lawmakers investigating the 2021 attack on the US Capitol plan to journey inside the mind of Donald Trump on Thursday during the final public presentation on their sprawling probe before crucial midterm elections. — AFP file pic
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Thursday, 13 Oct 2022 1:53 PM MYT
WASHINGTON, Oct 13 — Lawmakers investigating the 2021 attack on the US Capitol plan to journey inside the mind of Donald Trump on Thursday during the final public presentation on their sprawling probe before crucial midterm elections.
The House of Representatives panel has already unveiled reams of evidence on the former president’s involvement in a labyrinthine series of connected schemes to overturn the 2020 election.
In what could be its last public session before it issues a report on its findings, the panel of seven Democrats and two Republicans has promised fresh damning evidence on the insurrection.
“And we’re going to bring a particular focus on the former president’s state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded,” a select committee aide said.
Blockbuster witness testimony across eight hearings in the summer provided stunning examples of Trump and his allies pressuring election officials and trying to get lawfully-cast votes nullified in swing states, and of Trump’s inertia amid the mob uprising on January 6, 2021.
The aide said that while each previous hearing had dug into separate aspects of the plan to overturn the election and block the transfer of power, Thursday’s session would reach back before January 6 to tell the broader story.
“So what you’re going to see is a synthesis of some evidence we’ve already presented with that new, never-before-seen information to illustrate Donald Trump’s centrality to the scheme from the time prior to the election,” he added.
‘Right to the violence’
The panel plans to release its final report by the end of the year, but after the November 8 elections that decide which party controls Congress. A preliminary report may come out beforehand.
It will be the first hearing without live witnesses — instead featuring new video evidence, including footage from a Danish film crew shot for a documentary about longtime Trump ally Roger Stone.
In one clip from the day before the 2020 election, the notorious self-styled “dirty trickster” is seen telling the filmmakers he has no interest in waiting to contest the vote tally.
“Let’s get right to the violence,” says the 70-year-old Republican operative.
Stone, who has not been charged in connection with the riot, has challenged the authenticity of the clips.
Committee aides said there would also be new video footage showing “efforts to respond in real time to the violence… as that violence was unfolding.”
The panel also plans to unveil evidence developed from “hundreds of thousands” of pages of documents surrendered by the Secret Service, the aides said, as lawmakers seek to understand why certain agents’ text messages from the eve of the insurrection and the day itself went missing.
The records are expected to confirm evidence from earlier hearings that Trump riled up his supporters despite being repeatedly warned of looming violence on January 6.
Criminal referrals?
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified in June that Trump was briefed that some of his supporters had turned up armed, and demanded they be permitted into his rally and that he be allowed to lead them at the Capitol.
Trump, who urged his supporters in a fiery speech near the White House to “fight like hell,” was impeached for inciting the mob to storm Congress to halt the peaceful transfer of power to Joe Biden.
The defeated president’s election fraud falsehoods inspired a welter of restrictive voting laws in conservative states as he endorsed a crop of Republican candidates running to oversee future elections who have tried to undermine faith in the last one.
The hearing comes with the former president’s legal woes mounting, as the Justice Department probes the mishandling of government secrets found at his Florida beach club, Mar-a-Lago.
Individual panellists have publicly suggested Attorney General Merrick Garland should charge Trump over the Capitol attack, although the committee has not announced a formal decision on whether it will make criminal referrals.
It is looking increasingly unlikely that members will subpoena Trump and his vice president Mike Pence, who was threatened by the president’s supporters during the insurrection. — AFP
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Trump Responds To E. Jean Carroll Defamation Lawsuit After Judge Denies Delay: 'A Hoax And A Lie'
Trump Responds To E. Jean Carroll Defamation Lawsuit After Judge Denies Delay: 'A Hoax And A Lie' https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-responds-to-e-jean-carroll-defamation-lawsuit-after-judge-denies-delay-a-hoax-and-a-lie/
Former President Trump responded after a federal judge ordered him to sit for a deposition in the defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll, who alleges Trump raped her in the 1990s and harmed her reputation when he denied the allegation.
“E. Jean Carroll is not telling the truth, is a woman who I had nothing to do with, didn’t know, and would have no interest in knowing her if I ever had the chance,” Trump said Wednesday in an email to his supporters.
In his statement, Trump called the lawsuit a “complete con job” and denied ever knowing who Carroll was, despite her producing a photo of them having met at an event.
“I don’t know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it seems she got a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a celebrity charity event,” the former president wrote. “She completely made up a story that I met her at the doors of this crowded New York City Department Store and, within minutes, ‘swooned’ her.”
TRUMP TO BE DEPOSED IN E. JEAN CARROLL DEFAMATION LAWSUIT AFTER FEDERAL JUDGE REJECTED REQUEST FOR DELAY
Carroll, a former columnist for Elle Magazine, alleges Trump raped her at a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a department store in New York City.
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“It is a Hoax and a lie, just like all the other Hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years,” he added.
Trump later described the woman as not his “type” and pointed to alleged discrepancies in her account during her appearance on CNN.
“She has no idea what day, what week, what month, what year, or what decade this so-called ‘event’ supposedly took place,” the former president said.
LONGTIME ADVICE COLUMNIST E. JEAN CARROLL ACCUSES TRUMP OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN 1990S
He contended: “The reason she doesn’t know is because it never happened, and she doesn’t want to get caught up with details or facts that can be proven wrong. If you watch Anderson Cooper’s interview with her, where she was promoting a really crummy book, you will see that it is a complete Scam. She changed her story from beginning to end, after the commercial break, to suit the purposes of CNN and Anderson Cooper.”
MESA, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 09: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Legacy Sports USA on October 09, 2022 in Mesa, Arizona.
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The disposition was resumed after U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected a request by Trump’s legal team that his testimony be delayed.
“She is suing me on numerous frivolous cases, just like this one, and the court system does nothing to stop it. Now all I have to do is go through years more of legal nonsense in order to clear my name of her and her lawyer’s phony attacks on me,” Trump concluded in the email.
The former president seemed to also suggest the lawsuit was connected to derailing his political career. His deposition is scheduled for October 19.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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Dixon Looks To Gain On Whitmer At Michigan Governor Debate
Dixon Looks To Gain On Whitmer At Michigan Governor Debate https://digitalarkansasnews.com/dixon-looks-to-gain-on-whitmer-at-michigan-governor-debate/
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The candidates for governor of Michigan are having their first debate on Thursday, as Republican challenger Tudor Dixon looks to use the primetime appearance to narrow her gap with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Dixon is a former commentator for a conservative online program who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. She has never held public office and is still working to introduce herself and her ideas to voters — some of whom may be seeing her in action for the first time at Thursday’s debate.
For months, Whitmer and fellow Democrats have been airing attack ads portraying the Republican as too extreme on issues such as abortion, noting Dixon’s opposition to the procedure even in cases of rape or incest. Those ads have largely gone unanswered as Dixon has struggled to raise money to compete with Whitmer’s multimillion-dollar campaign fund.
But with just weeks to go before the Nov. 8 election, Dixon is expected to fire back at Whitmer during the debate in Grand Rapids. She has described the governor’s views as “radical” on issues such as education, abortion and criminal justice. Dixon also has criticized Whitmer on the campaign trail for her approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying lockdowns she imposed hurt the state’s economy.
Whitmer is seeking her second term as governor after serving in leadership in the Michigan Legislature, where in 2013 during a debate over insurance coverage of abortion she publicly shared her story of being raped. She has since said she will “fight like hell” to protect abortion rights, including filing a lawsuit earlier this year to block a 1931 ban from taking effect in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
FILE – Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon appears at a primary election party in Grand Rapids, Mich., Aug. 2, 2022. The candidates for Michigan governor will debate for the first time on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, as Dixon looks to use the primetime appearance to narrow her gap with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Paul Sancya
Abortion has been a particularly prominent issue in Michigan this year because voters in November also will decide whether to enshrine the right to the procedure in the state constitution.
Dixon has said she supports abortion only to save the life of the mother, and she has been endorsed by anti-abortion groups, including Right to Life of Michigan.
She has had support from the family of Betsy DeVos, the former Education Secretary under Trump, and a well-known member of the state’s GOP establishment. Her campaign said she was getting help preparing for the debate from another endorsee, former Gov. John Engler.
Dixon emerged from a five-candidate Republican primary after receiving Trump’s endorsement. She said during the primary that she believed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, whose loss to Joe Biden in Michigan by some 154,000 votes was confirmed through multiple investigations and lawsuits.
The mother of four has criticized Whitmer over education in the state, saying parents should have more rights in regard to what is taught to children.
The two candidates are scheduled to debate again on Oct. 25 at Oakland University in Rochester.
___
Joey Cappelletti is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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Burnett reported from Chicago.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Google Approves Trump's Truth Social For Play Store
Google Approves Trump's Truth Social For Play Store https://digitalarkansasnews.com/google-approves-trumps-truth-social-for-play-store-2/
Alphabet Inc’s Google has approved former U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media app Truth Social for distribution in the Google Play Store, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, reports Reuters.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which operates Truth Social, is expected to make the app available in the Play Store shortly, Google said.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with Google, and we’re glad they helped us to finally bring Truth Social to all Americans, regardless of what device they use,” TMTG’s Chief Executive Officer Devin Nunes said in a statement.
Truth Social, which launched in the United States in the Apple App Store in February, had not previously been available in the Play Store due to insufficient content moderation, according to a Google spokesperson in August. Google had expressed concerns to Truth Social about violations of its Play Store policies prohibiting content like physical threats and incitement to violence.
Without Google and Apple stores, there is no easy way for most smartphone users to download Truth Social.
Google’s Play Store is the main way users of Android phones in the United States download apps. Android users can get apps through competing stores or download them directly from a website, though it often requires extra steps and security permissions. Truth Social has been available through those means even as Google blocked it from the Play Store.
Android phones comprise about 40% of the U.S. smartphone market.
Truth Social restored Trump’s presence on social media more than a year after he was banned from Twitter Inc, Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube following the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots, after he was accused of posting messages inciting violence.
TMTG has pledged to deliver an “engaging and censorship-free experience” on Truth Social, appealing to a base that feels its views around such hot-button topics such as the outcome of the 2020 presidential election have been scrubbed from mainstream tech platforms.
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Trump Blasts E. Jean Carroll https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-blasts-e-jean-carroll/
Former President Donald Trump claimed that a defamation lawsuit brought against him by former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll is a “complete con job” in a statement released on his Truth Social account Wednesday.
The statement from Trump followed news Wednesday afternoon that a federal judge had rejected Trump’s attempt to pause his deposition scheduled for next week, according to a report from CNN.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Legacy Sports USA on October 9, 2022, in Mesa, Arizona. Trump released a statement Wednesday calling the sexual assault allegation levied against him in a defamation suit a “complete con job.” Mario Tama/Getty Images
The lawsuit from Carroll alleges that Trump raped her in a department store in New York City in the mid-1990s, which Trump has repeatedly denied. The former president said in his statement Wednesday that Carroll’s allegations are “a hoax and a lie, just like all the other hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years.”
CNN reports that Trump is scheduled to be deposed October 19, and Carroll will face her deposition this Friday.
Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in his decision on Wednesday that while the court awaits a ruling from a federal appeals court to determine whether Trump was a federal employee when he first denied Carroll’s claims, it will cause Trump “no undue burden” to complete his depositions now, reported CNN.
Trump said in his statement that Carroll’s lawyer for the case was a “political operative … who goes around telling people that the way to beat Trump is to sue him all over the place.”
“In the meantime, and for the record, E. Jean Carroll is not telling the truth, is a woman who I had nothing to do with, didn’t know, and would have no interest in knowing her if I ever had the chance,” Trump added.
This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Biden Administration To Offer Thousands Of Venezuelan Migrants Legal Path Into U.S.
Biden Administration To Offer Thousands Of Venezuelan Migrants Legal Path Into U.S. https://digitalarkansasnews.com/biden-administration-to-offer-thousands-of-venezuelan-migrants-legal-path-into-u-s/
The humanitarian parole program would be available to up to 24,000 Venezuelans who have a U.S. sponsor. However, a pandemic-era rule will be extended to expel Venezuelans who enter the country illegally.
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Migrants waiting to be transported to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility after crossing the Rio Grande into the United States.Credit…Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times
Oct. 12, 2022Updated 11:48 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced it would accept up to 24,000 Venezuelans via a humanitarian parole plan, although the scope of the program was far narrower than a similar one for Ukrainians.
The parole plan would grant Venezuelans a narrow legal pathway to the United States and the administration hopes they will apply for it remotely and fly to the United States rather than making the dangerous trek to the southwest border.
The Department of Homeland Security also said it would expand its use of a public health rule to start expelling to Mexico Venezuelans who illegally cross the U.S. border.
The reliance on a Trump-era pandemic rule crystallized the Biden administration’s balancing act in both helping refugees and tightening border restrictions in the face of Republican attacks on President Biden’s immigration policy and record numbers of illegal border crossings. And there is no guarantee that just 27 days before the midterm elections, it will have the desired effect.
Until now, the majority of Venezuelans who crossed into the United States have not been expelled under the public health authority, known as Title 42. Instead, they were screened and released into the country temporarily to face removal proceedings in immigration court, where they have the option to apply for asylum.
Venezuelans who apply for the humanitarian parole program must have someone in the United States who can show that they are able to financially support the migrant for up to two years. During the application process, the government will assess the sponsor’s finances and vet the applicants, who will also have to have certain vaccinations and comply with other public health requirements.
Image
Migrants from Venezuela wait to be apprehended by Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande into Texas. Venezuelans make up only a fraction of the migrants illegally entering the United States.Credit…Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times
In addition, any Venezuelan who enters Mexico or Panama illegally or has permanent resident status, dual nationality or refugee status with another country is ineligible for the parole program. Venezuelans who have already been released in the United States to face removal proceedings and apply for asylum are not eligible to apply for the program either.
Venezuelans who are granted the humanitarian parole will be allowed to work legally in the United States and have more stability than those who face removal proceedings.
“These actions make clear that there is a lawful and orderly way for Venezuelans to enter the United States, and lawful entry is the only way,” Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Announcing a new policy less than a month before the midterm elections is a calculated and political decision by the White House, John Thomas, a Republican strategist, said.
How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause.
“This is more of an effort to soften people’s anger on what’s happening on the southern border,” Mr. Thomas said. “It also gives the administration a talking point that they are ‘doing something.’”
But it is not clear that the humanitarian parole and expansion of Title 42 will significantly stem the number of border crossings, as Venezuelans make up only a fraction of the migrants crossing illegally.
Advocates for immigrant rights have been urging the White House to create a humanitarian parole program for migrants from particularly unstable countries, including Venezuela.
But they are not supportive of a plan that ties humanitarian parole to expelling thousands of other Venezuelan migrants to the dangerous northern border region of Mexico.
“It’s great to be expanding access to humanitarian parole, but it can’t come at the cost of additional harm to asylum seekers,” said Raha Wala, the deputy director for legislative advocacy for the National Immigration Law Center. “Title 42 is a cruel, Trump-era, anti-immigrant policy that deserves to be relegated to the dustbin of history, not expanded.”
Image
The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, bused Venezuelan migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence in Washington in September to protest the Biden administration’s immigration policy.Credit…Oliver Contreras for The New York Times
Escaping poverty and political instability, more than 6.8 million Venezuelans have fled their country since 2015, according to the United Nations. Most went to other South American countries.
But in the past year, more and more have been making their way to the United States. In August, Venezuelans made up about 12 percent of those who crossed the southwestern border illegally. While a majority of migrants who do so are expelled back to their country or to Mexico under the public health order, the U.S. government has not been able to repatriate Venezuelans because of minimal diplomatic relations between Washington and Caracas. And — until now — Mexico has not been willing to take in Venezuelans from the United States.
The humanitarian parole program announced on Wednesday appears to be a much more limited version of earlier proposals. One under consideration as recently as last week included Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans, according to officials briefed on the discussions. It was not immediately clear why these nationalities were ultimately left out.
Mr. Biden has overseen a record number of border crossings that is part of a global movement with more displaced people than ever before. Since he has been in office, the government has screened and released more than 1 million migrants who crossed the border illegally, giving them temporary permission to stay in the country until they face deportation proceedings in immigration court. The Biden administration has also expelled migrants more than 2 million times under the authority of the public health rule.
The Biden administration tried to stop using the public health authority earlier this year, but a federal court stopped it from doing so. Now the administration has expanded the authority instead.
But for vulnerable Democrats in border states, like Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, the ability to campaign on a recent expansion to Title 42 could prove helpful in a tight race, said Carl Fogliani, a Republican political strategist.
“They would want them to be out there saying how wonderful a development this is,” Mr. Fogliani said of the White House and Democrats dealing with border issues.
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The Voice Contestant Grew Up Singing In Little Rock
‘The Voice’ Contestant Grew Up Singing In Little Rock https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-voice-contestant-grew-up-singing-in-little-rock/
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Another Arkansas voice is impressing millions on the big stage. Steven McMorran grew up in Little Rock and is now the second Central Arkansas contestant on NBC’s The Voice.
His blind audition debuted Monday and Tuesday in a song battle elimination round Steven McMorran has shown the world what his voice can do, but before everyone knew, it was Arkansas.
“I grew up in Little Rock singing,” Steven told our station. “I would sing at church. I would sing sometimes at school.”
Steven graduated from Little Rock Central High in 1999 with honors. He was in orchestra and a Christian students’ group where Teresa Siegel was his sponsor. Siegel remembers Steven as light-hearted and fun.
She said, “There’s a lot of good people, famous people who have walked these halls, and I’m glad to add Steven to that group.”
In high school, college, a move to Los Angelos, and 8 years later Nashville, Steven was performing in different bands, but as his family grew, how often he performed shrunk. He began writing songs full-time for artists like Tim McGraw and Celine Dion.
“With his humbleness, you would not know all that he’s done,” Siegel said.
When it came to auditioning for The Voice though, Steven said his publisher threatened him to do it.
Steven said, “At that point, I really just decided to have a lot of fun with it. I mean I love singing, so grab the mic, step up there and there and sing a song.”
With back-to-back close calls, Steven is savoring every moment with his wife and sons.
“I hope that they see me chasing it, you know. I hope that it inspires them to do the same,” Steven said.
He also wants his hometown crowd to know he “feels the love” and “his heart is full”.
“Keep watching and thanks, thanks for rooting for me,” Steven concluded.
Steven is on Team Camila as Andrew Igbokidi from Hot Springs this season, and he tells me they have become good friends and enjoy talking about everything Arkansas together.
Steven said, “the whole thing has felt like a ride to the moon on a rocket ship.”
Even though pursuing his dream took him out of Little Rock, he’s bringing everything he learned here to compete.
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First Arkansas Starbucks Works To Form Union https://digitalarkansasnews.com/first-arkansas-starbucks-works-to-form-union/
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Fayetteville Starbucks is working to become the first store in Arkansas to form a union.
Workers at the Fayetteville store on Wedington and N. Salem filed for a union election with Workers United last week. According to a press release, nearly 250 Starbucks stores have formed a union since last year.
Dylan Hartsfield is a shift supervisor and union organizer at the Fayetteville store.
“We’ve had a rough go of it with COVID and we wanted to hold the company accountable, and make sure that our needs as people were being taken into consideration first,” Hartsfield.
A barista at the store, Emily Marthey, said she wants to ensure she has a say in what goes on at the store she works at.
“We just want to be able to form a contract with Starbucks to say that we have a place and we have a voice when it comes to our workplace,” Marthey said.
Marthey and Hartsfied said the majority of the employees, also known as partners, at the store are in favor of forming a union. However, the workers are facing some backlash from the company and district management.
“A lot of what we’re doing right now is fighting the union busting, a lot of fear tactics, a lot of threats, a lot of just making people scared,” Hartsfield said.
Starbucks sent a statement to KNWA/FOX24 regarding the union organizing.
We respect our partners rights to organize but believe that working directly together—without a third party—is the best way to continue to elevate the partner experience at Starbucks.”
The company went on to explain it can’t implement any future raise wages or benefits at stores where union organizing is taking place.
The Fayetteville store plans to vote on whether or not to unionize in mid-November.
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Google Approves Trump's Truth Social For Play Store
Google Approves Trump's Truth Social For Play Store https://digitalarkansasnews.com/google-approves-trumps-truth-social-for-play-store/
Oct 12 (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google has approved former U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media app Truth Social for distribution in the Google Play Store, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which operates Truth Social, is expected to make the app available in the Play Store shortly, Google said.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with Google, and we’re glad they helped us to finally bring Truth Social to all Americans, regardless of what device they use,” TMTG’s Chief Executive Officer Devin Nunes said in a statement.
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Truth Social, which launched in the United States in the Apple App Store in February, had not previously been available in the Play Store due to insufficient content moderation, according to a Google spokesperson in August. Google had expressed concerns to Truth Social about violations of its Play Store policies prohibiting content like physical threats and incitement to violence.
Without Google and Apple stores, there is no easy way for most smartphone users to download Truth Social.
Google’s Play Store is the main way users of Android phones in the United States download apps. Android users can get apps through competing stores or download them directly from a website, though it often requires extra steps and security permissions. Truth Social has been available through those means even as Google blocked it from the Play Store.
Android phones comprise about 40% of the U.S. smartphone market.
Truth Social restored Trump’s presence on social media more than a year after he was banned from Twitter Inc (TWTR.N), Facebook (META.O) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O)‘s YouTube following the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots, after he was accused of posting messages inciting violence.
TMTG has pledged to deliver an “engaging and censorship-free experience” on Truth Social, appealing to a base that feels its views around such hot-button topics such as the outcome of the 2020 presidential election have been scrubbed from mainstream tech platforms.
News of Google’s approval was first reported by Axios.
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Reporting by Helen Coster in New York; Additional reporting by Paresh Dave in Oakland, Anirudh Saligrama and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Deepa Babington, Marguerita Choy and Sherry Jacob-Phillips
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Google Allows Donald Trump https://digitalarkansasnews.com/google-allows-donald-trump/
Synopsis
Google said Truth Social has since been updated to comply with its policies barring objectionable posts, and has built in effective systems for reporting and removing unwanted content as well as blocking abusers.
Reuters
Donald Trump
Google on Wednesday said it has allowed Donald Trump‘s Truth Social app in its Play Store for Android devices — after receiving assurances the app would meet the platform’s standards for moderating harmful content.
The app — which Trump launched after being barred from Twitter over the 2021 Capitol riot — had been kept out of Google’s store over its lack of moderation tools, including for violent threats.
Google said Truth Social has since been updated to comply with its policies barring objectionable posts, and has built in effective systems for reporting and removing unwanted content as well as blocking abusers.
“Apps may be distributed on Google Play provided they comply with our developer guidelines, including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those that incite violence,” a Google spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.
Developers can make Android apps available elsewhere on the internet, but the Play Store is a main source of content for users.
A Truth Social app for Android devices is available on the social network’s website and other venues that may not have Google’s content moderation rules, according to the Alphabet-owned tech titan.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with Google, and we’re glad they helped us to finally bring Truth Social to all Americans, regardless of what device they use,” Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) chief executive said in a released statement.
TMTG early this month announced today that a Truth Social app was freshly available for people in the United States who use Samsung smartphones, which are powered by customized Android software and have their own app shop.
Samsung’s share of the US smartphone market is about 30 percent, according to industry analysis firm Counterpoint.
A version of Truth Social tailored for Apple mobile devices is available at the App Store, which also enforces rules about content moderation.
– Trump take on Twitter – Google said in August that it had notified Truth Social that its app violated Play policies and required “effective systems for moderating user-generated content” in order to be offered on the platform.
The online giant said at the time that Trump’s app broke rules barring content that incites physical threats and violence, but was working on addressing those issues.
Truth Social was conceived as Trump’s answer to Twitter — from which he was ejected in January 2021, days after a mob of his supporters refusing to accept his election defeat to Joe Biden stormed the US Capitol.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has made a $44-billion deal to buy Twitter, has said he would likely allow the former US leader back on the platform. After trying to walk away, Musk now says the troubled deal is back on and could close by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, a merger between TMTG and a blank check company named Digital World Acquisition Corp — intended to bring in fresh funding for the Trump platform — has yet to take place. Digital World shares were up more than seven percent to just over $17 in after-market trades in the wake of the Play Store news.
– QAnon – Excluded from major social networks, Trump has regained only a fraction of his followers on Truth Social.
Trump has 4.18 followers at Truth Social, compared to the 88.8 million he had on Twitter and the 35.4 million he had on Facebook before being booted for encouraging real-world violence such as the deadly attack on the US Capitol.
Truth Social has become an online haven for QAnon fans to share conspiracy theories such as prominent members of the Democratic Party being involved with satanists or pedophiles. Misinformation watchdog NewsGuard has reported finding scores of Truth Social accounts sharing QAnon content, with Trump among those resharing posts.
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Sarah Matthews: Trump Is A Threat To Democracy https://digitalarkansasnews.com/sarah-matthews-trump-is-a-threat-to-democracy/
Greg Nash
Sarah Matthews, former White House deputy press secretary, testifies during a House Jan. 6 committee hearing on Thursday, July 21, 2022 to focus on former President Trump’s actions during the insurrection.
Former deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews on Wednesday said former President Trump is a threat to democracy and called out his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
“I do think that he poses a threat to democracy. I think that January 6th showed that, and that was part of my reason for resigning,” Matthews said of the former president to host Jake Tapper on “CNN Tonight.” Matthews resigned from the White House on the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“He failed to act that day. He had every opportunity to call off the mob and condemn the violence. We’ve seen from taped testimony from several of my colleagues that folks were pleading with him to do that. And he didn’t ever pick up the phone once,” Matthews said.
Matthews testified in July before the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, saying that Trump greenlit the rioters by tweeting to criticize then-Vice President Mike Pence for not rejecting the Electoral College vote in the 2020 election.
“Furthermore than just January 6th, he’s continued to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him with zero evidence of that. And I think that does pose a threat to our democracy,” Matthews said in the CNN interview.
She posited that some members of her party “know better” but stick by Trump’s election claims in order to “stay in the good graces of Trump world,” while other election deniers “truly are detached from reality.”
On CNN Wednesday, Matthews said she felt circumstances throughout her tenure in the Trump White House built up in a “slow burn” to her resignation, but that she felt spurred to make the decision when Trump in a video on Jan. 6 told his supporters that he loved them and called them “very special.”
“That was really the moment for me when I knew that I was going to resign,” Matthews said.
She said she’s hopeful that speaking out to say “Donald Trump is lying to the American people about the 2020 election” will encourage others to reject the former president’s lies from within the Republican party.
“I think that the more people that are willing to stand up and speak the truth will save the Republican party, but I’m not encouraged by the direction that it’s headed right now,” Matthews said.
The Jan. 6 committee is set to hold a public hearing Thursday, possibly its last.
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Durham Inquiry Trial: FBI Wanted To Suspend Analyst Who Interviewed Steele Source
Durham Inquiry Trial: FBI Wanted To Suspend Analyst Who Interviewed Steele Source https://digitalarkansasnews.com/durham-inquiry-trial-fbi-wanted-to-suspend-analyst-who-interviewed-steele-source/
October 12, 2022 10:34 PM
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia —The FBI’s internal investigation unit sought to discipline and suspend the FBI analyst who interviewed Igor Danchenko in January 2017 and who was special counsel John Durham’s first witness this week in the false statements trial against the main source for British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited anti-Trump dossier, new court testimony revealed.
FBI supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten, who disclosed Wednesday that Durham informed him in 2021 that he was a “subject” of the special counsel’s criminal review of the Trump-Russia investigation, confirmed that the FBI had recommended he receive a suspension due to his actions as a member first of the Crossfire Hurricane team and then of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between then-candidate Donald Trump and the Russian government.
Durham said the FBI’s inspection division investigated Auten’s conduct and recommended that he be suspended. “That is being appealed,” Auten countered from the witness stand.
Auten had been referred by FBI Director Christopher Wray to the Office of Professional Responsibility for disciplinary action following the December 2019 release of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse. Wray has said those proceedings were slowed down to cooperate with Durham’s criminal investigation.
Auten was the “Supervisory Intel Agent” in Horowitz’s report and is mentioned 106 times by the internal watchdog. The FBI analyst repeatedly downplayed his involvement in the FISA process to obtain search authority to snoop on onetime Trump campaign aide Carter Page, who was never charged with any wrongdoing, admitting only that he reviewed the Page FISA on an “ad hoc basis” and reviewed the application’s footnotes.
Durham contended that Auten’s refusal to be completely honest about the full extent of his involvement in the Page FISAs was one of the reasons he was recommended for suspension, but Auten disputed that characterization. Durham seemed openly frustrated with Auten’s testimony about how dossier claims were used in the application for surveillance, but the FBI analyst insisted, “I wasn’t the one who carried it over into the FISA application.”
FBI OFFERED STEELE UP TO $1 MILLION IF HE COULD PROVE DOSSIER CLAIMS
The FBI analyst briefly discussed Horowitz’s report, which Durham described as “scathing,” with the FBI analyst using much softer language. Auten noted that “the report was quite extensive” and detailed “quite a number of errors and omissions.” Auto added: “I believe the [Office of Inspector General] described [the errors] as significant.”
Horowitz’s report undermined the Steele dossier claims, and the watchdog criticized the DOJ and the FBI for at least 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to the FISA warrants against Page and for the bureau’s “central and essential” reliance on Steele’s dossier.
John Durham and Igor Danchenko.
AP
Auten, who interviewed Danchenko in early 2017 and was there when the Justice Department set up a partial immunity agreement with the Steele source, was also among the FBI employees who interviewed Steele overseas in early October 2016 as the FBI sought more details on the dossier. Auten revealed the FBI had offered Steele an incentive of up to $1 million if he could prove the allegations of collusion in his dossier, but the FBI analyst said the former MI6 agent was unable to corroborate the claims. Steele also declined to provide the identity of his sources, including Danchenko.
The FBI analyst circulated a February 2017 intelligence memo to top FBI officials about the Danchenko interview he had conducted a month prior, but Horowitz said it “did not describe the inconsistencies” from the FBI interview in January 2017.
The FBI soon made Danchenko a paid confidential human source starting in March 2017 through October 2020, as revealed by Durham in court filings. Horowitz said FBI interviews with Danchenko “raised significant questions about the reliability of the Steele election reporting.”
During his Wednesday court testimony, Auten agreed with Danchenko’s defense lawyer, Danny Onorato, that it was “scary” to be told that he had been named a subject of Durham’s investigation during his first meeting with the special counsel team in late July 2021. The FBI analyst claimed that when he had met with Horowitz’s investigators, it had been as a “witness” and not a “subject.” Auten said he understood the term “subject” to be “somewhere between a witness and a target” of an investigation.
The FBI analyst added that he was not directly threatened with possible prosecution but said that is understood to be a possibility when you are the subject of a criminal investigation. Auten said he had never been the subject of an investigation prior to that point. The FBI analyst said he ended up meeting with Durham’s investigators three or four times total, including twice last week.
The dossier was created after Steele was hired by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which was itself hired by Perkins Coie through Marc Elias, the general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. Steele hired Danchenko.
According to Durham, Danchenko anonymously sourced a fabricated claim about Trump 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort to Charles Dolan, a Clinton ally who spent years, including 2016, doing work with Russian businesses and the Russian government.
Durham’s indictment also said Danchenko lied to the FBI about a phone call he claimed he received from Sergei Millian, a Belarus-born U.S. citizen and businessman who the Steele source had said told him about a conspiracy of cooperation between Trump and the Russians — which the special counsel said is false.
Auten testified Wednesday that he believed Danchenko should have handed over to the FBI relevant emails he had sent to Millian and exchanged with Dolan but said the Russian lawyer did not do so.
Shortly after being referred to the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility, Auten was involved with the bureau’s inquiry into Hunter Biden, the adult son of now-President Joe Biden, with his August 2020 analysis being used in part to justify the decision to “shut down investigative activity.”
Wray said this summer that he found the whistleblower claims that the FBI had improperly labeled the younger Biden evidence as disinformation to be “deeply troubling.”
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Danchenko’s October trial comes after Democratic lawyer Michael Sussmann was found not guilty in May on a false statements charge of concealing his representation of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign from the FBI when he pushed since-debunked Trump-Russia collusion claims about Alfa-Bank to the bureau in 2016. Testimony during the trial revealed Hillary Clinton personally signed off on her campaign sharing the Alfa-Bank claims with the media.
Horowitz said in 2019 that Auten “told us that he factored the Alfa-Bank/Trump server allegations into his assessment of Steele’s reporting.”
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Tech News | Google Allows Donald Trump https://digitalarkansasnews.com/tech-news-google-allows-donald-trump/
Get latest articles and stories on Tech at LatestLY. Former President Donald Trump’s social media app Truth Social is now available for download on the Google Play Store, as per The Verge.
Agency News ANI| Oct 13, 2022 06:28 AM IST
Washington [US], October 13 (ANI): Former President Donald Trump’s social media app Truth Social is now available for download on the Google Play Store, as per The Verge.
The outlet has shared that Truth Social, which was banned by Google over “insufficient” content moderation policies, offers a Twitter-like social experience and markets itself as a platform that “encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation.”
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Before attempting to launch on the Google Play Store, Trump’s social media app first launched on the Apple App Store in February.
According to The Verge, in a statement, Google said that apps on the Google Play Store are permitted as long as they “comply with our developer guidelines. This includes the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those that incite violence.”
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The company added that Truth Social has agreed to enforce the moderation measures on user-generated content that Google requires.
Previously, after issuing a ban following the Capitol riots, Google had also reinstated Parler, a similarly focused app.
Apart from policy violations that initially prevented its app launch on Android, the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) owned Truth Social has also been facing financial issues related to its repeatedly delayed SPAC, as per The Verge.
The outlet reported that Digital World Acquisition Corp, the shell company set to merge with TMTG and take it public, delayed the process and has now scheduled its shareholder vote on November 3. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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The Roger Stone Grift That Keeps On Giving https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-roger-stone-grift-that-keeps-on-giving/
Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty and The United States Department of Justice
Over the weekend, veteran Republican political operative Roger Stone posted photos of himself at a West Palm Beach gun show, hawking copies of his presidential pardon.
“Great Time at the South Florida Gun and Knife Show,” he proclaimed.
Stone was granted the pardon in December of 2020, preceded by a commutation of the four-year sentence he received the previous February for lying to Congress. He is reported by The New York Times to have sought a second pardon covering any possible crimes he may have committed while attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
But that effort was unsuccessful and Stone remains in legal jeopardy as the Jan. 6 Committee is reportedly poised to use tweets and film clips to portray him as a significant figure in what some consider an insurrection. One clip the committee is expected to play was filmed by a Danish documentary before the 2020 results had even been tabulated.
“Fuck the voting,” Stone can be heard to say. “Let’s get right to the violence. Shoot to kill.”
Roger Stone Rages Over Jan. 6 Panel’s Upcoming Hearing on His Involvement in Riot
So it was both apt and disturbing that Stone signed up to be a vendor at a gun show on the weekend before the hearing, surrounded by people selling a variety of firearms as he hawked the one pardon he did receive from a twice-impeached president.
In the photos he posted, Stone is behind a table in full narcissistic attire, complete with suspenders, striped tie, and dress shirt with a spread collar. His price list is not legible in the pictures, but he also sells pardons online, where they go for $20 each. He touts them as “hand signed,” but that the hand is his, not Trump’s. He signs his name on each copy with a red Sharpie. Trump’s signature in black Sharpie is a reproduction. The accompanying online description reads:
“On December 23, 2020, President Donald J. Trump granted an unconditional Presidential pardon, an act of both mercy and Justice as the President determined that Stone had been framed by Robert Mueller’s now-discredited political witch hunt and had been railroaded in a corrupted trial in Washington DC. Now you can have a SIGNED AND PERSONALLY INSCRIBED copy of this official piece of history. The presidential pardon issued to Roger Stone hand SIGNED by Roger Stone.”
Other items Stone was selling at the gun show and online included two types of rocks inscribed with his given name. One was a “Special Edition Silver Roger Stone Stone Paperweight,” also available online for $20, the other simply a “Roger Stone Paperweight” for $10.
Beside Stone sat a smiling, muscular man named Sal Greco, as affirmed by his black T-shirt reading “SAL GRECO DID NO WRONG.” Greco was until two months ago a police officer with the NYPD. Greco’s attorney says his client became the subject of an Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) investigation last year, after the department received an anonymous letter alleging that he and another cop “attended the riot at Capitol Hill.”
“These officers want to have a civil war in America,” the letter charged.
@realrogerstone/TruthSocial
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@realrogerstone/TruthSocial
A lawsuit Greco filed in Brooklyn Federal Court following his August dismissal reports that he officially became a target on Jan. 22, 2021, when the Internal Affairs Bureau Command Center opened Log No. C-2021-0027. The lawsuit acknowledges that IAB checked Greco’s social media accounts and found photos of members of the Oath Keepers “an alleged American far-right anti-government militia…who provided protection for Roger Jason Stone, Jr., on January 6, 2021.”
A number of photos were of Joshua James, described in court papers as co-founder of the Oath Keepers. IAB spoke to James on the phone and he told them “Greco was in the District of Columbia from January 5-6, but did not partake in anything illegal or violent.”
IAB also found pictures of various members of the Proud Boys, described in the lawsuit as “an alleged American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.”
Members of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys have been charged in separate cases with seditious conspiracy arising from an alleged effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. James became the first to plead guilty in March, agreeing to cooperate against his co-conspirators.
Court papers say that as IAB was investigating Greco’s possible involvement with members of the two groups it “received further information, including pictures that he was ‘associating’ with Kristin M. Davis, previously known as the Manhattan Madam, accused of operating a high-end prostitution ring catering to high-profile clients.” The court papers note that Davis had been convicted or promoting prostitution and of selling oxycodone. IAB also found photos of her in Greco’s social media.
As a result of his involvement with Stone and the two far-right militia groups and Davis, IAB found that Greco had “wrongfully and knowingly associated with a person, reasonably believed to be engaged in, likely to engage in or to have engaged in criminal activities.” And by spending time with the militia members, he “wrongfully and knowingly associated with any person or organization advocating hatred, oppression, or prejudice based on race, religion, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, or disability.”
Greco was fired in August. He retained former NYPD Officer Eric Saunders as his attorney and filed the lawsuit, charging that his dismissal violated his civil rights, “First Amendment—Freedom of Right to Intimate Association and First Amendment—Freedom of Speech.”
“Plaintiff alleges that other than his personal ‘political’ relationships with members of the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, others who support Trump’s America and the `political’ paradigm of ‘Making America Great Again,’ there is no ‘credible’ evidence he was involved in any criminal or subversive activities with them or anyone else to overthrow the United States government,” the suit says.
Stone’s own social media accounts now include the photo he posted of himself smiling beside the former cop in a SAL GRECO DID NOTHING WRONG T-shirt at the gun show over the weekend.
A former Oath Keeper member has told The Miami Herald that at other times this monthly gun show has been a recruiting ground for the organization. Stone has in the past acknowledged association with the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. A federal judge found in February in a civil suit involving Trump that “Stone’s connections to both the President and these groups in the days leading up to January 6th is a well-pleaded fact.”
“Discovery might prove that connection to be an important one,” Judge Amit Mehta suggested in a written ruling.
Stone did not respond to phone messages left by The Daily Beast, so there is no way to tell how many pardon copies he sold. Many people feel that he should not have any to sell, that he should now be serving that four-year term.
At least there were copies of only one pardon set out for sale in a hall full of guns by a smiling dandy who was once recorded saying the thing to do in an election was to go “straight to violence” and “shoot to kill.”
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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New Research Concludes That Yes Watching Fox News During A Pandemic Really Can Be Deadly
New Research Concludes That, Yes, Watching Fox News During A Pandemic Really Can Be Deadly https://digitalarkansasnews.com/new-research-concludes-that-yes-watching-fox-news-during-a-pandemic-really-can-be-deadly/
In a recent Washington Post column, reporter Philip Bump attempted to quantify just how large an asshole Carlson is—and the answer appears to be “massive.”
Bump started off by citing previous research that identified a clear correlation between being a Republican and foolishly dying of COVID. That’s hardly surprising. Republicans have been killing themselves to own the libs for decades—most notably by opposing health care initiatives that would greatly improve their lives and their prospects of reaching old age. So this was just another data point in a long-term trend.
But there’s now evidence to show that, alone among the major TV networks, Fox News had an outsized effect in convincing Republicans to kill themselves even faster.
Bump asked why Republicans have been less likely to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and he concluded that it’s not just because their hero Trump wanted to pretend the virus didn’t exist.
The Washington Post:
In part, we can point to the interplay of partisanship itself. As president, Trump tried to play down the danger of the virus and, with an eye to reelection, cast efforts to contain the virus as power plays from an overbearing government. This certainly helped influence behaviors among Republicans on vaccination, masking and social distancing.
Bump then quoted from a study published last week that found a significant Fox News effect when it came to vaccine refusal.
“Our results show that Fox News is reducing COVID-19 vaccination uptake in the United States, with no evidence of the other major networks having any effect,” the study from researchers at ETH Zurich concluded. “[T]here is an association between areas with higher Fox News viewership and lower vaccinations,” noting that “media emphasis on minority viewpoints against scientific consensus is linked to vaccination hesitancy.”
And in case you’re wondering if the study’s authors controlled for other variables—like Trump supporters’ proclivity for rejecting science, common courtesy, and CDC guidance on how to safely purple-nurple fruit bats—yes, they did. (Being mammals, bats do, in fact, have nipples. Thanks, Google! And science! And the inquisitive bat-milkers who started it all!)
“We can rule out that the effect is due to differences in partisanship, to local health policies, or to local COVID-19 infections or death rates,” wrote the the study’s authors. “The other two major television networks, CNN and MSNBC, have no effect.”
So almost certainly—judging by the unambiguous survival advantage imparted by the COVID vaccines—Fox News has been killing its viewers. Full stop.
Of course, the biggest vaccine defamer at the network is Tucker Carlson, whose show freely traffics in vaccine disinformation (aka bullshit). Bump noted that, in May 2021, Carlson’s show was the second-most popular on cable news, and the most popular among viewers aged 25 to 54. And, hey, that was really bad news for people aged 25 to 54.
What was Carlson saying about the vaccine in May 2021? See for yourself. But it included his elevation of inaccurate numbers about purported deaths from coronavirus vaccines and touting the idea that natural immunity was as effective as vaccination — ignoring, of course, the risk posed by reaching natural immunity. Carlson played host to covid-vaccine opponent Alex Berenson more than once. (Berenson’s shaky grasp of the data had already earned him the apt title “the pandemic’s wrongest man.”)
So while it would be irresponsible to unequivocally state that Tucker Carlson killed at least some of his viewers, it’s nevertheless a pretty fair assumption. As Bump notes, the Department of Health and Human Services has reported that the COVID-19 vaccines likely saved 330,000 lives in 2021—just among those enrolled in Medicare. Imagine if fewer of them had watched Fox News. They might still be alive.
Then again, watching Tucker Carlson and dying of an excruciatingly painful, easily preventable disease are pretty much a horse apiece, aren’t they?
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