James Madison Vs Arkansas State Prediction Game Preview
James Madison Vs Arkansas State Prediction, Game Preview https://digitalarkansasnews.com/james-madison-vs-arkansas-state-prediction-game-preview/
James Madison vs Arkansas State prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 6, Saturday, October 8
James Madison vs Arkansas State How To Watch
Date: Saturday, October 8
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro, AR
How To Watch: NFL Network
Record: James Madison (4-0), Arkansas State (2-3)
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James Madison vs Arkansas State Game Preview
Why James Madison Will Win
Has America figured this out yet?
There hasn’t been a massive win yet over a superstar team, but beating an Appalachian State team that beat Texas A&M is close.
The offense has been balanced and brilliant – it was able to get over five turnovers in the last two games – but that’s not the star.
James Madison walked into the FBS and became the No. 1 defense in college football – at least over the first month. It’s allowing just 218 yards per game, it’s No. 1 in the national against the run, and it’s No. 1 in allowing the fewest first downs.
Arkansas State isn’t playing poorly, but it isn’t coming up with big defensive plays – the secondary is getting picked apart a bit too cleanly.
– NFL Expert Picks, Week 5
Why Arkansas State Will Win
The offense is playing well enough to push James Madison.
The running game can make a push, the passing attack balances things out, and the attack is great at controlling the clock – the Red Wolves keep the O on the field for well over 35 minutes per game – and the pass rush is great.
The James Madison passing game will be under pressure all game long, it’ll have problems on third downs, and …
– Schedules, Previews College | NFL
What’s Going To Happen
The Dukes are playing too well.
Arkansas State will have more success against the James Madison defensive front than most teams, but it still won’t be enough.
JMU will be too balanced and too efficient. The turnovers that plagued the O over the last two weeks will slow down.
– CFN Expert Picks, Week 6
James Madison vs Arkansas State Prediction, Line
James Madison 34, Arkansas State 20
Line: James Madison -11, o/u: 55.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
James Madison vs Arkansas State Must See Rating (out of 5): 2
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Herschel Walkers Wife Reaches Out To His Abortion Accuser
Herschel Walker’s Wife Reaches Out To His Abortion Accuser https://digitalarkansasnews.com/herschel-walkers-wife-reaches-out-to-his-abortion-accuser/
Herschel Walker has maintained that he still doesn’t know the identity of the woman claiming she had an abortion after she and Walker got pregnant in 2009. But on Friday afternoon, the woman finally heard from a top Walker campaign surrogate: Julie Blanchard, the candidate’s wife.
In a text message exchange shared with The Daily Beast, the woman—who says she later had a child with Walker against his wishes in 2012—told Blanchard it was “cruel” that Walker “continues to claim he doesn’t know me or the abortion he paid for.”
“He brought all of this on himself when he decided to get on a platform and denounce abortion and make a mockery of his children who have done NOTHING to deserve this,” wrote the woman.
“Shame on him,” she added.
The woman asked Blanchard if she had previously known about the abortion, or if she had known that Walker had also said it wasn’t the “right time” to have a child when they conceived three years later. (The woman went forward with the pregnancy despite Walker’s wishes.)
Instead of directly answering the woman’s question about the abortion, Blanchard wrote that “this makes me incredibly sad,” claiming she “continually tried to bridge a better relationship” between the estranged family members.
Provided to The Daily Beast
Blanchard added that she “witnessed everyday Herschel pray for you and [your son] & everyone in our family.” She added that Walker calls and texts the child “regularly,” and feels “sadness” when he gets no response—to which the anonymous woman replied, “Are you kidding me?”
Blanchard, who for years has also served as a go-between messenger for Walker and the woman, replied at 1:19 p.m. EDT, according to the text message chain. An hour later, the campaign blasted out a fundraising text message calling the abortion allegation a “flat-out lie.”
The texts show that Blanchard initiated contact with the woman at 9:54 a.m. on Friday to complain about The Daily Beast investigating the existence of Walker’s children. Previously, their last text was on Aug. 30.
The woman gave The Daily Beast her consent to publish the text messages in this story, citing Walker’s hypocritical behavior as a father and his continued denials of her claims.
She also provided The Daily Beast with a detailed personal account of her life after having Walker’s child. Her account shines a light on the nature of her son’s relationship with Walker—or, as she puts it, the lack thereof. She asked for anonymity out of concern for her family’s privacy and safety, but supported her claims with text messages, photographs, and court records.
Walker has not seen their son in person for more than six-and-a-half years, the woman said. The football legend has, by her count, met his son a total of three times, which she supported with photographs. Two of those instances were related to child support hearings.
Walker’s campaign declined to comment for this story.
For an idea of how present Walker has been in their son’s life, the woman shared a series of screenshots of text messages from Walker to the boy’s iMessage account on his iPad.
The messages are incredibly revealing.
For instance, Walker never told the boy he had a half-brother until after The Daily Beast broke the news this June. The woman said she also didn’t know about the other son, which she expressed in a text message to Blanchard the day after the story published.
On July 7, the messages show—three days after Walker sent his son an Instagram photo from a July 4 campaign event—the boy asked his father if he had any other brothers or sisters he did not know about, in addition to adult son Christian Walker and a daughter Walker had previously disclosed to the boy.
Walker, who had confirmed the half-brother to The Daily Beast three weeks previously, lied to his son. “You have the brother and sister I told you about. Love you,” he wrote.
On Aug. 1, Walker sent his estranged son a photo of his half-brother, explaining, “This picture never went,” followed by the half-brother’s name.
That message is followed by four unanswered texts from Walker, all of them saying, “Love you.” Three of them were sent after midnight.
Walker sent that same “Love you” message to his son frequently, no matter how many times it went unanswered. Sometimes the child would write short notes back—inviting Walker to a baseball game, wishing him a Happy Easter, sending a photo of himself with gifts. The pace accelerated in 2021, when Walker was gearing up to announce his candidacy.
Between June 4 and June 12 of that year, the texts show, Walker sent seven “Love you” messages, and nothing else. The boy replied, “You to,” on June 13, after which Walker asked how he was doing. The boy invited his father to watch him play baseball, and Walker said he would like to see him play, but according to the woman, the last time Walker saw his son was January 2016.
Then, between July 1 and Oct. 11, the texts show, Walker sent his son 34 unanswered brief text messages. All but six say “Love you,” with the vast majority of them coming between midnight and 3:41 a.m.
On the evening of Oct. 13, his son replied, “What’s my favorite color? What grade am I in?And how old am I”
Walker responded the next afternoon: “God bless you, love you”.
Walker didn’t send another text message for more than a month, at which time he wrote: “Your dad loves you so much” on Nov. 21.
Walker, a vocal critic of absentee dads in the Black community, has four children with four women, and denied the existence of two of his sons to his own campaign staff this year, The Daily Beast reported in July. But in August, Walker told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade he has a strong relationship with all of his children.
“They know that their dad loves them, and that’s what counts,” he said.
According to the woman and her lawyer, she dated Walker between November 2008 and September 2011. She ended the relationship after Walker urged her to terminate her second pregnancy, as The New York Times reported on Friday.
The woman noted that Walker has never missed any of his $3,500 monthly payments, an amount that has remained steady since their 2014 court order even though Walker’s financial disclosure filed in August shows a net worth between $29 million and $62 million.
“A lot of people would probably be surprised at the low amount that it is, but it was enough for me to take care of my son, and I was planning on working,” said the woman, who was a graduate student at Columbia University at the time. “Obviously, in New York that doesn’t go very far. But I wanted it to be fair and legal, so that neither of us would be upset about it.”
She said she had only received “sporadic” $1,000 payments from Walker before she sued for child support in 2013. The woman hadn’t planned to go to the courts. She said she wanted to work out child support payments quietly with lawyers—a sentiment backed up by the text messages.
At one point during text conversations from the time, Walker misunderstands this goal, writing, “this will be public when we have lawyers.” The woman assures him it won’t, saying she told her attorneys “both of us would like this as quiet as possible.”
She explained to The Daily Beast that she wanted privacy for both of them.
“Obviously he’s Herschel Walker,” she said.
In another text exchange from the time, Walker told the woman to “calm down” while she was trying to arrange a meeting between their lawyers.
She replied, “I told you before I don’t want to argue with you-let the lawyers do that. I’m not upset, H-just would like this taken care of in a timely manner, and thus far, it hasn’t.” (“H” was a nickname for Walker, which the woman frequently used in texts with him. It’s also the letter that he signed on the “get well” card he sent her after the abortion, along with a $700 signed personal check.)
The messages stretch back to the day she gave birth to their son, when she sent Walker photos of the newborn.
“WOW how are you guys doing. I wish I was there, I am in Villahermosa Mexico,” Walker replied. “You ok ,your texts just came thur .When was he born.”
She tells him, and Walker responds, “I am so sorry I was not there.”
“We waited and waited and waited,” the woman said of the early out-of-court stages of the child support dispute. “Eventually, I needed money to live and take care of my son, but there was no resolution. I gave him ample time to work it out privately, but he didn’t want to do that, so I ended up having to go to court.”
At the time, Walker, an outspoken Christian, had been balancing relationships with a number of other women. They include one who gave birth to another son in 2009, a woman who died in 2019, and Blanchard. The Daily Beast has spoken with another woman who confirmed she was also concurrently in a years-long relationship with Walker during that time.
In 2010, Walker told talk radio host Howard Stern that he had only slept with two women.
The first time Walker met their son, the woman said, was the morning before Walker’s first in-person family court appearance. It was 2013, and the boy was a little over 1 year old.
Walker, she said, didn’t want to meet his son for the first time in a courtroom. So on the morning of the hearing, she brought the toddler to his hotel. She provided a photo of the moment.
But Walker didn’t show up for the hearing later that day, she recalled. A lawyer for the woman corroborated the claim.
The second time Walker met their son, a year later, he was in the courthouse for the final settlement hearing. The woman provided a photo of the encounter, which her lawyer also recalled.
For the third and final meeting, in January 2016, Walker brought along Blanchard.
At the time, Walker was on a pre-planned trip to the area where the anonymous woman, unable to afford child care at the time, was living a...
Elon Musk Calls Trumps Truth Social App A Trumpet And A Right-Wing Echo Chamber Pipa News
Elon Musk Calls Trump’s ‘Truth Social’ App A ‘Trumpet’ And A ‘Right-Wing Echo Chamber’ Pipa News https://digitalarkansasnews.com/elon-musk-calls-trumps-truth-social-app-a-trumpet-and-a-right-wing-echo-chamber-pipa-news/
Elon Musk Calls Trump’s ‘Truth Social’ App a ‘Trumpet’ and a ‘Right-Wing Echo Chamber’
Earlier on October 7, a US judge in the Twitter-Elon Musk case put a stay on the trial, which is now until October 28, as the two sides discuss whether a $44 billion takeover deal. How to turn off
Judge Kathleen McCormick in the Delaware Chancery Court in the US said that “the proceedings are stayed until 5 p.m. on October 28, 2022, to allow the parties to close the transaction”.
“If the transaction is not closed by 5 p.m. on October 28, 2022, the parties are directed to contact me by email that evening to obtain trial dates for November 2022,” it said late Thursday. Told.
,
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Karlie Kloss Joshua Kushner Stay Mum On Ye's Allegations As They Step Out In New York City
Karlie Kloss, Joshua Kushner Stay Mum On Ye's Allegations As They Step Out In New York City https://digitalarkansasnews.com/karlie-kloss-joshua-kushner-stay-mum-on-yes-allegations-as-they-step-out-in-new-york-city/
Karlie Kloss and her husband Joshua Kushner stayed mum on Kanye “Ye” West’s recent allegations regarding Kushner’s investment in Kim Kardashian’s shapewear and clothing company SKIMS.
During an appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday, the 45-year-old told Carlson that he wasn’t informed that he had a smaller stake in his ex-wife’s company than Kushner.
He alleged that he was kept in the dark about the fact that Kusher owned 10% of SKIMS while West himself only held a 5% stake in the company, which is valued at $3.2 billion as of January 2022.
However, the 30-year-old supermodel and the 37-year-old businessman remained silent when questioned about West’s statements by paparazzi who filmed them as they stepped out in New York City on Friday.
Karlie Kloss and her husband Joshua Kushner stayed mum on Kanye “Ye” West’s recent allegations regarding Kushner’s investment in Kim Kardashian’s shapewear and clothing company SKIMS. (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
“You know, I had dinner with Ivanka [Trump], Jared [Kushner], and Josh [Kushner] and a couple of days later, I found out that Josh Kushner had 10 percent of SKIMS, which is a line that I had developed with Kim and I had a lot of issues with the imagery of SKIMS,” the “Flashing Lights” hitmaker told Carlson.
YE DECLARES ‘WAR’ ON DIDDY OVER ‘WHITE LIVES MATTER’ SHIRT CRITICISM: ‘YOU GUYS ARE BREAKING MY HEART’
He continued, “So, I found out after this dinner that Josh Kushner had 10 percent of SKIMS, and I had five percent of SKIMS… and I’m sure Jared [Kushner] still has a piece of that.”
“I said, ‘Hey, Josh, what if I had 10 percent of [Kushner’s wife] Karlie Kloss’ lingerie shapewear swimsuit line, and you have five percent of it, and you didn’t know? How would that make you feel?'”
The 45-year-old said that he wasn’t informed that he had a smaller stake in his ex-wife’s company than Kushner. (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
The Yeezy entrepreneur also shared, “As a person that has really built something from nothing, when I sit across the table from Josh Kushner, and he just feels so entitled to that idea and this person has never brought anything of value other than so-called being a good venture capitalist, I have a major — I have a major issue with that.”
Representatives for Kushner and Kloss had no comment.
Kardashian, 41, and Swedish entrepreneur Jens Grede founded SKIMS in 2019. In April 2021, Kardashian told the New York Times that Ye was “super involved” in the beginning. The “Kardashians” star explained that her then-husband had offered “frank criticism” of the SKIMS packaging.
The couple didn’t respond when asked by the paparazzi about West’s statements. (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
West said that he was surprised to find out that Kushner had a 10% investment in SKIMS while he only had a 5% stake. (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
During an appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Ye said that he found out about the amount of Kushner’s investment after they dined together. (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
Kushner’s firm Thrive Capital led the $154 million financing of SKIMS during the company’s Series A round of funding in April 2021, per Crunchbase. Thrive Capital also participated in SKIMS’ Series B rounding of funding in January 2022, which raised $240 million.
West also took aim at Kushner on Thursday, ahead of his appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Ye wrote, “F—K JOSH KUSHNER.”
He told Carlson, “I said, ‘Hey, Josh, what if I had 10 percent of [Kushner’s wife] Karlie Kloss’ lingerie shapewear swimsuit line, and you have five percent of it, and you didn’t know?” (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
Kushner’s firm Thrive Capital led the $154 million financing of SKIMS during the company’s Series A round of funding in April 2021. (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
Thrive Capital also participated in SKIMS’ Series B rounding of funding in January 2022, which raised $240 million. (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
“WHAT IF I HAD 10% OF KARLIE KLOSS UNDERWEAR LINE WITHOUT YOU KNOWING,” he continued. “AND YOU ONLY HAD 5%.”
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“WITHOUT YOU KNOWING”.
Ye also referred to Kushner’s brother Jared and his wife Ivanka Trump in the post.
West also took aim at Kushner on Thursday, ahead of his appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Jared and Ivanka both served as senior advisors to the latter’s father U.S. President Donald Trump during his administration.
“JARED WAS HOLDING TRUMP BACK,” he wrote.
“IVANKA IS FIRE,” West added.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Ye wrote, “F—K JOSH KUSHNER.” (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
He continued, “WHAT IF I HAD 10% OF KARLIE KLOSS UNDERWEAR LINE WITHOUT YOU KNOWING. AND YOU ONLY HAD 5%. WITHOUT YOU KNOWING” (247PapsOfficial/Splash News for Fox News Digital)
Fox New Digital’s Will Mendelson contributed to this report.
Ashley Hume is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to ashley.hume@fox.com and on Twitter: @ashleyhume
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Judge Won't Block Jan. 6 Panel Subpoena To Arizona GOP Chair – KESQ https://digitalarkansasnews.com/judge-wont-block-jan-6-panel-subpoena-to-arizona-gop-chair-kesq/
By BOB CHRISTIE
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge in Phoenix on Friday refused to put on hold her order requiring phone records of the Arizona Republican Party leader to be turned over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, pending an appeal.
U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa said state GOP Chair Kelli Ward had failed to show that she would suffer irreparable harm if congressional investigators for the records. And she again rejected Ward’s claims that her First Amendment rights would be chilled if investigators were able to learn whom she spoke with while trying to challenge former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat.
Humetewa said she found Ward’s “alleged concern speculative — and in light of disclosures made during oral argument — dubious.”
She noted that Ward’s lawyers pointed out at a Tuesday hearing that she had written a book about sending an alternate slate of fake presidential electors to Congress and filmed multiple videos of her actions and posted them on YouTube.
“These actions belie Ms. Ward’s concern that her communications with her constituents or colleagues will be chilled by (the phone company’s) possible disclosure of who she spoke with during that time,” Humetewa wrote.
The House committee investigating the Capitol attack is seeking phone records from just before the November 2020 election to Jan. 31, 2021. That would include a period when Ward was pushing for Trump’s election defeat to be overturned and Congress was set to certify the results in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.
Kelli Ward and her husband, Michael Ward, were presidential electors who would have voted for Trump in the Electoral College had he won Arizona. Both signed a document falsely claiming they were Arizona’s true electors, despite Biden’s victory in the state.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the attorney representing the congressional committee noted that Kelli Ward had refused to answer questions during a deposition, citing her Fifth Amendment not to incriminate herself.
Ward’s attorney urged the judge to briefly block the subpoena while her appeal is pending. But Humetewa noted that the appeals court won’t get to the case until after the committee must dissolve when the current Congress ends Jan. 3, 2023.
Ward is a staunch Trump ally who has aggressively promoted the false claim that the election was stolen from him. In the days after the election, she pressured Republicans on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to investigate unsupported claims of fraud before election results were certified, according to text messages released by the county.
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Nobel Peace Prize Is Awarded To Russian Ukrainian And Belarusian Activists
Nobel Peace Prize Is Awarded To Russian, Ukrainian And Belarusian Activists https://digitalarkansasnews.com/nobel-peace-prize-is-awarded-to-russian-ukrainian-and-belarusian-activists/
WARSAW — She has not seen her husband, the new Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, since a few days before his arrest in July 2021, and still has not been told when and for what he will be put on trial. Their letters to each other sometimes get delivered but sometimes, for long periods, don’t arrive.
“I dare not say what that this award might mean,” Natalia Pinchuk, Mr. Bialiatski’s wife, said in a telephone interview from Minsk, the Belarusian capital, after he was announced as one of the prize’s 2022 recipients on Friday. “Of course, I have hopes, but I’m afraid to express them. There is always this fear.”
Though not widely known in the West, Mr. Bialiatski, 60, has been a pillar of the human rights movement in Eastern Europe since the late 1980s, when Belarus was still part of the Soviet Union but, inspired by the reforms of Mikhail S. Gorbachev in Moscow, was slowly shaking off decades of paralyzing fear.
He was active in Tutajshyja, or “The Locals,” a dissident cultural organization that helped lay the groundwork in the late Soviet period for a movement calling for the independence of Belarus.
After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and the 1994 election of Belarus’s authoritarian leader, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, Mr. Bialiatski helped found and lead Viasna, or Spring, a rights group whose members are now nearly all in prison or living in exile abroad.
He served for a time as the director of a museum honoring Maksim Bahdanovic, a poet who is considered a founder of modern Belarusian literature, but was forced out of that post when Mr. Lukashenko, who has now been president for 28 years, started cracking down on the Belarusian language and promoting Russian.
Andrei Sannikov, a longtime friend of Mr. Bialiatski’s and opponent of Mr. Lukashenko’s, hailed the Nobel Peace Prize as an “extremely important” boost to “all of us who have been fighting for human rights and human dignity” in Belarus, and a reminder to the West that it needs to put more pressure on Mr. Lukashenko to release what Mr. Sannikov said were more than 4,000 political prisoners.
“I hope this sends a strong signal to both Lukashenko and his prison wardens that the world is watching and will definitely punish the perpetrators,” Mr. Sannikov, who now lives in exile in Poland, said in an interview.
Mr. Bialiatski, he added, “has been in the forefront of defending human rights against terrible odds for decades.”
When Mr. Sannikov, a former deputy foreign minister who resigned his post in 1996 to protest Mr. Lukashenko’s increasingly repressive policies, was put on trial in 2011 for taking part in peaceful protests, Mr. Bialiatski testified on his behalf — and was arrested shortly afterward. Put on trial on trumped-up charges of tax evasion, Mr. Bialiatski was sentenced to four and a half years in jail. He was released on amnesty in 2014.
The 2011 charges related to money he had received from abroad to help fund the Viasna rights group, of which he was president, and were based in part on confidential banking information provided to Belarusian prosecutors by Lithuania and Poland. The case, Mr. Sannikov said, showed how the European authorities had sometimes been complicit in helping Mr. Lukashenko consolidate his increasingly autocratic regime.
Europe and the West in general “do not pay enough attention to human rights in Belarus,” he said, describing conditions in Belarusian prisons as “absolutely terrible,” including frequent use of torture and other abuses.
Natalia Satsunkevich, a Viasna activist who now lives in exile, told Dozhd, an online Russian television channel that has been shut down in Russia and now operates from abroad, that Mr. Bialiatski was being held in “inhuman conditions” in a decrepit prison inside a 200-year-old Minsk fortress.
Awarding him the Peace Prize, along with recipients from Ukraine and Russia, she said, was “very symbolic” and highlighted “how closely these countries are now connected by war,” although that concept met with criticism from some in Ukraine on Friday.
The Belarusian foreign ministry, giving the country’s first official response to this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, avoided mentioning Mr. Bialiatksi by name but, in a Twitter post, mocked the selection of winners in recent years as “so politicized” that Alfred Nobel “is turning in his grave.”
Mr. Bialiatski’s wife said that she and her husband, in their letters to each other, did not discuss his treatment in jail or the criminal case against him, writing only “carefully.” Visits and phone calls are forbidden, she said.
The Nobel Peace Prize, she added, had come as a “total surprise.” She said she had received a phone call, apparently from the prize committee in Oslo, early Friday but had been unable to hear what was being said because she was outside on a noisy street.
Noticing a flood of missed calls on her cellphone, she finally learned that her husband had been selected for the award when she called back a friend who had been trying to reach her.
“I never considered this even possible,” Ms. Pinchuk said, adding that she had sent a telegram to her jailed husband but had received no reply.
Held without formal charges since his detention outside Minsk more than a year ago, Mr. Bialiatski is under investigation, along with other jailed members of Viasna, for organizing “protest, extremist and terrorist actions,” according to a statement in late September by Belarusian investigators.
The case is part of a sweeping and brutal crackdown on dissent in Belarus that unfolded across the country after huge street protests erupted in 2020. The protests, which were eventually crushed with help from Russian security forces, followed Mr. Lukashenko’s implausible claim that he had won a landslide victory in presidential elections in August 2020 that were widely denounced as fraudulent. It was his sixth election “victory.”
Mr. Lukashenko, repaying the Kremlin for its support, allowed Belarusian territory to be used by Russian forces as staging ground for their invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Mr. Sannikov said the naming of Mr. Bialiatski as a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize would help focus attention on Mr. Lukashenko’s role in the invasion of Ukraine, for which his country has been punished with economic sanctions, but with far less severity than the penalties imposed on Russia.
“Inevitably there will now be a period of attention,” Mr. Sannikov said, adding that he hoped it would translate into specific support for Mr. Lukashenko’s opponents.
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Arizona Court Halts Enforcement Of Near-Total Abortion Ban
Arizona Court Halts Enforcement Of Near-Total Abortion Ban https://digitalarkansasnews.com/arizona-court-halts-enforcement-of-near-total-abortion-ban/
An Arizona appellate court halted enforcement of the state’s near-total abortion ban late Friday, staying a lower court’s decision to reinstate an older law which only allows the procedure if it is needed to save the life of a pregnant person.
The order by the Arizona Court of Appeals came after Planned Parenthood Arizona, a reproductive health organization, appealed the September ruling by Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson. The stay is in place until the appellate court can hear the appeal. Johnson had lifted a decades-long injunction on the near-total restrictions, which are rooted in an 1864 law that has no exceptions for victims of rape or incest and threatens abortion providers with imprisonment for as long as five years.
Judge Peter J. Eckerstrom, writing for the three appellate judges that issued the stay, said the lower court may have erred in resurrecting the Civil War-era law, because it conflicts with more recent laws that provide abortion seekers with more leeway. A law that permits abortions for up to 15 weeks took force last month, putting it in conflict with the 1864 ban. State Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R), who opposes abortion rights and has said he plans to enforce the older law, had urged the courts to provide clarity on the issue.
Johnson, the Pima County judge, had ruled that the older law, which was updated and codified in 1901, supersedes the 15-week ban enacted this year. She said in her order that the state legislature had expressly written the 2022 law so that it does not “repeal” the older ban.
But the three appellate judges said that Planned Parenthood’s attorneys had “demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success” for their legal challenge against the stricter prohibitions.
“Arizona courts have a responsibility to attempt to harmonize all of this state’s relevant statutes,” Eckerstrom wrote in a one-page order, adding that the “acute need of [health care] providers, prosecuting agencies, and the public for legal clarity” had prompted the order.
The stay brings “temporary respite to Arizonans,” said Planned Parenthood Arizona president and chief executive Brittany Fonteno in a statement.
“Planned Parenthood Arizona is committed to defending reproductive freedom for all and continuing this fight until this 150-year-old law is taken off the books for good,” she said.
A Brnovich spokeswoman, Brittni Thomason, said in a statement that his office “understands this is an emotional issue, and we will carefully review the court’s ruling before determining the next step.” A decision by the appeals court on the 19th century prohibitions could still be appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Reproductive rights have been in flux in many states since June, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which established a nationwide right to abortion in 1973. The reversal returned that decision to Congress and the states, though it has occasionally resulted in legal chaos. Several states did not update their abortion laws after Roe, meaning conflicting regulations may be on the books.
In Arizona, Brnovich and abortion rights activists both recently called for the state legislature to hold a special session to address the confusion, the Arizona Republic reported.
In Ohio — another state where reproductive rights have been curtailed since the overturn of Roe — a judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction on a six-week abortion ban while a constitutional challenge is heard, citing individual liberty. The procedure is now permitted up to the 22nd week of a pregnancy.
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North Little Rock Dominates Little Rock Southwest https://digitalarkansasnews.com/north-little-rock-dominates-little-rock-southwest/
North Little Rock dominates Little Rock Southwest KATV
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Putin Orders Seizure Of Exxon-Led Sakhalin 1 Oil And Gas Project
Putin Orders Seizure Of Exxon-Led Sakhalin 1 Oil And Gas Project https://digitalarkansasnews.com/putin-orders-seizure-of-exxon-led-sakhalin-1-oil-and-gas-project/
MOSCOW/HOUSTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday that establishes a new operator for the Exxon Mobil Corp-led (XOM.N) Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia’s Far East.
Putin’s move affecting Exxon’s largest investment in Russia mimics a strategy he used to seize control of other energy properties in the country.
The decree gives the Russian government authority to decide whether foreign shareholders can retain stakes in the project.
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Exxon holds a 30% operator stake in Sakhalin-1, with Russian company Rosneft (ROSN.MM), India’s ONGC Videsh (ONVI.NS) and Japan’s SODECO as partners.
Oil production at the Sakhalin-1 project fell to just 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July from 220,000 bpd before Russia invaded Ukraine.
NAVIGATING AN EXIT
Exxon has been trying to exit its Russia operations and transfer its role in Sakhalin-1 to a partner since March, after international sanctions imposed on Moscow.
Russia’s government and Exxon have clashed, with the oil producer threatening to take the case to international arbitration.
Exxon declined to comment on Friday’s decree.
Japan’s SODECO was not immediately available to comment, but an official of the industry ministry, which owns a 50% stake in the firm, said it was gathering information and talking with partners. Japan has stopped buying crude from Russia since June. read more
Exxon took an impairment charge of $4.6 billion in April for its Russian activities and said it was working with partners to transfer Sakhalin-1’s operation. It also reduced energy production and moved staff out of the country.
In August, Putin issued a decree that Exxon said made a secure and environmentally safe exit from Sakhalin-1 difficult. The U.S. producer then issued a “note of difference,” a legal step prior to arbitration.
Friday’s decree said the Russian government was establishing a Russian company, managed by Rosneft subsidiary Sakhalinmorneftegaz-shelf, that will own investors’ rights in Sakhalin-1.
Foreign partners will have one month after the new company is created to ask the Russian government for shares in the new entity, the decree said.
Putin used a similar strategy in a July decree to seize full control of Sakhalin-2, another gas and oil project in the Russian Far East, with Shell (SHEL.L) and Japanese companies Mitsui & Co (8031.T) and Mitsubishi Corp as partners.
Russia has approved applications by the two Japanese trading houses seeking to transfer their stakes to a new operator. read more
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Reporting by Reuters; Additional reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo, Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Clarence Fernandez
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Rogers Bridge Overpass Work To Cause I-49 Impacts https://digitalarkansasnews.com/rogers-bridge-overpass-work-to-cause-i-49-impacts/
Work continues on an all-new set of overpasses over Interstate 49 in Rogers.In the shadow of AR-DOT’s massive project at Walton Boulevard lies a pair of overpass projects under the city of Rogers’ jurisdiction.The $20 million project is key to the city’s continued growth but as they get closer to completion, the work will start to impact your travels. Monday and Tuesday night next week, crews will close I-49 in 15-minute increments from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. to install bridge girders on the Uptown project (near the Walmart Amp) that will eventually support the bridge deck to the badly needed bridges. “It improves connectivity across the interstate, so people don’t just have to use Walnut, or New Hope, so it’s to alleviate congestion on those routes and just provide greater access back and forth across the interstate which pretty much divides the city of Rogers,” said Lance Jobe, with the city of Rogers.He adds the new bridges, especially the Uptown overpass, will make accessing Mercy Hospital a lot easier for emergency responders. “We also worked with our EMS, police and firefighters who run the ambulances over there a lot of times, so emergency access to mercy was one of the important things when designing the overpass,” Jobe said.City officials tell 40/29 News if everything goes according to plan both of these new overpasses should be open later next year.
ROGERS, Ark. —
Work continues on an all-new set of overpasses over Interstate 49 in Rogers.
In the shadow of AR-DOT’s massive project at Walton Boulevard lies a pair of overpass projects under the city of Rogers’ jurisdiction.
The $20 million project is key to the city’s continued growth but as they get closer to completion, the work will start to impact your travels.
Monday and Tuesday night next week, crews will close I-49 in 15-minute increments from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. to install bridge girders on the Uptown project (near the Walmart Amp) that will eventually support the bridge deck to the badly needed bridges.
“It improves connectivity across the interstate, so people don’t just have to use Walnut, or New Hope, so it’s to alleviate congestion on those routes and just provide greater access back and forth across the interstate which pretty much divides the city of Rogers,” said Lance Jobe, with the city of Rogers.
He adds the new bridges, especially the Uptown overpass, will make accessing Mercy Hospital a lot easier for emergency responders.
“We also worked with our EMS, police and firefighters who run the ambulances over there a lot of times, so emergency access to mercy was one of the important things when designing the overpass,” Jobe said.
City officials tell 40/29 News if everything goes according to plan both of these new overpasses should be open later next year.
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Obituaries In Fort Smith, AR | Times Record https://digitalarkansasnews.com/obituaries-in-fort-smith-ar-times-record-65/
Linda Sue Powers, 73, of Van Buren, passed away Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022 in Fort Smith. She was born Nov. 22, 1948 in Fort Smith to the late James and Eva (Isley) Moses. She had retired from St. Edwards Hospital.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Powers; and a brother, Danny Moses.
She is survived by a daughter, Tammy Branch and husband Shannon of Van Buren; a son, Travis Powers of Van Buren; and a grandson, Brayden Branch.
Funeral service will be 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, at Edwards Van-Alma Funeral Home Chapel with interment to follow at Gill Cemetery, under the direction of Edwards Van-Alma Funeral Home in Van Buren.
The family will visit with friends from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, at Edwards Van-Alma Funeral Home, 4100 Alma Highway, Van Buren, AR.
To place an online tribute, go to www.edwardsvan-alma.com.
Posted online on October 07, 2022
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Michigan Couple Claims Vandals Sprayed Anti-Political Messages On Cars Driveway
Michigan Couple Claims Vandals Sprayed Anti-Political Messages On Cars, Driveway https://digitalarkansasnews.com/michigan-couple-claims-vandals-sprayed-anti-political-messages-on-cars-driveway/
LANSING, Mich. — A retired Michigan couple had their cars vandalized.
There are messages of “ANTIFA revenge” and “GOP terrorist” in spray paint.
Sophia and Edgar Russell connected with FOX17 on Friday to explain they don’t know who or why someone did this to them.
This vandalism is getting a lot of traction online after gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon posted about it.
Dixon wrote on Twitter this is another example of the radical left’s tactics.
fox17
“I want them off how one has seen my car back to normal that is ugly. I still can’t believe it. It just seems like it must be a bad dream,” Sophia told FOX17. “This says ANTIFA revenge. So what’s their, how are they getting revenge against my husband and I? It doesn’t make sense unless they think we represent a whole group of Trumpsters.”
Spray paint covers both of her and her husband Edgar’s two cars.
FOX17
“Insurance told us that we can’t I can’t work on the car, like trying to bust the paint off in the back. They wouldn’t cover it. So we’re going to have it on there for about a month, two months,” Edgar said.
The couple says they support the former president and don’t believe they deserve treatment like this for their political beliefs.
“Why do people take such an opposite view? When you know, we’ve had other presidents that people don’t agree with. But this seems to be crazy. This just seems to be so much more intense than ever before,” Sophia added.
Whoever did this damage on Thursday didn’t stop with the cars because there was spray paint on the couple’s driveway too.
“That’s the word that bothers me the most like terrorists like they’ve been calling Trump supporters are domestic terrorists. It makes no sense. We’re not, we don’t damage property or do this kind of thing,'” Sophia said.
The Lansing couple says this isn’t their first time dealing with property damage. They say someone cut down their flag pole more than a year ago.
“In fact, the police said, ‘oh, we are really sorry that happened but are you going to put the flag back up.’ Edgar said oh yea,” Sophia said.
The couple says they filed police reports on both acts of vandalism and are unsure why someone would do this to them.
“Not a clue of surprises as we get along with everybody we see,” Edgar said
FOX17
He did share with FOX17 his one message for the person or people who did this to them.
“I would tell him I forgive them. You know We all have to live together. Just a different pinion don’t mean we have to slaughter each other or create a destroyed property. But I don’t hate anybody. I just wish they would stop,” he added.
Lansing Police Department is looking into the matter and asking people to share any information about this incident.
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Five Takeaways From Budd And Beasleys Senate Debate In NC
Five Takeaways From Budd And Beasley’s Senate Debate In NC https://digitalarkansasnews.com/five-takeaways-from-budd-and-beasleys-senate-debate-in-nc/
Democrat Cheri Beasley and Republican Ted Budd shake hands following an hour-long debate moderated by Spectrum News 1 political anchor Tim Boyum at Spectrum News 1 studio in Raleigh, NC Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com
U.S. Senate candidates Ted Budd and Cheri Beasley met on the debate stage for the first time Friday and discussed the former and current presidents, where they stand on policy issues and who was actually elected to the White House in 2020.
Budd, the Republican nominee and a current member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Beasley, the Democratic nominee and the state’s former Supreme Court chief justice, had avoided all debates in 2022 until now.
The candidates agreed to meet for one debate, on Spectrum News 1, a subscription cable network that made the debate public on its website and app. The debate was moderated by political reporter Tim Boyum.
North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race hasn’t garnered as much attention as others despite the candidates polling closer than in most states. Friday’s debate showed the most spunk seen thus far from its two participants, but not the typical spark one would expect from candidates competing for the unaffiliated voters who make up the state’s largest group.
At stake is Democrats’ hold on their majority in the Senate. North Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, and if Beasley wins to replace retiring Republican Sen. Richard Burr, she would become the first Black senator from North Carolina.
Here are five top takeaways from the night:
Beasley keeps her distance from Biden
When members of the Biden administration visited North Carolina during the current campaign season, Beasley’s absence didn’t go unnoticed. Despite that, her opponent repeatedly called her a rubber stamp for President Joe Biden.
In Budd’s closing statement Friday night he said, “Joe Biden is on the ballot on Nov. 8, and he goes by the name this year of Cheri Beasley, because she will be a rubber stamp.”
Boyum asked Beasley if she was avoiding appearing alongside Biden officials, if she wanted Biden to campaign for her in North Carolina and whether she would be his rubber stamp in Washington.
Beasley said Biden and Congress “could work a whole lot harder” to lower inflation, laying a share of that blame on Budd. She said she’s glad when Biden comes to North Carolina to hear the state’s challenges and its successes and to meet residents.
“It’s wrong to align me with anybody unless I specifically say what my positions are, and I’m glad to talk about my positions, because my positions really do support people here in North Carolina…” Beasley said.
Boyum didn’t let up from his question and asked Beasley to answer whether she would stand on stage with Biden if he called and said he would campaign with her next week.
“You know, if it’s an official visit, we’ll just have to see if that’s something that’s available,” Beasley said.
Beasley was asked if Biden should run for reelection.
“I don’t think he’s going to ask me, and so we’ll see what happens,” Beasley said.
U.S. Senate Democrat candidate Cheri Beasley answers a question during an hour-long debate with Republican Ted Budd at Spectrum News 1 studio in Raleigh, NC Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com
Budd says Biden is president
On Jan. 6, 2021, Budd was one of many members of Congress who voted against certifying Biden’s election.
On Friday night, Budd acknowledged that Biden is the president of the United States.
“I don’t like what Joe Biden is doing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. …but he is the president and unfortunately, he’s destroying our country,” Budd said. “He’s got 70% of the people saying we’re on the wrong track. I don’t like what he’s doing, but he is the president.”
He was asked if he stood by his vote against certifying Biden’s election.
“The core of that vote, Tim, was to inspire more debate, because I think debate is healthy for democracy, so that’s what it led to,” Budd said. “We didn’t have the votes to overturn it, but of course, having the debate was a healthy thing, and I do stand by it.”
Rioters hoping to force Congress out of certifying Biden’s election stormed the U.S. Capitol before Budd cast his vote in the middle of the night. A Senate report blames the riot for the deaths of at least seven people.
U.S. Senate Republican candidate Ted Budd answers a question during an hour-long debate with Democrat Cheri Beasley at Spectrum News 1 studio in Raleigh, NC Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com
Budd aligns with Trump
Budd did not shy away from his connection to former President Donald Trump and reminded viewers that Trump won North Carolina in 2016 and 2020.
Budd went on to tout a better economy, lower inflation, record unemployment and growing wages under Trump’s administration.
“President Trump endorsed me before, and I don’t run away from that like my opponent may be running away from Joe Biden, even though she’s a rubber stamp for his policies,” Budd said. “She would be a rubber stamp for him. He endorsed me because I’m an America First candidate and I believe in the things that led to that 1.4% inflation, that led to record low unemployment for women, for people of color, for Hispanics, so again, he had a lot of wins here in the state, including for our economy, including for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.”
Beasley, on the other hand, said Trump represents the most extremist policies and ideologies and pointed out that when he recently visited Wilmington, the former president called her a “Marxist liberal.”
“The reality is that Congressman Budd has aligned himself with somebody who was truly an extremist, in this race, and that’s a reflection on him, so folks need to be reminded of that as they’re thinking about the clear choice that can be made here in this race,” Beasley said.
Differences on legalizing marijuana
Both Budd and Beasley were asked where they stood on legalizing marijuana.
On Thursday, Biden announced he would pardon federal convictions for simple possession of marijuana and encouraged state officials to follow suit.
Budd said he believes the president overstepped his authority. He said he does not support legalizing marijuana and thinks doing so sends a bad message to children.
“If someone can prove to me that there is a medical case for marijuana, we can certainly have that discussion,” Budd said, after saying he is absolutely opposed to recreational use.
Beasley said she would legalize both recreational and medical use.
Two more candidates
Beasley and Budd are not the only candidates in the U.S. Senate race.
Shannon Bray, a Libertarian, and Green Party candidate Matthew Hoh will also appear on the ballot on Nov. 8, but weren’t invited to debate.
Instead, Spectrum interviewed the two men in a preshow that aired an hour earlier.
Hoh told Spectrum his focus is on housing issues like rent control and banning banks and corporations from buying single-family homes. He supports a single-payer health care system.
Both he and Bray want to end the war on drugs.
Bray added that he wants to fight inflation through tax reduction and increasing transparency in the government.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer and the NC Insider and follow our weekly Under the Dome podcast at campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Obituaries In Fort Smith, AR | Times Record https://digitalarkansasnews.com/obituaries-in-fort-smith-ar-times-record-64/
Helen Couvillion, 89, passed away October 4, 2022 in Fort Smith. She was born September 22, 1933 in Booneville, AR, the youngest of nine children to Terry and Winfield Cauthron. Helen graduated from Booneville High School in 1951. She worked at Bell Telephone and then the call center at Fort Chaffee, AR and at the time, Herbert Couvillion would come in and make collect calls to his parents in Bunkie, LA, in 1954. Helen and Herb were married on March 29th, 1960 in Poteau, OK and enjoyed fifty-five years of marriage prior to Herb’s passing on November 29, 2015.
Helen has been a resident of Fort Smith since 1985 and was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church of Fort Smith for over forty years. She was a career military wife, who loved to travel, garden, and shop. Her graceful and elegant demeanor and lilting southern accent, were delightfully matched, with a sharp wit and dry sense of humor. She loved her extended family and circle of devoted friends.
Helen is survived by her son, Brett Couvillion of Moorestown, New Jersey, and her only surviving sibling, Bill Cauthron of Booneville, AR.
Funeral Service will be 10:30 AM Thursday, October 13, 2022, in Roebuck Chapel, at First United Methodist Church with 12 PM burial at U. S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith. Services are entrusted to Edwards Funeral Home.
Memorials may be sent to: First United Methodist Church or the American Cancer Society.
Online condolences may be sent to: www.edwardsfuneralhome.com
Posted online on October 07, 2022
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Iron Mike Tyson And Sonny Liston Most Feared! Boxing News 24
“Iron” Mike Tyson And “Sonny” Liston Most Feared! – Boxing News 24 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/iron-mike-tyson-and-sonny-liston-most-feared-boxing-news-24/
By Ken Hissner: When you look back among the heavyweight champions who seemed to put the fear into their opponents “prior” to the match, it seems two come to mind in “Iron” Mike Tyson, 50-6 with 44 knockouts, and “Sonny” Liston 50-4 with 39 knockouts. Records were very similar at the end.
We can still see the fear in the eyes of former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Michael Spinks as he did his ring walk. He looked like he was heading to the electric chair about to face Tyson.
Spinks had stopped the unbeaten streak of Larry “Easton Assassin” Holmes at 48-0 to be the first light heavyweight champ to capture the heavyweight title. The rematch may have been deserved by Holmes, but his unbeaten streak was one win away from tying that of Rocky Marciano at 49-0. Afterwards, Holmes said, “Marciano couldn’t wear my jockstrap!” I guess he forgot he lost to Spinks, not Marciano.
When Holmes faced Tyson, it took one left hook on the jaw for Holmes to start looking for a way out of the ring. Holmes was 48-2 and stopped in the fourth round. Ring introductions prior to the match had former champ Muhammad Ali sitting next to Donald J Trump getting called into the ring. He tapped the gloves of Holmes and walked over to Tyson, and whispered something in his ear. Was it “kick his ass?” Holmes had been the only one to stop Ali, whose cut man Ferdie Pacheco quit the corner, saying he should never fight again prior to the Holmes match with Ali.
Liston could put the fear of hell into you when the fighters were being given instructions from the referee before the first round. He had that look in his eyes like, “I’m going to kill you!”
Liston was known to have to most powerful jab in the heavyweight division. He could knock your teeth out with a jab which one of his opponents, Wayne Bethea, found out in the first round not coming out for the second round.
Most boxing people felt champion Floyd Patterson was beaten before their fight when Liston took his title and defended it both ending with first round knockouts.
Liston’s stoppage against hard-hitting Cleveland Williams, 49-3-1 in two rounds was a war with his win over “Big Cat!”
Liston’s back-to-back losses to Muhammad Ali, especially the second, were always in question if it were on the up and up. Mob-connected Liston didn’t seem to take a punch from Ali in the rematch that would have hurt him, let alone drop him for the count.
Though heavyweight contender Earnie Shavers 75-14-1 with 69 stoppages, was considered the hardest hitter in the division though he was also known to run out of gas after five rounds if he didn’t stop you.
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DOJ Asking If Trump Kept Sensitive Documents At Any Other Properties After Mar-A-Lago Seizure: Report
DOJ Asking If Trump Kept Sensitive Documents At Any Other Properties After Mar-A-Lago Seizure: Report https://digitalarkansasnews.com/doj-asking-if-trump-kept-sensitive-documents-at-any-other-properties-after-mar-a-lago-seizure-report/
DOJ is looking into whether Trump kept documents at any of his other properties beyond Mar-a-Lago.
Rolling Stone on Friday said investigators have asked witnesses about Trump Tower and his golf club.
The FBI has been questioning former Trump associates after its August raid at Mar-a-Lago.
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The Justice Department is asking witnesses whether former President Donald Trump was known to keep sensitive government documents at any of his other properties after federal investigators seized 11 sets of classified records from his Mar-a-Lago residence in August, according to Rolling Stone.
The outlet on Friday cited two people familiar with the matter who said federal investigators are also asking witnesses if the former president had a habit of moving classified documents from Mar-a-Lago to other Trump properties, including Trump Tower in Manhattan and his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
“It was obvious they wanted to know if this went beyond just Mar-a-Lago,” an anonymous source told Rolling Stone.
The agency’s questions — directed to multiple witnesses in recent months — could indicate the DOJ thinks Trump’s shoddy handling of important documents went beyond his stash at Mar-a-Lago, according to the outlet, though it’s unclear if the agency has uncovered any proof.
Neither the Justice Department nor representatives for Trump immediately responded to Insider’s request for comment.
The FBI has been questioning several former Trump associates in the aftermath of the August 8 raid as part of its probe into Trump’s retention of highly sensitive documents. Rolling Stone reported that investigators have specifically zeroed in on Trump’s New York and New Jersey property in regard to the possibility of additional documents.
The New York Times on Thursday reported that DOJ believes Trump still has documents from his time in the White House that he has yet to return, despite the ongoing investigation into the matter. According to the outlet, Trump and his legal team have opted to take a combative approach to the Justice Department in response.
As a special master continues a review of the documents retrieved in August, Trump this week suggested that the legal saga has actually had a positive effect on his businesses.
“They’ve given us about $5 billion of free publicity,” Trump said of his Mar-a-Lago resort during a Wednesday speech.
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US Postal Service Proposes New Prices 'to Offset' Inflation | CNN Politics
US Postal Service Proposes New Prices 'to Offset' Inflation | CNN Politics https://digitalarkansasnews.com/us-postal-service-proposes-new-prices-to-offset-inflation-cnn-politics/
CNN —
The US Postal Service on Friday proposed increased prices “to offset the rise in inflation,” according to a statement from the agency.
The price hikes, which have been approved by the Governors of the U.S. Postal Service, include a three-cent increase to purchase a stamp and a four-cent increase to mail a postcard. The changes amount to a 4.2% price increase for first class mail, according to USPS.
The proposal must now be reviewed by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
The announcement from the US Postal Service comes as consumers around the nation continue to grapple with rising prices for groceries, gas and other necessities. The US Postal Service has publicly struggled financially in recent years, and President Joe Biden signed a law earlier this year to overhaul the USPS’ finances and allow the agency to modernize its service.
“As operating expenses continue to rise, these price adjustments provide the Postal Service with much needed revenue to achieve the financial stability sought by its Delivering for America 10-year plan,” US Postal Service said on Friday. “The prices of the U.S. Postal Service remain among the most affordable in the world.”
Unlike other government agencies, the USPS generally does not receive taxpayer funding, and instead must rely on revenue from stamps and package deliveries to support itself.
The Postal Service is also looking to increase fees for P.O. Box rentals, money orders and the cost to purchase insurance when mailing an item.
If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission the changes would take effect January 22, 2023, after midnight.
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Lindsey Graham Wanted Jan. 6 Capitol Attackers Shot In The Head Book Says
Lindsey Graham Wanted Jan. 6 Capitol Attackers Shot In The Head, Book Says https://digitalarkansasnews.com/lindsey-graham-wanted-jan-6-capitol-attackers-shot-in-the-head-book-says/
A former Washington, D.C., police officer who was nearly killed on Jan. 6 claims South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told cops they should have killed Donald Trump loyalists who raided the U.S. Capitol.
“You guys should have shot them all in the head,” officer Michael Fanone recalls Graham telling him in a new book obtained by Politico.
Graham was clearly upset the day Trump supporters interrupted the certification of the 2020 election in which President Joe Biden defeated the incumbent.
“All I can say is count me out!” Graham said on the Senate floor following the invasion. “Enough is enough.”
Fanone, who was dragged into a sea of MAGA assailants while defending the Capitol, was beaten by a crowd where he said he heard at least one rioter say “kill him with his own gun.” His book “Hold the Line” details events surrounding that experience, which also resulted in a Trump supporter, Ashli Babbitt, being fatally shot.
“We gave you guys guns, and you should have used them,” Fanone recalls Graham saying.
The 42-year-old D.C. native said Graham made his remarks during a May 2021 discussion where Fanone and other officers urged Republican senators to get behind a bipartisan commission to investigate the attack on Capitol Hill.
The 67-year-old lawmaker reportedly told badly outnumbered officers he doesn’t understand why they didn’t use lethal force against their attackers.
Fanone testified before the House Select Committee formed to investigate the Capitol attack. That committee will convene again next Thursday, Oct. 13, to present its findings to the public.
According to Politico, Fanone writes that as a “lifelong Republican,” he found it “shocking” and “disgraceful” that some GOP leaders worked to undermine what he experienced on that deadly day. Fanone left his job in law enforcement less than a year after the attack on the Capitol.
He told CNN in May 2021 “I see a whole team of doctors” to treat him for physical and psychological harm brought on by the attack.
“Some days I’m good to go,” he told host Don Lemon. “Other days, or other times within the same day, I’m just broken.”
Fanone said he also relies on fellow officers who survived the attack for emotional support.
Graham, who spent eight years in the House of Representatives, was elected to the Senate for the fourth time in 2020.
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Woman Tells New York Times Herschel Walker Asked Her To Have Second Abortion | CNN Politics
Woman Tells New York Times Herschel Walker Asked Her To Have Second Abortion | CNN Politics https://digitalarkansasnews.com/woman-tells-new-york-times-herschel-walker-asked-her-to-have-second-abortion-cnn-politics/
CNN —
The woman who said Georgia Senate hopeful Herschel Walker paid for her 2009 abortion, setting off a controversy that has rocked his campaign, told The New York Times that the Republican nominee asked her to terminate a second pregnancy two years later.
She refused the request, and their relationship ended, she told the Times, which said it was withholding the name of the woman. Walker was unmarried at the time. Their son, she said, is now 10 years old.
Walker, who said in May he supports a full ban on abortions, with no exceptions, has denied an earlier report from The Daily Beast, in which the woman first alleged that the former football star reimbursed her for an abortion she sought at his urging.
Speaking to the Times, the woman said she decided to come forward with new details about her relationship with Walker after his Republican allies rallied around him in the aftermath of the first report.
The Times said that interviews it conducted with the woman and documents provided to the newspaper “together corroborate and expand upon an account about her abortion first published on Monday in The Daily Beast. The Times also independently confirmed details with custody records filed in family court in New York and interviewed a friend of the woman to whom she had described the abortion and her eventual breakup with Mr. Walker as those events occurred.”
CNN has not independently confirmed the woman’s allegation about the abortion or that Walker urged her to terminate a second pregnancy.
CNN has reached out to the Walker campaign for comment. The Times left messages Friday afternoon with Walker’s spokesman and campaign manager.
Walker vehemently denied the initial report about paying for the abortion in the Daily Beast, in the “strongest possible words” and said it was a “flat-out lie.”
The Georgia race between Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is among the most competitive Senate contests on the 2022 midterm slate and could be instrumental in deciding control of the evenly divided chamber. Walker, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, won the GOP nomination in May despite some Republicans’ concerns about past allegations that he threatened women with violence. Walker has denied at least one of those allegations and has spoken publicly and written about his struggles with mental illness.
With the stakes set so high, Republican groups have vowed not to abandon Walker, even as the scandal sent his campaign scrambling. Campaign manager Scott Paradise, addressing staff earlier this week, acknowledged that the initial Daily Beast report was a setback, but pointed to Trump’s victory in 2016 – despite the initial backlash to the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape in which he spoke crudely about groping women – as evidence that Walker remained a viable candidate.
Warnock has mostly refused to weigh in on the allegation, dodging a question about its implications earlier this week.
“I’ll let the pundits decide how they think it will impact the race,” the senator said, before pivoting to his broader message on abortion rights. “But I have been consistent in my view that a patient’s room is too narrow and cramped a space for a woman, her doctor, and the government. … And my opponent, on the other hand, is talking about a nationwide ban with no exceptions.”
The Times, like The Daily Beast, reported that Walker gave the woman a check for $700 for the procedure, which took place at a clinic in Atlanta. According to both outlets, Walker also sent the woman a “get well” card afterward.
Earlier Friday, Walker’s campaign split from its political director, Taylor Crowe, over suspicions that he was leaking information to the media, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. Crowe did not respond to multiple requests for comment from CNN. It is unclear if there were other factors at play or if the move had any connection to the abortion allegations.
Though Walker’s campaign remains otherwise intact and his support from national Republicans has stayed in place, one of his own sons, Christian Walker, 23, a conservative social media influencer, has turned on him.
“Every family member of Herschel Walker asked him not to run for office, because we all knew (some of) his past. Every single one. He decided to give us the middle finger and air out all of his dirty laundry in public, while simultaneously lying about it,” Christian Walker tweeted shortly after the Daily Beast report was published on Monday, the first in a series of posts denouncing his father. “I’m done.”
Walker has brushed off that criticism, saying at a Thursday news conference of his adult son, “He’s a great little man. I love him to death. And you know what, I will always love him, no matter what my son says.”
Christian Walker has not responded to an email and social media messages from CNN seeking comment on his criticism of his father.
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Salud Speaks: A Steadfast Bipartisan Despite Fascist Tendencies Of Many Republicans
Salud Speaks: A Steadfast Bipartisan, Despite “Fascist Tendencies” Of Many Republicans https://digitalarkansasnews.com/salud-speaks-a-steadfast-bipartisan-despite-fascist-tendencies-of-many-republicans/
By Jerry Roberts of Newsmakers
In recent weeks, Rep. Salud Carbajal embarked upon a “Central Coast Community Project Victory Tour,” trumpeting his support and sponsorship of newly-passed federal legislation that yields large sums of cash, grants and pork for his 24th Congressional District.
Campaigning for a fourth term against token Republican opposition, the Democratic congressman positions himself as a transactional, pragmatic problem solver more interested in delivering for constituents ($75 million for the 101, $3.7 million for SBA, $3 million for the Goleta Valley Community Center, $1.3 million for the Veterans Memorial Building, $1 million for Santa Maria’s Airport, half-a-million for Carp shoreline “resilience work” — the list goes on…) than in the extremist politics now tearing the nation apart.
However, at a time when 7 of 10 GOP voters do not regard Joe Biden’s presidency as legitimate, nearly 70 percent of the party’s House members voted not to certify the 2020 election, and November’s mid-terms may well hand control of Congress to GOP majorities even more deeply committed to Donald Trump’s fake narrative of a stolen election, Salud’s senescent bromides about “collaboration,” “bipartisanship” and “working together to solve problems” can register as dewy-eyed echoes of a long gone era.
In a far-ranging Newsmakers interview this week, the Democratic congressman discussed in depth and detail how he tries to square that political circle in Washington — a case study of striving to employ venerable legislative tools like persuasion, compromise and good faith negotiation, in an era of toxic, zero sum power struggles shaped by grievance, menace and rumblings of civil war.
Although Carbajal portrays today’s GOP as a far-right, anti-democracy party, he nonetheless boasts of success in partnering with Republican colleagues on an issue-by-issue basis.
“Certainly there are many Republicans that have fascist tendencies that we are seeing more and more of in Congress,” he told Newsmakers.
“A good part of the Republican Party is focused on the ‘Big Lie’ (that the election was stolen), and is following the cult of a man named Trump, versus an ideology or a conservative platform,” he said. “So from that standpoint, it is a new party, overwhelmingly a new party.”
“I try to (call that out) as often as possible, but in addition to doing that, I also believe in collaborating and creating a collaborative environment, where we can get things done,” he added. “Look, the people in the Central Coast, my constituents, want me to govern. They don’t want me there focusing overwhelmingly on ideology…And I try to reach that balance because I want to be effective for my district.”
State of play.
In the Nov. 8 election, Carbajal ‘s opponent is Dr. Brad Allen, the sacrificial Republican (Dems start with a 46-to-26 percent district registration advantage) who finished second to him in the June primary. A pediatric surgeon who says he is running as a “common sense” alternative to “career politicians,” Allen reported $2,500 cash on hand in his latest campaign filing to the Federal Election Commission; ,Carbajal reported $2.4 million.
“I never underestimate any campaign, any race,” Salud told us, “and I am spending substantial resources this race as well, because I don’t take anyone for granted.”
In our interview, Salud answered questions (and parried spasmodic snark) on a host of other consequential issues, including the controversial refit of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in his district – and what it means for the future of a major wind energy venture planned nearby, a project he surely views as the stuff of political legacy .
He also discussed the econoy, inflation and the local impact of a series of huge pieces of legislation passed by Congress and signed by Biden, including the $1 trillion, bipartisan infrastructure bill; the massive and sprawling, so-called “Inflation Reduction Act”; and the $280 billion Chips and Science Act to boost the semiconductor industry and establish reliable manufacturing supply chains (“jobs, jobs, jobs,” he repeated three times).
In response to other questions, Carbajal insisted the new $700 million federal gun safety law, providing state grants for “red flag” law policies, was more than a token measure; discussed the war in Ukraine and how the U.S. should respond if Putin follows through on threats of using nuclear weapons; and speculated that the Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade, could be determinative in Democrats surprisingly holding the House;.
Majority or minority?
Contrary to the view held by many political professionals, Carbajal stated that he is “not absolutely sure that (Democrats) are going to lose the House” to Republicans in the fall.
The GOP needs to net only five seats to take over — think Speaker Kevin McCarthy — and if they do, Salud said, he’ll hunker down to “negotiate with a Republican-led House to try to find common ground on continuing to move legislation forward, when we can find agreement.”
Carbajal pointed to his membership and good working relations in the bipartisan “Problem Solvers Caucus” (of 19 Republican members, just five Trump loyalists refused to certify the election) and the “For Country Caucus,” composed of ex-military members (where 5 of 14 GOP members stood behind the rigged election canard) as proof of viability for his across-the-aisle style and brand.
(Data point: Don’t look now, but among Republican election upholders, at least 5 of those 19 GOP “Problem Solvers,” and 3 of the 9 “For Country ” Republicans who voted for reality won’t be returning in January, either retired or beaten in primaries by MAGA Trumpers. But we digress).
“Most of the people that are on the other side, that are part of the bipartisan caucuses that I’m part of, overwhelmingly…those individuals have not been the ones promoting the Big Lie, have not been the extreme individuals,” Salud said.
“But I will tell you, I stand up for my district, I stand up for my ideals, day in and day out,” he added. “I don’t hesitate to call out the Republicans on extremism, and things that they do that are not in keeping with…American values of being inclusive — making sure everybody has opportunity, making sure we are doing everything possible to improve the lot of Americans…and giving people hope and opportunity to live the American dream.
“So that’s what I fight for every day,” the congressman said.
You can watch Newsmakers’ interview with Rep. Salud Carbajal in part or in full via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here. Check TVSB and KCSB-FM for their air times of our program.
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Family Seeks Answers After Deadly North Little Rock Apartment Fire
Family Seeks Answers After Deadly North Little Rock Apartment Fire https://digitalarkansasnews.com/family-seeks-answers-after-deadly-north-little-rock-apartment-fire/
A family in North Little Rock is now mourning the loss of a loved one and is seeking answers after a deadly fire at the Shorter College Garden Apartments.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A family has been in mourning, after the loss of their loved one who was killed in a fire at the Shorter College Garden Apartments in North Little Rock.
They expressed that they want answers from owners and city leaders on why this tragedy happened.
“I love my granny. Nobody can ever take her place. Our bond was unbreakable [and] she was everything,” Shamyracle Cummins remembered.
For her and her other family member, Ashley Watts, the last few days have not been easy.
“I was more so like in shock, like, never my grandmother passed away. I can’t believe it,” Cummins said.
Their grandmother, Wanda Watts, is one of the three victims who passed away in Tuesday’s apartment fire in North Little Rock.
“When I found out the way she passed away, it was really like I’m distraught because she didn’t pass away from natural causes,” Cummins explained.
The family and neighbors mentioned that Watts had previously complained for weeks about a possible gas leak in the building.
Witnesses at the apartments during the fire have alleged they heard an explosion and then saw flames.
“They didn’t look into the problems of her complaining about the gas leak of what was going on,” Cummins said.
A manager of the complex who was on site explained that there were no prior issues— And fire investigators have yet to confirm the exact cause of the fire.
The family mentioned that there were no carbon monoxide detectors inside Watts’ apartment.
“At this point, I feel like no one cared and my grandma lost her life,” Watts said.
The family has been devastated by this loss and they have been working to bring attention to issues they say have been ongoing for the past several years.
The two added that they hope no other family has to experience a situation like theirs.
“Nobody did their job, they didn’t hear her out, they brushed it under the rug and now that she’s passed away, I can’t get my grandmother back,” Cummins said.
They explained that their main focus is their grandmother.
Wanda Watts helped a lot of people, according to the two, and they want to continue her legacy by starting a nonprofit organization in her honor.
When we reached out to Millennia Housing Management, the owners of the apartment complex for comment we received the following statement:
“The investigation is ongoing. While the investigation continues, the property management and leadership teams are working together with officials to respond to this tragedy. It has been a difficult week in the community, and all are deeply grateful for the community leaders, elected officials, non-profits, and faith-based organizations who have been assisting residents in numerous ways.”
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Armageddon Warning Reflects Bidens Instincts About Putin
‘Armageddon’ Warning Reflects Biden’s Instincts About Putin https://digitalarkansasnews.com/armageddon-warning-reflects-bidens-instincts-about-putin/
President Biden’s warning this week that Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons amounted to the most serious “prospect of Armageddon in 60 years” was not based on any new intelligence or information collected by the government, U.S. officials said Friday, but rather Biden’s own assessment of what Russian President Vladimir Putin could be capable of.
Biden and other U.S. officials have harbored concerns in recent weeks that as the war continues to go poorly for Moscow, Putin would resort to increasingly drastic measures, said a senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
U.S. officials stressed on Friday that they had seen no evidence that Russia had taken the measures necessary to use its nuclear arsenal and that the United States has no reason to change its nuclear posture. But several officials said they are taking Putin’s threats seriously and have said the United States is engaged in direct back-channel conversations with the Russians about the repercussions of taking steps such as the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.
“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor do we have indications that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday. She added, “The kind of irresponsible rhetoric we have seen is no way for the leader of a nuclear-armed state to speak, and that’s what the president was making very clear about.”
Biden startled many Americans by saying at a fundraiser Thursday night that Putin, who he knows “fairly well,” was “not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.” He added, “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily [use] a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”
Biden suggested that the threat was reminiscent of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, when the United States and Soviet Union came close to nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
“My sense is this is clearly weighing really heavily on President Biden, and we can all say intellectually the risk of the use of nuclear weapons is low, but the reality is the risk has gone up,” said Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.
“At a very human level, he now has the potential to be a president who has to manage nuclear use for the first time in 70 years,” Kendall-Taylor said. “I maybe would have preferred he didn’t use the phrase ‘nuclear … Armageddon,’ but I think it’s useful for the president and the administration to be having a conversation with the public about the risk.”
Biden’s comments were reflective of the long-held distrust he has harbored against Putin and his understanding of what Putin is willing to do to carry out his goals, U.S. officials and outside experts said. His skepticism about Putin began long before he became president — and long before Putin became one of the United States’ biggest adversaries.
Biden’s bleak assessment of Putin dates back at least to 2001, when President George W. Bush met the Russian leader for the first time shortly after he had come to power. While Bush heaped praise on him — describing him as “very straightforward and trustworthy” — Biden, then a senator from Delaware, disagreed, stating that he did not trust Putin.
Biden, who has focused on foreign policy throughout his career and chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, places a high value on his own instincts and assessments when it comes to evaluating foreign leaders and landscapes. During his presidential campaign, he often spoke of how many foreign leaders he had met personally, for example citing the long travels he took with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
While Biden’s mention of “Armageddon” was his most vivid warning yet, the president has been raising the alarm for weeks about Putin’s actions in Ukraine, including his staging of sham referendums in four Ukrainian territories and then annexing them. In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly last month, Biden addressed the referendums and nuclear threats directly, saying Moscow had “shamelessly” violated the core of the U.N. charter by forcefully invading its neighbor.
“Just today, President Putin has made overt nuclear threats against Europe, in a reckless disregard for the responsibilities of the nonproliferation regime,” Biden said. “A nuclear war cannot be won. And must never be fought.”
Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons since the beginning of the conflict in February, but officials said they have long recognized that the threat of such a strike would rise if Putin’s military position became imperiled in Ukraine. In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive and made significant gains on the battlefield.
But U.S. officials were at pains Friday to stress that nothing they have seen on the ground in recent days has prompted them to expect a potential nuclear strike in the short term.
“We have been doing contingency planning for a wide range of scenarios throughout the conflict,” a senior State Department official said. “But have not seen reason to adjust our strategic nuclear posture.”
State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel added, “We’ve not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture, nor do we have any indications that Russia is preparing to imminently use weapons.”
Other senior U.S. officials said they believe any movement of Russian nuclear warheads would not only be detected through various monitoring methods, but would require detectable internal coordination and could be observed by U.S. surveillance in real time.
Still, a range of officials acknowledged that such methods are never 100 percent certain.
Asked Sunday whether the United States would actively enter the war if Putin used a nuclear weapon, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN, “I have said before that we have had the opportunity to communicate directly to Russia a range of consequences for the use of nuclear weapons and the kinds of actions the United States would take. I have also said before that we are not going to telegraph these things publicly.”
Some leaders suggested Friday that Biden’s comments were needlessly provocative. French President Emmanuel Macron said that “we must speak with prudence” on issues like nuclear weapons.
Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, also questioned Biden’s tone, saying it would be better for U.S. officials to make limited, calm statements in response to Putin’s nuclear threats.
“When you get into this kind of language of ‘Armageddon’ and ‘World War III’ as an official, I think you are raising the anxiety without actually conveying the deterrent threat,” Lewis said. “The primary message that the White House should be conveying at this point is strength and confidence.”
Still, he added, Putin could always miscalculate even if the White House messaging was flawless. “Even if they were doing it perfectly, there is going to be a risk that he misreads them, because he already did it with Zelensky,” Lewis said.
Other European officials noted that Putin is unpredictable and dangerous, saying Russian losses on the battlefield are creating a kind of pressure he has rarely faced before. For months, the war has not gone according to plan for Putin, and he has resorted to ever more brazen and far-reaching measures to try to stem his losses.
After making a failed run at Kyiv, the Russian military retreated from the Ukrainian capital in early April and refocused its efforts on taking more territory in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, an area known as Donbas.
The regroup shifted the conflict into more of a traditional artillery war. Russian troops seized a string of new cities and towns in June and July in a dispiriting moment for Ukrainian forces, which found themselves outgunned by Russia’s longer-range artillery.
But the United States and other European allies armed the Ukrainians with more sophisticated weapons, including the U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), and found ways to alleviate some ammunition shortages, helping to level the playing field.
By the time Kyiv launched its counteroffensive in late August, Putin’s forces had suffered significant losses and lacked the personnel to defend such a wide swath of territory. Russia’s front-line defenses in the Kharkiv region swiftly collapsed, and Ukrainian forces retook thousands of square miles in a rapid advance that has thrown Moscow off-balance.
In recent weeks, as Ukrainian forces have pushed farther, Putin resorted to a move U.S. intelligence sources had said he would try to avoid at all costs: ordering a partial military mobilization of up to 300,000 reservists. Putin had been reluctant to take the step earlier, cognizant that it could hamper domestic support of the war, and since the announcement, many Russian men have tried to flee the country to avoid conscription.
At the same time, Putin moved up the timeline for the sham referendums and annexations, declaring that the people living in the annexed regions would “be our citizens forever” and warning that the land now belonged to Russia and would be defended as if it were any other part of the country.
These urgent — some say desperate — actions form the backdrop for Putin’s escalation of his nuclear threats. Some analysts say the Russian president may see the threats as a way to make the United States and Europe think twice about letting Ukraine advance far enough to provoke the Kremlin into potentially using a weapon of mass destruction.
“If the territorial integ...
Michael Flynn Newt Gingrich Testimony Sought In Georgia Election Probe
Michael Flynn, Newt Gingrich Testimony Sought In Georgia Election Probe https://digitalarkansasnews.com/michael-flynn-newt-gingrich-testimony-sought-in-georgia-election-probe/
ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 election filed paperwork Friday seeking to compel testimony from a new batch of Trump allies, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed petitions seeking to have Gingrich and Flynn, as well as former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann and others, testify next month before a special grand jury that’s been seated to aid her investigation.
They join a string of other high-profile Trump allies and advisers who have been called to testify in the probe. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump attorney who’s been told he could face criminal charges in the probe, testified in August. Attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro have also appeared before the panel. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s attempt to fight his subpoena is pending in a federal appeals court. And paperwork has been filed seeking testimony from others, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
READ MORE: Michael Flynn is recruiting an ‘Army of God’ in growing Christian nationalist movement
Flynn did not immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment, and his lawyer also did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Gingrich referred questions to his attorney, who did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment. Herschmann could not immediately be reached for comment.
Willis has said she plans to take a monthlong break from public activity in the case leading up to the November midterm election, which is one month from Saturday.
Each of the petitions filed Friday seeks to have the potential witnesses appear in November after the election. But the process for securing testimony from out-of-state witnesses sometimes takes a while, so it appears Willis is putting the wheels in motion for activity to resume after her self-imposed pause.
When she wants to compel testimony from witnesses who don’t live in Georgia, Willis has to use a process that involves getting judges in the states where they live to order them to appear. The petitions she filed Friday are essentially precursors to subpoenas.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s overseeing the special grand jury, signed off on the petitions, certifying that each person whose testimony is sought is a “necessary and material” witness for the investigation.
The petition for Gingrich’s testimony relies on “information made publicly available” by the U.S. House committee that’s investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
It says he was involved along with others associated with the Trump campaign in a plan to run television ads that “repeated and relied upon false claims about fraud in the 2020 election” and encouraged members of the public to contact state officials to push them to challenge and overturn the election results based on those claims.
READ MORE: Jan. 6 committee schedules new public hearing for Oct. 13
Gingrich wrote an email to people associated with the Trump campaign that said, “The goal is to arouse the country’s anger through new verifiable information the American people have never seen before,” the petition says. That would lead them to pressure state lawmakers and governors, he wrote.
Gingrich was also involved in a plan to have Republican fake electors sign certificates falsely stating that Trump had won the state and that they were the state’s official electors even though Democrat Joe Biden had won, the petition says.
The petition seeking Flynn’s testimony says he appeared in an interview on conservative cable news channel Newsmax and said Trump “could take military capabilities” and place them in swing states and “basically re-run an election in each of those states.”
He also met with Trump, attorney Sidney Powell and others at the White House on Dec. 18, 2020, for a meeting that, according to news reports, “focused on topics including invoking martial law, seizing voting machines, and appointing Powell as special counsel to investigate the 2020 election,” Willis wrote.
Willis in August filed a petition seeking testimony from Powell.
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The Haunted Hotel Of Arkansas Brings Award-Winning Frights To Little Rock
The Haunted Hotel Of Arkansas Brings Award-Winning Frights To Little Rock https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-haunted-hotel-of-arkansas-brings-award-winning-frights-to-little-rock/
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Haunted Hotel of Arkansas began their twenty-second year in 2022. Years of hard work, and dedication – that has paid off.
This haunt has won “Best Haunted House” in Arkansas award many times. Their two-story facility is something they hope will get you running.
The Haunted Hotel of Arkansas has something to offer every horror fan look for a fright. Their haunt is complete with characters from horror movies, such as Jason, or Freddy.
But, for those people who like a good scare without the movie tie – there is plenty of it, including a fan favorite – one with a honking nose and big shoes.
They have a clown room, along with other rooms that will keep you on your toes.
Every May, the owners and staff of the Haunted Hotel of Arkansas start getting everything ready and set to begin preparation for the season.
Creativity, and a true heart for horror and fright are the reasons why this house is so successful.
Located on Brown Street in Little Rock – co-owner, Mike Bolding, said they are open and ready to safely fright your night.
“Come out and see us, I know the neighborhood is not the greatest, but we do have police officers and security guards out here every night we’re open.”
The fear is near, and they are waiting for your screams. Co-owner, Becky Bolding, said “the more they do that – the more we get into it.”
The Haunted Hotel of Arkansas is open every weekend until Halloween with hours being from 7pm to midnight. Besides Halloween night, where their closing hour is left as a question mark.
The dates, and times are listed on their website at thehauntedhotelofarkansas.com – see what date and time is best for you……if you dare.
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New Biden Counterterror Strategy Puts Limits On Drone Use
New Biden Counterterror Strategy Puts Limits On Drone Use https://digitalarkansasnews.com/new-biden-counterterror-strategy-puts-limits-on-drone-use/
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday formally issued new guidance curtailing the use of armed drones outside of war zones as part of a new counterterrorism strategy that places a greater priority on protecting civilian lives.
The new policies require presidential approval before a suspected terrorist is added to the U.S. government’s target list for potential lethal action, including drone strikes and special operations raids, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the classified memoranda.
The new guidance returns U.S. policies to where they were at the end of the Obama administration, and it reverses former President Donald Trump’s more permissive rules that allowed lower-level officials more leeway when launching deadly strikes.
Biden had issued temporary restrictions on the U.S. military and intelligence community requiring presidential sign-off for lethal actions outside of war zones when he took office. The new policies and strategy, which resulted from a review that began shortly after Inauguration Day last year, formalize the directive. The strategy would require a subsequent president looking to reverse the new action in order to rescind Biden’s directive.
“President Biden’s formal counterterrorism guidance directs his administration to be discerning and agile in protecting Americans against evolving global terrorist challenges,” said White House Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall in a statement.
The president’s guidance on use of lethal action and capture operations outside areas of active hostilities “requires that U.S. counterterrorism operations meet the highest standards of precision and rigor, including for identifying appropriate targets and minimizing civilian casualties,” she said.
The guidance comes a day after U.S. forces killed three senior Islamic State leaders in two separate military operations in Syria Thursday, including a rare ground raid in a portion of the northeast that is controlled by the Syrian regime, U.S. officials said. Under Biden’s guidelines, though, Syria is considered a conflict zone where specific presidential approval isn’t necessarily required.
Strikes in Afghanistan, where the U.S. in August killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri at Biden’s direction, would require presidential approval.
The policy change was first reported by The New York Times.
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US Marshals Museum In Fort Smith Should Open Next Summer CEO Says
US Marshals Museum In Fort Smith Should Open Next Summer, CEO Says https://digitalarkansasnews.com/us-marshals-museum-in-fort-smith-should-open-next-summer-ceo-says/
CLEARED AND REOPENED..AND MORE THAN 2500 BRIDGES NOW BEEN DEEMED SAFE. THE U.S. MARSHALS MUSEUM IN FORT SMITH IS ON TRACK TO OPEN NEXT SUMMER. IN 2007, THE U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE SELECTED FORT SMITH AS THE SITE FOR THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. THE FACILITY IS NEAR DOWNTOWN FORT SMITH. ABOUT 53 THOUSAND- SQUARE-FEET OF THE MUSEUM WAS COMPLETED – EXCEPT FOR EXHIBITS – IN EARLY 2020. WE SPOKE TO THE NEW MUSEUM C-E-O, BEN JOHNSON, TODAY. HE SAYS THE PLAN IS TO HAVE THE EXHIBITS INSTALLED BY MARCH OR APRIL OF NEXT YEA
US Marshals Museum in Fort Smith should open next summer, CEO says
The CEO of the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas, plans to open the museum in the summer of 2023.Ben Johnson confirmed the date to 40/29 News on Friday.The U.S. Marshals Museum is a planned museum of history on the banks of the Arkansas River in downtown Fort Smith.”Every major event in American history, good, bad and the ugly, the marshals were there in some capacity,” Ben Johnson, CEO. said in an interview last month.The group behind the museum announced it would build in Fort Smith in 2007, and it has been raising money for years. Construction began in the summer of 2018.Johnson is still looking for an additional $3 million to $5 million in funding, he said.
FORT SMITH, Ark. —
The CEO of the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas, plans to open the museum in the summer of 2023.
Ben Johnson confirmed the date to 40/29 News on Friday.
The U.S. Marshals Museum is a planned museum of history on the banks of the Arkansas River in downtown Fort Smith.
“Every major event in American history, good, bad and the ugly, the marshals were there in some capacity,” Ben Johnson, CEO. said in an interview last month.
The group behind the museum announced it would build in Fort Smith in 2007, and it has been raising money for years. Construction began in the summer of 2018.
Johnson is still looking for an additional $3 million to $5 million in funding, he said.
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Fact Check: False Claim That US District Judge Aileen Cannon Was Fired
Fact Check: False Claim That US District Judge Aileen Cannon Was Fired https://digitalarkansasnews.com/fact-check-false-claim-that-us-district-judge-aileen-cannon-was-fired/
The claim: District Judge Aileen Cannon was fired
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has faced public scrutiny for issuing rulings favoring former President Donald Trump in his ongoing legal battle over the federal government search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in August.
A viral Facebook post claims Cannon was recently fired from her position.
“corrupt judge cannon cries out for mercy as she gets fired after account getting (sic),” reads the caption of a Sept. 30 video, which has been viewed more than 60,000 times.
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But the claim is baseless.
The only way to remove a federal judge from office is through a congressional impeachment process, experts said. There’s no evidence this process has taken place for Cannon.
The four-minute video included in the post does not provide evidence to support the caption’s claim. Rather, it discusses the legal challenges faced by Judge Raymond Dearie, who Cannon appointed as the special master to review the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.
Cannon remains in office
Cannon was not dismissed from office, Chris Edelson, an assistant government professor at American University, told USA TODAY in an email.
USA TODAY found no credible news reports about Cannon being removed. Her name is still listed on the Southern District of Florida’s court website.
District judges receive a lifetime appointment and may only be removed from office through an impeachment process outlined in the Constitution, Edelson said. The House of Representatives can impeach a judge by a majority vote on the articles of impeachment, a written statement of charges against an official.
The Senate then holds a trial and can convict a judge through a two-thirds vote, upon which the judge would be removed from office, according to the Senate‘s website.
No such congressional action has taken place against Cannon.
Fact check: False claim about Chief Justice John Roberts circulates online
“We can be reasonably assured that Judge Cannon has not been impeached in the last day or so,” Frank Bowman, a criminal law expert at the University of Missouri, told USA TODAY.
The impeachment and removal of federal judges is rare. Since 1803, the House of Representatives has only impeached 15 judges, of which the Senate has convicted eight, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
The Southern District of Florida’s court did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
PolitiFact debunked similar claims that Cannon was arrested and that she had lost her law license.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Cannon was fired. The only way to remove a federal judge is through an impeachment process. There is no evidence this process has taken place with Cannon.
Our fact-check sources:
Frank Bowman, Oct. 6, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Chris Edelson, Oct. 6, Email exchange and phone interview with USA TODAY
Barry Burden, Oct. 6, Email exchange with USA TODAY
The White House, accessed Oct. 6, The Judicial Branch
USA TODAY, Sept. 29, Judge gives Trump more time to challenge Mar-a-Lago documents
USA TODAY, Sept. 15, Judge names Raymond Dearie special master to review Mar-a-Lago documents but keeps pause on DOJ investigation of Donald Trump
Brennan Center for Justice, May 6, Impeachment and Removal of Judges: An Explainer
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Uvalde District Suspends School Police Department Amid Protests After Shooting
Uvalde District Suspends School Police Department Amid Protests After Shooting https://digitalarkansasnews.com/uvalde-district-suspends-school-police-department-amid-protests-after-shooting/
HOUSTON — Uvalde’s school district has suspended its police force, which has faced escalating criticism over its response to the deadly shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers in May.
“As a result of the recent developments, Lt. Miguel Hernandez and Ken Mueller have been placed on administrative leave, and the district has made the decision to suspend all activities of the Uvalde CISD Police Department for a period of time,” the district said in a statement Friday, noting Mueller would retire and other officers will “fill other roles in the district.”
Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers will be stationed at Uvalde schools and extracurricular activities, the statement said, noting, “We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition.”
It wasn’t clear how long the school police department would be suspended. A district spokeswoman did not return calls or emails.
The district didn’t specify what prompted the decision, but the announcement came a day after officials said they had fired school police officer Crimson Elizondo. CNN reported Elizondo had been hired despite still being under investigation for her conduct during the massacre, when she was employed by DPS. The decision to hire Elizondo had sparked outrage among victims’ parents.
“We are deeply distressed by the information that was disclosed yesterday evening concerning one of our recently hired employees, Crimson Elizondo,” the school district said in a letter released after the firing. “We sincerely apologize to the victim’s families and the greater Uvalde community for the pain that this revelation has caused.”
Elizondo was the first DPS trooper to enter the hallway at Robb Elementary School after the shooter, but did not bring her rifle or protective vest, according to an internal review reported by ABC News.
As a result of potential failure to follow standard procedures, she was among seven DPS staff who had been suspended while being investigated by the agency’s inspector general, ABC reported. Elizondo resigned from DPS to work for Uvalde school police, meaning she was no longer subject to internal discipline or penalties by the state agency.
The Uvalde school district did not say when Elizondo was hired, but they said at a school board meeting on Aug. 8 that “four officers have been recommended for hire.” It’s unclear if Elizondo was one of them.
Shooting victims’ relatives have been gathering outside the school district administration building for more than a week to protest school police.
Javier Cazares, father of 9-year-old victim Jacklyn Cazares, called suspension of the school police force, “one of the battles that have been won.”
“At the same time, it should have been sooner,” he said. “It’s a small battle. There’s a lot more to do.”
Cazares, who’s running for county commission, said families are committed to holding local and state leaders responsible in the wake of the shooting, even as some neighbors who see them protesting urge them to give up.
“The people who say that are the ones who’ve not been affected. Yesterday, a truck driver opened his window and said ‘Y’all move on.’ We can’t move on. Our babies are gone,” Cazares said. “It’s a fight that we can never stop. We can’t even properly grieve because we’re doing this. It’s depressing that they have that attitude: We’re doing it for their kids.”
Cazares said he plans on Monday to attend the next school board meeting, where he expects this week’s announcements to be discussed.
“More stuff is coming to light, and there’s still a lot more,” he said, including improvements to school windows, doors and locks. “There’s still a lot of stuff that needs to be done that they promised.”
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D), who represents the Uvalde area, credited victims’ relatives — especially Brett Cross, who raised his nephew, Uziyah Garcia, 10, like a son, and camped outside Uvalde school offices to protest — with forcing the district to act. Parents and other relatives have held marches in the small South Texas town, filed grievances and spoken at countless school board meetings, demanding accountability.
“Uvalde families have gotten nothing from their own government but lies, misinformation, and a complete disregard for their welfare,” Gutierrez said in a Friday statement. “Thanks to the persistence of Brett Cross and all of the Uvalde families, a step toward accountability has been made today. UCISD has suspended its officers. This cannot be the end; we still need full transparency and justice from every agency and every level of government that failed us in Uvalde.”
Adam Martinez, whose 8-year-old son survived the shooting, was outside the school administration building with Cross on Friday, protesting, when he heard the news that the school police had been suspended.
“That’s what basically caused this to happen,” he said of the protests.
But Martinez said suspending the school police wasn’t enough corrective action. After the shooting, he filed a grievance with the Uvalde school board against the superintendent, but no action was taken. Martinez wants the superintendent removed, too.
“Ultimately, he was the person that was in charge of overseeing the hire and he allowed that hire to happen,” Martinez said of Elizondo, the former DPS trooper. “He allowed many of these things to happen. The first question you ask when you hire a police officer to take care of these kids should be was this police officer on the scene when this happened? Please do not put anyone at that school who was there at that time.”
Martinez said it shouldn’t matter whether the superintendent knew Elizondo’s record: “Either way: If he didn’t know, shame on him. If he did know, shame on him.”
Martinez said his son Zayon is still coping with trauma from the shooting, going to school at home, where he’s spooked by small sounds, like the dog scraping at the door.
“I talked to my wife about it today, and we’re going to put him in counseling. There’s a lot of things that trigger him,” Martinez said.
But he said the district’s announcements this week, combined with the earlier departure of Pete Arredondo, former Uvalde school police chief and city council member, encouraged him and other families.
“As we’ve continued to stay strong and go to the meetings and voice our opinions, it has made a difference,” Martinez said. “At first, people say nothing’s going to change. In Uvalde, there’s a status quo. Now, I hope people see things can change. We just have to stay strong, united and not give up.”
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