Digital Arkansas News

Cyclocross World Cup Races Fast Approaching In Fayetteville https://digitalarkansasnews.com/cyclocross-world-cup-races-fast-approaching-in-fayetteville/ American cyclist Clara Honsinger runs up the staircase during the UCI Cyclocross World Cup race at Centennial Park in Fayetteville on Oct. 13, 2021. (Flyer file photo/Todd Gill) World-class cyclocross racing will return to Fayetteville next weekend. The OZCX and UCI Cyclocross World Cup events are set for Oct. 14-16 at Centennial Park, which includes three days bike racing atop Millsap Mountain in southwest Fayetteville. Junior, C1-level and amateur events are scheduled on Friday and Saturday, including kids races and team relays. Sunday’s races begin with junior girls and boys categories, and the main events will feature the UCI pro women’s race at 12:30 p.m. and the UCI pro men’s race at 2 p.m. The Fayetteville race is one of only two pro cyclocross World Cup events planned in the United States this year, along with Waterloo, Wisconsin. It will be the second time Fayetteville has hosted a World Cup. Last year’s event was not well attended due it being held on a Wednesday instead of the typical Sunday afternoon time slot. Those races were also held during a two-day stretch of steady rain, which left the riders completely drenched in mud. Centennial park was also the site of the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships in January, which drew an estimated crowd of over 14,000 people over the three-day event. Many of the same riders are expected to return to Fayetteville for the World Cup races. » See the full weekend schedule here Flyer Newsletter The latest headlines from the Fayetteville Flyer, delivered straight to your inbox. TOPICS: cyclocross Read More Here

The Justice Department Believes Trump Might Have More White House Documents https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-justice-department-believes-trump-might-have-more-white-house-documents/ WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice suspects former President Donald Trump still possesses documents that he took from the White House, people familiar with the matter told NBC News on Friday. The department’s top counterintelligence official, Jay Bratt, recently communicated that concern to Trump’s lawyers, the sources said. The New York Times reported Thursday that the department believed Trump had not returned all of the documents he took from the White House. This was also confirmed by The Wall Street Journal. The revelation leaves some key questions unanswered, including whether the department has concrete evidence that Trump still holds classified material or it’s just a suspicion based on inferences, such as the empty envelopes with classified markings that were seized at Mar-a-Lago or information from the National Archives that it’s still missing documents from Trump’s presidency. Various court filings from the department have suggested that some presidential records are still missing. In a September filing opposing U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling barring the Justice Department from accessing documents seized at Mar-a-Lago, the department complained that her ruling “appears to bar the FBI and DOJ from further reviewing the records to discern any patterns in the types of records that were retained, which could lead to identification of other records still missing.” The Justice Department has also pointed to the empty envelopes marked classified that the FBI seized at Mar-a-Lago as evidence some docents could be missing. The Times reported that Trump’s lawyers were split on how to respond to the Justice Departments questions about any further records in the former president’s possession, with one faction, led by attorney Chris Kise, suggesting they hire a forensic accounting firm to search for additional documents. Other lawyers talked Trump out of that idea, the Times reported. NBC News has not independently confirmed the reported disagreement.  The Justice Department declined to comment. NBC has reached out to Kise for comment. Meanwhile, Trump filed an emergency request Tuesday asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the case and allow a special master to review classified documents federal agents seized from Trump’s Florida estate. The request came in response to a ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Sept. 21 that said the Justice Department could resume using classified documents taken from Mar-a-Lago in its criminal investigation, but barred the special master from reviewing them. That part of the federal appeals court’s decision “impairs substantially the ongoing, time-sensitive work of the special master,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “Moreover, any limit on the comprehensive and transparent review of materials seized in the extraordinary raid of a president’s home erodes public confidence in our system of justice.” The National Archives informed the House Oversight and Reform Committee last week that some records from the Trump White House had still not been turned over in compliance with the Presidential Records Act. Several days after the FBI searched Trump’s Florida property, a receipt of recovered items showed that agents found a trove of top-secret and other highly classified documents. Federal agents removed 11 sets of classified documents, some of which were labeled secret and top secret. Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for NBC News, based in Washington. Rebecca Shabad is a politics reporter for NBC News based in Washington. Read More Here

DOJ Suspects Trump Still Has Classified Documents He Removed From White House, Even After FBI Mar-A-Lago Raid https://digitalarkansasnews.com/doj-suspects-trump-still-has-classified-documents-he-removed-from-white-house-even-after-fbi-mar-a-lago-raid/ Former U.S. President Donald Trump throws caps as he attends a rally in Warren, Michigan, U.S., October 1, 2022. Dieu-nalio Chery | Reutersm The Justice Department suspects that ex-President Donald Trump might still have classified documents that he removed from the White House when he left office in January 2021, people familiar with the matter told NBC News. The DOJ’s head of counterintelligence matters, Jay Bratt, recently told Trump’s attorneys that the department believed he had not turned over all the government documents he took when he left office, classified or not, NBC reported. The news, first reported by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, comes two months after FBI agents empowered by a search warrant raided Trump’s residence in Florida and seized thousands of government documents. More than 100 of the records were marked classified. It also comes days after the acting Archivist of the United States Debra Steidel Wall, in a letter to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said that the National Archives and Records Administration still has not recovered Trump White House staff records that are contained on non-official electronic accounts they used during his presidency. NARA found more than 150 documents marked classified in boxes of records that Trump turned over to the agency from Mar-a-Lago in January. The DOJ and a spokeswoman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC on Friday. The Aug. 8 raid at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach was part of an ongoing criminal investigation of Trump for the removal of government records when he left office, and potential obstruction of justice in not returning those documents as federal authorities sought their return. By law, such records are the property of the U.S. government. The DOJ has said that the raid found empty file folders that were marked classified. Officials also have complained that a judge’s ruling temporarily barring the DOJ from examining the seized classified documents “appears to bar the FBI and DOJ” from a review that could identify other records that are “still missing.” Although the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, where Trump resides in non-summer months, agents did not search either his residence at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, or his apartment at Trump Tower in New York City. The Daily Mail last month published a video taken of Trump in May 2021 boarding a jet from near Mar-a-Lago as file boxes were being loaded on the plane. Trump was traveling to Bedminster at the time. Trump’s lawyers are divided over how to respond to the DOJ’s suspicion that the former president still has classified material, the Times report noted. One group of attorneys, headed by Chris Kise, had suggested that Trump retain a forensic accounting firm to search for the suspected records. But other attorneys dissuaded Trump from that route, according to the report. The latest reports on the potentially still-missing classified documents complicate an already tangled legal situation. Judges in four federal courts, including the Supreme Court, are dealing with disputes between Trump’s lawyers and the DOJ over the parameters and timing of the use of the records in the criminal probe. Read More Here

Elon Musk Says Trump's 'Truth Social' App Is 'essentially A Right-Wing Echo Chamber': 'You Might As Well Call It Trumpet' https://digitalarkansasnews.com/elon-musk-says-trumps-truth-social-app-is-essentially-a-right-wing-echo-chamber-you-might-as-well-call-it-trumpet/ Elon Musk said Donald Trump’s Truth Social app is a “right-wing echo chamber.” The billionaire said he bought Twitter to make it “maximally trusted and inclusive.” Musk and the former president have traded jabs in the past. Loading Something is loading. Elon Musk slammed former president Donald Trump’s social media app, Truth Social, in a recent interview with Financial Times. “It is essentially a right-wing echo chamber,” Musk said. “It might as well be called Trumpet.” The billionaire said he bought Twitter in order to avoid the site becoming a counterpart to Truth Social. “I’m not doing Twitter for the money. It’s not like I’m trying to buy some yacht and I can’t afford it. I don’t own any boats,” Musk said. “But I think it’s important that people have a maximally trusted and inclusive means of exchanging ideas and that it should be as trusted and transparent as possible.” In the past, Musk has said if he bought Twitter he would lift the company’s ban on Trump and other users — an effort that could make Truth Social irrelevant for the former president. Though, Trump has said in the past he won’t return to Twitter, even if he is allowed back on. Trump launched Truth Social after he was banned from Twitter following the January 6 siege on the Capitol. Truth Social suffered a rocky rollout. The social media app also has considerably less reach than Twitter with approximately 513,000 daily active users compared to Twitter’s 229 million. In the interview with FT, Musk said he doesn’t hate Trump, though the two men have traded jabs in the past. Before Trump first took office Musk said he was “not the right guy” for the job. More recently, Musk said in July that the former reality TV host shouldn’t run for president again. Meanwhile, Trump said he could have made Musk drop to his knees and beg when he was president and the billionaire would have done it. Musk also isn’t a fan of President Joe Biden. In the interview, the Tesla CEO said he believes Biden is too old to run for office again and said he is considering setting up “the Super Moderate Super PAC” to support more moderate politicians. Earlier this year, the billionaire expressed support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Read Financial Times’ full interview with Musk on its website. Read More Here

How Do U.S. Marijuana Policies Compare Globally After Biden’s Pardon? https://digitalarkansasnews.com/how-do-u-s-marijuana-policies-compare-globally-after-bidens-pardon/ President Biden offered pardons Thursday to thousands of people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law, as U.S. states and other governments around the world reconsider their approach toward the drug, with some moving to decriminalize or legalize it. “No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden said. He called on senior administration officials to review how the drug is regulated under federal law and whether it should continue to be treated as a Schedule I substance along with drugs such as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. On Oct. 6, President Biden pardoned thousands of people convicted of a federal crime for simply possessing marijuana and urged governors to do the same. (Video: Julie Yoon/The Washington Post) Here’s what you need to know about how U.S. marijuana policies and laws compare to those of other countries. What does Biden’s offer of mass pardons for people convicted of simple marijuana possession mean? More than 600,000 people were arrested for marijuana possession in the United States in 2018, according to the latest available data from the American Civil Liberties Union. (Not all arrests lead to charges and convictions.) But Biden’s announcement applies only to federal prosecutions, a fraction of people affected by possession laws. His pardon power does not extend to those convicted under state law. “Many if not most people serving time are in state systems,” said Griffen Thorne, an attorney at Harris Bricken, a law firm that works with cannabis companies. (Biden also called on state governors Thursday to offer similar pardons.) No one is serving time in a federal prison solely for the crime of marijuana possession, White House officials said Thursday, though more than 6,500 people may have such convictions on their records. How do the United States’ policies stack up against the rest of the world? Possessing or consuming marijuana for any reason is illegal under federal law, but as of February, 37 states and the District of Columbia had authorized it for medical use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In addition, at least 19 states and D.C. had legalized recreational marijuana for adults as of May. Technically, “every state-level marijuana program is a complete violation of federal law,” Thorne said, but the federal government has “looked the other way.” A handful of countries have legalized recreational use of marijuana, though there are many gray areas and caveats. Places where it is legal to recreationally use cannabis include Uruguay, Canada and Malta. In some cases, there are restrictions on age, quantities and transport of the drug. South Africa decriminalized adult use of cannabis in private, although purchasing or selling it remains illegal. Thailand this year legalized growing and trading marijuana. However, government officials have warned that “nonproductive” use of the drug — such as smoking it outside — could lead to penalties such as short prison terms. Germany’s coalition government pledged before taking office last year to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. Australia allows medical marijuana, but recreational use at home is only legal in the Australian Capital Territory, encompassing Canberra and surrounding townships. Personal use of limited quantities of cannabis is tolerated in the Netherlands, though it’s technically illegal. “Certainly, there are other countries that have liberal policies and are more consistent about it,” said Robert Mikos, a professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in drug law. “But because we have so many states that have legalized adult recreational or medical use, I would count the U.S. as one of the more progressive countries.” Is the world moving toward legalizing marijuana for personal use? Momentum toward legalizing marijuana is ramping up in Latin America and Africa, Thorne said. A 2018 Constitutional Court decision paved the way for South Africa to decriminalize personal use, and President Cyril Ramaphosa said this year that his government would work on bolstering its domestic cannabis sector, Reuters reported. Peru legalized medical use in 2017, and Zimbabwe did so in 2018. Marijuana is one of the world’s most widely consumed drugs, with roughly 147 million people — about 2 percent of the global population — using it annually, according to the World Health Organization. U.S. adults between the ages of 19 and 30 also used marijuana at record levels last year, the National Institutes of Health reported. But there are pockets of opposition in parts of the world, particularly Asia. In a 2020 referendum, New Zealand voters narrowly rejected legalizing cannabis for nonmedicinal use. It is available there with a prescription. Singapore — whose tough drug laws extend to cannabis — also recently signaled that it would not move to permit medicinal marijuana in the near future. Does the mass pardon for marijuana possession have global significance? Maybe. U.S. drug policy has long influenced how the world treats marijuana. Since the 1960s, the United States has championed international conventions and treaties that required participating countries to ban recreational cannabis, said Mikos, the law professor. But now that dozens of U.S. states have legalized cannabis for recreational or medicinal use, several countries “have taken that as a green light to go ahead and start experimenting,” he said. Read More Here

Rail News – UP, ZTR To Build Hybrid-Electric Locomotives. For Railroad Career Professionals https://digitalarkansasnews.com/rail-news-up-ztr-to-build-hybrid-electric-locomotives-for-railroad-career-professionals/ Rail News Home Mechanical 10/7/2022 Rail News: Mechanical Union Pacific Railroad and ZTR yesterday announced a partnership to build hybrid-electric locomotives. The locomotives will be built at UP’s facility in North Little Rock, Arkansas, with the first prototype expected to be delivered in late 2023 and five additional units arriving in 2024. “This pilot will help make our fleet more fuel efficient and further advance our commitment to reaching our sustainability goals, while testing the technology’s capability for expanded use across our locomotive fleet,” said UP Senior Vice President of Engineering and Mechanical Shane Keller in a press release. The units work much like a plug-in car, capable of operating in multiple modes with several ways to charge the batteries. Known as “mother-slug” sets, two locomotives are replaced with one diesel locomotive connected to an accessory or slug. UP converts older locomotives, typically with higher emissions.  The slug unit will be converted and equipped with batteries, power electronics and controls supplied by ZTR. This will help achieve fuel and maintenance savings and offers environmental benefits allowing the slug unit to operate in single-engine, battery-charging or electric-only modes, UP officials said. As the new locomotives will be used chiefly for yard operations, the engineless slug increases traction motors available to the locomotive, boosting the pulling and braking power that is key for this kind of work. “This initial hybrid-electric mother-slug application will be the basis of our design for future hybrid-electric, long-haul and fully electric solutions,” said ZTR Control Systems President Derek Shipley. UP began rolling out mother-slug sets with ZTR’s Nexsys control systems in 2017 and currently operates more than 65 of them in yards systemwide. Depending on the mode of operation, fuel savings and greenhouse-gas emission reductions could total up to 80%, UP officials said. Read More…

The Best Anti-Prime Early Access Sale Tech Deals Happening At Target https://digitalarkansasnews.com/the-best-anti-prime-early-access-sale-tech-deals-happening-at-target/ Skip to main content / Target’s heading up Amazon’s Prime Day next week with a sale of its own and it’s already underway. The retailer’s discounting consoles, TVs, headphones, and more. Updated Oct 7, 2022, 2:18 PM UTC| If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge If you’re not an Amazon Prime member (or prefer not to shop at Amazon), Target’s competing with the upcoming Prime Early Access Sale with deals of its own — no membership needed. Through Saturday, October 8th, the retailer is holding the Target Deal Days event, offering discounts on a variety of tech products. These include gaming accessories, headphones, TVs, and a range of other items that are up to 50 percent off for a limited time. Plus, if you end up finding a cheaper price elsewhere, Target will match it within 14 days of purchase until December 24th. The retailer is also offering free, contactless pickup if you want to go that route. We’ve sorted through the full offering of deals to compile a list of the best tech deals at Target. And if you do change your mind and decide you want to check out what Amazon’s selling, be sure to check out our guide to the best Prime Early Access deals on Amazon devices, too. Target’s Deal Day sale deals Earbuds deals $249.99 Sony’s WF-1000XM4 have the best noise cancellation of any true wireless earbuds, and the sound quality is second to none. The earbuds can also now be charged wirelessly and have a new design that’s smaller and rated IPX4. $89.99 Apple’s second-gen AirPods don’t offer noise cancellation, a wireless charging case, or spatial audio support, but their battery life is good, and they offer good sound quality.  Sony’s noise-canceling WF-1000XM4 true wireless earbuds are on sale for $249.99 ($29 off). These offer some of the best noise cancellation of any true wireless earbuds and terrific sound quality, making them our top pick as a result. Read our review. Apple’s second-generation AirPods are on sale for $89 instead of $129.99, which is nearly its best price to date. These buds sound good and offer decent battery life, but they lack active noise cancelation and water resistance. Read our review. If you want a pair of noise-canceling earbuds, Apple’s first-generation AirPods Pro are on sale for $169.99 instead of $249.99. While they lack the second-generation’s swipe controls, the last-gen AirPods Pro still sound better than the other non-premium models in the AirPods lineup, they cancel out noise very well, and they come with swappable silicone tips. Read our review. You can buy Samsung’s bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live earbuds for $99.99 instead of $169.99. These buds offer a loud, powerful sound, though their active noise cancellation doesn’t rank among the best out there. Read our review. Shure’s Aonic 50 headphones are amongst the best noise-canceling over-ears we’ve tested with great sound quality. You can buy them for $299 ($100 off). TV and streaming stick deals $1349.99 The LG C2 is both lighter and brighter than its last-gen predecessor, the C1. It also boasts a “dark room” setting to reduce eyestrain, as well as the ability to log into different user profiles. $39.98 The Chromecast with Google TV introduces a dedicated remote and new software. It brings together recommendations from all of your streaming services and supports 4K HDR content with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10 Plus. Target is selling the latest LG OLED C2 4K TV in a number of sizes, but the 55-inch is the one that’s seeing an attractive discount right now. It’s on sale for $1,349.99 instead of $1,799.99. The 4K TV sports a 120Hz refresh rate, low input lag, and new features like a “dark room” setting to reduce eyestrain. Google’s 4K-ready Chromecast is available for $39.99 instead of $49.99. This is the best streaming device on the market, one that also offers support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos content. Read our review. Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Max is available for $34.99 ($20 off). If you’re embedded within Amazon’s ecosystem, this is the best streaming stick to buy, one that’s faster than its predecessor, works with Alexa, and supports Wi-Fi 6. Read our review. The Fire TV Stick 4K with slightly fewer features is still a good deal. You can get it for 50 percent off at Target, where it is selling for $24.99. Read our review. Samsung’s latest The Frame TV is also on sale. You can buy the 55-inch TV bundled with a Dolby Atmos-ready HW-Q910B 9.1.2-channel Soundbar for $2,397.99 ($401.99 off). The 4K TV displays customizable images of art when turned off, making the TV resemble an actual canvas. It also boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and support for AMD FreeSync adaptive sync technologies that are useful for gaming. You can buy the 58-inch version of Vizio’s M7 Series Quantum TV for $599.99 instead of $769.99. The TV touts FreeSync support and a variable refresh rate (VRR), but keep in mind that it has a 60Hz refresh rate display. It features Chromecast built-in, so you can cast shows and movies from your smartphone and access major streaming services. Smart display and speaker deals $69.99 The Echo Show 8 is the midsized smart display in Amazon’s current Echo lineup and can be used to display the weather, news, calendars, grocery lists, and more. You can also use it to control your smart home devices, stream videos, or listen to music. It even supports video calling via Zoom and Amazon’s Alexa calling service. Amazon’s second-gen Echo Show 8 is on sale for $69.99 ($60 off). The latest Echo Show 8 is our favorite smart display, and you can use it to make Zoom calls, stream shows, and more. Read our review. Amazon’s smaller, second-generation Echo Show 5 is on sale for $34.99 ($50 off). Compared to the Echo Show 8, this one should be a better fit on a nightstand as a smart alarm, though it lacks support for Zoom calls. Read our review. Meta’s Portal Go, a battery-powered portable smart display that’s great for video calls, is on sale for $116.35 instead of $179. Read our review. Amazon’s fourth-gen Echo is on sale for $59.99 ($40 off). The spherical smart speaker features a built-in smart hub and offers great sound quality. Read our review. While it doesn’t sound as good as the fourth-gen Echo, the fourth-gen Echo Dot still sounds nice for the price. You can buy it for $24.99 ($25 off), and you can also use it to perform tasks like setting alarms via Alexa. Read our review. The third-gen Echo Dot is also discounted. It offers decent sound (but not as good as the fourth-gen model) and the same Alexa functionality. You can buy it for $17.99 ($22 off). Read our review. Gaming deals Xbox accessories are also on sale. You can buy Microsoft’s official wireless controller for Xbox in some of its fancier colors for $54.99 ($10 off), for example. The digital edition of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD for the Nintendo Switch is down to $39.99 ($20 off). Read our review. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart for PlayStation 5 is on sale for $39.99 ($30 off). Read our review. You can buy It Takes Two for Xbox and PlayStation for $19.99 instead of $39.99. The popular dance video game Just Dance 2022 for Nintendo Switch and Xbox is on sale for $19.99 instead of $49.99. You can buy the digital version of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury for Nintendo Switch for $39.99 ($20 off). Read our review. Red Dead Redemption 2 is on sale for $24.99 instead of $59.99 for PlayStation and Xbox. Read our review. Smartphone deals $599 The Google Pixel 7 upgrades the standard model of the Pixel with Google’s second-gen Tensor CPU and an upgraded ultrawide camera. Target is offering $100 and $200 gift cards when you purchase the new, unlocked Google Pixel 7 and Google 7 Pro, respectively. The Pixel 7 is available starting with 128GB of storage for $599, while the Pixel 7 Pro with 128GB starts at $899. Read our hands-on impression of the new Pixel 7 phones. You can also buy the unlocked Google Pixel 6A for $349 ($100 off). The phone offers a smaller 6.1-inch OLED display, 12-megapixel camera, and the first-generation Tensor processor from Google. Read our review. Target’s discounting both of Samsung’s latest unlocked foldable phones. The 128GB configuration of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is available for $899.99 ($100 off), while the Galaxy Z Fold 4 with 256GB of storage is on sale for $1,499 ($300 off). Read our reviews of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4. You can also score discounts on both the unlocked Samsung Galaxy S22 and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra unlocked with 128GB of storage. The former is selling for $699.99 ($100 off), while you can purchase the latter for $999.99 ($200 off). Read our reviews of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Ultra. Motorola’s newest Moto G Stylus phone is one of our favorite budget-friendly smartphones that comes with a stylus. You can buy it from Target with 256GB of storage for $349.99 ($150 off). Read our review. Tablet and e-reader deals $99.99 Amazon’s new Kindle Paperwhite has a 6.8-inch E Ink display with adjustable color temperature for nighttime reading. It also boasts a faster processor, additional battery life, IPX8 waterproofing, and — finally — a USB-C port. $399.99 Apple’s revamped iPad Mini ditches the home button and opts for a larger, edge-to-edge display. It also comes outfitted with a faster processor, support for USB-C, and a top-mounted power button that moonlights as a Touch ID sensor. Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite with 8GB of storage is on sale for $99.99 instead of $139.99 at Target. The newest Kindle Paperwhite sports a nice, high-resolution display along with water resistance and USB-C support. Read our Kindle Paperwhite review. Various configurations of the latest iPad M...

Attorney Breaks Down Motions Made By Arkansan Charged In Jan. 6 Riot https://digitalarkansasnews.com/attorney-breaks-down-motions-made-by-arkansan-charged-in-jan-6-riot/ CALL THE CRAWFORD COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT. PROSECUTORS HAVE UNTIL TOMORROW TO RESPOND TO A MOTION MADE BY AN ARKANSAS MAN WHO WAS CHARGED IN THE JANUARY 6TH CAPITOL RIOT. AND WE HAVE 4029 PHIL REED, WHO TALKED TO AN ATTORNEY WHO BREAKS DOWN WHAT RICHARD BARNETT IS ASKING FOR PHIL. SO, BRANDON ALLISON, YOU MAY REMEMBER RICHARD BARNETT FROM GRAVITY. HE’S KNOWN FOR THIS VIRAL PHOTO THAT YOU SEE BEHIND ME. IT SHOWS HIM INSIDE HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI’S OFFICE WITH HIS FEET ON A DESK. NOW, HIS ATTORNEY FILING SEVERAL MOTIONS, INCLUDING TO DISMISS THE CASE, SAYING THE JURY POOL IS TAINTED AND AN ATTORNEY WHO WORKS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS READ THROUGH THE MOTIONS BY BARNETT’S ATTORNEY TO EXPLAIN WHAT HE’S FIGHTING FOR AND IF IT COULD WORK. MATT BENDER HAS SPENT A LOT OF HOURS READING COURT DOCUMENTS INVOLVING RICHARD BARNETT. BENDER IS A SUPERVISOR AT THE CRIMINAL DEFENSE CLINIC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AND TEACHES ON CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND CIVIL RIGHTS. HE SAYS A LOT OF PEOPLE ARRESTED ON JANUARY SIX ARE USING SIMILAR ARGUMENTS TO HAVE TRIED TO EITHER CLAIM THAT THEY WERE EXERCISING THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS OR THEY HAVE TRIED TO ARGUE THAT THEY TRULY BELIEVE THAT A REVOLUTION WAS NECESSARY. AND THAT HAS TURNED INTO A POLITICAL DEFENSE, WHICH IS NOT A LEGAL DEFENSE YOU CAN RAISE IN COURT. IN THIS CASE, BARNETT’S ATTORNEYS ARGUED, HE WANDERED INTO SPEAKER PELOSI’S OFFICE WHILE LOOKING FOR A RESTROOM AND THAT A REPORTER ASKED HIM TO TAKE A PHOTO AND TO ACT NATURAL. ONE OF HIS DEFENSES IS WHAT WE KIND OF CALL A BURDEN OF PROOF DEFENSE. HE’S ARGUING THAT HE WASN’T EVEN INTENDING TO BE IN THE SPEAKER PELOSI’S OFFICE. HE JUST GOT SWEPT AWAY WITH THE CROWD, FOR INSTANCE. THAT’S ISSUE OF FACT. THAT’S SOMETHING FOR THE JURY TO DECIDE. IT’S COMPLETELY FINE TO PROTEST OUTSIDE THE CAPITOL. IT IS NOT FINE TO GO INTO A PRIVATE AREA WHERE THERE ARE CLASSES, FIND DOCUMENTS OR PERSONAL EFFECTS LIKE SPEAKER PELOSI’S OFFICE. BENDER ALSO EXPLAINING WHY BARNETT WANTS HIS TRIAL MOVED OUT OF WASHINGTON, D.C., AN EFFORT TO TRY TO GET HIS CASE IN FRONT OF THE JURY. THAT’S PROBABLY MORE POLITICALLY ALIGNED WITH HIM THAN THE PEOPLE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WOULD BE. SO WHILE BENDER SAYS BARNETT FACES AN UPHILL BATTLE WITH HIS MOTIONS, THERE IS WIND THAT HE MAY HAVE A LEGIT FIGHT IN COURT. HE WANTS ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT TERMS FROM TERRORISM TO TERRORISM. FOR INSTANCE, THIS ONE THAT STUCK OUT TO ME AND HE MIGHT BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIMITING SOME OF THE TERMS. BARNETT’S TRIAL DATE IS SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 12TH. I DID REACH OUT TO BARNETT’S ATTORNEY SEVERAL TIMES FOR AN INTERVIEW, BUT HE DID N Attorney breaks down motions made by Arkansan charged in Jan. 6 riot Prosecutors have until Friday to respond to a motion made by Richard Barnett. Barnett, from Gravette, is charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 capitol riot.People may remember Barnett from the viral photo inside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office with his feet on a desk.His attorney filed several motions, including to dismiss the case, saying the jury pool is tainted.Matt Bender is an attorney who works at the University of Arkansas. He read through the motions by Barnett’s attorney to explain what he was fighting for and if it could work.Bender has spent a lot of hours reading court documents involving Richard Barnett. Bender is the supervisor of the criminal defense clinic at the University, and teaches on constitutional law, and civil rights. He says a lot of people arrested on January 6, are using similar arguments. “They have tried to either claim that they were exercising their first amendment rights, or they tried to argue that they truly believed that a revolution was necessary,” he said. “And that has turned into a political defense, one you cannot raise in court.”In this case, Barnett’s attorneys argue that he wandered into the office while looking for a restroom, and that a reporter invited him to take a photo and to act natural. “One of his defenses is what we kind of call a burden of proof defense,” said Bender. “He’s arguing that he wasn’t even intending to be in Speaker Pelosi’s office, he just got swept away from the crowd for instance. That’s issue of fact. That’s something for the jury to decide. It’s completely fine to protest outside the capitol it is not fine to go into a private area where there are classified documents or personalized affects like speaker Pelosi’s office “Bender also explained why Barnett wants his trial moved out of Washington D.C.”An effort to try to get his case in front of a jury that’s probably more aligned with him than the District of Columbia would be,” said Bender.While Bender says Barnett faces an uphill battle with his motions, there is one he may have a legit fight in court”For example, he wants all sorts of different terms from terrorism” he said. “Terrorism for instance is one that stuck out to me. He might be successful in limiting some of the terms.”Barnett’s trial date is scheduled for December 12th. 40/29 did reach out to Barnett’s attorney for an interview. He did not respond. ROGERS, Ark. — Prosecutors have until Friday to respond to a motion made by Richard Barnett. Barnett, from Gravette, is charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 capitol riot. People may remember Barnett from the viral photo inside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office with his feet on a desk. His attorney filed several motions, including to dismiss the case, saying the jury pool is tainted. Matt Bender is an attorney who works at the University of Arkansas. He read through the motions by Barnett’s attorney to explain what he was fighting for and if it could work. Bender has spent a lot of hours reading court documents involving Richard Barnett. Bender is the supervisor of the criminal defense clinic at the University, and teaches on constitutional law, and civil rights. He says a lot of people arrested on January 6, are using similar arguments. “They have tried to either claim that they were exercising their first amendment rights, or they tried to argue that they truly believed that a revolution was necessary,” he said. “And that has turned into a political defense, one you cannot raise in court.” In this case, Barnett’s attorneys argue that he wandered into the office while looking for a restroom, and that a reporter invited him to take a photo and to act natural. “One of his defenses is what we kind of call a burden of proof defense,” said Bender. “He’s arguing that he wasn’t even intending to be in Speaker Pelosi’s office, he just got swept away from the crowd for instance. That’s issue of fact. That’s something for the jury to decide. It’s completely fine to protest outside the capitol it is not fine to go into a private area where there are classified documents or personalized affects like speaker Pelosi’s office “ Bender also explained why Barnett wants his trial moved out of Washington D.C. “An effort to try to get his case in front of a jury that’s probably more aligned with him than the District of Columbia would be,” said Bender. While Bender says Barnett faces an uphill battle with his motions, there is one he may have a legit fight in court “For example, he wants all sorts of different terms from terrorism” he said. “Terrorism for instance is one that stuck out to me. He might be successful in limiting some of the terms.” Barnett’s trial date is scheduled for December 12th. 40/29 did reach out to Barnett’s attorney for an interview. He did not respond. Read More Here

History Will Come To Life In Fort Smith Saturday https://digitalarkansasnews.com/history-will-come-to-life-in-fort-smith-saturday/ History will come to life in Fort Smith Saturday The program is part of the Fort Smith Fall Festival. The Fort Smith Fall Festival on Oct. 8 plans to take you back in time, while offering family fun.The festival is taking place at several locations around town from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Those include Fort Smith National Historic Site, Fort Smith Trolley Museum, Fort Smith Museum of History, Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, Judgment Town, Fort Smith Farmers Market, Clayton House, and Miss Laura’s.There are free activities planned at the Fort Smith National Historic Site, including living history encampments, a car show, and a children’s area. Between 1 and 3 p.m. “History Alive! Voices from Early Fort Smith” is set to take place at the Fort Smith Museum of History. Admission to the museum for Oct. 8 only is $5 for adults (16 and older), $2 for children (6-15), and free for kids 5 and under, museum members, and UAFS students. FORT SMITH, Ark. — The Fort Smith Fall Festival on Oct. 8 plans to take you back in time, while offering family fun. The festival is taking place at several locations around town from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Those include Fort Smith National Historic Site, Fort Smith Trolley Museum, Fort Smith Museum of History, Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, Judgment Town, Fort Smith Farmers Market, Clayton House, and Miss Laura’s. There are free activities planned at the Fort Smith National Historic Site, including living history encampments, a car show, and a children’s area. Between 1 and 3 p.m. “History Alive! Voices from Early Fort Smith” is set to take place at the Fort Smith Museum of History. Admission to the museum for Oct. 8 only is $5 for adults (16 and older), $2 for children (6-15), and free for kids 5 and under, museum members, and UAFS students. Read More Here

Here's What Elon Musk Will Likely Do With Twitter If He Buys It – WABE https://digitalarkansasnews.com/heres-what-elon-musk-will-likely-do-with-twitter-if-he-buys-it-wabe/ By the end of this month, Elon Musk may finally own Twitter, after the mercurial billionaire changed his mind yet again this week about buying the social network for $44 billion. On Thursday, a judge gave Musk and Twitter until Oct. 28 to close their deal, end a bitter months-long legal fight and avoid a high-profile trial. While there’s no certainty Musk may not have another change of heart, if he does assume control of Twitter, what would that look like? He has given hints but also left plenty of questions unanswered. When it comes to speech, anything goes When Musk agreed to buy Twitter back in April, he said he would “unlock” the company’s potential by advancing free speech and “defeating the spam bots.” “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” he said in the official deal announcement. It’s a theme he reiterated both in public, telling Twitter employees at an all-staff meeting that the platform should allow all legal speech, and in private, texting investor Antonio Gracias that “Free speech matters most when it’s someone you hate spouting what you think is bull****.” Musk has been loudly critical of Twitter’s rules aimed at curbing harassment, hate speech, extremism and misinformation about elections and public health, arguing that the company’s efforts to promote what it has long called “healthy conversations” are too restrictive. His contacts and supporters egged on that view, according to text messages released in court filings last week. “Are you going to liberate Twitter from the censorship happy mob?” podcast host Joe Rogan wrote to Musk the day Musk revealed his stake in Twitter. “I will provide advice, which they may or may not choose to follow,” Musk replied. Experts who study social networks warn that overhauling Twitter to allow all legal speech would open the floodgates to toxicity, from misogynist, racist and transphobic abuse to false claims about the security of voting and the effectiveness of vaccines. For a “keyhole view of what Twitter under Musk will look like,” just look at alternative platforms such as Parler, Gab and Truth Social that promise fewer restrictions on speech, said Angelo Carusone, president of the liberal nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters for America. On those sites, he said, “the feature is the bug — where being able to say and do the kinds of things that are prohibited from more mainstream social media platforms is actually why everyone gravitates to them. And what we see there is that they are cauldrons of misinformation and abuse.” Trump and other banned figures are likely to return On top of loosening content moderation rules, a Musk-owned Twitter would also likely usher in the return of former President Donald Trump. After the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Twitter permanently banned Trump for breaking its rules against inciting violence. In May, Musk said that the ban “was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme” and pledged to reverse the ban. But it’s not just Trump — Musk has been vocally skeptical of the notion that anyone should be permanently banned from Twitter, with few exceptions. “Would be great to unwind permanent bans, except for spam accounts and those that explicitly advocate violence,” he texted Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal shortly after agreeing to join the company’s board (a decision he soon backtracked). That could mean lifting bans on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was kicked off for abusive behavior in 2018; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., whose account was suspended in January for tweeting misleading and false claims about COVID-19 vaccines; and 2020 election deniers like Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell, who were all banned in early 2021. One person who texted Musk in the days after his Twitter stake became public (whose name was redacted in court documents) advised the billionaire that “it will be a delicate game of letting right wingers back on Twitter and how to navigate that (especially the boss himself, if you’re up for that)” — an apparent reference to Trump. The person urged Musk to hire “someone who has a savvy cultural/political view” to lead enforcement, suggesting “a Blake Masters type.” Masters is the Republican Senate candidate in Arizona who has been endorsed by Trump and has echoed his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Allowing Trump and others to return could set a precedent for other social networks, including Meta-owned Facebook, which is considering whether to reinstate the former president when its own ban on him expires in January 2023. “If Trump is replatformed on Twitter, it makes it easier for [Meta president of global affairs] Nick Clegg and [Meta CEO] Mark Zuckerberg to say, ‘Well, he’s already back on Twitter. We might as well let him back on Facebook,’” said Nicole Gill, executive director of Accountable Tech, a progressive advocacy group. Management shake-up, staff departures Musk is also expected to shake things up internally at Twitter. Agrawal, who succeeded Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in the CEO role less than a year ago, will likely head for the exit, potentially with a $42 million payout. Musk’s texts reveal that an initially cautiously friendly relationship between the two men when Musk first invested quickly soured after Agrawal told Musk that his tweets criticizing the platform were “not helping me make Twitter better.” “What did you get done this week?” Musk snapped, before telling Agrawal that he was not joining the board and would make an offer to buy Twitter instead. After a video meeting a few weeks later with Agrawal and Musk, Dorsey tersely summed up the situation in a text to Musk: “At least it became clear that you can’t work together. That was clarifying.” It’s unclear whom Musk might install in Twitter’s management ranks. His contacts floated various ideas in text messages, including a former Uber executive who once suggested spying on critical journalists, and investor Jason Calacanis, who volunteered himself for CEO, but Musk didn’t bite on any of the suggestions. This has fueled speculation that Musk, who already runs multiple companies, could take the reins himself. “Please send me anyone who actually writes good software,” Musk wrote to one investor. “I will oversee software development.” Whoever is in charge of day-to-day operations will likely be faced with a smaller workforce. Hundreds of employees have reportedly left in the months since the Musk saga began, with many inside Twitter disheartened by Musk’s plans to overhaul the company. That is likely welcome news to the billionaire, who has complained that Twitter’s costs outstrip revenues and has implied the company is overstaffed for its size. An “everything” app? Costs and staff cuts are only two pieces of the equation. In the spring, Musk pitched investors that he would quintuple Twitter’s annual revenue to $26.4 billion by 2028 and attract 931 million users by that same year, up from 217 million at the end of 2021, according to an investor presentation obtained by The New York Times. Today, Twitter makes nearly all its money from advertising, but Musk wants to shift away from that business model to making money from charging users subscription fees, licensing data and building out a payments business, according to the presentation. He may have little choice other than to find alternate sources of revenue besides advertising, given the weak state of the digital ad market and the changes he wants to make to content moderation. “Advertisers want to know that their ads are not going to appear alongside extremists, that they’re not going to be subsidizing or associating with the types of things that would turn off potential customers,” Carusone said. This week, after Musk said he wanted to go ahead with the deal after all, he tweeted, “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app.” What exactly he meant is, as always, anyone’s guess. But this summer, Musk told Twitter staff that the company should emulate WeChat, the Chinese “super-app” that combines social media, messaging, payments, shopping, ride-hailing — basically, anything you might use your phone to do. “You basically live on WeChat in China,” Musk said in June. “If we can re-create that with Twitter, we’ll be a great success.” Other American tech companies, including Facebook and Uber, have tried this strategy, but so far Chinese-style super-apps haven’t caught on in the United States. But Musk is optimistic. “Twitter probably accelerates X by 3 to 5 years,” he tweeted, “but I could be wrong.” Editor’s note: Facebook parent Meta pays NPR to license NPR content. Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. Read More Here

Dutch Government Advises Against All Travel To Iran -ANP https://digitalarkansasnews.com/dutch-government-advises-against-all-travel-to-iran-anp/ The Daily Beast Putin’s Own Allies Turn On Him as Ukraine Unleashes Hell in Stolen Russian Tanks Sergei Karpukhin/ReutersHot on the heels of embarrassing reports of Russian recruits fighting each other and Moscow loyalists calling for Kremlin ministers to kill themselves, it seems the rage against Vladimir Putin’s handling of his invasion of Ukraine is now openly being conveyed to the man himself by members of his own inner circle.A report Friday—which is Putin’s 70th birthday—said that one of the despot’s closest allies had openly challenged the disastrous way the war was being conducted. The Daily Beast Russian Infighting Peaks With Calls for Suicide and Execution GettyJust over two weeks since Vladimir Putin’s latest hail mary in his war against Ukraine, things are going so well for the Russian leader that draftees are rioting, his top allies are at each other’s throats over a series of losses, and his defense minister has now been urged by his own team to blow his brains out.“Yes, really, many are saying that… a defense minister who allowed such circumstances to arise could, as an officer, just shoot himself. But, you know, for many the word ‘officer’ i The New York Times ‘They Are in a Panic’: Ukraine’s Troops Size Up the Enemy STAVKY, Ukraine — Racing down a road with his men in pursuit of retreating Russian soldiers, a battalion commander came across an abandoned Russian armored vehicle, its engine still running. Inside there was a sniper rifle, rocket propelled grenades, helmets and belongings. The men were gone. “They dropped everything: personal care, helmets,” said the commander, who uses the code name Swat. “I think it was a special unit, but they were panicking. It was raining very hard, the road was bad and th Bloomberg Judge to Trump Lawyers Over Deposition: ‘Stop Wasting Time’ (Bloomberg) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers were told by a federal judge to “stop wasting time” after they tried halting the deposition of former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham in a defamation lawsuit minutes after it began, citing her painkiller medication. Most Read from BloombergBiden Says Putin Threats Real, Could Spark Nuclear ‘Armageddon’Kremlin Lets State Media Tell Some Truths About Putin’s Stalling WarMusk’s Twitter Takeover Hits Snag Over Debt-Financing IssueN NASCAR.com National Motorsports Appeals Panel amends Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 penalty The National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday amended the September penalty to NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron for his intentional contact to Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway, which sent the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver spinning into the infield and out of the top five Byron, a two-time 2022 winner […] Read More Here

Former Oath Keeper Says Group Had Contact With Secret Service Before Jan. 6 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/former-oath-keeper-says-group-had-contact-with-secret-service-before-jan-6/ A former member of the far-right Oath Keepers organization testified on Thursday that the founder of the group was in contact with the Trump administration’s Secret Service in the months leading up to the November 2020 presidential election. John Zimmerman, who appeared before a jury at the seditious conspiracy trial of five Oath Keeper members including the organization’s founder Stewart Rhodes, said that he witnessed a phone call between the group’s leader and someone he thought belonged to the Secret Service in September 2020. Zimmerman also said that Rhodes told him he had been in contact with the agency. When asked whether the person on the other end of the September call was a Secret Service member, Zimmerman said: “From the questions Stewart — Mr. Rhodes — was asking, it sounded like it could’ve been,” according to NBC News. The alleged call took place before a reelection rally for former President Donald Trump in North Carolina to ask about “parameters” for the conduct of the Oath Keepers at the event. At the time, the organization was assisting with escorts of attendees into the event. Another Oath Keepers member has testified that Rhodes attempted to make contact with Trump following the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The organization founder spoke with someone over the phone at that time, although it is unclear who was on the other end. Zimmerman, who left his position as a county leader for the Oath Keepers prior to the Jan. 6 insurrection, said that it was unlikely that the organization had a direct line to Trump, NBC reports. However, Oath Keepers lawyer Kellye SoRelle was in contact with former White House aide Andrew Giuliani the same month that Trump lost reelection. Zimmerman said that he and others broke with the Oath Keepers organization because of controversial tactics Rhodes tried to use during a trip in November. “He thought that we should dress up as elderly or be like a single parent pushing a baby carriage with some weapons in the baby carriage,” Zimmerman said of Rhodes’ alleged plan to lure members of ANTIFA or Black Lives Matter to attack the Oath Keepers, according to NBC. Rhodes allegedly wanted the progressive organizations to attack his own group to create a reason for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would have authorized the then-president to deploy military forces to suppress violence. Rhodes is charged with seditious conspiracy alongside fellow Oath Keepers Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell. “We are aware that individuals from the Oath Keepers have contacted us in the past to make inquiries,” the Secret Service told NBC. “It is not uncommon for various organizations to contact us concerning security restrictions and activities that are permissible in proximity to our protected sites.” The Hill has contacted the Secret Service for comment on Zimmerman’s testimony. Read More Here

Post Politics Now: Biden To Contrast His Economic Agenda With GOP As Midterm Elections Loom https://digitalarkansasnews.com/post-politics-now-biden-to-contrast-his-economic-agenda-with-gop-as-midterm-elections-loom/ Today, President Biden is focusing on manufacturing and the economy in a visit to a Volvo facility in Hagerstown, Md. His visit comes 32 days before midterm elections that will decide the balance of power in Congress. Both parties understand that elections often are decided by the decades-old political argument, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Republicans have blamed Biden for record inflation in ads and campaign speeches. Biden is expected to argue in remarks during the visit that Republicans favor the wealthy and, if returned to power, would enact policies that jeopardize Social Security and Medicare. Your daily dashboard 12:35 p.m. Biden tours Volvo Group Powertrain Operations in Hagerstown, Md. 1:35 p.m. Biden delivers remarks on the economy. Watch live here. Got a question about politics? Submit it here. After 3 p.m. weekdays, return to this space and we’ll address what’s on the mind of readers. On our radar: Abrams raises more than $36 million in gubernatorial bid Return to menu Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams has raised more than $36 million as she looks to unseat Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in a rematch that’s one of the most closely watched elections in the midterms. The Kemp campaign announced this past week that it had raised nearly $29 million and had $19.6 million cash on hand. Polls show the incumbent with an advantage in what is expected to be a close race. “Our campaign is tied with our opponent, gaining momentum, and is fueled by grassroots donors,” Abrams’s campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, said in a statement Friday. “Our fundraising includes donors from every corner of Georgia, who understand that Brian Kemp’s extreme and dangerous agenda puts Georgians’ lives and our economy at risk.” Noted: Biden says Putin’s nuclear weapons threats amount to ‘prospect of Armageddon’ Return to menu Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons amount to the most serious “prospect of Armageddon” in 60 years, Biden said Thursday during a Democratic fundraiser in New York City. Putin has issued several threats about using nuclear weapons since invading Ukraine — particularly as Russia’s military outlook has worsened. The president spent much of his time warning those in attendance of the dangers that he said the GOP posed but stated that based on his familiarity with Putin, the Russian leader was “not joking” when discussing potentially using “tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.” Noted: Election denier Masters calls Biden ‘legitimate president’ Return to menu Arizona Republican nominee Blake Masters called President Biden the “legitimate president” Thursday after spending much of his campaign baselessly denying the results of the 2020 election. While debating Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), the venture capitalist endorsed by Donald Trump admitted that he had seen no evidence that the vote count was rigged, despite continuing to spread unproven allegations of government interference in the outcome. The Post’s Hannah Knowles reported: The comments by Masters in a debate with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), whom he trails in the polls, marked a stark shift from a campaign ad last year, in which the Republican said, “I think Trump won in 2020.” But even as Masters sought to de-emphasize that position, he groundlessly claimed the federal government “forced” big tech companies to censor information that would have propelled Donald Trump to victory. Clashing at the first and perhaps only debate in a battleground Senate race that will help determine control of the chamber next year, Masters and Kelly often geared their pitches toward moderate voters. Masters, a first-time candidate and venture capitalist, has consistently lagged Kelly, a former astronaut, in polls and fundraising, showing particular weakness with political independents. For more of the story, click here. Noted: McConnell calls Sasse ‘whip-smart’; Trump says good riddance Return to menu Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) is widely expected to leave the Senate later this year and return to academics after the University of Florida named him the sole finalist for its presidency. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) praised the two-term senator as a “whip-smart and passionate leader.” In a statement late Thursday, he said Sasse “has been a tremendous Senator, a dogged advocate for his fellow Nebraskans, and a valuable member of our Republican Conference.” McConnell described himself as “one of ninety-nine Senators who would be sorry to lose Ben as a colleague,” adding: “But I trust my friend to pursue continued public service in the way that he deems best.” On our radar: Biden to cast GOP as party of the wealthy in Md. speech Return to menu President Biden is marking National Manufacturing Day at a Volvo facility in Hagerstown, Md., where he will cast Democrats as the party of the working class and Republicans as the party of the wealthy. Biden is using the bully pulpit of the presidency for a political speech 32 days ahead of midterm elections in which Republicans have a chance of capturing control of both houses of Congress. The speech also comes as the Labor Department on Friday releases the latest jobs numbers for September. The Biden administration has struggled with record inflation as Americans find higher prices for goods, gas and services. At the same time, the administration can point to millions of jobs created in a rebound from the pandemic. Read More Here

Kanye West Tells Tucker Carlson He Thought 'White Lives Matter' Shirt Was 'funny' | CNN https://digitalarkansasnews.com/kanye-west-tells-tucker-carlson-he-thought-white-lives-matter-shirt-was-funny-cnn/ CNN  —  Kanye West has explained his thinking behind his decision to dress himself and several Black models in “White Lives Matter” shirts earlier this week. West, who legally changed his name to “Ye,” told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he wore it because “it’s the obvious thing.” “The answer to why I wrote ‘White Lives Matter’ on a shirt is because they do,” West said during the interview that aired Thursday. The artist/designer/provocateur has been facing backlash since he sported the shirt during a surprise catwalk event held during at Paris fashion week. West recalled a text conversation he had with his dad about the controversial statement. “I said, ‘I thought the shirt was a funny shirt; I thought the idea of me wearing it was funny.’ And I said, ‘Dad, why did you think it was funny?’ He said, ‘Just a Black man stating the obvious.’” West told Carlson. When Carlson pushed West on why he thinks people consider that a controversial statement, West said that it’s because he’s not acting in a way the media thinks he should act. “Because the same people that have stripped us of our identity and labeled us as a color, have told us what it means to be Black,” West said. The Anti-Defamation League categorizes the phrase “White Lives Matter” as a “hate slogan” used by White supremacist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan. It’s just the latest incident that has resulted in criticism, and West also addressed some of that. In 2016, he met with then President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City, and two years later West visited him at the White House and wore a MAGA hat. Both of those events caused major outrage, and West told Carlson he “started to really feel this need to express myself on another level when Trump was running for office and I liked him.” He said he was told by multiple people “that if I said I liked Trump that my career would be over, my life would be over.” “They said stuff like people get killed for wearing a hat like that, they threatened my life,” West said. “They basically said I would be killed for wearing the hat.” The Grammy winner also covered other topics, including being anti-abortion, his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and his thoughts on higher education in the Black community. The conversation was part of a larger interview featured on Carlson’s show. More of the interview will be aired Friday evening, Carlson said. Read More Here

Herschel Walker’s ‘baggage’ Is Becoming Too ‘unbearable,’ Georgia Lieutenant Governor Says https://digitalarkansasnews.com/herschel-walkers-baggage-is-becoming-too-unbearable-georgia-lieutenant-governor-says/ October 07, 2022 08:55 AM Georgia’s Republican lieutenant governor criticized Herschel Walker for recent reports made against him, calling the latest allegations that the GOP Senate candidate paid for a woman’s abortion part of Walker’s “baggage” that is becoming “unbearable” for the party. In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R-GA) criticized the former NFL player amid allegations that he paid for a woman to have an abortion after the pair conceived a child while dating in 2009. Walker has denied the reports, arguing he doesn’t know the accuser despite the woman later claiming she is the mother of one of his three sons he previously acknowledged having out of wedlock. HERSCHEL WALKER’S SON LAUNCHES ANOTHER ATTACK ON FATHER AFTER SECRET ABORTION CLAIM “I think every Republican knew that there was baggage out there. But the weight of that baggage is starting to feel a little closer to unbearable at this point,” Duncan told CNN. “If we’re being intellectually honest, Herschel Walker won the primary because he scored a bunch of touchdowns back in the ’80s, and he was Donald Trump’s friend. And now, we’ve moved forward several months on the calendar, and that’s no longer a recipe to win.” The recent allegations threaten to derail Walker’s bid against Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), who barely leads the Republican in the polls. Recent polling found Warnock leading Walker 47% to 46.3%, according to RealClearPolitics.  However, several high-profile Republicans have defended Walker amid the allegations, arguing the claims are being used as political “smears” to harm his campaign. Former President Donald Trump, who encouraged the former NFL star to seek public office, released a statement accusing the media of “trying to destroy a man who has true greatness, just as he had athletic greatness in his past” and applauded him for denying the accusation. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The woman who alleged Walker paid for her abortion cast doubt on the authenticity of his beliefs, saying he was privately pro-abortion rights and not an especially devout Christian, despite the frequent public invocations of his faith. Walker has said during his campaign that he supports a ban on abortion with no exceptions. “I don’t think there’s anywhere in the Bible where it says, ‘Have four kids with four different women while you’re with another woman.’ Or where it praises not being a present parent,” the woman told the Daily Beast. “Or that an abortion is an OK thing to do when it’s not the right time for you but a terrible thing for anyone else to do when you are running for Senate. He picks and chooses where it’s convenient for him to use that religious crutch.” Read More Here

Stock Market News Live Updates: Stock Futures Fall, Treasury Yields Rise As Wall Street Weighs Jobs Data https://digitalarkansasnews.com/stock-market-news-live-updates-stock-futures-fall-treasury-yields-rise-as-wall-street-weighs-jobs-data/ U.S. stocks tumbled early Friday as the government’s key employment reading showed the labor market grew at a slower pace in September. The U.S. economy added 263,000 jobs last month as the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%. Economists expected a payroll gain of 255,000 and for unemployment to hold at 3.7%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 0.7%, while futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) shed more than 100 points, or 0.4%. Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) futures led the way down, declining 1.3%. Meanwhile in the bond market, Treasury yields spiked, with the benchmark 10-year note jumping 7 basis points to 3.90% and the 2-year yield 8% to 4.32% Stocks closed the previous trade lower for a second straight day after a blowout two-day rally faltered. Still, the major averages remain firmly off 2022 lows and are on pace to close the week on a positive note. Investors are betting that signs of a cooling labor market will force Federal Reserve policymakers to change course on their aggressive rate-hiking path, particularly after a series of weaker economic releases showed a drop-off in manufacturing activity and fewer job openings. But many Wall Street strategists have argued that hopes of an imminent pivot are premature. In recent research notes, JPMorgan analysts said that equity bulls would need a monthly payroll print as low as 100,000 to see the market alter its Fed expectations, while analysts at Bank of America said a pivot won’t occur “until payrolls sting.” “The Fed’s job is still far from over: expect hikes to continue until negative payrolls are almost in hand,” a team at BofA led by rates research strategist Meghan Swiber noted. Moreover, Federal Reserve officials themselves have delivered clear messaging in recent weeks that there are so far no plans to retreat from aggressive policy intervention. “We have further to go,” Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said Thursday, indicating the benchmark rate will likely be at 4.5% to 4.75% by the spring of 2023. “”Inflation is high right now and we need a more restrictive setting of monetary policy.” WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 26: Construction workers look on outside the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building on July 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) U.S. crude oil futures continued this week’s climb on the heels of the heftiest OPEC+ production cut since 2020. DataTrek Research noted that West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude at more than $85 per barrel will prolong positive energy inflation trends until at least the start of 2023. The firm also noted that oil prices are an “underappreciated fulcrum issue” for the Federal Reserve and the market’s expectations of near-term economic growth. WTI futures traded around $89 per barrel early Friday. Elsewhere in markets, chipmakers were under pressure Friday morning after Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) lowered its third-quarter revenue guidance and warned of “significant” inventory corrections across the PC supply chain. Shares were down roughly 6% pre-market. Also weighing on the sector was Samsung reporting its first profit decline since 2019, another sign of a troubled chip market. Levi Strauss (LEVI) was also a mover Friday after the retailer cut its guidance, citing headwinds from a stronger dollar, slowing consumer demand and persistent supply chain snafus. The stock was down around 5% in trading before the bell. Meanwhile, shares of DraftKing (DKING) jumped nearly 8% after Bloomberg News reported Thursday that ESPN is nearing a large new partnership deal with the sports-betting company, citing sources familiar with the agreement. — Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc Click here for the latest trending stock tickers of the Yahoo Finance platform Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube Read More Here

Ukraine Live Briefing: Biden Warns Of Nuclear ‘Armageddon’; Russian And Ukrainian Groups Win Nobel Prize https://digitalarkansasnews.com/ukraine-live-briefing-biden-warns-of-nuclear-armageddon-russian-and-ukrainian-groups-win-nobel-prize/ This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to human rights activists from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus who have demonstrated a “vision of peace and fraternity between nations — a vision most needed in the world today,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced. The prize will be shared by imprisoned Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski, Russian organization Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties. The winners have each made an “outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power,” the committee said. The Nobel Committee said it was not intentionally sending a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who celebrated his 70th birthday Friday. President Biden has warned that the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is at its highest since the Cuban missile crisis, saying that Putin is “not joking” about the potential use of nuclear weapons as his army struggles in Ukraine. Putin — who is under increased political pressure at home — may find himself without an “off-ramp,” prompting Moscow to deploy the weapons of mass destruction, Biden said Thursday. However, administration officials say there is no indication that Russia is preparing for an imminent strike. Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe. Return to menu Putin confronted by insider over Ukraine war, U.S. intelligence finds: Discontent is growing inside the Kremlin over what some insiders consider the mismanagement of the Ukraine war, according to information obtained by U.S. intelligence and reported by The Washington Post. A member of Putin’s inner circle has expressed criticism directly to the president in recent weeks, illustrating the growing turmoil over battlefield losses, leadership and a highly unpopular military mobilization campaign. As the war lurches into its eighth month, and a Russian victory remains elusive and ill-defined, the unquestioning loyalty that Putin has enjoyed may be slipping, intelligence officials said. But they cautioned that there is still no indication he is on the brink of being swept aside. Beatriz Rios and Robyn Dixon contributed to this report. Read More Here

Citadel's Billionaire CEO Ken Griffin Becomes GOP $100 Million Midterm Megadonor https://digitalarkansasnews.com/citadels-billionaire-ceo-ken-griffin-becomes-gop-100-million-midterm-megadonor/ Ken Griffin, Citadel at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha, Sept. 28, 2022. Scott Mlyn | CNBC Citadel’s billionaire CEO, Ken Griffin, is one of Wall Street’s biggest political donors in the 2022 midterms, giving more than $100 million toward state and federal candidates across the country since April 2021, campaign finance records show. The $50 million Griffin has donated to Republicans running in federal races alone make him the party’s single biggest individual donor from the finance industry and the third-biggest political donor to federal candidates in this election cycle, according to data tracked by campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets. Only Soros Fund Management founder George Soros and shipping magnate Richard Uihlein have given more to candidates running for the U.S. House or Senate. Soros has donated over $128 million to Democrats while Uihlein has given $53 million to Republicans, according to OpenSecrets. Griffin, however, has spent another $50 million during this election cycle — which runs from Jan. 1, 2021 through the end of this year — on the failed Illinois gubernatorial campaign of Aurora, Ill., Mayor Richard Irvin, who lost in the Republican primary, according to state campaign finance records. Citadel announced plans this summer to move its headquarters from Chicago to Miami, as the Windy City struggles to stop a rise in crime. Griffin has previously said part of his feud with Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker is over the Democratic leader’s record on crime. Griffin said at a DealBook conference last year that when he brought up the crime issue to Pritzker, “he took the moment to call me a liar.” Zia Ahmed, a spokesman for Griffin, told CNBC in a statement that the Citadel CEO is aiming to “broaden the tent of the Republican Party.” “Ken wants to elevate talented candidates and broaden the tent of the Republican Party to make it more representative of our country,” Ahmed said. “He supports leaders who will focus on education, job creation, public safety and a strong national defense so that every individual has access to the American dream.” Democratic political operatives have taken aim at Griffin, especially as he’s tried to make an impact on elections. The Democratic Governors Association, an outside group that backs Democrats, organized opposition research on Griffin as he was deciding who to support in the Illinois Republican primary for governor. The research, which was reviewed by CNBC, is titled “Ken Griffin Has Been Playing Kingmaker In IL Politics With No Consequences.” It’s a compilation of public documents and reporting that included a focus on Griffin’s divorces. Pritzker, who has an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion, donated $24 million to the group as Griffin moved to back Irvin, according to records filed to the IRS. In a statement to CNBC, the Democratic governors’ group compared Griffin’s contributions to those of Charles Koch and his brother, the late David Koch. They said that Griffin deserves scrutiny due to him becoming a major donor for Republicans. “Much like when the Koch Brothers were the Republican Party’s number one donor it was important for the public to understand how they were trying to use their money to further their own special interests,” a Democratic Governors Association spokesperson said after being asked about the opposition research. “Ken Griffin is now the largest donor in the GOP and deserves the same kind of scrutiny.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other GOP leaders have privately courted Griffin as one of their most important and lucrative donors this cycle, as Republicans try to take back both the U.S. House and Senate, according to people familiar with the conversations. Democrats control the House and Senate, but by slim margins. The Senate is split 50-50 with Democrats relying on Vice President Kamala Harris to break any ties. Cook Political Report labels Senate seats held by Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., as toss-ups. In the House, Democrats have a nine-seat majority. But the Cook report projects that 30 of the chamber’s 435 seats are up for grabs. Data from AdImpact shows the general election fight for control of the Senate has cost over $1 billion with almost 30 days left to go until Election Day. In total, federal candidates and PACs have spent in excess of $6.4 billion on the 2022 midterms, putting them on track to be the most expensive ever. Republican leaders are turning to Griffin to take the lead after two of the GOP party’s most influential donors have died: former executive vice president of Koch Industries David Koch at 79 in August 2019 and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson at 87 in January 2021. CEO and chairman of casino company Las Vegas Sands Sheldon Adelson (L) listens as US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a Keep America Great rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 21, 2020. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images “He likes being a player” in politics, a Koch political advisor told CNBC when asked about Griffin’s efforts to sway the midterms. Griffin said in a 2012 interview with the Chicago Tribune that he knew David Koch and his brother Charles for “a number of years” and regularly went to the Koch network seminars, where business leaders would huddle with the group’s donors. The Koch’s policy network has spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade on campaigns. David Koch Carlo Allegri | Reuters Griffin, 53, has “youth on his side and probably $35 billion,” the Koch advisor said. “He could step up but those are big shoes to fill.” Forbes estimates Griffin has a net worth of $30.5 billion. Among Wall Street executives, the next biggest GOP donors include Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman with $20 million in contributions and Paul Singer, the founder of Elliott Management, who’s donated $14 million during this election cycle. Jeffrey Yass, the co-founder of Philadelphia based trading firm Susquehanna International Group, has contributed over $30 million. McConnell and party officials this summer were expecting Griffin to cut a multimillion-dollar check to the Senate Leadership Fund, according to those familiar with McConnell’s thinking. Though McConnell doesn’t run the super PAC, which is dedicated to helping Republicans get elected to the Senate, it’s closely aligned with the senator and run by his former chief of staff, Steven Law. Griffin donated $10 million to the PAC in two evenly split checks sent in December and March, Federal Election Commission filings show. Griffin cut another check to the PAC in the third quarter, according to a person close to the billionaire, but they wouldn’t say how much and the PAC doesn’t need to disclose its most recent fundraising records to the FEC until Oct. 15. Griffin also recently donated to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC backing House Republican candidates, that person said, declining to say how much. FEC records show Griffin donated over $18 million to that group from Jan. 1, 2021 through June. A representative for McConnell did not return a request for comment. Griffin gave $5 million last year to a separate political action committee backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2022 reelection bid and an additional $5 million to the Republican Party of Florida in August, according to state campaign finance records. During CNBC’s Delivering Alpha Conference, Griffin indicated that he’s become so close to DeSantis that his team told the governor that Griffin didn’t agree with DeSantis’ decision to fly two planes of Central and South American migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. “I don’t agree with what he did,” Griffin said when asked at the conference about DeSantis shipping migrants to Florida. “I’m certain that my team’s communicated that to him,” he added. He also said he was open to becoming Treasury secretary if the country was experiencing an economic crisis. DeSantis hasn’t ruled out running for president in the upcoming 2024 election. Read More Here

Barricade Incident In North Little Rock Ends In Peaceful Surrender; Arrest https://digitalarkansasnews.com/barricade-incident-in-north-little-rock-ends-in-peaceful-surrender-arrest/ Barricade incident in North Little Rock ends in peaceful surrender; arrest  KATV Read More…

One Killed, Four Injured In Erbil After Vehicle Explodes – INA https://digitalarkansasnews.com/one-killed-four-injured-in-erbil-after-vehicle-explodes-ina/ Ad7 Ways to Retire Comfortably With $500k How long will your portfolio last in retirement? For those with a $500k portfolio, get this guide and ongoing insights. The Daily Beast Russian Infighting Peaks With Calls for Suicide and Execution GettyJust over two weeks since Vladimir Putin’s latest hail mary in his war against Ukraine, things are going so well for the Russian leader that draftees are rioting, his top allies are at each other’s throats over a series of losses, and his defense minister has now been urged by his own team to blow his brains out.“Yes, really, many are saying that… a defense minister who allowed such circumstances to arise could, as an officer, just shoot himself. But, you know, for many the word ‘officer’ i AdThis Covers Wrinkles Like Crazy (Try Tonight) Dr. John layke – one of the best cosmetic surgery doctors in Beverly Hills says to do this daily if you have wrinkles! Bloomberg Judge to Trump Lawyer in Ex-Aide Deposition: ‘Stop Wasting Time’ (Bloomberg) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers were told by a federal judge to “stop wasting time” after they tried halting the deposition of former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham in a defamation lawsuit minutes after it began, citing her painkiller medication. Most Read from BloombergBiden Says Putin Threats Real, Could Spark Nuclear ‘Armageddon’Kremlin Lets State Media Tell Some Truths About Putin’s Stalling WarMusk’s Twitter Takeover Hits Snag Over Debt-Financing IssueN AdAlways Put A Crayon In Your Wallet When Traveling I was all set for my trip, or so I thought. That’s when my friend told me to place a crayon in my wallet when traveling. The reason is quite clever. The Daily Beast Top Putin Ally Threatens ‘Cruel’ Attacks on New Country Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesTop officials in Belarus, a key Russian ally, are growing increasingly on edge this week about what they see as provocations—and warning that they might soon be forced into a harsh response. The head of the border committee of Belarus, Anatoly Lappo, claimed that Poland was acting “provocatively,” and that if any Polish attack takes place against Belarusian border officials, Belarus will not hold back.“[If] there will be at least one bullet in our border guards, the a Ad40 Totally Uncool Things That Truly Show Your Age Totally Uncool Things That Boomers Just Refuse To Give Up AdThe Truth About Keeping Muscle Mass After 50 Thanks to a new scientific breakthrough, seniors are able to stop losing muscle mass, and even have more muscle than they did when they were younger. NASCAR.com National Motorsports Appeals Panel amends Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 penalty The National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday amended the September penalty to NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron for his intentional contact to Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway, which sent the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver spinning into the infield and out of the top five Byron, a two-time 2022 winner […] AdJuvederm treatment prices might surprise you Florida : Best Juvederm Injections For Seniors With Financing Plans Read More Here

Young Women Are Trending Liberal. Young Men Are Not https://digitalarkansasnews.com/young-women-are-trending-liberal-young-men-are-not/ (The Hill) — Young women are more likely to identify as liberal now than at any time in the past two decades, a trend that puts them squarely at odds with young men.  Forty-four percent of young women counted themselves liberal in 2021, compared to 25 percent of young men, according to Gallup Poll data analyzed by the Survey Center on American Life. The gender gap is the largest recorded in 24 years of polling. The finding culminates years of rising liberalism among women ages 18 to 29, without any increase among their male peers.  Several societal forces have conspired to push young women to the left in recent years, including the #MeToo movement, former President Donald Trump, rising LGBTQ identification and, most recently, abortion policy. Slower-cooking trends in marital status and educational attainment have also nudged the needle.   “I think there is a big generational shift that happened with Generation Z women who were really coming of age in the last five years,” said Kelsy Kretschmer, a sociologist at Oregon State University who studies gender politics.    The rift between young men and women may widen further. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a precedent that had protected abortion as a constitutional right for nearly half a century. The ruling has energized young women. New survey data, released this week, shows that 61 percent of young women consider abortion a critical issue, compared with 36 percent of all Americans.  “I would always choose a candidate that’s pro-abortion,” said Rose Merjos, 21, a government major at Wesleyan University in Connecticut who is an avowed liberal. “Almost everyone either knows someone who has had an abortion or has had one themselves. This is something everyone can relate to.”  The share of men who identify as liberal has held fairly steady for almost 25 years, according to annual Gallup surveys. Roughly one-quarter of men ages 18 to 29 term themselves liberal, year after year.   Meanwhile, among young women, liberalism has exploded. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, fewer than 30 percent of women identified as liberal. The liberal camp grew through the second term of former President George W. Bush. It expanded further during the tenure of former President Barack Obama. It reached 39 percent in 2017 with the inauguration of Trump. In the last two years, liberalism surged anew.   “Young women today are much more liberal than young men,” Daniel Cox wrote in a June newsletter of the Survey Center on American Life, a project of the American Enterprise Institute. His work documents “a growing political rift” between young women and men.  Merjos attends a university long associated with both liberalism and activism. These days, though, she senses more of both among the women.   “In all of my government classes, there are probably two men out of 18 people,” she said. “ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union], that’s mostly women. I’m wondering if women are maybe just more inclined to be involved in the community, engaged in the community. And that liberalizes them.”  Ezra Meyer, 22, is a senior at the George Washington (GW) University who leads the College Republicans. He is a conservative on a campus that is overwhelmingly liberal and largely female. In conversations with classmates about politics, he treads lightly.  “My metric for deciding if I’m going to be friends with someone really does not come down to what their politics are,” he said. “It comes down to how tolerant they are.”  Meyer doesn’t know whether the men at GW skew more liberal or conservative than the women. But he has noticed a distinct trend among campus conservatives this fall.  “We’ve been doing a lot of recruiting of freshmen on campus,” he said. “And I would say, overwhelmingly, it has been male. The conservative females that do get involved, there’s fewer of them, but they tend to be way more passionate and way more involved.”  Several factors have liberalized the nation’s 20-something women. The most recent, and perhaps the most powerful, is #MeToo, an uprising against sexual assault, abuse and harassment that caught fire in 2017, empowering millions of women to come forward and seek justice.  The inauguration of Trump in the same year pushed more young women into the liberal column. The 45th president battled his own #MeToo allegations and proved uniquely unpopular among young, female voters. Polling in 2016 showed that only 25 percent of women ages 18 to 34 favored Trump, compared with 40 percent of same-aged men.   The rise of liberalism among young women has also marched apace with a dramatic increase in young people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. In a recent survey, 56 percent of young women reported exclusive attraction to men, while three-quarters of young men said they were solely attracted to women. Prior research suggests LGBTQ Americans of all ages tend toward liberalism.   Several longer-term trends have fed the liberalization of young women as well. One is marriage. The share of women ages 18-29 who are married has fallen by half in twenty years, from 31 percent in 2000 to 15 percent in 2021, according to the National Opinion Research Center. The growing ranks of single, 20-something women feel a sense of “linked fate,” researchers say. They gravitate toward female friends in political views, whereas married women more often mirror the politics of their spouses.    “The correlation between women’s sense of linked fate and liberal political preferences suggests that the Democratic Party will benefit” from declining marriage rates among young women, Kretschmer and two co-authors wrote in a 2017 paper for the journal Political Research Quarterly. They noted that “women make up the majority of the population and vote at high rates.”  Women also outpace men in educational attainment, a trend that dates to the 1980s. The ratio of women to men in college enrollment now stands at roughly 60 to 40, and it continues to grow. Americans who complete college are more liberal than those who do not.  “Putting off marriage, going to college, entering the workforce, women are doing that at much higher rates than they used to,” said Marc Hetherington, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “And all of those things are going to make conservatism and the Republicans significantly less attractive to women.”  In 1998, the first year of data collected by Gallup in its Social Series surveys, 28 percent of young men and 29 percent of young women identified as liberal. The gender gap in liberalism grew steadily wider in the 2000s, wider still in the 2010s. The 2021 poll yielded a 19-point spread between young men and young women, the largest on record.  “I do have some male friends that are moderate,” said Luci Paczkowski, 20, a California liberal. “And it annoys the hell out of me.”  What bothers Paczkowski about her nonliberal friends is not their centrism but her suspicion that they “do not have any clue why they are moderate. They just do not want to pick a side and, therefore, they are apathetic.”   Read More Here

NWA LETTERS https://digitalarkansasnews.com/nwa-letters/ Divine intervention helps prevent crash A few months ago, my life was miraculously spared by God. As I was in heavy morning traffic waiting for the red light to change and playing my SIRIUS XM radio gospel song “Thank You” by Rufus Johnson, my life flashed right before my very eyes! Had I crossed that intersection right when the green light changed, I would have died on impact. A very large flatbed truck carrying a heavy load ran the stop light at a high rate of speed. So right then and there I thanked and praised God loudly with that same beautiful song playing and lifted my hands. I will never ever forget that day. Neither will I care who saw me praising and thanking my mighty God. Be very careful of careless drivers because they love running red lights and stop signs. Say a prayer before, during and after driving, then thank God for surviving. Denise J. Johnson Fort Smith Trump, Sanders mail revolting, solicitous I receive junk mail from the political left and right. Usually, I just pitch the letters if it is campaign material. But, I received a letter a couple of days ago that is borderline campaign from former president Trump, which I found revolting. The next letter in the mix was a campaign letter from Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The Trump letter asked people to buy, for $45, a patriotic, official Trump hoodie. There were statements on the front of it that were supposed to be patriotic, but sounded more like campaign slogans. The only other hoodie Florida makes me think of is the one Trevon Martin wore as he took a bag of Skittles home and got shot by a zealous self-appointed defender — the stand your ground person with a gun. What should we do? Send bags of Skittles to Mar-a-Lago as a reminder of Trevon and his hoodie? The Sarah Huckabee Sanders plea was irritating in another way. It asked for donations ranging from $1,000 down to $35 with a line for other contributions. She already has amassed a considerable war chest — including much money from out of state and from Trump. Her claim is she will fight the “radical left” in D.C. Little mention of what she would fight for in Arkansas beside repeating the usual God, country and gun talk. More perplexing is a TV ad she ran earlier in the summer with the same theme. In it she posed with a cross behind her and proudly proclaimed she was a Christian bent on fighting the radical left, which she said was going to destroy America. It reminded me of a Maya Angelou story in which the poet was confronted by a person in her face saying, “I’m a Christian.” Maya’s response was priceless. She replied, “Already?” So, I should send $45 in for a Trump hoodie or be a big giver of $1,000 to Sarah Huckabee Sanders? No, thanks. I can’t afford either one of these. would rather continue to send money to Indian reservations for clean water, to Flint, Mich., or Jackson, Miss. I try to send $15 or $25 to worthy charities every month. I just can’t work a big contribution to the Sanders campaign into my budget. And, as for a $45 hoodie, I would rather donate to the Good Samaritan Clinic where I volunteer. I think that would be financial resources well spent and needed. I certainly don’t need a 45 hoodie to bring back memories of Trevon Martin and his hoodie. As for Sanders, she already has sufficient financial resources without fleecing the rich to add to her campaign war chest. And, as for being Christian, one does not have to brag: You will know one by the fruits they provide. If your actions prove it, you don’t have to use it for political fodder. Why waste paper on verbiage like this? Betty Mcswain Fort Smith [email protected] Read More Here

Fear Of Reporters Is Fear Of The Truth ⋆ Michigan Advance https://digitalarkansasnews.com/fear-of-reporters-is-fear-of-the-truth-%e2%8b%86-michigan-advance/ In the weeks after he assumed office, former President Donald Trump put reporters in the crosshairs when he labeled them “the enemy of the American people.” He was following the authoritarian playbook, long consulted by the likes of Stalin and Hitler, but it was shocking to see such strongman rhetoric coming from an American leader, who swore an oath to a constitution that takes press freedoms pretty seriously. The open animus toward journalists that Trump exemplified is increasingly a standard trait of leaders at all levels of American government, particularly, but not only, among Republicans. Hostility to the press coincides with the growing reliance by politicians on digital platforms such as social media to bypass journalists and communicate directly with constituents. Their access to free and easy forms of mass communication allows them to indulge their animosity for reporters who might challenge them on misjudgments, misinformation and misdeeds, with the result being an electorate that is misled, misinformed and mistreated. MIGOP restricting access to Capitol lawn for rally raises 1st Amendment issues, experts say What was true in 1789 is true in 2022: A strong press is essential to a strong America. Despite the First Amendment and the country’s venerable journalistic traditions, the U.S. has descended to a mediocre place among nations of the world in terms of press freedoms. The 2022 World Press Freedom Index, which measures the ability of journalists to disseminate news independently and without political or other interference, ranks the U.S. at 42, just behind Burkina Faso, which as of several days ago is ruled by a 34-year-old army captain who led a coup. Republicans have taken press blocking to new levels in the run-up to the November elections. “In this cycle, I’ve started to see more Republican candidates avoiding the press, blocking the press from events, and taking advantage of the fact that there is conservative media that will ask different questions and has a different audience,” Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel told NPR. Far-right candidates, such as Pennsylvania governor hopeful Doug Mastriano and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, treat legacy media with near-total disdain. The editor of The Plain Dealer in Ohio last month ran a blank space where a photo was supposed to appear of a rally for DeSantis and U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance as a protest after those Republicans imposed restrictions that amounted to barring the press from covering the event. “In a sign of how siloed our information sources have become,” CNN correspondent Kyung Lah wrote, “midterm campaigns, many of them Republican, are widely shutting out local papers, local TV stations and national reporters.” Even in a state like Colorado, where Democrats dominate and one might expect challengers to court as much public exposure as they can get, many Republicans have adopted a posture of no-access scorn toward journalists. In an unprecedented move, the Western Conservative Summit denied access to The Denver Post in June. The event featured appearances by many of the leading Republican Colorado candidates for elective office, including U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and University of Colorado Regent Heidi Ganahl, who’s running for governor. When Ganahl announced her running mate, Danny Moore, at an event in July, neither Ganahl nor Moore took a single question from reporters. Newsline has experienced such aversion to press scrutiny first hand, most recently when the conservative Centennial Institute denied press credentials for Newsline journalists to cover a publicly advertised candidate forum with the Democratic and Republican candidates for the Colorado 7th Congressional District seat. The denial came in an unsigned email and offered no explanation, but it did include the gratuitous warning, “We hope you will respect our private property rights.” The event was announced on the institute’s website, which did not specify any guest or press restrictions. I, as the Newsline editor, requested an explanation of the denial but received no reply. I sent the institute’s director, Jeff Hunt, a private message asking him to reconsider but received no reply. He apparently had strong feelings about the matter, however. “Many news outlets should be prosecuted for fraud,” Hunt tweeted on the morning of the forum. “They don’t report the news. They are leftist propagandists who harbor personal animosity toward Christians.” Newsline’s Sara Wilson covered the event anyway, based on a livestream, even after the Democratic candidate declined to show up. Readers can be the judge if we should be prosecuted for our reporting. Mesa County Clerk and Colorado secretary of state candidate Tina Peters talks with 710 KNUS radio host Randy Corporon at the Western Conservative Summit in Aurora on June 4, 2022. | Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline So many Republican leaders are preoccupied with so-called cancel culture and what they perceive as censorship of their views. It’s an astounding feat of hypocrisy for them to also bar journalists from events, which is a form of censorship in that it preempts news readers’ access to impartial speech about people who hold public office. And this highlights the larger problem when candidates and holders of public office reject the role of journalists in an open democratic society — if it were merely newsrooms that suffered due to the trend, Americans might not have reason to care much, but it’s democracy itself that’s damaged. A democracy functions only when constituents have access to reliable information about their government and the officials who lead public institutions, especially information that’s unflattering to those officials. It’s no surprise that candidates and office holders would prefer to communicate directly with constituents. That way they can inflate the good stuff and omit the bad stuff. But that’s exactly why Americans should reject the practice. And the more a politician maligns truth tellers in the press, the more constituents should be skeptical. They will find that the “enemy of the American people” is in fact a trusted friend. This column first ran in the Advance‘s sister outlet, Colorado Newsline. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. Read More Here

Bonita Bumble Bee’s 1st Annual Science Fair! https://digitalarkansasnews.com/bonita-bumble-bees-1st-annual-science-fair/ By Ben Jealous There is always a new low for Trump Republicans. And that is pretty frightening. Take the latest exercise in lawlessness, dishonesty, and cruelty from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He chartered a plane to send dozens of mostly Venezuelan asylum seekers from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, an island community off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He clearly was gleeful about the idea of sticking it to liberals and gloating about it on right-wing media. It wasn’t even an original idea. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had already been putting migrants on buses to cities like Wash., D.C., where they have been dropped off in front of Fox News and outside the Vice President’s residence—a giveaway that the purpose is publicity. The news of the DeSantis flight made it clear that he was exploiting vulnerable people for his own political advantage. And the more we learn, the worse it gets. A lawsuit filed on behalf of people deceived into taking the flight says the migrants were approached in San Antonio by people pretending to offer humanitarian assistance. They were promised that jobs, housing, and other assistance were waiting for them if they were willing to get on a plane. None of it was true. These vulnerable people were reportedly told lies about where they were going and given brochures with false information about help that would be waiting for them. Even worse, they may have unknowingly threatened their asylum claims by making it likely that they would miss court appointments scheduled far from where they had been flown. DeSantis and his henchmen hadn’t contacted government officials or nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts. It was a photo op. It was definitely political. And it was possibly illegal. The sheriff in Bexar County, Texas, has opened a criminal investigation into the false pretenses under which people were lured onto the planes. A lawsuit has been filed on the migrants’ behalf. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slammed DeSantis for “alerting Fox News and not city or state officials about a plan to abandon children fleeing communism,” calling it “a cruel, premeditated political stunt.” Of course, it’s not the first time that dishonorable politicians have exploited vulnerable people. In fact, racist white southerners who were resisting segregation in the early 1960s did almost the same thing to Black Americans 60 years ago. The Washington Post recently highlighted that history. A group of segregationists organized “Reverse Freedom Rides” in 1962 as retaliation for the Freedom Rides that carried civil rights activists throughout the South in 1961. According to the Post, “The plot was organized by white supremacist Citizens’ Councils in Arkansas, who bought radio ads and made fliers advertising the ‘opportunity’ to African Americans.” One Arkansas woman and nine of her children were dropped off on Cape Cod near the Kennedy family’s compound because she had been falsely told that Kennedy was going to greet them. Sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it? Last year, journalist Adam Serwer published a book called “The Cruelty is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump’s America.” Serwer has made the point that Trump is a symptom, not the cause, of a cruel streak in American politics. There is a long history of backlash against progress, going back to the post-Reconstruction period in which white supremacists used violence to reverse the enfranchisement of Black people. DeSantis’s scheme to deceive, manipulate, and harm vulnerable people seeking asylum in our country is evidence that the cruelty wielded by Trump and embraced by so many of his followers will continue to poison our politics if Trump or DeSantis or someone of their ilk is the Republican presidential nominee in 2024. Recognizing this truth is important to understanding the work we have ahead of us. We must also recognize that the cruelty in our past and our present is not our whole story. Our story also includes good people in Hyannis in the 1960s and in Martha’s Vineyard this year who responded by mobilizing to welcome and support the arrivals. It includes the people of all colors and faiths who have repeatedly built movements to expand civil rights and promote human dignity, and who have given their time and treasure to elect political leaders who appeal to our national ideals rather than trash them. We should be outraged at the cruelty displayed by some of our leaders. Let us also be motivated, and optimistic, that we can out-organize and overcome them. Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. A New York Times best-selling author, his next book “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free”will be published by Harper Collins in December 2022. Read More Here

Claims About Obama Foundation Keeping Classified Records In An Abandoned Warehouse Are Wrong – Poynter https://digitalarkansasnews.com/claims-about-obama-foundation-keeping-classified-records-in-an-abandoned-warehouse-are-wrong-poynter/ In August, after the FBI seized documents from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump wrongly charged his predecessor with keeping “33 million pages of documents, much of them classified.” About a month later, more inaccuracies about former President Barack Obama and his handling of classified documents spread online. “The Obama Foundation stored classified documents in an abandoned furniture warehouse,” a Sept. 22 Facebook post said, citing a 2018 letter from the Obama Foundation to the National Archives and Records Administration. The letter revealed that the foundation “not only acknowledged possessing classified documents but also admitted that they kept them in a facility that did not meet NARA standards for the storage of those documents,” the post said. It was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.) The post links and quotes from a Sept. 22 story by conservative website PJ Media. The story headline, as it appears in the Facebook post, said “Letter reveals Obama Foundation is keeping classified docs in abandoned furniture warehouse.” But clicking the link reveals that the story has since been updated. “Correction,” the headline now says. “NARA kept classified docs in a furniture warehouse, not the Obama Foundation.” After Trump’s incorrect suggestion that Obama kept millions of documents, including classified materials, the National Archives and Records Administration issued a statement saying it has “assumed exclusive legal and physical custody of Obama presidential records when President Barack Obama left office in 2017, in accordance with the Presidential Records Act.” The agency said that it moved approximately 30 million pages of unclassified records to one of its facilities in the Chicago area, and that it moved other classified records to one of its facilities in the Washington, D.C., area. Obama “has no control over where and how NARA stores the presidential records of his administration,” the agency said. But this arrangement is old news; so is the involvement of a former furniture store. The Chicago Tribune reported in spring 2016 that paperwork, electronic data and artifacts from Obama’s presidency would go to the old Plunkett Home Furnishings store in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, which was converted into a “NARA-controlled facility,” according to a memorandum of understanding between the Obama Foundation and the National Archives. The following year, the foundation and the National Archives announced that the foundation would fund the digitization of all of the unclassified presidential records created during Obama’s presidency while government facilities would house the original materials. And in 2018, an Obama Foundation representative sent a letter to the national archivist detailing mutual “intent regarding the digitization of Obama presidential records and related matters concerning preservation, processing and display of and access to such records and artifacts.” This is the 2018 letter mentioned in the Facebook post. Among other commitments listed in the letter is one that says the Obama Foundation agreed to transfer up to $3.3 million to the National Archives Trust Fund “to support the move of classified and unclassified Obama presidential records and artifacts from Hoffman Estates to NARA-controlled facilities that conform to the agency’s archival storage standards for such records and artifacts, and for the modification of such spaces.” But that doesn’t mean the Obama Foundation stored classified documents in an abandoned furniture warehouse, as the Facebook post says. The National Archives moved records from the Obama presidency to the Hoffman Estates facility at the end of his presidency “under the assumption that former President Obama and his Foundation would be building and transferring to NARA a traditional, physical presidential library in the Chicago area,” the National Archives said in a Sept. 23 statement. When Obama decided he wanted a digital library — not a physical one — the National Archives “transported the classified records back to secure locations” in the Washington D.C., area. “The Obama Foundation provided NARA with funds to help convert the Hoffman Estates facility and to cover some of the expenses of moving the classified records, but the foundation has never had possession or control over the records,” the agency said. We rate claims that the Obama Foundation stored classified documents in an abandoned furniture store Pants on Fire. This fact check was originally published by PolitiFact, which is part of the Poynter Institute. It is republished here with permission. See the sources for this fact check here and more of their fact checks here. Read More Here

Live Updates: Thai Officials Visit A Community Grieving Dozens Of Rampage Victims https://digitalarkansasnews.com/live-updates-thai-officials-visit-a-community-grieving-dozens-of-rampage-victims/ Grieving family members began preparations to lay to rest the victims killed in a deadly rampage at a day care center in northern Thailand, as the country’s top officials arrived to console the devastated community struggling with unanswered questions about the attack that left 36 dead. Portraits of the victims, 24 of whom were young children, began to emerge, showing the magnitude of loss: A 3-year-old who loved racing toy cars and riding in real ones. A pregnant teacher whose husband said she was “doing her duty as teacher to the fullest capacity.” A young girl who liked to play pretend with her grandmother. Here is the latest: The legally owned 9-millimeter gun used by the attacker, Panya Kamrab, focused scrutiny on rules that allow soldiers and law enforcement officers to buy personal firearms from the government and avoid some checks that apply to civilians. Mr. Panya had been fired from the police force for possession of methamphetamine. Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, met with some of the families of victims Friday afternoon, and the king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, was expected to visit a hospital in the area in the evening. Four children stabbed in the attack survived and were in good condition, the country’s health minister said. Most had been stabbed in the head. Thailand’s mental health services are lacking, in contrast to its otherwise vibrant medical care system. A string of mass shootings committed by security personnel in recent years has highlighted concerns about psychological care; a mere 2.3 percent of Thailand’s health spending is allocated for mental health. Oct. 7, 2022, 5:38 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2022, 5:38 a.m. ET Image Aom Am’s favorite game was pretending to sell things in a shop. Thongkul Phuphadhin was at home when she got a frantic phone call from her daughter on Thursday afternoon. “Mom, there’s a shooting at the subdistrict office. Can you go there urgently?” Ms. Thongkul, 52, recalled her daughter, Wassana Photipol, 29, saying. The day care center that Ms. Wassana’s child, Thidaporn Photipol, attends is near the subdistrict office. Ms. Thongkul said her knees were feeling weak and that she could not go. She asked her daughter how many people had been shot and the response was: three or four. Her immediate reaction was relief. Ms. Thongkul said she prayed to Buddha to protect her granddaughter, whom the family calls “Aom Am.” Aom Am was the third child of Ms. Wassana, who lives in the main town in Nong Bua Lumphu Province. “I prayed to Buddha to protect my granddaughter because she was only going to school,” she said, weeping. “Let her be safe and let her grow up.” Ms. Thongkul decided to head to the day care center anyway. While she was on her way, a neighbor told her: “Aom Am is dead.” For Ms. Thongkul, Thursday’s attack was an incalculable loss. She said the gunman killed six people in total in her extended family, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant. Ms. Thongkul recalled that her granddaughter was well-mannered and always tidied up her toys. She addressed all her cousins by Thai honorifics and loved playing pretend. Her favorite game was pretending to sell stuff in a shop, asking her grandmother and other relatives, “Do you want to pay by cash or electronic transfer?” “Before she goes to school every morning, she would hug and kiss me,” said Ms. Thongkul. “She would always say: ‘I love you grandma.’” Oct. 7, 2022, 5:33 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2022, 5:33 a.m. ET Sui-Lee Wee Reporting from Nong Bua Lamphu Province, Thailand Grieving family members are viewing their loved ones’ remains for the first time as the coffins are brought into a temple for Buddhist rites. Several women let out anguished screams from inside the temple hall. Paramedics carried out some of these women onto mats that were laid outside the temple. Image Credit…Andre Malerba for The New York Times Oct. 7, 2022, 4:34 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2022, 4:34 a.m. ET Image A man entering a gun shop in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, in 2020.Credit…Chalinee Thirasupa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The former police officer who attacked a day care center in Thailand on Thursday had legally bought the 9-millimeter gun he used, officials said, a revelation that focused new scrutiny on rules that allow soldiers and law enforcement officers to buy personal firearms from the government. Under the regulations, such buyers avoid some of the checks that apply to civilians. The attacker, Panya Kamrab, had been fired from the police force after he was arrested while possessing methamphetamine. But it was unclear when he bought the firearm and whether he was using drugs at the time. Experts say the legal loopholes help explain why there are an estimated 10 million guns in Thailand — and why the country has such a large black market for firearms. After Thailand’s last mass shooting, when a disgruntled army sergeant killed 29 people and wounded dozens of others in 2020, investigators found that he was the legal owner of five firearms. There have also been cases in which Thai police officers bought firearms and sold them to civilians. In 2019, for example, a police captain in a city near Bangkok was arrested and charged with buying 9-millimeter pistols through official channels and selling them for a few hundred dollars apiece, The Bangkok Post reported at the time. “If someone is willing to take a big risk, just about anyone can illicitly purchase a firearm through social media sites and apps like Line, Twitter and Facebook,” said Michael Picard, an independent researcher who studies the arms trade and has conducted fieldwork in Thailand. On paper, Thailand’s gun regulations are relatively strict. Assault weapons are banned, there are limits on the number of guns and ammunition that can be sold or owned, and civilians must pay a tax of up to 40 percent to buy a firearm legally. Civilians who want a gun must also undergo a background check and provide a reason for ownership, such as hunting or self-defense. Possessing one illegally carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of 20,000 baht (about $535). But the loopholes in Thailand’s gun laws make it easier for officials to register firearms, Mr. Picard said. They don’t pay import tax, for starters, and they can buy guns directly from a government body that issues firearm licenses. Closing the loopholes should be the first step in any effort to reform the country’s gun laws, he said, adding that another would be digitizing Thailand’s firearm registry. “Unfortunately, these processes are subject to little external civilian oversight and accountability, so while any of this would be feasible in a functional democracy, it essentially depends on the will of the junta,” Mr. Picard said, referring to Thailand’s military government. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told The New York Times on Friday that he had a “big concern” that previous mass shootings in Thailand had also been carried out by law enforcement officials. “We will surely have to do something,” he said. “I’m sure that the national security network will have to remeasure things that could be done to enforce gun control.” Oct. 7, 2022, 4:28 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2022, 4:28 a.m. ET Image Nathanapas “Stamp” Songserm with his grandfather. NAKLANG, Thailand — His nickname was Stamp, and he was going to turn 4 in a few months. Nathanapas “Stamp” Songserm was a lively child who loved racing toy cars and riding in real ones, Kham Pornnikhom, 56, said of his grandson. Hearing the horns of trucks as they whizzed by brought him particular joy, Mr. Kham recalled. Mr. Kham and his wife were raising their grandson because Mr. Kham’s daughter, Nathanapas’s mother, is a factory worker in Chonburi Province, eight and a half hours by car from their home in Nong Bua Lamphu Province. Nathanapas was her only child. Around noon on Thursday, someone said in a message to the village chat group on the messaging app Line that there was a gunman targeting people on the streets. “I didn’t think he would come into the day care,” Mr. Kham said, speaking at a town hall with other grieving family members of victims as he waited for his grandson’s body to be returned to him from the morgue. “He wouldn’t go into such a place.” “Once I knew, it was just shock,” he said. Mr. Kham showed reporters from The New York Times photographs of his grandson at a beach in Chonburi Province in April during the Songkran holiday, the Thai new year. The boy was beaming as he sat on the sand, surrounded by sand castles. Oct. 7, 2022, 4:21 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2022, 4:21 a.m. ET Sui-Lee Wee Reporting from Nong Bua Lamphu Province, Thailand The prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, and the deputy prime minister, Prawit Wongsuwan, along with an entourage of military officials, arrived at the town hall where relatives of the victims were gathered. The crowd applauded. Image Credit…Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images Oct. 7, 2022, 3:18 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2022, 3:18 a.m. ET Andre Malerba Reporting from Nong Bua Lamphu Province, Thailand Relatives and friends of the victims of the mass shooting gathered at the Uthaisawan subdistrict administrative office, opposite the day care center where the attack took place. Image Credit…Andre Malerba for The New York Times Oct. 7, 2022, 2:14 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2022, 2:14 a.m. ET The New York Times The gunman, Panya Kamrab, 34, had been set to go on trial Friday for possession of methamphetamine. The Royal Thai Police confirmed that Mr. Panya had been fired from the police force in June after being arrested with the stimulant. Oct. 7, 2022, 1:57 a.m. ET Oct. 7, 2022, 1:57 a.m. ET The New York Times Image Thailand’s national flag at half-staff outside the Nong Bua Lamphu hos...

GALLERY: Downtown’s Gallery Walk Gets Underway Tonight https://digitalarkansasnews.com/gallery-downtowns-gallery-walk-gets-underway-tonight/ “Reminiscences of Designs Past,” by Daryl Wedwick. – Submitted photo Hot Springs’ monthly Gallery Walk features the opening of new art exhibitions showcased in downtown fine art galleries and studio spaces. The following galleries will be open for Gallery Walk today from 5-9 p.m., according to the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance’s Facebook page: All Things Arkansas 610 Central Ave. Features products from Arkansas, made in Arkansas, and related to Arkansas. American Art Gallery and Gifts LLC 724 Central Ave. Featuring Virgil Barksdale, who will talk about new wood turnings, and Susan Washington’s acrylic wall art.   Gallery: October Gallery Walk Artists’ Workshop Gallery 610-A Central Ave. The featured artists for October are Daryl Wedwick and Tony Tabone, “two outstanding artists with very different styles,” a news release said. Wedwick is a retired professor of theater, having taught at universities in several states. He has designed scenery and lighting for over 200 stage productions, using watercolor to design environments where the actors would tell their tales. “Much of Wedwick’s delightful artwork comes from his imagination and his whimsical artistic muse, beautifully rendered in a combination of watercolor and doodling, which he has perfected to a fine art,” the release said. In addition to Artists’ Workshop Gallery, Wedwick is a member of Mid-Southern Watercolorists and Brush Strokes Art Club. He and his wife, Cathy, moved to Hot Springs Village in 2007. Tabone is known for his “highly detailed and lifelike artworks created in scratchboard, a reverse drawing technique in which white lines are scratched into a black surface. He adds color to them using watercolor and ink. Tabone was introduced to scratchboard in high school and, though he is proficient in other mediums, scratchboard is his preferred medium.” Tabone has established a college scholarship that he will fund from a percentage of the sales of his paintings at the gallery, beginning in October until the school year ends in May. “I want to help a high school student realize their dream of a degree in art,” he said. A native of Mississippi, he moved to Arkansas in 1998. Cutter Morning Star high school art students will be displaying their work at the gallery during October. Their instructor, Glenda Davis, says, “I am honored to be the teacher of these talented students and to see them thrive as they develop their skills.” Miniature Art Featured Artists for October are Linda Shearer and Jan Briggs. Charlie Mink will entertain visitors with tunes on his dulcimer during Gallery Walk. Call 501-623-6401 for more information. The gallery is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.; and is closed Tuesdays. Circle Gallery at Emergent Arts 341-A Whittington Ave. Día de los Muertos Community Altar and Exhibition will be on display. Emergent Arts’ Día de los Muertos community altar and exhibition is an annual tradition in Hot Springs. “Join us for an exhibition of artwork inspired by The Day of the Dead” from 5-8 p.m., the HSACA Facebook page said. The exhibition will be open through November. Weekly gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. DeSoto Rock & Gift Shop 626 Central Ave. A recent expansion includes some of Hot Springs’ most gifted artists. The gallery offers art, décor, jewelry, and an expansive collection of gems and minerals from all over the world. Dryden Pottery 341 Whittington Ave. Featuring in-house formulated glazes and custom-blended clay to create a finished quality that is easily recognizable as “Dryden.” Esther’s Galley and Gifts 301 E. Broadway St. Featured artists include Ryan Rooney, Don Watson, Angelina Hardin, Wayne Summerhill, Justin Warrick, and Steve Johnson. Gallery Central 340-A Central Ave. Featuring the artwork of Janice Polycron, Tracee Gentry-Matthews, Polly Cook, James Hayes glass, Sandy Newburg, and Houston Llew Spirit Tiles. Justus Fine Art Gallery 827-A Central Ave. The October Exhibit at Justus Fine Art Gallery will feature a selection of work by Mark Blaney, Robbie Brindley, Donnie Copeland, Robyn Horn, gallery owner Dolores Justus, Steven Schneider, Sandra Sell, and Gene Sparling. The show will host a reception tonight as part of Gallery Walk. The exhibit will be on display through Oct. 31. A series of new wood sculptures by Sell will be included in the exhibit. A native of New Hampshire, Sell “grew up with a passion for visually emulating nature and constructing objects. Through her work, she seeks to convey the observations of her emotional responses to life,” a news release said. Since 2007, her work has been is included more than 30 exhibits in the U.S., including “Materials: Hard + Soft International Contemporary Craft Competition and Exhibition,” 2018, 2017; Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, Texas; “Curiosity Revealed,” 2016, Thea Foundation, North Little Rock; “Merging Form and Surface,” 2016, Pulaski Technical College Center for Humanities and Arts, North Little Rock; “Longevity,” 2015, Arkansas Capital Corporation Group, Little Rock; Solo Show, 2015, River Valley Arts Center, Russellville; “Edges & Lines,” National Juried Exhibition, 2015, Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, Va.; Annual Juried Art National Exhibition, 2015, South Arkansas Arts Center, SAAC, El Dorado; “The Penland Experience,” 2015, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; “Small Works,” 2015, The National Association of Women Artists Inc., NAWA, New York; and “Salvage: Reclaiming Recycling,” 2009, National Juried Exhibition, The Phillips Museum of Art, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa. In 2018, Sell served as part of the artist team working with Mel Chin for the Times Square installation “Unmoored” in New York. Her work is also included in the permanent collections of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, and the Historic Arkansas Museum, along with many private collections, the release said. A series of recent work by abstract painter Copeland will be featured in the October show. Copeland works primarily with painted paper to produce non-objective, collaged canvases that emphasize pattern, texture, color, and mark. “His works are a synthesis of the visuality of landscapes, such as the planted fields and prairie that run along the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers, as well as that of peoples and cultures local and distant, rural and urban,” the release said. Copeland earned a BA in Studio arts from Ouachita Baptist University and then continued his education at the University of Dallas where he obtained an MFA in Painting. Copeland currently serves as associate professor of Visual Arts and chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Ouachita Baptist University where he teaches painting, drawing, and art history. “His work has been included in many notable exhibitions, along with personal and corporate collections,” the release said. New landscape photographs by Brindley will also be included in the exhibit. The series features images from his travels in New Mexico. Taken on a Mamiya RB 67 camera with 120 film, his process requires patience. “That calmness in approaching his subject matter is reflected in the spareness of his compositions which also invites contemplation by the viewer into that space,” Justus said. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and by appointment. Call 501-321-2335 or visit http://www.justusfineart.com for more information. Legacy Gallery 804 Central Ave. Legacy Fine Art will be featuring artwork from the late Hot Springs artist T.P. Murphy. Rebecca Peterman Photography 801 Central Ave., Suite 30 The second-floor studio features photographic art of the national park and downtown Hot Springs architecture. Also featured is the 50/Fifty Portrait Story Series of women over 50 and the ways they transform as they age. Whittington Gallery 307 Whittington Ave. Whittington Gallery introduces its new gallery manager, artist Kelly Carol, an “innovative local mixed media artist who brings a splash of color wherever she goes,” a news release said. “A creator and maker, she pulls her inspiration from nature to honor the mystical wisdom of Mother Earth. Her work incorporates symbolism to represent hidden meanings and universal truths, using vivid hues to excite and evoke curiosity and contemplation. She utilizes pen, inks, acrylics, spray paint, watercolor, merino wool for wet and needle felting,” the release said. Enjoy local art, drinks and a warm bowl of chili for Gallery Walk. Wrapped Gift Boutique 404 Central Ave. Featuring Hot Springs artists Alison Parsons and Riley Art Glass, as well as a large selection of gift items.     “Impasse III,” by Sandra Sell. – Submitted photo        Artist Kelly Carol. – Submitted photo        Cutter Star High School art students, whose paintings are being exhibited at Artists’ Workshop Gallery during October. – Submitted photo    Read More…

Credit Suisse Pays Down Debt To Calm Investor Fears https://digitalarkansasnews.com/credit-suisse-pays-down-debt-to-calm-investor-fears/ To buy back up to $3 billion in debt Seen as bid to reassure nervous investors Move comes weeks ahead of planned overhaul Shares up as much as 3% in early trade ZURICH, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) will buy back up to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3 billion) of debt, the embattled Swiss bank said on Friday, making a show of strength as it seeks to reassure investors after a tumultuous week. The move trims the bank’s debts and is an attempt to bolster confidence after steep falls in its stock price and bonds. Unsubstantiated rumours that its future was in doubt have swirled on social media amid concern it may need to raise billions of francs in fresh capital. One of the largest banks in Europe, Credit Suisse is embarking on a radical turnaround after losing more than $5 billion from the collapse of investment firm Archegos last year, when it also had to suspend client funds linked to failed financier Greensill. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Bank executives spent last weekend reassuring large clients and investors about its financial strength, seeking to dispel speculation about its future. CEO Ulrich Koerner also told staff in a memo that it has sufficient capital and liquidity. read more But his words only fuelled rumours about the bank, as a social media storm gathered pace, triggering a sell-off of its stock. The bank said the debt buyback would “allow us to take advantage of market conditions to repurchase debt at attractive prices”. Investors took heart. Credit Suisse shares gained as much as 3% in early trading on Friday, while the price of its euro-denominated bonds rose. “It’s an opportunistic move to take advantage of market conditions that might be reassuring to some investors,” said Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti. “If bought below par, a gain results that will increase capital slightly.” TROUBLED CHAPTER Earlier this week, in an unusual step, the Swiss National Bank, which oversees the financial stability of systemically important banks in Switzerland, said it was monitoring the situation at Credit Suisse. Banks are deemed systemically important if their failure would undermine the Swiss economy and financial system. The move is reminiscent of a multi-billion-euro debt buyback by Deutsche Bank in 2016, when it faced a similar crisis and doubts over its future. Dixit Joshi, a former Deutsche executive, has recently joined Credit Suisse as finance chief. Zuercher Kantonalbank said the bonds are currently trading at a high discount, which allows Credit Suisse to cut debt at a low cost. Analyst Christian Schmidiger said the move was also a “signal that Credit Suisse has sufficient liquidity”. Credit Suisse said it was making a 1 billion euro cash tender offer in relation to eight euro or pound sterling denominated senior debt securities and another offer to buy back 12 U.S. dollar denominated senior debt securities for up to $2 billion. The developments unfolded after sources recently told Reuters that Credit Suisse was sounding out investors for fresh cash, approaching them for the fourth time in around seven years. Under a restructuring launched by Chairman Axel Lehmann, the bank envisions shrinking its investment bank to focus even more on its flagship wealth management business. Chiefly, he hopes to close a troubled chapter for the bank and repair its reputation. Over the past three quarters alone, losses have added up to nearly 4 billion Swiss francs. Given the uncertainties, the bank’s financing costs have surged. The bank is due to present its new business strategy on Oct. 27, when it announces third-quarter results. Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service expects losses for Credit Suisse to swell to $3 billion by year-end, Moody’s lead analyst on the bank told Reuters on Thursday. read more The bank has also said it is looking to sell its upmarket Savoy Hotel, one of the best-known hotels in Zurich. read more ($1 = 0.9897 Swiss francs) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Writing by John Revill and John O’Donnell; additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London; editing by Mark Potter and Jason Neely Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Shootout In Kensington Leaves Teen Dead; Roughly 80 Shots Fired https://digitalarkansasnews.com/shootout-in-kensington-leaves-teen-dead-roughly-80-shots-fired/ It happened around 8 p.m. on the 3400 block of Palethorp Street in the city’s Kensington section. PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — SWAT units surrounded a garage in Philadelphia’s Kensington section after a shootout left a teenager dead on Thursday night. It happened around 8 p.m. on the 3400 block of Palethorp Street. Police say the 17-year-old male was shot multiple times while riding on a small motorcycle. He was rushed to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Chopper 6 was overhead as SWAT teams surrounded a garage on the block. Philadelphia Police Inspector DF Pace says no suspects were found inside after officers breached the property. Roughly 80 shots were fired, but no other injuries were reported. Neighbors had to briefly evacuate as police searched for the gunman. It’s still unclear what led up to the gun battle. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS. Copyright © 2022 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved. Read More Here

Crawford County Deputies Fired Following Viral Mulberry Use-Of-Force Incident https://digitalarkansasnews.com/crawford-county-deputies-fired-following-viral-mulberry-use-of-force-incident/ A law enforcement officer gestures toward a person recording the arrest of a man in Crawford County in this screenshot from a video recorded Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022. Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante said the video shows two of his deputies and a Mulberry officer. (Courtesy Naomi Ruth Johnson, anthonyjohnson520; tiktok.com/@anthonyjohnson520/video/7134407649956777259) VAN BUREN — The two Crawford County sheriff’s deputies shown holding down and beating a man in a viral video in August have been terminated from their positions. Linda Phillips, administrative assistant for the sheriff’s office, confirmed Thursday that Zack King and Levi White had been fired between one and two weeks ago. She couldn’t provide a exact date for the firings nor the reasoning behind them. Sheriff Jimmy Damante didn’t return messages requesting comment Thursday. He told television station KHOG/KHBS his decision was for the betterment of his department, as well as the community. King and White had been suspended with pay after they, along with officer Thell Riddle of the Mulberry Police Department, were recorded using force while arresting Randal Worcester, 27, of Goose Creek, S.C., about 10:40 a.m. Aug. 21 outside the Kountry Xpress convenience store off Interstate 40 in Mulberry. The video showed the officers repeatedly punching and kneeing Worcester, as well as telling a bystander to get away from the scene. One of the officers, identified as White in a federal civil-rights lawsuit Worcester filed Aug. 29, was also shown slamming Worcester’s head to the pavement. Worcester was arrested on charges of second-degree battery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, resisting arrest, possessing an instrument of crime, criminal trespass, second-degree criminal mischief and first-degree terroristic threatening after the incident, according to the sheriff’s office online inmate roster. He was released from jail on $15,000 bail Aug. 22. Damante said Aug. 25 he directed his staff to begin a “thorough, disciplinary investigation” into the deputies’ actions and would publicly announce any action he takes after the investigation. Sherry Jones, administrative assistant to the financial director of Mulberry, said Thursday that Riddle is still on administrative leave. Adam Rose of the law offices of David L. Powell in Fort Smith, one of the attorneys representing Worcester alongside Powell, said he believed justice was done concerning the deputies’ terminations. “I think their career in Crawford County, letting them go was the right thing to do, and I think it’s just the first step of many in the right direction for Randal Worcester and the Crawford County community as a whole,” Rose said. Rose has said Carrie Jernigan, an attorney with the Van Buren-based Jernigan Law Group, would enter the Worcester case at a later point. He, Jernigan and Powell plan to file two additional federal civil cases involving Crawford County deputies. The other cases pertain to two clients Jernigan claimed in a TikTok video and news conference in August were “attacked” by deputies within about the past month. She identified White as being involved in both instances. Russell Wood, an attorney with the Wood Law Firm in Russellville representing King and White, didn’t return a phone message requesting comment Thursday. In addition to the three officers, Worcester’s federal lawsuit lists Damante, Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory, Mulberry, the Mulberry Police Department, Crawford County and the Crawford County sheriff’s office as defendants. Attorney Emily White has said she was appointed as special prosecuting attorney for the Arkansas State Police’s independent investigation into the use of force. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Arkansas, the Department of Justice and the FBI’s field office in Little Rock also opened a civil-rights investigation into the incident, according to authorities. Read More Here