Scott, who is not up for reelection, continues to feed frustration by traveling the country, even in these final months, to support his own political ambitions. He attended a $1,000-per-seat fundraising luncheon in Tampa on Friday for his personal political committees, which he has been using to raise his public profile ahead of a potential 2024 presidential campaign, according to an invitation obtained by The Washington Post. On Saturday, he was booked to travel to Iowa — the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus state, where the Senate contest in not considered competitive — to attend a tailgate event before the annual football game between the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces, in Ukraine on Aug. 28.
Planet Labs PBC via AP
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Planet Labs PBC via AP
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces, in Ukraine on Aug. 28.
Planet Labs PBC via AP
KYIV, Ukraine — The nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, controlled by Russia and at the center of much international concern, has announced they are powering down the final working reactor.
In a message Sunday morning, the nuclear operator Energoatom said that power lines had been restored to the Zaporizhzhia power plant but that they were powering down Reactor No. 6, preparing it to be cooled and transferred to a safer state.
Because of shelling in and around the area, the entire plant has been cut off from the electricity grid for several days, with the one working reactor, on “island mode,” essentially powering the rest of the plant’s crucial cooling systems.
The owners have been discussing shutting down the plant — because of the power issues and the condition of the Ukrainian workers.
NPR understands that its felt the powering down solution is the “best available, but temporary” option. It’s feared that powerlines accessing the grid could be damaged again.
In that case, the plant would have to fire up emergency diesel generators to keep the reactors cool and prevent a nuclear meltdown. The company’s chief said on Thursday that the plant only has diesel fuel for 10 days.
A Russian serviceman guards an area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in May.
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A Russian serviceman guards an area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in May.
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The plant, one of the 10 biggest atomic power stations in the world, has been occupied by Russian forces since the early stages of the war. Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for shelling around the plant that has damaged the power lines connecting it to the grid.
In a statement early Sunday, Energoatom urged Russian forces to leave the Zaporizhzhia plant and allow for the creation of a “demilitarized zone” around it.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog which has two experts at the plant, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday. Its director has called for a safe zone around the plant to avert a disaster.
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Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.
Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2022/09/11/1122245406/last-reactor-at-ukraines-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-stopped
Shifting winds could help to improve air quality in parts of the Sacramento region, but hazardous air will persist in areas near the Mosquito Fire on Sunday, according to Spare the Air.
The Sacramento Metropolitan, El Dorado, Feather River, Placer and Yolo-Solano air districts forecast moderate to hazardous air quality for the region over the weekend.
- Watch the full forecast, air quality outlook and an update on the Mosquito Fire in the video player above
Sunday Air Quality Forecast
- El Dorado: Unhealthy
- Placer: Hazardous
- Sacramento: Moderate
- Yolo-Solano: Moderate
Monday Air Quality Forecast
- El Dorado: Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- Placer: Hazardous
- Sacramento: Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- Yolo-Solano: Moderate
KCRA 3 Meteorologist Eileen Javora said that the worst of the air quality has been in the Foothills. There will be relief in sight for the Valley as the Delta breeze pushes smoke up the hill.
People with lung and respiratory issues should avoid strenuous and prolonged outdoor activity that could worsen their conditions in the polluted air. People are also urged to wear N95 masks that can filter out smoke particles.
| VIDEO BELOW | LiveCopter 3 has a view of smoky conditions above Placer County on Friday
Here are recommended ways to reduce your smoke exposure:
- Stay indoors with the windows and doors closed; if possible, run the air conditioner on the “recirculation” setting
- Limit outdoor physical activity
- Leave the smoke-impacted areas if possible until conditions improve
- Reduce unnecessary driving. If traveling through smoke-impacted areas, be sure that your vehicle’s ventilation system is on “recirculate”
- Non‐HEPA paper face mask filters and bandana-type face coverings are not capable of filtering out extra fine smoke particulates, which are much smaller in size. Therefore, they will not be helpful in protecting individuals from smoke-related impacts. Information on the use of masks and face coverings during smoke impacts can be found here.
Source Article from https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-hazardous-air-quality-mosquito-fire-september-11/41155044
Local officials in the Kharkiv region say the Ukrainian flag has been raised in settlements close to the Russian border, confirming the continuing retreat of Russian forces in the area.
Oleksandr Kulik, an official in Derhachi northeast of the city of Kharkiv, said that the Ukrainian flag had been raised by local residents in the town of Kozacha Lopan.
Kozacha Lopan had been occupied by the Russians since March and was an administrative center for occupation authorities. It is five kilometers from the Russian border and has been extensively damaged during the conflict.
Social media video provided by the Derhachi city council also showed residents of another settlement — Tokarivka — raising the Ukrainian flag there. Tokarivka is also close to the Russian border.
Viktoriya Kolodochka, the head of the Tokarivka district, said Sunday: “The village was de-occupied this morning. People heard the roar of Russian military hardware. The Russians began to gather on their own in the morning and began to flee.”
Kolodochka, who is not in the town but maintains contacts there, told CNN by phone that the Russians had left a lot of ammunition behind.
She also spoke of the months under occupation, which she described as “very scary.” She said the occupying troops were from the Luhansk People’s militia, who she said behaved like gangsters. They searched for people who had been in the security forces, confiscated phones and ransacked houses. She alleged they also beat and intimidated local residents.
“They took people to the basement of the school, beat them, electrocuted them, forced them to dig trenches, forced them to give information about people who worked in Ukrainian state bodies. But they didn’t kill anyone,” she told CNN.
Kolodochka said there had been no humanitarian aid until August when occupying forces provided some sugar and flour. She said people mainly survived on their own garden produce. She said she had left the town in April, but her parents had stayed behind.
As for those who had died during the occupation, Kolodochka told CNN: “There are people buried in their yards — we just buried them in their yards.”
She added that there was still great uncertainty about what will happen. “People are still scared. Will they stop shooting? Is it true that the Russians have left? Or not? They are waiting for Ukrainian military so much.”
But she insisted: “We will survive everything to be at home.”
Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-09-11-22/index.html
Sept 11 (Reuters) – An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck eastern Papua New Guinea on Sunday killing at least four people, injuring others and damaging property and essential infrastructure.
The quake hit about 67 km east of Kainantu and 80 kms north-west of Lae in the eastern PNG region, at about 9:45 am local time (2345 GMT Saturday), but was felt some 500 km (310 miles) away in the capital of Port Moresby.
The full extent of damage was not immediately clear as the location of the earthquake was remote. Earthquakes are common in PNG, which sits on the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire”, a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.
While the government gave no death toll, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Asia and the Pacific said that at least 4 deaths and four injuries had been reported.
One person died in a landslide in Rai Coast, Madang, with three others buried in Wau, Morobe, the OCHA’s PNG disaster management team said in a report posted on Twitter.
The regional power grid, internet cables, and the regional highway were damaged, but the airport is operational, it said. Some of the injured were airlifted for immediate treatment.
Papua New Guinea residents shared images and videos on social media of cracked roads, damaged buildings and cars, and items falling off supermarket shelves.
The UN report said people had been injured by falling structures or debris, and there was damage to some health centres, homes, rural roads and highways.
Power infrastructure was damaged in affected areas, causing an outage across the Eastern Highlands.
State-backed communications provider PNG DataCo also reported impact to its undersea cable network, resulting in widespread disruptions.
The U.S tsunami warning system issued an alert after the quake but later said the danger had passed. There was no immediate threat to Australia, its Bureau of Meteorology said.
In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 quake rocked PNG’s remote mountainous highlands, killing more than 100 people and damaging thousands of homes.
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Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/magnitude-76-earthquake-strikes-eastern-new-guinea-region-papua-new-guinea-emsc-2022-09-11/
NEW YORK (AP) — Payment processor Visa Inc. said Saturday that it plans to start separately categorizing sales at gun shops, a major win for gun control advocates who say it will help better track suspicious surges of gun sales that could be a prelude to a mass shooting.
But the decision by Visa, the world’s largest payment processor, will likely provoke the ire of gun rights advocates and gun lobbyists, who have argued that categorizing gun sales would unfairly flag an industry when most sales do not lead to mass shootings. It joins Mastercard and American Express, which also said they plan to move forward with categorizing gun shop sales.
Visa said it would adopt the International Organization for Standardization’s new merchant code for gun sales, which was announced on Friday. Until Friday, gun store sales were considered “general merchandise.”
“Following ISO’s decision to establish a new merchant category code, Visa will proceed with next steps, while ensuring we protect all legal commerce on the Visa network in accordance with our long-standing rules,” the payment processor said in a statement.
Visa’s adoption is significant as the largest payment network, and with Mastercard and AmeEx, will likely put pressure on the banks as the card issuers to adopt the standard as well. Visa acts as a middleman between merchants and banks, and it will be up to banks to decide whether they will allow sales at gun stores to happen on their issued cards.
Gun control advocates had gained significant wins on this front in recent weeks. New York City officials and pension funds had pressured the ISO and banks to adopt this code.
Two of the country’s largest public pension funds, in California and New York, have been pressing the country’s largest credit card firms to establish sales codes specifically for firearm-related sales that could flag suspicious purchases or more easily trace how guns and ammunition are sold.
Merchant category codes now exist for almost every kind of purchase, including those made at supermarkets, clothing stores, coffee shops and many other retailers.
“When you buy an airline ticket or pay for your groceries, your credit card company has a special code for those retailers. It’s just common sense that we have the same policies in place for gun and ammunition stores,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain who blames the proliferation of guns for his city’s deadly violence.
The city’s comptroller, Brad Lander, said it made moral and financial sense as a tool to push back against gun violence.
“Unfortunately, the credit card companies have failed to support this simple, practical, potentially lifesaving tool. The time has come for them to do so,” Lander said recently, before Visa and others had adopted the move.
Lander is a trustee of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System and Board of Education Retirement System — which together own 667,200 shares in American Express valued at approximately $92.49 million; 1.1 million shares in MasterCard valued at approximately $347.59 million; and 1.85 million shares in Visa valued at approximately $363.86 million.
The pension funds and gun control advocates argue that creating a merchant category code for standalone firearm and ammunition stores could aid in the battle against gun violence. A week before the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, where 49 people died after a shooter opened fire in 2016, the assailant used credit cards to buy more than $26,000 worth of guns and ammunition, including purchases at a stand-alone gun retailer.
Gun rights advocates argue that tracking sales at gun stores would unfairly target legal gun purchases, since merchant codes just track the type of merchant where the credit or debit card is used, not the actual items purchased. A sale of a gun safe, worth thousands of dollars and an item considered part of responsible gun ownership, could be seen as a just a large purchase at a gun shop.
“The (industry’s) decision to create a firearm specific code is nothing more than a capitulation to anti-gun politicians and activists bent on eroding the rights of law-abiding Americans one transaction at a time,” said Lars Dalseide, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association.
Over the years, public pension funds have used their extensive investment portfolios to influence public policy and the market place.
The California teacher’s fund, the second largest pension fund in the country, has long taken aim on the gun industry. It has divested its holdings from gun manufacturers and has sought to persuade some retailers from selling guns.
Four years ago, the teacher’s fund made guns a key initiative. It called for background checks and called on retailers “monitor irregularities at the point of sale, to record all firearm sales, to audit firearms inventory on a regular basis, and to proactively assist law enforcement.”
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Associated Press writer Bobby Calvan in New York contributed to this report.
Source Article from https://apnews.com/4aae50c67e40f9683f604a8683acc391/
Former President Trump and the Justice Department (DOJ) have submitted a total of four candidates to be potentially appointed as special master in charge of reviewing the documents the FBI took at Mar-a-Lago last month.
The submissions came after a federal judge granted Trump’s request on Monday to have a special master review the materials that the FBI obtained to see if any are protected by attorney-client or executive privilege.
The DOJ also filed an appeal on Thursday to request that the special master not review the more than 100 classified documents that the FBI took, arguing that a pause in its review of those materials could cause “irreparable harm” to the government and the public in delaying the investigation.
The Trump legal team and the DOJ each proposed two candidates to conduct the review.
Here are the four people that Trump and the DOJ have proposed to serve as special master:
Raymond J. Dearie
Trump chose Raymond J. Dearie, a retired U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), as one of his picks. Dearie was nominated to the seat and confirmed by the Senate in 1986 by then-President Reagan.
He served as chief judge of the court from 2007 to 2011, according to his profile page on the court’s website. Dearie assumed senior status on the court in 2011, moving to a form of semi-retirement that allows judges older than 65 to take a lighter caseload.
Dearie also served as a U.S. attorney for EDNY from 1982 to 1986. He also served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which reviews requests for surveillance warrants against suspected foreign spies in the U.S., according to Trump and the DOJ’s court filing announcing their choices.
Paul Huck Jr.
Paul Huck Jr., who is Trump’s other pick, has spent his legal career working in both the public and private sectors. Huck served as deputy attorney general in Florida for four years and then served as general counsel to Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican at the time who has since joined the Democratic Party, from 2007 to 2008.
While serving as general counsel, he was the top legal adviser to Crist on constitutional, legislative and statutory matters involving the executive branch, according to his profile page on the site for conservative legal organization The Federalist Society, where he is a contributor.
The Federalist Society defines a contributor as speaking or participating in its events, publications or multimedia presentations, and the title does not necessarily imply any other endorsement or relationship with the organization.
Huck also founded his own law firm, the Huck Law Firm, and is a former partner at the multinational law firm Jones Day, according to the court filing.
Barbara S. Jones
One of the DOJ’s picks is Barbara S. Jones, who served as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York for more than a decade and a half. She was nominated to the seat in 1995 by then-President Clinton.
She presided over cases on a wide range of topics, including accounting and securities fraud, antitrust, corruption, labor racketeering and terrorism while serving, according to her profile page for Bracewell LLP, where she is a partner.
Before she began serving as a district judge, she served as chief assistant to Robert Morgenthau, the district attorney of New York County at the time.
Jones also served as the chair of the Response Systems to Adult Sexual Assault Crimes Panel, which Congress created to analyze investigations of sexual assault in the military.
She served as a special master in 2018 to review documents from Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, to examine if any were privileged.
Thomas B. Griffith
Thomas B. Griffith, the DOJ’s other candidate, served as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005 to 2020. He serves as special counsel for the law firm Hutton Andrews Kurth LLP.
Griffith served as the Senate legal counsel, the body’s nonpartisan top legal officer, from 1995 to 1999, according to his profile page on his law firm’s website. He advised Senate leadership and committees on investigations in the role.
Griffith was also the general counsel to Brigham Young University in Utah for five years. He is a lecturer of law at Harvard University and has served in that role in the past for Stanford University and Brigham Young.
Source Article from https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3637596-who-are-the-four-people-trump-and-the-doj-have-proposed-for-special-master/
The remnants of Tropical Storm Kay could cause thunderstorms and flooding Sunday and early into the week in Southern California, particularly in the interior mountains and deserts, according to the National Weather Service.
A flash flood watch was in effect Saturday for mountain and desert areas in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego counties, as well as the Inland Empire.
Thunderstorms on Sunday “may be slower moving” than Saturday’s, which elevates the risk of flooding if rain continues to pound the same areas, Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, said Saturday. “That’s something we’ll be looking at closer today.”
In San Diego County, “we’re going to see scattered showers lingering across the area” Sunday and Monday, said Casey Oswant, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service there. “Showers are most likely in the mountains but could drift west into the valleys or east into the deserts at times.”
The region can expect “a slight chance of thunderstorms each afternoon as well, with all that leftover tropical moisture” as Kay moves out of the area, Oswant added. But the region has largely avoided the flash floods and coastal inundation that had been forecast as the tropical storm made a rare approach north toward the California-Mexico border, causing gusts exceeding 100 mph in the mountains of San Diego County, bringing Miami-style humidity and churning up heavy surf.
Perhaps most important, the storm brought Southern California relief from the punishing temperatures earlier in the week. Temperatures are expected to remain in the 80s early next week but will be lower at beaches and some mountain areas. Some areas may cool further with the return of low clouds, Munroe said.
“We’ll start to warm up a bit toward the end of the week,” Oswant said, “but it’ll stay closer to seasonal temperatures for this time of year.”
In Northern California, falling temperatures were welcome news for crews battling the Mosquito fire, which had grown to more than 33,000 acres Saturday and spurred evacuation orders for thousands of people in Placer and El Dorado counties. Officials of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection tweeted Saturday that the fire continued to threaten structures and power lines.
Chris Vestal, a public information officer with the Sacramento Metro Fire District who is spokesperson for the Mosquito fire, said officials were keeping a close eye on wind patterns to see if they would shift.
“We are optimistic of the fact that we are making progress, and we are hopeful that the winds stay as light as forecast,” Vestal said. He noted that the steep terrain was complicating the effort to build strong containment lines.
Firefighters battling the Fairview fire near Hemet were also relieved by the rain, with the extra moisture saturating the area and mitigating the threat posed by high winds, said Rob Roseen, a spokesman for Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
“We did receive some of these winds, but the rain came much earlier than expected,” Roseen said. “We do still have fire rooted in some of those tree trunks and things of that nature, and there’s definitely still fire work to be done, but largely the fire has been reduced.”
Some residents of northern Temecula who had been evacuated began returning to their homes Friday night, he said.
As of Saturday morning, Tropical Storm Kay was roughly 250 miles southwest of the San Diego coast. For normally dry September, the storm easily broke rainfall records in San Diego, Escondido, Vista, Los Angeles and Burbank.
San Diego recorded 0.61 inches of precipitation Friday — exceeding the record for the date of 0.09 inches, set in 1976. More than 5 inches of rainfall were recorded over two days at Mount Laguna in San Diego County.
Tens of thousands of people in the Los Angeles area had lost power as of Saturday morning, including in Pico-Union, Hollywood and other neighborhoods from Sylmar and San Pedro. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said more than 24,000 people remained without power as of midmorning Saturday, and another 30,000 had gotten power restored after outages in the previous 24 hours that ranged from minutes to hours, according to spokesperson Mia Rose Wong.
“Crews are working incredibly hard and as fast as they can,” Rose Wong said. “They’re going to work around the clock until all power is restored.”
By early afternoon Saturday, nearly 13,000 customers remained without power, DWP said, estimating that its crews were taking 12 to 24 hours to respond after an outage was reported. The department said that during heavy rain and wind storms, the most frequent cause of power outages is flying debris, such as tree branches and palm fronds, hitting power lines.
“This is particularly true with the first rain after an extended period of time, and especially after the dry conditions like the kind the region has seen as a result of the drought,” the department said in a statement.
The rain spurred an advisory from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which cautioned residents to be careful about swimming, surfing or playing in the ocean amid concerns about contamination from storm-drain discharge, which can include bacteria, chemicals, trash and other health hazards.
Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-10/lingering-rains-from-kay-raise-flood-concerns-in-socal
A massive 7.6 earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Sunday.
The quake, with a depth of 90 kilometers (roughly 56 miles), struck near the town of Kainantu Sunday morning, the United States Geological Survey reported.
The town has a population of roughly 8,500 people.
The US National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of tsunami waves. Earlier in the day it had said hazardous tsunami waves were possible within 1,000 kilometers (roughly 621 miles) along the coasts of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story quoted the Australian Red Cross as saying at least 16 people had been killed. The Red Cross has confirmed that death toll is incorrect, and related to a statement concerning a previous earthquake in Papua New Guinea that was mistakenly circulated.
Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/10/asia/earthquake-papua-new-guinea/index.html
- The 65 Project has filed more than 40 ethics complaints against lawyers who tried to overturn the 2020 election.
- Other Trump lawyers like Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Christina Bobb face legal troubles and charges.
- The New York Times reported legal experts joke MAGA now stands for “Making Attorneys Get Attorneys.”
For lawyers working with former President Donald Trump, legal risk is considered an expected part of the job: More than 40 attorneys who worked to overturn the 2020 election on his behalf have been hit with ethics complaints.
The New York Times reported legal experts joke MAGA now stands for “Making Attorneys Get Attorneys,” based on the reputational risk of working with Trump.
“There’s no way to adhere to your ethical integrity and keep your job,” Kimberly Wehle, a University of Baltimore law professor who closely tracked investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, told The New York Times of the dilemma Mr. Trump’s lawyers face: “There’s just no way to not step into a mess.”
The 65 Project, a bipartisan effort to hold Trump-allied lawyers accountable for filing 65 lawsuits across swing states in an attempt to overturn legitimate 2020 election results, has filed more than 40 ethics complaints with their respective state bar associations against lawyers who participated in the scheme.
Among the complaints, including 17 filed last month, are ethical concerns raised against former Trump lawyers John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, and Jenna Ellis.
On Jan 6, 2021, Eastman asked former Vice President Mike Pence’s legal counsel to break the law and halt proceedings to certify the 2020 election. He was still pitching ways to overturn the election by the time President Joe Biden took office.
Mitchell is currently leading a group of GOP poll workers to challenge results in the midterms. Ellis has been ordered to testify before the Fulton County, Georgia special grand jury investigating whether Trump and his associates tried to interfere in the 2020 elections.
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s one-time personal lawyer, has also been named as a target in the Georgia investigation and his licenses to practice law in the District of Columbia and New York have been suspended over his election fraud claims.
Another former Trump lawyer, Sidney Powell, is under investigation for overseeing an effort to copy sensitive election data and coordinating a breach in Georgia election files.
Christina Bobb, a current Trump lawyer, is currently facing legal trouble after she signed a letter attesting that a “diligent search” had been conducted and all material that was in Mar-a-Lago at the time had been returned to the US government, per a court filing. Two months later, the FBI raided Trump’s Florida golf club and found 20 boxes worth of new material, including 11 sets that were marked as classified.
Michael Cohen, a former Trump lawyer sentenced to three years in prison in part over his role in arranging illegal hush-money payments to adult-film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from speaking about her affair with Trump, has warned Trump’s current legal team to “lawyer up,” citing his own felony charges including tax evasion, campaign-finance violations, and bank fraud.
“Ultimately, we want to demonstrate to all the lawyers that the next time that Sidney Powell or Rudy Giuliani calls and says, ‘Hey, will you sign your name to this,’ they’ll say ‘no,’ because they’ll realize that there are professional consequences,” Michael Teter, director of the 65 Project, told The New York Times.
Source Article from https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-lawyers-ethics-complaints-joke-maga-making-attorneys-get-attorneys-2022-9
LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – The state funeral for Queen Elizabeth will be held on Monday, Sept. 19, royal officials said on Saturday, as her son Charles was officially proclaimed Britain’s new king in a colourful ceremony laden with pageantry and dating back centuries.
The death of the 96-year-monarch has provoked tears, sadness and warm tributes, not just from the queen’s own close family and many Britons, but also from around the world – reflecting her presence on the world stage for 70 years.
“We all thought she was invincible,” said her grandson Prince William, now the heir to the throne. read more
“It’s been surreal,” he said during a walkabout outside Windsor Castle where he and his wife Kate appeared closely in public for the first time in two years with his younger brother Harry and his wife Meghan – a sign Elizabeth’s death might help heal a rift between Charles’ sons.
Elizabeth’s oak coffin, covered with the royal standard of Scotland and with a wreath of flowers on top, has been lying in the ballroom of Balmoral Castle, her summer home in Scotland where she died peacefully on Thursday.
On Sunday, it will be driven by hearse through remote highland villages to Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, during a six-hour journey that will allow people to pay their respects. read more
The coffin will then be flown to London on Tuesday where it will remain at Buckingham Palace before being taken to Westminster Hall to lie in state until the funeral at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m (1000 GMT) on Sept. 19.
The death of Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, has prompted an outpouring of emotion around the globe. Buildings and landmarks in Europe, America and Africa have been lit up in the red, white and blue of the United Kingdom’s flag.
Charles, 73, immediately succeeded his mother but an Accession Council met at St James’s – the most senior royal palace in the United Kingdom built for Henry VIII in the 1530s – to proclaim him as king on Saturday.
The council – formed of Privy Counsellors whose centuries-old role has been to advise the monarch – included his son and heir William, wife Camilla and Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, who signed the proclamation of his accession.
Six former prime ministers, senior bishops and a swathe of politicians cried out “God Save The King” as the announcement was approved.
“I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of Sovereignty which have now passed to me,” Charles said. “I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set.”
Later, on the Proclamation Gallery, a balcony above Friary Court of St James’s Palace, the Garter King of Arms, David White, accompanied by others in gold and red heraldic outfits read out the Principal Proclamation, as trumpets sounded.
Soldiers in traditional scarlet uniforms shouted “hip, hip, hurrah” as White called for three cheers for the king.
Watching on were a few hundred people allowed into the court, including small children on parents’ shoulders, a woman clutching flowers and elderly people on mobility scooters.
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Britain’s King Charles arrives at Buckingham Palace after the Accession Council ceremony during which he was proclaimed Britain’s new monarch, following the passing of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, in London, Britain, September 10, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
Charles is the 41st monarch in a line that traces its origins to the Norman King William the Conqueror who captured the English throne in 1066. Saturday’s events reflected proclamations announcing new kings and queens that date back hundreds of years.
He became king and head of state not only of the United Kingdom but of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
It was the first proclamation of a monarch to be televised. And for most Britons, it was the first such event in their lifetime as Elizabeth was the only monarch they have ever known. Charles himself was just 3 when she became queen in 1952.
Britain has declared a period of mourning until the state funeral for Elizabeth, which will be a public holiday. Leaders from around the world are expected to attend, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who said he would be there.
Charles’ coronation will take place at a later date – and the timing for that is not yet clear. There was a 16-month gap between Elizabeth becoming queen and her coronation in 1953.
He has already made his eldest son William, 40, the new Prince of Wales, the title traditionally held by the heir to the throne, and William’s wife Kate becomes Princess of Wales, a role last held by the late Princess Diana.
The couple had a highly public falling out with Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, after they decided to exit royal duties and move to California in 2020.
Harry and Meghan coincidentally happened to be in Britain this past week to attend some charity events and had not even been expected to see William – until the death of their grandmother.
However, the foursome stood together and chatted briefly, although they looked rather awkward and did not spend much time together during the 40-minute walkabout in Windsor, which followed an invitation from William to his brother.
It was an important show of unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family, a royal source said.
‘VERY EMOTIONAL’
Meanwhile at Balmoral, the queen’s three younger children – Anne, Andrew and Edward – and their own families also made a public appearance, visiting a nearby church before they inspected the messages among the flowers and thanked the crowd for their support.
Princess Eugenie, one of Prince Andrew’s daughters, was seen wiping away tears and hugging her father.
“It was a very emotional moment, it was very heartfelt,” said Ian Smith, a local businessman who was at the front of the barriers. “It was really special that they came to acknowledge us and we could show them our support.”
Elizabeth, who was the world’s oldest and longest-serving head of state, came to the throne following the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, when she was just 25.
Over the decades she witnessed a seismic change in the social, political and economic structure of her nation. She won praise for modernising the monarchy during her long reign, despite intense media scrutiny and the often highly public travails of her family.
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Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/king-charles-be-proclaimed-monarch-historic-ceremony-2022-09-10/
The UK Ministry of Defence said Russian forces were “likely taken by surprise” by the counteroffensive. The much-publicised Ukrainian southern offensive was a disinformation campaign to distract Russia from the real one being prepared in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s special forces said. “[Russia] thought it would be in the south and moved their equipment. Then, instead of the south, the offensive happened where they least expected, and this caused them to panic and flee,” said Taras Berezovets, a former national security adviser turned press officer for the Bohun brigade of Ukraine’s special forces.
Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/11/ukraine-russia-war-latest-what-we-know-on-day-200-of-the-invasion
The fast-moving wildfire in Northern California is forcing more people to evacuate their homes on Saturday after an active week of fire activity, posing a significant challenge for fire crews as it nears Foresthill.
The Mosquito Fire was reported Tuesday evening near Mosquito Ridge Road on the north side of the Oxbow Reservoir. It threatens several communities across Placer and El Dorado counties, including Georgetown and Foresthill.
As of 8 a.m. on Saturday, the Mosquito Fire has charred 33,754 acres, according to Cal Fire. The state’s wildfire fighting agency said the blaze is still 0% contained. There are 3,666 structures threatened.
“The fire spread significantly overnight due to extreme fire behavior and heavy smoke limited visibility,” Cal Fire said in a Saturday morning update. “The fire made uphill runs with short-range spotting.”
A Cal Fire representative told KCRA 3’s Erin Heft on Saturday that they’re hopeful a drop in temperatures will give crews the chance they need to make progress on containment.
A spokesperson for the incident had said on Friday that while crews’ air response was limited by the smoke, the smoke helped “lay down” the fire. Cooler temperatures also aided crews as they strengthened containment lines.
“Just because we’re at zero percent doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been a lot of work done,” said Chris Vestal, a spokesperson for the incident. “It is very hard to build a solid containment line on a fire in this kind of terrain. There are very steep canyons, steep slopes. It takes a very wide line.”
Fire officials said that the fire is burning in difficult terrain, including steep canyons where directly attacking the fire can be difficult.
(Watch officials give Saturday evening update on Mosquito Fire below.)
Cal Fire hopes to fully contain the fire by Oct. 15. Containment is not a measure of how much of the fire is extinguished but rather a gauge as to how much of a line crews have around the fire perimeter to prevent the fire from spreading.
“Combined with very low fuel moistures fire conditions are likely to replicate today’s behavior during the overnight period and into tomorrow’s operational period,” Cal Fire said.
See all evacuation orders and warnings below. App users, click here.
Evacuation centers
Placer County
Sierra College — 5100 Sierra College Blvd, Rocklin, CA 95677
El Dorado County
Cameron Park Services District — 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park, CA 95682. Overnight shelter, meals, showers, limited health services and parking for trailers will be provided. Animals in crates and carriers will also be accepted.
Animal evacuation centers
Placer County
Placer County Animal Services Center — 11232 B Avenue, Auburn, CA 95603
Nevada County Fairgrounds — 11228 McCourtney Road, Grass Valley, CA 95949
Road Closures
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said hard road closures are in place on Foresthill Road and Lincoln Way in Auburn. There are also closures at the Old Foresthill Road at the Confluence.
The eastbound Interstate 80 offramp to Foresthill Road is closed due to the fire.
(Click through the gallery below for a glimpse at the firefight.)
State of emergency declared
Placer County issued a local emergency due to the blaze on Thursday.
“A local emergency proclamation asserts continuing risk to life and property and that the response is beyond the capabilities of local resources,” a release from the county said. “Placer’s proclamation requests state and federal assistance, but neither a state nor a federal disaster has yet been declared that would authorize individual disaster assistance for residents and businesses.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday also declared a state of emergency in Placer and El Dorado counties due to the fires. With the state of emergency declared, that opens up federal resources to assist in combating the fire.
The Oxbow Reservoir is about 11 miles east of the community of Foresthill. Foresthill is located about 20 miles northwest of Auburn.
| VIDEO BELOW | Here’s an aerial look from LiveCopter 3 of the Mosquito Fire
Smoke from wildfire leaves skies hazy
Drivers moved through a haze along Highway 50, going through areas like Folsom and El Dorado Hills.
“It smells really smoky. It looks really hazy. There’s not an ounce of blue in the sky,” said Pam Malone of Folsom.
Like many, she was limiting her time outdoors because of the unhealthy air quality.
At the El Dorado Hills Town Center on Friday, some people masked up and most avoided spending too much time walking around outside.
“The parking lot has a lot of cars. I think people are just trying to get out of the outdoors and come inside,” said Andrea Riso, owner of Talisman Collection Fine Jewelers. “It definitely slows business. People are concerned for the air quality value.”
Still, she did what she could to make things comfortable for her customers inside her shop.
“It’s like Armageddon outside, but we’re battening down the hatches and making sure that it’s easy to breathe inside. Nice and cool,” Riso said.
More El Dorado County residents had to evacuate when Mosquito Fire jumped the American River
Mandatory evacuations in El Dorado County included parts of the communities of Volcanoville, Bottle Hill and Georgetown. The Main Street area of Georgetown was bustling with activity Thursday, as people heeded the evacuation orders and left town.
KCRA 3’s Orko Manna spoke to Volcanoville residents who had to evacuate. Linda Gamble explained how a sheriff’s deputy had to escort her during the evacuation Thursday.
“He had to drive through the fire to get us out,” Gamble said. “We live in a trailer, and if we lose it, we’ve lost everything… If our trailer burns down, where are we going to live? It’s just very scary.”
Judy Habig, who evacuated her Volcanoville home with her husband Clifford, said they left their residence a little bit earlier in the day. Still, she described the whole ordeal as a blur.
“Horrible. Sad,” Judy Habig said. “We didn’t cry or panic. We were in shock. You just go like a robot.”
Mandatory evacuations expanded into Georgetown in El Dorado County and the community of Todd Valley in Placer County on Thursday.
Evacuation warnings for issued for the El Dorado County communities of Cool, Pilot Hill Garden Valley and Kelsey, along with the surrounding areas. With evacuation warnings, you are not lawfully required to leave but are recommended to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice in case fire behavior becomes threatening.
Some homes destroyed in the Mosquito Fire
The fire burned through the area of Michigan Bluff Road near High Street Wednesday afternoon, destroying some homes.
Cal Fire has not yet confirmed how many structures may have burned.
PG&E files incident report to CPUC
It’s still unclear how the Mosquito Fire started. However, PG&E filed a report with the state’s public utility commission for a pole near where the fire started.
The U.S. Forest Service had placed “caution tape around the base of a PG&E transmission pole” the report said on Thursday. “Thus far, PG&E has observed no damage or abnormal conditions to the pole or our facilities near Oxbow Reservoir, has not observed down conductor in the area or any vegetation related issues.”
PG&E is investigating.
Here’s a look at the current air quality in Northern California
Smoke from the Mosquito Fire burning in Placer and El Dorado counties will continue to impact areas across the Sacramento region on Saturday, according to Spare the Air. The Sacramento Metropolitan, El Dorado, Feather River, Placer and Yolo-Solano air districts forecast unhealthy air quality for the region.
| MORE | Sacramento region’s air quality impacted by unhealthy smoke from the Mosquito Fire
Source Article from https://www.kcra.com/article/mosquito-fire-evacuations-placer-el-dorado-county-september-10/41147456
KYIV/HRAKOVE, Ukraine, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Moscow abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, in a sudden collapse of one of the war’s principal front lines after Ukrainian forces made a rapid advance.
The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Moscow’s worst defeat since its troops were forced back from the capital Kyiv in March. Ukraine hailed it as a turning point in the 6-month-old war, with thousands of Russian soldiers leaving behind ammunition stockpiles and equipment as they fled.
Russian forces used Izium as the logistics base for one of their main campaigns – a months-long assault from the north on the adjacent Donbas region comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The state-run TASS news agency quoted Russia’s defence ministry as saying it had ordered troops to leave the vicinity and reinforce operations elsewhere in Donetsk.
The head of Russia’s administration in Kharkiv told residents to evacuate the province and flee to Russia to “save lives,” TASS reported. Witnesses described traffic jams of cars with people leaving Russian-held territory.
If the reported gains are held, it would be a serious blow for Russia, which Western intelligence services say has suffered huge casualties. It would also be a big boost for Ukraine, which is keen to show Western nations supplying it with weapons it deserves their continued support.
There is pressure on Kyiv to demonstrate progress before winter sets in, amid threats by Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt all energy shipments to Europe if Brussels goes ahead with a proposal to cap the price of Russian oil exports.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Kyiv that Ukrainian forces had demonstrated they were capable of defeating the Russian army with the weapons given to them.
“And so I reiterate: the more weapons we receive, the faster we will win, and the faster this war will end,” he said. read more
In his nightly video address on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s armed forces had recovered around 2,000 square kilometres (770 square miles) of territory since its counter-offensive was launched earlier this month.
“The Russian army is claiming the title of fastest army in the world … keep running!” Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, wrote on Twitter.
Ukrainian officials stopped short of confirming they had recaptured Izium, but Yermak earlier posted a photo of troops on its outskirts and tweeted an emoji of grapes. The city’s name means “raisin.”
The Russian withdrawal announcement came hours after Ukrainian troops captured the city of Kupiansk farther north, the sole railway hub supplying Russia’s entire front line across northeastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials posted photos early on Saturday of their troops raising the country’s blue-and-yellow flag in front of Kupiansk’s city hall.
That left thousands of Russian troops abruptly cut off from supplies along a front that has seen some of the most intense battles of the war.
Igor Girkin, a former commander of pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, called the Russian pullback “a major defeat” in remarks on Telegram.
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Service members of the State Security Service of Ukraine patrol of an area of the recently liberated town of Kupiansk, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine in this handout picture released September 10, 2022. Press Service of the State Security Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS
MECHANISED ASSAULT
Ukraine has for weeks been talking up a big counteroffensive in the south, which also is under way though details are sparse.
Russia still occupies extensive territory in the Donbas and in the south near the Crimean Peninsula it seized in 2014.
Days ago, Kyiv’s forces burst through the front line in the northeast and have since recaptured dozens of towns and villages in a swift mechanised assault, surging forward dozens of kilometres (miles) a day.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, sounded a cautionary note, urging people not to report prematurely that towns have been “taken” just because Ukrainian troops were sighted. Troops entered Balakliia a few days ago, she said, but it was only on Saturday that Ukraine established control in the city.
In Hrakove, one of dozens of villages recaptured in the Ukrainian advance, Reuters saw burnt-out vehicles bearing the “Z” symbol of Russia’s invasion. Boxes of ammunition were scattered along with rubbish at positions the Russians had abandoned in evident haste.
“Hello everyone, we are from Russia,” was spray-painted on a wall. Three bodies lay in white body bags in a yard.
The regional chief of police, Volodymyr Tymoshenko, said Ukrainian police moved in the previous day, and checked the identities of local residents who had lived under Russian occupation since the invasion’s second day.
“The first function is to provide help that they need. The next job is to document the crimes committed by Russian invaders on the territories which they temporarily occupied,” he said.
‘FIGHTING IS GETTING CLOSER’
A witness in Valuyki, a town in Russia’s Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine, told Reuters she saw families from Kupiansk eating and sleeping in their cars along roads.
“I was at the market today and saw a lot of people from Kupiansk. They say half of the city was taken by the Ukrainian army and Russia is retreating … the fighting is getting closer,” the witness said.
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said officials were giving food and medical aid to people queuing at a crossing into Russia. Senator Andrey Turchak, from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, reported more than 400 vehicles at the frontier.
Russian rocket fire hit Kharkiv city on Saturday evening, killing at least one person and damaging several homes, part of a surge in shelling since Kyiv’s counter-offensive, Ukrainian officials said. read more
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield accounts.
“The advance is enormous. There are sporadic battles, but mostly the occupiers are fleeing,” Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian television on Saturday.
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Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-troops-raise-flag-over-railway-hub-advance-threatens-turn-into-rout-2022-09-10/
Both former President Trump and the Department of Justice proposed four individuals who could serve as the special master in the review of the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago by the FBI in August.
The big picture: With their candidates, Trump and the DOJ have staked out different positions on the scope of the special master’s potential review.
Details: Trump and the DOJ each proposed two candidates for the position after Judge Aileen Cannon‘s ruling earlier this week.
- Trump’s team wants the special master to consider all the classified documents and keep executive privilege in mind when conducting their review, the Washington Post reports.
- The DOJ said the special master should not review all the 100-plus classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago, per the Washington Post.
- The DOJ doesn’t want the special master’s review to consider if documents should be covered by executive privilege because that “cannot be claimed by a former president — or from one part of the executive branch to another,” according to WaPo.
The DOJ’s special master candidates
Barbara S. Jones — a retired judge who was nominated by former President Bill Clinton.
- Jones previously served in the Southern District of New York, per NPR.
- She previously worked on similar special master cases for Trump allies Michael Cohen in 2017 and Rudy Giuliani in 2021, according to the New York Times.
- Jones currently works at Bracewell LLP, where she focuses on investigations and mediations.
Thomas B. Griffith — a retired appeals judge who was nominated by former President George W. Bush.
- He previously worked in the federal district court in Washington, D.C., according to NPR.
- Griffith currently works at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP.
- He authored opinions on administrative and congressional investigation cases.
Trump’s special master candidates
Raymond J. Dearie — a former federal judge picked by former President Ronald Reagan.
- He once served as the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York, per NYT.
- Dearie previously served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Paul Huck Jr. — former general counsel to then-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. He served as Florida’s deputy attorney journey.
What’s next: Both sides will respond to either candidate Monday, per NBC News.
Go deeper: DOJ and Trump’s legal team submit special master proposals
Source Article from https://www.axios.com/2022/09/10/doj-trump-mar-a-lago-special-master-candidates
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Saturday that it was pulling back troops from two areas in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region where a Ukrainian counteroffensive has made significant advances in the past week.
The news came after days of apparent advances by Ukraine south of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, in what could become the biggest battlefield success for Ukrainian forces since they thwarted a Russian attempt to seize the capital, Kyiv, at the start of the nearly seven-month war.
“The Russian army in these days is demonstrating the best that it can do — showing its back,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video released by his office Saturday night. “And, of course, it’s a good decision for them to run.”
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said troops would be regrouped from the Balakliya and Izyum areas to the eastern Donetsk region. Izyum was a major base for Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, and earlier this week social media videos showed residents of Balakliya joyfully cheering as Ukrainian troops moved in.
Konashenkov said the Russian move was being made “in order to achieve the stated goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbas,’” an eastern area home to two separatist regions that Russia has declared sovereign.
The claim of a withdrawal to concentrate on Donetsk is similar to the justification Russia gave for pulling back its forces from the Kyiv region earlier this year when they failed to take the capital.
Igor Girkin, a Russian who was an early leader of a Moscow-backed separatist uprising in Donetsk in 2014, sneered at the portrayal of the pullback being strategic. On the messaging app Telegram, he acidly called it “the brilliant (clearly within the framework of the plan and even ahead of schedule) operation to transfer the cities of Izyum, Balakliya and Kupiansk to respected Ukrainian partners.”
Earlier Saturday, Ukrainian officials claimed major gains in the Kharkiv region, saying their troops had cut off vital supplies to Izyum.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko also suggested troops had retaken Kupiansk, a town along the main supply route to Izyum, long a focus on the Russian front line and the site of heavy artillery and other fighting. Nikolenko tweeted a photo showing soldiers in front of what he said was a government building in Kupiansk, 73 kilometers (45 miles) north of Izyum.
The Ukrainian Security Service posted a message hours later saying troops were in Kupiansk, further suggesting it had been seized. The military did not immediately confirm entering the town, a railway hub that Russia seized in February.
Videos on social media appeared to show Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of Izyum at a roadside checkpoint. A large statue with the city’s name could be seen in the images. Ukrainian forces did not acknowledge holding the city.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that it believed Ukrainian troops had advanced as much as 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Kharkiv, and described Russian forces around Izyum as “increasingly isolated.”
“Russian forces were likely taken by surprise. The sector was only lightly held and Ukrainian units have captured or surrounded several towns,” the British military said, adding that the loss of Kupiansk would greatly affect Russian supply lines.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, likewise referenced sweeping Ukrainian gains, estimating that Kyiv has seized around 2,500 square kilometers (965 square miles) in its eastern breakthrough. The institute said it appeared that “disorganized Russian forces (were) caught in the rapid Ukrainian advance,” and cited social media images of apparent Russian prisoners seized around Izyum and surrounding towns.
The same report said Ukrainian forces “may collapse Russian positions around Izyum if they sever Russian ground lines of communication” north and south of the town.
Vladislav Sokolov, head of the Russian-appointed local administration, said on social media that authorities in Izyum had started evacuating residents to Russia.
The fighting in eastern Ukraine comes amid an ongoing offensive around Kherson in the south. Analysts suggest Russia may have taken soldiers from the east to reinforce the latter area, offering the Ukrainians the opportunity to strike a weakened front line.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the television channel Ukraina that the Russians had no food or fuel for their troops in the area as Kyiv had cut off their supply lines.
“It will be like an avalanche,” he said, predicting a Russian fallback. “One line of defense will shake, and it will fall.”
The Ukrainian military was more circumspect, claiming to have taken “more than 1,000 square kilometers” (386 square miles) from pro-Kremlin forces this week. It said that “in some areas, units of the Defense Forces have penetrated the enemy’s defenses to a depth of 50 kilometers,” matching the British assessment, but did not disclose geographical details.
Officials in Kyiv have for weeks been tight-lipped about plans for a counteroffensive, urging residents to refrain from sharing information on social media.
However, Zelenskyy said Friday that troops had reclaimed more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region since the start of the counteroffensive.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian emergency services reported that a 62-year-old woman was killed in a Russian missile strike in the Kharkiv region when her home was flattened overnight.
The Ukrainian governor of Kharkiv, Oleh Syniehubov, accused Moscow of pummeling retaken settlements. He said via Telegram that five civilians were hospitalized in the Izyum district, while nine others suffered injuries elsewhere in the region.
In the embattled Donbas, the Ukrainian governor said civilians were killed and wounded overnight by Russian shelling near the city of Bakhmut, a key target of the stalled Russian offensive. Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram that two people died and two were injured in Bakhmut and the neighboring village of Yahidne.
In the Russian-held city of Enerhodar, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, electricity and water were restored after a four-day outage due to an explosion, the city’s Ukrainian mayor, Dmytro Orlov, said.
Enerhodar and its Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant have come under repeated shelling in recent weeks, which Russia and Ukraine accused each other of committing. The shelling has raised fears of a radiation leak at the plant, which has been cut off from outside power sources; the facility has been forced to rely on power from its only working reactor for systems cooling and other safety measures.
Orlov said workers from the plant assisted in restoring Enerhodar’s power, but it was not clear if the electricity was coming from the plant or from a nearby thermal generating station.
Also Saturday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock paid an unannounced visit to Kyiv and said Europe would not tire of helping Ukraine, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to raise the pressure by withholding energy supplies.
Baerbock said Germany will assist Ukraine in finding and removing mines and other unexploded ordnance left by Russian troops in areas where they have been pushed back.
Despite Ukraine’s gains, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the head of NATO warned Friday that the war would likely drag on for months. Blinken said the conflict was entering a critical period and urged Ukraine’s Western backers to keep up their support through what could be a difficult winter.
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Kozlowska reported from London. Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.
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Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
Source Article from https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-world-news-kharkiv-e06b2aa723e826ed4105b5f32827f577
LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – The state funeral for Queen Elizabeth will be held on Monday, Sept. 19, royal officials said on Saturday, as her son Charles was officially proclaimed Britain’s new king in a colourful ceremony laden with pageantry and dating back centuries.
The death of the 96-year-monarch has provoked tears, sadness and warm tributes, not just from the queen’s own close family and many Britons, but also from around the world – reflecting her presence on the world stage for 70 years.
“We all thought she was invincible,” said her grandson Prince William, now the heir to the throne. read more
“It’s been surreal,” he said during a walkabout outside Windsor Castle where he and his wife Kate appeared closely in public for the first time in two years with his younger brother Harry and his wife Meghan – a sign Elizabeth’s death might help heal a rift between Charles’ sons.
Elizabeth’s oak coffin, covered with the royal standard of Scotland and with a wreath of flowers on top, has been lying in the ballroom of Balmoral Castle, her summer home in Scotland where she died peacefully on Thursday.
On Sunday, it will be driven by hearse through remote highland villages to Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, during a six-hour journey that will allow people to pay their respects. read more
The coffin will then be flown to London on Tuesday where it will remain at Buckingham Palace before being taken to Westminster Hall to lie in state until the funeral at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m (1000 GMT) on Sept. 19.
The death of Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, has prompted an outpouring of emotion around the globe. Buildings and landmarks in Europe, America and Africa have been lit up in the red, white and blue of the United Kingdom’s flag.
Charles, 73, immediately succeeded his mother but an Accession Council met at St James’s – the most senior royal palace in the United Kingdom built for Henry VIII in the 1530s – to proclaim him as king on Saturday.
The council – formed of Privy Counsellors whose centuries-old role has been to advise the monarch – included his son and heir William, wife Camilla and Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, who signed the proclamation of his accession.
Six former prime ministers, senior bishops and a swathe of politicians cried out “God Save The King” as the announcement was approved.
“I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of Sovereignty which have now passed to me,” Charles said. “I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set.”
Later, on the Proclamation Gallery, a balcony above Friary Court of St James’s Palace, the Garter King of Arms, David White, accompanied by others in gold and red heraldic outfits read out the Principal Proclamation, as trumpets sounded.
Soldiers in traditional scarlet uniforms shouted “hip, hip, hurrah” as White called for three cheers for the king.
Watching on were a few hundred people allowed into the court, including small children on parents’ shoulders, a woman clutching flowers and elderly people on mobility scooters.
ROYAL POMP
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Britain’s King Charles arrives at Buckingham Palace after the Accession Council ceremony during which he was proclaimed Britain’s new monarch, following the passing of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, in London, Britain, September 10, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
Charles is the 41st monarch in a line that traces its origins to the Norman King William the Conqueror who captured the English throne in 1066. Saturday’s events reflected proclamations announcing new kings and queens that date back hundreds of years.
He became king and head of state not only of the United Kingdom but of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
It was the first proclamation of a monarch to be televised. And for most Britons, it was the first such event in their lifetime as Elizabeth was the only monarch they have ever known. Charles himself was just 3 when she became queen in 1952.
Britain has declared a period of mourning until the state funeral for Elizabeth, which will be a public holiday. Leaders from around the world are expected to attend, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who said he would be there.
Charles’ coronation will take place at a later date – and the timing for that is not yet clear. There was a 16-month gap between Elizabeth becoming queen and her coronation in 1953.
He has already made his eldest son William, 40, the new Prince of Wales, the title traditionally held by the heir to the throne, and William’s wife Kate becomes Princess of Wales, a role last held by the late Princess Diana.
The couple had a highly public falling out with Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, after they decided to exit royal duties and move to California in 2020.
Harry and Meghan coincidentally happened to be in Britain this past week to attend some charity events and had not even been expected to see William – until the death of their grandmother.
However, the foursome stood together and chatted briefly, although they looked rather awkward and did not spend much time together during the 40-minute walkabout in Windsor, which followed an invitation from William to his brother.
It was an important show of unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family, a royal source said.
‘VERY EMOTIONAL’
Meanwhile at Balmoral, the queen’s three younger children – Anne, Andrew and Edward – and their own families also made a public appearance, visiting a nearby church before they inspected the messages among the flowers and thanked the crowd for their support.
Princess Eugenie, one of Prince Andrew’s daughters, was seen wiping away tears and hugging her father.
“It was a very emotional moment, it was very heartfelt,” said Ian Smith, a local businessman who was at the front of the barriers. “It was really special that they came to acknowledge us and we could show them our support.”
Elizabeth, who was the world’s oldest and longest-serving head of state, came to the throne following the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, when she was just 25.
Over the decades she witnessed a seismic change in the social, political and economic structure of her nation. She won praise for modernising the monarchy during her long reign, despite intense media scrutiny and the often highly public travails of her family.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/king-charles-be-proclaimed-monarch-historic-ceremony-2022-09-10/
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The latest: Grain shipments from Ukraine are gathering pace under the agreement hammered out by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports had sent food prices soaring and raised fears of more hunger in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including loads of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed.
The fight: The conflict on the ground grinds on as Russia uses its advantage in heavy artillery to pummel Ukrainian forces, which have sometimes been able to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukrainian hopes rest on liberating the Russia-occupied Kherson region, and ultimately Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014. Fears of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station remain as both sides accuse each other of shelling it.
The weapons: Western supplies of weapons are helping Ukraine slow Russian advances. U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) allow Ukrainian forces to strike farther behind Russian lines against Russian artillery. Russia has used an array of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts.
Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the very beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work.
How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating.
Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video.
Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/10/ukraine-kharkiv-russia-retreat-izyum/?itid=mr_1
King Charles III was formally proclaimed as monarch on Saturday hours before Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral will be held Sept. 19.
The accession ceremony at St James’s Palace in London officially marks a new era in British rule following Queen Elizabeth’s death Thursday.
Though Charles automatically became king after his mother’s death, he was officially announced as Britain’s new king Saturday in a ceremony steeped in ancient tradition and political symbolism — and, for the first time, broadcast live.
David White, the Garter King of Arms, made the king’s proclamation official while flanked by trumpeters in gold-trimmed robes before leading cheers — “hip, hip, hooray!” — for the new king.
After the proclamation concluded, Buckingham Palace announced the official date and plan for Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral, which will be preceded by her coffin lying in state for four days for the public to pay respects.
Here’s the latest from Saturday’s royal ceremony, details of the upcoming funeral and key moments from what’s happened following Queen Elizabeth’s death.
Queen Elizabeth’s funeral set for September 19
The state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest reigning monarch will take place Sept. 19 at Westminster Abbey, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace Saturday.
For four days before the funeral, the queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall for the public to visit and pay respects. The services will also mark the last seven days of Royal Mourning, which began Friday.
The funeral plan for the late sovereign is a characteristically Windsor blend of ancient tradition and modern practicalities, featuring tolling bells and half-mast flags, with social media accounts gone dark.
Queen Elizabeth’s coffin is currently resting in Balmoral Castle where she died Thursday. On Sunday, her remains will travel to Edinburgh, where it will rest in the throne room, according to Saturday’s statement.
A week before the state funeral services, members of the royal family will gather in Edinburgh for “a Service in St Giles’ Cathedral to receive the Coffin.” It will eventually be flown to Buckingham Palace before lying in state ahead of the funeral.
Prince William mourns the death of his ‘Grannie’ in statement
Two days after Queen Elizabeth II’s death Prince William, now titled Prince of Wales by his father King Charles III, released a touching statement on the grief and gratefulness he’s feeling about the loss of his grandmother.
“I have had the benefit of The Queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade. My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives,” Prince William wrote.
Prince William finished his statement by thanking his late grandmother for her kindness and with words he said Queen Elizabeth II imparted about grief.
“My grandmother famously said that grief was the price we pay for love. All of the sadness we will feel in the coming weeks will be testament to the love we felt for our extraordinary Queen,” he wrote.
King Charles III formally proclaimed monarch
Scores of senior politicians past and present, including Prime Minister Liz Truss and five of her predecessors, gathered in the ornate state apartments at St. James’s Palace for the meeting of the Accession Council Saturday.
They met without Charles, officially confirming his title, King Charles III. The king joined them to make a personal declaration, vowing to follow his mother’s “inspiring example” as he took on the duties of monarch.
The new king formally approved a series of orders — including one declaring the day of his mother’s funeral a public holiday. The date of the state funeral has not been announced, but it is expected to be around Sept 19.
This is the first time the accession ceremony has been held since 1952, when Queen Elizabeth II took the throne.
Charles was accompanied at the ceremony by his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, and his eldest son Prince William. William is now heir to the throne and known by the title Charles long held, Prince of Wales.
Read: King Charles III’s declaration during his accession ceremony
On Saturday, his majesty made a declaration, addressing the Accession Council while at St James’s Palace. Read it in full below:
“My Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen.
It is my most sorrowful duty to announce to you the death of my beloved Mother, The Queen.
I know how deeply you, the entire Nation – and I think I may say the whole world – sympathise with me in the irreparable loss we have all suffered. It is the greatest consolation to me to know of the sympathy expressed by so many to my Sister and Brothers and that such overwhelming affection and support should be extended to our whole family in our loss.
To all of us as a family, as to this kingdom and the wider family of nations of which it is a part, my Mother gave an example of lifelong love and of selfless service. My Mother’s reign was unequalled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion. Even as we grieve, we give thanks for this most faithful life.
I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of Sovereignty which have now passed to me. In taking up these responsibilities, I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set in upholding constitutional government and to seek the peace, harmony and prosperity of the peoples of these Islands and of the Commonwealth Realms and Territories throughout the world.
In this purpose, I know that I shall be upheld by the affection and loyalty of the peoples whose Sovereign I have been called upon to be, and that in the discharge of these duties I will be guided by the counsel of their elected parliaments. In all this, I am profoundly encouraged by the constant support of my beloved wife.
I take this opportunity to confirm my willingness and intention to continue the tradition of surrendering the hereditary revenues, including the Crown Estate, to My Government for the benefit of all, in return for the Sovereign Grant, which supports My official duties as Head of State and Head of Nation.
And in carrying out the heavy task that has been laid upon me, and to which I now dedicate what remains to me of my life, I pray for the guidance and help of Almighty God.”
King Charles expected to receive officials Saturday afternoon
Through the day Saturday, King Charles III is also expected to receive varying officials at Buckingham Palace at separate times including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Prime Minister and Members of the Cabinet, leaders of opposition parties and the Dean of Westminster.
King Charles III pays respects to his ‘darling mama’ in first official address
Friday, King Charles III, on the first full day of his reign following the death of Queen Elizabeth II Thursday, addressed the nation in a nearly 9-minute long pre-recorded message.
The new king paid respects to his mother, his queen — and the era in which she ruled — and commented on how his life will change going forward while promising to serve his people.
The new king expressed “profound sorrow” in the wake of Queen Elizabeth’s death.
“My beloved mother was an inspiration, an example to me and to all my family,” he said. “And we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.”
He continued, noting her pledge at the age of 21 to devote her life to her people and called it “a profound personal commitment, which defined her whole life.”
“As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself throughout the remaining time God grants me to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation,” he said.
“In a little over a week’s time, we will come together as a nation, as a commonwealth and indeed a global community to lay my beloved mother to rest,” he said. “In our sorrow, let us remember and draw strength from the light of her example.”
King Charles then gave thanks for condolences and support and shared one more message, addressing his mother directly.
“To my darling mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late papa, I want simply to say this: Thank you. Thank you, your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
William and Kate assume new titles as Prince and Princess of Wales
During King Charles’ first speech Friday, he commented on how his life would change and how the lives of his family members would also shift — noting his wife’s transition to Queen Consort and Prince William’s assumption of several titles once held by the now-king, including William’s new role as Duke of Cornwall.
As expected, King Charles also dubbed William Prince of Wales, another title he inherits from his father.
With that, the former Kate Middleton became the Princess of Wales, the first to hold that title since the death of William’s mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. In fact, she is one of only three princesses to be known as Princess of Wales since 1901.
“Today, I am proud to create him Prince of Wales, Tywysog Cymru (Prince of Wales in Welsh), the country whose title I have been so greatly privileged to bear during so much of my life and duty,” the king said in the pre-recorded speech. “With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the center ground where vital help can be given.”
Joe Biden says he plans to attend the queen’s funeral
President Joe Biden said Friday he will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
“I don’t know what the details are yet, but I’ll be going,” Biden told reporters traveling with him in Ohio.
In a statement issued shortly after her death, Biden and first lady Jill Biden praised the queen for leading with “grace, an unwavering commitment to duty and the incomparable power of her example.”
“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was more than a monarch,” the Bidens said. “She defined an era.”
Biden has known the queen for three decades and has met her three times, most recently in June 2021.
The date and details of the queen’s funeral have not been set but will be released “in due course,” according to Buckingham Palace. While the official date hasn’t been set, it is expected to take place within the next 10 days at Westminster Abbey in central London. The queen will then be laid to rest in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle alongside her mother, father and husband Prince Philip.
Royal residences close, ‘The Crown’ suspends filming
Throughout the period of mourning and until after the queen’s funeral, royal residences, including The Queen’s Gallery, the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace and the queen’s private estates, will be closed, the palace announced Friday.
Other planned events and happenings are also being postponed or cancelled in respect to the queen. London Fashion Week, which is scheduled to run from Sept. 16 to Sept. 20, will likely be impacted. Burberry already canceled its show planned for Sept. 17, the company confirmed.
Filming of “The Crown” was suspended Friday and will be suspended on the day of the queen’s funeral, Netflix said in a statement. The series, which dramatizes Queen Elizabeth’s long reign, is in the middle of production for Season 5, in which actress Imelda Staunton takes on the role. Olivia Colman and Claire Foy played a younger queen in earlier seasons.
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