“While Mrs. Latham does not pretend to remember the details of all that occurred on that specific date more than a year and a half ago, she does remember going to the Elections Office after teaching school on January 7, 2021 to check in on some voter review panels from the runoff election, and she truthfully testified to those facts,” Cheeley, her lawyer, told The Post.
Europe has been thrown into its biggest energy crisis in decades with natural gas supplies from Russia becoming volatile and unpredictable even before the invasion of Ukraine began. Now, those supplies have come to a complete halt.
Russia claims punitive economic sanctions imposed on it by the West are responsible for the indefinite halt to gas supplies via Europe’s main pipeline.
“Problems in pumping arose because of the sanctions imposed against our country and against a number of companies by Western states, including Germany and the U.K.,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, according to Russian state news agency Interfax.
Asked whether pumping gas via Nord Stream 1 was completely dependent on the sanctions and that supplies would resume if these were lifted or relaxed, Peskov replied, “Of course. The very sanctions that prevent the maintenance of units, which prevent them from moving without appropriate legal guarantees, which prevent these legal guarantees from being given, and so on.”
“It is precisely these sanctions that the Western states have introduced that have brought the situation to what we see now,” Peskov added.
Coming directly from the Kremlin, such comments represent the clearest indication yet that Russia is seeking to pressure Europe to lift the economic measures, brought on to punish Russia over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, in order for the taps to be turned back on ahead of winter.
European lawmakers have repeatedly accused Russia, traditionally its largest energy supplier, of weaponizing energy exports in an attempt to drive up commodity prices and sow uncertainty across the 27-nation bloc. Moscow denies using energy as a weapon.
In what energy analysts see as an escalation of Russia’s bid to inflict economic pain on the region, the Kremlin has since said that the resumption of gas supplies to Europe is completely dependent on Europe lifting its economic sanctions against Moscow.
The halt to supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, prompted European gas prices to jump Monday, with many fearful that parts of Europe could be forced to ration energy through the winter. It has also exacerbated the risk of a recession in the region.
Gazprom vs. Siemens Energy
Meanwhile, Gazprom’s deputy CEO, Vitaly Markelov, told Reuters on Tuesday that gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would not continue until Germany’s Siemens Energy repairs faulty equipment.
Siemens Energy was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC on Tuesday.
However, the company told Reuters that it’s not currently commissioned by Gazprom to do maintenance work on the turbine with the suspected oil leak, but said it remains on standby to do so.
Siemens Energy added that it “cannot comprehend this new representation based on the information provided to us over the weekend.”
Mark Dixon, founder of the Moral Rating Agency, a research organization focused on foreign firms in Russia, said Gazprom blaming Siemens Energy for the gas supply cut was “yet another example of a state lie from the Russian Federation.”
“Russia lied its way into the invasion and has lied ever since,” Dixon said. “Gazprom is Russia, make no mistake. It has no choice but to lie in chorus with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”
Russia has drastically reduced gas supplies to Europe in recent months, with flows via the pipeline operating at just 20% of the agreed-upon volume before the indefinite suspension.
“Russia’s move to again cut gas supply to the EU just as the region scrambles to fill its inventories ahead of winter is a further escalation of its policy of the past months to inflict economic pain through repeated supply cuts to Germany, the EU’s biggest economy and gas consumer,” analysts at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in a research note.
“Sources in Berlin say they are now making all winter energy plans on the assumption of zero supply from Russia,” they added. “That means there will now also be a focus on central and southern Europe, which still receives Russian gas including through pipeline transit of Ukraine and Turkey.”
Energy analysts say Russia’s latest move to suspend gas flows via Europe’s major supply route could exacerbate what was already likely to be an extremely challenging winter period.
“The European energy sector continues to be shocked by price volatility and uncertainty over energy balances for the coming winter,” analysts at consultancy Rystad Energy said in a research note, noting that power spot prices across Western Europe have climbed to “unparalleled levels.”
“This latest move has significantly increased the risk that Europe may not get further gas flows through Nord Stream 1 for the whole winter,” they added.
The ministry said the while Ukraine was switching to Nato standards, Russia was heading in the direction of North Korean standards – be it in the field of “weapons, politics or standard of living”.
Legal pressure on Jeffrey Clark, the former justice department lawyer who schemed with Donald Trump and others to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia and other states, is expected to rise with the cooperation of another ex-DoJ lawyer who worked with him, say former prosecutors.
Jeffrey Clark. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP
The cooperation from the ex-lawyer, in tandem with other evidence obtained by prosecutors, could help spur charges against Clark – a close ally of then president Trump – and benefit prosecutors as they go after bigger targets.
Clark, then an assistant attorney general, played a key role at the DoJ towards the end of the Trump administration, which overlapped with plotting by Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman and Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows to persuade Georgia and other states to use “fake electors” for Trump, instead of ones that Joe Biden won.
In Trump’s desperate efforts to block Biden’s win, he turned to Clark for help at the suggestion of congressman Scott Perry, who had also touted him to Meadows, according to emails revealed by the House January 6 committee investigating the Capitol riot by Trump supporters.
Trump met Clark alone in mid-December, and for a few weeks talked about replacing acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen with Clark, until Trump was told bluntly at a raucous White House meeting by Rosen and his deputy, plus White House counsel Pat Cipollone, that doing so would spur mass resignations at the department and in the counsel’s office.
Clark, whose cellphone and other electronic equipment was seized by federal agents in a June search on his home, worked with former DoJ lawyer Ken Klukowski, who is now cooperating with prosecutors, on a draft letter to top Georgia state legislators and the governor which falsely claimed that department had “significant concerns” about election fraud there and in other states.
The letter, which was never sent despite Clark’s efforts, also suggested that legitimate Biden electors be replaced with ones for Trump.
One of the Supreme Court’s first major cases this fall deals with redistricting.
The high court will also decide how much power state legislatures have to set election rules.
WASHINGTON – The justices of the Supreme Court often view themselves as steering clear of politics. But steering clear of elections? That’s not really an option.
The nation’s highest court is already having a big impact on this year’s midterm elections, in which control of Congress is up for grabs along with governorships in more than half the states. And the court’s docket for the term that begins in October is all but certain to have major repercussions for the next presidential election in 2024.
Officials in Memphis, Tennessee, are working to identify a body found Monday amid the search for a schoolteacher who was abducted early Friday while out on a jog.
The body was found about 20 minutes from where Eliza “Liza” Fletcher, a 34-year-old mother of two, was seen on surveillance video being forced into a vehicle, officials said.
The identity of the body and cause of death are unconfirmed, police said on Twitter, adding an investigation is underway.
CNN has reached out to the coroner’s office for comment.
Fletcher was jogging around 4 a.m. in a neighborhood near the University of Memphis when authorities believe a man chased her and forced her into a black SUV.
According to surveillance footage obtained of the incident, the Black GMC Terrain initially drove past Fletcher. A man was then seen getting out of the SUV and “aggressively” running toward her before forcing her into the passenger seat of vehicle, according to the footage cited in an affidavit obtained by CNN.
The SUV remained in a parking lot for about four minutes after both people were inside and then began driving away, the affidavit states.
Over the weekend, police arrested and charged Cleotha Abston after they found the GMC Terrain in a parking lot near his residence, the affidavit shows. He was charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
Abston, 38, is being held in the Shelby County Jail on $500,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, according to jail records. It is unclear whether he has an attorney.
Fletcher was last seen wearing a pink jogging top and purple running shorts, police said. She is White, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with brown hair and green eyes, police said. She weighs 137 pounds.
She is a junior kindergarten teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School, according to a tweet from the school.
In the affidavit, investigators laid out evidence they said led them to arrest Abston.
The evidence in the case
Cell phone records show he was at the location where Fletcher was abducted during the time of her abduction Friday morning, according to the document.
Additionally, DNA found on a pair of sandals found near the scene helped investigators identify and arrest Abston, the affidavit said.
Surveillance footage captured from a local theater the day before Fletcher’s disappearance showed Abston wearing what authorities believe are the same pair of Champion slide sandals found at the crime scene, according to the affidavit.
Also, the GMC SUV police believe Fletcher was abducted in was found near Abston’s residence, and had the same distinguishable damage and partial license plate information seen in the surveillance footage from Fletcher’s abduction, the affidavit said.
Other surveillance footage matched with statements from Abston’s employer confirmed the vehicle in question belongs to a woman associated with Abston’s home address, investigators said.
Police also gathered details from witnesses who said they encountered Abston after the abduction.
One witness said she saw Abston at his brother’s house after the kidnapping, according to the affidavit. The witness and his brother said Abston was behaving oddly as he cleaned the interior of his SUV and washed his clothes in the sink, the affidavit said.
Abston faced a kidnapping charge in previous case
Following Abston’s arrest Saturday, additional charges unrelated to Fletcher’s kidnapping were filed against him.
The charges include identity theft, theft of property $1000 or less and fraudulent use/illegal possession of a credit or debit card $1000 or less, Shelby County jail records show.
The new charges are connected to a Thursday theft report filed by a woman who reported someone was using her CashApp card and Wisley Card at gas stations without her knowledge.
CNN has reached out to the Shelby County District Attorney and Memphis Police regarding the additional charges.
Court records also reveal that Abston previously served a prison sentenced for an aggravated kidnapping more than 20 years ago.
In November 2001, Abston pleaded guilty to the charge and was released in November 2020, court records show.
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office told local outlet WREG that Abston was convicted in the kidnapping of a local attorney in 2000.
CNN’s Tina Burnside, Hannah Sarisohn, Anne Clifford and Jennifer Feldman contributed to this report.
The very soon-to-be former prime minister, Boris Johnson, traveled by jet with his wife, Carrie Johnson, and aides from London to Aberdeen, Scotland, and then via convoy to Balmoral, where he will tender his resignation.
WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Monday agreed to appoint a special master to review records seized by the FBI during its search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, a move that is likely to delay the Justice Department’s criminal investigation.
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in West Palm Beach, Florida, granted Trump’s request for a special master, an independent third party who is sometimes assigned in sensitive cases to review materials that could be covered by attorney-client privilege.
Cannon said the person will be tasked with reviewing documents that are not just covered by attorney-client privilege, but any records possibly covered by executive privilege as well.
The decision to allow a special master to review documents that could be covered by executive privilege, a legal doctrine that can shield some White House records from disclosure, is uncharted legal territory.
Cannon also ordered the Justice Department to stop reviewing the records as part of its criminal investigation, a move that will likely at least temporarily hinder its ability to continue investigating.
However, Cannon said U.S. intelligence officials could continue conducting their review into whether the records could pose any damage to national security if exposed.
Trump is under investigation for removing government records, some of which were marked as highly classified, from the White House after he departed in January 2021, and storing them in his home at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
The Justice Department has said it is also investigating possible obstruction, after the FBI uncovered evidence that Trump’s team may have deliberately concealed classified documents when agents tried to recover them in June.
If the special master decides some of the material is covered by Trump’s executive privilege claims, it could hamper the government’s investigation.
Cannon, who was appointed by Trump in 2020 just months before he left office, rejected the government’s argument that the records belong to the government and that Trump is no longer president and therefore cannot claim executive privilege.
She gave Trump’s legal team and the Justice Department until Friday to jointly file a proposed list of special master candidates. Whomever the court ultimately taps will need to have the requisite security clearances and legal expertise.
It is unclear whether the Justice Department will appeal Cannon’s ruling, or on what basis it would do so.
“The United States is examining the opinion and will consider appropriate next steps in the ongoing litigation,” Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said.
Representatives for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.
However, in a post on his Truth Social platform following Cannon’s ruling, Trump wrote: “Remember, it takes courage and ‘guts’ to fight a totally corrupt Department of ‘Justice’ and the FBI.”
A redacted FBI photograph of documents and classified cover sheets recovered from a container stored in former U.S. president Donald Trump’s Florida estate, and which was included in a U.S. Department of Justice filing and released August 30, 2022. U.S. Department of Justice/Handout via REUTERS
`A WHOLE LOT OF SPECIAL TREATMENT`
Some legal experts on Monday called the judge’s order deeply flawed.
“This is not something courts do,” said Jonathan Shaub, a former Justice Department attorney.
He said it was odd for Cannon to block the Justice Department from reviewing the records at this stage in the investigation, before an indictment has even been returned.
“It’s giving a whole lot of special treatment,” Shaub said.
Cannon in her ruling justified her actions by claiming that Trump faces the stigma of having had his home searched, and any future indictment based on the seizure of those records would cause “reputational harm.”
Trump, without evidence, has accused the Justice Department of launching a partisan witch-hunt against him. His lawyers argued that the appointment of an independent third-party to review the materials would be an important check on the government.
The Justice Department argued that it made no sense to appoint a special master because its filter team – a group of agents who are not part of the investigation – had completed its work.
The agents located and set aside about 520 pages that could be subject to attorney-client privilege, prosecutors said at a Sept. 1 hearing. The rest of the records have already been reviewed by the investigative team for the criminal probe.
In her ruling on Monday, Cannon said she has lingering concerns about how the Justice Department has conducted its privilege review, saying she was aware of at least two instances in which members of the investigative team were exposed to materials which were later designated as potentially privileged.
“Those instances alone, even if entirely inadvertent, yield questions about the adequacy of the filter review process,” she wrote.
Many former Justice Department attorneys, both Democrats and Republicans, have criticized Trump’s call for a special master.
“I don’t think a special master makes sense in connection with executive privilege material,” former Attorney General Bill Barr, a Trump appointee, told Reuters in an interview.
“If the documents are subject to executive privilege they involve official deliberations about executive actions, and by definition, those documents belong to the government.”
John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser who also previously served as assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, called the judge’s ruling “amateurish” and not well-reasoned.
“My recommendation to the Justice Department is appeal immediately the temporary injunction, but cooperate and expedite the actual implementation of the judge’s order,” Bolton said in an interview.
“This is it, folks,” the outgoing British leader said as he began his seven-minute remarks, in which he called for the Conservative Party to unite behind his successor, Liz Truss, and listed the accomplishments of his government. Among those he chose to highlight: An early choice to deliver weapons to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion that he said may have changed the course of the war, getting “Brexit done,” and the “fastest [coronavirus] vaccine rollout in Europe.”
Two people were killed and one person was injured Monday in a rapidly expanding fire near Hemet that burned at least seven structures, according to fire officials, while another fast-moving blaze in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear Lake also prompted evacuation orders.
The Fairview fire east of Hemet ignited around 3 p.m. and quickly exploded to more than 2,000 acres, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. It was 5% contained as of 10 p.m. Monday, fire officials said. They did not give further details on the deaths. A third person was taken to the hospital with burns. No firefighters were injured, officials said.
“This fire … was spreading very quickly before firefighters even got on scene,” a spokesman for the Riverside County Fire Department and the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on a Twitter livestream. Hemet hit a high of 110 degrees on Monday as searing heat enveloped the state.
About 3,250 homes were under evacuation orders Monday night. Evacuations were initially ordered south of Thornton Avenue, north of Polly Butte Road, west of Fairview Avenue and east of State Street and then a few hours later expanded to include areas south of Stetson Avenue, north of Cactus Road, west of Fairview Avenue, and east of State Street.
Shortly before 11 p.m., the Hemet Unified School District announced that all schools in the district would be closed Tuesday and remain so “until conditions improve.”
“This decision was not made lightly,” the district’s statement said, noting that given the heat, the potential for power outages, and the current level of fire containment, it was “necessary to ensure the safety of students, staff and families.”
At sunset Monday, flames raged through the hills above houses as columns of smoke billowed into the sky, reaching the Orange County coast. The fire consumed cars and blackened trees. Television news reports showed aerial shots of structures engulfed in shooting flames.
Some of the homes in the area could be reached on dirt roads, fire officials said. Residents on Twitter noted that many in the area keep horses, complicating evacuations.
Around the same time and about 75 miles north, the Radford fire ignited just west of Sugarloaf near Big Bear Lake. By 7:15 p.m., the fire had grown to 200 acres with no containment.
Initially, firefighters said no structures were threatened, but shortly after 6 p.m. the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department issued a mandatory evacuation order for people living east of Glass Road and Highway 38 to South Fork River Road.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation. The fire danger level for Big Bear Valley is “very high.”
“I’m in Perris and can see both fires if I stand on my street corner,” one person tweeted Monday night. “To the left I can see the Radford and to the right the Fairview.”
Meanwhile, fires continued to threaten parts of Northern California. In addition to blazes in Siskiyou County that consumed a neighborhood in the town of Weed and left two dead, firefighters were battling a brush fire Monday evening near Rodeo in Contra Costa County.
In Gilroy, the temperature hit 112 degrees, matching the previous September high.
In Santa Rosa, the mercury also got up to 112, breaking the previous September high.
And in Livermore, the temperature was recorded at a scorching 116 degrees — the highest mark the National Weather Service Bay Area has ever recorded in any part of the Bay Area.
To cool off during the San Francisco Bay Area heatwave, people enjoy playing in the water at Sausalito Beach in Sausalito, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
(SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.)
Numerous records set today around the Bay Area including many new daily high temperature records, a few September monthly records, and one all-time record. #cawxpic.twitter.com/zsYDQJgpXX
While the Bay Area had been preparing for an extraordinary heat wave for the last few days, the temperatures on Monday were even hotter than many expected.
“It could have been hotter in some locations than people were forecasting,” said Canepa.
Downtown San Francisco (which is now included in the Heat Advisory) reached 91 degrees Monday, not close to its September record of 106 degrees. In Oakland the temperature rose to 100 degrees, nine degrees shy of its all-time September high.
And it could be just as hot tomorrow.
To cool off during the heatwave, people pack Sausalito Beach in Sausalito, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
“You would expect hot to very hot (temperatures tomorrow) with a lot of places getting at or above 100 degrees. Conditions are forecast to be nearly the same as today,” said Canepa.
At least near the coast, temperatures could cool off a bit on Wednesday. But further inland, the highs could persist longer.
The heat is expected to abate throughout the Bay Area by the weekend.
To cool off during the heatwave, people pack Sausalito Beach in Sausalito, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
To cool off during the San Francisco Bay Area heatwave, people pack Sausalito Beach in Sausalito, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
South Korea on Tuesday was hit by heavy rain and strong winds but avoided the extensive destruction that many had feared as Typhoon Hinnamnor, one of the strongest storms ever to reach its shores, made its way out to sea faster than forecasters had expected.
By Tuesday afternoon, only one death had been reported, in the southern city of Pohang, where the worst flooding occurred. Another person had been reported missing. Otherwise, the damage nationwide appeared to be limited. There was isolated flooding, trees were downed and street lamps broken, and about 66,000 homes lost power.
Cheong Tae Sung, an expert in flooding at the National Disaster Management Research Institute, a government agency, said the deadly floods that struck South Korea last month had made both the public and the authorities more attuned to the dangers of a major storm.
“Compared to the past, we did a lot more preparation before this typhoon, suspending schools, delaying the work day, closing roads — and simply getting the word out,” he said.
But the storm itself, while powerful, did not leave as much damage as had been feared. When its eye reached the southern coast at 4:50 a.m., Hinnamnor was packing maximum sustained winds of 89 miles per hour — making it the eighth-strongest typhoon in South Korea’s history, by that measure, but not the most powerful ever to reach it.
And it crossed the country’s southeast corner faster than expected, slipping back out to sea by 7:10 a.m., inflicting its severe wind and rain on the country for a shorter period of time than forecasters had feared it might.
By late afternoon, Hinnamnor was about 270 miles off South Korea’s east coast and continuing northeast. It was expected to pass about 240 miles northwest of Sapporo, Japan, at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the Korean meteorological service said.
The record-breaking deluge that struck South Korea a month ago killed 15 people across the country, including a family of three who drowned in their semi-underground apartment. President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was criticized for his response, promised measures to prevent a recurrence. As Hinnamnor neared, the government put a stronger emphasis on the need to evacuate. It sent out 412 typhoon-related mobile safety alerts, including evacuation orders, in different regions over a five-day period.
More than 14,000 people left their homes under government orders to evacuate high-risk areas, the authorities said. After the typhoon made landfall, about 3,500 additional people evacuated, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Over the weekend, the government issued its most urgent typhoon warning, the highest-level alert it had sent in five years.
Forecasters had warned that Hinnamnor’s force might be comparable to that of two devastating typhoons from two decades ago, Rusa and Maemi. In 2002, Typhoon Rusa swept across South Korea, leaving dozens dead and destroying more than a million homes. The following year, Typhoon Maemi killed more than 100 people and caused $1.6 billion in damage.
The terms typhoon and hurricane refer to tropical cyclones and are applied to storms depending on where they originate. Typhoons develop in the northwestern Pacific and usually affect Asia. Hurricanes form in the North Atlantic, the northeastern Pacific, the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico.
In the Atlantic, major hurricanes are defined as tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds of 111 m.p.h. or higher, and defined as either Category 3, 4 and 5 storms. But in the Asia Pacific region, there are variations in how countries grade typhoons.
The links between tropical storms and climate change are becoming more apparent. Researchers have found that warming has increased the frequency of major storms because a warmer ocean provides more of the energy that fuels them.
Judge Cannon, who was appointed by Mr. Trump in 2020, granted the special master wide-ranging authority to review the more than 11,000 documents carted away from Mar-a-Lago by the F.B.I. on Aug. 8, some of which bore markings labeling them as highly classified. Her ruling permitted whoever is appointed to the job to evaluate the documents not only for those protected by attorney-client privilege, a relatively common measure, but also for those potentially shielded by executive privilege, which typically protects confidential internal executive branch deliberations.
After trying for months to get the documents back from Mr. Trump, the National Archives, the agency that safeguards presidential records, told his lawyers in a letter in May that both the Justice Department and the Biden White House did not believe the former president’s executive privilege claims had merit.
“The question in this case is not a close one,” the archives wrote.
At a hearing last week concerning the question, the Justice Department argued that allowing a special master to conduct an executive privilege review of the seized material would be “unprecedented” and legally baseless since the department itself is part of the current executive branch and Mr. Trump is no longer in office.
“There is no role for a special master to play in executive privilege,” Julie Edelstein, a lawyer for the department, said during the hearing.
But Judge Cannon clearly disagreed with the Justice Department, writing in the order that she was “not convinced” of the government’s categorical assertion that executive privilege did not apply in this context. She added that she thought the department’s position “arguably overstates the law” and that setting aside any documents that could be shielded by executive privilege as the legal issues in the case are sorted out made sense.
“Even if any assertion of executive privilege by plaintiff ultimately fails in this context, that possibility, even if likely, does not negate a former president’s ability to raise the privilege as an initial matter,” she wrote.
JAMES SMITH CREE NATION, Saskatchewan, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Canadian police on Monday found one of the suspects in a mass stabbing spree dead while the other suspect, his brother, was still on the run and may be injured, officials said.
The brothers Damien and Myles Sanderson are suspected of murdering 10 people and wounding 18 in a stabbing rampage that devastated an indigenous community in Saskatchewan on Sunday, in a country unaccustomed to outbreaks of mass violence.
The attacks were among the deadliest in Canada’s modern history. read more Police said some of the victims appeared to have been targeted, while others were apparently random. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/3cKaBP0)
The victims included a mother of two, a 77-year-old widower and a first responder. read more
In a manhunt involving hundreds of police officers, Damien Sanderson, 31, was found dead in a grassy area on the James Smith Cree Nation, possibly killed by his brother, who had been previously wanted for violent crimes.
The brother still at large, Myles Sanderson, 30, “may have sustained injuries” and could be seeking medical attention, said Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police, at a news conference.
With the death of one Sanderson brother and the injury to the other, the casualty count now stood at 11 dead and 19 injured, Blackmore said.
“We can confirm he has visible injuries. These injuries are not believed to be self-inflicted at this point,” Blackmore said without specifying what caused the injuries.
Asked if Myles Sanderson was suspected of also killing his brother, Blackmore said, “It is an investigative avenue that we are following up on but we can’t say that definitively.”
She also warned that police still considered Myles Sanderson a danger to the public, even if he were injured.
“Myles has a lengthy criminal record involving both persons and property crimes. … We consider him armed and dangerous. Do not approach him,” Blackmore said.
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Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson, who are named by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as suspects in stabbings in Canada’s Saskatchewan province, are pictured in this undated handout image released by the RCMP September 4, 2022. RCMP/Handout via REUTERS
Police in the Saskatchewan city of Saskatoon had been searching for Myles Sanderson since May, when he stopped meeting his parole officer after serving a sentence for assault, robbery, mischief and uttering threats, CBC News reported.
DRUGS AND ALCOHOL BLAMED
Ivor Wayne Burns of James Smith Cree Nation said three of the victims – his sister Gloria Lydia Burns, a woman and a 14-year-old boy – died at a single location.
However police told a press conference on Monday that the youngest victim was born in 1999.
Gloria Burns, a member of the community’s crisis response team, was killed when she attended an emergency call.
“This tragedy that happened here on our land, it’s all because of drugs and alcohol,” said Burns, adding that the involvement of drugs in the killings was discussed at a community meeting on Monday.
“The drug problem we have here is rampant. It’s gone out of control,” Burns said.
His comments echoed those on Sunday of Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, who connected the killings with drugs.
Although police have not identified drugs or alcohol as a factor, Burns said the men responsible for the killings are band members and were high at the time of the crimes. Band is a term used to refer to certain First Nations communities in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attacks “shocking and heartbreaking” and said he had spoken with the leadership of the James Smith Cree Nation and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to pledge his government’s support.
“The federal government will be there with the resources necessary right now in this time of crisis but also we’ll continue to work as partners in the weeks, months and years to come through grieving and healing,” Trudeau said at the Ottawa airport, before flying to Vancouver for a meeting of Liberal ministers.
In an unrelated incident that has further rattled the province, police in Saskatchewan said on Monday they were investigating reports of a shooting on Witchekan Lake First Nation and warned the public that several armed suspects were on the loose. read more
Former President Donald Trump speaks in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. (Mary Altaffer/AP)
Following the federal judge’s Monday ruling on appointing a “special master” to review materials seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, executive privilege is expected to become an issue as the DOJ likely appeals the ruling.
Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, rejected the DOJ’s “narrow view” of executive privilege, CNN’s John King noted on Inside Politics, adding that “the Justice Department’s view is that Donald Trump is no longer President, he does not have executive privilege.“
He said the judge doesn’t say “he definitely does,” but instead leaves the role of executive privilege as an “open question.”
The judge’s overall ruling is “legally unjustified,” Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor, told King.
“There’s just never been a case where irreparable harm has been shown by being under criminal investigation. That’s one of the key things that the Justice Department does, the executive branch does, is criminally investigate people. So, the notion that that can establish irreparable harm to me still says that this is a legally wrong decision,” she said, regarding the special master.
Former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers talks to CNN’s John King on Monday.
Rodgers added, “On the other hand, this notion that this is so extraordinary and that she’s granting it because it’s the former President, I think is sort of good news for the Justice Department, because one of the problems with this is it sets a precedent for other defendants down the road who say, ‘Hey, wait a minute, you searched my stuff, I want a special master even though it’s not my lawyer’s office and there’s no reason to believe there’s a lot of privileges apply,” so, I think that piece of it is good.”
Rodgers explained that there is a silver lining, “in the sense that I don’t think that ultimately there are going to be a lot of attorney/client privileged documents found… very few attorney/client privilege documents and even the executive privilege side, executive privilege would only only pertain if documents were created in the executive branch, really, at the White House, and so many of these documents are going to have been created other places.”
“So, while it does delay things and slow it down, which is bad for the DOJ and their case, I think at the end of the day, we’re not going to see a lot of special documents pulled by the master,” she added.
CNN’s Evan Perez noted, “This issue of executive privilege is sort of just a strange one, right? Because it’s never been fought over in something like this. So, we don’t know where the courts are going to end up with this, John, and certainly, we don’t know if this is going to have to go to the Supreme Court before we’re even able to move on.”
Californians are being asked to step up their conservation efforts in a dramatic way to stave off the possibility of rolling blackouts over the next two days.
“We have now entered the most intense phase of this heat wave,” Elliot Mainzer, the head of the California Independent System Operator, or Cal ISO, said on Monday.
He said that the state’s grid will need about two to three times as much conservation from people across the state at homes and businesses as has been the case recently during flex alerts.
The forecast power use for Tuesday is above the highest demand than has ever been experienced in California, he said.
Cal ISO issued an Energy Emergency Alert Watch for Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. With an EEA Watch, energy deficiencies are expected and the grid manager will seek to get additional energy from other sources to help avoid the risk of a rolling blackout.
“Our goal is to not see that number,” Mainzer said.
| VIDEO BELOW | Cal ISO official talks about need to conserve more power to avoid blackouts
Mainzer said that efforts by consumers to pre-cool their homes and take other steps to reduce power during peak late afternoon and evening hours have made a difference so far.
Electricity loads have come in about 1,000 megawatts below expectations, about 2% below what was forecast, he said.
“Your efforts to flex electricity demand away from those critical hours of 4 to 9 p.m. have been working well and we really appreciate it,” he said.
| VIDEO BELOW | Outdoor workers brace for brutal heat, employers reminded of obligation to protect workers
But he cautioned of a looming 2,000- to 4,000-megawatt deficit where much more conservation will be needed.
The state hopes to meet the increased forecast with other options like generators and power from other states.
Officials said the best thing that people can do to help alleviate strain on the grid is to pre-cool their homes during the daytime.
Once the state’s flex alert takes effect from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., people should:
Set the thermostat at 78 degrees or higher, if health permits
Avoid using major appliances
Turn off unnecessary lights
Use fans for cooling
Unplug unused items
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order intended to increase the state’s energy supply temporarily.
So far this week, there have not been any unplanned outages reported in relation to excessive use of energy. In 2020, multiple factors including high temperatures and an Oregon wildfire led to several days of rolling blackouts for millions of Californians.
Officials have issued flex alerts for seven straight days during the current heat wave.
| VIDEO BELOW | What is a ‘heat dome?’
The forecast high for Monday in the Valley is 112 degrees, well above the average for this time of year of 92 degrees. Tuesday has the possibility of bringing even hotter temperatures.
“It’s going to take all of us,” Mainzer said.
SMUD outlines plan for possible rotating outages in Sacramento
SMUD said in a release Monday afternoon that it will “exhaust every avenue before rotating outages are called.”
It said that if such outages are needed no customers would be without power for more than one hour at a time.
Here’s how to find NorCal cooling centers
Cooling centers across Northern California are set to open this week to allow some residents to get a break from the forecasted week of triple-digit heat.
The man charged with kidnapping a Tennessee woman jogging near the University of Memphis last week spent 20 years behind bars for a previous kidnapping. U.S. marshals arrested 38-year-old Cleotha Abston on Saturday after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where Eliza Fletcher was last seen, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police also linked the vehicle — a GMC Terrain — they believe Fletcher was forced into to a person at a residence where Abston was staying.
Memphis police said Abston has been charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence in Fletcher’s disappearance.
When authorities arrived at Abston’s last known address, they found the GMC Terrain in question, with a passenger-side tail light damaged, reported CBS affiliate WREG-TV, which obtained a copy of the police affidavit. When Abston saw authorities, he tried to run, but he was eventually captured by U.S. marshals.
While Fletcher has not been found, Memphis police said in the affidavit they believe she was seriously injured in the abduction, which was caught on surveillance video. Authorities have said Fletcher, 34, was jogging around 4 a.m. on Friday when a man approached her and forced her into an SUV after a brief struggle. Fletcher was reported missing when she did not return home that morning.
Abston previously kidnapped a prominent Memphis attorney in 2000, the Commercial Appeal reported. When he was just 16 years old, Abston forced Kemper Durand into the trunk of his own car at gunpoint. After several hours, Abston took Durand out and forced him to drive to a Mapco gas station to withdraw money from an ATM.
At the station, an armed Memphis Housing Authority guard walked in and Durand yelled for help. Abston ran away but was found and arrested. He pleaded guilty in 2001 to especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, according to court records. He received a 24-year sentence.
Durand, in a victim impact statement, wrote, “I was extremely lucky that I was able to escape from the custody of Cleotha Abston. …It is quite likely that I would have been killed had I not escaped,” the Commercial Appeal reported. Durand noted that it took over a year for Abston to sign the guilty plea, calling the refusal “jailhouse braggadocio.”
Durand also detailed Abston’s lengthy history in the juvenile court system. In the years before the kidnapping, Abston had been charged with theft, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a weapon, and rape, according to Durand’s statement.
Durand died in 2013, seven years before Abston would be released in November 2020 at age 36. In the two years since his release, there were no further documented charges against Abston in Shelby County prior to his Saturday arrest, the Commercial Appeal reported.
Online court records do not show if Abston has a lawyer who can comment on his behalf. An arraignment has been set for Tuesday.
Fletcher is the granddaughter of the late Joseph Orgill III, a Memphis hardware businessman and philanthropist. The family has offered a $50,000 reward.
On Saturday, Fletcher’s family released a statement, read by a man who identified himself as her uncle, and obtained by WREG-TV. He read the statement on behalf of Fletcher’s mother and father, her husband and children, and her brother.
“We want to start by thanking everyone for their prayers and outpouring of support,” the uncle said. “Liza has touched the hearts of many people — and it shows.”
He said the family has met with and shared information with the police, whom he said are working “tirelessly” to help find Fletcher.
“More than anything we want to see Liza return home safely,” he said. “The family has offered a reward for any information that leads to her safe return. We believe that someone knows what happened, and can help.”
In an exclusive interview with ABC’s “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated he’s not interested in negotiating with Russia to end Moscow’s invasion.
“It’s a question of dialogue with terrorists. We cannot — you cannot discuss anything with terrorists. The majority of the world — majority of the countries — understand that we are dealing with a terrorist state after what they’ve done to our people, to civilian people,” Zelenskyy said.
You can watch more of David Muir’s full interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight.”
Zelenskyy cited suspected instances of rape and torture by Russian troops in areas outside of Kyiv during a retreat earlier this year. Images of tortured and bound bodies littered across neighborhoods like Bucha spread across the world.
“After rapes, after tortures, after murders, after we discovered a lot of dead bodies … it’s not a war, it’s pure and clear terrorism, which Russia is doing against our nation and occupation of our land,” the Ukrainian president said. “So, we cannot have any compromises with terrorists. We cannot have any dialogue with the terrorists.”
When pressed by Muir over the alleged atrocities, Zelenskyy said Putin was a war criminal and should be prosecuted.
“As any civilized person, any civilized man, I think that those responsible should not just go to hell, no, they should have fair trials — fair, independent trials,” Zelenskyy said.
The comments come as Ukraine wages a counteroffensive to regain territory in the southern and eastern parts of the country that were lost to Russia.
The main counteroffensive is focused around the port city of Kherson, which was the first major city Russia conquered in its invasion. However, Zelenskyy hinted to Muir that more than one counteroffensive is taking place.
“I won’t say that it’s only counteroffensive in Kherson. … There is a direction or directions — plural — and we have to move forward,” he said.
Sean Penn and Ben Stiller today were among 25 “high-ranking officials, representatives of the business and expert communities, as well as cultural figures” banned from Russia today by that country’s foreign ministry.
Also on the list are Senators Rick Scott, Mark Kelley, Pat Toomey, Kevin Kramer and Krysten Sinema as well as numerous U.S. trade officials, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the list is based on the “principle of reciprocity.”
More: “The hostile actions of the American authorities, which continue to follow a Russophobic course, destroying bilateral ties and escalating confrontation between Russia and the United States, will continue to be resolutely rebuffed.”
Of course it’s Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has, more than anything else, destroyed bilateral ties and escalated confrontation between Russia and the United States.
Penn traveled to Ukraine earlier this year, meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and filming a documentary about the conflict with Russia for Vice.
Already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and if he doesn’t relent, I believe Mr. Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people have risen as historic symbols of courage and principle. Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams. If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost.
Stiller visited Ukrainian refugees in Poland in June before traveling to Kyiv and, as part of his work representing the UN Refugee Agency, got to spend time with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on World Refugee Day.
“I was really taken by the resilience of the people of Ukraine, and of the President,” he said later. “His incredible sense of how he has risen to the moment and offered his people leadership and true resolve to get through this awful situation.”
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