riversedge
riversedge's JournalUkrainians grapple with power outages as winter approaches
Source: AP
By SAM MEDNICK today
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The decorative candles Yaroslav Vedmid bought more than a year ago were never meant to be lit, but the dried wax that now clings to them attests to how they’ve been used almost nightly — a consequence of power cuts across Ukraine.
Seated at the dinner table with his wife in a village on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, the two can’t count the number of times they’ve eaten in the dark since Russian attacks triggered the blackouts beginning in early October. Moscow has openly declared its intention to target the country’s energy infrastructure and drive the nation into the cold.
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So far, Russia has destroyed about 40% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, affecting 16 regions, according to the Ukrainian government.
The latest assault came Monday, when a massive barrage of Russian cruise missile and drone strikes hit Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities, knocking out water and power supplies in apparent retaliation for what Moscow alleged was a Ukrainian attack on its Black Sea fleet.
In Kyiv, some 80% of consumers in the city of 3 million were left without water because of damage to a power facility Monday..........................
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-power-outages-59e75904f889cb6039827daf73bf4c0d
Ukrainians are a hearty and dedicated group, but how long can they last when water, heat --the essentials are constantly in and out. Not to mention the deaths from these bombings. Just thinking about them --a lot lately.
Clinton Asks Judge to Sanction Trump Over Failed Conspiracy Suit--wants $1.6 is legal fees.
MaGA follks will cough up some more money for Trumps lawyers!!
Clinton wants Trump to pay her legal fees after tossed conspiracy lawsuit
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3713206-clinton-wants-trump-to-pay-her-legal-fees-after-tossed-conspiracy-lawsuit/
by Zach Schonfeld - 10/31/22 7:02 PM ET
Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is asking a federal court to order former President Trump to pay her legal fees over a suit he filed alleging she and others engaged in a conspiracy to undermine his 2016 campaign with accusations of Russian collusion.
In a motion filed on Monday, Clinton’s attorneys cast Trump’s suit — which was dismissed by a federal trial court in September, a move the former president has appealed — as a “political stunt” and argued it met the threshold for the court to impose sanctions.
“A reasonable attorney would never have filed this suit, let alone continued to prosecute it after multiple Defendants’ motions to dismiss highlighted its fundamental and incurable defects,” Clinton’s attorneys wrote.
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Clinton’s attorneys for months have cast Trump’s suit as being politically motivated, and a judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton in September tossed the suit, describing it as “political manifesto.” Trump has since appealed to the 11th Circuit.
Under federal law, a judge can require attorneys who “unreasonably and vexatiously” multiply court proceedings to pay excess costs, expenses and attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred because of their actions.
Chief Ju
Clinton Asks Judge to Sanction Trump Over Failed Conspiracy Suit
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/clinton-asks-judge-to-sanction-trump-over-failed-conspiracy-suit
Oct. 31, 2022, 5:21 PM
Hillary Clinton asked a federal judge to sanction former President Donald Trump and his lawyers for filing an allegedly frivolous lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to undermine his term in office.
Trump and his attorneys should be ordered to pay $1.06 million in legal fees and costs that were racked up by Clinton, her 2016 presidential campaign and several other Democratic-linked defendants for filing the suit as a “political stunt,” according to a filing Monday in federal court in Florida.
Trump’s “theories were obviously and fatally defective from the very inception of this action,” Clinton’s attorney David E. Kendall and ...
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https://twitter.com/funguy6113/status/1587370604277252096?s=20&t=vzeh_sm3356P1J9djO_ffg
https://twitter.com/moonbreeze2/status/1587460090776502273?s=20&t=OxuMRmrYMoH4eUkzhhdXgg
If you want to know what MAGA Repubs care about, they've raised more $$ for David DePape's defense
I did read that prosecutors will be asking the judge to not release DePage on bail. I think the hearing is today==Tuesday
If you want to know what MAGA Republicans care about, they’ve raised more money for David DePape’s defense in 48hours than they raised to help the victims of the Mass Shooting in Raleigh four weeks ago.
https://twitter.com/TheSGTJoker/status/1587255988930977794?s=20&t=XGDyoqlxD76TsdWcRQs1HQ
https://twitter.com/FullonBlue/status/1587288420455415811?s=20&t=XGDyoqlxD76TsdWcRQs1HQ
https://twitter.com/frank55535558/status/1587292675211927553?s=20&t=XGDyoqlxD76TsdWcRQs1HQ
Sen. Chris Murphy calls for probe into Saudi Arabia's stake in Twitter
SA--and its Crown Prince have also bought up farmland in Iowa [maybe other places but I just read about Iowa lately]
Sen. Chris Murphy calls for probe into Saudi Arabia's stake in Twitter
https://www.axios.com/2022/10/31/chris-murphy-twitter-elon-musk-saudi-arabia
18 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) speaking in Warsaw, Poland, on Oct. 5. Photo: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday called for a congressional investigation into the national security implications of a company partially owned by Saudi Arabia maintaining its stake in Twitter following Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the platform.
Why it matters: Saudi Arabia, through a holding company partly owned by the country's sovereign wealth fund, maintains a major stake in the social media platform that's regularly used for political discourse, despite repeatedly repressing expressions of political dissent.
While Musk has emphasized that concerns over free speech motivated his Twitter takeover, he's also said the social media company should follow the freedom of expression laws of the country in which it operates.
That would include Saudi Arabia, which has the eighth most Twitter users of any country in the world but also has very limited freedom of expression protections.
By the numbers: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, founder and chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company, said the company would continue its ownership of Twitter shares valued at $1.89 billion after Musk completed the deal, making it Twitter's second largest investor.
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https://twitter.com/crin_castenai/status/1587192929738784768?s=20&t=ujm1yP8sJo9f_FXzpvze8w
https://twitter.com/PoeticLicencedk/status/1587215812766597121?s=20&t=ujm1yP8sJo9f_FXzpvze8w
https://twitter.com/504spyboy/status/1587219024898887682?s=20&t=ujm1yP8sJo9f_FXzpvze8w
https://twitter.com/runewarrior/status/1587200611128381446?s=20&t=ujm1yP8sJo9f_FXzpvze8w
https://twitter.com/OwingsKenny/status/1587184561456291842?s=20&t=ujm1yP8sJo9f_FXzpvze8w
Trucker blockades in Brazil increase in wake of Bolsonaro election defeat
Source: reuters
October 31, 20227:28 PM CDT Last Updated 4 hours ago
By Ana Man, Roberto Samora and Andre Romani
SAO PAULO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Truckers who support Brazil's outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro escalated their protests on Monday, blocking roads throughout the country in actions that could affect exports in one of the world's top food producers and cause wider economic chaos.
Bolsonaro lost Sunday's election to leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but has yet to concede defeat. He will not publicly address his defeat until Tuesday, a cabinet minister said on Monday evening, amid doubts over whether the far-right nationalist will accept Lula's victory.
Video footage showed some truckers at roadblocks calling for a military coup to prevent Lula becoming president, as protests spread from Mato Grosso and Santa Catarina to Parana, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goias and Bahia.
article-prompt-devices
In Brasilia, police shut off traffic access to the central government esplanade on a tip that Bolsonaro supporters were planning to occupy the square in front of the Supreme Court, which they consider has acted to favor Lula.
Brazil's federal highway police said 321 protests had partially or fully blocked roads in 26 states. Truckers - who have benefited from Bolsonaro policies such as lowering diesel costs - are one of the president's key constituencies, and they have been known to disrupt Brazil's economy when they shut down highways......................
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-famato-says-does-not-support-protestor-roadblocks-could-disrupt-2022-10-31/
Maddow did an excellent segment tonight detailing How Bolsonaro took a page from Trumps playbook on how to plant doubt in elections.
https://twitter.com/moonbreeze2/status/1587295551489331200?s=20&t=iV0t_yWXmtXZ-n5X6AN4aQ
https://twitter.com/Emolclause/status/1587284605203365891?s=20&t=cCC98D9FHthPFtl2oht2Ig
https://www.reuters.com/resizer/Go_CPERjihEvgGX6wljw-D3yo-0=/960x0/filters:quality(80)/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/4YE4PHTPDBLJXDDYKSKRWVYC5I.jpg
[1/6] An aerial view shows demonstrators burning tires to block federal roads during a protest the day after the Brazilian presidential election run-off, in Varzea Grande in Mato Grosso state, Brazil, October 31, 2022. REUTERS/Rogerio Florentino
Suspect in Paul Pelosi attack wanted to break Nancy Pelosi's kneecaps, according to court documents
Source: abc
The husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was attacked in their home.
By Julia Jacobo October 31, 2022, 7:30 PM
The suspect accused of attacking Paul Pelosi told authorities he wanted to break Nancy Pelosi's kneecaps to show members of Congress that there are "consequences to actions," according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court Monday.
The new revelation came Monday as the Department of Justice filed federal charges of assault and attempted kidnapping against the man suspected of attacking Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, last week.
David DePape, 42, is accused of attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer in the couple's San Francisco home just before 2:30 a.m. Friday, according to San Francisco police.
The state later announced charges against DePape including attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder, and threats to a public official and their family.
"What is clear based on the evidence thus far is that this house and the speaker herself were specifically targets of the defendant," San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said during a press conference Monday......................
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-paul-pelosi-attack-now-facing-federal-charges/story?id=92424128
Prosecutors expected to bring multiple charges against Paul Pelosi alleged attacker
Multiple felony charges are expected against suspect David Depape, w...
Trump Org. CFO will spill tax fraud to New York jury, prosecutors say
Source: yahoo.com
Erin Durkin Mon, October 31, 2022 at 3:30 PM·4 min read
NEW YORK — Convicted ex-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg will give the "inside story" of how the company allegedly used years-long tax fraud scheme to boost executive pay, Manhattan prosecutors said Monday.
The teaser came during opening remarks in the firm's long-awaited New York Supreme Court criminal trial — one case in an increasingly complex web of legal woes for former President Donald Trump. The former president is not involved in the case, but the charges could lead to financial penalties for the Trump Organization if a jury finds it engaged in a 15-year scheme to pay Weisselberg off the books.
“This case is about greed and cheating, cheating on taxes,” Susan Hoffinger, the chief of investigations for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, told the court on Monday. “The scheme was conducted, directed and authorized at the highest level of the accounting department." Weisselberg's testimony “will give you the inside story of how he conducted this tax scheme.”
In opening statements, Hoffinger detailed allegations that Trump personally paid private school tuition for Weisselberg's grandchildren and signed a lease for the top lieutenant’s Upper West Side apartment overlooking the Hudson River, because he wanted him to live in Manhattan rather than commuting from Long Island.
Trump Corp. attorney Susan Necheles, meanwhile, tried to insulate the former president and urged the jury not to let their opinions of Trump cloud their judgment.
“You must not consider this case to be a referendum on President Trump or his politics,” she said. "It started and it ended with Allen Weisselberg. Allen Weisselberg did this."
Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August to all 15 counts he faced, including tax fraud and larceny. Now he'll play star witness in the expected month-long trial, where prosecutors must convince a jury that Trump Org. units — the Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corporation — share responsibility for concealing $1.76 million in compensation.
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Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-org-cfo-spill-tax-203049204.html
Well, guess I will be skeptical until I actually see charges against Trump himself.
https://twitter.com/votebluetsa/status/1587254545154965505?s=20&t=L1xs5dJS-ipRsBkRk5AHMA
https://twitter.com/The46thClub/status/1587253859893891074?s=20&t=L1xs5dJS-ipRsBkRk5AHMA
https://twitter.com/JHGER26/status/1587252606967201794?s=20&t=L1xs5dJS-ipRsBkRk5AHMA
Turtlenecks, shared showers and wetsuits for indoor pools: Europe grapples with energy crisis
Turtlenecks, shared showers and wetsuits for indoor pools: Europe grapples with energy crisis
By Jaweed Kaleem, Scott Johnson
Oct. 31, 2022 2 AM PT
MONTEROSSO AL MARE, Italy —
For years, Antonio Scognamillo paid $1,200 a month to power La Smorfia, his cozy pizzeria offering dozens of styles of pies in this hilly, medieval tourist enclave by the Ligurian Sea.
That was before energy and food costs soared in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, threatening the future of his long-profitable business. Today, Scognamillo stares down at a $5,200 monthly power bill — on top of 40% increase in costs for mozzarella, grain and flour in a country where inflation is now at a 40-year high.
And it could soon get even worse. On Saturday, Russia said that it would pull out of a United Nations-brokered deal to allow grain exports from Ukraine, adding another layer to the toll of war that’s reached across the globe.
“It’s 50,000 [euros] I didn’t make this year,” Scognamillo, 45, recently said with exasperation in his Cinque Terre region shop where the toppings offered include prawns, prosciutto and Genoese pesto. “Everything is more expensive. But my salary is the same.”
Since Russia, long Europe’s biggest natural gas supplier, cut off much of the continent last spring in retaliation for supporting Ukraine, energy costs from London to Warsaw have soared to unprecedented levels. ...........................................
https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d779919/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3375x2250+0+0/resize/1200x800!/format/webp/quality/80/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F49%2F99%2Fa69d17f74533ab35a5e3f9f12a37%2Feurope-energy-crisis-power-plant-ap22298607453134.jpg
The sun sets behind a coal-fired power plant owned by the Uniper energy company in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Energy costs have soared in Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(Michael Sohn / Associated Press)'
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