The Full Belmonte, 11/24/2022
Suspect in killing of 5 at Colorado club held without bail
By COLLEEN SLEVIN, THOMAS PEIPERT, JESSE BEDAYN and BRITTANY PETERSON
“COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The alleged shooter facing possible hate crime charges in the fatal shooting of five people at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub was ordered held without bail in an initial court appearance Wednesday as the suspect sat slumped over in a chair.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, could be seen with injuries visible on their face and head in a brief video appearance from jail. Aldrich appeared to need prompting by defense attorneys and offered a slurred response when asked to state their name by El Paso County Court Judge Charlotte Ankeny.
The suspect was beaten into submission by patrons during Saturday night’s shooting at Club Qand released from the hospital Tuesday. The motive in the shooting was still under investigation, but authorities said Aldrich faces possible murder and hate crime charges.
Hate crime charges would require proving that the shooter was motivated by bias, such as against the victims’ actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The charges against Aldrich are preliminary, and prosecutors have not yet filed formal charges.” Read more at AP News
‘Missing my baby’: Six killed in Virginia Walmart shooting
By BEN FINLEY and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
“CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — A custodian and father of two. A mother with wedding plans. A happy-go-lucky guy.
That’s how friends and family described some of the six people killed at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, when a manager opened fire with a handgun right before an employee meeting. Five adults have been identified, while authorities have not released the name of the sixth person killed, a 16-year-old boy.
Here are some details about those who were lost:
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Kellie Pyle, 52, of Chesapeake
Pyle was remembered as a generous and kind person, a mother who had wedding plans in the near future.
“We love her,” said Gwendolyn Bowe Baker Spencer. “She was going to marry my son next year. She was an awesome, kind individual — yes she was.”
Pyle had adult children in Kentucky who will be traveling to Virginia in the wake of the tragedy, Spencer said.
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Brian Pendleton, 38, of Chesapeake
Pendleton made sure to be punctual. Although his shift as a custodian started at 10:30 p.m., he was in the break room when the shooting started just after 10, according to his mother, Michelle Johnson.
‘He always came to work early so he would be on time for work,’ she told The Associated Press Wednesday. ‘He liked his coworkers.’
Pendleton had recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary working at the store.
His mother said he didn’t have any problems at work, except with a supervisor, Andre Bing, who was identified as the gunman.
‘He just didn’t like my son,’ Johnson said. ‘He would tell me that he (Bing) would give him a hard time.’
Pendleton was born with a congenital brain disorder and grew up in Chesapeake, his mother said.
‘He called me yesterday before he was going to work,’ Johnson said. ‘I always tell him to call me when gets off work.’
As she was getting ready for bed, Johnson got a call from a family friend telling her there was a shooting at the Walmart.
‘Brian was a happy-go-lucky guy. Brian loved family. Brian loved friends. He loved to tell jokes,’ his mother said. ‘We’re going to miss him.’
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Lorenzo Gamble, 43, of Chesapeake
Gamble was a custodian on the overnight shift and had worked at Walmart for 15 years, The Washington Post reported.
His parents Linda and Alonzo Gamble said he loved spending time with his two sons.
‘He just kept to himself and did his job,’ Linda Gamble said. ‘He was the quiet one of the family.’
His mother said Gamble enjoyed going to his 19-year-old’s football games and cheering for the Washington Commanders NFL team.
She posted on Facebook that she’s having trouble saying goodbye.
‘Missing my baby right now, life is not same without my son,’ she wrote.
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Randy Blevins, 70, of Chesapeake
Blevins was a longtime member of the store’s team that set prices and arranged merchandise, The New York Times reported.
Former co-worker Shaundrayia Reese, who said she worked at the store from around 2015 to 2018, spoke fondly of Blevins as ‘Mr. Randy.’
She said the overnight crew at the store was ‘a family’ and that employees relied on one another.
Tyneka Johnson, 22, of Portsmouth
A makeshift memorial to Johnson was placed in a grassy area outside the Walmart, with the words “Our Hearts are with you” and a basket of flowers.
The remembrance included a cluster of blue, white and gold balloons tied to a tree, alongside a stark yellow line of police tape.” Read more at AP News
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Kelleher contributed to this report from Honolulu.
Justice Dept. Seeking to Question Pence in Jan. 6 Investigation
Prosecutors want to speak with the former vice president as a witness to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in power, and he is said to be considering how to respond.
By Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt
Nov. 23, 2022
“The Justice Department is seeking to question former Vice President Mike Pence as a witness in connection with its criminal investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to stay in power after he lost the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Pence, according to people familiar with his thinking, is open to considering the request, recognizing that the Justice Department’s criminal investigation is different from the inquiry by the House Jan. 6 committee, whose overtures he has flatly rejected.
Complicating the situation is whether Mr. Trump would try to invoke executive privilege to stop him or limit his testimony, a step that he has taken with limited success so far with other former officials.
Mr. Pence was present for some of the critical moments in which Mr. Trump and his allies schemed to keep him in office and block the congressional certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory. An agreement for him to cooperate would be the latest remarkable twist in an investigation that is already fraught with legal and political consequences, involving a former president who is now a declared candidate to return to the White House — and whose potential rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination include Mr. Pence.” Read more at New York Times
Lisa Murkowski and Mary Peltola win Alaska races, defeating Trump-backed opponents
“Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola on Wednesday became the first Alaska Native to win a full term in Congress, securing reelection along with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who both defeated challengers endorsed by former president Donald Trump after state officials finished a final round of vote-counting.
Peltola, who made history with her August special election win, and Murkowski, a senator for two decades, led after earlier vote counts. But the centrist lawmakers’ victories were not clinched until Wednesday, when the Alaska Division of Elections redistributed votes under the state’s new ranked-choice voting system.” Read more at Washington Post
Georgia Supreme Court Reinstates Abortion Ban After Six Weeks of Pregnancy
The order comes after a lower court ruled last week that the ban was unconstitutional.
By Ava Sasani
Nov. 23, 2022
“The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, temporarily restoring the law that had been blocked by a lower court last week.
The State Supreme Court’s order, in response to a request for an emergency stay by the Georgia attorney general’s office, comes one week after Judge Robert C.I. McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court suspended the law. He said he had done so because the six-week ban was unconstitutional when the state legislature approved it in 2019 — more than three years before the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to abortion.
The ban after six weeks of pregnancy — a time when most women have not yet realized they are pregnant — is not a final decision but will remain in effect while the State Supreme Court considers the attorney general’s appeal of Judge McBurney’s ruling.” Read more at New York Times
Herschel Walker, Running in Georgia, Receives Tax Break for Texas Residents
Mr. Walker, Georgia’s Republican nominee for Senate, is benefiting from a homestead exemption meant for primary residents of Texas.
By Maya King
Nov. 23, 2022
“ATLANTA — Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate for Senate in Georgia, is receiving a tax exemption on his Texas home that is meant for primary residents of the state, despite currently living and running for office in Georgia.
Public tax records first reported by CNN show that this year Mr. Walker will receive a homestead tax exemption of roughly $1,500 for his home in the Dallas area, which he listed as his primary residence. He has received the tax relief for his home since 2012, according to an official in the tax appraisal office of Tarrant County, where Mr. Walker’s home is located.
Under the Constitution, Senate candidates are required to reside in the state they will represent only once they are elected. In Georgia, candidates must meet a handful of stipulations to establish residency in the state before filing their bids for office. Mr. Walker’s tax exemption in Texas suggests that his primary residence remains outside Georgia.
A spokesman for Mr. Walker’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the Texas comptroller, Mr. Walker’s use of the tax exemption while running in Georgia is legal. The comptroller’s website states that you may still receive the tax break after moving away from home temporarily, if ‘you do not establish a principal residence elsewhere, you intend to return to the home, and you are away less than two years.’” Read more at New York Times
Sarah Palin Loses as the Party She Helped Transform Moves Past Her
The former Alaska governor, once the standard-bearer of the G.O.P.’s dog-whistling, no-apologies culture, was no match for the same forces she rode to national prominence.
“It is hard to overstate just how much of a jolt to the political system Sarah Palin delivered when she defeated her first fellow Republican 16 years ago.
He was Frank Murkowski, the sitting governor of Alaska and a towering figure in the 49th state. She was a ‘hockey mom’ and the former mayor of a small, working-class town who vowed to stick it to the ‘good ol’ boys.’ That race put her on the map with the national Republican Party and set her on a path that would change her life, and the tenor of American politics for years to come.
Then, Ms. Palin was at the vanguard of the dog-whistling, no-apologies political culture that former President Donald J. Trump now embodies.
Today, having lost her bid for Congress after years out of the spotlight, Ms. Palin is a much diminished force.
She was, in many ways, undone by the same political currents she rode to national prominence, first as Senator John McCain’s vice-presidential nominee in 2008 and later as a Tea Party luminary and Fox News star. Along the way, she helped redefine the outer limits of what a politician could say as she made dark insinuations about Barack Obama’s background and false claims about government ‘death panels’ that could deny health care to seniors and people with disabilities.
Now, a generation of Republican stars follows the template she helped create as a hybrid celebrity-politician who relished fighting with elements in her own party as much as fighting with Democrats — none more so than Mr. Trump, who watched her closely for years before deciding to run for president himself. He ensured this month that he would remain in the spotlight, announcing another bid for the White House in 2024.
But as the next generation rose up, Ms. Palin’s brand of politics no longer seemed as novel or as outrageous. Next to Mr. Trump’s lies about a huge conspiracy to deny him a second term, or Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s casual allusions to political violence, Ms. Palin’s provocations more than a decade ago can seem almost quaint.” Read more at New York Times
“Facing reverses on the battlefield, Vladimir Putin is targeting Ukrainian civilians with devastating effect by attacking the infrastructure that keeps the lights on and heats homes.
The Russian president’s forces launched a new barrage of almost 70 rockets against Ukraine yesterday. One hit a maternity ward, killing a newborn, authorities said. Many more slammed into transformers and power stations, plunging the country into darkness as temperatures dropped below zero.
Teams scrambling to repair the damage, which Ukraine estimated at almost $2 billion even before yesterday’s salvos, restored power to critical infrastructure in most regions early today. But much of the country remained without lights, heat or water, and returning the utility grid back to its normal state will take a lot more time.
The World Health Organization has warned the lives of a huge swathe of the population are at risk. And after millions of Ukrainians fled abroad to escape the war, more may leave now, potentially sparking a new humanitarian crisis in Europe.
Russia’s representative to the United Nations said the attacks will continue until Kyiv is forced to take a ‘realistic’ approach toward talks.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, condemned the tactic as ‘a clear crime against humanity’ and has rejected any negotiations until Moscow’s forces leave.
Putin has long made clear he doesn’t care what Ukraine and its allies think. But he’s also facing pressure at home from Russian families desperate to save relatives from perishing on the front line.
Most of the complaints aren’t against the war itself. Protests in at least 15 regions have focused mainly on getting sons and husbands the proper training and equipment they need to fight.
But as support for the invasion is slipping in Russia, Putin’s efforts to crush Ukraine’s fighting spirit are becoming ever more merciless.” — Michael Winfrey Read more at Bloomberg
A blackout in Kyiv yesterday. Photographer: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo
Trump aides Bannon, Miller advising the Bolsonaros on next steps
Some allies and advisers want the Brazilian president to contest his election loss to Lula. Others want a global fight over free speech.
“RIO DE JANEIRO — While tens of thousands of supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro camp outside military facilities across Brazil to protest his election loss, members of Bolsonaro’s inner circle are meeting with advisers to former president Donald Trump to discuss next steps.
Brazilian congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, the president’s son, has visited Florida since the Oct. 30 vote, meeting Trump at Mar-a-Lago and strategizing with other political allies by phone. He spoke with former Trump strategist Stephen K. Bannon, who was in Arizona assisting the campaign of GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, about the power of the pro-Bolsonaro protests and potential challenges to the Brazilian election results, Bannon said. He lunched in South Florida with former Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller, now CEO of the social media company Gettr, and discussed online censorship and free speech, Miller said.
Neither Trump nor Eduardo Bolsonaro responded to requests for comment.
Those conversations have mirrored debates unfolding in Brasília, where Bolsonaro’s supporters are discussing next steps for his populist conservative movement. That movement is facing a reckoning not unlike that of the American right after Trump’s 2020 loss over how to sustain itself when its charismatic standard-bearer has been defeated.” Read more at Washington Post
2 Bomb Attacks in Jerusalem Kill 1 and Wound at Least 18
The attacks prompted calls by far-right leaders for the swift formation of a new government that would be tougher on terrorism.
By Patrick Kingsley and Isabel Kershner
Nov. 23, 2022
“JERUSALEM — Two blasts in Jerusalem killed a teenager and injured at least 18 other people during the morning rush hour on Wednesday, the Israeli police said, in what were the first bomb attacks on Israeli civilians in Israel in more than six years.
The police said that the first explosion occurred at a bus stop in northwest Jerusalem at 7:05 a.m., killing one and injuring several others. Half an hour later, another blast at a bus stop about two miles to the north wounded at least three more people. Both blasts were caused by explosive devices planted at the scene, the police said.
The person killed was a young yeshiva student, Aryeh Schupak, 15, a resident of Jerusalem who held dual Israeli and Canadian citizenship, according to officials. A doctor at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the city. said the youth’s death was confirmed in the hospital after resuscitation efforts failed.
The explosions came as Benjamin Netanyahu, the former and likely future prime minister, was attempting to form what would be Israel’s most right-wing government in history. They prompted calls by far-right leaders, who have pressed for tougher action against terrorism, for the announcement of a new administration as soon as possible.” Read more at New York Times
Thieves Steal Ancient Gold Coins in German Museum Heist
The theft played out like the plot of a movie. The artifacts could be worth $1.7 million if sold to dealers — or $260,000 if melted down.
Nov. 23, 2022
“BERLIN — When museum staff arrived to work at the Celtic and Roman Museum in the little town of Manching in Bavaria on Tuesday morning, they realized that thieves had stolen the most valuable item in the building: a cache of 483 ancient gold coins.
The coins, which are believed to date back to roughly 100 years before the birth of Jesus, look like little buttons and, together with a chunk of gold that was apparently the source of the coins, weigh nearly nine pounds. One official said the artifacts could be worth $1.7 million.” Read more at New York Times
Michigan-Michigan State tunnel fight: Charges filed against 7 Spartans, no Wolverines
“Charges have been filed against seven Michigan State football players for their involvement in a melee in the Lloyd Carr tunnel following Michigan's 29-7 victory over MSU in Ann Arbor.
Video showed a handful of Michigan State players hitting and kicking two Michigan players separately, later identified as Ja'Den McBurrows and Gemon Green.
After weeks of investigation from the Big Ten Conference, University of Michigan police and Michigan State University police, witness testimony, the prosecutor's office released their findings on Wednesday afternoon….
After reviewing the evidence and the law, the Prosecutor’s Office has authorized the following charges against the following individuals:
Khary Crump:One count of felonious assault, in violation of MCL 750.82, a felony
Itayvion Brown: One count of aggravated assault, in violation of MCL 750.81a, a misdemeanor
Angelo Grose: One count of aggravated assault, in violation of MCL 750.81a, a misdemeanor
Justin White: One count of aggravated assault, in violation of MCL 750.81a, a misdemeanor
Brandon Wright: One count of aggravated assault, in violation of MCL 750.81a, a misdemeanor
Zion Young: One count of aggravated assault, in violation of MCL 750.81a, a misdemeanor
Jacoby Windmon: One count of assault & battery, in violation of MCL 750.81, a misdemeanor
The statement goes on to say that all charges are merely allegations.
While one attorney representing an undisclosed MSU player said there was evidence the Michigan players may have started the incident, neither of them were charged criminally.” Read more at USA Today
Leg Booty? Panoramic? Seggs? How TikTok Is Changing Language
A new vocabulary — a little fun, a little dystopian — has emerged on the social video platform, as creators try to get around algorithms and strict content moderation. They call it algospeak.
Melina Delkic is a breaking news editor who spends way too much time on TikTok.
Published Nov. 19, 2022Updated Nov. 21, 2022
“To hear some people on TikTok tell it, we’ve spent years in a ‘panoramic.’ Or perhaps it was a ‘panini press.’ Some are in the ‘leg booty’ community and stand firmly against ‘cornucopia.’
If it all sounds like a foreign language to you, that’s because it kind of is.
TikTok creators have gotten into the habit of coming up with substitutes for words that they worry might either affect how their videos get promoted on the site or run afoul of moderation rules.
So, back in 2021, someone describing a pandemic hobby might have believed (perhaps erroneously) that TikTok would mistakenly flag it as part of a crackdown on pandemic misinformation. So the user could have said ‘panoramic’ or a similar-sounding word instead. Likewise, a fear that sexual topics would trigger problems prompted some creators to use ‘leg booty’ for L.G.B.T.Q. and ‘cornucopia’ instead of ‘homophobia.’ Sex became ‘seggs.’
Critics say the need for these evasive neologisms is a sign that TikTok is too aggressive in its moderation. But the platform says a firm hand is needed in a freewheeling online community where plenty of users do try to post harmful videos.” Read more at New York Times
Gold coin proves 'fake' Roman emperor was real
Image caption, The face of Sponsian the first, who was purged from history by experts in the nineteenth century. Researchers have now established that he was a lost Roman emperor.
By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent
“An ancient gold coin proves that a third century Roman emperor written out of history as a fictional character really did exist, scientists say.
The coin bearing the name of Sponsian and his portrait was found more than 300 years ago in Transylvania, once a far-flung outpost of the Roman empire.
Believed to be a fake, it had been locked away in a museum cupboard.
Now scientists say scratch marks visible under a microscope prove that it was in circulation 2,000 years ago.
Prof Paul Pearson University College London, who led the research, told BBC News that he was astonished by the discovery.
‘What we have found is an emperor. He was a figure thought to have been a fake and written off by the experts.
But we think he was real and that he had a role in history.’” Read more at BBC
“Injury: The Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said yesterday that he’d been playing with a broken thumb since Week 5, which might explain some of those mediocre performances. Rodgers says he’s not considering surgery.” Read more at New York Times
WORLD CUP
Japan’s goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda makes a save.Petr Josek/Associated Press
“Yesterday: Germany is the latest powerhouse to lose its opening match, falling to Japan, 2-1, after taking the lead in the first half. And Belgium beat Canada, 1-0.
Protest: Germany’s players covered their mouths before the match to protest FIFA’s ban on armbands supporting gay rights.
Elimination: Losing a match in the group stages doesn’t necessarily mean that a team is out of the tournament. Here’s how it works.” Read more at New York Times
“Lives Lived: Edward C. Prescott’s work explaining the economic shocks of the 1970s catalyzed new ways of thinking, shaped the Reagan administration and earned him a Nobel Prize in economics. He died at 81.” Read more at New York Times