The Full Belmonte, 9/5/2022
Liz Truss set to become UK prime minister
By SYLVIA HUI
“LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative Party has chosen Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as the party’s new leader, putting her in line to be confirmed as prime minister.
Truss’s selection was announced Monday in London after a leadership election in which only the 180,000 dues-paying members of the Conservative Party were allowed to vote. Truss beat rival Rishi Sunak, the government’s former Treasury chief, by promising to increase defense spending and cut taxes, while refusing to say how she would address the cost-of-living crisis.
Truss received 81,326 votes to Sunak’s 60,399.
Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to formally name Truss as Britain’s prime minister on Tuesday. The ceremony will take place at the queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland, where the monarch is vacationing, rather than at Buckingham Palace.
The two-month leadership contest left Britain with a power vacuum at a time when consumers, workers and businesses were demanding government action to mitigate the impact of soaring food and energy prices. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has had no authority to make major policy decisions since July 7, when he announced his intention to resign.” Read more at AP News
At least 10 dead, 15 injured in 'horrific' Saskatchewan stabbings; Canadian police seek 2 suspects
“REGINA, Saskatchewan — A series of stabbings at an Indigenous community and in another nearby town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan left 10 people dead and 15 injured, Canadian police said Sunday as they searched for two suspects.
The stabbings took place in multiple locations on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, police said. There were 13 crime scenes, according to authorities.
Rhonda Blackmore, the assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Saskatchewan, said some of the victims appear to have been targeted by the suspects but others appear to have been attacked at random. She couldn't provide a motive.
‘It is horrific what has occurred in our province today,’ Blackmore said.
It is among the deadliest mass killings in Canadian history. The deadliest gun rampage in Canadian history happened in 2020 when a man disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fires across the province of Nova Scotia, killing 22 people. A man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto in 2019. But mass killings are less common in Canada than in the United States.” Read more at USA Today
A crime scene after a deadly stabbing spree in Canada.David Stobbe/Reuters
Former GOP rep: Trump gave Democrats ‘major gift’ with speech in Pennsylvania
“Former Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent on Saturday said former President Trump’s speech at a rally on Saturday night in the Keystone State was a ‘major gift’ for Democrats.
‘Most Republican candidates don’t want anything to do with Donald Trump in this general election. They want this to be about Joe Biden and the Democrats, but to the extent Trump inserts himself into this conversation, he’s giving the Democrats a major gift right now,’ Dent said on CNN.
The Wilkes-Barre, Pa., rally was billed as support for Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano — but it was also Trump’s first after the FBI executed a search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago residence and recovered classified documents kept after the end of his presidential term.” Read more at The Hill
Graham defends ‘riots in the streets’ comment, says he tried to ‘state the obvious’
“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Saturday defended his recent warning of ‘riots in the streets’ if former President Trump is prosecuted for his handling of classified materials.
‘What I tried to do was state the obvious,’ Graham told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick during an interview at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy.
‘Here’s what I said: The raid on President Trump’s home, the likely nominee for 2024, better bear some fruit here,’ Graham continued. ‘If it’s just about mishandling classified information, we’ve had a standard set when it came to Hillary Clinton.’
Federal agents executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Aug. 8, when they recovered some 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified records.
The search was connected to the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Trump violated the Espionage Act and two other federal statutes, which do not rely on the records being classified. The investigations have led to swirling speculation about whether Trump will ultimately be prosecuted.
Graham made the controversial remark last Sunday during an appearance on Fox News’s ‘Sunday Night in America’ with host Trey Gowdy, a former lawmaker who chaired the House’s select committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi terror attack that uncovered a private email server used by Clinton.
‘If there’s a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information after the Clinton debacle … there’ll be riots in the streets,’ Graham told Gowdy.
Graham and other Republicans have repeatedly referenced the scandal in characterizing any potential prosecution of Trump as a double standard. Then-FBI Director James Comey described Clinton’s server as ‘extremely careless,’ but the agency declined to prosecute her for mishandling classified information.” Read more at The Hill
Conservative Texas phone company fueling extremist takeover of schools
Patriot Mobile, a ‘Christian conservative wireless provider’, is targeting school board elections to push its far-right agenda
“A conservative Texas-based phone company is planning a takeover of political offices in the US state, starting with public schools.
Patriot Mobile, which calls itself ‘America’s only Christian conservative wireless provider’, has been fueling an extremist conservative movement taking over curriculum in public schools across Texas.
Leigh Wambsganss, the executive director of the company and its political arm, proudly declared victory in 11 out of 11 school board seats in the last election cycle in school districts around the Dallas-Fort Worth area on behalf of the company and conservative American Christians.
She said: ‘What this means is that now in north Texas, over 100,000 students who, before May, had leftist leadership now have conservative leadership!’
Earlier this year, the company established a political action committee, Patriot Mobile Action, which allows them to legally fundraise and finance political campaigns.
By acting as the financial backbone for the campaigns of far-right candidates for school boards, the phone company is seeking to promote its conservative agenda on issues like abortion, books and gender identity. It happens as across the US, school boards and local elections have witnessed intense fights as far-right candidates and groups have sought to win positions.” Read more at The Guardian
Legislatures see record number of first-generation immigrants
Data: New American Leaders. Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios
“A record number of first-generation Americans have won election to state legislatures across the country, Axios' Sophia Cai reports.
Why it matters: First-generation Americans comprise 10% of the voting population in the U.S. They are among the fastest-growing portions of the electorate, yet are vastly underrepresented at all levels of elected office.
296 naturalized citizens are serving in U.S. state legislatures this year, making up 4% of the 7,383 legislative seats, according to a new report from New American Leaders, a group that helps elect first- and second-generation immigrants to office.
That's up from 258 legislative seats in 202o, when naturalized citizens made up 3.5% of state legislatures.
The big picture: As demographics change rapidly, both parties are working to build multi-racial coalitions of voters and candidates.
Georgia state Rep. Marvin Lim (D) — a 38-year-old who immigrated from the Philippines at age 7, and was elected in 2020 — said the Trump years were a ‘turbulent period in American politics everywhere. We had a lot of new Americans ... come out to vote.’
90% of the naturalized citizens serving in state legislatures are Democrats.
42% are Latino, 35% percent are AAPI and 15% are Black.
Reality check: Some immigrant lawmakers have decided not to pursue reelection. They cite barriers they faced while in office, including low pay and a lack of support for caregivers, the report says.” Read more at Axios
“Constitutional setback | Chileans voted to reject a new constitution in a blow to a three-year campaign to overhaul politics and temper free-market policies. The wide loss in the referendum marked a major setback for President Gabriel Boric and his plans to reform the tax, pension and labor systems, boost social services and cut inequality.” Read more at Bloomberg
‘No’ voters celebrate in Santiago yesterday. Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg
Gas prices soar 26% after Russia keeps key pipeline closed
Gas prices have soared on concerns over energy supplies after Russia announced it would not reopen its main gas pipeline to Europe.
“The Dutch month ahead wholesale gas price, a benchmark for Europe, was up as much as 30% in early trading on Monday.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline had been due to reopen on Saturday after being shut for three days.
But Russia's state-owned energy firm Gazprom said it had found a leak.
Europe has accused Russia of using gas supplies to blackmail European countries because of the Ukraine conflict, which Moscow denies.
Wholesale prices have been very volatile in recent weeks. They fell sharply last week when Germany announced that its gas storage facilities were filling up faster than expected.” Read more at BBC
Suicide attack at Russia embassy in Kabul kills 2 diplomats
By EBRAHIM NOROOZI and DASHA LITVINOVA
This is a locator map for Afghanistan with its capital, Kabul. (AP Photo)
“KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bombing outside the Russian Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Monday killed two members of the embassy staff and at least one Afghan civilian in what Moscow denounced as an ‘unacceptable terrorist act.’
The blast went off at the entrance to the embassy’s consular section where Afghans were waiting for news about their visas, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the state news agency RIA Novosti. A Russian diplomat had emerged from the building to call out the names of candidates for visas when the explosion occurred, the agency said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, the latest in a series of attacks since the Taliban seized power a year ago, deposing a Western-backed government and capping their 20-year insurgency.” Read more at AP News
Ukraine says 4 civilians killed, 7 wounded by Russian shells
By HANNA ARHIROVA
“KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At least four civilians were killed and seven others were wounded by Russian shelling in the past 24 hours across several regions of Ukraine, Ukraine’s presidential office said Monday.
Most of the casualties were in the eastern Donetsk region, where three people were killed and four were wounded. A large chunk of Donetsk is held by Russia-allied separatists.
In the Kharkiv region, further north, three people were wounded when a rocket hit a residential building, the president’s office said.
Russian shells struck more than a dozen residential buildings along with a school, cafes and stores as the war stretched into its seventh month.
At the same time, a counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces ‘is making verifiable progress in the south and the east’ of the country, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said.
‘The pace of the counteroffensive will likely change dramatically from day to day as Ukrainian forces work to starve the Russians of necessary supplies, disrupt their command and control, and weaken their morale even as counteroffensive ground assaults continue,’ the institute said late Sunday.
It predicted that Russian forces will launch ‘fierce artillery and air attacks’ against the advancing Ukrainian troops and on any areas they liberate.” Read more at AP News
Baltic crash: Latvia searches for mystery Cessna plane
Image caption, Peter Griesemann (R) was a prominent Cologne Carnival organiser (2004 pic)
“Wreckage and oil have been found where a private Cessna plane crashed into the Baltic Sea off Latvia's coast after a mysterious flight from southern Spain.
The Cessna, registered in Vienna, had been due to land in Cologne, Germany, but instead headed out into the Baltic.
German businessman Peter Griesemann died - it was his private plane. German media say the other three victims were his wife, daughter and her boyfriend.
Griesemann was prominent among organisers of the Cologne Carnival.
The Carnival's Facebook page has a mourning tribute to him. He was president of Blaue Funken (blue sparks) - one of the oldest carnival associations.
When the Cessna 551 failed to respond to controllers' calls German and Danish fighter jets were sent to follow it, and later a Swedish helicopter searched for it.
Latvia now has three small ships and a helicopter in the area of Sunday's crash.
‘We found three parts of the plane, we think - experts will have to say,’ the Latvian maritime search and rescue service (MRCC) told the BBC.
Spokesperson Liva Veita said there was no sign of those on board the Cessna. She also confirmed earlier reports that oil had been seen there.
She said two small Latvian naval ships and a coastguard vessel were at the crash site, north-west of Ventspils, as well as a Latvian border guards helicopter.
Quick Air, an air charter company based in Cologne, told Reuters news agency that the Cessna was Peter Griesemann's private plane. It confirmed his death and said three others were on board too, but did not identify them.
The Griesemann family, based in Cologne, own a holiday cottage in the Cádiz area of south-west Spain, German media report.” Read more at BBC
Gustavo Arnal, C.F.O. at Bed Bath & Beyond, Dies
He joined the home goods retailer in 2020 during an executive shake-up.
By Lauren Hirsch and Jordyn Holman
“Gustavo Arnal, 52, the chief financial officer of the beleaguered home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond, died on Friday. He was brought on to help stabilize the company in 2020, as it needed to ramp up its offerings to meet shopper demand in a retail sector disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Arnal’s death was ruled a suicide, according to the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office. He was found near his residence, 56 Leonard Street, a skyscraper known as the Jenga building because of its stacked architectural design, and ‘appeared to suffer from injuries indicative from a fall from an elevated position,’ the New York Police Department said in a statement. Emergency medical officers pronounced him dead on the scene, the statement said. The New York Post reported earlier on Mr. Arnal’s death.
Mr. Arnal joined Bed Bath & Beyond as its chief financial officer in May 2020 as part of an executive shake-up led by the then chief executive, Mark Tritton, who left in June. Mr. Arnal was previously chief financial officer at Avon and held senior positions at Walgreens Boots Alliance and at Procter & Gamble, where he spent more than 20 years of his career.
Mr. Arnal spoke to Bed Bath & Beyond investors on Wednesday, giving them updates about the company’s finances and delivering tough news about the impact of its latest turnaround efforts. The retailer said it had started closing 150 stores and would lay off 20 percent of its workers in its corporate office and across its supply chain operations. The store closings will also affect retail associate jobs, the company said.
Though he had been at Bed Bath & Beyond for only two years, Mr. Arnal provided a semblance of continuity in the retailer’s ranks, as many top executives had left, including the chief executive, chief operating officer and chief stores officer.
The retailer has been under immense pressure over the past several years, as it has worked to quickly build up its supply chain and operations, while also dealing with the business pressures of the pandemic and two sets of activist investors. It announced last week that it had secured a loan from the investment firm Sixth Street to shore up its liquidity.
The company has also been at the center of a volatile few weeks of trading, partly because of a legion of dedicated individual investors. Shares of the retailer skyrocketed Aug. 16, energized by disclosures by the activist investor Ryan Cohen; they plummeted shortly after when he disclosed he had sold out of the company completely.
Mr. Arnal sold roughly 55,000 shares in Bed Bath & Beyond on Aug. 16 and 17, as part of a trading plan he had signed in April. In August, Bed Bath & Beyond disclosed in a regulatory filing that Mr. Arnal and the retailer were being sued by certain shareholders. The retailer said it was in the ‘early stages of evaluating the complaint’ but, based on its current understanding, ‘believes the claims are without merit.’” Read more at New York Times
Coco Gauff, 18, reaches US Open quarterfinals for 1st time
By HOWARD FENDRICH
“NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff raised a fist, then wagged her right index finger, responding to, and riling up even more, a r fans were reacting excitedly to quite a point, one in which the 18-year-old Floridian raced to her right for a defensive forehand, then changed directions to sprint and slide into a backhand that drew a netted volley from Zhang. Just four points later, Gauff was a quarterfinalist at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
Gauff, the French Open runner-up in June, came back in each set to beat China’s Zhang 7-5, 7-5 on Sunday to become the youngest American to make it this far at the U.S. Open since Melanie Oudin was 17 in 2009.
‘Here, I can’t hear myself scream. Makes me want to do it more. I think I’m feeding off the momentum a lot. I enjoy it,’ said No. 12 seed Gauff, who meets No. 17 Caroline Garcia of France on Tuesday. ‘New York is bringing out a side of me that I haven’t had since I was 15, so it’s nice.’” Read more at AP News
Obama wins Emmy
Image: Netflix
“President Obama won an Emmy last night as ‘outstanding narrator’ of a Netflix series, ‘Our National Parks,’ which debuted in April.
Obama executive-produced and narrated the five-part series.
The Creative Arts Emmy awards ceremony kicked off the 74th Emmys, coming Sept. 12 on NBC.
Obama is now halfway to joining 17 entertainers who have an EGOT — an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony, AP notes.
Obama has won two Grammy Awards, for audiobook readings of his memoirs, ‘The Audacity of Hope’ and ‘A Promised Land.’” Read more at Axios
“Ryan Reynolds enters the streaming wars: The movie star and co-owner of Wrexham A.F.C., which plays in the fifth tier of the English soccer system, really wants his club to be able to stream games. Reynolds’ appeal to his 20 million Twitter followers and the ensuing discussion are symbolic of the growing ‘Wrexham effect.’” Read more at New York Times
“Albert Pujols inches closer to No. 700: The St. Louis Cardinals slugger launched his 695th career home run in a pinch hitting appearance last night, propelling his team to a win and adding another note to his storybook final season. He sits one homer shy of Alex Rodriguez for fourth all time.” Read more at New York Times
“A wild L.S.U. debut for coach Brian Kelly: Florida State closed out college football’s opening weekend with a thrilling 24-23 win last night. The Seminoles blocked the Tigers’ tying extra point attempt after they scored a last-second touchdown.” Read more at New York Times
Judge Dismisses Suit Over Naked Baby Image on Nirvana Album Cover
Spencer Elden, who was pictured as a baby on the cover of ‘Nevermind,’ argued in his lawsuit that the grunge rock group had engaged in “child pornography.”
“A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a man who, as a baby, had graced the cover of Nirvana’s seminal album, ‘Nevermind,’ and argued 30 years later that the iconic photo of him drifting naked in a pool had been a form of sexual exploitation.
The man, Spencer Elden, 31, accused Nirvana in his complaint of engaging in child pornography after it used a photo of him for the cover of ‘Nevermind,’ the 1991 album that catapulted the Seattle grunge rock band to international fame.
The judge, Fernando M. Olguin, wrote in his eight-page ruling that because Mr. Elden had learned about the album cover more than 10 years ago, he had waited too long to file his lawsuit, making his claims untimely.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the estate of Kurt Cobain; the musician’s former bandmates, David Grohl and Krist Novoselic; and Mr. Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, among other parties. Bert H. Deixler, a lawyer for the defendants, said in a statement that they were ‘pleased this meritless case has been brought to a swift conclusion.’” Read more at New York Times
Brendan Fraser celebrated for comeback role in ‘The Whale’
By LINDSEY BAHR
“VENICE, Italy (AP) — Brendan Fraser is having a moment at the Venice International Film Festival.
The once ubiquitous movie star of ‘The Mummy’ franchise and ‘George of the Jungle’ had, in the last decade, backed away from the spotlight. But Fraser is charting what could be a major comeback starting with his transformative role in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale,’ which had its world premiere Sunday night at the festival.
As the credits rolled in the Sala Grande theater, the audience gave the film a long standing ovation while Fraser, on the balcony alongside his director and co-stars, wiped tears away.
Fraser plays Charlie, a reclusive English teacher with a kind soul who weighs 600 pounds (270 kilograms). While the film already has pundits predicting Oscar nominations, Fraser is trying not to think about whether awards are in his future.
‘I’m just trying to stay in today,’ Fraser said before the premiere.” Read more at AP News
“Lives Lived: In 1952, Jack Kerouac walked into the basement studio of Sterling Lord and handed him a manuscript for ‘On the Road,’ setting Lord on the path to becoming one of New York’s most successful literary agents. Lord died at 102.” Read more at New York Times
Beatles wall autographs
Photo: Heritage Auctions
“When the Beatles made their groundbreaking appearances on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ in February 1964, all four signed a 4-foot-by-1-foot slab of the show's moveable, plastic backdrop.
‘THE BEATLES' WERE HERE,’ says the relic, to be auctioned Sept. 24 by Heritage Auctions of Dallas.
Opening bid: $600,000.” Read more at Axios