'Shaken' law professors revolt as hyper-partisan SCOTUS rulings 'upend constitutional principles'

AlterNet - 
By Alex Henderson

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in 2007© provided by AlterNet

For generations, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded or upheld civil liberties, from freedom of the press in New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) to access to contraception in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972) to gay rights in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) to interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia (1967). But when the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling was handed down on June 24 and Roe v. Wade was overturned after 49 years, the High Court’s radical-right majority demonstrated that it had no problem rejecting precedent and rolling back civil liberties.

Moreover, Justice Clarence Thomas, in Dobbs, recommended that the High Court also “reconsider” Griswold, Lawrence and Obergefell. Civil libertarians fear that with socially conservative justices having attacked abortion rights, everything from gay rights to contraception is also in danger.

Over the years, there has been much discussion in law schools of the role the Court has played in expanding rights, but now that the Court is rolling rights back, how are law schools responding? Journalist Mark Joseph Stern tackles that subject in an article published by Slate on October 2.

READ MORE: The Supreme Court’s 'crisis of legitimacy' is going from bad to worse: report

“The problem, it’s worth emphasizing, is not that the Supreme Court is issuing decisions with which left-leaning professors disagree,” Stern explains. “It’s that the Court seems to be reaching many of these conclusions in defiance of centuries of standards, rejecting precedent and moderation in favor of aggressive, partisan-tinged motivated reasoning. Plenty of progressive professors have long viewed the Court with skepticism, and many professors, right- and left-leaning, have criticized the reasoning behind certain opinions for decades. But it’s only in recent years — with the manipulation of the justice selection process combined with clear, results-oriented cynicism in decisions — that the problem has seemed so acute that they feel it affects their ability to teach constitutional law.”

According to Tiffany Jeffers, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., becoming distrustful of the Supreme Court is a new experience for many law professors — who, she says, have gone through their “own personal grieving period” in 2022.

Jeffers told Slate, “It’s hard to think about your own profession — the things you were taught, the things you believed in — abruptly coming to an end in rapid succession. It’s hard to ask a law professor to dismantle all the training they had. It’s a difficult, emotional, psychological transformation process. It’s not easy to upend your life’s work and not trust the Supreme Court.”

Stern notes that Jolynn Childers Dellinger, who teaches at Duke Law School in Durham, North Carolina, “intends to overhaul her classes to accommodate the new decisions” coming from the High Court.

READ MORE: Clarence Thomas calls on court to undo rulings on same-sex relationships and contraception: 'We have a duty to correct the error'

Dellinger told Slate, “I have always perceived of the law as a tool for justice, and my faith that the law is being used toward that end has definitely been shaken by this Supreme Court. It is honestly hard to know what to say to students entering this profession at this time as we witness the Supreme Court upending constitutional principles…. (and) stripping an entire class of people of fundamental rights without so much as a minimal effort to acknowledge the consequent harms.”

Stern cites “legal realists” as a type of law professor who believes that the Supreme Court has been overly politicized and expect the justices to act accordingly. Steve Sanders, who teaches at Maurer School of Law, considers them overly cynical — although Sanders is vehemently critical of the Dobbs decision, which he criticizes as “screamingly, unapologetically activist.”

Sanders told Slate, “I have generally, up until now, resisted the cynicism of the ‘new legal realists’ that the Supreme Court isn’t a court, it’s just a policy council. I want my students to believe that legal argumentation, precedent, facts, and doctrine matter…. (But) it’s becoming increasingly difficult to deny that major constitutional decisions are almost purely about politics.”

READ MORE: Experts warn Supreme Court supporting this 'dangerous' GOP legal theory could destroy US democracy

Voices: In Venice, Florida, we have no power, no clean water and no gas. My political opinions have changed

Opinion by Diane Neal -

THE INDEPENDENT, UK

I moved to Venice, Florida from New York earlier this year to be with my mother after my father died. My parents chose Venice for its beauty and affordability when they retired 10 years ago. The neighborhood is in classic Gulf Coast style: a small, gated community with cookie-cutter stucco houses filled with older couples who made the same retirement choice my mom and dad did.

My politics are well-known to my new neighbors. They fly Trump flags and sport “Let’s go Brandon” bumper stickers, while I grow organic beets under the palm trees and listen to NPR all day. In normal times, they chuckle at me as I charge my electronics with foldable solar panels and I giggle to myself when I hear NASCAR blaring from their TVs.

We are cordial to one another. We stop and chit-chat about the weather when our dogs meet on the otherwise empty streets. We are polite. And every now and again one of them will rib me about “Sleepy Joe” Biden or “Crooked” Hillary. I laugh with them. I prefer to be happy and have peace with my neighbors more than I care about being “right”.

But now, all that has changed.

As Hurricane Ian made a last-minute turn towards Venice last Wednesday, we were alerted that our neighborhood was just outside the mandatory evacuation zone. Between that bit of information and the typically fickle nature of hurricane trajectories, almost all the residents in our subdivision decided to stay in their homes.

The day before landfall, the usually dormant neighborhood was suddenly alive. The Snowbirds (retirees who split their time between northern states in the summer and Florida in the winter), yet to make it south, called to ask their Florida neighbors to help put up storm shutters, sandbag the doors, cut their screens to reduce damage — and we did. People who were making last-minute food, gas, or water runs checked in with others to see if they needed supplies and got enough for whomever was lacking. The Herculean effort of hurricane preparation was divided and conquered. In the work, we learned more about each other, laughed, and voiced our fears about the storm ahead.

Then Ian arrived. In Venice, we were more fortunate than our neighbors to the south in Fort Meyers, but not by much. For the duration of the hurricane, my mother and I hunkered down between two mattresses in an interior closet with our emergency supplies and my cat, Velvis. We held one another as we waited. We waited for the roof to be torn off, we waited for the water to start pouring under the door, we waited for it to end.

We lost power almost as soon as the wind began whipping waves onto our street. The incessant, deafening roar of the storm was punctuated with louder, even scarier noises — like when parts of the roof would fly off or hundred-year-old trees were sucked out of the ground and slammed into the side of the house. Sixteen harrowing hours in the eye wall of a hurricane is not something I’d like to do again.

As frightening as the actual storm was, I knew the real difficulty would be the days and weeks ahead. That’s when you have to assess, clean up, and repair, usually under terrible circumstances. Mom and I stepped out of that closet and into an unrecognizable world of destruction.


Roof tiles litter the ground (Diane Neal)© Provided by The Independent

We still have no power and no estimate of when it will be restored. Based on the severed power lines that litter the streets and massive trees hanging in the wires that didn’t snap, I can’t imagine power will be back on anytime soon.

The streets, now somewhat drivable, were completely impassable for days. Many were deeply flooded, with fish swimming in them, and “gator warnings” issued for residents to steer clear of the water for fear of storm survivors becoming lizard lunch.

We had no cell service until this past Saturday, so no one had news of any kind except what we heard from others. The others had, in turn, heard it from someone else who had dared venture out into the unknown. All we had was the literal “word on the street”. Cell service is back now, but there isn’t enough connection to check the internet or open an app. However, you can text and sometimes make a call. The landline doesn’t work.

I asked a friend in New York to pull up the government websites and give me a status report, one I could share with the neighborhood. As of this weekend, we were still “in the red”. That means: stay off the roads, no emergency services, no updates, no anything. I haven’t asked anyone to check today, but I’d be surprised if it has changed.

We did not have any water, except an intermittent trickle, for days. Today there is finally enough pressure that I can flush the toilet without hauling buckets of water into the pitch-black bathroom, and I might even be able to wash my stinky hair. We are under a “boil water” notice, but with no way to boil it, so I must keep the water out of my eyes and mouth or risk illness. And, of course, with no way to heat the water, it will be a cold shower when I get one, but in the air-conditioning-free heat, that won’t be unwelcome.

The subdivision, though littered with downed trees, debris, and parts of homes, is full of people doing their very best. Everyone is checking up on each other, helping where they can, lending what they have to share. Our neighbor to one side, a nimble man in his late 70’s, got up on our steep and slippery roof with me and patched up more holes in 30 minutes than I did in two hours. It was incredible. Our extra tarps cover another neighbor’s roof that caved in during the storm. Rakes and shovels and saws are being passed around, house to house. A communal clothesline stretches through yards so we can all dry the various things we used to mop up the flooding in our homes.


Power lines have been destroyed (Diane Neal)© Provided by The Independent

But now, so long after the storm without resources, it could get dire. Those with gas generators are running out of fuel. And there is none available for miles in any direction. Even those who found a gas station that was still functional and had a fuel supply have waited for up to eight hours in line to get what they could. The people here with gas generators usually have them to run medical equipment that is critical to their health, or to refrigerate vital medicines. Most of my MAGA neighbors have them. But now they are running out of a way to keep them going.

Food is rotting in warm freezers and fridges, and the standing water everywhere is breeding swarms of mosquitoes.

Although resources are dwindling, the concern and care for each other is not. I imagined, as things further deteriorated, that people would get more protective, selfish. But I was dead wrong. Yesterday, one couple’s son drove five hours on side roads (because highway I-75 was closed) to get them a generator and extra gas. We helped him unload his big truck, covered in Trump/Pence stickers, trying not to spill a drop of the precious liquid. The couple immediately handed off two of the three gas cans to others who had run out. Those neighbors each used some, then passed on the familiar red canisters to the next household in need, and on and on until they were empty.

This son also brought ice. Loads of it. Without hesitation or asking, the couple gave us half. It is like manna from heaven in this heat to have a cool drink, to save food, and to have more potable water. If that generosity couldn’t be topped, the couple even had their son pick up extra dinner just for us. Strombolis. After almost a week of eating “emergency supply” food, nothing has ever tasted so good.

And that is the least of the aid, the help, and the sharing that has emerged from this terrible situation. The smiles, conversations, and concern continue in our little, flattened part of the world.

No doubt, there are many difficult days ahead for all of us, especially as we struggle without basic needs. But we are lucky — it could have been worse, and our hearts ache for those who lost far more than their property. To be sure, there are politicians who will need to account for their decisions that contributed to the havoc wreaked by Mother Nature, and I am sure all of us here on these blocks will disagree on who those liable parties are. But that is for another day.

I used to judge a person by their politics. I am ashamed I did. This disaster has reminded me to measure people by their actions, not by who they vote for. And I hope my neighbors will give me the same courtesy; that they will now see me not as the “limousine liberal” that moved in with her mom, but as a real friend. Like all true friends, we will work to get through this together.

'Not a single Florida Republican cared enough to vote in favor of Hurricane relief': Democratic chairman criticizes GOP

Raw Story - 11h ago
By Tiffany Terrell


Twitter/screen grab© provided by RawStory

Florida Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott recently called on Senate leaders to approve more disaster funding in the wake of Florida's devastation due to Hurricane Ian. According to Axios, the lawmakers' request is important because of their previous stance on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding.

Here's a look at MSNBC reporting on the hypocrisy DeSantis and his fellow lawmakers are displaying following the devastation of hurricane Ian:

'Not a single Florida Republican cared enough to vote in favor of Hurricane relief': Democratic chairman criticizes GOP

Duration 4:23

View on Watch

Hurricane Ian hit Florida as a Category 4 storm on Wednesday, leaving more than 2.5 million people without power, more than 1,100 people in need of rescue, and nearly 80 people dead, according to The New York Times.

On Friday, Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott sent a joint letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee chairs asking for funding to “provide much needed assistance to Florida.” The letter was first reported by the Tallahassee Democrat.

The GOP senators asked for federal funding to help with relief after Hurricane Ian ripped through the state ― despite neither lawmaker voting on Thursday for billions in disaster relief, some of which would go toward hurricane recovery efforts.

The bill included an additional $18.8 billion allocated to FEMA spending for Hurricane Ian and other natural disasters, HuffPost reported.

All 25 senators who refused to vote for the bill were Republicans. Scott voted against it, and Rubio didn’t vote at all. The bill passed, without the help of 25 Republican 'No' votes.

On September 24, Biden approved federal emergency aid for Florida. The federal government then "coordinated and prepositioned supplies, and more than 1,300 responders ahead of Ian's landfall to ensure resources could get where they need to be as quickly as possible," according to a Federal Emergency Management Agency press release.

In a Sunday episode of ABC "This Week," Anchor Jonathan Karl asked Rubio: "How's FEMA doing? Is Florida getting everything it needs right now from the Biden Administration?"

"Yeah. FEMA, they've all been great. As I've said, the federal response from day one has been very positive — as it has always been in the past and we're grateful for that," Rubio replied.

According to the BBC's US partner network CBS, the hurricane's death toll in Florida stood at at least 82 on Monday morning. Another four deaths have been confirmed in North Carolina.

President Joe Biden is expected to visit Florida on Wednesday.

FOX IN SHOCK

As midterms approach, some voters say climate change is more important than inflation in the long term

Megan Myers

FOX NEWS
Mon, October 3, 2022 

Most voters in Wisconsin who spoke with Fox News said addressing climate change is more important than curbing inflation ahead of the November midterm elections.

"Climate change is going to affect our children, our children's children," Heather, from Green Bay, said.

But Matt, from Milwaukee, said he cares more about lowering inflation as he feels the impact of price hikes every day.

"It comes out of my pocket," Matt said. "I pay for that, and it's easy for me to pick out."

Nearly 80% of Democratic Wisconsin voters said climate change was the most concerning issue, an August Marquette University poll found. Inflation, which nationally hit a 40-year record-high of 9.1% in June, ranked sixth.

Climate change is "only going to get worse if we don't act on it now," London, from Milwaukee, said.

But 91% of Republican voters polled in the Marquette survey said inflation was their top issue. They rated climate change last.

"I really don't care about climate change," Matt said. "It's normal for temperature to change."

But Christian, from Milwaukee, said Americans need to think about potentially drastic climate changes ahead in the next few decades.

"If it's already at 100 degrees it's just going to go up from that," Christian said.

U.S. cities reached record-high temperatures over the summer, ranking as the third-hottest season in history. The extreme heat the Pacific Northwest experienced was a once-in-10,000 years event and was driven by climate change, a UCLA researcher found.

"I would lean towards climate change being a long-term problem," Miles, from Wisconsin, said.

David, visiting from Texas, told Fox News: "Climate change is part of a more dire an issue of something that needs to be corrected while the other will eventually correct itself." He said the U.S. recovered from heightened inflation in the past.

Democrats across the country have implemented policies in an effort to slow climate change. Congress, for example, in August passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which included tax subsidies for electric vehicles. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced that California would ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

"Climate change is something that may be on a trajectory that there is no up and down," David said.

But one man visiting from Florida said inflation is more important as it "determines the entire economy and affects every family."

While gas prices decreased slightly after surpassing $5 per gallon in June, grocery store costs, among other expenses, remain high.

"It's critical that that be addressed," one man said on high inflation. "Climate change is more of a long-term aspiration."

Heather told Fox News that voters shouldn't have to choose if climate change or inflation is more important, as it's critical for politicians to handle multiple dire issues at once.

"You don’t tackle inflation and ignore climate change," Heather said.

If the government can "only tackle one issue at a time than they probably shouldn’t be there," Heather said. "We should probably elect somebody else."

REST IN POWER
Sacheen Littlefeather, Who Rejected Marlon Brando’s Oscar, Dies—Her Cause of Death & Legacy

FINALLY GOT AN APOLOGY FROM ACADEMY THIS YEAR

Sophie Hanson
Mon, October 3, 2022 


In 1973, Marlon Brando was awarded Best Actor at the Academy Awards, but he wasn’t at the ceremony to accept it. Rather, he sent Apache activist Sacheen Littlefeather in his stead to reject the Oscar—citing Hollywood treatment of and disregard for Native Americans as his reason for boycotting the event and it remains one of the most iconic moments of protest in Hollywood history. Littlefeather passed away on October 2, 2022, at age 75. So how did Sacheen Littlefeather die and what will her legacy be?

When Brando’s Oscar win for The Godfather was announced by presenters Liv Ullmann and Roger Moore, the then-26-year-old Littlefeather made her way to the stage. Moore went to hand her the award, but she put her hand up in refusal because she promised Brando she “would not touch” the statue if he won (per The Guardian). “He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award,” she said to the audience in the theater and the 85 million at home who were watching the first ever international broadcast of the Academy Awards. “And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.” She received some cheers but mostly boos, and her act of protest remains one of the best-known disruptive moments in award season history.


Getty Images

How did Sacheen Littlefeather die?

How did Sacheen Littlefeather die? Littlefeather’s cause of death was not immediately disclosed on October 2, 2022, but it was later learned to be breast cancer. In what would be her final interview, Littlefeather told The Guardian of her health: “I’m very, very ill. I have metastasized breast cancer – terminal – to my right lung. And I’ve been on chemotherapy for quite some time and daily antibiotics. As a result, my memory is not as good as it used to be … I’m very tired all the time because cancer is a full-time job: the CT scans, MRIs, laboratory blood work, medical visits, chemotherapy, infectious disease control doctors, etc, etc. If you’re lazy, you need not apply for cancer.” A statement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was shared on Twitter on October 2, 2022, with a quote attributed to the activist: “When I am gone, always be reminded that whenever you stand for your truth, you will be keeping my voice and the voices of our nations and our people alive.”

According to Littlefeather’s family, per the New York Times, she died at her home on Sunday in Marin County, California. Her death comes just weeks after the Academy apologized for Hollywood’s reaction to Marlon Brando’s Oscars refusal speech, where the Godfather star boycotted the awards night and sent her on his behalf to protest the treatment of Native Americans.
Sacheen Littlefeather’s full speech

Sacheen Littlefeather was the first Native American person to ever stand on stage at the Oscars. “Hello. My name is Sacheen Littlefeather. I’m Apache and I am president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee. I’m representing Marlon Brando this evening and he has asked me to tell you in a very long speech, which I cannot share with you presently because of time but I will be glad to share with the press afterwards, that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award,” she said. “And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee. I beg at this time that I have not intruded upon this evening and that we will in the future, our hearts and our understandings will meet with love and generosity. Thank you on behalf of Marlon Brando.”

There were some cheers, but mostly boos. Western star John Wayne was said to have been so enraged by the moment he had to be restrained by security. “I found out that he had been restrained by six security men from assaulting me while I was on that stage,” Littlefeather told Variety in September 2022. “That was the most violent moment that had ever taken place at the Academy Awards.” She said she also experienced racist mockery backstage—people made stereotypical Native American war cries at her and mimed chopping with a tomahawk. Littlefeather was also blocked from speaking publicly about the awards night for many years. “I was boycotted by the FBI. They went around Hollywood and told people not to hire me. If they did, they would shut their film production down,” she explained. “In addition, other people were let on talk shows like Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, and other popular talk shows. They could go on there and talk about me, but I was never allowed to go on them and represent myself.”

Sacheen Littlefeather’s legacy

Following the awards night, Littlefeather endured years of abuse and emotional turmoil. In August 2022, the Academy finally acknowledged “her being professionally boycotted, personally attacked and harassed, and discriminated against for the last 50 years” and made a formal apology. “The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified. The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable,” the organization said in a statement. “For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter days after the public apology, Littlefeather confessed she was surprised by their sentiment, even if it was half a century late. “I was stunned. I never thought I’d live to see the day I would be hearing this, experiencing this,” she said. “When I was at the podium in 1973, I stood there alone… I never stood up onstage in 1973 for any kind of accolades. I only stood there because my ancestors were with me, and I spoke the truth.”

Journalist who protested war on Russian TV listed as a fugitive

CBSNews
Mon, October 3, 2022 

Former Russian state television journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who protested against Moscow's Ukraine offensive during a live broadcast, was Monday put on a wanted list for allegedly breaching pre-trial house arrest.

Law enforcement detained the 44-year-old in August and charged her with distributing information about the Russian armed forces deemed to be false by the government.

She faces 10 years in prison if found guilty.

Former Russian state TV employee Marina Ovsyannikova, who staged an anti-war protest on live state television and was later charged with public activity aimed at discrediting the Russian army amid Ukraine-Russia conflict, attends a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, July 28, 2022. / Credit: EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA / REUTERSMore

Her name was added to the ministry's wanted list, according to a notice on its website.

She was placed under house arrest from August until October 9 after she held a lone protest in mid-July near the Kremlin carrying a poster that read "Putin is a murderer. His soldiers are fascists."

Her lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov told AFP Monday that "she was put on the wanted list because of the fact that she is not where she should be until October 9," adding that details would follow.

The state-run news outlet Russia Today reported on Saturday that Ovsyannikova had fled along with her daughter, and that her whereabouts were unknown, Reuters reported.

The former editor at Channel One made global headlines in March when she barged onto the set of its flagship Vremya (Time) evening news, holding a poster reading "No War."

She was immediately detained and said she was questioned for 14 hours without any representation present. She has been fined twice for the protest.

Following her release, she told Reuters that Russian President Vladimir Putin's February invasion of the neighboring country was a "trigger" for her, as she grew up in Chechnya.

"Very vivid images from my childhood came flooding back. I understood. I could feel what these unfortunate people are going through. It's really beyond the pale," Ovsyannikova had said. "It was impossible for me to remain silent anymore. ... And ordinary people like me — ordinary Russian women — need to do something about it. Everyone in Russia."

A month after the incident, Ovsyannikova was hired as a freelance correspondent for a German news station.

Criticism of Putin's decision to send troops to Ukraine on February 24 has been virtually outlawed in Russia.

After sending troops to Ukraine, Moscow adopted laws imposing sentences of up to 15 years in prison for spreading information about the military deemed false by the authorities.

India’s Groundbreaking Mars Orbiter Mission Is Officially Dead

Tony Ho Tran
Mon, October 3, 2022 

Planet Volumes via Unsplash

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), a probe that has been orbiting the red planet since 2014 as the country’s first ever Mars exploration mission, has been officially declared dead.

Researchers lost communications with the spacecraft after it entered a long eclipse period with Mars on October 2. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) soon afterward issued a statement declaring: “the spacecraft is non-recoverable, and attained its end-of-life.” The mission team suspects that the probe might have run out of fuel necessary to keep it going.

“ISRO deliberated that the propellant must have been exhausted, and therefore, the desired attitude pointing could not be achieved for sustained power generation,” the statement read. “The mission will be ever-regarded as a remarkable technological and scientific feat in the history of planetary exploration.”

Launched in 2014, the Mars Orbiter Mission was designed to last just six months but ended up operating for nearly eight years.
Wikimedia Commons

MOM was groundbreaking for a number of reasons. In 2014, it became the first interplanetary mission for India—and also resulted in the country being the first Asian nation to achieve a Martian orbit. The foreign ministry for China, which only launched its first mission to Mars just two years ago, even once dubbed the probe the “pride of Asia.”

The probe was originally launched primarily as a technology demonstration, thought it was still outfitted with five scientific instruments to help study the Red Planet: the Mars Color Camera, which snapped pics of the planet and its moons in its natural color; the Methane Sensor for Mars, which measured the amount of methane gas in the Martian atmosphere; the Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer, which could study the surface composition of Mars via thermal imaging; the Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer, which analyzed atomic particles; and the Lyman-Alpha Photometer, which measured the amount of deuterium and hydrogen in the upper atmosphere.

While it was originally designed for a six month mission, MOM ended up lasting nearly eight years in space. Over that time, it helped researchers gain a wealth of data into the “composition of several gasses in the Martian exosphere,” ISRO said. Its observations of Martian dust storms also gave insight into “dynamics of dust on the planet.”

NASA Will Send a Fleet of Helicopter Drones to Fly Over Mars

Perhaps the most important accomplishment, though, was the fact that it helped legitimize ISRO and India in the eyes of the international space community. For the first time, India had sent a probe to Mars. Not only that, but they accomplished it on their first try—making it the first nation in the world to do so. The mission helped earn the fledgling space agency the world’s respect, and the knowledge gained from the craft is going to help potentially bring the first Indian astronaut to Mars.

The ISRO also plans to build off of the MOM mission with a second Mars orbiter slated for a future launch. The agency is also planning to launch the Chandrayaan-3 mission in 2023 to send a rover to the lunar surface as well as the Gaganyaan mission to send a crewed spacecraft to orbit the moon.

So while it’s certainly a bittersweet moment, researchers can rest assured that the legacy of the MOM will help the country’s spacefaring efforts take off in the future.

UK

Just Stop Oil activist explains sit-down protest on Waterloo Bridge

Oct 3, 2022
The Independent


Just Stop Oil have taken part in a second day of protests on Waterloo Bridge to demand the government to end the cost-of-living and climate crisis by stopping new oil and gas. The Just Stop Oil (JSO) group said that 250 of its supporters held marches through central London on Sunday where they disrupted traffic in shopping districts and tourist hubs before carrying out a sit-down protest on Waterloo Bridge.

Solar Is Now 33% Cheaper Than Gas Power in US, Guggenheim Says

Angel Adegbesan

Mon, October 3, 2022 

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas’s dominance as power-plant fuel in the US is fading fast as the cost of electricity generated by wind farms and solar projects tumbles, according to Guggenheim Securities.

Utility-scale solar is now about a third cheaper than gas-fired power, while onshore wind is about 44% less expensive, Guggenheim analysts led by Shahriar Pourreza said Monday in a note to clients.

“Solar and wind now present a deflationary opportunity for electric supply costs,” the analysts said, which “supports the case for economic deployment of renewables across the US.”

Gas prices have surged amid a global supply crunch after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while tax-credit extensions and sweeping US climate legislation have brought down the cost of wind and solar. Renewables-heavy utilities like NextEra Energy Inc. and Allete Inc. stand to benefit, and companies that can boost spending on wind and solar will also see faster growth, Guggenheim said.

WHITE MILLIONARE STEALS MONEY FROM POOR FOLKS 
EXPLAINER: Favre, other sports figures in welfare fraud case


 Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre speaks to the media in Jackson, Miss., Oct. 17, 2018. The governor of Mississippi in 2017 was “on board” with a plan for a nonprofit group to pay Brett Favre more than $1 million in welfare grant money so the retired NFL quarterback could help fund a university volleyball facility, according to a text messages between Favre and the director of the nonprofit in court documents filed Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)More


ERICA HUNZINGER
Mon, October 3, 2022

Mississippi's largest public corruption case, in which tens of millions of dollars earmarked for needy families was misspent, involves a number of sports figures with ties to the state — including NFL royalty Brett Favre and a famous former pro wrestler.

At the center, though, is the former head of the state's Department of Human Services, John Davis, who pleaded guilty on Sept. 22 to federal counts of conspiracy and theft and state counts of conspiracy and fraud against the government. Davis has agreed to testify against others in the case. Other people who have pleaded guilty to state charges include a mother and son who ran a nonprofit and an education company.

Here are the sports figures named in a civil lawsuit, which was filed on May 9, as well as the details from that suit, their responses if available and whether they've been charged.

BRETT FAVRE

The Hall of Famer, legendary Green Bay Packers quarterback, 1997 Super Bowl winner and University of Southern Mississippi alumnus is one of the celebrity centerpieces of the scandal — though Favre is not facing criminal charges.

The state Department of Human Services paid $1.1 million in welfare money to a nonprofit known as the Mississippi Community Education Center, which then paid Favre Enterprises twice for speaking engagements, “radio and promotional events and business partner development." The idea was that the money would go toward a new $5 million volleyball facility at Southern Miss, which Favre was building and where Favre's daughter was playing volleyball.

Favre didn't make appearances and later repaid the money, though $228,000 in interest is still outstanding.

Texts messages made public in court documents also show that in July 2019, Favre texted with then-Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant to ask if welfare money could be put toward building an indoor practice facility for the football team at the same school. That never went anywhere, with Bryant texting Favre in September that “we have to follow the law.”

Favre also is named in the lawsuit as the “largest individual outside investor” of biotech firm Prevacus (now called Odyssey Health) and suggested that the CEO ask about using Human Services grant money for investing in company stock. It turned into $2.1 million of state money for Prevacus and “corporate affiliate” PreSolMD.

Favre has not responded to the AP's multiple requests for comment.

TED DIBIASE SR. AND SONS TEDDY AND BRETT

Ted DiBiase Sr. — the Million Dollar Man — was a fixture in pro wresting in the 1980s and ’90s with his gleaming, custom-made belt and “everybody has a price” catchphrase. DiBiase later became a Christian minister. He lives in Mississippi and owns Heart of David Ministries.

His son Teddy, who was a WWE wrestler in the 2000s and 2010s, lives in Mississippi and is connected to Priceless Ventures and Familiae Orientem, two limited liability companies based in the state. Brett DiBiase also lives in the state and owns Restore 2 LLC. Both brothers were pro wrestlers for a time.

The DiBiase ventures and the DiBiase men are all named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Heart of David Ministries received $1.7 million in welfare money “under (the) guise of providing ‘leadership training.'" The organization was ordered to repay about $722,000 in welfare money. The eldest DiBiase also received $250,000 through DiBiase Development Inc. to be a motivational speaker.

In a response to the civil lawsuit, DiBiase denied the state's allegations and requested the suit be dismissed.

Teddy DiBiase received “over $3 million ... in federal anti-poverty funds" over two years for things like “leadership training” through Priceless Ventures and supporting “the multiple needs of inner-city youth” through Familiae Orientem. None of the services were provided.

He also was given by Davis, who considered Teddy DiBiase a friend, the title of the human services department's director of sustainable change, despite not being employed by the state.

The state told Teddy DiBiase about a year ago he needed to repay $3.9 million. In his response to the civil suit, DiBiase repeatedly says the allegations are “not directed” toward him and because he lacks “knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth” of the allegations, he denies them.

Brett DiBiase, who also was a pro wrestler for a while, was an employee of the state human services department for about six months, ending in September 2017. After that, DiBiase was given a $250,000 salary paid in welfare funds from one nonprofit tied to Davis, as well as $130,000 in a separate payment of welfare funds from a different organization to “perform substance abuse training.” DiBiase also created his LLC and received $48,000 from MDHS for more training.

Davis also had welfare money funneled through a nonprofit to pay $160,000 for DiBiase to be a full-time resident at a luxury substance-abuse rehab facility in California.

Brett DiBiase pleaded guilty in 2020 to a felony for the $48,000 payment and agreed to pay it back. The state auditor requested a year ago that he pay back $225,950.

In a July response to the civil suit, he said he is “not guilty of any act, fault, or want of care," is “in no way liable” to the state and said he “had no personal knowledge of any false misrepresentations or sham agreements regarding illegal use of TANF funds.” TANF is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

MARCUS DUPREE

Dupree was widely recruited as a high school running back in Mississippi in the early 1980s, ended up going to Oklahoma and was heralded as a possible Heisman contender, but left midway through his sophomore season and graduated from Southern Miss.

Dupree, who was the subject of an ESPN “30 for 30” documentary in 2010, had two seasons in the NFL and returned to Mississippi.

The president of the nonprofit Marcus Dupree Foundation, he was a “celebrity endorser” and “motivational speaker” for the main two nonprofits involved in the scandal. The lawsuit claims he was given “substantial amounts in TANF funds” but it did not specify how much. Mississippi Today reported he earned at least $100,000.

Separately, his foundation received hundreds of thousands of dollars — some of it TANF funds — that was used to buy a 15-acre property for himself and for “purported ‘lease’ payments” on that same property.

Dupree has not been charged and has refused to follow a state's order to repay $789,534. In an ESPN report published Sept. 30, he denied the allegations in the lawsuit.

PAUL LACOSTE

Lacoste was a linebacker at Mississippi State in the mid-1990s and played in the Canadian Football League for a year. He became a trainer and owner of a fitness business, and also is the president of a nonprofit called Victory Sports Foundation. Both he and the nonprofit are named in the civil lawsuit.

The suit says Lacoste “directly proposed” to Davis that his nonprofit should get a piece of the welfare money for doing “fitness bootcamps” for public officials — including current Gov. and then-Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who was a client of Lacoste, according to Mississippi Today — political staffers and other participants in October 2018. Victory Sports Foundation received $1.3 million for three bootcamps.

Lacoste, who has not been charged, filed a motion in July to dismiss to the lawsuit, claiming the state has “failed to state a claim for breach of contract.” Lacoste also said in filings that Mississippi “pleads a litany of improper, conclusory misstatements” of state and federal law that “lack pleadings of fact for support.”

OTHER SPORTS CONNECTIONS

The Northeast Mississippi Football Coaches Association received $30,000 in welfare money in early 2019 as a donation “in consideration of ... having Ted DiBiase Jr. as banquet speaker.”

Brett Favre enlists former Trump White House lawyer and January 6 committee witness amid Mississippi welfare scandal

Brent D. Griffiths
Mon, October 3, 2022 

Former Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann is now NFL legend Brett Favre's lead counsel.House Select Committee via AP; Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty Images

Brett Favre has enlisted a former top Trump White House lawyer.

Favre hired Eric Herschmann amid legal troubles linked to a massive scandal in Mississippi.

Herschmann went viral this past summer for his comments to the House January 6 committee.

NFL legend Brett Favre has enlisted former Trump White House lawyer and star January 6 committee witness Eric Herschmann, amid his legal fight with the state of Mississippi following revelations of his connections to a sprawling welfare scandal.

Herschmann told Axios' Mike Allen, who broke the news, that he had multiple conversations with Favre that reassured him that the hall of fame "did nothing wrong." He will now be Favre's lead counsel.

"I only agreed to represent Brett Favre after I did my independent due diligence and was convinced that he did nothing wrong," Herschmann told Axios. "Brett enthusiastically tried to help his alma mater, a public university, that needed and wanted his help."

Favre is one of the main characters in what has become one of the largest political scandals in Mississippi history. Mississippi Today has spent months reporting on how former Gov. Phil Bryant's administration "misused and squandered at least $77 million in federal funds meant to assist the state's poorest residents." Late last month, a former top official pled guilty to federal and state charges connected with the scheme.

The publication obtained numerous text messages that showed how Bryant tried to help Favre build a multi-million dollar volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi, the former Packers great's alma mater and where his daughter played volleyball. The project and related improvements to other university facilities received $5 million in the misspent welfare funds.

Favre has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. The Mississippi Department of Human Services sued Favre and three former pro wrestlers in May to try to recover the money.

Herschmann went viral over the summer when the House January 6 committee played portions of his previously videotaped depositions. Herschmann, often with a mixture of profanity, described his efforts to press Trump lawyer John Eastman on efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He also appeared before the panel in front of a baseball bat emblazoned with the word "JUSTICE." He also represented Trump during his first impeachment trial.

"And when he finished discussing what he planned on doing, I said, 'good, fucking, excuse me, f-ing, a-hole, congratulations you just admitted that your first step or act you would take as attorney general would be committing a felony and violating rule 6c," Herschmann told the panel of a plan by Trump loyalists to overtake the Justice Department and use the federal government to push Trump's fraud claims.