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[World] Turkey freezes pro-Kurdish party funds before vote

January 5, 2023 Published by

BBC News world

Reuters

Image caption,

Supporters of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) surrounded by riot police in Istanbul

By Anna Foster

BBC News

The third-largest party in Turkey’s parliament has had the bank accounts it uses to hold treasury funds blocked months before the general election.

The pro-Kurdish HDP is accused of ties to militant groups who’ve carried out attacks in Turkey, and of financing their activities.

The HDP, also known as the Peoples’ Democratic Party, denies the claims.

Ankara’s Constitutional Court blocked the party’s share of treasury money used to finance its electoral campaign.

This had been reported by Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency.

The HDP was expected to receive 539m Turkish lira ($28.7m; £24.1m) in state grants this year, with around a quarter of that due to be paid this month.

Each of the four parties in Turkey’s parliament receives a share of the state grant.

The funding is a party’s main resource, with the cash paying for everything from staff salaries to premises.

Conducting an election campaign without it would be almost impossible.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fighting to keep his job as Turkey’s president, which he’s held since 2014. Before that he spent 11 years as prime minister.

A weakened Turkish economy – exacerbated by financial decisions made by President Erdogan – means he’s lost the support of many voters ahead of crucial elections, expected to be held in June.

His critics say clamping down on key opposition parties and political figures is his way of curtailing their support ahead of the presidential and parliamentary votes.

In the last election, the HDP won more than 10% of the Turkish vote.

In March 2021 it was accused of links with the Kurdistan Workers Party, and a case was filed.

Known as the PKK, the group is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and the United States. The HDP insists there are no ties between the two.

Turkey’s Kurdish fight leaves population in fear

The legal case for the full closure of the party is still ongoing.

In December, State Prosecutor Bekir Sahin asked for the party’s accounts to be frozen for its duration, claiming it would be used to aid the PKK.

This latest court decision is seen by many in Turkey as a significant marker in favour of the HDP’s activities being permanently suspended.

HDP party chair Selahattin Demirtas and co-chair Figen Yuksekdag have been in jail for more than five years, along with three other HDP MPs and several prominent founders of the party who were charged with terror-related crimes.

Speaking after the court’s decision, the party’s speaker Ebru Gunay said that efforts were being made to block their participation in the election.

“Only a few days before the distribution of the treasury’s aid the Constitutional Court has accepted this request and given such a decision,” she told journalists gathered at the party’s headquarters in Istanbul.

“This only confirms the impression that the members of the court are under clear and political pressure and the court has been facing obstacles to give fair decisions”.

HDP lawyer Ozgur Erol told the BBC that the same members of the Constitutional Court had rejected the head prosecutor’s demands to block the party’s funds 18 months ago when the closure case was first initiated.

“The only difference between then and now is that Turkey is heading towards elections,” he added.

“This is a political intervention to the judiciary, and we do not accept it.”

Biden expected to send Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine. And tanks could be next.

January 5, 2023 Published by Lara Seligman

Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories

President Joe Biden says he is considering sending the Army’s primary infantry fighting vehicle to Ukraine. But what Kyiv really wants is Western tanks — and it may be closer than ever to getting its wish.

A decision to send the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a tracked armored combat vehicle that carries a turret-mounted machine gun, could pave the way for the U.S. and allies to begin providing more powerful Western tanks to Ukraine, something they have so far been reluctant to do, say experts and a U.S. official.

On Wednesday, the same day Biden commented on the Bradleys, France announced that it will send its AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicles to Kyiv. The AMX-10 is a highly mobile, wheeled system built around a powerful turret-mounted GIAT 105mm gun.

Both factors could make it easier for Western nations to send modern tanks, for instance Germany’s Leopards or even the U.S. Army’s M1 Abrams, said experts and the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about ongoing discussions.

Western tanks — as opposed to less powerful wheeled vehicles with smaller main guns — would be a game-changer for Kyiv, which already operates Soviet-era tanks from its own inventories and others provided after the invasion by European nations. A Leopard or Abrams is more mobile, accurate and has longer range compared with the old Soviet tanks. They are also more effective at protecting troops than the older tanks or even the Western infantry fighting vehicles as Ukraine continues to suffer large losses on the battlefield.

Indeed, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday thanked France for the AMX-10, he urged other allies to provide tanks and other heavy weapons.

“There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western tanks,” he said.

Bloomberg first reported that the administration was considering sending Bradleys. The vehicles are designed to work in tandem with the Abrams, providing a “complementary” capability, said retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former commander of U.S. Army Europe.

“This is the next step by the administration to provide something that they have been reluctant to do in the past, so this hopefully signals recognition by the administration that the Russians really cannot escalate each time we provide a new capability,” Hodges said.

A Defense Department spokesperson declined to comment.

The Bradley alone would be a significant capability boost for Ukraine. The U.S. has already sent more than 2,000 combat vehicles, including hundreds of mine-resistant vehicles and Humvees that Kyiv has used to push through Russia’s defenses. But the U.S. Army’s gold standard infantry fighting vehicle, the Bradley, is a faster, better-protected update to the M113 armored personnel carrier.

In addition to the 25mm Bushmaster chain gun, it is also armed with two TOW antitank missiles and a 7.62 coaxial machine gun.

“The Brad (or [Infantry Fighting Vehicle]/[Cavalry Fighting Vehicle]) is NOT a tank, but it can be a tank killer,” tweeted retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, also a former commanding general of U.S. Army Europe.

Unlike the Abrams, the Bradley is considered a defensive weapon, making it the less escalatory choice for an administration still concerned about provoking Moscow. But it will be lethal on the battlefield, particularly when paired with Kyiv’s Soviet-era tanks, Hodges said.

“A big part of combined arms warfare is that you have protected infantry that can move alongside tanks, keep up with them, and that’s part of what combined arms is all about: infantry armor artillery,” Hodges said. “By having your infantry moving along with them, that makes it that much more lethal.”

The U.S. Bradley and the French AMX-10, if deployed by the spring in time for renewed Ukrainian offensives in the east, would provide a potent new capability for Ukrainian forces. The AMX-10 has been used as a reconnaissance vehicle and tank killer by French forces in the past, and its high maneuverability and speed would allow Ukraine to hit hard and fast in small engagements. Its relatively light armor is a drawback against heavy Russian guns, however, making speed the key.

“The French vehicle has a lot of firepower, it just doesn’t have a lot of protection,” said Nick Reynolds, a research analyst at the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute think tank. “It is ultimately a wheeled vehicle which makes it vulnerable, even if it does have fairly good off-road mobility.” The vehicle’s gun can likely take out Russian T-72 tanks and armored infantry carriers, however.

One adviser to the Ukraine government told POLITICO that Washington and Kyiv have been talking for months about sending heavier armor. One of the main sticking points has been identifying which units or storage facilities have the right vehicles available for export, along with some concerns over advanced optical and communications equipment included in newer models.

The Pentagon last month announced an expansion of its training program for Ukrainian forces at a U.S. base in Germany, both in size and scope. The new program will expand training to a battalion’s worth of roughly 500 soldiers a month, and will also include instruction on how to coordinate infantry maneuvering with artillery support, called “combined arms operations.”

If the administration approves sending the Bradleys, the trainees will likely be instructed on how to more effectively maneuver the vehicles alongside existing tanks and infantry. Lighter and more agile than a tank, the Bradley can hold up to 10 soldiers, who will be able to come off the back carrying Javelin antitank missiles, Hodges noted.

For Ukraine, Bradleys and Western tanks can’t come soon enough. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia is planning a second mobilization for a major new offensive early this year. And last month, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s top military leader, told The Economist that he believes Russia could make a push to take Kyiv as soon as January.

Ukrainian officials have been begging for hundreds more tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and howitzers to help repel Russian attacks, particularly strikes on cities and civilian infrastructure.

“We are balancing on a fine line. And if [the power grid] is destroyed … that is when soldiers’ wives and children start freezing,” Zaluzhnyi told The Economist. “What kind of mood the fighters will be in, can you imagine? Without water, light and heat, can we talk about preparing reserves to keep fighting?”

The administration may still be reluctant to send Abrams tanks, however, due to the significant training and logistics involved. Maintenance in the field will be a challenge, especially without a supply of parts. A tank division can also guzzle up to 600,000 gallons of fuel a day, potentially slowing Ukraine’s movement.

The Bradley’s logistical requirements are “terrifically less burdensome than, say, those associated with an M1,” the U.S. official said. “Our M1s would be a logistics burden that we would not want to put on [Ukraine] until they and we were confident they were ready.”

However, Hodges said the training and logistics challenge is “a solvable problem” if the U.S. begins instructing Ukrainian forces on the systems now.

“Let Ukraine pick 100 tankers that are experienced tank mechanics and send them to wherever the U.S. has Abrams tanks in Poland or send them back to Fort Benning, Ga., where the armor school is, and let them start learning now,” he said.

Paul McLeary contributed to this report.

California Governor Newsom starts second term Friday, will his next stop be the White House?

January 5, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, 55, will be sworn into his second and last term on Friday, Jan. 6. This marks the start of Newsom’s 26th consecutive year in elected office.

Given Newsom’s ambitions and age, will he run for president in 2024?

Newsom, like Vice President Kamala Harris, got his political start when former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown appointed him to the city’s Parking and Traffic Commission. The next year, Brown appointed Newsom to fill a vacancy on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — at age 29.

CALIFORNIA RINGS IN 2023 WITH NEW LAWS ON ABORTION, TRANSGENDER YOUTH, AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POLICE

Seen from one vantage, Newsom has several strengths. He’s governor of the most-populous state. California is the vanguard of the progressive left in both politics and culture. California is the source of most of the funds Democrats raise, with $369 million raised in the 2022 midterms, 65% more than from second-place New York.

And Newsom starts 2023 with several new left-wing laws he signed: a COVID-19 gag rule law that threatens to revoke the licenses of doctors who stray from the party line on the virus; a law, SB 107, making California a “sanctuary state” for out of state minors trafficked into the state to have so-called “gender-affirming care” — in other words, sterility-causing castrations, hysterectomies, double mastectomies, and hormone treatment; another law allowing nurses to perform abortions without a supervising doctor in the first trimester; and, finally, a law creating a 10-member appointed council to set wages and working conditions for fast food restaurants with the ultimate goal being to unionize all 700,000 fast food workers — almost doubling stagnating membership of non-government union members.

But even as Newsom’s progressive successes in California multiply, will it be enough to help him earn the Democratic nomination for president or to win election in 2024?

Likely in anticipation of a 2024 challenge, President Joe Biden has pushed for a complete reordering of the Democratic primary calendar, pushing South Carolina to the front of the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, while also moving Georgia and Michigan ahead. This move is widely seen as boosting Biden — and Harris — with Black Democratic voters seen as being less receptive to Newsom’s woke cultural agenda.

Should Biden decline to run, or should Newsom successfully make the case that it’s time to move to a new generation of leadership — Newsom would be 57 at the start of new presidential term, Biden, 82 — Newsom would confront another, even bigger challenge: he’s (accurately) seen as far left.

Newsom, as California’s governor, is further to the left in both character and deed than was Biden before his election in 2020. Biden’s big advantage then was the moderate image he cultivated with the media’s ready assistance. Newsom has no such moderate mask — he’s as woke as they come, potentially setting up a titanic struggle in 2024 that would be more about philosophy than personality.

And what about that California philosophy? How might the rest of the nation view the Golden State and its governor?

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California, for all its natural attributes and tremendous goodwill built up over generations, is living on its legacy — the water system that makes life possible for the two-thirds of residents who live in Southern California, the freeway system, the vaunted University of California — all were developed 50 to 100 years ago — with little progress since.

Meanwhile, California’s nation-leading income taxes, crushing regulatory climate, rocketing energy costs due to climate change rules, and over-the-top COVID-19 lockdowns, have accelerated the state’s population loss. And to top it off, California’s budget widely swung from a $97 billion surplus to a projected $25 billion deficit in the coming fiscal year.

It appears that some of the Golden State’s luster is becoming tarnished. California has become a nice place to visit (if you can keep your rental car from being broken into), but people just don’t want to live there anymore.

Not to worry though; should Newsom manage to get himself elected president, he’ll be able to save California. He’ll do this by applying the vast and expanding powers of the unelected administrative state to erase meaningful differences between states — essentially, bringing every state down to California’s level via a flood of executive orders.

When the nation has become San Francisco, and we’re no longer able to move to freedom, the promised workers’ utopia will be awesome.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM CHUCK DeVORE

Shania Twain reveals she was ‘petrified’ to pose nude for new music

January 5, 2023 Published by

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In September, Shania Twain stripped down on the cover of her latest single “Waking Up Dreaming,” the lead single off her upcoming album “Queen of Me.”

Now, Twain is discussing the meaningful reason she bared it all, despite being overcome with fear.

“I did a whole shoot as part of the album artwork where I’m completely nude. And it was very – it was really scary,” she told Hoda Kotb on “Today.”

“I don’t really love my body, I don’t love looking at myself in the mirror with the lights on or looking in the mirror at all at my body. So I said, listen, I’m going to face that fear.”

SHANIA TWAIN WOULD ‘FLATTEN HER BOOBS’ TO KEEP ABUSIVE STEPFATHER AWAY: ‘DIDN’T WANT TO BE A GIRL IN MY HOUSE’

Of the decision, the 57-year-old Twain says it was “empowering.”

“I’m so glad I did it. I was petrified, but once I flicked that switch, and dove into it, I’m like ‘I’m all in.’ I committed 100%. And I wasn’t thinking about what anybody thought. I didn’t think about who was in the room. This is about me, this is my moment to really embrace myself in a vulnerable moment. It had to be vulnerable where I felt that I was facing a fear of being judged or maybe even laughed at – being embarrassed. But it was only empowering. It was really fabulous.”

In addition to feeling empowered, Twain also saw going nude as an opportunity to stop hiding.

“I’m going to put fashion aside,” she said of choosing to be naked. “Fashion we use to flatter our shapes, to maybe hide the things we don’t like to make us look more like what we wish we really did look like without the clothes,” she explained. “Putting fashion aside, this is me.”

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She also opened up about the title of her new album, “Queen of Me,” explaining she made a conscious decision to empower herself.

“I’m my own royalty. I’m the boss of me.” For Twain, this album is “a statement of self-confidence” to which she has “grown into more over the last few years”

“As we age, and you know our skin starts to melt and all kinds of things happen to us…I’ve realized that wow, I was shy about wearing a bikini at the beach when I was younger, and I’m thinking – that was ridiculous! I gotta stop this nonsense, and start wearing a bikini to the beach now, even though I’m not my 20-year-old self. You know, I just got to get that stuff.”

‘Canceled’: Kate Hudson, Sally Field and more Hollywood stars reveal worst on-screen kisses

January 5, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

Hollywood stars are sharing the good and the bad that comes with sharing a kiss with their famous co-stars on-screen.

While taking a lie detector test for Vanity Fair, Kate Hudson was recently forced to decide which one of her former co-stars was the best on-screen kiss she has had. She revealed that Dane Cook, her “My Best Friend’s Girl” co-star, should be “canceled.”

Meanwhile, Sally Field name-dropped her famous ex, claiming Burt Reynolds was her worst on-screen kiss due to “a lot of drooling.”

On a positive note, Zac Efron called his kiss with “The Greatest Showman” co-star Zendaya his “favorite kiss ever.”

Here’s a look at other A-listers who have gotten candid about their on-screen romances.

SALLY FIELD REACTS TO BURT REYNOLDS’ DEATH: ‘HE WILL BE IN MY HISTORY AND MY HEART FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE’

Sally Field revealed her least favorite on-screen kisser throughout her illustrious acting career was none other than the American sex symbol Burt Reynolds.

During an appearance on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” in early December, Field named her worst on-screen kiss was with her longtime boyfriend, Reynolds.

“Should I really name names? This is going to be a shocker, so hold on, folks,” she said ahead of the reveal. “It’s Burt Reynolds.”

Reynolds and Field starred together in 1977’s “Smokey and the Bandit,” a road action-comedy film in which the Bandit (Reynolds) picks up hitchhiking bride-to-be Carrie (Field). In the film, the two spark a romance and share several on-screen kissing scenes.

BURT REYNOLDS, LEGENDARY ACTOR OF ‘SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT’ FAME, DEAD AT 82

“Weren’t you dating at the time?” Cohen asked, referencing their four-year relationship between 1976 and 1980.

“It was just not something he did very well,” Field said.

After a brief pause, Field said she could provide details but brushed her own suggestion off, saying, “You probably don’t want to hear it.”

“I kind of do,” the host interjected. “The tongue? The tongue?” he asked.

Field modestly summarized the problem as too much drool.

“No, we’re not totally involved [with the kiss], it was just a lot of drooling,” she said.

While Reynolds and Field dated for four years, they never married. The relationship happened between Field’s marriages to Steven Craig, 1968-73, and Alan Greisman, 1984-94.

Before Reynold’s passing in 2018 at the age of 82, he said Field was still the love of his life.

During Vanity Fair’s lie detector test segment last month, Janelle Monáe showed Kate Hudson various images of her former on-screen smooches, with one standing out to the “Glass Onion” star.

Monáe showed Hudson a picture of Dane Cook, with whom she shared a kiss in the 2008 movie “My Best Friend’s Girl,” and asked if the actor compares to her other co-stars.

KATE HUDSON, DAUGHTER OF GOLDIE HAWN AND KURT RUSSELL, ON NEPOTISM IN HOLLYWOOD: ‘IT DOESN’T MATTER’

“No. Canceled,” she replied. For his part, Cook previously called Hudson his worst on-screen kiss in 2014 but appeared to walk back his comments later that year, according to Us Weekly.

Bryce Dallas Howard detailed her on-screen kisses with both Chris Pratt and Matthew McConaughey to “People Now” host Jeremy Parsons in 2017.

“He was drinking a lot of, I think it was tea stuff, a lot of fake alcohol, so it was pretty good,” she said of McConaughey, with whom she starred alongside in “Gold” in 2016. “It was like some sort of good, healthy aesthetic substitute for alcohol.”

She deemed her kiss with McConaughey as “pretty good” before raving about her “Jurassic World” co-star, Chris Pratt.

Howard said Pratt’s breath was “like Starburst,” before adding, “He’s perfect in every way.”

Zac Efron admitted in 2017 that his favorite on-screen smooch was with his “The Greatest Showman” co-star, Zendaya.

Zendaya said the kiss with Efron was “incredibly special.”

“You’re into the moment. When you’re into a character, the whole time, they’re not allowed to as much as touch, talk, speak, have a moment between each other,” she said. “So every moment, even if they’re just touching, is really, really, incredibly special. It’s not just another kiss. It’s different. We try to take ourselves out of it and become these two characters, and that’s their moment.”

Efron added, “This might be my favorite kiss, I think ever.”

The actor continued, “Just because at this point for these characters, it’s so built up, the tension between them is so strong, and literally, just a glance between them is electric.”

“And when they finally have the courage in that moment to finally connect and get that kiss, it’s that epic musical moment,” Efron said.

In 2020, Sharon Stone revealed that her on-screen kiss with Robert De Niro was “pretty fabulous.”

On an episode of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” Stone revealed that she has a massive amount of respect for her “Casino” co-star, saying she held him at an “extraordinary high regard.”

“Well, Robert De Niro was for sure the best kisser. Bob was far and away the best kisser,” she told Cohen.

The actress said that De Niro is the actor whom she “admired the most.” In the movie “Casino,” Stone said their kiss was the “pinnacle” because there was “so much attached to it.”

“I was just so madly in love with him as an actress to start with that he probably could have hit me in the head with a hammer and I would’ve been, ‘Oh yeah,’” she continued.

After Stone said the kiss was “pretty fabulous,” she said, “I don’t know if I could compare anything else to that, everything else was kind of meh.”

Stone received her only Oscar nomination for best actress in the 1995 crime drama.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts have chemistry on and off the big screen.

Clooney, 61, and Roberts, 54, opened up about filming “Ticket to Paradise” in a recent interview. “Ticket to Paradise” features Roberts and Clooney, who have been friends for more than two decades, as two long-divorced parents who come together in order to stop their daughter from impulsively marrying a man she just met.

During an October interview with “Today,” host Hoda Kotb asked Clooney and Roberts if it was awkward filming some scenes – including one where the two share a kiss.

Kotb also asked if the two shared a laugh during the kiss.

JULIA ROBERTS, GEORGE CLOONEY REUNITE IN MOVIE TRAILER FOR ‘TICKET TO PARADISE’

“It’s kind of ridiculous,” Roberts said. “It is like kissing your best friend.”

“Well, thanks for that,” Clooney responded. “You know I was a two-time ‘Sexiest Man Alive?'”

“Then you go, ‘Wait, my best friend is George Clooney,’” Roberts added.

Clooney and Roberts previously explained that it took about “six months” to film the kissing scene.

“Yeah. I told my wife, ‘It took 80 takes,'” Clooney told the New York Times of Amal Clooney. “She was like, ‘What the hell?'”

“It took 79 takes of us laughing and then the one take of us kissing,” Roberts further explained.

Jennifer Aniston had one rule for her kissing scenes in Netflix’s “Murder Mystery” with co-star Adam Sandler in 2019.

“I did have him learn to oil the beard up a little bit,” the actress said in a joint interview at the time. “Conditioned.”

Sandler said kissing his longtime friend on camera wasn’t all that awkward, except when his wife, Jackie, and children were on set and encouraging him a little too much.

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“The only awkward part is hearing my wife on the side going, ’Harder! Harder! Kiss her harder! Deeper!” he joked. “They (Jackie and the kids) watched the kissing. They love it. They love Aniston, and they want her to have good things, and they say, ‘Give her something nice.’”

“That was awkward,” Aniston agreed.

Penn Badgley revealed in 2015 on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” that his best and worst on-screen kiss was none other than his “Gossip Girl” co-star and ex-girlfriend, Blake Lively.

“It’s hard to say,” Badgley replied when asked about his favorite kiss while filming. “On-screen kisses are not really that real.”

“I’d say best,” he said, “I’ll say it was Blake because we actually had a relationship at the time.”

When addressing the worst kiss, Badgley replied with a smirk, “Maybe Blake after we broke up.”

Lively and the “You” star were in a relationship from 2007 to 2010, during the time they were filming “Gossip Girl.” After their relationship ended, Lively wed Ryan Reynolds in 2012.

Mysterious eco group is funding local climate journalism: ‘Advocacy dressed up as news reporting’

January 5, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

A little-known environmental organization founded by the heir of a billion-dollar fortune has quietly organized large grants for local news outlets to boost climate change coverage and, sometimes, hire new climate reporters.

The North Carolina-based 1Earth Fund states on its website that it was founded to “fund cost-effective communication projects that can reach audiences across the political divide.” The group markets itself as a counter to “disinformation campaigns” funded by fossil fuel companies.

While little else is publicly shared about 1Earth Fund’s operations, the group adds on its site that it funds “projects like Connected Coastlines,” a nationwide climate reporting initiative in coastal states overseen by the Pulitzer Center. The project’s list of partners includes The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Seattle Times and Orlando Sentinel.

“The initiative is building a consortium of newsrooms and independent journalists across America to report on the local effects of erratic weather patterns on coastal populations using the latest climate science,” the Pulitzer Center states.

GREEN ENERGY PROJECTS FACE STARK ENVIRONMENTAL, LOCAL OPPOSITION NATIONWIDE

“Currently, the Pulitzer Center is supporting 16 reporting projects and will cover climate change issues on every coastline in the mainland U.S. — the East Coast, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast and West Coast — along with Hawaii and Alaska,” it continues.

One such reporting project is titled “State of Change” and is based in North Carolina. The Pulitzer Center highlights six grantees who are journalists tasked with showcasing “the effects of climate change: sea level rise, ocean acidification, coastal erosion, more powerful storms, global warming, etc., and its impact on communities and individuals.” Their work has largely been published by a local PBS affiliate.

There are additional Connected Coastlines projects in Florida, Maine, California, Louisiana and Alaska.

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS KEEP PUSHING EXTREME MEASURES AMID GLOBAL ENERGY CRISIS

1Earth Fund is also listed as a sponsor of the Climate Reporting Masterclass, a project designed to help journalists report on climate change. Partners of the project include government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

In addition, 1Earth Fund has partnered with various non-profit organizations to send direct grants to newsrooms located throughout the Southeast. The grants include a $65,000 grant to USA Today affiliate Wilmington News-Star in North Carolina, a $50,000 grant to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) in Georgia and a grant to The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun in North Carolina. Articles published in the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina have also been funded by a 1Earth Fund grant.

Articles produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund grants or by reporters funded by such grants often promote green energy and warn of dangers posed by global warming.

Examples published over the last 12 months include a News & Observer story with the headline “Sea change: NC is starting to make progress on wind energy, but lags other states” and a Winston-Salem Journal article titled “100% green energy in NC would cut costs, spark job growth, study says.”

1Earth Fund’s founder, meanwhile, is Roy Richards Jr., the current chairman of the Southwire Company, a massive electrical wire and cable company that provides products for renewable energy projects. Richards Jr.’s father founded Southwire, which has grown into a billion-dollar company, in 1937. The company has committed to various climate goals and to support green energy development.

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Still, the newspapers that have received financial support from 1Earth Fund have said the group doesn’t influence their editorial judgment. When asked about 1Earth Fund’s ties to the Southwire Company, a spokesperson for the AJC said the outlet maintains “strict editorial independence at all times to protect journalistic integrity.”

“In addition, we include a disclosure to every climate story supported through this partnership,” Jaime Sarrio McMurtrie, AJC’s director of development and community relations, told Fox News Digital in an email. “The funders of this grant have never made any attempt to review, influence or shape our coverage, nor would we entertain efforts to do so.”

However, a resume belonging to Sarah Barr — who is both a climate science research fellow for the Environmental Protection Agency and an independent contractor for the 1Earth Fund, according to her LinkedIn page — provides additional insight into 1Earth Fund’s operations.

Barr’s resume states that she helped 1Earth Fund achieve its mission of “raising the public mandate for climate action,” researched which outlets to “target” with climate initiatives, identified the most prominent newspapers in swing electoral districts, tracked “journalist output of climate stories” before and after they received funding to ensure effectiveness, and ensured that potential collaborators aligned with 1Earth Fund’s stances.

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“It’s advocacy dressed up as news reporting,” Brian Balfour — the senior vice president of research at the North Carolina-based free market think tank John Locke Foundation — told Fox News Digital in an interview. “I find it problematic that these pieces are published on news pages rather than opinion pages because there’s a lot of advocacy contained in these articles.”

“1Earth Fund is funded by a chairman of a company that seeks to gain financially from more of a transition to renewable energy,” Balfour continued. “The articles are sympathetic and almost promotional to renewable energy sources.”

Peter Daniel Sr., the chairman of the NC Ag Partnership, a North Carolina agriculture trade group, added that the newspapers receiving funding from 1Earth Fund have recently published articles critical of the state’s agriculture industry. He noted that many of the outlets that received grants are owned by McClatchy, a large media conglomerate that owns local papers nationwide.

“North Carolina proudly leads the country in supplying healthy and affordable poultry products. That our state helps feed the world should be a source of pride,” Daniel Sr. told Fox News Digital. “Yet the McClatchy media operation, whose reporters are literally paid by a secretive network of climate activists called the 1Earth Fund, launched a full-frontal assault on our state’s poultry industry last month.”

“We do not know if those donors pressed McClatchy to attack the industry,” he continued. “We do not know if the news organization cast the poultry industry in a negative light because it hopes to receive yet more money from the 1Earth Fund.”

He said that McClatchy has been tight-lipped about the details of its relationship with 1Earth Fund.

“The notion that McClatchy doesn’t consider the agenda of the special interest donors who pay their reporters’ salaries is ridiculous,” Daniel Sr. said. “We’re entering a startling new frontier when secretive donor networks pay journalists who claim their work is ‘objective.’”

1Earth Fund, McClatchy and the Pulitzer Center didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Derailing ‘America’s most dangerous law’: Sheriff hopes Illinois Supreme Court upholds SAFE-T Act decision

January 5, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

As many Illinoisans wait with bated breath to see if the state Supreme Court upholds its block on the elimination of cash bail, a local sheriff said he is hopeful the reform will be put to rest for good.

“We were very happy about the decision,” Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard told Fox News. “We hope that the Illinois Supreme Court takes a look at the language in the state constitution and sees how the elimination of cash bail in Illinois is a clear violation … and that they uphold the Kankakee County decision.”

Illinois’ Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act took effect on Sunday, but the state’s Supreme Court halted a key provision — the elimination of cash bail at the last minute. The high court issued a stay to “maintain consistent pretrial procedures throughout Illinois” after a lower court declared the bail measure unconstitutional.

WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE

Circuit Judge Thomas Cunnington’s had ruled in favor of Illinois prosecutors and sheriffs around the state who filed a lawsuit aiming to stop the pre-trial release and bail reforms in the SAFE-T Act. The state is appealing the decision.

“As criminal justice leaders in the state, many of us opposed this legislation based on the public safety aspect,” Bullard told Fox News. “We were really glad that the state’s attorney in my county and over 60 others joined in a lawsuit against the state.”

No hearing date has been set, but the justices announced plans for an expedited process to review the appeal and make a final ruling.

Bail reform advocates argue that the current cash bail system bases the freedom of people awaiting trial largely on their ability to pay money and have said it disproportionately affects communities of color.

Bullard, however, said a defendant can petition the court to declare themselves indigent, or unable to afford cash bail. The judge then has the discretion to accept or reject the petition and can reduce the amount of bail or release them on their own recognizance.

SAFE-T ACT: ILLINOIS SHERIFF WARNS PROSECUTORS NOT TO BE ‘OVERZEALOUS’ TARGETING VICTIMS STOPPING CRIMINALS

“The system is already in place with our current system to take care of people who claim to be poor,” he said. “And obviously, with the system based on handling crimes one at a time in front of a judge, race is not factored into that at all.”

Still, other provisions that took effect Sunday include limiting when defendants can be deemed flight risks, allowing defendants under electronic monitoring to leave home for 48 hours before they can be charged with escape, and, most concerning to Bullard, allowing the investigation into anonymous complaints against officers.

“Disciplining police officers based on anonymous complaints … that violates the constitutional rights of a police officer who has the right of due process to face their accuser,” the sheriff told Fox News. “A police officer is not a lower-class citizen.”

The SAFE-T Act — which one mayor called “America’s most dangerous law” — includes many other reforms on police conduct and policy, like mandating the use of body cameras, prohibiting police access to any military equipment and streamlining the decertification process for officers.

“A lot of the things that are in the SAFE-T Act come from advocates that are anti-police,” Bullard said. “Law enforcement leaders are really taxed not to align themselves with this thinking, not to think that there’s compromise when there’s a group of people that just believe that cops are racists, that cops are murderers, that cops are all these ugly things.”

“I tell my people that while they fight the battles on the street to keep the public safe, I will fight every chance I get with Springfield or Washington, D.C., or wherever to make sure that they can do their job as safely as possible while they respect the constitutional civil liberties of our citizens,” Bullard told Fox News.

To watch the full interview with Sheriff Bullard, click here.

Top 5 cybercrimes to watch out for in 2023

January 5, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

Cybersecurity experts have warned that 2023 could usher in a new era of concerns over cyberattacks, which are expected to rise sharply this year as new threats emerge faster than ever.

“Myriad forces are causing the uptick in cyberattacks,” John Wilson, a senior fellow responsible for Threat Research at Agari by Fortra and the head of the Agari Cyber Intelligence Division, wrote in Forbes last month. “The Russia-Ukraine war and rising poverty and food insecurity around the world are major contributors.”

Wilson’s warning comes as 2023 looks poised to become a record-breaking year for cyberattacks. According to an analysis by Cybersecurity Venture, the global annual cost of cybercrime could top $8 trillion in 2023.

That number could even underestimate the problem, according to numbers from Security Intelligence, who estimated that U.S.-based financial institutions alone lost close to $1.2 billion in ransomware attacks in 2021, an almost 200% increase over the previous year. If that rate increases at the same pace, global losses from cybercrime could be as high as $16 trillion in 2023.

CYBERATTACK ON MAJOR HOSPITAL SYSTEM COULD AFFECT 20 MILLION AMERICANS

However, financial institutions are not the only target for cybercriminals, who have used new technologies and exploited weaknesses in systems to target everyone from small businesses to individual people.

With those crimes expected to explode in 2023, here are five cybercrimes to be on the lookout for this year.

QR codes have become a common sight for users of smartphones in recent years, being used to quickly transmit data such as shipping information or a restaurant’s menu.

However, experts are warning that malicious QR codes are on the rise, potentially exposing people to dangerous websites that could download their personal data or enable hackers to track their every move via apps that are geolocation-enabled.

“Cybercriminals tamper with both digital and physical QR codes to replace legitimate codes with malicious codes,” reads an FBI warning on the growing threat.

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According to the FBI, the malicious codes could prompt users to a fake website or application to input log-in or financial information that would allow the attacker to easily steal money.

“Malicious QR codes may also contain embedded malware, allowing a criminal to gain access to the victim’s mobile device and steal the victim’s location as well as personal and financial information,” the warning reads. “The cybercriminal can leverage the stolen financial information to withdraw funds from victim accounts.”

To avoid falling victim, the FBI advises smartphone users never to download an application when prompted to do so after scanning a QR code. The agency also suggests staying vigilant of what links QR code scans prompt you to open and never to use third-party applications to scan codes, sticking instead to the built-in QR code scanning function native to your smartphone.

Ransomware attacks, which threaten to compromise a user’s personal data or block access to it until a ransom is paid, are almost as old as the internet itself. However, experts are warning that the old tactic is expected to become a bigger threat in 2023, with cybercriminals adapting to the tools people have depended on to keep them safe.

“Ransomware is worsening, even more so than we predicted,” Switzerland-based cybersecurity company Acronis warned in its 2022 Cyberthreats report.

RUSSIAN CYBERCRIMINALS ACCUSED OF HACKING AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST HEALTH INSURER

The report painted a grim picture for 2023, estimating that global ransomware damages will exceed $30 billion. Meanwhile, a Cybereason report this year found that roughly 73% of organizations were the target of at least one ransomware attack in 2022, up from 55% in 2021.

“Increasing complexity in IT continues to lead to breaches and compromises highlighting the need for more holistic approaches to cyber-protection,” the Acronis report said. “The current cybersecurity threat landscape requires a multi-layered solution that combines anti-malware, EDR, DLP, email security, vulnerability assessment, patch management, RMM, and backup capabilities all in one place.”

Global supply chains that were severely hindered during the COVID-19 pandemic have been working to slowly recover, but 2023 will test them once again as cybercriminals look to take advantage of their vulnerability.

According to an analysis by BlackBerry, four out of five organizations faced threats to their software supply chain over the past year. The results of those vulnerabilities inflicted enormous cost, BlackBerry said, with 58% of those organizations facing operational disruptions and data loss, 55% experiencing intellectual property loss, and 49% suffering financial loss.

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That problem is not going away anytime soon, BlackBerry Vice President for Product Security Christine Gadsby said, who warned organizations to be diligent in monitoring their own cybersecurity.

“Unknown components, and a lack of visibility on the software supply chain, introduce blind spots containing potential vulnerabilities that can wreak havoc across not just one enterprise, but several, through loss of data and intellectual property and operational downtime, along with financial and reputational impact,” Gadsby said. “How companies monitor and manage cybersecurity in their software supply chain must rely on more than just trust.”

A push by environmentalists to curb emissions by transitioning to electric vehicles has caused a boom in the EV industry, with electric vehicles becoming more mainstream over the last few years.

However, many of the vehicles contain technology that is vulnerable to attack by cybercriminals, who could target a vehicle’s display, navigation, climate control, and even autonomous driving functions.

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“With new cars and electric vehicles being more connected and automated than ever before, they are also at higher risk of cybersecurity attacks,” Steve McEvoy, vice president for automotive at Expleo, told Wards Auto earlier this year. “EV vehicles do not need to be inherently more at risk than a modern ICE vehicle – it is just that an EV vehicle to maximize its performance will naturally be using the most modern electrical architecture, including all manner of connectivity, which by its nature can create a greater level of risk.”

Attacks on the nation’s vulnerable electric grid could soon lead to power outages, fuel shortages and hinder energy production.

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has served as a case study in just how dangerous attacks on a country’s power infrastructure can be, plunging Ukraine’s civilian population into darkness and cold as brutal winter temperatures spread across the country.

Experts have warned for years that the U.S. electrical grid is increasingly vulnerable to attacks, whether it be a cyberthreat from a state actor such as Russia or an international terrorist group.

“Will it surprise me if at some point an electric company has an outage because of a cyberattack? No. If that doesn’t happen within the next five years, I’d be very surprised,” Danny Jenkins, CEO of cybersecurity firm ThreatLocker, said in an interview with Forbes last year.

The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been preparing for such a possibility since 2015, investing $118 million in a project called Rapid Attack Detection, Isolation and Characterization Systems (RADICS).

The program, which ran through 2020, offered 15 utility companies the opportunity to test for vulnerabilities and drill for the event of an attack in realistic scenarios, which experts called an eye-opening experience for the companies.

However, other experts argue the U.S. still has not done enough to prevent what could turn into a devastating attack.

“How at risk is this country? Maybe a better question is: How much have we done to prevent something like those scenarios at RADICS from happening?” Ang Cui, founder of Red Balloon Security, told Bloomberg earlier this year. “I think it’s pretty clear that we haven’t done nearly enough.”

Practicing ‘Primal Movement’ Patterns Can Improve Your Flexibility, Mobility, Strength, and Coordination

January 5, 2023 Published by Jordan Galloway

Well+Good

If you’ve ever watched a baby in action, you’ve likely noticed that they tend to use primal movement patterns. “This refers to movements that are natural and fundamental to the human body, like squatting, lunging, pulling, hinging, rotating, or pushing,” says Andrew Slane, sports conditioning specialist and instructor at Fiture, a smart home fitness mirror. Primal movements are instinctual, hence why tiny humans are able to perform them without being taught.

But these movements aren’t just essential to your early childhood development—doing them daily is also an indicator of longevity. In fact, the number-one thing the longest-living people on the planet all have in common is natural, aka primal, movement practices.

“As we age, we tend to fall into dysfunctional movement patterns that cause injury over time—how we pick things up, bend over, or perform any seemingly normal function in our daily life,” Slane says. “Usually, we blame this on aging, but in fact, it tends to be caused by bad habits and not paying attention to how we perform a task.”

He gives the example of lifting a basket of laundry: “Do you properly hinge at your hips with a neutral spine and no twist or torque in your neck, or do you just bend with a rounded back? Now, imagine how that has taken a toll over decades,” he says. “Working primal movement patterns properly, and making sure these movements stay harmonious and fluid over time, is key to continue moving efficiently and without pain.”

More often than not, you’ll hear trainers talk about primal movements as “functional movements,” meaning that they mimic the way you use your body in everyday life. Yet everyone’s day-to-day looks different. What’s “functional” for a pro athlete is going to be different than a mail delivery person, or desk worker. Primal movements, however, go back to the basics for all of us.

“Primal movement often involves play, which can be fun and a welcome change from traditional exercises that can feel monotonous,” he says. Again, think about a toddler. Their idea of fun is squatting low to play with toys, throwing a ball, or pushing themselves up off the floor. “They can also be adaptable and modified to suit a wide range of fitness levels,” Slane adds.

The benefits of primal movement patterns

Although exactly what you get out of practicing primal movements depends on your own fitness and goals, Slane says that there are three universal perks most people can expect to gain.

Increased strength

Because primal movement exercises involve using the body in natural and functional ways, they often help improve overall strength, according to Slane.

Enhanced mobility and flexibility

Primal movement exercises can increase the range of motion of both muscles (increasing flexibility) and joints (increasing mobility).

Improved coordination

“Primal movement exercises often involve using multiple muscle groups at once, which can help to improve overall coordination,” Slane says.

The best way to incorporate primal movement into your fitness routine

Slane says there are several good ways to go about this. Here, he offers are a few sample primal movement exercises to try adding in your next workout:

Russian twist

Start sitting on the floor with slightly bent knees, lean back to engage your torso. From there, rotate your torso from side to side. Do three sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Superman

Start lying face down on the floor with arms and legs extended, keeping your neck neutral by gazing down. While keeping your arms and legs straight, engage your core muscles, then lift your arms and legs toward the ceiling just a couple of inches using your glutes rather than your lower back. For a less advanced version, only lift your arms. Hold for a few seconds and lower back down with control for one rep. Do three sets of 8 to12 reps.

Squat

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lower your body as if sitting back in a chair. Make sure to keep your chest up and your weight on your heels. Do three sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Push-up

Start in a plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart and lower your body in one piece. Make sure to keep your core engaged. Do three sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Plank

Start in a high push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart, engage your core, and hold for 30 seconds. Do three sets.

Good Mornings

Start standing up straight with feet hip-distance apart, hands behind head, elbows wide. Next, hinge forward, pushing your hips back, with your knees slightly bent. Slowly lower your torso until your spine is almost parallel to the floor, maintaining a flat back from your head to hips. Then return to the starting position, keeping your core engaged. Do three sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Lunges

Start standing up straight with feet hip-distance apart. Step forward with one leg and lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the ground. Push off the front heel to step back to your start position. Make sure to keep your torso upright. Do three sets of 8 to 12 reps on each leg.

Best practices for beginners

If you are new to primal movements, start slowly and progressively to build up the intensity and complexity of the workout as you become more proficient and comfortable, Slane says. “It’s also critical to listen to your body, take breaks when necessary, and use the proper form and posture to get the most out of the workout and avoid possible injuries,” he adds. “When getting started, it’s also important to consult a qualified fitness professional who can help you determine the best workout plan for you and help you learn the proper technique.”

As you get stronger, continue to progress your practice by adding load to the exercises—but only after you’ve nailed good form.

Why primal movement is more than a passing fad

Searches for primal movement were up 120 percent on Pinterest last year, so you can potentially expect to start hearing more about it. But it’s far from a new concept.

“To some, primal movement may seem like a specialized form of exercise, or a fad—it is not,” Slane says. “It is functional training to help anyone better the activities of their daily life, which is at the center of the main goal in fitness: Keep people healthy and moving properly. In truth, it doesn’t get much more old-school than this.”

Victrola’s Stream Onyx Is a Turntable Built for Sonos Speakers

January 5, 2023 Published by Jacob Krol

TheStreet

This premium record player offers easy integration with Sonos speakers.

Whether you’ve purchased a record player recently or have been listening to vinyl for years, Victrola is a known brand in the space. And one that has continued to push different forms and functions of record players.

In 2022, they dropped the $799.99 Stream Carbon which was a premium turntable that fully integrated with the Sonos ecosystem. Meaning you could drop a needle on vinyl new or old and stream it to your existing Sonos speakers or soundbars.

Now though, Victrola aims to make this category of turntables more accessible with a new product debuting at CES 2023. The Victrola Steam Onyx carries much of the same functionality, but lowers the starting cost to $599.99. It will begin shipping by the end of February, but it’s up for preorder at Amazon and Victrola directly on Jan. 7.

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What You Need to Know: Victrola Stream Onyx

Victrola

Like the Carbon, the Stream Onyx fits the bill of a premium player with a pretty modern, sleek design. It’s all black with a control knob on the front that features a circular white LED around the edges, and the Victrola logo in white as well. Still, sleek all around and crafted from metal with a MDF plinth for clear playback. It sticks with an aluminum tonearm with a counterweight and comes with a Audio-Technica cartridge.

Why just the singular control knob? Well, the big feature of the Stream Onyx is that it can wirelessly cast and connect to a Sonos system. Meaning that you can begin playing a record–be it a classic like Darkness On The Edge Of Town by Bruce Springsteen or something more modern like Solar Power by Lorde–and it will be played on your Sonos speakers.

And yes, it’s a certified “Works With Sonos” product, meaning it can playback on a Sonos One, Five, Roam, Arc, Beam, and everything in between.

Victrola aims to make the setup simple through the dedicated “Victrola Stream” app for Android or iOS. You’ll be able to control the player itself along with making the connection to Sonos. You can connect the Stream Onyx to the internet wirelessly or hardwire it via an Ethernet connection.

If you don’t have a Sonos system, you can also connect the Stream Onyx to classic speakers via the RCA outputs.

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As a whole, this expansion to Victrola’s Stream portfolio is welcomed and lowers the price point to make it more accessible to even more folks. The Stream Onyx sticks out from other turntables and record players as being an all-in-one wirelessly solution. So if you have a Sonos system and want to play vinyl–whether you’ve been a fan forever or are rediscovering it–the Stream Onyx is a single solution for getting rich, vibrant playback on your speakers.

Victrola

The Stream Onyx will be up for preorder beginning on Jan. 7 at $599.99 from Amazon and Victrola ahead of shipments in late Feb. If you don’t need a turntable that connects to Sonos, Victrola makes a number of other options.

For instance, the 3-in-1 Bluetooth Record Player looks like a classic turntable and has a speaker built-in. It’s down to just $54.99,m from $89.99, and even doubles as a Bluetooth speaker. Those looking for a portable solution, or for a player that connects to other speakers via Bluetooth, can consider The Revolution Go at $199.99.

Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.