Florida teacher brings the moves in thrilling dance off with student

 Meet the dissident Russians living the ‘nightmare from which it is impossible to wake up’

Here’s a breakdown of the shifts we might see as votes are counted in six battleground states

 
Here’s a breakdown of the shifts we might see as votes are counted in six battleground states

The 2020 election taught us an important lesson: the first results you see after the polls close on Election Night can be very different than the final outcome once all the votes are tallied, a process that can stretch on for days.In some states, Republicans jumped out to an early lead in 2020, only to get swamped as Democratic-leaning mail ballots were counted, a phenomenon dubbed the “blue shift” or “red mirage.” But in other states, Republicans gained as the vote-count filled in over several days, buoyed by redder batches of votes.These shifts are bound to happen again Tuesday, as results trickle in from key midterm races.This happens because of varying state-by-state rules for how people can vote, how and when election officials tally the votes, and how often new results are posted. It’s also exacerbated by recent trends in voter preferences, with Democrats much more likely to vote-by-mail or use ballot dropboxes, while Republicans disproportionally favor going to the polls in-person on Election Day.These quirks of the US election system are normal and somewhat predictable. And they aren’t indicative of fraud or wrongdoing, despite what many prominent Republicans have falsely claimed.When more people vote-by-mail or vote early, these “shifts” or “mirages” can become even more exaggerated. And this year has already seen tens of millions of ballots cast before Election Day.Here’s a breakdown of the shifts we might see in six battleground states – featuring critical races that will decide Senate control. President Joe Biden flipped five of these six states in 2020, and they all saw prolonged vote-counts. But a note of caution: Nothing is set in stone.These aren’t predictions, they’re guideposts.

Arizona: Likely blue-to-red

Arizona is one of the most important states this cycle. There are competitive races for Senate, governor and downballot statewide offices, including for attorney general and secretary of state. In all four contests, the Republican nominee has promoted the debunked conspiracy that the 2020 election was illegitimateA blue-to-red shift could play out in Arizona, in part because election officials can start processing mail ballots as soon as they are received. This is an arduous process – election workers spend days opening envelopes, verifying signatures, and piling stacks of ballots for easy tabulation. (They can do this prep ahead of time, and start counting early, but the results aren’t released until Election Day.)There was a clear “red shift” in Arizona in 2020. Former President Donald Trump gained ground as more batches of votes were tallied after Election Night, but Trump never overtook Biden, who carried the state by roughly 10,000 ballots, or just about 0.3% of the vote.

 

Russia's war in Ukraine

Ukraine's air force says that newly arrived western air defense systems will help deal with the new threat of Iranian ballistic missiles reportedly being purchased by Russia.

Yuriy Ihnat, Air Force spokesperson, told a briefing in Kyiv that Ukraine might target the Iranian missiles at their launch sites, which would probably be well inside Russia. 

Ihnat said the Iranian missiles have "a range of 300 and 700 kilometers, which in principle will not create anything new for Ukraine, because [Russian-made] Iskanders were used from the first day of the war."

"I think both the top military leadership and our partners are working on this issue, looking for effective ways to counter these new threats," Ihnat said. 

He said that the Russians were unable to make progress on the battlefield and had resorted to attacking infrastructure supplying energy and water. "They want to hit energy facilities in the autumn-winter period first of all, because people's lives largely depend on them. This air terrorism will continue by all available means."

"It is clear that the missiles that will be received from Iran, if it is done, will be used at the energy infrastructure facilities, and [the Russians] will continue to strike with cruise missiles as well."

CNN reported on Nov. 1 that Iran is preparing to send about 1,000 additional weapons, including short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones, to Russia, citing officials from a western country that closely monitors Iran's weapons program.

Kremlin says Russia is open to negotiations — but not at this moment

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia is “open to” negotiation with Ukraine but that the moment is not right for talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree in early October formally ruling out the possibility of negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to Russia's illegal claim to annex portions of four Ukrainian regions. 

“Russians are not ready to admit they have occupied our country,” Zelensky said in September, a month before the decree. “This means there will be no substantial dialogue.”

“We want to end the war, but the space and opportunities have changed,” Zelensky said. “There is no reassurance that [the Russians] will do what they say they will do. I think they won’t. No one believes them.”

The Washington Post on Saturday reported that U.S. officials have privately encouraged the Ukrainian government to signal an openness to talks with Russia – not to reach a near-term settlement, but as a political move in order to maintain Western support for the war effort. CNN has not confirmed the Post’s reporting.

 

The Queen's funeral

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has set into motion an intricate period of mourning which will culminate with a huge state funeral on September 19 honoring her lifetime of devotion and steadfast service.

Codenamed "Operation London Bridge," arrangements for Britain's longest-serving monarch have been carefully poured over for years by the many agencies involved, with the Queen herself signing off on every single detail before her death. However, details were kept under wraps until the sitting sovereign, King Charles III, gave it all his final seal of approval.

The Queen will ultimately be laid to rest within St George's Chapel, in the grounds of Windsor Castle, alongside her "strength and stay" of 73 years, Prince Philip. Here, we've put together a day-by-day guide on what will happen from now until the state funeral.

11 september :

Following the Queen's death, her oak coffin -- draped with the Royal Standard for Scotland and a wreath of flowers -- sat in the ballroom at Balmoral, where estate staff had the chance to pay their last respects. On Sunday morning, six of her gamekeepers carried the coffin to a waiting hearse.

At 10 a.m. (5 a.m. ET), the beloved monarch's coffin embarked on its journey to the nation's capital. However, it will not go there directly. It will first make a six-hour journey to Edinburgh and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. The trip by road ordinarily takes around three hours, however, it will be driven slowly so as to allow people to witness the hearse along the route and bow their heads as it passes.

An honor guard made up of the Royal Regiment of Scotland will greet the arriving hearse in Edinburgh with a royal salute before it is transferred to the Throne Room by a military bearer party.

12 september :

On Monday morning, the King will start the day with a trip to Westminster Hall where both Houses of Parliament will express their condolences. He and his wife Camilla then fly to Edinburgh, arriving at 12:45 p.m. (7:45 a.m. ET), where they will head straight to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

At 2:35 p.m. (9:35 a.m. ET), the Queen's coffin will proceed to St Giles' Cathedral for a service of prayer and reflection attended by the King and Queen Consort and royal family members, as well as a congregation made up "from all areas of Scottish society," according to a senior palace official. Afterward, the coffin will rest there for 24 hours to allow the Scottish public to see it, in a tradition known as lying in state.

13 september :

On Tuesday, the King and Camilla will make a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland. The couple will visit Hillsborough Castle and view an exhibition on the Queen's long association with Northern Ireland. The King will then meet the secretary of state for Northern Ireland in addition to other party leaders, and receive a message of condolence led by the speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Back in Scotland, the Queen's only daughter Princess Anne will prepare to accompany her mother's body as it is flown back to London. At 5 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) the coffin will journey 8.2 miles (13.2 kilometers) by hearse to Edinburgh Airport, where it will depart for RAF Northolt.

A state hearse will bring the monarch's remains to Buckingham Palace, where the King, the Queen Consort, as well as other members of the Windsor clan, will be waiting for the coffin's arrival at around 8 p.m. (3 p.m. ET). The Dean of the Chapels Royal will conduct prayers and a bearer party found by The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards will place the coffin on trestles in the center of the Bow Room to rest overnight.

14 september :

Wednesday will see an extraordinary silent procession take the coffin on a gun carriage from Buckingham Palace over to Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster, where the Queen will lie in state until the morning of the funeral.

For this journey, the coffin will be adorned with the Imperial State Crown and a flower wreath. The procession route will set off at 2:22 p.m. (9:22 a.m. ET) along The Mall, across Horse Guards Parade, past Downing Street toward Westminster.

In what is likely to be a poignant moment, members of the royal family will walk behind their beloved matriarch. They will be followed by senior staff from the royal households as well as close personal staff and members of the Household Division. As crowds watch the procession -- which will take around 40 minutes -- Big Ben will toll and minute guns fired by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery at Hyde Park with echo across the capital.

The Queen's coffin will be placed on a raised platform -- or catafalque -- in the middle of the hall and guarded around the clock by officers from the Household Division, the King's Bodyguard or the Royal Company of Archers.

Upon its arrival at Westminster Hall, a short service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, after which the hall will be opened to the public to pay their respects.

Russia's war in Ukraine

 Russia's war in Ukraine

As a Russian retreat in the Kharkiv region continues, a senior Ukrainian official has said that more than 40 settlements have now been liberated.

Roman Semenukha, Deputy Head of the Kharkiv region military administration, told Ukrainian television: "We can officially announce the liberation of more than 40 settlements. The situation is changing incredibly quickly and there are many, many more such [de-occupied] settlements."

Semenukha said the 40 referred only to those places where the situation was completely under control, and there were more where the Ukrainian flag had been raised.

"The situation is dynamically positive. And indeed the situation is changing," he said.

Semenukha said it was wrong to suggest the Russians were simply leaving. "There are fierce, fierce battles in many areas of the front and everything is very, very difficult. If we are talking about the military component, then you just have to be patient," he said.

Ukrainian flag raised in areas close to the Russian border, local officials say

Local officials in the Kharkiv region say the Ukrainian flag has been raised in settlements close to the Russian border, confirming the continuing retreat of Russian forces in the area.

Oleksandr Kulik, an official in Derhachi northeast of the city of Kharkiv, said that the Ukrainian flag had been raised by local residents in the town of Kozacha Lopan. 

Kozacha Lopan had been occupied by the Russians since March and was an administrative center for occupation authorities. It is five kilometers from the Russian border and has been extensively damaged during the conflict.

Social media video provided by the Derhachi city council also showed residents of another settlement — Tokarivka — raising the Ukrainian flag there. Tokarivka is also close to the Russian border. 

Viktoriya Kolodochka, the head of the Tokarivka district, said Sunday: "The village was de-occupied this morning. People heard the roar of Russian military hardware. The Russians began to gather on their own in the morning and began to flee."

Kolodochka, who is not in the town but maintains contacts there, told CNN by phone that the Russians had left a lot of ammunition behind.

She also spoke of the months under occupation, which she described as "very scary." She said the occupying troops were from the Luhansk People's militia, who she said behaved like gangsters. They searched for people who had been in the security forces, confiscated phones and ransacked houses. She alleged they also beat and intimidated local residents.

"They took people to the basement of the school, beat them, electrocuted them, forced them to dig trenches, forced them to give information about people who worked in Ukrainian state bodies. But they didn’t kill anyone," she told CNN. 

Kolodochka said there had been no humanitarian aid until August when occupying forces provided some sugar and flour. She said people mainly survived on their own garden produce. She said she had left the town in April, but her parents had stayed behind.

"There are people left [in Tokarivka] who are very, very much waiting for our military," she said. "People really need help. There are ten paralyzed old ladies. There are people with diabetes and asthma. They survive as best they can. Medicines are very much needed."

As for those who had died during the occupation, Kolodochka told CNN: "There are people buried in their yards — we just buried them in their yards."

She added that there was still great uncertainty about what will happen. "People are still scared. Will they stop shooting? Is it true that the Russians have left? Or not? They are waiting for Ukrainian military so much."

But she insisted: "We will survive everything to be at home."

 

Merrick Garland says DOJ filed motion to unseal Trump Mar-a-Lago warrant and property receipt

In his first public statement since federal agents searched former President Donald Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday said that the Justice Department had filed in court a request that the search warrant and property receipt from the search be unsealed.

Garland also said he "personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter."

He noted that the department did not comment on the search on the day that it occurred. He pointed out that the search was confirmed by Trump that evening. He said that copies of the warrant and the warrant receipt were provided to the Trump lawyers who were on site during the search.

"The Department filed the motion to make public the warrant and receipt in light of the former president's public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances and the substantial public interest in this matter," Garland said. "Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor. Under my watch, that is precisely what the Justice Department is doing."

The statement comes after days of silence from the Justice Department with regard to the search, as is the department's normal practice for ongoing investigations. Garland stressed that some of the department's work must happen outside of public view.

"We do that to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations," he said, while explaining that he would not provide more detail about the basis of the search.