Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere, MLK jr – Page 90

Living with natural gas pipelines: Appalachian landowners describe fear, anxiety and loss

The Conversation

Living with natural gas pipelines: Appalachian landowners describe fear, anxiety and loss

Erin Brock Carlson, Assistant Professor of Professional Writing and Editing, West Virginia University and Martina Angela Caretta, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Lund University – February 11, 2023

Pipeline construction cuts through forests and farms in Appalachia. Provided by Erin Brock Carlson, <a href= — Pipeline construction cuts through forests and farms in Appalachia. Provided by Erin Brock Carlson, CC BY-SA

More than 2 million miles of natural gas pipelines run throughout the United States. In Appalachia, they spread like spaghetti across the region.

Many of these lines were built in just the past five years to carry natural gas from the Marcellus Shale region of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where hydraulic fracturing has boomed. West Virginia alone has seen a fourfold increase in natural gas production in the past decade.

Such fast growth has also brought hundreds of safety and environmental violations, particularly under the Trump administration’s reduced oversight and streamlined approvals for pipeline projects. While energy companies promise economic benefits for depressed regions, pipeline projects are upending the lives of people in their paths.- ADVERTISEMENT -https://s.yimg.com/rq/darla/4-10-1/html/r-sf-flx.html

As a technical and professional communication scholar focused on how rural communities deal with complex problems and a geography scholar specializing in human-environment interactions, we teamed up to study the effects of pipeline development in rural Appalachia. In 2020, we surveyed and talked with dozens of people living close to pipelines in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

What we found illuminates the stress and uncertainty that communities experience when natural gas pipelines change their landscape. Residents live with the fear of disasters, the noise of construction and the anxiety of having no control over their own land.

‘None of this is fair’

Appalachians are no strangers to environmental risk. The region has a long and complicated history with extractive industries, including coal and hydraulic fracturing. However, it’s rare to hear firsthand accounts of the long-term effects of industrial infrastructure development in rural communities, especially when it comes to pipelines, since they are the result of more recent energy-sector growth.

For all of the people we talked to, the process of pipeline development was drawn out and often confusing.

Some reported never hearing about a planned pipeline until a “land man” – a gas company representative – knocked on their door offering to buy a slice of their property; others said that they found out through newspaper articles or posts on social media. Every person we spoke with agreed that the burden ultimately fell on them to find out what was happening in their communities.

A map shows U.S. pipelines carrying natural gas and hazardous liquids in 2018. More construction has been underway since then. <a href= — A map shows U.S. pipelines carrying natural gas and hazardous liquids in 2018. More construction has been underway since then. GAO and U.S. Department of Transportation

One woman in West Virginia said that after finding out about plans for a pipeline feeding a petrochemical complex several miles from her home, she started doing her own research. “I thought to myself, how did this happen? We didn’t know anything about it,” she said. “It’s not fair. None of this is fair. … We are stuck with a polluting company.”

‘Lawyers ate us up’

If residents do not want pipelines on their land, they can pursue legal action against the energy company rather than taking a settlement. However, this can result in the use of eminent domain.

Eminent domain is a right given by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to companies to access privately held property if the project is considered important for public need. Compensation is decided by the courts, based on assessed land value, not taking into consideration the intangibles tied to the loss of the land surrounding one’s home, such as loss of future income.

Through this process, residents can be forced to accept a sum that doesn’t take into consideration all effects of pipeline construction on their land, such as the damage heavy equipment will do to surrounding land and access roads.

One man we spoke with has lived on his family’s land for decades. In 2018, a company representative approached him for permission to install a new pipeline parallel to one that had been in place since 1962, far away from his house. However, crews ran into problems with the steep terrain and wanted to install it much closer to his home. Unhappy with the new placement, and seeing erosion from pipeline construction on the ridge behind his house causing washouts, he hired a lawyer. After several months of back and forth with the company, he said, “They gave me a choice: Either sign the contract or do the eminent domain. And my lawyer advised me that I didn’t want to do eminent domain.”

Pipeline construction cuts through a farmer’s field. Provided by Erin Brock Carlson, <a href= — Pipeline construction cuts through a farmer’s field. Provided by Erin Brock Carlson, CC BY-SA

There was a unanimous sense among the 31 people we interviewed that companies have seemingly endless financial and legal resources, making court battles virtually unwinnable. Nondisclosure agreements can effectively silence landowners. Furthermore, lawyers licensed to work in West Virginia who aren’t already working for gas companies can be difficult to find, and legal fees can become too much for residents to pay.

One woman, the primary caretaker of land her family has farmed for 80 years, found herself facing significant legal fees after a dispute with a gas company. “We were the first and last ones to fight them, and then people saw what was going to happen to them, and they just didn’t have – it cost us money to get lawyers. Lawyers ate us up,” she said.

The pipeline now runs through what were once hayfields. “We haven’t had any income off that hay since they took it out in 2016,” she said. “It’s nothing but a weed patch.”

‘I mean, who do you call?’

Twenty-six of the 45 survey respondents reported that they felt that their property value had decreased as a result of pipeline construction, citing the risks of water contamination, explosion and unusable land.

Many of the 31 people we interviewed were worried about the same sort of long-term concerns, as well as gas leaks and air pollution. Hydraulic fracturing and other natural gas processes can affect drinking water resources, especially if there are spills or improper storage procedures. Additionally, methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and volatile organic compounds, which can pose health risks, are byproducts of the natural gas supply chain.

Oil spills are a major concern among land owners. Provided by Erin Brock Carlson, <a href= — Oil spills are a major concern among land owners. Provided by Erin Brock Carlson, CC BY-SA

“Forty years removed from this, are they going to be able to keep track and keep up with infrastructure? I mean, I can smell gas as I sit here now,” one man told us. His family had watched the natural gas industry move into their part of West Virginia in the mid-2010s. In addition to a 36-inch pipe on his property, there are several smaller wells and lines. “This year the company servicing the smaller lines has had nine leaks … that’s what really concerns me,” he said.

The top concern mentioned by survey respondents was explosions.

According to data from 2010 to 2018, a pipeline explosion occurred, on average, every 11 days in the U.S. While major pipeline explosions are relatively rare, when they do occur, they can be devastating. In 2012, a 20-inch transmission line exploded in Sissonville, West Virginia, damaging five homes and leaving four lanes of Interstate 77 looking “like a tar pit.”

A gas line explosion near Sissonville, West Virginia, sent flames across Interstate 77. <a href= — A gas line explosion near Sissonville, West Virginia, sent flames across Interstate 77. AP Photo/Joe Long

Amplifying these fears is the lack of consistent communication from corporations to residents living along pipelines. Approximately half the people we interviewed reported that they did not have a company contact to call directly in case of a pipeline emergency, such as a spill, leak or explosion. “I mean, who do you call?” one woman asked.

‘We just keep doing the same thing’

Several people interviewed described a fatalistic attitude toward energy development in their communities.

Energy analysts expect gas production to increase this year after a slowdown in 2020. Pipeline companies expect to keep building. And while the Biden administration is likely to restore some regulations, the president has said he would not ban fracking.

“It’s just kind of sad because they think, once again, this will be West Virginia’s salvation,” one landowner said. “Harvesting the timber was, then digging the coal was our salvation. … And then here’s the third one. We just keep doing the same thing.”

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This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts. Try our free newsletters.

It was written by: Erin Brock Carlson, West Virginia University and Martina Angela Caretta, Lund University.

Read more:

Dr. Carlson has received funding this project from the West Virginia University Humanities Center.

Dr Caretta has received funding for this project from the Heinz Foundation and the West Virginia University Humanities Center.

The Republican Distraction Farm Is Failing Because They’re Employing Less Talented Grievance-Farmers

Esquire

The Republican Distraction Farm Is Failing Because They’re Employing Less Talented Grievance-Farmers

Jack Holmes – February 10, 2023

little rock, arkansas february 07 arkansas gov sarah huckabee sanders delivers the republican response to the state of the union address by president joe biden on february 7, 2023 in little rock, arkansas biden tonight vowed to not allow the us to default on its debt by calling on congress to raise the debt ceiling and chastising republicans seeking to leverage the standoff to force spending cuts photo by al drago poolgetty images — Republican Grievance-Farmers Lose Green ThumbsPool – Getty Images

“Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links.”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, now the governor of Arkansas, gave a rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address this week that suggested Republicans have learned precious few lessons from their dramatic underperformance in the midterms. Biden’s speech was a full-throated appeal to everyday Americans on populist economic grounds—one that actually echoed some of Donald Trump’s rhetoric in the 2016 campaign. Sanders brought the now-standard routine about The Woke Mob “that can’t even tell you what a woman is,” and that is ushering in a world where “children are taught to hate one another on account of their race.” She referred to “C.R.T.” as if everyone listening would know that stands for Critical Race Theory (and that it is inherently evil). Sanders did outline a plan to raise starting salaries for Arkansas teachers, which is welcome in an era in which the American right increasingly seeks to paint educators as rogue agents of Woke determined to brainwash your kids.

The latter is the kind of stuff that cost them seats in the midterms. It hits squarely with people who are up-to-date on their Fox News folklore, fluent in the language of culture-war apocalypto. But for most people, it’s probably pretty weird. They mostly like their kids’ teachers, who are usually trying to do the best job they can in sometimes challenging circumstances. For years, the Democratic Party was the one considered out of touch, if only because of the alienating way that some liberals talked about the issues. But that’s now the Republican Party’s stock-in-trade. The right’s rising star—at least in the view of media-politico types—is the governor of Florida, Ronald DeSantis, who has replaced his pandemic anti-interventionist crusade (which at least dealt with a major issue of public concern) with campaigns against Woke Corporations and in favor of the government’s prerogative to police what teachers teach in schools. It’s gotten fewer national headlines that he, too, has sought to raise salaries, but that nugget is competing with news that teachers have been told to remove or cover up books out of fear they could face criminal charges for their content.

Maybe DeSantis is reluctant to talk about other parts of his record because, as the political press finally turns to it, we’re fully realizing how committed he once was to changing Social Security and Medicare. (We’ve also seen how touchy Republicans get when you talk about this since Biden brought it up at the State of the Union. Even a talk-radio host interviewing Ron Johnson was explicitly trying to brand this stuff as “reforms” not “cuts.”) The president pointed out that some Republicans—including chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Lizard-American Rick Scott—have called for sunsetting all federal legislation after five years. This would by definition include Medicare and Social Security.

daytona beach shores, florida, united states 20230118 florida gov ron desantis speaks at a press conference to announce the award of $100 million for beach recovery following hurricanes ian and nicole in daytona beach shores in florida the funding will support beach projects within 16 coastal counties, with hard hit volusia county receiving the largest grant, over $37 million photo by paul hennessysopa imageslightrocket via getty images — Time will tell if Ronald DeSantis is the kind of right-winger who can still thread the needle.SOPA Images – Getty Images

Maybe they would be renewed as-is, but that’s quite a bet to make, particularly when you examine the record of the hospital chain Scott once ran. DeSantis, though, used to be even more forthright. He supported privatizing aspects of both programs in his 2012 congressional campaign, CNN found, and once in Congress he supported Paul Ryan’s agenda on “entitlements.” (They are earned benefits.) All this is based on the combined notions that these programs are fiscally unsustainable and raising taxes is a kind of supreme evil. None of this is new: George W. Bush tried to privatize Social Security. Ronald Reagan launched his political career with this stuff. Maybe DeSantis is an example of how how you can get away with this kind of policy record, considering he’s extremely popular in the old folks’ Mecca of Florida. Or maybe we in the press have just done a godawful job.

Republicans lose votes when people get a good look at their proposals on these issues, so maybe it’s no wonder they’re now permanently engaged in culture-war food fights. Except that also seems to have lost its luster outside The Base. Trump at least had a canny ear for the more transcendent gripes, particularly in 2016. His would-be successors are less talented grievance farmers, and some absolute loony toons have joined their ranks in Congress. It’s not a change so much as it’s become more obvious than it was that Republicans have no plans to address problems in normal people’s lives. They’re getting so high on their own supply that they can no longer even explain some of these bedrocks of their politics. The Louisville Courier-Journal‘s Joe Sonka asked Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers for his definition of “woke” on Friday and he replied, “Woke? That is the definition to me that is a describing of a mentality or a culture that certain individuals have about how things are progressing through society.” Hey man, maybe carve out some time to think about this or just admit that it’s become a hollow vehicle for reactionary rage.

New Jersey student ends her life after months of bullying, video of school hallway beating circulates online

Fox News

New Jersey student ends her life after months of bullying, video of school hallway beating circulates online

Sarah Rumpf – February 9, 2023

This story may contains details that are disturbing. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

A 14-year-old girl from New Jersey ended her life after a disturbing video of girls viciously beating her up in the high school’s hallway circulated online. Now, her distraught father is promising to remember her legacy by bringing awareness of a broken school system he says overlooked extensive school bullying.

Adriana Kuch, a student at Central Regional High School, was found dead on Feb. 3 at her home two days after the shocking video surfaced.

The disturbing video shows Adriana and her boyfriend walking down the hallway of the local public high school when a student walks up and starts walloping her in the face with a water bottle. Adriana falls to the ground, where she is repeatedly kicked and punched by a group of students. Cheering is heard from the student who took the shocking video.

About 30 seconds into the attack, two school workers interrupted the ambush.

FLORIDA STUDENTS ARRESTED FOR TIKTOK VIDEOS SIMULATING MASS SHOOTING

Following the attack on Feb.1, Adriana sustained severe bruising on her legs and face. Michael Kush, Adriana’s father, was shocked after hearing about the bullying incident. He told Fox News Digital that he took his 14-year-old teen to the local police station to file a report about the incident. The Berkeley Township Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The father also said his daughter showed him videos of people taunting her and threatening her on TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat following the attack. Adriana reportedly faced months of bullying from fellow classmates at the local high school.

Despite reaching out to school faculty, Michael shared that, “no action was taken by anyone,” following the incident. Just two days later, family members found Adriana deceased in her New Jersey home.

Michael shared with Fox News Digital that he is taking legal action against the school.

“I’m livid,” Michael shared with Fox News Digital. “I blame the girls and the school and the cops. I want everyone to know what happened to her, I want justice, as much attention, so they can’t ignore it.”

Michael shared that he believes his daughter would be alive if the school and police had taken immediate action.

“If the school contacted the police, filed a report, and conducted an investigation, these videos could have been discovered immediately.” Michael shared.

On Feb. 5, Central Regional High School sent out a note to the student body sharing the “tragic passing” of a district student. The school also provided information on available counseling and crisis professionals, stating “please know that you are never alone in the world and there is always support during bad times to help change things for the better.”

Central Regional High School did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital.

However, Michael shared that Adriana is not the first student at Central Regional High School who has faced extensive physical abuse and cyberbullying on school grounds. On his public Facebook page, Michael shared videos from other parents whose children have faced bullying without school administration stepping in.

“The more I continue to see, the more I want to fight for all kids against schools like this.” Michael said. “Complete incompetence from top to bottom.”

As of Thursday evening, three students who were involved in the video incident were charged with third-degree felony assault and a fourth with disorderly conduct. All four students involved in the attack have been expelled from the local high school.

Adriana’s wake will be held Friday.

A secret Russian satellite has broken apart in orbit, creating a cloud of debris that could last a century

Business Insider

A secret Russian satellite has broken apart in orbit, creating a cloud of debris that could last a century

Morgan McFall-Johnsen – February 8, 2023

illustration shows satellite shedding bits of metal debris high above earth — An illustration of a satellite breaking up above Earth.ESA/ID&Sense/ONiRiXEL, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

A secretive Russian satellite broke apart in Earth’s orbit, the US Space Force said on Monday.
Kosmos 2499 launched secretly and made “suspicious” maneuvers to complete a mysterious mission.
The satellite’s possible explosion-induced debris field could last a century, according to NASA.

A mysterious Russian satellite with a shady mission has broken apart in Earth’s orbit, creating a hazardous cloud of debris zipping around the planet and menacing other satellites, US Space Force announced.

The 18th Space Defense Squadron said on Twitter Monday that it had confirmed a satellite called Kosmos 2499 had broken apart into 85 pieces.

Previous collisions and satellite break-ups have created far larger and more hazardous debris fields than this.

But the pieces of Kosmos 2499 are orbiting at an altitude of about 745 miles — so high that they’ll probably be there for a century or longer before Earth’s atmosphere drags them down and burns them up, according to NASA.

Kosmos 2499 is one of three satellites that Russia launched secretly from 2013 to 2015. Its beginning is even more mysterious than its end.

NASA and the US Department of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.

The satellite was launched secretly and made ‘suspicious’ maneuvers in orbit

rocket spews orange flame lifts off in the arctic — A Russian “Rokot” rocket lifts off from a launch pad near the town of Plesetsk in Arctic Russia.Reuters

On Christmas Day 2013, Russia launched a small Rokot rocket into the skies above Plesetsk, carrying three military communications satellites into orbit.

It seemed like a standard launch, until space trackers noticed that the Rokot had released a fourth object into orbit, according to Anatoly Zak, an English-language reporter who covers Russia’s space program and runs Russianspaceweb.com.

A few months later, Russia admitted to the United Nations that it had launched a fourth satellite, which came to be known as Kosmos 2491. Its purpose was unclear.

Russia launched another secret satellite in May 2014, and it soon began maneuvering itself in orbit, dropping and raising its altitude until it brought itself “suspiciously close” to the rocket stage that had delivered it to orbit, according to Zak. The US military designated the object Kosmos 2499.

For nearly half a year, this mystery satellite trailed its rocket stage and maneuvered up close to it repeatedly. Then it transmitted telemetry data back to Earth in Morse code, according to Zak.

The bizarre behavior led to speculation that Russia was testing technology to follow or wreck other satellites, according to Space.com.

The head of Roscosmos at the time, Oleg Ostapenko, assured the world in a December 2014 press conference that Kosmos 2491 and Kosmos 2499 were not “killer satellites,” Zak reported. Ostapenko said the satellites had peaceful, educational purposes and that “they completed their mission.” Zak said the Roscosmos chief never specified what that mission was.

A similar Rokot launch sent a third unregistered satellite into orbit the next year.

The first secret satellite, Kosmos 2491, broke apart in 2019. Kosmos 2499 just met the same fate.

The satellite may have exploded, rather than crashing

The cause of the satellite’s disintegration is not yet clear.

Brian Weeden, a space-debris expert at the Secure World Foundation, told ArsTechnica that he doesn’t think a collision caused it, since two of the secretive satellites have gone out like this.

“This suggests to me that perhaps these events are the result of a design error in the fuel tanks or other systems that are rupturing after several years in space rather than something like a collision with a piece of debris,” Weeden told ArsTechnica.

That aligns with a preliminary analysis by LeoLabs, a company that tracks objects in Earth’s orbit. The company tweeted that its early data “points toward a low intensity explosion,” likely from the satellite’s propulsion system.

LeoLabs said its models had “moderate confidence” in this finding.

“As more of the fragments get cataloged and included in the analysis we will be able to provide a more definitive cause of the event,” the company wrote, adding that “understanding why these types of events occur is key to preventing them in the future.”

How Hecklers Turned the State of the Union Into a Biden 2024 Ad

Time

How Hecklers Turned the State of the Union Into a Biden 2024 Ad

Philip Elliott – February 8, 2023

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., yells during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. Credit – Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

When a fur-coiffed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene yelled “liar” Tuesday night, among the loudest in an abrupt chorus of boos, the oldest President to ever deliver a State of the Union address didn’t miss a beat. He smiled and went far afield from his script as GOP lawmakers tried to reject his claims that Republicans were ready to gut social entitlement programs.

“Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right? We’ve got unanimity?” he asked. “Apparently it’s not going to be a problem,” he deadpanned at another moment.

The striking exchange, and Biden’s ease in handling it in front of an audience of millions, illustrated why the Democratic establishment isn’t yet ready to toss their 80-year-old standard-bearer overboard.

Despite a halting, vamped opening to Tuesday’s State of the Union speech—a Super Bowl joke? Why?— Biden proved himself plenty capable of holding his own when his Republican hecklers started to stalk him. In fact, he actually demonstrated how he might be able to troll them into their own self-own status in real time. Give Biden acrimony, he’ll toss back accomplishments. Throw him hostility, he’ll offer hope.

“As my football coach used to say, ‘Lots of luck in your senior year,’” he deadpanned at one point, mocking lawmakers who seemed to think high school was the same as the big leagues of Congress.

Biden baited Greene’s fellow Republicans into pledges of fealty to Social Security. When others pummeled him on the U.S.-Mexican dotted line—”secure the border”—Biden taunted them with an offer to work on comprehensive immigration reform. And when Republicans tried to lay blame at the ongoing drug addiction and overdose crisis at Biden’s feet, he simply asked Republicans if they’d work with him to combat it.

For as much as Democrats are gritting their teeth and girding for the worst when it comes to Biden’s likely 2024 campaign, Tuesday night’s State of the Union gave them reason to hold onto optimism. It wasn’t a robust reason, but it was sufficient. Biden showed he can keep his ground in the face of Republican attack; in fact, he seemed to delight in the heckling that came from the floor of the House. For every “liar”—and worse—that rose from the floor, Biden seemed ready with the rejoinder of his first-term economic record. For every peel of stage laughter coming from his physical left and his political right, Biden stood ready to offer some undeniably impressive facts. And for every protest to his trolling suggestion that Republicans were ready to ditch Social Security, Biden had a taunt right in the margins of his heavy black binder.

Biden’s third joint address to Congress set the tone not just for the next year but also his still-unannounced re-election campaign. Biden laid the trap of bipartisan collaboration as well as anyone in recent memory but also set the timer on some partisan timebombs.

Biden is convinced that he is the only Democrat in the land who can block Donald Trump’s return to the White House and is increasingly itchy to make his 2024 re-election bid real. He has effectively frozen the field of would-be challengers, resetting the nominating calendar in such a way that renders challengers as also-rans. He has never been a strong fundraiser or nurturer of outside moneybags, but the deep-pocketed allies are nonetheless ready to bankroll his efforts to stay in the gig that he has chased since his 20s.

So it’s worth considering Tuesday night’s State of the Union as the prologue to Biden’s next chapter, perhaps the final eighth volume in his Robert Caro-esque chronicle. (For the record, not that I’d write it: the first volume would be the first Senate race; Volume II: his Senate term ahead of the 1988 race; III: his return to the Senate; IV: the 2008 primary: V: his time as Vice President; VI: his time as a free radical from 2016-20; and VII: the last two years, leading us to the present.) Biden holds dear to him the spirit of Irish poets, in that the specter of legacy is always just barely off-stage and always above it. Biden wants wins, and his speech—and the interruptions to it—suggest a measure of confrontation is going to define it.

That said, Republicans weren’t entirely sure that the interludes of heckling and hectoring were useful to their side. In fact, plenty of Republicans groaned in the chamber and groused privately that the likes of Greene managed to make the speech into an interactive experience not terribly dissimilar to the British Parliament’s tradition of P.M. Questions. In public, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy shushed his caucus a number of times as they chucked invectives at Biden. More quietly—but still in view of the public—Utah Sen. Mitt Romney tried to silence a GOP House member who has proven plenty shameful to the brand. Romney—who in 2008 and 2012 thought he would do well to be giving a State of the Union himself as President—told Rep. George Santos that he was an embarrassment. Biden seemed to share that assessment, opting to see Santos and deny him a handshake on the aisle.

Again, Biden mightn’t be the most optimal nominee-in-waiting Democrats have ever had on deck, but he’s hardly the most problematic. And that, right there, is why Tuesday night’s State of the Union leaves a whole of the Democratic Party’s top donor roster less dour than they began their week. It’s also why the ragtag Republican contenders hoping to see a slow, doddering commander in chief ready to be put out to pasture were standing at the starting line with empty hands.

George Santos grabbed an aisle seat at the State of the Union. Not everyone was eager to shake his hand.

Insider

George Santos grabbed an aisle seat at the State of the Union. Not everyone was eager to shake his hand.

Nicole Gaudiano,Bryan Metzger and Warren Rojas – February 7, 2023

Republican Rep. George Santos of New York at the State of the Union address on February 7, 2023.Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images

Embattled Rep. George Santos grabbed a premier center aisle seat ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address.
That seating put him in a prime position to shake some hands.
But he soon discovered that not everyone, including some Republicans, was interested in seeing him.

Republican Rep. George Santos of New York grabbed a seat on the center aisle ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, putting him in a prime position to shake some hands.

Seated beside Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Santos soon discovered that not everyone — including some Republicans — was interested in seeing him.

As they began to enter the chamber around 8:30 pm, several senators customarily shook hands with the scandal-plagued Long Island congressman, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, and even a couple of Democrats: Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Dick Durbin of Illinois.

But several senators were visibly uninterested, particularly Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah.

George Santos is talking with Mitt Romney pic.twitter.com/JSgAkXIby2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023

Other dignitaries who passed by Santos also passed over him, even as they shook hands with Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, seated on the other side of him. Among them was Vice President Kamala Harris.

Santos sat just in front of Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and behind Rep. Trent Kelly of Mississippi.

Aside from reserved places for leadership, seats in the House chamber are not assigned to members of Congress during the State of the Union Address. Seats are reserved for senators as a group in the front of the chamber and House members sit behind them. House members can claim preferred spots during the day but they have to camp out there to reserve them for the entirety of the speech.

Many Republicans have spent the last month avoiding Santos, who is at the center of a media circus sparked by myriad lies on his resume and investigations of his campaign finances, and who has faced calls to resign from members not just within his own party, but from his home state delegation.

Many of those who spoke recently with Insider’s Bryan Metzger made it clear they wanted nothing to do with Santos.

But as Metzger noted, the congressman who initially sat by himself during his first days in office eventually found a “receptive crowd” among the chamber’s right-wing lawmakers.

Photos of Santos from earlier this session show him sitting between Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and fellow freshman Andy Ogles of Tennessee or with Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas, who told Metzger that Santos seems like a “nice guy.” Greene appears to have known Santos at least since 2020.

During the House speaker vote fight, Insider spotted Santos hanging out by Kevin McCarthy tormentors Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.

In recent weeks, Insider has watched Santos roam around the chamber during votes. Sometimes that entails standing alone along the back wall as members weigh in on pending bills, while on at least one occasion he spent about 10 minutes chatting up fellow freshman GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida.

GOP on GOP: Romney scolds Santos, ‘You don’t belong here’

Associated Press

GOP on GOP: Romney scolds Santos, ‘You don’t belong here’

Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick – February 8, 2023

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and other Republicans gather in the House Chamber before President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Ind-Ariz., center, speaks with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, left, and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., right, and others, before President Joe Biden arrives to deliver his State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep.George Santos, R-N.Y., lower center, and other Republicans, gather in the House Chamber before President Joe Biden arrives to deliver his State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., talks with people before President Joe Biden arrives to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., sits as other Republicans stand as President Joe Biden talks about American manufacturing during the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, leave after President Joe Biden delivered the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. George Santos positioned himself in a prime location for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address — an uncomfortably prominent place for the embattled new lawmaker who faces multiple investigations and has acknowledged embellishing and even lying about his life story.

Santos’ presence at the center aisle to see and be seen with the arrivals was met with a stern rebuke from a fellow Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney.

“You don’t belong here,” the Utah Republican scolded Santos as he entered the House chamber and spotted the New York Republican on the aisle.

Words were exchanged, it was reported, though Romney said later he did not hear it all.

“He shouldn’t be in Congress, and they are going to go through the process and hopefully get him out,” Romney told reporters afterward, his office confirmed. “But he shouldn’t be there, and if he had any shame at all he wouldn’t be there.”

The exchange was an unusual lashing by the more reserved Romney, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2012, but shows the discomfort Santos is bringing among traditional conservatives critical of the rightward drift of more extremist elements of the GOP.

Santos retorted with a tweet: “Hey @MittRomney just a reminder that you will NEVER be PRESIDENT!”

The arrival of Santos has been a problem for the Republicans since he won a New York congressional seat, which helped to deliver the party a slim majority, once his personal story began to unravel.

Santos has acknowledged fabricating, and at times lying, about parts of his education, work experience and even his family’s own religion and history.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met privately with the congressman last week amid a swirl of potential investigations on and off Capitol Hill. Santos announced he would step aside from his committee assignments ahead of an expected House Ethics Committee probe.

McCarthy said Tuesday the situation with Santos would work its way through the House Ethics Committee. Fellow New York Republicans have called for Santos to resign from Congress. Santos faces other investigations beyond Congress.

Other Republicans heard the exchange and one Republican lawmaker who was told about it said there was widespread displeasure that Santos had situated himself in such a prominent spot. The lawmaker requested anonymity to discuss what others said about the subject.

The center aisle basically gave Santos the chance to seize the limelight by greeting the president and other prominent officials as they entered the House chamber and made their way down the aisle.

As senators entered the House in a line, it was then that Romney spotted Santos and delivered his message.

“I didn’t expect that he’d be standing there, trying to shake hands with every senator and the president of the United States,” Romney told reporters later.

Romney said that given the investigations, Santos “should be sitting the back row and staying quiet, instead of parading in front of the president and people coming into the room.”

But Santos, as is often the case, had his moment, becoming for a time the face of the GOP.

Putin likely supplied the missile that downed flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, investigators say

Insider

Putin likely supplied the missile that downed flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, investigators say

Sinéad Baker – February 8, 2023

Lawyers attend the judges' inspection of the reconstruction of the MH17 wreckage, as part of the murder trial ahead of the beginning of a critical stage, on May 26, 2021 in Reijen, Netherlands. — Lawyers attend the judges’ inspection of the MH17 wreckage, on May 26, 2021 in Reijen, Netherlands.Photo by Piroschka van de Wouw – Pool/Getty Images

Putin likely gave separatists the missile that hit flight MH17, investigators said on Wednesday.
298 people died when the Malaysian Airlines flight was shot down in 2014.
But prosecutors said they can’t pursue suspects due to the high bar of proof necessary.

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely supplied the missile system that shot down flight MH17 in July 2014, killing 298 people onboard, international investigators said on Wednesday.

The team has been investigating the crash since August 2014, and said in a statement that there are “strong indications” that the Russian president decided on supplying the missile system to separatists in Ukraine.

Investigators have previously said that the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down by a Buk missile brought from Russia to a field in Ukraine.

They said on Wednesday that the separatists had asked for longer-range anti-aircraft systems and that there is “concrete information” that the separatists’ request was presented to the Russian president, and that this request was granted.

But, they added, it’s not known whether their request explicitly mentioned the missile system that was later used to shoot down MH17.

Nor was it ultimately clear if Putin “deliberately assisted in the downing of MH17.”

Russia has always denied any involvement in the fate of the plane.

Investigators said on Wednesday that the evidence was not strong enough to formally accuse Putin.

“Although we speak of strong indications, the high bar of complete and conclusive evidence is not reached. Furthermore, the President enjoys immunity in his position as Head of State,” they said in the statement.

Prosecutors also said on Monday that they did not have enough evidence to pursue criminal proceedings against anyone else associated with the crash.

A Dutch court sentenced three men — Russian nationals Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinskiy and Ukrainian national Leonid Kharchenko — to life in prison last November over the downing of the plane. But the men are still at large.

The plane, a Boeing 777, was flying from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was shot down over eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists had taken over parts of the country.

MH17 inquiry: ‘Strong indications’ Putin OK’d missile supply

Associated Press

MH17 inquiry: ‘Strong indications’ Putin OK’d missile supply

Mike Corder – February 8, 2023

Digna van Boetzelaer, the Netherlands, Andy Kraag, the Netherlands, David McLean, Australia, Asha Hoe Soo Lian, Malaysia, Eric van der Sypt, Belgium, and Oleksandr Bannyk, Ukraine, from left to right, are seen during the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) holds a news conference in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, on the results of the ongoing investigation into other parties involved in the downing of flight MH17 on 17 July 2014. The JIT investigated the crew of the Buk-TELAR, a Russian made rocket launcher, and those responsible for supplying this Russian weapon system that downed MH17. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) — Netherlands Ukraine MH17
Digna van Boetzelaer, the Netherlands, Andy Kraag, the Netherlands, David McLean, Australia, Asha Hoe Soo Lian, Malaysia, Eric van der Sypt, Belgium, and Oleksandr Bannyk, Ukraine, from left to right, are seen during the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) holds a news conference in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023.

FILE - People walk amongst the debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, July 17, 2014. An international team is presenting an update Wednesday Feb. 8, 2023 on its investigation into the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine. The announcement comes nearly three months after a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel for their roles in shooting down the Boeing 777 and killing all 298 people on board on July 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File) — People walk amongst the debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, July 17, 2014. An international team is presenting an update Wednesday Feb. 8, 2023 on its investigation into the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine. The announcement comes nearly three months after a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel for their roles in shooting down the Boeing 777 and killing all 298 people on board on July 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An international team of investigators said Wednesday it found “strong indications” that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the supply of heavy anti-aircraft weapons to Ukrainian separatists who shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 with a Russian missile.

However, members of the Joint Investigation Team said they had insufficient evidence to prosecute Putin or any other suspects and they suspended their 8½-year inquiry into the shooting down that killed all 298 people on board the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Russia has always denied any involvement in the downing of the flight over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, and refused to cooperate with the international investigation.

Dutch prosecutors said that “there are strong indications that the Russian president decided on supplying” a Buk missile system — the weapon that downed MH17 — to Ukrainian separatists.

“Although we speak of strong indications, the high bar of complete and conclusive evidence is not reached,” Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer said, adding that without Russian cooperation, “the investigation has now reached its limit. All leads have been exhausted.”

She also said that, as head of state, Putin would have immunity from prosecution in the Netherlands. The team played a recording of an intercepted phone call in which they said Putin could be heard discussing the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

“Are we disappointed? No, because we think we came further than we had ever thought in 2014. Would we have liked to come further? Of course, yes,” said Andy Kraag of the Dutch police.

The team informed relatives of those killed in the downing of MH17 of their findings before making them public.

“There was disappointment because … they wanted to know why MH17 was shot down,” Kraag said. “We’re really clear on what has happened, but the answer to the question why MH17 was shot down still remains in Russia.”

Van Boetzelaer said that while the investigation is being suspended, phone lines will remain open for possible witnesses who may still want to provide evidence. If that happens, the inquiry could be reactivated.

Russian officials say that a decision to provide rebels with military support over the summer of 2014 was in Putin’s hands.

A decision to supply arms was even postponed for a week “because there is only one who makes a decision (…), the person who is currently at a summit in France,” the investigative team said, citing a phone conversation that was referring to Putin.

Prosecutors said that at the time Putin was at a commemoration of D-Day in France.

The announcement by the investigative team comes nearly three months after a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel for their roles in shooting down the plane. One Russian was acquitted by the court.

None of the suspects appeared for the trial and it was unclear if the three who were found guilty of multiple murders will ever serve their sentences.

The convictions and the court’s finding that the surface-to-air Buk missile came from a Russian military base were seen as a clear indication that Moscow had a role in the tragedy. Russia has always denied involvement. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the court in November of bowing to pressure from Dutch politicians, prosecutors and the news media.

But the November convictions held that Moscow was in overall control in 2014 over the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, the separatist area of eastern Ukraine where the missile was launched. The Buk missile system came from the Russian military’s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, based in the city of Kursk.

The Joint Investigation Team is made up of experts from the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine. Most of the victims were Dutch. It had continued to investigate the crew of the missile system that brought down the plane and those who ordered its deployment in Ukraine.

As well as the criminal trial that was held in the Netherlands, the Dutch and Ukrainian governments are suing Russia at the European Court of Human Rights over its alleged role in the downing of MH17.

The findings revealed Wednesday will likely strengthen the case at the human rights court and could also be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court who are investigating possible war crimes in Ukraine dating back to the start of the separatist conflict.

Biden, Republicans engage in fiery debt ceiling back-and-forth during State of the Union address

Yahoo! News

Biden, Republicans engage in fiery debt ceiling back-and-forth during State of the Union address

David Knowles, Senior Editor – February 7, 2023

President Biden and Republican lawmakers engaged in an animated back-and-forth during Tuesday’s State of the Union address over whether to raise the debt ceiling.

“Some of my Republican friends want to take the economy hostage, I get it,” Biden said over threats made by Republican lawmakers to insist on spending cuts before they would agree to raise debt ceiling, “unless I agree to their economic plan. All of you at home should know what those plans are.”

As Biden continued his speech, a handful of Republicans began voicing their displeasure, calling out and interrupting the president.

Joe Biden with Kamala Harris and Kevin McCarthy — President Biden delivers the State of the Union address as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy look on. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via AP)

“Instead of making the wealthy pay their fare share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security sunset,” Biden said as many Republican booed him.

“Anybody who doubts it,” Biden said as a chorus of Republican boos ensued, “contact my office, I’ll give you a copy of the proposal.”

As Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, continued to boo and taunt the president, he quipped, “That’s OK, I enjoy conversation.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene heckling President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“If Congress doesn’t keep the programs the way they are, they can go away, Republicans say. I’m not saying it’s a majority of you. I don’t even think it’s a significant majority—” Biden said before being cut off by more jeering. “It’s being proposed by individuals. I’m politely not naming them, but it’s being proposed by some of you.”

At one point, Greene could be heard calling Biden a liar.

“The idea is, we’re not going to be moved into being threatened to default on the debt if we don’t respond,” Biden said, drawing applause from his Democratic colleagues.

After Republican curtailed their vocal objections, Biden concluded by saying, “So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right? They’re not to be touched. All right.”

That again gave Democrats something to cheer.

While it’s unusual for lawmakers to shout during presidential addresses to Congress, it’s not entirely unprecedented. In 2009, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., yelled out “You lie!” during a health care speech by President Barack Obama.

Wilson’s outburst was roundly criticized by Republican leaders at the time and he quickly issued an apology.