Month: November 2021

Pentagon Denies Oklahoma Governor’s Request And Insists National Guard Members Must Be Vaccinated

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CNN:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin denied a request from Oklahoma’s governor to exempt his state’s National Guard members from the Pentagon’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

Austin emphasized that the vaccine mandate is a lawful order that promotes “the health, safety and readiness of our military personnel, regardless of duty status” in the letter, which CNN obtained a copy of.

The letter added that National Guard members who don’t get vaccinated could be banned from “participation in drills and training conducted,” and their status in the service could be jeopardized.

Attorney General Rutledge Blocks Biden Administration’s CMS Vaccine Mandate In Arkansas

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Southwest Arkansas Today:

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced the United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, issued a preliminary injunction, halting the Biden Administration from enforcing a vaccine mandate on healthcare workers in Arkansas and in nine other states.

“President Biden has been stopped again by the swift legal action of my office,” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “President Biden’s illegal CMS vaccine mandate has no place in Arkansas. I will continue to protect Arkansans from having to decide between getting the shot or losing their job.”

Russia Says It Launches Mass Production Of Zircon Hypersonic Missiles

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Defence Blog:

Russian state media on Friday stated that Russia has begun mass production of a batch of Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles.

TASS also quoted the source saying that “A serial production of Zircon missiles is underway at the NPO Mashinostroyenia [originally known simply as OKB-52], although state trials of this product’s surface launches will continue.”

Also added that flight development tests of the Zircon hypersonic missile from an underwater carrier after two successful test launches would resume from the Project 885M (Yasen-M) modified nuclear-powered submarine Perm in 2024.

Next I-49 Work Plans To Extend New Highway Across River Valley, South To Y City

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Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

The Arkansas Department of Transportation is working to extend Interstate 49 in Arkansas with another 13 miles across the River Valley.

The department’s next project is building a section of interstate from Arkansas 22 near Barling in Sebastian County to the interchange of Interstate 40 and Interstate 49 at Alma in Crawford County.

“That piece from the river up, it certainly will benefit a lot of people,” said Chad Adams, a district engineer with the Transportation Department. “Everybody south of the river, it’s going to improve their connectivity up to Fayetteville and Bentonville and to I-40 east and west.”

The timeline is undetermined. Adams said some preparation work has been done for the section north of the Arkansas River, but the portion south of the river is still in the planning stages. Crews are out doing survey, environmental and geological work required to decide how and where to build across the river bottoms.

Group Preparing To Honor Veterans With Wreath-Laying

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Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

A local program is preparing to put roughly 16,500 wreaths in Fort Smith National Cemetery to honor veterans over the holidays.

Organizer Philip Merry said the nonprofit group Christmas Honors started in 2009 when he went to the cemetery to pay respects to his wife’s grandfather. He said the view reminded him of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

When Merry looked up photos of the site at Christmas, he saw all the graves decorated through Wreaths Across America at Arlington, compared to thousands of graves at Fort Smith that weren’t decorated.

The cemetery agreed Merry could put up wreaths for the 12,000 veterans buried there at the time, and the Walmart Supercenter on Zero Street sold Merry supplies at $4 per wreath, and 95 cents per big, red bow.

“To this day, that’s all they charge,” Merry said. “We have now grown to 16,500 wreaths this year, and I am proud to say that we have been able to get approval from the Washington, D.C., Veterans Administration and the National Cemetery Association to where we will be putting up white Christmas lights at the Fort Smith National Cemetery at the various administration and service pavilion buildings, and then the solid, stone wall around its perimeter.”

Ice Skating Rink Returns To Fort Smith’s Riverfront Pavilion

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KNWA:

The Community Rescue Mission, in partnership First National Bank of Fort Smith, is bringing back a Downtown Fort Smith tradition with a synthetic ice-skating rink.

The rink will be located on the lawn of the Riverfront Pavilion at 100 North B Street from November 26, 2021,  to January 2, 2022.

Admission is $12 for anyone ages 11 and up and $8 for kids under 11.

100% of the proceeds will go to the Fort Smith Community Rescue Mission, which, according to the organization’s mission statement, “provides safe shelter, meals, and needed support to help people get back on their feet as quickly as possible.”

Iran One Month Away From Achieving Nuclear Weapon – Report

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The Jerusalem Post:

Iran is closer than ever to a nuclear bomb, and could have one finished within a month, N12 reported on Friday evening, following the release of a British Intelligence report.

The data in the report was previously only revealed to senior Western intelligence officials but has now been publicized. The report shows that Iran has progressed significantly since suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency nine months ago.

However, according to a senior Israeli official, Iran is still lacking the ability to mount the bomb onto a ballistic missile, something which will take them at least another two years to achieve.

Defense Secretary Benny Gantz is expected to travel to Washington in the near future in order to discuss the issue, according to N12.

Libya: Gunmen Attack Court Where Gaddafi’s Son Was Due To Appeal Election Ban

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Middle East Eye:

Armed gunmen launched an attack on a court in Libya shortly before it was set to hear an appeal by the son of former ruler Muammar Gaddafi over a ban placed on him running in the upcoming presidential elections. 

The country’s unity government condemned the attack on the court in the southern city of Sebha, saying in a statement that a “group of outlaws” had launched the “odious” attack on Thursday.

The court had been waiting to hear an appeal by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi – who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes – over the Libyan electoral commission’s decision on Wednesday to reject his candidacy.

The 24 December polls come as Libya seeks to turn the page on a decade of violence since a Nato-backed uprising that toppled and killed Saif al-Islam’s father in 2011.

See also: UN, US Express Concern After Incident At Libyan Court

Libyan Court Sentences Khalifa Haftar To Death In Absentia

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TRT World:

A military court in Misrata has issued a death sentence in absentia against warlord Khalifa Haftar for ordering the bombing of an Air Defense College in 2019 that left one Libyan soldier killed.

According to the text of Thursday’s ruling, the Military Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant against Haftar and requested the Military Police Department to implement the sentence against him and six high-ranking officers, Libya Al-Ahrar TV channel reported.

Local Authors Pay Homage To Historical Fort Smith Buildings In Latest Book

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Southwest Times Record:

Ever wonder where the large concrete arch in front of the Bricktown parking lot came from? Or the ornate arch in front of the ferris wheel at the west end entrance of Garrison Avenue? Answers are in the new photographic history book, “Stained Glass, Chalk Boards and Cash Registers of Fort Smith,” by Wayne Bledsoe, John Lehnen and Jim Kreuz.

The book pays homage to 129 vintage churches, schools and commercial buildings in Fort Smith, and features old and new photographs of the structures and a well-researched history of each. Also included are photos taken inside more than two dozen of the buildings, including 10 churches that are over a century old.

Five US Lawmakers Defy China By Meeting With Officials In Taiwan

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CNN:

Five US lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Thursday to meet with government officials, defying Beijing to visit the contested island.

“When news of our trip broke yesterday, my office received a blunt message from the Chinese Embassy, telling me to call off the trip,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, wrote Thursday on Twitter. “The auto industry’s largest supplier of microchips is here in Taiwan, so supply chain issues will most definitely be on the agenda.”

National Geographic Green-Eyed ‘Afghan Girl’ Evacuated To Italy

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The Guardian:

National Geographic magazine’s famed green-eyed “Afghan Girl” has arrived in Italy as part of the west’s evacuation of Afghans after the Taliban takeover of the country, the Italian government has said.

The office of the prime minister, Mario Draghi, said Italy organised the evacuation of Sharbat Gula after she asked to be helped to leave the country. The Italian government would help to get her integrated into life in Italy, the statement said on Thursday.

Gula gained international fame in 1984 as an Afghan refugee girl, after the war photographer Steve McCurry’s photograph of her, with piercing green eyes, was published on the cover of National Geographic. McCurry found her again in 2002.

See also:
–Afghan Girls Being Exchanged For Food As Famine Nears
–Afghanistan Is Starving To Death

Oklahoma Health Officials Brace For Post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 Surge

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KFOR:

Although we all hoped the coronavirus would be of little to no concern by this Thanksgiving, that won’t be the case. Oklahoma health leaders say COVID-19 is still top of mind this holiday weekend, with a concerning rise in new cases the last two weeks.

“We all have to decide what the risk is for ourselves and our families when we’re going to get together,” said Dr. Mary Clarke, president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association.