By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two U.S. voter-rights organizations have asked a federal judge to temporarily stop a grassroots group from monitoring voter drop boxes in Arizona for alleged voter fraud, the week after state officials asked federal prosecutors to probe the group for possible voter intimidation.

A lawsuit filed by Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and Vote Latino alleges the private group, Clean Elections USA, and its founder Melody Jennings are attempting to “bully and intimidate lawful Arizona voters” casting early votes in the midterm elections.

Clean Elections USA describes itself as a “grassroots organization committed to election integrity.” It supports former President Donald Trump’s false claims that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud.

For months it has been recruiting volunteers for drop box tailgate parties, where followers monitor ballot drop off locations for alleged fraud.

Jennings could not be reached for immediate comment.

The lawsuit was filed late on Monday in the U.S. District Court in Arizona.

Arizona’s secretary of state last week asked the U.S. Department of Justice to probe a case of possible voter intimidation after a group of people linked to Clean Elections followed and filmed a voter dropping off a ballot.

The lawsuit cites that case, as well as an Oct. 22 post on Trump’s Truth Social media platform from Jennings in which she referred to two people described in the lawsuit as armed and wearing tactical gear while watching a drop box as “our people.”

Clean Elections USA is running a “coordinated campaign of vigilante voter intimidation” that violates the Voting Rights Act and the Klu Klux Klan Act, the lawsuit said.

“We will take all necessary steps to stop the intimidation and harassment of seniors and all Arizonans who exercise their precious right to vote,” Saundra Cole, president of the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, said in a statement.

The lawsuit asks U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi, a Trump appointee, to impose a temporary restraining order blocking Clean Elections’ ballot-monitoring activities.

Groups falsely claiming that election fraud is a widespread problem in the United States have been urging their members to register as poll watchers and election workers, building on a campaign of harassment of election workers that began in the lead-up to the 2020 election.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton; Editing by Scott Malone and Josie Kao)

Krasnogorsk (Russia) (AFP) – A Russian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from US basketball star Brittney Griner of her nine-year prison term on drug charges, dismissing her plea for the “traumatic” sentence to be reduced.

The court in Krasnogorsk near Moscow ruled to leave Griner’s August verdict “without change” in the case that came amid fierce tensions between Moscow and Washington over Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden’s administration dismissed the ruling as “another sham judicial proceeding” that will keep Griner “wrongfully detained under intolerable circumstances” and vowed to continue pressing for her release.

“The President has demonstrated that he is willing to go to extraordinary lengths and make tough decisions to bring Americans home,” US National Security advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

Griner, a star in the Women’s National Basketball Association in the US, had pleaded by video link from her detention centre just outside the Russian capital for the sentence to be cut.

“I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence because it has been very, very stressful and very traumatic,” Griner said.

The 32-year-old was handed nine years in prison in August for possessing vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil, after she was arrested at a Moscow airport in February.

Speaking slowly so her words could be translated into Russian, Griner asked the court for leniency given that the amount of cannabis found was “barely over the significant amount”.

“I don’t understand the first court’s decision to give one year less than the max when I’ve been here almost eight months and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given,” she said. 

“So I just beg that the court… reassess my sentence.”

Not expecting ‘miracles’

Griner’s lawyers said they were disappointed by Tuesday’s decision as it goes against standard legal practice.

“Other defendants in similar criminal cases receive punishment in the form of a suspended sentence or a jail term not exceeding six years,” Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov said in a statement.

“Thus, Brittney Griner remains one of the most severely punished defendants in Russia.”

The lawyers said Griner is doing fine physically and that she spoke to her family last week on her birthday, but Tuesday’s decision was hard for Griner to take.

“She had some hopes and these hopes vanished today,” Blagovolina told reports outside the court house.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the ruling “was not unexpected and Brittney Griner remains wrongly detained.”

“It is time to bring this case to an end and bring BG home.”

Griner’s lawyers hope to speak to her later this week about whether she wants to continue appealing the verdict in higher courts.

When she was arrested, the two-time Olympic basketball gold medallist and Women’s NBA champion had been in Russia to play for the professional Yekaterinburg team, during her off-season from the Phoenix Mercury Women’s National Basketball Association side.

She pleaded guilty to the charges, but said she did not intend to break the law or use the banned substance in Russia.

Griner had testified that she had permission from a US doctor to use medicinal cannabis to relieve pain from her many injuries, and had never failed a drug test.

The use of medical marijuana is not allowed in Russia.

In August, Moscow said it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap for Griner, but there has been no apparent progress.

Reports have suggested that Griner and another American jailed in Russia, Paul Whelan — a former US marine arrested in December 2018 and accused of spying — could be traded for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trafficker serving 25 years in jail on a 2012 conviction.

Berlin (AFP) – German sportswear giant Adidas said Tuesday it was ending its partnership with Kanye West after a series of anti-Semitic outbursts by the controversial rapper.

Recent comments by West — now known formally as Ye — were “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous”, Adidas said in a statement. 

“After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately”.

Adidas said it would “end production” of the highly successful “Yeezy” line designed together with West and “stop all payments to Ye and his companies”.

The abrupt end to the collaboration between the sports outfitter and rapper would slash Adidas’s net income in 2022 by “up to 250 million euros ($246 million)”, the company estimated.

Adidas’s decision to dump the artist was “overdue”, said Josef Schuster of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.

“For weeks, West has caused worldwide furore with his anti-Semitic remarks,” Schuster said, adding that the rapper’s comments had become “intolerable”.

T-shirt statement

Adidas began a review of its relationship with West earlier this month after he appeared at a Paris fashion show wearing a shirt emblazoned with “White Lives Matter”, a slogan created as a backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Days later he was locked out of Twitter and Instagram for threatening to “Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE”, using a reference to US military readiness.

Comments made by West “violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness”, Adidas said Tuesday.

The artist was associated with rival sportswear company Nike for years but broke away in 2013, lending his name to Adidas as they launched their first Yeezy shoe together in 2015 — a partnership that went on to make him a billionaire.

Along with Beyonce, Stella McCartney and Pharrell Williams, West’s has been one of the top names used by Adidas to boost sales, especially online.

Adidas’s announcement was followed later Tuesday by US company Gap, which said it was taking “immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores” in addition to shutting down YeezyGap.com.

West and Gap had announced in September that they planned to end their partnership, although Gap said at the time it planned to release several co-branded products already in development.

Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga also ended ties with the rapper last week, saying it “no longer (has) any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist”.

One of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, CAA, said on Monday it was dropping West, while film and TV producer MRC said it was shelving an already-finished documentary about the artist.

Inflammatory remarks

Adidas’s decision would stop West from “using the company’s immense platform to amplify his hateful ideology about Jews”, the World Jewish Congress said in a statement.

The German group’s “delayed move” in response to the anti-Semitic comments had come after “massive public outcry”, the WJC said.

Rights campaigners and entertainment world figures had heaped pressure on Adidas to stop working with the rapper.

“Those who continue to do business with West are giving his misguided hate an audience”, wrote Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel in the Financial Times.

“There should be no tolerance anywhere for West’s anti-Semitism.”

West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian also appeared to join the pile-on, without mentioning the father of her children by name.

“Hate speech is never OK or excusable,” she wrote Monday on Twitter and Instagram.

“I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”

Adidas fell on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange following its announcement, finishing 3.2 percent lower.

Dolly Parton enjoyed a “special bond” with Leslie Jordan.

The actor was killed in a car crash in Los Angeles on Monday morning (24.10.22), and Dolly has now paid a glowing tribute to the TV star.

Dolly, 76, said in a statement: “Well, I am as hurt and shocked as if I have lost a family member. Leslie and I had a special bond, I think the world felt they had a special bond with him.

“I know people always say ‘Oh, they will be missed,’ but in this case that could not be more true. He will be missed by everyone who knew him personally and by everyone who was entertained by him. Rest in peace lil’ brother.”

Jordan was starring on the FOX sitcom, ‘Call Me Kat’, at the time of his death.

And FOX Entertainment has also paid tribute to the late actor, describing Jordan as the “kindest person you could ever imagine” and the “truest of Southern gentlemen”.

FOX said in a statement: “We are shocked and devastated by today’s tragic passing of Leslie Jordan. Leslie was far more than an Emmy Award-winning comedic talent with whom we’ve laughed alongside for all these years.

“He was the kindest person you could ever imagine who simply lit up a room and brought pure joy and huge smiles to millions of people around the world. The truest of Southern gentlemen, Leslie carried an infectious exuberance, indelible sense of humour and, throughout, gifted us with countless fond memories that will last forever.

“As we grieve this sad news, we also wish to extend our most profound sympathies to Leslie’s family, friends and fans, whom he held so dear.”

Qatar’s emir on Tuesday lashed out at the extent of criticim on the country’s hosting of the upcoming football World Cup, speaking of an “unprecedented campaign.”

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in Doha that Qatar had initially believed that “some criticism could be positive and helpful” for the country’s development.

But he said that that there is too much criticism on the staging of the November 20-December 18 tournament.

“Ever since we have had the honour to stage the World Cup Qatar has been the subject of an unprecedented campaign that no host country has ever faced,” he said.

The emir spoke of fabrications and double standards and that many people were questioning the real reasons and motives for the criticism, without giving details.

Qatar has been criticised for many years over the treatment of migrant workers in the country. Reforms have been carried out but rights groups have said that more has to be done.

The country has lately also come under attack in connection with the LGBTIQ+ community and the criminalisation of homosexuality.

Washington (AFP) – Plastic recycling rates are declining even as production shoots up, according to a Greenpeace USA report out Monday that blasted industry claims of creating an efficient, circular economy as “fiction.”

Titled “Circular Claims Fall Flat Again,” the study found that of 51 million tons of plastic waste generated by US households in 2021, only 2.4 million tons were recycled, or around five percent.

After peaking in 2014 at 10 percent, the trend has been decreasing, especially since China stopped accepting the West’s plastic waste in 2018. 

Virgin production — of non-recycled plastic, that is — meanwhile is rapidly rising as the petrochemical industry expands, lowering costs.

“Industry groups and big corporations have been pushing for recycling as a solution,” Greenpeace USA campaigner Lisa Ramsden told AFP. 

“By doing that, they have shirked all responsibility” for ensuring that recycling actually works, she added. She named Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever and Nestle as prime offenders.

According to Greenpeace USA’s survey, only two types of plastic are widely accepted at the nation’s 375 material recovery facilities.

The first is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is commonly used in water and soda bottles; and the second is high density polyethylene (HDPE), seen in milk jugs, shampoo bottles and cleaning product containers.

These are numbered “1” and “2” according to a standardized system in which there are seven plastic types.

But being recyclable in theory doesn’t mean products are being recycled in practice.

The report found that PET and HDPE products had actual reprocessing rates of 20.9 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively — both down slightly from Greenpeace USA’s last survey in 2020.

Plastic types “3” through “7” — including children’s toys, plastic bags, produce wrappings, yogurt and margarine tubs, coffee cups and to-go food containers — were reprocessed at rates of less than five percent.

Despite often carrying the recycling symbol on their labels, products that use plastic types “3” through “7” fail to meet the Federal Trade Commission classification of recyclable.

This is because recycling facilities for these types aren’t available to a “substantial majority” of the population, defined as 60 percent, and because the collected products are not being used in the manufacturing or assembly of new items.

According to the report, there were five main reasons why plastic recycling is a “failed concept.”

Economically unfeasible

First, plastic waste is generated in vast quantities and is extremely difficult to collect —  as becomes clear during what the report called ineffective “volunteer cleanup stunts” funded by nonprofits such as “Keep America Beautiful.”  

Second, even if it were all collected, mixed plastic waste cannot be recycled together, and it would be “functionally impossible to sort the trillions of pieces of consumer plastic waste produced each year,” the report said.

Third, the recycling process itself is environmentally harmful, exposing workers to toxic chemicals and itself generating microplastics. 

Fourth, recycled plastic carries toxicity risks through contamination with other plastic types in collection bins, preventing it from becoming food-grade material again.

Fifth and finally, the process of recycling is prohibitively expensive.

“New plastic directly competes with recycled plastic, and it’s far cheaper to produce and of higher quality,” said the report.

Ramsden called on corporations to support a Global Plastics Treaty, which United Nations members agreed to create in February, and move toward refill and reuse strategies.

“This isn’t actually a new concept — it’s how the milkman used to be, it’s how Coca-Cola used to get its beverages to people. They would drink their beverage, give the glass bottle back, and it would be sanitized and reused,” she said.

Some countries are leading the way, including India, which recently banned 19 single-use plastic items. Austria has set reuse targets of 25 percent by 2025 and at least 30 percent by 2030 for beverage packaging, while Portugal has also set the 30 percent by 2030 goal.

Chile is moving to phase out single-use cutlery and mandating refillable bottles.

Mary Lambert has married Wyatt Paige Hermansen.

The 33-year-old singer has been in a relationship with professor Wyatt since 2018 and the pair tied the knot on Saturday (22.10.22) in an outdoor ceremony held at Enchanted Gables in Maine, redubbing themselves as the “bride and broom”.

Mary said: “It feels like the perfect mix of, ‘We’re on a farm but we’re also in our nice shoes. We didn’t want it to look like anybody else’s wedding. We really want it to be us. We wanted to be the wedding that people look at and say, ‘I want to do that.

“We were trying to find other couples like us in bridal magazines and I just didn’t see it. I know they’re out there, but it has felt a little constricting, a lot of the gender dynamics. Even myself — as a fat bride, to be like, ‘Oh, am I supposed to be losing weight right now?’ when I am very content with my body size. So there’s a lot of things we’ve been pushing against, and one of those was our wedding party.”

The ‘She Keeps Me Warm’ songstress also hosts ‘The Manic Episodes’ podcast with her significant other and Wyatt added that the outdoor logistics of the ceremony were “important” because they are both creative people.

In the joint interview, Wyatt told PEOPLE: “With both of us being writers, and obviously Mary being an artist and a poet and someone who expresses herself creatively, it was really important for us to have room to say our own vows.”

Mary first unveiled the news that the pair were set to marry earlier this year, noting that she had “dreamt” of the happy moment for all of her life.

She wrote on Instagram: “I’ve dreamt of this moment my whole life. We’re gonna get married in front of god and everybody!!!!! I love you Wyatt Paige Hermansen.”

By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) – Challenges to election results are not new in the United States. But former President Donald Trump and his allies took things to an extreme in 2020, falsely alleging widespread voter fraud and claiming the presidential contest was stolen.

This year, Trump-aligned candidates such as Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor in Arizona, and Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, refuse to say whether they will accept the results of November’s midterm elections, citing the same conspiracy theories about 2020. That has raised fears among election experts that 2022 will see a wave of baseless rejections of vote tallies.

Here’s how challenges to November’s elections could play out:

RECOUNTS

Vote recounts are relatively common in the United States, particularly in local elections where results can often be close, but they rarely alter the outcome, according to one study.

In 22 states and Washington, D.C., a recount is automatically triggered if the margin of victory is sufficiently narrow, often 0.5%, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In 41 states and Washington, a candidate or voter can request a recount, though some require the vote totals to be within a certain margin. A handful of states do not allow a recount by law; a candidate’s only remedy is to file a lawsuit asking a court to order one.

A study by Fair Vote, a nonpartisan group, in 2019 found there had been 31 statewide recounts between 2000 and 2019 out of nearly 6,000 contests, and that just three had changed the outcome.

In 2020, Georgia recounted its votes three separate times, confirming President Joe Biden’s statewide victory each time. In Arizona, a Republican-led audit – criticized by experts as methodologically flawed – confirmed Biden’s victory nearly a year after the election.

LITIGATION

Post-election lawsuits are a frequent occurrence in the United States, often focusing on procedural issues such as whether mail-in ballots were missing information or arrived on time. But in 2020, Trump allies sought to weaponize the court system even when there was little factual basis undergirding their claims.

Dozens of courts rejected Trump’s allegations. But the sheer scope of the effort could encourage Trump-aligned candidates to attempt similar litigation in 2022.

“Because this election denialism has been embraced by so many candidates running for these top state positions, I think we can expect to see a similar barrage of baseless claims of fraud and misconduct in 2022,” said Bo Dul, senior counsel at the nonpartisan States United Democracy Center.

Election experts all emphasized that the court system held firm in 2020; indeed, some of Trump’s lawyers, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have faced professional punishment for their role in advancing false claims.

CERTIFICATION

Election results are not formal until election officials have certified them, usually weeks after Election Day.

Unlike many other Western countries, U.S. election administration is highly decentralized. The process of certification varies from state to state, but local authorities such as county boards or city officials certify their results first before state officials – typically the secretary of state – certify statewide totals.

That decentralization, election experts said, is a two-edged sword. There are multiple points where a rogue official could disrupt the process – by refusing to certify results, for instance. But the lack of a central authority also makes it difficult for any single actor to alter the outcome.

Then, too, the court system provides a crucial check on malfeasance, the experts said.

Earlier this year, New Mexico offered a preview of what could happen in November. Following the primary election, a Republican-controlled county commission refused to certify the results, citing unfounded conspiracy theories about voting machines.

The commission relented only after the state Supreme Court ordered them to certify the election at the request of New Mexico’s secretary of state.

In Pennsylvania, three counties would not certify the May primary election when they refused to count undated ballots, despite being told to do so by the department of state. In August, a state court ordered them to certify. But litigation over the issue of undated ballots is pending before the state Supreme Court.

THE FUTURE

Several election experts said they are more concerned about the 2024 election than 2022, given how many Trump-inspired election deniers are running for key positions this year. A Washington Post analysis found more than half of Republican candidates for Congress and key statewide offices have questioned the 2020 results.

“I’m going to be very scared in 2024 if we have a bunch of these election deniers elected to office,” said Rachel Orey, associate director of the elections project at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Some Republican lawmakers have sought to increase their control of election administration. The Supreme Court is scheduled in December to hear a case in which Republican legislators in North Carolina have asked the justices to prevent state courts from reviewing any election changes made by lawmakers.

While that case will not be resolved in time for the 2022 election, civil rights groups warn that a ruling in North Carolina’s favor could theoretically permit state legislatures to throw out presidential results in 2024.

Even if attempts to reverse legitimate election results fail once again, experts said the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and growing distrust among voters demonstrate how damaging claims about voter fraud can be to American democracy.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis)

Mobile phones and other electronic devices in the European Union will need to have standardized charging equipment from 2024 under legislation given final approval on Monday.

“It will no longer be necessary to buy a different charger every time you purchase a new mobile phone or similar device,” said a statement from the Council of the EU, representing the 27 EU member states.

The final approval from EU environment ministers confirms a recent vote in the European Parliament in favour of a universal charger and is considered a formality.

Under the agreement, USB-C is to become the standard charging socket in the EU. Among the other electronic devices included in the agreement are tablets, e-readers, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, and portable speakers.

The regulation also allows consumers to purchase charging equipment and devices separately from one another.

Czech Industry Minister Jozef Síkela said having “a charger that fits multiple devices will save money and time and also helps us reduce electronic waste.”

The Czech Republic currently has the rotating six-month EU presidency, putting it in charge of directing the bloc’s policy agenda.

The new rule comes after pushing for companies to make charging equipment for mobile phones and other portable devices more uniform since 2014 with original proposals dating as far back as 2009.

The agreement comes despite industry resistance. Apple in particular, has criticized the regulations as hampering innovation.

The US technology giant argued the move could cause many existing products to be needlessly thrown away.

The European Commission however estimates disposed chargers generate 11,000 tons of e-waste every year.