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Tag: Ryan Chatelain

  • Pro-Palestinian protests lead to arrests at Yale, canceled classes at Columbia

    Pro-Palestinian protests lead to arrests at Yale, canceled classes at Columbia

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    Pro-Palestinian protests led to the arrests of 47 students at Yale University and the cancellation of in-person classes at Columbia University on Monday morning.

    What You Need To Know

    • Pro-Palestinian protests led to the arrests of 47 students at Yale University and the cancellation of in-person classes at Columbia University on Monday morning

    • The incidents followed the arrests of more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia last week

    • Students at both of the Ivy League colleges set up encampments as they called for the schools to divest from companies connected to Israel, including those they say are profiting from Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip

    • More than 34,000 Palestinians — at least two-thirds of them women and children — have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry

    The incidents followed the arrests of more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia last week.

    Students at both of the Ivy League colleges set up encampments as they called for the schools to divest from companies connected to Israel, including those they say are profiting from Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

    More than 34,000 Palestinians — at least two-thirds of them women and children — have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The Israeli invasion followed Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

    At Yale in New Haven, Connecticut, protests at Beinecke Plaza, near the administration building, grew over the past week to include more than 250 people, according to the Yale Daily News. After negotiations between university administrators and protest organizers were unsuccessful, Yale police arrested 47 students who refused to leave the plaza Monday, the school said. 

    The university said it told the students they could avoid arrest if they left before the weekend ended. Protesters who left voluntarily Monday were not arrested, Yale said.

    “The university made the decision to arrest those individuals who would not leave the plaza with the safety and security of the entire Yale community in mind and to allow access to university facilities by all members of our community,” the school said in a statement.

    On Sunday, Yale President Peter Salovey said he was “aware of reports of egregious behavior, such as intimidation and harassment, pushing those in crowds, removal of the plaza flag, and other harmful acts.”

    Those who were arrested face a range of disciplinary actions, including reprimand, probation or suspension, the school said.

    After the arrests, more than 300 protesters had gathered in a circle blocking an intersection, the Daily News reported. 

    At Columbia in New York, President Minouche Shafik ordered all classes to be held virtually Monday to “deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps.”

    In her statement, Shafik said the “decibel of our disagreements” has increased in recent days after being “exploited and amplified” by protesters not affiliated with Columbia.

    “Over the past days, there have been too many examples of intimidating and harassing behavior on our campus,” Shafik said. “Antisemitic language, like any other language that is used to hurt and frighten people, is unacceptable and appropriate action will be taken.”

    She said a working group of deans, university administrators and faculty members will work in the coming days toward ending what she called a “crisis.”

    Demonstrations at Columbia over the weekend targeted Jewish students with antisemitic rhetoric, according to reports and social media posts. 

    On Sunday, Rabbi Elie Buechler, director of Columbia’s Orthodox Union-Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus called for Jewish students to “return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.”

    “The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” he said in a statement.

    The incidents drew condemnation from Mayor Eric Adams and the White House. 

    “I am horrified and disgusted with the antisemitism being spewed at and around the Columbia University campus,” Adams wrote Sunday on X, formerly Twitter. “Hate has no place in our city, and I have instructed the NYPD to investigate any violation of law they receive a report about and will arrest anyone found to be breaking the law.”

    White House spokesman Andrew Bates said: “While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable and dangerous.”

    In his statement Sunday marking Passover, President Joe Biden called out “the alarming surge of Antisemitism – in our schools, communities, and online.”

    “Silence is complicity,” he said. “Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.”

    Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine — a coalition of more than 110 student groups calling for the university “to divest from apartheid and genocide” — said in a statement Sunday night: “We are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us.”

    “We firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry and stand vigilant against non-students attempting to disrupt the solidarity being forged among students—Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Black and Pro Palestinian classmates and colleagues who represent the full diversity of our country,” it said.

    Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., called Monday for Shafik to resign immediately, arguing “Columbia’s leadership has clearly lost control of its campus putting Jewish students’ safety at risk.”

    Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee, sent a letter Sunday to Shafik and other Columbia officials saying she is “gravely concerned” about the protests at the school. 

    “Columbia’s continued failure to restore order and safety promptly to campus constitutes a major breach of the University’s Title VI obligations, upon which federal financial assistance is contingent, and which must immediately be rectified,” Foxx wrote. 

    Shafik testified before Foxx’s committee last week, where some lawmakers accused Columbia of not doing enough to protect students from antisemitism on campus. 

    Shafik defended the university’s commitment to free speech but also acknowledged some rhetoric used by protesters was antisemitic that violated Columbia’s code of conduct. She said the school had suspended 15 students and promised that a visiting professor was not welcome back.

    “Antisemitism has no place on our campus and I am personally committed to doing everything I can to confront it directly,” Shafik said at the hearing.

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    Ryan Chatelain

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  • Harvard removes human skin binding from book library has had for 90 years

    Harvard removes human skin binding from book library has had for 90 years

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    Harvard University has removed human skin binding from a book that has been in its library collection for 90 years and apologized for its “past failures” in managing the volume.

    The book’s first owner, Ludovic Bouland, a French doctor, bound the book with skin he took without consent from a deceased female patient in a hospital where he worked, according to Harvard Library. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Harvard University has removed human skin binding from a book that has been in its library collection for 90 years and apologized for its “past failures” in managing the volume

    • The book’s first owner, Ludovic Bouland, a French doctor, bound the book with skin he took without consent from a deceased female patient in a hospital where he worked, according to Harvard Library

    • The skin of the unknown woman is currently in secure storage and Harvard Library said it’s consulting with authorities at the university and in France to determine a respectful way to lay the remains to rest

    • In 2022, a Harvard committee examining human remains in university museum collections recommended the removal of the human skin from the book

    The work, “Des destinées de l’âme,” written by by Arsène Houssaye in the 1880s, is described as a meditation on the soul and life after death. A handwritten note by Bouland inserted into the book reads “a book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering,” Harvard said.

    Bouland died in 1933. A year later, the volume landed at Harvard, donated by American diplomat and hat maker John B. Stetson, an alumnus of the university.

    “After careful study, stakeholder engagement, and consideration, Harvard Library and the Harvard Museum Collections Returns Committee concluded that the human remains used in the book’s binding no longer belong in the Harvard Library collections, due to the ethically fraught nature of the book’s origins and subsequent history,” Harvard Library said in a statement Wednesday.

    The skin of the unknown woman is currently in secure storage and Harvard Library said it’s consulting with authorities at the university and in France to determine a respectful way to lay the remains to rest. 

    Harvard’s Houghton Library long made the book available to anyone who requested it. Harvard Library said that, according to “library lore,” students who worked at Houghton were hazed decades ago by being asked to retrieve the volume without being told it included human remains.

    After Harvard scientists confirmed in 2014 the book was bound with human skin, Houghton Library published two blog posts, now deleted, that struck a “sensationalistic, morbid, and humorous tone,” Harvard Library said.

    “Harvard Library acknowledges past failures in its stewardship of the book that further objectified and compromised the dignity of the human being whose remains were used for its binding,” the library system said. “We apologize to those adversely affected by these actions.”

    In 2022, a Harvard committee examining human remains in university museum collections recommended the removal of the human skin from the book.

    The review was largely driven by a reckoning with the role of slavery and colonialism in establishing U.S. universities and museum. But some discoveries, such as the “Des destinées de l’âme” volume, fell outside that area of focus.

    In all, Harvard identified more than 22,000 human remains in its museum collections, including full skeletons, bone fragments, teeth and locks of hair.

    The library began restricting access to Houssaye’s book in 2015 and placed a full moratorium on new research access to it last year. 

    Harvard Library said digital scans of the book, without the human skin, are publicly available. 

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    Ryan Chatelain

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  • FDA delays decision on Eli Lilly Alzheimer’s drug, wants further review

    FDA delays decision on Eli Lilly Alzheimer’s drug, wants further review

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    The Food and Drug Administration’s decision on approving a closely watched Alzheimer’s disease drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co. has been delayed as the agency asks an advisory panel to weigh in, the drugmaker said Friday.

    What You Need To Know

    • The FDA’s decision on approving a closely watched Alzheimer’s disease drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co. has been delayed as the agency asks an advisory panel to weigh in, the drugmaker said Friday

    • Lilly said the FDA informed it that it wants to further understand the safety and efficacy of donanemab and will convene a meeting of its Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee.

    • The FDA was widely expected to authorize the drug this month

    • Lilly’s clinical trial of more than 1,700 people found the donanemab slowed cognitive and functional decline in patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s by 35% at 76 weeks compared to those who took a placebo

    Lilly said the FDA informed it that it wants to further understand the safety and efficacy of donanemab and will convene a meeting of its Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee.

    The FDA was widely expected to authorize the drug this month. Lilly called the delay “unexpected” and noted it is unusual for an advisory committee to be called upon after the anticipated FDA action date.

    It’s not yet known when the meeting will take place. Lilly said the FDA’s decision will be delayed at least into the second quarter of 2024. 

    The FDA told Spectrum News it cannot comment on possible or pending product applications or approvals.

    “We are confident in donanemab’s potential to offer very meaningful benefits to people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease,” Anne White, executive vice president of Eli Lilly and Co., said in a statement. “It was unexpected to learn the FDA will convene an advisory committee at this stage in the review process, but we look forward to the opportunity to further present the … results and put donanemab’s strong efficacy in the context of safety.”

    Lilly’s clinical trial of more than 1,700 people found the donanemab slowed cognitive and functional decline in patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s by 35% at 76 weeks compared to those who took a placebo, and all groups of trial participants saw improvement.

    Given as a monthly intravenous infusion, the drug targets amyloid plaque that builds up between nerve cells in the brain.

    About 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    More than three-quarters of all participants in the study achieved amyloid clearance at 76 weeks, compared to 0.3% in the placebo group.

    There, however, were side effects with donanemab, including brain swelling in 24% among those who took the drug. There was brain bleeding in 31.4% of participants in the donanemab group and 13.6% in the placebo group.

    While Lilly said the majority of the side effects were mild to moderate and resolved or stabilized with appropriate management, three participants died from brain swelling.

    If authorized by the FDA, donanemab would become the third Alzheimer’s drug in its class to hit the market in the United States. Regulators granted accelerated approval to Leqembi, developed by Eisai and Biogen, in January 2023. 

    In 2021, the FDA approved Aduhelm, made by the same two companies. That authorization was controversial because there was weak evidence showing it would benefit patients. Biogen announced in January it was abandoning its ownership rights to the drug.

    Note: This article was updated to include the FDA’s response.

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    Ryan Chatelain

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  • FDA delays decision on Eli Lilly Alzheimer’s drug, wants further review

    FDA delays decision on Eli Lilly Alzheimer’s drug, wants further review

    [ad_1]

    The Food and Drug Administration’s decision on approving a closely watched Alzheimer’s disease drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co. has been delayed as the agency asks an advisory panel to weigh in, the drugmaker said Friday.

    What You Need To Know

    • The FDA’s decision on approving a closely watched Alzheimer’s disease drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co. has been delayed as the agency asks an advisory panel to weigh in, the drugmaker said Friday

    • Lilly said the FDA informed it that it wants to further understand the safety and efficacy of donanemab and will convene a meeting of its Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee.

    • The FDA was widely expected to authorize the drug this month

    • Lilly’s clinical trial of more than 1,700 people found the donanemab slowed cognitive and functional decline in patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s by 35% at 76 weeks compared to those who took a placebo

    Lilly said the FDA informed it that it wants to further understand the safety and efficacy of donanemab and will convene a meeting of its Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee.

    The FDA was widely expected to authorize the drug this month. Lilly called the delay “unexpected” and noted it is unusual for an advisory committee to be called upon after the anticipated FDA action date.

    It’s not yet known when the meeting will take place. Lilly said the FDA’s decision will be delayed at least into the second quarter of 2024. 

    The FDA told Spectrum News it cannot comment on possible or pending product applications or approvals.

    “We are confident in donanemab’s potential to offer very meaningful benefits to people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease,” Anne White, executive vice president of Eli Lilly and Co., said in a statement. “It was unexpected to learn the FDA will convene an advisory committee at this stage in the review process, but we look forward to the opportunity to further present the … results and put donanemab’s strong efficacy in the context of safety.”

    Lilly’s clinical trial of more than 1,700 people found the donanemab slowed cognitive and functional decline in patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s by 35% at 76 weeks compared to those who took a placebo, and all groups of trial participants saw improvement.

    Given as a monthly intravenous infusion, the drug targets amyloid plaque that builds up between nerve cells in the brain.

    About 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    More than three-quarters of all participants in the study achieved amyloid clearance at 76 weeks, compared to 0.3% in the placebo group.

    There, however, were side effects with donanemab, including brain swelling in 24% among those who took the drug. There was brain bleeding in 31.4% of participants in the donanemab group and 13.6% in the placebo group.

    While Lilly said the majority of the side effects were mild to moderate and resolved or stabilized with appropriate management, three participants died from brain swelling.

    If authorized by the FDA, donanemab would become the third Alzheimer’s drug in its class to hit the market in the United States. Regulators granted accelerated approval to Leqembi, developed by Eisai and Biogen, in January 2023. 

    In 2021, the FDA approved Aduhelm, made by the same two companies. That authorization was controversial because there was weak evidence showing it would benefit patients. Biogen announced in January it was abandoning its ownership rights to the drug.

    Note: This article was updated to include the FDA’s response.

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    Ryan Chatelain

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  • Biden lays out ambitious agenda in fiery State of the Union speech

    Biden lays out ambitious agenda in fiery State of the Union speech

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    “Let me close with this,” President Joe Biden said as he wrapped up his fiery State of the Union speech, his last before November’s election, which will be an all but certain rematch between himself and former President Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner who has a thrall on the party.

    He delivered the line to cheers from Republicans in the room, and jokingly threw up his fists as if to challenge the nearly 270 GOP House and Senate lawmakers in the room — some of whom, throughout his hour-plus speech, booed, jeered and at least one shouted out “liar!”

    Biden then addressed his old Republican friend and colleague, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, and quipped: “I know you don’t want to hear any more, Lindsey, but I’ve got to say a few more things,” to laughter, grabbing back the attention of the room.

    “I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while,” he joked. “When you get to be my age, certain things become clearer than ever.”

    “I know the American story,” Biden continued. “Again and again I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation, between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future. My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality, to respect everyone, to give everyone a fair shot, to give hate no safe harbor.”

    “Now some other people my age see a different story,” Biden continued, one of the last references he made to his predecessor without ever mentioning him by name. “The American story of resentment, revenge and retribution.”

    “That’s not me,” he added, underscoring the contrast between himself and Trump and pushing for a note of optimism. “My fellow Americans, the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are, it’s how old our ideas are. Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas. But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back. To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future of what America can and should be.”

    The president touched on several key themes throughout his 67-minute speech. He charged that his predecessor and likely November opponent “derailed” a bipartisan border bill for political gain. He vowed to restore the provisions of Roe v. Wade if Americans elect a Congress in favor of abortion rights. He condemned threats to democracy at home and abroad. He didn’t shy away when a conservative firebrand challenged him to invoke the name of a nursing student killed by a non-U.S. citizen. He called for an assault weapons ban, higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations and laid out an ambitious list of policy proposals. 

    All the hallmarks of a campaign speech, complete with chants of “four more years,” jokes and jabs at his opponents, and, indeed, the occasional gaffe. 

    Here are takeaways from Biden’s State of the Union:

    Defending democracy at home and abroad: Jan. 6 and the Russia-Ukraine war

    President Joe Biden points to Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, as delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington, as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., watch. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

    President Joe Biden made it a point in the first part of his speech to address threats to democracy, both those around the world and right here at home. 

    Right out of the gate, he called on Congress to pass funding to support Ukraine as it repels Vladimir Putin’s invasion while taking aim at Trump’s recent comments about NATO, where the former president said he would allow Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to member countries who don’t pay their obligations to the alliance.

    Biden has been trying for months to secure a new funding package for Ukraine, and U.S. aid to Kyiv ran out earlier this year. Last month, the Senate passed a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill that would include $60 billion for Ukraine, but the Republican-led House has not taken up the legislation.

    “Ukraine can stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons they need to defend themselves,” Biden said. “That is all Ukraine is asking. They’re not asking for American soldiers.

    “We have to stand up to Putin,” he added. “Send me a bipartisan national security bill.”

    Biden said “history is watching” and that if the U.S. abandons Ukraine, it would put Ukraine, Europe and the free world at risk.

    The president had a message for Putin: “We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.”

    Biden also sought to draw contrast between former President Ronald Reagan, a conservative icon, and ex-President Donald Trump, whom Biden is set to square off against in a general election rematch in November. 

    He said Reagan famously told former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 to “tear down this wall,” referring to the Berlin Wall.

    “Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin ‘do whatever the hell you want,’” Biden said. “That’s a quote. A former president actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader. I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous, and it’s unacceptable.”

    He then moved on to threats to U.S. democracy, not mincing words when he brought up the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, nor did he shy away from who he thinks is responsible.

    “Jan. 6 lies about the 2020 election and the plots to steal the election pose the gravest threat to U.S. democracy since the civil war,” President Biden said.

    Calling former President Trump, his once and (likely) future election opponent, “my predecessor” without naming him by name, Biden said he would not bury the truth about the day rioters stormed the capitol on behalf of Trump seeking to overturn an election that Biden won.

    “Here’s the simple truth: You can’t love your country only when you win.”

    He called on all Americans “without regard to party to join together and defend democracy” against all threats foreign and domestic.

    Biden calls on Congress to protect IVF, bashes Trump, GOP on Roe reversal

    Supreme Court Justices and members of Congress, listen as President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 7, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

    Biden called on Congress to “guarantee the right” to in vitro fertilization and bashed former President Donald Trump for “bragging” about overturning Roe v. Wade. 

    “To my friends across the aisle, don’t keep families waiting any longer, guarantee the right to IVF nationwide,” Biden said. 

    The president highlighted the story of one of the first lady’s guests, Latorya Beasley, a woman from Bringingham, Alabama who had to stop IVF treatments for her second baby when the state supreme court ruled frozen embryos were considered children, putting access to the fertility treatment in question across the state. 

    Biden said Beasley’s circumstance was “unleashed by a supreme court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.”

    “Unless Congress acts, it could happen again,” he said. 

    The president then went on to promise that he would fight for abortion access if he is given a Congress “that supports the right to choose.” 

    “If you, the American people, send me a congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I’ll restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again,” he said. 

    The president went on to slam Trump for his role in Roe’s reversal, again without mentioning him by name. The former president appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who were in the majority that overturned Roe. 

    “Many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom,” Biden said. “My god, what freedom else would you take away?” 

    Biden also pointed out one of the first lady’s other guests: Kate Cox, the Texas woman who had to leave her state to get an abortion due to Texas’ restrictive laws on the practice despite her health being in danger.

    “What her family went through should have never happened as well,” he said. 

    Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, sparking abortion bans and restrictions in Republican-led states across the country, Democrats have sought to put the issue of abortion front and center. Democrats have credited the issue for helping them pull off a better-than-expected showing in the 2022 midterms and notch some key victories in the 2023 off-year elections. 

    This year, a new front in the reproductive freedom message opened for Democrats when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children, leading experts to warn of potential major implications for in vitro fertilization. 

    Some Republicans have rushed to say they support IVF following the Alabama high court’s decision and on Wednesday the state legislature passed a bill protecting IVF treatments. 

    The first family inviting Cox and Beasley was a clear display that Biden will continue to put the issue in the spotlight as he seeks another four years in the Oval Office. 

    Biden jabs Republicans over federal deficit, vows to lower costs

    President Joe Biden holds a Laken Riley Botton as delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington, while Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., watch. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

    Biden, who entered office as the COVID-19 pandemic entered its second year, boasted of a U.S. economy that has made major strides since the virus kept millions at home, out of work and fearful of both disease and economic woes.

    “Remember the fear. Record job losses. Remember the spike in crime and the murder rate. A raging virus that would take more than one million American lives and leave millions of loved ones behind. A mental health crisis of isolation and loneliness,” Biden said. “A president, my predecessor, who failed the most basic duty. Any President owes the American people the duty to care. That is unforgivable.”

    “It doesn’t make the news but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told,” he added.

    He referenced unemployment being at a 50-year low and 16 million Americans who have started small businesses during his administration, as well as job growth for Black, Hispanic and Asian-Americans and in the manufacturing sector.

    He also bragged about the CHIPS and Science Act, passed in 2021, that set aside tens of billions for domestic semiconductor production after pandemic shortages due to supply chain constraints and reliance on foreign sources. And he pointed to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law launching tens of thousands of projects across the country to refurbish and build roads, bridges, ports, airports, public transit systems and other key infrastructure.

    Biden gave a shout out to UAW President Shawn Fain, specifically referencing thousands of jobs created at an electric car battery plant in Belvedere, Ill., claiming pressure from his administration convinced automaker Stellantis to keep and expand their operations in-country. Biden became the first president to join a picket line when he marched with UAW workers in Michigan last year.

    “The middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class,” he said, using one of his oft-repeated refrains. “When Americans get knocked down, we get back up.”

    Biden said his administration has cut the federal deficit by $1 trillion and signed a bipartisan deal to cut another $1 trillion from the deficit in the next decade.

    “It’s my goal to cut the federal levels another $3 trillion by making big corporations and the very wealthy finally begin to pay their fair share,” he said. 

    The Congressional Budget Office projected last month that the federal deficit will grow 63% over the next ten years from $1.6 trillion in 2024 to $2.6 trillion in 2034.

    “I’m a capitalist,” Biden said. “You can make $1 million bucks, that’s great. Just pay your fair share in taxes. A fair tax code is how we invest to make this country great.”

    Biden said the “last administration” had enacted $2 trillion in tax cuts that “overwhelmingly benefited” the top 1% and big corporations and exploded the federal deficit.

    “They added more to the national debt than any presidential term in American history.”

    As he has so many times over the past four years, Biden harkened back to his father’s kitchen table — a table, he said, where trickle-down economics didn’t trickle down to his family. 

    “I’m determined to turn things around so the middle class does well, the poor have a way up, and the wealthy still do well. We all do well,” Biden said.

    He didn’t just recall his administration’s moves to save Americans money, but vowed to expand on them.

    Biden promised to expand on Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, vowing to “cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it,” then called on the government to give Medicare negotiation power on 500 more drugs over the next 10 years.

    That move, he said, will save taxpayers another $200 billion.

    “I probably shouldn’t say this, but folks, if any of you want to come with me and fly on Air Force 1, we can go to Toronto, Berlin, Moscow — well, maybe not Moscow,” he said, stopping short and chuckling. “Bring your prescription drugs, and I promise you’ll get it for 40% of the cost you’re paying now.”

    He said that he seeks to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 per year for all Americans, and that he wants to protect and expand the Affordable Care Act — otherwise known as Obamacare, which he joked is “still a very big deal.”

    Beyond prescription drugs, Biden said he sought to make permanent the $800 per year working family tax credits, that he seeks to provide an annual, $400 monthly tax credit to help homebuyers pay for mortgages on a first home “or trade up for a little more space.”

    He said the White House will seek to eliminate title insurance fees for federally backed mortgages, to help people save on home refinancing. 

    Biden called on Congress to pass a plan to renovate and build 2 million affordable homes and bring rents down. And, he said, he wants to give public school teachers a raise, which drove much of the joint session of Congress to their feet.

    Biden announces port to facilitate aid into Gaza, emphasizes two-state solution

    House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., left, and Vice President Kamala Harris applaud as President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

    Biden called for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza and announced the U.S. will build a “temporary pier” to facilitate the flow of additional assistance into the Palestinian territory. 

    Biden noted the pier will enable a “massive increase” of aid into Gaza while emphasizing “No U.S. boots will be on the ground.” 

    “Israel must do its part,” Biden said. “Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the crossfire.”

    The president, who has recently put additional stress on saying not enough aid is reaching civilians in the territory, went on to say he had a message for Israeli leadership: “Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip.” 

    Biden has faced pressure from abroad and at home over his continued support of Israel as the civilian death toll in Gaza has risen and the humanitarian crisis has worsened amid the war.

    The president on Thursday reiterated his belief that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas while noting that it also has the responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza. 

    “The last five months have been gut wrenching for so many people, for the Israeli people, for the Palestinian people and so many here in America,” Biden said.

    He noted more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, most of whom, he said, are not Hamas. 

    The president acknowledged the families of hostages still being held by Hamas who were in the audience as the guests of some lawmakers at Thursday’s address. 

    “I pledge to all the families that I will not rest until we bring all of your loved ones home,” he said, also mentioning Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, who are jailed in Russia. 

    Biden said he is “working around the clock” to put in place a new cease-fire deal that would facilitate the release of the hostages and reiterated that the “only real solution” to the conflict is a two-state solution. 

    “I say this as a lifelong supporter of Israel,” Biden said, adding “my entire career, no one has a stronger record on Israel than I do.” 

    Biden, Republicans spar over border security

    Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., watches as President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

    The president got into a spirited back-and-forth with Republicans when he urged Congress to pass a border security bill.

    The Senate last month announced a bipartisan agreement to impose tougher immigration and asylum laws and better secure the southwest border. But Republicans quickly panned the plan, at least in part because President Donald Trump urged them to reject it. 

    Biden said the bill had “the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen,” a comment that was met with jeers from Republicans.

    “You don’t think so?” Biden told Republicans. “Oh, you don’t like that bill, huh? That conservatives got together and said was a good bill? I’ll be darned. That’s amazing.”

    GOP lawmakers who oppose the deal insist it was too weak on border security. 

    Biden said he believes there would be bipartisan support for the legislation if Trump hadn’t pushed against it.

    “He viewed it would be a political win for me and political loser for him,” the president said. “It’s not about him. It’s not about me.”

    At one point, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., heckled Trump by invoking the name of Laken Riley, the Georgia nursing school student who was killed last month while jogging. The suspect in her death is a man who police say illegally entered the country.

    Greene challenged Biden to say Riley’s name. Biden did not back down, repeating her name. 

    “Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” Biden said. “That’s right! But how many of the thousands of people are being killed by illegals!”

    “To her parents, I say my heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand,” he said.

    Biden’s comments on the border created a scene that would have seemed unthinkable several months ago: Democratic lawmakers chanting in support of a border security bill while Republicans sat in their seats shaking their heads in disapproval. 

    “We can fight about fixing the border or we can fix it,” Biden said. “I’m ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now.”

    The president, however, made clear he would not vilify immigrants. 

    “I will not demonize immigrants saying they are poison in the blood of our country,” Biden said, referring to comments made by Trump. “I will not separate families. I will not ban people because of their faith.”

    Biden: ‘We have more to do’ on public safety, mass shootings

    President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 7, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

    Last year, Biden said, saw the sharpest decrease in the murder rate in American history, and violent crime fell to one of the lowest levels in 50 years.

    “But we have more to do,” he said.

    Biden promised to ramp up federal enforcement of the Violence Against Women Act, first passed in 1994 and — after expiring in 2019 — reauthorized during his administration in 2022, and to further invest in community polcing, community violence intervention and in more mental health workers.

    He noted that he has directed his cabinet to review federal classification on cannabis — which began in 2022 — and that he has repeatedly expunged federal cannabis convictions for simple use or possession of the drug.

    Biden also promised to stop another kind of violence — that of mass shootings, which America has seen with disappointing and increasing regularity. He is demanding, he said, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and demanding the passage of universal background checks on gun sales.

    None of that, he said, violates the Second Amendment, despite the jeers he faced from Republicans in the gallery.

    “I’m proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years, now we must beat the NRA again,” Biden said.

    Biden: ‘There are forces taking us back in time’ on voting rights

    President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

    Nearly 60 years after the Voting Rights Act was passed, President Joe Biden encouraged Congress to pass further voter protections in the face of “forces taking us back in time.”

    “Voter suppression. Election subversion. Unlimited dark money. Extreme gerrymandering,” Biden said, rattling off aspects of the U.S. electoral system he hopes to reform. “Pass and send me the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act!”

    Named for former Rep. John Lewis, R-Ga., who was beaten and bloodied by police on “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Ala., in 1965, the voting rights legislation Biden wants Congress to pass would require states and localities with histories of violating Americans’ voting rights to receive federal approval before changing election laws.

    Republicans on the local, state and federal level have moved to restrict access to voting, inspired by false conspiracy theories about election fraud and rigging.

    Betty May Fikes, who marched with Lewis and other civil rights activists in Selma in 1965, was in attendance at the State of the Union and received a shout out for 

    “A daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday,” Biden said, continuing “to help shake the nation’s conscience. Five months later, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.”

    “But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time,” he added.

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  • Britt, Trump slam Biden’s State of the Union speech

    Britt, Trump slam Biden’s State of the Union speech

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    America, said Sen. Katie Britt, the Republican Party’s most prominent spokesperson on the night of the State of the Union, “deserves better than a dithering and diminished leader.”

    What You Need To Know

    • While Alabama Sen. Katie Britt was tapped to do the official Republican rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech, former President Donald Trump delivered a rebuttal of sorts on his Truth Social platform during and after the remarks

    • Britt, the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama and the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the upper chamber of Congress, delivered the rebuttal from the kitchen of her home

    • The Alabama senator touched on several topics, from in vitro fertilization to immigration, while declaring America under Biden is a “nation in retreat” 

    • Trump posted his thoughts about the address in real time on his Truth Social platform, offering his opinions that his rival’s speech was loud, untruthful and featured too much coughing


    Britt, the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama and the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the upper chamber of Congress, was tapped to deliver the GOP’s rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday, doing so from the kitchen of her home.

    Despite the fact that Britt was chosen to deliver the official Republican rebuttal, the party’s frontrunner for the presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump, posted his thoughts about the address in real time on his Truth Social platform, offering his opinions that his rival’s speech was loud, untruthful and featured too much coughing.

    Britt’s response was an emotional one, seemingly designed to evoke such a response from viewers. It was an appeal, in many cases, to women and families, echoing then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan in asking Americans, “are you better off now than you were three years ago?”

    The rebuttal began calling attention to the fact that she’s in her family kitchen, near her family’s dining table — then suggesting that the “American dream has turned into a nightmare for so many families.”

    She said that Biden “didn’t just create this border crisis, he invited it,” and referred to her conversation with a woman who said she was repeatedly raped and trafficked by cartel members — crimes that she placed solely in the hands of Biden.

    America, she said, has become a “nation in retreat,” offering rival nations an opportunity to gain international standing. She mentioned Russian aggression in Europe (without mentioning Ukraine by name — an ally that has seen its funding become a political football for Republicans seeking more stringent border enforcement), and attacks by Iran and Iranian proxies, referring to ongoing turmoil in the Red Sea (without mentioning the Houthi rebels or American intervention in the region).

    She also suggested a growing threat by TikTok, the social media service backed by Chinese tech company ByteDance, and highlighted Biden’s hypocrisy in banning the app from federal worker phones while having an account for his own campaign.

    She later referenced the Republican party’s backing of in vitro fertilization, the practice of fertilizing human egg cells outside of a parent, then reintroducing those embryos into a uterus to develop. The procedure, which helps families experiencing fertility challenges, was in a legal grey area in Britt’s home state of Alabama as recently as Thursday, after the state’s supreme court ruled that embryos have the same rights as children. Alabama’s legislature on Thursday signed a law protecting IVF patients and providers from legal liability imposed by the ruling.

    Britt smiled widely as she said Republicans “strongly support continued nationwide access” to the procedure, despite the fact that more than 100 House Republicans have signed on to back a bill that would declare that life begins at conception, and Senate Republicans blocked last week a bill that would have codified IVF protections. 

    She closed the rebuttal by appealing directly to mothers, telling them to “get in the arena,” for the “sake of your kids and your grandkids.”

    Trump, for his part, said after Biden’s speech was over: “That may be the Angriest, Least Compassionate, and Worst State of the Union Speech ever made. It was an Embarrassment to our Country!”

    The former president complained, ironically in all caps, that “EVERY LINE IS BEING SHOUTED.”

    Trump also made a few posts about Biden’s coughing during the speech, writing as the president exited the House Chamber: “Don’t shake his hand, he’s been coughing into it the entire night!”

    Trump wrote “Whether the Fake News Media likes admitting it or not, there was tremendous misrepresentation and lies in that Speech.” 

    But the former president’s commentary throughout the night included its own share of disinformation. For instance, he alluded multiple times to fraud in the 2020 presidential election. He also claimed the failed bipartisan immigration deal would have “let at least 5,000 Migrants in a day” before triggering an automatic shutdown of the border. Under the agreement, the shutdown would have been implemented if 5,000 migrants attempted to enter unlawfully in a single day.  

    Trump also accused Biden of weaponizing the government against him, although there is no evidence to support that the president has had any role in the Justice Department’s decision to prosecute the former president over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents.

    In other posts, Trump criticized Biden over the war between Russia and Ukraine, climate change policies and inflation.

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  • Biden, Trump cruise to victory in Super Tuesday contests

    Biden, Trump cruise to victory in Super Tuesday contests

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    Anyone expecting a major surprise on Super Tuesday was likely to be disappointed — unless you were betting on an upset in American Samoa.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won the vast majority of the contests held on Super Tuesday, receiving hundreds of delegates on their way to cementing a likely 2020 election rematch in November

    • Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley won her first state victory of the 2024 campaign, scoring an upset over Trump in Vermont

    • There were several other prominent down-ballot races on the Super Tuesday docket, including the North Carolina governor’s race, which will feature Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson squaring off in a purple state both parties are hoping to win in November

    • In the race to replace the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Rep. Adam Schiff, who became a household name during the Trump administration as a prominent critic of the former president, will face off against Steve Garvey, a former player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres running for the Republican nomination


    President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the Democratic and Republican frontrunners, respectively, cruised to victory in the vast majority of the Super Tuesday contests, which accounted for nearly a third of the overall delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

    While neither candidate received enough delegates to clinch, both frontrunners are well on their way to cementing a 2020 election rematch in November, leaving any potential long shot challengers in the dust.

    The night was no doubt a disappointment for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who did score an upstate over Trump by winning Vermont.

    The former president, on the other hand, won contests in Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Minnesota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Utah and California. A Republican primary in Alaska had not yet been called as of midnight Wednesday. 

    “They call it Super Tuesday for a reason. This is a big one,” Trump said in remarks at his Florida estate, later adding: “This was an amazing night, an amazing day.”

    Trump attacked Biden over his usual stump topics, including the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, while contending that his victories on Tuesday will help to unify the party.

    “We have a great Republican party with tremendous talent and we want to have unity and we are going to have the unity and it will happen very quickly. I’ve been saying lately, success will bring unity to the country.”

    Despite Trump’s calls for unity, Haley’s Vermont victory — her first state win in the election cycle, just days after she won the Washington, D.C, primary — denied Trump a 50-state sweep in the Republican primary. But she was unable to pick up other states that might have offered her more favorable demographics, like Vermont and Maine.

    Her campaign’s future is unclear after Tuesday, with no public events scheduled as of yet. A spokesperson for Haley’s campaign seemed to reject those calls for unity.

    “Unity is not achieved by simply claiming ‘we’re united.’ Today, in state after state, there remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump,” said Haley national spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas. “That is not the unity our party needs for success. Addressing those voters’ concerns will make the Republican Party and America better.”

    Biden similarly barnstormed the evening’s contests, winning all of the states up for grabs, including Vermont, though he lost to an unknown challenger in American Samoa’s caucuses, a contest in which less than 100 people participated. (Biden lost the contest by 11 votes.)

    “Tonight’s results leave the American people with a clear choice: Are we going to keep moving forward or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us backwards into the chaos, division, and darkness that defined his term in office?” Biden asked in a statement Tuesday night, painting his 2020 opponent and likely 2024 foe as an enemy of both progress and American democracy writ large.

    “Today, millions of voters across the country made their voices heard — showing that they are ready to fight back against Donald Trump’s extreme plan to take us backwards,” Biden said. “My message to the country is this: Every generation of Americans will face a moment when it has to defend democracy. Stand up for our personal freedom. Stand up for the right to vote and our civil rights.

    “To every Democrat, Republican, and independent who believes in a free and fair America: This is our moment. This is our fight. Together, we will win,” he vowed.

    Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, called the results “an energizing moment for our campaign.”

    “Americans of all backgrounds are showing that they sense the urgency of this election, and that they are ready to stand with President Biden and me in this fight to protect our fundamental freedoms,” she said. “Donald Trump has vowed to be a dictator on Day One. He has promised to weaponize the Department of Justice. And he has bragged that he is proud of his role in robbing women of their reproductive freedom. He poses a fundamental threat to our democracy, and he must be stopped.”

    Signaling the unusual nature of this primary election, Biden and Trump campaigned on the same day last week at the U.S.-Mexico border, trading blame for the current state of immigration, rather than stumping in states holding primary contests.

    And after Super Tuesday, both candidates will be heading to battleground states: Trump and Biden will both be heading to Georgia on Saturday for another dueling visit. Biden will also be traveling to Philadelphia on Friday, while Vice President Harris will be heading to Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona “in the coming days.”

    There were several other prominent down-ballot races on the Super Tuesday docket, including the North Carolina governor’s race, which will feature Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson squaring off in a purple state both parties are hoping to win in November.

    In the race to replace the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Rep. Adam Schiff, who became a household name during the Trump administration as a prominent critic of the former president, will face off against Steve Garvey, a former player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres running for the Republican nomination.

    California has a top two primary system, meaning that the two candidates who receive the most votes regardless of party affiliation make it to the general election ballot. While Republicans have not won a U.S. Senate race in California since the 1980s, Garvey, a GOP challenger with major name recognition in the Golden State, is hoping to change that.

    There was also a tight Democratic primary to challenge Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. The Republican will face U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL player and moderate Democrat who broke with his party over President Biden’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.

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  • Super Tuesday could push Biden, Trump to verge of nominations

    Super Tuesday could push Biden, Trump to verge of nominations

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    More than a third of all delegates in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries will be up for grabs Tuesday as voters in 15 states and one territory head to the polls for Super Tuesday.

    What You Need To Know

    • More than a third of all delegates in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries will be up for grabs Tuesday as voters in 15 states and one territory head to the polls for Super Tuesday

    • Democratic President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, a Republican, are expected to move to the verge of clinching their parties’ nominations

    • Contests for both parties are being held in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia

    • Alaska is holding its Republican caucuses Tuesday, and American Samoa is holding its Democratic caucuses

    Democratic President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, a Republican, are expected to move to the verge of clinching their parties’ nominations. 

    Biden faces only long-shot challengers Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and author and activist Marianne Williamson, who reentered the race last week.

    Meanwhile, Trump’s only major competition is former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who has struggled to close the wide gap between her and her former boss.

    The contests

    Contests for both parties are being held in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. 

    Alaska is holding its Republican caucuses Tuesday, and American Samoa is holding its Democratic caucuses. 

    Also Tuesday, the results of Iowa’s Democratic mail-in caucuses, held in January, will be announced.

    Republicans

    Trump holds a commanding lead over Haley in the delegate count, 244-43. Another 865 delegates will be awarded Tuesday.

    To win the Republican nomination, a candidate must secure 1,215 delegates. 

    Haley is coming off her first primary victory Sunday, in the District of Columbia. Trump has soundly beat her in every other primary contest in which they’ve squared off, including a Saturday sweep of Idaho, Michigan and Missouri. 

    “If every single conservative, Republican and Trump supporter in these states shows up on Super Tuesday, we will be very close to finished with this primary contest,” Trump said in a video posted Friday on his Truth Social platform. “Republicans will then be able to focus all of our energy, time and resources on defeating crooked Joe Biden, the worst president in the history of our country.”

    Haley has remained defiant against pressure from within the party to step aside. 

    “We have literally been in 10 states in the past week,” Haley said at a campaign event Monday in Spring, Texas. “We are anywhere and everywhere trying to let people know what their choice is tomorrow. And the choice comes down to this: We can either have more of the same, or we can go in a new direction. More of the same as not just Joe Biden; more of the same as Donald Trump.”

    If Haley has any chance of winning the nomination, it would require a seismic shift in voting Tuesday. But she’s trailing Trump in virtually all polls — and by a wide margin in the vast majority of survey. Regardless, her campaign signaled Monday it’s looking beyond it, announcing its leadership team for Louisiana, which does not hold its primary until March 23. 

    On Friday, Haley picked up her first two endorsements from current U.S. Senate members when Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced their support. Their states are among those voting Tuesday. 

    Trump secured a major victory on the eve of Super Tuesday, as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that Colorado could not block Trump from its ballot after the state’s high court found in December that the former president was disqualified from serving as president over his efforts leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.

    Colorado and Maine, whose secretary of state had also booted Trump from the ballot under the insurrection clauses, are two of the states voting Tuesday. Because the matter had been unsettled, his name was already set to appear on both states’ ballots.

    “I think it will go a long way towards bringing our country together, which our country needs,” Trump said Monday of the Supreme Court ruling. “While most states were thrilled to have me, there were some that didn’t. And they didn’t want that for political reasons. They didn’t want that because of poll numbers, because the poll numbers are very good. We’re beating President Biden in almost every poll.”

    Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

    Since outlasting everyone but Trump in the Republican field, Haley has sharpened her attacks of her former boss.

    In California’s case, it could be longer. Mail-in votes there must be postmarked by Tuesday and received by county elections office by March 12. 

    On Monday, she hit Trump for the federal government’s spending during his administration, for his comments that he would encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to attack NATO countries that had not met their financial obligations to the alliance and for his opposition to a bipartisan border and immigration deal.

    “Congress needs to get in a room, figure it out and pass a strong border bill, and Donald Trump needs to stay out of it,” Haley said. “We can’t wait.”

    Trump on Sunday criticized Haley, calling her “Birdbrain” and “a loser.” 

    The posts on his Truth Social platform followed Haley’s comments on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” in which she said she’s no longer obligated to honor her pledge of endorsing Trump if he is the GOP nominee.

    “I enjoy watching the Bird disavow her PLEDGE to the RNC and her statement that she would NEVER run against President Trump (‘A great President’),” Trump wrote. “Well, she ran, she lied, and she LOST BIG!”

    Democrats

    To date, Biden has secured 206 of 208 delegates, with two going to “uncommitted.” Another 1,420 delegates will be awarded Tuesday, and 1,968 are needed to lock up the nomination.

    With the exception of the New Hampshire primary — in which Biden’s name had to be written in and the contest was not sanctioned by the party — no challenger has received more than 3% of the vote in a primary. 

    The Biden campaign has not paid much mind to Phillips and Williamson and instead has been in general election mode. It has focused its efforts on attacking Trump, most recently on issues including in vitro fertilization, abortion and the bipartisan border deal he helped kill.

    President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a visit to the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

    President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a visit to the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

    While he’s expected to cruise to the Democratic nomination, Biden was hit with a wave of concerning polls in recent days.

    Among them, separate polls by New York Times/Sienna College and CBS News had Trump leading Biden by four percentage points in a general election matchup, and an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that 63% of U.S. adults say they’re not confident in Biden’s mental stability to serve effectively as president. (Fifty-seven percent said that Trump lacks the memory and acuity for the job.)

    In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Biden’s campaign co-chair, downplayed the polls.

    “We have consistently, as Democrats, overperformed polls, not just in the special election that just happened in Long Island, in the midterms in ’22, but in election after election,” he said.

    Down-ballot races

    The presidential race might be the headliner, but there are key races lower on the ballot in some states with national implications.

    Among them:

    • California is holding the primary for U.S. Senate to fill the seat formerly held by Dianne Feinstein, who died in September. The candidates include Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, and former Major League Baseball star Steve Garvey, a Republican. In California, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election. Schiff and Garvey have been leading in most recent polls. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler, president of the abortion-rights group Emily’s List, to serve until the special election. Butler is not seeking a full term.
    • North Carolina is holding its gubernatorial primary to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson are the favorites to advance to the general election.
    • In Texas, nine Democrats are vying to take on Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who is seeking a third term, in November. The field includes U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez and state Rep. Carl Sherman Sr.

    Closing time

    The polls begin closing at 7 p.m. Eastern, in Vermont and Virginia.

    Because of the number of states and wide geographical range, it could be well into the night for some before results are in. 

    In California, mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday but can still be received up until March 12, meaning some close races might not be settled for days.

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  • Haley: Voters need to know outcome of Trump cases before Election Day

    Haley: Voters need to know outcome of Trump cases before Election Day

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    Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she would like to see all of former President Donald Trump’s legal cases “dealt with” before the general presidential election in November. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she would like to see all of former President Donald Trump’s legal cases “dealt with” before the general presidential election in November

    • In an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Thursday, Haley said, “We need to know what’s going to happen before the presidency happens because after that, should he become president, I don’t think any of that’s going to get heard.”

    • She said the Supreme Court “needs to spell out” when the verdicts are issued

    • Haley also said she does not believe Trump or any president should have total legal immunity, an issue the Supreme Court is set to consider

    In an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Thursday, Haley said, “We need to know what’s going to happen before the presidency happens because after that, should he become president, I don’t think any of that’s going to get heard.”

    Haley is the only major candidate standing between Trump and the Republican nomination. However, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has, to date, failed to beat her former boss in any state primaries or caucuses.

    She said she believes voters in November “are going to want to know what they’re walking into.”

    “And if they’re walking into a president who’s still going to have to be in court or if they’re walking into a presidency where he can get rid of a court case, voters are going to want to know that,” Haley said.

    She said the Supreme Court “needs to spell out” when the verdicts are issued.

    But Haley conceded there is a chance that at least some of Trump’s legal issues could still be unsettled by Election Day. 

    “I think he deserves the right to defend himself, and I think that, unfortunately, court cases take a long time and lawyers can drag them out,” she said. “And I think that’s probably going to happen.”

    The former South Carolina governor stressed she’d want to see court cases resolved for any presidential candidate before an election. 

    “I would want this for Biden. I would want it for Clinton. I want it for Trump,” she said. “This should be for any president. We need to make sure that no president ever thinks they’re above the law.”

    On Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Trump’s claim that he should not be charged in a federal election interference case because he has presidential immunity. The order will delay the potential trial for months, possibly beyond Election Day.

    Haley said she does not believe a president should have “free rein to do whatever they want to do.”

    “I just think a president has to live according to the laws, too,” she said. “You don’t get complete immunity.”

    Haley also said the classified documents cases involving Trump and President Joe Biden “should be treated the same way.”

    Trump faces 41 charges for allegedly retaining classified documents after he left the White House and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. Special counsel Jack Smith is seeking a July 8 start to the trial. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all four criminal cases against him, including cases in New York and Georgia. 

    Following his investigation into Biden, special counsel Robert Hur said the president concluded Biden “willfully” retained and disclosed classified materials when he was a private citizen but that the evidence did not meet the standard for criminal charges because there was a high probability the Justice Department would not be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

    Haley said she finds fault with both Trump’s and Biden’s actions.

    “I was at the United Nations,” Haley said. “I know what it’s like to be around classified information. We know how it’s supposed to be handled. You can’t even leave the room with it sitting on a desk  or you will get called out for it. You can get fined for it. This is something where you know how protected this is. You know people could be in danger if it gets in the wrong hands. And so the idea that both of these men claim they didn’t know they weren’t supposed to take it is impossible.”

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    Ryan Chatelain

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  • Haley: Voters need to know outcome of Trump cases before Election Day

    Haley: Voters need to know outcome of Trump cases before Election Day

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    Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she would like to see all of former President Donald Trump’s legal cases “dealt with” before the general presidential election in November. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she would like to see all of former President Donald Trump’s legal cases “dealt with” before the general presidential election in November

    • In an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Thursday, Haley said, “We need to know what’s going to happen before the presidency happens because after that, should he become president, I don’t think any of that’s going to get heard.”

    • She said the Supreme Court “needs to spell out” when the verdicts are issued

    • Haley also said she does not believe Trump or any president should have total legal immunity, an issue the Supreme Court is set to consider

    In an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Thursday, Haley said, “We need to know what’s going to happen before the presidency happens because after that, should he become president, I don’t think any of that’s going to get heard.”

    Haley is the only major candidate standing between Trump and the Republican nomination. However, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has, to date, failed to beat her former boss in any state primaries or caucuses.

    She said she believes voters in November “are going to want to know what they’re walking into.”

    “And if they’re walking into a president who’s still going to have to be in court or if they’re walking into a presidency where he can get rid of a court case, voters are going to want to know that,” Haley said.

    She said the Supreme Court “needs to spell out” when the verdicts are issued.

    But Haley conceded there is a chance that at least some of Trump’s legal issues could still be unsettled by Election Day. 

    “I think he deserves the right to defend himself, and I think that, unfortunately, court cases take a long time and lawyers can drag them out,” she said. “And I think that’s probably going to happen.”

    The former South Carolina governor stressed she’d want to see court cases resolved for any presidential candidate before an election. 

    “I would want this for Biden. I would want it for Clinton. I want it for Trump,” she said. “This should be for any president. We need to make sure that no president ever thinks they’re above the law.”

    On Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Trump’s claim that he should not be charged in a federal election interference case because he has presidential immunity. The order will delay the potential trial for months, possibly beyond Election Day.

    Haley said she does not believe a president should have “free rein to do whatever they want to do.”

    “I just think a president has to live according to the laws, too,” she said. “You don’t get complete immunity.”

    Haley also said the classified documents cases involving Trump and President Joe Biden “should be treated the same way.”

    Trump faces 41 charges for allegedly retaining classified documents after he left the White House and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. Special counsel Jack Smith is seeking a July 8 start to the trial. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all four criminal cases against him, including cases in New York and Georgia. 

    Following his investigation into Biden, special counsel Robert Hur said the president concluded Biden “willfully” retained and disclosed classified materials when he was a private citizen but that the evidence did not meet the standard for criminal charges because there was a high probability the Justice Department would not be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

    Haley said she finds fault with both Trump’s and Biden’s actions.

    “I was at the United Nations,” Haley said. “I know what it’s like to be around classified information. We know how it’s supposed to be handled. You can’t even leave the room with it sitting on a desk  or you will get called out for it. You can get fined for it. This is something where you know how protected this is. You know people could be in danger if it gets in the wrong hands. And so the idea that both of these men claim they didn’t know they weren’t supposed to take it is impossible.”

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  • No Labels ‘definitely’ interested in Haley on ticket, national director says

    No Labels ‘definitely’ interested in Haley on ticket, national director says

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    As Nikki Haley struggles in the Republican presidential primary, the national director for No Labels says the political organization would “definitely be interested in” having her run on its ticket.

    What You Need To Know

    • As Nikki Haley struggles in the Republican presidential primary, the national director for No Labels says the political organization would “definitely be interested in” having her run on its ticket

    • In an appearance Sunday on “Fox & Friends,” No Labels’ Joe Cunningham said the centrist, bipartisan organization is “talking to a lot of spectacular people”

    • Haley remains in the race for the GOP nomination after Saturday’s primary loss in her home state of South Carolina, and her campaign says she has no interest in joining the No Labels ticket

    • Cunningham said No Labels will not make a decision on a ticket before Super Tuesday, March 5

    In an appearance Sunday on “Fox & Friends,” No Labels’ Joe Cunningham said the centrist, bipartisan organization is “talking to a lot of spectacular people.”

    “This has been a project to essentially give Americans another choice if they’re unhappy with the presumptive nominees, which, yeah, it appears it’s going to be Trump vs. Biden right now,” said Cunningham, a former South Carolina congressman. 

    “We’re looking for great quality people and folks that have broad appeal to independents, Democrats, Republicans. And, yeah, I mean, Nikki Haley is somebody we would definitely be interested in.”

    Haley lost Saturday’s primary to former President Donald Trump in her home state of South Carolina, where she served as governor, picking up just three of the 50 delegates that were up for grabs.

    Despite losing to Trump in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina and finishing behind “none of these candidates” in a Nevada primary that did not include Trump, Haley remains in the race for the GOP nomination.

    “I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president,” she said Saturday. “I’m a woman of my word.”

    Haley often cites polling that found most voters don’t want to see a Biden-Trump rematch. A Reuters survey last month found that 70% of respondents, including half of Democrats, think Biden should not seek reelection, while 56%, including about a third of Republicans, believe Trump should not run again.

    The Haley campaign did not respond to an email from Spectrum News seeking comment Monday, but a spokesperson told The Hill: “Nikki has no interest in No Labels. She’s perfectly happy with the Republican label.”

    Cunningham said No Labels will not make a decision on a ticket before Super Tuesday, March 5. 

    “After Super Tuesday, we’re going to look at who the presumptive nominees are,” he said. “And if the vast majority of Americans are unhappy with those and we feel like we can put forward a ticket or offer our outline to two candidates who can win, then we’re going to offer that outline,” he said.

    Cunningham said No Labels has secured ballot access in 16 states and has “a pathway” to appear on the ballots of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

    He had a message for voters who may be skeptical of a third-party candidate, noting that in all but two states, a candidate needs only a plurality of the votes to win all that state’s delegates. 

    “In a competitive three-way race, a candidate can win all electoral votes with as little as 34, 35% of the vote,” he said. “You don’t have to get over 50%.”

    Earlier this month, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., believed to have been under consideration for the No Labels ticket, said he would not run for president.

    In an interview with CNN on Monday morning, he said he thinks Haley is “attractive for a third party.”

    “She’s trying to find that middle … ,” he said. “A lot of people in America believe that we want to see our leader to be center, centrist, if you will. They can take a center left or center right. They can’t take an extreme. If extreme is being pushed on them, they’ll be looking somewhere else.”

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  • Latest updates: South Carolina Republican primary

    Latest updates: South Carolina Republican primary

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    By

    Ryan Chatelain

    South Carolina

    UPDATED 6:27 AM ET Feb. 24, 2024
    PUBLISHED 3:15 PM ET Feb. 23, 2024
    PUBLISHED 3:15 PM EST Feb. 23, 2024

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  • DeSantis sends more troops to border; GOP primary heats up

    DeSantis sends more troops to border; GOP primary heats up

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    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has started to send additional troops to the Texas border, with the offer of a thousand more, and Republicans in South Carolina prepare for the state presidential primary. 


    DeSantis begins to send additional Florida troops to Texas border

    It’s been an eventful week for Gov. Ron DeSantis. Several bills are now on his desk, and despite broad support from the legislature, the governor’s recent comments have cast doubt whether he’ll actually sign them.

    While they wait for a signature or a veto, DeSantis is sending more troops and troopers to the southern border.

    As many as 50 Florida National Guard members will leave from Plant City Friday and dozens of state troopers from Pensacola are going with them.

    “This is part of a years-long effort for us to help do what the federal government has refused to do, which is to actually defend this country’s borders,” DeSantis said.

    In February, DeSantis said Florida will help Texas build barricades or lay down more border wire.

    “We wanna be a part of that,” he said. “We think this is an American issue — partially because we should have a secure country, and partially the effects of this border invasion go to all 50 states.”

    The governor is offering Texas up to 1,000 troops. The offer comes as border crossings in the U.S. near a record high. Border Patrol in December reported roughly 250,000 migrant encounters.

    But back in Florida, Democrats are calling the move a wasteful political stunt.

    This mission, they say, is all about DeSantis and his dream of running for the White House.

    “There’s so much to focus on here at home,” Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said. “We don’t need a governor who is continuing to focus on his own ambitions and just leaving Floridians behind.”

    Not only that, Florida Democrats say no state should send their troops down south. The border, they say, is federal business. 

    South Carolina GOP primary could reveal clear winner

    Saturday is the Republican Presidential Primary in South Carolina.

    And even though Nikki Haley is a former governor of the state, she is not expected to beat former President Donald Trump.

    Nevertheless, she is pledging to stay in the race for the foreseeable future.

    Hundreds of people lined up for hours in Rock Hill to hear Trump speak. Even as the former president faces a laundry list of legal troubles, his support remains strong going into the primary.

    “He’s been through a lot and he keeps going,” South Carolina resident Joe Kilpatrick said. “He’s a true patriot. Best president in my lifetime.” 

    “When he was president in 2020, he made everything better,” resident Katie Henson claimed. “And now, Biden, it’s going down the toilet.”

    Haley has been criss-crossing the state, arguing Trump and Biden are too old and that Trump is too chaotic to run the country, but Trump fans disagree.

    “I’ve always known the older, the wiser,” Latosha Parker said. “Age is nothing but a number. We need Nikki Haley to say what she’s going to bring,” 

    Something Haley does have is a pitch that is appealing to former Trump supporters who are exhausted by his unending legal troubles.

    In a call with reporters Friday, Haley’s campaign manager Betsy Ankney cited a Marquette Law School poll that found Haley would beat Biden by 16 percentage points but Trump would beat him by 2 points, within the margin of error. Ankney also rattled off the lengthy list of Republican election defeats since, she said, the “luster wore off” of Trump following his 2016 victory.

    “We know that the math is challenging,” Ankney said. “This has never just been about who can win a Republican primary. This battle is about who can win in November, defeat the Democrats and finally get our country back on track. And the reality is, no matter what all-caps rants Trump goes on on Twitter about the polls, he will not defeat Joe Biden in November, and he will drag the entire Republican ticket down with him.”

    Haley has shown no sign of being on the verge of bowing out. This week, her campaign announced its leadership teams in Super Tuesday primary states Michigan and Texas, and Ankney announced Friday a seven-figure TV and digital ad buy leading up to Super Tuesday, which is March 5.

    Haley and the super PAC supporting her had $15 million cash on hand at the end of January, according to Federal Election Commission.

    The former South Carolina governor has been attacking Trump on a number of fronts, including his court trials, his comments that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries that do not meet their financial obligations and his refusal to condemn Russia for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

    The Trump campaign, meanwhile, has been trying to paint Haley as someone who is weak on immigration and relations with China, and who would raise taxes.

    Republican strategist Rina Shah said it’s important for Haley to avoid an ugly blowout Saturday.

    “The delta can’t be so vast,” Shah said. “Because if it is, then it’s almost like a repudiation of her candidacy.”

    Shah added that Haley has “had her eye on the long game for months now” after receiving an influx of support from big-money donors and Americans for Prosperity Action, the political network founded by the influential billionaire Koch Brothers.

    USF students volunteer in South Carolina primary

    Students at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg headed to South Carolina this week to volunteer ahead of the Republican presidential primary.

    The trip is part of a course called “The Road to the White House 2024.” The students applied to be in the class. Each student chose to intern with Republican candidates Donald Trump, Nikki Haley or with the South Carolina Democratic Party.

    “The Democrats had their election, but now what?” asked USF St. Pete professor Judithanne McLauchlan. “They’re going to be doing their delegate selections, so these students will get the behind the scenes look at all of that process.”

    The students left for South Carolina on Friday and will stay for 10 days.

    “I really have no idea what the campaign is going to look like,” said student Dante Rubino, who will intern with former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign.

    “I’m looking at getting on the inside track and furthering my career,” said student and veteran Steven Brown. Brown, who already works with veterans, said he plans to intern with Trump’s campaign.

    While they’re in South Carolina, each student will blog about their experience.

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  • Donald Trump confirms 6 names on his VP shortlist

    Donald Trump confirms 6 names on his VP shortlist

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    Former President Donald Trump confirmed at least six names he said are on his shortlist to be his vice presidential pick in this year’s election.

    What You Need To Know

    • Former President Donald Trump confirmed at least six names he said are on his shortlist to be his vice presidential pick in this year’s election

    • In a Fox News town hall on Tuesday night, Trump said his list includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott

    • Trump did not produce the names on his own but was rather presented them by town hall host Laura Ingraham before saying they were all on his shortlist

    • It’s possible other names could also be on Trump’s list

    In a Fox News town hall on Tuesday night, Trump said his list includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

    The front-runner for the GOP nomination, Trump did not produce the names on his own but was rather presented them by town hall host Laura Ingraham, who said audience members suggested them. Ingraham then asked Trump, “Are they all on your shortlist?” Trump answered, “They are.”

    It’s possible other names could also be on Trump’s list. There has been speculation, too, surrounding New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, among others.

    Trump, 77, said the most important quality he’s looking for in a running mate is someone who could be a great president in the event that something happens to him.

    He also said “you would like to get somebody that could help you from the voter standpoint” and added that he’s looking for a running mate who agrees with him on a wide range of issues, including border security, interest rates, electric vehicles, foreign affairs, the need for a strong military and school choice.

    “I always say I want people with common sense because there’s so many things happening in this country that don’t make sense,” Trump said.

    Trump told NBC News in September that he liked the concept of choosing a woman as his running mate, but added, “We’re going to pick the best person.” He did not say anything Tuesday night about his running mate potentially be a woman.

    In another Fox town hall in Iowa in January, Trump said he already knew who his pick would be but did not elaborate. DeSantis and Ramaswamy were still opposing him for the Republican nomination at the time.

    Scott also ran against Trump in the primary but exited the race before the first votes were cast. DeSantis, Ramaswamy and Scott have all endorsed Trump, with Ramaswamy and Scott actively campaigning for the former president.

    Trump praised Scott, who attended the town hall, calling him “a great advocate.”

    “He has been much better for me than he was for himself,” Trump said. “I watched his campaign, and he doesn’t like talking about himself, but, boy, does he talk about Trump.”

    In 2016, Trump chose then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to be his running mate, but the men had a falling out after Pence rebuffed Trump’s demand to block certification of Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election.

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  • Election law change; requiring communist history in schools

    Election law change; requiring communist history in schools

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    A bill that could change how elections are run in Florida advances in Tallahassee and lawmakers consider a requirement to teach the history of communism in schools. 


    A potential change to Florida elections

    A proposed committee bill in the State House could re-institute runoff elections.

    This would force candidates to run in what’s called a double primary system.

    Under that format, the first and second place candidates in the first primary would be placed on the ballot in the second primary election.

    Lawmakers consider mandatory communism education in schools

    State lawmakers are considering legislation that would require K-12 schools to teach what they consider the history of communism.

    The lessons would have to be both age appropriate and developmentally appropriate.

    The courses include:

    • The history of communism in the United States
    • Atrocities committed in foreign countries, the philosophy and lineages of communistic thoughts
    • What supporters view as the increasing threat of communism in the U.S
    • The events that led up to communist revolutions

    Each school would have to provide evidence these classes are being taught and the material would be recommended for a state “Communism Education Task Force”

    The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by Tampa State Sen. Jay Collins, and he spoke about it today in a committee meeting.

    “Thirty to 38% of our youth feel that communism or socialism could be better than what we have,” Collins said. “But stop and think about that. That’s pretty frightening … If we fail in this generation to teach our children about the horrors of socialism, communism, or anything else that strives to strip freedom and liberty from our persons and our people, we’re failing.”

    Today, the Appropriations Committee on Education advanced the Senate bill unanimously. 

    Haley announced she’s staying in the race against Trump

    Four days before she faces former President Donald Trump in a primary in her home state — a race that, per polling, she is expected to lose — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley insisted she’s not on the verge of dropping out of the race.

    “I’m not going anywhere,” the former United Nations ambassador said during a speech Tuesday in Greenville, S.C.. “I’m campaigning every day until the last person votes.”

    Haley clarified her intentions during what her campaign called a “state of the race” speech. The scheduled address stirred some speculation that she might announce her exit from the race days ahead of the primary in the Palmetto State. 

    “Some of you, perhaps a few of you in the media, came here today to see if I’m dropping out of the race,” the former South Carolina governor said. “Well, I’m not. Far from it.”

    The rest of the speech largely included familiar talking points from Haley’s campaign events. She reiterated she’s running for president to address issues such as education, cost of living, crime and U.S.-Mexico border security.

    She attacked President Joe Biden on those issues as well as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Haley also criticized Trump for insulting military veterans, spending $50 million in campaign contributions on his legal fees, threatening donors who support Haley’s campaign and saying he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries that did not meet their financial obligations to the alliance.

    According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, Trump is leading Haley in South Carolina, 63.6%-33.2%. 

    Trump soundly defeated Haley in Iowa and New Hampshire. They competed in separate contests in Nevada — Trump won the caucuses while voters in the state’s primary picked “none of these candidates” over Haley.

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  • Trump post sheds little light on his views about Navalny’s death

    Trump post sheds little light on his views about Navalny’s death

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    Donald Trump made his first public comment Monday about the death of Alexei Navalny, although the former president said substantively little about the Russian opposition leader or the Kremlin. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Donald Trump made his first public comment Monday about the death of Alexei Navalny, although the former president said substantively little about the Russian opposition leader or the Kremlin

    • Trump began a post on his Truth Social site with “The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country” and then made the same sort of grievances on other matters he makes on a near-daily basis

    • Trump’s remarks came three days after Navalny died in a Russian prison and follows repeated calls from Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for Trump to comment on his death

    • According to The Washington Post, Trump appears to never have mentioned Navalny by name during his presidency

    In a post on his Truth Social site, Trump wrote: “The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country. It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged Elections, and Grossly Unfair Courtroom Decisions are DESTROYING AMERICA. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE, A FAILING NATION!”

    Trump, who is running for president again, repeats the same grievances about border security, his legal troubles and the direction of the country, as well as his baseless claims of election fraud, on a near-daily basis on his social media site, in interviews and on the campaign trail.

    Trump’s remarks came three days after Navalny died in a Russian prison and follows repeated calls from Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for Trump to comment on his death.

    Prior to Monday, Trump’s only mention of Navalny since he died was when he shared a post on Truth Social on Sunday that seemed to suggest he is being persecuted in the United States much like Navalny was in Russia. The headline of the post was “Biden:Trump::Putin:Navalny.”

    When asked Friday about whether Trump had a comment on Navalny’s death, his campaign directed reporters to another Trump Truth Social post, which made no mention of Navalny or Russia, instead saying, “America is no longer respected because we have an incompetent president who is weak and doesn’t understand what the World is thinking.”

    According to the Russian federal prison service, Navalny died in prison near the Arctic Circle after losing consciousness following a walk.

    An outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Navalny blamed the Kremlin for poisoning him with a nerve agent in 2020. After recovering in Germany for more than a year, he was arrested upon returning to Russia and later sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges he and his supporters said were bogus and politically motivated.

    Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, accused Putin on Monday on refusing to hand over Navalny’s body to his mother as part of a cover-up. Russian authorities have said that the cause of Navalny’s death is still unknown.

    U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday quickly blamed Russia for Navalny’s death, although he stopped short of calling it an assassination.

    “What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality,” he said. “No one should be fooled — not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world. Putin does not only target his [sic] citizens of other countries, as we’ve seen what’s going on in Ukraine right now, he also inflicts terrible crimes on his own people.”

    Haley spent the weekend calling out Trump over his silence on Navalny. 

    “Putin has done to him what Putin does to all of his opponents — he kills them,” the former United Nations ambassador told reporters Saturday in Irmo, South Carolina. “And Trump needs to answer to that. Does he think Putin killed him? Does he think Putin was right to kill him? And does he think Navalny was a hero?”

    Haley, Trump’s only remaining major competition for the Republican presidential nomination, has tied the former president’s evasiveness on Navalny to his comments earlier this month that he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that had not met their financial obligations. In an interview on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, Haley said she found it “amazing” that Trump would not only encourage Putin to invade NATO countries but not acknowledge “anything with Navalny.”

    “Either he sides with Putin and thinks it’s cool that Putin killed one of his political opponents or he just doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal,” Haley said. “Either one of those is concerning. Either one of those is a problem.”

    According to The Washington Post, Trump appears to never have mentioned Navalny by name during his presidency. 

    Trump did not condemn the poisoning of Navalny in 2020. When asked about it then, he said there was no proof of Russia’s involvement at the time and then argued that people should be more concerned about China than Russia.

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  • Taylor Swift donates $100K to family of woman killed in Chiefs parade shooting

    Taylor Swift donates $100K to family of woman killed in Chiefs parade shooting

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    Taylor Swift donated $100,000 Friday to the family of the woman killed during Wednesday’s Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl championship celebration parade.

    What You Need To Know

    • Taylor Swift donated $100,000 Friday to the family of the woman killed during Wednesday’s Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl championship celebration parade

    • Her donations to help the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan were accompanied by a message: “Sending my deepest sympathies and condolences in the wake of your devastating loss. With love, Taylor Swift”

    • Lopez-Galvan, 43, died after gunfire erupted at the end of the parade outside Union Station

    • Authorities said Thursday the shooting appeared to stem from a dispute between several people; two juveniles are in custody

    The pop superstar made two $50,000 donations to a GoFundMe page started to help the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan.

    Her donations were accompanied by a message: “Sending my deepest sympathies and condolences in the wake of your devastating loss. With love, Taylor Swift.”

    Representatives for Swift confirmed to multiple media outlets that the singer was behind the donations. Swift’s publicist has not responded to an email from Spectrum News.

    Swift, who is dating Chiefs star Travis Kelce, made the donation just as she was beginning a string of three shows in Melbourne, Australia.

    Lopez-Galvan, 43, died after gunfire erupted at the end of the parade outside Union Station. She was the only person killed. Twenty-two others, including nine children, were also injured in the shooting.

    Lopez-Galvan, a radio disc jockey and co-host of a show featuring Hispanic music, was at the celebration with her family. Her adult son was also reportedly wounded. 

    Lopez-Galvan is also survived by her husband of 22 years and a daughter.

    “She was an amazing mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend to so many,” a message on the GoFundMe page reads. “We ask that you continue to keep her family in your prayers as we grieve the loss of her life. This fund will help provide vital financial support to her family as they process this unthinkable tragedy. Any amount is appreciated.”

    The fundraiser’s goal was $75,000. As of about noon Eastern on Friday, it had raised more than $247,000 from 2,800 donors.

    Authorities said Thursday the shooting appeared to stem from a dispute between several people. 

    Police said they detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn’t involved in the shooting, leaving two in custody. No charges have been filed. Police are looking for others who may have been involved and are calling for witnesses, victims and people with cellphone video of the violence to call a dedicated hotline.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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