At least 12 bodies found after gang attacks in upscale Haiti suburb
Bodies found outside capital, Port-au-Prince, as attacks by gang members have ravaged the country for weeks. At least 12 bodies have been removed by ambulance from the affluent neighbourhood of Petion-Ville on the outskirts of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, as tensions simmer pending the announcement of a new government. Gunmen looted homes in the mountainous communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise on Monday, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. The neighbourhoods had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on February 29. The bodies of the victims, who had been shot, were removed from the main road leading into the suburb and from outside a fuel station, the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies reported. The latest attacks have raised concerns that gang violence will not end, despite Prime Minister Ariel Henry announcing nearly a week ago that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created. The council will have seven voting members and two observers from different political coalitions and sectors of society. Gang leaders, who have long sought to remove Henry, have warned of a “battle” for Haiti and threatened politicians who join the transition council. Meanwhile, residents are facing worsening shortages of food and medical care. Haiti has seen years of unrest that took a sharp turn to the worst after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. The crisis deepened this year as Haitian armed groups launched attacks on police, prisons and other state institutions. The main airport in Port-au-Prince has been shut down, and residents have been afraid to leave their homes to get water, food and other supplies. On Monday, Haiti’s power company announced that four substations in the capital and elsewhere “were destroyed and rendered completely dysfunctional”. As a result, swathes of Port-au-Prince were without power, including the Cite Soleil slum, the Croix-des-Bouquets community and a hospital. The company said criminals also seized important documents, cables, inverters, batteries and other items. The deteriorating conditions are making it difficult for humanitarian organisations to deliver aid to the Caribbean country, said Jean-Michael Bauer, the Haiti director at the United Nations World Food Programme. “Port-au-Prince is a place that’s in a bubble right now. You can’t get in and out by road. It’s very difficult to get in by air. Getting in and out by sea is a challenge,” Bauer told European Parliament’s subcommittee on human rights on Monday. “We need security in this country. Security is the number one problem right now. But we also need to make sure that at the same time we bring security, that we have a strong humanitarian component to everything we do.” The violence has created a political impasse that has seen the UN as well as the United States and Canadian embassies withdrawing their staff in recent days. The international community is also pushing to deploy a Kenyan-led police force to help maintain security in Haiti. US Department of State spokesperson Vedant Patel on Monday said that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is close to finalising the transitional council. “The announcement of this council, we believe, will help pave the way for free and fair elections and the deployment of the multi-national security support mission,” Patel told reporters. The State Department has chartered flights to evacuate dozens of US citizens out of Haiti. Patel said the evacuation plan was put in place in response to the limited availability of commercial flights out of the country. Adblock test (Why?)
What’s the impact of Niger cutting military ties with the US?
Niger was a crucial Western ally before a coup happened there last July. Niger has cut military ties with the United States – a setback from what was once a crucial ally in West Africa. It follows other leaders in the Sahel in forging closer ties with Russia, after taking power in military coups. So, what impact will this have on the region? Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra Guests: Idayat Hassan – Non-resident senior associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Abuja Alexis Akwagyiram – Managing editor at Semafor Africa in London Kabir Adamu – Security and intelligence specialist focusing on West Africa and the Sahel region, based in Abuja Adblock test (Why?)
Israel asks ICJ not to order new measures over looming famine in Gaza
Israel asks the UN court to reject South Africa’s request for more emergency orders in the Gaza genocide case. Israel has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) not to issue emergency orders for it to step up humanitarian aid to Gaza to address a looming famine, dismissing South Africa’s request to do so as “morally repugnant”. In a legal filing to the top United Nations court, made public on Monday, Israel said it “has real concern for the humanitarian situation and innocent lives, as demonstrated by the actions it has and is taking” in Gaza. Lawyers for Israel denied allegations of deliberately causing humanitarian suffering in the besieged enclave, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and hunger is rising. They said South Africa’s repeated requests for additional measures are an abuse of procedures. The filing said South Africa’s accusations in its request for new measures, filed March 6, are “wholly unfounded in fact and law, morally repugnant, and represent an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of the court itself”. The new exchange between the parties is part of South Africa’s ongoing case accusing Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel In January, the ICJ, also known as the World Court, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel described the genocide allegation as baseless. Relief agencies said essential aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million people is being severely restricted. ‘Man-made’ looming famine Israel has imposed a siege on Gaza since October 7 and has also prevented much-needed fuel from entering. ICJ emergency measures serve as temporary injunctions meant to keep a situation from deteriorating before the court in The Hague can hear the full case, a process that usually takes several years. Israel’s response was published on the day the UN’s World Food Programme said “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza. The agency said 70 percent of its remaining population is experiencing catastrophic hunger and a further escalation of Israel’s assault could push about half of Gaza’s total population to the brink of starvation. The more than five-month offensive has killed nearly 32,000 people in the strip, according to health officials in Gaza. Another 1,139 people died in southern Israel in Hamas attacks on October 7, after which Israel launched its war on Gaza. At least 20 people have died from malnutrition and starvation in Gaza since Israel began its assault, Palestinian authorities said. The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, on Monday said the impending famine in Gaza was “entirely man-made” as “starvation is used as a weapon of war”. “Trucks are stopped. People are dying while the land crossings are artificially closed,” he said. South Africa’s request to the ICJ is the second time Pretoria has asked the court for additional measures. Its first request to pressure Israel to halt an offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah in February was denied. Adblock test (Why?)
Obama holds surprise meeting with world leader after report about Biden ‘rivalry’
Former President Barack Obama met with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday, just hours after a report came out about a rivalry between Obama and President Biden. The Monday meeting was Obama’s first in-person meeting with Sunak since he became prime minister. Obama was only spotted when he was leaving Sunak’s residence Monday afternoon. He said only that it was a “courtesy visit” made while conducting other business in London. The meeting comes less than a day after a report detailing a decadelong rivalry between Obama, Biden and their aides. Biden aides have complained that “Obama and his team did not fully appreciate Biden’s experience with foreign policy, Congress and grip-and-grin politicking — and were disrespectful,” Axios reported this weekend. OBAMA BALKED AT BIDEN’S ASSERTION THAT RUSSIA SHOULD ‘PAY IN BLOOD AND MONEY’ AFTER 2014 INVASION: BOOK “The Obama people thought Biden would suck as president,” one former Biden aide told Axios. “They didn’t think he’d be organized enough to execute.” NETANYAHU BLASTS SCHUMER, BIDEN OVER WANING SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL “We do have too many Obama people who don’t care about Joe Biden. It’s about them,” a former White House official said. “When people say, ‘This is what worked for Obama,’ their first response is often, ‘We’re not Obama,’” a “senior Democrat” reportedly said, referring to Biden’s staff. White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates denied that the relationship between Biden and Obama was at all frayed in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying that Biden has not taken potshots at Obama in private. BIDEN PRIVATELY DEFIANT THAT HE DIDN’T BOTCH AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL: BOOK “We recognize that the actual level of drama in this White House is insufficient to meet some reporting quotas, but President Biden does not make such comments in private,” Bates said. “As President Biden has said, President Obama is family to him.” Bates described Obama and Biden as having a close “personal bond” and agreeing “overwhelmingly on the issues facing the country, including building an economy that works from the bottom-up and middle-out, protecting our critical freedoms, and opposing attacks on our democracy.” A spokesperson for the Office of President Barack Obama told Fox News Digital in a statement that the Obama Alumni Association hosted an event for Biden’s re-election campaign, during which attendees chanted, “Fired up, ready to go,” in support of the president. Fox News’ Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report
Eric Schwerin confirms Joe Biden used ‘Robinware456’ email alias while serving as vice president
Hunter Biden’s business partner Eric Schwerin told congressional investigators that he communicated with then-Vice President Joe Biden via a private e-mail alias, while maintaining that he was “not aware” of Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s business dealings. Schwerin appeared behind closed doors for a transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees in January as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. Fox News Digital obtained a transcript of Schwerin’s testimony. BIDEN WAS IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH HUNTER’S BUSINESS PARTNERS USING EMAIL ALIAS AS VP Schwerin told the committee that he “performed a number of administrative and bookkeeping tasks for then-Vice President Joe Biden related to his household finances” between 2009 and 2017. Schwerin testified he also helped Biden’s accountants in their preparation of his taxes and his annual financial disclosure statements. Fox News Digital first reported that Biden, as vice president, used email aliases and private email addresses to communicate with Hunter Biden and his business associates hundreds of times – including with Schwerin. The communications came between 2010 and 2019, with the majority of email traffic taking place while Biden was serving as vice president. The House Ways & Means Committee, which is co-leading the impeachment inquiry alongside the Oversight and Judiciary Committees, said 54 of those emails were “exclusively” between Joe Biden and Schwerin. The Ways & Means Committee describes Schwerin as “the architect of the Biden family’s shell companies.” During his transcribed interview, Schwerin was asked if an email address labeled “Robinware456” was associated with Joe Biden. “Yes,” Schwerin said. “That’s Joe Biden?” a committee investigator asked. “Correct,” Schwerin testified. Schwerin also identified an email address labeled “Hurricane5155” as Valerie Biden and “261penn” as Beau Biden. Schwerin also said it was his “understanding” that “Robert.L.Peters” was also an email address associated with Joe Biden. “I believe, when I personally emailed him, it was through that ‘Robinware’ email address,” Schwerin said. He testified that the “Robinware456” email address was a “private Gmail account.” Schwerin used his own personal Gmail account to communicate with Biden, he testified. Meanwhile, Schwerin said he met Hunter Biden while working in the Clinton administration at the Commerce Department, and after government service, joined the first son at a law and lobbying firm. Schwerin co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners along with Hunter Biden and other colleagues – a firm he described as a “consulting and investment firm that offered development and public policy advisory services to a wide range of clients.” HUNTER BIDEN PAID JOE BIDEN FROM ACCOUNT FOR BIZ THAT RECEIVED PAYMENTS FROM CHINA: COMER “In the course of performing these duties, I had the ability to view transactions both into and out of Vice President Biden’s bank accounts while he was vice president,” Schwerin said in his opening statement. “Based on that insight, I am not aware of any financial transactions or compensation that Vice President Biden received related to business conducted by any of his family members or their associates nor any involvement by him in their businesses. None.” Schwerin also said he “cannot recall any requests for Vice President Biden to take any official action on behalf of any of Hunter’s clients or his business deals – foreign or domestic.” “In fact, I am not aware of any role that Vice President Biden, as a public official or a private citizen, had in any of Hunter’s business activities. None,” he said. Schwerin testified that regarding his interactions with Biden, he “never asked him to take any official actions for the benefit of Hunter’s clients or any other client.” “Furthermore, I have no recollection of any promises or suggestions made by Hunter or myself to any clients or business associates that his father would take any official actions on their behalf. None,” he said. “In my discussions with the Vice President concerning his personal finances, he was always crystal clear that he wanted to take the most transparent and ethical approach consistent with both the spirit and the letter of the law.” Schwerin added: “Given my awareness of his finances and the explicit directions he gave to his financial advisers, the allegation that he would engage in any improper conduct to benefit himself or his family is preposterous to me.” But Schwerin did testify that he did have “discussions” about what Joe Biden would do post-vice presidency. “Did you ever have any conversations with Hunter Biden or anyone else about jobs for Joe Biden post-Vice Presidency?” a congressional investigator asked. OVERSIGHT DEMS ADMIT HUNTER’S LONGTIME BUSINESS PARTNER HANDLED BIDEN’S FINANCES THROUGHOUT VP TENURE “I don’t know about jobs per se, but we did have discussions as to what – about what his dad might be doing post-Vice Presidency,” Schwerin said, noting that there were “two efforts, I know, going on related to the University of Delaware and the University of Pennsylvania.” “There was a point in which I and Hunter were a little more involved in the discussions related to the University of Delaware, and there were institutes set up and whether – how it would all be structured and things like that,” he said. Meanwhile, Schwerin testified that he was appointed to the U.S. Commission on the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. Schwerin said Biden, when vice president in 2009, asked him if he would be “interested in being on one of these boards or commissions.” “I understood that – my assumption was that it was something that, you know, the Vice President had signed off on, but I would think it was someone from the staff who said, we can put your name forward to Presidential Personnel, and they would, you know, give you a call about this,” he said, adding that he was not appointed to the board until May 2015.
How the most powerful nation lost control of its borders: former ICE director
The U.S. is in the grip of an ongoing crisis at the southern border, now into its third year. While there have been a number of surges in migration to the U.S.-Mexico border in recent history, none have been so large or so sustained. Republicans say the crisis has been a direct consequence of the policies of the Biden administration. But Democrats and the administration say the U.S. has a broken system in need of reform and funding that Congress has so far failed to address. The surge escalated in 2021, when, after months of increasing numbers in 2020 from the lows seen during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, encounters skyrocketed from 78,000 in January 2021 to 213,000 by July, according to Customs and Border Protection data. Encounters remained high through 2022, reaching a high of 241,000 that May. Encounters in fiscal year 2022 hit 2.3 million, a new record. That was broken the next year with 2.4 million. BIDEN, DURING VISIT TO OVERWHELMED BORDER, URGES REPUBLICANS TO BACK SENATE BILL More recently, the monthly record for encounters was shattered in December, when there were over 300,000 encounters for the first time, according to CBP. Meanwhile, the immigration court backlog has exploded to more than 3 million cases, while seizures of fentanyl at the southern border have also broken records. The Biden administration has said the spike coincides with a hemisphere-wide migration surge sparked by insecurity, poverty and other root causes. “It is because the world is living through one of the greatest levels of human displacement that it ever has, and certainly since World War II. And the challenge that we are experiencing at our border, which is a very serious and consequential challenge, is one that the entire hemisphere is experiencing,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told The New York Times in February. President Biden and former President Trump have both visited the southern border in 2024, making their respective cases to the voters. Biden said he needs Congress to “put politics aside” and pass additional spending and reforms found in a bipartisan Senate bill. The legislation includes additional staffing at the border and in asylum offices, an increased $1.4 billion in funding to cities and organizations receiving migrants, aims to tackle fentanyl smuggling and would limit asylum claims. It would also increase detention beds to 50,000 and provide additional immigration judges. However, the bill failed to gain enough support in the Senate after conservative lawmakers warned that a limiting mechanism that only comes into place after an average of 5,000 encounters a day would normalize the already high levels of illegal immigration. “It’s real simple, it’s time to act, it is long past time to act,” Biden said. “It’s time for us to move on this, we can’t wait any longer.” Meanwhile, the administration has been pursuing a strategy of expanding lawful migration pathways while increasing what it says are consequences for illegal entry, including an asylum ban and increased use of expedited removal. But it has stressed it needs more funding to do so. The administration rejects claims it has opened the border, pointing to more than half a million removals or returns between May 2023 and January 2024. It also expanded the CBP One app to allow more migrants to be processed in ports of entry, launched funding drives to tackle root causes in Central American countries and set up processing centers in the region. Republicans and former Trump officials blame the Biden administration, accusing it of rolling back successful Trump-era policies like the Remain in Mexico program, which kept migrants in Mexico for their asylum hearings, along with border wall construction and other measures to stop catch-and-release. Tom Homan, who served as acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director under Trump, told Fox News Digital he believes those Trump policies secured the border. “We handed the Biden administration the most secure border in my lifetime. That’s just based on fact. That’s based on data. Anybody can look at the data. Then President Biden came in,” he said. Homan and other critics also cited a 100-day ICE deportation moratorium as evidence the administration is pursuing an open border policy. “President Biden ran on open borders, and you gotta give him credit. Once he became president, he kept his promise and opened the border,” Homan said. 7.2M ENTERED US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES The crisis has had deep political impacts. Not only has it become a top 2024 issue, with polls showing a majority of voters seeing large amounts of illegal immigration as a “critical” threat, but the immediate impact has also spread beyond the border. As more and more migrants have moved into the interior, including through a busing program from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, cities like New York City, Chicago and Denver have been overwhelmed by the numbers and the strain put on their services. Mayors have appealed for support, last year asking for more than $5 billion in aid, among other measures. Meanwhile, Republicans in the House impeached Mayorkas for his handling of the crisis, sending articles of impeachment to the Senate. If elected, Trump has promised to return to many of his past policies and has pledged to ramp up deportations. “The fix is simple. Dust off the Trump plan and reinstitute the Remain in Mexico program, reinstitute the safe third country agreements, continue building the wall and end catch and release,” Homan said. “Those things right now would solve 90% of the problem on the border.”
Trump, top allies make closing pitch for Sherrod Brown challenger Bernie Moreno in Ohio Senate race
VANDALIA, OH – Thousands of Ohioans braved strong winds at a Dayton, Ohio-area airport on Saturday to watch former President Donald Trump stump for Ohio GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, where the pair made the case that Moreno is the best option to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in a battle that pits the establishment against the MAGA agenda. “Ohio needs to defeat your horrendous radical left, Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown, who pretends he’s my best friend,” Trump told the crowd near the start of his speech. “He pretends he’s my best friend until he gets in, and then he goes radical left all the time. You know, if you listen to his commercials, he sounds like he’s running with Trump. He’s not.” “He’s not with me, and the day he gets out, he votes with Biden all the time, and if you vote with Biden this country is finished, I’ll tell you right now.” Brown, the only Democrat elected statewide in Ohio in the past decade, will face the winner of Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary in November in one of only three Senate races Cook Political Report ranks as a “toss up” opportunity for Republicans to take back control of the Senate. OHIO REPUBLICAN US SENATE CANDIDATE BERNIE MORENO HAS SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR GOP MEMBERS WHO ‘DON’T LIKE’ TRUMP “With your vote, we’re going to take back the Senate,” Trump said. “We’re going to win Ohio in November. We’re going to win by a lot.” Trump hit on immigration harder than any other issue in Ohio, where polling shows that illegal immigration is a top concern in the state, along with the economy. “Among my very first actions upon taking office will be to stop the invasion of our country and send Joe Biden’s illegal aliens back home,” Trump — who invoked the name of Laken Riley multiple times during the speech — told the crowd. “These are the roughest people you’ve ever seen. You know, now we have a new form of crime. I call it Biden migrant crime, but it’s too long, so let’s just call it migrant crime. We have a new category. You know, you have vicious crimes, you have violent crimes. You have all these, now we have migrant crimes, and they’re rough. They’re rough.” TRUMP FACES OFF AGAINST GOP ESTABLISHMENT AS HE PARACHUTES INTO CONTENTIOUS REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY According to recent polling, Moreno supporters say that their top concern is immigration, and the Ohio businessman seemed to strike a chord on that issue with the crowd during his remarks. “If you’re in this country illegally… listen… starting in January of 2025, you will be deported,” Moreno said, eliciting a cheer from the crowd. On stage, Moreno made the case that his primary race is a battle between political outsiders and the establishment, similar to Trump’s messaging in the past. “Look at what happened in 2017,” Moreno told his audience. “President Trump took office and fought Republicans just as much as he fought Democrats over and over again.” TRUMP-BACKED GOP CANDIDATE RIPS ‘SICK’ REPORT TYING HIM TO GAY HOOKUP WEBSITE: ‘DESPERATE PEOPLE’ “They’ve let us down. And I understand. I got to understand why that is. They care more about the job and their advancement in their career and making money being a public servant instead of taking care of this country. This is the issue in this election. This is the last gasp of breath of the swamp RINO establishment in Ohio. And I need you on Tuesday to stab it right in the heart and make it clear that in Ohio, we put America first.” Moreno faces off against Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Ohio Republican State Sen. Matt Dolan on Tuesday in a race that has gotten increasingly hostile as it winds down, with polling this week showing 20-30% of voters still undecided. Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance endorsed Moreno and stumped for him on Saturday, making the case that like Trump, he, too, goes against the GOP establishment. “Do we need a senator who answers to the people of the state of Ohio?” Vance asked the crowd. “Yes, we do. Do we need a senator who will not compromise with the D.C. swamp, but will fight the D.C. swamp? That’s Bernie Moreno.” Over the past several months, each of the Republican candidates have attacked one other over who is the most conservative, pointing to past public statements and positions they argue don’t fit with Trump’s agenda. Various polls have showed each of the candidates leading the race at one point or another. Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan spoke with Fox News Digital at the rally and explained why he believes Moreno is the best candidate to face Brown, who, he says, “talks one way” when “he’s at home,” but then votes with Biden in Washington, D.C. “He’s a fighter,” Jordan said, adding he believes Moreno is in a good position to win in November. “He’s got an amazing story. He’s from an immigrant family who came here legally, did things the right way, lived the American dream — a successful business guy. So, I think he’s just the kind of guy we need and is going to be such a compliment to Senator Vance in the United States Senate.” South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, who also endorsed Moreno, argued that he is the “only one” that can “beat Sherrod Brown this fall.” “He’ll beat Sherrod, and he will beat him bad, and it will be amazing,” she said. Trump told the wind-battered crowd on Saturday night that there was “tremendous spirit” behind him in 2016 and 2020, but there’s “never been spirit like we have now.” “I love being with you — this is a special place to me. We’ve won every single time. Vote for Bernie Moreno. He’s a great guy,” Trump said at the conclusion of his speech. “He’ll be a great, great senator.”
Georgia bill limiting truck crash suits against insurance companies heads to Kemp’s desk
The ability of people to sue insurance companies directly after trucking crashes would be limited under a bill receiving final passage in the Georgia legislature. The House voted 172-0 on Monday to pass Senate Bill 426, sending it to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto. The measure says someone could only sue an insurance company directly if the trucking company involved has gone bankrupt or when the plaintiff can’t find the company or the driver. GEORGIA LAWMAKER DEMANDS FANI WILLIS STEP ASIDE IN TRUMP ELECTION CASE: ‘HER CREDIBILITY IS SHOT’ Supporters say the change would result in lower insurance rates for truckers, arguing current rates inhibit trucking companies’ ability to do business. House Majority Whip James Burchett, a Waycross Republican, said Monday that it was a balancing act between business groups and lawyers. Several Democrats also spoke to praise the bill. Rep. Teddy Reese, a Columbus Democrat, called it “a great compromise that lawyers like myself are happy with and can work with.” Kemp has said he wants to make it harder for people to file lawsuits and win big legal judgments. He has said Georgia’s high insurance rates are among the harms caused by such lawsuits. But Kemp said he would pause his effort until the 2025 legislative session in order to gather more information. Georgia lawmakers capped noneconomic damages including pain and suffering in a 2005 tort reform law, but the state Supreme Court overturned such caps as unconstitutional in 2010. Besides truckers, owners of commercial properties and apartments have also been seeking limits, saying they are getting unfairly sued when third parties do wrong on their property.
Nearly 1,000 Americans in Haiti plea for help, State Dept. says, as gangs unleash new attacks
The State Department revealed Monday that nearly 1,000 Americans have filled out a “crisis intake form” seeking assistance in Haiti – a country it is now calling “one of the most dire humanitarian situations in the world.” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel made the remark hours after dozens of Americans landed in Miami on a U.S. government-chartered evacuation flight from Haiti, where reports are emerging of gangs killing at least 12 people early this morning in a suburb of Port-au-Prince following the looting of homes in two upscale neighborhoods in the Caribbean country’s capital. “It is not hyperbole to say that this is one of the most dire humanitarian situations in the world,” Patel said. “Gang violence continues to make the security situation in Haiti untenable, and it is a region that demands our attention.” “This is a fluid situation and the number of individuals who have reached out to us through the crisis intake form is approaching a thousand,” he added, referring to the form on the State Department’s website. STATE DEPARTMENT CONFIRMS MORE THAN 30 AMERICANS EVACUATED FROM HAITI ON US-GOVERNMENT CHARTERED FLIGHT “And we’re continuing to monitor the situation closely and evaluate the demand of U.S. citizens, evaluate the overall security situation, evaluate what is feasible when it comes to commercial transportation options, what is feasible for other transportation solutions,” Patel also said, emphasizing that “we have no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens.” The State Department previously has said it is aware of several hundred U.S. citizens being stuck in Haiti. Patel said people fill out the form requesting assistance for “a variety of reasons.” “Many, we assume, are in a circumstance where they are ready to fully depart the country…. Others may be more interested in just getting status updates, getting information on what avenues might be available to them,” he continued. “It is hard to paint this entire population with a single stroke.” US NATIONAL SECURITY FACES MAJOR RISKS AS GANGS BATTLE FOR CONTROL OVER HAITI In Port-au-Prince this morning, gunmen looted homes in the communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police, according to the Associated Press. The news agency reported that one of their photographers saw the bodies of at least 12 men strewn on the streets of nearby Pétionville, which later were collected by an ambulance. “Abuse! This is abuse!” one Haitian man reportedly cried out as he raised his arms and stood near one of the victims. “People of Haiti! Wake up!” “We woke up this morning to find bodies in the street in our community of Pétionville,” Douce Titi, who works at the mayor’s office, also told the AP. The most recent attacks have raised concerns that gang violence will not cease despite Prime Minister Ariel Henry announcing nearly a week ago that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created, a move that gangs had been demanding. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan won’t run on No Labels presidential ticket
Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan says he will not run for president as a No Labels third-party candidate in 2024. Duncan made the announcement on Monday after more than a week of rumors that he would launch a campaign challenging both President Biden and former President Trump. “After careful deliberation, I have withdrawn my name from consideration for the No Labels presidential ticket,” Duncan said Monday. “It was an honor to be approached, and I am grateful to all those who are engaged in good-faith efforts to offer Americans a better choice than the Trump vs. Biden re-match. “In addition to my private sector career and earning a living for my family of five, I am focused on healing and improving the Republican Party with a GOP 2.0 so we can elect more commonsense conservative candidates in the future,” he added. HOW NO LABELS IS MOVING TOWARD LAUNCHING A THIRD-PARTY PRESIDENTIAL TICKET Duncan entered office as a Republican when he won a general election for lieutenant governor in 2018. NO LABELS CHARGES OPPONENTS ARE TRYING TO KEEP IT OFF THE BALLOT No Labels, a centrist group, has been attempting to put forward a presidential ticket for months. The group announced earlier this month that its roughly 800 delegates voted to give a thumbs up to fielding a presidential ticket. “Now that No Labels’ delegates have given the go ahead for us to accelerate our candidate search for a Unity ticket, voters will read plenty of speculation about who would be on it. But No Labels has not yet chosen a ticket and any names floating around are being put out there by someone else,” No Labels chief strategist Ryan Clancy emphasized last week. REMATCH: TRUMP, BIDEN, CLINCH GOP AND DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS Duncan’s withdrawal comes weeks after former two-term Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, a former leader of the group who was considered a potential contender for the “unity” ticket, also took his name out of contention. He is instead running for U.S. Senate in Maryland as a Republican. There was also plenty of speculation that former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was the final 2024 GOP rival to Trump before she recently ended her White House run, would consider joining a No Labels ticket. No Labels had expressed interest in her earlier this year. Haley, however, has repeatedly shut down the idea.