Colorado Republicans threaten secretary of state with recall after Trump wins at Supreme Court
Colorado Republicans have threatened the state’s top election official with a recall effort after the Supreme Court decided 9-0 that Colorado cannot stop former President Trump from appearing on the 2024 ballot. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., led state party officials in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Jena Griswold Monday that accused her of attempting to “disenfranchise millions of Coloradans” and called the effort to bar Trump from the ballot “a stain on our Republic and an outright embarrassment.” “With today’s unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to keep President Donald J. Trump on the Colorado primary ballot, it is now even more clear Coloradans should have zero faith in you to adequately protect their right to vote and oversee elections in the state of Colorado,” the letter states. The GOP officials charge that Griswold made “a selfish political decision to rig the primary election” against Trump and declare that “all legal options” are on the table for payback, “including a formal recall effort.” COLORADO SEC OF STATE DISAPPOINTED BY TRUMP SCOTUS VICTORY: NOW ‘UP TO AMERICAN VOTERS TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY’ The letter was signed by Boebert, Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Wiliams, state party Vice Chair Hope Scheppelman and Secretary Anna Feguson. On Monday, Griwsold said she was disappointed when the Supreme Court overturned her decision to bar Trump from the ballot in a unanimous ruling. SUPREME COURT RULES UNANIMOUSLY FOR TRUMP IN COLORADO BALLOT DISQUALIFICATION DISPUTE “My larger reaction is disappointment,” Griswold said on MSNBC. “I do believe that states should be able under our constitution to bar oath-breaking insurrectionists.” “Ultimately, this decision leaves open the door for Congress to act to pass authorizing legislation, but we know that Congress is a nearly non-functioning body,” she added. “So ultimately, it will be up to the American voters to save our democracy in November.” TRUMP SAYS SUPREME COURT RULING IN COLORADO CASE IS ‘UNIFYING AND INSPIRATIONAL’ Colorado had argued Trump was disqualified from public office under the 14th Amendment for inciting an “insurrection” at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. However, the nine justices held that Article 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars former officeholders who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office again, can only be enforced by Congress. “We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the court wrote. Trump called the high court’s decision “both unifying and inspirational” in exclusive comments to Fox News Digital. “Today’s decision, especially the fact that it was unanimous, 9-0, is both unifying and inspirational for the people of the United States of America,” the 2024 GOP frontrunner said. Fox News’ Kendall Tietz, David Rutz, Brianna Herilhy, Anders Hagstrom and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Sandeshkhali case: Calcutta HC orders Bengal govt to transfer Sheikh Shahjahan to CBI
The Chief Justice Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court has also ordered to hand over the custody of suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Sheikh Shahjahan to the CBI.
White House drops COVID-19 rule that those around Biden, Harris must test negative
The White House on Monday lifted regulations on those working in close contact with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, no longer requiring a negative COVID-19 test. The decision marks the end of one of the last remaining federal restrictions from the pandemic era. The White House has pointed to changing guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a key factor in its policies surrounding COVID-19. On March 1, the CDC officially dropped its recommendation for people to isolate themselves for five days after a positive COVID test. PROTEST OF CDC’S NEW COVID GUIDANCE PLANNED FOR THEIR MONTH IN WASHINGTON, DC: ‘URGENT NEED’ The agency’s new guidance tells people to stay home if they are sick, but when they are feeling better and have been fever-free for 24 hours, they can return to school or work. CDC RECOMMENDS ADDITIONAL COVID VACCINE FOR ADULTS 65 AND OVER Prior to this most recent update, the CDC called for people who test positive for the virus to “stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your home,” a recommendation that was implemented in late 2021. The contrast between the CDC’s rhetoric about COVID-19 during the pandemic and afterward has caused controversy among some. In response to last week’s change in guidance, a community called LC/DC, which describes itself as non-partisan, is planning a protest at the Lincoln Memorial on March 15. “LC/DC is fighting to raise awareness about long COVID, and we recognize that reducing the isolation policy will result in more infections, long-term illnesses and disability,” said Paul Hennessy, one of the three main organizers of the planned event. The demonstration at Lincoln Memorial will take place on March 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
UP Cabinet Expansion: OP Rajbhar, Dara Singh Chauhan, 2 others inducted in Yogi govt
It is being seen as an attempt by the BJP to consolidate its position in several regions of the state ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
FLASHBACK: AOC calls on activists to make politicians ‘uncomfortable’
Viral video that surfaced Monday showed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., snap at pro-Palestinian protesters who confronted her and her fiancé outside a movie theater in Brooklyn, New York. “I need you to understand this is not OK,” Ocasio-Cortez angrily told the activists as they demanded that she call Israel’s offensive in Gaza a “genocide.” The Democratic lawmaker appeared uncomfortable as the activists accosted her in public, but that was exactly what she called on protesters to do just a few years ago. “The whole point of protesting is to make ppl uncomfortable,” Ocasio-Cortez posted in December 2020 in a thread that defended “defund the police” activists who had confronted politicians in public spaces. “The thing that critics of activists don’t get is that they tried playing the ‘polite language’ policy game and all it did was make them easier to ignore. It wasn’t until they made folks uncomfortable that there was traction to do ANYTHING even if it wasn’t their full demands,” she argued at the time. PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS ACCOST AOC OUTSIDE MOVIE THEATER, DEMAND SHE CALL ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR A ‘GENOCIDE’ “Activists take that discomfort w/ the status quo & advocate for concrete policy changes. Popular support often starts small & grows. To folks who complain protest demands make others uncomfortable … that’s the point,” she posted. Those posts have come back to haunt Ocasio-Cortez several times in the years since, as she has complained when protesters targeted her at various events. In the video that surfaced Monday, protesters, phones in hand, are seen approaching the congresswoman outside the Alamo Drafthouse. “It’s not OK that there’s a genocide happening, and you’re not actively against it,” one of the protesters tells her. UN FINALLY RECOGNIZES THAT ISRAELI WOMEN WERE RAPED, SEXUALLY ATTACKED BY HAMAS TERRORISTS “You’re lying!” Ocasio-Cortez shot back. The video shows the protesters following her down the escalator, continually berating her for not labeling the war a “genocide.” “If you can’t say it, just say it. Literally. We’re just talking to you like normal people. Just say it’s a genocide. Just say it. Over 30,000 people are dead, AOC. You can’t just say it for once?” another protester shouts, citing figures from the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. “Just say the word, that’s it. That’s all we want you to say.” The confrontation escalates as the activists chase down Ocasio-Cortez and her fiancé, Riley Roberts, outside the building. At one point, Roberts pleads with the protesters to stop as they continue following the couple down the sidewalk. ‘WOEFULLY SILENT’ AOC BLASTED IN TIMES SQUARE BILLBOARD WARNING OF ‘TROJAN HORSE’ CHINA THREAT One of the protesters asks whether Ocasio-Cortez is concerned her comments would “go viral.” A visibly angry Ocasio-Cortez tells the protesters that they are going to clip the video so that her comments are “completely out of context.” She then appears to concede that Israel’s actions constitute a genocide. “I already said that it was. And y’all are just gonna pretend that it wasn’t. Over and over again. It’s f—ed up man. And you’re not helping these people. You’re not helping them,” Ocasio-Cortez says. Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly condemned Israel’s retaliation after the Oct. 7 massacre, in which Hamas militants killed 1,200 civilians, injured hundreds more, and took around 250 hostages. She has called for a cease-fire and suggested the U.S. “conditioning aid, if not cutting aid to the Netanyahu government.” Just weeks after the Oct. 7 attack, Ocasio-Cortez accused Israel of committing war crimes, while qualifying that she was not defending Hamas. Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
Democrats race to capture Alabama’s new US House district
The race for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which was redrawn by a federal court to boost the voting power of Black voters, has sparked congested and competitive primary contests. Democrats see an opportunity to flip the Deep South congressional seat in November. Republicans aim to keep hold of the seat, as control of the U.S. House of Representatives is on the line. A total of 18 candidates — 11 Democrats and seven Republicans — are running in the new district. The revamped 2nd Congressional District, which stretches from Mobile through Montgomery to the Georgia border, is being viewed as a once-in-a generation opportunity for Democrats in a state where Republicans dominate. ALABAMA LAWMAKERS PUSH FOR FAMILIES TO RECEIVE STATE DOLLARS FOR CHILDREN TO ATTEND PRIVATE SCHOOL, TUTORING The contest is one of two heated congressional primaries in the state on Super Tuesday. In the 1st Congressional District, two Republican congressmen — Rep. Jerry Carl and Rep. Barry Moore — are facing off in a primary showdown that will end with one of them leaving office next year. A federal court in November drew new congressional lines after ruling Alabama had illegally diluted the voting strength of Black residents. The three-judge panel said Alabama, which is 27% Black, should have a second district where Black voters make up a substantial portion of the voting age population and have a reasonable opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. The large number of people competing in the 2nd Congressional District makes it likely that the race will go to an April 16 runoff between the top two finishers. A runoff is required unless a single candidate captures more than 50% of the vote. Candidates include Shomari Figures, a resident of Mobile and former deputy chief of staff to the U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, as well as high-profile members of the Alabama Legislature: House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels of Huntsville; state Rep. Napoleon Bracy, Jr. of Prichard; state Sen. Merika Coleman of Pleasant Grove; state Rep. Juandalynn Givan of Birmingham and state Rep. Jeremy Gray of Opelika. Also running are former U.S. Marine James Averhart, education consultant Phyllis Harvey-Hall, retired businessman Willie J. Lenard, businessman Vimal Patel and Larry Darnell Simpson. The eight Republicans who have qualified to run are: state Sen. Greg Albritton of Atmore; former state Sen. Dick Brewbaker of Pike Road; attorney Caroleene Dobson; business owner Karla M. DuPriest; real estate agent Hampton Harris; Stacey T. Shepperson of Saraland; and Newton City Council member Belinda Thomas. The shifting district lines have led to an unusual competition in the GOP primary for south Alabama’s 1st Congressional District. Moore challenged Carl, the incumbent in the 1st Congressional District after being drawn out of the 2nd Congressional District, which he currently represents. The two Republicans and their supporters have traded accusations over voting records, late tax payments and loyalty to former President Donald Trump. Both are in their second terms in Congress after being elected in 2020 to their respective districts. Moore is a former member of the Alabama Legislature. Carl served as president of the Mobile County Commission. The winner will face Democrat Tom Holmes in November.
Australia’s Sam Kerr pleads not guilty to racially aggravated offence
Chelsea striker Kerr was charged with harassment of a police officer in an incident in London last year and faces trial in February 2025. Australian football captain Sam Kerr has pleaded not guilty to racially aggravated harassment of a police officer in London more than a year ago, but will face trial on the charges, prosecutors in the United Kingdom have said. The 30-year-old striker, who plays club football for Chelsea in London, was charged with causing a police officer harassment, alarm or distress during an incident in Twickenham, southwest London, on January 30 last year, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. “The charge relates to an incident involving a police officer who was responding to a complaint involving a taxi fare on 30 January 2023 in Twickenham,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday. Kerr, one of the world’s most recognisable female footballers and a sporting idol in her home nation, was charged on January 21, almost a year after the incident was alleged to have occurred. The Chelsea forward, who on the day before the incident scored a hat-trick against Liverpool in the FA Cup at Chelsea women’s home ground Kingsmeadow, is due to appear in court in February next year. The 30-year-old pleaded not guilty via video link at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, British media reported. Kerr denied the charge at a plea and trial preparation hearing at Kingston upon Thames Crown Court on Monday, the PA news agency reported. Chelsea have not commented on the reported incident. Football Australia CEO James Johnson and women’s national team coach Tony Gustavsson told Australian media they had only been made aware of the charges against Kerr on Tuesday morning. Johnson said he had sent a message to Kerr to check in on her welfare but had not had a conversation with her about it. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of it. We have our own questions we would like to know,” Johnson said during a press conference in Adelaide. “There is a process that is under way and that process needs to run its course. “I don’t want to get into the allegations. They are serious allegations. At the same time, Sam has rights – natural justice rights, procedural rights – that she has to work her way through and we respect that.” Gustavsson said he could not comment on the charges and referred to an earlier statement from Football Australia. “The only thing I can comment on is my experience and interaction with Sam as a person and as a footballer,” he said, “and I have only positive experience with that.” In an earlier statement issued after media reports started emerging from Britain, Football Australia (FA) said it was aware of the proceedings involving Kerr but was unable to comment on the ongoing legal matter. “Our focus remains on supporting all our players, both on and off the field,” FA said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the situation and provide support as appropriate.” Kerr is currently sidelined after an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a warm-weather training camp with the Chelsea women’s team in Morocco in January. Revered by Australian football fans, Kerr’s global celebrity helped bring the women’s game into the mainstream and drive a major increase in corporate sponsorship for the national Matildas team, who reached the Women’s World Cup semifinals on home soil last year. Kerr battled a calf injury that ruled her out of much of the action but returned later in the tournament and scored a wonder goal in the semifinal against England. Last May, she led the Australian delegation as flag-bearer at King Charles’s coronation at Westminster Abbey. She is the country’s all-time leading scorer in international football with 69 goals from 128 games. The forward has scored 58 goals for Chelsea in the WSL since 2020. Adblock test (Why?)
US Supreme Court delays Texas immigration law
The law, known as Senate Bill 4, had been set to take effect on Saturday and it would allow state officers to arrest people suspected of entering the country irregularly. A United States Supreme Court judge has temporarily blocked a bill that would hand authorities in Texas draconian powers to arrest and expel migrants and refugees who enter the country without documents. An order issued on Monday by Justice Samuel Alito puts the legislation on hold until at least next week, when the court is set to examine it again. Opponents have called the measures, which would give state officials broad powers to arrest, prosecute and order the removal of people who cross the border from Mexico irregularly, the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since an Arizona law more than a decade ago. Known as Senate Bill 4, the law had been set to take effect on Saturday under a decision by the conservative-leaning 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Alito’s order pushes that back to March 13. The delay came just hours after the Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court to intervene. “Make no mistake: S.B. 4 bypasses federal immigration authority and threatens the integrity of our nation’s constitution and laws,” a coalition of groups that took legal action against the bill, including the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the law in December as part of a series of escalating measures on the border that have tested the boundaries of how far a state can go to keep migrants from entering the country. The legislation would allow state officers to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. People who are arrested could then agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the country or face a misdemeanour charge. Those who fail to leave after being ordered to do so could be rearrested and charged with a more serious felony. A migrant family crosses the Rio Grande River amid criticism of the Biden administration’s immigration policies [File: Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters] ‘Ongoing crisis at the southern border’ The Justice Department told the Supreme Court that the law would profoundly alter “the status quo that has existed between the United States and the States in the context of immigration for almost 150 years.” It went on to argue that the law would have “significant and immediate adverse effects” on the country’s relationship with Mexico and “create chaos” in enforcing federal immigration laws in Texas. The federal government cited a 2012 Supreme Court ruling on an Arizona law that would have allowed police to arrest people for federal immigration violations, often referred to by opponents as the “show me your papers” bill. The divided high court found that the impasse in Washington over immigration reform did not justify state intrusion. The Supreme Court gave Texas until March 11 to respond. In a statement, the Texas Attorney General’s Office said the bill mirrors federal law and “was adopted to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border, which hurts Texans more than anyone else”. The federal government’s emergency request to the Supreme Court came after a federal appeals court over the weekend stayed US District Judge David Ezra’s sweeping rejection of the law. In a 114-page ruling on Thursday, Ezra rebuked Texas’s immigration enforcement and brushed off claims by Republicans about an ongoing “invasion” along the southern border due to record-high illegal crossings. Ezra added that the law violates the US Constitution’s supremacy clause, conflicts with federal immigration law and could get in the way of US foreign relations and treaty obligations. The battle over the Texas immigration law is one of multiple legal disputes between Texas officials and the Biden administration over how far the state can go to patrol the Texas-Mexico border and prevent illegal border crossings. Several Republican governors have backed Abbott’s efforts, saying the federal government is not doing enough to enforce existing immigration laws. Adblock test (Why?)
Haitian gangs try to seize airport
Heavily armed gangs have tried to seize control of Haiti’s main international airport, exchanging gunfire with police and soldiers. The Toussaint Louverture International Airport was closed at the time of the attack on Monday, with no planes operating and no passengers on site. It was the latest attack on key government sites in an explosion of violence that includes a mass escape from the country’s two biggest prisons. It was far from the first assault targeting the transport hub amid a series of gang attacks. Last week, bullets had struck the airport, but the attackers did not enter the premises. The latest attack came hours after the Haitian authorities ordered a night-time curfew following violence in which armed gangs overran the two biggest prisons and freed thousands of inmates over the weekend. A 72-hour state of emergency began on Sunday night as the authorities launched a hunt for the killers, kidnappers and other violent criminals they said had escaped. Gangs have been estimated to control up to 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince. They are increasingly coordinating their actions and aiming at once unthinkable targets like the Central Bank. Prime Minister Ariel Henry travelled to Kenya last week to try to salvage support for a United Nations-backed security force to help stabilise Haiti amid the conflict with the increasingly powerful crime groups. The surge in violence follows protests that turned deadly. Having taken over as prime minister following the 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moise, Henry has postponed plans to hold parliamentary and presidential elections, which have not happened in almost a decade. Jimmy Cherizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who now runs a gang federation, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. He said the goal was to capture Haiti’s police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry’s return from Kenya. The prime minister has shrugged off calls for him to resign but did not comment when asked if he felt it was safe to return home. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Relocate to safe areas’: India issues advisory for citizens in Israel
The advisory comes after a man from Kerala working in a plantation in Israel was killed and two other Indian citizens were injured in northern Israel following a terror strike by Hezbollah.