UN chief calls for ‘immediate’ ceasefire in Gaza
NewsFeed “We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called, once again, for a ceasefire in Gaza as the war with Israel has now surpassed 100 days of fighting. Published On 15 Jan 202415 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Hamas claims two Israeli captives killed in Gaza air strikes
Israeli military spokesman rejects Hamas claim that the two hostages were killed by Israeli bombing. The armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas has released a video purporting to show the dead bodies of two Israeli captives it claims were killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza. The video, released by the Qassam Brigades on Monday, shows three Israeli captives speaking to the camera, likely under duress. In the first part of the unverified video, a female captive identified by Israeli media as Noa Argamani, 26, and two male captives urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the assault on Gaza, according to a translation provided by the armed group. In the second part, Argamani said that the two men captives were killed “because of our own [Israeli] air strikes”. The video ends purporting to show the dead bodies of the two captives. It was not clear when the video was taken. In a statement released with the video, the Qassam Brigades said the two men were killed in “the Zionist army’s bombing”. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari identified hostage Itay Svirsky as one of the men in the latest Hamas video, but did not give the name or other details about the second person as per the family’s request. “Itay was not shot by our forces. That is a Hamas lie. The building in which they were held was not a target and it was not attacked by our forces.” “We don’t attack a place if we know there may be hostages inside,” he said Hamas had previously released another video on Sunday showing the three captives alive. The Palestinian group seized around 240 people as captives when it attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,139 people, according to Israeli authorities. Israel responded to the attack with a devastating bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza in which more than 24,100 people have been killed, according to Palestinian authorities. ‘Nobody will talk to us’ Later on Monday, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas was attempting to apply “psychological pressure” to the families of the hostages by releasing the videos. The Israeli army was helping the families, he told a news conference, and keeping them up to date with any developments. “Hamas has been hit hard by the [military],” he said. “What’s left for it is to touch a sensitive nerve in Israeli society through acts of psychological abuse against the family members.” Ruling out a ceasefire in Gaza, Gallant reiterated that the only way to get the captives back home is by continuing to apply “military pressure”. Otherwise, he said, “nobody will talk to us” and we “will not succeed in reaching any agreements”. Gideon Levy, a columnist for Haaretz newspaper, told Al Jazeera that the video was “quite shocking”. “I understand the ideological warfare, but there should be some borders,” he said. “To play [a video] yesterday of them alive and today [a video showing] the opposite … there should be some borders that even Hamas should not cross. Nothing good will come out of it.” The Hamas video comes a day after thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square to mark 100 days since the captives were seized. Relatives of those still held in Gaza have repeatedly called on the government to prioritise their release and to push for a temporary ceasefire. More than 100 captives were freed during a week-long truce in late November following lengthy negotiations mediated by Qatar and the United States. In exchange, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from jails. Adblock test (Why?)
NYC mayor builds hefty legal war chest to battle FBI investigation
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has built a hefty war chest over the past two months amid reports he’s at the center of an ongoing FBI investigation. Adams, who’s clashed with the White House on President Biden’s immigration policies, as New York City grapples with the influx of more than 168,000 migrants from the southern border, has so far not been publicly accused of any wrongdoing as the FBI continues its investigation into alleged corruption at City Hall to benefit the Turkish government. In a statement obtained by N.Y. Daily News and Spectrum News NY 1, Vito Pitta, Adams’ longtime campaign compliance attorney, confirmed on Monday that, “The Eric Adams Legal Defense Trust has drawn strong support in a short amount of time, raising more than $650,000 since it was formed just two months ago.” The trust’s first disclosure is expected to be filed on Tuesday with more details. ADAMS’ OFFICE LASHES OUT AT FBI EMPLOYEE WHO MIGHT HAVE ‘IMPROPERLY LEAKED DETAILS’ OF NYC CORRUPTION PROBE According to city rules, the legal defense trust can accept donations of just up to $5,000 per person and Adams is not allowed to receive contributions from city employees or those in city business. Donors are required to affirm that their contributions won’t impact “any future business dealings” with the city, Daily News reported. The mayor started the legal defense trust in mid-November after the FBI searched the home of Adams’ chief campaign fundraiser, 25-year-old Brianna Suggs. Federal agents seized two laptop computers, three iPhones and a manila folder labeled “Eric Adams,” according to the New York Times. ERIC ADAMS LAUGHS OFF QUESTION ABOUT FBI SEIZURES: ‘WE’RE TALKING ABOUT HELICOPTERS’ The FBI raid prompted Adams to suddenly return from Washington, D.C., ahead of planned visits at the White House and Congress about the migrant crisis’ impact on the Big Apple. The bureau is probing whether Adams’ 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government and others to funnel money into its coffers. FBI agents also approached Adams directly after a Manhattan event later that month, seizing the mayor’s electronic devices, including at least two cellphones and an iPad, in carrying out a search warrant, the Times reported. The FBI also searched the homes of Rana Abbasova, an aide to Adams at City Hall, and Cenk Öcal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who served on the mayor’s 2021 transition team, according to Daily News. Fox News Digital reached out to Pitta for comment Monday but did not immediately hear back.
Comer, Jordan to issue new subpoena for Hunter Biden as deposition talks reignite
House Republicans signaled they would subpoena Hunter Biden again in the near future after the president’s son opened the door to a deposition with impeachment investigators. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Hunter Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell over the weekend stating that they would be willing to subpoena him a second time if that meant his cooperation in their probe. “The committees welcome Mr. Biden’s newfound willingness to testify in a deposition setting under subpoena,” the letter said. HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW’ BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION “Although the Committee’s subpoenas are lawful and remain legally enforceable, as an accommodation to Mr. Biden and at your request, we are prepared to issue subpoenas compelling Mr. Biden’s appearance at a deposition on a new date in the coming weeks.” It comes as House Republicans prepare a chamber-wide vote on holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for skipping out on an earlier subpoena for a closed-door deposition. But a source familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital that Comer could recommend pumping the breaks on that contempt vote if Hunter Biden and his lawyers genuinely cooperate and work out a make-up deposition date. HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER HUNTER BIDEN CONTEMPT RESOLUTIONS NEXT WEEK, SETTING UP FLOOR VOTE Lowell wrote to the committee chairs on Friday arguing that the initial subpoena was invalid because it was issued before the House voted to formally authorize its impeachment inquiry last month. “If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition,” Lowell’s letter said. “We will accept such a subpoena on Mr. Biden’s behalf.” HOUSE COMMITTEES FORMALLY RECOMMEND TO HOLD HUNTER BIDEN IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS Hunter Biden and his lawyers had offered to come in for a public hearing, something the GOP committee chairs said they would be open to after a closed-door session had taken place. Instead, he opted to make a surprise appearance outside the U.S. Capitol on the morning of his scheduled deposition, criticizing Republicans and their probe. “They’ve invaded my privacy, attacked my wife and children,” Hunter Biden said at the time. “Tried to dehumanize me and embarrass and damage my father.” He again made a surprise visit to the Capitol last week as the House Oversight Committee met to advance his contempt resolution.
Israeli police investigate ‘terror attack’ near Tel Aviv
NewsFeed One woman has died and at least 17 other people were injured following a car ramming and stabbing attack north of Tel Aviv. Israeli police say two men, who are related and from Hebron, have been arrested in connection to the incident. Published On 15 Jan 202415 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin released from hospital
Pentagon chief received treatment for an infection following surgery for prostate cancer. United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been released from hospital after spending two weeks there to treat complications from surgery for prostate cancer he kept secret from senior administration officials, including President Joe Biden. Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on December 22 for prostate cancer surgery, but due to an infection, he was hospitalised again on January 1 and admitted into intensive care. Doctors said he remained in the hospital due to ongoing leg pain from the infection so he could get physical therapy. He was dismissed on Monday and is expected to work from home as he recovers, the Pentagon said in a statement. Biden and senior administration officials were not told about Austin’s hospitalisation until January 4, and Austin kept the cancer diagnosis a secret until January 9. Biden said that while Austin’s decision not to share his hospitalisation was a lapse in judgement, it did not change his confidence in him. However, the lack of transparency about Austin’s hospitalisation triggered administration and Department of Defense reviews on the procedures for notifying the White House if an official needs to transfer decision-making authorities to a deputy. Austin’s secrecy also drew criticism from members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle. Representative Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican and chairperson of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said he had opened a formal inquiry into the matter. Others have called for Austin to resign, including former President Donald Trump, also a Republican, but the Democrat-run White House has said the secretary’s job is safe. During Austin’s time at Walter Reed, the US launched a series of military strikes on the Houthis in Yemen due to their attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. From his hospital bed, Austin juggled calls with senior military leaders, including General Erik Kurilla, head of US Central Command, and White House meetings to review the order and ultimately watch the strikes unfold over secure video. Adblock test (Why?)
Yemen’s Houthis hit US-owned ship in missile attack, US military says
US military says the container ship was hit off the coast of Yemen, but continued its journey. Houthi rebels in Yemen have struck a US-owned and operated container ship with an anti-ship ballistic missile off the coast of Yemen, the United States Central Command said. In a statement on Monday, the US military said that no injuries or significant damage were reported and that the Marshall Islands-flagged Gibraltar Eagle was continuing its journey after the incident in the Gulf of Aden. The Yemeni rebel group has claimed responsibility for the attack. “All American and British ships and warships involved in the aggression against our country are considered hostile targets,” military spokesperson Yahya Saree said, before adding that no future American or British attack on Yemen would go “unpunished”. Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said that a vessel was hit from above by a missile 95 nautical miles southeast of Aden, without identifying the vessel. British Maritime Security firm Ambrey said three missiles were reportedly launched by the Houthis, with two not reaching the sea and the third striking the bulk carrier. It said that the impact reportedly caused a fire in a hold, but that the bulker remained seaworthy with no injuries on board. It assessed the vessel was not Israel-affiliated. The attack on the ship comes less than a day after the Houthis launched an anti-ship cruise missile toward a US destroyer in the Red Sea, US officials said. The Houthis control western Yemen, including the strategically critical Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which leads into the Red Sea and up to the Suez Canal. Since Israel’s war in Gaza began, they have been attacking ships in the area that they say are linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports. They say they are attacking the vessels to pressure Israel to halt its assault on Gaza and ease restrictions on supplies of humanitarian aid for its Palestinian population. Israel has been at war with Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, for more than three months. US and British forces responded to the Houthi attacks last week by carrying out dozens of air and sea strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. [embedded content] Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthis, has pledged revenge. On Thursday, he said that “any attack on Yemen’s Houthis on the part of the United States will not go without a response.” Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna said that US officials believe that after the strikes last week, the Houthis retained about three-quarters of their capacity to fire missiles and launch drones. “This recent attack on a US-owned freighter was launched, it would appear, from the city of Hodeidah, which was a target of US-UK strikes in recent days,” Hanna said. “So, the ante is rising in terms of what is happening … the situation is very dire and something that US intelligence is watching very closely.” Omar Rahman, a fellow with the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, said one-off strikes targeting Houthi installations would not reduce the group’s capability or deter them from attacking ships in the Red Sea. “What the US and UK are doing is not strategically justifiable. It’s only justifiable if you look at what the Houthis are doing in the Red Sea in isolation from what’s happening in Gaza and in the rest of the region,” he told Al Jazeera. “The US and UK are ignoring the source of the crisis, which is the genocide in Gaza, but they’re also enabling it,” Rahman said. “They’re trying to prevent a wider regional escalation by taking military action against the flashpoints that are occurring as a result of what’s happening in Gaza.” [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)
New England fishermen fighting ‘government overreach’ hope to catch a big win at Supreme Court
In a David versus Goliath matchup, the Supreme Court will hear a set of arguments on Wednesday over a Commerce Department regulation, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), that could sink the fishing industry in the United Sates. Last year, a group of fishermen from New Jersey petitioned the Supreme Court to consider their lawsuit against the NOAA, which required their boats to pay roughly $700 a day to fund the salary of a human “at-sea” monitor for each expedition to ensure compliance of fishing laws. At the heart of their arguments before the high court is what’s called the Chevron doctrine, established in 1984 by a case called Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. In that case, the Supreme Court said that if a federal rule is challenged in court, the court should give deference to the agency and its “reasonable” interpretation of a congressional statute it argues granted them permission to create the rule. BIDEN ADMIN’S NEW RULE COULD PUT PINCH ON LOBSTER FISHERMEN WHILE LETTING OTHERS OFF THE HOOK: CRITICS The fishermen will argue that the at-sea monitor payment mandate violates Article 1 of the Constitution and that the court should overturn Chevron, an outcome that would significantly change the legal landscape for the administrative state. But for the fishermen, many of whom are stewards of fourth- and fifth generation small family businesses, a legal victory would mean securing their livelihoods they feel have been on the brink. “It’s pretty much unfathomable,” Jerry Leman, founder of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), told Fox News Digital in an interview, speaking of the financial burden on the boats for at-sea monitors. NEFSA is a bipartisan, nonprofit alliance of fishermen off the coast of New England fighting to limit erroneous government regulations. “We’ve never really had a say,” Aaron Williams, captain of the F/V Tradition in Stonington, Connecticut, said of the mandate. “It would just be nice to have our voices heard.” HOW MAINE LOBSTERMEN TURNED A ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’ FROM THE WHITE HOUSE INTO A POLICY VICTORY On top of the burdensome costs, the fishermen argue that the at-sea monitors are not required to have any specific marine education and are given minimal training prior to boarding their vessel. Some, having never been on a boat previously, often suffer seasickness and record faulty information, according to the fishermen. The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed a similar lawsuit the Supreme Court will also hear Wednesday morning, representing fishing companies Relentless Inc., Huntress Inc., and Seafreeze Fleet LLC, the largest producer and trader of sea-frozen seafood on the East Coast. “The people of New England famously rebelled against George III because he ‘erected’ ‘New Offices and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass’ them ‘and eat out their substance,’” NCLA states in its legal filing. The group says their clients “have revived cause for similar grievance by promulgating a regulation that requires at-sea monitors to be paid for by the very fishing vessels forced to carry them.” In both cases, the fishermen argue that the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which governs marine fisheries, allows for federal monitoring, but must do so on the government’s dime. It does not give agencies an allowance to charge fishermen for the cost of monitors. NCLA argues in its brief that when NOAA asked Congress to appropriate funds for the at-sea monitors, those funds were denied – further cementing the notion that NOAA is out of its bounds set by the legislative branch. Meghan Lapp, a fisheries management expert at the Center for Sustainable Fisheries, notes that an economic impact analysis on companies like Relentless showed the at-sea monitors cost cut into 20% of the fishermen’s income. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Lapp noted that fishing – the country’s oldest industry – is also the nation’s eighth-most regulated industry. Without the additional at-sea monitors, there are already systems in place that trace boat speed and collect biological samples, among other things. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION BLASTED FOR ‘HYPOCRISY’ ON OFFSHORE WIND AS IT SCRAMBLES TO PROBE WHALE DEATHS Lapp also argued that if the fishing industry “continues to get put out of business by government overreach” through programs like the monitor mandate, it could have a negative impact on the environment worldwide. “[If] your only other option for seafood is imports… what people have to understand is that by doing that, you’re actually creating an environmental issue,” said Lapp. “The United States has the highest environmental standards of any country in the world when it comes to fisheries. So our wild harvested seafood is the most sustainable seafood that you’re going to find on the planet.” “If you’re going to put our fishermen out of business, then you’re going to be purchasing seafood from countries with little or no regulation. So the environmental impact of relying on imports rather than U.S.-caught product, it’s actually more damaging to the environment,” Lapp says. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the two cases, Relentless v. Department of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Leman says he hopes the Supreme Court rules their way so New England fishermen can keep their businesses afloat. “Most of us… are multigeneration fishermen. These are fisheries that were passed down from generations, in our hometown, to us. I have not yet met a fisherman that wants to kill the last fish. I mean, what would we do tomorrow?” Leman said.
A look back at Iowa caucus nights from the past
The Iowa caucuses that we know today can be traced back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. Current GOP presidential candidates have spent a lot of time and money touring various cities in Iowa beginning in 2023 and continuing this year, specifically ahead of caucus night, in an old-fashioned effort to campaign. Iowa is typically the battleground state both Democrats and Republicans campaign in. However, Democrats have opted out of the first nominating contest in Iowa. This year, South Carolina will be the location for the Democrat’s primary contest as more support for President Biden is expected in the Palmetto State. RUBIO BECOMES 2ND FLORIDA SENATOR TO ENDORSE TRUMP OVER DESANTIS Through a communal decision process, Iowans will get together on Monday and select the candidate they want to represent their party on the general election ballot. The winning candidate is then named, shining a light on where voters stand thus far in the race. However, the championed candidate does not immediately earn the GOP nominee for the 2024 presidential election, but rather rustles up bragging rights and a better chance at furthering their campaign trail. Here are some of the upsets and most notable caucuses over the last five decades. Iowa caucus 1972: After a push to change the traditional ways of the caucus system from Democrats who believed it was more controlled by “party bosses” as opposed to “responding to grassroots voices and desire,” according to the Des Moines Register, Iowa became first in kicking off the election process during the election season. Then-Sen. George McGovern, a Democrat, came in third place with 23% votes, but he gained media attention which helped him in the New Hampshire primary. Iowa caucus 1976: Jimmy Carter also made it in the news and spent a lot of time in Iowa, which boosted his performance. He ended up gaining 28% of the votes and went on to eventually become president. Iowa caucus 1988: Then-Sen. Bob Dole won 37% of the votes, calling it “a rather clear-cut victory,” as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Televangelist Pat Robertson came in second place with 25%, and then-Vice President George H.W. Bush came in third place with 19%. However, Bush eventually ended up becoming the nominee, winning the presidency. Iowa caucus 2008: Then-Sen. Barack Obama, who eventually became the president, was up against then-Sen. Hillary Clinton. On the Republican side, former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister Mike Huckabee was up against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the late Sen. John McCain. Obama won 37.6% of the votes, and Clinton came in third place, winning 29.5%. Huckabee won 34.4% of votes from delegates, Romney came in second with 25.4% and McCain in last place with 13.2%. Iowa caucus 2012: Romney was named as winner of the caucus, beating former Senator Rick Santorum by eight votes. Everything seemed to be smooth sailing after Romney won the New Hampshire primary, and he would have been the first Republican to win both Iowa and New Hampshire in the nominating race. However, just eight days after the primary, it was found out that Romney came in second place in the Iowa caucus and 16 days after the caucus it was made public that he had actually lost to Santorum by 34 votes. Iowa caucus 2016: Roughly 182,000 Republican caucus-goers turned out for the 2016 Iowa caucuses, which was a record-breaking turnout for the primary event. The GOP race included Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio. Cruz went on to win the caucus, receiving the most votes ever in the Hawkeye State for a single candidate, but Trump went on to become president. This mishap affected the Republican Party in Iowa, forcing them to admit that there was a mistake in counting votes.
Republicans prepare for first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses
Caucusgoers are heading out in freezing temperatures to cast the first votes of the 2024 election. Snowfall and temperatures have set new records in the days leading up to the Iowa caucuses. “I haven’t ever experienced a minus 15 degrees in my life,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an event in Altoona last week. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley told Iowans attending an event in Ankeny, “It’s going to be so cold. Like, I don’t even know what minus 15 is.” “That was a hell of a trip I just took,” former President Donald Trump told a Clinton rally. “The snow came and the rain. I saw everything.” LIVE BLOG: TRUMP, HALEY, DESANTIS, FACE OFF AT IOWA CAUCUSES IN GOP 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE The winter storm has forced the candidates to adjust their schedules. Trump had to cancel several events and held a tele-rally. Haley also held telephone town halls after a series of cancellations. “I have to say, I am definitely not in South Carolina anymore. This is unbelievable,” she told attendees at a Waukee event. DeSantis also canceled events and was forced to readjust his schedule due to the weather. Vivek Ramaswamy has criticized the other candidates for cancellations, despite canceling his own events. “Some saw a snowstorm, canceled events in northwest Iowa,” Ramaswamy said at a Sioux City rally, just one day before canceling his events in Coralville and Burlington. “We got four events. We’re keeping them intact. You can’t handle the snow, you’re not ready for Xi Jinping. That’s my view.” Ahead of our interview with Ramaswamy in Dallas County, the Republican candidate’s bus was unable to make the drive from Sioux City to Des Moines because of black ice. With candidates already getting less voter interaction and threatening cold temperatures, some worry it could impact turnout. “It’s a little concerning for some of us who’ve been at this process a long time, because we have some seniors who vote. And sometimes when the weather is bad, they don’t vote,” former Iowa Republican Party Co-Chair David Oman said. “I’m hopeful and have been thinking, up until just now with the weather, that we might have a record turnout.” Early voting or mail-in ballots are not an option for most Republican caucusgoers. Instead, they must brave the elements to attend in person. “The caucus process and how it differs from a primary is that you actually have to be at the place of the precinct caucus at a specific time,” State Historical Society of Iowa historian Leo Landis said. The caucuses are run by political parties, while primaries are usually run by the state. Iowa Republicans have more than 1,600 locations. “People come together and sit in a room, or a classroom or a civic building and talk about the campaign,” Oman said. Candidate representatives often give speeches in an attempt to sway caucusgoers who may still be undecided. Caucusgoers then cast their votes using a secret ballot. “Sometimes they’re preprinted and you might check a name, or sometimes you just write the name on a slip of paper,” Landis said. “It’s the oldest way that nomination processes took place, was neighbors gathering, promoting a candidate or a cause that they thought was important and trying to convince their neighbors.” They also select delegates for the county conventions. It’s the beginning of a multi-tiered process that involves electing delegates to attend the Republican National Convention. Those individuals are bound to back the winner of the GOP caucuses in Milwaukee this summer. But that was not always the case. The 2012 Iowa caucuses led to major changes for Republicans. Mitt Romney had initially appeared to defeat Rick Santorum. “In 2012, we had a slight glitch where Mitt Romney won by eight votes,” Oman said. Around two weeks after the results were announced, a new tally showed Santorum had more votes than Romney. YOUR QUICK GUIDE TO THE IOWA CAUCUSES AND WHAT TO EXPECT THIS YEAR The eventual winner would change once again during the Republican National Convention. Since the delegates were not bound to vote for Santorum or Romney at the convention, they were able to switch their preference to Texas Rep. Ron Paul. “Rep. Paul saw how contested conventions could lead to a different nomination,” Landis said. “Even though delegates are supposedly locked in, the nomination at the convention shifted.” For the 2016 election cycle, the Republican National Committee made it so delegates were bound to the candidate they were allocated to. “That was something that you did have, especially in the 1970s, where the Reagan versus Ford campaign really wasn’t locked up till the national convention,” Landis said. Democrats do not have binding delegates but have changed their process dramatically after issues plagued the 2020 caucuses. “You can’t talk about the 2020 Democratic nomination process without saying it was a debacle,” Landis said. The party was unable to determine a winner due to glitches with the app it used to record and report results. “They didn’t report any votes because they didn’t have any votes,” Oman said. They eventually released a tally showing former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had narrowly defeated Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “With the three-day wait and maybe having some issues about where the votes counted or the caucus delegates counted accurately really did reflect poorly on the Iowa Democratic Party,” Landis said. While some criticize the process on both sides, Iowans say the first-in-the-nation status helps boost voter turnout. “Certainly it has limitations, but it’s not as if primaries bring out more than 50% of the voters. So it really is the engaged electorate who’s participating in caucuses,” Landis said. Whether Democrats make Iowa first once again in 2028 is still unclear. TRUMP, HALEY AND DESANTIS HAVE PLENTY ON THE LINE AS IOWA CAUCUSES KICK OFF THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE “I think it’s going to be a hard, hard push for the Iowa Democratic Party to get that back,” Landis said. Democrats were the first to make