Super Tuesday, Sinema Steps Down, & A Tumbleweed Invasion
March 6, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Wednesday! Today, we’re talking about Super Tuesday, Haiti, smuggling greenhouse gases, Ukraine sinking a ship, Senator Sinema, the Girl Scouts, & tumbleweed attacks.
Here’s some good news: Former NFL player Braylon Edwards stepped in and saved the life of an 80-year-old man who was being attacked in the locker room of a YMCA outside of Detroit, according to police. Also, the White House announced that, as part of their effort to limit “junk fees,” all credit card late fees will now be capped at $8 (the average late fee is $32).
“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.” – Neil Gaiman
The Dust Settles On Super Tuesday
While yesterday was relatively normal by most accounts, it was a super-important day in the U.S. presidential primaries. Super Tuesday saw voters in 15 states cast ballots to pick their party’s presidential candidates, though the Democrats and Republicans have both pretty much settled on the horses they’re running in November. As of writing, Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden had a total of 522 of the 1,968 delegates he needs to win the Democratic nomination. Donald Trump, meanwhile, won 220 delegates on Tuesday, bringing him to 493 out of the 1,215 delegates needed for the GOP nomination. (California, Utah, and Alaska had not been counted by the time we filed this story).
Most of yesterday’s drama was centered around many Democrats’ apparent lack of enthusiasm for incumbent Biden, as well as the question of whether or not Republican upstart Nikki Haley would be able to snag a single state from Trump. Both Biden and Trump actually suffered very small losses yesterday, with Biden losing the territory of American Samoa to Jason Palmer, an entrepreneur running a long-shot campaign for the Democratic nomination. On the GOP side, Nikki Haley surprisingly won Vermont, scoring a few more delegates in her small rebellion against the Trump campaign.
Gang Violence On the Runway
Following a massive prison break by gang members over the weekend, things in Haiti are getting even worse. Armed gangs apparently attacked Toussaint Louverture International Airport, the country’s main international airport, on Monday. Associated Press journalists said they observed an armored truck firing at gang members from the tarmac as airport workers ran from the gunfire. Luckily, the airport was already closed on Monday. The attack came just hours after the government instituted a nighttime curfew, though gangs are estimated to control about 80% of Haiti’s capital.
“The secretary-general is deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Port-au-Prince, where armed gangs have intensified their attacks on critical infrastructure over the weekend,” said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Meanwhile, the violence has apparently prevented Prime Minister Ariel Henry from re-entering his country following a diplomatic trip in Kenya, where he signed a deal for a multinational police force to (hopefully) restore order to Haiti. After a state of emergency was declared Sunday, the country has been closed off from the outside world, forcing Henry to rule from outside its borders. He’s now waiting in Puerto Rico.
Giving The Red Light To Greenhouse Gas Sellers
- A case of an illicit smuggling operation between Mexico and California is making headlines, but the goods being smuggled aren’t what you’d expect. On Monday, a California man was arrested and charged for allegedly smuggling greenhouse gases into the Golden State from Mexico, marking the first-ever case where somebody has been charged for smuggling hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.
- The potent greenhouse gases are used for air conditioning and refrigeration, and the man was apparently trying to sell them for profit. “It is illegal to import certain refrigerants into the United States because of their documented and significantly greater contribution to climate change,” said a representative from the Justice Department. Michael Hart, a 58-year-old from San Diego, now faces 13 charges.
You’ve Sunk My Battleship (Again)
- On Tuesday, Ukraine announced that it had sunk a Russian patrol ship near occupied Crimea overnight, a strike that would (if confirmed) continue a Russian-ship-sinking hot streak for Kyiv. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency released a video apparently showing the ship being struck by missiles and going up into flames, but the Kremlin has yet to confirm Kyiv’s claims.
- While Ukrainian troops have struggled to defend against Russian ground attacks in recent weeks, Kyiv has found consistent success in sinking Russian ships over the course of the war. In February, Ukraine said it had sunk a Russian landing ship off the coast of Crimea, also claiming it had sunk a Russian corvette (that’s a type of small warship) just two weeks prior. In yesterday’s incident, Ukraine’s military said it had used high-tech sea drones to sink the ship, which can hold up to 60 crewmembers and multiple cruise missiles.
More Mixed Nuts
- Individual error let Moscow intercept military call, Germany says (Guardian)
- Kate Middleton seen for 1st time since abdominal surgery and hospitalization (ABC)
- Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ+ bill: President Akufo-Addo to wait for Supreme Court ruling (BBC)
- A Vietnamese property tycoon accused of embezzling $12.5 billion begins her trial (AP)
- Philippine and Chinese vessels collide in disputed South China Sea and 4 Filipino crew are injured (AP)
Middle East Mixed Nuts
- Israeli forces fired at Palestinians waiting for aid in northern Gaza, eyewitnesses say (CNN)
- Biden admin carefully ramps up criticism of Israel over the Gaza war but stops short of cutting off military aid (NBC)
- Administration officials watered down Kamala Harris’ Gaza speech before delivery (NBC)
The Sun Sets On Sinema’s Senate Stint
- Just a year after announcing she’d leave the Democratic Party and become an Independent, Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced yesterday that she will leave the Senate at the end of her term this year and won’t seek reelection. In announcing her decision, the Arizona senator said, “I believe in my approach, but it’s not what America wants right now.”
- Sinema has long been a thorn in the side of Democrats, hence her decision to leave the party. Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and former Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee (and election denier) Kari Lake are in the running for her seat. The state voted for President Biden by less than one percentage point in 2020, so the election is likely to be one of the most closely watched of this year.
A Couple Of Co-Defendants
- A superseding indictment filed yesterday charges Senator Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, with new counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. The couple are facing the new charges after co-defendant Jose Uribe entered a guilty plea last week.
- Uribe admitted to providing Nadine Menendez with a Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for the senator’s help. Prosecutors say that when Menendez and his wife learned of the federal investigation in 2022, they attempted to cover up the bribery, even though “Menendez had learned of both the mortgage company payment and the car payments prior to 2022, and that they were not loans but bribe payments.”
More Nuts In America
- ‘Greatest first amendment sin’: appeals court condemns Florida’s Stop Woke Act (Guardian)
- Text messages shed new light on scope of fake electors plot after 2020 election (CNN)
- Taylor Swift posts message about voting on Super Tuesday (CBS)
- Michelle Obama’s office says the former first lady ‘will not be running for president’ in 2024 (NBC)
- The New York Times is facing backlash over its coverage of Donald Trump and the 2024 election (CNN)
Racial disparities in voter turnout have grown since Supreme Court ruling, study says (NPR)
Let’s Get Ready To Tuuuuumble
- Multiple towns in Utah are being inundated by waves of tumbleweeds, which are piling up around homes, blocking roads, and burying parked vehicles across the state. Some towns have reported piles of the fuzzy little bushes reaching heights of 10 feet in some places, and local workers have been put to work shoveling the weeds into garbage trucks to be brutally murdered (or, you know, just composted).
- “This is not our first tumble-mageddon,” said a representative for one Utah town. States across the Western and Southwestern U.S. have long had to deal with tumbleweeds, with the plants shutting down an entire California town in 2018, and piles 15 feet high recorded in Washington state in 2020. The plants die out in winter, eventually leading the bushy parts to dry out and snap off of their roots before being blown by the wind into nearby towns.
More Loose Nuts
- Ammo supplier at “Rust” shooting trial says he provided dummy rounds to movie, but handled live rounds for TV show (CBS)
- Dutch man confirmed as world’s longest-living heart transplant recipient (CNN)
- The Arctic could become ‘ice-free’ within a decade, sooner than projected, study says (USA Today)
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Microsoft-Powered Chatbot Just Disappeared (Wired, $)
- Dinosaur-age ‘nightmarish’ sea lizard fossil found (BBC)
- LIV Golf League ends bid for World Golf Ranking accreditation (ESPN)
