Biden and Trump are marching toward their nominations, but Michigan could reveal significant perils
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden and Donald Trump are marching toward their respective presidential nominations. But Michigan’s primary on Tuesday could reveal significant political perils for both of them. Trump faces a bloc of stubbornly persistent GOP voters who favor his lone remaining rival, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Biden is confronting an energized movement of disillusioned voters upset with his handling of the war in Gaza. Michigan is the last major primary state before Super Tuesday and a critical swing state in November’s general election. Even if Biden and Trump post dominant victories on Tuesday, both campaigns will be looking at the margins for signs of weakness.
A deal between Israel and Hamas appears to be taking shape. What would it look like?
CAIRO (AP) — Israel and Hamas are inching toward a new deal that would free some of the roughly 130 hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a weekslong pause in the war. U.S. President Joe Biden says a deal could go into effect as early as Monday, ahead of what is seen as an unofficial deadline. That’s the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, around March 10. A deal would bring some respite to desperate people in Gaza as well as to the anguished families of hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.
Biden and party leaders implore Speaker Johnson to help Ukraine in ‘intense’ Oval Office meeting
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders emerged from an “intense” Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden speaking optimistically about the prospects for avoiding a partial government shutdown beginning this weekend. However, things are still at a crossroads on assistance for Ukraine and Israel as the president and others in the meeting urgently warned House Speaker Mike Johnson of the grave consequences of delay. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says those in the meeting told Johnson ‘get it done.’ But Johnson emerged from the meeting without mentioning Ukraine. He said “the first priority of the country is our border, and making it secure.”
Chatbots’ inaccurate, misleading responses about U.S. elections threaten to keep voters from polls
NEW YORK (AP) — Chatbots are spitting out fabricated and misleading information that risks disenfranchising voters leading up to the 2024 U.S. election. That’s according to a report published Tuesday based on the findings of artificial intelligence experts and a bipartisan group of election officials. Fifteen states and one territory will hold Democratic and Republican presidential nominating contests next week on Super Tuesday, and millions of people already using AI-powered chatbots to search for basic information, including about the voting process. The report found that chatbots have answers, but are prone to suggesting voters head to inexistent polling places or inventing responses. Some chatbot companies say they are refining their models.
The killing of a Georgia nursing student is now at the center of the US immigration debate
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The killing of nursing student in Georgia has become an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign. The suspect in last week’s slaying of Laken Riley is a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case. Former President Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden and his border policies for the Augusta University student’s fatal beating. He and other Republicans have suggested migrants are committing crimes more often than U.S. citizens even though the evidence does not back up those claims. Democrats have been more muted. Many expressed sorrow for Riley’s death. Some have accused Trump of exploiting a tragedy and using xenophobic rhetoric for political gain.
2 men convicted of killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay, nearly 22 years after rap star’s death
NEW YORK (AP) — Two men have been convicted of murder in the death of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay. The brazen 2002 shooting left investigators at a loss for nearly two decades. An anonymous Brooklyn federal jury delivered the verdict Tuesday in the trial of Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington. The 40-year-old Jordan was the rap star’s godson. The 59-year-old Washington was an old friend who was bunking at the home of the DJ’s sister. Both men were arrested in 2020 and pleaded not guilty. Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, was gunned down in his studio in front of witnesses on Oct. 30, 2002. Authorities were deluged with tips, rumors and theories but struggled to get witnesses to open up.
Shooting stuns indigenous whaling village on Alaska’s desolate North Slope
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A shooting that left two dead and two others severely injured has stunned a tiny Alaska Native whaling village above the Arctic Circle, where parents were told they could keep their children home from school Tuesday to hug them. A 16-year-old has been charged as an adult with two counts each of first-degree murder and attempted murder. It happened late Sunday in Point Hope, a remote Inupiat whaling community on the Chukchi Sea. The teen was expected at his first court appearance Tuesday. State law allows minors 16 and older to be tried in adult court on murder charges.
Kids are using phones in class, even when it’s against the rules. Should schools ban them all day?
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The scene in classrooms around the country is similar: Kids are on their phones, even when school rules forbid it. Teachers say they see students on Snapchat, listening to music and even watching Netflix in class, among countless other examples of how smartphones distract from teaching and learning. Increasingly, educators are speaking with one voice on the question of how to handle it: Ban phones during classes. A growing number of leaders at the state and federal levels have begun endorsing school cellphone bans and suggesting new ways to curb access to the devices.
Why does the US government think a Kroger-Albertsons merger would be bad for grocery shoppers?
Two of the biggest grocery chains in the United States had hoped to complete the largest supermarket merger in the country’s history this year. But their plan to compete with big-box retailers by combining forces faces legal challenges that make it look far less likely. On Monday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint against Kroger’s $24.6 billion deal to acquire Albertsons. A federal lawsuit the agency filed with the attorneys general from eight states and the District of Columbia seeks to block the proposed merger. The FTC says it would result in store closures and higher prices for shoppers in places where the Albertsons and Kroger now compete.
20 years since NHL’s record-setting brawl, fighting is down across the league but not going anywhere
Twenty years ago, the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators set the NHL record for penalty minutes in a brawl-filled game. Since then, fighting has evolved to the point of being rare but not gone. Don’t expect it to be banned. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said fighting has a place in keeping down the temperature of games, and a bevy of rule changes and the salary cap have done their part to reduce the fisticuffs. There are still roughly 300 each season, or one every four to five games.