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Updated: December 6, 2022 @ 1:23 am
Supreme Court weighs ‘most important case’ on democracy
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is about to confront a new elections case, a Republican-led challenge asking the justices for a novel ruling that could significantly increase the power of state lawmakers over elections for Congress and the presidency.
The court is set to hear arguments Wednesday in a case from North Carolina, where Republican efforts to draw congressional districts heavily in their favor were blocked by a Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court because the GOP map violated the state constitution.
A court-drawn map produced seven seats for each party in last month’s midterm elections in highly competitive North Carolina.
The question for the justices is whether the U.S. Constitution’s provision giving state legislatures the power to make the rules about the “times, places and manner” of congressional elections cuts state courts out of the process.
“This is the single most important case on American democracy — and for American democracy — in the nation’s history,” said former federal judge Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative who has joined the legal team defending the North Carolina court decision.
US intel chief thinking ‘optimistically’ for Ukraine forces
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of U.S. intelligence says fighting in Russia’s war in Ukraine is running at a “reduced tempo” and suggests Ukrainian forces could have brighter prospects in coming months.
Avril Haines alluded to past allegations by some that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advisers could be shielding him from bad news — for Russia — about war developments, and said he “is becoming more informed of the challenges that the military faces in Russia.”
“But it’s still not clear to us that he has a full picture of at this stage of just how challenged they are,” Haines, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California.
She said her team was “seeing a kind of a reduced tempo already of the conflict” and looking ahead expects both sides will look to refit, resupply, and reconstitute for a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive in the spring.
“But we actually have a fair amount of skepticism as to whether or not the Russians will be in fact prepared to do that,” said Haines, speaking to NBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “And I think more optimistically for the Ukrainians in that time frame.”
Iran morality police status unclear after ‘closure’ comment
CAIRO (AP) — An Iranian lawmaker said Sunday that Iran’s government is “paying attention to the people’s real demands,” state media reported, a day after a top official suggested that the country’s morality police whose conduct helped trigger months of protests has been shut down.
The role of the morality police, which enforces veiling laws, came under scrutiny after a detainee, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, died in its custody in mid-September. Amini had been held for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress codes. Her death unleashed a wave of unrest that has grown into calls for the downfall of Iran’s clerical rulers.
Iran’s chief prosecutor Mohamed Jafar Montazeri said on Saturday the morality police “had been closed,” the semi-official news agency ISNA reported. The agency did not provide details, and state media hasn’t reported such a purported decision.
In a report carried by ISNA on Sunday, lawmaker Nezamoddin Mousavi signaled a less confrontational approach toward the protests.
“Both the administration and parliament insisted that paying attention to the people’s demand that is mainly economic is the best way for achieving stability and confronting the riots,” he said, following a closed meeting with several senior Iranian officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi.
Trump rebuked for call to suspend Constitution over election
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump faced rebuke Sunday from officials in both parties after calling for the “termination” of parts of the Constitution over his lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
Trump, who announced last month that he is running again for president, made the claim over the weekend on his Truth Social media platform.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” he wrote. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”
Incoming House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday described Trump’s statement as strange and extreme and said Republicans will have to make a choice whether to continue embracing Trump’s anti-democratic views.
“Republicans are going to have to work out their issues with the former president and decide whether they’re going to break from him and return to some semblance of reasonableness or continue to lean in to the extremism, not just of Trump, but Trumpism,” Jeffries said.
As Musk is learning, content moderation is a messy job
Now that he’s back on Twitter, neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin wants somebody to explain the rules.
Anglin, the founder of an infamous neo-Nazi website, was reinstated Thursday, one of many previously banned users to benefit from an amnesty granted by Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk. The next day, Musk banished Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, after he posted a swastika with a Star of David in it.
“That’s cool,” Anglin tweeted Friday. “I mean, whatever the rules are, people will follow them. We just need to know what the rules are.”
Ask Musk. Since the world’s richest man paid $44 billion for Twitter, the platform has struggled to define its rules for misinformation and hate speech, issued conflicting and contradictory announcements, and failed to full address what researchers say is a troubling rise in hate speech.
As the “ chief twit ” may be learning, running a global platform with nearly 240 million active daily users requires more than good algorithms and often demands imperfect solutions to messy situations — tough choices that must ultimately be made by a human and are sure to displease someone.
CFP: Georgia vs Ohio St in Peach; Michigan vs TCU in Fiesta
For this college football season, the BCS probably would have been fine.
Two days after the College Football Playoff announced it is expanding to 12 teams, the field of four to determine this season’s national champion included two schools that did not even win their conferences.
Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State were selected Sunday for the playoff, giving the Big Ten multiple programs in the four-team field for the first time.
The top-ranked and reigning champion Bulldogs (13-0) and fourth-seeded Buckeyes (11-1) will meet Dec. 31 at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Ohio State got a reprieve, moving back into the top four after losing to Big Ten rival Michigan just a week ago.
“How we got here, at this point, I guess doesn’t really matter now that we’re here,“ Ohio State Ryan Day said.
World Cup Viewer’s Guide: Neymar expected to play for Brazil
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Welcome back, Neymar, at just the right time at the World Cup.
Neymar seemed healthy in training before Monday’s game against South Korea in the round of 16. The forward missed the final two matches of the group stage after injuring his right ankle in the opening game win over Serbia.
Brazil easily moved into the next round without Neymar. No longer bothered by his ankle, Neymar was expected to start — and not come off the bench as a precautionary measure — if he plays against South Korea.
“I prefer to use my best player from the start,” Brazil coach Tite said. “It’s the coach who has to make that decision and take on that responsibility.”
In footage released by the Brazilian soccer federation, he appeared to be in good condition, doing drills with the ball and taking shots on goal without signs of his injury.
Shootings at power substations cause North Carolina outages
CARTHAGE, N.C. (AP) — Two power substations in a North Carolina county were damaged by gunfire in what is being investigated as a criminal act, causing damage that could take days to repair and leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity, authorities said Sunday.
In response to ongoing outages, which began just after 7 p.m. Saturday across Moore County, officials announced a state of emergency that included a curfew from 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday. Also, county schools will be closed Monday.
“An attack like this on critical infrastructure is a serious, intentional crime and I expect state and federal authorities to thoroughly investigate and bring those responsible to justice,” Gov. Roy Cooper wrote on Twitter.
Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said at a Sunday news conference that authorities have not determined a motivation. He said someone pulled up and “opened fire on the substation, the same thing with the other one.”
“No group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept that they’re the ones that done it,” Fields said, adding “we’re looking at all avenues.”
Knight, Clooney, Grant feted at Kennedy Center Honors
WASHINGTON (AP) — A heartfelt Patti LaBelle praised her lifelong friend Gladys Knight. Matt Damon playfully teased his friend George Clooney — a lot — while Sheryl Crow gave thanks and a heartfelt rendition of “Baby Baby” to her fellow singer Amy Grant during Sunday’s Kennedy Center Honors.
Knight, Clooney and Grant were all honored at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; groundbreaking composer and conductor Tania León and the rock group U2 were also part of this year’s class. Every year the Kennedy Center honors a select group of people for their artistic influences on American culture. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their respective spouses were in attendance.
On the red carpet ahead of the Kennedy Center show, Clooney, with his wife, Amal, beside him, joked that after seeing friends like Don Cheadle and Julia Roberts in attendance he was worried his tribute would be more of a “roast.” And it was a bit of a roast for Clooney, though his friends and family showed obvious respect.
Longtime friend Julia Roberts set the tone by coming out onstage with a dress emblazoned with photos of Clooney all over it. After an an introduction that alternated between funny and heartfelt she turned to a set designed to look like a smoky bar — the type Clooney might enjoy. The actor’s father regaled the crowd with stories of a young George, including the time the 7-year-old — heartbroken over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 — gave his father all his toy guns.
Damon took the funny road, joking about how Clooney once stole then-President Bill Clinton’s stationery and wrote notes to fellow actors on it. Cheadle highlighted Clooney’s philanthropic work.
Bonds, Clemens left out of Hall again; McGriff elected
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Moments after Fred McGriff was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, almost two decades after his final game, he got the question.
Asked if Barry Bonds belonged in Cooperstown, a smiling McGriff responded: “Honestly, right now, I’m going to just enjoy this evening.”
A Hall of Fame committee delivered its answer Sunday, passing over Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling while handing McGriff the biggest honor of his impressive big league career.
The lanky first baseman, nicknamed the “Crime Dog,” hit .284 with 493 homers and 1,550 RBIs over 19 seasons with six major league teams. The five-time All-Star helped Atlanta win the 1995 World Series.
McGriff got 169 votes (39.8%) in his final year on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot in 2019. Now, he will be inducted into Cooperstown on July 23, along with anyone chosen in the writers’ vote, announced Jan. 24.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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