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Republican and Democratic primaries are taking place in Ohio on Tuesday, with all eyes on the GOP senate race, which will place Donald Trump’s endorsement power under fresh scrutiny as the presidential candidate’s pick, former car salesman Bernie Moreno, comes up against a pair of party establishment rivals for the chance to challenge Democrat Sherrod Brown.
Mr Moreno has been annointed by Mr Trump as his MAGA representative in the contest but faces stiff competition from state senator Matt Dolan and secretary of state Frank LaRose.
The Republican presidential nominee hailed Mr Moreno as a “fantastic guy” during a 90-minute address at the Dayton Air Show on Saturday and laid into Mr Dolan, whom he labelled a “RINO” (Republican in Name Only).
“Bernie is running against a weak RINO named Matt Dolan,” Mr Trump said. “He is trying to become the next Mitt Romney. I think Mitt Romney is his hero.”
He also attacked Mr Dolan over his family’s ownership of the Cleveland Guardians, the baseball team that recently changed its name from the Cleveland Indians, which Mr Trump suggested had happened because the owners had allowed themselves to be “pushed around by woke left-wing lunatics”.
Congress reaches tentative spending deal – though it may be too late to avert government shutdown
Congressional leaders are understood to have reached a tentative spending deal to bankroll the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) late on Monday – passing a sticking point that should enable negotiators to process the remaining funding bills and avert a partial government shutdown later this week.
As it stands, funding is set to expire on Saturday morning for the departments of Homeland Security, State, Defense, Labour and Health and Human Services.
On Monday evening, lawmakers stuck a tentative deal – or an agreement in principle – for the DHS, according to NBC News, citing sources familiar with the matter.
While the terms of the deal remain unclear, it now paves the way for the resolution of five bills relating to its sister departments, which were largely settled last week.
ACLU to defend NRA in unusual Supreme Court case
Ariana Baio writes:
In their pursuit to defend individual freedoms and fight against government abuse, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will be at the Supreme Court today to argue that a New York official violated the First Amendment when she issued “threatening” guidance to companies by advising them to cease conducting business with a nonprofit organisation.
On the surface, it seems uneventful that the ACLU would take up a case concerning First Amendment freedoms and government censorship.
But the nonprofit organisation the ACLU is defending happens to be the National Rifle Association (NRA), a gun rights advocacy group often accused of failing to support meaningful gun safety legislation.
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All the former Trump officials who refuse to endorse him in 2024
Mike Pence’s announcement that he won’t back his former boss this time round sees the former vice president joining an ever-growing list of ex-Trump administration officials who are now refusing to back his latest White House bid – many of them going so far as to say they no longer believe him to be fit for office.
Here’s a look at the other former Trump officials who are refusing to endorse him in 2024:
Biden announces historic investment into women’s menopause health
The president issued the order at a White House Women’s History Month event on Monday morning, where he was joined by First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former first lady of California Maria Shriver.
The order allocates $12bn to and marks the “most comprehensive set” of executive action to improve research on women’s health, according to the White House.
However, this funding is not guaranteed. Given Congress has the “power of the purse,” lawmakers can move to deny the president his funding.
Katie Hawkinson reports from Washington, DC:
What to expect in Ohio’s Republican Senate primary
John Bowden reports for The Independent from the Buckeye State:
Trump endorsement looms large in Ohio Republican primary
Ohio presents a unique moment for Donald Trump’s control of the Republican Party. The former president’s tendency to put his thumb on the scale in competitive GOP primaries is irking more and more Republican officials, even as many publicly continue to endorse his presidential bid. He’s done it again in Ohio: endorsing car dealership owner Bernie Moreno in a three-way race against Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose, respectively a state senator and Ohio’s secretary of state. Despite Mr Trump endorsing Mr Moreno, Mr LaRose has reinforced his loyalty to the former president, suggesting there would be “no daylight” between the pair come Wednesday if he wins the primary.
MAGA candidate’s former mother-in-law pens scathing op-ed
A Trump-aligned candidate running for Congress in Nevada’s competitive 3rd district, was the subject of a scathing op-ed accusing her of infidelity, lying and raising a murderer – written by her former mother-in-law.
Mr Halseth was murdered in 2021 by the teenage daughter he shared with Ms Helgelien, Sierra Halseth, and her boyfriend Aaron Guerrero. The pair stabbed Mr Halseth before setting his house on fire and attempting to flee. They were caught and are now serving life sentences.
Ariana Baio has the story:
Caitlyn Jenner backs New York county’s ban on transgender female athletes
Former Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner on Monday said she supported a local New York official’s order banning female sports teams with transgender athletes from using county-owned facilities.
The ban applies to over 100 athletic facilities in New York City’s Long Island suburbs. Speaking alongside Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman at his office in Mineola, Jenner said allowing transgender athletes like herself to compete against other women will “ruin women’s sports” for years to come.
“Let’s stop it now while we can,” said the reality television star, who came out as a transgender woman in 2015.
The LGBT Network, a Long Island-based advocacy group, called Jenner’s comments a “baffling contradiction” to her own identity as a transgender woman that is “not only hypocritical but also harmful” to the LGBTQ community.
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Obama jokes with reporters as he leaves Downing Street after visiting Sunak
Former US president Barack Obama met with Rishi Sunak in a “courtesy visit” to Downing Street on Monday 18 March. Mr Obama spent around an hour inside the No 10 study with the prime minister. He joked he was “tempted” to discuss the state of Russian democracy when members of the media asked him to stop as he left with the US ambassador to the UK, Jane D Hartley, just after 4pm. It is understood Mr Sunak and Mr Obama discussed a range of subjects, including artificial intelligence, in a largely one-on-one meeting.
SCOTUS extends block on controversial Texas immigration law
Just moments after the deadline passed for the Supreme Court to intervene on Texas’ controversial immigration bill SB4, Justice Samuel Alito issued an order temporarily pausing the bill from taking effect, this time indefinitely.
Ariana Baio reports: