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Monday, February 26, 2024

Donald Trump Wins GOP Primary in South Carolina

USA Today: Former President Donald Trump rolled to victory Saturday in the South Carolina Republican primary, easily defeating former Gov. Nikki Haley in her home state and moving ever close to the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Trump, who also won convention delegate contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, is on track to win the nomination, despite the prospect of up to four criminal trials in the months ahead. Winning the South Carolina primary is a particularly good sign for Trump. Most of the Republicans who have won the Palmetto State’s primary have gone on to win the party’s nomination (USA Today). Fox News: Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley says she is staying in the GOP presidential primary race despite her loss in her home state. Haley had pledged to stay in the race even if she lost the Palmetto State, and she said she’s sticking with that. “I’m a woman of my word. I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” she told supporters (Fox News). See the full results here (New York Times).

Biden’s New Approval Ratings Hover Just Above All-Time Low

Gallup: Americans’ approval of President Joe Biden’s job performance has edged down three percentage points to 38%, just one point shy of his all-time low. In addition, Biden registers subpar approval ratings for his handling of five key issues facing the U.S., including a new low of 28% for immigration and readings ranging from 30% to 40% for the situation in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas, foreign affairs, the economy and the situation in Ukraine (Gallup). Free Beacon: The low mark on immigration came amid the Biden administration’s failure to manage an unprecedented surge in illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border, which has overwhelmed officials and drained cities’ resources. The Border Patrol has encountered around 8.5 million illegal aliens at the southern border since Biden took office in early 2021, with an estimated additional 1.8 million who escaped apprehension (Gallup).

President Biden Brings Hundreds of New Sanctions Against Russia

Politico: President Joe Biden on Friday announced more than 500 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine in the largest tranche of penalties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago. Biden followed through on a promise to further punish Russian President Vladimir Putin one week after opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in a Siberian prison. The sanctions — as well as those added Friday by the European Union — come one day before the second anniversary of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The Treasury Department will impose additional price cap sanctions that will make it more costly for Russia to get around sanctions (Politico). Daily Wire: This round of sanctions is likely to be “more symbolic than it is impactful,” Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Charles Kupchan said. The initial tranche of sanctions issued after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw the Russian economy constrict. Shortly after, Russia’s economy regained its footing, however. Russian businesses and industry after a momentary shock as the sanctions set in found new supply chains and buyers, especially through China, as well as loopholes that allowed their products to get into Western markets. The latest round of sanctions will impact some of those loopholes, though the overall impact to Russia will be minimal (Daily Wire).

Israel Lays Out Plan for Post-War Gaza Strip

Spencer Brown: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu closed the week by releasing to the security cabinet and subsequently the media the outline of a plan for what the Gaza Strip will look like and how Israel will handle the enclave once Hamas terrorists and the threat the Iran-backed barbarians pose have been eliminated. The plans were rolled out for discussion among Israel’s government in what the Jerusalem Post called a “brief document” that “divided the situation into three periods: immediate, short, and long-term” (Townhall). Jerusalem Post: The Israeli army will retain securing control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank once the war is over, and a local Palestinian governance of technocrats will rule the enclave (Jerusalem Post).

Israel Mulls Over Ceasefire With Hamas

National Review: Israel is negotiating a deal with Hamas that could result in the release of 40 hostages in exchange for a six-week cease-fire. Although Israel is “still far from a deal,” one Israeli official told Axios, “some progress” was made in the negotiations this week, a U.S. official said. The agreement would also require Israel to release several hundred Palestinian prisoners, some of whom were convicted of murdering Israelis, in exchange for 40 medically vulnerable or female Israeli civilians (National Review). BBC: Meanwhile fighting and air strikes continue to claim lives in the enclave. Mr. Netanyahu said he would convene his cabinet this week to approve plans for an operation in Rafah in Gaza’s far south, where around 1.2-1.5 million people are crammed into any available space. Increased Israeli air strikes there are already making aid operations more difficult. Aid agencies and many Western governments have warned that the consequences of an assault on Rafah could be dire (BBC).

Hundreds of Illegals Let Go in San Diego

Townhall: Hundreds of illegal migrants were mass-released into California on Friday after video surveillance footage captured a Border Patrol bus handing them over to a nongovernmental organization (NGO). About 200 illegal aliens were mass street released in San Ysidro, San Diego, from Border Patrol custody. The migrants traveled from Peru, India, and Columbia, many saying they were heading to Atlanta and Minneapolis to look for work. The reason hundreds of illegal migrants have been released into the state by Border Patrol agents is because San Diego County recently spent millions of taxpayer dollars on building a migrant shelter. However, that shelter ran out of money and resources, resulting in nowhere to house the migrants who had illegally entered the U.S. (Townhall). Bill Melugin: NEW: We were live on the air as the first of many Border Patrol buses began arriving and mass releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants to San Diego’s streets. We spoke to many of them live – they are from all around the world and they are planning to go to blue cities in US (X).

U.S., U.K. Forces Strike 18 Houthi Targets in Yemen

ABC: A coalition of countries led by the U.S. and U.K. on Saturday carried out a new round of strikes on the Houthis in Yemen “in response to the Houthis’ continued attacks against commercial and naval vessels” in and around the Red Sea, officials said. The strikes were against 18 targets, including those related to “underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter” (ABC). Daily Wire: The strikes were the fourth wave of strikes that the countries have launched against Houthi targets inside of Yemen over the last couple of months in response to four months of attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea (Daily Wire).

California’s Projected Budget Deficit of $73 Billion Nearly Doubles Estimates

WSJ: The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) on Tuesday increased this year’s projected state budget shortfall to $73 billion—nearly twice as much as Gov. Gavin Newsom forecasted last month. Ouch. Mr. Newsom has ambitions to reside in Washington, D.C., and based on his deficits it looks like he’d fit right in. Mr. Newsom projected a $38 billion budget gap last month—$20 billion less than the LAO did at the time. He’s counting on a surge in tax revenue from capital gains after the rise in stock prices in recent months (WSJ).

Microsoft Brags About Paying Minority Employees More Than Whites for Same Job

Daily Wire: Microsoft bragged that it pays its white employees less than non-white employees who are employed in similar roles in a diversity report touting the company’s “pay equity” agenda. The admission came from the tech giant’s 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Report, which outlines the company’s loyalty to the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda. “All racial and ethnic minority groups who are rewards eligible combined earn $1.007 total pay for every $1.000 earned by US rewards-eligible white employees with the same job title and level and considering tenure,” the Microsoft report brags (Daily Wire). Libs of TikTok: In Microsoft’s official 2023 Diversity & Inclusion report, they openly admit that they are paying white people LESS than other ethnic groups in the name of “pay equity” (X).

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Disney’s ABC Tries to Fill Commercial Slots for Oscars Show

Variety: Executives at the Disney-backed broadcast network are still working to sell commercials for the 96th Oscars, slated to air on Sunday, March 10, according to three people familiar with the negotiations — with a little more than two weeks to go before the glitzy event. While CBS’ recent Grammys telecast showed growth after ratings hit a nadir in 2021, advertisers have viewed some of the big annual awards programs with new skepticism as the shows’ allure has faded and proved less enticing to younger audiences. Disney has been seeking between $1.7 million to $2.2 million for a 30-second spot in the event (Variety). Breitbart: Viewership for the Oscars is still way down despite receiving a slight boost last year. Fewer than 19 million people tuned in to last year’s ABC broadcast. Ten years ago, the Oscars drew more than 40 million viewers. In 1998, the show attracted more than 50 million viewers (Breitbart).