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Nebraska Democrat Switching to Republican Is Major Victory for Trump
A Nebraska state senator on Wednesday announced that he is leaving the Democrats and joining the GOP, a move that could help the state change its election laws to favor former President Donald Trump.
State Senator Mike McDonnell told reporters on Wednesday, “Today I’m announcing, I am now going to be a registered Republican in the state of Nebraska,” after being a Democrat since 1984.
Trump, the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, is on course for a rematch against Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden in November.
Most of the state of Nebraska has historically voted red, but because of the way the state’s Electoral College is set up, Democrats have won some of Nebraska’s electoral votes in past presidential contests.
McDonnell chalked up his decision to switch parties to the reaction that the Nebraska Democratic Party has had to his pro-life views.
“I asked the Democratic Party in Douglas County to respect that I’m pro-life, that I’m a member of the Roman Catholic Church. And my beliefs are based on that,” McDonnell said. “Douglas County Democrats instead of respecting it, they decided to punish it.”
“They said you cannot participate, you can’t be a delegate, we’re not gonna share our party resources,” he continued. “I continue to vote pro-life. The state Democratic Party decided in censure me. I continue to vote pro-life.”
McDonnell was censured by the Nebraska Democratic Party in March, condemning his voting records that the party believed had negatively affected the reproductive rights and rights of transgenders in Nebraska.
Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb said in a statement on Wednesday: “The Nebraska Democratic Party will continue to stand up for reproductive freedom and the human rights of the LGBTQ community. Our decision to censure Sen. McDonnell was never about him being a pro-life Catholic.
“Our decision was based on our party reaffirming our core values to protect women’s ability to make health decisions and to keep politicians out of our personal health decisions. We respect the ongoing work of Senator McDonnell on behalf of unions and his commitment to protect a fair electoral vote system we have in our state.”
McDonnell’s move signals that Nebraska may be headed for a major change as GOP leaders, including Gov. Jim Pillen, have championed a move to a winner-take-all system for allocating the state’s Electoral College votes.
This approach would align with the majority of states but would mean changing Nebraska’s unique method that allows its electoral votes to be split by Congressional district—a practice shared only with Maine.
Former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden secured a portion of the state’s electoral votes by winning enough votes in 2008 and 2020, respectively. With the 2024 election expected to be extremely close, Republicans are concerned that Biden securing even one electoral vote from Nebraska could be the difference between Trump winning and losing the election.
Advocates argue this move would streamline Nebraska’s voice in presidential elections, reflecting a unified stance rather than a divided electorate. Critics, however, view it as a strategic maneuver to solidify Republican dominance in a state that has shown pockets of Democratic support.
Changing Nebraska’s Election Laws
Pillen on Tuesday threw his support behind a Republican-led bill to make the change, calling it a reflection of the “founders’ intent.” He added that awarding all Electoral College delegates to one candidate would ensure “our state speaks with one unified voice in presidential elections.”
Trump voiced his support for the bill on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday: “Thank you Governor for your bold leadership. Let’s hope the Senate does the right thing. Nebraskans, respectfully ask your Senators to support this Great Bill!”
The bill seemed to be a long shot proposal on Tuesday, with Democrats expressing confidence they had the votes to filibuster the measure before the legislative session ends on April 18. However, that situation changed with McDonnell switching parties. If McDonnell votes with Republicans, Democrats lose their ability to block the change.
U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Republican who previously served as the state’s governor, said in a statement on Wednesday: “I am pleased to welcome Senator Mike McDonnell to the Republican Team. The extreme new Democrats are pushing common sense officials and voters to our party.”
He continued: “The addition of Mike McDonnell to the Republican rolls in the legislature means for the first time in recent memory there is a filibuster proof Republican majority in the Unicameral. This timing heading into a Presidential election is an awesome opportunity to mobilize our Republican majority to a winner-take-all system and put one more electoral vote in the Republican column for 2024!”
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Reuters: Biden Conveyed to Iran That It’s Attack on Israel Had to Be “Within Certain Limits”
Watch: Trump’s Plan how to make America Wealthy again!
- Iran informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday, adding that Washington had conveyed to Tehran via Ankara that any action it took had to be “within certain limits.”
- Turkey, which has denounced Israel for its campaign on Gaza, said earlier on Sunday that it did not want a further escalation of tensions in the region.
Watch: Trump’s Plan how to make America Wealthy again! - The Turkish source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had spoken to both his US and Iranian counterparts in the past week to discuss the planned Iranian operation, adding Ankara had been made aware of possible developments.
- Middle East de-escalation efforts
- Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Fidan to make clear that escalation in the Middle East was not in anyone’s interest.
- “Iran informed us in advance of what would happen. Possible developments also came up during the meeting with Blinken, and they (the US) conveyed to Iran through us that this reaction must be within certain limits,” the source said.
- “In response, Iran said the reaction would be a response to Israel’s attack on its embassy in Damascus and that it would not go beyond this.”
- Iran, which neighbours Turkey, had vowed retaliation for what it called an alleged Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
- Turkey’s foreign ministry later confirmed the contacts in a statement, saying Ankara had called for restraint and warned of a regional war if tensions escalated further.
- It said Ankara would continue efforts to prevent further conflict and escalation in the region.
- A Turkish security source said CIA chief William Burns had spoken to Ibrahim Kalin, head of Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency, over the Eid al-Fitr holidays and asked him to act as a “mediator” in the Israel-Iran tensions.
- The two discussed ceasefire efforts in Gaza as well, the source said, without elaborating.
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Taiwan Quake Update: 9 Killed, 963 Injured, 50 Missing
- Taiwan’s biggest earthquake in at least 25 years killed nine people on Wednesday and injured more than 900, while 50 workers travelling in minibuses to a hotel in a national park were missing.
- Some buildings tilted at precarious angles in the mountainous, sparsely populated county of Hualien, near the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude quake, which struck just offshore at about 8 a. m. (0000 GMT) and triggered massive landslides.
- Linda Chen, 48, said her apartment in downtown Hualien city had been so badly damaged in an earlier earthquake in 2018 that they had to move house. But her new apartment block was damaged too in the latest earthquake.
- “We worry the house could collapse anytime. We thought we had already experienced it once in Hualien and it would not hit us again, because God has to be fair,” she said.
- “We are frightened. We are so nervous.”
- The city’s mayor, Hsu Chen-Wei, said all residents and businesses in buildings that were in a dangerous state had been evacuated. Demolition work was beginning on four buildings, the mayor said.
- The power of the quake was captured live as news anchors delivered their bulletins, steadying themselves against giant screens as their sets swayed and lighting rigs rocked back and forth overhead.
- The earthquake hit at a depth of 15.5 km (9.6 miles), as people were headed for work and school, setting off a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines that was later lifted.
- Video showed rescuers using ladders to help trapped people out of windows. Strong tremors in Taipei forced the subway system to close briefly, although most lines resumed service.
- Fire authorities said they had already evacuated some 70 people trapped in tunnels near Hualien city, including two Germans.
- But they had lost contact with 50 workers aboard four minibuses heading to a hotel in a national park, Taroko Gorge, they said, and rescuers were looking for them. Another 80 people are trapped in a mining area, though it was not immediately clear if they were inside a mine.
- On a highway through the mountains, huge boulders from a landslide were strewn across the road. The Fire Bureau of Taichung City Government said it rescued a man in his 50s who was unconscious in a truck.
- FIGHTER JETS
- A woman who runs bed-and-breakfast accommodation in Hualien city said she scrambled to calm her guests who were scared by the quake.
- “This is the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced,” said the woman, who asked to be identified only by her family name, Chan.
- The government put the number of injured at 946.
- “At present the most important thing, the top priority, is to rescue people,” said President-elect Lai Ching-te, speaking outside one of the collapsed buildings in Hualien.
- The rail link to the area was expected to re-open on Thursday, Lai, who is set to take office next month, told reporters.
- The White House said the U.S. stood ready to provide any assistance necessary.
- Taiwan’s air force said six F-16 fighter jets had been slightly damaged at a major base in the city from which jets are often scrambled to see off incursions by China’s air force, but the aircraft are expected to return to service very soon.
- In Japan, the weather agency put the quake’s magnitude at 7.7, saying several small tsunami waves reached parts of the southern prefecture of Okinawa, while downgrading its tsunami warning to an advisory.
- In the Philippines, seismology officials warned coastal residents in several provinces to move to higher ground.
- Chinese state media said the quake was felt in the southeastern province of Fujian, while a Reuters witness said it was also felt in the commercial hub of Shanghai.
- CHIP SUPPLIES
- Aftershocks could still be felt in Taipei, with more than 50 recorded, weather officials said.
- Most power has been restored after the quake, electricity utility Taipower said, with the island’s two nuclear power stations unaffected.
- Taiwan’s high-speed rail operator said no damage or injuries were reported on its trains, although services would be delayed as it made inspections.
- A major supplier of chips to Apple and Nvidia Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said it had evacuated some fabrication plants and safety systems were operating normally.
- It said later its workers were safe and had returned to their workplaces shortly after the earthquake. It said impacted facilities were expected to resume production during the night.
- TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares ended down 1.3%, but the benchmark index largely brushed off the quake’s impact to close down 0.6%.
- The official central news agency said the quake was the biggest since one of magnitude 7.6 in 1999 that killed about 2,400 people and damaged or destroyed 50,000 buildings.
- Taiwan weather officials ranked Wednesday’s quake in Hualien as “Upper 6”, or the second-highest level of intensity on a scale ranging from 1 to 7.
- Such quakes collapse walls unless they are made of reinforced concrete blocks, while people cannot stand upright and must crawl in order to move, experts say.
- This article was updated.
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