Headline

Court Rejects Bid To Bar Trump From 2024 Ballot

Published

2 years ago

December 28, 2023

The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt to remove Donald Trump from the crucial swing state’s primary ballot next year over his role in the 2021 storming of the US Capitol.

It was the latest in a series of bids to block Trump from appearing on ballots in multiple states under the 14th Amendment, which says officials who take an oath to support the US Constitution are banned from future office if they “engaged in insurrection.”

But Michigan’s high court said in a brief ruling it was “not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court” ahead of the state’s February 27 presidential primary.

The ruling came a week after Colorado’s Supreme Court removed Trump from the state’s primary ballot over his role in the Capitol riot, which he is accused of inciting.

Trump, 77, hailed the Michigan decision, slamming a “Desperate Democrat attempt” to stack the deck against him as he seeks another term in the White House.

“This pathetic gambit to rig the Election has failed all across the Country, including in States that have historically leaned heavily toward the Democrats,” he posted on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Colorado’s highest court issued a stay, or freeze, of its bombshell ruling until January 4 pending an expected appeal by Trump’s lawyers to the US Supreme Court.

Granting the Colorado case for review would thrust the country’s top court into the center of the White House race, as any determination it makes on whether Trump engaged in insurrection and on his eligibility could be binding on lower courts nationwide.

⁠’Disappointing’ –

The Michigan lawsuit was filed in September by liberal-leaning Free Speech For People, a pro-democracy advocacy group that also pursued an unsuccessful 14th Amendment challenge against Trump in Minnesota and has filed a case in Oregon.

“The court’s decision is disappointing but we will continue, at a later stage, to seek to uphold this critical constitutional provision designed to protect our republic,” election lawyer Mark Brewer, who joined the group in the lawsuit, said in a statement.

“Trump led a rebellion and insurrection against the Constitution when he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election and he is disqualified from ever seeking or holding public office again.”

Michigan’s lower courts dismissed the case on procedural grounds early in the process, a decision upheld on appeal, meaning the question of whether Trump engaged in insurrection was never addressed.

Justice Elizabeth Welch, one of four Democratic-nominated justices on the seven-member panel, acknowledged the Colorado decision but said that state’s election law differed from Michigan’s “in a material way” in requiring candidates to be “qualified” to run.

“The appellants have identified no analogous provision in the Michigan Election Law that requires someone seeking the office of President of the United States to attest to their legal qualification to hold the office,” Welch wrote.

Meanwhile Maine’s top elections official, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, is considering challenges to Trump’s eligibility for the March 5 primary in the Democratic-leaning northeastern state.

Trump’s legal team called Wednesday for Bellows to recuse herself, describing her in a statement as a “completely biased Democrat partisan and a Biden supporter who is incapable of making a fair decision.”

Secretary of state is an elected, political position in Maine, as it is in 34 other US states.

AFP

Headline

Netanyahu Asks Israeli President For Pardon From Corruption Charges

Published

19 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Editor

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has asked the country’s president for a pardon in his long-running corruption case, saying the criminal proceedings are hindering his ability to govern and that ending the trial would benefit the nation.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has denied the bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges.

His lawyers told the president’s office that he still believes the legal process will eventually lead to a complete acquittal.

“My lawyers sent a request for pardon to the president of the country today. I expect that anyone who wishes for the good of the country support this step,” Netanyahu said in a brief video statement released by his Likud party.

The prime minister, who has been on trial for five years, has not admitted guilt, and neither have his lawyers. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu should not receive a pardon unless he admits wrongdoing, expresses remorse and immediately withdraws from political life.

Pardons in Israel are usually granted only after a conviction, but Netanyahu’s lawyers argued the president can step in when public interest is at stake, saying intervention could help heal national divisions and promote unity.

President Isaac Herzog’s office described the request as “extraordinary” with “significant implications”. His office said the president “will responsibly and sincerely consider the request” after receiving the necessary opinions.

United States President, Donald Trump, recently wrote to Herzog urging him to consider approving the pardon, describing the case against Netanyahu as “a political, unjustified prosecution”.

Herzog’s office said the request will be sent to the justice ministry’s pardons department to gather assessments that will be forwarded to the president’s legal adviser, who will prepare a recommendation.

(Reuters)

Headline

US: Four Killed, 10 Others Wounded In California Shooting

Published

1 day ago

November 30, 2025

Editor

Four people were confirmed dead and 10 others injured after a shooting at a family gathering in California, United States on Saturday night, according to US police, who described the attack as a “targeted incident.”

The incident occurred inside a banquet hall in Stockton, northeast of San Francisco, shortly before 6:00 pm, spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, Heather Brent, told reporters during a news briefing.

Brent said the victims, ranging from “juveniles to adults,” were rushed to nearby hospitals, noting that details about the shooting remained limited.

“What we have confirmed at this time is that there was a banquet hall where a family was celebrating. We have 14 victims of this shooting. Four of those are deceased,” Brent said.

“Early indications suggest that this may be a targeted incident. Investigators are exploring all possibilities at this time.”

The sheriff’s office posted on social media that detectives were “working to determine the circumstances leading up to this tragedy.”

“We are urging anyone with information, video footage, or who may have witnessed any part of this incident to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office immediately,” the post added.

Authorities said no suspect had been identified at the time of the report.

California Governor Gavin Newsom was briefed on the development, his office said in a social media statement.

Data from the Gun Violence Archive shows there have been 504 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, including the Stockton attack.

(AFP)

Headline

FULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting

Published

3 days ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will review the immigration status of all permanent residents, or “Green Card” holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

The individual was granted asylum earlier this year, not permanent residency, according to AfghanEvac, an organisation that assists Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.

The review follows a June executive order from President Trump classifying 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

The order banned entry for nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The full list of these countries is:

Afghanistan

Myanmar

Chad

Congo-Brazzaville

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

A partial travel ban applies to seven additional countries, though some temporary work visas remain allowed: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.