Day: May 5, 2024
Each election cycle there are 435 House races in total. But only about fifty of them end up being competitive at all, and only half of those end up being highly competitive. It’s not just because of things like gerrymandering. Think about it: the Democrats are easily going to win a House district in Hollywood California, while the Republicans are easily going to win a House district in a rural Southern area.
The key to winning the House majority is to focus on the relative handful of districts that have a roughly equal number of Democratic and Republican leaning voters. These races, known as toss-ups, nearly always come down to a point or two in either direction. The party that wins most of the toss-up races generally wins the House majority.
As with every election cycle, in 2024 we’re going to focus exclusively on the House (and Senate) races that are going to be close enough that we can make a difference in the outcome. Right now there are twenty-two “toss up” House races according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. We’ll be using that as our guidepost.
Of these 22 toss-up races, nine of them feature a Democratic incumbent, eleven of them feature a Republican incumbent, and two of them will have no incumbent. Today we’re going to focus solely on those nine House races where we need to get a vulnerable Democratic incumbent reelected. Next time around we’ll focus on the thirteen toss-up races with no Democratic incumbent.
There are also twenty House races that either “Lean Democrat” or “Lean Republican.” Those races are also competitive (though less so than the toss-up races), and we’ll get to them a bit later in the election cycle. But for today it’s all about the nine House Democrats seeking reelection in highly competitive toss-up races in 2024.
STEP ONE in taking the House majority is to get these nine Democrats reelected. Donate if you have the money. Volunteer if you have the time. If you don’t have the time or money, follow them on Twitter and retweet them whenever they post donation links, so others will see it. Donation links below are taken directly from the candidates’ official websites:
CO-08 (Colorado), House Democrat Yadira Caraveo • Campaign website • Donate • Volunteer • Twitter
ME-02 (Maine), House Democrat Jared Golden • Campaign website • Donate • Volunteer • Twitter
NC-01 (North Carolina), House Democrat Don Davis • Campaign website • Donate • Volunteer • Twitter
NM-02 (New Mexico), House Democrat Gabe Vasquez • Campaign website • Donate • Volunteer • Twitter
OH-09 (Ohio), House Democrat Marcy Kaptur • Campaign website • Donate • Volunteer • Twitter
OH-13 (Ohio), House Democrat Emilia Sykes • Campaign website • Donate • Volunteer • Twitter
PA-07 (Pennsylvania), House Democrat Susan Wild • Campaign website • Donate • Volunteer • Twitter
PA-08 (Pennsylvania), House Democrat Matt Cartwright • Campaign website • Donate • Volunteer • Twitter
WA-03 (Washington State), House Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez • Campaign website • Donate • Volunteer • Twitter
The post Here are the competitive House races that will decide the 2024 House majority appeared first on Palmer Report.
Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law and the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, alleged that Jewish billionaire George Soros, often the target of antisemitic tropes, was instigating pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
“We know that George Soros has funded a lot of this, stirring all this up,” Lara Trump said last week on her podcast, The Right View. “We know he loves to put his money into upsetting people and causing situations like this.”
Casting a Jewish individual as a puppet master who manipulates national events for malign purposes is a common antisemitic trope, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Several top Republicans — including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — echoed the same sentiment, speculating that the 93-year-old Holocaust survivor was behind some of the chaotic unrest at universities like Columbia in New York. “I think the FBI needs to be all over this,” Johnson said in an interview with Newsmax TV. “They need to look at the root causes and find out if some of this was funded by — I don’t know — George Soros or overseas entities.”
The Republicans didn’t provide any evidence that Soros, who was in the past blamed for national protests and is often touted as a boogeyman by the far right, is funding the unrest, which has veered into violence, harassment against Jewish students and ongoing clashes with the police. Democrats pushed back against the Republican theory.
Politico noted on Sunday that some of the groups behind the demonstrations have, at one point in time, received financial support from Soros and other Biden donors through indirect donations. Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow, both left-wing groups that oppose Israeli policies towards Palestinians and have recently mobilized activists and students to protest the war in Gaza, receive some funding from the Tides Foundation, which has, in the past, received funding from Soros.
Former President Donald Trump invoked the Soros-as-puppeteer conspiracy in dozens of fundraising emails since launching his 2024 presidential campaign, accusing Soros of aiming to “single-handedly buy” President Joe Biden’s reelection.
Related
Biden condemned the violence at the campuses in a speech on Thursday. “There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos,” Biden said. “Dissent must never lead to disorder.”
The first “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at Columbia University was formed as the school’s president, Nemat Shafik, testified on Apr. 17 about campus antisemitism before a Republican-led congressional committee. It intensified following the administration’s authorization of a police crackdown on students who had pitched tents on Columbia’s lawn and the suspension of three students for their involvement in the protests. More than 2,000 people have since been arrested in campus protests across the country, mostly for trespassing charges.
Related
The post RNC co-chair Lara Trump: George Soros is instigating campus protests appeared first on The Forward.
JERUSALEM (AP) — The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended in Cairo after “in-depth and serious discussions,” the Hamas militant group said Sunday, reiterating key demands that Israel again rejected. After earlier signs of progress, the outlook appeared to dim as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to resist international pressure to halt the war.
Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza after Hamas attacked it. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed Hamas wasn’t serious about a deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza.”
Israel didn’t send a delegation to the talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar. Egyptian state media reported that the Hamas delegation went for discussions in Qatar, where the group has a political office, and will return to Cairo for further negotiations on Tuesday.
Another threat to talks came as Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close, accusing it of broadcasting anti-Israel incitement. The ban did not appear to affect the channel’s operations in Gaza or the West Bank.
Netanyahu, under pressure from hard-liners in his government, continued to lower expectations for a cease-fire deal, calling the key Hamas demands “extreme” — including the withdrawal of Israel forces from Gaza and an end to the war. That would equal surrender after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the fighting, he said.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a statement earlier said the militant group was serious and positive about the negotiations and that stopping Israeli aggression in Gaza is the main priority.
But Israel’s government again vowed to press on with a military operation in Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city on the border with Egypt where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents now seek shelter from Israeli attacks. Rafah is a key entry point for aid.
Kerem Shalom, now closed, is another. The Israeli military reported 10 projectiles were launched at the crossing in southern Israel and said its fighter jets later struck the source. Hamas said it targeted Israeli soldiers in the area. Israel’s Channel 12 TV channel said 10 people were wounded, three seriously. It was unclear how long the crossing would be closed.
The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, called for an independent investigation and “accountability for the blatant disregard of humanitarian workers.” He also said Israel this week denied him entry to Gaza for a second time.
The closing of Kerem Shalom came shortly after the head of the U.N. World Food Program asserted “full-blown famine” in devastated northern Gaza, one of the most prominent warnings yet of the toll of restrictions on aid entering the territory. The comments were not a formal famine declaration.
In expanded remarks as the full NBC interview was released, WFP chief Cindy McCain said famine was “moving its way south” in Gaza and that Israel’s efforts to allow in more aid were not enough. “We have right now a mass on the outside border, about enough trucks and enough food for 1.1 million people for about three months. We need to get that in,” she said.
Gaza’s vast humanitarian needs put pressure on the pursuit of a cease-fire. The proposal that Egyptian mediators put to Hamas sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate, six-week cease-fire and partial release of Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7, and would include some sort of Israeli pullout. The initial stage would last for 40 days. Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Netanyahu claimed that Israel has shown willingness to make concessions but said it “will continue fighting until all of its objectives are achieved.” That includes the stated aim of crushing Hamas. Israel says it must target Rafah to strike remaining fighters there despite warnings from the U.S. and others about the danger to civilians.
An Israeli strike Sunday on the al-Attar family house in an urban refugee camp near Rafah killed four children, including a baby, and two adults, according to Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital.
Another Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least five people, according to Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas command center in central Gaza. It didn’t mention casualties.
In a fiery speech for Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial day, Netanyahu added: “I say to the leaders of the world, no amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum will stop Israel from defending itself.”
The Hamas cross-border attack on Oct. 7 killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. Netanyahu is under growing pressure from some hostages’ families to make a deal to end the war and get hostages freed.
Israeli’s air and ground offensive has killed over 34,500 people, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but say women and children make up a majority of those killed.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of embedding in residential and public areas. The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to back up the claim.
___
Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Jack Jeffery in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Clive Rose – Formula 1/Getty Images
- The third-annual Miami Grand Prix is taking place this weekend.
- The Hard Rock Beach Club featured high-priced items, like a $280 Maine lobster roll, for the event.
- Formula 1 has a reputation for luxury and spectacle.
Luxury was on full display during the Miami Grand Prix, especially at the Hard Rock Beach Club, where an order of wings cost nearly $200.
Crowds of Formula 1 fans gathered in SoFlo this weekend for the third-annual Miami Grand Prix, which kicked off on Friday at the Miami International Autodrome. The racetrack spans 3.7 miles and is set up around Hard Rock Stadium.
Billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos participated in the festivities, but some F1 fans were more interested in the flex of wealth at the Hard Rock Beach Club.
Hard Rock International announced its Hard Rock Beach Club in March, writing in a press release that the day club experience overlooked the racetrack and included star-studded performances. A three-day pass costs $1,750, according to the official website.
Screenshot from the Hard Rock Beach Club website.
Hard Rock Beach Club
Nascar driver Ryan Ellis offered F1 fans a glimpse into the high-end venue, posting photos of the menu to X. Ellis confirmed that he took the pictures to Business Insider.
“F1 is a little more expensive than nascar,” he wrote in the caption.
The photo showed a range of food options, with the cheapest items being a $170 Empanada Duo and a $170 Yellowfin Tuna Poke. The menu also featured a Maine lobster roll priced at $280 and chilled prawn for $290, according to the photos.
And guests could apparently add 1 ounce of caviar to any item for $400.
Ellis also shared a photo of the drinks menu, which showed water selling for $25 and $45 Heineken 0.0. The most expensive item appeared to be a 1.5 liter bottle of Armand de Brignac Rosé, which cost $3,600.
The Miami Grand Prix took place over the weekend.
Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images
Representatives for Hard Rock did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Motorsports like NASCAR are popular in the United States, but the F1 industry is attempting to make strides with American fans after dominating Europe.
F1’s reputation for opulence and spectacle is nothing new to longtime fans, but might be a harder sell for the average American. Nascar’s viewership has stalled in recent years but it still surpasses the average US viewership for F1 races, according to Blackbook Motorsport.
One reason might be the exuberant costs typically associated with F1. Bloomberg columnist Adam Minter suggested the industry lower its price point to accommodate middle-class sports fans if it wants. to spark wider interest.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Trump accuses Biden of running ‘Gestapo administration’ Yahoo! Voices
The post Trump accuses Biden of running ‘Gestapo administration’ – Yahoo! Voices first appeared on Trump And Trumpism – The News And Times.
