It’s Monday morning, so don’t do too much, too fast. Wake up slowly with these news headlines.
1. Cozying up to the KKK
Donald Trump is taking major heat for refusing to disavow white supremacist groups. David Duke, the former grand wizard of the KKK, had posted his support for Trump to his Facebook page on Thursday, and yesterday a CNN news anchor pressed Trump for a response on his appeal to white supremacist groups. Trump refused to disavow that support, punting by saying that he knows nothing about white supremacist groups. Marco Rubio slammed Trump on Sunday, telling supporters that Republicans can’t be the party that nominates a candidate who refuses to condemn hate groups. — CNN
2. Violence at a KKK rally
The five KKK members arrested Saturday for attacking and stabbing counter-protestors, one critically, at an Anaheim KKK rally have been released. The police said the Klan members were acting in self-defense. Five counter-protestors are still in custody. Anaheim is a historical stronghold of the KKK; the Klan rally attracted a total of six members. Counter-protestors numbered in the dozens. — The Washington Post
More: Weekly horoscopes: Feb. 29 – March 6
3. Confession
The American student who was arrested in North Korea two months ago has given a statement apologizing for his actions. In the press conference, arranged by his North Korean captors, U. Va. student Otto Frederick Warmbier tearfully apologized for attempting to steal a banner with a political slogan from his hotel and for being “lured by the United States administration” to do so. It is not known if Warmbier sincerely wanted to speak or was forced by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to do so. — CNN
More: 20 quotes from the wise Judy Blume
4. Super Tuesday predictions
Tomorrow is Super Tuesday, when more than a dozen states cast their votes in the presidential primary. Trump leads the Republican field in Georgia and Tennessee but not in Ted Cruz’s home state of Texas; Hillary Clinton is ahead of Bernie Sanders in Georgia, Tennessee and Texas by a 2-1 margin. For political junkies, tomorrow promises to be a wild ride. — NBC News
More: Pop quiz: What do ‘real’ women do?
5. So long, liberal and minority viewpoints
MSNBC is apparently positioning to drop Melissa Harris-Perry after she sent an email to her staff refusing to host her show after the network pre-empted it several times. The email was reported by TheNew York Times and then published on Medium; it almost immediately prompted discussions about the terms of her departure. The network is trying to make it seem as if the email was the reason for Harris-Perry’s departure and not part of a move to eliminate more liberal coverage at the network. Several minority-host programs recently have been canceled. — Slate
6. We don’t need protection from ourselves
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Wednesday in a major abortion-rights case. More than 100 prominent women have filed supporting briefs detailing their decisions to have abortions and emphasizing the net positive those decisions were in their lives. The briefs are intended to sway Anthony Kennedy, who has written in the past that he believes that women generally come to regret the decision to have an abortion. The case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, challenges a Texas law that would reduce the number of clinics in Texas from about 40 to about 10. — The New York Times
Leave a Comment