RNC issues threat to boycott commission’s presidential debates
WASHINGTON — The Republican National Committee said Thursday that it is planning a rules change that would force presidential candidates seeking the party’s nomination to sign a pledge saying they will not participate in any debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
The threat is a culmination of years of tension between the RNC and the nonprofit that was exacerbated by former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly accused the commission of unfair treatment. Trump ultimately refused to participate in the second 2020 debate because he objected to it being held virtually because of the pandemic.
In a letter to the commission, RNC Chair Ronna Mcdaniel voiced frustration with the CPD’S response to a long list of complaints, including concerns about its selection of moderators, a desire for a debate before early voting starts and a push for changes to the commission’s board.
“The RNC has shared our concerns with the CPD in good faith, carefully documenting why the party and its voters have lost faith in your organization, and we have proposed commonsense reforms that would restore trust in the debates process,” she wrote.
“Accordingly,” she also wrote, “the RNC will initiate the process of amending the Rules of the Republican Party at our upcoming Winter Meeting to prohibit future Republican nominees from participating in Cpd-sponsored debates.” The meeting will take place next month.
The commission said in a statement that it deals with candidates who qualify for participation in its debates.
“The CPD’S plans for 2024 will be based on fairness, neutrality and a firm commitment to help the American public learn about the candidates and the issues,” it said.
It remains unclear what would take the debates’ place if the Republican candidate were to boycott.
RFK killer’s parole denied: California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday rejected releasing Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan from prison.
Newsom rejected a recommendation from a two-person panel of parole commissioners.
Kennedy, the U.S. senator from New York, was shot in 1968 just moments after he claimed victory in California’s pivotal Democratic presidential primary. Five others were wounded during the assassination at a Los Angeles hotel.
Hot year: Earth simmered to the sixth-hottest year on record in 2021, according to several newly released temperature measurements.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a private measuring group released their calculations for last year’s global temperature Thursday.
Six different calculations found 2021 was between the fifth and seventh hottest year since the late 1800s. NASA said 2021 tied with 2018 for sixth-warmest, while NOAA puts last year alone in sixth place.
Scientists say a La Nina — natural cooling of parts of the central Pacific that changes weather patterns globally and brings chilly deep ocean water to the surface — dampened global temperatures just as its flip side, El Nino, boosted them in 2016.
Russia floats deployment: Russia raised the stakes Thursday in its dispute with the West over Ukraine and NATO’S expansion when a top diplomat refused to rule out a military deployment to Cuba and Venezuela if tensions with the United States escalate.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said he could “neither confirm nor exclude” the possibility of Russia sending military assets to Latin America if the U.S. and its allies don’t curtail their military activities on Russia’s doorstep.
“It all depends on the action by our U.S. counterparts,” the minister said in an interview with Russian television network RTVI, citing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning that Moscow could take unspecified “military-technical measures” if the U.S. and its allies fail to heed its demands.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan dismissed the statements about a possible Russian deployment as “bluster in the public commentary.”
Ivermectin lawsuit: Four inmates at a northwest Arkansas jail sued the facility and its doctor Thursday after they said they were unknowingly prescribed ivermectin to treat COVID-19.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of the detainees against the Washington County jail, Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder and Dr. Robert Karas. Helder in August revealed that ivermectin had been prescribed to inmates to treat their COVID-19.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin for use by people and animals for some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions. The FDA has not approved its use in treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans.
The inmates said they were never told ivermectin was among the medications they had been given to treat their COVID-19, and instead were told they were being given vitamins, antibiotics or steroids.
The inmates suffered side effects from taking the drug including vision issues, diarrhea and stomach cramps, according to the lawsuit.
Shipwreck anniversary:
Fog horns wailed and church bells tolled Thursday as Italy honored the 32 victims of the Costa Concordia shipwreck on the 10th anniversary of the disaster, with a commemoration that recalled the moment the cruise ship struck a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio.
Some of the 4,200 survivors attended the events, which began with a noontime Mass and ended with a candlelit procession to Giglio’s dock at 9:45 p.m. local time — the moment the Concordia hit the rocks that sliced a 230-foot gash in its hull.
The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is serving a 16-year prison sentence for manslaughter and other charges for having ordered the crew to steer the ship off course as part of a stunt.
Rapper investigated: Police are investigating after a battery report was filed Thursday against Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
The incident that spurred the complaint took place in downtown Los Angeles at about 3 a.m. Thursday, LAPD spokeswoman Redina Puentes said.
No arrests have been made.
An email seeking comment from a representative for Ye, the 44-year-old rapper, producer and fashion designer who legally changed his name last year, was not immediately returned.