South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Texas Democrats continue holdout, spurn new session
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Democrats still refused to return to the state Capitol on Saturday as Gov. Greg Abbott began a third attempt at passing new election laws, prolonging a monthslong standoff that ramped up in July when dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left the state and hunkered down in Washington, D.C.
“A quorum is not present,” said Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan, who then adjourned the chamber until Monday.
More than 50 Democrats last month bolted to the nation’s capital, but the precise whereabouts of each of them is unclear. In a joint statement Saturday, Democrats said 26 of them would remain “part of an active presence in Washington maintained for as long as Congress is working.”
But there were also signs the stalemate may be thawing. Two of the Democrats who decamped last month returned to Austin on Saturday, and one of them said enough of his colleagues may also begin trickling back to secure a quorum this week. And, notably, Republicans did not invoke a procedural move that would give Phelan the authority to sign arrest warrants for missing lawmakers, as they did when the Democrats left town.
Democratic state Rep. Eddie Lucio III said those who might return were feeling the pull of personal and professional demands.
“I was encouraged that the baton would be carried by my Washington colleagues at the federal level, that there would be sweeping reform nationwide,” Lucio III said.
Republican state. Rep. Jim Murphy, chairman of the House Republican Caucus, also believed that more Democrats would come back in the coming days.
“People are talking to their friends, and we think we’re going to see quite a few more,” he said.
It was not just Democrats who were absent Saturday: Six Republicans were also out, including one who recently tested positive for COVID-19.
California recall election: The California Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday not to endorse any candidate in the looming recall election that could remove Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom from office, sidestepping a potentially nasty fight over a GOP favorite that threatened to divide Republicans and depress turnout in the nationally watched race.
The lopsided vote to skip an endorsement — supported by about 90% of delegates attending at a virtual party meeting — reflected concerns that an internal feud among candidates and their supporters would cleave party ranks and sour Republicans who wouldn’t bother to vote if their candidate of choice was snubbed.
In an email, two of the state party’s most powerful figures — Republican National Committee members Harmeet Dhillon and Shawn Steel — warned Friday that “we cannot afford to discourage voters who are passionate about a particular candidate, yet may not vote because their favored candidate didn’t receive the endorsement.”
There are 24 Republicans on the recall ballot.
Hezbollah warning: The leader of the militant Hezbollah group said Saturday his group will retaliate against any future Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, a day after his supporters fired a barrage of rockets toward Israel.
Hassan Nasrallah said it would be wrong to assume Hezbollah would be constrained by internal divisions in Lebanon, or the country’s harsh economic crisis.
Nasrallah’s comments came a day after his group fired rockets toward Israel, calling it retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon a day earlier.
Thursday’s airstrikes — the first in years — were in response to mysterious rockets that were fired from Lebanon toward Israel on Wednesday.
British lockdown: A British scientist who gained prominence for issuing dire warnings about the spread of COVID-19 said Saturday the U.K. is unlikely to need future lockdowns, although new infections may rise significantly as social interactions increase.
Professor Neil Ferguson, an infectious disease expert at Imperial College London, told The Times of London that Britain is likely to move to a situation where the disease can be managed by vaccinations rather than “crisis measures” such as lockdowns.
“I wouldn’t rule it out altogether, but I think it’s unlikely we will need a new lockdown or even social distancing measures of the type we’ve had so far,’’ he said. “The caveat to that is, of course, if the virus changes substantially.”
Data released Friday showed the latest virus surge in the U.K. has eased, with the number of people testing positive for COVID19 falling in most parts of the country. Based on its weekly survey of infection levels, the Office for National Statistics said infection rates appeared to be falling in England, Scotland and Wales, though not in Northern Ireland, with the biggest declines in younger age groups.
Cuomo complaint: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo could face misdemeanor charges if investigators substantiate a criminal complaint accusing the governor of groping an aide last year, the Albany County sheriff said Saturday.
Sheriff Craig Apple promised a “very comprehensive” investigation in partnership the Albany County district attorney’s office, but said it would be premature to commit to a timeline or say whether Cuomo himself will be questioned.
The complaint, filed last week, is the first known instance where a woman has made an official report with a law enforcement agency over alleged misconduct by the Democratic governor.
The aide says Cuomo reached under her shirt and fondled her when they were alone in a room at the Executive Mansion last year.
Cuomo’s lawyer, Rita Glavin, has said the allegation was fabricated.
D.B. Cooper search: Nearly 50 years after skyjacker D.B. Cooper vanished out the back of a Boeing 727 into freezing Northwest rain — wearing a business suit, a parachute and a pack with $200,000 in cash — a crime historian is conducting a dig on the banks of the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, in search of evidence.
KOIN reports that Eric Ulis, a self-described expert on the infamous D.B. Cooper case, began a two-day dig on Friday.
Ulis and four volunteers are searching for evidence about 10 to 15 yards away from where a boy found
$6,000 of Cooper’s ransom money in 1980.
Ulis said his theory is that Cooper buried the parachutes, an attache case and the money at the same time, but dug smaller holes instead of one large one.
The case of Cooper has become infamous, not only in the Pacific Northwest but also in the country.