March 4, 2024

Mar 04, 2024

Aid Drops into Gaza

The US military successfully made its first airdrop of humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip over the weekend, with officials saying the cargo included food supplies sufficient for 38,000 meals. United Nations officials have said one-quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million people are on the brink of famine (see definition).

Separately, talks to strike a six-week cease-fire deal appear to be inching forward. An agreement mediated by Egypt and others is said to be close to finished, though Israeli delegates boycotted a weekend meeting after Hamas reportedly failed to provide a list of hostages taken during the initial Oct. 7 attack who remain alive. See updates on the war here.

Oregon Recriminalization

An Oregon bill to reinstate criminal penalties for hard drugs is heading to Gov. Tina Kotek’s (D) desk. HB 4002 will, if signed, upend a 2020 voter initiative to decriminalize possession of small amounts of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs.

The news comes three years after residents voted (58%) to decriminalize hard drugs—the first and only state to do so. Instead, possession was met with a $100 fine or the option to enter treatment. However, drug-related deaths in Oregon have since skyrocketed, on track to surpass 1,250 people last year and up 42% year-over-year in September, compared to a nationwide 2%.

The news in Oregon comes as the popularity of decriminalization wanes (support for undoing the law is around 56%). Meanwhile, a recent poll found 40% of voters in Portland list homelessness as their primary concern.

Supreme Court puts Trump back on Colorado Republican primary ballot

The Supreme Court on Monday tossed out a Colorado court ruling that barred Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s Republican presidential primary ballot.
The ruling mean that no other state can bar Trump, or any other candidate, from a presidential ballot by invoking the insurrection clause in the Constitution. [Read More]

Nearly 4,000 Haitian prison inmates escape

The government of Haiti declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday after armed gangs stormed a major Port-au-Prince prison. At least 12 people were killed and about 3,700 inmates escaped in the jailbreak. [Read More]

Quick Hits

> Solo killer whale observed preying on a juvenile great white shark without any companions; behavior was previously only seen in packs (More, w/video)

>Trader Joe’s chicken soup dumplings recalled for possibly containing permanent marker plastic(More)

>State of Oklahoma is investigating an incident at a high school fundraiser event where kids were licking peanut butter off of other students toes

Today in History

1801 Thomas Jefferson is the first US President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.
1861 Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the 16th US President

1902 American Automobile Association (AAA) founded in Chicago
1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd US President, pledges to pull the US out of the Depression, stating in his inaugural address "that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself".
2009 International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur becoming the first sitting head of state to be indicted