Monday morning news: March 4, 2024

Trump presidential primaries » Donald Trump is in pole position on the eve of Super Tuesday when almost 900 delegates will be up for grabs.

Over the weekend, Trump campaigned in North Carolina, one of the 16 states or territories that will vote tomorrow.

TRUMP: Over the past few weeks, we’ve been on a rocket to the Republican nomination. It’s been a rocket. (cheers)

Trump on Saturday won caucuses in Idaho and Missouri bringing his total delegate count to 244. That’s ten times the total of his last remaining GOP rival, Nikki Haley.

Haley Primaries » But Haley maintains that even with the odds stacked against her, she intends to stick it out to give voters an alternative to Trump and President Biden.

HALEY: We want everybody to feel like they had the opportunity to vote for someone and not just against someone.

And Haley told NBC that despite signing a pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee, she no longer feels bound by that pledge. The Republican National Committee required candidates to sign it in order to participate in primary debates.

But she said the RNC now is not the same RNC as it was then.

Border/immigration » The top issue in this year’s election, according to some recent polls, is immigration and border security. Trump and Haley are both well aware of that.

TRUMP: On day-one of my administration, I will terminate every open border policy of the Biden administration.

HALEY: Instead of catch and release, we need to go to catch and deport. That is what will stop what’s happening on the border.

Democrats know it too. Sen. Chris Murphy told ABC’s This Week:

MURPHY: Democrats need to go on the offense on this question of controlling the border.

Democrats charge that Donald Trump sabotaged a bipartisan Senate border bill, because he wanted to preserve the border crisis as a political issue.

But many Republicans, like Congressman Mike Turner, say:

TURNER: The law that came out of the Senate would not have fixed this. In fact, it would have allowed thousands of people to come across the border illegally.

Republicans say the president could address the problem immediately by reinstalling Trump-era policies that he rescinded and by enforcing existing laws.

Supreme Court Trump ballot case » The Supreme Court could decide as soon as today whether states can kick Donald Trump off their presidential ballots. Multiple states have sought to do just that, citing the Constitution’s insurrection clause in connection with the Capitol riot.

During oral arguments last month, even some of the court’s liberal justices appeared doubtful that states have the authority to do that.

Justice Elena Kagan said of the accusations against Trump:

KAGAN: It sounds awfully national to me. So whatever means there are to enforce it would suggest that they have to be federal national means.

Several state court rulings that would bar Trump from the ballots are on hold, pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.

SOUND: [Wind]

Blizzard » Very cold and sometimes violent winds have been battering the Sierra Nevada region for days amid a powerful blizzard in California and Nevada.

A wind gust of 190 miles per hour was recorded at a Tahoe ski resort. And winds were still gusting last night at around 45 miles per hour. And then there’s the snow.

Justin Collins with the National Weather Service:

COLLINS: We’ve been getting reports of up to about 40 inches around lake level - around Tahoe. So it’s quite the impressive storm.

The blizzard has shut down many roads and knocked out power to thousands.

And the forecast calls for even more snow and strong winds into tomorrow and possibly beyond.

Gaza cease-fire talks » Israel has reportedly agreed to the framework for a cease-fire agreement, but Hamas, as of last night, had not.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin:

CARDIN: It gives us an opportunity not only for the release of hostages but to get humanitarian assistance to the innocent people that have been caught in this war.

Vice President Kamala Harris said on Sunday:

HARRIS: Hamas claims it wants a cease-fire. Well, there is a deal on the table. Hamas needs to agree to that deal. Let’s reunite the hostages with their families, and let’s provide immediate relief to the people of Gaza.

Mediators with the governments of the United States, Egypt, and Qatar have been working to broker a deal to pause the fighting before the start of the Muslim Ramadan observance about a week from now.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Social media and free speech. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat.

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