Sputtering Iran-US Talks Revive Specter of Israeli Solo Strike
A US media outlet reports that Israel may be poised to strike Iran's nuclear sites and oil markets wince. In Washington, a Republican administration wonders if Tehran is more determined or deterred.
So it was in 2005, when US Vice President Dick Cheney mused that 'the Israelis might well decide to act first, and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards.'
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Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen resigns to take job with conservative nonprofit
Colorado Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Monument Republican, listens to opening day proceedings on the first day of the 2025 session of the Colorado Legislature on Jan. 8, 2025, at the Colorado Capitol. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline) Senate Minority Paul Lundeen announced Monday that he is resigning from the Legislature to join the leadership of a conservative nonprofit. His resignation is effective immediately. 'Serving Colorado has been an honor and blessing,' the Monument Republican said in a statement. 'I am grateful to the people of Senate District 9 for the opportunity to fight for policies that empower individuals, protect our communities, and promote prosperity. As I transition to a national platform, I am eager to continue advocating for personal freedom, economic opportunity, and common-sense conservative values.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He will lead the American Excellence Foundation, an organization that awards grants to advance conservative public policy. Lundeen served as a state representative from 2015 to 2018 and as a senator since 2019. He is term-limited and could not seek re-election in 2026. Before his time in the Legislature, he served on the State Board of Education, including as chair for two years. He worked on an array of education-related policies while in office. The Senate Republican caucus will meet on Thursday evening to select a new minority leader. A vacancy committee of Republicans from Senate District 9 will also need to meet to select a replacement for Lundeen. In a statement, Gov. Jared Polis thanked Lundeen for his public service. 'Paul has always found ways to work across the aisle, and do what is best for the people he has served,' the Democrat wrote. 'We've often found common ground on the issues that matter most to Coloradans, like education, public safety and growing our economy. Senator Lundeen has spent decades in public service, in addition to his time leading small businesses, and his presence and leadership will be missed at the Capitol.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
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Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip to face new murder trial but without death penalty
Oklahoma's top prosecutor said Monday that the state intends to pursue a new murder trial against Richard Glossip but without the death penalty after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated his capital conviction in a rare victory for a death row prisoner. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond's decision to retry Glossip, 62, on a first-degree murder charge came out of a status conference hearing. Drummond said in a news release that the evidence still implicates Glossip in the 1997 murder of Oklahoma City motel owner Barry Van Treese. Glossip, a motel manager working for Van Treese, has maintained his innocence while on death row for almost three decades. While Drummond, a Republican, has not agreed with Glossip's innocence claims, he was supportive of the Supreme Court's ruling in February, when the majority of justices agreed, as Drummond put it, that "it is now an undeniable fact that he did not receive a fair trial." Drummond said Monday that he would ensure Glossip now receives an impartial trial. "While it was clear to me and to the U.S. Supreme Court that Mr. Glossip did not receive a fair trial, I have never proclaimed his innocence," Drummond said in a statement. "After the high court remanded the matter back to district court, my office thoroughly reviewed the merits of the case against Richard Glossip and concluded that sufficient evidence exists to secure a murder conviction." Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna, a Democrat, had previously indicated that Glossip would not be eligible for the death penalty now if he were to be retried. Drummond said he would seek a life sentence for Glossip at his next trial. "While I cannot go back 25 years and handle the case in the proper way that would have ensured true justice, I still have a duty to seek the justice that is available today," he added. The continuation of the state's prosecution against Glossip resumes a twisting case that saw him dodge death several times with nine separate execution dates that had to be postponed. Various courts delayed the executions as he appealed, while state corrections officials also came under scrutiny a decade ago for botched execution attempts. But Glossip's case had been championed in recent years by a bipartisan group of Oklahoma legislators after an independent report they commissioned in 2022 found that "no reasonable jury hearing the complete record would convict Glossip of first-degree murder." The report centered on the state's primary witness, Justin Sneed, who had confirmed to the report's investigators that he had discussions with multiple family members about "recanting" his testimony over an 11-year period. Investigators also said the district attorney's case file included documentation describing how the state provided Sneed information "so he could conform his testimony to match the evidence" from other witnesses. Glossip's original 1998 conviction was overturned in 2001, when a state appeals court found that the evidence against him was weak. But the state took him to trial again, and a second jury found him guilty in 2004. At Glossip's trial, Sneed, a motel handyman, admitted that he had killed Van Treese, but said that it was at Glossip's direction and that he had been promised $10,000. In exchange for testifying against Glossip, Sneed received a life sentence while Glossip was given the death penalty. Prosecutors said Glossip orchestrated the plot because he was embezzling from the motel and feared being fired. The Supreme Court on Monday tossed out Glossip's capital conviction in a 5-3 ruling. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate, presumably because he was involved in the case when he was on a federal appeals court that includes Oklahoma. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the majority's ruling that prosecutors "knew Sneed's statements were false" and that "because Sneed's testimony was the only direct evidence of Glossip's guilt of capital murder, the jury's assessment of Sneed's credibility was necessarily determinative here." "Hence, there is a reasonable likelihood that correcting Sneed's testimony would have affected the judgment of the jury," she added. After the Supreme Court's decision, Glossip was moved off death row, but was held without bail in the Oklahoma County Detention Center on a first-degree murder charge. A next court date in Glossip's case is scheduled for June 17. Glossip's attorney, Don Knight, did not immediately comment about the prosecutors' decision, but he welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling in February that spared his longtime client from the death chamber. "He had nine execution dates, three last meals, and obviously, to finally get relief has been huge for him," Knight said, "and he's thrilled beyond words." This article was originally published on
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Trump cancels $87 million grant for planned low-carbon cement plant in Holyoke
HOLYOKE — President Donald Trump's administration recently canceled an $87 million grant issued to Sublime Systems, whose low-carbon cement manufacturing plant is scheduled to open in Holyoke in 2027. Sublime has technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to make cement using electricity, a process designed to cut down the amount of carbon released by a traditionally emission-heavy process. It planned to employ 70 to 90 people with production expected to begin in 2027 or 2028. It already secured and cleared a 16-acre site in Holyoke's industrial flats area. Sublime chose the area, in part, because of Holyoke's hydropower, which is a successor to the 19th century turbines that made Holyoke famous as the 'Paper City.' Sublime is still seeking financing despite the loss of federal money. 'All our meetings with the Sublime team indicate this project is moving forward,' said Aaron Vega, head of planning and economic development for Holyoke. 'We do not yet have site plans submitted for review, but the city has had pre-application meetings with their design team and are working through the issues and opportunities at their location.' U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said the Trump administration terminated $3.7 billion in grants issued by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy. That includes the Holyoke grant. 'The Trump Administration's decision to kill critical clean energy projects is deeply irresponsible and is a betrayal of American innovation, workers, and the fight against climate change,' Neal said in a statement Monday. 'Scrapping funding for projects for innovators like Sublime Systems in Holyoke undercuts years of progress in decarbonizing heavy industry, and it jeopardizes good-paying jobs and economic development in communities that need it most.' The funding came through the Inflation Reduction Act, which was written in the House Ways and Means Committee that Neal chaired at the time. 'I can say unequivocally that this was not the intention of the bill; it was designed to accelerate the clean energy transition through innovation, not stall it,' Neal said. 'This isn't just about climate — it's about global competitiveness and leadership. Calling the move to shortsighted, Neal's statement called on the Trump administration to reinstate the grant. Sublime already had a deal to sell 623,000 tons of cement products to Microsoft over six to nine years. Previously, Neal said he expected the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act to survive because many of the projects are in Republican-leaning southern states where GOP congress members would fight for them. In January, Joe Hicken, Sublime's vice president of business development and policy, said he would be surprised if the incoming adminstration canceled the 'investments in clean American manufacturing,' because the United States imports millions of tons of cement. Springfield Pride headliner Dawn Richard told 'Diddy' jurors of threats, violence, abuse Breeze Airways adds new flights from Bradley to NC Western New England University names interim president Read the original article on MassLive.
