Brazil's Bolsonaro rejects coup allegations in final court statement
The lawyers argued late Wednesday that no solid evidence had been presented to prove that Bolsonaro acted against Brazil's democratic institutions or incited others to do so, and said the fact that he allowed the presidential transition to proceed contradicts the basic allegation that he plotted to thwart it. 'This is evidence that eliminates the most essential of the accusatory premises,' they said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
43 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Chippewa Cree Tribe sues Montana county, alleging unfair election system
The Chippewa Cree Tribe and two Native American voters filed a lawsuit against Chouteau County and its board of commissioners, alleging the Montana county's election system dilutes the power of Native voters. Chouteau County commissioners serve staggered terms and are elected on an 'at-large' basis, meaning all voters in the county elect commissioners, regardless of the districts they represent. Located in northcentral Montana, Chouteau County overlaps with the Rocky Boy's Reservation and its population is about 16% Native American, according to census data. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit allege the at-large system violates the federal Voting Rights Act by '(depriving) Native American voters of a full and equal opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.' The at-large system, plaintiffs say, 'undermines the tribe's political power.' 'This system allows the white majority in Chouteau County to control the outcome of every commissioner election and prevents Native American voters — who are geographically concentrated in and around the Rocky Boy's Reservation in the northeast portion of the county — from electing candidates of their choice,' the complaint filed Thursday reads. Chouteau County Commissioner Chair Clay Riehl did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. The complaint notes that Montana law requires county commissioners to be elected at-large unless a court orders otherwise. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Great Falls, asks a judge to implement a redistricting plan that includes at least one majority-Native voting district. Tanya Schmockel, a registered voter in Chouteau County and plaintiff in the case, said in a statement that without representation, Native Americans 'remain invisible in decisions that affect every part of our lives.' While tribes are sovereign, state and local governments influence Indian Country. Tribal citizens use county services, like garbage disposal and water systems, and interact with county law enforcement, school systems and other institutions. The lawsuit isn't the first in Montana to challenge the at-large voting system. In 1986, several tribal plaintiffs sued Big Horn County challenging at-large elections for the board of commissioners and school board. The case resulted in the redrawing of school board and county commission district lines. In the following election, Big Horn County voters elected the first Native American to the commission. The Chouteau County lawsuit is the most recent instance of a tribe challenging a Montana election law. In June, a group of tribes in the state alleged that a new election law would disenfranchise Native voters and moved to join a lawsuit challenging it. The group of tribal plaintiffs argued that recent changes to Election Day voter registration disproportionately harm Native Americans in rural and tribal communities. ___ This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Republican Stacy Garrity launches bid to challenge Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in 2026
The Brief Stacy Garrity, Pennsylvania's state treasurer, announced Monday that she would seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in 2026. Garrity has hinted at a run for months and has stepped up criticisms of Shapiro in that time. In a video released Monday, she referred to herself as a 'strong ally' of President Trump. HARRISBURG, Pa. - Stacy Garrity, Pennsylvania's two-term elected state treasurer, said Monday that she will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro 's reelection bid, setting up what could be a contest between a low-profile officeholder and a potential White House contender in 2028. What we know Garrity has hinted at a run for months and stepped up her criticism of Shapiro. In campaign fundraising appeals, she accused Shapiro of being soft on law and order and hostile to her "pro-worker, pro-energy, pro-America agenda." In a video released Monday, she called herself a "strong ally" of President Donald Trump, highlighted her military service and vowed to "fix the problems Josh Shapiro has created." That, she said, includes Pennsylvania's relatively high tax burden and rising grocery prices. Shapiro has returned fire, blasting her for supporting Trump's big tax break and spending cut package. He has suggested that she supported it because she is "desperate" to get Trump's approval and said it would hurt rural hospitals and people who rely on Medicaid, drive up the cost of energy and blow up the federal deficit. In her video, Garrity defended the bill as "requiring able-bodied recipients to work for their benefits and ending benefits for those here illegally." Trump has not made an endorsement in the race. What they're saying Garrity said in a statement that she "will bring jobs back, strengthen our economy and make Pennsylvania more affordable for families in every corner of the state." Some top Pennsylvania Republicans support Garrity in the 2026 race for governor and hope she'll see a clear primary field, although those hopes have been buffeted in recent weeks by 2022's losing gubernatorial candidate, Doug Mastriano, suggesting that he'll run again. Asked about Garrity on Friday, Shapiro said he's going to keep creating jobs, funding schools, keeping police officers on the beat and bringing Republicans and Democrats together, while Republicans "can focus on their political games all they want." Dig deeper Garrity's task of challenging Shapiro is, by any measure, a tall one. Garrity is relatively untested and spent less than $3 million in her two campaigns for treasurer in 2020 and 2024. Shapiro, 52, has won three statewide races, carries a reputation as a disciplined messenger and powerhouse fundraiser who spent more than $70 million alone in his sole campaign for governor, smashing Pennsylvania's campaign finance record. He's grown into a national figure after he made Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' shortlist for vice presidential running mates last year and is viewed as a potential White House contender for the party in 2028. For Republicans, there is more on the line than knocking off Shapiro. They also want a credible candidate at the top of their ticket as they try to bring out enough voters to defend their congressional seats and their majority in the U.S. House. Shapiro is a former state House member, county commissioner and attorney general who has a base of support in his home in Philadelphia's heavily populated suburbs. Garrity, 61, is from rural northern Pennsylvania and came to politics late in life. A trained accountant, Garrity was a longtime executive for a powdered metals supplier in northern Pennsylvania. She was also an Army reservist who retired as a colonel and served in Iraq, where she ran the detention center at Camp Bucca as part of the 800th Military Police Brigade. Since her 2020 upset victory of the incumbent Democratic treasurer, Garrity has been an avid campaigner, speaking at numerous Trump rallies. In 2022, she was perhaps the GOP's most visible surrogate for Mastriano. Shapiro won his 2022 contest by almost 15 percentage points, an election cycle Republicans would rather forget. By all accounts, Shapiro and Garrity have had a professional working relationship and avoided partisan squabbling over official matters. Shapiro even gave Garrity a warm and personal introduction in January before she was sworn in to her second term as treasurer. During her time as treasurer, Pennsylvania has run up big surpluses, buoyed by federal COVID-19 aid and inflation-juiced tax collections. That temporarily took pressure off state finances. However, Pennsylvania is reverting to its status as a perennial deficit state, and Garrity has warned that Shapiro's continued stewardship will force tax increases onto residents. As treasurer, Garrity kept several top Democratic staffers on board, expanded the ways in which the department can return unclaimed property and increased the department's investments in Israel bonds. The Source This article contains information from Garrity's campaign website. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Opinion - Zohran Mamdani is a political risk Democrats shouldn't take
In a twist of comic irony, New York City — the embodiment of American capitalism — may soon have a democratic socialist mayor in 33 year old Zohran Mamdani. That being said, assuming Mamdani wins November's general election, the joke may be on national Democrats. Put another way, even as a mayoral candidate, by dint of New York City's status and his elevation into a national figure, Mamdani presents severe risks to the Democratic Party on the national stage. And as the party looks to regain even one chamber of Congress next year, there is a very real chance that Mamdani's extreme, socialist policies put the entire party's political fortunes in jeopardy. The first risk is if Mamdani's primary victory portends, or ushers in, a seismic shift for the wider Democratic Party. Coming at a time when Democrats are at a crossroads, Mamdani's win may embolden progressives, sideline moderates and drive the party further to the left. If this is the direction the Democratic Party moves in, they will end up even less politically relevant than they are today. At the same time, Mamdani's views are considerably out of line with what mainstream Democratic views should be — particularly on the economy and public safety. The U.S. is a capitalist nation. Although more can be done to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity and is protected by a social safety net, the U.S. is not a socialist country. And on public safety, Mamdani, a past proponent of 'defund the police,' is pledging to move 'billions of dollars (from the NYPD budget) to a new Department of Community Safety' that emphasizes soft on crime measures, according to New York Post reporting. With Democrats already struggling to overcome perceptions that they can't be trusted to handle the economy or public safety. And given New York City's prominence, Mamdani's policies may quickly become the face of the entire party, a gift to the GOP. The second, and arguably biggest, risk Mamdani poses lies in how he would govern. Mamdani campaigned on endless handouts backed by huge tax increases, replacing police officers with social workers, and Soviet-inspired government-run grocery stores. Whether Mamdani is able to implement any, or all, of these campaign pledges or not, Democrats will find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Either Mamdani is seen as ineffective, and just another Democrat who promised utopia but was unable to actually deliver on his lofty promises. Or, more dangerously, New Yorkers get a firsthand lesson on the dangers of socialism, sparking a considerable backlash against the Democratic Party as a whole. Worse, with New York City being a global center of culture, finance and entertainment, the entire country will witness the damage from Mamdani's policies. When government-run grocery stores show themselves to be a horrendous idea, which the Soviet Union has already shown them to be, Republicans will immediately pounce on this failure to underscore the danger in electing any Democrat. Should crime spike due to a sharp reduction in the number of police officers, Democrats across the country will be branded as soft on crime. Similarly, if excessively high taxes on the city's high-earners cause capital flight, a destruction of the city's tax base and drastically lower the overall quality of life, voters' trust in Democrats to handle the economy will sink, and it's already tremendously low. Finally, there is the issue of how Mamdani will govern the city with the world's largest Jewish population outside of Israel. Due to his history of antisemitic remarks, whether his refusal to condemn 'globalize the intifada' or unwillingness to accept Israel as a Jewish state, vitriol he's never shared for other ethnoreligious states, there are very real concerns that under his leadership, New York City will be even more hostile for Jews. Far from being a local issue, if Mamdani fails to protect New York's Jewish citizens, it will reinforce perceptions that the Democratic Party is rife with antisemitism. To be sure, national Democrats seem to be aware of the risks Mamdani poses. Some moderates, such as Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), have been blunt, saying Mamdani's 'policies do not comport' with Democrats' agenda. Others, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies (D-N.Y.) have taken a softer approach, but still indicate some unease with the socialist who has become the face of the Democratic Party. Speaking to CNBC's 'Squawk Box' on Thursday, Jefferies refused to endorse Mamdani or even say whether he was 'convinced' about Mamdani and the kind of mayor he would be. Asked about Mamdani's policy proposals, Jefferies said, 'Now, he's going to have to demonstrate…that his ideas can actually be put into reality.' Hardly a show of confidence from a party leader. Taken together, the elevation of Mamdani and his extreme views may deepen the animosity and alienation many voters feel when they think about today's Democratic Party. If voters see Mamdani's leadership devastating New York City and come to believe that this is what the Democratic Party has to offer, it stands to reason that Democrats across the country will pay the price, and likely for many election cycles to come. Douglas E. Schoen is a political consultant who served as an adviser to President Clinton and to the 2020 presidential campaign of Michael Bloomberg. He is the author of 'The End of Democracy? Russia and China on the Rise and America in Retreat.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
