Latest news with #Cassel
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Full List of Democratic Leaders Who've Left the Party Since 2024 Election
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. With news of Karine Jean-Pierre's departure from the Democratic Party making waves, the former White House press secretary joins a growing list of high-profile Democrats distancing themselves from the party in the wake of the 2024 election. Newsweek has reached out to several political scientists and historians for comment via email on Thursday. Why It Matters Last November marked a pivotal election in the United States, with Donald Trump returning to the White House after winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College. The scale of the Republican Party's triumph in November—taking the White House, flipping the Senate, and maintaining control of the House—has sparked widespread soul-searching within the Democratic Party over what went wrong and how to rebuild. Democratic leaders have come under criticism from within, some for pushing the party too far left, and others for appearing too conciliatory toward Trump, and a number who have felt disillusioned with its agenda have left the party entirely to either identify as independent or as a Republican. Democrats Who've Left The Party Jean-Pierre, once a staunch defender of the Democratic Party and then-President Joe Biden, announced she has left the party to become an independent. The move coincides with the upcoming release of her book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, which is set for release in the fall. Others have already left the Democratic party, including a number of state-level lawmakers. Kentucky State Senator Robin Webb While some Democrats have switched to become independent, Webb flipped parties, now identifying as a Republican, which is relatively rare in American politics. She was the last Democrat representing Eastern Kentucky in the state Senate. "While it's cliché, it's true: I didn't leave the party—the party left me," Webb said in the statement. "The Kentucky Democratic Party has increasingly alienated lifelong rural Democrats like myself by failing to support the issues that matter most to rural Kentuckians." She wrote that she no longer felt the party represented her values amid a "lurch to the left" and a "hyperfocus on policies that hurt workforce and economic development" in the region, which is known for its coal industry. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva Florida State Representative Hillary Cassel In December, Cassel framed her decision to become a Republican around several key themes. She emphasized her roles as both a mother and a Jewish woman, expressing desire to "build a world where our children are judged on their character and their actions not their labels." Cassel specifically cited growing concerns about the Democratic Party's stance on Israel, pointing to what she described as its "failure to unequivocally support Israel and its willingness to tolerate extreme progressive voices that justify or condone acts of terrorism." She also highlighted frustration with the party's ability to "relate to everyday Floridians." Florida State Representative Susan Valdés Nearly a month after the November election, Valdés announced her decision to flip from being a Democrat to a Republican. In her statement noting her departure, she noted that she prefers to follow the agenda that Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez has laid out, which she says focuses on "empowering House members to work on real problems facing our communities." She added that she is "tired of being the party of protesting when I got into politics to be part of the party of progress." Florida State Senator Jason Pizzo In April, Pizzo, who was then the Senate Minority leader, said on the floor of the Florida Senate that the "Democratic Party in Florida" was "dead," criticizing modern partisanship as "a mess" and calling for practical leadership over politics. "Stripping myself of the title of a party designation allows me to run free and clear, clean and transparent," he said, a nod to his rumored 2026 gubernatorial ambitions. He is currently nonaffiliated. Democratic National Committee fundraiser Lindy Li "It's like leaving a cult," Li said in December, explaining that she was ostracized for questioning then-Vice President Kamala Harris's political ambitions and Biden's leadership abilities. Li was part of the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) finance committee and has been critical of her party since Harris' election loss, calling it a "$1 billion disaster." Even ahead of the 2024 election, some Democrats have signaled frustration and disillusionment with the party, with Senator Joe Manchin notably leaving the party to identify as an independent. Others, like State Representative Shawn Thierry, switched parties after losing her Democratic primary. However, on the flip side, this week, former Republican Congressman David Jolly announced his Florida gubernatorial run as a Democrat. What People Are Saying Professor Michael Kazin, an expert on U.S. politics and social movements in Georgetown University's history department, told Newsweek in an email Thursday: "In the past, politicians switched parties either when they felt their old party no longer represented their views (examples include Charlie Crist in FL, Wayne Morse in Oregon, and Ronald Reagan) or when they thought they had a better chance to win a primary or general election as the candidate of the other partisan battle-lines are pretty rigid, and it's become perilous for a politician to cross them." U.S. Representative James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, on X, formerly Twitter: "Congratulations to my dear friend Sen Robin Webb for switching parties. Like so many good honest people with common sense who work hard and pay taxes, the Democrat party has abandoned them. Robin will make an excellent addition to our great Kentucky State Senate Majority!" Then-president-elect Donald Trump said on Truth Social in December: "Congratulations to Hillary Cassel for becoming the second State Representative from the Great State of Florida to switch her Party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, once more expanding the GOP Supermajority in the State House! I would further like to invite other Disillusioned Democrats to switch Parties, and join us on this noble quest to Save our Country and, Make America Great Again - GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. THANK YOU HILLARY!" What Happens Next Some of the former Democrat lawmakers who have changed their party affiliations are up for reelection in 2026.
Boston Globe
22-05-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Andrew Cassell, daring sailor who won paralympic gold and set up foundation to help others do the same, dies
Soon enough, he was racing a secondhand Albacore dinghy that his grandmother bought him. And at 18, Mr. Cassel won a national dinghy-sailing championship. He went on to become a skilled competitor in national and international races in various classes, including keelboats and yachts. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In August 1979, at the age of 37, he helmed a crew of six in the Fastnet Race, a roughly 700-mile yachting competition from southern England to Ireland and back, named for the Fastnet Rock, a rugged Irish islet in the middle of the course. Advertisement They set out in sunshine, but it wouldn't last. A severe windstorm killed 15 sailors in what is now considered the deadliest race in modern yachting history. During those perilous hours, Mr. Cassell discovered that his youthful sailing experience -- the hardship of learning to sail without legs and the subtleties of piloting a rustic dinghy -- had prepared him to survive. Advertisement After steering his boat to safety, he went on to lead the first crew to win a Paralympic gold medal in sailing. He later established a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping disabled sailors compete in races open to everyone. Mr. Cassell died March 18 at the age of 82, in a hospital on the Isle of Wight. The cause was sepsis following heart surgery, Matt Grier, director of the Andrew Cassell Foundation, said. It was about two days into the Fastnet Race when a fog descended, Mr. Cassell recalled in a 2018 post on his foundation's website. The wind picked up, eventually reaching over 55 knots, and the waves soared to 60 feet high. The boat's engine and radio malfunctioned, and a critical piece connecting the mast to the boom broke. Mr. Cassell's crew took down the mainsail to prevent the boat from capsizing. One man suggested that they head into the wind. Mr. Cassell objected, saying their rudder would be ripped off. They tried going downwind but then shot forward so fast that Mr. Cassell warned the boat was about to go under a wave and 'disappear forever.' Then he had an idea. He remembered a technique he had learned while sailing a dinghy: Frequently recalibrating the direction of a vessel at fine angles enabled smoother sailing. Trying that now, however, would require the finesse of handling his 30-foot sailboat as if it were just 6 feet long. For hours throughout the night, without stopping to sleep, and rejecting a tow from a lifeboat -- 'they told us that we were mad, rather more strongly than that,' Mr. Cassell remembered -- he steered the boat as he would have a dinghy, while his crew stayed below deck. His upper-body strength, gained from decades of moving around on crutches with prosthetic legs, was a matter of some lore; he was able to haul himself, hand grip by hand grip, up a mast to retrieve a rope. Advertisement More than 24 hours after the storm began, Mr. Cassell skippered his boat into port at the coastal Irish village of Dunmore East. Local residents were waiting and broke into applause. Andrew Cassell was born July 14, 1942, in East Sussex, England. His father, Clarence Cassell, was a farmer who moved the family to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, where he had found work as an estate manager. His mother, Dulcie (Bull) Cassell, was a pianist. At 14, Andy Cassell left school to work as an apprentice at Ratsey & Lapthorn, a sail-making company, where he remained employed for the rest of his career. In the 1990s, he was persuaded to join sailing races for people with disabilities. His crowning achievement came in the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games, where sailing was a trial event. Mr. Cassell won the gold and with it, growing acclaim. Local papers called him the 'disabled yachting hero.' Propelled by his Paralympic victory, Mr. Cassell created a foundation with the goal of training disabled sailors to compete with everyone else on a 'level playing field.' Ian Wyllie, one of those sailors, had severely injured his spine during training with the British navy. Until he took up competitive sailing, he thought he had lost the chance at a life on the sea. But thanks to the Cassell Foundation, he said, he discovered that he could zip around a boat wearing his leg braces, by sliding, gripping rails and other handholds, and relying on his savvy and strength. Advertisement 'I owe him, and the foundation he began, my second go at life,' he wrote in a memorial for Mr. Cassell. Mr. Cassell's first marriage, to Chris Wimball, ended in divorce. He leaves his second wife, Sue Burgess, whom he married in 2001; a daughter from his first marriage, Zoe Barnes; three stepdaughters, Debbie Heryet, Vicki Lachlan, and Lucie Banks; and several grandchildren and step-grandchildren. Another sailor mentored by Mr. Cassell, Duncan Byatt, recalled that before they sailed together for the first time, Mr. Cassell mentioned that he had just broken his leg. Concerned, Byatt asked how long it would take to heal. 'Oh, don't worry,' Mr. Cassell said. 'I'll get a new one in the post on Monday.' This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Omaha Bryan students press Nebraska Supreme Court justice for answers
From Left to right, students Kameron Lloyd, Gabriela Moran-Zinzun, Andrea Chaparro and teacher Nick Clawson at Bryan High School. The teens are part of the MLK Living the Dream Team, which followed up an April meeting with the seven-member Nebraska Supreme Court, on the Bears' home turf, with a letter seeking to settle unease they felt. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner) OMAHA — The group of Bryan High Bears left the auditorium feeling honored. Some had a newfound enthusiasm for the art of legal sparring, as their high school had just hosted a rare event featuring the highest judges in the state: the Nebraska Supreme Court. Still, something hadn't sat well with members of the school's MLK Living the Dream Team club, which was part of the larger student group of about 60 that participated in the event. Team members, noting they come from backgrounds disproportionately hurt by some Trump administration policies, said they felt dismissed at times by the justices and cited a response Justice William Cassel gave to a student's question regarding increased conflict between the president and the courts. The question: Do you think we are in a constitutional crisis? 'Your expression seemed amused as if it were a silly question,' the MLK dream team subsequently wrote in a letter to Cassel that they said reflected a larger frustration beyond him. 'To be fair, you did technically answer the question when you said, 'We're not even close,' but we would like for you to explain how you came to that conclusion.' While team members topped off their recent letter with appreciation for the 'once in a lifetime experience' the Court's April visit offered, they spent much of the two-page missive diving into recent deportations and executive orders they said raise 'serious concerns about the safety and future of millions of first-generation kids from our community and beyond.' Cassel promptly wrote back. In a three-paragraph reply, he encouraged the students to advocate for what they believe is right, but declined to 'engage in a public debate regarding current affairs.' A high court justice since 2012 and appointed by a Republican governor, Cassel wrote that it was not inconceivable that a case related to issues identified by the students could come before him and that it would be inappropriate to 'form or express views' on the events they discussed. Said Cassel: 'I encourage you, as students, to continue to inform yourselves as these issues unfold, to seek out the lessons of history, to consider carefully the views expressed on all sides of controversial issues, to reach your own informed opinions and to advocate for what you believe is just and right.' The exchange may be uncommon in the nine or so years that the state Supreme Court, on a few occasions each year, has taken its official business on the road. As they did at Bryan in April, the justices hear oral arguments at a select few high schools and at least one university annually and afterward answer questions from students. The idea, said State Court Administrator Corey Steel, is to showcase the court system and judicial branch — and from what he has witnessed, most students who follow up have done so with a thank-you note. But these are different times, as noted by the Bryan MLK dream team members. The group's letter said that days after the Nebraska justices visited their school, the Trump administration 'blatantly disregarded a clearcut 9-0 Supreme Court ruling pertaining to the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.' 'This has never happened before in the history of the United States,' wrote the team, whose half-dozen members meet weekly to talk about social justice issues and prepare for an annual speech and essay contest held on the January holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Students said they enjoyed hearing the state justices during the April traveling court session. They were thankful for their insight but had hoped their own voices would be 'heard and validated' by their state's top legal minds. They asked Cassel to please elaborate on his stance. The justices did not elaborate, either, when the Examiner sought a response to the letter. Judges in general are cautious with public comments, given judicial codes of conduct that discourage statements that could affect the outcome or impair the fairness of an impending case or court matter. In the end, the Supreme Court visit appears to have succeeded in achieving an intended goal of the traveling court events, as stated by Steel: 'raise interest in the process and spark some students to look at getting involved in the legal field in Nebraska.' Nebraska Supremes take show on road, hold court at Omaha high school He points out that the number of lawyers has been declining in rural parts of Nebraska, where the Supreme Court also tries to meet once a year to interact with high school students and allow them front-row seats to court activities. At Bryan, which is part of the more urban Omaha Public Schools district, junior Gabriela Moran-Zinzun noted the lack of racial and ethnic diversity she saw on the state's seven-member Supreme Court — and said she plans to pursue a law degree. Andrea Chaparro, also 16 and of Hispanic heritage, said she is pulled to journalism and political science. Both asked questions of the justices during a student-focused Q-and-A session that followed arguments on an official case the students watched play out in their school auditorium. They and classmate Kameron Lloyd, all members of the MLK club, were part of that larger Bryan audience that also included history and government classes. The club members said they decided to write the letter after mulling some emotions stirred by the Court's visit. Lloyd, 17, reflected on a national day of protest recently when many immigrants and their allies, in reaction to federal immigration policies, did not report to work or school. He said some schoolmates doubted the protest would have any impact and said he sensed a fear to speak out. 'I'm hoping this letter will inspire them to do otherwise,' Lloyd said. 'Their voices do have power.' Around the same time, the Trump administration moved to cancel visas for a wave of foreign-born students studying in the U.S., including three at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Many of the visas have since been restored, including those at UNL, but threat remains as the government has started work on a new system for review and termination. Lloyd said that while the May 2 MLK letter was built on one justice's response to one question, the dream team's concerns are bigger than the letter, their club or the high court. The MLK team members wrote from a perspective of a high school that is predominately Latino. They spoke of the right to 'due process' and trauma many have witnessed in their community. 'While you might not have a direct personal connection to these realities, we would still urge you to make the attempt to empathize with immigrant communities who are living in a state of fear, due in large part to what we view to be an obvious series of constitutional crises,' their letter said. Chaparro said pressure and fear have kept many older generations of immigrants quiet, and that motivates her to ask more questions, seek information and respectfully question authority. 'It starts to spark something that we need to speak out,' she said, 'and that it's not something we should be afraid of.' Said Moran-Zinzun: 'There's always been kind of like a dark cloud around us, the idea that we in our community can't really trust the government or law enforcement. That's why it's so important for us as the youth to be able to know what's going on … to create a connection between us and the government.' The club's letter cited recent deportations of foreign-born people from the U.S. and Trump executive orders, including one designed to alter birthright citizenship. It said such actions had many questioning the legality of certain administration edicts and actions. The students wrote that Garcia, for example, was in the country with U.S. permission, given temporary protected status after a judge determined he'd face danger returning to El Salvador. They said like anyone on U.S. soil, he should have had the right to a fair and speedy trial. It starts to spark something that we need to speak out — and that it's not something we should be afraid of. – Andrea Chaparro, Bryan High student The Trump administration has said its actions are justified by labeling Garcia a foreign terrorist, security threat and member of the MS-13 gang. The students said the case against the father of three children married to an American citizen and with no criminal conviction in the U.S. was built largely upon 'a hoodie and a Chicago Bulls hat.' 'Deporting Abrego Garcia sets a dangerous precedent that would potentially make any Latino person wearing a Bulls hat into a target for being profiled and deported at any time,' the letter said. During the Nebraska Supreme Court's April visit to Bryan, Cassel stepped up to offer thoughts when a student asked the entire court whether the nation was in a constitutional crisis. Cassel suggested at the time that students google President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'court-packing plan,' and said: 'We aren't even close.' During the event, other students walked up to a microphone and queried the Court on various matters, including on whether the justices feared for their jobs, given that the president called for the removal of a judge who had ruled against his deportation plans. Chief Justice Jeffrey Funke at that point delved into the differences between Nebraska's method of appointing and removing judges versus that of the federal government. He'd later tell a reporter that road trips such as the one to Bryan help justices reset, and positions them to hear from Nebraskans in the 'every day world.' MLK club members Moran-Zinzun, Chaparro and Lloyd said in a recent interview that they remain honored their school was selected to host the Supreme Court session. They said they learned and appreciated that justices took time for questions and photos afterward. 'I think the reason we felt comfortable sending the letter is because they made the first move to come and took the initiative to come to our school and to try to build a connection between students and the Supreme Court,' said Moran-Zinzun. Lloyd said he felt the original question posed to justices remained unanswered. But students were happy Cassel took time to reply to the club's letter. 'Just an overall response made us feel seen, and that writing the letter made a point,' said Chaparro. Nick Clawson, the Bryan teacher and sponsor of the MLK club, said he was proud of the students, for facing the often 'scary situation' of public speaking at the initial Supreme Court event and for having courage to go a step further by sharing their feelings in the letter. 'This is what civil discourse looks like,' he said, noting the Court's stated purpose to inspire students. 'To truly spark interest sometimes involves tension and even conflict, and that's something that MLK himself often did.' Of the club, he said: 'They're truly living MLK's dream through this by being a voice for the voiceless.' Cassell Letter 20250502 BryanHighMLKTeamResponse (2) SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
AU Financial Review
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- AU Financial Review
How an Aussie nabbed Wicked star Cynthia Erivo before she was famous
After delivering backers big returns on London and New York productions of The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Michael Cassel will tap investors to take a second Sydney Theatre Company show global – with another star whose fame has rocketed since he contracted them. Melbourne-based Cassel will produce Bram Stoker's Dracula, featuring Wicked star Cynthia Erivo in all 23 roles, at the West End's Noel Coward Theatre from next February.
The Age
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Cynthia Erivo to play Dracula and 22 supporting roles in West End debut of STC show
Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo will return to the stage for the first time in nearly a decade, taking on the roles of Dracula, Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker and 20 other Bram Stoker characters in Dracula on the West End. Originally directed and adapted by Kip Williams for the Sydney Theatre Company (where it premiered in 2024 and starred Zahra Newman), Dracula is co-produced by the Michael Cassel Group and will make its international debut in February 2026. Williams and Cassel are the Australian creators of the West End and Broadway hit The Picture of Dorian Gray, starring Sarah Snook, which won two Olivier Awards last year and this month received six Tony award nominations. The pair will be looking to recreate the success of that show, in which Snook plays all 26 roles, with Erivo. 'If you look at the landscape of the West End, you need a star-driven vehicle, which is what led us to Sarah for Dorian and Cynthia for Dracula,' says Cassel. 'I went and saw Dracula in Sydney, and at the end of it I knew it had commercial appeal, and the only name in my head was Cynthia Erivo.' A Tony, Emmy and Grammy award winner, Erivo was last on stage in 2016's The Colour Purple (for which she won a Tony award). But it was her role as Elphaba in 2024's Wicked, alongside Ariana Grande, that catapulted her to a new level of stardom with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. 'We approached Cynthia before Wicked came out, and she was the only person we approached,' says Cassel. 'So we were watching Wicked become this huge deal with a mix of excitement and fear.' Following the announcement, Erivo said: 'Returning to the stage feels like a homecoming, one that I've been craving for a long time. From the moment I was asked, I could not get the role out of my mind. 'Kip's vision is thrilling, terrifying and deeply resonant. This show will ask everything of me — and I'm ready to give it.'
