Trump barred from ballot: The Colorado Supreme Court has barred Donald Trump from the Republican Primary ballot in Colorado because he violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The amendment bars people who participated in or supported an insurrection from holding government office. A lower court in Colorado had ruled that Trump did participate in an insurrection but that because the 14th Amendment does not specifically name the president as someone who could be barred Trump could be on the ballot. Colorado’s Supreme Court overturned that part of the lower court’s ruling, while staying the decision until at least Jan. 4. Trump’s lawyers said they’re filing an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Trump studied Hitler: At a campaign rally in Waterloo, Iowa, yesterday, Donald Trump denied having read Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” although he has now several times used language that is in Hitler’s book describing political opponents as “vermin” and immigrants as “poisoning the blood” of the country. However, in a 1992 story appearing in an issue of Vanity Fair that profiled Trump and his first wife Ivana, Trump admitted that he kept a book of Hitler’s speeches in his night stand. In the article, Trump admitted that before going to sleep he often read what Hitler said.
Israel and Hamas negotiate: Cease-fire negotiations in the Israel-Hamas war were underway in Egypt this morning. There are reports that Israel proposed a new cease-fire that would last one week in exchange for more hostage releases by Hamas. It’s believed Hamas still holds 129 people captive. There are reports that Hamas is demanding not only a cease-fire but for Israel to release more Palestinians it holds in prison on terrorism charges.
Children in Gaza: UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told a briefing in Geneva that Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. UNICEF originally was known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. Elder said that without water, sanitation and shelter so-called safe zones in Gaza have become zones of disease. He said that more than 130,000 children two years old or younger are not being fed and are living in unsanitary conditions. He said the number of child deaths due to disease could surpass the number killed as a result of the fighting.
Helicopter crash: A news helicopter operated by television station WPVI-TV in Philadelphia crashed last night in Hammonton, New Jersey, killing the pilot and photographer on board. The TV station said the helicopter had been on an assignment at the Jersey Shore. The helicopter was leased by the TV station from a company in North Carolina. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
IRS penalties: The Internal Revenue Service says it is waiving about $1 billion in penalties for many people and businesses that owe back taxes for tax years 2020 and 2021. The waiver applies to those whose tax bill is less than $100,000. The IRS said that most of the people and entities that will benefit have incomes of less than $400,000 a year. The IRS said that the reason it is taking the action is that during Covid it failed to send out some reminders that taxes had not yet been paid.
Cover photo by Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons
