U.S. and world news for March 19

Ginsburg award: The Opperman Foundation has announced that it is canceling ceremonies to hand out awards named in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The awards were to have been given to Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch. Musk bought Twitter and immediately opened it up to carry hate speech. Murdoch is the right-wing media magnate. A member of Ginsburg’s family objected to the awards going to Musk and Murdoch as a desecration of the justice’s memory and said that Musk and Murdoch are probably the last people whose names would come to mind when taking about creating a more just society.

Judge’s jury instruction: Federal Judge Aileen Cannon who was appointed to the bench by Donald Trump and who is overseeing the case brought against Trump for stealing classified government documents last night said she is considering ordering a jury to find Trump not guilty. In a court document, she told Special Prosecutor Jack Smith and attorneys for Trump to submit their proposed jury instructions that might differ from her instruction that would say the jury needs to find that Trump had every right to decide that the government secrets were his personal property and he could take them when he left the White House.

Navarro to prison: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has refused to side with former Trump White House aid Peter Navarro and delay Navarro having to report to federal prison to begin serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress. Navarro asked that he be allowed to remain free while he appeals his conviction. Roberts let stand the requirement for Navarro to report to federal prison in Miami by 2 p.m. today.

Manafort’s return: Paul Manafort, who was chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, shared campaign information with a Soviet intelligence officer when the Russians were working to help Trump win, and was convicted on federal bank and tax fraud and other charges, has been in talks to help with Trump’s 2024 campaign. Trump has said he wants Manafort working on the campaign. Trump gave him a presidential pardon, freeing him from prison after he served two years of his 7-1/2-year sentence.

Trump bond: Attorneys for Donald Trump have told a New York court that Trump is unable to post the $464 million bond that he’s required to post in the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. They say that at least 30 bond underwriters have turned them down and they have asked that the court postpone requiring that a bond be posted. If they do not post a bond or come up with cash for the court to hold by March 25, the state attorney general can begin seizing Trump’s assets.

Haitian violence: At least a dozen people have been reported killed as gang violence moved into upscale neighborhoods outside of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. Sections of the city were without power following the destruction of four electric substations. Residents from the inner city have fled to the wealthier suburbs but the gang violence has followed. A new government that has been promised in Haiti has yet to be formed.