NTD News Today

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley ended her 2024 bid on March 6—but without backing the party’s presumptive nominee, former President Donald Trump. In a brief speech before supporters in Charleston, South Carolina, Ms. Haley said: "I have no regrets. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has endorsed President Trump for the 2024 election, saying that the former president has clearly won the support of Republican voters. The announcement came a day after Super Tuesday, the day with the greatest number of primaries in the presidential election cycle, in which President Trump swept all but one of the GOP races.

In Georgia, a state Senate committee is holding a hearing Wednesday in its probe into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The first witness to testify is Ashleigh Merchant, the defense attorney representing former Trump campaign official Mike Roman in the Georgia RICO case.

Presidential primary voters across 15 states and one U.S. territory are voting for their preferred presidential candidates on Super Tuesday, March 5. NTD has more on what's at stake for the candidates from both parties.

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked enforcement of Texas Senate Bill 4. Signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott last December, the bill allowed Texas law enforcement to arrest and detain immigrants they suspected of entering the country illegally. Monday's decision comes after the Biden administration filed an emergency application with the high court earlier in the day to try to block the law from taking effect.

A United Nations group has found enough “clear and convincing information” to conclude that Hamas terrorists committed sexual violence during the organization's Oct. 7 attack on Israel—and that similar acts are currently being carried out against those still held hostage in Gaza by the terrorist group.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on March 4 that former President Donald Trump cannot be removed from the ballot by individual states—overturning the Colorado Supreme Court decision that found him ineligible as a candidate and disqualified from the state ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The order comes just a day before more than a dozen states are to hold their primary elections.

Seven months into a crackdown by the city of San Diego, many of the homeless encampments that once lined downtown sidewalks are gone. The city ordinance allows police to enforce camping laws at transit hubs, parks, or within two blocks of a school or shelter—regardless of whether beds are available. Now two California State Senators want to replicate that initiative state-wide.

Haiti’s government declared a state of emergency and nighttime curfews late Sunday in an effort to regain control of the streets after an explosion of violence over the weekend saw armed gang members storm the country’s two biggest prisons. The 72-hour state of emergency went into immediate effect as the U.S. embassy urged American citizens to depart as soon as possible.

Former President Donald Trump and special counsel Jack Smith attended a hearing on Mar. 1 related to scheduling in the classified documents criminal case. Both sides proposed different trial start dates to Judge Aileen Cannon, who is weighing the arguments but hasn’t made a final decision yet.

In Trump’s Georgia election case, attorneys will begin closing arguments in the hearing to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Judge Scott McAfee is expected to hear new evidence, including cell phone data analysis submitted by the defense.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's funeral took place at a Moscow church while thousands chanted his name outside. A heavy police presence flanked the small ceremony. Navalny died at age 47 in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16. His allies have accused President Vladimir Putin of having him murdered, which the Kremlin denies.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are making dueling visits to the U.S.–Mexico border in Texas on Thursday. President Trump will head to the town of Eagle Pass, the focal point of a standoff between Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration. On the same day, President Biden will give remarks in Brownsville, about 300 miles away from Eagle Pass. Brownsville has seen a decline in illegal border crossings in recent months. The visits highlight the immigration crisis as a key issue in the 2024 presidential race.

Also in the Lone Star State, the Smokehouse Creek fire has grown to more than one million acres, making it the largest wildfire on record in the state. The fire was only 3 percent contained as of Thursday morning. So far, one death has been reported—an 83-year-old grandmother in the town of Stinnett.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin faced questions from Congress Thursday over the lack of transparency surrounding his hospitalization for prostate cancer treatment. The top Pentagon official said he never intended to keep his hospitalization a secret, but acknowledged he did not handle the situation correctly.

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, testified behind closed doors before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees on Feb. 28. The deposition is part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry of President Biden to determine if he and his family members sold access to his office and political influence while he was vice president.

Republican Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history, will step down from his position in November, according to prepared remarks obtained by the Associated Press. The 82-year-old said he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in Jan. 2027, “albeit from a different seat in the chamber.”

A fast-moving wildfire burning through the Texas Panhandle has grown into the second-largest blaze in state history, forcing evacuations and triggering power outages as firefighters struggle to contain the rapidly spreading flames.

The court hearing on whether to disqualify Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis from the election case against former President Donald Trump is set to resume on Feb. 27. Judge Scott McAfee has ordered key witness Terrence Bradley back to the stand. Mr. Bradley is special prosecutor Nathan Wade's former law partner as well as his divorce attorney.

Michigan is holding its Republican and Democratic presidential primaries on Feb. 27. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. The primary comes after early voting, which lasted from Feb. 17 until Feb. 25. President Trump and President Joe Biden are both expected to secure big wins in their respective contests.

Israel, Hamas, and Qatari mediators all expressed caution about progress toward a cease-fire, after President Biden said he believed a hostage and cease-fire agreement could be reached by next Monday. Negotiators have been working to broker a deal before the start of Ramadan, around March 10—but Qatar said a breakthrough has yet to be reached, though mediators remain optimistic.

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump have formally appealed a New York civil fraud ruling against him and executives of The Trump Organization, in which they were ordered to pay more than $450 million in fines.

Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel has officially announced that she will step down from her role on March 8, just days after Super Tuesday. President Trump has endorsed North Carolina's GOP Chair Michael Whatley to succeed her in the role.

Hungary's parliament has approved Sweden's NATO accession, clearing the last hurdle before the historic step by the Nordic country—and marking the end of Swedish neutrality, which lasted through two world wars and the simmering conflict of the Cold War.

Former President Donald Trump’s Georgia attorneys hired a private investigator to obtain calls between Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis and her special counsel Nathan Wade, finding they allegedly made more than 2,000 calls and sent 12,000 text messages many months before they claimed their relationship started, according to a new court filing. Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade are accused of engaging in an improper romantic relationship from which Willis benefitted financially. President Trump and his co-defendants are seeking to have the DA removed from the election case.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is trailing President Trump in the polls ahead of Saturday’s Republican primary in her home state. The presidential candidate has vowed to stay in the race past Super Tuesday, however. A political science professor in South Carolina said the outcome of the contest will have a big impact on Ms. Haley’s campaign either way.

The Biden administration has unveiled more than 500 new sanctions against Russia and entities supporting its war effort in Ukraine. President Joe Biden said the United States is seeking to hold Moscow accountable for the invasion, which hits the two-year mark on Saturday, as well as the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

A state appeals court on Wednesday declared as unconstitutional a New York City law permitting noncitizen voting in local elections—a victory for election integrity advocates and those opponents of the legislation who mounted the legal challenge.

Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys are asking New York Supreme Court judge Arthur Engoron to delay enforcing the $355-million civil fraud ruling against him for one month. In a letter to the judge yesterday, attorneys accused New York Attorney General Letitia James of rushing to enforce the judgement. Ms. James had threatened to seize President Trump’s New York real estate properties if he couldn’t pay the fine. And in Georgia, the Fulton County Board of Ethics has confirmed it will take up multiple complaints against Trump prosecutor Fani Willis.

An unprecedented expose of Beijing's global spying activities: Leaked documents from a Chinese state-linked spying agency allegedly show China's cyber intrusions against foreign governments and infrastructure. Chinese hackers claimed they have the ability to attack Microsoft, Apple, and Google users, according to The Washington Post.