Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.

Haley cedes Republican race to Trump, but does not endorse him

Summary: Following Tuesday’s “Super Tuesday” round of primaries, US Presidential candidate Nikki Haley ended her campaign for the Republican nomination, ceding the position to former-President Trump, but notably declining to endorse him.

Context: Haley’s step away from the race makes an already likely rematch between Trump and President Biden all but certain, and this is newsworthy because Haley won a few races, and Trump’s numbers were lower than polls predicted, suggesting he may need to win over her supporters if he wants to successfully take on Biden this time around; on the other side of the aisle, Biden essentially swept the Democratic primaries, but was tied by a relatively unknown candidate, Jason Palmer, in American Samoa, and his numbers were lower in states where a significant number of progressive voters voted “Uncommitted” in protest of the administration’s support of Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

—The New York Times

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Haitian PM arrives in Puerto Rico after long absence as he struggles to get home to quell violence

Summary: The Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, was in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, following a period of several days in which his location was unknown.

Context: This disappearance raised eyebrows in part because it occurred during the most serious outbreak of violence in the country since former Haitian President Moïse was assassinated in 2021, which is saying something, as gangs have more or less run things since that killing; in recent days, though, a mass escape from Haiti’s two largest prisons and a gunfight with police at the country’s main international airport have escalated things, and the Haitian finance minister has had to fill in for the prime minister during his absence, which raised questions about whether Henry would return any time soon.

—The Associated Press

EU Commission proposes 1.5 billion euro common defense industry package

Summary: On Tuesday, European Union officials unveiled a new set of plans meant to incentivize member states to invest in their militaries, and to buy their military hardware from European businesses.

Context: This is reportedly at least partially a response to the US’s congressional tie-up related to defense dollars for Ukraine, though there have been hints that it might be related to the possibility of a Trump victory in November, too, as Trump has threatened to pull the US from NATO and/or to not defend NATO allies that fail to raise their spending to the alliance’s designated levels; whatever the catalyst, this new set of proposals is being seen as a response to heightened military activity on the continent, to Russia’s increasing belligerence, and to weakened defense infrastructure throughout the bloc, which the EU Commission wants to reinforce so that it’s not reliant on the US coming to its aid in case a member state is attacked.

—Reuters

An increasing number of experts and analysts are raising alarms about aspects of the US economy that are burdened by “technical debt”—older software infrastructure that makes products clunkier and more prone to errors and hacking—which is raising operational costs, but also putting substantial components of that economy at risk.

—The Wall Street Journal

24%

Approximate decrease in iPhone sales, year-over-year, in China, according to a new report.

Overall smartphone sales are also down in the country, but only by about 7%, and this drop has led to a decrease in the company’s share price, but also resurgent optimism about Chinese handset maker, Huawei, following a very rough period.

—Quartz

Trust Click

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