Ohio Senate candidate Vance asking donors to help pay debts
WASHINGTON — As Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance fell far short of his Democratic opponent Tim Ryan in recent campaign donations, one of the Republican’s chief fundraising vehicles says it prioritizes paying off the campaign’s debt from the May 3 primary he won.
The campaign’s biggest creditor: Vance himself.
He loaned his campaign $700,000 for the primary, Federal Election Commission filings show. And because of a Supreme Court decision in May, in a case brought by Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, Vance and others who loan their campaigns big money have more flexibility to get contributors to pay them back, campaign finance experts said. The court case seems also to have spurred some past candidates, such as former California Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda, to inquire about paying off old loans, filings show.
The Cruz case may have sweeping consequences on the campaign trail, giving wealthy candidates a new advantage, while also stirring up old debts of candidates past and present.
—CQ-Roll Call
Nikole Hannah-Jones shares additional details of settlement with UNC-Chapel Hill
RALEIGH, N.C. — Following reports last week that UNC-Chapel Hill had reached a settlement with journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones over her battle for tenure at the university last year, Hannah-Jones is now providing more details about what is included — aside from money — in the settlement.
The News & Observer confirmed the settlement Friday, speaking with university Board of Trustees Chair David Boliek, who said the settlement was for less than $75,000 and was approved by Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz.
Hannah-Jones commented on the settlement on Twitter for the first time Tuesday morning, saying that while the university had confirmed the dollar amount of the settlement, the settlement “was about much more” than money.
In her tweets, Hannah-Jones described three key initiatives that are included in the settlement, mostly related to improving diversity and supporting people of color at the university. Hannah-Jones said she and her legal team “took these concessions directly from the asks of student and faculty groups and fought very hard for them.”
—The News & Observer
Former Fort Bragg soldier receives one of the harshest sentences tied to Capitol riot
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A former Fort Bragg soldier, who re-enlisted in the Army after attacking police with chemical spray during the riot at the U.S. Capitol, will now serve the longest prison sentence handed down so far against a defendant tied to the massive insurrection case.
On Friday, a federal judge in Washington sentenced both James Mault of Fayetteville and a co-defendant to 44 months in prison plus three years of supervised release.
“They were not patriots on Jan. 6,” Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said during the hearings for Mault, 30, and Cody Mattice, 29, of Greece, New York, according to NBC News. “No one who broke police lines that day were. They were criminals.”
A weeping Mault, formerly of Brockport, New York, near Rochester, took responsibility for his actions but asked for leniency. “Those police officers did not deserve what happened to them,” Mault told the judge before she announced his punishment. “As a soldier ... I should have known better.”
—The Charlotte Observer
Israeli journalist sneaks into Mecca on Saudi trip, causing stir
An Israeli reporter slipped into the Islamic holy city of Mecca during a trip to Saudi Arabia, sparking controversy on social media and illustrating the sensitivities of closer ties between the two countries.
The journalist for Israel’s Channel 13 TV news, Gil Tamary, published a video of himself on a drive through Mecca, despite rules forbidding entry to non-Muslims enforced by a system of checkpoints. He also climbed Mount Arafat, a sacred site where Muslims gather during the hajj pilgrimage. His trip didn’t appear to be authorized or sanctioned by Saudi authorities, and his report was published after he returned to Israel.
Saudi Arabia and Israel have no diplomatic relations, but ties have been gradually improving and several Israeli journalists entered the kingdom using foreign passports during U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit last week.
Coinciding with the visit, Saudi Arabia announced that it would open its airspace for all airlines, including for flights to and from Israel, a move that Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid called a “first official normalization step.” However Saudi officials say that any normalization of ties won’t happen until Israel resolves its conflict with the Palestinians.
—Bloomberg News
