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Former Bolivian President Evo Morales claims his car was fired upon in attempted assassination
Former President Evo Morales of Bolivia claimed he survived an assassination attempt on Sunday after unidentified men opened fire on his car. He was not injured and there was no immediate confirmation of the attack from authorities.
Morales alleged the shots were fired while he was being driven in Bolivia’s coca leaf-growing region of Chapare, the ex-president’s rural stronghold whose residents have blockaded the country’s main east-west highway for the past two weeks.
The roadblocks — protesting what Morales’ supporters decry as President Luis Arce’s attempts to sabotage his former mentor and bitter political rival — have isolated cities and disrupted food and fuel supplies.
Morales, who led Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, emerged unscathed from the alleged attack Sunday, appearing on his weekly radio show in his usual calm manner to recount what happened.
He told the radio host that as he was leaving home for the radio station, hooded men fired at least 14 shots at his car, wounding his driver.
Morales was quick to blame his successor, President Arce, with whom he is fighting to be the candidate of governing socialist party in next year’s presidential election. He claimed that Arce’s government resorted to physical force having been unable to defeat him politically.
Juan Karita / AP
“Arce is going to go down as the worst president in history,” Morales said. “Shooting a former president is the last straw.”
Officials in Arce’s government did not respond to requests for comment on the incident.
Cellphone video circulating online shows Morales’ driver bleeding from the back of his head. Morales can be seen in the passenger’s seat holding a phone to his ear as the vehicle swerves and a woman’s voice shrieks “Duck!”
The footage shows the car’s front windshield cracked by at least three bullets and its rear windshield shattered. Morales can be heard saying, “Papacho has been shot in the head,” apparently referring to his driver.
“They are shooting at us,” Morales continues on the phone. “They shot the tire of the car and it stopped on the road.”
Morales’ claim deepens political tensions in Bolivia at a volatile moment for the cash-strapped Andean nation of 12 million.
In June, there was an apparent attempted coup by a rogue military general leading a rebellion, where armored vehicles and troops marched to the presidential palace and tried to force their way into the building. The rebellion retreated after Arce confronted the general, bringing the alleged coup attempt to a head, and ordered him to stand down. The general and other senior officers were later arrested.
Then, last month, Morales led a massive march against the government’s mismanagement of the economy that quickly devolved into street clashes with pro-government mobs. Imported goods are scarce and prices are rising. Drivers wait for hours to fill up at gas stations. The gap between the official and black-market exchange rates is widening.
Earlier this month, the feud between Morales and Arce moved to the courts as Bolivian prosecutors launched an investigation into accusations that Morales fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl in 2016, classifying their relationship as statutory rape.
Morales has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated and refused to testify in the case. Since reports surfaced of a possible arrest warrant against him, the ex-president has been holed up in the Chapare region, in central Bolivia, where supportive coca growers have kept vigilant watch to protect him from arrest.
President Arce accuses Morales of trying to undermine his administration to advance his own ambitions.
The Indiana Fever fired coach Christie Sides on Sunday, the organization announced.
Sides went 33-47 in her two seasons with the squad, including going 20-20 this season. The Fever made the playoffs as the sixth seed and were swept in the first round by the Connecticut Sun.
Indiana is the sixth team to make a coaching change this offseason, joining Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles. All of the coaches let go had three years or less experience.
Jessica Hill / AP
Whoever takes over the Fever will have a strong young core to work with, led by Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. The pair have won the last two WNBA Rookie of the Year awards.
“We are incredibly thankful to Coach Sides for embracing the challenge of leading us through an integral transition period over the last two seasons, while also positioning us well for future growth,” Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said.
“While decisions like these are never easy, it is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana. Coach Sides was an incredible representative of the Fever and our community, and we wish her nothing but success in the future.”
Krauskopf came back to the Fever earlier this month after spending time with the Indiana Pacers.
Ashley Landis / AP
Sides was a longtime assistant in the league, spending time with Chicago (2011-16), the Fever (2017-19) and Atlanta (2022) before getting the head coaching job. She replaced Marianne Stanley and her interim successor, Carlos Knox, who coached in the 2022 season.
Sides had two years left on her contract.
The Fever haven’t had a head coach last for more than three years since Lin Dunn, who coached from 2008-14. Since then, they’ve had Stephanie White (2015-16), Pokey Chatman (2017-19) and Stanley (2020-22).
Indiana had a brutal schedule to start the season and lost eight of their first nine games. The Fever finally got going after the Olympic break, winning seven of eight to get into playoff contention.
CBS News
Pennsylvania top election official says that 2020 ligation upheld that “elections were accurate”
Pennsylvania’s top election official said Sunday that the commonwealth’s 2020 elections were “accurate,” while saying Pennsyvlania is “not susceptible to any sort of widespread voter fraud” — and he said officials are preparing with heightened security to combat threats as Election Day draws near.
“Time and time again, in many dozens of cases in 2020, every one of those cases upheld that our elections were accurate and that we’re not susceptible to any sort of widespread voter fraud or anything like that,” Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Al Schmidt said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
The issue of election integrity is top of mind in battleground Pennsylvania, where last week, the Lancaster County district attorney reported incidents of voter registration fraud among a group of around 2,500 ballots. Schmidt said the country reached out to his office “right away” for guidance and is pursuing an investigation “responsibly.” And the top election official said he’s working with counties to provide the resources needed “so that we have a free, fair, safe and secure election in 2024 just as we had in 2020.”
Meanwhile, election officials are combating threats to election workers. Schmidt said in 2020, officials had to “scramble to figure out when threats were incoming,” while outlining the changes put in place since then, including an election threat task force made up of federal, state and local law enforcement partners and election administration. He noted that open lines of communication and clear responsibilities have also made the commonwealth better prepared.
“So that if any of the ugliness returns that we experienced In 2020, everyone will be ready,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt committed to certifying the election results even if the winner is of the opposite political party, as did Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who also appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Fontes said the state’s safety and security protocols surrounding election results tabulation are a stark departure from recent years.
“It’s absolutely, completely different from 2020. In fact, I remember in 2018 our greatest security threat was a rattlesnake in the parking lot at the Pinnacle Peak Precinct,” Fontes said. “So this is a radically different set of circumstances that we are dealing with, but we are prepared, and we’re going to have a secure election.”
CBS News
Pennsylvania top election official says that 2020 ligation upheld that “elections were accurate”
Pennsylvania’s top election official said Sunday that the commonwealth’s 2020 elections were “accurate,” while saying Pennsyvlania is “not susceptible to any sort of widespread voter fraud” — and he said officials are preparing with heightened security to combat threats as Election Day draws near.
“Time and time again, in many dozens of cases in 2020, every one of those cases upheld that our elections were accurate and that we’re not susceptible to any sort of widespread voter fraud or anything like that,” Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Al Schmidt said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
The issue of election integrity is top of mind in battleground Pennsylvania, where last week, the Lancaster County district attorney reported incidents of voter registration fraud among a group of around 2,500 ballots. Schmidt said the country reached out to his office “right away” for guidance and is pursuing an investigation “responsibly.” And the top election official said he’s working with counties to provide the resources needed “so that we have a free, fair, safe and secure election in 2024 just as we had in 2020.”
Meanwhile, election officials are combating threats to election workers. Schmidt said in 2020, officials had to “scramble to figure out when threats were incoming,” while outlining the changes put in place since then, including an election threat task force made up of federal, state and local law enforcement partners and election administration. He noted that open lines of communication and clear responsibilities have also made the commonwealth better prepared.
“So that if any of the ugliness returns that we experienced In 2020, everyone will be ready,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt committed to certifying the election results even if the winner is of the opposite political party, as did Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who also appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Fontes said the state’s safety and security protocols surrounding election results tabulation are a stark departure from recent years.
“It’s absolutely, completely different from 2020. In fact, I remember in 2018 our greatest security threat was a rattlesnake in the parking lot at the Pinnacle Peak Precinct,” Fontes said. “So this is a radically different set of circumstances that we are dealing with, but we are prepared, and we’re going to have a secure election.”
Indiana Fever fire coach Christie Sides after Caitlin Clark’s breakout season
Pennsylvania top election official says that 2020 ligation upheld that “elections were accurate”
Pennsylvania top election official says that 2020 ligation upheld that “elections were accurate”
Indiana Fever fire coach Christie Sides after Caitlin Clark’s breakout season
Pennsylvania top election official says that 2020 ligation upheld that “elections were accurate”