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Maine’s top election official asks state supreme court to review Trump ballot eligibility decision
Washington — Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows asked the state’s highest court to review her decision to keep former President Donald Trump off the 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot, seeking its intervention after a Maine superior court judge paused Bellows’ ruling while the U.S. Supreme Court considers a similar dispute over Trump’s eligibility.
“I know both the constitutional and state authority questions are of grave concern to many,” Bellows, a Democrat, said in a statement Friday. “This appeal ensures that Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.”
Maine and 15 other states hold their GOP presidential primaries on March 5, known as Super Tuesday.
Bellows determined last month that Trump is ineligible for the presidency under a Civil War-era constitutional provision and should therefore be kept off Maine’s primary ballot. Trump appealed the decision to the Maine Superior Court, and a judge on Wednesday put Bellows’ decision on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a similar challenge to the former president’s candidacy from Colorado.
In her ruling, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy also sent the matter back to Bellows for additional proceedings as needed in light of the Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision. Once the nation’s highest court weighs in, Bellows has 30 days to issue a new decision “modifying, withdrawing or confirming” her December determination about Trump’s eligibility, Murphy said.
Bellows said in her statement she welcomes a ruling from the nation’s highest court “that provides guidance as to the important Fourteenth Amendment questions” raised in the Colorado case, but noted that Maine law allows her to seek review from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
The request from Maine’s top election official means that a second state high court could address whether Trump is constitutionally eligible for a second term in the White House under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment before the Supreme Court hears arguments Feb. 8.
Trump’s lawyers on Thursday urged the justices in his opening brief to “put a swift and decisive end” to efforts to exclude him from the 2024 ballot, which have been pursued in more than 30 states. Trump’s brief warned that the challenges to his candidacy threaten to disenfranchise millions of his supporters and “promise to unleash chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots.”
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A new Barbie has joined Mattel’s lineup of inclusive dolls. The first “Diwali doll” was announced by the toymaker on Friday, a few weeks shy of the Hindu holiday of Diwali, also known as the festival of lights.
The festival, which lasts for five days, is marked on Western calendars to begin on Nov. 1, but some celebrations start on Oct. 31.
The doll, created in collaboration with fashion designer Anita Dongre, features traditional elements including the lehenga skirt, floral print and golden shoes, according to Mattel’s website. The doll is available at major retailers for $40.
“The look is infused with beauty and symbolism to rejoice in victory of light over darkness with contemporary silhouettes,” the description reads for the Diwali doll.
Lalit Agarwal, country manager for Mattel India, said in a news release that through the Diwali doll, the brand is hoping to showcase “India’s vibrant cultural heritage on a global stage while continuing to celebrate the power and beauty of diversity.”
Earlier this year, Mattel announced the first-ever blind Barbie doll and a Black Barbie with Down syndrome.
In addition, to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 and Barbie’s 65th birthday on March 9, the doll brand announced it was adding new dolls to its Role Models collection, based on real-life singers and actresses from around the world. They’re not for sale – a one-of-a-kind doll was made for each of the honored women.
The dolls are meant to introduce “girls to remarkable women’s stories to show them you can be anything,” according to Mattel.
Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves made his professional auto racing debut on Saturday at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“The Matrix” star, who qualified 31st out of 35 cars, ran as high as 21st before a single-car crash a little more than halfway through the 45-minute race briefly stopped him in his tracks.
Darron Cummings / AP
The 60-year-old spun into the grass without a collision on the exit of Turn 9 when he had about 21 minutes of racing left. He re-entered the course and continued driving, signaling he was uninjured.
Reeves finished 25th.
The actor is competing at Indianapolis in the Toyota GR Cup, a Toyota spec-racing series and a support series for this weekend’s Indy 8 Hour sports car event. He has a second race on Sunday.
Darron Cummings / AP
He is driving the No. 92 BRZRKR car, which is promoting his graphic novel “The Book of Elsewhere.” He is teammates with Cody Jones from “Dude Perfect.”
Reeves has previous racing experience as a former participant in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in the celebrity race. Reeves won the event in 2009.
A passenger successfully landed a small plane on Friday after the pilot had a medical emergency, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 90 was traveling from Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada to Monterey Regional Airport in California, with a pilot and one other person on board, the FAA said.
The pilot suffered an unspecified medical emergency while flying, the FAA said, forcing the passenger to take the controls and make an emergency landing at Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, California.
The Kern Fire Department told CBS News affiliate KBAX that firefighters were called to a report of a medical emergency on the plane. The pilot was reported to be “incapacitated,” the fire department said. Firefighters saw the plane approach and land safely, then “chased” the plane down the runway in emergency vehicles to meet it.
The FAA did not release the passenger or pilot’s identities nor give an update on the pilot’s condition. The pilot was taken to an area hospital by ambulance. The passenger did not report any injuries.
The FAA and the National Transportation Security Board will investigate the incident, the FAA said.
