More than 150,000 Republicans voted for Nikki Haley in Pa. primary

PHILADELPHIA — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley dropped out of the Republican presidential race in early March but still received more than 16% of the vote in Pennsylvania’s Republican presidential primary Tuesday, a sign of discontent with former President Donald Trump as the GOP nominee.

The vote for Haley, whose name appeared on the ballot despite her campaign suspension, was strongest in Southeastern Pennsylvania, with Montgomery County giving Haley nearly a quarter of the vote.

Those areas, heavily Democratic and home to many more moderate Republicans, are counties where Trump lost by his largest margins in 2020.

It’s not necessarily indicative of trouble for Trump here in the fall, though. Many of the registered Republicans who voted for Haley may be moderate Republicans who had already turned against Trump, voted for President Joe Biden last time around, and plan to do the same in the general election.

—The Philadelphia Inquirer

UN resolution against arms race in space fails due to Russian veto

UNITED NATIONS — A U.N. resolution tabled by the United States and Japan against an arms race in space has failed in the U.N. Security Council due to a veto by Russia.

The draft resolution received 13 out of 15 votes in the Security Council, the most powerful U.N. body, in New York on Wednesday. China abstained.

The draft resolution called on all states, in particular those with major space capabilities, "to contribute actively to the objective of the peaceful use of outer space and of the prevention of an arms race in outer space and to refrain from actions contrary to that objective and to the relevant existing treaties in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international cooperation."

In February, several major U.S. media outlets had reported findings about Russia attempting to develop an anti-satellite nuclear weapon based in space that could pose a threat to national and international security.

The resolution also affirmed the obligation of all states that are party to it fully comply with the Outer Space Treaty, "including not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner."

—dpa

LA Metro declares emergency over attacks on bus operators

LOS ANGELES — The stabbing of a bus driver in Willowbrook this month amid a spate of increasingly violent assaults on public transit operators prompted transit officials this week to declare an emergency to speed up the building of enclosed protective barriers for drivers.

"These incidents have occurred with no prompting or warning and have created an environment of increased risk and trauma as assailants are resorting to the use of deadly weapon such as guns and knives," Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority senior officials wrote in a report to the agency's board this week, asking it to approve the new barriers. "Given this crisis situation, it is imperative that Metro retrofit all buses with fully enclosed barriers."

The "emergency condition" allows Metro to bypass regular procurement policy in order to buy tempered glass that had been limited by supply chain disruptions.

—Los Angeles Times

Gov. Kemp signs bill outlawing property squatting in Georgia

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill Wednesday criminalizing property squatting after a surge of reports about the practice in Atlanta and Georgia.

The governor’s approval comes amid an increase in national stories about trespassers seizing control of vacant homes, violently clashing with Realtors and landlords, trashing properties, and terrorizing homeowners.

According to some, Atlanta is a magnet for the practice, whereby people illegally enter vacant properties and claim tenancy or ownership.

After signing House Bill 1017, or the Georgia Squatter Reform Act, Kemp described the problem as “fairly limited” but said squatting is a headache for property owners.

“The problem is the squatters have figured out ways to circumvent the law,” he said. “We’re addressing that by increasing the penalties [and] also speeding up the timeframe to get these individuals out of the houses.”

—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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