FBI Surges Resources to Minnesota Amid Fraud Investigations Linked to Somali Community 
China Conducts Largest-Ever Live-Fire War Games Around Taiwan Amid Rising Cross-Strait Tensions 
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Drone Plot Against Putin as Peace Talks Face New Strain 
Boeing Secures $8.6 Billion Pentagon Contract for F-15 Jets for Israel 
Ukraine Drone Attacks Target Moscow and Western Russia, Injure One Civilian 
Global Concern Grows as Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Deepens Despite Ceasefire 
Kremlin Says Ukrainian Drone Attack Hardens Russia’s Stance on Peace Talks 
Philippines Challenges Chinese Research Vessel Spotted Near Cagayan Coast 
MSF Faces Possible Ban From Gaza as Israel Enforces New Aid Registration Rules 
Peruvian Shamans’ New Year Ritual Predicts Illness for Trump, Fall of Maduro, and Global Political Shifts 
Lavrov Says Russia Holds Strategic Initiative in Ukraine as Settlement Talks Continue 
U.S. Appeals Court Allows Trump Administration to Enforce Medicaid Funding Ban on Planned Parenthood 
Najib Razak Files Appeal Against Latest 1MDB Corruption Conviction and 15-Year Sentence 
South Korea Prosecutor Alleges Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee Abused Power for Bribes 
Australia Orders Independent Review After Bondi Mass Shooting, Albanese Resists Royal Commission Calls 
Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Discussing Possible U.S. Troop Presence as Security Guarantee 
Jazz Ensemble Cancels Kennedy Center New Year’s Eve Shows After Trump Renaming Sparks Backlash 
The Democratic primaries are still on-going after being momentarily postponed during the nationwide lockdown. Former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden recently won the Democratic primary in Hawaii.
CNN reports that Biden won 63.2 percent of the votes from the state’s primary. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gained 36.8 percent of votes, the two being the only candidates to receive the pledged delegates. As of now, Biden only needs 440 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination in time for the convention. The former vice president also won the Oregon Democratic primary prior to Hawaii’s announcement of winners.
Although the primary was originally supposed to take place back on April 4th, it was postponed and later changed to mail-in voting instead out of concerns regarding the pandemic. Out of over 79,000 ballots that were sent to registered Democrats in Hawaii, around 35,000 votes were cast and returned.
In other related news, Biden is currently in the process of choosing the woman who could become his vice president. Although many figures and groups have suggested their picks, Black and Latino activists and analysts have advised that Biden not choose Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar as his running-mate. They reasoned that Klobuchar would risk Biden the Black and Latino demographics due to her performance among non-whites during the primaries as well as her track record as a prosecutor in her state.
According to BlackPAC executive director Adrianne Shropshire, Klobuchar appeared to be unable to motivate or get people of color excited. “The engagement and the enthusiasm of black voters is going to be a difference-maker in this election and the concerns about her in this role stem from the degree to which she resonated or not with those core constituencies,” said Shropshire.
On the other end, Biden has several black women included in the shortlist of potential vice presidential candidates. California Senator Kamala Harris, Florida Congresswoman Val Demings, and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams are often predicted to be included in the list. Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren are also thought to be part of the shortlist.
