Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
U.S. Supreme Court restores Trump to Colorado ballot
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, has ruled that Donald Trump can remain on the ballot despite his conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters entered the U.S. Capitol Building following a speech by the outgoing president.
In December, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump had engaged in insurrection and must therefore be taken off the state’s ballot. But allowing individual states such powers over federal office, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, threatened a patchwork of outcomes, with worse consequences if states acted after a national vote.
Orders had been made in three states to remove Trump from ballots, rulings which his campaign called “unconstitutional.”
- Analysis: U.S. Supreme Court believes voters, not the legal system, should decide who can be president
- Also read: As Super Tuesday nears, Trump plans for purges and rapid-fire changes in a second presidency
Liberal, NDP kill proposed examination of national security breaches at Winnipeg infectious-disease facility
MPs from the two parties joined forces today to block a parliamentary investigation into the massive security breach at Canada’s high-security infectious-disease laboratory in Winnipeg.
Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong had moved a motion to investigate how Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, were able to pass confidential information to China after security concerns were raised. “After three long years, we finally have gotten access to the documents and we need to continue this examination in order to hold the government accountable,” he said.
The NDP said the party still supports an examination of what happened but wants it to take place at the Commons committee on Canada-China relations. Liberal Iqra Khalid accused the Conservatives of playing “political games.”
Hamas, mediators press on with Gaza truce talks in Israelis’ absence
Hamas and Egyptian mediators said they were pressing on with talks on securing a ceasefire in Gaza, despite Israel’s decision not to send a delegation. Israel has declined to comment publicly on the Cairo talks.
The ceasefire talks, which began on Sunday, are billed as a final hurdle on the way to securing the first extended ceasefire of the five-month-old war, in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, expected to begin on Sunday. Two Egyptian security sources said mediators were in touch with the Israelis, allowing negotiations to continue despite their absence.
- Canadian nurse returned from Gaza reflects on her Doctors Without Borders’ assignment
- UN envoy says ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe Hamas committed sexual violence on Oct. 7
- Opinion: Airdrops are showy, but they do little for the people of Gaza
- Israel raids Ramallah refugee camp, kills teen, witnesses say
Protestors outside of the White House gates call for a ceasfire in Gaza on March 4, 2024 in Washington, DC.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Getty Images
Couple that spent nearly $80,000 on IVF says new B.C. funding could have saved years of stress
As part of its election-year budget, the British Columbia government announced in February that it would publicly fund one cycle of in vitro fertilization beginning in April, 2025. It’s a move that brings B.C. into line with seven other provinces that publicly fund IVF to some degree, and comes as Canada’s fertility rate falls to a record low.
Kim Santos called B.C.’s announcement “incredible news,” and said it would have made a world of difference to her family had their first IVF cycle been covered. She and her husband underwent an arduous fertility journey of struggle and sacrifice to help pay for fertility treatments.
Licinio and Kim Santos hold their son, Austin, as well as an embryo photo of him in Kelowna, B.C., on Feb. 29, 2024.Aaron Hemens/The Globe and Mail
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
China: China has cancelled the Premier’s news conference that traditionally helps kick off the annual National People’s Congress, the rubber-stamp parliament meeting in Beijing this week, amid major headwinds threatening the world’s second-largest economy and uncertainty about the country’s direction.
Health care: New Brunswick officials paid for meal allowances of nurses and orderlies deployed to the province by private staffing agency Canadian Health Labs, but that money was never passed on to the company’s workers, according to nine sources, as well as documents obtained by The Globe and Mail.
Labour: The Body Shop Canada Ltd. is accusing its Britain-based parent company of “improper” management of its funds, leading to a liquidity crisis, the closing of nearly one-third of its stores and the loss of more than 200 jobs in Canada, according to court documents.
Budget: The federal budget will be tabled on April 16. Traditionally, budgets are tabled in late March and it is uncommon for the fiscal blueprint to be released in April.
Archdiocese: Pope Francis has named a retired Quebec Superior Court judge to investigate allegations of sexual touching against a senior leader of the province’s Roman Catholic Church.
Crime: Mounties announced terrorism charges against a man accused of firing a gun and igniting a Molotov cocktail at Edmonton City Hall in January.
Measles: B.C. issues bulletin for people travelling abroad to get vaccinated against measles.
Listen to The Decibel: Marieke Walsh, The Globe’s senior political reporter, explains how the pharmacare program will work and how much it will cost.
MARKET WATCH
S&P 500 edges lower as investors hold their breath ahead of economic data
The S&P 500 closed slightly lower on Monday after hitting a fresh record with advances in chip stocks offsetting weakness in market heavyweight Apple Inc as investors positioned themselves ahead of economic data and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony. Canada’s main stock index ticked lower on Monday, weighed down by weakness in energy stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 21.28 points at 21,531.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 97.89 points to 38,989.49, the S&P 500 lost 6.09 points to 5,130.99 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 67.27 points to 16,207.67.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.68 cents US compared with 73.72 cents US on Friday.
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TALKING POINTS
Gender-equality rights, it turns out, aren’t safe from the notwithstanding clause
“The Court’s logic is also dangerous, as it means there is no real protection for women against discriminatory laws if a legislature pre-emptively invokes the notwithstanding clause. Her personal agency and equal opportunity can be taken away at the behest of a hostile legislature. Just ask Muslim women in Quebec.” - Sheema Khan
A Triple Dip with a Twist in ArriveCan’s parade of playing the system
“ArriveCan has raised so many questions that have spread beyond that one little app that Mr. Trudeau’s government needs to open up a clearinghouse of information about a procurement system that is clearly deeply corroded.” - Campbell Clark
LIVING BETTER
Oscar predictions 2024: Who will win, and who should win
What unexpected moments will audiences wake up talking about after this Sunday’s Oscars? Barbenheimer only knows.
To help with your Oscars’ betting pool, here are Barry Hertz’s best guesses, and greater hopes. And if you hit it big, remember to send a little commission back his way in the form of a Globe subscription or two.
Just a taste for the newsletter: On Best Picture, Hertz says Oppenheimer will win. The Zone of Interest should win. And May December should’ve been a contender.
TODAY’S LONG READ
As Ukraine loses ground, its military intelligence chief remains a figure of stability – and a thorn in Russia’s side
Lieutenant-General Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian Chief of the Defence Intelligence on March 2, 2024.Olga Ivashchenko/The Globe and Mail
When something blows up deep behind Russian lines, or inside Russia itself, Lieutenant-General Kyrylo Budanov is one of the few people who knows exactly what happened.
Lt.-Gen. Budanov commands Ukraine’s military intelligence service. The enigmatic 38-year-old – the youngest-ever head of his country’s military intelligence service, which is known by its Ukrainian acronym, HUR – has become something of a folk hero over the two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of this country.
He is respected among his men, meanwhile, for personally taking part in some of the most dangerous missions.
Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.
Sierra Bein