OFF the RADAR
news |march 2020 |
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Russian Consitution On March 11, the Russian legislature passed constitutional changes, including presidential term limit extensions. If these changes pass, current president Vladimir Putin, who is currently set to reach his term limit in 2024, will be set to be the longest reigning ruler of Russia with 36 years in power. According to APnews.com,
the measures passed the lower house by a 383-0 vote with 43 abstentions, and then later passed through the upper house, by a vote of 160-1 with three abstentions. The changes have yet to be reviewed by the Constitutional Court. After that, the final confirmation will be decided by a national vote on April 22.
Super Tuesday The two big democratic winners of Super Tuesday on March 3 were former vicepresident Joe Biden and senator Bernie Sanders. Biden came in first overall. He won Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Sanders came in second overall, winning California, Colorado, Utah and Vermont. Biden’s campaign received a push after previous candidates
such as former mayor Pete Buttigieg and senator Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race and endorsed him. Additionally, senator Elizabeth Warren’s choice to remain in the race leading up to Super Tuesday, despite being projected to perform poorly, was viewed by some as dividing progressives while the moderate constituency was able to coalesce behind Biden. She has since suspended her campaign. Kansans will vote on May 2.
Former Kansas Convict Compensated Lamonte McIntyre, a conviction law, which provides 43-year-old Kansas resident, was wrongfully convicted people with awarded $1.5 million on Feb. 26 $65,000 per year of wrongful after being wrongfully convicted imprisonment. of double murder. In addition to the financial According to NBCNews. compensation, McIntyre com, in 1994, at the age of 17, received a certificate of McIntyre was sentenced to two innocence from Shawnee life sentences for the supposed County District Judge Teresa L. murder of 21-year-old Doniel Watson. Quinn and 34-year-old Donald Since his release, McIntyre Ewing. has conducted a civil lawsuit After spending 23 years in against the Unified Government prison, he was released in 2017. of Wyandotte County and McIntyre was able to Kansas City, Kansas, and the receive this compensation officers who arrested him in thanks to a 2018 wrongful 1994. | PHOTOS COURTESY OF TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE | WORDS BY JD LOFTIN & VINCE OROZCO
